Jesus was the initiator of the Kingdom of God. It is a real thing, now in operation. It is within us, and among us, gaining ground in our intellectual life and in our social institutions. It overlaps and interpenetrates all existing organizations, raising them to a higher level when they are good, resisting them when they are evil, quietly revolutionizing the old social order and changing it into the new. It suffers terrible reverses; we are in the midst of one now; but after a time it may become apparent that a master hand has turned the situation and laid the basis of victory on the wrecks of defeat. The Kingdom of God is always coming; you can never lay your hand on it and say, “It is here.” But such fragmentary realizations of it as we have, alone make life worth living. The memories which are still sweet and dear when the fire begins to die in the ashes, are the memories of days when we lived fully in the Kingdom of Heaven, toiling for it, suffering for it, and feeling the stirring of the godlike and eternal life within us. The most humiliating and crushing realization is that we have betrayed our heavenly Fatherland and sold out for thirty pieces of silver. We often mistake it. We think we see its banner in the distance, when it is only the bloody flag of the old order. But a man learns. He comes to know whether he is in God’s country, especially if he sees the great Leader near him. Suggestions for Thought and Discussion I. _The Social Principles of Jesus_ 1. Sum up the social principles of Jesus which we have worked out in this course. 2. Do they seem incisive? Would they demand far-reaching social changes? What changes? 3. What conceptions acquired in philosophical and social science studies connect fruitfully with the principles of Jesus? Do any scientific conceptions conflict with the essential ideas of Jesus? II. _Social Salvation_ 1. What is your frank estimate of the value of the social principles of Jesus as a religious and ethical basis for the regeneration of society? 2. Does the spiritual development of modern life tend toward the position of Jesus or away from it? 3. What opportunities and methods does modern life offer for carrying out these principles in our social order? 4. If society cannot be saved under the spiritual leadership of Jesus, how can it be saved? III. _The Leader_ 1. As this course proceeded, has our respect or reverence for Jesus Christ increased or diminished? In what ways? 2. Would it be possible to join the forward Christian forces in working for the Kingdom of God even if the theological questions are still unsolved in our minds? 3. What seem now the best methods of carrying out these principles in our own community and in the world? IV. _For Special Discussion_ 1. Does the salvation of society seem to make the salvation of the individual unnecessary or trivial? Have you lost interest in it? 2. How should social and personal salvation connect?