e predisposition, there
would be nothing for revelation to act upon. Some relation between the
reason which planned the universe, and which has expressed its thoughts
in the numerical relations and archetypal forms which are displayed
therein, and the reason of man, with its ideas of form and number,
proportion and harmony, is necessarily supposed in the statement of Paul
that "the invisible things of God from the creation are seen." Nature to
us could be no symbol of the Divine Thought, if there were no
correlation between the reason of man and the reason of God. All
revelation, indeed, supposes some community of nature, some affinities
of thought, some correlation of ideas, between the mind communicating
spiritual knowledge, and the mind to which the communication is made. In
approaching man, it must traverse ground already occupied by man; it
must employ phrases already employed, and assume forms of thought
already familiar to man. It must address itself to some ideas,
sentiments, and feelings already possessed by man. If religion is the
great end and destination of man, then the nature of man must be
constituted for religion. Now religion, in its inmost nature, is a
communion, a fellowship with God. But no creature can be brought into
this communion "save one that is constitutionally related to God in
terms that admit of correspondence." There must be intelligence offered
to his intelligence, sentiment to his sentiment, reason to his reason,
thought to his thought. There must be implanted in the human mind some
fundamental ideas and determinations grounded upon this fact, that the
real end and destination of man is for religion, so that when that
higher sphere of life and action is presented to man, by an outward
verbal revelation, there shall be a recognized harmony between the inner
idea and determination, and the outer revelation. We can not doubt that
such a relation between human nature and reason, and Christianity,
exists. We see evidences of this in the perpetual strivings of humanity
to attain to some fuller and clearer apprehension of that Supreme Power
which is consciously near to human thought, and in the historic
development of humanity towards those higher forms of thought and
existence which demand a revelation in order to their completion. This
original capacity, and this historical development, have unquestionably
prepared the way for the reception of Christianity.

Christianity, then, must have some