Religious Reality | Page 2

thought, and to a certain extent the wording, of parts of his own essay on "The Principle of Authority" in Foundations.
For help in the correction of the proofs, and for criticisms and suggestions which have led to numerous modifications and improvements in matters of detail, the thanks of the writer are due to various friends, and more particularly to his brother, Lieutenant A. C. Rawlinson, of the Queen's Own Oxfordshire Hussars; to the Rev. Austin Thompson, Vicar of S. Peter's, Eaton Square; and to the Rev. Leonard Hodgson, Vice-Principal of S. Edmund Hall, Oxford.
_November_, 1917.

CONTENTS
PREFACE BY THE BISHOP OF LICHFIELD
INTRODUCTION
PART I
THE THEORY OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
CHAP.
I. THE MAN CHRIST JESUS
II. THE REVELATION OF THE FATHER
III. THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE SPIRIT
IV. THE HOLY TRINITY
V. THE PROBLEM OF EVIL
VI. SIN AND REDEMPTION
VII. THE CHURCH AND HER MISSION IN THE WORLD
VIII. PROTESTANT AND CATHOLIC
IX. SACRAMENTS
X. THE LAST THINGS
XI. CLERGY AND LAITY
XII. THE BIBLE
PART II
THE PRACTICE OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION
I. THE CHRISTIAN AIM
II. THE WAY OF THE WORLD
III. THE SPIRIT AND THE FLESH
IV. THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL
V. THE KINGDOM OF GOD
VI. CHRISTIANITY AND COMMERCE
VII. CHRISTIANITY AND INDUSTRY
VIII. CHRISTIANITY AND POLITICS
IX. CHRISTIANITY AND WAR
X. LOVE, COURTSHIP, AND MARRIAGE

PART III
THE MAINTENANCE OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE
I. HOW TO BEGIN
II. PRAYER
III. SELF-EXAMINATION AND REPENTANCE
IV. CORPORATE WORSHIP AND COMMUNION
V. THE DEVOTIONAL USE OF THE BIBLE
VI. ALMSGIVING AND FASTING

INTRODUCTION
Vital religion begins for a man when lie first discovers the reality of the living GOD. Most men indeed profess a belief in GOD, a vague acknowledgment of the existence of "One above": but the belief counts for little in their lives.
GOD, if He exists at all, must obviously be important: and it is conceivable that He prefers the dogmatic atheism of a man here and a man there, or the serious agnosticism of a slightly larger number, to the practical indifference of the majority. "There are two attitudes, and only two, which are worthy of a serious man: to serve GOD with his whole heart, because he knows Him; or to seek GOD with his whole heart, because he knows Him not."
The ordinary Englishman is in most cases nominally a Christian. As a rule he has been admitted in infancy by baptism into the Christian Church. But he is ignorant of the implications of his baptism, and indifferent to the claims of a religion which he fails to understand. These pages are written with the object of explaining what, in the writer's judgment, the faith and practice of the Christian Church really is.

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 Christ. Scholars for about a hundred years have been studying the Gospels historically, "like any other books." It is now reasonably certain that the first three Gospels--those which we know as the Gospels according to S. Matthew, S. Mark, and S. Luke--though not, of course, infallible or accurate in their every detail, reflect nevertheless in a general way a trustworthy portrait of Jesus as He actually lived. The sayings ascribed to Christ in their pages bear the marks of originality. The outline of the events which they describe may be taken as being in rough correspondence with the facts. 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 best.
We are very apt to regard the Gospels conventionally. An inherited orthodoxy which has made peace with the world takes them for granted as "a tale of little meaning, though the words are strong." An impatient reaction from orthodoxy sets them aside as incomprehensible or unimportant. It is worth while making the effort to empty our minds of prejudice, and to allow the Gospels to tell their own tale. We shall find that they bring us face to face with a Portrait of surprising freshness and power.
It is the portrait of One who spent the first thirty years of His life in an obscure Galilaean village, and who in early manhood worked as a carpenter in a village shop. He first came forward in public in connexion with a religious revival initiated by John the Baptist. He was baptized in the Jordan. What His baptism meant to Him is symbolized by the account of a vision which He saw, and a Voice which designated Him as Son of GOD. He became conscious of a religious mission, and was at first tempted to interpret His mission in an unworthy way, to seek to promote spiritual ends by temporal compromises, or to impress men's minds by an appeal to mystery or miracle. He rejected the temptation, and proclaimed simply GOD and His Kingdom. He is said to have healed the sick and to have wrought other "signs and mighty