Moral idealists are incapable of recognizing that fact. The church would do more for the cause of reconciliation if, instead of producing moral idealists who think that they can establish justice, it would create religious and Christian realists who know that justice will require that some men shall contend against them (p.39). If the Christian church is not to be “blown up” by the political conflicts that threaten the Western world, it will have to add religious depth to its moral idealism. Pure morality divides people and does not untie them. Moral idealism can live with other people only if their ideals are identical with their own …show more content…
The passionate interest of many in the beliefs which have been the food of their spiritual life for years creates a social resistance to change in religious thought. The Methodist Church has charged its Articles of Religion not to revoke, alter change or establish any new standards or rules of doctrine contrary to our present existing standards of doctrine (p.10). Rauschenbusch draws a similarity to Niebuhr’s idea of selfishness in the church. He states, theoretically the Church is the great organization of unselfish service. Actually the Church has always been profoundly concerned for its own power and authority. But its authority rests in large part on the stability of its