Produced by Al Haines SOME ESSENTIALS _of_ RELIGION VOL. I LAYMAN'S LIBRARY OF PRACTICAL RELIGION Editorial Council: THE RT. REV. J. C. ROPER, LL.D., D.D. Bishop of Ottawa, (Chairman) THE RT. REV. E. J. BIDWELL, D.D., D.C.L. Bishop of Ontario THE RT. REV. J. A. RICHARDSON, D.D., D.C.L. Bishop of Fredericton THE RT. REV. A. J. DOULL, D.D. Bishop of Kootenay TORONTO THE MUSSON BOOK COMPANY LIMITED Copyright, Canada, 1922 By THE EDITORIAL COUNCIL FOREWORD These chapters have not been written for hurried reading; they are studies of Central and Vital Truths, for those who wish to think them out again under the guidance of the Church. JOHN CHARLES, OTTAWA. Note:--In placing these books before Church people through the churches no financial gain is contemplated for anyone concerned. Those who are initiating the Library, and all the writers, are content if the Church they serve is benefited thereby. CONTENTS I. God, our Father. By the Rt. Rev. J. C. Roper, LL.D., D.D., Bishop of Ottawa II. Fundamental Thoughts about Jesus Christ. By the Rt. Rev. E. J. Bidwell, D.D., D.C.L., Bishop of Ontario III. The Bible. By the Ven. Archdeacon Paterson-Smyth, D.D., D.Litt., Montreal IV. What Is Faith. By Rev. H. M. Little, L.S.T., Montreal V. Prayer. By the Very Rev. D. T. Owen, Dean of Niagara VI. Holy Communion. By the Rt. Rev. A. J. Doull, D.D., Bishop of Kootenay VII. Immortality. By Rev. Canon Cody, D.D., LL.D., Toronto GOD OUR FATHER By The Rt. Rev. J. C. Roper, LL.D., D.D. Bishop of Ottawa. VITAL IMPORTANCE OF THE TOPIC The first word of the Layman's Library may properly be a message from Laymen. These are the terms of it. "The hope of a brotherhood of a humanity reposes on the deeper spiritual truth of the Fatherhood of God. In the recognition of the fact of that Fatherhood and of the divine purpose of the world, which are central to the message of Christianity, we shall discover the ultimate foundation for the reconstruction of an ordered and harmonious life for all men." These words have a theological ring about them. They are however the words not of theologians, but of representative and responsible statesmen in conference on urgent questions of public welfare. The message was issued by the premiers of Great Britain and of all British Dominions to all citizens of the British Empire. It forms a remarkable confession of faith in the spiritual basis of human life. The peace of the world depends on goodwill among men, and goodwill among men rests on spiritual forces, and of these forces the source of all and the greatest of all is the fact of God our Father and of His gracious purpose for the world. WHERE CAN WE LEARN OF GOD?