On this page
- Departments (1)
-
Text (3)
-
Untitled Article
-
Untitled Article
-
REVIEW. «c Still pleased to praise, yet not afraid to blame." — Pope.
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
( # 6 5
Untitled Article
Art . I . —A Course , of Lectures , containing' a Description and systematic Arrangement of the several Branches of Divinity : accompanied with an Account both of the principal ! Authors , and of the Progress , ichich has been made at different Periods , in Theological Learning-.
By Herbert Mareh , D . D . F . R . S . and F . A . S ., Lord Bishop of Peterborough , and Margaret Professor of Divinity . Part VI . On the Credibility of the New Testament . Cambridge ^ printed , &c \ Sold , in London , by F * C . and J . Rivington . 1822 ; 8 vo . pp . 95 .
FTHHE author of this Course of Lec-JL tures has appeared before the public on several occasions : in no characters so advantageously as in those of the Annotator on Michaelis ' Introduction , &c , and of Lad y Margaret ' s Professor of Divinity . Among living writers , both in our own country and on the continent , Bishop
Marsh stands conspicuous , for a knowledfete of the sources tod principles of biblical criticism , and for skill in applying it to its proper ends . His 3 te < juJamtance , moreover , with other branches of theology , is extensive and correct ; while the vigour of his mind , fully aided by a literary education , has prepared him for discerning all the shades of historical and moral
evidence , for arranging his materials in the most lucid order , for making his statements with admirable perspicuity , Conciseness and precision , and for reasoning closely and successfully . Such
are 'his" qualifications and excellencies as a lecturer in divinity : nor will they fail of being recognized ; even though he is chargeable sometimes with omissions , ana sometimes with the introduction of matter which is
entirely irrelevant . It may be useful to remind our readers , that the subject of the fifth part of the Lectures was the authenticity % > N < f the ew Testament ; * that by its authenticity the Professor * Mon . Repos . XV . 473 .
Untitled Article
understands its having proceeded from the pens of the individuals to whom its contents are severally ascribed—a signification of the term , which he now further illustrates and vindicates . Bishop Marsh next advances to treat of the credibility of the Christian Scriptures . This , he properly © b-
serves , is a distinct topic : " the . question-of authorship is one thing , the question of tr ^ i th is another" ( p . 1 ) . With equal justness he remarks , ( 5 , ) that " the credibility of the New Testament must be established independently of its inspiration , or it cannot be established , at all . "
Before he offers arguments for the credibility of this volume , he examines into the integrity of the writings , which compose it : he inquires , whether " the books which we possess as works of Apostles and Evangelists , are the same bookajas those which were composed by Apostles and - Evangelists ?" But he does not confound the . notion
of integrity with the notion of a per * feet texti : he distinguishes between a copy of the Greek . Testament , in which there shall be no deviation from the autographs of the sacred tvriters , and one in which there is as near an approximation to a perfect text , as un ^ der all circumstances can . be justly
expected . * ' If ; " says he , " can prove , that the New Testament has descended to . us , upon the whole , in the same state in which it was originally written , and that we may justly confide in every thing which relates to fact 3 and to doctrines , this will be sufficient / ' , «
The Professor , accordingly , shews , that a general corruption of the sacred text was not in itself practicable . Different parties were mutually watchful : copies were widely and quickly multiplied . No union of sentiment existed : no combination embracing
the majority of Christians , could be formed . Such a combination , even had it been feasible , could not be carried into effect , without becoming a matter dof aotariety . The impediments to this » corruption were further augmented by the ancient versions of the
Review. «C Still Pleased To Praise, Yet Not Afraid To Blame." — Pope.
REVIEW . « c Still pleased to praise , yet not afraid to blame . " — Pope .
-
-
Citation
-
Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1822, page 496, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2515/page/40/
-