corruption and interpolation, is removing a charge, which if true, would affect the credibility of the whole bible. 7. In fine, there is no positive evidence whatsoever against the verse. The objections are all external and negative; while the arguments in its favour are both external and internal, both positive and negative. Now no external evidence, especially such as is of a mere negative description, can prove a passage to be spurious, when the internal evidence of diction, doctrine, and context, is decidedly for it. It is no small mercy, that the British and Foreign Bible Society has been made instrumental in its preservation in all the almost numberless copies of the scriptures issued by it. The same may be said of the Jew's Society which has preserved it in its Hebrew new testament, and other versions. And it holds its proper place in a late edition of the Greek Testament, by the Rev. Edward Valpy, formed much on the text of Griesbach, but without adopting all his alterations, I refer those of my readers, who wish for further information on the subject, to Mr. Nolan's "Inquiry into the integrity of the Greek Vulgate," 1815. "I trust nothing further can be wanting (says Mr. N.) to convince any ingenuous mind that 1 John v. 7, really proceeded from St. John the Evangelist." Also to Mr. Grier's "Reply to Dr. Milner." 1821. After noticing Mr. Nolan's invincible arguments, he says, " I feel compelled to abandon my former prejudices against the verse, and to think that a person should almost as soon doubt the genuineness of the rest of St. John's epistle, as that of the disputed passage." Nor can I omit mentioning Dr. Hales on the trinity, 1818. He sums up the argument thus-" If then we compare the positive evidence of the standard editions, the vulgate version, and several of the early fathers and liturgies, both Greek and Latin, in favour of the disputed verse, with the negative evidence of Greek manuscripts, later versions, and several Greek fathers against it.and also oppose the acknowledged silence of all the heretics (of former ages) to impugn this passage, to the alledged silence of some of the fathers to adduce it,-we seem fully warranted to conclude, that the testimony for, greatly outweighs the testimony against, the disputed verse." See also "A Vindication," by Dr. Burgess, Bp. of St. David's; 2nd edition, 1823. "The evidences of the controverted verse are so many, so various, and so powerful, as to leave in my own mind no room to doubt, that we have, in the testimony of the three heavenly witnesses, the authentic words of St. John."* * See my Work" on the Trinity," price 3s. to be had at Hamilton's, 33, Paternoster-Row, London; and C. Upham, 245, High-Street, Exeter. Pollard, Printer, Exeter. |