LECTURE II.

THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY.

"WE KNOW THAT THOU ART À TEACHER COME FROM GOD."-John iii. 2.

Introduction.-The truth of the historical narrative.-The books of the New Testament written by their professed authors-these books have come down to us genuine and uncorrupted-they are entitled to credit as authentic histories. The argument from miracles.-Examination of Mr. Hume's objection. Miracles further defended.-Argument from the circumstances attending the early propagation of Christianity.-Mohammedanism and Christianity compared.-Argument from the fulfilment of our Savior's predictions, with a brief reference to the general argument from prophecy.— Argument from the inherent excellence of the Christian religion.-Conclusion.

It is now more than eighteen hundred years since Christianity was first promulgated in the land of Judea. During this long and eventful period, successive revolutions have shaken the physical, political, and moral world to its centre. Cities have disappeared in the convulsions of nature, and dynasties have risen, flourished, and decayed. But amid all these changes, Christianity-like the imperial. oak whose roots strike deep and wide, and whose summit stretches towards the heavens-Christianity still towers aloft in its own native majesty, and proudly bids defiance. to every assault.

We do not ask you to believe in its divine origin on the mere arbitrary assertion of any man. "Truth," it has been well remarked, "is learned only at the pure foun

tains of evidence. Authority does not create it; dogmatism recommends it not; neither does violence impose it: from such task-masters conscience retreats, that she may hear in the still silence of her musings, the voice of God. The honest advocate of truth, while inculcating it upon others, will be mindful of this only process of conviction. He will quietly conduct them by his reasonings to the sources of evidence, that truth may captivate them by her own persuasive energies. All else is coercion; which may extort the outward assent, but can never inspire the secret conviction."* We only ask you, therefore, to pay a careful attention to the arguments which we shall advance; and unless those arguments are found to have the requisite weight, when placed in the scale of moral evidence, we have no right to claim your assent to the proposition, that Jesus Christ was a Teacher come from God." proceed then at once to an impartial examination of the case before us.

Let us

The account of the life and death of Jesus Christ, together with the system of religion which he taught, is contained, as you are well aware, in a certain work called the New Testament, written professedly by eight different individuals.

Now it must be obvious to any person of common reflection, that whether we argue the divine origin of Christianity, from the circumstances attending its early propagation, or from the miracles which were wrought in its support, the validity of the argument, so far as external evidence is concerned, must depend on the truth of the historical narrative. To this point, therefore, we shall, in the first place, invite your attention.

The question then before us at the outset, is simply this. Were the books of the New Testament written by their

* Professor E. T. Fitch, of Yale College, New Haven, Connecticut.

professed authors ?-have they come down to us genuine* and uncorrupted?-and are they entitled to credit, as authentic histories? These are points easily settled, and like all points of this nature, are to be decided by appropriate evidence. That these books were written by their professed authors, we argue from the testimony of Christian writers in the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries, and so on down to the present time. And not only so, but the most inveterate enemies of Christianity, such as Celsus who flourished in the second century, Porphyry in the third, and Julian in the fourth, never thought of calling in question the important fact, that the books of the New Testament were written by the authors whose names they bear. On this point, therefore, we have the testimony both of friends and enemies-testimony, of course, which is absolutely decisive. †

Then again, the greatest care has always been exercised in transcribing and preserving genuine copies of these books, so that those who have thoroughly investigated the subject, will bear me out in the assertion, that the text of the New Testament has come down to us in a state as pure, and as free from corruption, as that of any ancient author whatever. It is true, there are various readings of particular passages; but these are for the most part merely verbal, and never materially affect any doctrine, or precept of the Bible. Thus, my brethren, the books of the New Testament were written by their professed authors, and have come down to us genuine and uncorrupted.

I

By the word genuineness, as applied to the books of the New Testament mean the substantial agreement of our copy with the original autographs; and by the phrase "authentic histories," I mean histories on which we can rely for the truth of the information they contain.

† See this topic examined at length in Horne's Introduction, vol. i, and in Hopkins, Wilson, and McIlvaine on the Evidences.

But you will naturally inquire, admitting this to be the fact, are they entitled to credit, as authentic histories; in other words, have we reason to believe that they contain a true account of such events as really occurred?

Suetonius and Tacitus, two Roman historians, who flourished in the reign of Trajan, both testify to the existence of such a person as Christ. Tacitus especially, who speaking of the Christians, says, the author of that sect or name was Christ, who in the reign of Tiberius, was punished as a criminal by the procurator, Pontius Pilate. The younger Pliny also, in his celebrated letter to Trajan, informs us, that Christ was worshipped by his followers as a God.* We have, therefore, in the works of ancient Roman authors, decisive testimony to the fact, that there was such a person as Christ, and such a denomination as Christians.

We remark still further, that the writers of the New Testament for the most part represent themselves, as eyewitnesses of the events which they relate, and without fear of contradiction, publish their account to the world, shortly after those events transpired. If the narrative were false, would not its falsehood have been detected and exposed at the time, by those who had every opportunity, and were impelled by every motive to do so? Most assuredly. We have, therefore, in the undeniable fact, that these books were written by the early disciples of Christ, and their accounts never disproved by those who enjoyed every opportunity, and who would have been impelled by every motive to do so, provided they were false-in this undeniable fact, we have decisive proof, that these accounts are true, and the books in question entitled to credit, as

*Suetonius in Claudio, c. 25. Tacit. Annal. lib. xv. c. 44. Plin. Epist. lib. x, ex. 97.-See Horne's Introduction, vol. i, pp. 199, 200, ed. Philadelphia, 1831.

authentic histories. Besides, to say nothing of other sources of evidence, the truth of the narrative derives additional confirmation, from its perfect agreement with the manners and customs of the age, and from the undesigned coincidences between the historical books and the apostolical epistles.*

We have thus shewn you, by a short and rapid process of argumentation, that the books of the New Testament were written by their professed authors; that they have come down to us genuine and uncorrupted; and that they are entitled to credit, as authentic histories. They contain therefore, a true account of plain facts. Whether these facts will prove the Christian religion to be of divine origin, is the point which next claims our attention.

On examining the historical narrative, we find that Christianity was proclaimed by our Savior and his disciples, who wrought a variety of the most astonishing miracles, and appealed to them as evidence, that they were the ambassadors of heaven. It is said, however, that we did not see these miracles. Admitting this of course to be the fact, we reply that on the testimony of others we may be quite as certain of a given event, as if we had witnessed it ourselves. We are, for instance, just as sure that there was once such a man as General Washington, as we are that there is now such a man as General Jackson, or General Scott. Why? Because we have competent and credible testimony to this plain matter of fact. But, says the infidel, no testimony whatever can prove the fact of a miracle. It is contrary to experience, that a miracle should take place, but it is not contrary to experience that men should lie; and therefore it is far more probable that the writers of the New Testament have related what is false, than that the miracles recorded ever occurred. In

* See Paley's "Horae Paulinae," and also Verplanck on the Evidences.