,transcriber's ,note3 ,footnotes have been relocated to the end of the text4 ,footnote anchors have been labeled with the original page and footnote numbers4 ,,the ,,lost ,,gospel ,,and ,,its ,,contents2 ,,or1 ,,the ,,author ,,of ,,supernatural ,,religion ,,refuted ,,by ,,himself4 ,,by ,,the ,,rev4 ,m4,f4 ,,sadler1 ,m4,a41 ,,rector ,,of ,,honiton4 ,,london3 ,,george ,,bell ,,and ,,sons1 ,,york ,,street1 ,,covent ,,garden4 #ahgf4 ,,preface4 ,this book is entitled ,the ,lost ,gospel because the book to which it is an answer is an attempt to discredit the ,supernatural element of ,christianity by undermining the authority of our present ,gospels in favour of an earlier form of the narrative which has perished4 ,it seemed to me that1 if the author of ,supernatural ,religion proved his point1 and demonstrated that the ,fathers of the ,second ,century quoted ,gospels earlier than those which we now possess1 then the evidence for the ,supernatural itself1 considered as apart from the particular books in which the records of it are contained1 would be strengthened2 if1 that is1 it could be shown that this earlier form of the narrative contained the same ,supernatural ,story4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 whilst he has utterly failed to show that the ,fathers in question have used earlier ,gospels1 has1 to my mind1 proved to demonstration that1 if they have quoted earlier narratives1 those accounts contain1 not only substantially1 but in detail1 the same ,gospel which we now possess1 and in a form rather more suggestive of the ,supernatural4 ,so that1 if he has been successful1 the author has only succeeded in proving that the ,gospel narrative itself1 in a written form1 is at least fifty or sixty years older than the books which he attempts to discredit4 ,with respect to ,justin ,martyr1 to the bearing of whose writings on this subject ,i have devoted the greater part of my book1 ,i can only say that1 in my examination of his works1 my bias was with the author of ,supernatural ,religion4 ,i had hitherto believed that this ,father1 being a native of ,palestine1 and living so near to the time of the ,apostles1 was acquainted with views of certain great truths which he had derived from traditions of the oral teaching of the ,apostles1 and the possession of which made him in some measure an independent witness for the views in question2 but ,i confess that1 on a closer examination of his writings1 ,i was somewhat disappointed1 for ,i found that he had no knowledge of our ,lord and of ,his teaching worth speaking of1 except what he might be fairly assumed to have derived from our present ,new ,testament4 ,i have to acknowledge my obligations to ,messrs4 ,clark1 of ,edinburgh1 for allowing me to make somewhat copious extracts from the writings of ,justin in their ante-,nicene ,library4 ,this has saved a ,parish ,priest like myself much time and trouble4 ,i believe that in all cases of importance in which ,i have altered the translation1 or felt that there was a doubt1 ,i have given the original from ,otto's edition 7,jena1 #ahdb74 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,section ,i4--,introductory #a ,,section ,,ii4--,the ,way ,cleared #e ,,section ,,iii4--,the ,principal ,witness--,his ,religious ,views #i ,,section ,,iv4--,the ,principal ,witness--,the ,sources of his ,knowledge respecting the ,birth of ,christ #ai ,,section ,v4--,the ,principal ,witness--,his ,testimony respecting the ,baptism of ,christ #bi ,,section ,,vi4--,the ,principal ,witness--,his ,testimony respecting the ,death of ,christ #cc ,,section ,,vii4--,the ,principal ,witness--,his ,testimony respecting the ,moral ,teaching of our ,lord #dj ,,section ,,viii4--,the ,principal ,witness--,his ,testimony to ,st4 ,john #de ,,section ,,ix4--,the ,principal ,witness--,his ,further ,testimony to ,st4 ,john #ec ,,section ,x4--,the ,principal ,witness--,his ,testimony summed up #fj ,,section ,,xi4--,the ,principal ,witness on our ,lord's ,godhead #fe ,,section ,,xii4--,the ,principal ,witness on the ,doctrine of the ,logos #gc ,,section ,,xiii4--,the ,principal ,witness on our ,lord as ,king1 ,priest1 and ,angel #hj ,,section ,,xiv4--,the ,principal ,witness on the ,doctrine of the ,trinity #he ,,section ,,xv4--,justin and ,st4 ,john on the ,incarnation #hh ,,section ,,xvi4--,justin and ,st4 ,john on the ,subordination of the ,son #ic ,,section ,,xvii4--,justin and ,philo #ih ,,section ,,xviii4--,discrepancies between ,st4 ,john and the ,synoptics #ajd ,,section ,,xix4--,external ,proofs of the ,authenticity of our ,four ,gospels #aah ,note on ,section ,,xix4--,testimonies of ,irenaeus1 ,clement of ,alexandria1 and ,tertullian to the use of the ,four ,gospels in their day #acf ,,section ,,xx4--,the ,evidence for ,miracles #adi ,,section ,,xxi4--,objections to ,miracles #afb ,,section ,,xxii4--,jewish ,credulity #afg ,,section ,,xxiii4--,demoniacal ,possession #agc ,,section ,,xxiv4--,competent ,witnesses #agi ,,section ,,xxv4--,date of ,testimony #ahe ,,the ,,lost ,,gospel4 ,,section ,i4 ,,introductory4 ,in the following pages ,i have examined the conclusions at which the author of a book entitled ,supernatural ,religion has assumed to have arrived4 ,the method and contents of the work in question may be thus described4 ,the work is entitled ,supernatural ,religion1 an ,inquiry into the ,reality of ,divine ,revelation4 ,its contents occupy two volumes of about #ejj pages each1 so that we have in it an elaborate attack upon ,christianity of very considerable length4 ,the first #bjj pages of the first volume are filled with arguments to prove that a ,revelation1 such as the one we profess to believe in1 supernatural in its origin and nature and attested by miracles1 is simply incredible1 and so1 on no account1 no matter how evidenced1 to be received4 ,but1 inasmuch as the author has to face the fact1 that the ,christian ,religion professes to be attested by miracles performed at a very late period in the history of the world1 and said to have been witnessed by very large numbers of persons1 and related very fully in certain books called the ,canonical ,gospels1 which the whole body of ,christians have1 from a very early period indeed1 received as written by eye-witnesses1 or by the companions of eye-witnesses1 the remaining #hjj pages are occupied with attempts at disparaging the testimony of these writings4 ,in order to this1 the ,christian ,fathers and heretical writers of a certain period are examined1 to ascertain whether they quoted the four ,evangelists4 ,the period from which the writer chooses his witnesses to the use of the four ,evangelists1 is most unwarrantably and arbitrarily restricted to the first ninety years of the second century 7#ajj-ahe or so74 ,we shall have ample means for showing that this limitation was for a purpose4 ,the array of witnesses examined runs thus3 ,clement of ,rome1 ,barnabas1 ,hermas1 ,ignatius1 ,polycarp1 ,justin ,martyr1 ,hegesippus1 ,papias of ,hierapolis1 the ,clementines1 the ,epistle to ,diognetus1 ,basilides1 ,valentinus1 ,marcion1 ,tatian1 ,dionysius of ,corinth1 ,melito of ,sardis1 ,claudius ,apollinaris1 ,athenagoras1 ,epistle of ,vienne and ,lyons1 ,ptolemaeus and ,heracleon1 ,celsus and the ,canon of ,muratori4 ,the examination of references1 or supposed references1 in these books to the first three ,gospels fills above #ejj pages1 and the remainder 7about #bbj7 is occupied with an examination of the claims of the fourth ,gospel to be considered as canonical4 ,the writer conducts this examination with an avowed dogmatical bias2 and this1 as the reader will soon see1 influences the manner of his examination throughout the whole book4 ,for instance1 he never fails to give to the anti-,christian side the benefit of every doubt1 or even suspicion4 ,this leads him to make the most of the smallest discrepancy between the words of any supposed quotation in any early writer from one of our ,canonical ,gospels1 and the words as contained in our present ,gospels4 ,if the writer quotes the ,evangelist freely1 with some differences1 however slight1 in the words1 he is assumed to quote from a lost ,apocryphal ,gospel4 ,if the writer gives the words as we find them in our ,gospels1 he attempts to show that the father or heretic need not have even seen our present ,gospels2 for1 inasmuch as our present ,gospels have many things in common which are derived from an earlier source1 the quoter may have derived the words he quotes from the earlier source4 ,if the quoter actually mentions the name of the ,evangelist whose ,gospel he refers to 7say ,st4 ,mark71 it is roundly asserted that his ,st4 ,mark is not the same as ours4 ,endnote #c3a ,the reader may ask1 ,how is it possible1 against such a mode of argument1 to prove the genuineness or authenticity of any book1 sacred or profane8 ,and1 of course1 it is not4 ,such a way of conducting a controversy seems absurd1 but on the author's premises it is a necessity4 ,he asserts the dogma that the ,governor of the world cannot interfere by way of miracle4 ,he has to meet the fact that the foremost religion of the world appeals to miracles1 especially the miracle of the ,resurrection of the ,founder4 ,for the truth of this miraculous ,resurrection there is at least a thousand times more evidence than there is for any historical fact which is recorded to have occurred #a1hjj years ago4 ,of course1 if the supernatural in ,christianity is impossible1 and so incredible1 all the witnesses to it must be discredited2 and their number1 their age1 and their unanimity upon the principal points are such that the mere attempt must tax the powers of human labour and ingenuity to the uttermost4 ,how1 then1 is such a book to be met8 ,it would take a work of twice the size to rebut all the assertions of the author1 for1 naturally1 an answer to any assertion must take up more space than the assertion4 ,fortunately1 in this case1 we are not driven to any such course2 for1 as ,i shall show over and over again1 the author has furnished us with the most ample means for his own refutation4 ,no book that ,i have over read or heard of contains so much which can be met by implication from the pages of the author himself1 nor can ,i imagine any book of such pretensions pervaded with so entire a misconception of the conditions of the problem on which he is writing4 ,these assertions ,i shall now1 ,god helping1 proceed to make good4 ,,section ,,ii4 ,,the ,,way ,,cleared4 ,the writers1 whose testimonies to the existence or use of our present ,gospels are examined by the author1 are twenty-three in number4 ,five of these1 namely1 ,hegesippus1 ,papias1 ,melito1 ,claudius ,apollinaris1 and ,dionysius of ,corinth are only known to us through fragments preserved as quotations in ,eusebius and others4 ,six others--,basilides1 ,valentinus1 ,marcion1 ,ptolemaeus1 ,heracleon1 and ,celsus--are heretical or infidel writers whom we only know through notices or scraps of their works in the writings of the ,christian ,fathers who refuted them4 ,the ,epistle of the ,martyrs of ,vienne and ,lyons is only in part preserved in the pages of ,eusebius4 ,the ,canon of ,muratori is a mutilated fragment of uncertain date4 ,athenagoras and ,tatian are only known through ,apologies written for the ,heathen1 the last of all ,christian books in which to look for definite references to canonical writings4 ,the ,epistle to ,diognetus is a small tract of uncertain date and authorship4 ,the ,clementine ,homilies is an apocryphal work of very little value in the present discussion4 ,these are all the writings placed by the author as subsequent to ,justin ,martyr4 ,the writers previous to ,justin1 of whom the author of ,supernatural ,religion makes use1 are ,clement of ,rome 7to whom we shall afterwards refer71 the ,epistle of ,barnabas1 the ,pastor of ,hermas1 the ,epistles of ,ignatius1 and that of ,polycarp4 ,as ,i desire to take the author on his own ground whenever it is possible to do so1 ,i shall1 for argument's sake1 take the author's account of the age and authority of these documents4 ,i shall consequently assume with him that ,none of the epistles of ,ignatius have any value as evidence for an earlier period than the end of the second or beginning of the third century from about #aij to #baj or so1 if indeed they possess any value at all4 #f3a 7,vol4 i4 p4 #bgd47 ,with respect to the short ,epistle of ,polycarp1 ,i shall be patient of his assumption that ,instead of proving the existence of the epistles of ,ignatius1 with which it is intimately associated1 it is itself discredited in proportion as they are shown to be inauthentic4 7,vol4 i4 p4 #bgd7 and so he assigns it to the latter half of the second century1 in so far as any genuine part of it is concerned4 7,p4 #bge7 ,similarly1 ,i shall assume that the ,pastor of ,hermas may have been written about the middle of the second century 7p4 #bef71 and1 with respect to the ,epistle of ,barnabas1 ,i shall take the latest date mentioned by the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 where he writes respecting the epistle-- ,there is little or no certainty how far into the second century its composition may not reasonably be advanced4 ,critics are divided upon the point1 a few are disposed to date the epistle about the end of the first century2 others at the beginning of the second century2 while a still greater number assign it to the reign of ,adrian 7,a4,d4 #aag-acj72 and others1 not without reason1 consider that it exhibits marks of a still later period4 7,vol4 i4 p4 #bce47 ,the way1 then1 is so far cleared that ,i can confine my remarks to the investigation of the supposed citations from the ,canonical ,gospels1 to be found in the works of ,justin ,martyr4 ,before beginning this1 it may be well to direct the reader's attention to the real point at issue2 and this ,i shall have to do continually throughout my examination4 ,the work is entitled ,supernatural ,religion1 and is an attack upon what the author calls ,ecclesiastical ,christianity1 because such ,christianity sets forth the ,founder of our ,religion as conceived and born in a supernatural way2 as doing throughout ,his life supernatural acts2 as dying for a supernatural purpose2 and as raised from the dead by a miracle1 which was the sign and seal of the truth of all ,his supernatural claims4 ,the attack in the book in question takes the form of a continuous effort to show that all our four ,gospels are unauthentic1 by showing1 or attempting to show1 that they were never quoted before the latter part of the second century3 but the real point of attack is the supernatural in the records of ,christ's ,birth1 ,life1 ,death1 and ,resurrection4 ,,section ,,iii4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness4--,,his ,,religious ,,views4 ,the examination of the quotations in ,justin ,martyr of the ,synoptic ,gospels occupies nearly one hundred and fifty pages2 and deservedly so1 for the acknowledged writings of this ,father are1 if we except the ,clementine forgeries and the wild vision of ,hermas1 more in length than those of all the other twenty-three witnesses put together4 ,they are also valuable because no doubts can be thrown upon their date1 and because they take up1 or advert to1 so many subjects of interest to ,christians in all ages4 ,the universally acknowledged writings of ,justin ,martyr are three3--,two ,apologies addressed to the ,heathen1 and a ,dialogue with ,trypho a ,jew4 ,the first ,apology is addressed to the ,emperor ,antoninus ,pius1 and was written before the year #aej ,a4,d4 ,the second ,apology is by some supposed to be the first in point of publication1 and is addressed to the ,roman people4 ,the contents of the two ,apologies are remarkable in this respect1 that ,justin scruples not to bring before the heathen the very arcana of ,christianity4 ,no apologist shows so little reserve in stating to the heathen the mysteries of the faith4 ,at the very outset he enunciates the doctrine of the ,incarnate ,logos3-- ,for not only among the ,greeks did ,logos 7or ,reason7 prevail to condemn these things by ,socrates1 but also among the barbarians were they condemned by the ,logos himself1 who took shape and became man1 and was called ,jesus ,christ4 #aj3a 7,apol4 ,i4 #e47 ,in the next chapter he sets forth the doctrine and worship of the ,trinity3-- ,but both ,him the ,father and the ,son1 ,who came forth from ,him and taught these things to us and the host of heaven1 the other good angels who follow and are made like to ,him1 and the ,prophetic ,spirit1 we worship and adore1 knowing them in reason and truth4 #aj3b ,again3-- ,our teacher of these things is ,jesus ,christ1 ,who was also born for this purpose1 and was crucified under ,pontius ,pilate1 procurator of ,judaea1 in the time of ,tiberius ,caesar2 and that we reasonably worship ,him1 having learned that ,he is the ,son of the ,true ,god ,himself1 and holding ,him in the second place1 and the ,prophetic ,spirit in the third4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 x4 #c47 ,again1 a little further on1 he claims for ,christians a higher belief in the supernatural than the heathen had1 for1 whereas the heathen went no further than believing that souls after death are in a state of sensation1 ,christians believed in the resurrection of the body3-- ,such favour as you grant to these1 grant also unto us1 who not less but more firmly than they believe in ,god2 since we expect to receive again our own bodies1 though they be dead and cast into the earth1 for we maintain that with ,god nothing is impossible4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xviii47 ,in the next chapter 7xix47 he proceeds to prove the ,resurrection possible4 ,this he does from the analogy of human generation1 and he concludes thus3-- ,so also judge ye that it is not impossible that the bodies of men after they have been dissolved1 and like seeds resolved into earth1 should in ,god's appointed time rise again and put on incorruption4 ,in another place in the same ,apology he asserts the personality of ,satan3-- ,for among us the prince of the wicked spirits is called the serpent1 and ,satan1 and the devil1 as you can learn by looking into our writings1 and that he would be sent into the fire with his host1 and the men who followed him1 and would be punished for an endless duration1 ,christ foretold4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xxviii47 ,in the same short chapter he asserts in very weighty words his belief in the ever-watchful providence of ,god3-- ,and if any one disbelieves that ,god cares for these things 7the welfare of the human race71 he will thereby either insinuate that ,god does not exist1 or he will assert that though ,he exists ,he delights in vice1 or exists like a stone1 and that neither virtue nor vice are anything1 but only in the opinion of men these things are reckoned good or evil1 and this is the greatest profanity and wickedness4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xxviii47 ,shortly after this he tells the heathen ,emperor that the mission and work of ,jesus ,christ had been predicted3-- ,there were amongst the ,jews certain men who were prophets of ,god1 through whom the ,prophetic ,spirit published beforehand things that were to come to pass1 ere ever they happened4 ,and their prophecies1 as they were spoken and when they were uttered1 the kings who happened to be reigning among the ,jews at the several times carefully preserved in their possession1 when they had been arranged in books by the prophets themselves in their own ,hebrew language4444 ,in these books1 then1 of the prophets1 we found ,jesus ,christ foretold as coming1 born of a virgin1 growing up to man's estate1 and healing every disease and every sickness1 and raising the dead1 and being hated1 and unrecognized1 and crucified1 and dying and rising again1 and ascending into heaven1 and being1 and being called1 the ,son of ,god4 ,we find it also predicted that certain persons should be sent by ,him into every nation to publish these things1 and that rather among the ,gentiles 7than among the ,jews7 men should believe on ,him4 ,and ,he was predicted before ,he appeared1 first #e1jjj years before1 and again #c1jjj1 then #b1jjj1 then #a1jjj1 and yet again #hjj2 for in the succession of generations prophets after prophets arose4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xxxi47 ,then he proceeds to show how certain particular prophecies which he cites were fulfilled in the ,jews having a lawgiver till the time of ,christ1 and not after2 in ,christ's entry into ,jerusalem2 in ,his ,birth of a ,virgin2 in the place of ,his ,birth2 in ,his having ,his hands and feet pierced with the nails4 7,ch4 xxxiii41 xxxiv41 xxxv47 ,again1 immediately afterwards1 he endeavours to classify certain prophecies as peculiarly those of ,god the ,father1 certain others as peculiarly those of ,god the ,son1 and others as the special utterance of the ,spirit4 7,ch4 xxxvi4-xl47 ,then he proceeds to specify certain particular prophecies as fulfilled in our ,lord's ,advent 7ch4 xl472 certain others in ,his ,crucifixion 7xli472 in ,his ,session in heaven 7xlv472 in the desolation of ,judaea 7xlvii472 in the miracles and ,death of ,christ 7xlviii472 in ,his rejection by the ,jews 7xlix472 in ,his ,humiliation 7l47 ,he concludes with asserting the extreme importance of prophecy1 as without it we should not be warranted in believing such things of any one of the human race3-- ,for with what reason should we believe of a crucified ,man that ,he is the first-born of the unbegotten ,god1 and ,himself will pass judgment on the whole human race1 unless we have found testimonies concerning ,him published before ,he came1 and was born as man1 and unless we saw that things had happened accordingly1--the devastation of the land of the ,jews1 and men of every race persuaded by ,his teaching through the ,apostles1 and rejecting their old habits1 in which1 being deceived1 they had had their conversation4 7,ch4 liii47 ,after this he speaks 7ch4 lxi47 of ,christian ,baptism1 as being in some sense a conveyance of ,regeneration1 and of the ,eucharist 7ch4 lxvi471 as being a mysterious communication of the ,flesh and ,blood of ,christ1 and at the conclusion he describes the worship of ,christians1 and tells the ,emperor that in their assemblies the memoirs of the ,apostles 7by which name he designates the accounts of the ,birth1 ,life1 and ,death of ,christ71 or the writings of the ,prophets were read1 as long as time permits1 putting the former on a par with the latter1 as equally necessary for the instruction of ,christians4 ,besides this1 we find that ,justin holds all these views of ,scripture truths which are now called ,evangelical4 ,he speaks of men now being ,purified no longer by the blood of goats and sheep1 or by the ashes of an heifer1 or by the offerings of fine flour1 but by faith through the ,blood of ,christ1 and through ,his ,death1 ,who died for this very reason4 7,dial47 ,and again3 ,so that it becomes you to eradicate this hope 7i4e4 of salvation by ,jewish ordinances7 from your souls1 and hasten to know in what way forgiveness of sins1 and a hope of inheriting the promised good things1 shall be yours4 ,but there is no other way than this to become acquainted with this ,christ1 to be washed in the fountain spoken of by ,isaiah for the remission of sins1 and for the rest to lead sinless lives4 7,dial4 xliv47 ,so that from this ,apology alone1 though addressed to the heathen1 we learn that ,justin cordially accepted every supernatural element in ,christianity4 ,he thoroughly believed in the ,trinity1 the ,incarnation of the ,logos1 the miraculous ,conception1 ,birth1 ,life1 ,miracles1 ,death1 ,resurrection1 and ,ascension of ,christ4 ,he firmly believed in the predictive element in prophecy1 in the atoning virtue of the ,death of ,christ1 in the mysterious inward grace or inward part in each ,sacrament1 in the heart-cleansing power of the ,spirit of ,god1 in the particular providence of ,god1 in the resurrection of the body1 in eternal reward and eternal punishment4 ,whatever1 then1 was the source of his knowledge1 that knowledge made him intensely dogmatic in his creed1 and a firm believer in the supernatural nature of everything in his religion4 ,the ,second ,apology is of the same nature as the first4 ,a single short extract or two from it will show how firmly the author held the supernatural3-- ,our doctrines1 then1 appear to be greater than all human teaching2 because ,christ1 who appeared for our sakes1 became the whole rational being1 both body1 and reason1 and soul4444 ,these things our ,christ did through ,his own power4 ,for no one trusted in ,socrates so as to die for this doctrine2 but in ,christ1 who was partially known even by ,socrates 7for ,he was and is the ,word ,who is in every man1 and ,who foretold the things that were to come to pass both through the prophets and in ,his own ,person when ,he was made of like passions1 and taught these things72 not only philosophers and scholars believed1 but also artizans and people entirely uneducated1 despising both glory1 and fear1 and death2 since ,he is a ,power of the ineffable ,father1 and not the mere instrument of human reason4 7,apol4 ,,ii4 ch4 x47 ,the dialogue with ,trypho is the record of a lengthy discussion with a ,jew for the purpose of converting him to the ,christian faith4 ,the assertion of the supernatural is here1 if possible1 more unreserved than in the ,first ,apology4 ,in order to convert ,trypho1 ,justin cites every prophecy of the ,old ,testament that can1 with the smallest show of reason1 be referred to ,christ4 ,having1 first of all1 vindicated the ,christians from the charge of setting aside the ,jewish law or covenant1 by an argument evidently derived from the ,epistle to the ,hebrews1 #ae3a and vindicated for ,christians the title of the true spiritual ,israel1 #ae3b he proceeds to the prophetical ,scriptures1 and transcribes the whole of the prophecy of ,isaiah from the fifty-second chapter to the fifty-fourth1 and applies it to ,christ and ,his ,kingdom4 7,dial4 ch4 xiii47 ,shortly after1 he applies to the second ,advent of ,christ the prophecy of ,daniel respecting the ,son of ,man1 brought before the ,ancient of ,days4 7,ch4 xxxi47 ,then he notices and refutes certain destructive interpretations of prophecies which have been derived from the unbelieving ,jews by our modern rationalists1 as that ,psalm cx4 is spoken of ,hezekiah1 and ,psalm lxxii4 of ,solomon4 ,then he proceeds to prove that ,christ is both ,god and ,lord of ,hosts2 and he first cites ,psalm xxiv41 and then ,psalms xlvi41 xcviii41 and xlv4 7,ch4 xxxvi41 xxxvii41 xxxviii47 ,then1 after returning to the ,mosaic law1 and proving that certain points in its ritual wore fulfilled in the ,christian system 7as the oblation of fine flour in the ,eucharist--ch4 xli471 he concludes this part of his argument with the assertion that the ,mosaic law had an end in ,christ3-- ,in short1 sirs1 said ,i1 by enumerating all the other appointments of ,moses1 ,i can demonstrate that they were types1 and symbols1 and declarations of those things which would happen to ,christ1 of those who1 it was foreknown1 were to believe in ,him1 and of those things which would also be done by ,christ ,himself4 7,ch4 xlii47 ,then he again proves that this ,christ was to be1 and was1 born of a virgin2 and takes occasion to show that the virgin mentioned in ,isaiah vii4 was not a young married woman1 as rationalists in ,germany and among ourselves have learnt from the unbelieving ,jews4 7,ch4 xliii47 ,to go over more of ,justin's argument would be beside my purpose1 which is at present simply to show how very firmly his faith embraced the supernatural4 ,i shall mention one more application of prophecy4 ,when ,trypho asks that ,justin should resume the discourse1 and show that the ,spirit of prophecy admits another ,god besides the ,maker of all things1 #ag3a ,justin accepts his challenge1 and commences with the appearance of the three angels to ,abraham1 and devotes much space and labour to a sifting discussion of the meaning of this place4 ,the conclusion is thus expressed3-- ,and now have you not perceived1 my friends1 that one of the three1 ,who is both ,god and ,lord1 and ministers to ,him ,who is remains in the heavens1 is ,lord of the two angels8 ,for when the angels proceeded to ,sodom ,he remained behind1 and communed with ,abraham in the words recorded by ,moses2 and when ,he departed after the conversation ,abraham went back to his place4 ,and when ,he came to ,sodom the two angels no longer converse with ,lot1 but ,himself1 as the ,scripture makes evident2 and ,he is the ,lord ,who received commission from the ,lord ,who remains in the heavens1 i4e4 the ,maker of all things1 to inflict upon ,sodom and ,gomorrah the judgments which the ,scripture describes in these terms3 ',the ,lord rained upon ,sodom sulphur and fire from the ,lord out of heaven4' 7,ch4 lvi47 ,it is clear from all this that ,justin ,martyr looked upon prophecy as a supernatural gift1 bestowed upon men in order to prepare them to receive that ,christ whom ,god would send4 ,instead of regarding it as the natural surmising of far-seeing men who1 from their experience of the past1 and from their knowledge of human nature1 could in some sort guess what course events are likely to take1 he regarded it as a ,divine influence emanating from ,him ,who knows the future as perfectly as ,he knows the past1 and for ,his own purposes revealing events1 and in many cases what we should call trifling events1 which would be wholly out of the power of man to guess or even to imagine4 ,i am not1 of course1 concerned to show that ,justin was right in his views of prophecy2 all ,i am concerned to show is1 that ,justin regarded prophecy as the highest of supernatural gifts4 ,such1 then1 was the view of ,justin respecting ,christ and the ,religion ,he established4 ,christ1 the highest of supernatural beings1 ,his ,advent foretold by men with supernatural gifts to make known the future1 coming to us in the highest of supernatural ways1 and establishing a supernatural kingdom for bringing about such supernatural ends as the reconciliation of all men to ,god by ,his ,sacrifice1 the ,resurrection of the body1 and the subjugation of the wills of all men to the ,will of ,god4 ,,section ,,iv4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness4--,,the ,,sources ,,of ,,his ,,knowledge ,,respecting ,,the ,,birth ,,of ,,christ4 ,the question now arises1 and ,i beg the reader to remember that it is the question on which the author of ,supernatural ,religion stakes all1--,from what source did ,justin derive this supernatural view of ,christianity8 ,with respect to the ,incarnation1 ,birth1 ,life1 ,death1 and ,resurrection of ,christ1 he evidently derives it from certain documents which he repeatedly cites1 as ,the ,memoirs of the ,apostles 7,greek3 ,apomnmoneumata tn ,apostoln74 ,these are the documents which he mentions as being read1 along with the ,prophets1 at the meetings of ,christians4 ,on one occasion1 when he is seemingly referring to the bloody sweat of our ,lord1 which is mentioned only in ,st4 ,luke1 who is not an ,apostle1 he designates these writings as the ,memoirs which were drawn up by the ,apostles and those who followed them4 #ai3a ,again1 on another occasion1 he seems to indicate specially the ,gospel of ,st4 ,mark as being the ,memoirs of ,peter4 ,it is a well-known fact that all ecclesiastical tradition1 almost with one voice1 has handed down that ,st4 ,mark wrote his ,gospel under the superintendence1 if not at the dictation1 of ,st4 ,peter2 and when ,justin has occasion to mention that our ,lord gave the name of ,boanerges to the sons of ,zebedee1 an incident mentioned only by ,st4 ,mark1 he seems at least to indicate the ,gospel of ,st4 ,mark as being specially connected with ,st4 ,peter as his ,memoirs when he writes3 #bj3a-- ,and when it is said that he changed the name of one of the ,apostles to ,peter2 and when it is written in his ,memoirs that this so happened1 as well as that ,he changed the names of two other brothers1 the sons of ,zebedee1 to ,boanerges1 which means 'sons of thunder2' this was an announcement1 c4 7,ch4 cvi47 ,with the exception of these two apparent cases1 ,justin never distinguishes one ,memoir from another4 ,he never mentions the author or authors of the ,memoirs by name1 and for this reason--that the three undoubted treatises of his which have come down to us are all written for those outside the pale of the ,christian ,church4 ,it would have been worse than useless1 in writing for such persons1 to distinguish between ,evangelist and ,evangelist4 ,so far as those without were concerned1 the ,evangelists gave the same view of ,christ and ,his work2 and to have quoted first one and then another by name would have been mischievous1 as indicating differences when the testimony of all that could be called memoirs was1 in point of fact1 one and the same4 ,according to the author of ,supernatural ,religion ,justin ten times designates the source of his quotations as the ,memoirs of the ,apostles1 and five times as simply the ,memoirs4 ,now the issue which the writer of ,supernatural ,religion raises is this3 ,were these ,memoirs our present four ,gospels1 or were they some older ,gospel or ,gospels8 to which we may add another3 ,did ,justin quote any other lost ,gospel besides our four8 99 99 99 99 99 ,i shall now give some instances of the use which ,justin makes of the writings which he calls ,memoirs1 and this will enable the reader in great measure to judge for himself4 ,first of all1 then1 ,i give one or two extracts from ,justin's account of our ,lord's ,nativity4 ,let the reader remember that1 with respect to the first of these1 the account is not introduced in order to give ,trypho an account of our ,lord's ,birth1 but to assure him that a certain prophecy1 as it is worded in the ,septuagint translation of ,isaiah--viz41 ,he shall take the powers of ,damascus and the spoil of ,samaria1 was fulfilled in ,christ4 ,and indeed almost every incident which ,justin takes notice of he relates as a fulfilment of some prophecy or other4 ,trifling or comparatively trifling incidents in our ,lord's ,life are noticed at great length1 because they are supposed to be the fulfilment of some prophecy2 and what we should consider more important events are passed over in silence1 because they do not seem to fulfil any prediction4 ,the first extract from ,justin1 then1 shall be the following3-- ,now this ,king ,herod1 at the time when the ,magi came to him from ,arabia1 and said they knew from a star which appeared in the heavens that a ,king had been born in your country1 and that they had come to worship ,him1 learned from the ,elders of your people1 that it was thus written regarding ,bethlehem in the ,prophet3 ',and thou1 ,bethlehem1 in the land of ,judah1 art by no means least among the princes of ,judah2 for out of thee shall go forth the leader1 who shall feed my people4' ,accordingly1 the ,magi from ,arabia came to ,bethlehem1 and worshipped the child1 and presented him with gifts1 gold1 and frankincense1 and myrrh2 but returned not to ,herod1 being warned in a revelation after worshipping the child in ,bethlehem4 ,and ,joseph1 the spouse of ,mary1 who wished at first to put away his betrothed ,mary1 supposing her to be pregnant by intercourse with a man1 i4e4 from fornication1 was commanded in a vision not to put away his wife2 and the angel who appeared to him told him that what is in her womb is of the ,holy ,ghost4 ,then he was afraid and did not put her away1 but on the occasion of the first census which was taken in ,judea under ,cyrenius1 he went up from ,nazareth1 where he lived1 to ,bethlehem1 to which he belonged1 to be enrolled2 for his family was of the tribe of ,judah1 which then inhabited that region4 ,then1 along with ,mary1 he is ordered to proceed into ,egypt1 and remain there with the ,child1 until another revelation warn them to return to ,judea4 ,but when the ,child was born in ,bethlehem1 since ,joseph could not find a lodging in that village1 he took up his quarters in a certain cave near the village2 and while they were there ,mary brought forth the ,christ and placed ,him in a manger1 and here the ,magi who came from ,arabia1 found ,him4 ',i have repeated to you1' ,i continued1 'what ,isaiah foretold about the sign which foreshadowed the cave2 but1 for the sake of those which have come with us to-day1 ,i shall again remind you of the passage4' ,then ,i repeated the passage from ,isaiah which ,i have already written1 adding that1 by means of those words1 those who presided over the mysteries of ,mithras were stirred up by the devil to say that in a place1 called among them a cave1 they were initiated by him4 ',so ,herod1 when the ,magi from ,arabia did not return to him1 as he had asked them to do1 but had departed by another way to their own country1 according to the commands laid upon them2 and when ,joseph1 with ,mary and the ,child1 had now gone into ,egypt1 as it was revealed to them to do2 as he did not know the ,child whom the ,magi had gone to worship1 ordered simply the whole of the children then in ,bethlehem to be massacred4 ,and ,jeremiah prophesied that this would happen1 speaking by the ,holy ,ghost thus3 ',a voice was heard in ,ramah1 lamentation and much wailing1 ,rachel weeping for her children1 and she would not be comforted1 because they are not4' 7,dial4 ch4 lxxviii47 ,now any unprejudiced reader1 on examining this account1 would instantly say that ,justin had derived every word of it from the ,gospels of ,st4 ,matthew and ,st4 ,luke1 but that1 instead of quoting the exact words of either ,evangelist1 he would say that he 7,justin7 reproduced them4 ,he reproduced the narrative of the ,nativity as it is found in each of these two ,gospels4 ,he first reproduces the narrative in ,st4 ,matthew in somewhat more colloquial phrase than the ,evangelist used1 interspersing with it remarks of his own2 and in order to account for the ,birth of ,christ in ,bethlehem he brings in from ,st4 ,luke the matter of the census1 7not with historical accuracy but7 sufficiently to show that he was acquainted with the beginning of ,luke ii42 and in order to account for the fact that ,christ was not born in the inn1 but in a more sordid place 7whether stable or cave matters not1 for if it was a cave it was a cave used as a stable1 for there was a manger in it71 he reproduces ,luke ii4 #f-g4 ,justin then1 in a single consecutive narrative1 expressed much in his own words1 gives the whole account1 so far as it was a fulfilment of prophecy1 made up from two narratives which have come down to us in the ,gospels of ,st4 ,matthew and ,st4 ,luke1 and in these only4 ,it would have been absurd for him to have done otherwise1 as he might have done if he had anticipated the carpings of nineteenth century critics1 and assumed that ,trypho1 an unconverted ,jew1 had a ,new ,testament in his hand with which he was so familiar that he could be referred to first one narrative and then the other1 in order to test the correctness of ,justin's quotations4 ,against all this the author of ,supernatural ,religion brings forward a number of trifling disagreements as proofs that ,justin need not have quoted one of the ,evangelists--probably did not--indeed1 may not have ever seen our synoptics1 or heard of their existence4 ,but the reader will observe that he has given the same history as we find in the two synoptics which have given an account of the ,nativity1 and he apparently knew of no other account of the matter4 ,we are reminded that there were numerous apocryphal ,gospels then in use in the ,church1 and that ,justin might have derived his matter from these2 but1 if so1 how is it that he discards all the lying legends with which those ,gospels team1 and1 with the solitary exception of the mention of the cave1 confines himself to the circumstances of the synoptic narrative4 ,the next place respecting the ,nativity shall be one from ch4 c43-- ,but the ,virgin ,mary received faith and joy1 when the angel ,gabriel announced the good tidings to her that the ,spirit of the ,lord would come upon her1 and the power of the ,highest would overshadow her2 wherefore also the ,holy ,thing begotten of her is the ,son of ,god3 and she replied1 ',be it unto me according to ,thy word4' ,here both the words of the angel and the answer of the virgin are almost identical with the words in ,st4 ,luke's ,gospel2 ,justin1 however1 putting his account into the oblique narrative4 ,we will put the two side by side that the reader may compare them4 ,,greek ,,table ,pistin de kai charan labousa ,maria h parthenos euangelizomenou aut ,gabril angelou1 hoti pneuma ,pneuma hagion epeleusetai epi kyriou ep' autn epeleusetai1 se1 kai dynamis hypsistou kai dunamis hypsistou episkiasei episkiasei soi1 dio kai to gennmenon autn1 dio kai to gennmenon hagion klthsetai ,hyios ,theou4 ex auts hagion estin ,hyios ,theou1 99 99 99 99 99 apekrinato1 ,genoito moi kata to ,genoito moi kaia to rhma sou4 rhma sou4 ,now of these words1 as existing in ,st4 ,luke1 the author of ,supernatural ,religion takes no notice4 ,was he1 then1 acquainted with the fact that ,justin's words in this place so closely correspond with ,st4 ,luke's8 ,we cannot say4 ,we only know that he calls his readers' particular attention to a supposed citation of the previous words of the angel ,gabriel1 cited in another place3-- ,behold thou shalt conceive of the ,holy ,ghost1 and shalt bear a ,son1 and ,he shall be called the ,son of the ,highest1 and thou shalt call ,his name ,jesus1 for ,he shall save ,his people from their sins4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xxxiii47 ,the ordinary unprejudiced reader would say that ,justin here reproduces ,st4 ,matthew and ,st4 ,luke1 weaving into ,st4 ,luke's narrative the words of the angel to ,st4 ,joseph2 but our author will not allow this for a moment4 ,he insists that ,justin knew nothing1 or need have known nothing1 of ,st4 ,luke4 ,he shows that the words of the angel1 ,he shall save his people1 c41 which seem to be introduced from ,st4 ,matthew1 are not accidentally inserted in this place1 for we find that they are joined in the same manner to the address of the angel to ,mary in the ,protevangelium of ,st4 ,james4 ,but how about those words which succeed them in answer to the question of the ,virgin1 ,how shall these things be8 ,i mean those quoted in the ,dialogue beginning ,the ,holy ,ghost shall come upon thee1 c4 ,if ever one author quotes another1 ,justin in this place quotes ,st4 ,luke4 ,they cannot be taken from the ,protevangelium1 because the corresponding words in the ,protevangelium are very different from those in ,st4 ,luke2 and the only real difference between ,justin's quotation and ,st4 ,luke is that ,st4 ,luke reads1 shall be called the ,son of ,god2 whereas ,justin has is the ,son of ,god4 ,now in this ,justin differs from the ,protevangelium1 which reads1 ,shall be called the ,son of the ,highest2 so the probability is still more increased that in the quotation from the ,dialogue he did not quote the ,protevangelium1 and did quote ,st4 ,luke4 ,however1 we will make the author a present of these words1 because we want to assume for a moment the truth of his conclusion1 which he thus expresses3-- ,justin's divergencies from the ,protevangelium prevent our supposing that1 in its present form1 it could have been the actual source of his quotations2 but the wide differences which exist between the extant ,,mss4 of the ,protevangelium show that even the most ancient does not present it in its original form4 ,it is much more probable that ,justin had before him a still older work1 to which both the ,protevangelium and the third ,gospel were indebted4 7,supernatural ,religion1 vol4 i4 p4 #cjf47 ,assuming1 then1 the correctness of this1 ,justin had a still older ,gospel than that of ,st4 ,luke2 and we shall hereafter show that ,st4 ,luke's ,gospel was used in all parts of the world in ,justin's day1 and long before it4 ,now ,justin himself lived only #ajj years after the ,resurrection2 and this is no very great age for the copy of a book1 still less for the book itself1 of which any one may convince himself by a glance around his library4 ,we may depend upon it that ,justin would have used the oldest sources of information4 ,a book so old in ,justin's days may have been published at the outset of ,christianity4 ,the author himself surmises that it may have been the work of one of ,st4 ,luke's ,greek3 polloi4 ,anyhow it is an older and therefore1 according to the writer's own line of argument all through his book1 a more reliable witness to the things of ,christ1 and its witness is to the supernatural in ,his ,birth4 ,are we1 then1 able to form any conjecture as to the name of this most ancient ,gospel8 ,yes4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion identifies it with the lost ,gospel to the ,hebrews1 in the words3-- ,much more probably1 however1 ,justin quotes from the more ancient source from which the ,protevangelium and perhaps ,st4 ,luke drew their narrative4 ,there can be little doubt that the ,gospel according to the ,hebrews contained an account of the birth in ,bethelehem1 and as it is1 at least1 certain that ,justin quotes other particulars from it1 there is fair reason to believe that he likewise found this fact #bh3a in that work4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #cac47 ,if1 then1 this be the ,gospel from which ,justin derived his account of the ,nativity1 it seems to have contained all the facts for which we have now to look into ,st4 ,matthew and ,st4 ,luke4 ,it combined the testimonies of both ,evangelists to the supernatural ,birth of ,jesus4 ,,section ,v4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness4--,,his ,,testimony ,,respecting ,,the ,,baptism ,,of ,,christ4 ,the next extract from ,justin which ,i shall give is one describing our ,lord's ,baptism4 ,this account1 like almost every other given in the dialogue with ,trypho1 is mentioned by him1 not so much for its own sake1 but because it gave him opportunity to show the fulfilment1 or supposed fulfilment1 of a prophecy--in this case the prophecy of ,isaiah that the ,spirit of the ,lord should rest upon ,him4 ,even at ,his birth ,he was in possession of ,his power2 and as ,he grew up like all other men1 by using the fitting means1 ,he assigned its own requirements to each development1 and was sustained by all kinds of nourishment1 and waited for thirty years1 more or less1 until ,john appeared before ,him as the herald of ,his approach1 and preceded ,him in the way of baptism1 as ,i have already shown4 ,and then1 when ,jesus had gone to the river ,jordan1 where ,john was baptizing1 and when ,he had stepped into the water1 a fire was kindled in the ,jordan2 and when ,he came out of the water1 the ,holy ,ghost lighted on ,him like a dove as the ,apostles of this very ,christ of ours wrote4444 ,for when ,john remained 7literally sat7 #bi3a by the ,jordan1 and preached the baptism of repentance1 wearing only a leathern girdle and a vesture made of camel's hair1 eating nothing but locusts and wild honey1 men supposed him to be ,christ2 but he cried to them--',i am not the ,christ1 but the voice of one crying2 for ,he that is stronger than ,i shall come1 whose shoes ,i am not worthy to bear4444' ,the ,holy ,ghost1 and for man's sake1 as ,i formerly stated1 lighted on ,him in the form of a dove1 and there came at the same instant from the heavens a voice1 which was uttered also by ,david when he spoke1 personating ,christ1 what the ,father would say to ,him1 ',thou art my ,son1 this day have ,i begotten ,thee2' the ,father saying that ,his generation would take place for men1 at the time when they would become acquainted with ,him4 ',thou art my ,son2 this day have ,i begotten ,thee4' 7,ch4 lxxxviii47 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion lays very great stress upon this passage1 as indicating throughout sources of information different from our ,gospels4 ,he makes the most of the fact that ,john is said to have sat by the ,jordan1 not apparently remembering that sitting was the normal posture for preaching and teaching 7,matthew v4 #a2 ,luke iv4 #bj74 ,he1 of course1 dwells much upon the circumstance that a fire was kindled in the ,jordan at the time of our ,lord's baptism1 which additional instance of the supernatural ,justin may have derived either from tradition or from the ,gospel to the ,hebrews4 ,above all1 he dwells upon the fact--and a remarkable fact it is--that ,justin supposes that the words of the ,father wore not ,thou art my beloved ,son1 in ,thee ,i am well pleased1 but ,thou art my ,son1 this day have ,i begotten ,thee4 ,now ,i do not for a moment desire to lessen the importance of the difficulty involved in a man1 living in the age of ,justin1 giving the words1 of the ,father so differently to what they appear in our ,gospels4 ,but what is the import of the discrepancy8 ,it is simply a theological difficulty1 the same in all respects with that which is involved in the application of these very words to the ,resurrection of ,christ by ,st4 ,paul1 in ,acts xiii4 #cc4 ,it is in no sense a difficulty having the smallest bearing on the supernatural2 for it is equally as supernatural for the ,father to have said1 with a voice audible to mortal ears1 ,this day have ,i begotten ,thee1 as it is for ,him to have said1 ,in ,thee ,i am well pleased4 ,what1 then1 is the inference which the author of ,supernatural ,religion draws from these discrepancies8 ,this1--that ,justin derived his information from the lost ,gospel to the ,hebrews4 ,in the scanty fragments of the ',gospel according to the ,hebrews1' which have been preserved1 we find both the incident of the fire kindled in ,jordan1 and the words of the heavenly voice1 as quoted by ,justin3--',and as ,he went out of the water1 the heavens opened1 and ,he saw the ,holy ,spirit of ,god in the form of a dove descend and enter into ,him4 ,and a voice was heard from heaven1 saying1 ',thou art my beloved ,son1 in ,thee ,i am well pleased2' and again1 ',this day have ,i begotten ,thee4' ,and immediately a great light shone in that place4' ,epiphanius extracts this passage from the version in use among the ,ebionites1 but it is well known that there were many other varying forms of the same ,gospel2 and ,hilgenfeld1 with all probability1 conjectures that the version known to ,epiphanius was no longer in the same purity as that used by ,justin1 but represents the transition stage to the ,canonical ,gospels1 adopting the words of the voice which they give without yet discarding the older form4 7,supernatural ,religion1 vol4 i4 p4 #cbj47 ,here1 then1 are the remains of an older ,gospel used by ,justin1 taken from copies which rationalists assert to have been1 when used by him1 in a state of greater purity than a subsequent recension1 which subsequent recension was anterior to our present ,gospels1 and being older was purer1 because nearer to the fountain-head of knowledge3 but this older and purer form is characterized by a more pronounced supernatural element--to wit1 the 'fire' in ,jordan and the 'light'--so that1 the older and purer the tradition1 the more supernatural is its teaching4 ,,section ,,vi4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness4--,,his ,,testimony ,,respecting ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,christ4 ,we have now to consider the various notices in ,justin respecting our ,lord's ,crucifixion1 and the events immediately preceding and following it4 ,justin notices our ,lord's entry into ,jerusalem3-- ,and the prophecy1 'binding ,his foal to the vine and washing ,his robe in the blood of the grape1' was a significant symbol of the things which were to happen to ,christ1 and of what ,he was to do4 ,for the foal of an ass stood bound to a vine at the entrance of a village1 and ,he ordered ,his acquaintances to bring it to ,him then2 and when it was brought ,he mounted and sat upon it1 and entered ,jerusalem4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xxxii47 ,justin in a subsequent place 7,dial4 ch4 liii47 notices the fact only mentioned in ,st4 ,matthew1 that ,jesus commanded the disciples to bring both an ass and its foal3-- ,and truly our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 when ,he intended to go into ,jerusalem1 requested ,his disciples to bring ,him a certain ass1 along with its foal1 which was bound in an entrance of a village called ,bethphage2 and1 having seated ,himself on it1 ,he entered into ,jerusalem4 ,justin thus describes the institution of the ,eucharist3-- ,for the ,apostles1 in the ,memoirs composed by them1 which are called ,gospels1 have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them2 that ,jesus took bread1 and1 when ,he had given thanks1 said1 ',this do ye in remembrance of me1 this is ,my body2' and that after the same manner1 having taken the cup and given thanks1 ,he said1 ',this is ,my blood2' and gave it to them alone4 7,apol4 i4 ch4 lxvi47 ,he thus adverts to the dispersion of the ,apostles3-- ,moreover1 the prophet ,zechariah foretold that this same ,christ would be smitten and ,his disciples scattered3 which also took place4 ,for after ,his ,crucifixion the disciples that accompanied ,him were dispersed4 7,dial4 ch4 liii47 ,he mentions our ,lord's agony as the completion of a prophecy in ,psalm xxii43-- ,for on the day on which ,he was to be crucified1 having taken three of ,his disciples to the hill called ,olivet1 situated opposite to the temple at ,jerusalem1 ,he prayed in these words3 ',father1 if it be possible1 lot this cup pass from ,me4' ,and again ,he prayed1 ',not as ,i will1 but as ,thou wilt4' 7,dial4 xcix47 ,his sweating great drops of blood 7mentioned only in ,st4 ,luke71 also in fulfilment of ,psalm xxii4-- ,for in the memoirs which ,i say were drawn up by ,his ,apostles1 and those who followed them it is recorded that ,his sweat fell down like drops of blood while ,he was praying1 and saying1 ',if it be possible1 let this cup pass4' #cd3a 7,ch4 ciii47 ,his being sent to ,herod 7mentioned only in ,st4 ,luke73-- ,and when ,herod succeeded ,archelaus1 having received the authority which had been allotted to him1 ,pilate sent to him by way of compliment ,jesus bound2 and ,god1 foreknowing that this would happen1 had thus spoken1 ',and they brought ,him to the ,assyrian a present to the king4' 7,ch4 ciii47 ,his silence before ,pilate1 also quoted by ,justin1 in fulfilment of ,psalm xxii43-- ,and the statement1 ',my strength is become dry like a potsherd1 and my tongue has cleaved to my throat1' was also a prophecy of what would be done by ,him according to the ,father's will4 ,for the power of ,his strong word1 by which ,he always confuted the ,pharisees and ,scribes1 and1 in short1 all your nation's teachers that questioned ,him1 had a cessation like a plentiful and strong spring1 the waters of which have been turned off1 when ,he kept silence1 and chose to return no answer to any one in the presence of ,pilate2 as has been declared in the ,memoirs of ,his ,apostles4 7,dial4 ch4 cii47 ,his crucifixion3 ,and again1 in other words1 ,david in the twenty-first ,psalm thus refers to the suffering and to the cross in a parable of mystery3 ',they pierced my hands and my feet2 they counted all my bones2 they considered and gazed upon me2 they parted my garments among them1 and cast lots upon my vesture4' ,for when they crucified ,him1 driving in the nails1 they pierced ,his hands and feet2 and those who crucified ,him parted ,his garments among themselves1 each casting lots for what he chose to have1 and receiving according to the decision of the lot4 7,ch4 xcvii47 ,the mocking of ,him by ,his enemies3-- ,and the following3 ',all they that see ,me laughed ,me to scorn2 they spake with the lips2 they shook the head3 ,he trusted in the ,lord1 let ,him deliver ,him since ,he desires ,him2' this likewise ,he foretold should happen to ,him4 ,for they that saw ,him crucified shook their heads each one of them1 and distorted their lips1 and1 twisting their noses to each other1 they spake in mockery the words which are recorded in the ,memoirs of ,his ,apostles1 ',he said ,he was the ,son of ,god3 let ,him come down2 let ,god save ,him4' 7,ch4 ci47 ,his saying1 ,my ,god1 my ,god1 why hast ,thou forsaken ,me8 7reported only in ,,ss4 ,matthew and ,mark73-- ,for1 when crucified1 ,he spake1 ',o ,god1 my ,god1 why hast ,thou forsaken me8' 7,ch4 xcix47 ,his saying1 ,father1 into ,thy hands ,i commend ,my ,spirit1 reported only in ,st4 ,luke3-- ,for1 when ,christ was giving up ,his spirit on the cross1 ,he said1 ',father1 into ,thy hands ,i commend my spirit1' as ,i have learned also from the ,memoirs4 7,ch4 cv47 ,his ,resurrection and appearance to ,his ,apostles gathered together 7found only in ,,ss4 ,luke and ,john71 and ,his reminding the same ,apostles that before ,his ,death ,he had foretold it 7found only in ,st4 ,luke73-- ,and that ,he stood in the midst of ,his brethren1 the ,apostles 7who repented of their flight from ,him when ,he was crucified1 after ,he rose from the dead1 and after they were persuaded by ,him that before ,his ,passion ,he had mentioned to them that ,he must suffer these things1 and that they were announced beforehand by the prophets74 #cg3a 7,ch4 cvi47 ,the ,jews spreading the report that ,his disciples had stolen away ,his ,body by night 7recorded only by ,st4 ,matthew73-- ,yet you not only have not repented1 after you learned that ,he rose from the dead1 but1 as ,i said before1 you have sent chosen and ordained men throughout all the world to proclaim that a godless and lawless heresy had sprung from one ,jesus1 a ,galilean deceiver1 whom we crucified1 but ,his disciples stole ,him by night from the tomb1 where ,he was laid when unfastened from the cross4 7,ch4 cviii47 ,the ,apostles seeing the ,ascension1 and afterwards receiving power from ,him in person1 and going to every race of men3-- ,and when they had seen ,him ascending into heaven1 and had believed1 and had received power sent thence by ,him upon them1 and went to every race of men1 they taught these things1 and were called ,apostles4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 l47 ,from all this the reader will see at a glance that ,justin's view of the ,crucifixion and the events attending it was exactly the same as ours4 ,he will notice that all the events related in ,justin are the same as those recorded in the ,evangelists ,matthew and ,luke2 and that the circumstances related by ,justin1 and not to be found in the ,synoptics1 are of the most trifling character1 as1 for instance1 that the blaspheming bystanders at the cross screwed up their noses4 ,i think this is the only additional circumstance to which the writer of ,supernatural ,religion draws attention4 ,he will notice that ,justin records some events only to be found in ,st4 ,matthew and some only in ,st4 ,luke4 ,he will notice also how frequently ,justin reproduces the narrative rather than quotes it4 ,the ordinary reader would account for all this by supposing that ,justin had our ,synoptics 7at least the first and third7 before him1 and reproduced incidents first from one and then from the other as they suited his purpose1 and his purpose was not to give an account of the ,crucifixion1 but to elucidate the prophecies respecting the ,crucifixion4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 however1 goes through those citations1 or supposed citations1 seriatim1 and attempts to show that each one must have been taken from some lost ,gospel1 most probably the ,gospel of the ,hebrews4 ,be it so4 ,here1 then1 was a ,gospel which contained all the separate incidents recorded in ,,ss4 ,matthew and ,luke1 and1 of course1 combined them in one narrative4 ,how is it that so inestimably valuable a ,christian document was irretrievably lost1 and its place supplied by three others1 each far its inferior1 each picking and choosing separate parts from the original2 and that1 about #abj years after the original promulgation of the ,gospel1 these three forged narratives superseded a ,gospel which would have been1 in the matter of our ,lord's ,birth1 ,death1 and ,resurrection1 a complete and perfect harmony8 ,i leave the author of ,supernatural ,religion to explain so unlikely a fact4 ,one explanation is1 however1 on our author's own showing1 inadmissible1 which is1 that our present ,synoptics were adopted because they pandered more than the superseded one to the growing taste for the supernatural1 for the earlier ,gospel or ,gospels contained supernatural incidents which are wanting in our present ,synoptics4 ,,section ,,vii4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness4--,,his ,,testimony ,,respecting ,,the ,,moral ,,teaching ,,of ,,our ,,lord4 ,one more class of apparent quotations from our ,synoptic ,gospels must now be considered1 viz41 the citations in ,justin of the moral teaching or precepts of ,christ4 ,those are mostly to be found in one place1 in one part of the ,first ,apology 7chapters xv4-xviii471 and they are introduced for the express purpose of convincing the ,emperor of the high standard of ,christ's moral teaching4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion gives very considerable extracts from these chapters1 which ,i shall give in his own translation3-- ,he 7,jesus7 spoke thus of chastity3 ',whosoever may have gazed on a woman1 to lust after her1 hath committed adultery already in the heart before ,god4' ,and1 ',if thy right eye offend thee cut it out1 for it is profitable for thee to enter into the kingdom of heaven with one eye 7rather7 than having two to be thrust into the everlasting fire4' ,and1 ',whosoever marrieth a woman1 divorced from another man1 committeth adultery4' 99 99 99 99 99 ,and regarding our affection for all ,he thus taught3 ',if ye love them which love you what new thing do ye8 for even the fornicators do this2 but ,i say unto you1 pray for your enemies1 and love them which hate you1 and bless them which curse you1 and offer prayer for them which despitefully use you4' ,and that we should communicate to the needy1 and do nothing for praise1 ,he said thus3 ',give ye to every one that asketh1 and from him that desireth to borrow turn not ye away1 for1 if ye lend to them from whom ye hope to receive1 what new thing do ye8 for even the publicans do this4 ,but ye1 lay not up for yourselves upon the earth1 where moth and rust doth corrupt1 and robbers break through1 but lay up for yourselves in the heavens1 where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt4 ,for what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world but destroy his soul8 or what shall he give in exchange for it8 ,lay up1 therefore1 in the heavens1 where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt4' ,and1 ',be ye kind and merciful as your ,father also is kind and merciful1 and maketh ,his sun to rise on sinners1 and just and evil4 ,but be not careful what ye shall eat and what ye shall put on4 ,are ye not better than the birds and the beasts8 and ,god feedeth them4 ,therefore be not careful what ye shall eat or what ye shall put on1 for your heavenly ,father knoweth that ye have need of these things2 but seek ye the kingdom of the heavens1 and all these things shall be added unto you1 for where the treasure is there is also the mind of the man4 ,and ',do not these things to be seen of men1 otherwise ye have no reward of your ,father which is in heaven4' ,and regarding our being patient under injuries1 and ready to help all1 and free from anger1 this is what ,he said3 ',unto him striking thy cheek offer the other also2 and him who carrieth off thy cloak1 or thy coat1 do not thou prevent4 ,but whosoever shall be angry is in danger of the fire4 ,but every one who compelleth thee to go a mile1 follow twain4 ,and let your good works shine before men1 so that1 perceiving1 they may adore your ,father1 which is in heaven4' 444 ,and regarding our not swearing at all1 but ever speaking the truth1 ,he thus taught3 ',ye may not swear at all1 but let your yea be yea1 and your nay nay1 for what is more than these is of the evil one4' 99 99 99 99 99 ',for not those who merely make profession1 but those who do the work1' as ,he said1 'shall be saved4' ,for ,he spake thus3 ',not every one that saith unto me1 ,lord1 ,lord1 shall 7enter into the kingdom of heaven1 but he that doeth the will of my ,father1 which is in heaven74 ,for whosoever heareth me1 and doeth what ,i say1 heareth ,him that sent me4 ,but many will say to me1 ,lord1 ,lord1 have we not eaten and drunk in ,thy name1 and done wonders8 ,and then will ,i say unto them1 ',depart from me1 workers of iniquity4' ,there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth1 when indeed the righteous shall shine as the sun1 but the wicked are sent into everlasting fire4 ,for many shall arrive in ,my name1 outwardly1 indeed1 clothed in sheep-skins1 but inwardly being ravening wolves4 ,ye shall know them from their works1 and every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire4 99 99 99 99 99 ,as ,christ declared1 saying1 ',to whom ,god has given more1 of him shall more also be demanded again4' ,the ordinary reader1 remembering that ,justin was writing for the heathen1 would suppose1 after reading the above1 that ,justin reproduced from ,,ss4 ,matthew and ,luke the moral precepts of ,christ1 or rather those which suited his purpose1 and his purpose was to show to the heathen ,emperor that ,christianity would make the best members of a community4 ,to this end he reproduces the precepts respecting chastity1 respecting love to all1 and communicating to the needy--being kind and merciful--not caring much for material things--being patient and truthful--and above all1 being sincere4 ,he did not reproduce the precepts respecting prayer1 simply because immoral men among the heathen worshipped their gods as devoutly as moral men did4 ,he did not reproduce the ,lord's prayer1 because he would not consider that it belonged to the heathen1 or the promises that ,god would hear prayer1 simply because these would belong to ,christians only4 ,again1 he evidently altered and curtailed what the heathen would not understand1 as for instance1 in quoting our ,lord's saying respecting anger1 he quoted it very shortly1 because to have quoted at length the gradations of punishment for being angry without a cause1 for calling a brother ,raca and fool1 would have been almost unintelligible to those unacquainted with ,jewish customs4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion repudiates the idea that ,justin1 in any of these quotations1 makes use of our present ,gospels4 ,he examines these so-called quotations seriatim at considerable length1 for the purpose of showing that ,justin's variations from our present ,gospels imply another source of information4 ,he considers 7and in this ,i cannot agree with him1 though ,i shall1 for argument's sake1 yield the point7 that-- ,the hypothesis that these quotations are from the canonical gospels requires the acceptance of the fact that ,justin1 with singular care1 collected from distant and scattered portions of these gospels a series of passages in close sequence to each other1 forming a whole unknown to them1 but complete in itself4 7,supernatural ,religion1 vol4 i4 p4 #cei7 ,i say ,i cannot agree with this1 because ,i think that the extracts ,i have given have all the signs of a piece of patchwork by no means well put together1 but ,i will assume that he is right in his view4 ,here1 then1 we have1 according to his hypothesis1 another sermon of ,christ's1 which1 owing to the close sequence of its various passages1 and its completeness as a whole1 must take its place alongside of the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,where does it come from8-- ,the simple and natural conclusion1 supported by many strong reasons1 is that ,justin derived his quotations from a ,gospel which was different from ours1 though naturally by subject and design it must have been related to them4 7,vol4 i4 p4 #chd47 ,and in page #cgh our author traces one of the passages of this consecutive discourse through an epistle ascribed to ,clement of ,rome to the ,gospel according to the ,egyptians1 which was in all probability a version of the ,gospel according to the ,hebrews4 ,here1 then1 is a ,gospel1 the ,gospel to the ,hebrews1 which not only contained1 as the author has shown1 a harmony of the histories in ,,ss4 ,matthew and ,luke1 so far1 at least1 as the ,birth and ,death of ,christ are concerned1 but also such a full and consecutive report of the moral teaching of ,christ1 that it may not unfitly be described as a series of passages in close sequence to each other1 collected with singular care from distant and scattered portions of these ,gospels4 ,how1 we ask1 could such a ,gospel have perished utterly8 ,a ,gospel1 which1 besides containing records of the historical and supernatural much fuller than any one of the surviving ,gospels1 contained also a sort of ,sermon on the ,mount1 amalgamating in one whole the moral teaching of our ,lord1 ought surely 7if it ever was in existence7 to have won its place in the canon4 ,,section ,,viii4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness4--,,his ,,testimony ,,to ,,st4 ,,john4 ,we have now to consider the citations 7or supposed citations7 of ,justin from the fourth ,gospel4 ,these1 as ,i have mentioned1 are treated by the author of ,supernatural ,religion separately at the conclusion of his work4 ,whatever internal coincidences there are between the contents of ,st4 ,john and those of the ,synoptics1 the external differences are exceedingly striking1 and it is not at all to my present purpose to keep this fact out of sight4 ,the plan of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel is different1 the style is different1 the subjects of the discourses1 the scene of action1 the incidents1 and 7with one exception7 the miracles1 all are different4 ,now this will greatly facilitate the investigation of the question as to whether any author had ,st4 ,john before him when he wrote4 ,there may be some uncertainty with respect to the quotations from the ,synoptics1 as to whether an early writer quotes one or other1 or derives what he cites from some earlier source1 as for instance from one of ,st4 ,luke's ,greek3 polloi4 ,but it cannot be so with ,st4 ,john4 ,a quotation of1 or reference to1 any words of any discourse of our ,lord1 or an account of any transaction as reported by ,st4 ,john1 can be discerned in an instant4 ,at least it can be at once seen that it cannot have been derived from the ,synoptics1 or from any supposed apocryphal or traditional sources from which the ,synoptics derived their information4 ,the special object of this ,gospel is the identification of the pre-existent nature of our ,lord with the eternal ,word1 and following upon this1 ,his relation to ,his ,father on the one side1 and to mankind on the other4 ,he is the only begotten of the ,father1 ,god being ,his own proper ,father ,greek3 idios1 and so ,he is equal to the ,father in nature 7,john v4 #ah71 and yet1 as being a ,son1 ,he is subordinate1 so that ,he represents ,himself throughout as sent by the ,father to do ,his will and speak ,his words4 ,with reference to mankind ,he is1 before ,his ,incarnation1 the ,light that lighteth every man4 ,after and through ,his ,incarnation ,he is to man all in all4 ,he is even in death the object of their ,faith4 ,he is the ,mediator through whose very person ,god sends the ,spirit4 ,he is the ,life1 the ,light1 the ,living ,water1 the ,spiritual ,food4 ,justin ,martyr repeatedly reproduces in various forms of expression the truth that ,christ is the eternal ,word made flesh and revealed as the ,only-begotten ,son of ,god1 thus3-- ,the first power after ,god the ,father and ,lord of all is the ,word1 ,who is also the ,son1 and of ,him we will1 in what follows1 relate how ,he took flesh and became man4 7,apol4 ,i4 ,ch4 ,,xxxii47 ,again3-- ,i have already proved that ,he was the only-begotten of the ,father of all things1 being begotten in a peculiar manner ,greek3 idis1 ,word and ,power by ,him1 and having afterwards become man through the ,virgin4 7,dial4 ch4 cv47 ,now1 we have in these two passages four or five characteristic expressions of ,st4 ,john relating to our ,lord1 not to be found in any other ,scripture writer4 ,i say in any other1 for ,i believe that not only the ,epistles of ,st4 ,john1 but also the ,apocalypse1 notwithstanding certain differences in style1 are to be ascribed to ,st4 ,john4 ,we have the term ,word united with the ,son1 and with ,only begotten1 and said to be properly 7propri2 ,greek3 idis7 begotten2 a reminiscence of ,john v4 #ah1 the only place in the ,new ,testament where the adjective ,greek3 idios or its adverb ,greek3 idis is applied to the relations of the ,father and the ,son1 and we have this ,word becoming flesh and man4 ,now ,justin1 in one of the places1 writes to convince an heathen emperor2 and1 in the other1 an unbelieving ,jew2 and so in each case he reproduces the sense of ,john i4 #a and #ad1 and not the exact words4 ,it would have been an absurdity for him to have quoted ,st4 ,john exactly1 for1 in such a case1 he must have retained the words we beheld his glory1 the glory as1 which would have simply detracted from the force of the passage1 being unintelligible without some explanation4 ,again1 we have in the ,dialogue 7ch4 lxi47 the words ,the ,word of ,wisdom1 ,who is ,himself this ,god begotten of the ,father of all things4 ,now here there seems to be a reproduction of the old and very probably original reading of ,john i4 #ah1 #dh3a ,the only begotten ,god who is in the bosom of the ,father4 ,certainly this reading of ,john i4 #ah is the only place where the idea of being begotten is associated with the term ,god4 ,we next have to notice that ,justin repeatedly uses the words ,god and ,lord in collocation as applied to ,jesus ,christ2 not the ,lord ,god1 the usual ,old ,testament collocation1 but ,god and ,lord1 thus3 ,for ,christ is ,king and ,priest and ,god and ,lord1 c4 7,dial4 ch4 xxxiv47 ,again3-- ,there is1 and there is said to be1 another ,god and ,lord subject to the ,maker of all things4 7,dial4 lvi47 ,now the only ,gospel in which these words are to be found together and applied to ,christ is that according to ,st4 ,john1 where he records the confession of ,st4 ,thomas1 ,my ,lord and my ,god 7,john xx4 #bh74 ,again3 ,st4 ,john alone of the ,evangelists speaks of our ,lord as ,he that cometh from above ,greek3 ho anthen erchomenos1 as coming from heaven1 as leaving the world and going to the ,father 7,john iii4 #ca2 xvi4 #bh71 and ,justin reproduces this in the words3-- ,it is declared by ,david in ,prophecy1 that ,he would come forth from the highest heavens1 and again return to the same places1 in order that you may recognize ,him as ,god coming forth from above and man living among men4 7,dial4 ch4 lxiv47 ,again3 though ,st4 ,john asserts by implication the equality in point of nature of the ,father and the ,son 7,john v4 #ah71 yet he also very repeatedly records words of ,christ which assert ,his subordination to the ,father4 ,nowhere in the ,synoptics do we read such words as ,i can of mine own self do nothing4 ,i seek not mine own will1 but the will of the ,father which hath sent me 7,john v4 #cj73 ,my meat is to do the will of ,him that sent me1 and to finish ,his work 7iv4 #cd2 also ,john vi4 #ch73 ,i have not spoken of myself2 but the ,father which sent me1 ,he gave me a commandment1 what ,i should say1 and what ,i should speak4 7xii4 #di7 ,now ,justin ,martyr reproduces these intimations of the subordination of the ,son3-- ,who is also called an ,angel1 because ,he announces to men whatsoever the ,maker of all things1 above ,whom there is no other ,god1 wishes to announce to them4 7,dial4 ch4 lvi47 ,again3-- ,i affirm that ,he has never at any time done anything which ,he ,who made the world1 above ,whom there is no other ,god1 has not wished ,him both to do and to engage ,himself with4 7,dial4 lvi47 ,again3-- ,boasts not in accomplishing anything through ,his own will or might4 7,ch4 ci47 ,let the reader clearly understand that ,i do not lay any stress whatsoever on these passages taken by themselves or together2 but taken in connection with the intimation of the ,word and ,sonship asserted in ,st4 ,john1 and reproduced by ,justin1 they are very significant indeed4 ,st4 ,john asserts that ,jesus is the ,word and the ,only ,begotten--that ,he is ,lord and ,god1 and equal with the ,father as being ,his ,son 7v4 #ah72 but1 lest men conceive of the ,word as an independent ,god1 he asserts the subordination of the ,son as consisting1 not in inferiority of nature1 but in submission of will4 ,justin reproduces in the same terms the teaching of ,st4 ,john respecting the ,logos--that the ,logos was the ,only ,begotten1 ,god-begotten1 ,lord and ,god4 ,and then1 lest his adversaries should assume from this that ,christ was an independent ,god1 he guards it by the assertion of the same doctrine of subordination of will2 neither the doctrine nor the safeguard being expressly stated in the ,synoptics1 but contained in them by that wondrous implication by which one part of ,divine truth really presupposes and involves all truth4 ,we have now to consider ,st4 ,john's teaching respecting the relation of the ,logos to man4 ,one aspect of this doctrine is peculiar to ,st4 ,john1 and is as mysterious and striking a truth as we have in the whole range of ,christian dogma4 ,it is contained in certain words in the exordium of the ,fourth ,gospel3 ,that ,word was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world4 ,this passage embodies a truth which is unique in ,scripture3 that in the ,word was ,life1 that the ,life was the ,light of men1 and that that ,light was 7even before the ,incarnation7 the true ,light which lighteth every man4 ,this1 ,i say1 is a truth which is not1 that ,i am aware of1 to be found1 except by very remote implication1 in the rest of ,scripture4 ,and yet it is continually reproduced by ,justin in a way which shows that he had drunk it in1 as it were1 and he used it continually as the principle on which to explain the vestiges of truth which existed among the heathen4 ,thus3-- ,we have been taught that ,christ is the first-born of ,god1 and we have declared above that ,he is the ,word of ,whom every race of men were partakers2 and those who lived reasonably 7or with the ,logos1 ,greek3 hoi meta logou bisantes7 are ,christians1 even though they have been thought ,atheists2 as among the ,greeks1 ,socrates and ,heraclitus1 and men like them4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xlvi47 ,again3-- ,no one trusted in ,socrates so as to die for this doctrine1 but in ,christ1 ,who was partially known even by ,socrates 7for ,he was and is the ,word ,who is in every man71 c4 7,apol4 ,,ii4 ch4 x47 ,again1 in a noble passage3-- ,for each man spoke well in proportion to the share he had of the spermatic ,divine ,word1 #ea3a seeing what was related to it4 ,but they who contradict themselves in the more important points appear not to have possessed the heavenly wisdom1 and the knowledge which cannot be spoken against4 ,whatever things were rightly said among all men are the property of us ,christians4 7,apol4 ,,ii4 xiii47 ,there cannot1 then1 be the smallest doubt but that ,justin's mind was permeated by a doctrine of the ,logos exactly such as he would have derived from the diligent study of the fourth ,gospel4 ,but may he not have derived all this from ,philo8 ,no2 because1 if so1 he would have referred ,trypho1 a ,jew1 to ,philo1 his brother ,jew1 which he never does4 ,the speciality of ,st4 ,john's teaching is not that he1 like ,plato or ,philo1 elaborates a ,logos doctrine1 but that once for all1 with the authority of ,god1 he identifies the ,logos with the ,divine ,nature of our ,lord4 ,no other ,evangelist or sacred writer does this1 and he does4 ,,section ,,ix4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness4--,,his ,,further ,,testimony ,,to ,,st4 ,,john4 ,we now come to ,justin's account of ,christian ,baptism1 which runs thus3-- ,i will also relate the manner in which we dedicated ourselves to ,god when we had been made new through ,christ1 lest1 if we omit this1 we seem to be unfair in the explanation we are making4 ,as many as are persuaded and believe that what we teach and say is true1 and undertake to be able to live accordingly1 are instructed to pray and to entreat ,god with fasting1 for the remission of their sins that are past1 we praying and fasting with them4 ,then they are brought by us where there is water1 and are regenerated in the same manner in which we were ourselves regenerated4 ,for in the name of ,god1 the ,father and ,lord of the ,universe1 and of our ,saviour ,jesus ,christ1 and of the ,holy ,spirit1 they then receive the washing with water4 ,for ,christ also said1 ',except ye be born again1 ye shall not enter into the ,kingdom of ,heaven4' ,now1 that it is impossible for those who have once been born to enter into their mothers' wombs1 is manifest to all4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 lxi47 ,now1 taking into consideration the fact that ,st4 ,john is the only writer who sets forth our ,lord as connecting a birth with water except a man be born of water and of the ,spirit2 that when our ,lord does this it is 7according to ,st4 ,john1 and ,st4 ,john only7 following upon the assertion that he must be born again1 and that ,st4 ,john alone puts into the mouth of the objector the impossibility of a natural birth taking place twice1 which ,justin notices2 taking these things into account1 it does seem to me the most monstrous hardihood to deny that ,justin was reproducing ,st4 ,john's account4 ,to urge trifling differences is absurd1 for ,justin1 if he desired to make himself understood1 could not have quoted the passage verbatim1 or anything like it4 ,for1 if he had1 he must have prefaced it with some account of the interview with ,nicodemus1 and he would have to have referred to another ,gospel to show that our ,lord alluded to baptism2 for1 though our ,lord mentions water1 ,he does not here categorically mention baptism4 ,so1 consequently1 ,justin would have to have said1 ,if you refer to one of our ,memoirs you will find certain words which lay down the necessity of being born again1 and seem to connect this birth in some way with water1 and if you look into another ,memoir you will see how this can be1 for you will find a direction to baptize with water in the name of the ,godhead1 and if you put these two passages together you will be able to understand something of the nature of our dedication1 and of the way in which it is to be performed1 and of the blessing which we have reason to expect in it if we repent of our sins4 ,well1 instead of such an absurd and indirect way of proceeding1 which presupposes that ,antoninus ,pius was well acquainted with the ,diatessaron1 he simply reproduces the substance of the doctrine of ,st4 ,john1 and interweaves with it the words of institution as found in ,st4 ,matthew4 ,i shall afterwards advert to the hypothesis that this account was taken from an apocryphal ,gospel4 ,again1 ,st4 ,john is the only ,evangelist who1 in apparent allusion to the devout and spiritual reception of the ,inward ,part of the ,lord's ,supper1 speaks of it as eating the ,flesh of ,christ1 and drinking ,his ,blood2 the ,synoptics and ,st4 ,paul in ,i ,cor4 x4 #aa1 always speaking of it as ,his ,body and ,blood4 ,now ,justin1 in describing the ,sacrament of the ,lord's ,supper1 uses the language peculiar to ,st4 ,john as well as that of the ,synoptics3-- ,so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of ,his word1 and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished1 is the flesh and blood of that ,jesus ,who was made flesh4 ,for the ,apostles1 in the ,memoirs composed by them1 which are called ,gospels1 have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon them2 that ,jesus took bread1 and when ,he had given thanks1 said1 ',this do ye in remembrance of me4 ,this is my body1' c4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 lxvi47 ,this1 of course1 would be a small matter itself1 but1 taken in connection with the adoption of ,st4 ,john's language in regard of the other sacrament a very short time before1 it is exceedingly significant4 ,again1 ,st4 ,john is the only ,evangelist who records our ,lord's reference to the brazen serpent as typical of ,himself lifted up upon the ,cross4 ,justin cites the same incident as typical of ,christ's ,death1 and1 moreover1 cites our ,lord's language as it is recorded in ,st4 ,john1 respecting ,his being lifted up that men might believe in ,him and be saved3-- ,for by this1 as ,i previously remarked1 ,he proclaimed the mystery1 by which ,he declared that ,he would break the power of the serpent which occasioned the transgression of ,adam1 and would bring to them that believe on ,him by this sign1 i4e41 ,him ,who was to be crucified1 salvation from the fangs of the serpent1 which are wicked deeds1 idolatries1 and other unrighteous acts4 ,unless the matter be so understood1 give me a reason why ,moses set up the brazen serpent for a sign1 and bade those that were bitten gaze at it1 and the wounded were healed4 7,dial4 ch4 xciv47 ,again1 ,st4 ,john is the only ,evangelist who records that the ,baptist confessed1 and denied not1 but confessed1 ',i am not the ,christ4' ,justin cites these very-words as said by the ,baptist3-- ,for when ,john remained 7or sat7 by the ,jordan 444 men supposed him to be ,christ1 but he cried to them1 ',i am not the ,christ1 but the voice of one crying1' c4 7,dial4 ch4 lxxxviii47 ,again1 ,st4 ,john is the only ,evangelist who puts into the mouth of our ,blessed ,lord1 when ,he was accused of breaking the ,sabbath1 the retort that the ,jews on the ,sabbath ,day circumcise a man 444 that the law of ,moses should not be broken4 7,john vii4 #bb7 ,and ,justin also reproduces this in his ,dialogue3-- ,for1 tell me1 did ,god wish the priests to sin when they offer the sacrifices on the ,sabbaths8 or those to sin who are circumcised1 or do circumcise1 on the ,sabbaths2 since ,he commands that on the eighth day--even though it happen to be a ,sabbath--those who are born shall be always circumcised8 7,dial4 ch4 xxvii47 ,again1 ,st4 ,john represents our ,lord1 when similarly harassed by the ,jews1 as appealing to the upholding of all things by ,god on the ,sabbath as well as on any other day1 in the words1 ,my ,father worketh hitherto1 and ,i work4 7,john v4 #ag47 ,and ,justin very shortly after uses the same argument3-- ,think it not strange that we drink hot water on the ,sabbath1 since ,god directs the government of the universe on this day1 equally as on all others2 and the priests on other days1 so on this1 are ordered to offer sacrifices4 7,dial4 ch4 xxix47 ,it is very singular that ,justin1 whilst knowing nothing of ,st4 ,john1 should1 on a subject like this1 use two arguments peculiar to ,st4 ,john1 and not to be found in disputes on the very same subject in the ,synoptics4 ,again1 ,st4 ,john alone records that ,jesus healed a man blind from his birth1 and notices that the ,jews themselves were impressed with the greatness of the miracle4 7,john ix4 #af1 #cb7 ,justin remarks1 ,in that we say that ,he made whole the lame1 the paralytic1 and those born blind4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xxii47 ,again1 ,st4 ,john is the only ,evangelist who makes our ,lord to say1 ,now ,i tell you before it come1 that when it is come to pass ye may believe4 7,john xiii4 #ai2 xiv4 #bi2 xvi4 #d7 ,and ,justin adopts and amplifies this very sentiment with reference to the use of prophecy3-- ,for things which were incredible1 and seemed impossible with men1 these ,god predicted by the ,spirit of prophecy as about to come to pass1 in order that1 when they came to pass1 there might be no unbelief1 but faith1 because of their prediction4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xxxiii47 ,again1 ,st4 ,john alone of the ,evangelists records that our ,lord used with the unbelieving ,jews the argument that they believed not ,moses1 for1 had they believed ,moses1 they would have believed ,him1 for ,moses wrote of ,him4 7,john1 v4 #df1 #dg7 ,and ,justin reproduces in substance the same argument3-- ,for though ye have the means of understanding that this man is ,christ from the signs given by ,moses1 yet you will not4 7,dial4 xciii47 ,again1 ,st4 ,john is the only sacred writer who speaks of our ,lord giving the living water1 and causing that water to flow from men's hearts1 and ,justin 7somewhat inaccurately7 reproduces the figure3-- ,and our hearts are thus circumcised from evil1 so that we are happy to die for the name of the ,good ,rock1 which causes living water to burst forth for the hearts of those who by him have loved the ,father of all1 and which gives those who are willing to drink of the water of life4 7,dial4 ch4 cxiv47 ,again1 ,st4 ,john alone records that ,christ spake of ,himself as the ,light1 and ,justin speaks of ,him as the only blameless and righteous ,light sent by ,god4 7,dial4 ch4 xvii47 ,again1 ,st4 ,john alone speaks of our ,lord as representing ,himself to be the true vine1 and ,his people as the branches4 ,justin uses the same figure with respect to the people or ,church of ,god3-- ,just as if one should eat away the fruit-bearing parts of it vine1 it grows up again1 and yields other branches flourishing and fruitful2 even so the same thing happens to us4 ,for the vine planted by ,god and ,christ the ,saviour is ,his ,people4 7,dial4 ch4 cx47 ,again1 ,st4 ,john alone represents our ,saviour as saying1 ,i have power to lay my life down1 and ,i have power to take it again4 ,this commandment have ,i received of my ,father4 7,john x4 #ah7 ,and ,justin says of ,christ that1 in fulfilment of a certain prophecy1-- ,he is to do something worthy of praise and wonderment1 being about to rise again from the dead on the third day after the ,crucifixion1 and this ,he has obtained from the ,father4 7,dial4 ch4 c47 ,some of these last instances which ,i have given are reminiscences rather than reproductions2 but like all other reminiscences they imply things remembered1 sometimes not perfectly correctly1 and so not applied as applied in the original2 but they are all real reminiscences of words and things to be found only in our fourth ,gospel4 ,,section ,x4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness4--,,his ,,testimony ,,summed ,,up4 ,from all this it is clear that ,justin had not only seen and reverenced ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1 but that his mind was permeated with its peculiar teaching4 ,i hesitate not to say that1 if a man rejects the evidence above adduced1 he rejects it because on other grounds he is determined1 cost what it may1 to discredit the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,let us briefly recapitulate4 ,justin reproduced the doctrine of the ,logos1 using the words of ,st4 ,john4 ,he asserted the ,divine and human natures of the ,son of ,god in the words of ,st4 ,john1 or in exactly similar words4 ,he reproduced that peculiar teaching of our ,lord1 to be found only in ,st4 ,john1 whereby we are enabled to hold the true and essential ,godhead of ,christ without for a moment holding that ,he is an independent ,god4 ,he reproduced the doctrine of the ,logos being1 even before ,his ,incarnation1 in every man as the true light to enlighten him4 ,he reproduces the doctrine of the ,sacraments in terms to be found only in the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,he reproduces1 or alludes to1 arguments and types and prophecies and historical events1 only to be found in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel4 ,it seems certain1 then1 that if ,justin was acquainted with any one of our four ,gospels1 that ,gospel was the one according to ,st4 ,john4 ,what answer1 the reader will ask1 does the author of ,supernatural ,religion give to all this8 ,why1 he simply ignores the greater part of these references 7we trust through ignorance of their existence71 and takes notice of some three or four1 in which1 to use the vulgar expression1 he picks holes1 by drawing attention to discrepancies of language or application1 and dogmatically pronounces that ,justin could not have known the fourth ,gospel4 ,well1 then1 the reader will ask1 from whom did ,justin derive the knowledge of doctrines and facts so closely resembling those contained in ,st4 ,john8 ,again1 we have reference to supposed older sources of information which have perished4 ,with respect to the ,logos doctrine1 the author of ,supernatural ,religion asserts3-- ,his ,justin's doctrine of the ,logos is precisely that of ,philo1 and of writings long antecedent to the fourth ,gospel1 and there can be no doubt1 we think1 that it was derived from them4 7,supernatural ,religion1 vol4 ii4 p4 #big47 ,it may be well here to remark that1 strictly speaking1 there is no ,logos doctrine in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1--by doctrine meaning scientifically expressed doctrine1 drawn out1 and expounded at length1 as in ,philo4 ,the ,gospel commences with the assertion that the ,logos1 ,whoever ,he be1 is ,god1 and is the pre-existent ,divine nature of ,jesus2 he does this once and once only1 and never recurs to it afterwards4 ,the next passage referred to is the assertion of the ,baptist1 ,i am not the ,christ1 and the conclusion of the author is that ,there is every reason to believe that he derived it from a particular ,gospel1 in all probability the ,gospel according to the ,hebrews1 different from ours4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #cjb47 ,the last place noticed is ,justin's reproduction of ,john iii4 #c-e1 in connection with the institution of baptism4 ,after discussing this at some length1 for the purpose of magnifying the differences and minimizing the resemblances1 his conclusion is3-- ,as both the ,clementines and ,justin made use of the ,gospel according to ,hebrews1 the most competent critics have1 with reason1 adopted the conclusion that the passage we are discussing was derived from that ,gospel2 at any rate it cannot for a moment he maintained as a quotation from our fourth ,gospel1 and it is of no value as evidence for its existence4 7,supernatural ,religion1 vol4 ii4 p4 #cac47 ,we have now tolerably full means of judging what a wonderful ,gospel this ,gospel to the ,hebrews must have been1 and what a loss the ,church has sustained by its extinction4 ,here was a ,gospel which contained a harmony of the history1 moral teaching1 and doctrine of all the four4 ,as we have seen1 it contained an account of the miraculous ,birth and ,infancy1 embodying in one narrative the facts contained in the first and third ,gospels4 ,it contained a narrative of the events preceding and attending our ,lord's ,death1 far fuller and more complete than that of any single ,gospel in the ,canon4 ,it contained a record of the teaching of ,christ1 similar to our present ,sermon on the ,mount1 embodying the teaching scattered up and down in all parts of ,,ss4 ,matthew and ,luke1 and in addition to all this it embodied the very peculiar tradition1 both in respect of doctrine and of history1 of the fourth ,gospel4 ,how could it possibly have happened that a record of the highest value1 on account both of its fulness and extreme antiquity1 should have perished1 and have been superseded by four later and utterly unauthentic productions1 one its junior by at least #abj years1 and each one of these deriving from it only a part of its teaching2 the first three1 for no conceivable reason1 rejecting all that peculiar doctrine now called ,johannean1 and the fourth confining itself to reproducing this so-called ,johannean element and this alone8 ,it is only necessary to state this to show the utter absurdity of the author's hypothesis4 ,but the marvel is that a person assuming such airs of penetration and research #fc3a should not have perceived that1 if he has proved his point1 he has simply strengthened the evidence for the supernatural1 for he has proved the existence of a fifth ,gospel1 far older and fuller than any we now possess1 witnessing to the supernatural ,birth1 ,life1 ,death1 and ,resurrection of ,jesus4 ,the author strives to undermine the evidence for the authenticity of our present ,gospels for an avowedly dogmatic purpose4 ,he believes in the dogma of the impossibility of the supernatural2 he must1 for this purpose1 discredit the witness of the four1 and he would fain do this by conjuring up the ghost of a defunct ,gospel1 a ,gospel which turns out to be far more emphatic in its testimony to the supernatural and the dogmatic than any of the four existing ones1 and so the author of this pretentious book seems to have answered himself4 ,his own witnesses prove that from the first there has been but one account of ,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,,section ,,xi4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness ,,on ,,our ,,lord',s ,,godhead4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion has directed his attacks more particularly against the authenticity of the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,john4 ,his desire to discredit this ,gospel seems at times to arise out of a deep personal dislike to the character of the disciple whom ,jesus loved4 7,vol4 ii4 pp4 #djc-djg1 #dbg1 #dbh1 c47 ,on the author's principles1 it is difficult to understand the reason for such an attack on this particular ,gospel4 ,he is not an ,arian or ,socinian 7as the terms are commonly understood71 who might desire to disparage the testimony of this ,gospel to the ,pre-existence and ,godhead of our ,lord4 ,his attack is on the ,supernatural generally1 as witnessed to by any one of the four ,gospels2 and it is allowed on all hands that the three ,synoptics were written long before the ,johannean2 and1 besides this1 he has proved to his own satisfaction1 and to the satisfaction of the ,reviewers who so loudly applauded his work1 that there existed a ,gospel long anterior to the ,synoptics1 which is more explicit in its declarations of the ,supernatural than all of them put together4 ,however1 as he has made a lengthened and vigorous attempt to discredit this ,gospel especially1 it may be well to show his extraordinary misconceptions respecting the mere contents of the ,fourth ,gospel1 and the opinions of the ,fathers 7notably ,justin ,martyr7 who seem to quote from it1 or to derive their doctrine from it4 ,the first question--and by far the most important one which we shall have to meet--is this3 ,is the doctrine respecting the ,person of ,jesus more fully developed in the pages of ,justin ,martyr1 or in the ,fourth ,gospel8 ,we mean by the doctrine respecting the ,person of ,jesus1 that ,he is1 with reference to ,his pre-existent state1 the ,logos and ,only-begotten ,son of ,god2 and that1 as being such1 ,he is to be worshipped and honoured as ,lord and ,god2 and that1 in order to be our ,mediator1 and the ,sacrifice for our sin1 ,he took upon ,him our nature4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion endeavours to trace the doctrine of the ,logos1 as contained in ,justin1 to older sources than our present ,fourth ,gospel1 particularly to ,philo and the ,gospel according to the ,hebrews4 ,the latter is much too impalpable to enable us to verify his statements by it2 but we shall have to show his misconceptions respecting the connection of ,justin's doctrine with the former4 ,what we have now to consider is the following statement3-- ,it is certain1 however1 that1 both ,justin and ,philo1 unlike the prelude to the ,fourth ,gospel 7i4 #a71 place the ,logos in a secondary position to ,god the ,father1 another point indicating a less advanced stage of the doctrine4 ,from this we must1 of course1 infer that the author of ,supernatural ,religion considers that ,justin does not state the essential ,godhead of the ,second ,person as distinctly and categorically as it is stated in the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,and as it is assumed by ,rationalists that there was in the early ,church a constantly increasing development of the doctrine of the true ,godhead of our ,lord1 gradually superseding some earlier doctrine of an ,arian1 or ,humanitarian1 or ,sadducean type2 therefore1 the more fully developed doctrine of the ,godhead of our ,lord in any book proves that book to be of later origin than another book in which it is not so fully developed4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion cannot deny that ,justin ascribes the names ,lord and ,god and ,pre-existence before all worlds to ,jesus as the ,logos1 but he fastens upon certain statements or inferences respecting the subordination of the ,son to the ,father1 and ,his acting for ,his ,father1 or under ,him1 in the works of ,creation and ,redemption1 which ,justin1 as an orthodox believer who would abhor ,tritheism1 was bound to make1 and most ignorantly asserts that such statements are contrary to the spirit of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,i shall now set before the reader the statements of both ,st4 ,john and ,justin respecting the ,divine ,nature of our ,lord1 so that he may judge for himself which is the germ and which the development4 ,the ,fourth ,gospel once1 and once only1 sets forth the ,godhead and ,pre-existence of the ,logos1 and this is in the exordium or prelude3-- ,in the beginning was the ,word1 and the ,word was with ,god1 and the ,word was ,god4 ,the ,fourth ,gospel once1 and once only1 identifies this ,word with the pre-existent nature of ,jesus1 in the concluding words of the same exordium3-- ,the ,word was made flesh and dwelt among us1 and we behold ,his ,glory1 the glory as of the ,only-begotten of the ,father1 full of grace and truth4 ,except in these two places 7and1 of course1 ,i need not say that they are all-important as containing by implication the whole truth of ,god respecting ,christ71 there is no mention whatsoever of the ,word in this ,gospel4 ,the ,fourth ,gospel gives to ,jesus the name of ,god only in two places1 i4e4 in the narrative of the second appearance of our ,lord to ,his apostles assembled together after ,his ,resurrection1 where ,thomas is related to have said to ,him the words1 ,my ,lord and my ,god2 and in the words ,the ,word was ,god taken in connection with the ,word was made flesh4 ,the indirect1 but certain1 proofs by implication that ,jesus fully shared with ,his ,father the ,divine ,nature are numerous1 as1 for instance1 that ,he wields all the power of ,godhead1 in that whatsoever things the ,father doeth these doeth the ,son likewise--that ,he is equal in point of nature with the ,father1 because ,god is ,his own proper ,father 7,greek3 idios7--that ,he raises from the dead whom ,he wills--that ,he and the ,father are ,one--that when ,esaias saw the glory of ,god in the temple he saw ,christ's glory2 and1 because of all this1 ,he is the object of faith1 even of the faith which saves4 ,but1 as my purpose is not to show that either ,justin or ,st4 ,john hold the ,godhead of our ,lord1 but rather to compare the statements of the one with the other2 and1 inasmuch as to cite the passages in which ,justin ,martyr assumes that our ,blessed ,lord possesses all ,divine attributes would far exceed the limits which ,i have proposed to myself1 ,i shall not further cite the passages in ,st4 ,john1 which only imply our ,lord's ,godhead1 but proceed to cite the direct statements of ,justin 7or rather some of them7 on this head4 ,whereas1 then1 ,st4 ,john categorically asserts the ,godhead of our ,lord in one1 or1 at the most1 two places1 ,justin directly asserts it nearly forty times4 ,the following are noticeable3-- ,and ,trypho said1 ,you endeavour to prove an incredible and well-nigh impossible thing2 namely that ,god endured to be born and become man4 #fi3a ,if ,i undertook1 said ,i1 ,justin to prove this by doctrines or arguments of men1 you should not bear with me4 ,but if ,i quote frequently ,scriptures1 and so many of them1 referring to this point1 and ask you to comprehend them1 you are hard-hearted in the recognition of the mind and will of ,god4 7,dial4 ch4 lxviii47 ,again3-- ,this very ,man ,who was crucified is proved to have been set forth expressly as ,god and ,man1 and as being crucified and as dying4 #fi3b 7,dial4 ch4 lxxi47 ,again1 ,justin accuses the ,jews of having mutilated the ,prophetical ,scriptures1 by having cut out of them the following prophecy respecting our ,lord's descent into hell3-- ,the ,lord ,god remembered ,his dead people of ,israel who lay in the graves2 and ,he descended to preach to them ,his own ,salvation4 7,dial4 ch4 lxxii47 ,again3-- ,for ,christ is ,king1 and ,priest1 and ,god1 and ,lord1 and ,angel1 and ,man1 and ,captain1 and ,stone1 and a ,son born1 and first made subject to suffering1 then returning to heaven1 and again coming with glory4 7,dial4 xxxiv47 ,again3-- ,now you will permit me first to recount the prophecies1 which ,i wish to do in order to prove that ,christ is called both ,god1 and ,lord of ,hosts1 and ,jacob in parable1 by the ,holy ,spirit4 7,dial4 ch4 xxxvi47 ,again1 ,justin makes ,trypho to say3-- ,when you ,justin say that this ,christ existed as ,god before the ages1 then that ,he submitted to be born1 and become man1 yet that ,he is not man of man1 this assertion appears to me to be not merely paradoxical1 but also foolish4 ,and ,i replied to this1 ,i know that the statement does appear to be paradoxical1 especially to those of your race1 who are ever unwilling to understand or to perform the requirements of ,god4 7,dial4 ch4 xlviii47 ,again1 ,justin makes ,trypho demand3-- ,answer me then1 first1 how you can show that there is another ,god besides the ,maker of all things2 #gj3a and then you will show further1 that ,he submitted to be born of the ,virgin4 ,i replied1 ,give me permission first of all to quote certain passages from the ,prophecy of ,isaiah which refer to the office of forerunner discharged by ,john the ,baptist4 7,dial4 ,i47 ,lastly3-- ,now1 assuredly1 ,trypho1 ,i shall show that1 in the vision of ,moses1 this same ,one alone1 ,who is called an ,angel1 and ,who is ,god1 appeared to and communed with ,moses4444 ,even so here1 the ,scriptures1 in announcing that the angel of the ,lord appeared unto ,moses1 and in afterwards declaring ,him to be ,lord and ,god1 speaks of the same ,one1 ,whom it declares by the many testimonies already quoted to be minister to ,god1 ,who is above the world1 above ,whom there is no other4 7,dial4 ch4 lx47 ,in order not to weary the reader1 ,i give the remainder in a note4 #ga3a ,the reader will observe that the assertions of ,justin1 which ,i have given1 are the strongest that could be made by any one who holds the ,godhead of ,christ1 and yet holds that that ,godhead is not an independent ,divine ,existence1 but derived from the ,father ,who begat ,him1 and1 by begetting1 fully communicated to ,his ,son or ,offspring ,his own ,godhead4 ,from these extracts the reader will be able to judge for himself whether the doctrine of ,st4 ,john is the expansion or development of that of ,justin1 or the doctrine of ,justin the development of that of ,st4 ,john4 ,he will also be able to judge of the absurdity of supposing that after the time of ,justin the cause of ,orthodoxy demanded the forgery of a ,gospel1 in order to set forth more fully the ,divine ,glory of the ,redeemer4 ,,section ,,xii4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness ,,on ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,the ,,logos4 ,we have now to compare ,justin's doctrine of the ,logos with that of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,the doctrine or dogma of the ,logos is declared in the ,fourth ,gospel in a short paragraph of fourteen verses1 a part of which is occupied with the mission of the ,baptist4 ,the doctrine1 as ,i have said before1 is rather oracular enunciation than doctrine2 i4e4 it is not doctrine elaborately drawn out and explained and guarded1 but simply laid down as by the authority of ,almighty ,god4 ,it is contained in four or five direct statements3-- ,in the beginning was the ,logos4 ,in the beginning--that is1 before all created things--when there was no finite existence by which time could be measured2 in that fathomless abyss of duration when there was ,god only3-- ,the ,logos was with ,god4 ,though numerically distinct from ,him1 #gc3a ,he was so by or with ,him as to be ,his fellow3-- ,the ,logos was ,god4 ,that is1 though numerically distinct1 ,he partook of the same ,divine ,nature3 ,all ,things were made by ,him4 ,because1 partaking fully of the nature1 ,he partook fully of the power of ,god1 and so of ,his creating power4 ,that was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world4 ,the ,logos was made flesh4 ,he was incarnate by the ,holy ,ghost of the ,virgin ,mary1 and was made man4 ,the first enunciation1 then1 of ,st4 ,john is that-- ,,in ,,the ,,beginning ,,was ,,the ,,word4 ,in ,justin we read3-- ,his ,son1 ,who alone is properly called ,son1 the ,word1 ,who also was with ,him1 and was begotten before the works4 7,apol4 ii4 ch4 vi47 ,again3-- ,when you ,justin say that this ,christ existed as ,god before the ages4 7,dial4 ch4 xlviii47 ,again3-- ,god begat before all creatures a ,beginning1 #gd3a who was a certain rational ,power from ,himself1 ,who is called by the ,holy ,spirit1 now the ,glory of the ,lord1 now the ,son1 again ,wisdom1 again an ,angel1 then ,god1 and then ,lord and ,logos4 7,dial4 ch4 lxi47 ,now it is to be here remarked1 that though the ,logos is continually declared to be begotten of1 derived from1 an offspring of the ,father1 yet in no case is ,he declared to be created or made1 anticipating the declaration which we confess in our ,creed1 ,the ,son is of the ,father alone1 not made1 nor created1 but begotten4 ,st4 ,john proceeds3-- ,,the ,,word ,,was ,,with ,,god4 ,in ,justin we read3-- ,this ,offspring1 which was truly brought forth from the ,father1 was with the ,father before all the creatures1 and the ,father communed with ,him4 7,dial4 ch4 lxii47 ,again1 a little before1 in the same chapter3-- ,from which we can indisputably learn that ,god conversed with some ,one who was numerically distinct from ,himself4 ,again3-- ,the ,word1 ,who also was with ,him4 7,apol4 ii4 ch4 vi47 ,again1 ,trypho says3-- ,you maintain ,him to be pre-existent ,god4 7,ch4 lxxxvii47 ,again3-- ,i asserted that this ,power was begotten from the ,father1 by ,his ,power and ,will1 but not by abscission1 as if the essence of the ,father were divided2 as all other things partitioned and divided are not the same after as before they were divided2 and for the sake of example ,i took the case of fires kindled from a fire1 which we see to be distinct from it1 c4 7,dial4 cxxviii47 ,,the ,,word ,,was ,,god4 ,justin writes3-- ,the ,word of ,wisdom1 ,who is ,himself this ,god begotten of the ,father of all things 7,dial4 ch4 lxi47 7,see previous page47 ,again3-- ,they who affirm that the ,son is the ,father are proved neither to have become acquainted with the ,father1 nor to know that the ,father of the ,universe has a ,son2 ,who also1 being the first-begotten ,word of ,god1 is even ,god4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 lxiii47 ,again3-- ,it must be admitted absolutely that some other ,one is called ,lord by the ,holy ,spirit besides ,him ,who is considered ,maker of all things4 7,dial4 ch4 lvi47 ,but it is useless to multiply quotations1 seeing that all those in pages #fi-ga are the echoes of this declaration of the ,fourth ,evangelist4 ,st4 ,john writes3-- ,,all ,,things ,,were ,,made ,,by ,,him4 ,and ,justin writes3-- ,knowing that ,god conceived and made the world by the ,word4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 lxiv47 ,again3-- ,when at first ,he created and arranged all things by ,him4 7,apol4 ,,ii4 ch4 vi47 ,again ,st4 ,john writes3-- ,,that 7i4e4 ,,the ,,word7 ,,was ,,the ,,true ,,light ,,that ,,lighteth ,,every ,,man ,,that ,,cometh ,,into ,,the ,,world4 ,i have given above 7p4 #ea7 sufficient illustrations from ,justin of this truth4 ,i again draw attention to3-- ,he is the ,word of ,whom every race of men were partakers4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xlvi47 ,again3-- ,he was and is the ,word ,who is in every man4 7,apol4 ,,ii4 ch4 x47 ,for whatever either lawgivers or philosophers uttered well1 they elaborated by finding and contemplating some part of the ,word4 ,but since they did not know the whole of the ,word which is ,christ1 they often contradicted themselves4 #gg3a 7,apol4 ,,ii4 ch4 x47 ,again3-- ,these men who believe in ,him1 in whom ,greek3 en hois abideth the seed of ,god1 the ,word4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xxxii47 ,again3-- ,i confess that ,i both boast and with all my strength strive to be found a ,christian2 not because the teachings of ,plato are different from those of ,christ1 but because they are not in all respects similar1 as neither are those of the others1 ,stoics1 and poets1 and historians4 ,for each man spoke well in proportion to the share he had of the spermatic ,word4 #gg3b 7,apol4 ,,ii4 ch4 xiii47 ,lastly1 ,st4 ,john writes3-- ,,the ,,word ,,was ,,made ,,flesh4 ,and ,justin writes3-- ,the ,logos ,himself1 ,who took shape and became man and was called ,jesus ,christ4 7,apol4 ,,ii4 ch4 v47 ,again3-- ,the ,word1 ,who is also the ,son2 and of ,him we will in what follows relate how ,he took flesh1 and became ,man4 7,apol4 ,,ii4 ch4 xxxii47 ,jesus ,christ is the only proper ,son ,who has been begotten by ,god1 being ,his ,word1 and ,first-begotten1 and ,power1 and becoming man according to ,his ,will ,he taught us these things1 c4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xxiii47 ,again3-- ,in order that you may recognize ,him as ,god coming forth from above1 and ,man living among men4 7,dial4 lxiv47 ,again3-- ,he was the ,only-begotten of the ,father of all things1 being begotten in a peculiar manner ,word and ,power by ,him1 and having afterwards become ,man through the ,virgin4 7,dial4 ch4 cv47 ,after considering the above extracts1 the reader will be able to judge of the truth of some assertions of the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 as1 for instance3-- ,we are1 in fact1 constantly directed by the remarks of ,justin to other sources of the ,logos doctrine1 and never to the ,fourth ,gospel1 with which his tone and terminology in no way agree4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bic7 ,again3-- ,we must see that ,justin's terminology1 as well as his views of the ,word become ,man1 is thoroughly different from that ,gospel4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bif7 ,also3-- ,it must be apparent to every one who seriously examines the subject1 that ,justin's terminology is thoroughly different from1 and in spirit opposed to1 that of the ,fourth ,gospel1 and in fact that the peculiarities of the ,gospel are not found in ,justin's writings at all4 7667 7,p4 #big47 #gh3a ,on the contrary1 we assert that every ,divine ,truth respecting the ,logos1 which appears in the germ in ,st4 ,john1 is expanded in ,justin4 ,st4 ,john's short and pithy sentences are the text1 and ,justin's remarks are the exposition of that text1 and of nothing less or more4 ,so far from ,justin's doctrine being contrary to the spirit of ,st4 ,john's1 ,justin1 whilst deviating somewhat from the strict letter1 seizes and reproduces the very spirit4 ,i will give in the next section two or three remarkable instances of this2 which instances1 strange to say1 the author of ,supernatural ,religion quotes for the purpose of showing the absolute divergence and opposition between the two writers4 ,,section ,,xiii4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness ,,on ,,our ,,lord ,,as ,,king1 ,,priest1 ,,and ,,angel4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion quotes the passage in ,dial4 xxxiv43-- ,for ,christ is ,king1 and ,priest1 and ,god1 and ,lord1 and ,angel1 and ,man1 and ,captain1 and ,stone1 and a ,son born1 c4 ,and he remarks1 with what ,i cannot but characterize as astonishing effrontery1 or 7to use his own language with respect to ,tischendorf7 an assurance which can scarcely be characterized otherwise than an unpardonable calculation upon the ignorance of his readers4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #ef47 ,now these representations1 which are constantly repeated throughout ,justin's writings1 are quite opposed to the spirit of the ,fourth ,gospel4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bhh47 ,he first of all takes the title ,king1 and arbitrarily and unwarrantably restricts ,justin's derivation of it to the seventy-second ,psalm1 apparently being ignorant of the fact that ,st4 ,john1 in his very first chapter1 records that ,christ was addressed by ,nathanael as ,king of ,israel--that the ,fourth ,gospel alone describes how the crowd on ,his entry into ,jerusalem cried1 ,osanna1 ,blessed be the ,king of ,israel1 ,who cometh in the name of the ,lord 7xii4 #ac7--that this ,gospel more fully than any other records how ,pilate questioned our ,lord respecting ,his ,kingship1 and recognized ,him as ,king1 ,behold your ,king2 and that those who mocked our ,lord are recorded by ,st4 ,john to have mocked ,him as the ,king of ,israel4 ,so that this term ,king1 so far from being contrary to the spirit of the ,fourth ,gospel1 is not even contrary to its letter4 ,but this1 gross though it seems1 is to my mind as nothing to two other assertions founded on this passage of ,justin3-- ,if we take the second epithet1 the ,logos as ,priest1 which is quite foreign to the ,fourth ,gospel1 we find it repeated by ,justin4 ,now1 it is quite true that the title priest is not given to our ,lord in ,st4 ,john1 just as it is not given to ,him in any one of the three ,synoptics1 or indeed in any book of the ,new ,testament1 except the ,epistle to the ,hebrews3 yet1 notwithstanding this1 of all the books of the ,new ,testament1 this ,gospel is the one which sets forth the reality of ,christ's ,priesthood4 ,for what is the distinguishing function of the ,priesthood8 ,is it not ,mediation and ,intercession1 and the ,fourth ,gospel more than all sets forth ,christ as ,mediator and ,intercessor8 ,as ,mediator when ,he says so absolutely3 ,no man cometh unto the ,father but by me2 ,as my ,father sent me so send ,i you2 whosesoever sins ye remit1 they are remitted unto them4 ,again1 the idea of ,priesthood is actually inherent in the figure of the good ,shepherd ,who giveth ,his ,life for the sheep2 for how does ,he give ,his life8--not in the way of physical defence against enemies1 as an earthly good shepherd might do1 but in the way of atoning ,sacrifice1 as the author of ,supernatural ,religion truly asserts1 where he writes 7vol4 ii4 p4 #ceb73-- ,the representation of ,jesus as the ,lamb of ,god taking away the sins of the world is the very basis of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,again1 in the same page3-- ,he died for the sin of the world1 and is the object of faith1 by which alone forgiveness and justification before ,god can be secured4 ,again1 with reference to ,his ,intercession1 we have not only the truth set forth in such expressions as ,i will pray the ,father1 but we have the actual exercise of the great act of priestly ,intercession1 as recorded in the seventeenth chapter of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,if we look to words only 7which the author of ,supernatural ,religion too often does71 then1 of course1 we allow that the epithet priest is quite foreign not only to the ,fourth ,gospel1 but to every other book of the ,new ,testament1 except the ,epistle to the ,hebrews2 but if we look to the things implied in the idea of ,priesthood1 such as ,mediation and ,intercession1 in fact ,intervention between ,god and ,man1 then we find that the whole ,new ,testament is pervaded with the idea1 and it culminates in the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,the next assertion of the author of ,supernatural ,religion on the same passage betrays still more ignorance of the contents of ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1 and a far greater eagerness to fasten on a seeming omission of the letter1 and to ignore a pervadence of the spirit4 ,he asserts3-- ,it is scarcely necessary to point out that this representation of the ,logos as ,angel1 is not only foreign to1 but opposed to1 the spirit of the ,fourth ,gospel4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bic7 ,now just as in the former case we had to ask1 ,what is the characteristic of the priest8 so in order to answer this we have only to ask1 ,what is the characteristic of the angel8 ,an angel is simply one sent4 ,such is the meaning of the word both in the ,old and ,new ,testament4 ,the ,hebrew word ,hebrew3 mlakh is applied indifferently to a messenger sent by man 7see ,job i4 #ad2 #a ,sam4 xi4 #c2 #b ,sam4 xi4 #ai-bj71 and to ,god's messengers the ,holy ,angels1 that is1 the ,holy ,messengers1 the ,holy ones sent4 ,and similarly1 in the ,new ,testament1 the word ,greek3 angelos is applied to human messengers in ,luke vii4 #bd1 ,greek3 apelthontn de tn angeln ,iannou1 also in ,luke ix4 #eb1 and ,james ii4 #be4 ,that the characteristic of the angel is to be sent is implied in such common phrases as1 ,the ,lord sent ,his ,angel1 ,i will send mine angel1 ,are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister8 c4 ,now one of the characteristic expressions of the ,fourth ,gospel--we might almost have said the characteristic expression--respecting ,jesus1 is that ,he is sent4 ,to use the noun instead of the verb1 ,he is ,god's special messenger1 ,his ,greek3 angelos1 sent by ,him to declare and to do ,his will3 but this does not imply that ,he has1 or has assumed1 the nature of an angel2 just as the application of the same word ,greek3 angelos to mere human messengers in no way implies that they have any other nature than human nature4 ,just as men sent their fellow-men as their ,greek3 angeloi1 so ,god sends ,one ,who1 according to ,justin1 fully partakes of ,his ,nature1 to be ,his ,greek3 angelos4 ,this sending of our ,lord on the part of ,his ,father is one of the chief characteristics of the ,fourth ,gospel1 and the reader1 if he cannot examine this ,gospel for himself1 comparing it with the others1 has only to turn to any concordance1 ,greek or ,english1 to satisfy himself respecting this matter4 ,jesus ,christ is said to be sent of ,god1 i4e4 to be ,his ,greek3 angelos1 only once in ,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel 7,matthew x4 #dj3 ,he that receiveth me receiveth ,him that sent me71 only once in ,st4 ,mark 7ix4 #cg71 only twice in ,st4 ,luke 7ix4 #dh2 xx4 #ac71 but in the ,fourth ,gospel ,he is said to be sent of ,god about forty times4 #hd3a ,in one discourse alone1 that in ,john vi41 ,jesus asserts no less than six times that ,he is sent of ,god1 or that ,god sent ,him2 so that the dictum1 ,this representation of the ,logos as angel is not only foreign to1 but opposed to1 the spirit of the ,fourth ,gospel1 is absolutely contrary to the truth4 ,,section ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,principal ,,witness ,,on ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,the ,,trinity4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion asserts3-- ,the ,fourth ,gospel proclaims the doctrine of an hypostatic ,trinity in a more advanced form than any other writing of the ,new ,testament4 #he3a ,this is hardly true if we consider what is meant by the proclamation of the doctrine of a ,trinity4 ,such a doctrine can be set forth by inference1 or it can be distinctly and broadly stated1 as it is1 for instance1 in the ,first ,article of the ,church of ,england1 or in the ,creed of ,st4 ,athanasius4 ,the doctrine of the ,trinity is set forth by implication in every place in ,scripture where the attributes or works of ,god are ascribed to two other ,persons besides ,the ,father4 ,but it is still more directly set forth in those places where the ,three ,persons are mentioned together as acting conjointly in some ,divine ,work1 or receiving conjointly some divine honour4 ,in this sense the most explicit declarations of the doctrine of the ,trinity are the ,baptismal formula at the end of ,st4 ,matthew's ,gospel1 and the grace1 as it is called1 at the end of ,st4 ,paul's ,second ,epistle to the ,corinthians4 ,st4 ,john1 by asserting in different places the ,godhead of the ,word1 and the ,divine ,works of the ,holy ,ghost1 implicitly proves the doctrine of the ,trinity1 but1 as far as ,i can remember1 he but twice mentions the ,three adorable ,persons together3 ,once in the words1 ,i will pray the ,father and ,he shall give you another ,comforter4 ,and again1 ,but the ,paraclete1 which is the ,holy ,ghost1 whom the ,father shall send in ,my name1 ,he shall teach you all things4 ,now1 in respect of the explicit declaration of the doctrine of the ,trinity1 the statements of ,justin are the necessary #hf3a developments not only of ,st4 ,john's statements1 but of those of the rest of the ,new ,testament writers4 ,i have given two passages in page #aj4 ,one of these is in the ,first ,apology1 and reads thus3-- ,our teacher of these things is ,jesus ,christ1 ,who also was born for this purpose1 and was crucified under ,pontius ,pilate1 ,procurator of ,judea in the times of ,tiberius ,caesar2 and that we reasonably worship ,him1 having learned that ,he is the ,son of the true ,god ,himself1 and holding ,him in the ,second place1 and the ,prophetic ,spirit in the ,third1 we will prove4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 xiii47 ,again1 he endeavours to show that ,plato held the doctrine of a ,trinity4 ,he is proving that ,plato had read the books of ,moses3-- ,and1 as to his speaking of a third1 he did this because he read1 as we said above1 that which was spoken by ,moses1 'that the ,spirit of ,god moved over the waters4' ,for he gives the second place to the ,logos which is with ,god1 who he 7,plato7 said1 was placed crosswise in the universe2 and the third place to the ,spirit who was said to be borne upon the water1 saying1 'and the third around the third4' 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 lx47 ,now unquestionably1 so far as expression of doctrine is concerned1 these passages from ,justin are the developments of the ,johannean statements4 ,the statements in ,st4 ,john contain1 in germ1 the whole of what ,justin develops2 but it is absurd to assert that1 after ,justin had written the above1 it was necessary1 in order to bolster up a later1 and consequently1 in the eyes of ,rationalists1 a mere human development1 to forge a now ,gospel1 containing nothing like so explicit a declaration of the ,trinity as we find in writings which are supposed to precede it1 and weighting its doctrinal statements with a large amount of historical matter very difficult1 in many cases1 to reconcile perfectly with the history in the older ,synoptics4 ,,section ,,xv4 ,,justin ,,and ,,st4 ,,john ,,on ,,the ,,incarnation4 ,two further matters1 bearing upon the relations of the doctrine of ,justin to that of ,st4 ,john1 must now be considered4 ,the ,author of ,supernatural ,religion asserts that the doctrine of ,justin respecting the ,incarnation of the ,word is essentially different from that of ,st4 ,john3-- ,it must be borne in mind that the terminology of ,john i4 #ad1 ',and the ,word became flesh 7,greek3 sarx egeneto7 is different from that of ,justin1 who uses the word ,greek3 sarkopoitheis4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bgf47 ,again1 with reference to the word ,greek3 monogens1 he writes3-- ,the phrase in ,justin is quite different from that in the ,fourth ,gospel1 i4 #ad1 ',and the ,word became flesh' 7,greek3 sarx egeneto7 and tabernacled among us1 and we beheld his glory1 glory as of the ,only-begotten from the ,father' 7,greek3 hs monogenous para patros1 c47 ,in ,justin he is 'the ,only-begotten of the ,father of all' 7,greek3 monogens t ,patri tn holn71 'and ,he became man' 7,greek3 anthrpos genomenos7 'through the ,virgin1' and ,justin never once employs the peculiar terminology of the ,fourth ,gospel1 ,greek3 sarx egeneto1 in any part of his writings4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bhj47 ,again3-- ,he ,justin is1 in fact1 thoroughly acquainted with the history of the ,logos doctrine and its earlier enunciation under the symbol of ,wisdom1 and his knowledge of it is clearly independent of1 and antecedent to1 the statements of the ,fourth ,gospel4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bhd7 ,this passage is important4 ,i think we cannot be wrong in deducing from it that the ,author of ,supernatural ,religion considers that the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john was published subsequently to the time of ,justin ,martyr1 that is1 some time after ,a4,d4 #afj or #afe4 ,again3-- ,the peculiarity of his terminology in all these passages all which ,i have given above in pages #gc-gh1 so markedly different1 and even opposed to that of the ,fourth ,gospel1 will naturally strike the reader4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bhf47 ,again1 and lastly3-- ,we must see that ,justin's terminology1 as well as his views of the ,word become man1 is thoroughly different from that ,gospel4 ,we have remarked that1 although the passages are innumerable in which ,justin speaks of the ,word having become man through the ,virgin1 he never once throughout his writings makes use of the peculiar expression of the ,fourth ,gospel3 ',the word became flesh' 7,greek3 ho logos sarx egeneto74 ,on the few occasions on which he speaks of the ,word having been made flesh1 he uses the term1 ,greek3 sarkopoitheis4 ,in one instance he has ,greek3 sarka echein1 and speaking of the ,eucharist1 ,justin once explains that it is in memory of ,christ being made body1 ,greek3 smatopoisasthai4 ,justin's most common phrase1 however1 and he repeats it in numberless instances1 is that the ,logos submitted to be born1 and become man ,greek3 gennthnai anthrpon genomenon hypemeinen by a ,virgin1 or he uses variously the expressions3 ,greek3 anthrpos gegone1 anthrpos genomenos1 genesthai anthrpon4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bif47 ,here1 then1 we have the differences specified by which the ,author of ,supernatural ,religion thinks that he is justified in describing the terminology and views of ,justin respecting the ,incarnation as markedly different and even opposed to1 and as thoroughly different from1 those of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,so that1 because ,justin1 instead of embodying the sentence1 ,greek3 ho logos sarx egeneto1 substitutes for it the participle1 ,greek3 sarkopoitheis1 or the phrase1 ,greek3 sarka echein1 or the infinitive1 ,greek3 smatopoisasthai1 or the expression1 ,greek3 anthrpos gegone he holds views thoroughly different from those of ,st4 ,john respecting the most momentous of ,christian truths4 ,this is a fair specimen of the utterly reckless assertions in which this author indulges respecting the foundation truth of ,christianity4 ,if such terms1 implying such divergences1 can be applied to these statements of ,justin's belief in the ,incarnation1 what words of human language could be got to express his flat denial of the truth held in common by him and by ,st4 ,john1 if he had been an unbeliever8 ,if ,justin1 with most other persons1 considers that being in the flesh is the characteristic difference between men and spirits such as the angels1 and expresses himself accordingly by saying that the ,word became man1 what sense is there in saying that he is opposed to the spirit of the ,fourth ,gospel1 in which we have the ,word not only as the ,son of ,man1 but possessing all the sinless weaknesses of human nature1 so that ,he is weary1 and weeps1 and groans1 and is troubled in spirit8 ,and now we will make1 if the reader will allow1 a supposition analogous to some which the author of ,supernatural ,religion has made in pages #cfj and following of his first volume4 ,we will suppose that all the ecclesiastical literature1 inspired and uninspired1 previous to the ,council of ,nice1 had been blotted out utterly1 and the ,four ,gospels alone preserved4 ,and we will suppose some critic taking upon himself to argue that the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john was written after the ,nicene ,creed4 ,on the principles and mode of argument of the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 he would actually be able to prove his absurdity1 for he would be able to allege that the doctrine and terminology of the ,fathers of the first ,general ,council was opposed to that of the ,fourth ,gospel2 and so they could not possibly have acknowledged its authority if they had even seen it4 ,for he 7the critic7 would allege that the words of ,st4 ,john respecting the ,incarnation are not adopted by the ,creed which the ,nicene ,fathers put forth2 instead of inserting into the ,creed the words ,greek3 ho logos sarx egeneto1 which1 the critic would urge1 they must have done if they would successfully oppose foes who appealed to the letter of ,scripture1 they used other terms1 as the participles ,greek3 sarkthenta and ,greek3 enanthrpsanta4 #ia3a ,again1 the supposed critic would urge1 they applied to our ,lord the phrase ,greek3 gennthenta pro pantn tn ainn1 a phrase so markedly different and indeed opposed to that of the ,fourth ,gospel1 as the author of ,supernatural ,religion urges with respect to ,greek3 gennma pro pantn tn poimaton1 and ,greek3 apo tou ,patros tn holn genntheis4 ,again1 the critic would urge that instead of calling the ,son ,god absolutely1 as in the sentence the ,word was ,god1 they confess ,him only as ,greek3 ,theos ek ,theou1 and this because ,he is ,greek3 genntheis1 and so he would say1 with the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 ,this is a totally different view from that of the ,fourth ,gospel1 which in so emphatic a manner enunciates the doctrine1 ',in the beginning was the ,word1 and the ,word was with ,god1 and ,god was the ,word2' and so our supposed critic will exclaim1 ,see what abundant proof that these ,fathers had 'never even seen' the ,fourth ,gospel2 and according to all rules of ,rationalistic criticism they had not1 or1 at least1 they thought nothing of its authenticity2 whilst all the time this same ,gospel was open before them1 and they devoutly reverenced every word as the word of the ,holy ,ghost1 and would have summarily anathematized any one who had expressed the smallest doubt respecting its plenary ,inspiration4 ,,section ,,xvi4 ,,justin ,,and ,,st4 ,,john ,,on ,,the ,,subordination ,,of ,,the ,,son4 ,the second matter connected with the relations of the doctrine of ,justin ,martyr to that of ,st4 ,john1 is the subordination of the ,son to the ,father4 ,i have already noticed this truth 7page #di71 but1 owing to its importance it may be well to devote to it a few further remarks4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion does not seem to realize that in perfect ,sonship two things are inherent1 viz41 absolute sameness 7and therefore equality7 of nature with the ,father1 and perfect subordination in the submission of ,his will to that of the ,father4 ,he consequently asserts3-- ,it is certain1 however1 that both ,justin and ,philo1 unlike the prelude to the ,fourth ,gospel1 place the ,logos in a secondary position to ,god the ,father1 another point indicating a less advanced stage of the doctrine4 ,both ,justin and ,philo apply the term ,greek3 theos to the ,logos without the article4 ,justin distinctly says1 that ,christians worship ,jesus ,christ as the ,son of the ,true ,god1 holding ,him in the ,second ,place ,greek3 en deutera chra echontes1 and this secondary position is systematically defined through ,justin's writings in a very decided way1 as it is in the works of ,philo1 by the contrast of the begotten ,logos with the unbegotten ,god4 ,justin speaks of the ,word as the 'first born of the unbegotten ,god' 7,greek3 prtotokos t agennt ,the71 and the distinctive appellation of the 'unbegotten ,god1' applied to the ,father1 is most common in all his writings4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bia7 ,now1 when ,justin speaks of holding ,christ in the ,second ,place1 he does no more nor less than any ,trinitarian ,christian of the present day1 when such an one speaks of the ,son as the ,second ,person of the ,trinity1 and as the only begotten ,son and the ,word of the ,father4 ,when we speak of ,him as being the ,second ,person1 we necessarily rank ,him in the second place in point of numerical order4 ,when we speak of ,him as being the ,son1 we naturally place ,him as1 in the order of conception1 second to1 or after1 ,him that begat ,him2 #id3a and1 when we speak of ,him as the ,word1 we also place ,him in order of conception as after ,him ,who utters or gives forth the ,word4 ,justin says no more than this in any expression which he uses4 ,when he speaks of the ,father as the unbegotten ,god1 and the ,son as the ,begotten ,god1 he does no more than the most uncompromising believer in the doctrine of the ever-blessed ,trinity in the present day does1 when1 in the words of the ,creed of ,st4 ,athanasius1 that believer confesses that ,the ,father is made of none1 neither created nor begotten4 ,the ,son is of the ,father alone1 neither made1 nor created1 but begotten4 ,but we have not now so much to do with the orthodoxy of ,justin as with the question as to whether his doctrine is anterior to ,st4 ,john's1 as being less decided in its assertions of our ,lord's equality4 ,now there are no words in ,justin on the side of our ,lord's subordination at all equal to the words of ,christ as given in ,st4 ,john1 ,my ,father is greater than ,i4 ,the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john is pervaded by two great truths which underlie every part1 and are the necessary complements of one another2 these are1 the perfect equality or identity of the nature of the ,son with that of the ,father1 because ,he is the true begotten ,son of ,his ,father2 and the perfect submission of the ,will of the ,son to that of the ,father because ,he is ,his ,father4 ,the former appears in such assertions as ,the ,word was with ,god1 ,the ,word was ,god1 ,my ,lord and ,my ,god1 ,i and the ,father are one1 ,he that hath seen ,me hath seen the ,father1 ,the glory which ,i had with ,thee before the world was1 ,all things that the ,father hath are mine1 c4 ,the latter is inherent in the idea of perfect ,sonship1 and is asserted in such statements as ,god gave ,his only begotten ,son 7iii4 #af74 ,the ,father loveth the ,son1 and hath given all things into ,his hands 7iii4 #ce74 ,the ,son can do nothing of ,himself 7v4 #ai74 ,the ,father loveth the ,son1 and showeth ,him all things that ,himself doeth 7v4 #bj74 ,the ,father hath given to the ,son to have life in ,himself 7v4 #bf74 ,the ,father hath given ,him authority to execute judgment also 7v4 #bg74 ,i seek not mine own will1 but the will of the ,father 7v4 #cj74 ,the works which the ,father hath given me to finish 7v4 #cf74 ,i am come in my ,father's name 7v4 #dc74 ,him the ,son of ,man hath ,god the ,father sealed 7vi4 #bg74 ,i live by the ,father 7v4 #eg74 ,my doctrine is not mine1 but ,his that sent me 7vii4 #af74 ,he that seeketh ,his glory that sent ,him1 the same is true 7vii4 #ah74 ,i am from ,him1 and ,he hath sent me 7vii4 #bi74 ,i do nothing of myself1 but as my ,father hath taught me1 ,i speak these things 7viii4 #bh74 ,neither came ,i of myself1 but ,he sent me 7viii4 #db74 ,i have power to take it my life again2 this commandment have ,i received of my ,father 7x4 #ah74 ,my ,father1 which gave them me1 is greater than all 7x4 #bi74 ,i have kept my ,father's commandments1 and abide in ,his love 7xv4 #aj74 ,i have read ,justin carefully for the purpose of marking every expression in his writings bearing upon the relations of the ,son to the ,father1 and ,i find none so strongly expressing subordination as these1 and the declarations of this kind in the works of ,justin are nothing like so numerous as they are in the short ,gospel of ,st4 ,john4 ,the reader who knows anything about the history of ,christian doctrine will see at a glance how impossible it would have been for a ,gospel ascribing these expressions to ,jesus to have been received by the ,christian ,church long before ,justin's time1 except that ,gospel had been fully authenticated as the work of the last surviving ,apostle4 ,,section ,,xvii4 ,,justin ,,and ,,philo4 ,the writer of ,supernatural ,religion asserts that ,justin derived his ,logos doctrine from ,philo1 and also that his doctrine was identical with that of ,philo and opposed to that of ,st4 ,john4 ,but respecting this assertion two questions may be asked4 ,from whom did ,philo derive his doctrine of the ,logos8 and ,from whom did ,justin derive his identification of the ,logos with ,jesus8 ,the ,christian1 all whose conceptions of salvation rest ultimately upon the truth that ,the ,word was ,god1 believes 7if1 that is1 he has any knowledge of the history of human thought71 that ,god prepared men for the reception of so momentous a truth long before that truth was fully revealed4 ,he believes that ,god prepared the ,gentiles for the reception of this truth by familiarizing them with some idea of the ,logos through the speculations of ,plato2 and he also believes that ,god prepared ,his chosen people for receiving the same truth by such means as the personification of ,wisdom in the book of ,proverbs1 and in the ,apocryphal moral books1 and1 above all1 by the identification of the active presence and power of ,god with the ,meymera or ,word1 as set forth in the ,chaldee paraphrases4 ,both these lines of thought seem to have coalesced and to have reached their full development 7so far as they could1 at least1 apart from ,christianity7 in ,alexandrian ,judaism1 which is principally known to us in the pages of ,philo2 but how much of ,philo's own speculation is contained in the extracts from his writings given by the author of ,supernatural ,religion it is impossible to say1 as we know very little of the ,alexandrian ,jewish literature except from him4 ,he seems1 however1 to write as if what he enunciated was commonly known and accepted by those for whom he wrote4 ,there are two reasons which make me think that ,justin1 if he derived any part of his ,logos doctrines from ,alexandrian sources 7which ,i much doubt71 derived them from writings or traditions to which ,philo1 equally with himself1 was indebted4 ,one is that1 in his ,dialogue with ,trypho1 a ,jew1 he never mentions ,philo1 whose name would have been a tower of strength to him in disputing with a ,jew1 and convincing him that there might be another ,person ,who might be rightly called ,god besides the ,father4 ,surely if ,justin had known that ,philo had spoken of ,god ,appointing ,his true ,logos1 his first begotten ,son1 to have the care of this sacred flock as the substitute of the great ,king 7quoted in p4 #bgd72 and that-- ,the most ancient ,word is the image of ,god 7p4 #bgd72 and that ,the ,word is the image of ,god by which the whole world was created 7p4 #bge72 surely1 ,i say1 he would have used the name of one who had been in his day such a champion of the ,jewish people1 and had suffered such insults from ,caligula on their account4 #ajj3a ,nothing seems more appropriate for the conversion of ,trypho than many of the extracts from ,philo given by the author of ,supernatural ,religion4 ,herein1 too1 in this matter of ,philo and ,justin1 the author of ,supernatural ,religion betrays his surprising inconsistency and refutes himself4 ,he desires it to be inferred that ,justin need not have seen--probably had not seen1 even one of our present ,gospels1 because he does not name the authors1 though there is abundant reason why the names of four authors of the ,memoirs should not be paraded before unbelievers as suggesting differences in the testimony2 whereas it would have been the greatest assistance to him in his argument with ,trypho to have named ,philo2 and he does not4 ,we would not infer from this1 as the author of ,supernatural ,religion does most absurdly in parallel cases1 that ,justin knew nothing of ,philo2 had not even seen his books1 and need not have heard of him2 but we must gather from it that ,justin did not associate the name of ,philo with the ,logos doctrine in its most advanced stage of development4 ,many other facts tend to show that ,justin made little or no use of ,philo4 ,in the extracts given by the author of ,supernatural ,religion from ,philo1 all culled out to serve his purpose1 the reader will notice many words and phrases foreign to ,justin2 for instance1 ,greek3 deuteros ,theos1 organon de ,logon ,theou1 di' hou sympas ho kosmos edmiourgeito4 ,more particularly the reader will notice that such adjectives as ,greek3 orthos1 hieros 7hiertatos7 and ,greek3 presbys 7presbytatos7 are applied to the ,word in the short extracts from ,philo given by the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 which are never applied to the ,second ,person of the ,trinity in ,justin4 ,in fact1 though there are some slight resemblances1 the terminology of ,philo is1 to use the words of ,supernatural ,religion1 totally different from and opposed to that of ,justin1 and the more closely it is examined1 the more clearly it will be seen that ,justin cannot have derived his ,logos doctrine from ,philo4 ,the other question is1 from whom did ,justin derive his identification of the ,logos with ,jesus8 ,not from ,philo1 certainly4 ,we have shown above how ,st4 ,john lays down with authority the identity of the ,logos with the pre-existent ,divine ,nature of ,jesus1 not in long1 elaborate1 carefully reasoned philosophical dissertation1 but in four short1 clear1 decisive enunciations4 ,in the beginning was the ,word--,the ,word was with ,god--,the ,word was ,god--,the ,word was made flesh4 ,we have seen how these were the manifest germs of ,justin's teaching4 ,now1 if at the time when ,justin wrote the ,fourth ,gospel1 as we shall shortly prove1 must have been in use in the ,church in every part of the world1 why should ,justin be supposed to derive from ,philo a truth which he1 being a ,jew1 would repudiate8 ,justin himself most certainly was not the first to identify the ,logos with ,jesus4 ,the identification was asserted long before in the ,apocalypse1 which the author of ,supernatural ,religion shows to have been written about ,a4,d4 #gj1 or so4 ,in fact1 he ascertains its date to a few weeks4 ,supposing1 then1 that the ,apocalypse was anterior to ,st4 ,john1 on whose lines1 so to speak1 does ,justin develope the ,logos doctrine8 ,most assuredly not on ,philo's lines 7for his whole terminology essentially differs from that of the ,alexandrian71 but on the lines of the fourth ,gospel1 and on no other4 ,let the reader turn to some extracts which the author of ,supernatural ,religion gives out of ,philo4 ,in p4 #bfe1 he gives some very striking passages indeed1 in which ,philo speaks of the ,logos as the ,bread from heaven3-- ,he is 'the substitute 7,greek3 hyparchos7 of ,god1' 'the heavenly incorruptible food of the soul1' 'the bread from heaven4' ,in one place he says1 'and they who inquire what nourishes the soul 444 learnt at last that it is the ,word of ,god1 and the ,divine ,reason' 444 ,this is the heavenly nourishment to which the ,holy ,scripture refers 444 saying1 ',lo ,i rain upon you bread 7,greek3 artos7 from heaven' 7,exod4 xvi4 #d74 ',this is the bread 7,greek3 artos7 which the ,lord has given them to eat4' 7,exod4 xvi4 #ae7 ,and again3-- ,for the one indeed raises his eyes to the sky1 perceiving the ,manna1 the ,divine ,word1 the heavenly incorruptible food of the longing soul4 ,elsewhere 444 but it is taught by the initiating priest and prophet ,moses1 who declares1 ',this is the bread 7,greek3 artos71 the nourishment which ,god has given to the soul4' ,his own ,reason and ,his own ,word which ,he has offered2 for this bread 7,greek3 artos7 which ,he has given us to eat is ,reason4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bfe47 ,now the ,fourth ,gospel also makes ,jesus speak of ,himself as the ,bread of ,life1 and given by the ,father2 but what is the bread defined by ,jesus ,himself to be8 ,not a mere intellectual apprehension1 i4e4 ,reason1 as ,philo asserts2 but the very opposite1 no other than ,his ,flesh2 the product of ,his ,incarnation4 ,the bread that ,i will give is ,my ,flesh1 and ,he adds to it ,his ,blood4 ,except ye eat the ,flesh of the ,son of ,man and drink ,his ,blood1 ye have no life in you4 ,now this also ,justin reproduces1 not after the conception of ,philo1 which is but a natural conception1 but after the conception of ,jesus in the ,fourth ,gospel1 which is an infinitely mysterious and supernatural one4 ,in like manner as ,jesus ,christ our ,saviour1 having been made flesh by the ,word of ,god1 had both flesh and blood for our ,salvation1 so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of ,his ,word1 and from which our blood and flesh are by transmutation nourished is the ,flesh and ,blood of that ,jesus ,who was made flesh4 7,apol4 ,i4 ch4 lxvi47 ,i trust the reader will acquit me1 in making this quotation1 of any desire to enunciate any ,eucharistic theory of the presence of ,christ's ,flesh in the ,eucharist4 ,all ,i have to do with is the simple fact that both ,philo and ,st4 ,john speak of the ,word as the ,bread of ,life2 but ,philo explains that bread to be reason1 and ,st4 ,john makes our ,lord to set it forth as ,his ,flesh1 and ,justin takes no notice of the idea of ,philo1 and reproduces the idea of the fourth ,gospel4 ,and yet we are to be told that ,justin knew nothing of the ,fourth ,gospel1 and that his ,logos doctrine was identical with that of ,philo4 ,,section ,,xviii4 ,,discrepancies ,,between ,,st4 ,,john ,,and ,,the ,,synoptics4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion devotes a large portion of his second volume to setting forth the discrepancies1 real or alleged1 between the ,synoptics and the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,in many of these remarks he seems to me to betray extraordinary ignorance of the mere contents of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,i shall notice two or three remarkable misconceptions2 but1 before doing this1 ,i desire to call the reader's attention to the only inference respecting the authorship of this ,gospel which can be drawn from these discrepancies4 ,st4 ,john's ,gospel is undoubtedly the last ,gospel published2 in fact1 the last work of the sacred canon4 ,the more patent1 then1 the differences between ,st4 ,john and the ,synoptics1 the more difficult it is to believe that a ,gospel1 containing subject-matter so different from the works already accepted as giving a true account of ,christ1 should have been accepted by the whole ,church at so comparatively recent a date1 unless that ,church had every reason for believing that it was the work of the last surviving ,apostle4 ,take1 for instance1 the apparent differences between ,st4 ,john and the ,synoptics respecting the scene of our ,lord's ministry1 the character of ,his discourses1 the miracles ascribed to ,him1 and the day of ,his ,crucifixion1 or rather of ,his partaking of the ,paschal feast4 ,the most ignorant and unobservant would notice these differences2 and the more labour required to reconcile the statements or representations of the last ,gospel with the three preceding ones1 the more certain it is that none would have ventured to put forth a document containing such differences except an ,apostle who1 being the last surviving one1 might be said to inherit the prestige and authority of the whole college4 ,it would far exceed the limits which ,i have prescribed to myself to examine the ,fourth ,gospel with the view of reconciling the discrepancies between it and the ,synoptics1 and also of bringing out the numberless undesigned coincidences between the earlier and the later account1 of which the writer of ,supernatural ,religion1 led away by his usual dogmatic prejudices1 has taken not the smallest notice4 ,the reader will find this very ably treated in ,mr4 ,sanday's ,authorship of the ,fourth ,gospel 7,macmillan74 ,my object at present is of a far humbler nature1 simply to show the utter untrustworthiness of some of the most confidently asserted statements of the writer of ,supernatural ,religion4 ,i shall take two3 #a4 ,the difference between ,christ's mode of teaching and the structure of ,his discourses1 as represented by ,st4 ,john and the ,synoptics respectively4 #b4 ,the intellectual impossibility that ,st4 ,john should have written the ,fourth ,gospel4 #a4 ,respecting the difference of ,christ's mode of teaching as recorded in ,st4 ,john and in the ,synoptics1 he remarks3-- ,it is impossible that ,jesus can have had two such diametrically opposed systems of teaching2 one purely moral1 the other wholly dogmatic2 one expressed in wonderfully terse1 clear1 brief sayings and parables1 the other in long1 involved1 and diffuse discourses2 one clothed in the great language of humanity1 the other concealed in obscure1 philosophic terminology2 and that these should have been kept so distinct as they are in the ,synoptics1 on the one hand1 and the ,fourth ,gospel on the other4 ,the tradition of ,justin ,martyr applies solely to the system of the ,synoptics1 ',brief and concise were the sentences uttered by ,him3 for ,he was no ,sophist1 but ,his word was the power of ,god4' #ajf3a 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #dfh7 ,to take the first of those assertions4 ,so far from its being impossible that ,jesus can have had two such diametrically opposite modes of teaching1 it is not only possible1 but we have undeniable proof of the fact in that remarkable saying of ,christ recorded by both ,st4 ,matthew and ,st4 ,luke3 ,all things are delivered unto ,me of ,my ,father1 and no man knoweth the ,son1 but the ,father2 neither knoweth any man the ,father1 save the ,son1 and he to whomsoever the ,son will reveal ,him4 7,matth4 xi4 #bg74 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion has studied the letter of this passage very carefully1 for he devotes no less than ten pages to a minute examination of the supposed quotations of it in ,justin and other ,fathers 7vol4 i4 pp4 #djb-dab72 but he does not draw attention to the fact that it is conceived in the spirit and expressed in the terms of the ,fourth ,gospel1 and totally unlike the general style of the discourses in the ,synoptics4 #ajg3a ,the ,fourth ,gospel shows us that such words as these1 almost unique in the ,synoptics1 are not the only words uttered in a style so different from the usual teaching of our ,lord--that at times1 when ,he was on the theme of ,his relations to ,his ,father1 ,he adopted other diction more suited to the nature of the deeper truths ,he was enunciating4 ,then take the second assertion3-- ,one system expressed in wonderfully terse1 clear1 brief sayings and parables1 the other in long1 involved1 and diffuse discourses4 ,again3-- ,the description which ,justin gives of the manner of teaching of ,jesus excludes the idea that he knew the ,fourth ,gospel4 ',brief and concise were the sentences uttered by ,him1 for ,he was no ,sophist1 but ,his word was the power of ,god4' 7,apol4 ,i4 #ad7 ,no one could for a moment assert that this description applies to the long and artificial discourses of the ,fourth ,gospel1 whilst1 on the other hand1 it eminently describes the style of teaching with which we are acquainted in the ,synoptics1 with which the ,gospel according to the ,hebrews1 in all its forms1 was so closely allied4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #cae7 ,now ,i assert1 and the reader can with very little trouble verify the truth of the assertion1 that the mode of our ,lord's teaching1 as set forth in ,st4 ,john1 is more terse1 axiomatic1 and sententious--more in accordance with these words of ,justin1 brief and concise were the sentences uttered by ,him1 than it appears in the ,synoptics4 ,to advert for a moment to the mere length of the discourses4 ,the ,sermon on the ,mount is considerably longer than the longest discourse in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel 7viz41 that occupying chapters xiv41 xv41 xvi474 ,this is the only unbroken discourse of any length in this ,gospel4 ,the others1 viz41 those with ,nicodemus1 with the woman at ,sychem1 with the ,jews in the ,temple1 and the one in the ,synagogue at ,capernaum1 are much shorter than many in the ,synoptics1 and none of them are continuous discourses1 but rather conversations4 ,and1 with respect to the composition1 those in ,st4 ,john are mainly made up of short1 terse1 axiomatic deliverances just such as ,justin describes4 ,take1 for instance1 the sentences in the sixth chapter3-- ,i am the bread of life4 ,he that believeth on me hath everlasting life4 ,i am that bread of life4 ,this is the bread that cometh down from heaven1 that a man should eat thereof and not die4 ,my flesh is meat indeed1 and my blood is drink indeed4 ,it is the spirit that quickeneth1 the flesh profiteth nothing4 ,and those in the tenth3-- ,i am the door of the sheep4 ,i am the good shepherd3 the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep4 ,i am the good shepherd1 and know my sheep1 and am known of mine4 ,then1 if we compare parables1 the passage in the ,fourth ,gospel most resembling a parable1 viz41 the similitude of the ,vine and the branches1 is made up of detached sentences more terse and concise than those of most parables in the ,synoptics4 ,the discourses in ,st4 ,john are upon subjects very distasteful to the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 and he loses no opportunity of expressing his dislike to them2 but it is a gross misrepresentation to say that the instruction1 whatever it be1 is conveyed in other than sentences as simple1 terse1 and concise as those of the ,synoptics1 though the subject-matter is different4 ,we will now proceed to the last assertion3-- ,one system of teaching clothed in the great language of humanity1 the other concealed in obscure philosophic terminology4 ,what can this writer mean by the philosophic terminology of our ,lord's sayings as reported in the ,fourth ,gospel8 ,if the use of the term ,logos be philosophic terminology1 it is confined to four sentences2 and these not the words of ,jesus ,himself1 but of the ,evangelist4 ,i do not remember throughout the rest of the ,gospel a single sentence which can be properly called philosophical4 ,the author must confound philosophical with mysterious4 ,each and every discourse in the fourth ,gospel is upon1 or leads to1 some deep mystery2 but that mystery is in no case set forth in philosophical1 but in what the author of ,supernatural ,religion calls the great language of humanity4 ,take the most mysterious by far of all the enunciations in ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1 ,except ye eat the flesh of the ,son of ,man1 and drink ,his ,blood1 ye have no life in you4 ,what are the words of which this sentence is composed8 ,eat1 flesh1 blood1 ,son of man1 life4 ,are not these the commonest words of daily life8 but1 then1 their use and association here is the very thing which constitutes the mystery4 ,again1 take the salient words of each discourse--,except a man be born again--be born of water and of the ,spirit4 ,whosoever drinketh of the water that ,i shall give him shall never thirst4 ,as the ,father hath life in ,himself1 so hath ,he given to the ,son to have life in ,himself4 ,all that are in the graves shall hear ,his voice and shall come forth4 ,the bread that ,i will give is ,my flesh4 ,if ye believe not that ,i am ,he1 ye shall die in your sins4 ,as the ,father knoweth ,me1 even so know ,i the ,father4 ,i am the ,resurrection and the ,life4 ,whatsoever ye shall ask in ,my name1 that will ,i do4 ,if ,i go not away1 the ,comforter will not come unto you but3 if ,i depart1 ,i will send ,him unto you4 ,it is the deepest of all mysteries that one in flesh and blood can say such things of ,himself2 but it is a perversion of language to speak of these sayings as philosophical terminology4 ,they are in a different sphere from all more human philosophy1 and1 indeed1 are opposed to every form of it4 ,philosophy herself requires a new birth before she can so much as see them4 ,i must recur1 however1 to the author's first remark1 in which he characterizes the discourses of the ,synoptics as purely moral1 and those of ,st4 ,john as wholly dogmatic4 ,this is by no means true4 ,the discourses in the ,synoptics are on moral subjects1 but they continually make dogmatic assertions or implications as pronounced as those in the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,in the ,sermon on the ,mount1 for instance1 the preacher authoritatively adds to and modifies the teaching of the very ,decalogue itself4 ,ye have heard that it was said ,,to them of old time 7for so ,greek3 errheth tois archaiois must properly be translated72 but ,i say unto you4 ,again1 ,jesus assumes in the same discourse to be the ,object of worship and the ,judge of quick and dead1 and that ,his recognition is salvation itself1 when ,he says1 ,not every one that saith unto ,me ,lord1 ,lord1 shall enter1 c4 ,many shall say to me in that day1 ,lord1 ,lord1 c41 then will ,i profess unto them1 ,i never knew you1 depart from me all ye that work iniquity4 ,take the following expressions out of a number of similar ones in ,st4 ,matthew3-- ,i will make you 7ignorant fishermen7 fishers of men 7implying1 ,i will give you power over souls such as no philosopher or leader of men has had before you74 7iv4 #ba47 ,blessed are ye when men shall persecute you for ,my sake4 7v4 #aa47 ,if they have called the master of the house 7i4e4 ,jesus7 ,beelzebub1 how much wore shall they call them of ,his household4 7x4 #be47 ,he that loveth father or mother more than ,me is not worthy of me 7so that the holiest of human ties are to give way to ,his personal demands on the human heart74 7x4 #cg47 ,he that loseth his life for ,my sake shall find it4 7x4 #ci7 ,no man knoweth the ,son1 but the ,father4 7xi4 #bg47 ,in this place is ,one greater than the temple4 7xii4 #f47 ,the ,son of man is ,lord even of the ,sabbath ,day4 7xii4 #h47 ,in ,his 7,christ's7 ,name shall the ,gentiles trust4 7xii4 #ba47 ,in the time of harvest ,i will say to the reapers1 i4e4 the angels4 7xiii4 #cj47 ,the ,son of man shall send forth his angels4 7xiii4 #da47 ,i will give unto ,thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven4 7xvi4 #ai47 ,where two or three are gathered together in ,my ,name there am ,i in the midst of them4 7xviii4 #ba47 ,he1 ,god1 sent ,his servants--,he sent other servants--,last of all ,he sent unto them ,his ,son1 saying1 they will reverence ,my ,son4 7xxi4 #cg47 ,these places assert1 by implication1 the highest dogma respecting the ,person of ,christ4 ,who is ,he ,who has such power in heaven and earth that ,he commands the angels in heaven1 and gives the keys of the kingdom of ,god to ,his servant on earth8 ,what ,son is this ,whom none but the ,father knoweth1 and ,who alone knoweth the ,father1 and ,who reveals the ,father to whomsoever ,he will8 ,what ,son is this compared with ,whom such saints as ,moses1 ,david1 ,elijah1 ,isaiah1 and ,daniel are servants8 ,those dogmatic assertions of the first ,gospel suggest the question2 and the ,fourth ,gospel gives the full and perfect answer--that ,he is the ,word with ,god1 that ,he is ,god1 and the ,only-begotten of the ,father4 ,the ,epistles assume the answer where one speaks of ,jesus1 who1 being in the form of ,god1 thought it not a thing to be tenaciously grasped to be equal with ,god1 and another speaks of ,god's own ,son1 and another compares ,moses the servant with ,christ the ,son2 but the fullest revelation is reserved to the last ,gospel4 ,and herein the order of ,god's dealings is observed1 ,who gives the lesser revelation to prepare for the fuller and more perfect4 ,the design of the ,gospel is to restore men to the image of ,god by revealing to them ,god ,himself4 ,but1 before this can be done1 they must be taught what goodness is1 their very moral sense must be renewed4 ,hence the moral discourses of the ,synoptics4 ,till this foundation is laid1 first in the world1 and then in the soul1 the ,gospel has nothing to lay hold of and to work upon2 so it was laid first in the ,sermon on the ,mount1 which1 far beyond all other teaching1 stops every mouth and brings in all the world guilty before ,god2 and then the way is prepared for fuller revelations1 such as that of the ,atonement by the ,death of ,christ as set forth in the ,epistles of ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul1 and the revelation culminates in the knowledge of the ,father and the ,son in the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,with respect to the assertion of the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 that the discourses in this ,gospel are1 as compared with those in the ,synoptics1 wholly dogmatic1 as opposed to moral1 the reader may judge of the truth of this by the following sayings of the ,fourth ,gospel3-- ,every one that doeth evil hateth the light4 ,he that doeth truth cometh to the light4 ,god is a ,spirit1 and they who worship ,him must worship ,him in spirit and in truth4 ,they that have done good shall come forth to the ,resurrection of ,life4 ,how can ye believe who receive honour one of another1 and seek not the honour that cometh of ,god only8 ,if any man will do ,his will1 he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of ,god4 ,the truth shall make you free1 coupled with ,whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin4 ,if ,i your ,lord and ,master have washed your feet1 ye ought also to wash one another's feet4 ,a new commandment ,i give unto you1 that ye love one another as ,i have loved you4 ,he that hath ,my commandments and keepeth them1 he it is that loveth ,me4 ,these sayings1 the reader will perceive1 embody the deepest and highest moral teaching conceivable4 ,one more point remains to be considered--the impossibility that ,st4 ,john1 taking into account his education and intellect1 should have been the author of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,this is stated in the following passage3-- ,the philosophical statements with which the ,gospel commences1 it will be admitted1 are anything but characteristic of the son of thunder1 the ignorant and unlearned fisherman of ,galilee1 who1 to a comparatively late period of life1 continued preaching in his native country to his brethren of the circumcision4444 ,in the ,alexandrian philosophy1 everything was prepared for the final application of the doctrine1 and nothing is more clear than the fact that the writer of the ,fourth ,gospel was well acquainted with the teaching of the ,alexandrian school1 from which he derived his philosophy1 and its elaborate and systematic application to ,jesus alone indicates a late development of ,christian doctrine1 which1 we maintain1 could not have been attained by the ,judaistic son of ,zebedee4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #dae7 ,again1 in the preceding page3-- ,now1 although there is no certain information as to the time when1 if ever1 the ,apostle removed into ,asia ,minor1 it is pretty certain that he did not leave ,palestine before ,a4,d4 #fj4 444 ,if we consider the ,apocalypse to be his work1 we find positive evidence of such markedly different thought and language actually existing when the ,apostle must have been at least sixty or seventy years of age1 that it is quite impossible to conceive that he could have subsequently acquired the language and mental characteristics of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,this1 though written principally with reference to the diction1 applies still more to the philosophy of the author of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,and1 indeed1 from his using the words mental characteristics1 we have no doubt that he desires such an application4 ,now1 what are the facts8 ,we must assume that ,st4 ,john1 though unlearned and ignorant1 compared with the leaders of the ,jewish commonwealth1 at the commencement of his thirty years' sojourn in the ,jewish capital1 was a man of average intellect4 ,here1 then1 we have a member of a sect more aggressive than any before known in the promulgation of its opinions1 taking the lead in the teaching and defence of these opinions in a city to which the ,jews of all nationalities resorted periodically to keep the great feasts4 ,if the holding of any position would sharpen a man's natural intellect and give him a power over words1 and a mental grasp of ideas to which in youth he had been a stranger1 that position would be the leading one he held in the ,church of such a city as ,jerusalem4 ,in the course of the thirty years which1 according to the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 he lived there1 he must have constantly had intercourse with ,alexandrian ,jews and ,christians4 ,it is as probable as not that during this period he had had converse with ,philo himself1 for the distance between ,jerusalem and ,alexandria was comparatively trifling4 ,at ,pentecost there were present ,jews and proselytes from ,egypt and the parts of ,libya about ,cyrene4 ,there was also a ,synagogue of the ,alexandrians4 ,now ,i assert that a few hours' conversation with any ,alexandrian ,jew1 or with any ,christian convert from ,alexandrian ,judaism1 would have1 humanly speaking1 enabled the ,apostle1 even if he knew not a word of the doctrine before1 to write the four sentences in which are contained the whole ,logos expression of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,st4 ,john must have been familiar with the teaching of traditional interpretation respecting the ,meymera as contained in the ,chaldee paraphrases2 indeed1 the more unlearned and ignorant he was1 the more he must have relied upon the ,chaldee paraphrases for the knowledge of the ,old ,testament1 the ,hebrew having been for centuries a dead language4 ,we have a ,chaldee paraphrase of great antiquity on so early and familiar a chapter as the third of ,genesis1 explaining the voice of the ,lord ,god by the voice of the ,meymera1 or ,word of the ,lord ,god 7,genesis iii474 ,the natural rendering of this word into ,greek would be ,logos4 ,i repeat1 then1 that1 humanly speaking1 if he had never entertained the idea before1 a very short conversation with an ,alexandrian ,jew would have furnished him with all the philosophy required to make the four statements in which he simply identifies the ,logos with the ,divine ,nature of his ,lord4 ,of course1 ,i do not for a moment believe that the ,apostle was enabled to write the exordium of his ,gospel by any such inspiration4 ,there is not a more direct utterance of the ,holy ,spirit in all ,scripture than that which we have in the prelude to the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,but in the eyes of a ,christian the grace of the ,holy ,spirit is shown in the power and explicitness1 and above all in the simplicity of the assertions which identify the human conception1 if such it can be called1 of ,platonism1 or ,judaism1 with the highest divine truth4 ,i believe that if the ,apostle wrote those sentences at the time handed down by the ,church's tradition1 that is1 when ,cerinthian and other heresies respecting our ,lord's nature were beginning to be felt1 the power of the ,holy ,spirit was put forth to restrict him to these few simple utterances1 and to restrain his human intellect from overloading them with philosophical or controversial applications of them1 which would have marred their simplicity and diminished their power4 #aag3a ,,section ,,xix4 ,,external ,,proofs ,,of ,,the ,,authenticity ,,of ,,our ,,four ,,gospels4 ,we have now shown that ,justin ,martyr1 the principal witness brought forward by the author of ,supernatural ,religion to discredit the ,four ,evangelists1 either made use of the very books which we now possess1 or books which contain exactly the same information respecting our ,lord's miraculous ,birth1 ,death1 ,resurrection1 and moral teaching4 ,we have seen1 also1 that ,justin gives us1 along with the teaching of the ,synoptics1 that peculiar teaching respecting the pre-existent ,divine nature of ,jesus which1 as far as can be ascertained1 was to be found only in the ,fourth ,gospel1 and which is consequently called ,johannean2 and that1 besides this1 he refers to the history1 and adopts the language1 and urges the arguments which are to be found only in ,st4 ,john4 ,we have also shown that there are no internal considerations whatsoever for supposing that ,justin did not make use of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,instead1 for instance1 of the doctrine of ,st4 ,john being a development of that held by ,justin ,martyr1 the facts of the case all point to the contrary4 ,we must now see whether there is external evidence which makes it not only probable1 but as certain as any fact in literary history can be1 that ,justin must have known and made use of our present ,evangelists2 that if he was a teacher in such an acknowledged centre of ecclesiastical information or tradition as ,rome1 and appears to quote our ,gospels 7with no matter what minor variations and inaccuracies71 he did actually quote the same and no other2 and if his inaccuracies1 and discrepancies1 and omissions of what we suppose he ought to have mentioned1 were doubled or trebled1 it would still be as certain as any fact of such a nature can be1 that he quoted the ,four ,evangelists1 because they must have been read and commented on in his day and in his church as the ,memoirs of the ,apostles1 which took their place by the side of the prophets of the ,old ,testament in the public instruction of the ,church4 ,in order to this ,i shall have to examine the external evidence for the ,canon of the ,new ,testament--so far1 that is1 as the ,four ,gospels are concerned4 ,in doing this ,i shall not take the usual method of tracing the evidence for the various books in question downwards from the ,apostolic time--the reader will find this treated exhaustively in ,dr4 ,westcott on the ,canon--but ,i shall trace it upwards1 beginning at a time at which there cannot be the smallest doubt that the ,new ,testament was exactly the same as that which we now possess4 ,for this purpose ,i shall take the ,ecclesiastical ,history of ,eusebius as the starting-point4 ,the reader is1 of course1 aware that he is the earliest ecclesiastical writer whose history has come down to us1 the historians who wrote before his time being principally known to us through fragments preserved in his book4 ,he was born of ,christian parents about the year ,a4,d4 #bgj1 and died about #cdj4 ,he probably wrote his history about or before the year #cbe4 ,the reader1 though he may not have read his history1 will be aware1 from the quotations from it in ,supernatural ,religion1 that ,eusebius carefully investigated the history of the ,canon of ,scripture1 and also the succession of ecclesiastical writers4 ,his history is1 in fact1 to a great extent1 a sketch of early ,church literature4 ,in dealing with the history of the ,canon1 he particularly notices whether a large number of writers have quoted certain books of ,scripture1 of whose acceptance by the whole ,church doubts were entertained4 ,this is important1 as it shows that not only himself1 but the ,church1 during the three ages whose history he has recorded1 did not receive books of ,scripture except upon what they deemed to be sufficient evidence1 and that evidence was the reception of each book from ,apostolic times by the whole ,church4 ,i will now give the testimony of ,eusebius to the authenticity of the ,four ,gospels4 ,first of all he describes the origin of the ,gospel of ,st4 ,mark in the following words3-- ,so greatly1 however1 did the splendour of piety enlighten the minds of ,peter's hearers1 that it was not sufficient to hear but once1 nor to receive the unwritten doctrine of the ,gospel of ,god1 but they persevered1 in every variety of entreaties1 to solicit ,mark as the companion of ,peter1 and whose ,gospel we have1 that he should leave them a monument of the doctrine thus orally communicated1 in writing4 ,nor did they cease with their solicitations until they had prevailed with the man1 and thus become the means of that history which is called the ,gospel according to ,mark4 ,they say also1 that the ,apostle 7,peter71 having ascertained what was done by the revelation of the ,spirit1 was delighted with the zealous ardour expressed by these men1 and that the history obtained his authority for the purpose of being read in the ,churches4 ,this account is given by ,clement in the ,sixth ,book of his ,institutions1 whose testimony also is corroborated by that of ,papias1 ,bishop of ,hierapolis4 7,bk4 ii4 chap4 xv4 ,crus's translation47 ,this is narrated as having taken place in the reign of ,claudius1 i4e41 between ,a4,d4 #da and ,a4,d4 #ed4 ,the next ,gospel whose origin he describes is that of ,st4 ,luke1 in the following words3-- ,but ,luke1 who was born at ,antioch1 and by profession a physician1 being for the most part connected with ,paul1 and familiarly acquainted with the rest of the ,apostles1 has left us two inspired books1 the institutes of that spiritual healing art which he obtained from them4 ,one of these is his ,gospel1 in which he testifies that he has recorded1 'as those who were from the beginning eye-witnesses and ministers of the word1' delivered to him1 whom also1 he says1 he has in all things followed4 ,the other is his ,acts of the ,apostles1 which he composed1 not from what he had heard from others1 but from what he had seen himself4 ,it is also said that ,paul usually referred to his ,gospel1 whenever in his ,epistles he spoke of some particular ,gospel of his own1 saying1 'according to my ,gospel4' 7,bk4 iii4 ch4 iv4 ,crus's translation47 ,further on1 he describes the publication of the ,first and ,fourth ,gospels1 thus3-- ,of all the disciples1 ,matthew and ,john are the only ones that have left us recorded comments1 and even they1 tradition says1 undertook it from necessity4 ,matthew also1 having first proclaimed the ,gospel in ,hebrew1 when on the point of going also to other nations1 committed it to writing in his native tongue1 and thus supplied the want of his presence to them by his writings4 ,but after ,mark and ,luke had already published their ,gospels they say that ,john1 who1 during all this time1 was proclaiming the ,gospel without writing1 at length proceeded to write it on the following occasion4 ,the three ,gospels previously written had been distributed among all1 and also handed to him2 they say that he admitted them1 giving his testimony to their truth2 but that there was only wanting in the narrative the account of the things done by ,christ among the first of ,his deeds1 and at the commencement of the ,gospel4 ,and this was the truth4 ,for it is evident that the other three ,evangelists only wrote the deeds of our ,lord for one year after the imprisonment of ,john the ,baptist1 and intimated this in the very beginning of their history4 ,for after the fasting of forty days1 and the consequent temptation1 ,matthew indeed specifies the time of his history in these words1 ',but1 hearing that ,john was delivered up1 he returned from ,judea into ,galilee4' ,mark in like manner writes3 ',but1 after ,john was delivered up1 ,jesus came into ,galilee4' ,and ,luke1 before he commenced the deeds of ,jesus1 in much the same way designates the time1 saying1 ',herod thus added this wickedness above all he had committed1 and that he shut up ,john in prison4' ,for these reasons the ,apostle ,john1 it is said1 being entreated to undertake it1 wrote the account of the time not recorded by the former ,evangelists1 and the deeds done by our ,saviour1 which they have passed by 7for these were the events that occurred before the imprisonment of ,john71 and this very fact is intimated by him when he says1 ',this beginning of miracles ,jesus made1' and then proceeds to make mention of the ,baptist1 in the midst of our ,lord's deeds1 as ,john was at that time 'baptizing at ,aenon1 near to ,salim4' ,he plainly also shows this in the words1 ',john was not yet cast into prison4' ,the ,apostle1 therefore1 in his ,gospel1 gives the deeds of ,jesus before the ,baptist was cast into prison1 but the other three ,evangelists mention the circumstances after that event1 c4 7,bk4 iii4 c4 xxiv47 ,the last extract which ,i shall give is from the next chapter1 when he mentions ,the sacred ,scriptures which are acknowledged as genuine1 and those that are not3-- ,this appears also to be the proper place to give a summary statement of the books of the ,new ,testament already mentioned4 ,and here among the first must be placed the ,holy ,quaternion of the ,gospels2 these are followed by the ,book of the ,acts of the ,apostles2 after this must be mentioned the ,epistles of ,paul1 which are followed by the acknowledged ,first ,epistle of ,john1 also the ,first of ,peter to be admitted in like manner4 ,after these are to be placed1 if proper1 the ,revelation of ,john1 concerning which we shall offer the different opinions in due time4 ,these1 then1 are acknowledged as genuine4 ,among the disputed books1 although they are well known and approved by many1 is reputed that called the ,epistle of ,james and that of ,jude4 ,also the ,second ,epistle of ,peter1 and those called the ,second and ,third of ,john1 whether they are of the ,evangelist1 or of some other of the same name4 ,among the spurious must be numbered both the books called the ,acts of ,paul1 and that called ,pastor1 and the ,revelation of ,peter4 ,besides these1 the books called the ,epistle of ,barnabas1 and what are called the ,institutions of the ,apostles4 ,moreover1 as ,i said before1 if it should appear right1 the ,revelation of ,john1 which some1 as before said1 reject1 but others rank among the genuine4 ,but there are also some who number among these the ,gospel according to the ,hebrews1 with which those of the ,hebrews that have received ,christ are particularly delighted4 7,bk4 iii4 ch4 xxv47 ,such are the statements of the oldest ecclesiastical historian whose work has come down to us4 ,with respect to the ,gospels1 he knows but four as canonical1 and has never heard of any other as accepted by the ,church4 ,he mentions ,apocryphal and disputed books4 ,amongst the latter he mentions the ,gospel to the ,hebrews as acceptable to a local church2 but he is wholly ignorant of any doubt having ever been cast upon the authority of the four in any branch of the ,catholic ,church4 ,now let the reader remember1 that however ,eusebius1 like all other writers1 might be liable to be mistaken through carelessness1 or prejudice1 or any other cause of inaccuracy2 yet that each of these statements respecting the authorship of the various ,gospels is1 on all principles of common sense1 worth all the conjectural criticisms of the ,german and other writers1 so copiously cited in ,supernatural ,religion1 put together4 ,for1 in the first place1 ,eusebius flourished about #aejj years nearer to the original source of the truth than these critics1 and had come to man's estate within #bjj years of the publication of the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,now1 at a time when tradition was far more relied upon1 and so much more perfectly preserved and transmitted than in such an age of printed books and public journals as the present1 this alone would make an enormous difference between a direct statement of ,eusebius and the conjecture of a modern theorist4 ,but far more than this1 ,eusebius had access to1 and was well acquainted with1 a vast mass of ecclesiastical literature which has altogether perished2 and the greater part of which is only known to have existed through notices or extracts to be found in his work4 ,for instance1 in a few pages he gives accounts of writings which have perished of ,papias 7iii4 c4 #ci71 ,quadratus and ,aristides 7iv4 ch4 #c71 ,hegesippus 7iv4 ch4 #h and #bb71 ,tatian 7iv4 ch4 #af71 ,dionysius of ,corinth 7iv4 ch4 #bc71 ,pinytus 7iv4 ch4 #bc71 ,philip and ,modestus 7ch4 #be71 ,melito 7ch4 #bf71 ,apollinaris 7ch4 #bg71 ,bardesanes 7ch4 #cj74 ,these are all writers who flourished in the first three quarters of the second century1 and ,i have only mentioned those whose writings1 from the wording of his notices1 ,eusebius appears to have seen himself4 ,it is clear1 ,i repeat1 that the evidence of such an one on the authorship of the ,gospels is worth all the conjectures and theories of modern critics of all classes put together4 ,we shall pass over very briefly the first sixty years of the third century1 i4e4 between ,a4,d4 #bjj and the time of ,eusebius4 ,during these years flourished ,cyprian1 martyred ,a4,d4 #beg2 ,hippolytus1 martyred about ,a4,d4 #bdj2 and ,origen1 died ,a4,d4 #bed4 ,respecting the latter1 it appears from ,eusebius that he published commentaries on the ,gospels of ,st4 ,matthew and ,st4 ,john4 ,of the latter ,eusebius says the first five books wore composed at ,alexandria1 but of the whole work on ,st4 ,john only twenty-two books have come down to us4 7,bk4 vi4 ch4 #bd47 ,now ,origen was born a few years 7at the most twenty7 after the death of ,justin2 and we have seen how the author of ,supernatural ,religion evidently considers the works of ,justin to be anterior to the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,is it credible1 or oven conceivable1 that a man of ,origen's intellect1 learning1 and research should write twenty or thirty books of commentaries on a false ,gospel which was forged shortly before his own time8 ,he expressly states that the ,church knew of but four ,gospels3-- ,as ,i have understood from tradition respecting the four ,gospels1 which are the only undisputed ones in the whole ,church of ,god throughout the world4 ,the first is written according to ,matthew1 the same that was once a publican1 but afterwards an ,apostle of ,jesus ,christ1 who1 having published it for the ,jewish converts1 wrote it in ,hebrew4 ,the second is according to ,mark1 who composed it as ,peter explained to him1 whom he ,peter also acknowledged as his son in his general epistle1 saying1 ',the elect ,church in ,babylon salutes you1 as also ,mark1 my son4' ,and the third according to ,luke1 the ,gospel commended by ,paul1 which was written for the converts from the ,gentiles2 and1 last of all1 the ,gospel according to ,john4 ,extract from ,origen's first book of his commentaries on ,st4 ,matthew1 quoted by ,eusebius 7vi4 #be7 ,as regards ,cyprian1 the following quotation will suffice3-- ,the ,church1 setting forth the likeness of ,paradise1 includes within her walls fruit-bearing trees1 whereof that which does not bring forth good fruit is cut off and is cast into the fire4 ,these trees she waters with four rivers1 that is1 with the four ,gospels1 wherewith1 by a celestial inundation1 she bestows the grace of saying baptism4 ,cyprian1 ,letter lxxii4 to ,jubaianus4 ,as regards ,hippolytus ,i have counted above fifty references to ,st4 ,matthew and forty to ,st4 ,john1 in his work on the ,refutation of ,heresies1 and ,fragments4 ,i append in a note a passage taken from his comment on the ,second ,psalm1 preserved to us by ,theodoret4 ,the reader will be able to judge from it from what sources he derived his knowledge of ,christ4 ,i give it rather for its devotional spirit than its evidence for the four4 #abf3a ,we now come to the conclusion of the second century4 ,between the years #ahj and #bjj or #baj ,a4,d41 there flourished three writers of whom we possess somewhat voluminous remains4 ,irenaeus1 who was born about #adj at the latest1 who was in youth the disciple of ,polycarp1 who was himself the disciple of ,st4 ,john4 ,irenaeus wrote his work against heresies about the year #ahj1 a little after he had succeeded ,pothinus as ,bishop of ,lyons1 and was martyred at the beginning of the next century 7#bjb74 ,clement of ,alexandria1 the date of whose birth or death is uncertain1 flourished long before the end of the second century1 for he became head of the catechetical school of ,alexandria about the year #aij4 ,tertullian was born about #aej1 was converted to ,christianity about #ahe1 was admitted to the priesthood in #aib1 and adopted the opinions of ,montanus about the end of the century4 ,i shall first of all give the testimony of these three writers to the universal reception of the ,four ,gospels by the ,church1 and consider to what time previous to their own day their testimony upon such a subject must1 of necessity1 reach4 ,first of all1 ,irenaeus1 in a well-known passage1 asserts that-- ,it is not possible that the ,gospels can be either more or fewer in number than they are4 ,he then refers to the four zones of the earth1 and the four principal winds1 and remarks that1 in accordance with this1 ,he ,who was manifest to men has given us the ,gospel under four aspects1 but bound together by one ,spirit4 ,then he refers to the four living creatures of the vision in the ,revelation1 and proceeds1-- ,and1 therefore1 the ,gospels are in accord with these things1 among which ,christ is seated4 ,for that according to ,john relates ,his original effectual and glorious generation from the ,father1 thus declaring1 ',in the beginning was the word1' c4444 ,but that according to ,luke1 taking up ,his priestly character1 commences with ,zacharias the priest offering sacrifice to ,god4 ,for now was made ready the fatted calf1 about to be immolated for the finding again of the younger son4 ,matthew again relates ,his generation as a man1 saying1 ',the ,book of the generation of ,jesus ,christ1 the ,son of ,david1 the ,son of ,abraham2' and also1 ',the birth of ,jesus ,christ was on this wise4' ,this1 then1 is the ,gospel of ,his humanity1 for which reason it is1 too1 that the character of an humble and meek man is kept up through the whole ,gospel4 ,mark1 on the other hand1 commences with a reference to the prophetical spirit coming down from on high to men1 saying1 ',the beginning of the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ1 as it is written in ,esaias the prophet1' pointing to the winged aspect of the ,gospel3 and on this account he made a compendious and cursory narrative1 for such is the prophetical character4 7,iren41 ,bk4 iii4 ch4 xi47 ,clement of ,alexandria1 speaking of a saying ascribed to our ,lord1 writes3-- ,in the first place1 then1 in the four ,gospels handed down amongst us1 we have not this saying2 but in that which is according to the ,egyptians4 7,miscellanies1 iii4 ch4 xiii47 ,tertullian writes thus3-- ,of the ,apostles1 therefore1 ,john and ,matthew first instil faith into us2 whilst1 of ,apostolic men1 ,luke and ,mark renew it afterwards4 ,these all start with the same principles of the faith1 so far as relates to the one only ,god the ,creator1 and ,his ,christ1 how that ,he was born of the ,virgin1 and came to fulfil the law and the prophets4 ,never mind if there does occur some variation in the order of their narratives1 provided that there be agreement in the essential matter of the faith in which there is disagreement with ,marcion4 7,tertullian against ,marcion1 iv4 c4 ii47 ,such are the explicit declarations of these three writers respecting the number and authorship of the ,four4 ,i shall give at the conclusion of this section some of the references to be found in these writers to the first two or three chapters in each ,gospel4 ,it is but very little to say that they quote the ,four as frequently1 and with as firm a belief in their being the ,scriptures of ,god1 as any modern divine4 ,they quote them far more copiously1 and reproduce the history contained in them far more fully than any modern divine whom ,i have ever read1 who is not writing specifically on the ,life of our ,lord1 or on some part of ,his teaching contained in the ,gospels4 ,but ,i have now to consider the question1 ,to what time1 previous to their own day1 or rather to the time at which they wrote1 does their testimony to such a matter as the general reception of the ,four ,gospels of necessity reach back8 ,clement wrote in ,alexandria1 ,tertullian in ,rome or ,africa1 ,irenaeus in ,gaul4 ,they all flourished about ,a4,d4 #aij4 ,they all speak of the ,gospels1 not only as well known and received1 but as being the only ,gospels acknowledged and received by the ,church4 ,one of them uses very uncritical arguments to prove that the ,gospels could only be four in number2 but the very absurdity of his analogies is a witness to the universal tradition of his day4 ,to what date before their time must this tradition reach1 so that it must be relied upon as exhibiting the true state of things8 ,now this tradition is not respecting a matter of opinion1 but a matter of fact--the fact being no other than the reading of the ,gospels or ,memoirs of our ,lord in the public service of the ,church4 ,the ,memoirs of our ,lord1 with other books1 formed the ,lectionary of the ,church4 ,so that every ,christian1 who attended the public assemblies for worship1 must know whether he heard the ,gospels read there or not4 ,now any two men who lived successively to the age of sixty-five would be able to transmit irrefragable testimony1 which would cover a hundred years1 to the use of the ,gospels in the lectionary of the ,church4 ,during the last five years we have had a change in our ,lectionary1 which change only affects the rearrangement of the portions read each day out of the same ,gospels1 and every boy and girl of fifteen years old at the time would recognize the alteration when it took place4 ,if it had occurred fifty years ago1 any man or woman of sixty-five would perfectly remember the change4 ,if it had occurred within the last hundred years1 any person of sixty-five could bear testimony to the fact that1 when he first began to be instructed in the nature of the ,church ,services he was told by his elders that up to a time which they could perfectly recollect certain selections from ,scripture had been read in ,church1 but that at such a period during their lifetime a change had been brought about after certain public debates1 and that it received such or such opposition and was not at once universally adopted1 which change was the reading in public of the present selection4 ,it is clear then1 that if all public documents were destroyed1 yet any two men1 who could scarcely be called old men1 would be able to transmit with perfect certainty the record of any change in the public reading of ,scripture during the last one hundred years4 ,but1 supposing that instead of a change in the mere selections from the ,gospels1 the very ,gospels themselves had been changed1 could such a thing have occurred unnoticed1 and the memory of it be so absolutely forgotten that neither history nor tradition preserved the smallest hint of it at the end of a short century8 ,now this1 and far more than this1 is what the author of ,supernatural ,religion asks his readers to believe throughout his whole work4 ,we have seen how1 before the end of this century1 no other authoritative memoirs of ,christ were known by the ,church1 and these were known and recognized as so essential a part of the ,christian system1 that their very number as four1 and only four1 was supposed to be prefigured from the very beginning of the world4 ,now ,justin lived till the year #afe in this century4 ,he was martyred when ,irenaeus must have been twenty-five years old4 ,both ,clement and ,tertullian must have been born before his martyrdom1 perhaps several years1 and yet the author of ,supernatural ,religion would have us believe that the books of ,christians which were accounted most sacred in the year #aij1 and used in that year as frequently1 and with as firm a belief in their authenticity as they are by any ,christians now1 were unused by ,justin ,martyr1 and that one of the four was absolutely unknown to him--in all probability forged after his time4 ,we are persistently told all this1 too1 in spite of the fact that he reproduces the account of the ,birth1 ,teaching1 ,death1 and ,resurrection of ,christ exactly as they are contained in the ,four1 without a single additional circumstance worth speaking of1 making only such alterations as would be natural in the reproduction of such an account for those who were without the pale of the ,church4 ,but even this is not the climax of the absurdity which we are told that1 if we are reasonable persons1 we must accept4 ,it appears that the ,memoirs which1 we are told1 ,justin heard read every ,sunday in the place of assembly in ,rome or ,ephesus which he frequented1 was a ,palestinian ,gospel1 which combined1 in one narrative1 the accounts of the ,birth1 ,life1 ,death1 and moral ,teaching of ,jesus1 together with the peculiar doctrine and history now only to be found in the ,fourth ,gospel4 ,consequently this ,gospel was not only far more valuable than any one of our present ,evangelists1 but1 we might almost say1 more worthy of preservation than all put together1 for it combined the teaching of the four1 and no doubt reconciled their seeming discrepancies1 thus obviating one of the greatest difficulties connected with their authority and inspiration2 a difficulty which1 we learn from history1 was felt from the first4 ,and yet1 within less than twenty years1 this ,gospel had been supplanted by four others so effectually that it was all but forgotten at the end of the century1 and is referred to by the first ecclesiastical historian as one of many apocrypha valued only by a local ,church1 and has now perished so utterly that not one fragment of it can be proved to be authentic4 ,but enough of this absurdity4 ,taking with us the patent fact1 that before the end of the second century1 and during the first half of the third1 the ,four ,gospels were accepted by the ,church generally1 and quoted by every ,christian writer as fully as they are at this moment1 can there be the shadow of a doubt that when ,justin wrote the account of our ,lord's ,birth1 which ,i have given in page #bb1 he had before him the first and third ,evangelists1 and combined these two accounts in one narrative8 ,whether he does this consciously and of set purpose ,i leave to the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 but combine the two accounts he certainly does4 ,again1 when1 in the accounts of the events preceding our ,lord's ,death1 ,justin notices that ,jesus commanded the disciples to bring forth an ass and its foal 7page #cc71 can any reasonable man doubt but that he owed this to ,st4 ,matthew1 in whose ,gospel alone it appears8 ,or when1 in the extract ,i have given in page #bj1 he notices that our ,lord called the sons of ,zebedee ,boanerges1 can there be any reasonable doubt that he derived this from ,st4 ,mark1 the only ,evangelist who records it1 whose ,gospel 7in accordance with universal tradition71 he there designates as the ,memoirs of ,peter8 ,or again1 when1 in the extract ,i have given in page #cd1 he records that our ,lord in ,his ,agony sweat great drops of blood1 can there be a doubt but that he made use of ,st4 ,luke1 especially since he mentions two or three other matters connected with our ,lord's ,death1 only to be found in ,st4 ,luke8 ,or1 again1 why should we assume the extreme improbability of a defunct ,gospel to account for all the references to1 and reminiscences of1 ,st4 ,john's ,gospel1 which ,i have given in ,sections ,,viii4 and ,,ix4 of this work8 ,so far for ,justin ,martyr4 ,we will now turn to references in three or four other writers4 ,in the ,epistle of ,vienne and ,lyons we find the following3-- ,and thus was fulfilled the saying of our ,lord3 ',the time shall come in which every one that killeth you shall think that he offereth a service to ,god4' ,this seems like a reference to ,john xvi4 #b4 ,the words1 with some very slight variation1 are to be found there and not to be found elsewhere4 ,the letter of the ,churches was written about ,a4,d4 #agh at the earliest1 we are told by the author of ,supernatural ,religion4 ,well1 we will make him a present of a few years1 and suppose that it was written ten or twelve years later1 i4e4 about ,a4,d4 #aij4 ,now we find that ,irenaeus had written his great work1 ,against ,heresies1 before this date4 ,surely1 then1 the notion of the writer of ,supernatural ,religion1 that we are to suppose that this was taken from some lost ,apocryphal ,gospel when ,irenaeus1 ,bishop of ,lyons1 had actually used a written ,gospel which contains it1 refutes itself4 ,we turn to ,athenagoras4 ,we find in his work1 ,plea 7or ,embassy7 for the ,christians 7ch4 x471 the following3-- ,but the ,son of ,god is the ,logos of the ,father in idea and in operation1 for after the pattern of ,him and by ,him were all things made1 the ,father and the ,son being one ,i and ,my ,father are one1 and the ,son being in the ,father1 and the ,father in the ,son1 in oneness and power of spirit1 c4 7,john xiv4 #aj47 ,again 7ch4 xii473-- ,men who reckon the present life of very small worth indeed1 and who are conducted to the future life by this one thing alone1 that they know ,god and ,his ,logos4 ,this is life eternal1 that they may know ,thee the only true ,god1 and ,jesus ,christ whom ,thou hast sent4 ,can the writer of ,supernatural ,religion be serious when he writes1 ,he nowhere identifies the ,logos with ,jesus8 ,does the writer of ,supernatural ,religion seriously think that a ,christian writer1 living in #agg1 and presenting to the emperor a plea for ,christians1 would have any difficulty about identifying ,jesus with that ,son of ,god ,whom he expressly states to be the ,logos of ,god8 ,the following also are seeming quotations from the ,synoptics in ,athenagoras4 ,what1 then1 are those precepts in which we are instructed8 ',i say unto you1 love your enemies1 bless them that curse1 pray for them that persecute you1 that ye may be sons of your ,father which is in the heavens1 who maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good1 and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust4' ',for if ye love them which love you1 and lend to them which lend to you1 what reward shall ye have8' ',for whosoever1 ,he says1 looketh on a woman to lust after her1 hath committed adultery already in his heart4' ',for whosoever1 says ,he1 putteth away his wife and marrieth another1 committeth adultery4' ,when we consider that in the time of ,athenagoras1 or very soon after1 there were three authors living who spoke of the ,gospels in the way we have shown1 and quoted them in the way we shall now show1 why assign these quotations to defunct ,gospels of whose contents we are perfectly ignorant1 when we have them substantially in ,gospels which occupied the same place in the ,church then as now8 ,,note ,,on ,,section ,,xix4 ,i have asserted that the three authors1 ,tertullian1 ,clement of ,alexandria1 and ,irenaeus1 all flourishing before the close of the second century1 quote the four ,gospels1 if anything1 more frequently than most modern ,christian authors do4 ,i append1 in proof of this1 some of the references in these authors to the first two or three chapters of our present ,gospels4 ,,irenaeus4 ,matthew1 i4 ,and ,matthew1 too1 recognizing one and the same ,jesus ,christ1 exhibiting his generation as a man from the ,virgin 444 says1 ',the book of the generation of ,jesus ,christ the son of ,david1 the son of ,abraham4' ,then1 that he might free our mind from suspicion regarding ,joseph1 he says1 ',but the birth of ,christ was on this wise3 when ,his mother was espoused1' c4 7iii4 xvi47 ,then he proceeds to quote and remark upon the whole of the remainder of the chapter4 ,matthew again relates ,his generation as a man4 ,for remainder1 see page #abh4 ,for ,joseph is shown to be the son of ,joachim and ,jeconiah1 as also ,matthew sets forth in his pedigree4 7iii4 #ba1 #i47 ,born ,emmanuel of the ,virgin4 ,to this effect they testify that before ,joseph had come together with ,mary1 while she therefore remained in virginity1 she was found with child of the ,holy ,ghost4 7iii4 #ba1 #d47 ,then again ,matthew1 when speaking of the angel1 says1 ',the angel of the ,lord appeared to ,joseph in sleep4' 7iii4 #i1 #b47 ,the angel said to him in sleep1 ',fear not to take to thee ,mary1 thy wife' 7and proceeding with several other verses of the same chapter74 7iv4 #bc1 l47 ,matthew1 ii4 ,but ,matthew says that the ,magi1 coming from the ,east1 exclaimed1 ',for we have seen ,his star in the ,east1 and are come to worship ,him4' 7iii4 #i1 #b47 ,and that having been led by the star unto the house of ,jacob to ,emmanuel1 they showed1 by those gifts which they offered1 who it was that was worshipped2 myrrh1 because it was ,he who should die and be buried for the human race2 gold1 because ,he was a king1 c41 c4 7iii4 #i1 #b7 ,he1 since ,he was ,himself an infant1 so arranging it that human infants should be martyrs1 slain1 according to the ,scriptures1 for the sake of ,christ4 7iii4 #af1 #d47 ,matthew1 iii4 ,for ,matthew the apostle 444 declares that ,john1 when preparing the way for ,christ1 said to them who were boasting of their relationship according to the flesh1 c41 ',o generation of vipers1 who hath shown you to flee from 444 raise up children unto ,abraham4' 7iii4 #i1 #a47 ,as ,john the ,baptist says1 ',for ,god is able from these stones to raise up children unto ,abraham4' 7iv4 #g1 #b47 ,there are no less than six quotations or references to the ninth and tenth verses of this chapter1 viz41 iv4 #bd1 #b2 v4 #cd1 #a2 iv4 #h1 #c2 iv4 #cf1 #d2 v4 #ag1 #d4 ,now who this ,lord is that brings such a day about1 ,john the ,baptist points out when he says of ,christ1 ',he shall baptize you with the ,holy ,ghost and with fire1 having ,his fan in ,his hand1' c4 7iv4 #d1 #c47 ,having a fan in ,his hands1 and cleansing ,his floor1 and gathering the wheat1' c4 7iv4 #cc1 #a47 ,who gathers the wheat into ,his barn1 but will burn up the chaff with fire unquenchable4 7iv4 #cc1 ll47 ,then1 speaking of ,his baptism1 ,matthew says1 ',the heavens were opened1 and ,he saw the ,spirit of ,god1' c4 7iii4 #i1 #c47 ,mark1 i4 ,wherefore ,mark also says1 ',the beginning of the ,gospel of ,jesus ,christ the ,son of ,god1 as it is written in the prophets4' 7iii4 #af1 #c47 ,yea1 even the demons exclaimed1 on beholding the ,son1 ',we know ,thee who ,thou art1 the ,holy ,one of ,god4' 7iv4 #f1 #f47 ,mark iv4 #bh4 ,his ,word1 through whom the wood fructifies1 and the fountains gush forth1 and the earth gives 'first the blade1 then the ear1 then the full corn in the ear4' 7iv4 #ah1 #d47 ,luke1 i4 ,thus also does ,luke1 without respect of persons1 deliver to us what he had learned from them1 as he has himself testified1 saying1 ',even as they delivered them unto us1 who from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the ,word4' 7iii4 #ad1 #b47 ,another reference to same in preface to ,book iv4 ,luke1 also1 the follower and disciple of the ,apostles1 referring to ,zacharias and ,elizabeth1 from whom1 according to promise1 ,john was born1 says1 ',and they were both righteous before ,god1 walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the ,lord blameless1'1 c4 7iii4 #aj1 #a47 ,and again1 speaking of ,zacharias1 ',and it came to pass1 that while he executed the priest's office1' c4 7,ibid47 ,and then1 speaking of ,john1 he 7the angel7 says3 ',for he shall be great in the sight of the ,lord1' c4 7,ibid47 ,in the spirit and power of ,elias4 7iii4 #aj1 #f47 ,truly it was by ,him of whom ,gabriel was the angel who also announced the glad tidings of ,his birth 444 in the spirit and power of ,elias4 7iii4 #aa1 #d47 ,but at that time the angel ,gabriel was sent from ,god1 who did also say to the ,virgin1 ',fear not1 ,mary1 for thou hast found favour with ,god4' 7iii4 #aj1 #b47 ,he shall be great1 and shall be called the ,son of the ,highest1 c4 7iii4 #aj1 #b47 ,and ,mary1 exulting because of this1 cried out2 prophesying on behalf of the ,church1 ',my soul doth magnify the ,lord4' 7iii4 #aj1 #b47 ,and that the angel ,gabriel said unto her1 ',the ,holy ,ghost shall come upon thee1' c4 7iii4 #ba1 #d47 ,in accordance with this design ,mary the ,virgin is found obedient1 saying1 ',behold the handmaid of the ,lord1 be it unto me according to ,thy word4' 7iii4 #bb1 #d47 ,as ,elizabeth testified when fitted with the ,holy ,ghost1 saying to ,mary1 ',blessed art thou among women1' c4 7iii4 #ba1 #e47 ,wherefore the prophets 444 announced ,his ,advent 444 in freeing us from the hands of all that hate us1 that is1 from every spirit of wickedness1 and causing us to serve ,him in holiness and righteousness all our days4' 7iv4 #bj1 #d47 ,luke1 ii4 ,wherefore ,simeon also1 one of his descendants1 carried fully out the rejoicing of the patriarch1 and said1 ',lord1 now lettest ,thou ,thy servant1' c4 7iv4 #g1 l47 ,and the angel in like manner announced tidings of great joy to the shepherds who were keeping watch by night4 7iv4 #g1 #a47 ,wherefore he adds1 ',the shepherds returned1 glorifying and praising ,god for all which they had seen and heard4' 7iii4 #aj1 #d47 ,and still further does ,luke say in reference to the ,lord1 ',when the days of purification were accomplished they brought ,him up to ,jerusalem to present ,him before the ,lord4' 7iii4 #aj1 #e47 ,they say also that ,simeon1 ',who took ,christ into his arms and gave thanks to ,god1' c4 7i4 #h1 #d47 ,they assert also that by ,anna1 who is spoken of in the ,gospel as a prophetess1 and who after living seven years with her husband1 passed all the rest of her life in widowhood till she saw the ,saviour4 7i4 #h1 #d47 ,the production1 again1 of the ,duodecad of the aeons is indicated by the fact that the ,lord was twelve years of age when ,he disputed with the teachers of the law1 c4 7i4 #c1 #b47 ,some passages1 also1 which occur in the ,gospels receive from them a colouring of the same kind1 as the answer which ,he gave ,his mother when ,he was twelve years old1 ',wist ye not that ,i must be about ,my ,father's business8' 7i4 #bj1 #b47 ,luke1 iii4 ,for because ,he knew that we should make a good use of our substance which we should possess by receiving it from another1 ,he says1 ',he that hath two coats let him impart to him that hath none1 and he that hath meat let him do likewise4' 7iv4 #cj1 #c47 ,for when ,he came to be baptized ,he had not yet completed ,his thirtieth year1 but was beginning to be about thirty years of age2 for thus ,luke1 who has mentioned ,his years1 has expressed it4 7ii4 #bb1 #e47 ,john1 i4 ,john thus commenced his teaching in the ,gospel1 ',in the beginning was the ,word1 and the ,word was with ,god1 and the ,word was ,god1' c4 7iii4 #aa1 #a47 ,he 7,st4 ,john7 expresses himself thus3 ',in the beginning was the ,word1' c4 7i4 #h1 #e47 ,thus saith the ,scripture1 ',by the word of the ,lord were the heavens made1' c4 ,and again1 ',all things were made by ,him1 and without ,him was nothing made that was made4' 7i4 #bb1 #a47 ,for he styles ,him ',a light which shineth in darkness1 and which was not comprehended by it4' 7i4 #h1 #e47 ,and that we may not have to ask ',of what ,god was the ,word made flesh8' ,he does ,himself previously teach us1 saying1 ',there was a man sent from ,god whose name was ,john4 ,the same came as a witness that he might bear witness of that ,light4 ,he was not that ,light1 but that he might testify of the ,light4' 7iii4 #aa1 #d47 ,while the ,gospel affirms plainly that by the ,word1 which was in the beginning with ,god1 all things were made1 which ,word1 he says1 was made flesh and dwelt among us4 7iii4 #aa1 #b47 ,to ,john i4 #ad1 ,the ,word was made flesh1 the references are absolutely innumerable4 ,those ,i have given already will suffice4 ,for this is the knowledge of salvation which was wanting to them1 that of the ,son of ,god1 which ,john made known1 saying1 ',behold the ,lamb of ,god1 who taketh away the sin of the world4 ,this is ,he of whom ,i said1 ,after me cometh a ,man ,who was made before me1 because ,he was prior to me4' 7iii4 #aj1 #b47 ,by whom also ,nathaniel1 being taught1 recognized ,him2 he to whom also the ,lord bare witness that he was an ,israelite indeed1 in whom was no guile4 ,the ,israelite recognized his ,king1 therefore did he cry out to ,him1 ',rabbi1 ,thou art the ,son of ,god4 ,thou art the ,king of ,israel4' 7iii4 #aa1 #f47 ,john1 ii4 ,but that wine was better which the ,word made from water1 on the moment1 and simply for the use of those who had been called to the marriage4 7iii4 #aa1 #e47 ,as also the ,lord speaks in reference to ,himself1 ',destroy this temple1 and in three days ,i will raise it up4' ,he spake this1 however1 it is said1 of the temple of ,his body4 7v4 #f1 #b47 ,,clement ,,of ,,alexandria4 ,matthew1 i4 ,and in the gospel according to ,matthew the genealogy which begins with ,abraham is continued down to ,mary1 the mother of the ,lord4 ',for1' it is said1 'from ,abraham to ,david are fourteen generations1 and from ,david to the carrying away into ,babylon1 c4 7,miscellanies1 i4 #ba47 ,matthew1 iii4 ,for the fan is in the ,lord's hand1 by which the chaff due to the fire is separated from the wheat4 7,instructor1 i4 #i47 ,matthew1 iv4 ,therefore ,he ,himself1 urging them on to salvation1 cries1 ',the ,kingdom of ,heaven is at hand4' 7,exhortation to ,heathen1 ch4 ix47 ,matthew1 v4 ,and because ,he brought all things to bear on the discipline of the soul1 ,he said1 ',blessed are the meek1 for they shall inherit the earth4' 7,miscellanies1 iv4 #f47 ,mark1 i4 ,for he also 'ate locusts and wild honey4' ,in ,st4 ,matthew the corresponding expression being ',his food was locusts and wild honey4' 7,instructor1 ii4 #aa47 ,luke1 iii4 ,and to prove that this is true it is written in the ,gospel by ,luke as follows3 ',and in the fifteenth year1 in the reign of ,tiberius ,caesar1 the word of the ,lord came to ,john1 the son of ,zacharias4' ,and again1 ,jesus was coming to ,his baptism1 being about thirty years old1' and so on4 7,miscellanies1 i4 #ba47 ,there are at least twenty more references to the accounts of the preaching of ,st4 ,john in the third of ,st4 ,matthew1 first of ,st4 ,mark1 and third of ,st4 ,luke1 in ,clement's writings1 which ,i have not given simply because it is difficult to assign the quotation to a particular ,evangelist1 as the account is substantially the same in the three4 ,luke xii4 #af-bj4 ,of this man's field 7the rich fool7 the ,lord1 in the ,gospel1 says that it was fertile1 and afterwards1 when he wished to lay by his fruits and was about to build greater barns1 c4 7,miscellanies1 iii4 #f47 ,luke xiii4 #cb4 ,thus also in reference to ,herod1 ',go tell that fox1 ,behold1 ,i cast out devils1' c4 7,miscellanies1 iv4 #f47 ,luke xiv4 #ab1 #ac4 ,he says accordingly1 somewhere1 ',when thou art called to a wedding recline not on the highest couch4' 444 ,and elsewhere1 ',when thou makest a dinner or a supper1' and again1 ',but1 when thou makest an entertainment1 call the poor4' 7,instructor1 ii4 #a47 ,luke1 xv4 ,parable of ,prodigal ,son4 ,for it were not seemly that we1 after the fashion of the rich man's son in the ,gospel1 should1 as prodigals1 abuse the ,father's gifts4 7,instructor1 ii4 ch4 i47 ,john1 i4 ,you have then ,god's promise2 you have ,his love3 become partakers of ,his grace4 ,and do not suppose the song of salvation to be new1 as a vessel or a house is new2 for 444 in the beginning was the ,word1 and the ,word was with ,god1 and the ,word was ,god4 7,exhortation to ,heathen1 ch4 i47 ,for ,he has said1 ',in the beginning the ,word was in ,god1 and the ,word was ,god4 7,instructor1 viii47 ,wherefore it 7the law7 was only temporary2 but eternal grace and truth were by ,jesus ,christ4 ,mark the expressions of ,scripture2 of the law only is it is said 'was given2' but truth1 being the grace of the ,father1 is the eternal work of the ,word1 and it is not said to be given1 but to be by ,jesus1 without whom nothing was4 7,instructor1 i4 #g47 ,the divine ,instructor is trustworthy1 adorned as ,he is with three of the fairest ornaments 444 with authority of utterance1 for ,he is ,god and ,creator2 for all things were made by ,him1 and without ,him was not anything made3 and with benevolence1 for ,he alone gave ,himself a sacrifice for us1 ',for the ,good ,shepherd giveth ,his life for the sheep4' 7,john x4 #aa47 7,instructor1 i4 #aa47 ,for the darkness1 it is said1 comprehendeth it not4 7,instructor1 ii4 #aj47 ,having through righteousness attained to adoption1 and therefore 'have received power to become the sons of ,god4' 7,miscellanies1 iv4 #f47 ,for of the prophets it is said1 ',we have all received of ,his fulness1' that is1 of ,christ's4 7,miscellanies1 i4 #ag47 ,and ,john the apostle says1 ',no man hath seen ,god at any time4 ,the only begotten ,god1' oldest reading1 'who is in the bosom of the ,father1 ,he hath declared ,him4 7,miscellanies1 v4 #ab47 ,john1 iii4 ,he that believeth not is1 according to the utterance of the ,saviour1 condemned already4 7,miscellanies1 iv4 #af47 ,enslaved as you are to evil custom1 and clinging to it voluntarily till your last breath1 you are hurried to destruction2 because light has come into the world1 and men have loved the darkness rather than the light4 7,exhortation to ,heathen1 #aj47 ',i must decrease1' said the prophet ,john4 7,miscellanies1 vi4 ,,ii47 ,,tertullian4 ,matthew1 i4 ,there is1 first of all1 ,matthew1 that most faithful chronicler of the ,gospel1 because the companion of the ,lord2 for no other reason in the world than to show us clearly the fleshy original of ,christ1 he thus begins1 ',the book of the generation of ,jesus ,christ1 the son of ,david the son of ,abraham4' 7,on the ,flesh of ,christ1 ch4 xxii47 ,it is1 however1 a fortunate circumstance that ,matthew also1 when tracing down the ,lord's descent from ,abraham to ,mary1 says1 ',jacob begat ,joseph1 the husband of ,mary1 of whom was born ,jesus4 7,on the ,flesh of ,christ1 ch4 xx47 ,you the heretic say that ,he was born through a virgin1 not of a virgin1 and in a womb1 not of a womb2 because the angel in the dream said to ,joseph1 ',that which is born in her is of the ,holy ,ghost4' 7,ibid4 ch4 xx47 ,matthew1 ii4 ,for they therefore offered to the then infant ,lord that frankincense1 and myrrh1 and gold1 to be1 as it were1 the close of worldly sacrifice and glory1 which ,christ was about to do away4 7,on ,idolatry1 ch4 ix47 ,mark i4 #d4 ,for1 in that ,john used to preach 'baptism for the remission of sins1' the declaration was made with reference to a future remission4 7,on ,baptism1 x47 ,mark i4 #bd4 ,this accordingly the devils also acknowledge ,him to be3 ',we know ,thee ,who ,thou art1 the ,son of ,god4' 7,against ,praxeas1 ch4 xxvi47 ,let the reader particularly remark this phrase4 ,tertullian quotes the last clauses differently from the reading in our present copies1 ,the ,holy ,one of ,god4 ,if such a quotation had occurred in ,justin1 the author of ,supernatural ,religion would have cited the phrase as a quotation from a lost ,gospel1 and asserted that the author had not even seen ,st4 ,mark4 ,luke1 i4 ,elias was nothing else than ,john1 who came 'in the power and spirit of ,elias4' 7,on ,monogamy1 ch4 viii47 ,i recognize1 too1 the angel ,gabriel as having been sent to a virgin2 but when he is blessing her1 it is 'among women4' 7,on the ,veiling of ,virgins1 ch4 vi47 ,will not the angel's announcement be subverted1 that the ,virgin should 'conceive in her womb and bring forth a son8' 444 ,therefore even ,elizabeth must be silent1 although she is carrying in her womb the prophetic babe1 which was already conscious of his ,lord1 and is1 moreover1 filled with the ,holy ,ghost4 ,for without reason does she say1 ',and whence is this to me that the mother of my ,lord should come to me8' ,if it was not as her son1 but only as a stranger1 that ,mary carried ,jesus in her womb1 how is it she says1 ',blessed is the fruit of thy womb8' 7,on the ,flesh of ,christ1 ch4 xxi47 ,away1 says he he is now putting words into the mouth of the heretic1 with that eternal plaguy taxing of ,caesar1 and the scanty inn1 and the squalid swaddling clothes1 and the hard stable4 ,we do not care a jot for that multitude of the heavenly host which praised their ,lord at night4 ,let the shepherds take better care of their flock 444 ,spare also the babe from circumcision1 that ,he may escape the pains thereof2 nor let ,him be brought into the temple1 lest ,he burden ,his parents with the expense of the offering2 nor let ,him be handed to ,simeon1 lest the old man be saddened at the point of death4 7,on the ,flesh of ,christ1 ch4 ii47 ,this ,he ,himself1 in those other gospels also1 testifies ,himself to have been from ,his very boyhood1 saying1 ',wist ye not1 says ,he1 that ,i must be about my ,father's business8' 7,against ,praxeas1 xxvi47 ,john1 i4 ,in conclusion1 ,i will apply the ,gospel as a supplementary testimony to the ,old ,testament 444 it is therein plainly revealed by ,whom ,he made all things4 ',in the beginning was the ,word1'--that is1 the same beginning1 of course1 in which ,god made the heaven and the earth--'and the ,word was with ,god1 and the ,word was ,god1' c4 7,against ,hermogenes1 ch4 xx47 ,i give only one reference to the first few verses1 as the number in ,tertullian's writings is enormous4 ,it is written1 ',to them that believed on ,him1 gave ,he power to be called ,sons of ,god4' 7,on ,prayer1 ch4 ii47 ,but by saying 'made1' he ,st4 ,paul not only confirmed the statement 'the ,word was made flesh1' but he also asserted the reality1 c4 7,on the ,flesh of ,christ1 ch4 xx47 ,john1 ii4 ,he ,jesus inaugurates in water the first rudimentary displays of ,his power1 when invited to the nuptials4 7,on ,baptism1 ch4 ix47 ,the twenty-first chapter of the ,discourse against ,praxeas is filled with citations from ,st4 ,john4 ,i will give a small part4 ,he declared what was in the bosom of the ,father alone2 the ,father did not divulge the secrets of ,his own bosom4 ,for this is preceded by another statement3 ',no man hath seen ,god at any time4' ,then again1 when ,he is designated by ,john as 'the ,lamb of ,god4' 444 ,this divine relationship ,nathanael at once recognized in ,him1 even as ,peter did on another occasion3 ',thou art the ,son of ,god4' ,and ,he affirmed ,himself that they were quite right in their convictions1 for ,he answered ,nathanael1 ',because ,i said ,i saw thee under the fig-tree1 dost thou believe8' 444 ,when ,he entered the temple ,he called it ',his ,father's house1' speaking as the ,son4 ,in ,his address to ,nicodemus ,he says1 ',so ,god loved the world1' c4444 ,moreover1 when ,john the ,baptist was asked what he happened to know of ,jesus1 he said1 ',the ,father loveth the ,son1 and hath given all things into ,his ,hands4 ,he that believeth1' c4 ,whom1 indeed1 did ,he reveal to the woman of ,samaria8 ,was it not 'the ,messias which is called ,christ8' 444 ,he says1 therefore1 ',my meat is to do the will of ,him that sent me1 and to finish ,his work1' c4 c4 7,against ,praxeas1 ch4 xxi47 ,,section ,,xx4 ,,the ,,evidence ,,for ,,miracles4 ,it does not come within the scope of this work to examine at any length the general subject of miracles4 ,the assertion that miracles1 such as those recorded in ,scripture1 are absolutely impossible1 and so have never taken place1 must be met by the counter assertion that they are possible1 and have taken place4 ,they are possible to the ,supreme ,being1 and have taken place by ,his will or sufferance at certain perfectly historical periods2 especially during the first century after the birth of ,christ4 ,when to this it is replied that miracles are violations of natural law or order1 and that it is contrary to our highest idea of the ,supreme ,being to suppose that ,he should alter the existing order of things1 we can only reply that it is in accordance with our highest idea of ,him that ,he should do so2 and we say that in making these assertions we are not unreasonable1 but speak in accordance with natural science1 philosophy1 and history4 ,and1 in order to prove this1 we have only to draw attention to the inaccuracy which underlies the use of the term law by the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 and those who think as he does4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion strives to bring odium on the miracles of the ,gospel by calling them violations of law1 and by asserting that it is a false conception of the ,supreme ,being to suppose that ,he should have made an ,universe with such elements of disorder within it that it should require such things as the violation1 or even suspension1 of laws to restore it to order1 and that our highest and truest idea of ,god is that of ,one ,who never can even so much as make ,himself known except through the action of the immutable laws by which this visible state of things is governed4 ,now what is a law8 ,the laws with which in this discussion we are given to understand we have to do1 are strictly speaking limitations--the limitations of forces or powers which1 in conception at least1 must themselves be prior to the limitations4 ,take the most universal of all so-called laws1 the law of gravitation4 ,the law of gravitation is the limitation imposed upon that mysterious force which appears to reside in all matter1 that it should attract all other matter4 ,this power of attraction is called gravitation2 but instead of acting at random1 as it were1 it acts according to certain well-known rules which only are properly the laws of gravitation4 ,now the very existence of our world depends upon the force of attraction being counteracted4 ,if1 from a certain moment1 gravitation were to become the only force in the solar system1 the earth would fall upon the surface of the sun1 and be annihilated2 but the earth continues in existence because of the action of another force--the projectile force--which so far counteracts the force of the sun's attraction1 that the earth revolves around the sun instead of falling upon its surface4 ,in this case the law of gravitation is not violated1 or even suspended1 but the force of gravitation is counteracted or modified by another force4 ,again1 the blood circulates through our bodies by means of another power or force counteracting the force of gravitation1 and this is the vital power or force4 ,but why do we lift up our feet from the ground to go about some daily duty8 ,here comes another force--the force of will1 which directs the action of some of the vital forces1 but not that of others4 ,but1 again1 two courses of action are open to us1 and we deliberately choose the one because we think that it is our duty1 though it may entail danger or pain1 or even death4 ,here is a still deeper force or power1 the force of conscience--the moral power which is clearly the highest power within us1 for it governs the very will1 and sits in judgment upon the whole man1 and acquits or condemns him according to its rule of right and wrong4 ,here1 then1 are several gradations of power or force--any one of them as real as the others2 each one making itself felt by counteracting and modifying the action of the one below it4 ,now the question arises1 is there any power or force clearly above the highest controlling power within us1 i4e4 above our conscience8 ,we say that there is4 ,there are some who on this point can reverently take up the words of our ,great ,master1 ,we speak that we do know4 ,we believe1 as firmly as we believe in our own existence1 that this our conscience--the highest power within us--has been itself acted upon by a ,higher ,power still1 a moral and spiritual ,power1 which has enlightened it1 purified it1 strengthened it1 in fact renewed it4 ,now1 this purifying or enlightening of our moral powers has one remarkable effect4 ,it makes those who have been acted upon by it to look up out of this present state of things for a more direct revelation of the character and designs of the ,supreme ,being4 ,minds who have experienced this action of a ,superior ,power upon them cannot possibly look upon the ,supreme ,being as revealing ,himself merely by the laws of gravitation1 or electricity1 or natural selection4 ,we look for1 we desire a further and fuller ,revelation of ,god1 even though the ,revelation may condemn us4 ,we cannot rest without it4 ,it is intolerable to those who have a sense of justice1 for instance1 to think that1 whilst led by their sense of what is good and right1 men execute imperfect justice1 there is1 after all1 no ,supreme ,moral ,governor ,who will render to each individual in another life that just retribution which is assuredly not accorded to all in this life4 #aeb3a ,now this1 ,i say1 makes us desire a revelation of the ,supreme ,moral ,governor which is assuredly not to be found in the laws which control mere physical forces4 ,as ,dr4 ,newman has somewhere said1 men believe what they wish to believe1 and assuredly we desire to believe that there is a supreme ,moral ,governor1 and that ,he has not left us wholly in the dark respecting such things as the laws and sanctions of ,his moral government4 ,but has ,he really revealed these8 ,we look back through the ages1 and our eyes are arrested by the figure of ,one ,who1 according to the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 taught a sublime religion4 ,his teaching carried morality to the sublimest point attained1 or even attainable1 by humanity4 ,the influence of ,his ,spiritual ,religion has been rendered doubly great by the unparalleled purity and elevation of ,his own character4 ,he presented the rare spectacle of a life1 so far as we can estimate it1 uniformly noble and consistent with ,his own lofty principles1 so that the 'imitation of ,christ' has become almost the final word in the preaching of ,his ,religion1 and must continue to be one of the most powerful elements of its permanence4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #dhg47 ,it is quite clear from this testimony of an enemy to the ,christian religion1 as it appears in the ,scriptures1 that if the ,supreme ,moral ,governor had desired to give to man a revelation of the principles and sanctions of ,his moral government1 ,he could not have chosen a more fitting instrument4 ,such a character seems to have been made for the purpose4 ,if ,he has not revealed ,god1 no one has4 ,now1 who is this ,man ,whose figure stands thus prominent above ,his fellows8 ,we believe ,him to be our ,redeemer2 but before ,he redeemed1 ,he laid down the necessity of ,redemption by making known to men the true nature of sin and righteousness1 and the most just and inevitable ,judgment of ,god4 ,he revealed to us that there is ,one above us ,who is to the whole race1 and to every individual of the race1 what our consciences are to ourselves--a ,judge pronouncing a perfect judgment1 because ,he perfectly knows the character of each man1 perfectly observes and remembers his conduct1 and1 moreover1 will mete out to each one a just and perfect retribution4 ,but still1 how are we to know that ,he has authority to reveal to us such a thing as that ,god will judge the race and each member of it by a just judgment8 ,natural laws reveal to us no such judgment4 ,nature teaches us that if we transgress certain natural laws we shall be punished4 ,but it teaches no certain judgement either in this life or in any future life which will overtake the transgression of moral laws4 ,a man may defraud1 oppress1 and seduce1 and yet live a prosperous life1 and die a quiet1 painless death4 ,how1 then1 are we to know that ,jesus of ,nazareth had authority to reveal that ,god will set all this right in a future state1 and that ,he ,himself will be the direct ,agent in bringing the rectification about8 ,how are we to know that what ,he says is true respecting a matter of such deep concern to ourselves1 and yet so utterly unknown to mere physical nature1 and so out of the reach of its powers8 ,what proof have we of ,his ,revelation1 or that it is a ,revelation8 ,the answer is1 that as what ,he revealed is above mere physical nature1 so ,he attested it by the exhibition of power above physical nature--the exhibition of the direct power of ,god4 ,he used miracles for this purpose2 more particularly ,he staked the truth of ,his whole message on the miracle of ,his own ,resurrection4 #aee3a ,the ,resurrection was to be the assurance of the perfection of both ,his ,redemption and ,his ,judgment4 ,now1 against all this it is persistently alleged that even if ,he had the power ,he could not have performed miracles1 because miracles are violations of law1 and the ,lawgiver cannot violate even mere physical laws2 but this specious fallacy is refuted by the simple assertion that ,he introduced a new power or force to counteract or modify others1 which counteraction or modification of forces is no more than what is taking place in every part of the world at every moment4 ,before proceeding further we will illustrate the foregoing by testing some assertions of the author of ,supernatural ,religion4 ,man1 he asserts1 is as much under the influence of gravitation as a stone is 7vol4 i4 p4 #dj74 ,well1 a marble statue is a stone4 ,can a marble statue1 after it is thrown down1 rise up again of itself1 and stand upon its feet8 ,again-- ,the law of gravitation suffers no alteration1 whether it cause the fall of an apple or shape the orbit of a planet 7p4 #dj74 ,of course the law suffers no alteration1 but the force of gravitation suffers considerable modification if you catch the apple in your hand1 or if the planet has an impulse given to it which compels it to career round the sun instead of falling upon his surface4 ,again 7page #dj73-- ,the harmonious action of physical laws1 and their adaptability to an infinite variety of forms1 constitutes the perfection of that code which produces the order of nature4 ,the mere superiority of man over lower forms of organic and inorganic matter does not lift him above physical laws1 and the analogy of every grade in nature forbids the presumption that higher forms may exist which are exempt from their control4 ,the number of fallacies in this short passage is remarkable4 ,in the first place laws never act1 i4e4 of themselves4 ,they have to be administered4 ,forces or powers act under the restraint of laws4 ,i think ,i am right in saying that all physical laws1 as distinguished from forces1 are limitations of force4 ,no man can conceive of a law acting by itself4 ,there is no such thing1 for instance1 as a ,reign of ,law4 ,a power acts or1 if you please1 reigns1 according to a law1 but laws of themselves can do nothing4 ,again1 the author says1 ,the mere superiority of man over lower forms of organic and inorganic matter does not lift him above physical laws4 ,yes1 it does1 partially at least1 for it enables him1 in his sphere1 to control the very forces whose action is limited by laws4 ,the superiority of man is shown in his control of the powers of nature1 and making them obey his will4 ,all such inventions as the steam engine or the electric telegraph lift man above certain physical laws1 by enabling him to control the forces with which those laws have to do4 ,again1 he writes3 ,the analogy of every grade in nature forbids the presumption that higher forms may exist which are exempt from their control4 ,on the contrary1 we assert that the analogy of every grade in nature encourages the presumption that higher forms may exist which can control these forces of nature far more directly and perfectly than we can4 ,to proceed4 ,in page #da we read3-- ,if in animated beings we have the solitary instance of an efficient cause acting among the forces of nature1 and possessing the power of initiation1 this efficient cause produces no disturbance of physical law4 ,i cite this place1 in order to draw attention to what ,i suppose must have struck the careful reader1 which is the application of the term solitary instance to the action of animated beings amongst the forces of nature4 ,if there had been but one animated being in existence1 such an epithet might not have been out of place2 but when one considers that the world teems with such beings1 and that by their every movement they modify or counteract1 in their own case at least1 the mightiest of all nature's forces1 and that no inconsiderable portion of the earth's surface owes its conformation to their action1 we are astonished at finding all this characterized as the solitary instance of an efficient cause4 ,but by a sentence at the bottom of this page we are enlightened as to the real reason for so strange a view of the place of vital powers in the universe4 ,in the eyes of those who persist in1 as far as possible1 ignoring all laws except physical laws1 even to the extent of endeavouring to prove that moral forces themselves are but mere developed forms of physical ones1 all manifestations of powers other than those of electricity1 gravitation1 magnetism1 and so forth are anomalous1 and we have the very word anomaly applied to them4 ,the only anomaly1 he writes1 is our ignorance of the nature of vital force4 #aeh3a ,but do we know much more of the physical8 ,men who thus concentrate their attention upon mere physical laws or phenomena1 get to believe in no others4 ,they are impatient of any things in the universe except what they can number1 or measure1 or weigh4 ,they are in danger of regarding the ,supreme ,being ,himself as an anomaly4 ,they certainly seem to do so1 when they take every pains to show that the universe can get on perfectly well without ,his superintending presence and control4 ,whatever odium1 then1 may be attached to the violation of a natural law1 cannot be attached to the action of a superior force1 making itself felt amongst lower grades of natural forces4 ,if it be rejoined that this superior force must act according to law1 we answer1 certainly1 but according to what law8 ,not1 of course1 according to the law of the force which it counteracts1 but according to the law under which itself acts4 ,the question of miracles1 then1 is a matter of evidence2 but we all know what a power human beings have of accepting or rejecting evidence according as they look for it or are prejudiced against it4 ,if men concentrate their thought upon the lower forces of the universe1 and explain the functions of life1 and even such powers as affection1 will1 reason1 and conscience1 as if they were modifications of mere physical powers1 and ignore a higher ,will1 and an all-controlling ,mind1 and a personal superintending ,providence1 what wonder if they are indisposed to receive any such direct manifestation of ,god as the ,resurrection of ,jesus1 for the ,resurrection of ,jesus is the pledge of a righteous ,judgment and ,retribution which1 however it takes place1 will be the most astounding anomaly amidst the mere physical phenomena of the universe1 whilst it will be the necessary completion of its moral order4 ,the proof of miracles is then1 as ,i said1 a matter of evidence4 ,when ,hume asserts that a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature1 we meet him with the counter-assertion that it is rather the new manifestation in this order of things of the oldest of powers1 that which originally introduced life into a lifeless world4 ,when he says that a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws1 we say that science teaches us that there must have been epochs in the history of the world when new forces made their appearance on the scene1 for it teaches us that the world was once incandescent1 and so incapable of supporting any conceivable form of animal life1 but that at a certain geological period life made its appearance4 ,now1 we believe that it is just as wonderful1 and contrary to the experience of a lifeless world1 that life should appear on that world1 as that it is contrary to the experience of the present state of things1 that a dead body should be raised4 ,when he asserts that a miraculous event is contrary to uniform experience1 we can only reply that it is not contrary to the experience of the ,evangelists1 of ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul1 and of the other ,apostles and companions of the ,lord2 that it was not contrary to the experience of the multitudes who were miraculously fed1 and of the multitudes who were miraculously healed4 ,when it is replied to this1 that we have insufficient evidence of the fact that these persons witnessed miracles1 we rejoin that there is far greater evidence1 both in quality and amount1 for these miracles1 especially for the crowning one1 than there is for any fact of profane history2 but1 if there was twice the evidence that there is1 its reception must depend upon the state of mind of the recipient himself4 ,if a man1 whilst professing to believe in a ,god under whose beneficent government we know that all that is consistent with wise and omnipotent law is prospered and brought to perfection1 yet has got himself to believe that such a ,god cannot introduce into any part of the universe a new power or force1 as for instance that ,he is bound not to introduce vital force into a lifeless world1 or mental power into a reasonless world1 or moral power into a world of free agents1 but must leave these forces to work themselves out of non-existence2--if it man1 ,i say1 has got himself to believe in such a ,being1 he will not1 of course1 believe in any testimony to miracles as accrediting a ,revelation from ,him1 and so he will do his best to get rid of them after the fashion in which we have seen the author of ,supernatural ,religion attempt to get rid of the testimony of ,justin ,martyr to the use of the ,four ,gospels in his day4 ,,section ,,xxi4 ,,objections ,,to ,,miracles4 ,i will now briefly dispose of two or three of the collateral objections against miracles4 #a4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion makes much of the fact that the ,scripture writers recognize that there may be1 and have been1 ,satanic as well as ,divine ,miracles1 and he argues that this destroys all the evidential value of a miracle4 ,he writes3-- ,even taking the representation of miracles1 therefore1 which ,divines themselves give1 they are utterly incompetent to perform their contemplated functions4 ,if they are super-human1 they are not super-,satanic1 and there is no sense in which they can be considered miraculously evidential of anything4 7,vol4 i4 p4 #be7 ,now1 this difficulty is the merest theoretical one1--a difficulty1 as the saying is1 on paper2 and never can be a practical one to any sincere believer in the holiness of ,god and the reality of goodness4 ,take the miracle of miracles1 the seal of all that is supernatural in our religion1 the ,resurrection of ,christ4 ,if there be a conflict now going on between ,god and ,satan1 can there be a doubt as to the side to which this miracle is to be assigned8 ,it is given to prove the reality of a ,redemption which all those who accept it know to be a ,redemption from the power of ,satan4 ,it is given to confirm the sanctions of morality by the assurance of a judgment to come4 ,if ,satan had performed it1 he would have been simply casting out himself4 ,if this miracle of the ,resurrection be granted1 all else goes along with it1 and the children of ,god are fortified against the influence1 real or counterfeit1 of any diabolical miracle whatsoever4 ,the miracles of the ,new ,testament are not performed1 as far as ,i can remember1 in any single instance1 to prove the truth of any one view of doctrinal ,christianity as against another1 but to evidence the reality of the ,mission of the ,divine ,founder as the ,son of ,god1 and the ,son of ,god was manifested that ,he might destroy the works of the devil4 #b4 ,with respect to what are called ecclesiastical miracles1 i4e4 miracles performed after the ,apostolic age1 the author of ,supernatural ,religion recounts the notices of a considerable number1 assumes that they are all false1 and uses this assumed falsehood as a means of bringing odium on the accounts of the miracles of ,christ4 ,more particularly he draws attention to certain miracles recorded in the works of ,st4 ,augustine1 of one at least of which he 7,augustine7 declares he was an eye-witness4 ,now1 the difficulty raised upon these and similar accounts appears to me to be as purely theoretical as the one respecting ,satanic miracles4 ,if there be truth in the ,new ,testament1 it is evident that the ,founder of ,christianity not only worked miracles ,himself1 but gave power to ,his followers to do the same4 ,when was this power of performing miracles withdrawn from the ,church8 ,our ,lord1 when ,he gave the power1 gave no intimation that it would ever be withdrawn1 rather the contrary4 ,however1 even in ,apostolic times1 the performance of them seems to have become less frequent as the ,church became a recognized power in the world4 ,for instance1 in the earlier ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul the exercise of miraculous gifts seems to have been a recognized part of the ,church's system1 and in the later ones 7#a and #b ,timothy and ,titus7 they are scarcely noticed4 #afd3a ,if we are to place any credence whatsoever in ecclesiastical history1 the performance of miracles seems never to have ceased1 though in later times very rare in comparison with what they must have been in the first age4 ,now1 if the miracles recorded by ,augustine1 or any of them1 were true and real1 the only inference is that the action of miraculous power continued in the ,church to a far later date than some modern writers allow4 ,if1 on the contrary1 they are false1 then they take their place among hosts of other counterfeits of what is good and true4 ,they no more go to prove the non-existence of the real miracles which they caricature1 than any other counterfeit proves the non-existence of the thing of which it is the counterfeit4 ,nay1 rather1 the very fact that they are counterfeits proves the existence of that of which they are counterfeits4 ,the ,ecclesiastical miracles are clearly not independent miracles2 true or false1 they depend upon the miraculous powers of the early ,church4 ,if any of them are true1 then these powers continued in the ,church to a late date2 if they are false accounts 7whether wilfully or through mistake1 makes no difference71 their falsehood is one testimony out of many to the miraculous origin of the dispensation4 ,those recorded by ,augustine are in no sense evidential4 ,nothing came of them except the relief1 real or supposed1 granted to the sufferers4 ,no message from ,god was supposed to be accredited by them4 ,no attempt was made to spread the knowledge of them2 indeed1 so far from this1 in one case at least1 ,augustine is indignant at the apathy of the friends of one who had been miraculously cured of a cancer1 that they allowed so great a miracle to be so little known4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #aga47 ,in every conceivable respect they stand in the greatest contrast to the ,resurrection of ,christ4 ,each case of an ,ecclesiastical miracle must be examined 7if one cares to do so7 apart1 on its own merits4 ,i can firmly believe in the reality of some1 whilst the greater part are doubtful1 and many are wicked impostures4 ,these last1 of course1 give occasion to the enemy to disparage the whole system of which they are assumed to be a part1 but they tell against ,christianity only in the same sense in which all tolerated falsehood or evil in the ,church obscures its witness to those eternal truths of which it is the pillar and the ground4 ,now1 all this is equally applicable to ,superstition generally in relation to the supernatural4 ,as the counterfeit miracles of the later ages witness that there must have been true ones to account for the very existence of the counterfeit1 so the universal existence of ,superstition witnesses to the reality of those supernatural interpositions of which it is the distorted image4 ,if ,hume's doctrine be true1 that a miracle1 i4e4 a supernatural interposition1 is contrary to universal experience and so incredible--if from the first beginning of things there has been one continuous sequence of natural cause and effect1 unbroken by the interposition of any superior power1 how is it that mankind have ever formed a conception of a supernatural power8 ,and yet the conception1 in the shape of superstition at least1 is absolutely universal4 ,tribes who have no idea of the existence of ,god1 use charms and incantations to propitiate unseen powers4 ,now1 the distortion witnesses to the reality of that of which it is the distortion2 the caricature to the existence of the feature caricatured4 ,and so the universality of the existence of ,superstition witnesses to the reality of these supernatural revelations and interpositions to which alone such a thing can be referred as its origin4 ,,section ,,xxii4 ,,jewish ,,credulity4 ,another argument which the author of ,supernatural ,religion uses to discredit miracles1 is the superstition of the ,jews1 especially in our ,lord's time1 and their readiness to believe any miraculous story4 ,he seems to suppose that this superstition reached its extreme point in the age in which ,christ lived1 which he calls the age of miracles4 ,he also assumes that it was an age of strong religious feeling and excitement4 ,he says3-- ,during the whole life of ,christ1 and the early propagation of the religion1 it must be borne in mind that they took place in an age1 and among a people1 which superstition had made so familiar with what were supposed to be preternatural events1 that wonders awakened no emotion1 or were speedily superseded by some new demand on the ever ready belief4 7,vol4 i4 p4 #ih47 ,he proceeds to devote above twenty pages to instances of the superstition and credulity of the ,jews about the time of ,christ4 ,the contents of these pages would be amusing if they did not reveal such deep mental degradation in a race which ,christians regard as sacred1 because of ,god's dealings with their fathers4 ,most readers1 however1 of these pages on the ,demonology and ,angelology of the ,jews will1 ,i think1 be affected by them in a totally different way1 and will draw a very different inference1 from what the writer intends4 ,the thoughtful reader will ask1 ,how could the ,evangelical narratives be the outcome of such a hotbed of superstition as the author describes that time to have been8 ,it is quite impossible1 it is incredible that the same natural cause1 i4e4 the prevalence of superstition1 should have produced about the same time the ,book of ,enoch and the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,matthew4 ,and this is the more remarkable from the fact that the ,gospels are in no sense more ,sadducean than the ,book of ,enoch4 ,the being and agency of good and evil spirits is as fully recognized in the inspired writings as in the ,apocryphal1 but with what a difference6 ,i append in a note a part of the author's reproduction of the ,book of ,enoch1 that the reader may see how necessary it is1 on all principles of common sense1 to look for some very different explanation of the origin of the ,evangelical narratives than that given by the author of ,supernatural ,religion4 #afh3a ,in the ,evangelical narratives ,i need hardly say the angels are simply messengers1 as their name imports1 and absolutely nothing more4 ,when one describes himself it is in the words1 ,i am ,gabriel that stand in the presence of ,god1 and am sent to speak unto thee and to show thee these glad tidings4 ,on the credulity of the ,jews in our ,lord's time1 ,i repeat the author's remarks3-- ,during the whole life of ,christ1 and the early propagation of the religion1 it must be borne in mind that they took place in an age1 and among a people1 which superstition had made so familiar with what were supposed to be preternatural events1 that wonders awakened no emotion1 or were speedily superseded by some new demand on the ever-ready belief4 7,vol4 i4 p4 #ih47 ,now1 if the records of our ,lord's life in the ,gospels are not a tissue of falsehoods from beginning to end1 this account of things is absolutely untrue4 ,the miracles of ,jesus awakened the greatest astonishment1 betokening a time as unfamiliar with the actual performance of such things as our own4 ,for instance1 after the first casting out of a devil recorded in ,st4 ,mark1 it is said4-- ,they were all amazed1 insomuch that they questioned among themselves1 saying1 ,what thing is this8 ,what new doctrine is this8 ,for with authority commandeth ,he even the unclean spirits1 and they do obey ,him4 7,mark i4 #bi47 ,in the next chapter1 after the account of the healing of the sick of the palsy1 it is said3-- ,they were all amazed and glorified ,god1 saying1 ,we never saw it on this fashion4 7ii4 #ab47 ,again 7,st4 ,luke v4 #bf71 after the casting out of a devil3 ,they were all amazed4 ,again1 ,luke ix4 #dc 7also after the casting out of a devil71 ,they were all amazed at the mighty power of ,god4 #agj3a ,from the account in ,st4 ,john1 the miracle of the opening of the eyes of the man born blind seems to have excited unbounded astonishment3-- ,since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind4 ,can a devil open the eyes of the blind8 7,john ix4 #cb1 x4 #ba47 ,but more than this4 ,if there be any truth whatsoever in the ,gospel narrative1 the disciples themselves1 instead of exhibiting anything approaching to the credulity with which the author of ,supernatural ,religion taxes the contemporaries of ,christ1 exhibited rather a spirit of unbelief4 ,if they had transmitted to us cunningly devised fables1 they never would have recorded such instances of their own slowness of belief as is evinced by their conduct respecting the feeding of the four thousand following upon the feeding of the five thousand1 when they ask the same question in the face of the same difficulty respecting the supply of food4 ,above all1 their slowness of belief in the ,resurrection of ,christ after their ,master's direct assertion that ,he would rise again1 is directly opposed to the idea suggested by the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 that they were ready to believe anything which seemed to favour ,his pretensions4 ,now1 it may be alleged that these instances of the slowness of belief on the part of our ,lord's immediate followers1 and the conduct of the multitudes who expressed such wonder at ,his miracles1 are contrary to one another1 but1 they are not2 for the astonishment of the multitudes did not arise from credulity in the least1 but was the expression of that state of mind which must exist 7no matter how carefully it is concealed71 when some unlooked-for occurrence1 totally inexplicable on any natural principles1 presents itself4 ,i cite it to show how utterly unfamiliar that age was with even the pretence of the exhibition of miraculous powers4 ,if there be any substratum of truth whatsoever in the accounts of the slowness of belief on the part of the ,apostles1 it is a proof that our ,lord's most familiar friends were anything but the superstitious persons which certain writers assume them to have been4 ,,section ,,xxiii4 ,,demoniacal ,,possession4 ,the question of ,demoniacal ,possession now demands a passing notice4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion ascribes all such phenomena to imposture or delusion2 and1 inasmuch as these supposed miracles of casting out of evil spirits are associated with other miracles of ,christ in the same narrative1 he uses the odium with which this class of miracles is in this day regarded1 for the purpose of discrediting the miracles of healing and the ,resurrection of ,jesus4 ,i cannot help expressing my surprise at the difficulty which some writers1 who desire fully and faithfully to uphold the supernatural1 seem to have respecting ,demoniacal ,possession4 ,the difficulty seems to me to be not in the action of evil spirits in this or in that way1 but in their existence4 ,and yet the whole analogy of nature1 and the state of man in this world1 would lead us to believe1 not only in the objective existence of a world of spirits1 but in the separation of their characters into good and evil4 ,those who deny the fact of an actually existing spiritual world of angels1 if they are ,atheists1 must believe that man is the highest rational existence in the universe2 but this is absurd1 for the intellect of man in plainly very circumscribed1 and he is slowly discovering laws which account for the phenomena which he sees1 which laws were operative for ages before he discovered them1 and imply infinitely more intellect in their invention1 so to speak1 and imposition and nice adjustment with one another1 than he shows in their mere discovery4 ,a student1 for instance1 has a problem put before him1 say upon the adjustments of the forces of the heavenly bodies4 ,the solution1 if it evinces intelligence in him1 must evince more and older intelligence in the man who sets him the problem2 but if the conditions of the problem truly represent the acts of certain forces and their compensations1 can we possibly deny that there is an intellect infinitely above ours who calculated beforehand their compensations and adjustments4 ,all the laws of the universe must be assumed to be1 even if they are not believed to be1 the work of a personal intellect absolutely infinite1 whose operations cannot be confined to this world1 for it gives laws to all bodies1 no matter how distant4 ,the same reasoning1 then1 which shows that there is an intelligent will1 because it can solve a problem1 necessitates an infinitely higher ,intelligence which can order the motions of distant worlds by laws of which our highest calculative processes are perhaps very clumsy representations4 ,those who1 like the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 are good enough to admit 7with limitations7 the existence of a ,supreme ,being1 and yet deny the existence of a spiritual world above ours1 seem to me to act still more absurdly4 ,for the whole analogy of the world of nature would lead as to infer that1 as there is a descending scale of animated beings below man reaching down to the lowest forms of life1 so there is an ascending scale above him1 between him and ,god4 ,the deniers of the existence of such beings as angels undertake to assert that there are no beings between ourselves and the ,supreme ,being1 because nature 7meaning by nature certain lower brute forces1 such as gravitation and electricity71 knows nothing of them4 ,the ,scriptures1 on the contrary1 would lead us to believe that just as in the natural world there are gradations of beings between ourselves and the lowest forms of life1 so in the spiritual world 7and we belong to both worlds7 there are gradations of beings between ourselves and ,god ,who created all things4 ,the ,scriptures would lead us to believe that these beings are intelligent free agents1 and1 as such1 have had their time of probation--that some fell under their trial1 and are now the enemies of ,god as wicked men are1 and that others stood in the time of trial and continue the willing servants of ,god4 ,the ,scriptures reveal that good angels act as good men do2 they endeavour1 as far as lies in their power1 to confirm others in goodness and in the service of ,god2 and that evil angels act as evil men act1 they endeavour to seduce others and to involve them in their own condemnation4 ,the ,scriptures say nothing to satisfy our curiosity about these beings1 as ,apocryphal books do4 ,they simply describe the one as sent on errands of mercy1 and the other as delighting in tempting men and inflicting pain4 ,the mystery of the fall of some of these angels1 and their consequent opposition to ,god1 is no difficulty in itself4 ,it is simply the oldest form of that which is to those who believe in the reality of the holiness and goodness of ,god the great problem of the universe--the origin and continuance of evil4 ,it is simply the counterpart amongst a world of free agents above us of what takes place according to the so-called natural order of things amongst ourselves4 ,that evil angels can tempt the souls of men1 and in some cases injure their bodies1 is not a whit more difficult than that evil men can do the same under the government of a ,god who exerts so universal a providence as is described in the ,bible1 and allowed to some extent by the author of ,supernatural ,religion4 ,i confess that ,i cannot understand the difficulty which some ,christian writers evidently feel respecting the existence of such a thing as ,demoniacal possession1 whilst they seem to feel1 or at least they express no difficulty1 respecting ,demoniacal temptation4 ,demoniacal possession is the infliction of a physical evil for which the man is not accountable1 but demoniacal temptation is an attempt to deprive a man of that for the keeping of which he is accountable1 viz4 his own innocence4 ,demoniacal possession is a temporal evil4 ,the yielding to demoniacal temptation may cast a man for ever out of the favour of ,god4 ,and yet demoniacal temptation is perfectly analogous to human temptation4 ,a human seducer has it in his power1 if his suggestions are received1 to corrupt innocence1 render life miserable1 undermine faith in ,god and in ,christ1 and destroy the hopes of eternity--and a diabolical seducer can do no more4 ,again1 the ,scriptures seem to teach us that these wicked spirits are the authors of certain temporal evils1 and ,i do not see that there is anything unreasonable in the fact1 if it be granted1 that there are spirits who exist independent of bodily frames--that these spirits are free agents1 and have different characters1 and act according to their characters1 and also that1 according to the laws 7i4e4 within the limitations7 of their nature1 they have power to act upon those below them in the scale of being1 just as we can act upon creatures below us according to the limitations1 i4e4 the laws1 of our nature4 ,we are in our way able to inflict evil or to ward off evil from our fellow creatures1 under the limitations1 or laws which a higher ,power has set over us2 and the ,scriptures teach us that there are other beings in the great spiritual kingdom of ,god who are able to do us good or mischief under the conditions which the same ,supreme ,power has imposed on their action4 ,so that the one thing which the ,scriptures reveal to us is1 that there is a far vaster spiritual kingdom of ,god than the human race4 ,with respect to demoniacal possession1 our difficulties arise from two things--from our utter ignorance of the nature and real causes of mental diseases1 and from our ignorance of the way in which purely spiritual beings can act upon beings such as ourselves1 who ordinarily receive impressions only through our bodily organs4 ,we know not1 for instance1 how ,god ,himself acts upon our spirits1 and yet1 if ,he cannot1 ,he has less power over us than we have over one another4 ,respecting the fact of ,god permitting such a thing as possession1 there is no more real difficulty than is involved in ,his permitting such a thing as madness4 ,the symptoms of possession seem generally to have resembled mania1 and ascribing certain sorts of mania to evil spirits is only assigning one cause rather than another to a disease of whose nature we are profoundly ignorant4 #agh3a ,again1 if we take into consideration the fact that in not a few cases madness is produced by moral causes1 by yielding to certain temptations1 as1 for instance1 to drunkenness1 there will be still less difficulty in believing that madness1 arising from the action of an evil being1 may be the punishment of yielding to the seductions of that evil being4 ,the miraculous cure of demoniacal possession presents1 ,i need hardly say1 less physical difficulty than any other cure performed by our ,lord4 ,assuming the presence of an evil spiritual existence in the possessed person coming face to face with the most exalted spiritual ,power and ,goodness1 the natural result is that the one quails before the other4 ,but1 in truth1 all the difficulties respecting possession arise not so much from our ignorance1 as from our dogmatism4 ,we assert the dogma1 or at least we quietly assume the dogma1 that there are no spiritual or intellectual beings between ourselves and ,god2 or1 if we shrink from an assertion which so nearly implies our own omniscience1 we lay down that these superior beings1 of whose laws we know nothing1 can only act upon us in ways precisely similar to those on which we act upon one another4 ,,section ,,xxiv4 ,,competent ,,witnesses4 ,another objection which the author of ,supernatural ,religion urges against the credibility of our ,lord's miracles1 is that they were not performed before what he considers competent witnesses4 ,their occurrence he writes is limited to ages which were totally ignorant of physical laws4 7,vol4 i4 p4 #bja47 ,again1 he speaks of the age as one in which not only the grossest superstition and credulity prevailed1 but in which there was such total ignorance of natural laws that men were incapable of judging of that reality i4e4 of miracles4 7,p4 #bjd47 ,again3-- ,the discussion of miracles1 then1 is not one regarding miracles actually performed within our own knowledge1 but merely regarding miracles said to have been performed eighteen hundred years ago1 the reality of which was not verified at the time by any scientific examination4 7,p4 #bjh47 ,from this we gather that the author of ,supernatural ,religion considers that the miracles of ,christ should have been tested by scientific men2 but we ask1 ,by what scientific men8 ,it is clear that if the testing was to have been satisfactory to those who think like the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 they must have been scientific men who approached the whole matter in a spirit of scepticism4 ,our ,blessed ,lord 7,i speak it with all reverence71 if ,he cared to satisfy such men1 should have delayed ,his coming to the present time1 or should have called up out of the future1 or created for this purpose1 men who had doubts respecting the personality of ,god1 who held ,him to be fitly described as the ,unknown and the ,unknowable2 who1 to say the least1 were in a state of suspense as to whether1 if there be a ,supreme ,being1 ,he can reveal ,himself or make ,his will known4 ,in fact1 ,he must have called up1 or created for the purpose1 some individuals of a school of physicists which had no existence till #a1hjj years after ,his time4 ,for1 if ,he had called into existence such witnesses as ,sir ,isaac ,newton1 or ,sir ,humphrey ,davy1 or ,cuvier1 or ,faraday1 they would have fallen down and worshipped4 ,but1 in truth1 such witnesses1 whether believing or sceptical1 would have found no place for their science1 for the miracles of ,christ were of such a kind that the most scientific doubter could have no more accounted for them than the most ignorant4 ,the miracle of which1 next to our ,lord's own ,resurrection1 we have the fullest evidence1 is that of the feeding of the #e1jjj2 for it is recorded by each one of the four ,evangelists4 ,now1 if this miracle had been performed in the presence of the members of all the scientific societies now in existence1 their knowledge of natural laws could have contributed nothing to its detection or explanation4 ,they could have merely laid it down to trick or deception1 just as any of the unscientific persons present could have done1 and perhaps did4 ,the miracle was performed in the open4 ,our ,lord must have been on some elevated ground where ,his voice could have reached some considerable part of the multitude1 and on which every act of ,his could be observed4 ,more than a thousand loaves would have been necessary1 requiring the assistance of1 say a hundred men1 to collect them and bring them from a distance4 ,this1 too1 is not one of those miracles which can be explained by the convenient hypothesis of a substratum of truth4 ,it is either a direct exhibition of the creative power of ,god1 or a fiction as unworthy of a moment's serious consideration as a story in the ,arabian ,nights4 ,it is folly to imagine that such an act required scientific men to verify it4 ,if the matter was either a reality1 or presented that appearance of reality which the narrative implies1 then the scientific person would have been stupefied1 or in trembling and astonishment he would have fallen on his face like another opponent of the truth2 or1 may be1 his very reason would have been shattered at the discovery that here before him was that very supernatural and divine ,working in ,whose existence he had been doing his best to persuade his fellow creatures to disbelieve4 ,the ,scripture narratives1 if they are not altogether devoid of truth1 lead us to believe that our ,lord performed ,his miracles in the face of three sects or parties of enemies1 ,pharisees1 ,sadducees1 and ,herodians2 each one rejecting ,his claims on grounds of its own4 ,they were also performed in a populous city1 of which all the rulers and the mass of the inhabitants were hostile to ,his pretensions4 ,such a place could never have been chosen as the scene of a miraculous event1 known by those who promulgated it to have had no foundation in truth1 and withal assumed to have been known throughout the city at the time1 and to have been productive of a series of results1 miraculous and ordinary1 which were asserted to have commenced at the moment of its occurrence4 ,the writer of ,supernatural ,religion would disparage the accounts of our ,lord's supernatural works and ,resurrection1 because such accounts are to be found only in the writings of enthusiastic followers1 not in those of indifferent persons2 but the nature of the case almost excludes all other testimony3 for the miracles of our ,lord were wrought for an evidential purpose1--to convince the ,jews especially that ,he was the ,christ1 the hope of their fathers1 and1 as such1 was not only to be believed in1 but to be obeyed and followed4 ,the only sign of real true belief was that the man who professed to believe joined that society which was instituted for the purpose of propagating and keeping alive the truth of ,his ,messiahship4 ,if any one who professed to believe stopped short of joining this society1 his testimony to miracles would have been valueless1 for the miracles were wrought to convince him of the truth of a matter in which1 if he believed1 he was bound to profess his belief1 and1 if he did not1 he laid himself open to the charge of not really believing the testimony4 ,now1 of course1 the reader is aware that we have a signal proof of the validity of this argument in the well-known passage in ,josephus which relates to our ,lord4 ,josephus was the historian1 and the only historian1 of the period in which our ,lord flourished4 ,the eighteenth book of his ,antiquities of the ,jews covers the whole period of our ,lord's life4 ,if our ,lord had merely attracted attention as a teacher of righteousness1 which it is allowed on all hands that ,he did1 it was likely that ,he would have been mentioned in this book along1 with others whose teaching produced far less results4 ,mention appears to be made of ,him in the following words3-- ,now there was about this time ,jesus1 a wise man1 if it be lawful to call him a man1 for ,he was a doer of wonderful works1 a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure4 ,he drew over to ,him both many of the ,jews and many of the ,gentiles4 ,he was the ,christ4 ,and when ,pilate1 at the suggestion of the principal men among us1 had condemned ,him to the cross1 those that loved ,him at the first did not forsake ,him2 for ,he appeared to them alive again the third day2 as the ,divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning ,him4 ,and the tribe of ,christians1 so named from ,him1 are not extinct at this day4 ,now1 on external grounds there seems little doubt of the genuineness of this passage4 ,it is in all copies of the historian's work1 and is quoted in full by ,eusebius1 though not alluded to by fathers previous to his day4 #ahc3a ,if it is an interpolation1 it must have been by the hand of a ,christian2 and yet it is absolutely inconceivable that any ,christian should have noticed the ,christian ,church in such words as the tribe of ,christians1 so named from ,him1 are not extinct at this day4 ,it would have been absurd beyond measure to have described the ,christians1 so early as ,justin's time even1 as not extinct1 when they were filling the world with their doctrine1 and their increase was a source of great perplexity and trouble to the ,roman ,government4 ,it is just what a ,jew of ,josephus' time would have written who really believed that ,jesus wrought miracles1 but expected that nothing permanent would result from them4 ,and yet there can be no doubt but that the passage is open to this insurmountable objection1 that if ,josephus had written it he would have professed himself a ,christian1 or a man of incredible inconsistency4 ,setting aside the difficulty connected with the acknowledgment of ,jesus as the ,christ1 inasmuch as this name was frequently given to ,him by those who did not believe in ,him1 yet how could ,josephus state that ,his ,resurrection was predicted by the prophets of his nation1 and continue in appearance an unbeliever8 ,but1 whether genuine or not1 this passage is decisive as to the impossibility of what is styled an independent testimony to our ,lord3 ,he that is not with ,me is against ,me4 ,the facts of our ,lord's chief miracles and ,resurrection were such1 that the nearer men lived to the time the more impossible it would have been for them to have suspended their judgment4 ,so that1 instead of having the witness of men who1 by their prudent suspension of judgment1 betrayed their lurking unbelief1 we have the testimony of men who1 by their surrender of themselves1 soul and body1 evinced their undoubting faith in a matter in which there could be really no middle opinion4 ,,section ,,xxv4 ,,date ,,of ,,testimony4 ,one point remains--the time to which the testimony to our ,lord's miracles reaches back4 ,can it be reasonably said to reach to within fifty years of ,his ,death1 or to within twenty1 or even nearer8 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion asserts that it was not contemporaneous or anything like it4 ,in fact1 one might infer from his book that the miracles of ,christ were not heard of till say a century1 or three quarters of a century1 after ,his time1 for he says1 they were never heard of out of ,palestine until long after the events are said to have occurred4 #ahe3a 7,p4 #aib47 ,in such a case1 long after is very indefinite4 ,it may be a century1 or three quarters of a century1 or perhaps half a century4 ,it cannot be less1 for every generation contains a considerable number of persons whose memories reach back for forty or fifty years4 ,in a place of #c1jjj inhabitants1 in which ,i am now writing1 there are above fifty persons who can perfectly remember all that took place in #ahcj4 ,there are some whose memories reach to twenty years earlier4 ,now let the reader try and imagine1 if he can1 the possibility of ascribing a number of remarkable acts--we will not say miraculous ones--to some one who died in #ahcj1 and assuming also that these events were the basis of a society which had commenced with his death1 and was now making way1 and that the chief design of the society was to make known or keep up the memory of these events1 and that there had been a literature written between the present time and the time of the said man's death1 every line of which had been written on the assumption that the events in question were true1 and yet these events had never really taken place4 ,we must also suppose that the person upon whom these acts are attempted to be fastened was regarded with intense dislike by the great majority of his contemporaries1 who did all they could to ruin him when alive1 and blacken his memory after he had died1 and who looked with especial dislike on the idea that he was supposed to have done the acts in question4 ,let the reader1 ,i say1 try and imagine all this1 and he will see that1 in the case of our ,lord1 the author's long after must be sixty or seventy years at the least2 more likely a hundred4 ,let us now summon another witness to the supernatural1 whose testimony we promised to consider1 and this shall be ,clement of ,rome--the earliest author to whom it has suited the purpose of the author of ,supernatural ,religion to refer4 ,if we are to rely upon the almost universal consent of ancient authors rather than the mere conjectures of modern critics1 he is the person alluded to by ,st4 ,paul in the words1 ,with ,clement also1 and with other my fellow labourers1 whose names are written in the book of life4 7,phil4 iv4 #c47 ,of this man ,eusebius writes3-- ,in the twelfth year of the same reign 7,domitian's71 after ,anecletus had been bishop of ,rome twelve years1 he was succeeded by ,clement1 whom the ,apostle1 in his ,epistle to the ,philippians1 shows had been his fellow-labourer in these words3 ',with ,clement also and the rest of my fellow-labourers1 whose names are in the book of life4' ,of this ,clement there is one ,epistle extant1 acknowledged as genuine1 of considerable length and of great merit1 which he wrote in the name of the ,church at ,rome1 to that of ,corinth1 at the time when there was a dissension in the latter4 ,this we know to have been publicly read for common benefit1 in most of the ,churches both in former times and in our own4 7,eccles4 ,hist4 ,b4 ,,iii4 xv4 xvi47 ,origen confirms this4 ,clement of ,alexandria reproduces several pages from his ,epistle1 calling him ,the ,apostle ,clement1 #ahg3a and ,irenaeus speaks of him as the companion of the ,apostles3-- ,this man1 as he had seen the blessed ,apostles and been conversant with them1 might be said to have the preaching of the ,apostles still echoing in his ears1 and their traditions before his eyes4 7,bk4 ,,iii4 ch4 iii4 #c7 ,irenaeus1 it is to be remembered1 died at the end of the second century1 and his birth is placed within the first quarter of it1 so that1 in all probability1 he had known numbers of ,christians who had conversed with ,clement4 ,according to the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 the great mass of critics assign the ,epistle of ,clement to between the years ,a4,d4 #ie-ajj4 ,in dealing with this ,epistle ,i shall1 for argument's sake1 assume that ,clement quoted from an earlier ,gospel than any one of our present ones1 and that the one he quoted might be the ,gospel according to the ,hebrews1 and ,i shall ask the same question that ,i asked respecting ,justin ,martyr--,what views of ,christ's ,person and work and doctrine did he derive from this ,gospel of his8 ,the ,epistle of ,clement is one in which we should scarcely expect to find much reference to the ,supernatural1 for it is written throughout for the one practical purpose of healing the divisions in the ,church of ,corinth4 ,these the writer ascribes to envy1 and cites a number of ,scripture examples of the evil effects of this disposition and the good effects of the contrary one4 ,he adheres to this purpose throughout1 and every word he writes bears more or less directly on his subject4 ,yet in this document1 from which1 by its design1 the subject of the supernatural seems excluded1 we have all the leading features of supernatural ,christianity4 ,we have the ,father sending the ,son 7ch4 xlii472 we have the ,son coming of the seed of ,jacob according to the ,flesh 7ch4 xxxii472 we have the words1 ,our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 the sceptre of the ,majesty of ,god1 did not come in the pomp of pride and arrogance1 although ,he might have done so1 but in a lowly condition1 as the ,holy ,spirit had declared regarding ,him 7ch4 xvi472 and at the end of the same we have3-- ,if the ,lord thus humbled ,himself1 what shall we do who have through ,him come under the yoke of ,his grace8 ,clement describes ,him in the words of the ,epistle to the ,hebrews as ,one-- ,who1 being the brightness of ,his ,god's ,majesty1 is by so much greater than the angels as ,he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they4 7,ch4 xxxvi47 ,we have ,clement speaking continually of the ,death of ,jesus as taking place for the highest of supernatural purposes1--the reconciliation of all men to ,god4 ,let us look1 he writes1 steadfastly to the ,blood of ,christ1 and see how precious that ,blood is to ,god1 which1 having been shed for our salvation1 has set the grace of repentance before the whole world4 7,ch4 vii47 ,again1 ,and thus they made it manifest that ,redemption should flow through the ,blood of the ,lord to all them that believe and hope in ,god4 7,ch4 xii47 ,again1 ,on account of the love ,he bore us1 ,jesus ,christ our ,lord gave ,his ,blood for us by the will of ,god1 ,his ,flesh for our flesh1 and ,his ,soul for our souls4 7,ch4 xlix47 ,his sufferings are apparently said by ,clement to be the sufferings of ,god4 7,ch4 ii47 ,but1 above all1 the statement of the truth of our ,lord's ,resurrection1 and of ours through ,his1 is as explicit as possible3-- ,let us consider1 beloved1 how the ,lord continually proves to us that there shall be a future resurrection1 of which ,he has rendered the ,lord ,jesus the first fruits by raising ,him from the dead4 7,ch4 xxiv47 ,the ,apostles having therefore received their orders1 and being fully assured by the ,resurrection of our ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 and established in the ,word of ,god1 with full assurance of the ,holy ,ghost1 they went forth proclaiming that the ,kingdom of ,god was at hand4 7,ch4 xlii47 ,when we look to ,clement's theology1 we find it to have been what would now be called1 in the truest and best sense of the word1 ,evangelical1 thus3-- ,we too1 being called by ,his ,will in ,christ ,jesus1 are not justified by ourselves1 nor by our own wisdom1 or understanding1 or godliness1 or works which we have wrought in holiness of heart2 but by that faith through which from the beginning ,almighty ,god has justified all men4 7,ch4 xxxii47 ,again3-- ,all these the ,great ,creator and ,lord of all has appointed to exist in peace and harmony2 while ,he does good to all1 but most abundantly to us who have fled for refuge to ,his compassion through ,jesus ,christ our ,lord4 ,and he ends his ,epistle with the following prayer3-- ,may ,god1 who seeth all things1 and ,who is the ,ruler of all ,spirits and the ,lord of all ,flesh--,who chose our ,lord ,jesus1 and us through ,him to be a peculiar people--grant to every soul that calleth upon ,his glorious and holy ,name1 faith1 fear1 peace1 patience1 long suffering1 self-control1 purity and sobriety1 to the well pleasing of ,his ,name through our ,high ,priest and ,protector ,jesus ,christ4 7,ch4 lviii47 ,but with all this his ,christianity seems to have been ,ecclesiastical1 in the technical sense of the word4 ,he seems to have had a much clearer and firmer hold than ,justin had of the truth that ,christ instituted1 not merely a philosophy or system of teaching1 but a mystical body or visible ,church1 having its gradations of officers corresponding to the officers of the ,jewish ,ecclesiastical system1 and its orderly arrangements of worship4 7,ch4 xl-xlii47 ,now this is the ,christianity of a man who lived at least sixty or seventy years nearer to the fountain head of ,christian truth than did ,justin ,martyr1 whose witness to dogmatical or supernatural ,christianity we have shown at some length4 ,it is also gathered out of a comparatively short book1 not one sixth of the length of the writings of ,justin1 and composed solely for an undogmatic purpose4 ,his views of ,christ and ,his work are precisely the same as those of ,justin4 ,by all rule of rationalistic analogy they ought to have been less ecclesiastical1 but in some respects they are more so4 ,clement certainly seems to bring out more fully our ,lord's ,resurrection 7taking into consideration1 that is1 the scope of his one remaining book and its brevity71 and the ,resurrection of ,christ is the crowning miracle which stamps the whole dispensation as supernatural4 ,so far1 then1 as the ,supernatural is concerned1 it makes no difference whatsoever whether ,clement used the ,gospel according to ,st4 ,matthew or the ,gospel according to the ,hebrews4 ,his ,gospel1 whatever it was1 not only filled his heart with an intense and absorbing love of ,christ1 and a desire that all men should imitate ,him1 but it filled his mind with that view of the religion of ,christ which we call supernatural and evangelical1 but which the author of ,supernatural ,religion calls ecclesiastical4 ,the question now arises1 not so much from whom1 but when1 did he receive this view of ,christ and ,his system4 ,i do not mean1 of course1 the more minute features1 but the substance4 ,to what period must his reminiscences as a ,christian extend8 ,what time must his experiences cover8 ,irenaeus1 in the place ,i have quoted1 speaks of him as the companion of ,apostles1 ,clement of ,alexandria as an ,apostle1 ,eusebius and ,origen as the fellow-labourer of ,st4 ,paul4 ,now1 ,i will not at present insist upon the more than likelihood that such was the fact4 ,i will1 for argument's sake1 assume that he was some other ,clement2 but1 whoever he was1 one thing respecting him is certain--that the knowledge of ,christianity was not poured into him at the moment when he wrote his ,epistle1 nor did he receive it ten--twenty--thirty years before4 ,st4 ,peter and ,st4 ,paul were martyred in ,a4,d4 #fh2 the rest of the ,apostolic ,college were dispersed long before4 ,this ,epistle shows little or no trace of the peculiar ,johannean teaching or tradition of the ,apostle who survived all the others2 so1 unless he had received his ,christian teaching some years before the ,martyrdom of the two ,apostles ,peter and ,paul1 that is1 some time before ,a4,d4 #fh1 probably many years1 ,i do not see that there can have been the smallest ground even for the tradition of the very next generation after his own that he knew the ,apostles4 ,such a tradition could not possibly have been connected with the name of a man who became a ,christian late in the century4 ,now1 supposing that he was sixty-five years old when he wrote his ,epistle1 he was born about the time of our ,lord's ,death3 he was consequently a contemporary of the generation that had witnessed the ,death and ,resurrection of ,christ and the founding of the ,church4 ,if he had ever been in ,jerusalem before its destruction1 he must have fallen in with multitudes of surviving ,christians of the #e1jjj who were converted on and just after the day of ,pentecost4 ,his ,christian reminiscences1 then1 must have extended far into the age of the contemporaries of ,christ4 ,a man who was twenty-five years old at the time of the ,resurrection of ,christ would scarcely be reckoned an old man at the time of the destruction of ,jerusalem4 ,clement consequently might have spent twenty of the best years of his life in the company of persons who were old enough to have seen the ,lord in the ,flesh4 #aic3a ,so that his knowledge of the ,death and ,resurrection of ,christ1 and the founding of the ,church1 even if he had never seen ,st4 ,paul or any other ,apostle1 must have been derived from a generation of men1 all the older members of which wore ,christians of the ,pentecostal period4 ,now when we come to compare the ,epistle of ,clement with the only remaining ,christian literature of the earliest period1 i4e4 the earlier ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul1 we find both the account of ,christ and the ,theology built upon that account1 to be the same in the one and in the other4 ,the supernatural fact respecting ,christ to which the earliest ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul most prominently refer1 was ,his ,resurrection as the pledge of ours1 and this is the fact respecting ,christ which is put most prominently forward by ,clement1 and for the same purpose4 ,the ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians is referred to by ,clement in the words3-- ,take up the ,epistle of the ,blessed ,apostle ,paul4 ,what did he write to you at the time when the ,gospel first began to be preached8 ,truly1 under the inspiration of the ,spirit 7,greek3 pneumatiks7 he wrote to you concerning himself and ,cephas and ,apollos1 because even then parties had been formed among you4 7,ch4 xlvii47 ,the other reproductions of the language of ,st4 ,paul's ,epistles are numerous1 and ,i give them in a note4 #aid3a ,the reader will see at a glance that the ,theology or ,christology of ,clement was that of the earliest writings of the ,church of which we have any remains1 and to these he himself frequently and unmistakably refers4 ,the earlier ,epistles of ,st4 ,paul1 as those to the ,thessalonians1 ,galatians1 ,corinthians1 and ,romans1 are acknowledged on all hands1 even by advanced ,german ,rationalists1 to be the genuine works of the ,apostle ,paul2 indeed one might as well deny that such a man ever existed as question their authenticity4 ,the ,first ,epistle to the ,corinthians1 which is the longest and most dogmatic of the earlier ones1 cannot have been written after the year #eh4 ,in a considerable number of chronological tables to which ,i have referred1 the earliest date is the year #eb1 and the latest #eh4 ,to the ,first ,epistle to the ,thessalonians1 which is undoubtedly the earliest of all1 the earliest date assigned is #dg1 and the latest #ec4 ,now it is ever to be remembered that in each of these--the ,first to the ,thessalonians and the ,first to the ,corinthians--we have enunciations of the great crowning supernatural event of ,scripture--the ,resurrection of ,christ and our ,resurrection as depending upon it1 which are unsurpassed in the rest of ,scripture4 ,so that in the first ,christian writing which has come down to us1 we have the great fact of ,supernatural ,religion1 which carries with it all the rest4 ,the fullest enunciation of the evidences of the ,resurrection is in a writing whose date cannot be later than #eh1 and runs thus3-- ,moreover1 brethren1 ,i declare unto you the ,gospel which ,i preached unto you1 which also ye have received1 and wherein ye stand2 by which also ye are saved1 if ye keep in memory what ,i preached unto you1 unless ye have believed in vain4 ,for ,i delivered unto you first of all that which ,i also received1 how that ,christ died for our sins according to the ,scriptures2 and that ,he was buried1 and that ,he rose again the third day according to the ,scriptures4 ,and that ,he was seen of ,cephas1 then of the twelve4 ,after that #aif3a ,he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once1 of whom the greater part remain unto this present twenty-five years after the event but some are fallen asleep4 ,after that ,he was seen of ,james1 then of all the ,apostles1 and last of all ,he was seen of me also4 7#a ,cor4 xv4 #a47 ,if the reader compares this with the accounts in any one of the ,four1 he will find that it gives the fullest list of our ,lord's appearances which has come down to us1 and this1 be it remembered1 forming part of the most categorical declaration of what the ,gospel is1 to be found in the ,new ,testament4 #aif3a ,a man1 then1 writes in ,a4,d4 #eg or earlier1 that another1 ,who had died in ,a4,d4 #cb had been seen by a number of persons1 and among these1 by #ejj persons at once1 of whom the greater part were alive when he wrote1 and implying that the story had been believed ever since1 and received by him 7the writer7 from those who had seen this ,jesus1 and that the fact was so essential to the religion that it was itself called the ,gospel1 a name continually given to the whole system of ,christianity1 and moreover that he himself1 when in company with others1 had seen this ,jesus at noon-day1 and1 the history asserts1 had been blinded by the sight4 ,now let the reader recall to his mind any public man who died twenty-five years ago1 that is1 in #ahej1 and imagine this man appearing1 not as a disembodied spirit1 but in his resuscitated body to first one of his friends1 then to eleven or twelve1 then to another1 then to five hundred persons at one time1 and a flourishing and aggressive institution founded upon this his appearance1 and numbers of persons giving up their property1 and breaking with all their friends1 and adopting a new religion1 and a new course of life of great self-denial1 and even encountering bitter persecution and death1 simply because they believed this man to be alive from the dead1 and moreover some professing to do miracles1 and to confer the power of doing miracles in the name and by the power of this risen man4 ,let the reader1 ,i say1 try to imagine all this1 and then he will be able to judge of the credulity with which the author credits his readers when he writes3-- ,all history shows how rapidly pious memory exaggerates and idealizes the traditions of the past1 and simple actions might readily be transformed into miracles as the narrative circulated1 in a period so prone to superstition1 and so characterized by love of the marvellous4 7,vol4 ii4 p4 #bji47 ,all history1 the author says2 but why does he not give us a few instances out of all history1 that we might compare them with this ,gospel account1 and see if there was anything like it8 ,such a story1 if false1 is not a myth4 ,a myth is the slow growth of falsehood through long ages1 and this story of the ,resurrection was written circumstantially within twenty years of its promulgation1 by one who had been an unbeliever1 and who had conferred with those who must have been the original promoters of the falsehood1 if it be one4 ,to call such a story a myth1 is simply to shirk the odium of calling it by its right name1 or more probably to avoid having to meet the astounding historical difficulty of supposing that men endured what the ,apostles endured for what they must have known to have been a falsehood1 and the still more astounding difficulty that ,one ,whom the author of ,supernatural ,religion allows to have been a ,teacher ,who carried morality to the sublimest point attained or even attainable by humanity1 and ,whose life1 as far as we can estimate it1 was uniformly noble and consistent with his lofty principles1 should have impressed a character of such deep-rooted fraud and falsehood on ,his most intimate friends4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion has1 however1 added another to the many proofs of the truth of the ,gospel4 ,in his elaborate book of #a1jjj pages of attack on the authenticity of the ,evangelists he has shown1 with a clearness which1 ,i think1 has never been before realized1 the great fact that from the first there has been but one account of ,jesus ,christ4 ,in the writings of heathens1 of ,jews1 of heretics1 #aii3a in lost gospels1 in contemporary accounts1 in the earliest traditions of the ,church1 there appears but one account1 the account called by its first proclaimers the ,gospel2 and the only explanation of the existence of this ,gospel is its truth4 ,,the ,,end4 ,,footnotes #c3a ,papias1 for instance1 actually mentions ,st4 ,mark by name as writing a gospel under the influence of ,st4 ,peter4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion devotes ten pages to an attempt to prove that this ,st4 ,mark's ,gospel could not be ours4 7,vol4 i4 pp4 #ddh-dei47 #f3a ,i need hardly say that ,i myself hold the genuineness of the ,greek recension4 ,the reader who desires to see the false reasonings and groundless assumptions of the author of ,supernatural ,religion respecting the ,ignatian epistles thoroughly exposed should read ,professor ,lightfoot's article in the ,contemporary ,review of ,february1 #ahge4 ,in pages #cda-cde of this article there is an examination of the nature and trustworthiness of the learning displayed in the footnotes of this pretentious book1 which is particularly valuable4 ,i am glad to see that the professor has modified1 in this article1 the expression of his former opinion that the excerpta called the ,curetonian recension is to be regarded as the only genuine one4 ,elsewhere1 the professor writes 7referring to an essay in his commentary on the ,philippians71 ,i had acquiesced in the earlier opinion of ,lipsius1 who ascribed them 7i4e41 the ,greek or ,vossian recension7 to an interpolator writing about ,a4,d4 #adj4 ,now1 however1 ,i am obliged to confess that ,i have grave and increasing doubts whether1 after all1 they are not the genuine utterances of ,ignatius himself4 #aj3a ,greek3 ,ou gar monon en ,hellsi dia ,skratous hypo logou lenchth tauta1 alla kai en ,barbarois hyp' autou tou ,logou morphthentos kai anthrpou genomenou kai ,isou ,christou klthentous4 #aj3b ,such is a perfectly allowable translation of ,greek3 kai ton par' autou hyion elthonta kai didaxanta hmas tauta1 kai ton tn alln hepomenn kai exomoioumenn agathn angeln straton1 pneuma te to prophtikon sebometha kai proskynoumen4 ,as there is nothing approaching to angel worship in ,justin1 such a rendering seems absolutely necessary4 #ae3a ,for the law promulgated in ,horeb is now old1 and belongs to you alone2 but this is for all universally4 ,now law placed against law has abrogated that which is before it1 and a covenant which comes after in like manner has put an end to the previous one2 and an eternal and final law--namely1 ,christ--has been given to us4 7,heb4 viii4 #f-ac2 ,dial4 ch4 xi47 #ae3b ,for the true spiritual ,israel and descendants of ,judah1 ,jacob1 ,isaac1 and ,abraham 7who in uncircumcision was approved of and blessed by ,god on account of his faith1 and called the father of many nations7 are we who have been led to ,god through this crucified ,christ1 as shall be demonstrated while we proceed4 7,phil4 iii4 #c1 compared with ,romans1 iv4 #ab-ah2 ,dial4 ch4 xi47 #ag3a ,this1 of course1 was a ,jewish adversary's view of the ,christian doctrine of the ,godhead of ,christ1 which ,justin elsewhere modifies by showing the subordination of the ,son to the ,father in all things4 #ai3a ,greek3 ,en gar tois apomnmoneumasi1 ha phmi hypo tn apostoln autou kai tn ekeinois parakolouthsantn syntetachthai1 hoti hidrs hsei thromboi katecheito autou euchomenou4 7,dial4 ch4 ciii47 #bj3a ,greek3 ,kai to eipein metnomakenai auton ,petron hena tn apostoln1 kai gegraphthai en tois apomnmoneumasin autou gegenmenon kai touto1 k4t4l4 ,on this question the author of ,supernatural ,religion remarks1 ,according to the usual language of ,justin1 and upon strictly critical grounds1 the ,greek3 autou in this passage must be ascribed to ,peter2 and ,justin therefore seems to ascribe the ,memoirs to that ,apostle1 and to speak consequently of a ,gospel of ,peter4 7,vol4 i4 p4 #dag47 #bh3a ,that of our ,lord being born in a cave4 #bi3a ,greek3 ,iannou gar kathezomenou4 #cd3a ,justin has ,greek3 hidrs hsei thromboi2 ,st4 ,luke1 ,greek3 ho hidrs autou hsei thromboi haimatos4 ,the author of ,supernatural ,religion lays great stress upon the omission of ,greek3 haimatos1 as indicating that ,justin did not know anything about ,st4 ,luke2 but we have to remember1 first1 that ,st4 ,luke alone mentions any sweat of our ,lord in ,his agony2 secondly1 that the account in ,justin is said to be taken from ,memoirs drawn up by ,apostles and those who followed them1 ,st4 ,luke being only one of those who followed2 thirdly1 ,justin and ,st4 ,luke both use a very scarce word1 ,greek3 thromboi2 fourthly1 ,justin and ,st4 ,luke both qualify this word by ,greek3 hsei4 ,if we add to this the fact that ,greek3 thromboi seems naturally associated with blood in several authors1 the probability seems almost to reach certainty1 that ,justin had ,st4 ,luke's account in his mind4 ,the single omission is far more easy to be accounted for than the four coincidences4 #cg3a ,and ,he said unto them1 ,these are the words which ,i spake unto you while ,i was yet with you1 that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of ,moses1 and in the prophets1 and in the ,psalms concerning me4 7,luke xxiii4 #dd47 #dh3a ,it is the reading of ,codices ,b and ,c of the ,codex ,sinaiticus of the ,syriac1 and of a number of ,fathers and ,versions4 #ea3a ,greek3 ,hekastos gar tis apo merous tou spermatikou theiou logou to syngenes horn kals ephthenxato4 #fc3a ,for instance1 in vol4 ii4 p4 #db1 c41 he speaks of one of ,tischendorf's assertions as a conclusion the audacity of which can scarcely be exceeded4--,then1 ,this is1 however1 almost surpassed by the treatment of ,canon ,westcott4--,then1 ,the unwarranted inference of ,tischendorf4--,there is no ground for ,tischendorf's assumption4--,tischendorf1 the self-constituted modern ,defensor ,fidei1 asserts with an assurance which can scarcely be characterized otherwise than as an unpardonable calculation upon the ignorance of his readers4--,canon ,westcott says1 with an assurance which1 considering the nature of the evidence1 is singular4--,even ,dr4 ,westcott states1 c4--,for ,tertullian his contempt seems unbounded3 indeed we way say the same of all the ,fathers4 ,numberless times does he speak of their uncritical spirit4 ,the only person for whom he seems to have a respect is the heretic ,marcion4 ,even rationalists1 such as ,credner and ,ewald1 are handled severely when they differ from him4 ,the above are culled from a few pages4 #fi3a ,greek3 ,hoti ,theos hypemeine gennthnai kai anthrpos genesthai4 #fi3b ,greek3 ,ex hn diarrhdn outous autos ho staurotheis hoti ,theos kai anthrpos1 kai stauroumenos kai apothnskn kekrygmenos apodeiknytai4 #gj3a ,the reader must remember that ,justin puts this expression1 which seems to imply a duality of ,godhead1 into the mouth of an adversary4 ,in other places1 as ,i shall show1 he very distinctly guards against such a notion1 by asserting the true and proper ,sonship of the ,word and his perfect subordination to ,his ,father4 ,there is a passage precisely similar in ch4 lv4 #ga3a ,i continued3 ,moreover1 ,i consider it necessary to repeat to you the words which narrate how ,he is both ,angel and ,god and ,lord1 and ,who appeared as a ,man to ,abraham4 7,dial4 ch4 lviii47 ,permit me1 further1 to show you from the ,book of ,exodus1 how this same ,one1 ,who is both ,angel1 and ,god1 and ,lord1 and ,man4 7,dial4 ch4 lix47 ,god begat before all creatures1 a ,beginning1 a certain rational ,power from ,himself1 ,who is called by the ,holy ,spirit1 now the ,glory of the ,lord1 now the ,son1 again ,wisdom1 again an ,angel1 then ,god1 and then ,lord and ,logos4 7,dial4 ch4 lxi47 ,the ,word of ,wisdom1 ,who is ,himself this ,god1 begotten of the ,father of all things1 and ,word1 and ,wisdom1 and ,power1 and the ,glory of the ,begetter1 will bear evidence to me1 c4 7,dial4 lxi47 ,therefore these words testify explicitly that ,he is witnessed to by ,him ,who established these things i4e4 the ,father as deserving to be worshipped1 as ,god and as ,christ4 7,dial4 lxiii47 ,the reader will find other declarations1 most of which are equally explicit1 in ,dial4 ch4 lvi4 7at the end71 ch4 lvii4 7at the end71 lxii4 7middle71 lxviii4 7at middle and end71 lxxiv4 7middle71 lxxv41 lxxvi4 7made ,him known1 being ,christ1 as ,god strong and to be worshipped71 lxxxv4 7twice called the ,lord of ,hosts71 lxxxvii4 7where ,christ is declared to be pre-existent ,god71 cxiii4 7he ,joshua was neither ,christ1 ,who is ,god1 nor the ,son of ,god71 cxv4 7our ,priest1 ,who is ,god1 and ,christ1 the ,son of ,god1 the ,father of all71 cxxiv4 7,now ,i have proved at length that ,christ is called ,god71 cxxv4 7,he ministered to the will of the ,father1 yet nevertheless is ,god71 cxxvi4 7thrice in this chapter71 cxxvii41 cxxviii41 cxxix4 #gc3a ,i adopt this phrase because1 it is used by ,justin4 ,his words are ,greek3 arithm onta heteron4 7,dial4 ch4 lxii47 #gd3a ,greek3 ,hoti archn pro pantn tn ktismatn ho ,theos gegennke dynamin tina ex heautou logikn1 k4t4l4 #gg3a ,dr4 ,pusey translates this passage thus3--,for all that the philosophers and legislators at any time declared or discovered aright1 they accomplished according to their portion of discovery and contemplation of the ,word2 but as they did not know all the properties of the ,word which is ,christ1 c4 #gg3b ,translated by ,dr4 ,pusey1 ,seminal ,divine ,word4 #gh3a ,a few pages further on ,i shall show that the mode of reasoning adopted by the author of ,supernatural ,religion1 in drawing inferences from the ways in which ,justin expresses the idea of ,st4 ,john's ,greek3 ho logos sarx egeneto would1 if we adopted it1 lead us to some very startling conclusions4 #hd3a ,the following are some instances3--,god sent not ,his ,son into the world to condemn the world4 ,he ,whom ,god sent4--,john iii4 #ag1 #bc4 ,my meat is to do the will of ,him that sent me4 ,jesus ,christ1 ,whom ,thou hast sent4 ,as my ,father sent me1 so send ,i you1 c4 #he3a ,this passage does not occur among the remarks upon ,justin ,martyr's quotations1 but among those on the ,clementine ,homilies4 ,however1 it seems to be used to prove that the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john was published after the writing of the ,clementines1 which the author seems to think were themselves posterior to ,justin4 #hf3a ,i say the necessary developments1 because ,holy ,scripture is given to the ,church to be expounded and applied1 and in order to this its doctrine must be collected out of many scattered statements1 and stated and guarded1 and this is its being developed4 ,the ,persons1 the attributes1 and the works of the three ,persons of the ,godhead are so described in ,holy ,scripture as ,divine1 and ,they are so conjoined in the works of ,creation1 ,providence1 and ,grace1 that we cannot but contemplate ,them as associated together1 and cannot but draw an impassable gulf between ,their existence and that of all creatures1 and we cannot but adoringly contemplate ,their relations one to another1 and hence the necessary development of the ,christian dogma as contained in the ,creeds4 #ia3a ,greek3 ,ton di' hmas tou anthrpous kai dia tn hmeteran strian katelthonta ek tn ourann1 kai sarkthenta ek ,pneumatos ,hagiou kai ,marias ts parthenou1 kai enanthrpsanta1 k4t4l4 #id3a ,though of course not as regards time1 for all ,catholics hold the ,eternal ,generation1 that there never was a time in which the ,father was not a ,father2 nor as regards power or extension1 for whatever the ,father does that the ,son does also1 and wherever the ,father is there is the ,son also4 #ajj3a ,eusebius1 ,b4 ii4 ch4 v4 #ajf3a ,apol4 i4 #ad4 #ajg3a ,the spirit of this verse1 and its form of expression1 are quite those of the ,gospel of ,st4 ,john2 and it serves to form a link of union between the three ,synoptic ,gospels and the ,fourth1 and to point to the vast and weighty mass of discourses of the ,lord which are not related except by ,st4 ,john4 ,alford in loco4 #aag3a ,if the reader desires to see ,logos doctrine expressed in philosophic terminology1 he can find it in some of the extracts from ,philo given in the notes of ,supernatural ,religion vol4 ii4 pp4 #bgb-bih4 ,can there be a greater contrast than that between ,st4 ,john's terse1 concise1 simple1 enunciations and the following3 ,greek3 ,kai ou monon phs1 alla kai pantos heterou phtos archetypon mallon de archetypou presbyteron kai anteron1 ,logon echon paradeigmatos to men gar paradeigma ho plrestatos n autou ,logos1 k4t4l4--,de ,somniis1 i4 #ae1 ,mang4 i4 #fcd4 ,there is no particularly advanced philosophic terminology here1 and yet there is a profound difference between both the thought and wording of this sentence of ,philo and ,st4 ,john's four enunciations of the ,logos4 ,again1 ,greek3 ,dlon de hoti kai h archetypos sphragis1 hon phamen einai kosmon noton1 autos an ei to archetypon paradeigma1 idea tn iden1 ho ,theou ,logos4--,de ,mundi ,opificio ,mang4 vol4 i4 p4 #h4 ,it is manifest also that the archetypal seal1 which we call that world which is perceptible only to the intellect1 must itself be the archetypal model1 the idea of ideas1 the word of ,god4 7,yonge's ,translation47 #abf3a ,when ,he came into the world ,he was manifested as ,god and man4 ,and it is easy to perceive the man in ,him when ,he hungers and shows exhaustion1 and is weary and athirst1 and withdraws in fear1 and is in prayer and in grief1 and sleeps on a boat's pillow1 and entreats the removal of the cup of suffering1 and sweats in an agony1 and is strengthened by an angel1 and betrayed by a ,judas1 and mocked by ,caiaphas1 and set at naught by ,herod1 and scourged by ,pilate1 and derided by the soldiers1 and nailed to the tree by the ,jews1 and with a cry commits ,his spirit to ,his ,father1 and drops ,his head and gives up the ghost1 and has ,his side pierced by a spear1 and is wrapped in linen and laid in a tomb1 and is raised by the ,father from the dead4 ,and the ,divine in ,him1 on the other hand1 is equally manifest when ,he is worshipped by angels1 and seen by shepherds1 and waited for by ,simeon1 and testified of by ,anna1 and inquired after by wise men1 and pointed out by a star1 and at a marriage makes wine of water1 and chides the sea when tossed by the violence of winds1 and walks upon the deep1 and makes one see who was blind from birth1 and raises ,lazarus when dead for four days1 and works many wonders1 and forgives sins1 and grants power to ,his disciples4 #aeb3a ,history affords multitudes of instances1 but an example may be selected from one of the most critical periods of modern history4 ,let it be granted that ,louis the ,sixteenth of ,france and his ,queen had all the defects attributed to them by the most hostile of serious historians2 let all the excuses possible be made for his predecessor1 ,louis the ,fifteenth1 and also for ,madame de ,pompadour1 can it be pretended that there are grounds for affirming that the vices of the two former so far exceeded those of the latter1 that their respective fates were plainly and evidently just8 ,that whilst the two former died in their beds1 after a life of the most extreme luxury1 the others merited to stand forth through coming time1 as examples of the most appalling and calamitous tragedy4 7,mivart's ,genesis of ,species1 ch4 ix47 #aee3a ,what sign showest ,thou us8 ,destroy this temple1 and in three days ,i will raise it up3 but ,he spake of the temple of ,his ,body4 7,john ii4 #ai-ba7 ,an evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign1 and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of the ,prophet ,jonas1 for as ,jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly1 so shall the ,son of ,man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth4 7,matt4 xii4 #ci1 #dj7 ,god commandeth all men everywhere to repent1 because ,he hath appointed a day on which ,he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom ,he hath chosen1 whereof ,he hath given assurance unto all men in that ,he raised ,him from the dead4 7,acts xvii4 #cj47 #aeh3a ,this sentence seems extremely carelessly worded4 ,the author cannot possibly mean that our ignorance is the anomaly1 for throughout his whole work he assumes that ignorance is the rule in all matters1 moral1 physical1 historical4 ,the ,fathers of the second century knew nothing of the ,evangelists4 ,st4 ,john knows nothing of the writings of his brother ,evangelists4 ,they are all assumed to be ignorant of what they have not actually recorded4 ,we know nothing of vital force1 or physical force1 or of a revelation4 ,in fact1 ,god ,himself is the ,unknowable4 #afd3a ,perhaps #a ,tim4 i4 #bj1 iv4 #ad2 #b ,tim i4 #f1 may refer to such gifts2 but the contrast between such slight intimations and the full recognition in #a ,cor4 xii4 and xiv4 is very great4 #afh3a ,the author of the book of ,enoch not only relates the fall of the angels through love for the daughters of men1 but gives the names of twenty-one of them1 and their leaders1 of whom ,jequn was he who seduced the ,holy ,angels1 and ,ashbeel it was who gave them evil counsel and corrupted them4 ,a third1 ,gadreel1 was he who seduced ,eve4 ,he also taught to the children of men the use and manufacture of all murderous weapons1 of coats of mail1 shields1 swords1 and of all the implements of war4 ,another evil angel1 named ,penemue1 taught them many mysteries of wisdom4 ,he instructed men in the art of writing1 with paper and ink1 by means of which1 the author remarks1 many fall into sin1 even to the present day4 ,kaodej1 another evil angel1 taught the human race all the wicked practices of spirits and demons1 and also magic and exorcism4 ,the offspring of the fallen angels and of the daughters of men1 were giants whose height was #c1jjj ells1 of these are the demons working evil upon earth4 ,azayel taught men various arts1 the making of bracelets and ornaments1 the use of cosmetics1 the way to beautify the eyebrows1 precious stones and all dye-stuffs and metals1 c4 ,the stars are represented as animated beings4 ,enoch sees seven stars bound together in space like great mountains1 and flaming with fire1 and he enquires of the angel who leads him on account of what sin they are so bound4 ,uriel informs him that they are stars which have transgressed the commands of the ,most ,high1 and they are thus bound until ten thousand worlds1 the number of the days of their transgression1 shall be accomplished4 ,so far for the ,angelology4 ,as to the demons1 ,their number is infinite 444 they are about as close as the earth thrown up out of a newly made grave4 ,it is stated that each man has #aj1jjj demons at his right hand1 and #a1jjj on his left4 ,the crush in the synagogue on the ,sabbath arises from them1 also the dresses of the ,rabbins become so old and torn through their rubbing2 in like manner also they cause the tottering of the feet4 ,he who wishes to discover these spirits must take sifted ashes and strew them about his bed1 and in the morning he will perceive their footprints upon them like a cock's tread4 ,if any one wish to see them1 he must take the after-birth of a black cat1 which has been littered by a first-born black cat1 and whose mother was also a first-birth1 burn and reduce it to powder1 and put some of it on his eyes1 and he will see them4 7,vol4 i4 pp4 #ajd and #aaa74 ,and this is the stuff which the author would have us believe was the real origin of the supernatural in the life of ,jesus6 #agj3a ,see also ,mark v4 #db 7healing of ,jairus' daughter71 ,they were astonished with a great astonishment4 ,mark vii4 #cg 7healing of deaf man with impediment in his speech71 ,they were beyond measure astonished4 ,luke v4 #i1 ,he was astonished at the draught of fishes2 viii4 #ef1 ,her parents were astonished4 #agh3a ,there cannot be the slightest doubt but that certain cases of madness or mania present all the appearances of possession as it is described in ,scripture4 ,another personality1 generally intensely evil1 has possession of the mind1 speaks instead of the afflicted person1 throws the patient into convulsions1--in fact1 exhibits all the symptoms of the ancient demoniacs4 ,i have now before me the record of five or six such cases attested by ,german physicians4 #ahc3a ,the reader will find the references to it discussed in a dissertation at the end of ,whiston's ,josephus4 ,lardner utterly denies its authenticity4 ,daubuz1 however1 has1 ,i think1 clearly proved its style and phraseology to be those of ,josephus4 #ahe3a ,singular that he should say out of ,palestine1 for if they were false they would be first heard of at a distance from the scene of their supposed occurrence4 ,jerusalem1 so full of bitter enemies of ,christ1 was the last place in which ,his ,resurrection was likely to be promulgated4 #ahg3a ,miscellanies1 ,,iv4 ch4 xvii4 #aic3a ,let the reader remember that1 if this be an assumption1 the contrary assumption is infinitely the more unlikely4 ,our assumption is founded on the direct assertion of two writers of the second century1 one of whom asserts that ,clement was a close companion of ,apostles1 another that he was an ,apostle3 meaning1 of course1 such an one as ,barnabas4 ,a writer of the early part of the next century1 ,origen1 asserts that he was the person mentioned in ,st4 ,paul's ,epistle1 and the principal ,ecclesiastical ,historian who lived within two hundred years of his time corroborates this4 #aid3a ,ye 444 were more willing to give than to receive 7ch4 ii474 ,a reminiscence of ,st4 ,paul's quotation of ,christ's words to be found in ,acts xx4 #ce4 ,ready to every good work 7ch4 ii74 ,titus iii4 #a4 ,every kind of honour and happiness was bestowed upon you 7ch4 iii74 ,reminiscence of ,i ,corinth4 iv4 #h4 ,let us be imitators of them who in goat skins and sheep skins went about proclaiming the coming of ,christ 7ch4 xvii74 ,heb4 xi4 #cg4 ,to us who have fled for refuge to his compassions 7ch4 xx474 ,reminiscence of ,heb4 vii4 ,let us esteem those who have the rule over us4 ,i ,thess4 v4 #ab1 #ac2 ,heb4 xiii4 #ag4 ,not by preferring one to another4 #a ,tim4 v4 #ba4 ,a future ,resurrection1 of which ,he has rendered the ,lord ,jesus the first fruits by raising ,him from the dead 7ch4 xxiv474 #a ,cor4 xv4 #bj2 ,col4 i4 #ah4 ,nothing is impossible with ,god except to lie 7ch4 xxvii474 ,tit4 i4 #b2 ,heb4 vi4 #ah4 ,from whom ,jacob was descended our ,lord ,jesus ,christ according to the flesh 7ch4 xxxii474 ,rom4 ix4 #e4 ,for ,scripture saith1 'eye hath not seen1' c4 7ch4 xxxiv474 ,cor4 ii4 #i4 ,not only they that do them1 but also those that take pleasure in them that do them 7ch4 xxxv474 ,rom4 i4 #cb4 ,ch4 xxxvi4 contains distinct reference to ,heb4 i4 ,i gave an extract above4 ,let us take our body for an example4 ,the head is nothing without the feet 444 yea1 the very smallest members of our body are necessary and useful 7ch4 xxxvii471 #a ,corinth4 xii4 #ab1 c4 ,let every one be subject to his neighbour according to the special gift bestowed upon him 7,greek3 kaths kai eteth en t charismati autou7 7ch4 xxxviii474 ,rom4 xii4 #a-d2 ,ephes4 iv4 #h-ab4 ,the blessed ,moses1 also1 'a faithful servant in all his house' 7ch4 xliii474 ,heb4 iii4 #e4 ,have we not all one ,god and one ,christ8 ,is there not one ,spirit of grace poured upon us8 ,have we not one calling in ,christ8 7ch4 xlvi474 ,ephes4 iv4 #d-f4 ,and have reached such a height of madness as to forget that we are members one of another 7ch4 xlvi474 ,rom4 xii4 #e4 ,love beareth all things 444 is long suffering in all things 7ch4 xlix474 #a ,cor4 xiii4 #d4 #aif3a ,one is in amazement when one reads1 in the work of a man who professes to have such a love of truth1 the words1 ,the fact is1 that we have absolutely no contemporaneous history at all as to what the first promulgators of ,christianity actually asserted 7vol4 i4 p4 #aic74 ,this writer1 as far as ,i remember1 gives us no reason to believe that he doubts the authenticity of ,st4 ,paul's earlier ,epistles4 ,again1 what is contemporary history8 ,surely1 if a man was now to write the history of the ,crimean war in #ahed-e1 it would be a contemporary history4 #aii3a ,celsus1 for instance1 who had been some time dead when ,origen refuted him1 knew no other account than the one which he calumniated2 ,josephus the ,jew knew no other1 ,trypho suggests no counter story4 ,the wild exaggerations of the heretics refuted by ,irenaeus all presupposed the one narrative1 and can have had no other basis4