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The Meaning of Faith
Harry Emerson Fosdick was one of the most popular liberal preachers of the early twentieth century, and his The Meaning of Faith is considered by many one of the finest reconciliations of religious belief with modern scientific thought. This charming little book features daily devotional readings focused on understanding faith, reflecting . Faith and Life's Adventure . Faith A Road to Truth . Faith's Intellectual Difficulties . Faith's Greatest Obstacle . Faith and Science . Faith and Moods and other hurdles in honoring one's belief. This thoughtful, friendly interpretation of the holy book of one of the world's dominant faiths is a powerful corrective to reflexively fundamental thinking... just as it was when it was first published in 1917. Also available from Cosimo Fosdick's The Manhood of the Master and The Meaning of Prayer. American theologian HARRY EMERSON FOSDICK (1878-1969) was born in New York, educated at Colgate and Columbia Universities, and served as professor of practical theology at Union Theological Seminary from 1915 to 1946. Among his many works are A Guide to Understanding the Bible (1938) and A Book of Public Prayers (1960).
Paperback
First published November 30, 1916
About the author
Harry Emerson Fosdick
307 books19 followersHarry Emerson Fosdick was an American clergyman. He was born in Buffalo, New York. He graduated from Colgate University in 1900, and Union Theological Seminary in 1904. While attending Colgate University he joined the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. He was ordained a Baptist minister in 1903. Fosdick was the most prominent liberal Baptist minister of the early 20th Century. Although a Baptist, he was Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church on West Twelfth Street and then at the historic, interdenominational Riverside Church (the congregation moved from the then-named Park Avenue Baptist Church, now the Central Presbyterian Church) in New York City.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 2, 2018
A Superior Devotional
I love the layout of this devotional. "Daily Readings" that include the author's commentary, followed by a prayer by someone of the author's choosing, then each week's "Comment for the week." As Fosdick always does, a lot of good points are developed.
Perhaps the reason I give the book four stars instead of five is because it is the second work in a trilogy, and I don't feel that it equals the quality of the first. The first work of the trilogy is "The Meaning of Prayer," which, in my view, is a masterpiece.
I love the layout of this devotional. "Daily Readings" that include the author's commentary, followed by a prayer by someone of the author's choosing, then each week's "Comment for the week." As Fosdick always does, a lot of good points are developed.
Perhaps the reason I give the book four stars instead of five is because it is the second work in a trilogy, and I don't feel that it equals the quality of the first. The first work of the trilogy is "The Meaning of Prayer," which, in my view, is a masterpiece.
September 18, 2026
Yes, it took over two years. I really enjoyed his early twentieth style. I am not sure what I retained out of it but hopefully I will look back at it from time to time.
July 23, 2014
The Meaning Of Faith, Harry Emerson Fosdick, 1917.
The organization of this book is quite curious when one considers it. It is organized in a sequence of 12 weeks of daily readings. One for each day of each week. It also, at the end of each week has a series of commentaries for further reading, review, and meditation.
It was first copyrighted in 1917 and again in 1950. Sadly my copy is showing signs of rough usage and was printed in the era of " dissolving books." That is in the years when publishers used cheap acid produced paper. In addition to this I have at least 58 dog-ears and many more under linings. This in a book of 346 pages.
These essays cover a tremendous variety of arguments in favor of faith, page 15 sets the tone in this excerpt "Discussion about faith generally starts with faith's inevitableness; let us begin with faith's inevitableness." Thus the book begins. Organized in such a way as to give one time to ruminate on what the author wrote and then try to find weaknesses in the arguments. Just my cup of tea.
The end of each of the twelve weeks adds a commentary in Roman numeral headed comments which should also be savored and denuded of mental flesh a day at a time.
So you see that all indications are a meaty read that has depth and weight. Slowly read a day at a time it seems that it permeates one convincingly, but not as propaganda.
One man Father Martin, author of Chalk Talks said "The man who is convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." So true! This book allows you through argument against Mr. Fosdick's writing to convince yourself of the essential nature of faith.
Maybe a little hard to read in places but these books are for growth, require effort, and are not for pure escapism. They teach the essentials of being human. After all you can even back up and read one day a week at your own pace. What could be a better treat for the mind's essential bread of life. After all each day's reading is only a few pages long.
When I took a refreshing look at the book for this review strangely I could not remember a single thing I'd previously read years ago, but I found in re-reading excerpts from it merely at random, that the thoughts contained in the book have over time become my own. A wonderful testimony to the greatness of this book
Carlton R. Smith, Author, The Ignorant Grandfather
website http://theignorantgrandfather.org
The organization of this book is quite curious when one considers it. It is organized in a sequence of 12 weeks of daily readings. One for each day of each week. It also, at the end of each week has a series of commentaries for further reading, review, and meditation.
It was first copyrighted in 1917 and again in 1950. Sadly my copy is showing signs of rough usage and was printed in the era of " dissolving books." That is in the years when publishers used cheap acid produced paper. In addition to this I have at least 58 dog-ears and many more under linings. This in a book of 346 pages.
These essays cover a tremendous variety of arguments in favor of faith, page 15 sets the tone in this excerpt "Discussion about faith generally starts with faith's inevitableness; let us begin with faith's inevitableness." Thus the book begins. Organized in such a way as to give one time to ruminate on what the author wrote and then try to find weaknesses in the arguments. Just my cup of tea.
The end of each of the twelve weeks adds a commentary in Roman numeral headed comments which should also be savored and denuded of mental flesh a day at a time.
So you see that all indications are a meaty read that has depth and weight. Slowly read a day at a time it seems that it permeates one convincingly, but not as propaganda.
One man Father Martin, author of Chalk Talks said "The man who is convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." So true! This book allows you through argument against Mr. Fosdick's writing to convince yourself of the essential nature of faith.
Maybe a little hard to read in places but these books are for growth, require effort, and are not for pure escapism. They teach the essentials of being human. After all you can even back up and read one day a week at your own pace. What could be a better treat for the mind's essential bread of life. After all each day's reading is only a few pages long.
When I took a refreshing look at the book for this review strangely I could not remember a single thing I'd previously read years ago, but I found in re-reading excerpts from it merely at random, that the thoughts contained in the book have over time become my own. A wonderful testimony to the greatness of this book
Carlton R. Smith, Author, The Ignorant Grandfather
website http://theignorantgrandfather.org
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews