The Evidences of Christianity in Their External Or Historical Division

And prayer, earnestly recommended as necessary to this investi-

The study of the evidences of Christianity may be brief or extended,
according as the object is simply conviction; or, in addition to that,
the pleasure of collecting all the various lights which may be con-
centrated on this subject.

The evidences are of two general classes, namely, external, or histor-

ical, and internal,

A brief account of what each head includes,

The present course of lectures confined to the external.

The complete treatment of this division would begin with the neces-

sity of a divine revelation, as the history of mankind exhibits it, 58

We begin with the AUTHENTICITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT,

Difference between authenticity and credibility, as used in these lec-

tures,

The question is, How does it appear that the several parts of the New

Testament were written by the men to whom they are ascribed, the

original disciples of Christ, and are therefore authentic?

The same course pursued as in ascertaining the authenticity of any

other book,

A general sketch of the argument,

The books of the New Testament are quoted, or alluded to, by a series

of writers, who may be followed up in unbroken succession from the

present age to that of the apostles,

This shown by reference to catalogues, etc., from the fourth century
to the age of the apostles,
65-75

Particulars included in the above which require a more special notice.

1. The books of the New Testament, when quoted or alluded to, are

treated with supreme regard, as possessing a singular authority,

and as conclusive in questions of religion,

2. They were united at a very early period in a distinct volume,. 76

3. They were at a very early period publicly read and expounded in

the churches,

4. Commentaries were written on them, harmonies constructed,

copies diligently compared, and translations made into different

languages,

5. The agreement of the ancient churches as to what were the

authentic books of the New Testament was complete, . . 79

6. There was as entire an agreement among the heretics of the earliest

centuries as among the orthodox,

7. These several heads of evidence cannot be pretended to be in
favor of any apocryphal scriptures,

Six evidences of spuriousness, all of which are found in the apocryphal

scriptures, none of them in the New Testament,

Confirmation given by the existence of apocryphal writings to the

claims of the New Testament,

Lesson to the believer from what has been exhibited,

LECTURE III.

AUTHENTICITY AND INTEGRITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, 89

From the tenor of the preceding lecture, it is evident that the canon

of the New Testament was not made without the most intelligent and

careful investigation,

This further appears from the numerous catalogues that have come

down to us,

. 91

From the pains taken to procure information, and the decisive censure

with which an attempt to pass a spurious book was visited, . 91

The gradual steps by which the canon was completed afforded the

best opportunity for the settlement of the claim of any book to

authenticity,

Some remarks concerning the formation of the canon of the New

Testament,

The canonical authority of the epistle to the Hebrews, of James, the

second of Peter, the second and third of John, of Jude, and of the

book of Revelation,

The testimony of the adversaries of Christianity, .

The preceding evidence confirmed by a reference to

The language and style of the books of the New Testament.

98-105

105

1. They are in perfect accordance with the local and other circum-

stances of the reputed writers,

110

2. They are in perfect harmony with the known characters of the

reputed writers,

115

The result is, that if the books of the New Testament be not authen-

tic, nothing less than a miracle can account for their early and uni-

versal currency,

116

On the INTEGRITY of these books, that they have undergone no mate-

rial alteration, we reason,

1. From the perfect impossibility of any material alteration,

2. From the agreement among the existing manuscripts,

3. From the agreement of the text with the numerous quotations in

the works of early Christian writers, and with ancient transla-

tions,

127

LECTURE IV.

CREDIBILITY OF THE GOSPEL HISTORY,

129

A book may be authentic and not credible,

Aim of this lecture to prove that what the gospel history relates as

matter of fact is worthy of reliance as such, independently of all'

inferences or doctrines connected therewith,

130

The credibility of the gospel history ascertained precisely like that of

any other history,

130

The peculiarity of the present case such as that, having proved the

authenticity of the books containing the gospel history, we have

proved the credibility of the history,

But a broader plan of argument is taken :

€ 130

A general view of the proof of credibility. The two points to be

made out in relation to any historical document are competent

knowledge and trustworthy honesty in the writer,

134

I. The writers of the gospel history had opportunities of possessing

adequate knowledge as to those matters of fact which they re-

lated,

138

II. There is abundant evidence that they were too honest to relate any

thing but truth,

139

1. The narratives are in a high degree circumstantial,

2. The authors manifest no consciousness of narrating any thing

about which, as a matter of fact, there was the smallest doubt, 142

3. There is a minute accuracy in all the allusions to the manners,

customs, opinions, political events, etc., of the times,

144

4. The argument greatly strengthened by considering the New

Testament as a collection of writings by eight perfectly independent

authors,

146

The consideration that the writers of the gospels were disciples and

ministers of Christ should be regarded as strengthening their testi-

mony,

147

Absurd consequences of supposing them not to have been sincere in

their statements,

152

5. The gospel history has all the testimony that could possibly have

been expected, in the nature of things, from the enemies of Chris-

tianity,

. 155

It was utterly impossible that the gospel history should have gained

such currency as it had in the apostles' time, had it not been

Authenticity of the books, and credibility of the history contained

therein, being ascertained, we are prepared to open the contents of

the New Testament. The first thing we perceive is, that it pro-

fesses to teach a divinely revealed religion, and the question is,

What are the evidences that the religion contained in the New Testa-

ment is a divine revelation?

. . 164

The Lord Jesus Christ constantly appealed to miracles for his creden-

tials as an ambassador from God, .

165

166

The sufficiency of miracles as credentials, when well attested, acknow-

ledged by infidels,

Reasons for not proceeding directly to the proof of such creden-

tials,

. 166

The present lecture devoted to certain preliminary considerations.

1. There is nothing unreasonable or improbable in the idea of a miracle

being wrought in proof of a divine revelation,

167

2. If miracles were wrought in attestation of the mission of Christ and

his apostles, they can be rendered credible to us by no other evidence

than that of testimony,

170

3. Miracles are capable of being proved by testimony,

Hume's argument against miracles, in proof of a divine revelation,

stated and answered, .

172

173

4. The testimony in proof of the miracles of the gospel has not dimin-

ished in force by the increase of age,

189

5. In being called to examine the credibility of these miracles by the
evidence of testimony, we are more favorably situated than if we had
been enabled to subject them to the evidence of the senses,

The whole truth exhibited in this lecture calls us to adore the wisdom

Have we satisfactory evidence that genuine miracles were wrought

by the Lord Jesus Christ and his apostles?

200

This question is settled by the proof of credibility.

Another line of argument adopted.

The religion of the Bible is the only one which, in its first introduc-

tion, appealed to miracles for evidence of the divine authority of its

teachers,

205

1. Supposing the works related of Christ to have actually occurred,

many of them must have been genuine miracles, .

2. The alleged miracles of Christ were such as admitted at once of

the test of the senses,

3. They were performed in the most public manner,

4. They were very numerous and of great variety,

206

. 207

208

5. The success was in every instance instantaneous and complete, 210

6. There is no evidence of an attempt on the part of Christ or his

apostles to perform a miracle, in which they were accused of a

failure,

210

7. The length of time during which they professed to perform mirac-

ulous works,

212

8. Their works underwent the most rigid examination from those who

had every opportunity of ascertaining their character,

213

9. Their adversaries had every advantage in the fact that these

miracles were published and appealed to immediately after, and in

the places where they occurred,

214

10. These arguments derive important aid from a consideration of

the agents whose works were subjected to such scrutiny,

217

11. None of those who were eye-witnesses of what Jesus or his apos-

tles wrought, were ever induced to confess themselves deceived, or

that they had ever seen any thing but truth in those miraculous

gifts by which they had been persuaded to embrace the gospel, 217

12. The character of the miracles themselves,

220

13. Evidence from the primitive adversaries of Christianity, . 222

14. Testimony of all who were converted to Christianity.
testimony shown to be stronger than that of adversaries,
The absurdities which must be believed by those who maintain that
the miracles were fictions, and consequently, that their authors
were deceivers,