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the book. As might be expected under the circumstances, the work is largely confined to the sources furnished by the writers of the New Testament, especially the gospels. Being untrained in theology, I have not attempted to find my way very far into the alluring by-paths of exegesis. The book is simply the product of a History of Education man, describing a well-known road, when viewed from his own angle. As an educationalist, too, I have inevitably tended toward the use of pedagogical devices. It is my hope that the paragraph headings, the marginal notes, the summaries at the end of the chapters, the supplementary readings, and the final conclusions may all be of value in clarifying the text, making it more interesting, and fixing it in mind.

All of this, however, is not to say that the work is entirely original. Numerous standard books that have been written upon the teachings of Jesus were open to me, and I have not hesitated to read and borrow from many. To render the sources more intelligible and real to the modern mind, I have, with the permission of its publishers (Fleming H. Revell Company), made practically all citations from The Twentieth Century New Testament. Several persons acquainted with the modern study of the Bible have been kind enough to read through the completed manuscript and to eliminate obvious errors and offer most helpful suggestions. Among these martyrs to the cause of friendship I take pleasure in recording my colleague, Professor Arthur J. Jones; Reverend M. Willard Lampe, Ph.D., Secretary for the Presbyterian Students, Christian Association of the University of Pennsylvania; Dr. Edwin E. Slosson, a former

Colleague, now Literary Editor of The Independent; and Reverend Howard M. Stuckert, M.A., Rector of the Church of the Holy Comforter, Philadelphia, and Assistant in History at the University of Pennsylvania. Mr. Stuckert has also furnished me with charts illustrating the synoptic problem, and has endeavored to guide me through the eschatological mazes of the apocalyptic writings. None of these gentlemen, however, should be held responsible for my failure to accept their advice upon mooted questions, or for the actual errors that have probably crept into this book. I have also been aided, as usual, by the painstaking assistance of my wife, Helen Wadsworth Graves.

F. P. G.

Philadelphia, August 1, 1919.

PROPERTY OF THE

CITY OF NEW YORK

WHAT DID JESUS TEACH?

CHAPTER I

HISTORICAL SOURCES FOR THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS

The Historical Method of Approach. - Is Jesus a myth? Or is he to be regarded as historic? If we believe in his historicity, we should wish to study him in the light of history. If his recorded teachings appeal to us, we should approach them by historical methods. To gain an adequate idea of his life and teaching, then, we must resort to the primary sources. As in all other historical study, we should carefully examine the documents bearing upon the subject, influenced as little as possible by personal bias or tradition. It would also seem essential to learn something of the writers of the documents, that we may allow for the temperament, previous experience, point of view, and purpose of each, and, comparing their statements, strike a proper balance between them. In this way only can we hope to arrive at the truth.

Such a procedure, however, has not always been as common as it should be. We often treat the historical material relating to this important subject with a cocksureness amounting to flippancy, such as would not be tolerated in historical research elsewhere. So strong are our traditions, prejudices, and emotions in matters

A study of docuwriters is needed.

ments and their

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