Henry van Dyke
Personal Information
Description
Henry van Dyke, a writer, minister, and outdoorsman, was popular in the early decades of the 20th century. He was a man of numerous talents and enormous energy whose works included short stories, poems, and essays. His literary work blends with the recurring theme of religion and nature. His philosophy of art is best reflected in his statement: “The highest element in the best art is always moral, and fitted to make men and women better as well as happier.” Henry van Dyke’s works involved elevating sympathy for man, fostering companionship with nature, and promoting a reverent view of life.
Books
A Treasury of Christmas Classics
"Even unto Bethlehem"
A Word to the Reader: Thinking a dreaming over the reality of the first Christmas and how Jesus of Nazareth came to be born in Bethlehem, I was given this story. It does not claim to be a historical record. It is a picture drawn by imagination looking for the truth. But there is nothing here that is out of harmony with the Gospels, nothing that does not belong to the holy land and time when these things came to pass. I know the long trail between Galilee and Judea by foot and heart. Thus the story seems to me true.
What peace means
This little book contains three plain sermons which were preached in New York in the Easter season of 1919, in the Park Avenue Presbyterian Church, of which my son is minister. I had no thought that they would ever be printed. They were, and are, just daily bread discourses meant to serve the spiritual needs of a congregation of Christian people, seekers after truth, inquirers about duty, strangers and pilgrims, in the great city and the troubled world.But if, as friends think, these simple chapters may be of service through the printed page to a larger circle of readers, I willingly and freely let them go.May the blessing of Jesus follow them on their humble path. May the Spirit of Truth bring them home to some hearts that want them, - to those who desire to escape from evil and do good, - to those who "seek peace and ensue it."