6. Robbers hear a noise like that of a king and army when Christ approached, and fly away. Ch. XIII.

7. A girl cured of a leprofy by water which had washed Chrift's body. Ch. XVII.

8. Another cured of a leprofy by the fame water. Ch. XVIII. 9. A man made able to know his wife, who was bewitched and could not. Ch. XIX.

10. A young man by witchcraft turned into a mule; Chrift is put upon the mule's back, and he becomes a man again. Ch. XX, XXI.

11. An idolatrous city turned into heaps of fand at Christ's approach. Ch. XXIII.

12. Chrift makes a well to wash his clothes in a fycamoretree; and from Chrift's fweat proceeds a balfam. Ch. XXIV.

13. The water that washed Chrift's body cures a fick boy. Ch. XXVII.

14. Another boy cured of the fame diftemper by the fame water. Ch. XXVIII.

15. A third miracle (viz. a fick boy cured) performed by Christ's swaddling-clothes. (See Num. 3. and 5). The fame boy unhurt in a hot oven and the bottom of a well. Ch. XXIX.

16. Bartholomew cured by lying in Chrift's bed. Ch. XXX. 17. A third miracle (viz. a woman's leprofy cured) performed by the water that washed Chrift's body. Ch. XXXI. See Num. 13, 14.

18. A fourth miracle (viz. a girl cured of a leprofy) by the water which washed Chrift's body. Ch. XXXII. See Num. 13, 14, 17, above in this catalogue.

19. A fourth miracle performed by Chrift's fwaddlingclothes, viz. fire and hot coals fhot out of the fwaddlingclothes, and drove out the Devil in the fhape of a dragon. Ch. XXXIII, XXXIV. See No. 3, 5, and 15, in this catalogue.

20. Judas, who betrayed Chrift when a boy, poffeffed by a Devil, ftrives to bite Chrift, and hurt his right fide, and

made Christ cry, upon which the Devil went out in the likeness of a mad dog. Ch. XXXV.

21. Christ at play with the boys, makes the figures of animals out of clay, at length gives them life, &c. Ch. XXXVI. See the other Gospel, Ch. II.

22. Christ at play with the boys, goes into a dyer's shop, puts all the pieces of cloth into one furnace, and brings them out of various colours. Ch. XXXVII. See the other Gofpel, Ch. VII.

23. Chrift works with Joseph at his carpenter's trade; makes his work to be of juft dimenfions by speaking. Ch. XXXVIII. Makes a king's throne, which Jofeph had made too fhort, long enough, by his pulling at one end and Jofeph at the other. Ch. XXXIX. 24. Chrift angry with fome boys for running from him at play, turns them into kids three years old, who were in a furnace; afterwards changes them into boys again. Ch. XL.

25. Chrift is made king, and crowned by the boys. Ch. XLI.

26. Chrift leaves his play, to make a serpent, which had ftung

a boy, fuck the poifon out again. Ch. XLII.

27. Christ at play with the boys on the top of a houfe, one of them fell down and died; Christ brings him to life. Ch. XLIV.

28. Chrift fent out by his mother to fetch water, breaks the pot and loses the water, but gathers and brings it in his mantle. Ch. XLV.

29. Chrift and other boys at play on the Sabbath-day, makes little fish-pools by the river fide; adorns the fides of them with sparrows formed out of clay; turns thefe into living birds; is reproved by a Jew for violating the Sabbath, and ftrikes him dead. Ch. XLVI.

30. Chrift kills a boy who ran against him in the street, Ch. XLVII. See the other Gofpel, Ch. IV.

31. Chrift learns his A, B, C; his mafter threatens to whip him; he tells him ftrange things. Ch. XLVIII. See the other Gofpel, Ch. VI.

32. Chrift

32. Chrift is fent to another mafter; his mafter lifting up his hand to whip him, his hand withers, and he dies. His father and mother refolve to keep him at home. Ch. XLIX.

These are some of the idle and incredible ftories or fables of the preceding Gospels; filly enough, without any farther proof, to evidence the books to be written either by men deftitute of honesty or sense, or both; and confequently not to be the work of St. Thomas, or any one of the Apostles, but spurious and Apocryphal by Prop. IX.

ARG. IV. The Gospels of our Saviour's Infancy are Apocryphal, because there are many things which are falfe and contrary to certainly known truth.

I have in a preceding argument (viz. Arg. II.) endeavoured to shew the whole contexture and design of these books to be falfe, because our Saviour wrought no miracles in his infancy: what I purpose here is to fhew fome particular inftances of falfebood in them; and though indeed the books contain nothing else, except a few things out of our Gospels, yet it will not be improper to single out a few inftances of fuch as are moft apparent and notorious.

A Catalogue of Falfehoods in the Gofpels of Chrift's

1.

THE

Infancy.

HE Virgin is related to have brought forth our Saviour in a cave before he came to Bethlehem, being not able to hold out thither. Ch. II. and III. But this is 'contrary to known fact, it being prophefied by Micah, (Ch. v. 2.) asserted by Matthew, (Ch. ii. 1, &c.) and Luke, (Ch. ii. 4, 6, &c.) that our Saviour was born in Bethlehem. The fame falfehood I have above obferved in the Protevangelion of James, where see more of this matter, Ch. XV. of this volume.

2. Zoradascht, or Zoroafter, is faid (Ch. VII.) to have predicted the wife men's coming from the East to Jerufalem to worship Chrift; but I suppose, no one can have faith enough

to

to believe this, who confiders, that Zoroafter was no more, at beft, than a magician, and lived about two thousand years before this time, and, as Suidas fays, five hundred years before the Trojan war. Befides, the plain reason why Zoroafter is here introduced prophefying of the magicians, feems plainly to have been this, that he was reckoned to have been the first author or inventor of magick ‘.

3. The reafon affigned (Ch. XII.) of Joseph leaving Egypt,

is his fear of the Egyptians; but the true reason was, because the ends of his going thither were answered, viz. Herod was dead, and he was told by an angel, that he might now venture fafely to his own country, Matt. ii. 19, &c.

4. The Virgin is faid (Ch. XIV.) to have wrought a miracle, and cured a demoniack, which it does not appear fhe had power to do.

1

5. Ch. XXXIX. we read, that the King of Jerusalem sent for Jofeph to make his throne for him (though by the way it is ftrange he should, when we read in the very words before, Ch. XXXVIII. that Jofeph was but a very indifferent carpenter), but it is certain there was at that time no king in Jerufalem. For if we fuppofe our Saviour then to be ten years of age, (which is but reasonable, feeing we find him in his eighth year Ch. XXXVI.) and take in the two years which Jofeph spent in making the throne, this will fall out three after the banishment of Archelaus, who was the laft king of the Jews; for Archelaus reigned only nine years, and began his reign the same year, or the next year after Chrift was born, viz. upon the death of Herod the Great, which is evident from Jofephus d.

6. It is falfe in these Gospels, that they make Jefus Chrift to

have been revengeful, and a murderer, even upon slight provocations, or indeed none at all. Such as that Ch. XXIX. when he killed the Jew who reproved him for breaking the fabbath; that Ch. XXX. when he killed a boy who in hafte happened to run against him in the street, which is in the other Gospel also, Ch. III. That also Ch. XLIX. where he killed his master for going about to strike him, because he would not fay his leffon.

These are things fo notorioufly false, because contrary to the defign, (1.) Of our Saviour's miracles, which were all for the benefit of mankind; (2.) Of his doctrine, which was against revenge, and to promote charity and love; and so contrary (3.) To his prudence, who by fuch methods would have rendered himself incapable of either conversing or preaching; efpecially thofe doctrines of felf-denial, fuffering and forgiving injuries, which he so much did. Now from all this it muft manifeftly appear, that the Gospels of our Saviour's Infancy are Spurious and Apocryphal, viz. because they contain fo many things contrary to certainly known truth, by Prop. VII.

CHAP. XXVII.

The Gospels of Christ's Infancy proved Apocryphal, because they contain Things later than the Time in which they pretend to be written; fuch as the prodigious Refpect to the Virgin Mary, which was not in the Church till the Fourth or Fifth Century; and the preferving of Reliques, unknown to the Primitive Chriftians. The Original of Reliques.. A Digreffion concerning Reliques. Dr. Mill's and Mr. La Crofe's Opinion about the Original of thefe Gospels: A Conjecture of their true Original.

THE

ARG. V. THE Gofpels of our Saviour's Infancy are spurious and Apocryphal, because they contain feveral things which happened long after that time in which they pretend there to be written, by Prop. X.

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