igious leaders of his day?

III. _The Historic Reformation of Religion_

1. In studying history, what sins or failures of the Church have impressed
you most?

2. What did the Protestant Reformation contribute to make religion
efficient?

3. Has the Church been a rival or a feeder of the Kingdom of God?

4. Give historical examples of the failure of religion to meet the changed
requirements of a new epoch.

5. What contributions has the Church made to social progress?

IV. _Religion Today_

1. What have Christian missions done to change the social conditions in
non-Christian countries?

2. How do you rate the social service value of a first-class minister in a
community? On what does his value depend?

3. Of what social value to a community is a costly and beautiful church
building?

4. What investment in capital and annual expenditure does the maintenance
of the churches in your community entail? Does the social return to the
community justify the investment?

5. Are the issues which divided the Protestant denominations in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries still vital enough to justify the
continuance of the divisions? Summarize the evils of the divisions and
their counter-balancing good.

6. Is the ordinary criticism of the churches fair? Are ministers overpaid
or underpaid? Do the churches graft? How do the churches compare in social
efficiency with other similar social institutions?

V. _For Special Discussion_

1. Why did the reformation of the Church historically precede the reform
of politics and industry?

2. Do the unsolved social problems of Christian nations prove the social
inefficiency of religion? Could religion alone change the maladjustment of
society?

3. Why has religion been more effective in the field of private life than
of public life?

4. If you had full control of the churches in a given country or village
community, on what aims would you concentrate their forces?

PART IV. CONQUEST BY CONFLICT

Chapter X. The Conflict With Evil

_The Kingdom of God Will Have to Fight for Its Advance_

The great objective is the Kingdom of God. In realizing the Reign of God
on earth three recalcitrant forces have to be brought into obedience to
God's law: the desire for power, the love of property, and unsocial
religion. We have studied Christ's thought concerning these in the
foregoing chapters. The advance of the Kingdom of God is not simply a
process of socia