New Book by Antonides Studies Impact of Social Gospel in Canada

In Stones For Bread: The Social Gospel and its Contemporary Legacy, Harry Antonides examines the roots of the social gospel movement, traces its development in Canada in thee arly part of this century, and discusses the impact it had—and is still having—on the main-line Canadian churches. Antonides shows that the social gospel was an attempt to apply Christianity to the social problems of the day, but that it in fact emptied the gospel of its basic biblical content and revised the task of the church into a shallow program for social and political reform. The same ideas that inspired the social gospel, argues the author, are behind the involvement of the mainline churches in social and political issues today. And because their emphasis, too, has shifted from the scriptural message of sin and salvation, their pronouncements differ little from those of the political Left. Antonides goes on to present a clear biblical view of the role of the church, and he issues a strong call for genuine Christian social action.

I believe this book may mark the beginning of a sound and effective stage in Canadian political theology. A wide range of Christian people ought to be able to endorse what Antonides is saying and get on with the task of exercising a godly influence in their beloved land." —from the foreword by Clark H. Pinnock, Professor of Theology, McMaster Divinity College.