This week in Christian history: Brother Van dies, Social Gospel supporter born, Moravian leader

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Twitter

Lyman Abbott born - December 18, 1835

Lyman Abbott (1835-1922), an American congregationalist minister and leading proponent of the Social Gospel movement.
Lyman Abbott (1835-1922), an American congregationalist minister and leading proponent of the Social Gospel movement. | Public Domain

This week marks the anniversary of when Lyman Abbott, an American minister with the Congregationalist Church known for his social reform advocacy, was born.

A native of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Abbott was ordained in 1860 and eventually became editor in chief of the weekly religious publication the Christian Union.

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“Under his editorship the Christian Union (renamed Outlook in 1893) promulgated the Social Gospel, which sought to apply Christianity to social and industrial problems,” explained Britannica.

“His Christianity and Social Problems (1897), The Rights of Man (1901), The Spirit of Democracy (1910), and America in the Making (1911) present his moderate sociological views, which rejected both socialism and laissez-faire capitalism.”

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