[1] Gordon's views were largely shaped by Robertson, who believed that the settlers' lax attitudes towards irregular church services and lukewarm spirituality could only be remedied by missionaries.

Gordon felt called to be one of these missionaries and establish not only churches, but Christian social and moral reform in Western Canada.

[1] To this end, Gordon completed his theological training in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he was even further affirmed in his desire to bring the church to Western Canada.

[3] Glengarry County, Ontario, where Charles would be born, was backwoods country, situated on the St. Lawrence River, and composed of Scottish immigrants.

It was characterized by the Scottish virtues of religion, hard-work, and stern Calvinism, but with the addition of wry wit and a passion for theological debates.

Daniel Gordon had a reputation as a fiery Highland preacher who inspired both fear and awe with his sermons on sin and the final judgement.

[6] In his autobiography, Charles Gordon remembered that his mother's discipline was mild but never failed to fill him with remorse: after chastising, she would make her children kneel in prayer with her.

As Gordon described, "no matter how filled with anger my heart might be, before the prayer was ended the love and grief in her voice and the tears in her eyes never failed to break me up.

[3] According to Keith Wilson, "The Christian warmth of his home, the surrounding forests of pine and balsams, the hard physical life of the settlers and the carefree gaiety of the youngsters were all integral parts of his education.

"[10] Schooling at this time in Canada West was expensive, and Daniel Gordon could not afford to send his boys on his own salary.

As Wilson summarizes, "Determination and hard-work became characteristic of young Charles, and these qualities assured his success at St. Mary's Collegiate Institute where he first met the challenge of classical scholarship.

[16] While attending the University of Toronto, Gordon was inspired by a lecture given by Reverend James Robertson, the Presbyterian superintendent of missions to Manitoba and the North West.

[17] There, Gordon was set the task of organizing parish life for the settlers in the province created by Louis Riel's last armed resistance.

[19] Scientific advancements and biblical criticism could be acknowledged without sacrificing what they saw to be the core of Christianity: the need for salvation and the preaching of personal conversion.

It was through progress and growth that these denominations were affirmed in their mission, and thus they felt it necessary to compete with an increasingly secular culture to reverse the trends of decline that they were seeing.

[23] Throughout his life, Gordon never swayed from his role as minister, while also writing, and serving in prominent public positions, such as moderator of the Presbyterian Church in 1922.

[25] This experience greatly influenced his writing during these years, as he focused on the war cause, the soldier's lives, and the deaths he witnessed every day.

[25] As a result of his dedication to his missionary tasks in Western Canada, Gordon began his literary career and wrote a fictionalized account of life in the northwest.

[27] In his novels, a missionary hero is often faced with tremendous difficulty in bringing Christianity to the wild frontier, and the men in particular posed a great challenge.

His early novels also highlighted important religious questions, such as the presence of a loving God and individual mortality, making such issues real and tangible.

[29] The drunkenness, violence and profanity present in his writing that was associated with the antagonists of his stories were portrayed as products of the western frontier and were not meant to be interpreted as alienation from God.

While the book was moderately successful in Canada, his second novel, The Sky Pilot, gained him international attention in 1899 and the reputation of 'Ralph Connor' was officially launched.

[34] While Connor's audiences responded to the straightforward appeals for conversion and the presentation of the gospel in simple style, most critics have dismissed the Christianity in his novels as being oversimplified, and therefore not worthy of significant attention.

[32] Early criticism of his romantic view of the West presented in his novels stemmed from the experiences of other Western missionaries as they had felt "blocked and frustrated by the isolation, emptiness, and seeming permanence of the wilderness in which [they] worked".

[35] The harsh experiences faced by missionaries made it difficult for many to regard the Canadian West as an area that would spark religious revival.

"[37] While attending Knox College, Gordon reported in the school's monthly newspaper that "men's hearts grow harder when for a few years they are without the softening influence of the gospel; and the tone of morality is such that open vice makes no discord".

Charles Gordon's impression of the religious situation in the Canadian West was strikingly similar to that of Superintendent Robertson and was inspired by him to apply his talents within Canada rather than take part in foreign mission work.

[38] In addition, Gordon observed that worship services in the West were infrequent and found traditional forms of preaching and Bible study to be uninspiring.

[49] The Ralph Connor House, located on the Assiniboine River in the Armstrong's Point neighbourhood of Winnipeg, was the home of Charles Gordon, wife Helen, and their seven children.

"[50] Their vision is to "be a centre and meeting place that fosters the work of people who are committed to education, social justice, healthy communities, human rights, music, art, literature and intellectual activity.