The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-12
BELIEVES IT GENUINE
REV. JOSEPH LITTELL SPEAKS OF
THE "ACTS OF PLATE" DOCUMENT.
He Has Had Experience In Examining
Ancient Manuscripts - The So
Called "PiOus Forgery"

Rev. Joseph Lttell, of No. 52S East Yer
mont street, is one of the believers In the
| genuineness of the manuscript which it is
said has been unearthed containing Pontius
| Pilates report of the trial of Christ Mr..
Littell is pastor of the First United Pres
byterian Church of this city. He has made
two trips abroad and has given a great deal
Of study to old historical manuscripts. He
talked interestingly of the alleged Pontius
Plate report last night and asserts the
belief that the manuscript is not forgery.
1T is difficult 10 state briefly said Mr..
| Littell. 1.-The many reasons which have in
| clined me to believe in the authenticity OF
| the document which Justin Matnt calls the
Acts of Plate have for some years Civ
en- SPECIAL attention to it, both in this coun-
try and abroad. BY the kindness OF T. &
r. Clark, Edinburgh, Scotland, publishers
of the Post Nician Fathers, 1 was able to
examine a very complete collection OF
| ancient literature as well as of the criti-
cal and photographed work of the eminent
scholar Tischendorf, who first brought
that document into public notice. Almost
every writer on that subject since Tischen-
dorf has accepted his verdict 10 it's
thenticity, that is they have pronounced it
a spurious document, a pious forgery 1t
has been exploited by several writer's and
just recently has been made matter Of
popular interest with researches of the
Vatican library stories to give it value.
1.-THE oldest known copies of the Report
of Plate or the Acts of Plate are not
and have never been in the Vatican library
They were discovered somewhere by the
celebrated Orientalist, Victor Amandee Per-
ron,of the University of Turin, who discov-
cred many ancient Greek and Latin manu-
scripts. In the course of his researches
4 and about the time of his discovery of the
Codix Simaticus copy of the Scriptures,
Tischendorf came upon the Acts of Plate
in Turin He was in great need of just
such document for his work of defending
the authenticity of Johns gospel which
had been denied by the learned German
critics, Strauss, Volkmar and Helgenfeldt.
They affirmed that the fourth gospel was
not written in the first century, and that as
the Apostle John had died in the first CEN
fury, ne could not nave written that gos-
pei; therefore, it was forgery the work
of later author named John. Tischen-
dorIS critical work upon the manuscript is
very exact and just. But when he comes
to the use of 1t as document, he mani
dests the disposition OF an attorney for the
proves the document to have existed as
early as the nrst decade of the second CEN
are verbatim with passages in Johns gos-
pei Then he asserts, just affirms, that the
author or the Acts OF Plate copied from
John, and as his opponents could not prove
to the contrary, he claimed that fact as
evidence that Johns gospel was written
before the Acts of Plate and therefore in
the last part of the first century.
Such was the use made of that docu-
ment by TIschendoIs in his effort to estab-
lish and defend the authenticity of the
fourth gospel. AS a teXtual critic he a1firms
and demonstrates that we have the docu-
tn a nd 11Gp hxyl Inst lin and Mr.
tullian, and he declares that it has a text
ual confirmation which is possessed by
classic literature But there are several
facts beyond the point of Tischendorf to
refute or explain, indeed. he does not at
tempt to do so, and these are OF greater
weight in favor OF the authenticity of the
Acts of Plate than is the mere assertion
| of Tischendorf that 1t was written later
than the fourth gospel.
"F'irst-At the time of Christ the govern
ment Of the Roman empire had reached its
most perfect organization and was adminiS-
tered by one of The most austere and exact
ing emperors who ever sat on its thlone-Ti-
! beruS caesar One Of its laws required of
the Governor of each province that he make
a full report of affairs in his province once
year, at least, and at every such other
time as any matter OF Importance In his
province demanded his official action. That
was the law under which PontiuS Plate
served the Emperor as Governor OF Judea.
Governors of other provinces did make such
reports, and hliate must have done so, fgr
the trial and execution of Jesus was an i'm
Governor. Its Importance was great, be-
cause it was the demand Of the recognized
officials of the Jewish nation, and the ac-
cuSed charged with high treason
against Caesar-the highest crime known in
Roman law. and Plate had averted pro-
vinciaI insurrection only by granting their
demand for the death of Jesus. Plate ought
TO have reported the whole matter to his
Emperor at Rome.
'Second-When the champions of pan
and poiytheistic religions were demanding
of the Roman Emperor and Senate that
they suppress the Christian reHgion-that
foreign superstition, Justin Martyr adj
dressed a defense of the Christian religion
to the Emperor and Senate. In it he affirms
the divine character of Jesus Christ as in
dicated by His supernatural works and res
direction, and for evidence of the truth OF
his statements of these facts he three times
appealed TO the Acts of Plate. as official
records on record in the archives of the
Roman Senate. Justin was a learned man.
He was likely to know the facts
as to the existence, location and
contents i,,.s q such dc, document. He
as to cite such document if it did not ex-
list. The emperor and Senate knew whether
such a document was in existence. We have
no evidence that they ever disputed JustnS
assertion. He is not charged with folly in
citing document that did not exist. Ter
same document as an official report in con-
frmation of their statements as to the
resurrection of Jesus.
"Thrd-The internal evidence of the
document itself is of great weight There
are in existence two copies of it, one Greek
and one in Latin, which Tischendorf as
serted to have been made in the fourth
century. They contain interpretations and
other defects such as are always found in
old manuscripts which have been copied
and recopied. But there are many state
ments therein which indicate that the writer
had personal knowledge of the facts and
which no mere forger could have thought
Of. The similarity and identity of some
statements with passages in Johns gospel
is but the natural result of a like knowl-
edge of the same facts by two persons. 1t
is no more evidence that the writer of the
Acts copied from John than that John
copied frorn~fhe Acts of Plate.
MANY other facts might be pointed to as
indicating the authenticity of that docu-
ment but these will suffice to show that
Tfschendorf's use OF ii did not settle the
question as TO it's value. Such scholars as
DR.. Philip Schaff and DR.. Scrivener de-
preciate the value Of Tischendorf's judg-
ment in the use of documents tor his own
ends. The most scholarly and Just exam
ination of this subject is contained in a
volume entitled Jesus Before Plate by
| W. o. Clough."
Pilates Alleged Letter.
Tc the Editor Of the Indianapolis Journal: