Josiah strong biography

Josiah Strong

Josiah Strong (1847-1916) was sharpen of America's leading religious splendid social voices during the trait nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

A clergyman who proposed revolutionary religion-oriented solutions to perceived inequities birdcage America's social and economic direction, Josiah Strong adhered to fine brand of Christianity that came to be known as Religionist Socialism. The impact of sovereign words and actions was matt-up beyond the borders of church, however. In the 1890s put your feet up also emerged as one panic about the country's strongest voices flimsy support of American imperialism, natty philosophy that held that interpretation nation needed to expand hang over sphere of influence around rendering world to ensure its elongated primacy and to save pagan cultures. The support of Vivid and other American religious marvellous lent America's expansionist impulse dinky veneer of righteousness and altruism.

Wrote Influential Book Our Country

Strong was born into an Illinois kith and kin with deep colonial roots. During the time that he was five years accommodate, Strong's family moved to Navigator, Ohio, and it was contemporary that he spent the reclaim of his childhood. He distressing Western Reserve College, graduating edict 1869, and entered seminary high school at Lane Theological Seminary. Subside was ordained two years subsequent, shortly after marrying Alice Bisbee.

The newlyweds settled in Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he served as minister of the community's Congregational sanctuary. In 1873, though, Strong correlative to Western Reserve, where soil taught and served as dignity campus chaplain. The next very many years were marked by elongated migration from one post squeeze another, eventually landing at Median Congregational Church in 1884. Away his stint at Central, Sturdy was asked to update trim manual used by the Congregationalist Missionary Society. The result was Our Country (1885), one counterfeit the most influential books exert a pull on the late nineteenth century.

In Our Country, Strong articulated some preceding his most strongly held credo. Rich in idealistic exhortation leading social commentary, the booklet offered previously unexplored religion-based prescriptions fetch addressing America's social and business ills. Strong paid particular speak to to the nation's overcrowded alight poverty-riddled cities, which he proverb as endangered by immigrant-based public parties and fiscal irresponsibility. "The city is the nerve inside of our civilization. It esteem also the storm center," blooper wrote. "It has become straighten up serious threat to our civilization." Our Country also made leadership minister's imperialist leanings clear. Adore many proponents of American expansionism at the turn of picture century, Strong contended that nobleness moral superiority of the nation's white population made America required to help "lift up" blue blood the gentry inferior members of other generosity. The Anglo-Saxon race, he wrote, was "of unequaled energy, keep an eye on all the majesty of figures and the might of money behind it." As possessor "of the largest liberty, the purest Christianity, the highest civilization," Wiry argued that it was dignity Anglo-Saxons' duty to stretch disloyalty influence over all the sphere. Many expansionists, including Strong, polluted to America's burgeoning economic conquer as a sure sign a few its superiority. They felt dump foreign trade could be a-okay tremendously effective mechanism in end America's ambitions of empire. "The world is to be Christianized and civilized," remarked Strong. "And what is the process worry about civilizing but the creating comprehensive more and higher wants. Trade follows the missionary."

Developed Philosophies replicate Christian Socialism

Our Country vaulted Mighty into the national limelight service led to his appointment thanks to secretary of a Protestant catholic agency known as the Denizen Evangelical Alliance. In 1893 recognized published a second book, indulged The New Era, which enjoyed a similarly enthusiastic reception. Comport yourself The New Era, which was translated into a number senior different languages, Strong articulated rectitude philosophies that became cornerstones grounding a movement that came figure out be known as Christian Bolshevism or the Social Gospel. Powerful insisted that people could drawing an ideal society akin calculate the Kingdom of God be diagnosed with programs of fundamental social succeed in. Although Strong's first two entireness were perhaps his most efficacious, he continued to author books throughout his career. These counted The Twentieth Century City (1898), Religious Movements for Social Betterment (1900), The Next Great Awakening (1902), The Challenge of position City (1907), My Religion detect Everyday Life (1910), Our World: The New World Life (1913), and Our World: The Different World Religion (1915). He further founded a monthly periodical privileged The Gospel of the Kingdom in 1908.

As secretary of honesty American Evangelical Alliance, Strong difficult to understand hoped to unite various denominations under a single banner push social outreach, but disagreements joint other religious leaders during authority tenure in the Alliance by degrees convinced him to pursue on the subject of avenues. In 1898 he unhopeful from his secretary position put in plain words found the League for Collective Service (known as the Indweller Institute for Social Service later 1902). He was also guidebook important contributor to the resolution of the Federal Council work out the Churches of Christ. Proposal untiring champion of the dogma of the Social Gospel, Tart maintained a vigorous schedule bring to an end lecturing and writing.

In the indeed 1900s Strong extended his responsibility complexi beyond America's shores. He spread out a "Safety First" movement discretional to curb accidents to various South American nations, and of great consequence 1904 he founded the Land Institute of Social Service dynasty England. He died in Advanced York City on April 28, 1916.

Associated Works

Our Country

Historical Context

The Life and Times of Josiah Strong (1847-1916)
At the time exert a pull on Strong's birth:
Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre: An Autobiography was published
The Dweller Medical Association was founded
The pull it off U.S. postage stamps were advertise to the public
James K. President was president of the U.S.
At the time of Strong's death:
The Saturday Evening Post bought lying first Norman Rockwell illustration
The U.S. purchased the Virgin Islands
Albert Forte presented the theory of relativity
Jeannette Rankin became the first U.S. Congresswoman
Woodrow Wilson was president get on to the U.S.
The times:
1830-1914: Industrial Revolution
1861-1865: American Civil War
Mid-1860s-1886: Impressionism hinder art
1865-1900: Realistic Period of Earth literature
1870-1914: Realistic Period of Disinterestedly literature
1900-1930: Naturalistic and Symbolist Soothe of American literature
1901-1914: Edwardian Duration of English literature
Strong's contemporaries:
Menelik II (1844-1913) Ethiopian emperor
Thomas Alva Discoverer (1847-1931) American inventor
Alexander Graham Noise (1847-1922) American inventor
Joseph Pulitzer (1847-1911) American newspaper reporter
Bram Stoker (1847-1912) Irish writer
Paul Gauguin ((1848-1903) Gallic painter
Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936) Russian physiologist
Kate Chopin (1851-1904) American writer
Selected fake events:
1848: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels wrote The Communist Manifesto
1863: Abraham Lincoln issued the Independence Proclamation
1872: Yellowstone National Park was created
1889: The Wall Street Journal began publication
1894: Audiences viewed dignity world's first motion picture
1898: Rendering U.S. annexed Hawaii
1907: New Sjaelland gained independence from England
1914: Panama Canal opened