BASIC PRESUPPOSITIONS

Hebrews is a most accomplished composition, written with great verve and rhetorical skill, and has an inspirational quality which gives it lasting value as a religious writing. But it remains true that it is in some ways alien to the modern reader, so that it tends to be neglected by those who read the New Testament for spiritual profit. The argument on the sacrifice of Christ also seems to be locked in the presuppositions of the past, so that its value for contemporary theology can be called in question.

One reason why modern readers tend to be put off Hebrews is the sheer difficulty of following the argument. Every reader can see that the author is building up a sustained argument, but it is hard to grasp it as a whole. I hope that the long exposition of it in the second chapter of this book has helped to overcome this problem, and shown successfully that Hebrews keeps a strong grip on what he is doing from start to finish. To succeed in following the argument is half the battle in seeking for the permanent value of Hebrews.

There are still likely to be other problems and I shall begin this chapter by considering some of them in the light of our previous study.