his laws; and yet it is obvious that there is a real difference between
the revelation recorded in a scientific book and that of the Bible. It
is a difference both in subject-matter and in the ends to which the
truth thus made manifest shall be applied. The one relates to the
objective world, the world of things; the other relates to human
beliefs, emotions, and acts.

[Sidenote: _Its breadth and gradualness_]

Moreover, it is evident that the spiritual revelation which is in part
recorded in the Bible was not limited to the Israelitish race or to the
twelve centuries represented by the Old and New Testaments. The biblical
writers themselves assume this fact. According to the early Judean
prophetic narratives, Enoch, who lived ages before Abraham and Moses,
was a worshipper of Jehovah (Gen. iv. 26). Cain and Abel are both
represented in the familiar story of Genesis iv., as bringing their
offerings to Jehovah. One of the chief teachings of the earliest stories
in the Old Testament is that men from the first knew and worshipped God
and were held responsible for their acts according to their moral
enlightenment. History, science, and the Bible unite in testifying that
the revelation of spiritual truth to mankind was something gradual,
progressive, and cumulative; also that it is dependent upon the ability
of men to receive it. This capacity of the individual to receive is,
after all, the determining factor in the process of divine revelation;
for God's truth and his desire to impart it are always the same. Hence,
whenever conditions favor, or national or private experiences clarify
the vision of a race or group of men, a revelation is assured.

[Sidenote: _Antiquity of human civilization and religion_]