Preface.

This page begins mid-sentence, continuing from the previous page's argument about why his method is superior.

...the history of religion and culture, than the historicizing approach The "historicizing" approach refers to the practice of interpreting biblical narratives as literal, factual history, rather than as symbolic or poetic expressions of faith. is. While according to this latter method, childish notions—the kind occurring only among semi-savage nations—are foisted upon the Hebrews, notions which do not fit at all with their otherwise pure and sublime religion; according to my own approach, everything appears in a purer, higher light. Or, while one perceives there only sleight-of-hand and priest- or shaman-deception A common Enlightenment-era critique was "Priestcraft"—the idea that religious leaders invented miracles and myths to control the populace. or a silly craving for miracles, I point out serious, holy ideas set down in poetry. Linked with this is the symbolic mode of explanation I have followed, according to which many ideas and institutions—which people have hitherto been accustomed to judging by their immediate, literal meaning—are grasped as symbols and garments Einkleidungen: literally "clothing" or "vestures"; the idea that a spiritual truth is "dressed up" in a story or ritual to make it accessible for higher ideas. I hope that the reasons provided—especially those taken from the pedagogical style The "Lehrart" or method of teaching used by ancient cultures to transmit wisdom through story and symbol. of the Hebrews and other ancient peoples, and from the analogy of the whole—will fully convince the thinking person and those familiar with the spirit of antiquity. That