ページの画像
PDF
ePub

As to oral tradition, or by word of mouth, that is allowed, at least by Proteftants, to be a most dangerous passage, if the channel runs any great length, which is the prefent cafe; so dangerous, as that not any thing, that has paffed to us through this conveyance, can with fafety be relied upon, nor indeed has it much concern in the cafe before us. For though Chrift, who received this revelation immediately from God, did not enter it upon record, but delivered it verbally to the Jews, and to his disciples, and also gave it in charge to his apoftles to deliver it verbally to the rest of the world; yet, from the apoftles down to us, it feems to have run through the channel of written tradition only, as being contained in the writings of the apoftles or apoftolic men; feeing what is verbal among us are only difcourfes grounded, or pretended to be grounded, on written tradition, as it is contained in thofe writings. And as to all those who pretend to immediate and special revelations from the Deity, thefe I exclude out of the cafe; because what they promulge as divine truth is rather their revelation, than the revelation of Jefus Chrift. As to written tradition, that is a better or a worse conveyance, according to

the circumstances that attend the cafe: And though written tradition has gained fome advantages by the use of printing, yet that is of little or no confequence, in the cafe under confideration; because the written tradition we have to do with took place, many ages before printing came in ufe, in this part of the world, and therefore it may have been greatly corrupted before that time. The written tradition, through which the Chriftian revelation has paffed to us, are those books commonly called the New Testament, from which books that revelation is to be collected, and out of which it is to be gathered; Ifay, the Chriftian revelation is to be collected or gathered from those writings; for as Christ's meffage is not particularly and separately specified nor afcertained in those books,nor can they in the grofs be confidered as fuch; fo, confequently, that meffage can only be gathered or collected from them. The books of the New Testament contain a great deal of matter, which is perfectly distinct from, indedepent of, and quite irrelative to Chrift's meffage; and therefore, those books, in the grofs, cannot, with any propriety of truth, be called the Chriftian revelation. The fubject matter of the books of the new teftament may be distinguished as followeth, F 4

viz.

viz. first, the hiftories of the ministry of Christ, commonly called the Gospel; fecondly, the history of the miniftry of the Apostles, commonly called the Acts of the Apoftles. Thirdly, apoftolick counsel and advice, fent to fome perfons and churches, commonly called the epiftles; and lastly, a kind of vifionary prophecies of things to come, commonly called the revelations of St. John; which laft, as it is what I do not understand, so thereby it is out of the reach of my enquiry. The hiftory of the miniftry of Chrift is contained in four books, two of which are ascribed to two of the Apoftles, and two of them to two apoftolick men; that is, to men of note in the apoftolick age. From these books, I think, the Chriftian revelation is to be chiefly, if not wholly collected; because they are furnished with materials for that purpose, which are not to be met with elfewhere. In thefe books we have an account at large of Chrift's difcourfes and parables, and what he from time to time delivered as the will of his father, of which we have no fuch particular and full account in any other parts of the new teftament. And what we have in those books is at first hand, as from

Chrift himself, without any one's comment upon it, supposing those records to be originally true history, and to have fuftained no injury thro' it's conveyance to us; whereas, what we have from the Apoftles, touching this mat→ ter, is at fecond hand,as from Chrift through them, who, to fay the leaft, were liable to misunderstand their master, as I fhall have occafion to fhew more at large hereafter; nor does the history of their ministry clear up, but rather darken and perplex the fubject: So that what is Chrift's meffage, or what is the Chriftian revelation, strictly and properly fo called; this must be chiefly, if not wholly collected from the hiftories of Christ's ministry, as we have not materials elsewhere to gather it from.

AND as the Chriftian revelation, or the gofpel of Jefus Chrift, is to be collected from the histories of Chrift's ministry; so thefe books thereby become of great concern to us, as our judgments and actions are to be guided and directed by thein. One of these histories is afcribed to St. Mark, and from hence these feveral queftions do naturally and obviously arife; viz. first, how do we know that this history was written by the person whofe name it bears? and ad

mitting that it was, then fecondly, how do we know that St. Mark was well qualified to know the truth of what he related? and thirdly, how do we know that he was a perfon of fuch veracity, as that he would testify the truth of what he knew? and fourthly, how do we know that this book has been faithfully tranfmitted down to this time? and lastly, how do we know that this history has been justly rendered into our language ? These are fuch questions as we ought to have proper fatisfaction in, with regard to a book that is to be admitted as a guide to our judgments and actions; because these points are like links in a chain, if one link breaks the chain ceafes to bind; fo, in the prefent cafe, if one of those points fail, the book referred to ceases to be a proper guide. And whereas these points are fuch that we, the unlearned, cannot have proper fatisfaction, with regard to any one of them; and the most learned can have fuch fatisfaction only with regard to the laft; and even in that they difagree; what one learned man maintains to be a true reading, another learned man does not admit; and, as to ancient manuscripts, authentick copies, and such other original evidence, as it is called, thefe,

when

« 前へ次へ »