nature, utterly incredible; but likewife, from the circumftances, and the manner, in which the Gofpel was firft preached by the Apostles, that no time whatever can be affigned for the introduction of these fuppofed forgeries, at which it is not abfolutely incredible, that an attempt to introduce them could have fucceeded.

THEY could not poffibly have gained admittance during the firft fixteen, or seventeen, years after the Afcenfion; while all the Apoftles in general continued in, and round about Judea; engaged in the very bufinefs of preaching the Gofpel.

THEY could not have efcaped being detected by James the Juft; the firft Head, or Bifhop, of the Chriftian Church in Judea; if they had been brought forward within thirty years after the Afcenfion; that is, at any time before the year 62; in which year James was put to death at Jerufalem.

THEY would certainly have been exploded by the authority of the Apoftle, and Evangelist, St. John; if the attempt to impofe them upon the belief of the Church had been made at any time before the clofe of the first Century; to which period St. John lived.

IT is felf-evident, that the common fenfe of Chriftians must have caufed them to be rejected,

with difdain; if they had been forged, and firft made public, fo late as after the death of the Apostle, and Evangelift, St. John; that is, after the beginning of the Second Century; or even feveral years earlier.

AND it is indifputably certain; from the manner in which the facts related in the paffages in queftion are repeatedly mentioned by Juftin Martyr; that those paffages were actually held, by the Church at large, to be of just the same authority as any other parts of the Gofpels to which they belong; in the very early part of the Second Century; not merely before Juftin wrote; but likewife before he began to make those enquiries into the evidence for the truth of Chriftianity, in confequence of which he became a convert to the faith in Jefus. And this could not poffibly have been the cafe, unless they had made a part of those Gospels, and been regarded as an unquestionably authentic part of them, before the end of the Firft Century; when they must have been known to, and confirmed by the authority of, the Apoftle, and Evangelift, St. John.

IN addition to this connected feries of evidence; which abfolutely precludes all poffibility of the forgeries in queftion; another particular has been pointed out, which is alone of fufficient weight to be abfolutely decifive of the queftion.

f 4

The

history

history of the Church, with respect to these paffages, is just the very reverfe of what it must have been, if they had not been authentic. If the Gofpels of Matthew, and Luke, had been originally made public, by thofe Evangelifts, without the paffages under confideration; and these paffages had been forged at fome fubfequent period, whenever that might be; one of the following circumstances must have taken place.-Either the Church at large must have rejected these forgeries; and it must have been only fome particular Sects who admitted them; and then they could not have been tranfinitted to us, by the Church at large, as authentic parts of their refpective Gofpels; as they actually have been;-Or else, there muft have been a certain time, at which the Church at large first came to acknowledge them; and, accordingly, first inferted them in all their copies of thofe Gofpels, of which they have been tranfmitted to us, by the Church at large, as authentic parts.--And if that had been the cafe, fome account of these most remarkable events must have been given, by thofe early Chriftian Writers, who were the firft to defend the Chriftian caufe, or to preferve the hiftory of the Church. Whereas the real fact is, that the hiftory of the Church is directly contradictory to every idea of this kind. It is incontrovertibly certain, that it

was

was only fome well known Sects, not the Church at large, who ever did disbelieve the particulars contained in the paffages in queftion; and there is not the leaft imaginable hint of there having been a time, after the original publication of the Gofpels concerned, when the Church was not in poffeffion of these paffages, and did not regard them as authentic parts of the Gofpels to which they belong.

THE aggregate force of this series of evidence is far more than fufficient to determine the point in question. But because it is certain, that the contents of these paffages were difbelieved by fome of the early Chriftian Sects; as well as by the profefied Enemies of the Gofpel; we have proceeded to enquire further, Whether this disbelief of theirs was founded upon any fuppofed evidence, that the paffages concerned were spurious. And with regard to this point it has appeared;

THAT the Cerinthians, and one branch of the Ebionites, rejected the Miraculous Conception of Jefus, as false; regarding it as impoffible; but without alleging any evidence, to prove that the paffages containing the accounts of it were forged: just as they rejected St. Paul, and his Epiftles; not because they alleged any evidence, to prove that St. Paul was not an Apostle; or that the Epiftles attributed to him were not authentic; but

because

because St. Paul preached, and his Epiftles very ftrongly inculcated, fome doctrines, which they could not bring themselves to receive.

THAT next after thefe Sects, the Miraculous Conception was rejected by Marcion. But that neither did Marcion found his rejection of it upon any fuppofed Evidence, that the paffages containing the accounts of it were forged, is abundantly evident; as well from Tertullian's manner of replying to him; and Juftin Martyr's manner of referring to the paffages concerned; as from Marcion's rejecting likewife the Gofpels of Matthew, Mark, and John; and the Acts of the Apostles; the evidence in favour of which is not lefs fatisfactory, than that for the Gofpel of Luke; the only one which it pleased Marcion, in a certain manner, to admit. And befides, with regard to Marcion, it has ftill further appeared; that if thefe paffages had been forged, He must have been perfectly well acquainted with the hiftory of their first introduction; and would certainly have published it, to fhew the propriety of his own conduct in rejecting them.

THAT not long after the time of Marcion, Celfus exerted his abilities in a work, the profeffed object of which was to explode the Chrif tian faith. But by means of fomé paffages of that work,