THERE arc many ways in which the Bible can be and has been read, and during the last fifty years the human mind, or at least that phase of it known as the Anglo-Saxon mind, has gone through many vicissitudes in its attitude toward the Book of books. Fifty years ago it was the secret if not openly expressed conviction of every religiously minded person of English origin, that the Bible was written word for word in heaven, and that to question any of its statements was to be in league with the powers of darkness. Then came the swing of the pendulum to the opposite extreme, when research and criticism penetrated into the most sacred recesses of the Scriptures and seemed for a time to be shattering the very foundations of faith; when Darwin's discoveries apparently undermined the history of the six days of creation, the Babylonian cubes brought into question the authenticity of the ten commandments, and Jacob's twelve sons were resolved into the signs of the zodiac.
Today, however, the Bible is taking its rightful place; the old theory of verbal inspiration has given way to the recognition of the fact that the Bible is a collection of oriental writings, of poetry, drama, and history, expressed largely in symbols, as is the habit of the oriental mind, and scholars are agreed that in its study both the literal and the spiritual interpretation must be taken into account. But infinitely more important than all this is the illumination thrown upon the Bible by Christian Science, enabling the student to endorse every word of St. Paul's admonition to Timothy: "Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness" (Rev. Ver.). In "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" Mrs. Eddy says: "The Scriptures are very sacred. Our aim must be to have them understood spiritually, for only by this understanding can truth be gained" (p. 547); and so the Christian Scientist can enjoy the wonders of the Bible "freed from the superstitions of a senior age," and learn marvelous things about God and man from its genius.
It is evident that Jesus was a profound student of the old Hebrew Scriptures, that he drew his inspiration largely from them, that he gained strength from their sublime promises, and in the supreme moment on the cross he refreshed his courage and his conviction from that great psalm which, beginning with the cry of anguish, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" ascends to a vision of power and glory unequaled perhaps in the whole range of Hebrew poetry and prophecy.
