Progressive Christians Uniting

21st Century Christianity and the NEW Social Crisis0

January 17-20, 2008

In 1908 Social Gospel pioneer Walter Rauschenbusch rocked the nation with a powerful treatise he called “Christianity and the Social Crisis.” The crisis then was  marked by falling wages and worsening conditions for working people, unrestrained greed at the top, child poverty, lack of access to health care, failing schools, and a bellicose U.S. foreign policy.

Serious Christians at the start of the 21st century confront many of these same social conditions-along with heightened concern about sustainability, persistent racism, AIDS, and the resurgent nuclear threat.

Now the great-grandson of Walter Rauschenbusch-Paul Raushenbush, associate dean for religious life at Princeton-has re-issued his ancestor’s original text along with brief new manifestos by such contemporary Christian luminaries as Cornel West, Phyllis Trible, Tony Campolo, Joan Chittister, Stanley Hauerwas, James Forbes, and Jim Wallis.  Renowned philosopher Richard Rorty-another Walter Rauschenbusch descendant–contributes the final essay for the new book.

Rev. Paul Raushenbush speaks out of his own experience and passion for interfaith work, the spirituality of young adults, and popular culture.  How can religious liberals reclaim their heritage of activism and advocacy without being overwhelmed by the consumer culture?  How can young Christians be encouraged to question, and to live out their questions in their faith?  And how can we overcome the misperceptions about the strength and monolothic nature of the religious right?

This January Progressive Christians Uniting presents Paul Raushenbush in a series of Southern California appearances. Admission to these events is FREE, though voluntary contributions will be solicited in some instances. Come join us for meaningful conversation about our 21st Century Crisis, and how Christians must respond.

Thursday, January 17, at 7 p.m.
First Christian Church of Orange
1130 East Walnut Avenue
Orange, CA 92867

Friday, January 18, at 7 p.m.
Redlands United Church of Christ
168 Bellevue Avenue
Redlands, CA 92373

Saturday, January 19, at 1 p.m.
St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church
3646 Coldwater Canyon Avenue, Studio City, CA 91604
Lunch and conversation with clergy and church leaders.  To RSVP for this event, please contact Virginia Classick at

Sunday, January 20, 10:00 a.m.
All Saints Church Pasadena
132 North Euclid Avenue
Pasadena, CA 91101

Posted: Happening in the World

On the Religious Horizon: A Welcome Renewed Focus on Compassion and Justice0

Published in the San Luis Obispo Tribune News, New Year’s Day 2008.

One hundred years ago—in 1908—Baptist minister and Social Gospel pioneer Walter Rauschenbusch rocked the conscience of the nation with a book called Christianity and the Social Crisis. Rauschenbusch was part of a larger movement within the church that took seriously the “thy will be done on earth” part of the Lord’s Prayer. For them being faithful to the gospel meant trying in serious ways to challenge gross economic inequality, abusive working conditions, the exploitation of women and children, and the militarism and imperialism that were then beginning to dominate U.S. relations with the rest of the world.

For the past thirty years or so, most Americans who think about the social voice of Christianity at all have assumed that the voice belongs to leaders from the Religious Right: Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, James Kennedy, James Dobson, Tony Perkins, etc. Now the tide is shifting again, and a new balance is being struck in which the other strand of American Christianity—the one exemplified by Rauschenbusch but also by Martin Luther King, Dorothy Day, and many other justice heroes—is again being heard loud and clear. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted: Director's Cut, Happening in the World