Men and Things

by Henry A. Atkinson

When Nineteen Men Last Went to Church. During the last year I took occasion to ask different men that I met at various times what they thought of the church. I have the record of the conversation of nineteen men on this subject. Not one of these men had been to church with any degree of regularity during the past five years; three of them had attended the Billy Sunday meetings in the various cities. They went to see the evangelist, however, just as they would visit Barnum & Bailey’s circus, and they professed to having come away from the meetings in the same frame of mind as if they had been attending such an entertainment. Five of the men were Jews, nine were Roman Catholics, and five were Protestants. They gave various reasons for not going to church, but all agreed on three things: they had no especial criticism or complaint to make regarding the church; it was easier to stay at home on Sundays than it was to go to church; the church had very little to do with the things that they were interested in. One of the men said, “The minister stands in a pulpit over my head and talks down to me about things that I am not interested in.” They also agreed that they could see no special reason why they should be influenced or moved to live according to the requirements of the church.

The church has no especial authority and a life of piety did not appeal to these men. My conclusion was that the church had lost its grip upon these men because of the innate selfishness of the individual and the unwillingness on his part to pay the price demanded of a true follower of any religion. These men were living under false impressions as to what the church required and knew nothing of the quality of the church’s message. The fact remained, however, that the church failed to reach them, and if we define religion as the giving of one’s self to the group, these men had no religion, for they were each living their own lives in their own selfish way. Of these nineteen men three were skilled mechanics, five worked in a cottonseed mill, four were traveling salesmen, and the remaining seven were business men. This would seem to prove that the church has failed to reach other groups in the community as well as the groups of laboring men.

The Church and the Age. The new social order must be based upon righteousness, and the church must furnish the power that will carry forth the plans of reconstruction to ultimate victory. It must supply the regenerating social influences for our generation in order to live up to its privilege and fulfil its function in the world. It is the will rather than the intellect of men that is primarily influenced by religion. The doctrine of the church attracts only a few people; speculation on theological questions, and arguments regarding life and its problems are futile in the face of the bitter experiences that lead the majority of the working people to view life from the standpoint of the pessimist. What men want to know about the church is, does it make people better neighbors? Is there more kindness in the community because of the church? These are the things that are of paramount importance. A boy passed by three churches on his way to attend a certain Sunday-school. A neighbor said to him, “Why do you go so far? why don’t you come to my Sunday-school?” “I do not care how far it is,” he replied; “they like me down at the other church.” This is the secret of the success of much that is being done to-day by different churches.

A prominent pastor desiring to discover how his preaching would affect different classes of people had a friend invite some persons from different parts of the city; and then after the service these people were invited to meet with others in one of the classrooms to discuss the sermon. It was almost impossible to draw any expressions of opinion from them as to the value of the service, but they agreed that they did not feel at home in the church. Yet none of these visitors could tell what he meant by “feeling at home.” The fact is, however, more people go to church to-day because of the friendships that they find within the institution than because of their desire for religious instruction. A large proportion of the people who are outside of the church are outside because to them the institution seems cold, narrow, and unattractive, and fits the description given by Robert Louis Stevenson of many churches that he had known, “A fire at which no man ever warms his hands.”

A Ministry to All. The Morgan Memorial Church of Boston touches a wide community and is carrying on a very extensive work. It has enlarged its plant from time to time until it occupies almost a solid block. There has recently been erected a new building to be operated in connection with this institution known as the Church of all Nations. Here is the gathering place of the multitude from every land who now live in the south end of Boston. In addition to the regular religious services there is a rescue mission for the “down and outs,” and dormitories for men and women where clean beds can be secured at a reasonable price. There are workshops, employment bureaus, a restaurant, a reading-room and, in fact, under one roof this church houses a community of interests, economic, industrial, social, educational, and religious. On the front of the building there is a lighted cross, and to all of the south end of Boston this cross means hope.

Story of Twenty-five Years. The church has not accomplished all that might have been accomplished, but when we study the history of the last twenty-five years and take stock of the results that have been achieved, we find that there are countless things that indicate a real life interest, and a purpose toward achievement in the church.

Twenty-five years ago the Student Volunteer Movement for Foreign Missions was just beginning, and a Social Service Commission for the churches would have been considered as something having no part in the churches’ work. In fact, at that time the men who were the prophets of the new social order were looked upon as dangerous leaders. There were only a few books that dealt with the social aspects of the teachings of Jesus, and these were theological and theoretical rather than practical. At that time institutional churches were novelties, and the efforts that were being directed toward the solution of the social questions by the church were very often efforts in the wrong direction. The institutional church was not a complete success because it attempted to do for people instead of inspiring people to do for themselves. The institutional church and the modern socialized church have the same relationship to each other as the old alms-giving societies have to the modern charitable organizations. Legislation in the interests of women and children was considered totally out of the realm of Christian interests. “The church was put in the world to save souls and not to dabble in politics,” was a favorite definition of the church’s sphere. There was little church unity or coordination of effort. The churches were more busy fighting each other than they were fighting the common foes of the community. There were only one or two professors in our theological seminaries who were teaching sociology, and of one of these men an eminent authority in the church of that time said: “He ruined a lot of good ministers and made a lot of poor socialists by turning the attention of the young men who came under his teaching to merely humanitarian interests.” The church leaders knew nothing about the labor movement; in fact, at that time, the modern labor movement as represented in the American Federation of Labor was just beginning to gain strength. The church made no special efforts to interpret the spirit of Christ in terms of international relationship.

The Present Situation. Now, when we compare the present situation with these facts, there is every reason to be encouraged. Never in the history of the world was there a time when organized religion was more efficient. When was there ever such interest in religious education? so much cooperative effort among Protestant bodies? such an eagerness to discuss ways in which men of widely different views may work together? The money given for missions and social reconstruction reaches proportions that were never dreamed of before. Jesus Christ is recognized to-day as the friend of all men and his salvation is recognized as applying to social, industrial, and educational relationships as well as to individual needs. He is the Savior of the individual and also the Savior of the world in which the individual lives. It is true that the individual cannot enter the kingdom of God unless he is born again, but it is equally true that the whole social fabric must be recast and social relationships regenerated, else the kingdom of God cannot come in this world.

Nearly all the parables of Jesus have to do with the idea of mutual helpfulness. The parable of the Good. Samaritan will always stand first as the exemplification of the life that bears another’s burdens. The teachings of Jesus sums itself up in supreme love for God and for one’s fellow man. At the marriage feast the multitude were invited and they came from the highways and the hedges. According to Jesus’ teachings all material possessions are to be counted as nothing when compared to the use and helpfulness of these possessions. His bitter denunciation and burning wrath were turned against the hypocrites who made long prayers, took the widow’s mite, paid their church dues, forgot mercy, and used harsh measures against the defenseless. In every instance where Jesus referred to future punishment, it was to be visited upon the individual because he failed to live according to the law of love and was making burdens harder to be borne rather than helping men to bear them. His law was the law of cooperation.

The early church began among the very poor; and all through the Apostolic Age the slave and the owner, the poor man and the rich man, met on the plane of equality. There was only one interest for all and that was the life of the Master. It is said that Napoleon and several of his aides were one day walking along the country road. They met a peasant carrying a load of fagots who did not get out of the path as quickly as one of the emperor’s companions thought he should, so stepping up to the rustic he took him by the shoulders and started to push him out of the way. “Stop,” said Napoleon, motioning to his companions to step out of the road while he did the same. “Messieurs, let us respect the burden, even if you do not respect the man.” In the community there are a multitude of burden bearers. The church must be filled with the desire to do what it can to improve the conditions in the community life, and to add to the good of all the people, so that the community relationships will no longer be regarded as matters of indifference to be taken up or laid aside without faithfulness to the gospel. The success of the church must be measured in terms of the community life.