CHAPTER XXXVII THE SOCIAL TEACHINGS OF JESUS AND THE PROPHETS IN THE MODERN WORLD § 1. THE INADEQUACY OF LITERALISM IF the social teachings of the prophets and of Jesus are to be regarded as definite directions which are to be obeyed in modern society, we are impressed at once by the large number of important subjects with which they do not deal. If a list of one hundred of the most vitally important problems of to-day were to be carefully made, it is doubtful whether any definite statements susceptible of literal application could be found in the entire Bible upon more than half a dozen of those problems. It is not by any means certain that a positive regulation could be found that would fully apply to a single one. These are some of our most pressing questions: The rate of wages, the minimum wage, hours of labor, conditions of labor, the employment of women and children, the right of free contract, trades unionism, collective bargaining, the open or closed shop, the boycott, the strike, the lockout, profit-sharing, pensions, prison labor, immigration, direct and indirect taxation, tenure and taxation of land, the rights of inheritance, all the problems connected with the various theories of Socialism. Then there are woman suffrage and the entire question of feminism. There is the whole range of political questions even so fundamental as to what constitutes the best form of government, whether cities should be ruled by many elected officials or by commissions. There are the more definitely ethical questions of inter national character, involving peace and war, arbitration, the government of inferior peoples. Jesus and the prophets had absolutely nothing to say on any of these matters. When we turn to problems more definitely religious the inadequacy of literalism equally appears. Should religion be taught in the public schools? If so, what religion should be taught? What methods should be employed? Should it be intrusted to the regular teachers, to the minister of the church, or to specially appointed teachers? How should Sunday be observed? Should the best ideals of the Hebrew sabbath be transferred to it? If so, what are the limits of proper activity on this day? Should people ride to church in public vehicles? Should the church have baseball games on Sunday afternoon? No literal directions on these problems are to be found in the prophets or the Gospels? The expansion of the church in the last century has produced a maze of difficult problems of ecclesiastical and missionary policy. Should many denominations establish churches in a new frontier town? If a denomination regards itself as specifically commissioned to present important truth, is it justified in refraining from pressing forward, no matter what other churches may be already ministering to the people? How far may pagan customs be tolerated by Christianity-for example, if a husband of several wives become a Christian, shall he be obliged to put away all but one of them? Shall native churches formed among people of low intelligence be allowed self-government or shall they be kept under the superintendence of missionaries? Shall the church accept money from governments for the support of its religious education? This large number of problems has been cited-and the list could have been greatly extended-in order to indicate the meagerness of the social teachings of Jesus and the prophets if they are to be regarded as definitive prescriptions calling simply for obedience. No wonder that many persons have turned away from these teachings in disap pointment, finding in them so little that seemed to be of help in the pressing and difficult questions of modern life. But not only is literalism inadequate, it is also misleading. There are, to be sure, certain teachings of the prophets and of Jesus which could be transferred bodily to modern conditions, but lifted out of their original social situations they become strangely unfitted to our life. Men have made sad errors in this process. The glorious promise of divine illumination in time of need has led to contempt for what was regarded as the pride of human learning; schools have therefore been abolished. The manifest fact that the state is not organized in strict accordance with the teachings of Jesus has led men to conclude that any participation in the duties of citizenship would involve disloyalty; they have therefore withdrawn from all political interest and effort. The biblical teachings have been employed to justify human slavery, and the manufacture, use, and sale of wines; and they are undoubtedly susceptible of such literal interpretation. Men have defended religious persecution from an urgent word of Jesus (Luke 14. 23). They have refused a woman divorce from a brutal husband, in obedience to what they supposed was his command. Churches have regarded themselves as derived from Christ and have excommunicated all others. The words and example of Jesus have been supposed to dignify mendicancy and to permit pauperism. No wonder that flippant men have said that anything could be proved from the Bible, and that earnest men have sometimes turned sadly away, convinced that the old meager Hebrew life had little to contribute to the great needs of to-day. The words and deeds of Jesus and of the prophets give us very little to obey. But is obedience the prime need of a free spirit? They give us little to copy in slavish imitation. But is the mechanical reproduction of the acts of another the best means for the development of vigorous personality? We are not in need of directions but of inspiration. If we |