THE PROBLEM OF THE PERSON OF CHRIST 263 



seen ; they to the nation of which they were big- 

 oted partisans. If we try to account for Him by 

 atavism, we have to imagine the existence of an- 

 cestors of whom there is no historical record. 



There remains yet one other possible explana- 

 tion which by some is seriously and even rever- 

 ently advanced. It is said Jesus was unique ; the 

 loftiest height ever reached by humanity ; " the 

 one whose worship will grow young without ceas- 

 ing," but He was what the biologists call a 

 "sport." Let us treat this theory with the re- 

 spect which it deserves. We freely grant that 

 nothing should ever be ascribed to the super- 

 natural which admits of a natural interpretation. 

 What is a " sport .-' " In science it is " an animal 

 or plant, or any part of one, that varies suddenly 

 or singularly from the normal type or structure, 

 and is usually of transient character and not 

 perpetuated. A sport is generally an individ- 

 ual variation of apparently spontaneous origin." 

 (Century Dictionary.) Only in this way can we 

 account for the men of supreme genius, like 

 Luther, Shakespeare, Shelley, and Keats. But 

 when this explanation is applied to Jesus, does 

 it satisfy ? It may be the prejudice of long 

 years of Christian training, but for one I must 

 pronounce it utterly unsatisfactory. I cannot 



