ADDITIONS, ALTERATIONS, AND INTERPOLATIONS.
We have a vast amount of testimony to prove that councils, churches, and clergymen arrogated to themselves a lawless license to change, insert, and leave out various texts, chapters, and even whole books, from "God's unchangeable word," till it may now be assumed to be thoroughly changed. From a large volume of testimonies we will cite a few: The version of the Old Testament made under Ptolemy Philadelphus, 287 B.C.,—the most reliable version extant,—Bishop Usher pronounces a spurious copy, full of interpolations, additions, and alterations. He says, "The translators of the Septuagint added to, and took from, and changed at pleasure;" and St. Jerome says that Origen did the same thing with the New Testament. Bishop Marsh testifies, in like manner, that Origen, who first collected the Bible books together, confessed that he made many alterations in them before they fell into the hands of the Council of Nice. Dr. Bentley admits that the best copy of the New Testament contains hundreds of irreparable omissions, errors, and mistakes. The Rev. Dr. Whitby says, "Many corruptions and interpolations were made almost in the apostolic age." Dupin says, "Several authors took the liberty to add, retrench, correct divers things." Some of the clergy and churches rejected books which did not suit them, while others altered them to suit their fancy. We are told that Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, made countless numbers of alterations in the Bible in the sixth century for the purpose of making them suit his Church. Eusebius says he found so much proof that the Gospel of Matthew had been altered and corrupted, that he rejected it as being unworthy of confidence. Victor Wilson informs us that a general alteration of the Gospels took place at Constantinople in the year 506 by order of the Emperor Anastasius. St. Jerome complains that in his time many alterations had been made in the Bible, and that its different translations were so essentially changed that "no one copy or translation resembled another." Scaliger testifies that the clergy and the churches put into their scriptures whatever they thought would serve their purpose. Michaelis says, "They thrust in and thrust out as best suits fancy." In the name of God, we would ask how any person in his sober reason can think of finding "all scripture given by inspiration of God" in the midst of such a general wreck, ruin, and demolition of the original scriptures. It is as impossible as to raise the dead or to find Charlie Ross. The Rev. Dr. Gregory says that no profane author has suffered like the Bible by profane hands. Where, then, can we find "all scripture given by inspiration of God"?