Excerpt from The Church and the Ever-Coming Kingdom of God: A Discussion of the Evolution of a Righteous Social Order, With Special Reference to the Mission of the Church in the Process The church's departure from that which was most fundamental in her Master was due to circumstances rather than to willful disloyalty. The church never meant to be disloyal or untrue to the will and purpose of her Lord. Least of all does the church of to - day mean to be disloyal. There is more of the spirit of the Master in the church today than at any other time of history. But our devotion to the church must not blind us to her short comings. When the ostrich pokes his head into the sand he does not obliterate the things around him; he merely deceives himself. Nor will the closing of our eyes and refusing to see change the facts of history. That the church has departed from the ideals and purposes that were most fundamental in the life and teachings of her Master is a plain fact of history. And that she has failed to adjust and to readjust her message and her ministry to the changes that have been wrought in the life of a growing world is also a plain fact of history. The church' is face to face with the need of a radical readjustment right now. If she should fail to readjust herself to her changing environment, as she did in certain similar sit nations in the past, the tragedy would be doubly sad. It would be a sad thing for the world, and sad for the church herself. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.