In the early years of the Christian social movement in The Netherlands the fundamental principles for social life were studied and formulated. In the next 25 years these principles accompanied and guided the rise of a labor movement which was aware of and believed in these principles. Marxistic socialism came rushing along, organized workers into labor unions […]
Under this heading The Reformed Journal published a statement over the signature of the Rev. George Stob, Christian Reformed minister in Passaic, N.J., which is an attempt to describe the Christian social objective, to which, no doubt, determined opposition will arise from those who have ever read anything in the field of truly Christian social action. It is […]
Again: The Christian Social Congress 1891 The first section of this Congress dealt with the social problem from its Christian, religious aspect. Five papers were read and subsequently theses were adopted which disclosed the leading principles for a Christian action in the social area, rooted in the recognized Christian ethics of the whole Christian era. They […]
At the Christian Social Congress held in 1891, described in the last article in this series, Mr. A. Wiersenga read a paper which addressed itself in part to the problem of the strike as a means for gaining social justice. In this paper Mr. Wiersenga laid down the following thesis: “The relative right to strike […]
“Patrimonium” The Netherlands Workers’ Association “Patrimonium,” established as a nationwide organization on March 2, 1880, was by no means a trade-union movement according to the actual meaning of the word. Such labor unions did not exist in The Netherlands at that time. The principles, […]
In our preceding articles we gave a brief picture of the economic situation of Western Europe in the first half of the 19th century and of the advent and development of social reform in that part of the world. Being a part of Western Europe the economic and social development of Holland ran parallel with […]
(NOTE: This is the concluding installment of an article begun in the last issue of TORCH AND TRUMPET.) 3. Germany To understand the Christian social movement, both its principles and aims, knowledge of the German movement is indispensable. Like Great Britain, its origin was in the sphere of home or city missions, which concerned itself with […]
Many may recall the Christian Social Conference which was held in November, 1952, in Holland. This conference, organized by Protestant Christians of different denominations—by employers, farmers, and workers through their organizations–is unique in that it dealt with actual social problems from the Christian point of view. The president of this three-day conference, Prof. W.F. deGaay, was right […]
Our previous article in the October-November issue of Torch and Trumpet (vol. 2, no. 4) dealt largely with the social situation in Great Britain. No doubt Great Britain’s long lead economically speaking over the other countries of Western Europe was a great handicap for the latter to overcome in the way of technical progress. However, once […]
“Would you be able to find the time to contribute a series of articles to Torch and Trumpet describing the history and principles of Christian trade unionism?” This question came to us from the publishers of this periodical. I have not hesitated in accepting this invitation since I feel that the social problem, despite its great prominence […]