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that €€ this is the disciple which testifieth of these things , and wrote these things ; and we know that his testimony is true . And there are also many other things which Jesus did , the which , if they should be written every one , / suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be
written / ' Who the we and / are in the above , the writer has not vouchsafed to tell U 3 ; but the orthodox church , to get rid of the difficulty , says , but without any proof , that the concluding verses were not written by John , but by the Church at Ephesus .
For my own part I confess , that the beginning , middle and end , of this extraordinary book , appear so much of a piece ^ that I cannot believe it was written by the apostle ; and from the corruptions it has been the means of introducing into the pure religion of
Jesus , I should rejoice to see both those spurious books expunged from the sacred volume . For , how is it possible , whilst we retain such books , to expect by argument to convert an enlightened Unbeliever to the truth of the Christian revelation ?
In the observations I have made on these spurious books , I do not mean to insinuate that they are ail fiction ; on the contrary , I am well satisfied , when compared with Luke , they contain some facts of the scenes in which
our Lord was engaged during his ministry , and many of his sayings and exhortations , for without these there could have been no pretext for admitting them into the sacred volume . But this cannot make them worthy of being retained there , for such facts being found in other well-authenticated books
are not wanted ; and if found in those books only , they are of too doubtful a character to entitle them to credit . I have only selected a few of the most striking corruptions that have been established , and are supported
from Matthew and John ; but I earnestly hope it may excite abler talents to labour in the same cause of purifying the Christian Scriptures , by exposing and expunging the spurious books and corrupt doctrines . The task is the most useful and honourable
m which they can be engaged ; for as by human instrumentality its corruptions were introduced , so by the same means must its recovery be effected , by promoting its progressive march ,
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till its final and glorious accomplishment—that it may no longer remain in its present state , to the Jew a stumbling block , and to the Unbeliever foolishness .
Unitarians ( who now generally acknowledge the authenticity of all the books ) will probably say , We see no necessity for expunging any books from the New Testament . We believe
that we do already understand and hold the pure doctrines of Christianity , and are constantly preaching and writing against the corrupt doctrines of the orthodox church . But how is this
done ? By a never-ceasing warfare of words ! Each party generally leavin g off where he began y both satisfied with their own previous opinions . As long as these spurious parts of the New Testament are retained , both the
enlightened Unbeliever and the ortho- * dox champion are furnished with fair weapons for the combat , whilst the Unitarian is reduced to the hard necessity , not of proving the truth of the doctr ines he himself holds , from
the well-authenticated Scriptures ^ whilst admitting the authenticity of all the books , in repelling the doctrines and arguments of his opponent , which he can only attempt to do by criticism and dextrous management , changing
the arrangement of passages , trans - * posing figurative language into plain , and plain into figurative , and by these means endeavouring to explain away the meaning of all the strong * passages brought by his opponent in favour of his doctrines . What , for instance , can
be more impracticable than all attempts to reconcile Luke iv . 22 , and Matt . xiii . 55 , ( where the same fact is related with more particulars , ) both proving that Jesus , from the declaration of his neighbours and townsfolks , who must have known him from his
infancy , was the son of Joseph and Mary , with Matt . i . 18 , and John i . 9 —14 ? How much better to labour in detecting the spurious books , than to labour in vain in attempting to reconcile that which is irreconcileab le ! And how can a Unitarian , by such
means as these , expect to satisfy » n Unbeliever of a religion being from God , that admits of such contradictions , and requires resorting to such means for its defence ? I will now endeavour to shew the Unbeliever what Christianity » accord
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528 Attempt to distinguish between Genuine mid Spurious Christianity .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Sept. 2, 1820, page 528, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2492/page/28/
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