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


mat time, and the fame OF It's miracles. n
not the miracles themselves form an itn
Portant part of the Jewish history. How
came Josephus to abstain from every par
lieutar respecting it2 Will You reverse
every principle of criticism, and c,ak,
me silence of Josephus carry it over The
posture testimony Of the many historical
documents which have come down TO us
Il yon refuse every Christian testimony
upon the subject you will not refuse the
IteS'ihony OF TacituS, who asserts, that
ti's religion spread over Judea, and reach.
ed the CITY of Rome, and was looked nm.
on as an evil of such importance. that il
became the object of an authorized ner-
S5catlon by the Roman government: and
all this several years before the ,Iestrnc.
'ioh OF Jerusalem. and before Josephus
composed his history Whatever opin.
ION may be formed as to the kruth Of
christianity, certain it is, that lis Droq-
Tess constituted an object of sufficient
magnitude, to compel the attention Of anv
historian who undertook the affairs If
that period. How then shall we accom-,
Tor the scrupulous ard determined exclu.
sion OF 1t from the history of Josephus .
Had lis miracles been false, this Jewish
historian would gladly have EXPOSED
them. But lis miracles were true. and 81
lence was the on Y refuge of an antaoo-
mist. and his wisest policy.
But though we gather no direct test;.
mony from Josephus, vet his bislorr G,rn.
'shes MS with many satisfying additions 10
the Christian argument. In the details
OF policy and manners, be comedies in
the main with the writers Of the New
Testament; and these. condolences are So
numerous, and have so undesirned an an.
Pearance, as to impress on everv nerson
who is at tne trouble of making the cam
parlson, the truth of the evangelical sto-
ry.
Ii we are to look for direct testimonies
70 the miracles of the New Testanpp,
we must look TO that quarter, where alone
u wonli be reasonable To expect ,b.m
10 the writings of the Christian fubcrs
men who were not Jews or healbens .,
tne moment of recording their testimony
out who had been Jews or hea,hpps and
who, IN their transition to the ul,;,,a,s
state OF Christians, give stronger evil
dehce OF integrity, than if they had be-
lieVed these miracles, and persisted in
cowardIy adherence to the safest profess.
ion.
We do not undertake to satisfy every
demand of the in6del We think we do
enough, II we prove that the thing de-
manded is most unlikely, even though the
miracles should be true; and therefore
thai the want Of It carries no argumen,
against the truth of the miracles, Rul
we do still more than this, if we nrove
that the testimonies which we acIuallv
possess are much stronger than the lesli- !
monies he Is In quest of. And WIN can |
doabt this, when he reflects, that the true
way OF putting the case between the tes- !
timony OF the Christian father, which we
90 nave, and the testimony Of TaciluS. |
winch we do rot have, is that the latter
would be Az assertion not followed nm nv
mat conduct which would have been The
oeSt evidence OF Its sincerity; whereas
ne lofmtr Is an assertion subStontjarpd nv
the whole life, and by the decisive f,c, I'll
NE old profession having been renamed
'"i the new profession entered into,-a
change where disgrace, aud danger and
were the cons quences2
Let US, therefore, enter into an exam;n-
alton OF these testimonies.
TINS subject has been in part antici nat
"a, when we treated of the aulben;icirv ofE
the books of the New Testament. We /
nave quotations and references to those
books from five apostolic fathers. the com.
panlons OF the original writer's We have
lhelr testimonies sustained and extended
by their immediate successors; and as
we pursued the crowded series of te>timo-
MES downwards, they become so numer.
Gus, and so explicit, as 10 leave no doubr
on the mind OF the inquirers, that the diff 4
erent books OF the New Testament arr.
the publications Of The authors who's.
D lmes lhey bear; and were received by
he Christian world, as books of authori.
" from the first period OF their appear
lnce.
Now, every sentence in a Christian
ather, expressive of respect for book in
ne New Testament, is also expire. sive OF
lis tanh IN It's contents. 1t is eqniyalpn,
0 his testimony for the miracles recorded \
n IT, In the language of the law, il is
IN act by which be homologates The rec.
'rd, and superinduces his own testimonv
that of the original writer's Il would
'e vain to attempt speaking Of all these
testimonies. 1t cost the assiduous Lard
Ter maby years to collect them. They
re exhibited in his Crpdibi,ity of the
New Testament; and in the multitude ne
hen'' we see power and a variety of ev-
dence for the Christian miracles. which
; quite uneqnalled in the whole commas .
f ancient history.
But, IN addition to these testimonies IN {
he GROSS for Tho ,r,,.L r.t -