,,religious ,,reality  ,a ,,book ,,for  
,,men  ,a4 ,e4 ,j4 ,,rawlinson  ,student
 of ,christ ,church1 ,oxford2 ,examining
 ,chaplain to the ,bishop of ,lichfield2
 ,priest-,in-,charge of ,st4 ,john ,the 
,evangelist1 ,wilton ,road1 ,s4,w42     
,formerly ,tutor of ,keble ,college and 
,late ,chaplain to the ,forces4   ,,with
 ,a ,,preface  ,,by  ,,the ,,bishop ,,of
 ,,lichfield   #aiah     ,,preface  ,,by
  ,,the ,,bishop ,,of ,,lichfield       
,this is a book which is wanted4        
,thoughtful men1 in every class1 are not
 afraid of theology1 i4e4 of a reasoned 
account of their religion1 but they want
 a theology which can be stated without 
conventions and technicalities2 they do 
not at all care for a religion which    
pretends to do away with all mystery1   
but they are glad to be assured of the  
essential reasonableness of the         
,christian ,faith2 they do not expect a 
ready-made solution of the problem of   
evil1 but they wish to see it honestly  
faced2 above all1 they want to know how 

,christian truth bears on the real      
problems of life2 the best of them are  
not at all afraid of a religion which   
makes big demands on them1 but they know
 well enough the difficulty of          
responding to those claims1 and their   
greatest need of all is to find and to  
use that life and power1 coming from a  
living ,person1 without which our best  
aspirations must fail and our highest   
ideals remain unrealized4  ,these needs 
seem to me to be satisfactorily and     
happily met in the following pages4 ,my 
friend and chaplain1 ,mr4 ,rawlinson1   
has had good means of knowing what men  
are and what they want4 ,he has had to  
do with the undergraduate1 with officers
 and men in the ,army1 and with the     
ordinary civilian in parish life4 ,he   
has been able to see the nature and     
needs of our ,british manhood at        
different angles1 and he is the sort of 
man with whom men are not afraid to     
talk4 ,he has had good opportunity of   
diagnosing the situation1 and this book 

shows his skill in dealing with it4  ,i 
do not find myself in agreement with    
everything in these pages1 but when ,i  
am conscious of difference of view1 ,i  
am no less grateful for the stimulus to 
thought4 ,i am specially thankful that  
the writer has been so courageous in    
tackling the most difficult subjects4   
,i know that the author's one desire is 
to help men to be more real in their    
religion4 ,i share his hope1 and ,i     
believe that this book will do much to  
accomplish it4     ,,author',s ,,preface
   ,this book has grown out of the      
writer's experience in preparing men and
 officers in military hospitals for     
,confirmation4 ,it represents1 in a     
considerably expanded but--as it is     
hoped--still simple form1 the kind of   
things which he would have wished to say
 to them1 and to others with whom he was
 brought into contact1 if he had had    
more time and opportunity than was      
usually afforded him4 ,it seemed        
necessary to write the book1 because    

there did not appear to be in existence 
any reasonably short book on similar    
lines which covered the ground of       
,christian faith and practice as a      
whole1 and which approached the subject 
from the point of view which seems to   
the writer to be the most real4  ,the   
writer is consciously indebted in the   
first chapter to the discussion of our  
,lord's teaching and character in ,dr4  
,t4 ,b4 ,glover's fascinating book1 ,the
 ,jesus of ,history4 ,it is possible    
that there are other and unconscious    
obligations which have been overlooked4 
,here and there acknowledgment is made  
in footnotes1 and an occasional phrase1 
lifted from some other writer1 has been 
placed in inverted commas4  ,in ,chapter
 ,,viii4 of ,part ,i4 the author has    
echoed the thought1 and to a certain    
extent the wording1 of parts of his own 
essay on ,the ,principle of ,authority  
in ,foundations4  ,for help in the      
correction of the proofs1 and for       
criticisms and suggestions which have   

led to numerous modifications and       
improvements in matters of detail1 the  
thanks of the writer are due to various 
friends1 and more particularly to his   
brother1 ,lieutenant ,a4 ,c4 ,rawlinson1
 of the ,queen's ,own ,oxfordshire      
,hussars2 to the ,rev4 ,austin          
,thompson1 ,vicar of ,s4 ,peter's1      
,eaton ,square2 and to the ,rev4        
,leonard ,hodgson1 ,vice-,principal of  
,s4 ,edmund ,hall1 ,oxford4  ,november1 
#aiag4     ,,contents   ,,preface ,,by  
,,the ,,bishop ,,of ,,lichfield         
,,introduction   ,,part ,i  ,,the       
,,theory ,,of ,,the ,,christian         
,,religion  ,,chap4  ,i4    ,,the ,,man 
,,christ ,,jesus  ,,ii4   ,,the         
,,revelation ,,of ,,the ,,father  ,,iii4
  ,,the ,,fellowship ,,of ,,the ,,spirit
  ,,iv4   ,,the ,,holy ,,trinity  ,v4   
,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,evil  ,,vi4      
,,sin ,,and ,,redemption  ,,vii4  ,,the 
,,church ,,and ,,her ,,mission ,,in     
,,the ,,world  ,,viii4 ,,protestant     
,,and ,,catholic  ,,ix4   ,,sacraments  

,x4    ,,the ,,last ,,things  ,,xi4     
,,clergy ,,and ,,laity  ,,xii4  ,,the   
,,bible   ,,part ,,ii  ,,the ,,practice 
,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,religion  ,i4  
,,the ,,christian ,,aim  ,,ii4   ,,the  
,,way ,,of ,,the ,,world  ,,iii4  ,,the 
,,spirit ,,and ,,the ,,flesh  ,,iv4     
,,the ,,works ,,of ,,the ,,devil  ,v4   
,,the ,,kingdom ,,of ,,god  ,,vi4       
,,christianity ,,and ,,commerce  ,,vii4 
,,christianity ,,and ,,industry  ,,viii4
 ,,christianity ,,and ,,politics  ,,ix4 
,,christianity ,,and ,,war  ,x4         
,,love1 ,,courtship1 ,,and ,,marriage   
,,part ,,iii  ,,the ,,maintenance ,,of  
,,the ,,christian ,,life  ,i4   ,,how   
,,to ,,begin  ,,ii4  ,,prayer  ,,iii4   
,,self-,,examination ,,and ,,repentance 
,,iv4  ,,corporate ,,worship ,,and      
,,communion  ,v4   ,,the ,,devotional   
,,use ,,of ,,the ,,bible  ,,vi4         
,,almsgiving ,,and ,,fasting            
,,introduction   ,vital religion begins 
for a man when lie first discovers the  
reality of the living ,,god4 ,most men  

indeed profess a belief in ,,god1 a     
vague acknowledgment of the existence of
 ,one above3 but the belief counts for  
little in their lives4  ,,god1 if ,he   
exists at all1 must obviously be        
important3 and it is conceivable that   
,he prefers the dogmatic atheism of a   
man here and a man there1 or the serious
 agnosticism of a slightly larger       
number1 to the practical indifference of
 the majority4 ,there are two attitudes1
 and only two1 which are worthy of a    
serious man3 to serve ,,god with his    
whole heart1 because he knows ,him2 or  
to seek ,,god with his whole heart1     
because he knows ,him not4  ,the        
ordinary ,englishman is in most cases   
nominally a ,christian4 ,as a rule he   
has been admitted in infancy by baptism 
into the ,christian ,church4 ,but he is 
ignorant of the implications of his     
baptism1 and indifferent to the claims  
of a religion which he fails to         
understand4 ,these pages are written    
with the object of explaining what1 in  

the writer's judgment1 the faith and    
practice of the ,christian ,church      
really is4     ,,part ,i  ,,the ,,theory
 ,,of ,,the ,,christian ,,religion      
,,chapter ,i  ,,the ,,man ,,christ      
,,jesus   ,it is best to begin with a   
study of the teaching and character of  
,christ4 ,scholars for about a hundred  
years have been studying the ,gospels   
historically1 like any other books4 ,it 
is now reasonably certain that the first
 three ,gospels--those which we know as 
the ,gospels according to ,s4 ,matthew1 
,s4 ,mark1 and ,s4 ,luke--though not1 of
 course1 infallible or accurate in their
 every detail1 reflect nevertheless in a
 general way a trustworthy portrait of  
,jesus as ,he actually lived4 ,the      
sayings ascribed to ,christ in their    
pages bear the marks of originality4    
,the outline of the events which they   
describe may be taken as being in rough 
correspondence with the facts4 ,the     
,gospels as a whole represent pretty    
faithfully the impression made by the   

life and character of ,jesus upon the   
minds and memories of those who knew    
,him best4  ,we are very apt to regard  
the ,gospels conventionally4 ,an        
inherited orthodoxy which has made peace
 with the world takes them for granted  
as a tale of little meaning1 though the 
words are strong4 ,an impatient reaction
 from orthodoxy sets them aside as      
incomprehensible or unimportant4 ,it is 
worth while making the effort to empty  
our minds of prejudice1 and to allow the
 ,gospels to tell their own tale4 ,we   
shall find that they bring us face to   
face with a ,portrait of surprising     
freshness and power4  ,it is the        
portrait of ,one who spent the first    
thirty years of ,his life in an obscure 
,galilaean village1 and who in early    
manhood worked as a carpenter in a      
village shop4 ,he first came forward in 
public in connexion with a religious    
revival initiated by ,john the ,baptist4
 ,he was baptized in the ,jordan4 ,what 
,his baptism meant to ,him is symbolized

 by the account of a vision which ,he   
saw1 and a ,voice which designated ,him 
as ,son of ,,god4 ,he became conscious  
of a religious mission1 and was at first
 tempted to interpret ,his mission in an
 unworthy way1 to seek to promote       
spiritual ends by temporal compromises1 
or to impress men's minds by an appeal  
to mystery or miracle4 ,he rejected the 
temptation1 and proclaimed simply ,,god 
and ,his ,kingdom4 ,he is said to have  
healed the sick and to have wrought     
other signs and mighty works3 but ,he   
set no great store by these things1 and 
did not wish to be known primarily as a 
wonder-worker4 ,he lived the life of an 
itinerating ,teacher1 declaring to any  
who cared to listen the things          
concerning the ,kingdom of ,,god4 ,at   
times ,he was popular and attracted     
crowds3 but ,he cared little for        
popularity1 wrapped up ,his teaching in 
parables1 and repelled by ,his hard     
sayings all but a minority of earnest   
souls4 ,he gave offence to the          

conventionalists and the religiously    
orthodox by the freedom with which ,he  
criticized established beliefs and      
usages1 by ,his championship of social  
outcasts1 and by ,his association with  
persons of disreputable life4 ,unlike   
,john the ,baptist1 ,he was neither a   
teetotaller nor a puritan4 ,he was not a
 rigid ,sabbatarian4 ,he despised       
humbug1 hypocrisy1 and cant3 and ,he    
hated meanness and cruelty4 ,he could be
 stern with a terrible sternness4 ,his  
gaze pierced through all disguises1 and 
,he understood the things that are in   
the heart of man4 ,he saw things naked4 
,he has been called the great ,son of   
,fact4 ,he was never under any          
illusions4  ,he faced the hostility of  
public opinion with unflinching courage4
 ,he expected to be crucified1 and      
crucified ,he was4 ,he warned those who 
followed ,him to expect a similar fate4 
,he claimed from men an allegiance that 
should be absolute3 the ties of home and
 kindred1 of wealth or position in the  

world1 were to be held of no account3   
anything which stood in the way of      
entire discipleship to ,himself1 however
 compelling its immediate claim1 was to 
be sacrificed without hesitation for    
,his sake4 ,he saw nothing inconsistent 
between this concentration of men's     
allegiance upon ,his own person1 and    
,his insistence upon ,,god as the one   
great ,reality that mattered4  ,the     
motive of ,his whole life was           
consecration to the will of ,,god4 ,he  
was rich towards ,,god1 where other men 
are poor4 ,the words were true of ,him1 
as of no one else1 ,i have set ,,god    
always before me4 ,his mission among men
 ,he fulfilled as a work which ,his     
,father had given ,him to do4 ,lo1 ,i   
come to do ,thy will1 ,o ,,god4 ,he     
loved men1 and went about doing good1   
because ,he knew that ,,god loved men1  
and meant well by them1 and desired good
 for them1 and not evil4 ,he was        
pitiful1 because ,,god is pitiful4 ,he  
hated evil1 because ,,god hates it4 ,he 

loved purity1 because ,,god is pure4    
,he delighted in friendships both with  
men and women3 but you could not imagine
 anything unclean in ,his friendships4  
,he was not married1 but ,he looked upon
 marriage as an utterly pure and holy   
thing1 taught that a man should leave   
father and mother and cleave unto his   
wife so that they twain should be one   
flesh1 and recognized no possibility of 
divorce except--and even this is not    
quite certain--on the ground of marital 
unfaithfulness4 ,he had one and the same
 standard of purity for men and women4  
,he loved children1 the birds and the   
flowers1 the life of the open air3 but  
,he was equally at home in the life of  
the town4 ,he went out to dinner with   
anybody who asked ,him3 ,he rejoiced in 
the simple hilarity of a wedding feast4 
,he was a believer in fellowship1 and in
 human brotherhood4 ,he was everybody's 
friend1 and looked upon no one as beyond
 the pale4 ,he loved sinners and        
welcomed them1 without in the least     

condoning what was wrong4 ,he looked    
upon the open and acknowledged sinner as
 a more hopeful person from the         
religious point of view than the person 
who was self-satisfied and smug4 ,he    
said that ,he came to seek and to save  
those who knew themselves to be lost4   
,he chose twelve men to be in an        
especial sense ,his disciples--learners 
in ,his school4 ,to them ,he sought to  
reveal something of ,his deeper mind4   
,he tried to make them understand that  
true royalty consists in service2 that  
if a man would be spiritually great he  
should choose for himself the lowest    
room1 and become the servant of all2    
that the privilege of sitting on ,his   
right hand and on ,his left in ,his     
,kingdom was reserved for those for whom
 it was prepared by ,his ,father2 the   
important thing was whether a man was   
prepared to drink ,his cup of suffering1
 and be baptized with ,his baptism of   
blood4 ,but ,he did speak of ,himself as
 ,king1 ,he accepted the designation of 

,himself as the ,christ of ,,god1 and   
spoke strange words about ,his coming   
upon the clouds of heaven to judgment4  
,he held that by their relation to      
,himself and to ,his ideals the lives of
 all men should be tested1 and the      
verdict passed upon their deeds4 ,for   
making these and similar claims ,he was 
convicted of blasphemy and put to death4
  ,his disciples failed to understand   
,him4 ,the ,gospels are full of the     
contrast between their minds and ,his4  
,of the chosen ,twelve who1 as ,he said1
 had continued with ,him in ,his trials 
and to whom ,he promised that they      
should eat and drink at ,his table in   
,his ,kingdom1 and sit on thrones       
judging the twelve tribes of ,israel1   
one betrayed and one denied ,him when   
the time of crisis came1 and the rest   
forsook ,him and fled4 ,the fact that   
their faith and loyalty were            
subsequently re- established--that the  
execution which took place on ,calvary  
was not the complete and summary ending 

of the whole ,christian movement--that1 
in the days that followed1 the recreant 
disciples became the confident          
,apostles1 requires for its explanation 
the assertion in some form of the truth 
of the ,resurrection4  ,with regard to  
the precise form which the ,resurrection
 took there may be room for differences 
of opinion3 the accounts of the risen   
,jesus in the various ,gospel records   
cannot be completely harmonized1 and the
 story may here and there have been     
modified in the telling4 ,the fact      
remains that apart from the assumption  
as a matter of historical truth that    
,jesus was veritably alive from the     
dead1 and that ,he showed ,himself alive
 to ,his disciples by evidences which   
were adequate to carry conviction to    
their incredulous minds1 the origins of 
historical ,christianity cannot really  
be explained4  ,in the ,gospel according
 to ,s4 ,john it is stated that the     
crowds said of ,jesus1 ,this is of a    
truth that ,prophet that should come    

into the world3 and so much1 at the     
least1 the average ,englishman is ready 
to admit3 for to call ,jesus ,christ a  
,prophet--even to call ,him the supreme 
,prophet--is to claim for ,him no more  
than a good ,mohammedan claims for      
,mohammed4  ,the word prophet in itself 
means one who speaks on behalf of       
another3 and a prophet is defined to be 
a spokesman on behalf of ,,god4 ,he is  
essentially a man with a message4 ,in so
 far as he is a true prophet he is one  
who by an imperious inner necessity is  
constrained to declare to his fellows a 
word which has come to him from the     
,lord4 ,and the prophet's word is       
urgent3 it brooks no delay4 ,it is      
impatient of conventionalisms and shams4
 ,it breaks through the established     
order of things in matters both social  
and religious4 ,it is dynamic1 vivid1   
revolutionary4 ,it goes to the root of  
things1 with a startling directness1 a  
kind of explosive force4 ,it disturbs   
and shatters the customary placidities  

of men's lives4 ,it forces them to face 
spiritual realities1 to look the truth  
in the face4  ,all this is true in a    
pre-eminent degree of the words of      
,christ4 ,there is a force and          
directness1 an energy and intensity     
about ,his teaching1 which is without   
parallel in the history of the world4   
,it might have been thought impossible  
for ,his utterances1 in any age or under
 any circumstances1 to become           
conventionalized3 but the miracle has   
been achieved4 ,christianity is to the  
average ,englishman an established      
convention and nothing more4  ,blessed  
are the poor in spirit1 said ,jesus3 but
 we say rather1 ,blessed are the rich in
 substance4  ,blessed are they that     
mourn3 but that is not the general      
opinion4  ,blessed are the meek1 for    
they shall inherit the earth--but who   
amongst us really believes it8  ,blessed
 are they that hunger and thirst after  
righteousness3 for they shall be filled4
  ,blessed are the merciful3 for they   

shall obtain mercy3 but to-day a more   
popular maxim is1 ,be not merciful unto 
them that offend of malicious           
wickedness4  ,blessed are the pure in   
heart--and how many of us are that8     
,blessed are the peace-makers3 but in a 
time of war they are not very favourably
 regarded4  ,blessed are they that are  
persecuted for righteousness' sake--is  
that your ambition1 or mine8  ,ye are   
the salt of the earth and the light of  
the world--then the earth1 it is to be  
feared1 is a somewhat insipid place1 and
 its light comparable to darkness       
visible4 ,if any man will come after    
,me1 let him take up his ,cross1 and    
follow ,me3 but most of us make it a    
tacit condition of our ,christianity    
that we shall not be crucified4  ,is it 
not true that we habitually refuse to   
take seriously ,his teaching about man2 
that we water down ,his paradoxes and   
conventionalize ,his sayings2 that we   
blunt the sharpness of ,his precepts1   
and shirk the tremendous sternness of   

,his demands8  ,and does ,his teaching  
about ,,god fare any better8 ,,god was  
to ,jesus ,christ the one ,reality that 
mattered2 is that in any serious sense  
true of us8 ,,god1 ,he taught1 cares for
 the sparrows1 numbers the hairs of our 
heads1 sees in secret1 and reads our    
inmost hearts4 ,,god knows all about us1
 loves us individually1 thinks out our  
life in all its relations1 and makes    
provision accordingly4 ,there is nothing
 which ,he cannot or will not do for    
,his children4  ,he is near and not far 
off3 ,he is also on the throne of all   
things-- the ,universe is in our        
,father's hand1 and ,his will directs   
it4 ,o ye of little faith1 wherefore did
 ye doubt8 ,fear1 on the ground that    
things are stormy1 is a thing ,christ   
simply cannot understand4  ,,god1       
moreover1 is loving and generous1 royal 
and bounteous3 forgiving sinners3       
sending ,his rain with ,divine          
impartiality upon the just and the      
unjust alike4 ,his flowers are just as  

beautiful in the bad man's garden4 ,he  
loves even ,his enemies1 for ,he is     
equally the ,father of all4  ,and man is
 made for ,,god1 and belongs to ,,god4  
,,god and man need one another3 all that
 is requisite is that they should find  
one another3 and that is the ,good      
,news4 ,the discovery of ,,god is the   
,pearl of great price1 a ,treasure worth
 the sacrifice of everything else3 the  
experience of a life-time1 and a        
life-time's acquisitions1 apart from    
,,god1 are not worth anything at all4   
,we who call ourselves ,christians1 do  
we seriously believe these things8 ,do  
we really share ,christ's outlook upon  
,,god1 or ,his hope for man8 ,is our    
view of life centred in ,,god1 as was   
,his8 ,or do ,his words of reproach fit 
us1 as they fitted ,s4 ,peter--,you     
think like a man1 and not like ,,god8   
,the way to faith in ,,god1 and to love 
for man1 it has been said1 is to come   
nearer to the living ,jesus4 ,if we     
would learn ,christ's great prophecy    

about man and ,,god1 we must read the   
,gospels over again1 with awakened eyes4
 ,we must take seriously the man ,christ
 ,jesus4 ,we must hear the words of ,his
 prophecy1 and face honestly the        
challenge of ,his sayings4 ,we must     
confront the central ,figure of the     
,gospels in all its tremendous realism1 
watering down nothing1 explaining       
nothing away2 wrestling with ,jesus of  
,nazareth as ,jacob wrestled with the   
angel1 and refusing to let ,him go      
except ,he bless us4 ,in the end ,he    
does bless those who wrestle with ,him1 
and we shall not in the end be able to  
stop short of confessing ,him as ,,god4 
,for the message of the ,gospel story is
 ultimately not even the teaching of    
,christ3 it is ,christ ,himself4 ,he1   
alone among the world's teachers1       
perfectly practised what ,he preached1  
and embodied what ,he taught4 ,and      
therefore the truth of ,,god and the    
ideal for man in ,him are one4 ,in ,him 
we see man as he ought to be1 man as he 

is meant to be4 ,and because we         
instinctively judge that the highest    
human nature is divine1 and because also
 we feel that ,,god ,himself would be   
most divine and worshipful if we could  
conceive of ,him as entering in and     
sharing our human experience and        
revealing ,himself as man1 those who    
have reflected most deeply about the    
matter have commonly been led to believe
 that so indeed it is4 ,they have felt  
that in ,jesus ,christ man1 as the      
mirror and the ,son of ,,god1 reflects  
the ,father's glory4 ,they have felt    
that in ,jesus ,christ ,,god1 the       
,eternal ,source of all things1 has     
expressed and revealed ,himself in a    
human life3 that ,,god has spoken a     
,word1 a ,word which is the expression  
of ,himself3 and that the ,word is      
,christ4 ,have ,i been so long time with
 you1 and yet hast thou not known ,me1  
,philip8 ,he that hath seen ,me1 hath   
seen the ,father4 ,for there is1 in     
truth1 something in ,jesus of ,nazareth 

which compels our worship4 ,and if we   
will take seriously the human ,jesus we 
shall discover in the end ,deity        
revealed in manhood1 and we shall       
worship ,him in whom we have believed4  
,but that1 of course1 is dogma3 in other
 words1 it is the deliberate judgment of
 ,christian faith4 ,it is the           
expression1 as a truth for the mind1 of 
the value which a soul which is         
spiritually awake comes to set upon     
,jesus because it cannot do otherwise4  
,a judgment like that is the            
conclusion--it ought not to be taken as 
the starting-point--of faith4 ,there are
 many1 of course1 who are willing to    
begin by assuming provisionally that it 
is true1 upon the authority of others   
who bear witness to it3 and that is not 
an unreasonable thing to do1 provided a 
man afterwards verifies it in the       
experience of his own life4 ,but belief 
in the divinity of ,jesus is too        
tremendous a confession lightly to be   
taken for granted by mere half-believers

 of a casual creed4 ,convictions worth  
having must sooner or later be fought   
for3 they must be won by the sweat of   
the brow4 ,and if a man is not content  
permanently to defer to the authority of
 others1 he ought not to begin by taking
 for granted the doctrine that ,jesus is
 ,,god4 ,he ought to begin as the       
,apostles began1 by taking seriously the
 ,man ,christ ,jesus4     ,,chapter ,,ii
  ,,the ,,revelation ,,of ,,the ,,father
   ,it was characteristic of the ancient
 ,jews that they had a vital belief in  
the living ,,god3 and belief in ,,god1  
and that of a far more real and definite
 kind than the modern ,englishman's     
vague admission of the existence of a   
,supreme ,being1 was a thing which      
,jesus was able to take for granted in  
those to whom ,he spoke4 ,,god to the   
,jew was the ,,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac1 
and ,jacob1 holy and righteous1 gracious
 and merciful3 active and operative in  
the world1 the ,controller of events3   
having a purpose for ,israel and for the

 world1 which in the process of the     
world's history was being wrought out1  
and which would one day find complete   
and adequate fulfilment in the setting  
up of ,,god',s ,eternal ,kingdom4  ,what
 ,jesus did by ,his life and teaching   
was to deepen and intensify existing    
faith in ,,god by the revelation of     
,,god as ,father1 and to revive and     
quicken the expectation of ,,god',s     
,kingdom by the proclamation of its near
 approach4 ,the application to ,,god of 
the term ,father was not new3 but the   
revelation of what ,,god',s ,fatherhood 
meant in the personal life and faith of 
,jesus ,himself as ,son of ,god was     
something entirely new3 while in ,jesus'
 preaching of the ,divine ,kingdom there
 was a note of freshness and            
originality1 and a spiritual assurance  
of certainty1 which carried conviction  
of an entirely new kind to the minds and
 hearts of those who listened4  ,all the
 more overwhelming must have seemed to  
the disciples the disaster of their     

,master's crucifixion4 ,it was not      
merely that the hopes which in their    
minds had gathered about ,his person    
were shattered3 their very faith in     
,,god ,himself1 and in the goodness of  
,,god1 was for the time being torn up by
 the roots4 ,nothing but an event as    
real and as objective as the            
,crucifixion itself could have reversed 
for them this impression of sheer       
catastrophe4 ,the resurrection of       
,jesus1 which was for them the wonder of
 wonders1 not only restored to them     
their faith in ,him as the ,christ of   
,,god1 now declared to be the ,son of   
,,god with power by the resurrection    
from the dead2 it also relaid for them  
the foundations of faith in ,,god and in
 ,his goodness and love upon a basis of 
certainty henceforth never to be shaken4
 ,this is the message which we have     
heard of ,him and declare unto you1 that
 ,,god is light1 and in ,him is no      
darkness at all4  ,meanwhile what of    
,jesus ,himself--this ,christ1 through  

their relationship to whom they had come
 by this new experience of the reality  
of ,,god8 ,in symbolical vision they saw
 ,him ascend up into the heavens and    
vanish from bodily sight3 in pictorial  
language they spoke of ,him as seated at
 ,,god',s right hand4 ,they were assured
 nevertheless-- and multitudes in many  
generations have echoed their           
conviction--that ,he was still in their 
midst unseen1 their living ,master and  
,lord4 ,instinctively they prayed to    
,him4 ,through ,him they made their     
approach to the ,father4 ,he had        
transformed for them their world4 ,he   
was the light of their lives4 ,in ,him  
was truth4 ,he was their way to ,,god4  
,all the great movement of ,christian   
thought in the ,new ,testament is       
concerned in one way or another with the
 working out of this experienced        
significance of ,jesus4 ,the maturest   
expression of what ,he meant to them is 
contained in the great reflective       
,gospel--an interpretation rather than a

 simple portrait of the historical      
,jesus-- which is ascribed by tradition 
to ,s4 ,john4 ,the ,christ of the       
,fourth ,gospel is man1 with all the    
attributes of most real and genuine     
manhood3 but ,he is also more than man4 
,he is the self-utterance--the ,word--of
 ,,god4 ,he came forth from ,,god1 and  
went to ,,god4 ,he is the revelation of 
the ,father1 the expression of ,,god',s 
nature and being in the intelligible    
terms of a human life4 ,to have seen    
,him is to have seen the ,father1       
because ,he and the ,father are one4 ,he
 is the ,way1 the ,truth1 and the ,life3
 the ,bread that came down from heaven3 
the ,fountain of living water3 the ,lamb
 of ,,god1 that taketh away the sin of  
the world4  ,later ,christian orthodoxy 
never got farther than this4 ,all that  
the formal doctrine of the              
,incarnation--as expressed1 for example1
 in such a formulary as the ,athanasian 
,creed--can truly be said to amount to  
is just the double insistence that      

,christ is at once truly and completely 
man1 and also truly and completely      
,,god4 ,the paradox is left             
unreconciled--yet ,he is not two1 but   
one ,christ4 ,the ,godhead is expressed 
in manhood3 in the manhood we see ,,god4
  ,what does it mean to confess the     
,deity of ,christ8 ,it means just this3 
that we take the character of ,christ as
 our clue to the character of ,,god3    
that we interpret the life of ,christ as
 an expression of the life of ,,god3    
that we affirm the conviction1 based    
upon deep and unshakable personal       
experience1 that ,,god was in ,christ   
reconciling the world unto ,himself4    
,what is the real question1 the most    
fundamental of questions1 which arises  
when we seek to interpret the world we  
live in8 ,is it not just the question3  
,what is the nature or character of the 
ultimate ,power or ,principle or ,person
 upon which or upon whom the world      
depends8 ,is not every religion1 every  
imagined deity1 in one sense an altar to

 the unknown ,,god8 ,the venture of     
,christian faith consists in staking all
 upon the assumption1 the hypothesis    
abundantly verified in the life's       
experience of such as make it1 that the 
character of the unknown ,,god is       
revealed in ,christ3 that the love of   
,christ is the expression of the love of
 ,,god1 the sufferings of ,christ an    
expression of the suffering of ,,god1   
the triumph of ,christ an expression of 
the eternal victory of ,,god over all   
the evil and wickedness which mars the  
wonder of ,his creation4 ,if we were to 
look primarily at the life of ,nature1  
we might be tempted to say that ,,god   
was cruel4 ,if we considered certain of 
the works of man1 we might be tempted to
 conclude that ,,god was devilish4      
,looking at ,jesus we gain the assurance
 that ,,god is ,love4 ,we behold the    
light of the knowledge of the glory of  
,,god in the face of ,jesus ,christ1 and
 we are satisfied4  ,and so we come to  
,jesus--the ,prophet that is come into  

the world3 and what we shall find1 if we
 will suffer ,him to work ,his work in  
us1 is this4 ,he will change our world  
for us1 and will transform it4 ,he will 
redeem our souls1 so that there shall be
 in us a new birth1 a new creation4 ,he 
will show us the ,father1 and it shall  
suffice us4 ,he will set our feet on the
 road to ,calvary1 and we shall rejoice 
to be crucified with ,him4 ,he will     
convert us--,he will turn our lives     
inside out1 so that they shall have     
their centre in ,,god1 and no longer in 
ourselves4 ,he will bestow on us the    
,spirit without measure1 so that we     
shall be sons and daughters of the      
,highest4 ,and we shall know that we are
 of ,,god1 even though the whole world  
lieth in wickedness4 ,and we shall know 
that the ,son of ,,god is come1 and that
 ,he hath given us an understanding1    
that we may know ,him that is true1 and 
that we are in ,him that is true1 even  
in ,his ,son ,jesus ,christ4            
,,chapter ,,iii  ,,the ,,fellowship ,,of

 ,,the ,,spirit   ,to know ,,god and to 
find ,him revealed in ,jesus ,christ is 
not enough4 ,to have set before one in  
the human life of ,jesus an ideal of    
character1 a pattern of perfect manhood 
for imitation1 if the message of the    
,gospel were regarded as stopping short 
at that point1 could only be            
discouraging to men conscious of moral  
weakness1 of spiritual impotence and    
incapacity4 ,it is probable that one of 
the reasons why the plain man to-day is 
so very apt to regard ,christianity as  
consisting in the profession of a       
standard of ideal morality to which he  
knows himself to be personally incapable
 of attaining1 and which those who do   
profess it fail conspicuously to        
practise1 is to be found in the entire  
absence from his mind and outlook of any
 conception of the ,holy ,spirit1 or any
 belief in the availability of the      
,spirit as a source of transforming     
energy and power in the lives of men4   
,as a matter of fact1 the doctrine of   

the ,holy ,spirit is of absolutely vital
 importance in the ,christian scheme3   
and like all the great ,christian       
doctrines1 it has its basis in the      
realities of living experience4 ,the    
opening chapters of the ,acts of the    
,apostles set before us the picture of  
the earliest disciples1 assured and no  
longer doubtful of the reality of the   
,resurrection1 waiting in ,jerusalem for
 a promised endowment of power from on  
high4 ,and the story of ,pentecost is   
the record of the fulfilment of the     
promise of the ,father4  ,we are making 
a mistake if we fix our attention       
primarily upon the outward symbols of   
wind and fire1 or confuse our minds with
 the perplexities which are suggested by
 the references to speaking with        
tongues4 ,these things--however         
wonderful to the men of the ,apostolic  
generation--are in themselves only      
examples of the psychological           
abnormalities which not infrequently    
accompany religious revivals4 ,they are1

 as it were1 the foam on the crest of   
the wave3 evidences upon the surface of 
profounder forces astir in the deeper   
levels of personality4 ,the disciples   
felt themselves taken hold of and       
transformed4 ,henceforth they were new  
men4 ,,god had sent into their hearts   
through ,jesus ,christ a ,power not of  
this world3 only such a power could     
achieve what history assures us was     
achieved by those early ,christians4 ,by
 its compelling influence they found    
themselves welded together into a       
religious and social community1 a       
fellowship of faith and hope and love1  
the true ,israel1 the ,church of the    
living ,,god4 ,enabled to become daily  
more and more like ,jesus1 they         
developed an ever fuller comprehension  
of ,his unique significance3 and so they
 went about carrying on the work and    
teaching which ,he had begun on earth1  
certain that ,he was with them and      
energizing in them4 ,they healed the    
sick in mind and body1 they convinced   

,jewish and ,pagan consciences of sin   
and its forgiveness1 they created a new 
morality1 and established a new hope3   
life and immortality were brought to    
light4 ,and then1 as need arose1 they   
were inspired to write those books of   
the ,new ,testament1 in which their     
wonderful experience of ,,god at work in
 them remains enshrined1 the norm and   
standard of ,christian faith and        
practice for all time4 ,the ,power which
 enabled them to do all this they called
 the ,holy ,spirit4 ,footnote3 ,the     
,holy ,spirit1 by ,r4 ,g4 ,parsons1 in  
,the ,meaning of the ,creed4            
7,s4,p4,c4,k41 #aiag7  ,to be filled    
with the ,spirit1 to be endued with     
power from on high1 to be made free by  
the ,spirit1 so as to be free indeed--  
released from the tyranny of a dead     
past1 from bondage to law and           
literalism1 from the power of sin and of
 evil habit--and to be brought forth    
into the glorious liberty of the sons of
 ,,god3 this was a very vital and       

essential part of what ,christianity    
meant in the experience of those first  
disciples4 ,the new morality of the     
,gospel1 the new righteousness which was
 to exceed the righteousness of         
,pharisees and ,scribes1 was a thing as 
widely removed as possible from painful 
conformity to the letter of an external 
code3 it was a fruit--a spontaneous     
outcome--of the ,spirit4 ,s4 ,paul has  
described for us the fruits of the      
,spirit as he had seen them manifested  
in the lives of men--love1 joy1 peace1  
long-suffering1 kindness1 goodness1     
faithfulness1 meekness1 self-control3   
they are the essential lineaments of the
 character of ,christ3 they are summed  
up in the thirteenth chapter of #a      
,corinthians in ,s4 ,paul's great hymn  
to ,charity or ,love1 which itself reads
 like yet another portrait of the       
,christ4 ,a ,christianity which through 
the ,spirit brought forth such fruits   
was true to type4 ,the ,spirit1 in      
short1 reproduced in men the life of    

filial relationship towards ,,god3 ,he  
is described as the ,spirit of adoption1
 whereby men are enabled to cry ,abba1  
,father4  ,the ,holy ,spirit1 moreover1 
is a ,spirit of insight and             
interpretation1 quickening men's        
faculties1 enlightening their minds1    
enabling them to see1 and to understand4
 ,he brings to remembrance the things of
 ,christ and unfolds their significance3
 under ,his inspiration ,christian      
preaching was developed1 and a          
,christian doctrine about ,christ and   
about ,,god4 ,in confident reliance upon
 ,his advocacy and ,his support the     
,apostles were made bold to confront in 
the name of ,jesus a hostile world4 ,is 
it any wonder that in the eyes of their 
contemporaries they appeared as men     
possessed1 as men made drunk with the   
new wine of some strange ecstasy1 or mad
 with the fervour of some inexplicable  
exaltation8 ,yet the ,spirit did not    
normally issue in ecstasy4 ,it is not   
the way of ,,god to over-ride men's     

reason1 or to place their individual    
personalities in abeyance4 ,the         
operation of the ,spirit is to be seen  
rather--apart from ,his work in the     
gradual purification and deepening of   
character and motive1 the bringing to   
birth and development in men's souls of 
the new man who is ,christ in them1 the 
hope of glory--in the intensification of
 men's normal faculties and gifts1 and  
the direction of their exercise into    
channels profitable to the well-being of
 the community4 ,for the ,holy ,spirit  
is the ,spirit of brotherhood3 and ,his 
gifts are bestowed for the fitting of   
,,god',s people for the work of mutual  
service3 they are for the upbuilding of 
the ,body of ,christ4 ,the real miracle 
of the ,christian life is simply the    
,christian life itself3 and that a man  
should love his neighbour as himself is 
at least as wonderful as that he should 
speak with tongues4  ,reflecting upon   
the experience which had come to them1  
,christian men came to see that the     

,holy ,spirit1 who was the ,spirit of   
the ,father and the ,son1 was ,divine1  
even as ,jesus was ,divine4 ,in this    
strange ,power which had transformed    
their lives they discovered ,,god1      
energizing and operative in their       
hearts4 ,instinctively they worshipped  
and glorified the ,spirit as the ,lord1 
the ,giver of ,life4 ,those who have    
entered upon any genuine measure of     
,christian experience are not prepared  
to say that they were wrong4  ,the      
,christian life depends upon the        
,spirit1 now as then4 ,only in the power
 of the ,holy ,spirit is ,christianity  
possible1 and no one ever yet made any  
real advance in personal religion except
 in dependence upon an enabling energy  
of which the source was not in himself4 
,it is the ,spirit that maketh alive4   
,the ,spirit helpeth our infirmities4 ,i
 know that in myself1 that is1 in my    
flesh1 dwelleth no good thing4 ,if ye1  
being evil1 know how to give good gifts 
unto your children1 how much more shall 

your heavenly ,father give the ,holy    
,spirit to them that ask ,him4 ,it is   
because of our lack of any living or    
effectual belief in the ,holy ,spirit1  
and because of our consequent failure to
 seek ,his inspiration and to submit    
ourselves to ,his influence1 that the   
,christianity of men to-day is often so 
barren and so poor a thing2 and the     
corporate life of ,christendom          
languishes for the same reason4 ,the    
,church is meant to be a fellowship1 a  
brotherhood3 the most real and living   
brotherhood on earth4 ,men find to-day  
the realization of brotherhood in a     
regiment3 they find it in a school or in
 a club3 in a ,trade ,union3 or in such 
an organization as the ,workers'        
,educational ,association4 ,they fail to
 find it in the ,church of ,christ4     
,the ,church can never be a brotherhood 
save in the ,holy ,spirit3 for          
,christianity is essentially and before 
all things a religion of the ,spirit1   
and the external organization and       

institutions of the ,church1 apart from 
,his vivifying breath1 are a mere empty 
shell4 ,where there is no vision the    
people perish3 and it is only under the 
inspiration of the ,spirit that men see 
visions and dream dreams4 ,come from the
 four winds1 ,o ,breath1 and breathe    
upon these dry bones of our modern      
churchmanship1 that we may live3 and so 
at last shall we stand upright on our   
feet1 an exceeding great army1 and go   
forth conquering and to conquer in the  
train of the victorious ,christ4        
,,chapter ,,iv  ,,the ,,holy ,,trinity  
,god1 as ,christianity reveals ,him1 is 
no cold or remote ,being1 no abstract   
,principle-of-,all-,things1 reposing    
aloof and impersonal in the stillness of
 an eternal calm4 ,he is rather the     
boundless energy of an eternal ,life--no
 motionless eternity of perfection1 but 
an overflowing vitality1 an             
inexhaustible fecundity1 the everlasting
 well-spring of all existence4 ,he is   
the eternal ,creator of all things2 not 

indeed in any sense which commits us to 
a literal acceptance of the mythology of
 ,genesis1 but in the sense that the    
created universe has its origin in ,his 
holy and righteous will1 and that upon  
,him all things depend4 ,in affirming   
that the world was made by ,,god1 we do 
not affirm that it was ready-made from  
the beginning4 ,the work of creation is 
still going on4 ,,god is eternally      
making all things new4  ,the nature of  
,,god1 in so far as the mind and        
affections of man are capable of knowing
 ,him and entering into relationships   
with ,him1 is revealed in ,jesus ,christ
 ,his ,son1 and the revelation is       
completed and made intelligible by the  
manifestation of the ,holy ,spirit4 ,s4 
,paul expressed the practical content of
 ,,god',s self-disclosure in his phrase 
the grace of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1  
and the love of ,,god1 and the          
fellowship of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,later  
,christian thinkers worked it out into  
the doctrine of the ,holy ,trinity1 the 

conception of ,,god as at once ,three in
 ,one1 and ,one in ,three4  ,to the     
plain man the doctrine of the ,holy     
,trinity is something of a puzzle--on   
the face of it an arithmetical paradox2 
suggestive1 moreover1 of the abstract   
subtleties of speculation rather than of
 the concrete realities of religious    
life4 ,but the doctrine did not have its
 origin1 as a matter of historical fact1
 in any perverse love of subtlety or    
speculation4 ,it certainly arose out of 
living realities of spiritual           
experience4 ,it arose as the result of  
an attempt1 on the part of the earliest 
,christian believers1 to think out the  
meaning of what had happened in their   
religious lives1 and to express it in   
speech and thought4 ,what was this thing
 that had come to them1 this thing which
 had changed their whole outlook upon   
the world1 which had transformed their  
very inmost souls and made them new men1
 full of a new vision and a new hope8   
,something tremendous had happened in   

their lives4 ,they were confident that  
it held the secret of all life1 for them
 and for others4 ,it was a new1 an      
overwhelming1 a conclusive revelation of
 ,,god4 ,they proclaimed it3 they were  
constrained also to think about it4     
,they had to find ways of expressing it4
 ,they had to think out what it meant4  
,there was ,jesus ,christ4 ,who was ,he8
 ,what did ,he mean8 ,what was ,his     
relation to man1 and to ,,god8          
,certainly ,he had shed light upon      
,,god1 and upon ,,god',s nature4        
,through ,his teaching1 ,his character1 
,his life and death1 the conception of  
,,god was filled with a new meaning4 ,in
 ,him ,,god was revealed with a fulness 
that had never been before4 ,he         
disclosed more of ,,god',s inmost       
character1 and more of the relation     
which ,he bears to men4 ,he that hath   
seen ,me hath seen the ,father--the     
disciples felt that this witness was    
true4 ,by admitting to their thought of 
,,god all that the life of ,jesus       

brought1 they filled with fresh glory   
,christ's favourite word for ,,god--your
 ,father which is in ,heaven4  ,in      
,jesus1 they felt1 ,,god was expressed3 
,his relationship to ,,god was unique4  
,they found the ,divine in ,him as in no
 other4 ,they knew that ,,god was in    
that life because ,he had spoken and    
acted there4 ,through the eyes of ,jesus
 ,,god looked out upon the world1 and in
 ,jesus' love and purity and yearning   
for the sinful and the heavy-laden1     
,,god ,himself became visible4 ,they    
knew now what ,,god was like4 ,,god was 
like ,christ4 ,it was ,his glory that   
shone in ,jesus' face4 ,it was a new    
vision of ,him when ,jesus of ,nazareth 
passed by4 ,in the grace--that is1 the  
beauty1 the glory and attractiveness--of
 the ,lord ,jesus ,christ they saw a    
revelation of the love of ,,god1 a love 
that yearned over the fallen and the    
sorrowful1 a love that suffered1 and    
through suffering brought redemption4   
,but there was something more4 ,it was  

not simply that in ,jesus ,christ ,,god 
had been brought near1 so that they felt
 they knew ,,god as never before4 ,there
 was in the experience which had come to
 them more than simply a ,revealer and a
 ,revealed4 ,there was the ,spirit which
 took possession of them1 a transforming
 inward ,power3 a ,power able to        
reproduce in them1 by a process of      
growth from more to more1 that character
 of ,christ in whose lineaments they had
 discerned the nature of the eternal    
,,god ,himself4 ,there was a ,presence  
abiding in their midst1 dwelling within 
them1 a ,breath of the ,divine ,life    
which every ,christian knew3 a ,presence
 which brought strength and comfort1    
power and love and discipline1 and bore 
fruits of love and joy and peace4 ,who  
or what was it8 ,an influence from on   
high8 ,yes3 but it seemed more intimate1
 more personal than any mere influence1 
more indissolubly one with them1        
knitting them into a fellowship in which
 they were united with the ,father and  

the ,son4 ,truly our fellowship is with 
the ,father1 and with ,his ,son ,jesus  
,christ4 ,the ,spirit which bore such   
fruits in them1 which brought them into 
so intimate a fellowship with ,,god in  
,christ1 they recognized as the ,spirit 
of ,,god1 as the ,presence in them of   
very ,,god ,himself4 ,,god1 they felt1  
was not a ,being far off1 an ,influence 
telling upon men from a distance4 ,he   
was the very secret of life1 closer than
 breathing1 nearer than hands and feet1 
so that each soul was meant to be a     
sacred temple of ,,god1 ,,god abiding in
 him and he in ,,god4 ,,god came in the 
,son1 ,,god had come also and equally in
 the ,spirit4 ,the ,eternal ,source of  
all things1 who was known and worshipped
 as the ,living ,one even before ,christ
 came1 was made more fully known in     
,christ1 and now ,he was still more     
intimately made known in the inmost     
spiritual life of every day4  ,that was 
,christian experience4 ,that was the    
experience out of which the doctrine of 

the ,trinity arose4 ,it arose out of an 
attempt to think the thing out4 ,if we  
to-day find the doctrine difficult1 at  
least the experience was and is both    
simple and profound4 ,and we cannot help
 thinking about it4  ,it may be that    
sometimes we think we would rather be   
content to say simply with ,s4 ,john    
that ,,god is ,love4 ,and that is truly 
the simplest of ,christian creeds4 ,if  
we were able fully to understand it1 it 
would be sufficient4 ,holy ,trinity1    
whatever else it may signify1 is a mode 
of saying ',holy ,love4' ,but as a      
matter of fact it is only through the   
revelation of the grace of the ,lord    
,jesus ,christ and the fellowship of the
 ,holy ,spirit that we can ever come to 
understand the love of ,,god4 ,in the   
,christian ,gospel ,,god is revealed    
first as ,father1 secondly as ,sufferer1
 thirdly as the ,spirit of eternally    
victorious ,life3 and it takes the whole
 threefold revelation to express with   
any fulness the rich wonder of what is  

meant by saying that ,,god is ,love4    
,our minds cannot help passing from the 
contemplation of the threefold character
 of ,,god',s self-revelation to the     
thought of a certain threefoldness in   
,,god ,himself4 ,we have to find room   
and place for such a thought--the       
thought that ,,god is eternally ,love1  
that ,he is eternally ,father1 ,son1 and
 ,spirit--and yet at the same time not  
depart from the fundamental ,christian  
conviction that ,,god is ,one4  ,it is  
to be feared that many ,christian people
 do sometimes come dangerously near to  
believing in three separate ,gods1 and  
what we call ,unitarianism is a         
one-sided protest against such a        
tendency4 ,,god is indeed a unity3 and  
so far ,unitarianism is right4 ,but     
,unitarianism is less than the full     
,christian faith in ,,god1 because it   
fails to do justice to the full riches  
of ,christian experience1 the many-sided
 wonder of ,,god revealed in ,christ1   
and made real to us here and now by the 

operation of the ,spirit in our hearts4 
,we are driven to say that ,,god is not 
only ,one1 but ,three in ,one4          
,nevertheless1 if any one finds the     
theory of the ,holy ,trinity difficult  
let him not be overmuch dismayed4 ,let  
him learn to know ,,god as ,father and  
,jesus ,christ as ,lord and ,saviour3   
let him learn to know the ,holy ,spirit 
as an energy of eternal life and        
inspiration in his heart4 ,he will then 
be in effect a ,trinitarian believer1   
even though the theologians seem to him 
to talk a language which he does not    
understand3 even though--to tell the    
truth--he is not greatly interested by  
what they say4  ,at the same time1 there
 is need that people should think out   
the meaning of the ,christian revelation
 of ,,god3 perhaps that they should     
think it out afresh4 ,it is possible to 
be technically orthodox and correct in  
doctrine and yet to miss the true       
reality of what ,,god means4 ,the       
conception of ,,god as ,father implies  

that ,,god has eternally a ,son3 the    
life of ,jesus ,christ as ,son of ,god  
reveals to us the quality of that       
,divine ,fatherhood to which ,his       
,sonship corresponds4 ,the ,spirit1 as  
the ,divine ,energy proceeding from the 
,father and the ,son1 is the assurance  
that the life of ,,god can never be     
self-contained or aloof1 but is for ever
 going forth from ,himself1 so as to be 
eternally operative and active1 alike in
 the processes of ,nature and in the    
lives of men4 ,for the ,spirit of the   
,lord filleth the world1 and the ,divine
 ,wisdom reacheth from one end to the   
other mightily1 and sweetly ordereth all
 things4  ,it follows that              
,christianity1 the religion of the      
,spirit1 can never stand still4 ,not    
stagnation1 but life1 is its            
characteristic note1 even that ,eternal 
,life which was with the ,father1 and   
hath been manifested unto us4 ,the      
,church which is truly alive unto ,,god1
 and aflame with the spirit of          

allegiance to ,him who for the joy that 
was set before ,him endured the ,cross1 
the ,church which is truly quickened and
 inspired by the ,spirit of ,truth and  
,love and ,power1 will always be ready  
to live dangerously in the world1 not   
shrinking timorously from needed change 
or experiment1 not holding aloof from   
conflict and adventure and movement1 but
 facing courageously all new situations 
and new phases whether of life or of    
thought as they arise1 shirking no      
issues1 welcoming all new-found truth1  
bringing things both new and old out of 
her treasure-house1 so that she may both
 prove all things and also hold fast    
that which is good4  ,there are         
conceptions of ,,god proclaimed from    
,christian pulpits which are less than  
the full ,christian conception of ,,god4
 ,the ,,god who is eternal ,energy and  
,life and ,love1 the ,,god who is       
revealed in ,christ1 and whose ,spirit  
is the ,spirit of ,freedom and          
,brotherhood and ,truth1 is neither the 

tyrant ,god of the ,calvinist1 nor the  
dead-alive ,god of the traditionalist1  
nor the obscurantist ,god of those who  
would decry knowledge and quench the    
,spirit4 ,neither1 again1 is ,,god the  
,god of militarists1 a ,god who delights
 in carnage--even though it should be   
the carnage of ,germans2 or the ,god who
 is thought of by ,his worshippers as   
being mainly the ,god of the sacristy1 a
 kind of supreme ,guardian of the       
clerical interest in ,europe4 ,least of 
all is ,,god the commonplace deity of   
commonplace people1 a sort of placid    
personification of respectability1 the  
,,god whose religion is the religion of 
the ,conservative ,party at prayer4  ,he
 is a consuming ,energy of ,life and    
,fire4 ,his eyes are eyes of ,flame1 and
 ,his inmost essence a white-hot passion
 of sacrifice and of self-giving4 ,at   
the heart of ,his self-revelation there 
is a ,cross1 the eternal symbol of the  
almightiness of ,love3 the ,cross which 
is the source and the secret of all true

 victory1 and newness of life1 and      
peace4  ,this1 and none other1 is the   
,,god whom truly to know is everlasting 
life1 and whom to serve is liberty4 ,for
 ,he it is who has made us unto         
,himself1 with hearts that are restless 
until they rest in ,him4 ,to do ,his    
will is to realize the object of our    
existence as human beings3 for it is to 
fulfil the purpose for which we have our
 being1 the end for which we were       
created2 even to glorify ,,god1 and to  
enjoy ,him for ever4     ,,chapter ,v   
,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,evil   ,but are  
not the evil and misery of the world1 is
 not all that which we know as sin and  
pain1 in manifest contradiction to this 
,christian conception of a ,,god of     
,love8 ,most certainly they are3 and it 
has been the strength of ,christianity  
from the beginning that--unlike many    
rival systems and philosophies1         
including the ,christian ,science       
movement of modern times--it has always 
faced facts1 and in particular has never

 regarded pain and sin1 disease and     
sorrow and death1 as anything but the   
stubborn realities which in point of    
fact they are4 ,if we ask1 indeed1 how  
and why it was that evil1 whether       
physical or moral1 originally came into 
the world1 the ,gospel returns no       
answer1 or an answer which1 at best1    
merely echoes the ancient mythology of  
,jewish traditional belief--,by the envy
 of the ,devil sin entered into the     
world1 and death by sin3 an answer which
 indeed denies emphatically that evil   
had its origin in ,,god1 and declares   
its essential root to lie in opposition 
to ,his will1 but without attempting any
 explanation of the difficulty of       
conceiving how opposition to the will of
 ,,god is possible4  ,the ,gospel is    
concerned with issues that are practical
 rather than strictly theoretical3 and  
the really practical problem with regard
 to evil is not how it is to be         
explained but how it is to be overcome4 
,if we ask how evil first arose1 the    

only honest answer is that we do not    
know3 though we can see how the         
possibility1 at least1 of moral evil 7as
 distinct from mere physical pain7 is   
implicit of necessity in the existence  
of moral freedom4 ,the question is      
sometimes asked1 ,if ,,god is           
omnipotent1 why does ,he permit evil8   
,but the doctrine of ,divine omnipotence
 is misconceived when it is interpreted 
to mean that ,,god is able to accomplish
 things inherently self-contradictory4  
,,god is omnipotent only in the sense   
that ,he is supreme over all things1 and
 able to do all possible things4 ,he is 
not able to do impossible things3 and to
 make man free1 and yet to prevent him  
from doing evil if he so chooses1 is a  
thing impossible even to ,,god4 ,man is 
left free to crucify his ,maker1 and he 
has availed himself of his freedom by   
crucifying both his ,maker and his      
fellow-man4  ,if we ask1 ,why does not  
,,god prevent war8 ,why does ,he permit 
murder and cruelty and rapine8 the      

answer is that ,he could only prevent   
these things by dint of over-riding the 
will of man by force3 and moreover that 
it is not the method of ,,god to do for 
man what man is perfectly well able to  
do for himself4 ,for wars would cease if
 men universally desired not to fight4  
,we are really raising a much more      
difficult question if we ask1 ,why does 
,,god allow cancer8 ,and to this1 it may
 be1 there is no completely satisfactory
 answer to be given3 though it is       
possible to see that cancer and other   
diseases have a biological function1 and
 also to recognize that the endurance of
 pain in some cases 7though not in all7 
ennobles and deepens character4 ,the    
writer of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews  
does not hesitate to say of ,christ     
,himself that ,he learned obedience by  
the things which ,he suffered4  ,in     
general it must be said that            
,christianity does not afford any       
complete theoretical solution of the    
problem of evil3 what it does is to     

provide a point of view which sets evil 
in a new light1 and which is adequate   
for the purposes of practical life4 ,it 
teaches us that physical suffering1 so  
far as it is inevitable1 is to be       
endured and turned to spiritual profit1 
as a thing which is capable of bearing  
fruit in the deepening and discipline of
 character3 and that moral evil is to be
 overcome1 by the power of the grace of 
,,god in ,christ4  ,if we ask1 ,why     
should the innocent suffer8 the         
,christian answer is contained in the   
,cross4 ,christ also suffered1 being    
guiltless3 and although1 if ,christ were
 regarded simply as a man and nothing   
more1 this fact would merely intensify  
the problem1 the matter assumes a       
different complexion if ,christ be      
regarded as the revelation of ,,god4    
,for if so1 then suffering enters into  
the experience of ,,god ,himself1 and so
 far from ,,god being indifferent to the
 sorrow and misery of the world1 ,he    
shares it1 and is victorious through it4

 ,in all their affliction1 ,he was      
afflicted4 ,,god is ,himself a          
,sufferer1 the supreme ,sufferer of all1
 and finds through suffering the        
instrument of ,his triumph4 ,but if this
 be true1 then all suffering everywhere 
is set in a new and a transfiguring     
light1 for it assumes the character of a
 challenge to become partaker in the    
sufferings and triumph of the ,christ4  
,can ye drink of the ,cup that ,i drink 
of8  ,so interpreted1 suffering ceases  
to be a ground of petulance or of       
complaint4 ,it is discovered to have a  
value4 ,it is judged to be worth while4 
,and it is possible to find in such a   
faith the grounds of a conviction that  
behind and beneath all suffering is the 
love which redeems it and the purpose   
which shall one day justify it1 and that
 in very truth no sparrow falls to the  
ground without the ,heavenly ,father's  
knowledge and care4     ,,chapter ,,vi  
,,sin ,,and ,,redemption   ,the ,gospel 
affirms that men are called to be sons  

of ,,god2 to be perfect1 as the heavenly
 ,father is perfect4 ,the correlative of
 this ideal view of man as he is meant  
to be is a sombre view of man as he     
actually is4 ,if we say that we have no 
sin we deceive ourselves1 and the truth 
is not in us4 ,all have sinned1 and come
 short of the glory of ,,god4  ,sin is  
essentially a falling short1 a missing  
of the mark1 a failure to correspond    
with the purpose and the will of ,,god4 
,it need not necessarily involve--though
 of course it does in many instances    
involve--the deliberate transgression of
 a moral law which the conscience of the
 individual sinner recognizes as such4  
,there are sins of omission as well as  
of commission1 sins of ignorance as well
 as of deliberate intent4 ,the fact that
 the conscience of a given individual   
does not accuse him1 that he is not     
aware of himself as a sinner before     
,,god1 is no evidence of his moral      
perfection1 but rather the reverse4     
,jesus ,christ1 who possessed the surest

 as well as the sanest moral judgment   
the world has ever known1 held          
deliberately that the open and          
acknowledged sinner1 just because he was
 aware of his condition1 was in a more  
hopeful spiritual state than the man who
 through ignorance of his own           
shortcomings believed himself to be     
righteous4 ,the ,pharisee1 who compared 
himself with others to his own          
advantage1 was condemned in the sight of
 ,,god4 ,the ,publican1 who would not so
 much as lift up his eyes unto heaven1  
but judging himself and his deeds by the
 standard of ,,god',s holiness          
acknowledged himself a sinner1 went away
 justified rather than the other4 ,it is
 probably true that the ordinary man    
to-day is not worrying about his sins3  
but if so1 the fact proves nothing      
except the secularity of his ideals and 
the shallowness of his sense of         
spiritual issues4 ,it means1 in short1  
that he has not taken seriously the     
standard of ,christ4 ,for the measure of

 a man's sin is simply the measure of   
the contrast between his character and  
the character of ,christ4  ,it is likely
 enough that many of us will never      
discover that we are sinners until we   
have deliberately tried and failed to   
follow ,christ4 ,the moment we do try   
seriously to follow ,him1 we become     
conscious of the presence within        
ourselves of that horrid impediment     
which the ,churches call sin4 ,we       
discover that we are spiritually        
impotent3 that there is that in us which
 is both selfish and self-complacent3   
that there is a law of sin in our       
members which is in conflict with the   
law of the ,spirit of life3 and that we 
have no power of ourselves to help      
ourselves4 ,we are at the mercy of our  
own character1 which has been wrongly   
moulded and formed amiss by the sins and
 follies1 the self-indulgences and the  
moral slackness of our own past         
behaviour4 ,we are1 indeed1 tied and    
bound by the chain of our sins4  ,to    

have realized so much is to have reached
 the necessary starting- point of any   
fruitful consideration of the ,christian
 ,gospel of redemption4 ,the appeal of  
the ,cross of ,christ is to the human   
consciousness of sin2 and the first     
effect of a true appreciation of the    
meaning of the ,cross is to deepen in us
 the realization of what sin really is4 
,the crucifixion of ,christ was not the 
result of any peculiarly unexampled     
wickedness on the part of individuals4  
,it was simply the natural and          
inevitable result of the moral collision
 between ,his ideals and those of       
society at large4 ,the chief actors in  
the drama were men of like passions with
 ourselves1 who were actuated by very   
ordinary human motives4 ,it is indeed   
easy for men to say1 ,if we had been in 
the days of our fathers1 we would not   
have been partakers with them in the    
blood of the prophets3 but in so saying 
they are merely being witnesses unto    
themselves that they are the children of

 them which killed the prophets4 ,are we
 indeed so far removed beyond the reach 
of the moral weakness which yields      
against its own better judgment to the  
clamorous demands of public opinion1 as 
to be in a position to cast stones at   
,pilate8 ,are we so exempt from the     
temptation to turn a dishonest penny1 or
 to throw over a friend who has         
disappointed us1 as to recognize no echo
 of ourselves in ,judas8 ,have we never 
with the ,sanhedrin allowed vested      
interests to warp our judgment1 or      
resented a too searching criticism of   
our own character and proceedings1 or   
sophisticated our consciences into a    
belief that we were offering ,,god      
service when as a matter of fact we were
 merely giving expression to the        
religious and social prejudices of our  
class8 ,have we never1 like the crowds  
who joined in the hue- and-cry1 followed
 a multitude to do evil8 ,there appears 
in the midst of a society of ordinary1  
average men--men such as ourselves--a   

,man ideally good3 and ,he is put to    
death as a blasphemer4 ,that is the     
awful tragedy of the ,crucifixion4 ,what
 does it mean8 ,it means that a new and 
lurid light is thrown upon the ordinary 
impulses of our mind4 ,it means that we 
see sin to be exceeding sinful4 ,that is
 the first salutary fruit of a resolute 
contemplation of the ,cross4  ,the      
,cross shows us1 in a word1 what we are 
doing when we sin3 consciously or       
unconsciously1 we are crucifying that   
which is good4 ,if we are able to go    
further1 and by faith to discover in the
 character and bearing of the ,son1     
crucified upon the ,cross1 the          
revelation of the heart of the ,eternal 
,father1 there dawns upon our minds a   
still more startling truth3 consciously 
or unconsciously1 we are crucifying     
,,god4 ,assuming1 that is to say1 that  
,,god is such as ,christianity declares 
,him to be1 holy1 righteous1 ideal and  
perfect ,love1 caring intensely for     
every one of ,his creatures and having a

 plan and a purpose for each one1 then  
every failure of ours to correspond with
 the purpose of ,his love1 every falling
 short of ,his ideal for us1 every      
acknowledged slackness and moral failure
 in our lives1 much more every wilful   
and deliberate transgression of the     
moral law1 is simply the addition of yet
 a further stab to the wounds wherewith 
,love is wounded in the house of ,his   
friends4 ,father1 forgive them2 they    
know not what they do--the words of the 
,crucified are the revelation of what is
 in fact the eternal attitude of ,,god3 
they are the expression of a love that  
is wounded1 cut to the heart and        
crucified1 by the lovelessness1 the     
ingratitude1 the tragedy of human sin1  
but which nevertheless1 in spite of the 
pain1 is willing to forgive4  ,but the  
,cross is no mere passivity4 ,it is more
 than simply a revelation of ,divine    
suffering1 of the eternal patience of   
the love of ,,god4 ,it is the expression
 of ,,god in action3 a deed of ,divine  

self- sacrifice3 a voluntary taking upon
 ,himself by man's ,eternal ,lover of   
the burden of man's misery and sin4     
,there is a profound truth in the saying
 of ,s4 ,paul1 that the ,son of ,,god   
loved me1 and gave ,himself for me3 as  
also in ,s4 ,peter's words about the    
,christ who ,his own self bare our sins 
in ,his own body on the ,tree1 that we1 
being dead to sins1 should live unto    
righteousness4 ,there is no need to     
import into the phrases of the ,new     
,testament writers the crude            
transactional notions of later theology1
 no need to drag in ideas about         
penalties and punishments4 ,the sole and
 sufficient penalty of sin is simply the
 state of being a sinner ,footnote3     
,sin1 of course1 may involve            
consequences1 and the consequences may  
be both irrevocable and bitter2 nor is  
it denied that fear of consequences may 
operate as a deterrent from certain     
kinds of sin4 ,what is denied is that   
such consequences are rightly to be     

described as punishment43 and the       
conception of vicarious punishment is   
not merely immoral1 but unintelligible4 
,vicarious suffering1 indeed1 there is3 
an enormous proportion of the sufferings
 of mankind--and the sufferings of      
,christ are a conspicuous case in       
point--arise directly as the result of  
others' sin and may be willingly borne  
for others' sake4 ,and ,christ died     
because of ,his love for men1 and as the
 expression of the love of ,,god for    
men4 ,he who wholly like to us was made 
sounded the ultimate depths of the      
bitterest experience to which sin can   
lead1 even the experience of being      
forsaken of ,,god4 ,so ,,god loved the  
world4  ,regarded thus1 the ,cross is at
 once a potent instrument for bringing  
men to repentance1 and also the         
proclamation of the free and royal      
forgiveness of men's sins by the        
heavenly ,father4 ,what the law could   
not do1 in that it was weak through the 
flesh1 ,,god sending ,his own ,son1 in  

the likeness of sinful flesh1 and for   
sin1 condemned sin in the flesh3 that   
the righteousness of the law might be   
fulfilled in us1 who walk not after the 
flesh1 but after the ,spirit4           
,forgiveness must be received on the    
basis of repentance and confession as   
the free and unmerited gift of ,,god in 
,christ3 but the redemption which       
,christ came to bring to men does not   
stop short at the bare gift of initial  
forgiveness4 ,the ,cross cannot rightly 
be separated from the ,resurrection1 nor
 the ,resurrection from the bestowal of 
the ,spirit4 ,the forgiveness of past   
transgressions carries with it also the 
gift of a new life in ,christ and the   
power of the indwelling ,spirit to      
transform and purify the heart4 ,and    
this is a life-long process--a process1 
indeed1 which extends beyond the limits 
of this present life4 ,the old ,adam    
dies hard1 and the victory of the spirit
 over the flesh is not lightly won4 ,in 
the life-story of every ,christian there

 are repeated falls3 there is need of a 
fresh gift of forgiveness ever renewed4 
,it is only over stepping-stones of     
their dead selves that men are enabled  
to rise to higher things4 ,but already  
in principle the victory is won4 ,in all
 these things we are more than          
conquerors through ,him that loved us4  
,we see in ,christ the first-fruits of  
redeemed humanity1 the one perfect      
response on the side of man to the love 
of ,,god4 ,and through ,christ1 our     
,representative1 self-offered to the    
,father on our behalf1 we are bold to   
have access with confidence unto the    
throne of ,,god and in ,him to offer    
ourselves1 that so we may obtain mercy1 
and find grace to help in time of need4 
,,chapter ,,vii  ,,the ,,church ,,and   
,,her ,,mission ,,in ,,the ,,world      
,the ,,god and ,father of ,jesus ,christ
 loves every human being individually1  
cares for each and has a specific       
vocation for each one to fulfil4 ,this  
doctrine of the equal preciousness in   

the sight of ,,god of all human souls is
 for ,christianity fundamental4 ,but the
 correlative of ,divine fatherhood is   
human brotherhood3 just because ,,god is
 love1 and fellowship is life and       
heaven1 and the lack of it is hell1     
,,god does not redeem men individually1 
but as members of a brotherhood1 a      
,church4  ,the ,church is simply the    
people of ,,god4 ,it is the fellowship  
of redeemed mankind1 the community of   
all faithful people throughout this     
present world and in the sphere of the  
world beyond--one1 holy1 apostolic 7i4e4
 missionary71 and catholic1 that is1    
universal4 ,death is no interruption in 
that ,society1 race is no barrier1 and  
rank conveys no privilege4 ,there is    
neither ,greek nor ,jew1 circumcision   
nor uncircumcision1 ,barbarian1         
,scythian1 bond nor free3 but ,christ is
 all1 and in all3 over the ,church the  
gates of ,death prevail not3 and ye are 
all one ,man in ,christ ,jesus4         
,furthermore1 the ,church is described  

as the ,body1 that is1 the embodiment1  
of ,christ3 the instrument or organ     
whereby the ,spirit of ,christ works in 
the world4 ,her several members are     
individually limbs or members in that   
,body1 and their individual gifts and   
capacities1 whatever they may be1 are to
 be dedicated and directed to the       
service of the ,body as a whole1 and not
 to any sectional or selfish ends or    
purposes4 ,in practical churchmanship1  
rightly understood1 is to be discovered 
the clue to the meaning and purpose of  
human life4  ,again1 the ,church is by  
definition international4 ,the several  
races and nationalities of mankind have 
each their specific and individual      
contribution to make to the ,church's   
common life1 in accordance with their   
specific national temperaments and      
genius4 ,all of them together are needed
 to give adequate expression in human   
life to the many-sided riches of ,,god  
in ,christ4 ,the ,church is incomplete  
so long as a single one remains outside4

 ,the idea1 therefore1 of a so-called   
,national ,church1 as a thing isolated  
and self-contained1 is intrinsically    
absurd4  ,therefore also the ,church is 
missionary4 ,she exists in order to     
proclaim to all the world the ,good     
,news of the love of ,,god4 ,she exists 
to bring all men everywhere under the   
scope of ,christ's redemption1 and to   
claim for the ,spirit of ,christ the    
effectual lordship over all human       
thought and life and activity4 ,it is   
her threefold task at once to develop   
and make real within her own borders the
 life of brotherhood in ,christ1 to     
evangelize the heathen by declaring to  
them the satisfaction of their          
instinctive search for ,,god in the     
answering search of ,,god for them1 and 
to labour for the discovery and         
application of ,christian solutions to  
the problems of industry and commerce1  
of politics and social life and         
international affairs4  ,in so far as   
the ,church has been true to the ,spirit

 of ,christ she has succeeded2 in so far
 as she has made compromises with the   
world1 and in every generation has in   
greater or less degree been disloyal to 
the standards of her ,master1 she has   
failed4 ,in every generation there has  
been partial and obvious failure1 side  
by side with real1 if partial and in    
some ways less immediately obvious1     
success4 ,but the ,church can never     
wholly fail and must one day wholly     
succeed1 for the reason that behind her 
is the omnipotence of the love of ,,god4
     ,,chapter ,,viii  ,,protestant     
,,and ,,catholic   ,the last chapter    
sketched the ideal of the ,church and   
her essential mission4 ,the realization 
of that ideal in the existing ,church1  
visibly embodied here in earth is       
extremely fragmentary and imperfect4    
,the ,church that is one1 and holy1 and 
apostolic1 and catholic1 the brotherhood
 in ,christ of all mankind1 knit into   
unity by the fellowship of the ,holy    
,spirit1 remains a vision of the future1

 though a vision which1 once seen1      
mankind will never relinquish until it  
be accomplished4 ,i believe in the ,holy
 ,catholic ,church1 it has been said1   
but ,i regret that she does not as yet  
exist4  ,what does exist is a           
bewildering multiplicity of competing   
denominations1 whose points of          
difference are to the plain man obscure1
 but whose mutual separation is in his  
eyes an obvious scandal and an offence  
both against charity and against common 
sense4 ,why cannot they agree to sink   
their differences1 and to unite upon the
 broad basis of a common loyalty to     
,christ8 ,to what purpose is this       
overlapping and conflict8 ,the reluctant
 tribute of the ancient sceptic--,see   
how these ,christians love one          
another--has become the modern          
worldling's cynical and familiar jibe2  
and when to the spectacle of ,christian 
disunion is added the observation that  
professing ,christians of all           
denominations appear to differ from     

other men1 for the most part1 solely in 
their opinions and not in their lives1  
the impulse to cry ,a plague upon all   
your ,churches may seem all but         
irresistible4  ,yet the problem is not  
susceptible of any cheap or hasty       
solution4 ,unity is the ,church's goal2 
but the ,church cannot arrive at unity  
by mere elimination of differences4     
,agreement to differ is not unity3 an   
agreement to pretend that the           
differences were not there would not    
even be honest4 ,what is needed is a    
sympathetic study of the divergent      
traditions and principles which lie     
behind existing differences1 with a view
 to discovering which are really        
differences of principle1 and which rest
 merely upon prejudice4 ,unity1 when it 
comes1 can only be based upon mutual    
understanding and synthesis4 ,the task  
will not be easy1 and the time is not   
yet4  ,meanwhile the individual's first 
duty is to be loyal in the first        
instance ,footnote3 ,of course in the   

last resort no loyalty is due to any    
lesser authority than that of truth1    
wheresoever it is found and whatsoever  
it turns out to be4 to the spiritual    
tradition and discipline of the         
denomination to which he in fact        
belongs1 unless and until he is led to  
conclude that some other embodies a     
fuller and more synthetic presentation  
of religious truth4 ,it is a mistake for
 a man to be content either to remain in
 ignorance of his own immediate         
spiritual heritage or to refuse to try  
to understand what is distinctive and   
vital in the religious heritage of      
others4 ,most fatal of all is the       
attempt to combine personal loyalty to  
,christ with the repudiation of         
organized ,christianity as a whole4     
,true loyalty to ,christ most certainly 
involves common religious fellowship    
upon the basis of common membership in  
the people of ,,god4  ,as a matter of   
fact1 so soon as the various sects and  
denominations into which modern ,western

 ,christianity is divided are seriously 
examined1 they are seen to fall into    
three main types or groups4 ,standing by
 herself is the ,church of ,rome1       
venerable1 august1 impressive in virtue 
of her unanimity1 her coherence1 her    
ordered discipline1 and her             
international position1 representing    
exclusively the ancient ,catholic       
tradition1 and making for herself       
exclusive claims4 ,at the opposite end  
of the scale there are the multitudinous
 sects of ,protestantism1 differing     
mutually among themselves but tending   
7as some observers think7 to set less   
and less store by their divergences and 
to develop towards some kind of         
loosely-knit federation--a more or less 
united ,evangelical ,church upon an     
exclusively ,protestant basis4 ,between 
the two stands the ,church of ,england1 
reaching out a hand in both directions1 
presenting to the superficial observer  
the appearance of a house divided       
against itself2 representing            

nevertheless1 according to her true     
ideal1 a real attempt to synthesize the 
essentials of ,catholicism with what is 
both true and positive in the           
,protestant tradition4  ,protestantism  
stands for the liberty of the           
individual1 for freedom of thought and  
of inquiry1 for emphasis upon the       
importance of vital personal religion1  
for the warning that forms and          
ceremonies are of no value in           
themselves1 but only in so far as they  
are the expression and vehicle of the   
spirit4 ,protestantism proclaims the    
liberty of ,christian prophesying1 the  
free and unimpeded access of every human
 soul to the heavenly ,father1 the      
spiritual equality of all men in the    
sight of ,,god4 ,the ,protestant        
tradition is jealous for the evangelical
 simplicity of the ,gospel1 and in      
general may be said to represent the    
principle of democracy in religion4     
,catholicism1 on the other hand1 bears  
witness to the glory of ,churchmanship1 

to the importance of corporate loyalty  
to the ,christian ,society1 to the value
 of sacramentalism1 and the rich        
heritage of ancient devotional          
traditions1 of liturgical worship and   
ordered ecclesiastical life4 ,for       
,catholicism rites and sacraments are   
not anomalies1 strange material         
excrescences upon a religion otherwise  
spiritual4 ,they are themselves channels
 and media of the ,spirit's operation1  
vehicles of life and power4             
,catholicism is more inclusive than     
,protestantism1 including1 indeed1 some 
things which ,protestants are apt to    
insist should be excluded4 ,the future  
would seem to lie neither with the      
negations of pure ,protestantism nor    
with a ,catholicism wholly unreformed2  
but rather with a liberalized           
,catholicism which shall do justice to  
the truth of the ,protestant witness4   
,for the present the best opportunity   
for the working out of such a           
liberalized ,catholicism is to be found 

within the ,church of ,england3 and it  
is from the point of view of an ,english
 ,churchman that the remainder of this  
book will be written4     ,,chapter ,,ix
  ,,sacraments   ,it is sometimes asked 
whether the sacraments of the ,christian
 ,church are two or more than two in    
number4 ,the answer depends in part upon
 how the term sacrament is defined4 ,but
 the wisest teaching is that which      
recognizes in particular                
sacraments--such as ,baptism and the    
,supper of the ,lord--the operation of a
 general principle which runs throughout
 all human experience1 in things both   
sacred and profane4 ,i have no soul1    
remarked a well-known preacher on a     
famous occasion1 ,i have no soul1       
because ,i am a soul3 ,i have a body4   
,it would be difficult to express more  
aptly the principle of sacraments1      
or--what comes to the same thing--the   
true relationship of the material to the
 spiritual order4  ,we are accustomed1  
in the world as we know it1 to          

distinguish spirit from matter3 and we  
are tempted1 by the mere fact that we   
draw a distinction between them1 to     
think and speak at times as though      
spirit and matter were necessarily      
opposed4 ,this is a great mistake4      
,matter1 so far from being the opposite 
or the contradiction of spirit1 is the  
medium of its expression1 the vehicle of
 its manifestation4 ,spirit and matter  
are correlatives1 but the ultimate      
reality of the world is spiritual4 ,it  
is the whole purpose and function of    
matter to express1 to embody1 to        
incarnate1 the ,spirit4 ,the preacher1  
therefore1 was quite right4 ,i am a     
soul3 that is1 ,i am a personality1 a   
spirit3 and to say that is to give      
expression to the fundamental truth of  
my existence3 ,i am a soul1 and ,i am   
not a body4 ,but ,i have a body3 that   
is1 my personality is embodied or       
incarnate3 ,i have a body which serves  
as the vehicle or instrument of my life 
as a man here upon earth3 a body which  

is the organ of my spirit's             
self-expression and the medium both of  
my life's experience and of my          
intercourse with other men4 ,i think1   
and my thoughts are mediated by         
movements of the brain4 ,i speak1 and   
the movements of my vocal chords set up 
vibrations and sound-waves which1       
impinging upon the nerves of another's  
ear1 affect in turn another's brain3 and
 the process1 regarded from the point of
 view of the physiologist or the        
scientific observer1 is a physical      
process through and through3 yet it     
mediates from my mind to the mind of him
 who hears me a meaning which is wholly 
spiritual4  ,this principle of the      
mediation of the spiritual by the       
material is the principle of            
sacramentalism4 ,it is the principle of 
incarnation1 which runs throughout the  
world4 ,the body is in this sense the   
sacrament of the spirit1 sound is the   
sacrament of speech1 and language the   
sacrament of thought4 ,so in like manner

 water is the sacrament of cleansing1   
hands laid upon a man's head are the    
sacrament of authority or of            
benediction1 food and drink are the     
sacrament of life4 ,all life and all    
experience are in a true sense          
sacramental1 the inward ever seeking to 
reveal itself in and through the        
outward1 the outward deriving its whole 
significance from the fact that it      
expresses and mediates the spirit3 so it
 is that a gesture--a bow or a          
salute--may be a sacrament of           
politeness1 a handshake the sacrament of
 greeting and of friendship1 the beauty 
of nature a sacrament of the celestial  
beauty1 the world a sacrament of ,,god4 
,it is in the light of this general     
principle of sacraments that the        
specific sacraments of ,christianity are
 to be understood4 ,in ,baptism the     
water of an outward washing is the      
sacrament both of initiation into a     
spiritual society1 and also of the      
cleansing and regenerating power of     

,,god4 ,in ,confirmation the ,church's  
outward benediction1 of which the       
,bishop is the minister1 is the         
sacrament of an inward gift of spiritual
 strength4 ,in ,absolution words        
outwardly pronounced by human lips are a
 sacrament of ,divine forgiveness and a 
pledge to assure us thereof4 ,in the    
,eucharist the outward elements of food 
and drink are the sacramental embodiment
 of ,christ and the vehicles of ,his    
outpoured life4 ,other sacraments1 or   
rites commonly reckoned sacramental1 we 
need not here particularly consider4    
,footnote3 ,matrimony and ,holy ,orders 
are discussed in different connexions   
elsewhere in this book4 ,the sacrament  
of ,unction1 by which is meant the      
,anointing of the ,sick with oil in the 
name of the ,lord with a view to their  
recovery 7to be distinguished from the  
mediaeval and modern ,roman use of      
,extreme ,unction as a preparation for  
death71 has been revived sporadically   
within the ,church of ,england in recent

 times1 but is not usually for the plain
 man of more than academic importance or
 interest4  ,baptism and ,confirmation  
,baptism is the sacrament of ,christian 
initiation1 whereby a man is made       
visibly a member of the ,christian      
fellowship4 ,converts were originally   
baptized in adult life1 as they are     
to-day in the mission field4 ,the       
candidate publicly renounced his heathen
 past and made a profession of his faith
 in ,christ and his desire to be loyal  
to ,his ,church4 ,as a sinner in need of
 redemption he went down into the water1
 and was three times immersed in the    
,name of the ,father1 and of the ,son1  
and of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the rite      
conveyed an assurance of the forgiveness
 of sins4 ,the going down into the water
 symbolized the burial of the dead past4
 ,the coming up out of the water        
expressed the idea of resurrection to   
newness of life in ,christ4 ,the        
new-made ,christian was said to be born 
again of water and of the ,spirit3 the  

old ,adam was slain1 the new man raised 
up4 ,the candidate was henceforward a   
member of ,christ1 a child of ,,god1 an 
inheritor of the ,kingdom of ,heaven4   
,he was admitted both to the privileges 
and to the responsibilities of ,church  
membership4 ,it remained only that he   
should walk worthily of his ,christian  
profession1 and to this end hands were  
laid upon his head in benediction1 with 
prayer that he might be made strong by  
the indwelling power of the ,holy       
,spirit4 ,confirmation was thus the     
complement of ,baptism1 and the two     
things normally went together4 ,the same
 order is still commonly observed to-   
day in the case of persons baptized in  
adult life1 and has the advantage of    
making the significance of both rites1  
and their mutual relation1 at once more 
vivid and more intelligible4  ,but the  
question arose1 in the second ,christian
 generation1 of the status of children  
in relation to the ,church4 ,might      
children be admitted to membership in   

infancy1 or must they wait until they   
were adult8 ,the ,church decided that   
they were admissible1 provided there    
were reasonable assurance that they     
would be ,christianly brought up4 ,why  
should a child grow up in heathenism8   
,had not the ,lord said1 ,suffer the    
little children to come unto ,me1 and   
forbid them not8 ,there seemed no reason
 why children should not be brought at  
once within the sphere of ,christian    
regeneration4  ,but if children were    
baptized in infancy1 it was plainly     
essential that they should at a later   
stage receive systematic instruction in 
,christian faith and practice2 and the  
,western ,church 7though not the        
,eastern7 adopted the practice of       
separating ,confirmation from ,baptism1 
and deferring the former until such     
instruction had been received4 ,the plan
 has obvious advantages1 though it tends
 to obscure in some respects the        
essential meaning of ,confirmation and  
its original close relation to the      

sacrament of ,baptism4  ,in modern usage
 ,baptism is normally administered by a 
priest1 ,confirmation always by a       
,bishop4 ,candidates are received by the
 latter upon the assurance of one of his
 subordinate clergy that they are       
adequately instructed and rightly       
disposed by faith and penitence to      
receive the gifts of the ,holy          
,ghost--the spirit of wisdom and        
understanding1 the spirit of counsel and
 might1 the spirit of knowledge and of  
the fear of the ,lord4 ,as an immediate 
preliminary to the actual rite the      
candidate solemnly and deliberately     
declares his acceptance of the          
obligations and implications of his     
baptism4 ,the laying on of hands which  
follows is in one aspect the recognition
 by the ,bishop1 as chief pastor of the 
flock of ,christ in his own diocese1    
that the candidate is henceforward of   
communicant status4 ,in another aspect  
it is the bestowal through prayer of a  
fuller gift of the ,holy ,ghost1 whereby

 the candidate is confirmed 7i4e4 made  
strong74 ,it should be noted that the   
,bishop's prayer for each candidate is  
not that he may be made magically       
perfect there and then1 but that he may 
daily increase in ,,god',s ,holy ,spirit
 more and more1 until he come to        
,,god',s everlasting ,kingdom4  ,the    
,sacrament of ,repentance  ,it must be  
admitted that very large numbers of     
those who are confirmed lapse at an     
early stage in their lives from the     
communion of the ,church and never      
return4 ,the causes of this are various1
 and there is no one sovereign or       
universal remedy4 ,sometimes it is to be
 feared that there has been either lack 
of intelligence or lack of thoroughness 
in the candidates' preparation4 ,in not 
a few cases what has really happened is 
that the young communicant has been led 
into the commission of some sin of a    
kind which his own conscience recognizes
 as grave1 so that he feels that he has 
spoilt his record and failed to live up 

to his profession4 ,to go back to       
communion1 he thinks1 would in these    
circumstances be a kind of mockery4     
,unfortunately he does not know--since  
too often he has not been taught--any   
effectual method of spiritual recovery  
and renewal4  ,what is needed in such   
cases is a real doctrine and practice of
 ,christian repentance4 ,it is the      
universal teaching of the ,christian    
,church that forgiveness is freely      
available for all those who truly       
repent4 ,a man who1 laying aside        
self-justification1 will freely         
acknowledge his offences and            
shortcomings before ,,god1 and that in a
 spirit not of self-pity1 self-loathing 
or self-contempt1 but of sorrow at      
having brought discredit upon the       
,christian name and done what in him    
lies to crucify the ,son of ,,god       
afresh1 may freely claim and find in    
,christ forgiveness and inward peace4   
,this ,gospel or message of the         
forgiveness of sins it is part of the   

mission of the ,christian ,church to set
 forth4 ,it is her mission to set it    
forth not merely as a piece of good news
 proclaimed in general terms to the     
world at large1 but as a healing        
assurance brought home in detail1 as    
need may require1 to the individual     
consciences of sinners4 ,whosesoever    
sins ye remit1 they are remitted unto   
them1 and whosesoever sins ye retain1   
they are retained4 ,the words may have  
been uttered by the historical ,jesus of
 ,nazareth1 or they may not-- they are  
ascribed to the risen ,christ in the    
,fourth ,gospel4 ,in any event they     
represent the ,church's conviction of   
her authority to exercise a reconciling 
ministry1 to remit sins and to retain   
them4  ,in early times such grave       
offenders as by their deeds had brought 
scandal upon the ,christian name were   
excluded from ,christian fellowship     
until reconciled by penance2 and many   
whose sins1 being secret1 might         
otherwise have escaped detection1       

preferred to make open confession of    
them in the ,christian assembly4        
,confess your faults one to another1    
writes ,s4 ,james1 and pray one for     
another1 that ye may be healed4 ,the    
ancient system of public penance 7i4e4  
penitence7 was for a time at least      
revived in a modern form by             
,wesley4,footnote3 ,the class-meeting of
 strict ,wesleyanism is said to have    
originally involved mutual confession of
 sins among the members of the class4   
,its application to notorious offenders 
is described in the ,english            
,prayer-book as a godly discipline1 the 
restoration of which is much to be      
wished4 ,but it is hardly practicable   
under the conditions of modern ,church  
life1 and it has disadvantages as well  
as advantages4 ,its working in the early
 days of the ,church was not found to be
 wholly for good4  ,burdened consciences
 nevertheless require relief3 and sin is
 not merely a private affair between the
 soul and ,,god2 it is also an offence  

against the ,brotherhood4 ,a system grew
 up under which the need was met by the 
substitution1 in the majority of cases1 
of private for public penance4          
,confession was made1 no longer before  
the whole assembly1 but privately before
 the ,bishop1 whose office it was1 both 
as pastor of the flock and as           
representative of the ,church1 to       
declare forgiveness or absolution1 and  
to restore penitents to communion4 ,at a
 later date presbyters or priests were  
also authorized1 as delegates of the    
,bishop for this and other purposes1 to 
receive confessions and to absolve      
penitents4  ,in this way arose in the   
,church what came to be known as the    
sacrament of ,penance1 or the practice  
of sacramental confession4 ,it was      
ranked as a sacrament for the reason    
that the inward assurance of ,,god',s   
pardon is in this connexion outwardly   
mediated by words of ,absolution audibly
 pronounced4 ,in medieval times there   
grew up a regular system of the         

confessional and an elaborate science of
 the guidance and direction of souls4   
,recourse to sacramental confession was 
made obligatory for all ,christians at  
least once in the year4 ,footnote3 ,this
 is still the formal rule of the ,church
 of ,rome4 ,the system came to be       
attended by many superstitions and      
abuses1 frequently it was exploited in  
the interests of a corrupt              
sacerdotalism1 sometimes it was         
associated with a degrading casuistry4  
,but the confessional met and meets a   
real human need2 and while              
,protestantism1 as a whole1 broke away  
at the time of the ,reformation in a    
violent reaction from the whole theory  
and practice of sacramental confession1 
the ,church of ,england quite           
deliberately retained it4 ,it was       
abolished as a compulsory obligation4   
,it was made less prominent in the      
,church's system4 ,but as a means of    
spiritual reconciliation and spiritual  
guidance1 freely open to such as for any

 reason desire to make use of it1 it was
 retained2 and in the case of persons   
who for reasons of conscience hesitate  
to present themselves for ,holy         
,communion it is specifically urged in  
the ,book of ,common ,prayer as the     
needed remedy4 ,footnote3 ,see the      
closing paragraph of the first of the   
three lengthy exhortations to ,holy     
,communion1 printed immediately after   
the ,prayer for the ,church ,militant in
 the ,prayer- book4,the words of ,s4    
,john xx4 #bc are quoted in the         
,anglican formula of ordination to the  
priesthood2 and a form of words to be   
used by the priest in the private       
absolution of penitents is prescribed in
 the ,office for the ,visitation of the 
,sick4  ,as regards the theory of the   
confessional it is important to bear    
certain things in mind4 ,the confession 
is made primarily to ,,god1 secondarily 
to ,his ,church4 ,the priest is the     
,church's accredited delegate and       
representative4 ,he acts not in virtue  

of any magical powers inherent in       
himself1 either as an individual or as a
 member of any so-called sacerdotal     
caste4 ,if he declares the penitent     
absolved it is as pastor of the flock1  
and as one officially authorized by the 
,church to be her mouthpiece for these  
purposes4 ,the ultimate absolving       
authority1 under ,,god1 is the          
,christian ,society as a whole4 ,it is a
 confessor's duty to assure himself of  
the reality of the penitent's           
contrition1 and to enjoin that          
restitution or amends shall be made for 
any wrong which has been done1 in all   
cases in which amends or restitution is 
possible4 ,he may also give advice and  
counsel for the guidance of the         
spiritual life2 and it is customary to  
enjoin the performance of a penance1    
which in modern practice usually takes  
the form of some minor spiritual        
exercise of a more or less remedial     
kind4 ,the acceptance of the penance is 
regarded as an enacted symbol of        

submission to the ,church's judgment4   
7,the mediaeval theory that the penance 
is of the nature of a punishment or     
penalty imposed by the ,church upon her 
erring members ought1 ,i think1 to be   
repudiated4 ,it is perhaps permissible  
to differ from the moral theology of    
,borne in holding that it is not        
essential to impose a penance at all1   
while recognizing the value in most     
cases of suggesting some definite act of
 self-discipline or observance1 of a    
kind adapted to the penitent's          
circumstances and needs74 ,the confessor
 is1 of course1 bound in the strictest  
way not to reveal anything said to him  
in confession1 or to broach the subject 
again to the penitent without the       
latter's express permission1 or to allow
 his subsequent manner or behaviour to  
be influenced in any the least degree by
 what has been confessed4  ,it is highly
 unfortunate that the practice of       
sacramental confession should have been 
made the subject of controversy1 and as 

a consequence of this that the ,church's
 teaching with regard to it should have 
been either unhealthily suppressed or   
obtruded out of season4 ,there are      
without doubt numerous cases in which   
such a spiritual remedy is badly needed4
 ,there are burdened souls needing      
absolution and there are perplexed souls
 needing guidance4 ,what is desirable is
 that the actual teaching of the ,church
 of ,england on this subject should be  
plainly and frankly set before her      
members1 and that opportunities should  
be afforded them of making their        
confessions if they desire or need to do
 so4 ,it is the plain duty of a parish  
priest to provide such opportunities for
 his people4 ,he is as plainly going    
beyond his duty if he tries to enforce  
the practice of sacramental confession  
as a necessary obligation4 ,there are   
differences of opinion as to how        
widespread is the spiritual need to     
which confession ministers4 ,there are  
reasons for thinking that it is more    

widespread than is commonly recognized4 
,but it is of vital importance that no  
one should be pressed or brow-beaten    
into going to confession1 or should do  
so1 in any circumstances1 otherwise than
 by his own voluntary act4  ,the        
,sacrament of ,holy ,communion          
,throughout ,christian history and in   
all parts of ,christendom the central   
and highest focus of ,christian worship 
and devotion1 and the great normal      
vivifying channel of spiritual renewal  
and power1 has been the sacrament of    
,holy ,communion4 ,it has been          
celebrated amid great diversities of    
liturgy and ritual and circumstance1 and
 has been known by many different names 
and titles--mass1 eucharist1 communion1 
sacrifice3 essentially it is one        
thing--the sacrament of the ,body and   
,blood of ,christ4  ,the ,gospels record
 that at the ,last ,supper on the night 
of ,his betrayal the ,lord ,jesus took  
bread and blessed and broke it1 saying1 
,take1 eat3 this is ,my ,body1 which is 

for you3 do this in remembrance of ,me3 
and that in like manner ,he took a ,cup 
of mingled wine and water1 and when ,he 
had given thanks ,he gave it to them1   
saying1 ,this ,cup is the ,new ,covenant
 in ,my ,blood1 which is shed for you   
and for many for the remission of sins3 
do this1 as often as ye shall drink it1 
in remembrance of ,me4  ,with the       
exceptions of the ,society of ,friends  
and the ,salvation ,army1 every existing
 denomination of ,christians has        
continued in one form or another the    
observance of this ,mystical ,meal4 ,in 
the ,roman ,church1 and in many parishes
 of the ,church of ,england1 it is      
celebrated daily2 and it is evident from
 the provisions of her ,prayer-book that
 the ,church of ,england intends that   
there shall be a celebration of the     
,communion in all normal parishes at    
least on all ,sundays and ,holy ,days4  
,historically the institution of the    
weekly ,eucharist is deeply rooted in   
the tradition of the ,church1 and is the

 origin of the ,christian ,sunday1 ,the 
,christians met together week by week to
 keep on the day of the ,lord's rising  
that memorial of the crucified yet risen
 ,christ which is also ,christ's gift of
 ,himself to men4 ,it would have seemed 
unthinkable in the early days of        
,christianity for any baptized          
,christian1 who was not prevented by    
unavoidable circumstances from being    
present1 to be absent on the ,lord's    
,day from the ,lord's ,table4 ,it ought 
to be equally unthinkable to-day4  ,with
 regard to the significance of the      
,sacrament1 a man's view is necessarily 
coloured partly by his own experience as
 a communicant1 and partly by the extent
 to which he is disposed to attach      
weight to the devotional traditions of  
,christendom as a whole2 and it is worth
 remembering that forms of teaching     
about ,holy ,communion which are        
intellectually crude may represent a    
real1 though an infelicitous1 attempt to
 express in thought certain elements in 

eucharistic experience which are deep   
and real1 and to which more attenuated  
types of doctrine fail to do justice4   
,the celebration of the ,eucharist is   
from one point of view an enacted drama1
 a doing over again in the name and in  
the person of ,christ of that which     
,christ did in ,his own person on the   
night of the ,last ,supper4 ,bread is   
taken and blessed and broken and offered
 to ,,god in thanksgiving3 ,wine in like
 manner is poured out and blessed and   
offered together with the ,bread4 ,and  
the ,bread and the ,wine symbolize the  
,body and the ,blood of ,christ--the    
,body that was broken and the ,blood    
that was shed--the life that was freely 
given for the life of the world4  ,the  
whole drama of the ,eucharist is thus   
deeply symbolical2 but the ,bread and   
the ,wine are more than mere symbols in 
the modern sense of that word4 ,they are
 a sacrament of ,christ ,himself1 who by
 means of them manifests ,his presence  
in the midst of ,his worshipping        

disciples to be the ,bread of life and  
the ,food of souls4 ,this is ,my        
,body--that is1 ,this embodies ,me3     
where this is1 ,i am3 receiving this1   
you receive ,me4 ,this is ,my           
,blood--that is1 ,this is ,my life3 ,my 
life which is given for you3 ,my life   
which in death ,i laid down and in      
rising again from the dead ,i resumed3  
,my life which is to be the principle of
 spiritual life in you4 ,except ye eat  
the flesh of the ,son of ,man1 and drink
 ,his blood1 ye have no life in you4    
,whoso eateth ,my flesh and drinketh ,my
 blood1 hath eternal life4444 ,he that  
eateth ,my flesh and drinketh ,my blood1
 dwelleth in ,me and ,i in him4  ,there 
is1 then1 in the communion of the ,body 
and ,blood of ,christ a manifestation of
 ,christ's ,real ,presence1 a spiritual 
,presence indeed1 which is discerned by 
the spiritual vision of ,christian      
faith1 but a ,presence of which the     
reality is independent of individual    
faithlessness1 though not independent of

 the faith of the ,christian ,church as 
a whole4  ,this doctrine of the ,real   
,presence 7as it is called7 of course   
does not imply that ,christ is absent   
from ,his ,church at other times or in  
other connexions4 ,we believe that all  
times and places are present to the mind
 of ,christ1 and that therefore at all  
times and in all places we are in ,his  
presence4 ,we believe1 further1 that    
,christ through the ,spirit is embodied1
 however inadequately1 in ,his ,church1 
and that ,he dwells spiritually in the  
hearts of ,christian men4 ,there is     
nothing1 however1 in these truths to    
exclude the further truth that ,his     
presence is specially manifested through
 the ,bread which embodies ,him and the 
,wine which is ,his ,blood4 ,bread and  
wine1 solemnly set apart for the purpose
 of communion and hallowed by the       
,spirit in response to the prayer of the
 ,church1 possess henceforward a        
significance which did not belong to    
them before4 ,they are now vehicles or  

sacraments of the ,body and ,blood of   
,christ4  ,the purpose of the           
manifestation of ,christ's ,presence in 
,holy ,communion is that we should      
receive ,him1 and a participation in the
 service which stops short of actual    
communion is so far incomplete4 ,but it 
is gratuitous to assume that the reality
 of the sacramental ,presence is limited
 to the moment of actual or individual  
reception1 and it is untrue to say that 
attendance at the service1 apart from   
individual reception1 is unmeaning4 ,the
 habitual attendance of persons who are 
not regular communicants--unless it be  
in the case of those who for any reason 
are as yet unconfirmed--falls short of  
full discipleship and is intrinsically  
undesirable4 ,but this objection does   
not apply to attendance at the service  
on the part of communicant ,churchmen   
who yet on a particular occasion do not 
communicate3 and to attend throughout   
the service without personally          
communicating is a procedure infinitely 

preferable to the irreverent modern     
custom1 still prevalent in too many     
parishes1 of leaving the ,church in the 
course of a celebration of the          
,communion1 and before the consecration 
has taken place4 ,it is unfair to those 
who are preparing to receive ,communion 
that their devotions should be disturbed
 by the noisy egress of a large body of 
worshippers4 ,it is also quite          
unintelligible that any ,churchman who  
considers seriously the meaning of the  
,eucharist should be content to depart  
before the liturgical drama has reached 
its climax4  ,as regards actual         
reception of ,holy ,communion1 it is a  
partaking of ,christ1 who gives ,himself
 therein to ,his disciples to be in them
 a spiritual principle of life and      
power4 ,s4 ,paul discovers in the       
,eucharist a spiritual food and drink   
which is the reality to which the ,manna
 and the ,water from the ,rock of       
,hebrew story correspond as types and   
shadows1 and he declares that the ,bread

 which we break is a sharing of the     
,body of ,christ1 and that the ,cup of  
,blessing which we bless is a sharing of
 ,his ,blood4 ,at the same time the     
,communion is not to be interpreted in  
any gross or carnal manner1 or in such a
 way as to give colour to the ancient   
taunt of ,celsus1 the heathen critic1   
that ,christians were self-confessed    
cannibals4 ,the ,fourth ,gospel1 which1 
in a context that is in a general sense 
eucharistic1 ascribes to our ,lord      
strong phrases about the necessity of   
eating ,his flesh and drinking ,his     
blood1 proceeds in the same context to  
explain that it is the ,spirit that     
giveth life1 that the flesh1 in itself1 
profiteth nothing4 ,the sayings which ,i
 have spoken unto you are spirit and are
 life4 ,in other words1 we are to       
understand that when our ,lord uses the 
terms flesh and blood ,he means the     
,spirit of which ,his life in the flesh 
was the expression1 and the ,life of    
which ,his outpoured ,blood was the     

principle3 that the inward reality of   
the ,eucharist is to be discovered1 not 
in any quasi-material fleshly embodiment
 which the ,bread conceals1 or in any   
quasi-literal ,blood1 but rather in the 
,spirit and the ,life of ,christ        
,himself4 ,the ,bread is ,his ,body in  
the sense that it is an embodiment of   
,his ,spirit3 the ,wine is ,his ,blood  
in the sense that it mediates ,his      
,life4 ,the sacrament is to be          
understood as a point of personal       
contact with ,jesus ,christ4 ,rightly to
 receive ,communion is to hold spiritual
 converse with the risen ,lord and to   
find in ,him the ,bread of ,life1 the   
food and sustenance of the soul4 ,so it 
is that the ,eucharist1 at once         
supremely natural and wholly            
supernatural1 is the meeting-place of   
earth and heaven4 ,from one point of    
view our worship is in the heavenly     
places in ,christ ,jesus4 ,it is with   
angels and archangels and with all the  
company of heaven1 that we laud and     

magnify ,,god',s ,holy ,name4 ,we join  
in an eternal act of worship1 which is  
that of the whole ,church1 the departed 
with the living1 whose adoration ascends
 continually before the throne of ,,god4
  ,if we like to express it so1 we are  
pleading the eternal sacrifice3 we are  
uniting ourselves1 in desire and in     
intention1 with ,christ's eternal       
self-devotion and oblation of ,himself4 
,calvary itself was in a sense but the  
enacted symbol1 the supreme outward     
expression1 of our ,lord's sacrifice1 of
 which the inward essence is eternal4   
,it is the self-offering of a ,will that
 was wholly dedicated to ,,god on       
others' behalf1 obedient even unto      
death1 and through death triumphant3 the
 ,will of ,one who through the ,eternal 
,spirit offered ,himself without spot to
 ,,god1 and who now1 being ascended into
 the heavens1 for ever liveth to make   
intercession for us4 ,looking at the    
,eucharist from this point of view we   
are bold to approach the ,throne of     

,,god and to offer ,christ on our       
behalf--,behold the ,lamb of ,,god that 
taketh away the sin of the world3 but we
 proceed also to offer ourselves in     
,christ--,here we offer and present unto
 ,thee1 ,o ,lord1 ourselves1 our souls  
and bodies1 to be a reasonable1 holy and
 lively sacrifice unto ,thee4  ,and so  
doing we are made one with ,christ and  
one in ,him with each other4 ,the       
,eucharist has a social aspect which is 
too little regarded4 ,it is the         
sacrament of ,holy ,fellowship4 ,we that
 are many are one ,bread1 one ,body1    
wrote ,s4 ,paul1 for we all partake of  
the one ,bread4 ,the ,holy ,communion is
 the sacrament of the unity of all      
,christians in ,christ4 ,the scandal of 
a divided ,christendom shows itself     
perhaps most of all in the fact that it 
prevents inter- communion4 ,for that    
very reason it appears to many persons  
unreal1 and therefore wrong1 to practise
 isolated acts of inter-communion while 
ecclesiastical differences remain       

unresolved3 it is to conceal the fact of
 actual disunion beneath the cloak of   
immediate sentiment4 ,yet there is a    
true sense in which1 through the        
,spirit1 we are1 in the act of          
communion1 made one with the fellowship 
of all faithful people whether in the   
sphere of this earthly life or in the   
world that is beyond death and tears3   
with all those1 of whatever race or rank
 or age or country1 who amid whatever   
diversity of language and liturgy and   
denominational loyalty1 have named the  
name of ,christ and received the life of
 ,christ in obedience to ,his command as
 they understood it4 ,there is no bond  
comparable to this bond1 and no equality
 like the equality of those who1 high   
and low1 rich and poor1 one with        
another1 kneel side by side as brothers 
and sisters at the common ,table of the 
,lord4  ,and lastly there is a further  
point4 ,the ,body of ,christ is a broken
 ,body and the ,blood is ,blood that is 
shed4 ,this is ,my ,body which is for   

you--for you1 and never for ,myself4    
,the ,bread is the ,bread of ,sacrifice 
and the ,cup is the ,stirrup-cup of     
,service3 and part1 surely1 and a great 
part1 of the meaning of the words1 ,do  
this in remembrance of ,me1 is ,break   
your bodies in union with ,my ,body     
broken3 give your lives in sacrifice for
 others1 as ,i have given ,mine4 ,the   
,eucharist1 rightly regarded1 is the    
mainspring and motive-power of service1 
the principle of a life that is         
crucified4 ,and all those who in their  
day and generation have spent their     
lives unselfishly and used themselves up
 in promoting causes not their own are  
partakers in that ,holy ,fellowship4    
,at this present time of war and tumult1
 when all the powers of ,hell are abroad
 and leagued together for the onset1 we 
think of that which alone can be the    
redemption of war1 even the             
self-devotion of those who1 hating the  
whole devilish business and going into  
it only because they saw no alternative 

to ,duty's clear and imperative call1   
have been counted worthy to show forth  
the love than which no man hath greater1
 even to lay down their lives for their 
friends4 ,there is no one so unfortunate
 as not to have known some such men4    
,and at the ,communion ,service in the  
act of conscious incorporation into the 
fellowship of the love of ,jesus1 it may
 be given to us in some measure to      
understand these things1 and to know    
that we are become partakers in the     
power of a world-wide crucifixion1 a    
fellowship of broken bodies and lives   
poured out in ,christ3 and to know      
also--with a knowledge that is not of   
this world--that somehow1 in it and     
through it1 the ,spirit of ,,god in     
,christ will bring redemption4  ,so     
wonderful1 so many-sided1 and so full of
 meaning is this ,sacrament3 so great is
 the measure of their loss who1         
professing and calling themselves       
,christians1 are content to ignore the  
last injunction of the ,christ to ,his  

disciples on the night before ,he died  
that we might live4     ,,chapter ,x    
,,the ,,last ,,things   ,it is appointed
 unto men once to die1 and after death  
the judgment4  ,he shall come again in  
glory to judge both the quick and the   
dead1 whose ,kingdom shall have no end4 
,i believe in the resurrection of the   
body1 and the life everlasting4  ,jesus 
,christ spoke in symbolical language of 
,his coming in the clouds of heaven as  
,son of ,man with power and great glory1
 and declared that the ,divine verdict  
upon the lives and deeds of men should  
be determined by their relationship to  
,him and to ,his ideals4 ,both in the   
days of the ,apostles1 and for the most 
part among succeeding generations of    
,christian people down to the present   
time1 it would seem that a more literal 
signification was attached to ,his words
 than they will really bear4 ,the truth 
of the ,divine ,judgment upon men's     
lives nevertheless stands4 ,,god is a   
great ,judge1 strong and patient3 and   

,,god is provoked every day4 ,we must1  
however1 be careful1 in thinking of the 
reality of ,divine ,judgment1 to        
interpret the justice of ,,god in the   
light of the ,christian revelation of   
,his ,love4 ,the attitude of ,,god      
towards sinners is never anything but   
love1 though a love that is holy and    
righteous1 and never merely sentimental4
 ,,god as ,christ reveals ,him can never
 impose or inflict a merely external    
penalty upon a sinner1 other than the   
supreme penalty of being simply what he 
is1 viz4 a soul who by his own          
deliberate actions has separated himself
 from goodness and from ,,god4 ,it is   
important in thinking of the ,judgment  
to remember that the essence of judgment
 is neither the sentence nor the        
penalty3 it is simply the verdict1      
whereby moral and spiritual realities   
are revealed1 shams and disguises are   
stripped off1 and evil is separated from
 good4 ,footnote3 ,the associations of  
an ,english law-court1 in which the     

verdict is the work of the jury1 are    
here misleading4 ,if our ,lord1 speaking
 in parables1 declared1 of such as had  
neglected to do good1 that these shall  
go away into eternal punishment1 a      
considerable body of orthodox opinion in
 the ,christian ,church has always held 
that the punishment in question consists
 essentially in the penalty of loss--the
 loss of goodness and of ,,god1 the loss
 of capacity for the life which is life 
indeed--rather than in any imagined     
penalty of sense1 or purposeless        
prolongation of pain4 ,the imagery which
 our ,lord employed to describe the     
spiritual condition known as hell is    
taken from the ,valley of ,hinnom1 a    
ravine just outside the walls of        
,jerusalem1 in which fires were         
continually maintained for the          
destruction of refuse1 and maggots      
preyed on offal4 ,the imagery is        
sufficiently terrible2 but it suggests  
the destruction of waste products in    
,,god',s creation1 rather than the      

prolonged torture of living beings4 ,it 
may well be that a soul1 which by       
persistent and deliberate rejection of  
every appeal of the ,divine ,love even  
to the very end--in this life or        
beyond--has become so wholly            
self-identified with evil as to be      
finally incapable of life in ,,god1     
passes1 of necessity1 out of sentient   
existence altogether4 ,we do not know4  
,what we do know is1 in the first place1
 that wickedness is of its very nature  
instinct with the eternal quality of    
hell2 and1 in the second place1 that    
,,god is ,love1 and that ,,god desireth 
not the death of a sinner1 but rather   
that he may turn from his wickedness1   
and live4  ,just as the term hell       
expresses the condition of a soul which 
by its own act and deed and deliberate  
choice has become wholly self-          
identified with evil1 so the term heaven
 expresses the spiritual state of the   
pure in heart1 to whom it is given to   
see ,,god4 ,so regarded1 heaven is      

simply the ideal consummation of        
progressive spiritual advance1 the      
perfect fruition of that beatific vision
 which the saints of ,,god desired4 ,it 
has ever been the conviction of the     
,christian ,church that her members are 
already1 even in this present life1 made
 partakers in the life of heaven1 just  
in proportion as their affections are   
set upon things above and not upon      
things in the earth4 ,what is begun here
 is continued more perfectly hereafter2 
but it is unreasonable to assume that at
 the moment of death the ultimate       
fulness of heaven is immediately        
attained4  ,the ,church1 therefore1 has 
believed in an intermediate state1      
sometimes called ,purgatory1 a condition
 of progressive purification and        
spiritual growth1 characterized at once 
by a deepening penitence for the sins   
and failures of the past1 and by a      
deepening joy in ,,god',s more perfect  
service4  ,moreover1 since the          
,christian salvation is a social        

salvation1 those who have departed this 
life in ,,god',s faith and fear shall   
not without us be made perfect4 ,none   
can enter fully into the joy of the     
,lord until the whole of ,,god',s great 
,world-purpose is accomplished1 and all 
are gathered in4 ,this brings us to the 
consideration of the ,christian belief  
in the ,second ,advent and the final    
,kingdom of ,,god4 ,it has already been 
remarked that the terms in which this   
belief is expressed are symbolical and  
should not be taken literally4 ,just    
because we ourselves1 under the         
conditions of life here upon earth1 are 
immersed in the stream of time1 the idea
 of an ending of the ,world-process1 a  
final passing over of time into         
eternity1 is to us1 in the strict and   
literal sense of the words1 unthinkable4
 ,only under the form of imagery and    
symbol is it in the nature of things    
possible for the idea of the last great 
,drama to be expressed1 or rather1      
suggested3 it is impossible for our     

minds to grasp1 in any more exact or    
effectual manner1 the ,reality which the
 imagery is meant to symbolize4 ,it may 
be that the event expressed by the      
dramatic picture of the ,second ,advent 
of the ,christ is simply the revelation 
of the fact of ,his ,eternal ,presence  
at once as ,saviour and as ,judge2      
however this may be1 the picture stands 
for the assurance of ,his final triumph1
 and the vindication of ,his ,kingdom in
 its fulness3 and as such it is the     
object of ,christian hope--,hallowed be 
,thy ,name2 ,thy ,kingdom come2 ,thy    
will be done2 in earth1 as it is in     
,heaven4  ,if we ask what is the        
positive nature of the ,christian hope  
and what the final character of the life
 of heaven1 the answer is that we cannot
 fully say1 that we know only in part1  
we see obscurely1 as in a mirror4 ,in   
hymn and ecstasy and vision men have    
sought to find expression for the       
substance of things hoped for1 and they 
have failed4 ,eye hath not seen nor ear 

heard1 neither hath it entered into the 
heart of man to conceive1 the things    
that ,,god hath prepared for them that  
love ,him4 ,the ,book of the ,revelation
 essays to paint a picture of the       
heavenly state1 and for the most part   
succeeds in setting before our minds a  
noble imagery2 but in the end its       
language is most convincing when it     
tells us what heaven is not4 ,they shall
 hunger no more1 neither thirst any     
more1 neither shall the sun light on    
them1 nor any heat4 ,and ,,god shall    
wipe away all tears from their eyes4    
,negatives and contrasts--the picture of
 a state of things contrasted with all  
that in the world as we know it is      
amiss2 we cannot positively envisage    
heaven4 ,only we believe that there     
remaineth a rest for the people of      
,,god1 where nevertheless they rest not 
day or night from ,his perfect service4 
,beloved1 now are we sons of ,,god1 and 
it doth not yet appear what we shall be3
 but we know that when ,he shall appear 

we shall be like ,him3 for we shall see 
,him as ,he is4  ,here this chapter     
might end3 but with regard to the nature
 of the ,christian conception of the    
life of the world to come there is      
something more to be said3 for the      
,church's creed contains the assertion  
of a belief in the ,resurrection of the 
,body1 or even1 in the ,latin form of   
the ,apostles' ,creed1 and in the       
translation which appears in the        
,prayer-book ,service for ,baptism1 in  
the ,resurrection of the ,flesh4 ,the   
plain man may be tempted1 brushing aside
 such a doctrine in its plain and       
literal acceptation as a manifest       
impossibility1 either to hold aloof from
 a ,church which retains such an        
affirmation in her creed1 or else to    
conclude hastily that the words are     
meant only as a picturesque way of      
expressing a belief in the immortality  
of the soul4 ,either attitude would be a
 mistake4 ,it is true that a literal    
resuscitation of ,christian corpses on  

some future ,day of ,resurrection would 
be neither possible nor desirable4      
,nevertheless the ,christian doctrine of
 the life to come involves more than a  
bare assertion of the immortality of the
 soul4  ,the body is the embodiment or  
vehicle of the spirit2 the spirit       
disembodied would be a mere wraith1 a   
phantasm of the living man4 ,the life of
 the world to come is not unreal or     
shadowy as compared with the concrete   
reality of the life of earth3 it is a   
life richer and fuller1 more concrete   
and more glorious than the life of      
earth4 ,the ,church by her doctrine of  
the ,resurrection means to affirm that  
the full reality of that which made the 
living man what he was is carried over  
into the life beyond4 ,the buried corpse
 is not the body that shall be4 ,there  
is a natural body1 and there is a       
spiritual body4 ,as to the nature of the
 future embodiment of the spirit in the 
life beyond the grave we are ignorant4  
,,god giveth it a body as it hath       

pleased ,him1 and to each seed a body of
 its own4 ,but we believe that the deeds
 done in the body here upon earth while 
we are yet tabernacling in the flesh    
necessarily affect and determine the    
character of the spiritual embodiment   
which shall be ours hereafter4 ,for this
 reason we hold our bodies sacred1 as   
being temples of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,the 
body is not for fornication1 but for the
 ,lord2 and the ,lord for the body4     
,christianity can have nothing to do    
with the notion that the defilement of  
the body is without effect in the       
pollution of the soul4  ,,note4-,for a  
fuller treatment of the subjects of the 
,second ,advent and the ,resurrection of
 the ,body the writer may be allowed to 
refer to ,chapters ,,iii4 and ,,iv4 in  
his book1 ,dogma1 fact and ,experience  
7,macmillan  ,co41 #aiae74     ,,chapter
 ,,xi  ,,clergy ,,and ,,laity   ,the    
clergy are not the ,church4 ,they are a 
specialized class within it4 ,they are  
men who believe themselves to be called 

by ,,god to give themselves for life to 
the particular work of caring directly  
for the spiritual interests of their    
fellows4 ,to this end they are set apart
 by ordination4 ,they hold the          
commission and authorization of the     
,church to minister the ,word and       
,sacraments of the ,gospel in the name  
of ,christ and of the ,brotherhood4     
,their task is high and difficult4 ,it  
is not wonderful if they fail4 ,but     
solemn prayer is offered for them at    
their ordination3 and the answer to the 
,church's prayers is according to the   
measure of the ,church's faith4  ,the   
historical or ,catholic system of       
ministry in the ,church consists of a   
hierarchy in three orders or gradations4
 ,to the order of ,bishops belongs      
oversight or pastorate-in-chief4 ,it is 
not the business of a ,bishop to be     
prelatical1 or to lord it over ,,god',s 
heritage1 but to be the servant of the  
servants of ,,god4 ,a ,bishop is        
consecrated to his office by not less   

than three of those who are already     
,bishops4 ,he exercises all the         
functions of the ,christian ministry1   
including those of confirmation and     
ordination and the right to take part in
 episcopal consecrations4  ,priests and 
deacons are a ,bishop's delegates for   
certain purposes4 ,a priest may have    
charge of a parish or subdivision of a  
diocese1 and is competent to celebrate  
the ,eucharist1 to bless1 to baptize1   
and to absolve4 ,he is also authorized  
to preach1 and to give instruction in   
,christian doctrine4 ,he may not confirm
 or ordain apart from the ,bishop1      
though he may co-operate with the latter
 in ordinations to the priesthood4 ,he  
is ordained to his ministry by the      
,bishop acting in conjunction with      
certain representatives of the          
priesthood who take part with him in the
 laying on of hands4  ,deacons are      
subordinate ministers appointed to      
assist parish priests in the work of    
parochial visiting and also1 within     

certain limits1 in the conduct of       
,divine worship and the administration  
of the sacraments4 ,they may read parts 
of the service1 but have no authority to
 bless or to absolve4 ,they may preach  
by express and specific license from the
 ,bishop4 ,they may not celebrate the   
,eucharist1 but may assist the priest   
who does so by reading the ,gospel and  
administering the chalice4 ,they are    
ordained to their office by the ,bishop1
 and in most cases1 though not          
invariably1 proceed subsequently to the 
priesthood4 ,footnote3 ,in the absence  
of a ,bishop or priest1 a deacon is     
competent to baptize4 ,in the absence of
 any of the clergy ,baptism may also1 in
 cases of urgency1 be administered by a 
layman1 and in the absence of a man1 by 
a woman4  ,the principles which underlie
 this system of ,catholic order in the  
,church are important4 ,the devolution  
of authority to minister through the    
episcopate safeguards the continuity of 
the ,church's corporate life and        

tradition1 and secures that ministerial 
functions shall be exercised in the name
 and by the authority of the ,christian 
,society as a whole4 ,moreover through  
the ordered succession of the ,bishops  
the tradition of ministerial authority  
is carried back certainly to sub-       
apostolic1 and perhaps also actually to 
apostolic1 times3 it represents in      
principle ,christ's commission to ,his  
,apostles--,as the ,father hath sent    
,me1 even so send ,i you4  ,at the same 
time it is important that the doctrine  
of the ministry should not be allowed to
 become sacerdotalist in a wrong sense4 
,the ,christian priesthood is not in    
possession of any magical or exclusive  
powers4 ,the essence of priesthood is   
the dedication of life as a whole to the
 service of ,,god on behalf of others3  
and in this sense every ,christian man  
is meant in his ordinary daily life and 
business to be a priest of ,,god and a  
servant of his brethren4 ,what the      
,church to-day needs most chiefly is a  

body of laymen who will take seriously  
their vocation4 ,a layman is not a      
,christian of inferior type1 on whose   
behalf the clergy are expected to       
display a vicarious spirituality3 he is 
simply an unordained member of the      
people of ,,god4 ,the hope of the future
 is that laymen should do their part1   
not merely by supporting the efforts of 
the clergy1 but by exercising their own 
proper functions as living members of   
,christ4 ,the ,church--and especially   
the ,church of ,england--is in vital    
need of reform4 ,the recently launched  
,life and ,liberty ,movement is a       
hopeful sign of the determination of a  
certain number of clergy and laity that 
reform shall be secured4 ,in particular 
it is essential that the ,church should 
recover freedom of self-government in   
spiritual things1 and liberty to adapt  
her machinery and organization to       
changing needs1 by the readjustment of  
her relation towards the ,state4 ,this  
may or may not involve disestablishment1

 and disestablishment in turn1 if it    
should take place1 need not necessarily 
involve1 but in practice would probably 
involve1 some measure of partial        
disendowment4 ,the ,church must be      
prepared for all eventualities1 and must
 be ready1 should necessity arise1 to   
take cheerfully the spoiling of her     
goods4 ,for liberty is essential at all 
costs4  ,in the movement for ,life and  
,liberty1 as in every other department  
of her work1 the ,church needs the      
co-operation of her laity4 ,it is their 
duty both to be informed in             
ecclesiastical affairs1 and to make     
their voices heard4 ,it is part of the  
programme of ,church reformers to give  
the laity1 through elected              
representatives1 a more effective voice 
in ,church affairs4 ,the administration 
of finance and the raising of funds for 
work both at home and abroad is more    
particularly their province1 but there  
is no single department of ,church      
affairs in which the layman ought not to

 have his share1 though no doubt the    
,bishops in virtue of their office have 
a special responsibility in matters of  
doctrine4 ,certainly there is need of a 
much greater extension of lay preaching1
 and a freer recognition of the capacity
 of many laymen to lead the worship and 
intercessions of their brethren4 ,the   
administration of the sacraments1 with  
the partial exception of baptism1 is    
reserved for those to whom it is        
committed3 but this need not and does   
not apply to the ministries of preaching
 and of prayer4  ,clerical autocracy1   
where it exists1 ought resolutely and   
firmly to be broken down4 ,it has to be 
admitted that between clergy and laity  
at present there is a regrettable and   
widespread cleavage4 ,the clergy are    
widely criticized1 and it is certain    
that they have many faults4 ,one who    
belongs to their number cannot help     
being conscious of some at least of the 
failings both of himself and of his     
class4 ,but the faults are not all upon 

one side4 ,it may be suspected that     
those who criticize the clergy with the 
greatest freedom are not always those   
who pray for them most earnestly4 ,to   
affirm that the laity get1 upon the     
whole1 the clergy they deserve would be 
too hard a saying3 but it is sometimes  
forgotten that the clergy are recruited 
from the ranks of the laity1 and that1  
when not dehumanized by an undue        
professionalism of outlook1 they are    
human4 ,many of them would be frankly   
grateful for friendly co-operation and  
criticism on the part of the lay members
 of their flocks4 ,one of the           
difficulties about preaching is that the
 clergy in many instances do not really 
know what is in the layman's mind4 ,the 
life of the ,church in ,england will not
 proceed along healthy lines until there
 is greater mutual candour between      
laymen and clergy4 ,at present laymen   
will not talk freely about matters of   
religion in the presence of the clergy  
because they imagine 7often quite       

wrongly7 that the latter would be       
shocked4 ,it sometimes happens          
conversely that the clergy hesitate to  
express their real minds for fear that  
laymen would be shocked4 ,this attitude 
of mutual reserve is hopeless4 ,no      
,christian1 lay or clerical1 has any    
business to be shocked at any expression
 of opinion whatever1 orthodox or       
unorthodox1 whether in faith or in      
morals4 ,either side may disagree with  
the other2 but either ought to be       
prepared to listen to what the other has
 to say4     ,,chapter ,,xii  ,,the     
,,bible   ,the ,bible is the sacred     
,book of ,christianity1 as the ,koran is
 the sacred ,book of ,mohammedanism2    
with this difference1 however1 that     
,christianity1 as the religion of the   
,spirit1 can never be1 like             
,mohammedanism1 a religion of the ,book1
 any more than it can be1 like ancient  
,judaism1 a religion of the ,law4 ,the  
,biblical writings include two main     
collections of books1 known as the ,old 

,testament and the ,new ,testament      
respectively1 of which the latter alone 
is distinctively ,christian4            
,intermediate between the two           
,testaments in point of date are the    
writings known as the ,apocrypha1 which 
though inferior1 for the most part1 in  
spiritual value to the fully canonical  
books1 and frequently omitted from      
printed editions of the ,bible1 are     
regarded by the ,church as canonical in 
a secondary sense4  ,the various books  
of the ,bible originally became         
canonical1 that is1 were included in the
 canon or collection of sacred writings1
 on the ground that they were read aloud
 or recited in the course of ,divine    
worship4 ,the ,old ,testament canon     
comprises the books customarily read    
aloud in the ,jewish synagogue1 together
 with certain other writings associated 
with them4 ,the books of the ,new       
,testament are a similar collection of  
early ,christian writings which were    
read side by side with the ,old         

,testament in ,christian worship4 ,the  
selection of these particular writings  
for the purpose was determined in part  
by the ,church's recognition of their   
spiritual value and in part by the      
regard which was paid by the ,christian 
community to the religious authority of 
those by whom they were believed to have
 been written4  ,speaking generally1 we 
may say that the ,old ,testament is the 
religious literature of ,judaism4 ,it is
 the literary deposit of the spiritual  
life of a nation1 the written record and
 monument of a progressive process of   
religious development4 ,it begins at the
 level of folklore and primitive tribal 
cults1 such as are portrayed or         
reflected1 for example1 in parts of the 
,pentateuch and in the ,books of ,judges
 and ,samuel4 ,it culminates1 in the    
utterances of the greatest of the       
prophets and in many of the ,psalms1 at 
the highest levels of religious         
attainment which are discoverable       
anywhere in history prior to the coming 

of our ,lord4  ,the ,old ,testament will
 always have a value for ,christianity3 
in part because many of the religious   
lessons which it conveys can never be   
superseded even by ,christianity itself3
 in part because the study of it        
provides the general knowledge of       
,judaism1 and of ,jewish institutions   
and modes of thought1 which is necessary
 for the proper understanding of the    
religious background of the ,gospels1   
and of much else in the ,new ,testament 
as well3 in part also because the two   
revelations--the ,jewish and the        
,christian--hang together1 interlocking 
with one another as anticipation and    
fulfilment1 in a manner which is        
singularly impressive4  ,the various    
books of the ,old ,testament1           
nevertheless1 require to be read by     
,christians with discrimination1 and    
with a clear realization of their       
,jewish character4 ,there is much in the
 ,old ,testament as it stands which is  
liable to mislead the simple and cause  

needless difficulty4 ,there are1        
moreover1 numerous passages1 and not a  
few entire books1 which except in the   
light of historical criticism and       
scholarly guidance are not really       
intelligible4 ,but the study of the ,old
 ,testament as reinterpreted in our own 
generation by research and scholarship  
is a fascinating subject4 ,it requires  
little in the way of technical          
equipment1 and there is no reason in the
 world why it should be monopolized by  
specialists4 ,to have even the most     
general acquaintance with the methods   
and results of critical study brings    
with it a great transformation of       
outlook4 ,the ,old ,testament writers   
come to life again wonderfully when they
 are set in their proper historical     
context1 and the result is a clear gain 
in spiritual values4 ,the best general  
introduction to the whole subject is    
,dr4 ,w4 ,b4 ,selbie's book1 ,the       
,nature and ,message of the ,bible      
7,student ,christian ,movement1 #cs4    

#f;d474 ,canon ,nairne's volume1 ,the   
,faith of the ,old ,testament 7,layman's
 ,library1 ,longmans1 #bs4 #f;d47 is an 
illuminating survey designed specially  
to bring out the religious value of the 
,old ,testament1 ,footnote3 ,those who  
may desire a more detailed and          
comprehensive treatment of the literary 
problems of the ,old ,testament should  
consult ,g4 ,b4 ,gray1 ,a ,critical     
,introduction to the ,literature of the 
,old ,testament 7,duckworth1 #bs4       
#f;d474 and for commentaries upon       
individual books ,the ,century ,bible   
7,t4 ,c4 and ,e4 ,c4 ,jack1 #cs4 each   
volume7 is to be recommended4  ,the     
books of the ,new ,testament are the    
classical literature of ,christianity in
 a much fuller and more obvious sense4  
,here1 again1 there is much that apart  
from the use of a good commentary will  
be found hardly intelligible3 but the   
greater part of the ,new ,testament1 and
 especially the ,gospels1 can be read   
with profit by the ordinary man apart   

from any extraneous aids4 ,it is well to
 remember that ,s4 ,paul's ,epistles    
were written at an earlier date than any
 of the ,gospels1 and that they         
represent the occasional correspondence 
of a hard-worked missionary4 ,of the    
,gospels the first three have much in   
common1 and the ,gospels of ,s4 ,matthew
 and ,s4 ,luke are based partly upon    
that of ,s4 ,mark4 ,s4 ,mark is said to 
have been the companion of ,s4 ,peter1  
and is probably the author of the       
,gospel which bears his name4 ,it may be
 taken to represent his reminiscences of
 ,s4 ,peter's preaching4 ,the ,gospel   
now known as that according to ,s4      
,matthew appears to be the work of a    
compiler who fitted into the framework  
of ,s4 ,mark's story a considerable     
amount of additional matter1 drawn      
chiefly from a collection of sayings of 
,jesus which an early ,christian writer 
declares to have been made by ,s4       
,matthew in ,aramaic4 ,s4 ,matthew's    
name1 it is thought1 was subsequently   

attached to the resulting document1     
since it contained a large preponderance
 of material derived from his book on   
our ,lord's sayings4 ,the name of the   
actual compiler of the first ,gospel has
 not survived4  ,s4 ,luke's ,gospel is a
 compilation made upon somewhat similar 
lines1 and is based1 in large measure1  
upon the same two sources3 but the      
author's researches extended also more  
widely1 and his ,gospel contains a large
 proportion of matter peculiar to       
itself1 which critics commonly regard as
 being of high historical value4 ,the   
author of the book was a ,greek doctor  
who attended upon ,s4 ,paul1            
accompanying the latter in his travels1 
and writing the ,acts of the ,apostles  
as a second volume in continuation of   
his ,gospel4 ,the ,acts is partly based 
upon a kind of diary which ,s4 ,luke    
kept of his experiences as ,s4 ,paul's  
companion and physician4  ,it is        
probable that both the first and the    
third of our four ,gospels were in      

existence shortly before1 or at the     
latest very shortly after1 the          
destruction of ,jerusalem by the ,romans
 in the year #gj ,a4,d4 ,the second     
,gospel1 since they both drew upon it1  
must be even earlier4  ,the ,gospel     
according to ,s4 ,john is of a somewhat 
later date1 and bears a different       
character4 ,it is reflective and        
meditative1 and is penetrated throughout
 by a mystical symbolism4 ,in many ways 
it suggests rather a spiritual          
interpretation of the significance of   
,jesus than a literal portrait of ,him4 
,again1 it is the product of a ,greek   
rather than of a ,jewish atmosphere1    
though its narrative presents so many   
touches of extraordinary vividness1 and 
the author shows so exact a knowledge of
 ,jewish institutions and conditions of 
life in ,palestine1 that it is difficult
 not to think that the book must have   
been written by a ,jew who knew ,judaism
 before its downfall4 ,it is supposed   
that the writing dates from the closing 

years of the first century1 and         
tradition declares that the author was  
,s4 ,john in old age at ,ephesus4 ,this 
statement is1 however1 in dispute1 and  
the authorship of the ,gospel is        
uncertain4 ,in point of fact1 it does   
not matter who the writer was4 ,there is
 no one of the interpreters of ,jesus   
who had drunk more deeply of ,his       
,spirit than had he3 nor is there any of
 the books of the ,new ,testament which 
brings ,jesus closer to us than the     
,gospel according to ,s4 ,john1 or      
speaks home with greater power to the   
heart and affections of the simplest    
,christian4     ,,part ,,ii  ,,the      
,,practice ,,of ,,the ,,christian       
,,religion   ,,chapter ,i  ,,the        
,,christian ,,aim   ,christianity in    
practice means the dedication of life to
 the unselfish service of ,,god and man1
 in the light of the ideals of ,jesus   
,christ1 and in the power of an inward  
spiritual life which is hid with ,christ
 in ,,god4 ,the ,christian1 renouncing  

such merely worldly ideals as self-     
advancement1 personal or family         
ambition1 the accumulation of money1 or 
the enjoyment1 for their own sake1 of   
the things which money can buy1 is      
called to seek first and in all things  
,,god',s ,kingdom and ,his              
righteousness1 in the assurance that    
whatever may be really necessary for the
 advancement of this aim will in due    
course be added unto him4  ,he is not to
 expect to find the practice of his     
religion to be1 in a worldly sense1     
profitable2 and the practice of his     
religion is to cover the whole of life4 
,the desperate attempt to combine the   
service of ,,god with that of ,mammon is
 therefore to be abandoned4 ,if riches  
increase1 he is not to set his heart    
upon them4 ,if poverty be his lot1 he is
 to embrace poverty as a bride4 ,the aim
 and object of his life is not to be to 
get his own will done1 but to discover  
what for him is the will of ,,god1 and  
to do it4 ,he is to be the slave of     

,,god in ,christ1 a living instrument in
 the hands of ,another1 called to       
co-operate in a purpose not his own1    
though a purpose which he is to embrace1
 and to make his own1 in a spirit of    
loyal sonship4  ,this means1 among other
 things1 that life is to be interpreted 
in terms of vocation4 ,it means that for
 every man there is a calling1 a        
particular line of life which ,,god     
intends him to follow1 a specific piece 
of service to ,,god and to his neighbour
 which he is called upon to render4 ,the
 motto of a ,christian's life is to be  
the motto of his ,master--,my meat is to
 do the will of ,him that sent ,me1 and 
to accomplish ,his work4 ,gifts and     
capacities1 aptitudes for any special   
work1 are therefore talents1 to be used 
in accordance with the will and purpose 
of the ,giver4 ,opportunities and       
endowments1 whatsoever they may be1 are 
opportunities and endowments for        
service4  ,it does not necessarily      
follow from this that a realization of  

the truth of ,christianity1 and an      
awakening to the claims of religion1    
will lead to any outward change or      
radical alteration in the general       
conception of a man's life-work4 ,it may
 or it may not do so4 ,there are        
indubitably cases in which a man is     
called upon to abandon his previous     
career--to forsake prospects1 however   
promising1 or to renounce wealth and    
possessions1 however entangling--in     
order to become 7for example7 a minister
 of the ,church or a missionary of the  
,gospel1 or to enter a religious order4 
,our ,lord's command to the rich young  
ruler1 that he should give up all that  
he had1 in order to follow ,christ along
 the paths of homelessness and poverty1 
is a call which sounds still with a     
literal force in the ears of a certain  
number of ,his disciples4 ,the inner    
spirit1 moreover1 of detachment from the
 world and from the things of the world1
 the readiness to abandon wealth and    
worldly position if need so require1 and

 the refusal to be ensnared by them1 are
 in any case demanded of all4 ,the      
vocation1 however1 of the majority of   
men is already determined by their      
circumstances1 or by their training and 
general aptitudes4 ,it is only the few1 
comparatively speaking1 who are called  
to become monks or missionaries1 or     
priests devoid of prospects4 ,the       
majority will best serve ,,god and their
 neighbour by carrying on in their      
existing occupations3 and in most cases 
they are incidentally called also1      
sooner or later1 to matrimony4  ,but    
,,god calls no man to idleness4 ,it is  
the duty of every ,christian1 rich as   
well as poor1 unless he be incapacitated
 by bodily sickness or infirmity1 to be 
engaged in some work of general service 
to the community3 and a man who proposes
 seriously to practise the ,christian   
religion needs to ask himself1 with     
regard to the work or occupation in     
which he is engaged1 or by which he     
earns his bread1 whether he can say     

truly that he believes it to be the work
 which his ,father has given him to do3 
whether it can be interpreted1 not      
simply as a means of livelihood1 but as 
a service rendered in ,christ's name to 
society at large4 ,if it cannot so be   
interpreted1 then plainly it is no work 
which a ,christian should be doing4     
,there are ways of making a living      
which1 are definitely unchristian4 ,the 
work of a shoe-black or of a tradesman  
or of an actor may be as true a piece of
 ,christian service as that of a doctor 
or a bishop4 ,the work of a burglar or  
of a bookmaker could not be so regarded4
  ,christianity--it cannot be too       
strongly insisted--means the            
,christianization of life as a whole4   
,it is in the daily round and the common
 task that ,christ is most chiefly to be
 served4 ,whatsoever ye do in word or in
 deed1 do all in the name of the ,lord  
,jesus1 giving thanks to ,,god and the  
,father by ,him4 ,religion is a wider   
thing than piety1 and it is a false     

pietism which would regard it as        
consisting mainly of pious practices4   
,the cultivation of the inner spiritual 
life by means of the practices of       
,christian devotion is indeed essential 
in its place and its degree4 ,the life  
of the spirit languishes if it is not   
fed4 ,but except these things issue in  
the practical service of ,christ in     
daily life they are worse than futile4  
,they degenerate either into formalism  
and hypocrisy1 or into spiritual self-  
indulgence4 ,herein is ,my ,father      
glorified1 that ye bear much fruit4 ,by 
their fruits ye shall know them4 ,and   
the fruits of ,christian living are to  
be discovered1 not in the hours spent in
 devotion1 but in the manifestation amid
 the activities of the market-place of  
that temper of righteousness and peace  
and joy in the ,holy ,ghost1 and that   
spirit of unselfish service1 which      
should be their normal product4  ,what  
is needed is a wider conception of      
,churchmanship and a truer doctrine of  

vocation4 ,all honest work in which a   
,christian can lawfully engage should be
 regarded as an expression of his       
,churchmanship--as truly work done for  
the ,church of ,,god in obedience to a  
vocation from on high as is the work of 
a priest or a teacher of religion4 ,it  
is at least partly because the majority 
of laymen do not so interpret their work
 in life that in so many cases they are 
discovered to be in effect living for   
the sake of their leisure and regarding 
their daily work as uninteresting       
drudgery1 with the result that life as a
 whole comes to be for them dreary and  
profitless and stale4 ,a ,christian     
man's life-work ought not to have the   
character of drudgery1 but of sheer     
delight in ,,god',s service4  ,but is   
such an ideal really practicable8 ,it is
 literally practicable to a greater     
extent than most men think4 ,it ought to
 be practicable universally4 ,at the    
same time there is no disguising the    
fact that large numbers of men to-day   

find themselves in circumstances to     
which such a doctrine cannot without    
palpable unreality be applied4 ,the     
structure of existing society under     
modern industrial conditions forces     
multitudes1 by an evil economic         
pressure1 into mechanical1 uncongenial1 
and soul-destroying occupations3 and the
 conditions of some men's labour in the 
world as it is are such that it would be
 sheer blasphemy to regard them as a    
product of the will of ,,god4 ,the      
problem of the ,christianization of the 
social order is one of the greatest of  
the tasks confronting the ,christian    
,church4 ,its solution has hardly yet   
begun to be attempted4 ,in the meantime 
the mass of ,christian people1 in virtue
 of their acquiescence1 are accomplices 
in the denial to the disinherited       
classes of the conditions and           
opportunities which make life worth     
living for themselves4 ,so long as it   
continues to be possible for a man who  
genuinely desires to learn and labour   

truly to get his own living to starve in
 the midst of plenty3 so long as        
multitudes are constrained to work under
 conditions which rob their labour of   
all interest1 of all idealism1 and of   
all hope3 so long as sweating1 and      
destitution1 and such conditions of life
 as obtain in the more densely crowded  
areas of our great towns continue to    
exist3 so long will it be the duty of   
every ,christian to be a social         
reformer1 and to have a conscience      
permanently troubled with regard to     
wealth and social advantage4 ,footnote3 
,mr4 ,george ,lansbury's ,your ,part in 
,poverty 7,george ,alien and ,unwin1    
,ltd41 ,is47 is a book worth reading in 
this particular connexion4  ,meanwhile  
the ,christian ideal of life stands4 ,it
 is the ideal of consecration to        
service4 ,it means discipleship in      
,christ's school of unselfishness1 both 
individual and corporate3 for there is a
 selfishness of the family1 of the      
class1 or of the nation1 which bears as 

bitter fruit in the world as does the   
selfishness of the individual4          
,christianity1 in a word1 means the     
carrying out into daily practice of the 
ideal of the ,imitatio ,christi1 the    
imitation of ,jesus ,christ1 in the     
spirit if not in the letter4 ,it means  
that as ,he was1 so are we to be in the 
world4 ,it means that all things1       
whatsoever we do1 are to be done in ,his
 ,spirit and to ,his glory3 that our    
every thought is to be led captive under
 the obedience of ,christ4 ,it means    
that we are to love ,,god because ,,god 
first loved us1 and to love men because 
they are our brothers in the family of  
,,god3 because love is of ,,god1 and    
every one that loveth is born of ,,god  
and knoweth ,,god4 ,it means that we are
 to consecrate all comradeship and      
loyalty and friendship1 all sorrow and  
all joy1 by looking upon them as        
friendship and loyalty and comradeship  
in ,christ1 as sorrow and joy in ,him4  
,it means that we are to live glad1     

strong1 free1 clean lives as sons of    
,,god in our ,father's ,house4  ,it     
means also struggle and hardship4 ,it   
means truceless war against the spirit  
of selfishness1 against everything that 
tends to drag us down1 against the law  
of sin in our own members4 ,it means a  
truceless war against low ideals and    
tolerated evils in the world about us4  
,it means soldiership in the eternal    
crusade of ,christ against whatsoever   
things are false and dishonest and      
unjust and foul and ugly and of evil    
report4  ,it is an ideal which1         
considered in isolation from the        
,christian ,gospel of redemption and the
 power of the ,holy ,spirit1 could only 
terrify and daunt a man who had a spark 
of honesty in his composition3 and for  
this reason the mass of men refuses to  
take it seriously4 ,it is an ideal      
which1 in the case of all who do take it
 seriously1 convinces them of sin4      
,nevertheless to lower the ideal1 to    
abate one jot of its severity1 to       

compromise1 on the score of human       
weakness1 though it were but in a single
 particular1 the flawless perfection of 
its standard1 were to prove false to all
 that is highest within us1 and traitor 
to the cause of ,christ4  ,never1 ,o    
,christ--so stay me from                
relenting--,shall there be truce betwixt
 my flesh and soul4     ,,chapter ,,ii  
,,the ,,way ,,of ,,the ,,world   ,the   
three traditional enemies of the        
,christian life are symbolized under the
 headings of the ,world1 the ,flesh1 and
 the ,devil1 and the classification has 
a certain convenience4 ,the ,world      
stands in this connexion for human      
society in so far as it is organized    
apart from ,christ4 ,it is obvious that 
the way of the world1 as represented by 
the general outlook of conventional     
society1 is in many respects in manifest
 conflict with the principles of the    
,gospel4 ,the existing social order is  
the product of a compromise between     
inherited influences and standards which

 are in a certain sense broadly         
,christian1 and the natural man's       
instinctive selfishness in matters both 
individual and social4 ,the conflict    
against the spirit of worldliness which 
should be one of the marks of a genuine 
,christian life is beset by peculiar    
difficulties1 precisely because in a    
society which is in some respects       
partially ,christian the issues are     
confused4 ,public opinion indubitably   
tolerates many things which should not  
be tolerated1 and condones others which 
should not be condoned4 ,but public     
opinion approves much that is good1 and 
does lip-service to a variety of        
,christian ideals1 even while reserving 
the reality of its devotion for the     
worship of success and material comfort4
  ,perhaps it may be said that the most 
fundamental characteristic of           
essentially worldly opinion is absence  
of idealism4 ,worldliness is the        
principle of contentment with things as 
they are4 ,against worldliness1 so      

defined1 the ,christian is committed to 
a conflict all along the line1 since    
even in those regions of life and       
conduct in which the standards          
recognized by the world are right and   
good so far as they go1 the good is the 
enemy of the best4 ,to rest content at  
any point with what has already been    
attained is fatal to all spiritual      
advance4 ,it is1 in effect1 the death of
 the soul4  ,mr4 ,william ,temple has   
remarked that in the conflict of        
,christians against the ,devil and the  
,flesh the public opinion of the        
,church1 as visibly organized1 is on    
their side1 but that in their conflict  
with the ,world it is decidedly against 
them4 ,that is an over-statement1 but it
 conveys a truth4 ,undoubtedly the      
,church has made compromises with the   
,world1 a fact which arises partly as   
the result of the inclusion within her  
fold of a large proportion of merely    
nominal members whose ,christianity is  
no more than an inherited or            

conventional tradition4 ,a further point
 of importance is this4 ,two thousand   
years is not a long period in relation  
to the scale of the world's history as a
 whole1 and ,christianity is still a    
comparatively young religion4 ,the      
problem of worldliness is mainly a      
problem of the relation of the ,church  
to the social order2 and there are      
reasons why it was natural that the     
working out of the ,christian ideal of  
conduct should first have been developed
 in relation to the affairs of private  
and domestic life4  ,christians in the  
early days were a little flock1         
surrounded by a society whose standards 
and conventions and beliefs were frankly
 pagan and hostile4 ,so long as these   
conditions obtained the issues were     
plain3 the contrast in ideals between   
,church and ,world stood out sharp and  
clear4 ,the world1 it was held1 was     
ready to perish1 and destined at no     
distant date to do so4 ,the whole world1
 writes ,s4 ,john1 lieth in wickedness4 

,the ,church stood apart as the         
spiritual brotherhood of ,,god',s elect 
who were called to assist at the        
obsequies of a world which was in       
process of passing away4 ,the world     
passeth away1 and the lust thereof3 but 
he that doeth the will of ,,god abideth 
for ever4  ,the words contain an eternal
 truth3 but in their literal sense they 
expressed a mistaken judgment4 ,the     
world--that is1 secular society-- did   
not pass away4 ,it is with us still4    
,for a period of some three hundred     
years it persecuted the ,church4 ,at the
 end of that period it accepted baptism1
 but not its implications4 ,the ,church 
has been engaged ever since in the task 
of attempting to ,christianize the      
heathen within her own borders4  ,the   
,church was outwardly secularized3 and  
the minority who could not tolerate the 
secularization of her ideals took refuge
 in the hermit's cell or in the         
cloister4 ,in these retreats was        
developed the practice of ,christianity 

as an art or science of individual      
sanctity1 but at the cost of a certain  
aloofness from the rough and tumble of  
workaday life4 ,the ,christianity of the
 ,middle ,ages was fertilized from the  
cloister1 with the result that the      
spiritual ideals even of those          
,christians who remained in the world   
tended to be coloured by the monastic   
tradition4 ,the ,christian man of the   
world who took seriously the practice of
 his religion aimed at reproducing at   
second hand the ,christianity of the    
monk4 ,the salvation of the individual  
soul tended to be regarded as the       
supreme end of ,christian endeavour1    
rather than the service of the brethren4
  ,the ,reformation1 when it came1 did  
nothing to diminish this individualism  
of the religious outlook1 but rather    
accentuated it4 ,the whole emphasis of  
,protestantism was thrown upon the life 
of the individual soul in relation to   
,,god1 to the comparative neglect of the
 importance of the conception of        

membership in the ,church4 ,to the      
ordinary worldling the advent of        
,protestantism meant simply that he need
 no longer trouble to go to ,mass or to 
,confession4 ,the ,protestant who took  
his religion seriously became a         
,puritan1 a type resembling the monk of 
,catholicism in his attempted isolation 
from the world1 yet lacking the peculiar
 otherworldly mysticism of the monkish  
character at its best1 and having a     
peculiar knack of making religion appear
 repellent to the ordinary man4  ,the   
emergence of the ideal of a genuinely   
social ,christianity1 aiming not at     
escape from the world by way of flight1 
but at the deliberate conquest of the   
world for ,christ by the resolute       
application of ,christian standards to  
the ordinary life of men in society1 is 
of comparatively recent date4 ,it began 
in this country with the writings of    
,kingsley and ,maurice1 and various     
living teachers both in ,england and in 
,america have carried on their work4 ,it

 is one of the misfortunes of ,germany  
that she has had no corresponding       
movement4 ,as a consequence we are      
confronted at the present time with the 
spectacle of various leaders of         
religious thought in ,germany1 too      
honest not to perceive the glaring      
contrasts between the way of the world  
and the precepts of the ,gospel1        
deliberately maintaining the position   
that ,christianity is solely adapted to 
be a religion of private life1 and that 
,christian standards and ideals have no 
application as between class and class1 
or as between nation and nation4 ,to    
adopt such an attitude is to abandon all
 hope of the redemption of society4 ,it 
is to condemn the world in perpetuity to
 a fate of which the present war is the 
appropriate symbol4  ,the war is1 in    
effect1 a kind of sacrament of the power
 of ,antichrist4 ,it is the outward and 
visible sign of the inward character and
 essence of a civilisation founded upon 
principles which are the opposite of    

those of the ,gospel4 ,neither men nor  
nations1 in the world as we have known  
it1 have been wont to love their        
neighbours as themselves4 ,the way of   
the world is1 and has been1 the way of  
selfishness4  ,this is not any the less 
true because the world's selfishness has
 been to a considerable extent          
unconscious1 and has arisen rather from 
absence of thought than from deliberate 
badness of heart4 ,the world does not   
always realize how cruel are its ways   
towards the weak and the socially       
unfortunate1 or towards those who1 for  
whatever reason1 transgress its code4   
,for the world has a code of its own1   
both in manners and in morals1 though   
the basis of its code is convention1 and
 its standard respectability rather than
 virtue4 ,the world is very apt to show 
itself implacable towards those whom it 
regards as being beyond its pale1 and to
 exhibit1 in effect1 the spirit and     
temper which1 when manifested in the    
religious sphere1 we know and loathe as 

,pharisaism4 ,pharisaism1 like          
worldliness1 has penetrated to an       
alarming extent into the ,church of     
,england4  ,parallel and proportionate  
to the world's selfishness is its       
cynicism4 ,this also is largely         
unconscious4 ,lacking any true insight  
into spiritual realities1 the world     
lacks vision and lacks hope4 ,it        
presumes always that the thing which has
 been1 it is that which shall be4 ,it   
beholds the evil that is done under the 
sun1 and pronounces it inevitable4 ,it  
fails to understand that to pronounce   
any evil inevitable is to be guilty of  
blasphemy against the ,,god of heaven4  
,against the spirit of the worldly      
world1 its selfishness and cynicism1 its
 conventional judgments and shallowness 
of mind1 the ,christian is called       
deliberately to make war4 ,the ,church  
exists to be to the world and its ways a
 permanent challenge3 to be the champion
 in all circumstances and times of      
righteousness and truth2 to insist upon 

bringing to bear on human life in all   
its relationships1 both corporate and   
individual1 the spirit of brotherhood1  
which is the ,spirit of ,christ4 ,it was
 a true instinct which led ,s4 ,ignatius
 ,loyola to pray on behalf of the ,order
 which he founded that it might be hated
 by the world4 ,marvel not1 my brethren1
 if the world hate you4444 ,if ye were  
of the world1 the world would love his  
own4 ,if the world does not hate the    
,church it is not because the world has 
become ,christian1 but because          
worldliness has taken possession of the 
,church4 ,the world to-day regards the  
,church as not worth hating1 as a       
negligible quantity4 ,when the ,church  
is once more ready to be crucified1 then
 the opposition of the world will be    
revived1 and the ,church will suffer    
martyrdom afresh4     ,,chapter ,,iii   
,,the ,,spirit ,,and ,,the ,,flesh      
,sins of the flesh include all forms of 
slackness and bodily self- indulgence4  
,a ,christian is called to assert the   

supremacy of the spirit over the flesh  
by controlling his bodily impulses and  
disciplining his desires4 ,there is1    
therefore1 a true ,christian asceticism4
 ,but asceticism1 in so far as it is    
genuinely ,christian1 is never an end in
 itself4 ,it is a discipline which      
promotes efficiency4 ,it is to be       
compared to an athlete's training1 not  
to the self- mutilation of a fakir4     
,there is in ,christianity no doctrine  
of the unlawfulness of bodily pleasures 
in themselves4 ,the ,son of ,man came   
eating and drinking4 ,for ,christianity 
every creature of ,,god in itself is    
good1 and a man's bodily impulses are   
,god-given endowments of his nature4    
,what is essential is that their        
exercise should be controlled and       
subordinated to the higher purposes of  
the spirit1 that they should be directed
 to their proper ends1 and that they    
should not be allowed to get out of     
hand4 ,christians are not meant to be   
,puritans1 but they are meant to be     

pure4 ,the battle against fleshliness in
 all its forms is a battle which has to 
be fought and won in every ,christian's 
life4  ,apart from the question of      
certain unmentionable forms of perverted
 sexual vice1 the sinfulness of what are
 commonly classified as sins of the     
flesh consists in wrongful indulgence or
 lack of self-control in respect of that
 which in itself is legitimate and good4
 ,the ,christian ideal is not           
abstinence1 but temperance4 ,a          
,christian will be temperate1 for       
example1 in sleep1 food1 alcohol1 and   
tobacco4 ,intemperance means slavery to 
a habit1 the loss of spiritual self-    
mastery1 whereby the whole character is 
enervated1 and efficiency1 both physical
 and moral1 is impaired4 ,all things are
 lawful1 as ,s4 ,paul says1 but a       
,christian is not to allow himself to be
 brought under the power of any4 ,he is 
meant to live hard and to live clean4   
,the practice of fasting1 that is1 of   
deliberate temporary self- discipline in

 these matters1 even below the standard 
of what would normally be a reasonable  
indulgence1 is a valuable means of      
asserting and retaining the self-mastery
 which is essential to ,christian       
freedom4 ,but fasting should not be     
allowed to become a mechanical          
observance1 or erected into an unduly   
rigid law4 ,the fish-dinner upon        
,fridays and other fast-days of the     
,church is1 as a modern dignitary has   
remarked1 innocuous2 and it has the     
value which belongs to conformity to a  
rule or recommendation of the ,christian
 brotherhood2 but whether or not it is  
observed in practice1 it is hardly      
adequate by itself to the purposes of   
,christian self-discipline4  ,it appears
 to be a fairly widespread delusion in  
some sections of society that a         
,christian must necessarily be a        
teetotaller4 ,the ideal ,christian      
policy1 here as elsewhere1 if we may    
judge from the example of our ,lord1    
would seem to be that of a temperate use

 of the gifts of ,,god4 ,it is          
unfortunate that in this country most of
 the societies which exist for the      
purpose of promoting temperance have    
virtually committed themselves to the   
confusion of temperance with total      
abstinence1 and their fanaticism is1 in 
the judgment of many persons1 a         
hindrance to genuine reform4 ,but it    
cannot reasonably be denied that        
drunkenness1 and the still wider        
prevalence of an excessive drinking     
which falls short of actual drunkenness1
 is a frightful evil in the national    
life2 and what is commonly known as the 
,liquor ,interest plays a sinister part 
as an organized obstructive force       
standing in the way of needed reforms4  
,the number of public-houses and        
drinking- bars in ,english towns and    
villages is monstrously out of          
proportion to any reasonable needs of   
the population3 and it must be more than
 ordinarily difficult for brewers and   
publicans1 under existing conditions1 to

 resist the temptation to exploit for   
the sake of gain the weaknesses of      
others4 ,a ,christian need not be a     
teetotaller in order to have this       
problem upon his conscience1 and to be  
ready to support1 by his vote and       
influence1 some considered and          
constructive policy of reform4 ,a man   
who by experience finds that alcohol is 
to him personally a temptation will be  
wise if he becomes a teetotaller4 ,if   
thy hand or thy foot offend thee1 cut it
 off4 ,in certain social environments it
 may also be wise for a man to become a 
total abstainer1 not in his own         
interests1 but for the sake of others   
with whom he is brought into immediate  
contact4 ,there can be no question but  
that drunkenness1 which is a vice both  
degrading and repulsive in itself1 is in
 many strata of ,english social life    
still far too lightly regarded4  ,it is1
 moreover1 worth remarking that even a  
degree of indulgence in alcohol which   
would commonly be regarded as falling   

well within the limit of temperance is  
regarded by some authorities as having  
the effect--which actual drunkenness    
certainly has--of stimulating sexuality3
 and when all is said1 probably the most
 insistent of fleshly temptations1 at   
least in the earlier years of manhood1  
are those which are connected with the  
life of sex4 ,many make shipwreck upon  
these rocks through lack of knowledge or
 want of thought2 but neither thought   
nor knowledge will avail to safeguard a 
man's purity apart from sound moral     
principle3 nor are even moral principles
 effectual in the hour of strong        
temptation apart from the grace of      
,,god4  ,christianity teaches that to   
every man there is entrusted1 in virtue 
of his manhood1 the seed of life as a   
divine treasure4 ,it is meant not to be 
turned into a means of self-indulgence1 
or suffered to run riot in a blaze of   
passion1 but to be restrained and       
safeguarded in purity against the       
day--if the day arrives--upon which a   

man is called to use it for the purpose 
for which it was given him1 namely1 that
 of bringing new lives into the world   
through union with a woman in pure      
marriage4  ,most men are sorely tempted 
to lack of self-control1 and to the     
misuse of their sexual endowment in a   
variety of ways3 and the maintenance of 
chastity--never an easy ideal--is made  
doubly difficult by the fact that in the
 existing social system marriage1 except
 among the poorer classes1 is commonly  
deferred until an age much later than   
that at which a man becomes physically  
mature1 and also by the widespread      
prevalence1 in masculine society1 of a  
corrupt public opinion which regards    
sexual indulgence as morally tolerable1 
or even as essential to physical health4
 ,this latter doctrine1 even were it as 
true as it is in fact false1 would not  
in any case justify a man in taking     
advantage of a woman's ruin3 but        
experience shows that there is no form  
of sin or indulgence which so           

effectually degrades a man's moral      
outlook1 blunts his finer perceptions1  
and destroys the instinct of chivalry   
within him1 as does the sin of          
fornication4 ,the majority of those who 
practise promiscuous sexual intercourse 
are found to greet with frank and       
obviously genuine incredulity the       
assertion that there exists a not       
inconsiderable proportion of men whose  
lives are clean2 while at the other end 
of the scale men of pure lives and clean
 ideals often find it difficult to      
believe that more than a small minority 
of peculiarly degraded individuals are  
clients of the women of the streets4    
,the publication of the ,report of the  
,royal ,commission on ,venereal         
,diseases1 taken in conjunction with    
what is known or suspected with regard  
to the state of morals in the ,army1 has
 had the effect of drawing public       
attention to certain aspects of these   
problems4 ,the ,victorian convention of 
prudery has to a great extent been      

discarded4 ,the subject is freely       
discussed1 and it is generally          
acknowledged that something must be     
done4 ,there is danger1 however1 lest   
public opinion1 rightly concerned to    
promote measures for the eradication of 
disease1 should ignore the essentially  
moral aspect of the matter4 ,a          
,christian man is here concerned1 not   
simply with the personal struggle       
against the temptations of sex in his   
own life1 but with a further conflict on
 behalf of ,christian ideals against the
 public opinion of the world4  ,for if  
ecclesiastical opinion in the past has  
been both prudish and ,pharisaic1 the   
public opinion of the world is frankly  
cynical4 ,roughly speaking1 the world   
expects the majority of women to be     
pure1 acquiesces in the prostitution of 
the remainder1 and treats masculine     
immorality as a venial offence4 ,numbers
 of would-be reformers--of the male     
sex--are not ashamed to advocate1 in    
private if not in public1 the           

establishment of licensed brothels on   
the continental model4 ,it ought not to 
be necessary to say that no ,christian  
man can possibly tolerate a proposal to 
give deliberate public sanction to the  
prostitution of a certain proportion of 
the nation's womanhood to the lusts of  
men1 or acquiesce in the complacent     
sex-selfishness which is concerned only 
for the physical health of sinners of   
the male sex4  ,the point of view of the
 ,christian ,church is determined by    
that of our ,lord1 who on the one hand  
numbered a reclaimed prostitute among   
,his intimate friends1 and on the other 
taught that whoso looketh on a woman to 
lust after her hath committed adultery  
already in his heart4 ,the ,church1     
therefore1 differs from the world1 first
 in holding that what is wrong for women
 is equally wrong for men1 that there is
 one and the same standard in these     
matters for both sexes1 namely1 absolute
 sexual purity2 and secondly1 in        
extending equally to the fallen of both 

sexes the promise of ,divine forgiveness
 upon identical terms1 namely1 genuine  
repentance1 unreserved confession1      
desire and purpose of amendment1 and    
faith in ,,god4 ,the world1 which       
condones the iniquity of the man who    
falls1 is apt to be uncommonly hard upon
 the fallen woman1 forgetting that she  
also is a sister for whom ,christ died1 
and that the woman who to-day plays the 
part of a temptress of men was          
originally1 in the majority of cases1   
more sinned against than sinning4 ,very 
few of those who ply the trade of shame 
will be found to have adopted such a    
mode of life1 in the first instance1 of 
their own unfettered choice4 ,we are    
members one of another1 and society as a
 whole1 which both creates the demand   
and provides the supply1 must share the 
guilt of their downfall4  ,this book is 
written primarily for men3 and there are
 therefore other aspects of the life of 
sex upon which it is necessary to touch1
 though they are difficult matters to   

handle4 ,it is well known that large    
numbers of men in boyhood1 either       
through untutored ignorance of the      
physiology of their own bodies1 or as a 
result of the corrupt example and       
teaching of others1 become addicted to  
habits of solitary vice1 in which the   
seed of life within them is deliberately
 excited1 stirred up and wasted1 to the 
sapping of their physical well-being and
 the defilement of their minds4 ,habits 
of self-abuse1 when once they are       
established1 are apt to be extremely    
difficult to break4 ,the minds of their 
victims are liable to be morbidly       
obsessed by the physical facts of sex1  
and their thoughts continually directed 
into turbid channels4 ,but it is        
possible by the grace of ,,god to       
conquer1 though there may be relapses   
before the final victory is won4 ,it is 
important neither on the one hand to    
belittle the gravity of the evil1 nor on
 the other to grow hopeless and         
despondent1 but to have faith in ,,god4 

,it is also a counsel of common sense to
 distract the mind1 so far as possible1 
in other directions1 and to avoid       
deliberately whatever is likely to prove
 an occasion or stimulus to this        
particular form of sin4 ,the battle of  
purity can only be successfully fought  
in the region of outward act if the     
victory is at the same time won in the  
region of thought and desire4 ,books and
 pictures1 or trains of thought and     
imagination1 which are either unclean in
 themselves1 or are discovered by       
experience to be sexually exciting to   
particular individuals1 ought obviously 
to be avoided by those concerned1 and   
the mind directed towards the           
contemplation of whatsoever things are  
true and honest and just and pure and   
lovely and of good report4 ,in the hour 
of strong temptation it is often best1  
instead of trying to meet the assault   
directly1 to change the immediate       
environment1 or in some other way to    
concentrate the mind3 for example1 to   

sit down and read a clean novel until   
the stress of the obsession is past4    
,physical cleanliness1 plenty of healthy
 exercise in the open air 7it is        
unfortunate that the circumstances of   
many men's lives do not give adequate   
opportunity for this71 temperance in    
food1 and especially--in the light of   
what has been said above--temperance in 
drink1 are all incidentally of value as 
aids to the maintenance of purity4 ,so  
also is the avoidance of the habit of   
lying in bed in a semi-somnolent        
condition after true sleep has finally  
departed4 ,a ,christian's body is meant 
to be a temple of the ,holy ,ghost1 and 
no other spirit1 whether of impurity or 
of sloth1 should be allowed to have     
domination over him4  ,other sins there 
are which should not be so much as named
 among ,christian men-those1 namely1 in 
which men with men work that which is   
unseemly1 and burn with lust one towards
 another4 ,it is necessary to refer to  
these1 because their prevalence is said 

to be increasing4 ,a considerable       
proportion of men are temperamentally   
liable to be sexually attracted by      
members of their own sex2 and passionate
 friendships1 in which there is an      
element which is in the last analysis   
sexual1 are not uncommon both between   
boys and youths at the age of early     
manhood1 and between men of mature age  
and adolescents4 ,the true character of 
these relationships is not always in    
their initial stages obvious1 even to   
those concerned4 ,as a guiding principle
 it may be laid down that a friendship  
between members of the same sex begins  
to enter upon dangerous ground whenever 
an element of jealousy betrays itself1  
when there is a desire habitually to    
monopolize the other's company to the   
exclusion of third persons1 or when the 
life and interests of the one appear to 
be disproportionately wrapped up in the 
concerns and doings of the other4       
,friendships of this character are      
always selfish and may all too easily   

become impure4 ,it is the business of a 
,christian man to be on his guard and to
 love his male friends not as a woman is
 loved and not in a spirit of selfish   
monopoly1 but with the pure and clean   
and essentially unselfish affection of  
,christian manhood4  ,a word may be     
said1 lastly1 with regard to prurient   
and polluted talk and unclean stories4  
,against these a ,christian man will do 
well firmly and resolutely to set his   
face4 ,such things defile the mind4     
,they are injurious both to him that    
hears and to him that speaks1 in that   
they tend to engender a mental          
atmosphere in which the suggestions of  
actual vice are likely to meet with an  
enfeebled power of resistance4 ,of      
course it is possible to be too tragical
 on the subject of language1 and to     
exaggerate the harm done by smoking-room
 stories4 ,but whatever is definitely   
unclean is definitely evil1 and should  
be both avoided and discouraged4 ,to    
assume1 however1 a pious demeanour and  

to appear to be shocked is a fatal      
method of protest4 ,christians have no  
business to be shocked1 nor are they    
meant to be prigs4 ,there are other     
forms of social pressure which are more 
effective4 ,it is1 moreover1 sometimes  
possible to combine moral reprobation   
with a sense of humour4     ,,chapter   
,,iv  ,,the ,,works ,,of ,,the ,,devil  
,the devil is from one point of view a  
figure of ,jewish and ,christian        
mythology4 ,the ,jews1 like other early 
peoples1 believed in the existence of   
evil spirits or demons1 to whose        
malignant agency they ascribed various  
diseases1 both functional and organic1  
and in particular those unhappy cases of
 obsession1 fixed idea1 and multiple    
personality1 which we should now class  
under the general head of insanity1 and 
treat in asylums for the mentally       
deranged4 ,the ,new ,testament writings 
are full of this point of view1 which is
 of course largely foreign to our minds 
to-day4 ,the ordinary ,englishman is not

 a great believer in devils or spirits  
of evil3 though he does in some         
instances believe in ghosts1 and is     
inclined to the practice of what in     
former ages was called necromancy--the  
attempt to establish an illicit         
connexion with the spirits of the       
departed--under the modern name of      
psychical research4 ,there are1 no      
doubt1 some forms of psychical research 
which are genuinely scientific and      
legitimate4 ,it is probable enough that 
there exists a considerable area of what
 may be called borderland phenomena to  
which scientific methods of inquiry may 
be found applicable1 and which it is    
theoretically the business of science to
 investigate4 ,but it is a region in    
which the way lies readily open to all  
kinds of superstition and self-deceit4  
,the pursuit of truth for its own sake  
is essentially a religious thing3 but   
the motives of many amateur dabblers in 
psychical research are far from being   
truly religious or spiritual4 ,much     

popular spiritualism1 whether it assumes
 the form of table-turnings1 of         
spirit-rappings1 or of mediumistic      
seances1 is thoroughly morbid and       
undesirable1 and the ,christian ,church 
has rightly discouraged it4  ,it is not1
 however1 necessary to believe literally
 in the devil1 or in devils--concerning 
whose existence many persons will prefer
 to remain agnostic--in order to find in
 the figure of the devil1 as he appears 
in ,biblical and other literature1 a    
convenient personification of certain   
forms of evil4 ,there is an atmosphere  
of evil about us1 a ,kingdom of ,evil1  
over against the ,kingdom of ,good3 and 
there are suggestions and impulses of   
evil which from time to time arise in   
our minds1 which--whatever may be the   
literal truth about them--not           
infrequently present the appearance of  
having been prompted by some mysterious 
external ,tempter4 ,certainly deeds have
 been done in the present war which can 
only be described as devilish4 ,the war 

has revealed on a large scale and in    
unmistakable terms the evil of which the
 heart of man is capable1 and how thin  
in many cases is the veneer which       
separates the outwardly civilized       
,european from the primitive savage4    
,for this purpose was the ,son of ,,god 
manifested1 that ,he might destroy the  
works of the devil4 ,and by the works of
 the devil we may understand especially 
cruelty1 malice1 envy1 hatred and all   
uncharitableness1 the spirit of         
selfishness which wars against love1 and
 the spirit of pride which ignores      
,,god4 ,we see these things exhibited   
upon the large scale in the conspicuous 
criminals among mankind1 whom we are    
sometimes tempted to regard as devils   
incarnate4 ,we need to be on our guard  
against the beginnings of them1 and     
indeed in many cases their actual       
presence in an undetected but fairly    
developed form1 in ourselves4           
,christian men are to be kindly         
affectioned one towards another in      

brotherly love3 in honour preferring one
 another--which is easier to say than to
 do4 ,they are to refrain from rendering
 evil for evil1 and to learn under      
provocation to be self-controlled4 ,they
 are to be in charity with all men1 and 
so far as it lies within their own power
 7for it takes two to make peace1 as it 
takes two to make a quarrel7 they are to
 live peaceably with all men4 ,wrath and
 clamour1 lying and evil-speaking1      
back-biting and slandering1 are all of  
the devil1 devilish4 ,contrary to the   
works of the devil1 which may be summed 
up under the three headings of lying1   
hatred1 and pride1 are the ,christian   
ideals of truthfulness1 love1 and       
humility1 with regard to each of which a
 few words may usefully be said4  7i7   
,the devil is described in the ,new     
,testament as a liar and the father     
thereof4 ,a ,christian is to be true and
 just in all his dealings1 abhorring    
crookedness3 for the essence of lying is
 not inexactitude in speech1 but        

deceitfulness of intention4 ,christian  
veracity means honesty1                 
straightforwardness1 and sincerity in   
deed as well as in word4 ,a writer of   
fiction is not a liar3 to improve in the
 telling an anecdote or a story is not  
necessarily to deceive others in any    
culpable sense2 and moralists have from 
time to time discussed the question     
whether there may not be circumstances  
in which to tell a verbal lie is even a 
moral duty--e4g4 in order to prevent a  
murderer or a madman from discovering   
the whereabouts of his intended victim4 
,but casuistical problems of this kind  
do not very frequently arise1 and in all
 ordinary circumstances strict literal  
veracity is the right course to pursue4 
,footnote3 ,of course such social       
conventions as ,not at home1 ,no trouble
 at all1 or ,glad to see you1 ,no1 you  
are not interrupting me1 etc41 are      
hardly to be classed as lies1 since they
 do not as a rule seriously mislead     
others1 but are merely an expression of 

the will to be civil4  ,christian       
truthfulness1 however1 is in any case a 
much wider thing than merely verbal     
truth-telling3 it implies inward        
spiritual reality1 a genuine desire to  
see things as they are1 a thirst of the 
soul for truth1 and a hatred of shams4  
,the worst form of lying is that in     
which a man is not merely a deceiver of 
others but is self-deceived1 and suffers
 from the lie in the soul4 ,the religion
 of ,christ is always remorselessly     
opposed to every form or kind of humbug 
or of sham4 ,jesus ,christ is the       
supreme spiritual realist of history4   
,in ,his view the publican or           
acknowledged sinner is preferable to the
 ,pharisee or hypocrite for the precise 
reason that the former is a more genuine
 kind of person than the latter4 ,and to
 tell the truth in this deeper sense1   
that is1 genuinely to face realities and
 to refuse to be put off with shams1 to 
see through the plausibilities and to   
detect the hollowness of moral and      

social pretences and conventionalities1 
to have1 in short1 the spiritual and    
moral instinct for reality1 is a much   
harder thing than to be verbally        
veracious4 ,the true veracity can come  
only from ,him who is the ,truth3 it is 
a gift of the ,spirit1 and proceeds from
 ,,god who knows the counsels of men's  
hearts1 and discerns the motives and    
imaginations of their minds4  ,it       
follows that just as every lie is of the
 devil1 so all truth1 of whatever kind1 
is of ,,god4 ,the ,lord is a ,god of    
,knowledge1 and every form of           
intellectual timidity and obscurantism  
is contrary to godliness4 ,there can    
never be any opposition between         
scientific and religious truth1 since   
both equally proceed from ,,god4 ,the   
,christian ,church is ideally a society 
of free-thinkers1 that is1 of men who   
freely think1 and the genuine ,christian
 tradition has always been to promote   
learning and freedom of inquiry4 ,it is 
worth remembering that the oldest and   

most justly venerable of the            
,universities of ,europe are without    
exception in their origin ecclesiastical
 foundations4 ,if the love of truth and 
the spirit of freedom which inspired    
their inception has at particular epochs
 in their history been temporarily      
obscured1 if there is much in the       
ecclesiasticism both of the past and of 
the present which is reactionary in     
tendency and spirit1 at least there have
 never been lacking protesting voices1  
and the authentic spirit of the ,gospel 
tells always upon the other side4 ,ye   
shall know the truth1 says a ,new       
,testament writer1 and the truth shall  
make you free4 ,footnote3 ,the          
manifestations of the persecuting spirit
 and temper are not confined to the     
sphere of religion2 the intolerance of  
the platform or of the press can be as  
bigoted as that of the pulpit3 and      
secular governments also can            
persecute--not only in ,france or in    
,prussia4 ,that it is part of the       

mission of ,christianity to cast out the
 evil spirit of persecution1 to destroy 
intolerance as it has destroyed slavery1
 is none the less true1 in spite of the 
fact that both slavery and persecution  
have in the past found ,christian       
defenders4  7ii7 ,in the second place1  
hatred is of the devil1 and love is of  
,christ3 the ,christian is to love even 
his enemies4 ,in a time of war1 that is 
to say1 whenever actual enemies exist1  
the natural man discovers in such an    
ideal only an immoral sentimentalism1   
and the doctrinaire pacificist          
occasionally uses language which gives  
colour to the charge4 ,but ,christianity
 has nothing in common with             
sentimentalism1 and ,christian is no    
merely sentimental affection which      
ignores the reality of evil or explains 
away the wrongfulness of wrong4 ,in     
order to love his enemies it is not     
necessary for a ,christian to pretend   
that they are not really hostile1 to    
make excuses for things that are        

inexcusable1 or to be blind to the moral
 issues which may be at stake4 ,it has  
rightly been pointed out that ,love your
 enemies means ,want them to be your    
friends3 want them to alter1 so that    
friendship between you and them may     
become possible4 ,more generally what is
 meant is that the ,christian man is by 
the grace of ,,god1 to conquer the      
instinct of hatred and the spirit of    
revenge within his own heart1 to be     
willing to serve others 7his enemies    
included7 at cost to himself in         
accordance with the will of ,,god1 to   
desire on behalf of all men 7his enemies
 included7 the realization of their true
 good4 ,for wrongdoers chastisement may 
be the truest kindness4 ,to allow a man1
 or a nation1 to pursue an evil purpose 
unchecked would be no real act of love  
even towards the nation or the          
individual concerned4 ,to offer         
opposition1 if necessary by force1 may  
in certain circumstances be a plain     
duty4 ,that which we are to love1 in    

those whose immediate aspect and        
character is both unlovely and          
unlovable1 is not what they are1 but    
what they are capable of becoming4 ,we  
are to love that element in them which  
is capable of redemption1 the true      
spiritual image of ,,god in man1 which  
can never be totally effaced4 ,we are to
 remember that for them also the ,son of
 ,,god was crucified1 that we also have 
need of forgiveness1 and that ,,god     
commendeth ,his own love towards us1 in 
that1 while we were yet sinners1 in due 
time ,christ died for the ungodly4      
7iii7 ,the third great manifestation of 
the spirit and temper which is of the   
devil1 devilish1 is pride1 which by     
,christian writers upon these subjects  
is commonly regarded as the deadliest of
 the so-called deadly sins1 on the      
ground that it logically involves the   
assertion of a false claim to be        
independent of ,,god1 and is therefore  
fatal in principle to the religious     
life4 ,pagan systems of morality        

distinguish between false pride1 the    
foolish conceit of the man who claims   
for himself virtues and capacities which
 he does not in fact possess1 and proper
 pride1 the entirely just appreciation  
by a man of his own merits and          
accomplishments at neither more nor less
 than their true value4 ,the ,christian 
ideal of humility is apt from this point
 of view to appear either slavish or    
insincere4 ,the issue between ,christian
 and pagan morals here depends upon the 
truth or falsehood of the ,christian    
doctrine of ,,god and of ,his relation  
to man4 ,once let a man take seriously  
the avowal that ,it is ,he that hath    
made us1 and not we ourselves1 once let 
him grant the position that his life    
belongs to ,,god and not to himself1 and
 concur in the judgment of spiritual    
experience that whatever is good in him 
is the result not of his own efforts in 
independence of his ,maker1 but of the  
,divine ,spirit operative within him1   
and it becomes obvious that boasting--as

 ,s4 ,paul expresses it--is excluded4   
,at the same time ,christian humility is
 not self-depreciation4 ,it has nothing 
in common either with the spirit of     
,uriah ,heep1 or with the false         
diffidence which refuses on the ground  
of personal insufficiency a task or     
vocation to which a man is genuinely    
called4 ,these are both equally forms of
 self-consciousness4 ,humility is       
forgetfulness of self4 ,the true pattern
 and exemplar of humility is the        
,christ1 who claimed for ,himself the   
greatest role in the whole history of   
the world1 simply on the ground that it 
was the work which ,his ,father had     
given ,him to do4 ,i seek not ,mine own 
glory3 there is ,one that seeketh and   
judgeth4 ,the secret of humility is     
devotion to the will of ,,god4          
,,chapter ,v  ,,the ,,kingdom ,,of ,,god
   ,christianity in the last three      
chapters has been considered on its     
negative side as involving a conflict   
against temptation4 ,but the ,christian 

ideal is positive rather than negative4 
,we have only to think for a moment of  
the character and life of ,christ in    
order to realize how ludicrously        
impoverished a conception of the ,gospel
 righteousness is that which regards it 
as exhausted by the meticulous avoidance
 of sin4 ,christian purity1 it has been 
said1 is not a snowy abstinence but a   
white-hot passion of life towards ,,god4
 ,the same might be said of other       
,christian virtues4 ,positively         
regarded1 the ,christian ideal of life  
means sonship towards ,,god and         
citizenship in ,his ,kingdom4  ,the     
precise signification of the phrase1    
,kingdom of ,,god1 or ,kingdom of       
,heaven1 in the language of the ,new    
,testament has been the theme of        
controversy and discussion among        
scholars4 ,it is impossible to enter    
here into the technicalities of the     
dispute4 ,broadly speaking1 it may be   
laid down without much fear of          
contradiction that the ,kingdom of ,,god

 means the effectual realization1 in    
every department of human life and upon 
a universal scale1 of the sovereignty of
 ,,god as ,christ reveals ,him4 ,it is  
the vision of the goal of human history4
 ,it is meant to be a leading motive and
 inspiration of ,christian life4      ,i
 will not cease from mental strife1     
,nor shall my sword sleep in my hand1   
,till we have built ,jerusalem      ,in 
,england's green and pleasant land4  ,it
 is quite true that1 according to the   
thought of the ,new ,testament writers1 
the mystic ,jerusalem is not a city     
built by mortal men upon this earth1 but
 something which is wholly the gift of  
,,god1 a city not made with hands1      
descending from ,,god out of heaven4    
,the ,kingdom of ,,god in its fulness is
 no product of human striving4 ,it is   
the achievement of a ,divine purpose1   
the manifestation in the end of the days
 of the completed mystery of the ,divine
 ,will4  ,nevertheless it is the mission
 of the ,church to prepare the way of   

the ,kingdom1 and it is for ,christian  
men to live as sons of the ,divine      
,kingdom even now1 that is1 as men in   
whose hearts and lives ,,god and none   
other is enthroned as ,king and ,lord4  
,this means that everything that is good
 in human life is to be redeemed by     
being offered to ,,god1 and that        
everything that is vile and evil is to  
be eliminated and cast out4 ,the ,son of
 ,man shall send forth ,his messengers1 
and they shall gather out of ,his       
,kingdom all things that offend4 ,there 
shall in no wise enter into it anything 
that defileth1 neither whatsoever       
worketh abomination1 or maketh a lie4   
,the ,kingdom of ,,god is righteousness 
and peace and joy in the ,holy ,ghost4  
,the ideal of the ,christian life1      
therefore1 is something infinitely      
richer and more positive than the merely
 negative morality of the ,ten          
,commandments4 ,it is the ideal of the  
,divine ,kingdom4 ,it is a positive     
devotion to the will of ,,god4 ,it means

 co-operation with the ,divine will and 
purpose1 a will and a purpose which1 by 
the patient operation of the ,divine    
,spirit1 is in the course of            
world-history slowly but surely being   
worked out1 amid all the immediate chaos
 and welter of events1 to its goal in   
the revelation of the ,jerusalem which  
is from above4 ,that is why the         
,christian is bidden to pray            
continually1 ,thy ,kingdom come1 ,thy   
will be done1 in earth as it is in      
heaven4  ,if a man does not want the    
,divine ,kingdom1 or does not believe in
 it1 he ought not to pray for it4 ,if he
 does want it and pray for it1 he ought 
also to work for it4 ,and though no man 
may fully understand it1 yet if a man is
 to pray for it and work for it at all1 
he needs to have at least some partial  
understanding of what it means4 ,it is  
worth while1 therefore1 instead of      
dismissing the idea as a vague dream or 
an empty phrase1 to try and fill it with
 some measure of positive meaning for us

 men here and now4 ,what is the will of 
,,god for humanity8 ,and what is meant  
by preparing the way of the ,lord8 ,some
 things at least we may say are         
certainly included in the will of ,,god1
 and some things are as certainly       
excluded4  ,it is not the will of your  
,father which is in heaven that one of  
these little ones should perish4 ,a     
,christian ,church which took seriously 
its vocation to go before the ,lord and 
to prepare ,his ways would be           
effectively and vigorously concerned    
with problems so prosaic as the rate of 
infantile mortality and the allied      
questions of housing and sanitation1    
with the insistence that the conditions 
of life among the poorer classes of the 
community shall be such as make decent  
living possible1 and with the provision 
of a minimum of leisure and of genuine  
opportunities of liberal education for  
all who have the will and the capacity  
to profit by them4 ,the combined        
ignorance and apathy of the people of   

,england with regard to questions of    
education1 which has made possible the  
shelving of ,mr4 ,fisher's ,education   
,bill in deference to the opposition of 
vested interests1 is little to the      
credit of the ,christian ,church in     
these islands1 and grievously           
disappointing to those who had hoped at 
last for a real instalment of           
constructive reform4 ,footnote3 ,it is  
now stated that the ,bill is to be      
reintroduced and passed1 with certain   
modifications4 ,it is to be hoped that  
the modifications will not be such as to
 destroy its effectiveness as an        
instrument of real reform4 ,it remains  
true that the ,bill was imperilled by   
the apathy and ignorance of the rank and
 file of ,churchmen and ,christians     
generally1 though it is fair to say that
 the ,bishops demonstrated unanimously  
in its favour4  ,a system of education1 
moreover1 which was truly ,christian1   
would provide not merely for the        
training of mind and body1 and for      

instruction--on the basis of some       
inter-denominational modus vivendi yet  
to be achieved--in morality and         
religion4 ,it would secure equally for  
the children of all classes             
opportunities for the training of the   
aesthetic faculties1 for the cultivation
 of art and imagination1 for the filling
 of life with colour and variety and    
movement4 ,the intolerable ugliness of  
the domestic architecture of our cities 
and towns is a totally unnecessary      
offence to ,,god and man2 and the       
drabness and monotony of the life of    
huge masses of the population1 who find 
in the rival attractions of the         
gin-palace and the cinema the only means
 of distraction at present open to      
them--this also is something which      
cannot possibly be regarded as being in 
accordance with the will of ,,god4 ,the 
redemption of society from all that at  
present makes human life sordid or      
hideous is a real part of what the ideal
 of the ,kingdom means4 ,it is a part of

 the task laid upon the ,christian      
,church in preparing the way of the     
,lord and making straight ,his paths4   
,included also in the will of ,,god for 
humanity is the evangelization of the   
world1 the perfecting of the ,church1   
the bringing of all nations and races   
into a spiritual unity in ,christ       
,jesus4 ,christianity claims by its very
 nature to be the absolute religion3 the
 climax and fulfilment of the whole     
process of man's religious quest3 the   
synthetic and unifying truth1 in which  
whatever is true and positive and       
permanently valuable in the religious   
systems of the non-,christian world is  
gathered up and made complete4 ,of      
,christ it has been written that ,how   
many soever be the promises of ,,god1 in
 ,him is the yea4 ,in ,christ is the    
fulfilment of the unconscious prophecies
 of the religions of the heathen world1 
nor is there any true solution of the   
problems of comparative religion except 
this4 ,the ,christian ,church is in     

principle and of necessity missionary1  
and apart from the vitalizing breath of 
the missionary spirit the life of the   
,church languishes and dies4  ,but the  
true spirit and method of ,christian    
missions is not a narrow proselytism4   
,there are indeed things in many of the 
lower religions of the world which are  
dark and evil4 ,there are regions of the
 earth which are full of base and cruel 
and degrading superstitions1 immoral    
rites and practices against which the   
,church of ,christ can only set its     
face1 and with which it can make no     
terms4 ,these are works of the devil    
which the ,son of ,,god was manifested  
to destroy4 ,but there is much in the   
higher religious thought of paganism    
which ,christ comes not to destroy but  
to fulfil1 and ,christianity can fulfil 
and interpret to the higher religions of
 paganism just that which is truest and 
most positive in their own spiritual    
message4 ,conversely1 it is probable    
that there are in ,christianity itself  

elements which will only be fully       
interpreted and understood when the     
spiritual genius of nations at present  
pagan has made its proper contribution  
to ,christian thought4 ,for our own sake
 as well as for theirs it is important  
that the nations should be evangelized  
and brought to a knowledge of the truth4
 ,when we say the ,lord's ,prayer we are
 praying1 among other things1 for the   
success of ,christian ,missions4  ,and  
if ,christianity contains within itself 
the true solution of the problem of     
comparative religion1 it contains also1 
in germ and potentiality1 the solution  
of the problems of race and caste1 and  
of the international problem also4 ,not 
until men have learnt the secret of     
brotherhood in ,christ will the white   
and the coloured races treat one another
 as brothers4 ,not until the nations1 as
 nations1 are genuinely ,christian and  
have learnt1 in their dealings one with 
another1 to manifest the spirit of      
unselfishness and love1 will the day be 

in sight when they shall beat their     
swords into ploughshares and be content 
to learn war no more4 ,this too1 if the 
,gospel means anything at all1 is part  
of the will of ,,god for the human race4
 ,it is part of what is involved in the 
prayer1 ,thy will be done in earth1 as  
it is in heaven4 ,it is an integral and 
vitally important element in the        
,christian hope of the ,kingdom4  ,the  
redemption of society1 the              
evangelization of the world1 the        
bringing together into the corporate    
wholeness of a world-wide ,catholic     
,church of the fragmentary ,christianity
 of the existing multitude of sects1 the
 elimination of war from the earth1 and 
the breaking down1 as the result of a   
conscious realization of human unity in 
,christ1 of the dividing barriers of    
colour and race and caste-all these are 
essential elements in the ,christian    
vision4 ,the man of the world may1 and  
probably will1 pronounce each and all of
 them to be chimerical1 the baseless    

fabric of a dream4 ,he will find no     
thoughtful man who is genuinely         
,christian to agree with him4  ,for     
these things are1 quite certainly1 part 
of the will of ,,god for humanity4 ,they
 are involved of necessity in any       
effectual realization in human life of  
the sovereignty of the ,father who is   
revealed in ,christ4 ,and because ,,god 
is ,,god1 the goal1 for the ,christian  
man1 is within the horizon-,the ,kingdom
 of heaven is at hand4 ,in any case1 be 
the goal near or be it far off1 it is as
 a citizen of that ,kingdom1 and of none
 other1 that the ,christian man will set
 himself to live4 ,he will enthrone     
,,god in his own heart as ,king and     
,lord1 and will hold fast the heavenly  
vision which it has been given to him to
 see4  ,as we look out into the future1 
says a modern writer1,footnote3 ,the    
,rev4 ,w4 ,temple1 in an address        
delivered at ,liverpool on ,problems of 
,society in #aiab1 and published by the 
,student ,christian ,movement in ,christ

 and1 ,human ,need4 we seem to see a    
great army drawn from every nation under
 heaven1 from every social class1 from  
every section of ,christ's ,church1     
pledged to one thing and to one thing   
only-the establishment of ,christ's     
,kingdom upon earth by ,his method of   
sacrifice and the application of ,his   
principle of brotherhood to every phase 
of human life4 ,and as they labour there
 takes shape a world much like our own1 
and yet how different6 ,still           
individuals and communities1 but the    
individual always serving the community 
and the community protecting the        
individual3 still city and country life1
 with all their manifold pursuits1 but  
no leading into captivity and no        
complaining in our streets3 still       
,eastern and ,western1 but no grasping  
worldliness in the ,west1 no deadening  
pessimism in the ,east3 still richer and
 poorer1 but no thoughtless luxury1 no  
grinding destitution3 still sorrow1 but 
no bitterness3 still failure1 but no    

oppression3 still priest and people1 yet
 both alike unitedly presenting before  
the ,eternal ,father the one unceasing  
sacrifice for human life in body broken 
and blood shed3 still ,church and       
,world1 yet both together celebrating   
unintermittently the one ,divine        
,service1 which is the service of       
mankind4 ,and in that climax of a       
vision1 which1 if we are faithful1 shall
 be prophecy1 what is it that has       
happened8  ',the kingdoms of this world 
have become the ,kingdom of our ,,god   
and of ,his ,christ4'     ,,chapter ,,vi
  ,,christianity ,,and ,,commerce       
,this chapter ought properly to be      
written by a layman who is also a       
,christian man of business4 ,it is      
inserted here mainly to challenge       
inquiry and to provoke thought4 ,the    
writer has no first-hand acquaintance   
either with business life or with       
business methods4 ,he desires simply to 
chronicle an impression that the level  
of morality in the business world has   

been declining in recent years1 and that
 the more thoughtful and candid of      
,christian laymen in business are       
beginning to be deeply disquieted4 ,it  
is not uncommon to be confronted by the 
statement that it is impossible in      
modern business life to regulate conduct
 by ,christian standards4 ,the          
impression exists that if large numbers 
of business men abstain from the outward
 observances of religion1 it is in many 
cases because they are conscious of a   
lack of correspondence between ,sunday  
professions and weekday practice1 and   
have no desire to add hypocrisy to      
existing burdens upon conscience4 ,the  
clergy are by the circumstances of their
 calling sheltered from the particular  
difficulties and temptations which beset
 laymen in the business world4 ,their   
exhortations are apt to sound in the    
ears of laymen abstract and remote from 
life4  ,if the situation has been       
diagnosed correctly the matter is       
serious4 ,what is suggested is not that 

men to-day are deliberately more        
unprincipled than were their fathers1   
but that modern conditions have made the
 way of righteousness more difficult4   
,things have been speeded up4 ,the      
competitive struggle has been           
intensified4 ,men are beset1 it has been
 said1 by a moral powerlessness4 ,they  
are as good as they dare be4 ,absorbed  
in money-making1 and pressed hard by    
unscrupulous rivals1 they cannot afford 
to scrutinize too narrowly the social   
consequences of what they do1 or the    
strict morality of the methods which    
they employ4 ,honesty1 as experience    
demonstrates1 is by no means always the 
best policy from a worldly point of     
view4 ,the children of this world are in
 their generation wiser than the        
children of light4 ,this being so1 it is
 to be feared that men are apt to prefer
 the wisdom of the serpent to the       
harmlessness of the dove4  ,moreover the
 man of business in the majority of     
cases does not stand alone4 ,he is a    

breadwinner on behalf of others4 ,very  
commonly he regards it as a point of    
honour to refrain from disclosing to    
those at home his business perplexities 
and trials4 ,it is assumed that they    
would not be understood1 or that in any 
case it is unfair to burden wife and    
children with financial troubles4 ,in   
the result it sometimes happens that a  
man's foes are found to be they of his  
own household1 and that for the sake of 
wife and child he stoops to procedures  
which his own conscience condemns1 and  
which those for whose sake he embarks   
upon them would be the first to         
disapprove4 ,a wife1 it may be          
suggested1 ought to share the knowledge 
of her husband's difficulties1 and to be
 willing1 if need so require1 to suffer 
loss and diminution of income as the    
price of her husband's honour4 ,a wife  
takes her husband in matrimony for      
poorer as well as for richer1 for       
sickness and poverty as well as for     
health and wealth4 ,it is a tragedy that

 in modern marriages too often only the 
more pleasurable alternative is         
seriously meant4  ,enough has been said 
to make it evident that in the world of 
modern business there is a battle to be 
fought on behalf of ,christ4 ,precisely 
for the reason that the vocation of a   
,christian in this sphere is in some    
ways the most difficult it is also the  
most necessary4 ,there is a call for    
courage and consecration1 for hard      
thinking and readiness for sacrifice1   
and from the nature of the case it must 
be mainly a laymen's battle4 ,there may 
have to be financial martyrdoms for the 
sake of ,christ before the victory is   
won4 ,but the prize and the goal is     
worth striving for1 for it is nothing   
less than the redemption of a large     
element in human life from the tyranny  
of selfishness and greed4 ,footnote3 ,it
 may1 of course1 be argued that so long 
as the competitive system prevails in   
the business world1 a ,christian man in 
business must compete1 just as in the   

existing state2 though in an ideally    
,christian world competition would be   
replaced by co-operative and war would  
be unknown4 ,this is perfectively true4 
,but it should be possible1             
nevertheless1 to hold fast the          
,christian ideal as a regulative        
principle even under present conditions4
 ,only in proportion as this is done is 
the redemption of business life a       
possibility4  ,in principle the issues  
are clear enough4 ,the interchange of   
commodities is a service rendered to the
 community4 ,it ought to be so regarded1
 and the service rendered1 rather than  
the gain secured1 should be its         
inspiration and motive4 ,the service of 
man is a form of the service of ,,god1  
and the operations of financiers and    
business men ought to be capable of     
interpretation as forms of social       
service4 ,it is only as this spirit is  
infused into the lives and practice of  
men in business that the world of       
business can be saved from degenerating 

into a soulless mechanism1 dominated by 
the idea of purely selfish profit1 or a 
tissue of dishonest speculation and     
sordid gambling4 ,the business man1 like
 any other servant of the community1 is 
entitled to a living wage4 ,he is not   
entitled either by chicanery and        
trickery1 or by taking advantage of the 
needs of others and his own control of  
markets1 to become a profiteer4         
,profiteering in time of war is         
condemned by the common conscience4 ,it 
is equally to be condemned in time of   
peace4 ,the ,christian man in business  
will stand for integrity and just       
dealing1 for human sympathy and the     
spirit of service1 for the renunciation 
of profits which are unreasonable and   
unfair4 ,his function is not to exploit 
the community in his own personal or    
sectional interests1 but to be a servant
 of the ,christian commonwealth4 ,some  
procedures and some methods of making   
money the ,christian man will feel      
himself debarred from employing4 ,for   

the rest what is needed is mainly a     
change of heart1 a shifting of emphasis1
 a modification of the inward spirit and
 motive of business life4     ,,chapter 
,,vii  ,,christianity ,,and ,,industry  
,labour problems have always existed1   
but the development of industrialism as 
we know it to-day is comparatively      
modern4 ,it dates from the introduction 
of machinery and mechanical transport1  
and coincided in its beginnings with the
 vogue of the so-called ,manchester     
,school in political and economic       
theory4 ,the modern world of industry   
has been built up by the enterprise of  
capitalists working upon the basis of   
unrestricted competition4 ,joint-stock  
companies and trusts are simply         
capitalistic combinations for the       
exploitation of industrial opportunities
 upon a larger scale4  ,the economic    
theorists of the ,manchester ,school    
regarded wages as necessarily governed  
by the working of the iron law of supply
 and demand4 ,it was the interest of the

 employer to buy such labour as was     
required at as cheap a rate as possible4
 ,it was assumed that in this1 as in    
other matters of business1 his procedure
 must be determined wholly by           
self-interest1 to the exclusion of      
sentimental considerations4 ,individual 
employers might be better than their    
creed1 and in the smaller concerns the  
relations between employer and employed 
were often humanized by personal        
knowledge and intercourse4 ,with the    
advent of the joint-stock company this  
no longer held good4 ,a corporation has 
no bowels4 ,directors were not          
personally in contact with their        
workpeople1 and their main consideration
 was for their shareholders4 ,the whole 
tendency of the industrial order of     
society as it developed was in the      
direction of the exploitation of the    
workman in the interests of capital4    
,it was not that members of the         
employing class were consciously        
inhuman4 ,it was simply that they were  

blinded to the human problems which were
 involved4 ,they had become accustomed  
to regard as natural and inevitable a   
wage-slavery of the many to the few4    
,labour was a commodity in the market4  
,the workman was a unit of labour4      
,regarded from the point of view of     
,capital he represented simply the      
potentiality of so many foot-pounds of  
more or less intelligently- directed    
energy per diem4 ,his life as a human   
being1 apart from the economic value of 
his labour1 was from the business point 
of view irrelevant4  ,the system was    
based upon a lie4 ,treat human beings as
 machines as much as you will1 the fact 
remains that they are incurably         
personal4 ,the wage-slaves of the modern
 world asserted their personality1 and  
the modern ,socialist-,labour ,movement 
is the result4 ,the forces of organized 
labour have won some notable victories4 
,they are a recognized power in the     
land4 ,there are those who hope1 and    
those who fear1 that they will in the   

end become socially and politically     
omnipotent4 ,it is now generally        
recognized that society prior to the war
 was on the brink of a struggle between 
the classes of great bitterness1 and    
that the social condition of the country
 after the war is likely to be fraught  
with formidable possibilities4 ,there   
are many observers who regard a social  
revolution1 in one form or another1 as  
inevitable4  ,much1 no doubt1 will      
depend upon the temper of the returning 
troops1 both officers and men4 ,that men
 and officers have learnt to know and to
 respect one another upon the           
battlefield is acknowledged1 but those  
who imagine that herein is contained a  
solution of social and labour problems  
are likely to prove grievously          
disappointed4 ,a great deal of nonsense 
is being talked about the effects of    
discipline upon the men4 ,military      
discipline has its admirers3 but men of 
mature years and civilian traditions who
 in the present conflict have served in 

the ranks of ,his ,majesty's ,army are  
not included among their number4 ,they  
have submitted to discipline for the    
period of their military service4 ,they 
are quite able to recognize that it is  
essential to the efficiency of the army 
as a fighting machine4 ,but they        
conceive themselves to have been        
fighting for freedom3 and their own     
freedom and that of their children and  
of their class is included in their eyes
 among the objects for which they fight4
 ,they will be more than ever jealous1  
after the war1 of their recovered       
liberties1 and determined to assert     
them4 ,it is probable that one result of
 demobilization will be an enormous     
accession of strength to the ranks of   
the ,socialist and ,labour parties4 ,the
 class war with which society was       
threatened before the ,european ,war    
broke out is not likely to be a less    
present danger when that which now      
restraineth is removed by the conclusion
 of peace4  ,what in relation to these  

problems is the message of the          
,christian ,church8 ,the distinctively  
,christian ethic is based not upon self-
 assertion but upon self-sacrifice1 not 
upon class distinctions but upon        
brotherhood4 ,let no man seek his own1  
but each his neighbour's good4 ,the     
principle is of corporate as well as of 
individual application4 ,in an ideally  
,christian society1 the interests of    
,labour would be the sole concern of    
,capital1 the interests of ,capital the 
sole concern of ,labour3 and the message
 of the ,church to the contending       
parties should be1 now as always1 ,sirs1
 ye are brethren4  ,neither party1      
however1 is likely at present to pay    
much heed to such a message1 which is   
apt to sound like an abstract and       
theoretical truism remote from the      
actualities of life4 ,in point of fact1 
the large sections of the population who
 live permanently near or below the     
poverty line are largely precluded by   
lack of leisure from entering into the  

,christian heritage of the spiritual    
life1 and are too much obsessed by the  
daily struggle for material existence to
 have patience with exhortations to     
regard with sympathy either the         
temptations or the good intentions of   
the well-to-do4 ,the latter in turn are 
apt to resent any attempt to stir in    
them a social conscience with regard to 
the problems of poverty or the          
fundamental causes of labour unrest1 to 
regard the security of dividends as     
conveniently guaranteed by the laws of  
,,god1 and to hold1 in a general way1   
that everything has hitherto been       
ordered for the best in the best of all 
possible worlds4 ,the ,church--and more 
particularly the ,church of ,england--is
 commonly regarded both by ,labour and  
by ,capital as traditionally identified 
with the ,conservative ,party in        
politics4 ,the ,church-going classes    
love to have it so1 and the world of    
,labour not unnaturally holds aloof4    
,it is nevertheless sufficiently obvious

 that the future of civilization after  
the war will be largely in the hands 7or
 at the mercy7 of organized ,labour4    
,and it is worth remembering that our   
,saviour died not for the rich only1 but
 for the poor1 having moreover ,himself 
lived and worked as a labouring ,man4   
,there are those who regard the spirit  
of idealism and world-wide brotherhood  
by which the ,labour ,movement is       
inspired as the most profoundly         
,christian element in the life of the   
modern world1 and the existing cleavage 
between ,labour and the ,church as a    
tragedy comparable only to the tragedy  
of the war4 ,it is the plain duty of a  
,christian man to do what in him lies to
 remedy this cleavage1 to think hard and
 honestly about social problems from a  
,christian point of view1 and to make it
 his business to have an adequate       
understanding and sympathy with the real
 character and motives of ,labour       
aspirations and ideals4     ,,chapter   
,,viii  ,,christianity ,,and ,,politics 

,politics at their worst are a          
discreditable struggle between parties  
and groups for selfish1 and sectional   
ends1 full of dishonesty and chicanery  
and corruption4 ,it is often recognized 
at the present time as desirable that   
none should be for party1 but all for   
the state4 ,the ,christian ideal goes   
further than this3 it is that none      
should be for party1 but all for the    
,kingdom of ,,god1 and for the state    
only in so far as the state is capable  
of being made the instrument of that    
higher ideal4 ,the ,christian man is not
 to hold aloof from political life1 but 
to seek1 so far as his personal effort  
and influence can be made to tell1 to   
,christianize the political struggle4   
,in every contested election he is bound
 to think out in the light of ,christian
 ideals the issues which are at stake1  
without either prejudice or heat1 and to
 register his vote in accordance with   
his conscience under the most solemn    
sense of responsibility before ,,god4   

,he is bound1 of course1 to be a        
reformer1 standing for cleanness of     
methods1 probity of motives1 honest     
thinking1 class unselfishness1 and the  
elimination of abuses and malpractices4 
,he will tend in most cases to be a     
cross- bencher1 in the sense of being   
independent of party caucuses and       
concerned only for social and political 
righteousness4  ,a ,christian man who   
has leisure and opportunity can render  
enormous service by going into politics1
 more especially into municipal         
politics1 which are too often           
surrendered to the tender mercies of    
corrupt1 narrow-minded1 or interested   
local wire-pullers4 ,there is an        
enormous field of unselfish social      
service and opportunity lying open to   
,christian laymen in this connexion4    
,there can be no truer form of work for 
the ,church of ,,god than the work of a 
municipal councillor who seeks not      
popularity but righteousness4  ,the     
carrying over of ,christian ideals into 

national and international politics is  
equally indispensable4 ,in the sphere of
 international affairs in particular1   
while other nations have1 for the most  
part1 rendered official lip-service from
 time to time to ideals of international
 morality1 it has been reserved for     
,germany to declare openly for the      
repudiation of sentiment1 and for a     
policy of undisguised cynicism and      
real-politik4 ,the doctrine that the    
state as such is exempt from moral      
obligation towards its neighbours1 and  
that the whole political duty of man is 
exhausted in the service of his country 
and the promotion of her purely selfish 
interests and will to power1 has been   
exhibited in action by the ,prussian    
,government in such a fashion as to     
incur the moral reprobation of the      
world4 ,the cynical doctrines of        
real-politik1 the belief that the       
interests of the state are in politics  
and diplomacy paramount1 and that the   
foreigner is a natural enemy1 the belief

 that in all international relationships
 selfish and self-interested            
considerations must really determine    
policy1 are unfortunately by no means   
unrepresented1 though they are not      
unchallenged1 in the political life of  
other countries besides ,germany4 ,there
 are influential publicists in ,england 
to-day the principles of whose political
 thinking are really ,prussian4 ,it     
remains to be seen whether1 when the    
time comes for peace to be made between 
the nations1 the forces of international
 idealism will prove strong enough to   
carry the day1 or whether we shall have 
a merely vindictive and realist peace   
which will contain within itself the    
seeds of future wars4 ,there can be no  
question but that a ,christian man is   
bound to stand both for the freedom of  
oppressed nationalities and for the     
right of all peoples freely to determine
 their own affairs1 and also for the    
duty of nations as of individuals to    
love their neighbours as themselves1 and

 to seek primarily not their own but    
each other's good4 ,if these professions
 are to be more than nominal they must  
mean a readiness for national sacrifices
 and for national unselfishness in time 
of peace as in time of war4             
,,chapter ,,ix  ,,christianity ,,and    
,,war   ,christianity is opposed to war1
 in the sense that if men and nations   
universally behaved as ,christians1 wars
 would cease4 ,the ideal of the ,kingdom
 of ,,god involves the reign upon earth 
of universal peace4 ,war is1 therefore1 
in itself1 an unchristian thing4 ,it is1
 moreover1 a barbarous and irrational   
method of determining disputes1 since   
the factors which humanly speaking are  
decisive for success in war1 viz4 the   
organized and unflinching use of        
superior physical force1 are in         
principle irrelevant to the rights or   
wrongs of the cause which may be at     
stake4 ,the victories of might and right
 do not invariably coincide4  ,it is not
 surprising1 therefore1 that a certain  

proportion of ,christians--the ,quakers1
 for example1 and many individuals who  
have either been influenced by the      
teaching of ,tolstoy1 or else1 thinking 
the matter out for themselves1 have     
arrived at similar conclusions to those 
of ,tolstoy and the ,quakers--should    
hold that in the event of war a man's   
loyalty to his earthly city must give   
way to his loyalty to his heavenly ,king
 in this matter4 ,experience shows that 
there are men who are prepared to suffer
 persecution1 imprisonment1 or death    
itself rather than violate their        
principles by service in the armed      
forces of the ,crown4  ,there are       
obviously circumstances conceivable in  
which it would be the duty of all       
,christians to become ,conscientious    
,objectors4 ,such circumstances would   
arise in any case in which the state    
endeavoured to compel men's services in 
a war which their conscience            
disapproved4 ,in the present ,european  
,war it so happens that there are       

probably no ,englishmen who regard the  
,german cause as righteous and the      
,allies' cause as wrong4 ,the problem of
 ,conscientious ,objection has1         
therefore1 only arisen in the case of   
those ,christians who hold the abstract 
doctrine of the absolute wrongness1 in  
whatever circumstances1 of all war as   
such4  ,there are those who1 though     
personally rejecting this doctrine1     
consider that those who hold it are     
wrong only in that they are spiritually 
in advance of their time4 ,the majority1
 however1 of ,christians have felt that 
the ,pacifist or ,quaker doctrine is not
 merely impracticable under present     
conditions1 but that it rests upon a    
fallacious principle4 ,for it appears to
 deny that physical force can ever be   
rightfully employed as the instrument of
 a moral purpose4 ,in the last resort it
 is akin to the anti-sacramental        
doctrine which regards what is material 
as essentially opposed to what is       
spiritual4  ,the questions at issue are 

not really to be solved by the quotation
 of isolated texts or sayings of our    
,lord from the ,gospels4 ,what is really
 in dispute is the question of the form 
which1 in the context of a given set of 
national and political circumstances1   
may rightfully be given to the          
application of the ,christian principle 
of universal1 righteous1 and            
self-sacrificing ,love4 ,no one can     
dispute the fact that in certain        
circumstances ,christianity may demand  
the readiness to die for others4 ,are   
there any circumstances in which        
,christianity may demand the readiness  
to slay for others1 either personally1  
or mediately through service in a       
military machine which as a whole is the
 instrument of a national purpose only  
to be achieved through the slaughter of 
those in the ranks of the opposing      
armies8  ,the majority of ,christians   
have answered this question in the      
affirmative4 ,they have held that there 
are circumstances in which the claims of

 ,love are more genuinely and adequately
 acknowledged by taking part in warfare 
than by abstaining from it4 ,they have  
insisted that there are circumstances in
 which it is no true act of love1 even  
towards the aggressor1 or perhaps       
towards the aggressor least of all1 to  
permit him to achieve an evil purpose   
unchecked3 that resistance1 even by     
force of arms1 may be in the truest     
interests of the enemy himself4 ,they   
have maintained that it is possible to  
fight in a ,christian temper and spirit1
 without either personal malice or      
hatred of the foe3 that not all killing 
is murder1 and that to rob a man of     
physical life1 as an incident in the    
assertion of the claims of              
righteousness1 is not1 from the point of
 view of those who believe in human     
immortality1 to do him that ultimate and
 essential injury which it might        
otherwise be held to be4  ,no one1      
however1 who has had anything to do with
 modern war can doubt that it is        

intrinsically beastly and devilish1 or  
that it is apt to arouse passions1 in   
all but the saintliest of men1 which are
 of an extremely ugly kind4 ,to affirm  
that it is possible1 as a matter of     
theory1 to fight in a wholly ,christian 
spirit and temper1 is not to assert that
 in actual practice more than a small   
minority of soldiers succeed in doing   
so4 ,it is possible to be devoutly      
thankful that when the issue was posed  
by the conduct of the ,germanic powers  
in the ,august of #aiad the ,british    
,empire replied by entering upon war1 to
 hold that it was emphatically the right
 thing to do1 and that it represented a 
course of conduct more intrinsically    
,christian than neutrality would have   
been4 ,but it is not possible to        
maintain with truth that the ,british   
nation as a whole has been fighting     
either in a ,christian temper or from   
,christian motives4 ,it is undeniable   
that uglier motives and passions have   
crept in4 ,sermons in ,christian pulpits

 upon such themes as the duty of        
forgiveness or the ,christian ideal of  
love towards the enemy have been neither
 frequent nor popular4 ,undoubtedly the 
,german ,government in its general      
policy1 and particular units of the     
,german ,army and ,navy upon many       
occasions1 have acted in such a way as  
to give provocation of the very         
strongest kind to the unregenerate human
 impulses of hatred and of revenge4 ,it 
is not surprising1 though it is         
regrettable1 that under the influence of
 this provocation many persons1         
otherwise ,christian1 have either       
frankly abandoned the ,christian        
doctrine of human brotherhood1 or else  
have denied that the ,germans are to be 
regarded as human beings4 ,on the whole1
 and speaking very broadly1 it may be   
said that the troops have shown         
themselves more ,christian in these     
respects than have the civil population1
 though there are many exceptions upon  
both sides4 ,it is to be feared that the

 ,church1 in so far as she has been     
represented by her clergy 7though here1 
again1 there are many exceptions71 has  
been too anxious to be identified with a
 merely ,jingo patriotism to exercise   
any very appreciable influence in       
restraint of unchristian passions4 ,it  
is to be hoped and anticipated that     
there will be a strong reaction after   
the war both against militarism and the 
less desirable aspects of the military  
mind1 and also against the belligerent  
temper and spirit--especially1 perhaps1 
on the part of the men who have         
themselves served and suffered in the   
field4     ,,chapter ,x  ,,love1        
,,courtship1 ,,and ,,marriage   ,no     
element in ,christian practice has been 
more widely challenged in modern times  
than the ,christian ideal of marriage4  
,our ,lord's standard in these matters  
was simple and austere4 ,whoso looketh  
on a woman to lust after her hath       
committed adultery already in his heart4
 ,whosoever shall put away his wife1    

saving for the cause of fornication 7the
 exceptive clause is of disputed        
authenticity7 causeth her to commit     
adultery3 and whosoever shall marry her 
that is divorced committeth adultery4   
,the ,state in certain cases gives legal
 sanction to adultery in this latter    
sense1 and there is a vocal and probably
 increasing demand that legal facilities
 for divorce upon various pretexts1 with
 liberty of remarriage1 shall be further
 extended4 ,the ,divorce ,law ,reform   
,union has announced its intention to   
promote in ,parliament a ,bill which1 if
 carried1 would have the effect of      
reducing legal marriage to a contract   
terminable after three years' voluntary 
separation by the will of either party4 
,doubtless a robust opposition will be  
offered by ,christian people to the     
adoption of so lax a conception of      
marriage even by the ,state4 ,experience
 in other countries seems to show that  
unlimited facilities for divorce do not 
tend to the promotion either of         

happiness or of morals4 ,but it needs to
 be recognized that the ,state1 as such1
 is concerned only with the legal aspect
 of marriage as a civil contract1 and   
that it has to legislate for citizens   
not all of whom profess ,christian      
standards even in theory4 ,the law of   
the ,state may well diverge from that of
 the ,church with regard to this matter1
 though it does not follow that so lax a
 standard as that which is now proposed 
would be in the best interests even of  
the ,state4  ,the ,church regards       
,christian marriage as indissoluble4 ,in
 cases of adultery she counsels         
reconciliation1 wherever possible1 upon 
the basis of repentance on the part of  
the guilty and forgiveness on the part  
of the injured partner4 ,if this is not 
possible the ,church sanctions1 if need 
so require1 separation1 but not         
remarriage4 ,there are also             
unfortunately other cases in which the  
married relationship proves so          
intolerable as to render a temporary or 

permanent separation admissible as a    
last resort4 ,the remarriage of either  
party during the lifetime of the other  
is nevertheless held to be unchristian4 
,with the practical difficulties which  
beset the ,church in the attempt to     
maintain within the circle of her own   
membership a stricter standard than that
 which is recognized by the ,civil ,law 
and by society at large we are not here 
concerned4 ,our concern is with the     
,christian standard as a positive ideal1
 on the effective maintenance of which1 
as ,christians believe1 depends the     
stability of the home and the ,christian
 family1 and the redemption of          
sex-relations from mere animalism and   
grossness4  ,a ,christian husband takes 
his wife in matrimony for better for    
worse1 for richer for poorer1 in        
sickness and in health1 to love and to  
cherish1 till death them do part1       
according to ,,god',s holy ordinance4   
,the step is irrevocable4 ,the union is 
intended to be life-long4 ,it has1      

moreover1 in view not only the mutual   
society1 help1 and comfort that the one 
ought to have of the other1 but also the
 procreation of children1 to be brought 
up in the fear and nurture of the ,lord1
 and to the praise of ,his holy ,name4  
,a few words may usefully be said under 
these heads4  7i7 ,marriage ought to be 
based upon love2 and love1 though       
naturally and normally involving the    
element of sexual attraction1 ought to  
include also other and deeper elements4 
,a ,christian man who has lived a clean 
and disciplined life ought to be        
sufficiently master of his passions to  
avoid mistaking a merely temporary      
infatuation for such a genuine spiritual
 affinity as will survive the           
satisfaction of immediate desires and   
prove the stable basis of a             
life-companionship4 ,hasty marriages are
 a common and avoidable cause of        
subsequent unhappiness4 ,it is obviously
 undesirable that couples should enter  
upon matrimony until there has been a   

sufficiently prolonged and intimate     
acquaintance to enable them to become   
reasonably sure both of themselves and  
of one another4 ,in many cases there is 
much to be said for regarding betrothals
 in the first instance as provisional4  
,it is better to break them off at the  
last moment than to marry the wrong     
person4  ,the ,victorian conventions    
with regard to all these matters were   
thoroughly bad4 ,girls were brought up  
in carefully-guarded ignorance of the   
implications of matrimony and shielded  
by perpetual chaperonage from anything  
approaching comradeship with the        
opposite sex4 ,eventually they were in  
many cases stampeded into a marriage    
which had its origin either in a        
clandestine flirtation or in the        
designing operations of some            
match-making relative1 who made it her  
business first to throw the young people
 together and then to suggest that they 
were virtually committed to one another 
by the mere fact of having met4  ,the   

reaction which has taken place against  
all this is upon the whole salutary4    
,the new social tradition which is      
growing up makes it possible for the    
unmarried of both sexes to meet one     
another with comparative freedom1 and to
 establish relations of friendship1     
which may subsequently ripen into love1 
unhampered by any such morbidly exciting
 atmosphere of intrigue and suggestion  
on the part of relatives and friends4   
,but the new freedom of social          
intercourse1 if it is not in its turn to
 prove disastrous1 demands on the part  
of the young of both sexes a higher     
standard both of responsibility and     
self- control1 and of knowledge of what 
is implied in the fact of sex4 ,the     
experience of married life is1 moreover1
 not likely to prove a success1 save in 
rare instances1 unless there is between 
the parties a real community of         
interests and tastes1 unanimity1 so far 
as may be1 of ideals and of religious   
convictions1 and at least no very great 

disparity of educational and            
intellectual equipment4  7ii7 ,a        
,christian marriage includes among its  
purposes the procreation of children4   
,it is here most of all that unanimity  
of ideal and of conviction between      
husband and wife is essential4 ,a man   
and a woman ought not to take one       
another in marriage without first being 
assured of each other's mind upon this  
subject4 ,if marriage is to be a success
 each must learn respect for the other's
 personality1 real give and take1 and   
the horror of treating the other just as
 a means to his own pleasure1 whether   
spiritual1 intellectual1 or physical3   
and both must think seriously of the    
responsibilities of parenthood4 ,husband
 and wife must work out their ideals    
together1 in perfect frankness and      
sincerity1 and it is impossible to have 
true and sacred ideals of their joint   
physical life unless there is the same  
openness and understanding and sympathy 
on this point as on all others4         

,footnote3 ,ideals of ,home1 by ,gemma  
,bailey 7,national ,mission ,paper1 ,no4
 #dc74 ,there must be mutual            
consideration and self-control3 the need
 for self-restraint and continence does 
not disappear with the entry upon       
marital relations3 it is if anything    
intensified4  ,there is a real problem  
here which needs to be thought out4 ,to 
the practice of race-suicide1 by which  
is meant the artificial restriction of  
parentage by the use of mechanical or   
other preventives1 ,christian morality  
is violently opposed4 ,on the other     
hand1 it may reasonably be held that    
people ought not to bring children into 
the world in numbers which are wholly   
out of relation to their capacity to    
feed1 clothe1 educate1 and train them4  
,the enormous families of which we hear 
in early ,victorian times were not quite
 ideal for the mother or the children1  
nor for the father if he were not well  
off4 ,footnote3 ,ibid ,it may be found  
necessary in practice to limit the size 

of the family either upon economic      
grounds or 7in particular instances7 in 
the interest of the mother's health4    
,it is to be feared1 however1 that the  
modern tendency in both respects is to  
shirk the responsibilities of parenthood
 on grounds which are thoroughly        
selfish4 ,the ,victorian doctrine that  
when ,,god sends mouths ,he sends food  
to fill them may have been unduly       
happy-go-lucky4 ,the recent remark of an
 officer in a certain ,british regiment1
 that since he and his wife had only    
,l#hjjj a year between them1 he felt    
that he could not afford to have more   
than one child1 was entirely shameless4 
,it would seem1 moreover1 that the      
comparative childlessness of modern     
marriages is sometimes due not to the   
husband's reluctance1 upon economic     
grounds1 to beget children1 but to the  
wife's reluctance to bear them1 a       
reluctance which in some cases arises   
either from such shrinking from the     
physical pain and sacrifice of          

motherhood as goes beyond what is really
 justified1 or from mere self-indulgent 
absorption in social pursuits and       
pleasures4 ,there ought to be in a      
,christian marriage more of the true    
spirit of adventure and romance1 a      
greater readiness for sacrifice1 a more 
willing acceptance of parental          
responsibilities1 and of the obligation 
of self-denial for the children's sake4 
,there can be no question but that      
modern families-- with the paradoxical  
exception of the families of the very   
poor--have been tending to be smaller   
than they either need be or ought to be4
  ,at the same time it is generally     
conceded that some measure of limitation
 is in most cases reasonable and        
necessary4 ,the vitally important thing 
is that such necessary and reasonable   
limitation should be secured not by     
artificial evasion of the consequences  
of intercourse1 but by self-control and 
deliberate temporary abstinence at      
certain periods from the intercourse of 

sex4 ,footnote3 ,it may be suggested    
that in cases of genuine perplexity it  
is advisable to consult1 as occasion may
 require1 either a medical man who is   
also a ,christian1 or a wise--and       
preferably a married--spiritual guide4  
,for the union of the sexes in marriage 
is according to the mind of the         
,christian ,church an essentially pure  
and holy thing4 ,it is a sacrament of   
the fusion of two personalities1 whereby
 they are at once individually and      
mutually enriched1 and at the same time 
mystically and spiritually knit together
 in such a way as to become in the sight
 of ,,god indissolubly one3 the unity of
 husband and wife being comparable1     
according to a famous saying of ,s4     
,paul1 to the unity which exists between
 ,christ and ,his ,church4 ,now1        
although1 from this point of view1 the  
significance of married life is to a    
great extent impoverished and           
frustrated1 if intercourse is so        
regulated as to render the marriage     

childless not in fact merely1 but in    
intention1 yet it does not follow that  
procreation must be directly in view on 
every individual occasion1 since the    
mystical value of intercourse as a      
spiritual sacrament of love may still   
exist in independence of such intention4
 ,it is nevertheless1 surely1 clear that
 a ,christian man and his wife are      
morally precluded from coming together  
except with a deep sense of the         
sacredness of what they do and of its   
intimate connexion with the mysteries of
 life and birth1 and a corresponding    
readiness1 in the event of conception   
taking place1 to accept the ensuing     
responsibility for the child as a sacred
 trust from ,,god1 the ,father from whom
 all fatherhood in heaven and on earth  
is named4 ,with the use of preventives  
and other devices1 which degrade into a 
mere means of carnal satisfaction an act
 which is meant to bear a deeply        
spiritual and religious meaning1 the    
,christian interpretation of marriage   

seems plainly and obviously             
incompatible4  ,a few words may be added
 with regard to the upbringing and      
education of children4 ,here1 again1    
there has been a reaction--which upon   
the whole is good--from the unduly      
rigorous disciplinary methods of the    
past4 ,it may be doubted1 however1      
whether the reaction has not in some    
cases been carried too far4 ,children   
ought to be controlled and disciplined  
by their parents1 and no expenditure of 
care and thought and tact is too great  
to devote to the rightful training of   
their characters4 ,but experience seems 
to show that parents sometimes fail to  
recognize that their children grow up4  
,it is important that in proportion as  
they grow towards maturity of character 
and independence of personality the     
strictness of parental discipline should
 be gradually relaxed4 ,at a certain    
stage the real influence of parents upon
 their children will depend upon their  
refusal to assert direct authority4 ,not

 a few of the minor tragedies of home   
life arise from the ill-judged action of
 parents who treat as children sons and 
daughters who are virtually grown up4   
,the problem of the religious education 
of children cannot here be discussed in 
detail1 but three or four leading       
principles may be suggested4  7#a7 ,it  
ought not to be necessary to say that   
children should not be taught to regard 
as true statements or doctrines which   
their parents believe to be in fact     
false4 ,this applies in particular to   
certain views of the ,bible4 ,the ideal 
should be so to teach the child that in 
later life he may have nothing to       
unlearn4  7#b7 ,when children are old   
enough to read they should be encouraged
 to read the ,gospels4 ,they ought not1 
however1 to read the ,old ,testament1   
with the exception of certain ,psalms   
and other specially selected passages1  
until they are of an age to distinguish 
what is ,christian from what is ,jewish1
 and to recognize the principle of      

religious development4  7#c7 ,children  
should be taught in the first instance  
the practice rather than the theory of  
religion3 devotions in which doctrine is
 implicit1 rather than doctrine as such4
 ,as their minds expand they will ask   
the reasons for what they do and the    
meaning of the worship in which they    
engage1 and they will need to have      
suggested to them an elementary1 but not
 a stereotyped1 theology4 ,they should  
from the beginning be encouraged to     
think and question freely on religious  
subjects4  7#d7 ,they should            
occasionally accompany their parents to 
,church1 and in particular should from  
time to time be present when the latter 
receive ,holy ,communion4 ,they should  
have the service explained to them in a 
simple fashion1 and should be encouraged
 to look forward to the time when they  
will be confirmed1 and become           
communicants themselves4     ,,part     
,,iii  ,,the ,,maintenance ,,of ,,the   
,,christian ,,life   ,,chapter ,i  ,,how

 ,,to ,,begin   ,the practice of        
,christianity depends for its           
possibility upon the existence and      
maintenance within the soul of an inward
 principle of spiritual life towards    
,,god4 ,the reason why so many nominal  
,christians fail conspicuously to       
manifest the fruits of ,christianity in 
their lives is simply that they have no 
vital personal experience of the power  
and efficacy of the life in ,christ4    
,they have never been effectually       
gripped by the religion which they      
nominally profess4 ,they are not        
transformed1 or in process of being     
transformed1 by the ,holy ,spirit's     
power4  ,the plain man1 confronted by   
the ,christian ideal1 if he does not at 
once dismiss it as impracticable1 is apt
 to ask1 or at least to wonder1 how he  
is to begin4 ,it is a question to which 
no cut-and-dried answer can be given4   
,but at least no beginning is likely to 
lead to very much in the way of         
fulfilment which does not sooner or     

later involve something like personal   
conversion of heart4 ,conversions may be
 sudden1 or they may be gradual3 but    
religion1 if it is to be a reality1     
means in the end the establishment of   
vital personal relations with the living
 ,christ4 ,it means the acceptance of   
,his challenge1 self-surrender to ,his  
appeal1 the combination of an           
acknowledged desire to serve ,him with  
acknowledged impotence and bankruptcy   
before ,,god4  ,sooner or later the     
,spirit convinces men of sin4 ,either a 
man1 essaying light-heartedly to follow 
,christ1 discovers in the very attempt  
his inability to do so1 and is found    
traitor to his ,master's cause in the   
first encounter3 or else1 it may be1 at 
the very outset1 the consciousness of   
what has been wrong in conduct and      
character and motive in the past stands 
as a damning record between his soul and
 ,,god1 and forbids him without         
repentance to take service in the       
campaign of ,christ at all4 ,the        

consciousness of sin as a horrid        
impediment in the soul is not1 of       
course1 true penitence until a man has  
been brought to realize in the light of 
the ,cross that the difference between  
what he is and what he might have been  
is treachery to ,him whose man 7in      
virtue of his baptism7 he was meant to  
be1 and that by being what he is1 and   
acting as he has acted1 he has          
consciously or unconsciously contributed
 to the wounds wherewith ,eternal ,love 
is wounded in the house of ,his friends4
  ,the measure of a man's penitence1    
whether early or late developed in him1 
is very apt to be the measure of his    
spiritual insight and of his spiritual  
sincerity4 ,the familiar words of the   
hymn--      ,they who fain would serve  
,thee best      ,are conscious most of  
wrong within1  are profoundly true to   
,christian experience4 ,but             
repentance--which is sorrow for sin in  
the light of the ,cross--is abortive and
 merely results in spiritual paralysis  

unless it issues in confession--that is1
 frank and open acknowledgment before   
,,god1 and if need be also before ,his  
,church--and the seeking and finding of 
reconciliation and forgiveness as the   
unmerited gift of ,,god in ,christ4     
,there are those in whose case the      
inward conviction of sin and the        
realization of the need for pardon are  
the first impulses of awakening         
spiritual life4 ,there are others with  
whom it is not so4 ,they are conscious  
of the attractiveness of the ,man       
,christ ,jesus4 ,they would desire to be
 on ,his side and to be of the number of
 ,his disciples4 ,they are dimly aware1 
or at least they more than half suspect1
 that in ,him is to be found the        
satisfaction of a need for which their  
soul cries out4 ,with ,s4 ,peter they   
find themselves saying to ,christ1      
,lord1 to whom shall we go8 ,thou hast  
the words of eternal life1 ,but they    
cannot as yet with any inward reality   
profess themselves conscience- stricken 

with regard to the past4 ,they are not  
aware of themselves as conspicuous      
sinners1 or indeed1 it may be1 as       
sinners at all4 ,the experience of      
penitence and of ,divine forgiveness    
must come to them1 if it is to come at  
all1 at a later stage4 ,it is not by    
that postern that they enter upon the   
,way of the ,spirit4  ,but the ,way is  
in either case the way of fellowship1   
and the ,spirit is the spirit of        
discipline4 ,the newly found spiritual  
life1 however awakened1 needs to be     
maintained and fostered by fellowship in
 the ,church1 by regular habits of      
,christian devotion1 by faithful        
communion in the ,sacrament of ,life4   
,plainly1 if a man is not already       
confirmed1 his first step must be to be 
prepared for confirmation3 if he has    
been confirmed1 but has lapsed from     
communion1 he must resume the           
communicant life4 ,he needs to claim the
 status and privilege of effective      
membership in the ,body of ,christ1 and 

to form for himself a rule of inward    
life and discipline4 ,rules of          
devotional life must necessarily vary in
 accordance with a man's surroundings   
and opportunities1 and perhaps in some  
of their details in accordance with a   
man's temperament4 ,but at least there  
ought to be a rule of regular private   
prayer1 a rule of regular communion1 a  
rule of ,bible-reading or meditation1   
and a rule of self-denial and           
orderliness in daily personal life4     
,,chapter ,,ii  ,,prayer   ,prayer is a 
difficult matter1 both in theory and in 
practice4 ,but it is essential to learn 
to pray4  ,it is important to recognize 
that the scope of ,christian prayer is  
much wider than mere intercession or    
petition4 ,it is the communion of the   
soul with ,,god1 and its purpose is     
union with the life of ,,god in identity
 of purpose with ,his will4 ,the        
beginning of prayer is a sursum corda1 a
 lifting up of the heart to ,,god4 ,it  
is well to remember that true prayer is 

never a solitary act1 even when a man   
prays in solitude4 ,we pray not as      
individuals but as members of a ,family1
 and our prayer is spiritually united   
and knit together with the common       
prayer-life of the universal ,church1 of
 which it forms a part4 ,we pray1       
moreover1 not to wrest to our private   
ends the purposes of ,,god1 not to      
induce ,him1 so to speak1 to do our     
wills instead of ,his1 but to unite our 
wills with ,his will1 as children who   
have confidence in their ,father4 ,true 
prayer is offered in the ,name of       
,christ--that is1 it is prayed in ,his  
,spirit1 according to ,his mind and     
will4 ,it can never1 therefore1 be      
selfish or self-centred4 ,the ,lord's   
,prayer is its model and its type4 ,a   
few words may be said in explanation of 
this prayer4  ,it begins with a         
recognition of the common ,fatherhood of
 ,,god4 ,it is only as members of ,his  
,family that we can approach ,him3 ,he  
is in no sense our personal or private  

,,god1 but the common ,father of us all4
  ,and our ,father is in heaven--that   
is1 supreme1 eternal1 the ,lord and     
,ruler of all things4 ,his ,name is     
holy1 and to be hallowed3 it is in      
reverence and deepest worship that we   
bow before ,him4 ,he is ,king1 and we   
pray that ,his ,kingship may be         
realized1 in earth as it is in heaven3  
and that ,his will may be done--that is 
the supreme desire of our hearts1 and   
the highest object of our petitions4    
,and therefore we are vowed to ,his     
service3 and because we are sure that   
,he will supply whatever we really need 
to that end1 we pray in confidence for  
daily needs both spiritual and          
bodily--,give us this day our daily     
bread4 ,and remembering that we are     
unprofitable and faithless and disloyal 
servants we ask forgiveness for our     
sins1 well knowing that we can only be  
forgiven as we ourselves are ready to   
forgive4 ,and so looking to the future  
and mindful of our frailty we pray that 

,,god will not lead us into temptation  
or trial1 without at the same time      
providing a way of deliverance from the 
assaults of evil4 ,the prayer           
customarily ends with an ascription of  
praise and glory to ,,god4  ,that is the
 type and model of ,christian prayer3   
and prayer is truly ,christian just in  
so far as the spirit and temper of the  
,lord's ,prayer inspires it4 ,we can    
only pray rightly in the ,holy ,spirit4 
,we know not what to pray for as we     
ought3 but the ,spirit helpeth our      
infirmities4  ,as for the technique of  
prayer1 a man1 on kneeling or standing  
to pray1 will do well to spend a short  
time first in silence and recollection1 
waiting in stillness upon ,,god1        
remembering ,his presence1 ,his         
holiness1 ,his love1 and ,his           
responsiveness to ,his children's cry4  
,let him next make an act of adoration1 
spoken or unspoken1 and invoke ,,god the
 ,holy ,spirit to enable him to pray    
aright4 ,then let him pour out before   

,,god all that is in his heart1 his     
troubles1 his anxieties1 his            
perplexities1 his sins3 let him ask for 
forgiveness3 let him give thanks3 let   
him pray for the coming of ,,god',s     
,kingdom1 in its various aspects3       
commending to ,,god',s guidance and     
protection all right causes and         
aspirations in the world1 in things both
 social and political and international1
 in things ecclesiastical1 in things    
moral and religious and missionary3 let 
him add personal and private            
intercessions for those near and dear to
 him and for those whom he meets in the 
daily intercourse of life3 and let him  
end as he began1 in a few moments of    
quiet waiting upon ,,god4  ,that is the 
general scheme of a ,christian's private
 prayers4 ,they should include in due   
proportion the several elements of      
adoration1 thanksgiving1 penitence1     
petition1 and intercession4 ,they need  
not be lengthy4 ,use not vain           
repetitions1 as the heathen do3 for they

 think that they shall be heard for     
their much speaking4 ,it is quality and 
not quantity of prayer that counts4 ,and
 the prayers of a busy man must         
necessarily be short4  ,but it is worth 
while taking time and trouble over the  
ordering of one's prayers4 ,a man's     
intercessions1 in particular1 are not   
likely in practice to have the width1   
the range1 and the variety which are    
desirable1 unless they are planned and  
ordered in accordance with a coherent   
scheme which is thought out in advance4 
,it is the part of wisdom to keep a     
note-book1 in which names and subjects  
for intercessory prayer may be jotted   
down and distributed over the days of   
the week for use in due rotation4 ,such 
schemes1 however1 if drawn up and used1 
should be revised from time to time1 and
 not suffered to become a mechanical    
burden or a legal bondage4 ,there should
 be freedom and spontaneity in a        
,christian's prayers4 ,it is well to    
have rules1 and to try not to be        

prevented by mere slackness from keeping
 them4 ,but it is important to see to it
 that the self-imposed rule is so framed
 as to prove genuinely conducive to     
reality in prayer1 and suitably adapted 
to opportunity and circumstance3 and it 
is very often a good thing from time to 
time1 in the interests of freedom1 quite
 deliberately to break one's rules4     
,with regard to forms and methods of    
prayer1 it is desirable that men should 
learn to pray freely in their own words1
 or even in no words at all4 ,provided a
 man remembers reverence1 he need not   
stand on ceremony with ,,god4 ,but it is
 advisable also to use books and manuals
 of prayer --at any rate in the first   
instance3 to use them1 but not to be    
tied to them4 ,many such manuals have   
been compiled and published within      
recent years3 the majority of them are  
unsatisfactory in varying degrees4 ,a   
few1 however1 can confidently be        
recommended3 especially ,prayers for the
 ,city of ,god1 compiled by ,g4 ,c4     

,binyon 7,longmans72 ,prayers for       
,common ,use 7,universities ,mission to 
,central ,africa1 ,dartmouth ,st41      
,westminster72 and ,sursum ,corda1 a    
,handbook of ,intercession and          
,thanksgiving 1 arranged by ,w4 ,h4     
,frere and ,a4 ,l4 ,illingworth 7,a4 ,e4
 ,mowbray and ,co41 ,ltd474  ,prayer    
need not be confined to stated hours and
 times4 ,interpreting prayer at its     
widest1 the ideal should be to pray     
without ceasing4 ,it was said of an     
early ,christian writer that his life   
was one continuous prayer3 and it is    
well to form the habit of inwardly      
lifting up the heart to ,,god from time 
to time in the midst of daily cares and 
business4 ,where ,churches are kept open
 it is often possible in passing to     
spare time to enter and kneel for two or
 three minutes in quiet and recollection
 before ,,god3 but it is perfectly      
possible to pray inwardly at any time   
and in any environment4 ,fixed times of 
prayer1 nevertheless1 there must also   

be3 and a man should at least pray in   
the morning upon rising and in the      
evening before going to bed4 ,if a time 
can also be secured for midday prayer1  
so much the better3 but this is more    
difficult4 ,to have formed a really     
fixed and stable habit of daily prayer  
is an enormous step forwards in         
,christian life4 ,much depends upon     
learning to rise regularly at a fixed   
hour before breakfast3 and this in turn 
depends upon a regularity in going to   
bed1 which under modern conditions of   
life it is not always easy to achieve4  
,if a man is obliged to be up so late at
 night that it is morally certain that  
he will be too tired to pray with much  
reality before turning in1 he should    
endeavour1 if it is at all possible1 to 
secure some time for prayer at an       
earlier stage in the evening4           
,difficulties in the life of prayer     
beset everybody4 ,thoughts have a way of
 wandering1 the saying of prayers tends 
to become mechanical1 moods vary1 and   

there are times in most men's lives when
 they feel it almost impossible to pray 
with any sense of reality4 ,a man should
 not lightly be discouraged4 ,he may be 
recommended to remind himself that ,,god
 knows all about it1 and that the       
resolute offering of his will to ,,god  
at such times1 in defiance of           
distraction and difficulty1 has special 
value4 ,it is well to take ,god into    
one's confidence4 ,if ,,god bores you1  
tell ,him that ,he does4 ,he is no      
exacting tyrant1 but a ,father caring   
for ,his sons4 ,those who care to do so 
may find ,prayer and some of its        
,difficulties1 by the ,rev4 ,w4 ,j4     
,carey 7,mowbray  ,co471 a helpful book 
to read in this connexion4  ,a final    
word may be said with regard to a       
theoretical difficulty which many people
 feel in connexion with the intercessory
 and petitionary sides of prayer4 ,since
 ,,god',s will1 it may be argued1 is    
presumably going to be done in any case1
 and since ,he knows the real needs both

 of ourselves and of our friends better 
than we do1 what is the point of praying
 for them8 ,to many people it may be a  
sufficient practical answer to refer to 
the example and precept of ,christ1 who 
both taught and practised intercessory  
prayer4 ,but it is possible to go a     
little further1 and to point out that it
 appears to be ,,god',s will1 not merely
 that such and such a thing should be   
done1 but that it should be done in     
response to our human prayers4 ,true it 
is that your ,father knoweth what things
 ye have need of1 before ye ask ,him3   
but our ,lord emphasized this truth1 not
 as a round for regarding prayer as     
futile or unnecessary1 but as a reason  
for praying4 ,for prayer is an          
expression of the filial spirit towards 
our ,father1 and the more simply and    
naturally we approach ,,god as children1
 making our petitions before ,him with  
childlike hearts1 the more truly will   
our prayers be in accordance with that  
spirit of sonship which is the mind of  

,christ4 ,at the same time1 the         
knowledge that our ,father is wiser as  
well as greater than we will forbid us  
to clamour for what in wisdom is denied 
us1 and will in general govern the      
spirit and scope of our petitions4 ,just
 as our ,lord points out that an earthly
 father1 if asked for bread1 will not   
give his child a stone1 so conversely in
 the experience of every ,christian it  
often happens that in his blindness he  
asks a stone1 and is given bread4 ,but  
no ,christian will ask deliberately and 
knowingly for stones4     ,,chapter     
,,iii  ,,self-,,examination ,,and       
,,repentance   ,the unexamined life1    
said ,plato1 is not worth living4       
,similar advice was given by ,marcus    
,aurelius4 ,the practice of             
self-examination1 therefore1 is not     
distinctive of ,christianity3 it is an  
obvious dictate of wisdom1 wherever life
 and conduct are regarded seriously1    
that a man should from time to time take
 stock of himself in the light of his   

ideals and learn to know and recognize  
in detail where and how he has fallen   
short1 and what are the besetting sins  
and weaknesses against which he must    
contend4  ,the ,christian man will judge
 and try his life by the standards of   
,christ1 with growing sensitiveness of  
conscience as spiritual experience      
deepens3 not shrinking from the         
confession of sin and failure1 desiring 
not to be self-deceived1 but to know and
 to acknowledge the truth4 ,there is    
nothing in this of priggishness or      
unreality4 ,it is a necessary           
discipline4 ,the ,christian life is     
meant to bear the fruit of a character  
developing in growing likeness to the   
character of ,christ3 but none is       
suddenly made perfect3 the old ,adam    
dies hard3 and the ,christian by        
confession of repeated failure may at   
least learn the lesson of humility and  
self-distrust4  ,the rightful complement
 of self-distrust is trust in ,,god3 the
 rightful issue of self-examination and 

confession is the realization of divine 
forgiveness1 fresh courage1 and a new   
start4 ,the very core of the ,gospel is 
here4 ,he who has bidden men forgive    
those who trespass against them unto    
seventy times seven is not to be outdone
 in generosity by man4 ,but in order    
that sin may be forgiven it must be     
acknowledged as sin against ,,god and   
treachery to ,christ1 and repented of   
with true sorrow of heart4 ,repentance  
is not mere self-contempt1 self-pity1 or
 remorse4 ,it is sorrow for sin1 which  
has for its motive the love of ,,god and
 the realization that human sin meant   
and means in the experience of ,,god the
 ,cross4  ,nothing so deepens the       
religious life as true repentance1 nor  
is there anything so fatal to true      
religion as self-righteousness4 ,if we  
say that we have no sin1 we deceive     
ourselves1 and the truth is not in us4  
,to whom little is forgiven1 the same   
loveth little4 ,but the first           
prerequisite of repentance is           

self-knowledge--a difficult matter4     
,gross carnal offences1 strong and      
flagrant sins1 if such there be1 are    
obvious and upon the surface4 ,the      
subtler sins of the spirit--            
thoughtlessness1 for example1 or        
snobbishness or priggishness and        
pride--though we are quick to remark    
upon them in others1 are apt in our own 
case to pass undetected4 ,it is the     
,spirit who convinces men of sin4 ,only 
as we are resolute to enter into the    
mind of the ,spirit can we hope to know 
ourselves as in the sight of ,,god we   
really are4  ,the matter is complicated 
by the fact that those who1 as things   
are1 most systematically practise       
self-examination and confession of sin  
too often view the matter in a somewhat 
narrowly ecclesiastical spirit1 and make
 use of forms of self-examination which 
mix up real and serious moral offences  
with sins which are merely ceremonial1  
trivial1 or imaginary1 as though the two
 stood precisely upon the same level4   

,one must abstain from sexual sin and   
not go to dissenting places of worship2 
one must not steal and must be sure to  
abstain from meat on ,fridays4 ,a man's 
own sense of reality should enable him  
to guard against this sort of thing1 and
 if fixed forms of self- examination are
 used1 to use them with discretion4     
,the forms most commonly suggested in   
manuals of devotion are based upon the  
,ten ,commandments4 ,this is in         
accordance with the teaching of the     
compilers of the ,english ,prayer-book1 
who1 after bidding intending            
communicants to search and examine their
 own consciences 7and that not lightly1 
and after the manner of dissemblers with
 ,,god71 proceed to lay down that the   
way and means thereto is3 ,first1 to    
examine your lives and conversations by 
the rule of ,god's commandments3 and    
whereinsoever ye shall perceive         
yourselves to have offended1 either by  
will1 word or deed1 there to bewail your
 own sinfulness1 and to confess         

yourselves to ,almighty ,,god1 with full
 purpose of amendment of life4  ,the    
,commandments are1 however1 as they     
stand1 both negative in form and        
,judaistic in character1 and if used in 
this way as a rule of ,christian conduct
 must be spiritualized and reinterpreted
 in the light of the ,gospel4 ,the      
second and fourth ,commandments1 in     
particular1 are in their literal        
significance obsolete for ,christians3  
it is a false ,puritanism which would   
forbid sculpture and religious symbolism
 in the adornment of a ,christian       
church1 nor is any one in the modern    
world likely to confuse the symbol with 
the thing symbolized3 while the         
observance of the ,sabbath is part of   
that older ceremonial law from which ,s4
 ,paul insisted that ,christian converts
 should be free 7,coloss4 ii4 #af74     
,there is1 however1 a spiritual idolatry
 which consists in allowing any other   
object than the glory of ,,god and the  
doing of ,his will to have the primary  

place in the determination of           
conduct--there are men who worship      
money1 or comfort1 or ambition1 or their
 own domestic happiness1 or even        
themselves4 ,and the ,commandment about 
the ,sabbath1 though it has no literal  
value to-day 7and certainly no direct   
bearing upon the sanction or            
significance of ,sunday7 may serve to   
suggest the important principle that a  
man is responsible before ,,god for the 
use he makes of his time1 and that it is
 a religious duty 7not confined to any  
particular day of the week7 to          
distribute it in due proportion1        
according to circumstance and           
opportunity1 with proper regard to the  
rightful claims of work1 of worship1 and
 of recreation and rest4 ,the remaining 
,commandments are capable of being      
similarly interpreted as suggesting     
broad positive principles rather than as
 merely prohibiting wrong actions of a  
particular and definite kind3 and so    
treated they form as convenient a       

framework as any other for a scheme of  
questions for self-examination4  ,it is 
possible1 however1 that some men may    
prefer to use as their basis some       
standard more distinctively ,christian  
than the ancient law of ,judaism--for   
example1 the ,beatitudes 7,matt4 v4     
#a-ab7 or the fruits of the ,spirit     
7,gal4 v4 #bb74 ,a man will in any case 
do well either to frame or to adapt his 
own scheme for self-examination1 with   
special regard paid to whatever he may  
discover by experience to be a besetting
 sin or weakness1 or a temptation to    
which he is particularly exposed4 ,it   
should be remembered that the measure of
 what is wrong in a man's life is the   
measure of the contrast between his     
character and that of ,christ1 and that 
the chief flaws in ,christian character 
and achievement 7which are also those   
most likely to pass undetected7 are not 
uncommonly such as fall under the head  
of sins of omission rather than of      
commission--the leaving undone of what  

ought to have been done1 the failure to 
exhibit positively in relation to ,,god 
and man the qualities of faith and hope 
and love4 ,a man should ask himself     
wherein he has chiefly failed1 and come 
short of the glory of ,,god3 whether he 
is loyally observing any self-imposed   
rule of life and discipline1 and        
fulfilling any resolutions which may    
have been made1 or any obligations which
 have been undertaken4 ,having made in  
this manner an honest attempt to        
discover his own shortcomings and       
failures before ,,god1 let him with     
equal honesty confess them1 seek        
forgiveness1 and in the spirit of       
repentance and restored sonship start   
again4  ,the late ,lieutenant ,donald   
,hankey1 better known as ,a ,student in 
,arms1 criticizes ,churchmen of a       
certain type as being unwholesomely     
preoccupied with the thought of their   
sins1 and allowing their consciences to 
become a burden to them4 ,they should1  
he says1 'think less of themselves1 and 

trust the ,holy ,spirit more4 ,the      
advice is excellent3 but morbid         
scrupulosity is not a common fault of   
,english laymen4 ,the habit1 as ,mr4    
,chesterton expresses it1 of chopping up
 life into small sins with a hatchet is1
 of course1 to be avoided3 but the      
purpose of self-examination and         
self-knowledge is not to encourage      
morbid introspection1 but by frank      
acknowledgment and repentance to get rid
 of the past and with recovered hope and
 serenity to reach forward towards the  
future4 ,a man cannot walk in the       
,spirit unless he is inwardly right with
 ,,god4  ,with regard to sacramental    
confession1 the rule of the ,church of  
,england is sane and clear4 ,it may be  
expressed by saying that none must1 but 
all may1 and some should make use of it4
 ,in the case of a conscience seriously 
burdened in such a way that a man       
hesitates to present himself for ,holy  
,communion unabsolved1 to go to         
confession is obviously the right       

remedy4 ,there are other cases in which 
men find by experience that it helps    
them to be more honest and candid with  
themselves1 with ,,god1 and with the    
,church1 if they go to confession from  
time to time as a piece of              
self-discipline and a needed spiritual  
tonic4 ,yet others discover that they   
flounder less in spiritual things1 and  
that their religious life is deepened   
and made stronger1 if they place        
themselves for a time under wise        
direction4 ,systematic direction1 of    
course1 has obvious dangers4 ,it may    
tend to destroy independence of         
character4 ,it may cause a man to become
 priest- ridden4 ,but the dangers are   
not inevitable1 and there are without   
doubt cases in which it is of value4    
,much obviously depends upon the wisdom 
and common sense of the director4 ,the  
,prayer-book refers penitents to a      
discreet and learned minister of        
,,god',s ,word4 ,if a man proposes to   
practise habitual confession he will do 

well to assure himself of the discretion
 and learning of the priest whose help  
he seeks4  ,the method of making a      
sacramental confession is simple4 ,self-
 examination is made beforehand1 the    
results being1 if need be1 written down1
 either in full1 or in the form of notes
 to assist the memory4 ,a first         
confession should cover the whole life  
so far as remembered1 from childhood    
upwards3 subsequent confessions the     
period since the last was made4 ,the    
confession should aim at completeness1  
an effort being made to remember not    
only specific acts of wrongdoing1 but   
slight failings and weaknesses of       
character and the general lines and     
tendencies of faulty spiritual          
development4 ,symptoms should1 if       
possible1 be distinguished from causes1 
habits and tendencies and besetting sins
 from isolated acts4 ,cases in which a  
sin has been deliberate should be noted 
as such3 but there should be no dwelling
 upon extenuating circumstances or      

intermingling of claims to virtues or   
graces of character with the admission  
of defects4 ,no names may be mentioned1 
nor may third persons be incriminated by
 any form of words which would enable   
the confessor to recognize their        
identity4 ,the priest hears the         
confession sitting in a chair4 ,the     
penitent kneels beside him and confesses
 as follows3--,i confess to ,,god       
,almighty1 the ,father1 the ,son and the
 ,holy ,ghost1 before the whole company 
of heaven1 and before you1 that ,i have 
sinned in thought1 word1 and deed1 by my
 own fault4 ,especially ,i accuse myself
 that 7since my last confession1 which  
was444ago7 ,i have committed the        
following sins4444 ,here follows the    
confession in detail3 after which4 444  
,for these and all my other sins which  
,i cannot now remember1 ,i humbly ask   
pardon of ,,god1 and of you1 father1    
penance1 counsel and absolution4        
,wherefore ,i ask ,,god to have mercy   
upon me1 and you to pray for me to the  

,lord our ,,god4 ,amen4  ,the confessor 
then gives advice and counsel according 
to his wisdom1 commonly imposes a       
penance1 and if assured of the sincerity
 of the penitent1 pronounces absolution 
according to the form prescribed in the 
,prayer-book ,office for the ,visitation
 of the ,sick4     ,,chapter ,,iv       
,,corporate ,,worship ,,and ,,communion 
,the really essential thing is the      
,communion4 ,there may be minor outward 
differences as to the manner of its     
celebration3 you shall find in one      
parish a tradition of ,puritan bareness1
 in another a full and rich ceremonial  
symbolism1 with lights and vestments4 ,a
 man may have his personal preferences1 
but it is a mistake to attach undue     
importance either to the presence or to 
the absence of the external adjuncts of 
worship4 ,what matters is the ,body and 
,blood of ,christ4  ,a man must have his
 own regular rule with regard to        
,communion4 ,to communicate             
spasmodically or upon impulse at        

irregular intervals is not the way to   
build up a stable ,christian character4 
,where circumstances make possible the  
leading of a fairly regular life and    
give adequate opportunity for           
preparation beforehand1 weekly communion
 is the best rule4 ,where this is not   
possible1 a fortnightly or even a       
monthly rule may in particular cases be 
the best4  ,preparation for ,communion  
should be real1 but need not be         
elaborate4 ,it should be made overnight1
 and should include a review of the     
period since the last ,communion was    
made1 prayers for pardon and new        
resolves1 if possible a short meditation
 on the essential meaning of the        
,sacrament1 and the selection of some   
particular theme to be the focus of     
intercession at the service itself4  ,at
 the actual service it is well to arrive
 early1 with a few moments to spare for 
quiet and recollected prayer before the 
,liturgy begins4 ,the first part of the 
service is preparatory4 ,any pauses or  

intervals should be filled up by private
 prayers4,footnote3 ,forms and          
suggestions which1 may be used by those 
who find them helpful are provided for  
this purpose in any manual of devotion4 
,from the moment of consecration until  
the end of the service the mind should  
be concentrated as far as possible upon 
the thought of ,christ's realized       
,presence4 ,a man should go up to the   
altar to receive ,communion as one      
desiring to meet his ,lord and to be    
renewed in ,him1 returning subsequently 
to his place to render thanks for so    
great a ,gift4 ,when the service is over
 it is best not to hurry out of church1 
but to linger for further thanksgiving  
and prayer as occasion serves4  ,it is  
an ancient rule or custom of the ,church
 to receive ,holy ,communion fasting1   
giving precedence to the food of the    
soul over that of the body4 ,to insist  
rigidly upon such a rule in any and     
every set of circumstances is a piece of
 unintelligent and unchristian legalism3

 but many persons are of opinion that to
 observe it wherever it is reasonably   
possible to do so makes for reality4    
,there is a real value in the element of
 asceticism and self-discipline involved
 in the effort to rise early and come   
fasting to church3 and the fast may be  
interpreted as a kind of outward        
sacrament of the inward reality of      
spiritual preparation--a preparation of 
the body corresponding to the           
preparation of the soul1 ,it is1        
moreover1 an advantage of the early     
morning hour that the mind is           
undistracted by the occupations and     
diversions of the day4 ,for all these   
reasons the early morning ,communion is 
to be preferred to ,communion at a later
 hour4  ,whether a man is a weekly      
communicant or not1 he should in any    
case be present as a worshipper at ,holy
 ,communion ,sunday by ,sunday1 and     
should regard attendance at the weekly  
,eucharist as the most essential part of
 church-going4 ,no one who makes it a   

rule of his life to be present on       
,sundays and other festivals of the     
,church at ,holy ,communion ever has    
cause to regret having done so4  ,a man 
who for any reason 7e4g4 by the nature  
of his employment7 is debarred from     
attending regularly on ,sundays should1 
if possible1 secure an opportunity of   
regular attendance at ,holy ,communion  
on a week-day4 ,there are usually       
churches to be found1 at least in the   
towns1 which have an early morning      
,eucharist daily throughout the week3   
and advantage can also be taken of this 
if on any particular occasion the       
regular ,sunday ,communion has been     
missed4 ,if neither ,sunday nor week-day
 opportunities are available1 the need  
should be met by what is known as       
spiritual communion3 that is to say1 a  
man should read over the ,liturgy in    
private1 unite himself in spirit with   
the ,eucharist as celebrated in the     
particular church with which he happens 
to be most familiar 7as representing for

 him the worship of the ,church         
,universal71 and pray that he may       
receive the spiritual benefits of       
,communion though deprived for the time 
being of the actual ,sacrament4 ,apart  
from the early service1 which is now    
almost universal1 schemes of worship    
upon ,sunday mornings vary in different 
parishes4 ,in some churches ,matins and 
,litany are sung and a sermon preached1 
a late ,eucharist without music being   
commonly celebrated about noon3 in other
 parishes ,matins is said quietly       
without music at a comparatively early  
hour1 and the ,eucharist is solemnly    
sung1 with a sermon1 as the principal   
service of the forenoon1 usually without
 more than a very limited number of     
communicants1 partly because if the bulk
 of the congregation communicate at a   
sung ,eucharist the service becomes     
intolerably long1 and partly because the
 majority of those desiring to receive  
,communion have done so fasting at an   
earlier hour4  ,in large towns a man can

 usually find churches of either type   
according to his preference4 ,in        
single-church areas he ought for the    
sake of fellowship and good example to  
conform1 as a rule1 to what is          
customary4 ,it is desirable1 in a       
general way1 to be identified with the  
corporate worship of the parish3 but it 
is worth remarking that1 apart from the 
weight due to this general              
consideration1 there is no particular   
sacredness about the hour of eleven     
o'clock1 and a man who has communicated 
before breakfast1 and perhaps           
contemplates attendance1 later on1 at   
,evensong1 may not unreasonably feel    
justified in devoting the forenoon of   
,sunday 7which is usually his solitary  
morning's leisure in the week7 to other 
purposes than those of worship4 ,if the 
preacher is worth listening to 7which is
 not invariably the case7 it is a good  
thing to go and hear him3 and it is     
well1 therefore1 to attend one or other 
of the services 7morning or evening7 at 

which a sermon is preached4 ,but it is  
not essential to attend both3 and the   
question may be raised whether one      
sermon a ,sunday is not as much as most 
men can profitably digest4 ,a sermon is 
in any case 7except at the ,eucharist7 a
 detachable appendix to a ,church       
service2 and it is both possible and    
legitimate either to attend the service 
and leave the church before the sermon1 
or to avoid the service and come in time
 to hear the sermon1 according to       
preference or opportunity4  ,as regards 
external details of observance1         
kneeling1 and not squatting1 should be  
the attitude adopted for prayer4 ,it is 
customary to turn eastwards for the     
,creed1 and in some churches1 though not
 in others1 to kneel at the reference to
 the ,incarnation in the course of the  
,nicene ,creed4 ,it is also a common    
practice in some churches to genuflect  
7i4e4 to drop for a moment upon one     
knee7 on rising from one's place to go  
up to the altar to communicate1 in      

reverence for the ,blessed ,sacrament4  
,a man should adapt his personal usage  
in these minor details to whatever      
appears to be customary in the          
particular church in which he is        
worshipping4  ,it is often extremely    
difficult for the clergy to know        
personally the men of their             
congregations1 since it is rare in most 
neighbourhoods for the men to be at home
 during the hours when it is possible   
for the clergy to visit4 ,in these      
circumstances a man ought to be willing 
to take the initiative in making himself
 known to the clergy of his parish1 and 
to co-operate as far as possible in any 
effort which may be made1 through       
parochial ,church ,councils or          
otherwise1 to develop the spirit of     
fellowship in a congregation4 ,there is 
very often about ,anglican ,church      
worship a stiffness and frigidity which 
badly needs to be broken down4          
,appropriated seats1 where they exist1  
are a particular curse1 and anything    

which can be done in the way of         
abandoning chosen seats1 even if bought 
and paid for1 to strangers in the       
interests of charity is a real piece of 
,christian service4 ,a stranger ought   
not to be made to feel uncomfortable1   
but to be welcomed in every possible    
way4 ,the ideal is that every church1 in
 every part of it1 should be free and   
open at all times to all comers4        
,,chapter ,v  ,,the ,,devotional ,,use  
,,of ,,the ,,bible   ,it is to be feared
 that the habit of reading the ,bible in
 private for purposes of devotion has   
largely dropped out of modern usage1    
partly by reason of the general stress  
and urgency of modern life1 and partly  
because men do not quite know what to   
make of the ,bible when they read it4   
,they are aware of the existence of what
 are called critical questions1 but they
 do not know precisely the kind of      
differences which criticism has made4   
,it is a pity to acquiesce in an        
attitude of this kind1 and it is greatly

 to be desired that the habit of reading
 the ,bible regularly and becoming      
familiar with its contents should be    
revived4  ,there are two distinct       
methods of reading the ,bible which are 
of value4 ,one is to take a particular  
book and to read it straight through    
like a novel1 in order to get the       
impression of the writer's message as a 
whole4 ,advantage may be taken of       
occasional opportunities of ,sunday or  
week-day leisure for this purpose4 ,if  
the book is studied with the help of a  
good commentary1 so much the better4 ,a 
man who would be ashamed to be wholly   
unfamiliar with modern or classical     
literature ought to be equally ashamed  
to be wholly unfamiliar with the        
literature of the ,hebrews4  ,the second
 method of reading the ,bible consists  
in the devotional study of particular   
passages1 sometimes called by the       
formidable name of meditation4 ,the     
parts of the ,bible best adapted for    
this purpose are the ,gospels1 certain  

portions of the ,epistles1 many of the  
,psalms1 and portions of the greater    
,prophets4 ,the essence of the method is
 to read over a short passage quietly   
after prayer for spiritual guidance1 to 
browse over it for a few minutes and    
follow out any train of thought which   
may be suggested by it1 to apply its    
message in whatever way may seem most   
real and practical to the spiritual     
problems of immediate daily life1 and to
 conclude with prayer and resolution for
 the future4 ,it is not practicable for 
the majority of men to make such a      
meditation a matter of daily habit1     
though this may easily be possible for  
people of leisure4 ,but it may be       
suggested that it is both practicable   
and abundantly worth while for ordinary 
people to allot at least half an hour a 
week for such a purpose4 ,our fathers   
unquestionably fed and nurtured their   
souls to an extraordinary degree by     
spiritual reading4 ,it ought to be      
possible for modern people1 in spite of 

modern distractions1 to acquire and     
maintain the capacity to do the same4   
,,chapter ,,vi  ,,almsgiving ,,and      
,,fasting   ,the two things were        
originally closely connected4 ,men      
fasted in order to give to others the   
savings which resulted from a reduced   
expenditure on personal needs4 ,lent    
savings represent a modern revival of   
this idea4 ,the essence of ,christian   
almsgiving is that it should be the     
expression of ,christian charity or     
love3 and love means the willingness to 
serve others1 at cost to self4 ,gifts   
and subscriptions which represent merely
 the largess of a man's superfluity and 
cost nothing in the way of personal     
self-denial are not really in this sense
 almsgiving4 ,the ,gospel prefers the   
widow's mite to the rich man's large but
 not really generous contribution1 in   
cases where the larger sum represents   
the lesser personal cost4  ,it was the  
rule of the ancient ,jewish ,law that a 
man should give away a tenth part of    

what he possessed1 but this ought not to
 be adopted under modern conditions as a
 literal precept4 ,the poor cannot      
afford to spare so large a fraction of  
their incomes4 ,the wealthy can in many 
cases give away a much larger proportion
 without feeling particularly stinted4  
,it is the duty of every man whose      
income is above the line of actual      
poverty 7i4e4 exceeds what is necessary 
for the literal subsistence in food1    
shelter1 and clothing of himself and    
those dependent upon him for support7 to
 consider with his own conscience before
 ,,god what proportion should be set    
aside for educational and other         
purposes1 and what proportion should be 
directly given away in charity4         
,anonymous subscriptions are the best1  
and the amount available for            
distribution should be carefully        
allocated as between rival claims4      
,details1 of course1 must vary3 but a   
certain proportion should in any case be
 given for the purposes of directly     

religious work at home and abroad4 ,a   
man who really believes in the          
universality of the ,gospel will in     
particular subscribe to the full extent 
of his capacity to foreign missions4    
,with regard to fasting it has been     
suggested in an earlier chapter of this 
book that there should be some personal 
rule of self-denial in a man's life4 ,a 
table of fasts and days of abstinence is
 printed in the ,prayer-book1 though the
 ,church of ,england does not normally  
prescribe in detail how such days are to
 be observed4 ,it is worth remarking    
that the spirit is not necessarily in   
contradiction to the letter2 but        
meticulous outward observances are not  
of the essence of ,christianity1 nor is 
it desirable to obtrude such observances
 in an ostentatious manner in mixed     
society4 ,the rule of the ,gospel with  
regard both to almsgiving and to fasting
 is that such things should be done in  
secret4 ,it is usual1 however1 for      
,church people1 at least in normal      

circumstances1 to pay some special      
regard to the observance of ,lent1 and  
particularly of ,holy ,week1 as a season
 of fasting and self-denial1 and also   
7with a less degree of strictness7 to   
the four weeks of ,advent as leading up 
to ,christmas4 ,it is a good thing to   
enter into the observance of these and  
other seasons of the ,christian year so 
far as circumstances permit3 and at the 
least to make a point1 if it is at all  
possible1 of reading during ,lent and   
,advent a more or less serious book of a
 religious or theological kind1 or in   
other ways endeavouring to deepen1 by   
some special practice or observance1 the
 inward devotional life4 ,the ,sunday   
,collects1 ,epistles1 and ,gospels are  
of course appointed with special        
reference to the significance of the    
various seasons in the ,church's year1  
and provide suitable passages for       
private meditation at such times4       
,advantage may also be taken of the     
special courses of sermons and          

additional services provided in almost  
every parish during the seasons of ,lent
 and ,advent4 ,loyalty to the           
,brotherhood in matters even of minor   
observance is a great principle to be   
borne in mind in this connexion4 ,there 
is usually a method in the ,church's    
madness1 and her prescriptions and      
counsels are the product of a very      
considerable empirical acquaintance with
 the workings of the human soul4  ,,the 
,,end