,,thoughts ,,on ,,religion   ,,at ,,the 
,,front      ,,macmillan ,,and ,,co41   
,,limited    ,,london  ,,bombay         
,,calcutta  ,,madras   ,,melbourne      
,,the ,,macmillan ,,company    ,,new    
,,york  ,,boston  ,,chicago   ,,dallas  
,,san ,,francisco     ,,the ,,macmillan 
,,co4 ,,of ,,canada1 ,,ltd4    ,,toronto
       ,,thoughts ,,on   ,,religion ,,at
 ,,the   ,,front  ,,by  ,,the ,,rev4    
,,neville ,s4 ,,talbot    ,,assistant   
,,chaplain-,,general   ,,late ,,rifle   
,,brigade   ,,formerly ,,fellow ,,and   
,,chaplain ,,of ,,balliol   ,,author    
,,of ',,the ,,mind ,,of ,,the           
,,disciples'     ,,macmillan ,,and      
,,co41 ,,limited   ,,st4 ,,martin',s    
,,street1 ,,london   #aiag              
,,copyright    ,first ,edition ,january 
#aiag   ,reprinted ,march1 ,april and   
,november #aiag     ,,preface   ,i send 
out this little and fragmentary book    
with the consciousness that it calls for
 apology4 ,i have had to write it       
hastily during a short period of leave4 

,yet it touches upon great subjects     
which deserve the reverence of leisurely
 writing4 ,ought ,i not1 then1 to have  
waited for the leisure of days after the
 war8 ,i think not4 ,such days may never
 come4 ,and1 in any case1 now is the    
time for the ,church to think intently  
about the war and its issues1 and to    
learn from them4 ,the ,church is far    
more than a department of 'the          
services1' the resources of which it is 
convenient to mobilise as so much more  
munition of war4 ,she is the perpetual  
protagonist in the world of the ,kingdom
 of ,god4 ,war for her1 if for nobody   
else1 should be an apocalypse1 that is1 
a vision of realities for which at all  
times she is bound to fight1 of which1  
nevertheless1 she is apt to lose sight  
during the engrossments of peace4 ,it is
 as lit up by the cruel light of war's  
conflagrations that the things          
concerning the ,kingdom must be seized  
anew4 ,if anybody has thoughts which he 
feels he must share with others1 he     

should not postpone doing so4 ,he should
 communicate his thoughts to others in  
order that he may learn from their      
comments and criticism4 ,i can claim1   
whilst asking pardon for whatever may   
offend in them1 that the thoughts       
represented by the following pages have 
not been come by hastily1 but have been 
growing in my mind during the long      
months at the front since the beginning 
of the war4 ,they have1 so to say1 been 
hammered out as metal upon the anvil of 
war4  ,they are thoughts about religion4
 ,nothing is so important as religion2  
nothing is more potent than true ideas  
in religion4 ,deep fountains of real    
religion--of simple and unself-prizing  
faith--have been unsealed by the        
convulsion of war4 ,yet this religion is
 weak in ideas1 and some of the ideas   
with which it is bound up are wrong     
ideas4 ,men of our race are very sure   
that it matters more what a man is than 
what he thinks4 ,british religion is    
deep and rich1 but it is1               

characteristically1 deeper and richer in
 what it is than in what it knows itself
 to be4 ,it sorely needs a mind of      
strong and compelling conviction4 ,if   
these pages were to help ever so few    
readers towards being possessed anew of 
the truth of the ,gospel of ,god in     
,christ1 their appearance would be      
justified4  ,i have written1 perhaps1 as
 one who dreads saying ',peace1 where   
there is no peace4' ,i would rather err 
on the side of emphasising criticism and
 difficulty than the other way4 ,there  
is1 indeed1 little room for complacency 
in a ,christian1 still less in an       
,english ,churchman1 at the front4 ,yet 
in 'padres' hope and expectation should 
predominate1 and these as based less    
upon results achieved than upon the     
mutual understanding1 respect1 and      
indeed affection which increasingly     
unite them to the men whom they would   
serve4 ,and in them1 too1 if they are   
',c4 of ,e41' there should be growing1  
along with an unevasive discontent1 a   

sanguine loyalty to their mother        
,church4 ,for all that she now means so 
little to so many she will yet win a    
more than nominal allegiance from many  
of her wandering children4 ,for there is
 in her1 beneath the surface of her     
sluggish confusion1 a living heart and  
candid mind1 upon which is being written
 afresh the good news in ,christ4 ,she  
is being vivified1 as perhaps no other  
part of ,christendom1 into readiness for
 the future4  ,n4,s4,t4  ,b4,e4,f41     
,november #aiaf4         ',and the      
loftiness of man shall be bowed down1   
and the     haughtiness of men shall be 
brought low3 and the ,lord alone        
shall be exalted in that day4 ,and the  
idols shall utterly pass     away4 ,and 
men shall go into the caves of the      
rocks1 and into     the holes of the    
earth1 from before the terror of the    
,lord and     from the glory of ,his    
majesty1 when ,he ariseth to shake      
mightily the earth4'         99         
99       99       99       99           

',whom ye ignorantly worship1 ,him      
declare ,i unto you4'     ,i   ,i write 
this little book in order to help       
towards an answer to the question1 ,how 
is it with the ,christian religion at   
the front8 ,with the flower of ,british 
manhood massed in the ,army this and    
like questions are bound to arise--,how 
is it with the men8 ,where are they     
religiously8 ,what do they want8 ,what  
will they need when they return8 and so 
forth4 ,there never has been such an    
opportunity of taking a comparative view
 of ,british ,christianity and of       
framing answers to such questions4      
,perhaps those who are working as       
chaplains at the front are especially   
challenged to attempt these tasks4      
,their answer must not be loose or      
sentimental4 ,there is a danger of that4
 ,the emotions aroused by the war may   
encourage sentimental verdicts4 ,that   
may be the reason why a good many ideas 
which are current at home about religion
 at the front1 are a good distance      

removed from reality4     ,,ii   ,i can 
only venture upon a verdict after first 
acknowledging that it is inseparably    
bound up with my own shortcomings4      
,other men of a truer devotion and love 
may well have grounds in a more         
effective ministry for challenging and  
amplifying it4  ,further1 ,i have to ask
 that allowance be made for the fact    
that men like myself1 who have been     
working as ',c4 of ,e4' chaplains1 are  
not very well qualified to speak about  
the religion of the men4 ,there is      
something wrong about the status of     
chaplains4 ,they belong to what the     
author of ,a ,student in ,arms calls    
'the super-world' of officers1 which as 
such is separate from the men4 ,as a    
class we find it hard to penetrate the  
surface of the men--that surface which  
we can almost see thrust out at us like 
a shield1 in the suddenly assumed       
rigidity of men as they salute us4 ,we  
are in an unchristian position1 in the  
sense that we are in a position which   

,christ would not have occupied4 ,he1 ,i
 am sure1 would have been a regimental  
stretcher-bearer1 truly among and of the
 men4 ,we are very unlike ,him4 ,we are 
often liked1 and are thought good       
fellows1 but we are unlike ,him and miss
 what ,he could discover4               
,our--my--verdict is not necessarily    
,his4  ,lastly1 all verdicts must be    
rough in war4 ,the nature of war and of 
its effects often precludes any one from
 knowing exactly what is going on in the
 souls of men4 ,war is a muddy business1
 encasing the body in dirt1 and caking  
over the soul4 ,it forms hard surfaces  
over the centres of sensitiveness4 ,it  
is benumbing to spiritual faculties4    
,that is nature's way of accommodation  
with war's environment4 ,to feel things 
much would literally be maddening4 ,to  
brood about danger1 to apprehend or     
anticipate or philosophise may imperil  
'nerve4' ,rather the majority of men    
carry on1 callously1 almost gaily1 with 
mental and spiritual faculties if       

possible inactive4 ,i have met an       
entirely devout lover of music 7since   
killed in action7 who told me that he   
didn't miss music out here because he   
wasn't carrying on with those faculties4
 ,i have seen a man of indubitable      
,christian conviction come down from the
 cold clam of the trenches in mid-winter
 and take up a religious book which     
ordinarily would have excited him and   
say--,ah6 yes1 there is all that4 ,i    
could almost see the surface which war  
had hardened over him4 ,beneath it in   
him and all the rest1 who knows what may
 not be in process1 ready to emerge when
 they can bathe in the solvent waters of
 peace8  ,meanwhile they 'carry on4'    
,that ,i think is especially congenial  
to the ,british4 ,there is no doubt that
 men of our race have an invincibility1 
which is due in part to the fact that   
they do not think about or feel what is 
really going on4 ,to be practically and 
sensually occupied with the passing     
moment is the way to carry on in war4   

,it is characteristic of our men4 ,they 
are remarkably void of apprehension in  
every sense of the word4 ,had the rank  
and file who fought the first battle of 
,ypres--when the whole of the ,british  
forces came to be strung out from ,ypres
 to ,la ,basse in one line without a    
reserve--formed a general apprehension  
of and as to their position1 they would 
have been 'rattled' and broken4 ,they   
were not beaten1 in part because they   
did not think of being beaten4 ,you     
can't1 as they sing1 beat the boys of   
the bull-dog breed1 but this            
invincibility has not altogether the    
virtue of facts understood1 faced1 and  
triumphed over4 ,in short1 ,british     
qualities and defects of qualities are  
closely interwoven4 ,but my point is1   
that this being so1 any verdict about   
what is going on in ,british souls      
during a war must be humble and         
tentative and patient of qualification4 
,,iii   ,on the whole1 ,i venture to    
say1 there is not a great revival of the

 ,christian religion at the front4 ,yet 
,i am eager to acclaim the wonderful    
quality of spirit which men of our race 
display in this war1 and to claim it as 
,christian and ,god-inspired4 ,deep in  
their hearts is a great trust and faith 
in ,god4 ,it is an inarticulate faith   
expressed in deeds4 ,the top levels1 as 
it were1 of their consciousness1 are    
much filled with grumbling and foul     
language and physical occupations2 but  
beneath lie deep spiritual springs1     
whence issue their cheerfulness1        
stubbornness1 patience1 generosity1     
humility1 and willingness to suffer and 
to die4 ,they declare by what they are  
and do that there is a worth-whileness  
in effort and sacrifice4 ,without saying
 so1 they commit themselves to the      
,everlasting ,arms4  ,the metaphor of   
human nature being hardened or caked    
over by war must be modified so as to   
allow that war lays human nature bare4  
,it is a grand fibre or grain of        
,british nature which the war has       

exposed4 ,it is inwrought with          
,christian excellences of humility1     
unselfishness1 fortitude1 and all that  
makes a good comrade4 ,it is precious   
stuff4 ,let there be no talk hereafter  
of the decadence of the race4 ,let no   
one dare to disparage the masses of our 
people2 nor let any one1 through class  
ignorance or prejudice or fear1 speak of
 them contemptuously4 ,they are         
priceless raw material4 ,as ,i have     
hovered in seeming priestly impotence   
over miracles of cheerful patience lying
 on stretchers in dressing-stations1 ,i 
have said--,i have vowed to             
myself--,here are men worth doing       
anything for4  ,there is a great heart  
in the people4 ,it is not a great mind4 
,in officers and men there is little    
intellectual grip upon what we are      
fighting for4 ,every one nearly is      
without a saving touch of rhetoric4     
,ideas are under suspicion4 ,padre1 what
 you say is just ideal1 it's all in the 
air4 ,but the objectors stick it and die

 for the unformulated and unexpressed   
ideal4 ,they are far wiser and better   
than they know4     ,,iv   ,i must      
modify1 then1 and say that on the whole 
there is not a great articulate revival 
of the ,christian religion at the front4
 ,but further ,i must add that there is 
religion about1 only1 very often it is  
not the ,christian religion4 ,rather it 
is natural religion4 ,it is the         
expression of a craving for security4   
,literally it is a looking for          
salvation4 ,it is a very unnatural man  
who does not feel at any rate more      
inclined to pray when danger abounds and
 anxiety presses1 than at other times4  
,naturally1 then1 chaplains find a      
readier response to their efforts right 
at the front than farther back4 ,men    
come to a service before they go to the 
trenches4 ,communicants increase before 
a fight4 ,chaplains are frequently told 
of prayer being resorted to under this  
or that strain of this terrific war4    
,there is in short a general association

 of ideas about religion and1 as ,i have
 said1 it may be called the association 
of a craving for security4  ,i would say
 nothing disrespectful of it4 ,i would  
not pretend for a moment to be void of  
this very natural craving4 ,i would     
recognise that impressions made by      
strain and anxiety are often the means  
whereby ,god brings men home to         
,himself4 ,i thought it a hard saying of
 an ardent salvationist lad1 who told me
 of a transport sergeant's prayers one  
night in a ditch by a shrapnelled       
roadside1 and of the same sergeant's    
reversion to apparent irreligion on     
return to safety4 ,i call it1 said the  
boy1 cowardice4 ,but what ,i do say     
about it is1 firstly1 that religion thus
 mainly associated with danger1 is not  
the ,christian religion1 and secondly1  
that many of the best men of all ranks  
have little to do with it1 or what      
little they do have is intermittent and 
rather shamefaced4  ,i leave the first  
statement for the moment4 ,about the    

second ,i hazard the belief that this   
has been more or less true of all       
soldiers in history4 ,religion regarded 
merely as a resort in trouble1 as a     
possible source of good luck1 as a charm
 or insurance policy is as old as man2  
but ,i believe many of the best soldiers
 up and down history have had little to 
do with it1 and the more sporting and   
soldierly the man1 the less he has had  
to do with it4 ,after all1 the          
soldier-man's code goes clean the other 
way4 ,it is ever insisting on           
non-calculating and self-regardless     
service1 endurance1 and sacrifice4 ,as  
such1 it lies above the ordinary level  
of life1 calling out the heroic and     
honourable in men4 ,but religion        
associated with anxiety touches men at a
 level lower than the highest in them1  
it has the morbidity of their weaker    
moments hanging about it1 it wears      
badly1 and1 above all1 often it does not
 seem to work4 ,i have had the case     
propounded to me of ,bill who did pray1 

but yet had had his head blowed off4    
,v   ,i recur1 then1 to my verdict that 
on the whole there is not a great       
revival of the ,christian religion at   
the front4 ,why is this8  ,first1 war is
 war1 and1 what is more1 this war is    
this war4 ,i will not attempt to paint  
the picture4 ,every one must realise by 
now that the main concentration of all  
military effort is directed at creating 
in the trenches an ever-intenser inferno
 of heavy shells4 ,in a great army there
 is every degree of risk to be run or   
immunity to be enjoyed2 but at the very 
front1 where all is stripped and laid   
bare1 modern warfare is at times a      
furnace of horror4 ,its smoke darkens   
the heavens1 thickening the clouds and  
darkness round about ,god1 and deepening
 ,his silence4 ,its white heat scorches 
out human confidence in ,him4 ,he does  
not seem to count4 ,there are stars in  
the darkness of war--stars which are the
 achievements of man's indomitable      
spirit4 ,but ,god-ward there seems      

sometimes to be great darkness4         
,further1 war1 despite all the easy     
things said in its praise1 is a great   
iniquity4 ,it is1 as others have said1  
hell4 ,as an environment to the soul it 
is1 for all the countervailing heroisms 
of men1 a world of evil power let loose4
  ,and1 again1 war abounds in a number  
of trials--mostly associated with the   
extremes of heat and cold and damp and  
fatigue--for which1 as the phrase goes1 
religion seems not to afford the        
slightest relief4 ,it is a very physical
 business1 squeezing out or overlaying  
the spiritual in men1 though powerless  
wholly to extinguish it4 ,war being what
 it is1 the absence of religious revival
 during its course is not surprising4 ,i
 have come to be very doubtful whether  
there is truth in the prevalent notion  
that war as such and automatically makes
 men better4  ,secondly1 that element in
 religion which can survive the weather 
of war must be a very hardy growth1     
something deeply engrained and          

habitual--something rock-built4 ,and    
that is just what is lacking among men  
of our race4 ,as an ,anglican priest ,i 
reach here a glaring fact about the     
,english ,church4 ,the war reveals that 
there are few men in its loose          
membership who are possessed by and     
instructed in its faith4 ,religion1 as  
taught by the ,church of ,england1 has a
 feeble grip on the masses4 ,they hold  
it in no familiar embrace4 ,and if      
reasons are sought1 they are partly     
found in the want of cutting edge to her
 sober comprehensive teaching1 partly in
 the characteristics often theoretically
 so justifiable but practically so      
awkward1 of the ,prayer ,book4 ,there is
 little in our ,church which corresponds
 to that elemental regimen or discipline
 which possesses simple-minded ,roman   
,catholics4 ,the power of cultus1 of    
institutional and family religion1 is   
largely absent4  ,to explain this brings
 me to a third reason why1 under the    
stress of war1 ,english ,christianity is

 hardly in revival1 namely1 ,bible      
difficulties4 ,the ,prayer ,book comes  
down to us from men who were held by a  
belief in the literal truth of the whole
 ,bible4 ,in so far as it has been an   
effective manual for ordinary people1 it
 has been on the strength of an absolute
 dogma in their minds as to the ,word of
 ,god4 ,that dogma has in a vague and   
somewhat insensible way lost its hold on
 the common mind4 ,it has not the       
absolute and simple authority which in  
religion is a necessity for the         
little-educated4 ,few of the general    
public have thought very much about the 
matter1 but all the more they are       
influenced by that which has percolated 
through to them from the more learned1  
loosening what before was firm and      
tight1 confusing and complicating what  
before was starkly plain4 ,this has been
 brought home to me as ,i have sat at   
sing-songs and have heard a coon-song   
sung entitled ,the ,preacher and the    
,bear4 ,with apologies to the           

easily-shocked ,i will quote4 ,the hero 
of the song is a coloured minister who1 
against his conscience1 went out        
shooting on a ,sunday1 and1 after good  
sport1 on returning home was met by a   
grizzly bear4 ,taking refuge up a tree  
this was his prayer3      ,o ,lord1 who 
delivered ,daniel from the lions' den1  
,also ,jonah from the tummy of the      
whale--and then     ,three ,hebrew      
chilluns from the fiery furnace1     ,as
 the good ,book do declare--     ,o     
,lord1 if you can't help me1 don't help 
that grizzly bear6  ,here is an epitome 
of a far-spreading incredulity about the
 ,bible4 ,it is the higher criticism in 
its crudest popular form1 and men are at
 the mercy of it4 ,i have known a mess  
of officers engage in argument about the
 ,bible with a sceptical ,scots doctor1 
cleverer than they4 ,as old-fashioned   
believers in the ,bible they had to     
admit to being thoroughly strafed in the
 argument1 yet they had no way out1 such
 as an intelligent understanding of the 

,bible affords4 ,one at least of them   
maintained stoutly that nevertheless he 
was going to stick to the old view1     
however indefensible4 ,such men are not 
free intellectually to follow the       
movements of religious revival4 ,they   
are immobilised by the dead weight of   
,biblical literalism4  ,yet if the main 
verdict to which ,i have committed      
myself is to be radically accounted for1
 it is necessary to reach deeper reasons
 than any ,i have mentioned4 ,i         
sympathise with those who have high     
hopes of the good effects of ,church and
 ,prayer ,book and ,bible-teaching      
reforms4 ,yet such are relatively       
superficial matters4 ,the main reason   
for the comparative absence of religious
 revival among men at the front is that 
we all have been overtaken by the       
cataclysm of war in a condition of great
 poverty towards ,god4     ,,vi   ,war1 
when it breaks in on peace1 reveals in a
 fierce light the condition of men in   
peace4 ,it would be ungrateful and      

disloyal not to acclaim the main sound  
heart of our country which this war has 
revealed4 ,it would be treasonable to   
the great company of good men and       
true--not least out of the school and   
university world most familiar to the   
writer--who have risen to the day and   
have gladly given their all4 ,yet1 after
 generous allowance for that1 a great   
poverty of allegiance to ,god has been  
laid bare4 ,indirectly1 in the answers  
made to the claims of duty1 honour1     
service1 and self-sacrifice1 ,he has    
been acknowledged1 but of direct        
devotion to ,him as the one and         
pre-eminent reality there has been      
little4 ,after all1 can it be denied    
that the war has found us devoted rather
 to the idols of money1 pleasure1 and   
appetite than to ,god and ,his          
righteousness8 ,we have had to be       
aroused from a great sensual            
preoccupation with worldly traffic4 ,as 
it was in the days of ,noah1 so in a    
measure it has been to-day3 as we ate   

and drank1 and bought and sold and      
planted and builded1 the flood has come 
upon us and has all but swept us away4  
,at home1 as the thinly-veiled          
wantonness of some of our weekly        
illustrated papers reminds us in the    
field1 it seems that a mass of          
self-pleasing and luxurious folk cannot 
yet find an escape out of the           
prison-house of ,vanity ,fair1 though   
thousands bleed and die by their side4  
,in the field1 the mind and manner of a 
gross peace-life is kept alive by       
pictures of smirking nudities placarded 
in dug-outs and billets1 and the farther
 back from the front one travels1 as the
 hot breath of war grows more tepid1 the
 more heavy grows the atmosphere of     
materialistic indulgence4 ,that ,god    
minds is hardly thought of1 for at home 
and abroad we have been carried into war
 in a peace-condition of great          
heedlessness of ,him4 ,and the strains  
and cost and dangers of war will not    
scare men out of their forgetfulness4   

,the heart of man is incorrigible by    
fear4 ,god1 if ,he is little regarded in
 peace1 is hard to come nigh to in war4 
,if religion in peace and prosperity has
 not been full of ,his praise--of joy in
 ,him1 it is something to which         
adversity must drive men1 and they think
 it as such a little disreputable1 and  
many of the best men1 richly gifted with
 manly excellences1 tend to leave it on 
one side4  ,yet ,i am not ashamed of the
 ,gospel of ,christ4 ,we can adopt the  
ringing note of ,st4 ,paul's defiance4  
,for the ,christian religion does not   
spring primarily out of human anxiety   
and need4 ,it is not an expedient which 
may be left on one side till the hour of
 need arises4 ,that many men should     
think thus of it shows that it has been 
widely forgotten1 misunderstood1 or     
never known4     ,,vii   ,the ,christian
 religion is salvation because it starts
 from what ,god is4 ,everything in it of
 human benefit and satisfaction is a    
bye-product flowing from the fact that  

it gives to men a focus for their       
devotion and attention not in themselves
 but in ,god4 ,its main motive is not   
self-but ,god-regarding4 ,it draws men  
out of the entanglement into which they 
fall through temporising with their own 
needs1 and constrains them to attend to 
,god's need--,his need of them4 ,for the
 ,christian1 ,god is not some shadowy   
supreme ,being at the back of the       
universe1 or a name given to the sum of 
things4 ,god is the ,person ,who made1  
and loves1 and therefore wants ,his     
children4 ,hence ,christian prayer      
primarily is grateful and loving        
acknowledgment of what ,god is1 and only
 secondarily the expression of anxiety1 
or the putting in of this or that claim 
for what we want4  ,that is the         
conclusion which war experience drives  
home4 ,the special strain and pressure  
of war cannot elicit from the majority  
of men the religion which is occupied   
with the saving of self4 ,the spiritual 
law is that we find our life by losing  

it1 not by saving it4 ,in a vague and   
unexpressed way1 as they show again and 
again by their cheerfulness and         
unconcernedness1 hosts of men in this   
war have laid hold on this law4 ,they   
have found a purpose to which to cleave1
 something to give themselves away for4 
,only it is hardly acknowledged1 but    
rather lies below the level of mental   
apprehension and expression4 ,it is the 
function of ,christianity to raise this 
unacknowledging trustfulness and        
self-giving out of dumb                 
subconsciousness1 and to give to it     
speech1 and to crown it with the glory  
of fully human self-devotion4 ,it is its
 part to declare that it is ,god ,whom  
they find in the offering of themselves1
 ,his love in which they can lose       
themselves1 ,his purpose to which they  
can cleave1 ,his will to be done--and   
that to give ,him joy is the supreme end
 of man4  ,this is the religion which   
sustains in war1 because possessed in   
peace4 ,and it is so little             

prevalent--that is1 so little in any    
one's conscious possession--in war just 
because ,god1 and ,his love1 and ,his   
desire have been so little in men's     
thoughts in peace4 ,let peace           
return--let the strain of war be lifted 
from a unit as it goes back into rest1  
or from an individual as he goes on     
leave1 and the life of indulgence1      
without an object except self1 threatens
 to repossess the soul4 ,in the same way
 it is peace rather than war1 health    
rather than sickness1 youth rather than 
age1 which really test the reality of   
our ,christianity1 when1 without the    
shame of being driven thereto by need1 a
 man can rejoice in ,god1 and with full 
powers be made the instrument of ,his   
will4     ,,viii   ,there is then little
 conscious and articulate ,christianity 
at the front1 and yet there are         
profoundly ,christian characteristics in
 what men are and do and endure1 who    
have never known or do not understand or
 have forgotten the ,christian religion4

 ,what1 then1 is this strangely honoured
 and yet neglected thing8 ,does it      
exist8 ,is it there for men were they to
 awake to it8  ,this utterly searching  
war justifies the critical temper which 
passes previous allegiances and         
acceptances under revision and judgment4
 ,i may be forgiven1 then1 for saying   
that ,i do not think that ,christianity 
as at present expressed and presented to
 men in the ,church 7in the widest sense
 of the word7 is prima facie that which 
can win and possess them4 ,it would be a
 big task and unsuited to the conditions
 under which ,i write to argue this out4
 ,what needs discussion is how much of  
natural religion has been absorbed into 
the accumulated deposit from the past   
which we call traditional ,christianity1
 with the effect of disguising and      
overlaying in it those specifically     
,christian elements1 which make         
,christianity not only a salvation from 
sin or from hell1 but from the morbid   
and even contemptible in religion4      

,those elements can never be clearly    
abstracted and used by themselves1 for  
,christianity was not a thing rounded   
and completed1 and deposited upon the   
world in vacuo1 but was as a seed sown1 
which grows by drawing into itself the  
nourishment of soil and atmosphere4     
,there always must be elements of       
natural religion interfused with the    
,christian religion1 for though not     
evolved out of natural religion1 but    
rather coming to it as a deliverance1   
,christianity is the crown and          
fulfilment and corroboration of the good
 and the true in natural religion4 ,it  
is not a question of clear separation   
and abstraction1 but of distinction1    
emphasis1 and proportion4 ,i believe    
that things not characteristically      
,christian have acquired a              
disproportionate place in our religion  
as handed down to us4  ,i suggest 7but  
will not work it out here7 that many of 
the hymns in use are evidence of this1  
and that is why so often they do not    

ring true4 ,i also believe that an      
unhistorical use of the ,bible has      
proved a distorting influence4 ,from    
early ,christian days ,scripture1 which 
is a story of a process and growth      
containing many stages and              
imperfections1 has been treated as      
something timeless and absolute4 ,in    
particular1 the partial answers to the  
problem of suffering to which the ,jews 
in their development were led1 have been
 made to bear weights heavier than they 
can sustain4 ,some of the ,psalms1 for  
instance1 over-emphasise the connection 
between righteousness and immunity from 
misfortune4 ,they can be used to justify
 a calculating and self-saving religion 
which is below the level of ,christ's   
religion4 ,a soldier1 recently wounded  
on the ,somme1 handed to me at a        
dressing-station a small copy of the    
#iast ,psalm as his religious handbook4 
,yet by itself the #iast ,psalm1 though 
a wonderful expression of trust in ,god1
 promises a security to which our ,lord1

 and others akin to ,him in spirit1 have
 not put their seal4 ,he did not        
ask--,he resisted the temptation to     
ask--that no evil should happen unto    
,him1 nor that angels should bear ,him  
in their hands lest ,he should hurt ,his
 foot against a stone4 ,he would not    
have men set their face in the day of   
battle in the assurance that1 though a  
thousand should fall beside them and ten
 thousand at their right hand1 the same 
lot would not come nigh them4  ,i think1
 too1 that ,christianity fails to make  
its characteristic appeal through the   
,church1 owing to two prevalent         
isms--ecclesiasticism and               
subjectivism--both of which may be said 
to be the being primarily occupied in   
religion with something other than ,god4
 ,i doubt whether any ,church-party     
advantage can be scored by any one in   
this matter4 ,roughly speaking1 the     
weakness of ,catholic ,christianity is  
to get involved in the little things of 
mint and anise and cummin2 whilst the   

weakness of ,protestantism is to become 
absorbed in the luxuries of one's own   
religious experiences4 ,the upshot of   
either is the same1 namely1 to be very  
religious1 and yet to forget the living 
,god4 ,i remember being very much       
startled by an eminently pious          
,anglo-,catholic undergraduate at       
,oxford saying to me1 ,the fact is1 ,i  
am not interested in ,god the ,father4  
,it is unwise to argue from one         
instance1 but ,i seem to see there a    
symptom of a widespread and tragic      
estrangement of institutional           
,christianity from the mind of ,christ4 
,but ,i doubt whether things are much   
better on the other side of the         
ecclesiastical street1 where so often   
the worship of ,god has downgraded into 
sitting and listening to sentimental    
music on ,pleasant ,sunday ,afternoons4 
,single instances are misleading1 but ,i
 can never dismiss the belief that there
 is something radically wrong with the  
world of religion of which the          

representative was a ,chapel1 in my old 
parish at ,leeds1 that indulged in a    
fruit-banquet on ,good ,friday4 ,right  
through organised ,christianity of all  
kinds there is1 ,i think1 a great       
absence of the real ,christian thing4   
,,ix   ,but this brings round again the 
question1 ,what is this ,christian      
thing8 ,what are the characteristic and 
specific elements which1 though they    
cannot be nakedly abstracted from other 
elements1 yet have to be kept salient   
amid everything else8 ,what is the      
,christianity which is generally not in 
the conscious possession of men at the  
front1 and yet receives the seal of     
their glorious excellences8 ,what is the
 ,christianity which lies hidden by     
traditional disguise and contemporary   
practice8 ,where is it to be found8     
,x   ,at any rate1 in the religion of   
,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,we are blessed by 
the privilege1 given to us by the work  
of realistic historians1 of going to    
,him as our real ,brother4 ,we can study

 the religion of this ,man4 ,it was     
rooted first and last in one dominant   
reality--the ,father and ,his will4     
,from the first sight given to us of    
,him as a boy and onwards ,he was rich  
in one thing--,he was rich towards ,god4
 ,he looked at the world without        
insensibility to its pain1 without      
evasion of its evil--rather with        
uniquely sensitive insight into both--as
 ,god's world and the scene of ,god's   
sovereign activity4 ,and ,he expected   
others to share ,his view4 ,he was      
repeatedly astonished to find those     
around ,him heedless of the air which   
,he drew in with open mouth1 blind to   
what ,he saw1 deaf to what ,he heard1   
unelated by ,his joy4 ,he was surprised 
to find them strangely and otherwise    
absorbed1 with hearts elsewhere centred 
than in ,god4 ,he expected to find them 
united to ,god in a loving loyalty4 ,he 
found them in a spiritual adultery4     
,this unshared absorption of ,jesus was 
not the fruit of adversity nor a resort 

in disappointment4 ,he was not driven to
 it by anxiety4 ,it came first for ,him 
in peace1 in full health1 and youth and 
powers4 ,his was a house which was built
 in fine weather upon a rock1 so that   
when the storms of adversity beat on it1
 it stood firm4 ,his religion stood the 
severest test1 namely1 the quiet of     
normal and uneventful days4 ,it was     
ready for the strain of a campaign4 ,he 
emerged out of the peace of ,nazareth   
prepared for enterprise4 ,for the       
,father to ,him was not only the object 
of immobile worship and delight--not    
only a ,name to be hallowed1 but was ,he
 ,who called ,him out to a venture for  
,his kingdom and the doing of ,his will4
  ,that was how ,jesus came among men4  
,he came calling men to a great         
adventure1 to non-calculating and       
self-regardless co-operation with the   
active energy and will of the ,father4  
,how much ,he knew beforehand of whither
 that will would lead ,him can never be 
known4 ,to suppose that ,he knew all and

 saw the end in the beginning and had no
 steps in the dark to take1 would be to 
deny to ,him the essential element of   
human faith and trust1 which is that it 
has to step out beyond the light of     
knowledge into the darkness of          
uncertainty4 ,on the other hand1 to     
suppose that ,he knew nothing1 is to    
deny to ,him that humanly heroic        
resolution with which ,he set ,his face 
to tread the path which led ,him to     
suffering4 ,in our ignorance let us grip
 this certainty1 that for ,him the one  
sufficient thing was that the ,father   
knew all things--the times and the      
seasons1 the cup to be drunk1 the will  
to be done and the final outcome4 ,that 
was enough for ,him and must be enough  
for us4  ,this religion of ,jesus then  
is that to which all can turn1 as their 
hearts are full beyond expression with  
proud and thankful sorrow for the great 
company of those who have trustfully    
given themselves to death for others4   
,jesus is the ,word1 that is1 the full  

and crowning expression of that which is
 hardly articulate in others4 ,his      
open-eyed self-consecration to do the   
will of the ,father seals and ratifies  
their confused yet steadfast devotion4  
,he is first among many brethren1 giving
 full utterance to their dumb           
trustfulness4 ,in a world of mixed and  
partial motives ,he is the absolute and 
unmitigated lover of ,god--loving with  
all ,his mind and soul and strength1    
freely hazarding all upon the ,father4  
,,xi   ,is not that enough8 ,this simple
 element--this religion of ,jesus--is it
 not the one thing needful1 possessed of
 which men may slough off all else in   
the traditional deposits of             
,christianity8 ,yes1 would certainly be 
the answer if the men of ,his day had in
 fact been so possessed1 and if men were
 so possessed to-day4 ,what was actual  
in ,him was1 is1 in fact1 unrealised in 
them4 ,he did find1 of old1             
fellow-adventurers to share ,his        
enterprise4 ,but they could not share it

 to the end4 ,he could love ,god wholly1
 they only partially4 ,he had to leave  
them1 and they ,him2 ,he to do the will 
of the ,father1 they to fail to do it4  
,he alone could not only announce but   
fulfil the first and great commandment2 
they in the end could only be defied and
 broken by it4  ,so it was proved4 ,and 
it is a result which any honest man can 
verify for himself4 ,as ,i have tried to
 show elsewhere1#a the most rigorously  
human and non-miraculous view of ,jesus 
and the ,gospels leads to this point1 to
 what may be called the porch where     
,peter wept1 where the silence of ,god  
broods over the tragedy of human        
failure4  ,,footnotes3  #a ,the ,mind of
 the ,disciples 7,macmillan74     ,,xii 
,but the third day ,he rose again4      
,peter was not left in the porch1 nor   
are we4 ,his broken hope was remade by  
the ,one fully trusted in by ,jesus     
only--by the ,god and ,father of the    
,lord ,jesus ,christ4#b  ,the ,christian
 thing which we look for is the ,good   

,news of ,god in ,christ4 ,it is not    
only the religion of ,jesus our         
,brother1 but religion in ,jesus1 in    
,him revealing ,god to men4 ,it is not  
only ,his human richness towards ,god1  
but in ,him the richness of ,god towards
 men4 ,it is the ,cross not only as the 
climax of free loving self-offering to  
the ,father1 but as itself the laying   
bare of the ,father's heart--it is ,god 
reconciling the world unto ,himself4    
,it is this--the revelation of ,god in  
,christ--of which the experience of the 
war shows we are above all else in the  
world in need4 ,god1 not merely assented
 to as a mysterious ,one above1 at the  
back of things1 but ,god1 known and     
delighted in1 in terms of ,jesus        
,christ4 ,it is one great light which we
 need to walk in--the light of the      
knowledge of what ,god is1 as it shines 
upon the face of ,jesus ,christ4 ,the   
specific ,christian thing that makes    
,christianity salvation is not--as so   
many men in the army think--just        

goodness nor negative and kill-joy      
propriety1 but the fact that in the     
ardent1 venturesome1 and self-regardless
 sacrifice of ,jesus1 we see the ,love  
of ,god ,himself coming out to win the  
souls of men4  ,everything else follows 
from that1 and comes second to it as    
first--all that follows from ,god's love
 being holy1 and from men being unholy1 
all that is meant by ,christian         
experience1 all that is involved in the 
activities of prayer and service4 ,men  
have to begin from1 and ever keep       
rallying round1 the truth of what ,god  
is as made known in ,christ--treating   
the truth as no matter of course1 but as
 the disclosure which in this strange   
world seems nearly too good to be true4 
,for there is no reconciliation between 
the facts of the world and the ,absolute
 of philosophy or the highly attributed 
,supreme ,being of natural religion4    
,one thing alone can meet the passion of
 men--whether imposed upon them or      
self-inflicted--it is the passion of    

,god in ,christ whereby ,his ,love works
 out its victory4 ,that alone can       
harness to itself the vitality and      
heroism of men1 which else will riot    
away in waste or flag in disillusion4   
,that alone can be the constraining     
object of their joy and praise1 and the 
satisfaction of their adventurous       
devotion4  ,,footnotes3  #b #a ,peter i4
 #c4     ,,xiii   ,there has been in    
this war a wonderful display of the     
heroism of men4 ,but their thoughts     
about ,god and religion are for the most
 part at a level below the highest in   
themselves4 ,they have come to          
themselves in giving themselves away4   
,but they think that religion is mostly 
concerned with self-saving4 ,they tend  
to recognise most easily the signs of   
,god's favour in this or that instance  
of safety or escape4 ,this means that   
they do not think of ,god in terms of   
,christ1 but that they think of ,him as 
outside the trouble and pain and cost of
 life1 and in the immunity of heaven4   

,they do not think of ,him as involved  
in the risks and agonies of the world4  
,though they do not formulate it to     
themselves1 the glories of human nature 
go beyond anything they know of the     
divine4 ,for them ,god is less wonderful
 than man4 ,a fine soldier protested to 
me lately about the service which was   
read at the funeral of a very brave     
officer1 ,why say more than 'here is a  
very gallant soldier'8 as though there  
were nothing in the ,author of our being
 akin to the gallantry in man4 ,not that
 such a man would deny the idea1 but    
that he and the rest are not possessed  
by joy in its truth4 ,men of our race do
 not deny greatly1 but then neither do  
they joyfully assert4 ,they have not    
received the good news of ,god in       
,christ4     ,,xiv   ,we all need to be 
so possessed before peace comes back4   
,for peace1 as ,i have said1 is the real
 test of our religion1 not war4 ,we have
 been plunged into war1 rejoicing little
 in ,god4 ,we have got to put ,him and  

,his will and desire first before peace 
returns4 ,or else the thought of ,him   
will sink out of our attention1 and we  
shall return to the getting of gain and 
to self-service in a mood of perpetual  
postponement4 ,god will come last again4
 ,he did so in the minds of soldiers at 
the beginning of the war4 ,often they   
looked upon chaplains as no more than   
preliminary undertakers4 ,at the        
beginning of the war1 officers in my old
 regiment1 in the friendliest way1 asked
 me what there was to do as a chaplain  
except burial duties4 ,clearly they     
thought of life as something apart from 
,god4  ,what is needed is a new joy in  
,god as ,love and ,purpose1 here and    
now4 ,need1 whether the pressure of     
sickness or danger or anxiety or age or 
guilt1 will often operate in turning the
 heart ,god-ward4 ,the sense of being   
thrown in entire dependence upon ,god   
can be the ,god-given turning-point in a
 man's life and an end to his           
godlessness4 ,but need will never       

provide the lasting religious motive    
which sets the chord of what is noblest 
in men vibrating within them4 ,the      
peculiar glory of the ,christian        
religion is that it provides that       
motive--it is the motive of ,god's need4
 ,he wants us1 for ,he loves us4 ,he is 
love4  ,i have found myself at the front
 pressed to ask men why they should have
 to do with religion4 ,is it because    
they are on active service and exposed  
to danger and liable to death8 ,is that 
to be the constraining motive8 ,and1 in 
particular1 why pray8 ,is it to express 
their natural sense of need1 their      
desire for security and support8 ,is    
that to be the main impulse8 ,i try to  
answer these questions by asking them   
another question3 ',why do they write   
home8' ,what keeps them at it in the    
damp dug-outs with the indelible pencil 
running smudgily over the paper8 ,why do
 some men write every day8 ,is it for   
what they can get--the cakes1 the fags8 
,does the constraining motive lie in    

their own need8 ,it does not4 ,it lies  
in the joy which letters bring to loving
 hearts at home4 ,likewise there is joy 
in ,heaven when one forgetful wayward   
son turns in heart thither homewards4   
,for ,god loves us and therefore wants  
us and desires to use us4 ,it is what   
,he is which is the saving motive of our
 religion4 ,every other motive1 however 
natural1 is tainted with morbidity1 and 
can never long possess the eager hearts 
of men nor be their glory in the full   
tide of life4 ,but in ,god they can     
glory as they see what ,he is1 at work  
with purposes of holy love in the       
venture of creation2 and this they can  
see in ,christ1 living1 suffering1      
dying1 rising1 and alive for evermore2  
or else ,christianity is nothing in the 
world4 ,that is the pure metal of our   
glorious religion1 which the fierce     
fires of war must refine out of its     
traditional alloy4 ,that is the great   
golden secret uttered in ,christ--,god1 
all-suffering and all-faithful love1    

calling out into active alliance the    
like qualities in ,his children for the 
accomplishment of ,his will on earth as 
in heaven4     ,,xv   ,we need in peace 
the free and conscious realisation of   
that of which men are perforce1 and     
dumbly1 aware in war4 ,it is that there 
is something going on in the world which
 demands primary allegiance1 and the    
putting second of every self-interest4  
,at the front men hardly know what it   
is4 ,they are suspicious of rhetoric and
 unreality in talk about liberty and    
international equity1 and right against 
might4 ,they only know--a wonderful     
majority of them--that something great  
and righteous wants them and requires of
 them their help4 ,so1 reluctantly1 with
 grumblings and insistent longing for it
 all to be over1 and yet with the       
inalienable joy of doing the right      
thing1 they obstinately endure4 ,we can 
say1 without apportioning right         
wholesale to the ,allies or wrong       
wholesale to ,germany1 that1 however    

dimly aware of it1 they are 'seeking    
first the ,kingdom of ,god and ,his     
,righteousness4'  ,can they maintain    
this allegiance in peace despite every  
seduction which will rush to recapture  
their souls8 ,that is the great question
 which all who call themselves          
,christians should be considering on    
their knees while the war is still      
raging4  ,the answer lies in a great    
measure with the ,church4 ,she has to   
enlist in her warfare for the kingdom of
 ,god--the war which is never over--that
 capacity in men for service and        
suffering which the war has disclosed4  
,how can this be8 ,would that ,i had no 
uncertain answer to utter6 ,i fling     
these cries out to comrades in the ,lord
 that we may provoke one another to find
 the answer4 ,the answer cannot be      
merely an intellectual solution4 ,it    
must be spelt out in terms of costly    
devotion4  ,some things are clear4      
,first1 the ,church has to acknowledge  
that she is not the kingdom of ,god but 

the means to it as an end4 ,there are1  
,i think1 a great many carts and horses 
to be changed round into their right    
relations4 ,religious observances and   
organisations--all the whole apparatus  
of religion--have come to be looked upon
 as ends in themselves1 whereas they are
 means to an end beyond themselves4     
,people think that the clergy's one     
concern is the success of ecclesiastical
 activities and institutions4 ,we clergy
 think so ourselves6 ,it is not for her 
own interests1 which are by themselves  
incurably too small to evoke the heroic 
in men1 that the ,church is in the      
world4 ,she is in the world to change   
the world1 so that its whole extent may 
be filled with the glory of ,god1 and   
may become worthy of the eternal destiny
 of the souls of men4 ,hers is a high   
and costly venture4 ,she has strongholds
 to storm--the entrenchments where the  
forces of private-mindedness and apathy 
and money-worship are dug in4 ,in the   
attempt she can exhaust to its depths   

the capacity which is in men for        
dauntless sacrifice4  ,secondly1 if the 
,church's conception of her own         
interests must be changed1 so must the  
individual's conception of personal     
religion4 ,self-preoccupation is as     
fatal to the latter as to the former4   
,personal piety is travestied by being  
thought to be a respectable prudence    
here for the sake of a reward hereafter4
 ,it is not a careful self-salvation at 
all4 ,rather it is a salvation from     
self4 ,it is the being lost to self in  
devotion and service to ,god and one's  
fellow-men4  ,lastly1 if these changes  
are to be they depend on one thing--a   
new vision of ,god in ,christ1 such as  
shall be for ,church and individual the 
over-mastering counter-attraction to    
self4 ,what the world needs is          
theocracy4 ,that is1 not the imposition 
of ecclesiastical shackles upon secular 
life1 but the consecration of all life1 
with all its ever-multiplying treasures 
of knowledge and power1 to one          

object--the glory of ,god4 ,if so1 then 
,god1 as the centre and magnet of       
consecration1 must be all vitally       
apprehended4 ,he must fill the horizon  
of the soul4 ,he must be the delight of 
men1 to draw them out of themselves into
 childlike selflessness1 so that as     
children they may enter into the        
,kingdom4     ,,xvi   ,there are        
objections1 ,i know1 which arise in the 
mind to this insistence on ,god and the 
will or kingdom on which ,he is at work 
in the world1 and they must be faced4   
,it is easy1 ,i feel1 to speak of the   
will of ,god in general terms4 ,but what
 does it mean in particular8 ,can it be 
known or defined8 ,is it practicable8   
,i remember being puzzled by a great    
religious teacher to whom ,i owe        
much--,father ,kelly of the ,society of 
the ,sacred ,mission1 ,kelham4 ,it was  
almost comic to me that in the same     
breath he would urge 7#a7 that the one  
thing needful was faith in ,god and in  
the will which ,he is accomplishing in  

,his world1 and--with equal energy--7#b7
 that no one could say what in the world
 that will is4 ,it reminded me of those 
philosophers who liken the meta-physical
 pursuit of the ,absolute to ,lewis     
,carroll's ,hunting of the ,snark4  ,but
 there is something essential here4     
,christian faith in ,god and in ,his    
will is not sight1 else it were no      
venture4 ,it does not bring with it a   
particularised programme to meet all the
 changing and complex circumstances of  
life4 ,it does not carry with it        
anticipatory knowledge4 ,yet it is not  
an agnostic gazing into the mist of     
heaven4 ,it is the looking unto ,jesus4 
,there is light--light on ,his ,cross1  
telling of the love and will and desire 
of ,god ,who is marching on4  ,given the
 attitude of faith in ,god and the      
belief that ,he is at work in human     
affairs1 the practical corollaries have 
to be worked out by the exertion of our 
faculties4 ,if ,god and ,his will be the
 end of our endeavour and the object of 

our co-operation1 then the means towards
 the end and the ways of co-operation   
must be arrived at1 step by step1 by    
effort and experiment1 by science and   
common sense4 ,the endeavour to do      
,god's will1 will disclose what that    
will is4  ,after all1 in every sphere of
 human relationships1 whether in home or
 neighbourhood or business or           
municipality or commonwealth1 what is   
lacking is not the knowledge of what the
 kingdom of ,god requires1 but the will 
and motive and power to accomplish it4  
,we are not short of knowledge2 rather  
we are weighed down by the power derived
 from new knowledge1 for want of an end 
other than our own selves to which to   
consecrate it4 ,the means for           
transforming life and suffusing it with 
new radiance abound as never before4 ,it
 is the will which is lacking4 ,if we   
will lift up any department of life to  
,god in the faith that ,he cares about  
it and has desires for it1 the next step
 to be taken will be apparent to        

conscience and reason4     ,,xvii       
,akin to the difficulty that the will of
 ,god is inscrutable and hard to know1  
is the protest that to speak of ,him as 
at work in the world to bring in ,his   
kingdom1 is remote from the actualities 
of daily life4 ,as ,i have walked about 
in ,flanders1 turning over thoughts     
about the onward movement of ,god's     
purposes in the world1 ,i have met those
 matchless monuments of patient and     
unchanging daily toil1 the peasants     
working in the fields4 ,harnessed into  
the perpetual cycle of seed time and    
harvest1 what can this talk of movements
 and purposes in the great world be to  
them8 ,is enthusiasm for the ,kingdom of
 ,god possible only for those who are so
 removed from the drudgery of existence 
that they can sit in the exhausted air  
of committee rooms and talk about it8   
,or is it that under ,god's heaven and  
close to the soil men know better8 ,is  
there no room for great expectations in 
those pressed down into the thick of    

things8  ,there is telling truth here1  
but it is not the last word4 ,the old   
man in the fields--or is it the old     
wrinkled woman doing more than one man's
 work8--knows that4 ,they know that life
 cannot fully be measured by the gauge  
of the individual's daily round4 ,a word
 will bring pride and light to their    
eyes4 ,it is ',vive la ,france6' ,they  
are citizens of a world wider than their
 fields4 ,they belong to ',la ,patrie4' 
,their common tasks count--only a       
little--but they do count in the world  
of great events4 ,life is monotonous and
 cyclical1 and yet it is more than that4
 ,great changes do arrive in days of    
crisis and convulsion--yes1 in days of  
judgment1 and the victims of            
changelessness are caught up by         
movement4 ,they are awakened out of the 
sleep of humdrum existence1 and are     
asked to give proof1 and proudly do give
 proof1 that1 plodders though they be1  
they belong to no mean city4  ,this is  
true in the sphere of patriotism4 ,it is

 true in the wider sphere of the        
,kingdom of ,god4 ,the difficulty here  
considered is one of the products of our
 incorrigible individualism in religion4
 ,christianity is not narrow            
preoccupation with 'my soul4' ,it is an 
entrance into a sphere as wide as the   
world4 ,it is membership in a universal 
society which is concerned with great   
causes and astir with deep movements4   
,and be the individual never so anchored
 in the daily and local necessities of  
existence1 he can nevertheless share    
with loyalty and pride and prayer and   
service in the fortunes and onward march
 of the commonwealth of ,christ4        
,,xviii   ,there is also the objection  
to an insistence upon the will of ,god  
in accomplishment in this world1 that   
there is so much in the ,new ,testament 
which declares 7and1 as we have seen in 
the last paragraph1 experience seems    
largely to corroborate the view7 that   
the ,kingdom of ,god does not come in   
this world but in the next4 ,i refer    

7only ,i dislike using a word which few 
soldiers at the front will understand7  
to ,new ,testament apocalyptic1 which   
seems to present a vision of this world 
as immediately to pass away in          
catastrophe and of the arrival of       
another order of things4  ,it is        
certainly very perplexing that there    
seems to be so little in the ,new       
,testament outside of the ,gospels which
 is plainly on all fours with the first 
part of the ,lord's ,prayer4 ,at the    
front the ,lord's ,prayer--as the one   
island of religious ground1 amid marshes
 of ignorance1 common to ,englishmen--is
 the padres' great stand-by4 ,it        
declares better than any words which we 
can frame what distinguishes the        
,christian religion from others--that it
 begins with and glories in what ,god is
 ,whose ,name is to be hallowed1 and    
,whose kingdom is in arrival and ,whose 
will is in accomplishment not only in   
heaven but on earth4 ,but elsewhere in  
the ,new ,testament the terrain1 as it  

were1 of these wonderful happenings     
seems to be changed1 and to lie in the  
hereafter4  ,it is very hard to say     
anything simply and shortly about this4 
,at any rate it is no good blinking the 
fact that the ,new ,testament           
expectation of an immediate ending of   
this world was mistaken4#c  ,yet there  
remains the reasonable faith--surely    
burnt into us by the fires of war1      
surely revealed to us in apocalyptic    
vision--that this world is but a part of
 another1 and that the other gives to   
this and to its concerns their supreme  
importance4  ,we need to be two-eyed    
here4 ,it is a one-eyed view to hold    
that because this life is a pilgrimage  
to another and this world is passing    
away1 therefore nothing matters here and
 nothing is happening here4 ,it is      
equally one-eyed to shut out the goal   
whither we all journey1 and to          
concentrate on the affairs of this life 
as alone and sufficiently important4    
,the whole view is that through the     

entire order--here and there--the will  
of ,god is at work1 and ,his ,kingdom in
 arrival1 but that their full result and
 accomplishment lies beyond this world4 
,here are the partial and unfinished    
stages1 there the end whither they lead4
 ,to fall back on metaphor1 a city is in
 the building1 a whole righteous social 
order--a kingdom of souls4 ,the building
 is going on now1--in ,birmingham and   
,bermondsey1--and that gives eternal    
importance to their perishing and       
trivial affairs4 ,what whole structure  
is being built1 and how much of         
,birmingham and ,bermondsey can be built
 into it1 is only partially known now4  
,it is partially known here1 as days of 
testing and catastrophe break in on     
periods of monotony1 and lay bare their 
soul4 ,but full knowledge lies in the   
future--the great and final ',day shall 
declare it4'  ,,footnotes3  #c ,indeed  
we see it change1 with surprising ease  
of adjustment1 within the limits of the 
,new ,testament itself4 ,in its first   

form it was not of the essence of the   
new truth4     ,,xix   ,there is also   
the objection that too hard things have 
been said here about the turning to ,god
 under pressure of anxiety1 and the     
expression in prayer of the natural     
desire for safety4 ,after all1 as a     
,jesuit fellow-padre reminded me at the 
front1 ,our ,lord at ,his hour of trial1
 when exceeding sorrowful even unto     
death1 prayed in agony4 ,and further it 
is plain that prayer to ,him1 and as ,he
 would have it be to others1 was far    
more than a trustful harmony of self    
with the will of the ,father4 ,he urged 
men to take their requests to ,god4 ,ask
 and ye shall receive4 ,i can imagine   
that the conception of prayer at times  
of emergency1 as suggested in earlier   
pages1 might be so full of resignation  
as to be reduced to the fatalism        
extraordinarily prevalent at the        
front--,if it 'its yer1 it 'its yer1 as 
the men say4 ,are we not to ask not to  
be hit8  ,it is nearly enough to recall 

the ,lord's ,prayer in regard to this   
objection4 ,as ,i have said1 men on     
service widely associate prayer with the
 expression of need or anxiety4 ,to     
restrict prayer thus is to begin the    
,lord's ,prayer half-way through1 at    
,give us this day our daily bread4 ,it  
is a question of order and emphasis4    
,christian prayer begins with ,god4 ,it 
turns away from self to the glory of    
,god4 ,it begins with praise and        
acclamation--the glad acknowledgment of 
what ,god is and is doing4 ,it is only  
in the second place and because of what 
,god is--because ,he is our ,father and 
is at work to bring in ,his kingdom and 
has a will for us and for all--that the 
prayer which expresses our need comes in
 aright4  ,therefore ,i would say to a  
man going into battle--,pray now if     
never before4 ,set ,god before you as   
you see ,him1 as you can clearly        
apprehend ,him1 in ,christ4 ,he is your 
,father1 you are ,his son1 however      
unworthy4 ,lift up your heart to ,him   

,who1 in and through all the turmoil    
around you1 presses onward with the     
business of ,his kingdom and the        
fulfilment of ,his heart's desire4 ,and 
commit all to ,him4 ,in trustful        
intimacy give utterance to your longing 
to be brought through the perilous hour 
for service in ,his kingdom to the glory
 of ,his ,name4 ,commit all to ,him1    
asking forgiveness4 ,he knows what you  
have need of in life or in death--and   
let the rest go6  ,for such prayer in   
the ,name of ,christ--that is1 prayer in
 accordance with ,his mind and founded  
on the character of ,god as made known  
in ,him--there awaits undiscovered and  
unexhausted resources of power4 ,so     
,jesus told men4 ,so ,christian         
experience testifies4 ,we have to pray  
truly ,christ-wise1 not asking for      
stones to be made bread1 not seeking to 
be hidden from life's storms1 but to be 
brought through them in faithful        
endurance4#d  ,we have to pray as       
,christ prayed in ,gethsemane in        

fellowship with ,his sufferings4 ,but we
 have also to pray as knowing the power 
of ,his ,resurrection4 ,we have to rise 
in faith to claim the supernatural power
 which neither ,he used nor we may use  
merely for self-preservation1 which yet 
is to be set free in the service of the 
kingdom4  ,prayer in the ,name of       
,christ is not only the prayer of       
resignation1 based on the self-committal
 of ,jesus our ,brother into the hands  
of the ,father4 ,such would ever tend1  
as uttered by our trembling faith1      
towards fatalism4 ,but it is also prayer
 in the ,name of ,him ,who was declared 
to be the ,son of ,god with power by the
 resurrection of the dead1 even ,jesus  
,christ our ,lord4 ,it is the prayer of 
power--that power which was at ,jesus'  
command1 and was therefore the subject  
of ,his temptation1 and was drawn upon  
by the faith of sufferers and yet was   
unused by ,jesus to save ,himself4 ,this
 power is the power of ,god4 ,it is the 
exceeding greatness of ,his power1      

according to that working of the        
strength of ,his might which ,he wrought
 in ,christ1 when ,he raised ,him from  
the dead and made ,him to sit at ,his   
right hand in the heavenly places4      
,here are heights where the air is      
charged with potentiality of new life1  
hardly dreamt of by our faith on its low
 stagnant levels4 ,here are heights to  
be stormed by faithful unself-seeking   
love4 ,this way lies deliverance and new
 creation1 and the breaking of prison   
bars and the turning of our captivity   
such as shall fill all our mouths with  
laughter4  ,a few know that these words 
are not rhetorical4 ,they know1 with    
,st4 ,paul1 the riches of the glory of  
,christ's inheritance in the saints4    
,such was ,mary ,slessor1 pioneer       
missionary in ,west ,africa1 the leaves 
of whose biography ,i happened to turn  
over as ,i was writing these pages4 ,she
 had frequently to take journeys through
 forests with leopards swarming around  
her4 ,she wrote3 ,i did not use to      

believe the story of ,daniel in the     
lions' den until ,i had to take some of 
these awful marches1 and then ,i knew it
 was true and that it was written for my
 comfort4 ,many a time ,i walked along  
praying ',o ,god of ,daniel1 shut their 
mouths1' and ,he did4#e  ,this is the   
prayer of faith4 ,it is the prayer which
 asks not to be hit4 ,it is more than   
resignation1 it is the prayer of power4 
,it believes that there are             
hardly-tapped powers and possibilities  
in ,god for those who seek first ,his   
kingdom and righteousness4 ,we do not   
know much about such prayer in our      
present spiritual sickness4 ,but it is  
there1 a weapon to be wielded by        
dauntless1 simple faith4 ,there is an   
inheritance to be claimed by            
little-loving sons1 who yet are         
sons--heirs of ,god and joint heirs with
 ,christ1 if so be that we suffer with  
,him4  ,,footnotes3  #d ,prayer after   
the mind of our ,lord depends greatly on
 how we think of ,him4 ,the following   

lines1 written by a barrister1 are1 ,i  
think1 a wholesome corrective of that   
which is too soft in our conventional   
thought about our ,saviour4 ,despite a  
false or partial note here and there1   
they are nearer to ,him than the thought
 underlying the first verse of the      
hymn--a great favourite among the men   
owing to its tune--,jesu1 ,lover of my  
,soul4 ,at any rate they suggest the    
right association of ideas in which our 
,lord should live in the mind of a young
 man3      ,jesus1 ,whose lot with us   
was cast1     ,who saw it out1 from     
first to last3     ,patient and         
fearless1 tender1 true1     ,carpenter1 
vagabond1 felon1 ,jew3     ,whose       
humorous eye took in each phase     ,of 
full rich life this world displays1     
,yet evermore kept fast in view     ,the
 far-off goal it leads us to3      ,who1
 as your hour neared1 did not fail--    
,the world's fate trembling in the      
scale--     ,with your half-hearted band
 to dine1     ,and chat across the bread

 and wine3     ,then went out firm to   
face the end1     ,alone1 without a     
single friend3     ,who felt1 as your   
last words confessed1     ,wrung from a 
proud unflinching breast     ,by hours  
of dull ignoble pain1     ,your whole   
life's fight was fought in vain3        
,would ,i could win and keep and feel   
,that heart of love1 that spirit of     
steel4      ,i would not to ,thy bosom  
fly     ,to slink off till the storms go
 by4     ,if you are like the man you   
were     ,you'ld turn with scorn from   
such a prayer1     ,unless from some    
poor workhouse crone1     ,too toil-worn
 to do aught but moan4     ,flog me and 
spur me1 set me straight     ,at some   
vile job ,i fear and hate3     ,some    
sickening round of long endeavour1      
,no light1 no rest1 no outlet ever3     
,all at a pace that must not slack1     
,tho' heart would burst and sinews      
crack3     ,fog in one's eyes1 the brain
 a-swim1     ,a weight like lead in     
every limb1     ,and a raw pit that     

hurts like hell     ,where once the     
light breath rose and fell3     ,do you 
but keep me1 hope or none1     ,cheery  
and staunch till all is done1     ,and1 
at the last gasp1 quick to lend     ,one
 effort more to serve a friend4         
,and when--for so ,i sometimes dream--  
,i've swum the dark1 the silent stream1 
,so cold1 it takes the breath away1     
,that parts the dead world from the day1
     ,and see upon the further strand   
,the lazy1 listless angels stand1       
,and with their frank and fearless eyes 
,the comrades whom ,i most did prize3   
,then1 clean1 unburdened1 careless1     
cool1     ,i'll saunter up from that    
grim pool1     ,and join my friends3    
then you'll come by1     ,the ,captain  
of our ,company3     ,call me out1 look 
me up and down1     ,and pass me through
 without a frown1     ,with half a      
smile1 but never a word--     ,and so ,i
 shall have met my ,lord4    #e ,mary   
,slessor of ,calabar3 ,pioneer          
,missionary1 p4 #ajf4 ,hodder           

,stoughton4     ,,xx   ,there is also   
the objection that the view implied in  
the preceding pages leaves out or passes
 over too lightly our need as sinners in
 the sight of ,god all ,holy4 ,is not   
our need for forgiveness to impel us    
towards ,god8 ,is not our need--our need
 in anxiety1 our need in guiltiness--to 
be a motive in our religion8  ,yes1 a   
motive1 but not the motive4 ,it is a    
question of order4 ,what must come first
 is not our need1 whether as anxious or 
guilty1 but ,god's need1 or else our    
religion will be at the level of natural
 religion and below the ,christian      
level4 ,it is because men are poor      
towards ,god and think coldly and       
ungenerously of ,him that they 'are not 
worrying about their sins4' ,men are not
 sorry for sin 7except with the seedy   
remorse of 'the morning after'7 until   
their sin has come into contact with    
love4 ,the more vital a young man is1   
the less will he brood in self-regard   
over his wrongdoing4 ,anyhow1 ,i have   

lived1 he will say4 ,but if it comes    
home to him what his wrongdoing has done
 to another who loves him1 then he      
begins to be sorry4 ,i didn't care1 he  
will say1 for myself4 ,i had my fling4  
,but now ,i see that what ,i did has    
broken my mother's heart4 ,i wish to    
,god ,i hadn't done it4  ,our religion  
must begin from ,god4 ,it must spring   
out of love fuller and more hungry than 
our desirous hearts4 ,it must spring out
 of love1 not--how could it8--out of our
 love for ,god1 but out of ,his love for
 us4 ,if ,god's love for us1 manifested 
in the utterly real and suffering love  
of ,jesus1 and in no insipid fancy of   
our sentimental moments1 wins its way   
past our guard and over the barriers of 
self1 hatred of sin and sorrow for sin  
will follow4 ,but it is a question of   
order3 first1 what ,god is2 second1 what
 we are4 ,the more vivid the first is to
 a man1 the more inevitable his candid  
consciousness of the second4 ,the more  
he is taken captive by the assurance    

that ,god is his ,father1 the more      
glaring it will be to him that he is an 
unworthy son4 ,and the more men set out 
to give effect to their sonship in      
service for the kingdom of ,god1 the    
more they will realise their strange    
impotence4 ,the dreadful hiatus between 
aspiration and performance1 between     
acknowledged and realised ideals will   
widen4 ,the eager impulse to disregard  
self and to serve ,god with love and    
praise and joy1 will be found horridly  
at variance with a natural and rooted   
impulse towards self-devotion and       
indulgence4 ,the worship and praise of  
,god1 not only in thought and word but  
in deed1 will stumble and fall short of 
its goal--and then the tears of tragic  
failure will start and the cry of       
despair ring out4 ,it was so with ,peter
 in the porch and ,paul beaten down in  
bondage under the ,law4 ,who shall      
deliver us from the body of this death8 
,i think there is no fear but that1 if  
we do set out to put into practice our  

inheritance as sons of ,god1 we shall   
come to the ,cross of ,christ in genuine
 ,rock-of-ages fashion1 bringing nothing
 to it in the end1 except our           
lovelessness4 ,his1 after all and in    
fact1 was the one1 free1 utterly loving 
and obedient offering of self to the    
,father4 ,he did something others could 
not do--,he died for them1 and in ,him  
and through ,him alone did they come    
unto the ,holy ,father4 ,i cannot work  
it out here1 but along this way ,i seem 
to travel home into the great evangel of
 the ,atonement4  ,only1 ,i plead1 this 
propitiatory work of ,christ must come  
second in the imagination1 and ,his     
,love-of-,god-revealing work first4 ,and
 ,i think in the course of the history  
of ,christianity an inversion has come  
about4 ,in hymns and liturgies the prima
 facie and predominant emphasis seems   
rather to rest on our sinfulness than on
 ,god's goodness4 ,before they do       
anything else the ,prayer ,book1 as it  
is at present used1 asks men to embark  

on the overloaded phrases of the        
,general ,confession4 ,i know that this 
may be justified by arguing that the    
,prayer ,book assumes that the other    
parts of the ,christian religion are in 
the minds of 'the faithful' members of  
the ,church4 ,but this assumption is    
unwarranted as regards the mass of      
soldiers whom we keep on inviting to use
 the more or less mutilated forms of    
,morning and ,evening ,prayer4  ,and    
even when we come to the ,eucharist1    
though everything can be found in it1 ,i
 often wonder whether there the ,church 
has not come to lay more stress upon the
 ,cross as the offering for sin than as 
the disclosure of the ,divine pity for  
the sinner4 ,if so1 is it that too much 
has been taken for granted1 namely1 the 
,love of ,god which alone can evoke     
sorrow for sin and be worthy of the     
offering for sin8 ,has familiarity      
tended to disguise and overlay the      
wonder-compelling revelation of ,god8   
,in the ,eucharist has ,he been thought 

of rather as the ,father sitting back in
 reception of placation1 than as the    
,father ,who1 while we are a great way  
off1 runs out to fall on our neck and   
bring us home8  ,i think that a         
re-ordering is needed4 ,for             
,christianity1 stressed as it appears to
 be at present1 will never catch the    
souls of men4 ,i think of the flying    
boys who1 more than any one else1 are   
winning our battles 7,i have been       
chaplain to a squadron of them for a    
little time74 ,they are far from        
unsinful1 but they will nevertheless1 ,i
 am sure1 not begin with the avowal that
 there is no health in them2 they will  
not sing that they are weary of earth   
and laden with their sins4 ,for as they 
live almost gaily and unconcernedly on  
the edge of things1 they know that that 
is not the primary truth about          
themselves4 ,yet ,christ1 if in ,him    
they see the all-hazarding and          
all-enduring ,love of ,god1 can win the 
love and worship of their eager hearts4 

,he can catch those living creatures    
alive4  ,there must be a re-ordering and
 simplification and correction of       
emphasis4 ,it is possible1 now that     
historical science is unravelling the   
,bible and ,church history1 and         
extricating from their many levels and  
complexities what is simple and specific
 in the glorious truths of ,god and of  
man in ,christ4 ,some exaggerations must
 be sloughed off4 ,i think a little of  
the sepia1 for instance1 that was in the
 brush of ,paul must be washed away4    
,has not he1 or rather have not the     
great men of his school1 over-obsessed  
us with the dogma1 derived from         
,scriptural literalism1 of human        
corruption flowing from ,adam8  ,there  
is1 by contrast1 a more radiant and yet 
as realistic view of the world as       
,christ saw it1 to be recovered4 ,some  
of ,his glories1 dimmed by the veil of  
inadequate conceptions in the minds of  
,his witnesses1 will shine as never     
before1 as the ,holy ,spirit takes of   

,him and shows it unto us4     ,,xxi    
,finally1 ,i would say a word about the 
charge of pessimism which this report   
from the front may evoke4 ,both         
pessimism and optimism are rather moods 
in us than qualities which really belong
 to the facts of a situation4 ,the main 
point is to try to get down to reality  
and not to flinch4 ,anyhow1 ,i do not   
feel pessimistic about our holy and     
glorious religion4 ,far otherwise4 ,it  
is coming again4 ,actualities at the    
front1 as ,i try to learn from them1 do 
seem to me to show a very widespread and
 deep ignorance of the good news of ,god
 in ,christ4 ,but that seems only to    
make more wonderful and precious those  
treasures of truth and joy in ,christ   
which ,god has ready for those who seek 
them4 ,they are the more wonderful      
because one knows that1 in the silence  
which has fallen on many loud voices    
amid the thunderous cataclysm of war1   
the ,word of ,god in ,christ alone rings
 out anew4 ,it is the truth of ,god in  

,him for this mysteriously muddled and  
cruel world1 and yet the truth which    
includes every partial element of truth 
or goodness in the world4 ,and there are
 such elements4 ,only second to the     
wonder of the ,gospel of the ,cross are 
the achievements of the souls of very   
ordinary men under unparalleled         
afflictions4 ,without knowing it1 they  
are seen to be worthy of ,jesus1 ,who   
loves them and gave ,himself for them4  
,if there are nearly virgin resources in
 ,god1 there are also deep unused       
treasures of potentiality in men4 ,there
 are in them excellences and simple     
heroisms which make plain that          
,christianity is no artificial thing    
superimposed on human nature1 but is the
 laying bare and setting free of its    
inmost native quality4 ,there is        
everywhere about1 over here1 a diffused 
,christianity in men who are better than
 they know4 ,it seems like so much      
material that needs but a spark to set  
it ablaze4 ,may there be a great        

conflagration--the flaming out of the   
,light of the world1 to illuminate1 to  
cleanse1 to fill it with the heat of    
love1 both human and divine6 ,,amen4    
,,the ,,end   ,printed by ,r4  ,r4      
,,clark1 ,,limited1 ,edinburgh4         
,crown #hvo4 #c_/f net4  ,,the ,,mind   
,,of ,,the ,,disciples  ,by the ,,rev4  
,,neville ,s4 ,,talbot  ,he deals with  
his subject in a manner completely free 
from the shackles of the schools and    
with a reverence which is welcome after 
the over-confident handling of some     
young dons4--,daily ,news4  ,should be a
 help to many whose belief in the       
fundamental doctrines of ,christianity  
has been shaken1 and to whom 'learned   
books' do not appeal4--,the ,guardian4  
,,some ,,recent ,,books  ,,essays ,,in  
,,orthodoxy4 ,by the ,,rev4 ,,oliver ,c4
 ,,quick1 ,chaplain to the ,archbishop  
of ,canterbury4 ,cr4 #hvo4 #f_/-net4    
,,third ,,impression4  ,,concerning     
,,prayer3 its ,nature1 its              
,difficulties1 and its ,value4 ,edited  

by ,canon ,,burnet ,h4 ,,streeter and   
the ,author of ,pro ,christo et         
,ecclesia4 #hvo4 #g_/f net4  ,,third    
,,impression4  ,,faith ,,or ,,fear8 ,an 
,appeal to the ,church of ,england4 ,by 
,,donald ,,hankey 7,a ,student in       
,arms71 ,,william ,,scott ,,palmer1     
,,harold ,,anson1 ,f4 ,,lewis           
,,donaldson1 and ,,charles ,h4,s4       
,,matthews 7,editor74 ,crown #hvo4 #c_/f
 net4  ,,what ,,think ,,ye ,,of         
,,christ8 ,by the ,rev4 ,c4,e4 ,,raven1 
,m4,a41 ,fellow of ,emmanuel ,college1  
,cambridge4 ,crown #hvo4 #d_/f net4     
,,second ,,impression  ,,the            
,,forgiveness ,,of ,,sins3 ,a ,study in 
the ,apostles' ,creed4 ,by the ,rev4    
,,henry ,,barclay ,,swete1 ,d4,d41      
,d4,litt41 ,f4,b4,a4 ,crown #hvo4 #c_/f 
net4  ,,ecclesiastes2 or1 ,the          
,confessions of an ,adventurous ,soul4  
,being a ,practical ,application of the 
book ,koheleth called ,ecclesiastes4 ,by
 ,,minos ,,devine1 ,m4,a41 ,worcester   
,college1 ,oxford4 ,crown #hvo4 #d_/f   

net4  ,,the ,,christian ,,doctrine ,,of 
,,health4 ,a ,handbook on the ,relation 
of ,bodily to ,spiritual and ,moral     
,health4 ,by the ,author of ,pro        
,christo et ,ecclesia4 ,crown #hvo4     
#b_/-net4  ,,london3 ,,macmillan ,,and  
,,co41 ,,ltd4