Excerpt from The Gospel and the Creed Our subject today is the Gospel and the Creed, and I am glad to have the opportunity of addressing some remarks to you on this head, for it is one upon which there is much discussion. Many questions are involved, and I cannot treat them all. Two of the most important, the idea of the Supernatural and the doctrine of our Lond's Person, are in the very able hands of Mr. Selwyn and Mr. Mozley I shall not touch upon either of these subjects. I wish to say a few words upon a matter which seems to me of vital importance at the present time - the function of a definite faith, expressible in definite terms, in the shape of a creed, in the proclama tion of the Gospel of Christ. There has been, as we all know, a prevalent notion that Christianity needs no positive doctrine - no dogma. Its functions are fulfilled if men are virtuous and chari table, and when that is so, it does not matter much what they believe. I greatly hope that this theory of religion is gradually dying of inanition. Christianity has always been, when it is at its best, a missionary religion: it is hard to imagine a more futile programme for missionary work than a Gospel, so-called, without a creed. It is merely homiletic when it ought to inspire with new force and enthusiasm: and it leaves all the real problems of nature and life and religion out of account. The hope of Reunion, which has been seriously delayed by the prevalence of such notions as these, will probably extinguish them finally, now that the task of finding an agreed basis has been at last taken up with determina tion and goodwill. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.