What is the Social Gospel? Is it a liberal theology or an attempt to right the imbalance in the Church concerning personal and societal responsibilities of the Gospel? Is the Social Gospel a valid term to use today for Christian social action? How is the Social Gospel worked out in the every day practicality of  contemporary American religion? These are some of the question I wanted to answer in this study of the Social Gospel. I believe that I have found, at least for myself, the answer to some of these questions.

         First, what is the Social Gospel from the historic literature? The Social Gospel is a movement founded by men like Washington Gladden and Walter Rauschenbush in the late 1800's to early 1900's.
It had 7 basic tenants.

 1. The social teachings of Jesus are reliable guides for individual and social life.
 2. God is immanent in history.
 3. Man is basically good and perfectible.
 4. Sin is primarily selfishness, to be overcome by an improvement in the social setting and especially by education.
 5. The Bible is a human product to be studied like other books.
 6. Man of goodwill can establish the Kingdom of God.
 7. Reason and science are reliable sources of truth.

         For Washington Gladden the Social Gospel is 'applied Christianity' and has a great deal in common with Christian socialism and is an alternative to capitalism with a love for ones neighbor. For Walter Rauschenbush, the Social Gospel is realizing the Kingdom of God is the central theme in Jesus' teaching and in the mission of the Church. that salvation is not only individual but societal and corporate. Men not only get saved but so do organizations and societies. It is theories like these which sparked the fierce debates of the 1920-1930's.

         The Social Gospel debate began in the early 1900's and continues to this very day.  The same questions and critiques which sparked debate in 1920-1930's still are at the forefront of this hot topic. From the conservative, fundamental position we hear Viv Grigg 'The breakthrough of the Kingdom comes with preaching, teaching, healing and deliverance. it may be accompanied by development projects or aid, but it is the Spirit that gives life, and then enables such programs to bear good fruit' (Grigg, 147) 'For this reason, it seems appropriate to focus on evangelism followed by discipling and forming new social groups. This has become known as church planting.' (Grigg, 162) From the 'liberal' social action position we hear Rauschenbush 'The Social Gospel seeks to bring men under repentance for their collective sin.' (Rauschenbush, 5) 'Individual salvation is part of social salvation.' (Rauschenbush, 95) Social salvation included redeeming social organizations which can become 'Christian' and thus bring about the redemption of the social order. (Rauschenbush, 112)

         From a more compromising evangelical position we hear George Marsden 'Christianity is a universal philanthropist...The evangelical commitment to social reform was a corollary of the inherited enthusiasm for revival' (Marsden, 12) Pastor Courtland Myers 'The Church of Christ is not a benevolent institution nor a social institution, but an institution with one purpose...winning lost souls to Christ and being instrumental in redeeming the world. Nevertheless the practical side of Christianity although secondary, was essential.' (Marsden, 81)

         These arguments are seen daily in very practical ways. In my interview of Aslan Ministries,I noticed that their promotional literature had no mention of anything Christian or even religious in nature. My first reaction was to question this. How would others know they were a Christian organization if they didn't promote it? It wasn't until I hear what goes on behind the scenes that I saw the Gospel of Jesus Christ was being presented in effective ways to the people who benefit from this ministry. But to get funding, they need to be 'secular' in their advertisement. Is this a necessary compromise to fund a program where the Gospel is being preached in very practical ways? Personally,  I think it is not deceptive nor misleading.

         In my own church, we are beginning a series of 'random acts of kindness' to members of our immediate community. The idea is to express, in practical ways, God's love to the people living near the church. There is the understanding that there is no intent of sharing the Gospel unless they invite the opportunity. this is called 'pre-evangelism'.  What kind of remarks will we get from the church when leadership presents this?  Our church  leadership is also considering allowing the use of the building to non Christian groups. This will certainly bring on questions of where is the Gospel in all this?

         I have just completed a 9 week series titled 'Living in the Kingdom of God' in our Sunday evening service. In that series we examined the individual Believers responsibility in the Kingdom as well as the Churches responsibility. Both had as it's basis, social concerns. Meeting the needs of the poor, dejected and downtrodden. Needs is collective in nature which equates to the spiritual as well as the physical, emotional and financial needs. There can be no separation of the spiritual from the material.

         I like the term Washington Gladden used for his version of the Social Gospel, 'Applied Christianity'. Although I would not take the term as far as he did to mean Christian Socialism, I would say that Christianity, if it is to be truly what Christ taught, must be 'applied' Christianity.  We are not saved into an individual box but into a family. We begin this Christian life in a social environment and what we do, how we live is the everyday application of our Christian truths found in the Word of God. James tells us to be doers of the Word and not just hearers only. This is practical Christianity, this is applied Christianity.
 But I understand that there is a danger inherent in this thinking. We can often times work so hard to meet the material needs that we neglect the spiritual. This is especially important for staunch Calvinists who believe in the guaranteed salvation of the Elect, regardless of what I do or don't do. Some individuals, Churches and agencies can get so involved in the program that the person's soul is neglected. Moody stated that he stopped his involvement in the Social Gospel movement because he felt that the most compassionate, loving thing he could do for the lost soul was to be concerned where he spent eternity. Food will last a day but the soul an eternity. We must never forget his sentiments as they are true.

         Personally, I find the Social Gospel movement of the late 1800's to early 1900's to be theologically liberal and unacceptable. However, I do not want to be like the fundamentals of that time and throw the good out with the bad. I believe that we can have and must have a renewed interest in the social interests of the world and still remain faithful to our fundamental, conservative theological roots. I also believe that we can do this in a way Rauschenbush would approve of. Our emphasis on social concern and social justice must come from the perspective and foundation of our theology on the Kingdom of God. I believe, like Rauschenbush, that the Kingdom of God is central to the teaching of Jesus and to the work of the church today. I do, however, believe that this concern is manifested in the individual in society and not in the organizations and institutions.

         Rauschenbush and Gladden came from a post-millennial view of history. They believed everything can and will get better as we work to 'Christianize the social order'. However, even though we are to work to be both salt and light in the world, I do not believe we will ever achieve utopia, apart for the return of Christ.

         Therefore, in my personal ministry as well as in my position as pastor of a local church, I will work to encourage God's people to live kingdom ethic within their communities. These ethics include both a verbal  proclamation of the Gospel as well as caring for the social, emotional, psychological and material needs of the people God places in my path. I will adopt the Aslan Ministries philosophy of meeting the needs of the WHOLE person. Jesus did and He set the example for us.

         Is the Social Gospel for today? No! Not as it is defined by it's founders. But, are Christian to be concerned about social issues? Yes! Are Christians to do something about social injustices? Yes! Are Christians to live out in practical ways the implications of the social aspects of the Gospel? Yes! So, maybe we should re-label the term. Perhaps 'Applied Christianity' or 'Christian Social Action' or even ' Kingdom Living'. Whatever we call it, we have a responsibility to live out our Christian faith in community.

Bibliography
Antonides, Harry. Stones for Bread. Ontario: Paideia Press. 1985
Grigg, Viv. Cry of the Urban Poor. Monrovia: Viv Grigg 1992
Haight, Roger. 'The Mission of the Church in the Theology of the Social Gospel' Theological Studies   49:ps. 477-497 S 1988
Mathisen, Robert. 'Evangelicals and the Age of Reform' Fides et Historia 16 no 2 ps. 74-85 S/S 1984
Marsden, George. Fundamentalism and American Culture .Oxford: Oxford University Press 1980
Niebuhr,H. Richard. 'The Social Gospel and the Mind of Jesus' Journal of Religious Ethics 16 ps. 115-127 Sp 1988
Patterson, James. 'The Kingdom and the Great Commission' Fides et Historia 25 ps. 48-61 W/S 1993
Rauschenbush, Walter. A Theology for the Social Gospel. Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1917
White, Ronald and Hopkins, C.Howard. The Social Gospel. Philadelphia: Temple U. Press 1976