On this page
-
Text (1)
-
Untitled Article
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
-
-
Transcript
-
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
Untitled Article
b y history to have been believers in the miraculous conception long before history even mentions the name of " Ebionite ; " and it would have been somewhat miraculous if either Ebioriites or Gnostics could have dfobelieved the report of the miraculous conception , if at the time of such their disbelief they had never heard of it . In truth , Mr . B ., in p . 7 , really states as an argument in his favour , that
" Trypho the Jew , in his dialogue with Justin Martyr , early in the second century , reproaches the Christians for their belief in the miraculous concept tion" ! Well : the scoffing Israelite will answer Mr . Belsham ' s purpose , doubtless , although the " Hebrew Christians" and " philosophizing Gentile believers" turned out to be non-effectives ! In the name of common sense , however , what conclusion does the statement sanction but this—that
at that very early period the Christians did believe in the doctrine of the miraculous conception ? And the very prevalence of that belief , at an era so near to the publication of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke , doth of itself alone furnish a very strong presumption in favour of the authenticity of the narrative contained in them .
Let it be remarked , that the writer makes use of the expression " scoffing Israelite , " for the reason that such was the individual character of Trypho , and not with the view of insinuating any indirect reproach against the Jews as a people ; who , in point of moral conduct towards their fellows , and devout veneration for the God they worship , need not , it is believed , fear a comparison with Christians in similar situations and circumstances of life . But how often do Christians in their demeanour towards the Jews forget that generous principle , that most essential part of a Christian ' s duty , charity !
The reflecting Christian will always bear in mind that all the evangelists and apostles , and even Jesus himself , were Jews ; and that the ancestors of the present race of Jews were righteous , worshiping in the consecrated temple of the true God , at a period when our forefathers were , and for ages upon ages before had been , grovelling in heathenish idolatry ! And above all , let it not be forgotten that the time will come ( and it may be close at hand ) when for the Jew as well as for the Christian , there will be but one Shepherd and one fold . ¦
It is asserted , too , that the miraculous conception of Jesus would not infer his pre-existence ; but , whether it would or not , it at least proves that he was not the Son of Joseph , as Mr . Belsham attempts to maintain throughout his work ; and it shews also , Luke i . 35 , why he was called the Son of God : and at the same time that verse establishes the fact , that he was so called in a sense and for a reason totally different from what the " Calm Inquiry" represents .
It remains for the writer of the above observations most earnestly and absolutely to disclaim that they have proceeded from any want of respect towards the author of the Calm Inquiry , either on the score of his great talents or of his irreproachable character ; much less is there meant to be attributed to him any other than well-meant intentions . If , however , much be conceded , there is not , on the other side , any alternative but to refer his
positive but unsanctioned conclusions , and his reference to authorities simulatively sound , but in reality corrupt , to his having been led away in his Calm Inquiry , by the headlong zeal of an indiscreet partisan : and , however pure may have been the motive , the practical result is pernicious , inasmuch as it tends in the minds of but too many to lessen the credibility of the Sacred Volume ; for great is the number of those who , not having had leisure , means , or capadty , competently to examine the subject for them-
Untitled Article
St . Luke ' s Gospel 259
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1827, page 259, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1795/page/27/
-