the essential need, and INTRODUCT. see how far the expression of the doctrine of the Church was re-shaped to meet the requirements of successive ages, and how far the language of its formularies was suggested by the opinions of the times in which they were composed. Nor is this all: we might find in philosophy not only the handmaid, but also the herald of revelation. We might trace in the writings of the heathen world the tendency of man's spontaneous impulses, and the limits of his innate powers. We might compare the natural view of our destiny in Plato or Aristotle, with its fulfilment in the Gospel. We might be taught by them to value the privileges of a divine law, and a definite covenant, when they tell us, in the language of doubt and dependence, that there is something infinitely greater for which our mind still longs at the moment of its noblest triumphs; that the wants which modern scepticism would deny are real and enduring; that the doctrines which Natural Religion has assumed are not the proper heritage of thought; that the crowning mystery of the Incarnation is an idea as true to reason as it is welcome to the heart. the peculiar aspects of divine truth. Yet more, by such a view of the scheme of revelation we should be able to fix the source of the special objections which are brought against it, and to determine their proper relation to the whole. Men are always inclined to exaggerate the importance of a conflict in which they are themselves engaged, and to judge of everything as it affects their own position. A general change in the religious character of an age often leads to the disregard of some element, or the abandonment of some outwork, which is really essential to the perfection and integrity of revealed religion'. And if it be the first duty of an impartial student to estimate the exact force of his personal bias, that he may eliminate its influence before he determines a result, it is no less important for those who would judge rightly of the 1 Cf. an eloquent article by Quinet in the Revue des deux Mondes, 1838. absolute value of current opinions to consider how much INTRODUCT. they owe to the characteristics of the present age, before they are assigned to their proper place as fresh steps in the progressive development of human wisdom. effect of the dern Philoso view of Chris specially During the last two centuries, to speak generally, there The general has been a steady advance from one extreme in philosophy course of moto the other-from naturalism to transcendentalism-and phy the successive assaults on Christianity have exhibited a corresponding change. Religion and metaphysics are now contemplated from within, and not from without: the world has been absorbed in man. In spite of partial reactions the idea of the society, whether in the State or in the Church, has yielded to that of the individual; and whatever may be thought of the true precedence and relation of the two, it is evident that theology cannot have been unaffected by the new point of sight from which it is contemplated. Those on the popular who press the claims of the individual to the utmost find in tianity, and Christianity itself a system of necessary truth, independent of any Gospel histories, and unsupported by any true redemption. They abandon the letter' to secure the 'spirit,' and in exchange for the mysteries of our faith they offer us a law without types, a theocracy without prophecies, a Gospel without miracles, a cluster of definite wants. with no reality to supply them; for the mythic and critical theories, as if in bitter irony, concede every craving which the Gospel satisfies, and only account for the wide spread of orthodox error by the intensity of man's need. Christian apologists have exhibited the influence of the same change. They have been naturally led to connect the teaching of revelation with the instincts of man, and to show that even the mysteries of faith have some analogy with natural feeling or action. Meanwhile the power of Christianity, as embodied in a permanent society-the depository and witness of the truth-has grown less, and so it is now a common thing to depreciate the outward evidences of religion, INTRODUCT. which are not, however, essentially the less important because they appear inconclusive to some minds. Upon the widest view, history perhaps offers the fullest and most philosophical proof of the claims of Christianity; but however this may be, historical evidence necessarily demands attention even where it cannot convince; and as aforetime many who did not believe for Jesus' words, believed for His very works' sake, so still the external array of Christian evidences may kindle the true inner faith, and in turn reflect its glory. on the doctrine of Holy affecting its The doctrine of Holy Scripture is specially liable to the Scripture, as influence of this transition from an objective to a subjective philosophy. The Written Word, by its manifold relations to the action of Providence, and the growth of Christian society, no less than by its combination of Divine and human elements, offers points of contact with every system, and furnishes infinite materials for speculation. A variety of questions arise at the outset of all intelligent study of the Bible which involve the solution of some of the most difficult problems of mental and critical science, and which consequently receive answers in accordance with the existing forms of thought. In what sense, it may be asked, is i. Inspiration, a writing of man God's message? How can we be reasonably assured that the record is exact and complete? In what way are the ordinary rules of criticism affected by the subject matter to which they are applied? It is evidently impossible to discuss such questions at present in detail: probably they do not admit of any abstract discussion; but it may be allowable to suggest some general principles affecting the Inspiration, the Completeness, and the Interpretation of Holy Scripture which may serve to open an approach to the study of it. ii. Complete ness. iii. Interpretation. i. The Inspiration of Scripture. When the first act of the Reformation was closed and the great men had passed away whose presence seemed to supply the strength which was found before in the recog between the and nition of the one living Body of Christ, their followers in- INTRODUCT vested the Bible as a whole with all the attributes of me- The contrast chanical infallibility which the Romanists had claimed for Calvinistic, the Church. Pressed by the necessities of their position the disciples of Calvin were contented to maintain the direct and supernatural action of a guiding power on the very words of the inspired writer, without any regard to his personal or national position. Every part of Scripture was held to be not only pregnant with instruction, but with instruction of the same kind, and in the same sense. Nor could it be otherwise, while men considered the Divine agency of Inspiration as acting externally, and not internally, as acting on man, and not through man. The idea of a vital energy was thus lost in that of a passive state, and growth was reduced to existence; for what is highest in a purely spiritual world becomes lowest in the complex and limited life of man. The rude but sincere violence of fanaticism and the rapid advance of physical science did much to shake this arbitrary theory; and those who were captivated by the first vigorous achievements of historical criticism and mental analysis hastened to the other extreme. The Bible, they said, is merely the book of the legends of modern views the Hebrews, which will yield to the skilful inquirer their residuum of truth like those of the Greeks and Romans. Inspiration is but another name for that poetic faculty which embodies whatever is of typical and permanent import in things around and invests with a lasting form the transitory growths of time. of the Bible. tions to the objective, and It is easy to state the fatal objections which a candid General objec reader of Scripture must feel to both these views; and in a general sense it is not less easy to show how the partial forms of truth, in virtue of which they gained acceptance, may be harmoniously combined. The purely organic theory of Inspiration rests on no Scriptural authority, and, if we except a few ambiguous metaphors, is supported by INTRODUCT. no historical testimony. It is at variance with the whole. subjective theories of form and fashion of the Bible, and is destructive of all that is holiest in man, and highest in religion, which seeks the co-ordinate elevation of all our faculties, and not the destruction of any one of them. If we look exclusively at the objective side of inspiration the prophet becomes a mere soulless machine, mechanically answering the force which moves it, the pen and not the penman of the Holy Spirit. He ceases to be a man while he is affected by the phrensy (pavía) of the heathen seers', and in a momentary influence gives up his whole spiritual growth. But on the Inspiration. other hand, if we regard inspiration only subjectively, we lose all sense of a fresh and living connexion of the prophet with God. He remains indeed a man, but he is nothing more. He appears only to develope naturally a germ of truth which lies within him, and to draw no new supplies of grace and wisdom from without. There is not reunion of the divine and human in his soul on which a Church may rest its faith. He may deduce, interpret, combine truth, but in the absence of a creative power, he is deficient in that which an instinct of our being declares to be the essential attribute of the highest teacher2. Such a theory removes all that is divine in our faith, and 1 Cf. Plat. Phædr. 248 D. It will be seen from his position in the scale that the prophet is regarded as one in whom all human powers are neutralized. Tim. 71 E, ovdels ἔννους ἐφάπτεται μαντικῆς ἐνθέου καὶ ἀληθοῦς, ἀλλ ̓ ἢ καθ ̓ ὕπνον ... ἢ διὰ νόσον ἢ διά τινα ἐνθουσιασμὸν παραλXágas. This idea of an Ecstasy' was applied to the Prophets by the Alexandrian Jews, and adopted by the Montanists, but rejected by the Catholic Church. Cf. App. A, § 2. As to the occurrence of ecstasy' in Scriptural records, cf. p. 12, n. I. Plato's idea of a possible inspiration is interesting: cf. Phæd. 85 D ; Phædr. 244 A; 256 B; and in refer- 2 Пonтýs. Cf. Plat. Conv. 205 σ. ἡ ἐκ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ ὂν ἰόντι ὁτῳοῦν αἰτία πᾶσά ἐστι ποίησις ... ἀπὸ δὲ πάσης τῆς ποιήσεως ἓν μόριον ἀφορισθέν . . . . τῷ τοῦ ὅλου ὀνόματι προσαγορεύεται. |