PART I

THE AUTHENTICITY OF. THE

NEW TESTAMENT.

BOOK I.

Of the Internal Evidence.

CHAP. I.

The Neceffity of this Inquiry. THE faith of Christians is thus diftinguished from all the other religions of the world: it pronounces Jefus to be the Redeemer of men, promised by God, the only cause of their falvation, and afferts his doctrine to be undeniably true. Should there, then, never have existed in the world a perfon, who, in the time of the Roman Emperour Auguftus, was born at Bethlehem of Mary, a Jewish virgin, and known

comes an evidence against him, and her decifion is infinitely more to be depended upon, than the credibility of any author whatever. We believe him in general; but if he relate miracles, then his credit alone is not fufficient juftly to challenge our affent. The more uncommon an event is, fo much more weighty must be the proofs for it. If it be a real miracle, then it demands a perfectly peculiar kind of proof, of which I fhall speak in the Second Volume of this Work, when I treat of the Truth of the Chriftian Religion, According to these principles we decide on all historical writings. We acknowledge Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus, Tacitus, and Livy, to be perfectly credible authorities. Nevertheless, when they speak of a certain divine vapour, which arofe from the earth, and instilled into men a perfect knowledge of all futurity; or of a ring around the nofe, out of which the devil was driven;

or

or when they inform us, that the ftatue of Jupiter fpoke and perfpired; that it rained blood; that the Emperour Vefpafian, by a mere touch, gave fight to a blind man; in fuch cafes we claim the privilege of refufing our belief, or at least of entirely paffing them over as doubtful.

There are no other rules enabling us to judge of the writings of the New Teftament, than those by which we judge of any other historical work. Now we are accustomed to establish the credibility of a book in the following manner:-We firft prove the authenticity of the book itself, and then the credibility of its author. Two things belong to the proof of the authenticity; firft, that the book was really written by the pretended author; and fecondly, that it is come down to us perfectly uncorrupted as it left the hands of its author. In this maaner we decide on all hiftorical writings; and men are B 3 unani

unanimously agreed, that it is as unreasonable to receive an evidence which cannot be proved in this way, as to reject that which has endured these proofs. A man of accuracy and integrity will never attempt to prove the truth of an event, which is pretended to have happened in the firft century, from what are called the writings of Dionyfius the Areopagite; for the name of Dionyfius, which they bear, is forged, and they were not compofed until the fifth or fixth century. Nor will he, like Whifton, believe any thing on the authority of the larger epiftles of Ignatius. Ignatius did indeed write epiftles; but whatever exifts in the larger, that is not found in the smaller, (and even thefe appear to be not abfolutely free from all interpolation) is the addition of a more modern hand. Orofius is no credible evidence for the truth of events, which are pretended to liave taken place at the birth of Jefus;

nor

nor will a critic affert any thing on the credit of Simeon Metaphraftes. The former did not write until the fifth century; and the latter is extremely credulous and much to be fufpected: neither of them therefore deferves to be efteemed a credible evidence.

Can, then, the three following propofitions be proved:-Firft, that the New Teftament was really written by the pretended contemporaries of Jefus;-Secondly, that it is come down to us uncorrupted ;-and, Thirdly, that the authors of it are evidences of credibility; -ftill we cannot, on their credit alone, prove the truth of the miracles they relate;—but thus much will be evident, that Jefus did really preach the doctrine acknowledged by Chriftians; that he was really born at Bethlehem, taught publicly in Judea, in the reign of Tiberius-in a word, all the events which are natural, and not miracuLous, muft be confidered as inconteftibly B 4

true,