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THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE.
Paul's argument is condensed in the simple state
ment:
"For if the dead rise not, then is Christ not risen."-(I Cor. XV, 16.)
The resurrection of the dead, then, is clearly the point in controversy, and the resurrection of Jesus himself would depend on the finding which may be arrived at on it.
To Paul's mind the matter did not present any difficulty; he clearly saw the connection between the doctrine of the fall' and that of resurrection. He based the claim to resurrection on the power of 'Man' to triumph over death, and declared :
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"For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."-(I Cor. XV. 21 and 22.)
It is, then, the doctrine of the 'fall' which shall also throw light on that of resurrection, and to that doctrine we must, accordingly, return to understand the precise sense of resurrection. We shall, therefore, now proceed to complete the symbolism of the 'fall' in the life of the Messiah, to find out its significance for the human race. We shall not go into the merits of the Christian belief separately, but shall consider its claims as we proceed with our own views on the subject, and shall see how far they are well-founded.
The grotesque view of modern scholarship which perceives nothing but savage simplicity and childlike wonder on the part of the 'primitive' man at the phenomena of nature as the real grounding of ancient mythology, is entitled to be dismissed with little or no ceremony. Its absurdity has been noted ere this and will
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