THE FALL OF MAN 141 



proceed from one divine mind; and, when correctly 

 generalized, cohere together in an intelligible and sig- 

 nificant unity. 



(a) Remembering that the Eden narrative cannot 

 be regarded as demonstrably historical in its details, 

 we ought not to rest any argument upon the assump- 

 tion that it must be interpreted as history in the strict 

 sense of that word. If, however, we believe in its 

 inspiration, we must assume that, whether derived, 

 humanly speaking, from exact knowledge of facts, 

 or from inaccurate traditions, or from pious fancy, 

 or even from mythical material, the narrative referred 

 to is an authoritative medium of divine teaching, so 

 that its spiritual implications constitute trustworthy 

 data for our purpose.^ I believe it to be clear that the 

 narrative implies the non-necessity of man's first trans- 

 gression, its conscious wilfulness, and its being followed 

 by loss of certain spiritual and supernatural advantages 

 previously enjoyed — including communion with God, 

 and divine favour, immunity from shame and sorrow, 

 and the possibility of physical immortality. The nar- 

 rative nowhere indicates the effect of this disaster upon 

 posterity. But the subsequent chapters of Genesis 

 seem to be intended to exhibit man's moral degradation 

 as connected with his being left to battle unaided with 

 the natural imaginations and impulses of his heart. 

 He is described, in brief, as fallen from the original 

 spiritual state of his first parents. The inference that 



1 On the infallibility of Scripture and its relation to the historical 

 value of biblical narratives, see pp. 11 9-1 23, above. 



/t^ 



