osmology, were subjected to wholesome
corrections--by the Monarchians, by Athanasius, and by the influence of
biblical passages which pointed in another direction. Finally, the Logos
doctrine received a form in which the idea was deprived of nearly all
cosmical content. Nor could the Hellenic contrast of "spirit" and
"flesh" become completely developed in Christianity, because the belief
in the bodily resurrection of Christ, and in the admission of the flesh
into heaven, opposed to the principle of dualism a barrier which Paul as
yet neither knew nor felt to be necessary. The conviction as to the
resurrection of the flesh proved the hard rock which shattered the
energetic attempts to give a completely Hellenic complexion to the
Christian religion.

The history of the development of the ideas of pre-existence is at the
same time the criticism of them, so that we need not have recourse to
our present theory of knowledge which no longer allows such
speculations. The problem of determining the significance of Christ
through a speculation concerning his natures, and of associating with
these the concrete features of the historical Christ, was originated by
Hellenism. But even the New Testament writers, who appear in this
respect to be influenced in some way by Hellenism, did not really
speculate concerning the different natures, but, taking Christ's
spiritual nature for granted, determined his religious significance by
his moral qualities--Paul by the moral act of humiliation and obedience
unto death, John by the complete dependence of Christ upon God and hence
also by his obedience, as well as the unity of the love of Father and
Son. There is only one idea of pre-existence which no empiric
contemplation of history and no reason can uproot. This is identical
with the most ancient idea found in the Old Testament, as well as that
prevalent among the early Christians, and consists in the religious
thought that God the Lord directs history. In its application to Jesus
Christ, it is contained in the words we read in 1 Pet. I. 20: [Greek:
proegnosmenos men pro kataboles kosmou, phanerotheis de di' humas tous
di' autou pistous eis theon ton egeiranta auton ek nekron kai doxan
autoi donta, hoste ten pistin humon kai elpida einai eis theon].

[Footnote 452: These hints will have shewn that Paul's theory occupies a
middle position between the Jewish and Greek ideas of pre-existence. In
the canon, however, we have another group of w