The Threshold Covenant; The Beginning of Religious Rites.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1906. Reprint of Second Edition (with Supplement). Hardcover. Octavo. xii + 336pp . Original black cloth with gilt titling to spine, and gilt titling and design on upper board. Appendix, supplement and indexes. Glancing through the chapters it is apparent that much of the book is devoted to a survey of the use of blood in various ancient religious rites. From the Preface: "This work does not treat of the origin of man’s religious faculty, or of the origin of the sentiment of religion; nor does it enter the domain of theological discussion. It simply attempts to show the beginning of religious rites, by which man evidenced a belief, however obtained, in the possibility of covenant relations between God and man; and the gradual development of those rites, with the progress of the race toward a higher degree of civilization and enlightenment." The author, Henry Clay Trumbull (1830 – 1903), was an American clergyman and author who was an early practitioner of modern-day Evangelical Christianity. This is a reprint of the second edition, which has an additional supplementary chapter, and which includes new information that had come to light and addresses criticisms of the first edition (1896). Trumbull had previously written "The Blood Covenant" which looked at the sealing of an oath or promise by blood or bloody sacrifice in various (mostly ancient Middle-Eastern) cultures, and its manifestation and meaning in Christianity. This present work clearly covers considerable similar material. Light bruising & chafing to spine ends and corners, a couple of bumps to edges, a couple of "bubbles" to cloth, endpaper hinges cracked but boards firmly attached. Otherwise a tight, clean, VG copy. Item #69901
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