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Page 63
The established maxim of these schools was, that it was not lawful
only, but commendable to deceive, and assert falsehoods for the
sake of promoting what they considered as the cause of truth and
piety, and the effects of this maxim, which was fully acted upon by
both orthodox Christians, and heretics, produced a multiplicity of
false, and spurious writings wherewith the second century
abounded.
Nay, they did not spare from the operation of this maxim, the
scriptures themselves. For they stuffed their copies of the
Septuagint with a number of interpolated pretended prophecies
concerning Jesus, and his death upon the cross; forgeries as weak,
and contemptible, and clumsy in themselves, as they were impious
and wicked. Whoever desires to see a number of them; may find
them in the dispute, or dialogue of Justin with Trypho the Jew;
where he will see the simple Justin bringing them out passage after
passage against the stubborn Israelite, who contents himself with
coolly answering, that these marvellous prophecies were not to be
found in his Hebrew bible!
There is also another well known, incontrovertible proof of the
deceit and falsehood of the leading Christians of early times, of
which every person in the least conversant with the ecclesiastical
history of those times must be convinced--their pretended power
of working miracles! On this subject I shall say nothing, but refer
the reader to the work of Dr. Middleton already mentioned, for an
ample account of their lying wonders, which they imposed as
miraculous upon the simple people.
With regard to the internal evidence for the authenticity of the
writings; composing the New Testament, it is still less satisfactory
than the external evidence. And this may be well believed, when
the reader is informed that the great Semler, after spending his life
in the study of ecclesiastical history; and antiquities, which he is
allowed to have understood better than any before him, affirmed to
his astonished coreligionists, that, except the Gospel of John, and
the Apocalypse, the whole New Testament was a collection of
forgeries written by the partizans of the Jewish and Gentile parties
in the Christian church, and entitled apostolic, in order the better to
answer their purpose. This opinion has been in part adopted in
England, by a learned and shrewd clergyman named Evanson, who
has almost demonstrated, that the Greek Gospel of Matthew was
written in the second century after the birth of Jesus by a Gentile.
For he proves that it could not be written by a Jew, on account of
geographical mistakes, and manifest ignorance of Jewish customs.
He also gives good reasons for rejecting the authenticity of some
of the epistles. In short, he has poured such a flood of light upon
the eyes of his terrified brethren, as will, ere long, no doubt enable
them to see a little clearer than heretofore.
He gives several instances of geographical blunders in Matthew. I
shall mention only one. Matthew says, in the 2nd chapter, that
when Joseph, the husband of Mary, returned from Egypt, �hearing
that Archelaus reigned in Judea, he was afraid to go thither, and
therefore turned aside, into the parts of Galilee.� Now this, as will
appear from a map of Palestine, is just like saying, �a man at
Philadelphia, intending to go to the State of New York, on his route
heard something which made him afraid to go thither, and
therefore he turned aside--into Boston!�
That the author of that Gospel was ignorant of Jewish customs will
be evident from the following circumstances. He says Jesus told
Peter, that before the cock crew he would deny him thrice; and that
afterwards, when Peter was cursing and swearing, saying �I know
not the man! immediately the cock crew.� Now it is unfortunate
for the credit of this story, that it is well known, that in conformity
with Jewish customs, at that time subsisting, no cocks were
allowed to be in Jerusalem, where Jesus was apprehended. This is
known, and acknowledged by learned Christians, who have
extricated themselves from this difficulty, by proving that the
crowing of the cock, here mentioned, does not mean, as it appears
to mean, absolutely the crowing of a cock, but that it means--what
dost thou think reader? why it means---the sound of a trumpet!!*
According to Luke, as soon as Jesus was dead, Joseph of
Arimathea went to Pilate, and begged his body, and hasted to bury
it, because the Sabbath (which began at sunset,) drew on; that his
female disciples attended the burial; observed how the body was
placed in the sepulchre, and returned and prepared spices and
ointments to embalm it with, before the Sabbath commenced; and
then rested the Sabbath day, according to the commandment.
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