"Christianity is in its nature revolutionary," wrote Walter Rauschenbusch, and his writings speak of society's responsibility to the poor and downtrodden. Rauschenbusch's classic Christianity and the Social Crisis is a mainstay for any Christian seriously interested in social justice. As the disparity between the rich and the poor in America continues to widen in the 21st century, the book's explanation of the radical social message of Jesus is as applicable today as it was when it was first published back in 1907.
Rauschenbusch's great-grandson Paul Raushenbush has brought Christianity and the Social Crisis back into print. In this updated edition, each chapter has added commentary by a well-known contemporary author such as Jim Wallis, Cornel West, or Richard Rorty.
Walter Rauschenbusch (1861-1918) was the primary theologian of the Social Gospel movement whose mission was to meet social needs through the ministrations of the institutional Church. Rauschenbusch gave this special emphasis a theology, legitimizing it in mainstream American Protestantism. Rauschenbusch's work influenced Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, and Desmond Tutu, among others.
Paul Raushenbush graduated from Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He has served at The Riverside Church in New York City and has been involved in ministry to street youth in Seattle and Sao Paulo, Brazil. An ordained American Baptist minister, Pastor Paul is Associate Dean of Religious Life at Princeton University.
"In the early 50's I read Walter Rauschenbusch's Christianity and the Social Crisis, a book which left an indelible imprint on my thinking."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.--Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
