Walter Rauschenbusch, 1861-1918, has been called the Father of the Social Gospel. He developed his unique approach to interpreting the Bible because of an eleven-year pastorate in a very depressed area of New York City called, “Hell’s Kitchen”, where alcoholism, drug addiction, crime and prostitution prevailed. Pastor Rauschenbusch found himself having to reread and reinterpret the Bible in view of the destitution and hopelessness he encountered in his parish. His words and sermons have taken on new meaning as the gap between the wealthy and those who are poor continue to widen dramatically.

“If anyone holds that religion is essentially ritual and sacramental; or that it is purely personal; or that God is on the side of the rich; or that social interest is likely to lead preachers astray; he must prove his case with his eye on the Hebrew prophets, and the burden of proof is with him.”

Walter Rauschenbusch