Class
Book
University of Chicago Library
Qic^
GIVEN BY
V..TW
Besides the^tain topic this book also treats of
Subject No. On page Subject No. On page
JOHN GRIGG,
No. 9, N. FOURTH STREET, PHILADELPHIA,
Among other valuable Theological, Medical, Law, and Miscella-
neous Books, has published the following :
1. JOSEPHUS'(FLAVIDS) WORKS,
the learned and authentic Jevyish
historian, and celebrated warrior;
containing twenty books of the
Jewish antiquities, seven books of
the Jewish war, and the life of Jose-
phus, written by himself. Trans-
lated from the original Greek, ac-
cording to Havercamp's accurate
edition ; together with explanatory
notes and observations; by the late
WILLIAM WHISTON, A.'M. Complete
in 2 vols. 8vo., and embellished with
elegant Engravings.
" This is the only edition of this -work which
combines economy, elegance, and legibility. It
is one of J. Grigg's series of Library Classics."
~2. GOLDSMITH'S ANIMATED
NATURE. In 4 vols. Svo. Illustrated
with 85 copper-plates.
" The celebrity of this amusing and instruc-
tive Natural History, whether as to matter or
as to the beauty of style for which the author
was so justly preeminent, renders aught of com-
mendation "here unnecessary. It may not be
amiss to state, however, that this is the first
American edition in which a successful effort
has been made to render it a book which should
rival in elegance of appearance the renown of
its author."
3. RUSH ON THE DISEASES
OF THE MIND. New fine edition.
1 vol. Svo. Library Edition.
"This work is valuable and highly interest--
in^ for intelligent readers of every profession:
'it .is replete with curious and acute remarks,
both medical and metaphysical."
4. SAY'S POLITICAL ECONO-
MY. A Treatise on Political Econ-
omy, or the Production, Distribu-
tion, and Consumption of Wealth.
By J. B. Say. Fourth edition, with
Additional Notes, by C. C. Biddle,
Esq. 2 vols. in 1, Svo.
"He is the most popular, and perhaps the
most able writer on Political Economy since the
time of Smith." North .imcrican Review.
"It would he equally advantageous to the
constituents and the incumbent, were every
man holding any public office of the least im-
portance, conversant with the pages of this
book."
A
5. THE AMERICAN CHESTER-
FIELD, or Way to Wealth, Honor,
and Distinction. In a handsome
pocket volume, with a steel plate
frontispiece.
" This little epitome of good morals and good
manners has been productive of improvement
in many, who cheerfully acknowledge it ; and
attribute their polished deportment, whether at
the table or in the company of fair ladies, to a
careful perusal of this American, Gentlenian's
ManuaL"
6. BENNET'S (Rev. John) LET-
TERS TO A YOUNG LADY, on
a variety of subjects calculated to
improve the heart, to form the man?
ners, and enlighten the. understand-
ing. Also in a neat pocket volume,
with a plate.
"A suitable companion for the preceding
popular compilation. As the American Ches-
terfield appertains to the duties of the Gentle*
man; so this beautifully written book claims a
place in the cabinet ot every Lady."
7. A DICTIONARY OF SELECT
AND POPULAR QUOTATIONS,
which are in daily use ; taken from
the Latin, French, Greek, Spanish,
and Italian languages : together
with a copious collection of Law-
maxims and Law-terms ; translated
into English: with Illustrations,
historical and idiomatic. Sixth
American edition, corrected, with
additions. 1 vol. 12mo.
" No one who is aware of the existence of
such a book will nesrlect to procure it. It is of
admirable value ; and we shrewdly suspect that
many a one, by its means, has exhibited in his
conversation aft the fruits of an intimate ac-
quaintance with foreign languages. Who
would not appear wise at so small a price J"
British Journal.
8. SENECA'S MORALS. By
way of abstract to which, is added
a Discourse, under the title of an
After-Thought, by Sir Roger L'Es-
trange, Knt. A new fine edition, in
1 vol. ISmo.
"A most celebrated Roman Philosopher,
Moralist and Statesman." Gorton.
1
STANDARD WORKS
Published by James Kay, Jun. <$f Co., Philadelphia, and
John L Kay <$ Co.. Pittsburgh.
1. MACKENZIE'S FIVE THOU-
SAND RECEIPTS in all the useful
and domestic arts: in 1 vol. large
8vo., improved and enlarged by the
correction of numerous errors, and
the addition of a large number of
Original Receipts; a Treatise, with
wood-cuts, on Carving; and the
Medical Part rewritten and adapted
to this country by an American
Physician.
[" This work, purified, as it is in the present
corrected edition, of its errors, (particularly in
the Medical Department,) recommends itself to
the attention of every one. We know not a sin-
gle family which ought to deny itself the posses-
t ion of this book. We consider it as peculiarly
characteristic of the present age, that by im-
mense labor and infinite research there should
have been collected into one convenient volume,
those fruits of the useful experience, observa-
tions, and discoveries of past ages, which, ere
this, must have been sought for in at least one
thousand volumes. It is not only valuable to
families in general, in the economy, comfort,
and preservation of life; but we beg leave to
point it out to the clergyman, who, in remote
parts of the country, is often called upon to heal
the pains of the body as well as the anguish of
the soul ; to the physician, who will find there-
in many novel bints for his guidance, as well as
suggestions which, in sudden emergencies, may
save lifej and to the druggist and apothecary,
for its numerous medicinal preparations.'"]
2. EVENINGS AT HOME, or The
Juvenile Budget Opened: consisting
of a Variety of Miscellaneous Pieces
for the Instruction and Amusement
of Young Persons. By Mrs. BAR-
BAULD and Dr. AIKIN. In 2 vols.
JSmo. Illustrated by 100 Engravings.
"Evenings at Home should find a place in
every School Library. No other Juvenile Book
can be named-, which comprises, in the same
space, such a variety of information, so admira-
bly adapted to the capacities and tastes of the
Young. Kay's Philadelphia edition of this popu-
lar work is very beautifully illustrated." Es-
says cm School Keeping by J. Frost.
3. THE YOUNG CADET; or
Henry Delamere's Voyage to India :
with his Travels in Hindostan,
and his Account of the Burmese
o
War, and the Wonders of Elora.
By Mrs. HOFLAND, Author of
'The Son of a Genius,' 'Integrity,'
'Moderation,' &c. With copptgr-
plates. In 1 vol. I8mo.
"Every production within our knowledge, by
the author of this work, has possessed the un-
doubted stamp of genius, and invariably receiv-
ed the meed of applause as soon as seen and ap-
preciated by the reading part of the community.
The present little volume, from the same pen,
of course brought with it the almost certain
pledge of worth, and a perusal of its contents
has fully confirmed our anticipations. Like ' The
Young Pilgrim,* and .some other of Mrs. Hof-
land's works, it strictly coincides with recent
historical events, and antiquarian discoveries,
with correct and original relations of which she
has been favored from high authority ; and the
whole is interwoven with interesting stories or
connecting chains of narrative, related in thi .
lady's usual inimitable manner." London
Montldy Review.
4. THE YOUNG PILGRIM: or
Alfred Campbell's Tour to the East;
and his Travels in Egypt, Palestine,
Nubia, Asia Minor, Arabia, Petrsea,
&c. Also by Mrs. HOFLAND. With
copperplates. In 1 vol. 18mo.
5 FIELDING'S SELECT WORKS:
Comprising 'The History of Tom
Jones,' ' The Adventures of Joseph
Andrews,' 'Amelia,' and ' The His-
tory of Jonathan Wild the Great.'
In 2 vols. 8vo. Library Edition.
"In making this selection, the Publishers
have been guided by the public judgment alone.
They have, in short, presented under
the name of Select Work?, no more than what
have long and universally received the fullest
approbation ; and these, "it may confidently be
said, will be transmitted (o .he ta-est posterity."
" Fieldingand Smollett were both so eminently
successful as novelists, that no other English
author of that class has a right to be mentioned
in the same breath with them." Sir Walter
Scott.
li. LOCKE'S ESSAYS: Compris-
ing, in ono handsome octavo vo-
lume, his Essay concerning Human
Understanding, and his Treatise of
the Conduct of the Understanding
With a Life of the Author.
PUBLISHED BY
JAMES KAY, JUN. & CO., PHILADELPHIA, AND
JOHN I. KAY, & CO., PITTSBURGH.
I. BUCK'S THEOLOGICAL DIC-
TIONARY, Library Edition. A
Theological Dictionary, containing
Definitions "of all Religious Terms;
a Comprehensive View of every ar-
ticle in the System of Divinity; an
impartial Account of all the Prin-
cipal Denominations which have
subsisted in the Religious World
from the Birth of Christ to the Pres-
ent Day: together with an Accurate
Statement of the most Remarkable
Transactions and Events recorded
in Ecclesiastical History. By the
Rev. CHARLES BUCK. New Amer-
ican, from the latest London edition.
Revised, and improved by the addi-
tion of many new Articles, and the
whole adapted 'to the present state
of Theological Science and of the
Religious World. By the Rev. GEORGE
Basil, A. M. With an Appendix:
containing impartial and elaborate
Histories of, 1. The Methodist Epis-
copal Church in America; 2. The
Presbyterian Church in the United
States ; 3. The Methodist Protestant
Church; 4. The Baptists of the
United States ; and, 5. The Evan-
gelical Lutheran Church in the
United States : the four latter writ-
ten expressly for this work.
Advertisement by the Publishers.
It is not without considerable satisfaction that
the Publishers announce to the Christian world
that this their improved edition of BUCK'S
THEOLOGICAL JJICTIONARY, published
one year ago, has, in the course of the inter-
vening time, met with the unprecedented sale
of fourteen thmitand copies. It affords the
surest evidence that the labors of the Rev. Mr.
Bush, in supplying the defects and correcting
the errors which the lapse of time had pro-
duced in this invaluable work, have been duly
appreciated by the Public ; ant^ amply rebuts
the extraordinary assertion, that the antiquated
edition of this work (heretofore the only one
which could be purchased) was likewise the
only "genuine" one an edition remarkable
for being between fifty and one hundred years
Behind the present age in historical and statis-
tical facts, and peculiarly unadapted to the
wants of this country, from the circumstance
of its being written originally for British pe-
rusal, and, in its " local allusions and bearings,"
referring to affairs as they were in England.
Animated by the success which has crowned
their efforts, the Publishers issue the present en-
larged and still more highly improved edition
of tliis work. In confirmation of this, they re-
fer -to the Appendix, in which will be found
kngthy Autoriet of five important c/iurc/icj in
this country; and also to the NUMEROUS EM-
BELLISHMENTS (sixteen in number') which
have been interspersed' throughout the volume,
illustrative of perhaps the only subject which
would admit of a sufficiently interesting variety.
Although this edition of Buck's Dictionary con-
tains considerably more matter than any other
edition everjpublished in the United States, it it
the intention of the Publishers, from time to
time, to swell the Appendix by such additions
to it as may be truly valuable to the work, and
beneficial to the furtherance of Christian know-
ledge. They have also made arrangements for a
finer and thicker paper than has heretofore been
deemed necessary. For a reimbursement of the
heavy expenses hereby incurred, they look with
confidence to a sale which has already. once lib-
erally compensated their labors.
"\Ve name this edition a second time that
we may find an opportunity to recommend it as -
a great improvement upon all preceding editions
of the work. The numerous editions and ex-
tensive sale of Buck's Dictionary sufficiently
prove how well it is adapted to supply the want
of the Christian public. Whatever the defects
of the original may have been, it was the only
compilation of the kind, and could be replaced
by no similar book in the Emjlish language.
The additions made by the American Editor are
numerous and satisfactory, and the neatness and
cheapness of the work place it within the reach
of every family." Hiblical Repertory and The-
ological Reiriew. '
II. FOX'S BOOK OF MARTYRS.
A 'Universal History of Christian
Martyrdom : from the Birth of our
Blessed Saviour to the Latest Peri-
ods of Persecution. Originally com-
posed by the Rev. JOHN FOX, A.M.,
and now corrected throughout: with
copious and important additions re-
lative to the Recent Persecutions in
the South of France. In 2 vols.
8vo., beautifully printed on fine and
O
Kay's StanitarU ecological
remarkably strong paper. Being the
only complete and unmutilated edi-
tion of this work ever presented to
the American Public. Embellished
with a Portrait of the venerable Fox,
and Sixty Engravings illustrative of
the Sufferings of the Martyrs in all
ages of the world.
" We commend the enterprise of the Publish-
ers, which has induced them to incur the heavy
expense requisite for the production of this
costly and elegant book. They have thereby
rendered, a service to the cause of true Christi-
anity ; and we cannot doubt that they will meet
with ample remuneration, ia the approbation of
the Public. An additional recommendation is
furnished in the extreme lowness of the price t
thereby rendering the book accessible to the
pocket of every class of Christians. It is a work
of intense interest : and whether as a volume
of Ecclesiastical History, or for occasional peru-
sal, richly merits a place on the shelves of
every family library."
III. THE EVIDENCES OF CHRIS-
TIANITY". By ALEXANDER, WAT-
SON, JENYNS, LESLIE, and PALEY. In
2 Pocket Volumes bound in one:
beautifully printed, and on fine pa-
per. Embellished with a Portrait
of Watson. This work is composed
of the following valuable Treatises:
1. A Preliminary Discourse on the Evidences
of Christianity : with a Short Account of
the Treatises which these volumes contain.
By Archibald Alexander, D. D., Professor
of Theology in the Theological Seminary
at Princeton, N. 3.
2. Watson's Apology for Christianity, in an-
swer to Gibbon.
3. Watson's Apology for the Bible, in, answer
to Paine.
4. Jenyns's View of the Internal Evidence
of the Christian Religion.
5. Leslie's Short and Easy Method with tbe
Deists.
6. Paley's View of the Evidences of Chris-
tianity.
Extract from Dr. Alexander's Preliminary
Essay
In the selection of these Treatises the writer
tins had no concern, but he approves of the plan
of the editor, and is of opinion that by com-
prising so many works of standard excellence
in one convenient duodecimo, he will be ren-
dering a real service to the cause of revealed
religion, and will furnish a desired accommoda-
tion to students of theology ; and to others who
are obliged to regard economy in the purchase
of books. ...... It is not recollected that any
work precisely on the plan of the present publi-
cation, has been prepared. The writer has, in-
deed, seen, many years past, a little volume, en-
titled " The Panoply," which contained a part
of what is included In this selection ; but it was
never widely circulated, and has been long out
of print The writer has only to add his
sincere wishes for the success of this enterprise;
to that there may be encouragemeut for other
similar publications.
4
IV. BUNYAN'S HOLY WAR.
The Holy War made by King Shad-
dai upon Diabolus; to regain the
Metropolis of the World : Or, The
Losing and Taking again of the
Town of Man-Soul. By JOHN BUN-
YAN, Author of '?The Pilgrim's
Progress," &c. A New Edition.
With Explanatory, Experimental,
and Practical Note?, by the Rev.
GEORGE BUIIDEK, Author of
Village Sermons," " Notes on Pil-
grim's Progress," &c. In one volume,
12mo., fine paper, and handsomely
bound. .
List of Embetlishmeiits.l. The
Famous Battle between the Inhabit-
ants of the Town of^Vftm-SouI and
the Diabolonians. 2. The White
Flag with the Three Golden Doves,
set up as a favorable Signal before
the Town of Man-Soul. 3. Mr. De-
sires-Awake presenting the Petition
to Emanuel. 4. The Giant Diabolus
bound in Chains. 5. Prince Einan-
uel's Triumphal Entry into the Town
of Man-Soul. 6. Captain Credence
in Conference with the Lord Secre-
tary. 7. Burying the Dead, &c.i n the
Plains near the Town of Man-Soul.
V. THE SAME, with 2 plates, in
1 vol. 18mo.
VI. PALEY'S EVIDENCES OF
CHRISTIANITY. In Three Parts.
Part l:.Of the Direct Historical
Evidence of Christianity, and where-
in it is distinguished from the Evi-
dence alleged for other Miracles.
Part 2: The Auxiliary Evidences of
Christianity. Part 3: A Brief Con-
sideration of some popular objections
With a Portrait of the Author on
steel : and also his Life, from an able .
pen. In one Vol. 18mo. This in-
comparable work is now for the first
time .presented to the American
Public in a pocket form.
"The pious and philanthropic Douglas, of
Scotland, in a late work, expresses it as his
opinion, that EUCLID'S ELEMENTS, and
PALEY'S EVIDENCES, are the only two
treatises which are perfectly adapted to the busi-
ness of elementary instruction. This opinion
frnni a mind so comprehensive and so highly
gifted as that of the gentleman above mentioned,
cannot but recommend this work to the careful
perusal of all such persons as wish for full in-
formation and complete satisfaction on this mo-
mentous subject." Rai. Dr. Alexander, Printe-
ton, N. J.
Kay's Stantrartr
remarkably strong paper.. Being the
only complete and unmutilated- edi-
tion of this work ever presented to
the American Public. Embellished
with a Portrait of the venerable Fox,
and Sixty Engravings illustrative of
the Sufferings of the Martyrs in all
ages of the world.
" We commend the enterprise of the Publish-
ers, which has induced them to incur the heavy
expense requisite for the production of this
costly and elegant book. They have thereby
rendered.* service to the cause of true Christi-
anity ; and we cannot doubt that they will meet
with ample remuneration in the approbation of
the Public. An additional recommendation is
furnished in the extreme lowness of the price,
thereby rendering the book accessible (o the
pocket of every class of Christians. It is a work
of intense interest : and whether as a volume
of Ecclesiastical History, or for occasional peru-
sal, richly merits a place oil the shelves of
every family library."
ill. THE EVIDENCES OF CHRIS-
TIANITY". By ALEXANDER, WAT-
BON, JENYNS, LESLIE, and PALEY. In
2 Pocket Volumes bound in one:
beautifully printed, and on fine pa-
per. Embellished with a Portrait
of Watson. This work is composed
of the following valuable Treatises:
1. A Preliminary Discourse on the Evidences
of Christianity: with a Short Account of
the Treatises which these volumes contain.
By Archibald Alexander, D. D., Professor
of Theology in the Theological Seminary
at Princeton, N. J.
2. Watson's Apology for Christianity, in an-
swer to Gibbon.
3. Watson's Apology for (he Bible, in answer
to Paine.
4. Jenyns's View of the Internal Evidence
of the Christian Religion.
5. Leslie's Short and Easy Method with tbe
Deists.
6. Paley's View of the Evidences of Chris-
tianity.
Extract from Dr. Alexander''! Preliminary
Eaay
In the selection of these Treatises the writer
has had no concern, but he approves of the plan
of the editor, and is of opinion that by com-
prising so many works of standard excellence
in one convenient duodecimo, he will be ren-
dering a real service to the cause of revealed
religion, and will furnish a desired accommoda-
tion to students of theology ; and to others who
are obliged to regard economy in the purchase
of books. ...... It is not recollected that any
work precisely on the plan of the present publi-
cation, has been prepared. The writer has, in-
deed, seen, many years past, a little volume, en-
titled " The Panoply," which contained a part
of what is included, in this selection ; but it was
never widely circulated, and has been long out
of print The .writer has only to add his
sincere wishes for the success of this enterprise;
to' that there may be encouragement for other
similar publications.
4
IV. BUNYAN'S HOLY WAR.
The Holy War made by King Shad-
dai upon Diabolus; to regain the
Metropolis of the World : Or, The
Losing and Taking again of the
Town of Man-Soul. By JOHN BUN-
YAN, Author of '^The Pilgrim's
Progress," &c. A Ne.w Edition.
With Explanatory, Experimental,
and Practical Notes, by the Rev.
GEORGE BORDER, Author of
" Village Sermons," " Notes on Pil-
grim's Progress," &c. In one volume,
12mo., fine paper, and handsomely
bound.
List of Embellishments.!. The
Famous Battle between the Inhabit-
ants of the Town onM^n-Soul and
the Diabolonians. 2. The White
Flag with the Three Golden Doves,
set up as a favorable Signal before
the Towirof Man-Soul. 3. Mr. De-
sires-Awake presenting the Petition
to Emanuel. 4. The Giant Diabolus
bound in Chains. 5. Prince Einan-
uel's Triumphal Entry into the Town
of Man-Soul. 6. Captain Credence
in Conference with the Lord Secre-
tary. 7. Burying the Dead, &c. in the
Plains near the Town of Man-Sou).
V. THE SAME, with 2 plates, in
1 vol. I8mo.
VI. PALEY'S EVIDENCES OF
CHRISTIANITY. In Three Parts.
Part l:.Of the Direct Historical
Evidence of Christianity, and where-
in it is distinguished from the Evi-
dence alleged for other Miracles.
Part 2: The Auxiliary Evidences of
Christianity. Part 3 : A Brief Con-
sideration of some popular objections
With a Portrait of the Author on
steel: and also his Life, from an able .
pen. In one Vol. 18mo. This in-
comparable work is now for the first
time .presented to the American
Public in a pocket form.
"The pious and philanthropic Douglas, of
Scotland, in a late work, expresses it as his
opinion, that EUCLID'S ELEMENTS, and
PALEY'S EVIDENCES, are the only two
treatises which are perfectly adapted to the busi-
ness of elementary instruction. This opinion
from a mind so comprehensive and so highly
gifted as that of the gentleman above mentioned,
cannot but recommend this work to the careful
perusal of all such persons as wish for full in-
formation and complete satisfaction on this mo-
mentous subject" .Sen. Dr. Alexander. Prince-
ton, N.J.
J-,ms Kay 3 r fcC? I'hiladclphia .
John J.Kay i-C? Pitt a burs-
C~
THE
'
. . : : :..
? .
.
CHRISTIANITY.
BY
I ALEXANDER, WATSON,
JENYNS, LESLIE, AND PALEY.
IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. I.
PUBLISHED BY
James Kay, Jun. & Co., 4 Minor Street, Philadelphia.
John I. Kay &. Co., 51 Market Street, Pittsburgh.
Stereotype Edition.
*
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1831, by JAMES
KAY, Jun. & Co. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United
States in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
STEREOTYPED BY J. HOWS.
t
WATSON'S
APOLOGY FOR CHRISTIANITY;
WATSON'S
APOLOGY FOR THE BIBLE;
JENYNS'S
VIEW OP THE INTERNAL EVIDENCE OP THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION;
LESLIE'S
SHORT AND EASY METHOD WITH DEISTS;
PALEY'S
VIEW OF THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY.
WITH
BY
ARCH. ALEXANDER, D.D.
PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT PRINCETON
IN NEW-JERSEY, ETC. ETC-
PUBLISHED BY
James Kay, Jun. & Co., 4 Minor Street, Philadelphia.
John I. Kay & Co., 51 Market Street, Pittsburgh.
Stereotype Edition.
1
ADVERTISEMENT.
THE Collection of Treatises now offered to the pub
lie, upon the Evidences of the Christian Religion, will
be found to comprise, in a neat and condensed form, a
body of most important argument upon this interesting
subject. The Preliminary Essay of the Rev. Dr. Alex-
ander will afford the reader a useful survey of the
general topics, and also introduce more fully to his
acquaintance, the celebrated authors whose works we
have collected, PALEY, WATSON, JENYNS, and LESLIE.
It is believed that a large and respectable class of pri-
vate Christians, and especially students of theology, .
will find it an advantage to receive, in a pocket volume,
the most select fruits of learned labor in defence of
our holy religion. To those whose time does not allow
of extensive investigation, as well as those who con-
sult economy, this little compilation will prohably be
welcome ; more particularly as there is no volume, of
whatever size, in the English language, which offers
so valuable a syllabus of these fundamental discus
sions.
At a time like the present, when adventurous specu-
lation is at its height, there is no friend of Christianity
who may not profit by a recurrence to such a manual ;
in which he will find spread before his mind the great
proofs of religion, for the enlargement of his know-
ledge, the resolution of his doubts, and the abundant
corroboration of his faith. Any one of the works in-
cluded is singly valuable. One or two of them, in a
complete form, are exceedingly rare, and they consti-
9 - r *"* 1 .- *"*' '< "**.-*
!>**; " i* i,--...' t* p>T
^:-<".J _._.- v**
10 ADVERTISEMENT.
tute together a truly Christian panoply. The Pub-
lishers indulge some confidence, therefore, in com-
mitting this work to the impartial and enlightened
judgment of clergymen, theological students, inst:
ors of youth, and inquiring men of every class,
contains nothing characteristic of particular denoil
nations ; nothing which does not rest on the basis
our common Christianity.
This Collection is neatly printed, and embellished
with a likeness of Bishop Watson ; and no care or
labor has been spared in endeavoring to issue a book
in all respects worthy of public attention. Should it
meet with encouragement, it is proposed to follow it
;by similar .collections upon, allied subjects.
THE PUBLISHERS.
CONTENTS.
VOL. I.
I. A Preliminary Discourse on the Evidences of Chris-
. tianity ; with a short account of the Treatises which
these volumes contain. By Archibald Alexander, D. D.,
Professor of Theology in the Theological Seminary at
Princeton, N. J. . . Page 15
IL An Apology for Christianity, in a Series of Letters,
addressed to Edward Gibbon, Esq., Author of the ' His-
tory of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.'
By R. Watson, D. D., F. R. S., and Regius Professor of
Divinity in the University of Cambridge. ...... 45
III. An Apology for the Bible, in a Series of Letters, ad-
dressed to Thomas Paine, Author of a Book entitled
* The Age of Reason, Part the Second, being an Investi-
gation of True and of Fabulous Theology/ By R. Wat-
son, D. D., F.R. S., Lord Bishop of Llandaff, and Re-
gius Professor of Divinity in the University of Cam-
bridge. 105
IV. A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Re-
ligion. By Soame Jenyns, Esq. . 191
V. A Short and Easy Method with the Deists. In a Letter
to a Friend. By the Rev. Charles Leslie, M. A. . . 231
VOL. II.
VI. A View of the Evidences of Christianity. In three
Parts. By William Paley, D. D., Archdeacon of Car-
lisle 15
11
A
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE
ON
THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY:
WITH
A SHORT ACCOUNT
OF
THE TREATISES WHICH THESE VOLUMES CONTAIN.
BY
ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D. D.
PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IX THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT
PRINCETON, N. J.
13
B
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE.
WHATEVER may be the truth in regard to religion, it must be ad-
mitted to be the most important subject which can possibly occupy
the thoughts of a rational creature. It cannot be wise to treat it, as
many have done, with levity and ridicule : for even on the supposi-
tion that there is no true religion, it is a serious thing that it has
got such a hold of the human mind, that it cannot be shaken off; so
that men of the noblest powers of intellect and the highest moral
courage have been subdued and led captive by its impressions. And
they who boast a complete exemption from its influence, and glory
in the name of atheist or sceptic, do nevertheless often betray a
mind ill at ease, and in the extremity of their distress are sometimes
heard to call upon that God whose existence they have denied, and
to implore that mercy which they have been accustomed to deride.
It has been said, that atheists are of all men the most afraid of
invisible powers : they tremble at their own shadow, and are averse
to be left alone in the dark. They seem to be haunted with a secret
apprehension that 'the reality of religion will at some moment flash
upon their conviction. It is with them a common saying, that " fear
made the gods ;" but it would be much more true to assert, that fear
made atheists ; for what but the dread of a Supreme Being could be
a motive strong enough to lead men to contend so earnestly against
the existence of God ? Few men, even among the irreligious, are
willing to be reckoned atheists. Indeed, a man should first take
leave of his reason before he advocates an opinion demonstrated to
be. false by every thing which we behold. The name deist is
doubtless much more honorable than -atheist; but many who pro-
fess to believe in a great First Cause, have no more religion than
the atheist : their faith has no effect upon them, and can have none,
because their God is not a FERSON nor an intelligent voluntary
agent, by whom the world was made, but a sort of blind power,
15
16 DR. ALEXANDER'S
which pervades the universe ; a kind of active principle which
exerts itself hi ten thousand different ways, but has no existence
separate from the universe in which it dwells, and which it moulds
and animates. Such a God commands no respect, and inspires no
dread. No wonder that deists of this school have no religious feel-
ings, and, except in name, are not in the least distinguished from the
blindest atheists. Epicurus did not deny the existence of the gods ;
but he took care to invest them with such attributes, and to remove
them so far off", as to have no concern whatever in the creation or
government of the world. They were consequently not likely to
interfere with him hi his career of pleasure.
Give the sensualist a God who takes no notice of his conduct, and
who possesses no attribute which will lead him to punish the guilty,
and he will be well pleased with the idol, and may be disposed to
contend lor the reality of his existence. It is the JUSTICE of God
which drives men from his presence, to hide themselves hi the dark-
ness of infidelity. This guilty dread of the Almighty is a sure
evidence that man is not hi his right condition. An innocent crea-
ture would delight hi approaching to the Best of Beings.
But, leaving as incorrigible all those who deny the moral govern-
ment of God, let us see whether they who are advocates for natural
religion, are standing on safe and solid ground. It is a plausible
argument a priori, that God would not place man in this world
without furnishing him with the means of knowing, and the ability
to perform his duty ; and as reason is his guide in other matters, so
reason must be a sufficient guide hi matters of religion. But what
if man has forsaken the state hi which his maker placed him ? We
see that he is a free agent, and therefore he may have acted per-
versely, and brought himself into difficulties out of which he cannot
extricate himsel He may, by his own folly, have lost a large por-
tion of that knowledge, with which he was originally endowed. It
would be very unreasonable to make -this supposition, if nothing
but wisdom, rectitude, and purity had ever been observed hi the
human kind. But when we see how much ignorance, how much
palpable error, how much perverseness, how much moral disorder,
and how much misery are prevalent among men, we are constrained
to admit it to be probable, that the human race stand in need of
something more than' their own reason to guide them in the way
to happiness ; or even to assure them that happiness is attainable.
It is in vain to talk of the powers of nature and the light of reason,
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 17
when we "see millions of men groping in darkness, and stumbling on
the precipice of ruin. Man needs help ; he needs instruction ; he
needs a remedy for the moral disorders of his nature. And here the
question occurs, has any remedy been found effectual to remove or
mitigate these evils ? Has religion been able to do any thing for our
race? Alas! in regard, to most religions, they have rather aggra-
vated than cured the malady. We plead not for idolatry, in any of
its pompous forms : it carries absurdity and impiety in its very face.
It binds the soul of man with bonds the most cruel. It degrades
him to the dust, and renders him capable of every thing mean and
vile. There have been innumerable forms of idolatry; some of
which have been more mild and less monstrous than others ; but
every system of idolatry is an abomination. Towards God it is
treason and rebellion ; and in relation to man it is dealing and mur-
derous. Cruelty and obscenity have ever been the characteristics
of idolatry. Whether such religion is better or worse than blank
atheism, we need not stop to dispute. Both evils are deadly ; and
the choice would be difficult between some forms of superstition
and atheism itself.
When we reject all the religions which come under the denomina-
tion of Pagan superstition, all of which are idolatrous and demo-
ralizing, we have cast off a large part of what has gone by this
name, in all ages of the world ; and would to God it were as easy to
reject this whole system of absurdity, blood, and vileness from the
world, as it is to exclude it from all share in our approbation ! Here
then is one fact for which the deist should be able to account. It is,
that while the world has been for thousands of years overrun with
gross idolatry, which has infected the learned and polished, as well
as the rude, there have been some nations' exempt from this general
and debasing evil. Formerly, the small nation of the Jews, though
much less learned and refined than the Egyptians, Greeks or Ro-
mans, maintained the doctrine of the Unity of God, and the duty of
rendering to him spiritual worship and cordial obedience. For
nearly two thousand years past other nations have been found, cast-
ing off the gross superstitions of Paganism ; and at this time, when
we cast our eye over the map of the world, we descry some lumin-
ous spots from which the darkness of polytheism and gross idolatry
has been dispelled. Now it is a fact, obvious to every observer,
that the only people in the world who are exempt from gross idola-
try are those who have been enlightened by the Bible. I do not
B2
18 DR. ALEXANDER'S
except Mohammedans, for all the best parts of their system were
borrowed fiom the Bible. They are merely a corrupt sect of Chris-
tian heretics ; for they acknowledge the divine origin of both the
Jewish and Christian Scriptures, pretending, however, that these are
exceedingly corrupted and interpolated. -
But let us return to the question which I wish the deist to
exercise his ingenuity hi solving. It is, how it has happened that the
Bible has been the only means of destroying idolatry in the world ?
This effect is not confined to ancient times: very recently,
whole tribes of degraded savages have rejected then* idolatrous
superstitions, under the influence of Christianity. Look at the So-
ciety and Sandwich islands : look at the converted Greenlanders,
Hottentots, Caffres, and Negroes, and explain the strange and happy
transformation which has taken place. That must have been a
wonderful imposture which has been attended with effects so bene-
ficial to man. It cannot be denied, that Christianity and civilization
are nearly related to each other, and that those nations which per-
mit and encourage the free and general reading of the Scriptures,
are, everywhere, the foremost in the race of improvement, and in
.the enjoyment of rational liberty.
It is indeed objected by the deist, that Christianity has been the
occasion of innumerable evils ; that it has given rise to wars, and
many bloody persecutions. Now, it would be impossible to devise
an objection which has less foundation than this. I can hardly per-
suade myself, that any man who has carefully read the New Testa-
ment, can be serious in alleging such things against Christianity.
Christ, it is true, did predict that his religion would be the occasion
of strife and division, even amongst the nearest relatives ; but this
not fiom, any thing in itself which naturally tended to produce such
evils ; but entirely from the wickedness of men, who would set
themselves hi opposition fo the truth, and persecute those who em-
braced it: a persecution which would be more virulent towards
the members of their own families ; so that the prediction has often
1 been verified, " a man's foes shall be those of his own household."
It will also be conceded, that Christianity has often been misunder-
stood and grossly perverted by its professors ; and that under its sa-
cred name, though with an opposite spirit, persecutions have been
carried on, the mere recital of which is enough to make us shudder.
But who does not see, that, while it is as evident as the noon-day
light that this is not the genius of Christianity, the blame of these
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 19
evils cannot in justice be charged upon the system ? As well might
we charge liberty with all the wars and all the misery, occasioned
by the contests to maintain or recover this inestimable blessing. Any
system, however pure and benevolent, is liable to abuse in the hands
of men ; and hi all such cases, the system cannot be judged by its
perversion and abuse, but by an impartial examination of its own
genuine principles. Such an investigation Christianity challenges ;
and indeed a verdict has already been given in her favor, by many
of her opposers themselves. .They have not been able to resist the
wisdom, the purity, and the peaceful tendency of the gospel ; so
that unwilling praise has been extorted from themselves.
If the Christian religion is " a cunningly devised fable," there are
two things relative to it, which can never be satisfactorily accounted
ibr. The one is, that a falsehood should be surrounded with so
many of the evidences and circumstances, by which truth is charac-
terized , the other, that an imposture, proceeding from minds exceed-
ingly corrupt, should be marked with such purity in its moral prin-
ciples, and such a benevolent and peaceful tendency in all its pro-
visions and precepts. Whatever objections may be made to the
system of Christianity, these difficulties will stand in the way of the
deist ; and he never can overcome them.
Let us calmly contemplate this subject The Christian religion
is founded on facts, for the truth of which an appeal is made to tes-
timony, the ground on which all other ancient facts are received.
If these facts did really occur, then Christianity must be true. If
they did not, why can it not be shown ? Was there ever a case, in
which transactions so public, and in the truth of which so many
persons were interested, were so circumstanced as to baffle every
effort to detect the fraud attempted to be imposed on the world ?
Here then is a wonderful thing. The defenders of Christianity ap-
peal to facts attested by many competent and credible witnesses ;
they show that these witnesses could not themselves have been
deceived in the nature of the things, concerning which they give
their testimony; they demonstrate from every circumstance of
their condition, that they could have had no motive for wishing to
propagate the belief of these facts, if they had not been true ;
that, in giving the testimony which they did, they put to risk, and
actually sacrificed every thing most dear to men ; that, even if they
could have been induced by some inconceivable motive to propa-
gate what they knew to be false, it was morally impossible that
20 DR. ALEXANDER'S
they could have persuaded any persons to believe them ; because
the things related by them being of a recent date and public nature,
and the names of persons and places specified, nothing would have
been easier than to disprove false assertions so situated. Moreover,
the 'persons who first became disciples of Christ and members of
the church from the declarations of the apostles cannot be supposed
to have admitted the truth of these things without examination, for
every principle of self-preservation must have been awake to guard
them against delusion. By attaching themselves to this new sect
" everywhere spoken against," and persecuted both by Jews and
Gentiles, they did literally forsake all that man holds most dear in
this life. If there had existed no persons possessed of power and
sagacity, who were deeply interested in the refutation of falsehoods
which would implicate them in disgrace, the evidence would not be
so ovenvhelming as it is; but we know, that all the power and
learning of the Jewish nation, and also of the Roman Government,
were arrayed against the publishers of the gospel ; for just in pro-
portion as the report of these men gained credit, the conduct of
those who persecuted Christ unto death, would appear clothed in
the darkest colors. Why did they not, at once, come forward and
crush the imposture ? It has also been fully established by the
friends of revelation, that w r e are in possession of the genuine re-
cords published soon after the events occurred. There is no room
for any suspicion that the gospels were the fabrication of a later age
than that of the apostles ; or that they have been corrupted and in-
terpolated, since they were written. And finally, the effects pro-
duced by the publication of these facts are such as almost to con-
strain the belief, that the gospel' narrative is true : for the rapid and
extensive progress of the Christian religion can, upon no other
principles, be rationally accounted ibr. It would be as great a
miracle for a few unlearned fishermen and mechanics to be success-
ful hi founding a religion, which in a short time changed the whole
aspect of the world, as any recorded in the New Testament. Now,
supposing the facts in question to be true, what other, or greater
evidence of their truth could we have had, than we already pos-
sess ? What other facts of equal antiquity are half as well attested ?
Let the deist choose any portion of ancient history, and adduce his
testimony in proof of the facts, and then compare the evidence in
their support, with that which the friends of Christianity have ex-
iubited for all the material facts recorded in the gospel ; and I shall
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 21
be disappointed if he do not, upon an impartial examination, find the
latter to be much more various and convincing.
But these facts are miraculous. This single circumstance is, in
the deistical creed, made to outweigh all the clearest evidence
which can be adduced. This therefore may be considered the root
of the error ; for when it comes to be fairly considered, it must ap-
pear to be nothing better than an unfounded prejudice. Why should
it be considered impossible or unreasonable for God to work a
miracle ? Every event was a miracle, before any laws of nature
were established. The creation of the universe was a magnificent
miracle. And if the great author of this system choose occasionally
to regulate it by an extraordinary interposition of his power, what
principle is violated ? Why should human reason so pertinaciously
object, as though God had denied himself, or contradicted our rea-
son ? But the deist insists, that never having seen miracles performed,
we cannot reasonably be expected to credit them, on the report of
others. And is it true, that it is unreasonable to believe what we
ourselves have never experienced? Upon this principle, the inhabit-
ants of the tropical regions ought never to believe in the existence
of snow or ice ; and the bund man should obstinately refuse to be-
lieve that there is any such thing as vision by the eyes ; . o? the deaf
man, that there is any such thing as hearing by the ears. Miracles
do require more proof than common events, as do other, .events of
an extraordinary kind, but when testimony of a. certain land and
degree is exhibited, the presumption naturally felt against the reality
of such events, is readily overcome in every unprejudiced mind. And
if any one wishes to disprove the truth of such facts, he must do it
by canvassing the evidence, and showing that it is insufficient, or
inconsistent and contradictory: or he must bring forward testi-
mony to rebut that which has been exhibited. This is the only ra-
tional method of proceeding in such a case ; yet it has not been pur-
sued by the opposers of Christianity. There is not to be found in the
numerous attacks on the New Testament, a single example of a
calm and impartial attempt to prove, by authentic, testimony, that
such facts as those recorded, never took place. But why has not
this been done ?
Why have not deists brought forward convincing testimony to
prove that these histories are false and unworthy of credit ; instead
of dealing in irrelevant objections, and throwing out dark suspicions
and innuendoes ? If the truth is on their side, why have they not
22 DR. ALEXANDER'S
been able to show that a fraud was committed, and a base impos-
ture palmed on the world ? The true reason is, that the testimony
for the facts recorded in the gospels cannot be impugned by direct
attack. There is confessedly no counter testimony. There are no
evidences of fraud or ill-design, in the books themselves. The his-
torians appear to be honest men, and continually speak and act as
if they had the fullest assurance of what they relate. They resort
to no artifice or finesse. They use no arts to gain popularity, or to
accommodate themselves to the prejudices of the people. They are
so impartial, that they conceal none of those things which were un-
favorable to their own character ; but freely acknowledge their own
faults and errors. Impostors, in the circumstances of the apostles,
never could have devised such an artless story ; they never could
have concealed so perfectly their own true character and design ;
and they could never have produced compositions of so great ex-
cellence. Let any man compare the genuine gospels with those
spurious ones which were afterwards circulated, under the names
of the apostles and apostolic men, and he will be struck with the
remarkable difference ; and yet, as far as relates to natural abilities
and learning, it is probable, that these latter writers were fully
equal to the evangelists. It is truly wonderful, that uneducated
men should have written histories so dignified, unimpassioned,
simple, and free from weaknesses and puerilities. Nothing can be
farther removed from an artfully contrived imposture, than the gos-
pels of the four Evangelists.
But let us, for a moment, assume the hypothesis, that the Chris-
tian religion is a cunningly devised fable. Let us take the ground
occupied by the deist, and let us reason on the subject, upon these
principles. And here we are at liberty to suppose any one of seve-
ral things, still taking it for granted, that the whole narrative is false,
so far as miracles are concerned. In the first place, then, let us sup-
pose that no such person as Jesus Christ ever lived upon the earth ;
but that the whole history from beginning to end is a forgery. The
difficulty on this hypothesis will be to account for the existence of
the Christian church, and for the reception of the gospels as true
history ; for, fix on what period you please, as that in which the im-
postor began to publish the narrative respecting the birth, life, death
and resurrection of Christ, it would seem altogether impossible,
when the circumstances are well considered, to conceive, how such
an enterprise should succeed. Indeed, upon this supposition, the-
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 23
New Testament would have carried its own refutation on its face ;
for it testifies that the church .began to be gathered immediately
upon the death of Jesus Christ, and had its commencement at Jeru-
salem. Now on the foregoing hypothesis, the publishers of this his-
tory began their preaching near to the time and at the place where
he was said to have lived and to have performed all the mighty
works which are recorded in the gospels. Let us imagine, then, an
impostor announcing these as facts at Jerusalem ; as facts which
had lately occurred, and which were witnessed by thousands
would not every man, woman, and child have exclaimed : " This
whole story is false these things could not have happened without
our hearing or knowing something of them. What an audacious
falsehood ! He pretends that for a long time this person, whom he
calls Jesus Christ, resided among us, and preached his doctrines
publicly, and wrought stupendous miracles ; but we know all this to
be false a barefaced imposture, unsupported by the shadow of
"evidence."
And if we assume the ground, that the attempt was made at any
other period, or in any other place, the absurd consequences flowing
from this hypothesis will be equally manifest Deists, therefore,
have not commonly been fond of taking this ground, although it is
iar the most consistent deistical hypothesis ; for if you admit that
part of the history which contains events not miraculous^ you can
hardly avoid receiving these also, so closely are they interwoven to-
gether, and dependent on each other. Volney, L'Aquinio, and a few
others; in the time of the French revolution, boldly advocated this
theory, and denied that any such persons as Jesus Christ or his apos-
tles ever lived in the world. Now as I said, this scheme is the most
consistent for the rejecters of Christianity ; but is it rational ? is it
" credible? I could persuade myself of the reality of a thousand well-
attested miracles, before I could believe that the whole world has
been deceived in such a matter. Indeed, it would at one stroke de-
stroy all the credibility of history ; for if Jesus Christ never existed,
from whom such a series of events have flowed down to our own
times, how can we be satisfied that any man whose exploits are re-
corded hi history ever lived ? According to this, Vblney might have
saved himself the trouble of accounting for the ruin of ancient
cities and empires; for perhaps, they never existed. True, he saw
the splendid ruins of Palmyra; but these exquisitely wrought pil-
lars might possibly have been a mere freak of nature, in one of her
24 DR. ALEXANDER'S
wild moods. Rational belief always lies in the midst between two
absurdities. While the deist shuns what he calls the weak credulity
of believing in miracles, he falls into the.monstrous absurdity of de-
nying all testimony. And in this case he can be confronted, not only
with the testimony of Christians, but with that of Heathen and
Jewish writers. TACITUS, SUETONIUS, and PLINY, all bear ample
testimony against this visionary theory. The first of these lived
during the first century of the Christian era. His character as an
historian stands too high to need any eulogium or description. After
giving an account of the terrible fire by which a large part of the
city of Rome was consumed, and of the exertions made to rebuild
and beautify the city, he adds, " But neither by human aid, nor by
the costly largesses by which he attempted to propitiate the gods,
was the prince able to remove from himself the infamy which had
attached to him in the opinion of all, for having ordered the con-
flagration. To suppress this rumor, therefore, Nero caused others to
be accused, on whom he inflicted exquisite torments, who were al-
ready hated by the people for their crimes, and were vulgarly de-
nominated CHRISTIANS. This name they derived from CHRIST then-
leader, who in the reign of TIBERIUS was put to death as a criminal,
while PONTIUS PILATE was procurator. This destructive superstition,
repressed for a while, again broke out, and spread not only through
Judea where it originated, but reached this city also, into which
flow all things, that are vile and abominable, and where they are
encouraged. At first, they only were seized who confessed that
they belonged to this sect; and afterwards a vast multitude, by the
information of these, who were condemned, not so much for the
crime of burning the city, as for hatred of. the human race. These,
clothed in the skins of wild beasts, were exposed to derision, and
were either torn to pieces by dogs, or were affixed to crosses; or
when the day-light was past, were set on fire, that they might serve
instead of lamps for the night."
SUETONIUS lived also at the close of the first and beginning of
the second century. In his life of Claudius the emperor, he haa
these words, "He banished the Jews from Rome who were con-
tinually raising disturbances, Christ (Chrestus) being their leader."
And in the life of Nero, he says, " The Christians were punished, a
sort of men of a new and magical religion."
But there is nothing among the testimonies of Heathen writers
of this period so full and satisfactory, with regard to the existence
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 25
and wide spread of Christianity, as the Letter of PIJNY the YOUNGER,
a translation of which, therefore, I will here insert, although it has
been often published.
" Pliny to the emperor Trajan wisheth health, &c. It is ray cus-
tom, Sir, to refer all things to you of which I entertain any doubt;
for who can better direct me in my hesitation or instruct my igno-
rance ? I was never before present at any of the trials of Christians ;
so that I am ignorant both of the matter to be inquired into, and of
the nature of the punishment which should be inflicted, and to
what length the investigation is to be extended. I have, moreover,
been in great uncertainty, whether any difference ought to be made
on account of age, between the young and tender, and the robust;
and also whether any, place should be allowed for repentance and
pardon; or whether those who have once been Christians should be
punished, although they have now ceased to be such, and whether
punishment should be inflicted merely on account of the name
where no crimes are charged, or whether crimes connected with
the name are the proper object of punishment. This, however, is
the method which I have pursued hi regard to those who were
brought before me as Christians. I interrogated them whether they
were Christians ; and upon their confessing that they were, I put
the question to them a second and a third time ; threatening them
with capital punishment; 'and when they persisted in their confes-
sion, I ordered them to be led away to execution : for whatever
might be the- nature of then* crime, I could not doubt that perverse-
ness and inflexible obstinacy deserve to be punished. There were
others addicted to the same insanity, whom, because they were Ro-
man citizens, I have noted down to be sent to the city. In a short
space, the crime diffusing itself) as is common, a great variety of
cases have fallen under my cognizance. An anonymous libel was
exhibited to me, containing the names of many persons who denied
that they were Christians .or ever had been; and as an evidence of
their sincerity, they joined me in an address to the gods, and to your
image, which I had ordered to be brought along with the images of
the gods for this very purpose. Moreover, they sacrificed with
wine and frankincense, and blasphemed the name of Christ; none
of which things can those who are realty Christians be constrained
to do. Therefore I judged it proper to dismiss them. Others named
by the informer, at first confessed themselves to be Christians and
afterwards denied it; and some asserted, that although they had
26 DR. ALEXANDER'S
been Christians, they had ceased to be such, for more than three
years, and some as much as twenty years. All these worshipped
your image and the statues of the gods, and execrated Christ. But
they affirmed, that this was the sum of their fault or error, that they
were accustomed, on a stated day, to meet together before day, to
sing a hymn to Christ in concert, as to a God, and to bind them-
selves by a solemn oath not to commit any wickedness but on the
contrary to abstain from theft, robbery, and adultery also, never to
violate their promise, nor deny a pledge committed to them. These
things being performed, it was their custom to separate ; and to
meet again at a promiscuous, innocent meal ; which, however, they
had omitted, from the time of the publication of my edict, by which,
according to your orders, I forbad assemblies of this sort. On receiv-
ing this account, I judged it to be the more necessary to examine by
torture, two females, who were called deaconesses. But I dis-
covered nothing except a depraved and immoderate superstition.
Whereupon, suspending further judicial proceedings, I have re-
course to you for advice ; for it has appeared to me, that the subject
is highly deserving of consideration, especially on account of the
great number of persons whose lives are put into jeopardy. Many
persons of all ages, sexes, and conditions are accused, and many
more will be in the same situation ; for the contagion of this super-
stition has not merely pervaded the cities, but also all villages and
country places; yet it seems to me that, it might be restrained and
corrected. It is a matter of fact, that the temples which were al-
most deserted begin again to be frequented ; and the sacred solem-
nities which had been long intermitted are again attended; and
victims for the altars are now readily sold, which, a while ago, were
almost without purchasers. Whence it is easy to conjecture what a
multitude of men might be reclaimed, if only the door to repent-
ance was left open."
The answer of the emperor Trajan to this remarkable letter of
Pliny is also still extant ; and there has never been a doubt raised
respecting the genuineness of either of them.
"Trajan to Pliny Health and happiness.
" You have taken the right method, my Pliny, in dealing with those
who have been brought before you as Christians ; for it is impossible
to establish any universal rule which will apply to all cases. They
should not be sought after : but when they are brought before you
nd convicted, they must be punished. Nevertheless, if anyone
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 27
deny that he is a Christian, and confirm his assertion by his con-
duct; that is, by worshipping our gods, although he may be sus-
pected of having been one ki time past; let him obtain pardon on
repentance. But in no case permit a libel against any one to be re-
ceived, unless it be signed by the person who presents it, for that
would be a dangerous precedent, and in nowise suitable to the
present age."
From these epistles, -written at the very commencement of the
second century, we learn how rapidly and extensively Christianity,
notwithstanding all opposition, had spread over the Roman empire.
Long before Pliny wrote, the temples and sacrifices had been
almost forsaken; and even now the multitude implicated in the
charge of being Christians was so great, that he suspended all judi-
cial proceedings against them, until he should consult the emperor
as to what was proper to be done.
It must by this time be sufficiently evident, that they undertake
the defence of a.desperate cause, who maintain the hypothesis, that
such a person as Christ never existed, but that he is merely a ficti-
tious being. -
Let us then in the next place inquire, what will be the conse-
quences of supposing that Jesus Christ did live and leach in Judea
about eighteen centuries ago, and that he was apprehended by the
Jewish rulers and priests, and at their instigation was crucified
under the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate, in the reign of the
emperor Tiberius ; but that all that is recorded in the gospels re-
specting his divine mission, his -miraculous birth, his wonderful
works, and his resurrection from the dead, was invented by certain
fraudulent disciples after the death of their Master. This I suppose
is the commonly received theory of deists, and if it cannot stand
the test of a thorough scrutiny, their cause is manifestly untenable,
and should be abandoned. Here again, there may be a choice in
the selection of the period when these miracles began to be pub-
lished, and these gospels to be received. If this is said to have oc-
curred immediately after the death of Christ, the same difficulties
press on the scheme, which were shown to follow upon the former
hypothesis: that is, if such an imposture had been attempted, the
falsehood of the history would have been evident to all the world.
To one making such declarations at Jerusalem, any one of the pec^-
pie might have replied, "The person concerning whom you testify
was known to us. He spent much of his time in this city, and was
28 DR. ALEXANDER'S
a teacher and public preacher, and was seized at the feast of the
passover by our rulers, and delivered over to Pilate as a seditious
and dangerous person ; but as to what you say about his raising the
dead, giving sight to the blind, health to the sick, and performing
other wonderful works, there is not a word of truth in it, and such
things were never heard of before and, moreover, these books
which you wish to palm upon us are utterly unworthy of credit,
and are replete with falsehoods, known to be such by all the peo-
ple of this land." How could any impostor have been successful
in gaming credence to his imposture in such circumstances ?
But the deist will select a later period for the commencement of
the fraud- Suppose we say, a hundred years after Christ was cru-
cified ; we cannot bring it lower down without encumbering the
hypothesis with greater difficulties and absurdities than by choosing
this time, on account of the testimonies of numerous Christian
writers in corroboration of the gospel-history. A hundred years,
then, after the death of Christ, some persons undertake to give out
and publish in writing that he performed those mighty works, which
none before had heard a whisper of. This imposture could not
then have been by the instrumentality of the immediate followers
of Christ, for these must have been dead. The question therefore
naturally arises, did the Christian Church exist before this time,
and on what principles was it founded ? If it did not exist before,
then the book now published would carry its falsehood on its face,
as it describes all the particulars of the first planting of the church
at Jerusalem, and its rapid extension over the world. If the church
did exist a fact capable of the clearest proof men must have be-
come the disciples of Christ without any persuasion that he was a
divine messenger, or possessed any extraordinary commission : yea,
the first Christians must have forsaken the religious customs of
their forefathers, and exposed themselves to every species of perse-
cution for the sake of a man who was crucified as a malefactor,
and without any belief that he had risen again and was now alive.
This indeed gives us a. new view" of the origin of Christianity, and
a new view of human nature also ; but is it a reasonable hypothe-
sis? Can any man believe it? How, upon these principles, can.
we account for the extraordinary progress of Christianity ? About
this time, it has been shown from the most respectable heathen his-
torians, this religion had extended over Asia Minor, and had
reached Rome : but by what means was this effected, when, ac-
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 29
cording to the hypothesis, there -was not a pretence of any thing
miraculous? And how did these cunning impostors who now
arose, contrive to persuade the Christian church that their religion
was founded on these miraculous facts, 'which they had never
heard of before ? And how did they bring it about that at once
these forged books should be received by every portion of the
church as the writings of the apostles and immediate followers of
Christ ? How wonderful, that a society existing in many different
countries should be persuaded henceforth to adopt an entirely new
creed, and to appeal to books as containing the true origin of their
religion, which were just now written by impostors, and replete
with extravagant falsehoods ! The whole thing is incredible, and
indeed impossible. Such an imposture could not have been suc-
cessful. It is not more certain that Christianity now exists, than
that the belief of miracles was coeval with its origin. A Christian
without belief of the divine mission and resurrection of Christ, is a
monstrous absurdity. And why did not the early enemies of Chris-
tianity, such as Celsus, Porphyry and Julian, lay open the impos-
ture? Why did they not utterly deny the facts recorded in the
gospel ? This they dared not do. Instead of this, they set them-
selves to account for these wonderful works by magic ; as did also
the Jewish doctors whose opinions are in the Talmud. This fact
shows most conclusively that in the early ages the current of uni-
versal tradition, as well as written records, was so strong hi favor
of the miracles of Christ, that they could not be successfully.de-
'nied. This led the opposers of the gospel to pretend that other
men had performed as great miracles as Jesus. And, perhaps, the
deist could not now adopt a wiser course than to admit' the mi-
raculous facts, and reason against them on the same principles as
the old impugners of the Christian religion.
, From every view which we can take of this subject, it is evident,
that whether the gospel be true or not, it is supported by all the
testimony and by all the collateral evidence which it could have,
if it were true. That is, we must believe this history, or relinquish
the principles of reason which guide us in other cases.
The historical evidence is the first great obstacle in the way of
adopting the' deistical hypothesis; the second is, that the purity,
consistency, and moral excellence of these writings cannot be re-
conciled with the idea that they are the works of vile impostors.
It is an old and trite argument, that such a book as the New Testa-
C2
30 DR. ALEXANDER'S
ment could not be the production of bad men, because it is stamped
with so much holiness, and is replete with such excellent views of
duty and pure morality, that men of depraved minds could have
possessed neither the ability nor the will to be the authors of it.
What wicked man would have ever thought of inventing such dis-
courses as those of Christ? Of how can it be conceived, that an
impostor, in. whom there must be a combination of the most de-
grading vices, could have given such pure and perfect lessons of
morality, as those contained in the Epistles of the Apostles ?
If, therefore, all historical documents were buried in oblivion, there
is that internal light beaming from every page of this sacred volume,
which will ever recommend it to the approbation of the good. And
this leads me to a remark, which may seem to be rather invidious,
but which is supported by -an overpowering weight of evidence,
that the true cause of deism is to be sought, not in the weakness
of the evidence of divine revelation, nor in the recondite nature
of the arguments by which it is supported ; but in the unhappy
state of mind with which the subject is approached. A heart
glowing with love to God and man^ in which all must acknow-
ledge moral excellence hi man consists; would so prepare the
mind to appreciate the evidences of Christianity, both external and
internal : that I am persuaded nothing more would be necessary to
produce a strong faith in the Scriptures of the New Testament; as
not only containing a true and faithful history, but as being given
by divine inspiration, and therefore, an infallible rule to guide us hi
all matters of truth and duty.
But it is now time that I should give some account of the trea-
tises included in the following volume. In the selection of these
the writer has had no concern, but he approves of the plan of the
editor, and is of opinion that by comprising so many works of
standard excellence in one convenient duodecimo, he will be ren-
dering a real service to the cause of revealed religion, and will
furnish a desired accommodation to students of theology; and
to others who are obliged to regard economy in the purchase
of books.
The grand problem which deists have hitherto failed to solve, is,
to 'account for the existence and rapid progress of Christianity.
No man was better fitted to remove this difficulty, had it been pos-
sible, .than Edward Gibbon, Esq., who had access to all the sources
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 31
>f information, which could be applied to the elucidation of this
point. And Christianity is so thoroughly incorporated with the
latter part of the history of the Roman empire, that the historian
)f this period is laid under a" necessity of giving some opinion
respecting the origin and progress of a system which soon gave
complexion to all the transactions of the civilized world. Although
Gibbon hated the Christian religion, and would willingly have lent
his aid to banish it from the earth ; yet he was too well aware of
the difficulty of the subject, to venture a direct and open attack on
this citadel of truth, which had already repelled with, triumph so
many assaults. His attempt, therefore, was to account -for this
extraordinary fact by referring it to natural causes. This, indeed,
was a very indirect method of attaining his end; for even if the
reasons assigned had been sufficient to account for the acknow-
ledged fact, yet these might not have been the real causes. It is a
sound rule of reasoning, that the causes which we assign to ac-
count for effects must not only be adequate, but true. If the con-
version of the world to Christianity could possibly be accounted
for without supposing the interposition of a supernatural power ;
it might nevertheless have been the effect of miraculous power.
But if he had succeeded in his attempt, the arguments for a divine
origin of our holy religion would have been greatly diminished ;
for it is a good rule, that what can be accounted for by natural
causes, ought not to be attributed to supernatural powers. It is
however, a strong presumptive proof in favor of the historical
evidence of the gospels, that such a man, with the stores of an-
cient knowledge open before him, did not venture .to attack it;
either by showing that the testimony was inadequate, or by ad-
ducing other evidence to invalidate that which has been given in
support of Christianity. His forbearance, it is .certain, was not
owing to a want of will, but to a want of power; and what
GIBBON perceived to be impracticable, in vain may any other in-
fidel undertake to perform. It cannot be said, that the historian
went out of his way to meet this question : he could not avoid it.
It lay so directly in his path, that he was obliged to .acknowledge
the divine origin of Christianity, or to account for its success in
some other way. The latter course he chose to pursue ; and we
have the result of his inquiries, or more properly his conjectures,
in the XV. and XVI. Chapters of his DECLINE AND FALL OF THE
ROMAN EMPIRE. In examining this hypothesis the intelligent and
DR. ALEXANDER
impartial reader cannot but be struck with the uncertainty and also
the inadequacy of the causes assigned for this extraordinary moral
revolution, by which the whole aspect and condition of the civil-
ized world has been entirely changed. It is a matter of some sur-
prise, that a mind so perspicacious, and so richly furnished, should
have been so far satisfied with the reasons assigned as to stake his
reputation as a man of sense and candor upon them, so as to con-
sent to give them to the' world, as an integral part of his splendid
work. It is, however, no matter of wonder that he did not pro-
duce more satisfactory reasons for this grand phenomenon. The
truth is, the more closely the circumstances of the case are inves-
tigated, the more manifest it will become, that nothing better can
be said. Infidelity has here done her best, and if she has failed to
achieve a victory, the blame should not be laid on her favorite
champion, but on the cause, which did not admit of a more plau-
sible defence. No sooner was the History of the DECLINE AND
FALL published, than a host of assailants entered the field, among
whom, however, Doctor WATSON, then Regius Professor of Divin-
ity at Cambridge, and afterwards bishop of Llandaff, stood pre-em-
inent. And while Gibbon treated his other antagonists rather
cavalierly, he spoke of Watson with great respect. His work
against Gibbon was published in the form of Letters to the histo-
rian, and entitled AN APOLOGY FOR CHRISTIANITY. This first
Apology of our author has been so long out of print, or at least so
little circulated in this country, that even young men of learning,
who have been attentive to the progress of this controversy, are
scarcely aware that such a book exists. It was judicious, there-
fore, to give it a conspicuous place in this selection. All the
friends of Christianity who are familiar with Dr. Watson's later
work, in vindication of the Bible, will be gratified to see any thing
else on this subject from his able pen. To this APOLOGY FOR
CHRISTIANITY is appended AN ADDRESS TO SCOFFERS, which has
been pronounced by good judges not to be surpassed in eloquence
and force, by any composition in the English language. To rescue
this excellent address from oblivion, is itself an object of no small
importance. And it is a composition as much adapted to our own
times, as to the period when it was first published.
Watson's SECOND APOLOGY, entitled AN APOLOGY FOR THE BI-
BLE, is a work much better known in this country than the former.
This was written in answer to the second part of PAINE'S AGE or
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 33
REASON. Paine had, by his political Essays, which were well
suited to the spirit of the times, acquired a high reputation in this
country as a clear and forcible writer. There had never appeared
a work in favor of infidelity so well adapted to diffuse the poison
through the mass of society. His style was perspicuous, pointed,
and energetic ; and was spiced with that species of profane ridi-
cule, which is always found to be remarkably congenial with de-
praved minds. Moreover, his apparent exemption from all consci-
entious scruples, with an imposing confidence in the truth of his
own opinions, recommended his work to multitudes, whose con-
stant effort had been to free themselves from the shackles of con-
science, the power of which was chiefly owing to the remains of a
religious belief. Such men exulted in finding their own half-
formed opinions and wishes boldly brought out, and the truths
which they hated, because they were annoyed by them, turned into
ridicule. It is impossible to calculate how much evil was pro-
duced by the profane writings of this impure and intemperate man.
Seldom has a defender of the faith stepped forth more opportunely
than did bishop Watson, on this occasion. Former infidels had for
the most part fought in disguise; they did not openly declare
themselves to be the enemies of the Bible. Their reasonings were
often abstruse and metaphysical ; or so obscure, and remote from
common apprehension, that their books were read only by a few
of the learned. But here was a most open, undisguised, and au-
dacious attack on Christianity ; and it was circulated with an in-
dustry not often exceeded. To counteract this popular and dan-
gerous work, bishop Watson composed his answer in a perspicuous,
pleasing, and popular style. His extensive learning and intimate
acquaintance with the subject enabled him, with manifest ease, to
detect the mistakes and expose the sophistry of Paine, who was
really an ignorant man, and so little acquainted with the subject on
which he undertook to write, that when he published his first part
of the Age of Reason, he seems never to have read the Bible ;
and acknowledges that he had no copy at hand. He afterwards
procured a Bible, and in some way, went over it, gleaning up such
stale objections and arguments, as had been answered a hundred
times ; but which he . brought forward with all the boasting of a
man who had just made a wonderful discovery. Watson, through-
out the work, maintains his dignity and treats his antagonist with
courtesy ; which, taking into view Paine's profane raillery, was no
34 -DR. ALEXANDER'S
easy task. In only one instance does he seem to yield to a feeling
of indignation ; and every reasonable man will acquit him of un-
due severity, when he considers the provocation given by this im-
pure infidel. And on that occasion he does no more than apply to
him the words of Paul to Elymas the sorcerer, " O full of all
subtilty and mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all
righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of
the Lord?"
It is impossible to calculate how much the Christian community
is indebted to bishop Watson, for this able, popular, and seasonable
vindication of the Bible, against the most virulent and audacious
assault ever made upon it The work was extensively circulated,
and very generally read ; and in most cases served as an effectual
antidote to the poison of the Age of Reason. Other solid answers
to Paine were published ; and with a limited circulation were
useful ; but none of them held any competition with the APOLOGY
FOR THE BIBLE ; which quickly passed through numerous editions,
both in Great Britain and in this country; and produced a salutary
effect far beyond any other work of a similar kind, which has been
published within the recollection of the writer. Since, however,
the heat of the controversy has subsided, this valuable work is less
frequently met with ; it is therefore of importance that it should
have a place in a manual, where it may be perused again and
again, by the rising generation. And this is the more necessary,
since a new edition of "The Age of Reason" has recently been
published in one of our large cities; and as it is evident that the
rancorous spirit of infidelity will, as heretofore, gather up the
blunted but envenomed shafts which have so often been repelled
by the shield of truth, and will continue to renew its desperate
assaults against the citadel of divine revelation, until the time
shall come when the grand adversary and patron of infidelity shall
be driven from the earth and confined to the bottomless pit.
Some persons have expressed surprise and a degree of dissatis-
faction at the title, APOLOGY, which bishop Watson has chosen to
give to both his vindications of divine revelation. It seemed to
them that this word conveyed the idea of something defective, or
erroneous ; and they have been ready to say, that neither Christi-
anity nor the Bible needed any apology. Now, it is true, that our
English word is so understood by most who hear it ; but according
to its etymology and ancient use, its import is "a defence." An
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 35
APOLOGY ia the rendering a reason for any thing. And thus it was
the usual name given by the early fathers to their defences of
Christianity, and to these bishop Watson doubtless alludes in the
title which he has selected.
There are few books concerning which it is more difficult to
speak, without being misunderstood, than SOABIE JENYNS'S INTER-
NAL EVIDENCES op THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, which occupies the
third place in this collection. That the author exhibits those argu-
ments here, which had produced a full persuasion of the truth of
the New Testament in his own mind, there is little reason to
doubt : and that the perusal of this little work has wrought a sim-
ilar conviction in the minds of many other intelligent persons, is a
fact of which there is not wanting abundant proof. And, indeed,
judging from the impression which this luminous argument makes
on my own mind, I can scarcely conceive how any ingenuous man
can resist its force. It is said, I know not upon what authority, that
Jenyns began to read the New Testament, with the view of
writing against it, but arose from the perusal a confirmed believer ;
and then gave his own recently received views and convictions,
In this little work. A tradition of the same kind has been handed
down respecting several other learned men ; particularly the fine
classical scholar Mr. West.
SOAME JENYNS was, no doubt, an eccentric genius, and enter-
tained many extravagant opinions, which badly cohere with a sys-
tem of Cliristian doctrines. And even in this little work on the
EVIDENCES, which I can cordially recommend in the main, I would
by no means make myself responsible for every opinion which the
author has expressed. There is strong evidence, however, to in-
duce us to believe, that this ingenious writer actually .experienced
the salutary efficacy of those truths which he so ably defended.
His LECTURES on religious subjects, which were from time to
time delivered to a company of select friends, breathe so much of
the spirit of genuine piety, that it is hard to believe the writer was
not a sincere, Christian.
In further attestation of the value of this work on THE INTER-
NAL EVIDENCES, it may be remarked, that Paley refers to it as
containing every thing which is necessary on this branch of the
subject; and accordingly he omits making any observations on
this topic. .
The writer would also mention, that he has often heard it as-
36 DR. ALEXANDER'S
serted, and never contradicted, that the late PATRICK HENRY, the
celebrated orator of Virginia and of the American revolution," had
been in early life skeptical, but was fully satisfied of the truth of
the Christian religion,, by the perusal of this little treatise of SOAME
JENYNS. And it is a well-known fact, that the work was re-print-
ed in a pamphlet form, while he was governor of Virginia, and
was widely circulated through the State ; and, as was said and be-
lieved, under his auspices. It is, at any rate, undoubtedly true thai
from this period of his life he was the zealous and open advocate
of divine revelation, until his dying day. This fact is not left to be
handed down merely by tradition ; as he took care to leave a full
and explicit testimony in favor of Christianity, inserted in his last
will and testament, which is on record.
The subject of the INTERNAL EVIDENCES has been ably treated
by other authors. Fuller, Sumner, arid Erskine have" all written
well on this topic ; but by none of these productions has this little
work of Jenyns been at all superseded.
LESLIE'S EASY METHOD WITH THE DEISTS, occupies the fourth
place in this collection ; but though least, it is not the weakest in
argument This little work may be considered the standing re-
proach of deists, ever since it was first published. It lays down
certain criteria of the truth of historical facts, which it is asserted
are applicable to no other than real events. It is shown that all
these marks of truth are found to exist in the Mosaic and Evan-
gelical narratives ; and a challenge is given to the infidel to ad-
duce any statement of facts, known to be false, to which they do
apply. Now this is fairly bringing the subject to issue ; and if the
deist is unable to show that these circumstances meet in other
cases, whereit is acknowledged that the story is false or uncertain,
then certainly, the verdict in the mind of every impartial man
should be in favor of the truth of the Bible history. No answer
to this work, as far as I know, has ever been attempted ; and after
it has been so long before the public, it may be fairly concluded
that no satisfactory answer can be given. Here then we have a
demonstration of the truth of divine revelation, comprised within a
few pages ; and although it has been often re-published, yet it can-
not be too frequently presented to the view of the public, and es-
pecially of the 'rising generation.
The last treatise in this volume is one concerning which it is
wholly unnecessary for me to speak, by way of commendation.
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 87
PALEY'S EVIDENCES is a work, which by its merit has become a
text-book in the higher seminaries of learning, both in, Great
Britain, and in this country ; and -as long as our educated young
men are required carefully to study this manual, there will be
small danger of their being led away by the plausible but flimsy
objections of deists. It is of immense importance to pre-occupy
the young mind with just views of the evidences of divine reve-
lation, before they are exposed to the pestiferous assaults of infidel-
ity. Young men whose prepossessions are in favor of the Bible,
but who want proper instruction on this subject, when they come
to encounter the . sophistical arguments of skeptics, .either expe-
rience a subversion of their faith, or are thrown into distressing
perplexity.* No course of education is complete, or even safe,
which does not include a thorough examination of the Evidences
of the authenticity and inspiration of the Sacred Scriptures. There
is danger, at present, of imbibing a sickly liberality in regard to
religion, the tendency of which is to place truth and error on an
equal footing. It is true, in a country where so many conflicting
sects exist, it is not expedient that the creed of any one Christian
denomination should be inculcated in our public seminaries, to the
exclusion of all others; yet certainly the fundamental principles
of natural and revealed religion, in which all true Christians agree,
ought not to be proscribed. There is a point beyond which con-
cession cannot go, without an abandonment of the cause of truth,
and with it, of all sound morality ; for what else but truth can
form the basis of pure morality? However loud may be the
clamor against sectarianism, let us not be moved by it to abandon
the fortress of truth: and if the Bible is rejected, or viewed as a
book of dubious authority, there remains no other solid ground on
which the friends of religion and morality can make a stand.
Few men have ever lived who were as well qualified to esti-
mate the value of historic evidence, and to form an impartial judg-
ment of the force of human testimony, as Doctor Paley. His per-
spicacity of intellect, his sobriety of judgment, his unbiassed love
of truth, and his patient investigation of all circumstances, fitted
him peculiarly for the defence of the great principles of natural
and revealed theology. If any fraud or imposture had existed in
regard to the Christian religion, by which the minds of others had
been blinded, it would be difficult, from the whole catalogue of
the learned, to select a man better suited to detect and dispel the
D
38 DR. ALEXANDER'S
illusion. He is less profound than Butler, but his views and rea-
sonings are much more on a level with the understanding of the
bulk of mankind. The former collects and converges to a focus
the feeble and scattered rays of light which pass unnoticed by
others ; the latter, neglecting weak arguments, seizes on the strong
points of evidence in every subject, and exhibits them in a light so
clear and steady, that he carries along with him the convictions of
every mind, not closed against the force of truth, by strong and in-
veterate prejudice. Thus in his EVIDENCES he fixes on a single
fact, the truth of which cannot be denied ; namely, that in the
commencement of the Christian religion many persons did volun-
tarily undergo the severest sufferings and persecutions in confirma-
tion of their faith in this system. This fact, as we have seen, is
fully attested by the highest Heathen as well as Christian authori-
ties, and is now questioned by none. On this single point PALEY
erects his battery, and his conclusion cannot be evaded without
a renunciation of common sense, or of the commonly-received
laws of evidence. It detracts something from the interest, and in
my opinion, from the effect of this treatise, that the author con-
sidered it necessary to descend to so many minute details, in estab-
lishing the authenticity of the sacred books of the New Testa-
ment. For full satisfaction to the person who wishes to go into a
thorough investigation, the testimonies here adduced are too je-
june : it would be better to refer such an inquirer to JONES and
LARDNER at once ; and for common readers, these details only
serve to interrupt the argument. To others, however, this work
of Paley seems, in all respects, to approximate perfection. The
pious and philanthropic Douglas, of Scotland, in a late work, ex-
presses it as his opinion, that EUCLID'S ELEMENTS, and PALEY'S
EVIDENCES, are the only two treatises which are perfectly adapted
to the business of elementary instruction. This praise seems to me
somewhat extravagant ; for in my humble opinion, PALEY'S NATU-
RAL THEOLOGY is superior to Ms EVIDENCES, as an elementary
treatise ; but this opinion from a mind so comprehensive and so
highly gifted as that of the gentleman above mentioned, cannot but
recommend this work to the careful perusal of all such persons as
wish for full information and complete satisfaction on this mo-
mentous subject. And in regard to the propriety of giving it a
place in such a selection as this, there can be but one opinion. In-
deed, whatever else had been included in the volume, if this had!
PRELIMINARY DISCOURSE. 39
been omitted, it would have been considered defective, by most
judicious readers.
It would have been easy to swell this volume to double its
present size, without a repetition of the same arguments ,- but the
Editor has rightly judged, that for ready circulation and convenient
use, as well as on the score of economy, a book of moderate size
will be best adapted to the greater number of readers. It is not
recollected that any work precisely on the plan* of the present
publication, has been prepared. The writer has, indeed, seen,
many years past, a little volume, entitled " THE PANOPLY," which
contained a part of what is included in this selection ; but it
was never widely circulated, and has been long out of print.
The writer has only lo add his sincere wishes for the success
of this enterprise ; so that there may be encouragement for other
similar publications. He is deeply persuaded, that the real welfare
of this growing nation can in no way be more effectually pro-
moted, than by inculcating sound principles of religion and mo-
rality among the people at large ; and that the greatest dangers
which menace our beloved country, are to be apprehended from
the progress of infidelity and vice. And let the adage that " a
grain of prevention is better than an ounce of cure," be remem-
bered, for it is as applicable to this subject as to any other. Every
man, therefore, who contributes any thing to the circulation of
good books .on the evidences of religion, is actually conferring a
benefit on his country, and while he promotes the cause of Chris-
tianity, at the same time performs thp duty of a good patriot. In
other countries religion is supported by the arm of civil authority,
and attacks on revealed religion are punished as crimes against the
state ; but here, Christianity must depend upon her own resources ;
and when assailed, can resort lo no other weapons but evidence
and argument. And this state of things is not to be regretted ; for
the truth is mighty, and will eventually prevail. But let all the
friends of truth perform the duty which is incumbent on them in
such circumstances. And especially, let the PRESS be put con-
tinually into requisition for this purpose. The influence of the
Press is incalculable, both for good and evil. And while, so much
that is corrupting to the community flows through this channel,
let the friends of truth, with fidelity and energy, apply the proper
remedy.
AN
APOLOGY FOR CHRISTIANITY,
IN
A SERIES OF LETTERS,
ADDRESSED TO
EDWARD GIBBON, ESQ.
AUTHOR OF THE HISTORY OF THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE
Ir
ROMAN EMPIRE.
BY
R. WATSON, D.D., F.R.S.
AND REGIUS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF
CAMBRIDGE.
41
THE
AUTHOR'S ADVERTISEMENT.
I KNOW not whether I may be allowed, without the imputation of
vanity, to express the satisfaction I felt on being told by my book-
seller, that another edition of the APOLOGY FOK. CHRISTIANITY was
wanted. It is a satisfaction, however, in which vanity has no part ;
it is altogether founded in the delightful hope, that I may have been,
in a small degree, instrumental in recommending the religion of
Christ to the attention of some, who might not otherwise have con-
sidered it with that serious and unprejudiced disposition which its
importance requires.
The celebrity of the work which gave rise to this apology, has,
no doubt, principally contributed to its circulation : could I have
entertained a thought, that it would have been called for so many
years after its first publication, I would have endeavored to have
rendered it more intrinsically worthy the public regard. It becomes
not me, however, to depreciate what the world has approved ; rather
let me express an earnest wish, that those, who dislike not this little
book, will peruse larger ones on the same subject: in them they
will see the defects of this so abundantly supplied, as will, I trust,
convince them, that the Christian religion is not a system of super-
stition, invented by enthusiasts, and patronized by statesmen for
secular ends, but a revelation of the will of God.
LONDON, )
March 10, 1791. $
43
APOLOGY FOR CHRISTIANITY.
LETTER I.
Sni ; It would give me much uneasiness to be reputed an enemy
to free inquiry in religious matters, or as capable of being animated
into any degree of personal malevolence against those who differ
from me in opinion. On the contrary, I look upon the right of
private judgment, in every concern respecting God and ourselves,
as superior to the control of human authority; and have ever re-
garded free disquisition as the best mean of illustrating the doctrine,
and establishing the truth of Christianity. Let the followers of
Mahomet, and the zealots of the church of Rome, support their
several religious systems by damping every effort of the human in-
tellect to pry into the foundations of their faith: but never can it
become a Christian, to be afraid of being asked " a reason of the
faith that is in him ;" nor a Protestant, to be studious of .enveloping
his religion in mystery and ignorance ; nor the Church of England,
to abandon that moderation by which she permits every individual
ft sentire quce velit, et quai ssntiat dicere.
It is not, Sir, without some reluctance, that, under the influence
of these opinions, I have prevailed upon myself to address these
Letters to you ; and you will attribute to the same motive my not
haying given you this trouble sooner. I had, moreover, an expec-
tation, that the task would have been undertaken by some person
capable of doing greater justice to the subject, and more worthy of
your attention. Perceiving, however, that the two last chapters,
the fifteenth in particular, of your very laborious and classical his-
tory of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, had made upon
many an impression not at all advantageous to Christianity ; and
that the silence of others, of the clergy especially, began to be
looked upon as an acquiescence in what you had therein advanced ;
I have thought it my duty, .with the utmost respect and good-will
towards you, to take the liberty of suggesting to your consideration.
a few remarks upon some of the passages, which have been es-
teemed (whether you meant that they should be so esteemed or not)
as powerfully militating against that revelation, which still is to
many, what it formerly was "to the Greeks foolishness;" but
which we deem to be true, to " be the power of God unto salva-
tion to everyone that believeth."
To the inquiry, by what means the Christian faith obtained so
45
46 Waisorfs Apology
remarkable a victory over the established religions of the earth,
you rightly answer, by the evidence of the doctrine itself, and the
ruling providence of its author. But afterwards, in assigning to this
astonishing event five secondary causes, derived from the passions
of the human heart, and the general circumstances of mankind, you
seem to some to have insinuated, that Christianity, like other im-
postures, might have made its way in the world, though its origin
had been as human as the means by which you suppose it was
spread. It is no wish or intention of mine to fasten the odium of
this insinuation upon you : I shall simply endeavor to show, that
the causes you produce are either inadequate to the attainment of
the end proposed ; or that their efficiency, great as you imagine it,
was derived from other principles than those you 'have thought
proper to mention.
Your first cause is, " the inflexible, and, if you may use the ex-
pression, the intolerant zeal of the Christians, derived, it is true,
from the Jewish religion, but purified from the narrow and unsocial
.spirit, which, instead of inviting, had deterred the Gentiles from
embracing the law of Moses." Yes, Sir, we are agreed that the ,
.zeal of the Christians was inflexible ; "neither death, nor life, nor '
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,"
could bend it into a separation "from the love of God which was
in Christ Jesus their Lord :" it was an inflexible obstinacy, in not
blaspheming the name of Christ, which everywhere exposed them
to persecution; and which even your amiable and philosophic
Pliny thought proper, for want of other crimes, to punish with death
in the Christians of his province. We are agreed, too, that the zeal
of the Christians was intolerant; for it denounced "tribulation and
.anguish .upon every soul of man that did evil, of the Jew first, and
also of the Gentile :" it would not tolerate in Christian worship
those who supplicated the image of Caesar, who bowed down at the
altars of Paganism, who mixed with the votaries of Venus, or wal-
lowed in the filth of Bacchanalian festivals.
But though we are thus far agreed with respect to the inflexi-
bility and intolerance of Christian zeal, yet, as to the principle from
which it was derived, we are toto coilo divided in opinion. You de-
duce it from the Jewish religion ; I would refer it to a more ade-
quate and a more obvious source, a full persuasion of the truth of
Christianity. What! think'you that it was a zeal derived from the
unsocial spirit of Judaism, which inspired Peter with courage to
upbraid the whole people of the Jews, in the very capital of Judea,
with having " delivered up Jesus, with having denied him in the
presence of Pilate, with haying desired a murderer to be granted
them in his stead, with having killed the Prince of life ?" Was it
from this principle that the same apostle, in conjunction with John,
when summoned, not before the dregs of the people (whose judg-
ments they might have been supposed capable of misleading, and
whose resentment they might have despised,) but before the rulers
,and the elders and the scribes, the dread tribunal of the Jewish
nation, and .commanded by them to teach no more in the name of
for Christianity. 47
Jesus boldly answered, " that they could not but speak the things
which they\had seen and heard? They had seen with their eyea,
they had bandied with their hands, the word of life ;" and no hu-
man jurisdiction could deter them from being faithful witnesses of
what they had seen and heard. Here, then, you may perceive the
genuine and undoubted origin of that zeal, which you ascribe to- .
what appears to me a very insufficient cause ; and which the Jewish
rulers were so far from considering as the ordinary effect of their
religion, that they were exceedingly at a loss how to account for
it : " now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and
perceived that they, were unlearned and ignorant men, they mar-
velled." The apostles, heedless of consequences, and regardless
of every thing but truth, openly everywhere professed themselves
witnesses of the resurrection of Christ; and with a confidence
which could .proceed from nothing but conviction, and which
pricked the Jews to the heart, bade "the house of Israel know
assuredly, that God had made that same Jesus, whom they had
crucified, both Lord and Christ."
I mean not to produce these instances of apostolic zeal as direct
proofs of the truth of Christianity ; for every religion, nay, every
absurd sect of eye.ry religion, has had its zealots, who have not
scrupled to maintain their principles at the expense of their lives ;
and we ought no more to infer the truth of Christianity from the
mere zeal of its propagators, than the truth of Mahometanism from
that of a Turk. When a man suffers himself to be covered with
infamy, pillaged of his property, and dragged at last to the block or
the stake, rather than give up his opinion ,- the proper inference is,
not that his opinion is true, but that he believes} it to be true ; arid
a question of serious discussion immediately presents itself upon
what foundation has he built his belief? This is often an intricate
inquiry, including in it a vast compass of human learning. A Bra-
min or a Mandarin, who should observe a missionary attesting the
truth of Christianity with his blood, would, notwithstanding, have a
right to ask many questions, before it could be expected that he
should give an assent to our faith. In the case, indeed, of the
apostles, the inquiry would be much less perplexed ; since it would
briefly resolve itself into this whether they were credible reporters
of facts, which they themselves professed to have. seen and it
would be an easy matter to show, that their zeal in attesting what
they were certainly competent to judge of, could not proceed from
any alluring prospect of worldly interest or ambition, or from any
other probable motive than a love of truth.
But the credibility of the apostles' testimony, or their competency
to judge of the facts which they relate, is not now to be examined ;
the question before us simply relates to the principle by which their
zeal was excited : and it is a matter of real astonishment to me, that
any one conversant with the history of the first propagation of
Christianity, acquainted with the opposition it everywhere met
with from the people of the Jews, and aware of the repugnancy
which must ever subsist between its tenets and those of Judaism,
48 Watson's Apology
should ever think of deriving the zeal of the primitive Christiana
from the Jewish religion.
Both Jew and Christian, indeed, believed in one God, and abomi-
nated irlolalry : but this detestation of idolatry, had it been unac-
companied with the belief of the resurrection of Christ, would
probably have been just as inefficacious in exciting the zeal of the
Christian to undertake the conversion of the Gentile world, as it
had for ages been in exciting that of the JBAV. But supposing, what
I think you have not proved, and what I am certain cannot be ad-
mitted without proof, that a zeal derived from the Jewish religion
inspired the first Christians with fortitude to oppose themselves to
the. institutions of Paganism; what was it that encouraged them to
attempt the conversion of their own countrymen? Amongst the
Jews they met with no superstitious observance of idolatrous rites;
and therefore amongst them could have no opportunity of "declar-
ing and confirming their zealous opposition to Polytheism, or of
fortifying, by frequent protestations, their attachment to the Chris-
tian faith." Here then, at least, the cause you have assigned for
Christian zeal ceases to operate ; and we must look out for some
other principle than a zeal against idolatry, or we shall never be
able satisfactorily to explain the ardor with which the apostles
pressed the disciples of Moses to become the disciples of Christ.
Again : Does a determined opposition to, and an open abhorrence
of every the minutest part of an established religion, appear to you
to be the most likely method of conciliating to another faith those
who profess it? The Christians, you contend, could neither mix
with the heathens in their convivial entertainments, nor partake
with them in the .celebration of their solemn festivals : they could
neither associate with' them in their hymeneal nor funeral rites:
they could not cultivate their arts, or be spectators of their shows:
in short, in order to escape the rites of Polytheism, they were hi
your opinion obliged to renounce the commerce of mankind, and
all the offices and amusements of life. Now, how such an extrava-
gant and intemperate zeal as you here describe, can, humanly
speaking, be considered as one of the chief causes of the quick
propagation of Christianity, in opposition to all the established
powers of paganism, is a circumstance I can by no means compre-
hend. The Jesuit missionaries, whose human prudence no one
will question,' were quite of a contrary way of thinking; and
brought a deserved censure upon themselves, for not scrupling to
propagate the faith of Christ by indulging to their pagan converts a
frequent use of idolatrous ceremonies. Upon the whole it appears
to me, that the Christians were in nowise indebted to the Jewish
religion for the zeal with which they propagated the Gospel amongst
Jews as well as Gentiles ; and that such a zeal as you describe, let
its principle be what you please, could never have been devised by
any human understanding as a probable mean of promoting the pro-
gress of a reformation in religion, much less could it have been
thought of or adopted by a few ignorant and unconnected men.
In expatiating upon this subject you have taken an opportunity of
for Christianity. 49
remarking, that " the .contemporaries of Moses and Joshua had be-
held with careless indifference the most amazing miracles and that,
in contradiction to every known principle of the human mind, that
singular people (the Jews) seems to have yielded a stronger and
more ready assent to the traditions of their remote ancestors, than
to the evidence of their own senses." This observation bears hard
upon the veracity of the Jewish Scriptures ; and, was it true, would
force us either to reject them, or to admit a position as extraordinary
as a miracle itself that the testimony of others produced in the
human mind a stronger degree of conviction, concerning a matter
of fact, than the testimony of the' senses themselves. It happens,
however, in the present case, that we are under no necessity of
either rejecting the Jewish .Scriptures, or of admitting such an ab-
surd position ; for the fact is not true, that the contemporaries of
Moses and Joshua beheld with careless indifference the miracles
related in the Bible to have been performed in their favor. That
these miracles were not sufficient to awe the Israelites into a uni-
form obedience to the' Theocracy, cannot be denied ; but whatever
reasons may be thought best adapted to account for the propensity
of the Jews to idolatry, and their frequent defection from the wor-
ship of one true God, a " stubborn incredulity " cannot be admitted
as one of them.
To men, indeed, whose understandings 'have been enlightened
by the Christian revelation, and enlarged by all the aids of human
learning; who are under no temptations to idolatry from without,
and whose reason from within would revolt at the idea of wor-
shipping the infinite Author of the universe under any created
symbol ; to men who are compelled, by the utmost exertion of their
reason, to admit as an irrefragable truth, what puzzles the first prin-
ciples of all reasoning, the eternal existence of an uncaused being ;
and who are conscious that they cannot give a full account of any
one phenomenon hi nature, from the rotation of the great orbs of
the universe to the germination of a blade of grass, without having
recourse to him as the primary incomprehensible cause of it; and
who, from seeing him everywhere, have, by a strange fatality (con-
verting an excess of evidence into a principle of disbelief), at times
doubted concerning his existence anywhere, and made the very
universe their God; to men of such a stamp, it appears almost an
incredible thing, that any human being, which had seen the order
of nature interrupted, or the uniformity of its course suspended,
though but for a moment, should ever afterwards lose the impression
of reverential awe which they apprehend would have been excited
in their minds. But whatever effect the visible interposition of the
Deity might have in removing the scepticism, : or confirming .the
faith, of a few philosophers, it is with 'me a very great doubt,
whether the people in general of our days would be more strongly
affected by it than they appear to have been in the days of Moses.
Was any people under heaven to escape the certain destruction
impending over them, from the close pursuit of an enraged and
irresistible enemy, by seeing the waters of the ocean " becoming a
E
50 Watson's. Apology
wall to them on their right hand and on their left ;" they would, I
apprehend, be agitated by the very same passions we are told the
.Israelites were, when they saw the sea returning to his strength,
and swallowing up the host of Pharaoh ; they " would fear the Lord,
they would believe the Lord," and they would express their faith
and their fear by praising the Lord : they would not behold such a
great work with." careless indifference," but with astonishment and
terror; nor would you be able to .detect the. slightest vestige of
"stubborn incredulity" in their song of gratitude. No length of
time would be able to blot from their minds the memory of such
a transaction, or induce a doubt concerning its author; though
future hunger and thirst might make them call but for water and
bread, with a desponding and rebellious importunity.
But it was not at the Red Sea only that the Israelites regarded with
something more than a " careless indifference" the amazing miracles
which God had wrought ; for, when the law was declared to them
from mount Sinai, " all the people saw the thunderings, and the
lightnings, and the noise of the tempest, and the mountain smoking;
and when the people saw it, they removed and stood afar off: and
they said uiito Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear ; but
let not God speak with us, -lest we die." This again, Sir, is the
Scripture account of the language of the contemporaries of Moses
and Joshua ; and I leave it to you to consider whether this is the
language of "stubborn incredulity, and careless indifference."
We are told, in Scripture, too, that whilst any of the " contempo-
raries " of Moses and Joshua were alive, the whole people served
the Lord : the impression which a sight of the miracles had made
was never' effaced; nor the obedience, which might have been
expected as a natural consequence, refused, till Moses and Joshua,
and all their contemporaries, were gathered unto their fathers ; till
" another generation after them arose, which knew not the Lord,
nor yet the works which he had done for Israel." But " the people
served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the
elders that outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of
the Lord that he did for Israel."
I am far from thinking you, Sir, unacquainted with Scripture,, or
desirous of sulking the weight of its testimony ; but as the words of
the history, from which you must have derived your observation,
will not support you in imputing " careless indifference " to the con-
temporaries of Moses,. or "stubborn incredulity" to the forefathers,
of the Jews, I know not what can have induced you to pass so se-
vere a censure upon them-, except that you look upon a lapse into
idolatry as a propf of infidelity. In answer lo this I would remark,
that with equal soundness of argument we ought to infer, that every
one, who transgresses a religion, disbelieves it ; and that' every in-
dividual, who in any community incurs civil pains and penalties, is
a disbeliever of the existence of the authority by which they are
inflicted. The sanctions of the Mosaic law were, in your opinion,
terminated within the narrow limits of this life; in that particular,
then, they must have resembled the sanctions of all other v civil
for Christianity. 51
laws : " transgress and die" is the language of every one of them,
as well as that of Moses ; and I know not what reason we have to
expect, that the Jews, who were animated by the same hopes of
temporal rewards, impelled by the same fears of temporal punish-
ments, Avith the rest of mankind,, should have been so .singular in
their conduct, as never to have listened to the clamors of passion
before the still voice of reason ; as never to have preferred a present
gratification of sense, in the lewd celebration of idolatrous rites,
before the rigid observance of irksome -ceremonies.
Before I release you from the trouble of this Letter, I cannot help
observing, that I could have wished you had furnished your reader
with Limborch's answers to the objections of the Jew Orobio, con-
cerning the perpetual obligation of the law of Moses. You have
indeed mentioned Limborch with respect,- in a short note ; but
though you have studiously put into the mouths of the Judaising
Christians in the apostolic days, and with great strength inserted
into your text, whatever has been said by Orobio or others against
Christianity, from the supposed perpetuity of the Mosaic dispensa-
tion; yet you have .not favored us with any one .of the numerous
replies which have been made to these seemingly strong objections.
You are pleased, it is true, to say, " that the industry of our learned
divines has abundantly explained the ambiguous language of the
Old Testament, and the ambiguous conduct of the apostolic teach-
ers." It requires, Sir, no learned industry to explain what is so ob-
vious and so express, that he who runs may read it. The language
of the Old Testament is this : " Behold, the days come, saith the
Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel,
and with the house of Judah ; not according to the covenant that I
made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to
bring them out of the land of Egypt" /Phis, methinks, is a clear
and solemn declaration ; there is no ambiguity at all in it ; that the
covenant with Moses was not to be perpetual, but was in some fu-
ture time to give way to a "new covenant." Twill not detain you
with an explanation of what Moses himself lias said upon this sub-
ject; but you may try, if you please, whether you can apply the
following declaration, which Moses made to the Jews, to any pro-
phet or succession of prophets, with the same propriety that you
can to Jesus Christ: "The Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a
Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto thee :
unto him shall ye hearken." If you think this ambiguous or obscure,
I answer, that it is not a history, but a prophecy ; and, as such, un-
avoidably liable to some degree of obscurity, till interpreted by the
,
Nor was the conduct.of the apostles more ambiguous than the
language of the Old Testament : they did not indeed at first com-
prehend the whole of the nature of the new dispensation ; and when
they did understand it belter, they did not think proper upon every
occasion to .use their Christian liberty; but, with true Christian
charity, accommodated themselves in matters of indifference to the
prejudices of their weaker brethren. But he who changes his con-
52 Watson's Apology
duct with a change of sentiments, proceeding from an increase of
knowledge, is not ambiguous in his conduct; nor should he be ac-
cused of a culpable duplicity, who, in a matter of the last import-
ance, endeavors to conciliate the good-will of all, by conforming in
a few innocent observances to the particular persuasions of different
men. .
One remark more, and I have done. In your account of the"
Gnostics, you have given us a very minute catalogue of the objec-
tions which they made to the authority of Moses, from his account
of the creation, of the patriarchs, of the law, and of the attributes of
the Deity. I have not leisure to examine whether the Gnostics of
former ages really made all the objections you have mentioned ; I
take it for .granted, upon your authority, that they did: but I am
certain, if they did, that the Gnostics of modem times have no reason
to be puffed up with their knowledge, "or to be had in admiration
as men of subtle penetration or refined erudition : they are all mis-
erable copiers of their .brethren of antiquity; and neither Morgan,
nor Tindal, nor Bolingbroke, nor Voltaire, have been able to pro-
duce scarce a single new objection. You think that the Fathers
have not properly answered the Gnostics! I make no question, Sir,
you are able to answer them to your own satisfaction, and informed
of every tiling that has been said by our " industrious divines" upon
the subject; and we should have been .glad, if it had fallen in with
your plan to have administered together with the poison its anti-
dote : but, since that is not the case, lest its malignity should spread
too far, I must just mention it to my younger readers, that Leland
and others, in their replies to the modern deists, have given very
full, and, as many learned men apprehend, very satisfactory an-
swers to every one of the objections which you have derived from
the Gnostic heresy. I am, &c.
LETTER II.
SIR; "The doctrine of a future life, improved by every addi-
tional circumstance which could give weight and efficacy to that
important truth,'! is the second of the causes to which you attribute
the quick increase of Christianity. Now, if we impartially consider
the. circumstances of the persons to whom -the .doctrine, not simply
of a future life, but of a future life .accompanied with punishments
as well as rewards; not only of the immortality of the soul, -but of
the immortality of the soul accompanied with that of the resurrec-
tion, was delivered; I cannot be of opinion, that, abstracted from
the supernatural testimony by which it was enforced, it could have
met 'with any very extensive reception amongst them. .
It was not that Icind of future life which .th6y expected ; it did not
hold out to them the punishments of the infernal regions as aniles
for Christianity. 53
faJbubas. To the question, Quid si post mortem maneant animi? they
could not answer with Cicero and the philosophers Beatos esse
concede ; because there was .a great probability that it might be quite
otherwise with them. I am not to learn, that there are passages to
be picked up in the writings of the ancients, which might be pro-
duced as proofs of their expecting a future state of punishment for
the flagitious ; but this opinion.was worn out of credit before the
time of our Saviour : the whole disputation in the first book of the
Tusculan Questions goes .upon the other supposition. Nor was the
absurdity of the doctrine of future punishments confined to the
writings of the philosophers, or the circles of the learned and polite ;
for Cicero, to mention no others, makes no secret of it in his public
pleadings before the people at large. You, yourself, Sir, have re-
ferred to his oration for Cluentius : in this oration, you may remem-
ber, he makes great mention of a very abandoned fellow, who had
forged I know not how many wills, murdered I know not how
many wives, and .perpetrated a thousand other villanies ; yet even
to this profligate, by name Oppianicus, he is persuaded that death
was not the occasion of any evil.* Hence, I think, we may conclude,
that such of the Romans as were not wholly infected with the anni-
hilating notions of Epicurus, but entertained (whether from remote
tradition or enlightened argumentation) hopes of a future life, had
no manner of expectation of such a life as included hi it the severity
of punishment denounced in the Christian sche,me against the
wicked.
Nor was it that kind of future life which they wished : they
would have been glad enough of an Elysium, which could have
admitted into it men who had spent this life in the perpetration of
every vice which can debase and pollute the human heart. To
abandon very seducing gratification of sense, to pluck up every
latent root of ambition, to subdue every impulse of .revenge, to divest
themselves of every inveterate habit in -which their glory and their
pleasure consisted ; to do all this and more, before they could look
up to the doctrine of a future life without terror and amazement,
was not, one would think, an easy undertaking: nor was it likely,
that many would forsake the religious institutions of their ancestors,
set at naught the gods under whose auspices the capital had been
founded, and Rome niade mistress of the world ; and suffer them-
selves to be persuaded into the belief of a tenet, the very mention
of which made Felix tremble, by any thing less than a full convic-
tion of the supernatural authority of those who taught it.
The several schools of Gentile philosophy had discussed, with no
small subtlety, every argument which. reason could suggest, for and
against the immortality of the soul ; and those uncertain glimmer-
ings of the light of nature would have prepared the minds of the
* Nam mine quidem quid tandem mail illi" mors attulit? nisi fortd
ineptiis ac fabulis ducimur. ut existimemus a_pud inferos impiorum sup-
plicia perferre, ac plures illic ofiendisse inimicos quam hie reliquisse
qua; si falsa suit, id quod omnes intelligunt, &c.
E2
64 Watson's Apology
learned for the reception of the full illustration of this subject by
the Gospel, had not the resurrection been a part of the doctrine
therein advanced. But that this corporeal frame, which is hourly
mouldering away, and resolved at last into the undistinguished
mass of elements from which it was at first derived, should ever be
" clothed with immortality ; that this corruptible should ever put on
incorruption ;" is a truth so far removed from the apprehension of
philosophical research, so dissonant from the common conceptions
of mankind, that amongst all ranks and persuasions of men it was
esteemed an impossible thing. At Athens, the philosophers had
listened with patience to St. Paul, whilst they conceived him but a
" setter forth of strange gods ;" but as soon as they comprehended,
that by the avaaraais he meant the resurrection, they turned from
him with contempt- It was principally the insisting upon the same
topic, which made Festus think " that much learning had made him
mad." And the questions, "How are the dead raised up?" and,
"With what body do they come ?" seem, by Paul's solicitude to an-
swer them with fullness and precision, to have been not unfrequently
proposed to him by those who were desirous of becoming Christians.
The dpetrine of a future life, then, as promulged in the Gospel,
being neither agreeable to the expectations, nor corresponding with
the wishes, nor conformable to the reason of the Gentiles, I can
discover no motive (setting aside the true one, the divine power of its
first preachers,) which could induce them to receive it ; and, in con-
sequence of their belief, to conform their loose morals to the rigid
standard of Gospel purity, upon the mere authority of a few con-
temptible fishermen of Judea. And even you, yourself, Sir, seem
to have changed your opinion concerning the efficacy of the expect-
ation of a future life in converting the heathens, when you observe,
in the following chapter, that " the pagan multitude; reserving their
gratitude for temporal benefits alone, rejected the inestimable pres-
ent of life and immortality which was offered to mankind by Jesus
of Nazareth."
Montesquieu is of opinion, that it will ever be impossible for
Christianity to establish itself in China and the East, from the cir-
cumstance that it prohibits a plurality of wives. How then could it
have been possible for it to have pervaded the voluptuous capital,
and traversed the utmost limits of the empire of Rome, by the feeble
efforts of human industry, or human knavery ?.
But the Gentiles, you are of opinion, were* converted by their
fears ; and reckon the doctrine of Christ's speedy appearance, of .
the millennium, and of the general conflagration, amongst those
additional circumstances which gave weight to that concerning a
future state. Before I proceed to the examination of the efficiency
of 'these several circumstances in alarming the apprehensions of the
Gentiles, what if I should grant your position? Still the main ques-
tion recurs. From what source did they derive the fears, which
converted them? Not- surely from the mere human labors of men
who were everywhere spoken against, made a spectacle of, and
considered as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things ;
for Christianity. 55
not surely from the human powers of him, who professed himself
" rude in speech, in bodily presence contemptible," and a despiser
of "the excellency of speech, and the enticing words of men's wis-
dom." No, such wretched instruments were but ill fitted to inspire
the haughty and the learned Romans with any other passions than
those of pity or contempt.
Now, Sir, if you please, we will consider that universal expecta-
tion of the approaching end of the. world, which, you think, had
such great influence in converting the pagans to the profession of
Christianity. The near approach, you say, "of this wonderful event
had been predicted by the apostles, " though the revolution of seven-
teen centuries has instructed us not to press too closely the mysteri-
ous language of prophecy and revelation." That this opinion, even
in the times of the apostles, had made its way into the Christian
church, I readily admit ; but that the apostles ever either predicted
this event to others, or cherished the expectation of it in themselves,
does not seem probable to me. As this is a point of some difficulty
and importance, you will suffer me to explain it at some length.
It must be owned, that there are several passages in the writings
of the apostles, which, at the first view, seem to countenance the
opinion you have adopted. " Now," says St. Paul, in his Epistle to
the Romans, " it is high time to awake out of sleep ; for now is our
salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent,
the day is at hand." And in his First Epistle to the Thessalonians he
comforts such of them as were sorrowing for the loss of tlieir
friends, by assuring them, that they were not lost for ever ; but that
the Lord, when he came, would bring them with him ; and that
they would not, in the participation of any blessings, be in anywise
behind those who should happen then to be alive : "We," says he
(the Christians of whatever age or country, agreeable to a frequent
use of the pronoun we), "which are alive, and remain unto the
coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep; for
the Lord himself shall descend 'from heaven with a shout, with the
voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in
Christ shall rise first; then we which, are .alive, and remain; shall
be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord."
In his Epistle to the Philippians he exhorts his Christian brethren
not to disquiet 'themselves with carking cares about their temporal
concerns, from this powerful consideration, that the Lord was at
hand : " Let your moderation be known unto all men ; the Lord is
at hand : be careful about nothing." The apostle to the Hebrews
inculcates the same doctrine, admonishing his converts "to provoke
one another to love, and to good works ; and so much the more,, as
they : sawthe day approaching.' 7 The age in which the apostles lived
is frequently called by them the end .of the world, the last days, the
last hour. I think it unnecessary, Sir, to .trouble you with an expli-
cation of these and other similar texts of Scripture, which are
usually adduced in support of your opinion ; since I hope to, be able
to give you a direct proof, that the apostles neither comforted them-
selves, nor encouraged others, with the delightful Hope of seeing
56 Watson's Apology
their master coming again into the world. It is evident, then, that
St John, who survived all the other apostles, could not have had
any such expectation ; since, in the book of the Revelation, the
future events of the Christian church, which were not to take
place, many of them, till a long series of years after his death, and
some of which have not yet been accomplished, are there minutely
described. St. Peter, in like manner, strongly intimates, that the
day of" the Lord might be said to be at hand, though it was at the
distance of a thousand years or more ; for in replying to the taunt
of those who did then, or should in future ask, " Where is the
promise of his coming ?" he says, " Beloved, be not ignorant of this
one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and
a thousand years as one day : The Lord is npt slack concerning his
promise, as some men count, slackness." And he speaks of putting
off his tabernacle, as the Lord had showed him ; and of Ids en-
deavor, that the Christians after his decease, might be able to have
these things in remembrance : so that it is past a doubt, lie could
not be of opinion, that the Lord would come in his time. As to St.
Paul, upon a partial view of whose writings the doctrine concerning
the speedy coming of Christ is principally founded, it is manifest,
that he was conscious he should not live to see it, notwithstanding
the expression before-mentioned, " we which are alive ;" for he
foretells his own death in express terms : " The time of my depar-
ture is at hand ;'.' and he speaks of his reward, not as immediately
to be- conferred on him, but as laid up, and reserved for him till
some future day. " I have -fought a good fight, I have finished my
course; henceibrth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
which the Lord, the righteous' judge, shall give me at that day."
There is, moreover, one passage in his writings, which is so express,
and full to the purpose, that it will put the matter, I think, beyond
all doubt; it occurs in his Second Epistle to the Thessalonians : the}',
it seems, had, either by misinterpreting some parts of his former
letter to them, or by the preaching of some, who' had not the spirit
of truth ; by some means or other, they had been led to expect the
speedy coming of Christ, and been greatly disturbed in mind upon
that account. To remove this error, he writes to them in the follow-
ing very solemn and affectionate manner : " We beseech you,
brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our
gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind,
or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter, as from
us, as that the day of the Lord is at hand ;. let no man deceive
you by any means." He then goes on to describe a falling away, a
great corruption of the Christian church, which was to happen
before the day of the Lord. Now, by this revelation of the man of
sin, this mystery of iniquity, which is to be consumed with the.
spirit of his mouth, destroyed by the brightness of his coming, we
have every reason to believe, is to be understood the past and
present abominations of the church of Rome. How then can it be
said of Paul, who clearly foresaw this corruption above seventeen
hundred years ago, that he expected the coming of the Lord in hia
for Christianity. 57
own day? Let us press, Sir, the mysterious language of prophecy
and revelation as closely as you please'; but let us press it truly;
and we may, perhaps, find reason from thence to receive, with less
reluctance, a religion, which describes a corruption, the strangeness
of which, had it not been foretold in unequivocal terms, might have
amazed even a friend to Christianity.
I will produce you, Sir, a prophecy, which, the more closely you
press it, the more reason you will have to believe, that the speedy
coming of Christ could never have been " predicted" by the. apostles.
Take it, as translated by Bishop Newton : " But the Spirit speaketh
expressly, that in the latter times, some shall apostatize from the
faith; giving heed to. erroneous spirits, and doctrines concerning
demons, through the hypocrisy of liars ; having their conscience
seared with a red-hot iron ; forbidding to marry, and commanding
to abstain from meats." Here you have an express prophecy ; the
Spirit hath spoken it ; that in the latter times, not immediately, but
at some distant period, some should apostatize from the faith ; some,
who had been Christians, should in truth'be so no longer, but should
give heed to erroneous spirits, and doctrines concerning demons.
Press this expression closely, and you may, perhaps, discover in it
the erroneous tenets, and the demon or saint worship, of the church
of Rome. Through the hypocrisy of liars : you recognize, no doubt,
the priesthood, and the martyrologists. Having their conscience
seared with a red-hot iron: callous, indeed, must his conscience be,
who traffics in indulgence. Forbidding to marry, and commanding
to abstain from meats: this language needs no pressing; it dis-
covers, at once, the unhappy votaries of monastic life, and the
mortal sin of eating flesh oh fast days. .
If, notwithstanding what has been- said, you should still be of
opinion, that the apostles expected Christ would come in their time ;
it will not follow, that this their error ought in any wise to diminish
their authority as preachers of the Gospel. I am sensible this posi-
tion may alarm even some well-wishers to Christianity ; and supply
its enemies with what they will think an irrefragable argument.
The apostles, they will say,, were inspired with the spirit of truth ;
and yet they fell into a gross mistake, coricerning a matter of great
importance ; how is this to be reconciled ? Perhaps, in the following
manner : When the time of our Saviour's ministry was nearly at an
end, he thought proper to raise the spirits of his disciples, who were
quite cast down with what ho had told them about his design of
leaving them ; by promising, that he would send .to them the Holy
Ghost, the Comforter, the Spirit of truth ; who should teach^them
all things, and lead them into all truth. And we know, that this his
promise was accomplishedxOn the day of Pentecost, when they were
all filled with the Holy Ghost; and we .know farther, that from that
time forward they were enabled to speak with tongues, to work
miracles, to preach the word with power, and to comprehend the
mystery of the new dispensation which was committed iinto them.
But we have no reason from hence to conclude, that they were im-
mediately inspired with the. apprehension of whatever might be
58 Watson's Apology
known; that they became acquainted with all lands of truth. They
were undoubtedly led into such truths as it was necessary for them
to know, in order to their converting the world to Christianity ; but,
in other things, they were probably left to the exercise of their un-
derstanding, as other men usually are. But surely they might be
proper witnesses of the life and resurrection of Christ, though they
were not acquainted with every thing which might have been
known ; though, in particular, they were ignorant of the precise
time when our Lord would come to judge the world. It can be no
impeachment, either of their integrity as men, or their ability as
historians, or their honesty as preachers of the Gospel, that they
were unacquainted with what had never been revealed to them ;
that they followed their own understandings vyhere they had no
better light to -guide them; speaking from conjecture, when they
could hot speak from certainty ; of themselves,- when they had no
commandment of -the Lord. They knew but in part, and they pro-
phesied but in part; and concerning this particular point, Jesus
himself had told them, just as he was about finally to leave them, that
it was not for them to "know the times and the seasons, which the
Father had put in his own power." Nor is it to be wondered at,
that the apostles were left in. a state of uncertainty concerning the
time iri which Christ should appear ; since beings far more exalted,
and more highly favored of heaven than they, were under an equal
degree of ignorance: "Of that day," says our Saviour, "and of that
hour, knoweth no one ; no, not the angels which are in heaven,
neither the Son, but the Father only." 1 am afraid, Sir, I have tired
you with Scripture quotations ; but if I have been fortunate enough
to convince you, either that the speedy coming of Christ was never
. expected, much less "predicted," by the apostles; or that their
mistake in that particular expectation can in no* degree diminish
the general \veight of their testimony as historians, I shall not be
sorry for the ennui I may. have occasioned you.
The doctrine of the Millennium is the second of the circumstances
which you produce as giving weight to that of a future state ,* and
you represent this .doctrine as having been " carefully calculated
by a succession of the fathers, from Justin Martyr and Irenaeus,
down to Lactantius ;" and observe, that when " the edifice of the
church was almost completed, . the. temporary support was laid
aside :" and in the notes you refer us, as a proof of what you ad-
vance, to " Irenseus, the -disciple of Papias, who had seen the apostle
St John," and to the second dialogue of Justin with Trypho.
I wish, Sir, you had turned to Eusebius, for the character of this
Papias, who had seen the apostle St. John : you would there have
found him represented as little better than a credulous old woman ;
very averse from reading, but mightily given to picking up stories
and traditions next to fabulous ; amongst which, Eusebius reckons
this of the Millennium one. Nor is it, I apprehend, quite certain,
that Papias ever saw, much less discoursed, as seems to be insinu-
- ated, with the apostle St. John, Eusebius thinks rather, that it was
John the presbyter he had seen. But what if lie had seen the
for Christianity. 59
apostle himself? Many a weak-headed man had undoubtedly seen
him as well as Papias; and it would be hard indeed upon Chris-
tians, if they were compelled to receive, as apostolical traditions, the
wild reveries of ancient enthusiasm, or such crude conceptions of
ignorant fanaticism as nothing but the rust of antiquity can render
venerable.
As to the works of Justin, the very dialogue you refer to contains
a proof, that the doctrine of the Millennium had not, even in his
time, the universal reception you have supposed: but, that many
Christians of pure and pious principles rejected it. I wonder how
this passage escaped you ; but it may be that you followed Tillot-
son, who himself followed Mede, and. read in the original ov instead
of av ; and thus inwardly violated the idiom of the language, the
sense of the context, and the authority of the best editions.* In the
note you observe, that it is unnecessary for you to mention all the
intermediate fathers between Justin and Lactantius, as the fact,, you
say, is not disputed. In a man who has read so many books;, and to
so good a purpose, he must be captious indeed, who cannot excuse
small mistakes. That unprejudiced regard to truth, however, which
is the great characteristic of every distinguished historian, will, I
am persuaded, make you thank me for recalling to your memory,
thatOrigcn, the most learned of all the fathers, and Dionysius, bishop
of Alexandria, usually, for his immense erudition, surnamed the
Great, were both of them prior to Lactantius, and both of them im-
pugners of the Millennium doctrine. Look, Sir, into Mosheim, or
almost any writer of ecclesiastical history, and you will find the 'op-
position of Origen and Dionysius to this system particularly noticed:
look into so common an author as Whitby, and in his learned trea-
tise upon this subject you will find that he has well proved these
two propositions : first, that this opinion of the Millennium was never
generally received in the church of Christ; secondly, that there is
no just ground to think it was derived from the apostles. From
hence, I think, we may conclude, that this Millennium doctrine
(which, by the by, though it be new-modelled, is not yet thrown
aside) could not have been any very serviceable scaffold in- the
erection of that mighty edifice, which has crushed by the weights
of its materials, and debased by the elegance of its structure, the
* Justin, in answering the question proposed by Trypho, Whether the
Christians believed the doctrine of the Millennium, says, Sifio^oyrjcra sv aot
Kai -zpOTepov, on eyw rjsv Kai aAAot iroXAot ravra Qpovuptv, uj KO.I -KO.V-
rtas 7rtfa(T0, raro yevtjcrontvov. Ho\\us S'av KO.I rtav njyKASAPAS'
KAI EYEEBOYS OVTWV Xptjiavwv TNSiMHZ TSTO pit yvtapi&iv,
taripava cot. The note subjoined to this passage out of Justin, in Thirl-
by's ed. an.. 1722, is [IIoXAaff S'av KO.I rtav' TIJS KaBapas.] Medus (quern
sequitur Tillotsonus, Reg. Fidei per iii. sect. ix. p. 756, & seq.) legit TWV
a TIJS KaQapag. Vehementer errant viri preeclari.
And in Jebb's Edit. an. 1719, we have the following note : " Doctrina
itaque de Millennio, neque erat uniyersalis ecclesioe traditio, nee opinio
de fide recepta," &c.
60 Watson's Apology
stateliest temples of heathen superstition. With these remarks, I
take leave of the Millennium; just observing, that your tliird cir-
cumstance, the general conflagration, seems to be effectually in-
cluded in your first, the speedy coming of Christ. I am,
LETTER III.
SIR ; You esteem "the miraculous powers ascribed to the primi-
tive church," as the third of- the secondary causes of the rapid
growth of Christianity. I should be willing to account the miracles,
not merely, ascribed to the primitive church, but really performed
by the apostles, as the one great primary cause of the conversion of
the Gentiles. But waiving this consideration, let us see whether
the miraculous powers, which you ascribe to the primitive church,
were in any eminent, degree calculated to spread the belief of
Christianity, amongst a great and enlightened people.
.They consisted, you tell us,*" of divine inspirations, conveyed
sometimes in the fo'rm of a sleeping, sometimes of a waking vision;
and were liberally bestowed on all ranks of the faithful, on women
as on elders, on boys as well as upon bishops." "The design of
these visions," you say, " was for the most part either .to disclose the
future history, or to guide the -present administration of the church."
You speak of " the expulsion of demons as an ordinary 'triumph of
religion, usually performed in a public manner; and when die pa-
tient was relieved by the skill or the power of the exorcist, the van-
quished demon was heard to confess that he was one of the fabled
gods of antiquity, who had impiously usurped the adoration of man-
kind ;" and you represent even the miracle of the resurrection of
the dead as frequently performed on necessary occasions. Cast
your eye, Sir, upon the church of Rome, and ask yourself (I put the
question to your heart, and beg you will consult that for an answer ;
ask yourself,) whether her absurd pretensions to that very lurid of
miraculous powers you have here displayed as operating to the "in-
crease of Christianity, have not converted half her numbers to Pro-
testantism, and the other half to infidelity? Neither the sword of the
civil magistrate, nor the possession of the keys of heaven, nor the
. terrors of her spiritual thunder, have been able to keep within her
pale even those who have been bred up in her faith; how then
should you think, that the very cause which hath almost extin-
guished Christianity among Christians, should have established it
among Pagans ? I beg I may not be misunderstood.; I do not take
up_pn me to say, that all the miracles recorded in the history of the
primitive, .church after the apostolical age were forgeries ; it is
foreign to the present purpose to deliver any opinion upon that
subject; but I do -beg leave to insist upon this, that such of them as
were forgeries must, in that learned age, by their easy detection,
for Christianity. 61
have rather impeded than accelerated the progress of Christianity;
and it appears very probable to me, that nothing but the recent
prevailing evidence of real, unquestioned, apostolical miracles,
could have secured the infant church from being destroyed by
those which were falsely ascribed to it.
It is not every man who can nicely separate the corruptions of
religion from religion itself; nor justly apportion the degrees of
credit due to the diversities of evidence ; and those who have
ability for the task are usually ready enough to emancipate them-
selves from Gospel restraints (which thwart the propensities of
sense, check the ebullitions of passion, and combat the prejudices
of the world at every turn), by blending its native simplicity with
the superstitions which have been derived from it. No argument is
so well suited to the indolence or the immorality of mankind, as that
priests of all ages and religions are the same : we see the preten-
sions of the Romish priesthood to miraculous powers, and we know
them to be false '; we are conscious, that they at least must sacrifice
their integrity to their interest, or their ambition ; and being per-
suaded, that there is a great sameness in the passions of mankind,
and in their incentives to action ; and knowing that the history of
past ages is abundantly stored with similar claims to supernatural
authority, we traverse back, in imagination, the most distant regions
of antiquity; and finding, from a superficial view, nothing to dis-
criminate one set of men, or one period of time, from another, we
hastily conclude, that all revealed religion is a cheat, and that the
miracles attributed to the apostles themselves are supported by no
better testimony, nor more worthy our attention, than the prodigies
of Pagan story, or the lying wonders of Papal artifice. I have no
intention, in this place, to enlarge upon the many circumstances by
which a candid inquirer after truth might be enabled to distinguish
a pointed difference between the miracles of Christ and his apostles,
and the tricks of ancient or modern superstition. One observation
I would just suggest to you upon this subject : the miracles recorded
in the Old and New Testament are so intimately united with the
narration of common events, and the ordinary transactions of life,
that you cainnot, as in profane history, separate the one from the
other. My meaning will be illustrated by an instance; Tacitus
and Suetonius have handed down to us an account of many great
actions performed by Vespasian; amongst the rest, they inform us
of his having wrought some miracles, of his having cured a lame
man, and restored sight to one that was blind.. But what they tell
us of these miracles is so unconnected with every thing that goes
before and after, that you may reject the relation of them without
injuring, in any degree, the consistency of the narration of the other
circumstances of his life: on the other hand, if you reject the rela-
tion of the miracles said to have been performed by Jesus Christ,
you must necessarily reject the account of his whole life, and of
several transactions, concerning which we have the undoubted tes-
timony of other writers' besides the evangelists. But if this argu-
ment should not strike you, perhaps the following observation may
F
62 Watson's Apology
tend to remove a little of the prejudice usually conceived against
Gospel miracles, by men of lively imaginations, from the gross for-
geries attributed to the first ages of the church.
The. phenomena of physics are sometimes happily illustrated by
an hypothesis; and the most recondite truths of mathematical
science not unfrequently investigated from an absurd position : what
if we try the same method of arguing in the case before us? Let us
suppose then, that a new revelation was to be promulged to man-
kind ; and that twelve unlearned and unfriended men. inhabitants
of any country most odious and despicable in the eyes of- Europe,
should by the power of God be endowed with the faculty of speak-
ing languages they had never learned, and performing works sur-
passing all human ability ; and that, being strongly impressed with
a particular truth, whicli they were commissioned to promulgate,
they should travel, not only through the barbarous regions of Africa,
but through all the learned and polished states of Europe ; preaching
everywhere with unremitted sedulity a new religion, working stu-
pendous miracles in attestation of their mission, and communicating
to their first converts (as a seal of their conversion) a variety of
spiritual gifts : does it appear probable to you, that after the death
of these men. and probably after the deaths of most of their imme-
diate successors, who had been zealously attached to the faith they
had seen so miraculously confirmed, that none would ever attempt
to impose upon the credulous or the ignorant, by a fictitious claim
to supernatural powers ? would none of them aspire to the gift of
Tongues ? would none of ahem mistake frenzy for illumination, and
the delusions of a heated brain for the impulses of the Spirit?
would none undertake to cure inveterate disorders, to expel de-
mons, or to raise the dead ? As far as I can apprehend, we ought,
from such a position, to deduce, by every rule of probable reason-
ing, the precise conclusion, which was in fact verified in the case
of the apostles; every species of -miracles, which Heaven had
enabled the first preachers to perform, would be counterfeited,
either from misguided zeal or interested cunning, either through
the imbecility or the iniquity of mankind ; and we might just as
reasonably conclude, that there never was any piety, charity, or
chastity in the world, from seeing such plenty of pretenders to these
virtues, as that there never were any real miracles performed, from
considering the great store of those which have been forged.
But, I know not how it has happened, there are many in the
present age (I am far from including you, Sir, in the number), whose
prejudices against, all miraculous events have arisen to that height,
that it appears to them utterly impossible for any human testimony,
however great, to establish their credibility. I beg pardon for
styling their reasoning, prejudice ; I have no design to give offence
by that word ; they may, with equal right, throw the same imputa^-
tion upon mine; and I think it just as illiberal in divines to attribute
the scepticism of every deist to- wilful infidelity, as it is in the deists-
to refer the faith of every divine to professional bias. I have not
had so little intercourse 'with mankind, nor shunned so much the-
for Christianity. 63
delightful freedom of social Converse, as to be ignorant, that there
are many men of upright morals and good understandings, to whom,
as you express it, " a latent and even involuntary scepticism ad-
heres ;" and who would be glad to be persuaded to be Christians :
and how severe soever some men may be in their judgments con-
cerning one another ; yet we Christians, at least, hope and believe,
that the great Judge of all will make allowance for " our habits of
study and reflection," for various circumstances, the efficacy of
which, in giving a particular bent to the understandings of men,
we can neither comprehend nor estimate. For the sake of such
men, if such should ever be induced to throw an hour away in the
perusal of these Letters, suffer me to step for a moment put of my
way, whilst I hazard an observation or two upon the subject
Knowledge is rightly divided by Mr. Locke into intuitive, sensi-
tive, and demonstrative. It is clear, that a past miracle can neither
be the object of sense nor of intuition, nor consequently of demon-
stration ; we cannot then, philosophically speaking, be said to know,
that a miracle has ever been, performed. But, in all the great con-
cerns of life, we are influenced by probability rather than know-
ledge : and of probability, the same great author establishes two
foundations; a conformity to our own experience, and the testi-
mony of others. Now it is contended, that by the opposition of
these two principles probability is destroyed ; or, in other terms,
that human testimony can never influence the mind to assent to a
proposition repugnant to uniform experience. Whose experience
do you mean ? You will not say, your own ; for the experience of
an individual reaches but a little way ; and, no doubt, you daily
assent to a thousand truths in politics, in physics, and in the business
of common life, which you have never seen verified by experience:
You will not produce the experience of your friends ; for that can
extend itself but a little way beyond your own. But by uniform
experience, I conceive, you are desirous of understanding the expe-
rience of all ages and nations since the foundation 6*f the world. I
answer, first ; how is it that you become acquainted with the expe-
rience of all ages and nations ? You will reply, from history. Be
it so : peruse then by far the most ancient records of antiquity ; and
if you find no mention of miracles in them, I give up the point. Yes;
but every thing related therein respecting miracles is to be reckoned
fabulous. Why? Because miracles contradict the experience of all
ages and nations. Do you not perceive, Sir, that you beg the very
question in debate ? for we affirm, that the great and learned nation
of Egypt, that the heathen inhabiting the land of Canaan, that the
numerous people of the Jews, and the nations which, for ages,, sur-
rounded them, have all had great experience of miracles^ You
cannot ptherways obviate this conclusion, than by questioning the
authenticity of that book, concerning which, Newton, when he was
writing his commentary on Daniel, expressed himself to the person*
from whom I had the anecdote, and which deserves not to be lost :
* J)r. Smith, late Master of Trinity College,
64 Watson's Apology
"I find more sure marks of authenticity in the Bible, than in any
profane history whatsoever."
However, I mean not to press you with the argument ad verecun-
diam ; it is needless to solicit your modesty, when it may be possible,
perhaps, to make an impression upon your judgment: I answer,
therefore, in the second place, that the admission of the principle
by which you reject miracles will lead us into absurdity. The
laws of gravitation are the most obvious of all the laws of nature;
every person in every part of the globe must of necessity have had
experience of them. There was a time when no one was acquainted
with the laws of magnetism :, these suspend in many instances the
laws of gravity : nor can I see, upon the principle in question, how
the rest of mankind could have credited the testimony of their first
discoverer ; and yet to have rejected it, would have been to reject
the truth. But that a piece of iron should ascend gradually from
the earth, and fly at last with an increasing rapidity through the air ;
and attaching itself to another piece of iron, or to a particular spe-
cies of iron ore, should remain suspended, in opposition to the action
of its gravity, is consonant to the laws of nature. I grant it ; but
there was a time when it was contrary, I say not to the laws of
nature, but to the uniform experience of all preceding ages and
countries ; and at that particular point of time, the testimony of an
individual, or of a dozen individuals, who should have reported
themselves eye-witnesses of slich a fact, ought, according to your
argumentation, to have been received as fabulous. And what are
those laws of nature, which, you think, can never be suspended ?
are they not different to different men, according to the diversities
of their comprehension and knowledge ? and if any one of them
(that, for instance, which rules the operations of magnetism or
electricity) should have been known to you or to me alone, whilst
all the rest of the world were unacquainted with it ; the effects of
it would have been new, and unheard-of in the annals, and contrary
to the experience of mankind; and therefore ought not, in your
opinion, to have been believed. Nor do I understand what differ-
ence, as to credibility, there could be between the effects of such
an unknown law of nature, and a miracle ; for it is a matter of no
moment, in that view, whether the suspension of the known laws
of nature be effected, that is, whether a miracle be performed, by
the mediation of other laws that are unknown, or by the ministry
of a person divinely commissioned ; since it is impossible for us to
be certain, that it is contradictory to the constitution of the universe,
that the laws of nature, which appear to us general, should not be
suspended, and their action overruled by others, still more general,
though less known; that is, that miracles should not be performed
before such a being as man, at those times, in those places, and un-
der those circumstances, which God, in his universal providence,
had preordained. I am, &c.
for Christianity. 65
LETTER IV.
SIR; I 'readily acknowledge the utility of your fourth cause-,
rt the virtues of the first Christians," as greatly conducing to the
spreading of their religion ; but then you seem to quite mar Xhe
compliment you pay them, by representing their virtues as proceed-
ing either from their repentance for having been the most aban-
doned sinners, or from the laudable desire of supporting .the reputa-
tion of the society in which they were engaged.
That repentance is the first step to virtue, is true enough ; but I
see no reason for supposing, according to the calumnies of Celsus
and Julian, "that the Christians allured into their party men, who
washed away in the waters of baptism the guilt for which the tem-
ples of the gods refused to grant them any expiation." The apostles,
Sir, did.not, like Romulus, open an asylum for debtors, thieves, and
murderers ; for they had not the same sturdy, means of securing
their adherents from the grasp of civil power ; they did riot per-
suade them to abandon the temples of the gods, because they could
there obtain no expiation for their guilt, but because every degree
of guilt was expiated in them with too great facility : and every
vice practised, not only without remorse of private conscience, but
with the powerful sanction of public approbation.
"After the example," you say, " of their Divine Master, the mis-
sionaries of the Gospel addressed themselves to men, and especially
to woriien, oppressed by the consciousness, and very often by the
effects, of their vices." This, Sir, I really think, is not a fair repre-
sentation of the matter ; it may catch the applause of the unlearned,
embolden many a stripling to cast off for ever the sweet blush of
modesty, confirm many a dissolute veteran in the practice of his
impure habits, and suggest great occasion of merriment and wanton
mockery to the flagitious of every denomination and every age ; but
still it will want that foundation of truth, which alone can recom-
mend it to the serious and judicious. The apostles, Sir, were not
like the Italian Fralricelli of the thirteenth, nor the French Tarlu-
pins of the fourteenth century ; in all the dirt that has been raked
up against Christianity, even by the worst of its enemies, not a
speck of that kind have they been able to fix, either upon the apos-
tles, or their Divine Master. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, Sir, was
not preached in single houses or obscure villages, not in subterrane-
ous caves and impure brothels, not in lazars and in prisons ; but in the
synagogues and in the temples, in the streets and the market-places of
the great capitals of the Roman provinces ; in Jerusalem, in Corinth,
and in Antioch, in Athens, in Ephesus, and in Rome. Nor do I
anywhere find, that its missionaries were ordered particularly to
address themselves to the shameless women you mention ; I do in-
deed find the direct contrary ; for they were ordered to turn away
from, to have no fellowship or intercourse with such as w r ere wont
" to creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with
F2
66 Watson's Apology
sins, led away with divers lusts." And what if a few women, who
had either been seduced by their passions, or had fallen victims to
the licentious manners of their age, should be found amongst those
who were most ready to receive a religion that forbad all impurity ?
I do not apprehend that this circumstance ought to bring an insinua-
tion of discredit, either upon the sex, or upon those who wrought
their reformation.
That the majority of the first converts to Christianity were of an
inferior condition in life may readily be allowed ; and you yourself
have in another place given a good reason for it ; those who -are
distinguished by riches, honors, or knowledge, being so veiy incon-
siderable in number when compared with the bulk of mankind :
but though not many mighty, not many 'noble were called ; yet
some mighty, and some noble, some of as great reputation as any of
the age hi which they lived, were attached to the Christian faith.
Short indeed are the accounts, which have been transmitted to us,
of the first propagating of Christianity ; yet even in these we meet
with the names of many, who would have done credit to any cause :
I will not pretend to enumerate them all ;. a few of them will be
sufficient to make you recollect, that there were, at least, some con-
verts to Christianity, both from among the Jews and the Gentiles,
whose lives were not stained with inexpiable crimes. Amongst
these we reckon Nicodemus.. a ruler of the Jews ; Joseph of Ari-
mathea, a man of fortune and a counsellor ; a nobleman and a cen-
turion of Capernaum; Jairus, Crispus, Sosthenes, rulers of syna-
gogues; Apollos, an eloquent and learned man; Zenas, a Jewish
lawyer; the treasurer of Candace queen of ^Ethiopia ; Cornelius, a
centurion of the Italian band; Dionysius, a member of the Are-
opagus at Athens ; and Sergius Paulus, a man of proconsular or
praetorian authority, of whom it may be remarked, that if he re-
signed his high and lucrative office, in consequence of his turning
Christian, it is a strong presumption in its favor ; if he retained it,
we may conclude, that the profession of Christianity was not so
utterly incompatible with the discharge of the offices of civil life as
you sometimes represent it This catalogue of men of rank, for-
tune, and knowledge, who embraced Christianity, might, was it
necessary, be much enlarged; and probably another conversation
with St. Paul would have enabled us to grace it with the names of
Festus, and king Agrippa himself: not that the writers of the books
of the New Testament seem to have been at all solicitous in men-
tioning the great, or the learned who were converted to the faith;
had that been part of their design, they would, in the true style of
impostors, have kept put of sight the publicans and sinners, the tanners
and the tentmakers, with whom they conversed and dwelt ; and intro-
duced to our notice none but those who had been " brought up with
Herod, or the chief men of Asia" whom they had .the honor to
number amongst their friends.
That the primitive Christians took great care to have an unsullied
reputation, by abstaining from the commission of whatever might
tend to pollute it, is easily admitted; but we do not so easily grant,
for Cliristianity. 67
that this care is a "circumstance which usually attends small as-
semblies of men, when they separate themselves from the body of
a nation, or the religion to which they belonged." It did not attend
the Nicolaitanes, the Simonians, the Menandrians, and the Carpo-
cratians in the first ages of the church, "of which you are speaking ;
and it cannot be unknown to you, Sir, that the scandalous vices of
these very early sectaries brought a general and undistinguished
censure upon the Christian name ; and, so far from promoting the
increase of the church, excited in the minds of the Pagans an ab-
horrence of whatever respected it : it cannot be unknown to you,
Sir, that several sectaries both at home and abroad might be men-
tioned,' who have departed from the religion to which they be-
longed; and which, unhappily for themselves and the community,
have taken as .little care to preserve their reputation unspotted as
those of the first and second centuries. If then the first Christians
did take the care you mention (and I am wholly of your opinion in
that point), their solicitude might as candidly, perhaps, and as rea-
sonably be derived from a sense of their duty, and an honest en-
deavor to discharge it, as from the mere desire of increasing the
honor of then- confraternity by the illustrious integrity of its mem-
bers.
You are eloquent in describing the austere morality of the primi-
tive Christians, as adverse to the propensities of sense, and abhor-
rent from all the innocent pleasures and amusements of life ; and
you enlarge, with a studied minuteness, upon their censures of lux-
ury, and their sentiments concerning marriage and chastity : but in
this circumstantial enumeration of their errors or their faults (which
I am under no necessity of denying or excusing) you seem to forget
the very purpose for which you profess to have introduced the men-
tion, of them ; for the picture you have drawn is so hideous, and the
coloring so dismal, that instead of alluring to a closer inspection, it
must have made every man of pleasure or of sense turn from it
with horror or disgust ; and so far from contributing to the rapid
growth of Christianity by the austerity of their manners, it must be
a wonder to any one, how the first Christians ever made a single
convert. It was first objected by Celsus, that Christianity was a
mean religion, inculpating such a pusillanimity and patience under
affronts, such a contempt of riches and worldly honors, as must
weaken the nerves of civil government, and expose a society of
Christians to the prey of the first invaders. This objection has
been repeated by Bayle ; and though fully answered by Bernard
and others, it is still the favorite theme of every esprit fort of our
own age: even you, .Sir, think the aversion of Christians to the
business of war and government, "a criminal disregard to the
public welfare." To 'all that has been said upon this subject it- may
with justice, I think, be answered, that Christianity troubles not
itself with ordering the constitutions of civil societies, but levels the
weight of all its influence at the hearts of the individuals which
compose them; and, as Origen said to Celsus, was every individual
in every nation a Gospel Christian, there would be neither internal
68 Watson's Apology
injustice, nor external war ; there would be none of those passions
which embitter the intercourses of civil life, and desolate the globe.
What reproach then can it be to a religion, that it inculcates doc-
trines, which, if universally practised, would introduce universal
tranquillity, and the most exalted happiness amongst mankind l .
It must proceed from a total misapprehension of the design of the
Christian dispensation, or from a very ignorant interpretation of the
particular injunctions, forbidding us to- make riches or honors a
primary pursuit, or the prompt gratification of revenge a first prin-
ciple of action, to infer, that an individual Christian is obliged by
his religion to offer his throat to an assassin, and his property to the
first plunderer; or that a society of Christians may riot repel; in the
best manner they are able, the unjust assaults of hostile invasion.
I know of no precepts in the Gospel, which debar a man from
the possession of domestic comforts, or deaden the activity of his
private friendships, or prohibit the exertion of his utmost ability in
the service of the public : the nisi, quietum niJiil leatum is no part of
the Christian's creed : his virtue is an active virtue ; and we justly
refer to the school of Epicurus the doctrines concerning abstinence
from marriage, from the cultivation of friendship, from the manage-
ment of public affairs, as suited to that selfish indolence which was
the favorite tenet of his philosophy. I am, &c.
LETTER V.
SIR ; " The union and the discipline of the Christian church,"
or, as you are pleased to style it, of the Christian republic, is the last
of the five secondary causes, to which you have referred the rapid
and extensive spread of Christianity. It must be acknowledged,
that union essentially contributes to the strength of every associa-
tion, civil, military, and religious ; but, unfortunately for your argu-
ment, and much to the reproach of Christians, nothing has been
more wanting amongst them, from the apostolic age to our own,
than union. " I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and
I of Christ," are expressions of disunion, which we meet with in the
earliest period of church history: and we cannot look into the writ-
ings of any, either friend or foe to Christianity, but we find the one
of them lamenting, and the other exulting in an immense catalogue
of sectaries; and both of them thereby furnishing us with great
reason to believe, that the divisions with respect to doctrine, wor-
ship, and discipline, which have ever subsisted in the church, must
have greatly tended to hurt the credit of Christianity, and to alienate
the' minds of the Gentiles from the reception of such a various and
discordant faith.
I readily grant, that there was a certain community of doctrine,
an intercourse of hospitality, and a confederacy of discipline estab-
for Christianity. 69
lished amongst the individuals of every church ; so that none could
be admitted into any assembly of Christians, without undergoing a
previous examination into his manner of life* (which shows, by the
by, that every reprobate could not, as the fit seized him, or his inte-
rest induced him, become a Christian), and without protesting in the
most solemn manner, that he would neither be guilty of murder,
nor adultery, nor theft, nor perfidy ; and it may be granted also, that
those, who broke this compact, were ejected by common consent
from the confraternity into which they had been admitted : it may
be farther granted, that this confederacy extended itself to inde-
pendent churches ; and that those who had, for their immoralities,
been excluded from Christian community in any one church, were
rarely, if ever, admitted to it by another; just as a member who
has been expelled any one college in a university, is generally
thought unworthy of being admitted by any other: but it is not ad-
mitted, that this severity and th'is union of discipline could .ever
have induced the Pagans to forsake the gods of their country, and
to expose themselves to the contemptuous hatred of their neighbors,
and to all the severities of persecution, exercised, with unrelenting
barbarity, against die, Christians.
The account you give of the origin and progress of episcopal
jurisdiction, of the pre-eminence of the metropolitan churches, and
of the ambition of the Roman pontiff, I believe to be in general ac-
curate and true ; and I am not in the least surprised at the bitter-
ness which now and then escapes you in treating this subject : for
to see the most benign religion, that imagination can form, becoming
an instrument of oppression; and the most humble one administer-
ing to the pride, the avarice, and the ambition of those who wished
to be considered as its guardians, and who avowed themselves its
professors,-would extort a censure from men more attached probably
to church authority than yourself: not that I think it either a very
candid, or a very useful undertaking, to be solely and industriously
engaged in portraying the characters of the professors of Christianity
in the worst colors : it is not candid, because ' the great law of im-
partiality, which obliges an historian to reveal the imperfections of
the uninspired teachers and believers of the Gospel," obliges him
also not to conceal, or to pass over with niggard and reluctant men-
tion, the illustrious virtues of those who gave up fortune and fame,
all their comforts, and all their hopes in this life, nay, life itself,
rather than violate any one of the precepts of that Gospel, which,
from the testimony of inspired teachers, they conceived they had
good reason to believe: it is not useful, because "to a careless ob-
server," (that is. to the generality of mankind) "their faults may
seem to cast a shade on the faith which they professed ;" and may
really infect the minds of the young and unlearned especially, with
prejudices against a religion, upon their rational reception or rejeo
* Nonnulli prtepositi sunt, qui in vitani et mores eorum, qui admit-
tuntur, inquirant, ut non concessa facientes candidates religionis at-
ceaut a suis conventibus. Orig. con. Cels. lib. ii.
70 Watson's Apology
lion of which, a matter of the utmost importance may (believe me,
Sir, it may, for aught you or any person else can prove to .the con-
trary) entirely depend. It is an easy matter to amuse ourselves and
others with the immoralities of priests and the ambition of prelates,
with the absurd virulence of synods and councils, with the ridicu-
lous doctrines which visionary enthusiasts or interested churchmen
have sanctified with the name .of Christian: but a display of inge-
nuity or erudition upon such subjects is much misplaced ; since it
excites, almost hi every person, an unavoidable suspicion of the
purity of the source itself, from which such polluted streams have
been derived. Do not mistake my meaning ; I am far from wishing
that the clergy should be looked up to with a blind reverence, or
their imperfections screened by the sanctity of their functions, from
the animadversion of the world ; quite the contrary: their conduct,
I am of opinion, ought to be more nicely scrutinized, and their de-
viation from the rectitude of the Gospel more severely censured,
than that of other men ; but great care should be taken, not to
represent their vices, or their indiscretions, as originating in, the
principles of their religion. Do not mistake me : I am not here beg-
ging quarter for Christianity; or contending, that even the princi-
ples of our religion should be received with implicit faith ; or that
every objection to Christianity should be stifled, by a representation
of the mischief it might do if publicly promulged : on the contrary,
we invite, nay, we challenge you, to a direct and liberal attack ;
though oblique glances, and disingenuous insinuations, we are will-
ing to avoid; well knowing, that the character of our religion, like
that of an honest man, is defended with greater difficulty against the
suggestions of ridicule, and the secret malignity of pretended friends,
than against positive accusations, and the avowed malice of open
enemies.
In your account of the primitive church you set forth, that " the
want of discipline and human learning was supplied by the occa-
sional assistance of the prophets ; who were called to that function
without distinction of age, sex, or natural abilities." That the gift
of prophecy was one of the spiritual gifts by which some of the first
Christians were enabled to co-operate with the apostles in the gene-
ral design of preaching the Gospel ; and that this gift, or rather, as
Mr. Locke thinks, the gift of tongues (by the ostentation of which,
many of them were prompted to speak in their assemblies at the
same time), was the occasion of some disorder in the church of
Corinth, which required the interposition of the apostle to compose,
is confessed on all hands. But if you mean, that the prophets were
ever the sole pastors of the faithful; or that no provision was made
by the apostles for the good government- and edification of the
church, except what might be accidentally derived from the occa-
sional assistance of the prophets, you are much mistaken ; and have
undoubtedly forgot what is said of Paul and Barnabas having or-
dained elders in Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch ; and of Paul's com-
mission to Titus, whom he had left in Crete, to ordain elders in
every city ; and of his instructions both to him and Timothy, con-
for Christianity. 71
eerning the qualifications of those whom they were fo appoint
bishops; one of which was, that a bishop should be able, by sound
doctrine, to exhort and to convince the gainsayer. Nor is it said,
that this sound doctrine was to be communicated to the bishop by
prophecy, or that all persons, without distinction, might be called to
that office ; but a bishop was " to be able to teach," not what he
had learned by/prophecy, but what Paul had publicly preached ;
" the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the
same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others
also." And in every place almost, where prophets are mentioned,
they are joined with apostles and teachers, and other ministers of
the Gospel ; so that there is no reason for your representing them as
a distinct order of men, who were by their occasional assistance to
supply the want of discipline and human learning in the church.
It would be taking too large a field to inquire, whether the prophets
you speak of were endowed with ordinary or extraordinary gifts ;
whether they always spoke by the immediate impulse of the Spirit,
or according to " the analogy of faith ;" whether their gift consisted
in the foretelling of future events, or in the interpreting of Scripture
to the edification and exhortation and comfort of the church, or in
both ; I will content myself with observing, that he will judge very
improperly concerning the prophets of the apostolic church, who
.takes his idea of their office or importance from your description of
them.
In speaking of the community of goods, which, you say, was
adopted for a short time in the primitive church, you hold as incon-
clusive the arguments of Mosheim; who has endeavored to prove,
that it was a community quite different from that recommended by
Pythagoras or Plato ; consisting principally in a common use, derived
from an unbounded liberality, which induced the opulent to share
their riches with their indigent brethren. There have been others,
as well as Mosheim, who have entertained this opinion; and it-is
not quite so indefensible as you represent it: but' whether it be
reasonable, or absurd, need not now be examined ; it is far more
necessary to take notice of an expression which you have used, and
which may be apt to mislead unwary readers into a very injurious
suspicion concerning the integrity of the apostles. In process, of
time, you observe, " the converts who embraced the new religion
were permitted to retain the possession of their patrimony." This
expression, "permitted to retain," in ordinary acceptation, implies
an antecedent obligation to part with : now, Sir, I have hot the
shadow of a doubt in affirming, that we have no account in Scrip-
ture of any such obligation being imposed upon the converts to
Christianity, either by Christ himself, or by his apostles, or by any
other authority; nay,- in the very place where this community of
goods is treated of, there is an express proof (I know not how your
impartiality has happened to overlook, it) to the contrary. When
Peter was about to inflict an exemplary punishment upon Ananias
(not for keeping back a part of the price, as some men are fond of
representing it, but) for his lying and hypocrisy, in offering a part
72 Watson s Apology
of the price of his land as the whole of it ; he said to him, " Whilst
it remained (unsold) was it not thine own? and after it was sold;
was it not in thine own power 2" From this account it is evident,
that Ananias was under no obligation to part with his patrimony ;
and, after he had parted with it, the price was in his own power :
the apostle would have " permitted him to retain" the whole of it,
if he had thought fit ; though he would not permit his prevarication
to go unpunished. , .
You have remarked, that " the feasts of love, the agapce, as they
were called, constituted a very pleasing and essential part of public
worship." Lest any one should from hence be led to suspect, that
these feasts of love, this pleasing part of the public worship of the
primitive church, resembled the unhallowed meetings of some im-
pure sectaries of our own tunes, I will take the liberty to add to
>ur account a short explication of the nature of these agapae.
ertullian, hi the 39th chapter of his Apology, has done it to my
hands. "The nature of our supper," says he, "is indicated by its
name ; it is called by a word, which, in the Greek language, signi-
fies love. We are not anxious about the expense of the entertain-
ment ; since we look upon that as gain which is expended with a
pious purpose, in the relief and refreshment of all our indigent
The occasion of our entertainment being so honorable, you may
judge of the manner of its being conducted : it consists in the dis-
charge of religious duties ; it admits nothing vile, nothing immodest.
Before we sit down, prayer is made to God. The hungry eat as
much as they desire, and every one drinks as much as can be useful
to sober men. We so feast, as men who have their minds impressed
with the idea of spending the night in the worship of God ; we so
converse, as men who are conscious that the Lord heareth them,"
&c. Perhaps you may object to this testimony in favor of the in-
nocence of Christian meetings, as liable to partiality, because it is
the testimony of a Christian; and you may, perhaps, be able to
pick out, from the writings of this Christian, something that looks
like a contradiction of this account : however, I will rest the matter
upon this testimony for the present ; forbearing to quote any other
Christian writer upon the subject, as I shall in a future Letter pro-
duce you a testimony superior to every objection. You speak too
of the agapae as an essential part of the public worship : this is not
according to your usual accuracy ; for, had they been essential, the
edict of a Heathen magistrate would not have been able to put a
stop to them ; yet Puny, in his letter to Trajan, expressly: says, that
the Christians left them off, upon his publishing an edict prohibiting
. assemblies ; and we know, that, in the council of. Carthage, in the
fourth century, on account of the abuses which attended them,
they began, to be interdicted, and ceased almost universally in the
I have but two observations to make upon what you have ad-
vanced concerning the severity of ecclesiastical penance : the first
is, that even you yourself do not deduce its institution from the
Scripture, but fiom the power which every voluntary society has
for Christianity. 73
over its own members; and therefore, however extravagant, "br
however absurd ; however opposite to the attributes of a commis-
erating God, or the feelings of a fallible man, it may be thought ; or
upon whatever trivial occasion, such as that you mention of calum-
niating a bishop, a presbyter, or even a deacon, it may have been
inflicted ; Christ and his apostles are not answerable for it The
other is, that it was, of all possible expedients, the least fitted to ac-
complish the end for which you think it was introduced, the propa-
gation of Christianity. The sight of a penitent humbled by a pub-
lic confession, emaciated by fasting, clothed in sackcloth, prostrated
at the door of the assembly, and imploring for years together the
pardon of his offences, and a' readmission into the bosom of the
church, was a much more likely means of deterring the Pagans
from Christian community, than the pious liberality you mention
was of alluring them iri'to it. This pious liberality, Sir, would ex-
haust even your elegant powers of description, before you could
exhibit it in the amiable manner it deserves ; it is derived from the
" new commandment of loving one another ;" and it has ever been
the distinguishing characteristic of Christians, as opposed to every
other denomination of men, Jews, Mahometans, or Pagans. In the
times of the apostles, and hi the first ages of the church, it showed
itself in voluntary contributions for the relief of the poor and the
persecuted, the infirm and the unfortunate : as soon as the church
was permitted to have permanent possessions in land, and acquired
the protection of the civil power, it exerted itself in the erection of
hospitals of every kind; institutions these, of charity and humanity,
which were forgotten in the laws of Solon and Lycurgus; and for
even one example of which, you will, I believe, in vain explore the
boasted annals of Pagan Rome. Indeed, Sir, you will think top
injuriously of this liberality, if you look upon its origin as supersti-
tious; or upon its application as an artifice of the priesthood, to se-
duce the indigent into the bosom of the church ; it was the pure
and uncorrupted fruit of genuine Christianity.
You are much surprised, and not a little concerned, that Tacitus
and the younger Pliny have spoken so slightly of the Christian sys-
tem ; and that Seneca and the elder Pliny have not vouchsafed to
mention it at all. This difficulty seems to have struck others, as
well as yourself; and I might refer you to the conclusion of the
second volume of Dr. Lardner's Collection of Ancient Jewish and
Heathen Testimonies to the Truth of the Christian Religion, for full
satisfaction in this point ; but perhaps an observation or two may be
sufficient to diminish your surprise.
Obscure sectaries of upright morals, when they separate them-
selves from the religion of then- country, dp not speedily acquire
the attention of men of letters. The historians are apprehensive
of depreciating the dignity of their learned labor, and contami-
nating their splendid narration of illustrious events, by mixing with
it a disgusting detail of religious combinations : and the philosophers
are usually too deeply engaged hi abstract science, or in exploring
the infinite intricacy of natural appearances, to busy themselves
G
74 Watson's Apology
with what they, perhaps hastily, esteem popular superstitions. His-
torians and philosophers, of no mean reputation, might be mentionr"
ed, I believe, who were the contemporaries of Luther and the first
reformers ; and who have passed over, in negligent or contemptuous-
silence, their daring and unpopular attempts to shake the stability
of St. Peter's chair. Opposition to the religion of a people must
become general, before it can deserve the notice of the civil ma-
gistrate ; and till it does that, it will mostly be thought below the
animadversion of distinguished writers. This remark is peculiarly
applicable to the case in point. The first Christians, as Christ had
foretold, were " hated of all men for his name's sake :" it was the
name itself, not any vices adhering to the name, which Ph'ny pun-
ished ; -and they were every where held in exceeding contempt, till
their numbers excited the apprehension of the -ruling powers. The
philosophers considered them as enthusiasts, and neglected them ;
the priests opposed them as innovators, and calumniated them ; the
great overlooked them, the learned despised them ; and the curious
alone, who examined into the foundation of their faith, believed
them. But the negligence of some half dozen of writers (most of
them, however, bear incidental testimony to the truth of several
facts respecting Christianity), in not relating circumstantially the
origin, the progress, and the pretensions of a new sect, is a very
insufficient reason for questioning, either the evidence of the prin-
ciples upon which it was built, or the supernatural power by which
it was supported.
The Roman historians, moreover, were not only culpably incu-
rious concerning the Christians, but unpardonably ignorant of what
concerned either them or the Jews : I say, unpardonably ignorant ;
because the means of information were within their reach : the
writings of Moses were everywhere to be had in Greek ; and the
works of Josephus were published before Tacitus wrote his history;
and yet even Tacitus has fallen into great absurdity, and self-con-
tradiction, in his account of the Jews; and though Tertullian's
zeal carried him much too far, when he called .him Meridaciorum
loquacissimus, yet one cannot help regretting the little pains he took
to acquire proper information upon that subject He derives the
name of the Jews, by a forced interpolation, from mount Ida in
Crete;* and he represents them as abhorring all lands of images
in public worship, and yet accuses them of having placed the image
of an ass in the holy of holies : and presently after he tells us, that
Pompey, when he profaned the temple, found the sanctuary entirely
empty. Similar inaccuracies might be noticed in Plutarch, and
other writers who have spoken of the Jews ; and you yourself have
referred to an obscure passage in Suetonius, as offering a proof how
strangely the Jews and Christians of Rome were confounded with
each other. Why then should<(we think it remarkable, that a few
celebrated writers, who looked upon the Christians as an obscure
* Inclytum in Greta Idam monteiix, accolas Idicos aucto in barbarum
eognomento Judsos vocitari. Tac. Hist. lib. 5, sub init.
for Christianity. 75
sect of the Jews, and upon the Jews as a barbarous and detested
people, whose history was not worth the perusal, and who were
moreover engaged hi the relation of the great events which either
occasioned or accompanied the ruin of their eternal empire ; why
should we be surprised, that men occupied in such interesting sub-
jects, and influenced by such inveterate prejudices, should have left
us but short and imperfect descriptions of the Christian system ?
" But how shall we excuse," you say, " the supine inattention of
the Pagan and philosophic world, to those evidences, which were
presented by the hand of Omnipotence, not to their reason, but to
their senses ?" "The laws of nature were perpetually suspended for
the benefit of the church : but- the sages of Greece and Rome
turned aside from the awful spectacle." To their shame be it spoken,
that they did so : " and, pursuing the ordinary occupations of life
and study, appeared unconscious of any alterations in the moral or
physical government of the world." To this objection I answer, in
the first place, that we have no reason to believe that miracles were
performed as often as philosophers deigned to give their attention to
them ; or that, at the period of time you allude to, the laws of
nature were " perpetually" suspended, for the benefit of the church.
It may be, that not one of the few heathen writers, whose books
have escaped the ravages of time, was ever present when a miracle
was wrought; but will it follow, because Pliny, or Plutarch, or
Galen, or Seneca, or Suetonius, or Tacitus, had never seen a mira-
cle, that no miracles were ever performed? They, indeed, were
learned and observant men ; and it may be a matter of surprise to
us, that miracles so celebrated, as the friends of Christianity sup-
pose the Christian ones to have been, should never have been men-
tioned by them, though they had not seen them ; and had an Adrian
or a Vespasian been the authors of but a thousandth part of the
miracles you have ascribed to the primitive church, more than one,
probably, of these very historians, philosophers as they were, would
have adorned his history with the narration of them : for thougli
they turned aside from the awful spectacle of the miracles of a poor
despised apostle ; yet they beheld with exulting complacency, and
have related with unsuspecting credulity, the ostentatious tricks of
a Roman emperor. It was not for want of faith in miraculous
events, that these sages neglected the Christian miracles, but for
want of candor and impartial examination.
I answer, in the second place, that in the Acts of the Apostles we
have an account of a great multitude of Pagans of every condition
of life, who were so far from being inattentive to the evidences
which were presented by the hand of Omnipotence to their senses,
that they contemplated them with reverence and wonder ; and, for-
saking the religion of their ancestors, and all the flattering hopes of
worldly profit, reputation, and tranquillity, adhered with astonishing
resolution to the profession of Christianity. From the conclusion of
the Acts, till the time hi which some of the sages ybu mention flour-
ished, is a very obscure part of church history; yet we are certain,
that many of the Pagan, and we have some reason to believe, that
78 Watson's Apology
not- a few bf the philosophic world, during that period, did not turn
aside from the awiul spectacle of miracles, but saw. and believed :
and that a few others should be found, who probably had never
seen, and therefore would not believe, is surely no very extraor-
dinary circumstance. Why should we not answer to objections,
such as these, with the boldness of St. Jerome ; and bid Celsus, and
Porphyry, and Julian, and their followers, learn the illustrious char-
acters of the men who founded, built up, and adorned the Chris-
tian church ?* Why should we not tell them, with Arnobius, of the
orators, the grammarians, the rhetoricians, the lawyers, the physi-
cians, the philosophers, " who appeared conscious of the alterations
in the moral and physical government of the world ;" and, from that
consciousness, forsook the ordinary occupations of life and study,
'and attached themselves to the Christian discipline ?t
I answer in the last place, that the miracles of Christians were
falsely attributed to magic ; and were for that reason thought un-
worthy the notice of the writers you have referred to. Suetonius,
in his Life of Nero, calls the Christians, men of a new and magical
superstition :f I am sensible that you laugh at those "sagacious com-
mentators," who translate the original word by magical ; and, adopt-
ing the idea of Mpsheim, you think it ought to be rendered mis-
chievous or pernicious : unquestionably it frequently has that mean-
ing; with due deference, however, to Mosheim and yourself, I can-
not help being of opinion, that in this place, as descriptive of the
Christian religion, it is rightly translated magical. The Theodosian
Code must be my excuse for dissenting from such respectable
authority; and in it, I conjecture, you will find good reason for
being of my opinion. Nor ought any friend to Christianity to be
astonished or alarmed at Suetonius applying the word magical to the
Christian religion; for the miracles wrought by Christ and his
apostles principally consisted in alleviating the distresses, by curing
the obstinate diseases of human kind ; and the proper meaning of
magic, as understood by the ancients, is a higher and more holy
branch of the art of healing.|| The elder Pliny lost his life in an
* Discant Celsus, Porphyrius, Julianus, rabidi a'dversus Christum canes,
discant eorum sectatores, qui putant Ecclesiam nullos Philosophos et
eloquentes, nullos habuisse Doctores ; quanti et quales viri earn funda-
verint, extruxerint, ornaverintque ; et dcsinant fidem nostram rustics
tantum simplicitatis arguere, suamque potiiis imperitiam agnoscant.
Jero. Pr<B. Lib. de Illus. Eccl. Scrip.
t Arnob. con. Gen. lib. xi. .
j Genui hominum superstitionis novas et maleficts. Suet, in Nero. c. xvi.
f Chaldcei, ac Magi, et cseteri quos vulgus maleficos ob facinorum mag-
mtudinem appellat. Si quis magus vel niagicis contaminibus adsuetus,
qui maleficus vulgi eonsuetudine nuncupatu'r. ix. Cod. Thepdos. tit. xvi.
|| Pliny, speaking of the origin of magic, says, Natam primum e medi-
cina nemo dubitat, ac specie salutari irrepsisse velut altiorem sanctio-
remque medicindm. He afterwards says, that it was mixed with mathe
matical arts; and thus magi and mathematici are joined by Pliny, as
malefici and magici are iu the Theodosian Code. Plin. Nat. Hist. lib.
xxx. c. it
for Christianity. 77
eruption of Vesuvius, about forty-seven years after the death of
Christ : some fifteen years before the death of Pliny, the Christians
were persecuted at Rome for a crime, of which every.-person knew
them innocent; but from the description, which Tacitus gives, of
the low estimation they were held in at that time (for which, how-
ever, he assigns no cause ; and therefore we may reasonably con-
jecture it was the same for which the Jews were everywhere be-
<xoae so odious, an opposition to polytheism), and of the extreme
sufferings they underwent, we cannot be much surprised, that their
name is not to be found in the works of Pliny or of Seneca : the
sect itself must, by Nero's persecution, have been almost destroyed
in Rome ; and it would have been uncourtly, not to say unsafe, to
have noticed an order of men, whose innocence an emperor had
determined to traduce, in order to divert, the dangerous, but de-
served stream of popular censure from himself. Notwithstanding
this^ there is a passage in the Natural History of Pliny,' which, how
much soever it may have been overlooked, "contains, I think, a very
strong allusion to the Christians ; and clearly intimates, he had heard
of their miracles. In speaking .concerning the origin of magic, he
says ; there is also another faction of magic, derived from the Jews,
Moses, and Lotopea, and subsisting at present.* The word faction
does not ill denote the opinion the Romans entertained.of the reli-
gious associations of the Christians ;t and a magical faction implies
their pretensions, at least, to the miraculous, gifts of healing ; and
its descending from Moses is according to the custom of the Ro-
mans, by which they confounded the - Christians with the Jews;
and its being then subsisting, seems to have a strong reference to
the rumors Pliny had negligently heard reported of the Christians.
Submitting each of these answers to your cool and candid con-
sideration, I proceed to take notice of another difficulty in your
fifteenth ^chapter, which some have thought one of the most im-
portant in your whole book ; the silence of profane historians con-
cerning the preternatural darkness at the crucifixion of Christ. You
know, Sir, that several learned men are of opinion, that profane his-
tory is not silent upon this subject ; I will, however, 'put then: author-
ity for the present quite out of the question. I will neither trpujjle
you with the testimony of Phlegon, nor with the appeal of "pertul-
lian to the public registers, of the Romans; but meeting you upon
your own ground, and granting %ou every thing you desire, I will
endeavor, from a fair and candid examination of the history of this
event, to suggest a doubt, at least, to your mind, whether this was
*Est et alia magicea factio, aMose-etiamnum et Lotopea Judffiis pen-
dens. Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. xxx. c. ii. Edit. Hardu. Dr. Lardner and others
have made slight mention of this passage, probably from their reading in
bad editions Jamne for etiamnum, a Mose et Jamne et Jo'tape Judffiis pen-
dens. ,
tTertullian reckons the sect of the Chrisians, inter licitas ftoti
Ap. c. xxxviij.
78 Watson's Apology
"the greatest phenomenon, to which the mortal eye has been wit-
ness, since the creation of the globe."
This darkness is mentioned by three of the four evangelists; St.
Matthew thus expresses himself: " Now from the sixth hour there
was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour;" St. Mark
says: "And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over
the whole land until the ninth hour;" St. Luke : "And it was about
the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the
ninth hour ; and the sun was darkened." The three evangelists
agree, that there was darkness ; and they agree in the extent of the
darkness : for it is the same expression in the original, which our
translators have rendered earth hi Luke, and land in the two other
accounts ; and they agree in the duration of the darkness, it lasted
three hours. Luke adds a particular circumstance, " that the sun
was darkened." I do not know whether this event be anywhere
else mentioned in Scripture, so that our inquiry can neither be ex-
tensive nor difficult.
In philosophical propriety of speech, darkness consists in the total
absence of fight, and admits of no degrees ; however, in the more
common acceptation of the word, there are degrees of darkness, as
well as of light; and as the evangelists have said nothing, by which
the particular degree of darkness can be determined, we have as
much reason to suppose it was slight, as you have that it was exces-
sive ; but if it was slight, though it had extended itself over '.the
surface of the whole globe, the difficulty of its not being recorded
by Pliny or Seneca vanishes at once.* Do you riot perceive, Sir,
upon what a slender foundation this mighty objection is grounded ;
when we have only to put you upon proving, that the darkness at
the crucifixion was of so unusual a nature, as to have excited the
particular attention of all mankind, or even of those who were wit-
nesses to it ? But I do not mean to deal so logically with .you ; rather
give me leave to spare you the trouble of your proof, by proving, or
showing the probability at least, of the direct contrary. There is a
circumstance mentioned by St. John, which seems to indicate, that
the .darkness was not so excessive as is generally supposed ; for it ia
probable, that, during the continuance of the darkness, Jesus spoke
both to his mother, and to his beloved disciple, whom he saw from
the cross ; they were near the cross ; but the soldiers which sur-
rounded it must have kept them at too great a distance for Jesus to
have seen them and known them, had the darkness at the crucifix-
ion been excessive, like the preternatural darkness which God
brought upon the land of Egypt ; for it is expressly said, that, during '
* The author of L'Evangile de la Raison is mistaken in saying, that
the evangelists speak of a thick darkness ; and that mistake lias led him
into another, irito-a disbelief of the event,, because it has not been men-
tioned by the writers of the times: Ces historiens (the Evangelists) ont le
front de nous dire, qu'a sa mort la terre a ete. couverte d'epaisses tene-
bres en plein midi et en pleine lune ; comme si tous les ecrivains de ce
tems-la n'auroient pas remarqufi un si etrange miracle ! L'Evan. de la
Eais. p. 99.
for Christianity. 79
the continuance of that darkness, " they saw not one another." The
expression in St Luke, "the sun was. darkened," tends Hither to
confirm than to overthrow this reasoning. I am sensible this ex-
pression is generally thought equivalent to another; the sun was
eclipsed ; but the Bible is open to us all ; and there can be ho pre-
sumption in endeavoring to investigate the meaning of Scripture
for ourselves. Luckily for the present argumentation, the very
phrase of the sun's being 'darkened, occurs, in so many words, in
one other place (and in only one) of the New Testament; and from
that place you may possibly see reason to imagine, that the darkness
might not, perhaps, have been so intense as to. deserve the particu-
lar notice of the Roman naturalists : " And he opened the bottom-
less pit, and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a
great furnace ; and the sun was darkened,* and the air, by reason
of the smoke of the pit" If we should say, that the sun at the cru-
cifixion was obnubilated, and darkened by the intervention of
clouds, as it is here represented to be by the intervention of a
smoke like the smoke of a fivrnace, I do not see what you could ob-
ject to our account; but such a phenomenon has surely no right to
be esteemed the greatest that mortal eye has ever beheld. I may
be mistaken in this interpretation ; but I have no design to misrepre-
sent the fact, in order to get rid of a difficulty ; the darkness may
have been as intense as many commentators have supposed it : but
neither they nor you can prove it. was so; and I am surely under
no necessity, upon this occasion, of granting you,, out of deference
to any commentator, what you can neither prove nor render prob-
able. . -
But you still, perhaps, may think, that the darkness, by its extent,
made up for this deficiency in point of intenseness. The original
word, expressive of its extent, is sometimes interpreted by the whole
earth ; more frequently, in the New Testament, of any little por-
tion of the earth : for we read of the land'of Judah, of the land of
Israel, of the land of Zabulon, and of the land of Nephthalim; and
it may very properly, I conceive, be translated in the place in ques-
tion by region. But why should all the world take notice, of a dark-
ness which extended itself for a few miles about Jerusalem, and
lasted but three .hours? The Italians, .especially, had no reason to
remark the event as singular ; since they were accustomed at that
time, as they are at present, to see the neighboring regions so dark-
ened for days together by the eruptions of -<Etna and Vesuvius, that
no man could know his neighbor.t We learn from the Scripture
account, that an earthquake accompanied this darkness ; and a dark
clouded sky, I apprehend, very frequently precedes an earthquake ;
KO.I etriforiffBt} b //Atoj. A.ITOK. ix. 2.
- nos autera tenebras cogitemus tantas, quanta quondam
eruptione Etiiaeorum ignium finitimas regimes obscuravisse dicuntur, ut
per. biduum nemo hominem homo agnosceret. Cic. de Nat. Deo. lib. ii.
And Pliny, in describing the eruption of Vesuvius, which suffocated his
uncle, says : Dies alibi, illic nox omnibus noctibus nigrior dehsibrque.
80 Watson's Apology
but its extent is not great, nor iaits intenseness excessive, nor is the
phenomenon itself so unusual, as not commonly to pass unnoticed
in ages of science and history. I fear I may be liable to misrepre-
sentation in this place; but I beg it may be observed, that however
-slight in degree, or however confined -hi extent the darkness at the
crucifixion may have been; I am of opinion, that the power of God
was as supernaturally exerted in its production and in that of the
earthquake which accompanied it, as in the opening of the graves,'
and the resurrection of 'the saints, which followed the resurrection
of Christ ,
In another place, you seem not to believe ".that Pontius Pilate
informed the emperor of the unjust sentence of death, which he
had pronounced against an innocent person." And the same reason
which made him silent as to the death, ought, one would suppose,
to have made him silent as to the miraculous events which accom-
panied it; and if Pilate, in his dispatches to the emperor, transmit-
ted no account of the darkness (how great soever you suppose it to
have been) which happened in a distant province ; I cannot appre-
hend, that the report of it could have ever gained such credit at
Rome as to induce either Pliny or Seneca to mention it as.an au-
thentic fact. I am, &c.
LETTER VI.
Sm ; I mean not to detain you long with my remarks upon your
sixteenth chapter; for an a short Apology for Christianity, it cannot
be expected that I should .apologize at length for the indiscretions
of the first Christians. Nor have I any disposition to reap a mali-
cious pleasure from exaggerating, which you have had so much
good-natured pleasure in extenuating, .the truculent barbarity of
their Roman persecutors.
M. de Voltaire, has embraced every opportunity of contrasting the
persecuting temper of the Christians with the mild tolerance of the
ancient heathens ; and I never read a page of his upon this subject
without thinking Christianity materially, if not intentionally, obliged
to him, for his endeavor to depress the lofty spirit of religidus
bigotry. I may with justice pay the same compliment to you ; and
I do it with sincerity; heartily wishing, that, in the prosecution of
your work, you may render every species of intolerance universally
detestable. There is no reason why you should abate the asperity
of your invective ; since no one can suspect you of a design to tra-
duce Christianity under the guise of a zeal against persecution ; or
if any one should be so simple, he need but open the Gospel to
be convinced, that such a scheme is too palpably absurd to have
ever entered the Head of any sensible and impartial man.
J wish, for the credit of human nature, that I could find reason to
for Christianity. 81
agree with you in what you have said of the "universal toleration
of Polytheism; of the mild indifference of antiquity ; of the Roman
princes beholding; without concern, a thousand forms of religion
subsisting in peace under their gentle sway." But there are some
passages in the Roman History which make me hesitate at least in
this point, and 'almost induce me to believe, that the Romans were
exceedingly jealous of all foreign religions, whether they were ac-
companied with immoral manners or not
It was the Roman custom, indeed, to invite the tutelary gods of
the nations, which they intended to subdue, to abandon then* charge,
and to promise them the same, or even a more august worship, in
the city of Rome ;* and then: triumphs were graced as much with
the exhibition of their captive gods, as with the less humane one of
their captive kings.t But this custom, though it filled the city with
hundreds of gods of every country, denomination, and quality, can-
not be brought as a proof of Roman toleration.; it may indicate the
excess of their vanity, the. extent of their superstition, or the refine-
ment of their policy ; but it can never show, that -the religion of
individuals, when it differed from public wisdom, was either con-
nived at as a matter of indifference, or tolerated as an inalienable
right of human nature. ,
Upon another occasion, you, Sir, have referred to Livy as relat-
ing the introduction and suppression of the rites of Bacchus ; and
in that very place we find him confessing, that the prohibiting all
foreign religions, and abolishing every mode of sacrifice which dif-
fered from the Roman mode, was a business frequently intrusted
by their ancestors to the care of the proper magistrates ; and he
gives this reason for the procedure : that nothing could contribute
more effectually to the ruin of religion, than the sacrificing after an
external rite, and not after the manner instituted by their fathers.:):
Not thirty years before 'this event, the Praetor, hi conformity to a
decree of the senate, had issued an edict, that no one should pre-
sume to sacrifice in any public place after a new or foreign manner.
* In oppugnationibus, ante omnia eolitum a Romania sacerdotibus
evocari deum cujus in tutela id oppidum esset ; promittiqae illi eundem,
aut ampliorem apud Romanes cultum. Plin. Nat. Hist. lib. xxxviii.
c. iv. .
t Roma triumphantis quotiens Ducis inclita currum
Plausibusexceptit, totiens altaria Divuin
Addidit spoliis sibimet nova numina fecit. PRJJDEN.
| Quoties hoc patrum avprumque state negotium est magistratibus
datum, ut sacra externa fieri vetarent? sacrificulos vatesq'ue foro, circo,
urbe prohiberent? vatieinos libros conguirerent comburerentque? omnem
disciplinam sacrificandi, pneterquam more Romano, abolerent? Judica-
bant enim pmdentissimi viri omnis divini humanique juris, nihil seque
dissolvendce religion is esse, quam ubi non patrio, sed externo ritu sacri-
ficaretur. Liv. lib. xxxix. c; xyi.
Ut quicumque librot vatieinos precationesve, aut artem sacrificandi
conscriptatn liaberet, eos libros omnes litterasque ad se ante Kalendas
Apriles deferret ; neu quis in publico sacrove loco, novo aut externo ritu
sucrificaret. Liv. lib. xxv. c. >.
82 Watson's Apology
And in a still more early period, the aediles had been commanded
to take care that no gods were worshipped except the Roman gods ;
and that the Roman gods were worshipped after no manner but the
established manner of the country.*
But to come nearer to the times of which you are writing. .In
Dion Cassius you may meet with a great courtier, one of the interior
Cabinet, and a polished statesman, in a set speech upon the most
momentous subject, expressing himself to the emperor in a manner
agreeable enough to the practice of antiquity, but utterly incon-
sistent with the most remote idea of religious toleration. The speech
alluded to, contains, I confess it, nothing more than the advice of
an individual ; but it ought to be remembered, that that individual
was Maecenas, that the advice was given to Augustus, and that the
occasion of giving it was no less important than the settling the
form of the Roman government. He recommends it to Caesar to
worship the gods himself according to the established form, and to
force all others to do the same, and to hate and to punish all those
who should attempt to introduce foreign religions :t nay, he bids
him, in the same place, have an eye upon the philosophers, also ;
so that free thinking, free speaking at least, upon religious matters,
was not quite so safe under the gentle sway of the Roman princes,
as, thank God, it is under the much more gentle. government of our
own. .
In the Edict of Toleration published by Galerius after six years'
unremitted persecution of the Christians, we perceive his motive
for persecution to have been the same with that which had influ-
enced the conduct of the more ancient Romans, an abhorrence of
all innovations in religion. You have favored us with the transla-
tion of this edict, in which he says, " we were particularly desirous
of reclaiming into the way of reason and nature," ad bonas mentes
(a good pretence this for a polytheistic persecutor) " the deluded
Christians, who had renounced the religion and ceremonies insti-
tuted by then- fathers;" this is the precise language of Livy, de-
scribing a jjersecution of a foreign religion three hundred years be-'
fore; "turba erat nee sacrificantium nee precantium decs patrio
more." And the very expedient of forcing the Christians to deliver
up their religious books, which was practised in -this persecution,
and which Mosheim attributes to the advice of Hierocles, and you
to that of the philosophers of those times, seems clear to me,
from the places in -Livy before quoted, to have been nothing hut
an old piece of state policy, to which the Romans had recourse as
often as they apprehended their established religion to be in any
danger.
In the preamble of the letter of toleration, which the emperor
* Datum inde negotium sedilibus, ut animadverterent, ne qui, nisi
Roman! dii, neu quo alio more quam patrio, colerentur, Liv. 1. iv. c. xxx.
T .Tavra TE urta irparrc, KOI jrpocreTi TO [lev Beiov tsavrrj rai'TU? avrog
rt <rt/?, Kara, ra Ttarpia,'Kai ras a\\a's ripav avayicae' TUS 6s St] j-evi$ov-
ras ri_irept avro Kai niatt KOI KoXae. Dion. Cas. hb. lii.
for Christianity. 83
Maximin reluctantly wrote to Sabinus about a year after the pub-
lication of Galerius's Edict, there is a plain avowal of the reasons
which induced Galerius and Diocletian to commence their perse-
cution ; they had seen the temples of the gods forsaken, and were
determined by the severity of punishment to reclaim men to their
worship.*
In short, the system recommended by Maecenas, of forcing every
person to be of the emperor's religion, and. of hating and punishing
every innovator, contained no new doctrine ; it was correspondent
to the practice of the Roman senate, in the most illustrious tunes
of the republic, and seems to have been generally adopted by the
emperors in their treatment of Christians, whilst they themselves
were Pagans ; and in their treatment of Pagans, after they them-
selves became Christians ; and if any one should be willing to de-
rive those laws, against heretics (which are so abhorrent from the
mild spirit of the Gospel, and so reproachful to the Roman code)
from the blind adherence of the Christian emperors to the intoler-
ant policy of their Pagan predecessors, something, I think, might be
produced in support Of his conjecture.
But I am sorry to have said so much upon such a subject. In en-
deavoring to palliate the severity of the Romans towards the Chris-
tians, you have remarked, " it was in vain that the oppressed be-
liever asserted the inalienable rights of conscience and private
judgment." " Though his situation might excite the pity, his argu-
ments could never reach the understanding, either of the philoso-
hic, or of the believing part of the Pagan world." How is this,
ir? are the arguments for liberty of conscience so exceedingly in-
conclusive, that you think them incapable of reaching the under-
standing, even of philosophers ? A captious adversary would em-
brace with avidity the opportunity this passage affords him, of
blotting your character with the odious stain of being a persecutor ;
a stain which no learning can wipe out, which no genius or ability
<:an render amiable. I am far from entertaining such an opinion of
your principles; but this conclusion seems fairly deducible from
what you have said, that the minds of the Pagans were so pre-oc-
upieu with the notions of forcing, and hating, and punishing those
who differed from them in religion, that arguments for the inalien-
able rights of conscience, which would have convinced yourself,
and every philosopher in Europe, and staggered the resolution of
an inquisitor, were incapable of reaching their understandings, or
making any impression on their hearts; and you might, perhaps,
have spared yourself some perplexity in the investigation of the
motives which induced the Roman emperors to persecute, and the
Roman people to hate the Christians, if you had not overlooked the
(f&oy anavras avOpwirxs, Kara)(i<$Qiaris rr\s T<OV 6tiav
s, TU> EdvEt r<av Xpi$-iavt>>v Eavras avftfiEiit^oTas- Opda>s SIUTE-
iravras avdpu-xus THE aito rtav OEUV TUV adavaTiav av
irpo 5t)\(i> Ko\avi Kat Tifnapta sis rr\v QgijttKuav ruv flewv
vat. Euseb. lib. ix. c. iv.
84 Watson's Apology
true one, and adopted with too great facility the erroneous idea of
the extreme tolerance of Pagan Rome.
The Christians, you observe, were accused of atheism : and it
must be owned that they were the greatest of all atheists, in the
opinion of the polytheists; for, instead of Hesiod's thirty thousand
gods, they could not be brought to acknowledge above one ; and
even that one they refused, at the hazard of their lives, to blaspheme
with the appellation of Jupiter. But is it not somewhat singular,
that the pretensions of the Christians to a constant intercourse with
superior beings, in the working of miracles, should ha've been a
principal cause of converting to then* faith those who branded them
with die imputation of atheism?
They were accused, too, of forming dangerous conspiracies
against the state: this accusation, you own, was as unjust as the
preceding : but there seems to have been a peculiar hardship hi
the situation of the Christians, since the very same men, who
thought them dangerous to the state, on account of their conspira-
cies, condemned them, as you have observed, for not interfering in
its concerns ; for their criminal disregard to the business of war
and government, and for their entertaining doctrines, which were
supposed " to prohibit them from assuming the character of soldiers,
of magistrates, and of princes :" men, such as these, would have
made but poor conspirators.
They were accused, lastly, of the most horrid crimes. This ac-
cusation, it is confessed, was mere calumny; yet as calumny is
generally more extensive in its influence than truth, perhaps this
calumny might be more powerful in stopping the progress of Chris-
tianity, than the virtues of the Christians were in promoting it;
and, in truth, Origen observes, that the Christians, on account of
the crimes which were maliciously laid to their charge, were held
in such abhorrence, that no one would so much as speak to them.
It may be worth while to remark from him, that the Jews, jn the
very beginning of Christianity, were the authors of all those calum-
nies, which Celsus afterwards took such great delight in urging
against the Christians, and which you have mentioned with such
great precision.*
It is no improbable supposition, that the clandestine manner in
which the persecuting spirit of the Jews and Gentiles obliged the
Christians to celebrate their- eucharist, together with the expressions
of eating the body, and drinking the blood of Christ, which were
used in its institution, and the custom of imparting a kiss of charity
* Videtur mihi fecisse idem Celsus, quod Judxi, 'qui sub Christian ismi
initiura errorem sparsere, quasi ejus sectte homines mactati pueri ves-
cerentur carnibus; et quod, quoties eis libeat operam dare occultis li-
bidinibus, extincto lumine constupret, quam quisque nactus fuerit. Quro
falsa et iniqua.opinio dudum valde multos areligionenostraalienos ten-
uit ; persuasos, quod tales sint Christian! ; et ad hoc temporis nonniillos
fallit, qui ea de causa Christianos adversantur, ut nee simplex colloquium
cum eis habere velint. Orig. con. Cels. lib. vi.
for Christianity. 85
to each other, and of calling each other by the appellations of
brother and sister,* gave occasions to their enemies to mvent, and
induced careless observers to believe, all the odious things which
were said against the Christians.
You have displayed at length, in expressive diction, the accusa-
tions of the enemies of Christianity ; and you have told us of the
imprudent defence by which the Christians vindicated the purity
of their morals ; and you have huddled up in a short note (which,
many a reader will never see) the testimony of Pliny to their inno-
cence. Permit me to do the Christians a little justice, by producing
in their cause the whole truth.
Between seventy and eighty years after the death of Christ,
Pliny had occasion to consult the emperor Trajan concerning the
manner in which he should treat the Christians ; it seems as if
there had been judicial proceedings against them, though Pliny had
never happened to attend any of them. He knew, indeed, that
men were to be punished for being Christians, or he would not, as
a sensible magistrate, have received the accusations of legal, much
less of illegal, anonymous informers against them; nor would he,
before he wrote to the emperor, have put to death those whom his
threats could not hinder from persevering in their confession, that
they were Christians. His harsh manner of proceeding "in an
office the most repugnant to his humanity," had made many apos-
tatize from their profession : persons of this complexion were well
fitted to inform him of every thing they knew concerning the
Christians ; accordingly he examined them ; but not one of them
accused the Christians of any other crime than of praying to Christ,
as to some God, and of binding themselves by an oath, not to be
guilty of any wickedness. Not contented with this. information, he
Cut two maid servants, which were called ministers, to the torture ,
ut even the rack could not extort from the imbecility of the sex a
confession of any crime, any account different from that which the
apostates had voluntarily given ; not a word do we find of their
feasting upon murdered infants, or of their mixing in incestuous
commerce. After all his pains, Pliny pronounced the meal of the
Christians to be. promiscuous and innocent: persons of both sexe. c ,
of all ages, and of every condition, assembled promiscuously to-
gether : there was nothing for chastity to blush at, or for humanity
to shudder at, in these meetings; there was no secret initiation of
proselytes by a'bhorred rites : but they eat a promiscuous meal in
Christian charity, and with the most perfect innocence.t
* The Romans used these expressions in so impure a sense, that Mar-
tial calls them Nomina nequiora. Lib. ii. epig. iv.
t affirmabant autem, hanc fuisse summam vel culpje suse, vel er
roris, quod essent soliti stato die ante lucem convenire; carmenque
Christo, quasi Deo, dicere secum invicem: seque sacramento non in see-
hts aliquod obstringere, sed ne furta, ne latrocinia, ne adulteria cotnmit-
terent. ne fidem fallerent, ne depositum appellati abnegarent: quibus
peractis, morem sibi discedendi fuisse, rursusque coeundi ad capiendum
cibum, promiscuum tainen, el innozium. Plin. Epis. xcvii. lib. x.
H
86 Watsorfs Apology
Whatever faults then the Christians may have been guilty of in
after times ; though, you could produce to us a thousand ambitious
prelates of Carthage, or sensual ones of Antioch, and hlot ten thou-
sand pages with the impurities of the Christian clergy ; yet at this
period, whilst the memory of Christ and his apostles was fresh in
their minds; or, in the more emphatic language of Jerome, " whilst
the blood of our Lord was warm, and recent faith was fervent in
the believers ;" we have the greatest reason to conclude, that they
were eminently distinguished for the probity and the purity of their
lives. Had there been but a shadow of a crime in their assemblies,
it must have been detected by the industrious search of the intelli-
gent Pliny ; and it is a matter of real surprise, that no one of the
apostates thought of paying court to the governor by a false testi-
mony ; especially, as the apostasy seems to have been exceeding
general : since the temples, which had been almost deserted, began
again to be frequented ; and the victims, for which, a little time be-
fore, scarce a purchaser was to be found, began again everywhere
to be bought up. This, Sir, is a valuable testimony in our favor ; it
is not that of a declaiming- apologist, of a deluding priest, or of a de-
luded martyr, of an orthodox bishop, or of any " of the most pious of
men," the Christians ; but it is that of a Roman magistrate, philoso-
pher, and lawyer ; who cannot be supposed to have wanted inclina-
tion to detect the immoralities or the conspiracies of the Christians ;
since, in his treatment of them, he had stretched the authority of
his office, and violated alike the laws of his country and of hu-
manity.
With this testimony I will conclude my remarks : for I have no
disposition to blacken the character you have given of Nero ; or to
lessen the humanity of the Roman magistrates; or to magnify the
number of Christians, or of martyrs ; or to undertake the defence of
a few fanatics, who by their injudicious zeal brought ruin uport
themselves, and disgrace upon their profession. I may not probably
have convinced you that you are wrong hi any thing which you
have advanced ; or that the authors you have quoted will not sup-
port you in the inferences you have drawn from their works ;
or that Christianity ought to be distinguished from its corrup-
tions : yet I may perhaps have had the good fortune to lessen, in
the minds of others, some of that dislike to the Christian religion,
which the perusal of your book had unhappily excited. I have
touched but upon general topics ; for I 'should have wearied out
your patience, to say nothing of my readers', or my own* had I en-
larged upon every thing in which I dissent from you ; and a minute
examination of your work would, moreover, have had the appear-
ance of a captious disposition to descend into illiberal personalities j
and might have produced a certain acrimony of sentiment or ex-
pression, which may be serviceable in supplying the place of argu-
ment, or adding a zest to a dull composition ; but has nothing to do
with the investigation of truth. Sorry shall I be, if what I have
written should give the least interruption to the prosecution of the
great work hi which you are engaged r the world is now possessed
for Christianity. 87
of the opinion of us both upon the subject in question ; and it may,
perhaps, be proper for us both to leave it in this state. I say not
this from any backwardness to acknowledge my mistakes, when I
am convinced that I am in an error, but to express the almost insu-
perable reluctance which I feel to the bandying abusive argument
in public controversy ; it is not, in good truth, a 'difficult task to
chastise the froward petulance of those who mistake personal in-
.vective for reasoning, and clumsy banter for ingenuity ; but it is a
dirty business at best, and should never be undertaken by a man
of any .temper, except when the interests of truth may suffer by
his neglect. Nothing of this nature, I am sensible, is to be expected
from you ; and if any thing of the kind has happened to escape my-
self, I hereby disclaim the intention of saying it, and heartily wish
it unsaid.
Will you permit me, Sir, through this channel (I may not, perhaps,
have another so good an opportunity of doing it), to address a few
words, not to yourself, but to a set of men who disturb all serious
company with their profane declamation against Christianity ; and
who, having picked up in their travels, or-the writings of the Deists,
a few flimsy objections, infect with their ignorant and irreverent
ridicule the ingenuous minds of the rising generation?
GENTLEMEN, Suppose the mighty work accomplished, the cross
trampled upon, Christianity everywhere proscribed, and the religion
of nature once more become the religion of Europe ; what advan-
tage will you have derived to your country, or to yourselves, from
the exchange? I know your answer, you will have freed the world
from the hypocrisy of priests, and the tyranny of superstition. No ;
you forget 'that Lycurgus, and Numa, and Odin, and Mango-Copac,
and all the great legislators of ancient and modern story, have been
of opinion, that the affairs of civil society could not well be con-
ducted without some religion ; you must of necessity introduce a
priesthood, with probably as much hypocrisy ; a religion with as-
suredly more superstition, than that which you now reprobate with
such indecent and ill-grounded contempt. But I will tell you from
what you will have freed the world ; you will have freed it from its
abhorrence of vice, and from every powerful incentive to virtue ; you
will, with the religion, have brought back the depraved morality
of Paganism ; you will have robbed mankind of their firm assurance
of another life, and thereby you will have despoiled them of their
patience, of their humility, of their charity, of their chastity, of all
those mild and silent virtues, which (however despicable they may
appear in your eyes) are the only ones which meliorate and sublime
pur nature ; which Paganism never knew, which spring from Chris-
tianity alone, which do or might constitute our comfort in this life,
and without the possession of which, another life, if after all then-
should happen to be one, must (unless a miracle be exerted in the
alteration of our disposition) be more vicious and more miserable
than this is.
Perhaps you will contend, that the. universal light of reason, that
88 Watson's Apology
the truth and fitness of things, are of themselves sufficient to exalt
the nature, and regulate the manners of mankind. Shall we never
have done with this groundless commendation of natural law? Look
into the first chapter of Paul's Epistle to the Romans, and you will
see the extent of its influence over the Gentiles of those days ; or
if you dislike Paul's authority, and the manners of antiquity, look
into the more admired accounts of modern voyagers ; and examine
its influence over the Pagans of our own 1 times, over the sensual
inhabitants of Otaheite, over the cannibals of New Zealand, or the
remorseless savages of America. But these men are barbarians.
Your law of nature, notwithstanding, extends even to them. But
they have misused their reason : they have then the more need of,
and would be the more thankful for that revelation, which you,
with an ignorant and fastidious self-sufficiency, deem useless. But
they might of themselves, if they thought fit, become wise and vir-
tuous. I answer with Cicero, " u t nihil interest, utrum nemo valeat,
an nemo valere possit ; sic non intelligo quid intersit, utrum nemo
sit sapiens, an nemo esse possit."
These, however, you will think, are extraordinary instances ; and
that we ought not from these to take our measure of the excellency
of the law of nature, but rather from the civilized states of China
and Japan, or from the nations which flourished in learning and in
arts, before Christianity was heard of in the world. You mean to
say, that by the law of nature, which you are desirous of substitut-
ing in the room of the Gospel, you do 'not understand 'those rules of
conduct, which an individual, abstracted from the community, and
deprived of the institution of mankind, could excogitate for himself;
but such a system of precepts as the most enlightened men of the
most enlightened ages' have recommended to our observance.
Where do you find this system? We cannot meet with it in the
works of StobsBus, or the Scythian Anacharsis; nor in those of
Plato, or of Cicero ; nor in those of the Emperor Antoninus, or the
slave Epictetus ; for we are persuaded, that the most animated con-
siderations of the irpcirov, and the honestum, of the. beauty of virtue,
and the fitness of things, are not able to furnish, even a Brutus him-
self, with permanent principles of action ; much less are they able
to purify the polluted recesses of a vitiated heart, to curb the irregu-
larity of appetite, or restrain the impetuosity of passion in common
men. If you order us to examine the works of Grotius, or Puffen-
dorffi or Burlamaqui, or Hutchinson, for what you understand by
the law of nature ; .we apprehend that you are in a great error, in
taking your notions of natural lawj as discoverable by natural rea-
son, from the elegant systems of it, which have been drawn up by
Christian philosophers; since they have all laid their foundations,
either tacitly or expressly, upon a principle derived from revelation ;
a thorough knowledge of the being and attributes of God : and even
those amongst yourselves, who, rejecting Christianity, still continue
theists, are indebted to revelation (whether you are 'either aware of,
or disposed to acknowledge the debt, or not) for those sublime
speculations concerning the Deity, which you have fondly attributed
for Christianity. 89
10 the excellency of your own unassisted reason. If jtoft would
know the real genius of natural law, and how far it can proceed in
the investigation or enforcement of moral duties; yon must consult
the manners and the writings of those, who have never heard of
either the Jewish or- the Christian dispensation, or- of those other
manifestations of himself, which God vouchsafed to Adam and to
the patriarchs before and after the flood. It would be difficult per-
haps anywhere, to find a people entirely 'destitute of traditionary
notices concerning ,the Deity^ and of traditionary fears or expecta-
tions of another life; and the morals of mankind may have, per-
haps, been nowhere quite so abandoned as they would have been,
had they been left wholly to themselves in these points: however,
it is a truth which cannot be denied, how much soever it may be
lamented, that though the generality of mankind have always had
some faint conceptions of God and his providence; yet they have
been always greatly inefficacious hi the production of good morality,
and highly derogatory to. his nature, amongst all the people of the
earth, except the Jews and Christians ; and some may perhaps be
desirous of excepting the Mahometans, who derive all that is good
in their Koran from Christianity.
The laws concerning justice, and the reparation of damages* con
cerning the security of property, and the performance of contracts;
concerning, in short, whatever affects the well-being of civil so>
ciety, have been everywhere understood with sufficient precision |
and if you choose .to style Justinian's code, a code of natural law,
though you will err against propriety of speech, yet you are sO far
in the right, that natural reason discovered, and the depravity of
human nature compelled human kind to establish by proper sanc-
tions the laws therein contained; and you will have, moreover,
Carneades, no mean 'philosopher, on your side; who knew of no
law of nature different from that which men had instituted for their
common utility, and which was various according to the manners
of men ia 'different climates, and changeable with a- change of times
in the same. /And,; in truth, in all countries where -Paganism has
been the' established religion, though a philosopher may now and
then have stepped beyond the paltry prescript of civil jurisprudence
in his pursuit of virtue ; yet the bulk of mankind have ever been
contented -with that scanty pittance of morality, which enabled
them to escape the lash of civil punishment: I call it a scanty
pittance, because a Hian may be intemperate, iniquitous, impious, a
thousand ways a profligate and a villain, and yet elude. the cog-
aiizance, and avoid the punishment of civil laws.
I am sensible, you will be ready to, say, what is all this to ihe
purpose? Though the bulk of mankind may never be able to in-
vestigate the laws of natural religion, nor disposed to reverence
their sanctions when investigated by others, nor solicitous about any
either standard of moral rectitude than civil legislation ; yet the in-
conveniences which may attend the extirpation of Christianity can
be no proof of its truth: I have not produced them as a proof of its
truth ; but they are a strong and conclusive proof, if not of its truth,
li 2
90 Watson's Apology
at least of its utility ; and the consideration of its utility may be a
motive to yourselves .for examining, whether it may not chance to
be true; and it ought to be a reason.with every good .citizen, and
with every man of sound judgment, to keep his opinions to himself,
if, from any particular circumstances in his studies or in his educa-
tion, he should have the misfortune to think that it is not true. If
you caja discover to the rising generation a better religion than the
Christian, one that will more effectually animate their hopes, and
subdue their passions, make them better men.or better members of
society, we importune you to publish it for their advantage ; but till
you can do that, we beg of you not to give the reins to their pas-;
sions, by instilling into, their unsuspicious minds your pernicious prer
judices. Ey,en now, men scruple not, by their lawless lust, to ruin
the repose of- private families, and to fix a stain of infamy upon the
noblest: even. ow, they hesitate not in lifting up a murderous arm
against the life of their friend, or against their own,' as often as the
fever of intemperance stimulates their resentment, or the satiety of
a useless life excites their despondency: even now, whilst we are
persuaded of a resurrection from the dead, and of a. judgment to
come, we find it difficult enough to resist the solicitations of sense,
and, to escape unspotted from the licentious manners of the world :
but what will become of our virtue, what of the consequent peace
and happiness of society, if you persuade us that there are no such
things ? In two words, you may ruin yourselves by your attempt, and
you will certainly ruin your country Tjy your success.
But the consideration of the iriutility of your design is not the
only one, which should induce you to abandon it ; the argument
a tuto ought to be warily managed, or it may tend to the silencing
our .opposition to any system of superstition, which has had the good
fortune to be sanctified by public authority : it is, indeed, liable to
no objection in the present case ; we do not, however, whollyrely
upon its cogency. It is not contended, that Christianity is to be re-
ceived merely because it is useful, but because it is true. This you
deny, and think your objections well grounded : we conceive them
originating in your vanity, your immorality, or your misapprehen-
sion. There are many worthless doctrines, many superstitious ob-
servances, which the fraud or folly of mankind have everywhere
.annexed to Christianity (especially in the church of Borne), as essen-
tial parts of it: if you take these sorry appendages to Christianity
for Christianity itself, as preached -by Christ, and by the apostles ; if
you confound the Roman with the Christian religion, you quite mis-
apprehend its nature, and are hi a state similar to that" of men men-
tioned by Plutarch, hi his Treatise of Superstition ; who, flying from
superstition, leapt over religion, and sunk into downright atheism.*
* Le Papisnte (says Helvetius in a .posthumous work) n'est aux yeux
d'un homme sens6 qu'uue pure idolatrie nous sommes etonnes de I'ab-
surdite de la religion paienne. Celle de la religion Papiste etonnera bien
d'advantage un jour la posterity. We trust, that day is not at a great
djistance, and deism will then be buried in the ruins of the church of
for Christianity. 91
Christianity is not a religion very palatable to a voluptuous age ; it
will not conform its precepts to the standard of fashion ; it. will not
lessen the deformity of vice by lenient appellations; but calls keep-
ing, -whoredom; -intrigue, adultery; and duelling, murder: it will
not pander to lust, it will not license the intemperance of mankind ;
it is a troublesome monitor to a man of pleasure ; and your way of
life may have 1 made you quarrel with your religion. As to your
vanity, as a cause of your infidelity, suffer me to produce the senti-
ments of M. Bayle upon that head : if the description does not suit
your character, you will not be offended at it; and if you are
offended with its freedom, it will dp you good. "This inclines me
to believe, that libertines, like Des-Barreaux, are not greatly per-
suaded of the truth of what they say. They have made no -deep
examination; they have learned some few objections, which they
are perpetually making a noise with ; they speak from a principle
of ostentation, and give themselves the lie in the time of danger.
Vanity has a greater share in their disputes than conscience ; they
imagine that the singularity and boldness of the opinions, which
they maintain, will give them the reputation of men of parts : by
degrees, they get a habit of holding impious discourses ; and if their
vanity be accompanied by a voluptuous life, their progress in that
road is the swifter.* :
_The main stress of your objections rests not upon the insuffi-
ciency of the external evidence to the truth of Christianity; for few
of you, though you may become the future ornaments of the senate,
or of the bar, have ever employed an hour in its examination ; but
upon the difficulty of the doctrines contained in' the New Testa-
ment; they exceed, you say, your comprehension ;Tand you felicitate
yourselves, that you are not yet arrived at the true standard of or-
thodox faith credo quia impossibile. . You think it would be taking
a superfluous trouble, to inquire into the nature of the external
proofs by which Christianity is established; since, in your opinion,
the book itself carries with it its own refutation. A gentleman as
acute, probably, as any of you, and who. once believed, perhaps, as
little as any of you, has drawn a quite different conclusion from the
perusal of the New Testament : Ju's book (how.ever exceptionable it
may be thought in some particular parts) exhibits, not only a distin-
guished triumph of reason over prejudice, of Christianity over
deism; but it exhibits, what is infinitely more rare, the character of
a man, who has had courage and candor enough to acknowledge itt
But what if there should be some incomprehensible doctrines hi
the Christian religion; some circumstances, which in their causes,
or their consequences, surpass the reach of human reason ; are they
to be rejected upon that account ? You are, or would be thought,
Rome; for tbe taking the superstition, the avarice, the ambition, the in-
tolerance of Antichristianism for Christianity, has been the great egror
upon which infidelity has built its system, both at home and abroad.
* Bayle, Hist. Diet. Art." Des-Barreaux.
t See a view of the Internal Evidence, &c. by Soame Jenyna.
92 Watson's Apology
men of reading, and knowled'ge; and enlarged understandings;
weigh the matter fairly; and consider whether revealed religion be
not, in this respect, just upon the same footing with every other, ob-
ject of your contemplation. Even in mathematics, the science of
demonstration itself, though you' get over its first principles, and
learn to digest the idea of a point without parts, a line without
breadth, and a surface without thickness ; yet you will find yourself
at a loss to comprehend the perpetual approximation of lines which
can never meet ; the doctrine of incommensurables, and of an in-
finity of infinites, each infinitely greater, or infinitely less, not only
than any finite quantity, but than each other. In physics, you. can-
not comprehend the primary cause of any thing ; not of the light,
by which you see ; nor of the elasticity of the air, by which you
hear; nor of the fire, by which you are warmed. . In physiology,
you cannot tell what first gave motion to the heart ; nor what con-
tinues it; nor why its motion, is less voluntary than that of; the
lungs ; nor why you are able to move your arm to the right or left,
by a simple volition: you cannot explain the cause of animal heat;
nor comprehend the principle by which your body was at first
ibrmed, nor by which it is sustained, nor by which it will be re-
duced to earth. In natural religion, you cannot comprehend the
eternity or omnipresence of the Deity ; nor easily -Understand how
his prescience can be consistent with your freedom, or his immuta-
bility with Jiis government of moral agents ; nor why he did riot
make all his creatures equally perfect; nor why he did not create
them sooner ; in short, you cannot look into any branch of know-
ledge, but you will meet with subjects above your comprehension.
The fall and the redemption of human kind are not more incom-
prehensible than the creation and the conservation of the universe ;
the infinite Author of the works of providence, and of -nature, is
equally .inscrutable ; equally past our .finding out in. them both.
And it is somewhat remarkable, that- the deepest inquirers into
nature have ever thought with most reverence, and spoken with
most diffidence, concerning those things, which, in revealed religion,
may seem hard to.be understood: they have ever avoided that self-
sufficiency of knowledge, which springs from ignorance, produces
indifference, and ends hi infidelity. Admirable to this purpose is
the reflection of the greatest mathematician of the present age,
when he is combating an opinion of Newton's by an hypothesis of
his own, still less defensible than that which he opposes: "Tous
les jours que je vois de ces esprits-fbrts, qui critique les verites de
notre religion, et s'en mocquent merae ayec la plus impertinente
suffisance, je pense, chetifs mortels ! combien.et combien des choses
grossierement !*
PJato mentions a set of men, who were very ignorant, and thought
themselves supremely wise ;. and who rejected the arguments. for
for Christianity. 93
the being of a God, derived from the harmony and order of the
universe, as old and trite.* There have, been men, it seems, in all
ages, who, in affecting singularity, have overlooked truth: an argu-
ment, however, is not the worse for being old ; and surely it would
have been a more just mode of reasoning if you had examined the
external evidence for the truth of Christianity, weighed the old ar-
guments from miracles, and from prophecies, before you had reject-
ed the whole account from the difficulties you met with hi it. You
would laugh at an. Indian, who in peeping into a history of Eng-
land, and meetjng with the mention of the Thames being frozen,
or of a shower of hail, or of snow, should throw the book aside as
unworthy of his farther notice, from his want of ability to compre-
hend these phenomena.
In considering the argument from miracles, you will soon be con-
vinced, that it is possible for God to work miracles ; and you will
be convinced, that it is as possible for human testimony to establish
the truth of miraculous', as of physical or historical events : but be-
fore you can be convinced that the miracles ha question are support-
ed by such testimony as deserves to be credited, you must inquire
at what period, and by what persons, the books of the Old and
New Testament were composed. If you reject the account, with-
out making this examination, you reject it from prejudice, not from
reason: " .
There is, however, a short method of examining. this argument,
which may, perhaps, make as great an impression on your minds
as any other. Three men of distinguished abilities rose up at dif-
ferent times, and attacked Christianity, with every objection which
their malice could suggest, or their learning eould devise: but
neither Celsus in the second century, nor Porphyry in the third,
nor the emperor Julian himself in the fourth century, ever ques-
tioned the reality of the miracles related in the Gospels. Do but
you grant us what these men (who were more likely to know the
truth of the matter than you can he) granted to their adversaries,
and we will very readily let you make the most of the magic, to
which, as the last wretched shift, they were forced to attribute
them. We can fjnd you men, in our days, who, from the mixture
of two colorless liquors, will produce you a third as red as blood, or
of any other color you desire ; el dido citius, by a drop resembling
water, will restore the transparency; they will make two fluids
coalesce into a solid body; and, from the mixture of liquors colder
than ice, will instantly raise you a horrid explosion and a tremen-
dous flame : these, and twenty other tricks they will perform, with-
out haying been sent with our Savio.ur to Egypt to learn magic ;
nay, with a bottle or two of oil they will compose the undulations
of a lake ; and, by a little art, they will restore the functions of life
to a man who has been an hour or two under water, or a day or
two buried in the snow : but in vain will these, men, or the greatest
magicians that Egypt ever saw, say to a boisterous sea, Peace, be
* De Leg. lib. x.
94 Watson's Apology '^~" ' k
fitill; in vain will they say to a carcass rotting in the grave, Coma
forth: the winds and the sea will not obey them, and the putrid
carcass will not hear them. You need not suffer yourselves to be
deprived of the weight of this argument, from its having been ob-
served, that the fathers have acknowledged the supernatural part
of Paganism, since the fathers were in no condition to detect a
cheat, which was supported both by the disposition of the people,
and the power of the civil magistrate ;* and they were from mat
inability forced to attribute to infernal agency what was too cun-
ningly contrived to be detected, and contrived, for too impious a
purpose to be credited as the work of God.
With respect to prophecy, you may, perhaps, have accustomed
yourselves to consider it as originating in Asiatic enthusiasm, in
Chaldean mystery, or in the subtle stratagem of interested priests,
and have given yourselves no more trouble concerning the predic-
tions of sacred, than concerning the oracles of Pagan history. Or
if you have ever cast a glance upon this subject, the dissensions of
learned men concerning the proper interpretation of the Revela-
tion, and other difficult prophecies, may have made you rashly con-
clude, that all prophecies were equally unintelligible, and more
indebted lor their accomplishment to a fortunate concurrence of
events, and the pliant ingenuity of the expositor, than to the in-
spired foresight of the prophet In all that the prophets of the
Old Testament have delivered concerning the destruction of par-
ticular cities, and the desolation of particular kingdoms, you may
see nothing but shrewd conjectures, which any one acquainted
with the history of the rise and fall of empires might certainly have
made : and as you would not hold him for a prophet, who should
now affirm that London or Paris would afford to future ages a spec-
tacle just as melancholy as that which we now contemplate, with
a sigh, in the ruins of Agrigentum or Palmyra ; so you cannot per-
suade yourselves to believe, that the denunciations of the prophets
against the haughty, cities of Tyre or Babylon, fcr instance, pro-
ceeded from the inspiration of the Deity. There is no doubt, that
by some such general kind of reasoning many are influenced to pay
no attention to an argument, which, if properly considered, carries
with it the strongest conviction.
Spinoza said, that he would have broken his atheistic system to
pieces, and embraced without repugnance the ordinary faith of
Christians, if he could have persuaded himself of the resurrection
of Lazarus from the dead ; and I question not, that there are many
disbelievers, who would relinquish their deistic tenets, and receive
the Gospel, if they could persuade themselves, that God had ever
so far interfered in the moral government of the world as to illu-
mine the mind of any one man with the knowledge of future
events. A miracle strikes the senses of the persons who see it; a
rophecy addresses itself to the understandings of those who be-
old its completion ; and it requires, in many cases, some learning,
* See Lord Lyttelton's Observations on St. Paul.
for Christianity, 95
in all some attention, to judge of the correspondence of events
with the predictions concerning them. No one can be convinced,
that what Jeremiah 'and the other prophets foretold of the fete of
Babylon, that it should be besieged by the Medes ; that it should
be taken, when her mighty men were drunken, when her springs
were dried up ; and that it should become a pool of water, and
should remain desolate for ever; no one, I say, can be convinced,
that all these, and other parts of the prophetic denunciation, have
been minutely fulfilled, without spending some time in reading the
accounts which profane historians have delivered down to us con-
cerning its being taken by Cyrus; and which modern travellers
have given us of its present situation.
Porphyry was so persuaded of the coincidence between the pro-
phecies of Daniel and the events, that he was forced to affirm, the
prophecies were written after the things prophesied of had hap-
pened. Another Porphyry has, in our days, been so astonished at
the correspondence between the prophecy concerning the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem, as related by St. Matthew, and the history of
that event, as recorded by Josephus; that, rather than embrace
Christianity, he has ventured (contrary to the faith of all ecclesias-
tical history, the opinion of the learned of all ages, and all the rules
of good criticism) to assert, that St. Matthew wrote his Gospel after
Jerusalem had been taken and destroyed by the Romans. You may
from these instances perceive the strength of the argument from
prophecy ; it has not been able indeed to.vancuiish the prejudices
of either the ancient or the modern Porphyry; but it has been able
to compel them both to be guilty of obvious falsehoods, which have
nothing but impudent assertions to support them.
Some over-zealous interpreters of Scripture have found prophe-
cies in simple narrations, extended real predictions beyond the times
and circumstances to which they naturally were applied, and per-
plexed then- readers with a thousand quaint allusions and allegori-
cal conceits : this proceeding has made men of sense pay less regard
to prophecy in general. There are some predictions, however, such
as those concerning the present state of the Jewish people, and the
corruptions of Christianity, which are now fulfilling in the world ;
and which, if you will take the trouble to examine them, you will
find of such an extraordinary nature, that you will' not perhaps hesi-
tate to refer them to God ag their author; and if you once become
persuaded of the truth of^any one miracle, or of the completion of
any one prophecy, you will resolve all your difficulties (concerning
the manner of God's interposition in the moral government of our
species, and the nature of the doctrines contained in revelation)
into your own inability fully to comprehend the whole scheme of
" divine Providence.
We are told, however, that the strangeness of the narration, and
the difficulty of the doctrines contained in the New Testament, are
not. the only circumstances which induce you to reject it ; you have
discovered, you think, so many contradictions in the accounts which
the Evangelists have given of the life of Christ, that you are com-*
96 Watson? s Apology
pelled to consider the whole as an ill-digested and improbable story,
you would not reason thus upon any other occasion ; you would
ndt reject as fabulous the accounts given by Livy and Polybius of
Hannibal and the Carthaginians, though you should discover a dif-
ference betwixt them in- several points of little importance. You
cannot compare the history of the same events, as delivered by any
two historians, but you will meet with many circumstances, which,
though mentioned by one, are either wholly omitted, or differently
related .by the other ; and this observation is peculiarly applicable
to biographical writings: but no one ever thought of disbelieving
the leading circumstances of the lives of Vitellius or Vespasian, be-
cause Tacitus and Suetonius did not in every thing correspond in
their accounts of these emperors. And if the memoirs of the life
and doctrines of M. de Voltaire himself were, some twenty or thirty
years after his death, to be delivered to the world by four of his
most intimate acquaintance, I do not apprehend that we should dis-
credit the whole account of such an extraordinary man, by reason
of some slight inconsistencies and contradictions, which the avowed
enemies of his name might chance to discover in the several narra-
tions. Though we should grant you, then, that the evangelists had
fallen into some trivial contradictions, in what they have related
concerning the life of Christ ; yet you ought not to draw any other
inference from our concession than that they had not plotted to-
gether, as cheats would have done, in order to give an unexcep-
tionable consistency to their fraud. We are not however disposed
to make you any such concesssion ; we will rather show you the
futility of your general argument, by touching upon a few of the
places which you think are most liable to your censure.
You observe,- that "neither Luke, nor Mark, nor John have men-
tioned the cruelty of Herod in murdering the infants of Bethlehem ;
and that no account is to be found of this matter in Josephus, who
wrote the life of Herod ; and therefore the fact recorded by Matthew
is not true. The concurrent testimony of many independent writers
concerning a matter of fact unquestionably adds to its probability ;
but if nothing is to be received as true, upon the testimony of a
single author, we must give up some of the best writers, and disbe-
lieve some of the most interesting facts of ancient history.
According to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, there was only an inter-
val of three months, you say, between the baptism and crucifixion
of Jesus ; from which time, taking away the forty days of the tempt-
ation, there will only remain about six weeks for the whole period
of his public ministry ; which lasted, however, according to St. John,
at the least above three years. Your objection fairly stated, stands
thus: Matthew, Mark, and Luke, in writing the history of Jesus
Christ, mention the several events of his life, as following one an-
other in continued succession, without taking notice of the times in
which they happened : but is it a just conclusion from their silence
to infer, that there really were no intervals of time between the
transactions which they seem to have connected ? Many instances
might be produced, from the most admired biographers of antiquity,
for Christianity. 97
in which events are related as immediately consequent to each
other, .which did not happen but at very distant periods.: we have
an obvious example of this manner of writing in St Matthew.; who
connects the preaching of John the Baptist with the return of Joseph
from Egypt, though we are certain that the latter. event preceded
the former by a great many years. .
John has said nothing of the institution of the Lord's supper ; the
other evangelists have said nothing of the washing of the disciples'
feet. What then ? are you not ashamed to produce these facts as
instances of contradiction? If omissions are contradictions, look into
the history of the age of Louis XIV., or into the general history of
M. de Voltaire, and you will meet with a great abundance of con-
tradictions.
John, in mentioning the discourses which Jesus had with his mo-
ther and his beloved disciple, at the time of his crucifixion, says,
that she, with Mary Magdalene, stood near the cross. Matthew, on
the .other hand, says, that Mary Magdalene and the other women
were there, beholding afar off This -you think a manifest contra-
diction ; and scoffingly inquire, whether the women and the beloved
disciple, which were near the cross, could be the same with those
who stood far from the cross? It is difficult not to transgress the
bounds of moderation and good manners, in answering such sophis-
try. What! have you to learn, that though the evangelists speak
of the crucifixion as of one event, it was not accomplished in one
instant, but lasted several .hours ? And why the women, who were
at a distance from the cross, might not, during its continuance, draw
near the cross ; or, from being near the cross, might not move from
the cross, is more than you can explain to either us or yourselves.
And we take from you your only refuge, by denying expressly, that
the different evangelists, in their mention of the women, speak of
the same point of time. .
The^ evangelists, you affirm, are fallen into gross contradictions,
in their accounts of the appearances by which Jesus manifested
himself to his disciples, after his resurrection from the dead ; for
Matthew speaks of two, Mark of three, Luke of two, and John of
four. That contradictory propositions cannot be true is read; y
granted ; and if you will produce the place in which Matthew sa\s ,
that Jesus Christ appeared twice, and no oftener, it will be further
granted, that he is contradicted by John in a very material part of
his narration ; but till you do that, you must excuse me, if I cannot
grant, that the evangelists have contradicted each other Tn this
point; for to common understandings it is pretty evident, that if
Christ appeared four times according to John's account, he must
have appeared twice according to that of Matthew and Luke, and
thrice according to that of Mark.
The different evangelists are not only accused of contradicting
each other, but Luke is said to have contradicted himself; for in his
Gospel he tells us, that Jesus ascended into heaven from Bethany ;
and in the Acts of the Apostles, of which he is the reputed author,
he informs us that he ascended from Mount Olivet Your objection
I
98 Watson's Apology
proceeds either from your ignorance of geography, or your ill-will
to Christianity; and upon either supposition deserves our'contempt:.
be pleased, however, to remember for the future, that Bethany was
not only the name of a town, but of a district of Mount Olivet ad-
joining to the town.
From this specimen of the contradictions ascribed to the historians
of the life of Christ, you may judge for yourselves what little reason
there is to reject Christianity upon, their account; and how sadly
you will be imposed upon (in a matter of more consequence to you
than any other) if you take every thing for a contradiction, which
the uncandid adversaries of Christianity think proper to call one.
Before I put an end to this address, I cannot help taking notice
of an argument, by which some philosophers have of late endea-
vored to overturn the whole system of revelation ; and it is the
more necessary to give an ans\yer to their objection, as it is become
a common subject of philosophical conversation, especially amongst
those who have visited the continent. The objection tends to- in-
validate, as is supposed, the authority of Moses, by showing, that the
earth is much older than it can be proved to be from his account of
the creation, and the Scripture chronology. We contend, that six
thousand years have not yet elapsed since the creation ; and these
philosophers contend, that they have indubitable proof of the earth's
being at the least fourteen thousand years old ; and they complain
that Moses hangs as a dead weight upon them, and blunts all their
zeal for inquiry.*
The Canonico Recupero, who, it seems, is engaged in writing the
history of Mount Etna, has discovered a stratum of lava, which
flowed from that mountain, according to his opinion; in the time of
the second Punic war, or about two thousand years ago ; this stra-
tum is not yet covered with soil sufficient for the production of
either corn or vines ; .it requires then, says the Canon, two thousand
years at least to convert a stratum of lava into a fertile field. In
sinking a pit near Jaci, in the neighborhood of Etna, they have dis-
covered evident marks of seven distinct lavas, one under the other ;
the surfaces of which are parallel, and most, of them covered owith a
thick bed of rich earth ; now, the eruption which formed the lowest
part of these lavas (if we may be allowed to reason, says the Canon,
from analogy) flowed from the mountain at least fourteen thousand
years ago. It might be briefly answered to this objection, by deny-
ing, that there is any thing in the history of Moses repugnant to this
opinion concerning the great antiquity of the earth ; for though the
rise and progress of arts and sciences, and the small multiplication
of the human species, render it almost to a demonstration probable
that man has not existed longer upon the surface of this earth than
according to the Mosaic account; yet that the earth itself was then
created out of nothing, when man was placed upon it, is not, accord-
ing to the sentiments of some philosophers, to be proved from the
original text of sacred Scripture ; we might, I say, reply with these
* Brydone's Travels.
for Christianity. 99
philosophers to this formidable objection of the Canon, by granting
it in its full extent; we are under no necessity, liowever, of
adopting their opinion, in order to show the Aveakhess of the Canon's
reasoning. For, in the first place, the Canon has not satisfactorily
established his mam fact, that the lava in question is the identical
lava which Diodorus Siculus mentions to have flowed from Etna, in
the second Carthaginian war ; and, in the second place, it may be
observed, that the time necessary for converting lava into fertile
fields must be very different, according to the different consistencies
of the lavas, and their different situations, with respect to elevation
or. depression ; to their being exposed to winds, rains, and to other
'circumstances; just as the time in which the heaps .of iron slag
(which resembles lava) are covered with verdure, is different at dif-
ferent furnaces, according to the nature of the slag, and situation of
the furnace ; and something of this kind is dedueible from the ac-
count of the Canon himself; since the. crevices of this famous stra-
tum are really full of rich, good soil, and have pretty large trees
growing in them. .
But if all this should be thought not sufficient to remove the ob-
jection, I will produce the Canon an analogy in opposition to his
analogy, and which is grounded on more certain facts. Etna and
Vesuvius resemble each other, in the causes which produce their
eruptions, and in the nature of their lavas, and in the time neces-
sary to mellow them into soil fit for vegetation ; or if there be any
slight difference in this respect, it is probably not greater than what
subsists between different lavas of the same mountain. ' This being
admitted, which no philosopher will deny, the Canon's analogy
will prove just nothing at all, if we can produce an instance of
seven different lavas (with interjacent strata of vegetable earth),
which have flowed from Mount Vesuvius, within the space, not of
fourteen thousand, but of somewhat less than seventeen hundred
years ; for 'then, according to our analogy, a stratum of lava may be
covered with vegetable soil in about two hundred and fifty years,
instead of requiring two thousand for the purpose. The eruption
of Vesuvius, which destroyed Herculaneum and Pompeii, is ren-
dered still more famous by the death of Pliny, recorded by his
nephew in his letter to Tacitus ; this event happened in the year
79,- it is not yet then quite seventeen hundred years since Hercula-
neum was swallowed up ; but we are informed by unquestionable
authority, that " the matter which covers the ancient town of Her-
culaneum is not the produce of one e'ruption only ; for there are
evident marks, that the matter of six eruptions has taken its course
over that 'which lies immediately above the town, and was the
cause of its destruction. These strata are either of lava or burnt
matter, with veins of good soil betwixt them."* I will not add another
word upon this 'subject; except that the bishop of the diocese was
not much out in his advice to Canohico Reeupero ; to take care not
* See Sir William Hamilton's Remarks upon the Nature of the^ Soii
of Naples and its Neighborhood, in the Philos. Trans, vol/hci. p. 7.
106 Watson's Apology
to make his mountain older than Moses ; though it would have been
full as well to have shut his mouth with a reason, as to have stopped
it with the dread of an ecclesiastical .censure.
You perceive with what ease a little attention will remove a
great difficulty; but had we been able to say nothing in explanation
of this phenomenon, we should not have acted a very rational part
in making our ignorance the foundation of our infideli ty, or suffer-
ing a minute philosopher to rob us of our religion.
Your objections to revelation may .be numerous; you may find
fault with the account which Moses has given of the creation and
the fall ; you may not be able to get water enough for a universal
deluge ; nor room enough in the ark of Noah for all the different
kinds of aerial and terrestrial animals ; you may be dissatisfied with
the command for sacrificing of Isaac, for plundering the Egyptians,
and for extirpating the Canaanites ; you may find fault with the
Jewish economy, for its ceremonies, its sacrifices, and its multipli-
city of priests ; you may object to the imprecations in the Psalms,
and think the immoralities of David a fit subject, for dramatic ridi-
' cule ;* you may look upon the partial promulgation of Christianity
as an insuperable objection to its truth, and waywardly reject the
goodness of God toward yourselves, because you do not compre-
hend how you have deserved it more than others ; you may know
nothing of the entrance of sin and death into the world by one
man's transgression ; nor be able to comprehend the doctrine of the
cross, and of redemption by Jesus Christ; in short, if your mind is
so disposed, you may find food for your scepticism in every page of
the Bible, as well as in every appearance of nature ; and it is not
in the power of any person, but yourselves, to clear up your doubts ;
you must read, arid you must think for yourselves; and. you must
do both with temper, with candor, and with care. Infidelity is a
rank weed ; it is nurtured by our vices, and cannot be plucked up
as easily as it may be planted. Your difficulties with respect to
revelation .may have first arisen from your own reflection on the
religious indifference of those, whom, from your earliest infancy,
you have been accustomed to revere and imitate : domestic irre-
ligion may have made you a willing hearer of libertine conversa-
tion ; and the uniform prejudices of the world may have finished
the business, at a very early age, and left you to wander through
life, without a principle to direct your conduct, and to die without
hope. We are far from wishing you to trust the word of the clergy
for the truth of your religion ; we beg of you to examine it to the
bottom, to try it, to prove it, and not to hold it fast unless you find
it good. Till you are disposed to undertake this task, it becomes
you to consider with great seriousness arid attention, whether it can
be for your interest to esteem a few witty sarcasms, or metaphysic
subtleties, or ignorant misrepresentations, or unwarranted assertions,
* See Saul et David Hyperdrame. Whatever censure the author, of
this composition may deserve for his intention, the work itself deserve!
none; its ridicule ia too gross to mislead even the ignorant.
for Christianity. 101
as unanswerable arguments against revelation ; and a very slight
reflection will convince you, that it will certainly be for your repu-
tation to employ the flippancy of your rhetoric, and the poignancy
of your ridicule, upon any subject rather than upon the subject of
religion.
I take m leave with recommending to your notice the advice
which Mr. Locke gave to a young man, who was desirous of be-
coming acquainted with the doctrines of the Christian religion :
"Study the holy Scripture, especially the New Testament: therein
are contained the words of eternal life. It has God for. its author,
salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its
matter."* I am, &c.
* Locke's Posthumous Works.
AN
APOLOGY FOR THE BIBLE,
IN
A SERIES OF LETTERS,
ADDRESSED fO
THOMAS PAINE,
AUTHOR OP A BOOK, ENTITLED, THE AGE OP REASON, PART THE
SECOND, BEING AN INVESTIGATION OF TRUE AND OP
FABULOUS THEOLOGY.
BY
R. WATSON, D. D. F. R. S.
LORD BISHOP OF LANDAFF, AND REGIUS PROFESSOR OF DIVINITY
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.
. AN
APOLOGY FOR THE BIBLE.
LETTER I.
''i
SIR ; I have lately met with a book .of yours, entitled, " The
Age of Reason, part the second, being an investigation of true and
of fabulous' theology ;" and think it not inconsistent with my station,
and the duty I owe to society, to trouble you and thei world with
some observations on so extraordinary a performance.. Extraordinary
I esteem it; not from any novelty in the objections which you have
produced against revealed religion (for I find little or no novelty in
them), but from the zeal with which you labor to disseminate your
opinions, and from the confidence with which you esteem them
true. You perceive, by this, that I give you credit for your sin-
cerity, how much soever I may question your wisdom, in writing in
such a manner on such a subject; and I have no reluctance in
acknowledging, that you possess a considerable share of energy of
language, and acuteness of investigation; though I must he allowed
to lament, that these talents have not been applied in a manner
more useful to human kind, and more creditable to yourself.
I begin with your preface. You therein state, that you had long
had an intention of publishing your thoughts upon religion, but that
you had originally reserved it to a later period in life. I hope there
is no want of charity in saying, that it would have been fortunate
for the Christian world, had your life been terminated before you
had fulfilled your intention. In accomplishing your purpose you will
have unsettled the faith of thousands ; rooted from the minds of the
unhappy virtuous all their comfortable assurance of a future recom-
pense ; have annihilated in the minds of the flagitious all their fears of
future punishment; you.will have given the reins to the domination
of every passion, and have thereby contributed to the introduction
of the public insecurity, and of the private unhappiness, "usually,
and almost necessarily accompanying a state of corrupted morals.
No one can think worse of confession to a priest, and subsequent
absolution, as practised in .the church of Rome, than I do; but I
cannot, with you, attribute the guillotine-massacres to that cause.
Men's minds were not prepared, as you suppose, for the commission
of all manner of crimes, by any doctrines of the church of Rome,
corrupted as I esteem it, but by their not thoroughly believing even
that religion. What may not society expect from those, who shall
imbibe die principles of your book?
A fever, which you, and those about you, expected would prove
mortal, made you remember, with renewed satisfaction, that you
106 Watson's Apology
had written the former part of your Age of Reason ; and you know,
Therefore, you say, by experience, the conscientious trial of your
own principles. I admit this declaration to be a proof of the . sin-
cerity of your persuasion, but I cannot admit it to be any proof of
the truth of your principles. What is conscience ? Is it, as has been
thought, an internal monitor implanted in us by the Supreme Being,
and dictating to us, on all occasions, what is right or wrong? Or is
it merely our own judgment of the moral rectitude or turpitude of
pur own actions ? I take the word (with Mr. Locke) in the latter, as
in the only intelligible sense. Now who sees not, that our judgments
of virtue and vice, right and wrong, are not always formed from an
enlightened and dispassionate use of our reason, in the investigation
of truth ? They are more generally formed from, the nature of the
religion we profess ; from the quality of the civil government under
which we live ; from the general manners of the age, or the par-
ticular manners of the persons with, whom we associate ; from the
education we have had in our youth; from the books we have read
at a more advanced period; and from other accidental causes.
Who sees not, that, on this account, conscience may be conformable
or repugnant to the law of nature ? may be certain, or doubtful ?
and that it can be no criterion of moral rectitude, even when it is
certain, because the certainty of an opinion is no proof of its being
a right opinion ? A man may be certainly persuaded of an error in
reasoning, or of an untruth in matters of fact " It is a maxim of
every law, human and divine> that a man ought never to act in op-
position to his conscience ; but it will not from thence follow, that
he will, in. obeying the dictates of his conscience, on all occasions
act right An inquisitor, who burns Jews and heretics; a Robes-
pierre, who massacres innocent and harmless women; a robber,
who thinks that all things ought to be in common, and that a state
of property is an unjust infringement of natural liberty ; these, and
a thousand perpetrators of different crimes, may all follow the dic-
tates of conscience ; and may, at the real or supposed approach of
death, remember "with renewed satisfaction" the worst of their
transactions, and experience, without dismay, " a conscientious trial
of their principles." But this their conscientious composure can be
no proof to others of the rectitude of their principles, and ought to
be no pledge to themselves of their innocence in adhering to them.
I have thought fit to make this remark, with a view of suggesting
to you a consideration of great 'importance, whether you have ex-
amined calmly, and according to the best of your ability, the argu-
ments by which the truth of revealed religion may, in the judgment
of learned and impartial men, be established ? You will allow, that
thousands of learned and impartial men (I speak hot of priests, who,
however, are, I trust, as learned and impartial as yourself, but of
laymen of the most splendid talents), you will allow, that thousands
of these, in all ages, have embraced revealed religion as true.
Whether these men have all been in an error, enveloped hi the
darkness of ignorance, shackled by the chains of superstition, whilst
for the Bible. 107
you and a few others have enjoyed light and liberty, is a question I
submit to the decision of your readers. .
If you have made the best examination you can, and yet reject
revealed religion as an imposture, I pray that God may'pardon "what
I esteem your error. . And whether you have made this examina-
tion or not, does not become me or any man -to determine. That
Gospel, which you despise, has taught me this moderation; it has
said to me, "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to
his own master he standeth or falleth." I think that you are in an
error; but whether that error be to you a vincible or an invincible
error, I presume not to determine. I know, indeed, where it is
said,, " that, the preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolish-
ness ; and that if the Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost."
The consequence of your unbelief must be left to the just and mer-
ciful judgment of him, who alone knoweth the mechanism and the
liberty of our understandings ; the origin of our opinions ; the
strength of : our prejudices ; the excellencies and the defects of our
reasoning faculties. '
I shall, designedly, write this and the following Letters in a popu-
lar manner ; hoping that thereby they may stand a chance of being
perused by that class of readers, for whom your work seems to be
particularly calculated, and who are the most likely to be injured
by it. The really learned are in no danger of being infected by the
poison of infidelity ; they will excuse me, therefore, for having en-
tered as little as possible into 'deep disquisitions concerning the au-
thenticity of the Bible. The subject has been so learnedly, and so
frequently handled by other writers, that it does not want (I had
almost said, it does not admit) any farther proof. And it is the
more necessary to adopt this mode of answering your book, because
you 'disclaim all learned appeals to other books, and undertake to
prove, from the Bible itself I that it is unworthy of credit I hope to
show, from the Bible itself, the direct contrary. But in case any of
your readers should think that you had not put forth all your
strength, by not referring for proof of your opinion to ancient au-
thors; lest they should suspect, that all ancient authors are in your
favor; I- will venture to affirm, that. had. you made-a learned appeal
to all the ancient books in the world, sacred or profane, Christian,
Jewish, or Pagan, instead of lessening, they would have established'
the credit and authority of the Bible as the word of God.
Quitting your preface, let'us proceed to the work itself; in which
there is much repetition, and a defect of proper arrangement. I
will follow your track, however, as nearly as I can. The first
question you propose for consideration is, " Whether there is suffi-
cient authority for believing the Bible to be the word of God, or
whether there is not ?" You determine this question in the negative,
upon what you are pleased to call moral evidence. You hold it
impossible, that the Bible can be the word of God, because it is
therein said, that the Israelites destroyed the Canaanites by the ex-
press command of God; and to believe the Bible to be true, we
must, you affirm, unbelieve all our belief of the moral justice of
108 Watson- s Apology
God ; for wherein, you ask, could crying or smiling infants offend f
I am astonished that so acute a reasoner should attempt to disparage
the Bible, by bringing forward this exploded and frequently refuted
objection of Morgan, Tindal, and Bolihgbroke. You profess your-
self to be a deist, and to believe that there is a God, who created the
universe, and established the laws of nature, by which it is sus-
tained in existence. You profess, that, from the contemplation of
the works of God, you derive a knowledge of his attributes ; and
you reject the Bible, because it ascribes to God things inconsistent
(as you suppose) with the attributes which you have discovered to
belong to Mm ; in particular, you think it repugnant to his moral
justice, that he should doom to destruction the crying or smiling in-
fants of the Canaanites. .Why do you not maintain it to be repugnant
to his moral justice, that he should suffer crying or smiling infants
to be swallowed up by an earthquake, drowned by an inundation,
consumed by a fire, starved by a famine, or destroyed by a pesti-
lence? The word of God is in perfect harmony with his work;
crying or smiling infants are subjected to death .in both. We be-
lieve that the earth, at the express command of God, opened her
mouth, and swallowed up Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, with .their
wives, their sons, and their little ones. This you esteem so repug-
nant to God's moral justice, that you spurn, as spurious, the book in
which the circumstance is related. When Catania, Lima, and Lis-
bon, were severally destroyed by earthquakes, men with their
wives, their sons, and their little ones, were swallowed up alive ;
why do you not spurn, as spurious, the book of nature in which this-
fact, is certainly written, and from the perusal of which you infer
the moral justice of God ? You will, probably, reply, that the evils r
which the Canaanites suffered from the express command of God r
were different from those which are brought on mankind by the
operation of the laws of nature. Different! in what? Not in the
magnitude of the evil ; not in the subjects of sufferance; not in the
author of it; for my philosophy, at least, instructs me to believe,
that God not only primarily formed, but that he hath, through all
ages, executed the laws of nature ; and that he will, through all
eternity, administer them for the general happiness of his creatures,
whether we can, on every occasion, discern that end or not.
I am far from being guilty of the impiety of questioning the exist-
ence of the moral justice of God, as proved either by natural or re-
vealed religion ; what I contend for is shortly this : That you hare-
no right, in fairness of reasoning, to urge any apparent deviation
from moral justice as an argument against revealed religion, be-
cause you do not urge an equally apparent deviation from it as an
argument against natural religion ; you reject the former, and admit
the latter, without adverting, that, as to your objection*, they must
stand or fall together.
As to the Canaanites, it is needless to enter into any proof of the
depraved state of their morals ; they were a wicked people in the
time of Abraham, and they, even then, were devoted to destruction
by God ; but their iniquity was not then full. In the time of Moses,
for the Bible. 109
they were idolaters, sacrificers of their own crying or smiling infants;
devourers of human flesh; addicted to unnatural lust; immersed in
the filthiness of all manner of vice. Now, I think, it will be impos-
sible to prove, that it was a proceeding contrary to God's moral
justice to exterminate so wicked 'a people. He made the Israelites
the executors of his vengeance ; and, in doing this, he gave such an
evident and terrible proof of his abomination of vice, as could not
fail to strike the surrounding nations with astonishment and terror,
and to impress on the minds of the Israelites what they were to ex-
pect, if they followed the example of the nations whom he com-
manded them to cut off " Ye shall not commit any of these abomi-
nations, that the land spue not you out also, as it spued out the
nations that were before you." How strong and descriptive this
language ! The vices of the inhabitants were so abominable, that
the very land was sick of ..them, and forced to vomit them forth, as
the stomach disgorges a deadly poison.
I have often wondered what could be the reason, that meni not
destitute of talents, should be desirous of undermining the authority
of revealed religion, and studious in exposing, with a malignant
and illiberal exultation, every little difficulty attending the Scrip-
tures, to popular animadversion and contempt I am not willing to
attribute this strange propensity to what Plato attributed the atheism
of his time; to profligacy of manners; to affectation of singularity;
to gross ignorance, assuming the semblance of deep research and
superior sagacity ; I had rather refer it to an impropriety of judg-
ment, respecting the manners and mental acquirements of human
kind in the first ages of the world. Most unbelievers argue as if
they thought, that man, in remote and rude antiquity, in the very
birth and infancy of our species, had the same distinct conceptions
of one eternal; invisible, incorporeal, infinitely wise, powerful, and
good God, which they themselves have now. This I look upon as
a great mistake, and a pregnant source of infidelity. Human kind,
by long experience, by the institutions of civil society; by the culti-
vation of arts and sciences ; by, as I believe, Divine instruction ac-
tually given to some, and traditionally communicated to all ; is in a
far more distinguished situation, as to the powers of the mind, than
it was in the childhood of the world. The history of man is tha
history of the providence of God ; who, willing the supreme felicity '
of all his creatures, has adapted his government to the capacity oT
those, who, in different ages, were the subjects of it The history
of any one nation throughout all ages, and that of all nations in the
same age, are but separate parts of one great plan, which God is
carrying on for the moral melioration of mankind. But who can
comprehend the whole of this immense design ? The shortness of
life, the weakness of our faculties, the inadequacy of our means of
information, conspire 1 to make it impossible for us, worms of the
earth ! insects of an hour ! completely to understand any one of its
parts. No man, who well weighs the subject, ought to be surprised^
that in the histories of ancient times many tilings should occur
K
110 Watson's Apology
foreign to our manners, the propriety and necessity of which we
cannot clearly apprehend.
It appears incredible to many, that God Almighty should have
had colloquial intercourse with our first parents ; that he should
have contracted a kind of friendship for the patriarchs, and entered
into covenants with them; that he should have suspended the
laws of nature in Egypt ; should have been so apparently partial
as to become the God and governor of one particular nation ; and
should have so far demeaned himself as to give to that people a
burthensome ritual of worship, statutes, and ordinances, many of
which seem, to be beneath the dignity of his attention, unimportant
and impolitic. I have conversed with many deists, and have al-
ways found, that the strangeness of these things was the only reason
for their disbelief of them : nothing similar has happened hi then-
time ; they will not, therefore, admit that these events have really
taken place at any time. As well might a child, when arrived at a
state of manhood, contend, that he had never either stood in need
of or experienced the fostering care of a mother's kindness, the
wearisome attention of his nurse, or the instruction and discipline
of his schoolmaster. The Supreme Being selected one family from
an idolatrous world ; nursed it up, by various acts of his providence,
into a great nation ; communicated to that nation a knowledge of
his holiness, justice, mercy, power, and wisdom; disseminated
diem, at various times, through every part of the earth, that they
might be a " leaven to leaven the w r hole lump," that they might
assure all other nations of the existence of one supreme God, the
creator and preserver of the world ; the only proper object of ado-
ration. With what reason can we expect, that what was done to-
one nation, not out of any partiality to them, but for the general
good, should be done to all ? that the mode of instruction, which
was suited to the infancy of the world, should be extended to the
maturity of its manhood, or to the imbecility of its old age ? I own
to you, that when I consider how nearly man, in a savage state, ap-
proaches to the brute creation, as to intellectual excellence ; and
when I contemplate his miserable attainments, as to the knowledge
of God, in a civilized state, when he has had no divine instruction
on the subject, or when that instruction has been forgotten (for all
mtyi have known something of God from tradition), I cannot but
admire the wisdom and goodness of the Supreme Being, in having
let himself down to our apprehensions ; in having given to man-
kind, in the earliest ages, sensible and extraordinary proofs of his
existence and attributes ; in having made the Jewish and Christian
dispensations mediums to convey to all men, through all ages, that
knowledge concerning himself, which he had vouchsafed to give
immediately to the first. I own it is strange, very strange, that he
should have made an immediate manifestation of himself in the
first ages of the world ; but what is there that is not strange ? It is
strange that you and I are here ; that there is water, and earth, and
air, and lire ; that there is a sun, and moon, and stars ; that there is
generation, corruption, reproduction. 1 can account ultimately for
for the Bible. Ill
none of these things, without recurring to him who made every
thing. I also am his workmanship, and look up to him with hope
of preservation through all eternity ; I adore him for his word as
well as for his work : his work I cannot comprehend, but his word
hath assured me of all that I am concerned to know ; that he hath
prepared everlasting happiness for those who love and obey him.
This you will call preachment; I will have done with it; but the
subject is so vast, and the plan of Providence, in my opinion, so ob-
viously wise and good, that I can never think of it without having
my mind filled with piety, admiration, and gratitude.
In addition to the moral evidence (as you are pleased to think it)
against the Bible, you threaten, in the progress of your work, to
produce such other evidence as even a priest cannot deny. A phi-
losopher in search of truth forfeits with me all claim to candor and
impartiality, when he introduces railing for reasoning, vulgar and
illiberal sarcasm in the room of argument I will not imitate the
. example you set me ; but examine what you shall produce, with as
much coolness and respect, as if you had given the priests no pro-
vocation; as if you were a man of the most unblemished character,
subject to no prejudices, actuated by no bad designs, nor liable to
have abuse, retorted upon you with success.
LETTER H.
BEFORE you commence your grand attack upon the Bible, you
wish to establish a difference between the evidence necessary to
prove the authenticity of the Bible, and that' of any other ancient
book. I am not surprised at your anxiety on this head ; for all wri-
ters on the subject have agreed in thinking, that St. Austin reason-
ed well, when, in vindicating the genuineness of the Bible, he
asked : " What proofs have we that the works of Plato, Aristotle,
Cicero, Varro, and other profane authors, were written by those
whose names they bear, unless it be that this has been an opinion
generally received at all times, and by all those who have lived
since these authors?" This writer was convinced, that the evi-
dence, which established the genuineness of any profane book,
would establish that of a sacred book ; and I profess myself to be
of the same opinion, notwithstanding what you have advanced to
the contrary.
In this part your ideas seem to me to be confused ; I do not say
that you, designedly, jumble together mathematical science and
historical evidence ; the knowledge acquired by demonstration, and
the probability derived from testimony. You know but of one an-
cient book, that authoritatively challenges universal consent and
belief, and that is Euclid's Elements. If I were disposed to make
frivolous objections,.! should say, that even Euclid's Elements had
112 Watson's Apology
not met with universal consent; that there had been men, both in
ancient, and modern times, who had questioned the intuitive evi-
dence of some of his axioms, and denied the justness of some of
his demonstrations : but, admitting the truth, I do not see the perti-
nency of your observation. You are attempting to sirbvert the au-
thenticity of the Bible, and you tell us that. Euclid's Elements are
certainly true. What then? Does it follow that, the Bible is cer-
tainly false ? The most illiterate scrivener in the kingdom does not
want to be informed, that the examples in his Wingate's Arithmetic
are proved by a different land of reasoning from that by which he
persuades himself to believe, that there was such a person as Henry
VIII. or that there is such a city as Paris.
It may be of use, to remove this confusion in your argument, to
state, distinctly, the difference between the genuineness, and the
authenticity, of a book. A genuine book is that which was written
by the person whose name it bears, as the author of it. An authen-
tic book is that which relates matters of fact, as they really happen-
ed. A book may bo genuine, without being authentic ; and a book
may be authentic, without being genuine. The books written by
Richardson and Fielding are genuine books, though the histories of
Clarissa and Tom Jones are fables. The history of the island of
Formosa is a genuine book ; it was written by Psalmanazar ; but it
is not an authentic book (though it was long esteemed as such, and
translated into different languages), for the author, in the latter part
of his life, took shame to himself for having imposed on the world,
and confessed that it was a mere romance. Anson's Voyage may
be considered as an authentic book, it, probably, containing a true
narration of the principal events recorded in it ; but it is not a gen-
uine book, having not been written by Walters, to whom it is as-
cribed, but by Robins.
This distinction, between the genuineness and authenticity of a
book, will assist us in detecting the fallacy of an argument, which
you state with great confidence in the part of your work now under
consideration, and which you frequently allude to, in other parts,
as conclusive evidence against the truth of the Bible. Your argu-
ment stands thus: if it be found that the books ascribed to Moses,
Joshua, and Samuel, were not written by Moses, Joshua, and
Samuel, every part of the authority and authenticity of these books
is gone at once. I presume to think otherwise. The genuineness
of these books (in the judgment of those who say that they were
written by these authors) will certainly be gone ; but their au-
thenticity may remain; they may still contain a true account of
real transactions, though the names of the writers of them
should be found to be different from what they are generally es-
teemed to be.
Had, indeed, Moses said that he wrote the five first books of the
Bible ; and had Joshua and Samuel said that they wrote the books
which are respectively attributed to them ; and had it been found,
thai Moses, Joshua, and Samuel, did not Write these books ; then, I
grant, the authority of tho whole would have been gone at once :
for tJis Bible. 113
i
these men would have been found liars, as to the genuineness of
the books ; and this proof of their want of veracity, in one point,
would have invalidated their testimony in every 1 other ; these
books would have been justly stigmatized, as neither genuine nor
authentic.
A history may be true, though it should not only be ascribed to
a wrong author, but though the author of it should not be known ;
anonymous testimony does not destroy the reality of facts, whether
natural or miracukms. Had iord Clarendon published his History
of the Rebellion, without prefixing his name to it; or had the His-
tory of Titus Livius come down to us under the name of Valerius
Flaccus, or Valerius Maximus ; the facts mentioned in these histories
would have been equally certain.
As to your assertion, that the miracles recorded in Tacitus, and
in other profane historians, are quite as well authenticated as those
of the Bible ; it being a mere assertion, destitute of proof, may be
properly answered by a contrary assertion. I take the liberty then
to say, that the evidence for the miracles recorded in the Bible is,
both in kind and degree, so greatly superior to that for the prodigies
mentioned by Liyy, or the miracles related by Tacitus, as to justify
us in giving credit to the one as the work of God, and in withhold-
ing it from the other as the effect of superstition and imposture.
This method of derogating from the credibility of Christianity, by
opposing to the miracles of our Saviour the tricks of ancient impos-
tors, seems to have originated with Hierocles in the fourth century ;
and it has been adopted by unbelievers from that time to this;-
with this difference, indeed, that the heathens of the third and
fourth century admitted that Jesus wrought miracles; but, lest
that admission should have compelled them to abandon their gods
and become Christians, they said, that their Apollonius, their Apu-
leius, their Aristeas, did as great: whilst modern deists deny the
fact of Jesus having ever wrought a miracle. And they have some
reason for this proceeding; they are sensible, that the Gospel mira-
cles are so different, in all their circumstances, from those related
in Pagan story, that, if they admit them to have been performed,
they must admit Christianity to be true ; hence they have fabricated
a land of deistical axiom ; that no human testimony can establish
the credibility of a miracle. This, though it has been a hundred
times refuted, is still insisted upon, as if its truth had never been
questioned, and could not be disproved.
You " proceed to examine the authenticity of the Bible ; and you
begin, you say, with what are called the five books of Moses ; Gene-
sis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Your intention,
you profess, is to show that these books are spurious, and that Moses
is not the author of them ; and still farther, that they were not
written in the time of Moses, nor till several hundred yeaj? after-
wards; that they are no other than an attempted history of the
. life of Moses, and of the times in which he is said to ha.ye lived, and
also of the times prior thereto, written by some very ignorant and
etupid pretender to authorship, several hundred yeaps after the death
114 - Watson's Apology
of Moses." In this passage the utmost force of your attack on the
authority of the live books of Moses is clearly stated. You are not
the first who has started this difficulty ; it is a difficulty, indeed, of
modern date ; having not been heard of, either in the synagogue, or
out of it, till the twelfth century. About that time Aben Ezra, a
Jew of great erudition, noticed some passages (the same that you
have brought forward) in the five first books of the Bible, which he
thought had not been written by Moses, but inserted by some person
after the death of Moses. But he was far from maintaining, as you
do, that these books were written by some ignorant and stupid pre-
tender to authorship, many hundred years after the death of Moses.
Hobbes contends, that the books of Moses are so called, not from
their having been written by Moses, but from their containing an
account of Moses. Spinoza supported the same opinion ; and Le
- Clerc, a very able theological critic of the last and present century,
once entertained the same notion. You see that this fancy has had
some patrons before you ; the merit or the demerit, the sagacity or
the temerity of having asserted, that Moses is not the author of the
Pentateuch, is not exclusively yours. Le Clerc, indeed, you must
not boast of. When his judgment was matured by age, he was
ashamed of what he had written on the subject in his younger
years ; he" made a public recantation of his error, by annexing to
his commentary on Genesis a Latin dissertation, concerning Moses,
the author of the Pentateuch, and his design in composing it. If in
your future life you should chance to change your opinion on the
subject, it will be an honor to your character to emulate the integ-
rity, and to imitate the example of Le Clerc. The Bible is not the
only book which has undergone the fate of being reprobated as
spurious, after it had been received as genuine and authentic for
many ages. It has been maintained, that the history of Herodotus
was written in the time of Constantine ; and that the classics are
forgeries of the thirteenth or fourteenth century. These extrava-
gant reveries amused the world at the time of their publication, and
have long since sunk into oblivion. You esteem all prophets to be
such lying rascals, that I dare not venture to predict the fate of your
book.
Before you produce your main objections to the genuineness of
the books of Moses, you assert, " that there is no affirmative evidence
that Moses is the author of them." What ! no affirmative evidence !
In the eleventh century Maimonides drew up a confession of faith
for the Jews, which all of them at this day admit; it consists of
only thirteen articles ; and two of them have respect to Moses ; one
affirming the authenticity, the other the genuineness of his books.
The doctrine and prophecy of Moses is true. The law that we
have was given by Moses. This is the faith of the Jews at present,
and has been their faith ever since the destruction of their city and
temple ; it was their faith in the time when the authors of the New
Testament wrote ; it was their faith during their captivity in Baby-
lon; in the time of their kings and judges; and no period can be
shown, from the age of Moses to the present hour, in which it wa
for the Bible. 115
not their faith. Is this no affirmative evidence ? I cannot desire a
stronger. Josephus, in his book against Apion, writes thus: "We
have only two and twenty books which are to be believed as of
divine authority, and which comprehend the history of all ages :
five belong to Moses, which contain the original of man, and the
tradition of the succession of generations, down to his death, which
takes in a compass of about three thousand years." Do you consider
this as no affirmative evidence ? Why should I mention Juvenal
speaking of the- volume which Moses has written ? Why enumerate
a long list of profane authors, all bearing testimony to the fact of
Moses being the leader and the lawgiver of the Jewish nation ; and
if a lawgiver, surely a writer of the laws. But what says the Bible ?
In Exodus it says, " Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and
took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the
people." In Deuteronomy it says, "And it came to pass, when Moses
had made an end of writing the words, of this law in a book, until
they were finished (this surely imports the finishing a laborious
work), that Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of
the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book of the law, and
put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God,
that it may be there for a witness against thee." This is said in
Deuteronomy, which is kind of repetition or abridgment of the four
preceding books ; and it is well known, that the Jews gave the
name of. the Law to the first five books of the Old Testament.
What possible doubt can there be that Moses wrote the books in
question ? I could accumulate many other passages from the Scrip-
tures to this purpose ; but if what I have advanced will not con-
vince you that there is affirmative evidence, and of the strongest
kind, for Moses's being the author of these books, nothing that I can
advance will convince you.
What if I should grant all you undertake to prove (the stupidity
and ignorance of the writer excepted)? What if "I should admit, that
Samuel, or Ezra, or some other learned Jew, composed these books,
from public records, many years after the death of Moses ? Will it
follow that there was no truth in them? -According to my logic, it
will only follow, that they are not genuine books ; every fact re-
corded in them may be true, whenever, or by whomsoever they
were written. It cannot be said that the Jews had no public records;
the Bible furnishes abundance of proof to the contrary. I by no
means admit, that these books, as to the main part of them, were
not written by Moses ; but I do contend, that a book may contain a
true history, though we know not the author of it ; or though we
may be mistaken in ascribing it to a wrong author.
The first argument you produce against Moses being the author
of these books is so old, that I do not know its original author ; and
it is so miserable a one, that I wonder you should adopt it. " These
books cannot be written by Moses, because they are wrote in the
third person; it is always, The Lord said unto Moses, or Moses said
unto the Lord. This," you say, "is the style and manner that his-
torians use in speaking of the person whose lives and actions they
110 Watson's Apology
are writing." This observation is true, but it does not extend far
enough ; for this is the style and manner, not only of historians
writing' of other persons, but of eminent men, such as Xenophon
and Josephus, writing of themselves. If General Washington should
write the history of the American war, and should, from his great
modesty, speak of himself in the third person, would you think it
reasonable, that, two or three thousand years hence, any person
should, on that account, contend, that the history was not true?
Cffisar writes of himself in the third person: it is always, Caesar made
a speech, or a speech was made to Csesar, Caesar crossed the Rhine,
Csesar invaded Britain ; but every schoolboy knows, that this circum-
stance cannot be adduced as a serious argument against Caesar's
being the author of his own Commentaries.
But Moses, you urge, cannot be the author of the book of Num-
bers, because he says of himself, " that Moses was a .very meek
man, above all the men that were on the face of the earth." If he
said this of himself, he was, you say, "a vain and arrogant cox-
comb (such is your phrase !), and unworthy of credit ; and if he did
not say it, the books are without authority." This your dilemma is
perfectly harmless ; it has not a horn to hurt the weakest logician.
If Moses did not write this little verse, if it was inserted by Samuel,
or any of his countrymen, who knew his character and revered his
memory, will it follow that he did not write any other part of the
book of Numbers ? Or if he did not write any part of the book of
Numbers, will it follow that he did not write any of the other books
of which he is usually reputed the author ? And if he did write
this of himself, he was justified by the occasion which extorted
from him this commendation. Had this expression been written in
a modern style and manner, it would probably have given you no
offence. For who would be so fastidious as to find fault with an
illustrious man, who being calumniated by his nearest relations, as
guilty of pride and fond of power, should vindicate his character by
saying, my temper was naturally as meek and unassuming as that
01 any man upon earth? There are occasions, in which a modest
man, who speaks truly, may speak proudly of himself, without for-
feiting his general character ; and there is no occasion, which either
more requires, or more excuses this conduct, than when he is re-
pelling the foul and envious aspersions of those, who both knew his
character and had experienced his kindness: and in that predica-
ment stood Aaron and Miriam, the accusers of Moses. You your-
self have, probably, felt the sting of calumny, and have been
anxious to remove the impression. I do not call you a vain and ar-
rogant coxcomb for vindicating your character, when in the latter
part of this very work you boast, and I hope truly, "that the man
does not exists that can say I have persecuted him, or any man, or
any set of men, in the American revolution, or hi the French revo-
lution ; or that I have in any case returned evil for evil." I know
not what kings and priests may say to this ; you may not have re-
turned to them evil for evil, because they never, I believe, did you
for the Bible. 117
any harm ; but you have done them all the harm you could, and
that without provocation.
I think it needless to notice your observation upon what you call
the dramatic style of Deuteronomy ; it is an ill-founded hypothesis.
You might as well ask where the author of Caesar's Commentaries
got the speeches of Caesar, as where the author of Deuteronomy
got the speeches of Moses. But your argument, that Moses was not
the author of Deuteronomy, because the reason given in that book
for the observation of the sabbath is different from that given hi
Exodus, merits a reply.
You need not be told, that the very name of this book imports, in
Greek, a repetition of a law ; and that the Hebrew doctors have
called it by a word of the same meaning. In the fifth verse of the
first chapter, it is said in our Bibles, " Moses began to declare this
law ;" but the Hebrew words, more properly translated, import, that
Moses " began, or determined, to explain the law." This is no shift
of mine to get over a difficulty; the words are so rendered in most
of the ancient versions, and by Fagius, Vetablus, and Le Clerc, men
eminently skilled in the Hebrew language. This repetition and
explanation of the law was a wise and benevolent proceeding in
Moses ; that those who were either not born, or were mere infants,
when it was first (forty years before) delivered in Horeb, might
have an opportunity of knowing it ; especially as Moses their leader
was soon to be taken from them, and they were about to be settled
in the midst of nations given to idolatry and sunk in vice. Now
where is the wonder, that some variations, and some additions,
should be made to a law, when a legislator thinks fit to republish it
many years after its first promulgation ?
With respect to the sabbath, the learned are divided in opinion
concerning its origin; some contending that it was sanctified from
the creation of the world ; that it was observed by the patriarchs
before the flood ; 'that it was neglected by the Israelites during their
bondage in Egypt; revived on the falling of manna in the wilder-
ness 1 ; and enjoined, as a positive law, at Mount Sinai. Others
esteem its institution to have been no older than the age of Moses ;
and argue, that what is said of the sanctification of the sabbath in
the book of Genesis, is said by way of anticipation. There may be
truth in both these accounts. To me it is probable, that the memory
of the creation was handed down from Adam to all his posterity ;
and that the seventh day was, for a long time, held sacred by all
nations in commemoration of that event; but that the peculiar
rigidness of its observance was enjoined by Moses to the Israelites
alone. As to there being two reasons given for its being kept holy
one, that on that day God rested from the work of creation the
other, that on that day God had given them rest from the servitude
of Egypt I see no contradiction in the accounts. If a man, in
writing the history of England, should inform his readers, that the
parliament had ordered the 5th of November to be kept holy, be-
cause on that day God had delivered the nation from a bloody-
intended massacre by gunpowder ; and if, in another part of his
118 Watson's Apology
history, he should assign the deliverance of our church and nation
from popery and arbitrary power, by the arrival of King William,
as a reason for its being kept holy ; would any one contend, that he
was not justified in both these ways of expression, or that we ought
from thence to conclude that he was not the author of them both?
You think " that law in Deuteronomy inhuman and brutal, which
authorizes parents, the father and the mother, to bring their own
children to have them stoned to death for what it is pleased to call
stubbornness." You are aware, I suppose, that paternal power
amongst the Romans, the Gauls, the Persians, and other nations,
was of the most arbitrary land ; that it extended to the taking away
the life of the child. I do not know whether the Israelites in the
time of Moses exercised this paternal power ; it was not a custom
adopted by all nations, but it was by many ; and in the infancy of
society, before individual families had coalesced into communities,
it was probably very general. Now Moses, by this law, which you
esteem brutal and inhuman, hindered such an extravagant power
from being either introduced or exercised amongst the Israelites.
This law is so far from countenancing the arbitrary power of a
father over the life of his child, that it takes from him the power of
accusing the child before a magistrate; the father and the mother
of the child must agree in bringing the child to judgment ; and it is
not by their united will that the child was to be condemned to
death; the elders of the city were to judge whether the accusation
was true; and the accusation was to be, not merely, as you in-
sinuate, that the child was stubborn, but that he was " stubborn and
rebellious, a glutton and a drunkard." Considered in this light, you
must allow the law to have been a humane restriction of a power
improper to be lodged with any parent
That you may abuse the priests, you abandon your subject
" priests (you say) preach up Deuteronomy, for Deuteronomy preaches
up tithes." I do not know that priests preach up Deuteronomy
more than they preach up other books of Scripture; but I do
know that tithes are not preached up in Deuteronomy more than in
Leviticus, in Numbers, in Chronicles, in Malachi, in the law, the
history, and the prophets of the Jewish nation. You go on, " it is
from this book, chap, xxv, ver. 4, they have taken the phrase and
applied it to tithing, ' thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth
out the corn ;' and that this might not escape observation, they have
noted it in the table of contents at the head of the chapter, though
it is only a single verse of less than two lines. O priests ! priests !
ye are willing to be compared to an ox for the sake of tithes !" I
cannot call this reasoning, and I will not pollute my page by giving
it a proper appellation. Had the table of contents, instead of sim-
ply saying, the ox is not to be muzzled, said, tithes enjoined, or
priests to be maintained, there would have been a little ground for
your censure. Whoever noted this phrase at the head of the chap-
ter had better reason for doing it than you have attributed to them.
They did it, because St. Paul had quoted it, when he was proving
to the Corinthians, that they who preached tho Gospel had a right
for ike Bible. 119
to live by the Gospel ; it was Paul, and not the priests, who first
applied this phrase to tithing. St. Paul, indeed, did not avail him-
self of the right he contended for ; he was not, therefore, interested
in what he said. The reason on which he grounds the right, is not
merely this quotation which you ridicule ; nor the appointment of
the law of Moses, which you think fabulous ; nor the injunction of
Jesus, which you despise ; no, it is a reason founded in the nature
of things, and which no philosopher, no unbeliever, no man of com-
mon sense can deny to be a solid reason; it amounts to this, that
" the laborer is worthy of his hire." Nothing is so much a man's
own as his labor and ingenuity ; and it is entirely consonant to the
law of nature, that by the innocent use of these he should provide
for his subsistence. Husbandmen, artists, soldiers, physicians, law-
yers, all let out their labor and talents for a stipulated reward:
why may not a priest do the same ? Some accounts of you have
been published in England ; but, conceiving them to have proceeded
from a design to injure your character, I never read them. I know
nothing of your parentage, your education, or condition in life. You
may have been elevated by your birth above the necessity of ac-
quiring the means of sustaining life by the labor of either hand or
head : if this be the case, you ought not to despise those who have
come into the world in less favorable circumstances. If your origin
has been less fortunate, you must have supported yourself, either by
manual labor, or the exercise of your genius. Why should you
think that conduct disreputable in priests, which you probably con-
sider as laudable in yourself? I know not whether you have not as
great a dislike of kings as of priests : but, that you may be induced
to think more, favorably of men of my profession, I will just men-
tion to you, that the payment of tithes is no new institution, but
that they were paid in the most ancient times, not to priests only,
but to kings. I could give you a hundred instances of this : two
may be sufficient. Abraham paid tithes to the king of Salem, four
hundred years before the law of Moses was given. The king of
Salem was priest also of the most high God. Priests, you see, existed
in the world, and were held in high estimation, for kings were
priests, long before the impostures, as you esteem them, of the
Jewish and Christian dispensations were heard of. But as this in-
stance is taken from a book which you call ".a book of contradic-
tions and lies" the Bible, I will give you another, from a book, to
the authority of which, as it is written by a profane author, you
probably will not object. Diogenes Leartius, hi his Life of Solon,
cites a letter of Pisistratus to that lawgiver, in which he says, " I,
Pisistratus, the tyrant, am contented with the stipends which were
paid to those who reigned before me ; the people of Athens set
apart a tenth of the fruits of their land, not for my private use, but
to be expended in the public sacrifices, and for the general good."
120 Watson's Apology
LETTER HI.
HAVING done with what you call the grammatical evidence that
Moses was not the author of the books attributed to him, you come
to your historical and chronological evidence ; and you begin with
Genesis. Your first argument is taken from the single word Dan
being found in Genesis, when it appears from the book of Judges,
that the town of Laish was not called Dan till above three hundred
and thirty years after the death of Moses ; therefore, the writer
of Genesis, you conclude, must have lived after the town of Laish
had the name of Dan given to it Lest this objection should not
be obvious enough to a common capacity, you illustrate it in the
following manner: "Havre-de-Grace was called Havre-Marat in
1793; should then any dateless writing be found, in after times,
with the name of Havre-Marat, it would be certain evidence that
such a writing could not have been written till after the year 1793."
This is a wrong conclusion. Suppose some hot republican should
at this day publish a new edition of any old history of France, and
instead of Havre-de-Grace should write Havre-Marat; and that
two or three thousand years hence a man, like yourself, should, on
that account, reject the whole history as spurious, would he be jus-
tified in so doing? Would it not be reasonable to tell him, that the
name Havre-Marat ha'd been inserted, not by the original author
of the history, but by a subsequent editor of it ; and to refer him,
for a proof of the genuineness of the book, to the testimony of the
whole French nation? This supposition so obviously applies to
your difficulty, that I cannot but recommend it to your impartial at-
tention. But if this solution does not please you, 1 desire it may be
proved,, that the Dan, mentioned in Genesis, was the same town as
the Dan, mentioned in Judges. I desire, farther, to have it proved,
that the Dan, mentioned in Genesis, was the name of a town, and
not of a river. It is merely said, Abram pursued them, the enemies
of Lot, to Dan. Now a river was full as likely as a town to stop
a pursuit Lot, we know, was settled in the plain of Jordan ; end
Jordan, we know, was composed of the united streams of two
rivers, called Jor and Dan.
Your next difficulty respects its being said in Genesis, " These
are the kings that reigned in Edam before there reigned any king
over the children of Israel : this passage could only have been
written, you say (and I think you say rightly), after the first lung
began to reign over Israel ; so far from Being written by Moses, it
could not have been written till the time of Saul at the least." I
admit this inference, but I deny its application. A small addition
to a book does not destroy either the genuineness or the authenticity
of the whole book. I am not ignorant of the manner in which
commentators have answered this objection of Spinoza, without
making the concessions which I have made ; but I have no scruple
in admitting, that the passage in question, consisting of nine verses
for the Bible. 121
containing the genealogy of some kings of Edom, might have been
inserted in the book of Genesis, after the book of Chronicles (which
was called in Greek by a name importing that it contained things
left out in other books) was written. The learned have shown,
that interpolations have happened to other books ; but these inser-
tions by other hands have .never been considered as invalidating
the authority of those books.
"Take away from Genesis," you say, "the belief that Moses
was the author, on which only the strange belief that it is the word
of God has stood, and there remains nothing of Genesis but an
anonymous book of stories, fables, traditionary or invented absurdi-
ties, or of downright lies." What ! is it a story then, that the world
had a beginning, and that the author of it was God ? If you deem
this a story, I am not disputing with a deistical philosopher, but
with an atheistic madman. Is it a story, that our first parents fell
from a paradisiacal state ; that this earth was destroyed by a deluge ;
that Noah and his family were preserved in the ark, and that the
world has been repeopled by his descendants ? Look into a book
so common, that almost every body has it, and so excellent that no
person o'ught to be without it Grotius on the truth of the Christian
religion, and you will there meet with abundant testimony to the
truth of all the principal facts recorded in Genesis. The testimony
is not that of Jews, Christians, and priests ; it is the testimony of the
philosophers, historians, and poets of antiquity. The oldest book
in the world is Genesis ; and it is remarkable, that those books,
which come nearest to it in age, are those which make, either the
most distinct mention, or the most evident allusion to the facts re-
lated in Genesis, concerning the formation of the world from a
chaotic mass, the primeval innocence and subsequent fall of man,
the longevity of mankind in the first ages of the world, the depravi-
ty of the antediluvians, and the destruction of the world. Read
the tenth chapter of Genesis. It may appear to you to contain no-
thing but an uninteresting narrative of the descendants of Shem,
Ham, and Japheth; a mere fable, an invented absurdity, a down-
right lie. No, sir, it is one of the most valuable, and the most ven-
erable records of antiquity. It explains what all profane historians,
were ignorant of the origin of nations. Had it told us, as other
books do, that one nation had sprung out of the earth they inhabit-
ed; another from a cricket or a grasshopper; another from an
oak ; another, from a mushroom ; another from a dragon's tooth ;
then, indeed, it would have merited the appellation you, with so
much temerity, bestow upon it. Instead of these absurdities, it
gives such an account of the peopling the earth after the deluge
as no other book in the world ever did give ; and the truth of which
all other books in the world, which contain any thing on the subject,
confirm. The last verse of the chapter says, "These are the fami-
lies of the sons of Noah, after their 'generations, in their nations ;
and by these were the nations divided in the earth, after the flood."
It would require great learning to trace out, precisely, either the
actual situation of all the countries in which these founders of em-
L
122 Watson 1 s Apology
pirea settled, or to ascertain the extent of their dominions. This,
however, has ba?n done by various authors, to the satisfaction of all
competent judges; so much, at least, to my satisfaction, that had I
no other proof of the authenticity of Genesis, I should consider this
as sufficient. But, without the aid of learning, any man who can
barely read his Bible, and has but heard of such people as the As-
syrians, the Elamites, the Lydians, the Medes, the lonians, the
Thracians, will readily acknowledge, that they had Assur, and
Elam, and Lud, and Madai, .and Javan, and Tiras, grandsons of
Noah, for their respective founders ; and knowing this, he will not,
I hope, part with his Bible, as a system of fables. I am no enemy
to philosophy ; but when philosophy would rob me of my Bible, I
must say of it, as Cicero said of the twe_lve tables, this little book
alone exceeds the libraries of all the philosophers in the weight of
its authority, and in the extent of its utility.
From the abuse of the Bible you proceed to that of Moses, and
again bring forward the subject of his wars in the land of Canaan.
There are many men who look upon all war (would to God that all
men saw it in the same light !) with extreme abhorrence, as afflict-
ing mankind with calamities not necessary, shocking to humanity,
and repugnant to reason. But is it repugnant to reason, that God
should, by an express act of his providence, destroy a wicked na-
tion? I am fond of considering the goodness of God as the leading
principle of his conduct towards mankind, of considering his justice
as subservient to his mercy. He punishes individuals and nations
with the rod of his wrath ; but I am persuaded that all his punish-
ments originate in his abhorrence of sin ; are calculated to lessen
its influence ; and are proofs of his goodness ; inasmuch as it may
not be possible for Omnipotence itself to communicate supreme hap-
piness to the human race, whilst they continue servants of sin.
The destruction of the Canaanites exhibits to all nations, in all ages,
a signal proof of God's displeasure against sin ; it has been to others,
and it is to ourselves, a benevolent warning. Moses would have
been the wretch you represent him, had he acted by his own
authority alone; but you may as reasonably attribute cruelty and
murder to the judge of the land in condemning criminals to death,
as butchery and massacre to Moses in executing the command of
God.
The Midianites, through the counsel of Balaam, and by the vi-
cious instrumentality of their women, had seduced a part of the
Israelites to idolatry ; to the impure worship of their infamous god
Baalpeor : for this offence, twenty-four thousand Israelites had per-
ished in a plague from heaven, and Moses received a command
from God " to smite the Midianites who had beguiled the people."
An army was equipped, and sent against Midian. When the army
returned victorious, Moses and the princes of the congregation
went to meet it; "and Moses was wroth with the officers." He
observed the women captives, and he asked with astonishment,
" Have ye saved all the women alive ? Behold, these caused the
children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit tres-
for the Bible. 123
pass against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague
among the congregation." He then gave an order, that the boys
and the women should b.e put to death, but that the young maidens
should be kept alive for themselves. I see nothing in this proceed-
ing, but good policy, combined with mercy. The young men might
have become dangerous avengers of, what they would esteem,
their country's wrongs; the mothers might have again allured the
Israelites to the love of licentious pleasures and the practice of
idolatry, and brought another plague upon the congregation; but
the young maidens, not being polluted by the flagitious habits of
their mothers, nor likely to create disturbance by rebellion, were
kept alive. You give a different turn to the matter ; you say, " that
thirty-two thousand women-children were consigned to debauchery
by the order of Moses." Prove this, and I will allow that Moses
was the horrid monster you make him ; prove this, and I will allow
that the Bible is what you call it, " a book of lies, wickedness, and
blasphemy ;" prove this, or excuse my warmth if I say to you, as
Paul said to Elymas the sorcerer, who sought to turn away Sergius
Paulus from the faith, " O full of all subtilty, and all mischief, thou
child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not
cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord ?" I did not, when I
began these Letters, think that I should have been moved to this
severity of rebuke, by any thing you could have written ; but when
so gross a misrepresentation is made-of God's proceedings, coolness
would be a crime. The women-children were not reserved for the
purposes of debauchery, but of slavery ; a custom abhorrent from
our manners, but everywhere practised in former times, and still
practised in countries where the benignity of the Christian religion
has hot softened the ferocity of human nature. You here admit a
part of the account given in the Bible respecting the expedition
against Midian to be a true account : it is not unreasonable to desire
that you will admit the whole, or show sufficient reason why you
admit one part, and reject the other.' I will mention the part to
which you have paid no attention. " The Israelitish army consisted
but of twelve thousand men, a mere handful when opposed to the
people of Midian ; yet, when the officers made a muster of their
troops after their return from the war, they found that they had not
lost a single man ! This circumstance struck them as so decisive an
evidence of God's interposition, that out of the spoils they had
taken they offered '.'an oblation to the Lord, an atonement for their
souls." Do but believe what the captains of thousands, and the
captains of hundreds, believed at the time when these things hap-
pened, and we shall never more hear of your objections to the
Bible, from its account of the wars of Moses.
You produce two or three other objections respecting the gen-
uineness of the first five books of the Bible. I cannot stop to notice
them : every commentator answers them in a manner suited to the
apprehension of even a mere English reader. You calculate, to the
thousandth part of an inch, the length of the iron bed of Og the king
of Basan ; but you do not prove that the bed was too big for the
124 Watson s Apology
body, or that a Patagonian would have been lost in it. You make
no allowance for the size of a royal bed ; nor ever suspect, that king
Og might have been possessed with the same kind of vanity, which
occupied the mind of long Alexander, when he ordered his soldiers
to enlarge the size of their beds, that they might give to the Indians,
in succeeding ages, a great idea of the prodigious stature of a Mace-
donian. In many parts of your work you speak much in commen-
dation of science. I join -with you in every commendation you can
give it ; but you speak of it in such a manner, as gives room to be-
lieve, that you are a great proficient in it ; if this be the case, I
would recommend a problem to your attention, the solution of
which you will readily allow to be far .above the. powers of a man
conversant only, as you represent priests and bishops to be, in hie,
hcBc, hoc. The problem is this, to determine the height to which a
human body, preserving its similarity of figure, may be augmented,
before it will perish by its own weight When you have solved
this problem, we shall know whether the bed of the king of Basan
was too big for any giant; whether the existence'of a man twelve
or fifteen feet high is in the nature of things impossible. My phi-
losophy teaches me to doubt of many things ; but it does not teach
me to reject every testimony which is opposite to my experience :
had I been born in Shetland, I could, on proper testimony, have be-
lieved in the existence of the Lincolnshire ox, or of the largest
dray-horse in London ; though the oxen and horses in Shetland had
not been bigger than mastiffs.
LETTER IV.
HAVING finished your objections to the genuineness of the books
of Moses, you proceed to your remarks on the book of Joshua; and
from its internal evidence you endeavor to prove, that this book
was not written by Joshua. What then ? what is your conclusion ?
" that it is anonymous and without .authority." Stop a little ; your
conclusion is not connected with your premises ; your friend Euclid
Would have been ashamed of it. " Anonymous, and therefore with-
out authority ?" I have noticed this solecism before ; but as you
frequently bring it forvyard, and, indeed, your book stands much in
need of it, I will submit to your, consideration another observation
on the subject the book called Fleta is anonymous, but it is not on
that account without authority. Domesday book is anonymous, and
was written above seven hundred years ago ; yet our courts of law
do not hold it to be without authority, as to the matters of fact re-
lated in it. Yes, you will say, but this book has been preserved
with singular care amongst .the records of the nation. And who
told you that the Jews had no records, or that they did not preserve
them with singular care ? Josephus says the contrary : and, in the
for the Bible. 125
Bible itself, an appeal is made to many books which have perished ;
such as the books of Jasher, the book of Nathan, ofAbijah, of Iddo,
of Jehu, of natural history by Solomon, of the acts of Manasseh,and
others which might be mentioned. If anyone having access to the
.journals of the lords and commons, to the books of the treasury,
~war office, privy council, and other public documents, should at this
day write a history of the reigns of George the First and Second,
and should publish it without his name, would any man, three or
four htmdreds or thousands of years hence, question the authority
of that book, when he knew that the whole British nation had re-
ceived it as an authentic book from the time of its first publication
to the age in which he lived ? This supposition is in point. The
books of the Old Testament were composed from the records of the
Jewish nation, and they have been received as true by that nation,
from tlie time in which they were written to the present day.
Dodsley's Annual Register is an anonymous book, we only know
the name of its editor ; the New Annual Register is an anonymous
book; the Reviews are anonymous books ; but do we, or will our
posterity, esteem these books as of no authority ? On the contrary,
they are admitted at present, and will be received in after ages, as
authoritative records of the civil, military, and literary history of
England and of Europe. So little foundation is there for our being
startled by your assertion, " it is anonymous and without authority."
If I am right in this reasoning (and I protest to you that I do not
see any error'in it), all the arguments you adduce in proof that the
book of Joshua was not written by Joshua, nor that of Samuel by
Samuel, are nothing to the purpose for which you have brought
them forward : these books may be books of authority, though all
you advance against the genuineness of them should be granted.
No article of faith is injured by allowing, that there is no such posi-
tive proof, when or by whom these, and some other books of Holy
Scripture were written, as to exclude all possibility of doubt and
cavil. There is no necessity, indeed, to allow this. The chrono-
logical and historical difficulties, which others before you have pro-
duced, have been answered, and, as to the greatest part of them,
so well answered, that I will not waste the reader's time by enter-
ing into a particular examination of them.
You make yourself merry with what you call the tale of the sun
standing still upon mount Gibeon, and the moon in the valley of
Ajalon ; and you say, that " the story detects itself, because there is
not a nation in the world that knows any thing about it," How can
you expect that there should, when there is not a nation in the
world whose annals reach this era by many hundred years? It
happens, however, that you are probably mistaken as to the fact: a
confused tradition concerning this miracle, and a similar one in the
time of Ahaz, when the sun went back ten degrees, has been pre-
served amongst one of the most ancient nations, as vve are informed
by one of the most ancient historians. Herodotus, in his Euterpe,
speaking of the Egyptian priests, says, " they told me, that the sun
had four times deviated irom his course, having twice risen where
- L2
L26 Watson's Apology
ie uniformly goes down, and twice gone down where he Uniformly
rises. This, however, had produced no alteration in the climate of
Egypt; the fruits of the earth, and the phenomena of the Nile, had
always been the same." (Beloe's Trans.) The last part of this ob-
servation confirms the conjecture, that this account of the Egyptian
priests had a reference to the two miracles respecting the sun men-
tioned in Scripture ; for they were not of that kind, which could
introduce any change in climates or seasons. You would have
been contented to admit the account of this miracle as a fine piece
of poetical imagery ; you may have seen some Jewish doctors, and
some Christian commentators who consider it as such, but improp-
erly, in my opinion. I think it idle, at least, if not impious, to un-
dertake to explain how the miracle was performed ; but one, who
is not able to explain the mode of doing a thing, argues ill if he
thence infers that the thing was not done. We are perfectly igno-
rant how the sun was formed, how the planets were projected at
the creation, how they are still retained in their orbits by the power
of gravity ; but we admit, notwithstanding, that the sun was formed,
that the planets were then projected, and that they are still retained
in their orbits. The machine of the universe is in the hand of God ;
he can stop the motion of any part, or of the whole of it, with less
trouble, and less danger of injuring it, than you can stop your watch.
In testimony of the reality of the miracle, the author of the book
says, " is not this written in the book, of Jasher ?" No .author in his
senses would have appealed, in proof of his veracity, to a book
which did not exist, or in attestation of a fact, which, though it did
exist, was not recorded in it ; we may safely, therefore, conclude,
that at the time the book of Joshua was written, there was such a
book as the book of Jasher, and that the miracle of the sun's stand-
ing still was recorded in that book. But this observation, you will
say, does not prove the iact of the sun having stood still ; I have
not produced it as a proof of that fact ; but it proves, that the author
of the book of Joshua believed the feet, and that the people of Is-
rael admitted the authority of the book of Jasher. An appeal to a
fabulous book would have been as senseless an insult upon their
understanding, as it would have been upon ours, had Rapin ap-
pealed to the Arabian Nights' Entertainments as a proof of the bat-
tle of Hastings.
I cannot attribute much weight to your argument against the
genuineness of the book of Joshua, from its being said, that "Joshua
urned Ai, and made it a heap for ever, even a desolation unto this
day." Joshua lived twenty-four years after the burning of Ai ; and
if he wrote his history in the latter part of his life, what absurdity
is there in saying Ai is still in ruins, or Ai is in ruins to this very
day ? A young man, who had seen the heads of the rebels in 1745,
when they were first stuck upon poles at Temple Bar, might, twenty
years afterwards, in attestation of his veracity in speaking of the
fact, have justly said, and they are there to this very day. Whoever
wrote the Gospel of St. Matthew, it was written not many centuries,
probably (I had almost said certainly) not a quarter of one century
for the Bible. 127
after the death of Jesus ; yet the author, speaking of the potter's
field, which had been purchased by the chief priests with the
money they had given Judas to betray his master, says, that it was
therefore called the field of blood unto this day; and in another
place he says, that the story of the body of Jesus being stolen out
of the sepulchre was commonly reported among the Jews until this
day. Moses, in his old age, had made use of a similar expression,
when he put the Israelites in mind of what the Lord had done to
the Egyptians in the. Red Sea, "the Lord has destroyed them unto
this day," (Deut. xi. 4.)
In the last chapter of the book of Joshua it is related, that Joshua
assembled all the tribes of Israel to Shechem ; and there, in the
presence of the elders and principal men of Israel, he recapitulated,
in a short speech, all that God had done for their nation, from the
calling of Abraham to that time when they were settled in the
land which God had promised to their forefathers. In finishing his
.speech, he said to them, "Choose you this day whom you will
serve, whether the gods which your fathers served, that were on
the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, hi whose
land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the
Lord. And the people answered and said, God forbid that we should
forsake the Lord to serve other Gods." Joshua urged farther, that
God would not suffer them to worship other gods hi fellowship with
him ; they answered, that " they would serve the Lord." Joshua
then said to- them, " ye are witnesses against yourselves, that ye
have chosen you the Lord to serve him. And they said, We are
witnesses." Here was a solemn covenant between Joshua on the
part of the Lord, and all the men of Israel on their own part. The
text then says, "so- Joshua made a covenant with the people that
<lay, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem, and
Joshua wrote these words hi the book of the law of God." Here is
a proqf of two things ; first, that there was then, a few years after
the death of Moses, existing a book called the Book of the Law of
God ; the same, without doubt, which Moses had written, and com-
mitted to the custody of the Levites, that it might be kept in the
ark of the covenant of the Lord, that it might be a witness against
them ; secondly, that Joshua wrote a part at least of his own trans-
actions in that very book, as an addition to it. It is not a proof that
he wrote all his own transactions in any book; but I submit entirely
to the judgment of every candid man, whether this proof of his
having recorded a very material transaction, does not make it prob-
able that he recorded other material transactions ; that he wrote
the chief part of the book of Joshua ; and that such things as hap-
pened after his death have been inserted in it by others in order to
render the history more complete.
" The book of Joshua, chap, vi, ver. 26, is quoted in the first book
of Kings, chap, xvi, ver. 34. "In his (Ahab's) days did Hiel, the
Bethelite, build Jericho : he laid the foundation thereof in Abirara,
his first-born, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son,
Segub, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by
128 Watson's Apology
Joshua, the son of Nun." Here is a proof that the book of Joshua
is older than the first book of Kings : but that is not all which may
reasonably be inferred, I do not say proved, from this quotation. It
may be inferred from the phrase, according to the word of the Lord,
which he spake by Joshua, the son of Nun, that Joshua wrote down
the word which the Lord had spoken. In Baruch (which, though
an apocryphal book, is authority for this purpose) there is a similar
phrase, as thou spakest by thy servant Moses, in the day when thou
didst command mm to write thy law.
I think it unnecessary to make any observation on what you say
relative to the book of Judges ; but I cannot pass unnoticed your
censure of the book of Ruth, which you call " an idle bungling
story, foolishly told, no body knows by whom, about a strolling
country girl creeping slily to bed to her cousin Boaz ; pretty staff,
indeed," you exclaim, " to be called the word of God !" It seems to
me, that you do not perfectly comprehend what is meant by the ex-
pression, the word of God, or the divine authority of the Scriptures :
I will explain it to you in the words of Dr. Law, late bishop of Car-
lisle, and in those of St. Austin. My first quotation is from bishop
Law's Theory of Religion, a book not undeserving your notice.
" The true sense, then, of the divine authority of the books .of the
Old Testament, and which, perhaps, is enough to denominate them
in general divinely inspired, seems to be this ; that as in those times
God has all along, beside the inspection, or superintendency of his
general providence, interfered upon particular occasions, by giving
express commissions to some persons (thence called prophets) to de-
clare his will in various manners and degrees of evidence, as best
suited the occasion, time, and nature of the subject ; and in all other
cases left them wholly to themselves : in like manner he has inter-
posed his more immediate assistance (and notified it to them, as they
did to the world) in the recording of these revelations ; so far as
that was necessary, amidst the common (but from hence termed sa-
cred) history of those times, and mixed with various other occur-
rences, in which the historian's own natural qualifications were
sufficient to enable him to relate tilings with 'all the accuracy they
required." The passage from St. Austin is this, " I am of opinion,
that those men, to whom the Holy Ghost revealed what ought to be
received as authoritative in religion, might write some things as men
with historical diligence, and other things as prophets by divine in-
spiration; and that these things are so distinct, that the former may
be attributed to themselves, as contributing to the increase of know-
ledge, and the latter to God speaking by them tilings appertaining
to the authority of religion." Whether this opiiu'on be right or wrong,
I do not here inquire ; it is the opinion of many learned men and
good Christians : and, if you will adopt it as your opinion, you will
see cause, perhaps, to become a Christian yourself; you will see
cause to consider chronological, geographical, or genealogical errors,
apparent mistakes or real contradictions as to historical facts ; need-
less repetitions and trifling interpolations; indeed, you will see
cause to consider all the principal objections of your book to be ab-
for the Bible. 129-"
solutely without foundation. Receive but the Bible as composed by
upright and well-informed, though, in some points, fallible men. (for
I exclude all fallibility when they profess to deliver the word of
-God), and you must receive it as a book revealing to you, in many
parts, the express will of God ; and in other ports, relating to you
the ordinary history of the times. Give but the authors of the Bible
that credit which you give to our historians ; believe them to de-
liver the word of God, when they tell you that they do so ; believe,
when they relate other things as of themselves and not of the Lord,
that they wrote to the best of their knowledge and capacity, and
you wilr be in your belief something very different from a deist :
. you may not be allowed to aspire to the character of an orthodox
believer, but you will not be an unbeliever in the divine authority
of the Bible; though you should admit human mistakes and human
opinions to exist in some parts of it. This I take to be the first step
towards the removal of the doubts of many sceptical men; and
when they are advanced thus far, the grace of God, assisting a
teachable disposition, and a pious intention, may carry them on to
perfection.
As to Ruth, you do an injury to her character. She was not a
strolling country girl. She had been married ten years ; and being-
left a widow without children, she accompanied her mother-in-law,
returning into her native country, out of which, with her husband
and her two sons, she had been driven by a famine. The disturb-
ances in France have driven many men with their families to
America. If, ten years hence, a woman, having lost her husband
tind her children, should return to France with a daughter-in-law,
would you be justified in calling the daughter-in-law a strolling
country girl ? " But she crept slily to bed to her cousin Boaz." I. do
not find it so in the history: as a person imploring protection, she
laid herself down at the foot of an aged kinsman's bed, and she rose
up with as much irinocence as she had laid herself down. .She was
afterwards married to Boaz, and reputed by all her neighbors a vir-
tuous woman ; and they were more likely to know her character than
you are. Whoever reads the book of Ruth, bearing in mind the
simplicity of ancient manners, will find it an interesting story of a
poor young woman, following in a strange land the advice, and
affectionately attaching herself to the fortunes of the mother of her
deceased husband.
The two books of .Samuel come next under your review. You
proceed to show, that these books were not written by Samuel, that
they are anonymous, and thence you conclude without authority. I
need not here repeat what I have said upon the fallacy of your con-
clusion ; and as to your proving that the books were not written by
Samuel, you might have spared yourself some trouble if you had
recollected, that it is generally admitted, that Samuel did not write
any part of the second book which bears his name, and only a part
of the first It would, indeed, have been an inquiry not undeserv-
ing your notice, in many parts of your work, to have examined
what was'the opinion of learned men respecting the authors of the
*130 Watson's Apology
several books of the Bible ; you would have found, that you were
in many places fighting a phantom of your own raising, and proving
what was generally admitted. Very little, certainly, I think, can at
this time be obtained on this subject; but that you may have some
knowledge of what has been conjectured by men of judgment, I
will quote to you a passage from Dr. Hartley's Observations on Man.
The author himself does not vouch for the truth of his observation,
for he begins it with a supposition. "I suppose, then, that the Pen-
tateuch consists of the writings of Moses, put together by Samuel,
with a very few additions; that the books of Joshua and Judges
were, in like, manner, collected by him ; and the book of Ruth, with
the first part of the first book of Samuel, written by him ; that the
latter part of the first book of Samuel, and the second book, were
written by the prophets who succeeded Samuel, suppose Nathan
and Gad ; that the books of Kings and Chronicles are extracts from
the records of the succeeding prophets, concerning their own times,
and from the public genealogical tables, made by Ezra ; that the
books of Ezra and Nehemiah are collections of like records, some
written by Ezra and Nehemiah, and some by their predecessors ;
that the book of Esther was written by some eminent Jew, in or
near the times of the transactions there recorded, perhaps Mordecai ;
the book of Job by a Jew, of an uncertain time ; the Psalms by
David and other pious persons ; the books of Proverbs and Canticles
by Solomon; the book of Ecclesiastes by Solomon, or perhaps by a
Jew of later times, speaking in his person, but not with an intention
to make him pass for the author; the prophecies by the prophets
whose names they bear ; and the books of the New Testament by
the persons to whom they are usually ascribed." I have produced
this passage to you not merely to show you, that, in a great part of
your work, you are attacking what no person is interested in defend-
ing ; but to convince you, that a wise and good man, and a firm be-
liever in revealed religion, for such was Dr. Hartley, and no priest,
did not reject the anonymous books of the Old Testament as books
without authority. I shall not trouble either you or myself with
any more observations on that head ; you may ascribe the two books
of Kings, and the two books of Chronicles, to what authors you
please ; I am satisfied with knowing, that the annals of the Jewish
nation were written in the time of Samuel, and, probably, in all
succeeding times, by men of ability, who lived in or near the times
of which they write. Of the truth of this observation we have
abundant proof, not only from the testimony of Josephus, and of the .
writers of the Talmuds, but from the Old Testament itself. I will
content myself with citing a few places: "Now the acts of David
the king, first and last, behold they are written hi the book of
Samuel the seer, and in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the
book of Gad the seer." 1 Chron. xxix, 29. "Now the rest of the
acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not' written in the book of
Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite,
and in the visions of Iddo the seer ?" 2 Chron. ix, 29. " Now the
acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of
for llie Bible. 131
Shemaiah die prophet, and of Idcto the seer, concerning genealo-
gies ?" 2 Chron. xii. 15. ' "JNow the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat,
first and last, behold they are written in the book of Jehu the son
of Hanani." 2 Chron. xx. 34. Is it possible for writers to give a
stronger evidence of their veracity, than by referring their readers
to the books from which they had extracted the materials of their
history?
"The two books of Kings," you say, "are little more than a his-
tory of assassinations, treachery, and war." That the kings of Israel
arid Judah were many of them very wicked persons is evident from
the history which is given of them in the Bible ; but it ought to be
remembered, that their wickedness is not to be attributed to their
religion ; nor were the people of Israel chosen to be the people of
God, on account of their wickedness ; nor was their being chosen a
cause of it. One may wonder, indeed, that, having experienced so
many singular marks of God's goodness towards their nation, they
did not at once become, and continue to be (what, however, they
have long been), strenuous advocates for the worship of one only
God, the maker or heaven and earth. This was the purpose for
which they were chosen, and this purpose has been accomplished.
For above three and twenty hundred years the Jews have uniformly
witnessed to all the nations of the earth, the unity of God, and his
abomination of idolatry. But as you look upon " the appellation of
the Jews being God's holy people as a lie, which the priests and
leaders of the Jews had invented to cover the baseness of their own
characters, and which Christian priests, sometimes as corrupt, and
often as cruel, have professed to believe," I wilt plainly state to you
the reasons which induce me to believe that it is no lie, and I hope
they will be such reasons as you will not attribute either to cruelty
or corruption.
To any one contemplating the universality of things, and the
fabric of nature, this globe of earth, with the men dwelling on its
surface, will not appear (exclusive of the divinity of their souls) of
more importance than a hillock of ants ; all of which, some with
corn, some with eggs, some without any thing, run hither and thither,
bustling about a little heap of dust. This is a thought, of the im-
mortal Bacon ; and it is admirably fitted to humble the pride of
philosophy, attempting to prescribe forms to the proceedings, and
bounds to the attributes of God. We 'may as easily circumscribe in-
finity, as penetrate the secret purposes of the Almighty. Tliere are
but two ways by which I can acquire any knowledge of the nature
of the Supreme Being, by reason, and by revelation; to you, who
reject revelation, there is but one. Now my reason informs me,
that God has made a great difference between the kinds of animals,
with respect to their capacity of enjoying happiness. Every kind
is perfect in its order; but if we compare different kinds together,
one will appear to be greatly superior to another. An animal,
which has but one sense, has but one source of happiness; but if it
be supplied with what is suited to that sense, it enjoys all the hap-
piness of which it is, capable, and is in its nature perfect. Other
132 Watson's Apology
sorts of animals, which have two or three .senses, and which have
also abundant means of gratifying them, enjoy twice or thrice as'
much happiness as those do which have but one. In the same sort
of animals there is a great difference amongst individuals, one hav-
ing the senses more perfect, and the body less subject to disease,
than another. Hence, if I were to form a judgment of the Divine
goodness by this use of my reason, I could not but say that it was
partial and unequal. "What shall we say then? is God unjust?
God forbid 1" His goodness may be unequal, without being imper-
fect; it must be estimated from the whole, and not from a part.
Every order of beings is so sufficient for its own happiness, and so-
conducive, at the same time, to the happiness of every other, that
in one view it seems to be made for itself alone, and in another, not
for itself but for every other. Could we comprehend the whole of
the immense fabric which God hath formed, I am persuaded, that
we should, see nothing but perfection, harmony, and beauty, in every
part of it; but whilst we dispute about parts, we neglect the whole,
and discern nothing but supposed anomalies and defects. The
maker of a watch, or the builder of a ship, is not to be blamed be-
cause a spectator cannot discover either the beauty or the use of
disjointed parts. And shall we dare to accuse God of injustice, for
not having distributed the gifts of nature in the same degree to alt
kinds of animals, when it is probable that this very inequality of
distribution may be the mean of producing the greatest sum-total
of happiness to the whole system? In exactly the same mariner may
we reason concerning the acts of God's especial providence. If we
consider any one act, such as that of appointing the Jews to be his
peculiar people, as unconnected with every other, it may appear to
be a partial display of his goodness ; it may excite doubts concern-
ing the wisdom or the benignity of his divine nature. But if we
connect the history of the Jews with that of other nations, from the
most remote antiquity to the present time, we shall discover, that
they were not chosen so much for their own benefit, or on account
of their own merit, as for the general benefit of mankind. To the-
Egyptians, Chaldeans, Grecians, Romans, to all the people of tlie
earth, they were formerly, and they are still to all civilized nations,
a beacon set upon a hill, to warn them from idolatry, to light them
to the sanctuary of a God holy, just, and good. Why should we
suspect such a dispensation of being a lie? when even from the
little which we can understand of it, we see that it is founded in
wisdom, carried on for the general good, and analogous to all that
reason teaches us concerning the nature of God.
Several things, you observe, are mentioned in the book of the
Kings, such as the drying up of Jeroboam's hand, the ascent of Elijah
into heaven, the destruction of the children who mocked Elisha,
and the resurrection of a dead man: these circumstances being
mentioned in the book of Kings, and not mentioned in that of
Chronicles, is a proof to you that they are lies. I esteem it a. very
erroneous mode of reasoning, which, from the silence of one au-
thor concerning a particular circumstance, infers the want of ve-
for the Bible. 133
racity in another who mentions it. And thfe observation is still
more cogent, when applied to a book which is only a. supplement
to, or an abridgment of, other books ; and under this description
the book of Chronicles has been considered by all writers. But
though you will .not believe the miracle of the drying up of Jero-
boam's, hand, what can you say to the prophecy which was then
delivered concerning the future destruction of the idolatrous altar
of Jeroboam? The prophecy is thus written, 1 Kings xiii. 2, " Be-
hold, a child -shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name,
and upon tliee (the altar) shall he offer the priests of the high
places." Here is a clear prophecy ; the name, family, and office of
a particular person are described in the year 975 (according to the
Bible chronology) before Christ. Above 350 years after the delivery
of the prophecy, you will find, by consulting the second book of
Kings (chap, xxiii. 15, 16), this prophecy fulfilled in all its parts.
You make a calculation, that Genesis was not written till eight
hundred years after Moses, and that it is of the same age, and you
may probably think, of the same authority as ^Esop's Fables. You
give, what you call the evidence of this, the air of a demonstration,
'fit has but two stages: first, the account of the kings of Edom,
mentioned ha Genesis, is taken from Chronicles ; .and, therefore; the
book of Genesis was written after the book of Chronicles. Secondly,
the book of Chronicles was not begun to be written till after Zede-
kiah, hi whose time Nebuchadnezzar conquered Jerusalem, five
hundred and eighty-eight years before Christ, and more than eight
hundred and sixty after Moses." Having answered this objection
before, I might be excused taking .any more notice of it; but as you
build much, hi this place, upon the strength of your argument, I
will show you its weakness, when it is properly stated. A few
verses hi the book of Genesis could not be written by Moses ; there-
fore, no part of Genesis could be written by Moses ; a child would
deny your therefore. Again : a few verses in the book of Genesis
could not be written by Moses, because they speak of kings of Is-
rael, there haying been no kings of Israel m the time of Moses ;
and, therefore; they could not be written by Samuel, or by Solomon,
or by any other persons who lived after there were kings in Israel,
except by the author of the book of Chronicles ; this is also an
illegitimate inference from your position. Again : a few verses in
the book of Genesis are, word for word, the same as a few verses
in the book of Chronicles ; therefore, the author of the book of
'Genesis must have taken them from Chronicles; another lame
conclusion. Why might not the author of the book of Chronicles
have taken them from Genesis, as h& has taken many other genealo-
gies, supposing them to have been inserted in Genesis by Samuel ?
But where, you may ask, could Samuel, or any other person, have
found the account of the kings of Edom? Probably, hi the public
records of the nation, which were certainly as open for inspection
to Samuel, and the other prophets, as they were to the author of
Chronicles. I hold it needless to employ more time on the subject:
M
134 Watson's Apology
LETTER V.
AT length you come lo two books, Ezra and Nehemiah, which
you allow to be genuine books, giving an account of the return of
the Jews from the Babylonian captivity, about five hundred and
thirty-six years before Christ; but then you say, "Those accounts are
nothing to us, nor to any other persons, unless it be to the Jews, as a
part of the history of their nation ; and there is just as much of the
word of God in those books,.as there is in any of the histories of
France, or in Rapin's History of England." Efere let us stop a mo-
ment, and try, if from your own concessions it be not possible lo
confute your argument. Ezra and Nehemiah, you grant, are genuine
books, " but they are nothing to us !" The very first verse of Ezra
says, the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled ; is it nothing to us to
know that Jeremiah was a true prophet? Do but grant that the Su-
preme Being communicated to any of the sons of men a knowledge
of future events, so that their predictions were plainly verified, and
you will find little difficulty in admitting the truth of revealed reli-
gion. Is it nothing to us to know, that, five hundred and thirty-six
years before Christ, the books of Chronicles, Kings, Judges, Joshua,
Deuteronomy, Numbers, Leviticus, Exodus, Genesis, every book
the authority of which you have attacked, are all referred to by
Ezra and Nehemiah, as authentic books, containing the history of
the Israelitish nation from Abraham to that veTy time ? Is it nothing
to us to know that the history of the Jews is true ? It is every thing
to us ; for if that history be not true, Christianity must be false.
The Jews are the root, we are the branches " grafted in amongst
them ;" to them pertain " the adoption, and the glory, and the cove-
nants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the
promises ; whose are the fathers, and of whom, as concerning the
flesh, Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen."
The history of the Old Testament has, without doubt, some diffi-
culties in it ; but a minute philosopher, who busies himself in search-
ing them out, whilst he neglects to contemplate the harmony of all
its parts, the wisdom and goodness of God displayed throughout the
whole, appears to me to be like a purblind man, who, in surveying
a picture, objects to the simplicity of the design, and the beauty of
the execution, from the asperities he has discovered in the canvas
and the coloring. The history of the Old Testament, notwithstand-
ing the real difficulties which occur in it, notwithstanding the scoffs
and cavils of unbelievers, appears to me to have such internal evi-
dences of its truth, to be so corroborated by the most ancient pro-
fane histories, so confirmed by the present circumstances of the
world, that if I were not a Christian, I would become a Jew. You
think this history to. be a collection of lies, contradictions, blasphe-
mies ; I look upon it to be the oldest, the truest, tbe most compre-
hensive, and the most important history in the world. I consider it
as giving more satisfactory proofs of the being and attributes of
for the Bible. . 135
God, of the origin and end oflmman kind, than ever were attained
by the deepest researches of the most enlightened philosophers.
The exercise of our reason in the investigation of truths respecting
the nature of God, and the future expectations of human kind, is
highly useful ; bnt 1 hope I shall be pardoned by the metaphysi-
cians in' saying, that the chief utility of such disquisitions consists in
this, that they bring us acquainted with the weakness of our intel-
lectual faculties. I do not presume to measure other men by my
standard ; you may have clearer notions than I am able to form of
the infinity of space ; of the eternity of duration ; of necessary ex-
istence ; of the connexion between necessary existence and intelli-
gence, between intelligence and benevolence : you may see nothing
in the universe but organized matter; or, rejecting a material, you
may see nothing but an ideal world. With a mind weary of con-
jecture, fatigued by doubt, sick of disputation, eager for knowledge,
anxious for certainty, and unable to attain it by the best use of my
reason in matters of the utmost importance, I have long ago turned
my thoughts to an impartial examination of the proofs on which re-
vealed religion is grounded, and I am convinced of its truth. This
examination is a subject within the reach of human capacity; you
have come to one conclusion respecting it I have come to another ;
both of us cannot be right; may God forgive him 'that is in an
error !
You ridicule* in a note, the story of an angel appearing to Joshua.
Your mirth you will perceive to be misplaced, when you consider
the design of this appearance: it was to assure Joshua, that the
same God who had appeared to Moses, ordering him to pull off his
shoes, because he stood on holy ground, had now appeared to him-
self. Was this ho encouragement to a man who was about to en-
gage in war with many nations ? Had it no tendency to confirm his
faith ? Was it no lesson to him to obey, in all things, the commands
of God, and to give the glory of his conquests to the author of them,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? As to your wit about pull-
ing off the shoe, it originates, I think, in your ignorance ; you ought
to have known, that this rite was an indication of reverence for the
Divine presence ; and that the custom of entering barefoot into their
temples subsists, in some countries, to this day.
You allow the book of Ezra to be a genuine book ; but, that the
author of it may not escape without a blow, you say, that in mat-
ters of record it is not to be depended on ; and, as a proof of your
assertion, you tell 'us, that the total amount of the numbers who re-
turned from Babylon does not correspond with the particulars ; and,
that every child may have an argument for its infidelity, you dis-
play the particulars, and show your own skill in arithmetic, by sum-
ming them up. And can you suppose that Ezra, a man of great
learning, knew so little of science, so little of the lowest branch of
science, that he could not give his readers the sum-total of sixty par-
ticular sums ? You know, undoubtedly, that the Hebrew letters de-
noted also numbers ; and that there was such a great similarity be-
tween some of these letters, that it was extremely easy for a Iran-
136 Watson's Apology
scriber of a manuscript to mistake a beth for a caph* (or 2 for 20), a
gimel for a w?mt (or 3 for 50), a dalelh for a reset): (or 5 for 200.)
Now what have we to do with numerical contradictions in the
Bible, but to attribute them, wherever they occur, to this obvious
source of error ; the inattention of the transcriber in writing one
letter for another that was like it ?
I should extend these Letters to a length troublesome to the read-
er, to you, and to myself, if I answered minutely every objection
you have made, and rectified every error into which you have
fallen; it may be sufficient briefly to notice some of the chief. The
character represented in Job under the name of Satan is, you say,
"the first and the only -time this name is mentioned in the Bible."
Now I find this name, as denoting an enemy, frequently occurring
in the Old Testament; thus 2 Sam. xix. 22, "What have I to do
with you, ye sons of Zeruiah, that ye should this day be adversaries
unto me ?". In the original it is satans unto me. Again, 1 Kings v.
4. " The Lord my God hath given me rest on every side, so that
there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent" in the original,, nei-
ther salan nor evil. I need not mention other places ; these are
sufficient to show, that the word satan, denoting an adversary, does
occur in various places of the Old Testament ; and it is extremely
probable to me, that the root satan was introduced into the Hebrew
and other eastern languages, to denote an adversary, from its hav-
ing been the proper name of the great enemy of mankind. I know
it is an- opinion of Voltaire, that the word satan is not older than the
Babylonian captivity ; this is a mistake, for it is met with in the
hundred and ninth Psalm, which all allow to have been written by
David, long before the captivity. Now we are upon this subject,
permit me to recommend to your consideration the universality of
the doctrine concerning an evil being, who in the beginning of
time had opposed himself, who still continues to oppose himself, to
the supreme source of all good. Amongst all nations, in all ages,
this opinion prevailed, that human affairs were subject to the will
of the gods, and regulated by their interposition. Hence has been
derived whatever we have read of the wandering stars of the
Chaldeans, two of them beneficent, and two malignant ; hence the
Egyptian Typho and Osiris ; the Persian Arimanius and Oromas-
des ; the Grecian celestial and infernal Jove ; the Brama and the
Zupay of. the Indians, Peruvians, and Mexicans ; the good and evil
principle, by whatever names they may be called, of all other bar-
barous nations ; and hence the structure of the whole book of Job,
in whatever light, of history or drama, it may be considered. Now
does it not appear reasonable to suppose, that an opinion so ancient
and universal has arisen from tradition concerning the fall of our
first parents ; disfigured, indeed, and obscured, as all traditions must
be, by many fabulous additions ? '
The Jews, you tell us, " never prayed but when they were in
trouble." I do not believe this of the Jews ; but that they prayed
for the Bible. 137
more fervently when they were in trouble than at other times, may
be true of the Jews, and I apprehend is true of all nations and all
individuals. But " the Jews never prayed for any thing but victory,
vengeance, and riches." Read Solomon's prayer at the dedication
of the temple, and blush for your assertion, illiberal and uncharitable
in the extreme !
It appears, you observe, " to have been the custom of the heathens
to personify both virtue and vice, by statues and images, as is done
npw-a-days,both by statuary and by painting ; but it does not follow
from this that they worshipped them any more than we do." Not
worshipped them ! What think you of the golden image which
Nebuchadnezzar set up ? Was it not worshipped by the princes,
the rulers, the judges, the people, the nations, and the languages of
the Babylonian empire ? Not worshipped them! What think you
of the decree of the Roman senate for fetching the statue of the
mother of the gods from Pessinum? Was it only that they might
admire it as a piece of workmanship? Not worshipped them!
"What, man is there, that knoweth not, how that the city of the
Ephesians was a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the
image which fell down from Jupiter?" Not worshipped them!
The worship was universal. " Every nation made gods of their
own, and put them in the houses of the high places, which the Sa-
maritans had made ; the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and
the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made
Ashima, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sephar-
srites burned their children in fire to Adrammeleeh, and Anamme-
leeh.the gods of Sepharvaim." (2 Kings, chap, xvii.) The heathens
are. much indebted to you for this your curious apology for their
idolaJry ; for a mode of. worship the most cruel, senseless, impure,
abominable, that can possibly disgrace the faculties of the human
mind. Had this your conceit occurred in ancient times, it might
haye saved Micah's teraphims, the golden calves of Jeroboam and
of Aaron, and quite superseded the necessity of the second com-
mandment] ! ' Heathen morality has had its advocates before you ;
the facetious .gentleman who pulled off his hat to the statue of Ju-
piter, that lie might have a friend when heathen idolatry should
again he .in repute, seems to have had some foundation for his im-
proper humor, some knowledge, that certain men, esteeming them-
selves .great philosophers, had entered into a conspiracy to abolish
Christianity* come foresight of the consequences which will certain-
ly attend their -success.
It is an error, you say, to call the Psalms the Psalms of David.
This error was.obse?ved by St Jerome, many hundred years before
you were horn,; his words are : "We know that they are hi an er-
ror who attribute all the Psalms .to David." You, I suppose, will
not deny, that David wrote some of them. Songs are of various
sorts; we have hunting songs, drinking songs, fighting songs, love
songs, foolish, wanton, wicked songs. If you will have the "Psalms
of David to be nothing but a collection from different song-writers,"
you must allow that the writers of them were inspired by no ordi-
M2
138 Watson's Apology
nary spirit ; that it is a collection^ incapable of being degraded by
the name you give it ; that it greatly excels every other collection,
in matter and in manner. Compare- the book of Psalms with the
odes of Horace or Anacreon, with the hymns of 'Callimachus, the
golden verses of Pythagoras, the choruses of the Greek tragedians
(no contemptible compositions any of these), and you will quickly
see how greatly it surpasses them all, in piety of sentiment, in
sublimity of expression, in purity of morality, and in rational theology.
As you esteem the Psalms of David a song-book, it is consistent
enough hi you to esteem the Proverbs of Solomon a jest-book ; there
have not come down to us above eight hundred of his jests ; if we
had the whole three thousand, which he wrote, our mirth would
be, extreme. Let us open the book, and see what kind of jests it
contains ; take the very first as a specimen : " The fear of the Lord
is the beginning of knowledge ; but fools despise wisdom and in-
struction." Dp you perceive any jest in this? The fear of the Lord !
What Lord does Solomon mean ? He means that Lord, who took
the posterity of Abraham to be his peculiar people ; who redeemed
that people from Egyptian bondage by a miraculous interposition
of his power ; who gave the law to Moses ; who ; commanded the
Israelites to exterminate the nations of Canaan. Now this Lord you
will not fear; the jest says, -you despise wisdom and instruction.
Let us try again : " My son, hear the instruction of thy father, and
forsake not the law of thy mother." If your heart has been ever
touched by parental feelings, you will see no jest in this. Once
more: " My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not" These
are the three first proverbs in Solomon's "jest-book ;" if you read
it through, it may not make you merry; I hope it will make you
wise ; that it will teach you, at least, the beginning of wisdom ; the
fear of that Lord whom Solomon feared. Solomon, you tell us,
was witty; jesters are sometimes witty; but though' all the world,
irom the time of the queen of Sheba, has heard of the wisdom of
Solomon, his wit -was never heard of before. There is a great dif-
ference, Mr. Locke teaches us, between wit and judgment, and
there is a greater between wit and wisdom. Solomon "was wiser
than Ethan the Ezahite, and Heihan, and Chalcol, and Darda, the
sons of Mahol." These men you may think were jesters ; and so
may you call the seven wise men of Greece : but you will never
convince the world, that Solomon, who was wiser than them all,
' was nothing but a witty jester. As to the sins and debaucheries
of Solomon, we have nothing to do with them but to avoid them ;
and to give full credit to his experience, when he preaches to us his
admirable sermon on the vanity of every thing but piety. and virtue.
Isaiah has a greater share of your abuse than any other writer
in the Old Testament, and the reason of it is obvious : the prophe-
cies of Isaiah, have received such a full and circumstantial comple-
tion, that, unless you can persuade yourself to consider the whole
book (a few historical sketches excepted) "as one continued bom-
bastical rant, full of extravagant metaphor, without application, and
destitute of meaning," you must of necessity allow its divine au-
for the Bible. 139
thority. You compare the burthen of Babylon, the burthen of
Moab, the burthen of Damascus, and the other denunciations of the
prophet against cities and kingdoms, to the story "of the Knight.of
the Burning Mountain, theltory of Cinderella," &e. I may have
read these stories, but I remember nothing of the subjects of them ;
.1 have read also Isaiah's burthen of Babylon, and I have compared
it with the past and present state of Babylon, and the comparison
has made such an impression on my mind, that it will never be ef-
faced from my memory. I shall never cease to believe, that the
Eternal alone, by whom things future are more distinctly known
than past ,or present things are by man, that the eternal God alone
could have dictated to the prophet Isaiah the subject of the burthen
of Babylon.
The latter part of the forty-fourth, and the beginning of the forty-
fifth chapter of Isaiah, are, in your opinion, so far from being writ-
ten by Isaiah, that they could only have been written by some per-
son who lived at least a hundred and fifty years after Isaiah was
dead. These chapters, you go on, "are a compliment to Cyrus,
who permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem from the Babylonian
captivity above one hundred and fifty years after the death of
Isaiah:" and is it for this, Sir, that you accuse the church of auda-
city and the priests of ignorance, in imposing, as you call it, this
book upon the world as the writing of Isaiah? What shall be said
of you, who, either designedly or ignorantly, represent one of the
most clear and important prophecies in the Bible, as an historical
compliment, written above an himdred and fifty years after the
death of the prophet ? We 'contend, Sir, that this is a prophecy, and
not a history; that God called Cyrus by his name, declared that
he should conquer Babylon, and described the means by which he
should do it, above an hundred years before Cyrus was born, and
when there was no probability of such an event. Porphyry could
not resist the evidence of Daniel's prophecies, but by saying that
they were forged after the events predicted had taken place ; Vol-
taire could not resist the evidence of the prediction of Jesus, con-
cerning the destruction of Jerusalem, but by saying, that the ac-
count was written after Jerusalem had been destroyed ; and you,
at length (though for aught I know, you may have had predecessors
in this presumption), unable to resist the evidence of Isaiah's pro-
phecies, contend, that they are.bombastical rant, without application,
though the application is circumstantial ; and destitute of meaning,
though the meaning is so obvious that it cannot be mistaken ; and
that one of the most remarkable of them is not a prophecy, but an
historical compliment written after the event. We will not, Sir,
give up Daniel and St. Matthew to the impudent assertions of Por-
phyry and Voltaire, nor will we give up Isaiah to your assertion.
Proof, proof is what we require, and not assertion; we will not re-
linquish our religion hi obedience to your abusive .assertion respect-
ing the prophets of God. That the wonderful absurdity of this
hypothesis may be more obvious to you, I beg you to consider, that
Cyrus was a Persian, had been brought up in the religion of his
140 " Watson's Apology
country, and was probably addicted to the magian superstition of
two independent beings, equal in power, but different in principle,
one the author of light and of all good, the' other the author of
darkness and all evil. Now is it probable, that a capltve Jew,
meaning to compliment the greatest prince in the world, should
be so stupid as to tell the prince that his religion was a lie? "I
am the Lord, and there is none else, I form the light, and create
darkness, I make peace and create evil, J the Lord do all these
things." .
But if you will persevere in believing that the prophecy concern-
ing Cyrus was written after the event, peruse the burthen of Baby-
lon; was that also written after the event? Were the Medes then
stirred up against Babylon ? Was Babylon, the glory of the king-
doms, the beauty of the Chaldees, then overthrown, and become as
Sodom and Gomorrah? Was it then uninhabited? Was it then
neither fit for the Arabian's tent nor the .shepherd's fold? Did the
wild beasts of the desert then lie there ? Did the wild beasts of the
islands then cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant
palaces ? Were Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, the son and the
grandson, then cut off? Was Babylon then become a possession of
the bittern, and pools of water? Was it then swept with the besom
of destruction, so swept that the world knows not now where to
find it? -
I am unwilling to attribute bad designs, deliberate wickedness, to
you or to any man ; I cannot avoid believing that you think you
nave truth on your side, and that you are doing service to mankind
in endeavoring to root out what you esteem superstition. What I
blame you for is this : that you have attempted to lessen the au-
thority of the Bible by ridicule, more than by reason; that you have
brought forward every petty objection which your ingenuity could
discover, or your industry pick up, from the writings of others ; and,
without taking any notice of the answers which have been repeat-
edly given to these objections, you urge and enforce them as if they
were new. There is certainly some novelty, at least, in your man-
ner, for you go beyond all others in boldness of assertion, and in
profaneness of argumentation ; Bolingbroke and Voltaire must yield
the palm of scurrility to Thomas Paine.
Permit me to state to you what would, in my opinion, have been
a better mode of proceeding ; better suited to the character of an
honest man, sincere in his endeavors to search out truth. Such a
man, in reading the Bible, would, in the first place, examine
whether the Bible attributed to the Supreme Being any attributes
repugnant to holiness, truth, justice, goodness ; whether it repre-
sented him as subject to human infirmities ; whether it excluded
him from the government of the world, or assigned the origin of it
to chance, and an eternal conflict of atoms. Finding nothing of .
this kind in the Bible (for the destruction of the Canaanites by his
express command I have shown not to be repugnant to his moral
justice), he would, in the second place, consider, that the Bible
being, as to many of its parts, a yery old book, and written by van-
for the Bible. 141
ous authors, and at different and distant periods, there might, proba-
bly, occur some difficulties and apparent contradictions in the his-
torical part of it ; he would endeavor to remove these difficulties, to
reconcile these apparent contradictions, by the rules of such sound
criticism as he would use in examining the contents of any other
book ; and if he found that most of them were of a trifling nature,
arising from short additions inserted into the text as explanatory and
supplemental, or from mistakes and omissions of transcribers, he
would infer, that all the rest were capable of being accounted for,
though he was not able to do it; and he would be the more willing
to make this concession, from observing, that there ran through the,
whole book a harmony and connexion, utterly inconsistent with
every idea of forgery and deceit. He would then, in the third
place, observe, that the miraculous and historical parts of this book
were so intermixed, that they could not be separated; that they
must either both be true, or both false ; and from finding that the
historical part was as well or better authenticated than that of any
other history, he would admit the miraculous part ; and to confirm
himself in this belief he would advert to the prophecies ; well
knowing, that the prediction of things to come was as certain a
proof of the Divine interposition, as the performance of a miracle
could be. If he should find, as he certainly would, that many an-
cient prophecies bad been fulfilled in all their circumstances, and
that some were fulfilling at this very day, he would not suffer a few
seeming or real difficulties to overbalance the weight of this ac-
cumulated evidence for the truth of the Bible. Such, I presume to
think, would be a proper conduct in all those who are desirous' of
forming a rational and impartial judgment on the subject of re-
vealed religion. To return :
As to your observation, that the book of Isaiah is (at least in
translation) that kind of composition and false taste, which is prop-
erly called, prose run mad ; I have only to remark, that your taste
for Hebrew poetry, even judging of it from translation, would be
more correct if you would suffer yourself to, be informed on the
subject by Bishop Lowth, who tells you, in his Prelections, "that a
poem translated literally from the Hebrew into any other language,
whilst the same forms of the sentences remain, will still retain, even
as far as relates to versification, much of its native dignity, and a
faint appearance of versification." (Gregory's Translation). If this
is what you mean by prose run mad, your observation may be ad-
mitted.
You explain at some length your notion of the misapplication
made by St, Matthew of the prophecy in Isaiah : " Behold, a virgin
shall conceive and bear a son." That passage has been handled
largely and minutely by almost every commentator, and it is too im-
portant to be handled superficially by any one. I am not on the
present occasion concerned to explain it. It is quoted by you to
prove, and it is the only instance you produce, that Isaiah was " a
lying prophet and an impostor." Now I maintain, that this very in-
stance proves that he was a true prophet, and no impostor. The his-
142 "Watson's Apology
tory of the prophecy, as delivered in the seventh chapter, is this:
Rezih, king of Syria, and Pekah, king of Israel, made war upon
Ahaz, lung of Judah. ; not merely, or perhaps not at all, for the 8ake
of plunder or the conquest of territory, but with a declared purpose
of making an entire revolution in the government of Judah, of de-
stroying die royal house of David, and of placing another family on
the Ihrone. Their purpose" is thus expressed : " Let us go up against
Judah, and vex it, and let us make a breach therein for us, and set
a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal." Now what did
the Lord commission Isaiah to say to Ahaz ? Did he commission him
to say, the kings shall not vex thee ? No. The kings shall not con-
quer thee ? No. The kings shall not succeed against thee ? No.
He commissioned him to say : " It (the purpose of the two lungs)
shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass;" I demand, did it
stand, did it come to pass ? Was any revolution effected ? Was the
royal house of David dethroned and destroyed ? Was Tabeal ever
made king of Judah ? No. The prophecy was perfectly accom-
plished. You say, " Instead of these two kings failing in their at-
tempt against Ahaz, they succeeded ; Ahaz was defeated and de-
stroyed." I deny the fact; Ahaz was defeated, but not destroyed ;
and even the " two hundred thousand women, and sons, and daugh-
ters," whom you represent as carried into captivity, were not car-
ried into captivity ; they were made captives, but they were not
carried into captivity ; for the chief men of Samaria, being admon-
ished by a prophet, would not suffer Pekah to bring the captives
into the land , " They rose up, and took the captives, and with the
spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them,
and shod them, and gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed
them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses (some humanity,
you see, amongst those Israelites, whom you everywhere represent
as barbarous brutes), and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm-
trees, to their brethren." (2 Chron. xxviii. 15.) The kings did fail in
their attempt ; iheir attempt was to destroy the house of David, and
to make a revolution ; but they made no revolution, they did not
destroy the house of David ; for Ahaz slept with his fathers, and
Hezekiah, his son, of the house of David, reigned hi his stead.
LETTER VI.
AFTER what I conceive to be a great misrepresentation of the
character and conduct of Jeremiah, you bring forward an objection,
which Spinoza and others before you had much insisted upon, though
it is an objection which neither affects the genuineness, nor the au-
thenticity, of the book of Jeremiah, any more than the blunder of a
bookbinder, in misplacing the sheets of your performance, would
lessen its authority. The objection is, that the book of Jereniiali
for the Bible. 143
has been put together in a disordered state. It is acknowledged,
that the order of time is not everywhere observed ; but the cause
of the confusion is not known. Some attribute it to Baruch collect-
ing into one volume all the several, prophecies which Jeremiah had
written, and neglecting to put them in their proper places. Others
think,. that the several parts of the work were at first properly ar-
ranged, but that through accident, or the carelessness of transcri-
bers, they were deranged. Others contend, that there is no confu-
sion ; that prophecy differs from history, in not being subject to an
accurate observance of time and order. But leaving this matter to
be settled by critical discussion, let us come to a matter. of greater
importance ; to your charge against Jeremiah for his duplicity, and
for his false prediction. First, as to his duplicity :
Jeremiah, on accoimt of his having boldly predicted the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem, had been thrust into a miry dungeon by the
princes of Judah who sought his life ; there he would have perish-
ed, had not one of the eunuchs taken compassion on him, and pe-
titioned king Zedekiah in his favor, saying, " These men (the princes)
have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet
(no small testimony this, of the probity of the prophet's character),
whom they have cast into the dungeon, and he is like to die for
hunger." On this representation Jeremiah was taken out of the
dungeon by an order from the king, who soon afterwards sent pri-
vately for him, and desired him to conceal nothing from him, bind-
ing himself by an oath, that, whatever might be the nature of his
prophecy, he would not put him to death, or deliver him into the
hands of the princes who sought his life. Jeremiah delivered to
him the purpose of God respecting the fate of Jerusalem. The
conference being ended, the king, anxious to perform his oath, to
preserve the life of the prophet, dismissed him, saying, " Let no
man know of these words, and thou shalt not die. But if the princes
hear that I have talked with thee, and they come unto thee, and
say unto thee, Declare unto us now what thou hast said unto the
king, hide it not from us, and we will not put thee to death; also
what the king said unto thee : then thou shalt say unto them, I pre-
sented my supplication before the king, that he would not cause me
to return to Jonathan's house to die there. Then came all the
princes unto Jeremiah, and asked him, and he told them according
lo all these words that the king had commanded." Thus, you re-
mark, " this nian of God, as he is called, could tell a lie, or very
strongly prevaricate; for certainly he did not go to Zedekiah to
make his supplication, neither did he make it." It is not said that
lie told the princes he went to make his supplication, but that he
presented it : now it is said in the preceding chapter, that he did
make the supplication, and it is.probable that in this conference he
renewed it ; but be that as it may, I contend that Jeremiah was not .
guilty of duplicity, or, in more intelligible terms, that he did not
violate ,any law of nature, or of civil society, in what he did on
this occasion. He told the truth, in part, to save his life; and he
was under no obligation to tell the whole to men who were certeh>
144 Watson's Apology
lyhis enemies, and no good subjects to his king. "In a matter
(says Puffendorf), which I am not obliged to declare to.another, if I
cannot, with safety, conceal the whole, I may fairly discover no
more than a part." Was Jeremiah under any obligation to declare
to the princes what had passed in his conference with the king ?
You may as well say, that the House of Lords has a right to compel
privy counsellors to reveal the king's secrets. The king cannot
justly require a privy counsellor to tell a lie for him; but he may
require him not to divulge his counsels to those who have no right
to know them. Now for the false prediction : I will give the de-
scription of it in your own words :
" In the 34th chapter is a prophecy of Jeremiah to Zedekiah, in
these words," ver. 2. 'Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will give this
city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will burn it with
fire; and thou shall not escape out of his hand, but thou shall surely
be taken, and delivered into his hand ; and thine eyes shall behold
the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he shall speak with thee
mouth to mouth, and thou shall go to Babylon. Yet hear the word
of the Lord, O Zedekiah, king of Judah ; thus saith the Lord, Thou
shalt not die by the sword, but thou shalt die in peace ; and with
the burnings of thy fathers, the former kings that were before thee,
so shall they burn" odors for thee, and will lament thee, saying, Ah,
Lord ! for I have pronounced the word, saith the Lord.'
" Now, instead of Zedekiah beholding the eyes of the king of
Babylon, and speaking with him mouth to mouth, and dying in
peace, and with the burning of odors, as at the funeral of his fathers
(as Jeremiah had declared the Lord himself had pronounced), the
reverse, according to the 52d chapter, was the case; it is there
stated, verse 10, 'That the long of Babylon slew the sons of Zede-
kiah before his eyes; then he put put the eyes of Zedekiah, and
bound him in chains, and carried him to Babylon, and put him in
prison till the day of his death.' What can we say of these proph-
ets, but that they are impostors and liars ?" I can say this, that
the prophecy you have produced was fulfilled in all its parts : and
what then shall be said of those who call Jeremiah a liar and an
impostor? Here then we are fairly at issue; you affirm that the
prophecy was not fulfilled, and I affirm that it was fulfilled in all
its parts. " I will give this city into the hands of the king of Baby-
lon, and he shall burn it with fire :" so says the prophet ; what says
the history? "They (the forces' of the king of Babylon) burnt the
house of God, and brake down the walls of Jerusalem, and burnt
all the palaces thereof with fire." (2 Chron. xxxvi. 19.) " Thou
shall not escape out of his hand, but shalt surely be taken, and de-
livered into his hand :" so says the prophet; what says the history?
"The men of war fled by night, and the lung went the way to-
wards the plain ; and the army of the Chaldees pursued after the
king, and overtook him in the plains of Jericho; and all his army
were scattered from him ; so they took the king, and brought him
up to the king of Babylon, to Riblah." (2 Kings xxv. 5.) The proph-
et goes on, "Thine eyes shall behold the eyes of the lung of
for the Bible. 145
Babylon, and he shall speak with thee mouth to mouth." No
pleasant circumstance this to Zedekiah, -who had provoked the king
of Babylon by revolting from him! The history says, "The king
of Babylon gave judgment upon.Zedekiah," or, as it is more literally
rendered from the Hebrew, "spake judgment with him at Riblah.
The prophet concludes this part with, " And thou shalt go to Baby-
lon;" the history says, "The king of Babylon bound him hi chains,
and carried him to Babylon, and put him in prison till the day of
his death," Jer. lii. 11. "Thou shalt not die by the sword." He
did not die by the sword, he did not fall in battle. "But thou shalt
die in peace." He did die hi peace, he neither expired on the
rack, or on the scaffold ; was neither strangled, nor poisoned ; no
unusual fate of captive kings! he died peaceably in his bed, though
that bed was in a prison. " And with the burnings of thy fathers
shall they burn odors for thee." I cannot prove from the history
that this part of the prophecy was accomplished, nor can you prove
that it was not The probability is, that it was accomplished ; and
I have two reasons on which I ground this probability. Daniel,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, to say nothing of other Jews,
were men of great authority in the court of the king of Babylon,
before and after the commencement of the imprisonment of Zede-
kiah; and Daniel continued hi power till the subversion of the
kingdom of Babylon by Cyrus. Now it seems to me to be very-
probable, that Daniel, and the other great men of the Jews, would
both have inclination to request, and influence enough with the king
of Babylon to obtain permission to bury their deceased prince Zede-
kiah, after the manner of his fathers. But if there had been no
Jews at Babylon of consequence enough to make such a request,
still it is probable, that the king of Babylon would have ordered the
Jews to bury and lament their departed prince, .after the manner
of their country. Monarchs, like other men, are conscious of the
instability of human condition ; and when the pomp of war has
ceased, when the insolence of conquest is abated, and the fury of
resentment subsided, they seldom fail to revere royalty even in its
ruins, and grant without reluctance proper obsequies to the remains
of captive kings.
You profess to have been particular in treating of the books as.
cribed to Isaiah and Jeremiah. Particular! in what? You have
particularized two or three passages, which you have endeavored
to represent as objectionable, and which I hope have been shown,
to the reader's satisfaction, to be not justly liable to your^ censure ;
and you have passed over all the other parts of these books without
notice. Had you been particular in your examination, you would
have found cause to admire the probity and the intrepidity of the
characters of the authors of them ; you would have met with many
instances of sublime composition; and, what is of more conse-
quence, wth many instances of prophetical veracity. Particularit
ties of these kinds you have wholly overlooked. I cannot account
for this; I have no right, no inclination, to call you a dishonest man ;
am I justified hi considering you as a man not altogether destitute
N
146 Watson's Apology
of ingenuity, but so entirety under the dominion of prejudice, m
every thing respecting the Bible, that, like a corrupted judge, pre-
viously determined to give sentence on one side, you are negligent
in the examination of truth ?
You proceed to the rest of the prophets, and you take them eol
lectively, carefully however selecting for your observations such
particularities as are best calculated to render, if possible, the
prophets odious or ridiculous in the eyes of your readers. You con-
found prophets with poets and musicians : I would distinguish them
thus ; many prophets were poets and musicians, but all poets and
musicians were not prophets. Prophecies were often delivered in.
poetic language and measure; but flights and metaphors of the
Jewish poets have not, as you affirm, been foolishly erected into
what are now called prophecies ; they are now called, and have
always been called, prophecies ; because they were real predictions,
some of which have received, some are now receiving, and all will
receive, their full accomplishment.
That there were false prophets, witches, necromancers, conjurors,
fortune-tellers, among the Jews, no person will attempt to deny ;
no nation, barbarous or civilized, has been without them ; but when
you would degrade the prophets of the Old Testament to a level
with these conjuring, dreaming, strolling gentry ; when you would
represent them as spending their lives in fortune-telling, casting
nativities, predicting riches, fortunate or unfortunate marriages, con-
juring for lost goods, &c., I must be allowed to say, that you wholly
mistake their office, and misrepresent their character : their office
was to : convey to the children of Israel the commands, the prom-
is.es, the threatenings of Almighty God ; and their character was
that of men sustaining, with fortitude, persecution in the discharge
of their duty. There were false prophets in abundance amongst
the Jews ; and if you oppose these to the true prophets, and call
them both party prophets, you have the liberty of doing so, but you
will not thereby confound the distinction between truth and false-
hood. False prophets are spoken of with detestation in many parts
of Scripture, particularly by Jeremiah, who accuses them of proph-
esying lies in the name of the Lord, saying, " I have dreamed, I
have dreamed : Behold, I am against the prophets, saith the Lord,
that use their tongues, and say, He saith, that prophesy false dreams,
and cause my people to err by their lies and by their lightness."
Jeremiah cautions his countrymen against giving credit to their
prophets, to their diviners, to their dreamers, to their enchanters, to
their sorcerers, which speak unto you, saying ; " Ye shall not serve
the king of Babylon." You cannot think more contemptibly of
these gentry than they were thought of by the true prophets at the
time they lived ; but, 33 Jeremiah says on this subject, " what is the
chaff to the wheat ?" what are the false prophets to the true ones ?
Every thing good is liable to abuse ; but who argues against the use
of a-thing from the abuse of it? against physicians, because there
are pretenders to physic ? Was Isaiah a fortune-teller, predicting
richer when he said to king Hezekiah, "Behold, the days come,
for the Bible. 14f
that all that is in thine house, and that which thy fathers have laid
up in store until this day, shall be carried to Babylon : nothing shall
fce left, saith the Lord. And of thy sons that shall issue from thee,
which thou shall beget, shall they take away, and they shall be
^eunuchs in the palace of the* king of Babylon." Fortune-tellers
generally predict good luck to their simple customers, that they
iay make something by their trade ; but Isaiah predicts to a
monarch desolation of his country, and ruin of his family. This
prophecy was spoken in the year before Christ, 713; and, above a
hundred years afterwards, it was accomplished ; when Nebuchad-
xiezzar took Jerusalem, and carried.out thence all the treasures of
the house of the Lord, and the treasures of the king's house (2 Kings
xxiv. 13), and when he commanded the master of his eunuchs (Dan.
a. 3), that he should take certain of the children of Israel, and of the
lung's seed, and of the princes, and educate them for three years,
till they were able to stand before the king.
Jehoram king of Israel, Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and the king
of Edom, going with their armies to make war on the kingof Moab,
came into a place where there was no water either for their- men
or cattle. In this distress they waited upon Elisha (a high honor
for one of your conjurers), by the advice of Jehoshaphat, who kne^w
that, the word of the Lord was with him. The prophet, on seeing
Jehoram, an idolatrous prince, who had revolted from the worship
of the true God, come to consult him, said to him, " Get thee to the
prophets of thy father and the prophets of thy mother." This you
think shows Elisha to haye been a party prophet, full of venom and
vulgarity ; it shows him to have been a man of great courage, who
respected the dignity of his own character, the sacredness of his
office as a prophet of. God, whose duty it w T as to reprove the wick-
edness of kings, as of other men. He ordered them to make the
valley where they were full of ditches. This, you say, " every
countryman could have told, that the way to get water was to dig
for it" But this is not a true representation of the case : the ditches
were not dug that water might be gotten by digging for it, but that
they might hold the water when it should miraculously come
"without wind or rain," from another country; and it did come
" from the way of Edom, and the country was filled with water."
As to Elisha's "cursing the little children who had mocked him, and
their destruction in consequence of his imprecation, the whole story
must be taken together. The provocation he received is, by some,
considered as an insult offered to him, not as a man but as a prophet,
and that the persons who offered it were not what we understand
by little children, but grown-up youths ; the term child being ap-
plied, in the Hebrew language, to grown-up persons. Be this as it
may, the cursing was the act of the prophet ; had it been a sin, it
would not have been followed by a miraculous destruction of the
offenders ; for this was the act of God, who best knows who de-
flerve punishment. What effect such a signal judgment had on the
idolatrous inhabitants of the land is nowhere said; but it u preba
fcla it was Apt without a good effect
148 Watson's ApologtJ
EzekieL and Daniel lived during the Babylonian captivity ; you 1
aHow their writings to be genuine; In this you differ from some
of the greatest adversaries of Christianity; and in my opinion cut
up, by this concession, the very root of your whole performance. It
is next to an impossibility for any man, who admits the book of
Daniel to be a genuine book, and who examines that book with in-
telligence and impartiality, to refuse his assent to the truth of Chris-
tianity. As to your sayingj that the interpretations which commen-
tators and priests -have made of these books, only show the fraud,
or the extreme folly, to which credulity and priestcraft can go, I con-
sider it as nothing but a proof of the extreme folly or fraud to which
prejudice and infidelity can carry a minute philosopher. You pro-
fess a fondness for science ; I will refer you to a scientific man, who
was neither a commentator nor a priest, to Ferguson. In a tract
entitled, The Year of our Saviour's Crucifixion ascertained ; and
the darkness, at the time of his crucifixion, proved to be supernatu-
ral ; this real philosopher interprets the remarkable prophecy in the
ninth chapter of Daniel, and concludes his dissertation in the fol-
lowing words : " Thus we have an astronomical demonstration of
the truth of this ancient prophecy, seeing that the prophetic year of
the Messiah's being cut off was the very same with the astronomi-
fcal." I have somewhere read an account of a solemn disputation,
which was held at Venice, in the last century, between a Jew and
a Christian ; the Christian strongly argued, from Daniel's prophecy
of the seventy weeks, that Jesus was the Messiah whom the Jews
had long expected, from the predictions of their prophets: the
learned "Rabbi, who presided at this disputation, was so forcibly
struck by the argument, that he put an end to the business, by say-
ing, " Let us shut up our Bibles ; for if we proceed in the examina-
tion of this prophecy, it will make us all become Christians." Was
it a similar apprehension which deterred you from so much as open-
ing the Book^of Daniel ? You have not produced from it one ex-
ceptionable passage. I hope you will read that book with attention,
with intelligence, and with an unbiassed mind follow the advice of
our Saviour when he quoted this very prophecy ; " Let him that
readeth understand ;" and I shall not despair of your conversion
from Deism to Christianity. .
In order to discredit the authority of the books which you allow
to be genuine, you form a strange and prodigious hypothesis con-
cerning Ezekiel and Daniel, for which there is no manner of found-
ation either in history or probability. You suppose these two men
to have had no dreams, no visions, no revelation from God Almighty,
but to have pretended to these things ; and, under that disguise, to
have carried on an enigmatical correspondence relative to the re-
covery of their country from the Babylonian yoke. 'That any man
in his senses should frame or adopt such an hypothesis, should have
BO little regard to his own reputation as an impartial inquirer after
truth, so little respect for the understanding of his readers, as to ob-
trude it on the world, would have appeared : an incredible circum-
stance, had not you made it a fact.
/or Ih* B&le. 149
"You quote u passage from Eiekiel, in chapter xxir. ver. 11, speak-
ing of Egypt, it is aids " No foot of man shall pass' through it, nor
already
this did 'come to pass we have, as Bishop Newton observes, " the
testimonies of Megasthenes and Berosus, two heathen historians,
who lived about three hundred years before Christ ; one of whom
affirms, expressly, that Nebuchadnezzar conquered the greater part
of Africa^ -.and the other affirms it, in effect, in saying, that whgn
Nebuchaflsezzar heard of the death of his father, having settled hja
affairs in Egypt, and committed the captives whom he took in
Egypt 'do the care of some of his friends to bring them after him, he
hasted -directly to .Babylon." And if we had been possessed of no
*estimeny in support of the prophecy, it would have been a hasty
conclusion, that the prophecy never came to pass ; the history of
Egypt, at so remote a period, being nowhere accurately and cir-
cumstantially related. I admit that no period can be pointed out,
from the age of Ezekiel to the present, in which there was no foot
<of man or beast to be seen for forty years in all Egypt ; but some
think that only a part of Egypt is here spoken of; and surely you
do^not expect a literal accomplishment of a hyperbolical expres-
sion, denoting great desolation ; importing that the trade of Egypt,
which was carried on then, as at present, by caravans, by the foot
of man and beast, should be annihilated. Had you taken the
trouble to have looked a little farther into the book from which you
have made your quotation, you would have there seen a prophecy
delivered above two thousand years ago, and which has been ful-
filling from that time to this : '* Egypt shall be the basest of the
kingdoms, neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations
there shall be no more a prince of the land of Egypt" This you
may call a dream, a vision, a lie : I esteem it a wonderful prophecy.;
for " as is the prophecy, so has been the event. Egypt was con-
quered by the Babylonians; and after the Babylonians by the Per-
sians, ana after the Persians it became subject to the Macedonians,
and after the Macedonians to the Romans, and after the Romans to
the Saracens, and then to the Mamalucs, and is now a province of
the Turkish empire/'
Suffer me to produce to you from this author, not an enigmatical
letter to Daniel respecting the recovery of Jerusalem from the hands
of the king of Babylon, but an enigmatical prophecy concerning
Zedekiah the king of Jerusalem, before it was taken by-the Chal-
deans, " I will bring him (Zedekiah) to Babylon, to. the" land Of
the Chaldeans ; yet shall he not see it, though he shall die there."
How ! not see Babylon, when he should die there J How, moreover,
is this consistent, you may ask, with what Jeremiah had foretold,
that Zedekiah should see the eyes of the king of Babylon ? This
darkness of expression, and apparent contradiction between the two
prophets, induced Zedekiah, (as Josephus informs us) to give no
credit to either of them ; yet ho unhappily experienced, the fee* is
N2
150 Watson's Apology
worthy your observation, the truth of them both. He saw the eyes
of the King of Babylon, not at Babylon, but at Riblah; his eyes
were there put out; and he was carried to Babylon, yet he saw it
not; and thus were the predictions of both the prophets verified,
and the 'enigma of Ezekiel explained.
As to your wonderful discovery, that the prophecy of Jonah is a
book of some Gentile, " and -that it has been written as a fable, to
expose the nonsense, and to satirize the vicious and malignant char*
acter of a Bible prophet, or a predicting priest," I shall put it,
covered with "hellebore, for the service of its author, on the same
shelf with your hypothesis concerning die conspiracy of Daniel and
Ezekiel, and shall not say another word about it
You conclude your objections to the Old Testament in a tri-
umphant style ; an angry opponent would say, in a style of extreme
arrogance and sottish self-sufficiency. " I have gone," you say,
"through the Bible (mistaking here, as in other places, the Old Tes-
tament for the Bible) as a man would go through a wood, with an ax
on his shoulders, and fell trees ; here they lie ; and the priests, if they
can, may replant them. They may, perhaps, stick them in the ground,
but they will never grow." And is it possible, that you should think
so highly of your performance as to believe* that you have thereby
demolished the authority ef a book, which Newton himself esteemed
the most authentic of all histories; which, by its celestial light,
illumines the darkest ages of antiquity ; which is the touchstone
whereby we are enabled to distinguish between true and fabulous
theology, between the God of Israel, holy, just, and good, and the
impure rabble of heathen Baalim: which has been thought, by
competent judges, to have afforded matter for the laws of Solon,
and a foundation for the philosophy of Plato ; which has been illus-
trated by the labor of learning, in all ages and countries ; and been
admired and venerated for its piety, its sublimity, its veracity, by all
who were able to read and understand it? No, Sir; you have gone
indeed through the wood, with the best intention m the world to
cut it down; but you have merely busied' yourself in exposing to
vulgar contempt a few unsightly shrubs, which good men had
wisely concealed from public view ; you have entangled yourself
in thickets of thorns and briers ; you have lost your way on the
mountains of Lebanon ; the goodly cedar trees whereof^ lamenting
the madness, and pitying the blindness of your rage against them,
have scorned the blunt edge and the base temper of your ax, and
laughed unhurt at the feebleness of your stroke.
In -plain language, you have gone through the Old Testament
hunting after difficulties, and you have found some real ones ; these
you have endeavored to magnify into insurmountable objections to
the authority of the whole book. When it is considered, that the
Old Testament is composed of several books, written by different
authors, and at different periods, from Moses to Malachi, comprising
an abstracted history of a particular nation for above a thousand
years, I think the real difficulties which occur in it are much fewer,
and of much less importance, than could reasonably have been
for the Bible. 151
expected. Apparent difficulties you have represented as real ones,
without hinting at the manner in which they have been explained.
You have ridiculed things held most sacred, and calumniated char-
acters esteemed most venerable ; you have excited the scoffs of the
profane; increased the scepticism of the doubtful; shaken the
faith of the unlearned ; suggested cavils to the " disputers of this
world ;" and perplexed the minds of honest men, who wish to wor-
ship the God of their fathers in sincerity and truth. This, and more,
you have done in going through the Old Testament; but you have
not so much as glanced at the great design of the whole, at the
harmony and mutual dependence of the several parts. You have
said nothing of the wisdom of God in selecting a particular people
from the rest of mankind, not for their own sakes, but that they
might witness to the whole world, in successive ages, his existence
and attributes; that they might be an instrument of subverting
idolatry; of declaring the name of the God of Israel throughout the
whole earth. It was through this nation that the Egyptians saw the
wonders of God ; "that the Canaanites (whom wickedness had made
a reproach to human nature) felt his judgments ; that the Baby-
lonians issued their decrees: "That none should dare to speak
amiss of the God of Israel ; that all should fear and tremble before
him;" and it is through them that you and I, and all the world, are
not at this day worshippers of idols. You have said nothing of the
goodness of God in promising, that through .the seed of Abraham
all the nations of the earth were to be blessed ; that the desire of all
nations, the blessing of Abraham to the Gentiles, should come. You
have passed by aU the prophecies respecting the coming of the
Messiah ; though they absolutely fixed the time of his coming, and
of his being cut off; described his office, character, condition, suf-
ferings, and death, in so circumstantial a manner, that we cannot
but be astonished at the accuracy of their completion in the person
of Jesus of Nazareth. You have neglected noticing the testimony
of the whole Jewish nation to the truth both of the natural and
miraculous facts; recorded hi the Old Testament. That we may
better judge of the weight of this testimony, let us suppose, that
God should now manifest himself to us, as we contend he did to the
Israelites hi Egypt, in the desert, and in the land of Canaan; and
that he should continue these manifestations of himself to our pos-
terity for a thousand years or more, punishing or rewarding them
according as they disobeyed or obeyed his commands ; what would
you expect should be the issue ? You would expect that our pos-
terity would, in the remotest period of time, adhere' to their God,
and maintain, against all opponents, the truth of the books in which
the dispensations of God to us and to our successors had been re-
corded. They would not yield to the objections of men, who, not
having experienced the same Divine government, should, for want
of such experience, refuse assent to their testimony. No ; they
would be to the then surrounding nations, what the Jews are to us,
witnesses of the existence, and of the moral government, of God.
153 Watson's Apology
LETTER Vlt
New Testament, they tell us, is founded upon the prophe-
cies of the Old; if so, it must follow the fate of its foundation."
Thus you open your attack upon the New Testament; and I agree
with you, that the New Testament must follow the fate of the Old ;
and that fate is to remain unimpaired by such efforts as you have
made against it. The New Testament, however, is not founded
solely on the prophecies of the Old. If a heathen from Athens or
Rome, who had never heard of the prophecies of the Old Testa-
ment, had been an eye-witness of the miracles of Jesus, he would
have made the same conclusion that the Jew Nicodemus did ;
" Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come -from God ; for ho
man can do these miracles that thou doest,. except God be with him."
Our Saviour tells the Jews, " Had ye believed Moses, ye would
have believed me; for he wrote of me;" and he bids them search
the Scriptures, for they testified of him. But, notwithstanding this
appeal to the prophecies of the Old Testament, Jesus said to the
Jews, " Though ye believe not me, believe the works " " believe
me for the very works' sake" "If had not done among them the
works which none other man did, they had not had sin." These are
sufficient proofs, that the truth of Christ's mission was not even to
the Jews, much less to the Gentiles, foundeS solely on the truth of
the prophecies of the Old Testament. So that if you could prove
some of these prophecies to have been misapplied, and not com-
pleted in the person of Jesus, the truth of the Christian religion
would not thereby be overturned. That Jesus of Nazareth wa
the person, in whom all the prophecies, direct and typical, in the-
Old Testament, respecting the Messiah, were fulfilled, is a proposi-
tion founded on those prophecies, and to be proved by comparing
them with the history of his life. That Jesus was a prophet sent
from God, is one proposition ; that Jesus was the prophet, the Mes-
siah, is another ; and though he certainly was both a prophet and
the prophet, yet the foundations of the proof of these propositions
are separate and distinct
The mere existence " of such a woman as Mary, and of such a
man as .Joseph, and Jesus," is, you say, a matter of indifference,
about which there is no ground either to believe or to disbelieve.
Belief is different from knowledge, with which you here seem to-
confound it. We know that the whole is greater than its parts ; and
we know that all the angles in the same segment of a circle are
equal to each other; we have intuition and demonstration as grounds-
of this knowledge; but is there no ground for belief of past or
future existence ? Is there no ground for believing that the sun will
exist to-morrow, and that your father existed before you ? You con-
descend, however, to think it probable, that there were such per-
sons as Mary, Joseph, and Jesus; and, without troubling yourself
about their existence or non-existence, assuming, as it were, for th
for the Bible. 153
sake of argument, but without positively granting their existence,
you proceed to inform us, "that it is the fable of Jesus Christ, as
told in the New Testament, and the wild and visionary doctrine
raised thereon," against which you contend. You will not repute
it a fable, that there was such a man as Jesus Christ; that he lived
in Judea near eighteen hundred years ago ; that he went about do*
ing good, and preaching, not only hi the villages of Galilee, but in
the city of Jerusalem ; that he had several followers who constantly
attended him ; that he was put to death by Pontius Pilate ; that las
disciples were numerous a few years after his death, not only in
Judea, but in Rome, the capital of the world, and in every province
of the Roman empire ; that a particular day has been observed in a
religious manner by all his followers, in commemoration of a real
or supposed resurreetipn ; and that the constant celebration of bap-
tism, and of the Lord's supper, may be traced back from the present
time to him, as the author of those institutions. These things con?
stitute, I suppose, no part of your fable ; and if these things be facts,
they will, when maturely considered, draw after them so many
other things related in the New Testament concerning Jesus, that
there will be left for your fable but very scanty materials, which
will require great fertility of invention before you will dress them
up into any form, which will not disgust even a superficial ob-
server. .
The miraculous conception you esteem a fable, and in your mind
it is an obscene fable. Impure, indeed, must that man's imagina-
tion be, who can discover any obscenity in the angel's declaration
to Mary. " The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power
of the Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore that Holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." I
wonder you do not find obscenity in Genesis, where it is said, "The
Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters," and brought or-
der out of confusion, a world out of chaos, by his fostering influence.
As to tiie Christian faith being built upon the heathen mythology,
there is no ground whatever for the assertion ; there would have
been some for saying, that much of the heathen mythology was
built upon the events recorded in the Old Testament
You come now to a demonstration, or, which amounts to the
same thing, to a proposition which cannot, you say, be controverted.
First, '^That the agreement of aH the parts of a story does not prove
that story to be true, because the parts may agree, and the whole
may be false. Secondly, That the disagreement of the parts of a
story proves, that the whole cannot lie true. The agreement does
not prove truth, but the disagreement proves falsehood positively."
Great use, I perceive, is to be made of this proposition, You will
pardon my unskilfulness in dialectics, if I presume to controvert the
truth of this abstract proposition, as applied to any purpose hi life.
The agreement of the parts of a story implies that the story has
been told by, at least, two persons, (the life of Doctor Johnson, for
instance, by Sir John Hawkins and Mr.- Boswell.) Now I, think it
scarcely possible for even two persons, and the difficulty is increased
154 Watson's Apology
if there are more than two, to write the history of the s life of any
one of their acquaintance, without there being a considerable difc
ference between them, with respect to the number and order of
the incidents of his life. Some things will be omitted by one, and
mentioned by the other ; some things will be briefly touched by
one, and the same things will be circumstantially detailed by the
other; the same things, which are mentioned in the same way by
them both, may not be mentioned as having happened exactly at
the same point of time, with other possible and probable differences.
But these real or apparent difficulties, in minute circumstances, will
not invalidate their testimony as to the material transactions of his
life, much less will they render the whole of it a fable. If several
independent witnesses, of fair character, should agree in all the
parts of a story (in testifying, for instance, that a murder or a rob-
bery was committed at a particular time, in a particular place, and
.by a certain individual), every court of justice in the world would
admit the fact, notwithstanding the abstract possibility of the whole
being false. Again, if several honest men should agree in saying,
that they saw the King of France beheaded, though they should
disagree as to the figure of the guillotine, or the size of his execu-
tioner, as to the King's hands being bound or loose, as to his being
composed or agitated in ascending the scaffold, yet every court of
justice in the world would think, that such difference, respecting
the circumstances of the fact, did not invalidate the. evidence re-
specting the fact itself. When you speak of the whole of a story,.
you cannot mean every, particular circumstance connected with the
story, but not essential to it ; you must mean the pith and marrow
of the story ; for it would be impossible ; to establish the truth of
any fact (of admirals Byng or Keppel, for example, having neglected
or not neglected their duty), if a disagreement in the evidence of
witnesses, in minute points, should be considered as annihilating'
the weight of their evidence in points of importance. In a word,
the relation of a fact differs essentially from the demonstration of a
theorem. If one step is left out, one link in the chain of ideas con-
stituting a demonstration is omitted, the conclusion will be de-
stroyed ; but a'fact may be established, notwithstanding a disagree-
ment, of the witnesses in certain trifling particulars of their evidence
respecting it
You apply your incontrovertible proposition to the genealogies of
Christ given by Matthew and Luke; there is a disagreement be-
tween them; therefore, you say, "If Matthew speak truth, Luke
speaks falsehood ; and if Luke speak truth, Matthew speaks false*
hood ; and thence, there is no authority for believing either ; and
if they cannot be believed even in the very first thing they say and
set out to pro-ve, they are not entitled to be believed in any thing
they say afterwards." I cannot admit either your premises or your
conclusion not your conclusion; because two authors, who differ
in tracing back the pedigree of an individual for above a thousand
years, cannot, on that account, be esteemed incompetent to bear
testimony to the transactions of his life, unless an intention to falsify
for the Bible. 155
could be proved against them. If two Welsh historians should at
this time write the life of any remarkable man of their country,
who had been dead twenty or thirty years, and should, through dif-
ferent branches of their genealogical tree, carry up the pedigree to
Cadwallon, would they, on account of that difference, be discredited
in every thing they said ? Might it not be believed, that they gave
the pedigree as they had found it recorded in different instruments,
but without the least intention to write a falsehood ? I cannot admit
your premises; because Matthew speaks truth/and Luke speaks
truth, though they do not speak the same truth j Matthew giving
the genealogy of Joseph the reputed father of Jesus, and Luke giv-
ing the genealogy'of Mary the real mother of Jesus. If you will
not admit this, other explanations of the difficulty might be given ;
but I hold it sufficient to say, that the authors had no design to de-
ceive the reader, that they took their accounts from the public
registers, which were carefully kept ; and that had they been fabri-
cators of these genealogies, they would have been exposed at the
time to instant detection ; and the certainty of that detection would-
have prevented them from making the attempt to impose a fajse
genealogy on the Jewish nation.
But, that you may effectually overthrow the credit of these gene-
alogies, you make the following calculation: "From the birth of
David to the birth of Christ is upwards of one thousand and eighty
years ; and as there were but twenty-seven full generations, to find
the average age of each person mentioned in St.. Matthew's list at
the time his first son was born, it is only necessary to divide one
thousand and eighty by twenty-seven) which gives forty years for
each person. As the life-time of man was then but of the same ex-
tent it is now, it is an absurdity to suppose, that twenty-seven gene-
rations should all be old bachelors, before they married. So far
from this genealogy being a solemn truth, it is not .even a reasona-
ble lie." This argument assumes the appearance of arithmetical
accuracy, and the conclusion is in a style which even its truth
would not excuse ; yet the argument is good for nothing, and the
conclusion is not true. You have read the Bible with some atten-
tion; and yon are extremely liberal in imputing to it lies and ab-
surdities; read it over again, especially the books of the Chronicles,
And you will there find, that, in the genealogical list of St. Matthew,
jt^ree generations are omitted between Joram and Ozias ; Joram was
the father of Azariah, Azariah of Joash, Joash of Amaziah, and
Amaziah of Ozias. I inquire not, in this place, whence this omis-
sion proceeded ; whether it is to be attributed to an error in the
genealogical tables from whence Matthew took his account, or to a
cqrruption of the text of the evangelist; still it is an omission. Now
jf you will .add these three generations to the twenty-seven you
.mention, and divide one thousand and eighty by thirty, you will
ifhjd the .average age when these Jews had each of them their first
:8oV born -was -thirtyrsix. They married sooner than they ought to
have done, according to Aristotle, who fixes thirty-seven as the
most proper .age, whn a man *hould marry. Nor was it necessary
156 Watson's Apology
that they should have been old bachelors, though each of them had
not a son to succeed him till he was thirty-sir; they might have
been married at twenty, without having a son, till they were forty.
You assume in your argument, that the first-born son succeeded the
father in the list ; this is not true. Solomon succeeded David ; yet
David had at least six sons, who were grown to manhood before
Solomon was born; and Rehoboam had, at least, three sons before
he had Abia (Abijah) who succeeded him. It is needless to cite
more instances to this purpose ; but from these, and other circum-
stances which might be insisted upon, I can see no ground for be-
lieving, that the genealogy of Jesus Christ, mentioned by St.
Matthew, is not a solemn truth.
You insist much upon some things being mentioned by one evan-
gelist, which are not mentioned by all, or by any of the others ; and
you take this to be a reason why we should consider the Gospels,
not as the works of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but as the
reductions of some unconnected individuals, each of whom made
is own legend. I do not admit the truth of this supposition; but I
may be allowed to use it as an argument against yourself; it re-
moves every possible suspicion of fraud and imposture, and con-
firms the Gospel history in the strongest manner. Four unconnected
individuals have each written memoirs of the life of Jesus ; from
whatever source they derived their materials, it is evident that
they agree, in a great many particulars of the last importance ; such
as the purity of his manners ; the sanctity of his doctrines ; the
multitude and publicity of his miracles ; the persecuting spirit of his
enemies ; the manner of his death ; and the certainty of his resur-
rection ; and whilst they agree in these great points, their disagree-
ment in points of little consequence is rather a confirmation of the
truth, than an indication of the falsehood, of their several accounts.
Had they agreed in nothing, their testimony ought to have been
rejected as a legendary tale ; had they agreed in every thing, it
might have been suspected, that, instead of unconnected indivi-
duals, they were a set of impostors. The manner in which the
evangelists have recorded the particulars of the life of Jesus is
wholly conformable to what we experience in other biographers,
and claims our highest assent to its truth; notwithstanding the
force of your incontrovertible proposition.
As an instance of contradiction between the evangelists, you tell
us, that Matthew says, the angel announcing the immaculate con-
ception appeared unto Joseph ; but Luke says, he appeared unto
Mary. The angel, Sir, appeared to them both ; to Mary, when he
informed her that she should, by the power of God, conceive a son;
to Joseph, some months afterwards, when Mary's pregnancy was
visible ; in the interim she had paid a visit of three months to her
cousin Elizabeth. It might have been expected, that, from the ac-
curacy with which you have read your Bible, you could not have
confounded these obviously distinct appearances ; but men, even of
candor, are liable to mistakes. Who, you ask, would now believe
a girl, who should say she was gotten with child by a ghost? Who,
for fhe Bible. 157
but yourself, would ever have asked a question so abominably in-
decent and profane-? I cannot argue with you on this subject You
will never persuade the world, that the Holy Spirit of God has any
resemblance to the stage ghosts in Hamlet or Macbeth, from which
you seem to have derived your idea of it
The story of the massacre of the young children by the order
of Herod is mentioned only by Matthew ; and, therefore, you think
it is a lie. We must give up all history, if we refuse to admit facts
recorded by only one historian. Matthew addressed his Gospel to
the Jews, and put them in mind of a circumstance, of which they
must have had a melancholy remembrance ; but Gentile converts
were less interested in that event The evangelists were not
writing the life of Herod, but of Jesus ; it is no wonder that they
omitted, above half a century after the death of Herod, an instance
of his cruelty, which was not essentially connected with their sub-
ject The massacre, however, was probably known even at Rome ;
and it was certainly correspondent to the character of Herod. John,
you say, at the time of the massacre, " was under two years of age,
and yet he escaped ; so that the story circumstantially belies itself."
John was six months older than Jesus ; and you cannot prove that
he was not beyond the age to which the order of Herod extended ;
it probably reached no farther than to those who had completed
their first year, without including those who had entered upon their
second ; but, without insisting upon this, still I contend that you
cannot prove John to have been under two years of age at the
time of the massacre ; and I could give many probable reasons to
the contrary. Nor is it certain that John was, at that time, in that
part of the country to which the edict of Herod extended. But
there would be no end of answering, at length, all your little ob-
jections.
No two of the evangelists, you observe, agree in reciting, exactly
in tfie same words, the written inscription; which was put over Christ
when he was crucified. I admit that there is an unessential verbal
difference; and are you certain that there was not a verbal differ-
ence in the inscriptions themselves ? One was written in Hebrew,
another in Greek, another in Latin ; and, though they had all the
same meaning, yet it is probable, that if two men had translated
the Hebrew and the Latin into Greek, there would have been a
verbal difference between their, translations. You have rendered
yourself famous by writing a book called, The Rights of Man : had
you .been guillotined by Robespierre, with this title, written in
French, English, and Germany and affixed to the guillotine, " Thomas
Paine, of America, author of The Rights of Man ;" and had four
persons, some of whom had seen the execution, and the rest had
heard of it from eye-witnesses, written short accounts of your life
twenty years or more after your death, and one had said the inscrip-
tion was, "This is Thomas Paine, the author of The Rights of
Man;" another, "The author of The Rights of Man;" a third,
" This is the author of The Rights of Man ;" and a fourth, "Thomas
Paine, of America, the author of The Rights of Man ;" would any
158 Watson's Apologij
man of common sense have doubted, on account of this disagree-
ment, the veracity of the authors in writing your life ? " The only
one," you tell us, "of the meri called apostles, who appears to have
been near the spot where Jesus was crucified, was Peter." This
your assertion is not true ; we do not know that Peter was present
at the crucifixion ; but we do know that John, the disciple whom
Jesus loved, was - present ; for Jesus spoke to him from the cross.
You go on, " But why should we believe Peter, convicted by their
own account of perjury, in swearing that he knew not Jesus?" I
will tell you why; because Peter sincerely repented of the wick-
edness into which he had been betrayed, through fear for his life,
and suffered martyrdom in attestation of the truth of the Christian
religion.
But the evangelists disagree, you say, not only as to the super-
scription on the cross, but as to the time of the crucifixion, " Mark
saying it was at the third hour (nine in the morning), and John at
the sixth hour (twelve, as you suppose, at noon.") Various solutions
have been given of this difficulty, none of which satisfied Doctor
Middleton, much less can it be expected that any of them should
satisfy you; but there is a solution not noticed by him, in which
many judicious men have acquiesced, that John, writing his Gos-
pel in Asia, used the Roman method of computing time ; which
was the same as our own ; so that by the sixth hour, when Jesus-
was condemned, we are to understand six o'clock in the morning ;
the intermediate time from six to nine, when he was crucified, be-
ing employed hi preparing for the crucifixion. But if this difficulty
should be still esteemed insuperable, it does not follow that it will
always remain so ; and if it should, the main point, the crucifixion
of Jesus, will not be affected thereby.
I cannot, in this place, omit remarking some circumstances at-
tending the crucifixion, which are so natural, that we might have
wondered if they had not occurred. Of all the disciples of Jesus,
John was beloved by him with a peculiar degree of affection ; and,
as kindness produces kindness, there can be little doubt that the
regard was reciprocal. Now, whom should we expect to be the
attendants of Jesus in his last suffering ? Whom bat John, the
friend of : his heart? Whom but his mother, whose soul was now
pierced through by the sword of sorrow, which Simeon had fore-
told? Whom, but those, who had been attached to him through life;
who, having been healed by him of their infirmities, were impelled
by gratitude to minister to him of their substance, to be attentive to
all his wants? These were the persons whom we should have ex-
pected to attend his execution ; and these were there. To- whom
would an expiring son, of the best affections, recommend' a poor,
and, probably, a widowed mother, but to his warmest friend ? And
this did Jesus. Unmindful of the extremity of his own torture, and
anxious to alleviate the burthen of her sorrows, and to protect her
old ago from future want and misery, he said to his beloved disciple,
"Behold thy mother! and from that hour that disciple took her to
his own home." I own to you. that such instances as these, of tha
for the Bible. 159
conformity of events to our probable expectation, are to me genuine
marks of the simplicity and truth of the Gospels ; and far outweigh
a thousand little objections, arising from our ignorance of manners,
: times, and circumstances, or from our incapacity to comprehend the
means used by the Supreme Being in the moral government of his
creatures.
St. Matthew mentions several miracles which attended our Sa-
viour's crucifixion; the darkness which overspread the land; the
rending of the veil of the temple ; an earthquake which rent the
rocks ; and the resurrection of many saints, and their going into the
holy city. " Such," you say, " is the account which this dashing
writer of the book of Matthew gives, but in which he is not sup-
ported by the writers of the other books." This is not accurately
expressed ; Matthew is supported by Mark and Luke, with respect
to two of the miracles ; the darkness, and the rending of the veil ;
and their omission of the others does not prove, that they were
either ignorant 'of them, or disbelieved them. I think it idle to pre-
tend to say positively what influenced them to mention only two
miracles; they probably thought them sufficient to convince any
person, as they convinced the centurion, that Jesus " was a right-
eous man" " the Son of God." And these two miracles were
better calculated to produce general conviction, amongst the persons
for whose benefit Mark and Luke wrote their Gospels, than either
the earthquake or the resurrection of the saints. The- earthquake
was, probably, confined to a particular spot, and might, by an ob-
jector, have been called a natural phenomenon ; and those to whom
the saints appeared might, at the time of writing the Gospels of
Mark and Luke, have been dead ; but the darkness must have been
generally known and remembered; and the veil of the temple
might still be preserved at the time these authors wrote. As to
John not mentioning any of these miracles, it is well known, that
his Gospel was written as a kind of supplement to the other Gos-
pels ; he has, therefore, omitted many things which the other three
evangelists had related, and he has added several things which
they had not mentioned ; in particular, he has added a circumstance
of great importance ; he tells us, that he saw one of the soldiers
pierce the side of Jesus with a spear, and that blood and water
flowed through the wound ; and lest any one should doubt of the
fact, from its not being mentioned by the other evangelists, he as-
serts it with peculiar earnestness : " And he that saw it bare
record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true,
that ye might believe." John saw blood and water flowing from
the wound; the blood is easily accounted for; but whence came
the water ? The anatomists tell us, that it came from the pericardi-
tum; so .consistent is evangelical testimony with the most curious
researches into natural science ! You amuse yourself with the ac-
count of what the Scripture calls many saints, and you call an army
of saints, and are angry with Matthew for not having told you a
great many things about them. It is very possible, that Matthew
might have known the fact of their resurrection, without knowing
160 Watsorts Apology
every thing about them; but if he had gratified your curiosity in
every particular, I am of opinion that you would not have believed
a word of what he had told you. I have no curiosity on the sub-
ject ; it is enough for me to know, that '_' Christ was the first fruits
of them that slept," and " that all that are in the graves shall hear
his voice, and shall come forth," as those holy men did, who heard
.the voice of the Son of God at his resurrection, and passed from
death to life. If I first indulge myself in being wise above what is
written, I might be able to answer many of your inquiries relative to
these saints ; but I dare not touch the ark of the Lord, I dare not
support the authority of Scripture by the boldness of conjecture.
Whatever difficulty there may be in accounting for the silence of
the other evangelists, and of St. Paul also, on this subject, yet there is
a greater difficulty in supposing that Matthew did not give a true
narration of what had happened at the crucifixion. If there had
been no supernatural darkness, no earthquake, no rending of the
veil of the temple, no graves opened, no resurrection of holy men,
no appearance of them -unto, many; if none of these things had
been true, or rather if any one of them had been false, what motive
could Matthew, writing to the Jews, have had for trumping up such
wonderful stories ? He wrote as; every man does, with an intention
to be believed ; and yet every Jew he met would have stared him
in the face, and told nun that he was a liar and an impostor. What
author, who, twenty years hence, should address to" the French
nation a history of Louis XVL, would venture to affirm, that when
he was beheaded there was darkness for three hours over all
France? that there was an earthquake? that rocks were split?
graves opened ? and dead men brought to life, who appeared- to
many persons in Paris? It is quite impossible to suppose, that any
one would dare to publish such obvious lies; and I think it equally
impossible to suppose, that Matthew would have dared to publish
his account of what happened at the death of Jesus, had not that
account been generally known to be true.
LETTER
THE "tale of the resurrection," you say, "follows that of the cru-
cifixion." You have accustomed me so much to this kind of lan-
guage, that when I find you speaking of a tale, I have no doubt of
meeting with a truth. From the apparent disagreement in the ac-
counts, Avhich the evangelists have given of some circumstances re-
specting the resurrection, you remark, "If the writers of these
books had gone -into, any court of justice to prove an alibi (for it is
the nature of an alibi that is here attempted to be proved, namely,
the absence of a dead body by supernatural means), and had given
their evidence in the same contradictory manner, as it is here given;
for the Bible. 161
they Would have been in danger of haying their ears cropt for per-
jury, and would have justly deserved it;" "hard words, or hang-
ing," it seems, if you had been their judge. Now I maintain, that
it is the brevity with which the account of the resurrection is given
by all the evangelists, which has occasioned the seeming confusion ;
and that this confusion would have been cleared lip at once, if the
witnesses of the resurrection had been examined before any judica-
ture. As we cannot have this viva voce examination of all the wit-
nesses, let us call Up and question the evangelists as witnesses to a
supernatural alibi. Did you find the sepulchre of Jesus empty?
One of us actually saw it empty, and the resf heard, from eye-wit-
nesses, that it was empty. Did you, or any of the followers of Jesus,
take away the dead body from the sepulchre ? All answer, No. Did
the soldiers, or the Jews, take away the body? No. How are you
certain of that? Because we saw the body when it* was dead, and
we saw it afterwards when it was alive. How do you know that
what you saw was the body of Jesus ? We had been long and in-
timately acquainted with Jesus, and knew his person perfectly.
Were you not affrighted, and mistook a spirit for a body ? No ; the
body had flesh and bones ; we are sure that it was the very body
which hung upon the cross, for we saw the wound in the side, and
the print of the nails in the hands and feet And all this you are
ready to swear ? We are ; and we are ready to die also, sooner than
we will deny any part of it. This is the testimony which all the
evangelists would give, in whatever court of justice they -were ex-
amined ; and this, I apprehend, would sufficiently establish the alibi
of the dead body from the sepulchre by supernatural means.
But as the resurrection of Jesus is a point which you attack with
all your force, I will examine minutely the principal of your objec-
tions ; I do not think them deserving of this notice, but they shall
have it. The book of Matthew, you say, states, " that when Christ
was put in the sepulchre, the Jews applied to Pilate for a watch or
u guard to be placed over the sepulchre, to prevent the body being
stolen by the disciples." I admit this account, but it is not the whole
of the account ; you have omitted the reason for the request which
the chief priests made to Pilate ; " Sir, we remember that that de-
ceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days 'I will rise
again." It is material to remark this ; for, at the very time that Jesus
predicted his resurrection, he predicted also his crucifixion, and all
that he should suffer from the malice of those very men who now
applied to Pilate for a guard. " He showed to his disciples, how
that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the
elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised
again the third day." (Matt xvi. 21.) These men knew full well
that the first part of this prediction had been accurately fulfilled
through their malignity ; and, instead of repenting of what they
had done, they were so infatuated as to suppose, that by a guard of
soldiers they could prevent the completion ,of the second. The
other books, you observe, " say nothing about this application, nor
about the sealing of the stone, nor the guard, nor the watch, toad
OZ
162 Watson's Apology
according to these accounts there were none." This, Sir, I deny.
The .other books do not say .that there were none of these things;
how often must I repeat, that omissions are not contradictions, nor
silence concerning a fact a denial of it?
You go on : " The book of Matthew continues its account, that at
the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn, towards the first day
of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the
sepulchre. Mark says it was sunrising, and John Bays it was dark.
Luke says it was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the
mother of James, and other women that came to the sepulchre.
And John says that Mary Magdalene came alone. So well do they
agree about their first evidence ! they all appear, however, to have
known most about Mary Magdalene ; she was a woman of a large
acquaintance, and it was not an ill conjecture that she might be
upon the stroll." This is a long paragraph ; I will answer it dis-
tinctly. First, there is no disagreement of evidence with respect to
the time when the women, went to the sepulchre ; all the evangel-
ists agree as to the day on which they went ; and, as to the time of
the day, it was early in the morning; what court of justice in the
world would set aside this evidence, as insufficient to substantiate
the fact of the women's having gone to the sepulchre, because the
witnesses differed as to the degree of twilight which lighted them
on then- way ? Secondly, there is no disagreement of evidence with
respect to the persons who went to the sepulchre. John states that
Mary Magdalene went to the sepulchre ; but he does not state, as
you make him state, that Mary Magdalene went alone ; she might,
for any thing you have proved, or can prove to the contrary, have
been accompanied by all the women mentioned by Luke. Is it an
unusual thing to distinguish by name a principal person going on a
visit, or an embassy, without mentioning his subordinate attendants?
Thirdly, in opposition to your insinuation, that Mary Magdalene
was a common woman, I wish it to be considered, whether there is
any scriptural authority for that imputation ; and whether there be
or not, I must contend, that a repentant and reformed woman ought
not to be esteemed an improper witness of a fact The conjecture,
which you adopt concerning her, is nothing less than an. illiberal,
indecent, unfounded calumny, not excusable in the mouth of a
libertine, and intolerable in yours.
The book of Matthew, you observe, goes on to say : " And be-
hold, there was an earthquake, for the angel of the Lord descended
from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and
sat upon it ; but the other books say nothing about any earthquake."
What then ? does their silence prove that there was none ? " nor
about the. angel rolling back the stone and sitting upon it;" what
then? does their silence prove that the stone was not rolled back
^by an angel, and that he did not sit upon it? "and, according to
their accounts,, there was no angel sitting there." This conclusion I
must deny ; then- accounts do not say there was no angel sitting
there at the time that Matthew says he sat upon the stone. They
do not deny the fact, they simply omit the mention of it ; and they
/of the Bible. 163
all take notice, that the women, when they arrived at the sepulchre,
found the stone rolled away. Hence it is evident, that the stone
was rolled away before the women arrived at the sepulchre ; and
the other evangelists, giving an account of who* happened to the
women when they reached the sepulchre, have merely omitted
giving an account of a transaction previous to their arrival. Where
is the contradiction? What space of time intervened between the
rolling away the stone, and the arrival of the women at the sepul-
chre j is nowhere mentioned ; but it certainly was long enough for
the angel to have changed his position ; from sitting on the outside
he might have entered into the sepulchre ; and another angel might
have made his appearance, or, from the first, there might have been
two, one on the outside rolling away the stone, and the other within.
Luke, you tell us, " says there were two, and they were both stand-
ing; and John says there were two, and both sitting." It- is impos-
sible, I grant, even for an angel to be sitting and standing at the
same instant of time ; but Luke and John do not speak of the same
instant, nor of the same appearance. Luke speaks of the appear-
ance to all the women; and John of the appearance to Mary Mag-
dalene alone, who tarried weeping at the sepulchre after Peter and
John had left it But I forbear making any more minute remarks on .
still, more minute objections, all of which are grounded on this
mistake, that the angels were seen at one particular time, in one
particular place, and by the same individuals.
As to your inference from Matthew's using the expression "unto
this day," " that the book must have been manufactured after a
lapse of some generations at least," it cannot be admitted against the
positive testimony of all antiquity. That the story about stealing
away the body was a bungling story, I readily admit ; but the chief
priests are answerable for it; it is not worthy either your notice, or
mine ; except as it is a strong instance to you, to me, and to every
body, how far prejudice may mislead the understanding.
You come to that part of the evidence in those books that re-
spects, you say, " the pretended appearance of Christ after his pre-
tended resurrection ;" the writer of the book of. Matthew relates,
that the angel that was sitting on the stone at the mouth of the
sepulchre said to the two Marys (chap, xxviii. 7), "Behold, Christ is
gone before you into Galilee, there shall you see him." The Gospel,
Sir, was preached to poor and illiterate men; and it is the duty of
priests to preach it to them in all its purity ; to guard them against
the errors of mistaken, or the designs of wicked men. You then,
who can read your Bible, turn to this passage, and you will find that
the angel did not say, " Behold, Christ is gone before into Galilee ;"
but, "Behold, he goeth. before you into Galilee." I know not what
Bible you made -use of in this quotation, none that I have seen
render the original word by he is gone. It might be properly ren-
dered, he will go; and it is literally rendered, he is going. This
phrase does not imply an immediate setting out for Galilee ; when
a man has fixed upon a long journey to London or Bath, it is com-
mon enough to say, he is going to London or Bath, though the time
164 Watson's Apology
of his going may be at some distance. Even your dashing Matthew
could not be guilty of such a blunder as to make the angel say " he
is gone ;" for he tells us immediately afterwards, that, as the women
were departing from the sepulghre to tell his disciples what the
angels had said to them, Jesus himself met them. Now, how Jesus
could be " gone " into Galilee, and yet meet the women at Jerusa-
lem, I leave you to explain, for the blunder is not chargeable upon
Matthew. I. excuse your introducing the expression, " then the
eleven disciples went away into Galilee," for the quotation is rightly
made ; but had you turned to the Greek Testament, you .would not
have found in this place any word answering to Uien; the passage
is better translated, " and the eleven." Christ had said to his dis-
ciples (Matt. xxvi. 32), "After I am risen again, I will go before you
into Galilee:" and the angel put. the women in mind of the very
expression and prediction, "he is risen, as he said ; .and behold, he
goeth before you into Galilee." Matthew, intent upon the appear*
ance in Galilee, of which there were, probably, at the time he
wrote,, many living witnesses in Judea, omits the mention of many
appearances taken notice of by John, and, by this omission, seems
to connect the day of the resurrection of Jesus with that of the de-
parture of the disciples for Galilee. You seem to think this a great
difficulty, and incapable of solution ; for you say, " it is not possible,
unless we admit these disciples the right of wilful lying, that the
writers of these books could be any of the eleven persons called
disciples ; for if, according to Matthew, the eleven went into Galilee
to meet Jesus in a mountain, by his own appointment, on the same
day that lie is said to have risen, Luke and John must have been
two of that eleven: yet the writer of Luke says expressly, and John
implies as much, that the meeting was that same day in a house at
Jerusalem ; and on die other hand, if, according to Luke and John,
the eleven were assembled in a house at Jerusalem, Matthew must
have been one of that eleven ; yet Matthew says, the meeting was
in a mountain in Galilee, and consequently the evidence given in
those books destroys each other." When I was a young man in the
university, 1 was pretty much accustomed to drawing of conse-
quences; but my Alma, Mater did not suffer me to draw conse-
quences after your manner!, she taught me, that a false position
nuist end in an absurd conclusion ; I have shown your position, that
the eleven went into Galilee on the day of the resurrection, to be
false ; and hence your consequence, that the evidence given in these
two books destroys each other, is not to be admitted. You ought,
moreover, to have considered, that the feast of unleavened bread,
which immediately followed the day on which the passover was
eaten, lasted seven days ; and that strict observers of the law did
not think themselves at liberty to leave Jerusalem till that feast was
ended ; and this is a collateral proof, that the disciples did not go to
Galilee on the day of the resurrection.
You certainly have read the New Testament, but not, I think,
with great attention, or you would have known who the apostles
.In this place you reckon Luke as one of the eleven, and
for the Bible. 165
in other places you speak of him as an eye-witness of the things he
relates : you ought to have known, that Luke was no apostle T and
he tells you himself, in the preface to his 'Gospel, that he wrote
from the testimony of others. If this mistake proceeds from your
ignorance, you are not a fit person to write comments on the Bible ;
if from design (which I am unwilling to suspect), you are still less
fit; in either case it may suggest to. your readers the propriety of
suspecting the truth and accuracy of your assertions, however dar-
ing and intemperate. " Of the numerous priests or parsons of the
present ,day, bishops and all, the sum-total of whose learning," ac-
cording to you, " is a b ab, and hie, ?tcec,hoc, there is not one amongst
them," you say, " who can write poetry like Homer, or science like
Euclid." If I should admit this (though there are many of them, I
doubt not, who understand these authors better than you do), yet I
cannot admit that there is one amongst .them, bishops and all, so ig-
norant as to rank Luke the evangelist among the apostles of Christ.
I will not press this point ; any man may fall into a mistake, and the
consciousness of this fallibility should create in all men a little mod-
esty, a little diffidence, a little caution, before they presume to>call
the most illustrious characters of antiquity, liars, fools, and knaves.
You want to know why Jesus did no.t show himself to all'the
people after the resurrection. This is one of Spinoza's objections ;
and it may sound well enough in the mouth of a Jew, wishing to ex-
cuse the infidelity of his countrymen; but it is not judiciously
adopted by deists of other nations. God gives us the means of
health, but he does not force us to the use of them ; he gives us the
powers of the mind, but he does not compel us to the cultivation of
them; he gave the Jews opportunities of seeing the miracles of Je-
sus, but he did not oblige them to believe them. They, who pre-
severed in their incredulity after the resurrection of Lazarus, would
have persevered also after the resurrection of Jesus. Lazarus had
been buried four days, Jesus but three ; the body of Lazarus had
begun to undergo corruption, the body of Jesus saw no corruption ;
why should you expect, that they would have believed in Jesus -on
his own resurrection, when they had not believed in him on the
resurrection of Lazarus ? When the Pharisees were told of the
resurrection of Lazarus, they, together with the chief priests, gath-
ered a council, and said, "What do we? for this man doeth- many
miracles. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on 'him :
then from that day forth they took counsel together to. put him to
death." The great men at Jerusalem, you see, admitted that Jesus
had raised Lazarus from the dead ; yet the-belief of that miracle did
not generate conviction that Jesus was the Christ; it only exaspe-
rated their malice, and accelerated their purpose of destroying him.
Had Jesus shown himself after his resurrection, the chief priests
would probably have gathered together another council, have
opened it, What do we ? and ended it with a determination to put
him to death. As to us, the evidence of the resurrection of Jesus,
which we have in the New Testament, is far more convincing, than
if it had been related that he showed himself to every man in Jeru-
186 Watson's
salem ; for then we should have had a suspicion, that the whole
story had been fabricated by the Jews.
You think Paul an improper witness of the resurrection ; Tthink
him one of the fittest that could have been chosen ; and for this
reason, his testimony is the testimony of a former enemy. He had,
in his own miraculous conversion, sufficient ground for changing his
opinion as to a matter of fact ; for believing that to have been a
fact, which he had formerly, through extreme prejudice, considered
as a fable. For the truth of the resurrection of Jesus he appeals to
above two hundred and fifty living witnesses ; and before whom
-does he make this appeal ? Before his enemies, who were able and
willing to blast his character, if he had advanced an untruth. You
inow, undoubtedly, that Paul had resided at Corinth near two yeais ;
that, during a part of that time, he had testified to the Jews, -that
Jesus was the Christ; that, finding the bulk of that'nation obstinate
in their unbelief, he had turned to the Gentiles, and had converted
many to the faith in Christ ; that he left Corinth, and went to preach
the Gospel hi other parts ; that, about three years after he had quit-
ted Corinth, he wrote a letter to the converts which he had made
in that place, and who, after his departure, had been split into dif-
ferent factions, and had adopted different teachers in opposition to
Paul. From this account we may be certain, that Paul's letter, and
every circumstance in it, would be minutely examined. The city
of Corinth was full of Jews ; these men were, in general, Paul s
bitter enemies ; yet, in the face of them all, he asserts, " that Jesus
Christ was buried ; that he rose again the third day ; that he was
afterwards seen of above five hundred brethren at once, of whom
the greater part were then alive. An appeal to above two hundred
and fifty living witnesses is a pretty strong proof of a fact ; but it
becomes irresistible, when that appeal is submitted to the judgment
of enemies. St. Paul, you must allow, was a man of ability ; but
he would have been an idiot had he put it in the power of his ene-
mies to prove, from his own letter, that he was a lying rascal. They
neither proved, nor attempted to prove, any such thing; arid, there-
fore, we may safely conclude, that this testimony of Paul to the
resurrection of Jesus was true; and it is a testimony, in my opinion,
of the greatest weight
You come, you say, to the last scene, the ascension ; upon which,
in your opinion, " the reality of the future mission of the disciples
was to rest for proof." I do not agree with you in this. The reality
of the future mission of the apostles might have been proved, though
Jesus Christ had not visibly ascended into heaven. Miracles are
the proper proofs of a divine mission ; and when Jesus gave the
apostles a commission to preach the Gospel, he commanded them to
stay at Jerusalem, till they ' " were endued with power from on
high." Matthew has omitted the mention of the ascension ; and
John, you say, has not said a syllable about it I think otherwise.
John has not given an express account of the ascension, but has cer-
tainly eaid something about it; for he informs us, that Jesus said to
Mary, " Touch me not ; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but
/or the Bible. 167
go to my brethren, and say unto them, " I ascend unto my Father
and your Father, and to my God and your God." This is surely
saying something about the ascension ; and if the fact of the ascen-
sion be not related by John or Matthew, it may reasonably be sup-
posed, that the omission was made, on account of the notoriety of
the fact That the fact was generally known may be justly col-
lected from the reference which Peter makes to it in the hearing of
all the Jews, a very few days after it had happened, "This Jesus
hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. Therefore be-
ing by the right hand of God exalted ." Paul bears testimony also
to the ascension when he says, that " Jesus was received up into
glory." As to the difference you contend for, between the account
of the ascension, as given by Mark and Luke, it does not exist ; ex-
cept in this, that Mark omits the particulars of Jesus going with his
apostles to Bethany, and blessing them there, which are mentioned
by Luke. But omissions, I must often put you in mind, are not con-
tradictions. '
You have now, you say, "gone through the examination of the
four books ascribed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John ; and when
it is considered, that the whole space of time, from the crucifixion
to what is called the ascension, is but a few. days, apparently not
more than three or four, and that all the circumstances are reported
to have happened near the same spot, Jerusalem, it is, I believe,
impossible to find, in any story upon record, so many, and such-
glaring absurdities, contradictions, and falsehoods, as are in those
books." What am I to say to this ? Am I to say, that, in writing
this paragraph, you have forfeited your character as an honest man ?
Or, admitting your honesty, am I to say that you are grossly igno-
rant of the subject? Let the reader judge. John says, that Jesus
appeared to his disciples at Jerusalem on the day of his resurrection,
and that Thomas was not then with them. The same John says r
that after " eight days" he appeared to them again, when Thomas
was with them. Now, Sir, how " apparently three or four days,"
can be consistent with really " eight days," I leave you to make
out But this is not the whole of John's testimony, either with re-
spect to place or lime ; for he says : " After these things (after the
two appearances to the disciples at Jerusalem, on the first and on
the eighth day after die resurrection), Jesus showed himself again,
to his disciples at the sea of Tiberias." The sea of Tiberias, I pre*.
sume you know, was in Galilee ; and Galilee, you may know, was-.
sixty or seventy miles from Jerusalem ; it must have taken the dis-
ciples some time, after the eighth day, to travel from Jerusalem
into Galilee. What in your own insulting language to the priests,
what have you to answer, as to the " same spot Jerusalem," as to
your apparently " three or four days ?" But this is not all. Luke,
in the beginning of the Acts, refers to his Gospel, and says, "Christ
showed himself alive after his passion, by many infallible proofs,
being seen of the apostles forty days, and speaking of the things
pertaining to the kingdom of God." Instead of /our, you pe'rceive
there vr ere forty days between the crucifixion and the ascension. I
168 Wat son's Apology
need not, I trust, after this, trouble myself about the falsehoods and
contradictions which you impute to the evangelists ; your readers
cannot but be upon their guard, as to the credit due to your asser-
tions, however bold and improper. You will suffer me to remark,
that the evangelists were plain men; who, convinced of the truth
of their narration, and conscious of their own integrity, have related
what they knew with admirable simplicity. They seem to have
said to the Jews of their time, and to say to the Jews and unbe-
lievers of all limes, We have told you the truth ; and if you will not
believe us, we have nothing more to say. Had they been impostors,
they would have written with more caution and art, have obviated
every cavil, and avoided every appearance of contradiction. This
they have not done ; and this I consider as a proof of their honesty
and veracity.
John the Baptist had given his testimony to the truth of our Sa-
viour's mission in the most unequivocal terms ; he afterwards sent
two of his disciples to Jesus, to ask him whether he was really the
expected Messiah or not. Matthew relates both these circumstances :
had the writer of the book of Matthew been an impostor, would he
have invalidated John's testimony, by bringing forward his real or
apparent doubt? Impossible! Matthew, having proved the resur-
rection of Jesus, tells us, that the eleven disciples went away into
Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them, and
" when they saw him, they worshipped him ; but some doubted."
Would an impostor, in the very last place where he mentions th.-
resurrection, and in the conclusion of his book, have suggested such
a cavil to unbelievers, as to say some doubted? Impossible! The
evangelist has left us to collect the reason w'hy some doubted. The
disciples saw Jesus, at a distance, on the mountain ; and some of
them fell down and worshipped him ; whilst others doubted whether
the person they saw was really Jesus ; their doubt, however, could
not have lasted long, for in the very next verse we are told, that
Jesus came and spake unto them."
Great and laudable pains have been taken by many learned men,
to harmonize the several-,. accounts given us by the evangelists of
the resurrection. It does not seem to me to be a matter of any great
consequence to Christianity, whether the accounts can, in every
minute particular, be harmonized or not ; since there is no such
discordance in them as to render the fact of the resurrection doubt-
ful to any impartial mind. If any man, in a court of justice, should
give positive evidence of a fact; and three others should afterwords
be examined, and all of them should confirm the evidence of the
first as to the fact, but should apparently differ from him and from
each other, by being more or less particular in their accounts of the
circumstances attending the fact ; ought we to doubt of the fact,
because we could not harmonize the evidence respecting the cir-
cumstances relating to it? The omission of any one circumstance
(such as that of Mary Magdalene having gone twice to the sepul-
chre ; or that of the angel having, after he had rolled away the
stone from the sepulchre, entered into the sepulchre) may render
for the Bible. 169
a harmony impossible, without having recourse to supposition to
supply the defect. You deists laugh at all such attempts, and call
them priestcraft. I think it better, then, in arguing with you, to ad-
r.iit that there may be (not granting, however, that there is) an
irreconcilable difference between the evangelists in some of their
accounts respecting the life of Jesus, or his resurrection. Be it so ;
what then ? Does this difference, admitting it to be real, destroy the
credibility of the Gospel history in any of its essential points? Cer-
tainly, in my opinion, not As I look .upon this to be a general an-
swer to most of your deistical objections, I profess my sincerity in
saying, that I consider it as a true and sufficient answer ; and I leave
it to your consideration. I have, purposely, hi the whole of this
discussion, been silent as to the inspiration of the evangelists; well
knowing that you would have rejected, with scorn, any thing I
could have said on that point: but, in disputing with a deist, I do
most solemnly contend, that the Christian religion is true, and
.worthy of all acceptation, whether the evangelists were inspired or
not
Unbelievers, in general, wish to conceal their sentiments ; they
have a decent respect for public opinion; are cautious of affronting
the religion of their country ; fearful of undermining the founda-
tions of civil society. Some few have been more daring, but less
judicious ; and have, without disguise, professed their unbelief.
But you are the first who ever swore that he was an infidel, con-
cluding your deistical creed with So help me God ! I pray that
God may help you ; that he may, through the influence of his Holy
Spirit, bring you to a right mind ; convert you to the religion of his
Son, whom, out of his abundant love to mankind, he sent into the
world, that all who believe in him should not perish, but have ever-
lasting life.
"You swear, that you think the Christian religion is not true. I
give full credit to your oath ; it is an oath in confirmation of what?
Of an opinion. It proves the sincerity of your declaration of your
opinion; but. the opinion, notwithstanding the oath, may be either
true or false. Permit me to produce to you an oath not confirming
an opinion, but a fact ; it is the oath of St. Paul, when he swears to
the Galatians, that in what he told them of his miraculous conver-
sion he did not tell a lie : " Now the things which I write- unto you,
behold, before God, I lie not:" do but give that credit to Paul which
I give to you, do but consider the difference between an opinion
and a fact, and I shall not despair of your becoming a Christian.
Deism, you say, consists in a belief of one God, and an imitation
of his moral character, or the practice of what is called virtue; and
in this (as far as religion is concerned) you rest all your hopes.
There is nothing in deism but what is in Christianity, but there is
much in Christianity which is not in deism. The Christian has no
doubt concerning a future state ; every deist, from Plato to Thomas
Paine, is on this subject overwhelmed: with doubts insuperable by
human reason. The Christian has no misgivings as to. the pardon
of penitent shiners, through the intercession of a mediator; the
P
170 Watson's Apology
deist is harassed with apprehension, lest the moral justice of God
should demand, with inexorable rigor, punishment for transgression.
The Christian has no doubt concerning the lawfulness and the
efficacy of prayer ; the deist is disturbed on this point by abstract
considerations concerning the goodness of God, which Wants not to
be entreated ; concerning his foresight, which has no need of our
Information ; concerning his immutability, which cannot be changed
through our supplication. The Christian admits the providence of
God, and the liberty of human actions; the deist is involved in
great difficulties, when he undertakes the proof of either. The
Christian has assurance, that the Spirit of God will help his infirm-
ities ; the deist does not, deny the possibility, that God may have
access to the human mind, but he has no ground to believe the fact
of his either enlightening the understanding, influencing the will,
or purifying the heart
LETTER IX. ,
'I THOSE," you say, "who are not much acquainted with ecclesi-.
astical history, may suppose, that the book called the New Testa-
ment has existed ever since the time of Jesus Christ, but the fact
is historically otherwise ; there was no such book as the New Tes-
tament till more than three hundred years after the time that Christ
is said to have lived." This paragraph is calculated to mislead
common readers ; it is necessary to unfold its meaning. The book,
called the New Testament, consists of twenty-seven different parts?
concerning seven of these, viz. the Epistle to the Hebrews, that of
James, the second of Peter, the second of John, the third of John,
that of Jude, and the Revelations, there were at first some doubts ;
arid the question, whether they should be received into the canon,
might be decided, as all questions concerning opinions must be, by
vote. With respect to the other twenty parts, those who are most
acquainted with ecclesiastical history will tell you, as Du Pin does
after Eusebius, that they were owned as canonical at all times, and
by all Christians. Whether the council of Laodicea was held be-
fore or after that of Nice, is not a settled point ; all the books of the-
New Testament, except the Revelatiqn, are. enumerated as canoni-
cal in the Constitutions of that council ; but it is a great mistake to
suppose, that the greatest part of the books of the New Testament,
were not in general use among Christians, long before the council
of Laodicea, was held. This is not merely my opinion on the sub-*
ject, it is the opinion of one much better acquainted with ecclesiafc
tical history than I am; and, probably, than you are Mosheim,
" The opinions/' says this author, '' or rather the conjectures, of the
learned, concerning the time when the books of the NewTesla-j
ment were collected into one volume, as also about the authora of
for the Bible. 171
that collection, are extremely' different. This important question is
attended with great and almost insuperable difficulties to us in these
latter times. It is, however, sufficient for us to know, that, before
the middle of the second century, the greatest part of the hooks of
the New Testament were read in every Christian society through-
out the world, and received as a divine rule of faith and manners.
Hence it appears, that these sacred writings were carefully sepa-
rated from several human compositions upon the same subject,
either by some of the apostles themselves, who lived so long, or by
their disciples and successors, who were spread abroad through all
nations. We are well assured, that the^owr Gospels were collected
during the life of St John, and that the three first received the ap-
probation of this divine apostle. And why may we not suppose,
that the other books of the New Testament were gathered together
at the same time? What renders this highly probable is, that the-
most urgent necessity required its being done. For, not long after
Christ's ascension into heaven, several histories of his life and doc-
trines, full of pious frauds and fabulous wonders, were composed
by persons, whose intentions, perhaps, were not bad, but whose
writings discovered the greatest superstition and ignorance. Nor
was this all: productions appeared, which were imposed on the
world by fraudulent men as the writings of the holy apostles. TJiese
apocryphal and spurious writings must have produced a sad con->
fusion, and rendered both the history and the doctrine of Christ un-
certain, had not the rulers of the church used all possible care and
diligence in separating the books, that were truly apostolical and
divine, from all that spurious trash, and conveying them down to
posterity in one volume."
Did you ever read the apology for the Christians, which Justin
Martyr presented to the emperor Antoninus Pius, to the senate, and
people of Rome ? I should sooner expect a falsity in a .petition,
which any body of persecuted men, imploring justice, should pre-
sent to the king and parliament of Great Britain, than in this
apology. Yet in this apology, which was presented not fifty- years
after the death of St John, not only parts of all the four Gospels
are quoted, but it is expressly said, that on the day called Sunday a
portion of them was read in the public assemblies of the Christians.
I forbear pursuing this matter further, else it might easily be shown,
that probably the Gospels, and certainly some of St, Paul's epistles,
were known to Clement, Ignatius, and Polycarp, contemporaries
with the apostles. These men could not quote or refer to books
which did not exist ; and therefore, though you could make it out,
that the book called ,the New Testament did not formally exist un-
der that title till three hundred and fifty years after Christ, yet I
hold it to be a certain fact, that all the books of which it is com-
posed were written, and most of them received by all Christians,
within a few years after his death.
You raise a difficulty relative to the time which intervened be-
tween the death and resurrection of Jesus, who had said, that the
Son of Man should be three days and three nights in the heart of
172 Watsorfs Apology
the earth. Are you ignorant, then, that the Jews used the phrase
three days and three nights, to denote what we understand by three
days? It is said in Genesis, chap. vii. 12, "The rain was.xipon the
ear,th forty days and forty nights ; and this is equivalent to" the ex-
pression (ver 17.) " And the flood was forty days upon the earth."
Instead then of saying, three days and three nights, let us simply
say three days ; and you will not object to Christ's being three
days, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, in the heart of the earth. I
do not say that he was -in the grave the whole of either Friday or
Sunday 5 bur a hundred instances might be produced, from writers
of all nations, in which a part of a day is spoken of as the whole.
Thus much for the defence of the historical part of the New Tes-
tament
You have introduced an account of Faustus, as denying the
genuineness of the books of the New Testament. Will you per-
mit that great scholar in sacred literature, Michaelis, to tell you
something about this Faustus 1 " He was ignorant, as were most of
the African writers, of the Greek language, and acquainted with
the New Testament merely through the channel of the Latin trans-
lation : he was not only devoid of a sufficient fund of learning, but
illiterate in the highest degree. An argument which he brings
against the genuineness of the Gospel affords sufficient ground for
this assertion; for he contends, that the Gospel of St. Matthew
could not have been written by St. Matthew himself, because he is
always mentioned in the third person." You know who has ar-
gued like Faustus, but I did not think myself authorized on that
account to call you illiterate in the highest degree ; but Michaelis
makes a still more severe" conclusion concerning Faustus, and he
extends his observation to every man who argued like him. " A
man capable of such an argument must have been ignorant,. not
only of the Greek writers, the knowledge of which could not have
been expected from Faustus, but even of the Commentaries of
Cfiesar. And were it thought improbable, that so heavy a charge
could be laid with justice on the. side of his knowledge, it would
fall with double weight on the side of his honesty, and induce us
to suppose, that, preferring the arts of sophistry to the plainness of
truth, he maintained opinions which he believed to be false."
(Marsh's Transl.) Never more, I think, shall we hear of Moses not
being the author of the Pentateuch, on account of its being written
in the third person.
Not being able to produce any argument to render questionable
either the genuineness or the. authenticity of St. Paul's Epistles,
you tell us, that " it is a matter of no great importance by whom
they were written, since the writer, whoever he was, attempts to
prove his doctrine by argument: he .does not pretend to have been
witness to any of the scenes told of the resurrection and ascension,
and he declares that he had not believed them." That Paul had
ep far resisted the evidence which the apostles had given of the re-
surrection and ascension of Jesus, as to be a persecutor of the. dis-
ciples of Christ, is certain ; but I do not remember the place where
for the mite. 173
he declare* that he had not believed them. The high priest and
the senate of the children of Israel did not deny the reality of the
miracles which had been wrought by Peter and the apostles 3 they
did not contradict their testimony concerning the resurrection and
the ascension ; but whether they believed it or not, they were fired
with indignation, and took counsel to put the apostles to death i and
this was also the temper of Paul; whether he believed or did not
believe the story of the 1 resurrection, he was exceedingly mad
against the saints. The writer of Paul's Epistles does not attempt
to prove his doctrine by argument; he in many places tells us, 'that
his doctrine was not taught him by man, or any invention of his
ownj which required the ingenuity of argument to prove it: "I
certify you, brethren, that the Gospel, which was preached of me,
is not after man ; for I .neither received it of man, neither was I
taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Paul does not
pretend to have been a witness of the story of the resurrection, but
he does much more ; he asserts, that he was himself a witness of
the resurrection. After enumerating many appearances of Jesus to
his disciples, Paul says of himself, " Last of all; he was seen of me
also, as of one born out of due time." Whether you will admit
Paul to have been a trite witness or not, you cannot deny that he
pretends to have been a witness of the resurrection.
The story of his being struck to the ground, as he was journeying
to Damascus, has nothing in it, you say f miraculous or extraordinary :
you represent him as struck by lightning. It is somewhat extraor-
dinary for a man, who is struck by lightning, to have, at the very
time, full possession of his understanding ; to hear a voice issuing
from the lightning, speaking to him in the Hebrew tongue, calling
him by his name, and entering into conversation with him. His
companions, you say> appear not to have suffered in the same man-
ner : the greater the wonder. If it was a common storm of thunder
and lightning which struck Paul and all his companions to the
ground, it is somewhat extraordinary that he alone should be hurt;
and that, notwithstanding his being struck blind by lightning, he
should in other respects be so little hurt, as to be immediately able
to walk into the city of Damascus. So difficult is it to oppose truth
by an hypothesis ! In the character of Paul you discover a great deal
of violence and fanaticism ; and such men, you observe, are never
good moral evidences of any doctrine they teach. Read, Sir, Lord
Lyttleton's Observations on the Conversion and Apostleship of St
Paul, and I think you will be convinced of the contrary. That
elegant writer thus expresses his opinion on this subject: "Besides
all the proofs of the Christian religion, which may be drawn from
the prophecies of the Old Testament, from the necessary connexion
it has with the whole system of the Jewish religion, from the mira-
cles of Christ, and from the evidence given of his resurrection by
all the other apostles, I think the conversion and apostleship of St.
Paul alone, duly considered, is, of itself, a demonstration sufficient
to prove Christianity to be a divine revelation." I hope this opinion
will have some weight with you; it is not the opinion of a lying
P2
174 Watson's Apology
Bible-prophet, of a stupid evangelist, or of an a lab priest, but of a
learned layman, whose illustrious rank received splendor from his
talents. , , .
You are displeased with St Paul "for setting out to prove the
resurrection of the same body." You know, I presume, that the
resurrection of the same body is not, ,by all, admitted to be a scrip-
tural doctrine. " In the New Testament (wherein, I think, are con- .
tained all the articles of the Christian faith), I find our Saviour and
the apostles to preach the resurrection of the dead, and the resur-
rection from the dead, in many places ; but I do not remember any
place where the resurrection of the same body is so much as men-
tioned." This observation of Mr. Locke I so far adopt, as to deny
that you can produce any place in the writings of St. Paul, wherein
he sets out to prove the resurrection of the same body. I do not
q lestion the possibility of the resurrection of the same body, and I
am not ignorant of the manner in which some learned men have ex-
plained it (somewhat after the way of your vegetative speck in the
kernel of a peach) ; but as you are discrediting St. Paul's doctrine,
you ought to show, that what you attempt to discredit is the doc-
trine of the apostle. As a matter of choice, you had rather have a
better body you will have a better body, "your natural body will
be raised a spiritual body," your corruptible will put on incorrup-
tion. You are so much out of humor with your present body, that
you inform us, every animal in the creation excels us in something.
Wow I had always thought, that the single circumstance of our hav-
ing hands, and their having none, gave us an infinite superiority,
not only over insects, fishes, snails, and spiders (which you repre-
sent as excelling us in locomotive powers), but over all the animals'
of the creation ; and enabled us, in the language of Cicero, describ-
ing the manifold utility of our hands, to make as it were a new na-
ture of things. As to what you say about the consciousness of ex-
istence being the only conceivable idea of a future life, it proves
nothing, either for or against the resurrection of a body, or of the
same body ; it does not inform us, whether to any or to what sub-
stance, material or immaterial, this consciousness is annexed. I
leave it, however, to others, who do not admit personal identity to
consist hi consciousness, to dispute with you on this point, and will-
ingly subscribe to the opinion of Mr. Locke, " that nothing but con-
sciousness can unite remote existences into the same person."
From a caterpillar's passing into a torpid state resembling death,,
and afterwards appearing a splendid butterfly, and from the (sup-
posed) consciousness of existence which the animal had in these
different states, you ask, Why must I believe, that the resurrection
of the same body is necessary to continue in me the consciousness
of existence hereafter? I do not dislike analogical reasoning, when
applied to proper objects and kept within due bounds ; but where
is, it said in Scripture, that the resurrection of the same body is
necessary to continue in you the consciousness of existence? Those,
who admit a conscious state of the soul between death and the
resurrection, will contend, that the soul is the substance in which
for the Bible. 175
consciousness is continued without interruption: those, who deny
the intermediate state of the soul as a state of consciousness, will
contend, that consciousness is not destroyed by death, but suspended
by it, as it is suspended during a sound sleep, and that it may a3
easily be restored after death as after sleep, during which the facul-
ties, of the soul are not extinct but dormant. Those, who think that
the soul is nothing distinct from the compages of the body, not a
substance but a mere quality, will maintain, that the consciousness
appertaining to every individual person is not lost when the body is
destroyed; that it is known to God, and may, at the general resur-
rection, be annexed to any system of matter he may think fit, or to
that particular compages to which it belonged in this life.
In reading your book I have been frequently shocked at the viru-
lence of your zeal, at the indecorum of your abuse, in applying vul-
gar and offensive epithets to men, who have been, held, and who
will long, I trust, continue to be holden, in high estimation. I know
that the scar of calumny is seldom wholly effaced, it remains long
after the wound is healed ; and your abuse of holy men and holy
things will be remembered when your arguments against them are
refuted and forgotten. Moses you term an arrogant coxcomb, a
chief assassin; Aaron, Joshua, Samuel, David, monsters and im-
postors ; the Jewish kings, a parcel of rascals ; Jeremiah and the
rest of the prophets, liars ; and Paul a fool, for having written one
of the sublimest compositions, and on the most important subject,
that ever occupied the mind of man the lesson in our burial ser-
vice j this lesson you call a" doubtful jargon, as destitute of meaning
as the tolling of the bell at the funeral. Men of low condition !
pressed down, as you often are, by calamities generally incident to
human nature, and groaning under burthens of misery peculiar to
your condition, what thought you when you heard this lesson read
at the funeral of your child, your parent, or your friend ? Was it
mere jargon to you, as destitute of meaning as the tolling of a bell ?
No. You understood from it, that you would not all sleep, but that
you would all be changed hi a moment at the last trump ; you un-
derstood from it, that this corruptible must put on incorruption, that
this mortal must put on immortality, and that death would be swal-
lowed up in victory ; you understood from ft, that if (notwithstand-
ing profane attempts to subvert your faith) ye continue stedfast, un-
mpvable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, -your labor
will not be in vain.
You seem fond of displaying your skill in science and philosophy ;
you speak more than once of Euclid; and, in censuring. St. Paul,
you intimate to us, that when the apostle says, " one star differeth
from another star in glory," he ought to have said, in distance. All
men see that one star differeth from another star in glory or bright-
ness ; but few men know, that their difference in brightness arises
from their difference in distance ; and I beg leave to say, that even,
you, philosopher as you are, do not know it. You make an assump-
tion, which you cannot prove, that the stars are equal in magnitude,
and placed at different distances from the earth ; but you cannot
176 Waisbds Apology
prove that they are not different ih magnitude', and placed at eqtt&i
distances, though none of diem tatty bfe so near to' the earth as to
have any sensible annual parallax. I be'g pardon of tny readers fot
touching upon this subject; but it really moves one's 1 indignation, to
see a smattering in philosophy urged as an argument against the
veracity of an apostle. " Little learning is ft da'ngefous thing-"
Paul, you say, affects to be a naturalist ; and to prove (you might
more properly have said- illustrate) his system of resurrection from
the principles of vegetation : " Thou fool,'' says h.6, " that which
thou sowest is not quickened except it die :" to Which one might re*
ply, in his own language^ and say, "Thou fool, Paul, that which
tlfou sowest is not quickened except it die not." It may be seen,- 1
think, from this passage, who affects to be a naturalist, to be ac-
quainted with the microscopical discoveries of modern times ; which
were probably neither known to Paul, nor to the Corinthians ; and
which, had they been known to them both, would have been of
little use in the illustration of the subject of the resurrection. Paul
said, "that which thou sowest is not, quickened except it die-"
Every husbandman in Gorinth, though unable, perhaps, to define
the term death, would understand the apbstle's phrase in a popular
cense, and agree with him, that a grain of wheat must become rot-
ten hi the ground before it could sprout ; and that, as God raised
from a rotten grain of wheat^ the roots, the stem, the leaves, the ear
of a new plant, he might also cause a new body to spring up from
the rotten carcass hi the grave. Doctor Clarke observes, " In like
manner as in every grain of corn there is contained a minute, insen-
sible seminal principle, which is itself the entire future blade and
ear, and in due season, when all the rest of the grain is corrupted,
evolves and unfolds itself visibly to the eye ; so our present mortal
and corruptible body may be but the exuvicB, as it were, of some
hidden, and, at present, insensible principle (possibly the present
seat Of the soul), which, at the resurrection, shall discover itself in
its proper form." I do not agree with this great man (for such I es-
teem him) in this philosophical conjecture ; but the quotation may
serve to show you, that the germ does not evolve and unfold itself
visibly to the feye till all the rest of the grain is corrupted ; that is,
in the language and meaning of St Paul, till it dies. Though the
authority of Jesus may have as little weight with you as that of
Paul, yet it may not be improper to quote to you our Saviour's ex-
pression, when he foretells the numerous disciples which his death
would produce: "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and
die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit."
You perceive from this, that the Jews thought the death of the grain
was necessary to its reproduction. Hence, every one may see what
little reason you had to object to the apostle's popular illustration of
the possibility of a resurrection. Had he known as much as any
naturalist in Europe does, of the progress of an animal from one
state to another, as from a worm to a butterfly (which, you think,
applies to the case), I am of opinion he would not have used that
for the Bible. 177
illustration in preference to what he has used, which is obvious and
satisfactory. .
Whether the fourteen epistles ascribed to Paul were written by
him or not, is, in your judgment, a matter of indifference. So far
from being, a matter of indifference, I consider the genuineness of
St. Paul's epistles to be a matter of the greatest importance ; for, if
the epistles ascribed to Paul were written by him (and there is un-
questionable proof that they were,) it will be difficult for you, 6r
for any man, upon fair principles of sound reasoning, to deny that
the Christian religion is true. The argument is a short one, and
obvious to every capacity. It stands thus : St. Paul wrote several
letters to those whom, in different countries, he had converted to
the Christian faith; in these letters he affirms two things: First,
that he had wrought miracles in their presence. Secondly, that
many of themselves had received the gift of tongues, andl other
miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost The persons to whom these
letters were addressed must, on reading them, have certainly
known, whether Paul affirmed what w r as true, or told a plain lie ;
they must have known, whether they had seen him work miracles;
they must have been conscious, whether they themselves did or
did not possess any miraculous gifts. Now can you, or any man,
believe for a moment, that Paul (a man, certainly, of great abilities)
would have written public letters, full of lies, and which could not
fail of being discovered to be lies, as soon as his letters were read ?
Paul could not be guilty of falsehood in these two points, or in
either of them ; and if either of them be true, the Christian reli-
gion is true. References to these two points are frequent in St
Paul's epistles. I will mention only a few. In his Epistle to the
Galatians, he says (chap. iii. 2 5.) "This only would I learn of
you, received ye the Spirit (gifts of the Spirit) by the works of the
law ? He ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among
you." To the Thessalonians he says (1 Thess. chap. i. 5.) " Our
Gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in
the Holy Ghost" To the Corinthians he thus expresses himself (1
Cor. ii. 4.) " My preaching was not with enticing words of man's
wisdom, but in the demonstration of the Spirit and of power;" and
he adds the reason for his working miracles, " That your faith should
not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." With
what alacrity would the faction at Corinth, which opposed the apos-
tle, have laid hold of this and many -similar declarations in the let-
ter, had they been able to have detected any falsehood in them ?
There is no need to multiply Words on so'clear a point; the genu-
ineness of Paul's Epistles proves their authenticity, independently
of every other proof; for it is absurd in the extreme to suppose
him, under circumstances of obvious detection, capable of ad-
vancing what was not true ; and if Paul's Epistles be both genuine
and authentic, the Christian religipn is true. Think of this ar-
gument
You close your observations in the following manner: " Should
the Bible (meaning, as I have before remarked, the Old Testament)
Watson's Apology
and Testament ^hereafter fall, it is not I that have been the occa-
sion." You look, I think, upon your production with a parent's
partial eye, when you speak of it in such a style of self-compla-
cency. The Bible, Sir, has withstood the learning of Porphyry,
and the power of Julian, to say nothing of the Manichean Faustus ;
it has resisted the genius of Bolingbroke, and the wit of Voltaire, to
say nothing of d numerous herd of inferior assailants ; and it will
not fall by ytiur force. You have barbed anew the blunted arrows
of former' adversaries'; you have feathered them with blasphemy
and ridicule; dipped them in your deadliest poison; aimed them
with your utmost skill; shot them against the shield of faith with
your utmost vigor; but, like the feeble javelin of aged Priam,
they will scarcely reach the mark, will fall to the ground without a
stroke. ;
UETTERX.
THE remaining part of your work can hardly be made the subject
Of animadversion. It principally consists of unsupported assertions,
abusive appellations^ illiberal sarcasms, " strifes of words, profane
babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called." I am hurt
at being, in mere justice to the subject, under the necessity of
using such harsh language ; and am sincerely sorry, that, from'
what cause I know not, your mind has received a wrong bias in
every t point respecting revealed religion. You are capable of bet-
ter things ; for there is a philosophical sublimity in some of your
ideas, when you speak of the Supreme Being, as the Creator of the
universe. That you may not accuse me of disrespect, in passing
over any part of your work, without bestowing proper attention
upon it, I will wait upon you through what you call your con*
elusion. '
You refer your reader to the former part of the Age of Reason ;
in which you have spoken of what you esteem three frauds, mys-
tery, miracle, and prophecy. I have not at hand the book to which
you refer, and know not what you have said on these subjects ;
they are subjects of great importance, and we, probably, should
differ essentially in our opinion concerning them; but, I confess, I
am not sorry Jp be excused from examining \yhat you have said on
these points. The specimen of your reasoning, which is now be*
fore me, has taken from me every inclination to trouble either my
reader, or. myself, with any observations on your former book.
You admit the possibility of God's revealing his will to man j
yet " the thing so revealed," you say, " is revelation to the person
only to whom it is made ; his account of it to another is not revela-
tion/' This is true; his account is simple testimony. You add,
there is no " possible criterion to judge of the truth of what he
for the Bible. 179
toys." This I. positively deny; and contend, that a real miracle,
performed in attestation' of a revealed truth, is a certain criterion
by which we may judge of the truth of that attestation.. I am per-
fectly aware of the objections which may be made to this position;
I have examined them with care ; I acknowledge .them to be .of
weight; but I do not speak unadvisedly, or as wishing to dictate to
pther men; when I say, that I am persuaded the position is true. So
thought Moses, when, in the matter of Korah, he said to the Israel-
ites, " If these men die the common death of all men, then the
Lord hath not sent me." So thought Elijah, when he said, " Lord
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this .day, that
thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant ;" and the people,
before whom he spake, were of the .same opinion ; for, when the
fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burntrsacrifice, they said, .
" The Lord he is the God." So thought our Saviour, when he said,
" The works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of
me ;" and, "if I do not the works of my Father/ believe me not."
What reason have we to beli.eve Jesus speaking in the Gospel, and
to disbelieve Mahomet speaking in the JCoran? Both of them lay
claim to a Divine commission ; and yet wje receive the words of .the
. one as a revelation from God, and we reject the words of the other
as an imposture of man- The reason is ..evident ; Jesus established
his pretensions, not by alleging .any secret communication with the
Deity, but by working numerous and indubitable miracles in the
presence of thousands, and which the most bitter and watchful of
his enemies could, not disallow; but Mahomet wrought no miracles
at .all : nor is a miracle the only criterion by which we may judge
of the truth of a revelation. If a series of prophets should, through
a course of many centuries, predict the appearance of a certain
person, whom God would at a particular time send into the world
for a particular end, and at length a person should appear, in whojn
all the predictions were minutely accomplished j such a completion
of prophecy would be a criterion of the truth of that revelation
which that person should deliver to mankind. Or if a person .should
now say (as many false prophets have said, .and are daily saying),-
that he hhd a commission to declare the will .of God; and,' as a
proof .of his veracity, should predict, that, after his death, he would
rise. from the dead on the third day.; the completion of such a
.prophecy would, I presume, be a sufficient criterion .of the truth of
what this man might have said concerning the will pf God. " Now
I tell you (says Jesus to his disciples, concerning Judas, who was to
betray him) before it come, that when it is come to. pass ye may bei
lieve that I am he." In various parts of the Gospels our Saviour,
with the utmost propriety, claim? to be received as the messenger
of God, not only from the miracles v/hjch.he wrought, but firom. the
prophecies which were fulfilled in his person, and from the pjredic-.
tions which he himself delivered. Hence, instead of there- being no
criterion by which we may judge of the truth of the Christian reye-
latipn, there are clearly three. It is an easy matter to use. an in.
decproui flippancy of language in speaking of the Christian religion.
180 Watson 1 s Apology
and with a supercilious negligence to class Christ and hi* apostles
amongst the impostors who have figured in the world j but it is not,
I think, an easy matter for any man of good sense and sound erudi-
tion, to make an impartial examination into any one of the three
grounds of Christianity which I have here mentioned, and to reject it.
What is it, you ask, the Bible teaches ? The prophet Micah shall
answer you : it teaches us " to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk
humbly with pur God ;" -justice, mercy, and piety, instead of what
you contend for rapine, cruelty, and murder. What is it, you de-
mand, the Testament teaches us ? You answer your question to
believe that the Almighty committed debauchery with a woman.
Absurd and impious assertion ! No^ Sir, no ; this profane doctrine,
this miserable stuff, this blasphemous perversion of Scripture, is
your doctrine, not that of the New Testament. I will tell you the
lesson which it teaches to infidels as well as to believers ; it is a
lesson which philosophy never taught, which wit cannot ridicule,
nor sophistry disprove ; the lesson is this : " The dead shall hear the
voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live : all that are
in their graves shall come forth ; they that have done good unto the
resurrection of life ; and they that have done evil unto the resur-
rection of damnation."
The moral precepts of the Gospel are so well fitted to promote
the- happiness of mankind in this world, and to prepare human
nature for the future enjoyment of that blessedness, of which, in
our present state, we can form no conception, that I had no expecta-
tion they would have met with your disapprobation. You say, how-
ever, " As to the scraps of morality that are irregularly and. thinly
scattered in those books, they make no part of the pretended thing,
revealed religion." " Whatsoever ye would that men should do to
you, do ye even so to them." Is this a scrap of morality ? Is it not
rather the concentred essence of all ethics, the vigorous root from
which every branch of moral duty towards each other may be de-
rived? Duties, you know, are distinguished by moralists into duties
of perfect and imperfect obligation: does the Bible teach you
nothing, when it instructs you, that this distinction is done away?
when it bids you " put on bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, long suffering, forbearing one another and for-
giving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any." These,
and precepts such as these, you will in vain look for in the codes of
Frederic or Justinian ; you cannot find them in our statute-books;
they were not taught, nor are they taught, in the schools of heathen
philosophy ; or, if some one. or two of them should chance to be
glanced at by a Plato, a Seneca, or a Cicero, they are not bound
upon the consciences of mankind by any^ sanction. It is in the
Gospel, and in the Gospel alone, that we learn their importance;
acts of benevolence and^ brotherly love may be to an unbeliever
voluntary acts, to a Christian they are indispensable duties. Is a
new commandment no part of revealed religion? "A new com-
mandment 1 give unto you, that ye love one another ;" the law of
Christian benevolence is enjoined us by Christ himself in the most
for the Bible. 181
solemn manner, as the distinguishing badge of our being his dis-
ciples. . .
Two precepts you particularize as inconsistent with the dignity
and the nature of man that of not resenting injuries, and that of
loving enemies. Who but yourself ever interpreted literally the
proverbial phrasei "-If a man smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to
nun the other also?" Did Jesus himself turn the other cheek when
the officer of the high priest smote him? It is evident^ that a patient
acquiescence under slight personal injuries is here enjoined ; and
that a proneness to revenge, which instigates men to savage acts of
brutality, for every trifling offence, is forbidden^ As to :loying
enemies, it is explamed in another place to mean, the doing them all
the good in pur power; "if thine enemy hunger, feed him ; if he
thirst, give him drink;" and what think you is more likely to .pre-
serve, peace, and to promote kind affections amongst men, than the
returning good for evil?. Christianity does not order us to love in
proportion to the injury "it does not offer a premium for a crime;"
it orders us to let our benevolence extend alike to, all, that we may
emulate the benignity of God himself) who maketh " his sun to rise
on the evil and on the good."
In the law of Moses, retaliation for deliberate injuries had been
ordained " an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." .Aristotle, in his
treatise of morals, says, that some thought retaliation of personal
wrongs an equitable proceeding. Rhadamanthus is said to have
given it his sanction ; the decemviral laws allowed it; the common
law of England did not forbid it; and it is said to be still the law of
some countries, even in Christendom : but the mild spirit of Chris-
tianity absolutely prohibits, not only the retaliation of injuries, but
the indulgence of every resentful propensity.
"It has been," you affirm, "the scheme of the Christian church
to hold man in ignorance of the Creator, as it, is of government to
hold him in ignorance of his rights." I appeal to. the plain sense of
any honest man to judge whether this representation be true in
either particular. When he attends the service of the church, does
he discover any design in the minister to keep him in ignorance of
his Creator? Are not the public prayers in which he joins, the
lessons which are read to him, the sermons which, are preached to
him, all calculated to impress upon his mind a strong conviction of
the mercy, justice, holiness, power, and wisdom of the one adorable
God, blessed for ever? By these means, which the Christian church
hath provided for our instruction, I will venture to say, that the
most milearned congregation of Christians in. Great Britain have
more just" and sublime conceptions of the' Creator, a more perfect
knowledge of then* duty towards him, and a stronger inducement .to
the practice of virtue, holiness, and temperance, than ah" the philoso-
phers of all the heathen countries in the world ever had, or now
have. If, indeed, your scheme should take place, and men should
no longer believe their Bible, then would they soon become as
ignorant of the Creator as all the world was when God called Abra-
ham from his kindred; and as all the world, which has had no com-
Q
182 Watson's Apology
munication with either Jews or Christians, now is. Then would
they soon bow down to stocks and stones, kiss their hand (as they
did in the time of Job, and as the poor African does now) to " die
moon walking in brightness, and deny the God that is above;" then
would they worship Jupiter, Bacchus, and Venus, and emulate, in
the transcendent flagitiousness of their lives, the impure morals of
their gods.
What design has government to keep men in ignorance of theii
rights ? None whatever. All wise statesmen are persuaded, that the
more men know of their rights, the better subjects they will be-
come. Subjects, not from necessity but choice, are the firmesl
friends of every government. The people of Great Britain are well
acquainted with their natural and social rights ; they understand
them better than the people of any other country do ; they know
that they have a right to be free, not only from the capricious
tyranny of any one man's will, but from the more afflicting des-
potism of republican factions ; and it is this very knowledge whicl)
attaches them to the constitution of their country. I have no fear
that the people should know too much of their rights; my fear is
that they should not know them in all their relations, and to their
full extent The government does not desire that men should re-
main in ignorance of their rights ; but it both desirea and requires,
that they should not disturb the public peace under vain pretences ;
that they should make themselves acquainted, not merely with the
rights, but with the duties also of men in civil society. I am far
from ridiculing (as some have done) the rights of man ; I have long
ago understood, that the poor as well as the rich, and that the rich
as well as the poor, have, by nature, some rights, which no human
government can justly take from them, without their tacit or ex-
press consent; and some also, which they themselves have no power
to surrender to any government One of the principal rights of man,
in a state either 01 nature or of society, is a right of property in the
fruits of his industry, ingenuity, or good fortune. Does govern-
ment hold any man in ignorance of this right? So much the con-
trary, that the chief care of government is to declare, ascertain,
modify, and defend this right; nay, it gives right, where nature
gives none; it protects the goods of an intestate; and it allows a
man, at his death, to dispose of that property, which the law. of
nature would cause to revert into the common stock. Sincerely as
I am attached to the liberties of mankind, I cannot but profess my-
self an utter enemy to that spurious philosophy, that democratic in-
sanity, which would equalize all property, and level all distinctions
in civil society. Personal distinctions, arising from superior probity,
learning, eloquence, skill, courage, and from every other excellency
of talents, are the very blood and nerves of the body politic; they
animate the whole, and invigorate every part; without them, its
bones would become reeds, and its marrow water; it would pres-
ently sink into a fetid, senseless mass of corruption. Power may be
used for private ends, and in opposition to the public good; rank
may be improperly conferred, and insolently sustained : riches may
for the Bible. 183
be wickedly acquired, and viciously applied : but as this is neither
necessarily nor generally the case, I cannot agree with those, who,
in asserting the natural equality of man, spurn the instituted dis-
tinctions attending power, rank, and riches. But I mean not to en-,
ter into any discussion on this subject, farther than to say, that your
crimination of government appears to me to be wholly unfounded ;
and to express ray hope, that no one individual will be so far misled
by disquisitions on the rights of man, as to think that he has any
right to do wrong, or to forget that other men have rights as weu
as he.
You are animated with proper sentiments of piety, when you
speak of the structure of the universe. No one, indeed, who con-
siders it with attention, can fail of having his mind filled with the
supremest veneration for its author. Who can contemplate, without
astonishment, the motion of a comet, 'running far beyond the orb of
Saturn, endeavoring to escape into the pathless regions of unbounded
space, yet feeling, at its utmost distance, the attractive influence of
the sun ; hearing, as it were, the voice of God arresting its progress, 1
and compelling it, after a lapse of ages, to reiterate its ancient
course? Who can comprehend the distance of the stars from the
earth, and from each other ? It is so great, that it mocks our concep-
tion ; our very imagination is terrified, confounded, and lost, when
we are told, that a ray of light, which moves at the rate of above
ten millions of miles in a minute, will not, though emitted at this in-
stant from the brightest star, reach the earth in less than six years.
We' think this earth a great globe ; and we see the sad wickedness
which individuals are often guilty of, in scraping together a little of
its dirt ; we view, with still greater astonishment and hprror, the
mighty ruin which has, in all ages, been brought upon human kind,
by the low ambition of contending powers, to acquire a temporary
possession of a little portion of its surface. But how does the whole
of this globe sink, as it were, to nothing, when we consider, that a
million of earths will scarcely equal the bulk of the sun; that all
the stars are suns ; and that millions of suns constitute, probably,
but a minute portion of that material world, which God hath dis-
tributed through the immensity of space ! Systems, however, of in-
sensible matter, though arranged in exquisite order, prove only the
wisdom and the power of the great Architect of nature. As per-
cipient beings, we look for something more ; for his goodness ; and
we cannot open our eyes without seeing it.
Every portion of the earth, sea, and air, is full of sensitive beings,
capable, in their respective orders, of enjoying the good things
which God has prepared for their comfort. All the orders of beings
are enabled to propagate their kind; and thus provision is made for
a successive continuation of happiness. Individuals yield to the
law of dissolution inseparable from the material structure of their
bodies : but no gap is thereby left in existence ; their place is occu-
pied by other individuals, capable of participating in the goodness
of the Almighty. Contemplations such as these fill the mind with
humility, benevolence, and piety. But why should we stop here ?
184 Watson's Apology
why not contemplate the goodness of God in the redemption, as
well as in the creation of the world? By the death of his only be-
gotten Son Jesus Christ, he hath redeemed the whole human race
from the eternal death, which the transgression of Adam had en-
tailed on. all his postqrity. You believe nothing about the trans-
gression of- Adam. The history of Eve and the serpent excites
your contempt ; you Will not admit that it is either a real history, or
ah allegorical representation of death entering into the world
through disobedience to the command of God. Be it so. You find,
however, that death doth reign over all mankind, by whatever
mean' it was introduced ; this is not a matter of belief, but of lament-
able knowledge. The New Testament tells us, that, through the
merciful dispensation of God, Christ hath overcome death, and re-
stored man to that immortality which Adam had lost. This also
you refuse to believe. Why ? Because you cannot account for the
propriety of this redemption. Miserable reason ! stupid objection !
What is there that you can account for? Not for the germination of
a blade of grass, not for the fall of a leaf of the forest; and will you
refuse to eat of the fruits of the earth, because God has not given
you wisdom equal to his own? Will you refuse to lay hold on im*
mortality, because he has not given you, because he, probably, could
not give to such a being as man, a full manifestation of the end for
which he designs him, nor of the means requisite for the attainment
of that end ? What father of a family can make level to the appre-
hension of his infant children, all the views of happiness whictuhis
paternal goodness is preparing for them? How can he explain to
them the utility of reproof, correction, instruction, example, of all
the various means 'by which he forms their minds to piety, temper-
ance; and probity? We are children in the hand of God; we are in
the very infancy of our existence, just separated from the womb of
eternal duration; it may not be. possible for the Father of the uni-
verse to explain to us (infants in apprehension) the goodness and the
wisdom of his dealings with the sons of men. What qualities of
mind will be necessary .for pur well-doing through all eternity, we
know not ; what discipline in this infancy of existence may be ne-
cessary for generating these qualities, we know not; whether God
could or could not consistently with the general good, have forgiven
the transgression of Adam, without any atonement, we know not;
whether the malignity of sin be not so great, so opposite to the gene-
ral good, that it cannot be forgiven whilst it exists, that is, whilst
the mind retains a propensity to it, we know not; so that if there
should be much greater difficulty in comprehending the mode of
God's moral government of mankind than there really is, there
would be no reason for doubting of its rectitude. If the whole hu-
man race be considered as but one small member of a large com-
munity of free and intelligent beings of different orders, and if this
whole community be subject to discipline and laws productive of
the greatest possible good to the whole system, then may we still
more reasonably suspect our capacity to comprehend .the wisdom
for the Bible. 185
and goodness of all God's proceedings in the moral government of
the universe.
You are lavish in your praise of deism; it is so much better than
atheism, that I mean not to say any thing to its discredit ; it is not,
however, without its difficulties. What think you of an uncaused
.ause of every thing ? of a Being who has no relation to time, not
being older to-day than he was yesterday, nor younger to-day than
lie will be to-morrow? who has no relation to space, not being a
part here and a part there, or a whole anywhere ? What think you
of an omniscient Being, who cannot know the future actions of a
man? Or, if his omniscience enables him to know them, what think
you of the contingency of human actions? And if human actions
are not contingent, what think you of the morality of actions, of the
distinction between vice and virtue, crime and innocence, sin and
duty ? What think you of the infinite goodness of a Being, who ex-
isted through eternity, without any emanation of his goodness mani-
fested in the creation of sensitive beings ? Or, if you contend that
there has been an eternal creation, what think you of an effect co-
eval with its cause, of matter not posterior to . its Maker ? What
think you of the existence of evil, moral and natural, in the work
of an infinite Being, povyerful, wise, and good? What think you of
the gift of freedom of will, when the abuse of freedom becomes the
cause of general misery? I could propose to your consideration a
great many other questions of a similar tendency, the contemplation
of which has driven not a few from deism to atheism, just as the
difficulties in revealed religion have driven yourself, and some
others, from Christianity to deism.
For my own part, I can see ho reason why either revealed or
natural religion should be abandoned, on account of the difficulties
which attend either of them. I look up to the incomprehensible
Maker of heaven, and earth with unspeakable admiration and self-
annihilation, and am a deist. I contemplate, with the utmost grati-
tude and humility of mind, his unsearchable wisdom and goodness
in the redemption of the world from eternal death, through the in-
tervention of his Son Jesus Christ, and am a Christian. As a deist,
I have little expectation ; as a Christian, I have no doubt of a future
state. I speak for myself, and may be in an error, as to the ground
of the first part of this opinion. You, and other men, may conclude
differently. From the inert nature of matter, from the faculties of
the human mind, from the apparent imperfection of God's moral
government of the world, from many modes of analogical reasoning
and' from other sources, some of the philosophers of antiquity did
collect, and modern philosophers may, perhaps, collect a strong
probability of a future existence ; and not only of a future existence
but (which is quite a distinct question) of a future state of retribu-
tion, proportioned to our moral conduct in this world. Far be it
from me to loosen any of the obligations to virtue; but I must
confess,that I cannot, from the same sources of argumentation, de-.
rive any positive assurance on the subject. Think then with \yhat
thankfulness of heart I receive the word of God, wbji-h tells me.
Q 2
186 Watson's Apology
that though "in Adam (by the condition of our nature) all die;" yet
" in Christ (by the covenant of grace) shall all be made alive." I
lay hold on " eternal life as the gift of God through Jesus Christ ;" I
consider it not as any appendage to the nature I derive from Adam,
but as the free gift of the Almighty, through his Son, whom he hath
constituted Lord of all, the Saviour, the Advocate, and the Judge of
human kind. ,
"Deism," you affirm, "teaches us, without the possibility of being
mistaken, all that is necessary or proper to be known." There are
three things, which all reasonable men admit are necessary and
proper to be known ; the being of God ; the providence of God ; a .
"future state of retribution. Whether these three truths are so taught
us by deism, that there is no possibility of being mistaken concern-
ing any of them, let the history of philosophy, and of idolatry, and
superstition; in all ages and countries, determine. A volume might
be filled with an account of the mistakes into which .the greatest
reasoners have fallen, and of the uncertainty in which they lived,
with respect to every one of these points. I will advert, briefly,
only 133 the last of them. Notwithstanding the illustrious labors of
Gassendi, Cudworth, Clarke, Baxter, and of above two hundred
other modern writers on the subject, the natural mortality or immor-
tality of the human soul is as little understood by us, as it was by
the philosophers of Greece or Home. The opposite opinions of
Plato and of Epicurus, on this subject, have their several supporters
amongst the learned of the present age, in Great Britain, Germany,
France, Italy, in every enlightened part of the world ; and they,
who have been most seriously occupied in the study of the question
concerning a future state, as deducible from the nature of the hu-
man soul, are least disposed to give, from reason, a positive decision
of it either way. The importance of revelation is by nothing ren-
dered more apparent, than by the discordant sentiments of learned
and good men (for I speak not of the ignorant and immoral) on this
point. They show the insufficiency of human reason, in a course
of above two thousand years, to unfold the mysteries of human na-
ture, and to furnish, from the contemplation of it, any assurance of
file quality of our future condition. If you should ever become
persuaded of this insufficiency (and you can scarce fail of becoming
so, if you examine the matter deeply), you will, if you act rationally,
be disposed to investigate, with seriousness and impartiality, the
truth of Christianity. You will say of the Gospel, as the Northum-
brian heathens said to Paulinus, by whom they were converted to
the Christian religion; "The more we reflect on the nature of our
soul, the less we know of it. Whilst it animates our body, we may
know some of its properties ; but when once separated, we know
not , whither it goes, or from whence it came. Since, then, the Gos-
pel pretends to give us clearer notions of these matters, we ought to
hear it, and laying aside all passion and prejudice, follow that which
shall appear most conformable to right reason."
What a blessing is it to beings, with such limited capacities as
ours confessedly are, to have God himself for our instructor in every
for the Bible. 187
thing which It much concerns us to know! We are principally con-
cerned in knowing; not the origin of arts, or the recondite depths
of science ; not the histories of mighty empires desolating the globe
by their contentions ; not the subtilties of logic, the .mysteries of
metaphysics, the sublimities of poetry, or the niceties of criticism.
These, and subjects such as these, properly occupy the learned lei-
sure of a few ; but the bulk of human kind have ever been, and
must ever remain, ignorant of them all ; they must, of necessity,
remain in the same state with that which a German emperor volun-
tarily put himself into, when he made a resolution, bordering on
barbarism, that he would never read a printed book. We are all,
of every rank and condition, equally concerned in knowing what
will become of us after death ; and, if we are to live again, we are
interested in knowing whether it be possible for us to do any thing
whilst we live here, which may render that future life a happy
one. Now, " that thing called Christianity," as you scoffirigly speak ;
that last best gift of Almighty God, as I esteem it, the Gospel of
Jesus Christ, has given us the most clear and satisfactory informa-
tion on both these points. It tells us, what deism never could have
told us, that we shall certainly be raised from the dead ; that, what-
ever be the nature of the soul, we shall certainly live for ever ;
and that, whilst we live here, it is possible for us to do much-to-
wards the rendering that everlasting life a happy one. These are
tremendous truths to bad men ; they cannot be received and re-
flected on with indifference by the best ; and they suggest to all
such a cogent motive to Virtuous action, as deism could not furnish
even to Brutus himself.
Some men have been warped to infidelity by yiciousness of life ;
and some may have hypocritically professed Christianity from pros-
pects of temporal advantage : but, being a stranger to your charac-
ter, I neither impute the former to you, nor can admit the latter as
operating on myself. The generality of unbelievers are such, from
want of information on the subject of religion ; having been engaged
from their youth hi struggling for worldly distinction, or perplexed
with the incessant intricacies of business, or bewildered in the pur-
suits of pleasure, they have neither ability, inclination, nor leisure,
to enter into critical disquisitions concerning the -truth of Chris-
tianity. Men of this description are soon startled by objections
which they are not competent to answer ; and the loose morality
of the age (so opposite to Christian perfection), co-operating with
their want of Scriptural knowledge, they presently get rid of their
nursery faith, and are seldom sedulous in the acquisition of another,
founded, not on authority, but sober investigation. Presuming, how-
ever, that many deists are as sincere in their belief as I am in mine,
and knowing that some are more able, and all as much interested
as myself ', to make a rational inquiry into the truth of revealed
religion, I feel no propensity to judge uncharitably of any of them.
They do not think as I do, on a subject surpassing all others in im-
portance ; but they are not, on that account, to be spoken of by me
with asperity of language, to be thought of by me as persons alien-
188 Watson's Apology for the Bible.
ated from the mercies of God. 'The Gospel has been offered to their
acceptance ; and, from whatever cause they reject it, I cannot but
esteem their situation to be dangerous. Under the influence of that
persuasion I have been induced to write this book. I do not expect
to derive from it either fame or profit,- these are not improper in-
centives to honorable activity ; but there is a time of life when they
.cease to direct the judgment of thinking men. What I have written
will not, I fear, make any impression on you ; but I indulge a hope,
that it may not be without its effect on some of your readers. Infi-
delity is a rank weed ; it threatens to overspread the land ; its root
is principally fixed amongst the great and opulent, but you are en-
deavoring to extend the malignity of its poison through all the
classes of the community. There is a class of men, for whom I
have the greatest respect, and whom I am anxious to preserve from
the contamination of your irreligion ; the merchants, manufacturers,
and tradesmen of the kingdom. I consider the influence of the ex-
ample of this class as essential to the welfare of the community. I
know that they are in general given to reading, and desirous of in-
formation on all subjects. If mis little book should chance to fall
into their hands after they have read yours, and they should think
that any of your objections to the authority of the Bible have not
been fully answered, I entreat them to attribute the omission to the
brevity which .1 have studied ; to my desire of avoiding learned
disquisitions'; to my inadvertency.; to my inability; to any thing
rather than to an impossibility of completely obviating every diffi-
culty you have brought forward. I address the same request to
such of the youth of both sexes as may unhappily have imbibed,
from your writings, the poison of infidelity ; beseeching them to be-
lieve, that all their religious doubts may be removed, though it
may not have been in my power to answer, to then- satisfaction, all
your objections. I pray God that the rising generation of this land
maybe preserved from that "evil heart of unbelief," which has
brought ruin on a neighboring nation ; that neither a neglected edu-
cation, nor domestic irreligion, nor evil communication, nor the
fashion of a licentious world, may ever induce them to forget, that
religion alone ought to be their rule of life.
In the conclusion of my Apology for Christianity, I informed Mr;.
Gibbon of my extreme aversion to public controversy. I am now
twenty years older than I was then, and I perceive that this my
aversion has increased with my age. I have, through h'fe, aban-
doned my little literary productions to their fate; such of them as
have been attacked, have never received any defence from me ; nor
will this receive any, if it should meet with your public- notice, or
with that of any other man.
Sincerely -wishing that you may become a partaker of that faith
in revealed religion, which is the foundation of my happiness in this
world, and of all my hopes in another, I bid you farewell,
R. LANDAFF.
CALGAB.TH PARK,
Jan. 20, 1796.
A VIEW
OF THE
INTERNAL EVIDENCE
OF
THE CHRISTIAN RELIGOIN.
BY
SOAME JENYNS, ESQi
"Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian." ACTS xxvi. 28.
VIEW OP THE INTERNAL EVIDENCE
OF THE
CHRISTIAN RELIGION.
MOST of the writers, who have undertaken to prove the divine
origin of the Christian religion, have had recourse to arguments
drawn from these three heads: The prophecies still extant in the
Old Testament, the miracles recorded in the New, or the internal
evidence arising from that excellence, and those clear marks of su-
pernatural interposition, which are so conspicuous in the religion
itself The two former have been sufficiently explained and en-
forced by the ablest pens ; but the last, which seems to carry with
it the greatest degree of conviction, has never, I think, been con-
sidered with that attention which it deserves.
I mean not here to depreciate the proofs arising from either
prophecies, or miracles ; they both have or ought to have their proper
weight; prophecies are permanent miracles, whose authority is
sufficiently confirmed by their completion, and are therefore solid
proofs of the supernatural origin of a religion, whose truth they
were intended to testify ; such are those to be found in various parts
of the Scriptures relative to the coming of the Messiah, the destruc-
tion of Jerusalem, and the unexampled state in which the Jews have
ever since continued, all so circumstantially descriptive of the events,
that they seem rather histories of past, than predictions of future
transactions; and whoever will seriously consider the immense
distance of time between some of them and the events which they
foretell, the uninterrupted chain by which they are connected for
many thousand years, how exactly they correspond with those
events, and how totally inapplicable they are to all others in the
history of mankind ; I say, whoever considers these circumstances,
he will scarcely be persuaded to believe, that they can be the pro-
ductions of preceding artifice, or posterior application, or can enter-
tain the least doubt of their being derived from supernatural in-
spiration. -
The miracles recorded hi the New Testament to have been per-
formed by Christ and his apostles, were certainly convincing'proois
of their divine commission to those who saw them ; and as they
were seen by such numbers, and are as well attested as other his-
192 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
torical facts, and, above all, as they were wrought on BO great and
so wonderful an occasion,. they must still he admitted as evidence
of no inconsiderable force ; but, I think, they must now depend for
much of their credibility on the truth of that religion, whose credi-
bility they were first intended to support. To prove, therefore, the
truth of the Christian religion, we should begin by showing the in-
ternal marks of divinity, which are stamped upon it; because .on
this the credibility of the prophecies and miracles in a great mea-
sure depends : for if we have once reason to be convinced, that this
religion is derived from a supernatural origin; prophecies and
miracles will become so far from being incredible, that it will be
highly probable, that a supernatural revelation should be foretold
and enforced bv supernatural means.
\yhat pure Christianity is, divested of all its ornaments, append-
ages, and corruption, I pretend not to say ; but what it is not, I will
venture to affirm, which is, that it is not the offspring of fraud or
fiction. Such, on a superficial view, I know it must appear to every
man of good sense, .whose sense has been altogether employed on
other subjects ; but if any one will give himself the trouble to ex-
amine it \vith accuracy and candor, he will' plainly see, that however
fraud and fiction may have grown up with it, yet it never could
have been grafted on the same stock, nor planted by the same hand.
To ascertain the true system and genuine doctrines of this reli-
gion, after the undecided controversies of above seventeen centu-
ries, arid to remove all the rubbish which artifice and ignorance
have been heaping upon it during all that time, would indeed be an
arduous task, which I shall by no means undertake ; but to show,
that it cannot possibly be derived from human wisdom, or human
imposture, is a work, I think, attended with no great difficulty, and
requiring no extraordinary abilities, and therefore I shall attempt
that, and that alone, by stating, and then explaining, the following
plain and undeniable propositions.
First, that there is now extant a book entitled the New Testament.
Secondly, that from this book may be extracted a system of reli-
gion entirely new, both with regard to the object and the doctrines,
not only infinitely superior to, but unlike every thing, which had
ever before entered into the mind of man. .
Thirdly, that from this book may likewise be collected a system
of Ethics, in which every moral precept founded on reason is car-
ried to a higher degree of purity and perfection, than in any other
of the wisest philosophers of preceding ages; every moral precept
founded on false principles is totally omitted, and many new pre-
cepts added, peculiarly corresponding with the new object of this
religion.
Lastly, that such a system of religion and morality could not pos-
sibly have been the work of any man, or set of men; much less of
those obscure, ignorant, and illiterate persons, who actually did dis-
cover, and publish it to the world; and that, therefore, it must un-
doubtedly have, been effected by the interposition of Divine power,
that is, that it must derive its origin from God.
of Christianity. 193
PROPOSITION I.
VERY little need be said to establish my first proposition, which i
singly this: That there is now extant a book entitled the New
Testament .- that is, there is a collection of writings, distinguished
by that denomination, containing four historical accounts of the
birth, life, actions, discourses, and death of an extraordinary person
named Jesus Christ, who was born in the reign of Augustus Caesar,
preached a new religion throughout the country of Judea, and was
put to a cruel and ignominous death hi the reign of Tiberius. Alsa
one other historical account of the travels, transactions, and orations
of some mean and illiterate men, known by the title of his apostles,,
whom he commissioned to propagate his religion after his death ;
which he foretold them he must suffer in confirmation of its truth.
To these are added several epistolary writings, addressed by these
persons to their fellow-laborers hi this work, or to the several
churches or societies of Christians, which they had established in
the several cities through which they had passed.
It would not be difficult to prove, that these books were written
soon after those extraordinary events, which are the subjects of
them ; as we find them quoted, and referred to by an uninterrupted
succession of writers from those to the. present times : nor would it
be less easy to show, that the truth of all those events, miracles only
excepted, can no more be reasonably questioned, than the truth of
any other facts recorded in any history whatever ; as there can be
no more reason to doubt, that there existed such a person as Jesus
Christ, speaking, acting, and suffering in such a manner as is there
described, than that there were such men as Tiberius, Herod, or
Pontius Pilate, his contemporaries ; or to suspect, that Peter, Paul,
and James were not the authors of those epistles, to which their
names are affixed, than that Cicero and Pliny did not write those
which are ascribed to them. It might also be made appear, that
these books, having been wrote by various persons at different
times, and in distant places, could not possibly have been the work
of a single impostor, nor of a fraudulent combination, being all
stamped with the same marks of a uniform originality in their very
frame and composition.
But all these circumstances I shall pass over unobserved, as they
do not fall in with the course of my argument, nor are necessary
for the support of it. Whether these books were wrote by the
authors whose names are prefixed to them, whether they have been
enlarged, diminished, or any way corrupted by the artifice or igno-
rance of translators, or transcribers ; whether in the historical parts
the writers were instructed by a perpetual, a partial, or by any in-
spiration at all ; whether in the religious and moral parts, they re-
ceived their doctrines from a Divine influence, or from the instruc-
tions and conversation of their master; whether hi their facts pi-
sentiments there is always th6 most exact agreement, or whether in
both they sometimes differ from each other ; whether they are in
' R
194 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
' any case mistaken, or always infallible, or ever pretended to be so,
I shall not here dispute ,* let the deist avail himself of all these
doubts and difficulties, and decide them in conformity to his own
opinions : I shall not contend, because they affect not my argument.
All that I assert is a plain fact, which cannot be denied, that such
writings do now exist
PROPOSITION II.
MY second proposition is not quite so simple, but, I think, not less
undeniable than the former, and is this: That from this book may
be extracted a system of religion entirely new, both with regard to
the object, and the doctrines ; not only infinitely superior to, but
totally unlike, every, thing which had ever before entered into the
mind of man. I say extracted, because all the doctrines of this reli-
gion having been delivered at various times, and on various occa-
sions, and here only historically recorded, no uniform or regular
system of theology is here to be found; and better, perhaps, it had
been, if less labor had been employed by the learned, to bend and
twist these divine materials into the polished forms of human sys-
tems, to which they never will submit, and for which they were
never intended by their great Author. Why he chose not to leave
any such behind him we know not, but it might possibly be, because
he knew, that the imperfection of man was incapable of receiving
such a system, .and that we are more properly, and more safely con-
ducted by the distant and scattered rays, than by the too powerful
sunshine of divine illumination. " If I have told you earthly things,"
says he, " and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of
heavenly things ?" (John iii. 12) that is, if my instructions, concern-
ing your behavior in the present as relative to a future life, are so
difficult to be understood, that you can scarcely believe me, how
shall you believe, if I endeavored to explain to you the nature of
celestial beings, the designs of Providence, and the mysteries of his
dispensations ; subjects which you have neither ideas to compre-
hend, nor language to express?
First, then, the object of this religion is entirely new, and is this,
to prepare us by a state of probation for the kingdom of heaven.
This is everywhere professed by Christ and his apostles to be the
chief end of the Christian's life ; the crown for which he is to con-
tend, the goal to which he is to run, the harvest which is to pay him
for all his labors. Yet, previous to their preaching, no such prize
was ever hung out to mankind, nor any means prescribed for the
attainment of it.
It is indeed true, that some of the philosophers, of antiquity en-
tertained notions of a future state, but mixed with much doubt and
uncertainty. Their legislators also endeavored to infuse into the
minds of the people a belief of rewards and punishments after
death ; but by this they only intended to give a sanction to their
laws, and to enforce the practice of virtue for the benefit of man-
kind in the present life. This alone seems to have been their end,
of Christianity. 195
aid a meritorious end it was ; but Christianity not only operates
npre effectually to this end, but has a nobler design in view, which
is by a proper education here to render us fit members of a celestial
society hereafter. In all former religions the good of the present
life was the first object ; in the Christian it is but the second ; in
those, men were incited to promote that good by the hopes of a
fjture reward ; in this, the practice of virtue is enjoined in order to
qualify them for that reward. There is great difference, I appre-
lend, in these two plans, that is in adhering to virtue from its present
tlility in expectation of future happiness, and living in such a man-
ner as to qualify us for the acceptance and enjoyment of that hap-
jiness ; and the conduct and dispositions of those, who act on these
diflerent principles, must be no less different. On the first, the con-
sent practice of justice, temperance, and sobriety, will be sufficient ;
hit on the latter, we must add to these an habitual piety, faith, re-
sgnation, and contempt of the world. The first may make us very
jpod citizens, but will never produce a tolerable Christian. Hence
i> is that Christianity insists more strongly, than any preceding insti-
tuion, religious or moral, on purity of heart, and a benevolent dis-
jnsition ; ' because these are absolutely necessary to its great end ;
lut hi those, whose recommendations of virtue regard the present
ife only, and whose promised rewards in another were low and
stnsual, no preparatory qualifications were requisite to enable men
tc practise the one, or to enjoy the other. And, therefore, we see
this object is peculiar to this religion ; and with it was entirely new.
But although this object, and the principle on which it is founded,
A-ere new, and perhaps undiscoverable by reason, yet, when dis-
:overed, they are so consonant to it, that we cannot but readily as-
ient to them. For the truth of this principle, that the present life is
i state of probation and education to prepare us for another, is con-
famed by every thing which we see around us ; it is the only key
\\hich can open to us the designs of Providence in the economy of hu-
rrnn affairs, the only clue which can guide us through that pathless
wilderness, and the only plan on which this world could possibly
h^ve been formed, or on which the history of it can be compre-
hended or explained. It could never have been formed on a plan
of happiness ; because it is everywhere overspread with innumera-
ble miseries ; nor of misery, because it is interspersed with many
eijoyments. It could not have been .constituted for a scene of wis-
dom and virtue, because the history of mankind is little more than
a detail of their follies and wickedness ; nor of vice, because that is
no flan at all, being destructive of all existence, and consequently
of ife own. But on this system all that we here meet with may be
easily accounted for ; for this mixture of happiness and misery, of
virtue and vice, necessarily results from a state of probation and
education ; as probation implies trials, sufferings, and a capacity of
offending, and education a propriety of chastisement for those
offences.
In the next place the doctrines of this religion are equally new
with the object; and contain ideas of God, and of man, of the pres-
196 Jenyn's Internal Evidence
ent, and of a future life, and of the relations which all these bear to
each other, totally unheard of, and quite dissimilar from any which
had ever been thought on, previous to its publication., No othei
ever drew so just a portrait of the worthlessness of this world, and
all its pursuits, nor exhibited such distinct, lively, and exquisite pic-
tures of the joys of another ; of the resurrection of the dead, the last
judgment, and the triumphs of the righteous in that tremendou^
day, " when this corruptible shall put on incorruption,-and this mor-
tal shall put on immortality." (1 Cor. xv. 53.) No other has ever
represented the Supreme Being in the character of three person^
united in one God.* No other has attempted to reconcile thosii
seeming contradictory .but both true propositions, the contingency
of future events, and the foreknowledge of God, or the free will o?
the creature with the over-ruling grace of the Creator. No othei
has so fully declared the necessity of wickedness and punishment,
yet so effectually instructed individuals to resist the one, and to es-
cape the o'ther: no other has .ever pretended to give any account oi
the depravity of man, or to point out any remedy for it : no other hai
ventured to declare the unpardonable nature of sin without the in
fluence of a mediatorial interposition, and a vicarious atonement iron
the sufferings of a superior Being.t Whether these wonderful doc
trines are worthy of our belief must depend on the opinion, whicl
we entertain of the authority of those, who published them to tht
world ; but certain it is, that they are all so far removed from every
tract of the human intagination, that it seems equally impossible,
that they should ever have been derived from the knowledge, or the
artifice of man.
Some indeed there are, who, by perverting the established signi-
fication of words (which they call explaining), have ventured to ex-
punge all these doctrines out of the Scriptures, for no other reasoa
than that they are not able to comprehend them ; and argue thus :
The Scriptures are the word of God ; in his word no propositions
contradictory to reason can have a place; these propositions are
contradictory to reason, and therefore they are not there: butil
these bold assertors would claim any regard, they should reverse
their argument and say, these doctrines make a part, and a material
part of the Scriptures, they are contradictory to reason ; no propoii-
\
* That there subsists some such union in the Divine nature, the wha'e
tenor of the New Testament seems to express, and it was so understate
in the earliest ages; but whether this union does or does not imdy
equality, or whether it subsists in general, or only in particular circtm-
stances, we are not informed, and therefore on these questions it is not
only unnecessary, but improper for us to decide.
t That Christ suffered and died, as an atonement for the sins of nun-
kind, is a doctrine so constantly and so strongly enforced through evsrj
part of the New Testament, that whoever will seriously peruse thse
writings, and deny that it is there, may, with as much reason and truth,
after reading the works of Thucydides and Livy, assert, that in them no
mention is made of any facts relative to the histories of Greece and
Rome.
of Christianity. 197
tions contradictory to reason can be a part of the word of God, and
therefore neither the Scriptures, nor the pretended revelation con-
tained in them, can be derived from him : this would be an argu-
ment worthy of rational and candid deists, and demand a respectful
attention; but when men pretend to disprove facts by reasoning,
they have no right to expect an answer.
And here I cannot omit observing, that the personal character of
the author of this religion is no less new, and extraordinary, than
the religion itself, " who spake as never man spake" (John vii. 46),
and lived as never man lived : in proof of this, I do not mean to al-
lege, that he was born of a virgin, that he fasted forty days, that he
performed a variety of miracles, and after being buried three days,
that he arose from the dead ; because these accounts^will have but
little effect on the minds of unbelievers, who, if they believe not the
religion, will give no credit to the relation of these facts; but Twill
prove it from ihcts which cannot be disputed ; for instance, he is the
only founder of a religion in the history of mankind, which is totally
unconnected with all human policy and government, and therefore
totally unconducive to any worldly purpose whatever : all others,
Mahomet, Numa, and even Moses himself, blended their religious
institutions with their civil, and by them obtained dominion over
their respective people ; but Christ neither aimed at, nor would ac-
cept of any such power: he rejected every object, which all other
men pursue, and made choice of all those which others fly from,
and are afraid of : he refused power, riches, honors, and pleasure,
and courted poverty, ignominy, tortures, and death. Many have
been the enthusiasts and impostors, who have endeavored to impose
on the world pretended revelations, and some of them from pride,
obstinacy, or principle, have gone so far as to lay down their lives
rather than retract ; but I defy history to show one, who ever made
his own sufferings and death a necessary part of his original plan,
and essential to his mission ; this Christ actually did ; he foresaw,
foretold, declared their necessity, and voluntarily endured them. If
we seriously contemplate the divine lessons, the perfect precepts,
the beautiful discourses, and the consistent conduct of this wonder-
ful person, we cannot possibly imagine, that he could have been
either an idiot or a madman ; and yet, if he was not what he pre-
tended to be, he can be considered in no other light ; and even un-
der this character he would deserve some attention, because of so
sublime and rational an insanity there is no other instance in the
history of mankind.
If any one can doubt of the superior excellence of this religion
above all which preceded it, let him but peruse with attention those
unparalleled writings in which it is transmitted to the present times,
and compare them with the most celebrated productions of the pa-
gan world ; and if he is not sensible of their superior beauty, sim-
plicity, and originality, I will, venture to pronounce, that he is as de-
ficient in taste as in faith, and that he is as bad a critic as a Chris-
tian : for in what school of ancient philosophy can he find a lesson
of morality so perfect as Christ's sermon on the mount? From which
R2
198 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
of them can he collect an address to the Deity so concise, and yet
so comprehensive, so expressive of all that we want, and all that we
could deprecate, as that short prayer, which he formed for, and re-
commended to his disciples? From the works of what sage of anti-
quity can he produce so pathetic a recommendation of benevolence
to the distressed, and enforced by such assurances of a reward, as in
those words of Christ? "Come, ye blessed of my Father! inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world : for
I was an hungred, and ye gave 'me meat ; I was thirsty, and ye
gave me drink ; I was a stranger, and ye took me in ; I was naked,
and ye clothed me ; I was sick, and ye visited me ; I was in prison,
and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, say-
ing, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee, or thirsty,
and gave thee drink? when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee
in, or naked and clothed thee ? or when saw we thee sick and in
prison, and came unto thee? Then shall I answer and say unto
them, Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as you have done it to the
least of these my "brethren, ye have done it unto me." (Matt xxv.
34.) Where is there so just, and so elegant a reproof of eagerness
and anxiety in worldly pursuits, closed with so forcible an exhorta-
tion to confidence in the goodness of our Creator, as in these words ?
" Behold the fowls of the air ; for they sow not, neither do they
reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.
Are ye not much better than they ? consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin; and yet I say
unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like
one of these: wherefore,, if God so clothe the grass of the field,
which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not
much more clothe, you? O ye of little faith !" (Matt. vi. 26. 28.) By
which of their most celebrated poets are the joys reserved for the
righteous in a future state so sublimely described, as by this short
declaration, that they are superior to all description ? " Eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the
things which God hath prepared for them that love him." (1 Cor.
ii. 9.) Where, amidst the dark clouds of pagan philosophy, can he
show us such a clear prospect of a future state, the immortality of
the soul, the resurrection of the dead, and the general judgment, as
in St. Paul's first, epistle to the Corinthians? Or from whence can
he produce such cogent exhortations to the practice of every virtue,
such ardent incitements to piety and devotion, and such assistances
to attain them, as those which are to be met with throughout every
page of these inimitable writings ? To quote all the passages in them,
relative to these subjects, would be almost to transcribe the whole ;
it is sufficient to observe, that they are everywhere stamped with
such apparent marks of supernatural assistance, as render them in-
disputably superior to, and totally unlike all human compositions
whatever ; and this superiority and dissimilarity is still more strongly
marked by one remarkable circumstance peculiar to themselves,
which is, that whilst the moral parts, being of the most general use,
are intelligible to the meanest capacities, the learned and inquisi-
of Christianity. 199
tive, throughout ullages, perpetually find in them inexhaustible
discoveries, concerning the nature, attributes, and dispensations of
Providence.
To say the truth, before the appearance of Christianity there ex-
isted nothing like religion on the face of the earth ; the Jewish only
excepted : all other nations were immersed in the grossest idolatry,
which had little or no connexion with morality, except to corrupt it
by the infamous examples of their own imaginary deities : they all
"worshipped a multiplicity of gods and demons, whose favor they
courted by impious, obscene, and ridiculous ceremonies, and whose
anger they endeavored to appease by the most abominable cruelties.
In the politest ages of the politest nations in the world, at a time
\vhen Greece and Rome had carried the arts of oratory, poetry, his-
tory, architecture, and sculpture lo the highest perfection, and made
no inconsiderable advances in those of mathematics, natural, and
even moral philosophy, in religious knowledge they had made none
at all ; a strong presumption, that the noblest efforts of the mind of
man unassisted by revelation were unequal to the task. Some few
indeed of their philosophers were wise enough to reject these gene-
ral absurdities, and dared to attempt a loftier flight : Plato intro-
duced many sublime ideas of nature, and its first cause, arid of the
immortality of the soul, which being above his own and all human
discovery, he probably acquired from the books of Moses or the con-
versation of some Jewish rabbies, which he might have met with
in .Egypt, where he resided, and studied for several years : from him
Aristotle, and from both Cicero and some few others drew most
.amazing stores of philosophical science, and carried their researches
into divine truths as far as human genius alone could penetrate.
But these were bright constellations, which appeared singly in sev-
eral centuries, and even these with all this knowledge were very
deficient in true theology. From the visible works of the creation
they traced the being and principal attributes of the Creator ; but
the relation which his being and attributes bear to man they little
understood ; of piety arid devotion they had scarce any sense, nor
<x>uld they form any mode of worship worthy of the purity and per-
fection of the Divine nature : they occasionally flung out many ele-
:gant encomiums on the native beauty and excellence of virtue : but
they founded it not on the commands of God, nor connected it with
a holy life, nor hung out the happiness of heaven as its reward, or
its object They sometimes talked of virtue carrying men to. heaven,
and placing them amongst the gods ; but by this virtue they meant
only the invention of arts, or feats of arms : for with them heaven
was open only to legislators and conquerors, the civilizers or de-
stroyers of mankind. This was, then, the summit of religion in the
most polished nations in the world, and even this was confined to a
few philosophers, prodigies of genius and literature, who were little
attended to, and less understood by the generality of mankind in
their own countries ; whilst all the rest were involved in one com-
mon cloud of ignorance and superstition.
At this time Christianity broke forth from the east like a rising
200 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
sun, and dispelled this universal darkness, which obscured every
part of the globe, and even at this day prevails in all those remoter
regions, to which its salutary influence has not as yet extended.
From all those which it has reached, it has, notwithstanding its
corruptions, banished all those enormities, and introduced a more
rational devotion, and purer morals : it has taught men the unity
and attributes of the Supreme Being, the remission of sins, the
resurrection of the dead, life everlasting, and the kingdom of hea-
ven : doctrines as inconceivable to the wisest of mankind antece-
dent to its appearance, as the Newtonian system is at-this day to the
most ignorant tribes of savages in the wilds of America; doctrines,
which, human reason never could have discovered, but which,
when discovered, coincide with, and are confirmed by it; and
which, though beyond the reach of all the learning and penetration
of Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero, are now clearly laid open to the eye
of every peasant and mechanic with the Bible in his hand. These
are all plain facts, too glaring to be contradicted, and therefore,
whatever we may think of the authority of these books, the rela-
tions which they contain, or the inspiration of their authors, df these
facts no man, who has eyes to read, or ears to hear, can entertain a
doubt ; because there are the books, and in them is this religion.
PROPOSITION III.
MY third proposition is this ; that from this book, called the New
Testament, may be collected a system of ethics, in which every
moral precept founded on reason is carried to a higher degree of
purity and perfection than in any other of the ancient philosophers
of preceding ages ; every moral precept founded on false principles
is entirely omitted, and many new precepts added, peculiarly cor-
responding with the new object of this religion.
By moral precepts founded on reason, I mean all those, which
enforce the practice of such duties as reason informs us must im-
prove our nature, and conduce to the happiness of mankind : such
are piety to God, benevolence to men, justice, charity, temperance,
and sobriety, with all. those, which prohibit the commission of the
contrary vices, all which debase our natures, and, by mutual inju-
ries, introduce universal disorder, and consequently, universal
misery. By precepts founded on false principles, I mean those,
wliich recommend fictitious virtues productive of none of these sal-
utary effects, and therefore, however celebrated and admired, are
in fact no virtues at all ; such are valor, patriotism, and friendship.
That virtues of the first kind are carried to a higher degree of
purity and perfection by the Christian religion than by any other, it
is here unnecessary to prove, because this is a truth which has been
frequently demonstrated by her friends, and never once denied
by the most determined of her adversaries ; but it .will be proper to
show, that those of the latter sort are most judiciously omitted; be-
of Christianity. 201
cause they have really no intrinsic merit in them, and are totally
incompatible with the genius and spirit of this institution.
Valor, for instance, or active courage, is for the most part consti-
tutional, and therefore can have no more claim to moral merit, than
wit, beauty, health, strength, or any other endowment of the mind
or body ; and so far is it from producing any salutary effects by in-
troducing peace, order, or happiness into society, that it is the usual
perpetrator of all the violences, which from retaliated injuries dis-
tract the world with bloodshed and devastation. It is the engine
by which the strong are enabled to plunder the weak, the proud to
trample upon the humble,. and the guilty to oppress the innocent; it
is the chief instrument which ambition employs in her unjust pur-
suits of wealth and power, and is therefore so much extolled by her
votaries : it was indeed congenial with the religion of pagans, whose
gods were, for the most part, made put of deceased heroes, exalted
to heaven. as a reward for the mischiefs which they had perpetrated
upon, earth, and therefore with them this was the first of virtues,
and had even engrossed that denomination to itself; but whatever
merit it may have assumed among pagans, with Christians it can
pretend to none, and few or none are the occasions in which they
are permitted to exert it : they are so far from being allowed to in-
flict evil, that they are forbid even to resist it; they are so far from
being encouraged to revenge injuries, that one of their first duties
is to forgive them ; so far from being incited to destroy their ene-
mies, that they are commanded to love them, and to serve them to
the utmost of then* power. If Christian nations therefore were na-
tions of Christians, all war would be impossible and unknown
amongst them, and valor could be neither of use or estimation, and
therefore could never have a place in the catalogue of Christian
virtues, being irreconcilable with all its precepts. I object not to
the praise and honors bestowed on the valiant : they are the least
tribute which can be paid them by those who enjoy safety and
affluence by the intervention of their dangers and sufferings 5 I as-
sert only, that active courage can never be a Christian virtue, be-
cause a Christian can have nothing to do with it. Passive courage
is indeed frequently and properly inculcated by this meek and suf-
fering religion, under the titles of patience and resignation : a real
and substantial virtue this, and a direct contrast to the former ; for
passive courage arises from the noblest dispositions of the human
mind, from a contempt of misfortunes, pain, and death, and a confi-
dence in the protection of the Almighty : active from the meanest ;
from passion, vanity, and self-dependence : passive courage is de-
rived from a zeal for truth, and a perseverance in duty ; active is
the offspring of pride and revenge, and the parent of cruelty and
injustice : in short, passive courage is the resolution of a philosopher,
active the ferocity of a savage. Nor is this more incompatible with
the precepts, than with the object of this religion, which is the attain-
ment of the kingdom of heaven ; for valor is not that sort of violence,
by which that kingdom is to be taken ; nor are the turbulent spirits
202 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
of heroes and conquerors admissible into those regions of peace,
subordination, and tranquillity.
Patriotism also, that celebrated virtue, so much practised in an-
cient, and so much professed hi modern times, that virtue which so
long preserved the liberties of Greece, and exalted Rome to the
empire of the world : this celebrated virtue, I say, must also be ex-
cluded ; because it not only falls short of, but directly counteracts,
the extensive benevolence of this religion. A Christian is of no
country, he is a citizen of the world ; and his neighbors and coun-
trymen are the inhabitants of the remotest regions, whenever their
distresses demand his friendly assistance: Christianity commands
xis to love all mankind, patriotism to oppress all other countries to
advance the imaginary prosperity of our own : Christianity enjoins
us to imitate the universal benevolence of our Creator, who pours
forth his blessings on every nation upon earth ; patriotism to copy
the mean partiality of an English parish officer, who thinks injustice
and cruelty meritorious, whenever they promote the interests of his
own inconsiderable village. This has ever been a favorite virtue
with mankind, because it conceals self-interest under the mask of
public spirit, not only from others, but even from themselves, and
gives a license to inflict wrongs and injuries, not only with impu-
nity, but with applause ; but it is so diametrically opposite to the
great characteristic of this institution, that it never could have been
admitted into the list of Christian virtues.
Friendship, likewise, although more congenial to the principles
of Christianity, arising from more tender and amiable dispositions,
could never gain -admittance amongst her benevolent precepts, for
the same reason ; because it is too narrow and confined, and appro-
priates that benevolence to a single object, which is here com-
manded to be extended over all : where friendships arise from simi-
larity of sentiments, and disinterested affections, they are advanta-
geous, agreeable, and innocent, but have little pretensions to merit ;
for it is justly observed, " If ye love them, which love you, what
thank have ye ? for sinners also love those that love them." (Luke
vi. 32.) But if they are formed from alliances in parties, factions,
and interests, or from a participation of vices, the usual parents of
what are called friendships among mankind, they are then both
mischievous and criminal, and consequently forbidden ; but in their
utmost purity deserve no recommendation from this religion.
To the judicious omission of these false virtues we may add that
remarkable silence, which the Christian Legislator everywhere pre-
serves on subjects esteemed by all others of the highest importance,
civil government, national policy, and the rights of war and peace ;
of these he has not taken the least notice, probably for this plain
reason, because it would have been impossible to have formed any
explicit regulations concerning them, which must not have been in-
consistent with the purity of his religion, or with the practical ob-
servance of such imperfect creatures as men ruling over, and con-
tending with each other. For instance, had he absolutely forbid all
resistance to the reigning powers, he had constituted a plan of des-
of Christianity. 203
potism, and made men slaves ; had he allowed it, he must have
authorized disobedience, and made them rebels ; had he, in direct
terms, prohibited all war, he must have left his followers for ever
an easy prey to every infidel invader; had he permitted it, he must
have licensed all that rapine and murder with which it is unavoida-
bly attended.
Let us now examine what are those new precepts in this religion
peculiarly corresponding with the new object of it, that is, prepar-
ing us for the kingdom of heaven. Of these the chief are poorness of
spirit, forgiveness of injuries, and charity to all men; to these we
may add repentance, faith, self-abasement, and a detachment from
the world, all moral duties peculiar to this religion, and absolutely
necessary to the attainment of its end.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of hea-
ven." (Matt. v. 3.) By which poorness of spirit is to be understood
a disposition of mind, meek, humble, submissive to power, void of
ambition, patient of injuries, and free from all resentment. This
was so new, and so opposite to the ideas of all Pagan moralists, that
they thought this temper of mind a criminal and contemptible mean-
ness, which must induce men to sacrifice the glory of their country,
and their own honor, to a shameful pusillanimity; and such it ap-
pears to almost all who are called Christians even at this day, who
not only reject it in practice, but disavow it in principle, notwith-
standing this explicit declaration of their Master. We see them re-
venging the smallest affronts by premeditated murder, as individ-
uals, on principles of honor ; and, in their national capacities, de-
stroying each other with lire and sword, for the low considerations
of commercial interests, the balance of rival powers, or the ambition
of princes. We see them with their last breath animating each
other to a savage revenge, and, in the agonies of death, plunging
with feeble arms their daggers into the hearts of their opponents;
and, what is still worse, we hear all these barbarisms celebrated
by historians, flattered by poets, applauded in theatres, approved in
senates, and even sanctified in pulpits. But universal practice can-
not alter the nature of things, nor universal error change the nature
of truth. Pride was not made for men, but humility, meekness, and
resignation, that is, poorness of spirit, was made for man, and
properly belongs to his dependent and precarious situation ; and is
the only disposition of mind, which can enable him to enjoy ease
and quiet here, and happiness hereafter. Yet was this important
precept entirely unknown until it was promulgated by him, who
said, " Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not ;
for of such is the kingdom of heaven: Verily I say unto you, whoso-
ever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a li ttle child, he shall
not enter therein." (Mark x. 14.)
Another precept, equally new and no less excellent, is forgive-
ness of injuries: "Ye have heard," says\Christ to his disciples,.
" Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy ; but I say
unto you, love your enemies ; bless them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you,
204 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
and persecute you." (Matt v. 43.) This was a lesson so new, and so
utterly unknown, till taught by his doctrines, and enforced by his
example, that the wisest moralists of the wisest nations and ages re-
presented the desire of revenge as a mark of a noble mind, and the
accomplishment of it as one of the chief felicities attendant on a
fortunate man. But how much more magnanimous, how much more
beneficial to mankind, is forgiveness ! it is more magnanimous, be-
cause every generous and exalted disposition of the human mind is
requisite to the practice of it ; for these alone can enable us to bear
the wrongs and insults of wickedness and folly with patience, and
to look down on the perpetrators of them with pity, rather than in-
dignation ; these alone can teach us, that such are but a part of
those sufferings allotted to us in this state of probation, and to know,
that to overcome evil with good is the most glorious of all victories :
it is the most beneficial, because this amiable conduct alone can put
an end to an eternal succession of injuries and retaliations; for
every retaliation becomes a new injury, and requires another act of
revenge for satisfaction. But would we observe this salutary pre-
cept, to love our enemies, and to do good to those who despitefully
use us, this obstinate benevolence would at last conquer th'e most
inveterate hearts, and we should have no enemies to forgive. How
much more exalted a character therefore is a Christian martyr, suf-
fering with resignation, and praying for the guilty, than that of a
Pagan hero, breathing revenge, and destroying the innocent? yet
noble and useful as this virtue is, before the appearance of this re-
ligion it was not only unpractised, but decried in principle, as mean
and ignommous, though so obvious a remedy for most of the miseries
of this life, and so necessary a qualification for the happiness of
another.
A third precept, first noticed and first enjoined by this institution,
is charity to all men. What this is, we may best learn from this ad-
mirable description, painted in the following words ; " Charity suf-
fereth long, and is land; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not
itself; is not pufled 'up ; doth not behave itself unseemly ; seeketh
not her own; is not easily provoked; thinketh no evil; rejoiceth.
not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth ; feareth all things ; befieyeth
all things ; hopeth all things ; endureth all tilings." (1 Cor- xiii. 4.)
Here we have an accurate delineation of this bright constellation
of all virtues, which consists not, as many imagine, in the building
of monasteries, endowment of hospitals, or the distribution of alms,
but in such an amiable disposition of mind as exercises itself every
hour in acts of kindness, patience, complacency, and benevolence
to all around us, and which alone is able to promote happiness in
the present life, or render us capable of receiving it in another : and
yet this is totally new, and so it is declared to be by the author of
it ; "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another ;
as I have loved you, that ye also love one another ; by this shall all
men know, that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
(John xiii. 34.) This benevolent disposition is made the great charac-
teristic of a Christian, the test of his obedience, and the mark by
of Christianity. 205
which he is to be distinguished. This love for each other is that
charily just now described, and contains all those quali ties, which
are there attributed to it ; humility, patience, meekness, and- benefi-
cence : without which we must Jive in perpetual discord, and con-
sequently cannot pay obedience to this commandment by loving one
another ; a commandment so sublime, so rational, and so beneficial,
so wisely calculated to correct the depravity, diminish the wicked-
ness, and abate the miseries of human nature, that, did we univer-
sally comply with it, we should soon be relieved from all the inquie-
tudes arising from our own unruly passions, anger, envy, revenge,
malice, and ambition, as well as from all those injuries, to which
we % are perpetually exposed from the indulgence of the same pas-
sions in others. It would also preserve our minds in such a state of
tranquillity, and so prepare them for the kingdom of heaven, that
we should slide out of a life of peace, love, and benevolence, into
that celestial society, by an almost imperceptible transition. Yet
was this commandment entirely new, when given by him, who so
entitles it, and has made it the capital duty of his religion, because
the most indispensably necessary to the attainment of its great ob-
ject, the kingdom of heaven ; into which, if proud, turbulent, and
vindictive spirits were permitted to enter, they must unavoidably
destroy the happiness of that state, by the operations of the same
passions and vices by which they disturb the present ; and therefore
all such must be eternally excluded; not only as a punishment, but
also from incapacity. ...
Repentance, by this we plainly see, is another new moral duty
strenuously insisted on by this religion, and by no other, because
absolutely necessary to the accomplishment of its end; for this
alone can purge us from those-transgressions, from which we can-
not be totally exempted in this state of trial and temptation, and
purify us from that depravity in our nature, which renders us in-
capable of attaining this end. Hence also we may learn, that no
repentance can remove this incapacity, but such as entirely changes
the nature and disposition of the offender ; which in the language
of Scripture is called " being born again." Mere contrition for past
crimes, nor even the pardon of them, cannot effect this, unless it
operates to this entire conversion or new birth, as it is properly and
emphatically named : for sorrow can no more purify a mind cor-
rupted by a long continuance in vicious habits, than it can restore
health to a body distempered by a long course of vice and intem-
Eerance. Hence also every one, who is in the least acquainted with
imself, may judge of the reasonableness of the hope that is in him,
and of his situation in a future state, by that of his present. If he
feels in himself a temper proud, turbulent, vindictive, and malevo-
lent, and a violent attachment to the pleasures or business of the
world, he may be assured, that he must be excluded from the king-
dom of heaven; not only because his conduct can merit no such re-
ward, but because, if admitted, he would find there no objects satis-
factory to his passions, inclinations, and pursuits, and therefore could
S
206 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
only disturb the happiness of others without enjoying any share of
it himself! .
Faith is another moral duty enjoined by this institution, of a spe-
cies so new, that the philosophers of antiquity had no word expres-
sive of this idea, nor any such idea to be expressed; for the word
Tiiaris or fides, which we translate faith, was never used by any
Pagan writer, in a sense the least similar to that, to which it is ap-
plied in the New Testament: where in general it signifies an hum-
ble, teachable, and candid disposition, a trust in God, and confidence
in his promises ; when applied particularly to Christianity, it means
no more than a belief of this single proposition, that Christ -was the
Son of God ; that is, in the language of those writings, the Messiah,
who was foretold by the prophets, and expected by the Jews ; who
was sent by God into the .world to preach righteousness, judgment,
and everlasting life, and to die as an atonement for the sins of man-
kind. This was all that Christ required to be believed by those who
were willing to become his. disciples; he, who does not believe this,
is not a Christian, and he who does, believes the whole that is es-
sential to his profession, and all that is properly comprehended un-
der the name of faith. This unfortunate word has indeed been so
tortured and so misapplied to mean every absurdity, which artifice
could impose upon ignorance, that it has lost all pretensions to the
title of virtue; but if brought back to the simplicity of its original
signification, it well deserves that name, because it usually arises
from the most amiable dispositions, and is always a direct contrast to
pride, obstinacy, and self-conceit. If taken in the extensive sense
of an assent to the evidence of things not seen, it comprehends the
existence of a God, and a future state, and is therefore not only
itself a moral virtue, biit the source from whence all others must
proceed; for on the belief of these all religion and morality must
entirely depend. It cannot be altogether void of moral merit (as
some will represent it), because it is in a degree voluntary ; for daily
experience shows us, that men not only pretend to, but actually do
believe, and disbelieve almost any propositions, which best suit
their interests or inclinations, and unfeignedly change their sincere-
opinions with their situations and circumstances. For- we: have
power over the mind's eye, as well as over the body's, to shut it
against the strongest rays of truth and religion, whenever they be-
come painful to us, and to open it again to the faint glimmerings of
scepticism and infidelity when we " love darkness rather than light,
because our deeds are evil." (John iii. 19.) And this, I. think, suffi-
ciently refutes all objections to the. moral nature of faith, drawn
from the supposition of its being quite involuntary, and necessarily
dependent on the degree of evidence, which is offered to our under-
standings.
Self-abasement is another moral duty inculcated by this religion
only; which requires us to impute even our own virtues to the
grace and favor of our Creator, and to acknowledg-e, that we can
do nothing good by our own powers, unless assisted by his over-
ruling influence. This doctrine seems at first sight to infringe on
of Cliristianity. 207
our free-will, and to deprive us of all merit ; but, on a closer ex-
amination, the truth of it may be demonstrated both by reason and
experience, and that in fact it does not impair the one, or depreciate
the other; and that it is productive of so-much humility, resignation,
and dependence on GooVthat it justly claims a place amongst the'
most illustrious moral virtues. Yet was this duly utterly repugnant
to the proud and self-sufficient principles of the ancient philosophers
as well as modem deists, and therefore before the publication of the
Gospel totally unknown and uncomprehended.
Detachment from the world is another moral virtue constituted
by this religion alone ; so new, that even at this day few of its pro-
fessors can be persuaded, that it is required, or that it is any virtue
at all. By this detachment from the world is not to be understood a
seclusion from society, abstraction from all business, or retirement
to a gloomy cloister. Industry and labor, cheerfulness and hospi-
tality are frequently recommended ; nor is the acquisition of wealth
and honors prohibited, if they, can be obtained by honest means, and
a moderate degree of attention and care ; but such an unremitted
anxiety and perpetual application, as engrosses our whole time and
thoughts, are forbid, because they are incompatible with the spirit
of this religion, and must utterly disqualify us for the attainment of
its great end. We toil on hi the vain pursuits and. frivolous occupa-
tions of the world, die in our harness, and then expect, if no gigan-
tic crime stands in the way, to step immediately into the kingdom of
heaven ; but this is impossible ! for without a previous detachment
from the business of tliis world, we cannot be prepared for the hap-
piness of another. Yet this could make no part of the morality of
Pagans, because their virtues were altogether connected with this
business, and consisted chiefly in conducting it with honor to them-
selves, and benefit to the public.' But Christianity has a nobler ob-
ject hi view, which, if not attended to, must be lost for ever. This
object is that celestial mansion of which we should never lose sight,
and to which we should be ever advancing during our journey
through life ; but this by no means precludes us from performing
the business, or enjoying the amusements .of travellers, provided
they detain us not too long, or lead us too far out of our way:
It cannot be denied, that the great .author of the Christian institu-
tion first and singly ventured to oppose all the chief principles of
Pagan virtue, and to introduce a religion directly opposite to. those
erroneous, though long-established, opinions, both in its duties and
in its object The most celebrated virtues of the ancients were
high spirit, intrepid courage, and implacable resentment.
Impiger, iracundus, inexorabilis, acer, was the portrait of the most
illustrious hero, drawn by one of the first poets of antiquity. To all
these admired qualities, those of a true Christian ,are an exact con-
trast; for this religion constantly enjoins poorness of spirit, meek-
ness, patience, and forgiveness of injuries. "But I say unto you,
that ye resist "not evil ; but whoever shall smite thee on the right
cheek, turn to him the other also." (Matt. v. 39.) The favorite charr
acters among the Pagans were, the turbulent, ambitious, and in-
208 Jenyns's Internal Evidence 1
trepid, who through toils and dangers acquired wealth, and spent it
in luxury, magnificence, and corruption ; but both these are equally
adverse to the Christian system, which forbids all extraordinary
efforts to obtain wealth, ,care to secure, or thought concerning the
enjoyment of it " Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth," &c.
"Take no thought, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we
drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed ? for after all these things
do the Gentiles seek." (Matt. vi. 31.) The chief object of the Pa-
gans was immortal fame : for this, their poets sang, their heroes
fought, and their patriots died; and this was hung out by their
philosophers and legislators as the great incitement to all noble and
virtuous deeds. But what says the Christian legislator to his disciples
on this subject? "Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and
shall say all manner of evil against you for my sake ; rejoice, and
be exceeding glad, for great is your reward hi heaven." (Matt. v. 11.)
So widely different is the genius of the Pagan and Christian moral-
ity, that 1 will venture to affirm, that the most celebrated virtues of
the former are more opposite to ; the spirit, and more inconsistent
with the end of the latter, than even their most infamous vices ;
and that a Brutus, wrenching vengeance out of his hands to whom
alone it belongs, by murdering the oppressor of his country, or a
Cato, murdering himself from an impatience of control, leaves the
world more unqualified for, and more inadmissible into the kingdom
of heaven, than even a Messalina, or a Heliogabalus, with all their
profligacy about them.
Nothing, I believe, has so much contributed to corrupt the true
spirit of the Christian institution, as that partiality, which we con-
tract from our earliest education for the manners of Pagan antiquity:
from whence we learn to adopt every moral idea, which is repug-
nant to it; to applaud false virtues, which that disavows; to be
guided by laws of honor, which that abhors; to imitate characters,
which that detests ; and to behold heroes, patriots, conquerors, and
suicides with admiration, whose conduct that utterly condemns.
From a coalition of these opposite' principles was generated that
monstrous system of cruelty and benevolence, of barbarism and
civility, of rapine and justice, of fighting and devotion, of revenge
and generosity, which harassed the world for several centuries with
crusades, holy wars, knight-errantry, and single combats, and even
still, retains influence enough, under the name of honor, to defeat
the most beneficent ends of this holy institution. I mean not by this
to pass .any censure on the principles of valor, patriotism, or honor:
they may be useful, and perhaps necessary, in the commerce arid
business of the present turbulent and imperfect state; and those
who. are actuated by them may be virtuous, honest, arid even reli-
gious men : all that I assert is, that they cannot be Christians. A
profligate may be a Christian, though a bad one, because he may Be
overpowered by passions and temptations, and his actions may con-
tradict his principles ; but a man, whose ruling principle is honor,
however virtuous he may be, cannot be a Christian, because he
of Christianity. 209
erects a standard of duty, and deliberately adheres to it, diametri-
cally opposite to the whole tenor of that religion.
The contrast between the Christian, and all other institutions re-
ligious or moral previous to its appearance, is sufficiently evident,
and surely the superiority of the former is as little to be disputed ;
unless any one shall undertake to prove, that humility, patience,
forgiveness, and benevolence are less amiable, and less beneficial
qualities than pride, turbulence, revenge, and malignity: that the
contempt of riches is less noble than their acquisition by fraud and
villany, or the distribution of them to the poor less commendable
than avarice or profusion ; or that a real immortality in the kingdom
of heaven js an object less exalted, less rational, and less worthy of
pursuit, than an imaginary immortality in the applause -of men :
that worthless tribute, which the folly of one part of mankind pays
to the wickedness of the other ; a tribute, which a wise man ought
always to despise, because a good man can scarce ever obtain.
CONCLUSION.
IF I mistake not, I have now fully established the truth of my
three propositions :
First, That there is now extant a book entitled the New Testa-
ment,
Secondly; That from this book may be extracted a system of reli-
gion entirely new ; both in its object, and its doctrines, not only su-
perior to, but totally unlike every thing, which had ever before
entered into the mind of man.
Thirdly, That from this book may likewise be collected a system
of ethics, in which every moral precept founded on reason is carried
to a higher degree of purity and perfection, than in any other of the
wisest philosophers of preceding ages ; every moral precept founded
on false principles totally omitted, and many new precepts added,
peculiarly corresponding with the new object of this religion.
Every one of these propositions, I am persuaded, is incontrovertr-
bly true; and if true, this short but certain conclusion must inevita-
bly follow ; that such a system of religion and morality could not
possibly have been the work of any man, or set of men, much less
of those obscure, ignorant, and illiterate persons, who actually did
discover, and publish it to the world ; and that therefore it must
have been effected by the supernatural interposition of divine power
and wisdom; that is, that it must derive its origin from God.
This argument seems to me little short of demonstration, and is
indeed founded on the very same reasoning, by which the material
world is proved to be the work of his invisible hand. We view
with admiration the heavens and the earth, and all therein con-
tained ; we contemplate with amazement the minute bodies of ani-
mals too small for perception, and the immense planetary orbs too
vast for imagination. We are certain that these cannot be. the works
of man; and therefore we conclude with reason, that they must be
S2
210 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
the productions of an omnipotent Creator. In the same manner we
see here a scheme of religion and morality unlike and superior to
all ideas of the human mind, equally impossible to have been dis-
covered by the knowledge, as invented by the artifice of man ; and
therefore by the very same mode of reasoning, and with the same
justice, we conclude, that it must derive its origin from the same
omnipotent and omniscient Being.
Nor was the propagation of this religion less extraordinary than
the religion itself, or less above the reach of all human power, than
the discovery of it was above that of all human understanding. It
is well known, that in the course of a very few years it was spread
over all the principal parts of Asia and of Europe, and this by the
ministry only of an inconsiderable number of the most inconsidera-
ble persons ; that at this time Paganism was in the highest repute,
believed universally by the vulgar, and patronized by the great ;
that the wisest men of the wisest nations assisted at its sacrifices,
and consulted its oracles on the most important occasions. Whether
these were the tricks of the priests or of the devil, is of no conse-
quence, as they were both equally unlikely to be converted, or
overcome ; the fact is certain, that, on the preaching of a few fisher-
men, their altars were deserted, and their deities w r ere dumb. This
miracle they undoubtedly performed, Avhatever we may think of
the rest : and this is surely sufficient to prove the authority of their
commission ; and to convince us, that neither their undertaking nor
the execution of it could possibly be their own.
How much this divine . institution has been corrupted, or how
soon these corruptions began, how far it has been discolored by the
false notions of illiterate ages, or blended with fictions by pious
frauds, or how early these notions, and fictions were introduced, no
learning or sagacity is now able precisely to ascertain ; but surely
no man, who seriously considers the excellence and novelty of its
doctrines, the manner in which it was at first propagated through
the world, the persons who achieved that wonderful work, and the
originality of those writings in which it is still recorded, can possi-
bly believe, that it could ever have been the production of impos-
ture, or chance ; or that from an imposture the most wicked and
.blasphemous (for if an imposture, such it is) all the religion and
virtue now existing oh earth can derive their source.
But, notwithstanding what has been here urged, if any man can
believe, that at a time when the literature of Greece and Rome,
then hi their meridian lustre, were insufficient for the task, the son
of a carpenter, together with twelve of the meanest and most illite-
rate mechanics his associates, unassisted by any supernatural power,
should be able to discover or invent a-system of theology the most
sublime, and of ethics the most perfect, which had escaped the pen-
etration and learning of Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero ; and that from
this system, by their own sagacity, they had excluded every false
virtue, though universally admired, and. admitted every true virtue,
though despised and ridiculed by all the rest of the world; if any
one can believe that these men could become impostors, for no other
of Christianity. 211
purpose than the propagation of truth, villains for no end but to
teach honesty, and martyrs without the least prospect of honor or
advantage; or that, if all this should have been possible, these few
inconsiderable persons should have been able, in the course of a
few years, to have spread this their religion over most parts of the
then known world, in opposition to the interests, pleasures, ambi-
tion, prejudices, and even reason of mankind ; to have triumphed
over the power of princes, the intrigues of states, the force of cus-
tom, the blindness of zeal, the influence of priests, the arguments of
orators, and the philosophy of the world, without any supernatural
assistance; if any one can believe all these miraculous events,
contradictory to the constant experience of the powers and disposi-
tions of human nature, he must be possessed of much more faith
than is necessary to make him a Christian, and remain an unbeliever
from mere credulity. . ^
But should these credulous infidels after all be in the right, and
this pretended revelation be all a fable; from believing it what
harm could ensue ? Would it render princes more tyrannical, or
subjects more ungovernable? the rich more insolent, or, the poor
more disorderly? Would it make worse parents or children, hus-
bands or wives, masters or servants, friends or neighbors ? Or would
it not make men more virtuous, and consequently more happy in
every situation ? It could not be criminal ; it could not be detrimen-
tal. It could not be criminal, because it cannot be a crime to assent
to such evidence, as has been able to convince the best and wisest
of mankind ; by which, if false, Providence must have permitted
men to deceive each other, for the most beneficial ends, and which
therefore it would be surely more meritorious to believe, from a dis-
position of faith and charity, which believeth all things, than to re-
ject with scorn from obstinacy and self-conceit It cannot be detri-
mental, because, if Christianity is a fable, it is a fable, the belief of
which is the only principle which can retain men in a steady and
uniform course of virtue, piety, and devotion, or can support them
in the hour of distress, of sickness, and of death. Whatever might
be the operations of true deism on the minds of Pagan philosophers,
that can now avail us nothing ; for that light, which once lightened
the Gentiles, is now absorbed in the brighter illumination of the
Gospel ; we can now form no rational system of deism, but what
must be borrowed from that source, and, as far as it reaches towards
perfection, must be exactly the same ; and therefore, if we will not
accept of Christianity, we will have no religion at all. Accordingly
we see, that those who fly from this, scarce ever stop at deism ; but
hasten on with great alacrity to a total rejection of all religious and
moral principles whatever.
If I have here demonstrated the divine origin of the Christian re-
ligion by an argument which cannot be confuted; no others, how-
ever plausible or numerous, founded on probabilities, doubts, and
conjectures, can- ever disprove it, because, if it is once shown to be
true, it cannot be false. But as many arguments of this kind have
bewildered some candid and ingenuous minds, I shall here bestow
212 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
a few lines on those which have the most weight, in order to wipe
out, or at least to diminish their perplexing influence.
But here I must previously observe, that the most unsurmounta-
ble, as well ,as the most usual obstacle to our belief, arises, from our
passions, appetites, and interests ; for faith being an act of the will
as much as of the understanding, we oftener disbelieve for want of
inclination, than want of evidence. The first step towards thinking
this revelation true, is our hope that it is so ; for whenever vye much
wish any proposition to be true, we are not far from believing it. It
is certainly for the interest of all good men, that its authority should
be well founded; and still more beneficial to the bad, if ever they
intend to be better ; because it is the only system, either of reason
or religion, which can give them" any assurance of pardon. The
punishment of vice is a debt due to justice, which cannot be remit-
ted without compensation : repentance can be no compensation ; it
may change a wicked man's disposition, and prevent his offending
. for the future, but can lay no claim to pardon for what is past. If
any one, by profligacy and extravagance, contracts a debt, repent-
ance may make him wiser, and hinder him from running into fur-
ther distresses, but can never pay off his old bonds ; for which he must
be ever accountable, unless they are discharged by himself, or some
other in his stead ; this very discharge Christianity alone holds forth
on our repentance, and, if true, will certainly perform :. the truth of
it therefore must ardently be wished for by all, except the wicked,
who are determined neither to repent nor reform. It is well worth
every man's while, who either is, or intends to be virtuous, to be-
lieve Christianity, if he can ; because he will find it the surest pre-
servative against all vicious habits and their attendant evils, the
best resource under distresses and disappointments, ill health and
ill fortune, and the firmest basis on which contemplation can rest ;
and without some, the human mind is never perfectly at ease. But
if any one is attached to a favorite pleasure, or eagerly engaged in
worldly pursuits incompatible with the precepts of this religion, and
ne believes it, he must either relinquish those pursuits with uneasi-
ness, or persist hi them with remorse and dissatisfaction, and there-
fore must commence unbeliever in his own defence. With such I
.shall not dispute, nor pretend to persuade men by arguments to
make themselves miserable : but to those, who, not afraid that this
religion may be true, are really aflected by such objections, I will
offer the. following answers, which, though short, will, I doubt not,
be sufficient to show them their weakness and futility.
In the first place, then, some have been so bold as to strike at the
root of all revelation from God, by asserting, that it is incredible,
'hfv_"; >.?? unnecessary, and unnecessary, because the reason which
:'io .>-..: Bestowed on mankind is sufficiently able to discover all the
. y^lous and moral duties which he requires of them, if they would
i.-.i. attend to her precepts, and be guided by her friendly admoni-
v.or.o. Mankind have undoubtedly, at various times from the re-
tic-iitst ages, received so much knowledge by divine communica-
tors!, and have ever been so much inclined to impute it all to their
of Christianity. 213
own sufficiency, that it is now difficult to determine what human
reason unassisted can effect. But to form a true judgment on this
subject, let us turn our eyes to those remote regions of the globe, to
which this supernatural assistance has never yet extended, and we
shall there see men, endued with sense and reason not inferior to
our own, so far from being capable of forming systems of- religion
and morality, that they are at this day totally unable to make a nail
or a hatchet; from whence we may surely be convinced, that rea-
son alone is so far from being sufficient to offer to mankind a perfect
religion, that it has never yet been'able to lead them to any degree
of culture or civilization whatever. These have uniformly flowed
from that great fountain of divine communication opened in the
East, in the earliest ages, and thence been gradually diffused in
salubrious streams, throughout the various regions of the earth.
Their rise and progress, by surveying the history of the world, may
easily be traced backwards to their source ; and wherever these
have not as yet been able to penetrate, we there find the human
species not only void of all true religious and moral sentiments, but
not the least emerged from their original ignorance and barbarity ;
which seems a demonstration, that although human reason is capa-
ble of progression in science, yet the first foundations must be laid
by supernatural instructions; for surely no other probable cause can
be assigned why one part of mankind, should have made such an
amazing progress in religious, moral, metaphysical, and philosophical
inquiries ; such wonderful improvements in policy, legislation, com-
merce, and manufactures, while the other part, formed with the
same natural capacities, and divided only by seas and mountains,
should remain, during the same number of ages, in a state little
superior to brutes, without government, without laws or letters, and
even without clothes and habitations ; murdering each other to
satiate their revenge, and devouring each other to appease their
hunger. I say no cause can be assigned for this amazing difference,
except that the first have received information from those divine
communications recorded, in the Scriptures, and the latter have
never yet been favored with such assistance. This remarkable con-
trast seems an unanswerable, though, perhaps, a new proof of the
necessity of revelation, and a solid refutation of all arguments against
it, drawn from the sufficiency of human reason. Aid as reason in
her natural state is thus incapable of making any progress in know-
ledge; so when furnished with materials by supernatural aid, if
left to the guidance of her own wild imaginations, she falls into
more numerous, and more gross errors, than her own native igno-
rance could ever have suggested. There is then no absurdity so
extravagant, which she is not ready to adopt; she has persuaded
some, that there is no God ; others, that there can be no future state :
she has taught some, that there is no difference between vice and
virtue, and that to cut a man's throat and to relieve his necessities
are actions equally meritorious : she has convinced many, that they
have no free-will, in opposition to their own experience ; some, that
that there can be no such thing as soul, or spirit; contrary to their
214 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
own perceptions ; and others, no such thing as matter, or body, in
contradiction to their senses. Bv analyzing all things she can show,
that there is nothing in anything; "by perpetual sifting she can
reduce all existence to the invisible dust of scepticism ; and, by
recurring to first principles, prove, to the satisfaction of her follow-
ers, that there are no principles at all. How far such a guide is to
be depended on in the important concerns of religion and morals, I
leave to the judgment of every considerate man to determine. This
is certain, that human reason in its highest state of cultivation,
amongst the philosophers of Greece and Rome, was never able to
form a religion comparable to Christianity; nor have all those
sources of moral virtue, such as truth, beauty, and the fitness of
things, which modern philosophers have endeavored to substitute
in its stead, ever been effectual to produce good men, and have
themselves often been the productions of some of the worst.
Others there are, who allow, that a revelation from God may be
both necessary, and credible ; but allege, that the Scriptures, that is
the books of the Old and New Testament, cannot be that revela-
tion ; because in them are to be found errors and inconsistencies,
fabulous stories, false facts, and false philosophy: which can never
be derived from the fountain of all wisdom and truth. To this I
reply, that I readily acknowledge, that the Scriptures are not reve-
lations from God, but the history of them : the revelation itself is
derived from God ; but the history of it is the production of men,
and therefore the truth of it is not in the least affected by their fal-
libility, but depends on the internal evidence of its own supernatu-
ral excellence. If in these books such a religion, as has been here
described, actually exists, no seeming, or even real defects to be
found in them can disprove the divine origin of this religion, or
invalidate my argument Let us, for instance, grant, that the Mo-
saic history of the creation was founded on the erroneous but. popu-
lar principles of those early ages, who imagined the earth to be a
vast plain, and the celestial bodies no more than luminaries hung
up in the concave firmament to enlighten it ; will it from thence
follow, that Moses could not be a proper instrument in the hands of
Providence, to impart to the Jews a divine law, because he was not
inspired with a foreknowledge of the Copernican and Newtonian
systems ? or that Christ must be an impostor, because Moses was
not an astronomer ? Let us also suppose, that the accounts of Christ's
temptation in the wilderness, the devils' taking refuge in the herd
of swine, with several other narrations in the New Testament, fre-
quently ridiculed by unbelievers, were all but stories accommodated
to the ignorance and superstitions of the times and countries in
which they were written, or pious frauds, intended to impress on
vulgar minds a higher reverence of the power and sanctity of
Christ; will this in the least impeach the excellence of his religion,
or the authority of its founder ? or is Christianity answerable for all
the fables of which it may have been the innocent occasion ? The
want of this obvious distinction has much injured the Christian
cause ; because on this ground it has ever been most successfully
of Christianity. 215
attacked, and on this ground it is not easily to be defended : for if
the records of this revelation are supposed to be the revelation
itself, the least defect discovered in them must be fatal to the
whole. What has led many to overlook this distinction is that com-
mon phrase, that the Scriptures are the word of God ; and in one
sense they certainly are ; that is, they are the sacred repository of
all the revelations, dispensations, promises, and precepts which God
has vouchsafed to communicate to mankind ; but by this expression
we are not to understand, that every part of this voluminous col-
lection of historical, poetical, prophetical, theological, and moral
writings, which we call the Bible, was dictated by the immediate
influence of divine inspiration: the authors of these books pretended
to no such infallibility; and if they claim it not for themselves, who
has authority to claim it for them? Christ required no such belief
from those who w-ere willing to be his disciples. He says, " He that
believeth on me hath everlasting life," (John vi.47); but where
does he say, He that believeth not every .word contained in the Old
Testament, which was then extant, or every word of the New Tes-
tament,, which w r as to be wrote for the instruction of future gene-
rations, hath not everlasting life ? There are innumerable occur-
rences related in the Scriptures, some of greater, some of less, and
some of no importance at all ; the truth of which we can have no
reason to question, but the belief of them is surely not essential to
the faith of a Christian : I have no doubt but that St. Paid was ship-
wrecked, and that he left his cloak and parchments at Troas ; but
the belief of these facts makes no part of Christianity, nor is the
truth of them any proof of its authority. It proves only that this
apostle could not in common life' be under the perpetual influence
of infallible inspiration ; for, had he been so, he would not have
put to sea before a storm, nor have forgot his cloak. These writers
were undoubtedly directed by supernatural influence in all things
necessary to the great work, which they were appointed to perform.
At particular times, and on particular occasions, they we,re enabled
to utter prophecies, lo speak languages, and to work miracles ; but
in all other circumstances, they seem to have been left to the direc-
tion of their own understandings like other men. In the sciences
of history, geography, astronomy, and philosophy, they appear to
have been no better instructed than others, and therefore were not
less liable to be misled by the errors and prejudices of the times
and countries in which they lived. They related facts like honest
men, to the best of their knowledge or information, and they re-
corded the divine lessons of then* master with the utmost fidelity ;
but they pretended to no infallibility, for they sometimes ;difiered. in
their relations, and they sometimes disagreed in their sentiments.-
All which proves only, that they did riot act, or write in a combina-
tion to deceive, but not in the least impeaches the truth of the reve-
lation which they published; which depends noton any external evi-
dence whatever. For I will venture lo affiwn, that if any one could
prove, what is impossible to be proved, because it is not true, that
there are errors in geography, chronology,, and philosophy, in every
216 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
page of the Bible ; that the prophecies therein delivered are all but
fortunate guesses, or artful applications, and the miracles there
recorded no better than legendary tales : if any one could show,
that these books were never written by their pretended authors,
but were posterior impositions on illiterate and credulous ages : all
these wonderful discoveries would prove no more than this", that
God, for reasons to us unknown, has thought proper to permit a
revelation by him communicated to mankind to be mixed with
their ignorance, and corrupted by their frauds from its earliest
infancy, in the same manner in which he has visibly permitted it to
be mixed and corrupted from that "period to the present hour. If
in these books a religion superior to all human imagination actually
exists, it is ef no consequence to the proof of its divine origin, by
what means it was there introduced, or with what human errors
and imperfections it is blended. A diamond, though found in a bed
of mud, is still a diamond, nor can the dirt, which surrounds it,
depreciate its value or destroy its lustre.
To some speculative and refined observers it has appeared in-
credible, that a wise and benevolent Creator should have consti-
tuted a world upon one plan, and a religion for it on another ; that
is, that he should have revealed a Religion to mankind, which not
only contradicts the principal passions and inclinations which he
has implanted in their natures, but is incompatible with the whole
economy of that world which he has created, and in which he has
thought proper to place them. This, say they, with regard to the
Christian is apparently the case : the love of power, riches, honor,
and fame, are the great incitements to generous and magnanimous
actions; yet by this institution are all these depreciated and dis-
couraged. Government is essential to the nature of man, and can-
not be managed without certain degrees of violence, corruption,
and imposition; yet are all these strictly forbid. Nations cannot
subsist without wars, nor war be carried on without rapine, desola-
tion, and murder; yet are these prohibited under the severest
threats. The nonresistance of evil must subject individuals to con-
tinual oppressions, and leave nations a defenceless prey to their
enemies; yet is this recommended. Perpetual patience under in-
sulte and injuries must every day provoke new insults and new in-
juries; yet is this enjoined. A neglect of all we, eat and drink and
wear, must put an end to all commerce, manufactures, and industry ;
yet is this required. In short, were these precepts universally
obeyed, the disposition of all human affairs must be entirely changed,
and the business of the world, constituted as it now is, could not go
on. To all this I answer, that such indeed is the Christian revela-
tion, though some of its advocates may perhaps be unwilling to own
it, and such it is constantly declared to be by him who gave it, as
well as by those, who published it under his immediate direction :
to these he says, "If ye were of the world, the world would love
his own; but because ye cire not of the world, but I have chosen
you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you." (John xv. 19.)
To the Jews he declares, "Ye are of this world.; I am not of this
of Christianity. 217
world." (John yiii. 23.) St. Paul writes to the Romans, "Be not con-
formed to this world," (Rom. xii. 2); and to the Corinthians, "We
speak not the wisdom of this world." (Cor. ii. 6.) St. James says,
u Know ye not that.the friendship of the world is enmity with God ?
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the World is the enemy of
God." (Jam. vt. 4.) This irreconcilable disagreement between
Christianity and the world is announced in numberless other places
in the New Testament, and indeed by the wnple tenor of those
writings. These are plain declarations, which, in spite of all. the
evasions of those good managers, who choose to take a little of this
world in their way to heaven, stand fixed and immovable against
all their arguments drawn from public benefit and pretended neces-
sity, and must ever forbid any reconciliation between the pursuits
of this world and the Christian institution: but they, who reject it
on this account, enter not into the sublime spirit of this religion,
which is not a code of precise laws designed for the well ordering
society, adapted to the ends of worldly convenience, and amenable
to the tribunal of human prudence; but a divine lesson of purity
and perfection, so far superior to' the low considerations of conquest,
government, and commerce, that it takes no more notice of them
than of the battles of game-cocks, the policy of bees, or the indus-
try of ants : they recollect not what is the first and principal object
of tins institution; that is not,. as has been often repeated, to make
us happy, or even virtuous hi the present life, for the sake of aug-
menting onr happiness here, but to conduct us through a state of
dangers and sufferings, of sin and temptation, hi such a manner as
to qualify us for the 'enjoyment of happiness hereafter. All other
institutions of religion and morals were made for the world, but the
characteristic of this is to be against it ; and therefore the merits of
Christian doctrines are not to be weighed hi the scales of public
utility, like those of moral precepts, because worldly utility is not
their end. If Christ and his apostles had pretended, that the reli-
gion which they preached would advance the power, wealth, and
prosperity of nations, or of men, they would have deserved but
little credit ; but they constantly profess the contrary, and every-
where declare, that their religion is adverse to the world, and all its
pursuits. Christ says, speaking of his disciples, " They are not of
the world, even as I am not of the world." (John rvii. 16.) It can
therefore be no imputation on this religion* or on any of its precepts,
that they tend not to an end which their author professedly disclaims :
nor can it surely be deemed a defect, that it is adverse to the vain
pursuits of this world ; for so are reason, wisdom, and experience ;
they all teach us the same lesson, they all demonstrate to us every
day, that these' are begun on false hopes, carried on with disquie-
tude, and end in disappointment. This ' professed incompatibility
with the little, wretched, and iniquitous business of the world, is
therefore so far from being a defect hi this religion, that, was there
no. other proof of its divine origin, this alone, I think, would be
abundantly sufficient . The great plan and benevolent design of this
dispensation is plainly this; to enlighten the minds, purify the reU
T
218 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
gion, and amend the morals of mankind in general, and to select the
most meritorious of them to be successively transplanted into the
kingdom of heaven: which gracious ofier is impartially tendered to
all, who by perseverance in meekness, patience, piety, charity, and
a detachment from the world, are willing to qualify themselves for
this holy and happy society. Was this universally accepted, and
did every man observe strictly every precept of the Gospel, the face of
human affairs and the economy of the world would indeed be greatly
changed ; but surely they would be changed for the better ; and
we should enjoy much more happiness, even here, thairat present:
for we must not forget, that evils are by it forbid as well as resist-
ance ; injuries as well as revenge ; all unwillingness to diffuse the
enjoyments of life, as well as solicitude to acquire them ; all obsta-
cles to ambition, as well as ambition itself; and therefore all con-
tentions for power and interest would be at an end ; and the world
would go on much more happily than it now does. But this uni-
versal acceptance of such an offer was never expected from
so depraved and imperfect a creature as man, and therefore Could
never have been any part of the design: for it was foreknown
and foretold by him who made it, that few, very few would
accept it on-these terms. He says, " Strait is the gate, and narrow is
the way which leadeth unto hie, and few there be that find it"
(Matt.vii.14.) Accordingly we see, that very few are prevailed on
by the hopes of future happiness, to relinquish the pursuit of present
pleasures or interests, and therefore these pursuits are little inter-
rupted by the secession of so inconsiderable a number. As the
natural world subsists by the struggles of the same elements, so
does the moral by the contentions of the same passions, as from the
beginning. The generality of mankind are actuated by the same
motives; fight, scuffle, and. scramble for power, riches, and. plea-
sures with the same eagerness : all occupations and professions are
exercised with the same alacrity, and there are soldiers, lawyers,
statesmen, patriots, and politicians, just as if Christianity had never
existed. Thus, we see this wonderful dispensation has answered all
the purposes for which it was intended : it has enlightened the
minds, purified the religion, and amended the morals of mankind ;
and, without subverting the constitution, policy, or business of the
world, opened a gate, though a strait one, through which all, who
are wise enough to choose it, and good enough to be fit for it, may
find an entrance into the kingdom of heaven. .
Others have said, that if this revelation had really been from God,
his infinite power and goodness could never have suffered it to have
been so sooij perverted from its original purity, to have continued
in a. state of corruption through the course of so many ages, and at
last to have proved so ineffectual to the reformation of mankind.
To these I answer, that all this, on examination, will be found in-
evitable, from the nature of all revelations communicated to so im-
perfect a creature as man, and from circumstances peculiar to the
rise. and progress of the Christian in particular: for when this was
first preached to the gentile nations, though they were not able to
of Christianity. . 219
withstand the force of its evidence, and therefore received it^- yet
they could not be prevailed on to relinquish their old superstitions,
and former opinions, but chose rather to incorporate them with it .
by which means it was necessarily mixed with their .ignorance, and
their learning ; by both which it was equally injured. The people
defaced, its worship by blending it with their idolatrous ceremonies,
and the philosophers corrupted its doctrines by weaving them up
with' the notions of the Gnostics, Mystics, and Manichaeans, the pre-
vailing systems of those times. By degrees its irresistible excellence
gained over princes, potentates, and conquerors to its interests, and
it was supported by their patronage : but that patronage soon en-
gaged it in their policies and 'contests, and destroyed that ex-
cellence by which it had been acquired. At length the meek and
humble professors of the Gospel enslaved these princes, and con-
quered these conquerors, their patrons, and erected for themselves
such a stupendous fabric of wealth and power, as the world had
never seen: they then propagated their religion by the same
methods by which, it. had been persecuted ; nations were converted
by fire and sword, and the vanquished were baptized with daggers
at their throats. All these events we see proceed from a chain of
causes and consequences, which could not have been broken with-
out changing the established course of things by a constant series
of miracles, or a total alteration of human nature : whilst that con-
tinues as it is, the purest religion must be corrupted by a conjunc-
tion with power and riches, and it will also then appear to be much
more corrupted than it really is: because many are inclined to
think, that every deviation from its primitive state is a corruption:
Christianity was at first preached by the poor and mean, in holes
and caverns,' under the iron rod of persecution; and therefore many
absurdly conclude, that any degree of wealth or power in its minis-
ters, or of magnificence in its worship, are corruptions inconsistent
with the genuine simplicity of its original state : they are offended,
that modem bishops should possess titles, palaces, revenues, and
coaches, when it is notorious, that their predecessors the apostles
were despicable wanderers, without houses, or money, and walked
on foot The' apostles indeed lived in a state of "poverty and per-
secution attendant on their particular situation, and the work which
they had undertaken : this was their misfortune, but no part of their
religion, and therefore it can be no more incumbent on then: succes-
sors to imitate their poverty and meanness, than to be whipped, im-
prisoned, and put to death, in compliance with their example. These
are all but the suggestions of. envy and malevolence, but no objec-
tions to these fortunate alterations in Christianity and its professors;
which, if not abused to the purposes of tyranny and superstition,
are in fact no more than the necessary and proper effects of its more
prosperous situation. When a poor man grows rich, or a servant
becomes a master, they should take care that their exaltation prompts
them not to be unjust or insolent; but surely it is not requisite or
'right, that their behavior and mode of living should be exactly the
same, when their situation is altered. How far this institution has
220 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
been effectual to the reformation of mankind, it is not easy now to
ascertain, because the enormities which prevailed before the ap-
pearance of it are by time so far removed from our sight, that they
are scarcely visible ; but those of the most gigantic size still remain
in the records of history, as monuments of the rest. Wars in those
ages were carried on with a ferocity and cruelty unknown to the
present : ' whole cities and nations were extirpated by fire and
sword; and thousands of the vanquished were. crucified an'd im-
paled for haying endeavored only to defend themselves and their
country. The lives of new-born infants were then entirely at the
disposal of their parents, who were at liberty to bring them up, or
to expose them to perish by cold and hunger, or to be devoured by
birds and beasts ; and this was frequently practised without punish-
ment, and even without censure. Gladiators were employed by
hundreds to cut one another to pieces in public theatres for the
diversion of the most polite assemblies; and though these combatants
at first consisted of criminals only, by degrees men of the highest
. rank, and even ladies of the most illustrious families, enrolled them-
selves in this honorable list. On many occasions human sacrifices
were ordained ; and at the funerals of rich and eminent persons,
great numbers of the slaves were .murdered as victims pleasing to
their departed spirits. The most infamous obscenities were made
part of their religious worship, and the most unnatural lusts pub-
licly avowed, and celebrated by their most admired poets. At
the approach of Christianity all these horrid abominations vanished ;
and amongst those who first embraced it, scarce a single vice was
to be found. To such an amazing degree of piety, charity, tem-
perance, patience, and resignation were the primitive converts, ex-
alted, that they seem literally to have been regenerated, and puri-
fied from all the imperfections of human nature ; and to. have pur-
sued such a constant and uniform course of devotion, innocence,
and virtue, as, in the present times, it is almost as difficult for us to
conceive as to imitate. If it is asked, why should not the belief of
the same religion now produce the same effects? The answer is
short, because it is not believed. The most sovereign medicine can
perform no cure, if the patient will not be persuaded to take it.
Yet, notwithstanding all impediments, it has certainly done a great
deal towards diminishing the vices, and correcting the dispositions
of mankind ; and was it universally adopted in belief and practice,
would totally eradicate both sin and punishment. But flu's was
never expected, or designed, or possible, because,' if their existence
did not arise from some necessity to .us unknown, they never would
have been permitted to exist at all, and, therefore, they can no more
be extirpated, than they could have been prevented. For this
would certainly be incompatible with the frame and constitution of
this world, and in all probability with that of another. And this, I
think, well accounts for that. reserve and obscurity with which this
religion was at first promulgated, and. that want of irresistible evi-
dence of its truth, by which.it might possibly have been enforced.
Christ says to his disciples, "To-you it is given to know the mystery
of Christianity. 221
of the kingdom of God ; but unto them that are without, all these
things are done in parables ; that seeing they may see, and not per-
peive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand ; lest at any
time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven
them." (Mark iv. 11, 12.) That is; to you by peculiar favor it is
given to know and understand the doctrines of my religion, and by
that means to qualify yourselves for the kingdom of heaven ; but to
the multitude without, that is to all mankind in general, this indul-
gence cannot be extended : because that all men should be ex-
empted from sin and punishment is utterly repugnant to the univer-
sal system, and that constitution of things, which Infinite Wisdom
has thought proper to adopt.
Objections have likewise been raised to the divine authority of
this religion from the incredibility of some of its doctrines, particu-
larly of those concerning the Trinity, and atonement for sin by the
sufferings and death of Christ ; the one contradicting all the prin-
ciples of human reason, and the other all our ideas of divine
justice. To these objections I shall only say, that no arguments,
founded on principles which we cannot comprehend, can possibly
disprove a proposition already proved on principles which we do
understand ; and, therefore, that on this subject they ought not to
be attended to. That three Beings should be one Being, is a propo-
sition which certainly contradicts reason, that is, our reason, but it
does not from thence follow, that it cannot be true ; for there are
many propositions which contradict pur reason, and yet are dempn-
strably true. One is the very first principle of all rebgion, the being
of a God ; for that any thing should exist without a cause,- or that
any thing should be the cause of its own existence, are propositions
equally contradictory to our reason ; yet one of them must be true,
or nothing could ever have existed. In like manner the overruling
grace of the Creator, and the free-will of his. creatures, his certain
foreknowledge of future events, and the uncertain contingency of
those events, are, to our apprehensions, absolute contradictions to
each other; and yet the truth of everyone of these ia demonstrable
from Scripture, reason, and experience. All these difficulties arise
from our imagining, that the mode of existence of all beings must
be similar to our own ; that is, that they must all exist in time and
space ; and hence proceeds our embarrassment on this subject. We
know, that no two beings, with whose mode of existence we are
acquainted, can exist in- the same point of time in the same point of
space, and that therefore they cannot be one ; but how far beings,
whose mode of existence bears no relation to. time or space, may
be united, we cannot comprehend : and therefore the possibility of
such a union we cannot positively deny. In like manner our rea-
son informs us, that the punishment of the innocent, instead of the
guilty, is diametrically opposite to justice, rectitude, and all pre-
tensions to utility; but we should also remember, that the short
line of pur reason cannot reach to the bottom of this question :>it
cannot inform us by what means either guilt or punishment efoer
gained a place in the works of a Creator infinitely good and power'
222 Jenyns*s Internal Evidence
ful, whose goodness must have induced him, and whose power must
have enabled him to exclude them. It cannot assure us, that some
sufferings of individuals are not necessary to the happiness and
well-being of the whole. It cannot convince us, that they do not
actually arise from this necessity, or that, for this cause, they may
not be required of us, and levied like a. tax for the public benefit ;
or that this tax may not be paid by one being, as well as another ;
and, therefore, if voluntarily offered, be justly accepted from the
innocent instead of the guilty. Of all these circumstances we are
totally ignorant; nor can our reason afford us any information, and,
therefore, we are not able to assert, that this measure is contrary
to justice, or void of utility. For, unless we could first resolve that
great question, whence came evil ? we can decide nothing on the
dispensations of Providence ; because they must necessarily be con-
nected with that undiscoverable principle ; and, as we know not
the root of the disease, we cannot judge of what is, or is not, a prop-
er and effectual remedy. It is remarkable, that, notwithstanding
all the seeming absurdities of this doctrine, there is one circumstance
much in its favor ; which is, that it has been universally adopted in
all ages, as far as history can carry us back in our inquiries to the
earliest times ; in which we lind all nations, civilized and barbarous,
however differing in all other religious opinions, agreeing alone in
the expediency of appeasing their offended deities by sacrifices,
that is, by the vicarious sufferings of men or other animals. This
notion could never have been derived from reason, because it di-
rectly contradicts it ; nor from ignorance, because ignorance could
never have contrived so unaccountable an expedient, nor have
been uniform in all ages and countries in any opinion whatsoever ;
nor'from the artifice of kings or priests, in order to acquire dominion
over the people, because it seems not adapted to this end, and we
find it implanted in .the minds of the most remote savages at this
day discovered, who have neither kings nor priests, artifice nor
dominion amongst them. It must, therefore, be derived from natu-
ral instinct, or supernatural revelation, both which are equally the
operations of Divine power. It may be further urged, that however
true these doctrines may be,yet it must be inconsistent with the
justice and goodness of the Creator to require from his creatures
the belief of propositions which contradict, or are above the reach
of that reason, which he has thought proper to bestow upon them.
To this I answer, that genuine Christianity requires no such belief.
It has discovered to us many important truths, with which we were
before entirely unacquainted ; and amongst them are these, that
three Beings are someway united in the Divine essence, and that
God will accept of the sufferings of Christ as an atonement for the
sins of mankind. These, considered as declarations of facts only,
neither contradict, nor are above the reach of human reason. The
- first is a proposition as plain, as that three equilateral lines compose
j ; one triangle ; the other is as intelligible, as that one man should dis-
charge the debts of another. In what manner this union is formed,
i or why God accept* these vicarious punishments, or to what pur-
of Christianity. 223
poses they may be subservient, it informs us not, because no informa-
tion could enable us to comprehend these mysteries, and therefore
it does not require that we should know or believe any thing about
them. The truth of these doctrines must rest entirely on the
authority of those who taught them ; but then we should reflect,
that those were the same persons who taught us a system of religion
more sublime, and of ethics more perfect, than any which our facul-
ties were ever able to discover ; but which, when discovered, are
exactly consonant to pur reason ; and that, therefore, we should not
hastily reject those informations which they have vouchsafed to
give us, of which our reason is not a competent judge. If an able
mathematician proves to us the truth of several propositions, by
demonstrations which we understand, we hesitate not on his author-
ity to assent to others, the process of whose proofs we are not able
to follow; why, therefore, should we refuse that credit to Christ and
his apostles, which we think reasonable to give to one. another ?
Many have objected to the whole scheme of this revelation as
partial, fluctuating, indeterminate, unjust, and unworthy of an om-
niscient and omnipotent author, who cannot be supposed to have
favored particular persons, countries, and times, with this divine
communication, while others, no less meritorious, have been alto-
gether excluded from its benefits ; nor to have changed and counter-
acted his own designs ; that is, to have formed mankind able and
disposed to render themselves miserable by their own wickedness,
and then to have contrived so strange an expedient to restore them
to that happiness, which they need never .have been permitted to
forfeit; and this to be brougnt about by the unnecessary interposi-
tion of a mediator. To all this I shall only say, that however unac-
countable this may appear to us, who see but as small a part" of the
Christian as of the universal plan of creation, they are both in re-
gard to all these circumstances exactly analogous to each other. In
all the dispensations of Providence, with which we are acquainted,
benefits are distributed in a similar manner ; health and strength,
sense and science, wealth and power, are all bestowed on individ-
uals and communities in different degrees and at different times.
The whole economy of this world consists of evils and remedies;
and these, for the most part, administered by the instrumentality of
intermediate agents. God has permitted us to plunge ourselves into
poverty, distress, arid misery, by our own vices, and has afforded us
the advice, instructions, and examples of others, to deter or extricate
us from these calamities. He has formed us subject to innumerable
diseases, and he has bestowed on us a variety of remedies. He has
made us liable to hunger, thirst, and nakedness, and he supplies us
with food, drink, and clothing, usually by the administration of
others. He has created poisons, and he has provided antidotes. He
has ordained the winters's cold to cure the pestilential heats of the
summer, and the summer's sunshine to dry up the inundations of the
winter. Why the constitution of nature is so formed, why all the
visible dispensations of Providence are such, and why such is the
Christian dispensation also, we know not, nor have faculties to com-
224 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
prehend. God might certainly have made the material world a
system of perfect beauty and regularity, without evils, and without
remedies ; and the Christian dispensation a scheme only of moral
virtue, productive of happiness, without the intervention of any
atonement or mediation. He might have exempted our bodies from
all diseases, and our minds from all depravity, and we should then
have stood in no need of medicines to restore us to health, or ex-
pedients to reconcile us to his favor. It seems indeed to our igno-
rance, that this would have been more consistent with justice and
reason ; but his infinite wisdom has decided in another manner, and
formed the systems, both of nature and Christianity, on other prin-
ciples, and these so exactly similar, that we have cause to conclude,
that they both must proceed from the same source of Divine power
and wisdom, however inconsistent with our reason they may appear.
Reason is undoubtedly our surest guide in all matters, which lie
within the narrow circle of her intelligence. On the subject of
revelation her province is only to examine into its authority, and
when that is once proved, she has no more to do, but to acquiesce
in its doctrines, and, therefore, is never so ill employed, as when
she pretends to accommodate them to her own ideas of rectitude
and truth. God, says this self-sufficient teacher, is perfectly wise
just, and good ; and what is the inference ? That all his dispensa-
tions must be conformable to our notions of perfect wisdom, justice,
and goodness ; but it should first be proved, that man is as perfect
and as wise as his Creator, or this consequence will by no means
follow ; but rather the reverse, that is, that the dispensations of a
perfect and all-wise Being must probably appear unreasonable, and
perhaps unjust, to a being imperfect and ignorant ; and, therefore,
their seeming impossibility may be a mark of their truth, and, in
some measure, justify that pious rant of a mad enthusiast, " Credo,
quia impossibile." Nor is it the least surprising, that we are not
able to understand the spiritual dispensations of the Almighty, when
his material works are to us no less incomprehensible. Our reason
can afford us no insight into those great properties of matter, gravi-
tation, attraction, elasticity, and electricity, nor even into the essence
of matter itselE Can reason teach us how the sun's- luminous orb
can fill a circle, whose diameter contains many millions of miles,
with a constant inundation of successive rays during thousands of
years, without -any perceivable diminution of that body, from
whence they are continually poured, or any augmentation of those
bodies on which they fall, and by which they are constantly ab-
sorbed? Cari reason tell us how those rays, darted with a velocity
greater than that of a cannon ball, can strike the tenderest organs
of the human frame without inflicting any degree of pain, or by
what means this percussion only can convey die forms of distant
objects to an immaterial mind? or how any union can be formed
between material and immaterial essences ? or how the wounds of
the body can give pain to the soul, or the anxiety of the soul can
emaciate and destroy the body? That all these things are so, we
have visible and indisputable demonstration ; but. how they can be
o/ Christianity. 225
so, is to us as incomprehensible as the most abstruse mysteries of
revelation can possibly be. In short, we see so small a part of the
great whole, we know so little of the relation, which the present
fife bears to pre-existent and future states ; we can conceive so little
of the nature of God, and his attributes, or mode of existence ; we
can comprehend so little of the material, and so much less of the
moral plan on which the universe is constituted, or on what principle
it proceeds, that, if a revelation from such a Being, on such subjects, "
was in every part familiar to our understandings, and consonant to
our reason, we should have great cause to suspect its Divine au-
thority , and, therefore, had this revelation been less incomprehen-
sible, it would certainly have been more incredible.
But J shall not enter farther into the consideration of these ab-
struse and difficult speculations, because the discussion of them
would render this short essay too tedious and laborious a task for
the perusal of them,' for whom it was principally intended ; which
are all those busy or idle persons, whose time and thoughts are
wholly engrossed by the pursuits of business or pleasure, ambition
or luxury, who know nothing of this religion, except what they
have accidentally picked up by desultory conversation or superficial
reading, and have thence determined with themselves, that a pre-
tended revelation, founded on so strange and improbable a story, so
contradictory to reason, so adverse to the world and all its occupa-
tions, so incredible in its doctrines, and in its precepts so impractica-
ble, can be nothing more than the imposition of priestcraft upon
ignorant and illiterate ages, and artfully continued as an engine
well adapted to awe and govern the superstitious vulgar. To talk
to such about the Christian religion is to converse with the deaf
concerning music, or with the blind on the beauties of painting.
They want all ideas relative to the subject, and, therefore, can
never be made to comprehend it. To enable them to do this, their
minds must be formed for these conceptions by contemplation, re-
tirement, and abstraction from business and dissipation; by ill-
health, disappointments, and distresses ; and possibly by Divine in-
terposition, or by enthusiasm, which is usually mistaken for it.
Without some of these preparatory aids, together with a competent
degree of learning and application, it is impossible that they can
think or know, understand or believe, any thing about it. If they
Erofess to believe, they deceive others ; if they fancy that they be-
eve, they deceive themselves. I am ready to acknowledge, that
these gentlemen, as far as their information reaches, are perfectly in
the right ; and if they are endued with good understandings, which
have been entirely devoted to the business or amusements of the
world, they can pass no other judgment, arid must revolt from the
history and doctrines of this religion. " The preaching Christ cruci-
fied was to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the Greeks. foolish-
ness," (1 Cor. i. 23); and so it must appear to all, who, like them,
judge from established prejudices, false learning, and superficial
knowledge ; for those who are quite unable to follow the chain of
its prophecy, to see the beauty and justness of its moral precepts.
226 Jenyns's Internal Evidence
and to enter into the wonders of its dispensations, can form no other
idea of this revelation, but that of a confused rhapsody of fictions,
and absurdities.
If it is asked, Was Christianity then intended only for learned
divines and profound philosophers ? I answer, No. It was at first
preached by the illiterate, and received by the ignorant ; and to
such are the practical, which are the most necessary parts of it, suffi-
ciently intelligible ; but the proofs of its authority undoubtedly are
not, because these must be chiefly drawn from other partSj of a
speculative nature, opening to our inquiries inexhaustible discoveries
concerning the nature, attributes, and dispensations of God, which
cannot be understood without some learning, and much attention.
From these the generality of mankind must necessarily be excluded,
and must, therefore, trust to others for the grounds of their belief,
if they believe at all. And hence, perhaps, it is, that faith, or easi-
ness of belief, is so frequently, and so strongly recommended in the
Gospel ; because if men require proofs, of which they themselves
are incapable, and those who have no knowledge on this important
subject will not place some confidence in those who have, the
illiterate and unattentive must ever continue in a state of unbelief.
But then all such should remember, that in all sciences, even in the
mathematics themselves, there are many propositions, which, on a
cursory view, appear to the most acute understandings uninstructed
in that science, to be impossible to be true, which yet, on a closer
examination, are found to be truths capable of the strictest demon-
stration ; and that, therefore, in disquisitions on which we cannot deter-
mine without much learned investigation, reason uninformed is by
no means to be depended on; and from hence they ought surely to
conclude, that.it may be at least as possible for them to be mistaken
in disbelieving this revelation, who know nothing of the matter, as
for those great masters of reason and erudition, Grotius, Bacon,
Newton, Boyle, Locke, Addison, and Lyttelton, to be deceived in
their belief; a belief, to which they firmly adhered after the most
diligent and learned researches into the authenticity of its records,
the completion of the prophecies, the sublimity of its doctrines, the
purity of its precepts, and the arguments of its adversaries ; a be-
lief, which they have testified to the world by their" writings, with-
out any other motive than their regard for truth, and the benefit of
mankind. Should the few foregoing pages add but one mite to the
treasures with which these learned writers have enriched the
world ; if they should be so fortunate as to persuade any of these
minute philosophers to place some confidence in these great opinions,
and to distrust their own ; if they should be able to convince them,
that, notwithstanding all unfavorable appearances, Christianity may
not be altogether artifice and error ; if they should prevail on them
to examine it with some attention, or, if that is too much trouble,
not to reject it without any examination at all; the purpose of this
little work will be sufficiently answered. Had the arguments herein
used, and the new hints here flung out, been more largely discussed,
it might easily have been extended to a more considerable bulk ;
of Christianity. 227
but then the busy would not have had leisure, nor the idle inclina-
tion to have read it Should it ever have the honor to be admitted
into such good company, they will immediately, I know, determine,
that it must be the work of some enthusiast or methodist, some
beggar or some madman. I shall, therefore, beg leave to assure
them, that the author is very far removed from all these characters.
That he once, perhaps, believed as little as themselves ; but having
some leisure, and more curiosity, he employed them both hi resolv-
ing a question, which seemed to him of some .importance Whether
Christianity was really an imposture founded on an absurd, incredi-
ble, and obsolete fable, as many suppose it ? Or whether it is, what
it pretends to be, a revelation communicated to mankind by the inter-
position of supernatural power? On a candid inquiry, he soon found,
that the first was an absolute impossibility, and that its pretensions
to the latter were founded on the most solid grounds. In the farther
pursuit of his examination he perceived, at every step, new lights
arising, and some of the brightest from parts of it the most obscure,
but productive of the clearest proofs, because equally beyond the
power of human artifice to invent, and' human reason to discover.
These arguments, which have convinced him of the Divine origin
of this religion, he has here put together in as clear and concise a
manner as he was able, thinking they might have the same effect
upon others, and being of opinion, that if there were a few more
true Christians in the world, it would be beneficial to themselves,
and by no means detrimental to the public.
SHORT AND EASY
METHOD WITH THE DEISTS.
IN A LETTER TO A FRIEND.
THE REV. CHARLES LESLIE, M. A.
u
SHORT AND EASY
METHOD WITH THE DEISTS.
SIR In answer to yours of the third instant, I. much condole with
you your unhappy circumstances, of being placed among such com-
pany, where, as you say, you continually hear the sacred Scriptures,
and the histories therein contained, particularly of Moses, and of
Christ, and all revealed religion, turned into ridicule by men who
set up for sense and reason. And they say, that there is no greater
ground to believe in Christ than in Mohammed ; that all these pre-
tences to revelation are cheats, and ever have been among Pagans,
Jews, Mohammedans, and Christians ; that they are all alike impo-
sitions of cunning and designing men, upon the credulity, at first,
of simple and unthinking people, till, their numbers increasing, their
delusions grew popular, came at last to be established by laws ; and
then the "force of education and custom gives a bias to the judg-
ments of after' ages, till such deceits come really to be believed,
being received upon trust from the ages foregoing, without examin-
ing into the original and bottom of them. Which these our modern
men of sense (as they desire to be esteemed) say, that they only do,
that they only have their judgments freed from the slavish authority
of precedents and laws, in matters of truth, which, they say, ought
only to be decided by reason ; though by a prudent compliance with
popularity and laws, they preserve themselves from outrage, and
legal penalties ; for none of their complexion are addicted to suffer-
ings or martyrdom.
Now, sir, that which you desire from me, is, some short topic of
reason, if such can be found, whereby, without running to authori-
ties, and the intricate mazes of learning, which breed long disputes,
and which these men of reason deny by wholesale, though they can
give no reason for it, only suppose that authors have been trumped
upon us, interpolated, and corrupted, so that no stress can be laid
upon them, though it cannot be shown wherein they are so cor-
rupted; which, in reason, ought to lie upon them to prove who
allege it ; otherwise it is not only a precarious, but a guilty plea :
and the more, that they refrain not to quote books on their side, for
whose authority there are no better, or not so good grounds. How-
ever, you say, it makes your disputes endless, and they go away with
232 Leslie's Method
noise and clamor, and a boast, that there is nothing, at least nothing
certain, to be said on the Christian side. Therefore you are desirous
to find some one topic of reason, which should demonstrate the truth
of the Christian religion, and at the same time distinguish it from the
impostures of Mohammed, and the old Pagan world : that our deists
may be brought to this test, and be either obliged to renounce their
reason, and the common reason of mankind, or to submit to the clear
proof, from reason, of the Christian religion, which must be such a
proof as no imposture can pretend to, otherwise it cannot prove the
Christian religion not to be an imposture. And whether such a
proof, one single proof, (to avoid confusion) is not to be found out,
you desire to know from me.
And you say, that you cannot imagine but there must be such a
proof, because every truth is in itself clear, and one ; and therefore
that one reason for it, if it be the true reason, must be sufficient ;
and, if sufficient, it is better than many ; for multiplicity confounds,
especially to weak judgments.
Sir, you have imposed a hard task upon me : I wish I could per-
form it : for though every truth is one, yet our sight is so feeble, that
we cannot always come to it directly, but by many inferences, and
laying of things together.
But I think, that in the case before us, there is such a proof as you
require, and I will set it down as short and plain as I can.
I. First, then, I suppose, that the truth of the doctrine of Christ
will be sufficiently evinced, if the matters of fact which are re-
corded of him in the gospels be true ; for his miracles, if true, do
vouch the truth of what he delivered.
The same is to be said as to Moses. If he brought the children
of Israel through the Red sea, in that miraculous manner, which is
related in Exodus, and did such other wonderful things as are there
told of him, it must necessarily follow, that he was sent from God.
These being the strongest proofs we can desire, and which every
deist will confess he would acquiesce in, if he saw them with his
eyes. Therefore the stress of this cause will depend upon the
proof of these matters of fact
And the method I will take, is, first, to lay down such rules as to
the truth of matters of fact, in general, that where they all meet,
such matters of fact cannot be false. And then, secondly, to show
that all these rules do meet in the matters of fact of Moses and of
Christ ; and that they do not meet in the matters of fact of Moham-
med, of the heathen deities, nor can possibly meet in any imposture
whatsoever.
The rules are these :
1. That the matter of fact be such, as that men's outward senses,
their eyes and ears, may be judges of it.
2. That it be done'publicly, in the face of the world.
3. That not only public monuments be kept up in memory of it,
but some outward actions to be performed.
4. That such monuments and such actions or observances be
with the Deists. 233
instituted, and do commence from the time that the matter of fact
was done.
The two first rules make it impossible for any such matter of fact
to be imposed upon men, at the time when such matter of fact was
said to be done, because every man's eyes and senses would contra-
dict it. For example ; suppose any man should pretend, that yester-
day he divided the Thames, in presence .of all the people of Lon-
don, and carried the whole city, men, women, and children, over to
Southwark on dry land, the water standing like walls on both sides :
I say, it is morally impossible that he could persuade -the people of
London, that this was true, when every man, woman, and child,
could contradict him, and say, this was a notorious falsehood, for
that they had not seen the Thames so divided, nor had gone over
on dry land. Therefore I take it for granted, (and I suppose, with
the allowance of all the deists in the world) that no such imposition
could be put upon men, at the time when such public matter of fact
was said to be done.
Therefore it only remains, that such matter of fact might be in-
vented some time after, when the men of that generation, wherein
the thing was said to be done, are all past and gone ; and the cre-
dulity of after ages might be imposed upon, to believe that things
were done in former ages, which were not.
And for this the two last rules secure us as much as the two first
rules, in the former case ; for whenever such a matter of fact came
to be invented, if not only monuments were said to remain of it, but
likewise that public actions and observances were constantly used
ever since the matter of fact was said to be done ; the deceit must
be detected, by no such monuments appearing, and by the experi-
ence of every man, woman, and child, who must know that no such
actions or observances were ever used by them. For example;
suppose I should now invent a story of such a thing, done a thou-
sand years ago, I might perhaps get some to believe it; but if I say,
that not only such a thing was done, but that from that day to this,
every man, at the age of twelve years, had a joint of his little finger
cut off; and that every man in the nation did want a joint of such
a finger ; and that this institution was said to be part of the matter
of fact done so many years ago, and vouched as a proof and con-
firmation of it, and as having descended without interruption, and
been constantly practised, in memory of such matter of fact all
along, from the time that such matter of fact was done : I say, it ia
impossible I should be believed in such a case, because every one
could contradict me, as to the mark of cutting off a joint of the fin-
ger; and that being part of my original matter of fact, must demon-
strate the whole to be false.
II. Let us now come to the second point, to show, that the mat-
ters of fact of Moses, and of Christ, have all these rules or marks
before mentioned ; and that neither the matters of fact of Moham-
med, or what is reported of the heathen deities, have the like; and
that no imposture can have them all.
As to Moses, I suppose it will be allowed me, that he could not
U2
234 Leslie's Method
have persuaded six hundred thousand men, that he had brought
them out of Egypt, through the Red sea ; fed them forty years with-
out bread, by miraculous manna, and the other matters of fact re-
corded in his books, if they had not been true. Because every
man's senses that were then alive, must have contradicted it And
therefore he must have imposed upon all their senses, if he could
have made them believe it, when it was false, and no such things
done. So that here are the first and second of the above mentioned
four marks.
For the same reason it was equally impossible for him to have
made them receive his five books as truth, and not to have rejected
them, as a manifest imposture; which told of all these things as done
before their eyes, if they had not been so done. See how positively
he speaks to them, Deut xi. 2 8, "And know you this day, for I
speak not with your children which have not known, and which
have not seen the chastisement of the Lord your God, his greatness,
his mighty hand, and his stretched-out arm, and his miracles, and
his acts, which he did in the midst of Egypt, unto Pharaoh the king
of Egypt and unto all his land, and what he did unto the army of
Egypt, unto their horses, and to their chariots ; how he made the
water of the Red sea to overflow them as they pursued after you ;
and how the Lord hath destroyed them unto this day : and what he
did unto you in the wilderness until ye came into this place ; and
what he did unto Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, the son of
Reuben, how the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them
up, and their households, and their tents, and all the substance that
was in their possession, in the midst of all Israel. But your eyes
have seen all the great acts of the Lord, which he did," &c.
From hence we must suppose it impossible that these books of
Moses, (if an imposture) could have been invented and put upon
tfie people, who were then alive when all these things were said to
be done.
The utmost, therefore, that even a suppose can stretch to, is, that
these books were wrote in some age after Moses, and put out in his
name.
And to this I say, that if it was so, it was impossible that those
books should have been received, as the books of Moses, in that age
wherein they may have been supposed to have been firet invented.
Why? Because they speak of themselves as delivered by Moses,
and kept in die ark from his time. "And it came to pass, when
Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book
until they were finished ; that Moses commanded the Levites, who
bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take this book
of the law and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the
Lord your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee,"
Deut xxxi. 24 26. And there was a copy of this book to be left
likewise with the king. " And it shall be when he sitteth upon
the throne of his kingdom, that he shall write him a copy of this
law in a book, out of that which is before the priests the Levites :
and it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of
with the Deists. 235
his life : that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the
words of this law, and these statutes to do them," Deut. xvii. 18, 19.
Here, you see that this book of the law, speaks of itself, not only
as a history or relation of what things were then done : but as the
standing and municipal law and statutes of the nation of the Jews,
binding the king as well as the people.
Now, in whatever age after Moses you will suppose this book to
have been forged, it was impossible it could be received as truth ;
because it was not then to be found, either in the ark, or with the
king, or anywhere else : for when first invented, every body must
know, that they had never heard of it before.
And therefore they could less believe it to be the book of their
statutes, and the standing law of the land, which they had all along
received, and by which they had been governed.
Could any man, now at this day, invent a book of statutes or acts
of parliament for England, and make it pass upon the nation as the
only book of statutes that ever they had known ? As impossible was
it for the books of Moses (if they were invented in any age after
Moses) to have been received for what they declared themselves to
be, viz. the statutes and municipal law of the nation of the Jews :
and to have persuaded the Jews, that they had owned and acknow-
ledged these books, all along from the days of Moses, to that day
in which they were first invented, that is, that they had owned them
before they had ever so much as heard of them. Nay, more, the
whole nation must, in an instant, forget their former laws and gov-
ernment, if they could .receive these books as being their former
laws. And they could not otherwise receive them, because they
vouched themselves so to be. Let me ask the deist but this one
short question, Was there ever a book of sham laws, which were
not the laws of the nation, palmed upon any people, since the world
began ? If not, with what face can they say this, of the book of
laws of the Jews ? Why will they say that of them, which they con-
fess impossible hi any nation, or among any people ?
But they must be yet more unreasonable. For the books of Moses
have a farther demonstration of their truth, than even other law
books have ; for. they not only contain the laws, but give an histori-
cal account of their institution, and the practice of them from that
time : as of the passover, Numbers viii. 17, 18, in memory of the
death 'of the first-born in Egypt : and that the same day, all the
first-born of Israel both of man and beast, were by a perpetual law,
dedicated to God : and the Levites taken for all the first-born of the
children of Israel. That Aaron's rod which budded, was kept in
the ark, in memory of the rebellion and wonderful destruction of
Korah, Dathan, and Abiram; and for the confirmation of the priest-
hood to the tribe of Levi. As likewfse the pot of manna, in memory
of then* having been fed with it forty years in the wilderness. That
the brazen serpent was kept (which remained to the days of Heze-
luah, 2 Kings xviii. 4,) hi memory of that wonderful deliverance, by
only looking upon it, from the biting of the fiery serpents, Numb.
236 Leslie's Method
xxi. 9. The feast of pentecost, in memory of the dreadful appear-
ance of God upon mount Horeb, &c.
And, besides these remembrances of -particular actions and oc-
currences, there were other solemn institutions in memory of their
deliverance out of Egypt in the general, which included all the
particulars, as of the sabbath, Deut. v. 15. Their daily sacrifices,
and yearly expiation, their new moons, and several feasts and fasts.
So that there were yearly, monthly, weekly, daily remembrances,
and recognitions of these things.
And not only so, but the books of the same Moses tell us, that a
particular tribe [of Levi] was appointed and consecrated by God as
his priests ; by whose hands and none other, the sacrifices of the
people were to be offered, and these solemn institutions to be cele-
brated. That it was death for any other to approach the altar.
That their high priest wore a glorious mitre, and magnificent robes
of God's own contrivance, with the miraculous Urim and Thummim
in his breast-plate, whence the divine responses were given. That
at his word, the king, and all the people were to go out, and to come
in, Num. xxvii. 21. That' these Levites were likewise the chief
judges, even in all civil causes, and that it was death to resist their
sentence, Deut xvii. 8 13 ; 1 Chron. xxiii. 4. Now whenever it can
be' supposed that these books of Moses were forged, in some ages
after Moses, it is impossible they could have been received as true,
unless the forgers could have made the whole nation believe, that
they had received these books from their fathers, had been instructed
in them when they were children, and had taught them to their
children ; moreover, that they had all been circumcised, and did
circumcise their children, in pursuance to what was commanded in
these books : that they had observed the yearly passover, the weekly
sabbath, the new moons, and all these several feasts, fasts, and
ceremonies, commanded in these books : that they had never eaten
any swine's flesh, or other meats prohibited in these books; that
they had a magnificent tabernacle, with a visible priesthood to ad-
minister in it, which was confined to the tribe of Levi ; over whom
was placed a glorious high priest, clothed with great and mighty
prerogative, whose death only could deliver those that \yere fled to
the cities of refuge. And that these priests were their ordinary
judges, even in civil matters, Num. xxxv, 25, 28. I say, was it pos-
sible to have persuaded a whole nation of men, that they had known
and practised all these things, if they had not done it ? or, secondly,
to have received a took for truth, which said they had practised
them, and appealed to that practice ; so that here are the third and
fourth of the marks above mentioned.
But now let us descend to the utmost degree of supposition, viz.
that these things were practised, before these books of Moses were
forged ; and that these books did only impose upon the nation, in
making them believe, that they had kept these observances in
memory of such and such things, as were inserted in these books.
Well then let us proceed upon this supposition, (however ground-
less,) and now, will not the same impossibilities occur, as hi the
with the Deists. 237
former case? For first, this must suppose that the Jews kept all
these observances in memory of nothing, or without knowing any
thing of then- original, or the reason why they kept them. Whereas
these very observances did express the ground and reason of- their
being kept, as the passoyer in memory of God's passing over the
children of the Israelites, in that night wherein he slew all the first-
born of Egypt, and so of the rest.
But secondly, let us suppose, contrary both to reason and matter
of fact, that the Jews did not know any reason at all why they, kept
these observances ; yet was it possible to put it upon them, that they
had kept these < observances in memory of what they had never
heard of before that day, whensoever you will suppose that these
books of Moses were first forged ? For example, suppose I should
now forge some romantic story of strange things done a thousand
years ago, and in confirmation of this, should endeavor to persuade
the Christian world, that they had all along, from that day to this,
kept the first day of the week in memory of such a hero, an Apol-
lonius, a Barcosbas, or a Mohammed ; and had all been baptized in
his name ; and swore by his name, and upon that very book, (which
I had then forged, and which they never saw before,) in then- pub-
lic judicatures ; that this book was their gospel and law, which they
had ever since that time, these thousand years past, universally re-
ceived and owned, and none other. I would ask any deist, whether
he thinks it possible, that such a cheat could pass, or such a legend
be received' as the gospel of Christians ; and that they could be
made believe, that they never had any other gospel ? The same
reason is as to the books of Moses, and must be, as to every matter
of fact, which has all the four marks before mentioned ; and these
marks secure any such matter of fact as much from being invented
and imposed in any after ages, as at the time when such matters of
fact were said to be done.
Let me give one very familiar. example more in this case. There
is the Stonehenge in Salisbury Plain, every body knows it; and yet
none knows the reason why those great stones were set there, or by
whom, or in memory of what.
Now suppose I should write a book to-morrow, and tell there,
that these stones were set up by Hercules, Polyphemus, or Garagan-
tua, in memory of such and such of their actions. And for a farther
confirmation of this, should say, in this book, that it was wrote at
the time when such actions were done, and by the very actors them-
selves, or eye-witnesses. And that this book had been received as
truth, and quoted b'y authors of the greatest reputation in all ages
since. Moreover, that this book was well known in England, and
enjoined by act of parliament to be taught our children, and that
we did teach it to our children, and had been taught it ourselves
when we were children. I ask any deist, whether he thinks this
could pass upon England ? And whether, if I, or any other should
insist upon it, we should not, instead of being believed, be sent to
Bedlam?
Now let us compare this with the Stonehenge, as I may call it, or
238 Leslie's Method
twelve great stones set up at Gilgal, which is told in the fourth
chapter of Joshua. It is there said, verse 6, that the reason why
they were set up, was, that when their children, in after ages, should
ask the meaning of it, it should be told them.
And the thing in memory of which they were set up, was such
as could not possibly be imposed upon that nation, at that time,
when. it was said to be done: it was as wonderful and miraculous as
their passage through the Red sea.
And withal, free from a very poor objection, which the deists
have advanced against that miracle of the Red sea : thinking to
solve it by a spring tide, with the concurrence of a strong wind,
happening at the same time, which left the sand so dry, as that the
Israelites being all foot, might pass through the oozy places and
holes, which it must be supposed the sea left behind it : but that the
Egyptians being all horse and chariots, stuck in those holes and
were entangled, so as that they could not march so fast as the Is-
raelites : and that this was all the meaning of its being said, that
God took off their [the Egyptians] chariot wheels, that they drove
them heavily. So that they would make nothing extraordinary, at
least, not miraculous in all this action.
This is advanced in Le Clerc's Dissertations upon Genesis, lately
printed in Holland, and that part with others of the like tendency,
endeavoring to resolve other miracles, as that-of Sodom and Gomor-
rah, &c. into the mere natural causes, are put into English by the
well known T. Brown, for the edification of the deists in England.
But these gentlemen have forgotten, that the Israelites had great
herds of many thousand cattle with them ; which would be apter
to stray, and fall into those holes, and oozy places in the sand, than
horses with. riders, who might direct them.
But such precarious and silly supposes are not worth the answer-
ing. If there had been no more in this passage through the Red
sea, than that of a spring tide, &c. it had been impossible for Moses
to have made the Israelites believe the relation given of it in Exo-
dus, with so many particulars, which themselves saw to be true.
And all those scriptures which magnify this action, and appeal to
it as a full demonstration of the miraculous power of God, must be
reputed as romance or legend.
I say this for the sake of some Christians, who think it no preju-
dice to the truth of the Holy Bible, but rather an advantage, as ren-
dering it more easy to be believed, if they can solve whatever
seems miraculous in it, by the power of second causes ; and so to
make all, as they speak, natural and easy. Wherein if they could
prevail, the natural and easy result would be, not to believe one
word in all those' sacred oracles. For, if things be not as they are
told in any relation, that relation must be false. And if false in
part, we cannot trust to it, either in whole or in part.
Here are to be excepted, mistranslations, and errors, either in
copy, or in press. But where there is no room for supposing of
these, as where all copies do agree ; there we must either receive
all, or reject all. I mean in any book that pretends to be written
ibith the Deists. 239
from the mouth of God. For in other common .histories, we may
believe part and reject part, as we see cause.
But to return. The passage of the Israelites over Jordan, in
memory of which those stones at Gilgal were set up, is free from all
those htde carpings before mentioned, that are made as to the pas-
sage through the Red sea. For notice was given to the Israelites
the day before, of this great miracle to be done, Josh. iii. 5. It was
done at noon day, before the whole nation. And when the waters
of Jordan were divided, it was not at any low ebb, but at the time
when that river overflowed all its banks, yerse 15. And it was
done, not by winds, or in length of time, which winds must take to
do it ; but all on the sudden, as soon as the feet of the priests that
bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, then the waters
which came down from above, stood and rose up upon a heap, very
far from the city Adam, that is besides Zaretan : and those that
came down toward the sea of the plain, even .the salt sea, failed,
.and were cut off: and the people passed over, right against Jericho.
The priests stood in the midst of Jordan, till all the armies of Israel
had passed over. And it came to pass, when the priests that bare
the ark of the covenant of the Lord, w6re come up, out of the
midst of Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lift up upon
the dryland, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place,
and flowed over all his banks as they did before. And the people
came up out of Jordan, on the tenth day of the first month, and en-
camped in Gilgal, on the east border of Jericho. And those twelve
stones which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your chil-
dren shall ask then: fathers, in time to come, saying, What mean
these stones ? Then shall ye let your children know, saying, Israel
came over this Jordan on dry land. For the Lord your God dried
up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed
over; as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up
from before us, until we were gone over. That all the people of
the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that
ye might fear the Lord your God for ever ; chapter iv. from verse 18.
If the passage of the Red sea had been only taking advantage of
a spring tide, or the like, how would this teach all the people of the-
earth that the hand of the Lord was mighty ? How would a thing^
no more remarkable, have been taken notice of through all the-
world ? How would it have taught Israel to fear the Lord, when they
must know, that notwithstanding all of these big words, there was so
little in it? How could they have believed, or received a book, a
truth, which they knew, told the matter so far otherwise from what
it was?
But, as I said, this passage over Jordan, which is here compared
to that of the Red sea, is free from those cavils that are made as to-
that of the Red sea, and is a farther attestation to it, being said to be
done in the same manner as was that of the Red sea.
Now, to form our argument, let us suppose, that there- never wa
any such thing as that passage over Jordan. That them stones aS
240 Leslie's Method
Gilgal were set up upon some other occasion, in some after age.
And then that some deigning man invented this book of Joshua,
and said, that it was writteSa by Joshua, at that time. And gave this
stonage at Gilgal for a testimony of the truth of it. Would not every
body say to him, We know the stonage at Gilgal; but we never
heard before of this reason for it? Nor of this book of Joshua?
Where has it been all this while ? And where and how came you,
after so many ages, to find it? Besides, this book tells us, that this
passage over Jordan was ordained to be taught our children, from
age to age ; and therefore, that they were always to be instructed in
the meaning of that stonage at Gilgal as a memorial of it. But. we
were never taught it when we were children ; nor did ever teach
our children any such thing. And it is not likely that it could have
been forgotten, while so remarkable a stonage did continue, which
was set up for that, and no other end !
And if, for the reason before given, no such imposition could be
put upon us, as to the stonage at Salisbury Plain; how much less
s. could it be as to the stonage at Gilgal !
And if where we know not the reason of a bare naked monu-
ment, such a sham reason cannot be imposed : how much more is it
impossible to impose upon us, in actions and observances, which we
celebrate in memory of particular passages! How impossible to
make us forget those passages which we daily commemorate ; and
persuade us, that we had always kept such institutions hi memory
of what we never heard of before ; that is, that we knew it, before
we knew it
And if we find it thus impossible for an imposition to be put upon
us, even in some things, which have not all the four marks before
mentioned; how much more impossible is it, that any deceit should
be in that thing, where all the four marks do meet !
This has been shown in the first place, as to the matters of fact
of Moses.
Therefore I come now, secondly, to show, that, as in the matters
of fact of Moses, so likewise, all these four marks do meet hi the
matters of fact, which are recorded in the gospel of our blessed
Saviour. And my work herein will be the shorter, because all that
is said before, of Moses and his books, is every way as applicable to
Christ and his gospel. His works and miracles are there said to be
done publicly, in the face of the world, as he argued to his accusers, 1
" I spake openly to the world, and in secret have I said nothing,"
John xviii. 20. It is told, Acts ii. 41, that three thousand at one
time ; chap. iv. 4, that above five thousand at another time, were
converted, upon conviction of what themselves had seen, what hiid
been done publicly before their eyes, wherein it was impossible to
have imposed upon them. Therefore here were the two first of the
rules before mentioned.
Then for the two second : baptism and the Lord's supper were
instituted as perpetual memorials of these things; and they were
not instituted in after ages, but at the very time when these things
were said to be done ; and have been observed without interruption,
with the "Deists. 241
in all ages through the whole Christian world, down all the way
from that time to this. And Christ himself did ordain apostles, and
other ministers of his gospel, to preach, and administer these sacra-
ments ; and to govern his church ; and that " always, even unto the
end of the world," Matt, xxviii. 20. Accordingly they have con-
tinued by regular succession to this day ; and, no doubt, ever shall,
while the earth shall last. So that the Christian clergy are as noto-
rious a matter of fact, as the tribe of Leyi among the Jews. And
the gospel is as much a law to the Christians, as the book of Moses
to the Jews. And it being part of the matter of fact related in the
gospel, that such an order of men were appointed by Christ, and to
continue to the end of the world ; consequently, if the gospel was
a fiction, and invented (as it must be) in some ages after Christ ; then,
at that time, when it was first invented, there could be no such or-
der of clergy, as derived themselves from the institution of Christ ;
which must give the lie to the gospel, and demonstrate the whole to
be false. And the matters of fact of Christ being pressed to be
true, no otherwise than as there was, at that time (whenever the
deists will suppose the gospel to be forged) not only public sacra-
ments of Christ's institution, but an order of clergy, likewise of his
appointment to administer them : and it being impossible there could
be any such things before they were invented, it is as impossible
that they should be received when invented. And therefore, by
what was said above, it was as -impossible to have imposed upon
mankind hi this matter, by inventing of it in after ages, as at the
time when those things were said to be done.
The matters of fact of Mohammed, or what is fabled of the dei-
ties, do all want some of the aforesaid four rules, whereby the cer-
tainty of matters of fact is demonstrated. First, Mohammed pre-
tended to no miracles, as he tells us in his Alcoran, c. 6, &c. and those
which are commonly told of him pass among the Mohammedans
themselves but as legendary fables ; and, as such, are rejected by
the wise and learned among them ; as the legends of their saints
are / in the church of Rome. See Dr. Prideaux's life of Moham-
med, page 34.
But, in the next place, those which are told of him, do all want
the two first rules before mentioned. For his pretended converse
with the moon; his Mersa, or night journey from Mecca to Jerusa-
lem, and thence to heaven, &c. were not performed before any
body. We have only his own word for them. And they are as
groundless as the delusions of Fox, or Muggleton, among ourselves.
The same is to be said (in the second place) of the fables of the
heathen gods, of Mercury's stealing sheep, Jupiter's turning himself
into a bull, and the like; besides the folly and un worthiness of such
senseless pretended miracles. And moreover, the wise among the
heathen did reckon no otherwise of these but as fables, which had
a mythology, or mystical meaning in them, of which several of
them have given us the rationale, or explication. And it is plain
enough that Ovid meant no other by all his Metamorphoses.
It is true, the heathen deities had their priests : they had likewise
V
242 Leslie's Method
feasts, games, and other public institutions in memory of them. But
all these want the fourth mark, viz. That such priesthood and insti-
tutions should commence from the time that such things as they
commemorate were said to be done 5 otherwise they cannot secure
after ages from the imposture, by detecting it, at the time when first
invented, as hath been argued before. But the Bacchanalia, and
other heathen feasts, were instituted many ages after what was
reported of these gods was said to be done, and therefore can be no
proof of them. And the priests of Bacchus, Apollo, &c., were not
ordained by these supposed gods : but were appointed by others, in
after ages, only in honor lo them. And therefore these orders of
priests are no evidence to the truth of the matters of fact, which
are reported of their gods.
III. Now, to apply what has been said, you may challenge all the
deists in the world to show any action that is fabulous, which has
all the four, rules, or marks before mentioned. No, it is impossible.
And (to resume a little what is spoken to before) the histories of
Exodus and the gospel could never have been received, if they had
not been true ; because the institution of the priesthood of Levi r
and of Christ ; of the sabbath, the passover, of circumcision, of
baptism, and the Lord's supper, &c., are there related, as descend-
ing all the way down from those times without interruption. And
it is full as impossible to persuade men, that they had been 1 circum-
cised, baptized, had circumcised or baptized their children, cele-
brated passovers, sabbaths, sacraments, &c., under the government,
and administration of a certain order of priests, if they had done
none of these tilings, as to make them believe that they had gone
through sea upon dry land, seen the dead raised, &c. And without
believing of these, it was impossible that either the law, or the gos-
pel, could have been received.
And the truth of the matters of fact of Exodus and the gospel,
being no otherwise pressed upon men than as they have practised
such public institutions; it is appealing to the senses of mankind for
the truth of them ; and makes it impossible for any to have invented
such stories in after ages, without a palpable detection of the cheat,
when first invented ; as impossible as to have imposed upon the
senses of mankind at the time when such public matters of fact
were said to be done.
IV. I do not say, that every tiling which wants these four marks
is false : but, that nothing can be false which has them all.
I have no manner of doubt, that there was such a man as Julius
Caesar ; that he fought at Pharsalia, was killed hi the senate-house ;
and many other matters of fact of ancient times, though we keep no
public observances in memory of them.
.But this shows that the matters of fact of Moses and Christ, have
come down to us better guarded than any other matters of fact how
true soever.
And yet our deists, who would laugh any man out of the world,
as an irrational brute, that should offer to deny Csesar or Alexander,
Homer or Virgil, their public works and actions, do, at the same
with the Deists. 243
time, value themselves as the only men of wit and sense, of free,
generous, and unbiassed judgments, for ridiculing the histories of
Moses and Christ, that are infinitely better attested, and guarded
with infallible marks, which the others want.
V. Besides that, the importance of the subject would oblige all
men to inquire more narrowly into the one than the other : for what
consequence is it to me, or to the world, whether there was such a
man as Csesar ; whether he beat, or was beaten at Pharsalia ; whether
Homer or Virgil wrote such books ; and whether what is related in
the Iliads or Jjniads be true or false ? It was not two pence up or
down to any man in the world. And therefore it is worth no man's
while to inquire into it, either to oppose or justify the truth of these
relations.
But our very souls and bodies, both this life and eternity, are con-
cerned in the truth of what is related in the Holy Scriptures ; and
therefore men would be more inquisitive to search into the truth
of these, than of any other matters of fact ; examine and sift them
narrowly ; and find out the deceit, if any such could be found : for
it concerned them nearly, and was of the last importance to them.
How unreasonable then is it to reject these matters of fact so
sifted, so examined, and so attested as no other matters of fact in the
world ever were ; and yet to think it the most highly unreasonable,
even to madness, to deny other matters of fact, which have not the
thousandth part of their evidence, and are of no consequence at all
to us, whether true or false !
VI. There are several other topics, from whence the truth of the
Christian religion is evinced to all who judge by reason, and give
themselves leave to consider. As the improbability that ten or
twelve poor illiterate fishermen should form a design of converting
the whole world to believe their delusions ; and the impossibility of
their effecting it, without force of arms, learning, oratory, or anyone
visible thing that could recommend them ! And to impose a doctrine
quite opposite to the lusts and pleasures of men, and all worldly
advantages, or enjoyments ! And this in an age of so great learning
and sagacity, as that wherein the gospel was first preached ! That
these apostles should not only undergo all the scorn and contempt,
but the severest persecutions, and most cruel deaths that could be
inflicted, in attestation to what themselves knew to be a mere de-
ceit and forgery of their own contriving! Some have suffered for
errors which they thought to be truth; but never any for what
themselves knew to be lies. And the apostles must know what
they taught to be lies, if it was so, because they spoke of those
things which they said they had both seen and heard, had looked
upon,_and handled with their hands, &c., Acts iy. 20; 1 John i. 1.
Neither can it be said that they, perhaps, might have proposed
some temporal advantages to themselves, but missed of them, and
met with sufferings instead of them : for, if it had been so, it is more
probable, that when they saw their disappointment, they would
have discovered their conspiracy; especially. when they might not
244 Leslie's Method
only have saved their lives, but got great re wards, for doing it ; than
that no one of them should ever have been brought to do this.
But this is not all ; for they tell us that their Master bid them
expect nothing but sufferings ui this world. This is the tenure of
all that gospel which they taught. And they told the same to all
whom they converted. So that here was no disappointment
For, all that were converted by them, were converted upon the
certain expectation of sufferings, and bidden prepare for it. Christ
commanded his disciples to take up their cross daily and follow him ;
and told them, that in the world they should have tribulation ; that
whoever did not forsake lather, mother, wife, children, lands, and
their very lives, could not be his disciples ; that he, who sought to
save his life in this world, should lose it in the next.
Now, that this despised doctrine of the cross should prevail so
universally against the allurements of flesh and blood, and all the
blandishments of this world ; against the rage and persecution of all
the kings and powers of tlie earth, must show its original to be
divine, and its protector almighty. What is it else, could conquer
without arms, persuade without rhetoric, overcome enemies, disarm
tyrants, and subdue empires without opposition !
VII. We may add to all this, the testimonies of the most bitter
enemies and persecutors of Christianity, both Jews and Gentiles, to
the truth of the matter of fact of Christ, such as Josephus and
Tacitus ; of which the first flourished about forty years after the
death of Christ, and the other about seventy years after : so that
they were capable of examining into the truth, and wanted not
prejudice and malice sufficient to have inclined them to deny the
matter of fact itself of Christ: but their confessing to it, as likewise
Lucian, Celsus, Porphyry, and Julian the apostate; the Moham-
medans since, and all other enemies of Christianity that have arisen
in the world, is an undeniable attestation to the truth of the matter
of fact.
VIII. But there is another argument more strong and convincing
than even this matter of fact; more than the certainty of what I
see. with my eyes : and which the apostle Peter called a more sure
word, that is, proof, that what he saw and heard upon the holy
mount, when our blessed Savior was tranfigured before him and
two other of the apostles : for, having repeated that passage as a
proof of that whereof they were eye-witnesses, and heard the voice
from heaven giving attestation to our Lord Christ, 2 Pet. i. 16, 17, 18.
He says, ver. 19, We have also a more sure word of prophecy for
the proof of this Jesus being the Messiah, that is, the prophecies
which had gone before of him, from the beginning of the world ;
and all exactly fulfilled in him.
Men may dispute an imposition or delusion upon our outward
senses ; but how can that be false that has been so long, even from
the beginning of the world, and so often by all the prophets, in
several ages foretold; how can this be an imposition, or a forgery?
This is particularly insisted on in the "Method with the Jews:"
and even the deists must confess, that that book we call the Old
with the Deists, ,
Testament, Avas in the hands of the Jews long before our Saviour
came into the world. And if they will be at the pains to compare
the prophecies that are there of the Messiah, with the fulfilling of
them, as lo time, place, and all other circumstances, in the person,
birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of our blessed Saviour,
will find this proof what our apostles here calls it, a light shining in
a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day -star arise in your
hearts ; which God grant. Here is no possibility of deceit or im-
posture.
Old prophecies, (and all these so agreeing) could not have been
contrived to countenance a new cheat: and nothing could be a_
cheat that could fulfill all these.
For this, therefore, I refer the deists to the " Method with the
Jews."
I desire them likewise to look there, sect. xi. and consider the
prophecies given so long ago, of which they see the fulfilling at this
day, with their own eyes, of the state of the Jews, for many ages
past, and at present; without a king, or priest, or temple, or sacrifice,
scattered to the four winds, sifted as with a sieve, among all nations ;
yet so preserved, and always to be, a distinct people from all others
of the whole earth. Whereas those mighty monarchies which op-
pressed the Jews, and which commanded the world in their turns ;
and had the greatest human prospect of perpetuity, were to be ex-
tinguished as they have been, even that their names should be
blotted out from under heaven.
As likewise, that as remarkable of our blessed Saviour, concern-
ing the preservation and progress of the Christian church, when hi
her swaddling clothes, consisting only of a few poor fishermen. Not
by the sword, as that of Mohammed, but under all the persecution
of men and hell ; which yet should not prevail against her.
But though I offer these, as not to be slighted by the deists, to
which they can show nothing equal in all profane history ; and in
which it is impossible any cheat can lie ; yet I put them not upon
the same foot as the prophecies before mentioned of the marks and
coming of the Messiah, which have been since the world began.
And that general expectation of the whole earth, at the time of
his coming, insisted upon in the " Method with the Jews," sect. v. is
greatly to be noticed.
But, I say, the foregoing prophecies of our Saviour, are so strong
a proofj as even miracles would not be sufficient to break their
authority.
I mean, if it were possible that a true miracle could be wrought
in contradiction -to them. For that would be for God to contradict
himself. .. . .
But no sign or wonder, that could possibly be solved, should
shake this evidence.
It is this that keeps the Jews in their obstinacy. Though they
cannot deny the matters of fact done by our blessed Saviour, to be
truly miracles, if so done as said. Nor can they deny that they
were so done, because .they have all the four marks before men-
V2
246 Leslie's Method
tioned. Yet they cannot yield ! Why ? Because they think that the
gospel is in contradiction to the law. Which, if it were, the conse-
quence would be unavoidable, that both could not be true. To
solve this, is the business of the "Method with the Jews." But the
contradiction, which they suppose, is in their comments that they
put upon the law ; especially they expect a literal fulfilling of those
promises of the restoration of Jerusalem, and outward glories of the
church, of which there is so frequent mention in the books of Moses,
the Psalms, and all the prophets. And many Christians do expect
the same ; and take those texts as literally as the Jews do. We do
believe and pray for the conversion of the Jews. For this end they
have been so miraculously preserved, according to the prophecies
so long before of it. And when that time shall come, as they are
the most honorable and ancient of all the nations on the earth, so
will their church return to be the mother Christian church, as she
was at first; and Rome .must surrender to Jerusalem. Then all
nations will flow thither. And even Ezekiel's temple may be liter-
ally built there, in the metropolis of the whole earth ; which Jeru-
salem must be, when the fullness of the gentiles, shall meet with the
conversion of the Jews. For no nation will contend with the Jews,
nor church with Jerusalem for supremacy. All nations will be am-
bitious to draw their original from the Jews, whose are the fathers,
and from whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came.
Then will be fulfilled that outward grandeur and restoration of
the Jews and of Jerusalem, which they expect, pursuant to the
prophecies.
They pretend not that this is limited to any particular time of the
reign of die Messiah. They are sure it will not be at the beginning;
for they expect to go through great conflicts and trials with their
Messiah- (as the Christian church has done) before his final conquest,
and that they come to reign with him. So that this is no obstruction
to their embracing of Chrislianity. They see the same things ful-
filled in us, which they expect themselves; and we expect the same
things they do.
I tell tin's to the deists, lest they may think that the Jews have
some stronger arguments than they know of; that they are not per-
suaded by the miracles of our blessed Saviour, and by the fulfilling
of all the prophecies in him, that were made concerning the Mes-
siah.
As I said before, I would not plead even miracles against these.
And if this is sufficient to persuade a Jew, it is much more so to
a deist, who labors not under these objections.
Besides I would not seem to clash with that (in a sound sense)
reasonable caution, used by Christian writers, not to put the issue
of the truth wholly upon miracles, without this addition, when not
done in contradiction to the revelations already given in the holy
Scriptures.
And they do it upon this consideration, though it is impossible to
suppose that God would work a real miracle, in contradiction to
what he has already revealed ; yet men may be imposed upon by
with the Deists. 247
false and seeming miracles, and'pretended revelations, (as there are
many examples, especially in the church of Rome,) and so may be
shaken in the faith, if they keep not to the holy Scriptures as their
rule.
We are told, 2 Thess. xi. 9, of him whose coming is after the
working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders.
And Rev. xiii. 14, xvi. 14, and xix. 20, of the devil, and false prophets,
working miracles. But the word, in all these places, in only semeia,
signs, that is, as it is rendered, Matt. xxv. 24, which though some-
times it may be used to signify real miracles, yet not always, nor hi
these places. For though every miracle be a sign and a wonder,
yet every sign, or wonder, is not a miracle.
IX. Here it may be proper to consider' a common topic of the
deists, who, when they are not able to stand out against the evi-
dence of fact, that such and such miracles have been done ; then
turn about and deny such things to be miracles, at least, that we
can never be sure whether any wonderful thing that is shown to us
be "a true or a false miracle.
And the great argument they go upon is this, that a miracle being
that which exceeds the power of nature, we cannot know what ex-
ceeds it, unless we know the utmost extent of the power of nature:
and no man pretends to know that ; therefore, that no man can cer-
tainly know whether any event be miraculous. And, consequently,
he may be cheated in his judgment between true and false miracles.
To which I answer, that men may be so cheated, and there are
many examples of it.
But that though we may not always know when we are cheated,
yet we can certainly tell, in many cases, when we are not cheated.
For though we do not know the utmost extent of the power of
nature, perhaps, in any one thing; yet it does not follow, that we
know not the nature of any thing, in some measure ; and that cer-
tainly too. For example ; though I do not know the utmost extent
of the power of fire, yet I certainly know, that it is the nature of
fire to burn ; and that when proper fuel is administered to it, it is
contrary to the nature of fire not to consume it. Therefore, if I see
three men taken off the street, in their common wearing apparel,
and without any preparation cast into the midst of a burning fiery
furnace ; and that the flame was so fierce, that it burnt up those
men that threw them in ; and yet that those who were thrown hi,
should walk up and down in the bottom of the furnace^ and I should
see a fourth person with them of glorious appearance like the Son
of God ; and that these men should come up again out of the fur-
nace without any harm, or so much as the smell of fire upon them-
selves, or their clothes, I could not be deceived in thinking that
there was a stop put to the nature of fire, as to these men ; and that
it had its effect upon the men whom it burnt at the same time.
Again, though I cannot tell how wonderful and sudden an in-
crease of com might be produced by the concurrence of many
causes, as a warm climate, the fertility of the soil, &c. ; yet this I
can certainly know, that there is not that natural force in the breath
248 Leslie's Method
of two or three words spoken to multiply one "small loaf of bread so
fast, in. the breaking of it, as truly and really, not only in appearance
and show to the eye, but to nil the bellies of several thousand
hungry persons ; and that the fragments should be much more than
the bread was at first.
So neither in a word spoken, to raise the dead, cure diseases, &c.
Therefore, though we know not the utmost extent of the power
of nature ; yet we can certainly know what is contrary to the nature
of several such things as we do know.
And therefore, though we may be cheated and imposed upon in
many seeming miracles and wonders, yet there are some things
wherein we may be certain.
But farther, the deists acknowledge a God, of an almighty po ;ver,
who made all things ; yet they would put it out of his power to
make any revelation of his will to mankind. For if we cannot be
certain of any miracle, how should we know when God sent any
thing extraordinary to us?
Nay, how should we know the ordinary power of nature, if we
know not what exceeded it? If we know not what is natural, how
do we know there is such a thing as nature? That all is not super-
natural, all miracles, and so disputable, till we come to downright
scepticism, and doubt the certainty of our outward senses, whether
we see, hear, or feel ; or all be not a miraculous illusion !
Which, because I know the deists are not inclined to do, therefore
I will return to pursue my argument upon the conviction of our
outward senses, desiring only this, that they would allow the senses
of other men to be as certain as their own. Which they cannot
refuse, since without this, they can have no certainty of their own.
X. Therefore, from what has been said, the cause is summed up
shortly in this, that though we. cannot see what was done before
our time, yet by the marks which I have laid down concerning
the certainty of matters of fact done before our time, we may be
as much assured of the truth of them, as if we saw them with
our eyes,- because whatever matter of fact has all the four marks
before mentioned, could never have been invented and received,
but upon the conviction of the outward senses of all those who
did receive it, as before is demonstrated. Arid therefore the topic
which 1 have chosen does stand upon the conviction even of men's
outward senses. And since you have confined me to one topic, I
have not insisted upon the other, which I have only named.
XL And it now lies upon the deists, if they would appear as men
of reason, to show some matter of fact of former ages, which they
allow to be true, that has greater evidence of its truth, than the
matters of fact of Moses and of Christ: otherwise they cannot, with
any show of reason, reject the one, and yet admit of the other.
But I have given them greater latitude than this; for I have
shown such marks of the truth of the matters of fact of Moses and
of Christ, as no other matters of fact of those times, however true,
have, but these only : and I put it upon them to show any forgery
that has all these marks.
" with the Deists. 249
This is a short issue. Keep them close to this. This determines
the cause all at once.
Let them produce their Apollonius Tyanaeus, whose life was put
into English by the execrable Charles Blount,* and compared with
all the wit and malice he was master of, to the life and miracles of
our blessed Saviour. Let them take aid from all the legends of the
church of Rome, those pious cheats, the sorest disgraces in Chris-
tianity ; and which have bid the fairest of any one contrivance to
overturn the certainty of the miracles of Christ, and his apostles,
and the whole truth of the gospel, by putting them all upon the
same foot ; at least, they are so understood by the generality of their
devotees, though disowned and laughed at by the learned, and men
of sense among them.
Let them pick and choose the most probable of all the fables of
the heathen deities, and see if they can find in any of. these, the
four marks before mentioned.
Otherwise let them submit to the irrefragable certainty of the
Christian religion.
XII. But if, notwithstanding all that is said, the deists will still
contend, that all this is but priestcraft, the invention of priests, lor
their own profit, &c., then they will give us an idea of priests, fer
different from what they intend : for then, we must look upon these
priests, not only as the cunningest and wisest of mankind, but we
shall be tempted to adore them as deities, who have such power, as
to impose, at their pleasure, upon the senses of mankind, to make
them believe, that they had practised such public institutions, en-
acted them by laws, taught them to their children, &c., when they
had never done any of these things, or even so much as heard of
them before : and then, upon the credit of their believing that they
had done such things as they never did, to make them farther
believe, upon the same foundation, whatever they pleased to impose
upon ,them, as to former ages : I say, such a power as this, must
exceed all that is human ; and consequently, make us rank these
priests far above the condition of mortals.
2. Nay, this were to make them outdo all that has ever been
related of the infernal powers ; for though then- legerdemain had
extended /to deceive some unwary beholders ; and their power of
working some seeming miracles has been great, yet it never reached,
* The hand of that scorner, which durst write such outrageous blas-
phemy against his Maker, the divine vengeance has made his own exe-
cutioner. This I would not have mentioned, (because the like judgment
has befallen others,) but that the TAeistical Club have set this up as a
principle ; and printed a vindication of this same Blount for murdering
himself, by way of justification of self-murder. Which some of them
have since, as well as formerly, horribly practised upon themselves.
Therefore this is no common judgment to which they are delivered, but
a visible mark set upon them, to show how far God has forsaken them ;
and as a caution to all Christians, to beware of them, and not to come
near the tents of these wicked men, lest they perish in their destruction,
both of soul and body.
250 Leslie's Method
or ever was supposed to reach so far, as to deceive the senses of all
mankind in matters of such public and notorious nature as those of
which we now speak, to make them believe, that they had enacted
laws for such public observances, continually practised them, taught
them to their children, and had been instructed in them themselves
from their childhood, if they had never enacted, practised, taught, or
been taught such things.
3. And as this exceeds all the power of hell and devils, so is it
more than ever God Almighty has done since the foundation of the
world. None of the miracles that he has shown, or belief which
he has required to any thing that he has revealed, has ever contra-
dicted the outward senses of any one man in the world, much less
of all mankind together. For miracles being appeals to our outward
senses, if they should overthrow the certainty of our outward senses,
must destroy, with it, all their own certainty as to us; since we have
no other way to judge of a miracle exhibited to our senses, than upon
the supposition of the certainty of our senses, upon which we give
credit to a miracle that is shown to our senses.
4. This, by the way, is a yet unanswered argument against the
miracle of transubstantiation, and shows the weakness of the defence
which die church of Rome offers for it, (from whom the Socinians
have licked it up, and of late, have gloried much in it among us,)
that the doctrines of the trinity or incarnation contain as great seem-
ing absurdities as that of transubstantiation: For I would ask, which
of our senses it is which the doctrines of the trinity or incarnation
do contradict? Is it our seeing, hearing, feeling, taste, or smell?
whereas transubstantiation does contradict all of these. Therefore
the comparison is exceeding short, and out of purpose. But to
return.
If the Christian religion be a cheat, and nothing else but the in-
vention of priests, and carried on by their craft, it makes their power
and wisdom greater than that of men, angels, or devils ; and more
than God himself ever yet showed or expressed, to deceive and
impose upon the senses of mankind, in such public and notorious
matters of fact
XIII. And this miracle, which the deists must run into to avoid
these recorded of Moses and Christ, is much greater, and more as-
tonishing, than all the Scriptures tell of them.
So that these men who laugh at all miracles, are now obliged to
account for the greatest of all, how the senses of mankind could be
imposed upon in such public matters of fact.
And how then can they make the priests the most contemptible
of all mankind, since they make them the sole authors of this the
greatest of miracles ?
XTV. And since the deists (these men of sense and reason) have
so vile and mean an idea of the priests of all religions, why do they
not recover the world out of the possession and government of such
blockheads ? Why do they suffer kings and slates to be led by them ;
to establish then- deceits by laws, and inflict penalties upon the op-
posers of them? Let the deists try their hands; they have been
with the Deists. 251
trying, and are now busy about it. And free liberty they have. Yet
they have not prevailed, nor ever yet did prevail in any civilized
or generous nation. And though they have some inroads among
the Hottentots, and some other file most brutal part of mankind, yet
are they still exploded, and priests have and do prevail against
them, among not only the greatest, but best part of the world, and
the most glorious for arts, learning, and war.
XV. For as the devil does ape God, in his institutions of religion,
his feasts arid sacrifices, &c., so likewise in his priests, without
whom, no religion, whether true or false, can stand. False religion
is but a corruption of the true. The. true was before it, though it
be followed close upon the heels.
The revelation made to Moses is older than any history extant in
the heathen world. The heathens, in imitation of him, pretended
likewise to their revelations ; but I have given those marks which
distinguish them from the true: none of them have, those four
marks before mentioned.
Now the deists think all revelations to be equally pretended and
a cheat ; and the priests of all religions to be the same contrivers
and jugglers ; and therefore they proclaim war equally against all,
and are equally engaged to bear the brunt of all.
And if the contest be only between the deists and the priests,
which of them are the men of the greatest parts and sense, let the
effects determine it ; and let the deists yield the victory to their
conquerors, who by their own confession carry all the world before
them.
XVI. If the deists say, that this is because all the world are block-
heads, as well as those priests who govern them ; that all are block-
heads except the deists, who vote themselves only to be men of
sense : this (besides the modesty of it) will speil their great and be-
loved topic, in behalf of what they call natural religion, against the
revealed, viz. appealing to the common reason of mankind. This
they set up against revelation ; think this to be sufficient for all
the uses of men, here or hereafter, (if there be any after state,) and
therefore that there is no use of revelation ; this' common reason
they advance as infallible, at least, as the surest guide, yet now cry
out upon it, when it turns against them; when this common reason
runs after revelation, (as it always has done,) then common reason
is a beast, and we must look for reason, not from the common senti-
ments of mankind, but only among the beaux, tbe deists.
XVII. Therefore if the deists would avoid the mortification
(which would be very uneasy to them) to yield and submit to be sub-
dued and hewed down before the priests, whom of all mankind they
hate and despise ; if they would avoid this, let them confess as the
truth is, That religion is no invention of priests, but of divine original :
that priests were instituted by the same author of religion ; and
that their order is a perpetual and living monument of the matters
of fact of their religion, instituted from the time that such matters
of fact were said to be done, as the Levites from Moses ; ' the apos-
tles, and succeeding clergy, from Christ, to this day. That no hea-
252 Leslie's Method with the Deists.
then priests can say the same : they were not appointed by the goda
whom they served, but by others m after ages : they cannot stand
the test of the four rules before mentioned, which the Christian
priests can do, and they only. Now the Christian priesthood, as in-
stituted by Christ himself, and continued by succession to this day,
being as impregnable and flagrant a testimony to the truth of the
matters of fact of Christ, as the sacraments, or any other public in-
stitutions : besides that, if the priesthood were taken away, the
sacraments, and other public institutions, which are administered
by their hands, must fall with them: therefore the devil has been
most busy, and bent his greatest force, in all ages, against the
priesthood, knowing, that if that goes down, all goes with it.
XVIII. And now, last of all, if one word ofradviee would not be
lost upon men who think so unmeasurably of themselves, as the
deists, you may represent to them, what a condition they are in,
who spend that life and sense, which God has given them, in ridi-
culing the greatest of his blessings, his revelations of Christ, and by
Christ, to redeem those from eternal misery, who shall believe in
him and obey his laws. And that God, in his wonderful mercy
and wisdom, has so guarded his revelations, as that it is past the
power of men or devils to counterfeit; and that there is no denying
of them, unless we will be so absurd, as to deny not only the reason,
but the certainty of the outward senses, not only of one, or two, or
three, but of mankind in general. That this case is so very plain,
that nothing but want of thought can hinder any to discover it.
That they must yield it to be so plain, unless they can show some
forgery, which has all the four marks before set down. But if they
cannot do this, they must quit their cause, and yield a happy vic-
tory over themselves ; or else sit down under all that ignominy,
with which they have loaded the priests, of being, not only the
most pernicious, but (what will gall them more) the most inconside-
rate, and inconsiderable of mankind.
Therefore, let them not think it an undervaluing of their worthi-
ness, that then* whole cause is comprised within so narrow a com-
pass : and no more time bestowed upon it than it is worth.
But let them, rather, reflect, how far they have been all this
time from Christianity; whose rudiments they are yet to learn!
How far from the way of salvation ! How far the race of their lives
is run, before they have set one step in the road to heaven. And
therefore how much diligence they ought to use, to redeem all that
time they have lost, lest they lose themselves for ever, and be con-
vinced, by a dreadful experience, when it is too late, that the Gos-
pel is a truth, and of the last consequence.
THE END.
THE
EVIDENCES
OF
CHRISTIANITY.
BY
ALEXANDER, WATSON,
JENYNS, LESLIE, AND PALEY.
IN TWO VOLUME&
VOL. II.
PUBLISHED BY
James Kay, Jun. & Co., 4 Minor Street, Philadelphia.
John I. Kay & Co., 51 Market Street, Pittsburgh.
Stereotype Edition.
Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1831, by JAMES
KAY, Jun. & Co. in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United
States in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
STEREOTYPED BY J. HOWE.
WATSON'S
APOLOGY FOR CHRI3TLOTT Y ;
WATSON'S
APOLOGY FOR THE BIBLE;
JENYNS'S
VIEW. OP THE INTERNAL EVIDENCE OP THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION;
LESLIE'S
SHORT AND EASY METHOD WITH DEISTS;
PALEY'S
VIEW OF THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY.
WITH
& ilreltmf nars Sitscourse,
BY
ARCH. ALEXANDER, D. D.
PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY IN THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AT PRINCETON
IN NEW-JERSEY, ETC. ETC.
PUBLISHED BY
James Kay, Jun. & Co., 4 Minor Street, Philadelphia.
John I. Kay & Co., 51 Market Street, Pittsburgh.
Stereotype Edition.
CONTENTS.
I. A Preliminary Discourse on the Evidences of Chris-
tianity; with a short account of the Treatises which
these volumes contain. By Archibald Alexander, D. D.,
Professor of Theology in the Theological Seminary at
Princeton, N. J. Page 15
IL An Apology for Christianity, in a Series of Letters,
addressed to Edward Gibbon, Esq., Author of the ' His-
tory of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.'
By R. Watson, D. D., F. R. S., and Regius Professor of
Divinity in the University of Cambridge. ...... 45
III. An Apology for the Bible, in a Series of Letters, ad-
dressed to Thomas Paine, Author of a Book entitled
' The Age of Reason, Part the Second, being an Investi-
gation of True and of Fabulous Theology.' By R. Wat-
son, D. D., F. R. S., Lord Bishop of Llandaff, and Re-
gius Professor of Divinity in the University of Cam-
.bridge 105
IV. A View of the Internal Evidence of the Christian Re-
ligion. By Soame Jenyns, Esq. . 191
V. A Short and Easy Method with the Deists. In a Letter
to a Friend. By the Rev. Charles Leslie, M. A. . . 231
VOL. II.
VI. A View of the Evidences of Christianity. In three
Parts. By William Paley, D. D., Archdeacon of Car-
lisle 15
A VIEW
OP
THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIAJSttTY
IN THREE PARTS.
BY
WILLIAM PALEY, D. D.
ARCHDEACON OB 1 CARLISLE.
CONTENTS
OF
PALEY'S EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY.
Preparatory Considerations. Of the antecedent credibility of mira-
cles Page 15
PART I.
OF THE DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIANITY, AND WHEREIN
IT 18 DISTINGUISHED FROM THE EVIDENCE ALLEGED FOR OTHER
MIRACLES > -. 19
PROPOSITION I.
That there is satisfactory evidence, that many, professing to be
original witnesses of the Christian miracles, passed their lives in
labors, dangers, and sufferings voluntarily undergone in attesta-
tion of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in conse-
quence of their belief of those accounts ; and that they also sub-
mitted, from the same motives, to new rules of conduct 20
CHAP. I. Evidence of the sufferings of the first propagators of
Christianity, from the nature of the case ib.
CHAP. II. Evidence of the sufferings of the first propagators of
Christianity, from Profane testimony 27
CHAP. III. Indirect evidence of the sufferings of the first propaga-
tors of Christianity from the Scriptures and other ancient Christian
writings. 31
CHAP. IV. Direct evidence of the same 34
CHAP. V. Observations on the preceding evidence 43
CHAP. VI.. That the story, for which the first propagators of Chris-
tianity suffered, was miraculous 47
CHAP. VII. That it was, in the main, the story which we have
HOW proved, by indirect considerations 49
CHAP. VIII. The same proved, from the authority of our historical
Scriptures 58
CHAP. IX. Of the authenticity of the historical Scriptures 67
11
Xll CONTENTS.
SECT. I. Quotations of the historical Scriptures by ancient
Christian writers 71
SECT. II. Of the peculiar respect with which they were quoted 87
SECT. III. The Scriptures were in very early times collected
into a distinct volume ' 89
SECT. IV. And distinguished by appropriate names and titles
of respect ' 92.
SECT. V Were publicly read and expounded in the religious
assemblies of the early Christians 93^
SECT. VI. Commentaries, &c. were anciently written upon the
Scriptures 95-
SECT. VII. They were received by ancient Christians of difier-
ent sects and persuasions 98'
SECT. VIII. The four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, thir-
teen Epistles of Saint Paul, the first Epistle of John, and the
First of Peter, were received without doubt by those who
doubted concerning the other books of our present canon 10$
SECT. IX. Our present Gospels were considered by the adversa-
ries of Christianity, as containing the accounts upon which
the religion was founded 105
SECT. X. Formal catalogues of authentic Scriptures were pub-
lished, in all which our present Gospels were included. . .' 109
SECT. XL The above propositions cannot be predicated of any
of those books which are commonly called apocryphal books
of the New Testament Ill
CHAP. X. Recapitulation 114
PROPOSITION II.
That there is NOT satisfactory evidence, that persons pretending to
be original witnesses of any other similar miracles, have acted in
the same manner, in attestation of the accounts which they de-
livered, and solely in consequence of their belief of the truth of
those accounts 117
CHAP. I ib.
CHAP. II 129
PART II.
THE AUXILIARY EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. '
CHAP. I. Prophecy 135
CHAP. II. The morality of the Gospel ..,. 142
CHAP. III. The candor of the writers of the New Testament 161
CONTENTS. X1I1
CHAP; IV. Identity of Christ's character 107
CHAP. V. Originality of Christ's character 175
CHAP. VI. Conformity of the facts occasionally mentioned or re-
ferred to in Scripture, with the state of things in those times, as
represented by foreign and independent accounts... - 176
CHAP. VII. Undesigned Coincidences 195
CHAP. VIII. Of the History of the Resurrection 197
CHAP. IX. Of the Propagation of Christianity 199
SECT. I. In what degree, within what time, and to what extent
Christianity was actually propagated 200
SECT. II. Reflections upon the preceding Account 211
SECT. III. Of the success of Mahometanism 216
PART III.
A BRIEF CONSIDERATION OF SOME POPULAR OBJECTIONS.
CHAP. I. The Discrepancies between the several Gospels 225
CHAP. II. Erroneous Opinions imputed to the Apostles 227
CHAP. III. The connexion of Christianity with the Jewish History 230
CHAP. IV. Rejection of Christianity 232
CHAP. V. That the Christian miracles are not recited, or appealed
to by early Christian writers themselves so fully or frequently as
might have been expected 211
CHAP. VI. Want of universality in the knowledge and reception
of Christianity, and of greater clearness in the evidence 246
CHAP. VII. The supposed Effects of Christianity 251
CHAP. VIII. Conclusion 255
B
A VIEW
OF
THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY.
PREPARATORY CONSIDERATIONS.
I DEEM it unnecessary to prove, that mankind stood in need of a
revelation, because I have met with no serious person who thinks
that, even under the Christian revelation, we have too much light,
or any degree of assurance, which is superfluous. I desire, more-
over, that in judging .of Christianity, it may be remembered, that
the question lies between this religion and none : for if the Chris-
tian religion he not credible, no one, with whom we have to do, will
support the pretensions of any other.
Suppose, then, the world we live in to have had a Creator; sup-
pose it to appear, from the predominant aim and tendency of the
provisions and contrivances observable in the universe, that the
Deity, when he formed it, consulted for the happiness of his sensi-
tive creation; suppose the disposition which dictated this counsel to
continue ; suppose a part of the creation to have received faculties
from their- Maker, by which they are capable of rendering a moral
obedience to his will, and of voluntarily pursuing any end for which
he has designed them; suppose the Creator to intend for these, his
rational and accountable agents, a second state of existence, in
which their situation will be regulated by their behavior in the first
state, by which supposition (and by no other) the objection to the
divine government in not putting a difference between the good and
the bad, and the inconsistency of this confusion with the care and
benevolence discoverable in the works of the Deity, is done away ;
suppose it to be of the utmost importance to the subjects of this dis-
pensation to know what is intended for them ; that is, suppose the
knowledge of it to be highly conducive to the happiness of the
species, a purpose which so many provisions of nature are calcu-
lated to promote; suppose, nevertheless, almost the whole race,
either by the imperfection of their faculties, the misfortune of their
situation, or by the loss of some prior revelation, to want this know-
ledge, and not to be likely without the aid of a new revelation to
attain it: under these circumstances, is it improbable that a reve-
lation should be made ? is it incredible that God should interpose for
su.ch a purpose ? Suppose him to design for mankind a future state ;
is it unlikely that he should acquaint him with it?
15
16 Paley's View of the
Of tlie antecedent Credibility of Miracles.
Now in what way can a revelation be made but by miracles? In
none which we are able to conceive. Consequently in whatever
degree it is probable, or not very improbable, that a revelation
should be communicated to mankind at all , in the same degree is
it probable, or not very improbable, that miracles should be wrought.
Therefore when miracles are related to have been wrought in the
promulgating of a revelation manifestly wanted, and, if true, of in-
estimable value, the improbability which arises from the miraculous
nature of the things related, is no greater than the original improba-
bility that such a revelation should be imparted by God.
I wish it however to be correctly understood, ha what manner,
and to what extent, this argument is alleged. We do not assume
the attributes of the Deity, or the existence of a future state, in or-
der to prove the reality of miracles. The reality always must be
proved by evidence. We assert only that in miracles adduced in
support of revelation, there is not any such antecedent improbability
as no testimony can surmount. And for the purpose of maintaining
this assertion, we contend that the incredibility of miracles related
to have been wrought in attestation oif a message from God, con-
veying intelligence" of a future state of rewards and punishments,
and teaching mankind how to prepare themselves for that state, is
not in itself greater than the event, call it either probable or im-
probable, of the two following propositions being true: namely,
first, that a future state of existence should be destined by God for
his human creation ; and, secondly, that being so destined, he should
acquaint them with it It is not necessary for our purpose, that
these propositions be capable of proof, or even that by arguments
drawn from the light of nature, they can be made out to be proba-
ble j it is enough that we are able to say concerning them, that
they are not so violently improbable, so contradictory to what we
already believe of the divine power and character, that either the
propositions themselves, or facts strictly connected with the proposi-
tions (and therefore no farther improbable than they are improbable),
ought to be rejected at first sight, and to be rejected by whatever
strength or complication of evidence they be attested.
This is the prejudication we would resist. For to this length does
a modern objection to miracles go, viz. that no human testimony can
in any case render them credible. I think the reflection above
stated, that if there be a revelation, there must be miracles, and
that under the circumstances in which the human species are placed,
a revelation is not improbable, or not improbable in any great de-
gree, to be a fair answer to the whole objection.
But since it is an objection which stands in the very threshold of
our argument^ and, if admitted, is a bar to every proof, and to all
future reasoning upon the subject, it may be necessary, before we
proceed farther, to examine the principle upon which it professes to
be founded; which- principle is concisely this, That it is contrary to
Evidences of Christianity. 17
experience that a miracle should be true, but not contrary to expe-
rience that testimony should be false:
Now there appears a small ambiguity in the term ' experience,'
and in the phrases ' contrary to experience,' or ' contradicting expe-
rience,' which it may be necessary to remove in the first place.
Strictly speaking, the narrative of a fact is then only contrary to ex-
perience, when the fact is related to have existed at a time and
place, at which time and place we being present did not perceive it
to exist ; as if it should be asserted that, hi a particular room, and at
a particular hour of a certain day, a man was raised from the dead,
in which room, and at the time specified, we being present, and
looking on, perceived no such event to have taken place. Here the
assertion is contrary to experience, properly so called : and this is a
contrariety which no evidence can surmount. It matters nothing
whether the fact be of a miraculous nature or not. But although
this be the experience and the contrariety, which archbishop Tillot-
son alleged hi the quotation with which Mr. Hume opens his essay,
it is certainly not that experience, nor that contrariety, which Mr.
Hume himself intended to object. And short of this, I know no in-
telligible signification which can be affixed to the term ' contrary to
experience,' but one, viz. that of not having ourselves experienced
any thing similar to the flung related, or such things not being gene-
rally experienced by others. I say 'not generally:' for to state con-
cerning the fact hi question, that no such thing was ever experienced,
or that universal experience is against it, is to assume the subject of
the controversy.
Now the improbability which arises from the want (for this prop-
erly is a want, not a contradiction) of experience, is only equal to
the probability there is that, if the thing were true, we should ex-
perience things similar to it, or that such things would be generally
experienced. Suppose it then to be true that miracles were wrought
on the first promulgation of Christianity, when nothing but miracles
could decide its authority, is it certain that such miracles could be
repeated so often, and. in so many places, as to become objects of
general experience? Is it a probability approaching to certainty.? is
it a probability of any great strength or force ? is it such as no
evidence can encounter? And yet this probability is the exact con-
verse, and therefore the exact measure, of the improbability which
arises from the want of experience, and which Mr. Hume represents
as invincible by human testimony.
It is not like alleging a new law of nature, or a new experiment
hi natural philosophy ; because when these are related, it is ex-
pected that under the same circumstances, the same effect will fol-
low universally ; and in proportion as this expectation is justly en-
. tertained, the want of a corresponding experience negatives the
history. But to- expect concerning a miracle, that it should succeed
upon a repetition, is to expect that which would make it cease to be
a miracle, which is contrary to its nature as such, and would totally
.destroy the use and purpose for which it was wrought
The force of experience, as an objection to miracles, is founded
B3
18 - Paley's Vieio of the
in the presumption, either that the course of nature is invariable, or
that if it be ever varied, variations will be frequent and general.
Has the. necessity of this alternative been demonstrated ? Permit us
to call the course of nature the agency of an intelligent Being ; and
is there any good reason lor judging this state of the case to be
probable ? Ought we not rather to expect that such a Being, on oc-
casions of peculiar importance, may interrupt the order which he
had appointed, yet that such occasions should return seldom ; that
these interruptions consequently should be confined to the expe-
rience of a few ; that the want of it, therefore, in many, should be
matter neither of surprise nor objection.
But as a continuation of the argument from experience, it is said
that when we advance accounts of miracles, we assign effects
without causes, or we attribute effects to causes inadequate to the
purpose, or to causes of the operation of which we have no expe-
rience. Of what causes, we may ask, and of what effects does the
objection speak? If it be answered, that when we ascribe the cure
of the palsy to a touch, of blindness to the anointing of the eyes
k with clay, or the raising of the dead to a word, we lay ourselves
'open to this imputation; we reply that we ascribe no such effects
to such causes. We perceive no virtue or energy in these things
more than in other things of the same kind. They are merely
signs to connect the miracle with its end. The effect we ascribe
simply to the volition of the Deity; of whose existence and power,
not to say of whose presence and agency, we have previous and in-
dependent proof. We have therefore all we seek for in the works
of rational agents, a sufficient power and ah adequate motive. In
a word, once believe that there is a God, and miracles are not in-
credible.
Mr. Hume states the case of miracles to be a contest of opposite
improbabilities; that is to say, a question whether it be more im-
probable that the miracle should be true, or the testimony false :
and this I think a fair account of the controversy. But herein I re-
mark a want of argumentative justice, that, in describing the im-
probability of miracles, he suppresses all those circumstances of
extenuation which result from our knowledge of the existence,
power, and disposition of the Deity ; his concern hi the creation, the
end answered by the miracle, the importance of that end, and its
subserviency to the plan pursued hi tiie work of nature. As Mr.
Hume has represented the question, miracles are alike incredible to
him who is previously assured of the constant agency of a Divine
; Being, and to him who believes that no such Being exists in the
universe. They are equally incredible, whether related to have
been wrought upon occasions the most deserving, and for purposes
the most beneficial, or for no assignable end whatever, or . for an
end confessedly trifling or pernicious. This surely cannot be a cor-
rect statement In adjusting also the other side of the balance, the
strength and weight of testimony, this author has provided an an-
swer to every possible accumulation of historical proof, by telling us,
that we are not obliged to explain how the story of the evidence arose.
Evidence of Christianity. 19
Now I think that we are obliged; not, perhaps, to show by positive
accounts how it did, but by a probable hypothesis how it might, so
happen. The existence of the testimony is a phenomenon ; the
truth of the fact solves the phenomenon. If we reject this solution,
we ought to have some other to rest in ; and none, even by our ad-
versaries, can be admitted, which is not inconsistent with the prin-
ciples that regulate human affairs and human conduct at present, or
which makes men tlien to have been a different kind of beings from
what they are now.
But the short consideration which, independently of every other,
convinces me that there is no solid foundation in Mr. Hume's con-
clusion, is the following. When a theorem is proposed to a mathe-
matician, the first 1 thing he does with it is to try it upon a simple
case, and if it produce a false result, he is sure that there must be
some mistake in the demonstration. Now to proceed in this way
with what maybe called Mr. Hume's theorem. If twelve men,
whose probity and good sense I had long known, should seriously
and circumstantially relate to me an account of a miracle wrought
before their' eyes, and in which it was impossible that they should
be deceived; if the governor of the country, hearing a rumor of
this account, should call these men into his presence, and offer them
a short proposal, either to confess the imposture, or submit to be tied
up to a gibbet; if they should refuse with one voice to acknowledge
that there existed any falsehood or imposture in the case ; if this
threat were communicated to them separately, yet with no different
effect; if it was at last executed ; if I myself saw them, one after
another, consenting to be racked, burnt, or strangled, rather than
give up the truth of their account ; still, if Mr. Hume's rule be my
guide, I am not to believe them. Now I undertake to say, that
there exists not a sceptic in the world who would not believe them,
or who would defend such incredulity.
Instances of spurious miracles, supported by strong apparent tes-
timony, undoubtedly demand examination ; Mr. Hume has endea-
vored. to fortify his argument by some examples of this kind. I hope
in a proper place to show, that none of them reach the strength or
circumstances of the Christian evidence. In these, however, con-
sists the weight of his objection: in the principle itself, I am per-
suaded, there is none.
PART I.
OF THE DIRECT HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OP CHRISTIANITY, AND
WHEREIN IT IS DISTINGUISHED FROM THE EVIDENCE ALLEGED
FOR OTHER MIRACLES.
THE two propositions which I shall endeavor to establish are
these: .
I. That there is satisfactory evidence mat many, professing to be
original witnesses of the Christian miracles, passed their lives in
20 Paletfs View of the
labors, dangers, and sufferings, voluntarily undergone in attestation
of the accounts which they delivered, and solely in consequence of
their belief of those accounts ; and that they also submitted, from
the same motives, to new rules of conduct
II. That there is not satisfactory evidence, that persons professing
to be original witnesses of other miracles, in their nature as certain
as these are, have ever acted in the same manner, in attestation of
the accounts which they delivered, and properly in consequence
of their belief of these accounts.
The first of these propositions, as it forms the argument, will stand
at the head of the following nine chapters.
PROPOSITION I.
' There is satisfactory evidence that many, professing' to be original wit-
nesses to the Christian miracles, passed their lives in labors, dangers, and
sufferings, voluntarily undergone in attestation of the accounts which
they delivered, and solely in consequence of their belief of those accounts ;
and that they also submitted, from the same motives, to new rules of con-
duct.'
CHAP. I.
Evidence of the Sufferings of the First Propagators of Christianity,
from the nature of the case.
To support this proposition, two points are necessary to be made
out: first, that the Founder of the institution, his associates and im-
mediate followers, acted the part which the proposition imputes to
them : secondly, that they did so in attestation of the miraculous
history recorded in our Scriptures, and solely in consequence of
their belief of the truth of this history.
Before we produce any particular testimony to the activity and
sufferings which compose the subject of our first assertion, it will
be proper to consider the degree of probability which the assertion
derives from the nature of the case, that is, by inferences from those
parts of the case which, in point of fact, are on all hands acknow-
ledged.
First, then, the Christian religion exists, and therefore by some
means or other was established. Now it either owes the principle
of its establishment, i. e. its first publication, to the activity of the
Person who was the founder of the institution, and of those who
were joined with him in the undertaking, or we are driven upon
the strange supposition, that, although they might lie by, others
would take it up; although they were quiet and silent, other per-
sons busied themselves in the success and propagation of their
story. This is perfectly incredible. To me it appears little less
than certain, that, if the first announcing of the religion by the
Founder had not been followed up by the zeal and industry of his
immediate disciples, the attempt must have expired in its birth
Then as to the kind and degree of exertion which was employed
Evidences of Christianity. 21
and the mode of life to which these persons submitted, we reasona-
bly suppose it to be like that which we observe in all others who
voluntarily become missionaries of a new faith. Frequent, earnest
and laborious preaching, constantly conversing with religious per-
sons upon religion, a sequestration from the common pleasures, en-
gagements, and varieties of life, and an addiction to one serious ob-
ject, compose the habits of such men. I do not say that this mode
of life is without enjoyment, but I say that the enjoyment springs
from sincerity. With a consciousness at the bottom of hollowness
and falsehood, the fatigue and restraint would become insupporta-
ble. I am apt to believe that very few hypocrites engage in these
undertakings ; or, however, persist in them long. Ordmarily speak-
ing, nothing can overcome the indolence of mankind, the love
which is natural to most tempers of cheerful society and cheerful
scenes, or the desire which is common to all, of personal ease and
freedom, but conviction.
Secondly, it is also highly probable, from the nature of the case,
that the propagation of the new religion was attended with difficulty
and danger. As addressed to the Jews, it was a system adverse not
only to their habitual opinions, but to those opinions upon which,
their hopes, their partialities, their pride, their consolation, was
founded. This people, with or without reason, had worked them-
selves into a persuasion, that some signal and greatly advantageous
change was to be effected in the condition of their country, by the
agency of a long-promised messenger from heaven.* .The rulers
of the Jews, their leading sect, their priesthood, had been the au-
thors of this persuasion to the common people ; so that it was not
merely the conjecture of theoretical divines,- or the secret expecta-
tion of a few recluse devotees, but it was become the popular hope
and passion, and like all popular opinions, undoubting, and impatient
of contradiction. They clung to this hope under every misfortune
of their country, and with more tenacity as their dangers or calami-
ties increased. To find, therefore, that expectations so gratifying
were to be worse than disappointed ; that they were to end in the
diffusion of a mild unambitious religion, which, instead of victories
and triumphs; instead of exalting their nation and institution above
the rest of the world, was to advance those wham they despised to
an equality with themselves, in those very points of comparison in
which they most valued their own distinction, could be no very
pleasing discovery to a Jewish mind ; nor could the messengers of
such intelligence expect to be well received or easily credited. The
doctrine was equally harsh and novel. The extending of the king-
dom of God to those who did not conform to the law of Moses, was
a notion that had never before entered into the thoughts of a Jew.
' Percrebuerat oriente toto vetus et constans opinio, esse in fatis, ut eo
tempore Judza profecti return potirentur.' Sueton. Vespasian, cap. 4 8.
' Pluribus persuasio inerat, antiquis sacerdotum literis contineri, eo
ipso tempore fore, ut valesceret oriens, profectique Judaea rerum potiren-
tur/ Tacit. Hist. lib. v. cap. 913.
22 Paley's View of the
The character of .the new institution was, in other repeats also,
ungrateful to Jewish habits and principles. Their own religion was
in a high degree technical. Even the enlightened Jew placed a
great deal of stress upon the ceremonies of his law, saw in them a
great deal of virtue and efficacy ; the gross and vulgar had scarcely
any thing else ; and the hypocritical and ostentatious magnified them
above measure, as being the instruments of their own reputation
and influence. The Christian scheme, without formally repealing
the Levin'cal code, lowered its estimation extremely. In the place
of strictness and zeal in performing the observances which that code
prescribed, or which tradition had added to it, the new sect preached
up faith, well-regulated affections, inward purity, and moral recti-
tude of disposition, as the true ground, on the part of the worship-
per, of merit and acceptance with God. This, however rational it
may appear, or recommending to us at present, did not by any means
facilitate the plan then. On the contrary, to disparage those quali-
ties which the highest characters in the country valued themselves
most upon, was a sure way of making powerful enemies. As if the
frustration of the national hope was not enough, the long-esteemed
merit of ritual zeal and punctuality was to be decried, and that by
Jews preaching to Jews.
The ruling party at Jerusalem had just before crucified the
Founder of the religion. That is a fact which will not be disputed.
They, therefore, who stood forth to preach the religion, must neces-
sarily reproach these rulers with an execution, which they could
not misrepresent as an unjust and cruel murder. This would not
render their office more easy, or their situation more safe.
With regard to the interference of the Roman government which
was then established in Judea, I should not expect, that, despising
as it did the religion of the country, it would, if left to itself, ani-
madvert, either with much vigilance or much severity, upon the
schisms and controversies which arose within it Yet there was
that in Christianity which might easily afford a handle of accusa-
tion with a jealous government. The Christians avowed an unqua'l-'
ified obedience to a new master. They avowed also that he was
the person who had been foretold to the Jews under the suspected
title of King. The spiritual nature of this kingdom, the consistency
of this obedience with civil subjections, were distinctions too refined
to be entertained by a Roman president, who viewed the business
at a great distance, or through the medium of very hostile repre-
sentations. Our histories accordingly inform us, that this was the
turn which the enemies of Jesus gave to his character and preten-
sions in their remonstrances with Pontius Pilate. And Justin Mar-
tyr, about a hundred years afterward, complains that the same mis-
take prevailed in his time : 'Ye having heard that we are waiting
for a kingdom, suppose, without distinguishing, that we mean a
human kingdom, when in truth we speak of that which is with God.'*
* Ap. Ima. p. 16. Ed. Thirl.
Evidences of Christianity. 23
And it was undoubtedly a natural source of calumny and miscon-
struction.
The preachers of Christianity had therefore to contend with pre-
judice backed by power. They had to come forward to a disap-
pointed people, to a priesthood possessing a considerable share of
municipal authority, and actuated by strong motives of 'opposition
and resentment; and they had to do this under a foreign govern-
ment, to whose favor they made no pretensions, and which was
cpnstantly surrounded by their enemies. The well-known, because
the experienced fate of reformers, whenever the reformation sub-
verts some reigning opinion, and does not proceed upon a change
that has already taken place in the sentiments of a country, will
not allow, much less lead us to suppose, that the first propagators
of Christianity at Jerusalem, and in Judea, under the difficulties
and the enemies they had to contend with, and entirely destitute as
they were of force, authority, or protection, could execute their
mission with personal ease and safety.
Let us next inquire, what might reasonably be expected by the
preachers of Christianity, when they turned themselves to the hea-
then public. Now the first thing that strikes us is, that the religion
they carried with them was exclusive. It denied without reserve
the truth of every article of heathen mythology, the existence of
every object of their worship. It accepted no compromise ; it admit-
ted no comprehension. It must prevail, if it prevailed at all, by the
overthrow of every statue, altar, and temple, in the world. It will
not easily be credited, that a design, so bold as this was, could in
any age be attempted to be carried into execution with impunity.
Forit ought to be considered, that this was nof setting forth, or
magnifying the character and worship of some new competitor for
a place in the Pantheon, whose pretensions might be discussed or
asserted without questioning the reality of any others ; it was pro-
nouncing all other gods to be false, and all other worship vain.
From the facility with which the polytheism of ancient nations
admitted new objects of worship into the number of their acknow-
ledged divinities, or the patience with which they might entertain
proposals of this kind, we can argue nothing as to their toleration
of a system, or of the publishers and active propagators of a system,
which swept away the very foundation of the existing establishment.
The one was nothing more than what it would be, in popish coun-
tries, to add a saint to the calendar; the other was to abolish and
tread under foot the calendar itself.
Secondly, it ought also to be considered, that this was not the case
of philosophers propounding in their books, or in their schools,
doubts concerning the truth of the popular creed, or even avowing
their disbelief of it These philosophers did not go about from place
to place to collect proselytes from amongst the common people ; to
form in the heart of the country societies professing their tenets ; to
provide for the order, instruction, and permanency of these socie-
ties ; nor did they enjoin their followers to withdraw themselves
24 Paley's View of the
from the public worship of the temples,* or refuse a compliance
with rites instituted by the laws. These things are -what the Chris-
tians did, and what the philosophers did not; and in these consisted
the activity and danger of the enterprise.
Thirdly, it ought also to be considered, that this danger proceeded
not merely from solemn acts and public resolutions of the state, but
from sudden bursts of violence at particular places, from the license
of the populace, the rashness of some magistrates, and negligence of
others ; from the influence and instigation of interested adversaries,
and in general, from the variety and warmth of opinion which an
errand so novel and extraordinary could not fail of exciting. I can
conceive that the teachers of Christianity might both fear and suffer
much from these causes, without any general persecution being de-
nounced against them by imperial authority. Some length of time,
I should suppose, might pass, before the vast machine of the Roman
empire would be put in motion, or its attention be obtained to reli-
gious controversy: but, during that time, a great deal of ill usage
might be endured, by a set of friendless, unprotected travellers,
telling men, wherever they came, that the religion of their ances-
tors, the religion in which they had been brought up, the religion of
the state, and of the magistrate, the rites which they frequented,
the pomp which they admired, was throughout a system of folly and
delusion.
I , Nor dp I think that the teachers of Christianity would find pro-
L! tection in that general disbelief of the popular theology, which is
supposed to have prevailed amongst the intelligent part of the
heathen public. It is by no means true that unbelievers are usually
tolerant. They are not disposed (and why should they?) to endanger
the present state of things, by suffering a religion of which they be-
lieve nothing, to be disturbed by another of which they believe as
little. They are ready themselves to conform to any thing ; and
are, oftentimes, amongst the foremost to procure conformity from
others, by any method which they think likely to be efficacious.
When was ever a change of religion patronized by infidels ? How
little, notwithstanding the reigning scepticism, and the magnified
liberality of that age, the true principles of toleration were under-
stood by the wisest men amongst them, may be gathered from two
eminent and uncontested examples. The younger Pliny, polished
as he was by all the literature of that soft and elegant period, could
gravely pronounce this monstrous judgment ; ' Those who persisted
in declaring themselves Christians, I ordered to be led away to pun-
^ ishment (i. e. to execution), for I DID NOT DOUBT, whatever it -was that
they confessed, that contumacy and inflexible obstinacy ouglit, to be
* The best of the ancient philosophers, Plato, Cicero, and Epictetus,
allowed, or rather enjoined, men to worship the gods of the country, and
in the established form. See passages to this purpose, collected from their
works, by Dr. Clarke, Nat. and Rev. Rel. p. 180. ed. 5. Except Socrates,
they all thought it wiser to comply with the laws than to contend.
Evidences of Christianity. 25
punished' His master, Trajan, a mild and accomplished prince,
went, nevertheless, no further in his sentiments of moderation and
equity, than what appears in the following rescript : ' The Christians
are not to be sought for: but if any are brought before you, and
convicted, they are to be punished.' And this direction he gives,
after it had been reported to him by his own president, that, by the
most strict examination nothing could be discovered in the principles
of these persons, but 'a bad and excessive superstition,' accom-
panied, it seems, with an oath or mutual federation, ' to allow them-
selves in no crime,.or immoral conduct whatever.' The truth is, the
ancient heathens considered religion entirely as an affair of state, as
much under the tuition of the magistrate, as any other part of the
police. The religion of that age was not merely allied to the state ;
it was incorporated into it. Many of its offices were administered
by the magistrate. Its titles of pontiffs, augurs, and flamens, were
borne by senators, consuls, and generals. Without discussing, there-
fore, the truth of theology, they resented every affront put upon the
established worship, as a direct opposition to the authority of. gov-
ernment.
Add to which, that the religious systems of those times, however
ill supported by evidence, had been long established. The ancient
religion of a country has always many votaries, and sometimes not
the fewer, because its origin is hidden in remoteness and obscurity.
Men have a natural veneration for antiquity, especially in matters
of religion. What Tacitus says of the Jewish, was more applicable
to the heathen establishment; 'Hi ritus, quoquo modo indueti, an-
tiquitate defenduntur.' It was also a splendid and sumptuous wor-
ship. It had its priesthood, its endowments, its temples. Statuary,
painting, architecture, and music, contributed their effect to its orna-
ment and magnificence. It abounded in festival shows and solem-
nities, to which the common people are greatly addicted, and which
were of a nature to engage them much more than any thing of that
sort among us. These things would retain great numbers on its
side by the fascination of spectacle and pomp, as well as interest
many in its preservation by the advantage which they drew from it.
'It was moreover interwoven,' as Mr. Gibbon rightly represents it,
' with every circumstance of business or pleasure, of public or pri-
vate life, with all the offices and amusements of society.' On the
due celebration also of its rites, the people were taught to believe,
and did believe, that the prosperity of their country in a great mea-
sure depended.
I am willing to accept the account of the matter which is given
by Mr. Gibbon: 'The various modes of worship which prevailed
in the Roman world, were, all considered by the people as equally
true, by the philosopher as equally false, and by the magistrate as
equally useful :' and I would ask from which of these three classes
of men were the Christian missionaries to look for protection or im-
punity ? Could they expect it from the people, ' whose acknowledged
confidence in the public religion' they subverted from itsfbunda-
26 PaZey's View of the
tion? From the philosopher, who, 'considering all religions as
equally false,' would of course rank theirs among the number, with
the- addition of regarding them as busy and troublesome zealots ?
Or from the magistrate, who, satisfied with the ' utility ' of the sub-
sisting religion, would not be likely to countenance a spirit of prose-
lytism and innovation ; a system which declared war against every
other, and which, if it prevailed, must end in a total rupture of
public opinion ; an upstart religion, in a word, which was not con-
tent with its own authority, but must disgrace all the settled reli-
gions in the world ? It was not to be imagined that he would endure
with patience, that the religion of the emperor and of the state
should be calumniated and borne down by a company of supersti-
tious and despicable Jews.
Lastly, the nature of the case affords a strong proof, that the original
teachers of Christianity, in consequence of their new profession, en-
tered upon a new and singular course of life. We may be allowed
to presume, that the institution which they preached to others, they
conformed to in their own persons ; because this is no more than
what every teacher of a new religion both does, and must do, in or-
der to obtain, either proselytes or hearers. The change which this
would produce was very considerable, it is a change which we do
not easily estimate, because, ourselves and all about us being habitu-
ated to the institution from our infancy, it is what we neither expe-
rience nor observe. After men became Christians, much of their
time was spent in prayer and devotion, in religious meetings, in
celebrating the eucharist, in conferences, in exhortations, in preach-
ing, in an affectionate intercourse with other societies. Perhaps
their mode of life, in its form and habit, was not very unlike the
Unitas Fratrum, or the modern Methodists. Think then what it was
to become such at Corinth, at Ephesus, at Antioch, or even at Jeru-
salem. How new! how alien from all their former habits, and
ideas, and from those of every body about them! What a revolu-
tion there must have been of opinions and prejudices to bring the
matter to this !
We know what the precepts of the religion are : how pure, how
benevolent, how disinterested a conduct they enjoin; and that this
purity and benevolence are extended to the very thoughts and
affections. We are not, perhaps, at liberty to take for granted that
the lives of the preachers of Christianity were as perfect as their
lessons : but we are entitled to contend, that the observable part of
their behavior must have agreed in a great measure with the duties
which they taught. There was, therefore (which is all that we as-
sert), a course of life pursued by them, different from that which
they before led. And this is of great importance. Men are brought
to any tiling almost sooner than to change their habit of life, espe-
cially when the change is either inconvenient, or made against the
force of natural inclination, or with the loss of accustomed indul-
gences. 'It is the most difficult of all things to convert men from
vicious habits to virtuous ones, as every one may judge from what
Evidences of Christianity. 27
he feels in himself, as well as from what he sees in others.'* It is
almost like making men over again.
Left then to myself, and without any more information than a
knowledge of the existence of the religion, of the general story upon
wihieh it is founded, and that no act of power, force, and authority,
was concerned in its first success, I should conclude, from the very
nature and exigency of the case, that the Author of the religion
during his life, and his immediate disciples after his death, exerted
themselves in spreading and publishing the institution throughout
the country in which it began, and into which it was first carried ;
that, in the prosecution of this purpose, they underwent the labors
and troubles which we observe the propagators of new sects to
undergo ; that the attempt must necessarily have also been in a
high degree dangerous ; that, from the subject of the mission, com-
pared with the fixed opinions and prejudices of those to whom the
missionaries were to address themselves, they could hardly fail of
encountering strong and frequent opposition ; that, by the hand of
government, as well as from the sudden fury and unbridled license
of the people, they would oftentimes experience injurious and cruel
treatment; that, at any rate, they must have always had so much
to fear for their personal safety, as to have passed their lives in a
state of constant peril and anxiety ; and, lastly, that their mode of
life and conduct, visibly at least, corresponded with the institutions
which they delivered, and, so far, was both new and required con-
tinual self-denial.
CHAP. II.
Evidence of the Sufferings of the First Propagators of Christianity,
from Profane Testimony.
AFTER thus considering what was likely to happen, we are next
to inquire how the transaction is represented in the several .ac-
counts that have come down to us. And this inquiry is properly
preceded by the other, forasmuch as the reception of these accounts
may depend in part on the credibility of what they contain.
The obscure and distant view of Christianity, which some of the
heathen writers of that age had gained, and which a few passages
in their remaining works incidentally discover to us, offers itself to
pur notice in the first place: because, so far as this evidence goes,
it is the concession of adversaries ; the source from which it is
drawn is unsuspected. Under this head, a quotation from Tacitus,
well known to> every scholar, must be inserted, as deserving parti-
cular attention. The reader will bear in mind that this passage
was written about seventy years after Christ's death, and that it re-
lates to transactions which took place about thirty years after that
event. Speaking of the fire which happened at Rome in the time
* Plartley's Essays on Man, p. 190.
28 Paletfs View of the
of Nero, and of the suspicions which were entertained that the em-
peror himself was concerned in causing it, the historian proceeds in
his narrative and observations thus :
' But neither these exertions, nor his largesses to the people, nor
his offerings to the gods, did away the infamous imputation under
which Nero lay, of having ordered the city to be set on fire. To
put an end, therefore, to this report, he laid the guilt, and inflicted
the most cruel punishments, upon a set of people who were holden
in abhorrence for their crimes, and called by the vulgar, Christians.
The founder of that name was Christ, who suffered death in the
reign of Tiberius, under his procurator Pontius Pilate. This per-
nicious superstition, thus checked for awhile, broke out again ; and
spread not only over Judea, where the evil originated, but through
Rome also, whither every thing bad upon the earth finds its way,
and is practised. Some who confessed their sect, were seized, and
afterward, by their information, a vast multitude were apprehended,
who were convicted, not so much of the crime of burning Rome,
as of hatred to mankind. Their sufferings at their execution were
aggravated by insult and mockery ; for some were disguised in the
skin of wild beasts, and worried to death by dogs ; some were cru-
cified ; and others were wrapped in pitch shirts,* and set on fire
when the day closed, that they might serve as lights to illuminate
the night. Nero lent his own gardens for these executions, and
exhibited at the same time a mock Circensian entertainment;
being a spectator of the whole, in the dress of a charioteer,
sometimes mingling with the crowd on foot, and sometimes view-
ing the spectacle from his car. This conduct made the sufferers
pitied ; and though they were criminals, and deserving the severest
punishments, yet the"y were considered as sacrificed, not so much
out of a regard to the public good, as to gratify the cruelty of one
man.'
Our concern with this passage at present is only so far as it affords
a presumption in support of the proposition which we maintain,
concerning the activity and sufferings of the first teachers of Chris-
tianity. Now considered in this view, it proves three things: 1st,
that the Founder of the institution was put to death; 2dly, that in
the same country in which he was put to death, the religion, after
a short check, broke out again and spread ; that it so spread, as that,
within thirty-four years from the Author's death, a very great num-
ber of Christians (ingens eorum multitude) were found at Rome.
From which fact, the two following inferences may be fairly drawn :
first, that if, in the space of thirty-four years from its commencement,
the religion had spread throughout Judea, had extended itself to
Rome, and there had numbered a great multitude of converts, the
original teachers and missionaries of the institution could not have
* This is rather a paraphrase, but is justified by what the Scholiast
upon Juvenal says ; ' Nero maleficos homines taeda et papyrb et cera su-
pervestiebat, et sic ad ignera admoveri jubebat.' Lard. Jewish and
Heath. Test. vol. i. p. 359.
Evidences of Christianity. 29
been idle ; secondly, that when the Author of the undertaking was
put to death as a malefactor for his attempt, the. endeavors of his
followers to establish his religion in the same country, amongst the
same people, and. hi the same age, could not but be attended with
danger. . -
Suetonius, a writer contemporary with Tacitus, describing the
transactions of the same reign, uses these words : ' Affecti suppliciis
Christiani, genus hominum superstitionis noyse et maleficse.'* ' The
Christians, a set of men of a new and mischievous (or magical) su-
perstition, were punished.'
Since it is not mentioned here that the burning of the city was
the pretence of the punishment of the Christians, or that they were
the_Christians of Rome who alone suffered, it is probable that Sue-
tonius refers to some more general persecution than the short and
occasional one which Tacitus describes.
Juvenal, a writer of the same age with the two former, and in-
tending, it should seem, to commemorate the cruelties exercised
under Nero's government, has the following lines :t
Pone Tigellinum, tceda lucebis in ilia
dua stantes ardent, qui fixo gutture fumant,
Et latum media sulcum deducitj arena.'
* Describe Tigellinus (a creature of Nero), and you shall suffer the
same punishment with those who stand burning in their own Same
and smoke, their head being held up by a stake fixed to their chin,
till they make a long stream of blood and melted sulphur on .the
ground.'
If this passage were considered by itself, the subject of allusion
might be doubtful; but, when connected with the testimony of
Suetonius, as to the actual punishment of the Christians by Nero,
and with the account given by Tacitus of the species of punish-
ment which they were made to undergo, I think it sufficiently
probable, that these were the executions to which the poet refers.
These things, as has been already observed, took place within
thirty-one years after Christ's death, that is, according to the course
of nature, in the lifetime; probably, of some of the apostles, and
certainly in the lifetime of those who were converted by the apos-
tles, or who were converted in their time. If then the Founder of
the religion was put to death hi the execution of his design ; if tho
first race of converts to the religion, many of them, suffered the
greatest extremities for their profession ; it is hardly credible, that
those who came between the two, who were companions of the Au-
thor of the institution during his life, and the teachers and propaga-
tors' of the institution after his death, could go about their under-
taking with ease and safety.
The' testimony of the younger Pliny belongs to a later period ;
for although be was contemporary with Tacitus and Suetonius, yet
his account does not, like theirs, go back to the transactions of
* Suet. Nero. cap. 16. t Sat. i. ver. 155. J Pornas ' deducis.'
C2
30 Paley'sVieioofthe
Nero's reign, but is confined to the affairs of his own time. His
celebrated letter to Trajan was written about seventy years after
Christ's death ; and "the information to be drawn from it, so far as
it is connected with our argument, relates principally to two points :
first, to the number of Christians in Bithynia and Pontus, which was
so considerable as to induce the governor of these provinces to
speak of them in the following terms : ' Multi, omnis aetatis, utrius-
que sexus etiam; neque enim civitates tan turn, sed vicos etiam et
agros, superstitionis istius contagio pervagata est.' 'There are
many of every age and of both sexes ; nor has the contagion of
this superstition seized cities only, but smaller towns also, and the
open country.' Great exertions must have been used by the preach-
ers of Christianity to produce this state of things within this time.
Secondly, to a point which has been already noticed, and which I
think of importance to be observed, namely, the sufferings to which
Christians were exposed, without any public persecution being de-
nounced against them by sovereign authority. For, from Pliny's
doubt how he was to act, his silence concerning any subsisting law
on the subject, his requesting the emperor's rescript, and the empe-
ror, agreeably to his request, propounding a rule for his direction,
without reference to any prior rule, it may be inferred, that there
was, at that time, no public edict in force against the Christians.
Yet from this same epistle of Pliny it appears ' that accusations,
trials^ and examinations, \vere, and had been, going on against them
in the provinces over which he presided; that, schedules were de-
livered by anonymous informers, containing the names of persons
who were suspected of holding or of favoring the religion ; that in
consequence of these informations, many had been apprehended, of
whom some boldly avowed their profession, and died in the cause;
others denied that they were Christians; others, acknowledging
that they had once been Christian, declared that they had long
ceased to be such.' All which demonstrates, that the profession of
Christianity was at that time (in that country at least) attended
with fear and danger : and yet this took place without any edict
from the Roman sovereign, commanding or authorizing the persecu-
tion of Christians. This observation is farther confirmed by a re-
script of Adrian to Minucius Fundamus, the proconsul of Asia :*
from which rescript it appears that the custom of the people of Asia
was to proceed against the Christians with tumult and uproar. This
disorderly practice, I say, is recognized in the edict, because the
emperor enjoins, that for the future, if the Christians were guilty,
they should be legally brought to trial, and not be pursued by im-
portunity and clamor.
Martial wrote a few years before the younger Pliny ; and as his
manner was, made the sufferings of the Christians the subject of
his ridicule,t Nothing, however, could show the notoriety of the
* Lard. Heath. Test. vol. ii. p. 110.
f In matutina nuper spectatos arena
Mucius, imposuit qui sua membra focis,
Evidences of Christianity. 81
fact with more certainty than this doeg. Martial's testimony, as well
indeed as Pliny's, goes also to another point, viz. that the deaths of
these men were martyrdoms in the strictest sense, that is to say,
were so voluntary, that it was in their power, at the time of pro-
nouncing the sentence, to have averted the execution, by consenting
to join in heathen sacrifices.
The constancy, and by consequence the sufferings, of the 'Chris-
tians of this period, is also referred to by Epictetus, who imputes
their intrepidity to madness, or to a kind of .fashion or habit; and
about fifty years afterward, by Marcus Aurelius, who ascribes it to
obstinacy. *Is it possible, (Epictetus asks,) that a man may arrive
at this temper, and become indifferent to those things, from madness
or from habit, as the Galileans?'* ' Let this preparation of the mind
(to die) arise from its own judgment, and not from obstinacy like the
Christians'^
CHAP.m. .
Indirect Evidence of the Sufferings of the First. Propagators of Chris-
tianity, from the Scriptures, and other ancient Christian Writings.
OF the primitive condition of Christianity, a distant only and gene-
ral view can be acquired from heathen writers. It is in our own
books that the detail an'd interior of the transaction must be sought
for. And this is nothing different from what might be expected.
Who would write a history of Christianity, but a Christian ? Who
was likely to record' the travels, sufferings, labors, or successes, of
the apostles, but one of their own number, or of their followers?
Now these books come up in their accounts to the full extent of the
proposition which we maintain. We have four histories of Jesus
Christ We have a history taking up the narrative from his death,
and carrying on an account of the propagation of the religion, and
of some of the most eminent persons engaged in it, for a space of
nearly thirty years. We have, what some may think still more ori-
ginal, a collection of letters, written by certain principal agents in
the business, upon the business, and in the midst of their concern
and connexion with 'it And we have these writings severally
attesting the point which we contend for, viz. the sufferings of the
witnesses of the history, and attesting it in every variety of form in
which it can be conceived to appear: directly and indirectly, ex-
pressly and incidentally, by assertion, recital, and allusion, by narra-
Si patiens fortisque tibi durusque videtur,
Abderitanoe pectora plebis babes;
.Nam cum dicatur, tunica prasente molesta,
Ure|| manum ; plus est dicere, Non facio.
* Epict. 1. iv. c. 7. t Marc. Aur. Med. 1. xi. c. 3,
II Forsan ' thure manum.'
32 Paley's View of the
lives of- facts, and by arguments and discourses built upon these
facts, either referring to them, or necessarily presupposing them.
I remark this variety, because, in examining ancient records, or
indeed any species of testimony, it is, in my opinion, of the greatest
importance to attend to the information or grounds of argument
which are casually and undesignedly disclosed ; forasmuch as this
species of proof is, of all others, the "least liable to be corrupted by
fraud or misrepresentation.
I may be allowed, therefore, in the inquiry which is now before
us, to suggest some conclusions of this sort, as preparatory to more
direct testimony. .
1. Our books relate, that Jesus Christ, the founder of the religion,
was, in consequence of his undertaking, put to death, as a malefac-
tor, at Jerusalem. This point at least will be granted, because it is
no more than what Tacitus has recorded. They then proceed to
tell us, that the religion was, notwithstanding, set forth at this same
city of Jerusalem, propagated thence throughout Judea, and after-
ward preached in other parts of the Roman empire. These points
also are fully confirmed by Tacitus, who informs us, that the reli-
gion, after a short check, broke out again in die country where it
took its rise 4 that it not only spread throughout Judea, but had
reached Rome, and that it had there great multitudes of converts :
and all this within thirty years after its commencement. Now these
facts afford a strong inference in behalf of the proposition which
we maintain. What could the disciples of Christ expect for them-
selves when they saw their Master put to death ? Could they hope
to escape the dangers in which he had perished? If they have per-
secuted me, they will also persecute you, was the warning of com-
mon sense. With this example before their eyes, they could not be
without a full sense of the peril of their future enterprise.
2. Secondly, all the histories agree in representing Christ as fore-
telling the persecution of his followers :
' Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you,
and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.'*
' When affliction or persecution ariseth. for the word's sake, imme-
diately they are ofiended.'t ,
1 They shall lay hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you
up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings
and rulers for my name's sake : and ye shall be betrayed both by
parents and brethren, and kinsfolks and friends,- and some of you
shall they cause to be put to death.'!
;' 'The time cometh, that he that killeth you will think that he
' doeth God service. And these things will they do unto you, because
they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I
told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I
told you of them.'
* Matt. xxiv.^. f Mark iv. 17. See also chap. x. 30.
t Luke xxi. 1216. See also chap. xi. 49.
John xvi. 4. See also chap. xv. 20. xvi. 33.
Evidences of Christianity. 33
I am not entitled to argue from these passages, that Christ actu-
ally did foretell these events, and that they did accordingly come to
pass ; because that would be at once to assume the truth of the reli-
gion:, but I am entitled to contend, that one side or other of the fol-
lowing disjunction is true ; either that the evangelists have deliv-
ered what Christ really spoke, and that the event corresponded
with the prediction; or that they put the prediction into Christ's
mouth, because, at the time of writing the history, the event had
turned out so to be : for, the only two remaining suppositions appear
in the highest degree incredible ; which are, either that Christ filled
the minds of his followers with fears and apprehensions, without
any reason or authority for what he said, and contrary to the truth
of the case ; or that, although Christ had never ;foretold any such
thing, and the event would have contradicted him if he had, yet
historians, who lived in the age when the event was known, falsely,
as well as officiously, ascribed these words to him.
3. Thirdly, these books abound with exhortations to patience, and
with topics of comfort under distress.
'Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him
that loved us.'*
'We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are per-
plexed, but not in despair ; persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast down,
but not destroyed ; always bearing about in the body the dying of
the Lord Jesus, that the life also of- Jesus might be made manifest
in our body; knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall
raise us up also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. For which
cause we faint not; but, though our outward man perish, yet the
inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eter-
nal weight of glory.'t
' Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name
of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and patience.
Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of
the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord , that the
Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.'t
* Gall to remembrance the former days in which, after ye were
illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions, partly whilst ye
were made a gazing-stoek both by reproaches and afflictions, and
partly whilst ye became companions of them that were so used ; for
ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling
of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a
better and an enduring substance. Cast not away, therefore, your
confidence, which hath great recompense of reward ; for ye have
need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might
receive the promise.'$
* Rom. viii. 3537. 1 2 Cor. iv. 810. 14. 16, 17.
J James v. 10, 11. Heb. x. 3236.
34: Paley's View of the
',So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God, for
your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that
ye endure. Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment
of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom for which
ye also suffer.'*
' We rejoice in hope of the glory of God ; and not only so, but we
glory in tribulations also ; knowing that tribulation worketh patience,
and patience experience, and experience hope.'t
'Beloved, think it not strange- concerning the fiery trial which is
to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you ; but
rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings.
Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God, commit
the keeping of their souls to him in. well-doing, as unto a faithful
Creator.'^
What could all these texts mean, if there was nothing in the cir-
cumstances of the times which required patience, which called
for the exercise of constancy and resolution? Or will it be pre-
tended, that these exhortations (which, let it be observed, come not
from one author, but from many) were put in, merely to induce a
belief in after-ages, that the Christians were exposed to dangers
which they were not exposed to, or underwent sufferings which
they did not undergo ? If these books belong to the age to which
they lay claim, and in which age, whether genuine or spurious, they
certainly did appear, this supposition cannot be maintained for a
moment; because I think it impossible to believe, that passages,
which must be deemed not only unintelligible, but false, by the per-
sons into whose hands the books upon their publication were to
come, should nevertheless be inserted, for the purpose of producing
an effect upon remote generations. In forgeries which do not ap-
pear till many ages after that to which they pretend to belong, it is
possible that some contrivance of that sort may take place,- but in
no others can it be attempted.
"CHAP. IV.
Direct Evidence of the Sufferings of the First Propagators of Chris-
tianity, from the Scriptures and otJier ancient Christian writings,
T
THE account of the treatment of the religion, and of the exer-
tions of its first preachers, as stated in our Scriptures (not in a pro-
fessed history of persecutions, or in the connected manner in which
I am about to recite it, but dispersedly and occasionally in the course
of a mixed general history, which circumstance alone negatives the
supposition of any fraudulent design), is the following: 'That the
Founder of Christianity, from the commencement of his ministry to
the time of his violent death, employed himself wholly in pubfish-
* 2 TJbess. i. 4, 5. f Rom. v. 3, 4. J 1 Pet. iv. 12, 13. 19.
Evidences of Christianity* 35
ing the institution in Judea and Galilee; that in order to assist liim
in this purpose, he made choice out of the number of his followers,
in twelve persons who might accompany him as he travelled from
place to place ; that except a short absence upon a journey in which
he sent them, two by two, to announce his mission, and one, of a
few days, when they went before him to Jerusalem, these persons
were statedly and constantly attending upon him ; that they were
"with him at Jerusalem when he was apprehended and put to death ;
and that they were commissioned by him, when his own ministry
was concluded, to publish his gospel, and collect disciples to it from
all countries of the world.' The account then proceeds to state,
' that a few days after his departure, these persons, with some of his
relations, and some who had regularly frequented then- society, as-
sembled at Jerusalem; that considering the office of preaching the
religion as now devolved upon them, and one of their number
having deserted the cause, and, repenting of his perfidy, having de-
stroyed himself, they proceeded to elect another into his place, and
that they were careful to make their election out of the number of
those who had accompanied their Master from the first to the last,
in order as they alleged that he might be a witness, together with
themselves, of the principal facts which they were about to pro-
duce and relate concerning him;* that they began their work at
Jerusalem by publicly asserting that this Jesus, whom the rulers
and inhabitants of that place had so lately crucified, was, in truth,
the person in whom all their prophecies and long expectations ter-
minated ; that he had been sent amongst them by God, and that-he
was appointed by God the future judge of the human species ; that
all who were solicitous to secure -to themselves happiness after
death, ought to receive him as such, and to make profession of their
belief, by being baptized in his name.'t The history goes on to re-
late, 'that considerable numbers accepted this proposal, and that
they who did so, formed amongst themselves a strict union and
society,}: that the attention of the Jewish government being soon
drawn upon them, two of the principal persons of the twelve, and
who also had lived most intimately and constantly with the Founder
of. the religion, were seized as they were discoursing to the people
in the temple ; that after being kept all night in prison, they were
brought the next day before an assembly composed of the chief per-
sons of the Jewish magistracy and priesthood ; that this assembly,
after some consultation, found nothing at that time better to be done
towards suppressing the growth of die sect, than to threaten their
prisoners with punishment if they persisted ; that these men, after
expressing in decent but firm language, the obligation under which
they considered themselves to be, to declare what they knew, " to
speak the things which they had seen and heard," returned from
, the council, and reported what had passed to their companions ;
that this report, whilst it apprized them of -the. danger of their situa-
tion and undertaking, had no other effect upon their .conduct than to
* Acts i. 21, 22. t Acts xi. J Acts iv. 32.
36 Paley's View of the
produce in them a general resolution to persevere, and an earnest
prayer to God to furnish them with, assistance, and to inspire them
with fortitude proportioned to the increasing exigency of the ser-
vice.'* A very short time after this, we read, ' that all the twelve
apostles were seized and cast in prison ;t that being brought a
second time before the Jewish Sanhedrim, they were upbraided
with their disobedience to the injunction which had been laid upon
them, and beaten for their contumacy; that, being charged once
more to desist, they were suffered to depart ; that however they
neither quitted Jerusalem, nor ceased from preaching, both daily in
the temple, and from house to house ;t and that the twelve con-
sidered themselves as so entirely and exclusively devoted to this
office, that they now transferred what may be called the temporal
affairs of the society to other hands.'
Hitherto the preachers of the new religion seem to have had the
common people on their side , which is assigned as the reason why
the Jewish rulers did not, at this time, think it prudent to proceed
to greater extremities. It was not long however, before the enemies
of the institution found means to represent it to the people as tend-
ing to subvert their law, degrade their lawgiver, and dishonor their
temple.H And these -insinuations were dispersed with so much suc-
cess, as to induce the people to join with their superiors in the
stoning of a very active member of the new community.
The death of this man was the signal of a general persecution,
the activity of which may be judged of from one anecdote of the
time: 'As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering into
every house, and haling men and women, committed them to prison.'TT
This persecution raged at Jerusalem with so much fury as to drive
most of the new converts out of the place, except the twelve apos-
* Acts iv. t Acts v. 18. I Acts v. 42.
I do not know that it ever has been insinuated, that the Christian
mission, in the hands of the apostles, was a scheme for making a fortune,
or for getting money. But it may nevertheless be fit to remark upon this
passage of their history, how perfectly free they appear to have been from
any pecuniary or interested views whatever. The most tempting oppor-
tunity which occurred, of making a gain of their converts, was by the
custody and management of the public funds, when some of the richer
members, intending to contribute their fortunes to the common support
of the society, sold their possessions, and laid down the prices at the
apostles' feet. Yet, so insensible, or undesirous, were they of the advan-
tage which that confidence afforded, that we find they very soon disposed
of the trust, by putting it into the hands, not of nominees of their own,
but of stewards formally elected for the purpose by the society at large.
We may add also, that this excess of generosity, which cast private
property into the public stock, was so far from being required by the
apostles, or imposed as a law of Christianity, that Peter reminds Ananias
that he had been guilty, in his behavior, of an officious and voluntary
prevarication; 'for whilst,' says he, 'thy estate remained unsold, was it
not thine own ? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power ?'
K Acts vi. 12. IT Acts viii. 3.
Evidences of Christianity. 87
ties.* The converts, thus 'scattered abroad,' preached the religion
wherever they came ; and their preaching was, in effect, the preach-
ing of the twelve ; for it was so far carried on in concert and corre-
spondence with them, that when they heard of the success of their
emissaries in a particular country, they sent two of their number to
the place, to complete and confirm the mission.
An event now took place, of great importance in the future his-
tory of the religion: The persecution! which had begun at Jerusa-
lem, followed the Christians to other cities, in which the authority
of the Jewish Sanhedrim over those of their own nation was
allowed to be exercised. A young man, who had signalized himself
by his hostility to the profession, and had procured a commission
from the council at Jerusalem to seize any converted Jews whom
he might find at Damascus, suddenly became a proselyte to the reli-
gion which he was going about to extirpate. The new convert not
only shared, on this extraordinary change, the fate of his com-
panions, but brought upon himself a double measure of enmity from
the party which he had left. The Jews at Damascus, on his return
to that city, watched the gates night and day with so much dili-
gence, that -he escaped from their hands only by being let down in
a basket by the wall. Nor did he find himself in greater safety at
Jerusalem, whither he immediately repaired. Attempts were there
also soon set on foot to destroy him ; from the danger of which he
was preserved by being sent away to Cilicia, his native country.
For some reason not mentioned, perhaps not known, but probably
connected with the civil history of the Jews, or with some dangerj
which engrossed the public attention, an intermission about this
time took place in the sufferings of the Christians. This happened,
at the most, only seven or eight, perhaps only three or four, years
after Christ's death. Within which period, and notwithstanding
that the late persecution occupied part of it, churches, or societies,
of believers, had been formed in all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria;
for we read that the churches in these countries ' had now rest, and
were edified, and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the com-
fort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.'$ The original preachers
of the religion did not remit then- labors or activity during this sea-
son of quietness, for we find one, and he a very principal person
among them, passing throughout all quarters. We find also those
* Acts viii. 1, 'And they were all scattered abroad :' but the term ' all'
is not, I think, to be taken strictly as denoting more than the generality ;
in like manner as in Acts ix. 35, 'And all that dwelt in Lydia and Saron
saw him; and turned to the Lord.'
t Acts ix. ' v
J Dr. Lardner (in which he is followed also by Dr. Benson) ascribes
this cessation of the persecution of the Christians to the attempt of Cali-
gula to set up his own statue in the temple of Jerusalem, and to the con-
sternation thereby excited in the minds of the Jewish people ; which
consternation for a season suspended every other contest.
Acts ix. 31. r*
38 , Paley's View of the
who had been before expelled from Jerusalem by the persecution
which raged there, travelling as far as Phosnice, Cyprus,, and An-
tioch;* and lastly, we find Jerusalem .again in the centre of the
mission, the place whither the preachers returned from their several
excursions, where they reported the conduct and effects of their
ministry, where questions of public concern were canvassed and
settled, whence directions were sought, and teachers sent forth.
The time of this tranquillity did not, however, continue long.
Herod Agrippa, who had lately acceded to the government of
Judea, 'stretched forth his hand to vex certain of the church.'t He
began his cruelty by beheading one of the twelve original apostles,
a kinsman and constant companion of the Founder of the religion.
Perceiving that this execution gratified the Jews,'he proceeded to
seize, in order to put to death, another of the number, and him,
like the former, associated with Christ during his life, and eminently
active in the service since his death. This man was, however,, deliv-
ered from prison, as the account states^ miraculously, and made his
escape from Jerusalem.
These things are related, not in the general terms under which,
in giving the outlines of the history, we have here mentioned them,
but with the utmost particularity of names, persons, places, and cir-
cumstances ; and, what is deserving of notice, without the smallest
discoverable propensity hi the historian to magnify the fortitude or
exaggerate the sufferings of his party. When they fled for their
lives, he tells us. When the churches had rest, he remarks it.
When the people took then- part, he does not leave it without no-
tice. When the apostles were carried a second time before the
Sanhedrim, he is careful to observe that they were brought without
violence. When milder counsels were suggested, he gives the
author of the advice, and the speech which contained it. When*
in consequence of this advice, the rulers contented themselves
with threatening the apostles, and commanding them to be beaten
with stripes, without urging at that time the persecution farther, the
historian candidly and distinctly records their forbearance. When,
therefore, in other instances, he states heavier persecutions, or ac-
tual martyrdoms, it is reasonable to believe that he states them be-
cause they were true, and not from any wish to aggravate, in his
account, the sufferings which Christians sustained, or to extol, more
than it deserved, their patience under them.
Our history now pursues a narrower path. Leaving the rest of
the apostles, and the original associates of Christ, engaged in the
propagation of the new faith (and who there is not the least reason
to believe abated in their diligence or courage), the narrative pro-
ceeds with the separate memoirs of that eminent teacher, whose
extraordinary and sudden conversion to the religion, and corre-
sponding change of conduct, had before been circumstantially de-
scribed. This person, in conjunction with another, who appeared
among the earlier members of the society at Jerusalem, and amongst
* Acts xi. 19. t Acts xii. 1. J Acts xii. 3-17.
Evidences of Christianity. . 39
the immediate adherents* of the twelve apostles, set put from An-
tioch upon the express business of carrying the new religion through
the various provinces of the Lesser Asia.t During this expedition,
we find, that in almost every place to which they came, their per-
sons were insulted, and their lives endangered. After being ex-
pelled from Antioch hi Pisidia, they repaired to Iconium4 At Ico-
nium, an attempt was made to stone them ; at Lystra, whither they
fled from Iconium, one of them actually was stoned and drawn of
out of the city for dead.|| These two men, though not themselves
original apostles, were acting in connexion and conjunction with
the original apostles ; for after the completion of their journey, be-
ing sent on a particular commission to Jerusalem, they there related
to the apostles and elders the events and success of their ministry,
and were, in return, recommended by them to the churches, ' as
men who had hazarded their lives in the cause.'
The treatment which they had experienced in the first progress,
did not deter them from preparing for a second. Upon a dispute,
however, arising between them, but not connected with the com-
mon subject of their labors, they acted as wise and sincere men
would act; they did not retire in disgust from the service in which
they were engaged, but, each devoting his endeavors to the ad-
vancement of the religion, they parted from one another, and set
forwards upon separate routes. The history goes along with one of
them; and the second enterprise to him .was attended with the
same dangers and persecutions as both had met with in the first
The apostle's travels hitherto had been confined to Asia. He now
crosses, for the first time, the ^Egean Sea, and carries with him,
amongst others, the person whose accounts supply the information
we are stating.lT The first place in Greece at which he appears to
have stopped, was Philippi in Macedonia. Here himself and one
of his companions were cruelly whipped, cast into prison, and kept
there under the most rigorous custody, being thrust, whilst yet
smarting with their wounds, into the inner dungeon, and then* feet
made fast in the stoeksi** Notwithstanding this unequivocal speci-
men of the usage which they had to look for in that country, they
went forward in the execution of their errand. After passing
through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to.Thessalonica; in
which city, the house in which they lodged was assailed by a party
of their enemies, in order to bring them out to the populace. And
when, fortunately for their preservation, they were not found at
home, the master of the house was dragged before the magistrate
for admitting them within his doors.tt Then- reception at the next
city was something better : but neither had they continued long be-
fore their turbulent adversaries, the Jews, excited against them
such commotions amongst the inhabitants, as obliged the apostle to
make his escape by a private journey to Athens.^ The extremity
* Acts iv. 36. t Actsxiii. 2. t Acts xiii. 51.
Acts xiv 1!>. |i Acts xv. 1226. IT Acts xvi. 11.
** Acts xvi. 23, 21. 33. ft Acts xvii. 15. jj Acts xvii. 13.
40 Paley's View of the
of the progress was Corinth. His abode in the city, for some time,,
seems to have been without molestation. At length, however, the
Jews found means to stir up an insurrection against him, and to
bring him before the tribunal of the Roman president.* It was to
the contempt which that magistrate entertained for the Jews and
their controversies, of which he accounted Christianity to be one,
that our apostle owed his deliverance.t
This indefatigable teacher, after leaving Corinth, returned by
Ephesus into Syria; and again visited Jerusalem, and the society
of Christians in that city, which, as hath been repeatedly observed,
still continued the centre of the mission.:}: It suited not, however,
with the activity of his zeal to remain long at Jerusalem. We
find him going thence to Antioch, and, after some stay there, travers-
ing once more the northern provinces of Asia Minor. This progress
ended at Ephesus ; in which city, the apostle continued in the daily
exercise of his ministry two years, and until his success, at length,
excited the apprehensions of those who were interested in the sup-
port of the national worship. Their clamor produced a tumult, in
which he had nearly lost his life.H Undismayed, however, by the
dangers to which he saw himself exposed, he was driven from
Ephesus only to renew his labors in Greece. After passing over
Macedonia, he then proceeded to his former station at Corinth.tf
When he had formed his design of returning by a direct course
from Corinth into Syria, he was compelled, by a conspiracy of the
Jews, who were prepared to intercept him on his way, to trace back
his steps through Macedonia to Philippi, and thence to take ship-
ping into Asia. Along the coast of Asia, he pursued his voyage
with all the expedition he could command, in order to reach Jeru-
salem against the feast of Pentecost.** His reception at Jerusalem
was of a piece with the usage he had experienced from the Jews in
other places. He had been only a few days in that city, when the
populace, instigated by some of his old opponents in Asia, who
attended this feast, seized him in the temple, forced him out of it,
and were ready immediately to have destroyed him, had not the
sudden presence of the Roman guard rescued him out of their
hands.tt The officer, however, who had thus seasonably interposed,
acted from his care of the public peace, with the preservation of
which he was charged, and not from any favor to the apostle, or
indeed any disposition to exercise either justice or humanity towards
him ; for he had no sooner secured his person in the fortress, than
he was proceeding to- examine him by torture4t
From this time to the conclusion of the history, the apostle remains
in public custody of the Roman government. After escaping assas-
sination by a fortunate discovery of the plot, and delivering himself
from the influence of his enemies by an appeal to the audience of
* Actsxviii. 12. . t Acts xviii. 15. J Acts xviii. 22.
Acts xviii. 23. || Acts xix. 1. 51, 10. IT Acts xx. 1, 2.
** Acts xx. 16. ft Acts xxi. 2733. jj Acts xxii.24.
Evidences of Christianity. 41
the emperor,* he was sent, but not till he had suffered two years'
imprisonment, to Rome.t He reached Italy, after a tedious voyage,
and after encountering in his passage the perils of a desperate ship-
wreck4 But although still a prisoner, and his fate still depending,
neither the various and long-continued sufferings which he had
undergone, nor the danger of his present situation, deterred him
from persisting in preaching the religion ; for the historian closes
the account by telling us, that, for two years, he received all that
came unto him in his own hired house, where he was permitted to
dwell with a soldier that guarded him, ' preaching the kingdom of
God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ
with all confidence.'
Now the historian, from whom we have drawn this account, in
the part of "his narrative which relates to St. Paul, is supported by
the strongest corroborating testimony that a history can receive.
We are in possession of letters written by St. Paul himself upon the
subject of his ministry, and either written during the period which
the history comprises, or, if written afterward, reciting and referring
to the transactions of that period. These letters, without borrowing
from the history, or the history from them, unintentionally confirm
the account which the history delivers, in a great variety of partic-
ulars. What belongs to our present purpose is the description ex-
hibited of the apostle's sufferings : and the representation, given in
the history, of the dangers and distresses which he underwent, not
only agrees, in general, with the language which he himself uses
whenever he speaks of his life or ministry, but is also, in many
instances, attested by a specific correspondency of time, place, and
order of events. If the historian put down in his narrative, that at
Philippi the apostle ' was beaten with many stripes, cast into prison,
and there treated with rigor and indignity ;' we find him, in a let-
ter to a neighboring church,|| reminding his converts, that * after he
had suffered before, and was shamefully entreated at Philippi, he
was bold, nevertheless, to speak unto them (to whose city he next
came) the gospel of God.' If the history relate.TT that at Thessalo-
nica, the house in which the apostle was lodged, when he first came
to that place, was assaulted by the populace, and the master of it
dragged before the magistrate for admitting such a guest within his
doors ; the apostle, in his letter to the Christians of Thessalonica,
calls to their remembrance ' how they had received the gospel in
much affliction.'** If the history deliver an account of an insurrec-
tion at Ephesus, which had nearly cost the apostle his life ; we have
the apostle himself, in a letter written a short time after his departure
from that city, describing his despair, and returning thanks for his
deliveranee.tt If the history inform us, that the apostle was expelled
from Antioch in Pisidia, attempted to be stoned at Iconium, and
* Acts xxv. 9. 11. t Acts xxiv. 27. J Acts xxvii.
Acts xvi. 23/24. || 1 Thess. ii. 2. IT Acts xvii. 5.
**lTJiess.i. 6. ftActsxix. 2 Cor. i. 8 10.
D2
42 Paley's View of the
actually stoned at Lystra; there is preserved a letter from him to a
favorite convert, whom, as the same history tells us, he first met
with in these parts ; in which letter he appeals to that disciple's
knowledge 'of the persecutions which befell him at Antioch, at Ico-
nium, at Lystra.'* If the history make the apostle, in his speech to
the Ephesian elders, remind them, as one proof of the disinterested-
ness of his views, that, to their knowledge, he had supplied his own
and the necessities of his companions by personal labor ;t we find
the same apostle, in a letter written during his residence at Ephesus,
asserting of himself, ' that even to that hour he labored, working
with his own hands.'J
These coincidences, together with many relative to other parts of
the apostle's history, and att drawn from independent sources, not
only confirm the truth of the account, in the particular points as to
which they are observed, but add much to the credit of the narra-
tive in all its parts: and support the author's profession of being a
contemporary of the person whose history he writes, and throughout
a material portion of his narrative, a companion.
What the epistles of the apostles declare of the suffering state of
Christianity, the writings which remain of their companions and
immediate followers expressly confirm.
Clement, who is honorably mentioned by Saint Paul in his Epistle
to the Philippians, hath left us his attestation to this point, in the
following words : ' Let us take (says he) the examples of our own
age. Through zeal and envy, the most faithful and righteous pillars
of the church have been persecuted even to the most grievous
deaths. Let us set before our eyes the holy apostles. Peter, by un-
just envy, underwent, not one or two, but many sufferings ; till at
last, being martyred, he went to the place of glory that was due
unto him. For the same cause did Paul, in like manner, receive
the reward of his patience. Seven times he was in bonds ; he was
whipped, was stoned ; he preached both in the East and in the West,
leaving behind him the glorious report of his faith ; and so having
taught the whole world righteousness, and for that end travelled
even unto the utmost bounds of the West, he at last suffered mar-
tyrdom by the command of the governors, and departed out of the
world, and went unto his holy place, being become a most eminent
pattern of patience unto all ages. To these holy apostles were
joined a very great number of others, who, having through envy
undergone, in like manner, many pains and torments, have left a
glorious example to us. For this, not only men, but women, have
been persecuted ; and, having suffered very grievous and cruel
punishments, have finished the course of their faith with firmness.'||
Hermas, saluted by Saint Paul in his Epistle to the Romans, hi a
piece very little connected with historical recitals, thus speaks -
* Acts xiii. 50. xiv. 5. 19. 2 Tim. iii. 10, 11. f Acts xx. 34.
1 Cor. iv. 11, 12. Philipp. iv. 3.
J Clem, ad Cor. c. v. vi. Adp. Wake's Tran.
Evidences of Christianity. 43
Such as have believed and suffered death for the name of Christ,
and have endured with a ready mind, and have given up their lives
with all their hearts.'*
Polycarp, the disciple of John (though all that remains of his
works be a very short epistle,) has not left this subject unnoticed.
'I exhort (says he) all of you, that ye obey the word of righteous-
ness, and exercise all patience, which ye have seen set forth before
your eyes, not only in the blessed Ignatius, and Lorimus, and Rufus,
but in others among yourselves, and in Paul himself and the rest of
the apostles ; being confident in this, that all these have not run in
vain ; but in faith and righteousness ; and are gone to the place that
was due to them from the Lord, with whom also they suffered. For
they loved not this present world, but Him who died, and was raised
again by God for us.t
Ignatius, the contemporary of , Polycarp, recognizes the same
topic, briefly indeed, but positively ana precisely. ' For this cause
(z. e. having felt and handled Christ's body after his resurrection,
and being convinced, as Ignatius expresses it, both by his flesh and
spirit), they (?'. e. Peter, and those who were present with Peter at
Christ's appearance) despised death, and were found to be above iff
Would the reader know what a persecution in these days was,
I would refer him to a circular letter, written by the church of
Smyrna soon after the death of Polycarp, who, it will be remem-
bered, had lived with Saint John ; and which letter is entitled a re-
lation of that bishop's martyrdom. ' The sufferings (say they) of all
the other martyrs, were blessed and generous, which they under-
\yenl according to the will of God, For so it becomes us, who are
more religious than others, to ascribe the power and ordering of all
things unto him. And indeed who can choose but admire the
greatness of their minds, and that admirable patience and love of
their Master, which then appeared in them ? Who, when they were
so flayed with whipping, that the frame and structure of their bodies
were laid open to their very inward veins and arteries, nevertheless
endured it In like manner, those who were condemned to the
beasts, and kept a long time in prison, underwent many cruel tor-
ments, being forced to lie upon sharp spikes laid under their bodies,
and tormented with divers other sorts of punishments ; that so, if it
were possible, the tyrant, by the length of their sufferings, might
have brought them to deny Christ.'
CHAP. V.
Observations on the Preceding Evidence.
ON the history, of which the last chapter contains an abstract,
there are a. few observations which it may be proper to make, by
way of applying its testimony to the particular propositions for
which we contend.
* Shenherd of Herman, . xrviii. t Pol. ad Phil. c. ir.
44 Patens View of iJie
I. Although our Scripture history leaves the general account of
the apostles in an early part of the narrative, and proceeds with the
separate account of one particular apostle, yet the information
which it delivers so far extends to the rest, as it shows the nature of
Ike service. When we see one apostle suffering persecution in the
discharge of his commission, we shall not believe, without evidence,
that the same office could, at the same time, be attended with ease
and safety to others. And this fair and reasonable inference is con-
firmed by the direct attestation of the letters, to which we have so
often referred. The writer of these letters not only alludes, in
numerous passages, to his own sufferings, but speaks of the rest of
the apostles as enduring like sufferings with himself. 'I think that
God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were, appointed to death;
for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to
men ; even unto this present hour, we both hunger and thirst, and
are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place ;
and labor, working with our own hands : being reviled, we bless ;
being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat: we are
made as the filth of the world, and as the offscouring of all things
unto this day.'* Add to which, that in the short account that is given
of the other apostles in the former part of the history, and within
the short period which that account comprises, we find, first, two of
them seized, imprisoned, brought before the Sanhedrim, and threat-
ened with farther punishment ;t then, the whole number imprisoned
and beaten 4 soon afterward, one of their adherents stoned to death,
and so hot a persecution raised against the sect, as to drive most of
them out of the place ; a short lime only succeeding, before one of
the twelve was beheaded, and another sentenced to the same fate ;
and all this passing in the single city of Jerusalem, and within ten
years after the Founder's death, and the commencement of the in-
stitution.
II. We take no credit at present for the miraculous part of the
narrative, nor do we insist upon the correctness of single passages
of it. If the whole story be not a novel, a romance ; the whole ac-
tion a dream ; if Peter, and James, and Paul, and the rest of the
apostles mentioned hi the account, be not all imaginary persons ; if
their letters be not all forgeries, and, what is more, forgeries of
names and characters which never existed ; then is their evidence
in our hands sufficient to support the only fact we contend for (and
which, I repeat again, is, in itself, highly probable), that the original
followers of Jesus Christ exerted great endeavors to propagate his
religion, and underwent great labors, dangers, and sufferings, in
consequence of their undertaking.
in. The general reality of the apostolic history is strongly con-
firmed by the consideration, that it, in truth, does no more than as-
sign adequate causes for effects which certainly were produced, and
describe consequences naturally resulting from situations which
certainly existed. The effects were certainly these, of which this
* 1 Cor. iv. 9, &c. f Acts iv. 3. 21. J Acts v. 18. 40.
Evidences of Christianity. 45
history sets forth the cause, and origin, and progress. It is acknow-
ledged on all hands, because it is recorded by other testimony than
that of the Christians themselves, that the religion began to prevail
at that time, and in that country. It is very difficult to conceive
how it could begin, or prevail at all, without the exertions of the
Founder and his followers in propagating the new persuasion. The
history now in our hands describes these exertions, the persons em-
ployed, the means and endeavors made use of, and the labors under-
taken in the prosecution of this purpose. Again, the treatment
which the history represents the first propagators of the religion to
have experienced, was no other than what naturally resulted from
the situation in which they were confessedly placed. It is admitted
that the religion was adverse, in a great degree, to the reigning
opinions, and to the hopes and wishes of the nation to which it was
first introduced ; and that it overthrew, so far as it was received,
the established theology and worship of every other country. We
cannot feel much reluctance in believing, that, when the mes-
sengers of such a system went about not only publishing their
opinions, but collecting proselytes, and forming regular societies of
proselytes, they should meet with opposition in their attempts, or
that this opposition should sometimes proceed to .fatal extremities.
Our history details examples of this opposition, and of the sufferings
and dangers which the emissaries of the religion underwent, per-
fectly agreeable to what might reasonably be expected from the
nature of their undertaking, compared with the character of the age
and country in which it was carried on.
IV. The records before us supply evidence of what formed
another member of our general proposition, and what, as hath
already been observed, is highly probable, and almost a necessary
consequence of then- new profession ; viz. that, together with ac-
tivity and courage in propagating the religion, the primitive follow-
ers of Jesus assumed, upon their conversion, a new and peculiar
course of private life. Immediately after their Master was with-
drawn from them, we hear of their ' continuing with one accord in
prayer and supplication ;'* of their ' continuing daily with one accord
in the temple ;'t of ' many being gathered together praying.'t We
know what strict injunctions were laid upon the converts by their
teachers. Wherever they came, the first word of their preaching
was, 'Repent!' We know that these injunctions obliged them to re-
frain from many species of licentiousness, which were not, at that
time, reputed criminal. We know the rules of purity, and the
maxims of benevolence, which Christians read in their books ; con-
cerning which rules, it is enough to observe, that, if they were, I
will not say completely obeyed, but in any degree regarded, they
would produce a system of conduct, and, what is more difficult to
preserve, a disposition of mind, and a regulation of affections, dif-
ferent from any thing to which they had hitherto been accustomed,
and different from what they would see in others. The change and
* Acts i. 14. t Acts ii. 46. J Acts xii. 12.
46 Paley's View of the
distinction of manners, which resulted from their new character, is
perpetually referred to in the letters of their teachers. '-And you
hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein
in times past ye walked, according to the course of this world, ac-
cording to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now
worketh in the children of disobedience : among whom also we
had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfil-
ling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others.'* ' For the time past of our
life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when
we walked hi lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, reyellings, ban-
que tings, and abominable idolatries; wherein they tidrik it strange
tliatye run not with them to the same excess of riot. Saint Paul, in
his first letter to the Corinthians, after enumerating, as his manner
was, a catalogue of vicious characters, adds, ' Such were some of
you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified.'t In like manner,
and alluding to the same change of practices and sentiments, he
asks the Roman Christians, what fruit they had hi those things,
whereof they are now ashamed !' The phrases which the same
writer employs to describe the moral condition of Christians, com-
pared with their condition before they became Christians, such as
'newness of life,' being 'freed from sin,' being 'dead to sin;' 'the
destruction of the body of sin, that, for the future, they should not
serve sin ;' ' children of light, and of the day,' as opposed to chil-
dren of darkness and of the night;' ' not sleeping as others ;' imply,
at least, a new system of obligation, and, probably, a new series of
conduct, commencing with their conversion.
The testimony which Pliny bears to the behavior of the new
sect in his time, and which testimony comes not more than fifty
years after that of Saint Paul, is very applicable to the subject un-
der consideration. The character which this writer gives of the
Christians of that age, and which was drawn from a pretty accurate
inquiry, because he considered then: moral principles as the point
in which the magistrate was interested, is as follows : He tells the
emperor, ' that some of those who had relinquished the society, or
who, to save themselves, pretended that they had relinquished it,
affirmed that they were wont to meet together, on a stated day, be-
fore it was light, and sang among themselves alternately a hymn to
Christ as a God; and to bind themselves by an oath, not- to the
commission of any wickedness, but that they would not be guilty
of theft, or robbery, or adultery ; that they would never falsify their
word, or deny a pledge committed to them, when called upon to
return it' This proves that a morality, more pure and strict than
was ordinary, prevailed at that time in Christian societies. And to
me it appears, that we are authorized to carry this testimony back
to the age of the apostles ; because it is not probable that the imme-
* Eph. ii. 13. See also Tit. iii. 3. t 1 Pet. iv. 3, 4.
f 1 Cor. vi. 11. Rom. vi. 21.
Evidences of Christianity. 47
diate hearers and disciples of Christ were more relaxed than their
successors in Pliny's time, or the missionaries of the religion than
those whom they taught.
CHAP. VI.
That ike Story, for which the first Propagators of Christianity suf-
fered, was miraculous.
WHEN we consider, first, the prevalency of the religion at this
hour ; secondly, the only credible account which can be given of
its origin, viz. me activity of the Founder and his associates ; thirdly,
the opposition which that activity must naturally have excited ;
fourthly, the fate of the Founder of the religion, attested by heathen
writers as well as our own ; fifthly, the testimony of the same writers
to the sufferings of Christians, either contemporary with, or imme-
diately succeeding, the original settlers of the institution ; sixthly,
predictions of the sufferings of his followers ascribed to the Founder
of the religion, which ascription alone proves, either that such pre-
dictions were delivered and fulfilled, or that the writers of Christ's
life were induced by the event to attribute such predictions to him ;
seventhly, letters now in our possession, written by some of the
principal agents in the transaction, referring expressly to extreme
labors, dangers, and sufferings, sustained by themselves and their
companions ; lastly, a history purporting to be written by a fellow-
traveller of one of the new teachers, and, by its unsophisticated cor-
respondency with letters of that person still extant, proving itself to
be written by some one well acquainted with the subject of the
narrative, which history contains accounts of travels, persecutions,
and martyrdoms, answering to what the former reasons led us to
expect : when we lay together these considerations, which, taken
separately, are, I think, correctly, such as I have stated them in the
preceding chapters, there cannot much doubt remain upon our
minds, but that a number of persons at that time appeared in the
world, publicly advancing an extraordinary story, and, for the sake
of propagating the belief of that story, voluntarily incurring great
personal dangers, traversing seas and kingdoms, exerting great in-
dustry, and sustaining great extremities of ill usage and persecution.
It is also proved, that the same persons, in consequence of their
persuasion, or pretended persuasion, of the truth of what they as-
serted, entered upon a course of life in many respects new and
singular.
From the clear and acknowledged parts of the case, I think it to
be likewise in the highest degree probable, that the story, for which
these persons voluntarily exposed themselves to the fatigues and
hardships which they endured, was a miraculous story ; I mean,
that they pretended to miraculous evidence of some kind or other.
They had nothing else to stand upon. The designation of the per-
son, that is to say, that Jesus of Nazareth, rather than any other
48 Paley's View of the
person, was the Messiah, and as such the subject of their ministry,
could only be founded upon supernatural tokens attributed to him.
Here were no victories, no conquests, no revolutions, no surprising
elevation of fortune, no achievements of valor, of strength, or of
policy, to appeal to; no discoveries hi any art or science, no great
efforts of genius or learning to produce.
A Galilean peasant was announced to the world as a divine law-
giver. A young man of mean condition, of a private and simple
life, and who had wrought no deliverance for the Jewish nation,
was declared to be their Messiah. This, without ascribing to him
at the same time some proofs of his mission, (and what other but
supernatural proofs could there be ?) was too absurd a claim to be
either imagined, or attempted, or credited. In whatever degree, or
in whatever part, the religion was argumentative, when it came to
the question, ' Is the carpenter's son of Nazareth the person whom
we are to receive and obey?' there was nothing but the .miracles
attributed to him, by which his pretensions could be maintained foi
a moment. Every controversy and every question must presup-
pose these ; for, however such controversies, when they did arise,
might, and naturally would, be discussed upon their own grounds
of argumentation, without citing the miraculous evidence which
had been asserted to attend the Founder of the religion (which
would have been to enter upon another, and a more general ques-
tion), yet we are to bear in mind, that without previously supposing
the existence, or the pretence of such evidence, there could have
been no place for the discussion of the argument at all. Thus, foi
example, whether the prophecies, which the Jews interpreted t(
belong to the Messiah, were, or were not, applicable to the histor)
of Jesus of Nazareth, was a natural subject of debate in thos<
times ; and the debate would proceed, without recurring at eyerj
turn to his miracles, because it set out with, supposing these ; inas
much as without miraculous marks and tokens (real or pretended)
or without some such great change effected by his means in th(
public condition of the country, as might have satisfied the then re
ceived interpretation of these prophecies, I do not see how th<
question could ever have been entertained. Apollos, we read
' mightily convinced the Jews, showing by the Scriptures that Jesu:
was Christ,-'* but unless Jesus had exhibited some distinction oi
his person, some proof of supernatural power, the argument fron
the old Scriptures could have had no place. It had nothing to at
tach upon. A young man calling himself the Son of God, gatherinj
a crowd about him, and delivering to them lectures of morality
could not have excited so much as a doubt among the Jews
whether he was the object in whom a long series of ancient proph
ecies terminated, from the completion of which they had formei
such magnificent expectations, and expectations of a nature so op
posite to what appeared; I mean, no such doubt could exist whei
they had the whole case before them, when they saw him put t
* Acts xviii. 28.
Evidences of Christianity. 49
death for his officiousness, and when by his death the evidence
concerning him was closed. Again, the effect of the Messiah's
coming, supposing Jesus to have been he, upon Jews, upon Gen-
tiles, upon their relation to each other, upon their acceptance with
God, upon their duties and their expectations ; his nature, authority,
office, and agency ; were likely to become subjects of much con-
sideration with the early votaries of the religion, and to occupy
their attention and writings. I should not however expect, that hi
these disquisitions, whether preserved in the form of letters,
speeches, or set treatises, frequent or very direct mention of his
miracles would occur. Still, miraculous evidence lay at the bottom
of the argument. In the primary question, miraculous pretensions,
and miraculous pretensions alone, were what they had to rely
upon.
That the original story was miraculous, is very fairly also inferred
from the miraculous powers which were laid claim to by the Chris-
tians of succeeding ages. If the accounts of these miracles be true,
it was a continuation of the same powers ; if they be false, it was
in imitation, I will not say, of what had been wrought, but of what
had been reported to have been wrought, by those who preceded
them. That imitation should follow reality, fiction should be grafted
upon truth ; that, if miracles were performed at first, miracles should
be pretended afterward ; agrees so well with the ordinary course
of human affairs, that we can have no great difficulty hi believing
it. The contrary supposition is very improbable, namely, that mira-
cles should be pretended to by the followers of the apostles and first
emissaries of religion, when none were pretended to, either in their
own persons or that of their Master, by these apostles and emissa-
ries themselves.
CHAP. vn.
That it was in the main the Story which we have now proved, by indi~
reel Considerations.
IT being then once proved, that the first propagators of the Chris-
tian institution did exert activity, and subject themselves to grea
dangers and sufferings, in consequence, and for the sake of an extra
ordinary, and, I think we may say, of a miraculous story of some
kind or other; the next great question is, Whether the account
which our Scriptures contain, be that story ; that which these men
delivered, and for which they acted and suffered as they did? This
question is, hi effect, no other than whether the story which Chris-
tians have now, be the story which Christians had then ? And of
this the following proofs may be deduced from general considera-
tions prior to -any inquiry into the particular reasons and testimonies
by which the authority of our histories is supported.
In the first place, there exists no trace or vestige of any other
story. It is not, like the death of Cyrus the Great, a competition
between opposite accounts, or between the credit of different histo-
E
50 Paleifs View of the
rians. There is not a document, or scrap of account, either contem-
porary with the commencement of Christianity, or extant within
many ages after that commencement, which assigns a history sub-
stantially differing from ours. The remote, brief) and incidental
notices of the affair, which are found in heathen writers, so far as
they do go, go along with us. They bear testimony to these facts :
that the institution originated from Jesus ; that the Founder was. put
to death, as a malefactor, at Jerusalem, by the authority of the Ro-
man governor, Pontius Pilate ; that the religion nevertheless spread
in that city, and throughout Judea; and that it was propagated
thence to distant countries ; that the converts were numerous ; that
they suffered great hardships and injuries for their profession; and
that all this took place in the age of the world which our books
have assigned. They go on farther, to describe the manners of
Christians, in terms perfectly conformable to the accounts extant in
our books ; that they were wont to assemble on a certain day ; that
they sang hymns to Christ as to a god ; that they bound themselves
by an oath not to commit any crime, but to abstain from theft and
adultery, to adhere strictly to their promises, and not to deny
money deposited in their hands ;* that they worshipped him who
was crucified in Palestine ; that this their first lawgiver had taught
them that they were all brethren ; that they had a great contempt
for the things of this world, and looked upon them as common ; that
they flew to one another's relief; that they cherished strong hopes
of immortality ; that they despised death, and surrendered them-
selves to sufferings.'! This is the account of writers who viewed
the subject at a great distance ; who were uninformed and unin-
terested about it. It bears the characters of such an account upon
the face of it, because it describes effects, namely, the appearance
in the world of a new religion, and the conversion of great multi-
tudes to it, without descending, in the smallest degree, to the detail
of the transaction upon which it was founded, the interior of the
institution, the evidence or arguments offered by those who drew
over others to it. Yet still here is no contradiction of our story ; no
* See Pliny's Letter. Bonnet, in his lively way of expressing himself,
says, ' Comparing Pliny's Letter with the account in the Acts, it seems
to me that I had riot taken up another author, but that I was still read-
ing the historian of that extraordinary society.' This is strong: but
there is undoubtedly an affinity, and all the affinity that could be ex-
pected.
t ' It is incredible what expedition they use when any of their friends
are known to be in trouble. In a word, they spare nothing upon such an
occasion .- for these miserable men have no doubt they shall be immortal
and live for ever : therefore they contemn death, and many surrender
themselves to sufferings. Moreover, their first lawgiver has taught them
that they are all brethren, when once they have turned- and renounced
the gods of the Greeks, and worship this Master of theirs who was cru-
cified, and engage to live according to his laws. They have also a sove-
reign contempt for all the things of this world, and look upon them as
common.' Lucian. de Morte Peregrinj, t.i. p. 565. ed. Gnev.
Evidences of Ciiristianity* 51
other or different story set up against it : but so far a confirmation
of it, as that, in the general points on which the heathen account
touches, it agrees with that which we find in our own books.
The same may be observed ( of the very few Jewish writers, of
that and the adjoining period, which have come down to us. What-
ever they omit, or whatever difficulties we may find in explaining
the omission; they advance no other liistory of the transaction than
that which we acknowledge. Josephus, who wrote his Antiquities,
or History of the Jews, about sixty years after the commencement
of Christianity, in a passage generally admitted as genuine, makes
mention of John, under the name of John the Baptist ; that he was
a preacher of virtue ; that he baptized his proselytes ; that he was
well received by the people ; that he was imprisoned and put to
death by Herod ; and that Herod lived in a criminal cohabitation
with Herodias his brother's wife.* In another passage, allowed by
many, although not without considerable question being moved
about it, we hear of ' James, the brother of him who was called
Jesus, and of his being put to death.'t In a third passage, extant in
every copy that remains of Josephus's History, but the authenticity
of which has nevertheless been long disputed, we have an explicit
testimony to the substance of .pur history in these words : ' At that
time lived Jesus, a wise man, if he may be called a man, for he per-
formed many wonderful works. He was a teacher of such men as
received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him many Jews
and Gentiles. This was the Christ ; and when Pilate, at the insti-
gation of the chief men among us, had condemned him to the cross,
they who before had conceived an affection for him, did not cease
to adhere to him: for, on the third day, he appeared to them alive
again ; the divine prophets having foretold these and many wonder-
ful things concerning him. And the sect of the Christians, so called
from him, subsist to this time.'f Whatever becomes of the contro-
versy concerning the genuineness of this passage ; whether Jose-
phus go the whole length of our history, which, if the passage be
sincere, he does ; or whether he proceed only a very little way with
us, which, if the passage be rejected, we confess to be the case ;
still what we asserted is true, that he gives no other different his-
tory of the subject from ours, no other or different account of the
origin of the institution. And I think also that it may with great
reason be cqntended, either that the passage is genuine, or that the
silence of Josephus was designed. For, although we should lay
aside the authority of our own books entirely, yet when Tacitus,
who wrote not twenty, perhaps not ten, years after Josephus, in his
account of a period in which Josephus was nearly thirty years of
age, tells us, that a vast multitude of Christians were condemned
at Rome ; that they derived their denomination from Christ, who, in
the reign of Tiberius, was put to death, as a criminal, by the procu-
* Antiq. 1. xviii. cap. v. sect. 3,2. f Antiq. 1. xx. cap. ix. sect. 1.
J Antiq. 1. xviii. cap. iii. sect. 3.
52 Paley's View of the
rator, Pontius Pilate ; that the superstition had spread not only over
Judea, the source of the evil, but had reached Rome also: when
Suetonius, an historian contemporary with Tacitus, relates that, in
the time of Claudius, the Jews were making disturbances at Rome,
Christus being their leader; and that, during the reign of Nero, the
Christians were punished ; under both which emperors Josephus
lived; when Pliny, who wrote his celebrated epistle not more than
thirty years after the publication of Josephus's history, found the
Christians in such numbers hi the province of Bithynia, as to draw
from him a complaint, that the contagion had seized cities, towns,
and villages, and had so seized them as to produce a general deser-
tion of the public rites ; and when, as has already been observed,
there is no reason for imagining that the Christians were more
numerous in Bithynia than in many other parts of the Roman em-
pire : it cannot, I should suppose, after this, be believed, that the re-
ligion, and the transaction upon which it was founded, were too ob-
scure to engage the attention of Josephus, or to obtain a place in
bis history. Perhaps he did not know how to represent the business,
and disposed of his difficulties by passing it over in silence. Eusebius
wrote the life of Constantino, yet omits entirely the most remarka-
ble circumstance hi that life, the death of his son Crispus ; undoubt-
edly for the reason here given. The reserve of Josephus upon the
subject of Christianity appears also in his passing over the banish-
ment of the Jews by Claudius, which Suetonius, we have seen,
has recorded with an express reference to Christ This is at least
as remarkable as his silence about the infants of Bethlehem.* Be,
however, the fact, or die cause of the omission in Josephus,t what
it may, no other or different history on the subject has been given
by him, or is pretended to have been given.
But farther ; the whole series of Christian writers, from the first
age of the institution down to the present, in their discussions,
apologies, arguments, and controversies, proceed upon the general
story which our Scriptures contain, and upon no other. The main
facts, the principal agents, are alike in all. This argument will ap-
pear to be of great force, when it is known that we are able to trace
back the series of writers to a contact with the historical books of
* Michaelis has computed, and, as it should seem, fairly enough, that
probably not more than twenty children perished by this cruel precaution.
Michaelis's Introduction to the New Testament, translated by Marsh,
vol. 1. c. ii. sect. 11.
t There is no notice taken of Christianity in the Misna, a collection of
Jewish traditions compiled about the year ISO ; although it contains a
tract 'De cultu peregrino,' of strange or idolatrous worship: yet it can-
not be disputed but that Christianity was perfectly well known in the
world at this time. There is extremely little notice of the subject in the
Jerusalem Talmud, compiled about the year 300, and not much more in
the Babylonish Talmud, of the year 500; although both these works are
of a religious nature, and although, when the first was compiled, Chris-
tianity was on the point of becoming the religion of the state, and, when
Che latter was published, had been so for 200 years.
Evidences of Christianity. 53
the New Testament, and- to the age of the first emissaries of the
religion, and to deduce it, by an unbroken continuation, from that
end of the train to the present-.
The remaining letters of the apostles (and what more original
than their letters can we have ?) though written without the re-
motest design of transmitting the history of Christ, or of Christianity,
to future ages, or eveii of making it known to their contemporaries,
incidentally disclose to us the following circumstances: Christ's
descent and family ; his innocence; the meekness and gentleness
of his character (a recognition which goes to the whole Gospel his-
tory) ; his exalted nature ; his circumcision ; his transfiguration ; his
life of opposition and suffering ; his patience and resignation ; the
appointment of the eucharist, and the manner of it ; his agony ; his
confession before Pontius Pilate ; his stripes, crucifixion, and burial ;
his resurrection ; his appearance after it, first to Peter, then to the
rest of the apostles; his ascension into heaven, and his designation
to be the future judge of mankind ; the stated residence of the
apostles at Jerusalem ; the working of miracles by the first preach-
ers of the gospel, who were also the hearers of Christ ;* the suc-
cessful propagation of the religion ; the persecution of its followers ;
the miraculous conversion of "Paul; miracles wrought by himself,
arid alleged in his controversies with his adversaries, and in letters
to the persons amongst whom they were wrought; finally, that
MIRACLES were ilie signs of an apostle.^
In an epistle bearing the name of Barnabas, the companion of
Paul, probably genuine, certainly belonging to that age, we have
the sufferings of Christ, his choice of apostles and their number, his
passion, the scarlet robe, the vinegar and gall, the mocking and
piercing, the casting lots for his coat.t his resurrection on the eighth
(e. e. the first day of the week), and the commemorative distinction
of that day, his manifestation after his resurrection, and, lastly, his
ascension. We have also his miracles generally but positively re-
ferred to in the following words: 'Finally, teaching the people of
* Heb. ii. 3; 'How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation,
which, at the first, began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard him, God also bearing them witness, both icitA
signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost!'
I allege this Epistle without hesitation; for, whatever doubts may have
been raised about its author, there can be none concerning the age in
which it was written. No epistle in the collection carries about it more
indubitable marks of antiquity than this does. It speaks, for instance,
throughout, of the temple as then standing, and of the worship of the
temple as then subsisting. Hcb. viii. 4; 'For, if he were on earth, he
should not be a priest, seeing there are priests that offer according to the
law.' Again, Heb. xiii. 10; 'We have an altar whereof they have no
right to eat which serve the tabernacle.'
f Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all
patience, in signs, in wonders, and mighty deeds. 1 2 Cor. xii. 12.
J Ep. Bar. c. vii. Ep. Bar. c. vi.
E2
54 Paley's View. of the
Israel, and doing many wonders and signs among them, he preached
to them, and showed the exceeding great love which he bare to-
wards them,'*
In an epistle of Clement, a hearer of Saint Paul, although written
for a purpose remotely connected with the Christian history, we
have the resurrection of Christ, and the subsequent mission of the
apostles, recorded in these satisfactory terms : ' The apostles have
preached to us from our Lord Jesus Christ from God : for, having
received their command, and being thoroughly assured by the resur-
rection of our Lord Jesus Christ, they went abroad, publishing that
the kingdom of God was at hand.'t We find noticed also, the
humility, yet the power of Christ,t his descent from Abraham, his
crucifixion. We have Peter and Paul represented as faithful and
righteous pillars of the church; the numerous sufferings of Peter ;
the bonds, stripes, and stoning of Paul, and, more particularly, his ,
extensive and unwearied travels.
In an epistle of. Polycarp, a disciple of Saint John, though only a
brief hortatory letter, we have the humility, patience, sufferings, re-
surrection, and ascension, of Christ, together with the apostolic
character of Saint Paul, distinctly recognized.^ Of this same father
we are also assured by Irenaeus, that he (Irenaeus) had heard him re-
late, ' what he had received from eye-witnesses concerning the
Lord, both concerning his miracles and his doctrine.'!!
In the remaining works of Ignatius, the contemporary of Poly-
carp, larger than those of Polycarp (yet like those of Polycarp, treat-
ing of subjects in nowise leading to any recital of the Christian his-
tory), the occasional allusions are proportionably more numerous.
The descent of Christ from David, his mother Mary, his miraculous
conception, the star at his birth, his baptism by John, the reason as-
signed for it, his appeal to the prophets, the ointment poured on his
head, his sufferings under Pontius Pilate and Herod the tetrarch,
'his resurrection, the Lord's day called and kept in commemoration
of it, and the eucharist, in both its parts are unequivocally referred
to. Upon the resurrection, this writer is even circumstantial. He
mentions the apostles' eating and drinking with Christ after he had
risen, their feeling and their handling him ; from which last circum-
stance Ignatius raises this just reflection: 'They believed, being
convinced both by his flesh and spirit ; for this cause, they despised
death, and were found to be above it'lT
Quadratus, of the same age with Ignatius, has left us the follow-
ing noble testimony : ' The works of our Saviour were always con-
spicuous, for they were real; both those that were healed, and
those that were raised from the dead; who were seen not only
when they were healed or raised, but for a long time afterward ;
not only whilst he dwelled on this earth, but also after his depar-
* Ep. Bar. c. v. f Ep. Clem. Rom. c. xlii. \ Ep. Clem. Rom. c. xvi.
5 Pol. Ep. ad Phil. c. v. viii. ii. iii.
\ Ir. ad Flor. ap. Euseb. 1. v. c. 20. IT Ad Smyr. c. iii.
Evidences of Christianity, 55
ture, and for a good while after it, insomuch that some of them have
reached to our times.'*
Justin Martyr came little more than thirty years after Quadratus.
From Justin's works, which are still extant, might be collected a
tolerably complete account of Christ's life, in all points agreeing
with that which is delivered in our Scriptures ; taken indeed, in a
great measure, from those Scriptures, but still proving that this ac-.
count, and no other, was the account known and extant in that age.
The miracles in particular, which form the part of Christ's history
most material to be traced, stand fully and distinctly recognized in
the following passage : ' He healed those who had been blind, and
deaf, and lame, from their birth ; causing, by his word, one to leap,
another to hear, and a third to see : and by raising -the dead, and
making them to live, he induced, by his works, the men of that age
to know him.'t
It is unnecessary to carry these citations lower, because the his-
tory, after this time, occurs in ancient Christian writings as famil-
iarly as it is wont to do in modern sermons ; occurs always the
same in substance, and always that which our evangelists repre-
sent
This is not only true of those writings of Christians, which are
genuine, and of acknowledged authority ; but it is, in a great; mea-
sure, true of aU their ancient writings which remain; although
.some of these may have been erroneously ascribed to authors to
whom they did not belong, or may contain false accounts, or may
;appear to be undeserving of credit, or never indeed to have ob-
tained any. Whatever fables they have mixed with the narrative,
they preserve the material parts, the leading facts, as we have
them; and so far as they do this, although they be evidence of
mothing else, they are evidence that these points were fixed, were
received and acknowledged by all Christians in the age in which
the books were written. At least, it may be asserted, that hi the^
places where we were most likely to meet with such things, if such
things had existed, no relics appear of any story substantially differ-
ent from the present, as the cause or as the pretence of the insti-
tution.
Now that the original story, the story delivered by the first
preachers of the institution, should have died away so entirely as'
to have left no record or memorial of its existence, although so
many records and memorials of the time and transaction remain ;
and that another story should have stepped into its place, and
gained exclusive possession of the belief of all who professed them-
selves disciples of the institution, is beyond any example of the
corruption of even oral tradition, and still less consistent with the
experience of written history: and this improbability, which is very
great, is rendered still greater by the reflection, that no such change
as the oblivion of one story, and the substitution of another, took
* Ap. Euseb. H. E. lib. iv. c. 3.
t Just. Dial. cum. Tryph. p. 2?8. ed. Thirl.
58 Puleifs Vfeto of the
place in any future period of the Christian era. Christianity hath
travelled through dark arid turbulent ages ; nevertheless, it came
out of the cloud and the slorm, such in substance, as it entered in.
Many additions were made to the primitive history, and these enti-
tled to different degrees of credit ; many doctrinal errors also were
from lime to time grafted .into the public creed ; but still the origi
nal story remained, and remained the same. In all its principal
parts, it has been fixed from the beginning.
Thirdly : The religions rites and usages that prevailed amongs<
the early disciples of Christianity were such as belonged to, and
sprung out of, the narrative in our hands ; which accordancy shows
that it was the narrative upon which these persons acted, and
which they had received from their teachers. Our account makes
the Founder of the religion direct that his disciples should be
baptized. We know that the first Christians were baptized
Our account makes him direct, that they should hold religious
assemblies: we find that they did hold religious assemblies. Our
accounts make the apostles assemble upon a stated day of thu
week: we find, and that from information perfectly independen'
of our accounts, that the Christians of the first century did observe
stated days of assembling. Our histories record the institution of
the rite which we call the Lord's supper, and a command to repeat
it in perpetual succession : we find amongst the early Christians, the
celebration of this rite universal. And, indeed, we find, concurring
in all the above-mentioned observances, Christian societies of many
different nations and languages, removed from one another by a.
great distance of place, and dissimilitude of situation. It is also ex
tremely material to remark, that there is up room for insinuating
that our books were fabricated with a studious accommodation to
the usages which obtained at the time they were written ; that tha
authors of the books found the usages es'/iblished, and framed the
story to account for their original. The Scripture accounts espe-
cially of the Lord's supper are too short sjtd cursory, not to say too
obscure, and, in this view, deficient, to a'ia\v a place for any such
suspicion.* .
Amongst the proofs of the truth of Jhh proposition, viz. that the
story which we have now is, in subf.fjwce, the story which the
Christians had then, or, in. other worJs, that the accounts in our
Gospels are, as to their principal partv t least, the accounts which
the apostles and original teachers of the religion deliversd, one
arises from observing that it appears by the Gospels themselves, that
the story was public at the time ; that .the Christian community
was already in possession of the su'rwtance and principal parts of
the narrative. The Gospels were not the original cause of the
Christian history being believed, but were themselves among the
* The reader, who is conversant in these researches, by comparing
tlio short (Scripture accounts of UK; Christian rites above mentioned, with
the minute and circumstantial directions contained in the pretended
apostolical constitutions, will see the force of this observation; the dif-
ference between truth and forgery.
Evidences of Christianity. 57
consequences of that belief. This is expressly affirmed by St. Luke,
in his brief, but, as I think, very important and instructive, preface :
'Forasmuch (says the evangelist) as many have taken in hand to
set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely
believed amongst us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from
the beginning were eye-witnesses, and ministers of the word ; it seemed
good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things
from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent The-
ophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things
wherein thou hast been instructed.' This short introduction testifies,
that the substance of the history which the evangelist was about to
write, was already believed by Christians; that it was believed
upon the declaration of eye-witnesses and ministers of the word ;
that it formed the account of their religion in which Christians
were instructed ; that the office which the historian proposed to
himself, was to trace each particular to its origin, and to fix the
certainty of many things which the reader had before heard of. In
St John's Gospel, the same point appears hence, that there are
some principal facts to which the historian refers, but which he
does not relate. A remarkable instance of this kind is the ascen-
sion, which is not mentioned by Saint John in its place, at the con-
clusion of his history, but which is plainly referred to in the follow-
ing words of the sixth chapter :* ' What and if ye shall see the Son
of man ascend up where he was before ?' And still more positively
in the , words which Christ, according to our evangelist, spoke to
Mary after his resurrection, 'Touch me not, for I am not yet as-
cended to my Father : but go unto my brethren, and say unto them,
I ascend unto my Father and your Father, unto my God and your
God.'t This can only be accounted for by the supposition that
Saint John wrote under a sense of the notoriety of Christ's ascen-
sion, amongst those by whom his book was likely to be read. The
same account must also be given of Saint Mathew's omission of the
same important fact. The thing was very well known, and it did
not occur to the historian that it was necessary to add any particu-
lars concerning it. It agrees also with this solution and with no
other, that neither Matthew nor John disposes of the person of our
Lord in any manner whatever. Other intimations in Saint John's
. Gospel of the then general notoriety of the story are the following :
His manner of introducing his narrative, (ch. 1. ver. 15.) ' John bare
witness of him, and cried, saying' evidently presupposes that his
readers knew who John was. His rapid parenthetical reference to
John's imprisonment, ' for John was not yet cast into prison,'J could
only come from a writer whose mind was in the habit of consider-
ing John's imprisonment as perfectly notorious. The description of
Andrew by the addition 'Simon Peter's brother,'? takes it for
granted, that Simon Peter was well known. His name had not
been mentioned before. The evangelist's noticing!) the prevailing
* Also John ii. 13, and xvi. 23. t John xx. 17.
| John iii. 24. John ii. 40. fl John xxi. 24.
58 Palcy's View nf the
misconstruction of a discourse, which Christ held with the beloved
disciple, proves that the characters and the discourse were already
public. And the observation which these instances afford, is of
equal validity for the .purpose of the present argument, whoever
were the authors of the histories.
These four circumstances; first, the recognition of the account
in its principal parts, by a series of succeeding writers ; secondly,
the total absence of any account of the origin of the religion, sub-
stantially different from ours ; thirdly, the early and extensive prev-
alence of rites and institutions which result from our account;
fourthly, our account bearing, in its construction, proof that it is an
account of facts which were known and believed at the time; are
sufficient, I conceive, to support an assurance, that the story which
we have now, is, in general, the story which Christians had at the
beginning. I say in general ; by which term I mean, that it is the
same in its texture, and in its principal facts. For instance, I make
no doubt, for the reason above stated, but that the resurrection of
xhe Founder of the religion was always a part of the Christian story
JVbr can a doubt of this remain upon the mind of any one who
reflects that the resurrection is, in some form or other, asserted,
referred to, or assumed, in every Christian writing, of every descrip-
tion, which hath come down to us.
And if our evidence stopped here, we should have a strong case
to offer ; for we should have to allege, that in the reign of Tiberius
Oesar, a certain numbex of persons set about an attempt of estab-
lishing a new religion in the world : in the prosecution of which
purpose, they voluntarily encountered great dangers, undertook
great labors, sustained great sufferings, all for a miraculous story,
which they published wherever they came ; and that the resurrec-
tion of a dead man, whom during his life they had followed and
accompanied, was a constant part of the story. I know nothing in
the above statement which can, with any appearance of reason, be
disputed,- and I know nothing, in. the history of the human species,
similar to it.
CHAP. VIII.
T/iat it VMS in the main tfte Story which we have now proved, from the
authority of our historical Scriptures.
THAT the story which we have now is, in the main, the story
which the apostles published, is, I think, nearly certain, from the
considerations which have been proposed- Bnt whether, when we
come to the particulars, and the detail of the narrative, the historical
books of the New Testament be deserving of credit as histories, so
that a fact ought to be accounted true, because it is found in them ;
or whether they are entitled to be considered as representing the
accounts, which, true or false, the apostles published; whether
their authority, in either of these views, can be trusted to, is a point
Evidences of Christianity. 59
which necessarily depends upon what we know of the books, and
of their authors.
Now, in treating of this part of our argument, the first and most
material observation upon the subject is, that such was the situation
of the authors to whom the four Gospels are ascribed, that, if any
one of the four be genuine, it is sufficient for our purpose. The
received author of the first was an original apostle and emissary of
the religion. The received author of the second was an inhabitant
of Jerusalem at the time, to whose house the apostles were wont to
resort, and himself an attendant upon one of the most eminent of
that number. The received author of the third, was a stated com-
panion and fellow-traveller of the most active of all the teachers
of the religion, and, in the course of his travels, frequently in the
society of the original apostles. The received author of the fourth,
as well as of the first, was one of these apostles. No stronger evi-
dence of the truth of a history can arise from the situation of the
historian, than what is here offered. The authors of all the histories
lived at the time and upon the snot. The authors of two of the his-
tories were present at many of the scenes which they describe ;
eye-witnesses of the facts, ear- witnesses of the discourses ; writing
from personal knowledge and recollection ; and, what strengthens
their testimony, writing upon a subject in which their minds were
deeply engaged, and in which, as they must have been very fre-
quently repeating the accounts to others, the passages of the history
would be kept continually alive in their memory. Whoever reads
the Gospels (and they ought to be read for this particular purpose),
will find in them not merely a general affirmation of miraculous
powers, but detailed circumstantial accounts of miracles, with spe-
cifications of time, place, and persons; and these accounts many
and various. In the Gospels, therefore, which bear the names of
Matthew and John, these narratives, if they really proceeded from
these men, must either be true, as far as the fidelity of human recol-
lection is usually to be depended upon, that is, must be true in sub-
stance, and in Iheir principal parts (which is sufficient for the pur-
pose of proving a supernatural agency), or they must be wilful and
meditated falsehoods. Yet the writers who fabricated and uttere
these falsehoods, if they be such, are of the number of those, who
unless the whole contexture of the Christian story be a dream, sac
rificed their ease and safety in the cause and for a purpose the most
inconsistent that is possible with dishonest intentions. They were
villains for no end but to teach honesty, and martyrs without the
least prospect of honor or advantage.
The Gospels which bear the names of Mark and Luke, although
not the narratives of eye-witnesses, are, if genuine, removed from
that only by one degree. They are the narratives of contemporary
writers, of writers themselves mixing with the business; one of the
two probably living in the place which was the principal scene of
action; both living in habits of society and correspondence with
those who had been present at the transactions which they relate.
The latter of them accordingly tells us, (and with apparent sincerity,
60 Paley's View of the
because he tells it without pretending to personal knowledge, and
without claiming for his work greater authority than belonged to it),
that the things which were believed amongst Christians, came from
those who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of
the word; that he. had traced, accounts up to their source ; and that
he was prepared to instruct his reader in the certainty of the things
which he related.* Very few histories lie so close to their facts ;
very few historians are so nearly connected with the subject of their
narrative, or possess such means of authentic information as these.
The situation of the writers applies to the truth of the facts which,
they record. But at present we use their testimony to a point somewhat
short of this, namely, that the facts recorded in the Gospels, whether
true or false, are the facts, and the sort of facts, which the original
preachers of the religion alleged. Strictly speaking, I am concerned
only to show, that what the Gospels contain is the same as what the
apostles preached. Now, how stands the proof of this point? A set of
men went about the world, publishing a story composed of miraculous
accounts, (for miraculous from the very nature and exigency of the
case they must have been,) and, upon the strength of these accounts,
called upon mankind to quit the religions in which they had been
educated, and to take up, thenceforth, a new system of opinions,
and new rules of action. What is more in attestation of these ac-
counts, that is, in support of an institution of which these accounts
were the foundation, is, that the same men voluntarily exposed
themselves to harassing and perpetual labors, dangers, and suffer-
ings. We want to know what these accounts were. We have the
particulars, i. e. many particulars, from two of their own number.
We have them from an attendant of one of the number, and who,
there is reason to believe, was an inhabitant of Jerusalem at the
time. We have them from a fourth writer, who accompanied the
most laborious missionary of the institution in his travels ; who, in.
the course of these travels, was frequently brought into the society
of the rest; and who, let it be observed, begins his narrative by
telling us that he is about to relate the things which had been de-
livered by those who were ministers of the word, and eye-witnesses
of the facts. I do not know what information can be more satisfac-
tory than this. We may, perhaps, perceive the force and value of
it more sensibly, if we reflect how requiring we should have been
if we had wanted it. Supposing it to be sufficiently proved, that the
religion now professed among us, owed its original to the preaching
and ministry of a number of men, who, about eighteen centuries
ago, set forth in the world a new system of religious opinions,
founded upon certain extraordinary tilings which they related of a
* Why should not the candid and modest preface of this historian be
believed, as well as that which Dion Cassius prefixes to his Life of Corn-
modus ? ' These things and the following I write not from the report of
others, but from my own knowledge and observation.' I see no reason
to doubt but that both passages describe truly enough the situation of
the authors.
Evidences of Christianity. 61
wonderful person who had appeared in Judea; suppose it to be
also sufficiently proved, that, in the course and prosecution of their
ministry, these men had subjected themselves to extreme hardships,
fatigue, and peril ; but suppose the accounts which they published
had not been committed to writing till some ages after their times,
or at least that ho histories, but what had been composed some ages
afterward, had reached our hands ; we should have said, and with
reason, that we were willing to believe these men under the cir-
cumstances in which they delivered their testimony, but that we
did not, at this day, know with sufficient evidence what then- testi-
mony was. Had we received the particulars of it from any of then*
own number, from any of those who lived and conversed with them,
from any of their hearers, or even from any of their contemporaries,
we should have had something to rely upon. Now, if our books be
genuine, we have all these. We have the very species of informa-
tion which, as it appears to me, our imagination would have carved
out for us, if it had been wanting.
But I have said, that, if any one of the four Gospels be genuine,
we have not only direct historical testimony to the point we con-
tend for, but testimony which, so far as that point is concerned, can-
not reasonably be rejected. If the first Gospel was really written
by Matthew, we have the narrative of one of the number, from
which to judge what were the miracles, and the kind of miracles,
which the apostles attributed to Jesus. Although, for argument's
sake, and only for argument's sake, we should allow that this Gos-
pel had been erroneously ascribed to Matthew; yet, if the Gospel
of Saint John be genuine, the observation holds with no less
strength. Again, although the Gospels both of Matthew and John
could be supposed to be spurious, yet, if the Gospel of Saint Luke
were truly the composition of that person, or of any person, be his
name what it might, who was actually ha the situation in which the
author of that Gospel professes himself to have been, or if the Gos-
pel which bears the name of Mark really proceeded from him ; we
still, even upon the lowest supposition, possess the accounts of one
writer at least, who was not only contemporary with the apostles,
but associated with them in their ministry ; which authority seems
sufficient, when the question is simply what it was which these
apostles advanced.
I think it material to have this well noticed. The New Testa-
ment contains a great number of distinct writings, the genuineness
of any one of which is almost sufficient to prove the truth of the
religion : it contains, however, four distinct histories, the genuine-
ness of any one of which is perfectly sufficient If, therefore, we
must be considered as encountering the risk of error in assigning
the authors of our books, we are entitled to the advantage of so
many separate probabilities. And although it should appear that
some of the evangelists had seen and used each other's works, this
discovery, whilst it subtracts indeed from then- characters as testi-
monies strictly independent, diminishes, I conceive, little, either
their separate authority (by which I mean the authority of any one
F
62 Paleifs View of the
that is genuine), or their mutual confirmation. For, let the most dis-
advantageous supposition possible be made concerning them ; let it
be allowed, what I should have no great difficulty in admitting, that
Mark compiled his history almost entirely from those of Matthew
and Luke ; and let it also for a moment be supposed that these his-
tories were not, in fact, written by Matthew and Luke ; yet, if it he
true that Mark, a contemporary of the apostles, living in habits of
society with the apostles, a fellow-traveller and fellow-laborer with
some of them ; if, I say, it be true that this person made the com-
-pilation, it follows, that the writings from which he made it existed
-in the time of the apostles, and not only so, but that they were then
in such esteem and credit, that a companion of the apostles formed
a history out of them. Let the Gospel of Mark be called an epitome
of that of Matthew ; if a person in the situation in which Mark is
described to have been, actually made the epitome, it affords the
strongest possible attestation to the character of the original.
Again, parallelisms in sentences, in words, and in the order of
words, have been traced out between the Gospel of Matthew and
that of Luke ; which concurrence cannot easily be explained other-
wise than by supposing, either that Luke had consulted Matthew's
history, or, what appears to me in nowise incredible, that minutes
of some of Christ's discourses, as well as brief memoirs of some
passages of his life, had been committed to writing at the time ; and
that such written accounts had by both authors been occasionally
admitted into their histories. Either supposition is perfectly con-
sistent with the acknowledged formation of Saint Luke's narrative,
who professes not to write as an eye-witness, but to have investi-
gated the original of every account which he delivers ; in other
words, to have collected them from such documents and testimonies,
as he, who had the best opportunities of making inquiries, judged to
be authentic. Therefore, allowing that this writer also, in some in-
stances, borrowed from the Gospel which we call Matthew's, and
once more allowing, for the sake of stating the argument, that that
Gospel was not the production of the author to whom we ascribe it ;
yet still we have, in Saint Luke's Gospel, a history given by a writer
immediately connected with the transaction, with the witnesses of
it, with the persons engaged in it, and composed from materials t
which that person, thus situated, deemed to be safe sources of intel- ~
ligence ; in other words, whatever supposition be made concerning
any or all the other Gospels, if Saint Luke's Gospel be genuine, we
have in it a credible evidence of the point which we maintain.
The Gospel according to Saint John appears to be, and is on all
hands allowed to be, an independent testimony, strictly and properly
so called. Notwithstanding, therefore, .any connexion, or 'supposed
connexion, between some of the Gospels, I again repeat what I be-
fore said, that if any one of the four be genuine, we have, in that
one, strong reason, from the character and situation of the writer, to
believe that we possess the accounts which the original emissaries
of the religion delivered.
Secondly : In treating of the written evidences of Christianity,
Evidences of Christianity. 63
next to their separate, we are to consider their aggregate authority.
Now, there is in the evangelic history a cumulation of testimony
which belongs hardly to any other history, but which our habitual
mode of reading the Scriptures sometimes causes us to overlook.
When a passage, in any wise relating to the history of Christ, is read
to us but of the epistle of Clemens Romanus, the epistle of Ignatius,
of Pblycarp, or from any other writing of that age, we are immedi-
ately sensible of the confirmation which it affords to the Scripture
account. Here is a new witness. Now, if we had been accus-
tomed to read the Gospel of Matthew alone, and had known that
of Luke only as the generality of Christians know the writings of
the apostolic fathers, that is, had known that such a writing was ex-
tant and acknowledged ; when we came, for the first time, to look
into what it contained, and found many of the facts which Matthew
recorded, recorded also there, many other facts of a similar nature
added, and throughout the whole work the same general series of
transactions slated, and the same general character of the person
who was the subject of the history preserved, I apprehend that we
should feel our minds strongly impressed by this discovery of fresh
evidence. We should feel a renewal of the same sentiment in first
reading the Gospel of Saint John. That of Saint Mark perhaps
would strike us as an abridgment of the history with which we were
already acquainted ; but we should naturally reflect, that if that
history was abridged by such a person as Mark, or by any person of
so early an age, it afforded one of the highest possible attestations to
the value of the work. This successive disclosure of proof would
leave us assured, that there must have been at least some reality in
a story which not one, but many, had taken in hand to commit to
writing. The very existence of four separate histories would satisfy
us that the subject had a foundation ; and when, amidst the variety
which the different information of the different writers had supplied
to their accounts, or which their different choice and judgment hi
selecting their materials had produced, we observed many facts to
stand the same in all ; of these facts, at least, we . should .conclude,
that they were fixed hi their credit and publicity. If, after this, we
should come to the knowledge of a distinct history, and that also
of the same age' with the rest, taking up the subject where the
others had left it, and carrying on a narrative of the effects produced
in the world by the extraordinary causes of which we had already
been informed, and which effects subsist at this day, we should think
the reality of the original story in -no little degree established by this
supplement. If subsequent inquiries should bring to our knowledge,
one after another, letters written by some of the principal agents hi
the business, upon the business, and during the time of then- ac-
tivity and concern in it, assuming all along and recognizing the
original story, agitating the questions that arose out of it, pressing
the obligations which resulted from it, giving advice and directions
to those who acted upon it ; I conceive that we should find, in every
one of these, a still farther support to the conclusion we had formed.
At present, the weight of this successive confirmation is, in. a great
64 Paley's View of the
measure, unperceived by us. The evidence does not appear to .us
what it is ; for, being from our infancy accustomed to regard the
New Testament as one book, we see in it only one testimony. The
whole occurs to us as a single evidence ; and its different parts, not
as distinct attestations, but as different portions only of the same.
Yet in this conception of the subject, we are certainly mistaken :
for the very discrepancies among the several documents which form
our volume, prove, if all other proof were wanting, that in their
original composition they were separate, and most of them inde-
pendent productions.
If we dispose our ideas in a different order, the matter stands
thus: Whilst the transaction was recent, and the original witnesses
were at hand to relate it; and whilst the apostles were busied in
preaching and travelling, in collecting disciples, in forming and
regulating societies of converts, in supporting themselves against
opposition ; whilst they exercised their ministry under the harassings
of frequent persecution, and in a state of almost continual alarm, it
is not probable that, in this engaged, anxious, and unsettled condi-
tion of life, they would think immediately of writing histories for
the information of the public or of posterity.* But it is very proba-
ble that emergencies might draw from some of them occasional let-
ters upon the subject of their mission, to converts, or to societies of
converts, with which they were connected ; or that they might ad-
dress written discourses and exhortations to the disciples of the in-
stitution at large, which would be received and read with a respect
proportioned to the character of the writer. Accounts in the mean
time would get abroad of the extraordinary things that had been
passing, written with different degrees of information and correct-
ness. The extension of the Christian society, which could no longer
be instructed by a personal intercourse with the apostles, and the
possible circulation of imperfect or erroneous narratives, would
soon teach some amongst them the expediency of sending forth
authentic memoirs of the life and doctrine of their Master. When
accounts appeared authorized by the name, and credit, and situa-
tion, of the writers, recommended or recognized by the apostles and
first preachers of the religion, or found to coincide with what the
apostles and first preachers of the religion had taught, other ac-
counts would fall into disuse and neglect; whilst these, maintain-
ing their reputation (as, if genuine and well founded, they would
do) under the test of time, inquiry, and contradiction, might be ex-
pected to make their way into the hands of Christians of all coun-
tries of the world.
This seems the natural progress of the business ; and with this
the records in our possession, and the evidence concerning diem,
* This thought occurred to Eusebius: 'Nor were the apostles of
Christ greatly concerned about the writing of books, being engaged in a
more excellent ministry, which is above all human power.' Eccles. Hist.
1. iii. c. 24. The same consideration accounts also for the paucity of
Christian writings in the first century of its era.
of Christianity. 65
correspond. We have remaining, in the first place, many letters of
the kind above described, which have been preserved with a care
and fidelity answering to the respect with which we may suppose
such letters would be received. But as these letters were not
written to prove the truth of the Christian religion, in the sense in
Which we regard that question; nor to convey information of facts,
of which those to whom the letters were written had been pre-
viously informed; we are not to look in them for any thing more
than incidental allusions to the Christian history. We are able,
however, to gather from these documents various particular attesta-
tions which have been already enumerated ; and this is a species
of written evidence, as far as it goes, in the highest degree satisfac-
tory, and in point of time perhaps the first.' But for our more cir-
cumstantial information, we have, in the next place, five direct his-
tories, bearing the names of persons acquainted, by their situation,
with the truth of what they relate, and three of them purporting, in
the very body of the narrative, to be written by such persons ; of
which books we know, that some were in the hands of those who
were contemporaries of the apostles, and that, in the age imme-
diately posterior to that, they were in the hands, we may say, of
every one, and received by Christians with so much respect and
deference, as to be constantly quoted and referred to by them, with-
out any doubt of the truth of their accounts. They were treated
as such histories, proceeding from such authorities, might expect to
be treated. In the preface to one of our histories, we have intima-
tion left us of the existence of some ancient accounts which are
aiow lost. There is nothing in this circumstance that can surprise
us. It was to be expected, from the magnitude and novelty of the
occasion, that such accounts would swarm. When better accounts
came forth, these died away. Our present histories superseded
others. They soon acquired a character and established a reputa-
tion whidh does not appear to have belonged to any other: that, at
least, can -be proved concerning them, which cannot be proved con-
cerning any other.
But to return to the point which led to these reflections. By con-
sidering our records in either of the two views in which we have
represented them, ive shall perceive that we possess a collection of
proofs, arid -not a nalied or solitary testimony ; and that the written
evidence is of such a land, and comes to us in such a state, as the
natural order and progress of things, in the infancy of the institu-
tion, might be expected to produce.
Thirdly : The genuineness of the historical books of the New
Testament is undoubtedly a point of importance, because the
strength of their evidence is augmented by our knowledge of the
situation of their authors, their relation to the subject, and the part
which they sustained in the transaction ; and the testimonies which
we are able to produce, compose a firm ground of persuasion, that
the Gospels were written by the persons whose names they bear.
Nevertheless, I must be allowed to state, that to the argument which
{.am endeavoring to maintain, this point is not essential; I mean, so
f &
66 Paley's View of the
essential as that the fate of the argument depends upon it. The
question before us is, whether the Gospels exhibit the story which,
the apostles and first emissaries of the religion published, and for
which they acted and suffered in the manner in which, for some
miraculous story or other, they did act and suffer. Now let us sup-
pose that we possessed no other information concerning these books
than that they were written by early disciples of Christianity; that
they were known and read during the time, or near the time, of
the original apostles of the religion; that by Christians whom the
apostles instructed, by societies of Christians which the apostles
founded, these books were received (by which term ' received,' I
mean that they were believed to contain authentic accounts of the
transactions upon which the religion rested, and accounts which
were accordingly used, repeated, and relied upon), this reception
would be a valid proof that these books, whoever were the authors
of them, must have accorded with what the apostles taught. A
reception by the first race of Christians, is evidence that they agreed
with what the first teachers of the religion delivered. In particular,
If they had not agreed with what the apostles themselves preached,
how could they have gamed credit in churches and societies which
the apostles established ?
Now the fact of the early existence, and not only of their exist-
ence but their reputation, is made out by some ancient -testimonies
which do not happen to specify the names of the writers : add to
which, what hath been already hinted, that two out of the four
Gospels contain averments in the body of the history, which, though
they do not disclose the names, fix the lime and situation of the
authors, viz. that-one was written by an eye-witness of the suffer-
ings of Christ, the other by a contemporary of the apostles. In the
Gospel of St. John, (xix. 35.) after describing the crucifixion, with
the particular circumstance of piercing Christ's side with a spear,
the historian adds, as for himself, ' and he that saw it bare record,
and his record is true, and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye
might believe.' Again, (xxi. 24.) after relating a conversation which
passed between Peter and ' the disciple,' as it is there expressed,
' whom Jesus loved,' it is added, ' this is the disciple which testified!
of these things, and wrote these things.' This testimony, let it be
remarked, is not less worthy of regard, because it is, in one view,
imperfect. -The name is not mentioned ; which, if a fraudulent
purpose had been intended, would have been done. The third of
our present Gospels purports to have been written by the person
who wrote the Acts of the Apostles ; in which latter history, or
rather latter part of the same history, the author, by using in various
places the first personal plural, declares himself to have been a
contemporary of all, and a companion of one, of the original
preachers of the religion.
Evidences of Christianity. 67
CHAP. IX.
Of the Authenticity of tite Historical Scriptures, in Eleven Sections.
NOT forgetting, therefore, what credit is due to the evangelical
history, supposing even any one of the four Gospels to be genuine ;
what credit is due to the Gospels, even supposing nothing to be
known concerning them but that they were written by early dis-
ciples of the religion, and received with deference by early Chris-
tian churches ; more especially not forgetting what credit is due to
-the New Testament in its capacity of cumulative evidence ; we now
proceed to state the proper and distinct proofs, which show not only
the general value of these records, but their specific authority, and
the nigh probability there is that they actually came from the per-
sons whose names they bear.
There are, however, a few preliminary reflections, by which we
may draw up with more regularity to the propositions upon which
the close and particular discussion of the subject depends. Of which
nature are the following :
I. We are able to produce a great number of ancient manuscripts,
found in many different countries, and in countries widely distant
from each other, all of them anterior to the art of printing, some
certainly seven or eight hundred years old, and some which have
been preserved probably above a thousand years.* We have also
many ancient versions of these books, and some of them into lan-
guages which are not at present, nor for many ages have been,
spoken in any part of the world . The existence of these manuscripts
and versions proves that the Scriptures were not the production of
any modern contrivance. It does away also the uncertainty which
hangs over such publications as the works, real or pretended, of
Ossian and Rowley, in which the editors are challenged to produce
their manuscripts, and to show where they obtained their copies.
The number of manuscripts, far exceeding those of any other book,
and their wide dispersion, afford an argument, in some measure, to
the senses, that the Scriptures anciently, in like manner as at this
day, were more read and sought after than any other books, and
that also in many different countries. The greatest part of spurious
Christian writings are utterly lost, die rest preserved by some single
manuscript There is weight also in Dr. Bentley's observation, that
the New Testament has suffered less injury by the errors of tran-
scribers, than the works of any profane author of the same size and
antiquity; that is, there never was any writing, in the preservation
and purity of which the world was so interested or so careful.
n. An argument of great weight with those who are judges of
the proofs upon which it is founded, and capable, through their tes-
* The Alexandrian Manuscript, now in the British Museum, was writ-
ten probably in the fourth or fifth century.
68 Paley's View of the
timony, of being addressed to every understanding, is that which
arises from the style and language of the New Testament. It is just
such a language as might be expected from the apostles, from per-
sons of their age and in their situation, and from no .other persons.
It is the style neither of classic authors, nor of the ancient Christian
fathers, but Greek coming from men of Hebrew origin; abounding,
that is, with Hebraic and Syriac idioms, such as would naturally be
found in the writings of men who used a language spoken indeed
where they lived, but not the common dialect of the country. This
happy peculiarity is a strong proof of the genuineness of these
writings: for who should forge them? The Christian fathers were
for the most part totally ignorant of Hebrew, and therefore were
not likely to insert Hebraisms and Syriasms into their writings. The
few who had a knowledge of the Hebrew, as Justin Martyr, Origen,
and Epiphanius, wrote in a language which bears no resemblance
to that of the New Testament The Nazarenes, who understood
Hebrew, used chiefly, perhaps almost entirely, the Gospel of Saint
Matthew, and therefore cannot be suspected of forging the rest of
the sacred writings. The argument, at any rate, proves the antiquity
of these books ; that they belonged to the age of the apostles ; that
they could be composed indeed in no other.*
III. Why should we question the genuineness of these books? la
it for that they contain accounts of supernatural events ? I appre-
hend that this, at the bottom, is the real, though secret, cause of our
hesitation about them; for, had the writings inscribed with the
names of Matthew and John, related nothing but ordinary history,
there would have been no more doubt whether these writings were
theirs, than there is concerning the acknowledged works of Jose-
phus or Philo ; that is, there would have been no doubt at all. Now
it ought to be considered that this reason, however it may apply to
the credit which is given to a writer's judgment or veracity, affects
the question of genuineness very indirectly. The works of Bede
exhibit many wonderful relations : but who, for that reason, doubts
that they were written by Bede ? The same of a multitude of other
authors. To which may he added, that we ask no more for our
books than what we allow to other books in some sort similar to
ours : we do not deny the genuineness of the Koran ; we admit that
the history of Apollonius Tyanacus, purporting to be written by Phi-
lostratus, WAS really written by Philostratus.
IV. If it had been .an easy thing in the early times of the institu-
tion to have forged Christian writings, and to have obtained cur-
rency and reception Jo the forgeries, we should have had many
appearing in the name of Christ himself No writings would have
been received with so much avidity and .respect as these : conse-
quently none afforded so great temptation to forgery. Yet have we
* See this argument stated more at large in Michaelis's Introduction
(Marsh's translation,) vol. i. c. ij. sect. 10. from which tl.iese observations
are taken.
Evidences of Christianity. 69
heard but of one attempt of this sort, deserving of the smallest
notice, that in a piece of a very few lines, and so far from succeed-
ing, I mean, from obtaining acceptance and reputation, or an accept-
ance and reputation in any wise similar to that which can be proved
to have attended the books of the New Testament, that it is not so
much as mentioned by any writer of the first three centuries. The
learned reader need not be informed that I mean the epistle .of
Christ to Abgarus, king of Edessa, found at present in the work of
Eusebius,* as a piece acknowledged by him, though not without
considerable doubt whether the whole passage be not an interpola-
tion, as it is most certain, that, after the publication of Eusebius's
work, this epistle was universally rejected.t
V. If the ascription of the Gospels to their respective authors had
been arbitrary or conjectural, they would have been ascribed to
more eminent men. This observation holds concerning the first
three Gospels, the reputed authors of which were enabled, by their
situation, to obtain true intelligence, and were likely to deliver an
honest account of what they knew, but were persons not distin-
guished in the history by extraordinary marks of notice or com-
mendation. Of the apostles, I hardly know any one of whom less
is said than Matthew, or of whom the little that is said, is less cal-
culated to magnify his character. Of Mark, nothing is said in the
Gospels; and what is said of any person of that name in the Acts,
and hi the Epistles, in no part bestows praise or eminence upon him.
The name of Luke is mentioned only in St. Paul's Epistle,t and
very transiently. The judgment, therefore, which assigned these
writings to these authors proceeded, it may be presumed, upon
proper knowledge and evidence, and not upon a voluntary choice
of names.
VI. Christian writers and Christian churches appear to have soon
arrived at a very general agreement upon the subject, and that
without the interposition of any public authority. When the diver-
sity of opinion, which prevailed, and prevails among Christians in
other points, is considered, their concurrence in the canon of Scrip-
ture is remarkable, and of great -weight, especially as it seems to
have been the result of private and free inquiry. We have no
knowledge of any interference of authority in the question, before
the council of Laodicea in the year 363. Probably the decree of
*Hist.EccI.lib.i.c.l5.
t Augustin, A. D. 895, (De Consens. Evang. c. 34.) had heard that the
Pagans pretended to be possessed of an epistle from Christ to Peter and
Paul ; but he had never seen it, and appears to doubt of the existence of
any such piece, either genuine or spurious. No other ancient writer
mentions it. He also, and he alone, notices, and that i n order to condemn
it, an epistle ascribed to Christ by the Manichees, A. D. 270, and a short
hymn attributed to him by the Priscillianists, A. D. 378. (cont. Faust. Man.
lib. xxviii. c. 4-) The lateness of the writer who notices these things, the
manner in which he notices them, and, above all, the silence of every
preceding writer, render them unworthy of consideration.
$ Col. iv. 14. 2 Tim. iv. 11. Philem. 24.
70 Paley's View of the
this council rather declared than regulated the public judgment, or,
more properly speaking, the judgment of some neighboring churches ;
the council itself consisting of no more than thirty or forty bishops
of Lydia and the adjoining countries.* Nor does its authority seem
to have extended farther ; for we find numerous Christian writers,
after this time, discussing the question, ' What books were entitled
to be received as Scripture," with great freedom, upon proper
grounds of evidence, and without any reference to the decision at
Laodicea.
THESE considerations are not to be neglected : but of an argu-
ment concerning the genuineness of ancient writings, the substance,
undoubtedly, and strength, is ancient testimony.
This testimony it is necessary to exhibit somewhat in detail : for
when Christian advocates merely tell us that we have the same
reason for believing the Gospels to be written by the evangelists
whose names they bear, as we have for believing the Commenta-
ries to be Caesar's, the ./Eneid Virgil's, or the Orations Cicero's, they
content themselves with an imperfect representation. They state
nothing more than what is true, but they do not state the truth cor-
rectly. In the number, variety, and early date of our testimonies,
we far exceed all other ancient books. For one, which the most
celebrated work of the most celebrated Greek or Roman writer can
allege, we produce many. But then it is more requisite in our books,
than in theirs, to separate and distinguish them from spurious com-
petitors. The result, I am convinced, will be satisfactory to every
fair inquirer : but this circumstance renders an inquiry necessary.
In a work, however, like the present, there is a difficulty in find-
ing a place for evidence of this kind. To pursue the details of
proofs throughout, would be to transcribe a great part of Dr. Lard-
ner's eleven octavo volumes : to leave the argument without proofs,
is to leave it without effect; for the persuasion produced by this
species of evidence depends upon a view and introduction of the
particulars which compose it.
The method which I propose, to myself is, first, to place before
the reader, in one view, the propositions which comprise the several
heads of our testimony, and afterward to repeat the same proposi-
tions in so many distinct sections, with the necessary authorities
subjoined to each.t
The following, then, are the allegations upon the subject, which
are capable of being established by proof:
I. That the historical books of the New Testament, meaning
thereby the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles, are .quoted,
or alluded to, by a series of Christian writers, beginning with those
who were contemporary with the apostles, or who immediately
* Lardner, Cred. vol. viii. p. 291, &c.
f The reader, when he has the propositions before him, will observe that
the argument, if lie should omit the sections, proceeds connectedly from
this point.
Evidences of Christianity. 71
followed them, and proceeding in close and regular succession from
their time to the present
II. That when they are quoted, or alluded to, they are quoted or
alluded to with peculiar respect, as books sui generis ; as possessing
an authority which belonged to no other books, and as conclusive
in all questions and controversies amongst .Christians.
III. That they were, in very early times, collected into a distinct
volume.
IV. That they were distinguished by appropriate names and titles
of respect.
V. That they were publicly read and expounded in the religious
assemblies of the early Christians.
VI. That commentaries were written upon them, harmonies
formed out of them, different copies carefully collated, and versions
of them made into different languages.
VII. That they were received by Christians of different sects, by
many heretics as well as Catholics, and usually appealed to by both
sides in the controversies which arose in those days.
VIII. That the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, thirteen
Epistles of Saint Paul, the first Epistle of John, and the first of Peter,
were received, without doubt, by those who doubted concerning
the other books which are included in our present canon.
IX. That the Gospels were attacked by the early adversaries of
Christianity, as books containing the accounts upon which the reli-
gion was founded.
X. That formal catalogues of authentic Scriptures were published ;
in all which our present sacred histories were included.
XI. That these propositions cannot be affirmed of any other books
claiming to be books of Scripture ; by which are meant those books
which are commonly called apocryphal books of 'the New Testa-
ment.
SECT, L
The historical booJcs of the New Testament, meaning thereby the four
Gospels and the Acts of tJie Apostles, are quoted, or alluded to by a
series of Christian writers, beginning with those who were contem-
porary with the apostles, or who immediately followed them, and pro-
ceeding in close and regular succession from their time to the present.
THE medium of proof stated in this proposition is, of all others,
the most unquestionable, the least liable to any practices of fraud,
and is not diminished by the lapse of ages. Bishop Burner, in the
History of his Own Times, inserts various extracts from lord Claren-
don's History. One such insertion is a proof, that lord Clarendon's
History was extant at the time when bishop Burnet wrote, that it
had been read by bishop Burnet, that it was received by bishop
Burnet as a work of lord Clarendon, and also regarded by him as
an authentic account of the transactions which it relates; and it will
be a proof of these points a thousand years hence, or as long as the
72 Paley's View of the
books exist. Quindlian having quoted as Cicero's* that well-known
trait of dissembled vanity ;
' Si quid est in me ingenii, Judices, quod sentio quam sit exiguum ;'
the quotation would be strong evidence, were there any doubt, that
the oration, which opens with this address, actually came from Cice-
ro's pen. These instances, however simple, may serve to point out
to a reader, who is little accustomed to such researches, the nature
and value of the argument
The testimonies which we have to bring forward under this pro-
position are the following :
I. There is extant an epistle ascribed to Barnabas,t the companior
of Paul. It is quoted as the epistle of Barnabas, by Clement of
Alexandria, A. D. cxciv ; by Origen, A. D. ccxxx. It is mentioned by
Eusebius, A. D. cccxv, and by Jerome, A. D. cccxcn, as an ancient
work in their time, bearing the name of Barnabas, and as well
known and read amongst Christians, though not accounted a part
of Scripture. It- purports to have been written soon after the de-
struction of Jerusalem, during the calamities which followed that
disaster; and it bears the character of the age to which it professes
to belong.
In this epistle appears the following remarkable passage : ' Let
us, therefore, beware lest it come upon us, as it is written ; There
are many called, few chosen.' From the expression, ' as it is writ-
ten,' we infer with certainty, that, at the time when the author of
this epistle lived, there was a book extant, well known to Chris-
tians, and of authority amongst them, containing these words :
' Many are called, few chosen.' Such a book is our present Gospel
of Saint Matthew, in which this text is twice found,! and is found
in no other book now known. There is a farther observation to be
made upon the terms of the quotation. The writer of the epistle
was a Jew. The phrase ' it is written,' was the very form in which
the Jews quoted their Scriptures. It is not probable, therefore, that
he would have used this phrase, and without qualification, of any
books but what had acquired a kind of scriptural authority. If the
passage remarked in this ancient writing had been found in one of
St. Paul's Epistles, it would have been esteemed by every one
a high testimony to St Matthew's Gospel. It ought, therefore, to
be remembered, that the writing in which it is found was probably
.by very few years posterior to those of St Paul.
Beside this passage, there are also in the epistle before us, several
others, hi which the sentiment is the same with what we meet with
in St Matthew's Gospel, and two or three in which we recognize
the same words. In particular, the author of the epistle repeats the
* Quint, lib. xi. c. i.
t Lardner, Cred. edit. 1755, vol. i. p. 23, &c. The reader will observe
from the references, that the materials of these sections are almost en-
tirely extracted from Dr. Lardner's work ; my office consisted in arrange-
ment and selection.
1 Matt. xx. 16. xxii. 14.
Evidences of Christianity. 73
precept, 'Give to every one that asketh thee;'* and saith that
Christ chose as his apostles, who were to preach the Gospel, men
who were great shiners, that he might show that he came ' not to
call the righteous, but sinners,to repentance.'f
II. We are in possession of an epistle written -by Clement, bishop
of Rome,t whom ancient writers, without any doubt or scruple, as-
sert to have been the Clement whom Saint Paul mentions, Phil,
iv. 3. ; ' with Clement also, and other my fellow-laborers, whose
names are in the book of life.' This epistle is spoken of .by the
ancients as an epistle acknowledged by all ; and, as Irenseus well
represents its value, ' written by Clement, who had seen the blessed
apostles, and conversed with them ; who had the preaching of the
apostles still sounding in his ears, and their traditions before his
eyes.' It is addressed to the church of Corinth ; and what alone
may seem almost decisive of its authenticity, Dionysius, bishop of
Corinth, about the year 170, i. e. about eighty or ninety years after
the epistle was written, bears witness, ' that it had been wont to be
read in that church from ancient times.'
This epistle affords, amongst others, the following valuable pas-
sages: 'Especially remembering the words of the Lord Jesus
which he spake, teaching gentleness and long-suffering: for thus
he said : "Be ye merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; forgive, that
it may be forgiven unto you ; as you do, so shall it be done unto
you ; as you give, so shall it be given unto you ; as ye judge, so
shall ye be judged; as ye show kindness, so shall kindness be
shown unto you : with what measure ye mete, with ' the same shall
it be measured to you." By this command, and by these rules, let
us establish ourselves, that ye . may always walk obediently to his
holy words.'
Again ; ' Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, for he said,
" Woe to that man by whom offences come ; it were better for him
that he had not been bom, than that he should offend one of my
elect ; it were better for him that a millstone should be tied about
his neck, and that he should be drowned in the sea, than that he
should offend one of my little ones." '||
In both these passages, we perceive the high respect paid to the
words of Christ as recorded by the evangelists; 'Remember the
* Matt. v. 42. t Matt. ix. 13. t Lardner, Cred. vol.i. p. 62, &c.
' Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.' Matt. v. 7.
' Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven ; give, and it shall be given unto
you.' Luke vi. 37, 38. ' Judge not, that ye be not judged ; for with what
judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged ; and with what measure ye mete,
it shall be measured to you again.' Matt. vii. 1, 2.
|| Matt, xviii. 6. 'But whoso shall offend one of those little ones
which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and that he were cast into the sea.' The latter part of
the passage in Clement agrees more exactly with Luke xvii. 2: ' It were
better for him that a millstone were Hanged about his neck, and he cast
into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.'
G
74 Paley's View of the
words of the Lord Jesus ; by this command, and by these rules, leS
us establish ourselves, that we may always walk obediently to his
holy words.' We perceive also in Clement a total unconsciousness
of doubt, whether these were the real words of Christ, which are
read as such in the Gospels. This observation indeed belongs to
the whole series of testimony, and especially to the most ancient
part of it Whenever any thing now read in the Gospels, is met
with in an early Christian writing, it is always observed to stand x
there as acknowledged truth, i. e. to be introduced without hesita-
tion, doubt, or apology. It is to be observed also, that as this epistle
was written in the name of the church of Rome, and addressed to
the church of Corinth, it ought to be taken as exhibiting the judg-
ment not only of Clement, who drew up the letter, but of these
churches themselves, at least as to the authority of the books re-
ferred to.
It may be said, that, as Clement has not used words of quotation,
it is not certain that he refers to any book whatever. The words
of Christ, which he has put down, he might himself have heard
from the apostles, or might have received through the ordinary
medium of oral tradition. This has been said : but that no such
inference can be drawn from the absence of words of quotation, is
proved by the three following considerations : First, that Clement,
in the very same manner, namely r without any mark of reference,
uses a passage now found in the Epistle to the Romans ;* which
passage, from the peculiarity of the words which compose it, and
from their order, it is manifest that he must have taken from the
book. The same remark may be repeated of some very singular
sentiments hi the Epistle to the Hebrews. Secondly, that there are
many sentences of Saint Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians
standing in Clement's epistle without any sign of quotation, which
yet certainly are quotations ; because it appears that Clement had
Saint Paul's epistle before him, inasmuch as in one place he men-
tions it in terms too express to leave us in any doubt : ' Take into
your hands the epistle of the blessed apostle Paul.' Thirdly, that
' this method of adopting words of Scripture without reference to ac-
knowledgment, was, as will appear in the sequel, a method in
general use amongst the most ancient Christian writers. These
analogies not only repel the objection, but cast the presumption on
the other side, and afford a considerable degree of positive proof,
that the words in question have been borrowed from the places of
Scripture in which we now find them.
But take it if you will the other way, that Clement had heard
these words from the apostles or first teachers of Christianity; with
respect to the precise point of our argument, viz. that the Scriptures
contain what the apostles taught, this supposition may serve almost
as well.
III. Near the conclusion of the Epistle to the Romans, Saint Paul*
* Romans i. 29.
Evidences of Christianity. 75
amongst others, sends the following salutation : ' Salute Asyncrilus,
Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are
with them.'
Of Hermas, who appears in this catalogue of Roman Christians aa
contemporary with Saint Paul, a book bearing the name, and it is
most probable rightly, is still remaining. It is called the Shepherd*
or Pastor of Hermas. Its antiquity is incontestable, from the quota-
tions of it in Irenseus, A. D. 178 ; Clement of Alexandria, A. D. 194 ;
Tertullian, A. D; 200 ; Origen, A. p. 230. The notes of time extant
in the epistle itself, agree with its title, and with the testimonies
concerning it, for it purports to have been written during the life-
time of Clement.
In this piece are tacit allusions to Saint Matthew's, Saint Luke's,
and Saint John's Gospels ; that is to say, there are applications of
thoughts and expressions found in these Gospels, without citing the
place or writer from which they were taken. In this form appear
in Hermas the confessing and denying of Christ ;t the parable of
the seed sown ;t the comparison of Christ's disciples to little chil-
dren; the saying, 'He that putteth away his wife and marrieth an-
other, committeth adultery ;' the singular expression, 'having re-
ceived all power from his Father,' in probable allusion to Matt,
xxviii. 18; and Christ being the 'gate,' or only way of coming ' to
God,' in plain allusion to John xiv. 6. x. 7. 9. There is also a proba-
ble allusion to Acts v. 32.
This piece is the representation of a vision, and has by many been
accounted a weak and fanciful performance. I therefore observe,
that the character of the writing has little to do with the purpose
for which we adduce it. It is the age in which it was composed,
that gives the value to its testimony.
IV. Ignatius, as it is testified by ancient Christian writers, became
bishop of Antioch about thirty^seven years after Christ's ascension ;
and therefore, from his time, and place, and station, it is probable
that he had known and conversed with many of the apostles. Epis-
tles of Ignatius -are referred to by Polycarp, his contemporary. Pas-
sages found in the epistles now extant under his name, are quoted
by Irenajus, A. D. 178; by Origen, A. D. 230; and the occasion of
writing the epistles is given at large by Eusebius and Jerome. What
are called the smaller epistles of Ignatius, are generally deemed to
be those which were read by Irenaeus, Origen, and Eusebius.||
In these epistles are various undoubted allusions to the Gospels
of Saint Matthew and Saint John ; yet so far of the same form with
those in the preceding articles, that, like them, they are not accom-
panied with marks of quotation.
Of these allusions the following are clear specimens :
* Lardner.Cred. vol. i. p. 111.
t Matt. x. 32, 33. or, Luke xii. 8, 9.
j Matt. xiii. 3. or, Luke viii. 5. Luke xvi. 18.
j| Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 147.
76 Palsy's View of the
' Christ was baptized of John, that all righteousness migJit
be fulfilled by him.'
'Be ye wise as serpents in all things, and harmless as a
dove.'
' Yet the Spirit is not deceived, being from God: for it
knows whence 'it comes, and whither it goes.'
1 He (Christ) is the door of the Father, by which enter in
Matt*
Jofo.t
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and the apostles, and the
church.'
As to the manner of quotation, this is observable .-Ignatius, in
one place, speaks of Saint Paul in terms of high, respect, and quotes
his Epistle to the Ephesians by name ; yet, in several other places, he
borrows words and sentiments from the same epistle without men-
tioning it ; which shows, that this was his general manner of using
and applying writings then extant, and then of high authority.
V. Polycarpt had been taught by the apostles; had conversed
with many who had seen Christ; was also by the apostles appointed
bishop of Smyrna. This testimony concerning Polycarp is given by
Irenasus, who in his youth had seen him: 'I can tell the place (saith
Irenaeus) in which the blessed Polycarp sat and taught, and his going
out and coming in, and the manner of his life, and the form of his
person, and the discourses he made to the people, and how he re-
lated .his conversation with John, and others who had seen the Lord,
and how he related their sayings, and what he had heard concern-
ing the Lord, both concerning his miracles and his doctrine, as he
had received them from the eye-witnesses of the Word of life ; all
which Polycarp related agreeable to the Scriptures.'
Of Polycarp, whose proximity to the age and country and persons
of the apostles is thus attested, we have one undoubted epistle re-
maining. And this, though a short letter, contains nearly forty clear
allusions to the books of the New Testament ; which is strong evi-
dence of the respect which Christians of that age bore for these
books.
Amongst these, although the writings of Saint Paul are more fre-
quently used by Polycarp than any other parts of Scripture,- there
are copious allusions, to the Gospel of Saint Matthew, some to pas-
sages found in the Gospels both of Matthew and Luke, and some
which more nearly resemble the words in Luke.
I select the following, as fixing the authority of the Lord's prayer,
and the use of it amongst the primitive Christians: 'If therefore we
pray the Lord, that he will forgive, us, we ought also to forgive.'
' With supplication beseeching the all-seeing God not to lead us into
temptation.'
* Chap. iii. 15. ' For thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness.'
Chap. x. 16. ' Be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.'
t Chap. iii. 8. .'The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou nearest
the sound thereof, but canst not tell -whence itcomcth and whither it goetk;
so is every one that is born of the Spirit.'
Chap. x. 9. 'I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved.'
t Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 15)2.
Evidences of Christianity. T7
And the following, for the sake of repeating an observation
already made, that words of our Lord, found in our Gospels, were
at this early day quoted as spoken by him ; and not only so, but
quoted with so little question or consciousness of doubt about their
being really his words, as not even to mention, much less to can-
vass, the authority from which they were taken :
'But remembering what the Lord said, teaching, Judge not, that
ye be not judged ; forgive, and ye shall be forgiven ; be ye merci-
ful, that ye may obtain mercy ; with what measure ye mete, it shall
be measured to you again.'*
Supposing Pofycarp to have had these words from the books in
which we now find them, it is manifest that these books were con-
sidered by him, and, as he thought, considered by his readers, as
authentic accounts of Christ's discourses : and that that point was
incontestable.
The following is a decisive, though what we call a tacit, refer-
ence to Saint Peter's speech in the Acts of the Apostles : ' whom.
God hath raised, having loosed the pains of death.'t
VI. Papias,t a hearer of John, and companion of Polycarp, as Ire-
nseus attests, and of that age, as all agree, in a passage quoted by
Eusebius, from a work now lost, expressly ascribes the respective
Gospels to Matthew and Mark ; and in a manner which proves that
these Gospels must have publicly borne the names of these authors
at that time, and probably long before ; for Papias does not say that
one Gospel was written by Matthew, and another by Mark; but,
assuming this as perfectly well known, he tells us from what mate-
rials Mark collected his account, viz. from Peter's preaching, and in
what language Matthew wrote, viz. in Hebrew. Whether Papias
was well informed in this statement, or not; to the point for which
I produce this testimony, namely, that these books bore these names
at this time, his authority is complete.
The writers hitherto alleged, had all lived and conversed with
some of the apostles. The works of theirs which remain, are in
general very short pieces, yet rendered extremely valuable by their
antiquity; and none, short as they are, but what contain some im-
portant testimony to our historical Scriptures.$
* Matt. vii. 1, 2. v. 7 ; Luke vi. 37, 38. t Acts ii. 24.
J Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 239.
That the quotations are more thinly strown in these, than in the
writings of the next and of succeeding ages, is in a good measure ac-
counted for by the observation, that the Scriptures of the New Testament
had not yet, nor by their recency hardly could have, become a general
part of Christian education; read as the Old Testament was by the Jews
. and Christians from their childhood, and thereby intimately mixing, as
that had long done, with all their religious ideas, and with their language
upon religious subjects. In process of time, and as soon perhaps as could
be expected, this came to be the case. And then we perceive the effect,
in a proportionably greater frequency, as well as copiousness, of allu-
sion.f
II Mich. Introd. e. ii. tact vi.
G2
78 Paley's View of the
VII. Not long after these, that is, not much more than twenty
years after the last, follows Justin Martyr.* His remaining works
are much larger than any that have yet been noticed. Although
the nature of his two principal writings, one of which was addressed
to heathens, and the other was a conference with a Jew, did not
lead him to such frequent a,ppeals to Christian books as would have
appeared in a discourse intended for Christian readers ; we never-
theless reckon up in them between twenty and thirty quotations of
the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles, certain, distinct, and copious:
if each verse be counted separately, a much greater number ; if
each expression, a very great one.t
We meet with quotations of three of the Gospels within the com-
pass of half a page: 'And in other words he says, Depart from me
into outer darkness, which the Father hath prepared for Satan and
his angels,' (which is from Matthew xxv. 41.) 'And again he said
in other words, I give unto you power to tread upon serpents, and
scorpions, and venomous beasts, and upon all the power of the
enemy.' (This from Luke x. 19.) ' And before he was crucified, he
said, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of
the Scribes and Pharisees, and be crucified, and rise again on the
third day.' (This from Mark viii. 31.)
In another place, Justin quotes a passage in the history of Christ's
birth, as delivered by Matthew and John, and fortifies his quotation
by this remarkable testimony: 'As they have taught, who have
written the history of all things concerning our Saviour Jesus Christ:
and we believe them.'
Quotations are also found from the Gospel of Saint John.
What, moreover, seems extremely material to be observed is, that
in all Justin's works, from which might be extracted almost a com-
plete life of Christ, there are but two instances, in which he refers
to any thing as said or done by Christ, which is not related concern-
ing him in our present Gospels : which shows, that these Gospels,
and these, we may say, alone, were the authorities from which the
Christians of that day drew the information upon which they de-
pended- One of .these instances is of a saying of Christ, not met
with in any book now extant.}: The other, of a circumstance in
* Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 258.
t 'He cites our present canon, and particularly our four Gospels, con-
tinually, I dare say, above two hundred times.' Jones's New and Full
Method. Append, vol. i. p. 589. ed. 1726.
f Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ has said, In whatsoever I
shall find you, in the same I will also judge you. 1 Possibly Justin de-
signed not to quote any text, but to represent the sense of many of our
X.ord'6 sayings. Fabricius has observed, that this saying has been quoted
by many writers, and that Justin is the only one who ascribes it to our
Lord, and that perhaps by a slip of his memory.
'Words resembling these are read repeatedly in Ezekiel ; 'I will judge
them according to their ways;' chap. vii. 3. xxxiii. 20. It is remarkable
that Justin had just before expressly quoted Ezekiel. Mr. Jones upon
this circumstance founded a conjecture, that Justin wrote only 'the Lord
Evidences of Christianity. 79
Christ's baptism, namely, a fiery or luminous appearance upon the
water, which, according to Epiphanius, is noticed in the Gospel of
the Hebrews : and which might be true : but which, whether true
or false, is mentioned by Justin, with a plain mark of diminution,
when compared with what he quotes as resting upon Scripture au-
thority. The reader will advert to this distinction: 'And then,
when Jesus came to the river Jordan, where John was baptizing, as
Jesus descended into the water, a fire also was kindled in Jordan ;
and when he came tip out of the water, the aposiles.of this our
Christ have written that the Holy Ghost lighted upon him as a dove.
All the references in Justin are made without mentioning the
author; which proves that these books were perfectly notorious,
and that there were no other accounts of Christ then extant, or, at
least, no others so received and credited, as to make it necessary to
distinguish these from the rest.
But although Justin mentions not the author's name, he calls the
books, 'Memoirs composed by the Apostles;' 'Memoirs composed
by the Apostles and their Companions ;' which descriptions, the
latter, especially, exactly suit with the titles which the Gospels and
Acts of the Apostles now bear.
VIII. Hegesippus* came about thirty years after Justin. His tes-
timony is remarkable only for this particular ; that he relates of him-
self, that travelling from Palestine to Rome, he visited, on his jour-
ney, many bishops ; and that ' in every succession, 'and in every
city, the same doctrine is taught, which the Law, and the Prophets,
and the Lord teacheth.' This is an important attestation, from good
authority, and of high antiquity. It is generally understood that by
the word ' Lord,' Hegesippus intended some writing or writings, con-
taining the teaching of Christ, in which sense alone the term combines
with the other terms 'Law and Prophets,' which denote writings;
and, together with them, admit of the verb ' teacheth' in .the present
tense. Then, that these writings were some or all of the. books of
the New Testament, is rendered probable from hence, that in the
fragments of his works, which are preserved in Eusebius, and in a
writer of the ninth century, enough, though it be little, is left to
show, that Hegesippus expressed divers things in the style of the
Gospels, and of the Acts of the Apostles ; that he referred to the his-
tory in the second chapter of Matthew, and recited a text of that
Gospel as spoken by our Lord.
IX. At this time, viz. about the year"170, the churches of Lyons
and Vienne, in France, sent a relation of the sufferings of their
martyrs to the churches of Asia and Phrygia.t The epistle is pre-
served entire by Eusebius. And what carries in some measure the
testimony of these churches to a higher age, is, that they had now
hath said,' intending to quote the words of God, or rather the sense of
those words, in Ezekiel ; and that- some transcriber, imagining these to
be the words of Christ, inserted in his copy tha addition 'Jesus Christ. 7
Vol. i. p. 539.
* Lardner, Cred. vol. i. p. 314. t Ibi d- P- 332.
80 Paley's View of the
for their bishop, Pothinus, who was ninety years old, and whose
early life consequently must have immediately joined on with the
times of the apostles.. In this epistle are exact references to the
Gospel of Luke and John, and to the Acts of the Apostles ; the form
of reference the same as in all the preceding articles. That from
Saint John is in these words: 'Then was fulfilled that which was
spoken by the Lord, that whosoever killeth you, will think that he
doth God service.'*
X. The evidence now opens upon us full and clear. Irenaeust
succeeded Pothinus as bishop of Lyons. In his youth he had been
a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. In the time
in which he lived, he was distant not much more than a century
from the publication of the Gospels , in his instruction, only by one
step separated from the persons of the apostles. He asserts of him-
self and his contemporaries, that they were able to reckon up, in all
the principal churches, the succession of bishops from the first4 I
remark these particulars concerning Irenaaus with more formality
than usual ; because the testimony which this writer affords to the
historical books of the New Testament, to their authority, and to
the titles which they bear, is express, positive, and exclusive. One
principal passage, in which this testimony is contained, opens with
a precise assertion of the point which we have laid down as the
foundation of our argument, viz. that the story which the Gospels
exhibit, is the story which the apostles told. ' We have not received,'
saith IrenzEus, 'the knowledge of the way of our salvation by any
others than those by whom the gospel has been brought to us.
Which Gospel they first preached, and afterward, by the will of
God, committed to writing, that it might be for time to come the
foundation and pillar of our faith. For after that our Lord rose from
the dead, and they (the apostles) were endowed from above with
the power of the Holy Ghost coming down upon them, they re-
ceived a perfect knowledge of all things. They then went forth to
all the ends of the earth, declaring to men the blessing of heavenly
peace, having all of them, and every one, alike, the Gospel of God.
Matthew then, among the Jews, wrote a Gospel in their own lan-
guage, while Peter and Paul were preaching the Gospel at Rome,
and founding a church there : and after their exit, Mark also, the
disciple and interpreter of Peter, delivered to us in writing the
things that had been preached by Peter; and Luke, the companion
of Paul, put down in a book the gospel preached by him (Paul).
Afterward John, the disciple of the Lord, who also leaned upon his
breast, he likewise published a Gospel while he dwelt at Ephesus
in Asia.' If any modern divine should write a book upon the
genuineness of the Gospels, he could not assert it more expressly, or
state their original more distinctly, than Irenaeus hath done within
little more than a hundred years after they were published.
The correspondency, in the days of Irenasus, of the oral and
* John .xvi. 2. t Lardner, vol. i. p. 344.
J Adv. Hieres. I. iii. c. 3.
Evidences of Christianity. 81
written tradition, and the deduction of the oral tradition through
various channels from the age of the apostles, which was then lately
passed, and, by consequence, the probability that the books truly
delivered what the apostles taught, is inferred also with strict-regu-
larity from' another passage of his works. ' The . tradition of the
apostles,' this father saith, 'hath spread itself over the whole uni-
verse ; and all they, who search after the sources of truth, will find
this tradition to be held sacred in every church. We might enu-
merate all those who have been appointed bishops to these churches
by the apostles, and all their successors up to our days. It is by this
uninterrupted succession that we have received the tradition which
actually exists in the church, as also the doctrines of truth, as it was
preached by the apostles.'* The reader will observe upon this, that
the same Irenseus, who is now stating the strength and. uniformity
of the tradition, we have before seen recognizing, in the fullest
manner, the authority of the written records ; from which we are
entitled to conclude, that they were then conformable to each other.
I have said, that the testimony of Iremeus in favor of our Gospels
is exclusive of all othe.rs. I allude to a remarkable passage in his
works, in which, for some reasons sufficiently fanciful, he endeavors
to show, that there could be neither more nor fewer Gospels than
four. With his argument we have no concern. The position itself
proves that four, and only Tour, Gospels were at that time publicly
read and acknowledged. That these were our Gospels, and in the
state in which we now have them, is shown, from many other places
of this writer beside that which we have already alleged. He
mentions how Matthew begins his Gospel, how Mark- begins and
ends his, and their supposed reasons 1 for so doing. He enumerates
at length the several passages of Christ's history in Luke, which are
not found in any of the other evangelists. He states the particular
design with which Saint John composed his Gospel, and accounts
for the doctrinal declarations which precede the narrative.
To the book of the Acts of the Apostles, its author, and credit,
the testimony of Irenaeus is not less explicit. Referring to the ac-
count of Saint Paul's conversion and vocation, in the ninth chapter
of that book, 'Nor can they,' says he, meaning the parties .with
whom he argues, 'show that he is not to be credited, who has re-
lated to us the truth with the greatest exactness.' In another place,
he has actually collected the several texts, in which the writer of
the history is represented as accompanying Saint Paul ; which
leads him to deliver a summary of almost the whole -of the last
twelve chapters of the book.
In an author thus abounding with references and allusions to tho
Scriptures, there is not one to any apocryphal Christian writing
whatever. This is a broad line of distinction between our sacred
books, and the pretensions of all others. ' .
The force of the testimony of the period which we have consid-
ered, is greatly strengthened by the observation, that it is the testi-
* Iren. in Hcer. 1. iii. c. 3.
82 Paley's View of the
mony, and the concurring testimony, of writers who lived hi coun-
tries remote from one another. Clement flourished at Rome, Igna-
tius at Antioch, Polycarp at Smyrna, Justin Martyr in Syria,~and
Irenseus in France.
XI. Omitting Athenagoras and Theophilas, who lived about this
time ;* in the remaining -works of the former of whom are clear
references to Mark and Luke ; and in the works of the latter, who
was bishop of Antioch, the sixth in succession from the apostles,
evident allusions to Matthew and John, and probable allusions to
Luke (which, considering the nature of the compositions, that they
were addressed to heathen readers, is as much as could be expected) ;
observing also, that the works of two learned Christian writers of
the same age, Miltiades and Pantenus,t are now lost; of which
Miltiades, Eusebius records, that his writings ' were monuments of
zeal for the divine oracles ;' and which Pantaenus, as Jerome testi-
fies, was a man of prudence and learning, both in the divine Scrip-
tures and secular literature, and had left many commentaries upon
the Holy Scriptures then extant ; passing by these without farther
remark, we come to one of the most voluminous of ancient Chris-
tian writers, Clement of Alexandria4 Clement followed Irenaeus
at the distance of only sixteen years, and therefore may be said to
maintain the series of testimony in an uninterrupted continuation.
In certain of Clement's works, now lost, but of which various
parts are recited by Eusebius, there is given a distinct account
of the order hi which the four Gospels were written. The Gospels
which contain the genealogies, were (he says) written first ; Mark's
next, at the instance of Peter's followers ; and John's the last: and
this account he tells us that he had received from presbyters of
more ancient times. This testimony proves the following points;
that these Gospels were the histories of Christ then publicly re-
ceived, and relied upon; and that the dates, occasions, and circum-
stances, of their publication, were at that time subjects of attention
and inquiry amongst Christians. In the works of Clement which
remain, the four Gospels are repeatedly quoted by the names of
their authors, and the Acts of the Apostles is expressly ascribed to
Luke. In one place, after mentioning a particular circumstance,
he adds these remarkable words : 'We have not this passage in the
four Gospels delivered to us, but in that according to the Egyptians ;'
which puts a marked distinction between the four Gospels and all
other histories, or pretended histories, of Christ. In another part of
his works, the perfect confidence with which he received the Gos-
pels, is signified by these words: 'That this is true, appears from
hence, that it was written in the Gospel according to Saint Luke ;'
and again, ' I need not use many words, but only to allege the evan-
gelic voice of the Lord.' His quotations are numerous. The say-
ings of Christ,-of which he alleges many, are all taken from our
* Lardner, vol. i. p. 400-422. t Ibid. vol. 1, p. 413, 45Q.
J Ibid, vol ii. p. 469.
Evidences of Christianity. 83
Gospels; the single exception to this observation appearing to be a
loose* quotation of a passage in Saint Matthew's Gospel.
XII. In the age in which they lived,t Tertullian joins on with
Clement. The number of the Gospels then received, the names of
the evangelists, and their proper descriptions, are -exhibited by this
writer in one short sentence: 'Among the apostles, John and
Matthew teach us the faith; among apostolical men, Luke and
Mark refresh it' The next passage to be taken from Tertullian,
affords as complete an attestation to the authenticity of our books,
as can be well imagined. After enumerating the 'churches which
had been founded by Paul, at Corinth, in Galatia, at Philippi, Thes-
salonica, and Ephesus ; the church of Rome established by Peter
and Paul, and other churches derived from John ; he proceeds thus :
'I say then, that with them, but not with them only which are
apostolical, but with all who have fellowship with them in the
same faith, is that Gospel of Luke received from its first publication,
which we so zealously maintain .' and presently afterward adds ;
' The same authority of the apostolical churches will support the
other Gospels, which we have from them and according to them, I
mean John's and Matthew's ; although that likewise which Mark
published may be said to be Peter's, whose interpreter Mark was.'
In another place Tertullian affirms, that the three other Gospels
were in the hands of the churches from the beginning, as well as
Luke's. This noble testimony fixes the universality with which
the Gospels were received, and their antiquity ; that they were in
the hands of all, and had been so from the first And this evidence
appears not more than one hundred and fifty years after the publi-
cation of the books. The reader must be given to understand, that
when Tertullian speaks of maintaining or defending (l-uendi) the
Gospel of Saint Luke, he only means maintaining or defending the
integrity of the copies of Luke received by Christian churches, in
opposition to certain curtailed copies used by Marcion, against
whom he writes.
This author frequently cites the Acts of the Apostles under that
tide, once calls it Luke's Commentary, and observes how Saint
Paul's epistles confirm it
After this general evidence, it is unnecessary to add particular
quotations. These, however, are so numerous and ample, as to
have led Dr. Lardner to observe, ' that there are more, and larger
quotations of the small volume of the New Testament in this one
* 'Ask great things, and the small shall be added unto you.' Clement
rather chose to expound the words of Matthew (chap. vi. 33.) than lite-
rally to cite them; and this 1s most undeniably proved by another place
in the same Clement, where he both produces the text and these words as
an exposition : ' Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and its righteous-
ness, for these are the great things : but the small things, and things re-
lating to this life, shall be added unto you.' Jones's New and Full
Method, vol. i. p. 553.
t Lavdner, vol. ii. p. 561.
84 Paley's View of the
Christian author, than there are of aE the works of Cicero in writers
of all characters for several ages.'*
Tertullian quotes no Christian writing as of equal authority with
the Scriptures, and no spurious books at all ; a broad line of dis-
tinction, we may- once more observe, between our sacred books and
all others.
We may again likewise remark the wide extent through which
the reputation of the Gospels, and of the Acts of the Apostles, had
spread, and the perfect consent, in this point, of distant and inde-
pendent societies. It is now only about one hundred and fifty
years since Christ was crucified; and within this period, to say
nothing of the apostolical lathers who have been noticed already,
we have Justin Martyr at Neapolis, Theophilus at Antioch, Irenseus
in France, Clement at Alexandria, Tertullian at Carthage, quoting
the same books of historical Scriptures, and, I may say, quoting
these alone.
XIII. An interval of only thirty years, and that occupied by no
small number of Christian writers,! whose works only remain in
fragments and quotations, and in every one of which is some refer-
ence or other to the Gospels (and in one of them, Hippolytus, as
preserved in Theodore t, is an abstract of the whole 1 Gospel history),
brings us to a name of great celebrity in Christian antiquity, Origent
of Alexandria, who, in the quantity of his writings, exceeded the
most laborious of the Greek and Latin authors. Nothing can be
more peremptory upon the subject now under consideration, and,
from a writer of his learning and information, more satisfactory,
than the declaration of Origen, preserved, in an extract from his
works, by Eusebius ; ' That the four Gospels alone are received
without dispute by the whole church of God under heaven:' to
which declaration is immediately subjoined, a brief history of the
respective authors, to whom they were then, as they are now, as-
cribed. The language holden concerning the Gospels, throughout
the works of Origen which remain, entirely correspond with the
testimony here cited. His attestation to the Acts of the Apostles is
no less positive : ' And Luke also once more sounds the trumpet,
relating the acts of the apostles.' The universality with which the
Scriptures were then read, is well signified by this writer, in a pas-
sage in which he has occasion to observe against Celsus, ' That it
is not in any private books, or such as are read by a few only, and
those studious persons, but in books read ' by every body, that it is
written. The invisible things of God from the creation of the world
are clearly seen, being understood by things that are made.' It is
to no purpose to single out quotations of Scripture' from such a
writer as this. We might as well make *a selection of the quota-
tions of Scripture in Dr. Clarke's Sermons. They are so thickly
* Lardner, vol. ii. p. 647.
t Minucius Felix, Apollonius, Caius, Asterius, Urbanus, Alexander
bishop of Jerusalem, Hippolytus, Ammonius, Julius Africanus.
J Lardner, vol. ii. p. 234.
Evidences of Christianity. 85
sown in the works of Origen, that Dr. Mill says, ' If we had all his
works remaining, we should have before us almost the whole text
of the Bible.'*
Origen notices, in order to censure, certain apocryphal Gospels.
He also uses four writings of this sort; that is, throughout his large
works he once or twice, at the most, quotes each of the four; but
always with some mark, either of direct reprobation or of caution
to his readers, manifestly esteeming them of little or no authority.
XIV. Gregory bishop of Neocresarea, arid Dionysius of Alexan-
dria, were scholars of Origen. Their testimony, therefore, though
full and particular, may be reckoned a repetition only of his. The
series, however, of evidence is continued by Cyprian bishop of Car-
thage, who flourished within twenty years after Origen. . 'The
church,' says this father, 'is watered, like Paradise, by four rivers,
that is, by four Gospels.' The Acts of the Apostles is also frequently
quoted by Cyprian under that name, and the name .of the ' Divine
Scriptures.' In his various writings are such constant and copious
citations of Scripture, as to place this part of the testimony beyond
controversy. Nor is there, in the works of this eminent African
bishop, one 'quotation of a spurious or apocryphal Christian writing.
XV. Passing over a crowdt of writers following Cyprian at differ-
ent distances, but all within forty years of his time ; and who all, in
the imperfect remains of their works, either cite the historical Scrip-
tures of the New Testament, or speak of them in terms of profound
respect; I single out Victorin, bishop of Pettaw in Germany, merely
on account of the remoteness of his situation from that of Origen
and Cyprian, who were Africans ; by which circumstance his testi-
mony,"taken in conjunction with theirs, prove that the Scripture his-
tories, and the same histories, were known and received from one
side of the Christian world to the other. This bishopt lived about
the year 290 :. and in a commentary upon this text of the Revelation,
' The first was like a lion, the second was like a calf, the third like
a man, and the fourth like a flying eagle,' he makes out that by the
four creatures are intended the four Gospels; and, to show the pro-
priety of the symbols, he recites the subject with which each evan-
gelist opens his history. The explication is fanciful, but the testi-
mony positive. He also expressly cites the Acts of the Apostles.
XVI. Arnobius and Lactantius, about the year 300, composed
formal arguments upon the credibility of the Christian religion. As
tjiese arguments were addressed to Gentiles, the authors abstain
from quoting Christian books ~by name ; one of them giving this very
reason for his reserve ; but when they come to state for the informa-
tion of their readers, the outlines of Christ's history, it is apparent
* Mill, Proleg. cap. vi. p. CC.
t Novatus, Rome, A. D. 251 ; Dionysius, Rome, A. D. 259 ; Commodian,
A. D. 270; Anatolius, Laodicea, A. D. 270 ; Theognostus, A. D. 282; Me-
thodius, Lycia, A. D. 290; Pliileas, Egypt, A. D. 226.
4; Lardner, vol. v. p. 214. Ibid. vol. vii. p. 43. 201.
86 Paley's Vieio of the
that they draw their accounts from our Gospels, and from no other
sources ; for these statements exhibit a summary of almost every
thing which is related of Christ's actions and miracles by the four
evangelists. Arnobius vindicates, without mentioning their names,
the credit of these historians ; observing, that they were eye-wit-
nesses of the facts which they relate, and that their ignorance of the
arts of composition was rather a confirmation of their testimony,
than an objection to it Lactantius also argues in defence of the
religion, from the consistency, simplicity, disinterestedness, and suf-
ferings of the Christian historians, meaning by that term our evan-
gelists.
XVII. We close the series of testimonies with that of Eusebius,*
bishop of Caesarea, who flourished in the year 315, contemporary
with, or posterior only by fifteen years to, the two authors last cited.
This voluminous writer, and most diligent collector of the writings
of others, beside a variety of large works, composed a history of the
affairs of Christianity from its origin to his own time. His testimony
to the Scriptures is the testimony of a man much conversant in the
works of Christian authors, written during the first three centuries
of its era, and who had read many which are now lost. In a pas-
sage of his Evangelical Demonstration, Eusebius remarks, with
great nicety, the delicacy of two of the evangelists, in their manner
of noticing any circumstance which regarded themselves ; and of
Mark, as writing under Peter's direction, in the circumstances which
regarded him. The illustration of this remark leads him to bring
together long quotations from each of the evangelists; and the whole
passage is a proof, that Eusebius, and the Christians of those days,
not only read the Gospels, but studied them with attention and
exactness. In a passage of his Ecclesiastical History, he treats, in
form, and at large, of the occasions of writing the four Gospels, and
of the order in which they were written. The title of the chapter
is, 'Of the Order of the Gospels;' and it begins thus: 'Let us ob-
serve the writings of this apostle John, which are not contradicted
by any: and, first of all, must be mentioned, as acknowledged by
all, the Gospel according to him, well known to all the churches
under heaven ; and that it has been justly placed by the ancient*
the fourth in order, and after the other three, may be made evident
in this manner.' Eusebius then proceeds to show that John wrote
the last of the four, and that his Gospel was intended to supply the
omissions of the others; especially in the part of our Lord's ministry,
which took place before the imprisonment of John the Baptist. He
observes, ' that the apostles of Christ were not studious of the orna-
ments of composition, nor indeed forward to write at all, being
wholly occupied with their ministry.'
This learned author makes no use at all of Christian writings,
forged with the names of Christ's apostles, or their companions.
We close this branch of our evidence here, because after Euse-
* Lardncr, vol. viii.p. 33.
Evidences of Christianity. 87
bius, there is no .room for any question upon the subject ; the works
of Christian writers being as full of texts of Scripture and of refer-
ences to Scripture, as the discourses of modern divines. Future
testimonies to the books of Scripture could only prove, that they
never lost. their character or authority.
SECT. II.
When the Scriptures are quoted, or alluded to, they are quoted with
peculiar respect, as books sui generis ; as possessing an authority
which belonged to no other books, and as conclusive in all questions
and controversies amongst Christians.
BESIDE the general strain of reference and quotation, which imi-
formly and strongly indicates this distinction, the following may be
oregarded as specific testimonies :
I. Theophilus* bishop of Antioch, the sixth in succession from the
.apostles, and who flourished little more than a century after the
books of the New Testament were written, having occasion to quote
-one of our Gospels, writes thus : ' These things the Holy Scriptures
teach us,-and all who were moved by the Holy Spirit, among whom
John says, In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God.' Again; ' Concerning the righteousness which the law teaches,
the like things are to be found in the Prophets and the Gospels,
.because that, being inspired, spoke by one and the same Spirit of
God,'t No words can testify more strongly than these do, the high
.and peculiar respect in which these books were holden.
II. A writer against Artemon,t who may be supposed to come
about one hundred and fifty-eight years after the publication of .the
Scripture, in a passage quoted by Eusebius, uses these expressions :
' Possibly what they (our adversaries) say, might have been credited,
if first of all the Divine Scriptures did not contradict them ; and
.then the writings of certain brethren more ancient than the times
of Victor.' The brethren mentioned by name, are Justin, Miltiades,
Tatian, Clement, Irenaeus, Melito, with" a general appeal to many
more not named. This passage proves, first, that there was at that
time a collection called Divine Scriptures ; secondly, that these
Scriptures were esteemed of higher authority than the writings of
the most early and celebrated Christians.
III. In a piece ascribed to Hippolytus, who Jived near the same
time, the author professes, in giving his correspondent instruction in
.the things about which he inquires, 'to draw out of the sacred foun-
.tain, and to set before him from the sacred Scriptures, what may
afford him satisfaction.' He then quotes immediately Paul's epistles
to Timothy, and afterward many books of the New Testament.
* Lardner, Cred. part ii. vol. i. p. 429. t Ib- vol. i. p. 448.
{ Ib. vol. iii. p. 40. Ib. vol. iii. p. 112.
88 Paley's View of the
This preface to the quotations carries in it a marked distinction be-
tween the Scriptures and other books.
IV. ' Our assertions and discourses (saith Origen*), are unworthy
of credit ; we must receive the Scriptures as witnesses.' After treat-
ing of the duty of prayer, he proceeds with his argument thus :
'.What we have said, may be proved from the Divine Scriptures.'
In his books againt Celsus, we find this passage : 'That our religion
teaches us to seek after wisdom shall be shown, both out of the an-
cient Jewish Scriptures, which we also use, and out of those -written,
since Jesus, which are believed in the churches to be divine.'
These expressions afford abundant evidence of the peculiar and ex-
clusive authority which the Scriptures possessed.
V. Cyprian, bishop'of Carthage.t whose age lies close to that of
Origen, earnestly exhorts Christian teachers, in all doubtful cases,
* to go back to the fountain ,- and, if the truth has in any case been
shaken, to recur to the Gospels and apostolic writings.' ' The pre-
cepts of the gospel (says he in another place), are nothing less
than authoritative divine lessons, the foundations of our hope, the
supports of our faith, the guides of our way, the safe-guards of our
course to heaven.'
VI. Novatus,}: a Roman, contemporary with Cyprian, appeals to
the Scriptures, as the authority by which all errors were to be re-
pelled, and disputes decided. 'That Christ is not only man, but
God also, is proved by the sacred authority of the Divine Writings/
' The Divine Scripture easily detects and confutes the frauds of
heretics.' ' It is not by the fault of the heavenly Scriptures, which
never deceive.' Stronger assertions than these could not be used.
VII. At the distance of twenty years from the writer last cited,
Anatolius, a learned Alexandrian, and bishop of Laodicea, speak-
ing of the rule for keeping Easter, a question at that day agitated
with much earnestness, says of those whom he opposed, ' They can
by no means prove their point by the authority of the divine Scrip-
ture.'
VIII. The Arians, who sprung up about fifty years after this,
argued strenuously against the use of the words consubstantial, and
essence, and like phrases ; 'because they were not in Scripture.'\\ And
ia the same strain, one of their advocates opens a conference with
Augustine, after the following manner: 'If you say what is reasona-
ble, I must submit If you allege any thing from the Divine Scrip-
tures, which are common to both, I must hear. But unscriptural
expressions (quaa extra Scripturam sunt) deserve no regard.'
Athanasius, the great antagonist of Arianism, after having enu-
merated the books of the Old and New Testament, adds, ' These are
the fountain of salvation, that he who thirsts may be satisfied with the
oracles contained in them. In these alone the doctrine of salvation.
* Lardner, Cred. vol. iii. p. 287 2SO. t Ib. vol. iv. p. 840.
t Ib. vol. v. p. 102. Ib. p. 146.
f Ib. KoL vii. p. 283, 284.
Evidences of Christianity- 89
is proclaimed. Let no man add to them, or 'take any thing from
them.'*
IX. Cyril, bishop of Jenisalem.t who wrote about twenty years
after the appearance of Arianism, uses these remarkable words :
' Concerning the divine and holy mysteries of faith, not the least
article ought to be delivered without the Divine Scriptures.' We
are -assured that Cyril's Scriptures were the same as ours, for he has
left us a catalogue of the books included under that name.
X. Epiphanius,t twenty years after Cyril, challenges the Arians,
and the followers of Origen, ' to produce any passage of the Old and
New Testament, favoring their sentiments.'
XI. PhoBbadius, a Gallic bishop, who lived about thirty years
after the council of Nice," testifies, that 'the bishops of that coun-
cil first consulted the sacred volumes, and then declared their
faith.'$
XII. Basil, bishop of Csesarea, in Cappadocia, contemporary with
Epiphanius, -says, ' that hearers instructed in the Scriptures ought to
examine what is said by their teachers, and to embrace what is
agreeable to the Scriptures, and to reject what is otherwise.'!!
XIII. Ephraim, the Syrian, a celebrated writer of the same times,
bears this conclusive testimony to the proposition which forms the
subject of our present chapter: 'The truth written in the sacred
volume of the gospel, is a perfect rule. Nothing can be taken from
it nor added to it, without great guilt-'ff
XIV. If we add Jerome to these, it is only for the evidence which
he affords of the judgment of preceding ages. Jerome observes,
concerning the quotations of ancient Christian writers, that is, of
writers who were ancient in the year 400, that they made a distinc-
tion between 'books; some they quoted as of authority, and others
not : which observation relates to the books of Scripture, compared
with other writings, apocryphal or heathen.**
SECT. III.
The Scriptures were in very early times collected into a distinct
volume.
IGNATIUS, who was bishop of Antioch within forty years after the
Ascension, and who had lived and conversed with the apostles,
speaks of the gospel and of the apostles in terms which render it
very probable that he meant by the gospel, the book or volume of the
Gospels, and by the Apostles, the book or volume of their epistles.
His words in one place are,tt ' Fleeing to the gospel as the flesh of
Jesus, and to the apostles as the presbytery of the church:' that is,
^~
* Lardner, Cred. vol. xii. p. 182. t Ib. vol. viii. p. 276.
1 II). p. nj4. Ib. vol. ix. p. 52.
1! Ih. p. 124. IT Hi. vol ix. p. 222.
** Ib. vol. x. p. 123, 124. tt Ik- Part " vol. i. p. 180. '
tr n
90 Puley's View of the
as Le Clerc interprets them, ' in order to understand the will of God,
he fled to the Gospels, which he believed no less than if Christ in
the flesh had been speaking to him ; and to the writings of the apos-
tles, whom he esteemed as the presbytery of the whole Christian
church.' It must be observed, that about eighty years after this,
we have direct proofj in the writings of Clement of Alexandria,*
that these two names, ' Gospel,' and ' Apostles,' were the names by
which the writings of the New Testament, and the division of these
writings, were. usually expressed.
Another passage from Ignatius is the following: 'But the gospel
has somewhat in it more excellent, the appearance of our Lord Jesus
Christ, his passion and resurrection.'!
And a third : ' Ye ought to hearken to the prophets, but especially"
to the gospel, in which the passion has been manifested to us, and
the resurrection perfected.' In this last passage, the prophets and
the gospel are put in conjunction; and as Ignatius undoubtedly
meant by the prophets a collection of writings, it is probable that he
meant the same by the gospel, the two terms standing in evident
parallelism with each other.
This interpretation of the word ' Gospel,' in the passages above
quoted from Ignatius, is confirmed by a piece of nearly equal an-
tiquity, the relation of the martyrdom of Polycarp by the church of
Smyrna. 'All things (say they) that went before, were done, that the
Lord might show us a martyrdom according to the gospel, for he
expected to be delivered up as the Lord also did.'t And in another
place, ' We do not commend those who offer themselves, forasmuch
as the gospel teaches us no such thing.' In both these places, what
is called the Gospels, seems to be the history of Jesus Christ, and
of his doctrine.
If this be the true sense of the passages, they are not only evi-
dences of our proposition, but strong and very ancient proofs of tho
high esteem in which the books of the New Testament were holden.
II. Eusebius relates, that Quadratus and some others, who were
the immediate successors of the apostles, travelling abroad to preach
Christ, carried the Gospels with them, and delivered them to their
converts. The words of Eusebius are : ' Then travelling abroad,
they performed the work of evangelists, being ambitious to preach
Christ, and deliver the Scripture of the divine Gospels.'\\ Eusebius
had before him the writings both of Quadratus himself, and of many
others of that age, which are now lost. It is reasonable, therefore,
to believe that he had good grounds for his assertion. What is thus
recorded of the Gospels, took place within sixty, or at the most, sev-
enty years after they were published : and it is evident, that they
must, before this time (and, it is probable, long before this time),
have been in general use, and in high esteem in the churches
planted by the apostles, inasmuch as they were now, we find, col-
* Lardner, Cred. vol. ii. p. 510. t Ib. P ar t ii- vol. ii. p. 182.
5 Ignat. Ep. c. i. Ib. c. iv.
| Lardner, Cred. part ii. vol. i. p. 236.
Evidences of Christianity. 91
lected into a volume ; 'and the immediate successors of the apostles,
they who preached the religion of Christ to those who had not
already heard it, carried the volume with them, and delivered it to
their converts.
III. Irenaeus, in the year 178,* puts the evangelic and apostolic
writings in connexion with the Law and the Prophets, manifestly
intending by the one a code or collection of Christian sacred writings,
as the other expressed the code or collection of Jewish sacred
writings. And,
IV. Melito, at this time bishop of Sardis, writing to one Onesimus,
tells his correspondent,! that he had procured an accurate account
of the books of the Old Testament. The occurrence, in. this pas-
sage, of the term Old Testament, has been brought to prove, and it
certainly does prove, that there was then a volume or collection of
writings called the New Testament.
V. In the time of Clement of Alexandria, about fifteen years after
the last quoted testimony, it is apparent that the Christian Scriptures
were divided into parts, under the general titles of the Gospels'and
Apostles ; and that both these were regarded as of the highest au-
thority. One, out of many expressions of Clement, alluding to this
-distribution, is the following : ' There is a consent and harmony
between the Law and the Prophets, the Apostles and the Gospel.'?
VI. The same division, ' Prophets, Gospels, and Apostles,' appears
'in Tertullian, the contemporary of Clement. The collection of the
Gospels is likewise called by this writer the 'Evangelic Instru-
Jaent;'H the whole volume, the 'New Testament;' and the two parts,
the 'Gospels and A postles.'tf
VII. From many writers also of the third century, and especially
from Cyprian, who lived in the middle of it, it is collected, that the
Christian Scriptures were divided into two codes or volumes, one
called the 'Gospels, or Scriptures of the Lord,' the other, the 'Apos-
tles, or Epistles of the Apostles.'**
VIII. Eusebius, as wo have already seen, takes some pains to
show, that the Gospel of St. John had been justly placed by the
ancients ' the fourth in order, and after the other three.'tt These
are the terms of his proposition : and the very introduction of such
an argument proves incontestably, that the four Gospels had been
collected into a volume, to the exclusion of every other; that their
order in the volume had been adjusted with much consideration ;
and that this had been done by those who were called ancients in
the time of Eusebius.
In the Diocletian persecution, in .the year 303, the Scriptures were
sought out and burnt .-ft many suffered death rather than deliver
them up ; and those who betrayed them to the persecutors, were
accounted as lapse and apostate. On the other hand, Constantino,
* Lardner, Cred. part ii. vol. i. p. 383. t Ib - P- 3 3 '-
t It), vol. ii. p. 516. Ib.p. (531. || Ih. p. 574.
IT II). p. 032. ** Ib. vol. i v. p. 846. ft Ik- vol. viii. p. 90.
It II). vol.vii.p.214, &c.
62 Paley's View of the
after his conversion, gave directions for multiplying copies of the
divine oracles, and for magnificently adorning them, at the expense
of the imperial treasury.* What the Christians of that age so richly
embellished in their prosperity, and which is more, so tenaciously
preserved under persecution, was the very volume of the New Tes-
tament which we now read.
SECT. IV.
Our present sacred writings were soon distinguidied by appropriate
names and tides of respect.
POLYCARP. ' I trust that ye are well exercised in the Holy Scrip-
tures; as in these Scriptures it is said, Be ye angry and sin not,
and let not the sun go down upon your wrath.t This passage is
extremely important: because it .proves that, in the time of Poly-
carp, who had lived with the apostles, there were Christian writings
distinguished by the name of ' Holy Scriptures,' or Sacred Writings.
Moreover, the text quoted by Polycarp is a text found in the collec-
tion at this day. What also the same Polycarp hath elsewhere
quoted in the same manner, may be considered as proved to belong
to the collection ; and this comprehends Saint Matthew's, and prob-
ably Saint Luke's Gospel, the Acts of the Apostles, ten epistles of
Paul, the First Epistle of Peter, and the First of John.t In another
place, Polycarp has these words : ' Whoever perverts the oracles of
the Lord to his own lusts, and says there is neither resurrection nor
judgment, he is the first-born of Satan.'S It does not appear what
else Polycarp could mean by the ' oracles of the Lord,' but those
same ' Holy Scriptures,' or Sacred Writings, of which he had spoken
before.
II. Justin Martyr, whose apology was Avritten about thirty years
after Polycarp's epistle, expressly cites some of our present histories
under the tide of GOSPEL, and that not as a name by him first as-
cribed to them, but as the name by which they were generally
known in his time. His words are these : ' For the apostles in the
memoirs composed by them, which are called Gospels, have thus
delivered it, that Jesus commanded them to take bread, and give
thanks.'|| There exists no doubt, but that, by the memoirs above
mentioned, Justin meant our present historical Scriptures ; for
throughout his works he quotes tiiese, and no others.
III. Dionysius, bishop of Corinth, who came thirty years after
Justin, in a passage preserved in Eusebius (for his works are lost),
speaks ' of the Scriptures of the Lord.'Tf
IV. And at the same time, or very nearly so, by IrenoBus bishop
* Lardner, Cred. vol. vii. p. 4:&. t Ib. vol. i. p. 203.
t Ib. vol. i. p. 223. Ib. p. 222. || Ib. p. 271. T Ib. p. 298.
Evidences of Christianity. 93
of Lyons in France,* they are called ' Divine Scriptures,' ' Divine
Oracles,' 'Scriptures of the Lord,' 'Evangelic and Apostolic
Writings.'! The quotations of Irenams prove decidedly, that our
present Gospels, and these alone, together with the Acts of the
Apostles, were the historical books comprehended by him under
these appellations.
V. Saint Matthew's Gospel is quoted by Theophilus, bishop of
Antioch, contemporary with Irenaeus, under the title of the 'Evan-
gelic Voice ;'}: and the copious works of Clement of Alexandria,
published within fifteen years of the same time, ascribe to the
books of the New Testament the various titles of ' Sacred Books,'
' Divine Scriptures,'' Divinely inspired Scriptures,' ' Scriptures
of the Lord,'' the true Evangelical Canon.'$
VI. Tertullian, who joins on with Clement, beside adopting most
of the names and epithets above noticed, calls the Gospels 'our
Digesta,' in allusion, as it should seem, to some collection of Roman
laws then extantll
VII. By Origen, who came thirty years after Tertullian, the same,
and other no less strong titles, are applied to the Christian Scrip-
tures: and, in addition thereunto, this writer frequently speaks of
the ' Old and New Testament,' 'The Ancient and New Scriptures,'
' the Ancient and New Oracles.'H
VTII. In Cyprian, who was not twenty years later, they are 'Books
of the Spirit,' 'Divine Fountains,' 'Fountain of the Divine Full-
ness.
The expressions we have thus quoted, are evidences of high and
peculiar respect. They all occur within two centuries from the
publication of the books. Some of them commence with the com-
panions of the apostles, and they increase in number and variety,
through a series of writers touching one upon another, and deduced
from the first age of the religion.
SECT. V.
Our Scriptures were publicly read and expounded in tlie religious
assemblies of the early Christians.
JUSTIN MARTYR, who wrote in the year 140, which was seventy
or eighty years after some, and less, probably, after others of the
Gospels were published, giving, in his first apology, an account to
the emperor of the Christian worship, has this remarkable passage :
' The Memoirs of the Apostles, or the Writings of the Prophets, are
read according as the time allows : and, when the reader has ended,
* The reader will observe the remoteness of tljese two writers in
country anil situation.
t Lardner, Cved. vol. i. p. 343, &c. J Ib. p. 427.
Ib. vol. ii. p. 515. || Ib. p. 630.
IT Ib. vol. iii. p. 230. ** Ib. vol. iv. p. 844.
94 Puley's View of the
the president makes a discourse, exhorting to the imitation of go ex-
cellent things.'*
A few short observations will show the value of this testimony.
1. The ' Memoirs of the Apostles,' Justin in another place ex-
pressly tells us, are what are called 'Gospels:' and that they 'were
the Gospels which we now use, is made certain by Justin's numer-
ous quotations of them, and his silence about any others.
2. Justin describes the general usage of the Christian church.
3. Justin does not speak of it as recent or newly instituted, but in
the terms in which men speak of established customs.
II. Tertullian, who followed Justin at the distance of about fifty
years, in his account of the religious assemblies of Christians as they
were conducted in his time, says, ' We come together to recollect
the Divine 'Scriptures ; we nourish our faith, raise our hope, confirm
our trust, by the sacred word.'t
HI. Eusebius records of Origen, and cites for his authority the
letters of bishops contemporary with Origen, that, when he went
into Palestine about the year 216, which was only sixteen years
after the -date of Tertulhan's testimony, he was desired by the
bishops of that country to discourse and expound the Scriptures
publicly in the church, though he was not yet ordained a presby-
ter.f This anecdote recognizes the usage not only of reading, but
of expounding, the Scriptures; and both as subsisting in full force.
Origen also himself bears witness to the same practice : ' This (says
he) we do, when the Scriptures are read in the church, and when
the discourse for -explication is delivered to the people.' And what
is a still more ample testimony, many homilies of his upon the
Scriptures of the New Testament, delivered by him in the assem-
blies of the church, are still extant
IV. Cyprian, whose age was not twenty years lower than that of
Origen, gives his people an account of having ordained two persons,
who were before confessors, to be readers ; and what they were
to read, appears by the reason which he gives for his choice.
'Nothing (says Cyprian) can be more fit, than that he, who has
made a glorious c'onfession of the Lord, should read publicly in the
church ; that he who has shown himself willing to die a martyr,
should read the Gospd of Christ by which martyrs are made.'H
V. Intimations of the same custom may be traced in a great num-
ber of writers hi the beginning and throughout the whole of the
fourth century. Of these testimonies I will only use one, as being
of itself, express and full. Augustine, who appeared near the con-
clusion of the century, displays the benefit of the Christian religion
on this very account, the- public reading of the Scriptures in the
churches, ' where (says he) is a confluence of all sorts of people of
both sexes ; and where they hear how they ought to live well in
this world, that they may deserve to live happily and eternally in
* Lardner. Cred. vol. j. p. 273. t Ib. vol. ii. p. 628.
I Ib. vol. iii.p. 68. Ib. vol. iii. p. 302.
f Ib. '.vol. iv. p. 842,
Evidences of Christianity. 95
another.' And this custom he declares to be universal: 'The
canonical books of Scripture being read everywhere, the miracles
therein recorded are well known to all people.'*
It does not appear that any books, other than our present Scrip-
tures, were thus publicly read, except that the epistle of Clement
was read in the church of Corinth to which it had been addressed,
and some in others : and that the Shepherd of Hernias was read in
many churches. Nor does it subtract much from the value of the
argument, that these two writings partly come within it, because
we allow them to be the genuine writings of apostolical men.
There is not the least evidence, that any other Gospel, than the
four which we receive, was ever admitted to this distinction.
SECT. VI.
Commentaries were anciently written upon the Scriptures ; harmonies
formed out of them ; different copies carefully collected ; and ver-
sions made of them into different languages.
No greater proof can be given of the esteem in which these
books \yere holden by the ancient Christians, or of the sense they
entertained of their value and importance, than the industry
bestowed upon them. And it ought to be observed, that the value
and importance of these books consisted entirely in their genuine-
ness and truth. There was nothing in them, as works of taste, or
as compositions, which could have induced any one to have written
a note upon them. Moreover it shows that they were even then
considered as ancient books. Men do not write comments upon
publications of their own times: therefore the testimonies cited
under this head afford an evidence which carries up the evangelic
writings much, beyond the age of the testimonies themselves, and
to that of their reputed authors.
I. Tatian, a follower of Justin Martyr, and who flourished about
the year 170, composed a harmony, or collation of the Gospels,
which he called Diatessaron, Of the Ibur.t The title, as well as
the work, is remarkable ; because it shows that then, as now, there
were four, and only four, Gospels in general use with Christians.
And this was little more than a hundred years after the publication
of some of them.
II. Pantaenus, of the Alexandrian school, a man of great reputa-
tion and learning, who came twenty years after Tatian, wrote
many commentaries upon the Holy Scriptures, which, as Jerome
testifies, were extant in his time4
III. Clement of Alexandria wrote short explications of many
books of the Old and New Testament.^
* Lardner, Cred. vol. x. p. 276, &c. t Ib. vol. i. p. 307.
J Ib. p. 455. Ib. vol. ii. p. 462.
96 Paletfs View of the
TV. Tertullian appeals from the authority of a later version, then
in use, to the authentic Greek.*
V. An anonymous author, quoted by Eusebius, and who appears
to have written about the year 212, appeals to the ancient copies of
the Scriptures in refutation of some corrupt readings alleged by the
followers of Artemon.t
VI. The same Eusebius, mentioning by name several writers of
the church who lived at this time, and concerning whom he says,
'There still remain divers monuments of the laudable industry of
those ancient and ecclesiastical men' (i. e. of Christian writers who
were considered as ancient in the year .300), adds, ' There are, be-
sides, treatises of many others, whose names we have not been able
to learn, orthodox and ecclesiastical men, as the interpretations of
the Divine Scriptures given by each of them show-!
VII. The last five testimonies may be referred to the year 200 ;
immediately after which, a period of thirty years gives us
Julius Alricanus, who wrote an epistle upon the apparent differ-
ence in the genealogies in Matthew and Luke, which he endeavors
to reconcile by the distinction of natural and legal descent, and
conducts his hypothesis with great industry through the whole se-
ries of generations^
Ammonius, a learned Alexandrian, who composed, as Tatian had
done, a harmony of ike four Gospels ; which proves, as Tatian's
work did, that there w r ere four Gospels, and no more, at this time,
in use in the church. It affords also an instance of the zeal of
Christians for those writings, and of their solicitude about them.H
And, above both these, Origen, who wrote commentaries, or hom-^
ilies, upon most of the books included in the New Testament, and
upon no other books but these. In particular, he wrote upon Saint
John's Gospel, very largely upon Saint Mathew's, and commenta-
ries, or homilies, upon the Acts of the Apostles.TT
VIII. In addition to these the third century likewise contains
Dionysius of Alexandria, a very learned man, who compared
with great accuracy, the accounts in the four Gospels of the time of
Christ's resurrection, adding a reflection which showed his opinion
of their authority : ' Let us not think that the evangelists disagree,
or contradict each other, although there be some small difference ;
but let us honestly and faithfully endeavor to reconcile what we
read.'**
Victorin, bishop of Pettaw, in Germany, who wrote comments
upon Saint Matthew's Gospel.tt
Lucian, a presbyter of Antioch; and Hesychius, an Egyptian
bishop, who put forth editions of the New Testament.
* Lardner, Cred. vol. ii. p. 638. f Ib- vol. Hi. p. 46.
J Ib. vol. ii. p. 551. Ib. vol. iii. p. 170.
II Ib. p. 322. IT Ib. p. 352. 192. 202. 2J5.
** Ib. vol. iv. p. 166. ft Ib- P- 3P5.
Evidences of Christianity. 97
IX. The fourth century supplies a catalogue* of fourteen writers,
who expended their labors upon the books of the New Testament,
and whose works or names are come, down to our times ; amongst
which number it may be sufficient, for the purpose of showing the
sentiments and studies of learned Christians of that age, to notice
the following :
Eusebius, in the very beginning of the century, wrote expressly
upon the discrepancies observable in the Gospels, and likewise a
treatise, in which he pointed out what things are related by four,
what by three, what by two, and what by one eyangelist.t This
author also testifies, what is certainly a material piece of evidence,
' that the writings of the apostles had obtained such an esteem, as to
be translated into every language both of Greeks and Barbarians,
and" to be diligently studied by all nations.'! This testimony was
given about the year 300; how long before that date these transla-
tions were made does not appear.
Damasus, bishop of Rome, corresponded with Saint Jerome upon
the exposition of difficult texts of Scripture : and, in a letter still re-
maining, desires Jerome to give him a clear explanation of the word
Hosanna, found in the New Testament ; ' he (Damasus) having met
with very different interpretations of it in the Greek and Latin com-
mentaries of Catholic writers which he had read.'$ This last clause
shows the number and variety of commentaries then extant.
Gregory of Nyssen, at one time, appeals to the most exact copies of
St. Mark's Gospel; at another time, compares together, and proposes
to reconcile, the several accounts of the resurrection given by the
four Evangelists; which limitation proves, that there were no other
histories of Christ deemed authentic beside these, or included in
the same character with these. This writer observes, acutely
enough, that the disposition of the clothes in the sepulchre, the
napkin that was about our Saviour's head, not lying with the linen
clothes; but wrapped together in a place by itself, did not bespeak
the terror and hurry of thieves, and therefore refutes the story of
the body being stolen.)!
Ambrose, bishop of Milan, remarked various readings in the
Lathi copies of the New Testament, and appeals to the original
Greek ;
And Jerome, towards the conclusion of this 'century, put forth an
edition of the New Testament in Latin, corrected, at least as to the
Gospels, by Greek copies, ' and those (he says) ancient'
* Eusebius, A. D. ... 315
Juvencus, Spain . . . 330
Theodore, Thrace ... 334
Hilary, Poictiers ... 354
Fortunatus 340
Apollinariusof Laodicea 362
Damasus, Rome ... 366
Gregory, Nyssen ... 371
t Lardner, Cred. vol. viii. p. 46. t Ib. p. 201.
Ib. vol. ix. p. 108. I Ib. p. 1G3.
I
Didimus of Alexandria ' 370
Ambrose of Milan . . 374
Diodore of Tarsus . . 378
Gaudent of Brescia . 387
Theodore of Gilicia . 394
Jerome 392
Chrysostom 398
98 Paley's View of the
Lastly, Chrysostom, it is well known, delivered and published a
great many homilies, or sermons, upon the Gospels and the Acts of
the Apostles.
It is needless to bring down this article lower ; but it is of im-
portance to add, that there is no example of Christian writers of the
first three centuries composing comments upon any other books than
those which are found in the New Testament, except the single one
of Clement of Alexandria commenting upon a book called the
Revelation of Peter.
Of the ancient versions of the New Testament, one of the most
valuable is the Syriac. Syriac was the language of Palestine when
Christianity was there first established. And although the books of
Scripture were written in Greek, for the purpose of a more extended
circulation than within the precincts of Judea, yet, it is probable
that they would soon be translated into the vulgar language of the
country where the religion first prevailed. Accordingly, a Syriac
translation is now extant, all along, so far as it appears, used by the
inhabitants of Syria, bearing many internal marks of high antiquity,
supported in its pretensions by the uniform traditions of the east,
and confirmed by the discovery of many very ancient manuscripts
in the libraries of Europe. It is about two hundred years since a
bishop of Antioch sent a copy of this translation into Europe, to be
printed ; and this seems to be the first time that the translation be-
came generally known to these parts of the world. The bishop of
Antioch's Testament was found to contain all our books, except the
second epistle of Peter, the second and third of John, and the Reve-
lation ; which books, however, have since been discovered in that
language in some ancient manuscripts of Europe. But in this col-
lection, no other book, beside what is in ours, appears ever to have
had a place. And, which is worthy of observation, the text, though
preserved in a remote country, and without communication with
ours, differs from ours very little, and in nothing that is important*
SECT. VH.
Our Scriptures were received by ancient Christians of different sects
and persuasions, by many heretics as well as Catholics, and were
usually appealed to by both, sides in the controversies which arose in
those days.
THE three most ancient topics of controversy amongst Christians,
were, the authority of the Jewish constitution, the origin of evil,
and the riature of Christ. Upon the first of these we find, in very
early times, one class of heretics rejecting the Old Testament en-
tirely ; another contending for the obligation of its law, in all its
parts, throughput its whole extent, and over every one who sought
acceptance with God. Upon the two latter subjects, a natural, per-
* Jones on the Canon, vol. 1. c. 24.
Evidences of Christianity. 99
h&ps, and venial* but a fruitless, eager, and impatient curiosity,
prompted by the philosophy and by the scholastic habits of the age,
which carried men much into bold hypotheses and conjectural solu-
tions, raised, amongst some who professed Christianity, very wild
and unfounded opinions. I think there is no reason to believe that
the number of these bore any considerable proportion to the body
of the Christian church; and amidst the disputes which such
opinions necessarily occasioned, it is a great satisfaction to perceive,
what, in a vast plurality of instances, we do perceive, all sides re-
curring to the same Scriptures.
*I. Basilides lived near the age of the apostles, about the year
120, or, perhaps, sooner.f He rejected the Jewish institution, not as
spurious, but as proceeding from a being inferior to the true God ;
and in other respects advanced a scheme of theology widely dif-
ferent from the general doctrine of the Christian ohurch, and which,
as it gained over some disciples, was warmly opposed by Christian
writers of the second and third century. In these writings, there is
positive evidence that Basilides received the Gospel of Matthew ;
and there is no sufficient proof that' he rejected any of the other
three : on the contrary, it appears that he wrote a commentary upon
the Gospel, so copious as to be divided into twenty-four books.t
II. The Valentinians appeared about the same time.$ Their
heresy consisted in certain notions Concerning angelic natures, which
can hardly be rendered intelligible to a modern reader. They seem,
however, to have acquired as much importance as any of the sepa-
ratists of that early age. Of .'his sect, Irenseus, who wrote, A. D.
172, expressly records'that they endeavored to fetch arguments for
their opinions from the evangelic and apostolic writings.|| Herac-
leon, one of the most celebrated of the sect, and who lived probably
so early as the year 125, wrote commentaries upon Luke and John.lT
Some observation* also of his upon Matthew are preserved by
Origen.** Nor is there any reason to doubt that he received the
whole New Testament-
Ill. The Carpocrarians were also an early heresy, little, if at all,
later than the two preceding.!! Some of their opinions resembled
Avhat we at this day mean by Socinianism. With respect to the
Scriptures, they are specifically charged, by Irenajus and by Epi-
phanius, with endeavoring to pervert a passage in Matthew,' which
amounts to a positive proof that they received that Gospel.:)} Nega-
tively, they are not accused, by their adversaries, of rejecting any
part of the New Testament.
* The materials of the former part of this section are taken from Dr.
Lardner's History of the Heretics, of the first two Centuries, published
since his death, with additions, by the Rev.. Mr. Hogg, of Exeter, and in-
serted into the ninth volume of his works, of the edition of 1778.
t Lardner, vol. ix. ed. 1788, p. 271. 1 Ib. p. 305, 306.
lb. p. 350, 351. |lb. vol. i. p. 383.
1T Ib. vol. ix. ed. 1788, p. 352. ** Ib. p. 353.
ttlb.309. Jtlb.318.-
100 . Paletfs View of the
IV. The Sethians, A. D. 150 ;* the Montanists, A. D. 156 ,-t the
Marcosians, A. D. 160 ;t Hermogenes, A.'D. 180$ Praxias, A. D. ]96;II
Artemon, A. D. 200 ;1T Theodotus, A. D. 200 ; all included tinder the
denomination of heretics, and all engaged in controversies with
Catholic Christians, received the Scriptures of the New Testa-
ment.
V. Tatian, who lived in the year 172, went into many extrava-
gant opinions, was the founder of a sect called Encratites, and was
deeply involved in disputes with "the Christians of that age ; yet
Tatian so received the four Gospels as to compose a harmony from
them.
VI. From a writer, quoted by Eusebius, of about the year 300, it
is apparent that they who at that time contended for the mere hu-
manity of Christ, argued from the Scriptures ; for they are accused
by this writer, of making alterations in their copies, in order to favor
their opinions.**
VII. Origen's sentiments excited great controversies, the bishops
of Rome and Alexandria, and many others, condemning, the bishops
of the east espousing them; yet there is not the smallest question,
but that both the advocates and adversaries of these opinions ac-
knowledged the same authority of Scripture. In his time, which
the reader will remember was about one hundred and fifty years
after the Scriptures were published, many dissensions subsisted
amongst Christians, with which fiey were reproached by Celsus ;
yet Origen, who has recorded this accusation without contradicting
it, nevertheless testifies, that the four Gospels were received with-
out dispute, by the whole church of God under heaven.tt
VIII. Paul of Samosata, about thirty years after Origen, so distin-
guished himself in the controversy concerning the nature of Christ,
as to be the subject of two councils or synods, assembled at Antioch
upon his opinions. Yet he is not charged by his adversaries with
rejecting any book of the New Testament. On the contrary, Epiph-
anius, who wrote a history of heretics a hundred years afterward,
says, that Paul endeavored to support his doctrine by texts of Scrip-
ture. And Vincentius Lirinensis, A. . 434, speaking of Paul and
other heretics of the same age, has these words : ' Here, perhaps,
some one may ask, whether heretics also urge the testimony of
Scripture. They urge it indeed, explicitly and vehemently; for
you may see them flying through every book of the sacred law.'fi:
IX. A controversy at the same time existed with the Noetians or
Sabellians, who seem to have gone into the opposite extreme from
that of Paul of Samosata and his. folio were. Yet, according to the
express testimony of Epiphanius, Sabellius received all the Scrip-
tures. And with both sects Catholic writers constantly allege the
* Lardner, vol. ix. ed. 1788, p. 455. t Ib. 482.
t Ib. 348. . Ib. 473.
jjlb. 433. ' 1Tlb. 466.
** Ib. vol. iii. p. 46. " ft Ib. vol. iv. p. 642.
Itlb. vol.xi. p. 158.
Evidences of Christianity. 101
Scriptures, and reply to the arguments which their opponents drew
from particular texts.
We have here, therefore, a proof, that parties, who were the most
opposite and irreconcilable to -one another, acknowledged the au-
thority of Scripture with equal deference.
X. And as a general testimony to the same point, may be pro-
duced what was said by one of the bishops of the council of Car-
thage, which was holden a little before this time, ' I am of opinion
that the blasphemous and wicked heretics, who pervert the sacred
and adorable words of the Scriptures, should be execrated.'* Un-
doubtedly what they perverted they received.
VI. The Millennium, Novatianism, the baptism of heretics, the
keeping, of Easter, engaged also the attention and divided the opin-
ions of Christians, at and before that time (and, by the way, it may
be observed, that such disputes, though on some accounts to be
blamed, showed how much men were in earnest upon the subject) ;
yet every one appealed for the grounds of his opinion to Scripture
authority. Dionysius of Alexandria, who flourished A. D. 247, de-
scribing a conference or public disputation with the Millennarians
of Egypt, confesses of them, though their adversary, ' that they em-
brace whatever could be made out by good arguments from the
Holy Scriplures.'t Novatus, A. D. 251, distinguished by some rigid
sentiments concerning the reception of those who had lapsed, and
the founder of a numerous sect, in his few remaining works quotes
the Gospel with the same respect as other Christians did ; and con-
cerning his followers, the testimony of Socrates, who wrote about
the year 440, is positive, viz. 'That in the disputes between the
Catholics and them, each side endeavored to support itself by the
authority of the Divine Scriptures.'t
XII. The Donatists, who sprung tip in the year 328, used the
same Scriptures as we do. ' Produce (saith Augustine) some proof
from the Scriptures, whose authority is common to us both.'
XIII. It is perfectly notorious that, in the Arian controversy,
which arose soon after the year 300, both sides appealed to -the
same Scriptures, and with equal professions of deference and regard.
The Arians, in their council of Antioch, A. D. 341, pronounce, that,
' if any one, contrary to the sound doctrine of the Scriptures, say,
that the Son is a creature, as one of the creatures, let him be an
anathema.'|| They and the Athanasians mutually accuse each other
of using unscriplural phrases ; which was a mutual acknowledg-
ment of the conclusive authority of Scripture.
XIV. The Priscillianists, A. D. 378,ff the Pelagians, A. D. 405 ** re-
ceived the same Scriptures as we do.
XV. The testimony of Chrysostom, who lived near the year 400,
is so positive in affirmation of the proposition which we maintain,
* Lardner, vol. xi. p. 839. t Ih. vol. iv. p. 666.
J Ib. vol. v. p. 105. Ib. vol. vii. p. 243.
II Ib. p. 277. if Ib. vol. ix. p. 325.
** Ib. vol. xi. p. 32.
12
102 Paletfs View of the
thai it may form a proper conclusion of the argument ' The gene-
ral reception of the Gospels is a proof that their history is true and
consistent ; for, since the writings of the Gospels, many heresies
have arisen, holding opinions contrary to what is contained in them,
who yet received the Gospels either entire or in part.'* I am not
moved by what may seem a deduction from Chrysostom's testimony,
the words, ' entire or in part;' for, if all the parts, which were ever
questioned in our Gospels, were given up, it would not affect the
miraculous origin of the religion in the smallest degree : e.g.
Cerinthus is said by Epiphanius to have received the Gospel of
Matthew, but not entire. What the omissions were, does not ap-
pear. The common opinion, that he rejected the first two chapters,
seems to have been a mistake.t It is agreed, however, by all who
have given any account of Cerinthus, that he taught that the Holy
Ghost (whether he meant by that name a person or a power) de-
scended upon Jesus at his baptism; that Jesus from this time per-
formed many miracles, and that he appeared after his death. He
must have retained therefore the essential parts of the history.
Of all the ancient heretics, the most extraordinary was Marcion4
One of his tenets was the rejection of the Old Testament, as pro-
ceeding from an inferior and imperfect deity : and in pursuance of
this hypothesis he erased from the New, and that, as it should seem,
without entering into any critical reasons, every passage which re-
cognized the Jewish Scriptures. He spared not a text which con-
tradicted his opinion. It is reasonable to believe that Marcion
treated books as he treated texts ; yet this rash and wild controver-
sialist published a recension, or chastised edition, of Saint Luke's
Gospel, containing the leading facts, and all which is necessary, to
authenticate the religion. This example affords proof, that there
were always some points, and those the main points, which neither
wildness nor rashness, neither the fury of opposition nor the intem-
perance of controversy, would venture to call in question. There
is no reason to believe that Marcion, though full of resentment
against the Catholic Christians, ever charged them with forging
their books. ' The Gospel of Saint Matthew, the Epistle to the He-
brews, with those of Saint Peter and Saint James, as well as the
Old Testament in general (he said), were writings not for Christians
but for Jews.' This declaration shows the ground upon which
Marcion proceeded in his mutilation of the Scriptures, viz. his dis-
like of the passages or the books. Marcion flourished about the year
130.
' Dr. Lardner, in his general Review, sums up this head of evi-
dence in the following words : 'Noe'tus, Paul of Samosata, Sabellius,
i
* Lardner, vol. x. p. 316. t Ib- vol. ix. ed. 1788, p. 322.
J Ib. sect. ii. c. x. Also Michael, vol.i. c. i. sect, xviii.
I have transcribed this sentence from Michaelis (p. 38), who has not,
however, referred to the authority upon which he attributes thee words
to Marcion.
Evidences of Christianity. 103
Marcellus, Photinus, the Novatians, Donan'sts, Manicheans,* Priscil-
lianists, beside Artemon, the Audians, the Arians, and divers others,
all received most or all the same books of the New Testament
which the Catholics received; and agreed in a like respect lor them
as written by apostles, or their disciples and companions.'t
SECT. vni.
The four Gospels, the Acts of tlie Apostles, thirteen Epistles of Saint
Paul, the First Epistle of John, and the First of Peter, were received
without doubt by those who doubted concerning the other books which
are included in our present canon.
I STATE this proposition, because, if made out, it shows that the
authenticity of their books was a subject amongst the early Chris-
tians of consideration and inquiry; and that, where there was cause
of doubt, they did doubt ; a circumstance which strengthens very
much their testimony to such books as were received by them with
full acquiescence.
I. Jerome, in his account of Caius, who was probably a presbyter
of Rome, and who flourished near the year 200, records of him, that,
reckoning up only thirteen epistles of Paul, he says the fourteenth,
which is inscribed to the Hebrews, is not his : and then Jerome adds,
' With the Romans to this day it is not looked upon as Paul's.' This
agrees in the main with the account given by Eusebius of the same
ancient author and his work ; except that Eusebius delivers his own
remark in more .guarded terms: 'And indeed to this very time by
some of the Romans, this epistle is not thought to be the apostle's.'f
II. Origen, about twenty years after Caius, quoting the Epistle to
the Hebrews, observes that some might dispute the authority of that
epistle ; and therefore proceeds to quote to the same point, as un-
doubted books of Scripture, the Gospel of Saint Matthew, the Acts
of the Apostles, and Paul's First Epistle to the Thessalonians. And
in another place, this author speaks of the Epistle to the Hebrews
thus : * The account come down to us is various ; some saying that
Clement, who was bishop of Rome, wrote this epistle ; others, that
it was Luke, the same who wrote the Gospel and the Acts.' Speak-
ing also, in the same paragraph, of Peter, ' Peter (says he) has left
one epistle, acknowledged ; let it be granted likewise that he wrote
a second, for it is doubted of.' And of John, 'He has also left one
epistle, of a very few lines ; grant also a second and a third, for all
do not allow them to be genuine.' Now let it be noted, that Origen,
who thus discriminates, and thus confesses his own doubts, and the
* This must be with an exception, however, of Eaustus, who lived so
late as the year 384.
t Lardner, voL xii. p. 12. Dr. Lardner's future inquiries supplied him
with many other instances.
Lardner, vol. iii. p. 240. Ib. p. 240.
104 Paletfs View of the
doubts which subsisted in his time, expressly witnesses concerning
the four Gospels, ' that they alone are received without dispute by
the whole church of God under heaven.'*
III. Dionysius of Alexandria, in the year 247, doubts concerning
the book of Revelation, whether it was written by Saint John 5
states the grounds of his doubt, represents the diversity of opinion
concerning it, in his own time, and before his time.t Yet the same
Dionysius uses and collates the four Gospels in a manner which
shows that he entertained not the smallest suspicion of their au-
thority,and in a manner also which shows that they,and they alone,
were received as authentic histories of Christ4
IV. But this section may be said to have been framed on purpose
to introduce to the reader two remarkable passages extant in Euse-
bius's Ecclesiastical History. The first passage opens with these
words : * Let us observe the writings of the apostle John which are
uncontradicted ; and first of all must be mentioned, as acknowledged
of all, the Gospel according to. him, well known to all the churches
under heaven.' The author then proceeds to relate the occasion of
writing the Gospels, and the reason for placing Saint John's the last,
manifestly speaking of all the four as parallel in their authority, and
in the certainty of their original.^ The second passage is taken
from a chapter, the title of which is, ' Of the Scriptures universally
acknowledged, and of those that are not such.' Eusebius begins his
enumeration in the following manner : ' In the first place, are to be
ranked the sacred four Gospels ; then the book of the Acts of the
Apostles; after that are to be reckoned the Epistles of Paul. In the
next place, that called the First Epistle of John, and the Epistle of
Peter, are to be esteemed authentic. After this is to be placed, if it
be thought fit, the Revelation of John, about which we shall observe
the different opinions at proper seasons. Of the controverted, but
yet well known or approved by the most, are, that called the Epistle
of James, and that of Jude, and the Second of Peter, and the Second
and Third of John, whether they are written by the evangelist, or
another of the same name.'H He then proceeds to reckon up five
others, not in our canon, which he calls in one place spurious, in
another controverted, meaning, as appears to me, nearly the same
thing by these two words.lT
It is manifest from this passage, that the four Gospels, and the Acts
of the Apostles {the parts of Scripture with which our concern prin-
cipally lies), were acknowledged without dispute, even' by those
who raised objections, or entertained doubts, about some other parts
* Lardner, vol. ii. p. 234. t Ib. vol. iv. p. 670.
Jlb.p. G61. Ib.vol.viii.p.90. || Ib. p. 39.
IT That Eusebius couid not intend, by the word rendered ' spurious,'
what we at present mean by it, is evident from a clause in this very chap-
ter, where, speaking of the Gospels of Peter, and Thomas, and Matthias,
and some others, he says, ' They are not so much as to be reckoned among
the spurious, but are to be rejected as altogether absurd and impious.'
YoL viii. p. 98.
Evidences of Christianity. 105
of the same collection. But the passage proves something more
than this. The author was extremely conversant in the writings of
Christians, which had been published from the commencement of
the institution to his own time : and it was from these writings that
he drew his knowledge of the character and reception of the books
in question. That Eusebius recurred to this medium of information,
and that he had examined with attention this species of proof, is
shown, first, by a passage in the very chapter we are quoting, in
which, speaking of the books which he calls spurious, ' None (says
he) of the ecclesiastical writers, in the succession of the apostles,
have vouchsafed to make any mention of them in their writings ;'
and, secondly, by another passage of the same work, wherein, speak-
ing of the First Epistle of Peter, 'This (says he) the presbyters of
ancient times have quoted in their writings as undoubtedly genu-
ine ;'* and then, speaking of some other writings bearing the name
of Peter, ' We know (he says) that they have not been delivered
down to us in the number of Catholic writings, forasmuch as no
ecclesiastical writer of the ancients, or of our times, has made use
of testimonies out of them.' ' But in the progress of this history,'
the author proceeds, we shall make it our business to show, to-
gether with the successions from the apostles, what ecclesiastical
writers, in every age, have used such writings as these which are
contradicted, and what they have said with regard to the Scriptures
received in. the New Testament, and acknowledged by all, and with
regard to those which are not such.'t
After this it is reasonable to believe, that when Eusebius states
the four Gospels, and the Acts of the Apostles, as uncontradicted,
uneontested, and acknowledged by all ; and when he places them
in opposition, not only to those which were spurious, in our sense
of that term, but to 'those which were controverted, and even to
those which were well known and approved by many, yet doubted
of by some ; he represents not only the sense of his own age, but
the result of the evidence which the writings of prior ages, from
the apostle's time to his own, had furnished to his inquiries. The
opinion of Eusebius and his contemporaries appears to have been
founded upon the testimony of writers whom they then called
ancient: and we may observe, that such of the works of these
writers as have come down to our times, entirely confirm the judg-
ment, and support the. distinction, which Eusebius proposes. The
books which he calls ' books universally acknowledged,' are in fact
used and quoted in the remaining works of Christian writers, during
the two hundred and fifty years between the apostles' time and that
of Eusebius, much more frequently than, and in a different manner
from, those, the authority of which, he tells us, was disputed.
* Lardner, vol. viii. p. 99. t Ib - P- HI.
106 Paley's View of the
SECT. IX.
Our historical Scriptures were attacked by the early adversaries of
Christianity, as containing the accounts upon which the religion was
founded.
NEAR the middle of the second century, Celsus, a heathen philoso-
pher, wrote a professed treatise against Christianity. To this treatise,
Origen, who came about fifty years after him, published an answer,
in which he frequently recites his adversary's words and arguments.
The work of Celsus is lost; but that of Origen remains. Origen ap-
pears to have given us the words of Celsus, where he professes to
give them, very faithfully; and, amongst other reasons for thinking
so, this is one, that the objection, as stated by him from Celsus, is
sometimes stronger than his own answer. I think it also probable,
that Origen, in his answer, has retailed a large portion of the work
of Celsus : ' That it may not be suspected (he says) that we pass by
any chapters, because we have no answers at hand, I have thought
it best, according to my ability, to confute every thing proposed by
him, not so much observing the natural order of things, as the order
which he has taken himself.'*
Celsus wrote about one hundred years after the Gospels were pub-
lished ; and therefore any notices of these books from him are ex-
tremely important for their antiquity. They are, however, rendered
more so by the character of the author ; for, the reception, credit,
and notoriety, of these books must have been well established
amongst Christians, to have made them subjects of animadversion
and opposition by strangers and by enemies. It evinces the truth of
what Chrysostpm, two centuries afterward, observed, that ' the Gos-
pels, when written, were not hidden in a corner, or buried in ob-
scurity, but they were made known to all the world, before enemies
as well as others, even as they are now.'t
1. Celsus, or the Jew whom he personates, uses these words :
1 1 could say many things concerning the affaire of Jesus, and those,
too, different from those written by the disciples 
