Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1840-01-15

iS"'ty OF any OF these miracles n,
: would be multiplying the original tss,;
monte monies Tor he VAS companion and i,
ielo".iaborer of the apostles. We sbo,ld
nave been delighted. if, in the rours,. ~
o"t researches into the literature OF nos,
''iies,- we had NIT with an authsn,;- -.
os9s written BY one Of the Eve hpndrad
that are said 10 have seen our -
his resurrection, and adding HE go 80
! ,aose OF ms event to the narratives ,hn,
nave already come down TO Us. Now =
any thing OF this kind to be me, with =
ecclesiastical an,iquityl How much 81
I'nls Kind OF evidence are we in ac,r,I
possession Off and if we have not enonob
70 satisfy our keen appetite for evidenc..
On question Of such magnitude. how il
Tue want of il to be accounted for2
Let it be observed, then. that Of the
.Wehty-seVen books which make mn The
New Testament, five are narrative or bis.
lorical' VIZ the four Gospels, and the Ac,s
OF the Apostles, which relate 10 III. ma.
ana miracles OF our Savior. and The nror.
reSs oil ms religion through the world
ior good many years after his ascension
INTO heaven. All the rest, with the exc.Sn.
non OF the Revelation of ST. John ar
doclrlnal or admonitory; and their main
OBJECT IS 10 explain the princinles or H.,
new religion. or to impress lis dn,ies 49,
Tue numerous proselyles who had even n,
liiat early period been gained over to the
profession Of Christianity.
Besides what we have in the New Tes-
lament no other profrssed narrative of The
I u + 81
miracles OF Christianity has come down
10 U.s. bearing the marks Of an authentic
composition by any apostle. or any con.
temporary of the apostles. Now. 10
.hose, wno regret this circumstance. wa
peg leave 10 submit the following obssr-
vatlons. Suppose that one other narra-
i've oil the life and miracles Of onr Sav;or
had been composed, and, to give all The
value to this additional testimony ne ,vbich
Il IS susceptible. & Us suppose It TO be the
work oil an apostle. BY this last circum-
stance, We secure to lis uuermos, ex,sn,
'hs advantage Of an original tes,imonv.
me testimony OF another eyewitness and
constant companion of our Savior. Now
we ask, what would have been The fate az
this performance II would nave been
'he Gospel according to Bartholomew
~ all events, the whole amount of the
advantage would have been The subst tn
'ion OF i've Gospels instead of four and
thiS addition, the want Of which Is so
,huch complained OF, would scarcely hare
been ieiI by The Christian, or acknowlrdq.
ed by the in6del. to strengthen the .yi-
uence oil which we are already in pos.
But 10 vary the supposition, let Us sun.
pose lhat the narrative wanted, instead N
oeIng the work of an apostle, had bern
the work of some other contemnor.r,,
VINO writes upon his own original knowl.
edge OF the subject. but was not 50 clos,.l,
associated with Chrisi, or his Immediate
aisciPies' as to have his history admitted
INTO the canonical scriptures. Had This
history been preserved, it would have
been transmitted to US in a separate sla,sI
II would have stood out from among that
collection OF writings, which passes md.
er the general name of the New Tesla.
ment, aud the additional evidence Tins Of.
torded, would have come down IN the
FORM most satisfactory 10 those with whom
we are maintaining our present aroumen,
e tnongh, IN point of form, the Ies,;mo.
ny mIght be more satisfactory: in no;nt
OF tact !, would be less so. II is m. r.s,;
ihony OF less competent witness.-a v;,.
ness VINO, IN the Judgment of his contem.
PnfaIies, wanted those accomplishments
which entitled him to place In the Ne,y
testament. There must be some d.lns;or
operating nPon the understanding, if we
mink that circumstance, which renders
an . historian less accredited in the eyes of
ms own age. should render him more ac-
,reu,ted IN the eyes of pos,eritv. Had
hdrK been kept out of the New T,ssta-
neht, ne would have Come down n ms :,
mat form, which would have made his
I.Stitnony more impressive TO a suner6-
clal inquirer; yet there would be no pood
reason Tor keeping him out but precjseIv
Nat reason which should render his ,es,s-
mono less Impressive. We DO r,ot con-
pam OF this anxiety for more evidence
ana as much of it as possible: but !, !
rlght to De told, that the evidence w,. bava
$ OF far more value than the evidence -
handed and that, in the concurrence of
our canoneal narratives, we see far
more eiiecinal argument for the miracles
u the New Testament. than in anv num-
'er OF those separate and exlrancous mar
atiVes, Inc want of which is so much fell.
IND so much complained or
hat the New Testament is not one
'ut collection of many testimonies. i
What has been often said, and often acoui.
seed in. Yet even after the argument i
ormally acceded TO, its impression is un-
cit; and on this subject there is a orea,
nj an obstinate deIusion, which not onIv
confirms the infdel in his disregard -
but even wells the siren,,6