LIBRARY PRI^fCETOW, W. J. DONATION OF s A M u t: 1. A a N K ^\^ , " f 1' It 1 1. \ Li i: 1. p n 1 \. f X . Letter y ^^^?L^.:.:2,.^S.-. '«-^/. i Division Case 9 I Shelf, Section.... ,t Boo1x\ No, ...'. ,^ . - -ft). ♦ * y / THE BIBLE DEFENDED AGAINST THE OBJECTIONS OF INFIDELITY: BEING AN EXAMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC, HISTORICAL, C HEONOLO GIC A L AND OTHER SCRIPTURE DIFFICULTIES. BY REV. W. H. BRISBANE, MEMBER OF THE PHILADELPHIA ANNUAL CONFERENCE. .PHILADELPHIA: HIGGINS & PERKINPINE, NO. 40 NORTH FOURTH STREET. 1855. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by HIGGINS & PERKINPINE, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, in and for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. PHILADELPHIA: STEREOTYPED BY GEORGE CHARLES, PRINTED BY T. K. & P. G. COLLINS. PREFACE. -*•»- In the preparation of this little volume, we have en- deavored to bear in mind the wants of Sabbath School Teachers and Scholars, who, in their scriptural studies, occasionally meet with " some things hard to be under- stood," upon which they desire a ready and convenient means of information. As well have we endeavored to remember the wants of the private Christian who, in his daily reading of the Bible, meets with difficulties, or, in his intercourse with his fellows, hears objections made thereto, for the solution of which he has neither the time nor means for research. Nor have we forgotten the honest, yet doubting inquirer after truth, (and we believe there are many such,) to whom the seeming discrepancies of the Bible have been made a temptation to unbelief. We trust he may here find, in some measure, an antidote to his skepticism. There is no attempt here to exhibit (except in an inci- dental manner) the evidences of the authenticity of Scrip- ture ; our special object has been to refute infidel objec- tions to the Bible, arising from the nature of its contents. (S) 4' PKEFACE. In this task, we have availed ourselves of the best sources of information, on the subjects treated of, within our reach; and in the statement of matters of fact, have de- pended upon the most reliable authorities. Many of the objections have been drawn from original sources, and, in some instances, are given in the language of infidel wri- ters. In the Introduction a number of objections are examined which could not well be classed under texts, but which, nevertheless, claimed some notice in a work of this character. The order of the texts has been followed through the book, but a copious topical index is added, which will be found useful in referring to the subjects discussed. Our performance bears ample internal evidence that we are unskilled in book-making, yet, conscious as we are of its imperfections, we send it forth, trusting that it will be, as " seed-corn cast upon the waters," borne to some genial soil, and productive of much good. INTRODUCTION. POSITION OF INFIDELITY. Christianity is so suited to our moral condition, so perfectly adapted to tlie wants and demands of our nature, that it is accepted, and its practical advantages realized, not so often from patient exa- minations of its voluminous and conclusive evi- dences, as from the felt need of that which it professes to give. It appeals to a conscious want. And men rarely investigate the evidences of its authenticity until they feel this want. Infidelity is too often assumed to subdue this inward craving for a higher good than earth can give, and to smother the uprising conviction that Christianity is of God. For this reason it has proved, and must ever prove, a failure. It is at war with the moral exigencies of our nature, and can never hope for success. In their attack upon the Bible, infidels have im- posed upon themselves an equally hopeless task. It devolves upon them to prove the ichole Bible his- toricall}^ untrue, or, if they admit the truth of some portions of it and deny that of others, they must 1* (5) 6 INTRODUCTIOJT. give lis clear and well-defined rules or principles to discriminate between tlie true and tlie false, and hold themselves willing to accept the legitimate consequences of such principles. To receive some portions, and reject others at will and without rule, as is too often done, is manifestly unjust and dis- honorable."^ But the historical truth of the Old and New Testaments is sustained by many infidel writers, from Celsus to Gibbon, by accredited profane his- tory, by the rules of evidence which prevail in our courts of justice, and upon which we give credence to any historical record. Its historical truth being establishedj its inspiration and divine authority are easily proved. We laugh to scorn then the wicked hopes and malignant assaults of infidelity. The star of our holy religion is still in the ascendant. " Persecuted, but not forsaken — cast down, but not destroyed" — " the Eose of Sharon" still blooms, the lovelier for the storms that have shaken it, and shall lift up its head in perennial beauty and deathless fragrance, when the pillars of the universe totter, and " the mountains are moved out of their places." * "This book, evidently composed by different hands, has yet its materials so interwoven, and its parts so reciprocally dependent, that it is impossible to separate them — to set some aside, and say : 'We accept these, and reject those:' just as, in certain textures, no sooner do Ave begin to take out a particular thread, than we find it is inextricably entangled with others, and those again with others ; so that there immediately takes place a prodigious gather- ing at that point, and if we persevere, a rent; but the obstinate part at which we tug will not come away alone." — Eclipse of Faith, p. 39(5, INTRODUCTION. *t THE SOURCES OP THE DIEFICULTIES OF SCRIPTURE. In order to form a just estimate of the character of Scripture difficulties, it will be necessary to inves- tigate the principal sources from which they derive their origin. I. The Bible, containing an account of God's cha- racter, his dealing with men, &c., may naturally be expected to include many things beyond our under- standing, and to discourse of many subjects, both novel and mysterious. Difficulties of this kind, arising from the nature of its contents, prove, rather than disprove, its superhuman origin, and are, at least, presumptive evidence of its truth. II. The greater part of these writings was com- posed to serve a present purpose, and unless we enter into that purpose, and are prepared to follow the argument of the writer, we must, of course, to some extent, fail to comprehend his meaning; there- fore, the lack of proper preparatory knowledge on our part may prove a source of difficulties. III. These books are of extreme antiquity, and often refer to persons, places, opinions, prejudices, &c., many of which are forgotten, but which must be recalled if w^e would fully understand the reference. IV. The different sources from which the sacred writers drew their narratives, the different names applied to the same persons and places, the different persons and places bearing the same name, and other circumstances of like nature, are sources of difficulty to those who do not make themselves acquainted with them. 5 INTKODUCTION. y. These books liave not come to us as they were written. Their original languages are not generally understood, and we read them under all the disad- vantages of a translation. The translation may be imperfect, or its expressions may have become obso- lete, and, in some instances, the learned translators may have mistaken the sense of the original. The difficulties which arise thus, though serious, are not insuperable, but may be overcome by careful and patient research. VI. The omission of incidents in one narrative of events, which are supplied in another narrative of the same occurrences — a diminution of record^ if we may so term it — is a source of difficulty, and espe- cially in the Gospels. In such cases, all the facts given by the several writers should be taken together, in order to form a complete historical view of the events recorded. To one or other of the above-named sources may most of the difficulties of Scripture be referred. They are almost exclusively of an historical cha- racter, not affecting, in the remotest degree, the doctrines upon the knowledge and practice of which the salvation of the soul depends. These essential doctrines are exhibited in the plainest and most intelligible manner, and among their several branches there subsists the m^ost perfect harmony. Therefore, the unlettered Christian need have no fear when infidels parade these difficulties before him with malignant ostentation. It may be asked — Why has God permitted these INTRODUCTION. 9 difficulties to accumulate in his written word ? "We can answer this only by asking — Why has he not embodied himself in the letter of the record ? Why has he chosen such a medium at all ? Why have not the heavens everywhere blazed with the record of his will in characters of fire, clear to every eye, and plain to every mind ? The various dif&culties of the Bible may be classi- fied, in reference to their character, under the follow- in sr heads : — ■ I. Difficulties arising from obscure or incorrect translation. II. Difficulties that may be obviated by compara- tive reference. III. Texts which have been willfully perverted by gainsayers. IV. Difficulties that may be cleared by reference to natural causes, obsolete customs, ceremonies, kc. Y. Chronological and topographical difficulties. YI. Difficulties in the application and understand- ing of names. YII. Difficulties arising from derangement of chapters and verses in some of the books. As these are severally considered in the order in which they occur in the Bible, we shall not now stop to notice them further. But the above view of their character and the resources of their origin may tend, perhaps, to dissipate the fears or preju- dices we may have entertained respecting them. 10 INTRODUCTION. THE NECESSITY OP A REYELATION. Infidels reject the Bible because it is unnecessary; nature, they say, teaches all of God and of morals man has need to know. How this can be proved, or what is its value, if true, is hard to discover. Admitting that some measure of religious truth can be deduced from the course of nature, this would neither prove the Bible untrue nor unnecessary ; it might even then serve well as a guide to religious knowledge. The objection, therefore, has no force. If, however, we prove there is a necessity for a reve- lation^ from God, it will be a presumption that such a revelation has been made. ' Denying then the suf- ficiency of the light of nature, we shall proceed to show that the exigencies of man's moral condition call for a revelation from God. I. Man is a religious being. "We mean by this that he has been created with religious instincts. In every phase of his existence, from the lowest bar- barism to the highest degree of civilization, he worships something and constantly manifests an instinctive longing for immortality. This truth is so obvious that it needs no proof. If he instituted these various forms of worship without Divine direc- tion, it was certainly in obedience to the conscious * Perhaps it would be better to use the term direct revelation, for, if GoJ has in any degree exhibited his character and will in the course of nature, he has made a revelation — since to reveal, is to exhibit, or make known, in any way. Hence, when infidels say that God's laws may be learned from natui-e, they concede, not only the necessity, but the fact of a revelation. The question then ■will be— Is a direct revelation of God to man necessary ? INTRODUCTION. 11 necessities of his nature and proves the existence of his religious instincts.^ II. Nothing within man or ivithout him, short of a 7'evelation, can satisfy the demands of this instinct. It is here that infidels join issue with Christianity. The necessity of some degree of religious sentiment is conceded, but the necessity of the Bible is denied. The old English infidel writers claimed that the mind could discover all necessary religious truth from its own resources, without supernatural aid. But this is not so. Take the fact of God's existence — how can man in his original state, as he sponta- neously grew up, or was created, discover this fact ? The very idea of God is foreign to him, and how is it to be communicated to his mind ? Can he deduce it from the existence of natural things? He has first to form an abstract idea of spiritual existence; but everything he sees or feels is material, how then is this idea to be formed ? But the ability to reason on such subjects supposes an educated mind, educa- tion supposes civilization, civilization supposes reli- gion, and religion supposes some knowledge of God. That condition in which man originally was, accord- ing to the theory of infidelity, precludes all reason- ing on such abstract points. He was a mere animal and incapable of reasoning outside the sphere of his physical necessities. If he is educated it must * The existence among all nations of professed reyelations of God's will and character, is evidence of the necessity of a revela- tion. If these sacred books v^ere the inventions of men, they were Invented because they were felt to be needed. 12 INTRODUCTION. be in civilized society, but we know of no civiliza- tion without a religious basis. Tbus we reach the conclusion, that a revelation was necessary at the very beginning of man's history. " Would a single individual, or even a single pair of the human race, or indeed several pairs of such beings as we are, if dropped from the hands of their Maker, in the most genial soil and climate of this globe, without a single idea or notion engraved on their minds, ever think of instituting such an inquiry ; or, short and simple as the process of in- vestigation is, would they be able to conduct it, should it somehow occur to them ? No man who has paid due attention to the means by which all our ideas of external objects are introduced into our minds through the medium of the senses ; or to the still more refined process by which, reflecting on what passes within our minds, when we combine or analyze these ideas, we acquire the rudiments of all our knowledge of intellectual objects, will pretend that they would."* "Between matter and spirit, things visible and invisible, time and eternity, beings finite and beings infinite, objects of sense and objects of faith, the con- nection is not perceptible to human observation. Though we push our researches, therefore, to the extreme point, whither the light of nature can carry us, they will in the end be abruptly terminated, and we must stop short at an immeasurable distance between the creature and the Creator."f *Glieg's Stackhouse Intro. f Van Mildert's Discourses. IXTRODUCTION. 13 Again — "Suppose a person, whose powers of argumentation are improved to tlie utmost pitcli of human capacity, but who has received no idea of God by any revelation, whether from tradition, Scripture, or inspiration, how is he to convince himself that God is, and from whence is he to learn what God is ? That of which he yet knows nothing, cannot be a subject of his thought, his reasonings, or his conversation. He can neither afl&rm nor deny till he know what is to be afi&rmed or denied. From whence then is our philosopher to divine, in the first instance, his idea of the infinite Being, concerning the reality of whose existence he is, in the second place, to decide ?" '^ If it is said, this idea of God is instinctive in man, we ask, how came it to be so ? It could not create itself in the mind, and if God created it there, then he has revealed himself to man, and revelation is not only a necessity, but a fact. It is sometimes argued that conscience is contin- ually suggesting to man a divine and overruling presence — a superhuman something to which he is amenable, and which is God. But conscience supposes the communication of God's will, as a standard of right and wrong, as much as it supposes the existence of God. And we very much doubt whether the existence of a con- science will serve the purpose of the deist who, rejecting the authority of a direct revelation, depends solely upon his own reason. * Hare's Prescr. against Socin. 2 14 INTRODUCTION. To this argument, from the evidence of conscience, we may well apply the reasoning of Faber on thp evidence of design. " The argument, from the evideiv. design impressed upon the universe^ proves, indeed, that the universe must have been first designed and then created; but it is incapable of proving, that the universe had no more than a single designer. Whether we suppose one designer or many design- ers, and thence one creator or many creators, the phenomenon of evident design in the creation will be equally accounted for : and, beyond this, the argu- ment in question, as managed upon deistical prin- ciples, neither does nor can reach. The deist, I allow, can prove very satisfactorily, and without the aid of revelation, that the universe, marked as it is in all its parts by evident design, must have been itself designed, and therefore created ; but he never did, and he never can prove, without the aid of revelation, that the universe was designed by a single designer."" So, conscience does not say whether it is one God or many to whom man is amenable. Further, the infidel, by admitting the existence of conscience and its intimations of accountability, concedes the adaptation of man's moral constitution to a direct revelation, and by den3dng such a revelation involves himself in an inextricable dilemma. But waiving all these difficulties, and supposing the fact of God's existence is known, how are we to * Difru-uUloR of Tnfulelity. Soc. TI. INTRODUCTION. 15 learn of his nature, our obligations to hira, and our future destiny? Where does nature unfold those perfect and sublime lessons on the attributes of God, of which infidels boast ? Where does it tell us that he is a God of infinite power, on whose almighty arm we may fling the burden of our cares, and stay our hopes of immortality ? Nowhere. Do you say his power is everywhere manifest ? True ; but it is an infinite power. How can we prove, from nature, that he has not done the utmost he can do ? That he made everything that is made does not prove that his power is without limit, or that the limit has not been already reached; that we can conceive .of no higher exercise of power than is evidenced in the creation of the universe is nothing to the point, for there may be exercises of power beyond our conception, and even these exercises may fall below infinitude. Where does nature teach that God's wisdom is infinite ? The nice adaptation of means to ends, the wonderful harmony of nature's operations, are not adequate proof that he who made and moves the universe is infinitely wise. Where is the evidence that he " readeth the hearts and discerneth the thoughts of men," that he sees " the end from the beginning," and provides for the evil afar ofi"? Where is the proof? Where does nature teach us that God is love ? Where does it so unfold the goodness and mercy of God as to melt the heart and win back to rectitude 16 INTRODUCTION. the wandering prodigal? "N'ature teaches," says the infidel, "that God is benevolent." Benevolent? Benevolent in providing for the necessities of his creatures ; necessities which, upon the theory of infidelity, he himself created ? So this is the benevo- lence which is to exact from us the highest and holiest forms of religious reverence ? which rates ■us with the beasts and birds, and minutest aniraal- culee of microscopical notice? — for what is man above these, when measured by that care which is bestowed upon each and all alike ? If the infidel's notions of divine benevolence depended upon what he learned of it from the course of nature, they would be meagre indeed. But how is he to reconcile with this benevolence, the withering drought, the crushing tempest, the blasting pestilence? He goes into a scene of life and gayety, and in the very midst of festivity, some sudden, fatal casualty crushes hearts just now beat- ing and bounding with bliss. He looks upon some calm, peaceful landscape, smiling with beauty, and suddenly clouds and darkness sweep over it, and the mad, howling tempest desolates the scene. He goes into his family, circles himself with loved ones, and in the midst of domestic bliss, death enters — stills the prattle of his darling — rends the finest feelings of his heart — crushes the soul of her whose joy is the sunlight of his home — and he starts up tempted to think that some infernal devil disputes with God the government of this world. And how will nature solve these difficidties ? Without the Bible INTRODUCTION. 17 they are inexplicable mysteries, and life itself is one dark problem to wbicb there can be no solution. So imperfect are the teachings of nature on these first principles of reli^^[i|ll^ Eom. i., 20, has been supposed to teach that the nature of God may be learned from his works. But God originally revealed himself to man, conse- quently, it was not difficult to deduce something of his nature from " the things that are made," and develop afresh the knowledge of God from the contemplation of his works and providence. And the Apostle restricts this knowledge of God to his higher nature in general — " the dominion of a mighty power over the elements of the world" — but not including his personal existence as an abso- lute spirit, his justice, holiness, and love.^ And where is man to learn a perfect rule of life ? Must he follow the dictates of his own heart ? Then lust will be his monitor and passion his guide. Shall he appeal to the nations of antiquity ? Among these their captives, slaves and children were murdered with impunity, and thousands *' Butchered to make a Roman holiday." Lying, theft, adultery and crimes of foulest dye, were frequently, constantly practised ; their altars were often stained with human blood, and their temples polluted with shocking obscenities. Is he, turning from these, to follow the precepts of philosophers and legislators of antiquity ? What * See Olshausen on the passage. 2* 18 INTRODUCTION. authority have these to teach him ? By what right do they demand his obedience? Clearly they are without authority. But whom of them is he to listen to ? Zeno and Diogenes sanctioned many impuri- ties ; Lycurgus and Solon legalized infanticide ; Draco punished all crimes with blood ; Plato advo- cated a community of wives; Aristotle was bitter and revengeful ; the Catos cruel and immoral. And modern infidel philosophers are not much above these in morality. One of these tells us that "phy- sical good is the rule of virtue, and physical evil the rule of vice." But such rules are both deficient and impracticable. There are virtues which do not result m phj^sical good ; there are vices not attended with physical evil; there is physical good which does not arise from virtue. The lightning rod on my house results in physical good, but it was not necessarily virtue that put it there ; and so of a thousand other occurrences in life. An infidel work now before me says, "that course which on the Avhole tends to produce the greatest amount of phy- sical good is a virtuous course." But how is a man to determine what course will produce the greatest amount of physical good ? He can not depend upon the testimony of others ; for, on the supposition that a revelation exists many would decide on that basis, — on the supposition of no revelation, opinions would still be conflicting, therefore every man must decide for himself; and when by his long experience he might make some sort of determination, it would INTEODUCTION. 19 be useless ; habits would be fixed and death at hand.* Therefore, without the Bible there is no sufficient rule of life. And where is man to learn his future destiny ? If he appeals to ancient philosophers, one tells him his soul is material, another that it will be trans- mitted through beasts and birds, another that it will be absorbed into the Deity. All is darkness and confusion. He asks — is my soul immortal — if so, what shall be its doom or destiny ? Cicero doubts — Caesar denies — Seneca wavers. Here nature fails — the material can not reveal the mysteries of the spiritual. This world speaks for itself alone, it can not speak for another. Here I stand upon the crumbling brink of time ; every moment some portion of my resting place drops into the deep abyss, and threatens next to plunge me into its unfathomable depths. Clouds and darkness thicken around me. From what part of nature shall come the beam to illume the future ? Where has she hidden the Promethean fire which may light me through the valley of death ? Everything within and without impels me forward — good God ! into what ? * " All reasoning on morals presupposes a distinction between inclinations and duties, affections and rules. The former prompt ; the latter prescribe. The former supply motives to action ; the latter regulate and control it. Hence it is evident, if virtue liave any just claim to authority, it must be under the latter of these notions; that is, under the character of a law." — Hall on Modern Infidelity. But deductions and inferences from the course of nature cannot have the force of moral laws. 20 INTRODUCTION.' Here Infidelity fails me, Pliilosopliy fails me, Reason fails me, and, but for the Bible, there would remain nothing but to leap, with the hopeless desperation of a suicide, into the profound gloom and perish for- ever. Thank God, then, for the Bible. In this all the dark problems of life are solved, and man is made wise unto salvation. Here I find offered to my hopes a destiny beyond the reach and ravage of time, and outstripping the sublimest conceptions of man ; here is the beam that will light up the regions of death, and fling the bloom and beauty of immor- tality around my ascending path to the thrones and crowns of heaven. MYSTERIES OE THE BIBLE. Infidels often object to the Bible that it contains mysteries. Yet the nature that they would deify is full of mysteries. There are more to be found in any one department of science than is contained in the whole Bible. But the term mystery is only another name for our ignorance ; that which we do not com- prehend we call mysterious. To the pupil, there are mysteries in mathematics which are very clear to the teacher. So by properly studying the Bible, and becoming imbued with its spirit, much that is now incomprehensible will be made plain and satis- factory. But there are matters connected with God, and the "things invisible and eternal," which must ever remain mysterious to the human mind, at least in its present condition. Apart from this, however, IN-TRODUCTIOIT. 21 the Bible makes plain, even to the understanding of a wayfaring man, enough "for doctrine, for correc- tion, for instruction in righteousness : that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." THE IMMORALITY OF THE BIBLE. It is sometimes asserted that portions of the Bible are very indelicate, and even immoral. An infidel lecturer lately said, it is the most immoral book he ever read. This charge comes" with very bad grace from those whose philosophy undermines the whole superstructure of virtue and morality, and gives lust and passion the empire of the world. If the morality of Infidelity is to be judged of by the cha- racter of its celebrated leaders, Bolingbroke, Yoltaire, Eousseau, Paine, and others, or from the manifest ten- dencies of the socialistic theories of Owen and the French Communists, then it behooves infidels to hang their heads with shame and confusion. The Bible simply records facts relating to human conduct ; if these are indelicate, the charge is to be laid against human nature, and not against the record. Moreover, there are terms and expressions in our English version which have to modern ears a tone of indelicacy ; but this was not formerly the case, and it is to be attributed to the changes which are constantly occurring in our habits and language.* Although the Bible exhibits the wickedness of * A Turk would think it highly indelicate, and even immoral, for a female to appear in the streets without a veil. 22 INTRODUCTION". man, it never justifies, but always condemns it, at tlie same time, it presents us sucli precepts and prin- ciples as constitute the purest and only authoritative system of morality known to man. TESTIMONY. An infidel of this country recently said : — " The Bible depends for acceptance upon testimony, but testimony is not to be received. Christians them- selves do not believe in testimony, only as suits their caprice. Chinese, Hindoos, Persians, and other nations, have their sacred books sustained by testi- mony, but Christians reject them. Mormons claim to have testimony for their books, Eomanists have testimony for their traditions, Protestant sects sum- mon testimony to the support of their peculiarities, but the testimony of each is received or rejected by the others, only as suits their whims or peculiar views." This is very dishonest. But admitting the reason- ing, it does not follow that the Bible is untrue, excluding, by the conditions of the argument, all infidel testimony against it, the whole matter is reduced to this — Every man must determine the question of the Bible's authenticity for himself, and not depend upon the testimony of others. Let infidels take this position (the only one consistent with the above argument), and press home upon every man the necessity of settling the question for himself, and there will be no doubt of their sincerity INTRODUCTION. 23 or consistency, and but little complaint of their zeal. But tlie argument is fallacious. It does not dis- criminate between true and false testimony. The character of the testimony must determine whether it is to be received or rejected. The testimony adduced in support of the Bible must be weighed upon its own merits, and if found wanting we shall not complain of its rejection. But such sweeping, wholesale, indiscriminate repudiation as infidels too often deal against the Sacred Books, betokens a spirit contemptibly illiberal. The remarks of Butler, on the historical evidence of miracles, acknowledged to be fabulous, suit our purpose at this point. "But suppose," he says, " there were even tlte like historical evidence for these, to what there is for those alleged in proof of Christianity, which yet is in no wise allowed, but suppose this ; the consequence would not be, that the evidence of the latter is not to be admitted. Nor is there a man in the world, who, in common cases, would conclude thus. For what would such a conclusion really amount to but this, that evidence, confuted by contrary evidence, or in any way over- balanced, destroys the credibility of other evidence, neither confuted, nor overbalanced ? To argue, that because there is, if there were, like evidence from testimony, for miracles acknowledged false, as for those in attestation of Christianity, therefore the evidence in the latter case is not to be credited ; this is tlie same as to argue, that if two m:'n of 24 INTRODUCTION. equally good reputation had given evidence in different cases no way connected, and one of them had been convicted of perjury, this confuted the testimony of the other." "^ We repeat it, therefore, that the truth of Chris- tianity must be decided upon its own evidences, and not in view of the truth or falsity of other systems of religion. ANONYMOUS BOOKS. "Anonymous, and therefore without authority," reiterates Paine, with unblushing effrontery. Admit- ting that some of the books of the Bible are anony- mous, they certainly had authors, and if true when the authors were known, they are equally true now. If the writer of a true history becomes in the lapse of time unknown, the history does not thereby become false. If its authenticity be proved, it matters nothing how much doubt rests upon its origin. If Paine did not know this he was sadly ignorant; if he knew and would not acknowledge it, he was shamefully dishonest. There are issuing from the press constantly, Almanacs, Kegisters, Eeviews, Magazines, &;c., which are anonymous, but many of them strictly authentic, and to be confidently depended upon for the matters of fact they contain. The origin of the Canonical books, as far as ascertained, is as follows. The first five — the Pen- tateuch — were written by Moses. The book of * Butler's Analogy, Part II. Chap. YII. INTRODUCTION. 25 Joshua, by Joshua. Judges and Euth are attributed to Samuel by most Biblical scholars. The two books of Samuel, the two Kings, and the two Chro- nicles, bear evidence of being compiled, in part, from the national records; the first twenty-four chapters of 1st Samuel, are said, by Talmudical writers, to be the work of that prophet, the remain- der were compiled by Gad and Nathan. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah are attributed to the persons whose names they bear. The writer of Esther is now unknown. The book of Job was written either by himself, or by Moses, most probably by the latter from original sources. The Psalms are mainly from David, the remainder are from Ezra, Moses, and others. Proverbs, up to the thirtieth chapter, Eccle- siastes, and Canticles are by Solomon. The several books of the Prophets, by those whose names are attached to them. The Gospels were written severally by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John ; Luke wrote also the Acts of the Apostles. The Epistles to Eomans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Co- lossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus and Phile- mon, are beyond doubt Pauline ; the authorship of the Epistle to Hebrews is not definitely settled, but it is generally attributed to Paul. James the Less, the son of Alpheus, is believed to be the author of the Epistle of James. Peter is the author of the two bearing his name ; and the brother of James the Less, sometimes called Judas and Thaddeus, wrote the Epistle of Jude. Revelations were written by 3 26 INTRODUCTION". John. Eespecting the Canon, the historical evidence is very clear and conclusive. From Josephus, Philo, Melito and the Talmud, we learn that the Jewish Canon agrees precisely with our Old Testament Scriptures, exclusive of the Apocrypha. The Canon of the New Testament was fixed, as now received, at an early age of the Christian church. In the third century we have two complete catalogues of our sacred books, besides a distinct recognition of them in quotations and references by Cyprian, Yictorinus, Origen, and nearly forty others. In the second century we have references and quotations in the writings of Tertullian, Clemens Alexandrinus, Irenseus, Justin Martyr, and besides, the old Syriac and Italic versions, which fix the genuineness of the New Testament Scriptures up to that period. There have come down to us from the first century, Epistles of Polycarp, Ignatius and Clemens Eomanus, which contain formal quotations from, or distinct allusions to most of the New Tes- tament books ; sufficient proof that they were held to be genuine by the contemporaries and immediate successors of the Apostles.^ Independent of this and other external proof, there is such internal evidence of the genuineness of the several canonical books as to place their claims, in this respect, beyond all reasonable doubt. * Carpenter, Home, LarJner. INTRODUCTION. 27 VARIOUS READINGS. Among tlie old copies of the sacred books, pas- sages are sometimes found to read differently in different MSS. When it is difficult to determine which is the true reading, they are called various readings. "Infidels have endeavored to shake the faith of less informed Christians, b}^ raising objec- tions against the number of various readings. The unlettered Christian, however, need not be under any apprehension that they will diminish the cer- tainty of his faith. Of all the many thousand vari- ous readings that have been discovered, none have been found that affect our faith, or destroy a single moral precept of the Gospel. They are mostly of a minute and trifling nature : and by far the greatest number make no alteration whatever in the sensed * OMISSIONS. In describing certain events, it has happened that some of the writers have omitted facts which are noticed by others ; as in the Gospels, Matthew has related occurrences which are passed over in silence by the other Evangelists, and they, on the other hand, have recorded facts which he omits. These omissions have been treated by infidel writers as contradictions. But nothing could be more absurd, not to say dishonest, than such a course. That such differences should exist is perfectly natural. The disciples were not always together, and if they had been would not have seen with one pair of eyes ; nor * Ilorue. 26 INTRODUCTION. would tlie different circumstances in the same event have been equally impressed upon all their minds. There must, then, of necessity, be some such differ- ences in their several narratives as we now find in them. The same remarks are applicable in some degree to others of the sacred writers. But let it be borne in mind, that omissions are not contradictions, nor is silence concerning a fact a denial of it. If there were a perfect agreement among the inspired penmen, word for word and fact for fact, infidels would be quick to seize upon that as an indisputable evidence of collusion, and would reject the whole as a made up story. " If there had been an absolute harmony, even to the minutest point, I am persuaded that, on the principles of evidence in all such cases, many would have charged collusion on the writers, and have felt that it was a corroboration of the theory of the fictitious origin of these compositions. But as the case stands, the discrepancies, if the compositions be fictitious indeed, are only a proof that these men attained a still more wonderful skill in aping veri- similitude than if there had been no discrepancies at all. They have left in the historic portions of their narrative an air of general harmony, with an exquisite congruity in points which lie deep below the surface, — a congruity which they must be sup- posed to have known would astonish the world when once discovered; and have at the same time left certain discrepancies on. the surface (which criticism would be sure to point out), as if for the very pur- IXTRODUCTION. 29 pose of affording guarantees and vouchers against the suspicion of collusion ! The discords increase the harmony. Once more, I asked, could I believe Jeics^ Jews in the reign of Tiberius or Nero, equal to all these wonders?"'^ ANTHROPOMORPHISMS OF SCRIPTURE. It has been objected that the Bible often speaks of G-od as having "hands," "feet," "eyes," as mov- ing from place to place, as if invested with a human form, and possessing human passions, as "jealousy," " vengeance," &;c. And it has been assumed, from this, that the writers of the earlier books believed God to be a being of body and parts. Nothing could be more unjust than this. We could quote, from infidel writers, in prose and verse, passages liable to the same objection ; in which God is said to see, and Aear, -lorite his laics on nature^ im- press his ivill on the mijid, repaTation of the j^cissover was not a prepara- tion for the paschal lamb, but for Sabbath services. " Primarily and strictly, this ' preparation' or ' eve' would seem to have commenced not earlier than the ninth hour of the preceding day; as is implied, perhaps, in the decree of Augustus in favor of the Jews, where it is directed that they shall not be held to give pledges on the Sabbath, nor during the preparation before the same after the ninth hour; see Jos. Ant. 16, 7, 2. But in process of time the same Hebrew word for ' eve' or ' preparation' came in popular usage to be the distinctive name for the whole day before the Jewish Sabbath, i. e., for the sixth day of the week, or Friday."^' John xix. 34. — But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came thereout blood and water. There is very clear proof in this fact, that the crassamenium had separated from the serum in the ventricles of the heart, which fixes the certainty of Christ's death beyond controversy, and answers at once and forever all the rationalistic theories of the resurrection denying his death. John xxi. 24. — And there are also many * Robinson's Harmony, p. 202. JOHN. 159 other things which Jesus did, the which if they should be written every one, I. suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen. The truth of this has been stoutly denied, and ifc has been claimed that this, as a falsehood, invali- dates John's testimony in all else. Some suppose the passage to be spurious, and the work of some later hand. We confess we see little force in the reason given for that opinion ; besides, the text is found in the earliest copies. The use of hyperbolical language was very common in the east, and can not be greatly objected to. But is this a hyperbole ? John begins his gospel by set- ting forth Christ as " the Word" eternally " with God," and which " was God," " made flesh and dwelt among" us, and is it not literally true that the world could not contain the books which might be written of the works of him who made " all things," without whom " was not anything made that was made," wdio is "God over all, blessed forever." ACTS. Acts i. 12. — Then returned they unto Jeru- salem^ from the mount called Olivet. We should think, from this passage and context, that the ascension of Christ took place near Mount Olivet ; Luke says (xxiv. 50) it was near Bethany ; one of the roads between Jerusalem and Bethany lay around and the other over Mount Olivet, which solves the difficulty. Acts vii. 14. — Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, three-score and fifteen souls. In Gen. xlvi. 27, and Deut. x. 22, the number is fixed at 70. The text, no doubt, includes Joseph's father, his wife, two children and himself, making in all " three-score and fifteen" of the family, which settled in Egypt. Acts vii. 15. — So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers. 16. — And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor, the father of Sychem. (160) ACTS. 161 According to Gen. i. 18, Jacob was buried in Abraham's sepulchre in Hebron, therefore, the word fathers must be regarded as the sole subject of car- ried and laid in the text ; they^ and not Jacob, were buried at Sjchem or Shechem. Ex. xiii. 19 ; Jos. xxiv. 19. But Jacob, and not Abraham, bought the sepul- chre at Sj^chem, consequently, the text is inaccurate. The word Abraham may have been accidentally used for Jacob by some early copyist, or the word lought may have been used originally and imper- sonally, and Abra.ham placed in the text by a sub- sequent transcriber to supply a nominative supposed to be wanting. Lightfoot thinks two sepulchres were originally spoken of, and that some small words have been lost from the text. The existence of such an error, so easily ac- counted for, does not invalidate the authority of the whole book, by any means ; that the severe critical examination to which the Scriptures have been sub- jected, has discovered and corrected a few verbal mistakes, is presumptive proof that all such errors existing in the text have been detected, so tliere is no occasion for doubt or disputation. Acts. XXV. 13-18. — The conversion of Paul. In the several accounts given of this event, in this place, chap. ix. 3-8, and xxii. 6-11, there are these differences, — in one, all the attendants stand, in another, all fall — in one, they hear not the voice, but see the light, in another, they hear tJie voice, but 14^ 162 THE BIBLE DEFENDED AGAINST INFIDELITY. see no person. These discrepancies are easily re- moved. Even in the case of an uninspired author, a con- tradiction is not charged if a plausible method of reconciling two seemingly opposite statements exist ; and, certainly, the sacred writers are entitled to the same rule of judgment. 1. They heard the voice, ■?*. e., the tones or sound, according to one account, but did not hear or dis- tinguish, according to another, the words which were addressed to Paul. 2. They may have stood a moment stupified and then fell with increasing alarm, or they may have been struck down at first, and afterwards risen to stand in speechless terror. The difficulties, it will be seen, are not in the text, but in the construction which is sometimes put upon it. There are several facts in connection with this event, which may be properly brought out just here. 1. Paul was a man of extraordinary attainments. The relics of his genius which have come down to us, as well as contemporary history, prove him a man of superior talents. lie was also ardently attached to the religion of his fathers, zealously ob- servant of its rites and inveterately prejudiced to Christianity. 2. lie was suddenly, thoroughly, and supernatu- rally changed. It was a sudden change. It was reached by no long or tedious process of thought or feeling. He was thoroughly changed ; his intellect- ual and moral natures participated in that regenera- ACTS. 163 tion. The very things he abhorred, from the depths of his soul he now loved and advocated. He became the friend of those whom he before persecuted even to death. He was changed by supernatural causes. This is evident from the narrative, and to go behind the record and suppose something which it neither intimates or allows is meanly illiberal. His own tes- timony is also to the point. He could not be de- ceived. He was sufficiently intelligent to judge whether it was an electrical,* or other natural phe- nomenon, which struck him down on the road to Damascus. He could not have deceived others. He sacrificed his friends, his position in society, his prospects in life, his reputation (the greatest of all sacrifices to a noble mind), and subjected himself to persecutions, toils, "perils," and even death, in attestation of his sincerity. All suspicion of hypo- crisy is, therefore, precluded. Moreover, it would be absurdly unphilosophical to say material pheno- mena are capable of producing moral effects. This change then, in Paul, must have been wrought by supernatural power. 3. That power must have been divine. Evil agencies could not, and would not, if they could, produce such a change. Evil causes produce only evil effects. The sole conclusion is, therefore, irre- sistibly forced upon us — " this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes." * This is Paine's supposition. ROMANS. Eom. V. 8.-— Christ died for us. The doctrine of the atonement has met with much objection among infidels. It is alleged that " God would never make the innocent suffer for the guilty," therefore, this doctrine is incompatible with his jus- tice and goodness, and the book which gives it as a revelation from him is monstrously untrue. 1. " There are two ways of meeting this objection. The first is by taking account of the actual and po- sitive credentials which might be alleged on the side of this professed revelation as being a message from God ; its miracles, supported by the best and amplest of human testimony ; its prophecies, substantiated by the history, both of the anterior writings and their posterior fulfillments ; its many discernible sig- natures of goodness, and sacredness, and truth, as palpably standing forth in the pages of this record ; its minute and marvellous consistencies, both with itself and with contemporaneous authors, such as no impostor could ever have maintained ; above all, its felt adaptations to the wants, and fears, and longings of the human spirit, and the sense and perception of which are often given in answer to prayer, so as to constitute the evidence to an inquirer of a most (16i) EOMANS. 165 distinct and satisfying revelation to himself.""^ These constitute the great bulk and body of Chris- tian evidences, and they are founded on what we observe and can verify of the ways of men, or on what the characteristics of truth and falsehood are in human witnesses, human histories, and human experience. In the face of these evidences the truth of the Bible, and the doctrines it teaches, can not be successfully controverted. 2. We answer this objection in another way. Let it be understood that the Bible does not teach that God made the innocent suffer for the guilty, but that Christ voluntarily took upon himself our nature and " suffered, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." " ' God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth,' not, to be sure, in a speculative, but in a practical sense, ' that w^hosoever believeth in him should not perish:' gave his son in the same way of goodness to the world, as he affords particular persons the friendly assistance of their fellow creatures ; when, without it, their temporal ruin would be the certain conse- quence of their follies : in the same way of goodness, I say, though in a transcendent and infinitely higher degree. And the Son of God 'loved us, and gave himself for us,' with a love, which he himself com- pared to that of human friendship: though, in this case, all comparisons fall infinitely short of the thing intended to be illustrated by them." "And when, ■^ Chalmers. 166 THE BIBLE DEFENDED AGAINST INFIDELITY. in the daily course of natural providence, it is ap- pointed that innocent people should suffer for the faults of the guilty, this is liable to the very same objection, as the instance we are now considering." It is in this way that Butler shows the analogy of religion to the constitution and course of nature, and this sufficiently answers all objections to the doc- trine of the atonement; for an extended view of his argument, we refer to Part II., chap, v., of his incom- parable and unanswerable work. Kom. V. 12. — Wherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. It is asserted that carnivorous beasts existed in the pre-adamic age; that fossils of that age now found, embracing all grades of animals from the microscopic to the most gigantic, prove that death then reigned ; that death, from the beginning, was essential to the existing order of things, that "the mysterious principle of animal life is universally maintained by death." To all this the text imposes not the slightest ob- jection. It is the death of man only that is spoken of as brought about by sin. " Had his spiritual nature maintained its standing of love and obedience to God — its natural state — his physical nature would Lave continued to enjoy ^^re/enza/wraZ exemption ROMANS. 167 from the laws of pain and deatli belonging to the whole animal economy. But having brought him- self spiritually into an unnatural state, and so in- curred the threatened penalty of spiritual death, he "Was allowed to fall physically from a state of pre- ternatural exemption down to the pre-existing laws of animal suffering and death.""^ * Harris's Man Primeval. 1 CORINTHIANS. 1 Cor. XV. 5. — And that he was seen of Ce- phas, then of the twelve. It is true there were not twelve disciples present on the occasion referred to, but the word is used, not in a numerical sense, but as designating the body or college of apostles. Some MSS. read eleven in- stead of twelve. 2 COEINTHIANS. 2 Cor. xii. 16. — But be it so, I did not bur- den you : nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. The word ^^hut he it sOj^ and ^'- neverrtlieless^^^ show very clearly that the Apostle is using the language or charge of an accuser, and he admits the accusa- tion for the sake of argument simply. He does not confess the truth of the charge of craftiness, but concedes it so far only as to turn the point against his accuser; a very justifiable use of the argumen- tum ad hominem. (168) 2 TIMOTHY. 2 Tim. iv. 14. — Alexander, the coppersmith, did me much evil : the Lord reward him ac- cording to his works. This is not to be understood in the sense of a curse, which would be a violation of divine law, Tlie best authorities demand the passage to be translated in a declarative sense — " the Lord will reward him," &c. Most of the apparent impreca- tions found in the sacred writings, and given as the language of the writers, are to be understood as predictions of what shall occur to the wicked ; occa- sionally, however, they spoke in God's name and cursed by his authority. 15 (169) HEBREWS. Heb. ix. 3. — And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the holiest of all. 4. — Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was the golden pot, that iiad manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant. This is said to contradict 1 Kings viii, 9. " There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses pat there at Horeb." But these two passages refer to different times; the iirst to the lifetime of Moses, the second to the time of the dedication of the Temple by Solomon. Heb. xi. 31. — By faith the harlot Rahab perished not with them that believed not, when she had received the spies with peace. The word zonah^ in Hebrew, and pariie^ in Greek, which is here translated harlot^ should be rendered innkeeper. So also in Ja. ii. 25. (170) INDEX. -•♦*- A. PAGB Aaron, death and burial of, 99 Abel on the Jews, blood of, 142 Abiathar, the High Priest, 150 Abram's duplicity, 69 Agassiz's (Prof.) theory of the races, 59 Ahab and Micaiah, 115 Analogical reasoning, 42 Angels at the sepulchre, appearance of, 147 Animals, number of species, 65 Anointed, Christ's head and feet, 156 Anonymous books, 24 Answering a fool, 124 Anthropomorphisms of Scripture, 29 Appearances of Christ after his resurrection, 148 Ark, capacity of Noah's, 66 Ark of the Covenant, what it contained, 170 Ark, death of those who looked into the, 106 Ascension of Christ, where from, 160 Ass's head, meaning of, 118 Ass and colt taken by Christ, 141 Atmosphere, the first, 48 Atonement made by Christ, 165 Author of the Pentateuch, 24 (171) 172 INDEX. B. PAGE Back parts, meaning of, 84 Balaam, God's anger against, 90 Baptize, Jesus did not, 155 Bears, (See Children,) 117 Beginning of creation, date of the, 39 Blindness of Jacob, 74 Books, anonymous, 24 Borrowing jewels of the Egyptians, the Israelites, 81 Breach of promise, meaning of, 90 Butler, quoted, 23, 157 C. Cain's wife, 61 Calf, golden, made by Aaron, 84 Calves, golden, set up by Jeroboam, IIS Canaanitish woman, Christ's address to the, 140 Canaanites, destruction of the, 97 Canaanites, dwelled in the land, 70 Canon of Scripture, 26 Captive women, treatment of, 91 Chaos, proofs of a, 40 Chariots of iron, 104 Children torn by bears, 117 Children of Bethlehem slain, 137 Christ, a Nazarene, 137 Christ, picture of, 36 Christ came not to send peace, 138 Christ, certainty of the death of, 158 Christ, resurrection of, 145 Circumcision omitted in the wilderness, 102 Coasts of Magdala, 140 Coasts of Bethlehem, 137 Common origin of all men, 58-68 Confusion of tongues, 68 Conscience does not prove the existence of God, 14 Contradictions not in the Bible, 143 IKDEX. 173 PAGE Conversion of Paul, ^ 161 Crafty, how used by Paul, 1G8 Creation, narrative of optical, 43 Curses by God's servants, 169 Curse of the fig tree, 141 Curse of the serpent, 55 Cyrenius was governor, taxing before, 151 D. Dan, • 70 Day, the first, 44 Death in the pre-adamic earth, 166 Death of Moses, 101 Death of Christ, certain, .' 158 Deluge, proofs of a universal, 64 Difficulties of Scripture classified, 9 Difficulties of Scripture, sources of the, 7 Disciples, interview of Christ with the two, 154 Documentary theory, 32 Dove's dung, meaning of, 118 Dust shalt thou eat, meaning of, 56 E. Earthquake at Christ's resurrection, 148 Ecclesiastes, 25, 125 Edom, kings of, 73 EloMm document, 33 Epistles, authors of the, 25 Errors in ancient records, 58 Esau's wives, names of, 73 Esther, author of the book of, 25 Eve, the mother of all living, 58 Evidences of Christianity, 164 Evil, the Lord creates, what, 128 Evil, origin of moral, 54 15* 174 INDEX. F. PAGE Fabulous miracles, evidence for, 23 Faith, salvation by, 164 Famine in Israel, 152 Fathers visited upon the children, sins of the, 83 Firkins, meaning of, 155 Fool, answering a, 124 Fragmentary theories, » 32 G. Genealogies of Christ, . . .*. 133 Genealogical table, 136 Genuineness of the Pentateuch, 34 Geology, condition of, as a science, 41 Geology does not teach the mysteries of creation, 42 Geological theories, 34, 50 Giants in the earth, 62 God, origin of the idea of, * . 12 God, nature's teachings of, imperfect, 15 God resting from his labors, 52 God, image of, 52 God tempteth no man, 72 God the proprietor of life, 106 God, no man hath seen, 154 God's heart, a man after, 107 Gold, talent of, meaning uncertain, 108 Golden calf made by Aaron, 84 Golden calves set up by Jeroboam, 118 Guile, hov*^ used by Paul, 168 H. Harlot, meaning of, 170 Harmony, want of absolute, 28 Harrows of iron, the people put under, 109 Hating father, &c., meaning of, 153 Hebron, names of, 72 Hebron, death of the king of, 103 INDEX. 175 PAGE Herod Philip, 151 Herod the Great, sons of, 151 Hilkiah finds a book of Moses, 122 Historical truth of the Bible, 6 Human sacrifices forbidden, 87 I. Idolatry punished with death, .' 96 Image of God, meaning of, 52 Immorality of the Bible, 21 Imprecations by God's servants, 169 Infidelity, position of, 5 Iniquity of the fathers visited upon the children, 83 Interpolations, i 95 Isaac, offering of, 72 J. Jacob, where buried, 161 Jebusites in Jerusalem, 103 Jehovah, how used, 75 Jehovah document, 33 Jephtha's vow, 104 Jeremiah accused of duplicity, 128 Jerusalem taken by the king of Babylon, 120 Jewish ritual, design of, 85 Joab, punishment of, 112 Job, author of the book of, 25 John's raiment and meat, 138 John's inquiries of Christ, 139 Jonah swallowed by a fish, 131 Jordan, this side, meaning of, 94 Joseph's kindred in Egypt, 161 Joseph, the son of Heli, 152 Jotham, the reign of, 119 Judas, the death of, 143 Jude, author of the book of, 25 176 INDEX. King of Hebron, death of the, 103 Kings of Edom, 73 Kings, author of the book of, 25 L. Lazarus, death of, 156 Letters, origin of, among the Hebrews, 100 Light created, 47 Locusts eaten, 138 Longevity of the ancients, 62 Lord, the term applied to man, 153 Lot's wife, 71 Lot's daughters, 71 M. Man, creation of, 53 Man a religious being, 10 Man of God at Bethel, 114 Magdala, coasts of, 140 Magicians, enchantments of, 78 Massacre of the children, 137 Meekness of Moses, 89 Methuselah's age, 62 Micaiah and Ahab, 115 Mighty works not wrought because of unbelief, 140 Miracles, definition of, 78 Miracles, Voltaire's objection to, 79 Miracles, Hume's objection to, 79 Miracles of Moses, 78 Mosaic account of creation agrees with science, 50 Moses's father-in-law, 75 Moses's death, 101 Mountain, the devil takes Christ to a, 138 Mysteries of the Bible, 20 Mythical theory of Straus, 35 INDEX. 177 N. PAGE Naked, Isaiah did not walk, 127 Naaman going to the house of Rimmon, 118 Naming of all creatures, 54 Narrative of creation, optical, 43 Nature's teachings of God imperfect, 15 Nature teaches no perfect rule of life, 17 Nazarene, Christ called a, 137 Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, - 129 Necessity of Revelation, 10 Number of living species of animals, 65 Numbering of Israel, 109 0. Object of Christ's coming, 138 Omissions, 27 Olivet, Christ's ascension from, 160 Origin of the idea of God, 12 P. Parable, meaning of, 139 Parental power among the ancients, 99 Passover, preparation of the, 158 Paul's conversion, 161 Peace, Christ sends not, 138 Penalty of the first sin, 56 Penalties, design of severe, 87, 96 Pentateuch, genuineness of, 34 Pharaoh's heart hardened, 76 Piercing of Christ's side, 158 Picture of Christ, 36 Pillar of salt, 71 Plague, 24,000 slain by, 91 Pool of Bethesda, 155 Position of infidelity, 5 Potter's field, who purchased, 143 Presence of the Lord, meaning of, 61 178 INDEX. PAOB Proverbs, author of, 25 Psalms, author of, 25 K. Races, Prof. Agassiz's theory of the, 59 Readings, various, 27 Reasoning, analogical, 42 Red Sea, passage of the, 82 Rebellious son, treatment of the, 99 Repentance affirmed of God, 63 Resurrection of Christ, 145 Revelation, necessity of, 10, 11 Revelation a fact, 10 Revelation, author of the book of, 25 Robe, scarlet, 144 Rule of life, nature teaches no perfect, 17 S. Sabbath, law of the, 46 Sacrifice, mercy and not, 130 Salvation by faith, 164 Saul's death, 108 Saws, the people put under, 109 Scarlet robe, 144 Scripture difficulties, sources of, 7 . Scripture difficalties classified, 9 Sepulchre of Christ, angels at the, 147 Serpent, curse of the, 55 Shadow brought backward, 119 Shimei, David's directions concerning, 112 Signs of believing, 150 Sin, penalty of the first, 56 Sojourning of Israel in Egpyt, . /. 82 Son, treatment of a rebellious, 99 Sons of God, meaning of, 63 Stalls of horses, Solomon's, 115 INDEX. 179 PAGE Stars of heaven for number, Israel as the, 95 Steward, unjust, commended, 153 Straus, mythical theory of, 35 Sun, creation of the, 49 Sun standing still, 102 T. Taxing before Cyrenius, 151 Temptation of Christ, 138 Testimony, character of, 22 Thieves railing at Christ, 144 Third hour, Christ crucified at the, 157 Third person, use of, by Moses, 31 Threshing floor bought by David, 121 Time of Christ's resurrection, 147 Traditions of a deluge, 67 Tree of life, 54 Twelve, the meaning of, 168 U. Unity of the races, 58, 68 V. A^'arious readings, 27 Virgin, son of the, 126 W. Water turned to wine, 154 Wine cheereth God, 104 Witches punished with death, 83 Wives multiplying, 96 Works of Christ, many, 158 Writers of the canonical books, 25 Writing, modes of, in the time of Moses, 100 Z. Zacharias, death of, 142 BS530 .B858 The Bible defended against the Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 1 1012 00037 6980