Comment(s) of the Day

Well, color me astonished.  Mega-commenter A Walker shows us all that he’s not just a one-trick (SSM) pony.  He’s not only familiar with Walter Rauschenbush, but he favorably quotes the social gospeler in response to my Rick Warren post of yesterday.  AW also seems to be a preterist:

I’ve read two of Walter Rauschenbusch’s books, and he rightly

recognized that the gospel applies to how we save our society as well
as how we save our souls. (Both are covered in the pages of the bible,
and they are closely linked. And, It’s only Marxism when charity
becomes State-owned and operated—there’s no virtue in helping the
poor with someone else’s confiscated money.)

“We have taken the hopeful position that our entire social order,
with all its terrible immoralities, is neverthess woven through with
Christian elements, which form the basis of its further regeneration.
The same thing is true of our economic order. With all their bitter
cruelty and wrong our factories are the cells out of which a
christianized industry must be evolved. Even now business men are
public servants in embryo. They pride themselves on the community
service they are rendering, and many a one of them would serve
admirably as Bishop of the Church of Holy Industry, if he had half a
chance to put his Christian good will into action.” (From
“Christianizing the Social Order” – Walter Rauschenbusch, p.237 — ,
New York, The Macmillan Company, 1919 )

One of W. Rauschenbusch’s most useful observations has to do with
how Evangelicalism’s perpetual “sky is falling” refrain works against
it’s own mission. He writes:

“The social gospel seeks to develop the vision of the Church toward
the future and co-operate with the will of God which is shaping the
destinies of humanity. It would be aided and reinforced by a modern and
truly Christian conception about the future of mankind. At present no
other theological influence so hampers and obstructs the social gospel
as that of eschatology. All considerations taken from the life of the
twentieth century cry out for something like the social gospel; but the
ideas of the first century contained in eschatology are used to veto
it. Those who have trained their religious thinking on the Hebrew
prophets and the genuine teachings of Jesus are for the social gospel;
those who have trained it on apocalyptic ideas are against it. This is
all the more pathetic because the pre-millennial scheme is really an
outline of the social salvation of the race. Those who hold it exhibit
real interest in social and political events. But, they are best
pleased when they see humanity defeated and collapsing, for then the
salvation is nigh. Active work for the salvation of the social
order…is not only vain but against the will of God. Thus [futurist]
eschatology defeats the Christian imperative of righteousness and
salvation.” (From Theology for the Social Gospel – Walter
Rauschenbusch, p. 210-211,– New York, The Macmillan Company, 1918 )

He’s absolutely correct, and he wrote that in 1918. Could have been written today.

Most evangelicals seem unaware that the primary application of
eschatology pertained to the first century end of the Old Testamental
age. Sites like preteristvision.org and preteristarchive.com do a nice
job of showing how eschatology applied primarily to the apostles’
generation, with a focus on the Roman Imperial Cult and the dissolution
of the Old Covenant world, religion, and state at AD 70. Imminence
pertained to them, not to us. The current age may have hundreds of
thousands of years to go, if not more. That changes the perspective of
what Christians are to be doing somewhat.