It seems, therefore, necessary to appeal at the present time to what may be called, in a sense, an external standard: the spirit, the teaching, and the life of Jesus as it may be determined objectively from the gospel records. The supreme position occupied by Jesus the Christ in Christian thinking is well described by W. N. Clarke: "He [Jesus Christ] has shown God as he is in his character and relations with men. He has represented life in its true meaning, and opened to us the real way to genuine welfare and success in existence. {37} What he has made known commends and proves itself as true by the manner in which it fits into the human scheme, meets human needs, and renders thought rational and life successful. God eternally is such a being as Jesus represents him to be--this is the heart of Christianity, to be apprehended, not first in thought but first in life and love, and this is forever true. And it is a revelation never to be superseded, but forever to be better and better known."[9] By this standard, called by Clarke the Christian element in the Bible, the Old Testament teaching must be measured; and by the application of this standard alone is it possible to separate the human from the divine and to estimate rightly the permanent value of Old or New Testament teaching. Whatever in the Scriptures endures this test may be received as of permanent religious value, because it is divine in the deepest sense. NOTES ON CHAPTER I [1] Modern Criticism and the Preaching of the Old Testament, p. 19. [2] Studies in Christianity, p. 73. [3] Primitive Semitic Religions To-day, p. 14. [4] Letters on the Inspiration of the Scriptures, Letter I. [5] Quoted in the Old Testament Student, Vol. VIII, p. 84. [6] The Law and the Prophets, p. 16. [7] The Bible, Its Origin and Nature, pp. 160, 161. [8] 1 Cor. 2. 15. [9] The Use of the Scriptures in Theology, pp. 51, 52. {38} CHAPTER II THE OLD TESTAMENT AND MODERN SCIENCE