National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-06-03
A Reply 10 Learned Man,

To the Editor of THE REPUBLICAN:
| noticed in your edition Of June / an
article under the caption of can Iconoclast," who
is represented as breaking our lifetime idols"
He is also said TO be Learned % man." and he
risks that reputation by assuming that Jesus, the
Christ of Revelation, is myth. l have heard
such a statement made before a hundred times
and by your correspondent, for his article bears
his marks so plainly that he need not fear but
that he is known and recognized. But surely so
great man as he ought to have given to the gen.
eral public his name. A man with such reputa-
ton for learning-One who has discovered that
Hume and Strauss and Rosseau, Renan and Inger-
soil, who have admitted that Jesus is a real his
torical parsonage, have been deceived into admit
ting such a glaring inaccuracy as that Jesus was
historical personage-ought by all means to give
US his name, so that We can credit infdelity with
having made one important discovery. The life
Of Christ is not fiction.
CHRIST IS a HISTORICAL PARSONAGE.
as real as Caesar or Alexander. You can make
nothing Of history, of nations, of opinions, of
philosophy of the world, of anything Of the past
if this is denied. AL history is connected with
that life; all history, for eighteen hundred years
at least turns on that life. The fact that he lived
and founded the Christian religion is recognized
by Josephus-Mr. B. TO the contrary, notwithstand-
ing-by Tacitus, by Pliny Ii is not denied by
-
been fit could have been done. 1t is not denied
by Mr.. GibbOn, but is assumed in his labored
argument everywhere Ii is not denied by Strauss
it is not den:sd by Renan The latter in his Life
OF Christ, says: TO tear Christ's name from the
world would be to rend it from its foundations
Complete conqueror of death, take possession of
Thy kingdom, whittier shall follow Thee. by the
royal road which Thou hast traced, ages OF wor-
shippers" VIII risk my reputation for some lit
Il,
writers,
TAcTTUs AND PI.,SY.
testify to the rapid progress Of Christs religion
during the first, end Justin Martyr, Tertulian and
0iigen during the second and first part of the
tn iEd century. So much so that the conversion of
Constantine, during the first part of thefOurth cen
Jury was polite even if was sincere. as the mass
Of Intelligence, worth. and wealth OF the empire
had passed over 10 Christianity before him. PrOba
! bly, my learned friend will deny that JOSeDhuS
who was born A. D. 81. did not IN his first book in
answer TO Apion, enumerate as Hebrew Scripture
the same books as g now have them, and by their
! classes? Has my learned friend ever examined
the works of MelitO, A d. III? Origen \. d. go
AlhanaSius 4. ID. 80 Jerome, A. d. 39J? Augustine
| 395? Has he ever heard OF Barnabas, Clement of
| Rome, P0lycarp, Polycarp II PlalOnic philoso
| pher, or lrenRuS, who was born al Smyrna about
the year \. d. 111? He was a student of Polycarp
who was disciple of St. john His great work is
nine books against hereSieS, which are sll eXtant
advise my learned @ friend to
EXAMINE THESE WORKS.
NJ friend mentions a few names who were
noted writers OF Greece and Rome during the lat
ter part OF the first ard early in the second century
who never mention Jesus. VIII he be Eind enough
to furnish me with the name ofthe work or works
of either of these noted writer's wherein Jesus
name or His work is not mentioned? And will
he be kind enough 10 tell me why Homer does not
make mention Of the Great Pyramid of Egyps
though he must have known OF that wonder Of the
world? My friend also quotes from the Rev. q
Robert Taylor, who declared that the story of
Christ was a myth copied from the Greek and
Roman pagan mythology. Does my friend adopt
this unsupported statement as his very own!
Christianity sprang up in land remote from those
pagan religions; il has no features in common
with them. 1t came, 50 far as they had life, into
IMMEDIATE AND DEADLY COLLISION
with them. The Egyptian, the Babylonian, the
Persian the Greek. the Roman mythOlOgies-
which Of them, what part of them, is represented
by Christianity? The temples, the priesthood the
sacrifices, the mOrals-which of them is repre-
scented by Christianity? Which of them welcomed
its coming: which ofthem sprang forward to en-
brace it; which of them opened its temples for 1t?
But my article is already too long. Just one more
word and am done. Prove to me that Christ is
myth and will prove TO YOU and by the same line
of reasoning, that George Washington, the So
called father of his country, is myth also
P. c. CHEEKS.