The Nature And Purpose Of A Christian Society

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Excerpt from The Nature and Purpose of a Christian Society Probably most prefaces are postscripts, and I may say at once that this one is no exception. Some who have seen this lecture in proof have suggested the question, Why should a Lecture given to the Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends lean in this direction? "It is all an appeal to the practice of the historic Church," writes one such reader, "whereas the Quaker differentia is, for the most part, an appeal against the historic Church, 'the apostasy, ' in fact, to quote George Fox." I pass by the second clause here, and I admit the first, with a qualification; I appeal to the experience of the historic Church, and, if future readers of this lecture wish to know why, I will tell them. George Fox, as I understand it, stood with the mystics generally for the possibility of immediate contact with God, and of direct knowledge of God by God's own communication. "I knew Him not, but by Revelation, as he, who hath the Key, did open." 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.

This book briefly characterizes the many different ways Christianity is currently understood and practiced. These include approaches that center primarily on beliefs and doctrine, those that focus on the support of personal wellbeing, versions of Christianity that nurture special kinds of community in response to particular group identities, those that give attention to Christians' role in society, and those that offer different ways of thinking about the role and function of the church. Long then considers how these traditions relate to each other in both ecumenical and interfaith encounters. He concludes by developing a theological foundation for recognizing and celebrating what is valuable in each of these many diverse approaches. Written primarily as a resources for adult education groups in parish settings, this book will also be of interest to professionals, scholars, and lay readers alike. It considers the strengths and possible limitations of each approach and the challenges that all Christians confront in facing the future.