dance he is still
dependent upon it, he must guard against the error of setting up his
own imperfect Christian consciousness as the ultimate criterion for all.

{36}

Up to the present time no individual has reached the stage of
experience where he may be appealed to as final authority for all.
Perhaps the sum total of the general Christian consciousness would
prove a more reliable guide, or the Church in so far as it embodies
this consciousness. But it also still falls short of its final glory.
It is in the process of development toward perfection, but it has not
yet reached that stage, and will not reach it until the consciousness
of every individual contributing to it reflects the consciousness of
Jesus himself. Then, and then only, can it be appealed to as an
ultimate criterion in matters religious or Christian, including the
specific question under consideration: What in the Old Testament is
from God, and so, permanent, and what is due to the human limitations
of the authors, and so, temporary and local?

It seems, therefore, necessary to appeal at the present time to what
may be called, in a sense, an external standard: the spirit, the
teaching, and the life of Jesus as it may be determined objectively
from the gospel records. The supreme position occupied by Jesus the
Christ in Christian thinking is well described by W. N. Clarke: "He
[Jesus Christ] has shown God as he is in his character and relations
with men. He has represented life in its true meaning, and opened to
us the real way to genuine welfare and success in existence. {37} What
he has made known commends and proves itself as true by the manner in
which it fits into the human scheme, meets human needs, and renders
thought rational and life successful. God eternally is such a being as
Jesus represents him to be--this is the heart of Christianity, to be
apprehended, not first in thought but first in life and love, and this
is forever true. And it is a revelation never to be superseded, but
forever to be better and better known."[9] By this standard, called by
Clarke the Christian element in the Bible, the Old Testament teaching
must be measured; and by the application of this standard alone is it
possible to separate the human from the divine and to estimate rightly
the permanent value of Old or New Testament teaching. Whatever in the
Scriptures endures this test may be received as of permanent religious
value, because it is divine in the dee