The San Francisco call., 1910-04-19
"Opens LECTURES
BEFORE SEMINARY
Prof. Walter Rauschenbusch OF
Rochester Delivers First E. I.
Earl Series of Addresses


the subject of The Present Task of
Christianity Prof. Walter Rauschen-
busch of Rochester theological semi
nary delivered the first OF the series OF
Z. 7. Earl lectures before the Pac1nc
theological seminary of this city and
the general public tonight In the First
Congregational church
He spoke of the social feeling or so
cial consciousness" which he said has
been spreading swiftly in this country
within recent years and he accounted
for its spread by "the rapid growth OF
dangerous forces in our national life
which have alarmed and awakened the
people; by the general intelligence Of
the American people and their inherit
ed democracy, which unite in making
them restive under the increasing pres
sure; by the finer moral sensitiveness
of modern life. and by the strength OF
vital and purified religion in our coun-
try"
Continuing, he declared:
The great social task of the
churches at the present time is to
cooperate with this new social
consciousness in the nation. clari-
fying it and Inspiring it with re-
ligious daring and confidence in its
own demands. The ultimate task OF
the Christian church is TO build up
a really Christian social order for
all mankind. Our immediate task
is to bring our social order into
harmony with, at least, the moral
convictions now growing in our
nation. The social conditions with
In which we have to work and our
love are coming to be in acute
contradiction with the ethical sense
of great masses of the people.
Professor Rauschenbusch said that
the main task of the church was not
institutional but inspirational, in his
eyes, and continued:
If the conditions of any local
church demand that ii take care of
the babies while their mothers go
to work, or that ii furnish young
people substitute for the dance
halls and saloons, then let that
church do such work. but at the
same time let it protest with all its
might and voice to the community
against being compelled TO do such
work, which in any rightly ordered
community ought to be unneceS-
sary. If the church find man in
Jericho canyon. who has fallen
among thieves let her set him on
the ass-which seems to typify the
ministry-and care for him. But il
| she finds bruised and robbed men
lying around thick every time he
travels that road let her get after
| the public officers and the whole
community and see that the entire
holdup business stops
To show how seriously some of the
| fundamental moral relations are en-
| dangered in modern industrial condi-
| tions the speaker pointed out the
| mighty task of the church and spoke OF
| the disintegration of the old fash
| ioned family life wherever industrial
! city life advances. He said:
The increase of divorce is only
one symptom, and the additional
fact that so many are reluctant to
enter married life is at least as
important as the fact that so many
want to get out of 1T. But some of
| the influences which are unsettling
| family life will ultimately prove
wholesome The rise of woman to
educational and intellectual equal
ity with man and her growing self
affirmation have necessarily shaken
an institution that took shape un-
der patriarchal conditions The
| family has. however. already
| gained by being democratized.
But the economic features that
undermine the family have few re-
deeming features. Everything that
causes rents and prices to advance
| faster than incomes acts as an
| automatic check on family life. pre-
venting it in some cases, poStpon-
| ing 1T in others, compressing il.
stripping it of it's peculiar sweet
| ness, and in some cases breaking it
up. The indirect taxes. of which
our American craftsmanship is so
fond, lay the chief burden on the
home. and every time corporation
the load on the home life of the
average man. Those classes of So
ciety which spend unearned IN
comes set the pace of expenditure
for all and make home life expen-
sive and snowy.
Professor Rauschenbusch spoke OF
the home life among the Industrial
classes in cases where the wife con-
tinues to earn wages after marriage
and of the conditions among the masses
of the chronically unmarried in the
cities. He said that when he reflected
| on these conditions most other issues
| seemed as dust in the balance beside
the moral issues involved here. Any
Christian who is not so very radical in
the face of such conditions is not so
very Christian. he said.
The second lecture will be delivered
| tomorrow night.