240509 DEC 15 920 CBDV •K41 PREFACE THE discovery that the great prophets and founders of Judaism and Christianity were above all else social teachers and reformers is rapidly revolutionising the study of the Bible. The Hebrew prophets and Jesus speak to us to-day more directly and convincingly than they did even to their contemporaries, for we are far more keenly alive to the importance of the social problems which they were seeking to solve. To appreciate fully the social principles which they laid down it is necessary first to become acquainted with the personality of each of these prophets and with the immediate political and social conditions with which they were dealing. Studied in the light of their historical background, these teachings can then be readily interpreted into universal terms and used as a solvent for the social problems of to-day." The social teachings of the Bible are so deeply embedded in the Old and New Testament writings that they are not easily accessible to the general reader. Those of the prophets and of their practical interpreters, the priests and sages, have usually been treated separately from those of Jesus and his immediate followers. As a matter of fact, Jesus and Paul based their social teachings directly upon those of the earlier prophets. Without the final synthesis and interpretation which Jesus gave to these earlier teachings, they are disconnected and incomplete. To be clearly understood both the teachings of the prophets and those of Jesus and Paul must be studied together as parts of a genetic whole. The chief aims, therefore, of this volume are to single out the important social teachings of the Bible, to translate them into clear English, and then to classify and present them so that they may be intelligently studied in the light of their historical setting and development. The re sult is primarily a source book; for the modern reader and student desire first of all to know the exact form as well as content of these epoch-making teachings. The final aim is to interpret the principles which underlie them into modern language and thought. In realising these aims I owe much to pioneers like Professor Francis G. Peabody of Harvard and Dean Charles R. Brown of Yale, who have discovered this rich field, but I am especially indebted to Professor J. W. Jenks of New York University and Mr. Frederick J. Kingsbury of New Haven, who have offered many valuable suggestions as this volume has been taking form. These social principles represent the common ground on which conservative and radical, Protestant and Catholic, reformed Jew and progressive Mohammedan-in fact, every man who recognises the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man -can unite and work for the realisation of the ideals of the founders of their faith. These are the fundamental principles which the great prophets of Judaism and Christianity and of every vital religion supremely emphasised. In their eyes the petty differences which to-day divide the religious forces of the world were utterly unimportant. Deeds, not creeds, spirit, not forms, attitude, not professions, alone are essential. The social teachings of the prophets and Jesus, therefore, furnish the practical working basis on which the social and religious leaders of the world can co-operate in promoting and conserving the highest material and spiritual interests of the human race. YALE COLLEGE, C. F. K. CONTENTS I. MOSES' ASSERTION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE IN- The Social Significance of the Bible.-The Political and Economic Background of the Egyptian Oppression.- Ramses II's Policy of Oppression.-The Effects of Ramses II's Policy upon the Hebrews.-The Development of an Industrial Deliverer.-Moses' Vision in the Land of Midian. -The Social Problem.-Moses' Methods.-The Great Social and Economic Principles Illustrated by the Crisis in II. THE DEMOCRATIC PRINCIPLES FOR WHICH AHIJAH Israel's Social Inheritance.-The Social Transformation in Israel's Early History.-The Long Conflict between the Hebrew Nomadic and the Canaanite Agricultural Ideals.— The Early Conflict between the Hebrew and Canaanite Theories of the State.-The Ascendancy of the Canaanite III. THE SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF THE EARLY PROPHETIC The Social Aim in Israel's Early Epic Narratives.-The Divine Ideal for Human Society.-The Ultimate Basis of the Family.The Unsocial Character and Effects of Sin.- The Making and Treatment of the Criminal.-The Survival of the Morally Fittest.-The Brotherhood of the Human Race.-The Significance of the Prophetic Portrait of Abra- PAGE IV. AMOS'S INTERPRETATION OF THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE RICH AND RULING CLASSES Social Transformations in Northern Israel.-The Political and Religious Situation.-The Making of a New Type of Social Reformer.-Amos's Methods of Social Reform.- Amos's Teaching Regarding the Duties of Rulers.-The Re- V. HOSEA'S ANALYSIS OF THE FORCES THAT DESTROY The Personal Experience That Made Hosea a Social Teacher. -Hosea's Conception of the Obligations of Husbands and Wives.-The Effects of Social Immorality.-The Social PAGE VI. THE SOCIAL IDEALS OF THE STATESMAN ISAIAH.. 60 The Social Conditions That Confronted Isaiah.-The Influ- ences That Made Isaiah a Prophet.-Isaiah's Denunciation of the Corrupt Rulers of Judah.-Isaiah's Denunciation of Judicial Injustice.-Land Monopoly.-The Economic Sig- nificance of Intemperance and Luxury.-Man's Attitude to- VII. MICAH THE TRIBUNE OF THE COMMON PEOPLE.. 70 Micah's Origin and Point of View.-Micah's Teachings Re- garding the Duties of Rulers.-The Responsibilities of Wealth.-The Duties of Those Intrusted with Public Edu- cation in Religion and Morals.-The Results of Micah's The Decadent Seventh Century.-Nahum's Condemnation of War Prompted by Greed.-The Significance of the Re- actionary Reign of Manasseh.-The Reformer Prophet Zephaniah.-Jeremiah of Anathoth.-Their Teachings Re- garding the Duties of Rulers and Religious Leaders.-The Irresponsible, Unprincipled Rich.-The Aims of the Pro- |