Hymns in Human Experience

Christianity came to the world on the wings of song. From that memorable night when the angels celebrated the divine grace in "Glory to God in the Highest" up to the present day...

The quality of our faith is made known in times of stress and storm, when appearances are anything but favorable and the outlook is bleak and barren. Just as the courage of the...

The impelling motives of patriotism are best expressed in the national anthems of the nations and in songs which breathe the spirit of loyalty to country. Devotion to the ideals...

The Christian assurance of immortality brings its message of consolation most appropriately in life's darkest hours when death invades the family circle. No one has pierced the...

The questioning attitude of youth is impelled by a desire for deeper reality. Some of their words and ways may scandalize the conventional, but back of it all we find eager sinc...

When faced by the stern realities of life and death, it is not easy for any person to practice the subtle art of camouflage so far as faith and destiny are concerned. The experi...

It may be disputed whether religion is an inheritance or an acquisition but the fact remains that the influence of personality is the final explanation. And who has exercised su...

These two great festivals of the Christian year fittingly celebrate the Incarnation and Resurrection of Christ. Just as hope came with the Saviour of the world, so hope was quic...

It has been rightly observed that the three ideas most frequently expressed by Jesus are translated by the words lost, last, least. He constantly repeated the message that the l...

Even in these days of pulpit exchanges, ministers show their denominational alliances in their sermons. Not so when it comes to hymns, which are more catholic and comprehensive...

When our feelings are deeply stirred by a crisis it is the most natural thing to turn to God in prayer. Such an acknowledgment of the divine resourcefulness in the face of human...

Hope is the great gift of Christianity. It pierces through the darkness and rejoices in the light beyond. It looks through the cloud and is assured that the sun is shining in th...

The Cross is the triumphant symbol of a militant and puissant Christianity. It tells of "love divine, all loves excelling." It sustains hope in the final victory of good. It est...

Whatever else may be said about _The Green Pastures_ by Marc Connelly, it obviously represents the naive and simple faith of thousands of untutored black Christians in the South...

Some of the world's greatest books were written in prison. Think of the Epistles of St. Paul which came from such secluded confines. _The Pilgrim's Progress_, which has been tra...