i8 77 ] WAS PROPHECY SUPERNATURAL ? 365 



than sympathy with the highest accessible form of appre 

 ciation for the divine unity which underlies the progress of 

 humanity. This appreciation the reflection, so to speak, 

 in the human mind of the stream of the divine progress 

 of the universe is all that can be meant by communion 

 with God. 



It is not my business to go into a refutation of this 

 pantheistic theory of the universe. It is, fortunately, a 

 theory which can be tested on other grounds than that of 

 religion, for every argument which it directs against the 

 true personality of God is also an argument against the 

 true personality of man. 



But I ask you to observe that every spiritual power 

 which has stirred men s hearts, and tended to establish or 

 to spread the spiritual monotheism of which Kuenen so 

 freely admits the value, has been exerted by men whose 

 convictions were directly opposed to the theory. All the 

 prophets were filled with the conviction that they stood 

 face to face with a personal God and in personal communion 

 with Him. The spirit of Jahveh which filled them with 

 might was not the immanent spirit of the universe working 

 in their own hearts, but something distinct from them 

 selves. And so, too, Jesus, in whom Kuenen fully acknow 

 ledges the highest of religious personalities, was never 

 tempted to confound himself with the Father. &quot; Not as 

 I will, but as Thou wilt.&quot; Where can we have more clearly 

 than in these words the distinct persuasion of personal 

 relation to, and personal distinction from, a personal 

 God ? Jesus, as clearly as the prophets, recognises the 

 sharp contrast between man s thoughts and God s revela 

 tion. 



&quot;Flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my 

 Father which is in heaven/ Here, then, is the astounding 

 paradox of Kuenen s view. True religious ideas have been 

 created by those who expressly reject them. The 

 prophets advanced the truth by their intense faith in a lie. 

 Religious creativeness has in all ages depended on faith 



