CHA P. XVII. The Acts of the Apostles made use of by the Ebionites. A Fragment of them. Mr. Toland's unfair Dealing cenfured. The Gofpel of the Ebionites. Numb. XVII. The ACTS of the APOSTLES received by the EBIONITES. LTHOUGH we have very frequent mention in the antient writers of fpurious Acts under the Apostles' names, yet I do not remember that any writer has either mentioned this, or hinted at any such things as it contained, befides Epiphanius. His account we have Hæref. 30. §. 16. viz. After having faid, the Ebionites make use of the fame Hebrew Gofpel of St. Matthew, which allo Cerinthus and Carpocras did ufe, as also the Acts of Peter written by Clemens, he adds : Πράξεις δὲ ἄλλας καλᾶσιν Αποςόλων εἶναι, ἐν αἷς πολλὰ τῆς ἀσεβείας αὐτῶν ἔμ πλεα, ἔνθεν τὰ ἐ παρέργως τα κατὰ τῆς ἀληθείας ἑαυτὸς ὥπλισαν. Αναβαθμὸς γάρ τινας, καὶ ὑφηγήσεις δῆθεν ἐν τοῖς ἀναβαθμοῖς Ἰακώβε ὑποτίθενται, ὡς ἐξηγεμένα κατά τε τα νας καὶ τῶν θυσιῶν, κατά τε τῇ πυρὸς τῇ ἐν τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ, καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ κενοφωνίας ἔμπλεα· ὡς καὶ τῇ Παύλε ἐνταῦθα κατηγορέντες ἐκ αἰσχύνονται, ἐπιπλάςοις τισὶ τῆς τῶν ψευδαποςόλων αὐτῶν κακεργίας καὶ But they have others, which they call the Acts of the Apoftles, in which there are many of their wicked opinions, with which they carefully furnif themselves to oppose the truth. For they have there forged certain feps, and certain fpeeches of James in each of them, in which he declares againft the temple and facrifices, and the fire on the altar, befides many other things perfectly filly and ridiculous: for inftance, they had the impudence to accuse Paul therein, by fome falle ftories forged by the wickedneis and deceit of their pre πλάνης πλάνης λόγοις πεποιημένοις Ταρσέα μὲν αὐτὸν, ὡς αὐτὸς ὁμολογεῖ καὶ ἐκ ἀρνεῖται, λέγοντες, ἐξ Ἑλλήνων δὲ αὐτὸν υποτίθενται, λαβόντες τὴν πρόφασιν ἐκ τε τόπε διὰ τὸ φιλάληθες ὑπ' αὐτῷ ῥηθὲν, ὅτι Ταρσεύς εἰμι, ἐκ ασήμα πόλεως πολίτης. Εἶτα φάσκεσιν αὐτὸν εἶναι Ἕλληνα, καὶ Ἑλληνίδος μητρὸς, καὶ Ἕλληνος πατρὸς παῖδα, αναβεβηκέναι δὲ εἰς Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ χρόνον ἐκεῖ μεμενηκέναι· ἐπιτεθυμηκέναι δὲ θυγατέρα τ8 Ιερέως πρὸς γάμον ἀγαγέσθαι, καὶ τέτε ἕνεκα προσήλυτον γενέσθαι καὶ περιτμηθῆναι. Εἶτα μὴ λαβόντα τὴν κόρην ὠργίσθαι, καὶ κατὰ τῆς περιτομῆς γεγραφέναι, καὶ κατὰ τα σαββάτε, καὶ νομοθεσίας. tended Apofles: for calling him a man of Tarfus (which he himfelf is fo far from denying, that he exprefsly owns as a Gentile, concluding fo it), they falfely represent him from that place, where he truly fays, I am a man of Tarfus, and a citizen of no mean city. (See Ads xxi. 39.) Furthermore, they fay he was a Gentile, and of Gentile parentage on both fides, and that when he went up to But Jerufalem, and had faid there Part of this fragment is produced by Mr. Toland in his Original Plan or Scheme of Christianity according to the Ebianites, both in Greek and English; nor is it strange that a person of Mr. Toland's profeffion fhould grace his scheme with a paffage fo much to his purpofe, I mean of abolishing the doctrines of Chriftianity, which are agreed upon by all Christians, and introducing his moft ridiculous and impious scheme of Nazarene, or Jewish, or Ebionite, or Mahometan, or (which is the undoubted truth) of no Christianity at all. Did a Nazaren. p. 35. Με Mr. Toland and his friends, in these their vile attacks upon fo excellent and divine a conftitution, not quibble and juggle, and prevaricate, as they upon all occafions do, in their citations out of the old records of Christianity (a crime which they are ever forward to charge upon others, who are much more clear of it), I fhould excuse myself and the reader from the trouble of any remarks upon them, leaving them to their flavish infidelity: but when I observe a person ransacking and mustering together all the filly trumpery of the antient hereticks, grofsly misrepresenting the books he cites, only with defign to fatisfy a bigotted humour against the Chriftian religion, I am obliged, by my regards to the profeffion I make of the name of Jefus, to lay open fuch vile impofture. Of this I have given several instances already from Mr. Toland's books. The paffage I am now upon out of Epiphanius furnishes me with another. He would perfuade us, the Ebionites or Nazarenes (a most ridiculous fort of hereticks, who scarcely deferved the name of Chriftians, as I fhall fhew hereafter) were the only true and genuine Chriftians, confequently their books must be the truest and most genuine accounts of the Chrif tian affairs; and fo for inftance muft thefe Acts, which we are now difcuffing; because it so much vilifies St. Paul, and expofes his doctrine. But, as Dr. Mangeya has justly remarked, this is most insupportable impudence in him to cite as genuine a wretched forgery of the Ebionites. One can scarce tell, whether his intention of vilifying St. Paul, or the method he ufeth to do fo, be the more deteftable: this forry unbelieving critick governs his skill by his wicked principles, and has no other way to judge of fpurious and genuine books, than their oppofition to Chriftianity. Had this learned writer examined the passage in Epiphanius, I doubt not, he would have remarked more of Mr. Toland's infincerity in this matter; for that Father, who is the only perfon that has mentioned this Apocryphal book, does almost in every sentence reject it as a grofs and notorious forgery. Hence we meet with the words 2 Remarks on Nazaren. c. 10. p. 83. πολλά πολλὰ ἀσεβείας ἔμπλεα ὑποτίθενται, πολλὰ κενοφωνίας ἔμπλεα, ἐν αἰ χάνονται ἐπιπλάσοις τισὶ τῶν ψευδαποςόλων κακεργίας, καὶ πλάνης λόγοις 4 μs, &c. which are all to this purpofe; that thefe Acts of the Ebionites were full of impious opinions, forged, filly and ridiculous, counterfeited by the impofture and wickedness of falfe Apaftles, &c. But all this Mr. Toland faw it proper to fupprefs. To have transcribed Epiphanius's account of the book, he was well aware, would have fpoiled the credit of it, feeing he is the only writer, as I said, who has mentioned it; befides, it would have fpoiled his own book, and fo have touched him, in the tender point of intereft, if he had published this judg ment of Epiphanius concerning the Ebionites and their books... Though therefore his design against Christianity be so notorious, and his method of executing it fo unfair, yet the violence of the temptation was great. But I leave him. Thefe Acts of the Ebionites were certainly Apocryphal, being 1. never heard of, nor read, nor received by any but thofe falfe fort of half Christians, called Ebionites. Prop. IV, V, and VI. 2. It appears to bave contained things contrary to known and certain truths. Such is the reafon there given for Paul's preaching against juftification by the ceremonial Law, viz. his being exasperated against the Jews on account of his disappointment in a marriage with the High Priest's daughter; for if this be true, then the whole of Paul's doctrine must be falfe, as not proceeding from God, but from the revengeful humour and rage of a difappointed lover. But this is con-. trary to the fubftance of Chriftianity, which has been proved to be true, by Prop. II. Coroll. 2. and the book therefore Apocryphal, by Prop. VIII. and Coroll. Again, though I have not indeed yet proved the truth of our Canon, yet what I have faid Prop. II. is fufficient to give a credit to it fuperior to this fpurious piece; and if fo, it is certainly Apocryphal, because it contradicts several things therein, viz. when it afferts Paul to be of Gentile parentage, both in refpect of father and mother, when as himself exprefsly declares the contrary more than once. So Acts xxiii. 6. I am a Pharifee, the son of a Pharifee; Rom. xi. i. I am an Ifraelite, of the feed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin; 2 Cor. xi, 22. Are they Hebrews? brews? So am I. Are they Ifraelites? So am I. Are they the feed of Abraham? So am I. And once more, more fully; Phil. m. 5. I was circumcifed the eighth day, of the flock of Ifrael, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; which laft words are a full demonftration that his parents were both Jews, as Mr. Selden a has well proved, and the Greek conftruction will moft properly bear. And this will lead me to another inftance of the fpurioufnefs of thefe Acts, viz. that they represent Paul as becoming a profelyte, and being circumcifed on account of obtaining the Priest's daughter, when as he was circumcifed the eighth day, and confequently ne ver was a Jewish profelyte. Numb. XVIII.The GOSPEL of the EBIONITES. A Mud I stol THIS appears evidently to have been either altogether, or very near, the fame with the Gospel of the Nazarenes; and therefore I fhall refer the difcuffing it to its proper place under the letter N. where I fhall diftinctly confider its variations from, or agreement with, the famous Hebrew Goffel of the Nazarenes, and produce all its fragments." No peculiar Gospel of the Encratites. The Gospel of Eve a ·Forgery of the Gnofticks. Numb. XIX. The GOSPEL of the ENCRATITES. IN N this title I have followed Mr. Fabritius, and many others, though I confefs it does not appear from any thing, which I have obferved, that there ever was any Gospel called by this name. The paffage that learned writer produces out De Jur. Natur. & Gentium, lib. 2. c. 4. So in Xenophon we read ix βασιλέων βασιλεῦσιν. Orat. de A gefil. c. 1. §. 2... • Cod. Apocr. N. Test. tom. 1. p. 349. Vid. Feu-ardent. in Iren. lib. 3. c. I. of |