A Series of Letters, in Defence of Divine Revelation / In Reply to Rev. Abner Kneeland's Serious Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Same. To Which is Added, a Religious Correspondence, Between the Rev. Hosea Ballou, and the Rev. Dr. Joseph Buckminster and Rev. Joseph Walton, Pastors of Congregational Churches in Portsmouth, N. H.

by Hosea Ballou

The following passages are quoted from Paley's evidences from page 106 and on—

From the epistle of Barnabas, to which I have before alluded; "Let us, therefore, beware lest it come upon us, as it is written, there are many called, few chosen." Our author justly adds: "From the expression, 'as it is written,' we infer with certainty, that, at the time when the author of this epistle lived, there was a book extant, well known to christians, and of authority among them, containing these words—'Many are called, few chosen.'" For the authority of this epistle I refer unto Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome, noticed in a former communication. If Clement were liable to mistake the author, it seems hardly probable that he would be deceived concerning the time when this epistle, purporting to have been written by Barnabas, was written; as it is no later than A.D. 194 that he quotes this epistle as an ancient work. It may be proper to remark, that although authors differ respecting the genuineness of this epistle, both Dr. Priestly and Paley acknowledge and maintain its antiquity, and place it very near to the time of the destruction of Jerusalem, which gives it all the authority for which it is here quoted; for the thing now to be proved is, that it is probable that the gospel of Matthew was written before the destruction of the Jewish hierarchy. Now as this epistle of Barnabas was written soon after this destruction, and refers to the gospel of Matthew in the manner above quoted, as refering to what was an acknowledged writing of scripture authority, it seems reasonable to infer that St. Matthew's gospel had been written long enough before, to obtain its establishment among Christian churches, which fairly throws its antiquity anterior to the destruction of Jerusalem. Sir, I see nothing to forbid this conclusion from being highly probable, and this, I expect to show, is all that is necessary to be made out in this case.

"Of Polycarp," who was appointed bishop of Symrna by the apostles themselves, says our author, "we have one undoubted epistle remaining. And this, though a short letter, contains nearly forty clear allusions to books of the New Testament; which is strong evidence of the respect which christians of that age bore for those books." It appears from this account, that, as Polycarp was a contemporary of the apostles, and referred to the books of the New Testament in his writings, as to books of established authority, these books must have been written as early as the time in which their reputed authors lived, which places their date prior to the destruction of Jerusalem; as it is not pretended that any of the evangelists continued until after the destruction of that city except St. John who is supposed to have lived to a very great age.

One more from our author: "Papias, a hearer of John, and companion of Polycarp, as Irenæus attests, and of that age, as all agree, in a passage quoted by Eusebius, from a work now lost, expressly ascribes the respective gospels to Matthew and Mark, and in a manner which proves that those gospels must have publicly borne the names of these authors at that time, and probably long before." All this appears perfectly consistent with the idea that these gospels were written by the evangelists themselves, and proves together with the following considerations the probability of its being correct. Further considerations to be taken into the foregoing account are the following. St. Matthew, St. Luke and St. Mark, all speak of the prophesy of Jesus respecting the destruction of Jerusalem, but do not even hint that this prophesy had been fulfilled. In St. John's gospel no mention is made of this prophesy, and it is reasonable enough to suppose that this omission was on account of the prophesy's having been fulfilled before his gospel was written.

Again, if the gospels had not been written by these reputed authors, nor in the time that the evangelists lived, but some time after the destruction of Jerusalem, and these had been fabricated by designing men, they would certainly have been exposed as a fraud by the Gnostics who held many opinions so very contrary to the scriptures of the New Testament. So very contrary were some of the early heresies to the writings of the evangelists that they erased many things from them that they might the better maintain their own notions. Now this would never have taken place if these Gnostics could have proved that these Gospels were frauds, which they certainly could have done, for they existed as early as these writings are supposed to have been written. Furthermore, if the gospels had been forged books, written after the destruction of Jerusalem, it would have been an easy task for Celsus to have exposed the whole fraud. He certainly would never have admitted the truth of the miracles of Jesus if he could have proved that the books in which they were recorded were forgeries. But this neither he nor the learned Porphyry attempted to do.

I have suggested, that, if the probability of the gospel's having been written before the destruction of Jerusalem and by the evangelists themselves be proved it is sufficient for our present argument. And so, I think, it will appear to you, when you combine with this probability two more important considerations.

1st. That the internal evidences contained in the books of the New Testament, of their genuineness, are sufficient of themselves to establish their character as such; and:

2d. That the above probability of itself is to be relied on even from external evidence if no external proof can be proved against it, which is not pretended.

It should be kept in mind, that the writings of the evangelists are guarded by the early attacks of the enemies of christianity, who ever treated them as being, what they pretended to be, a faithful history of the origin of the religion they inculcated; and also by the opposition of the early sects who arose from the church, who would have demolished their foundations if they had been spurious.

4th. The argument you rest on the supposition that the apostles did, in reality, believe in the resurrection of Jesus, when in fact the thing was not true, may now be noticed.—As you would naturally expect, I shall by no means allow either your premises or conclusions.