ADMISSIONS AND PRESUMPTIONS.
With the somewhat scanty and inconclusive evidence from writings of the
first one hundred years from the crucifixion, are there any facts that
are conceded, and any presumptions from them? There are concessions,
and from what motives is immaterial, since there is no doubt of the
existence of the facts that are admitted even by those who deny the
authenticity of the Gospels. Says Renan[1]: “Not the slightest doubt has
been raised by serious criticism against the authenticity of the Epistle
to the Galatians, the two Epistles to the Corinthians, or the Epistle
to the Romans; while the arguments on which are founded the attacks on
the two Epistles to the Thessalonians, and that to the Philippians, are
without value.” And it may be added that the genuineness of the Book of
Revelations is conceded and insisted upon by most of his way of thinking.
Now, from the four Epistles against whose authenticity “not the slightest
doubt has been raised by serious criticism,” and the writings of
Josephus, Tacitus and Pliny, these facts are as well established as any
facts of history can possibly be established:—Jesus Christ was born in
Judea in the days of Herod, and was crucified under Pontius Pilate. He
was a most extraordinary character, and a wonderful teacher. He gathered
disciples, of whom twelve were called Apostles. After his death, his
followers were formed into numerous churches, which, in a few years,
extended into all parts of the then known world, and of which there has
been a continuous succession till now. If, from their disciples, we
know something of the life and teachings of Confucius and Socrates, we
should expect as much concerning him whose advent revolutionized the
world, within three centuries overturned the old pagan superstitions
throughout the Roman Empire, and is still the greatest moral power of the
most enlightened nations of the earth. But, if there were any accepted
memoirs of him in that first hundred years from his crucifixion, what has
become of them? It is incredible that they should have dropped out of
existence and there be no history or tradition of it. It is incredible
that they should have been lost to churches having a continuous life,
or that others should have been substituted for them, and there be no
trace of their disappearance or of a substitution. In the churches
in every period, the old and the young were together. How, then, was
displacement and substitution possible without protest? How was the loss
of accepted memoirs possible, so long as there was a continued succession
of teachers? Yet none have reached our time other than those which have
come to us through all the centuries as authentic writings of those whose
names they bear.
By the law of the “survival of the fittest,” all other productions making
any pretensions to such a character perished long ago, only fragments
of them remain, and our four Gospels are in the churches. There is,
therefore, to begin with, the strongest presumption in their favor.
“It is,” says Professor Greenleaf,[2] “for the objector to show them
spurious; for on him, by the plainest rules of law, lies the burden of
proof.” And from what has appeared it is plain that this “burden” is a
very heavy one.[3]
[1] Renan’s Life of Jesus, p. 35.
[2] The Testimony of the Four Evangelists (p. 28, section 10), by Simon
Greenleaf, LL.D., 1846. His standard work on evidence is in every
lawyer’s library.
[3] See also _post_, c. 8.