Vermont telegraph. [volume] (Brandon [Vt.]) 1828-1843, 1840-01-15
EVIDENCES OF CHRIsTIANITy.
Chapter ".
ON THE TESTIMONY OF sUBsEoUH.-C,r,
WITNESSES.
(C0Ht2DUeI.1

Wv A12A Tbs FiMONX OF SUBSEQUENT
WITNESSES.
(Conts@ued) -.=.......
The silence of Heather and Jewish
writer's of that period, about the miracles
Iot Christianity, has been much insisted
upon by the enemies of our religion =
and has even excited something like a
painful suspicion in the breasts of those
VINO are altlched to its cause. Certain il
Is, that no ancient facts have come down
TO u.s. supported by greater quantity Of
historical evidence, and better accountant
ed with all the circumstances which car
confer credlbIlty on that evidence. When
we e Gemand the testimony of Iacitus t.
Tue ShflssIan miracles, we forget all the
Whl'e that we can allege a multitude of
mnch more decisive testimonies. M los
than eight contemporary authors. and =
tram of succeeding writers, who follow
one another with a c!oseness ard randi
ty, OF which there is no example in any
other department of ancient history. We
forget that the authenticity of these differ
ent writer's, and their pretensions 10 cred
It, are founded on considerations. perfect
y the same in kind, though much s.ronr-
er III degree, than what have been EN-.
ployed to establish the testimony Of The
most esteemed historians of former aoes
For the history OF the Gospel, we behold
a series OF testimonies, more coutinuous
and more firmly sustained. than there j.
any other example of in the whole com
pass OF erudtlon. And TO refuse this .v.
ldence, is proof that in this inves,io,.
ton there is an aptitude in the human
mind to abandon all ordinary principles.
and to be carried away by the decisions
which we have already insisted on.
But let us try the effect of that testino-
ny which our antagonists demand. Tao
titus has actually atte>ted the existence OF
Jesus Christ; tue reality of such per-
sonage; his public execution under the
administration of Ponlius PLATE; the
temporary check which this gave TO the
progress OF his religion; its revival
short tine after his death its progr IS
over the land of Judea, and to Rome il
SELF the metropolis of the empire Ill this
we have in a Roman historian; and, in
opposition TO all established reasoning ~
on these subjects, it is by some more I'M
Y contided in upon his testimony, than
upon the numerous and concurring testi-
monies OF nearer and contemporary writ
ers. But be this as it may. let Us sup
pose that Tacitus had thrown one par
Iticular more into his testimony, and that
his sentence had run thus They had
their denomination from Christns, who, in
the reign of Tiberius, was put to dealt as
criminal by The procurator Pontius Pr
late, and aoho rose from the dead an the
third day after his erecution and ascend
ed into heGren' Does it not strike every
body, that however true the last piece of
Information may be. and however well, es
tablished by its proper historians, this is
not the place where we can expect to fad
lit? 1t Taci,us did not believe the resur-
rection of our Savior, (which is probably
the case, as he never, in all Likelihood. |
paid any attention to the evidence OF a
faith which he was led to regard, from
the outset, as pernicious superstition, and
a mere modification of Judaism. it is net
to be supposed that such an assertion could