The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-03-19
SOCIAL STRUGGLE
THEME OF SERMON
Rer. DIAL. Dickinson breaches
at First Baptist
RETURN OF GOOD FOR EVIL
The Poor Cannot Exploit the Rich,
But Those Possessing Wealth
Should be Taught Its
Right Use.


a sermon yesterday morning at the First
Baptist church. bearing on the question
OF the accumulation of wealth and other
problems of society. His sermon was full
of his characteristic terse statements.
His subject was "The Sons of God in the
Social Struggle"
His text follows: Love your enemies
and do good and lend never despiaring,
and your reward shall be great and ye
shall be sons of the Most High. For He
Is kind towards the unthankful and evil"
Luke, 6:35
Dr. Dickinson said:
In the first century the struggle In So
eiety was intensely aceute and large pos
| sessions and power were to be gotten
orly through exploiting the masses This
divided society into two classes the poor,
despoiled, distressed, destitute and the
rich, surfeited. vilianous and fattered.
The world attributed woe to the for
mer and blessing to the latter for they
thought very much as we do today that
life CONSISTENT In the abundance of the
things one possesseth. Woe to him who
has little and blessed Is he who has
| most.
In his Sermon on the Plain, as given in
| Luke, Jesus reverses all this. His king
dom portends a great change. It means
blessing to the expoliated and exploited
poor. and woe TO the despoiling and ex-
plotting rich.
Men Will no longer live on each other
| at each others expense but for each
other and by each others help. Life no
| longer Is determined by what YOU get,
| but only by what you give. Happiness Is
not to be ministered unto but to min
| lister: and he is greatest who is servant
of all and minister of all.
We are henceforth to live In order to
love and serve This is the occasion of
these beatitudes to the poor, despolled.
destitute, prosecuted and these woes to the
despoling vilanous, and fattered ex-
ploters. 1t means that exploitation
which had wrought such woe will cease
and react on the heads of despolers
Christianity does not permit any man
to despoil or exploit his nelghbor, but on
the contrary teaches us to be through
love servants, one Of another. To live
Is to serve. This new kingdom Will
elevate the poor. destitute, distressed,
prosecuted and cause the rich, surfeited,
yilianous and fattered to find a woe in
this false pride and power. Society needs
just this for the blessing of both ex
ploiter and exploited
Reversal of Ideas.
This reversal of the ideas of the world
as to the true road to bessedness and
the certain road to woe means what is
elsewhere repeatedly and clearly taught
by orr Lord-that one should renounce
his earthly goods as an end In life.
1t forbids any man to withdraw his
wealth from the service of society in or
der to consume ii upon himself. like the
rich fool in the parable. 1t matters not
whether that wealth be property, learning
skill, position. power or what not: 1t Is his
only to help him the better to serve the
veal of the world. 1t is nothing more
than tools for fuller service to human
ity
This is not communism, II Is not social
ism. But it is mo man counting ought
that he possessed as his OWE but that
distribution might be made to each ac-
cordng as any had need" The teachings
of Jesus and the apostles expressly sus-
tain the private rights to property and
position in society. but with equal clear
ness deny that such private property
should be used selfshly or consumed in
ones iusts On the contrary II Is un-
mistakenly taught that wealth Or social
position should be a means to serving
better the well-beng of the world
We are face to face today with sit
uation wherein vast fortunes are threaten
Ing the social veal and men are beginning
TO tremble before the power of multi
millionaires. Shall these great fortunes
be confiscated. was slave property
when 1t became dangerous to the public
Is n question many are bold enough to
ask in their hearts, yet tremble to utter
with their lips. because they do not wish
even to intimate that the principle Of
private ownership to property should be
in anyway impaired.
On this principle OF sacredness Of prop
erty rights rests our social structure and
civilization. But II has been said with
some degree of truth that 1t was by dis
regarding this very principle of undisturb-
ed private ownership that most of these
fortunes have been built up and hence
they cannot now appeal to the principle
they disregarded In their getting to confirm
them in their holdings. The wreckers of
others cannot consistently appeal against
the principle of destruction to save them
selves from being wrecked. This is an
appeal to the principle Of retaliation Jesus
condemned In this very discourse. and
cannot be the meaning In this passage.
If the rich have gotten rich by exploit
Ing the poor. which was generally true
in the days of Jesus. 1t does hot follow
that this warrants the poor in getting
rich by exploiting the rich. Christianity
is against the exploiting. both in rich
and poor. and gives a better solution to
the problem.
Solution of the Problem.
This is that wealth, in whatsoever hands
1t may be vested is only a tool, an in
strument a means to be used for en-
HANGING and advancing the social service
of the world The problem, therefore, Is
not so much what to do with the fortunes
as what to do to make the helders Of
these fortunes realize the responsibilities
which such an opportunity for good en-
tails on them and how to train them for
effectively, meeting these obligations.
1t Is the character of rich men that
makes this wealth dangerous If either
because OF incompetency or malice the
rich become enemies OF social progress
they will superinduce woes on themselves
which means spoliation. A society eav-
ened with Christianity Will not tolerate
wealth which entails a woe
In such a situation Christianity pro-
nounces its counter blessings to the poor
and woes to the rich. In a class struggle
whoever makes his class an oppressor
will reap woe, and whoever makes his
class to endure wrong and oppression
shall reap a blessing. This Is the mean
ing of these beatitudes and woes as Jesus
uttered them and as he elsewhere clearly
taught
Wealth is a sharp tool God has given
you You may use 1t to build up So
ciety and yourself along with It, or you
may use 1t to destroy and cut off your
own head and hands. In this latter case
woe to the rich. In the former blessings
- .t,a y,oor In thp Iattar raqa tho rich