he selects one of the sophisms which that eminent man enumerates, as having once imposed upon himself; and passes by the author's own answer, which is given in the immediate sequel. It is also important to be observed, that the sophism is not speaking of the Scriptures particularly, or alluding to any falsifications' in citing or translating them; except so far as they may be supposed to be included, in a general accusation of dealing untruly in the quoting or representing of written documents. The charge, whether it be just or unjust, refers to citations from all and every sort of authors; not the sacred writers merely or chiefly, but the fathers, the scholastic divines, the canon jurists, and above all, the controversial men of the sixteenth century. To this general allegation Mr. Chillingworth returns the general answer; Iliacos intra muros peccatur et extra. Papists are more guilty of this fault than Protestants. Even this very author, in this very pamphlet, hath not so many leaves as falsifications and calumnies.' (Chillingworth on the Religion of Protestants; Pref. p. 23. ed. 1638.)

Mr. T. affirms that the general ignorance of the four evangelists, not merely of the geography and statistics of Judea, but even of its language, their egregious blunders, which no writers who had lived in that age could be conceived to have made, prove that they were not only no such persons as those who have been willing to be deceived have taken them to be; but that they were not Jews, had never been in Palestine, and neither lived in or at any time near to the times to which their narratives seem to refer. The ablest German divines have yielded thus much.' p. 63.

These confident statements proceed either from extreme ignorance or from a more depraved principle. The worst of the German divines' (allowing that term to mean the anti-supernaturalist biblical critics) would reject these assertions with indignation and abhorrence. Even Paulus, Wegscheider, Eckermann, and others, who endeavor to explain the miraculous phenomena upon natural principles, and Eichhorn, who was too nearly allied to them, maintain the authenticity of the gospels, the integrity of their authors, the real occurrence of at least the principal facts, the supremely excellent character of Jesus and his apostles, and the claims of Christianity upon the obedient reception of mankind, as an institution derived mediately from God for the most holy and benevolent purposes. I know not a single German writer upon these subjects, who is held in the least estimation by his learned countrymen, of whom what Mr. T. asserts is in any degree true; excepting it be Dr. Bretschneider, of Gotha, with

regard to only the gospel of John; and of him I shall speak presently. Perhaps Mr. T. has imagined, that the numerous hypotheses which have been advanced, upon the literary origin or materials of composition of the first three gospels, imply a rejection of those gospels, or some of them, from the estimation of genuineness, authenticity, and credibility. But he does not at all understand the subject. That there were some previous materials, containing narratives and discourses of Jesus, which have been severally embodied by Matthew, Mark, and Luke, is demonstrable from internal evidence, and is plainly recognized in Luke's preface. This subject is familiar to biblical scholars; but all the varieties of hypothesis that have been invented, (whether assuming a single primitive document, or several; whether regarding those documents as Syro-Chaldaic, or as Greek; as merely oral or as written; and whatever theory of complication be adopted ;) bring out the same general result: namely, that the matter of those original fragments IS COMPRISED in the fuller, and more perfect narratives of our three evangelists; that those documents, therefore, ceased to be circulated, being superseded by incorporation with the larger histories; that these three larger histories were composed by the persons whose names they bear; and that, as the apostles and those other primitive teachers who had been personal disciples of Jesus, were gradually removed by death, so that oral statements from the eye-witnesses became less and less attainable, these written relations, together with the apostolic epistles, were received by Christians, throughout Judea and other countries, as the accredited and faithful depositories of the apostolic testimony."*

Thus have we dilated largely on the testimony borne to the genuineness of the New Testament Scriptures, and we have shown in their true light the wretched shifts to which a certain class of Infidels have to resort to support their hopeless cause. We have dwelt upon this subject so lengthily not merely because of the importance of the subject and the abundance of the testimony, a small tithe of which only has been produced, but chiefly because many of the facts are little known; the works in which they are contained not being within the reach of the generality of readers, in consequence of which, while the Infidel can readily command the very small amount of information necessary to enable him to sneer, or to assert, many sincere Christians are destitute of the weapons of defence.

The abundance of testimony which can be adduced in support of

* Dr. J. Pye Smith's Answer to the Manifesto.

the genuineness and credibility of the New Testament Scriptures, may be estimated from the fact, that the learned and laborious Lardner has devoted eight large octavo volumes to the elucidation of this subject, and yet the theme is not exhausted. We have said not a word of the evidence to be drawn from the books themselves, of that which is afforded by the Jewish writers, or of the testimony given by the numerous classes of heretics, who, in the early ages of Christianity, abounded both in the east and the west, and who were ever opposed to those who received the unadulterated word of the apostles, and their fellow-laborers. But we have confined the examination, 1st. To the evidence of some of those whose names have come down to us as the most celebrated and virulent enemies of Christianity; and while these men could not enter the inner sanctuary, to behold its beauty and its glory, nor yet could comprehend the conduct in life, and the bearing in death, of those whose faith was opposite to their own, yet their testimony is in perfect accordance with Scriptural history, and of itself, sufficient to establish the genuineness of our sacred books beyond the possibility of a doubt; and 2nd. To the evidence of some of those to whom the sacred writings were addressed, and to whom they were committed to be handed down from generation to generation; and the result has been, that those who believed in the truth of the Scriptures, and, as must be acknowledged, were the most competent judges, have given a full and positive testimony to the genuineness of the New Testament Scriptures; and that having been proved, the whole question, as to the external evidence, is virtually settled. Nevertheless, that the weapons of Infidelity may be wrested out of the hands of its votaries, and that a profound reverence for the sacred writings may be fixed in the mind of the honest enquirer, in the next chapter we will continue to trace out the steps of our great argument.

CHAPTER III.

GENUINENESS, AUTHENTICITY AND CREDIBILITY OF THE NEW TESTA

MENT SCRIPTURES.

In the New Testament we have four distinct and circumstantial histories of the author of the Christian religion, written by four different persons. Two of these were apostles, and the other two were the disciples of Jesus Christ; one of them after the death of Christ was the companion of the apostle Paul, and the other of the apostle Peter. Also the acts of the apostles after they had received their great commission as recorded by Luke. Besides these histories, we have twenty-two separate epistles, fourteen of which were written by Paul; nine of them were addressed to seven Christian churches, the members of which had at one time been Jews or heathens. One of these churches was in Rome, another in Ephesus, and the others in various parts of Greece; the first in the capital of the world, the second surrounded by the worshipers of the goddess Diana, and the others in the different cities of a nation celebrated for learning and wisdom. Two of the other epistles of Paul were addressed, one to Timothy, the other to Titus, both eminent ministers of the Gospel of Christ. Another epistle he addressed to his countrymen, the Hebrews, wherever scattered over the world, and the last was addressed to Philemon, a member of the church at Colosse. We have also besides these, one epistle of the apostle James, two of Peter, three of John, and one of Jude. And last of all, the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ, written by John, in which the spirit of prophecy concludes as it began the testimony of Jesus, and commits the charge to the history of the world, ultimately to confirm that testimony. All the writers of these books refer to one great subject. They all unfold one grand system, professedly a Revelation from God to man by Jesus Christ. And, as has been abundantly proved, all these books were written by the persons to whom they are ascribed, and published soon after the introduction of Christianity into the world. The question now to be decided is, Do these books bear the marks of authenticity, or do they bear those of imposture? In other words, Is the record credible?

In the examination of this question, the proper course to pursue is to enquire, How do we ascertain the credibility of other historical writings? We take up Hume's history of England; Robertson's

history of America; Bota's history of the United States; and we enquire, Do these histories, and the character of the writers, furnish satisfactory proof of trust-worthiness? Are the principal facts in them supported by proper testimonies? These questions lead to the proper evidence of the truth and fidelity of a narrative. In the same way, then, we proceed to examine the credibility of the New Testament, omitting, however, for the present their divine authority and inspiration, which will be taken up in their proper order.

The question then is, Are the Christian writers deserving of entire credit in their narrative, or did the facts they relate occur? Their genuineness has been already proved, which is a very strong argument for their credibility. "It is very rare," says Hartley, "to meet with any authentic works of the historical kind in which the principal facts are untrue. Men who, in the presence of their countrymen, publish to the world grave historical works, can have no hope of being read if they falsify the principal facts of their narrative; all that such possibly could expect would be disgrace and reprobation." If Hume or Robertson had falsified the principal facts of their histories, none would have believed their writings; but they would have been overwhelmed with shame and disgrace. Had Bota in his history of the United States, falsified the principal facts in his history, many of which occurred within the memory of thousands living in this country, when he wrotę, he would have been viewed by all as insane; and his work would have instantly sunk into perdition, for the facts which really occurred were calculated to excite the deepest interest, and to awaken prejudices from one end of this Union to the other. Within the memory of man new modes of thinking have been introduced, and old habits have been broken up, the results of these facts. How much more is this remark applicable to the books of the New Testament, the writers of which were eye-witnesses of the facts they detail during the age in which they transpired; and also, published them for the establishment of the Christian religion, in the face of all mankind, foes as well as friends. These writings then, being genuine and authentic, are credible. The main facts they detail occurred.

Further, if the narratives of the New Testament be genuine, the principal facts therein narrated being very extraordinary, and prominent, and their number being very small, prove their credibility. It is not with the narratives of the New Testament, as with the histories already referred to, which treat of long, and difficult, and remote ⚫ scenes of secret negociations and complicated events. But they record a very few principal facts, in an extremely brief period of time,