Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-08-21
SOCIAL PROBLEM OF CHURCH

In current magazine George Fred
er1ck Wells, who has made an investt
cation along the lines discussed, treats
of subject that has been growing
problem, but the approach of the solu
ton seems to be as far away as ever
His subject is, ''The Country Church
and Its Social Problem" What he saws
OF the country or rural church may in
most instances be applied to the
churches of large communities. His
conclusion, which is qualified by Ger.
tain requirements that will in numer.
GUS instances undoubtedly be found
wanting, is as follows:
Given a church with adequate min.
isterial leadership and a certain nu-
cleus of spiritual life, and institutional
and other enterprises are the very
glory of the church in the solution of
its church problem
His reasoning will strike the average
reader as sound in the discussion of
the present situation, but no remedy
is offered beyond the above quotation.
He says that at the center of the
cause of the social problem of the rur-
al church is the loss of faith on the
part OF the people, not in the doctrines
or theology of the church primarily,
but in the life Of the church; that the
church fails through lack of integrity
to its Christian profession and moral
mission as expressed in personal hon
or, brotherhood, and essential charity.
No further discussion is given to the
question of personal honor" but the
brotherhood and essential charity
are taken up in connection with the
effect of the fraternity upon the
church.
Upon the latter subject he says.
"The large majority of testimonies TO
me indicate that if the church were do
ing her full spiritual and social duty
there would be no place for the frater-
nal orders"
AS to the tendencies of the times it
is observed that the reaction from the
cold and rigid Calvinistic and Puritanic
orthodoxy in the liberal movement in
theology has tended to bring the
church from the status of religious
body with fellowship in common the
ology to the status of social club with
Fellowship in common sociology. The
consequence has been the loss of effec-
tive moral restraint and personal re-
generating dynamic, and thus the So
cial problem of the church has been
enhanced. Mr.. Wells says that the So
cial difficulty with the liberal move
ment in theology apparently has been
that it has carried a good thing, it's
of sociallzing the great denom-
nations, too far, until the integrity OF
what might have been the best thing
in the original aim is gone and the
source of moral and social power has
been denied
One of the principal things that he
finds has influenced the estrangement
of people from the church is the labor
question, and that is pointed out as
the greatest single influence. Recog-
nizing that in the transition from the
parish ideal of society to the Industrial
IDEAL, the wage class and the capital
class have been created, he observes
that the church in country as well as
in town, by taking sides with one class
has separated itself from the other.
The investigation showed that this
condition of taking sides prevails
more or less in every church consult
ed; that each individual church in a
community that has more than one So
cial grade us invariably characterized
as being tha church of peculiar strata
or grade, or else the clash between the