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HAND-BOOK

OF

Christian Evidence;

OR

FACTS AGAINST INFIDELITY.

BY
LAURENCE W. SCOTT.

REVISED EDITION.

ST. LOUIS:
JOHN BURNS, Publisher.
1884.

Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year of our Lord 1880, by
LAURENCE W. SCOTT,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

REVISED EDITION.
Entered according- to Act of Congress, A. D. 1SS4, by
LAURENCE W. SCOTT,
In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
MU47 #fc"0sc

PREFACE TO REVISED EDITION.

rHEN the first edition of this work appeared,
the author expected it to be thoroughly criti
cised ; which would enable him the better to
revise and improve it; but, to his astonish
ment, it never met with an adverse criticism. All
press notices and reviews (hardly excepting the one to
which we publish a rejoinder) were highly complimen
tary. Nevertheless, the author has thought best to
spend several years in revising the work, with the view
of making all possible improvements. Having accom
plished this purpose in a manner highly satisfactory,
he now comes before the public with an electrotype
edition.
Laurence W. Scott.
717 Olive Street, St. Louis, Mo.
January 1st, A. D. 1884.

(iii)

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.

"F any skeptic honestly disbelieves the Bible and
the religion therein revealed, it must be for the
want of evidence — no one has a right to reject
afo it from any other consideration — therefore, I pro
pound to all such three questions : —
1. What evidence would it require lo convince
you? 2. What evidence has been adduced?
3. In case the religion of Jesus were true, what
evidence could be adduced in its favor that has not been
adduced? Before any book should be received as a satisfactory
refutation of " Christianity," it should,
First, define clearly the proof necessary to establish
the claims of such an institution.
Second, set forth fully, clearly and concisely all the
proof that has ever been adduced in its favor.
Third, show conclusively that the proof adduced is
either insufficient or irrelevant.
Such a task has never been attempted, much less
accomplished. 00

CONTENTS.

INTRODUCTION.

Increase of Infidelity — Object of this Work Three-
Fold : To Aid Preachers, Strengthen Believers,
and Convince Skeptics 

9-19

PAET FIRST.
divine origin of the bible.
CHAPTER I.
Approximate Proof of the Divine Origin of the Bible
in General — Its Three-Fold Analogy to Nature
— Their Simplicity and Profundity — Their Unity
and Harmony — Their Adaptation to Man . . 23-40
[Note.— "The Sceptre shall not depart from Judah"— 30]

CHAPTER II.
Conclusive Proof of the Divine Origin of the Old
Testament — Fulfilled Prophecies — Seven Speci
fications — Nineveh — Ammon and Moab — Philis
tines and their Cities — Babylon — Dispersion of
the Jews — Desolation of the Holy Land — Preser
vation and Perpetuity of the Jews ....

41-99

CHAPTER in.
Conclusive Proof of the Divine Origin of the New
Testament — Fulfilled Prophecies — Three Speci
fications — Popery — Spiritualism — Avowed Infi
delity — The Three Great Enemies of Christ's
Kingdom  (vii)

100-157

Viii CONTENTS.
PAET SECOND.
divine origin of the christian religion,
CHAPTER I.

pages.

Credibility of the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles
— Proved According to Well Established Prin
ciples of Evidence — Testimony of Friends — Tes
timony of Enemies— Circumstantial Evidence . 161-236
CHAPTER H.
The Resurrection of Jesus Proved .... 237-254
CHAPTER IH.
Circumstances Corroborating Christ's Claims — Jesus
the summum bonum of the world — the centre-
Stance Around which Circumstances Revolve.
Events Before his Coming Point Forward to Him ;
While Events Since, Point Back to Him . . . 255-289
CONCLUSION.
God — Miracles — Objections  290-296
APPENDIX. A.
The Controverted Passage of Josephus . . . 299-302
B.
Martyrdom of Apostles  302-315
C.
Infidel Review and Reply  315-341

INTRODUCTION.

f'HE increase of Infidelity, and the fact that it is
becoming popularized, would afford sufficient
apology, if any were needed, for offering to the
^ public, at this time, a work on the evidences of
our holy religion. That skepticism, in its various forms
and phases, has been on the increase for the past de
cade, is undeniable. Even during a longer period, its
prevalence has been attracting the attention of " watch
men upon the walls of Zion," both in the Old "World
and in the New.
As early as 1863, an English writer, Mr. Froude,
said: "At this moment a general doubt is coming up,
like a thunder storm against the wind, and blackening
the sky."
In 1865, Prof. Hurst wrote: "There was a time
when rationalism was a theme of interest to the Pro
testant church of Germany alone. But that day is
now past. * * * It has assumed an importance
which should not be overlooked by * * * Ameri
can thinkers."
As early 1865, Prof. Fisher told us : " The compara
tive strength of the Infidel party in our times, is under
rated by not a few, even of Christian teachers. * * *
(ix)

X INTRODUCTION.
They are not awake to the subtler form which skepti
cism has assumed. They fail to see that * * *
it is diffused like an atmosphere. They are not aware
how widely the seeds of unbelief are scattered through
books and journals, which find a hospitable reception
even in Christian families."
About the same time, MacPherson, of Scotland,
wrote : ' ' This contest respecting the foundation of
religious belief, is not confined, as it used generally to
be, within certain circles of speculative men. The
press, now so powerful in its influence, has involved rich
and poor, learned and unlearned, in this great con
flict." " Thus from day to day," as De Pressense says, " a
form of skepticism is being developed, which * * *
is in the very air we breathe ; it finds its way into the
lightest publication ; the novel and the journal vie
with each other in its diffusion ; short review articles,
skilled in giving grace and piquancy to erudition, fur
nish it with arguments, which appear weighty. * * *
Such a condition of things is critical, and calls for
grave and special consideration. If those who are
convinced of the divinity of Christianity, slumber on
in false and fatal security, they must be prepared to
pay dearly for their slothfulness, and the church and
mankind — which have need of each other — will pay
for it dearly, also. The voice of skepticism will alone
be heard, and the sweeping assertions of unbelief will
pass for axioms."

INTRODUCTION. xi
We might give examples of similar declarations
made in 1866, such as the statement of Mr. Liddon,
that " no one who hears what is going on in daily con
versation, and who is moderately conversant with the
tone of some of the leading organs of public opinion,
can doubt the existence of a widespread unsettlement
of religious belief."
In 1867, President Milligan wrote: " It is painful
to see the popular indifference that is everywhere mani
fested for the word of God." Although the goodness
of his nature, and the broad charity that filled his
heart, and shown so brightly in his life, caused him to
dissent from the view that the Holy Scriptures were
losing their influence on mankind, he sadly penned the
following: "But, nevertheless, their influence is very
Little in comparison with what it ought to be."
We find the Bishop of Gloucester and Bristol, C. J.
Ellicott, speaking, in 1870, of " the current forms of
unbelief among the educated classes ; " of " the skepti
cism and unbelief, which for the last few years, have
been distinctly traceable in all clases ; " and, again,
"of those in the lower grades of society who are ex
posed to the thickening dangers arising from that
organized diffusion of infidel principles, which is one
of the saddest and most monitory signs of the present
time." Later yet, the Bishop of Winchester says: " Doubt
is everywhere. Skeptical suggestions are wrapped up
in narrative ; they bristle in * * * essays ; they

Xll INTRODUCTION.
color our physical philosophy ; they mingle themselves
with our commonplace theology itself."
In 1871, President Hinsdale stated " the supreme
religious question of the age," to be this: "What
shall we do, then, with Jesus, which is called
Christ?" He then adds: "How deeply Christen
dom is stirred by this query, is apparent even to the
superficial observer. The press of the Old World
teems with publicationsseeking to answer it ; likewise
the press of the New ; while in both worlds the lecture-
rooms and pulpit resound with noisy debate. The
voices are not harmonious ; they do not unite in a song
of praise to our Lord Jesus Christ ; so far from it, they
represent every shade of belief and unbelief; they
are too discordant to blend."
In 1872, in a speech delivered at Liverpool College,
Prime Minister Gladstone said : —
" On an occasion like tMs, I should not have desired, my young
friends, to dwell in a marked manner on the trials you will have to
encounter. But the incidents of the time are no common incidents ;
and there is one among them so obtrusive, that youth cannot long
enjoy its natural privilege of unacquaintance with the mischief, but at
the same time so formidable that youth really requires to be fore
warned against the danger. I refer to the extraordinary and boast
ful manifestation in this age of ours, and especially in the year
which is about to close, of the extremest forms of unbelief."
About the same time, Mr. Fowle, a minister in the
Church of England, wrote : —
"We cannot foresee the exact influence of scientific discovery
upon the religious faith of the future. * * * But it is clear that
once more men will be brought face to face with the deepest ques
tions of religious belief, and it is melancholy Indeed to notice the
absolute ignorance of popular religionism, and its popular leaders

INTRODUCTION. Xlll
as to the true nature of the approaching crisis. That Mr. Darwin's
last book [The Descent of Man'} should surprise the religious world
in the midst of a hot fight about articles and rubrics, disestablish
ment and vestment, is sadly ominous of the result of the battle."
And, with a true view of the situation, the Duke of
Somerset declares that "the differences of Christian
sects lose their significance in comparison with far
deeper questions which are attracting the notice of
educated society."
In 1873, Augustus Blauvelt wrote: —
" Since 1865, all the more thoughtful and scholarly forms of
trans-atlantic unbelief have been crosbing over to our shores through a
thousand different channels, — books, periodicals, living advocates,
the constant intercourse of nations, and the like, — and by the ar
rival of almost every ship and steamer.
"H American Christians — if American Christian lawyers and
statesmen and men of letters, and other secular leaders of this pub
lic mind, as well as the American Christian clergy — do not wish
ten years from now to be doing precisely what all such classes of
Christians are this instant doing in Europe — that is, do not wish
to be running hither and thither, wringing their hands and their
hearts together at the fearful extent of the already blackened
desolation, and almost wildly endeavoring to save the Christian
faith and system from a still further wreck and ruin; then some
thing must be done by all these friends of Christ among us ; and
something must be done by them intelligently, promptly and effi
ciently." During all this while many ominous facts have come
within the purview of every one's- vision. Notably
prominent among these, was the hearty reception given
the Infidel scientist Tyndall, when he visited this
country. Apropos to this, the works of Darwin, Hux
ley, Spencer, and other anti-christian scientific leaders of
trans-atlantic thought, have been, for several years
past, scattered broadcast among the masses of reading
and thinking Americans. Not only so, but Prof. Fiske,

XIV INTRODUCTION.
of Harvard, a disciple of Spencer and Darwin, has, for
months together, had the columns of one of the principal
New York dailies placed at his disposal, through which
to disseminate the seeds of Atheism, under the guise
of philosophy.
Nor is this all, but avowed Infidel works have been
profusely scattered through Europe and America,
" Thick as autumnal leaves that strew the brooks ol Vallombrosa."
Furthermore, the most insidious literature is circu
lated, and every available occasion made use of for the
purpose of foisting upon an unsuspecting public, the
most seductive and poisonous Infidelity. An infidel
tract was once handed me, headed llAre You a Chris
tian?" At the close, it had the phrase, " American
Tract Society," in very large letters ; but just above,
it had the words " not by," in very small letters. I
sometimes see, in the homes of Christians, a large
gilded and finely ornamented volume, entitled " Crea
tor and Cosmos," which costs $5.00. This attractive
volume, although purporting to be a religious work,
is leavened with the rankest kind of Infidelity. In
1877, Pres. Braden, who has made Skepticism in
its various forms and phases, a subject of observation
and reflection, wrote as follows: —
"Lectures and publications on scientific topics are continually
assaulting every religious sentiment; scientific associations and
their anniversaries are used, on account of the eclat that the occa
sion will give the speaker, to flaunt in the face of the religious
world the baldest Infidelity, and to scout the fundamental prin
ciples of religion." — Problem of Problems, page 93.

INTRODUCTION. XV
Then, be it remembered, the Infidels are organizing
themselves into clubs wherever a group of them can be
assembled together, and in some places, they meet
regularly for the promotion of their obnoxious cause.
And Infidel periodicals are published, and scattered
broadcast over the land, from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, and from the Lakes to the Gulf. A computa
tion of the infidel, semi-infidel, and spiritualistic papers
in the United States and the British Dominions, would
startle those who have heretofore given the subject no
consideration. It is hardly too much to say " their
name is legion ! ' '
If any further evidence is needed to show that Infi
delity is becoming popularized, it is found in the fact
that speakers are paid a good salary to travel from
city to city, and lecture against the Bible and religion.
What means the applause which greets such men as
Ingersoll, wherever they deal out their blasphemous
denunciations against God and the Bible ? Does it not
show that Infidelity is permeating the masses? There
is, in too many places, a latent skepticism that only
requires the bold utterances of some reckless adven
turer, who neither regards God nor man, to bring it
into full activity.
The very erroneous idea prevails, in some sections,
among the uninformed, that Christians cannot cope with
Infidels ; that religion " is a pretty good thing," but will
not stand the crucible of investigation . They look upon
Christianity about as they look upon homeopathy —

XVI INTRODUCTION.
think if it does no goodj it can do no great harm ;
but, that it possesses no virtue, no efficacious qualities.
For this very fallacious view of the subject, ministers
are to some extent responsible, because they have
given too little attention to the subject ; because they
have too often evaded discussion ; and because they have
neglected to make the truth stand out in bold relief
that Christianity is a religion of fact; that it rests
upon incontrovertible facts — facts attested by the very
best and most reliable historic testimony in existence.
Our religious teachers should show a bold front, and
evince that they are ready to defend the truth " against
all comers and goers." They should plant themselves
squarely upon the Rock of Ages, and defiantly exclaim,
in the language of James Fitz-James : —
" Come one, come all! this rock shall fly
From its firm base as soon as 1 1 "
In view of the foregoing considerations, I have never
refused to meet Infidels in the arena of public discus
sion, when called upon to do so. And in view of those
considerations, I now come before the public with a
work on "Christian Evidence." I fully indorse the
sentiment of Walter Scott: —
" So long as man requires to be enlightened on the proposition of
Christianity, so long will it be useful and necessary to handle its
evidence and reason upon it. It has been said, that he who cannot
reason upon religion is a fool, he who will not reason upon it is a
bigot, and he who dare not reason is a coward. Let us, then, be
neither fools, bigots, nor cowards. Books on evidence are always
in order." — Great Demonstration, p. 18.

INTRODUCTION. XVU
Many contributions to the various divisions of apol
ogetics have been written, by such men as Lardner,
Paley, Watson, Newton, Keith, Alexander, Baxter,
Bolton, Walker, Doddridge, Newcomb, Gaussen, Gro
tius, Buchanan, Butler, Blount, Leslie, Jenyns, West,
Clark, Lyttleton, Greenleaf, Horne, Chalmers, Rog
ers, Sharpe, Simpson, Taylor, Mcllvane, McCosh,
Campbell, Scott, Milligan, Wickens, Schaff, Haldane,
Channing, Christlieb, De Pressense, Smith, Challen,
Hinsdale, Braden and Dungan.* But notwithstanding
the world has been favored with those, and other able
and invaluable works, bearing directly and indirectly
upon the subject of Christian evidence, my experience
in debating with Infidels has impressed the conviction
that another and somewhat different work was needed —
a work which might appropriately be called, "A
Hand-book of Christian Evidence." Such a book I
aim to furnish in the following pages.
When a minister of Christ is called upon to defend
his religion, either in the arena or from the pulpit, he
finds that he has to rummage through all the libraries
accessible, in order to secure such facts and authorities
as may be necessary for such an important task. Even
then, some of the most needed works are inaccessible,
* Since onr first edition was issued the " Encyclopedia on the Eyidences,"
has appeared ; an extensive compilation by J. W. Monser, published by John
Burns, St. Louis. A good work of reierence for ministers and others. Also,
the " Problem of Human Life," by A. W. Hall, published by Hall & Co., New
York. A very weighty production, in which the author crushes the evolution
theory, as the heel of a giant might crush an egg-shell.
(2)

XV111 INTRODUCTION.
and he is pressed for time to select and arrange such
facts and statements as may be furnished by the works
at hand. The first object of this book, therefore, is
to furnish aid to ministers of the gospel ; to present
them, in a cheap and convenient form, with many of
the most important facts and documents relating to the
great controversy which is now agitating the leading
minds of both the Old World and the New. I have
also found, in debates with Infidels, that it is easy to
wound them with their own weapons ; I, therefore,
quote many admissions of Infidels which may effec
tively be turned against them. I am persuaded that a
perusal of the following pages will show that an Infidel
dare not admit anything, nor affirm anything; that the
best that he can offer is — nothing!
The second object of this work is to inform the
general reader, and strengthen the faith of the Chris
tian. The apostle Peter says, "be ready always to
give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason
of the hope that is in you." And the time has come
when it is necessary, not only to believe, but to believe
intelligently and upon evidence ; not only to accept
the gospel, but also to tell why you accept it. The
apostle Paul requires every elder to be able, not only
to exhort, but to convince the gainsayers; and if the
masses of Christians do not possess the ability to silence
all the cavils of Infidels, they should, at least, be able
to present such reasons as will satisfy the honest
doubter that our religion is all that it claims to be.

INTRODUCTION. XIX
All believers are therefore requested to read these
pages with great care and diligence, and with a proper
realization of the responsibility that rests upon them.
The last, but by no means the least, object of the
production now before you, is to reason with skeptics
and Infidels, so that those who are open to conviction
may be convinced, and others may be left without ex
cuse. I therefore request all doubters and unbelievers
to read with fairness and candor, and with the serious
ness that the importance of the subject demands.
Remember that you hazard nothing by believing, but
everything by disbelieving ; for if the religion of the
Bible proves false you lose nothing by accepting it,
but if it proves true, you lose everything by rejecting
it. Entering a field that has often been traversed, I set
up no claims to entire originality ; on the other hand,
I am at no pains to follow in the wake of others.
Consequently, I appropriate for the good of the cause,
such fruits and flowers as lie in my pathway, as well as
the herbs of my own planting, trusting that God may
bless alike the planting of Paul and the watering of
Apollos, causing the increase to abound to the honor
and glory of His great name, and the best interests of
humanity.

PART I.
TEE DIVINE OftlGIN OF THE BIBLE.

21

" The heavens declare the glory of God ; and the firmament sheweth his
handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.
There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.
Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end
of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun.
Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a
strong man to run a race.
His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the
ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.
The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul : the testimony of the
Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the command
ment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the
Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter
also than honey and the honeycomb.
Moreover by them is thy servant warned : and in keeping of them there
is great reward."— David.
"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well
that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day
dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private
interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy
men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." —Peter. 22

DIVINE ORIGIN OE THE BIBLE. 23

CHAPTER I.

Approximate Proof that the Bible in General is of
Dtvtne Origin.
LT the Bible in general is of divine origin, may
be proved approximately by its analogy to
nature. The book is similar to nature in three
*^*" grand particulars —
I. It is like nature in its combined simplicity and
abstruseness. When the student of nature first begins his investi
gations, the whole truth seems to lie right upon the
surface; but the more he learns, the more he finds
that there is to learn, so that it requires profound
thought and close application, even to approximate
toward understanding some of the simplest things in
the great store-house of nature. The study of the at
mosphere affords a striking illustration of this thought.
The first thing we have use for when we come into
this world is air. We breathe it every day that we
five, and it is the last thing we use before leaving the
world. We ought to understand it, if we understand
anything in the universe ; and yet the human family
breathed it for centuries before they knew what it was,
or had any just conception of it. Thales, a great phi-

24 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
losopher, who flourished in the year 640 before Christ,
promulgated the theory that air and everything else
was made of water, and that all life resided in it.
About a century afterward, Anaximenes said Thales
was wrong, that everything was composed of air, and
that it was the essence of life. Diogenes, a few years
later, thought the air to be an intelligent spirit, who
was generally in a kind and pleasant humor, but would
occasionally become angry, and produce storms and
hurricanes. 348 B. C, Aristotle divided all substances
into four elements — earth, *air, fire and water. But
little more was known about the subject till A. D.,
1100, when Olshausen, a Saracen, discovered that air
possessed weight, and that it merely encircled our
globe, instead of extending through all space, as had
formerly been supposed. In 1630, Galileo investi
gated the water pump, and found that water would not
rise in a tube over thirty-three feet, when the air was
drawn off. Torricello applied the same principle to
mercury, which led to the construction of barometers,
and laid the foundation for further discoveries. It
was found that air weighed about fifteen pounds to the
square inch, and that its weight varied with the weather.
In 1650, Otto Von Guericke invented the air pump.
Boyle, the next investigator, endeavored to ascertain
the chemical constituents of the atmosphere. He con
cluded that there were different kinds of air. Hales
pursued the investigation still further ; but Black was
the first to use the plural for the word air, and to use

. DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 25
a balance for weighing aii's. A. D., 1772, Rutherford
discovered nitrogen. In 1774, Priestly discovered
oxygen. Lavoisier, a Frenchman, generalized the
observations of others, and invented the caliometer.
He classified the elements of the air, as oxygen, nitro
gen and carbon. Liebig has since discovered that the
atmosphere possesses a small portion of ammonia.
Dr. Play fair, who has examined the subject with abil
ity and precision, says: " Fresh observations are still
being made which tend to show how little is yet known
about the air." I have just taken this subject as an
example of the many illustrations that might be given
to show what attention and profound research is re
quired in order to have even a moderate idea of the
simplest things in the natural world. It has required
the study of philosophers for centuries to learn what
is now known about as simple and commonplace ele
ment as air, and they confess now that they do not
thoroughly understand it.
The same principle will apply to the study of nature
as a whole, and in all its various departments. The
farmer who turns and reads the furrows of the field, as
the leaves of a book, seems to understand all that is
necessary to be known about nature. He knows when
to sow and when to plant, and how to make nature
contribute to all his wants. Even the child can under
stand whatever is most pleasing and beneficial in
nature, but the greatest philosopher has never yet
sounded its depths ; and when he has to give up this

26 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
life, after long years of arduous toil, and patient in
vestigation, he confesses that he has just begun to
learn. Sir Isaac Newton, when upon his death-bed,
was complimented upon the wonderful discoveries
which he had made in science. He replied: "I have
been but as a child, playing on the seashore ; now find
ing some pebble rather more polished, and now some
shell rather more agreeably variegated than another,
while the immense ocean of truth extended itself un
explored before me."
So it is in regard to the Bible. When we open the
volume which believers regard as precious, everything
appears to be plain, and easy to be understood. The
whole truth seems at first glance to lie right upon the
surface of its pages. But the more we learn about it,
the more are we impressed that there is still much to
be learned, so that we are ever learning, and never able
to come to a full and complete knowledge of the truth.
We can never exhaust all its treasures ! Every golden
boulder that we find but discovers a new "lead,"
which, if followed, will lead to the excavation of
pearls and diamonds, richer than any that abound in
the great store-house of nature. Some things in the
Bible are so plain that " he who runs may read."
Some things are adapted to the comprehension of a
child. This is particularly true with reference to mat
ters of duty. Where is the intellect too weak to learn
the great items of duty from the Bible. Isaiah, look
ing down through coming ages with prophetic eye, saw

DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 27
the ransomed of the Lord returning and coming to
Zion, and he declared the way to be so plain that " the
wayfaring men, though fools, should not err therein."*
And when we turn to the actual requirements of the
gospel, such as faith, repentance, obedience, and the
addition of virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience,
love, etc., we find them to be very plain and simple. f
Even a general outline of the Bible, upon all subjects,
historical and otherwise, is very plain and intelligible
to any reader ; but there is beyond all this a depth of
profundity and abstruseness that the greatest genius
cannot fathom.
Now, nature and the Bible being alike simple and
yet uniting with this simplicity, a depth that renders
them incomprehensible, both must have originated
from the same divine mind.
H. The Bible is like nature in its harmonious unity.
That nature is a unit is shown : —
1st. By chemistry, from which we learn that there
are about sixty-four original elements or different kinds
of matter, called atoms; and those combined in vari
ous proportions make all the varieties of material sub
stances, which we see around us, wood, hay, iron,
stone, steel, brass, copper, silver, zinc, cloth, cotton,
silk, and so on ad infinitum. Now this shows that the

• Isaiah, xxxv: 8.
f It is true believers sometimes dispute, even about matters of duty;
but the difference is not so much as to what is taught, but as to whether
something may be practised that is not taught, or something omitted that is
taught.

28 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
creator of one substance is alike the creator of every
other substance in the material universe.
2d. Tlie unity of nature is shown by natural history ,
from which we learn that vegetation is closely con
nected with and based upon the mineral ; and that as
the mineral is the basis and support of the vegetable
kingdom, the vegetable is the basis and support of the
animal, and the animal, again, of the mental ; show
ing that the maker of minerals is also the maker of
vegetables, animals, and souls.
3d. Astronomy proves and illustrates the unity oj
nature. All the planets of our solar system revolve
around the sun ; and the solar system, with ten thou
sand other systems revolve around other suns, and so
on throughout the vast immensity of illimitable space,
all the planets in the universe revolving around one
central sun, showing that the same Almighty power
that formed our world also made the sun and moon,
and all the suns and moons, and stars that light up the
boundless universe.
Thus, whether we take a microscopic view of the
least particles of matter, or a broad comprehensive
view of the whole vast machinery of the universe ; or
if we could, as the poet says,
"Trace by steps, each planet's heavenly way,
Or fill at once the realms of space, a thing of eyes that all survey I "
We find unity and harmony pervading the whole.
The Bible, like nature, is also a unit, and shows evi
dent marks that it, like the universe, is the production

DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 29
of one infinite mind. This may be shown in many
ways:
1st. By the train of prophecies contained in the
Bible. There is a remarkable agreement and oneness of
sentiment about the prophecies. No prophet ever
contradicts another prophet. When one declares an
event he is left uncontradicted by all the others.
They either repeat the same thing or maintain silence.
Does one prophet predict tbe destruction of a city,
such as Babylon, or Nineveh, other prophets chime in
predicting the same thing and giving additional partic
ulars; and none can be found among all the prophets,
or sons of prophets, to predict the perpetuity of such
city. Now, this line of argument shows, in a remarkable
degree, the unity of Bible writings. Had not those
prophets been guided by one mind, so far from utter
ing the same prediction, one would have contradicted
the other ; and when one foretold the destruction of a
city, another was just as liable to predict its perpetuity
as any other way. Again, take the long chain of
prophecies concerning the advent and work of the
Messiah. It was said to Abraham : " In thy seed shall
all the nations of the earth be blessed."* Jacob said :
" The sceptre (staff) shall not depart from Judah, nor
a law-giver from between his feet, till Shiloh come,
and unto him shall the gathering together of the peo-
• Gen. xxii: 18.

30 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
pie be."* Balaam said: "There shall come a star
out of Jacob, and a sceptre shall arise out of Israel. "t
Moses told the Jews that God would raise up a prophet
like unto himself. ± Isaiah said he should be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Father of
the Everlasting Age.|| It was said that he should be
born "in Bethlehem." § Of the seed of Jesse.** Daniel
called him "Messiah the Prince," and told the very
time of his advent. tt Other predictions foretold the
coming of some great one to whom the people of
Israel should seek, and in whom the Gentiles should

* Gen. xlix: 10.*
* The authorized translation of this passage is incorrect, and the common
interpretation erroneous. The kingly sceptre was not then wielded by Judah
nor for a considerable time afterward. The first king-was of the tribe of
Benjamin, and the Maccabees were of Levi. The modern Jewish interpreta
tion — "No tribe shall depart from Judah till you come to Shiloh" — is equally
fallacious. According to Gesenius the word translated sceptre ( !3 2 TO shebet)
literally means a rod or staff. Jacob was speaking about something with
which his sons were familiar. The Patriarch of each family carried astajfas
the emblem of his authority and an ensign of his tribe — as nations now have
a flag. At the death of Jacob, the family of each son was constituted a sepa
rate tribe. All these had formerly been represented by one staff in the hand
of Jacob— now they were to be represented by twelve. The staff in the hand
of Judah was not to depart at his death, giving place to as many tribes as he
had sons — but they were to continue as one family, one tribe. In other
words, the Patriarch meant that the tribe of Judah should be perpetuated, as
such, till the Messiah came. This was fulfilled. The existence and identity
of the tribe of Judah continued to the destruction of Jerusalem — hence, the
Staff departed soon after Messiah came. Jacob's language implied that some
of the tribes should lose their identity. And it was so. The staff of Joseph
soon gave place to the two staffs, one of Ephraim and one of Mannasseh.
And many of the other tribes lost their identity before the coming of Christ.
As to the law-giver, Judah furnished none tiU Christ " went forth from be
tween his feet." The only law-giver prior to Christ (Moses) was furnished
by Levi.
t Num.xxiv:i7. % Deut. xviii : 15. || Isaiah, xix: 6. §Micah,v:2.
*» Isaiah, xi: 1-10. ft Dan. ix: 24.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 31
trust. All these prophecies found their fulfilment in
the person of Jesus of Nazareth, who broke down the
middle wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles
and established one religion adapted to both. This
shows that there was one mind directing the prophets
when they wrote, and illustrates the statement of John
that ' ' the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of proph
ecy."* 2d. The institution of sacrifice shows the unity of the
Bible. Year after year, for centuries, bleeding lambs and
smoking victims were offered upon both Jewish and
Gentile altars. But for what purpose? There was
not a Jewish priest nor Gentile sage that could answer
the question, until Christ was offered as the true
sacrifice — the lamb of God, without spot or blemish —
then all was made plain, the mystery was revealed.
Christ is the sun of the moral system, just as the central
sun in the universe is the centre of the physical system ;
and everything in revelation, all the prophets, apostles,
priests, and sacrifices revolve, as it were, around him.
Sacrifices, and all institutions before his coming, point
forward to him. The Lord's supper and all similar
institutions since his coming, point back to him. So
Christ is all in all, the centre of the whole system,
preserving its unity and giving meaning to all its
parts. * Eev. xix : 10.

32 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
3d. The unity ofthe Bible is shown by the agreement
ofthe various writers thereof.
The Bible is composed of sixty-six different books,
written by about thirty different authors, in different
ages of the world, and under a great variety of circum
stances, and yet it reads right along like one history.
The book of Job was written before Moses was found
in the bulrushes ; the Pentateuch was written by Moses
in the wilderness, when arts and sciences were in their
infancy; David composed some of his most beautiful
odes while excited and distracted by scenes of war or
the embarrassing influences of a regal court ; Ezekiel
and Daniel wrote their prophecies in captivity ; Paul
dictated some of his epistles while a Roman prisoner,
under a military guard, in the imperial city; John
wrote the book of Revelation, while banished to the
lonely isle of Patmos ; and yet there is a perfect
agreement throughout the volume, as though one great
mind had composed the whole. There is a wonderful
agreement in the moral sentiments throughout the
Bible. Not one moral maxim of Moses and his Old
Testament successors was ever contradicted by Jesus
or the writers of the New Testament.
This unity that extends throughout nature and the
Bible, proves that they both have the same authorship.
But there are apparent discrepancies in both nature
and the Bible ; and this but affords another parallel.
There is not a real contradiction in either. I will ad
duce one example from each. I first specify an ap-

DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 33
parent contradiction in nature. Take a pebble in one
hand and a cork in the other, go. to the pool, let the
pebble loose at the top of the water, and the cork at
the bottom ; one falls down through the water to the
bottom, while the other falls up through the water to
the top. There appears to be a palpable contradiction ;
but there is no real contradiction. When we under
stand the principle of specific gravity all is rendered
plain and simple, and -we are lead to admire the unity
and the harmony of Nature's laws. The specific
gravity of the water being less than that of the pebble
and greater than that of the cork, the former sinks
while the latter rises in that element.
All the apparent discrepancies in the Bible are just as
easily reconciled as the one in nature cited, and like
it, afford evidence of unity and harmony. I give one
example, Jer. xxxiv: 3; Ezk. xii: 13.
Jeremiah told Zedekiah, king of Judah, that he
should be taken and delivered into the hands of the
king of Babylon, "and," continues he, "thine eyes
shall behold the eyes of the king of Babylon, and he
shall speak with thee mouth to mouth, and thou shalt
go to Babylon." " Thou shalt not die by the sword."
Ezekiel represents the Lord as saying of Zedekiah :
" I will bring him to Babylon, the land of the Chal
deans, yet shall he not see it, though he shall die
there." This has the appearance of contradiction.
How could he die in Babylon if he was not to see it?
How could he see the king of Babylon and yet not see

34 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
Babylon? How can both predictions about his dying
be true? But when we turn to the history of the
case, all is very plain and harmonious. He saw the
king of Babylon with his own eyes, but not in Babylon,
but in Riblah, where he was first taken after his
capture on the plains of Jericho ; there his eyes were
put out ; then he was taken to Babylon blind ; so
he did not see it, though he died there ; he did not die
by the sword, however, but a natural death in prison.
See 2 Kings, xxv: 6, 7 ; Jer. Iii: 11. Any discrepancy
which may appear in the whole Bible is just as easy of
solution as this one when candidly considered, and in
the light of all the facts. Another grand particular, in
which nature and the Bible are analogous, proving
that they both emanated from the same divine source.
III. The Bible is similar to nature in its adap
tation to the wants and capacities of man.
I wish to call attention to three particulars in which
the Bible parallels nature in its adaption to man : —
1st. Both nature and the Bible are adapted to all
men. Just to the extent that men live in unison with
nature, and conform to the laws thereof, just to that
extent is their happiness augmented and their pleasure
increased — showing adaptation.
This adaptation does not just apply to some men,
but to all men; just as the light is adapted to the eyes
of all. There are no two eyes in the world exactly
alike in every particular, and yet the light is adapted
to all — all eyes in their natural state. Now, suppose

DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 35
the light had been made ten times brighter than it is, it
would not have been adapted to the human eye, but
would have blinded it as the sun dazzles the eye of the
owl at noon-day. Again, if it had been made with
less brilliancy, it would not have afforded sufficient
light to answer man's purposes. Just so with the air
that we breathe. If there was less oxygen and more
carbon in the atmosphere, it would be ruinous to the
lungs. While some vegetables and a few animals
thrive better in air thus compounded, it would be death
to man to undertake to live in it. If, on the other
hand, there had been more oxygen and less carbon in
the air, it would have been too exhilerating, causing
man to be intoxicated all the while ; and not only so,
but oxygen being the active principle in the air, if
there were more of it, it would soon burn out the
machinery, and man's lungs would be gone. It is very
evident that when God made the light and the air, he
made them with reference to man, and for his benefit.
And the point to which I call particular attention is the
fact that the atmosphere is adapted to all men. Not
only is it adapted to one pair of lungs, but it is
adapted, perfectly adapted, to all the lungs that
breathe. "He giveth to all life, and breath, and all
things."* When we turn to the pages of the Bible we find the
same beautiful adaptation. It is adapted to all men.
It is adapted to the old and the young ; adapted to the
• Acts, xvii: 25.

36 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE. w
wise and the unwise ; to the educated and the illiter
ate. The old man and the little boy, the middle aged
maiden and the little girl, can all be interested in the
same chapter of this wonderful book. If the Bible
were so plain and simple in all its parts that every one
could master it, it would not be deep enough for the
philosopher. If, on the other hand^ it were so pro
found that it would require a sage to understand any
thing about it, it could not, then, interest the young
and the ignorant. But, combining as it does, simplic
ity with profundity, it is adapted to all; so that the
philosopher and the common man both find it interest
ing to them. Where is there another volume that will
thus interest all classes of mankind without regard to
age or education? If man could exhaust the great
storehouse of knowledge contained in the Bible, he
could then lay it aside as a primer and be no longer in
terested in it; but, as it is, the more he reads it the
more he finds to interest him. When we contemplate
the wisdom of God exhibited in the two great volumes,
Nature and Revelation, well might we exclaim with
Paul: "Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the
wisdom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable
are his judgments and his ways past finding out ! "
2d. The study of nature and the Bible benefits and
ennobles mankind.
Every man that ever studied geology, chemistry, as
tronomy, or any of the natural sciences, will testify that
he was made better and happier, as well as wiser, by

DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 37
doing so. Contrast the nations who study the sciences
and those that do not. Such studies —
" Soften the rude,
And calm the boisterous mind."
Besides, the study of nature's laws will enable a man
to so conform to them that he will be greatly benefited
thereby. The same great principle applies to the Bible. The
study of its teachings makes men nobler, and it is very
evident that just to the extent that its grand moral
principles are practised, to that exent are men made
better and happier. Contrast the nations that have
not the Bible with those where it is permitted to exert
some influence on the minds of men. Those nations
that have the Bible are civilized and enlightened;
those nations that have not the Bible are making little
or no progress in civilization, while some of them are
bowing down to stocks and stones, or worshipping
reptiles that crawl upon the ground. Or, contrast
Protestant countries, with an open Bible, with those
Catholic countries where it is withheld from the people.
Does not the different stages of civilization in those
countries speak in thunder tones in favor of the Bible?
3d. There is in both Nature and the Bible a heart-
power — the power of love.
A book to be adapted to mankind must be pre
eminently addressed to the intellect ; but not wholly
so. There must be something to touch the heart.
Man being possessed of affection, nature, to be adapted

38 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
to him, must adduce something to call forth the ex
ercise of this faculty. Accordingly, we find it in the
love of the parent for the child, in the love of the
child for the parent, in the love between husbands and
wives, sisters and brothers, and in the mutual love and
sympathy of men for each other. Also, in the study
of nature we can see the goodness of God to man dis
played in his works, and thus love for the Creator is
enkindled. But it is in the Bible where this principle is pre
eminently manifested. " God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son ! " If the Bible were
addressed entirely and exclusively to man's intellect,
it would not be adapted to his nature. There would
be nothing to enkindle the emotions of his soul. We
have already shown the Religion of the Bible to be
adapted to all men, and we have now arrived at a
standpoint whence we can see that it is adapted to the
whole of the man — intellect, will and emotional nature.
And it is the only system that is thus adapted. If the
Bible were banished from the world the only thing
that could logically be substituted for it is Atheism,
and it is cold, heartless and emotionless. It makes
no provision whatever for the heart, furnishes no
food for the affection — it is addressed altogether to
the cold intellect. The tender cord of man's nature
called the affection, must be consulted as well as his
intellect, in providing for its wants. Not only does
the Bible parallel everything that nature furnishes to

DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE BIBLE. 39
touch the heart, but goes beyond that, and provides
where nature fails to provide. Men realize that they
are sinners, " their thoughts accusing or excusing."
Their wants are not fully met till they are provided
with a loving, kind, affectionate Savior — one who
comes with a happy adaptation to every sorrowing and
sin-stricken spirit. Such a Savior we have in Jesus
of Nazareth. The Bible meets this want by providing
a High Priest who can be touched with the feeling of
our infirmities, and was in all points tempted like as
we are, yet without sin. The love of God to man,
made known in the volume of Revelation, is calculated
to enkindle love in the human breast, causing the
student of Scripture to exclaim : —
" Oh, for this love let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break,
And all harmonious human tongues
A Savior's praises speak ! "
Thus the Bible is seen to be adapted to man in pro
viding for the heart as well as for the head ; filling the
affection as well as the intellect.
Now, of the things concerning which we have spoken
this is the sum. We have found the Bible to be like
nature in its simplicity and profoundness ; in its unity
and harmony ; and in its adaptation to man. How
is this wonderful similarity to be accounted for ? There
is nothing like it any where else. These is nothing like
it in the philosophies of ancient times ; there is nothing
like it in the scientific theories of modern times ; nothing

40 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN ETIDENCE.
like it in the speculations of men any where ! There
is only one way to account for the wonderful analogy,
and that is by concluding that the author of one is also
the author of the other ; and as God is admitted to be
the author of nature, he is also the author of the Bible.

THE OLD TESTAMENT OF DIVINE ORIGIN. 41
CHAPTER II.

Conclusive and Irrefutable Proof that the Old Testa
ment is of Divine Origin.
|'HE argument adduced in the previous chapter
was modestly put forward as approximate
proof of the divine origin of the Bible. I set
^F up no higher claims in its behalf, wishing to
place everything on a sure footing ; though some parts
of it may be deserving of a higher rank. I do not
claim that it should possess sufficient strength to
thoroughly convince the Infidel, nolens volens, of the
inspiration of the Bible; but I do claim that it so
approximates toward that end that it should arrest the
attention of every unbeliever and cause him to seriously
and candidly consider the claims upon which the Bible
rests. I shall, in this and the following chapter, pre
sent evidence that I consider absolutely conclusive and
overwhelming. The scope of this evidence may be
briefly stated in two words: "Fulfilled Prophecy."
There is a chain of fulfilled prophecies running through
the entire Old Testament — for I confine the argument
of this chapter to that portion of the book — which
cannot be accounted for upon any hypothesis other
than that those writers were aided by Divine Intelli
gence. Certainly if a series of writers, during a
period covering hundreds of years, write predictions
concerning the fate of cities, kingdoms, and races of

42 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
people, and those predictions are exactly and literally
fulfilled, it is but justly due them that they be permit
ted to tell how they derived the wonderful information
and from what source. I maintain that the Bible
writers, from Moses to Malachi, present us just such
phenomena. They foretold a wonderful variety of
events, hundreds, and in some instances, thousands, of
years before the event transpired. Those predictions
were fulfilled to the letter, the event taking place just
as the writer said it should take place. In some in
stances the prediction refers to the present condition
of people and things, so that the fulfillment is con
tinually verified from day to day before the eyes of
the world. Out of the many examples that might be
given I select seven, and defy the Infidel world to over
throw one of them. Without further preliminaries I
make seven specifications, which I consider conclusive
and irresistible : —

FIRST SPECIFICATION.
PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE CITT OF NINEVEH.
I quote from the book of Nahum, the Elkoshite,
headed by the prophet, " The burden of Nineveh."
Of the Lord he says : —
" With an overrunning flood he will make an utter end of the place
thereof, and darkness shall pursue his enemies.
What do ye imagine against the Lord? he will make an utter end;
affliction shall not rise up the second time.
For while they be folden together as thorns, and while they are
drunken as drunkards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully
dry." — Nahum i: 8-10.
" The gates of the river shall be opened, and the palace shall be
dissolved.

THE OLD TESTAMENT OF DIVINE ORIGIN. 43
And Huzzab shall be led away captive, she shall be brought up,
and her maids shall lead her as with the voice of doves, tabering
upon their breasts.
But Nineveh is of old like a pool of water; yet they shall flee
away. Stand, stand, shall they cry; but none shall look back.
Take ye the spoil of silver, take the spoil of gold; for there is
none end of the store and glory out of all the pleasant furniture.
She is empty, and void, and waste : and the heart melteth, and
the knees smite together, and much pain is in all loins, and the faces
of them all gather blackness." — Nahum ii : 6-10.
"Woe to the bloody city 1 it is all full of lies and robbery; the
prey departeth not.
The noise of whip, and the noise of the rattling of the wheels,
and of the prancing horses, and of the jumping chariots.
The horseman lifteth up both the bright sword and the glitter
ing spear ; and there is a multitude of slain, and a great number of
carcasses ; and there is none end of their corpses ; they stumble upon
their corpses :
Because of the multitude of whoredoms of the well-favored
harlot, the mistress of witchcrafts, that selleth nations through her
whoredoms, and families through her witchcrafts.
Behold, I am against thee, saith the Lord of hosts ; and I will
discover thy skiits upon (hy face, and I will shew the nations thy
nakedness, and the kingdoms thy shame.
And I will cast abominable filth upon thee, and make thee vile,
and will set thee as a gazing stock.
And it shall come to pass, that all they that look upon thee shall
flee from thee, and say: Nineveh is laid waste; who will bemoan
her? whence.shail I seek comforters for thee." — Nahum iii:\ -7.
Josephus testifies that Nahum flourished in the reign
of Jotham, king of Judah, and that this prophecy was
written over a century before the destruction of Nine
veh took place. That proud capital of Assyria was
then in her glory, extensive in size and magnificent in
beauty. The Bible says that it was a very great city
of "three days' journey," and Diodorus Siculus, one
of the ablest historians of ancient times, states that
its circuit embraced four hundred and eighty furlongs,
which makes over sixty miles, and the three days'
journey would be twenty miles a day. Diodorus fur-

44 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
ther states* that it had walls a hundred feet high and
so thick that three chariots could go abreast upon them,
and that there were fifteen hundred towers at proper
distances in the wall, of two hundred feet in height. It
occupied three or four times the space occupied by
London or Paris. The population, though not known
definitely, was immense. It was the capital of a strong
and powerful kingdom. There was no probability that
it could be taken or destroyed. Yet, with all the
probabilities against him, Nahum predicted that it
should be overthrown and utterly destroyed by water
and fire. In addition to the quotations already made,
this prophet wrote : —
"The fire shall devour thy bars. Draw thee water for the siege,
fortify thy strongholds ; go into clay and tread the mortar, make
strong the brick-kiln . There shall the fire devour thee 1 " — Nahum
iii: 13-16.
What did other prophets have to say about it?
Isaiah and Ezekiel both joined Nahum in predicting
that Jehovah would pour out destruction upon Assyria ;
and Zephaniah joins him in foretelling the utter over
throw of Nineveh. He says: —
" And he will stretch out his hand against the north, and destroy
Assyria; and will make Nineveh a desolation, and dry like a wilder
ness. And flocks shall lie down in the midst of her, and the beasts of the
nations: both the cormorant and the bittern shall lodge in the upper
lintels of it : their voice shall sing in the windows ; desolation shall
be in the thresholds : for he shall uncover the cedar work.
This is the rejoicing city that dwelt carelessly, that said in hei
heart, I am, and there is none beside me : how is she become a deso
lation, a place for beasts to lie down in 1 every one that passeth by
her shall hiss, and wag his hand." — Zeph. ii: 13-15.
* Diod. Sic. Bk. 2, c. 3.

THE OLD TESTAMENT OF DIVINE ORIGIN. 45
This affords a striking illustration of the principle
of unity alluded to in the first chapter. Nahum had
foretold the destruction of this great city ; years had
passed, and there was no sign of fulfillment; it was
still a mighty bulwark, the glory of Assyria, and the
pride of its mighty monarch.
"All called Assyria lord ; and year by year,
To giant Nineveh new warriors sent
To guard her monarch's state and grace his throne." *
And yet, for all that, Zephaniah ventures to stake
his reputation as a prophet, and joins Nahum in pre
dicting its destruction. Now, if you will compare the
pages of history with the prophecies, you will see that
they are fulfilled item by item.
The prophet said : " While they are drunken as drunk
ards, they shall be devoured as stubble fully dry."
According to Diodorus, when the allied forces of
Media and Babylon first advanced on Nineveh, the king
of Assyria marched against them and defeated them in
three successive battles. The Assyrians were so
elated with these victories that they abandoned them
selves to revelry and feasting. The invaders, " being
informed by some deserters of the negligence and
drunkenness in the enemy's camp, assaulted them unex
pectedly by night, and falling orderly on them disor
derly, and prepared on them unprepared, easily made
themselves masters of the camp, slew many of the
soldiers, and drove the rest into the city."t

* Artherstone's " Fall of Nineveh."
t Diod. Sic, Book 2, ch. 26.

46 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
" With an overrunning flood will he make an utter end of the place
thereof. The gates of the river shall be opened." " The fire shall de
vour the bars." " There shall the fire devour thee."
In these passages an inundation is clearly indicated ;
and, as unlikely as it might appear, it is here set forth
that the city should be destroyed by the combined
agency of water and fire. Now, turn to Diodorus, and
you read the fulfillment. He says : —
" There was an old tradition that Nineveh could not be taken
unless the river first became an enemy to the city. In the third
year of the siege, the river, being swollen by continual rains,
overflowed part of the city, and threw down twenty stadia of
the wall. The king, then imagining that the oracle was accom
plished, and that the river was now manifestly become an
enemy to the city, cast aside all hope of safety; and to avoid
falling into the hands of the enemy, he built a large funeral pile
in the palace, and haying collected his gold and silver and royal
vestments, together with all his household, placed himself with
them in an apartment built in the midst of the pile, and burned
them, himself, and the palace together. When the besiegers heard
of the death of the king, they entered in by the breach which the
waters had made, and took the city." — Diod. Sic, Book 2, chaps.
26, 27.
Query. — Was the "old tradition" mentioned de
rived from this prophecy?
" Take ye the spoil of silver, and the spoil of gold, for there is none
end ofthe store," etc.
Here it is predicted that the besiegers will find much
spoil when they take the city : accordingly Diodorus
says that Arbaces, one of the conquerors, carried many
talents* of gold and silver to Ecbatana, the royal city
of the Medes. — Book 2, chap. 28.
Nineveh was to be entirely destroyed and perpetually
desolate. Nahum says: " He will make an utter end ;
affliction shall not rise up the second time." And
Zephaniah says he " will make Nineveh a desolation,
* A talent of silver is worth about $1,700; a talent of gold about $27,000.

THE OLD TESTAMENT OF DIVINE ORIGIN. 47
and dry like a wilderness; " «• a place for beasts to lie
dotvn in."
Soon after the destruction of Nineveh, the city of
Babylon was enlarged and beautified by Nebuchad
nezzar, and Nineveh rapidly mouldered into ruins. The
most ancient Greek writers that mention it speak of it
as a place that had long been desolate. Lucian, who
wrote in the second century after Christ, speaks of it
as follows: "Nineveh is so utterly destroyed that
no vestige of it remains, nor is it easy to tell the
spot where it formerly stood." In the sixth chapter
of the " Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," by
Edward Gibbon, we read that " in the year 637 the
Emperor Heraclius defeated the Persians in a great
action fought on the convenient battle-field offered
by the vacant site of Nineveh." Haitho, the Arme
nian, wrote in 1300: "This city is totally ruined."
John Cartwright, who visited the ruins in the six
teenth century, speaks of it as " nothing else than
a sepulchre of* herself." In 1657 Thevenot wrote:
" This city stood on the east side of the river, where
are to be seen some of its ruins of great extent even
to this day." A writer named Taveriner says : "The
ancient city of Nineveh is now a heap of rubbish only,
for a league along the river full of vaults and caverns."
Another writer named Nieuburh, says: "As one comes
to Mosul, in this direction, he will pass through Nine
veh ; I was not aware that I was passing over such a
remarkable spot till I was near the river. * * *
While I was at Mosul the walls of Nineveh were pointed

48 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
out to me. These I had not before observed in my
tour thither, but took them for a part of the hill."
Even the very ruins of Nineveh may be said to be
ruined. Mr. Rich, who visited the place in 1820, says :
" It is not easy to say precisely what are ruins and
what are not ; what is art converted by the lapse of
ages into the semblance of nature, and what is nature
broken by the hand of time." — J. C. Rich's "Nar
rative of a Journey to the Site of Nineveh."
I could cite numerous other writers to the same pur
port, but it is unnecessary to multiply testimonies.
It is very evident, from the facts before us, that the
prophecies have been fulfilled. They have been so
completely fulfilled that even the very site of the once
magnificent city is somewhat involved in doubt. The
ruins on the Tigris, supposed to be the place, is gen
erally conceded to be correct ; though it is doubted by
some authorities. I conclude in the language of the
poet: —
" Fallen is the mighty city ! fallen ! fallen !
Fallen is great Nineveh — the city of old —
The mighty city, queen of all the earth]
The day of her exulting is gone by !
Her thron* is in the dust! her sceptre broke I
Her walls are gone ! her palaces dissolved I
The desert is around her, and within. —
Like shadows has the mighty passed away I
And scarce remains a solitary stone
To say, ' Here stood imperial Nineveh ! ' "
— [Athekstone's " Fall of Nineveh."

SECOND SPECIFICATION.
PROPHECIES CONCERNING AMMON AND MOAB.
I place the prophecies relating to those two coun
tries under the same head, because they were both in

THE OLD TESTAMENT OF DININE ORIGIN. 49

habited by kindred nations, being descended from
Moab andBen-ammi, the sons of Lot. Gen. xix : 37,
38. Also, from the further consideration that the pre
dictions concerning the two are blended together : —

*' Son of man, set thy face against
the Ammonites, and prophesy against
them; And say unto the Ammonites, Hear
the word of the Lord God ; Thus saith
the Lord God: Because .thou saidst,
Aha, against my sanctuary, when it
was profaned ; and against the land of
Israel, when it was desolate; and
against the house of Judah, when
they went into captivity.
Behold, therefore, I will deliver
thee to the men of the east for a pos
session, and they shall set their
palaces in thee, and make their
dwellings in thee : they shall eat thy
fruit and they shall drink thy milk.
And I will make Rabbah a stable for
camels, and the Ammonites a couch-
ing-plaoe for flocks; and ye shall
know that I am the Lord.
For thus saith the Lord God: Be
cause thou has clapped thine hands,
and stamped with the feet, and re-
J oiced in heart with all thy
lespite against the land of Israel ;
Behold, therefore, I WiU stretch
out mine hand upon thee, and will
deliver thee for a spoil to the heathen
and out thee off from the people, and
I will cause thee to perish out of the
countries; I will destroy thee; and
thou shalt know that I am the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord God ; Because
that Moab and Seir do say, Behold,
the house of Judah is like unto all
the heathen ;
Therefore, behold, I will open the
side of Moab from the cities, from his
cities which are on his frontiers, the
glory of the countryi Beth-jeshi-moth,
Baal-meon and Kiriathaim,
Unto the men of the east with the
Ammonites, and will give them in
possession, that the Ammonites may
not be remembered among the na-
Andl will execute judgments upon
Moab: and they shall know that I am
the Lord." — Bzk. xxv: 1-11.

"I have heard the reproach of
Moab, and the revilings of the chil
dren of Ammon, whereby they have
reproached my people, and magnified
themselves against their border.
Therefore as I live, saith the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel, Surely
Moab shall be as Sodom, and the
children of Ammon as Gomorrah,
even the breeding of nettles, and
saltpits, and a perpetual desolation :
the residue of my people shall spoil
them, and the remnant of my people
shall possess them.
This shall they have for their pride,
because they have reproached and
magnified themselves against the
people of the Lord of hosts." — Zeph.
ii:8-10.

50 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
See, also, the 48th and 49th chapters of Jeremiah,
and Amos i : 13, 14 ; ii : 1.
AMMON.
Here are three plain predictions with reference to
the Ammonites : —
1st. That they were to perish as a nation.
2d. That Rabbah, their capital, was to be destroyed.
3d. That their country was to become a perpetual
desolation. These have all been remarkably fulfilled. Hear the
prophet : —
"I will cut thee off from the people, and I will cause
thee to perish out of the countries, and I will destroy
thee." From the united testimony of * Josephus and
the author of the Maccabees, we learn that during the
persecutions of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes, the
Ammonites exercised great cruelties against such of
them as lived in their parts ; in consequence of which
they were attacked by Judas Maccabeus, who defeated
them in several battles, and took the city of Jazer,
with the adjoining towns. At that time their power
was completely broken ; and they rapidly declined till
their nationality became utterly extinct. The learned
John Kitto says that while the few inhabitants now in
that land preserve the names which the Ammonites
gave to their towns, they have not even a tradition
concerning that people, and do not know whose land
* Jos. Ant., book 12, chap. 8.

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 51
they occupy; and that the memory of the Ammonites
is so utterly perished that it would not be known that
the nation ever existed were it not for history. How
true spoke the prophet, when he said they " should
not be remembered among the nations."
" I will make Babbah a stable for camels, and the
Ammonites* a couching-place for flocks." Rabbah,
also called Rabbath- Ammon, was the capital of the
Ammonites before the Israelites entered the land of
Canaan. It is very evident that this prophecy was
written when this city was in its prime, and long be
fore it became aheap of ruins, for it. continued its
existence till the time of the Romans, who called it
Philadelphia; but the ruins are called Ammon to this
day. All travellers who visit the place attest that it is
just in the condition that the prophet predicted, a stable
for camels and a resort for flocks. After passing the
first night among the ruins, Mr. Buckingham makes
the following note in his journal : " During the night
I was almost entirely prevented from sleeping by the
bleating of the flocks," etc. Further on, he speaks of
the " goats, which the Arab keepers drive in here occa
sionally for shelter during the night." In " Letters
on Egypt, Edom and the Holy Land," in 1836, the
author, Lord Lindsay, remarks: "The dreariness of
its present aspect is quite indescribable — it looks like
* "By the word 'Ammonites ' we must, of course, understand the chief
city or cities of the Ammonites, for it is not expressive of desolation that the
flocks should pasture anywhere in the open country. The context and other
passages show that that is the sense." — Kitto.

52 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
the abode of death ; the valley stinks with dead camels ;
one of them was rotting in the stream." Further on,
he says: " Vultures were garbaging on a camel as we
slowly rode back through the glen, and reascending the
akiba by which we entered it. Ammon is now quite
deserted, except by the Bedouins, who water their
flocks at its little river. We met sheep and goats by
thousands, and camels by hundreds, coming down to
drink, all in beautiful condition." Stephen B. Wickens
very truely says: " When the prophets of Israel pro
nounced the doom of Rabbah, more than a thousand
years had given uninterrupted experience of its
stability; for a thousand years has it now lain deso
late ; yet still it is not so utterly extinct but that the
Bedouin, who alone frequents the spot, can fold his
cattle in its temples and palaces, fulfilling the divine
prediction that the proud Rabbah of the Ammonites
should be ' a stable for camels and a couching-place for
flocks.' "
" Ammon shall be a perpetual desolation." Mr.
George Robinson, in " Travels in Palestine and Syria,
in the year 1830," wrote: " To the south of the river
Zerka commences the country anciently inhabited by
the Ammonites ; a country in those days as remarkable
for its rich productions, as for the number and strength
of the cities which covered its surface. It is now one
vast desert, having long since ceased to be inhabited
by man in a civilized state." Mr. Buckingham says:
" Throughout its whole extent were seen ruined towns

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 53
in every direction, both before, behind, and on each
side of us; generally seated on small eminences, all at
a short distance from each other ; and all we had yet
seen bearing evident marks of former opulence and
greatness." J. L. Burckhardt, in " Travels in Syria
and the Holy Land, in 1810-11," writes that a large
portion of the site of Rabbath is ' ' covered with the
ruins of private buildings — but nothing of them re
mains, except the foundations and some of the door
posts." MOAB.
In addition to the prophecies cited, in which both
Ammon and Moab are alluded to, Isaiah, in the 16th
chapter, predicts the overflow and desolation of Moab,
making five prophets who agreed in foretelling the
destruction of that wicked and idolatrous nation, and
they do not conflict in any particular with reference to
the facts. Jeremiah is fuller in his description than
any of the others, from whom I make the following
extracts: —
"Against Moab thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel;
Woe unto Nebo ! for it is spoiled : Kiriathaim is confounded and
taken: Misgab is confounded and dismayed.
There shall be no more praise of Moab : in Heshbon they have de
vised evil against it; come, and letus cut it off from being a nation.
Also thou shalt be cut down, O, Madmen; the sword shall pursue
A voice of crying shall be from Horonaim, spoiling and great de
struction. Moab is destroyed; her little ones have caused a cry to be heard.
For in the going up of Luhith continual weeping shall go up: for
in the going down of Horonaim the enemies have heard a cry of de
struction.

54 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
Flee, save your lives, and be like the heath in the wilderness.
For because thou hast trusted in thy works and in thy treasures,
thou shalt also be taken; and Chemosh shall go forth into captivity
with his priests and his princes together.
And the spoiler shall come upon every city, and no city shall es
cape: the valley also shall perish, and the plain shall be destroyed,
as the Lord hath spoken.
Give wings unto Moab, that it may flee and get away; for the
cities thereof shall be desolate, without any to dwell therein." —
Jer. xlviii: 1-9.
" Moab is confounded; for it is broken down: howl and cry; tell
ye it in Arnon, that Moab is spoiled.
And judgment is come upon the plain country; upon Holon, and
upon Jahazah, and upon Mephaath.
And upon Dibon, and upon Nebo, and upon Beth-diblathaim.
And upon Kiriathaim, and upon Beth-gamul, and upon Beth-
meon. And upon Kerioth, and upon Bozrah, and upon all the cities ofthe
land of Moab, far or near.
The horn of Moab is cut off and his arm is broken, saith the
Lord."— Jee. xlviii: 20-25.
"And joy and gladness is taken from the plentiful field, andfrom
the land of Moab ; and I have caused wine to fail from the wine
presses; none shall tread with shouting; their shouting shall be no
shouting. From the cry of Heshbon even unto Elealeh, and even unto Jahaz,
have they uttered their voice, from Zoar even unto Horonaim, as an
heifer of three years old; for the waters also of Nimrim shall be
desolate. Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, saith the Lord, him that
offereth in the high places, and him that burnetii incense to his
gods."— Jer. xlviii: 33-35.
I wish to call attention to two points in connection
with this prediction, that are particularly striking : —
1. The prophets go into details, mentioning several
of the doomed cities by name.
2. They even venture to say that every city shall be
destroyed — that no city shall escape.
It is remarkable how both those points have been
fulfilled. Mr. Burckhardt says: "The ruins of

FULFILLED PROPHECLES. 55
Elealeh, Heshbon, Meon, Medeba, Dibon and Aver,
all situated on the north side of the Arnon, still sub
sist to illustrate the history of the children of Israel."
In this short extract occur the names of several cities,
particularly mentioned by the prophets. Burckhardt
mentions the names of forty ruined sites that he passed
through, in peregrinating the country. Seetzen, who
undertook a dangerous tour from Damascus to the
Dead Sea, in 1806, found a multitude of ruins, still
bearing the old names. The capital, Rabbat-Moab,
called by the Greeks, Aereopolis, remained till the time
of Jerome, when it was destroyed by an earthquake.
" The spoiler shall come upon every city, no city
shall escape." Kitto, Seetzen, Burckhardt, Irby, Rob
inson, and all who travel through the land of ancient
Moab, attest the fact that every city has been spoiled,
and is now in ruins. " Her cities are left desolate with
out any to dwell therein." One writer remarks, that
"Karrak, a frontier town on the southern border, is
the only one now inhabited by man ; but its walls have
mostly fallen down, and Karrak can now justly lay
claim to nothing more than the name of village."
How wonderful are the works of the Lord! The
prophets said there should not be an inhabited city in
Moab, and there is none !
In view of the wonderful fulfillment of the predic
tions relative to Ammon and Moab, will not the skeptic
exclaim : Surely the Lord is in this book 1 and I knew
it not 1

56

HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.

THIRD SPECIFICATION.
PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE PHLLISTINES AND THED3
CITIES.

"Thus saith the Lord God: Because
the Philistines have dealt by revenge,
and have taken vengeance with a de
spiteful heart, to destroy it for the
old hatred :
Therefore thus saith the Lord
God: Behold, I will stretch out mine
hand upon the Philistines, and I will
cut off the Cherethims, and destroy
the remnant of the sea coast." —
Ezekiel xxv: 15-16.
" For Gaza shall be forsaken, and
Ashkelon a desolation: they shall
drive out Ashdod at the noon day,
and Ekron shall be rooted up.
Woe unto the inhabitants of the
sea coast, the nation of the Chere
thites ; the word of the Lord is against
you; O, Canaan, the land of the Phil
istines, I will even destroy thee, and
there shall be no inhabitant.
And the sea coast shall be dwell
ings and cottages for shepherds, and
folds for flocks."— Zephaniah ii:
4^6.

" Thus saith the Lord ; For three
transgressions of Gaza, and for four,
I will not turn away the punishment
thereof; because they carried away
captive the whole captivity, to de
liver them up to Edom:
But I will send a fire on the wall
of Gaza, which shaU devour the pal
aces thereof.
And I will cut off the inhabitant
from Ashdod, and him that holdeth
the sceptre from Ashkelon, andl will
turn mine hand against Ekron: and
the remnant of the Philistines shall
perish, saith the Lord God." — Amos
I: 6-8. " Baldness is come upon Gaza;
Ashkelon is cut off with the remnant
of their valley." — Jer. xlvii : 5.
"Ashkelon shall see it, and fear;
Gaza also shall see it, and be very sor
rowful, and Ekron; for her expecta
tion, shall be ashamed ; and the king
shall perish from Gaza, and Ashkelon
shall not be inhabited."— Zech. ix: 6.

Here are five prophets concurring in the predic
tion that the Philistines should perish, their country
become desolate and their cities ruins. How wonder
ful that they should thus coincide in foretelling the same
events? And still more remarkable, that the events
should transpire according to the predictions. They
said, " the remnant of the Philistines should perish ; "
and there is not one left to boast of their ancient vic
tories over the Hebrews, or call in question the won
derful exploits of Samson. They were lasting enemies
of the Jews. The last conflict between the two nations
took place in the time of the Maccabees, which re.

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 57
suited in the complete overthrow and subjugation of
the Philistines, their extermination being so complete,
that they are not once mentioned in the New Testa
ment. That the country is in the desolate condition fore
told, is attested by all travellers, without regard to
creed or opinion — Infidels and Christians giving the
same account. The description of the celebrated Infi
del writer, Volney, is almost a complete counterpart of
the prophecy. He says : —
" In the plain between Eamlah and Gaza, we meet with a number
of villages, badly built, of dried mud, and which, like the inhabi
tants, exhibit every mark of poverty and wretchedness. The
houses, on a nearer view, are only so many huts, sometimes de
tached, and sometimes ranged in the form of cells, around a court
yard, enclosed by a mud wall. In winter the people and their cattle
may be said to live together, the part of the dwelling allotted to
themselves being only raised two feet above that in which they
lodge their beasts. The environs of these villages are sown, at the
proper season, with grain and watermelons ; all the rest is a desert,
and abandoned to the Bedouin Arabs, who feed their flocks on it.
At every step we meet with ruins of towns, dungeons, and castles
with fosses, and sometimes a garrison, consisting of the lieutenant
of an Aga, and two or three Barbary soldiers, with nothing but a
shirt and a musket ; but more frequently they are inhabited by
jackals, owls and scorpions." — Travels through Syria and Egypt in
1783-4-5, by M. C. F. Volney.
What says the prophet : ' ' The sea coast shall be
dwellings and cottages for shepherds, and folds for
flocks." And Volney says, in the above extract, that
" the people and their cattle may be said to live to
gether," etc. Also, that " all the rest is a desert,
abandoned to the Bedouin Arabs, who feed their flocks
on it." In 1818, Dr. Robert Richardson, in " Travels
along the Mediterranean and parts adjacent," quotes

58 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
the prophecy, and remarks : " This is the literal truth
at present, with respect to the Philistine coast in gen
eral, and Ashkelon and vicinity in particular." A few
years ago, Dr. Barclay published a large standard work
on Jerusalem, entitled, " City of the Great King."
On page 578, he mentions a visit to Ashdod, in which
he uses this language : " Forcing our way through the
thousands of goats, sheep, camels and donkeys, that
crowded around the pool and troughs, we slacked our
thirst with the cool water," etc.
" The king shall perish from Gaza." " Gaza shall be
forsaken." " Baldness is come upon Gaza." Gaza
was repeatedly destroyed, till left without a king.
According to Josephus, it was destroyed the last time
by the Jews, to avenge a massacre of their country
men, at Cesarea. It was finally forsaken and a new
town of the same name built on a different spot. Dr.
Barclay says: "As we gazed upon the naked, white
sand hills, upon which the city seems to have been
mainly situated, I thought in a moment of the pro
phetic declaration: 'Baldness hcs come upon Gaza!'
Of all her splendid palaces or 3 decorating the sur
rounding hills, we saw no remains whatever, larger
than a man's hand — merely a few fragments of vari
ous-colored marbles." — City of the Great King, page
576. " Ashkelon shall be a desolation." " Ashkelon shall
not be inhabited." An early traveller named Joliffe,
says it is "a scene of desolation, the most complete I

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 59
ever witnessed, except at Nicapolis." Mr. Addison
says : " The last of the inhabitants of Ashkelon was
laid in his sandy grave many a year back. Upon this
forlorn spot, where once was congregated a large
population, and where once stood the proudest of the
five satrapies of the Philistines, there is now not a
single inhabitant." Dr. Barclay says, "Though
offering so many inducements for residence in its ruins
yet there is not a single dweller within its walls — the
gardens being altogether cultivated by the Fellahin of
Jura, an adjacent mud village. * * * There is
not a single inhabitant of this once mighty city, and
the few Arab villages constructed here and there, by
these pastoral Ishmaelites, are designed almost entirely
as folds for the accommodation of flocks." — City of
the Great King, page 577.
"I will cut off the inhabitants from Ashdod."
Ashdod was besieged twenty-nine years by Psam-
mitticus, King of Egypt — the longest siege recorded
in history. The inhabitants have been cut off, till it is
reduced to a village. Volney says, " Leaving Yabna,
we met successively with various ruins, the most con
siderable of which are at Ezdoud,the ancient Azotus,*
famous, at present for its scorpions. This town, so
powerful under the Philistines, affords no proof of its
ancient importance." — Ruins of Empire, chap. II.
"Ekron shall be rooted up." John Kitto, a reliable
and standard authority, says : "In the time of Jerome

* A shdod is called Azotus in New Testament. — Acts viii • ^0.

60

HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.

it was a large village, called Accaron. In the time of
Breidenbachius, whose travels were first published in
1486, it had declined from a village to a solitary cottage
or hut, which still bore the ancient name. No traces
of the name or site can now be discovered."
That these prophets should foretell the destruction
of all those cities, is remarkable in itself; but there is
a point in connection with it, still more remarkable ;
that is, the particular phraseology used with reference
to each one. They do not simply say that those cities
shall all be destroyed — the fulfilment of that would
have been wonderful enough — but they partic
ularize : —

PREDICTION.
" Gaza shall be forsaken."
" Ashkelon shall not be inhabited."
"A desolation."
" Will cut off the inhabitants from
Ashdod." " Ekron shall be rooted up."

FULFILLMENT.
The inhabitants forsook it and built
a new town.
Desolate — not an inhabitant within
its walls.
Inhabitants cut off, till reduced to a
dilapidated village.
No trace of the name or site to be
found.

.How remarkable that the very wording of the
prophecies should agree so well with the facts fulfilling
the same. Will any man now say that the influence of
God had nothing to do with the production of these
prophecies? Oh, "Tell it not in Gath! Publish it
not in Ashkelon ! "

FOURTH SPECIFICATION.
PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE CITY OF BABYLON
" Behold I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not
regard silver, and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 61
Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they
shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not
spare children.
And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees'
excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from gen
eration to generation ; neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there ;
neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.
But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there ; and their houses
shall be full of doleful creatures ; and owls shall dwell there ; and
satyrs shall dance there.
And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate
houses, and the dragons in their pleasant palaces."
"For I will rise up against them, saith the Lord of hosts, and cut
off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew,
saith the Lord.
I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of
water; and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the
Lord of hosts." — Isaiah xin: 17-22— xiv: 22-23.
When Isaiah penned the above, Babylon was a
growing city, just rising to distinction, every day aug
menting its resources and enlarging its dominion.
Nothing seemed more improbable than that that great
city should ever be destroyed. It had all necessary re
sources at its command — agricultural, mercantile and
military. Besides, it was guarded by strong and im
pregnable walls. A century passed away after Isaiah
prophesied, during which Babylon not only remained
" the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency," but actu
ally increased in power and magnificence. It would
appear, to human judgment, that Isaiah's prediction
had utterly failed. But, a short time before that proud
metropolis reached the zenith of its glory, Jeremiah
thundered against it as follows : —
"And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of
Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith
the Lord. .
Behold I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the
Lord which destroyest all the earth; and I will stretch out mine

62 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make
thee a burnt mountain.
And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone
for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate forever, saith the Lord.
Set ye up a standard in the land, blow the trumpet among the
nations, prepare the nations against her, call together against her
the kingdoms of Ararat, Minni, and Ashchenaz; appoint a cap
tain against her; cause the horses to come up as the rough cater
pillars. Prepare against her the nations with the kings of the Medes, the
captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land of his
dominion. And the land shall tremble and sorrow; for every purpose of the
Lord shall be performed against Babylon, to make the land of Baby
lon a desolation without an inhabitant.
The mighty men of Babylon have foreborn to fight, they have
remained in their holds; their might hath failed; they became as
women; they have burned her dwelling places; her bars are
broken. One post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet
another, to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken at ene
end. And that the passages are stopped, and the reeds they have burned
with fire, and the men of war are affrighted.
For thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; The daugh
ter of Babylon is like a threshing-floor, it is time to thresh her ; yet
a little while, and the time of her harvest shall come.
Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon hath devoured me, he hath
crushed me, he hath made me an empty vessel, he hath swallowed
me up like a dragon, he hath filled his belly with my delicates, he
hath cast me out.
The violence done to me and to my flesh be upon Babylon, shall
the inhabitant of Zion say: and my blood upon the inhabitants of
Chaldea, shall Jerusalem say.
Therefore thus saith the Lord : Behold, I will plead thy cause, and
take vengeance for thee ; and I will dry up her sea, and make her
springs dry.
And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling place for dragons, an
astonishment, and an hissing, without an inhabitant.
They shall roar together like lions: they shall yell as lions'
whelps. In their heat I will make their feasts, and I will make them
drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep a perpetual sleep, and not
wake, saith the Lord.
I will bring them down like lambs to the slaughter, like rams
with he goats.

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 63
How is Sheshach taken 1 and how is the praise of the whole earth
surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the
nations. — Jek. li: 24-41. See also Jer. l; li: 42-64; and Is. xlv
and xxrvn.
Babylon continued to improve for a short time after
Jeremiah prophesied. It was during the long and
prosperous reign of Nebuchadnezzar that the greatest
improvements took place. According to Berosus, a
Chaldean historian, he adorned the temple of Belus,
fortified the city with new walls, and erected the famous
hanging gardens. — Josephus Against Apion, book 1,
sect. 19. The part that this ruler took in improving
and beautifying the city caused him to say, in the
pride of his heart, "Is not this great Babylon that 1
have built for the house of the kingdom, by the might
of my power, and for the honor of my majesty? " —
Dan. 4:30.
But the word of the Lord cannot fail. It had been
foretold that even this great city should be brought to
desolation ; and it must come to pass. That it did
come to pass as predicted, is attested by the accounts
of the conquest of Babylon, furnished by Herodotus
and Xenophon, two of the most ancient and authentic
heathen historians.
The Lord called Cyrus by name, and intimated the
conspicuous part that he was to perform and how he
should perform it, about a hundred years before he was
born: —
" Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right ' 'nd
I have holden, to subdue nations before him ; and I will loose the
loins of kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the
gates shall not be shut;

64 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
I will go before thee, and make the crooked places straight; I
will break in pieces the gates of brass, and 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 know that I, the Lord, which call
thee by thy name, am the God of Israel." — Isaiah, xiv: 1-3.
In addition to all this the Lord says: " I will dry
up thy rivers." Isaiah, xliv: 27. All these things
were minutely fulfilled. The leader of the siege
against Babylon was Cyrus the Great. He dried up
the river which ran through Babylon by turning the
water off into a large artificial lake. His soldiers di
vided into two bodies and marched into the city through
the bed of the river, both at its ingress and egress.
He found the two-leaved gates leading from the river
into the city left open through carelessness, and he had
nought to do but to march into the city, break the
gates and bars that protected the treasures, and take
charge of the same. Not only did Cyrus get the
"treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret
places " in Babylon, but he also conquered and took
the treasures of Croesus, whose richness is proverbial.
"The Lord hath raised up the spirit of the kings qf
the Medes," etc. Jer. li: 11. " Go up, O Elam; be
siege, O Media," Isa. xxi: 2. "Elam" was the an
cient name of Persia. According to Bochart it was
changed to " Persia " in the time of Cyrus. Cyrus
was king of the Persians, and his uncle Darius Cyax-
ares was king of Media. It is a well-known historical
fact that Babylon was taken by the united forces of
Media and Persia, under the command of Cyrus. But
Darius was left to rule the same after it was captured.

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 65
It was foretold that Cyrus and Darius were to be
aided by other nations from the north: "Prepare
against her the nations with the kings of the Medes."
Jeremiah, li : 28. "1 will cause to come against Baby
lon an assembly of great nations from the north coun
try." Jeremiah, 1: 9. Xenophon expressly mentions
the Armenians, Phrygians, Lydians, Cappadocians,
etc., all of which were north of Babylon.
"The mighty men of Babylon have forborne to
fight; they have remained in their holds; their might
hath failed." Jeremiah, li : 30. Upon the approach
of Cyrus, the Babylonians marched out to give him
fight; but were repulsed and driven back to the city,
where they remained during a two years' siege. At
the end of two years the city was taken by the strata
gem already alluded to, fulfilling the prediction: "I
have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O
Babylon, and thou toast not aware." Jer. 1: 24.
"Babylon is suddenly fallen." Jer. li : 8. We learn
from Herodotus that the attack was so sudden that
people in the extreme parts of the city were made
prisoners ere those in the centre knew anything of the
danger. "In their heat 1 will make their feasts, and I will
make them drunken, that they may rejoice, and sleep
a perpetual sleep, and not wake, saith the Lord." —
Jer. li : 39. The chief cause of the remarkable negli
gence on the part of the Babylonians was the fact that
they were then engaged in the celebration of one of
5

66 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
their great annual festivals, of which drunkenness was
one of the characteristics. Cyrus was aware of this,
and took advantage of the occasion. Read the 5th
chapter of Daniel.
"Her young men shall fall in the streets." Jer.
1: 30. "¦Every one that is found shall be thrust
through" — Isaiah, xiii: 15. Xenophon says Cyrus
" sent a body of horse up and down through the streets,
bidding them kill those they found abroad ; and order
ing some who understood the Syrian language, to pro
claim it to those that were within their houses to remain
within, and that if any were found abroad they should
be killed. These men did accordingly."
About twenty years afterward the Babylonians re
belled against Darius Hystaspes, the third successor of
Cyrus. Another siege followed, during which, in order
to save their provisions, the Babylonians put to death
all their wives and young children, reserving one
female to each family ; in which we see a fulfilment
of the prediction : "in one day two things, loss of
children and widowhood, shall come upon them in their
perfection." Isa. xlvii : 9. After a siege of one year
and eight months, the city was taken by the strategy
of Zopyrus, a friend of Darius, who cut off his own
ears and nose and made the Babylonians believe that
Darius had done it ; and when he succeeded in getting
their confidence and the keys of the city, he opened
the gates to the Persians, who then marched in and
took possession.

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 67
"They are cmel and will not shew mercy." — Jer.
1 : 42. As soon as the Persians got possession of the
city they put three thousand of the citizens to death
by crucifixion.
"The broad walls of Babylon shall be utterly broken
and her high gates burned with fire." — Jer. li: 58.
To prevent a second insurrection, Darius broke down
the greater part of the walls and removed the gates.
The gates being of brass, of course they were melted
in fire to convert them into other uses.
God said he would punish Bel in Babylon, and " do
judgment upon all the graven images of Babylon."
Jer. li : 47; Is. xxi: 9. Xerxes, son of Darius, Dio
dorus informs us, took the massive golden statue and
other treasures out of the temple of Belus, amounting
to a million of dollars, and then commanded that mag
nificent structure to be destroyed.
But the decree had gone forth that Babylon should
become a desolation, and, by the time it was captured
by Alexander the Great, it had already begun to as
sume a desolate appearance. He undertook to rebuild
the waste places, and restore the former splendor of
the city, but he was cut off in the thirty-third year of
his age. The successor of Alexander, Seleucus
Nicanor, abandoned it altogether, building a new capi
tal on the Tigris, to which the major part of the Baby
lonians removed. From that time Babylon hastened
to that state of desolation foretold by the prophets.
A few vears before the birth of Christ, Strabo wrote :

68 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
" None of Alexander's successors ever cared more for
Babylon ; and the remains of that city were entirely
neglected. The Persians destroyed one part of it, and
time, and the indifference of the Macedonian princes
completed its ruin; especially after Seleucus Nicanor
had built Seleucia, in its neighborhood. And now Se-
leucia is greater than Babylon, which is so much de
serted, that one may apply to it what the comic poet
said of another place : ' The great city is become a
great desert."
By the fifth century after Christ, Babylon became
an " utter desolation, without an inhabitant." This
is one of the many cases in which there can not be
a shadow of a doubt that the prophecies were in exis
tence long before the transpiring of the event predicted.
Cyrus took Babylon B. C. 539. Isaiah prophesied in
" the days of Uziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah,"
which was at least 1 60 years prior to the taking of
Babylon, for Hezekiah died B. C. 699. Jeremiah sent
his prophecies to Babylon, " in the fourth year of the
reign of Zedekiah," fifty-six years before the taking
of Babylon — the fourth year of Zedekiah coinciding
with 595 B. C. But if there could be any doubt about
those dates, one thing is absolutely certain, they fore
told the present condition of Babylon ; and, according
to the universal testimony of travellers, it is just in the
condition predicted.
"Cast her up as heaps, and destroy her utterly."
"Babylon shall become heaps." Jer. 1:26; li : 37.

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 69
The Infidel writer Volney, says: " Nothing is left of
Babylon but heaps of earth trodden under foot of
men." — The Ruins, chap. IV. "Where are those
walls of Babylon?" — T/ie Ruins, chap. II. Mr.
Rich says: "The ruins consist of mounds of earth,
formed of the decomposition of buildings." Mr. Kep-
pel says : ' ' Vast heaps constitute all that now remains
of ancient Babylon." Mr. Ryal speaks of immense
heaps of pulverized bricks and rubbish."
"Pools of Water." Is. xiv : 23. Ryal says: "The
floods in their season, convert the surrounding country
into a morass." Rich says the same. Sir Robert K.
Porter, says : " For a long time after the subsiding of
the Euphrates, a great part of the plain is little better
than a swamp; and large deposits of water are left
stagnant in the hollows between the ruins." — Travels
in Ancient Babylonia, 1817-20.
"It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt
in from genera tion to gen era lion . " Isaiah , xiii : 20 . It
has been about fourteen centuries since Babylon was
inhabited by man, and the ruins are now in such a con
dition as to preclude their ever being again inhabited.
In modern times, men needed a town in that section,
and what did they do? Did they go into the ruins of
this ancient city and inhabit them ? Far from it !
They built a little town, about, two miles off, and called
it Hillah. Kersey Graves, in a late Infidel work, tried
to make it appear that the building of Hillah was a
falsification of the prophecy. But this only shows the

70 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
weakness of any attempt to falsify the prophecies.
To dwell in a modern village, is not to inhabit Babylon
by any means. If a man's large and magnificent resi
dence were to be burned down, leaving the walls stand
ing, and he were to say that he would never permit
it to be inhabited, and no man should dwell in it. If,
after those walls have crumbled into ruins, he permits
a man to build a small cabin in the field, near the ruins,
and dwell in it, can it be truthfully said that the man
has spoken falsely? Again, Chicago was burned, but
rose like Phoenix from her ashes, and is again inhabited.
Suppose it should have remained in ruins for centuries,
and become entirely destitute of inhabitants ; then
suppose a village should have been built two miles from
the ruins and called Hillah, could it be said that Chi
cago had been rebuilt, and that men were dwelling in
it? Such efforts as that of Mr. Graves, to make it
appear that the prophecies have failed, but strengthen
my faith in their fulfillment ; for I know that if Infi
dels could make any respectable effort toward falsify
ing them, they would do so.
"Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there." Isa.
xiii : 20. It is w^ll known that the superstitious fear
of ghosts, and the dread of wild beasts, prevents the
Arabs from camping among the ruins.
"Neither shall the shepherds make their folds there."
Is. xiii : 20. We have seen, in former pages, that it
was prophesied of Rabbath-Ammon, and the Philistine
cities, that they should be "stables for camels and

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 71
folds for flocks." One might have been ready to con
clude, from these repetitions, that the prophets were
writing according to human foresight — that it would
be naturally expected that deserted cities would be
used by shepherds as a shelter for their flocks. But
lo, and behold ! here is a prediction just the reverse :
It is said of B.ibylon, that shepherds shall " not make
their folds there.' ' We have seen that the other predic
tions were fulfilled, and from travellers we learn that this
one is also fulfilled, though the reverse of the others.
Upon this once fertile spot there is now no pasture for
flocks, and the wild beasts would naturally deter shep
herds from taking their flocks there. So testify Kitto,
Rich, Volney, and all travellers that have anything to
say on the subject, without a single exception. Skep
tic, pause I Answer me candidly and honestly; how
COULD THE PROPHETS, MANY YEARS BEFORE THE
DESTRUCTION OF CITIES, TELL WHICH ONES WOULD HAVE
FLOCKS HERDED AMONG THEIR RUINS, AND WHICH ONES
WOULD NOT?
"But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and
their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls
shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there." Is.
xiii: 21. When Sir R. K. Porter and party were
approaching the ruins, they saw two or three dark
objects. Mr. Porter says: "I soon distinguished
that the cause of our alarm were two or three majes
tic lions." He also says the " ruins are now the
refuge of jackals and other savage animals." Ryal

72 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
speaks of "deep pits and excavations, the dens and
undisturbed retreats of wolves, hyenas, jackals, and
wild boars." Mr. Rich says he " found porcupine
quills, and in most of the cavities a number of bats
and owls." Other writers speak to the same effect.
"It shall be desolate; every one that goeth by Baby
lon shall be astonished." Jer. 1: 13. Volney ex
claims : " O ye solitary ruins ! " * Capt. Mignan says :
" I cannot portray the overpowering sensations of
reverential awe that possessed my mind while contem
plating the extent and magnitude of ruin and devasta
tion on every side." — Mignan' s Travels, as quoted
by Keith. Mr. Keppel says: "A more complete pic
ture of desolation could not well be imagined." Mr.
Porter says: " I could not but feel an indescribable
awe in thus passing, as it were, into the gates of fallen
Babylon." He speaks of the Euphrates still running
through the silent ruins and devastation, and then ex
claims: "But how changed the rest of the scene!
These broken hills were once palaces ; these long, un
dulating mounds were streets ; this vast solitude was
filled with the busy subjects of the proud daughter
of the East. Now, wasted with misery, her habita
tions are not to be found." Well might the poet say :
" Babylon, that walked in pride,
Now sleeps a shapeless ruin."
* The Rtjtks, ch. 3.

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 73

FIFTH SPECIFICATION.
PREDICTION OF MOSES CONCERNING THE DISPERSION OF
THE JEWS AND DESTRUCTION OF THEIR CITIES.
" The Lord shall bring a nation against thee from far, from the
end of the earth, as the eagle flieth ; a nation whose tongue thou
shalt not understand; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall
not regard the person of the old, nor shew favor to the young; and
he shall eat the fruit of thy cattle, and the fruit of thy land, until
thou be destroyed; which also shall not leave thee corn, wine or oil,
or the increase of thy kine, or flocks of thy sheep, until he have de
stroyed thee. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy
high and fenced walls come down, wherein thou trustedst, through
out all thy land: and he shall besiege thee in all thy gates through
out all thy land, which the Lord thy God hath given thee.
And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy
sons and of thy daughters, which the Lord thy God hath given thee,
in the siege, and in the straitness, wherewith thine enemies shall
distress thee : So that the man that is tender among you, and very
delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the
wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children which
he shall leave : So that he will not give to any of them of the flesh
of his children whom he shall eat : because he hath nothing left him
in the siege, and in the straightness, wherewith thine enemies shall
distress thee in all thy gates.
The tender and delicate woman among you, which would not ad
venture to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness
and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her
bosom, and toward her son and toward her daughter, and toward
her young one that cometh out from between her feet, and toward
her children which she shall bear ; for she shall eat them for want
of all things secretly in the siege and straightness, wherewith thine
enemies shall distress thee in thy gates.
If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are
written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful
name THE LORD THY GOD ; then the Lord will make thy plagues
wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and
of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance..
Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which
thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee
Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the
book of this law, them will the Lord bring upon thee, until thou be
destroyed.

74 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
And ve shall be left few in number, whereas ye were as the stars
of heaven for multitude ; because thou wouldst not obey the voice
of the Lord thy God.
And it shall come to pass that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do
you good, and to multiply you ; so the Lord will rejoice over you
to destroy you, and to bring you to nought; and ye shall be plucked
from off the land whither thou goest to possess it.
And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, from the one
end of the earth even unto the other; and there thou shalt serve
other gods, which neither thou nor thy fathers have known, even
wood and stone.
And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the
sole of thy foot have rest : but the Lord shall give thee there a
trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind; and thy
life shall hang in doubt before thee ; and thou shalt fear day and
night and shalt have none assurance of thy life ; in the morning thou
shalt say, Would God it were even ! and at even thou shalt say,
Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart, where
with thou shalt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou
shalt see.
And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt again with ships by the
way whereof I spake unto thee, Thou shalt see it no more again;
and there ye shall be sold unto your enemies for bondmen and bond
women, and no man shall buy you." — Deut. xxviii: 49-68.
This, of course, was to be the case in the event that
they departed from the commandments of the Lord.
But it is equal to an unconditional prophecy, for
Moses goes on to say that they will do wrong, and
depart from the commandments : —
" I know that after my death ye will utterly corrupt yourselves
and turn aside from the way which I have commanded you; and
evil will befall you in the latter days ; because ye will do evil in the
sight of the Lord, to provoke him to anger through the work of
your hands." — Deut. xxxi: 29.
Here, then, is a plain and unequivocal prediction
that a foreign nation should come against the Jews,
besiege their cities, conquer them, disperse them, and
sell some into bondage, leaving but a remnant. A
perusal of Josephus' Jewish Wars will show that this

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 75
was fulfilled when the Romans under Titus invaded
their land and destroyed Jerusalem. In proof of the
fact that Josephus gives a correct account of this war,
he appeals to Vespasian, Titus, and King Agrippa to
attest the truthfulness of his statements ; and not only
so, but Titus signed the book with his own hand, certi
fying that it was authentic. \_Life of Josephus, sec. 65 ;
Josephus against Apion, Bookl, sec. 9. J Here, then,
we have the testimony of two leading generals, one on
the side of the Jews and the other on the side of the
Romans. If human testimony can be relied upon at all,
this history cannot be doubted.
In the prediction before us there are at least twelve
distinct statements, and all of them have been fulfilled
to the letter : —
1. A nation was to come against them from afar.
Verse 49.
Not only was Rome far from them, in comparison
to other nations that had invaded their land, but the
soldiers composing the army were mostly from Gaul
(France), Spain and Britain. Vespasian, the general-
in-chief, and afterward Emperor, was from England,
which was then considered and denominated the end of
the earth. It is said that Caesar's soldiers were un
willing to follow him to the conquest of Britain, because
they thought he was passing the limits of the world.
See Josephus' Wars of the Jews, book 3, ch. 1, sec. 2;
ch. 4; chs. 6 and 7.

76 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
2. "As the eagle flieth." Verse 49.
It is well known that the national ensign under which
the Romans fought was an eagle. A fit emblem of their
prowess and rapaciousness.
3. "A nation whose tongue thou shalt not under
stand." 49.
Josephus alludes to the difficulties that arose from
the Roman language being unintelligible to the Jews.
The Latin is more foreign to the structure and idiom
of the Hebrew than any other ancient language.
4. It was to be a nation of fierce countenance, disre
garding the old and showing no favor to the young. 50.
Josephus says when the Romans took Gadara, " they
slew all the youth, having no mercy on any age what
ever." — Wars, book 3, ch. 7. On the capture of
Joppa, " after the fighting men were killed, they cut
the throats of the rest of the multitude, partly in the
open air, partly in their own houses, both young and
old." — Wars, book 3, ch. 7. On taking Tarichea,
Vespasian slew all the "old men, together with
others that were useless, who were in number twelve
hundred." — Wars, book 3, ch. 7.
At Gamala they slew all the inhabitants, including
women and infants, only two women escaping. — Wars,
book 4, ch. 1.
5. " They shall eat the fruit of thy land," etc. 51.
Wherever the soldiers marched they feasted upon
the good things of the land. In speaking of the cap-

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 77
ture of different cities by different commanders Jose
phus frequently uses such language as this : " He
allowed the soldiers to seize "as plunder all good
things." — Wars, books 2 and 3.
6. The invaders were to besiege them in all their
gates.. 52. Josephus very particularly records the
siege and capture of the principal cities. Such as
Jerusalem, book 6; Jotapata, book 3 ; Joppa, book 3,
chap. 9 ; Tarichea, chap. 10; Gamala, book 4, chap.
1 ; Gischala, chap. 2; Gadara; book 4, chap. 9, etc.
7. They were to suffer terribly by famine, in so much
so, that parents should eat their own children.
Josephus says : —
"But the famine was too hard for all other passions, and it is
destructive to nothing so much as to modesty; for what was other
wise worthy of reverence was in this case despised; insomuch that
children pulled the very morsels that their fathers were eating out
of their very mouths, and what was still more to be pitied, so did
the mothers do as to their infants ; and when those that were most
dear were perishing under their hands, they were not ashamed to
take from them the very last drops that might preserve their
lives." — Wars, book 5, chap. 10.
But that is not all. Moses had foretold that the
tender and delicate woman should even eat her own
children, " secretly in the siege." Verses 56 and 57.
Josephus gives an account of a lady of eminent and
wealthy family who " slew her son, and then roasted
him, and ate the one-half of him, and kept the other
half by her, concealed. Upon this, the Seditious came
in presently, and smelling the horrid scent of this food,
they threatened her that they would cut her throat im
mediately if she did not show them what food she had

78 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
gotten ready." She replied that she had " saved a very
fine portion of it for them," and, withal, uncovered
what was left of her son. Hereupon they were seized
with horror and amazement of mind, and stood aston
ished at the sight, when she said to them : " This is
my own son, and what hath been done is my own
doing. Come, eat this food, for I have eaten of it my
self. Do not you pretend to be either more tender
than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother;
but if you be so scrupulous, and abominate this, my
sacrifice, as I have eaten the one-half, let the rest be
reserved for me also." After which, those men went
out trembling, being never so much affrighted at any
thing, as they were at this, and with some difficulty,
they left the rest of that meat to the mother." — Wars,
book 6, chap. 3, sec. 4.
8. The Jews were to be sore distressed. 59-61.
Our historian says " the lanes of the city were full
of the dead bodies of the aged; the children and the
young men wandered about the market places like
shadows, all swelled with famine, and fell down dead
wheresoever their misery seized them." — Wars, book
5, chap. 12. Again, he says : " Those that were thus
distressed by the famine were very desirous to die, and
those already dead were esteemed happy, because they
had not lived long enough either to hear or see such
miseries." — Book 6, chap. 3.
9. They were to be left few in number. 62.
By the time this terrible war ended the Jews were
certainly left few in number. According to the ac-

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 79
counts furnished by Josephus, the number of thosej
destroyed during the course of the war could not have/
been much less than a million and a half. Eleven hun
dred thousand perished in the siege of Jerusalem alone.
They afterward revolted in Egypt, where a great num
ber of them were taken, and a great multitude were
slain. — Wars, book 6, chaps. 8, 9.
10. They were to be plucked off their own land and
scattered among all nations. 63, 64.
They were plucked off their own land when it was
subdued and demolished, and it is well known that they
are scattered among all nations. They are to be found
in Turkey, Poland, Holland, Russia, Prussia, Austria,
Germany, Tunis, Morocco, Egypt, Italy, Portugal,
France, England, America, Hindoostan, Persia, China,
Japan, and, in fact, everywhere on the globe.
11. Among the nations where they were driven they
were to have no ease, but affliction and sorrow. 65-67.
Such has been their fate. They have been most
woefully despised, persecuted and oppressed. From
Gibbon we learn that throughout the Roman Empire,
at one time, they were deprived of most of the privi
leges of citizens, and their synagogues were frequently
destroyed by mobs. And in the fifth century those in
Alexandria were expelled from the city to the number
of forty thousand, their synagogues demolished, and
their houses plundered. They were the first victims
of the cruelty of Mahomet, and in all Mohammedan
countries they have been universally oppressed and

80 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
abused. It is said when a Persian murders a Jew he
has only to cut around his finger so as to draw blood,
and the offence is expiated. In Spain, in the seventh
century, Sisebut, the ruler, confiscated the property
and tortured the bodies of a great many, as we learn
from Gibbon. And, from the Encyclopedia Brittan-
ica, we learn that in 1492, the same year Columbus
discovered America, an order was issued that every
unbaptized Jew should leave the country in four
months or be put to death. This caused a general
lamentation among them. They appealed to Ferdin
and for mercy, but all in vain. They had to leave the
country. From the same publication we learn that
there was a general slaughter of Jews in 1391, in
which four thousand families were slain. During the
same year many thousands were butchered in Cordova,
Toledo and Valencia. It must be remembered, also,
that when Jerusalem was taken, all the children under
seventeen years of age were forcibly taken from their
parents and sold into slavery. And S. B. Wickens
says that in France, Germany, Spain and Portugal the
children of Jews have often been forcibly taken and
given into the hands of priests to be educated as Cath
olics. He also says, and quotes authority to prove,
that the king of Portugal issued a secret order to seize
all Jewish children, under fourteen years of age, and
disperse them through the country to be brought up as
Christians. The order was instantly put into execu
tion. He also states that many parents put their chil-

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 81
dren to death with their own hands, rather than let
them fall into the hands of their enemies. — Milman's
Rome; and Fulfillment of Prophecy, page 125.
The persecution still rages in modern times, as the
following from the New York Tribune, republished in
the New Orleans Picayune, of February 18, 1882,
will show : —
" The minute accounts published In London of the persecution
of the Hebrews in Eussia cannot fail to excite the compassion
and indignation of the English-speaking world. The Pall Mall
Gazette has given startling emphasis to the meager references
made in the officially revised dispatches from St. Petersburg
to the riotous disturbances of the last nine months, and its
scathing invectives are fully justified by the details furnished by a
correspondent of the Times (London). It is a most hideous record
of rapine, lust and inhumanity. If the Turkish butchers in Bulgaria
were more bloodthirsty and barbarous, the Russian mobs are every
whit as cruel and debased, swayed as they have been by a passionate
hatred of the Jews which is distinctively mediaeval in spirit. More
over the authorities have not only been wholly as supine as the
Turkish Government, but they have openly abetted and officially
justified these hateful andfrenzied outbreaks of savagery and fanati
cism. The signal for these atrocities was given a few weeks after
the assassination of the czar. At Elizabethgrad, a town in South
Russia, where the Jewish community formed at least a third of the
population, a mob, having sacked a wine shop and become inflamed
with liquor, attacked the synagogues. For forty-eight hours the
rioters remained in possession of the Jewish quarter, the soldiers
who were called out to suppress the revolt joining heartily in the
work of destruction, pillage and lust. As many as one hundred
shops and warehouses and five hundred houses were demolished,
the losses of the victims being estimated at $1,500,000. This was
the first outbreak. It was followed in a week by riots in Smielo
and Kieff, where the troops and police again supported the mob,
participating fully in this double assault upon property and virtue.
At Kieff the attack was deliberately announced in advance, and when
the governor was called upon to protect twenty thousand Hebrew
residents of the city, he refused to give his soldiers any trouble
"for the sake of a pack of Jews." The consequence was that two
thousand of the hated race were left without shelter, and in the
sight of husbands and fathers married women and young girls
were made the victims of the most brutal assaults. From this time
6

82 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
until the end of the year there was scarcely a town in Southern and
Southwestern Russia where similar scenes were not enacted. As many
as one hundred and sixty villages and towns were at different times
during eight months at the mercy of a besotted rabble. The frenzy
spread from town to country until it reached the pettiest hamlet
where there was a single Jew with a little ready money to lend.
It finally flamed out in the ancient capital during Christmas week,
when an alarm of fire was raised simultaneously in two synagogues,
and a thousand houses and shops were plundered and destroyed.
But it is unnecessary to dwell on horrid details. It
is a well-known fact that the Jews have been perse
cuted in all countries except, perhaps, the United
States ; and even here, though the government has
protected them, individuals have mistreated them.
12. Some of them werelo be taken into Egypt and
sold as slaves. 68.
Josephus says ' ' those above seventeen were sent
bound into Egypt to work in the mines," those under
seventeen were sold " at a very low price, because the
numbers sold were so great, and the purchasers but
few." " The whole number of those who were car
ried captive during this war, amounted to ninety-seven
thousand." — Wars, book 6, chaps. 8 and 9.
[Egypt was the great slave mart of the world, and was
frequently overstocked, which explains why those cap
tives were dull sale there.]
Now, remember that fifteen hundred years before
these things happened, they were minutely foretold by
Moses — he even told his people that they should be
carried again into Egypt as slaves and sold in such
large numbers that buyers could not be found — and
it all came to pass as he predicted. He was inspired
of God.

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 83
SIXTH SPECIFICATION.
DESOLATION OF THE HOLY LAND FORETOLD.
The Lord said to the children of Israel, through
Moses, that if they transgressed his law and did not
hearken to his will, which he also said they would do,
that the following calamities should come upon their
land ; —
" Your highways shall be desolate."
"And I will make your cities waste, and bring your sanctuaries
unto desolation, and I will not smell the savour of your sweet
odours. And I will bring the land into desolation; and your enemies
which dwell therein shall be astonished at it.
And I will scatter you among the heathen, and will draw out a
sword after you ; and your land shall be desolate, and your cities
waste. Then shall the land enjoy her sabbaths, as long as it lieth deso
late, and ye be in your enemies' land; even then shall the land rest,
and enjoy her sabbaths." — Lev. xxvi: 22, 31-34.
" So that the generation to come of your children that shall rise
up after you, and the stranger that shall come from a far land, shall
say, when they see the plagues of that land, and the sicknesses
which the Lord hath laid upon it ; and that the whole land thereof
is brimstone * and salt, and burning, that it is not sown, nor beareth,
nor any grass groweth therein, like the overthrow of Sodom and
Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboim, which the Lord overthrew in his
anger, and in his wrath ; even all nations shall say, Wherefore hath
the Lord done thus unto this land? what meaneth the heat of this
great anger?
Then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of
the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with them when he
brought them forth out of the land of Egypt." — Deut. xxix: 22-25.
That this land was at one time fertile and produc
tive, a "land flowing with milk and honey," can be

•Mr Roberts in his "Oriental Illustrations," says: "When a place is
noted lor being- very unhealthy, or the land very unfruitful, it is called
"kerthago poomy," a place or country ol brimstone."

84 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
established by an abundance of authority outside of
the Bible. Even such men as Josephus, Tacitus, Gib
bon and Volney attest the fact. Josephus says : " The
fruitfulness of Gallilee was such as to invite "the
most slothful to take pains in its cultivation; " and
speaks of Judea and Samaria possessing " excellence
and abundance." — Wars, book 3, ch. 3. Tacitus, the
Roman historian, says: " The soil is rich and fertile;
besides the fruits known in Italy, the palm and balm
tree flourish in great luxuriance." — History, book 6,
sec. 6. Gibbon says Syria was improved by the most
early cultivation, and adds : " From the age of David
to that of Heraclius the country was overspread with
ancient and flourishing cities." — Decline and Fall, ch.
51. Volney, comparing the present with the ancient
condition of the country, says : " We are informed by
the philosophical geographer, Strabo, that the terri
tories of Jamnia and Joppa in Palestine, alone, were
formerly so populous as to be able to bring forty thou
sand armed men into the field. At present they could
scarcely furnish three thousand. From the accounts
we have of Judea in the time of Titus, and which are
to be esteemed tolerably accurate, that country must
have contained four millions of inhabitants ; but at
present there are not perhaps above three hundred
thousand." Further on he says: " There is nothing
in nature or experience to contradict the great popula
tion of high antiquity ; without appealing to the posi
tive testimony of history, there are innumerable

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 85
monuments that depose in favor of the fact. Such
are the prodigious quantities of ruins dispersed over
the plains, and even in the mountains, at this day de
serted. On the most remote parts of Carmel are found
wild vines and olive trees which must have been con
veyed thither by the hand of man; and in Lebanon,
the rocks now abandoned to fir trees and brambles,
present us in a thousand places with terraces, which
prove they were anciently better cultivated, and conse
quently much more populous than in our days." —
Travels in Syria, chap. 32. Again he says: "The
plain country is rich and light, calculated for the great
est fertility." — Ibid, chap. 1, sec. 6.
How remarkable that such a country should become
desolate and almost depopulated ! And how much
more remarkable that Moses should foretell its condition
many hundred years before the change took place I
Notwithstanding the wonderful fertility of the soil,
the remarkable salubrity of the climate, and the
noted prosperity of the country, the Jewish lawgiver
predicted that it should be, as it were, a barren waste,
desolate and deserted ; and the other prophets concur
red with him in the prophecy, and it has been most
strickingly fulfilled, even in the minutest particulars !
"Your highways shall be desolate." Lev. xxvi: 22
"The highways [or roads'] lie waste." Isa.
xxxiii: 8.
The Infidel writer Volney confims the truth of this
prophecy by saying: "In the interior parts of the

86 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
country there are neither great roads, nor canals, nor
even bridges, etc. The roads in the mountains are
extremely bad. It is remarkable that throughout Syria
neither a wagon nor a cart is to be seen." — Travels in
Syria, chap 38. "There is no establishment either
of post or of public conveyance." — Ibid. The roads
have not changed since Volney' s day. A recent writer
and traveller, Thos. W. Knox, says : "A rugged path,
where the rocks threaten to give us some dangerous
tumbles, brings us to Tel el Kady, about four miles
from Banias. This place is better known as Dan." —
Life and Adventures in the Orient, page 330. " Less
than an hour from Dan, over a stony, and marshy plain,
brings us to Ain Belat." — Same book, page 331.
" The way is rough in many places, and we wonder
how it has been allowed to remain so in all the thous
ands of years that it has been in use." — Page 341.
In speaking of a tour from Tabor to Nazareth he says :
" The road is crooked and narrow, and winds among
forests of oak and tangles of brush, until within a mile
or more of Nazareth, when we get among bare hills."
Page 347 ¦ The condition of the roads is complained
of by travellers generally. Chas. Dudley Warner
writes : "We went out of the Damascus Gate [at
Jerusalem], through which runs the great northern
highway to Samaria and Damascus. The road, how
ever, is but a mere path over ledges and through loose
stones, fit only for donkeys. If Rehoboam went this
way in his chariot to visit Jeroboam in Samaria, there

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 87
must have existed then a better road." — Atlantic
Monthly, Oct., 1876, Art. "Neighborhoods of Jeru
salem." "1 will make your cities waste." Lev. xxvi: 31.
"The cities that are inhabited shall be laid waste."
Ez. xii : 20.
Volney says: "The towns are destroyed, and the
earth stript of inhabitants." "I have visited the
places that were the theatre of so much splendor, and
have beheld nothing but solitude and desertion." —
The Ruins, chap. 2. " Every day I met with deserted
villages." — Ruins, chap. 1. Jericho, which was sec
ond only to Jerusalem in size, has been so utterly de
molished, that the site it occupied is not definitely
known; and even Jerusalem itself is nothing more
than a desolate village, when compared with what it
was before it was destroyed by the Romans. Volney
says of it: " This town presents a striking example of
the vicissitudes of human affairs : when we behold its
walls levelled, its ditches filled up, and all its buildings
embarrassed with ruins, we can scarcely believe we
view that celebrated metropolis which formerly with
stood the efforts of the most powerful empires, and
for a time resisted the arms of Rome herself — in a
word, we with difficulty recognize Jerusalem." None
of those Syrian cities, at the present time, have any
thing attractive about them but their unattractiveness.
Travellers frequently write of them like Thomas W-
Knox: "There is nothing attractive about the place

88 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
[Deborich] ; it has the repulsive features of most of
the Syrian villages, and you wonder how the natives
manage to live, or even wish to do so." — Life and
Adventures in the Orient, page 347.
" Will bring your sanctuaries unto desolation."
Lev. xxvi: 31.
So prophesied Moses; and Volney, with all his infi
delity, is on hand to record the fulfillment: "The
temples are thrown down." — Volney' s Ruins, chap.
2. When Titus captured Jerusalem, he tried to pre
serve Solomon's temple, the chief sanctuary, but all in
vain; it was destroyed, and has never since been re
built. Julian made an attempt to rebuild it, but it
proved unsuccessful.
"I will bring the land into desolation; and your ene
mies which dwell therein shall be astonished at it."
Lev. xxvi : 32.
"The whole land is spoiled." "Il is desolate as
overthrown by strangers." Jer. iv : 20; Isa. i : 7.
"Every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished."
Jer. xviii : 16.
Says Volney: " So feeble a population in so excel
lent a country may well excite our astonishment; but
this will be increased if we compare the present num
ber of inhabitants with that of ancient times." —
Travels in Syria, chap. 32. He says again : " Every
day as I proceeded on my journey, I found fields lying
waste." — TheRuins, chap. 1. " Nothingisto be seen
but solitude and sterility." — Ruins, chap. 2. " It is

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 89
destitute of that fresh and living verdure which almost
constantly adorns our own lands, and of the grassy
and flowery carpet which covers the meadows of Nor
mandy and Flanders. The earth in Syria always looks
dusty, yet probably the country would have been
shaded by forests, had it not been laid waste by the
hand of man." — Travels in Syria, chap. 32, sec. 1.
I take space to add one extract from a very recent
traveller, Thomas W. Knox. He speaks of his fore
noon's ride being a dreary one, and continues : " We
have five hours of it, or nearly that period, in a wild
country overlooking the valley of the Jordan on the
left, and having no attractions of its own. It is a
scene of desolation. There were no trees — scarcely is
there any vegetation, and the only inhabitants are peo
ple who live somewhere else. The hot, dry landscape
is unforbidding in every feature, and only the historic
character of the country rewards us for our trouble." —
Life and Adventures in the Orient, page 332.
Volney says God " has doubtless pronounced a
secret malediction against this land. In what consists
that anathema of Heaven? Where is the divine curse
which perpetuates the desolation of these coun
tries?" — Ruins, chap. 2.
"I will scatter you among the heathen." Lev.
xxvi: 33.
We have already seen that this prediction was ful
filled. The Jews have been plucked off their land.
Volney says : "I looked for those ancient people and

90 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
their works, and all I could find was a faint trace, like
to what the foot of a traveller leaves on the sand." —
Ruins, chapter 2.
" The wild gazelle on Judah's hills
Exulting yet may bound,
And drink from all the living rills
That gush on holy ground :
But we must wander witheringly,
In other lands to die ;
And where our fathers' ashes be,
Our own may never lie." — Bteon's Hebeew Melodies.
Again, Moses told them that the generation to come
of their children, and the stranger that should come
from a far land, etc., when they should see the great
desolation, they should say: "Wherefore hath the
Lord done thus unto this land? What meaneth the
heat of this great anger?" Deut. xxix: 22-24.
Over three thousand years after this language was
written, M. C. F. Volney, an avowed Infidel, visited
this country, a stranger from a strange land, and,
overpowered with the dreary aspect, thus gave vent to
his emotions : —
" The history of past times strongly presented itself to my
thoughts. I enumerated the kingdoms of Damascus and Idumea;
of Jerusalem and Samaria ; and the warlike States of the Philistines ;
and the commercial republics of Phoenicia. 'This Syria,' said I to
myself, ' then contained a hundred flourishing cities, and abounded
with towns, villages and hamlets. Everywhere one might have seen
cultivated fields, frequented roads and crowded habitations.
Ah! what are become of those ages of abundance and of life?
What are become of so many productions of the hand of man?
Alasl I have traversed this desolate country, I have visited the
places that were the theatre of so much splendor, and I have beheld
nothing but solitude and desertion. I looked for those ancient
people and their works, and all I could find was a faint tn^e, like to
what the foot of a traveller leaves on the sand. Tho tunnies are

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 91
thrown down, the palaces demolished, the ports filled up, the towns
destroyed, and the earth, stripped of its inhabitants, seems a dreary
burying place. Great God! from whence proceed such melancholy
revolutions'} For what cause is the fortune of these countries so strik
ingly changed? Why is not that ancient people reproduced and perpet
uated?' " — Volney' s Ruins, Chap. 2.
How remarkable that such a wonderful confirmation
of Scripture should be found in a book written ex
pressly with the design of disproving the Scriptures !
The same question was to be asked by all nations,
i.e., individuals in all nations, and Moses even ventures
to tell the answer that should be given: " Then men
shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant of
the Lord God of their fathers, which he made with
them when he brought them forth out of the land of
Egypt." Deut. xxix: 25. And that very answer
has been given almost an innumerable number of
times. And now, I say to skeptics : Here is a plain and
unquestionable case of fulfilled prophecy. You can
not quibble about whether the prophecy was written
before the event ; for the event is now, and the pre
diction was written thousands of years ago, and was
read by Jews, Greeks, and others, while that land was
yet in a prosperous condition. You can not say that
Moses and the prophets, Volney and all modern travel
lers, Jews, Christians and Infidels, have all conspired
together to deceive you ! I now say, if you are not
yet convinced, take the Bible in one hand and Volney's
works in the other, go to the Holy Land, perch your
self upon some ancient ruin, read, examine, observe

92 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
and meditate. We have the prophecy and the fulfillment
can be verified by actual observation at any time.
That desolate country stands a living monument to the
truth of revelation.

SEVENTH SPECIFICATION.
PROPHECIES CONCERNING THE PERPETUITY OF THE JEWS.
"And yet, for all that, when they " For I am with thee, saith the
be in the land of their enemies, I Lord, to save thee ; though I make a
will not cast them away, neither will I full end of all nations whither I have
abhor them, to destroy them utterly, scattered thee, yet will I not make a
and to break my covenant with them ; full end of thee : but I will correct
forlamthe Lord their tiod." — Le- thee in measure, and will not leave
VITICUS XXVI: 44. thee altogether unpunished." — Jek-
" Lo, the people shall dwell alone, emiah xxx: 11.
and shall not be reckoned among the " Tear thou not, O Jacob my scr-
nations." — Numbers xxiii: 9. vant, saith the Lord; for I am with
"Behold, I am with thee, and will thee ; for I will make a full end of all
keep thee in all places whither thou the nations whither I have driven
goest, and will bring thee again into thee; but I will not make a full end
this land; fori will not leave thee, of thee, but correct thee in measure;
until I have done that which I have yet will I not leave thee wholly un
spoken to the of."— Gekbsis 28:15. punished."— Jeremiah xlvi: 28.
We have already seen that the Israelites have, ac
cording to these and other predictions, been scattered
among all the nations of the earth. Their exact num
ber is not known, but a late issue of the New York
World states that there are more than there were in the
days of King Solomon, and it is estimated that they
number near ten millions : Full 2,000,000 in Russian
dominions; 1,200,000 in Austria; 223,000 in Prussia
and Posen; 200,000 in the German States; 87,000 in
France; 75,000 in Holland; 13,000 in Belgium;
45,000 in England; 32,000 in Italy, there being half

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 93
that number in Rome ; 400,000 in European Turkey;
6,000 in the Ionian Islands ; 9,000 in Denmark ; 4,000
in Switzerland ; 250,000 in the United States ; 50,000
in the remaining American territory, including the
West Indies; and a large number in Africa, Spain,
Portugal, and other places not estimated. Facts and
figures show that that part of the prophecy has been
fulfilled. It was said that they should suffer some among the
nations ; should be measurably corrected and not left
altogether without punishment. We have also seen
that that part has been fulfilled ; and could accumulate
evidence, but it is unnecessary. In connection with
this, however, it may be well enough to call attention
to the fact that they were to become " a proverb and
a by-word " among the nations. Deut. xxviii : 37, and
Jer. xxiv: 9. This is also strikingly fulfilled, and
is a part of their punishment, They have been treated
with disrespect in all countries. In Spain it was once
a penal offence to call a man a Jew. Mr. Lane says
that quarrelling Egyptians call each other dogs, pigs,
and Jews, and regard the last name as the most de
grading epithet. He also states that Arabs often
abuse their jaded beasts by calling them very oppro
brious nicknames, and finally by calling them Jews. —
Manners and Customs of Modern Egyptians. The
Emperor Constantine, in a public document, termed
the Jews the most hateful of all people. And you
know that in this country we are familiar with such

94 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
proverbs and by-words as, "It beats the Jews," "As
rich as a Jew," "Don't jew me! " How did Moses
foreknow these things over three thousand years ago?*
Not only were the Jews to be scattered among all
nations, but they were to remain a separate and dis
tinct people ; they were not to be reckoned among the
nations. This, too, has been remarkably fulfilled.
They are among all people ; yet, as a general rule,
intermarry and mingle with none. They trade with
the Gentiles, but otherwise they dwell apart and wor
ship among themselves. "They dwell alone." In
some of the cities throughout the various nations, they
live among themselves, isolated from the other inhabi
tants, in what are called " Jews' quarters." That is
even true of Jerusalem.
How remarkable that, during the long night of their
dispersion, they should have remained a separate and
distinct people, notwithstanding they have no temple,
no prince, no sacrifice, and no certain dwelling place 1
Reason would have said, that if any nation of antiquity
lost its identity, it would be the Jews, scattered as
they are, over the whole habitable globe ; but, they
are the ones, above all others, that have preserved
their identity I They realize that they are one. Touch
* The above prediction has been sufficiently fulfilled, and it must be re
membered that there are other prophecies concerning those people:
"And it shall come to pass, that as ye were a curse among the heathen, O
house of Judah, and house of Israel; so will I save you, and ye shall be a
blessing: fear not, but let your hands be strong." — Zec. VIII: 13.
"Thou shalt lend unto many nations; but thou shalt not borrow."—
Deut. xv:6.
Think of such bankers as the Rothchilds, and Jewish pawn-brokers in
every city.

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 95
Israel as a chord, and it vibrates to the ends of the
earth ! " From the tops of the rocks, I see him, from
the hills I behold him ! lo, the people shall dwell alone,
and shall not be reckoned among the nations!" Oh
Israel, whither shall I go from thy presence; whither
shall I flee from thy descendants? If I take the
steamers of the Atlantic, or the schooners of the
Pacific, and dwell in the Islands of the sea, behold,
there are the seed of Isaac ! If I go to the remotest
trading post on the borders of civilization, behold there
are the sons of Abraham.
But the main point in the predictions now under con
sideration, is their perpetuity. God told them that he
would not destroy them utterly; that he would make
a full end of all the surrounding nations, but that he
would never make a full end of them. If the Jews were
exterminated, or their identity lost, it would nullify the
prophecies and nullify the Scriptures ; but as long as
they continue they stand forth a living monument of
the truth of revelation. This prophecy was first enun
ciated by Moses, centuries afterward, it was repeated
by Jeremiah, and since that time the Jews have under
gone many trials and vicissitudes, but they still live.
The strength of all nations seems to have been combined
to crush them , bu t they are still in existence . The Egyp
tians oppressed them ; the Philistines were continually at
war with them ; the Chaldeans invaded their land ;
the Babylonians carried them captive, causing them to
hang their harps on the willows, and cease to sing the

96 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
songs of Jehovah ; bordering nations harassed them ;
the Macedonians annoyed them ; and the Romans over
threw their kingdom and demolished their capital, —
and yet for all that, they were not extinguished !
They were scattered and peeled, murdered and
enslaved, yet they survived ; they were dispersed
among all nations, yet they preserved their identity.
In more modern times, they have been persecuted,
down-trodden and oppressed, in Russia, Prussia,
Servia, Portugal, Spain, China, Germany, France,
England, and other nations, but they are not yet ex
terminated. They have been robbed, plundered,
abused, slain ; their children taken from them ; ban
ished, ostracised, frustrated, annoyed, harrassed and im
prisoned, but they are still on the land, and amongst
the living. They can neither be extinguished, nor
their identity destroyed. Like Banquo's ghost, they
will up, and they will not down. The decree of Jeho
vah has gone forth that they shall not be utterly de
stroyed ; and during their latest persecutions, they
have been on the increase. They continue to multipy
and replenish the earth.
This is about the most convincing case of fulfilled
prophecy in the entire list ; not only on account of
its continuity, but on account of the fact that it
is ever present before our eyes. The desolation of
Judea, and the destruction of the various cities whose
destiny was foretold, are, like this, very remarkable
instances of fulfillment, and we take them up anc1

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 97
hold them forth as indubitable evidences of God's
word ; because the fulfillment is not a thing of the past,
but continues from year to year, and can, at any time,
be subjected to examination. The traveller can go to
those scenes of desolation, sit down among the ruins,
Bible in hand, and note the wonderful fulfillment of
the prophecies. But many of us cannot go to those
ancient ruins, and, in their solitude, see the finger of
God. But the Jews we always have with us. In them
we have a fulfillment continually before our eyes.
They associate with us, talk with us, trade with us.
They are on our streets, in our stores, in all our public
places, " epistles known and read of all men," the
ever-living evidence of the fulfillment of the prediction
concerning their dispersion and perpetuity ! This in
stance of truthful prediction is subject to the inspection
of all. Wherever the prophecy is read, the fulfillment
is seen.
The Jews have outlived all their ancient enemies.
The destroyed survive the destroyers ! Where are
those ancient nations that oppressed them? Where
are the Assyrians ? Where are the Philistines ? Where
are the Chaldeans ? Where the Macedonians ? Where
are the Romans? Where are the Ammonites and
Moabites ? All passed away. There are no people now
living that can say that they descended from those
nations of antiquity ! Nor are there any that can
establish the fact that they descended from the ancient
Egyptians, or from the Medes and Persians ! But the
7

98 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
Jews can trace their ancestry back to the people who
were delivered from Egyptian bondage by Moses.
As long as the Jews survive I will believe the Bible
to be of divine origin. Do you want to shake my
faith in the truthfulness of Moses and the prophets?
Let me stand by the death-bed of the last surviving
Hebrew — let me see him expire, and follow him to
the grave; then, and not till then, will I renounce my
faith in inspiration ! Then, upon the tomb of the last
of this ancient race, I will drop a tear, and write as his
epitaph : — 14 Theprophet was deceived:
The Lord deceived the prophet."
In the commencement of this chapter, be it remem
bered, I set out to furnish conclusive and irrefutable
evidence that the writings of the Old Testament are of
divine origin . I now leave it tq the candid and unbiased
reader to decide whether I have accomplished my task.
I have shown that Moses, Nahum, Amos, Isaiah,
Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, and Zechariah, all fore
told events that should transpire, and described condi
tions that should be brought about, many years, and in
some cases, many centuries, beforehand; thus prov
ing the inspiration of eight writers, and the divine
origin of thirteen books. It would be an easy matter
to demonstrate the same truth with reference to other
writers, upon the same line of argument ; and, in fact,
the divine origin of the book of Daniel, and some
others, has been proved so many times, that I would
deem it a superfluous undertaking to detain the reader

FULFILLED PROPHECIES. 99
by calling his attention to the minute fulfillment of the
many remarkable predictions contained therein. I
have labored seven specifications, none of which can
be gainsaid or successfully confuted. This proves
that the Book is of divine origin, because none but
God has the power to foretell, with certainty, future
events. " Future contingencies, such as those which
relate to the rise and fall of nations and states not yet
in existence, or to the minute concerns of individuals
not yet born, are secrets which it is evident no man or
angel can penetrate, their causes being indeterminate,
their relations with other things fluctuating and un
known. It follows, therefore, that the prediction of
such contingent events cannot otherwise than proceed
from God; and further, since God cannot without a
violation of his perfect holiness and rectitude, aid
delusion, the inference is equally cogent and necessary
that the accomplishment of predictions, delivered by
those who profess divine authority, amounts to a full
proof that they really possess the authority they as
sume."* Fulfilled prophecy is evidence that is over
whelmingly convincing, and cannot be evaded except
by refusing to consider it. Wherefore, we conclude
with the apostle Peter, that " The prophecy came not
in old times by the will of man; but holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."^
* Gregory's Letters. t 2Pet. i: 21.

100 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.

CHAPTER III.

Conclusive and Irrefragable Proof That the New Tes
tament is of Divine Origin.
"All prophecies arc real miracles." — Hume.
" We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that
ye take heed." — Peter.
PROPOSE now to prove conclusively and beyond
doubt that the New Testament is of divine origin,
and I shall do so by the same course of reasoning
^ pursued with reference to the Old Testament. I
shall show that the writers thereof foretold events
long before they occurred, which have transpired ex
actly according to the prediction. I could give many
examples. In fact, one who had not made the subject
a special study, would be surprised to find that the
New Testament is to so great an extent a prophetical
book. It abounds in predictions, like the Old Testa
ment, and some of these, like some of those, are at
the present time in process of fulfillment. Out of the
many examples that could be given I select three, and
plant myself firmly upon those three, defying the com
bined Infidel world to show that any one of them has
failed : —

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 101
FIRST SPECIFICATION.
Paul's prophecy of the papacy.
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by* the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not
soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word,
nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means : for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be re
vealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself
above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as
God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. .
Eemember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these
things? And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in
his time.
For the mystery of iniquity doth already work : only he who now
letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall
consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the
working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and
with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish ; be
cause they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved." — 2 Thessalonians ii: 1-10.
This prediction is most strikingly fulfilled in the Pa
pacy of the Roman Hierarchy. The man of sin is
evidently the Pope. In the first place, the time of his
appearing was not a long way off. The seeds of the
apostasy were already sown, and were sprouting when
Paul wrote, and the mystery of iniquity would con
tinue to work till the sin of man produced the Man of
Sin. But let us notice it, item by item : —
* Instead of "by" in the first verse, it should read " concerning," and
" falling away " in the third verse should read " apostasy." This is the sense
of the Greek. He besought them not to be soon shaken in mind " concern
ing the coming of the Lord," as though he would suddenly appear, for the
" apostasy," of which he had told them while with them, must of necessity
come first; and as that would be of long continuance.-the second coming of
Christ could not then be at hand.

102 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
1st. There was to be a "falling away," or apostasy.
Now, I inquire, if the union of church and state
under Constantine, with all the paraphernalia intro
duced in the place of the simplicity of the gospel was
not a falling away, or apostasy? The introduction of
sacredotal robes, the ringing of bells, the burning of
candles, the adoration of images, the sale of indi
gencies, priestly absolution, the substitution of mass
in the place of the Lord's Supper, and of penance in
place of repentance, the elevation of the host, the
ohange in all the ordinances, together with the in
troduction of a thousand frivolous things unknown
in the New Testament, marks the Roman Catholic
Church as distinct from the church known to Peter,
Paul, and James, and proves it to be an apostasy
from the truth of Christ as promulgated by the
apostles. The . church of Christ has no rule of
faith except the writings of apostles and prophets.
But the Roman Hierarchy has superadded to these the
Aprocraphy and one hundred and thirty-five other
large folio volumes ! These include : The Apostolic
Fathers, 35 folios ; Decretals, 8 volumes ; Bulls of the
Popes, 10 volumes ; Canons and Decrees, 31 volumes;
Acts of Saints, 51 folios. I ask every candid man to
say whether or not this is an apostasy from the institu
tion established by the Judean carpenter, aided by
fishermen of Gallilee ? Or, as I should rather say, by
the Son of God and his inspired apostles.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 103
2d. There was some one in the way that hindered the
manifestation of the Man of Sin, who had first to be
taken out of the way before that Wicked One should
make his appearance. 6—8.
That was evidently the Roman emperor. No pope
could arise and assume authority and power till the em
peror was removed. So Satan had to work secretly
and keep the mystery of iniquity brewing till he got
Caesar's successor dethroned, then embrace the oppor
tunity and hoist the " son of perdition " to the throne.
This is no fanciful interpretation gotten up for the oc
casion, but it was the understanding of all the early
fathers before popery was developed. Justin Martyr,
Origen, Lactantius, Cyril and Jerome all so interpreted
the passage; and Tertullian, in the Second Century,
commented on it as follows: "Who can this be but
the Roman States, the division of which into ten king
doms will bring on Anti-Christ, and then the Wicked
One shall be revealed." — The Resurrection, ch. 24.
Even one of the Roman bishops, Gregory the Great,
now placed in the calendar as a pope, said, in the Sixth
Century, if any man affected the title of Universal
Bishop he was the Anti-Christ. In fact, it was the
universal belief that the "Man of Sin" was to be a
dignitary in the church, who should arise and usurp the
reins of government after the Roman emperor was dis
placed, till the " Man of Sin " himself arose and gave
another interpretation. That Christianity was pure

104 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
and humble before the downfall of the Roman empire,
is atteste'd by the skeptical historian, Gibbon himself.
He says : " While the great body was invaded by open
violence or undermined by slow decay, a pure and
humble religion gently insinuated itself into the minds
of men, grew up in silence and obscurity, derived new
vigor from opposition, and finally erected the tri
umphant banner of the cross on the ruins of the Capi
tol 1" But after the state was overthrown and the
emperors vacated the throne of the Csesars the church
was corrupted, the apostasy was complete, and the
" son of perdition " appeared a full grown man !
3d. He " opposeth and exalteth himself above all that
is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he
is God."
Mark you, it is not said that he should exalt himself
above God, but " above all that is called God." And
it is well known that the term is frequently applied to
kings, rulers and leaders. It is sometimes used in this
sense in the Bible. And it is a matter of history that
Alexander the Great claimed to be a god, and ordered
that divine worship should be paid to him. The Man
of Sin, then, who is the Pope, not any particular pope,
but the pope as an officer, was to exalt himself above
all other rulers, and he has done it. Not only does he
assume authority over bishops and all ecclesiastical
rulers, but he exalts himself above and usurps author
ity over civil rulers. Pope Gregory VII made King

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 105
Henry IV wait barefooted at the gate ; Pope Alexander
HI put his foot on the neck of King Frederick I ;
Pope Celestin lifted the foot that had so often been
kissed by kings, bishops and princes, and kicked off
the crown of Henry VI. All the satellites of the Pope
claim no less than absolute power for him. Molina,
an eminent Catholic writer, deposeth as follows : —
"To oblige men to execute his will, he can not only use censures,
but can employ effective chastisements, such as violence and arms,
altogether like a temporal prince; although it is better that the
Pope, instead of executing these punishments himself, should dele
gate to this end the secular princes. For this reason it is said that
the Pope possesses the two swords, supreme spiritual power, and
supreme temporal power."
This is but a sample of the many quotations that I
could make showing that the Pope exalts himself above
all earthly rulers. He also exalts himself above God
and his Son, for he makes void the word of God by his
traditions, separating what God has joined together,
and joining together what God has left separate;
abolishing what God has established, and establishing
what neither God nor his Son have ever sanctioned.
He exhibits himself as God, pretending to be God, not
only by changing the laws and ordinances of God, but
by the arrogant and presumptous titles that he as
sumes, such as " Sovereign Pontiff ," " Holy Father,"
"Universal Patriarch," "Supreme Head," "Suc
cessor of Peter," " Prince of the Apostles," " Vicar
of Christ," "Infallible One," "Lord of Lords,"
"His Holiness," "Lord God, the Pope!" Arch
bishop Purcell made use of some of those titles in his

106 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
debate with Alexander Campbell, pages 21, 106, 124
and 241. The bishop, however, denied that the pope
was infallible, or that he claimed to be so. He says:
" Is he an infallible ? He pretends not verily to be
so." — page 238. But lo, and behold ! since the bishop
gave utterance to that sentiment, " his Holiness " has
assembled the chief dignitaries of the church from all
parts of the world, and had himself proclaimed infalli
ble. Bishop Purcell went all the way from Cincinnati
to Rome to oppose the dogma, but all with no avail.
But let us see how the bishops address the Pope:
" Thou most Holy Lord, thou the Vicar of Christ, the
Bishop of Bishops, the Supreme Judge of the Faith,
and Arbiter of all Controversies ; Thou, the Head of
the Church, the Light of the Nations, let us humbly
ask thee," etc. — Address of the Gallican Bishops to
the Pope, appendix, page 595. But let us hear the
Pope's own organ, the Civilta Catolica, a paper pub
lished in Rome, and the very highest authority in the
church. It says: " The church is God himself, who is
master and ruler of mankind through a visible organ
ism, and of this the head and mouth is the Roman
Pontiff." The church, then, is God? Yes. And the
Pope is the head of the church? Yes. Then the Pope
is the head of God? Exactly. No wonder he claims
the power to abolish the laws of God and change his
ordinances! In some translations "the wicked" is
rendered "the lawless one," and surely the Pope is
the lawless one, assuming the power to set aside both

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 107
the laws of God and man. Catholic writers frequently
declare that he is bound by no law, human or divine:
"Papa facit quiquid libet, etiam illicita, et est plus
quam Deus;" which, being interpreted, means "the
Pope doth whatsoever he pleases, even things unlaw
ful, and is more than God." — Jewell's Apology and
Defence, Newton, page 404.
4th. " Whose coming is after the working of Satan
with all power and signs and lying wonders," etc. —
9 and 10.
Any one at all familiar with the papal history will
recognize the truth of this as applied to the Roman
Pontiff. His works are certainly like the works of
Satan, if there is any truth in history. Even Bishop
Purcell admits that there were some bad popes, and
thinks it probable that they are now roasting in hell
for their wickedness. In his debate with Alexander
Campbell, the Reformer, he speaks of the number of
popes, and adds: " Of these the first forty were saints
or martyrs, a small number only, not more than
twenty, can be called bad men." — Page 146. On
the same page he says that Pope Stephen VI had the
body of Formosus, another pope, dug up, and cut off
his fingers, and calls it an unpardonable act. On page
144 he repeats that there were some bad popes, and on
page 145 he uses this language: "I should not be
surprised if these bad popes were, at this moment, ex
piating their crimes in the penal fires of hell ! " The
Catholics canonize as saints all those in high station,

108 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
whom they consider their best and purest men ; but of
the last fifty popes only one has been canonized ! —
See Campbell and Purcell Debate, page 154.
But his coming was also to be "with all power, and
signs, and lying wonders." Well, he claims all power.
The great Catholic historian, Du Pin, says that at the
last Lateran great Synod, one prelate said of the pope:
"He hath all power above all powers, both of heaven and
earth." — Du Pin, page 133. In 1585 Pope Sixtus V
hurled a bull of excommunication against Henry, King
of Navarre, and the Prince of Conde, beginning as fol
lows : " The authority given to St. Peter and his suc
cessors, by the immense power of the Eternal King,
excells all the powers of earthly kings and princes.
It passes uncontrollable sentence upon them all — and
if it find any of them resisting God's ordinance, it
takes more severe vengeance of them, casting them
down from their thrones, though never so puissant,
and tumbling them down to the lowest parts of the
earth, as the min Icrs of aspiring Lucifer." In 1570,
Pope Pius V thundered a similar anathema against the
queen of England. — Comp. Hist., anno. 1570. To
show the spirit of the papacy, and the wonderful
assumption of bishops under the dominion of the
Pope, I call attention to a bull of the Bishop of Phila
delphia against a refractory priest, named Wm. Hogan,
rector of St. Mary's church, Philadelphia. It is as
follows : —
"By the authority of God Almighty, the Father, Son, and Holy
Ghost, and the undefiled Virgin Mary, mother and patroness of our

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 109
Savior, and of all celestial virtues, Angels, Archangels, Thrones,
Dominions, Powers, Cherubims and Seraphims ; and of all the Holy
Patriarchs, Prophets, and of all the Apostles, and Evangelists of the
Holy Innocents, who, in the sight of the Holy Lamb, are found
worthy to sing the new song of the Holy Martyrs and Holy Confess
ors, and of all the Holy Virgins, and of all Saints, together with
the Holy Elect of God — may he, William Hogan, be damned.
We excommunicate and anathematize him, and from the threshold
of the Holy Church of Almighty God, we sequester him, that he may
be tormented, disposed and be delivered over with Athan and
Abiram, and with those who say unto the Lord, 'depart from us,
for we desire none of thy ways;' as a fire is quenched with water,
so let the light of him be put out forevermore, unless it shall repent
him and make satisfaction. Amen!
May the Father, who created man, curse him ! May the Son, who
suffered for us, curse him ! May the Holy Ghost, who suffered for
us in baptism, curse him! May the Holy Cross, which Christ
ascended, curse him!
May the Holy and Eternal Virgin Mary, Mother of God, curse
him ! May St. Michael, the advocate of the Holy Souls, curse him !
May all the angels, principalities and powers, and all heavenly
armies, curse him! May the praise-worthy multitude of Patriarchs
and Prophets curse him!
May St. John, the Precursor, and St. John, the Baptist, and St.
Peter and St. Paul, and St. Andrew, and all other of Christ's Apos
tles together, curse him! And may the rest of our Disciples and
Evangelists, who, by their preaching, converted the universe, and
the Holy and wonderful company of Martyrs and Confessors, who,
by their holy works, are found pleasing to God Almighty. May the
holy choir of the Holy Virgins, who, for the honor of Christ, have
despised the things of the world, damn him! May all the saints
from the beginning of the world to everlasting ages, who are
found to be beloved of God, damn him !
May he be damned wherever he be, whether in the house or in
the stable, the garden or the field, or the highways; or in the woods,
or in the waters, or in the church ; may he be cursed in living and
in dying!
May he be cursed in eating and in drinking, in being hungry, in
being thirsty, in fasting, in sleeping, in slumbering, and in sitting,
in living, in working, in resting and blood letting!
May he be cursed in all the faculties of his body!
May he be cursed inwardly and outwardly; may he be cursed in
his brain, and in his vertex, in his temples, in his eyebrows, in his
cheeks, in his jaw-bones, in his nostrils, in his teeth and grinders,
in his lips, in his throat, in his shoulders, in his arms, in his fingers.
May he be damned in his mouth, in his breasts, in his heart and
purtenances, down to the very stomach!

110 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
May he be cursed in his reins and in his groins ; In his thighs, in
his genitals and in his hips, his knees, and legs, and feet, and toe
nails !
May he be cursed in all his joints, and articulation of the mem
bers ; from the crown of his head to the sole of his feet, may there
be no soundness.
May the Son of the living God, with all the glory of his majesty,
curse him! And may heaven, with all the powers that move
therein, rise up against him and curse and damn him; unless he
repent and make satisfaction !
Amen. So be it. Be it so. Amen." *
This is a sample of the one hundred anathemas
commanded by the council of Trent. — See Camp
bell and Purcell, Deb., page 331.
But, now for a few samples of the ' ' lying wonders and
signs." It is well known that the mother of Constan
tine went to Jerusalem and pretended to find the true
cross, and travellers tell us that in Catholic States in
the Old World, enough pieces of the true cross are ex
hibited to make many crosses, and still have material
left! But as I like to have everything advanced, well
backed by authorities, I submit a few precious little
items from ecclesiastical history. I first quote from
Waddington who says : —
"The Empress Constantia, who was building a church at Con
stantinople to St. Paul, made application to Gregory for the head of .
that apostle, or, at least for some portion of his body. The Pope
• I like the sentiments of A. Pope better than those of the pope, when he
Bays: " Let not this weak, unknowing hand,
Presume thy bolts to throw,
And deal damnation round the land
On each I judge thy foe? " — Universal Prayer.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. Ill
begins his answer by a very polite expression of his sorrow ' that he
neither could nor dared to grant that favor; for the bodies of the
holy apostles, Peter and Paul, are so resplendent with miracles and
terrific prodigies in their own churches, that no one can approach
them without great awe, even for the purpose of adoring them.
When my predecessor, of happy memory, wished to change some
silver armament which was placed over the most holy body of St.
Peter, though at a distance of almost fifteen feet, a warning of no
small terror appeared to him. Even I myself wished to make some
alteration near the most holy body of St. Paul, and it was necessary
to dig rather deeply near his tomb. The superior of the place found
some bones which were not at all connected with that tomb ; and
having presumed to disturb and remove them to some other place,
he was visited by certain fearful apparitions,' and died suddenly.
My predecessor of holy memory, also undertook to make some re
pairs near the tomb of St. Laurence ; as they were digging, without
knowing precisely where the venerable body was placed, they hap
pened to open his sepulchre. The monks and guardians who were
at the work, only because they had seen the body of that martyr,
though they did not presume so much as to touch it, all died within
ten days ; to the end that no man might remain in life who had
beheld the body of that just man. Be it then known to you, that it
is the custom of the Komans, when they give any relics, not to ven
ture to touch any portion of the body; only they put into a box a
piece of linen (called brandeum) , which is placed near the holy
bodies ; then it is withdrawn and shut up with due veneration in
the church which is to be dedicated, and as many prodigies are then
wrought by it, as if the bodies themselves had been carried thither;
whence it happened that in the time of St. Leo (as we learn from
our ancestors) when some Greeks doubted the virtue of such relics,
that the Pope called for a pair of scissors and cut the linen, and
blood flowed from the incision. And not at Rome only, but through
the whole of the West, it is held sacrilegious to touch the bodies of
the saints, nor does such temerity ever remain unpunished. For
which reason we are much astonished at the custom of the Greeks
to take away the bones of the saints, and we scarcely give credit to
it. But what shall I say respecting the bodies of the holy apostles,
when it is a known fact that at the time of their martyrdom, a num
ber of the faithful came from the East to claim them? But when
they had carried them out of the city to the second milestone, to a
place called the catacombs, the whole multitude was unable to move
them farther — such a tempest of thunder and lightning terrified
and dispersed them.
The napkin, too, which you wished to be sent at the same time,
is with the body and cannot be touched more than the body can be
approached. But that your religious desire may not be wholly frus
trated I will hasten to send you some part of those chains which

112 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
St. Paul wore on the neck and hands, if, indeed, I shall succeed in
getting off any filings from them. For since many continually
solicit as a blessing that they may carry off from those chains some
small portion of their filings, a priest stands by with a file; and some
times it happens that some portions fall off from the chains in
stantly and without delay; while at other times the file is long
drawn over the chains, and yet nothing is at last scraped off from
them." — Wad. Ch. Hist., pages 140 and 141.
Gibbon bears testimony to the very same "lying
wonders " when he says : —
" Like Thebes, or Babylon, or Carthage, Rome might have been
erased from the earth, if the city had not been animated by a vital
principle which again restored her to honor and dominion. A vague
tradition was embraced that two Jewish teachers, a tent-maker and
a fisherman, had formerly been executed in the circus of Nero, and
at the end of five hundred years their genuine or fictitious relics
were adored as the palladium of Christian Rome." — Decline and
Fall op Roman Empire, vol. 8, page 161.
Another "lying wonder," which could with equal
propriety be called a wonderful lie, is the Infallibility
Dogma. Pope Adrian VI did unequivocally deny the
Pope's infallibility. If right, the Pope is not infalli
ble, for he avows that he is not. If wrong, the Pope
is not infallible, for he was a pope and yet erred.
And yet, for all that, the last Oecumenical Council had
the audacity to proclaim the Pope infallible.
I pass over two of the most hideous marks of the
"Son of Perdition," the Inquisition and the sale of
indulgences, for want of space, and because the latter
has been modified and the former has been numbered
among the things that were.
5th. "With all deceivableness of unrighteousness in
them that perish ; because they received not the love of
the truth, that they might be saved." ' 10.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 113
In 1762 the Parliament of France abolished the
Pope's society called the Jesuits. They give their
reasons for their extirpation as follows : —
" The consequences of their doctrines destroy the law of nature;
break all the bonds of civil society; authorizing lying, theft, per
jury, the utmost uncleanness, murder, and all sins ! Their doctrines
root out all sentiments of humanity; excite rebellion ; root out all
religion ; and substitute all sorts of superstition, blasphemy, irre-
ligion, idolatry."
The order of Parliament, from which the above
extract is made, has been proscribed thirty-nine times !
So great is the deceivableness of unrighteousness
that the Roman Pontiff even makes his dupes believe
that he has the power to annul any oath that they may
have taken, thus inducing and fostering perjury I I
could cite many authorities tp prove this, but will
merely quote the principle as laid down with care and
conciseness by "His Holiness, Lord God Pope Gregory
IX: " " Be it known to all who are under the domin
ion of heretics, that they are set free from every tie of
fidelity and duty to them, all oaths or solemn agreement
to the contrary notwithstanding." — Decretals of Greg
ory, lib. 5, tit. 7. This is in accordance with the
principle enunciated by the Third Council of Lateran :
" They are not to be called oaths, but perjuries, that
are taken against the interests of the church and the
holy fathers." — Con. Lat. Ill, vol x, p. 1517 .
So great is the deception, and so strong is the delu
sion that enclouds the minds of those that believed not
the truth, but found pleasure in accepting the un
righteous papacy, that they even believe that the bread

114 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
and wine in the Eucharist are actually converted into
the literal body and blood of Jesus as soon as the
priest has pronounced the words: "Hoc est corpus
meum." On this subject the creed of Pope Pius IV
deposeth as follows : —
" I do also profess that in the mass there is offered unto God a
true, proper, and propitiatory sacrifice for the quick and the dead;
and that, in the most holy sacrament of the holy Eucharist, there is
truly, really and substantially the body and blood, together with
the soul and divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, and there is a con
version made of the whole substance of the bread into the body, and
of the whole substance of the wine into the blood; which conver
sion the holy Catholic Church calls transubstantiation." — Arti
cle XVI.
It is very evident from the foregoing facts that the
prediction of the Apostle has been fulfilled in every
particular, except one, and the time for its accomplish
ment has not yet come, but is approaching:
6th. " Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit
of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of
his coming!"
Here we see that Christ was to consume the "Man
of Sin " with the spirit of his mouth, which is his word,
and finally destroy him with the brightness of his com
ing. Well, since the days of the illustrious Luther,
the word of the Lord has gradually consumed popery,
in so much so that the sale of indulgencies has in a
meausure ceased, and the fires of the Inquisition have
been extinguished. The Pope has lost his temporal
power, and is slowly but surely losing his spiritual
dominion.* No one can object that the one remaining
* It is worthy of remark that quite a number of Catholics in Europe and
America have renounced the Pope; and I rejoice to know it, for there are
many excellent people among them.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 115
item has not yet been fulfilled, for the time for its ac
complishment has not yet arrived. But "the Lord
will come, and will not tarry," and in view of the
minute fulfillment of the other particulars, we may
rest assured that the Lord will utterly destroy the last
vestige of the papacy "with the brightness of his
coming! "
Here, then, is one case of New Testament prophecy
well attested by the facts of history. I proceed to the

SECOND SPECIFICATION.
Paul's prophecy concerning modern spiritualism.
" Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doc
trines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their con
science seared with a hot iron; forbidding to marry and commanding
to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with
thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth." — 1
Timothy, iv:1-3.
This manifestly refers to modern Spiritualism. It
was a long time before the prediction was fulfilled.
Commentators began to look for the institution so
graphically described here, but found it not. Some of
them applied it to the Eoman Catholics, because a few
of the items are applicable to them. But let us give
the Catholics their due. Not everything bad can be
saddled upon them. There are at least two particulars
that can not possibly apply to the Catholics. Catho
licism did not arise in the latter times. We have seen

116 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
that that was an early apostasy — the mystery of ini
quity was at work when Paul wrote. The institution
here foretold was to oppose marriage. Catholicism
does not. While the Pope and priests abstain from
matrimonial pleasures themselves, they nevertheless
look upon marriage as a holy and divine institution,
and solemnize it whenever called upon to do so. For
a long time there was no fulfilment. Finally the
latter times came — the line of demarkation between
ancient and modern times was crossed — and the Fox
girls began tipping and rapping tables. Well, that
was an insignificant affair. There was a little curiosity
excited, but it was confined to their own narrow circle
of acquaintances. It didn't amount to much. But
mind the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines
while the vines have tender grapes ! The Foxes
formed circles, and kept on tipping, knocking and
rapping. The contagion began to spread. Persons in
other districts formed circles and developed mediums ;
then in other States; then in other nations; then
throughout the world. It soon assumed a religious
aspect. Conventions assembled, papers were started,
and books published, setting forth new and startling
principles. And now Spiritualism stands before the
world the living embodiment of the erroneous prin
ciples that the apostle forewarned the disciples should
come. I shall take up the prediction, item by item,
and show that in the aforesaid institution it is com
pletely and strikingly fulfilled. The apostle enumei-

DTVLNE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 117
ates seven particular characteristics that were to mark
this " apostasy of the latter times."
1st. It was to be of modern origin — • " in the latter-
limes." Verse 1.
We are now in the latter times. We speak of " an
cient and modern times," of " ancient and modern his
tory," and a sect has lately arisen calling themselves
"Latter Day Saints." This is evidently the period
looked forwarded to by Paul as the " latter times " —
the most appropriate designation when spoken of by the
ancients, but when spoken of by us, who live in this
period, it is more appropriately called "modern times."
The apostle, then, had the prophetic foresight to see
that there would be such a division of time, as well as
to see what would transpire when that period arrived.
Spiritualism arose " in the latter times," for it ori
ginated, in Kochester, New York, not over thirty years
since. The Spiritualists designate it as "Modern
Spiritualism," call it the "New Gospel," and pride
themselves on the fact that it is a modern institution.
A. J. Davis, the chief apostle of the system, says : —
" Nor am I impressed to connect the spiritual manifestations of
this age with any occurrences of an analogous complexion and char
acter which may have been developed in ages past." — Phil, of Sp.
Intercourse, page 14.
"The miracles and spiritual disclosures of this era flow naturally
uid consequently from the state of mental and moral development to
vhich the Anglo-Saxon portion of the human race has generally
ittained." — Lbid., page 18.
2d. "Shall depart from the faith."
That Spiritualists in general have departed from the
" faith once delivered to the saints," and that the sys-

118 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
tern is diametrically and irreconcilably opposed to the
Gospel of Christ and all that Christians hold most
dear, is well known. They do not altogether deny the
fact, but boast that they discard faith. E. V. Wilson,
one of their shining lights, who published a book
in favor of Spiritualism, says : " Truly, our religion is
a religion of knowledge, and not a religion of
faith." — Truths of Spiritualism, page 158. Then
when asked whether he accepts God and Christ, he re
plies : "If you mean the Hebraic God and his Christ,
in the sense they are taught, I certainly reject them
both." — Ibid., page 240. On page 116, he denies
the authenticity of the Bible, and says "that Christ
was a disembodied spirit controlling Jesus as a me
dium." On page 56 he says: *" Moses and Elias was
the familiar spirit of Jesus, and Elias of John the
Baptist, and Jesus of Nazareth became the familiar of
Paul." You see, he denies the faith and comes out a
bald Atheist. On page 142, he exclaims : " Thanks to
the All-Father and the dear old Mother God!" On
the same page he says : ' ' Mary to our home re
turned — we to the work of the Gods." He offered
to affirm the following proposition : ' ' That the Chris
tian religion, as taught, had its conception and birth in
evil, and that the serpent of Genesis is really the
founder of your Christianity, he foreseeing the neces
sity for a redeemer." — Truths of Spiritualism, page
321. • This Is a verbatim quotation. Mr. Wilson Is responsible for tbe gram-

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 119
Dr. T. L. Nichols, a distinguished Spiritualist, when
speaking of the mission of Spiritualism, says: —
" Spiritualism meets, neutralizes and destroys Christianity. A
Spiritualist is no longer a Christian in any popular sense of the
term. Advanced spirits do not teach * * * the atonement of
Christ; nothing of the kind." — Nichols' Monthly Magazine of Social
Science and Progressive Literature, for November, 1854, page 66.
Capt. H. H. Brown, of Michigan, one of their finest
orators, in a debate with the author of this work, at
Denison, Texas, affirmed, " that the Bible is false in
fact and of human origin." In that discussion I ad
vanced the same argument that I am now making to
prove the Bible of divine origin, and Capt. Brown was
unable to make any reply whatever.
In the testimony of a spirit given in the Banner of
Light, Nov. 23, 1861, it is said : —
" Many times before we have said that we cannot place implicit
confidence in that which we find beneath the lids of the Bible."
In the Educator, a book of 680 octavo pages, pro
fessing to come from the spirits of such men as Daniel
Webster, John Quincy Adams, Martin Luther, etc.,
we find such stuff as this : —
" The being called God exists, organically, in the form of the
being called man." — Educator, page 303.
Says another spirit: —
" Every one of you are Gods manifest in the flesh." " The
divine existence is one grand universal man." " Man is God's em
bodiment — his highest, divinest, outer elaboration. God, then, is
man, and man is God." — Educator, page 526.
Mr. T. L. Harris, a leading man among them,
preached a sermon in London on the teachings of

120 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
Spiritualists, in which, in summing up their general
belief, he said : —
" First, that Nature is God. Second, that God is an undeveloped
principle in process of evolution. Third, that the Jehovah of the
Bible was an unprogressed, ferocious human Spirit, who deceived
ancient media. Fourth, that the Lord Christ was but a natural
man, possessed of the ordinary mediumistic faculty of spiritual
clairvoyance. Fifth, that our Lord's theological and psychical
teachings were but the reproduction of false mythologies. Sixth,
that he held his power, great or little, because under the influence
of spirits of departed men.
" Shall we go further in this catalogue? We open, then, another
series of spiritual teachings. First, that all things originate in
nature. Second, that man is a development of the animal. Third,
that the first parents of the human race, born of brutes, were them
selves but savages of the most degraded type. Fourth, that all
things and beings are governed by natural necessity; that man pos
sesses no freedom in the moral will. Fifth, that there is no retro
gression, through moral disorders, either of the individual or of the
species. Sixth, that vice is virtue in its unprogressive or germinal
condition ; that sin is an impossible chimera. Seventh, that self-
love is the very centre and fountain-head of all human affections,
the chief inspirer of all human or spiritual actions. Eighth, that
the spiritual world is but a theatre for the continued evolution of
human spirits, under the perpetual forces of nature working through
self-love. " Or again, turn to another series: First, that the Scriptures are
not the word of God, and that the Divine Spirit never vouchsafed
utterance to man. Second, that the Messiah, our Redeemer, is not,
in any sense, a Savior of the soul from sin, death and hell. Third,
that he never met in combat our spiritual foe; that he never over
came or cast out destroying spirits from their human slaves; that
he never made an atonement or expiation for sin; that he never
rose in his reassumed humanity from the grave; that he never as
cended glorified to heaven; that he never communicated the Holy
Ghost." I might go on and give quotations ad infinitum to
show that they deny the faith; but it is unnecessary,
it is too. plain a case.
3d. "Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines
of devils." — Verse 1.
Instead of" devils," some render it " demons."

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 121
Now this is fulfilled to the letter. They not only
give heed to spirits, but seducing spirits. Those spirits
deceive them and seduce them from their faith in God,
their loyalty to Christ, and allure them from the paths
of virtue and holiness. Dr. Wm. B. Potter, for many
years a medium, published a work dated June 7, 1866.
When speaking of " Spiritualism as it is," he says: —
" Spiritual literature is full of the most insiduous and seductive
doctrines, calculated to undermine the very foundations of morality
and virtue, and lead to the most unbridled licentiousness." — Facts,
Fancies and Follies of Sp. Explained.
Dr. P. B. Randolph, a noted Spiritualistic lecturer,
withdrew from them in 1858, and in a sermon re
nouncing the system, delivered in New York, Nov.
21st, 1858, and published in the Tribune, he says : —
" For seven years I held daily intercourse with what purported to
be my mother's spirit. lam now firmly persuaded that it was nothing
but an evil spirit and infernal demon, who in that guise gained my soul's
confidence, and lead me to the very brink of ruin. * * * Five of
my friends destroyed themselves, and I attempted it by direct spir
itual influences. Every crime in the calendar has been committed
by mortals moved by viewless beings ! Adultery, fornication, sui
cides," etc.
The same gentleman, in an article in the Banner of
Light, a leading Spiritualist journal, writes as fol
lows : —
" I have a volume of sixty closely written pages, of names of
those who have been drawn down from respectability, morality,
wealth and. intelligence, to the filth of free love, poverty, and to in-
sanitv itself.
" Spiritualism is a synonym of all falsities and lies; a cloak for
all kinds of crimes — adultery, muf der and lust; it weakens man's
intellect and individuality; changes his worship of God to a wor
ship of ghosts."

122 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
S. B. Brittan, editor of the Spiritual Telegraph,
admits that thousands of the devotees of Spiritualism
"have been led astray by fancy and fanaticism I " —
Richmond and Brittan Debate, page 147.
Another evidence of the seductive influence of
" those spirits," showing that they are seducing spirits,
is the fact that they dethrone the reason of so many
persons and lead them to insanity. It is well known
that Robert Dale Owen, one of the shining lights of
Spiritism, became deranged but a few years since, in
consequence of the Katie King fraud. And I could
give many recent instances, but I will cite a few cases
from the early history of the delusion, to show that
the tendency to insanity has marked it at every step:
George Doughty, of Flushing, Long Island, reported
in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, of Feb. 25, 1852; Or-
ville Hatch, of Franklin, Conn., N. Y. Times, Aug.
20th, 1852 ; Miss Melissa Haynes, of Cincinnati, Cin.
Times; the same year a lady from the country, and a
young Irishman, St. Louis Republican; Robert G.
Shaw, wealthy merchant of Boston, Beloit Journal,
Feb. 10, 1853 ; Adeline C. Moore, Boston, Boston
Herald, 1853; Samuel Cole, a medium of Washing
ton county, Ohio, Philadelphia Begister, Feb. 28th,
1853 ; Bishop Peabody, Grafton, Ohio, committed sui
cide, Cleveland Herald; Mrs. Rich, died at Kirtland,
Ohio, under the influence of mediums, Feb. 23, 1853,
Geouga (0.) Republic; S. W. Lincoln, Franklin
county, N. Y.,Malone Jeffersonian and N. Y. Times;

DIVLNE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 123
Matthew Langdon, printer, committed suicide, N. Y.
Times, Jan. 8, 1853. About that time the Superin
tendent of the Indianapolis Lunatic Asylum, in his
report said: "A new cause of insanity has, within a
recent period, been developed. * * * Eighteen
have been added to the number of our inmates, during
the year, from the so-called " spiritual rappings."
Later, the report of the Ohio Asylum speaking of
the "causes of insanity," says: "Among these,
nothing is more worthy of notice than the large and
rapidly increasing number caused by the present pop
ular delusion, ' spirit rappings.' "
Quite recently an able Presbyterian minister, John
Marples, Toronto, Canada, was lead into Spiritualism,
and died insane. Before his fall he debated with B. F.
Underwood. I clip the following from a secular paper : —
"Tom Thumb, the diminutive general, is a Spiritualist, and has
contributed $1,000 for the assistance of the medium, Charles H.
Foster, who is now a mental wreck, in the institution for the insane,
at Salem, Mass."
Mr. E. V. Wilson, "the seer," gives an account of
the spirit of an insane woman remaining insane after
death, and through whose influence a Mr. Carlton was
killed. And he represents the spirit of the murdered
man as coming up and saying that he was well pleased
that the spirits had killed him. — See Truths of Spirit
ualism, chap. 38. If sanctioning murder is not a doc
trine of devils, I don't know what could be. But,
some one may say, "Well, the spirits and mediums

124 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
give some good advice." Yes, all seducers give some
good advice. They give good advice in order to gain
confidence, so as to deceive and lead to ruin. That is
well illustrated by the following incident related by
Miles Grant : —
"We were acquainted with a devoted Christian woman in South
Boston, who was persuaded to attend a Spiritualist circle in com
pany with several other professors of religion. The spirit requested
them to read the Scriptures, which they did. This led them to
believe that a good spirit had come. They were then desired to
pray. They had no further doubts but that the spirit of a Christian
was visiting them, and giving good instruction. Accordingly, they
went again and again. When the seducing spirit had fully gained
their confidence, so that they believed all he said, he then endeav
ored to convince them that some portions of the Bible were not
reliable. He continued his infidel objections till she, who was a
devoted disciple of Jesus when she first visited the circle, became a
medium, and laid her Bible away as of little or no value." — Spirit
ualism Unveiled.
Many such instances might be given, showing how
Spiritism leads its dupes, step by step, till they are so
entangled in its meshes that they cannot escape. " But
evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse,
deceiving and being deceived." — 2 Tim. iii : 13.
4th. " Speaking lies in hypocrisy ." — Verse 2.
It is an easy matter to demonstrate that modern
Spiritism is characterized by lies, hypocrisy, false
hood, and deception. Joel Tiffany, a well-known
Spiritualist, who once debated with Eld. Isaac Errett,
says : —
"After all of our investigations for seven or eight years, we must
say that we have as much evidence that they are lying spirits as we
have that there are any spirits at all. * * * The doc
trines they teach * * * are mostly contradictory and
absurd." — Spiritualism Unveiled, page 100.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 125
The spirits frequently lie by representing themselves
to be the spirit of one, when, in reality, they are the
spirit of another. My readers are familiar with the
well known Philadelphia case. One of those celestial
visitors claimed to be the materialized spirit of Katie
King. She allowed some of the men to kiss her, and
one smelled her breath, and found she had been eating
onions. This led to detection, whereupon it was found
that it was the spirit of a young widow named White —
a spirit which had not yet left "the form."
The Religio-Philosophical Journal, of May 19th,
1877, says: "The spirit world is a counterpart of
this. There are rogues there as well as here." The
same paper, in an article headed ' ' Spirit Communica
tions — Their Reliability," says: " There may exist
within a spirit the same tendency to deceive, that we
find existing with some persons here." The same
paper says : " T. Starr King asserted publicly through
a medium a short time since, that on that occasion was
the first time he ever communicated. How about the
other 'T. Starr Kings?' Somebody lies." The same
paper says : "Impostors, too, are prevalent in Cal
ifornia; two attempted to perform the flower test, but
were exposed." And that reminds me that Mrs.
Elridge performed that trick in Sherman, Texas, and
the flowers produced were grasshopper bitten ! Capt.
H. H. Brown writes : " The jugglers of India, China,
Japan, Persia, and Ceylon, accomplish more wonderful
feats than our mediums do, and they obtain the power

126

HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.

by a system of training." — Religio-Phil. Journal,
May 19th, 1877.
Joel Tiffany, in his debate with Mr. Mahan, in
Cleveland, admitted that the phenomena were " full of
contradictions, absurdity and puerility." — Page 34.
It is also a fact that their teachings abound in contra
dictions, as the following list will show :* —

In the beginning the Unlvercralum
was one boundless, undefinable and
unimaginable ocean of liquid
tire.— Bev., 120.
Jesus, in all the organic essentials
of his spiritual nature was a woman;
a good, simple-minded, truth -feeling,
truth loving soul. — Present Age, 35.

The teachings of Christ are re
jected as imperfect, injurious, and
trifling. — See Present Age, 24; Sp.
Teacher, 42-44; Courtney's Review of
Dods, p. 70, for specimens.
Holy Ghost is defined to mean
Excellent Laws. — Harmon, ii, 312,
Nature and her laws, created by
God.— Ed. i, 340.

There are three primary spheres
in the universe. — Tiff, and Mahan
Deb., 64.
Supernal Theology says the
seventh sphere is about four thou
sand miles from the earth. — 75.

Before the beginning of the crea
tion of the heavens and the earth,
matter was void of form, and dark
ness prevailed. — Koons, 41.
Christ professed to have come
directly from the bosom of the
Father, where Mr. Davis could not
live a moment; and all good angels
with whom I ever conversed, believe
he did thus come.— Gridley, 137.
All this is flatly contradicted by
Edmonds, ii, 58, 59 ; and Ballou, 9.
The Holy Ghost is declared to be
the lawful wife of God Almighty. —
Gridley, 163.
God no more created Nature and
her laws than they created him.—
Harm., ii, 348.
The Mountain Cove Journal says
there are four.
Ballou says there are seven.—
216. Mr. Gridley makes the first circle
five thousand miles from the earth,
and the sixth circle thirty thousand
miles. Ambler makes the first sphere, bnt
one hundred miles from the earth.—
Teacher, 58.

* This list was compiled by Isaac Errett, and published in a pamphlet en
titled, " Spiritualism Self-Condemned."— Pages 21, 22, 23. This tract should
be read by every one. Standard Publishing Co., Cincinnati, Ohio. Price 6
cents.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT.

127

No evil spirits, no devil, no hell.—
Sp. Int., 87; Pres. Age, 220 and 240;
Teacher, 116.

No gratification of evil desires in
the spirit-world. — Sp. Int., 75.
No deterioration there. — Ham
mond, 100, 103 ; Ambler, 74.
All happy —no discord.— Ambler,
74. Indians in the second sphere. —
Harm, ii, 162.
Spirits have material food. —
Harm., i, 69, 70; Ed., i, 175, and ii,
140. Spirits travel faster than elec
tricity.— Sp. Int., 31; Ed., i, 169.
SpiritB not deformed by acci
dent. — Harm., i, 171.
Spirits cannot pass through solid
substances. — Sp. Int., 125, 138, 141.
Instance given of a spirit shut in
a sepulcher.— Ibid. 136, 131.

Tiffany declares that verbal
prayer is idolatrous and false.—
Tiff, and Errett Deb., 44.

The devil described.— Ed., U,
243. Hosts of evil spirits. — Ed., H, 242 ;
Gridley, 18-28.
Distance to hell. — Gridley, 96.
Number of the damned. — J bid, 99.
Gridley, 27 and 129; Edmonds, ii,
182 and 522 ; and Hammond, 100, em -
phatically contradict this.
This denied. — Ed., ii, 184, 185,
206; Gridley, 89, 90.
The contrary affirmed by Edmonds,
ii, 183, 344, 348, 518.

101.

Denied by Hammond. — Light,
Denied. — Ballou, 210.

Gridley says they travel from
sixty to one hundred miles per sec
ond. — 54.
An account of one who had his
spiritual head mashed. — Gridley, 51.
And of another badly troubled with
spiritual dysentery ! — Ibid.
Brittan's statement of one that
went into and came out of a locked
trunk. — Brittan and Richmond's Dis
cussion, p. 195. See also Ed., i, 444,
445, 449; Ballou, 212; Gridley, 54;
Mahan and T\f. Debate, 30.
Edmonds, Dexter Harris, Fergu
son, etc., etc., etc., use written or ex
tempore prayers, and often publish
them as being dictated by the spirits.

Of course, where there are so many contradictions
there must be some lies; so they are "speaking lies in
hypocrisy." No wonder their chief apostle, A. J.
Davis, pens the following : —
" The spiritual manifestations will come to a crisis very soon,
and be rejected in toto for their worthlessness and transcendent ab
surdity, unless media and Spiritualists generally consent to conduct
themselves more in harmony with a comprehensive reason, and the
principles of a universally applicable philosophy." — Davis' Pres.
Age, 134.

128

HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.

On page 197, of the same work, we have the follow
ing:—

TABLE OF EXPLANATIONS.

Causes of the

Proportion or

Number of

Effect upon the

Phenomena.

Percentage.

Believers.

believing mind.

1. Voluntary Deception . .

6

100,000

Impatience.

2. Neurological 

5

50,000

Sadness.

3. Vital Electricity ....

10

80,000

Presumption.

4. Nervo-psychology . . .

15

50,000

Skepticism.

5. Cerebro-sympathy ...

16

86,000

Confusion.

6. Clairvoyance 

8

20,000

Investigation.

7. Departed Spirits ....

40

260,000

Elevation.

Only two-fifths of the phenomena claimed to be
genuine spirits ; the other three-fifths admitted to be
spurious I "Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus/ "
On page 149, of his book, E. V. Wilson compli
ments the Spiritualists of Fennville, and some other
places in Michigan, as honest and truthful, as much as
to say that Spiritualists are not generally so. On
page 377, he speaks of a Mrs. Weaver, and says :
"At various times and in sundry places, money in coin
and paper, in various sums, have been brought her by
her controlling Spirit." That may be true, provided
her controlling spirit has not yet " left the form ! "
On pages 378-9, he gives an account of a spirit who
extracted $4.00 from a desk, and carried it two miles
through the air ! "Gentle Wilson," don't think me
incredulous, when I say I doubt it. Mr. Wilson tells
a great many big stories about what he saw, and what
he did, and gives a great many names and dates to im
press the reader with his veracity. On page 123 he
boasts of his canister and boomshells, charged with

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 129
names, dates, etc. And generally, he is cautious to
make these dates correspond, but sometimes he misses
it. On page 183, he says : —
" Lecturing in Dannville, N. Y., on Monday evening, January
25th, 1860, we saw and described as follows: "First. We see by
the side of this man a Spirit. In life he was a soldier: [describing
him fully] he is your cousin, or nephew, and was killed in 1863."
He was killed, it appears, just three years after his
spirit was seen and described by Mr. Wilson ! But
Spiritualists may say: " O, Mr. Wilson was not one
of our first-class men, — why don't you show that
Andrew Jackson Davis lies?" I answer, Mr. Davis
does even falsify the facts of history. In a book
called "Divine Revelations," he declares that the
Evangelists " have not, in all their writings, intimated
that miracles were designed as a confirmation of
Christ's mission, nor do they represent him as ever
making any such declaration." — Rev. 507.
Now let the reader turn to the following passages of
Scripture, and read: Matt. ix:6; xi:l-6; John xi:
15; v:36; x:37, 38; xv : 24, and xx: 30, 31.
Once more : Mr. Da^is declares that the Council of
Nice was constituted of two thousand and forty-eight
bishops, who were assembled to settle the sacred canon.
On account of their violent conduct Constantine was
obliged to disqualify seventeen hundred and thirty
from having a voice in deciding which books were and
which were not the Word of God. That the three
hundred and eighteen left, kept but four, out of fifty
gospels then extant, and rejected entirely James, Jude,

130 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
and the Apocalypse. The rejected manuscripts were
given to the flames. See Divine Rev., 547, 548.
Now, to use the strong language of Mr. Errett, we
have simply to say, in reply to all these statements,
that they are unmitigated falsehoods. No such num
ber of bishops belonged to the Council of Nice ; no
such number was cast out by Constantine ; there was
no settlement of the question of the Scriptural canon
by that Council, and no burning of manuscripts of
Gospels. These are matters of historical record; and when
we find the great seer thus recklesslying falsifying
historical documents, who can trust him when he pre
sumes to tell the mysteries of other spheres? —
Spiritualism Self- Condemned, page 25.
Dr. P. B. Randolph, for many years a distinguished
medium and lecturer, in a discourse which was deliv
ered in Clinton Hall, New York, and published in the
Tribune, says : —
" I was a medium about eight years, during which time I made
three thousand speeches, and travelled over several different coun
tries, proclaiming the new Gospel. * » » Experience
has taught me that sixty-five per cent of the medical clairvoyants
are arrant knaves, humbugs and catchpenny impostors ; thirty per
cent are refined, sympathetic, nerval persons, who arrive at approx
imately true diagnoses by sympathy; such are not clairvoyants, of
course. And five per cent of the whole are really what they claim
to be, in various degrees of perfection. * * * I am
personally acquainted with three hundred and forty-one professed
medical clairvoyants, and of these there are seven actual seers who
will stand a testing; and of these only one in America! * *
The result of my observation is, that if one-half dozen sounds out
of every five thousand that pass for spiritual, be genuine — that is,
not made by the medium's foot against the leg of a table or chair, or
by some other jugglery — it is a large percentage. When invisible
musicians play pianos in dark rooms, if the hands of the medium

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 131
be mittened and held by others, and the music still goes on, the
inference is that they do not produce It. Writing upside down is
an art readily obtained after a few weeks' private practice.
Matches, or a lump of phosphorus, make very good imitations of
spirit lights. When spirits in a dark room blow horns and talk
through trumpets, if, unknown to the medium, a little printer's ink
be rubbed on the mouth of the instrument, a beautiful black circle
will, when lights are introduced, generally be found adorning the
medium's labial appendage. * * * Dark circles are the
king humbugs of Spiritualism generally. * • * Of
speaking mediums twenty-five per cent, are, in my opinion, victims
of demoniac influences ; twenty-flve per cent, are deliberate impos
tors ; eight per cent may be under healthful spiritual influences, such
as are to be found in all church history; twenty-flve per cent are
honest-hearted men and women, laboring under the world-saving
fever, who delude themselves and others by imagining they are
under the special spiritual influence of some defunct philosopher;
and the remaining seventeen per cent consists of persons who have
the power in themselves (although they assign it to the spirits) of
inducing at will a dreamy sort of ecstasy, or trance, during which
they are frequently insensible to physical pain, and possess an
extraordinary power of mental concentration. This trance can
easily be induced. "
From a communication made through Mr. Bedell, of
Constantine, Mich., and purporting to be from the
spirit, of George Washington, I make the following
extract : —
" H ther eny here that do not beleve what we Say, they must
look on and be convinced, but you must not triffle with us for we
are not trifflers. we meny times make mistakes and so we are
called liars, but this is owing to our neglect of the records that are
given us, and also to evel sperits, but we will try to be more careful
or correct after we have become more used to writing for our
¦Friends- " George Washingtow."
Well might the poet exclaim : —
" If in your new estate yon can not rest,
But must return, O grant us this request:
Come with a noble and celestial air,
And prove your titles to the names you bear.
Give some clear token of your heavenly birth:
Write as good English as yon wrote on earth;
And, what were once superfluous to advise,
Don't teU, I beg you, such egregious lies. " — Saxe.

132 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
5th. "Having their conscience seared with a hot
iron." — Verse 2.
The facts already adduced are sufficient to show that
the seductive system of Spiritism leads its devotees
from one degree of iniquity to another till the heart
becomes so hardened that they can sin without any
remorse of conscience. But I add a few more facts.
E. V. Wilson's conscience must have been pretty well
seared or he could not have written as follows : —
" ' Michigan City I ' shouted the brakesman, and we parted; he in
sadness, following Jesus; we in joy, following our nose. " — Truths
of Sp., page 161.
His conscience must have been somewhat seared to
utter such a prayer as the following : —
"Oh! Pullman, we thank thee for this magnificent sleeping car
Oh! Michigan Central Railroad Company, we thank thee for this
well-ordered and well-balanced railway, trusting our precious
body into the hands of, first, the engineer; second, the conductor;
third, the brakesman, and lastly, we commit ourselves into thy
hands, oh! Michigan Central Railroad Company, for the next forty-
two days, and beseech thee to employ only such servants as will
keep a sharp lookout, remain sober, and land us safely at last in
our home. One favor more we ask, oh! Michigan Central Railroad,
that you may be moved to send the Gentle Wilson a half-fare
ticket over all the railways you own or control — all of which
favors we ask for Farmer Mary's sakel Amen. " — Truths of Sp.,
page 143-4.
Dr. Wm. B. Potter, a Spiritual writer, deposeth as
follows : —
"Parting husbands and wives is one of the notorious tendencies
of Spiritualism. The oldest and most influential teacher of Spirit
ualism has two wives, each of whom he encouraged to get divorced
before he married them. When one of the most eloquent trance
speakers left her husband, he came out and stated that he knew sixty
cases of media leaving companions. We heard one of the most
popular impressional speakers say to a large audience, that she was

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 133
compelled by spirits to secede from a husband with whom she was
living very happily. We lately heard a very intellectual, eloquent,
and popular normal speaker say, in an eloquent address to a large
convention of Spiritualists, that ' he would to God that it had parted
twenty, where it had parted one.' In short, wherever we go, we
find this tendency in Spiritualism." — Spiritualism As it Is, pp. 10-
Again he says, on page 20 : "After years of careful
investigation, we are compelled, much against our in
clinations, to admit that more than half of our travel
ling media, speakers and prominent Spiritualists, are
guilty of immoral and licentious practices, that have
justly provoked the abhorrence of all right-thinking
people." Mr. Harris, in the lecture from which we have al
ready quoted, says : —
" Murder, adultery, suicide, and the most revolting blasphemies,
may be traced directly to the communications and puttings forth of
impure spirits, both in ancient and modern times."
He adds to the impressive testimony quoted on a
former page : —
"And, so far as I am able to judge, the majority of such in
stances are traceable to the habit of attending seances. I earnestly
call attention to this point. The man of iron nerves may say that
he feels no change of state. He may laugh down the idea of peril.
With him it is but a question of time. The vitriol that eats in a day
through iron wire, has but to continue the process to eat through
the iron bar. It is slow, this poison, but sure. I lift the alarm cry
of danger. It is not safe, unless there is a Divine use and value in
the act, and so, unless it is in the order of Providence, either to
submit to a spirit's influence, or to participate in circles of spirit-
manifestations. * * * As with a voice from the secret chambers,
where the fair, the young, the virtuous, the unsuspecting, from the
mere habit of attending the seance, have felt the foul contact of the
larvae from perdition, I cry to all, ' Shun the seance, where the un
regenerate, or giddy, or worldly, or volatile and careless medium
officiates as the middle stander and opener of the door between the
natural and unseen worlds. H you do not wish to become your-

134 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
selves demoniacs, shun the place and shun the occasion.' To the
pure, to those who would remain pure, I can hint such reasons as,
if uttered, would make every ear tingle."
Dr. B. F. Hatch, formerly husband of the noted
trance-speaking medium, Mrs. Cora V. Hatch, now
Mrs. Daniels, deposeth as follows: —
" I have heard much of the improvement in individuals in conse
quence of a belief in Spiritualism. With such I have had no
acquaintance. But I have known many whose integrity of charac
ter and uprightness of purpose rendered them worthy examples to
all around, but who, on becoming mediums, and giving up their
individuality, also gave up every sense of honor and decency. A
less degree of severity in this remark will apply to a large class of
both mediums and believers. There are thousands of high-minded
and intelligent Spiritualists who will agree with me that it is no
slander in saying that the inculcation of no doctrines in this coun
try has ever shown such disastrous moral and social results as the
Spiritual theories. * * * Iniquities which have justly
received the condemnation of centuries are openly upheld; vices
which would destroy every wholesome regulation of society are
crowned as virtues ; prostitution is believed to be fidelity to self;
marriage an outrage on freedom; love evanescent, and, like the
bee, should sip the sweets wherever found; bastards are claimed
to be spiritually begotten. All change, of whatever nature, is
believed to be an improvement, as there is no retrogression. Ini
quity is only the effervescence of the outworkings of a heavenly
destiny. God is shorn of his personality and becomes simply a
permeating principle, the Bible a libel on common sense, and
Christ a mere medium, hardly equal to the spiritual babies of ' this
more progressive age.' " — Spiritualism Unveiled, p. 93.
One of their writers, Dr. Gridley, describes the suf
ferings inflicted by the spirits upon an aged medium
of sixty years, in Southampton, Mass., as follows; —
" These spirits would pinch and pound him, twitch him up and
throw him down, yell and blaspheme, and use the most obscene lan
guage that mortal can conceive ; they would declare that they were
Christ In one breath and devils in the next; they would tie him
head to foot a long time together, in a most excruciating posture;
declare they would wring his d  d neck off because he doubted
them or refused obedience." —Astounding Facts from the Spirit
World, pp. 263-4.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 135
In the Rei. Phil. Journal, of June 29th, 1878, A. J.
Davis declares it to be impossible to rescue Spiritual
ism from impostors and pretenders. He declares that
every circle « ' is certain to develop more or less uncer
tainty and deception." Pronounces the most reliable
mediums to be unreliable.
The Providence Journal, of Oct. 22, 1851, gives an
account of a medium named Almira Bezely, of Provi
dence, Rhode Island, who predicted the death of her
infant brother, and then poisoned him with arsenic.
On her trial she confessed the crime, and alleged the
" rappings" as the cause.
Many such cases might be given, but it is unneces
sary. It is evident that the leading Spiritualists have
very small conscientiousness. Crime has marked the
tracks of the delusion from the murder of this child
to the murder of S. S. Jones, of the Religio Philo
sophical Journal.
6th. "Forbidding to marry." — Verse 3.
The Spiritists oppose marriage, and advocate free-
love. They feel the force of this passage, as is evinced
by the fact that the word " priest " is added in a per
verted New Testament, which they claim was revised
by the spirits, making it read, " Forbidding the priest
to marry." The galled jade may wince, but they can
not saddle it upon the Catholics, for the latter so far
from opposing marriage, regard it as a holy bond, that
nought but death can sever.

136 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
One of the leading Spiritualists, Victoria Woodhull,
edited a paper especially devoted to "free-love" in
opposition to matrimony. As they " speak lies in
hypocrisy," they may try to deny that this notorious
woman is a leading Spiritualist, but they can not deny '
it, because they elected her President of one of their
national conventions. Not only so, but free-love crops
out almost everywhere in their literature, and there are
writers connected with their most respectable journals
who oppose the institution of marriage. One of their
publications, "Light from the Spirit World," thus
boldly enunciates their doctrine : ' ' The marriage in
stitution of man is wrong, and must be annulled ere
the race is redeemed! "
E. V. Wilson says: " Matehood depends upon the
divine law of affinities ; hence there is no marriage or
giving in marriage in the ' Spirit World. ' — Truths
of Spiritualism, page 25. Mr. Gridley expresses the
same sentiment and adds " that the same liberty will
ere long be given to men on earth, ' who are found worthy
to obtain that world and the resurrection of the dead,'
(which can be done without putting off the body.)" —
Gridley, 171, 172.
On the 323d page of his book, Mr. Wilson gives an
account of the wife of a Spiritualist lecturer in Ham-
monton, N. J., who has been deserted by her husband,
and left to make a support for herself and little daughter
by sewing. Mr. W. appeals to the renegade by the gos-

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 137
pel of Spiritualism, and advises him as a brother ; but
what advice does he give him? Here it is: " Step
forward, brother and be a man ! " That's good; but
let us hear him further, and see what it is to be a man :
"Free this woman from the bond that has made her
your property. ' ' That don't sound so well , and he must
add something else, but that being the uppermost
thought he repeats it : " Give to her the darling child,
and set her free ! " Then, for the sake of decency, he
adds, "or come to her support like a man."
Mr. Wilson has written a book of 400 pages, in
in which he alludes to the woman he lives with many
times ; but never once, in all his writing, does he call
her wife! He calls her his " mate ;" he calls her
"Farmer Mary," and almost everything else he can
think of, except " wife." He avoids the use of that
term as applicable to his own companion, though he
applies it to other women; and in one instance he
applies it to a young woman who was never married,
but merely affianced. — Page 169.
In 1854 Mr. Ballou, one of the early leaders of
Spiritualism, seeing the free-love tendency in the
system, gave the following warning, which was pub
lished in the N. Y. Tribune: —
" It will have something of a run. Mediums will be seen exchang
ing its significant congenialities, fondlings, caresses, and indescriba-
bilities. They will receive revelations from high-pretending spirits,
cautiously instructing them that the sexual communion of congen-
ials will greatly sanctify them for the reception of angelic minis
trations . Wives and husbands will be rendered miserable, alienated,
parted, and then families broken up. There will be spiritual matches,

138 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
carnal degradations, and all the inevitable wretchedness thence
inevitably resulting. Yet the very persons most active in bringing
about all this, will protest their own purity, will resent every sus
picion raised to their discredit * * * and will stand
boldly out in their real character only when it is not possible to
disguise it. All this has commenced, and will be fulfilled in due
time." At the Rutland Reformed Convention, which closed
June 27, 1858, Mrs. Julia Branch, of New York, in a
speech advocating free-love, used the following lan
guage : —
"lam aware that I have chosen almost a forbidden subject; for
bidden from the fact that any one who can or dare look the marriage
question in the face, candidly and openly denouncing the institution
as the sole cause of woman's degradation and misery, are objects
of suspicion, of scorn, and opprobrious epithets." — Banner of Light,
July 10, 1858.
In a speech at the Spiritual Convention of Ravenna,
Ohio, July 4th and 5th, 1857, Mrs. Lewis said : —
" To confine her love to one man was an abridgment of her rights.
* * * Although she had one husband in Cleveland, she
considered herself married to the whole human race. All men were
her husbands, and she had an undying love for them. What busi
ness is it to the world whether one man is the father of my children,
or ten men are ! I have a right to say who shall be the father of
my offspring."
Dr. Wm. B. Potter, after fifteen years of experir
ence and observation in the system, says: —
" Is is a notorious fact, that leading teachers, noted mediums and
popular speakers have deserted companions, obtained divorces,
gone off with * Affinities,' or practiced promiscuous intercourse to
get ' Spiritual element,' or to ' impart vital magnetism for the cure
of disease.' The outside world has no just conception of the folly,
' Free-Love,' and licentiousness among Spiritualists; especially on
the part of 'healing' and 'developing mediums.' We could give
the names of hundreds, but for the present we spare them.
"At the National Convention of Spiritualists, at Chicago, called
to consider the question of a national organization, the only plan
approved by its committee especially provided that no charge
should ever be entertained against any member, and that any person,

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 139
without any regard to moral character, might become a member.
Notorious ' Free-Lovers ' and libertines have been especial and
honored correspondents of Spiritual papers. Conventions of
Spiritualists have accepted as delegates, and elected to office, well-
known, persistent, habitual libertines. The late National Con
vention of Spiritualists, at Philadelphia, through its committee,
refused to even read a proposition to disfellowship known libertines,
but formed a permanent, national organization with annual dele
gated Conventions, from which the lowest and most beastly licen
tiousness shall not bxclude ant one." — Milner's Religious
Denominations, page 534.
All the while there have been some good men and
women among the Spiritualists, that have opposed
free-love at every step, but they could not thwart the
inevitable; and this only renders the fulfillment of
the prophecy all the more remarkable.
7th. " Commanding to abstain from meats." *
This being the least distinguishing feature of the
system, the apostolic-prophet places it last. The Spir
itualists direct to abstain from meats for the purpose
of superinducing the mediumistic state. A. J. Davis,
in his book called Arabula, opposes the killing of deer
and all other animals, and, of course, if they cannot
kill them, they can not eat them. The Woodhull and
Claflin Weekly, in announcing a Spiritualistic Con
vention, states that Mrs. Juliet H. Severance, will be
one of the speakers, and adds : "Mrs. Severance, more,
perhaps, than any other person in the Spiritual ranks,
is representative of the important branch of the
higher life, regarding diet, being a living example
of its beneficent effects."— W. and C. Weekly, Feb.
26th, 1876.
* "Commanding" is in italics, which Oinws that it is a supplied word;
'• advising" would have done as well.

140 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
We sometimes see an item like the following : —
" The Spirit of John Murray informs us that in a short time we
are all to live without eating: ' The very food with which you now
nourish your mortal bodies, that will be laid aside.' — Messages,
page 124. This must seriously affect the produce market, and is
an Important revelation." — Spirit Rapping Unveiled, page 146.
Only one week has elapsed after the conclusion of
Dr. Tanner's noted fast when we hear of him in a
Spiritualist meeting, in New York, where we hear the
lecturer, Mrs. Britten, maintaining that the atmosphere
about us is charged with material capable of sustaining
life without food, and referring to his forty-day fast
as an illustration. The Doctor also made some
remarks. The little episode is thus alluded to by a
correspondent of a Spiritualist paper : —
' ' The whole passed with the utmost courtesy, and, indeed, cordial
ity; and Dr. Tanner conversed with her afterwards for several
minutes. In the course of the interview, he said that he hoped for
great good to humanity from what he had been enabled to do, and
that he had not yet got through with his experiments. I have been
told by a friend of Dr. Tanner that he is a Spiritualist." — Banner
of Light, Aug. 28th, 1880.
I admit that Spiritualism is wonderful. It is truly
wonderful that such an institution should arise and
flourish in this enlightened age. But it is a great deal
more wonderful that Paul should know that it would
arise, and describe its features, item by item, eighteen
centuries ago I There is no way to account for it,
except by conceding that he wrote by divine inspira
tion, and, if he did, " all Scripture is given by inspira
tion of God," for he says so. Spiritualists can not
say that he described their system by aid of the spirits,

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT.

141

because that would be a house divided against itself,
which can not stand. Besides, it is not in evidence
that any spirit knows the distant future, except the
Spirit of the living God. Now, that Spiritualism has
been in existence for a number of years, and with its
history and characteristics fully before the world, no
man can give a description of it, in the same narrow
compass, that will excel the description given by the
Apostle eighteen hundred years before it originated.
We may then safely and rationally conclude that Paul
was aided by a superhuman, even by a divine influence.

THIRD SPECIFICATION.
PREDICTION CONCERNING AVOWED INFIDELS.

"This second epistle, beloved, I
now write unto you ; in both which I
stir up your pure minds by way of
remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the
words" which were spoken before by
the holy prophets, and of the com
mandment of us the apostles of the
Lord and Savior:
Knowing this first, that there shall
come in the last days scoffers, walk
ing after their own lusts,
And saying, Where is the promise
of his coming? for since the fathers
fell asleep, all things continue as
they were from the beginning of the
creation. For this they willingly are ignorant
of, that by the word of God the
heavens were of old, and the earth
standing out of the water and in the
water: Whereby the world that then was,
being overflowed with water, per
ished: , „ ...
But the heavens and the earth,
which are now, by the same word,
are kept in store, reserved unto fire
against the day of judgment and per
dition of ungodly men." — II Peteh,
in: 1-7.

" These are murmurers, complain-
ers, walking after their ownlusts ; and
their mouth speaketh great swelling
words, having men's persons in
admiration, because of advantage.
But, beloved, remember ye the
words which were spoken before of
the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ:
How that they told you there should
be mockers in the last time, who
should walk after their own ungodly
lusts. These be they who separate
themselves, sensual, having not the
Spirit."— Jude, 16-19.

142 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
In noticing the prophecies of the Old Testament, we
frequently found two or more prophets foretelling the
same event, and here we find two of the apostles
prophetically describing the most open and defiant
enemies with whom the Church of Christ has to con
tend. And now, after all the facts that have been
adduced, if Infidels are not yet convinced of the truth
of fulfilled prophecy, I say to them : Sirs, you are
yourselves a fulfillment of prophecy — you are ful
filling divine predictions every day you live, every day
you scoff at the word of God, and scout the idea of
the miracles recorded on its sacred pages. If you can
not see a fulfillment of prophecy in the destruction
and desolation of the cities and countries enumerated;
if you can not see a verification of the words of Jeho
vah in the dispersion and perpetuity of the Jewish
people ; if you can discover no accomplishment of
prophecy in the rise and progress of the papacy ; if
you can not see unmistakable evidence of fulfilled pre
diction in the varied phases of modern Spiritualism ;
then, I say to you, look nearer home, turn your eyes
upon yourselves, observe your own lives, your own
character and disposition ; compare what you do with
what the apostles said persons of your description
would do, and then tell me, whether or not, events
foretold in the Bible are coming to pass. But let us
look at the prediction more in detail, and see how it
fits you. The proof of the tailor is to try on the
coat. If the coat fits you, you must acknowledge that

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 143
Peter and Jude had your pattern when they cut out
the cloth and formed the garment.
1st. These lustful scoffers and sensual mockers were
to come in the last days — or latter days — which we
have shown to mean " modern times."
You, you unbelieving scoffers and Infidel quibblers,
have arisen in modern times. It is but a late thing
that your movement has assumed the aspect of organ
ized and systematic opposition to the religion of the
Bible. 2d. The characters described were to be " scoffers."
You are scoffers. James M. Peebles, Spiritualist,
in a lecture reported in the Banner of Light, speaks
of a " class of Spiritualists, alias Materialists, who
strove to annihilate God, snarled at Jesus, snubbed the
apostles, spit upon everything recorded in the Bible,
scoffed at prayer, sneered at religion, and madly
trampled upon the honest convictions of others."
"Alias Materialists," that is well said. While there
are some Spiritualists that are avowed Infidels, and
who are, as scoffers, equalled by few and excelled by
none, yet that is not one of their characteristics, while
it is a characteristic of the Materialists. While the
latter openly denounce and scoff, the former endeavor,
by falsehood and deceit, to instill into the mind prin
ciples subversive of the truth, tending to gradually
undermine the temple of Christ and effect its over
throw. The Spiritualists are like Judas, who said,
Hail, Master I and kissed the Christ, while betraying

144 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
him into the hands of his enemies. The Materialists
are like those who mocked and derided him while on
the cross, saying, " he saved others, himself he can not
save ! if he be the King of Israel let him now descend
from the cross and we will believe him !" Avowed
Infidels are nearly all scoffers, from Voltaire, who
wrote, " twenty years more, and God will be in
pretty plight!" to Dr. Stine, who denounced Paul as
" an old gas-bag, scoundrel and liar." To copy all
the scoffs and ridicule of Voltaire and Thomas Paine,
would be to transcribe a large portion of their writings.
And, indeed, it is superfluous to cite examples to show
that any of the Infidel teachers are scoffers, yet I pre
sent a few : —
Col. Ingersoll makes a business of delivering lec
tures full of scoffing and blasphemy. The editor of an
Infidel paper, giving an account of a debate between
Dr. Stine and the author, says of Stine : " He bullies,
blusters, swaggers, denounces. In one of his lectures
he vociferated : ' Paul is an old gas-bag, an infernal
scoundrel and liar ! ' During the discussion he often
made the most frivolous remarks." — Common Sense,
May, 1875.
James M. Walker, editor of the Liberal, in a
pamphlet on the Sunday Question, used the following
scoffing language : "A great shadowy god, something
between a cloud and an exaggerated man, a wonder
ful man with long hair, and a look of perpetual sor
row," etc.

DIVLNE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 145
Col. Peterson, my old antagonist in the arena of
public discussion, is no more given to scoffing than
some of the rest of them, yet his writings abound
with such expressions as the following: " Repudiate
all gods and goddesses, all devils and devilesses, all
ghosts and ghostesses ! " — Common Sense, May,
1875. " We would not give the peace of mind vouch
safed by our knowledge of the glorious fact of anni
hilation, for a belief in all the Gospels, Gods, Ghosts,
Sons, Virgin Marys, Devils, Trinities, Bibles, Proph
ets, Popes, Holy Water, Baptisms, Sacraments, Sac
rifices, Miracles, Resurrections, Judgments, Angels,
Heavens, Hells, Priests or Parsons that ever emanated
from the frenzied brain or issued from the exhausted
womb of infatuated humanity." — Common Sense,
April, 1875. He speaks of " the benighted hosts of
the Christian superstition ! " and adds: —
" O how our heart bleeds when we behold these idolators bowing
before the horrid phantom of their priest-ridden imaginations!
when we see them ducking in mill-ponds in the full hallucination
that they are hyperbolically laving in divine blood! when we behold
them chewing a piece of wretched bread, and drinking logwooded
alcohol under the diabolical impression that they are, like the
Catholics, eating and drinking the veritable flesh and blood of a
deceased god! Or, like the Protestants, that they are masticating
figuratively the same substances. How long, O, Jupiter-Ammon,
shall this thing go on? Cannibals eat missionaries, but Christians
are the champion cannibals of the universe!" — Common Sense,
June 15, 1877.
Infidels, see how you are fulfilling prophecy by
scoffing at things divine !
3d. They were to walk " after their own lusts."
They were to acknowledge no guide or standard of
10

146 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
right but their own desires. Infidels fill the bill pre
cisely. They have cast aside every restraint. They
have discarded the Bible as a standard. They are left
without any guide, and can only fall back upon the
maxim : "Whatever is, is right;" or, as some express
it, " Whatever a man thinks is right, is right to him."
In fact, a great many of them discard all distinction
of right and wrong, declaring that there is no such
thing as sin in the universe ! They declare that what
we call sins are mere bubbles on the great ocean of
right. They deny all accountability; consequently
they are set adrift without any moral restraint, " walk
ing after their own lusts."
Mr. Harris, a writer already quoted on the 120th page
of this work, puts the theory into words, as follows :
" That vice is virtue in its unprogressive or germinal
condition; that sin is an impossible chimera."
Dr. Priestley formulates it as follows : " Nothing
does or can go wrong," — " all retrograde motions in
the moral, as well as in the natural world, are only
apparent, not real." — Schmucker's Denominations,
Article Materialists, page 289.
A. Wilford Hall says : ' ' There are thousands of the
more ' radical ' thinkers, as they call themselves, of
the advanced class of scientific investigators, who
have formed themselves into clubs in different cities
of this country and Europe, the first article of whose
creed is that will is a chimera, that the power of volun
tary choice is a fallacy of psychology, and a mental

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 147
delusion, and that man intrinsically is a puppet, a mere
automaton," etc. Then, after stating that it was the
position of Robert Owen, the Scotch Atheist, etc., he
remarks that such a system would "obliterate all dis
tinction between right and wrong, vice and virtue; and
in so doing wipe out the social system and civil govern
ment." Then he very forcibly observes: " It is only
because the advocates of this doctrine do not believe
it, nor act upon it; in other words, because they are
superior to their philosophy, that they are not all in
the State prison." — Problem of Human Life, pages
67-69. 4th. They were to scoff at the coming of Christ,
insisting that nothing supernatural had ever taken
place. — Verse 4.
Christians say that Jesus is coming again to judge
the world, and wind up this state of affairs. These
scoffers reply, " O, that can not be ! there will be no
hereafter ! there never was such a thing as a miracle,
and never will be — all things continue as they were
from the beginning of the creation ! ' ' Christians point
to displays of miraculous power interposed since " the
beginning of creation," but they deny all that. As
they believe in evolution they have to admit some
supernatural power, or force, to put evolution in
motion; they must then admit something like a mira
cle in the "beginning of creation;" but they main
tain that since then nothing has occurred but what has
been brought about by the operation of natural laws,

148 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
and that such a change as Christ's coming implies, can
not, therefore, take place. They, therefore, scoff at
the very idea of the second advent. Dr. Monroe, editor
of the Seymour Times, in a ridiculous pamphlet,
entitled the " Origin of Man," etc. , says, ironically : —
" In groping through this gloomy vale of tears,
One Joy remains — our Jesus we shall meet ;
And when we've sung his praise ten thousand years,
We've just begun; and wails — how sweet, how sweet."
Many similar examples of their scoffs inight be
given, were we not loathe to mar our page.
How well Peter described the quibbles of modern
Infidelity ! The Apostle says, " they are willingly
ignorant that by the word of God the heavens were
of old, and the earth," etc. They lose sight of the
fact that the same power that could bring the earth
into existence, could destroy it. As tbe Savior says :
" They do err, neither knowing the Scriptures, nor
the power of God!" They are willingly ignorant.
Though they have the voice of nature, as well as the
voice of revelation, they listen to neither, when they
come in contact with their theories. They contemplate
the regular order of nature, — the oak produces the
acorn, and the acorn in turn produces the oak, which
again produces the acorn. But run this matter back
to the starting point. Which was first, the oak or the
acorn?" "The acorn." Well, then, you have an
acorn that never grew on an oak ! and that is a miracle.
" O, no, the oak was first." Then you have an oak
without an acorn, and that is a miracle 1 Which was

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 149
first, man or woman ? or, were both produced simulta
neously ? A man without a mother I A woman with
out a father ! Or, a pair without either? Whenever
an Infidel goes back to the beginning, he is swamped.
But they disregard all these considerations, and the
facts of geology, which show, that at several different
epochs of the earth's history, God has interposed
miraculously, and actually created many new species
of both animals and vegetables. Hear the learned
Prof. Hitchcock : —
" If we take only those larger groups of animals and plants, whose
almost entire distinctions from one another has been established
beyond all doubt, we shall find at least five nearly complete organic
revolutions on the globe." — Elementary Geology, page 196.
5th. "They were to deny the flood." Verses 5
and 6.
They were to be willingly ignorant of the fact that
the earth being overflowed with water, perished, i.e.,
they were to deny that there ever was a deluge. This
they do scoffingly. One of these predicted mockers,
named Maximilian Fox, of Napanee, Ontario, speaks
of the Bible as a " book of holy absurdities," and then
alludes to the flood in the following shocking language :
"Old Jehovah curing the world by a cold bath, and
Noah's celebrated menagerie." — Common Sense, Feb.
15th, 1876. A more refined writer among them,
Karl Heinsen, says : —
" The storms multiplied, other extraordinary phenomena followed,
and then arose the renowned Deluge. The patriarch Noah, who
understood fishing and owned a ship, succeeded in saving himself
with a little colony, while others were drowned, and he ascribed

150 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
this rescue to the account of this same nothing, namely, the especial
favor of him who out of nothing had allowed the great flood to go
forth. Noah was through a nothing a made man, also without his
renowned ark into which he took with him ' a male and a female '
of all animals, that is his ox and his cow, his he-goat and his she-
goat, his cock and hen. Drawing from the great fountain of nothing,
he had with nothing puffed himself out to a demigod, and the
inheritance of his nothing descended to his sons, Shem, Ham and
Japhet. Out of the same fountain which had now already become
the source of higher suggestions, predictions, authorizations, etc.,
were created Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and all the great nothing-
men on the background of history, till at last, the greatest of all
the old nothing- artists, Moses, reduced the science of nothing to a
system which still forms always the foundation of the authority of
all humbuggers, and of the belief of all the humbugged." — Letters
to a Pious Man, page 53.
Dr. Monroe, in the pamphlet already quoted, scoffs
and ridicules as follows : —
" He will not dip his finger in the blood
Drawn from the pierced Bide of dear Emanuel;
He says no great deluge was Noah's flood,
Nor were real lions in that den with ' Daniel.' "
Thus they scoff and ridicule the idea of a flood, just
as Peter said they would do. " But," say the Infidels,
"we do not believe there ever was any flood ! " I
know you do not. That is just what I am writing
about. And that is just what Peter foretold. He said
you would not believe there ever was a Deluge ; or, in
other words, you would be wilfully ignorant of it.
Infidels are wilfully ignorant of the flood, because
they have proof enough from three distinct sources
to establish the fact, if they would give the testimony
its proper weight.
In the first place, they have the testimony of Moses,
whose testimony is entitled to credit because he fore-

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 151
told the destiny and circumstances of the Jewish peo
ple throughout all time ; foretold that a nation should
come from afar, whose tongue they should not under
stand, and destroy their chief cities; that they should
be scattered among all nations, and become a proverb
and by-word; that they should never be utterly
destroyed, or become extinct. Surely if he could
record historical facts hundreds of years before they
transpired, we should believe him when he records
events that took place before he wrote.
In the second place, there is a universal tradition of
the flood, and historians of ancient times, independent
of the Bible writers, testify that it occurred. Nico-
laus, of Damascus, who wrote 600 years before Christ,
in the 96th book of his Universal History, says : —
"There is a great mountain in Armenia, over Minyas, called
Baris, upon which, it is reported, that many who fled at the time of
the deluge were saved; and that one, who was carried in an ark,
came on shore on top of it, and that the remains of the timber were
a great while preserved. This might be the man- about whom
Moses, the lawgiver of the Jews, did write."
Berosus, a Chaldean historian, 400 B. C, wrote : —
" Xisuthrus [Noah] was warned in a dream that mankind was to
be destroyed by a flood on the 15th day of the month, Dsesius, and
that he should build a sort of ship and go into it with his friends
and Mndred, and that he should make a provision of meat and
drink, and take into his vessel fowls and four-footed beasts ; that
Xisuthrus acted according to the admonition; built a ship, and put
into it all that he was commanded, and went into it with his wife
and children and dearest friends. When the flood was come and
began to abate, Xisuthrus let out some birds, which, finding no food
nor place to rest upon, returned to the ship again; after some days
he let out the birds again, but they came back with their legs daubed
with mud. Some days after he let them go the third time, but then
they came to the ship no more. Xisuthrus understood thereby that

152 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
the earth appeared above the waters, and taking down some of the
boards of the ship, he saw that it rested upon a mountain. Some
time after, he and his wife and his pilot went out of the ship to offer
sacrifices." — Shuckford's Connections, vol. 1, pp. 14-15.
Of this great historian the classical Charles Anthon
says : ' ' He possessed every advantage which the rec
ords of the temple and the learning and tradition of
the Chaldeans could afford, and seems to have com
posed his work with a serious regard to truth." *
I might mention the testimony of Hecateus, 580
B. C, and Lucian, 200 A. D., but it is unnecessary.
Berosus and Josephus both say that it was claimed by
the inhabitants of Armenia that portions of the ark
were still in existence in their day. There must have
been an ark and a flood, or no such reports would have
been started. The belief in a flood seemed to be uni
versal when Josephus and Philo wrote, and since their
day the discovery of monumental inscriptions regard
ing the deluge has rendered the evidence still stronger.!
I regard those independent testimonies as possessing
some weight, when taken in connection with the fact
that there is a tradition of an immense deluge among
the Armenians, Greeks, Arabs, Hindoos, Chinese,
Scandinavians, and, in fact, among all nations, not
excepting the Fiji Islanders and North American
Indians. In the third place, Infidels are "wilfully ignorant"
of the flood, because geology shows that the whole
* For further information see "Heathen Testimonies," by T. Munnell;
Standard Publishing Company, Cincinnati, Ohio.
t Those discovered by Sir. Geo. Smith are particularly invaluable.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 153
earth was at one time inundated with water. As Hugh
Miller would say, " The testimony is in the Rocks."
The inhabitants of the ocean are found petrified upon
the highest hills, and there are in Western Pennsyl
vania and in several of the Western States, hard,
flinty rocks, that are evidently not natives, and skep
tical scientists themselves account for their presence
by saying that they floated in great cakes of ice from
the icy mountains of the arctic region.
But it is unnecessary to "give line upon line."
The foregoing facts are sufficient to show that unbe
lievers are willingly ignorant of the flood, i.e., that
knowledge of it is within their reach, but they will
not receive it ; in other words, that they have proof
of it, but will not receive it. Skeptics, we hear some
talk about mind-reading. How could Peter read your
minds eighteen hundred years ago ? *
6th. They were to deny the future destruction of the
earth by fire. 5-7.
This, it is well known, that the Infidels do, and the
apostle sets it down that they are wilfully ignorant of
this as of the other : " But the heavens and the earth,
which are now, by the same word, are kept in store,
reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men." The argument of the
apostle is a good one, that the same God who made
the world and peopled it with innumerable inhabitants,
* It is remarkable that in these last days the Infidels apply to themselves a
name which means ignorance: "Agnostic," "not knowing."

154 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
and once destroyed it by water, has the power to
destroy it by fire ; and as God, according to the reli
able testimony which we have, declared by his word
before the flood that it should come, and it did, as he
has by the same word informed us that it should be
destroyed by fire, it will most surely come to pass.
Nevertheless, Infidels have argued that the earth can
not be destroyed by fire on account of the abundance
of water on the globe. The sacred writer seems to
anticipate that objection when he shows that God has
from the beginning controlled the water according to
his own will. Notwithstanding three-fourths of the
earth's surface is covered with water, nothing is more
probable than that the globe should at some future
time be enwrapped in flames. It has long since been
demonstrated by men of science that even water may
be placed under such conditions as to cause it to burn
with a fury and intensity surpassing all human imagin
ation I The same is also true of the atmosphere, as is
shown by the wonderful ravages of the fire-fiend in
Wisconsin and Minnesota not many years since. Some
unbelieving but scientific men tell us that with the
exception of a crust on the surface of some sixty miles
in thickness, the earth beneath us is one vast mass of
fire, hotter than any smelter's furnace; and when we
watch volcanoes furiously belching forth immense
streams of burning lava, we may not think it at all
improbable. And though man has been able to
penetrate but a short distance into the earth, great

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 155
reservoirs of gas have been discovered. This gas,
when ignited, has proved very destructive to life and
property. Besides rivers of oil have been discovered
flowing beneath the earth. All these facts make the
preservation of the earth a greater wonder than its
destruction would be, and admonish us that as easy as a
man can strike a match and ignite the gas or light
a bonfire, the Creator of the world could, by a com
bination of the forces alluded to, if not by others
unknown to us, wrap this earth in a vast sheet of fire,
causing the atmosphere to pass away with a great noise
and the elements to melt with fervent heat.*
But my object was to show that Peter foretold what
position the Infidels should occupy, and the theories
they would advance ; this I have sufficiently done. He
foretold that they should scoff and scout the idea of
Christ's reappearing, deny the miraculous, be " wil
lingly ignorant" of the flood, and disbelieve the
threatened destruction of the earth by fire; and it has
come to pass even as it was predicted. This estab
lishes the claim of Peter and Jude to prophetic fore
sight, which implies divine inspiration. And if the
writings of those men were inspired, the writings of
Paul were, for Peter endorses his epistles as Scripture
* The author casts no reflection on those who maintain that the flood only
partially covered the earth; nor on those devout men who maintain that
the earth will be only partially destroyed at the appearing of Christ. His
remarks are applicable to those only who deny the tact of the flood and scoff
at the prediction that the present earth will give place to a new one. Good
men may honestly differ as to the minutise, and the author forbears entering
into details, this work being neither expository nor doctrinal.

156 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
right here in this same chapter; yea, all the apostles
were inspired, for Jude endorses them as such.

The religion of Jesus has three great enemies,
Popery, Spiritualism and open Infidelity. How
remarkable that the rise and progress of these three
systems should be foretold and their characteristics
described in the very beginning of the Christian era.
Well might Peter say, " we have a more sure word of
prophecy unto which we do well to take heed ! " I
just regard this chapter of evidence as irrefragable and
irrefutable. These writers could not have foretold
these things with such remarkable accuracy unless they
were aided by divine power, and if aided by divine
power the religion they promulgated is all that they
claim for it.
The prophetic chapter of evidence is peculiarly
strong and invincible. Not only does it afford evidence
before our eyes, evidence of which the senses can take
cognizance ; but it is growing evidence. It is continu
ally augmenting and increasing, becoming more pon
derous and voluminous every year, and increasing in
strength and convincing force every decade. At the
advent of the Messiah it was considered strong and
invincible, but since then many unfulfilled prophecies
have found their fulfillment, and some new ones have
been uttered which are now fulfilling before our eyes.
The development of the "man of sin," " the son of
perdition," added a new link, and made stronger the

DIVINE ORIGIN OF NEW TESTAMENT. 157
chain of divine predictions, and since the rise of
Spiritualism and the organization of Infidelity, the
evidence arising from fulfilled prophecy is stronger
than it ever was before. Every step of the world's
progress develops something that illustrates and con
firms the prophecies, and almost every page of history
that is written records some fact that says to us, in
unmistakable tones, that God abounded unto the
apostles and prophets in all wisdom and prudence,
having made known to them the mystery of his will
according to his good pleasure. Pause ! Our conclu
sion is reached, That the New Testament is of Divine
Origin. Note. — To the honest and sincere skeptic, and to others, I wish to say that
candor compels me to confess that there are some difficulties in tbe way of
the conclusion reached, that the bible is of divine origin; but those
difficulties are not insurmountable, while there are insurmountable difficul
ties in the way of any other conclusion. The many wonderful cases of ful
filled prophecy, as well as the facts reverted to in the flr6t chapter, are per
fectly inexplicable upon any hypothesis other than that the book contains a
revelation, of which God is the fountain and the source. I wish further to
say, that while I have in these pages established, as I verily believe, the
claim of Scripture writers to inspiration, I commit myself to the defence of
no theoet of inspiration. Be it especially noted that I do not claim the
same degree of inspiration for the various parts of the Divine Volume. Nor
do I deny the human element in the production of the book and its trans
mission to ns. To say that the book, as we have it, is either entirely divine
or wholly human, would be one-sided, indeed. But that it is of God to man
and through man, for the glory of God and the good of man, is what the facts
¦ay, non ego.

SSS£f^

PART II.
DIVINE ORIGIN OF THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION.

M3M&I

(159)

Having proved in Part First that the Bible is of
divine origin, it is altogether gratuitous on the part of
the author to prove the divinity of the religion which
it teaches. The divine origin of one being proved,
the divine origin of the other necessarily follows. But
I desire to add " fine upon line, and precept upon pre
cept," that by "two immutable things" the reader
may have strong confidence. I wish to go back to the
starting place and reach the same point by a different
road — establish the same conclusion by a different
course of reasoning. I wish the reader, therefore, for
the time being, to forget all that has been advanced in
former chapters ; forget the wonderful similarity of
Nature and the Bible ; forget the remarkable unity of
the Great Volume; forget all the astonishing' instances
of fulfilled prophecy adduced ; forget all that has been
established ; and we will begin the Second Part just as
though nothing had been proved. With these pre
liminaries, I proceed to adduce the proof that "The
Religion of Jesus Christ is of Divine Origin."

(160)

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 161

CHAPTER I.

The Historical Books op the New Testament are
Ckedible and Trustworthy.
fPj|Y the historical books of the New Testament
are meant, of course, Matthew, Mark, Luke,
John and Acts of Apostles.
And here, again, I enter upon a work that is
wholly gratuitous. For every historical work that has
been accepted as such by any considerable portion of
mankind, must be considered as reliable and truthful,
unless the contrary can be shown. Not only so, but
it is a well established and undeniable principle of law
that every witness must be presumed to be credible
and competent, till the contrary can be shown. I
could show that this principle will apply to the testi
mony of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and thus
throw the onus probandi upon the Infidels. But, as
one of the brightest lights that ever graced the legal
profession has spoken on this point, I will give the
reader the benefit of his matured thoughts. I refer to
Simon Greenleaf, LL.D., author of a work on legal
evidence, which is the leading authority on that sub-

162 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
ject. In a work entitled " Testimony of the Evangel
ists," he says: —
" Proceeding further, to inquire whether the facts related by the
Four Evangelists are proved by competent and satisfactory evidence,
we are led, first, to consider on which side lies the burden of estab
lishing the credibility of the witnesses. The very statement of
such a question startles us, because, in the affairs of ordinary life,
the uniform course is to presume every witness to be credible until
the contrary is shown, the burden of proof lying on the objector.
But this only serves to show the injustice with which the writers
of the Gospels have ever been treated by Infidels; an injustice
silently acquiesced in even by Christians; in requiring the Chris
tian affirmatively, and by positive evidence, aliunde, to establish the
credibility of his witnesses above all others, before their testimony
is entitled to be considered, and in permitting the testimony of a
single profane writer, alone and uncorroborated, to outweigh that
of any single Christian. * * * It is time that this injustice
should cease; that the testimony of the Evangelists should be
admitted to be true, until it can be disproved by those who would
impugn it; that the silence of one sacred writer, on any point,
should no more detract from his own veracity or that of the other
historians, than the like circumstance is permitted to do among
profane writers ; and that the Four Evangelists should be admitted
in corroboration of each other, as readily as Josephus and Tacitus,
or Polybius and Livy." — Tes. Ev. pp. 24-26. See, also, Dr. Chal
mers' Evidences, pp. 72-74.
This able jurist also gives the logical line of argu
ment on the genuineness of these books, as follows: —
" The genuineness of these writings really admits of as little
doubt, and is as susceptible of as ready proof as that of any ancient
writings whatever. The rule of municipal law on this subject is
familiar, and applies with equal force to all ancient writings,
whether documentary or otherwise.
" The first inquiry, when an ancient document is offered in evi
dence in our courts, is whether it comes from the proper repository;
that is, whether it is found in the place where and under the care
of persons with whom such writings might naturally and reasonably
be expected to be found ; for it is this custody which gives authen
ticity to documents found within it. If they came from such a
place and bear no evident marks of forgery, the law presumes that
they are genuine, and they are admitted to be read in evidence,
unless the opposing party is able successfully to impeach them.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 163
" The burden of showing them to be false and unworthy of credit,
is devolved on the party who makes that objection. The presump
tion of law is the judgment of charity. It presumes that every man
is innocent until he is proved to be guilty; that everything has
been done fairly and legally until it is proved to have been other
wise; and that every document found in its proper repository and
not bearing marks of forgery, is genuine. Now, this is precisely
the case with the sacred writings. They have been used in the
church from time immemorial, and thus are found in the place
where alone they ought to be looked for." — Testimony ofthe Evan
gelists, pp. 7, 8.
With reference to the objection that now we have
only copies of the original, he says: —
" If it be objected that the originals are lost, and that copies
alone are now produced, the principes of the municipal law here
also afford a satisfactory answer. * * * If any ancient
documents concerning our public rights were lost, copies which
had been as universally received and acted upon as the Four Gos
pels have been, would have been received in evidence in any of our
courts of justice without the slightest hesitation. The entire text
of the Corpus Juris Civilis is received as authority in all the courts
of continental Europe upon much weaker evidence of its genuine
ness; for the integrity of the Sacred Text has been preserved by
the jealousy of opposing sects beyond any moral possibility of
corruption, while that of the Eoman Civil Law has been preserved
only by tacit consent, without the interests of any opposing school
to watch over and preserve it from alteration.
"These copies of the Holy Scriptures, having thus been in
familiar use in the churches, from the time when the text was com
mitted to writing; having been watched with vigilance by so many
sects, opposed to each other in doctrine, yet all appealing to these
Scriptures for the correctness of their faith; and having in all ages,
down to this day, been respected as the authoritative source of all
ecclesiastical power and government, and submitted to and acted
under, in regard to so many claims of right on the one hand, and
so many obligations of duty on the other; it is quite erroneous to
suppose that the Christian is bound to offer any further proof of
their genuineness or authenticity. It is for the objector to show them
spurious; for on him, by the plainest rules of law, lies the burden of
proof. If it were the case oi a claim to a franchise, and a copy of
an ancient deed or charter were produced in support of the title,
under parallel circumstances, on which to presume its genuineness,
no lawyer, it is believed, would venture to deny its admissibility in
evidence, nor the satisfactory character of the proof." — Testimony
ofthe Evangelists, pp. 9, 10.

164 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
But notwithstanding I am under no obligations what
ever to establish the claims of the Gospels and the Acts
affirmatively, I nevertheless assume the laboring oar,
and shall prove the credibility of these books just as
an attorney proves the claims of his client in court.
He relies, 1st, upon the testimony of his own witnesses ;
2d, upon the admissions of witnesses on the opposite
side; 3d, upon circumstantial evidence. And what
ever opposing attorneys may admit, is also so much
in his favor. Christianity may be considered as the
plaintiff in the case. Apostles, apologists, and all
early Christian writers and speakers are witnesses for
the plaintiff. Early Pagan, Jewish and Infidel writers,
such as Tacitus, Josephus, Celsus and Julian, are
opposing witnesses, brought into court to testify
against Christianity. While modern Infidel writers
and modern apologists may be considered as attorneys
in the case. Such, then, is the order that I shall
observe in adducing my evidence. I shall first intro
duce, briefly, the testimony of the friends of Christ ;
secondly, consider the admissions of his enemies ;
and, in the third place, weigh the circumstantial evi
dence bearing upon the credibility of the narratives in
question. /. Tlie testimony of the friends of Jesus.
I deem it unnecessary to cite this part of the testi
mony at any great length, if indeed it were practicable
to do so. I shall therefore be content with a very brief
synopsis of the same. Also, I shall merely state this

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 165
part of the evidence without making any effort to dis
cuss the same.* The credibility of histories may be
established in two ways ; either by approving the
books themselves, or by corroborating the facts
recorded therein. The truthfulness of the five books
under consideration is attested in both those ways.
According to the best sources of information these
books were written at or near the following dates:
Matthew, A. D. 42 ; Luke, A. D. 61 ; Acts, A. D. 63 ;
Mark, A. D. 64; John, A. D. 97. At all events they
were written during the first century. I remark fur
ther, with special reference to Luke and Acts, that they
were written before Paul's release from his imprison
ment at Rome, for Acts terminates abruptly by leav
ing him there, and Luke was written before Acts, the
one being a continuation of the other. While these
books are not mentioned by name during the century
in which they were written, from the very nature of
the case, their contents are powerfully confirmed and
corroborated by apostolic epistles written during the
same age. What these books record, the epistles
assume as well known facts ; thus showing that these
'narratives possessed a solid basis of fact.
Then come the fathers and apologists with abundant
confirmations of the facts, and allusions to, and quota
tions from the books themselves. Quadratus, the first

* For a more elaborate discussion of this branch of apologetics, the reader
is referred to such works as " Genuineness and Authenticity of the Gospels,"
by Pres Hinsdale, and "Reason and Revelation," by Pres. Milligan.

166 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
apologist, who wrote in the close of the apostolic age,
deposeth as follows : —
" The works of our Savior were always conspicuous, for they
were real; both they that were healed, and they that were raised
from the dead, were seen not only when they were healed, or raised,
but for a long time afterwards ; not only while he dwelled on this
earth, but also after his departure, and for a good while after it;
insomuch that many of them have reached to our times."
Other early apologists followed with similar con
firmation : Aristides, A. D. 126 ; Justin, A. D. 139 ;
Abercius, A. D. 150; Melito, A. D. 169 ; and Appolli-
narious, A. D. 170. These apologies were presented
to Roman Emperors, during times of persecution.
The last two were presented respectively to Marcus
Aurelius and M. Antonius.
The Apostolic and Christian Fathers,* during the
first and second centuries, quote very extensively from
these books, and some of them mention them by name.
Clement, of Rome, a fellow-laborer of the Apostle
Paul, and mentioned by him in Philippians, iv:3, was
an elder of the church in Rome, and wrote in the name
of that congregation a letter to the congregation in
Corinth, A. D. 96, in which he quotes three of the Gos
pels and Acts.
The Epistle of Barnabas, written before John's Gos
pel, quotes Matthew and Luke, and greatly confirms
these books in many respects.

* The "Apostolic Fathers," are those that were contemporary with the
Apostles ; the " Christian Fathers " are those who flourished after the death
of the Apostles.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 167
Matthew, Mark and John are quoted in a book called
" The Shepherd of Hermas," written about A. D. 100.
Ignatius, a bishop of the church at Antioch, suffered
martyrdom in Rome in the year of our Lord, 107.
While on his way to that city, he wrote seven letters,
in which he quotes Matthew, Lake, John and Acts.
In one of those letters, addressed to the church at
Smyrna, he speaks of some " whom neither the Proph
ecies nor the Law of Moses have persuaded ; nor yet
the Gospel even to this day." — Lardner's Cred., vol.
II, page 82.
Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, wrote a letter to the
church at Philippi, A. D. 108, in which he quotes
Matthew and Acts. He also quotes I. John, and it is
universally admitted by critics that the author of that
epistle is also the author of the " Gospel of John."
Papius, a bishop of the church at Hierapolis, in
Phrygia, some time before the middle of the second
century, wrote a work in five books, entitled, "Inter
pretations of our Lord's Declarations." In the 39th
chapter of the Third Book, he alludes to Matthew's
production in these words : —
"Matthew composed his history in the Hebrew dialect, and every
one translated it as he was able."
He speaks more at length of Mark, as follows : —
" Mark being an interpreter of Peter, whatsoever he recorded he
wrote with great accuracy, but not, however, in the order in which
it was spoken or done by our Lord ; but as before said, he was in
company with Peter, who gave him such instruction as was neces
sary, but not to give a history of our Lord's discourses: wherefore
Mark has not erred in anything, by writing some things as he

168 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
has recorded them; for he was carefully attentive to one thing, not
to pass by anything that he heard, or to state anything falsely
in these accounts."*
The polished Infidel writer, M. Renan, on the 20th
page of his "Life of Jesus," makes this admission:
"Certain it is that these two descriptions correspond
very well to the general physiognomy of the two
books now called ' The Gospel according to Matthew,'
and ' The Gospel according to Mark ; ' the first char
acterized by its long discourses ; the second, full of
anecdote, much more exact than the first in regard to
minute acts, brief to dryness, poor in discourses and
badly composed."
There were two translations of the New Testament
made before the middle of the second century, one
into Syriac, called the Peshito- Syriac; the other into
Latin, called the Itala. The first is still in existence,
and contains the Four Gospels and Acts. The second
gave place to Jerome's version, of which it was the
basis, and there are now no remains of it except traces
in the Vulgate, of which it was indirectly the basis ;
but there is incontrovertible evidence that it contained
each of these five historical books. The fact that both
those old versions, made in different countries, and with
out any concert of action, contained, all these books
is significant, showing that the Christians in all sec
tions regarded them as credible and trustworthy.
* The general voice of antiquity is to the effect, that Peter was associated
with Mark in the production of his book; and this is no doubt true, as Mark
was Peter's son. — I. Pjst. V : 18.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 169
In the year of Christ 139 Flavius Justinus, com
monly called Justin Martyr (because he suffered mar
tyrdom), presented to the Emperor Antonius Pius, a
very elaborate apology, in the 66th chapter of which
he says : —
" For the Apostles, in the Memoirs composed by them, which are
called Gospels, have thus delivered unto us what was enjoined upon
them; that Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, said:
' This do ye in remembrance of me, this is my body;' and that after
the same manner, having taken the cup and given thanks, he said :
'This is my blood;' and gave it them alone."
In the next chapter Justin describes the worship of
the Christians : —
"And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or the coun
try gather together to one place, and the Memoirs of the Apostles
or the writings of the Prophets are read as long as time permits ;
then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs,
and exhorts to the imitation of these good things."
This shows conclusively that before the middle of
the Second Century these books were in use, and were
read devotionally in the assemblies of the Christians.
Passing over into the last half of the Second Century
we find a bishop at Hierapolis, in Phrygia, named
Claudius Appollinaris, deposing as follows : —
"Some say that the Lord ate the lamb with his disciples on the
14th, and suffered himself on the great day of unleavened bread;
and they state that Matthew's narrative is in accordance with this
view; while it follows that this view is at variance with the law,
and according to them the Gospels seem to disagree."
This shows that he was familiar with a plurality of
authoritative Gospels; that one of these was Mat
thew ; and that one of them was John, for John is the

170 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
only one that appears to conflict with Matthew in
regard to the Passover.
In the year 177 Athenagoras wrote two works which
are still extant. He quotes Matthew, Luke and John.
So current and familiar had the " Four Gospels "
become by the middle of the latter half of the Second
Century, that two Harmonies had been made of them;
one by Theophilus, of Antioch, and the other by Tatian,
of Syria. Jerome quotes from the first, remarking
that Theophilus united " into one work the words of
the Four Evangelists," and "left for us monuments
of his own mind." Eusebius speaks of the second, as
follows : —
"Tatian, having formed a certain body and collection of Gospels,
I know not how, has given this the title Diatessaron, that is, the
Gospel by the Four, or the Gospel formed of the Four."
Theophilus also wrote an apology, which is still in
existence, in which he mentions "the Gospels," and
quotes one of them as follows : —
" The holy writings teach us, and all the Spirit-bearing men, one
of whom, John, says : ' In the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God.' " — Theophilus Autolycus, chap. 22.
Irenseus, student of Polycarp, and afterward Bishop
of Lyons, in the latter part of the Second Century
wrote a voluminous work, entitled, "Against Here
sies," in which he speaks of the Gospels in most
explicit terms. As a sample, we quote the follow
ing:— " So firm is the ground upon which these Gospels rest, that the
very heretics themselves bear witness to them, and starting from
these, each one endeavors to establish his own peculiar doctrine.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 171
For the Ebionites, who use Matthew's Gospel only, are confuted
out of this very same, making false suppositions with regard to our
Lord. But Marcion, mutilating that according to Luke, is proved
to be a blasphemer of the only existing God, from [passages] which
he still retains. Those, again, who separate Jesus from Christ,
alleging that Christ remained impassible, but that it was Jesus
who suffered, preferring the Gospel by Mark, if they read it with a
love of truth, may have their errors rectified. Those, moreover,
who follow Vaslentinus, making copious use of that according to
John to illustrate their conjunctions, shall be proved to be totally
in error by means of this very Gospel, as I have shown in the first
book. Since, then, our opponents do bear testimony to us, and
make use of these [Gospels] our proof derived from them is firm
and true."
We now cross the dividing line between the Second
and Third Centuries; and, although we talk of cen
turies, let not the reader imagine that we are yet a
very great distance from the Apostles, or that the dif
ference in time between the earliest and the latest
writers quoted is so very remarkable. The last one
introduced conversed with, and received instruction
from, a man who had conversed with the Apostle John.
Pres. Hinsdale presents this matter to the eye, by
diagram, as follows : —
"A. D.
1 Christ... 33.
 John  98.
79  Polycarp  167.
140  Irbn^tjs  202.
"That is, between the birth of Irenseus and the death of John
only forty-two years intervened ; and between the birth of Polycarp
aud the death of Jesus, only forty-six. The life of Polycarp fills
the first gap, overlapping Irenseus twenty-seven years, and John
nineteen years ; while the life of John fills the second gap, over
lapping Polycarp nineteen years, and Jesus nearly the whole of his
life." From Irenseus, forward, there is an unbroken series
of writers who continually refer to Acts and the Gos-

172 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
pels, and quote extensively from them. Among the
earliest of these, Tertullian and Clement of Alexandria,
stand pre-eminent. Tertullian was a Roman lawyer,
who renounced Paganism and embraced Christianity.
In the dawn of the Third Century he wrote a volumin
ous work, entitled, "Against Marcion," which is still
extant. In the second chapter he says: —
"Of the Apostles, therefore, John and Matthew first instill faith
into us, whilst of Apostolic men, Luke and Mark, renew it after
wards." Then after condemning Marcion for mutilating the
Gospel of Luke and rejecting in tolo the others, he
continues : —
"The same authority of the Apostolic Churches will afford evi
dence to the other Gospels also, which we possess equally through
their means, and according to their usage — I mean the Gospels of
John and Matthew — whilst that which Mark published may be
affirmed to be Peter's, whose interpreter Mark was. For even
Luke's form of the Gospel men usually ascribe to Paul. And it
may well seem that the works which disciples publish belong to
their masters."
He also states that the other three Gospels had
"free course in the churches from the very begin
ning," as well as Luke. Tischendorf argues with great
force that the testimony of Irenseus and Tertullian
should not be taken as an isolated fact, but as a valid
result of all the historic evidence at their command;
and the same reasoning will apply to the writings of
others from whom we quote. Clement, of Alexandria,
a contemporary of Tertullian, speaks of " the four
Gospels which have been handed down to us," and
elsewhere in his writings names them as Matthew,

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 173
Mark, Luke and John, referring to them in the order
in which they now stand.
The eminent and indefatigable ecclesiastical histor
ian, Eusebius Pamphilus, who graced the close of the
Third Century and the beginning of the Fourth, gave
a summary statement of the New Testament books,
and says : "Among the first must be placed the holy
quarternion of the Gospels." The term " quarternion "
shows that there were four. He also mentions them
by name. He says of Matthew: —
"Matthew, also, having first proclaimed the Gospel in Hebrew,
when on the point of going to other nations, committed it to writ
ing in his native tongue, and thus supplied the want of his presence
to them by his writings." — Book 3, chap. 25.
He also explains the occasions which called the others
into existence, giving Peter credit for furnishing data
for Mark, and mentioning Paul as rendering like
assistance to Luke. John, he says, was written to
supply facts and discourses omitted by the other three.
In passing through the Fourth Century we find a
manuscript copy of these books called the Codex
Sinaiticus. It is still in existence.
During the Third and Fourth Centuries catalogues
of the New Testament were formed, in all of which
these five books find a place. The first of these cata
logues was made by Origen about the middle of the
Third Century, and they were greatly multiplied dur
ing the Fourth Century — some being published in
Europe, some in Asia, and some in Africa. A few of
these were incomplete, leaving out some of the Epistles,

174 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
but there was not one in the whole list minus any of
the historical books; Matthew, Mark, Luke, John,
and the Acts of Apostles found a place in all of them.
But the evidence in the Third and Fourth Centuries
that these books were then in existence and univer
sally received by the churches as historically correct
and divinely authoritative is so abundant in quantity,
and so overwhelming in quality, that I need pursue
this line of testimony no further.
The testimony of the witnesses on the Christain side
of the controversy may be epitomized as follows:
Christ came into the world and took upon himself
human nature to benefit humanity. He was born in
Judea, where he spent his life doing good. He taught
as never man taught, and performed many prodigious
miracles. He was crucified under Pontius Pilate, and
buried in the tomb of Joseph. He arose from the dead,
and ascended lo heaven, whence he came. The apos
tles, being formerly commissioned by him, went forth
and preached and performed wonders in his name.
The books which record those things are historically
correct. We will now see to what extent this testi
mony is corroborated by witnesses on the other side.
II. The testimony of enemies and those unfriendly
to Christ.
The grand central circumstance, or rather center-
stance, the existence of " the Nazarene," and his won
derful character, is so universally admitted, and has
made such a deep impress upon humanity, that I need

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 175
not dwell on it, or summon witnesses to prove it. It
is admitted by all Infidel writers of any consequence,
from the tender and polished Renan, to the scurrilous
and scoffing Paine. It is impossible for a man to deny
it, without discarding the last vestige of ancient his
tory. Hence critics are unanimous at this point.
Dr. W. H. Furness, writing altogether from a ration
alistic standpoint, says : —
"It could have been no myth! — O, no! — that has so moved man
kind. Who that has ever lived, has penetrated like him, to the very
center of our nature, and broken up the unfathomed depths of
human wonder and veneration, kindling the imagination into such a
flame about himself that the ascription to him of the incommunica
ble essence of the incomprehensible God has seemed to men no
exaggeration? J could sooner question the existence of any other man,
or of all other men, than his."
That elegant but skeptical philosopher, John Stuart
Mill, in discussing Christ as a man, thus speaks of
him: —
" Whatever else may be taken away from us by rational criticism,
Christ is still left; a unique figure, not more unlike all his precur-
ors than all his followers, even those who had the direct benefit
of his personal teaching. It is of no use to say that Christ, as
exhibited in the Gospel, is not historical, and that we know not how
much of what is admirable has been super-added by the tradition of
his followers. Who among his disciples or his proselytes, was
capable of inventing the sayings ascribed to Jesus, or of imagining
the life and character revealed in the Gospels? Certainly not the
fishermen of Galilee; as certainly not St. Paul, whose character
and idiosyncrasies were of a totally different sort; still less the
early Christian writers, in whom nothing is more evident than that
the good which was in them was all derived, as they always pro
fess that it was derived, from a higher source. About the life and
sayings of Jesus there is a stamp of personal originality combined
with profundity of insight, which, if we abandon the idle specula
tion of finding scientific precision where something very different
was aimed at, must place the prophet of Nazareth, even in the esti
mation of those who have no belief in his inspiration, in the very
first rank of the men of sublime genius of whom our species can
boast."

176 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
And right here, it may not be out of place to make
a quotation from Dr. Thomas Scott's "Answer to
Paine's Age of Reason: " —
" The four Evangelists have done, without appearing to have
intended it, what was never performed by any authors before
or since. They have drawn a perfect human character without a
single flaw ! They have given the history of One whose spirit, words
and actions, were in every part what they ought to have been; who
always did the very thing that was proper, and in the best manner
imaginable ; who never once deviated from the most consummate
wisdom, purity, benevolence, compassion, meekness, humility, for
titude, patience, piety, zeal, and every other excellence ; and who
in no instance let one virtue or holy disposition entrench on an
other; but exercised them all in entire harmony and exact propor
tion ! The more the Evangelists are examined, the clearer this will
appear, * * * Without labor or affectation they have
effected what hath baffled all others, who have set themselves pur
posely to accomplish it."
Jewish teachers never pretend to deny the person
ality of Jesusf That distinguished Rabbi, Dr. E. B. M.
Browne, who has for years had a debate pending with
the author of this work, which was first postponed
on account of his being sent as a delegate fo the
World's Scientific Congress, Stockholm, Sweden, and
afterward on account of sickness, etc., admits that
there was such a person as Jesus, and that his teachings
are entitled to profound respect. The Indianapolis
Sentinel, Jan. 17th, 1875, in reporting his great lec
ture on the "Talmud," says of Rabbi Browne: —
"While he does not accept Christ as a Redeemer, he believes
most cordially in His doctrines and wants the Bible retained in the
public schools. The audience filled the hall, and was enthusiastic
in its applause. Many of his own people, includiug the Rabbi
Messing, were present, and heartily joined the Christians present
in seconding his plea for more liberality among religionists."
Several leading Infidel writers could be cited who

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 177
admit that the Gospels and Acts are credible history
in the main, but as they are related to the case more
as attorneys than witnesses, we will let them be heard
last. I will first adduce the testimony of ancient
Infidels and unbelieving historians. They confirm the
Christian testimony in two ways ; first, by corrobor
ating the facts contained in Gospel narratives ; sec
ond, by referring to and quoting the books them
selves. I shall make no effort to separate the two
species of evidence.
The first witness I shall introduce is Flavius
Josephus, * a Jewish historian, so well known that he
needs no introduction, and one that we had upon the
witness stand while examining the prophecies of the
Old Testament in Part First. His first corroboration
is in reference to the character and death of John the
Baptist, and facts connected therewith. He speaks
of a difference between Aretas, King of Petra, and
Herod, growing out of the fact that Herod had married
the daughter of Aretas, and lived a considerable time
with her. But, in a journey he took to Rome, he
made a visit to Herod, his brother, though not by the
same mother. Here falling in love with Herodias,
wife of the same Herod, daughter of their brother
Aristobulus, and sister of Agrippa the Great, he ven
tured to make proposals of marriage to her. She
agreed that when he was returned from Rome she

* I quote from Whiston's translation, published by T. Nelson & Sons, Lon
don, Edinburgh, and New York, 1878.
12

178 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
would go and live with him. And it was one part
of the contract that Aretas' daughter should be put
away. This was the beginning of the difference ; and
there being also some disputes about the limits of their
territories, a war arose between Aretas and Herod.
And in a battle fought by them, Herod's whole army
was defeated. He then says: —
" Now, some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's
army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what
he did against John that was called the Baptist; for Herod slew
him who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise
virtue, both as to righteousness towards one another, and piety
towards God, and so to come to baptism; for that the washing
[with water] would be acceptable to him, if they made use of it,
not in order to the putting away [or the remission] of some sins
[only], but for the purification of the body; supposing still that
the soul was thoroughly purified beforehand by righteousness.
Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were
greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who
feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put
it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion (for they
seemed ready to do anything he should advise), thought it best,
by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause,
and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might
make him repent of it when it should be too late. Accordingly, he
was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Mache-
rus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death. Now
the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of this army was sent
as a punishment upon Herod, and a mark of God's displeasure
against him." — Ant., book 18, chap. 5, sec. 2.
This is unquestionably genuine. It is quoted by
Origen in debate with Celsus, by Eusebius, and by
Jerome. It is regarded as genuine by the most dis
tinguished critics and antiquarians.
Josephus also alludes to Christ in mentioning the
death of James : —
" And now Csesar, upon hearing the death of Festus, sent Albinus
into Judea, as procurator ; but the king deprived Joseph of the high-

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 179
priesthood, and bestowed the succession of that dignity on the son
of Ananus, who was also himself called Ananus. Now the report
goes, that this elder Anauus proved a most fortunate man ; for
he had five sons, who had all performed the office of a high-priest
to God, and he had himself enjoyed that dignity a long time for
merly, which had never happened to any other of our high -priests;
but this younger Ananus, who, as we have told you already, took
the high-priesthood, was a bold man in his temper, and very inso
lent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who are very rigid
in judging offenders, above all the rest of the Jews, as we have
already observed; when, therefore, Ananus was of this disposition,
he thought he had now a proper opportunity [to exercise his au
thority] . Festus was now dead, and Albinus was but upon the
road; so he assembled the sanhedrim of judges, and brought be
fore them the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ, whose name
was James, and some others, [or some of his companions] ; and
when he had formed an accusation against them as breakers of the
law, he delivered them to be stoned; but as for those who seemed
the most equitable of the citizens, and such as were the most un
easy at the-hreach of the laws, they disliked what was done." — Ant.,
book 20, chap. 9, sec. 1.
There is another allusion to James which is proba
bly spurious, but this is genuine. It was read by
Eusebius and Photius, and is found in all copies of
the "Antiquities."
There is another passage in Josephus which is often
referred to and quoted by Christians, but I do not use
it, because its genuineness is involved in some doubt,
and I am not willing to introduce into the premises of
my argument any doubtful material, desiring my con
clusion to rest upon unimpeachable facts. I allude to
the celebrated passage concerning the death and resur
rection of Jesus.* My cause is just as strong without
it. Leave it out and you have the case of a Jewish
historian unwilling to mention the acts of his most
* See Appendix, A.

180 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
illustrious countryman, yet forced to allude to him in
connection with James, because unable to record the
history of his country without so doing. Its absence
would even make a stronger argument for Christianity
than its presence ; for with it we have only a brief
allusion to Christ, where we should have whole pages
devoted to his career ; but without it we have in the
passage about James an involuntary allusion to Christ,
where none was intended, showing that he had made
such a wonderful impress upon the generation in which
he lived, that the historian incidentally mentions his
name while studiously endeavoring to avoid giving any
account of him.
The facts recorded in the passages relative to John the
Baptist, and James the Just, are admitted by Dr.
Wise, the learned Jewish Rabbi, of Cincinnati. He
says of the Jews: "They cursed Herod when he
slew John the Baptist ; they cursed Ananias when he
slew James." — Three Lectures on the Origin of Chris
tianity, page 11.
On page 4 he speaks of John at considerable length,
and endorses the account given by Josephus. And on
page 20, he speaks of James, the brother of Jesus,
and says he was slain by the high-priest, Ananias, in
62 or 63. Here, then, are two important events in
Christian history attested by unbelieving Jewish au
thority. The question is sometimes asked, "Why did not
Philo say something about these things ? " Let the

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 181
Infidel, Renan, answer. He says Philo lived " in quite
another province of Judaism," * and then adds: —
" He was sixty-two years old when the prophet of Nazareth was
at his highest activity, and he survived him at least ten years.
What a misfortune that the chances of life did not lead him into
Galilee I What would he not have taught us I " — Life of Jesus,
p. 13. In the next place, I will introduce the testimony of
the celebrated Roman historian, Gains Cornelius
Tacitus, who was born about the year of our Lord
62, and wrote his " Annals " soon after the year 100.
He undoubtedly began the collection of his materials
before the end of the First Century. Let us hear
him: —
" But neither all human help, nor the liberality of the emperor,
nor all the atonements presented to the gods, availed to abate the
infamy he lay under of having ordered the city to be set on fire.
To suppress, therefore, this common rumor, Nero procured others
to be accused and inflicted exquisite punishment upon those
people who were in abhorrence for their crimes, and were com
monly known by the name of Christians. They had their denomin
ation from one Christus, who, in the reign of Tiberius, was put to
death as a criminal by the procurator Pontius Pilate. This perni
cious superstition, though checked for a while, f broke out again
and spread not only over Judea, the source of this evil, but reached
the city also; whither flow from all quarters all things vile and
shameful, and where they find shelter and encouragement. At first
they were only apprehended who confessed themselves of that sect;
afterwards a vast multitude discovered, all of which were con
demned, not so much for the crime of burning the city as for their
enmity to mankind. Their executions were so contrived as to ex
pose them to derision and contempt. Some were covered over
with the skins of wild beasts and torn to pieces by dogs ; some
were crucified; others, having been daubed over with combustible
materials, were set up as lights in the night time, and thus burned
• At Alexandria, In Egypt.
t Dr. Wise represents Tacitus as saying it was checked for "some years."
But notice, he does not say so; but speaks indefinitely: "checked for
awhile."

182 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
to death. Nero made use of his own gardens as a theatre on this
occasion, and also exhibited the diversions of the circus, some
times standing in the crowd as a spectator, in the habit of a
charioteer; at other times driving a chariot himself; till at length
these men, though really criminals and deserving exemplary punish
ment, began to be commiserated as a people who were destroyed,
not out of regard to the public welfare, but only to gratify the
cruelty of one man." — Annals, book 16, ch. 14.
This happened in 64, about thirty years after the
death of Christ. Few Infidels will be so unreasonable
as to question the genuineness of this passage. The
English historian, Gibbon, though an Infidel himself,
has the fairness and candor to say : —
" The most skeptical criticism is obliged to respect the truth of
this extraordinary fact, and the integrity of this celebrated pas
sage of Tacitus. The former is confirmed by the diligent and
accurate Suetonius, who mentions the punishment which Nero
inflicted on the Christians, a sect of men who had embraced a new
and criminal superstition." — Decline and Fall of the Boman Empire,
chap. 16, p. 19.
Such bloody scenes of persecution are alluded to by
the Spanish poet, Martial, a celebrated writer of epi
grams in the First Century. His lines may be trans
lated as follows : —
•' Ton have seen acted in theatres for hire,
Mucius, who thrust his hand into the fire.
If such an one you think patient, valiant, stout,
Tou a silly dotard are, and of sense without 1
For 'tis a thing of greater note,
When threatened with the troublesome coat,
To say, 'I sacrifice not ! ' and firm to stand I
Than obey the mandate 'Burn the hand.' "
— Martial L. 10, Epigram 26.
The "troublesome coat" was made of coarse linen
cloth, in the shape of a sack or shirt, and besmeared
with such combustible materials as wax, rosin, tar and

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 183
sulphur. It is alluded to by the poet Juvenal, in such
words as these : —
" But if that honest license now you take,
Such rogues as Tigellinum to rake,
Death is your doom, impai'd upon a stake,
Smeared o'er with wax and set on fire to light
The streets, and make a brilliant blaze by night ! "
— Juvenal, Satire I., ver. 155.
In order to have a proper conception of the facts
attested by Josephus, the reader should picture to him
self " a just man " addressing multitudes on the banks
of the Jordan, and calling upon them to reform and
be baptized ; then picture an officer of Herod thrust
ing him into prison; then in mental vision see the iron
door of the prison opened, see John led forth, see his
head laid upon the block, the sword drawn, one blow
and his head is in the hand of the bloody executioner.
Then picture another "just man," after years have
passed, and others with him, being stoned to death, by
order of the high-priest.
Then to properly realize the testimony of Tacitus ;
see Christ in Judea preaching a new religion ; picture
him before Pilate receiving sentence of death ;
picture him in the agonies of death upon a cross;
picture all quiet for days and weeks; then see his
religion break out again ; picture his friends traveling
all over Judea preaching the system that Christ insti
tuted ; then picture them going into Gentile countries,
even to Rome ; picture vast multitudes embracing the
new faith; see Rome on fire ; behold it blazing seven

184 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
successive nights; picture the gossippers the next
morning around the smouldering ruins, discussing the
origin of the fire ; see Madam Rumor passing round ,
dropping in at every gate, and telling the people that
Nero burned it ; picture his officers going round appre
hending Christians ; see the streets and the gardens of
Nero lighted with Christians fastened to stakes and
covered with combustible material ! Such mental pic
tures will enable you to realize, in no small degree,
the testimony of the leading Jewish and Pagan his
torians. As I am now examining witnesses on the opposite
side, I wish the reader to notice whenever a statement
of any Christian witness is corroborated, whether such
witness wrote in the New Testament or out of it; but
I shall call particular attention whenever any fact re
corded in the historical books under consideration, is
admitted or corroborated. We have at least seven such
right here in the testimony of Tacitus and Josephus : —
1st. The work and character of John the Baptist.
2d. His imprisonment; and that he was put to
death by order of Herod.
3d. That the Christian religion was founded by
Jesus Christ in Judea:
4th. That Christ was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
which checked his movement for a while.
5th. That some time after his death it received a
new impetus, which caused it to spread most rapidly
throughout Judea, and even into Gentile countries.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 185
6th. That it was first embraced by Jews and then
by Gentiles.
7th. That the followers of Christ were persecuted,
and some of them martyred, by both Jews and
Pagans. Caius Suetonius Tranquillus shall be heard next.
He is commonly called Suetonius. He flourished dur
ing the reigns of Trajan and Adrian, and was secretary
to the latter. He wrote near the year 120. In his
life of the Emperor Claudius, who reigned from A. D.
41 during the decade ending with 51, he says: —
" He banished the Jews from Home, who were continually mak
ing disturbances, Chrestus being their leader."
Whether this refers to Christ or not, it is an un
doubted -corroboration of a passage in Acts of Apostles,
which reads as follows : —
"After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to
Corinth ; and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus,
lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that
Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome;) and
came unto them." — Acts, xviii : 2.
In his life of Nero, who reigned from 54 to 68,
Suetonius says : —
"The Christians were punished; a sort of men of a new and
magical superstition."
Here we have an additional confirmation of the fact
that the' Christians suffered persecution, and a hint
that the founders of the system claimed something
miraculous, which the historian alludes to as magical.

186 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
Suetonius also furnishes us a fact, which I put down in
my list of corroborations as : —
8th. That Claudius banished Jews from Rome. —
Acts, xviii : 2.
I must here note another confirmation of Acts, which
Tacitus furnishes, as well as Suetonius and others: —
9th. That the followers of Jesus were called Chris
tians. — Acts, xi: 26.
Caius Plinius Ccecih'u< Secundus, commonly called
Pliny, the Younger, in the year 107, wrote to the
Emperor Trajan to learn how to conduct the trial of
Christians. After expressing doubts as to the method
to be pursued, he continues : —
"In the meantime, I have taken this course with all who have
been brought before me and have been accused as Christians. I
have put the question to them, whether they were Christians.
Upon their confessing to me that they were, I repeated the ques
tion a second and third time, threatening also to punish them with
death. Such as still persisted, I ordered away to be punished; for
it was no doubt with me, whatever might be the nature of their
opinion, that contumacy and inflexible obstinacy ought to be pun
ished. There were others of the same infatuation, whom, because
they were Roman citizens, I have noted down to be sent to the city.
" In short, the crime spreading itself even whilst under persecu
tion, as is usual in such cases, divers sorts of people came in my way.
An information was presented to me without mentioning the author,
containing the names of many persons, who, upon examination,
denied that they were Christians, or had ever been so; who re
peated after me an invocation to the gods, and with wine and frank
incense made supplication to your image, which for that purpose I
have caused to be brought and set before them, together with the
statues of the deities. Moreover, they reviled the name of Christ.
None of which things, as is said, they who are really Christians, can
by any means be compelled to do. These, therefore, I thought
proper to discharge.
" Others were named by an informer, who at first confessed them
selves Christians, and afterwards denied it. The rest said they had
been Christians, but had left them; some three years ago, some

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 187
longer, and one or more above twenty years. They all worshipped
your image, and the statues of the gods; these also reviled Christ.
They affirmed that the whole of their fault or error lay in this, that
they were wont to meet together on a stated day, before it was
light, and sing among themselves alternately a hymn to Christ, as a
god, and bind themselves by an oath, not to the commission of any
wickedness, but not to be guilty of theft, or robbery, or adultery,
never to falsify their words, nor to deny a pledge committed to
them when called upon to return it. When these things were per
formed, it was their custom to separate, and then to come together
again to a meal, which they ate in common, without any disorder;
but this they have foreborne, since the publication of my edict, by
which, according to your commands, I prohibited assemblies.
"After receiving this account, I judged it the more necessary to
examine, and that by torture, two maid-servants, which were called
deaconesses. But I have discovered nothing beside a bad and
excessive superstition.
"Suspending, therefore, all judicial proceedings, I have recourse
to you for advice ; for it has appeared to me a matter highly deserv
ing, especially upon account of the great number of persons who
are in danger of suffering. For many of all ages, and every rank,
of both sexes likewise, are accused and will be accused. Nor has
the contagion of this superstition seized cities only, but the lesser
towns also, and the open country. Nevertheless it seems to me
that it may be restrained and corrected. It is certain that the tem
ples which were almost forsaken, begin to be more frequented;
and the sacred solemnities, after a long intermission, are revived.
Victims, likewise, are everywhere bought up, whereas for some
time there were few purchasers ; whence it is easy to imagine that
numbers of men might be reclaimed, if pardon were granted to those
who shall repent."
Trajan wrote a reply in which he informed Pliny
that he pursued the proper course, and upon the facts
presented, issued an edict. Gibbon notices this cor
respondence at length, and says : —
"The answer of Trajan, to which the Christians of the succeed
ing ages have frequently appealed, discovers as much regard for
justice and humanity as could be reconciled with his mistaken
notions of religious policy."
In addition to the confirmation they give of facts
already cited from others, and among other important

188 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
statements, Pliny and Trajan furnish us the following
additional corroborations : —
10th. That Christianity spread rapidly in spite of
persecution. 11th. That it was irreconcilably opposed to Pagan
idolatry. 12th. That those who were really Christians adhered
to their principles with firmness and inflexibility even
in the face of death.
13th. That they met at stated intervals for worship.
14th. That the singing of hymns was a part of their
worship. 15th. That their religion was utterly opposed to
theft, lying, and all manner of wickedness.
16th. That they had deaconesses in their congrega
tions. In the discourses of Epictetus, in the year 109, re
ported by his disciple, Arrian, there are two allusions
to the Christians. In the first the philosopher blames
those who assume a profession of philosophy, or any
other character without living up to it. And as an
illustration he says : —
"When we see a man inconstant to his principles, we say he is
not a Jew, but only pretends to be so ; but when he has the temper
of a man dipped, and professed, then he is indeed, and is called a
Jew." He evidently alludes to Christian Jews, for none
others professed and were dipped!
In the other passage Epictetus is speaking of fear
lessness and inquires : —

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 189
" Is it possible that a man may arrive at this temper, and become
indifferent to those things from madness, or from habit, as the
Galileans, and yet that no one should be able to know by reason and
demonstration that God made all things in the world? "
The Christians were frequently called Galileans.
We have here at least one valuable corroboration : —
17th. That the early converts professed and were
baptized, and were then expected to exhibit the proper
temper afterward.
Publius Elius Adrianus, Roman Emperor, will now
take the witness stand. After apologies had been pre
sented to him by Quadratus and Aristides, near 126
A. D., he wrote a letter to Minucius Fundanus moder
ating and restricting the persecution against the Chris
tians, which I deem it unnecessary to quote. In the
year 134, while in Egypt, he wrote a letter to his
brother-in-law as follows : —
"Adrian Augustus to the Consul Servianus wisheth health. I
have found Egypt, my dear Servianus, which you commended to
me, all over fickle and inconstant, and continually shaken by the
slightest reports of fame. The worshippers of Serapis are Chris
tians, and they are devoted to Serapis, who call themselves Christ's
bishops. There is no ruler of the Jewish synagogue, no Samari
tan, no presbyter of the Christians, no mathematician, no sooth
sayer, no anointer ; even the patriarch, if he should come to Egypt,
would be required by some to worship Serapis, by others Christ.
A seditious and turbulent sort of men. However, the city is rich
and populous. Nor are any idle. Some are employed in making
glass, others paper, others in weaving linen. They have one God —
him the Christians, him the Jews, him all the Gentile people
worship." The Emperor Adrian, in addition to adding the
weight of his testimony to facts already elicited, fur
nishes us another corroboration of New Testament his
tory : —

190 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
18th. That the Christians, had bishops or presbyters.
Pliny notices the deacons, and Adrian the bishops
of Christian communities, showing that their church
government was known, and discoursed of, by Roman
rulers, within one lifetime of the crucifixion of Christ.
In the year 165, or according to others, 169, an ec
centric philosopher named Peregrinus, and frequently
called Proteus, publicly burnt himself in Greece for
the sake of notoriety. Lucian, of Samosata, in Syria,
wrote a letter to one Cronius, giving a history of this
remarkable individual, in which he says, he rambled
from place to place, and from one sect of philosophy
to another, till finally he ' ' learned the wonderful doc
trines of the Christians," with which he identified him
self for a while. He then continues : —
" They, therefore, still worship that great man who was crucified
in Palestine, because he introduced into the world this new religion.
For this reason Proteus was taken up and put into prison; which
very thing was of no small service to him afterwards, for giving
reputation to his impostures, and gratifying his vanity. The Chris
tians were much grieved for his imprisonment, and tried many
ways to procure his liberty. Not being able to effect that, they did
him all sorts of kind offices, and that not in a careless manner, but
with the greatest assiduity; for even betimes in the morning there
would be at the prison, old women, some widows, and also little
orphan children; and some of the chief of their men, by corrupting
the keepers, would get into the prison, and stay the whole night
there with him ; there they had a good supper together, and their
sacred discourses. And this excellent Peregrinus (for so he was
still called) was thought by them to be an extraordinary person, no
less than another Socrates; even from the cities of Asia some
Christians came to him, by order of the body, to relieve, encourage,
and comfort him. For it is incredible what expedition they use
when any of their friends are known to be in trouble. In a word,
they spare nothing upon such an occasion; and Peregrinus' chain
brought him in a good sum of money from them; for these miser
able men have no doubt but they shall be immortal, and live for-

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 191
ever; therefore they contemn death, and many surrender them
selves to sufferings. Moreover their first lawgiver has taught them
that they are all brethren, when once they have turned and re
nounced the gods of the Greeks, and worship that master of theirs
who was crucified, and engage to live according to his laws. They
have also a sovereign contempt for all the things of this world, and
look upon them as common, and trust one another with them with
out any particular security; for which reason any subtle fellow,
by good management, may impose upon this simple people and
grow rich among them. But Peregrinus was set at liberty by the
Governor of Syria, who was a favorer of philosophy: who per
ceiving his madness, and that he had a mind to die, in order to get
a name, let him out, not judging him so much as worthy of punish
ment." Lucian, after saying that he returned to his native
place, Parium, and was well supplied by the Christians,
etc., concludes: —
" Thus it went with them for some time. At length they parted,
he having given them some offence, by eating (as I suppose) some
things not allowed by them."
This is a wonderful confirmation of the New Testa
ment history. In addition to the facts to be learned
from him, in common with other writers quoted, I
cite the following special corroborations : —
19th. That the Christians were noted for their kind
ness in relieving the wants of those in need or in dis
tress. 20th. That in becoming Christians, they had to en
gage to five according to the teachings of Christ.
21st. That he taught them that they were all breth
ren. " All ye are brethren." Mat. xxiii : 8.
22d. That they believed in immortality without a
doubt. Much more might be quoted from Pagan authorities,
but I forbear for want of space; and will proceed

192 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
to adduce a few quotations from the Jewish Talmud.*
Though it is a strange compilation, as Mr. Renan truly
says, where some precious information is mingled with
the most insignificant scholasticism. This skeptical,
though polished and fair-minded writer, remarks
further: "The two Gemaras borrow most of their
notions concerning Jesus, from burlesque and obscene
legends, invented by the adversaries of Christianity,
and of no historic value." See Life of Jesus, page
16, and page 364, foot note.
Dr. Isaac M. Wise, a learned Jewish Rabbi, says :
"The Talmud often mentions the name of Jesus."
Then after saying that it mentions Rabbi Joshua, with
whom he was in Egypt, his disciples, and an original
Hebrew Gospel, he continues : —
" Those passages of the Talmud to which we refer bear the names
and the stamp of prominent cotemporaries of Jesus and the
Apostles. This settles the question. Had those rabbis considered
Jesus an ignoramus, or a mere impostor, they must have said so
somewhere; but they did not." — Origin of Christianity, p. 8.
Lightfoot quotes as follows : —
"When Jannay, the king, slew the Rabbins, R.Joshua, ben Pera-
chiah, and Jesus went away unto Alexandria in Egypt." — Bab.
Sanhedr., folio 107a.
Lightfoot again quotes the Gemara, as follows : —
" R. Eliezer said to the wise men, ' But did not the Son of Satda
bring magical arts out of Egypt, in a cutting in his flesh? ' The
gloss, says : ' The reason of that was that he could not bring them
away in writing, because the priests diligently searched all at their
going away that they might not carry out magical arts to teach
them to men dwelling in other countries.' "
* The first part of the Talmud is called the Mishna, and the second the
Gemara. See "Milligan's Reason and Revelation," p. 206. There are two,
the Jerusalem and the Babylonian.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 193
He then quotes an illusion to the martyrdom of five
of Christ's disciples.
The following passage from the Talmud is quoted
by Dr. Lardner : —
" R. Akiba and Rabbi Eliezer are talking together. Eliezer says,
' O Akiba, you have brought something to my mind. As I was
walking in the high streets of Zipporus, I met one of the disciples
of Jesus of Nazareth, whose name is James, a man of the town of
Shecaniah. He said to me, ' In your law it is written, Thou shalt
not bring the hire of a harlot.' — (Deut. xxiii: 18.) I did not
make him any answer. But he added and said tome, 'Jesus of
Nazareth taught me the meaning.' ' She gathered it of the hire of
a harlot; and they shall return to the hire of a harlot.' — (Mic. i :
7.) ' From an impure place they came, and to an impure place they
shall return.' 'Which interpretation,' says Eliezer, 'did not dis
please me.' "
The Gemara, of Babylon, says: —
"The tradition is that on the evening of the Passover, Jesus was
hanged, and that a crier went before him for forty days making
this proclamation : ' This man comes forth to be stoned, because
he hath dealt in sorceries, and persuaded and seduced Israel. Who
soever knoweth of any defence for him, let him come forth and
produce it.' But no defence could be found; therefore they hanged
him upon the evening of the Passover."
The Gemara, commenting on the 13th chapter of
Deuteronomy, speaks of persons being put to death
for seducing Israel from the true religion, and adds : —
" So they did to the Son of Satda in Lud, and hanged him on
the evening of the Passover. Rabbi Chasdi said, ' The son of Satda
is the son of Pandira. His mother was Stada. She was Mary, the
plaiter of women's hair; as we say in Pompedita, she departed
from her husband.' "
Let us hear Dr. Wise again. What a Jewish Rabbi
says concerning the Talmud will have weight. He
says : —
"Young Paul, or Acher, the Talmud maintains, had always a
Grecian poem on his lips. When he rose in the academy, many a
Greek book dropped from his lap."
13

194 HAND-BOOK OF CHBISTIAN EVIDENCE.
That, the Rabbi informs us, was when he was in the
School of Gamaliel. This scholarly Israelite con
tinues : —
" In the rabbinical literature, several successes of the apostles
are noticed, especially at Capernaum and Capersamia. One of them
is most remarkable, viz. : the conversion of Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyr-
con by the Apostle James. This rabbi, the Talmud narrates, was
actually arrested by Roman officers, and in obedience to the edict
against Christianity, was accused of the crime of being a Christian,
which he did not deny, although he repented it. The most impor
tant success, however, upon which the apostles could boast, was
the conversion of Paul." — Origin of Christianity, p. 21 .
On the 24th page, of the same work, the Rabbi
continues : —
" Paul is an open book in history. We have his genuine epistles
in which he gives considerable account of himself and his exploits.
We have one portion of the Acts, in which, contrary to the balance
of that book, the author narrates in the first person plural 'we,'
which appears to be taken from the notes of one of Paul's compan
ions, Luke, Timothy, Silas, or any other. Then we have the Tal
mud with its numerous anecdotes about Acher, as the rabbis called
Paul, which are of inestimable value to the historian."
The above quotations show that the Talmuds cor
roborate the Gospels and Acts in many important par
ticulars. We add to our increasing list a few of those
corroborations: —
23d. That the mother of Jesus was named Mary.
24th. That Jesus, at some period of his life, was in
Egypt. 25th. That at a very early date there was a " Gos
pel," giving an account of Christ's life, written in the
Hebrew language.
26th. That Christ dwelt in Nazareth, and was called
Jesus of Nazareth.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 195
27th. That he had numerous disciples or apostles.
28th. That Paul was brought up at the feet of the
learned Gamaliel.
29th. That Jesus performed wonders, by the rab
bins attributed to magic.
30th. That Jesus was put to death at the time of
the Passover.
31st. That some of the leading men among the Jews
were converted to his new religion, including Paul, of
Tarsis. 32d. That much of the history in Acts is corrobor
ated by the Talmud.
I will now adduce the corroborative testimony of a
different class of writers. Men who were not only
unbelievers, like the others from whom I have quoted,
but were active and bitter enemies of the Christian
religion; men who took up the pen against it, and
opposed it with all the logic, rhetoric, wit, ridicule,
and sophistry that they could command. They were
Infidel writers in the truest sense of the word. Among
those early writers who wrote against the Christian
religion, Celsus, Porphyry and Julian stand pre-emin
ent. They expected, like some of their disciples in
modern times, to overthrow the Christian religion by
their writings. As persecution failed, and the blood
of the martyrs proved to be the seed of the church,
they conceived the idea that " the pen is mightier than
the sword," and that, in their hands, the stylus would

196 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
accomplish what, in the hands of others, all the imple
ments of persecution and death had utterly failed to
perform ! But what has been the result ? Christianity
outlives their feeble efforts to overthrow it, and their
writings against it have utterly perished, except such
portions as have been saved by the friends of the sys
tem which they labored to destroy. And such of their
writings as are preserved in the books of others now
afford very strong proof in favor of the religion they
were designed to confute !
Celsus was the earliest writer of this class. His
book against the Christians, entitled the " True
Word," was produced soon after the middle of the
Second Century — certainly not later than 176.
Alexander Campbell says of him: "Of all that ever
wrote against the Christians, Celsus, not merely be
cause he wrote first, but because of his standing,
talents, and opportunities of assailing the cause, is
most deserving of being heard. Everything was then
fresh and easy of investigation ; he had the best oppor
tunities, and could select the best means of exposing
its falsehood, if falsehood there were in it. He, how
ever, contrary to his wishes, has done more to estab
lish the invincible truths of the gospel, than any advo
cate of Christianity that has lived since his day."
Celsus quotes or alludes to each of the books under
consideration — Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and
Acts — besides several of the Epistles, which it is not

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 197
our province to notice. The first quotation I make
from him is a general allusion to the Gospels : * —
" I could say many things concerning the affairs of Jesus, and
those too true, different from those written by the disciples of
Jesus; but I purposely omit them." — Book2, sec. 13, p. 67.
Here these books are admitted to have been written
by the disciples of Jesus ; consequently, their genuine
ness is not disputed by Celsus.
Again he says : —
"Some of the believers, as if they were drunk, take a liberty to
alter the Gospel from the first writing." — Book 2, p. 77.
This shows that the first writings of the disciples
concerning the acts of Jesus were called " the Gos
pels." And that it was considered wrong to alter
them. It is, also, a confirmation of the statement of
Christian writers that such heretics as Marcion and
Valentinus changed the Gospels to make them accord
with their opinions. Celsus, of course, had the origi
nal and genuine Gospels, admitted to be such by all
parties, or he could not have known that any change
had been made.
Celsus makes another general allusion to these books,
in the following language : —
" These things we have alleged to you out of your own writings,
not needing other witnesses." — Book 2, sec. 74.
He alludes to Matthew and Luke in the following
words : —
"The composers of the genealogies of Jesus were very extrava
gant in making him descend from the first man and the Jewish
* The original book of Celsus is lost, but Origen wrote a reply, in which
he quoted large portions of it. I make my quotations from Origen's reply.

198 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
kings. The carpenter's wife was Ignorant of her high original." —
Book 2, note 32, p. 80.
A plain reference to Matthew and Luke, for they
are the only writers which give his genealogy, and
one of them traces it to Adam, and the other to the
Jewish kings. His remarks about the carpenter's
wife shows that Celsus understood one of the writers
to trace it through Mary instead of Joseph.
He quotes Matthew directly when he says : —
"They have likewise such precepts as these: 'Resist not him
that injures you ; and if a man strike thee on the one cheek offer to
him the other also.' That is an old saying, but here it is expressed
in a more homely manner." — Book 7, p. 370.
That, like the following, is a plain reference to the
Sermon on the Mount : —
" Moses encourageth the people to get riches and destroy their
enemies, But his son, the Nazarene man, delivers quite contrary
laws. Nor will he admit a rich man, or one that affects that do
minion, to have access to his father. Nor will he allow men to take
more care for food or raiment than the ravens, nor to provide for
clothing so much as the lilies ; and to him that has smitten once he
directs to offer that he may smite again." — Book 7, sec. 18, p. 343.
He says Christ " was a carpenter by trade." — B.
6, sec. 36, p. 299. An undoubted reference to Mark,
for he is the only Evangelist that says Jesus was a
carpenter. — Mark vi: 3.
Celsus says the only reason Christians can not
worship angels and demons is because "it is impos
sible to serve two masters." — B. 7, sec. 68, p. 376.
This is quoted from Matthew or Luke.
He alludes to John's Gospel, when he says that
after Christians have affirmed Jesus to be the Word»

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 199
they " do not show him to be a pure and holy Word,
but a miserable man, condemned, scourged and cruci
fied."— B. 2, sec. 3, p. 79.
Celsus plainly alludes to John x : 23, 24, when he
addresses Christ thus : —
"You showed us nothing, though they called upon you in the
temple to give some manifest sign that you were the Son of God."
B.l, sec. 67, p. 52.
He reproaches Jesus concerning his " deriders, the
purple robe, the crown of thorns, and the reed in his
hand." — B. 2, sec. 34.
There he alludes to several, if not to all, of the
gospel writers. But unquestionably he alludes to all
the Gospels, when he says: —
" Omitting many things that might be alleged against what they
say of their master, let us allow him to be truly an angel. Is he
the first and only one that has come? Or have there been others?
H they should say he only: they are easily convicted of falsehood.
For they say that others have often come. And in particular, there
came an angel to his sepulchre : some say one, others two, to tell
the women that he was risen; for the Son of God, it seems, could
not open the sepulchere, but wanted another to remove the stone.
And there came also an angel to the carpenter about Mary's preg
nancy; and another angel to direct them to take the child and flee.
And what need is there to reckon up particularly all that were
sent to Moses and others." — B. 6, sec. 52.
There can be no doubt that he alludes to each of the
four Evangelists here, for he says, some say one angel
came to the sepulchre. Now, it takes at least two to
make some. Then he says that others say two, etc
Now, it takes more than one to make "others."
Matthew and Mark mention one angel, and Luke and
John two. He even alludes to them in the order in

200 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
which they now stand — the writers which mention
one angel (Matthew and Mark) being mentioned first,
while those who mention two (Luke and John) are
mentioned last.
Celsus clearly alludes to the "Acts of tbe Apostles "
when he says of the Christians : "At first they were few
in number, and then they agreed. But being increased
and spread abroad, they divide again and again, and
every one will have a party of his own ; which is what
they were disposed to do of old." — B. 3, sec. 10.
If any reader doubts that this early Infidel writer
refers to the history contained in Acts, let him peruse
Acts, ii: 44; iv : 32, and Acts xv, and other places.
"The Christians seemed to be well skilled in the names and in
vocations of demons." — B. 1, sec. 6, p. 7.
That is an allusion to Acts, for there it is recorded
that the disciples frequently expelled demons. See
Acts, xix: 11-16.
Thus it is seen that Celsus quotes or alludes to each
of the historical books of the New Testament, show
ing that they were all in existence and universally
received as authentic when he wrote ; and his own
writings show that it was not a very great while after
the death of Christ when he wrote, for he says : —
"It is but a few years since he delivered this doctrine, who is
now reckoned by the Christians to be the Son of God." — B. 1, sec.
26, p. 21.
"Jesus was the first author of this sedition." — B. 8, sec. 14,
p. 387. If Celsus could have denied the genuineness and
authenticity of these books, he would have done so;

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 201
but he admits their genuineness, and strengthens their
claim to authenticity. Origen, who replied to him,
takes notice of about eighty quotations from, or ref
erences to, the books of the New Testament; most of
such quotations being from the Gospels. This able
and original Infidel writer makes many valuable con
cessions to the Christian argument. He even admits
that Jesus performed such miracles as healing the lame,
giving sight to the blind, and raising the dead ; and as
an offset to it, instances the tricks of the Egyptians
and other magicians. — B. 2, sec. 47.
I would like to make many more quotations from
this eminent enemy of the faith, but it would consume
too much space; I will, therefore, sum up his quota
tions, allusions, and admissions, in the language of
Dr. Doddridge : —
"He quotes from the Gospels such a variety of particulars, that
the enumeration of them will almost prove an abridgment of the
Evangelists' history, particularly, that Jesus, who, he says, was
represented as the Word of God (p. 79), and who was the author of
the Christian name (p. 21), and also called himself the Son of God,
was a man of Nazareth (343) , that he was the reputed son of a
carpenter (p. 30), that his mother's pregnancy was at first suspected,
but that it was pretended that his body was formed in her womb by
the Spirit of God; or, as he elsewhere expresses it, produced by a
divine operation, (p. 30.) And that to remove the carpenter's
prejudice, an angel appeared to him to inform him of this.* (p. 269.)
That when he was born, a star appeared in the east to certain Magi,
who came to adore him. (pp. 31, 45.) The consequence of which
was the slaughter of the infants by the order of Herod, hoping
thereby to destroy Jesus, and to prevent his reign, (p. 45.) But
that his parents were warned by an angel to fly into Egypt, to pre
serve his life, as if his Father could not have protected him at
home (pp. 61, 266), and that he continued in Egypt for awhile;
where he says he had an opportunity of learning magic, (p. 22.)
* And Doddridge might have added that Joseph, by some means, became
satisfied on that subject.

202 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
" He farther represents it as recorded in those books, that when
Jesus was washed by John, the appearance of a dove descended
upon him, and that a voice was heard from heaven, declaring him to
be the Son of God. (pp. 31, 105.) That he was vexed by a tempta
tion, and the assaults of an evil spirit, (p. 303.) He calls Christ
himself a carpenter (p. 300), and insults his mean life, lurking from
place to place (p. 47) ; gathering up ten or twelve poor men, with
out character or standing, publicans and men that used the sea (p.
47) ; represents Christ as a beggar, sometimes hungry and thirsty
(p. 55) ; speaks of his being rejected by many that heard him, and
hints at an attempt to throw him down a precipice, (p. 298.)
" He grants that he wrought miracles, and particularly that he
cured some sick people, raised some from the dead, and multiplied
some loaves; but speaks of others doing the like. (p. 58.) Men
tions his curing the lame and the blind, (p. 87.) He lampoons
the expression, ' Thy faith hath saved thee.' (p. 8.) He hints at
several things coneerning the doctrine of Christ, especially in the
Sermon on the Mount (pp. 343 and 370) ; that he declared no man
could serve two masters (p. 380) ; and would have his disciples
learn from the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, not to be
too careful aboutfoodand raiment, (p. 343.) He refers to Christ's
saying, that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a
needle, than for a rich man to be saved (286 and 288) ; and
observes that Jesus denounced woes upon his hearers for their
obstinate Infidelity, (p. 107.) He also says that his disciples, in
their writings, pretend that he foretold all things he was to suffer
(p. 67); and his resurrection (p. 93) ; and likewise that deceivers
would come, and work miracles, and speaks of the author of these
wicked works by the name of Satan, (p. 89.)
" He objects, that Jesus withdrew himself from those who sought
to put him to death (p. 62), and yet afterwards did not avoid death,
knowing it was to come. (p. 70.) He speaks of his eating the
flesh of a lamb (p. 340) ; and that he foretold to his disciples that
they would give him up to his enemies, (p. 72.) That before his
sufferings, he prayed, ' Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
away.' (p. 75.) That he was betrayed by his disciples, though
robbers are faithful to their leaders, (p. 62 and 66.) That none of
his disciples dared to suffer for him (p. 86) ; and that he professed
to undergo his sufferings in obedience to his Father (p. 75) ; and
said these things ought to happen, (p. 332.) That he was denied
by one who knew him to be God (p. 71), to whom, as well as to the
traitor, he had foretold what he would do. (p. 72.)
"He speaks of Jesus as ignominiously bound (p. 282); as
scourged (79) ; as crowned with thorns, with a reed in his hand,
and arrayed in a scarlet robe, and as condemned (81) ; as having
gall given him to drink (174) ; as shamefully treated (282), and dis
tended on the cross. (82.) He derides him for not exerting his

DIVTNE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 203
divinity to punish those outrages (81) ; as taking no vengeance on
his enemies (404) ; as incapable to deliver himself and not delivered
by his father in this extremity (41) ; and as greedily drinking gall
and vinegar, through impatience of thirst. (82 and 340.)
" He observes, it was pretended, that when Jesus expired upon
the cross, there was darkness and an earth-quake (p. 94) ; that
when he arose, he needed an angel to remove the stone of the
sepulchre, though he was said to be the Son of God (266) ; and
according to some, one, and according to others, two angels came
to the sepulchre, to inform the women of his resurrection. (266.)
That after his resurrection, he did not appear to his enemies (98) ;
but first to a woman that he had dispossessed (94 and 104) ; that
he appeared to a few of his disciples, showing them the marks of
his crucifixion, and appeared and'disappeared on a sudden. (94 and
104.) And he says: "We take these things from your own writ
ings, to wound you with your own weapons, (p. 106.)
The perusal of the writings of this Epicurean philos
opher clearly establishes three facts : —
1st. That there were no books then in existence,
out of which he could confute the Christian religion,
or by which he could disprove the gospel facts.
2nd. That the historic books of the New Testament
were in existence, and were, by the friends of Jesus,
universally received as authentic and genuine.
3d. That no material change has been made in them
since Celsus' day; for he twitted the Christians on
account of his genealogies and apparent contradictions
in the Gospels ; and if they had been disposed to make
any change, they would have so changed these things
that there would not have remained even a shadow of
a discrepancy. But they still remain as Celsus found
them. Porphyry, sometimes called Bataneotes, who was
born about the year 233, and flourished about 270, A.
D., wrote a work against the Bible, in fifteen books.

204 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
This voluminous work has perished with the exception
of numerous fragments preserved in the writings of
others. Three replies were made to it, which are like
wise lost ; one by Methodius, one by Eusebius, and
one by Apollinarius. But from the fragments of
Porphyry's writings which have been preserved, we
learn that he alludes to, and quotes three of the Gos
pels and Acts, as well as several other books in the
Old and New Testament.
In his Prolegomena to the New Testament, Mill
takes notice of several texts in the Gospels to which
Porphyry took exceptions : —
"And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time
they were carried away to Babylon :
And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Sala
thiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel." — Mat. i: 11, 12.
" Here, as it seems, one and the same person, Jechonias, ends the
second fourteen and begins the third class of fourteen; conse
quently one generation was supposed to be wanting. Porphyry,
therefore, as we learn from Jerome, charged St. Matthew with a
mistake. But Jerome says that Porphyry herein only betrayed his
own ignorance and unskillfulness."
"And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named
Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom; and he saith unto him,
Follow me. And he arose and followed him." — Mat. ix:9.
Porphyry quotes this, and remarks that either the
historian has told a lie, or people were very silly to
follow Jesus at his call. — Brev. Ps. vol. 4, p. 30.
Matthew and Mark quote Isaiah (40: 3) and Mala
chi (3 : 1), as follows : —
' ' For this is he that was spoken of by the prophet Esaias, saying,
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of
the Lord, make his paths straight." — Mat. iii: 3.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 205
" The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;
As it is written in the prophets, behold, I send my messenger be
fore thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of
the Lord, make his paths straight." — Mark i: 1-3.
Porphyry cites these passages and alleges contradic
tion. — Brevarium upon the Psalter, vol. 4, p. 10.
Theophylact, in commenting upon John i: 1, quotes
Porphyry as saying: " If the Son of God be the
Word, he must be either outward word or inward
word ; but he is neither this, nor that; therefore he is
not word." — Theo. 558.
In a work against the Pelagians, Jerome alludes to
John vii: 8-10, and remarks : " Here Porphyry barks,
charging our lord with fickleness and inconsis
tency." — Vol. 4, p. 521.
In his Philosophy of Oracles he says an oracle was
consulted with reference to Jesus: "The oracle de
clared Christ to be a most pious man, and his soul like
the soul of other pious men after death, favored with
immortality, and that the mistaken Christians wor
shipped him."
Porphyry also alludes to some things in Acts of
Apostles, particularly to the history of Ananias and
Sapphira, the truth of which he never calls in question.
See Jerome vs. Pelagians, vol. 4, p. 792.
He also alludes to, and admits, the miracles per
formed by the Apostles, as recorded in Acts, but
alleges that the magicians of Egypt and others, could
do similar wonders. — Brev. Psal., vol. 2, p. 334.

206 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
It will be seen, from the' above, that Porphyry bears
testimony to the existence, prevalence and general
character of four out of the five books under consid
eration, Matthew, Mark, John and Acts, and I have no
doubt, if we had his entire work, we would find that
he also quotes Luke ; but it must be remembered,
however, that whatever -testimony is given to Acts,
applies, with equal weight, to the third Gospel, and
vice versa, for they were confessedly written by the
same author. I could quote much more from this
eminent Infidel confirmatory of the Christian argu
ment ; but it has simply been my purpose to make use
of such statements as attest the historic books under
consideration. Flavius Claudius Julianus, commonly called the
Apostate Julian, shall next depose. He was brought
up in the Christian faith, but renounced Christianity
and embraced Hellenism when he was about twenty
years of age. This, however, was kept comparatively
secret, till he became Emperor, at about the age of
twenty-five. When he was made sole Emperor, he
issued express edicts for opening the temples and offer
ing sacrifices to the gods. He died in the 32d year of
his age. He wrote a special work against the Chris
tians, and in other works and letters he alludes to them.
Libanius, a heathen writer, thus speaks of his work
against Christianity : "In the winter season, during
the long nights, the Emperor set himself to confute
those books which make the man of Palestine a god,

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 207
and the Son of God ; and in a long and unanswerable
argument he showed how trifling and absurd those
things are which are admired by them. In which work
he excelled the Tyrian old man ; let the Tyrian for
give me, that I say he was excelled by his son." But
a writer named Socrates, who quotes this, says that if
Porphyry had been an Emperor, Libanius would have
preferred his work above Julian's. — Socrates, b. 3,
p. 196.
JuHan wrote about 300 years after the establishment
of the church, as will be seen from the following
quotation from his work : —
"But Jesus having persuaded a few among you, and those the
worst of men, has now been celebrated about three hundred years ;
having done nothing in his life time worthy of remembrance ; unless
any one thinks it a mighty matter to heal lame and blind people, and
exorcise demoniacs in the villages of Bethsaida and Bethany." — Cyril
contra. Julian, B. 6, p. 191.
This, and other passages, shows that Julian, like
Celsus and Porphyry, admitted that Jesus wrought
miracles. Many such passages are preserved in Cyril's
able refutation of the apostate's production, but I must
hasten to those that have a direct bearing on the credi
bility of the books under consideration. He quotes
all these, and mentions each of the writers thereof by
name. He mentions Matthew and Luke as follows: —
" Matthew and Luke have been shown to differ with one another
about the genealogy." —B. 8, p. 253.
The little thrust of Celsus hadn't caused them to
change the genealogy before Julian wrote, and the
gentle reminder of the latter has not caused them to

208 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
change it since. A strong proof that the Gospels have
been preserved to us, unchanged and uncorrupted.
He alludes to all of the Evangelists, and names one
of them in the following passage : —
"Jesus whom you celebrate, was one of Caesar's subjects. * * *
For yourselves allow that he was enrolled with his father and
mother in the time of Cyrenius ; but after he was born, what good
did he do to his relations? For they would not, as it is said, believe
on him. And yet that stiff-necked and hard-hearted people believed
Moses. But Jesus, who rebuked the winds, and walked on the seas,
and cast out demons, and as you will have it, made the heaven and
the earth (though none of his disciples presumed to say this of him,
except John only, nor he clearly and distinctly; however, let it be
allowed that he did so) could not order his designs so as to save
his friends and relations." — B. 6, p. 213.
In the following passage he mentions all these writers
by name, and also Paul: —
" But you are so unhappy as not to adhere to the things delivered
to you by the Apostles, but they have been altered by you for the
worse, and carried on to yet greater impiety. For neither Paul, nor
Matthew, nor Luke, nor Mark, have dared to call Jesus God. But
honest John, understanding that a great multitude of men in the cities
of Greece and Italy were seized with this distemper, and hearing
likewise, as I suppose, that the tombs of Peter and Paul were re
spected and frequented, though as yet privately only; however,
having heard it, he then first presumed to advance that doctrine." —
B. 10, p. 327.
It is unnecessary to quote anything more, confirma
tory of the Gospels ; I, therefore, proceed to adduce
a few passages corroborative of Acts of Apostles.
Julian alludes to the "vision of Peter" at the tanner's,
and inquires : —
" But why do you not observe a pure diet as well as the Jews, but
eat all things, like herbs of the field, believing Peter, because he
said, ' What God has cleansed, that call not thou common.' " —
B. 9, p. 314.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 209
That admits the correctness of the history contained
in Acts ; but the following is still more to the pur
pose: —
"You have killed not only our people who persisted in the
ancient religion, but likewise heretics, equally deceived with your
selves ; but who did not mourn the dead man exactly in the same
manner that you do. But these are your own inventions ; for Jesus
has nowhere directed you to do such things, nor yet Paul. The
reason is that they never expected you would arrive at such power.
They were content with deceiving maid-servants and slaves, and by
them some men and women, such as Cornelius and Sergius. if
there were then any other men of eminence brought over to you —
I mean in the times of Tiberias and Claudius, when these things
happened — let me pass for a liar in everything I say." — B. 6,
p. 206. This passage, to use the language of another, does
wonderfully confirm the genuineness of the book of
the Acts of the Apostles, and the truth of the history
contained in it. Julian challenges the Christians, after
he had excepted the two above mentioned, to produce
the names of any more eminent men converted from
the Gentiles to Christianity in the reigns of Tiberias and
Claudius ; which is a proof that Julian did not and could
not contest the truth of the history in the Acts of
Apostles, and likewise that he was well satisfied
that the Christians had no other authentic his
tory of things done at that time. He knew they
relied upon the account given in that book, and
that they did not pretend to have any other au
thentic accounts of them. Once more, since the
accounts given in the New Testament, and particularly
in Acts of Apostles, of the conversion of slaves and
maid-servants, and of Cornelius and Sergius-Paulus
11

210 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
are allowed to be true, it is reasonable to believe, also,
that the grounds and reasons of their conversion to
the Christian faith are truly and faithfully related ;
and consequently, that they were not deceived or im
posed upon, but were convinced upon sufficient and
undeniable evidence, such as ought to sway and satisfy
the minds of wise and good men.
Julian ridicules the Christian ordinances in a most
indecent manner, particularly baptism. He speaks of
those baptized as " Scoured with water, which pene
trates even to the soul ! ' ' And then sneeringly adds : —
" And baptism, which cannot heal the leprosy, nor the gout, nor
the flux, nor any other distemper of the body, takes away adulteries,
extortions, and all the other sins of the soul." — Book 7, p. 245.
In his Ccemrs, another of Julian's works, in a satire
upon Constantine, he represents his son, Constantius,
as coming into the presence of his father, proclaim
ing:— "Whosoever is a ravisher, a murderer, guilty of sacrilege, or
any other abomination, let him come boldly. For when I have
washed him with this water, I will immediately make him clean and
innocent; and if he commit the same crimes again, I will make him,
after he has thumped his breast and beat his head, as clean as be
fore." — Julian's Caesar, p. 336.
It is not the province of the author to reply to any
thing advanced by Julian, as his statements are intro
duced for a different purpose, but he can not forbear
quoting, in part, the reply of Phileleutherus Liep-
senis : — *
" A ridiculous and stale banter, used by Celsus and others before
Julian, upon the Christian doctrines and baptism, and repentance
* Dr. Bentley.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 211
and remission of sins — baptism is rallied as a 'mere washing,' and
repentance as ' thumping the breast,' and other outward grimaces;
the inward grace and the intrinsic change of the mind are left out
of the character. And whom are we to believe — those Pagans or
ourselves? Are we to fetch our notions of the sacraments from
scraps of Julian and Celsus? Or from the Scripture, the pure
fountain; and from what we read, know and profess? And yet the
banter came more decently out of Celsus, an Epicurean's mouth,
than out of Julian's, the most bigoted creature ia the world. He
to laugh at expiation by baptism, whose whole life, after Ms apos
tasy, was a continued course of washings, purgations, expiations,
with the most absurd ceremonies ! "
Julian sometimes refers to the Christians in letters
and other works besides the one which he wrote
against their religion. In a letter to Arsacius, high-
priest of Galatia, he tells him that all the priests should
live soberly and unblamably, thus setting a better
example than they were wont; and that hospitals
should be erected in every city. "For," he adds,
" it is a shame when there are no beggars among the
Jews, and the impious Galileans relieve not only their
own people, but ours also, that our poor should be
neglected by us, and be kept helpless and desti
tute."— Epistle 49, page 429.
This apostate Emperor has borne valuable testimony
to the historic books of the New Testament, as all must
in candor admit who read the extracts just made. I
will briefly sum up his evidence : —
1st. He admits that Jesus was born in the reign of
Augustus, and enrolled in Judea in the time of
Cyrenius ; that the Christian religion arose and began
its eventful course during the reigns of Tiberius and
Claudius ; and that Cornelius and Sergius Paulus were

212 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
converted to that faith before Claudius laid aside the
imperial purple.
2d. He bears witness to the genuineness and authen
ticity of the books known as Matthew, Mark, Luke
and John, and also Acts of Apostles ; so quoting them
as to imply that these were the historic books received
by the Christians as of authority, and the only au
thentic biographic sketches of Jesus and the Apostles,
as well as the only reliable sources of information
concerning the doctrine preached by them. "He
allows their early date, and even argues for it."
3d. He makes no attempt to deny the miracles of
Jesus ; but, on the other hand, plainly admits that
he healed the lame, and the blind, and demoniacs,
and "rebuked the winds and walked on the seas."
And in this he but followed in the wake of his prede
cessors ; for the miracles of Christ were not denied
before Julian's day, nor for many centuries after
wards.* Having seen that the credibility of the five books
under review can be established by the admissions of
* That Jesus actually performed miraculous wonders was, during the first
centurios, admitted by all the enemies of Christianity, Jews, Pagans and
Mohammedans. Celsus admitted it; Porphyry admitted it ; Julian admitted
it. It was admitted by the compilers of the Jewish Talmuds; and the Koran,
written as late as the Seventh Century, represents God as speaking as fol
lows: —
" We formerly delivered the books of the law to Moses, and caused apos
tles to succeed him, and gave evident miracles to Jesus, the Son of Mary,
and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit." — Chap. 2, p. 64.
The miracles of Jesus Christ must have been undeniable, or they would
not have been admitted by the founders of a rival religion. The denial of
miracles is a comparatively modern phase of Infidelity.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 213
the earliest enemies and opposers of the cross, and
that the history contained therein is corroborated and
confirmed by the earliest unbelieving historians, both
Jews and Pagans, I will now proceed to adduce a few
of the many admissions of modern Infidel writers.
Let us first hear Gibbon, who has, with great pro
priety, been styled " the most accomplished and the
most skeptical historian." He deposeth as follows : —
"The Jews of Palestine, who had fondly expected a temporal
deliverer, gave so cold a. reception to the miracles of the Divine
Prophet, that it was found unnecessary to publish, or at least to
preserve any Hebrew Gospel. The authentic histories of the
actions of Christ were composed in the Greek language, at a con
siderable distance from Jerusalem, and after the Gentile converts
were grown extremely numerous. As soon as those histories were
translated into the Latin tongue, they were perfectly intelligible to
all the subjects of Rome, excepting only the peasants of Syria and
Egypt, for whose benefit particular versions were afterwards
made." — Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, p. 574.
It will here be seen that this polished, though
skeptical, historian, admits that the Gospels are " au
thentic histories." Let us next hear Ernest Eenan.
After speaking briefly of these books, he adds: —
"We shall have occasion to return to this in our second book, the
composition of the Gospels having been one of the most important
events to the future of Christianity that took place during the sec
ond half of the first century." — Life of Jesus, p. 1 7.
It will here be seen that Mr. Renan agrees with all
Christian writers as to the time these books were pro
duced. The early date of these books he says gives
them high value. He then continues : —
"As to Luke, in the first place, doubt is hardly possible. Luke's
Gospel is a regular composition, founded on anterior documents.
(Luke i: 1-4.) It is the work of a man who selects, prunes, com
bines."— Life of Jesus, p. 18.

214 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
"There can be no doubt that- the Acts of the Apostles was written
by the author of the third Gospel, and forms a continuation of his
work. It is not necessary to stop and prove this proposition,
which has never been seriously contested. The preface which is at
the beginning of each work, the dedication of both to Theophilus,
and the perfect resemblance of style and ideas, are abundant demon
stration of the fact." — Tlie Apostles, pp. 13, 14.
Let us hear him further : —
" But if the Gospel of Luke is dated, those of Matthew and Mark
are also ; for it is certain that the third Gospel is posterior to the
first, and presents the character of a compilation much more ad
vanced." — Life of Jesus, p. 19.
Then he speaks further of " the two first Gospels,
which bear not wrongfully the name of ' Gospel ac
cording to Matthew,' and ' Gospel according to
Mark.' " — page 22.
He argues, at some length, for the genuineness of
the fourth Gospel. I quote him briefly : —
"The author speaks continually as an eye-witness. He desires
to pass for the Apostle John. If, therefore, this work is not really
by the apostle, we must admit a deception which the author con
fesses to himself. Now although the ideas of that day were in mat
ters of literary honesty essentially different from ours, we have no
example in the apostolic world of a forgery of this kind. More
over, not only does the writer desire to pass for the Apostle John,
but we see clearly that he writes in the interest of that apostle." —
p. 26.
After going considerably into details, Renan thus
sums up the conclusion to which his investigations have
lead him : —
" Upon the whole, I accept the four canonical Gospels as authen
tic. All, in my judgment, date back to the first century, and they
are substantially by the authors to whom they are attributed,"
etc. — p. 34
And thus it is seen that the historic books of the
New Testament are admitted to be credible and au-

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 215
thentic by the Infidelic Frenchman as well as the
skeptical Englishman.
Another Infidel, Mr. Taylor, makes the following
admission in regard to Acts of Apostles : —
"The instances of evidently undesigned coincidence between
the epistles of Paul and the history of him contained in the Acts of
the Apostles, are indeed irrefragable; and make out the conclusion
to the satisfaction of every fair inquirer, that neither those epistles
nor that part of the Acts of the Apostles are spurious. The hero
of the one is unquestionably the epistolar of the other; both writ
ers are therefore genuine to the full extent of everything that they
purport to be ; neither are the epistles forged, nor is the history, as
far as it relates to Paul, other than a faithful and a fair account of a
person who really existed, and acted the part therein ascribed to
him." — Taylor's Diegesis, p. 376.
The following from the pen of Dr. Wise, a Jewish
Rabbi, is very much to the same purport: —
" Paul is an open book in history. We have his genuine epistles,
in which he gives considerable account of himself and his exploits.
We have one portion of the Acts, in which, contrary to the balance
of that book, the author narrates in the first person plural ' we,'
which appears to be taken from the notes of one of Paul's com
panions, Luke, Timothy, Silas, or any other." — Origin of Chris
tianity, p. 24.
After briefly setting forth the testimony of Chris
tian witnesses to the gospel facts, it will be remem
bered, I set out to show that the same was sustained
and corroborated by witnesses unfriendly to Chris
tianity. I leave the reader to judge how well I have
accomplished my purpose. It will be remembered
that, when considering the testimony of unbelieving
historians, I noted each new point of corroboration
discovered; but when I reached a different class of
writers, the active enemies of our religion, I omitted
the further enumeration of such points. I had already

216 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
found over thirty, and, had I kept on, the number
would, ere this, have been up in the hundreds, as any
one can see by casting his eye back to the summary of
Celsus' testimony. I had, therefore, to desist, be
cause those items were becoming altogether too multi
tudinous, and were calculated to swell this volume to
undue proportions. I will here make the general state
ment that every material fact of gospel history, ex
cept the fact of Christ's resurrection* is either corrob
orated by an unbelieving historian, or admitted by an
ancient or modern disbeliever; and the most important
facts are corroborated by numerous unbelieving writers
and historians of early date, and conceded by a plurality
of Infidels, both ancient and modern. It is further
evident, from the facts heretofore adduced, that every
essential feature in the testimony of ancient Christian
writers, relative to the genuineness and authenticity of
the Gospels and Acts, is corroborated by witnesses on
the opposite side. The author holds himself in readi
ness to sustain the above positions if called in question.
HI. Circumstantial evidence.
After what has already been presented, I can not see
how any one can have the least doubt as to the credi
bility and general truthfulness of these apostolic nar
ratives ; but if such a doubt should still linger in the
breast of any reader, that doubt should be put to rest
forever when we consider the circumstantial evidence
* The fact that the resurrection was universally maintained by Christians,
is also admitted. See Paley, p. 275.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 217
in the case. The circumstances showing that each and
every one of those books, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
and Acts, are authentic histories, credible and trust
worthy ; such circumstances, I say, are manifold in
number and irrefragable in kind. To adduce them
all, would be impracticable on the one hand, and un
necessary on the other. But I will briefly set forth
some of the leading ones, under three heads.
In the first place, The fact that these books have
been read, quoted and appealed to as most reliable
documents ever since their appearance in the world,
and an institution established upon the facts re
corded therein that has swayed the minds of millions
of the human race, revolutionizing governments, and
remodeling and changing the forms and habits of so
ciety, in the manner that Christianity has done, is, in
itself, sufficient to show that they have an historic
basis to rest upon ; and when this thought is coupled
with the additional reflection that their genuineness
and authenticity was not denied for centuries, either
by friend or foe, the consideration assumes majestic
proportions, giving to the argument for their entire
truthfulness a strength that is well nigh invincible. If
these books are not credible histories, how came the
church to be established upon what they record ? If
they have no historic basis, how came so many men to
be deluded ? and men too of brilliant mind and high
station, such as Saul and Eliezer among the Jews, and
Cornelius and Sergius Paulus among the Gentiles !

218 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
Why were the original promulgators and their adher
ents willing to sacrifice life and liberty in attestation
of their faith in these alleged facts? If Christianity
has no historic basis, how did it originate? and if these
books do not furnish the real basis, what reason could
the disciples have had for suppressing their real history
and adopting fiction in lieu thereof? and how were
they enabled to do so in face of the bitterest enemies
without, and amid frequent strifes and contentions
within ? If you say there was no internal strife, and
no external opposition, then what becomes of all
history? and what becomes of the law of causation?
Can the plant grow without a seed ? Can the flower
bloom without a bud ? Did not the same forces that
produced opposition and persecution in later times,
produce it in the beginning? If not, why not? Did
not the divisions and heresies that have succeeded the
Apostolic age have a seed from which to sprout?
Most assuredly ! And if these books are wholly
fictions, why were they received and revered by all
Christians, including every heretical sect? The fact
that those books were universally received, both by
heretics and by standard Christians, and in all coun
tries where Christianity gained a foothold, shows very
plainly that they are historic and true. But when
we remember that their general truthfulness was never
questioned by any of the early enemies of the cross,
the case is still stronger. If the things contained in
those books are falsehoods, why was not their falsity

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 219
exposed in the incipiency of the movement, while
everything was fresh and easy of investigation ? Some
of the modern Infidels would fain make the world be
lieve that the Christian religion has no historic basis
in fact. But their predecessors, who had some oppor
tunity to know, never hinted such a defect in the sys
tem. Celsus, Porphyry and Julian never denied that
these books were historical ; but assumed it as an un
deniable fact, and argued accordingly. They criti
cised their contents, as I would criticise Greeley's
" Conflict " or Stephens' " War between the States,"
but as to denying their general correctness as historic
documents, they seem never to have even dreamed of
such a thing. I insist that this is a weighty considera
tion. If those early and inveterate enemies of the
religion of Jesus could have denied the authenticity of
these books they would have done so. But they made
no attempt in that direction. If the books were un
true, then was the time to show it. No research can
do it now, for every discovery in Christian antiquities
but strengthens the argument in their favor. For
illustration, an eminent Italian scholar, named Mura
tori, in the year 1740, discovered in the Ambrosian
library at Milan, a document which has been shown by
conclusive and irrefragable internal evidence, to have
been written during the decade beginning 160 and end
ing 170. It contains an almost complete canon of the
New Testament, but unfortunately it is mutilated at
both ends. It begins thus : —

220 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
" * * * those things at which he was present he
placed thus. The third book of the Gospels, that according to Lake,
the well known physician, Luke wrote in his own name in order
after the ascension of Christ, and when Paul had associated him
with himself as one studious of truth. Nor did he himself see the
Lord in the flesh; and he, according as he was able to accomplish
it, began his narrative with the nativity of John. The fourth Gos
pel is that of John, one of his disciples."
A third and fourth imply a first and second ; show
ing that the four Gospels were known as such at that
early date, and had been translated into Latin, for
this ancient document is a translation from the Greek
into the Latin. A strong link in the chain of cir
cumstantial evidence.
Of Acts of Apostles this ancient document says: —
" But the Acts of all the Apostles are written in one book. Luke
comprehends them in the work addressed to the excellent Theoph
ilus." — Encyclopedia on Evidences, page 383.
Let us take another example. The ancient docu
ment called the "Epistle of Barnabas," a product of
the apostolic age, contains a passage from Matthew,
quoted as Scripture; showing with what sacredness
the very earliest Christian writers regarded that book.
This quotation, however, occurs in the 4th chapter.
And, unfortunately, the first four chapters of the
Epistle of Barnabas were wanting in all the Greek
manuscripts, being found only in Latin versions.
Hence, objectors said the quotation might be an inter
polation. But in 1859 a discovery was made that
silenced the objection forever. I refer to the discov
ery by Dr. A. F. C. Tischendorf, of the venerable
Codex Sinaiticus. This ancient manuscript contains

DIVINE ORIGLN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 221
the entire Epistle of Barnabas in the Greek. An
other strong link in the chain of evidence circum
stantial ! Nor, indeed, are these isolated cases, for,
as Pres. Hinsdale truly remarks, " all the discoveries
of the last century, bearing on the question, have
gone to establish the genuineness of the Gospels."
In the second place, The harmony of these books
with the geography, history, customs, manners, litera
ture and politics of the age and country in which they
were written, proves them to be credible histories. In
these narratives we find a species of local knowledge
and a familiarity with transpiring events that could be
possessed only by inhabitants of that country, and
persons living in that age. These marks stamp the
Gospels and Acts as true histories. That is a trait
that could not have been imitated by a forger at a
later date. A Greek or Roman of the Second or
Third Century would not have possessed sufficient
knowledge of the actual condition of Judea before
the fall of Jerusalem ; and a Jew in those centuries
would have been deficient in knowledge of Grecian
and Roman laws, customs and modes of thought. For
it must be remembered that " these things were not
done in a corner," and that the events mentioned, and
places, habits, etc., alluded to, were not confined to a
small province ; but that the scene of action is hardly
bounded by the limits of the Roman Empire ; and that
there are allusions to the condition, customs, and prin
ciples of the numerous cities throughout the vast

222 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
domain of the Caesars, from some of the most diminu
tive up to many of the largest and most influential.
I have not space to elaborate this argument fully
by facts and citations from contemporary historians.
But, in order to illustrate the argument, rather than
complete it, I will give a few examples. I shall select,
at least, one example from each book; and as
Josephus is standard authority in regard to the affairs
of that country, and the circumstances and history of
those times, I shall rely upon him chiefly as corrobor
ative testimony.
" But when he heard that Arehelaus did reign in Judea in the
room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither : notwith
standing, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into
the parts of Galilee." — Mat. ii:22.
Here it is stated that Herod was succeeded by Arehe
laus, and it is implied that the dominion of the latter
did not embrace Galilee. From Josephus we learn
that Herod's dominion embraced the whole land of
Israel, and that he appointed Arehelaus his successor
in Judea, and assigned the rest of his dominions to
other sons; also, that this arrangement was, in the
main, ratified by the emperor. — Antiquities, book 17,
chap. 8, sec. 1.
" For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John, and
bound him in prison for Herodias' sake, his brother Philip's wife :
for he had married her. For John had said unto Herod, It is not
lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife." — Mark vi: 17,18.
See the quotation already made from Josephus, on
page 178 of this work. Herod made a visit to his
brother, Herod Philip, where he fell in love with

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 223
Herodias, and ventured to make her proposals of mar
riage. And they married, though, as Mark intimates,
not in a " lawful " manner. — Ant., book 18, chap. 5,
sec. 1.
"And the daughter of the said Herodias was married to Herod,"
etc. — Mark vi: 22.
Josephus says Herodias had a daughter, whose name
was Salome. — Jos. Ant., B. 18, ch. 5, sec. 4.
"And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be
received up, he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,
And sent messengers before his face : and they went, and entered
into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he
would go to Jerusalem." — Luke ix: 51, 52, 53.
"Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that
thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of
Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans." —
John iv: 9.
" It was the custom of the Galileans," Josephus
says in substance, " when they came to the holy city
at the festivals, to travel through the country of the
Samaritans. As they were in their journey, some
inhabitants of the village called Ginaea, which lies on
the border of Samaria and the great plain, falling upon
them, killed a great many of them." — Jos. Ant., B.
20, ch. 6, sec. 1.
"The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a
prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say,
that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." —
John iv :20.
" So he bade them get together upon Mt. Gerizim, which is by
them [the Samaritans] looked upon as the most holy of all moun-
tians. " — Jos. Ant.,B. 18, ch. 4.sec.l.
Let that suffice for the Gospels.

224 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
We now go to Acts of Apostles : —
"And when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he
examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be put to
death. And he went down from Judeea to Caesarea, and there abode.
And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and Sidon;
but they came with one accord to him, and, having made Blastus,
the king's chamberlain, their friend, desired peace, because their
country was nourished by the king's country.
And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his
throne, and made an oration unto them.
And the people gave a shout, saying, it is the voice of a god, and
not of a man.
And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he
gave not God the glory; and he was eaten of worms, and gave up
the ghost." — Acts xii: 19-23.
Josephus describes the death of Herod. His descrip
tion may be condensed as follows : —
" He went to the city of Cassarea. Here he celebrated shows in
honor of Csesar. On the second day of the shows, early in the
morning, he came into the theatre dressed in a robe of silver of
most curious workmanship. The rays of the rising sun, reflected
from such a garb, gave him a majestic and awful appearance. They
called him a god, and entreated him to be propitious to them, say
ing: Hitherto, we have respected you as a man, but now we
acknowledge you to be more than mortal. The king neither re
proved these persons nor rejected the impious flattery. Immedi
ately after this, he was seized with pains in his bowels, extremely
violent at the very first. He was carried, therefore, with all haste to
his palace. These pains continually tormenting him, he expired in
five days' time." — Ant., B. 19, ch. 8, sec. 2.
Having given a few examples to show how these
writers are borne out in their statements by the great
Jewish historian, I will give one example to show how
they argree with heathen authors : —
"Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of
Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.
For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar
with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore
ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you." — Acts xvii: 22.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 225
Heathen writers attest the fact that there was such
an altar at Athens, and there is no evidence that there
was any such anywhere else. The author of the
dialogue Philopatris, by many supposed to have been
written by Lucian, about the year 170, has the follow
ing words : —
"But let us find the Unknown God of Athens, and stretching our
hands to heaven offer to him our praises and thanksgivings." —
Lucian in Phil., p. 767.
Pausanius, who wrote before the end of the Second
Century, in describing Athens, mentions an altar of
Jupiter Olympius, and adds: "And nigh unto it is
an altar of unknown gods." — B. 5, p. 412.
Diogenes Laertius, who wrote about 210, says that
it originated with Epimenides, nearly 600 B. C, who
was invited to Athens to deliver the city from a
pestilence, and took sheep of different colors to the
summit of Mars' Hill or the Areopagus, and gave in
structions that where each one should lie down to sac
rifice it on the spot.* The author continues : " Hence
you may still see at Athens, altars without any inscrip
tion to a particular deity, as memorials of the propitia
tion then made." — Fenelon's " Lives of the Ancient
Philosophers," p. 102.
Thus it is seen that the Gospels and the Acts are in
perfect accord with the conditions and circumstances
of that age and country. To show how this line of
* The idea seems to be that there were statues of different gods upon the
Areopagus, and the purpose was to sacrifice the sheep to the deities at the
base of whose statues they should lie down; but one or more lay down
where there was no statue, hence they erected an altar to the unknown god
on that spot. 15

226 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
argument strikes the mind of an Infidel, I make an
other quotation from Mr. Renan : —
" I have traveled through the evangelical province in every direc
tion; I have visited Jerusalem, Hebron and Samaria; scarcely
any locality important in the history of Jesus has escaped me. All
this history, which at a distance seems floating in the clouds of an
unreal world, thus assumed a body, a solidity which astonished
me. The striking accord of the texts and the places, the wonderful
harmony of the evangelical ideal with the landscape which served
as its setting, were to me as a revelation. I had before my eyes
a fifth Gospel, torn but still legible, and thenceforth through the
narratives of Matthew and Mark, instead of an abstract being,
which one would say had never existed, I saw a wonderful human
form live and move." — Life of Jesus, p. 46.
Prof. J. W. McGarvey, in his great work entitled
" Lands of the Bible," published since the first edition
of this book was issued, makes an able and elaborate
argument on the "Agreement of the Land and the
Book." I make a few extracts, applicable to the
books under consideration. He says : —
" The accuracy of a historian is more thoroughly tested by the
minuter matters of geography, — such as the relative levels of dif
ferent portions of the country, the trees which it grows, and the
peculiar features of its climate."
In these he says the Bible writers are unfailingly
accurate, and continues : —
" The man who fell among thieves ' went down ' from Jerusalem
to Jericho; Peter 'came down' to the saints that dwelt at Lydia;
the brethren brought Paul 'down to Csesarea; ' and everywhere,
in both the Old Testament and the New, the people went ' up ' to
Jerusalem, every road leading thither running upward except the
one from Bethlehem. In all these, and a multitude of other in
stances, the relative elevation of places is correctly recognized, and
in not a single instance of this kind has any of the Bible writers
been found at fault. * * * When Zacheus is represented as
climbing a tree, its name is given, ' a sycamore tree ; ' and the
prophet Amos is made to say, ' I was a herdman and a gatherer
of sycamore fruit,' though the sycamore of other countries bears
no fruit at all." — Pages 378 and 379.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 227
After speaking of the east wind being dry and hot,
in perfect accord with the Old Testament, the pro
fessor continues : —
" The west wind on the contrary, is represented as the rain wind.
' When you see a cloud arise out of the west, straightway you say,
There cometh a shower, and so it is ' (Luke xii : 54) . These results
are owing to the situation of Palestine. * * * There lies to
the east a desert, from which no rain can come, but which sends a
dry and parching wind, which is the terror of the people. And
Palestine has to the west of it the Mediterranean Sea, the only
body of water which can supply her thirsty air with clouds heavy
enough for rain." — p. 379.
" In regard to the manners, customs and arts prevalent in the
country, the Bible writers are equally exact. Fortunately for our
argument, the present inhabitants of the country have inherited, to
a very considerable extent, the manners, customs and arts of its
ancient Jewish inhabitants, and the traveller sees them enacted
before him. Jesus says: 'He that dippeth his hand with me in the
dish is he that shall betray me ; ' and now, in the continued absence
of knives and forks and plates, every man at the table dips his
hand into the dish. Jesus also says : ' Give and it shall be given
you; good measure, pressed down and shaken together and run
ning over shall men give into your bosom ' (Luke vi : 38) . How
into your bosom? The question is unanswered till you observe the
dress of the working classes in Palestine, which is often only a
coarse shirt reaching down to the heels, with a girdle around the
waist. Into the bosom of this shirt grain may be poured in con
siderable quantities, the girdle preventing it from slipping below ;
and there is no easier way of carrying a bushel of wheat or barley.
The shepherd also stows away weak lambs in the same capacious
pocket." — page 380.
Then, after saying that minstrels are present in the
house with a dead body, as alluded to in Scripture,
and that grass is still cast into the oven to heat the oven
for cooking, as alluded to in the Gospels, the learned
explorer continues : —
"But the best test of a writer's familiarity with the events of
which he writes is found in his allusions to the minute features
of the localities in which the events are said to have transpired. The
Bible is truly marvellous in this respect, so that the careful explorer
of Palestine finds it his best local guide book, and he is frequently

228 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
uncertain whether he has reached a given locality until he com
pares its features with what is said of it in the Scriptures. As for
known localities, he finds them always answering to the book,
except where they have been altered by the hand of man. * * *
We hear, in the parable of the Good Samaritan, that the man who
fell among thieves was going from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and
on examining the frequented roads which lead away from Jeru
salem, we find that all of them, except that to Jericho, pass among
villages and thickly populated districts, while the latter passes
through rugged hills and ravines that are now, and ever have been,
uninhabited — the very road for robbers. We find, too, about half
way, a ruined khan, corresponding to the inn of the parable, built
as a refuge from this very danger. In a description of a storm on
the Lake of Galilee, an unprecedented expression is found in the
statement that 'there came down a storm of wind on the lake.'
In universal speech, storms are represented as arising, instead of
coming down, and Matthew and Mark, in speaking of this storm,
both say that it arose. But when we sail on the Lake of Galilee,
and look for the source of a storm, we look up to the high moun
tain-tops which overshadow the lake, and it is quite natural for
one in that position to say the storm comes down. Here is the
evident language of an eye-witness, proving the sincerity of Luke,
who uses the language, when he says that he obtained his informa
tion from ' eye-witnesses and ministers of the Word.' " — Lands
of the Bible, page 382.
The author argues that this accuracy is all the more
remarkable from the fact that the best historians, like
Josephus, and the most accurate observers among
travellers in the Holy Land, like Canon Tristram, have
made mistakes about these very matters of which the
Bible speaks.
The argument under this head may be illustrated by
the following anecdote, related by Dr. Richard New
ton, in his interesting book, entitled, " Illustrated
Rambles in Bible Lands."
"In a village in Yorkshire, England, lived two men who were
cloth manufacturers. One was named Walsh, the other Stetson.
Walsh was an unbeliever. It was a favorite opinion of his that the
Bible was ' all made up.' He could never believe that it was written
where it professed to be, and by the men said to have written it.
But Stetson was an earnest Christian.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 229
"Walsh was part owner of a factory, and one year he had set his
heart on making a very large and fine piece of cloth. He took great
pains with the carding, spinning, dyeing, weaving and finishing of
it. In the process of manufacture it was one day stretched on the
tenter-hooks to dry. It made a fine show, and he felt very proud
of it. The next morning he arose early to work at it, and to his
amazement it was gone. Some one had stolen it during the night.
" After weeks of anxiety and expense, a piece of cloth answering
the description was stopped at Manchester awaiting the owner and
proof. Away to Manchester went Walsh, as fast as the express train
could carry him. There he found many rolls of cloth which had
been stolen. They were very much alike. He selected one which
he felt satisfied was his. But how could he prove it? In doubt
and perplexity he called on his neighbor Stetson.
" ' Friend Stetson,' said he, 'I have found a piece of cloth which
I am sure is the one which was stolen from me. But how to prove
it is the question. Can you tell me how? '
" ' You don't want it unless it is really yours? '
" 'Certainly not.'
" 'And you want proof that is plain, simple, and such as will sat
isfy yourself and everybody? '
" 'Precisely so.'
" 'Well, then, take Bible proof.'
" ' Bible proof 1 Pray, what is that? '
" ' Take your cloth to the tenter-hooks on which it was stretched,
and if it be yours every hook will just fit the hole through which
it passed before being taken down. There will be scores of such
hooks, and if the hooks and the holes just come together tight, no
other proof will be wanted that the cloth is yours.'
" Away he went, and sure enough, every hook came to its little
hole, and the cloth was proved to be his. The tenter-hooks were
the very best evidence that could be had.
" Some days after this, Walsh met his friend again.
" ' I say, Stetson,' said he, ' what did you mean, the other day, by
calling the tenter-hooks ' Bible proof? ' I am sure if I had as good
evidence for the Bible as I had for my cloth, I should never doubt
it again.'" 'You have the same, only better, for the Bible.'
"'How so?'
'"Put it on the tenter-hooks. Take the Bible and travel with
it; go to the place where it was made. There you will find the Red
Sea, the Jordan, the Lake of Galilee, Mount Lebanon, Hermon,
Carmel, Tabor and Gerizim ; there you will find the cities of Da
mascus, Hebron, Tyre, Sidon and Jerusalem. Every mountain,
every river, every sheet of water mentioned in the Bible is there,
just as the Bible speaks of it. Sinai and the desert and the Dead
Sea are there. The holes and the hooks come together exactly.
The best guide-book through that country is the Bible. It must

230 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
have been written on the spot, just as your cloth must have been
made and stretched on your tenter-hooks. That laud is the mould
in which the Bible is cast, and when you bring the land and the
book together, they fit to perfection.'
" Walsh felt the force of this argument, and gave up his infidel
ity, and began to read the Bible with an interest he never had felt
in it before."
In the third place, The circumstance that there
are several of these books, and that they corroborate
and explain each other, is proof, conclusive and irre
futable, that they are credible and trustworthy his
tories. In order to the proper appreciation of this
argument, it must be remembered that the Gospels
are separate and distinct books, just as much so as
though they never had been placed together in one
volume. It must be remembered that they are four
different narratives, penned by four different writers,
and that Acts of Apostles is a continuation of the his
tory, written by the author of one of the Gospels.
These writers, then, as that able jurist, Mr. Greenleaf ,
remarks, should be admitted in corroboration of each
other as readily as Josephus and Tacitus or Polybius
and Livy. But they not only agree with and corrobor
ate each other, but they actually explain and illustrate
each other. There are many incidental allusions and
undesigned coincidences in these books that could not
possibly have occurred unless the writers had a common
body of real facts from which to draw their state
ments. Out of the numerous examples that might be
given, I select a few.
Matthew says, "when Jesus heard that John was
cast into prison he departed into Galilee; " but he has

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 231
nowhere informed us that John was cast into prison.
But when we turn to Luke, he informs us that Herod
" added yet this above all, that he shut up John in
prison; " and Mark gives us similar information. —
Matt, iv : 12 ; Mark i : 14 ; Luke iii : 20.
Mark informs us that the suborned witnesses in
the trial of Christ accused him of saying, " I will
destroy this temple made with hands, and in three days
I will build another made without hands; " but we
could never learn from his narrative upon what state
ment of Jesus the accusation was founded. But John,
in tbe early part of his record, relates a conversation
that explains it. In reply to the Jews, when they
asked for a sign, Jesus said, " Destroy this temple,
and in three days I will raise it up " — alluding to the
temple of his body. — Mark xiv : 58 ; John ii : 19.
Luke says when Christ came to Nazareth where he
had been brought up, he told them they would say,
" whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also
here in thy country; " but he has not yet informed us
that Jesus was ever in Capernaum. Matthew, how
ever, informs us that he " dwelt there," and performed
"mighty works" there. — Luke iv:23; Matt, iv:
13: xi: 23.
John, throughout his book, supposes the Savior to
be accompanied by " twelve disciples," and he men
tions a few of them by name ; but he no where states
that Jesus selected any special " twelve " nor does he
give us a list of them. The other three evangelists,

232 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
however, record the selection of the ticelve, and furnish
catalogues of their names. And it happens, whenever
John mentions one of them, it is one found in the
catalogue preserved by the other writers. — John vii :
68-71; xx : 24, and other places; Matt, x: 1; Mark
iii: 14; Luke vi: 12.
Acts of Apostles alludes to the suicidal death of
Judas as a well known event, and mentions the fact
that a field was purchased with the reward of his in
iquitous betrayal; but the author, Luke, nowhere
records the death of Judas, nor gives any particulars in
regard to that " field," why it was bought, nor how
much was paid for it — the omission is not supplied
even in the Gospel written by Luke. But when we
turn to Matthew, we find a full account of the trans
action — the particulars of the traitor's death, the
amount paid for the field, and the object of its pur
chase. — Acts i: 16-25 ; Matt, xxvii: 3-10.
Such remarkable coincidences prove beyond all per-
adventure that there was a general fountain of historic
truth from which each of these writers drank; and
establish most conclusively that these five books are
fair and faithful representations of what actually
occurred. There is no possibility of evading this con
clusion. It cannot be said that the books were written
by one man, for their style is confessedly different,
and the specific aim of the writers manifestly varies,
though their general purpose is the same. Matthew
evidently wrote for Jews, to prove the proposition that

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 233
Jesus is the Messiah. Mark wrote for a similar pur
pose, but to a different class of readers. John wrote
to prove that Jesus Messiah is the Son of God. —
John xx : 31 . While Luke wrote for the avowed pur
pose of informing his friend Theophilus just what
things were universally accepted as certain by the
Christians at the time he wrote. — Luke i: 1-4. Nor
can it be said that these writers colluded for the pur
pose of deception, for no badges of fraud appear.
Besides, there are some seeming contradictions, and
many apparent discrepancies. Had there been any
collusion between these biographers, the least shadow
of discrepancy would not be visible in all their writ
ings. The very fact that some things appear to be
discrepant shows that these writers wrote indepen
dently of each other, and that they paid no regard
to anything but truth.
The strength of this circumstantial argument can
not be over-estimated. Suppose that after eighteen
hundred years have passed away, dating from the
present time, the late war in America should be denied
with all its bloody realities. Suppose then that Gree
ley's " Conflict " should be found and read; would not
that be evidence of it? But, suppose it were said to
be fiction, would not the production of Stephens'
"War Between the States" confirm the other, and
prove it to be real history? And when two more ac
counts were read, one written by Schmucker and the
other by Pollard, would not the four histories corrob-

234 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
orate and prove the claims of each other? and would
not their general agreement put all doubt forever to
rest, and establish conclusively the fact that there had
been such a war as claimed ? And if these four his
tories were found to differ in some respects and pre
sent even real discrepancies, would that prove them all
to be false or legendary ? Would it not, on the other
hand, strengthen the quarternion, by precluding the
idea of collusion ? Most assuredly it would? Then if
it were found that another history had been written by
one of the quartette, giving an account of affairs and
transactions after the termination of the war, that
would make the case still stronger, especially if the
actions of the same men who had figured in the war
were therein recorded. Then suppose that there were
found to be many undesigned coincidences in those
books, such as I have adduced from the Evangelists,
would not the evidence be as strong as strength itself,
and as invincible as eternal and unchanging truth?
Then, if the books supposed had been bound together
in one volume for centuries, it would not alter the
case, nor weaken their separate testimony. There is
no sane man, whatever might be his religious opinions,
but what would admit everything claimed in the case
supposed. Then why not give full weight to the evi
dence in the case of the Evangelists? The cases are
most assuredly parallel !
Then, again, suppose that Luke's history, written to
Theophilus, had laid in the vaults of antiquity, un-

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 235
known till the present century, and then, for the first
time, come to light. The controversy would, in that
case, have been altogether over the other three. Well,
then, when Luke's writings were discovered, published
to the world, and proved to have been written in the
apostolic age, would not that settle the controversy
forever? Most undoubtedly it would ! The world
would say, " Here is a document, written by a man in
that age, telling some distinguished friend of his, by
the name of Theophilus, just what was universally ac
cepted as true by the very earliest Christians ! And
he corroborates the writings we have been disputing
over for centuries." If any doubt then existed, it
would be eternally quieted when the ' ' Acts of Apos
tles " were found and published in the same manner.
Well, Luke's writings possess just the same real weight
that they would possess if they were just now, for the
first time published to the world, if, indeed, they do
not possess more, and they are just as much entitled
to be received in corroboration of the other Evangel
ists. The same reasoning would apply to Matthew,
Mark or John. This line of argument I deem conclu
sive ; so much so, indeed, that I would be compelled
to accept these writers as reliable historians, if I had
no other evidence than the support which each member
of the quartette gives to the others when considered as
a trio. Further proof could be adduced, and arguments
might be multiplied. But it is unnecessary. My prop

236 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
osition has been sustained. When an attorney in
court has shown that the testimony of his own wit
nesses presents a solid phalanx of evidence in favor of
his client ; that their testimony is corroborated by ad
verse witnesses, and that even some of the material
points are conceded by opposing counsel ; and that the
circumstances in the case are favorable to his cause, in
so much so that there are circumstances which can not
be accounted for, if a verdict is rendered against his
client ; I say, when an attorney has done this, he has
done all that it is possible to do in the way of proving
an allegation. That is exactly what I have attempted
to do in the case in hand. Of course, the reader is the
arbiter in the case, and it is for him to decide to what
extent I have succeeded. But if I do not over-estimate
results, it has been shown —
1. That the Christian testimony is an unbroken
phalanx in favor of the credibility of the historic books
of the New Testament.
2. That this testimony is corroborated by opposing
witnesses, and that many points material to the allega
tion have been admitted by the advocates of Infidelity.
3. And that the circumstantial evidence is in favor
of these books, in so much so that there are circum
stances that cannot be accounted for upon any hypo
thesis other than that they are credible and trustworthy.
I shall, therefore, conclude that the proposition, at
the head of this chapter, " That the historical books
of the New Testament are credible and trustworthy,"
is fully sustained, and in future chapters of this work
will reason accordingly.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 237

CHAPTER II.
Jestjs of Nazareth Arose From the Dead.
THE following facts are admitted by all parties
to the controversy :
1. There was such a person as Jesus of Naz
areth.
2. He lived at the time ascribed to him in the New
Testament. 3. He was put to death under Pontius Pilate, in the
reign of Tiberius Csesar.
4. His dead body was taken from the cross, and laid
in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea.
5. A huge stone was rolled to the entrance, and the
tomb securely guarded.
6. Upon the morning of the first Sunday after the
crucifixion, his body was missing from the tomb.
No one of these points was ever called in question
by any friend or foe of Jesus for many centuries after
his crucifixion ; and to show that they are conceded by
candid Infidels of modern times, I quote one of their
best authorities, Ernest Renan. He says: —
"Jesus was laid in the vault; the stone was rolled to the entrance,
etc." * * * " On Sunday morning, the woman, Mary Magdalene
first of all, came very early to the tomb. The stone was rolled away
from the opening, and the body was no longer in the place where

238 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
they had laid it. At the same time, the strangest reports began to
spread through the Christian community. The cry, ' He is risen! '
ran among the disciples like lightning." — Life of Jesus, p. 356.
That the Gospel Narratives possess value, as his
toric documents, I have proved in the previous chapter.
This is, also, generally admitted, and was never ques
tioned, even by the enemies of Jesus, for many cen
turies after they were written. Here, then, we have
a basis of historic fact upon which to reason — a
general agreement, among the friends and foes of
Jesus, that he was crucified, his body laid in the tomb,
and, on Sunday, it was missing. The whole fabric of
the Christian religion rests upon the solution of one
question: " What became of the body?" Upon this
question unanimity gives way, and the parties to the
controversy are as wide apart as the poles. The foes
of Jesus claim that his body was stolen by his disci
ples. On the other hand, his friends maintain that he
arose from the dead. Here is a square issue, upon a
plain matter of fact ; and everything depends upon its
solution. If it is shown that his body was stolen, the
foundation of the Christian Temple is removed, and
the whole superstructure must fall. But, if he revived
and rose again, then the Christian edifice is an impreg
nable bulwark, which all the powers of earth and
hell cannot overturn. We should, therefore, examine
the facts with care, and weigh everything bearing on
the case with an earnest desire to know the truth.
We shall first examine the position of Christ's
enemies. Upon what evidence do they rest their claim

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 239
that his body was stolen? Upon the testimony of
some of the guards.
" Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the
chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate, saying : Sir,
we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After
three days I will rise again. Command, therefore, that the sepul
chre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by
night and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from
the dead; so the last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate
said unto them, Ye have a watch ; go your way, make it as sure as
ye can. So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the
stone, and setting a watch. In the end of the Sabbath, as it began
to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a
great earthquake ; for the angel of the Lord descended from Heaven,
and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow.
And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead
men. ******
Now, when they were going, behold, some of the watch came into
the city, and showed unto the chief priests all the things that were
done. And when they were assembled with the elders, and had
taken counsel, they gave large money to the soldiers, saying: Say
ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
And if this come to the governor's ears, we will persuade him, and
secure you. So they took the money, and did as they were taught;
and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this
day." — Matt, xxvii : 62-66 ; xxviii: 1-4; 11-15.
This common report, that the disciples stole the
body while the soldiers slept, was currently reported
among the enemies of Jesus, and when the disciples
went forth and proclaimed his resurrection they never
attempted to set up. any other counter-hypothesis, or
interpose any opposing testimony save that of the
guards. This is the strongest case that the foes of
Jesus could make. If they could have discovered a
more plausible explanation of the disappearance of the
body, their active enmity would have led them to

240 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
present it. The strength, then, of Infidelity, depends
upon the strength of the testimony of those guards.
And that strength is the veriest weakness. For to
say nothing of their contradictory statements, telling
first one story and then another ; and to waive the
charge of bribery, this testimony bears prima facie
evidence of falsehood and absurdity.
In the first place, they testify to the occurrence of
the very thing that they were stationed around the
tomb to prevent. They say the body was "stolen."
That is exactly what they were placed there to pre
vent. It was remembered that Jesus said he would
rise again, and the soldiers were stationed at the tomb
for the express purpose of preventing his disciples
from stealing the body and persuading the people that
he was risen. Now, if they had said that the dis
ciples had unexpectedly rallied a large force, and had
overpowered them and taken the body by force, their
story would have possessed some degree of plausi
bility. But when they say that the very thing hap
pened that they anticipated and were guarding against,
their testimony becomes so unreasonable as to be
unworthy of any credit whatever.
In the second place, why did they allow the body
to be stolen ? They say that they were asleep !
Asleep? A whole guard of Roman soldiers asleep on
duty ? The very idea is monstrously absurd ! Did
they not know that it would disgrace them forever?
Or were they lost to all sense of shame? Nay, did

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 241
they not know that it was death under the Roman
law to go to sleep on duty? And would they have
disregarded all sense of honor and fear of the penalty,
and all have gone to sleep at once? No sane man
can believe it. Now, just suppose for a moment that
the body had been stolen while the guards were all
asleep, would they have reported it? Far from it.
They would have skulked away like sheep-killing
canines, and made no report at all. Or, if they re
ported at all, they would have endeavored to excul
pate themselves. Think of a body of soldiers sta
tioned around .a stable to prevent a fine horse from
being stolen. After several days the door is found
standing open, the stable vacant, the horse gone !
They make their report. It is " that the thieves
came and stole him while they were asleep." What
would be thought of them, and what would be done
with them ? Would any one for a moment credit their
report ?
In the third place, witnesses are incompetent to
testify to what transpired while they were asleep.
Imagine a witness in court attempting to identify the
thieves who stole his horse. He says he knows they
are the men. " What were you doing when they stole
him?" " I was asleep." If the soldiers were asleep
when the body of Christ disappeared from the tomb,
as they say they were, they were incompetent to
testify as to what caused its disappearance. They
could not tell whether his disciples stole it, or some
16

242 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
one else, or whether it revived and walked out. It is
unnecessary to consider their testimony any further,
as it bears evidence of falsity upon its face.
Having seen that the hypothesis of the enemies of
Jesus is false, we now turn our attention to the second
hypothesis, that of his friends, that he actually rose
from the dead. Who are the witnesses? The apos
tles and many other disciples, including in all about
five hundred. They testify that they saw him and
conversed with him after his resurrection, and that
some of them ate with him and handled him, and that
he ascended into the clouds of heaven in the presence
of a number of them. Now, I remark concerning
these witnesses, that one of three things must neces
sarily be true in regard to them : —
1. They were deceived — thinking they saw Jesus
alive, when they did not; or,
2. They were dishonest, and desired to deceive
others, making them believe they saw Jesus, when they
did not; or,
3. They were honest and competent witnesses, and
Jesus did actually arise.
Which proposition is true?
Were these witnesses deceived? No, they could not
have been deceived. For the appearances of Jesus
were so frequent, and those that claimed to see him so
numerous, and the opportunity for testing the reality
of his appearance so good, that it were utterly impos
sible for them to be mistaken in regard to it. Had he

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 243
been seen by one person only, or by several persons
on but one occasion, there might be some room to
doubt. But they claim that he was seen on several
occasions and by many individuals, seen too by per
sons who were perfectly familiar with his person and
knew most assuredly that it was he. He was seen no
less than a dozen times. First, by Mary Magdalene ;
second, by other women ; third, by Peter ; fourth, by
two disciples as they walked into the country; fifth,
by Cleopas and his companion; sixth, by the whole
college of apostles, except Thomas; seventh, by all
the apostles, including Thomas; eighth, by seven of
them at the sea of Tiberias ; ninth, by about five hun
dred at once ; tenth, by James alone : eleventh, by all
the apostles at the time of the ascension ; twelfth, by
Stephen, when he was stoned to death ; and last of all,
by Saul of Tarsus, in consequence of which he forsook
the religion of his fathers and became a zealous
advocate of the cause of Jesus. In an epistle written
afterward, this great apostle declares, " that Christ
died for our sins according to the scriptures ; and that
he was buried, and that he rose again the third day ac
cording to the scriptures; and that he was seen of
Cephas, then of the twelve ; after that he was seen of
above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the
greater part remain unto this present; but some are
fallen asleep. After that he was seen of James ; then
of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me
also, as of one born out of due time." — 1 Cor. xv : 3-8.

244 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
Thus, it is seen that he appeared on different occa
sions, and to different numbers of persons; sometimes
to one, sometimes to two, sometimes to three, seven,
or a dozen, and on one occasion, to hundreds of persons
at once. He was seen, too, by a variety of persons,
persons in the various positions of society, or walks of
life, from ordinary men and women, through a higher
class, Uke Matthew, the publican, up to the learned
and erudite, Saul of Tarsus. He was seen by persons
of different styles of mind. Not only did he appear
to affectionate, warm-hearted, credulous women, but
to cool, calculating, skeptical men, like Thomas Didy-
mus, who must see the prints of the nails in his hands,
and the gash of the spear in his side, before believing.
Not only so, but he was seen under a great variety of
circumstances — sometimes after night; sometimes in
open daylight. Not only on the earth, but when he
ascended to heaven, and even after he ascended to
heaven. Those who saw him, too, were, in the most
cases, perfectly familiar with his features, having
companied with him all the time the Lord Jesus went
in and out among them, from John's baptism to his
ascension. — Acts i: 21. His pierced hands and side
also prevented any mistake as to his identity. Not
only so, but they conversed with, ate with, drank with
him, and their hands handled him. This they emphati
cally declare. So there was no possible chance for de
ception on their part. Either, Jesus rose, appeared to
them, and ascended bodily into heaven; or, else, they

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 245
deliberately colluded, for the purpose of palming off
upon the world the most stupendous fraud and falsehood
ever conceived or executed. This, Paul admits him
self; for he declares "if Christ be not risen, then is
our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God." —
1 Cor. xv:14.
That they were themselves deceived, is utterly out
of the question. It follows, then, that they were de
ceivers, or they were honest and competent witnesses,
whose testimony, establishes the resurrection of Jesus
beyond doubt. We pass, then, to the second point of
the trilemma.
Were they deceivers?
No ! They could not have been deceivers, for
several good and sufficient reasons : —
1st. They had no motive to induce them to deceive.
Sane men never do anything without a motive. And
these disciples had no earthly motive to induce them
to collude, for the purpose of making persons believe
that Jesus rose, if he did not. What had they to gain
by it? I would like some candid skeptic to tell. Can
any mortal man conceive of any benefit that would
accrue to the disciples by telling that Jesus rose, if it
were false? They could gain no money or property
by it I No popularity or influence ! Nothing under the
blue canopy of the heavens could they gain by telling
it, if it were not true. On the other hand, they would
lose all these things. So if Jesus did not rise, they

246 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
told a deliberate falsehood, when they knew that it
was diametrically opposed to their interests for time
and eternity. For be it remembered that they had all
been reared in the Jewish faith, and taught that God
would punish the wicked, " and by no means clear the
guilty." 2d. Because all their teachings were opposed to
everything like falsehood and deception. Truth was
their watchword. And if they were deceivers, then we
have the anomaly of a set of men constructing and en
forcing the best code of ethics ever known to man,
while perpetrating the greatest fraud that was ever
practiced upon humanity.
3d. Every motive calculated to influence the human
mind was against proclaiming that Jesus rose, if it
were false. Loss of means, loss of friends, loss of
popularity and influence, loss of liberty and loss of
life. And worse than all, loss of a good conscience
and self respect. If it were false, all these considera
tions would speak in thunder tones, and say, " Don't
tell it!"
4th. They gained nothing by telling it if true, ex
cept the peace of mind which comes with the conscious
ness of having performed an important duty, and the
hope of future felicity, which the promises of their
risen Redeemer inspired.
5th. They gave the. very highest evidences of sin
cerity that it were possible to give. After they com
menced to publish the resurrection, they found that

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 247
it brought upon them, as a matter of fact, what they
had reason theoretically to anticipate: "the loss of
all things; " while it brought them nothing but suffer
ing, scorn and privation. If they had not been honest
and sincere, believing that they told "the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth," when they
found that their story brought upon them privation
and want, opprobrium and obloquy, hatred and malice,
turmoil and unrest, stripes and imprisonment, incon
venience and death; I say when they found this to be
the result, they certainly would have recanted and
told the truth, if that was not the truth which they
published in the first instance. But, no ! Not one of
them ever turned State 's-evidence, or changed his testi
mony. Could greater evidence of sincerity have been
given? Suppose that the grave-robbers, who stole the
body of A. T. Stewart, were as numerous as the disci
ples of Jesus, and suppose that they had come out
boldly and proclaimed that Mr. Stewart had risen
from the dead, that they had seen him, conversed with
him, and dined with him, after his resurrection. Then
imagine them arrested, threatened, scourged, im
prisoned, and some of them put to death. Would they
not retract their former statement, and acknowledge
that they had stolen the body? At least, would not
some of them turn State's-evidence, rather than endure
so much suffering, and endanger their lives, just for
the sake of a falsehood? Most assuredly they would.
As soon as a few of them were imprisoned, a few

248 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
whipped, and a single one put death, they would then
cry, "hold, enough!" and with alacrity confess the
truth. Human nature is the same the world over, and if
these disciples had colluded to make people believe that
Jesus rose, when he did not, there is no doubt but what
they would have retracted it, when the hand of persecu
tion came down so heavily upon them. At least, some
of them would have broken ranks, and told a different
story. But, no. They all stood steadfast and im
movable ; and what they said first, they said last, and
all the time !
The arrest and crucifixion of their master had so ter
rified them that they were wont to meet in an upper
room, with closed doors, for fear of the unbelieving
Jews. Then, when they went forth and began to
publish the resurrection, they found that it arrayed
against them the hostility of all the Jews, Pharisees
and Sadducees. They, therefore, found that their
proclamation was very unpopular, arraying against
them the enmity and hatred of their countrymen, and
subjecting them to rebuffs and contempt. But they
continued to preach that Jesus had arisen.
They then found that the loss of friendship was fol
lowed by threats and imprisonment. Peter and John
were imprisoned for preaching the resurrection, and,
when released, threatened and commanded to do so no
more.* But still, " with great power gave the apostles
witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." — Acts
* Acts, 4th chap.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 249
iv: 32. And all the witnesses stood firm and immov
ably committed to their first testimony.
Then the Sadducees, led by the high-priest, arrested
all the apostles and put them in prison.* But still
there was not one found among all the witnesses that
would change his testimony, and say that Jesus did not
rise. On the contrary, as soon as released, the
apostles preached boldly in the name of the risen Jesus,
and, in the language of their enemies : " filled Jerusa
lem with their doctrine!" When re-arrested, they
spoke boldly, and said: "We ought to obey God
rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up
Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath
God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a
Savior, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgive
ness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things ;
and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given
to them that obey him." — Acts v : 29-32.
This short speech so exasperated the persecutors that
they resolved to slay the whole dozen of the apostles,
and were only restrained from so doing by the wise
and timely counsel of Dr. Gamaliel, a learned and
influential Pharisee. But even his mild and conserva
tive speech was unable to restrain them from inflicting
personal violence on the apostles, so the whole twelve
were beaten before they were set at liberty. But,
notwithstanding the apostles had all been subjected to
stripes and imprisonment, and had narrowly escaped
* Aets, 5th chap.

250 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
with their lives, they still continued to proclaim the
resurrection of Jesus. There was not one who would
give different testimony, or even be silent on that,
though strictly charged and severely threatened by
their persecutors when released from custody. Nor
was there one among the whole five hundred witnesses
sufficiently terrified to cause him to change his testi
mony. But that is not all. After awhile one of the wit
nesses (Stephen) was stoned to death ; but even in the
hour of death he maintained the truth of his testimony,
and almost with his last expiring breath declared that
he saw the risen Jesus standing on the right hand of
God in heaven. Then an apostle (James) is put to
death,* and another is imprisoned and his death deter
mined on But still all the witnesses maintain un
flinchingly that Jesus rose ! There is not one found
that even death itself can cause to recant.
The disciples find the whole Gentile world arrayed
against them, as well as the Jews. And they meet
with persecution, stripes, imprisonment, death, from
both quarters. First one is killed and then another,
until many have sealed their testimony with their
blood !t But the witnesses all maintain their integrity
in the face of opposition, in the face of persecution,
and cling with an unparalleled tenacity to their declara
tion that Jesus rose, even despite death itself. Then,

* Acts, 12 chap.
t See Appendix, B

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 251
I ask in all candor, were they honest and sincere?
Most assuredly they were. They gave the very high
est conceivable evidence of honesty and sincerity.
Whenever any one is willing to suffer as they did, and
even to lay down his life for his cause, every reason
able man will readily grant that he is sincere. We have
seen that these witnesses were willing to endure
stripes, imprisonment, and even death, in attestation
of the fact that Jesus rose. They were therefore
unquestionably honest and sincere, and could not have
been deceivers.
The witnesses being honest and sincere, it follows
conclusively that Jesus rose. Because we have already
shown that it was impossible for them to be deceived
themselves. Remember we set out with a trilemma :
Either they were deceived, or deceivers, or honest and
competent witnesses. Well, as I have shown that they
could not be deceived, and that they were not deceiv
ers, the last hypothesis stands proved: "that they
were honest and competent witnesses ; " and being such
their testimony stands good, and my proposition is
proved: " That Jesus of Nazareth arose from the
dead." If it is not proved, nothing can be proved by
testimony. For no transaction of antiquity rests on
better evidence ; and there is no fact of ancient history
better attested.
The foregoing proof of the resurrection is so over
whelmingly conclusive that nothing further is needed —
the argument needs not one additional prop. But

252 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
there is a passage in profane history which corrobo
rates the proof adduced so strikingly that I cannot
leave the subject without calling attention to it : —
Tacitus, in the passage previously quoted, states
that Jesus was crucified ; that his religion was then
checked for awhile, but soon broke out again and
spread all over Judea and reached even to Rome. —
See Annals, book 15, chap. 14. That the death of
Christ should check his religious movement for a
time was the most natural thing in the world; but
that it should soon break out again with renewed vigor
is unaccountable, unless some new impetus were by
some means given to it. The statement of Tacitus is
therefore suggestive, and coincident with the sacred
writers, according to whom the death of Messiah
caused a pause, an awful pause as if the Universe
stood still ! For fifty days the movement so success
fully inaugurated by the Nazarene, and which had
made such a great stir in the world, was still — the
Galilean fishermen were either noiselessly casting their
nets into the tranquil waters of Geneseret or quietly
housed in an upper room — but when the day of Pen
tecost was fully come, Jerusalem was shaken by the
announcement that Jesus had revived again ! Then,
like a fire kindled in combustible material fully dry,
the movement spread with rapidity till it reached
Rome and shook the palace of the Caesars ! The res
urrection explains the temporary suspension of the

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 253
movement, and the increased velocity subsequently
given to it, which attracted the attention of the Roman
historian. Without irresistible proof of its truth the
story would not have received sufficient credence to
give it such rapid and gigantic strides in the world.
APPLICATION.
I conclude this chapter with a few remarks concern
ing its application to my general subject. The resur
rection of Jesus from the tomb proves him to be what
he claimed. He claimed to be the Messiah; therefore
he is the Messiah. He claimed to be the Son of God ;
therefore he is the Son of God. And being such,
whatever he taught is true. The Christian Religion
is true, for he is its head and founder. The Old
Testament is true, for he endorsed it. The New
Testament is true, for he told the apostles that
his Spirit should guide them into all the truth. The
Gospel promises are true, for he gave them. The
faith of the Gospel is true, for he is the " author
and finisher of the faith." In short, since it is
established that Jesus rose from the dead, all the
claims of his holy religion are established, the whole
superstructure stands unshaken and immovable; and
we may have strong confidence, who have fled for
refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us, know
ing in whom we have believed. And Christianity be-
ino- true, it follows that the Hero of Redemption is with

254 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
the Father, worthy of all adoration and praise, being
the fairest among thousands, and the one altogether
lovely. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end, the first and the last. His redeeming love
is the sweetest and most exalted theme for tongue or
pen, and his Church the fairest flower that blooms in
the garden of God.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 255

CHAPTER III.

The Claims of Christ Corroborated and Confirmed
by Concurring Circumstances and Co-incidences.

"A thousand oracles divine
Their common beams unite,
That sinners may with angels Join
To worship God aright." — 0. Wesley.

PHEN we see a tailor thread his needle, we
perceive that the eye of the needle and the
point of the thread come together with pre
cision and naturalness. We readily discern
the reason. There is a mind back of both, guiding
and directing. When we stand upon a lofty eminence
and behold a vast army performing the various mili
tary manoeuvres orderly and with ease ; then see them
advance upon the fortifications of the enemy, part at
tacking in front, part in rear, and part on right or
left; we see the same principle on a larger scale. The
thought at once suggests itself that there is one mind
controlling all the movements of the various divisions
of the army.
Furthermore, when we see a steam-flouring mill in
operation, we can trace all of the machinery and the

256 hand-book of christian evidence.
various fixtures to the millstones. We readily per
ceive that one mind arranged everything with refer
ence to those and the work which they perform, from
the boiler to the hopper ; and that the bolting-machine
and all the contrivances connected with the flour after
it is ground, are arranged for the purpose of complet
ing the work begun by the millstones. In other words,
that there is unity and design in the arrangements and
mechanism of a flouring mill, and that the millstones
are the centre of that unity.
When we turn our attention from art to nature we
find the same great principles prevailing. When we
scan the foot-prints of creation, we are impressed
with the thought that everything was made with refer
ence to man ; that he is the grand central figure with
reference to which everythiug was created, and for
whose benefit all things were brought into being. We
see him typified and foreshadowed in all the animals
which were by successive steps brought into existence
before his creation. Then, after his creation we see
the various animals serving him and administering to
his wants. This great truth is taught, not by sacred
history only, but by science as well. Prof. Owen
says: —
"All the parts and organs of man had been sketched out in anti
cipation, so to speak, in the inferior animals; and the recognition
of an ideal exemplar in the vertebrated animals, proves that the
knowledge of such a being as man must have existed before man
appeared. For the Divine Mind which planned the archetype also
foreknew all its modifications. The archetypal idea was manifested
in the flesh long prior to the creation of man."

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 257
Further on, this eloquent writer remarks : —
"We learn from the past history of our globe that she has ad
vanced with slow and steady steps, guided by the archetypal light
amidst the wreck of world's from the first embodiment of the verte
brate idea under its old ichthyic vestment, until it became arranged
in the glorious garb of the human form." — Milligan's Scheme of
Redemption, pages 146 und 147.
That most eminent scientist, Prof. Agassiz, says: —
" The plan of man's organization begins with the fish, and we
can trace it through the successive geological formations. * * *
Is it then too much to say that when the first vertebrate was called
into existence in the shape of a fish, it was part of the plan of that
framework into which its life was moulded that it should end with
man, the last and the highest in the order of succession." —
Graham Lectures, pages 107, 138.
Now, as the creation and career of man is the cen
tral idea in the physical world, so the advent and work
of Christ is central in the moral and spiritual universe.
Other religions foreshadowed and typified his religion,
as other animals foreshadowed and typified man. And
since his advent all the great events of history have
been subservient to him, as the inferior animals are
subservient to man.
Prof. Tyler very truly says : —
"As the earth was manifestly being made and prepared for man
during all the ages before he was placed upon it, and all the lower
forms of existence now minister to him, so all the ages of human
history prior to Christianity, and the progress of society and the
march of history since, all tends to the gradual establishment and
final consummation of this highest form of the civilization of man
and of the kingdom of God." — Theology of the Greek Poets, p. 3.
Any man who penetrates the earth with the Bible in
his hand, as Hugh Miller did, and compares the " tes
timony of the rocks ' ' with the revelations of the Rock
of Ages and the facts of history cannot fail to be im-

258 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
pressed with this grand truth. That eminent scientist
says : —
" No sooner had the first Adam appeared and fallen than a new
school of prophecy began, in which type and symbol were mingled
with what had now its first existence on earth, verbal enunciations,
and all pointed to the second Adam, the Lord from heaven. In him
creation and the Creator meet in reality, and not in mere semblance,
as in the first Adam. On the very apex of the finished pyramid of
being sits the adorable Monarch of all, as the son of Mary, of Da
vid, of the first Adam, the created of God, the eternal Creator of
the Universe. And these, the two Adams, form the main theme of
all prophecy both natural and revealed. And that type and symbol
should have been employed with reference not only to the second,
but to the first Adam ; also, exemplifies, we are disposed to think,
the unity of the style of Deity, and serves to show that it was He
who created the worlds that dictated the Scriptures." — Footprints
of the Creator, as quoted by Pres. Milligan, Seh. of Red., p. 140.
Before the coming of Christ we see a wonderful
preparation for him everywhere — in Hebrew religion,
in Greek culture, and in Roman jurisprudence and
politics. The Jews furnished pupils to sit at the feet
of the Great Teacher, and transmit his sublime teach
ings to mankind, as well as technicalities and illustra
tions to aid in setting forth the grand ideas of his
kingdom; the Greeks furnished the language in which
to express those grand ideas; while the Romans con
quered all nations and furnished the heralds of the
cross a universal empire in which to operate. Besides,
all nations contributed toward the creation of a uni
versal longing for the " Coming One," called in the
Old Testament the " Desire of all Nations."
The preparation for him among the Jews was, as
Prof. Schaff observes, mostly positive, but partly
negative ; while among the Gentile nations it was

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 259
mostly negative, but also in some measure positive.
While the Israelites had their Moses, and their long
line of prophets, other nations had such men as Zoro
aster, Confucius, Socrates, Epimenedes, et al., who
were no doubt raised up in the good providence of
God to be temporary teachers of their countrymen, and
to point them forward to one greater than they, the
latchet of whose shoes they were not worthy to stoop
down and loose. While God " made known his ways
unto Moses, his acts unto the children of Israel," he
" left not himself without witness" among other na
tions. While Israel beheld the full-orbed moon, other
nations were lighted on their journey by the twinkling
stars. But in neither case did God vouchsafe any
more light than was necessary to lead the world to the
"True Light," which came to earth to illumine
every man. Just as in the creation the darkness pre
ceded the light, and the evening came before the day,
so history presents to us the progress of religious de
velopment. The coming of Christ was preceded by
the world's night. Darkness hung like a pall over the
inhabitants of the whole earth. The moon, however,
was shining in Israel, and away off in the heathen
world there twinkled innumerable stars. At length
the Sun of Righteousness arose — his rays dispelled
the night, eclipsed the stars, and caused the moon to
appear but dimly. This figure holds good throughout.
"The darkest hour is just before day." And all
the systems of religion and morality had before the

260 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
coming of Christ begun to wax old and decay, and
were like an old garment ready to be folded up and
laid aside — the Jews had corrupted their religion and
divided into conflicting sects, while the surrounding
nations were sinking in vice in spite of their philoso
phers and moralists. The brief period from John the
Baptist to the resurrection of Christ corresponds to the
aurora which precedes the rising sun and announces his
approach. The sun was first seen when Jesus rose
from the dead, and shown forth in all his golden splen
dor when the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost —
since then the world enjoys the light of day. And as
the moon is sometimes obscured by clouds, so the
Mosaic religion before the coming of Messiah was
sometimes obscured by the prevalence of idolatry or
national captivity. And as the sun is sometimes ob
scured by clouds, so the bright light of Christianity has
to some extent been bedimmed by error and supersti
tion. But it is very easy to distinguish day from night,
even if the sun is not visible ; and if any man fails to
see that the Christian era is an improvement upon
everything that preceded it, it is because he is not
familiar with history.
The history of the world before Christ is, to a large
extent, the history of Messianic preparation. One
event followed another to fit the world for his coming.
As Neander says in substance, the world was prepared
for Christ by the great co-operative events of many
past centuries. The Mosaic law and the enunciation

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 261
of prophets, the Jewish dispersion and the translation
of the Scriptures, Greek culture and Roman domin
ion, the teachings of philosophers and the maxims of
sages, the responses of oracles and the noise of Sibyls,
national intercourse and commercial relations, all united
harmoniously to prepare the world for a universal law
giver, and a higher, nobler, sublimer, and more effec
tive religion, Consequently, when Christ came, they
were expecting him. The world was longing for such
a teacher. Prof. Schaff says the best feature of that
age was a " religious yearning, which takes refuge from
the turmoil and pain of life in the sanctuary of hope,
but, unable to supply its own wants, is compelled to
seek salvation entirely beyond itself." Hear him fur
ther : —
" Expectations of the coming of a Messiah in various forms and
degrees of clearness were at that time, by the political, intellectual,
and religious contact and collision of the nations, spread over the
whole world, and, like the first red streaks upon the horizon, an
nounced the approach of day. The Persians were looking for their
Sosiosch, who was to conquer Ahriman and his kingdom of dark
ness. The Chinese sage, Confucius, pointed his disciples to a Holy
One, who should appear in the West. The wise astrologers who
came" to Jerusalem to worship the new-born king -of the Jews
(Matt, ii : 1 sqq.) we must look upon as the noblest representatives
of the Messianic hopes of the Oriental heathen. The western na
tions, on the contrary, looked toward the East, the land of the ris
ing sun, and of all wisdom. Suetonius and Tacitus speak of a
current saying in the Roman Empire, that in the East, and more
particularly in Judea, a new universal empire would soon be
founded." * — Apostolic Church, pp. 183, 184.
The statement of Suetonius (Suet. Vespas., ch. 4)
* " That these historians falsely apply the saying to Vespasian, is alto
gether immaterial here." — Schaff.

262 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
and Tacitus (Hist, v: 13), alluded to by the learned
historian, is also made by Josephus, as follows: —
"But that which principally encouraged them to war, was an
ambiguous oracle, found also in their sacred writings, that some
one of their country should obtain the empire of the world." —
Wars, B. 6, c. v., sec. 4.
A while before the coming of Christ, the general
expectation was beautifully expressed by the poet,
Virgil : — " The last age, decreed hy late, is come ;
And a new frame of aU things does hegin.
A holy progeny from heaven descends,
Auspicious be his birth I which puts an end
To th' iron age 1 and from whence shall rise
A golden state far glorious through the earth." — Virgil, Ec. 4.
Not only was Christ's coming preceded by prepara
tion and paralleled by expectation, but his religion
proved a grand success. Not only did all the streams
of history flow to him, but he gathered them up and
turned them into another channel. Despite all his
skepticism, the historian, Gibbon, is constrained to
say : —
" A candid but rational inquiry into the progress and establishment
of Christianity may be considered a very essential part of the history
of the Roman Empire. While the great body was invaded by open
violence, or undermined by slow decay, a pure and humble religion
gently insinuated itself into the minds of men, grew up in silence
and obscurity, derived new vigor from opposition, and finally erected
the triumphant banner of the cross on the ruins of the Capitol. Nor
was the influence of Christianity confined to the limits of the Roman
Empire. After a revolution of thirteen or fourteen centuries, that
religion is still professed by the nations of Europe, the most dis
tinguished portion of the human kind in arts and learning, as well
as in arms. By the industry and zeal of the Europeans, it has been
diffused to the most distant shores of Asia and Africa, and by means
of their colonies has been firmly established from Canada to Chili,
in a, world unknown to the ancients." — Decline aud Fall of the
Roman Empire, ch. 15, p. 604.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 263
Judge Jeremiah S. Black, in his reply to Ingersoll,
in the North American Review rises to the heights of
logic and eloquence when he comes to speak of the
advent of Christ. We quote: —
"When Jesus of Nazareth announced himself to be Christ, the
Son of God, in Judea, many thousand persons who heard his words
and saw his works believed in his divinity without hesitation. Since
the morning of the creation nothing has occurred so wonderful as
the rapidity with which this religion spread itself abroad. Men who
were in the noon of life when Jesus was put to death as a male
factor lived to see him worshipped as God by organized bodies of
believers in every province in the Koman empire. In a few more
years it took complete possession of the general mind, supplanted
all other religions, and wrought a radical change in human society.
lt did this in the face of obstacles which, according to every human
calculation, were insurmountable. It was antagonized by all the
evil propensities, the sensual wickedness, and vulgar crimes of the
multitude,' as well as the polished vices of the luxurious classes ; and
was most violently opposed even by those sentiments and habits of
thought which were esteemed virtuous, such as patriotism and mil
itary heroism. It encountered not only the ignorance of supersti
tion, but the learning and philosophy, the poetry, eloquence and art
of the time. Barbarism and civilization were alike its deadly
enemies. The priesthood of every established religion and the
authority of every government were arrayed against it. All these,
combined together and roused to ferocious hostility, were over
come, not by the enticing words of man's wisdom, but by the simple
presentation of a pure and peaceful doctrine, preached by obscure
strangers at the daily peril of their lives. Is it Mr. Ingersoll's idea
that this happened by chance, like the creation of the world? If not,
there are but two other ways to account for it; either the evidence
by which the apostles were able to prove the supernatural origin of
the gospel was overwhelming and irresistible, or else its propaga
tion was provided for and carried on by the direct aid of the Divine
Being Himself. Between these two, Infidelity may make its own
choice."

And, with all his Infidelity, Ernest Renan says : —
"By an exceptional destiny, pure Christianity presents itself at
e end of eighteen centuries with the character of a universal and
ernal religion." — Life of Jesus.
After thus expressing the conviction that Christian-

264 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
ity will be eternal in its duration, he gives the reason.
He says: —
" It is because in fact the religion of Jesus is, in some respects,
the final religion." — Life of Jesus, p. 365.
Yes, and this mighty religion is still moving majesti
cally on, and idolatry and superstition melt before it
like snow before the summer sun. Cheering reports
come from the distant islands of the sea. Mr. Inglis,
missionary to islands in the South Pacific Ocean, says
when he went to Aneitum, 25 years ago, there was not
a widow on that island, because they were doomed to
death when their husband died, and their corpse thrown
into the sea with his ; but that the " horrible practice
has entirely disappeared under the Christianizing in
fluence of the missionaries; " the inhabitants having
become Christians. Thirty-six years ago the island of
Samoa had a population of 34,000 idolaters. Now the
population is 80,000; all nominal, and many practical ,
Christians. — Christian Standard, Jan. 11, 1879. I
clip the following from an Infidel paper: —
"Moncure D. Conwaywrites from London: The many investiga
tions into the affairs of India, now going on, show that the freedom
and immunity from religious coercion which English supremacy
have superinduced in that country, is playing havoc with the old
deities. The people must for some time have been inwardly
alienated from their gods, so long served and sacrified to without
returning to quid pro quo of health and wealth, and now that they
are free to abandon, they do so right and left, and the priesthood
are at their wits' end to find gods to prop their falling influence." —
Common Sense, Aug. 15, 1877.
A faithful survey of Mr. Adams' Map of History,
and a candid comparison of events before, at the time,

DIVIXE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 265
and since Christ, at once demonstrates the truth that
Jesus is the key of all history. Even Infidels are fre
quently impressed with this thought, and some of them
are frank enough to admit it. Renan says : —
"All history is incomprehensible without him." — Life of Jesus
p. 50. Another distinguished Infidel, Mr. B. W. Richmond,
says: —
" That Christ represents the moral centre of our earth, I fully be
lieve. His moral maxims can not be altered or made clearer by any
possible form of words."
Then, as though calling to mind the long train of
prophecies fulfilled in Jesus, and the fulfillment of
predictions uttered by him, he continues : —
" I believe in the law of prophecy as inherent in the human
mind." Then, seeming to remember the high claims of Jesus
and the wonderful influence which he has exerted
upon humanity, he adds : —
"Christ is the moral centre of the universe." — Richmond and
Brittan Debate, p. 256.
Such a view of the subject as we have before us,
maintains the steady progress of mankind in religion,
from an age of formalities and ceremonies, to an era
of simplicity and symmetrical development. It asserts
the continuity of God's interest in the human family,
and we are permitted to feel nearly every link of the
chain which binds the worshippers of our day to those
of the remotest antiquity, on the one hand, and those
of the latest posterity on the other. It at once shows

266 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
Christianity to be, to use the language of Walter Scott,
' ' of such a nature and character as necessarily and
legitimately links it to the faith of all nations in all
ages." — Great Demonstration, p. 20.
Such a view is calculated, as the very learned and
philosophic Dr. Cocker expresses it: —
" To deepen and vivify our faith in the Christian system of truth,
by showing that it does not rest solely on a special clasS'Of facts,
but upon all the facts of nature and humanity; that its authority
does not repose alone on the peculiar and supernatural events
which transpired in Palestine, but also on the still broader founda
tion of the ideas and laws of the reason, and the common wants
and instinctive yearnings of the human heart. * * * The
course and constitution of nature, the whole current of history, and
the entire development of human thought in the ages anterior to
the advent of the Redeemer center in, and can only be interpreted
by, the the purpose of redemption." — Christianity and Greek
Philosophy. And what this able writer says of the "ages ante
rior to the advent of the Redeemer," is equally true of
the epochs of history since the advent. Events before
Christ, point forward to him ; events in the time of
Christ, cluster around him; events since Christ, point
back to him. With this conception before the mind,
I will now present a few particulars in detail: —
A. — The hatred between the ancient Jews and other
nations was inveterate. The Jews had "no dealings
with the Samaritans," nor with the Gentiles.
1. But notwithstanding the antipathy of the He
brews towards other nations, their ancient prophets
rose superior to all national considerations, and fore
told that the Gentiles should trust in the Messiah and
share the blessings of his reign. Is. xi: 10; Ix: 35;

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 267
lxv:l; Joel ii:32; Deut. xxxii: 43; Ps. lxvi: 1-4;
cxvii: 1; Micah iv: 1-3; Jer. xvi: 19; Compare
Romans xv: 12.
2. When Jesus was born an old prophet declared
that he should be " a light to lighten the Gentiles ! "
as well as the glory of Israel (Luke ii: 32); and
Christ himself told the Jews: "other sheep I have
which are not of this fold ; them also I must bring,
and they shall hear my voice ; and there shall be one
fold, and one Shepherd." — John x: 16.
3. When the time came to disciple ' the Gentiles,
there was not a man among all the apostles of Jesus
that was fully competent to perform the work neces
sary to be done. John was too mild. James was too
much interested in the welfare of his own country
men. Peter had the courage, but lacked the ability.
They all lacked the proper education. It required a
man of profound learning, indomitable energy, untir
ing zeal, unswerving fidelity, unflinching courage and
remarkable prudence. Such a man was Saul of Tar
sus. He was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and
possessed his teacher's wisdom and prudence. Be
sides, he had the advantage of being a young man in
the prime of life and vigor of youth. Though a He
brew of the Hebrews, he was raised in a Gentile city,
and was conversant with Greek and Roman literature.
He understood the wants of the Gentiles and their
disposition. He was the very man to take hold of the
divine religion of Jesus Messiah, and establish it firmly

268 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
in the Roman Empire. He could address Jews and
Greeks alike in their own language, and with a knowl
edge of their thoughts and feelings. I venture to say
that there was not a man in the whole world suited to
fill the place then vacant, but Saul of Tarsus! But,
alas ! Instead of being found among the disciples of
Jesus, he was among their persecutors. What is to be
done? Be silent, O heaven! and give ear, O earth!
A wonderful change has suddenly taken place. • The
news spreads like wildfire, " Saul now preaches the
faith he once destroyed!" The exclamation of an
cient times, "Is Saul also among the prophets?" did
not so astonish those that heard it. It reverberated
like a clap of thunder in a clear sky ! From that time
forward Paul devoted his talents, his life, his all, to
the work which he alone was competent to perform.
B. — Christianity is preeminently the religion of hu
manity — a religion for all nations.
1. Judaism (though divine) was a narrow, national
religion. As Gibbon remarks, "admirably fitted for
defence — never designed for conquest." The author
of it never intended that it should make proselytes.
And in early history, its adherents made no effort at
proselyting, and though in Christ's time " they com
passed sea and land to make one proselyte," the more
ancient aspect was quite different, and is thus described
by the learned Max Muller : —
" The Jews, particularly in ancient times never thought of spread
ing their religion. Their religion was to them a treasure, a privi-

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 269
lege, a blessing, something to distinguish them, as the chosen
people of God, from all the rest of the world. A Jew must be of
the seed of Abraham ; and when in later times, owing chiefly to
political circumstances, the Jews had to admit strangers to some
of the privileges of their theocracy, they looked upon them, not as
souls that had been gained, saved, born again into a new brother
hood, but as strangers, as proselytes ; which means men who have
come to them as aliens — not to be trusted, as their saying was,
until the twenty-fourth generation." — Lect. on Missions.
2. But the religion of Christ is remarkably cosmo
politan in character. Jesus was entirely free from all
national prejudice — he loved all men without regard
to race or condition — and in his last words to his
apostles he said to them to go and " teach all nations "
— " preach the Gospel to every creature " — and that
they should bear witness of him in Judea and Samaria,
•and to the uttermost parts of the earth.
3. Soon, men of the various nations represented in
the vast empire of Rome, who could not unite on Juda
ism, nor on any heathen system of religion, were wor
shipping in peace and harmony in the Christian
congregations, and addressing each other as brethren;
while the apostles were rejoicing that the middle wall
of partition was broken down, and Jews and Gentiles
were all one in Christ. Renan was so struck with this
aspect of the religion of Jesus that he was constrained
to say : —
" He founded the pure worship of no age, of no clime, which
shall be that of all lofty souls to the end of time."
He also speaks of it as the "religion of human
ity." — Life of Jesus, p.- 215.
C.  Notice how everything concurs as to the time of
Messiah.

270 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
1. The time of his advent was foretold. — Gen.
xlix: 10;* Dan. ii:44; ix: 25; Haggai ii: 3-9; Ez.
21: 25-27.
2. Jesus entered on his mission with the declaration:
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand."— Mark i:15.
3. Afterward the Apostle Paul declared: "When
the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his
Son." — Gal. iv : 4.
" The moment had arrived which God had ordained from the be
ginning, and foretold by his prophets for Messiah's coming. It
was not at a time arbitrarily chosen, that Christ appeared, nor did
God send him forth but when mankind was ripe for his appearing.
The exact period had arrived when all things were ready." — Light
foot on Gal.
D. — It cannot be said that Jesus took advantage of
the general expectation and imposed himself upon
his couutrymen as their Messiah, when he was not»
for he did not pander to their common views and
expectations. 1. The Jews in the time of Christ expected in the
Messiah a military leader, who should free them
from the foreign yoke and establish a temporal king
dom. 2. But Christ did not encourage them to cherish
any such ideas. He gave them to understand that
his kingdom should be internal, spiritual. "The
kingdom of God," said he, " cometh not with observa
tion." * See foot note on page 30.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 271
3. The original prophecies, however, accorded more
nearly with what Christ was and did, than with what
the Jews were expecting. The prophecies were by
that generation of the Jews misinterpreted ; but Jesus
disregarded their interpretation, and acted according
to the original predictions. This is very strong evi
dence in his favor when we remember that all false
Messiahs endeavored to conform to the popular expec
tation.E. — The place of his birth was foretold.
1. The predictions pointed to Bethlehem.
"But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among
the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me
that is to be ruler in Israel ; whose goings forth have been from of
old, from everlasting." — Micah v : 2.
2. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, though his mother
did not reside there. — Luke ii : 4.
3. When Herod demanded of the chief priests and
scribes where the Messiah should be born, they an
swered: "In Bethlehem of Judea," and quoted the
above prophecy. — Matt, ii: 4, 5.
F. — The Jewish Dispersion contributed greatly to
ward the general preparation for Christianity.
1. Says Philip Schaff : —
" It is well known that, after the Babylonish exile, the Jews
were scattered over the whole world. Comparatively few of them
availed themselves of the permission, granted by Cyrus, to return
to Palestine. The majority remained in Babylonia, or wandered
into other lands. In Alexandria, for example, at the time of Christ,
almost half the inhabitants were Jews, who, by trading, had become
rich and powerful." — Apostolic Ch., p. 176.
There were also, as the Professor goes on to say,

272 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
many Jews in Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome. They
still considered Jerusalem as their centre, and visited
it from time to time at their great festivals.
2. Many of these were present when Christ was
crucified, and when the gospel was first preached on
Pentecost, and could scatter the news far and wide.
Dr. Smith in his Bible Dictionary divides the "Dis
persion " into three divisions, Babylonian, Syrian,
and Egyptian, and says each division had representa
tives present on the day of Pentecost.
3. When the apostles went forth to preach they
found nearly everywhere Jews with an open Bible and
a knowledge of the true God. Here was a good
foundation to build on. Not only so, but this disper
sion prepared the soil among the Gentiles. As Dr.
Augustus Neander says in substance, a reverence for
the God of Israel and the sanctuary of the splendid
Temple at Jerusalem, had long since found access
among the Gentiles. Consequently a disposition to
embrace Judaism had become so widely extended, par
ticularly in several of the large capital towns, that, as
is well known, the Roman authors, in the time of the
first Emperors, often make it a subject of complaint.
Thus Seneca, in his tract upon superstition, said of the
Jews, " The conquered have given laws to the con
querors." — Neander, v. l,p. 92.
G. — Hellenistic Greek was an important factor in
the establishment of the Christian system.
1. A century before Christ, the pure Hebrew was

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 273
superceded by a corrupt Aramaean dialect, known as
Syro-Chaldaic. But the Hellenistic Greek had for near
three centuries been the common medium of communi
cation throughout the civilized world.
2. This language was adopted by the apostles as the
language in which to write the New Testament. Be
ing a Greek language enriched by Hebrew idioms, it
was well adapted to the purpose of recording a uni
versal religion. A late writer compares Greece to an
intelligent secretary, for helping apostles, and others,
to publish their histories, epistles, and visions, in the
best manner possible, for the best intellects of the age.
Mountford in " Miracles, past and present." p. 456.
3. It has been well remarked by Prof. Schaff: —
"The language of Hellas is the most beautiful, rich, and har
monious ever spoken or written, and Christianity has conferred the
highest honor on it, by making it the organ of her sacred truths.
We may say, it was predestined to form the pictures of silver, in
which the golden apple of the gospel should be preserved for all
generations. To this end Providence so ordered, that, by the con
quests of Alexander the Great, and the planting of Greek colonies
in the East, as also by reason of the copiousness, and intrinsic value
of the Greek literature and its influence upon the Roman mind,
this language had, before the birth of Christ, become the language
of the whole civilized world. Through it the apostles could make
themselves understood in any city in the Roman Empire." — App.
Ch.,p. 145.
H. — The Septuagent formed another grand link in
the chain.
1. The Old Testament was translated into Hellenis
tic Greek about two hundred and fifty years before
Christ. 2. When Christ came the Septuagent was read not
IB

274 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
only by Jews, but by Gentiles as well, in many parts'
of the Roman Empire.
3. When the apostles went forth to proclaim the
glad tidings of salvation, they found a knowledge of
the Old Testament diffused more or less throughout
the Roman Empire. The beautiful language of Hellas
became general a short time before the Septuagent
translation was made, and a short time after the New
Testament was completed it became a dead language.
I. — One sceptre ruled the world.
1. Before the advent of Christ, Roman arms had
triumphed over all the nations and established a uni
versal empire.
2. So when Christ came one sceptre swayed the
world, this colossal empire extending from the
Euphrates to the Atlantic, and from the Lybian desert
to the Rhine.
3. This was highly favorable to the mission of the
apostles. Says Gibbon: —
" It has been observed, with truth as well as propriety, that the
conquests of Rome prepared and facilitated those of Christianity."
Decline and Fall, chap. 15.
Says Schaff : —
"This state of things must, of course, have been highly favora
ble to the messengers of the gospel ; it gave them free access to all
nations ; furnished them all advantages possible at that time for
communication, gave them, everywhere, as citizens, the protection
of Roman law, and, in general, prepared the soil of the world, at
at least outwardly, to receive the doctrine of one all-embracing King
dom of God." — Apostolic Ch.,p. 157.
J. — The universal peace was a favorable circum
stance.

DIVIXE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 275
1. A short time previous to the birth of Christ the
world was disquieted by fierce and bloody wars. The
civil war between Julius Csesar and Pompey, 49 B. C,
was co-extensive with the empire. The bloody battle
of Pharsalia, which decided the fak< of Pompey, is de
scribed in pathetic strains by the poet Lucian. I
make a brief extract : —
" Stnpid awhile, and at a gaze they stood,
While creeping horror froze the lazy blood;
Some small remains of piety withstand,
And stop the javelin in the uplifted hand ;
Remorse for one short moment stepp'd between,
And motionless as statues all were seen.
"But oh ! what grief the ruin can deplore !
What verse can run the various slaughter o'er!
For lesser woes our sorrows may we keep ;
No tears suffice a dying world to weep,
In different groups ten thousand deaths arise,
And horrors manifold the soul surprise."
The subsequent civil war between Brutus and Cassius
was similar.
2. But during the time Christ was on earth, and
until his gospel had been preached everywhere by the
apostles, peace reigned supreme throughout the vast
empire — the whole world was at rest. This universal
peace is thus described by an English poet : —
" No war nor battle's sound
Was heard the world around ;
The idle spear and shield were high up hung;
The hooked chariot stood
Unstained with hostile blood;
The trumpet spake not to the armed throng;
And kings sat still with awful eye,
As if they surely knew their sovereign Lord was by."
— Milton's Ode to the Nativity

276 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
3. This universal, peace just at that time, is all the
more remarkable when we remember that war soon
broke out again, and raged with exceeding fierceness.
The reader, of course, is familiar with the history of that
cruel and bloody war which resulted in the destruction of
Jerusalem. I need not pause to remark that the uni
versal peace was essential to the reception of Christ
and the success of his gospel kingdom.
K. — The heralds of the cross were favored by the ex
cellent Roman roads which pervaded the empire.
1. The historian Gibbon says: —
"All the cities of the Roman Empire were connected with each
other, and with the capital by public highways, which, issuing from
the forum of Rome traversed Italy, pervaded the provinces, and were
terminated only by the frontiers of the empire."
2. When the apostles went forth, in obedience to
the command of their Master, to preach to all nations,
they found very favorable facilities for safe and speedy
travel. As we learn from Neander, the connection of
the provinces with their metropolitan towns, and of the
larger portion of the empire with the more consider
able cities, were all circumstances favorable to this
end. Such cities as Alexandria, Antioch, Ephesus and
Corinth, were the centres of a wide, commercial, polit
ical and literary correspondence, and on this account
became the principal seats for the propagation of the
Gospel, and the ones in which the firstpreachers tarried
longest. That commercial intercourse which from the
earliest times had served, not merely for the barter of
worldly goods, but also for the exchange ofthe nobler

divine Origin of christian religion. 277
treasures of the mind, was now used as a channel for
the diffusion of the greatest spiritual blessings. — Ne
ander, " Church Hist." vol. 1, chap. 1.
3. The apostles made use of these advantages.
Gibbon says : —
" The public highways, which had been constructed for the use
of the legions, opened an easy passage for the Christian mission
aries from Damascus to Corinth, and from Italy to the extremity
of Spain or Britain; nor did those spiritual conquerors encounter
any of the obstacles which usually retard or prevent the introduc
tion of a foreign religion into a distant country. There is the
strongest reason to believe, that before the reigns of Dioclesian and
Constantine, the faith of Christ had been preached in every province,
and all the great cities of the empire." — Decline and Fall, chap. 1 5.
L. — The way was prepared by a conference of three
great powers.
1. The three nations which contributed most toward
the general preparation for Christianity, were the Jews,
Greeks and Romans.
2. The superscription over Christ on the cross was
written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin.
3. The Hebrews furnished the religion; the Greeks,
the language in which to express it; the Romans, the
territory and circumstances favorable for its proclama
tion ; while the directing hand of God is seen in the
work of all.
M. — A history of the conduct of the Jews gives
evidence for Jesus.
1. Before the coming of Christ they held on to the
religion of their fathers with wonderful tenacity.
2. But many thousands of them were converted to
Christ in the days of the apostles. Had it not been

278 hand-book of christian evidence.
for those Jews who accepted Christianity at the first,
the religion could not have been established.
3. When we remember that it is almost impossible
to convert a Jew now, we are forced to the conclu
sion that those multitudes of them who accepted Jesus
in the First Century must have had conclusive and ir
resistible proof of his Messiahship.
N. — All things concur in pointing to Christ as the
Summum Bonum of the world.
1. Zoroaster, author of the Zend Avesta, taught the
Persians a religion much purer than the idolatrous
systems around them. From the time of that great
reformer to Christ, they were expecting a Mithras
(mediator), Sosiosch by name, who should descend
from above, born in a supernatural manner, proclaimed
by a sign from heaven.
2. At the birth of Jesus a wonderful star appeared.
Says Prof. Schaff: —
"Respecting the Star of the Magi, and the remarkable astronom
ical calculations of Kepler and others, which have shown, that at
the time of Christ's birth (four years before the Dionysian era),
a conjunction of the planets, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars took place
in the constellation Pisces, to- which was added an extraordinary
star, compare Wiesler's Chronologische Synopse der vier Evang.,
1843, p. 57 ." — Apostolic Church, p. 184.
3. When Jesus was an infant, Magi came from the
East, the direction of Persia, (whose wise men, like
those of some other nations, were called Magi), de
claring that they had. seen his star in the East, and
had come to acknowledge him as King : —
" Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired
of them diligently what time the star appeared.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 279
And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search dili
gently for the young child ; and when ye have found him, bring me
word again, that I may come and worship him also.
When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star,
which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood
over where the young child was.
When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
And when they were come into the house, they saw the youn°-
child with Mary, his mother, and fell down, and worshipped himt
and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him
gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return
to Herod, they departed into their own country another wav " 
Matt, ii: 1-12.
O. — Platonism pointed as a finger-board to the
Gospel.
1. Prof. W. S. Tyler, of Amherst College, very
truly says: —
" Socrates and Plato anticipated the advent of a divine teacher,
advising to forego the usual sacrifices till such a teacher should
come, and ' representing, with prophetic sagacity and precision,
that he must be poor and void of all qualifications but those of vir
tue alone, that a wicked world would not hear his instructions and
reproofs, and, therefore, in three or four years after he began to
preach, he would be persecuted, imprisoned, scourged, and at last,
put to death.' See Harris' Great Teacher, page 50, where it is sug
gested that Socrates and Plato enjoyed a degree of inspiration." —
Theology of the Greek Poets, p. 44*
2. Prof. Schaff says: —
"Of all the systems of Grecian philosophy, the one which un
doubtedly exerted the most powerful and beneficial influence on
the religious life of the heathens, and was preeminently fitted to
be a scientific school-master to bring men to Christ, was Platonism.
* * * Platonisnx may be regarded as, in many respects, a direct
* Bishop Newton says: "Wonderful as the gift of prophecy was, it was
not always confined to the chosen seed, nor yet always imparted to the best
of men." —Newton on the Prophecies, p. 59.
Such cases show at least, as Prof. Tyler remarks, " that God has laid a
foundation for inspiration in the constitution of the human mind upon which
we should expect him to set up a corresponding superstructure. If he
intended to impart inspiration, it would be wise to implant in man a prepara
tion and an expectation to receive it; and having implanted such an expecta
tion, it were strange indeed if he should never meet it." — Theo. Gkeek
Poets, p. 45.

280 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
guide to the Gospel. It carries us back to Socrates (399 B. C.), the
greatest and most remarkable moral personage of Heathendom." —
App. Ch., p. 150.
3. To many church fathers, like Justin Martyr and
Origen, the Platonic philosophy became a stepping
stone to lead them to the Gospel faith. Augustine
confesses that it aided him to break the shackles of
skepticism, and Eusebius says: "Plato alone, of all
the Greeks, reached the vestibule of truth, and stood
upon its threshold." The Platonic writings have also
aided Neander and others, in later times, to come to a
knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus.
P. — The Sibylline Oracles.* — "Straws show which
way the wind blows."
1. The year that Pompey entered Jerusalem, not a
very great while before the birth of Jesus, the Sibyls
made a great noise that " nature was about to bring
forth a king to the Romans." This so terrified the
Roman Senate, as we learn from Suetonius, that they
decreed that none born that year should be educated.
He further says : —
"Those whose wives were pregnant that year did each conceive
great hopes of applying the prophecy to themselves." — Life of
Augustus. According to Appian, Sallust-, and Plutarch, this
prediction so stirred Cornelius Lentulus that he thought
* Note. —The Sibyls were certain women of different places and times'
supposed by the heathen to be inspired by the gods. One of these is said to
have offered Tarquin the Second, King of the Romans, nine volumes of her
prophecies, at a very high price, which he refused to give. She then burnt
three of them, and demanded the same price for the remaining six, and when
Tarquin refused to purchase them she burnt tnree more, requiring still the
same price for the three which were left. These were bought, and preserved
with great care at Rome for many years, till the temple of Jupiter Capitolinius
was burned. See Ameiucan Cyclopaedia.

DIVINE ORIGIN OP CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 281
he should be the king of the Romans. But Cicero
laughed at the application, and affirmed that it could
not be applied to any one born in Rome.
2. Augustus Csesar, in whose reign Christ was born,
had 2,000" Sibylline books burned. Thence forward
these " prophetesses " were silent. — See American
Cyclopedia, Art. Sibyl.
3. The early Christian apologists, such as Tatian,
Athenagoras, and Justin Martyr, used these Sibylline
prophecies with great power in their controversies
with the unbelieving heathens. Theopilus, Tertullian
and Augustine all cite them, and consider them of value
to the Christian cause.
Their chief value consists in the three concurring
facts, that they increased the general expectation;
ceased when Christ was born ; and helped the early
fathers to make converts to the Christian cause.
Q. — Delphin and other Oracles. — Feathers, when
thrown into the scales, exhibit some weight.
1. The celebrated oracle of Apollo, and others of
a similar character, contributed toward the general
preparation. Says Prof. Tyler : —
" Greece, and the ancient world, were the better for their exist
ence. What forbids us to suppose that they were, in some sense,
directed and overruled by Providence, and instead of being under
the control of evil spirits, which was the prevailing theory among
the Christian Fathers, were intended to be the forerunners among
the heathen, as the prophets were among the Jews, of the Christian
revelation? " — Theo. Gr. Poets, p. 211 .
2. When Christ was born they were hushed, and gave
no more responses. So depose both Plutarch and

282 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
Eusebius. — De Sera Numinis Vindicta, p. 150.
and New American Cyclopedia, Art. Oracle.
3. Some of the heathens grumble that after Christ
came the gods forsook them. Says the ancient Infidel
Porphyry: —
"And now people wonder that this distemper has oppressed the
city so many years. Esculapius, and the other gods, no longer
conversing with men. Por since Jesus has been honored, none
have received any public benefit from the gods." — Evang. Prep.,
book 5, chap. l,p. 181.
K. — It appears that there were men specially raised
up by Providence among the Gentiles, as well as
among the Jews, to prepare the world for Christ-
tianity. 1. Several centuries before Christ, when the city of
Athens was sorely afflicted by plagues, they sent for
Epimenides, a celebrated religious teacher in the Island
of Crete, who, upon his arrival, caused the erection of
an altar to THE UNKNOWN GOD; whereupon the
plague immediately ceased.
2. That served Paul an excellent purpose when he
went to Athens to introduce the Gospel among them. —
See Acts of Apostles, chap. xvii.
3. After this, and after Paul had been to Crete and
established churches there, he alluded to, and quoted
Epimenides as a prophet. — Titus i: 5, 12.
S. — Christ is the world's true sacrifice.
1 . From generation to generation the Jewish priests
offered sacrifices upon the altar in Jerusalem, but they
could not tell for what purpose. These sacrifices all
pointed forward to Christ.

DIVINE ORIGIN OE CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 283
2. When Jesus expired upon the cross the vail of
of the temple was rent in two from top to bottom.
See Matt, xxvii: 51; Mark and Luke, and Hebrews
x:20. 3. Soon after the Religion of Christ was established
in the world, the temple and altar in Jerusalem were
destroyed, and Jewish sacrifices entirely ceased. And
from that day to this the Jews have not offered their
legal sacrifices — the cock and hen slain on the day of
atonement being but a faint imitation.
T. — Ordinances point to Christ.
1. Jewish ordinances, such as the Passover, and
those in the temple service, point forward to him.
2- 13* CHRIST, ^f
3. Christian ordinances, such as baptism and the
Lord's Supper, point back to him.
TJ. — Christ's system of morality excels anything the
world ever knew.
1. Good moral maxims were scattered here and there
over the world, taught by such men as Epimenides,
Zoroaster, Confucius, and Socrates.
2. Jesus, without ever seeing or hearing the teach
ings of those. sages, as Renan concedes, gathered up
all the scattered fragments of morality, eliminated all
error, and blended them into one beautiful and har
monious whole, improved by the addition of every
precept that could be conceived of as of value to the
human family.

284 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
3. Gibbon assigns "the pure and austere morals of
the Christians " as one of the causes of the unparalleled
success of their system. — Decline and Fall, ch. 15.
V. — The Gospel facts are embodied in a form, and,
represented in acts performed by believers. —
Romans, ch. 6.
1. Christ died on the cross — believers die to sin.
2. Christ was buried in the tomb — believers are
buried in baptism.
3. Christ rose from the dead — believers rise to walk
in newness of life.
W. — Messiah was to come of the tribe of Judah.
1. The identity of that tribe was preserved till after
Christ, 2. Jesus was born of that tribe.
3. Soon after the advent of Christ, the tribe of
Judah was broken up and scattered, and all distinction
of tribes is now lost.
X. — There were only three tribes remaining in Pales
tine with identity preserved when Christ came —
Judah, Benjamin, and Levi.
1. Levi furnished John the Baptist.
2. Judah furnished Jesus Christ.
3. Benjamin furnished the Apostle Paul.
Y. — Jesus has afforded the world manifold comforts
and joys.
1 . It is very evident from the facts adduced that the
hearts of millions before his coming were cheered in

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 285
anticipation of that glorious event. The eloquent
George Gilfillan exclaims : —
" What heart, in what age or country, has not at some time or
other throbbed in the expectation of a Messiah, a " Coming One,"
destined to right the wrongs, staunch the wounds, explain the mys
tery, and satisfy the ideal of this wondrous, weary, hapless, and un
intelligible world— who shall reconcile it to itself , by giving ita
purer model of life, and a nobler principle of action; who shall
form a living link, welding it to the high and distant heaven; who
shall restore the 6kies, the roses and the hearts of Eden, and instruct
us, by his plan of reconciliation, that the fall itself was a stage in
the triumph of man? Humanity has not only desired, but has cried
aloud for his coming. The finest minds of the Pagan world have
expressed a hope, as well as a love of his appearing. It might, in
deed, be proved that this ' Desire of all Nations ' lies at the f ounda-
dation of all human hope, and is the preserving salt of the
world. * * * But in the minds of the Jews, this feeling dwelt
with peculiar intensity and concentration. * * * This desire, in
what singular circumstances was it fulfilled ! The earth was at rest
and still. The expectation of many ages had come to its height.
In the hush of that universal silence we may imagine the hearts of
all nations panting audibly, with strong and intolerable longing.
And when the expectation was thus at the fullest, its object arrived.
And where did the Desire of all Nations appear? Did he lift up his
head in the palaces of Rome, or the porticoes of Athens? No; but
he came where the desire was beating most strongly — to the core
of the great heart which was panting for him — to the village of
Bethlehem, in the midst of Judea, and the neighborhood of Jerusa
lem."— "Bards of the Bible," pages 30 and 31.
2. At his birth many like the shepherds went to see
him and rejoiced, many in Israel beheld him with joy
and were ready to exclaim with Simeon: " Lord, now
lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to
thy word ; for mine eyes have seen thy salvation!"
While many in foreign lands, like the Magi, bailed his
advent with delight.
3. And since that time countless myriads have re
joiced in him "with joy unspeakable and full of glory."
He has robbed the grave of its terror and death of its

286 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
sting ! Many have rejoiced even in the hour of their
dissolution, on account of their faith in him, and the
hope which his Gospel inspires. If his religion be a
delusion, it is a most glorious and soul-cheering delu
sion ! If the Gospel is a lie, it has afforded more joy
than any truth that was ever told ! And will continue
to do so till the end of time. For even Renan is con
strained to exclaim : —
" Whatever may be the surprises of the future, Jesus will never
be surpassed. His worship will grow young without ceasing; his
legend will call forth tears without end; his sufferings will melt
the noblest hearts ; all ages will proclaim that among the sons of
men there is none born greater than Jesus." — Life of Jesus, p. 376.
Z. — The rise of Christianity is the great fact of his
tory. It is with truth that Prof. Tyler observes : —
"It is the grand, significant, culminating, dominant fact hitherto
of the world's history, and to assume that it does not hold that
place in the world by right were as unhistorical and unphilosophi
cal as to ignore its existence."
1. Before the advent of Christ, time was reckoned
from various events.
2. But now, by the common concurrence of all civ
ilized nations, Christ is considered the central figure
and all events before and since his advent are reckoned
from him. Historians say that an event took place so
many years B. C. (before Christ), or A. D. (after
Christ.) 3. Even Infidels honor Jesus in that way. I have
before me an Infidel book, and one by a Jewish Rabbi.
They both use this manner of dating, and one of them
uses both terms at once in half a line : " from 500 B.

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 287
C. to 500 A. D." An Infidel cannot write a letter
without having A. D. (in the year of the Lord) either
expressed or understood, thus bearing testimony to the
claims of Christ. Whatever an Infidel book or paper
may say against Christ, it speaks in his favor in its
dates. This shows what a wonderful impress our Re
deemer has left upon the human family. When Jesus
paid tribute unto Caesar, who would have thought that
the time would come when his enemies would thus pay
tribute to him ?
Now, all of the above considerations and concurring
circumstances taken together, and in connection with
the facts presented in previous chapters, form a very
strong and powerful chain of evidence in favor of the
proposition that Christianity is of Divine Origin. Ac
cording to the testimony of minds trained in the legal
profession, the evidence arising from coincidences,
possesses great weight. Mr. Starkie, a very learned
law-writer, observes : —
" The credibility of testimony frequently depends upon the exer
cise of reason on the effect of coincidences in testimony, which, if
collusion be excluded, can not be accounted for but upon the sup
position that the testimony of concurring witnesses is true ; so that
their individual characterfor veracityis frequently but of secondary
importance, (supra, 466) . Its credibility also greatly depends upon
the confirmation by collateral circumstances, and on analogies
supplied by the aid of reason." — Practical Treatise on the Law of
Evidence, vol. 1, p. 471 .
Of course " collusion is excluded " in the case under
consideration, for the witnesses lived in different
countries and in different periods of the world's his-

288 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
tory ; and we may well ask, in the language of the
poet: — " Whence but from heaven, could men unskilled in arts,
In several ages born, in several parts,
Weave such agreeing truths? or how, or why,
Should all conspire to cheat us with a lie? " — Dryden.
The " analogies," " coincidences," and " collateral
circumstances " before us, point unmistakably to the
religion of Christ as a divine institution. There is no
logic superior to the logic of events. As mind directs
in the threading of a needle, so mind directed in mak
ing these facts the counterpart of each other; as one
mind controls many minds in the movements of a vast
army, so one mind controlled the many minds which
co-operated to produce the stupendous effects before
us ; as in the construction of a flouring-mill, one mind
disposes all the machinery with reference to a centre
and for a purpose, so in the case before us, one mind
disposed the machinery of the world with reference to
Christ, and for the purpose of man's redemption ; as
in the production of man, as the crowning act of
creation, the inferior animals foreshadowing him before
and serving him after his coming, the mind, the one
mind directing, controlling, and disposing everything
with reference to a centre, and for a purpose, was the
mind of the Infinite and Eternal, so in the produc
tion of the Christian system, the one mind directing,
controlling and disposing all things with reference to
Christ and for the purpose of Salvation was none
other than the mind of God! Wherefore Jesus is the

DIVINE ORIGIN OP CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 289
darling of his bosom, and Christianity the apple of his
eye; yea, and you and I are the subjects of his love,
the objects of bis tenderest consideration. Infidels
cannot overthrow the Church of Christ; for it is
founded upon a rock, even the Rock of Ages ! They
might as well undertake to ' ' drain the ocean with a
cup," extinguish the shining sun, or annihilate the
universe, as to undertake to check the movement which
Jesus inaugurated, or overthrow the institution which
he established, for it has God for its author, truth for
its foundation, and love for its life-giving principle.
Esto perpetua.

19

290 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.

CONCLUSION.

GOD.
HAVE not in the preceding pages, discussed the ex
istence of Deity; but the facts and arguments, pre
sented in each chapter, prove that there is a God.
"^ The unity and harmony of Nature and the Bible, as
well as the united simplicity and profundity of both,
adapting them to the wants and capacities of man, as por
trayed in the first chapter, show evident marks of design,
and consequently that there was a designer, an absolute
unlimited mind, just such a being as it takes to consti
tute God. The wonderful evidence of fulfilled proph
ecy, adduced in the Second and Third chapters, prove
that there is a God, who foreknew the great facts
of history before they occurred, for no man knows
the things of the future sufficiently well to predict
with precision the rise and fall of empires, the destruc
tion or the perpetuity of nations, the overthrow of
cities and devastation of countries, and the rise and
progress of institutions, with their distinguishing char
acteristics and tendencies. This required a mind
which reads the future as it reads the past, and of
which an apostle could truly say: " Known unto God

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 291
are all his works from the beginning of the world."
The evidence furnished by the facts and proofs of the
Second Part are also strong and irresistible. The
credibility of the Gospels and Acts being established,
transactions are therein recorded which none but God
could have performed. The resurrection of Christ,
proved in the Second Chapter, establishes the existence
of God, for none but God could have raised him. The
concurring circumstances and events culminating in
Christ, as exhibited in the last chapter of the work,
show conclusively that there is an unseen hand in
history, and are explicable only upon the hypothesis
that there is an Infinite and Almighty God, who exer
cises a general superintendence over the affairs of the
world, and a providential care over his children. As
long as the facts remain uncontradicted and the argu
ments unshaken, the existence of God must be ac
cepted as an undeniable truth. Instead, therefore, of
reasoning and speculating upon the existence of God,
before considering the claims of his Book and his
Religion, I begin with unmistakable facts, and reason
not only "through nature up to nature's God," but
through revelation up to the God of revelation, as
well. Thus this line of argument links the chain of
evidence to the visible and tangible; thence, adding
link to link, as it rises higher and higher in the domain
of logic and reason, is finally made fast in the throne
of God.

292 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.

MIRACLES.
There are very few, however, who really disbelieve
the existence of a Supreme Intelligence, though many
profess to. Even Ingersoll, though avowing Atheistic
sentiments, is constrained to admit that "in the night
of death hope sees a star, and listening love hears the
rustle of a wing ! ' ' That language he used at the
grave of his brother, and in his lecture on the " Mis
takes of Moses," he says : " There may be in immen
sity some being beneath whose wing the universe exists,
whose every thought is a glittering star, but I know
nothing about him — not the slightest." The denial
of miracles is the common platform on which all un
believers stand. And the question as to whether
miracles have ever been performed is now the grand
issue between Christianity on the one hand and all its
enemies on the other. I have not in the" foregoing
pages, argued this question direct ; but just to the ex
tent to which I have succeeded in proving the claims of
the Bible and its religion, to that extent have I proved
the reality of miracles. The three wonderful features
of Nature and the Bible elaborated in the First Chap
ter are nothing short of the miraculous. The unmis
takable evidences of fulfilled prophecy cited in the
Second and Third Chapters, furnish proof of the

DTVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 293
miraculous; for, as Hume remarks, all true prophe
cies are real miracles. Evidence accumulates as we
pass to the facts in the Second Part. In the First
Chapter, the credibility of the historic books of the
New Testament being established, it follows that mira
cles have been performed; for many are recorded there,
and they are so intimately connected ' and interlinked
with the other history as to be a necessary part of the
narrative. The resurrection of Christ, proved in the
Second Chapter, was a most astounding miracle;
while the wonderful concurrence of events described
in the last chapter approximates to such, to say the
least. Again, if the existence of God is proved by the
facts, as maintained above, it is not only reasonable to
believe in miracles, but very unreasonable not to do so.
In fact, God, Revelation and Miracles, are an insepar
able trinity, so to speak. The proof of one implies the
existence of the others. Their claims must stand or
fall together. There is no logical stopping place be
tween Biblical-belief and absolute Atheism. Man must
either accept the latter, live in uncertainty, and die in
doubt, making a fearful leap in the dark ; or, embrace
the former, live in confidence and die in faith, wrap
ping the drapery of his couch around him in peace, be
lieving that he but falls asleep in Jesus, to rise to a
glorious and blissful immortality beyond this vale of
sorrow and of tears. If it be a delusion, it is a glorious
delusion. " Let me die the death of the righteous, and
let my last end be like his.'-'

294 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.

OBJECTIONS.
I have not had space to consider objections, nor
did I deem it necessary, because a fact once estab
lished, or a proposition once proved, is forever true,
in spite of everything that may be urged against it.
The lines of argument pursued establish the truth
of the Bible, and the divine origin of its religion.
Unless it can be shown that the facts adduced are un
true, or my reasonings thereon erroneous, the claims
of Christ and his Church must stand unshaken, and
petty objections and cavils will but show the weakness
of Infidelity. As Dr. Greenleaf remarks : "Christian
ity does not profess to convince the perverse and head
strong, to bring irresistible evidence to the daring and
profane, to vanquish the proud scorner, and afford
evidence from which the careless and perverse cannot
possibly escape. This might go to destroy man's re
sponsibility." God has furnished sufficient evidence.
But it is in man's power to accept or reject it. That
the evidence is abundantly sufficient for honest and in
telligent minds, is evinced by the fact that it has
proved satisfactory to countless millions in various
stations of life, while some of the noblest and wisest
specimens of our race have investigated it with all the
learning, scientific, historic, and literary that could be

DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRISTIAN RELIGION. 295
brought to bear on the subject, with the most satisfac
tory results, closing their investigations with their
hearts full of faith, and the consequent hope which
faith inspires. The man, however, who is not willing
to believe, may close his eyes to the evidence, though
not able to refute it. Such a one may find timber
with which to prop his doubt and skepticism. And
while it is the part of candor to admit that there are
some real difficulties — as no science is without its
difficulties — there are none sufficient to overbalance the
strong array of affirmative proof which has from time
to time been adduced. And it is easier to answer the
objections urged against Christianity, than to meet
those that may be urged against Infidelity. I have
frequently presented to Infidels the interrogations
found in the preface of this work, and in every instance
they were nonplussed. I once asked one what evi
dence would be required to convince him? He an
swered, "A great deal." I then asked what evidence
had been adduced? He replied, "Very little." But
when asked to specify, he was utterly at a loss to know
how to respond. I asked another the same questions,
and he at once took refuge in cavils and petty objec
tions. When further pressed, he said he was unwill
ing to believe on any evidence, however strong, being
unable to believe that it was at all possible for Jesus to
be born without a father. He was silenced, however,
when I asked him, " How then can you believe that
the first man came into existence without either father

296 HAND-BOOK OF CHRISTIAN EVIDENCE.
or mother ? " As long as Infidels deal in quibbles and
scoffs, neglecting to answer affirmative proofs, our
holy religion shall stand unshaken, as it has stood in
the past, despite all efforts to overthrow it. And the
remedial system will continue its glorious work of ele
vation and salvation till the archangel shall descend
from heaven, and standing with one foot upon the
land, and the other upon the sea, shall swear by him
that sitteth upon the throne, even by him that liveth
forever and ever, that there shall be no longer delay;
when the Lord Jesus shall roll the heavens together as a
scroll, and as a vesture shall fold them up, that they
may be changed; and the Almighty Father shall reach
forth his hand, and in the presence of the innumerable
myriads who people space, and upon the folded can
vass of this earthly tent, in glowing letters of living
light, shall write,

|fc kv ^MAA^U^h. '

APPENDIX.

(297)

" Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts : and be ready always to
give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope
that is in you." — Peter.
"H the Christian citadel is not utterly impregnable, if it is so
constructed as to warrant the least trepidation on the appearance of
an enemy, it ought to be abandoned. In other words, our necessi
ties, the soul's value and peril justify the demand of reason that
any religion which invites our confidence shall offer perfect, in
vincible security. And the glory of the Gospel is its absolute cer
tainty." — St. Louis Presbyterian.

(298)

APPENDIX.

The Controverted Passage of Josephus.
The passage alluded to on the 179th page of this
work reads as follows : —
"Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be law
ful to call him a man, for he was a doer of wonderful works, — a
teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew
over to him both many of the Jews, and many of the Gentiles. He
was [the] Christ; and when Pilate, at the suggestion of the princi
pal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that
loved him at the first did not forsake him, for he appeared to them
alive again the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these
and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him : and the
tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this
day." —Ant. B. 18, Ch. 3, § 3.
M,uch has been said for and against this controverted
passage. And the disputants seem to discuss the sub
ject with great fairness and candor; some Christians,
like Lardner, admitting it to be spurious, and some
Infidels, like Renan, admitting it to be genuine. Er
nest Renan deposeth as follows : —
"I think the passage on Jesus authentic. It is perfectly in the
style of Josephus, and if this historian had made mention of Jesus,
it would have been in that way. We perceive only, that some Chris
tian hand has retouched the fragment, has added a few words, with
out which, it would have been almost blasphemous; and has,
perhaps, curtailed or modified some expressions." — Life of Jesus,
p. 13. 299

300 APPENDIX.
Alexander Campbell, following Lardner, refuses to
accept it. His principle reasons for rejecting it, are,
first, that it was wanting in the copy read by Photius
in the Ninth Century; and, second, that it interrupts
the course of the narrative, and seems forced and un
natural for an unbelieving Jew. The first of those rea
sons has no weight whatever upon my mind ; for, if it
was not in his copy, it was in copies centuries before
his birth, and it is now in copies centuries after his
death. Scholars say it is in every copy of Josephus
now extant.
The other objection, however, does strike my
mind very forcibly. It does interrupt the course of
the narration , and appears unnatural. That is certainly
the grand objection to the genuineness of the passage.
It is introduced abruptly, and as abruptly dismissed,
without any apparent design.
After mature investigation, I have arrived at the
conclusion that the key to the difficult problem consists
in the fact that Josephus wrote in Hebrew, and after
ward translated his productions into Greek; and, that
the solution itself is that the passage was wanting in
the Hebrew, but afterward supplied by the historian
when he translated the book into Greek. In his pre
face to the " Jewish Wars," he says he first wrote that
work in the language of his own country, for the sake
of such as lived in Parthia, Babylonia, Arabia, and
other parts ; and afterward published it in Greek foi
the benefit of others. And although he does not say

APPENDIX. 301
expressly that he pursued the same course with refer
ence to the "Antiquities," he nevertheless mentions
the difficulty of translating the Jews' language into a
foreign tongue, which implies that he first composed
and then translated the work he was then prefacing.
In writing in the Hebrew, which. would be read by
Jews almost exclusively, he did not deem it necessary
to incur their prejudices by mentioning one with whose
remarkable career they were already more familiar
than they desired to be; so he allowed prudence to
dictate silence. But when he translated his book into
Greek, for the benefit of foreigners, he deemed it in
excusable to preserve entire silence in regard to the
most wonderful character which his nation had ever
produced. His own countrymen would understand
and appreciate his remarkable silence. Not so the
Gentiles, however, they would be ready to inquire,
"What think you of Jesus, who is called Christ?"
This solves the entire problem. It accounts for the
absence of the passage from Photius' copy, and ex
plains why it breaks the course of the narration in order
to find a place. Having already written his book, the
historian had to make a place for it among facts al
ready recorded.
I agree, however, with Renan, that some Christian
hand has "retouched it," adding, subtracting and
modifying. They may have added innocently at first,
in the form of notes, remarks which were afterward
embodied in the text. I look upon the passage as of

302 APPENDIX.
little value; for, however much of it may be genuine,
it proves nothing but what is abundantly proved with
out it. But if it is wholly spurious, Josephus is in
excusable as a historian not to mention the Christian
movement which had assumed such prodigious propor
tions when he wrote.

B.
Makttrdom of Apostles.
Martyrdom to an opinion, merely proves sincerity
in that opinion: but martyrdom to a fact, about which
there can be no mistake, proves the fact to be true.
The martyrs to the resurrection of Jesus died in attes
tation of a fact, not an opinion.
Infidels of late years feel the force of this argument
so sensibly, that they are endeavoring to raise doubt
as to whether the apostles suffered martyrdom. I
deem it well, therefore, to present such evidence and
information as I have at hand on that subject. I
therefore remark : —
1. Reasoning a priori, we would conclude that the
apostles, or a number of them, suffered martyrdom;
for that was the fate of John the Baptist and Jesus
near the beginning of their career, and of multitudes
of Christians near the close of it. This is an unde-

APPENDIX. 303
niable truth, attested by such men as Josephus
and Tacitus, and accredited by such men as Rabbi
Wise and the historian, Gibbon. It would, therefore,
be a miracle of miracles, if the apostles all escaped
with their lives, and were left standing, like a dozen
indestructible pillars, while so many of their co-
laborers were slain, by the bitter hand of persecution.
Remember Tacitus testifies that many Christians
were martyred in Rome, as early as A. D. 64 ; and
Gibbon says the most skeptical criticism is bound to
respect the truth of this declaration. Rabbi Wise al
ludes to the martyrdom of John the Baptist, and then
adds: —
"So the doom of Jesus was sealed. After a few days, giving
him scarcely time enough to expound his scheme of salvation — the
Romans captured and crucified him, as thousands of Jews were
crucified in those days, some by the same Pilate." — Three Lec
tures, p. 6.
Then, on the 31st page, the Rabbi says of Paul : —
"Fortunately, however, he was retained in Csesarea, when Nero
in Rome put to death the Christians with exquisite cruelty. * * *
He came to Rome in the year 65, when the cruelty of Nero's pro
ceedings against the Christians filled every heart with compassion,
and humanity relented in favor of the Christians."
Hear him once more : —
" Pliny informs us that in the days of the Emperor Trajan, that
is in the beginning of the Second Century, an edict existed to kill
every man, woman, or child who professed Christianity ; and this
edict was in force also in the days of Marcus Aurelius, at the end of
that century." — ib. page 10.
In view of all these facts, who can believe that the
apostles all escaped unhurt? " Credat Jud-<eus
Apella ; non ego ! "

304 APPENDIX.
2. Stephen died in attestation of the Resurrection,
soon after the apostles entered upon their labors.
When on trial before the Sanhedrim, his face became
radiant, and he declared' that he saw heaven opened,
and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, where
upon they rushed upon him, with mob violence, and
stoned him to death. But he maintained his integrity
to the last, calling on the name of Jesus with his last
expiring breath. Acts, vii : 60. Stephen's fate makes
the probability that many of the apostles suffered mar
tyrdom, almost a certainty. But approximate proof
shall now give place to direct evidence.
3 . We have positive testimony that the Apostle James
(now known as James the Great or the Elder) died a
martyr at the hand of Herod Agrippa I. Acts, xii : 2.
4. We have historic evidence, outside of the Bible,
that the other Apostle James (now called the Less or
Younger) was put to death, and other disciples with
him. Josephus says the haughty high priest Ananias
called a council of judges, "and bringing before them
James, the brother of Jesus who is called Christ, and
some others, he accused them as transgressors of the
laws, and had them stoned." — Ant. B. 20, chap. 9,
sec. 1. Dr. Isaac M. Wise, the Jewish Rabbi, already
quoted, endorses this as authentic history. He says,
" the fanatic high priest, Ananias, convened a court of
his willing tools, tried James, the brother of Jesus,
and, finding him guilty of God knows what, had him
and some of his associates executed — a bloody deed

APPENDIX. 305
which cost him his office, on account of the loud and
emphatic protestations of the Jews before Agrippa II.
and the Roman Governor." — Three Lectures, page
30. 5. We have an abundance of evidence that Peter suf
fered martyrdom. We learn from the Infidel writer
Julian, a Roman Emperor, that Peter and Paul were
both dead, and their tombs respected and frequented,
before John wrote the Gospel which bears his name. —
Cyril's Contra. Julian, B. 10, p. 327. And that he
died the death of a martyr, we learn from a statement
made by John. He says that Jesus made the follow
ing declaration to Peter : —
" Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou
girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldst; but when
thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another
shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not."
And then adds : : —
" This spake he, signifying by what death he should glorify
God."— John, xxi: 18, 19.
Now, it is evident from this, that John knew that
Peter had died a violent death at the hands of the per
secutors; and that Peter was sentenced to death, and
expected soon to be executed, when he wrote his
Second Epistle, and that he remembered, in that try
ing hour, the prediction of the Savior, is evident from
the following passage : —
"Yea, I think it meet, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to stir
you up by putting you in remembrance; knowing that shortly I
must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath
shewed me. Moreover, I will endeavour that ye may be able after
my decease to have these things always in remembrance." — II.
Peter, i: 13-15. 20

306 APPENDIX.
Peter's martyrdom is attested by Clement, of Rome,
who wrote before the end ofthe First Century (Clem
ent's 1st Ep. to Corinthians, chap. 5) ; and it is evi
dent from a statement made in Muratori 's Canon, com
piled about A. D. 17Q, that Luke wrote somedocument
in addition to his Gospel and Acts, in which he records
the same. This ancient document, in an account of
Acts of the Apostles, contains these words : —
" Luke relates to Theophilus, events of which he was an eye-wit
ness, as also, in a separate place he evidently declares the mar
tyrdom of Peter, but omits the journey of Paul from Rome to
Spain." — Routh's Reliquiae Sacrje, p. 1-12. — Con. & Howson's
Life and Ep. of Paul, p. 801.
Dr. Bloomfield says : —
" The universal testimony of antiquity concurs in showing that
Peter suffered martyrdom by crucifixion." — Greek Testament,p.
444. Philip Schaff says the same thing, in almost the same
words : —
" It is the voice of all antiquity, that Peter was crucified in the
persecution under Nero." — Apostolic Church, p. 372, and pages
363-365. And Origen says : —
"He was crucified with his head downwards." — American
Cyclopedia, page 353.
6. There is abundant evidence that Paul suffered
martyrdom. Clement of Rome, in his Epistle to the
Corinthians, chap. 5, says: —
" He came to the limits of the West, and died a martyr under the
rulers." Bingham, who is referred to by the American Cyclo
psedia as good authority, says it is unquestionable that

APPENDIX. 307
Peter and Paul both suffered martyrdom, in the perse
cution under Nero; that "Eusebius shows this out of
Caius Romanus, Tertullian, Origen, and Dionysiusof
Corinth, who say that one was crucified and the other
beheaded ; that their festivals were anciently observed,
as other festivals of the martyrs ; ' ' and adds : —
" The like may be concluded of all the other apostles, who suf
fered martyrdom in the several countries where they preached the
Gospel." — Bingham's Antiquities, p. 1161.
For a full account of his execution, see " History of
the Apostolic Church," by Philip Schaff, and "Life
and Epistles of Paul," by Conybeare & Howson.
7. The other apostles, at an early date, scattered to
different parts of the world. As Prof. Schaff truly
says : —
"Eternity will assuredly disclose many hidden flowers and fruits
of Christian life and labor, which are either not at all, or at least
very imperfectly, recorded in books of history. Down to the Apos
tolic Council, A. D. 50, the twelve disciples seem still to have looked
on Jerusalem as the center of their activity, and with the exception
of Paul, not to have gone far beyond Palestine. Thenceforth we
find none but James in the Jewish capital (Acts, xxi: 18), the rest
having scattered to different lands." — Apostolic Church, p. 386.
It is therefore impossible, in the very nature of the
case, to have the same unmistakable testimony in re
gard to their fate, that we possess with reference to
the fate of the two James', and Paul and Peter. But
we have sufficient evidence that several of the others
suffered martyrdom besides those four. Mr. Gibbon
admits that "after the death of Christ, his innocent
disciples were punished with death" (Decline and
Fail, chap. 15), and Mr. Renan says : —

308 APPENDIX.
" The Sadduccee family of Hanan long retained the pontificate,
and, more powerful than ever, unceasingly waged the cruel war
against the disciples and the family of Jesus, which it had com
menced against its founder. Christianity, which owed to him the
crowning act of its foundation, owed to him also its first mar
tyrs." — Life of Jesus, p. 358.
The American Cyclopsedia says : —
"Legends about all of them were early current, recounting their
voyages, sufferings, and martyrdoms."
And Dr. Kitto says: —
" The current traditions, generally received at the time, doubt
less had a basis of historic facts, and may, therefore, be accepted in
the main as credible." — History oe the Bible, p. 622.
The earliest ecclesiastical historians all unite in at
testing the martyrdom of Matthias, and some of them
say he was stoned by the unbelieving Jews. Apropos,
the Babylon Talmud contains the following : —
"When Matthai was brought forth, he said to his judges, ' Shall
Matthai be slain ! But it is written, When shall I come (Matai) and
appear before God?' (Ps. xiii: 2). But they answered: 'Yes,
Matthai shall be slain. Por it is written, When (Matai) shall he
die, and his name perish? ' " — (Ps. xii: 5.)
The Talmud, as quoted by Lightfoot, also alludes
to the execution of four other disciples in the same
manner. It is related by Gregory, Ambrose, Jerome, Chrys
ostom, Athanasius and Eusebius, that Thomas went
and preached the gospel in India, and was put to
death by the Brahm ans. When Cosmos explored the
East, in A. D. 522, he found a multitude of Chris
tians ; and when the Portugese began their colonization
in India, they found nearly two hundred thousand,

APPENDIX. 309
calling themselves " Thomas-Christians," and yearly
commemorating his martyrdom by visiting his tomb. —
See Smith's Elements of Divinity, p. 373.
It can hardly be doubted that Andrew suffered mar
tyrdom at Patrse (Patras), in Achaia, by order of the
Proconsul iEgeas, as reported; for not only does the
minute particularity as to places, persons, and transac
tions indicate the truth, but the crux decusata X, on
which he was crucified has been called "Andrew's
cross" ever since.
8. We have circumstantial evidence sufficient to es
tablish the fact that a number of the apostles suffered
martyrdom. In the first place, it is recorded by all four of the
evangelists that Jesus told his apostles that some of
them would be put to death. — Mat. xxiv: 9 ; Mark
xiii: 9, 12; Luke xxi: 16; John xvi: 2-4. Now, it
will neither be maintained that Jesus needlessly aroused
their fears, when there was no occasion for it, nor that
his friends put this into his mouth when he had never
said it and it had never happened; it follows, there
fore, that one of two things is certainly true ; either
Jesus said it because he knew it would take place, or
they put it into his mouth because it had taken place.
Let the Infidel take either horn of the dilemma. If
the first is true, Jesus knew the future, knew they
would be killed, and it came to pass as he predicted.
If the second is true, the fact of their martyrdom is
directly established.

310 APPENDIX.
In the second place, the early Christians commem
orated the death of their martyrs annually by visiting
their tombs. Such festivals were kept in honor of the
apostles. This is attested by early Christian writers
and confirmed by the Emperor Julian. They gener
ally believed that all the apostles sealed their testi
mony with their blood, except John. — See Bingham's
Antiquities. In the third place, early apologists, in their discus
sions with Infidels, based an argument upon the mar
tyrdom of the apostles. The well-known Infidel writer
Porphyry, who flourished A. D. 170, wrote as
follows : —
"Ignorant and indigent men, because they had nothing, per
formed some signs by magical art; which is no great matter; for
the magicians in Egypt, and many others have wrought signs."
"Let it be granted," replies Jerome, "bat then, why did they
die? Why were they crucified? Others have wrought signs by
magical arts, but they did not die for a dead man; they were not
crucified for a man that had been crucified. They knew him
to be dead; and did they die without any reason? Our victory
is completed in the blood of the apostles; our faith is ratified in
their blood! Let us therefore praise God, to whom be glory for
ever and ever." — Brevarium on Psalter, vol. 2, pp. 334, 335.
Prof. W.J. Bolton quotes several similar arguments
in the 7th chapter of his admirable work, and on page
281, he says: —
"The circumstances of the case especially dwelt upon by the.
Apologists were, the incredibly short time the gospel took to accom
plish its end ; the extent of its conquest, being nothing less than
the known world ; against an opposition the most unanimous, vio
lent and persevering that can well be imagined."
9. But it would not invalidate my argument if I were
unable to show that any of them actually lost their lives.

APPENDIX. 311
For we have ample evidence that they were all willing
to suffer death, rather than give up their testimony to
the resurrection ; and in this consists the strength of
the argument. Their Master had told them that they
should be persecuted and killed. — Mat. xxiv: 9;
xxiii: 34. But soon after he was risen, they boldly
proclaimed the fact in the capital of the Jewish nation .
Two of their number were arrested and threatened. —
Acts, iv. But they didn't swerve. Then the entire
twelve were arrested and imprisoned, but they pro
claimed the resurrection, right in the face of their
judges-, when life was in danger. — Acts v:17, 30.
Their enemies decided to slay them, but were re
strained by Gamaliel. They were severely beaten
before they were released, and commanded not
to speak in the name of Jesus. But notwithstanding
their narrow escape from death, and their severe
scourging, and in spite of threats, they still preached
the risen Saviour " daily in the temple, and in every
house." — Acts v: 33-42. One of their fellow-
laborers was killed. — Acts vii. But they all stood
firm. A great persecution arose, which caused the
disciples generally to scatter abroad. But the apos
tles remained at their post, and risked their lives. —
Acts viii : 1. One of the apostles was killed. — Acts
xii : 2. But even that did not restrain the rest of them
from giving testimony to the resurrection. This shows
that they were willing to suffer death, if necessary, in
attestation of the truth of what they preached.

312 APPENDIX.
Take Peter as a particular example. Before the
crucifixion, fear of death impelled him to deny Jesus.
But see how bold from the very day he proclaimed
that Jesus was risen. Nothing could daunt him from
Pentecost forward. The Sadducees were grieved be
cause he " preached through Jesus the resurrection"
(Acts, iv: 2), and had him arrested and imprisoned.
But when brought before the rulers he took pains to
tell them. " Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye
crucified, God raised from the dead (Acts, iv : 10),
and when threatened and commanded to speak no
more in that name, he replied: "We can not but
speak the things which we have seen and heard"
(iv:20); and when further threatened and released,
he, with the others, with great power gave " wit
ness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus." (iv : 33.)
And when he was arrested with the whole college
of apostles, he acted as spokesman when they
declared in the face of all the priests, " The God of
our fathers raised up Jesus," etc. (v: 29, 30.) And
although threatened and severely beaten (v : 40) he
continued to proclaim the resurrection with all con
ceivable boldness, till again arrested, when James was
put to death. — Acts xii: 3. And notwithstanding
James had been executed, and his own life had only
been saved by a deliverance from prison, he continued
to preach Jesus and the resurrection, till the close of
his life. Then in the prospect of death, and with his
Master's prediction that he should suffer martyrdom

APPENDIX. 313
before his mind, he serenely contemplates his dissolu
tion, and declares, " We have not followed cunningly
devised fables." — n Peter i: 14, 16.
Take John as another example. He was with Peter
when he was first arrested, shared his imprisonment
and his threats, and all that Peter so boldly proclaimed,
the beloved disciple sanctioned and endorsed. Their
persecutors marvelled at the boldness, not only of
Peter, but of John also. — Acts iv : 13. And about
all that has been said of Peter could be said of John.
When the twelve were arrested and punished, he
shared their imprisonment and their stripes. — v: 40.
Although, in the death of James he lost his own
brother (xii : 2), he still remained true and steadfast,
through a long and eventful life, laboring for Jesus
with pen and tongue, and suffered banishment to the
lonely Isle of Patmos rather than give up ' ' the testi
mony of Jesus Christ." — Rev. i: 9. Though nat
urally as mild and gentle as the lamb, he displayed the
bravery and fortitude of the lion, and would have sac
rificed his life in attestation of the resurrection, if
called upon to do so.
Finally, take Paul as an example. He changed from
a fierce persecutor to a zealous advocate of the gospel.
He assigned as the reason for the change that he had
seen and conversed with the risen Jesus. After he
commenced " preaching the faith which he once de
stroyed," several attempts were made to kill him. —
Acts, ix : 23, 24; xiv : 5. But he continued to preach

314 APPENDIX.
the resurrection. Then he was stoned and left for
dead (Acts, xiv: 19), but reviving he continued to
proclaim the resurrection, both to Jews and Greeks.
This proves just as much as his actual death would
prove; for they aimed to kill him, and thought they
had done it. We have even a stronger case than
we would have if he had died at the time. For the
fact that he continued to proclaim the gospel after he
revived shows conclusively that he possessed such
strong and certain evidence of the resurrection of
Jesus, that he was willing to be killed rather than
cease proclaiming it. As he declared when his friends
tried to dissuade him from going to Jerusalem: "I
am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at
Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." — Acts
xxi: 13. And this he frequently declared in epistles,
admitted even by skeptics to be genuine. He declared
that he counted not his life dear unto himself — that
to live was Christ and to die was gain. Then, writing
of his sufferings, in common with others, he said : —
" We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are per
plexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast
down, but not destroyed ; always bearing about in the body the
dying of the Lord Jesrls, that the life also of Jesus might
be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always
delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of
Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death
worketh in us, but life in you. Wehaving the same spirit of faith,
according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken :
we also believe, and therefore speak: knowing that he which
raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall
present us with you." — II Cor. iv: 8-14.

APPENDIX. 315
Then in the last letter ever penned by the grand old
soldier of the cross, which of itself shows that he ex
pected to be put to death, he wrote to Timothy, his
son in the gospel : —
" Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised
from the dead according to my gospel : wherein I suffer trouble as
an evil doer, even unto bonds; but the word of God is not bound.
Therefore I endure all things for the elect's sake, that they may
also obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.
It is a faithful saying: Por if we be dead with him, we shall
also live with him : If we suffer, we shall also reign with him : If
we deny him, he also will deny us : If we believe not, yet he abideth
faithful, he cannot deny himself." — II Tim. ii : 8-13.
Finally, in the immediate prospect of decapitation,
he wrote : —
" I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is
at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I
have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of
righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at
that day : and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his
appearing." — II Tim. iv : 6-8.
In view of these facts, the question as to how many
of the apostles were actually killed is of greater con
cern to the historian than to the apologist.

C.
Infidel Review and Reply.
The following review of the "Hand-Book of Chris
tian Evidence " appeared in the Liberal League Advo
cate, August 4th, 1880, over the signature " Servetus."

316 APPENDLX.
I do not know whether it was written by the editor or
not, as both the editor and this writer seem ashamed
to let their names appear in the little Infidel paper.
I publish the article entire to let my readers know
what Infidels have to say of this book. I have made
no effort to find out the name of the writer, preferring
to examine it solely upon its merits and demerits;
and it possesses at least one of each : The respectful
and gentlemanly tone of the writer is a mark of merit ;
the inaccuracy of the article is a mark of demerit. The
writer's inaccuracy, showing that he lacks perception,
is exhibited in the very commencement of his article,
in mentioning " Johnson & Burns " as publishers, in
stead of " John Burns," which was on the printed
page before his eyes. Then, in the body of the article
there are incorrect statements. As a sample, he speaks
of Polytheism, Monotheism, and Atheism, " each put
ting forward a sacred book as a direct revelation ' '
when it is well known that Atheism discards both God
and revelation. But read the article: —
[For the Advocate.]
A REVIEW.
" Prove all things, hold fast that which is good." — St. Pato.
Hand-book of Christian Evidence, by L. W. Scott, in two parts, pp.
307. Johnson & Burns, publishers, St. Louis, Mo.
This is, in the main, what it purports to be, a hand-book of Chris
tian evidence ; but the author starts out in Part I with a sort of an
apocalyptic vision in advance of his " evidence," which he denomi
nates "Approximate proof of the divine origin of the Bible by rea
son of its analogy to nature. First, it is like nature in its combined
simplicity and abstruseness," etc., etc. Thus, in these few words

APPENDIX. 317
are involved, 1st, The fundamental dogma. 2d, Five additional
assumptions : —
1. There is a Divinity.
2. This Divinity made nature.
3. Nature is simple.
4. Nature is abstruse.
5. The Bible is simple.
6. The Bible is abstruse.
Ergo, this Divinity made the Bible !
In order to test this mode of logic, let us introduce the sacred
book of any other religious system, say the Hindoos. Omitting for
the sake of space the major term of the syllogism. 5. The Rig
Veda is simple. 6. The Rig Veda is abstruse. Ergo, this Divinity
made the Rig Veda. Again, take the Bible of the Mohammedans.
5. The Koran is simple. The Koran is abstruse. Ergo, this Divin
ity made the Koran. But this fallacy is not only applicable to any
supernatural volume, but it will do duty for any mundane tome as
well. For instance: 5. Euclid's Elements of Geometry is simple.
6. Euclid's Elements of Geometry is abstruse. Ergo, Euclid's Ele
ments of Geometry is the work of this Divinity.
It is well known to every liberal student that the "Scriptures"
of all religions treat upon two topics. 1. The comprehensible. 2.
The incomprehensible. That is, the writers tell us, 1st, what they
know — generally very little and of small practicable moment. 2d,
What neither they nor any one else knows anything about. When
one writes of what he knows nothing he is very apt to be "ab
struse," and his readers very naturally find it impossible to under
stand him. This, with devout people of every nation and religion,
is a sure sign of inspiration. "Where knowledge ends there God
begins." The child sees in the darkness something white, and be
cause it does not know or stop to reflect that the children have been
swinging there and left the pillow, it runs into the house, pale and
breathless with fright, and declares it has seen a ghost! A great
many, aye, thousands, of grown-up children have witnessed — are
seeing every day — "slate writing," "table tipping," "cabinet
tricks," etc., etc., and because they do not understand the modus
operandi, they at once conclude them to be spiritual manifestations !
Our forefathers used to drown old women because certain morbid
phenomena, now well known as catalepsy and hysteria, were then
believed to be the effects of witchcraft! And the Christian Bible
was appealed to as authority: "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to
live." Ex. xxii: 18. To-day, in Sumatra, the natives refuse to de
stroy tigers, though these animals annually commit frightful rav
ages upon human life, because they believe them to be visitations
for irreiigion. The inhabitants of Siberia pay great respect to
bears for the same reason. The Christians of Abyssinia, where the
gospel has been preached for fifteen hundred years, will not touch

318 APPENDIX.
the skin of a hyena until it has been prayed over and exorcised by a
priest. This all goes to show what superstitious humanity does not
comprehend, by reason of its ignorance or credulity, is surely re
garded by it as a Divinity, or the operations of a supernatural
agency! Hence, because Mr. Scott does not cognize the yet occult
laws of the universe, therefore the universe is'the manufacture of a
Divinity, and because he has, in his mind, hedged around the Bible
with an imaginary sacredness and mystery, precisely as the savage
does his totem or his fetich,
" Whose faith enshrines the monsters which it breeds,"
hence he does not understand it, and, therefore, the Bible must be
the work of a Divinity.
But, is not this " analogy " far-fetched? Nature is infinite, eter
nal and imperishable. The Bible is finite and evanescent. Nature
is omnipresent. The Bible is only known to a sixth part of the
human family. There is but one Nature. There are many different
and conflicting Bibles ! Philosophers do not fight over the solutions
of Nature. Christians have cut each others' throats by the million
over expositions of the Bible.
Parallels of this description may serve, perhaps, as similitudes to
exaggerate the subject, but can not be dignified as an " analogy,"
upon which to base an argument for the divine origin of a book.
There can be no analogy between a printed literary composition,
and an infinity of worlds. One is a primitive, mental outgrowth,
and the other a physical phenomona? However, admitting pro
tempore, that the universe is an effect, is it not wholly unreasonable,
if not absurd in the third degree, to suppose that the same architect
that produced Nature should make a book, or employ an amanuen
sis? One is so transcendant and inimitable, and the other so royal
a road to parody, if not itself a base duplicate, with no critera to
distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit, nothing whatever to
direct the understanding but the incessant polemics of adverse and
bewildering theologues.
When it is considered that there is "nothing in the heavens
above nor in the earth beneath " which has not been, at some time
or other, in the history of the race, either deified or endowed with
supernatural attributes, too much caution cannot be exercised be
fore concluding that any special substance or particular thoughts
is a divine manifestation! The unprejudiced reader will always
bear in mind that heretofore it was not doubt but credulity which
had been the dominant characteristic of the human mind. The less
that was known of Nature the more was known of gods, and the
more were humanity in subjection to the self-constituted oracles of
ghostly entities! Cats, dogs, snakes, crocodiles, seas, rivers,
springs, wells, mountains, storms, seas, the sun, moon, stars, etc.,
have been worshipped, throughout the world, as gods! These were

APPENDIX. 319
the early and homogeneous objects of faith; but as the race "ac
cumulated experience," more heterogeneous forms of superstition
were evolved; and Polytheism, Monotheism and Atheism have still
their representatives, as vital religious systems — each putting for
ward a sacred book as a direct revelation. And here let us quote a
remark by that celebrated oriental scholar and Christian gentleman,
Max Muller, who says : "li we, as Protestants claim the right to
appeal to the gospel as the only test by which our faith is to be
judged, we must grant a similar privilege to Mohammedans and
Buddhists, and to all who possess a written, and, as they believe,
revealed authority for the articles of their faith." C. G. Wd, p. 182,
Vol. I. If this be the true standard of criticism, and who can gain
say it, what becomes of Mr. Scott's " abstruseness " idea as an
" approximate proof " of the divinity of the Bible. "Patent " and
"latent" meanings are the alpha and omega of all Bibles: the
Koran, of the Mohammedans; the Tripitaka, of the Buddhists;
the Vedas, of the Brahmins; the Eddas, of the Scandinavians; the
Zend-Avesta, of the Parsees ; the Sutras, of the Jaens ; the Granth,
of the Sikhs ; the Kings, of the Confucians, etc.
To the disinterested unbeliever the Bible is not at all " abstruse."
To him whose reason is not clouded by its promises or threats, it is
naught but a man-made, imperfect volume. Pull of errors, replete
in contradictions, and containing so much that is foolish, obscene
and sanguinary, that he sincerely thinks it ought not to be read at
all by young persons !
God, we are invariably informed, is an infinitely wise, good and
powerful being. Now where is the power, wisdom and goodness in
writing a book — the disbelief of which results in such savage
cruelty — in a language that not one in a million knows anything
about, and then abandoning it through all the centuries to the
bigotry, the ambition and the fallibility of rival sectarians to trans
late and construe. The bare idea that He who made all tongues
and dialects would indite in defunct Hebrew, or Greek, or Syriac
for the millions who speak only living English, or German, or
French, or Spanish, or Italian, etc., etc., is most unnatural!
It is peculiarly disagreeable for the "evidences" of Christianity
that there have been so many gods and saviors and Bibles before
it! — all claiming divine origin, of course! Some of these gods
wrote in lingos long since dead! The Hindoo god, Brahman wrote
his Bible in Sanskrit long before Moses was born! The Persian
god, Ormuzd wrote in Zend. The Jewish God, Jehovah, wrote in
Hebrew! The Scandinavian god, Odin, wrote in Norse. The Mo
hammedan god, Allah, wrote in Arabic. Jesus wrote in Hebrew, or
Greek, or Syriac, or Aramaic, it is not known which! Even Mr.
Scott does not condescend any information on this vital point ! The
very latest spiritual news, in the shape of printed matter, is the
Mormon Bible. God, it is said, wrote this in Egyptian !

320 APPENDIX.
Now, if there were any ' ' abstruseness ' ' about the Bible, it wo uld
be one of the strongest arguments against its divine authenticity.
God, being infinitely wise and good (that is, provided there is not
an esoteric significance to the words "wise" and "good," which
is not found in the vocabularies), would have inscribed his " word "
upon the everlasting "firmament " in letters of burnished gold, and
in a vernacular that could not be misapprehended, no more than
one could misconceive the sensations of hunger and thirst! — that
he could no more deny than he could deny the existence of the sun,
moon or stars! — -that he could no more need another's brain to
define its import than he now requires another's stomach to digest
his food! Servetus.

REPLY.
I shall dissect the foregoing article and examine it
item by item, numbering the points to assist the
reader : —
1. The reviewer grants that the book is, " in the
main, what it purports to be, a Hand-Book of Chris
tian Evidence." This is a considerable admission,
and probably explains why the writer made no attempt
to review any portion of this book except the first
chapter, and noticed only one of the three points made
in that. Here are six long chapters, and " Servetus "
attacks only the shortest ; and he confines his attack
to one-third of that. The Bible is shown to be like
Nature in three particulars : 1 . Its Combined Simplic
ity and Profundity; 2. Its Unity and Harmony; 3.
Its Adaptation to Man. He confines his strictures to
the first. Now, my argument is not built on the first
"analogy," but upon a combination of the three;
and upon all the marks of similarity, of which those
three are cited as samples. To show that some other

APPENDIX. 321
book is analagous to Nature in one of those points
will not meet the argument.
2. " Approximate Proof." Yes, I merely put forth
the evidence in the first chapter as approximate proof ',
and the Infidel gains nothing if he shows it is incon
clusive. Why did he not attack that which was put
forth as conclusive proof? Does not his failure to
do so, prove the correctness of the statement of the
editor of the Sunday- School Times, that it is "un
answerable, or even unassailable, as a vindication of
the Christian faith ! "
3. As to five assumptions being involved in the
argument, I reply : 1st. I admit that it waives the dis
cussion as to the existence of Deity, and is addressed
to those that admit that he is the author of Nature.
2d. I do not assume that Nature is simple and abstruse,
and the Bible simple and abstruse, but proceed to
show it.
4. To test this mode of logic, " Servetus " proposes
to "introduce the sacred book of any other religion."
Certainly, you have a right to show that the Rig Veda
and the Koran are analogous to Nature, if you can.
But you do not attempt to do so. I brought up
arguments and illustrations to show the wonderful
similarity of Nature and the Bible ; but you do not
attempt to do the same for other sacred books ; but
go off and bring up the Koran, that is not read by
one in a thousand, and the Rig Veda, that is not read
by one in a million, and tell the people that these
21

322 APPENDIX.
books are just like Nature and the Bible, and expect
people to accept it merely upon your ipsi dixit. If
this is not the purport of your argument, there is no
point at all in what you say.
As to " Euclid's Elements of Geometry," it is well
known to every scholar that it does not possess the
characteristics of Nature and the Bible under consid
eration. It is characteristic of all school books to be
plain and simple like the primer, or deep and profound
like the calculus. Then, if you could show that these
books, Rig Veda, Koran and Euclid's Elements, did
possess this characteristic of Nature to the wonderful
extent that the Bible does, it would be necessary to go
further and show that they possessed the other char
acteristics of the Bible before they could be put on a
level with that remarkable book.
5. The writer's effort to account for the combined
simplicity and incomprehensibility of the Bible by the
statement that all Scripture writers tell, first, what
they know, and then launch out into what they do not
know, reminds me of the school child who would ac
count for the production of the calculus, by saying
that the writer did not understand what he wrote. The
child would display a lack of common sense, inexcus
able even in one of tender age, to conclude that the au
thors of its school-books did not understand anything
above a primer, because, forsooth, it understood noth
ing else. And what shall we say of a man will who pick
out such portions of books as are plain to him, and say

APPENDIX. 323
that the writers understood what they were treating of
when they penned those portions, but that they knew
not whereof they affirmed when they wrote such por
tions as he himself cannot comprehend. Furthermore,
if the writers themselves did not understand what they
penned in the Scriptures, how will " Servetus " account
for the wonderful System of Religion taught in that
Book? The Remedial System is a science, as much so
as geology or astronomy, and the thoughtful study of
it will show that it possesses, as a whole, order, design,
arrangement, plan; while co-ordination, adjustment,
and adaptation are manifest in the relation of its vari
ous parts, thus presenting a parallel to the natural
universe. If the writers understood not these things,
they must have been guided by some mind that did.
My reviewer's far-fetched allusion to Spiritualism
has no bearing on the question as to whether the Bible
parallels Nature, and must have been covertly intro
duced to insinuate that that ghostly system is on a level
with Christianity, which is far from true. By refer
ence to the section on Spiritualism in this work it
will be seen that it is diametrically opposed to Chris
tianity, that there is no more fellowship between the
two systems than there is between light and darkness,
or Christ and Belial.
Just as irrelevant his allusion to witches, and to the
superstitions of the heathen Summatrans and Siberians.
If there is any force in his argument it can be resolved
into a syllogism, as follows: The Puritans killed

324 APPENDIX.
witches, while the heathens spared tigers and bears ;
therefore the author of Nature is not the author of
the Bible ! But as "Servetus" has left the subject
and gone off to hunt up witches, I will ask if he means
to hold Christianity responsible for a failure on the
part of a few of its professed adherents to " rightly
divide ' ' the Scriptures ? Because a few fanatics for
got that Christians were " not under the law, but un
der grace; " not under Moses, but, under Christ ; and,
leaving the Christian Scriptures, had recourse to the
Jewish Scriptures, which they misconceived and mis
applied, is no reason why the peaceful Religion of the
gentle Nazarene should be rejected or held in disesteem.
But if an argument against the analogy between Na
ture and the Bible is meant to be made, I reply that
the very reasoning of ' ' Servetus ' ' would furnish an
analogy. For if he holds the Bible responsible for
the drowning of witches, Nature is responsible as well,
for he says that catalepsy and hysteria — natural dis
orders — were mistaken for the effects of witchcraft.
The truth is, the Puritans misinterpreted both Nature
and the Bible. They applied to themselves a law ap
plicable only to the Jews, and one long since abrogated.
But, to one familiar with the fearful effects of witch
craft, as seen in Spiritualism and "Voodooism," it
will not seem strange that it was made a capital
offence under the rigid Mosaic law, which was limited
in jurisdiction and temporary in duration.

APPENDIX. 325
But "Servetus" makes another bound, and lands in
Abyssinia, where he learns that the Catholics, whom
he terms Christians, will not touch the skin of a hyena
till it has been manipulated by a priest ! Why did he
not complete his argument, by adding: "Therefore,
the Bible is neither simple nor abstruse? " Suppose
the Gospel has been preached in that benighted land
for fifteen hundred years (which I seriously question),
were not the people just as superstitious before its
introduction as they have been since, if not more so?
And must Christianity be held responsible for super
stitions in vogue before it went there, when to it is
attributable all the improvement those people have
made ? You might as well undertake to hold the Bible
responsible for the Infidelity of " Servetus," or the
Atheism of Ingersoll. Will Infidels never learn that
where a land is blessed with the Gospel, that it is not
the only influence at work? Where Christianity once
gains a foothold, even in a corrupted form, Infidels
wish to hold it responsible for all wrongs and absurdi
ties brought about by the various causes and multi
tudinous circumstances that operate, while they with
hold credit for all the good it does in spite of adverse
circumstances. This is both unfair and illogical.
But " Servetus " says, this all goes to show that what
superstitious humanity cannot comprehend it regards
as the work of a Divinity ! It does, eh? Is " spirit-
rapping " regarded as the work of a Divinity? Far
from it. It is neither so regarded by friend nor foe.

326 APPENDIX.
Was witchcraft regarded, either among Puritans or
Jews, as the work of Divinity? Surely not, or witches
would not have been punished.
My reviewer's premises being all swept away there
is no ground for his high sounding conclusion :
" Hence, because Mr. Scott does not cognize the yet
occult laws of the universe, therefore the universe is
the manufacture of a Divinity." But, I remark on
that, it is not simply because / cannot understand fully
the operations of nature, that I thence draw an argu
ment — but because they cannot be comprehended fully
by a single member of the human family — not even
by the brightest intellect. Furthermore, it is not
simply for this reason that I regard the universe as the
work of Deity, but because I have many and insuper
able reasons. Nor is it true, that because I have
"hedged around the Bible with an imaginary sacred-
ness," that I conclude that it must be the " work of a
Divinity ; ' ' but because I have proved its divine origin
by facts which " Servetus " dared not assail, and argu
ments that he could not even attempt to refute.
6. "Servetus " thinks the analogy far-fetched; and
would break the force of it by introducing what he
regards as marks of diversity : —
1st. He regards " nature as infinite, eternal and
imperishable " — the Bible finite and evanescent.
Neither " Servetus " nor the author are capable of
deciding on the infinity of nature, unless we could
" Trace by steps each planet's heavenly way,
Or All at once the realms of space, a thing ol eye§ that all survey 1 "

APPENDIX. 327
And so far from Nature being eternal, we have
proof to the contrary. The essential properties of
matter and force, such as cohesion and adhesion, at
traction and repulsion ; the elementary substances of
matter and their peculiar characteristics ; and the
co-ordination of all materials and forces in the universe
in exact mathematical law and proportion in numerical
expression and magnitude, and geometric form, in a
system realizing the most exalted and abstract ideas of
reason, demonstrates that Nature is an effect — that
there was necessarily mind back of it, in the very con
stitution of things, and consequently, that it has not
existed from eternity. How remarkable that Infidel
ity at one time maintains the eternity of the world,
and at another pretends to tell just how old it is ! And
as to the claim that Nature is imperishable ; the change
and unrest of which we are continually cognizant, the
withering of flowers, the decaying of fruits, the death
of animals, furnish sufficient demonstration that it is as
evanescent as " Servetus " regards the Bible. Neither
Nature nor the Bible are eternal, but both possess
marks showing that their author is ; hence the analogy
holds good. As to the Bible being known to only one
sixth of the human family, I remark that in affirming
its divine origin, I do not allude to the bundle of paper
of which it is composed, but to the system therein
revealed. The Bible makes known the dealings of God
with man in all ages, and while there are changes of
dispensation, " it is the same God who worketh all in

328 APPENDIX.
all." " His kingdom ruleth over all." The remedial
system is as " omni-present ' ' and all embracing as
Nature itself. Furthermore, God revealed himself in
the beginning, and if men lost sight of him, it was
because they " did not like to retain God in their
knowledge," and he gave them over to " reprobacy of
mind," till Christ came. Then he caused the Gospel
to be preached to all nations, and if they either
rejected it or neglected to retain it, they are left with
out excuse. Not only so, but ignorance of Nature
prevails to the same extent as ignorance of Scripture ;
and in the world's apostasy, mentioned in the first
chapter of Romans, just to the extent that men lost
sight of revelation, to that extent did they become
ignorant or regardless of Nature, and " leaving the
natural use," did things injurious and unseemly.
2d. There is, he says, only one Nature, but many
conflicting Bibles.
That Nature is a unit, I admit. To the statement
that there are many Bibles, it is sufficient reply to say
that there is but one Bible, as superior to the Rig
Veda, Koran, etc., as the genuine is to counterfeit
coin. 3d. The statement that " Christians have cut each
other's throats by the million over expositions of the
Bible," is as false as it is reproachful. It would be
difficult for ' ' Servetus ' ' to prove that a single Christian
ever cut the throat of another over an exposition of the
Scripture. If he says he does not mean, literally,

APPENDIX. 329
what he states, but alludes to well-known persecutions,
I reply : —
In the first place, those martyrs were not put to
death on account of expositions of Scripture, but be
cause they read the Bible. It was, therefore, opposi
tion to the Bible, and consequently Infidelity, that
caused innocent victims to suffer ! Why, right here
in the Infidel paper that contains the article of "Serve
tus," history is quoted to prove that in the time of
Pope Alexander V., " several persons were burned on
refusing to abjure their principles for having read the
New Testament." And in the same article Townley's
History is quoted as authority for the fact that a law
was passed by the English Parliament, in the reign of
Henry V., that all persons who read the Bible in their
mother tongue should forfeit their lives and all their
possessions. Yes, it was just such opposition to the
Bibleas " Servetus," Ingersoll, et al. , now manifest that
caused the bitter persecutions of the past. Those
bigoted Romanists and Churchmen were guided in
their bloody work by the spirit of Infidelity, whatever
may have been their pretensions to Christianity. So,
"Servetus," in the name of the friendsof the Bible, who
have suffered death rather than renounce it, I hurl back
the foul aspersion with indignation and scorn.
In the second place, wherever and whenever Infidel
ity has held sway the cloven-foot has been exhibited
and the crimson blood of humanity has flowed like
streams after heavy rains. It were sufficient merely to

330 APPENDIX.
call to mind the bloody persecutions waged by Infidel
Emperors and the well-known Reign of Terror in
France; but as that able and distinguished jurist,
Judge Jeremiah S. Black, has so forcibly presented
the contrast between Infidelity and Christianity, in his
inimitable review of Ingersoll, in the North American
Revieio, I give place to his eloquent remarks and treat
the reader to what he says : —
" Reflect what kind of a world this was when the disciples of
Christ undertook to reform it, and compare it with the condition in
which their teachings have put it. In its mighty metropolis, the
center of its intellectual and political power, the best men were ad
dicted to vices so debasing that I could not even allude to them
without soiling the paper I write upon. All manner of unprinci
pled wickedness was practiced in the private life of the whole popu
lation without concealment or shame, and the magistrates were
thoroughly and universally corrupt. Benevolence in any shape was
altogether unknown. The helpless and the weak got neither jus
tice nor mercy. There was no relief for the poor, no succor for
the sick, no refuge for the unfortunate. In aE pagandom there was
not a hospital, asylum, almshouse or organized charity of any sort.
The indifference to human life was literally frightful. The order
of a successfel leader to assassinate his opponents was always*
obeyed by his followers with the utmost alacrity and pleasure. It
was a special amusement of the populace to witness the shows at
which men were compelled to kill one another, to be torn in pieces
by wild beasts, or otherwise "butchered to make a Roman Holiday."
In every province paganism enacted the same cold-blooded cruel
ties; oppression and robbery ruled supreme; murder went ram
paging and red over all the earth. The church came, and her light
penetrated this moral darkness like a new sun. She covered the
globe with institutions of mercy, and thousands upon thousands of
her disciples devoted themselves exclusively to works of charity, at
the sacrifice of every earthly interest. Her earliest adherents were
killed without remorse — beheaded, crucified, sawn asunder, thrown
to the beasts, or covered with pitch, piled up in great heaps and
slowly burnt to death. But her faith was made perfect through
suffering, and the law of love rose in triumph from the ashes of her
martyrs. This religion has come down to us through the ages, at
tended all the way by righteousness, justice, temperance, mercy,
transparent truthfulness, exulting hope and white-winged charity.
Never was its influence for good more plainly perceptible than now.

APPENDIX. 331
It has not converted, purified, and reformed all men, for its first
principle is the freedom of the human will, and there are those who
choose to reject it. But to the mass of mankind, directly and indi
rectly, it has brought uncounted benefits and blessings. Abolish
it — take away the restraints which it imposes on evil passions —
silence the admonitions of its preachers — let all Christians cease
their labors of charity — blot out from history the records of its
heroic benevolence — repeal the laws it has enacted and the insti
tutions it has built up — let its moral principles be abandoned and
all its miracles of light be extinguished — what would we come to?
I need not answer this question ; the experiment has been partially
tried. The French nation formally renounced Christianity, denied
the existence of the Supreme Being, and so satisfied the hunger of
the Infidel heart for a time. What followed? Universal depravity,
garments rolled in blood, fantastic crimes unimagined before,
which startled the earth with their sublime atrocity. The Ameri
can people have and ought to have no special desire to follow that
terrible example of guilt and misery."
7. Our reviewer next admits the universe to be an
effect, but inquires if it is not " wholly unreasonable,
if not absurd in the third degree," to suppose that the
Creator thereof would write a book or employ an
amanuensis. I reply, no more unreasonable than to
create a world — no more absurd than to bring into ex
istence serpents and fleas. It would be very unrea
sonable to suppose that a good and kind Creator would
let man grope his way in the dark, and not give a
revelation to guide him. If there be a God, the most
reasonable and consistent thing he could do would be
to make verbal revelations. It is just as unreasonable
to suppose he would not do so, as to suppose a father
would never speak to his children and impart instruc
tion when they needed it. The unreasonable thing is
to reject the Bible, the absurd thing is for Infidels to
oppose the revelation God has in mercy given them.

332 APPENDIX.
It is as unreasonable as to close their natural eyes to
the light, as absurd as to attempt to blot out the sun.
" Wrong not the Christian, think not reason yours 1
•Tis reason our great Master holds so dear ;
'Tis reason's injured rights his wrath resents :
'Tis reason's voice obeyed his glories crown —
On argument alone our faith Is built."
8. Our reviewer next objects to the Bible for the
reason that everything in existence has been deified —
cats, dogs, snakes, crocodiles, etc., having been wor
shipped as gods.
Now, it is singular, not merely " in the third de
gree," according to the gentleman's phraseology, but
even in the first degree, that any sane man would op
pose the Bible because of the prevalence of idolatry,
when it is well known that the Bible is the great anti
dote for idolatry. While all other nations were wor
shipping objects of nature, bowing down to stocks and
stones, paying divine homage even to crawling rep
tiles, the Jews, revelation in hand, maintained a knowl
edge of the Supreme Ruler of the universe. While
some nations were worshipping cattle, they were sacri
ficing cattle to the all-wise God : and, with their off
spring, adoring a Being of infinite perfections, while
surrounding nations were causing their children to pass
through the fire to Moloch. And, furthermore, when
the gospel of Christ was preached, idolatry melted be
fore it like snow before the sun, causing even heathen
rulers to complain that their idolatrous temples had
ceased to be frequented. To oppose the Bible because

APPENDIX. 333
idolatry is practiced is as unreasonable as to kill the
cats because rats and mice are plentiful.
9. The next argument brought up is a remark of
Max Muller. He says ' ' that celebrated oriental
scholar ' ' maintains that Mohammedanism and Buddh
ism should be tested in the same manner as Chris
tianity, i.e., by their writings ; and then triumphantly
inquires what becomes of Mr. Scott's approximate
proof for the divinity of the Bible. Shades of Lycur
gus and Socrates ! Let Lord Bacon stand aside, and
Aristotle take off his hat in the presence of such logic !
' ' Servetus ' ' should have had the politeness to introduce
his premises to his conclusion, for they are certainly
very great strangers. If Max Muller had said all my
reviewer would make him say, it would not prove any
thing. But he misapprehends the idea of that author
altogether. He is not speaking of the relative evi
dences in favor of this system or those, but of the test
by which they are to be judged. That is, you are not
to look to the practices and opinions of its adherents
to learn the teachings of any particular religion, but
to the standard writings thereof. If you wish to learn
what Mohammedanism is, go to the Koran; if you
wish to learn what Buddhism is, go to the Tripitaka;
if you wish to know what Christianity is, go to the
New Testament. I readily accept the test. Then,
what becomes of " Servetus ' " objection to Christianity
on account of what some of its adherents have done?
Look to the speeches of Jesus the Christ, and to the

334 APPENDIX.
writings of his apostles, if you wish to test our relig
ion, and not to witch-hunting among the Puritans,
perversions and corruptions in Greek and Latin
churches, nor yet to divisions among Protestants at the
present day. According to this test, we have only to
compare the New Testament with the Koran to learn
the comparative merits of Christianity and Mohamme
danism. If we find the followers of Mahomet mur
dering idolaters and maintaining a plurality of wives,
we must examine the Koran, and if we find that it
recognizes such practices, we may legitimately set it
down as a part of that religion. Then, if we find fol
lowers of Christ drowning witches or burning persons
for reading the Scriptures, we must go to the New
Testament; and if we find no sanction of such con
duct there, we must conclude that it is no part of Chris
tianity, but a departure from its principles. This test
effectually demolishes an objection to Christianity
which runs through the article of ' ' Servetus ' ' and leav
ens the writings of modern Infidels generally. That
objection is that there are other religions besides Chris
tianity, claiming other books as sacred besides the
Bible. I say this test demolishes that objection, for
we have only to compare the Scriptures with the Koran
and all other so-called sacred books to be convinced
that the Bible is as superior to them as the sun to can
dles, or genuine gold to counterfeit coin. Compare,
for instance, the Koran with the New Testament. The
Koran- allows a plurality of wives in this life, and

APPENDIX. 335
promises the same in the life to come ; while Chris-
tianty allows but one wife, and teaches that " in the
resurrection they neither marry nor are given in mar
riage." The motto of Mahomet was the "Koran,
tribute, or the sword;" while Jesus enjoined non-
resistence, declaring that those who take the sword
shall perish with the sword. To refuse Christianity
because of the existence of Mohammedanism would
be like refusing pure gold because of the existence of
counterfeit coin ; and to refuse the Bible because of
the existence of effete religions with their sacred
books, such as Brahmanism with its Vedas, and Parsee-
ism with its Zend Avesta, is as illogical as to refuse
United States currency because the continental money
of our fathers is no longer valuable, or because there
existed for a short time a Southern Confederacy with
its currency, as attractive to the eye and as well exe
cuted mechanically as the present notes of our national
banks. 10. " Servetus " next raises the thread-bare cry of
contradictions in the Bible. I am astonished that he
should bring up this stale objection; especially in view
of my remarks on that subject in the very chapter
under review. The question is upon the analogy
between Nature and the Bible. I made an argument
on the fact that there are apparent discrepancies in
both, but no real contradictions in either. It is strange
that " Servetus " should raise the old war cry, without
paying any attention to my arguments and illustrations

336 APPENDIX.
on that subject. I refer the reader to page 33 of this
work. 11. He charges that the Bible contains " much
that is foolish, obscene and sanguinary." Will he
pretend that his modesty is shocked by reading the
Bible ? Is it necessary to remind him that even Inger
soll resigned his position as Vice-President in the
Infidel convention in Chicago, and gave it up in dis
gust, because they passed a resolution demanding a
repeal of the law against sending obscene literature
through the mails ! Again, must we conclude that God
is not the author of Nature, because we there find some
things contrary to our taste? And must we reject the
Bible for the same reason ? Such a course would be
more modest than wise. But he says the man without
his reason clouded " sincerely thinks it ought not to be
read at all by young persons." The great and good
of earth differ from him in that opinion. I make a
few quotations : —
" So great is my veneration for the Bible, that the earlier my chil
dren begin to read it the more confident my hopes that they will
prove useful citizens to their country, and respectable members of
society." — John Quincy Adams.
"That book, sir, is the rock on which our republic rests." —
Andrew Jackson.
" I have always said, and always will say, that the studious per
usal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers
and better husbands." — Thomas Jefferson.
"The Bible is the best book in the world." — John Adams.
"Worth all other books which were ever printed." — Patrick
Henry. " There is but one book." — Sir Walter Scott.
" I have always had, and always shall have a profound regard for
Christianity." — Henry Clay.

APPENDIX. 337
" I deem the present occasion sufficiently important and solemn
to justify me in expressing to my fellow-citizens a profound rever
ence for the Christian Religion." — President Harrison, in Inaugural
Address. " There is not a boy nor a girl, all Christendom through, but
their lot is made better by this great book." — Theodore Parker.
" I account the Scriptures of God to be the most sublime philos
ophy." — Sir Isaac Newton.
"A noble book. All men's book. It is our first statement of the
never-ending problem of man's destiny." — Thomas Carlyle. [Mr.
Carlyle alluded particularly to the book of Job.]
"The secret of England's greatness." — Queen Victoria.
For these, and many similar quotations, see Monsev's
Encyclopaedia, pages 446-448.
12. The last and least objection of " Servetus" is
that the Bible was written in languages not generally
understood. He thinks it shows lack of wisdom and
goodness to " indite in defunct Hebrew, Greek," etc.,
instead of English, German, etc., and thinks it should
have been inscribed on the firmament, " and in a
vernacular that could not be misapprehended" any
more than hunger and thirst !
Now, the unreasonableness of Infidelity will appear
when we inquire what " vernacular " it is that cannot
be misapprehended? and where can such a language
be found? There is no universal language in which
God could make a revelation, and inscribe it on the
firmament. Languages are born of circumstances, and
are subject to growth, decay and death. God does
exhibit^ wisdom and goodness. When any wise and
good man has anything to say to a people, he says it
in the language of that people. God does the same.
He speaks to men so as to be understood — takes their
22

338 APPENDIX.
language as he finds it. The talk of " Servetus " about
"defunct Hebrew" is calculated to mislead, if , in
deed, it was not intended to do so. God never did
" indite in defunct Hebrew," or any other " defunct "
language. The Hebrew was a living, spoken and well-
understood language when the Old Testament revel
ation was made. It was made to the Jews, and
made in their language. There being no universal
language, when Jehovah made a revelation to one
nation, he used the language of that one nation; but
when he made a revelation to the whole human
family, even the gospel, which was intended- for
all nations, he used the languages of all nations. He
did just what we would naturally and reasonably ex
pect him to do — endowed the apostles with power to
speak in all the languages of earth. Then, the New
Testament was written in Greek, but has since been
translated into all the languages of earth. The " wis
dom and goodness " exhibited in this matter, is second
only to that displayed in the remedial system itself.
Language being subject to mutation, if Hebrew and
Greek had remained living, spoken languages after the
Scriptures were written, the unavoidable changes of
18 centuries would have rendered the Bible to a great
extent unintelligible, and caused eternal contention and
dispute. But those becoming " defunct languages,''
to use the classical style of my reviewer, the Scriptures
became as it were stereotyped, and when any differ
ence arises over translations, scholars can appeal to the

APPENDIX. 339
original and see just what the Holy Spirit indited. So
great is the change of language, that Bibles and other
books written or printed in the English of past cen
turies cannot be understood by the English-speaking
people of to-day. As to the fallibility of translations,
mentioned by "Servetus," I would only remark that
however faulty a translation, it cannot change the
original; also that President Campbell echoed the
thought of all the well-informed when he said he had
never seen a translation of the Bible, in any language,
from which a man could not learn his duty, if disposed
to do it.
The statement of " Servetus " that Brahma wrote
a Bible in Sanscrit long before Moses was born, is a
mistake, like his statement that Atheism has a sacred
book put forward as a direct revelation. His state
ment that "Jesus wrote in Hebrew, or Greek, or
Syriac, or Aramaic ; it is not known which I " is a
similar mistake. Jesus never wrote anything, except
when he wrote with his finger in the sand ; and what
he then wrote was, like the argument of " Servetus,"
soon swept away.
Finally. I have introduced the foregoing ' ' review ' '
to show the weakness of Infidelity. Now, look at the
article of " Servetus " as a whole, and compare it with
the book of which it is intended to be a " review."
In the very preface of the Hand-Book of Christian
Evidence, the author asked three questions which he
defied the Infidel world to answer. "Servetus"

340 APPENDIX.
passed over them without mention. In Chapter I, the
author presented the analogy between Nature and the
Bible, which he showed to be at least threefold, mod
estly setting it forth as "approximate proof." The
reviewer undertook to reply to one point merely, and
in doing that scattered all over the world and the uni
verse, hurling handfuls of commonplace objections
that have been time and again exploded. In the sec
ond and third chapters, the author adduced prophecies
that had been strikingly fulfilled, defying Infidels to
show that one of them had failed. The reviewer at
tempted no review of those portions. In the following
chapters, the author proved, as he claimed, the resur
rection of Christ, and thence argued the divine origin
of the Christian religion, and by Infidel admissions,
facts of history, and almost innumerable miscellaneous
arguments. But the " reviewer " made no attempt to
" review." Why did he not? There can be but one an
swer — he could not. The strength of Infidelity is the
veriest weakness. And, although " Servetus " has done
about as well as any Infidel could have done, the author is
glad to insert his review entire to show how futile any
attempt to refute the standard evidences set forth in
this volume, and because it afforded an opportunity to
present and refute some of the most current Infidel
objections. But to multiply words is unnecessary as
it must be apparent to the reader that a persistent
Infidel can only remain such either through ignorance
or obstinacy. Some of them aver their " obstinacy."

APPENDIX. 341
Ingersoll, for example, in his lecture on "Love,
Liberty, and Law," published in The Owl, of Septem
ber, 1881, declares his unwillingness to believe in
Christianity, in the following words : —
" Rather than have this Christianity true, I would rather all the
gods would destroy themselves this morning. I would rather the
whole universe would go to nothing, if such a thing were possible,
this instant. Rather than have the glittering dome of pleasure reared
on the eternal abyss of pain, I would see the utter and eternal destruc
tion of this universe . I would rather see the shining fabric of our uni
verse crumble to unmeaning chaos and take itself where oblivion breeds
and memory forgets. I would rather the blind Sampson of some
imprisoned force, released by thoughtless chance, should so rack
and strain this world that man in stress and straint, in astonish
ment and fear, should suddenly fall back to savagery and bar
barity." Of course, if a man is determined to reject the Bible
at all hazards, preferring that his fellow-men should
become savages and barbarians rather than to have the
truth of the Christian religion established, he can dis
believe. But, if he will honestly and sincerely investi
gate the evidence, with a willingness to believe upon
testimony, he will not fail to find abundant proof that
the Bible contains a System of Religion of transcendent
worth and unrivalled beauty — a system adapted to
meet the wants and yearnings of man, lifting him up
from degradation and misery in this life, and assuring
him of a life to come. Those who do the will of God
know of the doctrine that it is true. All loyal subjects
of his reign find the Remedial System a never-failing
fountain, able to purify from all iniquity, and presen
them faultess before his throne, with exceeding joy.

INDEX TO QUOTATIONS.

PAGE
Agassiz, Prof., Graham Lectures  257
Adrian, Emperor  . . . . 189
American Cyclopsedia  280, 282, 306, 308
AnthOn, Prof. Charles  152
Addison, Spectator  50
Athenagorus  170
Atherstone, Fall of Nineveh  45, 48
Adams, John  336
Adams, John Quincy  336
Anaximenes  24
Aristotle  24
Atlantic Monthly  87
Astounding Pacts from the Spirit Land .... 134
Aristides  166
Abercius  166
Appollinarious  166, 204
Arrian  188
Appian  280
Adams' Map of History  264
Answer to Paine's Age of Reason  176
Agnostic  315
Boyle  2i
Black, Dr  24
Black, Judge Jeremiah S  263, 330
Breidenbachius  60
Browne, Dr. E. B. M., Jewish Rabbi  176
Bataneotes (Porphyry)  203
Bentley, Dr. R.,  210
(343)

344 INDEX TO QUOTATIONS. PAGE
Bards of the Bible  285
Blauvelt, Augustus  13
Braden, Clark, Problem of Problems  14
Bishop, the of Winchester  11
Bishop, the of Philadelphia  108
Bishops, the Gallican, Address to the Pope .... 106
Buckingham, Travels . .  51, 52
Burckhardt, J. L., Travels in Syria  54, 55
Barclay, Dr. J. T., City of the Great King . . . . 58, 59
Bochart  64
Brown, Capt. H. H  119, 125
Banner of Light  119,121,138,141
Brittan, S. B., Richmond and Brittan Debate . . . 122
Ballou, in N. Y. Tribune  137
Branch, Mrs. Julia  138
Berosus, Chaldean Historian  63, 151
Barnabas, Epistle  166, 220
Brevarium upon the Psalter  205, 310
Bloomfield, Greek Testament  306
Bingham, Antiquities  306, 307, 310
Bolton, Prof. W. J  310
Byron, Lord  28, 90, 326
Cartwright, John  47
Civilta Catolica  106
Campbell and. Purcell Debate .... 106, 108, 110
Codex Sinaiticus  173, 220
Clay, Hon. Henry  336
Carlyle, Sir Thomas  337
Constantine, Emperor  93
Chalmers, Christian Evidence  162
Claudius Apollinaris  169
Clement, of Alexandria  172
Clement, of Rome  166, 306
Celsus, True Word . . . 196, 198, 200, 201, 202, 203
Campbell, Alexander  196
Cyril Contr. Julian  207, 305

INDEX TO QUOTATIONS. 345
PAGE
Conybeare and Howson, Life and Epistles of Paul . 306, 307
Conway, Moncure D  264
Common Sense  144, 149, 264
Christian Standard  264
Cocker, Christianity and Greek Philosophy .... 266
De Pressense, Dr. E  10
Diodorus Siculus  43, 45, 46, 47
Du Pin, History  108
Davis, Andrew Jackson  117, 127, 130, 139
Diogenes Laertius  225
Doddridge, Dr. Philip  201, 204
Diogenes, Philosopher,  24
Duke of Somerset,  13
Dryden, Poet,  288
Ellicott, Bishop C. J  11
Encyclopedia on Evidences  220, 337
Epistle of Barnabas  220
Evangelical Preparation  . . 282
Encyclopaedia Brittanica  80
Educator  119
Errett, Isaac, Spiritualism Self-Condemned, . 126, 127, 128, 130
Eusebius, Pamphilus  170, 171, 174, 280
Epictetus  188, 191
Froude, James Anthony  9
Fisher, Prof  9
Fowle  12
Furness, Dr. W. H  175
Fenelon, Lives of Ancient Philosophers .... 225
Gladstone, Prime Minister  12
Gibbon, Sir Edward, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
79, 80, 84, 105, 113, 182, 157, 213, 274, 268, 284, 303
Graves, Kersey  69
Gregory the Great  1°3> li3
Grant, Miles, Spiritualism Unveiled .... 124, 125

346 INDEX TO QUOTATIONS. PAGE
Greenleaf, Simon, LL. D., Testimony of the Evangelists, 162, 164, 294
Gridley, Dr  134, 137
Galileo  24
Gesenius, Hebrew Lexicon,  30
Gregory, Olynthus,  99
Gemara  192
Gilfillan, George,  286
Hurst, Prof  9
Hinsdale, B. A., Genuineness and Authenticity of the Gos
pels  12, 165, 171, 221
Haitho, an Armenian  47
Herodotus  63, 64, 66
Harris, Dr. T. L  119, 133, 146
Hatch, Dr. B. F  134
Hitchcock, Geology  149
Heinson, Carl  149
Hales  24
Harris' Great Teacher  279
Hall, Dr. Wilford  146
Hecateus  152
Hume  100, 293
Henry, Patrick  336
Harrison, Pres. William Henry  337
Irby  65
Inglis, Missionary  264
Illustrated Rambles in Bible Lands  229
Indianapolis Sentinel  176
Ignatius  167
Irenaeus, Against Heresies  170, 171
Ingersoll, Col. R. G  292, 341
Josephus, Flavius, Antiquities . 50, 152, 178, 222, 224, 299, 304
Josephus, Against Apion  63, 75
Josephus, Wars of the Jews . 58, 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 84, 262, 300

INDEX TO QUOTATIONS.

347

PAGE
Josephus, Auto -biography ....*... 75
Joliffe, Travels  68
Jewell, Apology and Defence  107
Justin, Martyr, Apology  166, 169, 170
Jerome  205
Julian, Emperor .... 206,207,209,211,213,305
Juvenal, Satire  183
Jackson, Pres. Andrew  336
Jefferson, Pres. Thomas  336
Keith  72
Kitto, Dr. John  60, 51, 60, 308
Keppel, Travels  69, 70, 73
Knox, Thos. W., Life and Adventures in the Orient . 86, 87, 89
Koran .  212
Liddon  11
Lindsay, Lord, Letters on Egypt, etc  61, 52
Lucian  46, 152
Lucian, of Syria, Letters to Cronius .... 190, 193
Lardner, Credibility  167, 193, 300
Lucian, in Philopatrus  225
Lucian's Poetry  275
Lightfoot, Dr. J. B  192, 270, 308
Lavoisier  25
Liebig  25
Lane's Egyptian Customs ...*... 93
Lateran, Third Council of  113
Latin Testament  114
Light from the Spirit World  136
Lewis, Mrs  138
Letters to a Pious Man  160
Libanius  206
Liberal League Advocate  315, 316
Milligan, Pres. R., Reason and Revelation . . .11, 166, 257
MacPherson, of Scotland  10

348 INDEX TO QUOTATIONS. PAGE
Messages  140
Monroe, Editor Seymour Times  148, 150
Melito  166
Mishna  192
Methodius  204
McGarvey, Prof. J. W  226, 228
Monser, J. W  220
Mountford's "Miracles Past and Present " .... 173
Mignan, Travels .  72
Milman, H. H  81
Manners and Customs of Egypt  93, 94
Milner's Religious Denominations  138
Munnell, Thos., Heathen Testimonies  152
Muller, Max., Lecture on Missions .... 268, 269
Max Muller's " Chips From a German Workshop " . . 319
Miller, Hugh  152, 258
Mill, John Stuart  175
Mills' Prolegomena to the New Testament .... 204
Martial, Epigrams  182
Muratori's Canon  219, 220
Milton, Ode to the Nativity  275
Molina  105, 106
Nieuburh  47
New York World (Number of Jews)  92
Nichols, Dr. T. L., Magazine  119, 120
New York Times and other Newspapers .... 122
Newton, Sir Isaac . .  26, 337
Newton, Dr. R., Rambles in Bible Lands . . 107, 228, 229
Newton, Bishop, on the Prophecies  279
New American Cyclopaedia  282
Neander, Dr. A., Ch. History  272, 277
North American Review  263, 330
Origen, Reply to Celsus  173, 197, 306
Owen, Prof  256
Olshausen  24

INDEX TO QUOTATIONS. 349
PAGE
Porter, Sir Robert K., Travels  69, 70, 73
Parliament of France  113
Purcell, Archbishop, Campbell and Purcell Debate. 106, 107, 109
Popes of Rome  108, 109, 114
Pope, Alexander, Universal Prayer  110
Potter, Dr. Wm. B., Spiritualism . . . 121, 122, 136, 138
Peebles, James M  143
Peterson, Col. R  147
Polycarp  167, 168
Papias  167
Pliny the Younger  186, 188, 189
Pressense, Dr. De  10
Priestly, Dr  25, 146
Playfair, Dr  25
Picayune (N. O.)  81
Pall Mall Gazette  81
Providence Journal  135
Problem of Human Life  1*7
Philo, Jewish Philosopher  162, 181
Paine's Age of Reason ... ... 175, 176
Philopatris  225
Plutarch  280,281
Plato  279
Parker, Theodore  837
Pausanias  225
Porphyry, (called Bataneotes,) . . 203, 205, 207, 282, 310
Phileleutherus Liepsenias  210
Paley, Evidences  216
Quadratus, Apology  166
Queen Victoria  837
Robinson, Geo., Travels in Palestine  62
Richardson, Dr. Robert, Travels  57, 58
Rich, J. C, Journey to the Site of Nineveh . . .48, 69, 72
Ryal, Travels  69, 70, 71
Roberts, Oriental Illustrations  83

350 INDEX TO QUOTATIONS. PAGE
Randolph, Dr. P. B  121, 123, 130
Religio-Philosophical Journal .... 24, 125, 135
Renan, Ernest 168, 169, 180, 182, 192, 214, 237, 239, 260, 263, 308
Richmond, B. W., Richmond-Brittan Debate, . . 172, 265
Routh's Reliquias Sacrae  306
Scott, Dr. Thomas, Answer to Paine's Age of Reason, . . 176,
Scott, Sir Walter, Lady of the Lake .... 16, 336
Scott, Eld. Walter, Messiahship or Great Demonstration, . 16, 266
Seetzen  55
Saxe, John'G.,  131
Spirit Rapping Unveiled  124, 134, 140
Stine, Dr. I. J  144
Shuckford's Connections  152
Suetonius  185, 261, 280
Socrates  207
Schaff, Prof. Philip, Apostolic Church, . . 260, 272, 273, 274,
278, 280, 306
Smith's Elements of Divinity  309
Smith's Bible Dictionary  272
Seneca  272
Starkie, Treatise on Laws of Evidence .... 287
Sunday School Times  321
St. Louis Presbyterian  298
Strabo  67, 84
Schmucker's Religious Denominations  146
Smith George (monumental inscriptions) .... 152
Shepherd of Hermas  167
Sibylline Oracles  280
Sallust  280
"Servetus" (?)  316,320
Tatian, of Syria  170
Thevenot, and Tavernier  47
Talmud  192, 193, 195, 308
Tacitus, C. C, Roman History . . .84, 183, 184, 261, 303
Tertullian, The Resurrection  103 172

INDEX TO QUOTATIONS. 351
PAGE
Tiffany, Joel  126, 127, 224
Theophilus Autolycus  170
Tristram, Canon  228
Thales, Philosopher,  23
Torricello  24
Titus, Roman Emperor  75
Theophylact  205
Tischendorf, Dr. A. F. C  172, 173, 220
Trajan, Emperor  187
Taylor, Diegesis  215
Tyler, Prof. W. S., Theology of the Greek Poets . . 257, 286
Tribune (N. Y.)  81, 121, 130, 137
Times (London)  81
Tiffany and Mahan Debate  126
Universal History, by Nicolaus -  151
Universal Prayer, by Alexander Pope  110
Von Guericke, Otto  24
Virgil, Poet  262
Volney, M. C. F., Travels Through Syria . . 57, 84, 85, 88
Volney's Ruins  59, 60, 69, 73, 87, 88, 90, 91
Voltaire ...  144
Watts, Dr. Isaac  39
Wickens, Stephen B  52, 80
Warner, Charles Dudley  86
Waddington, History  110, 112
Wilson, E. V., Spiritualism . . 118, 119, 120, 125, 130, 135, 137
Wesley, Charles  255
Walker, James M  144
Wise, Dr. Isaac M  180, 181, 195, 197, 215, 303
Xenophon . .  66, 64, 65, 66
Younger Pliny  186, 188
Zoroaster, Zend Avesta  278

READ THE FOLLOWING PRESS NOTICES :
Sunday- School Times, Philadelphia. — " ' A Hand Book of Chris
tian Evidence,' by the, Rev. Laurence W. Scott. — The line of argument
is more than able ; it is really grand. It is followed up, moreover, with
lively eloquence, noble bravery, and stout ability, such as are worthy of
all praise. The whole is the result of a vast deal of reading and splendid
common sense, coupled with a masculine skill in speaking, to men.
Taken altogether, or even in either one of its two parts; it is unanswer
able, or even unassailable, as a vindication of the Christian faith."
Christian Standard, Cincinnati. — " Bro. Scott has given his time
and his heart to this subject for many years, and has had an opportunity
to test his positions and arguments in numerous debates with unbe
lievers. He has succeeded in presenting the standard evidences of
Christianity in a condensed form, yet with clearness and freshness ; and
has added to this a good deal that relates to some of the more modern
phases of Infidelity. Spiritism comes in for a severe handling. It is a
very readable book, contains much valuable historical matter, and has
the advantage of presenting all this in small space, so that ordinary
readers will not be repulsed by the size of the book or tediousness of tp.e
, argument. In these days of doubt, the more people can be persuaded
to read such books the better. We hope it will have a large sale. Tbe
publisher deserves honorable mention for the neatness and taste dis
played in the arrangement and mechanical execution ofthe work."
Republican, St-. Louis. — "It is an earnest and conscientious effort,
and deserves the attention that is due to sincere motives and honest
belief." American Christian Review, Cincinnati.^" Tt is a compendium
of irrefutable facts and figures."
Old Path Guide.—" A vast amount of valuable information on
the evidences of Christianity has been gathered and concentrated into
this volume. Iu this lies its chief value. His chapter on fulfilled
prophecies is the best we have ever seen on that part of Christian evi
dence. Bro. Scott has done the cause of Christ a real service in the
production of this book. It is adapted to the wants of the people on
the all-absorbing question of the foundation of their faith. It deserves
to be widely circulated without regard to party lines in religion." -
Texas Baptist Herald.— "The author has had many a tus
sle with modern Infidels, and knows their fallacies and hiding places,

as" well as their points and methods of attack on Christianity. It comes
in as a healthful companion to Christians in the Warfare Infidelity is
now waging against them."
Texas Baptist.— •" A Hand- Book of Christian Evidence; By Lau
rence W. Scott, the man who completely routed the imported champion
of Infidelity in Paris,, Tt'xas, more than four years ago. We have
not yet read the book, but if he handles his subject as well as he did Dr.
Stine, of Kansas, the lovers of truth all over the land will purchase the.
book and still owe the author, a debt of gratitude, which they will be
more ready to acknowledge than able fully to pay."
Central Christian Advocate (Methodist,) St. Louis. — " The
author in the Preface indicates his scheme by asking the honest skeptic
in regard to the Bible and Christianity: 1. " What evidence "would it
require to-convince you ? 2. What evidence has been adduced ? and 3. In^
case the religion of Jesus were true, what evidence could be adduced, iii'
its favor that has not been adduced ?" With these questions in mind he
presents first, proof on the divine origin of the Bible, and second, proof-
of the divine origin of the Christian religion. Under the first head he
presents its analogy to nature and prophesy, taking up the principal
prophecies separately and making a strong presentation ofthe argu-d
ment. Under the second head, the credibility of the Gospels and Acts-
of the Apostles is forcibly maintained, the resurrection of Jesus showft
to be fully established, and the corroborative evidences which strengthen
the proof are set forth. It is an earnest and intelligent treatment of
the subject from the point of view taken, and is to be commended as
such." St. Louis Presbyterian. — "This is a bold defense of Christian
Truth. The author carries himself as one absolutely sure of his posi
tion. And why not ? If the Clyistian citadel is not utterly impregnable, .
if it is so constructed as to warrant the least trepidation on the appear
ance of an enemy, it ought to be abandoned. In other words, our
necessities, the soul's value and peril justify the demand of reason that,
any religion which invites our confidence shall offer perfect, invincible
security. And the glory of the Gospel is its absolute certainty. Our
author fully appreciates this, and he makes a noble contribution to its
demonstration. The First Part of his able work maintains the Divine
Origin of the Bible, which is seen in its unity and harmony, its adap
tion to man, and in fulfilled prophecies. The Second Part is devoted- to'
an irrefutable argument, revolving around Christ Himself, to prove'the
Divine Origin of the Christian religion. This practical work will con
found skeptics and confirm believers."

Texas Christian, Preacher.—" Valuable Book."
Christian Messenger, Texas.— "Bro. Laurence W. Scott's new
book on Christian Evidence is out and the Messengerh&a received a copy.
Itis a neatly bound volume of over 300 pages, and is quite well written.
We hesitate not to say that it will be of great benefit to any of our
¦preachers, or members to become familiar with the contents of this book.
Bro. Scott has written in a pleasant style, and it will not weary you to
road what he has said. As a scribe well versed in the law, he brings out
of the treasure, things new and old, and gives us a taste of both ancient
and modern Infidelity. Price $1.50."
Denison Neivs.—" Elder Scott has made a favorable reputation in
Texas as a religious debater. Two or three years ago he locked horns in
debate with Mr Peterson, editor of Common Sense, which was without
doubt one of the most interesting and closely contested controversies of
the 'kind. ever held in the State."
Common Sense.—" We had a tussle with Mr. Scott, and we know
^lim to be a perfect gentleman in debate, and a far better logician and
.advocate of the general doctrines and evidences of Christianity than
parson DItzler is or ever was — even in his palmiest days."
Sulphur Springs Gazette — " Elder Scott is an able debater, and
is doing much good for the cause of Christianity. He wars against In
fidelity, and draws crowded houses wherever he goes ."
Denison Herald.— " As a debater Elder Scott has but few equals."
Round Rock Headlight. — " Dr. Scott has great reputation as a
dialectician." . Honey Grove Independent.—" Elder Scott is one of the ablest
ministers of his denomination."
Port Smith Daily Herald. — "Elder Scott is a famous theolo
gian and lecturer, and has received many flattering testimonials from
the press of the United States."
- Apostolic Times. — "Bro. Laurence W. Scott, lectured last week
to agood audience at Broadway church this city. He makes a highly
entertaining and instructive lecture. We commend him to the brother
hood- elsewhere, and ask for him a good hearing wherever he goes. Bro.
Scott is the author of a book on Christian Evidences, and is a man of
parts." "This is a book for the million."
Chicago Evangelist. — "The author has diligently collated the
standard arguments on the questions at issue, and presents them in a
convincing manner."

Liberal League Advocate. — "The following-is from fhe Liberal
League Advocate, (now called the Agnostic',) an Infidel paper, published at
Dallas, Texas. We insert it to show what Infidels have to say of this
work : " Mr. L. W. Scott, has written and published a Hand-book of
Christian Evidences. It consists of about three hundred pages, andis
a model of typography in paper, print and binding. I am free to con
fess that it is the best effort, for the space occupied, of any work I ha^e
examined upon this subject. [ would advise all Christians, who want lo
be able to give a reason for their faith (as good a one as the subject will
admit of), to peruse this book. A great many pious people are totally
unprovided with facts or theories concerning the history of their religion,
and hence when they come in contact with unbelievers they are perfectly
amazed and horrified, and as a natural consequence of this nientalcon-
dition, they have no defense to make but to denounce and call hard'
names,' and wind up with death-beds and hell-fire. Mr. Scott, it is true,
has merely presented his side of the question, but he has done it in a
gentlemanly, and not in a Christian manner. He has not, like David,
called people " fools " who entertained adverse opinions. Asa general
thing, piety does not improve the manners nor enhance the understand-.
ing : but, happily, Mr. Scott presents " evidence" here not only of great
ability but of good breeding."
TESTIMONIALS.
In addition to the many complimentary press notices, which this book
has, received, some of the distinguished men of the country have eulo-
.gized it in letters to the author and otherwise. We have selected a few
samples. Professor J. W. McGarvey writes : " It deserves, and will receive a
large sale."
-Professor O. S\ Fowler, Phrenologist, writes: "It puts these proofs in
a clearer, strongei light."
Elder J. A. Brooks writes: "It ought to be in every Christian family."
President E. Graham writes : "It ought to reach the million."

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