Sentence:  Such a representation would present a real difficulty, if we were obliged to understand all this in its strict literal import, implying, as it would, very unworthy conceptions of God on the part of the writer. The difficulty vanishes, however, when it is perceived that this is only and instance of a prevailing <WSD>anthropism</WSD> which characterises the whole narrative. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  The belief that human beings have a spiritual nature beyond the physical body characterized by in-dwelling Divinity.