104 VEN. ARCHDEACON WILLIAM SINCLAIR, D.D., ON 



" Christian scholars are no doubt entirely serious in their 

 acceptance of the conclusions of the ' natural ' theory of the Old 

 Testament, but there must grow up, indeed, there has grown up, a 

 perception of the incompatibility of their belief as Christians in an 

 historical revelation, culminating in the Incarnation, with a set of 

 results wrought out on the basis of a purely naturalistic view of 

 Israel's history and religion — which, in fact, as will be discovered, 

 reduces the bulk of that history to ruins ! . . ." 



The late date of the documents composing the Pentateuch is 

 employed to support the contention that the narrative of those 

 books is wholly or in great part legendary ; the post-Exilian 

 date of the Leviticus laws is used to destroy the connection of 

 the laws with Moses ; the low date assigned to the Psalms is 

 really a corollary from a particular theory of Israel's develop- 

 ment, and used in turn to buttress that theory. In other ways 

 the literary criticism is really and effectively put at the service 

 of the theory. Books are divided up, or texts manipulated and 

 struck out, till the writing is made to speak the language which 

 the critic desires. The liyper-analysis of documents results in 

 the dissipation of everything of grandeur, consistency and truth- 

 fulness in the narrative. 



Unique Place of the Old Testament in the History of Theology. 



The tendency of purely critical study is to obscure the view 

 of the unique place of the Old Testament in the economy of 

 Eevelation. Pirst there is the Organic Unity of the various 

 parts composing the whole : there are many books, but 

 structurally they are one. There is no such unity in the 

 Pagan Scriptures, the Koran, the Buddhist Canon, the 

 Zendavesta, the Vedas. The Bible has an organic character, 

 marked by plan, purpose and progress ; and the unity grows 

 out of history and religion. Then there is the fulfilment of 

 the Old Testament in the New. The Bible is in two divisions, 

 of which the second is in the simplest and most natural 

 manner the counterpart and completion of the first. The 

 Ideal Servant of Isaiah liii has its only fulfilment in Christ. 

 The Keligion of Israel is one of hope, looking forward to the 

 future, and to a happier day ; the Messiah is the supreme 

 figure which the teachers of Israel anticipate ; and the New 

 Testament realizes the hopes and promises of the Old. This 

 relation is by no means casual or mechanical ; it is inward and 

 vital. Again the history of Israel is animated by a purpose ; 

 not a purpose consciously imputed to it by the writer, but 



