CHRISTIAN SOCIOLOGY. BY J. H. W. STUCKENBERG, D.D., PROFESSOR IN THE THEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT OF WITTENBERG COllege. LONDON: R. D. DICKINSON, FARRINGDON STREET. 1881. 141.j 512. PREFACE. No attempt is here made to treat the subject of Christian Sociology exhaustively. It is rather the Author's aim to present it clearly, to urge its claims to careful study, to show its practical bearings, and to call on Christian scholars to aid in its further development. The field of thought here entered is rich but unexplored; and, perhaps, little more can now be done than to call attention to the wealth which the Christian thinker may appropriate. Instead of claiming to have perfected the system, the author rather regards the treatment as tentative, and is satisfied with the modest claim of giving elements, hints, principles, outlines, suggestive thoughts, and guide-boards for future explorers. Whoever comprehends this subject will appreciate its freshness, and will realize that there is in it a creative energy calculated to inspire the mind with new thought and the heart with new emotions. But he will also appreciate the difficulty in the treatment, since in the definition and arrangement no help can be gained from other books. The writer on Christian Sociology is a pioneer who finds no preparation for his work, but his mission is to prepare the way for others. But while the newness of the subject invests it with difficulty, it, at the same time, is a strong attraction to thoughtful, inquiring, original minds This volume is not intended for those who are willing to walk only on beaten tracks; nor will it likely attract those who can use the materials of thought only after they have been fully developed and shaped by thinkers. But those who seek and ask and knock, who can venture into fields, green and flowery but untrodden, and who, as true artists, can form into symmetry and beauty fresh materials of thought, will find this subject (in whatever light they may regard the author's treatment of it) attractive, stimulating, and inspiring. To such it is commended for study, for deeper, broader, and more systematic development, and for practical application in daily life. |