Free trader-journal. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1916-1920, 1919-01-27
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ings are published by ;he University
of Chicago, his principal work being
a volume entitled Sociological Study
of the Bible" which has reached a
wide circulation. He said in part:
The Fels commission was founded
! by Mr.. and Mrs. Joseph Fels It's
! object Is the non-partisan promotion
of democracy. Since the death of Mr.
/ Fels in 1914 the work of the commits
/ sion has been directed by Mrs Fels
who has travelled widely in this coun
try and Europe and is now visiting
/ England and France in the interests
of a democratic peace
THE great problems that loon
! ahead of us in the reconstruction
/ period must be set clearly into rela
ton with the gospel of God, or else
the organized institutions of religion
will suffer still further loss OF popu
lar influence ana support Less thar
half the inhabitants of the United
States go to church, and the ode'
church doctrines and methods al,
steadily losing their hold over the
people. While this may be in par
the fault of the non-churchgoers them
selves, it may also be in some de
gree the fault of the churches.
''We have been told that the gospc
refers to the right conduct of the in
dividual soul here on earth and IT,
/ final salvation in heaven But aC
cording to the Bible, this is only one
half the story. If we study the Scril
lures carefully from the linguistic ans
/ scientific points of view we find tina
/ the gospel OF God is not only indiyid
ualistic and heavnely, but also socia
and earthly.
The religion of the Bible was cS
/ tablished among men through a grea
struggle for social and economic jus
/ tice. The great warfare on behalf
Jehovas against Baal and other god
was a fight Of the common peop,
against wealthy, grating aristocrats
/ In this fight the Hebrew prOphet
were the leaders, and they denounced
the laws under which the OWNERSHIP
Of the soil concentrated in the hand
! of the few Baal stood for SLAYER,
and land monopoly and the oppre.
/ sion of the plain people by a tyran
nical upper class. This is the meal
ing of the word Baal in the Hebre,
/ language. But the religion of Jeh,
/ yah stood for the ideal OF an ad
yancing democracy, and the victory
+ Of Jehovah over Baal and the falls,
/ gods was the first great triumph
the common people in the history
/ the world a.
THE doctrine Of God thus comes {
US out of the past With a profound s
Geological and economic meaning.
is part of the age-long struggle
make the world safe for dem0crac,
And yet it has been turned aside ant
misunderstood and largely misintel
preted. We have been sc,emnly a.
sured that the struggle against Baa
was merely a fight against the VOL
ship of imaginary, fictitious gods ant
idols that had no real existence.
God is on the side of the common
people The great forces Of the IN
verse are on the side of right agains-
autocracy and injustice The insu
tuition of monarchy was opposed b
The prophet Samuel, in the name
God, when the Israelites asked him t,
rgi, Lii a.,
warned the people soemnly that If p,
royal government were set up, inJu
tlce would reign, and all the 2oC'
land would come into possession OF
few powerful mobiles who would o.
press the common people
All the great prophets of God Il
the Bible were against the king
And the plain people among the jew
heard Jesus gladly because He wa
on their side against graft and injus
tice, while for the same reason tn
wealthy and respectable church lead
ers plotted His death. And yet Whei
the religion of the one true God b.
gan to spread abroad in the Wort
all that part of it which related T.
the social and the earthly, as con
trasted with the individual and I'll
heavenly, was somehow left out,
in these critical and exciting day
it is necessary for us to realize NOR
and more that every church spire is
symbol of democracy and a threH
against special privilege. The demo
cratic and social meaning Of the rC
ligion of God has been obscured b.
ritualists and theOlogians and mystic
who have uncOnsciOusly served the
political and economic master class
Unless the churches put emphasi;
upon the questions of wealth, poverty
and injustice that stand foremost II
the preaching Of the Hebrew prophet
and Jesus; unless the church help t.
make plain the great truth that GOD
is on the side of the oppressed
classes, the world will continue tC
turn away from organized religion.