I have thought it necessary to state this point explicitly, because a
fashion, revived by Voltaire, and pursued by the disciples of his
school, seems to have much prevailed of late, of attacking Christianity
through the sides of Judaism. Some objections of this class are founded
in misconstruction, some in exaggeration; but all proceed upon a
supposition, which has not been made out by argument, viz. that the
attestation which the Author and first teachers of Christianity gave to
the divine mission of Moses and the prophets extends to every point and
portion of the Jewish history; and so extends as to make Christianity
responsible, in its own credibility, for the circumstantial truth (I had
almost said for the critical exactness) of every narrative contained in
the Old Testament.
CHAPTER IV.
REJECTION OF CHRISTIANITY.
We acknowledge that the Christian religion, although it converted great
numbers, did not produce an universal, or even a general conviction in
the minds of men of the age and countries in which it appeared. And this
want of a more complete and extensive success is called the rejection of
the Christian history and miracles; and has been thought by some to form
a strong objection to the reality of the facts which the history
contains.
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