초록 열기/닫기 버튼
Charles M. Sheldon(1865-1946) is the author of a bestselling novel, In His Steps and an influential Christian slogan, "What would Jesus do?" which is the subtitle of the novel. Sheldon’s idea was born with the rise of the social gospel movement at the turn of the twentieth century. Sheldon popularized social gospel visions through his popular novels. His own ecclesiastical focus was also aimed at social services for those in need. However, Sheldon’s social gospel was very moderate and traditional compared to that of other social gospel advocators like W. D. P. Bliss and George Heron. I define Sheldon’s social gospel as "evangelical social Christianity," which was highly influenced by nineteenth century revivalism, and was very similar to the Holiness movement and its related social efforts. For Sheldon, Christian churches should social, and the society should be Christianized. Although the idealism of the social gospel movement was declined with the emergence of Niebhurian realism and Neo-Orthodox theology. Yet, Sheldon himself shows us how his idealism can be faithfully practiced in this real world by his own church ministry. Sheldon strived for "social reform through individual transformation," which is the very message of his version of social gospel.
키워드열기/닫기 버튼
social gospel, Christian socialism, evangelicalism, holiness movement, church
