Public-domain ebook
The Meaning of Faith
Language: en1,084 downloads on Project Gutenberg
Subjects
Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #40482.
About this book
The book is a devotional study that treats faith as an essential, unavoidable element of human life rather than a doctrinal controversy. It opens with the author’s reflection on writing the work amid the “most terrific war” of his time, emphasizing that the text avoids direct war commentary and instead draws on the broader currents of thought shaped by that conflict. From the very first chapter, Fosdick frames faith as “the reasonableness” and “inevitableness” of existence, using biblical passages, especially Hebrews, to argue that belief in the unseen is a prerequisite for any forward‑looking life. The opening pages blend scriptural exposition, historical examples from Abraham to Moses, and a series of daily prayers, establishing a pattern of reflective readings that will continue throughout the volume.
Fosdick’s voice is earnest and scholarly, rooted in early‑20th‑century Protestant thought, yet he reaches beyond sectarian boundaries by citing poets, philosophers, and contemporary leaders. The prose is dense with theological reflection, literary allusion, and frequent prayerful interludes, giving the work a meditative rhythm suited to readers who appreciate thoughtful, essay‑like devotionals. Those who enjoy contemplative studies of belief, particularly people interested in the intersection of faith, history, and personal practice, will find this book a rewarding companion for daily reflection.
Who appears in The Meaning of Faith
- AbrahamMiddle‑aged Near Eastern patriarch, long dark beard, simple robe, solemn expression
- MosesOlder Hebrew leader, staff in hand, flowing mantle, gentle yet authoritative face
The opening · free to read
A book on faith has been for years my hope and intention. And now it comes to final form during the most terrific war men ever waged, when faith is sorely tried and deeply needed. Direct discussion of the war has been purposely avoided; the issues here presented are not confined to those which the war suggests; but many streams of thought within the book flow in channels that the war has worn. Since the conflict had to come, I am glad for this book's sake that it was not written until it had Europe's holocaust for a background.
Against one misunderstanding the reader should be guarded. If anyone approaches these studies, expecting to find detailed and special views of Christian doctrine, he will be disappointed. The perplexities of mind and life and the affirmations of religious faith, with which these studies deal, lie far beneath sectarian doctrinal controversy. I have tried to make clear a foundation on which faith might build its thoughts of Christian truth. And while I have spoken freely of God and Christ and the Spirit, of the Cross and life eternal, I have not intended or endeavored a complete theology. I have had in mind that elemental matter of which Carlyle was thinking when he wrote: "The thing a man does practically lay to heart, and know for certain concerning his vital relations to the mysterious Universe, and his duty and destiny there, that is in all cases the primary thing for him, and creatively determines all the rest. That is his religion."
As in "The Meaning of Prayer," the Scripture has been used for the basis and interpretation of the daily thought. The Bible is our supreme record of man's experience with faith; it recounts in terms of life faith's sources and results, its successes and failures, its servants and its foes. And because faith is not a tour de force of intellect alone, but is an act of life, prayers have been used for the expression of aroused desire and resolution.
My indebtedness to many helpers is very great. But to my friend and colleague, Professor George Albert Coe, my gratitude is so definitely due for his careful reading of the manuscript, that the book should not go out lacking an acknowledgment.
H. E. F. December 15, 1917.
The book keeps going
Keep reading, and see it illustrated
Reading is free forever. Sign up and watch scenes appear while you read.
Scenes Storieta drew for other classics.