-^v 
 
 
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A BRIEF OUTLOE 
 
 EVIDENCES 
 
 1 
 
 CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 
 
 BY ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, 
 
 Professor of Didactic and Polemic Theology^ in the Theological 
 Seminary, at Princeton, JV. J. 
 
 Tt ii Kal <J^' kavTwv ov Kpivcre rb SiKaiov ; 
 
 Luke xii. 57. 
 
 
 REVISED AND PREPARED BY THE AUTHOR, FOR THE 
 AMERICAN SUNDAY S. UNION. 
 
 ■ ii » 9^0«<ii» 
 
 AMERICAN SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION. 
 
 PHILADELPHM : 
 NO. 146 CHESNUT STREET. 
 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania, to wit ; 
 
 BE IT REMEMFERED, That on the twentieth day of July, 
 in the fffty-fourth year of the Independence of the United States of 
 America, A. D. 1829, PAUL BECK, Jun. Treasurer in trust for 
 the American Sunday Scliool Union, of the said District, has depo- 
 sited in this office the title of a book, the right whereof he claims 
 as proprietor, in the words following, to wit : — 
 
 " A Brief Outline of the. Evidences of the Christian Religion. 
 By Archibald Alexander, Professor of Didactic and Polemie 
 Theology, in the Theological Seminary, at Princeton, N. J. 
 
 Tt 5e Kul cup'' iavTuiv ov Kpivere to iiKaiov ; 
 
 Luke xii. 57. 
 Revised and prepared by the Author for the American S. S 
 Union." 
 
 In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United Stales, 
 entitled, " An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing 
 the Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Pro- 
 prietors of such Copies, during the times therein mentioned" — An<l 
 also to the Act, entitled, "An Act Supplementary to an Act, en- 
 titled, " An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing 
 the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Autliors and Pro- 
 prietors of such Copies during the limes therein mentioned." and 
 extending the benefits thereof to the arts of designiitg, engraving, 
 and etching Historical and other Prints." 
 
 D. CALDWELL, 
 CUtIi of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania- 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 The right use of Reason in Religion. 5 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 It is impossible to banish all Religion from the 
 world ; and if it were possible, it would be the 
 greatest calamity which could befall the human 
 race.. 18 
 
 SECTION 11. 
 If Christianity be rejected, there is no other 
 religion which can be substituted in its place : 
 at least, no other which will at all answer the 
 purpose for which Religion is desirable. - 27 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 There is nothing improbable or unreasonable in 
 the idea of a Revelation from God ; and con- 
 sequently nothing improbable or unreasonable 
 in such a manifest divine interposition, as 
 may be necessary to establish a revelation. 44 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 Miracles are capable of proof from testimony. 50 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 The Miracles of the Gospel are credible. - 69 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 The Bible contains predictions of events, which 
 no human sagacity could have foreseen, and 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 which have been exactly and remarkably ac- 
 complished. .----_ 121 
 
 SECTION VU. 
 
 No other religion possesses the same kind and 
 degree of evidence, as Christianity : and no 
 other miracles are as well attested, as those 
 recorded in the Bible. _ - _ _ 150 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 The Bible contains Internal Evidence, that its 
 origin is divine. > - _ 174 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 
 The right use of Reason in Religion. 
 
 That it is the right and the duty of all 
 men to exercise their reason in inquiries 
 concerning religion, is a truth so manifest, 
 that it may be presumed there are none who 
 will be disposed to call it in question. 
 
 Without reasyi there can be no religion; 
 for in every step M^hich we take in examining 
 the evidences of revelation, in interpreting its 
 meaning, or in assenting to its doctrines, the 
 exercise of this faculty is indispensable. 
 
 When the evidences of Christianity are 
 exhibited, an appeal is made to the reason of 
 men for its tiiith; but all evidence and all 
 argument would be perfectly futile, if reason 
 were not permitted to judge of their force. 
 This noble faculty was certainly given to 
 man to be a guide in religion, as well as in 
 other things. He possesses no other means 
 by which he can form a judgment on any sub- 
 ject, or assent to any truth; and it would be 
 no more absurd to talk of seeing without 
 eyes, than of knowing any thing without 
 reason. 
 
 A 2 5 ■ 
 
EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 It is therefore a great mistake to suppose, 
 that religion forbids, or discourages the ri^ht 
 use of reason. So far from this, she enjoins 
 it as a duty of high moral obligation, and re- 
 proves those who neglect to judge for thenv 
 selves what is right. 
 
 But it has frequently been said by the friends 
 of revelation, that although reason is legiti- 
 mately exercised in examining the evidences 
 of revelation, and in determining the sense 
 of the words by which it is conveyed ; yet it 
 is not within her province to sit in judgment 
 on the doctrines contained in such a divine 
 communication. This statement, though in- 
 tended to guard against the abuse of reason, 
 is not, in my opinion, altogether accurate. 
 For it is manifest, that we can form no con- 
 ception of a truth of any kind, without rea- 
 son; and when we receive any thing as true, 
 whatever may be the evidence on which it is 
 founded, we must view the reception of it to 
 be reasonable. Truth and reason are so in- 
 timately connected, that they can never, 
 with propriety, be separated. Truth is the 
 object, and reason the faculty by which it is 
 apprehended; whatever be the nature of the 
 truth, or of the evidence by which it is esta- 
 blished. No doctrine can be a proper object 
 of our faith, which it is not more reasonable 
 to receive, than to reject. If a book, claim- 
 ing to be a divine revelation, is found to con- 
 tain doctrines which can in no way be re- 
 
^ CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 7 
 
 conciled to right reason, it is a sure evidence 
 that those claims have no solid foundation, 
 and ought to be rejected. But that a revela- 
 tion should contain doctrines of a mysterious 
 and incomprehensible nature, and entirely 
 different from all our previous conceptions, 
 and, considered in themselves, improbable, 
 IS not repugnant to reason 5 on the contrary, 
 judging from analogy, sound reason would 
 lead us to expect such things in a revelation 
 from God. Every thing which relates to this 
 Infinite Being, must be to us, in some re- 
 spect, incomprehensible. Every new truth 
 must be different from all that is already 
 known; and all the plans and works of God 
 are very far above and beyond the conception 
 of such minds as ours. Natural Religion 
 has as great mysteries as any in revelation: 
 and the created universe, as it exists, is as 
 different from any plan which men would 
 have conceived, as any of the truths contained 
 in a revelation can be. 
 
 But it is reasonable to believe what by our 
 senses we perceive to exist; and it is reason- 
 able to believe whatever God declares to be 
 true. 
 
 In receiving, therefore, the most myteriaus 
 doctrines of revelation, the ultimate appeal is 
 to reason. Not to determine whether she 
 could have discovered these truths; not to 
 declare, whether considered in themselves, 
 
8 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 thej appear probable; but to decide, whether 
 it is not more reasonable to believe what God 
 speaks, than to confide in our own crude and 
 feeble conceptions. Just as if an unlearned 
 man should hear an able astronomer declare, 
 that the diurnal motion of the heavens is not 
 real, but only apparent, or that the sun was 
 nearer to the earth in winter than in summer; 
 although the facts asserted appeared to con- 
 tradict his senses, yet it would be reasonable 
 to acquiesce in the declarations made to him, 
 by one who understood the subject, and in 
 whose veracity he had confidence. If, then, 
 we receive the witness of men, in matters 
 above our comprehension, much more should 
 we receive the witness of God, who knows 
 all things, and cannot deceive his creatures by 
 false declarations. 
 
 There is no just cause for apprehending, 
 that we shall be misled by the proper exercise 
 of reason, on any subject which may be pro- 
 posed for our consideration. The only dan- 
 ger is, of making an improper use of this fa- 
 culty, which is one of tne most common 
 faults to which our nature is liable. Most 
 men profess that they are guided by reason 
 in forming their opinions; but if this were 
 really the case, the world would not be over- 
 run with error; there would not be so many 
 absurd and dangerous opinions propagated, 
 and pertinaciously defended. They may be 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. ij 
 
 said, indeed, in one sense, to follow reason, 
 for they are guided by a blinded, prejudiced, 
 and perverted reason. 
 
 One large class of men are accustomed, 
 from a slight and superficial view of the im- 
 portant subject of religion, to draw a hasty 
 conclusion, which must prove, in the highest 
 degree, detrimental to their happiness. They 
 have observed, that in the modern as well as 
 ancient world, there is much superstition, 
 much imposture, much diversity of opinion 
 and variety of sects, many false pretences to 
 divine inspiration, and many false reports of 
 miracles, and prophetic oraclesj and without 
 giving themselves the trouble of searching 
 diligently for the truth, amidst the various 
 contending claims, they draw a general con- 
 clusion, that all religions are alike; — that the 
 whole affair is a cheat, the invention of cun- 
 ning men, who imposed on the credulity of 
 the unthinking multitude; and that the claims 
 to divine revelation, do not even deserve a 
 serious examination. Does right reason dic- 
 tate such a conclusion as this? If it did, and 
 we were to apply it to all other concerns, it 
 would make a sad overturning in the busi- 
 ness of the world. Truth, honesty, and ho- 
 nour might, on these principles, be discarded 
 as unmeaning names; for, of all these there 
 have been innumerable counterfeits, and con- 
 cerning all of them, endless diversity of 
 opinion. 
 
10 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 A second class, who profess to be men of 
 reason, paj more attention to the subject of 
 religion; but their reason is a prejudiced 
 judge. The J listen with eagerness to all that 
 can be said against revelation. They read 
 witii avidity the books written against Chris- 
 tianity, and but too faithfully treasure up 
 every objection to religion; but her advo- 
 cates never obtain from them a fair hearing. 
 They never enquire whether the arguments 
 and objections which appear to them so 
 strong, have not been refuted. With the 
 means of conviction within their reach, they 
 remain firmly fixed in their infidelity; and 
 as long as they pursue this partial method of 
 investigation, they must ever remain in the 
 I same darkness. 
 
 I A third class, who wish to be considered 
 as taking reason for their guide, are under 
 the dominion of vicious passions, of ambition, 
 avarice, lust, or revenge. Men of this cha- 
 racter, however strong their intellect, or ex- 
 tensive their erudition, can never reason im- 
 partially on any subject which interferes with 
 the gratification of their predominant desires* 
 and, as religion forbids, under severe penal- 
 ties, all irregular passions and vicious indul- 
 gences, they pursue it with malignant hatred. 
 As one well observes, "they are against re- 
 ligion, because religion is against them." 
 vSuch men never reason calmly on the sub- 
 ject, and they are incapable of receiving anj 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. 11 
 
 benefit from the arguments of others. They 
 never think of religion but with a feeling of 
 enmity, and they never speak of it, but in the 
 language of sneer or abuse. There is no 
 object which this race of infidels have more 
 at heart, than to eradicate every principle of 
 religion from the minds of men, and to drive 
 it from the earth, so that not a vestige of it 
 might remain to give them torment. Vol- 
 taire may be considered as the leader of this 
 band; and his humble imitators have been too 
 numerous in every Christian country. 
 
 But there is still another class of men, 
 more distinguished as masters of reason than 
 those who have been mentioned. They are 
 die cold, speculative, subtle sect of skeptics, 
 who involve themselves in a thick mist of 
 metaphysics, attack first principles, and con- 
 found their readers with paradoxes. The 
 number of those who belong to this class, is, 
 perhaps, not large, but they are formidable; 
 for while the other enemies of the j;ruth, 
 scarcely make a show of reason, these philo- 
 sophers are experienced in all the intricacies 
 of a refined logic; so that, in their hands, 
 error is made to appear in the guise of truth. 
 Should we yield ourselves to the sophistry 
 of these men, they will persuade us to doubt, 
 not only of the truth of revelation, but of 
 our senses, and of our very existence. If it 
 be inquired, how they contrive to spread 
 such a colon ring of skepticism over every 
 
12 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 subject; the answer is, by artfully assuming 
 false principles as the premises of their 
 reasoning; by reasoning sophistically on 
 correct principles; by the dexterous use of 
 ambiguous terms; by pushing their inquiries 
 beyond the limits of human knowledge; and 
 by calling in question the first principles of 
 all knowledge. But it is not easy to conjec- 
 ture what their motive is: most probably, 
 however, it is vanity. They are ambitious 
 of appearing more profound and acute than 
 other men; and distinction is not so readily 
 obtained in the common course, as by flying 
 off in an eccentric orbit. It cannot be any 
 sincere regard for truth which influences 
 them; for, upon their principles, truth and 
 reason are equally worthless. They pull 
 down every thing, but build up nothing in 
 its place. Truth has no greater enemies in 
 the world than this Pyrrhonic sect; and it is 
 to be lamented, that sometimes ingenuous 
 young men are caught in the wiles of their 
 sophistry, and are led so far into the laby- 
 rinth of their errors, that they are never able 
 to extricate themselves; and all their fair 
 prospects of virtue and usefulness are ob- 
 scured for ever. 
 
 Before I leave the consideration of the va- 
 rious classes of persons, who, while tliey pro- 
 fess to be guided by reason, make an impro- 
 per use of this faculty, I ought to .mention a 
 set of men, distinguished for their learning 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 13 
 
 and ingenuity, who profess to receive the 
 Christian revelation, and glory in the appel- 
 lation of rational Christians. They proceed 
 on the plausible and (if rightly understood) 
 correct principle of receiving nothing as true, 
 but what their reason approves; but these 
 very men, with all their fair appearances of 
 rationality, are chargeable with as gross a 
 dereliction of reason, as can well be con- 
 ceived; and, in regard to consistency, are 
 more vulnerable than any of those already 
 mentioned. For, while they admit that God 
 has made a revelation, they insist upon the 
 right of bringing the truths revealed to the 
 test of human judgment and opinion, and of 
 rejecting them as unreasonable if they do not 
 accord with this standard. But the declara- 
 tion of God is the highest reason which we 
 can have for believing any thing. To set up 
 our opinion against the plain expression of 
 his will, is surely presumption of the highest 
 kind. Perhaps, however, I do not represent 
 the case with perfect accuracy. Perhaps, no 
 man is chargeable with such an inconsistency, 
 as to admit a thing to be contained in an un- 
 doubted revelation, and yet reject it. The 
 exact state of the matter is this. The Scrip- 
 tures, it is admitted, contain a revelation 
 from God; but there are many things in the 
 Bible, which, if taken in the most obvious 
 sense, are inconsistent with reason; now, as 
 nothing inconsistent with reason can be from 
 
14 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 God, it is concluded, that this cannot be the 
 true sense of the Scripture. Accordingly, 
 their wits are set to work, and their learning 
 laid under contribution, to invent and de- 
 fend some other sense. Upon these princi- 
 ples, a man may believe just as much, or as 
 little as he pleases, of what the Bible con- 
 tains; for it has been found, that no text is 
 so stubborn as not to yield to some of the modes 
 of treatment which have been adopted. But I 
 maintain, that this whole procedure is con- 
 trary to right reason. The plain course whicli 
 reason directs us to pursue, is, candidly and 
 impartially, to examine the evidences of reve- 
 lation, and having obtained satisfaction on tiiis 
 point, to come to the interpretation of Scrip- 
 ture with a mind free from bias; and in the ex- 
 ercise of a sound judgment, and with the aid 
 of those helps and rules which reason and ex- 
 perience suggest, to obtain the sense of the 
 several parts of the document; and although 
 this sense should contradict our preconceived 
 opinions, or clash with our inclinations, we 
 ought implicitly to receive it; and not, by a 
 refined ingenuity, and laboured critical pro- 
 cess, extort a meaning to suit our own no- 
 tions. This is not to form our opinions by 
 the Word of God, but to cut down the su- 
 blime and mysterious doctrines of revelation 
 to the measure of our narrow conceptions. 
 And thus, in the creed of many called ra- 
 tional Christians, the divine system of hea- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. 15 
 
 venly truth is shorn of its glory, and comes 
 forth little more tlian an improved theory of 
 Natural Religion. There is no reason in this. 
 
 But what if the plain sense of Scripture be 
 absolutely repugnant to the first principles of 
 reason? Let that be demonstrated, and the 
 effect will be, rather to overthrow the Scrip- 
 tures, than to favour such a method of forming 
 a theory from them. But no such thing can 
 be demonstrated. The reasonings by which 
 it lias been attempted to prove that the doc- 
 trines commonly callcil orthodox, are con- 
 trary to reason, are fallacious; and a similar 
 mode of reasoning, on the truths of Natural 
 Religion, will lead us to atheism. 
 
 Deistical writers have been fond of repre- 
 senting faith and reason as irreconcileable. 
 They have insinuated, and even asserted, 
 that revelation cannot be conceived, without 
 a renunciation of reason; and have affected to 
 regret, that it should be subjected to the trial 
 of a rational investigation, which they allege, 
 it can by no means bear. This was a fa- 
 vourite topic with Morgan, Bolingbroke, Vol- 
 taire, and Hume. The last mentioned au- 
 thor, in the close of his far-famed Essay on 
 Miracles^ uses the following language; ''Our 
 most holy religion is founded on Faith^ not 
 on reason; and 'tis a sure method of exposing 
 it to put it to a test, which it is by no means 
 fitted to endure." — And again: '^Mere rea- 
 son is insufficient to convince us of its ["the 
 
16 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 Christian Religion's] veracity; and whoever 
 is moved by faith to assent to it, is conscious 
 of a continual miracle, in his own person, 
 which subverts all the principles of his un- 
 derstanding. " 
 
 On the insidious nature of this attack, 1 
 shall not stop to remark, except to observe, 
 that it may be taken as a specimen, not only 
 of Hume's method of treating Christianity, 
 but of that of the whole tribe of deistical 
 writers, until very recently, when they have 
 come out boldly. Under the mask of friend- 
 ship, and with words of respectfulness on 
 their lips, they have aimed the most deadly 
 thrusts at the vitals of Christianity. But in 
 regard to the sentiment expressed in this ex 
 tract, the friends of revelation utterly dis- 
 claim it, and hold it to be false and unfound- 
 ed. The state of the controversy between 
 Christians and deists, did not authorize any 
 such assertion. The defenders of the truth 
 have ever been ready to meet their antago- 
 nists on the ground of impartial reason. 
 They have met them, at every point where 
 they have chosen to make the assault; and I 
 may safely say, that no deistical argument 
 remains unrefuted, no infidel objection unde- 
 tected and unexposed. As Mr. Hume wrote 
 this immediately after finishing his argument 
 against miracles, perhaps he felt a confidence 
 that he had achieved what none before had 
 been able to eft'ect. But his confidence was 
 
CHRISTIAX RELIGION. l7 
 
 premature: the argument, for the discoverv 
 of which he claims the honour, (though this 
 might be disputed on good grounds,) has 
 been refuted with a clearness of evidence, 
 sufficient to bring conviction to any mind but 
 that of a sophist and a skeptic. But we shall 
 have further occasion, in the sequel of this 
 work, to consider the force of Mr. Hume's 
 reasonings against miracles. 
 
 It may, perhaps, require some apology, that 
 a subject which has been so fully and ably 
 discussed, in numerous volumes, should be 
 attempted to be treated in a short essay. 
 My only apology is, that the poison of inii- 
 delity is imbibed by many who never have 
 access to the antidote. It is much to be re- 
 gretted, that some of the books which are al- 
 most sure to fall into the hands of literary 
 youth, are deeply tinctured with skepticism. 
 How many read Hume and Gibbon, who 
 never have seen the answers of Campbell and 
 Watson.^ Now, if we can present, even a 
 brief outline of the evidences of Christianity, 
 to those who may not be disposed to read 
 larger works, we may be contributing, in 
 some small degree, to prevent the progress of 
 one of the greatest evils to which men are 
 liable. 
 
18 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 SECTION I. 
 
 It is impossible to banish all Religion from the World; 
 and if it ivere possible, it vjould be the greatest Cala- 
 mity which could befall the Human race. 
 
 It is not mj object, here, to consider reli- 
 gion as it is a matter of duty, or a means of 
 obtaining hap.piness in a future world; for, 
 both these would be equally disregarded by 
 those men who aim at the subversion of all re- 
 ligion. What I shall attempt, at present, is, 
 to state and establish the fact, that man is so 
 constituted that he must have some sort of 
 religion. And the truth of this will be mani- 
 fest, from an inspection of the principles of 
 human nature, and from the history of the 
 world. Man has naturally a sense of moral 
 obligation, a perception of the difference be- 
 tween right and wrong, feelings of remorse or 
 approbation on the review of his conduct, 
 fears of future retribution when he has com- 
 mitted a crime, and a propensity to pay reli- 
 gious homage to some object, visible or invi- 
 sible. These are what have been called his 
 religious feelings; and from them he has re- 
 ceived the appellation of a religious animal. 
 And, certainly, there is nothing by which 
 man is so clearly distinguished from the 
 creatures below him, as this capacity for re- 
 ligion; for whatever indications the brutes 
 give of sagacity in other matters, it is impos- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 19 
 
 sible to communicate to them any ideas of 
 morality, or any impressions of a religious 
 nature. Now, that these feelings are natural, 
 and not adventitious, is manifest, because 
 tliey are found to exist in men of all ages, of 
 all countries, and in every different state of 
 society. And hence, no nation, ancient or 
 modern, has ever been found without some 
 kind of religion. It would be as difficult to 
 find a whole nation without religion, as to 
 find one destitute of speech. Some travel- 
 lers, it is true, from superficial observation, 
 have reported that some savage tribes had no 
 ideas of religion, and no species of worship; 
 but, on more accurate examination, it has 
 been ascertained, that this was a mistake. 
 And from our present knowledge of the na- 
 tions of the earth, we are authorized to as- 
 sert, that there is not one totally destitute of 
 some sense of religion and some form of wor- 
 ship. The same thing was well known to all 
 the wisest men of antiquity. It is a fact 
 from which both Plato and Cicero have de- 
 rived many important conclusions. And these 
 principles of our nature are so deeply ra- 
 dicated, that they never can be removed. 
 Men may be induced to abandon their old 
 religion, and to adopt a new one; but they 
 never can remain long free from something 
 of the kind. Take away from them one ob- 
 ject of worship, and they will soon attach 
 themselves to another. If, unhappily, they 
 
20 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 lose the knowledge of the true God, they 
 will set up gods of their own invention; or 
 receive them from others. The history of 
 all nations bears such ample testimony to 
 this fact, that it cannot be denied. Now, 
 this universality of religion evinces, in the 
 clearest manner, that the principle is natural, 
 that it is an essential thing in the constitu- 
 tion of man; just as the fact, that men are 
 always found living in society proves that 
 the social principle exists, and is natural to 
 man. 
 
 Atheistical men have, indeed, attempted 
 to trace all religious feelings, and all rites of 
 worship, to the craft of priests and policy of 
 rulers; but this opinion is not only unsup- 
 ported by historical testimony, but is most 
 unreasonable in itself. For if there had not 
 existed a predisposition to religion in the 
 minds of men, such a design would nevet 
 have been conceived; and if it had, all at- 
 tempts to introduce into the mind of man 
 ideas so foreign to his nature, must have been 
 abortive. At any rate, such an imposition 
 could not have continued for so long a time, 
 and could not have been extended to every 
 tribe and nation in the world. If no sense 
 of religion had existed in the minds of men, 
 priests and politicians, however cunning, 
 would have had no handle to take hold of, 
 no foundation on which to build. Besides, it 
 seems to be forgotten by the advocates of this 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 21 
 
 hypothesis, that the existence of priests, sup- 
 poses the previous existence of religion. 
 
 They have, moreover, alleged, that fear 
 produced the gods. Be it so: it still con- 
 firms my position, that there is something in 
 the nature of man which leads him to religion: 
 and it is reasonable to conclude, that a cause 
 which has operated uniformly, heretofore, 
 will continue to produce the same efiects, as 
 long as the world stands. It is impossible, 
 therefore, to banish all religion from the world. 
 
 To what degree atheists have succeeded in 
 divesting themselves of all religious impres- 
 sion, I do not pretend to know. That some 
 men have gone to a great length in counter- 
 acting the constitutional tendencies, and ex- 
 tinguishing the feelings of nature, is undoubt- 
 edly true; but there have been sufficient 
 indications to lead to the opinion, that there 
 is more of affectation than reality in the 
 bravery of their profession. It is known that 
 some of them have, above other men, been 
 the slaves of superstitious fears; and that 
 others, in times of extreme peril, as in a 
 storm at sea, have for the moment, renounced 
 their atheism, and cried as earnestly for 
 mercy as those around them. Now if these 
 philosophers, with all their reasoning, are not 
 able to erase all religious impressions from 
 their own minds, it is vain to attempt to ba- 
 nish all religion out of the world. 
 
 But suppose the great work achieved, and 
 
22 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 that every vestige of religion was obliterated, 
 what would be the result? Would men re- 
 main without any objects of religious homage? 
 Would they never again be afraid of invisible 
 powers? Would the feelings of remorse at 
 no time urge them to perform some sort of 
 penance, or attempt some kind of expiation? 
 Would no impostors and false prophets arise 
 to deceive the world again with their dreams, 
 fancies, and pretended revelations? They 
 must have made but superficial observations on 
 human nature, who think that none of these 
 things would ever occur. 
 
 If those persons, therefore, who oppose 
 Christianity, hope by its subversion to get 
 rid of all religion, they do greatly deceive 
 themselves. This work being accomplished, 
 they would soon have more to perform, in 
 endless progression. Instead of the pure, 
 mild, benignant religion of Christ, they would 
 soon find themselves surrounded by supersti- 
 tions as foul and as false, as monstrous and 
 as absurd, as any which the hotrbed of pa- 
 ganism ever produced. Look into the heathen 
 world, and see the abominations and miseries 
 which inveterate superstition perpetuates, in 
 some of the fairest and most populous regions 
 of the globe. Look at the savage tribes of 
 Africa and America, and contemplate the 
 cruel bondage of superstition, to which the 
 people are subjected. Evils as great would 
 soon grow up among us, were it not for the 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION a;3 
 
 salutary influence of Christianity. Our fore- 
 fathers, before they became Christians, were 
 in the same degraded and wretched situation. 
 And sliall we curse our posterity by bringing 
 back those evils from whicli our fathers 
 escaped.^ It is a truth which should be pro- 
 claimed every where on the house tops, that 
 it is the Bible which has delivered us from 
 the horrid dominion of superstition; and it is 
 the Bible which must prevent its return. 
 Philosophy has had no hand in working out 
 this deliverance from the horrors of idolatry. 
 With all her celebrated schools and sages, 
 she never turned one individual from the 
 worship of idols; and she would be equally 
 powerless in preventing the return of super- 
 stition, if other barriers were removed. 
 
 But I proceed now to the second part of 
 my proposition, which is, that if religion 
 could be banished from the world, it would 
 be the greatest calamity which could befall 
 the human race. 
 
 It has formerly been a matter of discussion 
 M'ith the learned, whether the influence of 
 superstition or atheism was most baleful on 
 society. Plutarch, Bacon. Bayle, Warbur- 
 ton, and others, have handled this subject in 
 a learned and ingenious manner, and arrived 
 at very different conclusions. However doubt- 
 ful this question mav have been considered in 
 former times. I believe all reflecting men are 
 now pretty well satisfied, that the question 
 
24 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 is put to rest for ever. We have recently be- 
 held the spectacle of a great nation casting 
 off contemptuously the religion of their fathers, 
 and plunging at once into the abyss of atheism. 
 We have seen the experiment tried, to ascer- 
 tain whether a populous nation could exist 
 without the restraints of religion. Every cir- 
 cumstance was as favourable to the success 
 of the experiment as it could be. Learning- 
 was in its highest state of advancement; phi- 
 losophy boasted of an approximation to per- 
 fection; and refinement and politeness had 
 never been more cultivated, among any peo- 
 ple. But what was the result? It is written 
 in characters of blood. It was as if a volcano 
 had burst upon the world, and disgorged its 
 fiery flood over all Europe. Such a scene of 
 cruelty, cold-blooded malignity, beastly im- 
 purity, heaven-daring impiety, and insatiable 
 rapafciousness, the world never witnessed be- 
 fore, and I trust in God, will never witness 
 again. The only ray of hope which brightened 
 the dismal prospect, was, that this horrible 
 system contained in itself the principles of 
 its own speedy downfall. Atheism has no 
 bond of union for its professors; no basis of 
 mutual confidence. It breeds suspicion, and 
 consequently hatred, in every breast; and it 
 is actuated by a selfishness which utterly dis- 
 regards all the bonds of nature, of gratitude, 
 and of friendship. To an atheist, fear be- 
 comes the ruling passion. Conscious of his 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 25 
 
 own want of virtue, honour, and humanity, 
 he naturally views his fellows in the same 
 light, and is ready to put them out of the waj 
 as soon as they appear, in any degree, to 
 become obstacles to the accomplishment of 
 his plans. Hence, the bloody actors in this 
 tragedy, after glutting their revenge by shed- 
 ding the blood of innocent Christians and un- 
 oiFending priests, turned their murderous 
 weapons against each other. Not satisfied 
 with inflicting death on the objects of their 
 suspicion or envy, they actually feasted their 
 eyes, daily, with the streams of blood which 
 incessantly flowed from the guillotine. Never 
 was the justice of heaven against impious and 
 cruel men more signally displayed, than in 
 making these miscreants the instruments of 
 vengeance against eacl\ other. The general 
 state of morals in France, during the period 
 that Christianity was proscribed and atheism 
 reigned, was such as almost exceeds belief. 
 An eye-witness of the whole scene, and actor 
 in some parts of it, has drawn the following- 
 sketch: "Multiplied cases of suicide, pri- 
 sons crowded with innocent persons, perma- 
 nent guillotines, perjuries of all classes, pa- 
 rental authority set at nought, debauchery 
 encouraged by an allowance to those called 
 unmarried mothers; nearly six thousand di- 
 vorces within the single city of Paris, within 
 a little more than two years after the la\v 
 authorised themj in a word, whatever is most 
 
26 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 obscene in vice, and most dreadful in fero- 
 city."* If these be the genuine fruits of 
 atheism, then let -us rather have superstition 
 in its most appalling form. Between atheism 
 and superstition there is this great difference^ 
 that while the latter sanctions some crimes, 
 the former opens the flood-gates to all. The 
 one restrains partially, the other removes all 
 restraint from vice. Every kind of religion 
 presents some terrors to evil doers; atheism 
 promises complete immunity, and stamps vir- 
 tue itself with the character of folly. 
 
 But we must not suppose that the whole 
 mass of the French people became atheists, 
 during this period. Far from it. A large 
 majority viewed the whole scene with horror 
 and detestation: but the atheistical philoso- 
 phers had got the power in their hands, and, 
 though a small minority of the nation, were able 
 to effect so much mischief. But from this 
 example we may conjecture what would be 
 the state of things, if the whole mass of peo- 
 ple in a nation should become atheists, or be 
 freed from all the restraints of conscience 
 and religion; such an event can never occur; 
 but if it could, all must acknowledge, that no 
 greater calamity could be imagined. It would 
 be a lively picture of hell upon earth; for 
 what is there in the idea of hell more horrible 
 than the absence of all restraint and all hope, 
 
 * Gregoire. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. 27" 
 
 and the uncontrolled dominion of the most 
 malignant passions I But there would be one 
 remarkable point of difterence, for while athe- 
 ists deny the God that made them, the inha- 
 bitants of hell BELIEVE AND TREMBLE I 
 
 
 SECTION II. 
 
 If Christianity be rejected^ there is no other religion 
 ivhich can be substituted in its place : at leasts no 
 other lohich will at all answer the purpose for which 
 religion is desirable. 
 
 It has been proved in the former section, 
 that it is necessary to have some religion. 
 We are already in possession of Christianity, 
 which, by the confession of deists themselves, 
 answers many valuable purposes. It behooves 
 us, therefore, to consider well what we are 
 likely to obtain by the exchange, if we should 
 relinquish it. If any man can show us a better 
 religion, and founded on better evidences, we 
 ought, in that event, to give it up willingly: 
 but if this cannot be done, then surely it is 
 not reasonable to part with a certain good, 
 without receiving an equivalent in its place. 
 This would be, as if some persons sailing on 
 the ocean in a vessel which carried them pros- 
 perously, should determine to abandon it, 
 
28 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 without knowing that there was any other to 
 receive them, merely because some of the 
 passengers, pretending to skill, suggested 
 that it was leaky, and w^ould sooner or later 
 founder. 
 
 Let the enemies of Christianity tell us 
 plainly M'hat their aim is, and what they de- 
 sign to substitute in the place of the Bible. 
 This, however, they are unable to perform | 
 and yet they would have us to consent to give 
 up our dearest hopes without knowing what 
 we are to receive, or whether we are to re- 
 ceive any thing to compensate for the loss. 
 
 This is a point of vital importance, and de- 
 mands our most serious attention. If it is 
 really intended to substitute some other re- 
 ligion in the place of Christianity, we ought, 
 certainly, before we make the exchange, to 
 have the opportunity of examining its claims, 
 that we may know whether it will be likely 
 to answer the purposes for which religion is 
 wanted. To bring this subject fairly into 
 view, let us take a survey of the world, and 
 enquire what it has to propose for our selec- 
 tion, if we should renounce Christianity. 
 
 And there are only three things, in that 
 event, between which we must choose. The 
 first, to adopt some of the existing, or some 
 of the exploded systems of Paganism, the se- 
 cond, to accept the Koran instead of the Bible; 
 and the third, to embrace natural religion, 
 or pure deism. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 29 
 
 Few men have had the effrontery to pro- 
 pose a return to Paganism : yet even this has 
 not been too extravagant for some whose 
 names stand high as men of literature. The 
 learned Gibbon has not, that I recollect, ex- 
 pressed his opinion on this subject explicitly; 
 but it may be fairly inferred, from many 
 things m his History of the Decline and Fall 
 of the Roman Empire, that he deeply re- 
 gretted the subversion of the old Pagan sys- 
 tem, and that the process of ChrFstianity 
 was far from affording him any pleasure. 
 
 But although he makes it sufficiently mani- 
 fest, that, could his wishes have governed 
 past events, the old system would never have 
 been disturbed, and Christianity never have 
 had a footing; yet we cannot say, whether he 
 would have given his vote to have the temples 
 rebuilt, and the Pagan rites restored. It is 
 difficult to tell what he wishes to accomplish 
 by his opposition to Christianity; or whether 
 lie had any definite view, other than to mani- 
 fest his hatred to the Gospel and its Author. 
 
 Taylor, the learned translator of Plato, 
 openly avowed his predilection for the reli- 
 gion of the Athenian philosopher, and his 
 wish that it might be revived, and speaks in 
 contemptuous terms oif Christianity, in com- 
 parison with Platonism; but he never could 
 nave supposed that was a suitable religion for 
 the bulk of men which had not the least in- 
 fluence upon them while the philosopher lived, 
 c 2 
 
so EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 This, thufi, would be no substitute for Chris- 
 tianity; for. under its benign influence, even 
 the poor have the Gospel preached unto them. 
 But if the truth could be ascertained, I have 
 no doubt that this sublime genius derived some 
 of his best ideas, directly or indirectly, from 
 the Scriptures; and that, if he had lived under 
 the light of the Gospel, he never would have 
 spoken of it as his translator has done. 
 
 In the time of the revolution in France, 
 after some trial had been made of having no 
 religion, D'Aubermenil proposed a new reli- 
 
 fion, in imitation of the ancient Persians, 
 [is plan was to have the Deity represented 
 by a perpetual fire, and ofterings made to 
 him of fruits, oil, and salt; and libations 
 poured out to the four elements. It was pre- 
 scribed, that worship should be celebrated 
 daily in the temple, that every ninth day 
 should be a sabbath, and that, on certain fes- 
 tivals, all ages should unite in dances. A 
 few fanatics, in Paris and elsewhere, actually 
 adopted the new religion, but they were un- 
 able to attract any notice, and in a little time 
 sunk into merited oblivion. 
 
 It has been common enough to set up the 
 Mohammedan religion, in a sort of rival com- 
 parison with Christianity; but I do not know 
 that any have gone so far as to prefer the Ko- 
 ran to the BiWe, except those few miserable 
 apostates, who, after being long <* tossed about 
 with every wind of doctrine," at length threw 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 51 
 
 themselves into the arms of the Arabian im- 
 poster. How far tliis religion will bear a 
 comparison with Christianity, will be seen in 
 the sequel. 
 
 Deism, or Natural Religion, is, then, the 
 onlj liope of the world, if the Christian 
 religion be rejected. To this our atten- 
 tion shall now be turned. The first Eng- 
 lish deists extolled Natural Relio;ion to the 
 skies, as a system which contained all that 
 man had any need to know; and as be- 
 ing simple and intelligible to the meanest ca- 
 pacity. But strange to tell, scarcely any 
 two of them are agreed, as to what Natural 
 Religion is; and the same discordance has 
 existed among their successors. They are not 
 agreed, even in those points which are most 
 essential in religion, and most necessary to be 
 settled, before any religious worship can be 
 instituted. They difter on such points as 
 these: whether there is any intrinsic differ- 
 ence between right and wrong; whether God 
 pays any regard to the affairs of man; whe- 
 ther the soul is immortal; whether prayer is 
 proper and useful; and whether any external 
 rites of worship are necessary. 
 
 But Natural Religion is essentially de- 
 fective, as a religion for sinners, which all 
 men feel themselves to be. It informs us of 
 no atonement, and makes no provision for 
 the pardon of sin. Indeed, if we impartially 
 consider the law of nature, all hope of pardon 
 
32 EVIDEXCES OP THE 
 
 must be relinquished, on this ground, be- 
 cause it is a first principle of Natural Reli- 
 gion, that every one will be rewarded or 
 punished exactly according to his works: and 
 therefore if any man sin, he must suffer ac- 
 cording to the demerit of his crime. I know, 
 indeed, that Lord Herbert laid it down as 
 one of the five articles of Natural Religion, 
 that pardon might be obtained on repent- 
 ance^ and the same idea has been enter- 
 tained by his followers; but this is a doctrine 
 evidently borrowed from revelation. Na- 
 tural Religion, when properly understood, 
 knows nothing of pardon. It is in direct 
 opposition to the principle mentioned above^ 
 and, if it were so, that the law of nature 
 promised pardon to the penitent, without 
 satisfaction, it would haA^e no sanction what- 
 ever; for if men can repent when they please, 
 (which must be supposed,) then they may 
 sin as much as they please, without fear of 
 punishment. The case is far otherwise with 
 the forgiveness of the Gospel. 
 
 As this religion teaches no plan of atone- 
 ment and forgiveness, so it inculcates no ef- 
 fectual method of reformation, or purification 
 from the pollution of sin, and affords no aid 
 to those who wish to live well, but leaves all 
 to be performed by the mere strength of men, 
 which, alas ! is insufficient to bear up against 
 the power of temptation. In those very 
 points on which we want a clear response, 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 3^ 
 
 Natural Religion is silent. It can do no more, 
 when its light is clearest, than to direct us 
 in the way of duty, and intimate the conse- 
 quences of disobedience. Deists, then, must 
 lead such lives of perfection, as to need no 
 pardon, no regeneration, no aid, no reforma- 
 tion. The system is ^ood for them who can 
 ffo through life without sin: but, as was said, 
 it is no religion for a sinner; — it sets no 
 hope before the mourning penitent. 
 
 Again, if deism be the true religion, why 
 has piety never flourished among its profes- 
 sors-^ -vhy have they not been the most zeal- 
 ous a ad consistent worshippers of God? Does 
 not truth promote piety? and will it not ever 
 be the case, that they who hold the truth will 
 love God most ardently, and serve him most 
 faithfully? But what is the fact, in regard 
 to this class of men? Have they ever been 
 distinguished for their spirit of devotion? 
 Have they produced numerous instances of 
 exemplary piety? It is so much the reverse, 
 that even asking such reasonable questions, 
 has the appearance of ridicule. And when 
 people hear the words * pious deist,' they 
 nave the same sort of feeling, as when men- 
 tion is made of an honest thief, or a sober 
 drunkard. 
 
 There is no slander in making this state- 
 ment, for deists do not affect to be pious. 
 They have no love for devotion. If the truth 
 were known, this is the very thing they wish 
 
34 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 to get rid of ; and if they believed, that pro- 
 fessing themselves to be deists laid them un- 
 der greater obligations to be devout, they 
 would not be so zealous for the system. Be- 
 lieve me, the contest is not between one re- 
 ligion and another, it is between religion and 
 iireligion. It is impossible, that a man of 
 truly pious temper, should reject the Bible, 
 even if he were unacquainted with its histori- 
 cal evidences. He would find it to be so 
 congenial to his taste, and so salutary in its 
 effects on his own spirit, that he would con- 
 clude, that it must have derived its origin 
 from heaven. But we find no such spirit in 
 the writings of deists. There is not in them 
 a tincture of piety; but they have more than 
 a sprinkling of profane ridicule. When you 
 turn to them from the Bible, you are sensi- 
 ble of as great a transition, as if you passed 
 suddenly from a warm and genial climate 
 into the frigid zone. If deists expect ever 
 to conciliate regard for their religion, they 
 must appear to be truly pious men, sincerely 
 engaged in the service of God; and this will 
 have more effect than all their arguments. 
 But whenever this event shall occur, they 
 will be found no longer opposing the Bible, 
 but will esteem it the best of books, and will 
 come to it for fuel to feed the flame of pure de- 
 votion. An African prince, who was brought to 
 England, and resided there some time, being 
 asked what he thought of the Bible, answer- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. oJ 
 
 ed, that he believed it to be from God, for he 
 found all the good people in favour of it, and 
 all the bad people against it I 
 
 The want of a spirit of piety and devotion, 
 must be reckoned the principal reason why 
 the deists have never been able to establish 
 and keep up any religious worship among 
 themselves. The thing has been attempted, 
 at several different times, and in different 
 countries; but never with any success. 
 
 It is said, that the first enterprise of this 
 kind, was that of David Williams, an Eng- 
 lishman, who had been a dissenting minister 
 in Livei-pool, but passing over to Socinian- 
 ism and then to deism, went to London, 
 where, being patronised by some persons of 
 influence, he opened a house for deistical wor- 
 ship, and formed a liturgy, consisting princi- 
 pally of praise to the Creator. Here he 
 preached for a short time, and collected 
 some followers; but he complained that most 
 of his congregation went on to atheism. After 
 four years trial, the scheme came to nothing. 
 There were neither funds nor congregation 
 remaining, and the Priest of nature, (as Wil- 
 liams styled himself,) through discouragement 
 and ill health, abandoned the project. 
 
 Some feeble attempts of the same kind have 
 been made in the United States; but they 
 are unworthy of being particularly noticed. 
 
 Frederick II. the deistical king of Prussia, 
 had once formed the plan of a Pantheon in 
 
36 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 Berlin, for the worshippers of all sects and 
 all religions; the chief object of which was the 
 subversion of Christianity; but the scheiue 
 was never carried into execution. 
 
 The most interesting experiment of this 
 kind, was that made by the Theophilanthro- 
 pists, in France, during the period of the re- 
 volution. After some trial had been made 
 of atheism and irreligion, and when the want 
 of public worship was felt by many reflect- 
 ing persons, a society was formed for the 
 worship of God, by the name just mentioned, 
 upon the pure principles of Natural Religion. 
 Among the patrons of this society, were men 
 beloved for their philanthropy, and distin- 
 guished for their learning, and some high in 
 power. 
 
 La Revelliere Lepaux, one of the directory 
 of France, was a zealous patron of the new 
 religion. By his influence, permission was* 
 obtained to make use of the churches for 
 their worship. In the city of Paris alone, 
 eighteen or twenty were assigned to them, 
 among which was the famous church of Notre 
 Dame. 
 
 Their creed was simple, consisting of two 
 »reat articles, the existence of God^ and the 
 immortality of the soul. Their moral system 
 also embraced two great principles, the love of 
 God, and the love of man; which were indi- 
 cated by the name assumed bv the society. 
 Their vforship consisted of prayers, and 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 3/ 
 
 hymns of praise, which were comprehended 
 in a manual, prepared for a directory in 
 worship. Lectures were delivered by the 
 members, which, however, underwent the 
 inspection of the society before they were 
 pronounced in public. To these were added 
 some simple ceremonies, such as placing a 
 basket of fruits or flowers on the altar. Mu- 
 sic, vocal and instrumental, was used: for 
 the latter, they availed themselves of the or- 
 gans in the churches. Great efforts were 
 made to have this worship generally intro- 
 duced in all the principal towns in France, and 
 the views of the society were even extended 
 to foreign countries. Their manual was sent 
 into all parts of the republic, by the minister 
 of the interior, free of expense. Never did 
 a society enjoy greater advantages at its com- 
 mencement. Christianity had been rejected 
 with scorn; atheism had for a short time 
 been tried, but was found to be intolerable: 
 the government was favourable to the pro- 
 ject; men of learning and influence patronised 
 it, and churches ready built, were at the service 
 of the new sect. The system of Natural Reli- 
 gion, also, which was adopteil, was the best 
 that could have been selected, and considera- 
 ble wisdom was discovered in the construc- 
 tion of their liturgy. But with all these cir- 
 cumstances in their favour, the society could 
 not subsist. At first, indeed, while the scene 
 was novel, large audiences attended, most 
 
 D 
 
bb EVIDEXCES OF THE 
 
 of whom, however, w^ere merely spectators; 
 but in a short time, thev dwindled away to 
 such a degree, that instead of occupying 
 twenty churches, they needed only four, in 
 Paris 5^ and in some of the provincial towns, 
 where they commenced under the most fa- 
 vourable auspices, they soon came to nothing. 
 Thus they went on declining, until, under 
 the consular government, they were prohibit- 
 ed the use of the churches any longer; upon 
 which, they immediately expired, without a 
 sti-uggle; and it is believed, that not a ves- 
 tige of the society now remains. 
 
 It will be instructive and interesting to in- 
 quire into the reasons of this want of success, 
 in a society enjoying so many advantages. 
 Undoubtedly the chief reason was, the want 
 of a truly devotional spirit. This was ob- 
 served from the beginning of their meetings. 
 There was nothing to interest the feelings of 
 the heart. Their orators might be men of 
 learning, and might produce good moral dis- 
 courses, but they were not men of piety, and 
 not always men of pure morals.* Their 
 hymns were said to be well composed, and 
 tne music good; but the musicians were hired 
 from the stage. There was also a strange 
 defect of liberality in contributing to the 
 funds of the society. They found it impos- 
 sible to raise, in some of their societies, a 
 
 * Thomas Paine was one of them. 
 
CHRISTIAX RELIGION. ^9 
 
 sum which every Christian congregation, 
 even the poorest of any sect, would have col- 
 lected in one day. It is a fact^ that one of 
 the societies petitioned government to grant 
 them relief from a debt which they had con- 
 tracted in providing the apparatus of their 
 worship, not amounting to more tlian fifty 
 dollars; stating, that their annual income did 
 not exceed twenty dollars. In the other 
 towns their musicians deserted them, because 
 they were not paid; and, frequently, no per- 
 son could be found to deliver lectures. 
 
 Another difficulty arose, M^hich might have 
 been foreseen. Some of the societies declar- 
 ed themselves independent: and would not 
 agree to be governed by the manual which had 
 been adopted, any further than they chose. 
 They also remonstrated against the authority 
 exercised by the lecturers in the affairs of the 
 society, and declared, that there was danger 
 of their forming another hierarchy. 
 
 There were also complaints against them, 
 addressed to the ministers, by the agents of 
 government in the provinces, on account of 
 the influence which they might acquire in 
 civil affairs. 
 
 The Theophilanthropists were, moreover, 
 censured by those who had made greater ad- 
 vances in the modern philosophy, for their 
 illiberality. It was complained, that there 
 were many who could not receive their creed, 
 and all such must necessarilv be excluded 
 
40 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 from their society. This censure seems to 
 have troubled them much; and in order to 
 wipe olF the stigma, thej appointed a fete, 
 which they called the Anniversary of the re- 
 establishment of Natural Religion. To prove 
 that their liberality had no bounds, they pre- 
 pared five banners, to be carried in proces- 
 sion. On the first was inscribed the word, 
 Beligmi; on the second Morality; and, on 
 the others respectively, .7ei4?5, Catholics^ Pro- 
 testants. When the procession was over, the 
 bearers of the several banners gave each other 
 the kiss of peace; and that none might mis- 
 take the extent of their liberality, the banner 
 inscribed Morality^ was borne by a professed 
 atheist, universally known as such in Paris. 
 They iiad also other festivals peculiar to 
 themselves; and four in honour of the follow- 
 ing persons, Socrates, St. Vincent de Paule, 
 J. J. Rousseau, and Washington; a strange 
 conjunction of names, truly.* 
 
 I have been thus particular in giving an ac- 
 count of this society, because the facts fur- 
 nish the strongest confirmation of my argu- 
 ment, and are in themselves, curious and in- 
 structive. After the failure of this enterprise, 
 deists will scarcely attempt again to institute 
 any form of public worship. 
 
 But among those philosophers who believe 
 
 * Histoire de Theophilanthropie, par M. Gregoire. 
 — See Quarterly Review for January, 1823. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 41 
 
 in the perfectibility of human nature, under 
 the fostering influence of increasing know- 
 ledge and good government, there is a vague 
 theory, of a kind of mental, philosophical 
 religion, which needs the aid of no external 
 forms. The primary article of their creed is, 
 that religion is a thing entirely betvi^een God 
 and every man's conscience; that all that 
 our Creator requires is the homage of the 
 heartj that if we feel reverence, gratitude, and 
 submission towards our Creator, and act our 
 part well in society, we shall have fulfilled 
 our duty; that we cannot know how we may 
 be disposed of hereafter, and ought not to be 
 anxious about it Whether this is expected 
 to be the religion of philosophers only, or also 
 of the unlearned and the great mass of labour- 
 ing people, 1 am unable to say. But I know, 
 that such a system as this, will, to a large 
 majority of every community, be equivalent 
 to no religion at all. The great body of the 
 people must have something tangible, some- 
 thing visible, in their religion. They need 
 the aid of the senses and of the social prin- 
 ciple, to fix their attention, to create an in- 
 terest, and to excite the feelings of devotion. 
 But the truth is, that if the heart be affected 
 with lively emotions of pi6ty, it will be plea- 
 sant, it will be useful, and it will be natural, 
 to give them expression. This will hold in 
 regard to philosophers and men of learning, 
 as well as others. Wherever a number of 
 D 2 
 
42 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 persons participate in the same feelings, there 
 IS a strong inclination to hold communion to- 
 gether,* and if sentiments of genuine pietj 
 exist in the bosoms of many, they will delight 
 to celebrate, in unison, the praises of that Be- 
 ing whom they love and adore. There is no 
 reason why pious emotions more than others 
 should be smothered, and the tendency to 
 express them counteracted. Such, indeed, 
 ^vill never be the fact. Out of the abwidance 
 of the heart the mouth will speak. Piety, it 
 is true, consists essentially in the exercises 
 of the heart; but that religion which is merely 
 mental, is suspicious; at best, very feeble; is 
 not likely to produce any permanent effect on 
 the character or comfort of the person enter- 
 taining it; and cannot be useful to others, in 
 the way of example. 
 
 In the year 1802, when Christianity, which 
 had been proscribed in France, was restored 
 by an act of government, a speech was de- 
 livered by one of the councillors of state, 
 which contains excellent sentiments, on the 
 subject here treated. One or two extracts 
 will not be unacceptable to the reader. 
 Science can never be partaken of but by a 
 small number, but by religion one may be in- 
 structed without being learned. The Natu- 
 ral Religion, to which one may rise by the 
 effects of a cultivated reason, is merely ab- 
 stract and intellectual, and unfit for any peo- 
 ple It is revealed religion which points out 
 
CHRISTIAN R.ELIGI05r. 43 
 
 all the truths that are useful to men who 
 have neither time nor means for laborious 
 disquisitions. Who then would wish to dry 
 up that sacred spring of knowledge, whicli 
 diffuses good maxims, brings them before the 
 eyes of every individual, and communicates 
 to them that authoritative and popular dress, 
 without which they would be unknown to the 
 multitude, and almost to all men. — For want 
 of a religious education for the last ten years, 
 our children are without any ideas of a 
 divinity, without any notion of what is just 
 and unjustj hence arise barbarous manners, 
 hence a people become ferocious. One can- 
 not but sigh over the lot which threatens the 
 present and future generations. Alas! Avhat 
 have we gained by deviating from the path 
 pointed out to us by our ancestors? What 
 have we gained by substituting vain and ab- 
 stract doctrines for the creed which actuated 
 the minds of Turenne, Fenelon, and Pascal.*^" 
 
 I think enough has now been said to es- 
 tablish, beyond all reasonable doubt, our se- 
 cond proposition, that if Christianity be re- 
 jected, there is no other religion which can 
 he substituted in its place; or, at least, no 
 other which can at all answer the purpose for 
 which religion is desirable. 
 
 It may also be observed, in conclusion, 
 that the facts which have been adduced, not 
 only serve to confirm this proposition, but 
 furnish new and cogent arguments in proof 
 
44 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 of the proposition maintained in the preced- 
 ing section. 
 
 SECTION III. 
 
 There is nothing improbable or unreasonable in the 
 idea of a revelation from God ; and consequently 
 nothing improbable or unreasonable in sitch a mani' 
 fest divine interposition as may be necessary to c«- 
 tablish a revelation. 
 
 That a revelation is possible, will not be 
 called in question by any who believe in the 
 existence of a Godj nor can it be believed 
 that there is any thing in the notion of a re- 
 velation, repugnant to the moral attributes of 
 the Supreme Being. It cannot be inconsis- 
 tent with the wisdom, goodness, or holiness 
 of God, to increase the knowledge of his in- 
 telligent creatures. The whole end of a re- 
 velation is to make men wiser, better, and 
 happier? and what can be conceived more 
 accordant with our ideas of divine perfection 
 than this? 
 
 That man is capable of receiving benefit 
 from a revelation, is a truth so evident, that it 
 would be folly to spend time in demonstrat- 
 ing it; for whatever may be thought of the 
 sufficiency of Natural Religion, if it was 
 fully understood and improved, yet all must 
 
CHRISTIAX RELI&IOX. 45 
 
 admit, that men generallv liave not been suf- 
 ficiently enlij^litened on the subject of reli- 
 gion. The history of the world, in all ages, 
 proves the deplorable ignorance of the greater 
 part of the human race, even on those sub- 
 jects which the advocates of Natural Reli- 
 gion confess to be most important and fun- 
 damental. 
 
 It cannot be thought an unreasonable sup- 
 position, that when God made the original 
 progenitors of our race, he should furnish 
 them with such knowledge as was absolutely 
 nec<^>sny, not only for their comfort, but for 
 theii- preservation. As they were without 
 experience, and had none upon earth from 
 whom they could derive instruction, is it un- 
 reasonable to suppose, that the beneficent 
 Creator communicated to them such a stock 
 of knowledge as was requisite for the com- 
 mon purposes of life.^ The theory of those 
 who suppose that man was at first a dumb, 
 irrational animal, very little difterent from 
 those which now roam the forest, and that 
 from this state he emerged by bis own exer- 
 tions, that he invented articulate speech, 
 and all the arts of life, without ever receiving 
 any aid, or any revelation from his Creator, 
 is, to my apprehension, so improbable and 
 extravagant, so opposed to all authentic his- 
 tory, and so inconsistent with experience, 
 that I cannot but wonder that it ever should 
 have found abettors. 
 
46 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 If, then, man received, at first, such ideas 
 as were necessary to his condition, this was a 
 revelation; and if afterwards he should at any 
 time need information on any subjects con- 
 nected with liis happiness, why might not the 
 benevolent Creator, who does iiot abandon the 
 work of his hands, again vouchsafe to make a 
 communication to him ? Such an exigency, 
 deists themselves being judges, did arise. 
 Men, almost universally, fell into the prac- 
 tice of idolatry, and lost the knowledge of the 
 true God. They betook themselves to the 
 Avorship of the luminaries of heaven, of dead 
 men, of beasts, and inanimate things. They 
 invented superstitious rites, not only irra- 
 tional, but cruel and abominable. These 
 were transmitted from generation to genera- 
 tion; and the children became still more in- 
 volved in ignorance than their parents. Now, 
 that the righteous Governor of the universe 
 may leave men to follow their own inventions, 
 and sufter by their own folly, is certain, for 
 he has done so: but is it not consistent with 
 his wisdom and goodness to use extraordinary 
 means to rescue them from a state so degraded 
 and wretched? Would not every sober deist 
 admit that some means of bringing them back 
 to just ideas of Natural Religion would be 
 desirable.^ If then, the apostacy of man from 
 his Maker should render some further reve- 
 lation necessary, would it not be highly be- 
 nevolent to communicate whatever his cir- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION'. 47 
 
 cumstances required ? Why should it be 
 thought unreasonable, that God should some- 
 times depart from his common mode of acting, 
 to answer great and valuable ends? What is 
 there in the established course of nature so 
 sacred, or so immutable, that it must never, 
 on any occasion, or for any purpose, be 
 changed ? The only reason why the laws of 
 nature are uniform is, that this is for the 
 benefit of mani but if his interest requires a 
 departure from the regular course, what is 
 there to render it unreasonable? The Author 
 of the universe has never bound himself to 
 pursue one undeviating course in the govern- 
 ment of the world. The time may come 
 when he may think proper to change the 
 whole system. As he gave it a beginning, he 
 may also give it an end. General uniformity 
 is expedient, that men may know what to 
 expect, and may have encouragement to use 
 means to obtain necessary ends: but occa- 
 sional and unfrequent deviations from this 
 uniformity, have no tendency to prevent the 
 benefit arising from it. This is so evident a 
 truth, that I am almost ashamed to dwell so 
 long upon it; but by the sophistry of infidels 
 a strange darkness has been thrown over the 
 subject, so that it seems to be thought that 
 there would be something immoral, or unwise 
 and inconsistent, in contravening the laws of 
 nature. 
 
 Let it be remembered, that the object here, 
 
48 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 is uot to prove that there must be a revela- 
 tion; it is only to show that there would be 
 nothing unreasonable in the thing; and iur- 
 therj that it would be a very desirable thing 
 lor man, and altogether consistent with the 
 perfections of God and the principles on which 
 he governs the w^orld. 
 
 Now, suppose that God should determine 
 to reveal his will to man; how could this be 
 most conveniently effected ? We can con- 
 ceive of two ways. The first by inspiring all 
 who needed knowledge, with the ideas which 
 he wished to communicate. The second by 
 inspiring a few persons, and directing them 
 to communicate to others the truths received . 
 The first would seem to be the most effectual, 
 but the last is more analogous to his other 
 dispensations. Reason might have been given 
 in perfection at once, and not left to the un- 
 certainty of education and human improve- 
 ment; but such is not the fact. By slow 
 degrees, and much culture, this faculty attains 
 its maturity, and when neglected, never ac- 
 quires any high degree of strength. In regard 
 to the best mode of making a revelation, how- 
 ever, we are totally incompetent to judge; but 
 of one thing we may be certain, that if God 
 should give a revelation to men, lie would so 
 attest it, as to enable all sincere inquirers to 
 know, that it derives its origin from him; for 
 otherwise it would be useless, as there would 
 be no evidence of its truth. Now, suppose a 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 49 
 
 revelation to be given, what would be a satis- 
 factory attestation of its divine origin ? It 
 must be some sign or evidence not capable 
 of being counterfeited; something by which 
 God should in some way manifest himself. 
 And how could this be effected, but by the 
 exertion of his power, or the manifestation of 
 his infinite knowledge? that is, by miracles, 
 or by prophecies, or by both. There is, then, 
 just as much probability that miracles will 
 exist, (for prophecy may be considered one 
 kind of miracle,) as that a revelation will be 
 given. The conjunction of these two things 
 is reasonable; if we find the one, we may be 
 sure that the other exists also. 
 
 It is admitted that a revelation from God 
 would have internal evidence of its origin, but 
 this does not strike the attention at once. It 
 requires time before it can be perceived; but 
 in the first establishment of a revelation, there 
 is need of some evidence which is obvious to 
 the senses, and level to the capacities of all. 
 Just such an evidence are miracles. More- 
 over, internal evidence requires, in order that 
 it may be perceived and appreciated, a certain 
 favourable state of the moral feelings, without 
 which it is apt to be overlooked, and produces 
 no conviction; whereas external evidence is 
 not only level to every capacity, but adapted 
 to bring home conviction to every description 
 of men, to the bad as well as the good. 
 
 Miracles, then, furnish the best proof. for 
 
50 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 the establishment of a revelation. They seem 
 to be its proper seal. Thej are the manifest 
 attestation of God. Nothing can be conceived 
 which will more strikingly indicate his power 
 and presence, than a visible suspension of the 
 laws of nature. He is invisible, he must 
 make himself known by his works; and a 
 miracle is such a work as no other can per- 
 form. When, therefore, a person professes 
 to have received a revelation from God, and 
 when we behold the effects of Almighty power 
 accompanying his words, all are sure that 
 God is with him, and thlt he is a teacher 
 sent from God; for otherwise he could never 
 perform such wonderful works; or, rather, to 
 speak more correctly, God would never 
 exert his power to confirm the pretensions 
 of an impostor, or to attest doctrines which 
 are not true. 
 
 SECTION IV. 
 
 Miracles are capable of Proof from TesUmonij. 
 
 I DO not know that any one has denied that 
 a miracle would be credible, if exhlljited to 
 our senses. A man might, indeed, be de- 
 ceived by an illusion arising from some dis- 
 order in his sen?ce; but if he was conscious 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION, 51 
 
 of being in a sound state of body and mind, 
 and should witness not only one, but a variety 
 of miracles, not only a few times, but for 
 years in succession; and if he should find, 
 that all around him had the same perceptions 
 of these facts as himself, 1 need not say, that 
 it would be reasonable to credit his senses, 
 for the constitution of his nature would leave 
 him no choice: he would be under the ne- 
 cessity of believing what he saw with his eyes, 
 heard with his ears, and handled with his 
 hands. But are there facts which a man 
 would credit on the evidence of his senses, 
 which can, by no means, be rendered credible 
 by the testimony of any number of witnesses? 
 Then there might be facts, the knowledge of 
 which could never be so communicated as to 
 be worthy of credit. According to this hypo- 
 thesis, the constitution of our nature would 
 require us to withhold our assent from what 
 was true, and what others knew to be true. 
 If a thousand persons of the strictest veracity 
 should testify, that they had repeatedly wit- 
 nessed a miracle, and if all circumstances 
 should concur to corroborate their testimony, 
 yet upon this principle it would be unreason- 
 able to credit them, even if they should con- 
 sent to die in confirmation of what they had 
 declared to be the fact. This is the ground 
 taken by Mr. Hume, in his boasted argument 
 against miracles. But it appears to me, that 
 every man, previously to examination, must 
 
52 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 be convinced that it is false; for it is contrary 
 to common sense, and universal experience 
 of the effect of testimony. The true principle 
 on this subject, is, that any fact ivhich ivould 
 be believed on the evidence of the senses^ may 
 be reasonably believed on testimony. For 
 there may be testimony of such a nature, as 
 to produce conviction as strong as any other 
 conceivable evidence; and such testimony in 
 favour of a miracle, would establish it as 
 firmly as if we had witnessed it ourselves. 
 But, notwithstanding that this is the conclu- 
 sion of common sense and experience, the 
 metaphysical argument of Mr. Hume has had 
 the effect of perplexing and unsettling the 
 minds of many; and as he boasts, that " it 
 will be useful to overthrow miracles as long 
 as the world endures," it seems necessary to 
 enter into an examination of his argument, 
 that we may be able to expose its fallacy. 
 This has already been done, in a convincing 
 manner, by several men,* eminent for their 
 learning and discrimination; and if their 
 works were read by all who peruse Hume, I 
 should think it unnecessary to add a single 
 word on the subject. But it may not be 
 without its use, to give a refutation, in a con- 
 densed form, for the sake of those who will 
 not take the trouble to go through a minute 
 and extended demonstration. 
 
 * Dr. Campbell, Professor Vince, Mr. Adams, Dr 
 Douglas. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. Oo 
 
 The argument of Mr. Hume will be best 
 exhibited in his own words. "A miracle," 
 says he, "^ supported bj any human testimony, 
 is more properly a subject of derision than 
 of argument. No testimony for any kind of 
 miracle can ever possibly amount to a proba- 
 bility. "— '• We establish it as a maxim, that 
 no human testimony can have such force, as 
 to prove a miracle, and make a just founda- 
 tion for any system of religion. " — " Our be- 
 lief or assurance of any fact from the report 
 of eye witnesses, is derived from no other 
 principle than experience; that is, our ob- 
 servation of the veracity of human testimony, 
 and of the usual conformity of facts to the 
 reports of witnesses. Now, if the fact at- 
 tested partakes of the marvellous, if it is such 
 as has seldom fallen under our own observa- 
 tion, here is a contest of two opposite expe- 
 riences, of which the one destroys the other, 
 as far as its force goes. Further, if the fact 
 affirmed by the witnesses, instead of being 
 only marvellous is really miraculous,* if, be- 
 sides, the testimony considered apart, and in 
 itself, amounts to an entire proof; in that 
 case there is proof against proof, of which the 
 strongest must prevail. — A miracle is a vio- 
 lation of the laws of nature; and as a firm 
 and unalterable experience has established 
 these laws, the proof against a miracle from 
 the very nature of the fact is as entire as any 
 argument from experience can possibly be 
 
54 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 imagined. And if so, it is an undeniable 
 consequence, that it cannot be surmounted 
 by any proof whatever from testimony. A 
 miracle, therefore, however attested, can never 
 be rendered credible, even in the lowest de- 
 gree. " Here we have the substance of Mr. 
 Hume's argument, on which I propose to 
 make some remarks intended to show, that 
 its whole plausibility depends on the assump- 
 tion of false principles, and the artful use of 
 equivocal terms. 
 
 1. Some prejudice is created in the mind 
 of the unsuspecting reader, by the definition 
 of a miracle, here given. It is called ''a vio- 
 lation of the laws of nature," which carries 
 with it an unfavourable idea, as though some 
 obligation was violated, and some injury was 
 done. But the simple truth is, that the laws 
 of nature are nothing else than the common 
 operations of divine power in the govern- 
 ment of the world, which depend entirely, 
 for their existence and continuance, on the 
 divine will; and a miracle is nothing else 
 than the exertion of the same power in a way 
 different from that which is common; or it 
 may be a mere suspension of that power 
 which is commonly observed to operate in the 
 world. 
 
 2. Mr. Hume's argument will apply to 
 the evidence of the senses as well as to that 
 derived from testimony, and will prove (if it 
 prove any thing) that it would be impossi- 
 
,1 CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. Da 
 
 ble to believe in a miracle if we should wit- 
 ness it ever so often. *' The very same prin- 
 ciple of experience," sajs he, "which gives 
 us a certain degree of assurance in the testi- 
 mony of witnesses, gives us also, in this case, 
 another degree of assurance against the fact 
 which they endeavour to establish, from which 
 contradiction there arises necessarily a coun- 
 terpoise, and mutual destruction of belief and 
 authority. " The very same counterpoise and 
 mutual destruction of belief must also occur 
 between the assurance derived from the 
 senses, and that derived from experience. 
 The reason why testimony cannot be believ- 
 ed in favour of a miracle, is not, according 
 to Mr. Hume, because it has no force; for 
 taken by itself, it may be sufficient to pro- 
 duce assurance; but let this assurance be as 
 strong as it may, it cannot be stronger than 
 that derived from universal experience. ••' In 
 that case," says he, "there is proof against 
 proof." Now it is evident that upon these 
 principles, the same equilibrium from con- 
 tradictory evidence must take place, between 
 experience and the senses. If one evidence 
 be stronger than another, " the strongest 
 must prevail, but with a diminution of force 
 in proportion to that of its antagonist. " But 
 in the case of the senses, and a firm and un- 
 alterable experience, the evidence is perfect 
 on both sides, so that the *' counterpoise 
 aifl^d mutual destruction of belief" must oc- 
 
55 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 cur. According to this metaphysical balance 
 of Mr. Hume, a miracle could not be believ- 
 ed if we witnessed it ever so often; for al- 
 though there is a great weight of evidence on 
 each side, yet as there is an equilibrium, 
 neither can have any influence on our assent. 
 Whether Mr. Hume would have objected to 
 this conclusion, does not appear; but it is ma- 
 nifest that it logically follows from his argu- 
 ment, as much as in the case to which he 
 has applied it. And here we see to what 
 pitch of skepticism his reasoning leads. 
 
 3. Mr. Hume makes an unnecessary dis- 
 tinction between that which is marvellous^ 
 and that which is miraculous ; for although 
 there is a real difference, yet as to his argu- 
 ment, there is none. The force of his rea- 
 soning does not relate to events as being 
 miraculous, but as being opposite to univer- 
 sal experience. If the conclusion, therefore, 
 be correct, it will equally prove, that no tes- 
 timony is sufficient to establish a natural 
 event, which has not before been expe- 
 rienced. If ever so many witnesses should 
 aver, that they had seen meteoric stones 
 fall from the clouds, or the galvanic fluid 
 melt metals, yet if we have never expe- 
 
 thi 
 
 rienced these things ourselves, we must not 
 believe them. 
 
 4. The opposite or contrary experience of 
 Mr. Hume, in regard to miracles, can mean 
 nothing more, than that such things have not 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. 57 
 
 been experienced. There is no other oppo- 
 site experience conceivable, in this case, un- 
 less a number of persons present, at the 
 same time, should experience opposite im- 
 pressions. The distinction, which he art- 
 fully makes, in relation to " the king of 
 Siam, who refused to believe the first reports 
 concerning the effects of frost," between 
 that which is contrary to experience, and not 
 conformable to experience, is without founda- 
 tion. For a fact cannot be contrary to ex- 
 perience in any other way, than by being not 
 conformable to it. There neither is, nor can 
 be, any experience against miracles, except 
 this, that they have not occurred in our own 
 experience or that of others. When the pro- 
 position of our author is expressed in lan- 
 guage free from ambiguity, it will amount to 
 this, that what has never been experienced, 
 can never be believed on any testimony; than 
 which nothing can easily be conceived more 
 false. In what a situation must man have 
 been, at the beginning of the world, if he 
 had adopted the principles of this skeptic ! 
 
 5. Mr. Hume uses the word experience in 
 a twofold sense, changing from one to the 
 other, as best suits his purpose. Some- 
 times it means, personal experience, and 
 at other times, and more commonly, the ex- 
 perience of the whole world. Now, if it 
 be taken to mean our own individual expe- 
 rience, the argument will be, that no fact 
 
58 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 which we ourselves have not witnessed, can 
 be established by testiriionj; which if cor- 
 rect, would cut off', at a stroke, the greater 
 part of human knowledge. Much the most 
 numerous class of facts are those which we 
 receive upon the testimony of others, and 
 many of these are entirely different from any 
 thing that we have personally experienced. 
 Many learned men never take the trouble 
 to witness the most curious experiments in 
 philosophy and chemistry; yet they are as 
 well satisfied of their truth, as if they had 
 personal experience of it. 
 
 But although an argument founded on an 
 opposition between testimony and experience, 
 in order to be of any validity, must relate to 
 personal experience; yet Mr. Hume com- 
 monly uses the term to signify the experience 
 of all men, in all ages. This extensive mean- 
 ing of the term must be the one which he 
 affixes to it in most places of his essay; be- 
 cause it is an experience by which we know 
 that the laws of nature are uniform and un- 
 alterable; and he has given an example which 
 clearly determines the sense of the word, 
 *'that a dead man should come to life," 
 says he, " has never been witnessed in any 
 age or country." 
 
 Now, according to this use of the word, 
 what he calls an argument, is a mere assump- 
 tion of the point in dispute; what logicians 
 call a petitio prindpii; a begging of the ques- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION', 59 
 
 tion. For what is the question in debate? Is 
 it not whether miracles have ever been ex- 
 perienced? And how does Mr. Hume un- 
 dertake to prove that they never did exist? 
 By an argument intended to demonstrate 
 that no testimony can establish them; tiie 
 main principle of which argument is, that all 
 experience is against them. If miracles have 
 ever occurred, they are not contrary to uni- 
 versal experience; for whatever has been 
 witnessed at any time, by any person, makes 
 part of universal experience. What sort of 
 reasoning is it, then, to form an argument 
 against the truth of miracles, founded on the 
 assumption, that they never existed ? If it 
 be true, as he says, "that it has never been 
 witnessed in any age or country, that a dead 
 man should come to life," then, indeed, it is 
 useless to adduce testimony to prove, that the 
 dead have, on some occasions, been brought 
 to life. If he had a right to take this for 
 granted, where was the use of such a parade 
 of reasoning on the subject of testimony? 
 The very conclusion to which he wished to 
 come, is here assumed, as the main princi- 
 ple in the argument. It is, however, as easy 
 to deny, as to affirm; and, we do utterly 
 deny the truth of his position; so that after 
 all, we are at issue, precisely on the point 
 where we commenced. Nothing is proved 
 by the argument which promised so much. 
 
60 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 except the skill of the writer in sophistical 
 reasoning. 
 
 6. Our author falls into another mistake, 
 in his reasoning. The object is to prove, 
 that testimony in favour of miracles, can 
 never produce conviction, because it is op- 
 posed by uniform and unalterable experience. 
 But how do we know what this universal ex- 
 perience is? Is it not by testimony, except 
 within the narrow circle of our own personal 
 experience? Then it turns out, that the tes- 
 timony in favour of miracles is neutralized 
 or overbalanced by other testimony. That 
 is, to destroy the force of testimony, he as- 
 sumes a principle founded on testimony. It 
 is admitted, that when testimony is adduced 
 to establish any facts, if other and stronger 
 testimony can be brought against them, their 
 credibility is destroyed. But if I bring tes- 
 timony for a fact, and some one alleges that 
 he can show that this testimony is unwor- 
 thy of credit, because he can bring witnesses 
 to prove that many persons in difterent coun- 
 tries and ages never saw any such thing, to 
 such a person I would reply, that even if 
 these witnesses declared the truth, it could 
 not overthrow the positive testimony wliich 
 I had adduced, as the}^ did not contiadict the 
 facts asserted; and, besides, it must be de- 
 termined which witnesses are most credible, 
 yours or mine. Just so it is, in the case of 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 61 
 
 Mr. Hume's argument. He sets up uniform 
 experience against testimony, and gives a 
 preponderance to the former, on the ground, 
 that witnesses are known sometimes to lie; 
 but all that he knows of what has happened 
 in other ages and countries, is by testimony; 
 and they who give this testimony are as fal- 
 lible as others; therefore, there existed no 
 ground for preferring the evidence of expe- 
 rience to testimony. Besides, he is not in 
 possession of testimony to establish a thou- 
 sandth part of what has been experienced; 
 and as far as it goes, it amounts to no more 
 than non-experience; a mere negative thing, 
 which can never have any weight to over- 
 throw the testimony of positive witnesses. 
 In a court of justice, such a method of rebut- 
 ting testimony would be rejected as totally 
 inadmissible. If we had sufficient evidence 
 of a fact of any kind, that testimony would 
 not be invalidated, if it could be proved, that 
 no person in the world had ever witnessed 
 the like before. This want of previous ex- 
 perience naturally creates a presumption 
 against the fact, which requires some force 
 of evidence to overcome: but in all cases, a 
 sufficient number of witnesses, of undoubted 
 intelligence and veracity, will be able to 
 remove the presumption and produce convic- 
 tion. 
 
 7. Mr. Hume lays it down as a principle, 
 that our belief in testimony arises from '• ex- 
 
62 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 peiience; that is, observation of the veracity 
 of human testimony. " But this is not correct. 
 Our belief in testimony is as natural and con- 
 stitutional as our belief in our senses. Chil- 
 dren, at first, believe implicitly all that i« 
 told them; and it is from experience that they 
 learn to distrust testimony. If our faith in 
 testimony arose from experience, it would be 
 impossible to acquire any knowledge from 
 instruction. If children were to believe no- 
 thing that was told them, until they had made 
 observations on the veracity of human testi- 
 mony, nothing would ever be believed: foi- 
 they would never arrive at the maturity and 
 judgment necessary to make observations on 
 a subject so complicated. 
 
 But although I perceive Mr. Hume's object 
 in vi^ishing to establish this false principle, 
 was, to exalt the evidence of what he calls 
 experience, above testimony: yet I think, if 
 we should concede it to him. it could answer 
 him no purpose, since we have shown that 
 this experience itself depends on testimony. 
 Whatever use he can make of this principle, 
 therefore, against testimony, can be turned 
 against himself, since his knowledge of what 
 the experience of the world is, can only be 
 obtained by the report of witnesses, who, in 
 diflferent ages, have observed the course of 
 nature. 
 
 8. Mr. Hume, on reflection, seems to have 
 been convinced, that his argument was un- 
 
CHRISTIAN HELIGIOX. G3 
 
 sound, for iii n note appended to his Essav 
 on Miracles, he makes a concession which 
 entirely overthrows the whole. But mark the 
 disingenuity, or shall I not rather call it, the 
 malignity of the man, against religion, wliich 
 is manifested in this only evidence of his can- 
 dour. He concedes that there may be mira- 
 cles of such a kind as to admit of proof from 
 human testimony, in direct contradiction to 
 his reiterated maxims, and in complete re- 
 pugnance to all his reasoning; but he makes 
 the concession with tlic express reservation, 
 that !■ shall not be applied to the support of 
 religion. He, however, not only makes this 
 concession, but gives an example of such a 
 miracle, and of the testimony which he ad- 
 mits to be sufficient to establish it ** Sup- 
 pose,'' says he, " all authors in all languages 
 agree, that from the first of January, 1600, 
 there was a total darkness all over the earth 
 for eight days; suppose that the tradition of 
 this event is still strong and lively among 
 the people; that all travellers bring us ac- 
 counts of the same tradition, &c. — it is evi- 
 dent THAT OUR PHILOSOPHERS OUGHT TO 
 
 RECEIVE IT FOR CERTAIN," And this is a 
 part of the same Essay, in which it is said, 
 '* thai a miracle^ supported by any human testi- 
 mony^ is more properly a subject of derision 
 than argument.'"' "No kind of testimony 
 for any kind of miracle can possibly amount 
 to a probability., much less to a proofs'' It 
 
64 • EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 niii^lit appear, that after so complete a renim- 
 ciatioii of the principle which at first he so 
 strenuously asserted, we might have spared 
 ourselves the pains of a formal refutation. 
 But not so. The author is resolved that his 
 concession shall be of no service whatever to 
 religion. Hear his own words: " But should 
 this miracle be ascribed to any new system 
 of religion, men in all ages haVe been so im- 
 posed upon by ridiculous stories of that kind, 
 that this very circumstance would be full 
 proof of a cheat, and sufficient with all men 
 of sense, not only to make them reject the 
 fact, but even reject it without further exami- 
 nation." I have heard of a maxim, which, I 
 believe, the Jesuits introduced, that that 
 might be true in philosophy which was false 
 in theology; but I never could have expected 
 that a philosopher, a logician, and a metaphy- 
 sician too, would utter any thing so unrea- 
 sonable, and so marked with prejudice, as the 
 declaration just quoted. The fact was ad- 
 mitted to have such evidence that even phi- 
 losophers ought to receive it as certain; but 
 not it it is ascribed to a new religion. On this 
 subject no evidence is sufficient. It is per- 
 fectly unexceptionable in philosophy; but in 
 religion a sensible man will reject it, what- 
 ever it may be, even without further exami- 
 nation. The circumstance of its being a 
 miracle connected with religion, is sufficient, 
 in his opinion, to prove it a cheat, however 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOrc. 63 
 
 complete the testimony. The world, it seems, 
 has been so imposed on bv ridiculous stones 
 of this kind^ that we must not even listen to 
 any testimony in favour of religious miracles. 
 This author would indeed reduce the advo- 
 cates of religion to an awkward dilemma. 
 They are called upon to produce evidence for 
 their religion, but if they adduce it, sensible 
 men will Hot notice it; even if it is good every 
 where else, it must go for nothing in religion. 
 Upon these principles, we might indeed give 
 up the contest: but we are not willing to ad- 
 mit that this is sound logic, or good sense. 
 The reason assigned for proscribing, in this 
 summary way, all the testimony in favour of 
 religion, will apply to other subjects. Men 
 have been imposed on by ridiculous stories in 
 philosophy, as well as religion; but when evi- 
 dence is proposed, shall we not even examine 
 it, because there have been impositions? This 
 is the very reason why we should examine 
 with care, that we may distinguish between 
 the true and the false. 
 
 If it were true, that miracles had often 
 been ascribed to new religions, it would not 
 
 Srove that there never were any true miracles, 
 ut rather the contrary; just as the abounding 
 of counterfeit money is evidence that there 
 is some genuine, for that which has no ex- 
 istence is not counterfeited. But the clamour 
 that has been raised by infidels about new re- 
 ligions, being commonly founded on miracles, 
 F2 
 
66 EVIDENCES OF THE • 
 
 or the pretence of miracles, lias very little 
 foundation in fact. Besides the Jewish and 
 Christian religions, (which are indeed parts of 
 the same,) it would, I believe, be difficult to 
 point out any other, which claims such an 
 origin. 
 
 After all that has been said of the false 
 maxims of the Jesuits, I doubt whether any 
 one could be selected so perfectly at war with 
 reason, as this of the Scotch philosopher: nay, 
 I think I may challenge all the enemies of 
 revelation, to cull from any Christian writer, 
 a sentence so surcharged with prejudice. 
 
 But, to do justice to Mr. Hume; although 
 he seems to have closed the door against all 
 discussion on our part, yet, in one of his 
 general maxims, he leaves us one alternative. 
 The maxim is this, *' that no testimony is 
 sufficient to establish a miracle, unless it be 
 of such a kind, that its falsehood would be 
 more miraculous than the fact." An inge- 
 nious writer* has undertaken to meet Mr. 
 Hume on his own ground, and has endea- 
 voured to prove, that the testimony of the 
 apostles and early Christians, if the facts re- 
 ported by them were not true, is a greater 
 miracle than any which they have recorded. 
 But the maxim, as stated by Mr. Hume, is 
 not correct. With the change of a single 
 word, perhaps, it may be adopted, and will 
 
 * Dr. Gleig. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 
 
 place the question on its proper ground. The 
 change which I propose, is, to substitute the 
 word improbable for miraculous. And it will 
 then read, no testimony is sufficient to esta- 
 blish a miracle unless the testimony be of such 
 a kincl^ that its falsehood would be more im- 
 probable than the fact which it endeavours to 
 establish. The ground of objection to the 
 word miraculous, is, that it involves a false 
 principle, which is, that facts are incredible 
 m proportion as they are miraculous; which 
 principle, he, in several places avows, and 
 which is, indeed, a cardinal point in his sys- 
 tem of evidence. But it is not true. There 
 are many cases which might be proposed, in 
 which, of two events, one of which must be 
 true, that which is miraculous is more proba- 
 ble than the one which is merely natural. I 
 will mention only one at present. Man was 
 either immediately created by God, or he pro- 
 ceeded from some natural cause. Need I 
 ask which of these is most probable? and yet 
 the first is miraculous, the second not. The 
 plain truth is, that in all cases, the fact which 
 has most evidence is most probable, whe- 
 ther it be miraculous or natural. And when 
 all evidence relating to a proposition is before 
 the mind, that is true which is easiest 
 believed; because, it is easier to believe 
 with evidence than against it. 
 
 We are willing, therefore, that this maxim, 
 as now stated, should be the ground of our 
 
68 EVIDENCES O? THE 
 
 decision, and we pledge ourselves to prove, 
 that the falsehood of the miracles of the Gos- 
 pel, would be more improbable, and conse- 
 quently more incredible, than the truth of 
 the facts recorded in them. But this dis- 
 cussion v.iil be reserved for another place. 
 To conclude this section: since then it has 
 been shown, that there is no antecedent pre- 
 sumption against miracles from the nature of 
 God, or fron\ the laws by which he governs 
 the universe; since a miraculous fact is not 
 more difficult to be accomplished by omnipo- 
 tence, than any other; since miracles are no 
 further improbable than as they are unusual; 
 since they are the most suitable and deci- 
 sive evidences which can be given of a reve- 
 lationj since, even by the concession of Mr. 
 Hume himself, there may be sufficient testi- 
 mony fully to establish them; and since the 
 many false pretences to miracles, and the 
 general disposition to credit them, are rather 
 proofs that they have existed, than the con- 
 trary, we may safely conclude that Mr. 
 Hume's argument on this subject is sophistical 
 and delusive; and that it is so far from being 
 true, as he alleges, that they are incredible, 
 whatever may be their evidence, when brought 
 to support religion, that this is, of all others^ 
 that department in which they are most rea 
 sonable and credible. 
 
CHRISTIAN- RELIGION'. 69 
 
 SECTION V. 
 
 Thz Miracles of the Gospel are Credible. 
 
 Having shown, in the preceding section, 
 that miracles may be so attested as to be cre- 
 dible, I come now to examine the evidence 
 by which the miraculous facts, recorded in the 
 New Testament, may be established. 
 
 This is the main point in our inquiry^ for, 
 after all that has been said, it must be ad- 
 mitted, that unless the Christian religion is 
 attended with sufficient evidence, we cannot 
 believe in it, even if we would. 
 
 Before entering directly on this discussion, 
 it may be useful to premise a few things re- 
 specting the nature and force of testimony, 
 which, it is presumed, will be admitted by all 
 who have attended to the subject. 
 
 This species of evidence admits of all con- 
 ceivable degrees, from the weakest probability 
 to the fullest assurance; for while, on this 
 ground, we yield to some reports the most 
 hesitating assent, we are as certainly per- 
 suaded of others, as of those things which we 
 perceive by our senses, or have demonstrated 
 by mathematical reasoning. 
 
 The exact force of testimony cannot be 
 calculated by rule, nor estimated by reason, 
 but is known only from experience. Many 
 things are believed on testimony with the 
 
70 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 most unwavering confidence, when we are 
 utterly unable to explain the precise ground 
 on whicli our conviction rests. The sources 
 of our information have been so numerous, 
 and the same facts presented to us in so manv 
 forms, tiiat it is impossible to attribute to 
 each its influence in gaining our assent. If we 
 were asked, on what particular testimony we 
 believe that there is such a place as Rome, or 
 why we believe that such a person as Buona- 
 parte lately figured in Europe, we could onlv 
 answer, in the general, that multiplied testi- 
 monies of these facts had reached us, so that 
 all possibility of doubting was excluded. The 
 same assurance, and resting on the same 
 grounds, is experienced in relation to facts 
 V. hich occurred in ages long past. Who can 
 bring himself to doubt, whether such persons 
 as Julius Caesar, Paul, Mohammed, Colum- 
 bus, or Luther, ever existed.^ 
 
 When we have obtained evidence to a cer- 
 tain amount, nothing is gained by the admis- 
 sion of more. The mind becomes, as it were, 
 saturated, and no change in its conviction is 
 produced by multiplying witnesses. One 
 sound demonstration of a theorem in mathe- 
 matics, is as good as a hundred. A few up- 
 right witnesses who agree, and are uncontra- 
 dicted by other evidence, are as satisfactory 
 as any conceivable number. On a trial for 
 murder, if there were a thousand witnesses 
 who could attest the fact, a judicious court 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION'. Tl 
 
 %vould not deem it necessary to examine more 
 than half a dozen, or, at most, a dozen, if 
 rhere was a perfect ao;reement in their testi- 
 mony. Experience only can inform us what 
 degree of evidence will produce complete 
 conviction; but we may judge from former 
 experience, what will be the effect of the 
 3ame evidence in future; and from the effect 
 on our own minds, what it will be on ihe 
 minds of others. 
 
 Testimony, not of ihe sti-onoest kind, may 
 be so corroborated by circumstances, and 
 especially, by the existino- consequences of 
 the facts reported, that it may be rendered 
 credible, and even irresistible. Should a his- 
 torian of doubtful credit attest, that an eclipse 
 of the sun occurred on a certain day, and 
 was visible in a certain place: if we possessed 
 no other evidence of the fact, it might be con- 
 sidered doubtful whethei- the testimony was 
 true or false: but, if by astronomical calcula- 
 tion it should be found, that there must have 
 been an eclipse of the sun at that time, and 
 visible at that place, the veracity of the wit- 
 ness, in this case, would be conliimed beyond 
 all possibility of doubt. Or, should we iind 
 it recorded by an anonymous author, that an 
 earthquake, at a certain time, had overthrown 
 a certain city; without further evidence, we 
 should yield but a feeble assent to the state- 
 ment; but if, on personal i)bservation. or bv 
 the report of respectable travellers, it was 
 
r^ EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 ascertained, that the ruins of an ancient city 
 existed in that place, we should consider the 
 truth of the history sufficiently established. 
 
 The evidences of the Christian religion 
 may be sufficient, and yet not so strong as 
 inevitably to produce conviction. Our con- 
 duct in the pursuit and reception of truth, 
 may be intended by our Creator, to be an 
 important part of that probation to which v/e 
 are subjected; and, therefore, the evidence 
 of revelation is not so great as to be irresisti- 
 ble; but is of such a kind, that the sincere 
 and diligent inquirer will be in no danger of 
 fatal mistake, while men of pride and preju- 
 dice, who prefer darkness to light, will be 
 almost sure to err.* 
 
 It is natural for all men to speak truth; 
 falsehood requires an effiirt. Wicked men 
 lie, only when they have some sinister end in 
 view. Combinations to deceive are never 
 formed but with a view to accomplish some 
 object desirable to those concerned. No set 
 of men will be at the trouble of forging and 
 propagating a falsehood, which promises them 
 no profit or gratification. Much less will they 
 engage in such an enterprise, with the view 
 of bringing evil on themselves, or when they 
 foresee, that it can be productive of nothing 
 but pain and reproach. 
 
 Between truth and falsehood there is so 
 
 See Pascal's Thoughts. 
 
CHRISTIAN' RELIGIOX. 73 
 
 great a difference, that it is extremely diffi- 
 cult for the latter so effectually to assume the 
 garb, and exhibit the aspect of the former, as, 
 upon a strict scrutiny, not to be detected. 
 No imposture can staiid the test of rigid in- 
 quiry,: and when the inquisition is made, the 
 truth seldom remains doubtful: the fraud is 
 pretty sure to become manifest. Tlie style 
 and manner of truth are entirely different 
 from tliose of falsehood. The one pursues a 
 direct course, is candid, unaffected and lio- 
 nest? the other evasive, cunning, tortuous, 
 and inconsistent; and is often betrayed, by 
 the efforts made to avoid discovery. 
 
 \\'hen both sides of a question are pressed 
 with difficulties, reason teaches us to choose 
 that which is attended with the fewest. Ob- 
 jectors to Christianitv often foro:et to notice 
 the difficulties of their own hypothesis. Evei^ 
 question has two sides: if we reject the affirm- 
 ative, we, of necessity, receive the negative 
 with all the consequences with which it may 
 be burdened. If we reject the evidence of 
 Christianity, and deny that miracles ever 
 existed, we are bound to account for the ex- 
 istence of the Christian church, and for the 
 conduct of the first preachers and primitive 
 believers, on other principles. And whoever 
 seriously undertakes this, will impose on him- 
 self a difficult task. Gibbon has put forth 
 his strength on this subject, with very small 
 success. His account of the origin of Chris- 
 
 Cr 
 
74 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 tianity is very unsatisfactory, and is totally 
 defective in historical evidence.* 
 
 If the evidences, on both sides of an im- 
 ]>ortant question, appear to be pretty equally 
 balanced, it is the dictate of wisdom to lean 
 to the safe side. In this question, undoubt- 
 edly, the safe side is that of religion; for if 
 we should be mistaken here, we shall suffer 
 no loss, and obtain some good by our error; 
 but a mistake on the other side, must prove 
 fatal. 
 
 When a proposition has been established 
 by proper and sufficient evidence, our faith 
 ought not to be shaken by every objection 
 which we may not be able to solve. To 
 admit this, would be to plunge into skepti- 
 cism on all subjects; for what truth is there, 
 to which some objection may not be raised 
 that no man can fully answer? Even the 
 clearest truths in science are not exempt from 
 objections of this sort. It must be so, as long 
 as our minds are so limited, and the extent 
 of human knowledge so narrow. That man 
 judges incorrectly, who supposes, that when 
 he has found out some objection to Christi- 
 anity which cannot be satisfactorily answered, 
 he Kas gained a victory. There are, indeed, 
 objections which relate to the essence of a 
 proposition, which, if sustained, do overthrow 
 
 * Decline and Fall of the R.oman F.mpire, c. xv. 
 Faber's Difficulties of Infidelity. 
 
CHKIaTIAX RELI&IOX. 
 
 the evidence; but there are other numerous 
 objections which leave the substantial evi- 
 dence undisturbed. Concerning them I 
 speak, when I sav that objections, though 
 not capable of an answer, should not be per- 
 mitted to unsettle our faitli. 
 
 Let us now proceed to the examination of 
 the testimony for the miracles recorded in the 
 Gospel. In this discussion, we shall take it 
 for granted, that such a person as Jesus Christ 
 lived in Judea, about the time mentioned by 
 the evangelists; that he inculcated a pure and 
 sublime morality, lived a virtuous and un- 
 blameable life, and was put to death by Pontius 
 Pilate, at the instigation of the Jewish rulers. 
 Also, that his apostles went forth into various 
 countries preaching to the people, and de- 
 claring that this crucified Jesus was a person 
 sent from God, for the salvation of the world ; 
 and that many were induced to connect them- 
 selves with the Christian church. These 
 facts, not being of a miraculous nature, and it 
 being necessary to suppose some such events, 
 deists have commonly admitted. But Volney, 
 in his Ruins, and some others, have imagined, 
 that such a person as Jesus Christ never 
 existed; that this is the name of a certain 
 celestial constellation; and that the Gospel 
 history is an allegory. Such visionary theo- 
 ries do not deserve a serious answer; they 
 are subversive of all historical truth, and have 
 not a shadow of evidence. Thev mav be 
 
76 EVIDEXC'J^S OF THE 
 
 well left to sink by the weight of their own 
 extravagance. Volney, however, has received 
 a learned answer from a gentleman,* who has 
 met him on his own ground; and, being as 
 much attached to astronomical allegories as 
 the Frenchman, has vanquished him with his 
 own weapons. 
 
 In the examination of written testimony, 
 the first thing requisite, is, to prove the au- 
 thenticity of the documents, in which it is 
 recorded. The evidence on which we de- 
 pend for the truth of miracles performed by 
 Jesus Christ, and by his apostles, is contained 
 in the New Testament. Here we have four 
 distinct narratives of the life, miracles, death, 
 resurrection, and ascension of Jesus of Naza- 
 reth; and also a history of the acts and sufter- 
 jngs of the apostles in preaching the Gospel, 
 and laying the foundation of the hrst Christian 
 churches, after the resurrection and ascen- 
 si(m of their Master. We have, also, in this 
 collection of writings, a number of epistles 
 addressed to the church in general, to parti- 
 cular churches, and to individuals. These, 
 with a book of prophecy, compose the volume 
 called the New Testament. 
 
 These books are certainly not of recent 
 origin; for there are extant, copies of the 
 New Testament in the original Greek, whicli 
 are at the least twelve hundred years old. 
 
 * Mr. Roberts. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION- 77 
 
 And before the time when these manuscripts 
 were penned, we have, in other books, nu- 
 merous testimonies to the existence of the 
 Christian Scriptures. They are not only 
 mentioned, but quoted, expounded, and har- 
 monized; so that, if every copy of the New 
 Testament had been lost, a large portion of 
 it might be recovered, by means of the numer= 
 ous quotations in the early Christian writers. 
 Besides, there are extant, versions of the 
 New Testament into several languages, made 
 at a very early period. By these means, we 
 are able to trace these writings up to the time 
 when the apostles lived. 
 
 There is also ample proof, not only from 
 Christian but Heathen authors, that a society 
 calling themselves Christians, existed as early 
 as the reign of Nero, who was contemporary 
 with the apostles. It is evident, from the 
 necessity of the case, that some such accounts 
 as those contained in the Gospels, must have 
 been received as true, from the first existence 
 of the Christian church. Unless it had been 
 preached and believed, that Christ was a di- 
 vine Teacher, and performed extraordinary 
 works in attestation of his mission, how is it 
 possible that such a society could have been 
 lormed? To suppose such a thing, would be 
 to conceive of a superstructure without a 
 foundation. The resurrection of Christ from 
 the dead, must have been an article of the 
 faith of Christians from their very origin; for 
 g2 
 
i '6 EVIDEXCE5 OE THE 
 
 it IS the corner stone of the whole edifice. 
 Take the belief of this away, and the Christian 
 system has no existence. There are also some 
 external institutions peculiar to Christianity, 
 which we must suppose to be coeval with the 
 formation of the society, for they are the 
 badges of the Christian profession, and con- 
 stitute a part of their worship. I refer to 
 baptism and the eucharist. To suppose that, 
 in some way, Christianity first existed, and 
 afterwards received these articles of faith, 
 and these institutions of worship, is too im- 
 probable to be admitted by any impartial man. 
 It would be to suppose, that a religious so- 
 ciety existed without any principles; or, that 
 they rejected their original principles and 
 adopted new ones, and that they who imposed 
 these upon them, had the address to persuade 
 them, that they had always belonged to their 
 system^ than which, it is not easy to conceive 
 any thuig more improbable. Let us for a 
 moment attempt to imagine, that previously 
 to the publication of the Gospels, the Christian 
 churches had among them no report of the 
 miracles and institutions recorded in these 
 books; when they opened them, they would 
 read, that their society was founded on the 
 belief of the resurrection of Jesus, and that 
 baptism and the eucharist were instituted by 
 him before he left the world, and had existed 
 among them ever since. Nothing can be 
 more evident, therefore, than that the sub- 
 
CHRISTIAN IIELIGIOIC. TO 
 
 stance of what is contained in the Gospels, 
 was believed and practised by Christians from 
 the commencement of the society. 
 
 As these books have come down to us un- 
 der the names of certain apostles and disci- 
 pies of Jesus Christ, so they were ascribed 
 to the same persons, from the earliest men- 
 tion of them. It is by the ancient Fathers 
 spoken of as a fact, universally believed 
 among Christians, and contradicted by no- 
 body. And we must not suppose, that in the 
 first ages of Christianity, there was little 
 care or discrimination exercised, in ascer- 
 taining the true authors, and genuine cha- 
 racter of the books in circulation. The very 
 reverse is the fact. The most diligent in- 
 quiries were instituted into matters of this 
 kind. Other books were published in the 
 name of the apostles, professing to give an 
 account of Jesus Christ, which were not ge- 
 nuine. The distinction between the books 
 of the New Testament, and all others of 
 every class, was as clearly marked in the 
 earliest ages, as it has ever been since. The 
 writings of the apostles were held in great 
 veneration; were received by the churches 
 all over the world, as the rule of their faith, 
 and directory of their lives, and publicly 
 read at their meetings, for the instruction of 
 the people. When any controversy arose, 
 they were appealed to as an authoritative 
 standard. As soon as published, they were 
 
80 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 SO widely scattered, and so carefuUj guard- 
 ed, that no persons had it in their power to 
 make any alteration in them. 
 
 The style or dialect in which these books 
 are written, furnishes an evidence of their 
 authenticity of a peculiar kind. It does not, 
 indeed, ascertain the persons of the writers; 
 but proves that they must have been exactly 
 in the circumstances of those to whom these 
 books have been uniformly ascribed. The 
 words are Greek, but the idiom is Hebrew, 
 or rather Syro-Chaldaic| — the vernacular 
 tongue of Judea, in the time of Christ and 
 his apostles. This is a peculiarity which 
 none could counterfeit; and which demon- 
 strates, that the New Testament was not 
 composed by men of a different country and 
 age from those in which the apostles lived. 
 
 In the New Testament, there are nume- 
 rous references to rivers, mountains, seas, 
 cities, and countries, which none but a per- 
 son well acquainted with the geography of 
 Judea and the neighbouring countries, could 
 have made without falling into innumerable 
 errors. There is, moreover, incidental men 
 tion of persons and facts, known from other 
 authorities to have existed, and frequent al 
 lusions to manners and customs, peculiar to 
 the Jews. 
 
 From all these considerations, it ought to 
 be admitted, without dispute, that these are 
 indeed the writings of the apostles, and ot 
 
CHRISTIAN- RELIGIOX. 81 
 
 tnose particular persons to whom they are 
 ascribed. It would not, however, destroy 
 their credibility, even if other persons had 
 written them, since they were certainly com- 
 posed in that age, and were received by the 
 whole body of Christians. But what ima- 
 ginable reason is there for doubting of the 
 genuineness of these books? What persons 
 were so likely to write books to guide the 
 faith of the church as the apostles? If they 
 did not write them, w^ho would ? And why 
 would they give the credit of them to others? 
 But their universal reception, without oppo- 
 sition or contradiction, should silence every 
 cavil. The persons wha lived at the time, 
 who knew the apostles, and who were deeply 
 interested in the subject, are the proper 
 judges of this question. And they have de- 
 cided it, unanimously, as it relates to the 
 historical books of the New Testament. 
 From them the testimony has come down, 
 through all succeeding ages, without a chasm. 
 Even heathen writers and heretics are wit- 
 nesses that the Gospels were written by the 
 persons whose names they bear. 
 
 In other cases, we usually possess no other 
 evidence of the genuineness of the most va- 
 lued writings of antiquity, but the opinion of 
 contemporaries, handed down by uncontra- 
 dicted tradition. How soon would Homer 
 be deprived of his glory, if such evidence 
 was insisted on, as is required for the ge- 
 
82 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 nuineness of the books of the New Testa- 
 ment I Certainly, as it respects evidence of 
 genuineness, no books of antiquity stand 
 upon a level with the books of the New Tes- 
 tament. The works of the Greek and Latin 
 historians and poets, have no such evidence 
 of bein^ the writings of the persons whose 
 names they bear, as the writings of Matthew, 
 Mark, Luke, and John. For here we have 
 the testimony, not merely of individuals, but 
 of numerous societies, widely scattered over 
 the world. We have internal evidence of a 
 kind which cannot be counterfeited. We 
 have, in short, ever^ kind of evidence of 
 which the case admits. It may, therefore, 
 be considered as an established fact, that the 
 books of the New Testament are the genuine 
 productions of the apostles, and consequently 
 contain their testimony to the miracles of 
 Jesus Christ, and also to those miracles 
 which, in his name, they performed after his 
 ascension. 
 
 It is also certain, that the books of the 
 New Testament have not undergone any 
 material change since they were written; 
 for there is a general agreement in all the 
 copies, in all the versions, and in all the 
 quotations. There are, it is true, small dis- 
 crepances which have occurred through the 
 ignorance or carelessness of transcribers; 
 but not more than might naturally be expect- 
 ed. There is no ancient book which has 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION'. 83 
 
 come down to us so entire as the Scriptures, 
 and which is accompanied by so many means 
 of correcting an eiToneous reading, where it 
 has occurred. This representation maj ap- 
 pear surprising to those who have heard of 
 the vast multitude of various readings which 
 learned critics have collected from a colla- 
 tion of the manuscripts; but it ought to be 
 understood by all who have ever heard of 
 these discrepances, that not one in a thou- 
 sand of them is of the least consequence; 
 that a great majority of them are merely dif- 
 ferences in orthography, in the collocation of 
 words, or in the use of words perfectly sy- 
 nonymous, by which the sense is not in the 
 least aftected. A cursory reader would find 
 as little difference in the various manuscripts 
 of the New Testament, as in the different 
 printed editions of the English version. 
 
 Having established tlie authenticity of the 
 record which contains the testimony, we 
 shall next proceed to consider its credibility. 
 
 The serious and candid attention of the 
 reader is requested to the following remarks. 
 
 I. Many of the facts related in the Gos- 
 
 fels, are undoubtedly of a miraculous nature, 
 t is declared, that Jesus Christ, in several 
 instances, raised the dead; in one of which 
 the person had been dead four days, so that 
 the body began to be offensive to the smell. 
 In every case, the miracle was wrought in- 
 stantly, and without any other means, than 
 
84 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 speaking a word. It is declared, that he 
 healed multitudes of the most inveterate and 
 incurable diseases^ that he gave sight to the 
 blind, hearing to the deaf^ speech to the 
 dumb, and active limbs to the withered and 
 the maimed; that he delivered those M'ho 
 were furious and unmanageable, by reason 
 of the possession of demons; that on differ 
 ent occasions, he fed thousands of people 
 with a few loaves and fishes until they were 
 satisfied; and that the fragments which were 
 gathered up, were much greater in quantity 
 than the original materials; that he walked 
 upon the sea, and with a word allayed the 
 raging storm, and produced a great calm. 
 And, finally, it is repeatedly and solemnly 
 declared, by all the witnesses, that Jesus 
 Christ, after being crucified, and having con- 
 tinued in the sepulchre three days, rose from 
 the dead; and after showing himself fre- 
 quently to his disciples, ascended to heaven 
 in their presence. 
 
 That all these were real miracles, none 
 can for a moment doubt. It is true, we do 
 not know all the powers of nature; but we 
 do know, as certainly as we know anything, 
 that such works as these could not be per- 
 formed, but by the immediate power of God. 
 The same remark may be extended to the 
 miracles wrought by the apostles, in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus; especially to that 
 stupendous miracle on the day of Peiitecost, 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION'. 85 
 
 when the Holy Ghost descended on the apos- 
 tles, in visible form, and conferred on them 
 the gift of tongues, and other extraordinary 
 endowments. All must admit, that if these 
 events ever occurred, then there have existed 
 stupendous miracles. 
 
 If. The miracles of Jesus were performed, 
 for the most part, in an open and public man- 
 ner, in the presence of vast multitudes of 
 witnesses, under the inspection of learned 
 and malignant enemies, in a great variety of 
 circumstances, and for several years in suc- 
 cession. There was here no room for trick, 
 sleight of hand, illusion of the senses, or any 
 thing else which could impose on the specta- 
 tors. This circumstance is important, be- 
 cause it proves to a certainty, that the apos- 
 tles tliemselves could not be deluded and 
 deceived in the testimony which they have 
 given. To suppose that they could think 
 that they saw such miracles every day, for 
 years, and yet be deceived, would be nearly 
 as extravagant a supposition, as that we were 
 deceived in all that we ever experienced. 
 
 in. The character of the miracles record- 
 ed in the Gospels, ought to be carefully ob- 
 served. They were all worthy of the majesty, 
 justice, and benevolence of the Son of God. 
 They are characterized by dignity, propriety, 
 and kindness. Most of them, indeed, were 
 acts of tender compassion to the afflicted. 
 Althous;h so many miracles were perfnniied, 
 
 H 
 
86 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 in so great a variety of circumstances, yet 
 there is nothing ludicrous, puerile, or viaclic- 
 tive in any of them. Christ never exerted 
 his power to gratify the curiosity of any, or 
 to supply his own daily wants. He made no 
 ostentatious display of this wonderful power, 
 and never used it to acquire wealth and in- 
 fluence. While he fed hungry multitudes by 
 miracles, he submitted to hunger and want 
 himself; while he could command all nature, 
 he remained in poverty, not having so mucli 
 as a home of any kind, to which he could re- 
 tire to find repose. Although he was re- 
 jected and ill-treated by the Jews, yet he 
 never rel'used to relieve any ^vho sincerely 
 sought his aid. His life, in consequence oi" 
 the multitudes who flocked to him, was fa- 
 tiguing, and on many accounts, unpleasant; 
 but he never ";rew weary in doins; jj-ood. 
 
 Let any man ccunpare the narratrve of the 
 miracles of Christ, contained in the genuine 
 Gospels, with those fictitious accounts which 
 may be found in the apocryphal and spuriou-i 
 Gospels still extant, and he will be struck 
 with the remarkable contrast between tiiem. 
 The same result will be the consequence of 
 a comparison of the miracles of Christ, with 
 those ascribed by the followers of Moham- 
 med to the impostor, or those contained in 
 the legends of the church of Rome. 1 know- 
 not how any impartial man can read atten- 
 tively the account of the miracles recordc*! 
 
CHE.ISTIAX RELIGIOX. oj 
 
 in the Gospels, and not be convinced, from 
 the very nature and circumstances of the 
 facts reported, that they were real. 
 
 IV. There are no signs of fraud or impos- 
 ture to be discovered in the record itself. 
 There is, on the contrary, every indication 
 of truth, honesty, and a good intention in the 
 writers. Although they differ from each 
 other in style and manner, so much, that it is 
 evident that the same person did not compose 
 the four gospels; yet, there is a character of 
 style which belongs to the whole of them, 
 and which is without a parallel among any 
 writers but the penmen of the sacred scrip- 
 tures. It is an apparent exemption from the 
 passions and frailties of human nature. The 
 most stupendous miracles are related with- 
 out one exclamation of wonder from the his- 
 torian; and without the least appearance of 
 a desire to excite the wonder of tlie reader. 
 
 The character of Christ is drawn in no 
 other way, than by simply telling what he 
 did. There is no portraying of character in 
 the way of general description, or by using 
 strong epithets to set him forth. There is, 
 perhaps, no such thing in the four gospels, 
 as an expression of admiration of any dis- 
 course or action by the evangelists. If they 
 relate such things, they are the words of 
 others, which they faithfully set down. 
 When they describe the sufferings of Christ, 
 they never fall, as men usually do, into pa- 
 
88 ZVIDEICCES OF THE 
 
 thetic declamation. They are never carried 
 away from their simple course by the power 
 of sympathy. The facts are related as though 
 the writer felt nothing but the strong purpose 
 of declaring the truth, without giving any co- 
 louring whatever to the facts. Neither do 
 they indulge themselves in those vehement 
 expressions of indignation against the enemies 
 of Christ, which we should naturally have 
 f'xpected. They never give utterance to a 
 harsh expression against any one. They re- 
 late the treachery of Judas with the same un- 
 affected simplicity, as if they had no feelings 
 relative to his base conduct. 
 
 But there is something which exhibits the 
 true character of the writers in a light still 
 stronger. It is the manner in which they 
 speak of themselves. Few men can write 
 much concerning themselves w^ithout betray- 
 ing the strength of self-love. Weak men, 
 when tliey get on this topic, are commonly 
 disgusting : and even when persons seem 
 willing to let the truth be known, there is 
 usually an effort discoverable, to seek com- 
 pensation, in something, for every sacrifice 
 which they make of reputation. But we may 
 challenge any one to designate any instance, 
 in which the least indication of this moral 
 weakness has been given by the Evangelists? 
 They speak of themselves and their compa- 
 nions, with the same candour which charac- 
 terizes their narrative in regard to others. 
 
CHRISTIAIC RELIGION. 89 
 
 They describe, in the most artless manner, 
 the lowness of their origin, the meanness of 
 their occupations, the grossness of their igno- 
 rance, the inveteracy of therr prejudices, 
 their childish contentions for superiority, 
 their cowardice in the hour of danger, and 
 the fatal apostacy of one, and temporary de- 
 linquency of another of their number. If any 
 person supposes that it is an easy thing to 
 write as the evangelists have done, he must 
 have attended very little to this subject. The 
 fact is, it cannot be imitated now, when the 
 model is fully before us. That these unlearn- 
 ed men should be able to write books at all, 
 with propriety, is a wonderful thing. Few 
 fishermen or mechanics, confined all their 
 lives to laborious occupations, and untutored 
 in the art of composition, could produce, 
 without committing great faults, a narrative 
 of their own lives. But, that men of such 
 an education should possess such self-com- 
 mand and self-denial, as is manifest in these 
 compositions, cannot be easily accounted for 
 on common principles. 
 
 That, however, which deserves our special 
 attention, is the absence of all appearance of 
 ill design. I should like to ask a candid in- 
 fidel, to point out, in the Gospel, some fact 
 or speech, which, in the remotest degree, 
 tends to prove, that the writers had a bad 
 end in view. I need not say, that he could 
 find nothing of the kind. Then, upon his 
 h2 
 
90 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 hypothesis, we have this extraordinary fact, 
 that four books, written by impostors who 
 have imposed on the world a series of false- 
 hoods, should in no part of them betray the 
 least appearance of ill design, or sinister pur- 
 pose. Certainly, no other books, written by 
 deceivers, possess the same characteristics. 
 We have some instances of men of learn- 
 ing and piety, manifesting uncommon can- 
 dour in the accounts which they have left of 
 their own errors, prejudices, and faultsj but 
 in all of them you perceive the semblance, if 
 not the reality, of human frailty. These 
 works, however, are very valuable. Some 
 eminent infidels, also, have come forward, 
 before the world, with confessions, and 
 narratives of their lives, and even of their 
 secret crimes. None has made himself more 
 conspicuous in this way than J. J. Rousseau, 
 who professes to exhibit to the world a full 
 confession of his faults, during a period of 
 many years. And to do him justice, he has 
 exposed to view moral turpitude enough to 
 make, if it were possible, a demon blush. 
 But this infatuated man gloried in his shame: 
 and declared it to be his purpose, when call- 
 ed before the tribunal of Heaven, to appear 
 with his book in his hand, and present it to 
 his Judge as his confession and apology. 
 Under the transparent covering of affectation, 
 we may observe the most disgusting pride 
 and arrogance. While common sense and 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 91 
 
 decency are outraged by a needless confes- 
 sion of deeds which ought not to be once 
 named, he is so far from exhibiting any thing 
 of the character of a true penitent, that he ra- 
 ther appears as the shameless apologist of 
 vice. By his unreserved disclosures, he as- 
 pired to a new sort of reputation and glory. 
 Perhaps there is not, in any language, a com- 
 position more strongly marked with pride 
 and presumption. And his confessions were 
 manifestly made in a confidence of the cor- 
 ruption of mankind, from whom he expected 
 much applause for his candour, and small 
 censure for his vices 5 but as he has appealed, 
 also, to another tribunal, we may be permit- 
 ted to doubt, whether he will there find as 
 much applause, and as slight condemnation, 
 as he affected to expect. 
 
 Between such impious confessions as these, 
 and the simple, humble, and sober statements 
 of the Evangelists, there can be no compari- 
 son. 
 
 There is only one other thing in the style 
 of the Apostles, which I wish to bring to 
 view. In all the detailed narratives which 
 they have given of Jesus Christ, no allu- 
 sion is ever made to his personal appear- 
 ance. We are as much unacquainted with 
 his stature, his aspect, his complexion, and 
 his gait and manner, as if the gospels had 
 never been written. There is profound wis- 
 dom in this silence: yet I doubt whether any 
 
92 EVIDEXCZS OF THE 
 
 writers, following merely the impulse of their 
 own feelings, would have avoided every allu- 
 sion to this subject. 
 
 V. There is no just ground of objection to 
 the testimony, on account of the paucity of 
 the witnesses. In regard to most facts hand- 
 ed down to us by authentic history, it is sel- 
 dom that we have more than two or three 
 historians, testifying the same things; and in 
 many cases, we receive the testimony of one 
 as sufficient, if all the circumstances of the 
 fact corroborate his narrative. But, here, 
 we have four distinct and independent wit- 
 nesses, who were perfectly acquainted with 
 the facts which they relate. Two of these, 
 Matthew and John, were of the number of 
 the twelve who accompanied Jesus where- 
 ver he went, and saw, from day to day, the 
 works which he performed. Mark and Luke 
 .might also have been eye witnesses. Many 
 think that they were of the number of the se- 
 venty disciples, sent out by Christ to preach; 
 but if they were not, they might have been 
 his followers, and have been often present, 
 in Jerusalem and other places, where he ex- 
 hibited his miracles. It is not necessary, 
 however, to resort to either of these supposi- 
 tions. They were contemporaries, early dis- 
 ciples, constant companions of the Apostles, 
 and travelled much among the churches. 
 Mark was first the companion of Paul and 
 Barnabas, and afterwards attached himself to 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. Uo 
 
 Peter, from whose preaching, according to 
 the universal tradition of the early Fathers, 
 he composed his Gospel. Luke was chosen 
 bj the churches in Asia to accompany Paul 
 in his labours, and was almost constantly 
 with him, until his first imprisonment at 
 Rome^ at which time, his history of the life 
 and labours of that Apostle terminates. 
 
 Besides these four Evangelists, who have 
 professedly written an account of the mira- 
 cles of Jesus Christ, we have the incidental 
 testimony of those Apostles who wrote the 
 epistles, especially of Paul, It is ti'ue, Paul 
 was not one of the twelve Apostles who ac- 
 companied Christ on earth; but he became 
 an Apostle under ^vxh circumstances, as ren- 
 der his testimony as strong as that of any 
 other witness. He informs us, that he was 
 met by Jesus near to Damascus, w^hen he 
 was ** breathing out threatenings and slaugh- 
 ter" against the disciples of Christ, who ap- 
 peared to him in the midst of a resplendent 
 light, and spoke to him. From that moment 
 he became his devoted follower, and the most 
 laborious and successful preacher of the Gos- 
 pel. He abandoned the most flattering 
 worldly prospects which any young man in 
 the Jewish nation could have. He possessed 
 genius, learning, an unblemished character 
 for religion and morality, Avas in high favour 
 with the chief men of his nation, and seems 
 to have been more zealous than anv other in- 
 
94 EVIDENCES CF THE 
 
 dividual, to extirpate Christianity. How 
 can it be accounted for, that he should sud- 
 denly become a Christian, unless lie did in- 
 deed see the risen Jesus? Instead of bright 
 worldly prospects, which he had before, he 
 WHS now subjected to persecution and con- 
 tempt wherever he went. The catalogue of 
 only a part of his sufferings, which he gives 
 in one of his epistles, is enough to appal the 
 stoutest heart; yet he never repented of his 
 becoming a Christian, but continued to de- 
 vote all his energies to the promotion of the 
 Gospel, as long as he lived. This change in 
 a person of Paul's character and prospects, 
 will never be accounted for upon principles 
 of imposture or enthusiasm.* Here, then, 
 we can produce what deists often demand, 
 the testimony of an enemy. Not of one who 
 was unconvinced by the evidence of Chris- 
 tianity, which would be an inconsistent tes- 
 timony, and liable to great objections, but 
 of one whose mind had been long inflamed 
 with zeal against Christianity; and yet, by 
 the force of evidence, was converted to be a 
 zealous disciple, and retained, all his life, a 
 deep and unwavering conviction of the truth 
 of the Gospel. t This man, although he has 
 
 * See Lord Lyttelton's Conversion of Paul. 
 
 + There is a remarkable testimony to the extraor- 
 dinary character and works of Jesus Christ, in Jose- 
 phus, which has been rejected as spurious by modern 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 95 
 
 not written a Gospel, has given repeated tes- 
 timonies to the truth of the leading facts 
 which are now in question. Especially, he 
 is one of the best witnesses on the subject of 
 the resurrection of Christ; for he not only 
 saw and conversed with Jesus after his as- 
 cension, but has informed us of some circum- 
 stances of great importance, not mentioned 
 by any of the Evangelists. He assert^;, that 
 Christ was seen by five hundred persons at 
 one time, most of whom were still living when 
 he wrote. If there had been any fal^iehood 
 in this declaration, how soon must it have 
 been detected? His letter^:, no doubt, were 
 immediately transcribed, and conveyed to 
 every part of the church, and how easy would 
 it have been to prove the falsehood of such a 
 ileclaration, if it had not been a fact? But 
 almost every page of Paul's writings recog- 
 nises as true the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 
 It is constantly assumed as a truth most as- 
 suredly believed by all Christians. It is the 
 great motive of exertion, and source of conso- 
 lation in all his epistles. And when he would 
 convince certain heretics of the absurdity of 
 denying the resurrection of the body, he re- 
 
 critics; not for want of external evidence, for it is 
 found in all the oldest and best MSS., but principally, 
 because it is conceived that Josephus being a Jew 
 and a Pharisee, never could have given such a testi- 
 monv in favour of one in whom he did not believe. 
 
96 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 (luces them to this conclusion, that "if the 
 dead rise not, then is Christ not risen," 
 which would be, at once, to subvert the 
 Christian religion. His appeal to the com- 
 mon assured belief of Christians is remarka- 
 bly strong, and pertinent to our purpose: 
 "7/^," says he, " Christ he not risen, then is 
 our preaching vain, and your faith is also 
 vain. Yea, and we are found false ivitnesses 
 of God; because we have testijied of God that 
 he raised up Christ, lohom he raised not up, 
 if so be that the dead rise jiot.-- Would anv 
 maii in his senses havfe written tlius, if tlie 
 resuirection of Christ had not been a funda- 
 mental article of faith among Christians, or 
 if he had not been fully persuaded of its 
 truth? Had Paul been an impostor, would he 
 have dared to appeal to five hundred persons, 
 most of whom were livinj^, for the truth of 
 what he knew to be false ? How easy and 
 how certain must have been the detection of 
 an imposture thus conducted? The same is 
 evident from the epistles of the other Apos- 
 tles, and from the Apocalypse. Now, when 
 we can clearly ascertain what any person>i 
 believed in relation to a fact, we have, vii- 
 tuallv, their testimony to that fact; because. 
 
 monv 
 
 J ? 
 
 when they come forward and give testi 
 explicitly, they do no more than exiuess the 
 conviction of their own minds. Certainly, 
 then, if we can by any means ascertain what 
 the primitive Christians believed in regard to 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 97 
 
 the resurrection of Christ, and otlier miracu- 
 lous facts, we are in possession of all the tes- 
 timony which they could give.* This is an 
 important point as it relates to the number 
 of witnesses. Now, that all Christians from 
 the beginning, did believe in the facts record- 
 ded in the Gospels and epistles of the Apos- 
 tles, v/e have the strongest possible evidence. 
 It is proved incontestably, from the tact of 
 their becoming- Christians ; for how could 
 they be Christians without faith in Christiani- 
 ty? unless any one will be so extravagant as 
 to believe that not only the Apostles, but all 
 their converts, were wilful deceivers. It is 
 proved, also, from the manner in which 
 Christians are addressed by the Apostles in 
 all the epistles. Suppose, for a moment, that 
 the Corinthian church had no belief in the re- 
 surrection of Christ, when they received the 
 above mentioned epistle from Paul, woidd 
 they not have considered him perfectly in- 
 sane.'^ But the universal reception of the 
 Gospels and epistles by all Christian churches 
 throughout the world, is the best possible evi- 
 dence that they believed what they contained. 
 These books were adopted as the creed 
 and guide of all Christians. It is mani- 
 fest, therefore, that we are in possession of 
 the testimony of the whole primitive church 
 to the truth of the miracles recorded in the 
 
 * See Dr. Channiiiff's Dudleiaa Lecture. 
 
 I 
 
98 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 Gospels. Suppose a document had come 
 down to us, containing a profession of the 
 belief of every person who embraced the 
 Christian religion, and a solemn attestation 
 to the facts on which Christianity is founded, 
 would any man object that the witnessers 
 were too few? The fact is, that we have sub- 
 stantially this whole body of testimony. 1 
 do not perceive that its force would bave 
 been sensibly greater, had it been transmitted 
 to us with all the formalities just mentioned. 
 There is therefore no defect in the number of 
 witnesses. If every one of the twelve 
 Apostles had written a Gospel, and a hun- 
 dred other persons had done the same, the 
 evidence would not be essentially improved. 
 We should have no more, after all, than the 
 testimony of the whole primitive church, 
 which, as has been proved, we possess al- 
 ready. 
 
 Vi. The credibility of the testimony is not 
 impaired by any want of agreement among 
 the witnesses. In their attestation to the 
 leading liicts, and to the doctrines and cha- 
 racter of Christ, they are perfectly harmo- 
 nious. The selection of facts by the several 
 Evangelists is different, and the same fact is 
 sometimes related more circumstantially by 
 one than another; yet there is no inconsis- 
 tency between them. In their general cha- 
 racter and prominent features, there is a 
 beautiful harmony in the Gospels. There is 
 
CHRI3T1AIC llELIGIOX. ' 99 
 
 no differerice which can aflect, in the judg- 
 ment of the impartial, the credibility of the 
 testimony which they contain. If all the 
 Evangelists had recorded precisely the same 
 facts, and all the circumstances in the same 
 order, the Gospels would have the ap- 
 pearance of having been w^ritten in concert, 
 which would weaken their testimony. But 
 it is almost demonstrable from internal evi- 
 dence, that the Evangelists, with the excep- 
 tion of John, never had seen each other's pro- 
 ductions before they wrote. Their agree- 
 ment, therefore, ought to have the effect of 
 witnesses examined apart from each other; 
 and their discrepances serve to prove that 
 there could be no concerted scheme to de- 
 ceive; for, in that case, every appearance of 
 this kind would have been carefully removed. 
 
 1 am aware, liowever, tliat on the ground 
 of supposed contradictions, or irreconcileable 
 discrepances, the most formidable attacks 
 have been made on Christianity. It is en- 
 tirely incompatible with the narrow limits of 
 this essay, to enter into a consideration of the 
 various methods which have been adopted for 
 harmonizing the Gospels, and removing the 
 difficulties wliich arise from their variations. 
 I can only make a few general observations 
 with the view of leading the reader to the 
 proper principles of solution. 
 
 It ought to be kept in mind, that the Gos- 
 pels were written almost two thousand years 
 
100 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 ago, in a language not now spoken? in a re- 
 mote country, whose manners and customs 
 were very different from ours. In all such 
 cases, there vnW be obscurities and diflBcul- 
 ties, arising entirely from the imperfection of 
 our knowledge. 
 
 The Gospels do not purport to be regular 
 histories of events arranged in exact chrono- 
 lopcal order, but a selection of important 
 facts, out of a much greater number left unno- 
 ticed. The time when, or the place where 
 these facts occurred, is of no consequence to 
 the end contemplated by the Evangelists. In 
 their narratives, therefore, they have some- 
 times pursued the order of time^ and in other 
 cases, the arrangement has been suggested 
 by the subject previously treated, or by some 
 other circumstance. 
 
 In recording a miracle, the number of per- 
 sons benefited is not of much consequence; 
 the miracle is the same, whether sight be re- 
 stored to one person, or two; or whether de- 
 mons be expelled from one, or many. If one 
 historian, intent on recording the extraordi- 
 nary fact, selects the case of one person, which 
 might, on some accounts, be more remarkable, 
 and another mentions two, there is no con- 
 tradif'tion. If they had professed to give an 
 accurate account of the number healed, there 
 •would be ground for this objection; but this 
 was no part of the design of the Evangelists. 
 
 If a writer, with a view of exhibitino; the 
 
GHllISTIAX RELIGIOIsT. 101 
 
 skill of an oculist, should mention a le- 
 mai'kable instance of sight being restored to 
 a person who had been long blind, it could 
 not be fairly inferred from the narrative, that 
 no other persons received the same benefit at 
 that time; and, if another person should give 
 a distinct account of all the cases, there would 
 be no contradiction between these witnesses. 
 All the difference is, that one selects a pro- 
 minent fact out of manyi the other descends 
 to all the particulars. 
 
 There is no source of difficulty more usual, 
 than the confounding of things which are dis- 
 tinct. The narratives of events truly distinct, 
 may have so striking a similarity, that the 
 cursory reader will be apt to confound them. 
 It has been remarked by a learned man,* that 
 if the two miracles of feeding the multitude, 
 had been mentioned by two different evange- 
 lists, each mentioning one, it would have been 
 supposed by many that they were accounts 
 of the same occurrence, and that the evange- 
 lists did not agree in their testimony; but in 
 this case, both these miracles are distinctly 
 related by the same evangelist, and distinctly 
 referred to by Christ, in his conversation witli 
 his disciples. This confounding of distinct 
 things is never more commonly done, than 
 when a fact was attended with a great num- 
 ber of circumstances and occurrences, ra- 
 
 * Dr. Macknight. 
 
 i2 
 
102 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 pidly succeeding each other, and the histo- 
 rian mentions omv a few out of many. This 
 remark is fully verified with respect to 
 Christ's resurrection. The narrative of all 
 the evangelists is very concise. Few particu- 
 lars are mentioned 5 and yet from the nature 
 of the case, there must have been an extraor- 
 dinary degree of agitation among the disciples; 
 a great running from one part of Jerusalem 
 to another to tell the news, and a frequent 
 passing to and from the sepulchre. It is not 
 wonderful, therefore, that, as each evange- 
 list mentions only a few of the accompany- 
 ing occurrences, there should seem, at first 
 view, to be some discrepance in their ac- 
 counts. 
 
 Companies of women are mentioned by 
 each, and it is hastily taken for granted, that 
 they were all the same; and the objector pro- 
 ceeds on the supposition, that these women 
 all arrived at the sepulchre at the same time, 
 and that they continued together. He forgets 
 to take into view, that the persons w^ho might 
 agree to meet at the sepulchre, probably 
 lodged at very different distances from the 
 place, and allows nothing for the agitation 
 and distraction produced by the reports and 
 visions of this interesting morning. But on 
 this, as on several other subjects, we are in- 
 debted to the enemies of revelation for being 
 the occasion of bringing forward able men, 
 who have shed so much light on this part of 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 105 
 
 the Gospel history, that even the appearance 
 of discrepance is entirely removed.^ 
 
 The genealogy of Jesus Christ, as given by 
 Matthew and Luke, has furnished to moderu 
 infidels much occasion of cavil; but it ou»ht 
 to be sufficient to silence these objectors, that 
 the early enemies of Christianity made no ob- 
 jections on this ground. If one of these is 
 the genealogy of Joseph, and the otiier of 
 Mary, there will be no discrepance between 
 them. Why it was proper to give the de- 
 scent of Joseph, the husband of Mary, it is 
 not now necessary to inquire. But on this 
 whole subject, I would remark, that we are 
 very little acquainted with the plan on which 
 genealogical tables were constructed. It seems 
 to have been a very intricate business, and it 
 is not surprising that we should be at a loss 
 to elucidate every difficulty. 
 
 Again, it is highly probable, that these lists 
 were taken from some genealogical tables of 
 the tribe and family of the persons to whom 
 they refer. Every family must have had ac- 
 cess to such tables, on account of their inherit- 
 ance. Public tables of acknowledged authority, 
 would be far better for the purpose which the 
 evangelists had in view, than new ones, even 
 though these should have been more full and 
 
 * See West on the Resurrection ; Townson ; Mac- 
 knight's Harmony and Credulity ; Ditton on the Re- 
 surrection ; Sherlock. 
 
104 EVIDEXCEi OF THE 
 
 accurate. These genealogies had no other 
 object than to prove that Jesus of Nazareth 
 Avas a lineal descendant of David and Abra- 
 ham; which purpose is completely answered 
 by them; and there are no difficulties which 
 may not be accounted for, by our ignorance 
 of the subject. 
 
 Finally, it may be admitted, that some 
 slight inaccuracies may have crept into the 
 copies of the New Testament, through the 
 carelessness of transcribers. It is impossible 
 for men to write the whole of a book without 
 making some mistakes; and if there be some 
 small discrepances in the Gospels, v/ith re- 
 spect to names and numbers, they ought to 
 be attributed to this cause. 
 
 VII. The witnesses of the miracles of 
 Christ could have had no conceivable motive 
 for propagating an imposture. That they 
 were not themselves deceived is manifest 
 from the nature of the facts, and from the full 
 opportunity which they had of examining 
 them. It is evident, therefore, that if the 
 miracles recorded by them never existed, 
 they were wilful impostors. They must have 
 wickedly combined to impose upon the world. 
 But what motives could have influenced them 
 to pursue such a course, we cannot imagine: 
 or now men of low condition and small edu- 
 cation should have ever conceived it possible 
 to deceive the world, in such a case, is equally 
 inconceivable. These men had worldly in- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 105 
 
 terests, which it was rational for them to re- 
 gard; but everv thing of this kind was fulij 
 relinquished. They engaged in an enterprise, 
 not only dangerous, but attended with certain 
 and immediate ruin to all then- worldly inte- 
 rests. They exposed themselves to the in- 
 dignation of all in authority, and to the 
 outrageous fury of the multitude. They must 
 have foreseen, that they would bring down 
 upon themselves the vengeance of the civil 
 and ecclesiastical powers, and that every 
 species of suffering awaited them. Their 
 leader was crucified, and what could they ex- 
 pect from declaring that he was alive, and 
 had performed wonderful miracles? If they 
 could have entertained any hopes of exemp- 
 tion from evils so apparent, experience must 
 soon have convinced them, that they had en- 
 
 faged not only in a wicked but most unpro- 
 table undertaking. It was not long after 
 they began their testimony, before they were 
 obliged to endure unrelenting persecution 
 from Jews and Gentiles. Could the}^ have 
 been influenced by a regard to fame? What 
 renown could they expect from proclaiming 
 a crucified man to be their master, and the 
 object of all their hope and confidence? If 
 this was their object, why did they give all 
 the glory to another, who was dead? Uut 
 the fact is, instead of fame, they met with 
 infamy. No name was ever more derided 
 and hated than that of Christian. Thev were 
 
106 EVIDEXCE3 OF THE 
 
 vilified as the most contemptible miscreants 
 that ever lived: as the refuse and offscour- 
 ing of all things; as the pests and disturbers 
 of society, and the enemies of the gods. 
 They were pursued as outlaws, and punished 
 for no other reason but because they acknow- 
 ledged themselves to be Christians. Would 
 men persevere in propagating an imposture 
 for such fame as this? It cannot be supposed 
 that they expected their compensation in ano- 
 ther world; for, the supposition is, that they 
 Avere wilful impostors, who were every day 
 asserting, in the most solemn manner, what 
 they knew to be utterly false. It would be 
 as reasonable to suppose that the murderer, 
 or highway robber, is influenced, in the com- 
 mission of his atrocious crimes, by the hope 
 of a future reward. 
 
 The only alternative is, to suppose that 
 they were fanatics: as it is known that men, 
 under the government of enthusiasm, con- 
 temn all the common considerations which 
 usually influence human conduct; and often 
 act in a way totally unaccountable. This re- 
 presentation of enthusiasm is just, but it will 
 not answer the purpose for which it is brought. 
 Enthusiasts are always strongly persuaded of 
 the truth of the religion which they wish to 
 propagate; but these men, upon the hypothesis 
 under consideration, knew that all which they 
 said was false. Enthusiasm and imposture 
 are irreconcilable. It is true, that what be- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION 107 
 
 gins in enthusiasm may end in imposture; 
 but in this case, the imposture must have 
 been the beginning, as well as the end, of the 
 whole business. There was no room for en- 
 thusiasm, all was imposture, if the facts re- 
 ported were not true. But the best evidence 
 that the evangelists were not wild fanatics, is 
 derived from their writings. These are at 
 the greatest remove from the ravings, or reve- 
 ries, of enthusiasm. They are the most sim- 
 ple, grave, and dispassionate narratives, that 
 were ever written. These books, certainly, 
 were not the production of crazy fanatics. 
 The writers are actuated by no phrenzy; they 
 give no indication of a heated imagination; 
 they speak, uniformly, the language of •• truth 
 and soberness." 
 
 VIII. But if we could persuade ourselves, 
 that the apostles might have been actuated by 
 some unknown and inconceivable motive, to 
 forge the whole account of Christ's miracles, 
 and were impelled by some unaccountable 
 phrenzy, to persevere, through all difficulties 
 and sufferings, to propagate lies; yet, can we 
 believe, that they could have found followers, 
 in the very country and in the very city, 
 where the miracles were stated to have been 
 performed ? 
 
 When these accounts of stupendous and 
 numerous miracles were published in Jerusa- 
 lem, where the apostles began their testimony, 
 what would the people think." Would they 
 
108 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 not saV") '• These men bring strange things to 
 our ears? They tell us of wonders wrought 
 among us, of which we have never before 
 heard. And they would not only have us to 
 believe their incredible story, but forsake all 
 that we have, abandon our friends, and relin- 
 quish the religion of our forefathers, received 
 from God: and not only so, but bring upon 
 ourselves and families, the vengeance of those 
 that rule over us, and the hatred and reproach 
 of all men." Is it possible to believe, that 
 one sane person would have received their 
 report? 
 
 Besides, the priests and rulers, who had 
 put Jesus to death, were deeply interested to 
 prevent the circulation of such a story. It 
 implicated them in a horrid crime, "^ould 
 they not have exerted themselves to lay open 
 the forgery, and would there have been the 
 least difficulty in accomplishing the object, 
 if the testimony of these witnesses had been 
 false? The places of many of the miracles are 
 recorded, and the names of the persons healed 
 or raised from the dead, mentioned. It was 
 only one or two miles to the dwelling of 
 Lazarus; how easy would it have been to 
 prove, that the story of his resurrection was 
 a falsehood, had it not been a fact? Indeed, 
 Jerusalem itself, and the temple, were the 
 scenes of many of the miracles ascribed to 
 Christ. As he spent much time in that city, 
 it is presumable, that not a person residing 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION-. 109 
 
 there, could have been totally ignorant of 
 facts, which must have occupied the attention 
 and excited the curiosity of every body. An 
 imposture like this could never be successful, 
 in such circumstances. The presence of an 
 interested, inimical, and powerful body of 
 nien, would soon have put down every attempt 
 at an imposition so gross and groundless. If 
 the apostles had pretended, that at some re- 
 mote period, or in some remote country, a 
 man had perfoimed miracles, they might have 
 persuaded some weak and credulous persoiis; 
 but they appealed to the people to whom tliey 
 preached, as the witnesses of what they re- 
 lated. No more than a few weeks had 
 elapsed after the death of Jesus, before this 
 testimony was published in Jerusalem: and, 
 notwithstanding all the opposition of those 
 in authority, it was received, and multitudes 
 willingly oftered themselves as the disciples 
 of him whom they had recentlv crucified. 
 
 The success of the Gospel, under the cir- 
 cumstances of its first publication, is one of 
 the most wonderful events recorded in liis- 
 tory, and it is a fact beyond all dispute. In 
 a little time, thousands of persons embraced 
 the Christian religion, in Jerusalem, and in 
 other parts of Judea. In lieathen countries, its 
 success was still more astonishing. Churches 
 were planted in all the principal cities of the 
 Roman Empire, before half a century luid 
 elapsed from the resurrecticm of Christ. Tlie 
 
 -^ 
 
110 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 fires of persecution raged; thousands and tens 
 of thousands of unoffending Christians were 
 put to death, in a cruel manner; yet this cause 
 seemed to prosper the more; so that it be- 
 came a proverb, that "the blood of the martyrs 
 was the seed of the Church." And it went 
 on increasing and prevailing, until, in less 
 than three centuries, it became the religion 
 of the empire. 
 
 Learned infidels have in vain attempted to 
 assign an adequate cause for this event, on 
 natural principles. Gibbon, as has been be- 
 fore stated, exerted all his ingenuity to ac- 
 count for the progress and establishment of 
 Christianity; but although he has freely in- 
 dulged conjecture, and disregarded the testi- 
 mony of Christians, his efforts have been 
 unavailing. The account which he has given 
 is entirely unsatisfactory. Upon the deistical 
 hypothesis, it is a grand revolution, without 
 any adequate cause. That a few unlearned 
 and simple men, mostly fishermen of Galilee, 
 should have been successful in changing the 
 religion of the world, without power or patron- 
 age, and employing no other weapons but 
 persuasion, must forever remain an unac- 
 countable thing, unless we admit the reality 
 of miracles and supernatural aid. 
 
 The argument from the rapid and extensive 
 progress of the Gospel may be estimated, if 
 we consider the following circumstances. 
 
 1. The insufficiencv of the instruments to 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. Ill 
 
 accomplish such a work without supernatural 
 aid. They had neither the learning nor ad - 
 dress to make such an impression on the 
 minds of men, as was requisite, to bring about 
 such a revolution. 
 
 2. The places in which the Gospel was first 
 preached, and had greatest success, furnish 
 proof that it could not have been propagated 
 merely by human means. These were not 
 obscure corners, remote from the lights of 
 science, but the most populous and polished 
 cities, where every species of the learning of 
 the age way concentrated, and whither men 
 of learning resorted. Damascus, Antioch, 
 Ephesus, Corinth, Philippi, and Rome, fur- 
 nished the theatre for the first preachers of 
 the Gospel. It is believed, that there was no 
 conspicuous city, in the central part of the 
 Roman Empire, in which a Christian church 
 was not planted, before the death of the 
 Apostles. And it ought to be remembered, 
 that this did not occur in a dark age, but in 
 what is acknowledged by all to be the most 
 enlightened age of antiquity: it was the period 
 which immediately succeeded the Augustan- 
 Age, so much and so deservedly celebrated 
 for its classical authors. If the Gospel had 
 been an imposture, its propagators would 
 never have gone to such places, in the first 
 instance; or if they had, they could not have 
 escaped detection. 
 
 3. The obstacles to be overcome were great, 
 
112 EVIDEXCE3 OF THE 
 
 and insurmountable by human effort. The 
 people were all attached to the respective 
 superstitions in which they had been edu- 
 cated, and which were well adapted to retain 
 their hold of corrupt minds. How difficult 
 it is to obtain even a hearing, from people in 
 such circumstances, is manitest from the ex- 
 perience of all missionaries, in modern times. 
 Philosophers, priests, and rulers were com- 
 bined against them. All that learning, elo- 
 quence, prejudice, interest and power, could 
 oppose to them, stood in their way. 
 
 4. It would have been impracticable for a 
 few unlettered Jews to acquire the languages 
 of all the nations among whom the Gospel 
 spread, in so short a time. They must have 
 had the gift of tongues, or this conc[uest could 
 never have been achieved. Besides, it ought 
 to be remembered, that Jews were held in great 
 contempt, by all the surrounding nations. 
 A few persons of this nation, presenting them- 
 selves as the teachers of a new religion, and 
 exhibiting a very mean appearance, as must 
 have been the case, would have called forth 
 nothing but derision and contempt, in any of 
 the large cities in the Empire. It is more 
 unlikely that they should have been able to 
 make many converts, than it would be now, 
 for a few poor Jewish mechanics, to proselyte 
 to Judaism, vast multitudes, in all the prin- 
 cipal cities of Europe and America.* 
 
 * See Dr. Smith's Lectures on the Evidences of Christianity. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 113 
 
 5. The terms of discipleship which the 
 Apostles proposed, and the doctrines which 
 they preached, were not adapted to allure and 
 flatter the people, but must have been very 
 repulsive to the minds of men. 
 
 6. Many Christians were cut off by perse- 
 cution, but still Christianity made progress, 
 and was extended in all directions. Because 
 Christianity increased and flourished under 
 bloody persecutions, many persons have 
 adopted it as a maxim, that persecution has a 
 tendency to promote any cause," than which 
 it is difficult to conceive of any thing more 
 contrary to common sense and expeiience. 
 In most cases, by cutting off the leaders of a 
 party, however furious their fanaticism, the 
 cause will decline, and soon become extinct 
 The increase of Christianity, under ten bloody 
 persecutions, can only be accounted for, by 
 supposing that God, by his supernatural aid, 
 and by his grace on the hearts of men, per- 
 suaded them to embrace the truth, and in- 
 spired them with more than heroic fortitude, 
 in suffering for the sake of their religion. 
 
 IX. The Apostles, and many of the primi- 
 tive Christians, attested the truth by martyr- 
 dom. They sealed their testimony with their 
 blood. To this argument it is sometimes 
 answered, that men may suffer martyrdom 
 for a false as well as a true religion; and that, 
 in fact, men have been willing to die for 
 opinions in direct opposition to each other. 
 
114 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 While this is admitted, it does not affect the 
 argument now adduce<l. All that dying for 
 an opinion can prove, (and of this it is the, 
 best possible evidence) is the sincerity of the 
 person. But in the case before us, the sin- 
 cerity of the witnesses proves the facts m 
 question; for we have seen that they could 
 not themselves have been deceived. Every 
 martyr had the opportunity of knowing the 
 truth of the facts on which Christianity was 
 founded, and by suffering death in attestation 
 of them, he has given the most impressive 
 testimony that can be conceived. 
 
 The sufferings of the primitive Christians, 
 for their religion, were exceedingly great, and 
 are attested by Heathen as well as Christian 
 writers. It is a circumstance of great im- 
 portance in this argument, that they could at 
 once have escaped all these torments, by re- 
 nouncing Christianity. To bring them to this, 
 was the simple object of their persecutors; 
 and uniformly it was put to their choice, to 
 offer sacrifice or incense to the Heathen gods, 
 or be tormented. One word would have been 
 sufficient to deliver them; one easy action 
 would have restored them to worldly comforts 
 and honours. But they steadfastly adhered to 
 their profession. Some, indeed, were over- 
 come by the cruelty of their persecutors; but 
 was it ever heard that any of them confessed 
 that there was any fraud or imposture among 
 them.^ So far from it, that they whose cou- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 115 
 
 rage failed them in the trying hour, wers 
 commonly deep penitents on account of their 
 weakness, all the rest of then' days. Let it 
 be remembered, that no person suffered for 
 Christianity through necessity. Every mar- 
 tyr made a voluntary sacrifice of himself, to 
 maintain the truth, and to preserve a good 
 conscience. There is yet another light in 
 which the sufferings of the primitive Chris- 
 tians ought to be viewed. It is the temper 
 with which they endured every kind of tor- 
 ment. Here again is a problem for the deist 
 to solve. Persons of all ages, of all condi- 
 tions in life, and of both sexes, exhibited un- 
 der protracted and cruel torments, a fortitude, 
 a patience, a meekness, a spirit of charity 
 and forgiveness, a cheerfulness, yea, often a 
 triumphant joy, of which there are no exam- 
 ples to be found in the history of the world. 
 They rejoiced when they were arrested; 
 cheerfully bid adieu to their nearest and 
 dearest relatives; gladly embraced the stake; 
 welcomed the wild beasts let loose to devour 
 them; smiled on the horrible apparatus by 
 which their sinews were to be stretched, and 
 their bones dislocated and broken; uttered no 
 complaint; gave no indication of pain when 
 their bodies were enveloped in flames; and 
 when condemned to die, begged of their 
 friends to interpose no obstacle to their feli- 
 city, (for such they esteemed martyrdom,) 
 
116 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 not even bj prayers for their deliverance.* 
 What more than human fortitude was this? 
 By what spirit were these despised and per- 
 secuted people sustained? What natural 
 principles, in the human constitution, can 
 satisfactorily account for such superiority to 
 pain and death? Could attachment to an 
 impostor inspire them with such feelings? 
 No, it was the promised presence of the risen 
 Jesus which upheld them, and filled them 
 with assurance and joy. It was the Para- 
 clete, promised by their Lord, who poured 
 into their hearts a peace and joy so complete, 
 that they were scarcely sensible of the wounds 
 inflicted on their bodies. 
 
 Proud and obstinate men may, for aught I 
 know, suflfer death for what they are secretly 
 convinced is not true; but that multitudes, 
 of all conditions, should joyfully suffer for 
 what they knew to be an imposture, is im- 
 possible. Tender women, and venerable old 
 men, were among the most conspicuous of 
 the martyrs of Jesus. They loved not their 
 lives unto the death, and having given their 
 testimony and sealed it with their blood, they 
 are now clothed in white robes, and beaV 
 palms in their hands, and sing the song of 
 Moses and the Lamb. Blessed martyrs! they 
 have rested from their labours, and their 
 works have followed them. 
 
 * See the Epistles of Ignatius and Polycarp. 
 
CHRIoTIAX RELIGIOX, 117 
 
 The last particular which I shall mention, 
 to set the testimony ot" the witnesses to the 
 miracles of the Gospel in its true light, ie>, 
 that there is no counter testimony. These 
 witnesses have never been confronted and 
 contradicted by others. Whatever force or 
 probability their declarations are entitled to, 
 from, the circumstances of the case, and from 
 the evidences which we possess of their in- 
 tegrity and intelligence, suffers no deduc- 
 tion, on account of other persons giving a dif- 
 ferent testimony. 
 
 Tjie Jewish priests and rulers did, indeed, 
 cause to be circulated, a story relative to the 
 dead body of Christ, contrary to the testi- 
 mony of the apostles, Avhich has been handed 
 down to us by the evangelists. They hired 
 the soldiers to report, that Christ's disciples 
 had come by night, and stolen the body 
 while they slept: a story too absurd and in- 
 consistent to require a moment's refutation. 
 But as the body was gone out of tlieir pos- 
 session, they could not, perhaps, have invent- 
 ed any thing more plausible. It proved no- 
 thing, however, except that the body was 
 removed while the soldiers slept, and for 
 aught they could testify, might have risen 
 from the dead, according to the testimony of 
 the apostles. 
 
 Deists sometimes demand the testimony 
 of the enemies, as well as the friends of 
 
118 EVIDENCES Ox THE 
 
 Christianity. To which I would reply, tliat 
 the silence of enemies is all that can be rea- 
 sonably expected from them. That they 
 should come forward, voluntarily, with tes- 
 timony in favour of a religion, which, through 
 prejudice or worldly policy, they opposed, 
 could not reasonably be expected. Now, 
 since they would have contradicted these 
 facts if it had been in their power, their not 
 doing so furnishes the strongest negative evi- 
 dence which we can possess. And no other 
 evidence, but that which is negative, or 
 merely incidental, ought to be expected from 
 the enemies of the Gospel; unless, like Paul, 
 they were convinced by the evidence exhibit- 
 ed to them. But no denial of the reality of 
 the miracles of Christ has reached us from 
 any quarter. As far as we have any ac- 
 counts, there is no reason to think, that they 
 were ever denied by his most implacable 
 enemies. They said that he performed his 
 works by the help of Beelzebub. The first 
 heathen writers against Christianity did not 
 dare to deny Christ's miracles. Neither 
 Celsus, Porphyry, Hierocles, nor Julian, 
 pretend that these facts were entirely false; 
 for they attempted to account for them. 
 The Jewish Rabbles, in the Talmud, ac- 
 knowledge these miracles, and pretend that 
 they were wrought by magic, or by the power 
 of the venerable name of Jehovah, called 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 119 
 
 tetragrammaton, which they ridiculously pre- 
 tend, Jesus stole out of the temple, and by 
 which he performed wonderful works. 
 
 From what has been said, I trust it is suf- 
 ficiently manifest, that we have such testi- 
 mony for the miracles of the New Testament 
 as will render them credible in the view of 
 all impartial persons. We have shown, that the 
 miracles recorded are real miracles; that they 
 were performed in an open and public manner; 
 that the witnesses could not possibly have 
 been deceived themselves; that enemies had 
 every opportunity and motive for disproving 
 the facts, if they had not been true; that 
 there is every evidence of sincerity and ho- 
 nesty in the evangelists; that the Epistles of 
 the Apostles furnish strong collateral proof 
 of the same facts; that all Christians from 
 the beginning, must have believed in these 
 miracles, and they must therefore be consi- 
 dered competent witnesses; that none of the 
 witnesses could have any motive to deceive; 
 that they never could have succeeded in impos- 
 ing such a fraud on the world, if they could have 
 attempted it; that it would have been the 
 easiest thing in the world for the Jewish 
 rulers to have silenced such reports, if they 
 had been false; that the commencement of 
 preaching at Jerusalem, and the success of 
 Christianity there, cannot be accounted for 
 on any other principles than the truth of the 
 miracles; that the conduct of the Apostles in 
 
120 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 going to the most enlightened countries and 
 cities, and their success in those places, can 
 never be reconciled with the idea that they 
 were ignorant impostors j that the astonish- 
 ing progress of the Gospel, in the midst of 
 opposition and persecution, and the extra- 
 ordinary temper of the primitive Christians, 
 under sufterings of tlie most cruel kind, 
 can only be accounted for, on the supp(»sj» 
 tion of a full persuasion of the truth of the 
 facts, and that tliis persuasion is proof of 
 their reality; and, finally, that no contrary 
 evidence exists: but that even the early ene- 
 mies of Christianity have been obliged to ad- 
 mit, that such miracles were performed. 
 
 Now, when all these things are fairly and 
 fully considered, is it not reasonable to con- 
 clude, that it is more probable that miracles 
 should have been performed, than that such 
 a body of testimony, so corroboiated by cir- 
 cumstances and by effects, reaching to cmr 
 own times, should be falser 
 
 If all this testimony is false, we may call 
 in question all historical testimony whatevei-: 
 for what facts have been so fully attested r 
 
 But why should this testimony be rejected? 
 No reason has ever been assigned, except 
 that the facts were miraculous; but we have 
 shown, that it is not unreasonable to expect 
 miracles in such a case; and that miracles 
 are capable of satisfactory proof from testi- 
 mony. It is therefore a just conclusion, 
 
christian religiox. 121 
 
 That the Miracles of the Gospel are 
 credible. 
 
 SECTION VI. 
 
 The Bible conlainn Predictions of Events vhich no 
 human Sagacity could have foreseen^ and which 
 have been exactly and reviarkahly accomplished. 
 
 The subject of prophecy is so extensive, 
 and the difficulty of presenting, with brevity, 
 the argument which it furnishes, so great, 
 that if I liad not determined to »;ive a general 
 outline of the evidences of revelation, I 
 should have omitted this topic, as one to which 
 justice cannot be done in so short an essay. 
 
 But, I would not be understood as intimat- 
 ing, that the evidence from prophecy is of 
 an inferior kind. So far from believing this 
 to be the fact, I am persuaded, that whoever 
 will take the pains to examine the subject 
 thoroughly, will find that this source of evi- 
 dence for the truth of revelation, is exceeded 
 by no other, in the firmness of conviction 
 which it is calculated to produce. Prophecy 
 possesses, as a proof of divine revelation, 
 some advantages which are peculiar. For 
 the proof of miracles we must have recourse 
 to ancient testimony; but the fulfilling of 
 prophecy may fall under our ov*-n obr.erva- 
 
 L 
 
122 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 tion, or may be conveyed to us by living wit- 
 nesses. The evidence of miracles cannot, 
 in any case, become stronger than it was at 
 first; but that of prophecy is continually in- 
 creasing, and will go on increasing until the 
 whole scheme of prophecy is fulfilled. 
 
 The mere publication of a prediction fur- 
 nishes no decisive evidence, that it is a re- 
 velation from God; it is the accomplishment 
 which completes the proof. As prophecies 
 have been fulfilled in every age, and are still 
 in a course of being fulfilled; and as some 
 most remarkable predictions remain to be ac- 
 complished, it is plain, from the nature of the 
 case, that this proof will continue to in- 
 crease in strength. 
 
 It deserves to be well weighed, that any 
 one prediction which has been fulfilled, is, 
 of itself, a complete evidence of divine reve- 
 lation; or to speak more properly, is itself a 
 revelation. For, certainly, no one but God 
 himself can foretell distant future events which 
 depend entirely on the purpose of Him, who 
 ivorketh all things after the cotmsel of his 
 oivn will. 
 
 If then, we can adduce one prophecy, the 
 accomplishment of which cannot be doubted, 
 we have established the principle, that a re- 
 velation has been given; and if in one in- 
 stance, and to one person, the probability is 
 strong, that he is not the only person who has 
 been favoured with such a communication. 
 
CHRISTIAN S-ELIGlON. 1£3 
 
 The remark, which is frequently made, 
 that most prophecies are obscure, and the 
 meaning very uncertain, will not affect the 
 evidence arising from such as are perspi- 
 cuous, and of which the accomplishment is 
 exact. There are good reasons, why these 
 future events should sometimes be wrapped 
 up in the covering of strong figures and sym- 
 bolical language, so that often tlie prophet 
 himself, probably, did not understand the 
 meaning of the predictions which he uttered. 
 It was not intended, that they should be ca- 
 pable of being clearly interpreted, until the 
 key was furnished by the completion. If 
 these observations are just, the study of the 
 prophecies will become more and more inter- 
 esting every day; and they will shed more and 
 more light on trie truth of the Scriptures. 
 
 What I shall attempt at present, and all 
 that is compatible with the narrow limits of 
 this discourse, M'ill be to present to view a 
 few remarkable predictions, and refer to the 
 events in which they have been fulfilled. Thev 
 who wish for further satisfaction, will find it 
 in the perusal of bishop Newton's excellent 
 Dissertations on the Prophecies, to which I 
 acknowledge myself indebted for a consi- 
 derable part of what is contained in this sec- 
 tion. 
 
 The first prophecies which I will produce, 
 are those of Moses, respecting the Jews. They 
 are recorded, principally, in the 26th chapter 
 
124 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 of Leviticus, and in the 28th chapter of Deu 
 teronomy; of which, the following predictions 
 deserve our attention. 
 
 1. The Lord shall bring a nation against 
 thee from afar^ from the end of the earthy as 
 swift as the eagle flieth; a nation whose tongue 
 thou shall not understand. This prophecy had 
 an accomplishment both in the invasion of 
 Judea bj the Chaldeans, and by the Romans, 
 but more especially the latter. Jeremiah, 
 when predicting the invasion of the Chal- 
 deans, uses nearly the same language as 
 Moses: Zo, / will bring a nation upon you 
 from afar, O house of Israel, saith the Lord, 
 it is an ancient nation, a nation whose lan- 
 guage thou knowest not.* — And aeain, Our 
 persecutors are swifter than the eagles of the 
 heaven.i 
 
 But with still greater propriety may it be 
 said, that the Romans were a nation from 
 afar; the rapidity of whose conquest resem- 
 bled tlie eagle's night, the standard of whose 
 armies was an eagle, and whose language was 
 unknown to the Jews. The enemies of the 
 Jews are also characterized as a nation of 
 fierce countenance, who shall not regard the 
 person of the old, nor show favour to t/u 
 young. Which was an exact description of 
 the Chaldeans. It is said, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 
 17, that God brought upon the Jews, the king 
 
 * Jer. X. 15. t Lam. iv. 19. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1£5 
 
 of the Chatdees^ who slew their young men 
 loith the sword^ in the house of their sanctuary^ 
 and had no compassion upon young men or 
 maidens^ old men or him that stooped for 
 age. Such also were the Romans, Josephus 
 informs us, that when Vespasian came to Ga- 
 dara, " he slew all, man by man, the Romans 
 showing mercy to no age." The like was 
 done at Gamala. 
 
 2. It was predicted, also, that their cities 
 should be besieged and taken: and he shall 
 besiege thee in all thy gates^ until thy high 
 and fenced walls come down wherein thou 
 trustedst. This was fulfilled when Shalma- 
 neser, king of Assyria, came up against Sa- 
 maria, and besieged it, and at the end of three 
 years took it:* when Sennacherib came up 
 against all the fenced cities of Judah| and 
 \vhen Nebuchadnezzar took Jerusalem and 
 burned the temple, and broke down the walls 
 of Jerusalem round about.! The Jews had 
 
 treat confidence in the strength of the forti- 
 cations of Jerusalem. And Tacitus, as 
 well as Josephus, describes it as a very strong 
 placej yet it was often besieged ana taken, 
 before its final destruction by Titus. 
 
 In their sieges they were to suffer much by 
 famine, in the straitness wherewith their ene- 
 onies should distress them. Accordingly, at 
 Samaria, during the siege, there was a great 
 
 * 2 Kings, xviii. 9, 10. t 2 Kings, xxv. 10. 
 
 l2 
 
126 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 famine, so '' that an ass^s head was sold foi 
 fourscore pieces of silver. ''^'^ And when Je- 
 rusalem was besieged by Nebuchadnezzar, 
 the famine prevailed in the city, and there was 
 no bread for the people of the land.i And in 
 the siege .of the same city by the Romans, 
 there was a most distressing famine.^ 
 
 It was foretold, that in these famines wo- 
 men should eat their own children: Ye shall 
 eat^ says Moses, the flesh of your sons and of 
 your daughters. And again, thou shall eat 
 the fruit of thine own body. § The tender and 
 delicate woman among you, who ivould not 
 adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the 
 ground, for delicateness and tenderness — she 
 shall eat her children for want of all things, 
 secretly, in the siege and straitness, wherewith 
 thine enemies shall distress thee in thy gates. 
 This extraordinary prediction was fulfilled, 
 six hundred years after it was spoken, in the 
 siege of Samaria, by the king of Syria; when 
 two women agreed together to give up their 
 children to be eaten; and one of them was 
 eaten accordingly. || It was fulfilled again, 
 nine hundred years after Moses, in the siege 
 of Jerusalem, by the Chaldeans. 7%e hanch 
 of the pitiful women, says Jeremiah, have sod- 
 den their own children.'^ And again, fifteen 
 
 * 2 Kings, vi. 5. t 2 Kings, xxv. 3. 
 
 I Josephus de Jud. Bello. 
 
 § Jer. xix. 9 ; Deut. xxviii. 53. 
 
 f] 2 Kings, vi. 28, 29. .. ^ IF Lam. iv. 10. 
 
CHB.I3TIAX RELIGIOX. 1£7 
 
 hundred years after the time of M oies, when 
 Jerusalem was besieged bj the Romans, Jo- 
 sephus informs us of a noble woman killing 
 and eating her own sucking child, and when 
 she had eaten half, she secreted the other part 
 tor another meal. 
 
 3. Great numbers of the Jews were to be 
 destroyed. Jind ye shall be left few in num- 
 ber^ whereas ye were as the stars of heaven 
 for multitude. In the siege of Jerusalem by 
 Titus, it is computed that eleven hundred 
 thousand persons perished by famine, pesti- 
 lence, and sword. 
 
 Perhaps, since the creation of the world, so 
 many persons never perished in one siege. 
 The occasion of so great a multitude of peo- 
 ple being found at Jerusalem, was, that the 
 siege commenced about the celebration of the 
 passover; and the people throughout the ad- 
 jacent country, took refuge in Jerusalem at 
 the approach of the Roman army. 
 
 Moses also predicted, that the Jews should 
 be carried back to Egypt, and sold as slaves 
 for a very low price^ and described the method 
 of their conveyance thither: ^nd the Lord 
 shall bring thee into Egypt again ivith ships, 
 ivhere you shall be sold unto your enemies for 
 bondmen and bondwomen, and no man shall 
 buy you. Josephus informs us, that when the 
 city was taken, the captives who were above 
 seventeen years of age, were sent to the works 
 
1£8 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 in Egypt: but so little care was taken of 
 these captives, that eleven thousand of them 
 perished for want. There is every probability, 
 though the historian does not mention the 
 fact, that they v/ere conveyed to Egypt in 
 ships, as the Romans had then a fleet in the 
 Mediterranean. The market was so over- 
 stocked, that there were no purchasers, and 
 they were sold for the merest trifle. 
 
 4. It is, moreover, predicted in this won- 
 derful prophecy of Moses, that the Jews 
 should be extirpated from their own land, and 
 dispersed among all nations, ^nd ye shall 
 be plucked from off the land whither thou 
 goest to possess it, And the Lord shall scat- 
 ier thee among all people^ from one end of 
 the earth, even unto the other. How remark- 
 ably this has been fulfilled, is known to alL 
 The ten tribes were first carried away from 
 their own land, by the king of Assyria; and 
 next, the two other tribes were carried captive 
 to Babylon; and, finally, when the Romans 
 took away their place and imtion^ their disper 
 sion was complete. 
 
 x\fterwards Adrian forbade the Jews, by a 
 public edict, to set foot in Jerusalem, on pain 
 of death; or even to approach the country 
 round it In the time of TertuUian and 
 Jerome, they were prohibited from enter- 
 ing into Judea. And from that day to this, 
 the number of Jews in the holy land has been 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 1£9 
 
 very small. Thev are still exiles from their 
 own land, and are found scattered through 
 almost every country on the globe. 
 
 5. But it is foretold, that notwithstanding 
 their dispersion, they should not be totally 
 destroyed, but should exist still, as a dis- 
 tinct people. And yet for all that^ when they 
 he in the land of their enemies, I will not eaU 
 them, away, neither will I abhor them, to de- 
 stroy them utterly, and to break my covenant 
 with them. " What a marvellous thing is 
 this," says bishop Newton, "that after so 
 many wars, battles, and sieges; after so 
 many rebellions, massacres, and persecutions; 
 after so many years of captivity, slavery, and 
 misery; they are not destroyed utterly, and 
 though scattered among all people, yet subsist 
 a distinct people by themselves I where is 
 any thing like this to be found in all the his- 
 tories, and in all the nations under the sun.^" 
 
 The prophecy goes on to declare, that they 
 should be, every where, in an uneasy condi- 
 tion; and should not rest long in any one 
 place. And amongst these nations shall thou 
 find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot 
 have rest. How exactly this has been veri- 
 fied in the case of this unhappy people, even 
 unto this day, is known to all. There is 
 scarcely a country in Europe, from which 
 they have not been banished at one time or 
 another. To say nothing of many previous 
 scenes of bloodshed and banishment, of the 
 
130 SVIBENCES C7 THE 
 
 raost shocking kind, through which great mul 
 titudes of this devoted people passed, in Ger- 
 many, France, and Spain, in the thirteenth 
 and fourteenth centunes, eight hundred thou- 
 sand Jews are said, by the Spanish historian, 
 to have been banished from Spain by Ferdi- 
 nand and Isabella. And how often, when 
 tolerated by government, they have suffered 
 by the tumults of the people, it is impossible 
 to enumerate. 
 
 The prophet declares, that they should be. 
 oppressed and crushed alway; that their sons 
 and their daughters shoidd be given to an- 
 other people; that they should be mad for the 
 sight of their eyes, which they should see. 
 >fothing has been more common in all the 
 countiies where the Jews have resided, than 
 to fine, fleece, and oppress them at will; and 
 in Spain and Portugal, their children have 
 been taken from them by order of the govern- 
 ment, to be educated in the Popish religion. 
 The instances, also, in which their oppressions 
 have driven them to madness and desperation, 
 are too numerous to be here stated in detail. 
 
 6. Finally, it is foretold by Moses, that 
 they shoidd become an astonishment, a pro- 
 verb, and a by-word, among all nations; and 
 that their plagues should be wonderful, even 
 great plagues and of long continuance. In 
 every country the Jews are hated and despised. 
 They have been literally a proverb and a by- 
 word. Mohammedans, Heathens, and Chris 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION". 13 I 
 
 tians, however they difter in other things, have 
 been agreed in vilifying, abusing, and perse- 
 cuting the Jews. Surely the judgments 
 visited on this peculiar people, have been 
 wonderful and of long continuance. For 
 nearly eighteen hundred years, tliey have been 
 in this miserable state of banishment, disper- 
 sion, and persecution. 
 
 **What nation," says the distinguished 
 writer already quoted, '*hath subsisted as 
 a distinct people in their own country so long 
 as these have done in their dispersion into 
 all countries? And what a standing miracle 
 is this exhibited to the view and observation 
 of the whole world!" 
 
 " Here are instances of prophecies deliver- 
 ed above three thousand years ago, and VQt, 
 as we see, fulfilling in the world at this very 
 time 5 and what stronger proofs can we de- 
 sire of the divine legation of Moses? How 
 these instances may affect others, I know not, 
 but for myself, I must acknowledge, they not 
 only convince, but amaze and astonish me 
 beyond expression." 
 
 The prophecies in the Old Testament con- 
 cerning Nineveh, Babylon, Tyre, and Egypt, 
 are liighly deserving our attention; not only 
 because they are expressed in the plainest 
 language, but because the fulfilment of them 
 has not been confined to one age, but has 
 continued for thousands of years, and is as 
 remarkable at this time as in any former pe- 
 
132 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 I'iod; but the narrow limits which we have 
 prescribed to ourselves, forbid us entering on 
 this subject. 
 
 The prophecy of IsaiaJi respecting Cyrus 
 by name, two hundred years before lie was 
 born, is very clear, and no less remarkable. 
 That saith of Cyrus^ he is my shepherd, and 
 shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to 
 Jerusalem, thou shall be built, and to the tem- 
 ple, thy foundation shall be laid. Thus saith 
 the Lord to Cyrus his anointed, to Cyrus 
 ivhose right hand J have holden^ to siibdue 
 nations before him, and I will loose the loins 
 of kings to open before him the two-leaved 
 gates, that shall not be shut. I will go before thee 
 and make the crooked places straight; I tvill 
 break in pieces the gates of brass, and tvill cut 
 in sunder the bars of iron, and I will give 
 thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden 
 riches of secret places, that thou mayest knoiv, 
 that I, the Lord, ivhich call thee by thy name, 
 am the God of Israel. For Jacob, my ser- 
 vatii^s sake, and Israel, mine elect, / have ^ 
 even called thee by thy name, I have surnam- ^ 
 ed thee, though thou hast not known ?/ie."* 
 
 We are informed by Josephus, that after ^ 
 Cyrus had got possession of Babylon, this 
 prophecy was shown to him, and th;it he was 
 struck with admiration at the manitV-t divin- 
 ity of the writing. Besides the name of Cy- 
 
 * Isa. iliv. xlv. 
 
 i 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 133 
 
 rus, two extraordinary events are foretold : 
 the capture of Babylon with its iron bars and 
 g-ates of brass, and containing hidden treasures 
 — and the restoration of the Jews, and the re- 
 building of their city and temple. And every 
 thing is so plain, that there is no possibility 
 of evading the force of the argument. 
 
 TJie prophecies recorded in the book of 
 Daniel, also, are very wonderful. There we 
 have described the rise and fall of four suc- 
 cessive monarchies, or empires; also, a pro- 
 phecy concerning the conquests of Alexander 
 ttie Great, and concerning his successors, 
 embracing so many particulars, that it as- 
 sumes tlie appearance of a history of events 
 which it predict.s. Porphyry, an early and 
 learned opposer of Christianity, was so struck 
 with the coincidence between the predictions 
 and the history of the events by which they 
 are fulfilled, that he declared that the pro- 
 phecy must have been written after the events 
 occurred. The infidel can make no com 
 plaint of obscurity here, as he commonly 
 does when prophecies are adduced; the ob- 
 jection now is, that the prediction is too 
 manifest and circumstantial. This objection 
 of Porphyry induced Jerome to use the fol- 
 lowing pertinent language, " Cujus impug- 
 natio testimoniu7n veritatis est. Tanta enim 
 dictorum Jides fuit, ut propheta incredulis 
 hominihits non videatur futura dixisse, sed 
 narrasse jjraeterita.''^ The meaning of which 
 :ti 
 
134 EVIDENCES OF 
 
 is, "This objection is a testimony to the 
 truth ; for such is the perspicuity of the lan- 
 guage, that the prophet, in the opinion of in- 
 fidel men, seems rather to be narrating past 
 events, than predicting those which are fu- 
 ture." 
 
 It will be sufficient to observe, that there 
 is not the least foundation for this opinion of 
 Porphyry that the book of Daniel was writ- 
 ten after the time of Anliochus Epiphanes, 
 Josephus relates, that the prophecies of Da- 
 niel were shown to Alexander the Great when 
 he visited Jerusalem, and that this was the 
 reason of his granting so many privileges to 
 the Jewish people. However this may be, 
 Daniel is spoken of in the first book of Mac- 
 cabees, and Josephus himself reckons him 
 among the greatest of prophets. And if they 
 had been written at that late period, they ne- 
 ver could have found a place in the Jewisii 
 canon, as the prophecies of Daniel. These 
 prophecies are also recognized and quoted by 
 Jesus Christ as the productions of Daniel. 
 
 It may be safely affirmed, however, that 
 the more closely these prophecies are com- 
 pared with subsequent events— -events alto- 
 gether improbable in themselves, and of a 
 truly extraordinary character — the more clearly 
 will the impartial and discerning see in them 
 marks of a divine origin. 
 
 The prophecies which relate to the Mes- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. 155 
 
 siah are so numerous and interesting, and in- 
 volve so much critical discussion, that to 
 exhibit them in their proper light, a volume 
 would scarcely be suj0hcient. I must there- 
 fore be contented to refer to the most re- 
 markable of these predictions in a very brief 
 and general way. 
 
 1. It is plain, from a cursory perusal of 
 the Old Testament, that frequent intimations 
 are given of the coming of a remarkable per- 
 sonage. From these, the Jewish nation have 
 been led, in all a^es. to entertain the expec- 
 taticH! of a Messiah; and from them, the idea 
 of a distinguished person who was to proceed 
 from Judea, seems to have pervaded the sur- 
 rounding nations. Some of the passages of 
 Scripture, on which tliis opinion was founded, 
 were the promise of the seed of the ivoman; 
 the seed of Abraham,, in whom all nations 
 should be blessed; the Shiloh who was to come 
 out ofJudah, before the dominion of that tribe 
 shall depart; the prophet like unto Moses, 
 lohoni the Lord would raise up ; the king 
 whom the Lord would set upon his holy hill; 
 the priest after the order of Melchizedek ; the 
 anointed one, or Messiah; the righteous 
 branch ; the corner stone ; the desire of all 
 nations ; the Shepherd of Israel. 
 
 'I. The time of the arrival of the Messiah 
 is designated in prophecy. He was to come 
 before the sceptre departed from Judea ; at 
 the end of seven prophetic weeks, or four 
 
136 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 hundred and ninety years, from the time of 
 the going forth of the command, to restore 
 and build Jerusalem; and while the second 
 temple was yet standing. 
 
 3. The place of his birth, and the family 
 from which he was to descend, were also ex- 
 plicitly mentioned in prophecy. From the 
 evangelical history, and from the acknow- 
 ledgment of the Jews, it is evident, that 
 they well knew that the Messiah was to be 
 born at Bethlehem, and to be of the family 
 of David. 
 
 4. Things of an apparently contradictory 
 nature are predicted concerning the Messiah. 
 At one time he is represented as a king and 
 conqueror, whose dominion would be co-ex- 
 tensive with the earth, and flourish in righ- 
 teousness and peace for ever; at another, he 
 is exhibited as one despised and rejected; a 
 man of sorrow and grief; as wounded and 
 bruised; as cut off out of the land of the liv- 
 ing; and as pouring out his soul unto death. 
 These apparently irreconcilable characters, 
 led the Jews at one time to entertain the 
 opinion that two Messiahs were predicted; 
 the one a triumphant conqueror, the other a 
 persecuted and patient sufferer. But however 
 great the apparent inconsistency, there is an 
 exact accomplishment of both characters in 
 Jesus of Nazareth. And certainly the same 
 cannot be said of any person whoever lived. 
 
 5. It is predicted of the Messiah, that he 
 
CHRISTIA?.' KELIGION. 1S7 
 
 should be a. light to the gentiles ^ and 
 that under his administration the face of the 
 world should be changed, and that peace and 
 righteousness should prevail. Although this 
 prophecy is only in part fulfilled, yet sq much 
 has been accomplislied in the call of numer- 
 ous Gentile nations to the standard of the 
 Messiah, and in the benign and salutary in- 
 fluence of Christianity, tliat we must conclude 
 that it was uttered under the influence of in- 
 spiration. 
 
 6, It was not only predicted that Messiah 
 should be cut oft", but it is expressly stated, 
 that he should die as a vicarious sacrifice— 
 an expiatory victim /or sin and transgression. 
 Thou shall make his soul an offering for sin. 
 
 For the fulfilling of these predictions, I 
 need only refer to the New Testament. 
 That there is a remarkable coincidence be- 
 tween the language of the prophets and the 
 history of the evangelists, cannot be denied, 
 however it may be accounted for. The fifty- 
 third chapter of Isaiah has a counterpart in 
 the sufferings and death of Christ, which has 
 forced conviction on the minds of many un- 
 believers. 
 
 But there are also many particular facts 
 and circumstances foretold respecting the 
 Messiah, which it may be proper briefly to 
 mention. His forerunner, John the Baptist, 
 ia predicted by Isaiah and Malachi. His mi- 
 racles, his uncomplaining meekness and t'^an- 
 m2 
 
138 EVIDEXCES OF THE 
 
 quil submission under cruel sufferings, by 
 Isaiah. His riding on an ass, and a colt the 
 foal of an ass; his being pierced where the 
 wound should be visible; his being sold for 
 thirty pieces of silver, which should be ap- 
 propriated to buy the potter's field, by Ze- 
 chariah. It is predicted in the Psalms, that 
 they wo\x\d part his raiment ^ and cast lots for 
 his vesture^ and that vinegar would be given 
 him to drink. The very words, also, which 
 he uttered on the cross, when forsaken of 
 God, are set down in the xxii. Psalm, v. L 
 
 It was also predicted in the law of Moses, 
 by an expressive type, that not a bone of him 
 should be broken; the fulfilment of which was 
 wonderful, since both those crucified with 
 him had their legs broken. 
 
 Isaiah foretold that he should make his 
 grave among the ivicked^ and with the rich 
 in his deaths which was literally accomplished 
 when Jesus Christ was suspended on the 
 cross between two thieves, and when he was 
 taken down from the cross by a rich man and 
 Duried by him in his own new tomb. 
 
 The most of these particulars were fulfilled 
 by the free actions of the enemies of Jesus, 
 who had no idea that they were fulfilling any 
 divine prophecy. It is impossible that so 
 many circumstances, literally predicted, 
 should have been fulfilled by a mere fortui- 
 tous concurrence. 
 
 The truth is, the whole ritual law is a pro- 
 
CHRISTIAN REHGIOI.'. 139 
 
 phecj of Jesus. To him the whole Old Tes- 
 tament dispensation had reference. Tlie 
 Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets, all testi- 
 fy of him. As said the angel to St. John, 
 " The testimony of Jesus is the vSpirit 
 OF Prophecy." 
 
 Christ himself delivered, while upon earth, 
 many clear and remarkable prophecies. 
 Most of his parables have a prophetic charac= 
 ter, and in a striking manner represented the 
 progress of the Gospel, the rejection of the 
 Jews, and calling of the Gentiles, and the 
 future condition of the church. He also fore- 
 told in express words the treatment which 
 his followers should receive in the world; 
 the treachery of Judas Iscariot; the conduct 
 of Peter in denying him three times in one 
 night; and the particular circumstances and 
 exact manner of his own death; and also his 
 resurrection on the third day. But I must 
 pass over all these at present, and confine my 
 attention to that astonishing prophecy which 
 Jesus delivered to his disciples on Mount 
 Olivet, concerning the utter destruction of 
 the temple of Jerusalem, and of the whole 
 Jewish nation. This prediction was uttered 
 about forty years before the events occurred 
 to which it relates, and was recorded by St. 
 Matthew, according to the common opinion 
 of early writers, thirty, or at least twenty 
 years before it was fulfilled. The same was 
 recorded by Mark and Luke a few years af- 
 
140 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 ter the writing of Matthew's Gospel, but 
 several years before the occurrence of those 
 prodigious things which are foretold in it. 
 The testimony of antiquity is, that both these 
 evangelists were dead before the invasion of 
 Judea hy the Romans. John was the only 
 one of the evangelists, or perhaps of the 
 Apostles, who lived to witness the fulSlUng 
 of his Lord's prophecy, and it is remarkable 
 that in his Gospel this subject is never men- 
 tioned. 
 
 Let it be remembered, that when this pro- 
 phecy was delivered by our Saviour, there 
 was not the least human probability of such 
 an event as the destmction of Jerusalem. 
 The Jews were in a state of profound peace: 
 and the power of the Romans was such, that 
 it could not have been conjectured, that one 
 small nation would think of rebelling against 
 them. 
 
 The words of this prophecy may be read 
 in the 24th chapter of the Gospel of Mat- 
 thew; also in the 13th chapter of the Gospel 
 of Mark, and in the 19th and 21st chapters 
 of the Gospel of Luke. 
 
 I will first collect into one view, all the 
 most remarkable particulars of this prophecy, 
 and then show how they were fulfilled. The 
 predictions relate, 1. to the signs and pre- 
 cursors of the desolation of the holy city; 
 2. to the circumstances of its siege and cap- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. 141 
 
 turej and 3. to the consequences of this ti'e- 
 mendous catastrophe. 
 
 1. The signs and precursors of this event 
 were to be, false Christs; seditions and 
 wars; famines, pestilences, earthquakes, and 
 extraordinary appearances in the heavens; 
 the persecution of Christians; the apostacy 
 of professors; and the great want of charity, 
 and depravation of morals among the people. 
 
 2. The circumstances of this tremendous 
 judgment of Heaven, are such as these: the 
 event should occur before the existing gene- 
 ration had completely passed away: that it 
 should be brought on by a war xvaged against 
 the Jews, by a heathen nation, bearing idola- 
 trous ensigns: that Jerusalem should be ut- 
 terly destroyed, and the temple so com- 
 pletely demolished, that one stone of that 
 sacred edifice should not be left on another: 
 that multitudes should perish by the sword : 
 that great numbers should be carried away 
 captives: that the distress should exceed any 
 thing which had ever occurred in the world: 
 and that the divine wrath should be manifest 
 in all these calamities; as it is called, the day 
 of vengeance, and it is said, that there should 
 be wrath against the people. 
 
 3. The consequences of the destruction of 
 the temple of Jerusalem, as predicted by 
 Christ, were to be, the dispersion of the 
 Jews through all nations; the total overthrow 
 of the Jewish commonwealth, which is ex- 
 
142 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 pressed by the prophetic symbols of the sun 
 being darkened^ the moon not giving her 
 light, and the stars falling from heaven : the 
 rejection of the Jews, and the calling of the 
 Gentiles^ the rising of other false prophets, 
 and false Messiahs; the extent and conti- 
 nuance of these judgments on the Jewish na- 
 tion, with some intimation of their restora- 
 tion. The escape of the Christians from 
 these calamities is also foretold, and direc- 
 tions given for their flight; and on their ac- 
 count, it is promised, that those days should 
 be shortened; and, finally, it is predicted, 
 that the Gospel should be preached among 
 all nations. 
 
 Let us now proceed to inquire in what 
 manner tliese numerous and extraordinary 
 predictions were accomplished: and we can- 
 not but remark, that it seems to have been 
 ordered^ specially, by Providence, that the 
 history of the series of events by which this 
 prophecy was fulfilled, should be written by 
 a man who was not a Christian, and who 
 was an eye-witness of the facts which he 
 records. I allude to the Jewish historian, 
 Josephus, who is an author of high respecta- 
 bility, and of great value to the cause of 
 Christianity. 
 
 1. In regard to false Christs, of which the 
 prophecy speaks so emphatically, we learn 
 from the historian just mentioned, that im- 
 postors and magicians drew multitudes after 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 143 
 
 them into the wilderness, promising to show 
 them signs and wonders, some of whom be- 
 came deranged, and others were punished 
 by Felix, the procurator. One of these im- 
 postors was that Egyptian, spoken of in the 
 Acts of the Apostles, who drew multitudes 
 of people after him to Mount Olivet, promis- 
 ing that he would cause the walls of Jerusa- 
 lem to fall down at his word. 
 
 Theudas was another, who pretended to be 
 a prophet, and gave out that he would divide 
 the waters of Jordan: but he was quickly 
 routed by Cuspius Fadus, and all his follow- 
 ers scattered. The impostor himself was 
 taken alive, and liis head cut off and brought 
 to Jerusalem. In the reign of Nero, and 
 during the time that Felix was procurator 
 of Judea, impostors arose in such numbers, 
 that thehistorian informs us, •• many of them 
 were apprehended and killed every day. " 
 
 There were also, at this time, great com- 
 motions and horrible seditions and wars in 
 various places: as at Cesarea, Alexandria, 
 and Babylonia. There were great conten- 
 tions between the Jews and Samaritans; and 
 also between the Jews and people of other 
 nations, who dwelt in the same cities with 
 them. Both Josephus and Philo give a par- 
 ticular account of these disturbances, in 
 which multitudes of people were slain. 
 
 Famines, pestilences, and earthquakes are 
 mentioned by Suetonius, by several profane 
 
144 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 historians, who are cited by Eusebius, by Jo- 
 sephus, by Tacitus, and by Seneca. 
 
 That prodigies were frequent, is expressly 
 asserted by Josephus and Tacitus. The for- 
 mer declares, that a star hung over the city 
 like a sword, for a whole year: that at the 
 ninth hour of the night, a bright light shone 
 round the altar, and the temple, so that foi- 
 the space of half an hour, it appeared to be 
 bright day. That the eastern gate of tlie 
 temple, which it required twenty men to 
 shut, and which was fastened by strong bars 
 and bolts, opened of its own accord; that be- 
 fore sunset, there was seen in the clouds, 
 the appearance of chariots, and armies fight- 
 ing; that at the feast of Pentecost, wliile 
 the priests were going into the inner tem- 
 ple, a voice was heard as of a multitude, say- 
 ing, Let us depart nence; and what affected 
 the people more than any thing else, was, 
 that four years before the war began, a coun- 
 tryman came to Jerusalem at the feast of Ta- 
 bernacles, and ran up and down, crying, 
 day and night, " A voice from the East, a 
 voice from the West, a voice from the four 
 winds, a voice against Jerusalem, and the 
 temple. Wo! wo to Jerusalem!" It was in 
 vain that by stripes and torture the magis 
 trates attempted to restrain him: he continued 
 crying, especially at the public festivals, for 
 seven years and five months, and yet never 
 grew hoarse, nor appeared to be weary: until 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 145 
 
 during the siege, while he was crying on the 
 wall, a stone struck him and killed him in- 
 stantly. Tacitus, the Roman historian, joins 
 his testimony to that of Josephus; '' Armies," 
 says he, *' were seen engaged in the heavens, 
 the glittering of arms was observed; and sud- 
 denly the fire from the clouds illuminated 
 the temple; the doors of the inner temple 
 were suddenly thrown open, and a voice 
 more than human was heard proclaiming, The 
 gods are departing, and at the same time 
 the motion of their departure was perceived." 
 Men may form what judgment they please 
 of these narratives; but one thing is certain, 
 that the minds of men were, about this time, 
 much agitated and terrified with what ap- 
 peared to them to be prodigies. There were 
 fearful sights and great signs from heaven. 
 
 2. The circumstances accompanying the 
 siege and capture of the city, were as exactly 
 foretold as the preceding signs. The abomi- 
 nation of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the 
 prophet, was nothing else than the Roman 
 armies, whose ensign was an eagle perched 
 upon a spear; which ensigns were worship- 
 ped as divinities. These stood where they 
 ought not, when they were planted, not only 
 in the holy land, but on the consecrated spot 
 where the temple had stood. But the Chris- 
 tians had been warned, at the first appear- 
 ance of this desolating abomination, imme- 
 diately to betake themselves to flight; which 
 
146 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 they did, and instead of going into the city, 
 they retired to Pella, beyond Jordan. 
 
 The distress of the Jews within the city, 
 during the siege, where two or three millions 
 of people were crowded into a narrow space, 
 almost exceeds belief. What with their con- 
 tinual battles with the Romans, what with 
 intestine feuds and tumults, and what with 
 famine and pestilence, the sufferings which 
 they endured cannot now be conceived. No 
 such distress was ever experienced by any 
 people, before or siHce. 
 
 Jerusalem was hemmed in on all sides, by 
 the besieging army, and notwithstanding the 
 great strength of its fortifications, was taken. 
 Although Titus had given express orders 
 that the temple should be preserved, yet the 
 mouth of the Lord had declared that it 
 should be otherwise^ and, accordingly, it was 
 burnt to the ground, and the very foundation 
 dug up by the soldiers, with the liope of find- 
 ing hidden treasures. After the city had been 
 destroyed, Titus ordered the whole space to 
 be levelled like a field; so that a person ap- 
 proaching the place, would hardly suspect 
 that it had ever been inhabited. 
 
 The number slain in the war has already 
 been mentioned; to which we may now add, 
 that the captives amounted to ninety-seven 
 thousand. Josephus, in relating these events, 
 adopts a language remarkably similar to that 
 used by Christ, in the prophecy. * ' The ca- 
 
GHRISTIAX RELIGIOJT. 147 
 
 .amities of all people," says he, "from the 
 creation of the world, if they be compared 
 with those suffered by the Jews, will be 
 found to be far surpassed by them,*' The 
 words of Christ are: there shall be great tri- 
 bulation^ such as ivas not from the begin- 
 ning of the world to this time ; no^ nor ever 
 shall be. 
 
 That these unparalled calamities proceeded 
 from the vengeance of heaven, against a peo- 
 ple whose iniquities were full, was not only 
 acknowledged by Josephus, but by Titus, the 
 Roman general. After taking a survey of 
 the city, the height of the towers and walls, 
 the magnitude of the stones, and the strength 
 of the bands by which they were held to- 
 gether, he broke out into the following ex- 
 clamation, "By the help of God, v/e have 
 brought this war to a conclusion. It was God 
 who drew out the Jews from these fortifica- 
 tions; for what could the hands or military 
 engines of men avail against such towers as 
 these?" and refused to be crowned after the 
 victory, saying, "That he was not the au- 
 thor of this achievement, but the anger of 
 God against the Jews was what put the vic- 
 tory into his hands. " 
 
 3. Finally, the consequences of this catas- 
 trophe were as distinctly predicted, and as 
 accurately fulfilled as the preceding event-i. 
 The Jews who survived, were dispersed over 
 the world, in which condition thev continue 
 
1^ EVIDEXCZS OP THE 
 
 Tintii this day- The Christians, availing: them 
 selves of the warning; of their Lord, escaped 
 ail the calamities of the siege. Jerusalem was 
 trodden dov^ of the Gentiles, and continues 
 to be thus trodden down until this day. 
 
 Jerusalem was rebuilt by AdriaD. but nol 
 precisely on the old site, and was called ^'Elia, 
 \iiiich name it bore until the time of Con 
 stantine. The apostate Julian, out of hatred 
 to Christianity, and viitii the view of defeat 
 ins; the prediction, that Jeimsalem shovild be 
 trodden down of the Ge?itUes, determined to 
 restore the Jews, and rebuild their temple. 
 Immense sums were appropriated for the 
 work: the superintendence of which was 
 a^gned to one of his lieutenants; and the 
 governor of the province to which Jerusalem 
 belonged, assisted in it. •' But horrible balls 
 of fire bursting forth from the foundations, 
 rendered the place inaccessible to the work- 
 men, who were often much burnt, so that the 
 enterprise was laid aside." The account 
 now given is attested by Julian himself, and 
 his fivourite heathen historian. The wit- 
 nesses are indeed numerous and unexcep- 
 tionable; -^ Ammianus Marcellinus, a heathen; 
 Zemach David, a Jew, who confesses that 
 Julian Vas divinitus impedUus. providentially 
 hindered, in his attempt; Nazianzen and 
 Chrysostom, among the Greeks; Ambrose and 
 Ruffin, among the Latins; all of whom 
 flourished at the very time when this won- 
 

 Se : 
 
 vMe is 
 
 Jti^ 
 
 
150 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 man must indeed be blind, who cannot see 
 this light ivhich shineth in a dark place : this 
 sure word of prophecy, ivhich holy men of 
 God spake as they were moved by the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 SECTION VII. 
 
 JVo other Religion possesses the same kind and degree 
 of Evidence as Christianity : and no other Miracles 
 are as loell attested, as those recorded in the Bible. 
 
 Having given a brief view of the external 
 evidences of Christianity, it is now proper to 
 inquire, whether any system of religion, an- 
 cient or modern, is as well supported by evi- 
 dence; and whether other miracles have testi- 
 mony in their favour, as satisfactory as that 
 by which the miracles of the Gospel are ac- 
 companied. 
 
 The usual declamation of infidel writers, 
 on this subject, is calculated to make the 
 impression on unsuspicious readers, that all 
 religions are similar in their origin; that they 
 all lay claim to miracles and divine commu- 
 nications; and that all stand upon an equal 
 footing. But when we descend to particu- 
 lars, and inquire what religions that now 
 exist, or ever did exist, profess to rest their 
 claims on well attested miracles, and the 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 151 
 
 exact accomplishment of prophecy; none bc' 
 sides the Jewish and Christian can be pro- 
 duced. Among the multiform systems of 
 Paganism, there is not one which was founded 
 on manifest miracles or prophecies. They 
 had, indeed, their prodigies and their oracles, 
 by which the credulous multitude were de- 
 ceived; and their founders pretended to have 
 received revelations, or to have held commu- 
 nication with the gods. But what well at- 
 tested miraculous fact, can be produced from 
 all the religions of the heathen world.^ Wliat 
 oracle ever gave responses so clear and free 
 from ambiguity, as to furnish evidence, that 
 the knowledge of futurity v/as possessed.^ It is 
 easy to pretend to divine revelation. It is not 
 disputed that many impostors have appeared 
 in the world, as well as many deluded fana- 
 tics. But the reason why all their claims 
 and pretensions may with propriety be re- 
 jected, is, that they were not able to exhibit 
 any satisfactory evidence that they were 
 commissioned from heaven to instruct man- 
 kind in religion. 
 
 In this we are all agreed. Of what use 
 therefore, can it be, to bring up these impos- 
 tures and delusions, when the evidences of 
 the Christian religion are under considera- 
 tion? Can it be a reason for rejecting a reli- 
 gion which comes well attested, that there 
 have been innumerable false pretensions to 
 divine revelation? Must miracles, supported 
 
159. EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 bj abundant testimony, be discredited because 
 there have been reports of prodigies and mira- 
 cles which have no evidence ? And because 
 heathen oracles have given answers to inqui- 
 ries respecting future events, dark, indeter- 
 minate, and designedly ambiguousj shall we 
 place no confidence in numerous authentic 
 prophecies, long ago committed to writing, 
 which have been most exactly and wonder- 
 fully accomplished ? 
 
 It is alleged, that the early history of all 
 ancient nations is fabulous, and abounds in 
 stories of incredible prodigiesi and hence it 
 is inferred, that the miracles of the Old and 
 New Testaments should be considered in the 
 same light. To which it may be replied, that 
 this general consent of nations that miracles 
 have existed, is favourable to the opinion that 
 true miracles have at some time occurred. It 
 may again be observed, that the history of Mo- 
 ses, which is more than a thousand years older 
 than any profane history, has every evidence 
 of being a true relation of facts; and, moreover, 
 that the age in which the miracles of the New 
 Testament were performed, so far from being 
 a dark and fabulous age, was the most en- 
 lightened period of the heathen world. It 
 was the age of the most celebrated historians, 
 orators, and poets. There never was a time, 
 M'hen it would have been more difficult to 
 gain general belief in miracles, which had no 
 sufficient testimony, than in the Augustan and 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 153 
 
 succeeding age. Not only did learning flour- 
 ish, but there was at this period, a general 
 tendency to skepticism and atheism. There 
 can evidently, therefore, be no inference un- 
 favourable to Christianity, derived from the 
 belief of unfounded stories of miraculous 
 events, in the dark ages of antiquity. The 
 only effect of the prevalence of false accounts 
 of miracles, should be to produce caution, and 
 careful examination into the evidence of every 
 report of this kind. Reason dictates, that 
 truth and falsehood should never be con- 
 founded. Let every fact be subjected to the 
 test of a rigid scrutiny, and let it stand or 
 fall, accordingly as it is supported or unsup- 
 ported by testimony. If the miracles of the 
 Bible have no better evidence than the prodi- 
 gies of the heathen, they ought to receive no 
 more credit; but if they have solid evidence, 
 they ought not to be confounded with reports 
 which carry imposture on their very face, or 
 at least, have no credible testimony in their 
 favour. 
 
 There is no other way of deciding on facts, 
 which occurred long since, but by testimony. 
 And the truth of Christianity is really a mat- 
 ter of fact. In support of it, we have ad- 
 duced testimony which cannot be invalidated; 
 and we challenge our opponents to show, that 
 any other religion stands on the same firm 
 basis. Instead of this, they would amuse us 
 with vague declamations on the credulity of 
 
154 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 man, and the many fabulous stories ^vliich 
 have been circulated and believed. But what 
 has this to do with the question? We admit 
 all this, and maintain that it does not furnish 
 the semblance of an argument against the 
 truth of the well attested facts recorded by 
 the evangelists. Because there is much false- 
 hood in the world, is there no such thing as 
 truth.^ It would be just as reasonable to con- 
 clude, that because many men have been con- 
 victed of falsehood, there were no persons of 
 veracity in the world; or, that because there 
 were many knaves, all retensions to honesty 
 were unfounded. 
 
 The Mohammedan religion is frequently 
 brought forward by the enemies of revelation, 
 with an air of confidence, as though the pre- 
 tensions and success of that impostor would 
 derogate from the evidences of Christianity. 
 It is expedient, therefore, to bring this subject 
 under a particular examination. And here, 
 let it be observed, that we do not reject any 
 thing respecting the origin and progress of 
 this religion, which has been transmitted to 
 us by competent and credible witnesses. We 
 admit that Mohammed existed, and was the 
 founder of a new sect; and that from a small 
 beginning, his religion spread with astonish- 
 ing rapidity over the fairest portion of the 
 globe. We admit also, that he was the author 
 of the Koran, wliich he composed from time 
 to time, probably with the aid of some one or 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 155 
 
 two other persons. Moreover, it is admitted 
 that he was an extraordinary man, and prose- 
 cuted the bold scheme which he had projected 
 with uncommon perseverance and address. 
 Neither are we disposed to deny, that the 
 Koran contains many sublime passages, rela- 
 tive to God and his perfections, and many 
 sound and salutary precepts of morality. 
 That the language is elegant, and a standard 
 of purity in the Arabic tongue, has been as- 
 serted by all Mohammedan writers, and con- 
 ceded by many learned Christians. But as to 
 his pretended revelations, there is no external 
 evidence whatever that they were real^ and 
 there is an overwhelming weight of internal 
 evidence, that they were not from God. 
 
 To bring this subject fairly before us, let 
 the following considerations be impartially 
 weighed. 
 
 1. The pretensions of Mohammed were 
 supported by no miracles or prophecies. He 
 was often called upon by his opposers to con- 
 firm his mission by this decisive proof ; but 
 he always declined making the attempt, and 
 resorted to various excuses and subterfiiges. 
 In the Koran, God is introduced as saying, 
 ** Nothing hindered us from sending thee 
 with miracles, except that the former nations 
 have charged them with imposture :>— thou art 
 a preacher only,'' Again, «* That if he did 
 perform miracles, the people would not be* 
 lieve, as they had before rejected Moses, 
 
156 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 Jesus, and the prophets who performed 
 them." 
 
 Dr. Paley* has enumerated thirteen differ- 
 ent places in the Koran, where this objection 
 is considered, in not one of which is it al- 
 leged, that miracles had been performed for 
 'ts confirmation. It is true, that this artful 
 man told of things sufficiently miraculous; 
 but for the truth of these assertions we have 
 no manner of proof except his own word, 
 which, in this case, is worth nothing. 
 
 Now, if it had been as easy a thing to ob- 
 tain credit to stories of miracles, publicly per- 
 formed, as some suppose, surely Mohammed 
 would have had .recourse to this measure, 
 during the period that he was so pressed and 
 teased by his enemies with a demand for this 
 very evidence. But he had too much cunning 
 to venture upon an expedient so dangerous: 
 his opposers would quickly have detected and 
 exposed the cheat. At length, however, he 
 so far yielded to the demand of his enemies, 
 as to publish one of the most extravagant sto- 
 ries which ever entered into the imagination 
 of man; and solemnly swore that every word 
 of it was true. I refer to his night journey 
 to Jerusalem, and thence to heaven, under 
 the guidance of the angel Gabriel. As this 
 story may afltbrd some amusement to the 
 reader, I will subjoin, in a note, the substance 
 
 * Paley's Evidences. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 157 
 
 of it, omitting those particulars which are 
 most ridiculous and extravagant.* 
 
 This marvellous storj, however, had well 
 nigh ruined his cause. His enemies treated 
 it with deserved ridicule and scorn; and a 
 number of his followers forsook him from that 
 time. In fact, it rendered his further con- 
 tinuance at Mecca entirely inexpedient; and 
 having before despatched some of his disciples 
 to Medina, he betook himself, with his fol- 
 lowers, to that city, where he met with a 
 more cordial reception than in his native 
 place. 
 
 The followers of Mohammed, hundreds of 
 years after his death, related many miracles 
 which they pretended that he performed: but 
 their report is not only unsupported by testi- 
 mony, but is in direct contradiction to the 
 Koran, where he repeatedly disclaims all pre- 
 tensions to miraculous powers. And the 
 miracles which they ascribe to him, while they 
 are marvellous enough, are of that trifling 
 and ludicrous kind, commonly to be met with 
 in all forgeries in which miracles are repre- 
 sented as having been performed; such as, 
 that the trees walked to meet iiim; that the 
 stones saluted him; that a beam groaned to 
 him; that a camel made complaint to him; 
 and that a shoulder of mutton told him that 
 it was poisoned.. 
 
 * See Note A. 
 o 
 
158 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 It appears, then, that Mohammedanism has 
 no evidence whatever, but the declaration of 
 the impostor. It is impossible, therefore, that 
 Christianity should be placed in a more fa- 
 vourable point of light, than in comparison 
 with the religion of Mohammed. The one, 
 as we have seen, rests on well attested mira- 
 cles; the other does not exhibit the shadosv of 
 a proof that it was derived from heaven. 
 
 2. It is fair to compare the moral characters 
 of the respective founders of these two reli- 
 gions. And here we have as perfect a con- 
 trast as history can furnish. Jesus Christ 
 was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate 
 from sinners. His life was pure, without a 
 stain. His most bitter enemies could find no 
 fault in him. He exhibited, through life, the 
 most perfect example of disinterested zeal, 
 pure benevolence, and unaffected humility, 
 which the world ever saw. Mohamet ^ \ was 
 an ambitious, licentious, cruel, and unjust 
 man. His life was stained with the most atro- 
 cious crimes. Blasphemy, perjury, murder, 
 adultery, lust, and robbery, were actions of 
 daily occurrence. And to shield himself fn„ii 
 censure, and open a door for unbridled indul- 
 gence, he pretended revelations from heaven 
 to justify all his vilest practices. He had the 
 effrontery to pretend that God had given him 
 privilege to commit, at ple9,sure, the most 
 abominable crimes. The facts which could 
 be adduced in support of these general 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION-. 159 
 
 charges, are so numerous and so shocking, 
 that I will not defile my paper, nor wound 
 the feelings of the reader, by a recital of 
 them. 
 
 3. The Koran itself can never bear a com- 
 parison with the New Testament, in the view 
 of any impartial person. It is a confused and 
 incongruous heap of sublime sentiments, mo- 
 ral precepts, positive institutions, extrava- 
 gant and ridiculous stories, and manifest lies 
 and contradictions. Mohammed himself ac- 
 knowledged that it contained many contra- 
 dictions 5 but he accounted for this fact by 
 alleging, that what had been communicated to 
 him in one chapter, was repealed in a subse- 
 quent one 5 and so he charges this inconsis- 
 tency on his Maker. The number of abro- 
 gated passages is so great, that a musselman 
 cannot be easily confuted by proving the 
 falsehood of any declaration in the Koran, for 
 he will have recourse to this doctrine of abro- 
 gation. There is nothing in this book which 
 cannot easily be accounted for ; nothing, 
 above the capacity of impostors to accomplish. 
 It is artfully accommodated to the religions 
 of Arabia, prevalent at the time. It gives 
 encouragement to the strongest and most vi- 
 cious passions of human nature; encourages 
 ambition, despotism, revenge, and offensive 
 war; opens wide the door to licentiousness; 
 and holds out such rewards and punishments 
 as are calculated to make an impression on 
 
160 EVIDExXCES OF THE 
 
 the minds of wicked men. It discourages, 
 and indeed forbids, all free inquiry, and all 
 discussion of the doctrines which it contains. 
 Whatever is excellent in the Koran, is in imi- 
 tation of the Biblej but wherever the author 
 follows his own judgment, or indulges his 
 own imagination, we find falsehood, impiety, 
 or ridiculous absurdity.* 
 
 4. The means by which the religion of 
 Mohammed was propagated, were entirely 
 different from those employed in the propaga- 
 tion of the Gospel. If there is any point of 
 strong resemblance between these two sys- 
 tems, it consists merely in the circumstance 
 of the rapid and extensive progress, and per- 
 manent continuance of each. But when we 
 come to consider the means by which this end 
 was attained, in the two cases, instead of re- 
 semblance, we find again a perfect contrast. 
 Mohammed did, indeed, attempt at first to 
 propagate his religion by persuasion and arti- 
 tifice; and these efforts he continued for 
 twelve years, but with very small success. 
 At the end of three years he had gained no 
 more than fourteen disciples; at the end of 
 seven years, his followers amounted to little 
 more than eighty; and at the end of twelve 
 years, when he fled from Mecca, the number 
 was very inconsiderable. As far, therefore, 
 
 * See Ryan's History of the effects of Religion on 
 Mankind. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 161 
 
 as there can be a fair comparison between the 
 progress of Christianity and Mohammedan- 
 ism, that is, during the time that Mohammed 
 employed argument and persuasion alone, 
 there is no resemblance. The progress of 
 Christianity was like the lightning, which 
 shineth from one part of heaven to the other; 
 extending in a few years, not only without 
 aid from learning and power, but in direct 
 opposition to both, throughout the whole Ro- 
 man empire, and far beyond its utmost limits: 
 but Mohammedanism, for twelve years, made 
 scarcely any progress; yet it commenced 
 among an ignorant and uncivilized people. 
 During this period, the progress was scarcely 
 equal to what might be expected from any 
 artful impostor. This religion never spread 
 in any other way than by the sword. As 
 soon as the inhabitants of Medina declared in 
 favour of Mohammed, he changed his whole 
 plan, and gave out that he was directed to 
 propagate his religion by force. From this 
 time he is found engaged in war. He began 
 by attacking mercantile caravans, and as his 
 force increased, went on to conquer the petty 
 kingdoms into which Arabia was then di- 
 vided.* Sometimes he put all the prisoners 
 to death, and at other times, sold them into 
 slavery. At first the order was to massacre 
 every creature that refused to embrace his re 
 
 * See Prideaux's Life of Mahomet. 
 o2 
 
162 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 iigion; but he became more lenient after- 
 wards, especially to Jews and Christians. 
 The alternative was, '* The Koran, death, or 
 tribute. " '* 
 
 But it is a great mistake to suppose, that 
 the conquests of Mohammed himself were 
 verv extensive. The fact is, that he never, 
 during his life, extended his dominion beyond 
 the limits of Arabia, except that he overran 
 one or two inconsiderable provinces of Syria. 
 It was by the caliphs, his successors, that so 
 great a part of Asia and Egypt were brought 
 into subjection. But what is there remarkable 
 in these successes, more than those of other 
 gi'eat conquerers? Surely, the propagation 
 of Mohammedanism by the sword, however 
 rapid or extensive, can never bear any com- 
 parison with that of Christianity by the mere 
 force of truth, under the blessing of Heaven. 
 
 5. The tendency and effects of Moham- 
 medanism, when compared with the tendency 
 and effects of Christianity, serve to exhibit 
 the latter in a very favourable light. The 
 Christian religion has been a rich blessing to 
 every country which has embraced it; and its 
 salutary effects have borne proportion to the 
 care which has been taken to inculcate its 
 genuine principles, and the cordiality with 
 which its doctrines have been embraced. If 
 we cast our eyes over the map of the world, 
 and inquire, what nations are truly civilized? 
 Where does learning flourish? Where are 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. 16S 
 
 the principles of morality and the dictates of 
 humanity best understood? Where are the 
 poor and afflicted most relieved? Where do 
 men enjoy the greatest security of life, pro- 
 jperty, and liberty? Where is the female sex 
 treated with due respect, and exalted to its 
 proper place in society? Where is the edu- 
 cation of youth most assiduously pursued? 
 Where are the brightest examples of benevo- 
 lence, and where do men enjoy most ra- 
 tional happiness? I say, if we were called 
 upon to designate those countries in which 
 these advantages are most highly enjoyed, 
 every one of them would be found in Chris- 
 tendom; and the superiority enjoyed by some 
 over the others, would be found to bear an 
 exact proportion to the practical influence of 
 pure Christianity. 
 
 On the contrary, if we take a survey of 
 the rich and salubrious regions possessed by 
 Mohammedans, we behold a wide-spread de- 
 solation. The fairest portion of the globe, 
 where arts, literature, and refinement for- 
 merly most flourished, are now blighted. 
 Every noble institution lias sunk into obli- 
 vion. Despotism extends its iron sceptre 
 over these ill-fated countries, and all the 
 tranquillity ever enjoyed, is the dead calm 
 of ignorance and slavery. Useful learning is 
 discouraged; free inquiry proscribed, and ser- 
 vile submission required of all. Justice is 
 perverted or disregarded. No man has any 
 
164 EVJDEXCES OF THE 
 
 security for life or property^ and as to li- 
 berty, it is utterly lost, wherever the Moham- 
 medan religion prevails. While the fanatic 
 ardour of making proselytes continued, the 
 fury of the propagators of this faith rendered 
 them irresistible. Indeed, their whole sys- 
 tem is adapted to a state of war. The best 
 work that can be performed, according to 
 the Koran, is to fight for the propagation of 
 the faith, and the liighest rewards are pro- 
 mised to those who die in battle. There is 
 no doubt but that the principles of the Koran 
 greatly contributed to the conquests of the 
 Saracens, by divesting them of all fears of 
 death, and inspiring them with an assurance 
 of being admitted into a sensual paradise, if 
 it should be their fate to be slain in battle. 
 " The sv/ord," said he, ''is the key of hea- 
 ven and hell; a drop of blood shed in the 
 cause of God, a night spent under arms, 
 is of more avail, than two months of fasting 
 and prayer. Whosoever falls in battle, his 
 sins are forgiven. At the day of judgment, 
 his wounds shall be resplendent as vermilion, 
 and odoriferous as musk; and the loss of his 
 limbs shall be replaced by the wings of angels 
 and cherubim." 
 
 But when they had finished their conquests, 
 and a state of peace succeeded their Ijong and 
 bloody wars, they sunk into torpid indolence 
 and stupidity. While other nations have 
 been making rapid improvements in all the 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 165 
 
 arts, they have remained stationarjj or ra- 
 ther, have been continually going backward. 
 They have derived no advantages from the 
 revival of letters, the invention of printing, 
 or the improvement in the arts and sciences. 
 The people who have been subjected to their 
 despotism, without adopting their religion, 
 are kept in the most degrading subjection. 
 
 At present, the Greeks are making noble 
 exertions to break the cruel yoke which has 
 oppressed them, and though unsupported by 
 Christian nations, have succeeded in expel- 
 ling the Turks from a large portion of their 
 country. God grant' them success, and give 
 them wisdom to make a good use of their 
 liberty and independence, wlien acquired 
 and established! 
 
 Mohammedanism was permitted to prevail, 
 as a just punishment to Christians for their 
 luxury and dissensions. It is to be hoped, 
 however, that the prescribed time of these 
 locusts of the abyss* is nearly come to an 
 end; and that a just God, who has so long 
 used them as a scourge to Christians, as he 
 formerly did the Canaanites to be thorns in 
 the eyes and in the sides to the Israelites, 
 will soon bring to an end this horrible despot- 
 ism, which has been founded on a vile im- 
 posture. The signs of the times give strong 
 indications that the Mohammedan power will 
 
 * Rev. ix. 3. 
 
166 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 shortly be subverted. But it is not for us to 
 knoiv the times and the seasons^ which the 
 Father hath put in his own jjower. 
 
 The only thing further necessary to be 
 considered in this section, is the miracles 
 which have been brought forward as a coun- 
 terpoise to the miracles of Christ and his 
 apostles. This is an old stratagem—at least 
 as early as the second century, when one 
 Philostratus, at the request of Julia Augusta, 
 wife of the emperor Severus, wrote a history, 
 or rather romance, of Apollonius, of Tyana, 
 a town in Cappadocia. This Apollonius was 
 nearly cotemporary with Jesus Christy but 
 whether he was a philosopher, or a conjurer, 
 cannot now be ascertained; for as to this 
 story of Philostratus, which is still extant, it 
 is totally unsupported by any reference to 
 eye-witnesses of the facts, or any documents 
 whatever, and has throughout, as much the 
 air of extravagant fiction as any thing that 
 was ever published. That the design of the 
 writer was to set up this Apollonius as a 
 rival to Jesus Christ, is not avowed, but is 
 sufficiently evident from the similarity of 
 many of the miracles ascribed to him, to 
 facts recorded in the Gospels, and which are 
 manifestly borrowed from the evangelical 
 history. He is made to raise the dead, to 
 cast out demons, and to rise from the dead 
 himself. In one instance, the very words of 
 the demons expelled by Jesus Christ, as re- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 167 
 
 corded by St. Luke, " Art thou come to tor- 
 ment us before the time?'"^ are put into the 
 mouth of a demon, said to be cast out by 
 Apollonius. But in addition to these mira- 
 cles, his biographer pretends that he saw 
 beasts with a human head and lions' body; 
 women half white and half black, togethier 
 with phcenixes, griffins, dragons, and simi- 
 lar fabulous monsters. 
 
 In the fourth century, Hierocles, a bitter 
 enemy of Christianity, instituted a compari- 
 son between Jesus and Apollonius, in which, 
 after considering their miracles, he gives the 
 preference to the latter. This book was an- 
 swered by Eusebius, from whose work only, 
 v/e can now learn how Hierocles treated the 
 subject, as the bool^ of the latter is not ex- 
 tant. • 
 
 The only conclusion which can be deduced 
 from this history of Apollonius, is, that the 
 miracles of Christ were so firmly believed in 
 the second century, and were attended by 
 such testimony, that the enemies of Chris- 
 tianity could not deny the facts, and there- 
 fore resorted to the expedient of circulating 
 stories of equal miracles performed by an- 
 other. 
 
 Modern infidels have not been ashamed to 
 resort to the same stale device. Mr. Hume 
 has taken much pains to bring forward a 
 ■great array of evidence in favour of certain 
 miracles, in which he has no faith, v/ith the 
 
168 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 view of discrediting the truth of Christianity. 
 These have been so fully and satisfactorily 
 considered by Dr. Douglass, bishop of Salis- 
 bury, in his Criterion, and by Dr. Camp- 
 bell, in his Essay on Miracles, that I need 
 only refer to these learned authors for a com- 
 plete confutation of Hume's arguments from 
 this source. 
 
 For the sake, however, of those who may 
 not have access to these works, I will lay 
 down a few general principles, by which we 
 may distinguish between true and false mira- 
 cles; for which I am indebted, principally, 
 to the author of the Criterion, above men- 
 tioned. 
 
 1. The nature of the facts should be well 
 considered, whether they are miraculous. 
 The testimony which supports a fact may be 
 sufficient, and yet it may have been bi-ought 
 about by natural causes. 
 
 The miracles of Jesus Christ were uch, 
 that there was no room for doubt lespecting 
 their supernatural character; but a great part 
 of those performed by others, which have re- 
 ceived the best attestation, were of sucli ,i 
 nature, that they may readily be accounted 
 for without supposing any divine interposi- 
 tion. The case of the man diseased in his 
 eyes, said to have been cured by Vespasian's 
 Tubbing his hand over them, and the lame 
 man cured by a touch of the emperor's foot, 
 were, no doubt, impositions practised by the 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 169 
 
 priests of the temple where they were per- 
 formed. The emperor did not pretend to 
 possess any miraculous power, and was in- 
 duced only after much persuasion, to make 
 the experiment. The facts as related by Ta- 
 citus, though he was not an eye-witness — it 
 may be admitted — are true. Such persons 
 were probably brought forward, and a cure 
 pretended to be made, but there is no evi- 
 dence that there was a real miracle. There 
 was no one present who felt interested to ex- 
 amine into the truth of the miracle. The priests 
 who proposed the thing, had, no doubt, pre- 
 pared their subjects; and the emperor was 
 flattered with the honour of being selected 
 by their god to work a miracle. How often 
 do beggars in the street impose upon many, 
 by pretending to be blind and lame.^ The 
 high encomiums which Mr. Hume bestows 
 on the historian Tacitus, in order to set off 
 the testimony to the best advantage, can 
 have no weight here; for he only related 
 what he had heard from others, and showed 
 pretty evidently that he did not credit the 
 story himself. 
 
 The same may be said respecting the man 
 spoken of by Cardinal de Retz, at Saragossa, 
 who was represented as having been seen 
 without a leg, but obtained one by rubbing 
 the stump with holy oil. The Cardinal had 
 no other evidence of his having ever been 
 maimed, than the suspicious report of the 
 p 
 
170 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 canons of the Church; and he took no pains 
 to ascertain whether the leg which he obtain- 
 ed was really flesh and blood, or an artificial 
 limb. 
 
 A great part of the cures said to have been 
 performed at the tomb of the Abbe Paris, 
 were proved, upon examination, to be mere 
 pretences; and those which were real, may 
 easily be accounted for from the influence of 
 a heated imagination and enthusiastic feel- 
 ings; especially, since we have seen the won- 
 derful effects of animal magnetism and me- 
 tallic tractors.* 
 
 l2. A second consideration of great weight 
 is, that in true miracles we can trace the tes- 
 timony to the very time when the facts are 
 said to have occurred, but in false miracles 
 the report of the facts originates a long time 
 afterwards, as in the case of Apollonius; 
 and as in the case of the miracles ascribed 
 to Mohammed by Abulfeda and Al-Janabbi; 
 and also of the miracles ascribed by the Je- 
 suits to Ignatius Loyola, their founder, which 
 were never heard of until long after his death. 
 
 3. Another criterion of importance, is, that 
 the report of miracles should originate, and 
 first obtain credit, in the place and among 
 the people, where they are said to have been 
 performed. This is too remarkably the fact 
 m regard to the miracles of the Bible to re- 
 
 * See Note B. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 171 
 
 quire any proof. But many stories or mira- 
 cles are rendered suspicious by tlie circum- 
 stance, that they were first reported and 
 believed in some place far from that in which 
 they were alleged to have been wrought. 
 The miracles ascribed by the Romanists to 
 Francis Xavier, are condemned by both the 
 rules last mentioned. In all his letters, while 
 a missionary in the East, he never hints that 
 miracles had been wrought, and a reputable 
 writer who gave some account of his labours 
 nearly forty years after his death, not only is 
 silent about Xavier's miracles, but confesses, 
 that no miracles had been performed among 
 the Indians. These miracles were said to 
 be performed in the remote parts of India 
 and Japan, but the report of them was pub- 
 lished first in Europe. x\lmost all the mira- 
 cles ascribed by the Romish Church to her 
 saints fall into the same predicament. The 
 history of them was written long after they 
 are said to have been performed, and often 
 in countries remote from the place where 
 they are pretended to have occurred. 
 
 4. Another thing necessary to be taken 
 into view in judging of the genuineness of 
 miracles, is, whether the facts were scruti- 
 nized at the time, or were suffered to pass 
 without examination. When the miracles re- 
 ported coincide with the passion and preju- 
 <lice of those before whom they are perform- 
 ed; or when they are exhibited by persons in 
 
172 EVIDEXCES OF THE 
 
 power wno can prevent all examination, and 
 put what face they please on facts, they may 
 well be reckoned as suspicious. Now, the 
 cures at the tomb of the Abbe Paris, were 
 not performed in these circumstances. The 
 Jansenists were not in power, and their ene- 
 mies not only had the opportunity to examine 
 into the facts, but actually did it with the 
 utmost diligence. We have reason to be- 
 lieve, therefore, that we have now a true 
 report of the occurrences. The defect of 
 these miracles is in their nature, not in their 
 evidence. 
 
 But, in most cases, the miracles which 
 have been reported, took place when there 
 was no opportunity of examining into the 
 facts; when the people were pleased to be 
 confirmed in their favourite opinions; or 
 when the ruling powers had some particular 
 end to answer.* 
 
 But supposing these miracles to be ever so 
 well attested, I do not perceive how the evi- 
 dence of divine revelation can be affected by 
 them; for if it could be made to appear that 
 they were supported by testimony as strong 
 as that which can be adduced in favour of the 
 miracles of the New^ Testament, the only fair 
 conclusion is, that, in consistency, they who 
 believe in Christianity should admit them to 
 be true; but what then? Would it follow, 
 
 * On this whole subject, see Douglass's Criterion. 
 
CHRI3TIAX RELIGIOX. 173 
 
 because miracles had been wroiiglit on some 
 rare occasions, different from those recorded 
 in the Bible, that therefore these were of no 
 validity as evidence of divine revelation? 
 Would not the fact that other miracles had 
 been wrought, rather confirm our belief in 
 those v^hich were performed with so impor- 
 tant a design? Mr. Hume does, indeed, art= 
 fuUj insinuate, that the various accounts of 
 miracles Avhich exist cannot be true, because 
 the religions which thej were wrought to 
 confirm are opposite; yet not one of those 
 which he brings forward as being best attest- 
 ed, was performed in confirmation of any 
 new religion, or to prove any particular doc- 
 trine, therefore they are not opposed to 
 Christianity. If they had actually occurred, 
 it would not in the least disparage the evi- 
 dence for the facts recorded in the Nev/ Tes- 
 tament. And, especially, it is a strange 
 conceit that miracles performed within the 
 bosom of the Christian church, should furnish 
 any proof against Christianity. 
 
 It is, however, no part of the object of 
 those who bring forward such an array of tes- 
 timony in support of certain miracles, to 
 prove that such facts ever occurred. This 
 IS diametrically opposite to their purpose. 
 Their design is to discredit all testimony in 
 favour of miracles, by showing that facts, ac- 
 knowledged to be false, have evidence as 
 strong as those on which revealed religion 
 p2 
 
174 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 rests. But thej have utterly failed in the 
 attempt, as we have shown ^ and if they had 
 succeeded in adducing as strong testimony 
 for other miracles, then we would readily 
 admit their truth, and that in perfect consis- 
 tency with our belief in Christianity. 
 
 .j^m 
 
 SECTION VIII. 
 
 The Bible contains internal evidence that its origin is 
 divine. 
 
 As the Old and New Testaments are inti- 
 mately connected, and form parts of the same 
 system, it is unnecessary to make any dis- 
 tinction between them in considering this 
 branch of the evidence of divine revelation. 
 
 A late writer* of great eminence and popu- 
 larity, has represented this species of evi- 
 dence as unsatisfactory, as not capable of be- 
 ing so treated as to produce conviction in 
 the minds of philosophical infidels, and as 
 opening a door to their most specious objec- 
 tions to Christianity. But, certainly, this is 
 not the most effectual method of supporting 
 the credit of the Scriptures. Another popu- 
 lar writert has gone to the other extreme, 
 and seems to set little value on the external 
 
 * Dr. Chalmers. + Soame Jenyns. 
 
CHRISTIAX RELIGION. 175 
 
 evidences of Christianity, while he exhibits 
 the internal in a light so strong, that his ar- 
 gument assumes the appearance of demon- 
 stration. 
 
 But these two species of evidence, though 
 distinct, are harmonious, and strengthen 
 each other. There is, therefore, no propriety 
 in disparaging the one for the purpose of en- 
 hancing the value of the other. I believe 
 the fact is, however, that more instances 
 have occurred of skeptical men being con- 
 vinced of the truth of Christianity by the in- 
 ternal than the external evidences. It is the 
 misfortune of most infidels that they have no 
 intimate acquaintance with the Bible, and 
 even many of those who have undertaken to 
 write against it, appear never to have read it 
 with any other view than to find some ground 
 of objection. 
 
 No doubt it is necessary to come to the 
 examination of this species of evidence with 
 a candid and docile disposition. If reason 
 be permitted proudly to assume the seat of 
 judgment, and to undertake to decide what 
 a revelation ought to contain in particular; 
 in what manner and with what degree of light 
 it should be communicated; whether it should 
 be made perfectly at once, or gradually un- 
 folded; and whether, from the beginning, it 
 should be universal: no doubt the result of 
 an examination of the contents of the Bible, 
 conducted on such principles, will prove un- 
 
176 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 satisfactory, and inseparable objections will 
 occur at every step in the progress. It was 
 wise in Dr. Chalmers to endeavour to dis- 
 courage such a mode of investigation, as being 
 most unreasonable; for how is it possible 
 that such a creature as man should be able to 
 know what is proper for the infinite God to 
 do, or in what way he should deal with his 
 creatures upon earth? To borrow the lan- 
 guage of this powerful v/riter,* " We have 
 experience of man, but we have no expe- 
 rience of God. We can reason upon the 
 procedure of man in given circumstances, 
 because this is an accessible subject, and 
 comes under the cognizance of observation; 
 but we cannot reason on the procedure 
 of the Almighty in given circumstances.'' 
 But when he speaks '» of disclaiming all sup- 
 port from what is commonly understood by 
 the internal evidence," and *'of saving a 
 vast deal of controversy by proving that all 
 this is superfluous and uncalled for," I am 
 constrained to think, that instead of aiding 
 the cause of Christianity, the excellent author 
 has attempted to take away one of its firmest 
 props. The internal evidence of revelation 
 is aftalogous to the evidence of the being and 
 perfections of God from the works of crea- 
 tion: and the same mode of reasoning which 
 the deist adopts relative to the doctrines and 
 
 * ChalmerB' Evidences. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 177 
 
 institutions of the Bible, the atheist may 
 adopt, with equal force, against the existence 
 of a God. If men will be so presumptuous 
 as to determine that, if God makes a world 
 he will form it according to their ideas of fit- 
 ness, and that the apparent imperfections and 
 incomprehensibilities in the material universe 
 could never have proceeded from a Being of 
 infinite perfection, atheism must follow of 
 course. But if, notwithstanding all these 
 apparent evils and obscurities, there is in the 
 structure of the world, the most convincing 
 evidence of the existence of an all-wise and 
 all-powerful Being, why may we not expect 
 to find the same kind of evidence impressed 
 on a revelation from God.^ Upon Dr. Chal- 
 mers' principles, we ought to depend simply 
 on historical testimony for the fact that 
 God created this world j and ^'disclaim all 
 support" from what may, without improprie- 
 ty, be termed the internal evidence of the 
 existence of God, derived from the contem- 
 plation of the work itself. The truth, how- 
 ever, is, that every thing which proceeds 
 from God, whatever difficulties or obscurities 
 accompany it, will contain and exhibit the 
 impress of his character. As this is resplen- 
 dently visible in the heavens and the earth, it 
 is reasonable to think that it will not be less 
 manifest in his word. If the truths contain- 
 ed in a revelation be worthy of God, they 
 will be stamped with his image; and if this 
 
178 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 can be in any measure discovered, undoubt- 
 edly it furnishes the most direct and convinc- 
 ing evidence of their divine origin. In fact, 
 this is, w ithout being reduced to the form of 
 a regular argument, precisely the evidence 
 on which the faith of the orreat body of Chris- 
 tians has always rested. They are incapable 
 of appreciating the force of the external evi- 
 dence. It requires an extent of learning 
 which plain, unlettered Christians cannot be 
 supposed to possesg. But the internal evi- 
 dence is within their reach; it acts directly 
 upon their minds, whenever they read or hear 
 a portion of the w'ord of God. The belief ot 
 common, unlearned Christians, is not neces- 
 sarily founded in the mere prejudice of edu- 
 cation: it rests on the best possible evidence. 
 And as there is a faith which is saving, and 
 to which a purifying efficacy is ascribed, if 
 we incjuire on what species of evidence this 
 depends, it must be answered, on internal 
 evidence; not, indeed, as perceived by the 
 unaided intellect of man, but as it is exhibit- 
 ed to the mind by the illumination of the 
 Holy Spirit. We cannot consent, therefore, 
 to give up this species of evidence as *' su- 
 perfluous and uncalled for," but must consi- 
 der it, if not the most effectual to silence 
 gainsayers, yet certainly the most useful to 
 the real Christian; and if unbelievers could 
 be induced to attend to it with docility and 
 impartiality, there is reason to think that 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 179 
 
 they would experience its efficacy in the gra- 
 dual production of a firm conviction of the 
 truth of Christianity. The internal evidence 
 of the truth of the Scriptures, cannot be fully 
 brought into view in any other way than by 
 a careful study of the Bible. It cannot easily 
 be put into the form of logical argument, for 
 it consists in moral fitness and beauty; in the 
 adaptation of the truth to the constitution of 
 the human mind,* in its astonishing power of 
 penetrating and searching the heart, and af- 
 fecting the conscience. There is a sublime 
 sanctity in the doctrines and precepts of the 
 Gospel; a devotional and heavenly spirit 
 pervading the Scriptures; a purity and holy 
 tendency which cannot but be felt by the se- 
 rious reader of the word of God, and a power 
 to soothe and comfort the sorrowful mind: 
 all which qualities may be perceived, and will 
 have their effect, but cannot be embodied and 
 presented, with their full force, in the form 
 of argument. But although this evidence, 
 from the nature of the case, cannot be exhi- 
 bited in its entire body to any but those who 
 study the Scriptures, and meditate on their 
 truths day and night, yet it is possible to se- 
 lect some prominent points, and present them 
 to the reader in such a light as to produce a 
 salutary impression. This is what will now 
 be briefly attempted in the following remarks, 
 which might, without difficulty, be greatly 
 enlarged. 
 
180 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 1. The Scriptures speak of God and his 
 attributes, in a way which accords with what 
 right reason would lead us to expect, in a di- 
 vine revelation. He is uniformly represented 
 in the Bible as one, and as a Being of infinite 
 perfection; as eternal, omnipotent, omniscient, 
 omnipresent, and immutable. And it is truly 
 remarkable, that these correct and sublime 
 views of theology were entertained by those 
 who possessed the Scriptures, when all other 
 nations had fallen into the grossest polytheism, 
 and most degrading idolatry. Other nations 
 were more powerful, and greatly excelled the 
 Israelites in human learning; but in the know- 
 ledge of God, all were in thick darkness, 
 whilst this people enjoyed the light of truth. 
 Learned men and philosophers arose in dif- 
 ferent countries, and obtained celebrity on 
 account of their theories, but they effected no 
 change in the popular opinions: indeed, they 
 could not enlighten others, when they were 
 destitute of the light of truth themselves. 
 However deists may deride and scoflf at the 
 Bible, it is a fact capable of the clearest proofs 
 that had it not been for the Scriptures, there 
 would not at this time be such a thing as pure 
 theism upon earth. There is not now in the 
 world, an individual who believes in one all- 
 perfect God, whose knowledge of this truth 
 may not be traced directly or indirectly to 
 the Bible. 
 
 How can it be accounted for, that the true 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 181 
 
 theology should be found accompanying the 
 Scriptures in all ages, while it was lost every 
 where else, unless we admit that they are a 
 revelation from God? If the knowledge of the 
 true God, as received by the Jews, was the 
 discovery of reason, why was it that other 
 nations advanced far beyond them in learning 
 and mental culture, never arrived at the 
 knowledge of f his important truth? 
 
 It is true, indeed, that the Scriptures some- 
 times represent God as having bodily parts, 
 and human passions; but a little consideration 
 will show the attentive reader, that all these 
 expressions are used in accommodation to the 
 manner of speaking among men. The truth 
 is, that all human language is inadequate to 
 express the attributes and operations of the 
 Supreme Being. He is infinitely above our 
 conceptions, both in his essence, and mode 
 of existence and acting. We can do no more 
 than approximate towards just ideas on this 
 subject. When we speak of Him, we are 
 under the necessity of conceiving of his per- 
 fections and operations with some relation to 
 the faculties and operations of the human 
 mind, and to employ language expressive of 
 human acts and feelings: ifor all other language 
 would be unintelligible. The necessity of 
 this accommodation extends much further 
 than many seem to suppose: it exists not only 
 in relation to words, which, taken literally, 
 convey the idea of bodily members and human 
 
182 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 passions, but also in regard to those which 
 express the operations of will and intellect. 
 This mode of speaking, therefore, instead ot 
 being an objection against the Bible, is an 
 argument of the wisdom of its Author, who 
 has spoken to man in the only way in which 
 he was capable of understanding what was 
 communicated. 
 
 Again, it is seen by the most cursory 
 reader, that truth is not taught in the Bible, 
 in a scientific, or systematic order. We have 
 here, no profound metaphysical disquisitions; 
 no discussion of philosophical principles; no 
 array of artificial dialectics; and no syste- 
 matic arrangement of the subjects treated. 
 In all this, there may be great wisdom; and 
 whether we can see the reason or not, the 
 objection to revelation on this ground, is not 
 greater than the one which may be made to 
 tlie natural world, because the materials for 
 building which it contains, are not found 
 erected into houses; and because all its fields 
 and forests are not placed in the order of au 
 artificial garden or regular orchard. 
 
 The method of speaking of God in the 
 Sacred Scriptures, is at once most simple and 
 sublime. Few words are employed, but these 
 are most significant. When Moses wished to 
 receive an appropriate name which he might 
 mention to Pharaoh, to whom he was sent, he 
 was directed to say, I am that I am, hatli 
 sent me. And when, on another occasion, 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 183 
 
 the name of the Most High was declared to 
 Moses, it was in the following remarkable 
 
 words, THE LORD, THE LORD GOD, MERCIFUL 
 AND GRACIOUS, LONG SUFFERING AND ABUND- 
 ANT IN GOODNESS AND TRUTH. KeEPING 
 MERCY FOR thousands; FORGIVING INIQUITY, 
 AND TRANSGRESSION AND SINj AND THAT WILL 
 BY NO MEANS CLEAR THE GUILTY. If the 
 
 most perfect simplicity, united with the high- 
 est sublimity, would be received as a proof 
 that the writers of these books were inspired, 
 we could adduce hundreds of passages of this 
 description; but we mean not to lay any un- 
 due stress on the argument derived from this 
 source. 
 
 The glory of the Scriptures is the revela- 
 tion which they contain of tlie moral attri- 
 butes of God. These are manifested with but 
 a feeble light, in the works of creation; but 
 in the Bible they shine with transcendent 
 lustre. It would by no means comport with 
 the intended brevity of this work, to enter 
 much into detail on this subject; but I must 
 beg the indulgence of the reader, while I en- 
 deavour to bring distinctly into view, the 
 account which the Scriptures give us of the 
 HOLINESS and the goodness of God. 
 
 These two attributes are stamped on the 
 pages of the Eible, and form its grand charac- 
 teristic. It is of no importance, whether we 
 consider each of these as distinct, or as ex- 
 pressive of two aspects, in which the same 
 
184 EVIDEXCES OF THE 
 
 infinite excellence is exhibited. Who can 
 open this sacred book without perceiving that 
 the God of the Bible is holy? All his laws, 
 institutions, and dispensations, are holy; even 
 those laws which are ceremonial have this 
 characteristic. Every person, edifice, and 
 utensil, employed in his worship, must be 
 solemnly consecrated; and all must approach 
 God with caution and reverence, because he 
 is HOLY. The very ground where he occa- 
 sionally makes himself known, is rendered 
 lioly. Every external sign and emblem of 
 profound reverence is required in them who 
 worship Him; and when he manifests himself 
 with more than unusual clearness, the holiest 
 men are overwhelmed, and become as dead 
 men, under a sense of their own vileness. 
 And not only so, but even the heavenly hosts, 
 who are free from every stain of sin, seem to 
 be overwhelmed with the view of the holi- 
 ness of God. They not only cry to one 
 another, as they M'orship around Ms august 
 throne, holy, holy, holy, but they are re- 
 presented as falling prostrate at his feet, and 
 veiling their faces, in token of profound vene- 
 ration. All those passages of Scripture, which 
 speak of the wrath, the indignation, the 
 JURY, the jealousy, or the anger of the 
 Almighty, are no more than strong expres- 
 sions of his infinite holiness. All his severe 
 judgments and threatenings; all the misery 
 which he ever inflicts on his creatures, in this 
 
CHRISTIAX RELIGION. 185 
 
 world or the next; and above all, the intense 
 and protracted sufferings of Christ, are exhi- 
 bitions of the holiness of God. 
 
 Now, if there be a God, he must be holy, 
 and if he make a revelation of himself, it v/ill 
 be marked with this impress of his character. 
 But wicked men would never have made this 
 attribute so prominent; they would rather 
 have been disposed to keep it entirely out of 
 view. There is no truth more evident to the 
 attentive observer of human nature, than that 
 men do not naturally love holiness, although 
 they are obliged to acknowledge its worth. 
 This, I believe, is the true reason why the 
 Scriptures, although they contain the highest 
 excellence in composition, both in prose and 
 poetry, of which a good taste cannot be insen- 
 sible, are neglected by literary men, or rather 
 studiously avoided. A mere fragment of any 
 other book, if it could claim an equal anti- 
 quity with the Bible, and especially if it con- 
 tained so much excellence, would be sought 
 after with avidity, by all men of taste; but the 
 Bible remains almost as much unstudied as 
 the Koran. This has often appeared to me 
 paradoxical; but I am now persuaded, that 
 the true reason is, the awful holiness of God 
 as exhibited in this book, and impressed on 
 almost every page. This glares upon the 
 conscience of an unholy man, as the meridian 
 sun on diseased eyes. God is a consuming 
 FIRE. But this common dislike of the Bible, 
 q2 
 
186 EVIDEXCE3 or THE 
 
 even in men of refined taste and decent lives, 
 furnishes a strong argument for its divine 
 origin. The question before us, is, who com- 
 posed this book?— inspired men, or wicked 
 impostors? The characteristic which we have 
 been considering, will accord perfectly with 
 the former supposition, but never can be re- 
 conciled with the latter. There is a moral 
 certainty, that base impostors never would 
 have written a book, the most remarkable 
 trait of which is holiness. 
 
 The GOODNESS OF God, or that benevolence 
 v/hich he exercises towards his creatures, as it 
 appears in the providence which sustains and 
 feeds so great a multitude of creatures, and 
 which is so conspicuously manifested to the 
 human family, is often celebrated in the Scrip- 
 tures. Some of the most beautiful and sub- 
 lime poems which were ever written, are 
 employed in celebrating the praise of God for 
 his marvellous goodness. The reader is re- 
 quested to turn to the xxxiv, ciii, civ, cxlv, 
 cxlvi, cxlvii, and cxlviii, Psalms, as an ex- 
 emplification of this remark. 
 
 But there is another and a peculiar view 
 of* the divine goodness given in the Scriptures. 
 It is that form of goodness called mercy. It 
 is the love of creatures who had forfeited all 
 claim to any kindness. It is the bestowing 
 of pardon and salvation on those who are 
 condemned to death by the righteous law of 
 God; and this, without showing himself less 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 187 
 
 displeased with their sins, than if he had 
 punished them for ever. This is the view of 
 divine goodness, Avhich is peculiar to the 
 Bible. Reason could not have formed a con- 
 jecture concerning it. It is the developement 
 of a trait in the divine character before un- 
 known. To reveal tlie mercy of God, may 
 with truth be said, to be the principal object 
 of the Bible. But our idea of this divine 
 goodness is very imperfect, until we learn in 
 what way it was manifested. No words can 
 express this so well as those of Christ him- 
 self, "God so loved the world that he gave his 
 only begotten Son^ that whosoever believeth in 
 him shoidd not perish^ but have everlasting 
 life,'' 
 
 To many, perhaps, it will appear that this 
 love is so extraordinary, that it rather forms 
 an objection against the Bible, than an argu- 
 ment in its favour. If the wonderful and 
 unparalleled nature of any thing were an ob- 
 jection to it, then I acknowledge that there 
 would be some gi'ound for this opinion. But 
 what is there which is not full of wonders, 
 when we come to contemplate it attentively? 
 It is wonderful that there should exist such a 
 creature as man, or such a body of light as 
 the sun; but shall we therefore refuse to be- 
 lieve in their existence.'* To come nearer to 
 the subject, what is there in the character of 
 God or his works, which is not calculated 
 to fill the mind with surpassing wonder I 
 
188 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 His eternity — His omniscience — His omni- 
 presence — His creating power, and universal 
 providence, are so wonderful, that we are at 
 a loss to say which is most wonderful; or, 
 whether any thing else can be more wonder- 
 ful. But is this any argument against their 
 reality? And if God is so wonderful in his 
 other attributes, shall we expect to find 
 nothing of this kind in his love, which is his 
 highest glory? There is indeed no goodness 
 of this sort among men; but shall we make 
 our faint and limited shadow of perfection, 
 the measure by which to judge of the charac- 
 ter of the infinite God? How unreasonable 
 such a procedure! The objection derived 
 from the insignificance of man, the object of 
 this wonderful love, is delusive; for the same 
 objection would lie if his powers were in- 
 creased ever so much. In comparison with 
 God, all creatures may be considered as on 
 a level; in this view, all distinctions among 
 them are, as it were, annihilated. How easy 
 would it be to construct an argument against 
 the providence of God, on the same princi- 
 ples! There are innumerable myriads of 
 animalcules, invisible to man, all of whicli 
 have a perfect organization, and no more 
 than an ephemeral existence. It might be 
 said, these minute creatures are too diminutive 
 to occupy the attention of an infinite Being. 
 It might be said, that the display of so much 
 skill in the organization of creatures of •}■ day. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 189 
 
 was unsuitable to the wisdom of God. But 
 however plausible such objections may be 
 made to appear, they are all founded in a pre- 
 sumptuous intrusion into what does not ap- 
 pertain to us, and concerning which we have 
 no ability to form any correct judgment. The 
 truth is, that man has an infinitude below 
 him, as well as above him, in the gradation 
 of being. I do not mean to say, that crea- 
 tion is absolutely infinite, but that we can fix 
 no bounds to the possibility of a continual ex- 
 istence of creatures on the scale of perpetual 
 diminution, any more than we can to the pos- 
 sibility of creatures still increasing in magni- 
 tude, above us. In this respect, as in others, 
 we stand between two infinitudes, the great 
 and the small, if I may so speak. A single 
 drop of liquid contains myriads of perfectly 
 organized creatures 5 and who knows but every 
 particle of the blood of these invisible animal- 
 cules may contain other worlds of beings still 
 more minute, without it being possible for us 
 to fix any limit to the diminution in the size 
 of creatures. 
 
 But to return^ unless it can be shown, 
 that such love as that exhibited in the Gospel 
 is impossible, which will not be pretended; 
 Dr, that it is repugnant to the moral attri- 
 butes of God, its wonderful nature can never 
 be properly used as an argument against its 
 existence. Rather, it should be argued, the 
 more wonderful, the more like to God; the 
 
190 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 more wonderful, if no appearance of human 
 weakness accompany it, the more unlikely to 
 be the invention of man. 
 
 And, here, I would mention an idea, 
 which, if correct, will shed light on this sub- 
 ject; namely, that wonder is congenial to the 
 constitution of our minds. The soul of man 
 never enjoys more elevated emotions and 
 more exalted pleasure, than in the contempla 
 tion of objects so great and vast as to be per 
 fectly incomprehensible. This is the fouii 
 dation of that perpetual adoration whici 
 occupies the inhabitants of Heaven. An in 
 comprehensible God is the object of contem 
 plation and wonder to every creature, however 
 exalted. 
 
 2. The account which the Bible gives of 
 the origin and character of man, accords very 
 exactly with reason and experience. 
 
 Indeed, this is the only source of our 
 knowledge respecting the circumstances in 
 which man was placed when he came from 
 the hand of his Creator. Here we learn 
 the origin of many things which we ob- 
 serve, but the reason of which we never 
 could have discovered. The Bible teaches 
 us, that the wickedness which has existed 
 in all ages and among all people, origi- 
 nated in the apostacy of the first pair. It 
 tells us the reason of covering the body with 
 clotliing, which is the custom of all nations, 
 even where clothing is unnecessary to pre- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 191 
 
 serve the body from the effects of cold. Here, 
 we learn the cause of the earth's producing 
 briers and thorns spontaneously, while useful 
 grain and fruits must be cultivated. Here, 
 we learn the origin of marriage, and, of 
 the curse which has followed the female sex, 
 through all ages. Moses has also given us 
 the origin of that species of religious worship, 
 which was anciently practised among all peo- 
 ple, but of which reason can teach us nothing. 
 I mean the sacrifice of animals on an altar, 
 and the offerings of grain, and of incense, &c. 
 He has also related the fact of a universal 
 deluge, of which we have so many ocular 
 proofs in every country, and on every moun- 
 tain. 
 
 The dispersion of the human family over 
 the face of the earth, and the origin of the 
 several nations of antiquity, are recorded in 
 the Bible: and, although this record is con- 
 tained in a single short chapter, and has much 
 obscurity to us. Bishop Watson declared, 
 that if he had no other evidence of the authen- 
 ticity of the Pentateuch, besides the tenth 
 chapter of Genesis, he would deem that alone 
 satisfactory.* 
 
 The origin of the diversity of language, is 
 also found in the Bible, and not learned from 
 any other source. Indeed, the origin of lan- 
 guage itself, concerning which philosophers 
 
 * See Watson's Address to Scoffers, 
 
192 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 have disputed so much, is very evident fioua 
 the history of Moses. Many learned men 
 have thought that alphabetical writing took 
 its rise from the w^riting of the decalogue by 
 the finger of God, upon the tables of stonei and 
 I believe that it would be found very diffi- 
 cult to prove, by any authentic documents, 
 that this art existed before. Be this as it 
 may, it must be admitted that the earliest 
 specimen of alphabetical writing now extant, 
 is contained in the Bible. 
 
 To these particulars it may be added, that 
 we have an account in the Bible of those na- 
 tions and people, concerning whom the ear- 
 liest profane historians treat, long before 
 their histories commence j and when the sa- 
 cred history comes down to that period when 
 the affairs of nations are described by others, 
 it receives ample corroboration from their 
 narratives, as well as gives great light to en- 
 able us to understand many things which they 
 have imperfectly recorded. 
 
 But the account which the Bible gives of 
 the moral condition of man, is that which 
 is now most to our purpose. In all ages and 
 circumstances, the human race are repre- 
 sented as exceedingly depraved and wicked. 
 Every man is declared to be a transgressor, 
 and the root of this depravity is placed in the 
 heart. Many of the gross crimes, to which 
 all are inclined, and into the practice of which 
 many fall, are enumerated^ and where these 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 193 
 
 are avoided or concealed by any; the heart is 
 described as deceitful and desperately wicked ; 
 and that pride and hypocrisy which spread a 
 false covering over the true character of man, 
 are denounced as among the things most 
 hateful to God. 
 
 Now if this picture is not taken from the 
 life 5 if the character of man is entirely dif- 
 ferent from that delineated in the Scriptures; 
 or if the vices of our nature are exaggerated; 
 however difficult it may be to account for 
 such misrepresentation, still it would furnish 
 a strong argument against the inspiration of 
 the writers of the several books of which the 
 Bible consists. But, on the other hand, if 
 the character of man, as given in the Scrip- 
 tures, is found exactly to correspond with 
 universal experience and observation, it will 
 be an incontestable proof, that the writers 
 were guided by a strict regard to truth in 
 their compositions. To enter into a particu- 
 lar consideration of this subject, does not 
 comport with the plan of this work; but for 
 the truth of the representations of Scripture, 
 I would appeal to all authentic history, and 
 to every man's own observation and expe- 
 rience. The description which the apostle 
 Paul gives of the vices of the heathen world 
 in his time, is corroborated by all the histo- 
 rians and satirists who lived near that period. 
 And who needs a laboured proof, to show 
 that men have generally a tendency to be 
 
 R 
 
194 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 wicked ? Every civil institution, and all the 
 most expensive provisions of civil govern- 
 ment, are intended to set up barriers against 
 the violence, injustice, and licentiousness of 
 man. Indeed, civil government itself origi- 
 nated in nothing else than the necessity of 
 protection against the wickedness of men. 
 This, however, is a painful and mortifying 
 conclusion 5 and it is not wonderful that pride 
 and self-flattery should render us reluctant to 
 admit it; nevertheless, every impartial man 
 must acknowledge that our character is cor- 
 rectly drawn in the Bible. 
 
 Til ere is something wonderful in the power 
 which the word of God possesses over the 
 consciences of men. To those who never 
 read or hear it, this fact must be unknown; 
 but it is manifest to those who are conversant 
 with the sacred volume, or who are in the 
 habit of hearing it expounded. Why '.auld 
 this book, above all others, have the [iower 
 of penetrating, and, as it were, searching the 
 inmost recesses of the soul, and showing to a 
 man the multitude and enormity of the evils 
 of his heart and life? This may, by sonse, 
 be attributed to early education, but I belie ve 
 that if the experiment could be fairly tried, 
 it would be found that men who had never 
 been brought up with any sentiments of 
 reverence for the Bible, would experience its 
 power over the conscience. The very best 
 cure, therefore, for infidelity, would be, the 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. 195 
 
 serious perusal of the Holy Scriptures. " The 
 entrance of thy word giveth light. The Law 
 of the Lord is perfect, converting the souW'^ 
 
 3. It deserves our special attention, in con- 
 sidering the internal evidences of Christianity, 
 that the Scriptures contain explicit informa- 
 tion on those points on which man stands 
 most in need of instruction. These may be 
 reduced to three: first, the doctrine of a fu- 
 ture state of retribution; secondly, the as- 
 surance that sin may be pardoned, and the 
 method by which this can consistently be 
 done; and thirdly, the means of restoring the 
 depraved nature of man to a state of recti- 
 tude. We are not capable of determining, 
 in particular, as we have before shown, what 
 a revelation should contain, but it is reason- 
 able to think, that if God give a revelation, it 
 will contain some instruction on these impor- 
 tant points. 
 
 And when we examine what the Scriptures 
 teach on these subjects, it is found that the 
 doctrine is worthy of God, and so adapted to 
 the necessities of man, that it affords a strong 
 argument in favour of their inspiration. 
 
 The certainty of a future existence to man 
 is a prominent feature in the New Testament. 
 The connexion between our present conduct 
 and future condition is clearly and expressly 
 inculcated. Many interesting and moment- 
 ous truths connected with the world to 
 come, are presented in a light the best cal- 
 
196 EVIDEXCEIJ or THE 
 
 culated to make a deep and salutary impres- 
 sion on the mind. It is revealed that there 
 will be a general judgment of all men, and 
 that God hath appointed a day when this 
 event shall take place: it is moreover taught 
 in the New Testament, that not only will 
 every man be judged, but every action of 
 every individual, whether it be good or bad, 
 will be brought under review, and that the 
 eternal destiny of all men will be fixed 
 agreeably to the judicial decision of this im- 
 partial trial. Some will be admitted to ever- 
 lasting life in the world above, while others 
 shall go away into everlasting m.isery,into that 
 place '•'• prepared for the devil and his angels.''^ 
 Another interesting fact revealed in the 
 New Testament is, tliat there will be a gene- 
 ral resurrection of the bodies of all men pre- 
 viously to the final judgment. This fact 
 reason could never have conjectured: it must, 
 from its nature, be a matter of pure revela- 
 tion. We may, indeed, discover some re- 
 mote analogy to the resurrection, in the ap- 
 parent death and resuscitation of vegetables,, 
 and some animals; but this could never have 
 authorized the conclusion that the bodies of 
 men, after being mingled with the dust of 
 the earth, would be re-organized and re-ani- 
 mated by the same souls which were connect- 
 ed with them before their death. This doc- 
 trine, however, is very interesting, and to the 
 pious, must be very pleasing and animating, 
 
CHRISTIA^' RELIGION. 197 
 
 as we may learn from the beautiful and striking 
 description of the resurrection given by Paul: 
 " // is sown in corruption^ it is raised in in- 
 corruption^ it is sown in iveakness, it is rais- 
 ed in power; it is sown a natural body^ it is 
 raised a spiritual body. For this corrupti 
 ble must put on incorruption, and this mortal 
 must put on immortality. " 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that although the 
 Scriptures express the joys of heaven and 
 the miseries of hell by the strongest figures, 
 they do not enter much into detail respecting 
 the condition of men in the future world. 
 There is true wisdom in this silence, because 
 it is a subject of which we are at present in- 
 capable of forming any distinct conceptions. 
 Paul, after being caught up " to paradise, and 
 to the third heaven,^^ gave no account of what 
 he saw and heard when he returned. How 
 different is this from the ridiculous descrip- 
 tion of the seven heavens by Mohammed, and 
 from the reveries of Emmanuel Swedenborg! 
 The account of a future state, contained in 
 the New Testament, is just that which is 
 best suited to our present imperfect mode of 
 conceiving, and, at the same time, adapted 
 to make the deepest impressions on the minds 
 of men. 
 
 The method of obtaining the pardon of sin 
 
 which is made known in the Scriptures, is so 
 
 extraordinary, and yet so perfectly calculated 
 
 to reconcile the forgiveness of the sinner 
 
 r2 
 
198 EVIDEXCES OF THE 
 
 with the justice and holiness of God, that it 
 seems very improbable that it is a mere hu- 
 man device. The mission from heaven of a 
 person called the Son of God; his miracu- 
 lous assumption of human nature; his holy 
 and benevolent character; and his laying 
 down his life as an expiation for the sins of 
 men, are indeed wonderful events, but on 
 that account not likely to be the invention of 
 impostors. The death of Christ may be con- 
 sidered the central point in the Christian sys- 
 tem. This was so far from being an incidental 
 thing, or an event occurring in the common 
 course of nature, that it is every where re- 
 presented to be the very purpose of Christ's 
 coming into the world. This, according to 
 the Gospel, is the grand means of obtaining 
 all blessings for sinners. It is the great vica- 
 rious sacrifice offered up to God in behalf of 
 the people, in consequence of which God can 
 be just and the justifier of all who believe in 
 Jesus. To know Christ crucified, therefore, 
 is to know the whole Gospel; to preach 
 Christ crucified, is to preach the whole Gos- 
 pel; for all its doctrines are involved in this 
 event. The plan of salvation revealed in the 
 Scriptures, is founded on the principle of re- 
 ceiving satisfaction for the transgressions of 
 the sinner from another person, who is able 
 to render to the law all that is required from 
 the offender. This satisfaction was made by 
 the obedience of Christ unto death, and is ac 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 199 
 
 cepted by the Judge of all in place of a per- 
 fect obedience of the sinner, in behalf of all 
 those to whom it is applied. This method 
 of obtaining pardon is honourable to God, 
 because, while he receives the transgressor 
 into favour, he expresses his hatred of sin in 
 the strongest manner, and requires that the 
 demands of his holy law be perfectly fulfilled, 
 and it is suited to man, for it comes down to 
 his impotence and wretchedness, and offers 
 him a finished and gratuitous salvation, with- 
 out works or merit of his own. And, that 
 there may be no room for an abuse of this 
 doctrine of free grace, it is provided that all 
 who hope for the benefits of this redemption, 
 shall yield a sincere obedience to the Gospel, 
 and thus evince their penitence for their sins, 
 and their love to the Saviour. Ungodly men 
 may pervert this doctrine, and turn the grace 
 of God into licentiousness, but such conduct 
 receives no encouragement from the princi- 
 ples of the Gospel j it is merely the effect of 
 the perverseness of sinful men. 
 
 This leads me to speak of the third thing 
 which was mentioned as important to be 
 known by man, which is, the means by 
 which a depraved nature may be restored to 
 rectitude; or, in other words, how the tho- 
 rough reformation of a sinner may be effected . 
 On this subject, philosophy has never been 
 able to shed any light. And this is not won- 
 derful; for the most that human wisdom, if 
 
200 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 ever so perfect, could effect, would be the di- 
 rection and regulation of the natural princi- 
 ples and passions of men; but, in this waj, 
 no true reformation can be produced. What- 
 ever changes are eftected will be only from 
 one species of sin to another. In order to a 
 radical restoration of the soul to moral recti- 
 tude, or to any degree of it, there is a neces- 
 sity for the introduction into the mind of 
 some new and powerful principle of action, 
 sufficient to counteract or expel the princi- 
 ples of sin. It is in vain that men talk of 
 producing a restoration to virtue by reason; 
 the mere perception of the right way will an- 
 swer no purpose, unless there is some incli- 
 nation to pursue it. Now the want of vir- 
 tuous affections, or to speak more correctly, 
 of holy dispositions, is the great defect of our 
 nature, in which our depravity radically con- 
 sists; and the only way by which man can 
 be led to love and pursue the course of obe- 
 dience to the law of God, is, by having love 
 to God and to holiness excited or implanted 
 in his soul. But to effect this is not in the 
 power of any creature; it is a work which re- 
 quires a divine energy, a creating power, and 
 therefore a true conversion from the ways of 
 sin was never eftected without supernatural 
 aid. There may be an external reformation. 
 There may be, and often is, a change of go- 
 verning principles. The man Avho in his 
 youth was under the predominate influence 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 201 
 
 of the love of pleasure, may, in advanced 
 years, fall completely under the control of 
 avarice or ambition: but, in every such case, 
 the change is effected by one active principle 
 becoming so strong as to counteract or sup- 
 press another. It may be laid down as a 
 universal maxim, that all changes of charac- 
 ter are brought about by exciting, implanting, 
 or strengthening an active principle, suffi- 
 cient to overcome those principles which be- 
 fore governed the man. 
 
 Now, let us inquire what plan of reforma- 
 tion is proposed in the Scriptures. It is 
 such a one as precisely accords with the 
 principles laid down. The necessity of re- 
 generation by the power of God, is taught in 
 almost every variety of form, both in the Old 
 and New Testament The effect of the 
 divine energy in the soul, is a new heart.) or 
 new principles of moral action, the lead- 
 ing exercises of which are, love to God and 
 love to man. Let a philosophical survey be 
 taken of the nature of man, with his complete 
 system of perceptions, passions, appetites, 
 and affections, and then suppose this powerful 
 and holy principle introduced into the soul, 
 and it will be seen that all the faculties and 
 propensities of man will be reduced to order, 
 and the vices of our nature will be eradicated. 
 Pretenders to reason and philosophy have 
 often ridiculed this doctrine as absurd, where- 
 as it is, in every respect, consistent with the 
 
i02 
 
 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 soundest philosophj. It is the very thing 
 which a wise philosopher, who should under- 
 take to solve the problem, how depraved 
 man might be restored to virtue, would de- 
 mand. But, like the foundation which Ar- 
 chimedes required for his lever to raise the 
 earth, the principle necessary for a sinner's 
 reformation, is one which reason and philo- 
 sophy cannot furnish. 
 
 The Bible is the only book which ever 
 taught the true method of purifying the soul 
 from sin. A thousand ineffectual devices 
 have been tried by philosophers, and devo- 
 tees of other systems. One of the most com- 
 mon has been, to endeavour to extricate tlie 
 soul from the influence of the body by various 
 methods of mortification and purgation; but 
 all these plans have adopted the false princi- 
 ple, that the body is the chief seat of de- 
 pravity, and therefore they have ever proved 
 unsuccessful. The disease lies deeper, and 
 is further removed from the reach of their 
 remedies than they supposed. It is the 
 Gospel which teaches the true philosophy 
 respecting the seat of sin, and its cure. * Out 
 of the heart proceed all evils, according to 
 the Bible. And if we would make the fruit 
 good, we must first make the tree good. 
 
 This necessity of divine agency to make 
 men truly virtuous, does not, however, su- 
 persede the use of means, or exclude the 
 operation of rational motives. When a new 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 203 
 
 principle is introduced into a rational soul 
 in the exercise of this principle, the soul is 
 governed by the same general laws of under- 
 standing and choice as before. The princi- 
 ple of piety is pre-eminently a rational prin- 
 ciple in its operation. God is loved because 
 he is now viewed to be a most excellent and 
 amiable being. Heaven is preferred to earth, 
 because it is seen to be a far better and more 
 enduring inheritance; and so of all other 
 exercises. 
 
 I am naturally led, from the consideration 
 of this subject, to speak of the moral system 
 of the New Testament. I confine my re- 
 marks here to the New Testament, not be- 
 cause it teaches a different rule of moral duty 
 from the Old, but because it teaches it more 
 clearly. 
 
 I need say nothing in general commenda- 
 tion of the moral precepts of the Gospel. 
 They have extorted the highest praise from 
 many of the most determined enemies of 
 Christianity. No man has been able to show 
 how they could be improved, in any one 
 point. It has sometimes, indeed, been ob- 
 jected, that this system was not suited to 
 man, because it requires a purity and perfec- 
 tion to which he can never attain; but this 
 objection concedes the very point which we 
 wish to establish, namely, the absolute per- 
 fection of the Gospel system of morality. It 
 surely requires no arg-ument to prove, that 
 
204 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 if God reveal a rule for the regulation of his 
 creatures, it will be a perfect rule. It will 
 never do to admit, that the law must be low- 
 ered in its demands, to adapt it to the imper- 
 fection of creatures. This would be destruc- 
 tive of all law. 
 
 It has again been objected, that in the pre- 
 cepts of the New Testament, many splendid 
 virtues, acknowledged by the heathen moral- 
 ists, have been omitted. Patriotism, friend- 
 ship, bravery, &c. have been specified. To 
 which we reply, that so far as patriotism and 
 friendship are moral virtues, they are in- 
 cluded ill the general precepts of the Gospel 
 which require us to love our fellow men, and 
 do them good; and in those which command 
 us to think of v^hatsoever things are lovely, 
 whatsoever things are of good report; but 
 when the love of country and attachment to a 
 friend interfere with the general obi; .ition 
 of loving all men, they are no longer virtues, 
 but vices. 
 
 The excellence of the moral system of the 
 New Testament will be manifest if we con- 
 sider, 
 
 1. Its simple, yet comprehensive charac- 
 ter. All moral duties which can be con- 
 ceived as obligatory on man, are here re- 
 duced to two grand principles, the love of 
 God., and the love of man. The measure of 
 the first, is, the full extent of our capacity; 
 of the second, the love which we have for 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. £05 
 
 >urselves. On these two, says Christ, hang 
 all the law and the prophets. The duties 
 which relate to temperance and self-govern- 
 ment, do not need any additional principle. 
 If the soul be filled with love to God, and 
 with love to man, self-love will be so regulated 
 and directed, as to ans\ver every purpose in 
 moving us to perform what has been called 
 our duty to ourselves. 
 
 2. The precepts of morality in the New 
 Testament, although sometimes expressed in 
 comprehensive language, are often applied to 
 the actual relations and various conditions of 
 men. We are not left to infer particular 
 duties from general principles, but the duties 
 of individuals, according to their circum- 
 stances, are distinctly enjoined. Parents and 
 children, husbands and wives, magistrates 
 and subjects, ministers and people, the rich 
 and the poor, tlie friend and the stranger, have 
 all their respective duties clearly marked out. 
 
 3. Moral duties which had been over- 
 looked, or misunderstood by other teachers, 
 are here prominently exhibited and solemnly 
 inculcated. The virtues of humility, meek- 
 ness, forbearance, and the forgiveness of in- 
 juries were not acknowledged by the heathen 
 moralists^ but in the New Testament, they 
 are made to assume their proper place, and 
 much of true goodness is made to consist in 
 their exercise. At the time of the advent of 
 Christ, many false principles of morality had 
 
206 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 gained currency. The duty of loving all 
 men had been circumscribed within narrow 
 limits. Men charged with heresy, as the Sa- 
 maritans; or notorious sinners, as the Publi- 
 cans, were, by the Jews, considered as pro- 
 perly excluded from all participation in their 
 kindness or courtesy. The duty of subjec- 
 tion to a foreign power by whom they had 
 been conquered, and especially the duty of 
 yielding obedience to a wicked, tyrannical 
 prince, was one on which it required much 
 wisdom to decide aright. The people were 
 divided among themselves on this point, and 
 it was, therefore, selected by a combination 
 of both parties as a fit subject to entangle 
 our Lord, by forcing him to decide one way 
 or the other, and thus excite the opposition 
 of one of the parties. But when they asked 
 him, whether it was lawful to give tribute 
 unto Caesar or not, he called for a denarius^ 
 and looking at the image stamped upon it, 
 asked whose it was; and upon being answer- 
 ed, Csesar's, made the following remarkable 
 reply, Render xmto Caesar the things that are 
 Csesar^s, and unto God the things that are 
 God's. By which he decided, that, inasmuch 
 as they permitted the coin of Caesar to circu- 
 late among them, which was an evidence of 
 his sovereignty over them, and availed them- 
 selves of this money for purposes of trade, 
 there could be no impropriety in rendering 
 to Caesar what properly belonged to him; 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOX. £07 
 
 and also, that this was not incompatible with 
 their allegiance to God. So that, virtually,, 
 in this answer, he reproved both the Phari- 
 sees and the Herodians; the former of whom 
 made their duty to God a pretext for refus- 
 ing to pay tribute to the emperor; and the 
 latter to secure the favour of the reigning 
 powers, neglected their duty to God. 
 
 Paul, living under the government of Nero, 
 prescribes obedience to the existing powers, 
 not only from fear of suftering their displea- 
 sure, but for conscience sake. This is the 
 general rule of duty on this difficult subject, 
 than which none can be wiser: but it must 
 not be considered as inculcating passive obe- 
 dience and non-resistance, in all cases. Yet, 
 as long as a government has authority, so 
 long we are bound to obey. Christianity is 
 so constituted as not to interfere with any 
 civil institution. It takes men as it finds 
 them, in all the relations of life, and teaches 
 them their duty. It never can, therefore, be 
 the cause of sedition, and opposition to exist- 
 ing governments. It considers all civil rulers 
 as the ministers of God, ordained for the 
 peace and good order of society, and for the 
 punishment of those that do evil. It is made 
 the duty of Christians, therefore, to be sub- 
 ject unto the higher powers, and, not to resist 
 the ordinance of God. To render to all their 
 dues; tribute to whom tribute is due, custom 
 to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honoui 
 
£08 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 to whom honour * But if they who have tht 
 right to change the government of a country, 
 exercise it, and put down one set of rulers 
 and set up another, the principle of Chris- 
 tian duty remains the same. And if, in any 
 country, Christians form the majority of the na- 
 tion, there is no reason why they may not exer- 
 cise this right of ne^y modeling their govern- 
 ment, or changing their rulers, as well as others. 
 4. The moral system of the New Testa- 
 ment traces all virtue to the heart, and gets 
 no value on the most splendid and costly of- 
 ferings, or the most punctilious discharge of 
 religious duties, when the motives are not 
 pure. The first inclination of the mind to an 
 illicit object is denounced to be a violation 
 of the law; and words of reproach and all 
 idle words are among the sins for which an 
 account must be given in the Judgment. 
 Prayers and alms, proceeding from vain 
 glory, are represented as receiving no reward 
 from God, however they may be applauded 
 by men. The love of this world and the love 
 of money are represented as radical sins, 
 from which many others proceed. Pride and 
 revenge are held up, as not only odious, but 
 as incompatible with the divine favour. 
 Purity of heart and heavenly-mindedness, 
 with trust in God and submission to his will, 
 are, in this system, cardinal virtues. 
 
 * Rom. xiii. 
 
CHRISTIAN E.ELTGIOX. £09 
 
 5. The moral precepts of the 'Sew Tes- 
 tament were exemplified in the lives of the 
 Apostles and primitive Christians; and espe- 
 cially, and to the utmost perfection in the ex- 
 ample of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to 
 conceive of a character more perfect than 
 that given bj the evangelists, of the Founder 
 of the Christian religion^ and it has alreadj' 
 been observed, that this character, embracing 
 every variety of excellence, often exhibited 
 in delicate and difficult circumstances, is de- 
 lineated by a simple narrative of facts. 
 There is no panegyric, no effort or art to ex- 
 cite admiration; but the writers merely in- 
 form us what Jesus said, did, and suffered. 
 From this narrative we learn, that he con- 
 nected himself with no sect, and courted the 
 favour of neither the rich nor the poor. He 
 adopted none of the errors or prejudices of 
 his nation; but, by his discourses and his 
 conduct, showed that he acted from far higher 
 views than national prejudices. The appa- 
 rent sanctity of the Pharisees he denounced 
 as hypocrisy; the traditions of the elders, as 
 subversive of the law of God; the skeptical 
 opinions of the Saducees, as proceeding from 
 ignorance of the true meaning of the Scrip- 
 tures. 
 
 Jesus Christ continually turned the atten- 
 tion of his hearers from earthly to heavenly 
 things, as alone worthy of their affections 
 and pursuit. Although he flattered no class 
 s2 
 
210 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 of men, his attention was particularly turn 
 ed to the poor; their spiritual necessities and 
 their bodily afflictions excited his most ten- 
 der compassion; and to them he addressed 
 manj kind and encouraging declarations. 
 But his healing power was exerted in behalf 
 of all applicants, rich and poor; and without 
 regard to their sect or nation. Jews, Sama- 
 ritans, Heathen, publicans, and sinners were 
 the objects of his compassion. He was not 
 deterred by the proud prejudices of the 
 Scribes and Pharisees from associating with 
 penitent sinners, however vile and infamous 
 they had before been- He graciously receiv- 
 ed returning sinners, comforted them with 
 the assurance of pardon, and permitted tKem 
 to manifest their grateful affection to his per- 
 son by the most expressive signs and actions. 
 
 He manifested the kindest sympathy with 
 his friends in their afflictions, weeping with 
 those that wept, and often exerting his omni- 
 potence in raising their dear relations from 
 the bed of sickness, or from death. And, 
 although he often uttered severe rebukes 
 against the incorrigibly wicked, and was 
 sometimes grieved and angry with them, yet 
 his compassion towards them never failed; 
 and even when their day of grace was ended, 
 he wept over them with the most affecting 
 tenderness. 
 
 Jesus Christ was often brought into con- 
 flict with insidious, malignant, and learned 
 
CHRISTIAN E.ELIGION. 211 
 
 adversaries. They attacked him with deli- 
 berate craft, and proposed to liim questions 
 on delicate and difficult subjects, to which he 
 was required to return an immediate answer; 
 but in no case of this sort w as he ever con- 
 founded, or even puzzled by the craftiness 
 of his enemies. His answers were so appro- 
 priate, and so fraught with wisdom, that his 
 adversaries were commonly confounded, and 
 the audience filled with admiration. 
 
 The parables of Christ are unparalleled for 
 beauty and force, in the species of composi- 
 tion to which they belong. But this is the 
 smallest part of their excellence. They con- 
 tain so much important truth, and so happily 
 adapted to the subject and the occasion, that 
 often the persons intended to be reproved by 
 them were constrained to give judgment 
 against themselves. In these discourses, the 
 leading doctrines of the Gospel are exhibited 
 in a beautiful dress of allegory, which rivets 
 the attention, and greatly aids us in under- 
 standing, the fulness and freeness of the 
 grace of the Gospel. They are also propheti- 
 cal of the rejection of the Jews, and calling 
 of the Gentiles; of the various reception of 
 the Gospel by different classes of hearers; of 
 the mixture of sincere and unsound Chris- 
 tians of which the Church should consist; of 
 the cruel persecutions which the followers of 
 Christ should endure; and of the final over- 
 throw and destruction of his enemies. 
 
212 EVIDEXCE5 OF TKK 
 
 Jesus Christ spake, in all his discourses, as 
 never man spake. He removed the false 
 glosses which had been put on the law, and 
 set its precepts in their proper light. He 
 mingled the dogmas of no philosophical sys- 
 tem with his instructions. He entered into 
 no metaphysical and abstruse disquisitions, 
 but taught the truth plainly, and with au- 
 thority. 
 
 His zeal for the lionour of God, and for 
 the purity and sanctity of his worship, and 
 his dislike of all human inventions and will- 
 worship, are manifest in all his conduct. A 
 spirit of fervent and elevated devotion was 
 a remarkable characteristic of Jesus of Naza- 
 reth. Whole nights he spent in prayer, and 
 before day he would retire for the purposes of 
 devotion. He was in the habit of praying 
 and giving thanks on all occasions| but his 
 devotion was free from all tincture of super- 
 stition or enthusiasm. He taught, that not 
 the words, but the hearty not the length of 
 prayers, but their spirit, was regarded. 
 
 His benevolence, meekness, and laborious 
 diligence in promoting the welfare of men, 
 were manifested every day of his life. But 
 in his acts of mercy, and in his most extra- 
 ordinary miracles, there was no appearance 
 of parade or ostentation. He ivent about do- 
 ing good, but he sought no glory from men. 
 He was humble, retired, and contented with 
 the lowest state of poverty. When the peo 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 213 
 
 pie applauded him, he withdrew unto some 
 other place. When they would have made 
 him a king, lie escaped from their hands. 
 When they asked curious questions, he di- 
 rected them to something important. When 
 they uttered unmeaning expressions of praise, 
 he took occasion to announce some important 
 truth, or deliver some interesting discourse. 
 
 In nothing did he discover more profound 
 wisdom than in declining to interfere, in any 
 case, with temporal concerns, and disputes 
 about earthly possessions. He showed by his 
 conduct, what he solemnly declared on his 
 trial, that his kingdom was not of this ivorld. 
 
 In his intercourse with his disciples, we ob- 
 serve a sweet mixture of dignity and gentle- 
 ness; of faithfulness and humble condescen- 
 sion to tlieir weakness and their prejudices. 
 No wonder that they should love such a Mas- 
 ter. But his last discourses with them be- 
 fore his passion, and the remarkable prayer 
 offered in their behalf, for affectionate tender- 
 ness, and the sweet spirit of consolation 
 which pervade them, are altogether inimita- 
 ble. How flat and unsatisfectory are the 
 conversations of Socrates with his friends, 
 when compared with those of Christ, record- 
 ed in the xiv., xv.,and xvi., chapters of the 
 Gospel of St. John! Indeed, it would be im- 
 possible to refer to any discourses, in any 
 language, which could bear a comparison 
 with this valedictory of Christ; and that 
 
214 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 which should enhance ouv admiration of the- 
 pure benevolence of the author, is, that he 
 was aware that his own suiFerings were near, 
 and would be most cruel and ignominious; 
 and yet, his attention is turned to the case of 
 his sorrowful disciples, and all that he says 
 has relation to them. The institution of the 
 EucHARisTicAL SuppER, intended to be com- 
 memorative of his death, was attended MJth 
 circumstances which exhibit the character of 
 Jesus in a very peculiar and interesting light. 
 This scene will be best understood by a pe- 
 rusal of the simple and affecting narrative of 
 the evangelists, to which the reader is re- 
 ferred. 
 
 The last thing in the character of Christ 
 which I shall bring into view, at this time, 
 is the patience and fortitude with which he 
 endured sufferings, which were intense and 
 overwhelming, beyond conception. There is 
 something mysterious in this whole affair. 
 The symptoms of the most intense agony 
 which Jesus suffered, seem to have had no 
 connexion with external circumstances. — 
 When he was betrayed, deserted, and arrest- 
 ed, he discovered no signs of fear or pertur- 
 bation. He gave himself up, and submitted 
 with unruffled composure to every species of 
 contumely and insult. While his trial was 
 going on before the Sanhedrim, and before 
 Pilate, he maintained, for the most part, a 
 dignified silence, uttering no reproaches or 
 
CHRISTIAX RELIGION. 215 
 
 complaints, nor even speaking in his own 
 defence. When particularly interrogated by 
 the judges, he answered directly to the ques- 
 tions proposed, and avowed himself to be the 
 Messiah, the Son of God, and the King of 
 Israel. Under the mockery and insult which 
 were heaped upon him, he remained perfectly 
 composed, and uttered not a word indicative 
 of impatience or resentment, e^s a sheep he- 
 fore her shearers is diimb, so he opened not 
 his mouth. When he was bewailed by the 
 daughters of Jerusalem, as he ascended the 
 hill of Calvary bearing his cross, he request- 
 ed them not to weep for him but for them- 
 selves and their children, on account of the 
 calamities that were coming on that devoted 
 city. While suspended on the cross, he saw 
 his beloved mother among the spectators, and 
 knowing that she would now need a friend 
 and protector, he recommended her to the 
 care of the disciple whom lie most tenderly 
 loved. Although no compassion was min- 
 gled with the vindictive feelings with which 
 he was persecuted, yet he set a glorious ex- 
 ample of that most difficult duty of loving 
 our enemies, as says the apostle Peter, " Be- 
 cause Christ also suffered for us, leaving us 
 an example^ that ye should folloio his steps: 
 who did not sin^ neither was guile found in 
 his mouth; who, when he was reviled^ reviled 
 not again; when he suffered, he threatened not: 
 but committed himself to him that judgeth 
 
216 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 righteously. " Among his last words was a 
 prayer for those that were then engaged in 
 crucifying him, Father forgive them, for 
 they know not what they do. A penitent 
 thief, who was crucified with him, implored 
 his blessing and remembrance, when he 
 should come to the possession of his kingdom^ 
 to whom he replied, '• This day shalt thou 
 he with me in Paradise. " And, finally, he 
 said, " Father., into thy hands I commit my 
 spirit,^^ and bowed his head and died. 
 
 The moral excellence of the character of 
 Christ is very remarkable for uniting in per- 
 fection, qualities which, among men, are con- 
 sidered almost incompatible. He exhibited 
 a complete indifterence to the possessions 
 and glory of the world, and a devout and 
 heavenly temper, without the least mixture 
 of austerity; he combined uniform dignity 
 with humility and condescensioni he mani- 
 fested strong indignation against all manner 
 of sin, and against impenitent sinners, but 
 the most affectionate tenderness towards every 
 humble penitent. He united the spirit of 
 elevated devotion with a life of activity and 
 incessant exertion. While he held free in- 
 tercourse with men of all classes, he adopted 
 the prejudices and spared the vices of none. 
 On this subject I will take the liberty of 
 quoting a passage from an excellent discourse 
 of Dr. Channing, referred to already, '* I 
 will only observe," says the eloquent author, 
 
CHRISTIAN KELIGION. 217 
 
 speaking of the character of Christ, <« that it 
 had one distinction, which, more than any 
 thing, forms a perfect character. It was 
 made up of contrasts; in other words, it was 
 a union of excellences which are not easily 
 reconciled, which seem at first sight incon- 
 gruous, but which, when blended and duly 
 proportioned, constitute moral harmony, and 
 attract with equal power, love and venera- 
 tion. For example, we discover in Jesus 
 Christ an unparalleled dignity of character, a 
 consciousness of greatness, never discovered 
 or approached by any other individual in his- 
 tory; and yet this was blended with a conde- 
 scension, loveliness, and unostentatious sim- 
 plicity, which had never before been thought 
 consistent with greatness. In like manner he 
 united an utter superiority to the world, to 
 its pleasures and ordinary interests, with 
 suavity of manners and freedom from austeri- 
 ty. He joined strong feeling and self-pos- 
 session; an indignant sensibility to sin and 
 compassion to the sinner; an intense devo- 
 tion to his work, and calmness under opposi- 
 tion and ill success; a universal philanthropy, 
 and a susceptibility of private attachments; 
 the authority which became the Saviour of 
 the world, and the tenderness and gratitude 
 of a Son." 
 
 The salutary effects of Christianity on 
 communities and individuals, open a wide 
 field for important remarks: but it is a sub- 
 
 T 
 
218 EVIDENCES OF THE ' 
 
 jfef t ^vhich we have not time to pursue j yet 
 we must not pass it over in entire silence. 
 The argument from this topic may readily be 
 reduced to a point. Take a survey of the 
 whole world at this time, and let an impar- 
 tial judgment be formed of the condition of 
 all the nations, and let the question be an- 
 swered, whether Christian nations are in a 
 less favourable, or more favourable condition 
 than others. And again, whether among 
 Christians, those nations who have the free 
 use of the Bible, and are carefully instructed 
 in the doctrines of Christianity, are in a bet- 
 ter or worse condition, than those to whoai 
 the Scriptures are interdicted, and who are 
 permitted to remain in ignorance of the reli- 
 gion which they profess.^ The answer to 
 these questions is so obvious, that I cannot 
 but presume that all readers will be of the 
 same mind. It may then be asked, would 
 a vile imposture be the means of melioratint'; 
 the condition of the world, and prove salutary 
 in proportion as it was known and obeyed? 
 «^ I speak as unto wise men^ judge ye ivhat I 
 
 We have, moreover, seen in our own time, 
 the wonderful effects of the Gospel in civiliz- 
 ing some of the most barbarous people on the 
 face of the earth. Men who seemed to have 
 sunk to a level with the beasts, have been 
 '•eclaimed, enlightened, and exalted to a par 
 'icipation of the blessings of civilized lifej 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGlONo S19 
 
 their ferocious temper being completely sub- 
 dued and softened. Look at Greenland— at 
 Africa — at Otaheite, and nearer home, at the 
 Cherokees, Choctaws, and other Indian tribes, 
 and see what the Gospel can effect. I know 
 not what infidels think of these things, but 
 for mj own part, I should not esteem one 
 coming from the dead, or a voice of thunder 
 from me heavens, so undoubted an evidence 
 of the truth of the Gospel, as these effects. 
 Will a series of falsehoods produce such ef- 
 fects as these? 
 
 I know that it has been objected, that 
 Christianity has been the cause of many 
 bloody wars and cruel persecutions; but this 
 is impossible. That religion which breathes 
 nothing but benevolence and peace, and 
 which requires its disciples not to resist evil, 
 but freely to forgive their m^t malignant 
 enemies, never can be the cause of war and 
 persecution. It may indeed be the occasion, 
 and no doubt has been made the occasion of 
 such evils; but it would be absurd to attri- 
 bute to Christianity the evils of which it has 
 been the innocent occasion, when its own 
 spirit is in direct opposition to those evils. 
 As well might we charge civil government 
 with all the wars and tumults which it has oc- 
 casioned. Asreasonably might we accuse liber- 
 ty as being the cause of all the atrocities of 
 the French revolution. The truth is, that the 
 wickedness of man is the cause of these evils; 
 
£20 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 and the most excellent things in the universe 
 may be made the occasion of exciting, or oc- 
 casioning its exercise. Christ foretold that 
 his religion would be an occasion of family 
 discord j and to express the certainty of the 
 event predicted, he said, Think not that I 
 am come to send peace on earth; I came not 
 to send peace^ biitaswoid; which some su- 
 perficial readers have strangely misconstinied, 
 as though he had signified, that it was the 
 tendency of his religion to produce strife 
 among friends. No man can remain in er- 
 ror on this subject who will take the pains to 
 read the New Testament, And 1 will ven- 
 ture to predict, or rathei to publish what is 
 already predicted, that as soon as the world 
 shall sincerely embrace the Christian religion, 
 wars will cease to the ends of the earth. 
 Then shall jnen beat their swords into 
 plough-shares, and their spears into pruning- 
 hooks, and learn war no more. 
 
 But the salutary effects of the Gospel on 
 those individuals who cordially embrace it, 
 furnish the most manifest proof of its divinity. 
 How often, by the secret but powerful in- 
 fluence of the truths of the Bible, have the 
 proud been humbled; the impure rendered 
 chaste; the unjust, honest; the cruel and re- 
 vengeful, meek and forgiving; the drunkard, 
 temperate; the profane, reverent; and the 
 false swearer and liar, conscientious in de- 
 claring nothing but the truth! Under the 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 221 
 
 influence of what other system are such salu- 
 tary changes eflfected? Will it be said, that 
 many who profess to experience such a 
 change, prove themselves to be hypocrites? 
 Admitted; but does this evince that they who 
 give evidence of sincerity by the most incon-[ 
 testable proofs, all their lives, are also hypo-^ 
 crites? All men wish to be thought honest; , 
 but if many are discovered to be knaves, does 
 this prove that there is not an honest man in ' 
 the world? < 
 
 But however this argument may affect 
 those who have had no experience of the 
 power of the Gospel, it will have great weight 
 with all those who have, by means of the 
 truth, been converted from the error of their 
 ways. There are thousands who can attest 
 that they have experienced the salutary effi- 
 cacy of the Bible, in turning them away from 
 their iniquities, and enkindling within them 
 the love of God and of virtue. They cannot 
 but believe that the Christian religion is from 
 God, for they are persuaded that no impos- 
 ture could so elevate and sanctify the mind; 
 — that no human device could possess such a 
 power over the conscience and the heart as 
 they have experienced from the Scriptures. 
 These persons, therefore, may truly be said 
 to have the witness of the truth in them- 
 selves. 
 
 But there is an efficacy in the truths of the 
 Bible, not only to guide and sanctify, but also 
 T 2 - 
 
222 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 to afford consolation to the afflicted in body 
 or mind. Indeed, the Gospel brings peace 
 into every bosom where it is cordially re- 
 ceived. When the conscience is pierced with 
 the stings of guilt, and the soul writhes under 
 a wound which no human medicine can heal, 
 the promises of the Gospel are like the balm 
 of Gilead, a sovereign cure for this intolerable 
 and deeply seated malady. Under their 
 cheering influence, the broken spirit is healed, 
 and the burden of despair is removed far 
 awaj. The Gospel, like an angel of mercy, 
 can bring consolation into the darkest scenes 
 of adversity: it can penetrate the dungeon 
 and soothe the sorrows of the penitent in his 
 chains, and on his bed of straw. It has power 
 to give courage to the heart, and brighten the 
 countenance of the man who meets death on 
 the scaffold or on the gibbet, if its precious 
 invitations to the chief of sinners be sincerely 
 embraced. It mitigates the sorrows of the 
 bereaved, and wipes away the bitter tears 
 occasioned by the painful separation of affec- 
 tionate friends and relatives. By the bright 
 prospects which it opens, and the lively hopes 
 which it inspires, the darkness of the tomb is 
 illuminated 5 so that Christians are enabled, 
 in faith of the resurrection of the body, to 
 commit the remains of their dearest friends to 
 the secure sepulchre, in confident hope that 
 after a short sleep they will awake to life 
 everlasting. 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGIOxV. 223 
 
 The cottages of the poor are often blessed 
 with the consolations of the Gospel, which is 
 peculiarly adapted to the children of affliction 
 and poverty, it was one of the signs of Jesus 
 being the true Messiah, " that the poor had 
 the Gospel preached unto them." Among 
 them, it produces contentment, resignation, 
 mutual kindness, and the longing after im- 
 mortality. The aged and infirm, who by the 
 gradual failure of their faculties, or by dis- 
 ease and decrepitude, are shut out from the 
 business and enjoyments of this world, may 
 find in the word of God a fountain of conso- 
 lation. They may, while imbued with its 
 celestial spirit, look upon the world without 
 the least regret for its loss, and may rejoice 
 in the prospect before them, with a joy un- 
 speakable and full of glory. The Gospel can 
 render tolerable, even the yoke of slavery, 
 and the chains of the oppressor. How often 
 is the pious slave, through the blessed influ- 
 ence of the word of God, a thousand times 
 happier than his lordly master! He cares 
 not for this short deprivation of liberty; he 
 knows and feels that he is " Christ's free- 
 man," and believes *' that all things work to- 
 gether for his good," and that "these light 
 afflictions which are for a moment, will work 
 out for him a far more exceeding and eternal 
 weight of glory!" But, moreover, this glo- 
 rious Gospel is au antidote to death itself. 
 He that does the sayings of Christ shall never 
 
£24 EVIDENCES cr THE 
 
 taste of death: that is, of death as a curse j — 
 he shall never feel the envenomed sting of 
 death. How often does it overspread the 
 spirit of the departing saint with serenity! 
 How often does it elevate, and fill with celes- 
 tial joy, the soul which is just leaving the 
 earthly house of this tabernacle ! It actually 
 renders, in many instances, the bed of the 
 dying a place of sweet repose. No terrors 
 hover over them; — ^no anxious care corrodes 
 their spirit; — no burden oppresses the heart. 
 All is light; — all is hope and assurance; — all 
 is joy and triumph! 
 
 Now, the question to be decided is, whe- 
 ther a book which is replete with such sub- 
 lime and correct views of theology; which 
 exhibits the true history and true character 
 of man without flattery, distortion, or exagge- 
 ration; and which possesses an astonishing 
 power of penetrating the human he; i^ and 
 affecting the conscience; which give^ us in- 
 formation on the very points with which it is 
 most important that we should be acquainted; 
 which opens to us the future world, and 
 shows us how we may attain to its felicity and 
 glory; which exhibits a perfect system of mo 
 ral duty, adapted to our nature and circum- 
 stances, and free from all the defects of other 
 systems of morality, forbidding nothing which 
 is innocent, and requiring nothing which is 
 not reasonable and virtuous; which reduces 
 all duty to a few general principles, and yet 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 225 
 
 illustrates the application of these principles 
 by a multitude of particular precepts ad- 
 dressed to persons in every relation of life, 
 and exemplifies them by setting before us the 
 lives of holy men, who are portrayed accord- 
 ing to truth, with such imperfections as expe- 
 rience teaches us belong to the best men; — 
 which delineates the character of Jesus Christ, 
 the founder of Christianity, with such a per- 
 fection of moral excellences, by simply re- 
 lating his words, actions, and sufferings, that 
 nothing can be taken from it or added to it, 
 without detracting from its worth; — and fi- 
 nally, which contains the true sources of con- 
 solation for every species of human suftering, 
 and comfort in death itself. I say, is it rea- 
 sonable to believe, that such a book is the 
 production of vile impostors; and especially, 
 of uneducated fishermen of Galilee.^ Would 
 such men have fallen into no palpable blun- 
 ders in theology or morality? Could they 
 have preserved so beautiful a harmony and 
 consistency between all the parts? Could 
 they have exhibited such a character as that 
 of Jesus Christ, and while they introduce him 
 acting and speaking so often, and in circum- 
 stances so peculiar and. difficult, never as- 
 cribe to him any error or weakness, in word 
 or deed? Would impostors have denounced 
 all manner of falsehood and deceit, as is done 
 in the New Testament? Would they have 
 
226 EVIDENCES OF THE 
 
 insisted so much on holiness, even in the 
 thoughts and purposes of the heart? Could 
 they have so perfectly adapted their forgery 
 to the constitution of the human mind, and to 
 the circumstances of men? Is it probable 
 that they would have possessed the wisdom 
 to avoid all the prejudices of their nation, and 
 all connexion with existing sects and civil 
 institutions? And, finally, could they have 
 provided so effectually for the consolation of 
 the afflicted? What man now upon earth 
 could have composed even the discourses, said 
 by the evangelists to have been spoken by 
 Christ? 
 
 If any man can bring himself, after an im- 
 partial examination of the Scriptures, to be- 
 lieve that they were written by unprincipled 
 impostors, then he may believe, that an untu- 
 tored savage might construct a ship of the 
 line; that a child might have Avrittf : the 
 Iliad, or Paradise Lost; or even, u>at the 
 starry firmament was the work of mere crea- 
 tures. No: it cannot be that this book is a 
 forgery: — No man, or. set of men, ever had 
 sufficient talents and knowledge to forge such 
 a book as the Bible. It evidently transcend.^ 
 all human effort. It has upon its face the 
 impress of divinity. It shines with a light, 
 which, from its clearness and its splendour, 
 shows itself to be celestial. It possesses the 
 energy and penetrating influence, which be- 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 227" 
 
 speak the omnipotence and omniscience of its 
 Author. It has the eflfect of enlightening, 
 elevating, purifying, directing, and comfort- 
 ing all those who cordially receive it Surely, 
 then, it is the word of god, and we will 
 hold it fast, as the best blessing which God 
 has vouchsafed to man. 
 
 PRECIOUS GOSPEL I Will any merciless 
 hand endeavour to tear away from our hearts 
 this best, this last, this sweetest consolation.^ 
 Would you darken the only avenue through 
 which one ray of hope can enter? Would you 
 tear from the aged and infirm poor, the 
 only prop on which their souls can repose 
 in peace.^ Would you deprive the dying of 
 their only source of consolation r Would you 
 rob the world of its richest treasure.^ Would 
 you let loose the floodgates of every vice, and 
 bring back upon the earth, the horrors of su- 
 perstition, or the atrocities of atheism? Then 
 endeavour to subvert the Gospel — throw 
 around you the firebrands of infidelity- 
 laugh at religion, and make a mock of fiitu- 
 rity; but be assured that for all these things 
 God will bring you into judgment. But no: 
 1 will not believe that any who reflect on what 
 has been said in these pages, will ever 
 cherish a thought so diabolical. I will per- 
 suade myself, that a regard for the welfare of 
 their country, if no higher motive, will induce 
 them to respect the Christian Religion, And 
 
228 EVIDENCES or THE 
 
 every pious heart will say, rather let the 
 
 SUN BE DARKENED IN THE HEAVENS, THAN 
 THE PRECIOUS LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL BE EX- 
 TINGUISHED ! 
 
OHRISTIA:v E.ELIGIOX. 229 
 
 NOTES, 
 
 Note A. 
 
 Mohammed asserted, that while he was in his bed 
 one night, the angel Gabriel knocked at his door, and 
 that when he went out, he saw him with seventy 
 pair of expanded wings, whiter than snow, and clear- . 
 er than crystal. The angel informed him that he^^^ 
 had come to conduct him to heaven ; and directed' 
 him to mount an animal which stood ready at the 
 door, and which was between the nature of an ass 
 and a mule. The name of this beast was Alborak, 
 in colour whiter than milk, and swift as lightning. 
 But when the prophet went to mount, the animal 
 proved refractory, and he could not seat himself upon 
 its back, until he promised it a place in paradise. 
 
 The journey from Mecca to Jerusalem was per- 
 formed in the twinkling of an eye. When he arrived 
 at the latter place, the departed prophets and saints 
 came forth to meet him, and saluted him. Here he 
 found a ladder of light, and tying Alborak to a rock, 
 he followed Gabriel on the ladder, until they arrived 
 at the first heaven, where admittance was readily 
 granted by the porter, when he was told by Gabriel, 
 that the person who accompanied him was Moham- 
 med, the prophet of God. Here he met an old decre- 
 pit man, who, it seems, was no other than our father 
 Adam; and who greatly rejoiced at having so distin- 
 guished a son. He saw also innumerable angels in 
 the shapes of birds, beasts, and men. This heaven 
 was made of pure silver, and he saw the stars sus- 
 oended from it by chains of gold. 
 
£30 E\^DEKCES OF THE 
 
 In like manner he ascended to the second heaven, 
 a distance of five hundred years journey, which was 
 of pure gold, and contained twice as many angels as 
 the former. Here he met Noah. Thence he pro- 
 ceeded to the third, which was made of precious 
 stones, where he met Abraham. The fourth was all 
 of emerald, where he met Joseph, the son of Jacob. In 
 the fifth, which was of adamant, he met Moses. In 
 the sixth, which was of carbuncle, he saw John the 
 Baptist. In the seventh, which was made of divine 
 light, he saw Jesus Christ, and commended himself 
 to his prayers. All the persons he had seen before, 
 however, begged an interest in his prayers. Here 
 Gabriel informed him, that he could go no further, 
 and he proceeded alone, through snow and water, 
 until he came near the throne of God, when he heard 
 a voice, saying, "O Mohammed, salute thy Creator 1" 
 He was not permitted to come near the throne of the 
 Almighty, on the right side of which he saw inscrib- 
 ed this sentence. There is no God but God, and 
 Mohammed is his prophet, which is the fundamen- 
 tal article of the Mohammedan creed. 
 
 After being permitted to hold a long conversation 
 with the Creator, he returned as he came, and found 
 Alborak ready to convey him home, on whose back 
 he swiftly ghded again to Mecca. All this happened 
 in the space of the tenth part of one night. 
 
 In the third heaven, he says, he saw an angel of so 
 great a size, that the distance between his eyes was 
 of seventy thousand days journey. This was the an- 
 gel of death, who has a large table before him, in 
 which he is ever writing and blotting out : whenever 
 a name is blotted the person immediately dies. He 
 speaks also of another angel, in the sixth heaven, 
 which had seventy thousand heads, and as many 
 tongues.* 
 
 * iCoran, Sural sviL 
 
CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 231 
 
 Note B. 
 
 The Abb^ Paris was the oldest son of a counsellor 
 of Paris, but being much inclined to a life of dc/otion, 
 he relinquished a patrimony to his younger brother, 
 and retired to an obscure part of Paris, where he 
 spent his life in severe penance, and in charitable ex- 
 ertions for the relief of the distressed poor. He was 
 buried in the ground of the church of St. Medard, 
 near the wall, where his brother erected a tomb-stone 
 over the grave. To this spot many poor people, who 
 knew his manner of life, came to perform their devo- 
 tions, as much, probably, out of a feeling of grati- 
 tude as any thing else. Some among the devotees 
 who attended at this place, professed that they ex^ 
 perienced a salutary change in their ailments. This 
 being noised abroad, as the Abb6 had been a zealous 
 Jansenist, all who were of this party encouraged the 
 idea of miracles having been performed, and multi- 
 tudes who were indisposed were induced to go to the 
 tomb of the saint; and some, as they confessed be- 
 fore a competent tribunal, were persuaded to feign 
 diseases which they never had. It is a fact, how- 
 ever, that the greater part received no benefit, and 
 that more diseases were produced than were cured ; 
 for soon many of the worshippers were seized with 
 convulsions, from which proceeded the sect of Con- 
 vulsionists, which attracted attention for many years. 
 It was soon found expedient to close up the tomb; 
 but cures were still said to be performed by the saint, 
 on persons in distant places. The Jesuits exerted 
 themselves to discredit the whole business, and the 
 Archbishop of Paris had a judicial investigation 
 made of a number of the most remarkable cases, the 
 results of which were various and often ludicrous. 
 A young woman, said to have been cured at the 
 tomb, of blindness and lameness, was proved to hava 
 
232 
 
 EVIDENCES, &C. 
 
 been neither blind nor lame. A man with diseased 
 eyes was relieved, but it appeared that he was then 
 using powerful medicine, and that after all, his eyes 
 were not entirely healed. A certain Abbe, who had the 
 misfortune to have one of his legs shorter than the 
 other, was persuaded that he experienced a sensible 
 elongation of the defective limb, but on measure- 
 ment no increase could be discovered. A woman in 
 the same situation danced on the tomb daily, to 
 obtain an elongation of a defective limb, and was per- 
 suaded that she received benefit; but is was ascer- 
 tained that she would have to dance there fifty- 
 four years before the cure would be effected at the 
 rate at whid!^ it was proceeding ; but for the unfor- 
 tunate Abbe, seventy-two years would have been re- 
 quisite. In short, the whole number of cures, after 
 examination, was reduced to eight or nine, all of 
 which can easily be accounted for on natural princi- 
 ples ; and in several of these instances the cures were 
 not perfect. 
 
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