Suppose the mission to be
real, all this is accounted for; the unsuitableness of the authors to
the production, of the characters to the undertaking, no longer
surprises us: but without reality, it is very difficult to explain how
such a system should proceed from such persons. Christ was not like any
other carpenter; the apostles were not like any other fishermen.
But the subject is not exhausted by these observations. That portion of
it which is most reducible to points of argument has been stated, and, I
trust, truly. There are, however, some topics of a more diffuse nature,
which yet deserve to be proposed to the reader's attention.
The character of Christ is a part of the morality of the Gospel: one
strong observation upon which is, that, neither as represented by his
followers, nor as attacked by his enemies, is he charged with any
personal vice. This remark is as old as Origen: "Though innumerable lies
and calumnies had been forged against the venerable Jesus, none had
dared to charge him with an intemperance." (Or. Ep. Cels. 1. 3, num. 36,
ed. Bened.) Not a reflection upon his moral character, not an imputation
or suspicion of any offence against purity and chastity, appears for
five hundred years after his birth.
Pages:
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364