The Washington times., 1901-08-11

Miscellaneous Books.
Jesus Christ and the Social Question"
is a book by Francis Greenwood Peabody,
profe ssor of Christian morals in Harvard
University. The subtitle is AN Exami-
nation of the teaching of Jesus in its re-
lat!on to some of the problems of modern
social life" and this indicates quite clear
ly the character of the work.
The book is scholarly and thoughtful,
and worth the reading of those who are
in sympathy with its teachings. and this
will include most communicates of ortho-
dox churches and some people outside the
church The tone is rather spiritual than
radical, and the author evidently is not
a Socialist believing rather that the doc
! trines of Christ. when rightly understood
will be found to reform without destroy
: ing the social order He condemns the
communistic system, and says that the
monastic community At its best could not
exist without the hep of the specialized
forms of industry. This assertion seems
open to question. The most successful
modern community is perhaps that OF the
Shakers. and so far as their Industrial
system is concerned they could support
themselves ard he useful to the world If
there were nothing but wilderness around
founding supplied their own economic
wants and also sold articles of their man
ufacture to the world outside. Their COM
munity is simply nicely arranged sys-
TEN of specialization with the family left
out of it. The od-time monastic commu-
mites were much the same. and so far
from being dependent on the industrial
system of the countries whore they ex-
listed they often were the protectors and
conseryators of all the higher forms of
industry.
The great trouble with the community
is not its Industrial system but the funda-
mental principles of human nature. which
absolutely demands something besides
heaven to absorb its energies and con-
temptation. 1t seems to have been or
dlinod by the Creator that man should
work for himself and a woman, forever
and ever amen" Al any rate. that is
the way he docs.
Prof Pcabody's chapter or divorce is a
strong and consistent protest against the
present extremely lax and Irregular con-
dition of marriage laws and social con
ventions in regard to this thing. He puts
his finger an the trouble with the whole
business when he points out that mar
riage is not supposed to be state of
pleasure. bul Oh GEly- anu lIitt ii'ith'i
party can expect to find in it all the de
lights of the world without any response
biities. There is 10 use, he thinks. in
trying to reform mankind by making
divorce easy. so long as people are not
taught that it is their business to con-
troll themselves. In this he is probably
right IT is no doubt better to be honestly
vicious If such a thing Is possible, than to
be vicious and pretend to virtue, but no
good can come Of lodging the que stion in
that way. 1t is as dangerous, though
not as Immediately disastrous. for man
as for a woman to indulge himself in
all the vice which goes by the name of
pleasure. and he is likely to find, when the
time comes that makes it necessary and
desirable for him to reform, that he does
not want TO be reformed; 1t is too much
trouble. If divorce were made impossible
and all women were absolutely virtuous
today, matters would not be made straight
as long all the men felt themselves
free TO go TO the other extreme. Prof.
Peabody takes very much this view of
the matter, though he does not put it in
so many words. Without going into any
rhapsodies over the influence of good
women, he makes it plain that both the
man and the woman are responsible for
The Macmillan Company
"The Influence of Christ in Modern
Life" by Newell Dwight Hills, is less
scholarly and more homiletic in its style
than the foregoing book, but its general
conclusions are much the same. DR..
Hills is optimistic He believes that the
Christian world is on the eve of what
may be called creative period in reli-
gion, when men will stop analysing and
have faith. He says some things about
the old creeds which would have caused
him to be turned out of the Presbyterian
Church fifty years ago, and which did
make some trouble for him when he gave
them forth from the pulpit. He quotes,
with the frank statement that the idea
is unreasonable and irreligious, the more
or less familiar statements of Jonathan
Edwards. which run as follows:
''As Edwards said: The bigger part
of men who have died heretofore have
l. gone to he'll; the whole heather would
be hopelessly doomed; against the
non-elect the wrath of God is burning
the furnace hot. the flames rage and
coming like lions restrained and
greedy for their prey On one page
Edwards says: God holds the uncon-
vorted over the pit of he'll much as
sect over the fire. and from time to
time the generations in darkened
lands, without temple. without Bible,
without religious teacher, are swept
into the future as the housewife lifts
the lids from the glowing Goals and
sweeps flies into the flames And to-
day one of our greatest denominations
still includes that tremendous state
ment IN its confession Of faith, saying
that certain men and angels are foreor-
dained to everlasting death. these per-
sons so doomed being particularly and
unchangeably designed and their num-
Der is so certain and definite that it
cannot be either increased or dinin-
iehed.'"
The average orthodox Christian will be
likely to comment on this by saying, ION,
but you know nobody believes that now
adays," and the average skeptic will re-
ply with equal promptness. Then why
don't you take It out OF your cTeedY' DIR.
Hills hints that 1t IL about time that
this should be done.
Curiously enough. Presbyterianism has
been mostly supplanted during the last
hundred years in New England,
which was once its stronghold, by the less
dogmatic and more democratic Congrega-
tional and Baptist churches, and Jona-
than Edwards is probably less known
there than he is in other parts OF the
country. There 10 scarcely new Eng
land Presbyterian Church to be found
outside the larger cities The reason prob
ably is that when people began to think
in real earnest about Edwards doctrines,
as they must in a settled and peaceful
country, they repudiated them, while else
where. in places where material things &C.
cupied the attention of pioneers and set
tiers, creeds were taken for granted and
let alone. The religion prevalent in a
country is often queeriy Influenced by the
cnstoms of its people and when q stern