EXAMINATION OF THE EVIDENCE, EXTERNAL AND
INTERNAL, IN FAVOR OF THE CREDIBILITY OF THE
GOSPEL HISTORY.
In the preceding chapters, I have taken the New Testament as I
found it, and have argued upon the supposition that Jesus and the
apostles really said, and reasoned, as has been stated. I will now
endeavour to show, by an examination of the authenticity of the
four gospels, that it is not certain that they were really guilty of
such mistakes as are related of them in those books.
*The life and doctrines of Jesus, and his followers, are contained in
the pieces composing the volume called the New Testament. The
genuineness of the books, i. e., whether they were written by those
to whom they are ascribed, must be judged of, from the external
testimony concerning them, and from internal marks in the books
themselves; for the miraculous acts therein, and therein only,
contained and related, cannot prove the truth and authenticity of
the books, because the authority and credibility of the books
themselves must be firmly established, before the miracles related
in them can reasonably be admitted as real facts.
Now, the external evidence in favour of these books, is the
testimony of those men called the fathers; and as the value of
testimony depends upon the character of the witnesses, it would be
proper, first, to state as much as, can be learned of these men. As
time will not permit me to adduce all that might be said upon this
subject, I shall here only take upon me to assert, that they were
most credulous, superstitious, and weak men, and, what is worse,
made no scruple of falsifying, to support and favour what they
called the cause of truth; for they were writers of apocryphal
books, attributing them to the apostles, and, moreover, great
miracle-mongers, who vamped up stories of prodigies to delude
their followers, and which they themselves knew to be false. I say,
I take upon me to assert this; and to confirm and establish this
accusation, I refer the reader to Dr. Middletons Free Enquiry, a
learned Christian, who, therefore, had no interest to misrepresent
this matter; and he will there find these accusations amply verified,
and traits of character proved upon them. By no means favourable
to the credibility of their testimony.
The first of these Fathers whose testimony is usually adduced to
prove the authenticity of the Gospels, is Papias, a Disciple of John.
The character given of him by Eusebius is, that he was a
superstitious, and credulous man. And this is easily proved by
recording some of the stories, concerning Jesus, and his followers,
written by this Papias in a book extant in the time of Eusebius. One
of these stories is mentioned by Irenoeus, who says, that Papias
had it from John; who, according to Papias, said, that Jesus said,
that-- The days shall come, in which there shall be vines, which
shall severally have ten thousand branches; and every one of these
branches shall have ten thousand lesser branches; and every one of
these branches shall have ten thousand twigs; and every one of
these twigs shall have ten thousand clusters of grapes; and every
one of these grapes being pressed shall yield two hundred and
seventy-five gallons of wine. And when a man shall take hold of
any of these sacred bunches, another bunch shall cry out I am a
better bunch, take me, and bless the Lord by me! Theres a
Munchausen for you, reader! Well! this Papias is the first witness
who lived after Matthew, who has spoken of his Gospel. He lived
about the year 116 after Jesus. And what does he say of it? Why
this. Matthew composed a writing of the Oracles (meaning
without doubt the Doctrines of the Gospel,) in the Hebrew
Language, and every one interpreted them as he was able. So far
as this Testimony goes it is positive evidence, that the only Gospel
of Matthew extant in 116, was extant in Hebrew; and there was
then no translation, of it, for every one interpreted as he was
able. The present gospel called of Matthew was then not written
by him, for it is in Greek. And that it has not at all the air of being
a translation is asserted by most of the learned. As it stands then, it
was not written by Matthew: and that it cannot be a translation of
Matthews Hebrew, is not only plain from the circumstance of its
style, and other marks understood by Biblical Critics, but can also
be proved by another story related by this same Papias concerning
the manner of the death of Judas. His body, and head (says
Papias) became so swollen, that at length he could not get through
a street in Jerusalem, where two chariots might pass abreast, and
having fallen to the ground, he--burst asunder.
Now though this ridiculous story is undoubtedly false, yet it is not
credible that Papias, who had so great a reverence for the Apostles
as to collect and gather all their sayings, would so flatly by his
story of the death of Judas contradict the story of Matthew, if the
Hebrew Gospel of Matthew contained that part of the Greek
Gospel of Matthew which relates the manner of Judas Death.
Justin Martyr lived after Papias, in the middle of the second
century; and though he relates many circumstances agreeing in the
main with those recorded in the Gospels, and appears to quote
sayings of Jesus from some book or books; yet it is substantially
acknowledged by Dr. Marsh, the learned annotator on Michaeliss
Introduction, that these quotations are so unlike the words, and
circumstances in the received Evangelists to which they appear to
correspond, that one of two things must be true; either, that Justin,
who lived 140 years after Jesus, had never seen any of the present
Gospels; or else, that they were in his time in a very different state
from what they now are.
The next Christian father who mentions the Gospel of Matthew is
Irenoeus, who says also that Matthew wrote his gospel in the
Hebrew Language. The character of Irenoeus is discoverable
from his work against the Heresies of his time, to that I refer the
Reader, who will find him to have been a zealous, though a very
credulous, and ignorant man; for he believed the story of Papias
just quoted, and many others equally absurd. He however furnishes
this important intelligence, that in the second century, the Christian
world was overrun with heresy, and a swarm of apocryphal, and
spurious Books were received by many as genuine.
The next witness in favour of the Gospel is Tertullian, who lived in
the latter end of the second century. And the soundness of his
Judgment, and his capability to distinguish the genuine Gospels
from among a hundred apocryphal ones, and above all his regard
for truth, may be judged of from these proofs given by himself. He
asserts upon his own knowledge, I know it, says he--that the
corpse of a dead Christian, at the first breath of the prayer made by
the priest, on occasion of its own funeral, removed its hands from
its sides, into the usual posture of a supplicant; and when the
service was ended, restored them again to their former situation.
(Tertul. de anima c. 51.) And he relates as a fact, which he, and all
the orthodox of his time credited, that--the body of another
Christian already interred moved itself to one side of the grave to
make room for another corpse which was going to be laid by it.
And it is on the testimony of such men as these, that the
authenticity of the gospels entirely depends as to external
evidence; for these are all the witnesses that can be produced as
speaking of them, who lived within two hundred years after Jesus:
Three men, (for Justin cannot be reckoned as a witness in favour of
the gospels.) Three men, who are all of them evidently credulous,
and two of whom are certainly *****.
To convince a thinking man that histories recording such very
extraordinary, ill supported, improbable facts as are contained in
the gospels are divine, or even really written by the men to whom
they are ascribed, and are not either some of the many spurious
productions with which (as we learn from Irenoeus) that early age
abounded, calculated to astonish the credulous, and superstitious,
or else writings of authors who were themselves infected with the
grossest superstitious credulity; of what use can it be to adduce the
testimony of the very few writers, of the same, or next succeeding
age, when the very reading of their works shews him that they
themselves were tainted with that same superstitious credulity, of
which are accused the real authors of the New Testament?
It is an obvious rule in the admission of evidence in any cause
whatsoever, that the more important the matter to be determined
by it is, the more unsullied and unexceptionable ought the
characters of the witnesses to be. And when no court of Justice, in
determining a question of fraud to the amount of six pence, will
admit the testimony of witnesses who are themselves notoriously
convicted of the same offence of which the defendant is accused;
how can it be expected, that any reasonable, unprejudiced person,
should admit similar evidence to be of weight, in a case of the
greatest importance possible, not to himself only; but to the whole
human race?
But there is still a greater defect in the testimony of those early
writers, than their superstitious credulity, I mean their disregard of
honour, and veracity, in whatever concerned the cause of their
particular system.
Though Luke asserts, that many (even before he wrote his histories
for the use of Theophilus,) had written upon the same subject:
(who of course must have been of the Jewish nation,) and many
more must have been written afterwards, whose writings must have
been particularly valuable yet so singularly industrious have the
fathers, and succeeding sons of the orthodox church been, in
destroying every writing upon the subject of Christianity, which
they could not by some means, or other, apply to the support of
their own unholy superstition, that no work of importance of any
Christian writer, within the three first centuries, hath been
permitted to come down to us, except those books which they have
thought fit to adopt, and transmit to us as the canon of apostolic
scripture; and the works of a few other writers, who were all of
them, not only converts from Paganism, but men who had been
educated and well instructed in the Philosophic Schools of the
latter Platonists, and Pythagoreans.
The established maxim of these schools was, that it was not lawful
only, but commendable to deceive, and assert falsehoods for the
sake of promoting what they considered as the cause of truth and
piety, and the effects of this maxim, which was fully acted upon by
both orthodox Christians, and heretics, produced a multiplicity of
false, and spurious writings wherewith the second century
abounded.
Nay, they did not spare from the operation of this maxim, the
scriptures themselves. For they stuffed their copies of the
Septuagint with a number of interpolated pretended prophecies
concerning Jesus, and his death upon the cross; forgeries as weak,
and contemptible, and clumsy in themselves, as they were impious
and wicked. Whoever desires to see a number of them; may find
them in the dispute, or dialogue of Justin with Trypho the Jew;
where he will see the simple Justin bringing them out passage after
passage against the stubborn Israelite, who contents himself with
coolly answering, that these marvellous prophecies were not to be
found in his Hebrew bible!
There is also another well known, incontrovertible proof of the
deceit and falsehood of the leading Christians of early times, of
which every person in the least conversant with the ecclesiastical
history of those times must be convinced--their pretended power
of working miracles! On this subject I shall say nothing, but refer
the reader to the work of Dr. Middleton already mentioned, for an
ample account of their lying wonders, which they imposed as
miraculous upon the simple people.
With regard to the internal evidence for the authenticity of the
writings; composing the New Testament, it is still less satisfactory
than the external evidence. And this may be well believed, when
the reader is informed that the great Semler, after spending his life
in the study of ecclesiastical history; and antiquities, which he is
allowed to have understood better than any before him, affirmed to
his astonished coreligionists, that, except the Gospel of John, and
the Apocalypse, the whole New Testament was a collection of
forgeries written by the partizans of the Jewish and Gentile parties
in the Christian church, and entitled apostolic, in order the better to
answer their purpose. This opinion has been in part adopted in
England, by a learned and shrewd clergyman named Evanson, who
has almost demonstrated, that the Greek Gospel of Matthew was
written in the second century after the birth of Jesus by a Gentile.
For he proves that it could not be written by a Jew, on account of
geographical mistakes, and manifest ignorance of Jewish customs.
He also gives good reasons for rejecting the authenticity of some
of the epistles. In short, he has poured such a flood of light upon
the eyes of his terrified brethren, as will, ere long, no doubt enable
them to see a little clearer than heretofore.
He gives several instances of geographical blunders in Matthew. I
shall mention only one. Matthew says, in the 2nd chapter, that
when Joseph, the husband of Mary, returned from Egypt, hearing
that Archelaus reigned in Judea, he was afraid to go thither, and
therefore turned aside, into the parts of Galilee. Now this, as will
appear from a map of Palestine, is just like saying, a man at
Philadelphia, intending to go to the State of New York, on his route
heard something which made him afraid to go thither, and
therefore he turned aside--into Boston!
That the author of that Gospel was ignorant of Jewish customs will
be evident from the following circumstances. He says Jesus told
Peter, that before the cock crew he would deny him thrice; and that
afterwards, when Peter was cursing and swearing, saying I know
not the man! immediately the cock crew. Now it is unfortunate
for the credit of this story, that it is well known, that in conformity
with Jewish customs, at that time subsisting, no cocks were
allowed to be in Jerusalem, where Jesus was apprehended. This is
known, and acknowledged by learned Christians, who have
extricated themselves from this difficulty, by proving that the
crowing of the cock, here mentioned, does not mean, as it appears
to mean, absolutely the crowing of a cock, but that it means--what
dost thou think reader? why it means---the sound of a trumpet!!*
According to Luke, as soon as Jesus was dead, Joseph of
Arimathea went to Pilate, and begged his body, and hasted to bury
it, because the Sabbath (which began at sunset,) drew on; that his
female disciples attended the burial; observed how the body was
placed in the sepulchre, and returned and prepared spices and
ointments to embalm it with, before the Sabbath commenced; and
then rested the Sabbath day, according to the commandment.
The pretended Matthew, however, tells us, that when the even
was come (i. e., when the Sabbath day was actually begun,) Joseph
went to beg the body--took it down, wrapped it in linen, and
buried it; and that Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, were
sitting over against the sepulchre. From the time that this writer has
thought fit to allot for the burial of Jesus, it is evident, that he was
not only no Jew, but so ignorant of the customs of the Jews, that
he did not know that their day always began with the evening, or
he would never have employed, Joseph in doing what no Jew
would, nor dared to have done, after the commencement of the
Sabbath. He takes no notice at all of the preparation made by the
women, mentioned by Luke; for that would not have agreed with
the sequel of his story. But to make up for that omission, he
informs us of a circumstance not mentioned at all by the other
Evangelists. For he tells us that on the next day which followeth
the day of preparation, the Chief Priests, and Pharisees came
together unto Pilate, &c. The next day which followeth the day
of preparation!!--such is the periphrasis that he uses for the
Sabbath day! It is well known that among the Jews it was, and is,
customary to prepare, and set out, in the afternoon of the Friday,
all the food and necessaries for every family during the Sabbath
day. Because they were forbidden to light a fire, or do any servile
work, on that day; and therefore Friday was very properly called
the day of preparation. But it appears to me next to impossible,
that any Jew would call the sabbath the day that followeth the day
of the preparation. Yet this singular historian so denominates it,
and moreover, goes on to inform us, that the chief priests, and
Pharisees went to Pilate to ask for a guard to place round the
sepulchre, till the third day, to prevent his disciples from stealing
away his body, and then saying, that he was risen from the dead;
and that after obtaining the governors permission, they, went,
and secured the sepulchre by sealing the stone that was rolled
against it; and setting a watch. Though there appears nothing very
strange in this account to a Christian, yet, I assure my reader, that
to the Jews, it ever did, and must appear utterly incredible. For it is
wonderful! that the Jewish rulers, and the rigorous Pharisees
should in so public a manner thus violate the precept for observing
the Sabbath day; for the penalty of this action of theirs was no less
than death! More wonderful still is it that they should have so
much better attended to, and comprehended the meaning of the
prediction of Jesus to his disciples, than his own disciples did; and
most wonderful of all, that a Roman Proconsul should consent to
let his troops keep watch round a tomb, for fear it should be
thought that a dead man was come to life again.
But though our authors history of these extraordinary facts is
neither consistent with reason, and probability, nor with the other
histories of the same event; it proceeds in pretty strict conformity
to the manner in which it sets out. For to convince us still more
fully that the author was totally ignorant of the mode of computing
time in use among the Jews, and habituated to that in use among
the Greeks and Romans? He reckons the Sabbath to last till day
light on Sunday morn, and says, (chapter xxviii.), that in the end
of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn, towards the first day of the
week, the two Marys before mentioned, came, (not as in Luke, to
embalm the body, for, with a guard round the sepulchre, that would
have been impracticable, but) to see the sepulchre. Whilst they
were there, the author tells us, there was another great earthquake,
and an angel descended, rolled away the stone, and sat upon it, at
whose sight, the soldiers trembled, and were frighted to death. But
to prevent the like effect of his appearance upon the women, he
said unto them, fear not ye, for I know that ye seek Jesus who was
crucified. That the women as well as the soldiers were present at
the descent of this angel, appears not only from there being nobody
else, by whom these uncommon circumstances could have been
related, but also by the pronoun personal ye, inserted in the original
Greek, which in that language is never done, unless it be
emphatically to mark such a distinction, or antithesis, as there was
on this occasion, between them and the Roman guard. Here,
however, the author is inadvertently inconsistent with himself, as
well as with the other evangelists; and forgetting that the sole
intent of rolling away the stone, was to open a passage, absolutely
necessary to the body of Jesus to come forth out of the sepulchre;
and that if he had risen and come forth after the angel had rolled it
away, both the women and the soldiers must have seen him rise, he
makes the angel bid them look into the sepulchre, to see--that he
was not there! and tell them that he was already risen; and that he
was gone before them into Galilee, where they should see him! In
their way, the author adds, Jesus himself met the women, and said,
be not afraid, go tell my brethren to go into Galilee, and there
shall they see me. He says that the eleven apostles went
into Galilee, to an appointed mountain, and saw him there;
notwithstanding that some of them were so incredulous, as not
to believe even the testimony of their own senses.
In the interim, whilst the women were going to the apostles, the
author tells us, some of the watch; some strictly disciplined
Roman soldiers left their station to bring an account of what had
passed, not to the Governor their General, nor to any of their own
officers--but to the chief priests of the Jews! that they assembled a
council of the elders upon the occasion, and after deliberating what
was to be done, induced the soldiers, by large bribes, to run the risk
of being put to death themselves, upon the highly improbable
chance of the Jewish rulers having influence sufficient with the
Roman Proconsul to prevail on him to submit to the indelible
infamy of neglecting the discipline of the army under his
command, to such a degree, as to suffer an entire guard of soldiers
avowedly to sleep upon their station, without any notice being
taken of it! and to say his disciples came and stole him away
whilst we slept. This incredible story is another instance how
necessary it is, that those who do not adhere closely to the truth,
should have extraordinary good memories to enable them to keep
clear of absurdities, or palpable contradictions in their narrations.
For, consider the circumstances. How were the tongues of these
soldiers to be restrained among the inquisitive inhabitants of a
large city, (at that time too, greatly crowded on account of the
paschal feast,) not only in their way to the chief priests; but also
during the whole time while the priests assembled the Sanhedrim,
and were deliberating what was to be done? And if that part of the
watch, who, the author says, came to inform the chief priests, were
poltroons enough for the sake of a bribe to undergo so shameful a
disgrace to themselves, as well as to hazard the resentment of their
General, how could they undertake that all their comrades who
remained at the sepulchre would do the same? and to what
purpose could the Jewish council bribe some, without a possibility
of some one knowing how the rest of the corps would act? And
even supposing all these difficulties surmounted, and that the
whole guard had agreed, and persisted in saying, his disciples
stole him away while we slept, of what service could that be to
the Jewish rulers? For if the guards were asleep, they could be no
evidence to prove that the body was taken away; and it might be
just as probable that he might rise to life again while the watch was
asleep, as it was if no watch had been set.
In a word, it appears from the numbers of Latin words in Greek
characters, which this book contains; from the numerous
geographical blunders; and the authors evident ignorance of the
customs of the Jews: from the form of Baptism enjoined at the
conclusion, which was not in use in the first century, as appears
from the form mentioned as then used in the Acts; from the Roman
Centurions being made to call Jesus a Son of a God, which
words in the mouth of a Pagan could only mean that he must be a
Demigod, like Bacchus, Hercules, or Esculapius: it is clear that this
Gospel is the patched work composition of some convert from the
Pagan schools. At any rate, his gospel flatly contradicts the others
in several important particulars in the history of the Resurrection.
For he represents the apostles as being commanded by the Angel
and by Jesus, to go to Galilee, in order to see him; and that they
went there, and saw him on a mountain. Yet it is said by the other
Evangelists, see Luke, ch. 24, and Acts 1, that he appeared on the
saw day of the resurrection to Peter at Jerusalem; to two other
disciples as they went to Emmaus; and on the succeeding night to
this whole congregation of the Disciples, not in Galilee, but in
Jerusalem, and that by his express command the apostles did not
go into Galilee, but remained at Jerusalem till the feast of
Pentecost.
But as this author differs from the other Evangelists, so they also
differ among themselves. And the latter part of the last chapter of
Mark is so irreconcilable to the other historians of the resurrection,
that in many Manuscripts it is found omitted. And that gospel ends
in them, at the eighth Terse of the last chapter. And Mr. West, in
his attempted reconciliation of their accounts of the resurrection, is
obliged to make a number of postulates, to take a number of things
for granted, which might be denied: and after elaborately arranging
the stage for the performance, he sets the women, and the disciples
a driving backwards, and forwards, from the city to the sepulchre,
and from the sepulchre to the city, and so agitated that they
forgot to know each other when they cross in their journeys.
Notwithstanding his great ingenuity in reconciling contradictions,
in which he beats Surenhusius himself, he makes but a sorry piece
of work of it after all. He had much letter have let it alone; for his
work upon the resurrection which he calls the main fact of
Christianity, displays these contradictions in so glaring a light,
that the very laboured ingenuity of his methods of reconciliation,
inevitably, suggests confirmation strong to the keen-eyed
reader, of that irreconcilability which the author endeavors to
refute. What rational man therefore can reasonably be required to
believe the story of a resurrection pretended to have been seen and
known, only by the party interested in making it believed! when in
their testimony even, they do not agree but contradict each other?
There is really an immense number of discrepancies and
contradiction in the New Testament which the acumen of learned
Christians has of late discovered, and pointed out to the world.
And Mr. Evanson, in his work on the Dissonance of the four
Evangelists, has collected a mass enough, I should think, to terrify
the most determined Reconciliator that ever lived. It is a little
remarkable, that Mr. Evanson has asserted, and has proved, the
spuriosness of the Gospel ascribed to John, which Semler spared,
in the general wreck which he made of the authenticity of the
other books of the New Testament. Mr. Evanson says, in his
examination of it, what has been said before, that the speeches
ascribed to Jesus in it, are most incoherent, contradictory, and
falsified by well known facts. And indeed the author of the book
itself, sterns to be sensible of this; for he very naturally represents
the Jews repeatedly accusing Jesus of being mad. He hath a
devil, and is mad, (say they to the multitude) why hear ye him?
and so in other places. Mr. Evanson considers this work as the
composition of a converted Platonist or of a Platonizing Jew; the
latter we think to be the most correct opinion; since it is evident
that the author of that gospel had the works of Philo at his fingers
ends, which is more than can be supposed of John. As Semler
excepted the Gospel of John only, so Mr. Evanson excepts the
Gospel of Luke only from the charge of spuriousness: though he
says that it is grossly corrupted, and interpolated. From these
corruptions and interpolations, he endeavours to purify it; in which
attempt wo think he has had very indifferent success. In short, his
work has proved, (what he did not himself contemplate) that the
providence of the God of truth has taken care, that so many
absurdities and contradictions, should be contained in these books
of the New Testament which were written to establish a mistake, as
must I conceive, satisfy any man, who has them once pointed out
to him, that the doctrine of those books is not, and cannot be from
God.
But it may be still asked, how did this notion of the resurrection
of Jesus become current? How can you account for the apostles
believing such a thing? We answer sincerely--we cannot
absolutely ascertain. The Jews of that age have left no documents
upon this business. The origin of the Christian religion is so
extremely obscure, that Josephus takes no notice of it at all, (for
the passage relating to Christian affairs now found in Josephus are
notorious interpolations.) And it is evident from the Chronological,
and other mistakes about Jesus, in the Talmud, that the curiosity of
the learned Jews had never been interested by Christianity, till so
long after Jesus, that the memory of him, and his, was almost
entirely lost among that nation. And it appears from the last
chapter of the Acts, that when Paul was received by the Jews at
Rome, he had not been considered by the Jews of Jerusalem as of
sufficient importance, as to cause them to warn their brethren of
the Dispersion concerning him; for these Jews tell Paul, on his
enquiring, that they had not received any letters concerning him
from Jerusalem. So that we can offer nothing but conjecture, to
solve the difficulty.
It has been said by some, (and it is by no means an hypothesis
destitute of plausibility) that Jesus was indeed crucified, but did
not actually die on the cross. It is evident that Pilate was extremely
desirous to save his life; and is it impossible that the Roman
soldiers, who crucified him, had secret orders? Consider the
ciscumstances. He was crucified at our nine in the morning, and
was taken from the cross at about three in the afternoon. Now,
crucifixion is not a death which kills men in six hours, and men
have been known to have lived fastened to the cross for more than
two days. Consider, besides, that when the soldiers gave the coup
de grace to the two robbers, that they did not break the legs of
Jews. This, the author of the Gospel according to John says, they
did, in order to fulfill a prophecy; but I leave it to my reader,
whether it is not more likely that they did so in order to fulfill
secret orders? But to make up for that omission, the author adds,
that they pierced Jesus with a spear. Now, besides that this is not
mentioned by the other Evangelists, the very manner in which this
circumstance is mentioned, and eagerly affirmed by him, looks as
if the author was aware of the likelihood of a suspicion of the fact
we are trying to prove probable, and that he wrote this in order to
obviate it. And after all, the gospel according to John was certainly
not written by him, and, therefore, what the author of it observes,
may be true, or not. You will observe also, reader, that the body of
Jesus was given by Pilate to his friends immediately; a favour
never vouchsafed by the Romans in such a case, except speciali
gratia. You will observe also, that the body was taken down by
his friends, no doubt with great care; probably was washed from
the blood, and rubbed perfectly dry; and was deposited in the cave
or sepulchre, with a large quantity of spices, and aromatics. Now
suppose that Jesus only swooned on the cross, and that his naked
body, after being cleansed as aforesaid, was laid in the new
sepulchre where the air was cool and fresh, wrapped in a
considerable quantity of dry linen, together with many spices, and
aromatics, what could be more opportune, or proper, to stimulate
his drowsed senses, and recall the unfortunate sufferer to life?
Suppose then, that on awaking from his trance, he disengaged
himself, and took himself away as secretly as possible, might not
all this have happened? Is it impossible? And does it not look
plausible? It is not improbable that he might after this have
shewed himself privately to his particular disciples; for you will
recollect, reader, that the appearances of Jesus to his disciples after
his crucifixion were to them, only, and for the most part in the
night. And it is by no means impossible, that the twelve apostles,
who were, I doubt not, well meaning men, though extremely
simple and credulous; I say it is thus by no means impossible, that
they might have believed sincerely, that their master had risen
from the dead. This hypothesis must not be considered only as the
brain work of an unbelieving sceptic; for it has been (in its main
principle) advanced, and elaborately defended by Dr. Paulus the
professor of divinity in the principal University in Bavaria.
It is true, that it may be said, that this is all hypothesis, and mere
conjecture. We allow it; it is true; and we assert that the account
given by the Evangelists is no better, nay, worse than conjecture,
as it is a mere forgery of the second century! For no man, we think,
who knows all that has been made known by biblical critics, in
later years, will now seriously contend for the literal truth of that
account. [See Appendix A.]
If all this will not satisfy the man that believeth all things, our
last resource is to demy the act of this resurrection. And this we
can do with perfect sang froid, as we know very well that it cannot
be proved; for the only testimony in favour of it, are the four
evangelists; four witnesses, the like of whose written testimony,
with reference thereto, (being as contradic-tory as that is,) to say
no more, certainly would not, we believe, be received in a modern
court of justice, to settle the fact about a debt of five dollars. And if
it be still urged, that such a story is unparalleled, and therefore
respectable; we say that it is not unparalleled; as we have an
account of a false Messiah, who applied the prophecies to himself,
had a forerunner, and more than two hundred thousand followers,
who publicly acknowledged him for the Messiah, raised
contributions, and supported him magnificently. He too, quoted the
prophets as speaking concerning him, and was said to have worked
divers miracles, and was ultimately put to death by the order of the
Grand Seignor at Constantinople; yet nevertheless was said to have
been, seen again by certain of his followers, who wrote books in
favour of that fact, and of his Messiahship. Many learned Rabbins
enrolled themselves as his disciples, and wrote controversial works
in his cause, as Paul did. And to conclude, his party was not
entirely extinct within a very few years. Yet, notwithstanding all
this, he was an impostor; and no man now believes the stories of
his miracles, or his resurrection; notwithstanding that both are
affirmed by more recent, more learned, and more respectable
testimony than is, or can be, offered, in favour of the Messiahship
of Jesus. The name of this famous impostor was Shabathai Tzevi,
and his history is given by Basnage, in his history of the Jews, [and
by other writers of Jewish history. See on this subject the Sepher
Torath Hakenaoth, page 2. The learned Mr. Zedner has extracted
the life of Shabetai Tsebi from tins book, and published it, with a
German translation, in his Auswahl historischer Stucke aus
Hebraischen Schriftstellern, Berlin, 1840.--D.]
I wish the Christian reader to peruse carefully, and cooly, that
account; and if he then persists in believing the history given by
the evangelists; with such faith as his, he certainly ought to be able
to move mountains; and I have no doubt at all, that with such a
good natured understanding as his, if he had found in his New
Testament the story of Jonah misquoted, and and by a small
transposition a la mode de Surenhusius, representing that Jonah
swallowed the whale! this sturdy confidence in things not seen,
would, I doubt not have enabled him without difficulty to swallow
the prophet with the whale in his belly.