Solidarity as Hermeneutic: A Revisionist Reading of the Theology of Walter Rauschenbusch

The work of the American theologian, Walter Rauschenbusch, the leading voice of the social gospel movement, continues to be read today. This study presents a retrieval of the theology of Rauschenbusch from the perspective of present day theological discussion going on within the context of hermeneutics. When Rauschenbusch’s work is seen as a hermeneutical project in which he changes the understanding of human existence from traditional individualism to that of solidarity, his work can be seen to mediate the Christian message to his day and ours in a social language. It fulfills the very contemporary challenge of theology that an adequate interpretation of the Christian message requires a social understanding of the Christian message.