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New Testament , which , in the main , accord , as to facts and doctrines , Witt the Greek manuscripts . Here a ^ ain , as likewise in the quotations contained in the voluminous writings of the
Greek Fathersy we have a proof that the Christian Scriptures hare , for the most part , descended to U 3 in the same state in which they came from the writers themselves .
Bishop Marsh illustrates his observations by a reference to the history of the celebrated text in 1 John v . 7-He is aware , that not only a specific argument on which himself insists , but every argument for the integrity
of the New 1 estament , which he uses in this Lecture , must fall at once to the ground , " if it be true that the passage in question proceeded from the pen of St . ' John . " Nothing can be more satisfactory than his estimate of the evidence * both external and
internal , which some critics perceive , or fancy that they perceive , in behalf of the disputed words . His conclusion does great honour to his discernment and learning as a scholar , and to his fidelity as a lecturer . In the opinion of this very able judge ,
" The sacrifice of that principle , by which we defend the general integrity of the New Testament , is a sacrifice to which the passage is not entitled . That important principle therefore remains unshaken , and the general integrity of
the New Testament is liable to no objection . That principle has been rescued from the danger to which many incautious friends of Christianity have exposed it , by endeavouring inadvertentl y to defend a part , at the expense of the whole . " —P . 28 .
We have thus laid before our readers a summary of the Professor ' s twenty-seventh lecture : in the twentyeighth he argues from the character of the writers of the New Testament to the credibility of their writings . Beginning with the historic books , the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles , he , in the first place , considers " the Gospels of St . Matthew and St . John . " These Evangelists not only saw and heard what was said and done
by * our Saviour ; they themselves bore a part in the transactions which they have recorded . Their sincerity is undeniable . Not merely did they renounce all worldly advantages ; : they submitted to persecutions * such as no
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man would endure , except fronk a firm conviction , that he was propagating nothing but the truth . The sufferings , too , which they underwent , were not accidental or unforeseen . Further , it is not credible that the apostolic historians were deceived
themselves . The facts which they re- * corded were of such a description , that nothing more was wanted than the use of their senses to determine , whether these events really happened or not . In the conduct of the apostles no signs of fanaticism appear . These men even doubted the truth of their Master ' s resurrection , till they were convinced of it by Ids actual
presence . The situation and circumstances of the Evangelists Matthew and John , attest the credibility of their narratives : the dates of their several Gospels , in respect both of place and
time , prove the moral impossibility of these compositions containing a fabricated story . Had this kind of fraud been attempted , the detection of it was unavoidable . In Judaea , and beyond Judaea , numbers of persons were still living , by whom the imposture
would have been exposed . Yet the Jews who embraced Christianity in the apostolic age , gave positive evidence of their own belief in the gospel history . And even those of this nation who rejected Christianity have , at least indirectly , borne testimony in its favour . No where do we learn that
they regarded the gospel history as a fable : no where do we find that the unbelieving Jews questioned the reality of the miracles , however they evaded the proper inference from them . The first apostolic historian was naf ; confuted by the Hebrew Jews : the otner apostolic historian was not confuted by the Greek Jews .
Though . Mark and Luke did not write from their own knowledge , yet these Evangelists derived their information from the best sources which can be opened to those who rel y on others for intelligence : the credibility , therefore , of their respective Gospels ,
rests on a foundation which is perfectly secure . In estimating that credibility ,, there are two subjects of special inquiry : the former of them regards the materials ; tjie second , the mode in which those materials were eoiplctyfcd .
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*< Review . —Bishop of Peterbojrougtes Course of Lectures . Pt . VI . 4 & ?
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vol . xvn . 3 s
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1822, page 497, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2515/page/41/
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