The Hope of the Gospel gathers meditative sermons in which George MacDonald reads Jesus' words with uncompromising moral clarity. Salvation, he insists, is deliverance from sin into filial obedience under the Father's purifying love. In lucid, lyrical homiletic prose, he expounds parables and the Sermon on the Mount, blending close biblical exegesis with Victorian essayistic earnestness and a Romantic, humane imagination. A Scottish Congregational minister turned novelist and theologian, MacDonald wrote from hard-won pastoral experience and a childhood amid stern Calvinism. His break with punitive atonement and his sympathy for doubters shape these pages. The same imagination that animates his fairy tales appears here transposed to theology-childhood, obedience, and joy becoming the grammar by which holiness is made intelligible. Scholars of Victorian religion, admirers of C. S. Lewis's mentor, and seekers wary of legalistic piety will find this a bracing companion for prayer and practice. Read slowly: its argument is clear, its consolations earned, and its demands uncompromising. The Hope of the Gospel remains a humane, rigorous guide to Christian ethics and the recovery of hope.
Quickie Classics summarizes timeless works with precision, preserving the author's voice and keeping the prose clear, fast, and readable-distilled, never diluted. Enriched Edition extras: Introduction · Synopsis · Historical Context · Brief Analysis · 4 Reflection Q&As · Editorial Footnotes.
