n political power and have been
able to use it somewhat for their economic betterment. They share much
more fully in education than formerly. Before the outbreak of the Great
War it seemed safe to anticipate that the working people would secure an
increasing share of the social wealth, the security, the opportunities for
health, for artistic enjoyment, and of all that makes life worth living.
Today the future is heavily clouded and uncertain; but our faith still
holds that even the great disaster will help ultimately to weaken the
despotic and exploiting forces, and make the condition of the common
people more than ever the chief concern of science and statesmanship.

Jesus was on the side of the common people long before democracy was on
the ascendant. He loved them, felt their worth, trusted their latent
capacities, and promised them the Kingdom of God. The religion he founded,
even when impure and under the control of the upper classes, has been the
historical basis for the aspirations of the common people and has readily
united with democratic movements. His personality and spirit has remained
an impelling and directing force in the minds of many individuals who have
"gone to the people" because they know Jesus is with them. In fact we can
look for more direct social effectiveness of Jesus in the future, because
the new historical interpretation of the Bible helps us to see him more
plainly amid the social life of his own people.

V

So we must add a third social principle to the first two. The first was
that life and personality are sacred; the second that men belong together;
the third is that the strong must stand with the weak and defend their
cause. In his description of the Messianic Judgment, Jesus proposed to
recognize as his followers only those who had responded to the call of
human need and solidarity. He created the apostleship and therewith the
germ of the Church in order to serve the people whose needs he saw and
felt.

How does this concern college men and women? By our opportunities and
equipment we rank with the strong. Disciplined intellect is armor and
sword. Many of us have inherited social standing and some wealth; it may
not be much, but it raises us above the terrible push of immediate need.
What relation do we propose to have with the great mass of men and women
who were born without the chances which have fallen to us without
exertion? Do we propose to serve them or to ride on them? W