Christianity and Problems of To-day: Lectures Delivered Before Lake Forest College on the Foundation of the Late William Bross — A Reader’s Guide

Legend as Argumentative Frame

Finley's use of the Enoch legend is not ornamental; it establishes a pattern of viewing contemporary problems through the lens of tradition and transmission. He describes Enoch as the first to "pass on, in a systematic way, from generation to generation" knowledge and faith. This framing allows Finley to address the problem of how Christianity adapts across eras without claiming novelty. The lecture's title itself—"From Generation to Generation"—echoes this concern with continuity. The other lecturers employ different rhetorical foundations: Charles Foster Kent grounds his argument in Jesus' social plan as derived from the Gospels, while Paul Elmer More turns to Greek ethical terminology, introducing the words tapeinophrosynê (lowliness of mind) and pleonexia to dissect the ambiguity of contentment and discontent. These divergent starting points—legend, scripture, classical philosophy—reveal the editors' willingness to let each speaker define the terms of engagement.

Diction and the Ambiguity of Discontent

Paul Elmer More's lecture "Religion and Social Discontent" demonstrates a precise, almost pedantic attention to language. He argues that "content and discontent" are "consequences rather than motives of conduct" and insists on examining the "springs of action" behind them. To do so, he introduces two Greek terms because, as he states, "Our English speech, with all its practical efficiency, has never developed a very precise ethical terminology." This move is characteristic of More's style: he distrusts common parlance and seeks analytical clarity through etymology. His example of the discontented plumber—who might either grumble and shirk or become "ambitious to excel in his profession"—is deliberately mundane, even humorous, yet it serves to illustrate a serious moral distinction. The plumber anecdote, which More acknowledges as improbable ("all things are possible in a Bross lecture"), contrasts with the more elevated tone of other lectures, showing the range of rhetorical registers in the collection.

Institutional Critique and Quantitative vs. Qualitative Standards

More extends his analysis of discontent to the figure of the college president, offering a pointed critique of institutional ambition. He describes a president who "used to scan the catalogues of the great Western institutions year by year with bitter jealousy" as their enrollment approached and surpassed his own. This discontent, More argues, leads to "a lowering of standards" and a debasement of education disguised as social service. The alternative is a leader whose standard is "qualitative, not quantitative," who would even "lay a rough, restraining hand on that most corrupting nurse of materialism in our schools, professional athletics." This passage is notable for its directness and specificity: it names a recognizable institutional vice (envy of size) and a concrete policy (restraining athletics). The critique is embedded within a broader argument about the nature of discontent, but it stands as a self-contained observation about early 20th-century American higher education.

International Politics and the Far East

Jeremiah W. Jenks's lecture "The Teachings of Jesus as Factors in International Politics, with Especial Reference to Far-Eastern Problems" shifts the focus from domestic social issues to global relations. The title itself signals a specific geopolitical lens: the Far East. While the excerpts do not include the body of Jenks's lecture, the table of contents indicates that he applies Jesus' teachings to international politics, a move that extends the volume's scope beyond personal morality or national social problems. This lecture, along with the others, was delivered in the aftermath of World War I, a context that likely informs the urgency of applying Christian principles to international affairs. The inclusion of a lecture on Far-Eastern problems suggests that the series aimed to address not only Western industrial and educational issues but also the role of Christianity in a rapidly changing global order.

Readers approaching this volume should note that each lecture stands independently, with its own argumentative strategy and stylistic character. The editors have not imposed a uniform vocabulary or thesis; instead, the collection preserves the distinct voices of five scholars addressing a common theme from different angles. The Bross Lectureship, established by William Bross, evidently encouraged this diversity. For those interested in early 20th-century Christian social thought, the volume offers a snapshot of how academic theologians and public intellectuals grappled with issues of continuity, discontent, institutional reform, and international relations—all while grounding their arguments in specific textual and philosophical traditions.

Reading those Lake Forest lectures, I kept returning to the opening chapters of Female Scripture Biography, Volume I — Reading Notes. Both collections feel like conversations held across years, where earnest voices wrestle with timeless burdens—faith, duty, the quiet shaping of lives. The 1921 urgency softened strangely, becoming familiar, almost gentle, as if each author had simply been waiting for me to listen.