%PDF-1.7 1 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Outlines 2 0 R /Pages 3 0 R >> endobj 2 0 obj << /Type /Outlines /Count 0 >> endobj 3 0 obj << /Type /Pages /Kids [6 0 R 19 0 R ] /Count 2 /Resources << /ProcSet 4 0 R /Font << /F1 8 0 R /F2 9 0 R /F3 10 0 R /F4 11 0 R /F5 12 0 R /F6 14 0 R >> /XObject << /I1 15 0 R /I2 16 0 R /I3 23 0 R /I4 24 0 R >> /ExtGState << /GS1 17 0 R /GS2 18 0 R /GS3 21 0 R /GS4 22 0 R >> >> /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] >> endobj 4 0 obj [/PDF /Text /ImageC ] endobj 5 0 obj << /Producer (dompdf 1.0.2 + CPDF) /CreationDate (D:20250205124956+00'00') /ModDate (D:20250205124956+00'00') >> endobj 6 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 7 0 R >> endobj 7 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 2385 >> stream xX˒۸+Sf!RwLIո;EDB"$!dg.ws.HI :"ݲ}s08if)b|Eݿ^PbzŃ.h荶{wz8RЈ\K47\1Na R qF0cmGzvtYvd S1pNklby.g]9W ` (Pi7I;#J_u scc1UhY K\ Gri[2u X)ݝ9j;293OZpXKaZs}ȠG$*$APPNvV`᙭.{˥tm T+= V1P sGO엝:S 3դ }}߼s܍^ޒ h3.Cs G1+_`m>b1>[):li@8R<K$'J7`,cN0OQ+~?2%&릒|0P#22P'Cfy򛈫t{ȱo,<^5O2ۄ)| ]|{Rw4Q<;уdz~ =lE%yCyr ў-pW~^#0׾`yA|+[{B•bm[٦y!ۈZZ'pRך~NE'C:pQo6>C Jq]4? T5&+B2EyCg\[eWt.H)' AҶ4ab#mvӛ2e()x7tUGݿyHhg5+f7|c^i$% endstream endobj 8 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F1 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 9 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F2 /BaseFont /Helvetica /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 10 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F3 /BaseFont /Times-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 11 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F4 /BaseFont /Helvetica-Bold /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 12 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F5 /BaseFont /Times-Italic /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 13 0 obj [6 0 R /Fit] endobj 14 0 obj << /Type /Font /Subtype /Type1 /Name /F6 /BaseFont /Times-Roman /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding >> endobj 15 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj 17 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 0.3 >> endobj 18 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 0.3 >> endobj 19 0 obj << /Type /Page /MediaBox [0.000 0.000 612.000 792.000] /Parent 3 0 R /Contents 20 0 R >> endobj 20 0 obj << /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 1531 >> stream xW˒6WѮZs )ɷ;*|sHHh|FֵߛRiڕ(>^M4ru9m=K>NdBn{U G:Tк.!˲(cLտb {IjiQմ̬?!$~kX? roliQS/sH53kJROtZ8+\z'}Ԛ j[Ųdu֝H^0FsĻ^X]'"VQS{/A>hX;4 .-oCœ:(^q)# # @(gXM33 !rRx\HF(͡WPV9%o q~wB:EfT55Ci&ŎM*ӪjY1v$F ^[:bjXZeKSl5*H $ݚM ,{[`1vNFKmsǤ:&܏(N衕4W  ̃t!}j%pj=0Ǵ`Lk@~0oVQN#<Ҁ-W%.V > ; {. kUCFHYIv=#ᇶG\r⍀# k/\΁=(U1U9?5XHN ȊaQuɄRLcu^e}Qc'ܵBZ4d"cIƞOY{4lYt 9bk(Ly4.{P;n893%Kq/Dgg ? i~k; :F${qia6/eăS΀ *E8ύ0H͆o@(03NP"jv<M>~SU#غ'e1nfgPˮV8 endstream endobj 21 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /CA 1 >> endobj 22 0 obj << /Type /ExtGState /BM /Normal /ca 1 >> endobj 23 0 obj << /Type /XObject /Subtype /Image /Width 550 /Height 140 /Filter /FlateDecode /DecodeParms << /Predictor 15 /Colors 1 /Columns 550 /BitsPerComponent 8>> /ColorSpace /DeviceGray /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 5329>> stream xqDǯ뺒$ILfff&I335Lf2\3I2L&_3$3I$d+$\W=9y9lLss99P`0 `0 `0 `0 !U_:~u = F~sZŻدns⃪Qg¢G(F[-s͓^ DZ>d>3Dr#\OΉ, ZFwjux<;4Ƀxز#_v?nO<|{7c(b{Oū}w[N e~Hs䎷wwOn<1B.k+%U=eԘ -mCj)t:}c'ϓ*n"-ovkZ?R"V%wʶ7s]eX&eǕq` 1-2e JYHCFOUam 7:(Ԙt_@ހN t{B~ :V@}o#7!z^&zFL:ʤn X<- %"bNWqF c` M'4?cH-V`ǵAF>=#Ěm75dB I&7E5<>-͏їFǿl3M6x]Y&)2 FoΌ N.<t i4wL\^=_|Fo؏IȄ ik$ɄL?{?|tmCޮ=~T&iTevϷ'奔s?EꋄLPY͹箵?@L:Aˤ3y_:9AtA*0qVe- e6g)%a}.qKcI V/xʤzM|\ HSql0;*%+Mذ-闛obebu2iU&lLbtIcxb5^B#8 ޮaʻ _ w>j+L:$"&O;bZ K1 jmU玫ݢ=S/J<WO2'_yUPvp=`"aL5 Nl7"rlQT޼==-I[Se* F'(\`󴯉'{:נnVZ TG6*r$Tyx^LJū.C<3` %ANrxUo"˄ 0&$tO F&bIcW3GG͈ y!{m,LkCI d,(2"@ dR%F1thUL8Rݒ^+v9^?sʯYעDl~Qd" N2sc|ov}=F,3K#vxIvG^,[OM&wI[#,Jޙ\ض;L^fv[LbyYvM#/EI#/Zס$(ڼ ," &LK/IF i-Zx彰픢]MKeR n(PhV'LҸ\f$w/ e]"mɷWO߻˱ KerSPe (ӼGMȈ}X?ʍto7ZKl+81_Y&ǡd uʤ1Vw!sQ"/$zNkw(t)2BWQW"˄OXLp:e‡# וzn2F}qlc5ؾ:WH xLz LP:d# Q>(MRېd2Qt$o~R$YR5,-nޜLr_βehd" 2k1lvO X= eC p+[R=jU!֖}_DޟY2 (*wkZQ>Fl̲soR#^u3hhyTԲt.LtD8sk4z4Rbl@zp4hy0Tn\=.fnő Y/:TC9<@fSI$:QR/bq7DfR/ֻn)Vqd"䳽˄GL;ϝRG顼n&%Sv eFv,L"t}I&N> D73]$e)( ;]XhL`kSzJlcC$<)깍h}dr,1ܝRM뭍eMa $?e3f8΍҈&P(x+JU5{I 3 M- ;7|#G9 !\œ&=xp2,L{-`?OW":4uܚEadv ~9q.VdV%UT@73$@W¯B!ݒaVLH:!opr;gAɀiήpfߙR E/IDO*Luf0}{7mfyDxT.g)w5RvHx#Z]&M$ gZUTt+lZqZ_;a&JaG,-JLJDFIcV|:I3nB&;N0Lna=Y_Gl,p5,,kc EKgd;2vt7selT9˸sX޲.6r<1!| L0lTMS1?Xsf cq )KSgBB&׭x. v c@^Yk΀v],E[ɾ QhYyXXC2)g/J@su1ScL, ?C[{V2i͛!סӠ&> 6lu>4Ƕʤ|=12鱧l{^:a/Y%~].26G: p^CZ V&Vedҟ?RrX7d#I]ՕuL1 ?_ /12IEh ̴b<ӯ^e _ϝ䰻^]vy> /ColorSpace /DeviceRGB /BitsPerComponent 8 /Length 873>> stream x1j08-K/)],) &gi+:U̲\"9H!@"9H!@"9H!@eY.Z[p_E{QHKV[/`j%ʒcP,SX4W{7urd5ɱPr:-ֆʇX$$zfZpClbw7z{[]qGlwlGlZiM,ߺ7x}w` L9=3zpWL9 j)ۓB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$e]k` B$ DrB$ DrB$ DrB$/؋ endstream endobj xref 0 25 0000000000 65535 f 0000000009 00000 n 0000000074 00000 n 0000000120 00000 n 0000000461 00000 n 0000000498 00000 n 0000000647 00000 n 0000000750 00000 n 0000003208 00000 n 0000003317 00000 n 0000003424 00000 n 0000003533 00000 n 0000003646 00000 n 0000003757 00000 n 0000003786 00000 n 0000003896 00000 n 0000009471 00000 n 0000010602 00000 n 0000010661 00000 n 0000010720 00000 n 0000010825 00000 n 0000012430 00000 n 0000012487 00000 n 0000012544 00000 n 0000018119 00000 n trailer << /Size 25 /Root 1 0 R /Info 5 0 R /ID[<0266ac4b10afceb022bc35a7b7c9df0c><0266ac4b10afceb022bc35a7b7c9df0c>] >> startxref 19250 %%EOF Social Gospel | Caring Magazine

Vol. #28

Grace Uncovered

Read Issue

Latest Impact StoriesView All

Popular Topics

PopularView All

Social Gospel

March 6, 2001
4 minute read
Total
0
Shares
0
0
0
Listen to this article

In recent years, the term social gospel was more likely to be found in economic journals arguing an anti-capitalist, socialist or even a communist orientation. These writers, motivated by theological conviction, expressed a belief that the church had definite roles in advancing political or even military challenges to any autocratic governmental structure that denied its constituents basic God-given freedoms in order to accumulate personal power and individual wealth for the few.

boothSuch is not the social Gospel of The Salvation Army. It chooses a different remedy for the ills of humankind. It communicates the message of Christ with more than words. Its guiding principles are not found in economic theory. They reside, instead, in the word of God. While strong historical precedents indicate an Army unafraid to challenge a government’s abuse of power through political action and civil disobedience, the true power sought is “strength to ever do the right — grace to conquer in the fight — power to walk the world in white.” This Army has always sought to improve the worst features of the existing order rather than change it. The Army’s founder, William Booth said: “Capital is not an evil in itself, it is good.”

Instead of seeking a political or military remedy to social ills, it seeks to model the love of Christ in caring for the poor, the weak, the destitute. No matter how extensive the program, the focus is on one life at a time. It advances a confident belief that the individual, once restored to social and physical health, when confronted with a clear choice will more likely choose to emulate Christ. Moreover, Booth used this means to turn the redeemed into an army of soldiers waging war against social and spiritual ills. It is an economic determinism more spiritual than Marxist.

Roy Hattersley, in his book Blood and Fire, quotes Booth’s biographer, W. T. Stead with comments Booth made on Socialism. While describing Socialism as “unnatural, extinguishing all freedom of action–making man a slave to the majority of the community”, Booth saw himself as a “Salvation Socialist”–differing from a Fabian Socialist who sought to spread the socialist doctrine gradually. Booth described himself as tunneling at one side of the mountain, while the government works at the other side. (p.355)

In Diane Winston’s remarkable, recent book, Red-Hot and Righteous–the Urban Religion of The Salvation Army, she describes the Army of the early twentieth century with these words: “Salvationists offered a religious vision rooted in a vernacular faith and expressed in the coalescence of the Army’s Holiness theology and the culture’s regnant consumerist ideology. Salvationist doctrine instructed followers in an activist religion expressed in every day life, positing a second baptism which empowered believers to serve God by saving souls and redeeming a fallen world. Redeeming the world, according to the Army’s founder, William Booth, meant facing its challenges (poverty, unemployment, alcoholism, and prostitution) and turning its secular idioms (advertisements, music, and theater) into spiritual texts.” (p.8)

In examining Booth’s grand Utopian scheme for social and spiritual regeneration of the masses, Hattersley states: “True to William Booth’s character–and the practical Christianity which was the hallmark of the Salvation Army–In Darkest England and the Way Out devoted 76 pages to analyzing the nation’s slide into modern barbarism and 200 to prescribing a cure for the moral and social degeneration.” (p. 365)

In the book, Booth outlined a series of “essentials for success.” The first requirement was “to change the man when it is his character and conduct which constitute the reasons for his failure in the battle of life.” The second was a “change (in) circumstances of the individual when they are the cause of the critical condition and beyond his control.”

His “scheme” was definitely ambitious. He proposed a solution with three interlocking elements which Hattersley concludes were to perform different but related tasks. The first, “The City Colonies were moral and social casualty clearing stations–harbors of refuge to provide basic necessities and temporary employment. The Farm colonies were in part transit camps which prepared their more adventurous inhabitants for life in an Overseas Colony.” (p.366)

The plan’s greatest contribution was its focus on the problem not in the design of its solution. Only aspects of the City Colony are evident in Army social service programs today.

Perhaps the most supported and respected charity in America today, the general public seems to express annually its confidence that the Army will help those in need without discrimination of any kind. The Army’s donors are not asked to subscribe to its doctrines. Its universal appeal stimulates giving for varied reasons–some to help the poor, some to support Christian practices, some to delegate a caring spirit or celebrate a season. It interacts with the general population with the language of the people. Its pragmatic orientation in helping others allows it to do whatever works. Its tolerance and non-discriminatory policies brings it in non-judgmental contact with diverse faiths and creeds.

–RLD

Download this page as a PDF

You May Also Like