al
activity of false thought, and which builds, incessantly, mental
concepts out of this kind of thought and posits them within itself as
material objects, as its own body, its universe, its all. And he
showed us how, little by little, that human mind's interpretations of
the infinite mind's true ideas became better, under the divine
infiltration of truth, until at last there developed a type, now known
to us as the Jewish nation, which caught a clearer glimpse of truth,
and became conscious of that 'something not ourselves' which makes
for right-thinking, and consequent correct mental concepts and
externalizations. This, then, was the starting point of our religion.
These first glimpses of truth, and their interpretations, as set forth
in the writings of the early Jewish nation, constitute the nucleus of
our Bible.

"But were these records exact statements of truth? Not always. The
primitive human mind could only lisp its wonderful glimpses of truth
in legend and myth. And so in fable and allegory the early Israelites
sought to show the power of good over evil, and thereby stimulate a
desire for right conduct, based, of course, on right-thinking. And
thus it is that the most significant thing in their sacred records is
their many, many stories of the triumph of the spiritual over the
material.

"Time passed. The Hebrew nation waxed prosperous. Their right-thinking
became externalized outwardly in material abundance and physical
comfort. But the people's understanding was not sufficiently great to
shield them from the temptation which material wealth and power always
constitute. Their vision gradually became obscured. The mist of
materialism spread over it. Those wonderful flashes of truth ceased to
dart across their mental horizon. Their god became a magnified concept
of the human man, who dickered with them over the construction of his
temples, and who, by covenants, bribes, and promises, induced them to
behave themselves. Prophecy died. And at length the beautiful vision
faded quite away.

"Then followed four hundred human years, during which the vicissitudes
of the Hebrew nation were many and dark. But during those long
centuries there developed that world wonder, a whole nation's united
longing for a deliverer! The prophets promised a great change in their
fallen fortunes. Expectation grew keen. Desire expanded into yearning.
Their God would not forsake them. Was not His grace sufficient? Though
their concept