ANDOVER-HARVARD 747336 Copyright, 1916, by Printed in the United States of America First Edition Printed March, 1916 CHAPTER I THE WORLD WITHOUT A BIBLE THE Bible was not given to man at the beginning of his career. Only after the lapse of many centuries did it appear, as product and instrument of the growing life of the race. When it did come, it was not one sudden burst of light, but it crept in softly, little by little, as the mind of man slowly readjusted itself to its changing conditions and new method of receiving divine revelations. It was one of the later methods chosen by God for manifesting himself to men. That religion of the highest order and ethical conduct of the finest quality were possible without the Bible was proven by the unanswerable argument that they existed and flourished through long periods and among different nations before there was a Bible. That a Bible was not given is sufficient evidence that it was not necessary to the well-being and religious development of the race in the beginning; God had other and adequate methods. |