Practical Religion

In his preface to Practical Religion, Bishop J.C. Ryle (1816-1900) wrote, “The present volume contains a series of papers about practical religion and deals with the daily duties, dangers, experiences and privileges of all who profess and call themselves Christians. I now send forth this volume with an earnest prayer that God the Holy Spirit may bless it, and make it useful and helpful to many souls.” By practical religion Ryle does not mean a religion of works, but one in which those who are saved can put their faith into practice. Ryle was appointed the first Bishop of Liverpool in 1880 and was the leader of the Evangelical party in the Church of England for more than half a century. He is highly regarded for his plain and lively writings on practical and spiritual themes, and their usefulness and impact have been consistently recognized and remain as wise and relevant today as when he first wrote them.