The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1880-04-21
Letters of b. d. r., ON the Eyi.
dence Of Christianity.
LETTER III.

LETTER III.
Even in the first ages of Christian.
lty there was not any one sect but
complained Of interpretations and adj,
ditions made to the Gospels; nay,
some sects or parties went SO far as
to reject some one or other of the
Gospels, now received as authentic;
and others the whole of the New
Testament. (Eccles. Hist. III, oh.
39) Eusebius (about the year 300
states that the story of the woman
taken in adultery to be only in the
Gospel according to the Hebrews,
and consequently must have been
inserted after his time into the Cos.
pei of John; and 81. Jerome declares
that in his time the story was only
to be found in some copies. Both St.
Jerome and ST. Austin complain of
the great variety of the latin copies
ofthe Evangelist, and how widely
they differed from each other; (see
Calmet on the word BibleD and they
likewise declare the same difference
in the Greek copies; St. Ambrose
says of the Greek copies that they
were so different as to give rise to
many controversies; (and these diff.
ferent copies must as naturally have
occasioned different opinions and
doctrines.) ST, jerome declares that
he found as many different versions
as books. (Calmet on the word vul-
gate) Now, as there could not be
any possibility of distinguishing the
true copies or version, chad there
been one,) so every one followed that
which either suited his interests or
opinions; and to this end every one
added, omitted, or altered whatever
he thought most conducive for his
purpose. In the controversies be-
tween the Unitarians and Trinitari-
ans, the latter interpolated about
the "three in heaven" into Johns
Letter, q John, 5, ~ and this same
verse is missing in all the Oldest and
fairest manuscripts. (Gibben's Rome)
Origen (about 200 A. G., says: eve
found great difference in the copies,
and made use of what was conven-
lent out of the Old Testament, max
ing use of our judgment in such
things, as out of the scptuagit, (the
Greek version of the Old Testament)
seemed doubtful, and were not to be
fonnd in the Hebrew" You see,
even he inserted what he thought
necessary, and used only what suited
his notions. Thus also Grotuis de-
clares he made use Of the vulgate
(the latin version,) because the au-
thor delivers no opinions contrary to
the (Romish) faith. (Grot. Pref,
Annot. in Vet. Test.) Now, if lib
erty has been taken of correcting,
interpolating, and altering the New
Testament, what person is there
who can assert and prove that this
are the genuine writings of those
persons whose names they bcar2 II
it should be said that this was done
only in matters of small Importance,
l ask, what certainty have we that
anything was left untouched. In
origen'stime CELSIUS exclaims against
the liberty which Christians took of
changing the first writing of the
Gospel, three, four, or more times
(origen, lib. II, Contr. Cels.) The
Manicheans denied the genuinness
of the whole presentNew Testament,
and showed other books of their own.
Faustus, their Bishop, says: "You
think, that of all the books in the
world, the Testamentof the Son only,
could not be corrupted, and that it
alone contains nothing which ought
not to be disallowed, especially when
: It appears II was writton neither by