The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-02-27
The Date of the New Testament.
BY. j. w. HANSON, d. ID.

Il on the part OF those VINO nave
rejected the claims of Christianity, to
show that its records and historical
documents were written centuries
subsequent to the date of our Lords
life. The most formidable of these
assaults were made by group of
learned and acute German scholars
and critics known as the Tubingen
school. They attempted to prove
that the sacred writings origin
ated long after their alleged dates;
that they were developed by men
who used traditional germs and
amplified them into the New Tesla
ment. The learning, ability and
zeal of these scholars produced
marked results, and their assump-
tions are yet repeated by those
who do not seem to know that
their attacks reused Christian schol-
ars to the defence of the Word, and
placed the historical accuracy OF the
Book on an impregnable foundation.
Every position of the Tubingen schol-
ars has not only been met and ex-
ploded, but the hostile critics them
selves have been compelled to accept
the conclusions of Christian scholar
ship. As Canon Farrar observes:
"The strength and consummate equip
ment of their attacks has but render
ed more evident the impregnabillty
OF the sacred citadel"
In Germany, where this movement
originated, it no longer exists. ln
America it is feebly felt among pro-
Tossing Christians, chiefly confined,
however, to Unitarians, with here
and there traveller" among Univer-
salists, who do not appear aware that
they are but echoing voices long since
silenced by sounder learning. Pro
lessor Thayer. of Harvard University,
does not too severely characterize
these rationalistic pseudo Christian
criticisms of the New Testament:
american infdelity clothes herself
in the cast-off rags of her German
sister"
The main contention of the Tubin-
gen school was that the New Tesla
ment books were not written until
centuries after Christ. But the dis
cussions that followed their publica-
tions compelled them to acknowledge
after while that the New Testament
writings were written directly after
the death of Christ And all emf
nent non Christian scholars now con-
cede that Mark was written before
the destruction OF Jerusalem, A. ID.
20, and that even Johns Gospel, long
asserted by hostile critics to be the
work of the third or fourth century,
was produced during the very century
in which Christ lived. This fact is
demonstrated by Sears c"Heart OF
CHRISTI Abbot, (''Fourth Gospel }
and in the recent and admirable work
of our own Dr. MacLean on the same
theme.
1t appears that Justin Martyr (born
about A. D. 100 makes more than
one hundred references to passages
in the Gospels; that lren@us quotes
more than two hundred and sixty
passages; that Clemens and Tertul-
liam ca. D. 1907 appealed to the Cos
pels as generally accepted in their
day as the accurate records of the
life of our Saviour; that Tatian Gin
his Diatessaron) quotes largely from
the Evangelists; that, in fact, most OF
the New Testament might be collated
from the patristic writings of the first
two centuries; showing that the New
Testament was not only then In
existence, but that it was everywhere
accepted among Christians as au-
thoritative. OF course these writings
must have long been in use, or they
could not at that date have become
authoritative as the universal stand
aid of appeal.
This is now generally conceded by
scholars of all schools. Volkmar ad-
mits that Mark, Revelation, Romans,
the Corinthians and Galations had
been written as early as A. ID. ~.
Jesus Nazarenus und die erste christ
Hche Zeit 1882 Renan came to al
low the authenticity of the four Cos
pels, and that they were written by
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Renan declares: THE author of the
third Gospel and of the Acts is in all
reality Luke, the disciple of Paul, "
and call four of the Gospels go back
to the age following the death OF
Jesus"
He adds that the attempt to make
them compilations of later date have
failed. MARX" he says, "was an un-
doubted eyewitness and follower of
Jesus who watched him in close in