A vindication of the truth of Christian religion against the objections of all modern opposers written in French by James Abbadie ... ; render'd into English by H.L.

CHAP. I.

Wherein we shall prove that those Books can never be supposititious.

WHen I examin the Books of the New Testa∣ment, all the doubts I strive to raise con∣cerning them, amount only to these three, I. Whe∣ther those Books were not composed by some Im∣postor, who probably might have ascribed them to the Apostles? II. Whether those Books, supposing they were composed by the Apostles, were not after∣wards corrupted by the Christians? III. Whether the Apostles the pretended Authors of those Books, did not themselves fill them up with many fictions for their Masters honour, and the advantage of their Religion? It is but just we should examine whether these three suspicions are well grounded or no.

And First, it is certain that in taking away the evidence of the Books of the New Testament, we overthrow that of all other Books, and call in ques∣tion the account of all things past. For who will warrant me that Cicero's Orations are his own, if I can't reasonably assure my self that the Epistles of St. Paul were written by St. Paul himself? But

hold! Perhaps it was easier or more advantageous to counterfeit the Books of the New Testament than those of Humane Learning. This is what we must a little enquire into.

And I. the facility there is in Counterfeiting the the works of an Author, wholly depends upon the several Circumstances of time, place, and persons, upon the subject matter of that Book, the temper of mens minds, their different notions, and their various interests which must be carried on in it. Now to counterfeit Books of Humane Learning seems in∣finitely more easy in all these respects, than to coun∣terfeit those of the New Testament.

I. Because they who counterfeit a Book of Hu∣mane Learning, may take as much time as they please for it; but here we know not what time can be imagined the Books of the New Testament were forged in. If we look back from age to age, we find the Christians had those Books continually be∣fore their eyes, and that they were quoted by the most ancient Fathers, who looked upon them as Sacred and Divine.

II. It is easy to counterfeit Books of Humane Learning, because there are generally but few peo∣ple that interess themselves at all in them, at least but very indifferently: but it would have been a very difficult matter to counterfeit those Books which compelled men to suffer Martyrdom, as the Books of the New Testament did. If a man that lends out his money seeks the best security he can for it; what then must that person do, or rather what must an infinite number of persons do, who utterly renounce all things for the sake of the Go∣spel?

III. There has been found some who have coun∣terfeited Books of Humane Learning: but none e∣ver known that were willing to die in defence of

their forgery. Now none here can be suspected to have forged the Books of the New Testament, but only those who suffered Death in defence of the Christian Religion, and consequently to confirm the Truth of these matters of fact on which Chistianity it self is founded.

IV. A man may very well counterfeit a Book of Humane Learning, but not always, nor in all cir∣cumstances, and 'twould be very ridiculous in a man to forge Letters that must have been written not long ago to whole Societies, or Epistles that must have been deposited in the hands of an infi∣nite number of persons, and in very many different places. Now this must needs be affirmed of all the Epistles of the Apostles, which make up a very con∣siderable part of the New Testament. And how could the Church of Rome have possibly been made to believe, that St. Paul wrote an Epistle to her; or the Church of Corinth, that she had received two Epistles from him, and so of the rest unless it had been so.

V. This argument is so much the more consider∣able, since he that grants one point in this matter, unavoidably grants the whole: and if you should agree with me, that perhaps one single Epistle a∣mong all those of the New Testament was not forg'd, you must grant the same thing of them all; or at least it will be to no purpose for the Incredulous to to cavil thereupon. For what if I should grant the four Gospels to be forg'd, does not the Book of the Acts of the Apostles contain, nay does it not neces∣sarily suppose the same essential matters of fact, related to us in the Gospels? should I grant the same of the Book of Acts, are not the Epistles of St. Paul sufficient to inform us, that Jesus Christ wrought several miracles, rose again from the Dead, and ascended into heaven, and that the Holy Ghost de∣scended

upon the Disciples on the day of Pentecost? and that's as much as I desire. In a word, should I grant all the Epistles of St. Paul to be the works of another man, I need but receive those of St. Peter, or those of St. John, to prove the same thing. There being never an Epistle in all the New Testa∣ment, but what mentions or implies those essential matters of fact, without which there can be no such thing as Christianity in the World.

Let us now see whether we can perswade our selves that all the Books of the New Testament, with∣out excepting one fragment, or single Epistle a∣mongst them, are forg'd; and whether we can en∣tertain such a suspicion which no Heretick, no Im∣pious, or Incredulous Person ever entertained.

But how is it possible all the Epistles of the A∣postles should be forg'd, since they must have been committed to an infinite number of Persons, as they were really in the begining of Christianity, and since Tertullian tells us, that in his time they carefully preserved in several Churches the Originals of those Epistles which the Apostles had wrote to them?

Again, in what time, and on what occasion could this Forgery have been made? Was it during the lives of the Apostles? No: For could the World consider those Books as Sacred and Divine, which the Apostles themselves forg'd. Was it then im∣mediately after the Death of the Apostles? Do we owe it to Clemens, Polycarp, and the other Doctors of that Age? By no means: for those Disciples of the Apostles separated themselves as soon as those great Lights of the World were extinguished. Po∣lycarp went to Rome, to decide a controversy with a Bishop of Rome, occasioned in the Church about the time wherein they were to celebrate the Feast of the Christian Resurrection, or Passover. Those two great men differed much in that point, but yet they both

greed unanimously to receive the Writings of the Apostles, and to look upon them as the true stand∣ard of their Faith and Manners. Moreover, what Probability is there that so great a number of Churches could have been induced to receive so many false Epistles, so soon after the Death of the Apostles, and when there was so many Persons yet living who had conversed with them? In truth, this is so ex∣travagant a Notion that we hold our selves not at all obliged to refute it.

But it may be objected that the Primitive Christians question'd the Authority of some Epistles, such as the Epistle to the Hebrews, whose Author was never certainly known, the second Epistle of St. Peter, that of St. Jude, &c. I grant it: but then I presume that this consideration makes for us, since it cannot be conceived that the Ancient Primitive Christians should dispute so long about some Epistles in par∣ticular, had the rest altogether been as liable to suspicion.

But may we not reasonably imagin that during those strange disorders which followed the destruc∣tion of Jerusalem, some Christians either perfect cheats, or but partly perswaded of that Faith, might have composed the Books of the New Testa∣ment, and so after having inserted in them what∣ever stories they pleased, ascribed them to the A∣postles, to gain the greater veneration and respect for their fictions? No certainly, because the devas∣tation of Jerusalem hinder'd not but that there might be very numerous Churches at Rome, at Antioch, at Thessalonica, Philippi, &c. whom it would have been impossible to have perswaded that the Apostles had wrote them some Epistles which must have been al∣ready deposited in their hands. And besides that, it appears plainly that the Books of the New Testa∣ment were composed before the destruction of Jeru∣salem,

because Jerusalem and the Church established at Jerusalem is often mention'd therein, without the least hint that Jerusalem was then utterly destroyed. Besides how could it come into any mans mind to forge such Books after the destruction of Jeru∣salem, whose design was only to humble the pride of the Jews, to induce them no longer to hate the Hea∣thens as being strangers, and to perswade them that tho God as yet suffered the carnal worship of their Law, they ought not to expect to be justified by that. This I say was the end of the New Testa∣ment, and especially the Epistles of St. Paul, who seems earnestly to desire to unite the minds of the two Nations. And Heaven having sufficiently de∣clared it self against the Jews by the destruction of their City, the confusion of their Tribes, and Fa∣milies, and that general dispersion which made them Tributaries to all other Nations, there was no need of any further reasons to prove that the Jews were not the only Nation called to the Knowledge of the true God. 'Twas enough that this proof was evi∣dently written by the hand of God in the just punish∣ment of that people.

In the mean while, 'tis necessary to observe that by shewing that the New Testament was composed before the destruction of Jerusalem, I shew also that it is as ancient as the Apostles themselves: which affords us one determination very advantagious to our Cause. So that this objection being very fa∣vourable to, instead of proving any thing against us, nothing hinders but that we pass on to the con∣sideration of the second suspicion we were willing to entertain concerning the Books of the New Testa∣ment.