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ENQUIRY

Concerning the

Books of the New Testament, Whether they were written by divine inspiration, &c.

Reverend Sir,

A

S I entirely agree with you, it is a matter of great importance, that the writings of the New Testament should be set upon a right foot, and as I gave you my opinion concerning those books, that they were not written by divine inspiration according to the vulgar use of that expreffion; that is, the minds of the writers were not under such a divine direction in the writing those histories and epistolary discourses *, as that God immediately revealed to, and impressed upon them the subject matter therein contained; but only that they were under a firm belief and expectation of a future judgment and retribution, and so were disposed at their utmost peril to give (as accordingly they did) to the best of their ability an honest and faithful account of matters of fact, which in the main were strictly true, according to what they themselves had heard and feen, or upon the best information they could receive from others, who were eye witnesses, and ministers or attendants on the Meffiah, allowing a possibility of mistakes in lesser circumstances, which perhaps all histories (except written by divine inspiration, as aforesaid) are liable to. That the doctrines they delivered, and the duties they required, were fuch as they themselves had verbally received from the mouth of Christ, or from those who had thus received them from him; or by a special revelation from God (by vision or otherwise); or by inferences drawn from the writings of the Old Testament; or from the reason of things, and the like (God not fuffering them always to continue in error in any material point, which concerned the happiness and falvation of mankind); I say, as I gave you my opinion in this point, when I had the pleasure of your company and conversation some few days past: So I have now taken the freedom to lay before you the grounds and reasons, upon which that opinion is founded. And,

* Note, I here except the revelation of St. John out of the

cafe.

they

First, With respect to the historical parts of the New Testament, that they were not writ ten by divine inspiration in the sense above mentioned, but only by honest men, whogave a fair and faithful account of matters of fact, which in the main were strictly true accord

ing to what they themselves had seen and heard, or upon the best information they could obtain from others, my reasons are as follow.

First, It is very strange and unreasonable to suppose or expect, that God should thus interpose, by inspiring men to write an hiftory of matters of fact, when there were many living witnesses, which could from their own knowledge give this history without any inspiration. And it is yet more strange, that fome of those men, by whom this history was given, had the perfonal knowledge of those very facts, as being eye and ear witnesses of the fame, antecedent to such inspiration. I say, it seems very unlikely, that God should thus interpose in an extraordinary way for the delivery of an history, which could be done in an ordinary way, without such an extraordinary interposition, seeing it is what he doth not usually do in other cafes.

If

Secondly, The variety of penmen employed in writing the gospel history makes it very improbable, that it was written by divine inspiration in the sense abovementioned. God had thought fit thus to interpose in this affair, then when he had given an history by the pen of one man, there would have been no need of a fecond to come after to confirm, or to fupply the defects of the former. For as it may be fairly prefumed he would have written at first, all that was proper to be known by posterity; so his authority, being stampt upon it, was sufficient to gain credit upon the world, and there was no need of a fecond, or third, or fourth history to serve these purposes.

Thirdly, The disagreement of those histories with respect to some facts, or the circumtances which attended them, plainly prove, that they were not written by divine inspiration. Thus Matt. xxvii. 5. And he, viz. Judas, caft down the pieces of filver in the temple, and departed and went and hanged himfelf. Acts i. 17, 18. For he, viz. Judas, was numbred with us, and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity, and falling headlong, burst afunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out. Here we fee, tho' both these historians agree, that the traytor Judas came to an untimely end; yet they very much differ in their accounts about the way and manner, by which he came to that end; the one affirming that he hanged himself, and the other faith that he fell down beadlong, and bursting afunder in the midst, his bowels gushed out. Now fuppofing there may be some possible way found cut for the reconciling these hiftorians; yet that would be but mere fuppofition or guess work, which might, or might not be the truth of the cafe. And can it reafonably be fuppofed, that fuch a wife and good being as God is, if he condescended to become an hiftorian, or to dictate to persons the fubject matter of an hiftory (which comes to the fame), that he would give two diffe

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rent accounts of a fact, and then leave it to men to rack their inventions, to find out a way to reconcile that difference? no surely. What I would observe is, that as God is omnipresent, and confequently omniscient, and as such hath the most perfect knowledge of all things; so it is naturally impoffible that he should err, and it is morally impoffible that he should give a contrary account of the most minute circumstances of things whatever. And as the agreement of these hiftorians in the main is, with other things, a proper proof, that there was such a person as Jefus Christ, and that he acted, suffered, died, &c. as they have fet forth; so their varying or disagreeing in their accounts of fome facts, or the circumstances which attended them, evidently proves, that they were not divinely inspired as aforefaid.

Fourthly, The omissions of those hiftorians. with regard to fome facts, or the circumstances that attended them, (which facts or circumstances were very pertinent and material, to anfwer the purpose of those histories), make it probable, that they were not written by divine inspiration. Thus in St. Paul's account of Christ's appearing after his refurrection, he faith, i Cor. xv. 6. That he was feen of above five hundred brethren at once. Which appearance, 'tho' it was the greatest that Chrift made, as it was to a much greater number of witnesses than at any other time; yet the account of it is omitted by all the historians, tho they

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