In His Steps (part 1)

In His Steps by Charles Sheldon is a classic of Christian fiction. It is also one of the top-selling Christian books of all time. We've been running through the history of Christian fundamentalism this season. It's worth noting that fundamentalism was a reaction to liberal theology, especially modernism. Another form of liberal theology was the "Social Gospel". It was a movement led by people like Walter Rauschenbusch that emphasized the socially conscious aspects of Christianity, while simultaneously downplaying evangelism.

Christian fundamentalists did not like the Social Gospel. For one thing, it had a positive view of human progress. It said that the world could get better and better and then Jesus would return. Christian fundamentalists generally think that world history trends downward.

I'm presenting this original audio recording for many reasons. I think this book offers a great window into the era in which it was created (the late 1800s). It also represents the Social Gospel and a slice of the Holiness movement quite well. Finally, I think we need to hear this story in our modern context. Modern Christian churches are divided. What would happen if we dared to ask "What Would Jesus Do?"

Things to track as you listen:

• The role of women in this society
• Wealthy attitudes toward the poor
• The genesis of financial woes in this book is sometimes economic crisis (the late 1800s was full of panics and recessions) and sometimes sin based
• The Holiness movement and those who object to it
• Is this book evangelistic? If so, how is the gospel presented? If not, what does this book leave out?
• The overall positive view of human progress
• Social movements like the pure foods movement, temperance, suffrage, anti-gambling

In His Steps resides in the public domain, but this recording is copyrighted in 2022 by Truce Media LLC.

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