Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. THE OLDER DOCTRINE. "And when you can not prove that people are wrong, but only that they are absurd, the best course is to Ut them alone."—Huxley. THE greater part of the present and immediately following chapters was written in the earlier years of authorship, when the writer's judgment had more of the severity of immaturity, and when his emotions were keenly alive to the dangers of conventional error. While the same ideas and criticisms might now be phrased in more moderate terms by the conservatism bred of added years, a change would not in fitness serve the purpose of this work, for the author has designed portrayal of the evolution of religious thought in an untratnmeled mind, and such progress runs from youth to age in its normal course, chancing the loss of its significance of form, in various stages, if the end were to return to re-mould the beginning. The crudities of inexperienced thought may well be removed by rational revision ; but character of expression may justly change its garb, from Spring to Fall, trusting to the reader's ready sympathy of comprehension to understand the spirit of incautious enthusiasm with which a crusader engages in his earlier conflicts. CHAPTER III. THE OLDER DOCTRINE. TAKING a brief glance at the Old Testament, it will be found that the acts and commands of its Lord alone are important for the purposes of the present investigation. Volumes have been written in exhaustive criticism of its historical truth, its contradictions, exaggerations, etc. It has even been argued that a large portion was intended as romance and parable, instead of for literal acceptance. As it stands, however, certain lines convey very plain meanings. If Christians themselves act in disregard of its laws, we can assuredly be allowed the ri... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.