The first word of the Layman's Library may properly be a message from
Laymen. These are the terms of it.
"The hope of a brotherhood of a humanity reposes on the deeper
spiritual truth of the Fatherhood of God. In the recognition of the
fact of that Fatherhood and of the divine purpose of the world, which
are central to the message of Christianity, we shall discover the
ultimate foundation for the reconstruction of an ordered and harmonious
life for all men."
These words have a theological ring about them. They are however the
words not of theologians, but of representative and responsible
statesmen in conference on urgent questions of public welfare. The
message was issued by the premiers of Great Britain and of all British
Dominions to all citizens of the British Empire. It forms a remarkable
confession of faith in the spiritual basis of human life. The peace of
the world depends on goodwill among men, and goodwill among men rests
on spiritual forces, and of these forces the source of all and the
greatest of all is the fact of God our Father and of His gracious
purpose for the world.