CHAPTER IV.
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS—CONTINUED.
BASILIDES—VALENTINUS—MARCION—TATIAN—DIONYSIUS OF CORINTH—MELITO OF SARDIS—CLAUDIUS APOLLINARIS—ATHENAGORAS—EPISTLE OF VIENNE AND LYONS—PTOLEMÆUS, HERACLEON, CELSUS—CANON OF MURATORI.
Our author says of Basilides, "He was founder of a system of Gnosticism, who lived at Alexandria about the year 125. With the exception of a very few brief fragments, none of his writings have been preserved, and all our information regarding them is derived from writers opposed to him. Eusebius states that Agrippa Castor, who had written a refutation of the doctrines of Basilides, 'Says that he had composed twenty-four books upon the gospel.' This is interpreted by Tischendorf to imply that the work was a commentary upon our four Gospels, a conclusion the audacity of which can scarcely be exceeded" (p. 42). I remark that by "the gospel" would be meant the gospel which was preached by the apostles, and Tischendorf is not far wrong in supposing that the written records of it in the hands of the first Christians was the subject of the commentary. Our author has certainly not proved the contrary. He says: "We know that Basilides made use of a Gospel, written by himself it is said, but certainly called after his own name; ... but the fragments of that work which are extant are of a character which precludes the possibility of the work being considered a Gospel." Neander affirmed the Gospel of Basilides to be the Gospel according to the Hebrews. I remark that that is not only probable, but that the Gospel to the Hebrews may have been the Hebrew translation of the Greek Gospel of Matthew, with its additions and modifications, to suit the Jewish Nazarene sect, who, we know, had a Hebrew text of their own, which they did not hesitate to alter and adapt to their own views. Basilides, says our author, expressly states that he received his knowledge of the truth from Glaucis, the "interpreter of Peter," whose disciple he claimed to be. Basilides also claimed to have received from a certain Matthias the report of private discourses which he had heard from the Saviour for his special instruction. Canon Westcott writes: "Since Basilides lived on the verge of the apostolic times, it is not surprising that he made use of other sources of Christian doctrine besides the canonical books. The belief in Divine inspiration was still fresh and real."[38] Our author says: "It is apparent, however, that Basilides, in basing his doctrine on these apocryphal books as inspired, and upon tradition, and in having a special Gospel called after his own name, ignores the canonical Gospels, offers no evidence for their existence, but proves that he did not recognise any such works as of authority." I remark, the question is not their authority, but, Did they exist? Basilides wrote a book, called it a Gospel, or commentary of the Gospel, and made as much use as suited his heretical purpose of the canonical records, of tradition, and of other books. This seems to be what we can arrive at. Hippolytus, writing of the Basilideans and describing their doctrines, uses the singular pronoun "he"—"he says," in a passage of which our author gives an unintelligible translation. This pronoun is an inconvenient witness. Our author wants it to be "they," in order that the disciples of Basilides living at a later period, when the Gospels were generally recognised, may be meant, and not Basilides, who lived A.D. 125. Hippolytus has a sentence of Basilides, which our author translates as follows:—"Jesus, however, was generated according to these, as we have already said. But when the generation which has already been declared had taken place, all things regarding the Saviour, according to them, occurred in a similar way as they have been written in the Gospel." This means that the things referring to the Incarnation were as written in the Gospel, not as preached, but as written; and if Basilides, as the founder of the sect, is referred to, the statement testifies to the existence of the Gospels in the year 125, and the doctrine of the Incarnation being in them. But our author says the statement is not made in connection with Basilides, but his followers; that it is made about A.D. 225, by Hippolytus, and affords no proof that either Basilides or his followers used the Gospels or admitted their authority. "The exclusive use, by any one, of the Gospel according to the Hebrews, for instance, would be perfectly consistent with the statement" (p. 48). "No one who considers what is known of that Gospel, or who thinks of the use made of it in the first half of the second century by perfectly orthodox Fathers, before we hear anything of our Gospels, can doubt this" (p. 48). I remark, that those who adopt Tischendorf's view, that Matthew was written in Greek, and a corrupted version in Hebrew, used in certain countries, will not have to resort to any such explanation as our author suggests. His examination in detail of the several quotations is important, because it exhibits his want of appreciation of the evidence they afford. The first passage Tischendorf points out is found in the "Stromata" of Clement of Alexandria, and it is certainly from our Gospel of Matthew,[39] however that work may have been compiled (for it is not necessary to insist that no other records than Matthew's own are included in the book which, we contend, was at very early date read in the Churches, and is what we now have). "They say the Lord answered, All men cannot receive this saying. For there are eunuchs who are indeed from birth, but others from necessity."[40] Our author says "this passage in its affinity to, and material variation from, our First Gospel, might be quoted as evidence for the use of the Gospel according to the Hebrews, but it is simply preposterous to point to it as evidence for the use of Matthew. Apologists ... seem altogether to ignore the history of the creation of written Gospels, and to forget the very existence of the πολλοἱ of Luke." We value his acknowledgment, and find no difficulty, notwithstanding the silence of some apologists, in reconciling our belief in the four Gospels with the facts or probabilities of what can be ascertained as to their "creation." We allow that the word Luke uses (πολλοἱ) refers to many, which is consistent with the idea that many committed to writing what they knew, and that their records were embodied in the Synoptic Gospels.
The next passage referred to by Tischendorf is one quoted by Epiphanius: "And therefore he said, Cast not ye pearls before swine, neither give that which is holy unto dogs."[41] "It is introduced in the section of the work of Epiphanius directed against the Basilideans. As in dealing with all these heresies there is continual interchange of reference to the head and later followers, there is no certainty who is referred to in these quotations, and in this instance nothing to indicate that the passage is ascribed to Basilides himself. His name is mentioned in the first line of the first chapter, but not again until the fifth chapter" (p. 50).
I remark, it was the founder of the sect and not the followers who wrote the book, and those who opposed the heresy would, although they alluded to the sect, have regard to the founder when they referred to the doctrines held, and quoted the written opinions which distinguished the party on gospel matters. To make the matter as plain as I can, I will suppose a case as an illustration of the point. Supposing that in Pliny's letter to Trajan there were found these words referring to the Christians: "They say, the rule which should be observed in regard to an enemy is, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which persecute you"—would it be right to assert that the quotation is no proof that Christ so taught, but His disciples, long afterwards? This is something like what our author's objection, referring to the pronouns "he" and "they" in Hippolytus, amounts to. "They" does not mean "he" when thus used; and "he," when actually used in the first line of the first chapter, and afterwards means, "they;" that is, "He (Basilides) says," means "They (his followers at a later date) say."
The plural pronoun is used, indicating the sect, Basilides and his followers. Therefore our author says there is uncertainty as to who he is when used in the same sentence. He says "Hippolytus is giving an epitome of the views of the school with nothing more definite than a subjectless φησἱ (he says) to indicate who is referred to. None of the quotations which we have considered are directly referred to Basilides himself, but they are introduced by the utterly vague expression, 'He says' (φησἱ), without any subject accompanying the verb."
The suggestion (p. 51) that Hippolytus "consciously or unconsciously, in the course of transfer to his pages, corrected the text," is very unsatisfactory. An intelligent reader cannot fail to see how an obvious inference is avoided, and how ingenuity is taxed to make words square with foregone conclusions.
Tischendorf asks: "Who is there so sapient as to draw the line between what the master alone says, and that which the disciples state, without in the least repeating the master?" (p. 59) and our author says, "Tischendorf solves the difficulty by referring everything indiscriminately to the master" (p. 59). To say that Tischendorf does this is reckless assertion.
When our author has to account for such a passage in Basilides as, "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee," he says it happens to agree with the words in Luke i. 55; and resorts to his usual mode of avoiding the acknowledgment that such a verbatim quotation is against his hypothesis, by saying, "There is good reason for concluding that the narrative to which it belongs was contained in other Gospels." The following sentence is startling, and apt to mislead those who do not take the trouble to be sure of his meaning. He says (p. 67): "Nothing, however, can be clearer than the fact that this quotation, by whomsoever made, is not taken from our Third Synoptic, inasmuch as there does not exist a single MS. which contains such a passage." What does he mean? We turn to Luke i. 35, and read: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." Does he mean the whole passage is not in any MS? No: he means the following, with the slight variation at the end, is not in any MS. "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, therefore the thing begotten of thee shall be called holy." Only the words in italics are different in the two passages, and the meaning is the same, the only difference being that the latter does not include the words "the Son of God." The remark that the quotation happens to agree with the passage in Luke i. 35, should not be unnoticed.
Happens! Mark the peculiar inappropriateness of the word. It indicates our author's whereabouts, and is a beacon in the book to warn the reader. Events transpire, and they happen to agree with prophetic visions which plainly foretold them! Reason being unequal to an explanation, coincidence must be resorted to. Was it an accident that, "at one particular point in history, and in one special individual, the elements of a new religious development, which, per se, were already extant, should have concentrated themselves in a new life?" This, says Baur, is "the wonder in the history of the origin of Christianity which no historical reflection can further analyse." Did it happen that the Messiah came as was predicted centuries before?
Did Paul happen to have a vision just at the time when the whole course of his life underwent a change, and from being a chief persecutor of the faith he became a chief apostle—no less an apostle than the most prominent among the Twelve? If the Saviour did not meet him on the way to Damascus he could not be an apostle; and as he was an honest man, and no impostor, could what happened to him have been other than what he asserted? Baur was in a great difficulty about the matter, and said, "No analysis, either psychological or didactic, can clear up the mystery of that act in which God revealed His Son in Paul." Jeremiah prophesied that the Jews should return to their own land after seventy years of exile, and they happened to do so!
The artful way in which the evidence from the writings of Hippolytus is disposed of is one of the most notable things in the book we are reviewing. The reader's attention is taxed to keep up with the sophistical argument, and our author finds it necessary to explain why he has been forced to go at such a length into these questions, as to risk "being very wearisome" to his readers (p. 73).
These remarks apply to a great extent to the examination of the evidence of Valentinus, described as "another Gnostic leader, who, about the year A.D. 140, came from Alexandria to Rome, and flourished till about A.D. 160." "Very little remains of the writings of this Gnostic, and we gain our only knowledge of them from a few quotations in the works of Clement of Alexandria, and some doubtful fragments preserved by others" (p. 56).
Marcion, the son of a bishop of Pontus, became a conspicuous heretic in the second century, and there was a book called "Marcion's Gospel," which has long furnished a field for criticism. He was a Pauline heretic, denouncing the Jewish party which insisted upon dragging Jewish observances into Christianity. He went to Rome about A.D. 139-142, and taught there some twenty years. His opinions were widely disseminated. His collection of apostolic writings, which is the oldest of which we have any trace, includes (says our author) a single Gospel and ten Epistles of Paul—viz., Galatians, Corinthians (2), Romans, Thessalonians (2), Ephesians (in the superscription of which there is, "to the Laodiceans)," Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon.
The Gospel of Marcion is not extant, but it is referred to by his opponents, who affirmed that his evangelical work was an audaciously mutilated version of Luke's Gospel. Our author gives a brief account of the various opinions which have prevailed about the book during the last hundred years, and considers the discussion upon it far from closed. Is it a mutilation of Luke, or an independent work derived from the same source as his, or is it a more primitive version of that Gospel? Whence are the materials from which the portions of the text extant are derived? Tertullian and Epiphanius denounced Marcion's heresy. The former called him "impious and sacrilegious," which, our author says, implies anything but fair and legitimate criticism. I remark, Did he deserve the epithets? Would Paul, who tells the Colossians to "beware lest any man spoil them through philosophy and vain deceit, after the traditions of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ," have been less emphatic in his denunciations in such a case? Marcion was more Pauline than Petrine, but would Paul have failed to censure in the strongest language such a misrepresentation of Jehovah and the Old Testament economy as Marcion disseminated?
Can our author's assertion be absolutely true that "Tertullian and Epiphanius were only dogmatical, and not in the least critical"? How could they be otherwise than to a certain extent critical? They were not critics in the way of taking nothing for granted, after the modern fashion; but they must have weighed, compared, and tested Marcion's views while writing against them. "The spirit of the age," he says, "was indeed so uncritical, that not even the canonical text could awaken it into activity." This is a sentence which suggests that the position in the Church of the canonical text was so evident, that to question it was then unwarrantable, as, indeed, it has continued to be to this day. The combined internal and external evidences harmonising with the believer's consciousness, his necessities, and his aspirations, were sufficient to preclude sceptical and captious criticism.
The Christian contemporaries of Irenæus, Tertullian, and Epiphanius were uncritical in that they did not doubt that the foundations of their faith were sure. The gospel which had been preached to them, which had changed the whole course of their lives, corresponded in its main features with the four books which were held in estimation by the Church at that time above all other writings; and they would not be likely to wrangle about the title instead of cultivating the faith they possessed. They could not, perhaps, prove by the rules of logic that "God is, and is the rewarder of them that diligently seek him;" that Christ is the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his Person; but they knew that He had said,—"Ye believe in God believe also in me;" "In my Father's house are many mansions;" and, "I go to prepare a place for you." "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." They lived in the consciousness of these truths, and died (Bishop Pothinus, for instance) a martyr's death rather than deny them.
There is this remark to be made in reference to the alleged uncritical age of the Fathers. How is it that Marcion is seen to be so critical? He is surely after the modern model. He who wrote the "Antithesis," and, as our author says, anticipated in some of his opinions those held by many in our own time; he who wrote,—"If the God of the Old Testament be good, prescient of the future, and able to avert evil, why did he allow man, made in his own image, to be deceived by the devil, and to fall from obedience of the law into sin and death?[42] How came the devil, the origin of lying and deceit, to be made at all?"[43] surely he is an instance of a man in that age possessing the critical faculty. He has the boldness to question, and say,—"Yea, hath God said?" "Anticipating the results of modern criticism," says our author, "Marcion denies the applicability to Jesus of the so-called Messianic prophecies" (p. 106).
If the research which is going on as to the Gospel of Marcion be conducted in a proper manner, and from a proper motive, not from antipathy to "parsons" and ecclesiastical assumptions, which was the incentive of Strauss in attacking Christianity, good will come of it. As Justin Martyr did not, as far as we know, suppose the book to be a corrupted version of the Gospel according to Luke, Tertullian may have been mistaken, and it may have been an independent work, one of the many Luke refers to, the existence of which does not necessarily invalidate the canonical ones. We may naturally suppose that events of such marvellous speciality and importance as those which had "come to pass" in those days among the Jews, would be more or less described in letters and other writings by many persons who were eye-witnesses. Such writings would be collected and read when the first Christians assembled. The difference between the four canonical Gospels and other manuscripts would consist in their being compiled by persons competent to the task, who, like Ezra, were instruments Divinely influenced to compile and "set forth in order a declaration of those things," for the benefit of future ages and the religious instruction of the race.
The analysis of the text of Marcion by Hahn, Ritschl, Volkmar, Helgenfeld, and others, who have examined and systemised the data of the Fathers, is supposed to be sufficient to awaken in any inquirer uncertainty, and stimulate conjecture (p. 101). I do not doubt it. German hypercriticism is able, by a process of ratiocination, to discredit any truth, even to persuade men that the Throne of the universe is vacant, and that the only altar that man has the knowledge to rear is one to the Unknown God; but
"He sits on no precarious throne, Nor borrows leave to be."
They who believe in the inspiration by the Holy Ghost of the prophets of the Old Testament see no difficulty in regard to the inspiration of the writers of the New. If Isaiah and Jeremiah and Daniel had supernatural communications made to them, in order that the Eternal Creator might be manifested, why not Paul and John and Matthew? It is the foregone conclusion, on the part of critics, that the miraculous is impossible, which embarrasses their researches. One of John Stuart Mill's last sentences is: "It remains a possibility that Christ actually was what He supposed Himself to be." If this had occurred to the great reasoner at the outset of his career instead of the close, how much might the world have been advantaged!
Tatian is a witness whose evidence our author next tries to set aside. He was an Assyrian by birth, a disciple of Justin Martyr at Rome, and afterwards, having joined the sect of the Eucratites, a conspicuous exponent of their austere and ascetic doctrines. The only one of his writings extant is his Oration to the Greeks, written after Justin's death, as it refers to that event, and it is generally dated A.D. 170-175. One point contested is Canon Westcott's affirmation that it contains a "clear reference" to a parable recorded by Matthew:[44] "The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid, and for his joy he goeth and selleth all that he hath and buyeth that field." And the supposed reference by Tatian is, "For by means of a certain hidden treasure he has taken to himself all that we possess, for which, while we are digging, we are indeed covered with dust, but we succeed in making it our fixed possession."[45]
There is certainly not much similarity between the two passages, although Tatian may be well supposed to have had the parable in his mind when he wrote. The more important question is, Did Tatian write "A Harmony of Four Gospels," which recognises our four Evangelists? Was his Diatessaron such a book, or was it the Gospel according to the Hebrews? If the latter, what is the Gospel according to the Hebrews? I say it is probable it is the corrupted Hebrew translation of the Greek Gospel of Matthew, and this conjecture has more in its favour than our author's hypothesis.
Dionysius of Corinth, Eusebius tells us, wrote seven epistles to various Churches, and a letter to Chrysophora, "a most faithful sister." Only a few short fragments exist, which are all from the epistle to Soter, Bishop of Rome, whose date in that pastorate is A.D. 168-176. In these fragments we find the following words:—"For the brethren having requested me to write epistles, I write them. And the apostles of the devil have filled these with tares, both taking away parts and adding others, for whom the woe is destined. It is not surprising, then, if some have recklessly ventured to adulterate the Scriptures of the Lord, when they have corrupted these, which are not of such importance."[46] After quoting this passage, our author reiterates his statement that "We have seen that there has not been a trace of any New Testament Canon in the writings of the Fathers before and during this age." Does he suppose his readers will have seen as he sees, or rather refuse to see what is plain enough? He has his own opinion, but he need not assume that he has convinced his readers that he has proved what he alleges. He talks of Westcott's boldness, and of his imagination running away with him, and that it is simply preposterous to suppose that this passage refers to the New Testament. I leave Canon Westcott to defend his own words, but I say it is not preposterous to infer that when Dionysius speaks of the "Scriptures of the Lord" he means Gospel writings, which are included in our New Testament. If it be assumed that the defence of the authority of the New Testament writings and of evangelical views is necessarily based on the synodical authority of the early Church, there may be some weight in his objections; but Christianity has a position independent of ecclesiastical pretensions to infallibility, and the latter may be overthrown without the great institution established by Divine mercy for the recovery of humanity from sin and its consequences being in the slightest degree damaged. Dr. Donaldson is quoted, who remarks: "It is not easy to settle what this term, 'Scriptures of the Lord,' is; but my own opinion is that it most probably refers to the Gospels, as containing the sayings and doings of the Lord. It is not likely, as Lardner supposes, that such a term would be applied to the whole of the New Testament."[47] The word "Scripture," in Greek, ΓραφἡΓραφἡ (Graphé), in Latin, Scriptura, has, no doubt, a meaning which denotes an inspired writing. It is used fifty-one times in the New Testament in the same sense, for Christ and the authors of the New Testament regarded the Old Testament as distinguished from all other writings, as the writing—the writing of God. By speaking of their own books as Graphai, the apostles place them on a level with the Old Testament, and thus assert their Divine character.[48]
Dr. Davidson speaks of the New Testament writings being ranked as "Holy Scripture" by Dionysius of Corinth, A.D. 170.
Our author asserts (p. 167) that "many works were regarded as inspired by the Fathers besides those in our Canon," and mentions especially the Gospel of Peter having been read at Rhossus. He says: "The fact that Serapion, in the third century, allowed the Gospel of Peter to be used in the Church of Rhossus shows the consideration in which it was held, and the incompleteness of the canonical position of the New Testament." Now, he ought to have quoted Serapion's own explanation, which we have preserved by Eusebius. He says (in his treatise written to confute what was false in the Gospel of Peter): "We receive Peter and the other apostles even as Christ; but the writings falsely called by their names, we, as competent critics, renounce, knowing that we received not such things. For when I was with you I supposed that all were agreed with the true faith; and, without reading the Gospel called Peter's, which they brought forward, I said, If this is the only thing that seems to cause you dissension, let it be read." Serapion says he borrowed the book and read it, and found many things agreeable to Christ's doctrine, but some discrepant additions.
Thus the reading of the Gospel of Peter at Rhossus cannot be instanced as a proof that other Gospels besides the canonical ones were used as inspired books, nor can any other be mentioned as having been thus regarded, the Gospel according to the Hebrews not being apocryphal, but a part of the New Testament, whether we take it to be, as our author supposes, the basis of Matthew's Gospel, or, as we say, a corrupted version of that apostle's Greek work. "To argue that because one spurious Gospel was temporarily received among a few persons, therefore there was no real canon of Scripture, and we cannot be sure that any Gospel is genuine, shows about as much common sense and logical acumen as would be displayed by a critic eighteen centuries hence, who, discovering in one of our newspapers an account of the conviction of a gang of coiners, should argue that because their base half-crowns had got into circulation, and had passed current with some persons who might have been expected to detect the fraud, therefore there was no such thing as a legal currency of intrinsic value among us; or if there were, still we did not know or care to inquire into the genuineness of the coin which we accepted and passed."[49]
Our author says (p. 16): "'The Pastor of Hermas,' which was read in the churches, and nearly secured a permanent place in the Canon, was quoted as inspired by Irenæus."[50]
The word Irenæus uses is Graphé, which is sometimes translated, when found in his works, Scripture, and at other times writings, as may best suit the argument of a critic like Dr. Davidson, who does so adapt the translation to suit his purpose.
Whatever erroneous notions might prevail as to apocryphal writings, the discrimination of Serapion, in regard to the Gospel of Peter, shows that such a work as the "Pastor of Hermas," in which, as Mosheim says, the angels are made to "talk more insipidly than our scavengers and porters," would not be put on a level with the books whose internal evidence, as well as historical pretensions, placed them in a much superior position. The contrast is too great for such men as Irenæus and Tertullian, as well as Serapion, not to have recognised the difference. The "gross forgeries" were too gross to be at once accepted as genuine by the Fathers of the slight critical faculty and the ready credulity of our author's argument.
Melito of Sardis, whose writings, it is generally agreed, belong to A.D. 176, because the fragment extant has a phrase indicating that Commodus had been admitted to share the Imperial Government with Marcus Aurelius, is the next witness. He writes to Onesimus, "a fellow-Christian who had urged him to make selections for him from the Law and the Prophets concerning the Saviour and the faith generally, and furthermore desired to learn the accurate account of the old (Palaion) books." "Having gone to the East," Melito says, "and reached the spot where each thing was preached and done, and having learned accurately the books of the Old Testament, I have sent a list of them." Dr. Westcott excites our author's ire because he says "that the use of the word 'old' in this way implies that there must have been a New Testament, and the form of language implies a familiar recognition of its contents." This is "truly astonishing," says our author. I remark, it is truly astonishing that any one should assert that the use of the adjective "old" in this sentence does not plainly indicate the existence of other books of a New Covenant or Testament. If the Jewish Scriptures had been merely described as old books, we could have understood the objection; but as the words occur, "having learned accurately the books of the Old Testament," we must side with Dr. Westcott, in spite of our author's astonishment.
Claudius Apollinaris, Eusebius says, was Bishop of Hierapolis, and there is the fragment of a letter of Serapion, Bishop of Antioch, which supports the statement, and in which Apollinaris is referred to as the "most blessed." The date of his writings, in consequence of an allusion to the Thundering Legion of the army of Marcus Aurelius, may be fixed at about A.D. 174. None of them are extant. We have only two brief fragments, in which the controversy respecting the observance of the Christian Passover is alluded to. The following passage is important: "There are some, however, who through ignorance raise contentions regarding these matters in a way which should be pardoned, for ignorance must not be pursued with accusation, but requires instruction. And they say that the Lord, together with His disciples, ate the lamb on the great day of unleavened bread, and they state that Matthew says precisely what they have understood; hence their understanding of it is at variance with the law, and according to them the Gospels seem to contradict each other." Tischendorf and Westcott naturally adduce this passage in support of the position of the four canonical Gospels. Our author demurs, arguing that "there is such exceedingly slight reason for attributing these fragments to Claudius Apollinaris, and so many strong grounds for believing that he cannot have written them, that they have no material value as evidence for the antiquity of the Gospels" (p. 191).
Athenagoras wrote an apology, entitled "The Embassy of Athenagoras the Athenian, a Philosopher and a Christian, concerning Christians, to the Emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Commodus, Armeniaci Surmatici, and, above all, Philosophers;" and also a "Treatise on the Resurrection of the Body." A passage from the former occurs in the work of Methodius on the Resurrection, and is preserved by Epiphanius and by Photius.
"For we have learnt not only not to render a blow, nor to go to law with those who spoil and plunder us; but, to those who inflict a blow on one side, also to present the other side of the head in return for smiting; and to those who take away the coat, also to give besides the cloke."[51]
Of this our author says: "No echo of the words of Matthew has lingered in the ear of the writer, for he employs utterly different phraseology throughout; and nothing can be more certain than the fact that there is not a linguistic trace in it of acquaintance with our Synoptics" (p. 194).
The value of our author's conclusions may be measured by what he here asserts. It seems to me that the reverse may be asserted. (1) That words in Matthew did "linger in the ear of the writer;" (2) that he does not "employ utterly different phraseology throughout;" and (3) that many things "can be more certain than the fact that there is not a linguistic trace in it of acquaintance with our Synoptics."
The next passage which is referred to is as follows:—"What, then, are those precepts in which we are instructed? I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that persecute you; that ye may be sons of your Father which is in the heavens, who maketh his sun," &c.[52]
There is also the following:—"For if ye love, them which love you, and lend to them which lend to you, what reward shall ye have?"[53]
Of this passage, our author says it is evident that it does not agree with either of the Synoptics. "We have seen," says he, "the persistent variation in the quotations from the Sermon on the Mount which occur in Justin, and there is no part of the discourses of Jesus more certain to have been preserved by living Christian tradition, or to have been recorded in every form of Gospel. The differences in these passages from our Synoptics present the same features as mark the several versions of the same discourse in our First and Third Gospel, and indicate a distinct source" (p. 195). I remark, every step our author takes in this sort of criticism tends to the confirmation of our Christian faith, which is not the Christianity of a creed or a Church, but the belief in a Person. The more independent accounts of His life and discourses which can be traced, the greater the proof of His advent and mission. The Sermon on the Mount cannot be accounted for apart from the superhuman. "Never man spake like this man." The more it is quoted the more it is established as a sublime fact in literature, which neither the Jewish race, nor the Augustan era, nor indeed any other race or any other age, could have originated apart from Divine intervention.
The Epistle of Vienne and Lyons, written from the Churches in those towns to their brethren in Asia and Phrygia, about the year A.D. 177, giving an account of the terrible persecution which had broken out, is in part preserved by Eusebius. It contains words similar to those used in regard to Zacharias and Elisabeth, where they are said to have "walked in all the commandments and ordinances of God, blameless." And it has also the words, "And himself having the Spirit more abundantly than Zacharias," which compares with Luke i. 67: "And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied." In reference to these passages, our author's comment is as follows: "The state of the case is, we find a coincidence, in a few words in connection with Zacharias, between the Epistle and our Third Gospel; but so far from the Gospel being in any way indicated as their source, the words in question are, on the contrary, in association with a reference to events unknown to our Gospels, but which were indubitably chronicled elsewhere. It follows clearly, and few will venture to doubt the fact, that the allusion in the Epistle is to a Gospel different from ours, and not to our Third Synoptic at all" (p. 204). The event unknown to our Gospels is the martyrdom of Zacharias, which our Gospels make no mention of.
Ptolemæus and Heracleon, two Gnostic leaders, are next referred to. Of the former, Epiphanius has preserved "The Epistle to Flora," addressed to one of his disciples, which contains passages similar to sentences found in Matthew xii. 25, xix. 8, 6, xv. 4-8, v. 38, 39.; but our author objects that the Epistle "was in all probability written towards the end of the second century, and therefore it does not come within the scope of our inquiry;" and he goes into considerable detail to justify this statement.
Celsus wrote a work entitled "True Doctrine," which is not extant, and of which Origen wrote a refutation. Our author says "it refers to incidents of Gospel history and quotes some sayings which have parallels, with more or less of variation, in our Gospels;" but "Celsus nowhere mentions the name of any Christian book, unless we except the Book of Enoch, and he accuses Christians, not without reason, of interpolating the Book of the Sibyl, whose authority he states some of them acknowledged" (p. 236). He goes into the question of the date, which he makes out to be probably not between A.D. 150-160, as Tischendorf suggests, but much later.
In the last fragment of early literature examined—the Canon of Muratori—the Book of Luke is alluded to as "the third Gospel," and our author says (p. 241) "the statement regarding the Third Gospel merely proves the existence of that Gospel at the time the fragment was composed," and that "the inference" that there was a first and second Gospel is a mere conjecture. I remark that if the statement does prove that Luke's Gospel existed at the time the fragment was composed, we gratefully accept the acknowledgment; and as to the adverbs "mere" and "merely," which qualify the noun "conjecture" and verb "proves," when our author's third volume appears, if it does not furnish more than "mere conjecture" that the first and second preceded it, we will allow the adverbs properly applied, and the logic perfect.
The sentences in which such words as certainly, it is certain, it is undeniable, there is no question, it is impossible to suppose, it is obviously mere speculation, &c., are used, where the reasoning does not warrant them, are innumerable; and it is only after becoming familiar with the special pleading which is characteristic of the work throughout, that the unsophisticated reader escapes from the bewilderment into which the evidences of Christianity seem to get entangled. The author seems to have got the reader into a gloomy cavern of criticism, and it is only after the eye has become accustomed to the partial darkness that he can make out whether what he is taken to see are real figures, images, or ghosts. When he has got to the middle of the second volume, however, he begins to see the light again, and breathe more freely. He sees a way right through the cavern, and finds that the figures of this underground chamber of horrors are all phantoms.
The "Examiner" justly says: "For our part we see no reason why the Synoptic[54] Gospels may not have assumed their present form by the end of the first century;[55] and we cannot think that our author's German oracles have succeeded in establishing their dissimilarity from the documents quoted by the Primitive Fathers. Justin Martyr's references to the Sermon on the Mount, for instance, appear to us to be actually derived from Matthew. If, however, as is contended, they were taken from the lost "Gospel of the Hebrews," this merely proves the substantial identity of the two. The question of Justin's acquaintance with the Fourth Gospel is more difficult. We are nevertheless disposed to resolve it in the affirmative."
This is a sensible comment on our author's general argument.