ation from the great Creator of all
things. The writers who used these expressions did not mean that as
reason is given by God, so whatever reason may excogitate is the word of
God. They would not have used these expressions concerning Truth that
may be found in heathen writers. They believed and recorded that God had
manifested himself audibly to the ears, and visibly to the eyes of men.
They did not therefore hold the doctrine that supernatural revelation
is impossible, or derogatory to reason or inconsistent with the nature
and attributes of Him who is eternal.

"It is almost needless to refer to instances. God spake with Adam, with
Cain, with Noah. In the latter case the communication led to such
actions, and was followed by such results, that without rejecting the
history altogether, there can be no doubt of a miraculous communication.
Noah knew of the coming flood--built an ark for himself and a multitude
of animals--prepared food--was saved with his family, while the world
perished--floated for months on the waters, and when he came out, had
again a manifestation of the Deity. So Abraham, so Moses, not now to
recount any more. Indeed the writer referred to does not deny this. He
admits that in Scripture the knowledge of divine things is referred
immediately to the Revelation of God, and that though the modes of this
Revelation are various, they appear often to overstep the laws and
course of nature. He enumerates as modes of revelation, Epiphanies of
God himself, of angels--heavenly voices--dreams--afflatus, or the Holy
Spirit.

"How then does he reconcile this with his denial of all supernatural
revelation, or show that these Epiphanies of God and angels, were mere
developments of reason? He does not try to reconcile them at all. He
simply rejects them as false. He comes directly into collision with the
credibility and veracity of the Scripture narratives, and therefore
leaves us no alternative but to disbelieve the Bible as fabulous, or to
reject Rationalism as inconsistent with our rule of faith. This system
not only generally denies the possibility of supernatural revelation,
but asserts that all the particular narratives of all such
communications from God are incredible; nothing better than ghost
stories or fairy tales; equally unworthy of God and man, the offspring
of an ignorant and unenlightened age and nation, and therefore rejected
by these men of reason and science. How this differs from the doctrine