Six Discourses on the Miracles of Our Saviour, and Defences of His Discourses

by Thomas Woolston

Here's as little Reason in this Answer as in either of the two former. Who knows not, that many Errors in Philosophy, and as many Frauds in Religion have been sometimes accidentally, sometimes designedly espoused and palm'd upon Mankind, who in Process of Time become so wedded to them thro' Prejudice and Interest, that they will not give themselves Leave to enquire into the Rise and Foundation of them. False Miracles have been common Things among Christians; and as the Resurrection of Jesus is their grand and fundamental one, so it is not at all difficult to account for the Rise, Propagation and Continuance of the Belief of it.

Why it has been believed thro' these latter Ages of the Church, is no Wonder at all. The Priests had their Interest in it; the ignorant and superstitious had their Comfort in it; and the wise and considerate, for fear of Persecution, durst not enquire into the Grounds of it.

The only Difficulty here is to know, upon what Principle, the Project and Story of Jesus's Resurrection was at first devised. And whether it was Ambition or Revenge upon our ancient and Pharisaical Priesthood, that prompted the Apostles to it, is all one to me. Such bad Principles too often put Men upon desperate Attempts. But however, an Imposture it was, for the Argument above. To say the Apostles and Confederates in the Fraud, would not have stood to it, and have dy'd for it, if the Resurrection had not been real Fact, signifies nothing. Many Cheats and Criminals, besides them, have asserted their Innocencey, and deny'd their Guilt in the utmost Extremity of Death, without the like Views of Honour and Fame. The only Thing that's surprizing and astonishing in this Sham-Miracle, is, that tho' it was the most manifest, the most bare-faced, and the most self-evident Imposture that ever was put upon the World; yet it has been the most fortunate and successful, having past thro' many Ages and Nations with Reputation and Renown; and might have continued for as many Generations to come, but for the Argument above, that perfectly and clearly overthrows its Credit.

But some may say here, where was the Wisdom and Providence of God, all this while, to suffer so many Ages and Nations to labour under such a Delusion? Why, I'll tell you; The Providence of God in it was, "To humble Mankind, in the End, for their vain Ostentation of Wisdom, Learning and Science falsly so call'd; "To shame them for their Madness and Wickedness to persecute one another for different Opinions in that Religion, whose very Foundation is false and groundless; "To caution them against a blind and implicit Faith for the future; against believing any thing out of the Sight and Reach of their Understandings; "To admonish them of the Necessity of Liberty to think, speak and write freely about Religion, for the Correction of Errors and Discovery of Truth; and, lastly, "To reduce the World, when it should be ripe for it, to the golden Religion of Nature, which upon the Testimony of our old Cabalistical Doctors, and of your Jesus himself, is the End of the Law and the Prophets.

And thus have I spoken to the Answers, which your Christian Priesthood may be presumed to make, to the foresaid Argument of Fraud in Jesus's Resurrection, drawn from the Design of our Chief Priests in sealing of the Stone of his Sepulchre. I should not have concern'd my self to speak to these their supposed Answers, but to save them the Trouble of making them, and the Imagination of there being some Force in them.

As to the Stories in your Evangelists of Jesus's several Appearances after his pretended Resurrection, sometimes to the Women, and at other Times to his Disciples, I am not at all obliged to refute them. If these Appearances had been more frequent, better circumstanced, and more solemnly averr'd, they would have wanted no Confutation. There's no Doubt on't, but the Disciples, who, for the Argument above, unquestionably stole Jesus's Body away, in order to pretend a Resurrection, would talk much of his appearing to them, and of the Conversation afterwards, they had with him. And if they had told better and more plausible Tales of their Sight of and Conversation with him, it would be nothing to the Purpose; better, I say, and more plausible Tales than those upon Record, which for Absurdity, Nonsense and Incoherence carry their own Confutation along with them.

Whoever blends together the various History of the four Evangelists, as to Jesus's Appearances after his Resurrection, will find himself, not only perplex'd how to make an intelligible, consistent, and sensible Story of it; but must, with Celsus[317] needs think it, if he closely think on't, like some of the confused and incredible womanish Fables of the Apparitions of the Ghosts of deceased Persons, which the Christian World in particular has in former Ages abounded with. The Ghosts of the Dead in this present Age, and especially in this Protestant Country, have ceas'd to appear; and we now-a-days hardly ever hear of such an Apparition: And what is the Reason of it? Why, the Belief of these Stories being banish'd out of Mens Minds, the crafty and vaporous forbear to trump them upon us. There has been so much clear Proof of the Fraud in many of these Stories, that the wise and considerate Part of Mankind has rejected them all, excepting this of Jesus, which, to Admiration, has stood its Ground. It's no Wonder indeed, that the Clergy, who are more incredulous than other Folks as to Stories of Apparitions, do stick to this of Jesus, the only one excepted out of all others. It is a sweet Morsel of Faith, and they readily swallow and digest it, because they live by it; otherwise this Story of Jesus's Appearances after Death had hardly escaped the Fate of other Apparitions; nay, would have been rejected one of the first of them; there being hardly one, I dare say it, among all the Stories of Apparitions, were they to be collected together; that's more absurd and incredible than this of Jesus.

I have not Room here to make any Remarks on your Evangelical Story of Jesus's Apparitions after his Death; and if I had, I durst not do it, for fear of an offensive Ludicrousness, and of transgressing the Rules of Decency, Sobriety and Sedateness of Argument, you have confined me to. But however; I can't read the Story without smiling, and there are two or three Passages in it, that put me in Mind of Robinson Cruso's filling his Pockets with Biskets, when he had neither Coat, Waste-coat, nor Breeches on. Sometimes I think your Evangelists wanted Wit to adapt their Tale to Sense, and to accommodate the Transaction to Nature; and sometimes I think them crafty, and were minded, like Daniel de Foe in his aforesaid Romance, to put the Banter upon the Credulity of Mankind, with some disguised and latent Absurdities, that, in the Conclusion and Discovery, they might be heartily laugh'd at for the Belief of them. I dare not, I say, so much as hint at one of these Absurdities, lest I should be unwarily tempted to crack a Jest on it. But the Time, I hope, is coming, when I shall use more Freedom. And should your Priesthood, in Proof of Jesus's Resurrection, urge any of these Stories of his corporal Presence and Appearance after it, then I trust, they'll permit me to make as merry Descants on them, as your Bishops, when Academical Jesters, used to do on other Men's Bulls and Blunders.

In the mean time I depend on the foregoing single, sober and sedate Argument of Fraud in this grand Miracle, which I found on the Nature and Design of sealing the Sepulchre; and for Confirmation of my Opinion and Proof of Fraud in it, will conclude this Letter with a parallel Case and Story. Not many Years since, one Dr. Emms, of the Society of the French Prophets, who in their Inspirations were, like Jesus and his Disciples of old, Declaimers against the Pharisaical Priesthood of this Age, did by himself, or some of his Fraternity did for him, predict his Resurrection on a certain Day, when there was a Concourse of People about his Grave in vain to behold the Miracle, as there would have been about Jesus's Sepulchre, if he had lain in it, his full Time. But supposing in this Case, that the Magistrates and Priesthood of this City, to prevent a Cheat and Delusion of the People, had interr'd the Doctor in a Church-Vault, and seal'd the Door of it against the Day appointed for his Resurrection, commanding a Night-Watch to look to the Vault, that no Violence or Deceit be used: This would have been a wise Precaution against Fraud, as was in the Case of Jesus. But what if his Fraternity, having a Mind, like Jesus's Disciples, to bambouzle the People and Priesthood, had, some of them drawn the Watch aside to a Gin-shop, whilst others carry'd the Body off, pretending a Resurrection? What would all reasonable Men have said here? That it was an impudent and bare-fac'd Imposture. But to carry on the Farce; supposing, the Doctor's Fraternity had afterwards averr'd that they had seen and convers'd with him alive, several Times, as before his Death; and had told particular Stories of their Conversation with him; as first of all, how he appear'd to some of their Women (who were admonish'd of the Certainty of his Resurrection by a Youth or an Angel or two, they could not tell whether, but they were as like to Angels, which they never saw before in their Lives, as Youths could be) who knew him, not by his Countenance, for their Eyes were holden, but by his Talk on Scripture Prophecy, which was his usual Cant before his Death. And at another Time he appear'd to his old Acquaintance, who knew him, not by the Features of his Face, but by an habitual Motion and Action of his Hand in breaking of Bread. And at another Time he was corporally present, but they thought, they saw a Spirit. About eight Days after that, he appear'd among more of his old Friends, but for all their former Intimacy with him, some of them doubted whether it was the Doctor or not. At another Time he came to them in another Form and Shape, unlike to his pristine one, but they were sure it was He by his Exposition of the Scripture. At another Time, when they were assembled together and the Doors were lock'd, for fear of the Clergy, the Doctor slipt unexpectedly into their Company, either from behind a Curtain, or miraculously enter'd at the Key-hole. And the last Time he appear'd, there was one of his intimate Friends had not known him, but by a Sore in his Breast, which the Power of God, in his Resurrection, did not heal: After which, they said, he vanish'd away, was taken up into Heaven, and they saw him no more. Supposing, I say, the French Prophets had told such like Stories of Doctor Emms's Resurrection and of his Appearances to them; what would your Priests and all other wise Men have said to it? Why, that it was all idle Tales, manifest Lyes, Sham, and Imposture; and that if the Doctor, in Confutation of the Errors of our Priests, had risen to Life, God would have kept him in his Sepulchre, his full time, and have rais'd him in the Presence of Priests, Magistrates and People; and that he would have walk'd afterwards publickly in the Streets without Danger, to the Satisfaction of all, who knew him, that he was the same Emms who died and was bury'd: Without Danger, I say, from the Populace, who would have been so far from affronting him, that they would have almost adored him for the miraculous Favour God had done him, in his Resurrection from the Dead; and that he would never have skulk'd about, and absconded himself for forty Days together, before he was pretendedly translated; and therefore there was nothing but notorious Deceit and Imposture in all these Pretences.