Selected quad for the lemma: scripture_n
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A69506
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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.; Traité de la verité de la religion chrétienne. English
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Abbadie, Jacques, 1654-1727.; H. L. (Henry Lussan)
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1694
(1694)
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Wing A58; Wing A59; ESTC R798
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273,126
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448
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well enough with the common notions of the Vulgar but here that a man died a Death proper only to Slaves that he rose again and ascended into Heaven which is a thing that could not easily enter of it self into any mans mind There a Senator made use of a lie to free the Senate from the accusation of having murthered their King but here we find men who exposed themselves to Death and to torments if it were possible more insufferable than Death it self to bear witness of that they look'd upon as a Truth There it appears that 't was a cuning man who softned a multitude enraged for the murther of their King by imposing upon their beleif but here we have only simple and ignorant persons who by their testimony convinced even the most obstinate amongst the Learned and engaged them also to suffer Martyrdom There a single person barely affirmed without any proof that Romulus had appeared to him here we have such Witnesses as convince us of the Truth of their Testimony by the most real and sensible proofs in the World viz. the extraordinary and miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghost conferred upon them and which they themselves frequently imparted to others But lastly it may be objected that we see now a days certain Enthusiasts and Quakers pretending themselves inspired by the Holy Ghost who reveals to them as they say both what they should do and believe whereas all men of sense know very well they do but dream all this while and perhaps too the Disciples might have falsly pretended they had received the Gifts of the Holy Ghost It will soon be seen how wretchedly foolish and trivial this same objection is if it be only considered that tho these Enthusiasts vainly boast of their being divinely inspired yet they pretend not to confirm their Doctrine by working any Miracles or speaking strange Languages c. They think themselves inspired in respect of their Doctrine only and since they commonly speak in the stile of the Holy Scripture which they have continually before their eyes we have no reason to wonder at their taking for an inspiration a continual repetition of that they have so often read over But the Apostles not only pretended themselves inspired by the Holy Ghost that they might not advance any thing but what was Orthodox and conformable to the Holy Scriptures but they affirmed also they had received some supernatural and miraculous gifts the truth of which they could at any time justify by their Works And if you should doubt it you need only observe they did not prove the same by meer speculations but by calling to bear witness of what they said the senses of those they spoke to nay the eyes of the Jews themselves both their Masters and their Enemies too He therefore being say they by the right hand of God exalted has shed forth this which ye now see and hear Acts 2. 33. If you should doubt whether St. Peter really spoke just after this manner to the Jews the multitude of those Proselytes converted by the evidence of this Demonstration and a whole Church purely founded by the efficacy of the same will sufficiently warrant the certainty of it Should you suppose that the Disciples deceived the multitude we will only remind you that they had to deal with several learned and skillful Adversaries tho' they themselves were but simple and ignorant People If you should imagin that the Vulgar delighted in suffering themselves to be thus miserably deluded we will only put you in mind that there could be no Faith more Grievous or terrible according to the judgment of men than that which they embraced when they turned Christians that it highly concerned them throughly to examin such matters of fact the belief of which obliged them to suffer Martyrdom that those of Berea who daily took care to compare the holy Scriptures to know whether all things were really so as St. Paul had told them certainly would not have failed to consult their eyes and ears to be assured whether the Apostles had any reason to pretend they could do signs and wonders this latter examination being more sure and easy than the former that 't was not once or twice only St. Paul boasted of having made himself known by many signs miracles and wonders wrought by him in the presence of those he wrote his exhortations to that every one of his Epistles is full of Declarations of this kind or of those things visibly relating thereunto that he derived both his Arguments and the motives of his exhortations from that undeniably known effusion of the supernatural graces of the Holy Ghost Certainly no man can imagin St. Paul so senseless as to write to the Corinthians in these Words Wherefore Brethren covet to prophecy and forbid not to speak with tongues 1 Cor. 14. 19. supposing those gifts had not been actually visible in the Church nor would he have taken so much care to remedy those disorders which arose from the abuse of those miraculous gifts as we have already observ'd he did Neither would he have warned them that the end of Prophecying was to edifie the faithful but that the gift of Tongues as being miraculous was to convince the Incredulous Lastly he would never have undertook to correct the disorders of men who valued those extraordinary Gifts more than Charity it self as we see he did when he observed that whether there were prophecies they should fail whether there were Languages they should cease but that Charity did never fail But we may easily see by his words how fully he was perswaded of these things He had so great an admiration for so many miracles signs and wonderful works which the Spirit of God wrought in the sight of men that he knew not well what suitable name to give to that Divine principle Sometimes he called it The excellency of the power of God 2 Cor. 4. 7. sometimes the exceeding greatness of his power Eph. 1. 19. sometimes the Excellency of the power of his might Eph. 6. 10. All which expressions are to the full as Natural as they are strong and discover to us beyond all the arguments in the World the Idea St. Paul had of those miraculous gifts and consequently that too which we our selves ought to have of them SECTION III. Wherein we shall endeavour to carry ev'n to a Demonstration the proofs drawn from the external evidence of the matters of fact contained in the New Testament and the inward sense we have of them CHAP. I. Of the Natural Temper Dispositions and Inclinations of the Disciples and what sort of prejudices they were possessed with when Jesus Christ manifested himself to them WE cannot better discover what Impression the matters of fact related in the Gospel may have or ought to have wrought upon the minds of the Disciples than by considering what sort of prejudices they were till then possessed with We shall therefore begin this third Section with the examination of
Character of the New Testament is infinitely more excellent than that of the Writings of all the Fathers who lived successively from the Apostles down to us wherein any one may easily observe a strange affectation a particular vanity of shewing their parts and learning and sometimes much heat and passion because they were far from the perfection in Christianity which the Apostles had IV. That the best sorts of godly Books written amongst the Christians from the Apostles's time down to us I mean those Books that most establish the peace and tranquility of publick Society and chiefly tend to the Glory of God were written in imitation of the holy Scriptures from which they had their materials to compose them with This is what in my opinion is very sure and certain And as certain it is that if the Apostles were not divinely inspired they must necessarily be Impostors nay such abominable men as desired only to dishonour their Nation and to sacrifice to a vain flattering Idea of Glory the lives and fortunes of an infinite number of persons whom they encouraged to suffer Martyrdom Let us now see whether we can perswade our selves that the most excellent Books that were ever known I mean those Books that are most proper to inspire us with piety with the love of God and our Neighbour that are the source of the best matters that ever were written and the original of the Piety and Vertue of all those persons who were converted by them were only the invention of the most wicked men that ever were Certainly since all Christians in all Ages considered this Book as Divine and as the rule of their Faith whereby they distinguish'd it from all other Books it follows thence that all the Christians were either deceived in the Essentials of it and that their Faith was false or else that Book must in reality be of a Divine Authority For such an Universal Tradition so constant and so necessarily affixed to the end and design of Religion can never impose upon us It has been the Wisdom of Providence as we have already observed to take care that this Book should be left to us as entire as when it came out of the Apostles hands and the Primitive Christians who all assure us that it is of a Divine Authority tell us only but what right Reason obliged them to acknowledge and us as well as them For the Word preached and the Word written by the Apostles differ not essentially from one another so that if the former be Divine the latter must necessarily be so too And who doubts but that Word must be looked upon as Divine which God himself authorised by so many Miracles Perhaps some will reply that it would be of a very dangerous Consequence to reason often after this manner and that altho' a false Prophet should work prodigious Miracles yet we ought not to follow him upon a bare supposition that God never assists an Impostor with his infinite Power But this I own and affirm also that we ought strictly to examin both his Doctrine and Miracles to find out by that comparison the true Original of both And therefore we have this advantage that we not only find here such miracles as excel all the power of Hell such as for example the raising a man from the Dead but that this Doctrine also visibly bears all the Characters of one that proceeded from Heaven Those miracles on the one hand so great and numerous that the people cried out surely this is the finger of God take away all suspicion of the falsity and pernicious consequences of the Doctrine they confirm because the arm of the Lord is not usually employed in favour of an Imposture And on the other hand that Doctrine which is so holy and so perfectly tends to the union and wellfare of Mankind which is so worthy of the love of God to man sufficiently warrants us that the Miracles whereby it is confirmed proceed not in the least from the power of Darkness as the Enemies of Christianity seem to believe Hell never concerns it self either to unite or sanctify mankind All the Apostles expresly declare that the word which they preached proceeded not from themselves but God But I certifie you Brethren says St. Paul in his Epist to the Galatians Chap. 1. v. 11. that the Gospel which was preached of me was not after man for I neither received of man neither was I taught it but by the Revelation of Jesus Christ Thus when the Apostles were assembled together at Jerusalem in the first Council that ever was held and wrote to some Chnrches concerning several questions that were then in Agitation they made use of this manner of speaking For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us Act. 15. 28. It appears then that the Apostles spoke by the Order and Revelation of God which was given several ways viz. sometimes by Vision as when St. Peter saw a certain vessel descending from Heaven as it had been a great sheet knit by the four Corners wherein were all kinds of unclean Beasts and he was commanded saying Peter kill and eat Act. 10. 13. on purpose to signify that he ought to preach â—he Gospel to the Gentiles who were no longer an unclean Nation in the sight of God sometimes by Dreams as when a certain Macedonian appeared unto St. Paul commanding him to go into Macedonia and preach the Gospel there sometimes by Exâ—asy as it is probable that St. Paul was caught up into the third Heaven but yet much oftener by the inward dictates of the Holy Ghost formed as it were â—n their Souls as when the Spirit said unto Peter concerning the men which Cornelius sent to enquire for him Go thou with them doubting nothing for I â—ave sent them Act. 10. 20. 'T is true one might very well suspect these Reveâ—ations if one single man boasted of having had â—hem imparted to him but here we have several God did not reveal himself to them after one single manner but after divers They asserted not only â—hat God had revealed some things to them in order â—o induce Mankind to believe it but they wrought many Miracles spoke divers Languages imâ—arted â—hose Gifts to others thereby converted the World â—nd exactly fulfilled the Oracles of God That â—pirit which filled them and was necessarily to fill â—hem because the time of the Calling of the Gentiles â—as come was outwardly produced by such effects â—s undoubtedly will confound the Incredulous if they â—eflect upon them Certainly if it be true as it is that God poured down his Spirit upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost 't was only that they might preach unto men by their Ministry unless it be pretended that the Tongues of the Apostles which were exalted after a supernatural manner so far as to speak all sorts of Languages were to confine themselves to that particular employ and not to reveal unto men the will of God But if we ought