Origen was born in the year one hundred and eighty-five of the Christian
dispensation, and lived sixty-eight years. He gives in his writings five
thousand seven hundred and sixty-five quotations from the New Testament.
Tertullian gives eighteen hundred and two quotations from the New
Testament. Clemens, of Alexandria, labored in the year one hundred and
ninety-four. He gives us three hundred and eighty-four quotations from
the New Testament. Ireneus lived in the year one hundred and
seventy-eight. He gives us seven hundred and sixty-seven quotations from
the New Testament, making a grand total of eight thousand seven hundred
and twenty-three quotations, given by four ancient writers.
If all the copies of the New Testament in the world were destroyed, the
whole, with the exception of eleven verses, could be reproduced from the
writings of men who lived prior to the Nicene Council. Unbelievers quote
from all ancient heathen authors as though they were books of yesterday,
without manifesting the least doubt in reference to their authenticity
or authorship. The evidences necessary to establish genuineness of
authorship are ten-fold greater in the case of the New Testament
Scriptures than in the case of the histories of Alexander, Julius Caesar
and Cyrus, as given by ancient writers.
The notoriety of the New Testament writings during the first centuries
is without a parallel among all ancient writings. Their effect upon
society during those centuries can never be explained in harmony with
unbelief. But this is not all that is to be considered. Their notoriety
extends over the centuries between us and the times of the apostles.
Such notoriety is the grand support upon which the New Testament stands.
All other ancient writings stand upon the same kind of evidence, but
this kind of evidence is more than ten-fold greater in the support of
our religion than it is in the support of any other ancient documents.
We may obtain some idea of the influence of the New Testament Scriptures
during the first centuries from the statements of Gibbon. He says there
were "six millions of Christians in existence in the year three hundred
and thirteen." It is reasonable to allow that there were three millions
in the year one hundred and seventy-five. Under the best emperors of the
second century books were cheap. Thousands of persons engaged in writing
histories for a livelihood. It is allowed that there were as many as
fifteen thousand copies of the four gospels in circulation among the
people in the last quarter of the second century. This state of things
seems to convey the idea that it would be hard work to introduce
successfully any corruption into the text after this period of time. It
would be too easily detected.
There is also a grand argument in favor of the genuineness of our
religion, which is in the fact that it was in deathly opposition to both
Judaism and Paganism, its success being the destruction of both. If
Christianity was an imposition, its success during the first three
centuries of our era is utterly inexplicable.