The Carolina Spartan. [volume] (Spartanburg, S.C.) 1852-1896, 1857-02-05
Christ no Writer.

One of the most remarkable facts in the
history of Christ is, that he left no writings
behind him, and the only record there is OF
his writing anything is in the case where
"he stopped down and with his finger wrote
upon the ground" What he wrote then
and there no one knows; though perhaps
the most plausible conjecture is that he
wrote the answer to the question, whether
the woman taken in the act Of adultery
should be stonedl "iIe that is without sin
among you, let him cast stone n. herr
Hearer, did this strange fact ever occur 10
you, that the greatest relormer that ever
lived-professedlv the divine teacher sent
Of God 10 reveal his truth to the world
whose teachings have survived the wreck
oil ages, and now command the credence,
therespect and the most profound admira
Il onof the enlightened world, and who is
claimed rs the "auihor and iinisher" of a
great system Of faith and practice, has lef,
behind him no sentence of his writing, and
those unknown characters written with his
finger in the sand constitute the sum total
of all his writings Of which there is any ac.
count!
Is there, or has there ever been, since the
invention of letters, oreyen rude hierorlyph
les, any such thing rs a system of religion.
whose founder did not take special pains to
reduce hIs teachings 10 writing, and thus
give them the most exact and permanent
torml
The Brahmins have their Vedas, their
Pourauas, their Ramayar. and their laws
and institutes of Menu, and these are all
written and preserved with theutmost care.
The Chinese have their books of Fohi, their
founder, as opened and expounded by their
great Confucius. The Persiaus have their
Zendevesta, attributed 10 their leader, Zoro.
asIer, containing the doctrine and laws of
their religion. The Jews had their sacred
books; and Moses and the prophets, and Da-
Vid' and Solomon, put their teachings in
wntlnS, that they might be preserved.
Plato and ly,hagorls, and Ciecero and
Demosihenes, wrote much Mahomet
wrote the Koran, and gave it to the faithful
as their guide. The writings of Sweden.
borg are voumuous; and in our day, even
the Mormon impos,or wrote bis book of
Mormon. Bu; here comes one who claims
precedence even 10 Moses and Abraham.
and especially claims that greater than
Solomon Is in his own person, and an.
nouncing himself rs herald of new dis.
pensation from God. which is to cast Mo.
ses and the prophets in the shade, and pre-
vall over all other systems, and subdue our
entire race, and yet This great teacher wrote
never word, save only the characters in
the sand, which the next breath of wind
might oUIiteraic. Who can account for
thIs strange procedWei VIII 1t comport at
all with the idea that he was m impostor!
l)ld ever an impostor pursue course like
thIs. Never. And 1t seems to us that in the
single tact TO which We have alluded, there is
the impress of truth, and proof that his mis-
sion Is all divine. lie stands out before us
as onewho knows that his mission is from
God, and that IT can stand upon its own mer.
Its. 10 confident is he Of its power, that he is
content TO breathe it out upon Gods air,
and leave 1t 10 live by its own inherent and
sell perpctuating immortality, or live not at
all. And 50 ho goes about doing good,
now teaching in tile synagogue and temple
now talking To his disciples rs he sits on
OlIvet or by the sea of Galiee, and now
dropping a word as he walks by the way.
And there is not manifested the slightest
apprehension that what he says will be lost
lie writes 1t not on stone or parchment
Nay, he writes it not at all. lie seeks on.
y to give it n lodgment in the hearts of
.ho few disciples that followed him--to
make them comprehend it, and feel its pow
or, and love it; and is willing to leave il
here TO produce its fruits, and TO be writ
zen by the hand of affection, il il should be
at all And on those hearts he did
impress himself; and they, for the love they
bore him, wrote the meagre sketch we have
of hs life and teachings.
Rcu d. d. Williamson.