Excerpt from The Religion of Christ: An Interpretation The position taken in the book is, of course, frankly ethical, and as such in a large sense non sacramentarian. The character ideal in Christianity is regarded as the essential thing first, last, and-all of the time. Room is left for the mystical and spiritual element, but it is frankly recognized that the ethical ideal of Jesus, as embodied in practical living, is the one ultimate test of Christianity. The necessity for formal religion is fully conceded, as is the value of formal correctness in our interpreta tion of the teaching of Christ, but this formal ele ment is never exalted to a place where it supersedes the vital. Christian character is bigger than the Christian Church, big as the latter is. The church exists only to produce character, and, failing in this, is valueless either to the individual or to society. Herein lies a great warning for the church. When ever she ceases to inspire high and noble ideals in her members, she is already on the high road to decay. As the author of the Apocalypse puts it, she must repent and do her first works or else her candlestick will be taken out of its place. 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.