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diff --git a/42984-8.txt b/42984-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 6f81681..0000000 --- a/42984-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,15074 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Not Paul, But Jesus, by Jeremy Bentham - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Not Paul, But Jesus - -Author: Jeremy Bentham - -Editor: John J. Crandall - -Release Date: June 18, 2013 [EBook #42984] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOT PAUL, BUT JESUS *** - - - - -Produced by Dianne Nolan and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - -Transcriber's Note: Italics are indicated by _underscores_. - - - - - Not Paul, But Jesus - - - BY JEREMY BENTHAM, ESQR.,--The Eminent - Philosopher of Sociology, Jurisprudence, - &c., of London. - - - With Preface Containing Sketches of His Life and - Works Together with Critical Notes by John - J. Crandall, Esqr., of the New Jersey Bar--author - of Right to Begin and Reply - - - - -EDITOR'S PREFACE. - - -Jeremy Bentham, an eminent English judicial or jural philosopher, was -born in London, February 15, 1748, and died at Westminster, his -residence for six years previously, June 6, 1832. His grandfather was a -London Attorney; his father, who followed the same profession, was a -shrewd man of business, and added considerably to his patrimony by land -speculations. These London Benthams were probably an offshoot from an -ancient York family of the same name, which boasted a Bishopric among -its members; but our author did not trouble himself to trace his -genealogy beyond the pawnbroker. His mother, Alicia Groove, was the -daughter of an Andover shopkeeper. Jeremy, the eldest, and for nine -years the only child of this marriage, was for the first sixteen years -of his life exceedingly puny, small and feeble. At the same time, he -exhibited a remarkable precocity which greatly stimulated the pride and -affection of his father. At five years of age he acquired a knowledge of -musical notes and learned to play the violin. At four or earlier, having -previously learned to write, he was initiated into Latin grammar, and in -his seventh year entered Westminster School. Meanwhile, he was taught -French by a private master at home and at seven read Telemaque, a book -which strongly impressed him. Learning to dance was a much more serious -undertaking, as he was so weak in his legs. - -Young as he was, he acquired distinction at Westminster as a fabricator -of Latin and Greek verses, the great end and aim of the instruction -given there. - -When twelve years old, he was entered as a Commoner at Queen's College, -Oxford, where he spent the next three years. Though very uncomfortable -at Oxford, he went through the exercises of the College with credit and -even with some distinction. Some Latin verses of his, on the accession -of George III, attracted a great deal of attention as the production of -one so young. Into all of the disputations which formed a part of the -College exercises, he entered with zeal and much satisfaction; yet he -never felt at home in the University because of its historical monotony, -and of all of which he retained the most unfavorable recollections. - -In 1763, while not yet sixteen, he took the degree of A.B. Shortly -after this he began his course of Law in Lincoln's Inn, and journeyed -back and forth to Oxford to hear Blackstone's Lectures. These lectures -were published and read throughout the realm of England and particularly -in the American Colonies. These were criticised by the whole school of -Cromwell, Milton and such followers as Priestly and others in England -and many in the Colonies in America. Young Bentham returned to London -and attended as a student the Court of the King's Bench, then presided -over by Mansfield, of whom he continued for some years a great admirer. - -Among the advocates, Dunning's clearness, directness and precision most -impressed him. He took the degree of A.M. at the age of 18, the -youngest graduate that had been known at the Universities; and in 1772 -he was admitted to the Bar. - -Young Bentham had breathed from infancy, at home, at school, at college -and in the Courts, an atmosphere conservative and submissive to -authority, yet in the progress of his law studies, he found a striking -contrast between the structural imperialism of the British Empire as -expounded by Blackstone and others of his day, and the philosophical -social state discussed by Aristotle, Plato, Aurelius, the struggling -patriots of France, and the new brotherhood, then agitating the colonies -of America. - -His father had hoped to see him Lord-Chancellor, and took great pains to -push him forward. But having perceived a shocking contrast between the -law as it was under the Church imperial structure and such as he -conceived it ought to be, he gradually abandoned the position of a -submissive and admiring student and assumed a position among the school -of reformers and afterwards the role of sharp critic and indignant -denouncer. - -He heroically suffered privations for several years in Lincoln's Inn -garrett, but persevered in study. He devoted some of his time to the -study of science. The writings of Hume, Helvetius and others led him to -adopt utility as the basis of Morals and Legislation. There had -developed two distinct parties in England: The Radicals and -Imperialists. The Radicals contended that the foundation of Legislation -was that utility which produced the greatest happiness to the greatest -number. - -Blackstone and the Ecclesiastics had adopted the theory of Locke, that -the foundation of Legislation was a kind of covenant of mankind to -conform to the laws of God and Nature, as interpreted by hereditarily -self-constituted rulers. - -Bentham contended that this was only a vague and uncertain collection of -words well adapted to the promotion of rule by dogmatic opinions of the -Lords and King and Ecclesiastics in combination well calculated to -deprive the people of the benefits of popular government. He conceived -the idea of codifying the laws so as to define them in terms of the -greatest good to the greatest number, and devoted a large share of the -balance of his life to this work. - -In 1775 he published a small book in defense of the policy of Lord North -toward the Colonies, but for fear of prosecution it was issued by one -John Lind and extensively read. A little later he published a book -entitled "A Fragment on Government." This created a great deal of -attention. Readers variously ascribed the book to Mansfield, to Camden -and to Dunning. The impatient pride of Bentham's father betrayed this -secret. It was variously interpreted as a philosophical Treatise and a -Critical Personal Attack upon the Government. But he persevered in the -advocacy of his principals of Morals and Government. He hoped also to be -appointed Secretary of the Commission sent out by Lord North to propose -terms to the revolted American Colonies. But as King George III had -contracted a dislike to him, he was disappointed in his plan of -Conference with the Colonies. His writings were, however, more -appreciated in France. He was openly espoused as a philosopher and -reformer by D'Alimbert, Castillux, Brissat and others. But in the -meantime some such men as Lord Shelbourne, Mills and others became his -friends and admirers, and encouraged him to persevere with his -philosophical Code of laws, largely gleaned from the ancient -philosophers of liberty and equality which had been smothered and -superseded by military and Church imperialism. - -In 1785 he took an extensive tour across the Alps and while at Kricov on -the Dou, he wrote his letters on Usury. These were printed in London, -which were now welcomed by the people largely on account of his -reputation in France as a philosopher of popular government. In the -meantime, Paley had printed a treatise on the Principle of applying -utility to morals and legislation. He determined to print his views in -French and address them to that people then struggling for liberal -government. - -He revised his sheets on his favorite penal Code and published them -under the title of "An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and -Legislation." The Principles enunciated in this treatise attracted the -attention of the liberals in France, as well as England and America. -Mirabeau and other French publishers spread his reputation far and wide. - -Meanwhile, Bentham with the idea of aiding the deliberations of the -States General of France, and encouraged by the liberals on both -continents, and especially such men as Franklin, Jefferson and others, -printed a "Draft of a Code for the organization of a Judicial -Establishment in France," for which services the National Assembly -conferred on him the Citizenship of France by a decree, August 23, 1792, -in which his name was included with those of Priestly, Paine, -Wilberforce, Clarkson, Mackintosh, Anacharsis, Clootz, Washington, -Klopstock, Kosiosco, and several others. - -In the meantime, in his travels, he conceived an extensive plan of -Prison reform which he strenuously urged the Crown Officers and the -English Parliament to adopt. After several years of strenuous labors and -the expenditure of a large part of the patrimony left him by his father, -the enterprise was thwarted by the refusal of the King to concur with -Parliament in the enterprise. This scheme is fully set forth in the -histories of the reign of George III. But to avoid persecution under the -drastic penal Codes of England, Bentham boasted that he was a man of no -party but a man of all countries and a fraternal unit of the human race, -he had come to occupy at home the position of a party chief. - -He espoused with characteristic zeal and enthusiasm the ideas of the -radicals, who, in spite of themselves, were ranked as a political party. -He went, indeed, the whole length, not merely republicanism, but on many -points of ancient democracy including Universal Suffrage and the -Emancipation of all Colonies. - -No matter how adroitly the Contention was managed, the Imperialists -insisted that it was merely resurrecting the historic struggle of the -days of Cromwell and his "bare bones." The Church establishment by way -of the Lords and Bishops and Bishop Lords was the real foundation of the -Crown rule in all its ramifications. This superstructure was protected -by all forms of penal laws against "lease" Majesty and even the -appearance of Church Creed heresy. The Radicals always confronted by -Crown detectives were compelled to be very wary in their attacks upon -this that they called imperial idolatry and were compelled to move by -indirect and flank attacks. - -The upheaval by Martin Luther in the reign of Henry VIII at the Council -of Trent and others over the Divine authenticity of the Athanasian Creed -never abated among the humanitarians of England or France. But in the -presence of criminal inquisitions too barbarous to mention, the Radicals -were handicapped and were compelled to work strategically and by pits -and mines beneath the superstructure of Church imperialism. The Church -structure as established in Europe is by common consent based upon the -hypothesis of Divinity in the life, works, and dogmas of one Saul of -Tarsus, or as denominated Paul, or the canonized St. Paul. The -substantial Creed might well be denominated Paulism. Hence the legendary -Paul has been one of the points of attack by the rationalists of the -centuries. - -While many of the contemporaries of Bentham both in England, America and -the Continent denied the verity of the whole Mosaic cosmogony and -historiology, yet Bentham seemed to ignore this task as superserviceable -and unimportant. He and his school of Radicals were devoted to the life -works and teachings of Jesus. Jesus was the idol of his school and he -heartily espoused the task of eliminating Paul as the nemesis of Jesus -and his Apostles, and a character invented and staged by imperialists to -subordinate the toiling classes to the production of resources to -subserve their personal luxuries. - -Bentham began writing a philosophic analysis of the Church's pretensions -concerning the divine agency of Paul. After several years of examination -and study, and while he was writing his famous treatise entitled "The -Rational of Judicial Evidence" afterwards collected and published by -Mill, he finished the manuscript criticisms of Paul and entitled them -"Not Paul but Jesus." - -For fear of prosecution for direct heresy or denunciation of the Creed -of the Church, he evaded the use of his own name as writer of the -Criticism and used the name of Conyers Middleton, a Cambridge Divine, -who by his writings had created a great deal of disturbance. He had been -convicted twice for heresy. He had been dead fifty years when Bentham -introduced him in the first lines in the Introduction to his Criticisms -herein published (See Introduction). Bentham, no doubt, intended to -evade prosecution, as it will be seen that his name does not appear in -the book, and yet at the same time used the name most obnoxious to the -Church in all its history. - -In 1729 Middleton published his "Letter from Rome" in which he boldly -essayed to demonstrate that the then religion of the Roman Church was -derived from their heathen ancestral idolaters. He published other works -on the uses of miracles and prophecy. But Bentham's "Not Paul but Jesus" -did not long remain anonymous. It was read extensively in France and -America. But this treatise formed a part of the labor of his life, which -was to promote the theory of the social state based upon "The greatest -good to the greatest number, and subordinate the whole to rational -calculations of utility." These views he continually urged in the form -of Codification so as to eliminate all pretensions of hierarchical -control by historical divine prophets, the faithful souls and agents of -Kings and princes. In the meantime, he was indefatigable in his attacks -upon the English System of Jurisprudence, which was being operated in -America as a kind of paternal inheritance. Dumont, in 1811, compiled -from the manuscripts of Bentham a complete code which was readily -adopted in France, because it conformed so closely to the old Roman -procedure which was held tenaciously in France. - -In the meantime, by importunity of Lord Brougham and others, and -particularly of his friends in America, such as Adams, Franklin and -others, he wrote to Madison offering his services to draw up a complete -code of laws for the United States. Mr. Madison caused these ideas to be -spread broadcast by pamphlets as pamphleteering was much in vogue for -such purposes in those days. But on account of our dual form of -government, and as the code would apply to the States separately, the -scheme as a whole failed. But some of the Governors, especially those -of Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Hampshire, got hold of the manuscripts -and many of the provisions were adopted and still obtain. - -In the meantime, Mr. Mill had collected his manuscripts on "The -Rationale of Judicial Evidence" and published them in 5 vols. They -shortly became a part of the libraries of the lawyers and statesmen of -England, and especially in the United States. His manuscripts on "Not -Paul but Jesus" were extensively read and universally admitted to be -rational and sound in point of rational jural demonstration. During this -time, Thomas Jefferson had been writing on the same subject and after -reading the prints of Bentham, he abandoned the part directed to the -criticism of Paul, but he arranged chronologically all of the verses -from the four gospels that pertain to the career of Jesus, omitting, -however, every verse or paragraph that to his mind was ambiguous or -controversial, and every statement of fact that would not have been -admitted as evidence in a Court of Justice. The original copy of what is -denominated as "Jefferson Bible," is now preserved in the National -Museum at Washington. It was purchased by the Government as a memento of -the author of the Declaration of Independence. - -This "The Thomas Jefferson Bible" has lately been republished by David -McKay, 604 S. Washington Sq., Philadelphia. The treatise "Not Paul but -Jesus" was published in 1825. The printing art was not as well advanced -as at present, and the division of subjects for discussion and -correlation were not arranged strictly methodically, so the Editor has -rearranged some of the titles with a view to improve the order of -sequence. With this change, every word has been preserved. - -It will all the time be borne in mind that the examination is Judicial -and the Character Paul had to be staged from many points of view and -examination. Jeremy Bentham has revolved him in the limelight of -inquisition with a thoroughness that commands the attention of all -thoughtful readers. With this view the Editor hopes to be justified in -its republication by the reading and inquiring public. - - J. J. CRANDALL. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -Illustrious, in the church of Jesus in general, and in the church of -England in particular, is the name of CONYERS MIDDLETON. Signal was, and -is, the service rendered by him to the religion of Jesus. By that bold, -though reverend, hand, it now stands cleared of many a heap of -pernicious rubbish, with which it had been incumbered and defiled, by -the unhallowed labours of a succession of writers, who,--without -personal intercourse with the founder, any more than we have now,--have, -from the mere circumstance of the comparative vicinity of their days to -those in which he lived, derived the exclusive possession of the -imposing title of _Fathers of the Church_, or, in one word, _The -Fathers_. - -So able, so effectual, has been this clearance, that, as it has been -observed by the Edinburgh Reviewers,--speaking of course of protestants, -and more particularly of English protestants,--till one unexpected -exception, which it mentions, had presented itself, they had thought -that in no man's opinion were those writers any "longer to be regarded -as guides, either in faith or morals." - -One step further was still wanting. One thorn still remained, to be -plucked out of the side of this so much injured religion,--and that was, -the addition made to it by _Saul of Tarsus_: by that _Saul_, who, under -the name of _Paul_, has,--as will be seen, without warrant from, and -even in the teeth of, the history of Jesus, as delivered by his -companions and biographers the four evangelists,--been dignified with -the title of _his_ apostle: his _apostle_, that is to say, his -_emissary_: his _emissary_, that is to say, _sent out_ by him: sent out, -by that Jesus, whose immediate disciples he so long persecuted and -destroyed, and whose person,--unless dreaming of a person after his -death, or professing to have dreamt of him, is seeing him,--he never -saw. - -In the course of the ensuing examination, the subject of _miracles_ has -come, unavoidably, under consideration. On this delicate ground, it has -been matter of no small comfort to the author, to behold precursors, -among divines of different persuasions, whose reputation for piety has -not been diminished by the spirit of critical inquiry which accompanies -it. Such were Mede, Sykes, and others, whose ingenious labours were, in -the case called that of the _daemoniacs_, employed in the endeavor to -remove the supernatural character, from what, in their eyes, was no more -than a natural appearance. On the success of these their labours, any -judgment would here be irrelevant. Not altogether so the observation, -that in no instance does it appear to him that any such latitude of -interpretation has been employed, as that which, on that occasion, was -found necessary for the conversion of _devils_ into _diseases_. - -The _dissentions_ which, at all times, have had place among persons -professing the religion of Jesus, are but too notorious. The -_mischiefs_, produced by these dissentions, are no less so. These -dissentions, and these mischiefs--in what have they had their source? In -certain words. These words, of whom have they been the words? Of Jesus? -No: this has not been so much as pretended. Of Paul, and of Paul alone: -he giving them all along not as the words of Jesus, but as his own -only:--he all along preaching (as will be seen) in declared opposition -to the eleven who were undisputedly the apostles of Jesus: thus, of Paul -only have they been the words. - -That, by these words, and, consequently, by him whose words they were -and are, all the mischiefs, which have been imputed to _the religion of -Jesus_, have been produced,--in so far as the dissentions, from which -these mischiefs flowed, have had these words for their subjects,--cannot -be denied. But, moreover, in these same words, that is to say, in the -doctrines delivered by them, cannot but be to be found the origin, and -the cause, of no small part--perhaps of the greatest part--of the -_opposition_, which _that religion, with its benevolent system of -morals_, has hitherto experienced. If this be so, then, by the clearing -it of this incumbrance, not only as yet unexampled purity, but -additional extent, may not unreasonably be expected to be given to it. - -It was by the frequent recurrence of these observations, that the author -of these pages was led to the inquiry, whether the religion of Paul,--as -contained in the writings ascribed to Paul, and with a degree of -propriety which the author sees no reason to dispute,--whether the -religion of Paul has any just title to be considered as forming a part -of the religion of Jesus. The result was in the negative. The -considerations, by which this result was produced, will form the matter -of the ensuing pages. - -If, by cutting off a source of useless privations and groundless -terrors, comfort and _inward peace_ should be restored or secured;--if, -by cutting off a source of bitter animosity,--good-will, and peace from -_without_, should be restored or secured;--if, by the removal of an -incongruous appendage, acceptance should be obtained for what is good in -the religion commonly ascribed to Jesus;--obtained at the hands of any -man, much more of many, to whom at present it is an object of -aversion;--if, in any one of these several ways, much more if in all of -them, the labours of the author should be crowned with success,--good -service will, so far, and on all hands, be allowed to have been rendered -to mankind. - -Whosoever, putting aside all prepossessions, feels strong enough in -mind, to look steadily at the originals, and from _them_ to take his -conceptions of the matter, not from the discourses of others,--whosoever -has this command over himself, will recognise, if the author does not -much deceive himself, that by the two persons in question, as -represented in the two sources of information--the Gospels and Paul's -Epistles,--two quite different, if not opposite, religions are -inculcated: and that, in the religion of Jesus may be found all the -_good_ that has ever been the result of the compound so incongruously -and unhappily made,--in the religion of Paul, all the _mischief_, which, -in such disastrous abundance, has so indisputably flowed from it. - -1. That Paul had no such commission as he professed to have;--2. that -his enterprize was a scheme of personal ambition, and nothing more;--3. -that his system of doctrine is fraught with mischief in a variety of -shapes, and, in so far as it departs from, or adds to, those of Jesus, -with good in none;--and that it has no warrant, in anything that, as far -as appears from any of the four gospels, was ever said or done by -Jesus;--such are the conclusions, which the author of these pages has -found himself compelled to deduce, from those materials with which -history has furnished us. The grounds of these conclusions he proceeds -to submit to the consideration of his readers. - - - - -PLAN OF THE WORK. - - -The work may be conceived as divided into five parts. - -1. In Part the first, the five different, and in many respects -discordant, accounts given of Paul's conversion, which, in these -accounts, is of course represented as being not only _outward_ but -_inward_, are confronted, and, so far as regards inward conversion, -shown to be, all of them, untrue: and, immediately after, the state of -things, which produced, accompanied, and immediately followed, his -outward conversion,--together with the time and manner in which that -change was declared,--is brought to view. This part occupies the first -two chapters. - -2. Part the Second is employed in showing,--that, from the first -commencement, of the intercourse, which, upon the tokens given of his -outward conversion, took place at Jerusalem between him and the -apostles, Acts 9:27, to the time when,--in consequence of the -interposition of the Roman commander, to save him from the unanimous -indignation of the whole people, more particularly of the disciples of -the apostles,--he was conveyed from thence under guard to Rome, a space, -according to the commonly received computation, not less than six and -twenty years, (Acts 21 and 23), no supernatural commission from Jesus, -nor any inward conversion, was,--either by those distinguished servants -and companions of Jesus, or by their disciples at Jerusalem,--believed -to have place in his instance. This part occupies eight chapters: to -wit, from the 3d to the 10th inclusive. - -3. In Part the Third, in further proof of the insincerity of his -character,--in addition to an oath proved to be false, are brought to -view two unquestionably false assertions:--each having for its subject a -matter of prime importance,--each deliberate and having in view a -particular purpose: the one, a false account of the number of the -witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus; 1 Cor. 15:6; the other, a -prediction of the end of the world before the death of persons then -living; 1 Thes. 4, 15, 16, 17. This part occupies Chapters 11 and 12. - -4. Part the Fourth is employed in showing,--that no proof, of his -alleged supernatural commission from the Almighty, is deducible, from -any account we have, of any of those scenes, in which he is commonly -regarded as having exercised a power of working miracles. For, that not -only he himself never made exercise of any such power,--on any of those -occasions, on which the demand for it, for the purpose of overcoming the -disbelief entertained of his story by the Apostles, was extreme,--but, -neither on those, nor any other occasions, did he ever take upon himself -to make reference, to so much as any one instance of any such proof of -special authority from the Almighty, as having been exhibited by him on -any other occasion: that, for the belief in any such gift, we have no -other ground, than the relations contained in the history called "_The -Acts of the Apostles_," or, for shortness, _The Acts_: and that such -throughout is,--on the one hand, the nature of the occurrence itself, on -the other hand, the character of the representation given of it,--that, -to a disbelief in the exercise of any such supernatural power, it is -not necessary that any such imputation as that of downright and wilful -falsehood should be cast upon the author of that narrative: the -occurrences in question being, mostly, if not entirely, such as lie -within the ordinary course of nature,--but, upon which, either by the -fancy, or by the artifice of the narrator, a sort of supernatural -colouring has been superinduced. For this purpose, these supposed -miracles are, each of them, separately brought to view and examined. -This part occupies the 13th chapter. - -5. Part the Fifth is employed in showing, that,--even if, on all these -several occasions, the exercise of a power of producing supernatural -effects had, by unequivocal statements, been ascribed to Paul by the -author of the Acts,--such testimony, independently of the virtual -contradiction given to it by the above-mentioned circumstantial -evidence,--could not, with any propriety, be regarded as affording -adequate proof--either of the fact of Paul's having received a divine -commission, and thereby, having become, inwardly as well as outwardly, a -convert to the religion of Jesus--either of that radical fact, or so -much as of any one of the alleged achievements, which, upon the face of -the accounts in question, are wont to present themselves as miraculous: -for that, in the first place, it is only by error that the history in -question has been ascribed to Saint Luke: it being, in respect of the -account given of the circumstances accompanying the ascension of Jesus, -inconsistent with the account given in the gospel of Saint Luke, when -compared with Acts 1:3 to 12,--and as to those attendant on the death of -Judas, inconsistent with the account in Saint Matthew 27:3 to 10 and -Acts 1:16 to 20: and moreover, such being the whole complexion of his -narrative, as to render it incapable of giving any tolerably adequate -support to any statement whereby the exercise of supernatural power is -asserted. This part occupies Chapter 14. - -In Part the Sixth, to give additional correctness and completeness, to -the conception supposed to be conveyed, of the character of Paul and his -attendant historiographer, jointly and severally considered,--a conjunct -view is given of _five_ reports of his five trials, as reported in the -Acts. This part has been added since the publication of the -above-mentioned Summary View. It occupies Chapter 15 of the present -work. - -Chapter XVI. and last, winds up the whole, with some general -observations on the self-declared oppositeness of Paul's Gospel, as he -calls it, to that of the Apostles: together with an indication of a real -Antichrist, in compensation for the fabulous one, created by Paul, and -nursed by the episcopal authors and editors of the Church of England, -translators of the Bible: and by Chapter 12 of the present work, the -imaginary Antichrist is, it is hoped, strangled. - -At the time of the publication of the Summary View,--for the more -complete and satisfactory demonstration of the relative insufficiency of -the narrative in question, a short but critical sketch was, as herein -stated, intended to be given, of the parts not before noticed of the -_History of the Church_,--from the ascension of Jesus, being the period -at which that narrative commences, to that at which it terminates,--to -wit, about two years after the arrival of Paul at Rome, Acts 28: the -history--to wit, as deducible from the materials which, in that same -narrative, are brought to view: the duration of the period being, -according to commonly received computations, about 28 or 30 years[A]: -the author of "_The Acts_" himself,--if he is to be believed,--an -eyewitness, during a considerable portion of the time, to the several -occurrences which he relates. - -On this occasion, and for this purpose,--the history in question had -been sifted, in the same manner and on the same principles, as any -profane history, in which, in a series of occurrences mostly natural, a -few, wearing a supernatural appearance, are, here and there, -interspersed: as, for instance, in Livy's, and even in Tacitus's Roman -History: on the one hand, the authority not being regarded as affording -a sufficient foundation, for a belief in the supernatural parts of the -narrative; nor, on the other hand, the sort of countenance, given to the -supernatural parts, as affording a sufficient reason, for the disbelief -of those, which have nothing in them that is unconformable to the -universally experienced course of nature. - -In respect of _doctrine_, the conclusion is--that no point of doctrine, -which has no other authority than that of Paul's writings for its -support, can justly be regarded as belonging to the religion of -Jesus,--any more than if, at this time of day, it were broached by any -man now living: that thus, in so far as he is seen to have _added_ -anything to the religion of Jesus, he is seen to set himself _above_ it -and _against_ it: that, therefore, if this be true, it rests with every -professor of the religion of Jesus, to settle with himself, to which of -the two religions, that of Jesus and that of Paul, he will adhere: and, -accordingly, either to say, _Not Jesus but Paul_,--or, in the words of -the title to this work, _Not Paul but Jesus_.[B] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[A] To prevent, if possible, an embarrassment, which might otherwise be -liable to have place on the part of the reader,--and therewith, the idea -of inconsistency, as having place here and there in the work,--the -following indication may be found to have its use. - -A cloud of uncertainty, to the length of one or two years, hangs over -the duration of the period embraced by this work: namely, that between -the point of time at which the conversion of Paul is stated to have -taken place, and the point of time at which the history, intituled The -Acts of the Apostles, as therein declared, concludes:--a point of time, -posterior by two years to that of his arrival at Rome. - -[B] For making the requisite separation, between the two religions of -Jesus and the religion of Paul,--an instrument, alike commodious and -unexceptionable, has--for these many years, though, assuredly, not with -any such view,--been presented to all hands, by Doctor _Gastrell_, an -English and Church of England Bishop: namely, in a well-known work, -intituled _The Christian Institutes_: date of the 14th Edition, 1808. It -is composed of a collection of points of faith and morality, and under -each are quoted the several texts, in the New Testament, which are -regarded by the author as affording grounds for the positions indicated. -If then, anywhere, in his composition of the ground, passages, one or -more, from this or that Epistle of Paul, are employed,--unaccompanied -with any passage, extracted from any of the four Gospels,--the reader -may, without much danger of error, venture to conclude, that it is to -the religion of Paul alone, that the point of doctrine thus supported -appertains, and not to the religion of Jesus. As to any of the Epistles, -which bear the name of any of the real Apostles of Jesus,--a -corresponding question may perhaps be here suggesting itself. But, with -regard to the design of the present work, scarcely will they be found -relevant. For, when compared with the sayings of Jesus as repeated in -the four Gospels, scarcely will they be found exhibiting any additional -points of doctrine: never, pregnant with any of those dissentions, -which, from the writings of Paul, have issued in such disastrous -abundance. Only lest they should be thought to have been overlooked, is -any mention here made, of those documents, which, how much soever on -other accounts entitled to regard, may, with reference to the question -between the religion of Jesus and the religion of Paul, be, as above, -and without impropriety, stated as irrelevant. - - - - -TABLE I. - - -OUTWARD CONVERSION. - - _Showing at one view, under the head of Paul's Conversion, the - different accounts from which the inference is drawn that the - Conversion was outward only, not inward._ - - -VISION I. ACTS ACCOUNT. - -Ch. ix. 1-9. - - 1.--But Saul, yet breathing threatening and slaughter against the - disciples of the Lord, went unto the High Priest, and asked of him - letters to Damascus unto the synagogues, that if he found any that - were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to - Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, it came to pass that he drew nigh - unto Damascus: and suddenly there shone around about him a light out - of heaven: and he fell upon the earth, and heard a voice saying unto - him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, - Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for - thee to kick against the pricks: (1) but rise, and enter into the - city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men that - journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the voice,--but - beholding no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes - were opened, he saw nothing; (old version "no man") and they led him - by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days - without sight, and did neither eat nor drink. - - -II. PAUL'S FIRST PERSONAL ACCOUNT. - -As per Acts xxii. 3-11. - - I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, - at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner - of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as ye all are - this day: and I persecuted this Way unto the death, binding and - delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the High Priest - doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom - also I received letters unto the brethren; and journeyed to - Damascus, to bring them also which were there unto Jerusalem in - bonds, for to be punished. And it came to pass, that, as I made my - journey, and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there - shown from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the - ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why - persecutest thou me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said - unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they - that were with me beheld in deed the light, but they heard not the - voice of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? - And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it - shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. - And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by - the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. - - -III. PAUL'S SECOND PERSONAL ACCOUNT. - -As per Acts xxvi. 9-20. - - I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many things - contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this I also did in - Jerusalem: and I both shut up many of the saints in prison, having - received authority from the Chief Priests, and when they were put to - death, I gave my vote against them. And punishing them oftentimes in - all the synagogues, I strove to make them blaspheme; and being - exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto foreign - cities. Whereupon as I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and - commission of the Chief Priests, at midday, O, king, I saw on the - way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining - round about me and them that journeyed with me. And when we were all - fallen to the earth, I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew - language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee - to kick against the goad. And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And the - Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But arise, and stand - upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto thee, to appoint - thee a minister and a witness both of thee, to appoint thee a - minister and a witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me, - and of the things wherein I will appear unto thee; delivering thee - from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom I send thee, to - open their eyes, that they may turn from darkness to light, and from - the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive remission of sins - and an inheritance among them that are sanctified by faith in me. - Wherefore, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly - vision: but declared both to them of Damascus first, and at - Jerusalem, and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the - Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, doing works - worthy of repentance. - - -IV. PAUL'S ALLUSIONS. - -I. As per Paul to Corinth. i. xv. 8. - - And last of all, as unto one born out of due time, he appeared to - me, also. - - -II. As per Paul to Gal. i. 12, 15, 16, 17. - - 12. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but - it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ. - - 15. But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me, even - from my mother's womb, - - 16. And called me through his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I - might preach him among the Gentiles; immediately I conferred not - with flesh and blood: - - 17. Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles - before me: but I went away into Arabia; and again I returned unto - Damascus. - - -II. VISION 2.--ANANIAS'S. - -_I. Acts Account._ - -ix. 10-16. - - 10. Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and - the Lord said unto him in a vision, Ananias! And he said, Behold, I - am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go to the - street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas - for one named Saul, a man of Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth: and he - hath seen a man named Ananias coming in, and laying his hands on - him, that he might receive his sight. But Ananias answered, Lord, I - have heard from many of this man, how much evil he did to thy saints - at Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to - bind all that call upon thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy - way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the - Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel: for I will shew him - how many things he must suffer for my name's sake. - - -III. ANANIAS'S VISIT TO PAUL. - -_I. Acts Account._ - -ix. 17-22. - - And Ananias departed, and entered into the house; and laying his - hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord even Jesus, who appeared - unto thee in the way which thou camest, hath sent me, that thou - mayest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And - straightway there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and he - received his sight; and he arose and was baptized; and he took food - and was strengthened. - - And he was certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. - And straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, that he is - the Son of God. And all that heard him were amazed, and said, Is not - this he that in Jerusalem made havock of them which called on his - name? and he had come hither for this intent, that he might bring - them bound before the chief priests. But Saul increased the more in - strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving - that this is the Christ. - - -_II. Paul's Account._ - -As per Acts xxii. 12-16. - - xxii. 12. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well - reported of by all the Jews that dwelt there, came unto me, and - standing by me said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And - in that very hour I looked up on him. And he said, The God of our - fathers hath appointed thee to know his will, and to see the - Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. For thou shalt be - a witness for him unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And - now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy - sins, calling on his name. - - - - -NOT PAUL, BUT JESUS - - - - -CHAPTER I. - - _Paul's Conversion._[1]--_Improbability and Discordancy of the - Accounts of it._ - - -SECTION I. - -LIST OF THESE ACCOUNTS, WITH PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS. - -(_See_ TABLE I., _in which they are confronted_.) - -In one single work, and that alone, is comprised the whole of the -information, in which, in relation to this momentous occurrence, any -particulars are at this time of day to be found. This is that historical -work, which in our edition of the Bible, has for its title _The Acts of -the Apostles_; for shortness, let us say _The Acts_. - -Of this same occurrence, in this one short work no fewer than three -separate accounts are visible; one, in which the story is related by the -historian in his own person; two others, in each of which Paul is -introduced as giving his own account of it. Of these three accounts, no -two will be found agreeing with each other. By the historian, Paul when -introduced as speaking in his own person, is represented as -contradicting not only the historian's account, but his own account. On -each occasion, it should seem, Paul's account is adapted to the -occasion. On the first occasion, the historian's account was not exactly -adapted to that same first occasion. By the historian's ingenuity, Paul -is accordingly represented as giving on that same occasion another and -better-adapted account. On the second occasion, neither was the -historian's account nor Paul's own account, as given on the former -occasion, found suitable to this fresh occasion; on this same fresh -occasion, a suitable amendment is accordingly framed. - -Here, at the very outset of the inquiry, the distance of time between -the point of time on which the occurrence is supposed to have taken -place, and the time at which the historian's account of it was penned, -are circumstances that present a claim to notice. - -The year 35 after the birth of Christ is the year which, according to -the received accounts, is assigned to the occurrence. According to these -same accounts, the year 63 is the date given to the last occurrence -mentioned by the historian, Acts 28: after which occurrence, two years -are stated by him as having elapsed, at the time at which the history -closes. Here then is an interval of about 30 years, between the time at -which the occurrence is stated to have happened, and the time at which -these three mutually contradictory accounts of it were framed. - -In regard to this radical occurrence in particular, namely Paul's -conversion,--for the foundation of this his report, what evidence was it -that the reporter had, or could have had in his possession, or at his -command? One answer may serve for all; the accounts given of the matter -by Paul himself. - -With Paul, then, what were this same reporter's means and mode of -intercourse? In the year 59, and not before, (such is the inference from -his own words) did it fall to his lot to be taken into the train of this -self-denominated Apostle. Then it is, that for the first time, in the -several accounts given by him of Paul's migrations from place to place, -the pronouns _us_, Acts 20:5, and _we_ make their appearance. From 34 to -59 years are 25. At the end of this interval came the earliest -opportunity, which, for anything that appears, he could have had of -hearing from his master's own mouth, whatsoever account, if any, it may -have been the pleasure of that same master to give, of an occurrence, in -relation to which there existed not among men any other percipient -witness. - -Having accompanied his master during the whole of his progress from -Jerusalem, the historian speaks of himself as being still in his train -on his arrival at Rome. Acts xxviii. 16, "And when we came to Rome," &c. -It is not precisely stated, nor can it very determinately be inferred, -whether at the point of time at which the history closes, the historian -was still at that capital; the negative supposition presents itself as -the most probable. Posterior to the closing of the real action of the -history, the penning of it will naturally be to be placed. - -"Paul, says the Acts xxviii. 30, dwelt two whole years in his own hired -house, and received all that came in unto him," &c. When this last verse -but one of the history was penning, had the historian been living with -Paul, he would naturally have given us to understand as much; instead of -_dwelt_, he would have said _has been dwelling_. - -By the tokens of carelessness afforded by the omission of so many -particulars, which in every work of an historical nature the reader will -naturally expect to see specified; such as the name of the historian, -the particulars, occasion and manner of his being taken into the company -of the illustrious missionary, and the time of that event;--by these -tokens, two inferences, how different soever their tendency, seem at -once to be suggested. One is, the genuineness of the narrative. A -writer, who was conscious that he was not the man he was thus -representing himself to be, viz. the companion of the missionary, would -hardly have slid in, in so careless a manner, the mention of so material -a circumstance. The other is, the slenderness of the author's -qualification for the task thus executed by him; the lowness of his -station in the scale of trustworthiness, and consequently the smallness -of the probative force, with which a mass of evidence thus circumstanced -can reasonably be considered as operating, in support of any alleged -matter of fact, which, (either by the extraordinariness of its nature, -or the temptation which the circumstances of the case afforded for -entire fiction or misrepresentation), presents itself as exposed to -doubt or controversy. - -A supernatural conversion, and the receipt of a supernatural commission -for the delivery of a fresh body of doctrine; such are the two events, -which, though in their nature so perfectly distinguishable, were -according to this narrative combined in one:--the conversion from an -unbelieving, cruel, and destructive persecutor of the new fellowship, -into a most zealous supporter and coadjutor: the body of doctrine such -as if it amounted to anything, could not but have been--what the person -in question declared it to be--a supplement to the religion taught by -Jesus while in the flesh;--a supplement, containing matter never -revealed to, and consequently never taught by, his Apostles. - -Now then, of all these supernatural occurrences, which, by the nameless -historiographer, are related to have happened to Paul, if anything had -really happened to him--on this supposition, (so many as were the -different sets of disciples of his, inhabitants of so many mutually -distant provinces, no fewer than eight in number); is it in the nature -of the case, that in no one instance, in any of his numerous Epistles, -he should have felt the necessity of stating and accordingly have -stated, to any of these his disciples, the circumstances attending the -event of his conversion--an event on which alone all his professions -were founded? circumstances to which, as stated in his historian's -narrative, could not from their nature have been known to any human -being other than himself? - -Yet, in no one of all his Epistles, to any one of these his disciples, -of any such particular, either in the way of direct assertion, or in the -way of allusion, is any trace to be found. Of _revelation_, yes: of -_revelation_--this one most momentous indeed, but at the same time most -mysterious and uninstructive word, repetitions we have in abundance. But -of the time and manner of the alleged communication, or of the matter -communicated, nothing is anywhere said. - -In these considerations may be seen a part, though but a part, of those, -on which, in due season, will be seen grounded the inference,--that at -no time, in all the personal conferences he had with the Apostles, was -any such story told by Paul, as is related by the author of the Acts. - -On the supposition that the narrative, such as it is, is -genuine,--taking it as a whole, a very important source of division, -from which it will require to be divided in idea into two parts or -periods, here presents itself. Period the first, containing the portion -of time _anterior_ to the historian's admission into the train of the -supposed Apostle: Period the second, containing the portion of time -_posterior_ to that event: this latter portion continuing, as far as -appears, to the time at which the history closes. - -In this latest and last-mentioned period are comprised all the several -facts, or supposed facts, in relation to which any grounds appear for -the supposition that the historian was, in his own person, a percipient -witness. - -In relation to all the several facts, or supposed facts, anterior to -this period,--the best evidence, which, for anything that appears, ever -came within his reach, was composed of such statements as, in the course -of his service, it may have been the pleasure of the master to make to, -or in the hearing of, this his attendant. Whatsoever may be the grounds -of suspicion that may be found attaching themselves to evidence passing -through such a channel, or issuing from such a source; other evidence -will, if taken in the lump, present itself as being in comparison much -less trustworthy. All other evidence consists of statements, coming from -we know not whom, at we know not what times, on we know not what -occasion, each of them with we know not how many reporting witnesses, -one after and from another, through so many different and successive -channels, between the percipient witness or witnesses, and the last -reporting witness or witnesses, from whom the historian received the -statement in the way of personal intercourse. - -The period of _rumour_, and the period of _observation_--By these two -appellations it should seem, may the two periods be not altogether -unaptly or uninstructively distinguished. - -With reference to the period of rumour,--whether, it was from Paul's own -statement, or from a source still more exposed to suspicion, that the -historian's conception was derived,--one consideration presents itself, -as requisite to be kept in mind. This is, With what facility, especially -in that age, upon an occurrence in itself true, and including nothing -that lies without the ordinary course of nature,--a circumstance out of -the course of nature, giving to the whole a supernatural, and to use the -ordinary word a miraculous, character, may, in and by the narrative, -have been superinduced.[2] Fact, for instance, as it _really_ was--at -the word of command, (suppose) a man, having the appearance of a -cripple, stands up erect and walks: untrue circumstances, one or both -superinduced by _rumour_--the man had been so from his birth; from his -birth down to that same time he had been an inhabitant of that same -place. - -In the chapter on Paul's supposable miracles, about a dozen occurrences -of this description will be found. On each one of these several -occasions, the propriety of bearing in mind the above-mentioned -consideration, will, it is believed, not appear open to dispute, -whatsoever on each several occasion may be the application made of it. - - -SECTION 2. - -VISION I.--DIALOGUE ON THE ROAD: PAUL HEARS A VOICE, SEES NOTHING. - -I. ACCOUNT.--_As per Acts_ ix. 1-9. - - ix. 1. And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter - against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,--and - _desired_ of him letters to Damascus to the _synagogues_, that if - he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might - bring them bound unto Jerusalem.--And as he journeyed, he came near - Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from - _heaven_:--and he fell to the earth, and _heard a voice_ saying - unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?--And he said, Who - art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou - persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.--And - he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to - do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it - shall be told thee what thou must do.--And the men which journeyed - with him stood speechless, _hearing a voice_ but _seeing no - man_.--And Saul arose from the earth; and _when his eyes were - opened, he saw no man_; but they led him by the hand, and brought - him into Damascus.--And he was _three days without sight, and - neither did eat nor drink_. - -II. PAUL'S supposed FIRST OR UNSTUDIED ACCOUNT.--_As per_ ACTS xxii. -3-11. - - xxii. 3. I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in - Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and - taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, - and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.--And I - persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into - prisons both men and women.--As also the high priest doth bear me - witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I - _received_ letters unto the _brethren_, and went to Damascus, to - bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be - punished.--And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was - come nigh unto Damascus _about noon_, suddenly there shone from - _heaven_ a great light round about me.--And I fell unto the ground, - and _heard a voice_ saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou - me?--And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am - Jesus of Nazareth whom thou persecutest.--And they that were with me - _saw indeed the light_, and were afraid; but _they heard not_ the - voice of him that spake to me.--And I said, What shall I do, Lord? - And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it - shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to - do.--And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led - by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. - - -III. PAUL'S supposed ORATORICAL OR STUDIED ACCOUNT.--_As per_ ACTS xxvi. -9-20. - - xxvi. 9. I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do many - things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.--Which thing I - also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in - prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when - they were put to death I gave my voice against them.--And I punished - them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and - being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto - strange cities.--Whereupon as I went to Damascus with _authority_ - and _commission_ from the _chief priests_,--at _midday_, O king, I - saw in the way a light from _heaven_, above the brightness of the - sun, shining round about me and them which journeyed with me.--And - when we were all fallen to the earth, _I heard_ a voice speaking - unto me, and saying _in the Hebrew tongue_, Saul, Saul, why - persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. - And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou - persecutest.--But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared - unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness - both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in - the which I will appear unto thee;--delivering thee from the people, - and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee. - - -On comparing the three accounts of Vision 1st, the particulars will be -found referable to twelve heads. Under no more than two of the twelve, -will the conformity among them be found entire. - -Where disconformity has place it may be clear or not clear of -contradiction. Clear it may be of contradiction, when it consists either -of mere deficiency or mere redundancy, or of both: deficiency or -redundancy, according as it is this or that account, which, on the -occasion of the comparison, is taken for the standard. - -On the occasion in question, such is the importance of the occurrence, -that the proper standard of reference and comparison is that which is -most ample: that which, if not strictly speaking complete, wants the -least of being so. On the part of the historian, speaking in his own -person, omission is in such a case without excuse. - -Not so, necessarily, in the case of a person whom the historian speaks -of as giving that person's own account of that same occurrence. What may -be is, that in the nature of the occasion in which the person is -represented as speaking of it, there is so much of suddenness, by reason -of impending danger, or urgent pressure, that, of the quantity of time -necessary for complete utterance, and even of that necessary for -complete and correct recollection, more or less was wanting. - -On the occasion of that account of the matter, which is the first of the -two on which the historian represents Paul as giving an account of this -momentous occurrence,--this justification for want of completeness, or -this excuse for want of correctness, might naturally enough have place. -For it was while pleading for his life at Jerusalem, before a mixed -multitude, no inconsiderable part of which were endeavouring at the -destruction of it, that Paul is represented as delivering this first of -his two accounts:--call that _the supposed unstudied or unpremeditated -account_. - -Not so, on the occasion on which he is represented as delivering the -second of these same two accounts. On this occasion, it is true, he is -represented as pleading in his defence. But it is pleading in and before -a regularly constituted judiciary, and after time for preparation in -much greater abundance than he could have wished:--call this _the -supposed studied or premeditated account_. - -In this view, the proper standard of comparison can not be dubious. The -historian being himself, in all three accounts, the immediately -reporting witness, and having had his own time for the forming of them -all,--that which he gives in his own person, and which therefore -naturally occupies the first place, should, in respect of both -qualities, as well as in that of clearness, have been, (and, setting -aside deceptious design, naturally would have been), as perfect as it -was in his power to make it. To the others alone could any excuse be -afforded, in respect of any one of those requisites, by any circumstance -peculiar to the respective cases. - -What is above being observed--Of the ten following instances of -disconformity, seven will be found to be cases of simple deficiency, -three of contradiction. - -In those which are cases of simple deficiency, it will be seen to have -urgency for its justification or excuse; for the others there appears no -justification or excuse.[3] Of the twelve distinguishable heads in -question, under two alone, viz. that of _place_ and that of _time_, will -the conformity be found complete. _Place_, a spot near to Damascus, in -the road leading from Jerusalem to Damascus: _Time_, meaning time of -_day_,--about noon. But, in the quality of trustworthiness deficient as -all three accounts will presently be shown to be, it will be seen how -little is contributed, by conformity as to the mere circumstances of -time and place. - -Now then let us see the subjects, in relation to which a want of -conformity is observable. To save words, the shortest form of -description possible will throughout be employed. - - {1. The light seen. - {2. The dialogue. - _Omissions_ {3. Falling to the ground. - {4. Language of the voice. - {5. Kicking against the pricks. - - {6. The Lord's commands. - {7. Paul's companions' posture. - _Contradictions_ {8. Paul's companions' hearing or not hearing. - {9. If hearing, what they heard. - {10. Nothing seen but light. - -1. _Light seen._ Between Acts account and Paul's 1st or supposed -unstudied account, no disconformity worth remarking. In Acts it is a -"_light_," in Paul 1st a "_great light_";[4] in both it is about midday. -But in Paul's 2d or supposed studied account, it is above the brightness -of the sun at that time of the day. - -In Acts the passage is simply narrative: in Paul's 1st, the urgency of -the occasion left no room for flowers. But in Paul's 2d, time being -abundant, flowers were to be collected, and this is one of them. In the -ordinary course of nature there exists not upon earth any light equal in -brightness to that of the sun; especially the sun at midday, and in such -a latitude. Supposing the light in question ever so much greater than -the midday sun, neither Paul nor this his historian could, without a -miracle on purpose, have had any means of knowing as much. For a miracle -for such a purpose, the existence of any effectual demand does not seem -probable. For the purpose mentioned,--namely the bereaving of the power -of vision every open eye that should direct itself towards it,--to wit, -so long as that same direction should continue,--the ordinary light of -the sun would have been quite sufficient. At the time and place in -question, whatever they may have been, suppose it true that, though -midday was the time, the atmosphere was cloudy, and in such sort cloudy, -that without something done for the purpose, a light productive of such -effects could not have been produced. Still, for this purpose, a -specially created body of light different from that of the sun, and -exceeding it in intensity, could not be needful. The removal of a single -cloud would have been amply sufficient:--a single cloud, and that a very -small one. - - * * * * * - -But if the light was really a light created for the purpose, and -brighter than that of the sun; of circumstances so important, mention -should not have been omitted in the standard narrative. - - * * * * * - -Here then is either a deficiency in the standard narrative,--and this -deficiency, as already observed, an inexcusable one,--or a redundancy in -the subsequent account: a redundancy, the cause of which seems -sufficiently obvious: a redundancy--in that account which, being -premeditated on the part of the historian, is given by him as being -premeditated on the part of the speaker, whom he represents as -delivering it: a redundancy,--and that in a word a falsehood: a -falsehood, and for what purpose?--for deception: the hero represented by -his historian as using endeavours to deceive. - -2. _Dialogue._ Per Acts, the Dialogue contained five speeches: to wit, -1. The voice's speech; 2. Paul's; 3. The Lord's, whose voice, Paul and -his historiographer[5], from what experience is not said, knew the voice -to be; 4. Paul's; 5. The Lord's. In Paul 1st, speeches the same in -number, order, and, save in one phrase about kicking against the -pricks, nearly so in terms. But in Paul 2d, the number of the speeches -is no more than three: and, as will be seen below, of the last the -import is widely different from that of any of those reported in the -other two accounts. - -3. _Falling to the ground._ Per Acts and Paul 1st, by Paul alone was -this prostration experienced. Per Paul 2d, by his unnumbered companions, -by the whole company of them, as well as by himself. Deficiency here on -the part of the proper standard; so, in the case of the unstudied -speech. In the studied speech it is supplied. - -4. _Language of the voice._ Per Acts and Paul 1st, of the language -nothing is said. Deficiency, as in the case last mentioned; to wit, in -the regular history, and in the unstudied speech. In the studied speech -it is supplied. Stage effect greater. Agrippa, to whom it was more -particularly addressed, being, under the Roman viceroy, a sort of king -of the Jews,--what seems to have occurred to the historian is--that it -might be a sort of gratification to him to be informed, that his own -language, the Hebrew, was the language which, on this occasion, was -employed by that voice, which by Paul, by whom it had never been heard -before, was immediately understood to be the Lord's; _i.e._ Jesus's; -_i.e._ God's. The character, in which Paul was on this occasion brought -by his historiographer on the stage, being that of a consummate orator, -furnished with all his graces,--this compliment was among the rest put -into his mouth. Moreover, by Jesus no language, for aught that appears, -but the Hebrew, having been ever spoken, hence the account became the -more consistent or credible. - -5. _Kicking against the pricks._[6] "Hard for thee to kick against the -pricks." Per Acts, this proverbial expression is employed by the voice, -as soon as it turns out to have been the Lord's. In the supposed and -hasty unstudied speech, it is dropped. This is natural enough. In Paul -2d--in that studied speech, it is employed: it stands there among the -flowers. - -6. _The Lord's Commands._ Commands delivered to Paul by the Lord. Under -this head there is a disastrous difference; a sad contradiction. Per -Acts, the command is for Paul to go into Damascus: there it stops. -Follows immediately an article of information, which is, that at that -time and place there is no information for him; but that, sooner or -later, some will be ready for him. After he has arrived at Damascus, it -shall there, by somebody or other, be told him, it is said, what he is -to do. So likewise in Paul 1st, in the unstudied speech, he is, in like -manner, to learn not merely what he is to do, but everything that he is -to do. Lastly comes, Paul 2d, the studied speech. By the time the -historian had arrived at this point in his history, he had forgotten -that, according to his own account of the matter, no information at all -had, during the road scene, been given to Paul by the Lord's voice; by -that voice which was so well known to be the Lord's. That the supposed -studied speech, by the charms of which the favour of the King was so -happily gained, might be the more impressive,--he makes his orator, in -direct contradiction to the account which, on the former occasion, had -by him (the historian) been given, enter, on the very spot, into all the -details of the Lord's commands. - -When the time had come for composing this supposed studied speech,--the -historian had, it should seem, forgot Ananias's vision, that subsidiary -vision, which we shall come to presently, containing a further promise -of the Lord's commands and instructions; and which, after all, unless it -is by this studied speech that they are to be regarded as given, are not -given by him anywhere. - -7. _Paul's companions--their posture._ Per Acts, though he fell, they -stood it out. Per Paul 1st, not said whether they fell or stood it out. -Per Paul 2d, they fell. The supposed studied oratorical account is here -in full contradiction with the historical one. - -8. _Paul's companions--their hearing or not hearing._ Per Acts, they not -only saw the light, but heard the voice. Per Paul 1st, they did NOT hear -the voice. In the supposed hasty and unstudied speech is the oratorical -account made to contradict the historical one. In this particular, which -of the accounts was true? If the historical, the haste must, in the -oratorical, be the apology, not only for the incompleteness but for the -incorrectness. In Paul 2d, nothing is said about their hearing or not -hearing. - -Supposing the story in any of the accounts to have had any truth in it, -there was a middle case, fully as possible and natural as either of -these extreme and mutually contradictory ones. It may have been, that -while some stood their ground, others fell. And the greater the numbers, -the greater the probability of this middle case. But as to their number, -all is darkness. - -9. _Paul's companions--if they heard, what it was they heard._ If they -heard anything, they heard, as far as appears, whatever Paul himself -heard. Per Acts, it is after the order given to Paul to go on to -Damascus,--with the promise thereupon, that there and then, and not -before, he should receive the information he should receive; it is after -the statement made of his hearing all this from the voice, that the -further statement comes, declaring that it was by Paul's companions also -that this same voice was heard. But this same voice was, it is said, the -Lord's voice. That when the voice had answered to the name by which Paul -called it, to wit, the name of Lord, it stopt there, so far as concerned -Paul's companions;--and that it reserved what followed, to wit, the -above-mentioned order with the promise, for Paul's single ear; true it -is, this may be _imagined_ as well as anything else: but at any rate it -is not _said_. - -If Paul 2d--the studied oratorical account--is to be believed, all the -information for the communication of which this miracle was performed -was, as will be seen, communicated here upon the road: viz. immediately -after the voice had been called by him _Lord_. But, if this was the -case, and, as above, Paul's companions heard all that he heard,--then so -it is, that the revelation was made as well to them as to him;--this -revelation, upon the strength of which we shall see him setting himself -up above all the Apostles; himself and that Gospel of his own, which he -says was his own, and none of theirs. Now then--these companions--was it -upon the same errand as his that they went, to wit, the bringing in -bonds to Jerusalem all the Damascus Christians? If so, or if on any -other account they were any of them in a condition to need -conversion,--they were converted as well as he; or else, so far as -concerned them, the miracle was thrown away. Companions as they were of -his, were they or were they not respectively attendants of his? -attendants going under his orders, and on the same errand? Unless, by -the Jerusalem rulers, on the part of the Damascus rulers, both will and -power were depended upon, as adequate to the task of apprehending the -followers of Jesus and sending them bound to Jerusalem, such these -companions ought to have been, every one of them--supposing always on -the part of this about-to-be Apostle an ordinary prudence: that sort and -degree of prudence with which no ordinary police-officer is unprovided. -Some persons under his orders he must have had, or he could never have -been sent on so extensively and strongly coercive an errand. - -These companions, if, on this occasion, any such or any other companions -he had, had each of them a name. To this vision, such as it was, they -being each of them respectively, as well as himself, whether in the way -of sight and hearing both, or in the way of sight alone, percipient -witnesses, their names, in the character of so many percipient -witnesses, ready upon every proper occasion to answer in the character -of _reporting_ witnesses, would have been of no small use: of use, were -it only for the giving to this story a little more substance than it has -in the form we see it in. - -As to Ananias--the supposed principal actor in the scene next to -Paul--for him, indeed, supposing any such person to have existed, a -name, it is seen, was found. But, with a view to any purpose of -evidence, how little that name amounted to, will be seen likewise. - -In this vision of Paul's, as it is called,--was any person seen, or -anything but light--light at midday? No; positively not any person, nor -as far as appears, the light excepted, anything whatsoever. Per Acts, -chap. ix:8, when "his eyes were opened,"--so it is expressly said,--"he -saw no man." This was after he had fallen to the earth; for it was after -he arose from the earth. But, it was before he fell to the earth, and -thereupon heard the voice, that, according to this same account, he saw -the extra light--the light created for the purpose: and, forasmuch as at -the conclusion of the dialogue with the five speeches in it--forasmuch -as at the conclusion of it, such was the effect produced upon him by the -light, as to render him at that time stone-blind, requiring to be led by -the hand, it could not from the first have been anything less effective. -Per Acts, in this state he continues all the way as far as Damascus, and -for three days after his arrival there. So likewise in the supposed -unstudied speech, Paul 1st. But in the studied speech, Paul 2d, there is -no blindness; the blindness is either forgotten or discarded. - -But the curious circumstance is, his being led by the hand--all the way -to Damascus led by the hand:--led by the hand by these same companions. -Now these same companions, how was it that they were able to lead him by -the hand? All that he saw was the light, and by that light he was -blinded. But all that he saw they saw: this same light they saw as well -as he. This same light, then, by which he was blinded--were they not -blinded likewise by it? Was it a privilege--a privilege reserved for a -chosen favourite--a privilege which it cost a miracle to produce--the -being blinded when nobody else was blinded? - -Blinded then as they were, how came he to be led by them, any more than -they by him? Can the blind lead the blind? Let Jesus answer. Shall they -not both fall into the ditch? - -Oh! but (says somebody) it is only in Paul 1st,--in Paul's supposed -unstudied speech, that the historian makes them see the light that Paul -saw. Answer. True: but neither in his own person does he say the -contrary. As to their seeing, all he says is, that _they_ saw no man, -"hearing a voice but seeing no man." (ver. 7.) But by the same account, -(ver. 8.) "When _his_ eyes were opened, he saw no man;" so that, though -in what he says in his own person the historian does not mention this -which he mentions, speaking in Paul's person,--yet he does not -contradict it. - -10. _Paul's companions. What part, if any, took they in the -conversation?_ Per Acts, they stood speechless: and it is after the -dialogue has been reported, that this is stated. In the unstudied -speech, nothing is said about their speech. In the studied speech, with -reference to them, no mention is made of speech; any more than of sight -or hearing. - -But, forasmuch as, according to Acts, whatever Paul saw and heard, they -saw and heard likewise; how happened it, that by no one of them, so much -as a word, on an occasion so interesting to all, was said--or a question -put? To be sure it was to Paul alone, that by the voice, whosever it -was, any address was made. It was his concern:--his alone, and none of -theirs. - -So, indeed, some might think; but, others in their situation, quite as -naturally might think otherwise. Sooner or later, at any rate, they -would recover whatever it was they lost: sight, if sight; speech, if -speech. Whenever recovered, speech would thereupon range with but the -greater freedom, for the restraint which, for a time, had been put upon -it:--range over the whole business, including whatever secrets Paul had -been put in possession of:--the commission, the sweeping and -incarcerating commission he had been intrusted with by the rulers, and -the unperformed promise that had been made to him by the voice, which -being at midday, accompanied by an extraordinary light, was of course -the Lord's voice. These things would naturally, by these his companions, -have been converted from secrets into town-talk. - -Nay but (says somebody) though it _is_ said he saw no _man_, it is _not_ -said, he saw not the Lord: and elsewhere he may be seen saying--saying -in the most positive terms, that he did see the Lord[7]. And if he did -see the Lord anywhere, why not here as well as anywhere else? - -"_Saw no man._" Yes: so says the English version. But the original is -more comprehensive:--Saw no person, says the original: that is, to speak -literally, saw no one of the masculine gender. No one what? No one -person of this gender: this is what the word means, if it means -anything. No person; and therefore no Lord: no God; if so it be that, -when applied to denote God, the word person means God, or as some say, a -part of God. - -Note, likewise,--that, when the companions are spoken of,--both in the -translation and in the original, the object to which the negative is -applied is expressed by the same word as when he, Paul, is spoken of. - - -SECTION 3. - -VISION II.--ANANIAS'S. - -TOPIC 1.--_Ananias's Description._ - -Of the vision itself there being but one account, by this singleness -discordancy is saved. - -But, of the description belonging to Ananias there are two accounts. -One the historical, as before: the other, the unpremeditated -oratorical account supposed to be given by Paul in the first of -his two supposed speeches, as above; and, room being thus given for -discordancy,--discordancy, as of course, enters--or at any rate a -strong suspicion of it. - -Per Acts, Ananias is a disciple: a disciple, to wit, a Christian; a -disciple immediately of Jesus or his Apostles: for, such is the -signification attached to the word _disciple_ in the Acts: such he would -on this occasion be of course understood to be; for, otherwise the word -would be uncharacteristic and insignificant. - -Materially different is the description supposed to have been given of -this same Ananias by Paul in that same supposed unpremeditated speech; -so different as to be not without effort, if by any effort, reconcilable -with it. - -He is now a disciple of Jesus and the Apostles; of that Jesus, by whom -the law, _i.e._ the Mosaic law, was after such repeated exposure of its -inaptitude, pronounced obsolete. He is now not only spoken of as being, -notwithstanding this conversion, a devout man according to that same -law; but, moreover, as having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt -there, to wit, at Damascus. Of the Jews? Yes; of "_all_" the Jews. - -If, notwithstanding his conversion to a religion by which that of the -Jews was slighted and declared to be superseded, he was still so happy -as to be the subject of this good _report_, which is as much as to -say--of a correspondently unanimous good opinion; this, it would seem, -would have been the man to preach to them that religion: especially if -that part of the story were true, according to which he was -distinguished by the same supernatural sort of communication; this man, -who was already a Christian, this man, and not Paul, who of all opposers -of Christianity had been the most fierce and the most mischievous, would -naturally have been the man to receive the supernatural commission. -Supposing his vision real, and the reports of it true, no difficulty, -rationally speaking, could he have found in obtaining credence for it at -the hands of the Apostles: those Apostles, at whose hands, from first to -last it will be seen, never was it the lot of Paul, with _his_ vision or -visions, to obtain credence. - -The audience, before which this speech was supposed to be delivered, of -whom was it composed? With the exception of a few Romans, to whom it was -probably unintelligible unless by accident, altogether of Jews; and -these--no one can say in what proportion, probably in by much the -largest, Jews not christianized. Hence then the sort of character, which -the occasion and the purpose required should be given, to this supposed -miraculously formed acquaintance of the person who, upon the strength of -this acquaintance, was to be numbered among the Apostles. - - -TOPIC 2.--_Mode of Conversation._ - -By this vision is produced a dialogue. Interlocutors, the Lord and -Ananias. In the course of the dialogue, speeches five: whereof, by the -Lord, three; the other two by Ananias. - -In and by the first pair of speeches the Lord calls the man by his name: -the man answers, Behold, says he, I am here, Lord. In the English -translation, to atone for the too great conciseness of the Greek -original, the words "_am here_" are not improperly interpolated. Giving -to this supposed supernatural intercourse what seemed to him a natural -cast--a cast suited to the occasion--seems to have been the object of -the historian in the composition of this dialogue. But, upon so -supernatural a body, a natural colouring, at any rate a colouring such -as this, does not seem to fit quite so completely as might have been -wished. On the road, when the voice,--which turned out to be that of the -Lord, that is, being interpreted, Jesus's,--addressed itself to Paul, -this being the first intercourse, there was a necessity for its -declaring itself, for its declaring whose it was; and the declaration -was made accordingly. Here, on the other hand, no sooner does Ananias -hear himself called by his name, than he knows who the person is by whom -he is thus addressed. Taken as it stands, an answer thus prompt includes -the supposition of an already established intercourse. Such intercourse -supposed--in what way on former occasions had it been carried on? Laying -such former occasion out of the question--in what way is it supposed to -be carried on on the occasion here in question? On the occasion of his -visit to Paul,--the Lord, to whomsoever he may have been audible, had -never, from first to last, as we have seen, been visible. On the -occasion of this visit of his to Ananias--was the Lord audible only, or -visible only, or both audible and visible? If both audible and visible, -or even if only visible,--the mode of revelation was more favourable to -this secondary and virtually unknown personage, than to the principal -one. - -Between mortal and mortal, when it is the desire of one man to have -personal communication with another whom he supposes to be within -hearing, but who is either not in his sight or not looking towards -him,--he calls to him by his name; and in token of his having heard, the -other answers. From man to man, such information is really necessary; -for--that the requisite attention has place where it is his desire that -it should have place, the human interlocutor has no other means of -knowing. Not considering, that the person to whom the information is -supposed to be conveyed is a sort of person to whom no such information -could be necessary, the historian represents his Ananias as giving to -the Lord, as if to a mere mortal, information of his presence. Behold, -Lord! I am here. - - -TOPIC 3.--_Lord's Commands and Information: Want of particularization a -disprobative Circumstance._ - -The conversation being thus begun, the interlocutors proceed to -business. In speech the 3d, Lord delivers to Ananias, the devout Jew, a -command, and thereupon a piece of information. The command is--to repair -to a place therein described, and find out Paul: the information -is--that at the time then present Paul is praying; and that, at an -anterior point of time not designated, he had seen a vision. - -In the command, the designation of the place wears, upon the face of it, -the appearance of that sort and degree of particularity, the exaction of -which is, in these days, in which genuine visions are never exemplified, -matter of course, on every occasion on which it is the real intention, -of those on whom it depends, that through the medium of personal -testimony the truth should be extracted. On every such occasion, the -object in question, whether it be an event or a quiescent state of -things, is endeavoured to be individualized: and, for the production of -this effect, the individual portion of space, and the individual portion -of time, are endeavoured to be brought to view together. - -On the occasion here in question, towards the individualization of the -portion of space some approach is made: the town being foreknown, to -wit, Damascus, the _street_ is particularized; it is the street called -_Straight_: as in Westminster we have _Long-ditch_, and in London -_Crooked-lane_. Moreover, the _house_ is particularized; it is the house -of Judas. To this Judas had any one of those marks of distinction been -added, which in that age and nation we find to have been common,--as in -the instance of the too notorious Judas the Iscariot, _i.e._, the -inhabitant of Iscara, and in that of Judas Barsabas, _i.e._, the son of -Sabas, or, as we should say, Sabasson, not long after mentioned, Acts -25:22,--it would have been something. But, destitute of such limitative -adjunct, _Judas_ of itself was nothing. In that age and country, even -without reckoning notorious traitors, there was never any want of -Judases. Not inferior in plenty were Ananiases: in the Acts we have -three of them;--this private inhabitant of Damascus: the High Priest, -whose seat was at Jerusalem; and the husband of Sapphira: and in -Josephus they vie in abundance with the Johns and Jesuses. - -But, on the occasion in question, and to the purpose in question, though -a distinctive adjunct as above would have done something, it would have -done very little. In the field of time,--seven-and-twenty years at -least, and we know not how much more, according to the received -chronology, was the distance between the event in question, and the -report given of it in this history. Neither in Damascus nor yet in -Jerusalem was any such thing as a newspaper,--not even an enslaved -newspaper, in existence; no, nor yet so much as a printing-press,--not -even an enslaved printing-press. For writing, the materials were -expensive; and handwriting was the only mode of copying. Publication was -not, as under the printing-press, promiscuous: unless by accident, for -an indefinite length of time, into no other hand did any copy find its -way, other than those of the author's confidential friends, or friends -separated from the author by a greater or less number of removes, as it -might happen; but all of them linked to one another by the bonds of -amity, and unity of principle and practice. - -In such a capital as Damascus, Straight Street might have been as long -as Oxford Street; and, unless the style of building in those earlier -days had much more of convenience and luxury in it than in these latter -days, was much more crowded. Conceive a man at this time of day, going -to Oxford Street with the intention of finding the house, in which, -thirty years ago, a man of the name of Brown or Smith had his -residence,--to wit, on some indeterminate day, of the number of those -included within the space of an indeterminate number of years; and this, -for the purpose of ascertaining whether, on this indeterminate day, and -by this Smith or this Brown, a vision, not seen by anybody else, had -been seen. Suppose a man in Rome set out on such an errand--and then say -what would be the probable result of it. - - -TOPIC 4.--_Vision reported to Ananias by the Lord as having been seen by -Paul._ - -Of the report then given of this anterior vision, the character is too -remarkable to be given, as it were, in a parenthesis: it is therefore -referred to a separate head. Acts ix. 12. "And Paul hath seen in a -vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him that -he might receive his sight." - - -TOPIC 5.--_Ananias's Objection to the Lord's Commands to visit Paul--He -informs the Lord what he had heard about Paul._ - -By the two first speeches of this dialogue, we are given to understand -that Ananias had already held intercourse with the Lord; an intercourse -which, the nature of the two parties considered, could not have been -other than a supernatural intercourse: yes, and on this very subject: -for, if not on this particular subject, the subject of it, whatever it -was, could not but have called for notice and communication. But, no -sooner does this next speech commence, than we are given to understand -that there had not--could not have been any such intercourse: for if -there had been, what follows would have been rendered useless and -needless. Upon receiving the command, Ananias's first thought is--to -endeavour to excuse himself from paying obedience to it; for in this -endeavour it is, that he gives the Lord a piece of information; to -wit--of what, in relation to Paul's character, he (Ananias) had heard. -Acts ix. 13: "Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this -man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem. And here he -hath authority from the Chief Priests to bind all that call on thy -name." Thus then, commands known to have been the Lord's, having that -instant been received,--the man by whom they have been received--so -small is the confidence, reposed in the Lord by this his favoured -disciple--instead of paying obedience to them, answers them by an -objection. This objection, prepared for it or not prepared for it, the -Lord, as might well be expected, immediately overrules. - -A question that here presents itself is--Since it was from _many_, i.e. -_many men_, that Ananias had heard, not only what everybody had been -hearing for weeks, or months, or years,--viz. of the evil that Paul had -been doing to the Jerusalem saints, but of the authority that he had so -lately received, to bind at Damascus all the Damascus saints he could -find--since it was from so many, who then were these many? How was it, -that in the compass of the three days (ver. 9), during which Paul had -remained without sight or nourishment, a commission,--to the execution -of which secrecy was so obviously necessary,--had to such a degree -transpired? Suppose the secret to have thus transpired,--two results -would, in any natural and credible state of things, have been among the -consequences. The persons thus devoted to destruction would have made -their escape; the commission by which alone the supposed proceedings -against them could have found a justification or a cause, not having -been delivered. On the other hand, hearing that Paul was there, and that -he either was, or pretended to be, in the house in question, or in some -other, in the extraordinary condition above described,--the persons -spoken of in the Acts under the name of _the Synagogue_, would not have -left him there, but would have convened him before them, and, if he -really had any such commission, have caused it to be produced, and read -it: convened before them, not only Paul with his supposed commission, -but those companions of his that we have already heard of, if any such -he had[8]. - -But of these there will be occasion to speak in another place. - - -TOPIC 6.--_The Lord's Answer, obviating the objection, and giving -intimation of his designs in favour of Paul._ - -This objection, no sooner has the Lord overruled it, than he undertakes -to answer it, and to explain to this his so singularly favoured old -disciple the intentions he had formed in favour of his intended new -convert, whose conversion is, however, as yet but in progress (ver. 14): -"But the Lord said to him, Go thy way; for he is a chosen vessel unto -me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of -Israel:--For (continues the Lord) I will show him how great things he -must suffer for my name's sake." Being, and therefore at the time of -Paul's vision purposing to be, in relation to his designs for Paul, thus -communicative to this same Ananias, who is a perfect stranger to this -same Paul,--to what purpose, on the occasion of his supposed visionary -intercourse with Paul, should _the Lord_ have stopped short; reserving -the communication, for the intention of giving it him at second-hand by -the mouth of that same stranger? This is one of the swarms of questions -which an account of this sort could scarcely fail to present to any -inquiring mind. - -Meantime, as to the Lord's having thus stopped short, this we shall see -is in full contradiction with the account which the historian makes him -give in his supposed second reported speech, to wit, the supposed -premeditated one, spoken before Agrippa, who, under the proconsul -Festus, was king of the Jews, and who, on that occasion, is spoken of as -being assessor to the said proconsul Festus. On that occasion the Lord -is represented as explaining himself more fully to Paul himself, than -here, for the benefit of Paul, through Ananias. - - -SECTION 4. - -ANANIAS: HIS VISIT TO PAUL AT DAMASCUS. - -We now come to the visit, which, we are to understand, was, in reality, -paid to Paul by Ananias, in consequence of this vision, in obedience to -the command imagined to be given in it. - -Note that, though, in the original--in _the including vision_, as it may -be called--the command is given to inquire in the house in question for -the person (Saul) in question,--this is _all_ the command which, in that -least visionary of the two visions, is delivered. In the first instance -to make the inquiry, and in conclusion to go his way--this is all to -which the commands given to him in the direct way extend themselves. To -accomplish the object of this intercourse--to do anything towards it -beyond the making of this inquiry--he has to take hints and to draw -inferences:--inferences from the Lord's speech, which is thus continued, -Acts ix. 12: "And (Paul) _hath seen in a vision_ a man named Ananias -coming in, and putting his hand on him that he might receive his sight." -From having been told what--in a vision, to wit, this _contained or -included vision_--this same Paul had been _fancying_ he _had_ seen him -(Ananias) do--from this he was to conclude that it was the Lord's will -that he (Ananias) _should_ do _in reality_ that which Paul had been -fancying him to have done; though the only effect, for the doing of -which it had so been fancied to have been performed, had never been -produced. This was what he was to conclude was the Lord's will; although -the Lord himself, who (if any person) should have known how to speak -plainly and beyond danger of misconception, had forborne to tell him as -much. - -On the occasion of this important visit--this visit of Ananias to -Paul,--the double light--the light cast by the first of the two -oratorical accounts--to wit, the supposed unpremeditated one, upon the -historical one--recommences. - -Follows now--and from both sources--the account of the interview, and of -the cure performed in the course of it. - -ACTS' ACCOUNT.--Ch. ix. ver. 17-22. - - And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting - his hands on him, said: Brother Saul, the Lord, _even_ Jesus, that - _appeared_ unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that - thou mightest receive thy sight, _and be filled with the Holy - Ghost_.--And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been - _scales_: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and _was - baptized_.--And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then - was Saul _certain days_ with the disciples which were _at - Damascus_.--And straightway he _preached_ Christ in the synagogues, - that he is the Son of God.--But all that heard _him_ were amazed, - and said: Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this - name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might - bring them bound unto the Chief Priests?--But Saul _increased the - more_ in strength, and _confounded the Jews_ which dwelt at - _Damascus_, proving that this is very Christ. - -PAUL'S ACCOUNT.--ACTS, Ch. xxii. ver. 12-16. - - 12. And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a - good report of all the Jews which dwelt _there_,--Came unto me, and - stood, and said unto me: Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the - same hour I looked up upon him.--And he said: The God of our fathers - hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and _see_ that - Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.--For thou shalt - be his witness unto all men of what thou hast _seen_ and heard.--And - now, why tarriest thou? arise, and _be baptized_, and wash away thy - sins; calling on the name of the Lord. - - -TOPIC 1.--_On visiting Paul, Ananias's Introductory Speech--Preliminary -Recital._ - -I. In the historical account, the speech has in it several -distinguishable parts. - -I. "Brother Saul." - -First comes the address, in which Saul, the future Paul, is addressed by -disciple Ananias by the name of _brother_. If, as between Jew and Jew, -this was a common form of salutation,--so far everything is in order. -But, if it was only in consideration of his having been denominated a -disciple, to wit, of Jesus,--the salutation is rather premature: the -conversion, supposing it effected, is, at any rate, not yet declared. -Not only in the historical account is this appellation employed, but -likewise in the oratorical one. - -The attention of Paul being thus bespoken by his visitor, mention is -thereupon made of the purpose of the visit. - -I. In the first place comes a recital. "The Lord (says he), even Jesus, -that _appeared_ unto thee on the way as thou camest, hath sent me".... -Unfortunately, according to the historian himself, this assertion, as we -have seen already, is not true. In no manner or shape did the Lord -Jesus, or any other person, make his appearance;--all that _did_ appear -was the light--the light at midday: so he has just been writing, and -before the ink, if ink it was that he used, was dry, already had he -forgotten it. - -This, however, is but a collateral averment:--a recital, an episode, -matter of _inducement_, as an English lawyer would phrase it. - - -TOPIC 2.--_Declared Purposes or Objects of the Visit._ - -Purpose the first. "That thou mightest," says Ananias, "receive thy -sight." Thus says Ananias in the historical account: in the supposed -oratorical one he is more concise. No supposed past occurrence referred -to:--no purpose declared. "Receive thy sight" are the words. - -Purpose the second. That thou mightest "be filled with the Holy Ghost," -says the historical account. But in a succeeding passage what is the -purpose, which, in the supposed oratorical account Ananias is made to -speak of, in the design that it should be taken for the purpose which -the Lord by his commandment meant to be accomplished? Not the being -filled by the Holy Ghost; only the being baptized. "And now, why -tarriest thou? (Acts xxii. ver. 16) Arise and be baptized, and wash away -thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Well but (says somebody) -receiving the Holy Ghost, and being baptized,--by these two -expressions, is not one, and no more than one effect--one and the same -effect--to be understood? No, in truth, if the historian himself is to -be believed. Turn to another chapter--the very next chapter before this, -Acts 12 to 17, and there you will see, that the being baptized was one -thing, the receiving the Holy Ghost another thing, and much more. For -administering the ceremony of baptism, a single Apostle, Philip, was -sufficient: whereas, for the causing the Holy Ghost to be received, -nothing less was requisite than the cooperation of two Apostles, and -those two commissioned by the rest. - -So serious always, according to this historian, was the difference, that -it was after he had been already baptized, and baptized gratis in a -crowd, that for the power of conferring this benefit, whatever it was -that it was composed of, Sorcerer Simon made to the two Apostles, those -offers--those pecuniary offers--which are said to have been no sooner -made than rejected. Acts 13 to 24. - - -TOPIC 3.--_Actual Effects of the Visit, and the Application in -consequence made in the course of it._ Effect 1. _Scales fall from Eyes, -and Sight is received in consequence._ - -In the historical narrative, the effect is as complete as it is -remarkable. Fall from his eyes a portion of matter of the nature or -resemblance of scales: whereupon he receives sight forthwith. - -In the supposed oratorical account, whatsoever had been meant by scales, -nothing is said of them. Neither is the declaration made of the -completeness of the case quite so explicit. One look he gave--gave to -his wonder-working surgeon--and instead of its being given forthwith--to -give this one look required, it should seem, if not a whole hour, at -any rate so little less, that any time less than an hour could -not--such, in this supposed unpremeditated speech, was the anxiety felt -for correctness--could not be ventured to be particularized. - -The more closely these scales, or things resembling scales, are looked -at, the more difficult will it be to find them amount to anything. In no -cure, performed upon eyes in any natural way, in these our days--upon -eyes that have lost their sight--do any scales fall off, or anything in -any degree resembling scales;--in no disorder of the eyes, known to have -place in these our days, do scales, or anything like scales, come over -the eyes. By the taking of matter from the eyes, sight, it is true, is -every now and then restored: but this matter is not matter, foreign in -relation to the eye and exterior to it; but one of the component parts -called _humours_ of the eye, which, by losing its transparency having -suspended the faculty of vision, is let out by a lancet; whereupon not -only is the faculty of sight restored, but the part which had been -extirpated restored likewise; and without any expense in the article of -miracles. - -On the supposition of falsity,--quere the use of this circumstance? -_Answer._ To afford support to the conception, that memory and not -imagination was the source from which the story was derived. True it is, -that, instead of support, a circumstance exposed to contradiction would -be an instrument of weakness: if, for example, on the supposition that -Paul had no companions on the road, names indicative of really existing -and well-known persons had been added, to the intimation given in the -_Acts_, of the existence of such companions. But to no such hazard was -the story of the scales exposed: not to any great danger, on the -supposition of the existence of Paul's Ananias: not to any danger at -all, upon the supposition of his non-existence. - -But, upon this occasion, now again once more present themselves--present -themselves to the mind's eye--Paul's companions. That they were blinded -at all can scarcely, it has been seen, be believed, if on this matter -the historian himself is believed. For, per Acts ix. 8, "they led him by -the hand:" so, per Paul 1st, Acts xxii. 11, "When I could not see for -the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those that were with -me, I came unto Damascus." But if, notwithstanding so it was that _they_ -too were blinded,--how was it with _their_ eyes? Had _their_ eyes scales -upon them? did these scales ever fall off?--if so, by what means were -they made to fall off? _their_ evidence would have been not much, if -anything, less impressive,--and it would have been much less open to -suspicion,--than Paul's evidence, supposing him to have spoken of these -scales--which the historian, to whom, if he is to be believed, their -existence is so well known, did not take upon him to represent Paul as -saying that he did. But if so it was, that, though rendered blind as -Paul's, no scales were superinduced upon, nor consequently made to fall -off, the eyes of those nameless and unknown persons,--how came they to -be superinduced upon and made to fall off from the eyes of their -singularly favoured principal? If, for a length of time more or less -considerable, they really were made blind,--it was, if the historian is -to be believed, by the same cause by which, in the instance of Paul's -eyes, this same effect was produced:--the same cause, to wit an -extraordinary light at noonday. If, whatsoever was the matter with them, -the eyes of these ordinary persons could be set to rights without a -miracle, what need could there be of a miracle for the producing the -same desirable effect in the person of this their leader or master, -extraordinary as this same leader or master was? - - -TOPIC 4.--_Baptism--was it performed? when, where, by whom, &c.?_ - -The baptism thus spoken of--was it performed? Yes: if you will believe -the historian, speaking in his own person, speaking in his own -historical account: "And forthwith," in the first place, "Paul -recovered his sight;"--then, when, his sight having been recovered, he -was able to go about as usual,--he arose and was baptized: -baptized--that is say, as from this expression taken by itself any one -would conclude--baptized, as soon as he arose, to wit, as soon as water -could be found for the purpose: that water, which his guest Ananias, -foreknowing what was to come to pass, and what was to be done to make it -come to pass, might naturally be expected to have provided, and this -without any supernatural foresight: in a word, without the expense of -any additional miracle in any shape:--the water being thus ready upon -the spot, and he in equal readiness to administer it. - -This, according to the historian, speaking in his own person: but, when -the time comes for giving an account of the matter in the person of Paul -himself,--to wit in the supposed unpremeditated oratorical -speech,--then, for whatever it was that stopped him, (whether the -supposed urgency of the occasion on which the supposed speech was -supposed to be made, or any thing and what else,) so it is, that he -gives not any such information: he leaves the matter to hang in -doubt:--a doubt, which, down to the present day remains unsolved. - -A command to this effect is spoken of as having been given: thus much -is said. But, what is not said is--whether to this same command any or -what obedience was paid. - -Thus it is that, instead of an _effect_ which it seems desired that we -should consider as being produced, what we see directly stated as being -produced, is nothing more than a _command_--a command, by which, as by -its cause, we are to suppose the effect to have been produced. What is -more, in the same blind way, is intimation given us, of another and very -different effect--_the washing away of sins_--as if produced by the -first-mentioned physical operation;--namely, by that of a man's being -dipped in, or sprinkled with, water: and thus it is, that from a mere -physical operation of the most trivial nature, we are called upon to -infer a spiritual and supernatural effect of the most awful importance; -the spiritual effect stated as if it were produced by the physical -operation, to which it has no perceptible real relation--nothing but the -mere verbal one thus given to it; produced by it, and following it, as -of course--just as if sins were a species of dirt, which, by washing, -could as surely be got off as any other dirt.[9] - -And was he then really baptized? If so he was, then also if, speaking in -the person of his hero, the historian is to be believed,--then also, by -this ceremony, the name of the Lord being at the same time called -upon,--then also were his sins washed away; his sins washed away; the -sinner, therefore and thereby, put into the same case as if the sins had -not any of them been ever committed. How can it be understood otherwise? -for if, in and by this passage, intimation--sufficiently perfect -information--is given, that the ceremony was performed--then also is -sufficiently perfect information given, that such was the effect -actually produced by it. "Arise" (Ananias is made to say)--"_Arise and -be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord._" - -This is no light matter: if so it really were, that according to the -religion of Jesus, by such a cause, such an effect was on that occasion -produced;--that such effect could, in a word, on any occasion, in any -case be produced,--that _murders_, or (not to embarrass the question -with conceits of local jurisprudence) _killings_ of men--killings of men -by persecution carried on, on a religious account--slaughters of -Christians by non-Christians--could thus, as in Paul's case, be divested -of all guilt, at any rate of all punishment, at the hands of Almighty -Justice;--if impunity could indeed be thus conferred by the sprinkling a -man with water or dipping him in it, then would it be matter of serious -consideration--not only what is the _verity_ of that religion, but what -the _usefulness_ of it, what the usefulness--with reference to the -present life at any rate, not to speak of a life to come: what the -usefulness of it; and on what ground stands its claim to support by all -the powers of factitious punishment and factitious reward, at the hands -of the temporal magistrate.[10] - - -TOPIC 5.--_Performance of the Promise, supposed to have been made by the -Lord, in favour of Paul, to Ananias._ - -If the supposed promise is inadequate to the occasion, the supposed -performance is still more inadequate with reference to the promise. - -In the supposed promise are two distinguishable parts, and in neither of -them is the one thing needful to be found. Of these two parts, the only -one in which in any direct stage the matter of a promise is contained, -is the one last mentioned: it is the promise to show him, (Paul) what -sufferings he will have to undergo in the course of the career, whatever -it is, in which he is about to engage: to wit, in name and profession, -the preaching the religion of Jesus: "for I will show him," says the -Lord, according to the historian,--"I will show him how great things he -must suffer for my name's sake." If so it was, that upon this promise, -such as it is, performance never followed, the regret for the failure -need not be very great. Whatsoever were the sufferings that he was -predestined to undergo, that which was _not_ in the nature of this -foreshowing, was--the lessening their aggregate amount; that which _was_ -in the nature of it was--the making an addition to that same afflicting -aggregate; to wit, by constant and unavoidable anticipation of the -approach of such sufferings. - -Of this talk, vague as it is, about sufferings, the obvious enough -object was--the giving exaltation to the idea meant to be conveyed of -the merits of the hero:--an object, which, by this and other means, has -accordingly, down to the present day, in no small degree been -accomplished. So much as to sufferings: as to enjoyments, by any idea -entertained of the enjoyments derived by him from the same source, this -design would have been--not promoted, but counteracted. But, when the -time arrives, whether the mass of suffering was not, to no small amount, -overbalanced by that of his enjoyments--meaning always worldly -sufferings and worldly enjoyments--the reader will be left to judge. - -Here then we have the only promise, which in any direct way is -expressed:--a promise which, in the first place would have been useless, -in the next place worse than useless. - - -TOPIC 6.--_Indirect Promise, that Paul shall spread the Name of Jesus._ - -In the whole substance of this promise, if there be anything, which, -with reference to the professed end--to wit the giving extension to the -religion of Jesus--would have been of use, it is in the foregoing part -that it must be looked for. In this part then, if there be any such -matter to be found, it will be this: to wit, a promise that he (Paul) -shall bear, and therefore that he shall be enabled to bear, the name of -the Lord, to wit, the name of Jesus, before the classes of persons -specified, to wit, the Gentiles, and kings, and children of Israel: Acts -ix. 15. But, only in an indirect way is this solely material part of the -promise expressed: "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name," &c. -_i.e._ When I chose him, it was my design that he should do so. But, in -the case of the Lord, according to the picture drawn of him by this -historian, how very inconclusive evidence _intention_ is of _execution_, -there will, in the course of this work, have been abundant occasion to -see. - -Bear the name of Jesus? so far, so good. But for this function no such -special and supernatural commission was necessary: without any such -commission, the name of Jesus had been borne to the people at large, if -in this particular the Gospel history is to be believed. Luke ix. 49, -50: "And John answered and said, 'Master, we saw one casting out devils -in thy name: and we forbad him, because he followed not with us.' And -Jesus said unto him, 'Forbid him not, for he that is not against us, is -for us.'" How inadequate soever, with reference to the professed end, to -wit, giving extension to the religion of Jesus, the promise was -perfectly adequate, and commensurate, to what we shall find to be Paul's -real design; to wit, the planting a Gospel of his own, as, and for, and -instead of, the Gospel of Jesus. The Gospel of Jesus was the Gospel of -Jesus: and the Gospel, which, availing himself of the name of Jesus, it -was Paul's design and practice to preach, was, as he himself -declares,--as we shall see him declaring in the plainest and most -express terms,--a Gospel of his own; a Gospel which was not the Gospel -of the Apostles, and which, for fear of its being opposed by them, he -kept studiously concealed from those confidential servants and real -associates of Jesus, as may be seen in the following passages: Gal. i. -9, 11, and 12; "As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach -any other Gospel unto you, than that ye have received, let him be -accursed.--But I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was -preached of me is not after man.--For I neither received it of man, -neither was I taught it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Gal. -2:2: "And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that -Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles; but privately to them which -were of reputation, lest by any means, I should run, or had run, in -vain." - -In the course of Paul's dialogue with the voice on the road--that voice -which we are given to understand was the Lord's, _i.e._ Jesus's--the -promise supposed to be made to Paul, it must be remembered, was--the -promise to tell him, when in the city, what he was to do. "What thou -must do," says the historian in his historical account:--"all things -which are appointed for thee to do," says the historian in the supposed -unpremeditated oratorical account, which, in this so often mentioned -first of the speeches, he is supposed by the historian to have -delivered. - -Among all these things,--one thing, which it is manifestly the design of -the historian, as it was that of his hero, to make men believe, was -accomplished: to wit, the satisfying them what was the religious -doctrine, for the dissemination of which the expense of this miracle -was incurred. This, moreover, is the promise; which, in the reading of -the story everybody looks for: this too is the promise which in the -reading of this same story, the believers in the religion of Jesus have -very generally been in the habit of considering as performed. Not in and -by this history, however, will they have any such satisfaction, when the -matter comes to be looked into. For, in respect of this information, -desirable as it is,--Paul is, in this strangely supposed intercourse, -put off--put off to another time and place: put off, for no reason -given, nor for any substantial reason that can be imagined. Further on, -when a show of performing the promise comes to be made, then, instead of -accomplishment, we have more evasion. Instead of furnishing the -information to Paul himself--to Paul directly--for, when the time and -place for performance comes, performance--what the Lord is not supposed -so much as to profess to do, what he professes to do is--to make the -communication to this man, who, his existence being supposed, was an -utter stranger to Paul--namely to this Ananias. Well, and for the -conveying the information, in this indirect and inadequate way--for -conveying it to and through this same Ananias--what is done?--as we have -seen, what amounts to nothing. - -When, for affording the information--had any information been intended -to be afforded--the time and place are come; when Ananias and Paul have -been brought together; what is it that, from the information afforded us -by the historian, we are to understand, passed? _Answer_, that, after -the scales had fallen from his eyes, Paul was baptized; that he ate -meat, and that after he had eaten meat he was strengthened: -strengthened, we are warranted to suppose, by the meat which he had so -eaten. Moreover, that somehow or other, in this large city he was -certain days--number not specified,--with certain disciples--neither -names nor number specified,--and preached Christ in the synagogues, -saying that he was the son of God. - -Thus far then we are got; and, of the supposed revelation, in all this -time nothing revealed. Promises, put-offs, evasions--and, after all, no -performance. - -Among the purposes of this work, is the satisfying the reader--not only -that Paul received not any revelation from the Almighty; but that, even -upon his own showing, never did he receive any such revelation: that, on -pretence of his having received it from the Almighty by a special -revelation, he preached indeed a certain doctrine; but that this -doctrine was partly one of his own, contrary to that of Jesus's -apostles, and therefore contrary to that of Jesus: and that, in the way -of revelation, he never did receive anything; neither that doctrine of -his own which he preached, nor anything else. - - -TOPIC 7.--_Doctrine, supposed to be preached by Paul at Damascus in the -synagogues._ - -Straightway, if the historian is to be believed;--straightway after -being strengthened by the meat;--and straightway after he had passed the -certain days with the disciples;--then did Paul preach Christ in the -synagogues--preach that he is the son of God. - -Here, had he really preached in any such places--here would have been -the time, and the best time, for telling us what, in pursuance of the -supposed revelation, he preached. For, whatever it was, if anything, -that he ever learnt from his supposed revelation, it was not till he had -learnt it, till he made this necessary acquisition, that the time for -beginning to preach in the synagogues in question or anywhere else was -come. And, no sooner had he received it, than then, when it was fresh in -his memory--then was the time for preaching it. But, never having -received any such thing as that which he pretended, and which the -historian has made so many people believe, he received,--no such thing -had he to preach at any time or place. - -Whatever of that nature he had had, if he had had at any _time_, -Damascus was not the _place_, at any rate at _that time_, for him to -preach it, or anything else, in synagogues--in any receptacle so -extensively open to the public eye. - -Preach, in the name of Jesus--in the name of that Jesus, whose -disciples, and with them whose religion, he now went thither with a -commission to exterminate,--preach in that name he could not, without -proclaiming his own religion--his own perfidy;--his own rebellion, -against the authorities, from which, at his own solicitation, the -commission so granted to him had been obtained:--his own perfidious -contempt--not only of those Jerusalem rulers, but of those Damascus -authorities, from whom, for that important and cruel purpose, he was -sent to receive instruction and assistance. At some seven-and-twenty -years distance in the field of time, and at we know not what distance in -the field of space, probably that between Rome and Damascus, it was as -easy for the historian to affirm the supposed preaching, as to deny it: -but, as to the preaching itself, whether it was within the bounds of -moral possibility, let the reader judge. - - -TOPIC 8.--_Supposed Amazement of the People of Damascus at this Paul's -supposed preaching of Christ in the Synagogues there._ - -Had there really been any such preaching, well might have amazement -followed it. But there was no such preaching, therefore no such -amazement. Had there been real preaching, and real amazement produced by -it--what would have been the subject of the amazement! Not so much the -audacity of the preacher--for madmen acting singly are to be seen in but -too great frequency: not so much the audacity of the speaker, as the -supineness of the constituted authorities; for, madmen acting in bodies -in the character of public functionaries have never yet been visible. -And if any such assemblage was ever seen, many such would be seen, -before any one could be seen, whose madness took the course of sitting -still, while an offender against their authority, coming to them single -and without support,--neither bringing with him support, nor finding it -there,--continued, at a public meeting, preaching against them, and -setting their authority at defiance. - - -TOPIC 9.--_Matter of the Revelation, which, in and by the supposed -unpremeditated Oratorical Account, is supposed to have been made._ - -Forgetting what, as we have seen, he had so lately been saying in his -own person--in the person of Paul,--he on this occasion, returns to the -subject: and more evasive is the result. - -On this occasion--this proper occasion--what is it that he, Paul, takes -upon him to give an account of.--That which the Lord had revealed to -him?--revealed, communicated in the supernatural way of revelation, to -him--Paul? No; but that which, according to him,--if he, and through him -the historian, is to be believed,--the Lord communicated to Ananias -concerning him--Paul. The Almighty having minded to communicate -something to a man, and yet not communicating to that man any part of -it, but communicating the whole of it to another! What a proceeding -_this_ to attribute to the Almighty, and upon such evidence! - -Still we shall see, supposing it communicated, and from such a source -communicated--still we shall see it amounted to nothing: to -nothing--always excepted the contradiction to what, in relation to this -subject, had, by this same historian, been a little before asserted. - -Observe what were the _purposes_, for which, by this Ananias, Paul is -supposed to be made to understand, that God--the God, says he, of our -fathers--had chosen him. - -1. Purpose the first--"To know his will." His will, respecting what? If -respecting anything to the great purpose here in question, respecting -the new doctrine which, to this Paul, to the exclusion of the Apostles -of Jesus, is all along supposed to have been revealed. Of no such -doctrine is any indication anywhere in these accounts to be found. - -2. Purpose the second--"And see this just one." Meaning, we are to -understand, the person all along spoken of under the name of the Lord; -to wit, Jesus. But, in the vision in question, if the historian is to be -believed, no Jesus did Paul see. All that he saw was a light,--an -extraordinary strong light at midday; so strong, that after it, till the -scales fell from his eyes, he saw not any person in any place: and this -light, whatever it was, was seen by all that were with him, as well as -by him. - -3. Purpose the third--"And shouldest hear the voice of his mouth." Oh! -yes; if what the historian says in that other place is to be -believed--hear a voice he did; and if the historian is to be again -believed, that voice was the Lord's. But, by hearing this voice, how was -he distinguished? those that were with him, according to the historian's -own account, heard it as well as he. And what was he the wiser? This -also, it is hoped, has been rendered sufficiently visible--just nothing. - -Purpose the fourth and last--"Thou shalt be his witness (the Lord's -witness), of everything thou hast seen and heard:"--that is, of that -which was nothing, and that which amounted to nothing. - -Unhappily, even this is not all: for, before the subject is concluded, -we must go back and take up once more the supposed premeditated and -studied speech, which, on the second occasion, the self-constituted -Apostle is supposed to have made to the Sub-king of the Jews, Agrippa, -sitting by the side of his superior--the Roman Proconsul, Festus. - -In the course of this long-studied speech,--to whom, is the -communication, such as it is,--to whom, in an immediate way, and without -the intervention of any other person, is it supposed to be made? Not to -Ananias;--not to any such superfluous and unknown personage;--not to -Ananias, but to Paul himself: viz. to the very person _by_ whom this -same communication, supposed to have been made to him, is supposed to be -reported (Acts xxvi. 16 to 18): to this principal, or rather, only -person concerned:--to this one person, the communication, such as it is, -and to him the whole of it at once, is supposed to be made. - -Here then is this Ananias discarded:--discarded with this vision of his, -and that other vision which we have seen within it: the communication, -which, speaking in the first place in his own person,--and then, on one -occasion, in the person of this same hero of his--the historian had just -been declaring, was made--not to Paul, but to Ananias;--this -all-important communication, speaking again in this same third person, -but on another occasion--the discourse being supposed to be a -long-studied one--he makes this same Paul declare, was given--not to any -Ananias, not to any other person--but directly to him, Paul, himself. - -Let us now see what it amounts to. In the most logical manner, it begins -with declaring the _purposes_ it is made for; and, when the purposes are -declared, all that it does is done. Ver. 16. "But now: rise, and stand -upon thy feet; for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose."...In -this purpose are several parts: let us look into them one by one. - -1. Part 1. "To make thee (says the Lord) a minister and a witness, both -of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I -will appear unto thee." But, as to the things which he had seen, by this -same account they amounted to nothing but a glare of light. Here then -was the light to _bear witness of_, if it was worth while: but, as to -the _ministering_, here was nothing at all to minister to: for the light -was past, and it required no ministering to, when it was present. Had it -been the light of a lamp--yes; but there was no lamp in the case. - -Thus much, as to these things which he had seen. Thereupon comes the -mention of those things "in the which, the Lord is supposed to say, I -will appear unto thee!" Here, as before, we have another put-off. If, in -the way in question, and of the sort in question, there had been -anything said, here was the time, the only time, for saying it. For -immediately upon the mention of this communication, such as it is, -follows the mention of what was due in consequence of it, in obedience -to the commands supposed to be embodied in it, and by the light of the -information supposed to be conveyed by it. "Whereupon, says he, King -Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision..." - -Part 2. The purpose continued.--"Delivering thee from the people, and -from the Gentiles, unto whom I now send thee." This, we see, is but a -continuation of the same put-off: no revelation, no doctrine, no Gospel -here. As to the doctrine--the Gospel--that Gospel which he preached, and -which he said was his own, no such Gospel is on this occasion given to -him; and, not being so much as reported to have been given to him on any -other occasion, was it not therefore of his own making, and without any -such supernatural assistance, as Christians have been hitherto made to -believe was given to him? - -As to the deliverance from the people and from the Gentiles, this is a -clause, put in with reference to the dangers, into which the -intemperance of his ambition had plunged him, and from whence in part it -had been his lot to escape. Here then the sub-king and his Roman -superior were desired to behold the accomplishment of a prophecy: but -the prophecy was of that sort which came after the fact.--"Unto whom now -I send thee..." In this they were desired to see a continuation of the -prophecy: for, as to this point, it was, in the hope of the prophet, of -the number of those, which not only announce, but by announcing -contribute to, their own accomplishment. - -Part 3. The purpose continued.--"To open their eyes, and to turn them -from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God..." Still -the same nothingness: to his life's end a man might be hearing stories -such as these, and still at the end of it be none the wiser:--no -additional doctrine--no additional gospel--no declaration at all--no -gospel at all--here. - -Part 4. The purpose continued and concluded... "that they may receive -forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by -faith that is in me." Good. But this is not doctrine; this is not -gospel; this is not itself the promised doctrine: but it is a -description of the effect, of which the promised doctrine was to be the -cause. - -Now it is, as we have just seen, that Paul is represented as commencing -his preaching, or sallying forth upon his mission; preaching, from -_instructions_ received in a supernatural way--received by revelation. -Yet, after all, no such _instructions_ has he received. Thrice has the -historian--once in his own person, twice in that of his hero--undertaken -to produce those instructions. But by no one, from first to last, have -they anywhere been produced. - -Truly, then, of his own making was this Gospel which Paul went -preaching; of his own making, as well as of his own using; that Gospel, -which he himself declares to his Galatians was not of man, was not, -therefore, of those Apostles, to whom the opposition made by him is thus -proclaimed. - -When, after having given in his own person an account of a supposed -occurrence,--an historian, on another occasion, takes up the same -occurrence; and, in the person of another individual, gives of that same -occurrence another account different from, and so different from, as to -be irreconcileable with it; can this historian, with any propriety, be -said to be himself a believer in this second account which he thus -gives? Instead of giving it as a true account, does he not, at any rate, -in respect of all the several distinguishable circumstances in which it -differs from the account given in his own person--give it in the -character of a fable? a fable invented on the occasion on which the -other person is supposed to speak--invented in the intent that it shall -promote the purpose for which this speech is supposed to be made? Yet -this account, which in the eyes of the very man by whom it is delivered -to us, is but a fable, even those to whom in this same character of a -fable it is delivered--this account it is that _Christians_ have thus -long persisted in regarding, supporting, and acting upon, as if it were -from beginning to end, a truth--a great body of truth!--O Locke! O -Newton! where was your discernment! - -On such evidence would any Judge fine a man a shilling? Would he give -effect to a claim to that amount? Yet such is the evidence, on the -belief of which the difference between happiness and misery, both in -intensity as well as duration, infinite, we are told, depends! - - -SECTION 5. - -VISION III.--PAUL'S ANTERIOR VISION, AS REPORTED BY THE LORD TO ANANIAS. - -By the nature of the acts which are the objects of it, the command, we -see, is necessarily pregnant with information: but now comes the -information given as such--the piece of information with which the -command is followed. This information--in and by which another, an -antecedent vision, is brought upon the carpet, and communicated--has -been reserved for a separate consideration. - -This information is in its complexion truly curious: to present a clear -view of it, is not an altogether easy task. The information thus given -by the Lord--given to this Ananias--this information, of which Paul is -the subject, is--what? that, on some former occasion, neither time nor -place mentioned, he, Ananias, to whom the Lord is giving the -information, had been seen by this same Paul performing, with a certain -intention, a certain action; the intention being--that, in relation to -this same Paul, a certain effect should be produced--to wit, that of his -receiving his sight. The Lord declares, Acts ix. 12, to Ananias, that -Paul "had _seen in a vision_ a man, Ananias himself, coming and putting -his hand on him, that he (Paul) might receive his sight." - -Well then--this action which the Lord thus informs Ananias that he, -Ananias, had performed,--did he, at any time and place, ever perform it? -Oh, no; that is not necessary: the question is not a fair one; for it -was only in a vision that it was performed. Well then--if it was only in -a vision that it was performed, then, in reality, it was never -performed. The Lord said that it had been performed; but in so saying -the Lord had said that which was not true. The Lord had caused him to -believe this--the Lord knowing all the while that it was not true. Such -is the deed, which, according to our historian, the Lord relates himself -to have achieved. - -But the _intention_, was that true? Oh, no; nor was there any need of -its being so: for the intention, with which the act was supposed to be -performed, was part and parcel of the divinely-taught untruth. - -The effect, the production of which had been the object of the -intention, was it then--had it then been--produced? Wait a little; no, -not at that time. But the time was not then as yet come; and now it is -coming apace. - -But this effect--what is it? a man's receiving his sight; this same -Paul's receiving his sight; this same Paul, of whom Ananias knew -nothing, nor had ever heard anything, except what he had just been -hearing--to wit, that, by a man of that name, he, Ananias, had once been -seen--seen to do so and so--he, all the while--he, the doer, knowing -nothing of what he was doing--knowing nothing at all about the matter. -However, only in a vision did all this pass; which being the case, no -proper subject of wonder was afforded to him by such otherwise somewhat -extraordinary ignorance. - -But this sight--which, at the hands of this seer of visions, to whom -this information is thus addressed, this stranger, whose name was still -_Saul_, was to receive--how happened it that it was to him, Ananias, -that he came to receive it? This faculty--at his birth, was he not, like -any other man, in possession of it? If he was, what was become of it? In -this particular, the information thus supposed to have been given by -Omniscience, was rather of the scantiest. - -Supposing the story to have any foundation in truth,--such, to Ananias, -it could not but have appeared; and, supposing him bold enough to ask -questions, or even to open his mouth, a question, in the view of finding -a supply for the deficiency, is what the assertion would naturally have -for its first result. No such curiosity, however, has Ananias: instead -of seeking at the hands of Omniscience an information, the demand for -which was so natural, the first use he makes of his speech, or rather -would have made of it, if, instead of being imagined in a vision, the -state of things in question had been true, is--the furnishing to -Omniscience a quantity of information of a sort in no small degree -extraordinary. For, hereupon begins a speech, in and by which Ananias -undertakes to give Omniscience to understand, what reports, in relation -to this same Paul, had reached his (Ananias's) ears. What he is willing -thus to _speak_ is more, however, than Omniscience is willing to _hear:_ -the story is cut short, and the story-teller bid to "go his way." "Then -Ananias," says the text, Acts ix. 13. "Then Ananias answered, Lord, I -have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints -at Jerusalem. And here he hath authority from the Chief Priests to bind -all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way; -for..." &c. - -But, though thus cut short, he is far from being in disgrace. So far -from it, that he is taken into confidence. Then comes--still in a -vision, and the same vision--information of the till then secret acts -and intentions of Omnipotence in relation to this same Paul: he had -actually been "chosen" as "a vessel to bear the Lord's name before the -Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:" and the determination -had been taken, says the Lord in this vision, "to show him how great -things he must suffer for my name's sake." "For I will show him," says -the Acts, ix. 16, "how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." -And, with the announcement thus made of this determination, the -historical account, thus by the historian in his own person given, of -this same vision, closes. - -Thus highly distinguished, and favoured with a confidence, equalling, if -not surpassing, any which, according to any of the Gospel accounts, -appears ever to have been imparted to any one of the Apostles, how comes -it that Ananias has never been put in the number of the _Saints?_ -meaning always the Calendar _Saints_--those persons, to wit, who, as a -mark of distinction and title of honour, behold their ordinary names -preceded by this extraordinary one? Still the answer is: Aye, but this -was but in vision: and of a vision one use is--that of the matter of -which all that there is _not_ a use for, is left to be taken for false; -all that there _is_ a use for, is taken, and is to pass, for true. When, -by the name of Ananias, who, humanly speaking, never existed but in -name, the service for which it was invented has been performed--to wit, -the giving a support to Paul and his vision,--it has done all that was -wanted of it: there is no, further use for it. - -Supposing that thirdly mentioned vision really seen, at what point of -time shall we place the seeing of it? In this too there seems to be no -small difficulty. - -Between the moment at which Paul is said to have had his vision, if a -vision that can be called in which, the time being midday, he saw -nothing but a glare of light,--between the moment of this vision, of -which a loss of sight was the instantaneous consequence--between the -moment of this loss of sight and the moment of the recovery of it, the -interval is mentioned: three days it was exactly. Acts ix. 9, "And he -was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink." - -The time during which, in verse 9, he has just been declared to have -been the whole time without sight,--this is the time, within which he is -declared--declared, if the historian is to be believed, declared by the -Lord himself--to have seen this introductory vision--this preparatory -vision, for which it is so difficult to find a use. And thus it is, that -in a vision, though _vision_ means seeing, it is not necessary a man -should have sight. - -Meantime, of all these matters, on which his own existence, not to speak -of the salvation of mankind, so absolutely depends, not a syllable is he -to know, but through the medium of this so perfectly obscure and -questionable personage--this personage so completely unknown to -him--this same Ananias. - -Three whole days he is kept from doing anything: during these three -whole days the business of the miracle stands still. For what purpose is -it thus kept at a stand? Is it that there might be time sufficient left -for his learning to see, when his sight is returned, this preparatory -vision, by which so little is done, and for which there is so little -use? - - -SECTION 6. - -VISIONS, WHY TWO OR THREE INSTEAD OF ONE. - -As to the matter of fact designated by the words _Paul's conversion_, so -far as regards _outward_ conversion, the truth of it is out of all -dispute:--that he was _converted, i.e._ that after having been a -persecutor of the votaries of the new religion, he turned full round, -and became a leader. Whether the so illustriously victorious effect, had -for its cause a supernatural intercourse of Paul with Jesus after his -resurrection and ascension, and thence for its accompaniment an _inward_ -conversion--in this lies the matter in dispute. - -From those, by whom, in its essential particular, the statement is -regarded as being true, a natural question may be--If the whole was an -invention of his own, to what cause can we refer the other vision, the -vision of Ananias? To what purpose should he have been at the pains of -inventing, remembering, and all along supporting and defending, the -vision of the unknown supposed associate? Answer.--To the purpose, it -should seem, of giving additional breadth to the basis of his -pretensions. - -Among that people, in those times, the story of a vision was so common -an article,--so difficultly distinguishable from, so easily confounded -with, on the one hand the true story of a dream, on the other hand a -completely false story of an occurrence, which, had it happened, would -have been a supernatural one, but which never did happen,--that a basis, -so indeterminate and aėrial, would seem to have been in danger of not -proving strong enough to support the structure designed to be reared -upon it. - -On the supposition of falsity, the case seems to be--that, to -distinguish his vision from such as in those days were to be found among -every man's stories, as well as in every history,--and which, while -believed by some, were disbelieved and scorned by others,--either Paul -or his historian bethought himself of this contrivance of a _pair_ of -visions:--a pair of corresponding visions, each of which should, by -reference and acknowledgment, bear witness and give support to the -other: a _pair_ of visions: for, for simplicity of conception, it seems -good not to speak any further, of the antecedent vision interwoven so -curiously in the texture of one of them, after the similitude of the -flower termed by some gardeners _hose in hose_. - -Of this piece of machinery, which in the present instance has been seen -played off with such brilliant success upon the theological theatre, the -glory of the invention may, it is believed, be justly claimed, if not by -Paul, by his historian. With the exception of one that will be mentioned -presently[11], no similar one has, upon inquiry, been found to present -itself, in any history, Jewish or Gentile. - -The other pair of visions there alluded to, is--that which is also to be -found in the Acts: one of them ascribed to Saint Peter, the other to the -centurion Cornelius. - -Paul, or his historian?--The alternative was but the suggestion of the -first moment. To a second glance the claim of the historian presents -itself as incontestable. In the case of Peter's pair of visions, suppose -the story the work of invention, no assignable competitor has the -historian for the honour of it: in the case of Paul's pair of visions, -supposing _that_ the only pair, the invention was at least as likely to -have been the work of the historian as of the hero: add to this pair the -other pair--that other pair that presents itself in this same work of -this same history--all competition is at an end. In the case of even the -most fertile genius, copying is an easier task than invention: -and, where the original is of a man's own invention, copying is -an operation still easier than in the opposite case. That an -occurrence thus curious should find so much as a single inventor, -is a circumstance not a little extraordinary: but, that two separate -wits should jump in concurrence in the production of it, is a -supposition that swells the extraordinariness, and with it the -improbability, beyond all bounds. - - -SECTION 7. - -COMMISSION TO PAUL BY JERUSALEM RULERS--COMMISSION TO BRING IN BONDS -DAMASCUS CHRISTIANS--PAUL'S CONTEMPT PUT UPON IT. - -Per Acts, in the historical account, is stated the existence of a -commission:--granters, the Jerusalem rulers; persons to whom addressed, -Paul himself at Jerusalem; and the synagogues, _i.e._ the rulers of the -synagogues, at Damascus: object, the bringing in custody, from Damascus -to Jerusalem, all Christians found there: all adult Christians at any -rate, females as well as males; at Paul's own _desire_, adds this same -historical account (ix. 2.); "for to be punished," adds Paul 1st -supposed unpremeditated oratorical account, xxii. 5. In the supposed -premeditated oratorical account, Paul 2nd, the existence of authority -and commission granted to him by the Chief Priests is indeed mentioned, -xxvi. 12: but, of the object nothing is said. - -In the unpremeditated oratorical account, such is the boldness of the -historian, nothing will serve him but to make the orator call to witness -the constituted authorities--the Jerusalem rulers--whoever they were, -that were present,--to acknowledge the treachery and the aggravated -contempt he had been guilty of towards themselves or their predecessors: -towards themselves, if it be in the literal sense that what on this -occasion he says is to be understood: "As also the High Priest doth bear -me witness, and all the estate of the Elders, from whom also I received -letters," &c., Acts xxii. 5. In the premeditated oratorical account, the -boldness of the orator is not quite so prominent; he says--it was "with -authority and commission from the Chief Priests" at Jerusalem, that he -went to Damascus; but, for the correctness of this statement of his, he -does not now call upon them, or any of them, to bear witness. - -In respect of the description of the persons, of whom the Jerusalem -rulers, exercising authority in their behalf, were composed,--the -conformity, as between the several accounts, is altogether entire. In -the historical account, it is the authority of the High Priest, and the -High Priest alone, that is exercised: in the unpremeditated oratorical -account, it is that of the High Priest and all the estate of the Elders: -in the premeditated account, it is that of the Chief Priests: nothing -said either of High Priests or Elders. - -Neither, in the supposed unpremeditated oratorical account, is it -stated--that, at the time and place of the tumult, the rulers thus -called to witness, or any of them, were actually on the spot. But, the -spot being contiguous to the Temple--the Temple, out of which Paul had -been that instant dragged, before there had been time enough for -accomplishing the determination that had been formed for killing -him,--the distance, between the spot, at which Paul with the surrounding -multitude was standing, Paul being under the momentary protection of the -Roman commander--between this spot and the spot, whatever it was, at -which the question might have been put to them, or some of them, could -not be great. - -On the part of the historian, the boldness, requisite for the ascribing -the correspondent boldness to the orator, may be believed without much -difficulty. The materials for writing being at hand, there was no more -danger in employing them in the writing of these words, than in the -writing of an equal number of other words. - -Not so on the part of the orator himself. For, supposing the appeal -made, the multitude might have saved themselves the trouble of putting -him to death: the constituted authorities whom he was thus -invoking--those rulers, against whom, by his own confession, he had -committed this treason--would have been ready enough to proceed against -him in the regular way, and take the business out of the hands of an -unauthorized mob. - -The truth of the story, and for that purpose the trustworthiness of the -historian, being to be defended at any rate,--by some people, all this -contradiction, all this mass of self-contradiction, will of course be -referred to _artlessness_, or, to take the choice of another eulogistic -word, to _simplicity:_ and, of trustworthiness, this amiable quality, -whatever may be the name given to it, will be stated as constituting -sufficient proof. No such design, as that of deceiving, inhabited, it -will be said, his artless bosom: no such design was he capable of -harbouring: for, supposing any such wicked design harboured by him, -could he have been thus continually off his guard? - -But--by all this self-contradiction, the quality really proved is--not -artlessness, but weakness: and, with the desire of deceiving, no degree -of weakness, be it ever so high, is incompatible. By weakness, when -risen even to insanity, artfulness is not excluded: and, in the -fashioning, from beginning to end, of all this story, art, we see, is by -no means deficient, how unhappily soever applied. - -But the story being such as it is, what matters it, as to the credence -due to it, in what state, in respect of probity, was the author's mind? -Being, as it is, to such a degree untrustworthy and incredible, as that, -in so many parts of it, it is impossible it should have been true, the -truth of it is impossible: what matters it then, whether it be to the -weakness of the moral, or to that of the intellectual, quarter of the -author's mind, that the falsity is to be ascribed? - -Not only in the whole does this history, anonymous as it is, present -satisfactory marks of _genuineness_,--that is, of being written by the -sort of person it professes to be written by, namely, a person who in -the course of Paul's last excursion was taken into his suite; but in -many parts, so does it of _historic verity_. True or not true,--like any -other history ancient or modern, it has a claim to be provisionally -taken for true, as to every point, in relation to which no adequate -reason appears for the contrary: improbability, for example, of the -supposed facts as related, contradictoriness to itself, -contradictoriness to other more satisfactory evidence, or probable -subjection to sinister and mendacity-prompting interest. - -But, under so much self-contradiction as hath been seen,--whether _bias_ -be or be not considered, could any, the most ordinary fact, be regarded -as being sufficiently proved? - -Meantime, let not any man make to himself a pretence for rejecting the -important position thus offered to his consideration;--let him not, for -fear of its being the truth, shut his eyes against that which is -presented to him as and for the truth;--let him not shut his eyes, on -any such pretence, as that of its being deficient in the quality of -_seriousness_. If, indeed, there be any such duty, religious or moral, -as that of _seriousness_; and that the stating as absurd that which is -really absurd is a violation of that duty;--at that rate, _seriousness_ -is a quality, incompatible with the delivery and perception of truth on -all subjects, and in particular on this of the most vital importance: -seriousness is a disposition to cling to falsehood, and to reject truth. -In no part has any ridicule _ab extra_, been employed:--ridicule, by -allusion made to another object, and that an irrelevant one.[12] - - -SECTION 8. - -COMPANIONS--HAD PAUL ANY UPON THE ROAD? - -Meantime, if all these miraculous visions and other miracles must needs -be supposed,--a cluster of other miracles, though not mentioned, must be -supposed along with them: miracles, for the production of which a still -greater mass of supernatural force must have been expended. Here, their -existence being supposed, here were those companions of his, who, -unknown in names and number, saw or saw not all or anything that he saw, -and heard or heard not all or anything that he heard. These men, at any -rate, if so it be that they themselves, blind or not blind, led him, as -it is said they did, into the city, because he could not see to guide -himself,--must, in some way or other, have perceived that something in -no small degree extraordinary had happened to him: so extraordinary, -that, in the condition in which he was, and in which, if they saw -anything, they saw him to be--no such commission, as that, for the -execution of which, if, as well as companions, they were his destined -assistants, they were put under his command,--could, in any human -probability, receive execution at his hands. If they were apprised of -this commission of his, could they, whether with his consent or even -without his consent, avoid repairing to the constituted authorities to -tell them what had happened? This commission of his, so important in -itself, and granted to a man of letters by men of letters, could not but -have been in writing: and accordingly, in the form of letters we are, by -the historian, expressly informed it was. Of the existence of these -letters, on the tenor of which their future proceedings as well as his -depended,--these conductors of his, if _he_ did not, with or without his -consent would of course have given information, to the rulers to whom -these same letters were addressed. Not being struck dumb, nor having, -amongst the orders given by the voice, received any order to keep -silence, or so much as to keep secret anything of what little they had -heard, they would scarcely, under these circumstances, have maintained -either silence or secrecy. The historian, knowing what he (the -historian) intended to do with his hero--knowing that, at three days' -end, he intended not only to make scales fall from his eyes, but to fill -his belly,--might not feel any great anxiety on his account. But Paul -himself, if he, in the condition he is represented in by the -historian,--was, for three days together, with scales on his eyes, and -nothing in his stomach: and, at the end of the three days, as ignorant -as at the beginning, whether the scales would, at any time, and when, -drop off, and his stomach receive a supply: in such a state surely, a -man could not but feel a curiosity, not unattended with impatience, to -know when and how all this was to end. Under these circumstances, by -some means or other, would all these tongues have been to be stopped: -otherwise, instead of the house of Judas in Straight-street, Paul might -have had no other place, to receive his visitor in, than the town jail, -or some one other of those strong places, into which visitors do not -always find it more easy to gain entrance, than inmates to get out. - -These tongues then--Paul's tongue, his companions' tongues--this -assemblage of tongues, all so strongly urged to let themselves loose--by -what could they have been stopped? If, by anything, by a correspondent -cluster of miracles--nothing less. - -That, from Jerusalem, about the time in question, Paul went to -Damascus,--and that it was with some such letters in his -possession,--seems, as will be seen presently, altogether -probable;--also, that when there, he acted in the way his historian -speaks of, betraying the confidence reposed in him by the constituted -authorities, and joining with those whom he had solicited and received a -commission to destroy;--that these were among the circumstances of his -alleged conversion, seems probable enough:--though he, with all the need -he had of miracles, if any were to be had, gives not--in what he -himself, writing to his Galatian converts, says of his conversion--any -of the slightest hint of them. - -As to his conversion--meaning his _outward_ conversion, which was all -that was necessary to the production of the effect so notoriously -produced by him--to _that_, it will be seen, no miracle was necessary: -nothing but what belonged to the ordinary course of things. As to -companions on the journey--whether he had any or not; and if he had any, -whether they were attendants on his orders, or acquaintances of his not -under his orders; or mere strangers into whose company accident threw -him--all this we must satisfy ourselves, as well as we can, under the -ignorance of. - -That, for giving effect, by his means, to the sort of commission he went -entrusted with, the power of local authorities was trusted to, is a -supposition altogether natural. For bringing to Jerusalem "bound, for to -be punished (Acts ix. 2. xxii. 4), all the Christians that could be -found in Damascus, both men and women," if the Damascus rulers were -favourable to the persecuting design, no large force from Jerusalem -could be needful. Even a small one would be superfluous: and, by a -force, great or small, sent from the one set of constituted authorities, -a slight would be shown to the other. - - -SECTION 9. - -IN PAUL'S EPISTLE TO HIS GALATIANS,--BY HIS SILENCE, ACTS' ACCOUNTS OF -HIS CONVERSION ARE VIRTUALLY CONTRADICTED. - -Of Paul's _outward_ conversion--conversion from the character of an -authorized persecutor of the religion of Jesus, to that of a preacher of -a religion preached in the name of Jesus--such, as we have seen, is the -account given in the Acts; given by the author of the Acts, and by him -alone. For, what ought never to be out of mind, if instead of two -different accounts--declared by him as having been, on different -occasions, delivered by Paul--he had given two hundred, still they -would have been his:--not Paul's, but his. - -All this while, now for little less than 1800 years, from Paul's own pen -we have an account of this his conversion: and, of any such story as -that of its being effected through the instrumentality of visions,--in -this account of his, not any the slightest trace is to be found;--not -any the slightest allusion to it. - -At the time of his giving this account--supposing this story of the mode -of his conversion true--supposing even that, though false, it had been -got up and propagated--at the time of his giving the account which bears -such unquestionable marks of being his, was the occasion such as to -render it probable, that he could thus have omitted all allusion, to an -occurrence at once so extraordinary and so important? If not, then so it -is--that, by the silence of Paul himself, the story related by his -historian is virtually contradicted. - -The occasion here in view is--that of his writing the so often -mentioned, and so often about to be mentioned, Epistle to his Galatian -disciples. - -At the time of his writing this letter, so we shall have occasion to see -over and over again in the tenor of it, he was acting in -opposition--declared and violent opposition--to the Apostles: struggling -with them for the mastery; declaring that to them he was not beholden -for anything;--that the Gospel he preached was not their Gospel, but a -Gospel of his own, received by him directly from Jesus;--declaring, that -in Jerusalem itself, the seat of their authority, he had preached this -Gospel of his, which was not theirs; but confessing, at the same time, -that when he did so, it was in a secret manner, for fear of the -opposition, which he well knew, had they known of it, they could not -but have made to it. - -In this state of contention--supposing any such miracle as that in -question wrought in his favour--was it in the nature of the case that he -should have failed to avail himself of it?--to avail himself of the -account which the truth--the important truth--would have so well -warranted him in giving of it? Supposing it true, had there at that time -been witnesses to it--any percipient witnesses--the supposed -Ananias--the supposed companions on the road,--would he have failed -making his appeal to their testimony? Supposing even that there were -none such left, the truth of the occurrence--of an occurrence of such -momentous importance, would it not have inspired him with boldness, -sufficient for the assertion of it, with all that intensity for which -the case itself furnished so sufficient a warrant, and which the -vehemence of his character would have rendered it so impossible for him -to avoid? Supposing even the story an utter falsehood, yet, had it been -at this time got up and promulgated, could he, if he saw any tolerable -prospect of its obtaining credence, have failed to endeavour to avail -himself of it? - -No, surely. Yet, in this his address, made to his Galatian disciples, -and to all such inhabitants of that country, as he could see a prospect -of numbering among his disciples--in this address, written under a sense -of the necessity he was under, of making for his support against the -Apostles, the most plausible case his ingenuity could enable him to -make,--not any, so much as the slightest, hint of any such miracle, does -he venture to give. _Revelation! revelation!_--on this single word--on -the ideas, which, in the minds with which he had to deal, he hoped to -find associated with that word--on this ground, without any other, did -he see himself reduced to seek support in his contest with the Apostles. -Revelation? revelation from Jesus? from the Lord, speaking from heaven? -from the Almighty? On what occasion, in what place, at what time, in -what company, if in any, was it thus received? To no one of these -questions does he venture to furnish an answer--or so much as an -allusion to an answer. Why?--even because he had none to give. He had -been a persecutor of the disciples of Jesus--this he confesses and -declares: he became a preacher in the name of Jesus--this he also -declares; a preacher in the name of him, of whose disciples--the whole -fellowship of them--he had been a persecutor--a blood-thirsty and -blood-stained persecutor. His conversion, whatever it amounted to, how -came it about? what was the cause, the time, the place, the mode of it; -who the percipient witnesses of it? To all these questions, -_revelation_; in the single word is contained all the answer, which--in -this letter--in this plea of his--he, audacious as he was, could summon -up audacity enough to give. Why, on so pressing an occasion, this -forbearing? Why? but that, had he ventured to tell any such story, that -story being a false one, there were his opponents--there were the -Apostles, or men in connection with the Apostles--to contradict it--to -confute it. - -Had he made reference to any specific, to any individual, portion of -place and time, the pretended facts might have found themselves in -contradiction with some real and provable facts. But, time as well as -place being left thus unparticularized,--he left himself at liberty, on -each occasion, if called upon for time or place, to assign what portion -of time and place the occasion should point out to him as being most -convenient;--best adapted to the purpose of giving lodgment to an -appropriate falsity;--and without danger, or with little danger, of -exposure. - -At distinct and different times, _five_ interviews we shall see him -have, with the Apostles--one or more of them: the first interview -being,--according to his own account, as given in this very Epistle,--at -little if anything more, than three years' distance from the time of his -quitting the occupation of persecution. Then, says he, it was, Gal. i. -17 and 18, that "I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him -fifteen days." In all these days, is it possible, that, if the -conversion miracle had really taken place as stated in the Acts, with -the companions on the road and Ananias for witnesses,--he should not -have related to Peter, and, if not spontaneously, at any rate in answer -to such questions as a man in Peter's situation could not fail to put, -have brought to view, every the minutest circumstance? This then was the -time--or at least _one_ time--of his trial, on the question, _revelation -or no revelation_. Here then, when, with such vehemence, declaring--not -his independence merely, but his superiority, in relation to the -Apostles--and _that_ on no other ground than this alleged revelation, -was it, had the judgment in that trial been in his favour--was it -possible, that he should have omitted to avail himself of it? Yet no -such attempt, we see, does he make:--no attempt, to avail himself of -the issue of the trial, or of anything that passed on the occasion of -it. Altogether does he keep clear of any allusion to it: and indeed, if -his historian--the author of the Acts--is to be believed,--with very -good reason: for, whatever it was that, on that occasion, he said, in -the Acts it is expressly declared that, by the disciples at least, he -was utterly disbelieved. Acts ix. 26: "He assayed to join himself to the -disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was -a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the Apostles," &c. -Why it was, that, after the disciples had thus unanimously declared him -and his story unworthy of credit, the Apostles gave him notwithstanding -a sort of reception;--and that, by no countenance, which they on that -occasion gave him, was any ground afforded, for the supposition that any -more credence was given to him and his story, by them than by the -disciples at large,--will be explained in its place. - - - - -TABLE II.--PAUL DISBELIEVED. - - TABLE--_Showing, at one View, the Passages, from which the - Inference is drawn, that Paul's inward Conversion was never - believed, by any of the Apostles, or their Disciples._ - -_Explanations._--The Interviews here seen are between Paul and one or -more Apostles. Number of Interviews five,--of Visits the same: whereof, -by Paul to Peter, four,--by Peter to Paul,--one: besides the one -supposed fictitious. Of the Accounts, Paul's as far as it goes, is taken -for the standard. Of Paul's Epistles the genuineness is out of dispute: -Acts history is anonymous. Paul's evidence is that of an alleged -percipient witness. His historian's,--as to these matters, mostly that -of a narrator,--narrating--but from hearsay, Probably from Paul's. - - -INTERVIEWS, A.D. 35 (I); A.D. 52 (III). - -As per Paul, Gal. A.D. 58. - -1. _Introduction._ - -Gal. 1:1. "Paul, an apostle, not from men, neither through man, but -through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead, -and all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: -Grace to you and peace from God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, -who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this -present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father: to whom -be the glory for ever and ever. Amen." - -2. _Independence Declared._ - -Gal. 1:6. "I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called -you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel; which is not another -gospel: only there are some that trouble you, and would pervert the -gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach -unto you any gospel other than that which we preached unto you, let him -be anathema. As we have said before, so say I now again, if any man -preacheth unto you any gospel other than that which ye received, let him -be anathema. For am I now persuading men, or God? or am I seeking to -please men? if I were still pleasing men, I should not be a servant of -Christ. - -"For I make known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was -preached by me, that it is not after man. For neither did I receive it -from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of -Jesus Christ." - - -3. _Conversion Spoken Of._ - -Ver. 13. "For ye have heard of my manner of life in time past in the -Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, -and made havock of it: and I advanced in the Jews' religion beyond many -of mine own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for -the traditions of my fathers. But when it was the good pleasure of God, -who separated me, even from my mother's womb and called me through his -grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the -Gentiles; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: neither went -I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me: but I went away -into Arabia; and again I returned unto Damascus." - - -4. _Account of Interview I._ - -Ver. 18. "Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, -and tarried with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, -save James the Lord's brother. Now touching the things which I write -unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. Then I came into the regions of -Syria and Cilicia. And I was still unknown by face unto the churches of -Judea which were in Christ: but they only heard say, He that once -persecuted us now preacheth the faith of which he once made havock; and -they glorified God in me." - - -5. _Account of Interview III. II._ - -Gal. 2:1. "Then after the space of fourteen years I went up again to -Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus also with me. And I went up by -revelation; and I laid before them the gospel which I preach among the -Gentiles, but privately before them who were of repute, lest by any -means I should be running, or had run, in vain. But not even Titus who -was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: and that -because of the false brethren privily brought in, who came in privily to -spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring -us into bondage: to whom we gave place in the way of subjection, no, not -for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you. But -from those who were reputed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it -maketh no matter to me: God accepteth not man's person)--they, I say, -who were of repute imparted nothing to me: but contrariwise, when they -say that I had been intrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, -even as Peter with the gospel of the circumcision, for he that wrought -for Peter unto the apostleship of the circumcision wrought for me also -unto the Gentiles." - - -6. _Partition Treaty._ - -Ver. 9. "And when they perceived the grace that was given unto me, -James and Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars, gave to -me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto -the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision; only they would that we -should remember the poor; which very thing I was also zealous to do." - - -7. _Jealousy, Notwithstanding._ - -Ver. 11. "But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I resisted him to the -face, because he stood condemned. For before that certain came from -James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they came, he drew back -and separated himself, fearing them that were of the circumcision. And -the rest of the Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that even -Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that -they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said -unto Cephas before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest as do the -Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, how compellest thou the Gentiles to -live as do the Jews? We being Jews by nature, and not sinners of the -Gentiles, yet knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the -law, save through faith in Jesus Christ, even we believed on Christ -Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the -works of the law: because by the works of the law shall no flesh be -justified. But if, while we sought to be justified in Christ, we -ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a minister of sin? God -forbid. For if I build up again those things which I destroyed, I prove -myself a transgressor. For I through the law died unto the law, that I -might live unto God. I have been crucified with Christ; yet I live; and -yet no longer I, but Christ liveth in me: and that life which I now live -in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who -loved me, and gave himself up for me. I do not make void the grace of -God: for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for -nought." - - -INTERVIEW I. A.D. 35. - -_Paul's Jerusalem Visit I._ - -Reconciliation Visit. - -(_Departure from Damascus._) - -Acts 9:23-30. "And when many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel -together to kill him: but their plot became known to Saul. And they -watched the gates also day and night that they might kill him: but his -disciples took him by night, and let him down through the wall, lowering -him in a basket." - -(_Arrival at Jerusalem--Results._) - -Ver. 26. "And when he was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself -to the disciples: and they were all afraid of him, not believing that he -was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, -and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he -had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the -name of Jesus. And he was with them going in and going out at Jerusalem, -preaching boldly in the name of the Lord." - -(_Departure--Cause._) - -Ver. 29. "And he spake and disputed against the Grecian Jews; but they -went about to kill him. And when the brethren knew it, they brought him -down to Cęsarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus." - - -INTERVIEW I. A.D. 35. - -_Departure--Cause._ - -In Paul's First Account. - -Acts 22:17-21. "And it came to pass, that, when I had returned to -Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, and -saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of -Jerusalem: because they will not receive of thee testimony concerning -me. And I said, Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in -every synagogue them that believed on thee: and when the blood of -Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting, -and keeping the garments of them that slew him. And he said unto me, -Depart: for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles." - - -INTERVIEW II. A.D. 43. - -_Paul's Jerusalem Visit II._ - -Money-Bringing Visit. - -Acts 11:22-30. "And the report concerning them came to the ears of the -church which was in Jerusalem: and then sent forth Barnabas as far as -Antioch: who, when he was come, and had seen the grace of God, was glad; -and he exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave -unto the Lord: for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of -faith: and much people was added unto the Lord. And he went forth to -Tarsus to seek for Saul: and when he had found him, he brought him unto -Antioch. And it came to pass, that even for a whole year they were -gathered together with the church, and taught much people; and that the -disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. - -"Now in these days there came down prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. -And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit -that there should be a great famine over all the world: which came to -pass in the days of Claudius. And the disciples, every man according to -his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren that dwelt in -Judea: which also they did, sending it to the elders by the hand of -Barnabas and Saul." - - -INTERVIEW III. A.D. 52. - -_Paul's Jerusalem Visit III._ - -Deputation Visit. - -As per ACTS xv. 1-21. - -Acts 25:1-23. "And certain men came down from Judea and taught the -brethren, saying, Except ye be circumcised after the custom of Moses, -ye cannot be saved. And when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension -and questioning with them, the brethren appointed that Paul and -Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the -apostles and elders about this question. They therefore, being brought -on their way by the church, passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, -declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto -all the brethren. And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were -received of the church and the apostles and the elders, and they -rehearsed all things that God had done with them. But there arose up -certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed, saying, It is needful -to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses. - -"And the apostles and the elders were gathered together to consider of -this matter. And when there had been much questioning Peter rose up, and -said unto them, - -"Brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among you, -that by my mouth the Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and -believe. And God, which knoweth the heart, bare them witness, giving -them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; and he made no distinction -between us and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now therefore why -tempt ye God, that ye should put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, -which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that -we shall be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, in like manner as -they. - -"And all the multitude kept silence; and they hearkened unto Barnabas -and Paul rehearsing what signs and wonders God had wrought among the -Gentiles by them. And after they had held their peace, James answered, -saying, - -"Brethren, hearken unto me: Symeon hath rehearsed how first God did -visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. And to -this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, - - "After these things I will return, - And I will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen; - And I will build again the ruins thereof, - And I will set it up: - That the residue of men may seek after the Lord, - And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, - Saith the Lord, who maketh these things known from the beginning - of the world. - -"Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not them which from among the -Gentiles turn to God; but that we write unto them, that they abstain -from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from what is -strangled, and from blood. For Moses from generations of old hath in -every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every -sabbath." - - -INTERVIEW IV. A.D. 52. - -_Peter's Visit to Antioch._ - -Acts 15:22-33. "Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with -the whole church, to chose men out of their company, and send them to -Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely, Judas called Barsabbas, and -Silas, chief men among the brethren: and they wrote thus by them, The -apostles and the elder brethren unto the brethren which are of the -Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greeting: Forasmuch as we -have heard that certain which went out from us have troubled you with -words, subverting your souls; to whom we gave no commandment; it seemed -good unto us, having come to one accord, to choose out men and send them -unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded -their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent -therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves also shall tell you the same -things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to -us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; that -ye abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from -things strangled, and from fornication; from which if ye keep -yourselves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well. - -"So they, when they were dismissed, came down to Antioch; and having -gathered the multitude together, they delivered the epistle. And when -they had read it, they rejoiced for the consolation. And Judas and -Silas, being themselves also prophets, exhorted the brethren with many -words, and confirmed them. And after they had spent some time there, -they were dismissed in peace from the brethren unto those that had sent -them forth." - - -INTERVIEW A.D. 52. - -_Paul's Visit._ - -As per ACTS xviii. 19-23. - -(_Supposed Fictitious._) - -"And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there: but he himself -entered into the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. And when they -asked him to abide a longer time, he consented not; but taking his leave -of them and saying, I will return again unto you, if God will, he set -sail from Ephesus. And when he had landed at Cęsarea, he went up and -saluted the church, and went down to Antioch. And having spent some time -there, he departed, and went through the region of Galatia and Phrygia -in order, stablishing all the disciples." - - -INTERVIEW V. A.D. 60. - -_Paul's Jerusalem Visit IV._ - -Invasion Visit. - -(_Visit Proposed. A.D._ 56.) - -Acts 19:20-21. "Now after these things were ended, Paul purposed in the -spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to -Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome. And -having sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, Timothy -and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while." - -(_Visit Again Proposed. A.D._ 60.) - -Acts 20:16. "For Paul had determined to sail past Ephesus, that he might -not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hastening, if it were -possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost. - -"And from Miletus he went to Ephesus, and called to him the elders of -the church. And when they were come to him, he said unto them, - -"Ye yourselves know, from the first day that I set foot in Asia, after -that manner I was with you all the time, serving the Lord with all -lowliness of mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell me by -the lots of the Jews: how that I shrank not from declaring unto you -anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly, and from house -to house, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks repentance toward God, -and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in -the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me -there: save that the Holy Ghost testifieth unto me in every city, saying -that bonds and afflictions abide me. But I hold not my life of any -account, as dear unto myself, so that I may accomplish my course, and -the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel -of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I -went about preaching the kingdom, shall see my face no more." - -Acts 21:7-9. "And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre, we arrived -at Ptolemais; and we saluted the brethren, and abode with them one day. -And on the morrow we departed, and came unto Cęsarea: and entering into -the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode -with him. Now this man had four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy." - -(_Visit Opposed. A.D._ 60.) - -Ver. 10. "And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judea -a certain prophet, named Agabus. (See Acts xi. 27.) - -"And coming to us, and taking Paul's girdle, he bound his own feet and -hands, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at -Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him -into the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these things, both we -and they of that place besought him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul -answered, What do ye, weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready not -to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord -Jesus. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will -of the Lord be done." - - -INTERVIEW V. A.D. 60. - -_Paul's Jerusalem Visit IV._ - -Invasion Visit--Results. - -_Arrival._ - -Acts 21:15-36. "And after these days we took up our baggage, and went up -to Jerusalem. And there went with us also certain of the disciples from -Cęsarea, bringing with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, -with whom we should lodge. - -"And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly." - -_Test, Proposed for Riddance._ - -"And the day following Paul went in with us unto James; and all the -elders were present. And when he had saluted them, he rehearsed one by -one the things which God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. -And they, when they heard it, glorified God; and they said unto him, -Thou seest, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of them -which have believed; and they are all zealous for the law: and they have -been informed concerning thee, that thou teachest all the Jews which are -among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise -their children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it therefore? -they will certainly hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that we -say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; these take, and -purify thyself with them, and be at charges for them, that they may -shave their heads: and all shall know that there is no truth in the -things whereof they have been informed concerning thee; but that thou -thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law. But as touching the -Gentiles which have believed, we wrote, giving judgment that they -should keep themselves from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, -and from what is strangled, and from fornication." - -_The Test Swallowed._ - -"Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them -went into the temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of -purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them." - -_Indignation Universal._ - -"And when the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when -they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude, and laid hands -on him, crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth -all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place: and -moreover he brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath defiled this -holy place. For they had before seen with him in the city Trophimus the -Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple. And -all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they laid hold -on Paul, and dragged him out of the temple: and straightway the doors -were shut. And as they were seeking to kill him, tidings came up to the -chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in confusion. And -forthwith he took soldiers and centurions, and ran down upon them: and -they, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, left off beating -Paul. Then the chief captain came near, and laid hold on him, and -commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and -what he had done. And some shouted one thing, some another, among the -crowd: and when he could not know the certainty for the uproar, he -commanded him to be brought into the castle. And when he came upon the -stairs, so it was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of -the crowd; for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, -Away with him." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Of the word _conversion_, as employed everywhere and in all times in -speaking of Paul, commonly called Saint Paul, the import has been found -involved in such a cloud, as, on pain of perpetual misconception, it has -been found necessary, here at the outset, to clear away. That, from -being an ardent and destructive persecutor of the disciples of the -departed Jesus, he became their collaborator, and in _that_ sense their -ally,--preaching, in speech, and by writing, a religion under the name -of the religion of Jesus, assuming even the appellation of an _Apostle_ -of Jesus,--_Apostle_, that is to say, special envoy--(that being the -title by which the twelve most confidential servants of Jesus stood -distinguished), is altogether out of dispute. That in this sense he -became a _convert_ to the religion of Jesus, and that in this sense his -alleged conversion was real, is accordingly in this work not only -admitted, but affirmed. Few points of ancient history seem more -satisfactorily attested. In this sense then he was converted beyond -dispute. Call this then his _outward conversion_; and say, Paul's -_outward conversion_ is indubitable. But, that this conversion had for -its cause, or consequence, any supernatural intercourse with the -Almighty, or any belief in the supernatural character of Jesus himself; -this is the position, the erroneousness of which has, in the eyes of the -author, been rendered more and more assured, the more closely the -circumstances of the case have been looked into. That, in speech and -even in action, he was in outward appearance a convert to the religion -of Jesus; this is what is admitted: that, inwardly, he was a convert to -the religion of Jesus, believing Jesus to be God, or authorized by any -supernatural commission from God; this is the position, the negative of -which it is the object of the present work to render as evident to the -reader, as a close examination has rendered it to the author. The -consequence, the practical consequence, follows of itself. In the way of -doctrine, whatsoever, being in the Epistles of Paul is not in any one of -the Gospels, belongs to Paul, and Paul alone, and forms no part of the -religion of Jesus. This is what it seemed necessary to state at the -opening; and to this, in the character of a conclusion, the argument -will be seen all along to tend. - -[2] See Ch. 15. Paul's supposable miracles explained. - -[3] In regard to the matter testified, that is, in regard to the object -of the testimony; it is, first of all, a requisite condition, that what -is reported to be true should be possible, both absolutely, or as an -object of the elaborative Faculty, and relatively, or as an object of -the Presentative Faculties,--Perception, External or Internal. A thing -is possible absolutely, or in itself, when it can be construed to -thought, that is, when it is not inconsistent with the logical laws of -thinking; a thing is relatively possible as an object of perception, -External or Internal, when it can affect Sense or Self-consciousness, -and, through such affection, determine its apprehension by one or other -of these faculties. - -A testimony is, therefore, to be unconditionally rejected, if the fact -which it reports be either in itself impossible, or impossible as an -object of the representative faculties. - -But the impossibility of a thing, as an object of these faculties, must -be decided either upon physical, or upon metaphysical, principles. - -A thing is physically impossible as an object of sense, when the -existence itself, or its perception by us, is, by the laws of the -material world impossible.--Hamilton's Logic 460.--Ed. - -[4] "_Light_,--great _Light_."--It will be noticed that this "light" is -presented first objectively as a phenomenon, a thing, But what is -"light"? The universal answer is "That force in nature which, acting on -the Retina of the eye produces the sensation we call vision." This -vision is the total of the subjective effect of that agency of Nature, -the subjective realization through the functions of the Cerebellum. But -functions are accomplished through agencies called organs. The retina is -one of these organs. Through the operations of these organs and -cerebellum subjective apprehension is produced as an effect, but in some -cases of very forcible apprehensions they are interpreted as a diseased -condition of the organs of sense. Ideas sometimes acquire unusual -vividness and permanence and are, therefore, peculiarly liable to be -mistaken for their objective prototypes and hence specters, spectral -allusions which are very common in cases of emotional excitement. - -Further, it will be noticed all the time that the reporter, Luke, wrote -what Paul, or some other person or rumor had previously communicated to -him. Now Luke, was accustomed to pen these wonders, these superhuman -Chimerical prodigies. Take the example of the trial of Stephen, Acts 7. -After the Charges of the Complainants, Ib. 6-9, "Libertines" and others -had been heard by the High Priest, he inquired of Stephen personally as -to the verity of the charges, And Luke reports his responses, And then -to make sure of portraying fully the Emotional conditions of the -witnesses and the spectators, he reports, V. 54. "When they heard these -things, they were cut to the heart and they grabed on him with their -teeth; but he, Stephen, being full of the Holy Ghost looked up -steadfastly into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at -the right hand of God, and said, Behold I see the heavens opened, and -the son of man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out -with a loud voice, and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one -accord, and cast him out of the City and stoned him, and the witnesses -laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was Saul." - -This Saul, now Paul, must have acted as overseer or umpire. Paul, is by -chronologers reckoned to have been about 12 years of age; But it will be -seen that Luke, the narrator, is just such a superserviceable witness as -wholly impairs his credibility. He says first, Stephen was in fact -filled with the Holy Ghost, saw the glory of God, for he evidently was -gloriable, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God; and that in -addition thereto he states that Stephen, said he saw the same -wonders--with the addition that the heavens were opened, &c. If he had -been cross-examined and asked whether little Paul, did not behold all -these wonders, he no doubt would have answered in the affirmative and -volunteered the statement, That they all saw these wonders, the high -priest, the accusers, by-standers, and human canines that gnashed their -teeth upon Stephen. Consult any author on Psychology on the subject of -Emotions, Exstatic illusions, &c. - -But in the assembly inquisitors of Stephen, Paul and others before the -high priests, what special law or cannons were they accused of -violating? Answer, one cannon is quite conspicuous, to wit:--Ex. 22:28. -"Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse the ruler of the people." - -When the inquisitor the high priest found the accused guilty, he was -delivered over to the witnesses for execution. The detectives enjoyed -the luxury of doing the stoning. If Christ's limitation had been in use, -to wit:--that none but the guiltless should throw stones, the accusing -sleuths might have been less zealous.--Ed. - -[5] Historiographer is used purposely by the author to denote a -specialist for the occasion. - -[6] "Goad" is the word used in the Douay Testament and in the late -revisions of The Protestants. - -[7] Cor. 15:8--"As unto one born out of due time, He appeared unto me -also." - -[8] Another question that here presents itself is--How could it have -happened that, Jerusalem being under one government, and Damascus under -another (if so the case was), the will of the local rulers at Jerusalem -found obedience, as it were of course, at the hands of the adequate -authorities at Damascus? To the question how this _actually_ happened, -it were too much to undertake to give an answer. For an answer to the -question how it may be _conceived_ to have happened, reference may be -made to existing English practice. The warrant issued by the constituted -authorities in Jerusalem expected to find, and found accordingly in -Damascus, an adequate authority disposed to back it. In whatsoever -Gentile countries Jews, in a number sufficient to compose a synagogue, -established themselves, a habit naturally enough took place, as of -course, among them--the habit of paying obedience, to a considerable -extent, to the functionaries who were regarded as rulers of the -synagogue. Few are or have been the conquered countries, in which some -share of subordinate power has not been left, as well to the natives of -the conquered nation as to any independent foreigners, to whom, in -numbers sufficient to constitute a sort of corporate body, it happened -from time to time to have become settlers. After all, what must be -confessed is--that, in all this there seems nothing but what might -readily enough have been conceived, without its having been thus -expressed. - -[9] It is well known that this dogma of Original sin--a disease that the -human family enjoys by sad inheritance, Christ treated with negligible -indifference. He dealt with the problems of man in a social state, as -socially conditioned only. A human being conditioned as isolated from -neighbors, friends and society, he did not as he scientifically could -not deal with, He discoursed upon social duties, however sublimely, N.B. -Acts 18:15, "But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go and rebuke -him between thee and him alone, If he shall hear thee thou hast gained -thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or -two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be -established. And if he shall neglect to hear them then tell it unto the -church. And if he neglect to hear the church, let him be to thee as the -heathen and publican, Amen I say unto you, Whatsoever you shall bind on -earth, shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever you shall loose on -earth shall be loosed also in heaven." - -Now without quibbling about the translation this scheme of social -arbitration contains the ultimate of justice, It contains the only -working hypothesis within any social condition of mankind. There is no -such thing as justice in the abstract or concrete, It is like heat and -electricity, a mere mode of motion, a form of action. And when a -controversy between Citizens is fairly submitted to the judgment of -normal men the voice of their consciousness, being the ultimate organ of -nature's Creator, must be "binding" so far as man is concerned socially. - -And as there does not appear to the natural man any appeal to heaven, -the arbitrament of man in the special case carries the seal of the -eternities and forecloses all further controversy. The speech of the -honorable Consciousness of Man is the voice of the Creator of his -personality.--Ed. - -[10] Since what is in the text was written, maturer thoughts have -suggested an interpretation, by which, if received, the sad inferences -presented by the doctrine, that misdeeds, and consequent suffering that -have had place, could by a dip into a piece of water be caused never to -have happened, may be repelled. According to this interpretation, the -act of being baptized--the bodily act--is one thing; an act of washing -away the sins--the spiritual act--another. The effect produced is--not -the causing the misdeeds and sufferings never to have had place, but the -causing them to be compensated for, by acts productive of enjoyment, or -of saving in the article of sufferings, to an equal or greater amount. - -[11] See Ch. xvii. §. v. 4. Peter's and Cornelius's visions. - -[12] See Bentham's _Church of Englandism examined_. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - - _Outward Conversion--how produced--how planned._ - - -SECTION 1. - -MOTIVE, TEMPORAL ADVANTAGE--PLAN. - -How flourishing the state of the church had at this period become, will -be seen more fully in another place. Long before this period,--numbers -of converts, in Jerusalem alone, above three thousand. The aggregate, of -the property belonging to the individuals, had been formed into one -common fund: the management--too great a burden for the united labours -of the eleven Apostles, with their new associate Mathias--had, under the -name so inappositely represented at present by the English word -_deacon_, been committed to seven trustees; one of whom, Stephen, had, -at the instance of Paul, been made to pay, with his life, for the -imprudence, with which he had, in the most public manner, indulged -himself, in blaspheming the idol of the Jews--their temple.[13] - - -Of that flourishing condition, Paul, under his original name of Saul, -had all along been a witness. While carrying on against it that -persecution, in which, if not the original instigator, he had been a -most active instrument, persecuting, if he himself, in what he is made -to say, in Acts xxii. 4, is to be believed,--"persecuting unto the -death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women;"--while -thus occupied, he could not in the course of such his disastrous -employment, have failed to obtain a considerable insight into the state -of their worldly affairs. - -Samaria--the field of the exploits and renown of the great sorcerer -Simon, distinguished in those times by the name of _Magus_--Samaria, the -near neighbour and constant rival, not to say enemy, of Jerusalem;--is -not more than about five and forty miles distant from it. To Paul's -alert and busy mind,--the offer, made by the sorcerer, to purchase of -the Apostles a share in the government of the church, could not have -been a secret. - -At the hands of those rulers of the Christian Church, this offer had not -found acceptance. Shares in the direction of their affairs were not, -like those in the government of the British Empire in these our days, -objects of sale. The nine rulers would not come into any such bargain; -their disciples were not as cattle in their eyes: by those disciples -themselves no such bargain would have been endured; they were not as -cattle in their own eyes. - -But, though the bargain proposed by the sorcerer did not take place, -this evidence, which the offer of it so clearly affords,--this evidence, -of the value of a situation of that sort in a commercial point of view, -could not naturally either have remained a secret to Paul, or failed to -engage his attention, and present to his avidity and ambition a ground -of speculation--an inviting field of enterprise. - -From the time when he took that leading part, in the condemnation and -execution, of the too flamingly zealous manager, of the temporal -concerns of the associated disciples of that disastrous orator, by whom -the preaching and spiritual functions might, with so much happier an -issue, have been left in the hands of the Apostles--from that time, down -to that in which we find him, with letters in his pocket, from the -rulers of the Jews in their own country, to the rulers of the same -nation under the government of the neighbouring state of Damascus, he -continued, according to the Acts ix. 1; "yet breathing out threatenings -and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord." - -Of these letters, the object was--the employing the influence of the -authorities from which they came, viz. the High Priest and the Elders, -to the purpose of engaging those to whom they were addressed, to enable -him to bring in bonds, to Jerusalem from Damascus, all such converts to -the religion of Jesus, as should have been found in the place last -mentioned. - -In his own person the author of the Acts informs us--that, by Saul, -letters to this effect were _desired_[14]. In a subsequent chapter, in -the person of Paul, viz. in the speech, to the multitude by whom he had -been dragged out of the Temple, in the design of putting him to death, -he informs us they were actually _obtained_[15]. - -It was in the course of this his journey, and with these letters in his -pocket, that, in and by the vision seen by him while on the road--at -that time and not earlier--his conversion was, according to his own -account of the matter, effected. - -That which is thought to have been already proved, let it, at least for -argument's sake, be affirmed. Let us say accordingly--this vision-story -was a mere fable. On this supposition, then, what will be to be said of -those same letters?--of the views in which they were obtained?--of the -use which was eventually made of them?--of the purpose to which they -were applied? For all these questions one solution may serve. From what -is known beyond dispute--on the one hand, of his former way of life and -connections--on the other hand, of his subsequent proceeding--an answer, -of the satisfactoriness of which the reader will have to judge, may, -without much expense of thought, be collected. - -If, in reality, no such vision was perceived by him, no circumstance -remains manifest whereby the change which so manifestly and notoriously -took place in his plan of life, came to be referred to _that_ point in -the field of time--in preference to any antecedent one. - -Supposing, then, the time of the change to have been antecedent to the -commencement of that journey of his to Damascus--antecedent to the time -of the application, in compliance with which his letter from the ruling -powers at Jerusalem the object of which was to place at his disposal the -lot of the Christians at Damascus, was obtained;--this supposed, what, -in the endeavour to obtain this letter, was his object? Manifestly to -place in his power these same Christians: to place them in his power, -and thereby to obtain from them whatsoever assistance was regarded by -him as necessary for the ulterior prosecution of his schemes, as above -indicated. - -On this supposition, in the event of their giving him that assistance, -which, in the shape of money and other necessary shapes, he -required--on this supposition, he made known to them his determination, -not only to spare their persons, but to join with them in their -religion; and, by taking the lead in it among the heathen, to whom he -was, in several respects, so much better qualified for communicating it -than any of the Apostles or their adherents, to promote it to the utmost -of his power. An offer of this nature--was it in the nature of things -that it should be refused? Whatsoever was most dear to them--their own -personal security, and the sacred interests of the new religion, the -zeal of which was yet flaming in their bosoms, concurred in pressing it -upon their acceptance. - -With the assistance thus obtained, the plan was--to become a declared -convert to the religion of Jesus, for the purpose of setting himself at -the head of it; and, by means of the expertness he had acquired in the -use of the Greek language, to preach, in the name of Jesus, that sort of -religion, by the preaching of which, an empire over the minds of his -converts, and, by that means, the power and opulence to which he -aspired, might, with the fairest prospect of success, be aimed at. - -But, towards the accomplishment of this design, what presented itself as -a necessary step, was--the entering into a sort of _treaty_, and forming -at least in appearance, a sort of junction, with the leaders of the new -religion and their adherents--the Apostles and the rest of the -disciples. As for _them_, in acceding to this proposal, on the -supposition of anything like sincerity and consistency on his part, -_they_ would naturally see much to gain and nothing to lose: much indeed -to gain; no less than peace and security, instead of that persecution, -by which, with the exception of the Apostles themselves, to all of whom -experience seems, without exception, to have imparted the gift of -prudence, the whole fraternity had so lately been driven from their -homes, and scattered abroad in various directions. - -With the Christians at Damascus, that projected junction was actually -effected by him: but, in this state of things, to return to Jerusalem -was not, at that time, to be thought of. In the eyes of the ruling -powers, he would have been a trust-breaker--a traitor to their cause: in -the eyes of the Christians, he would have been a murderer, with the -blood of the innocent still reeking on his hands: no one would he have -found so much as to lend an ear to his story, much less to endure it. In -Damascus, after making his agreement with his new brethren, there -remained little for him to do. Much had he to inform himself of -concerning Jesus. Damascus--where Jesus had already so many -followers--Damascus was a place for him to _learn_ in: not to _teach_ -in:--at any rate, at that time. - -Arabia, a promising field of enterprise--Arabia, a virgin soil, opened -to his view. There he would find none to abhor his person--none to -contradict his assertions: there his eloquence--and, under the direction -of his judgment, his invention--would find free scope: in that country -the reproach of inconsistency could not attach upon him: in that foreign -land he beheld his place of quarantine--his school of probation--the -scene of his novitiate. By a few years employed in the exercise of his -new calling--with that spirit and activity which would accompany him of -course in every occupation to which he could betake himself--he would -initiate himself in, and familiarize himself with, the connected -exercises of preaching and spiritual rule. At the end of that period, -whatsoever might be his success in that country, such a portion of -time, passed in innocence, would at any rate allay enmity: such a -portion of time, manifestly passed, in the endeavour at any rate to -render service to the common cause, might even establish confidence. - -At the end of that time, he might, nor altogether without hope of -success, present himself to the rulers of the church, in the metropolis -of their spiritual empire: "Behold, he might say, in me no longer a -persecutor, but a friend. The persecutor has long vanished: he has given -place to the friend. Too true it is, that I was so once your persecutor. -Years spent in unison with you--years spent in the service of the common -cause--have proved me. You see before you, a tried man--an ally of tried -fidelity: present me as such to your disciples: take me into your -councils: all my talent, all my faculties, shall be yours. The land of -Israel will continue, as it has been, the field of _your_ holy labours; -the land of the Gentiles shall be mine: we will carry on our operations -in concert; innumerable are the ways in which each of us will derive -from the other--information, assistance, and support." - -To Arabia he accordingly repaired: so, in his Epistle to the Galatians, -Gal. i. 17, he himself informs us: in that little-known country, he -continued three whole years--so also, in the same place, he informs us. -There it was, that he experienced that success, whatever it was, that -went to constitute the ground, of the recommendation given of him by -Barnabas to the Apostles. From thence he returned to Damascus: and, in -that city, presenting himself in his regenerated character, and having -realized by his subsequent conduct the expectations raised by his -promises at the outset of his career[16]; he planned, and as will be -seen, executed his expedition to Jerusalem: the expedition, the object -of which has just been brought to view. "Then," says Paul himself, "I -went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days." -Gal. 1:18. There, says the author of the Acts, Acts 9:27, 28, "Barnabas -took him and brought him to the Apostles ... and he was with them coming -in and going out of Jerusalem." - - -SECTION 2. - -AT DAMASCUS, NO SUCH ANANIAS PROBABLY. - -This same Ananias--of whom so much has been seen in the last -chapter--Paul's own imagination excepted, had he anywhere any existence? -The probability seems to be on the negative side: and, in the next -section, as to whether Paul's companions on the road are not in a -similar predicament, the reader will have to judge. But let us begin -with Ananias. - -At Damascus, at any rate--with such power in his hands, for securing -obsequiousness at the hands of those to whom he was addressing -himself--with such power in his hands, Paul could not have had much need -of anything in the shape of a vision:--he could not have had any need of -any such person as the seer of the correspondent vision--Ananias. - -For the purpose of aiding the operation of those considerations of -worldly prudence, which these powers of his enabled him to present, to -those whom it concerned,--there might be some perhaps, who, for yielding -to those considerations, and thus putting themselves under the command -of this formidable potentate, might look for an authority from the Lord -Jesus. But, forasmuch as, in this very case, even at this time of day, -visions, _two_ in name, but, in respect of probative force, reducible to -_one_--are so generally received as conclusive evidence,--no wonder if, -at that time of day, by persons so circumstanced, that _one_ vision -should be received in that same character. At Damascus, therefore, on -his first arrival, there could not be any occasion for any such -corroborating story as the story of the vision of Ananias. At -Damascus--unless he had already obtained, and instructed as his -confederate, a man of that name--no such story could, with any prospect -of success, have been circulated: for the purpose of learning the -particulars of an occurrence of such high importance, the residence of -this Ananias would have been inquired after: and, by supposition, no -satisfactory answer being capable of being given to any such -inquiries,--no such story could be ventured to be told. - -Such was the case, at that place and at that time. As to any such -evidence, as that afforded by the _principal_ vision, viz. Paul's -own,--perhaps no such evidence was found necessary: but, if it _was_ -found necessary, nothing could be easier than the furnishing it. As to -the _secondary_ vision, viz. that ascribed afterwards to a man of the -name of Ananias,--at that time scarcely could there have been any need -of it--any demand for it; and, had there been any such demand, scarcely, -unless previously provided, could any such correspondent supply have -been afforded. - -In other places and posterior times alone, could this supplemental -vision, therefore, have been put into circulation: accordingly, not till -a great many years after, was mention made of it by the author of the -Acts:--mention made by him, either in his own person, or as having been -related, or alluded to, by Paul himself. Even the author of the -Acts,--though in this same chapter he has been relating the story of -Ananias's vision,--yet, when he comes to speak, of the way, in which, -according to him, Paul, by means of his protector and benefactor -Barnabas, obtained an introduction to the Apostles, viz. all the -Apostles, in which, however, he is so pointedly contradicted by Paul -himself,--yet speaks not of Barnabas, as including, in the -recommendatory account he gave them, of Paul--his vision, and his -merits--any mention of this supplemental vision:--any mention of any -Ananias. Acts 9:27. - -At Damascus, howsoever it might be in regard to the Christians--neither -to Jews, nor to Gentiles, could the production, of any such letters as -those in question, have availed him anything. Such as had embraced -Christianity excepted, neither over Gentiles nor over Jews did those -letters give him any power: and, as to Jews, the character in -which--after any declaration made of his conversion--he would have -presented himself, would have been no better than that of an apostate, -and betrayer of a highly important public trust. To men of both these -descriptions, a plea of some sort or other, such as, if believed, would -be capable of accounting for so extraordinary a step, as that he should -change, from the condition of a most cruel and inveterate persecutor of -the new religion, to that of a most zealous supporter and leader,--could -not, therefore, but be altogether necessary. No sooner was he arrived at -Damascus, than, if the author of the Acts is to be believed, he began -pleading, with all his energy, the cause of that religion, which, almost -to that moment, he had with so much cruelty opposed. As to the story of -his vision,--what is certain is--that, sooner or later, for the purpose -of rendering to men of all descriptions a reason for a change so -preėminently extraordinary, he employed this story. But, forasmuch as of -no other account of it, as given by him, is any trace to be found;--nor -can any reason be found, why that which was certainly employed -afterwards might not as well be employed at and from the first;--hence -comes the probability, that from the first it accordingly was employed. - - -SECTION 3. - -ON DAMASCUS JOURNEY--COMPANIONS NONE. - -In the preceding chapter, a question was started, but no determinate -answer as yet found for it: this is--what became of the men, -who--according to all the accounts given by Paul, or from him, of his -conversion vision--were his _companions_ in the journey? At Damascus, if -any such men there were, they would in course arrive as well as he, and -at the same time with him. This circumstance considered, if any such men -there were,--and they were not in confederacy with him,--the imposition -must have been put upon _them_: and, for that purpose, he must, in their -presence, have uttered the sort of discourse, and exhibited the sort of -deportment, mentioned in the above accounts. - -To this difficulty, however, a very simple solution presents itself. _He -had no such companions._ Neither by name, nor so much as by any the most -general description,--either of the persons, or of the total number,--is -any designation to be found anywhere:--not in the account given in the -Acts; not in any account, given by himself, in any Epistle of his; or, -as from himself, in any part of the Acts. In the company of divers -others, a man was struck down, he says, or it is said of him, by a -supernatural light: and, at the instant, and on the spot, has a -conversation with somebody. Instead of saying who these _other_ men are, -the credit of the whole story is left to rest on the credit of this -_one_ man:--the credit, of a story, the natural improbability of which, -stood so much need of collateral evidence, to render it credible. - -Not till many years had elapsed, after this journey of his were these -accounts, any one of them, made public: and, in relation to these -pretended companions--supposing him interrogated at any time posterior -to the publication of the account in the Acts,--after the lapse of such -a number of years, he could, without much difficulty, especially his -situation and personal character considered, hold himself at full -liberty, to remember or to forget, as much or as little, as on each -occasion he should find convenient. - - -SECTION 4. - -FLIGHT FROM DAMASCUS: CAUSES--FALSE--TRUE. - -ACTS ix. 19-25. - - And when he had received meat he was strengthened. Then was Saul - certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.--And - straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son - of God.--But all that heard him were amazed, and said: Is not this - he that destroyeth them which called on his name in Jerusalem; and - came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the - chief priests?--But Saul increased the more in strength, and - confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is - very Christ.--And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took - counsel to kill him.--But their laying await was known of Saul. And - they watched the gates day and night to kill him.--Then the - disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a - basket. - -The conception, which it was the evident design of this passage to -impress upon the mind of the reader, is--that, as soon almost as he was -arrived at Damascus, Paul not only went about preaching Jesus, but -preaching to that effect openly, and without reserve, in all the -synagogues: and that it was for this preaching, and nothing else, that -"the Jews," thus undiscriminating is the appellation, purposely it should -seem, employed, "went about to kill him:" that thereupon it was, that he -made his escape over the wall, and having so done, repaired immediately -to Jerusalem. - -In this conception, there seems to be evidently a mixture of truth and -falsehood. - -That he addressed himself, in a greater or less number, to the -disciples,--must assuredly have been true: to the accomplishment of his -designs, as above explained, intercourse with them could not but be -altogether necessary. - -That, when any probable hope of favourable attention and secrecy were -pointed out to him--that, in here and there an instance, he ventured so -far as to address himself to this or that individual, who was not as yet -enlisted in the number of disciples,--may also have been true: and, for -this purpose, he might have ventured perhaps to show himself in some -comparatively obscure synagogue or synagogues. - -But, as to his venturing himself so far as to preach in all synagogues -without distinction,--or in any synagogue frequented by any of the -constituted authorities,--this seems altogether incredible. - -To engage them to seek his life; to lie in wait to kill him; in other -words, to apprehend him for the purpose of trying him, and probably at -the upshot killing him,--this is no more than, considering what, in -their eyes, he had been guilty of, was a thing of course: a measure, -called for--not, for preaching the religion of Jesus; not, for any -boldness in any other way displayed; but, for the betraying of the -trust, reposed in him by the constituted authorities at Jerusalem: thus -protecting and cherishing those malefactors, for such they had been -pronounced by authority, for the apprehending and punishing of whom, he -had solicited the commission he thereupon betrayed. Independently of all -other offence, given by preaching or anything else,--in this there was -that, which, under any government whatever, would have amply -sufficed--would even more than sufficed--to draw down, upon the head of -the offender, a most exemplary punishment. - -In this view, note well the description, given in the Acts, of the -persons, by whose enmity he was driven out of Damascus; compare with it -what, in relation to this same point, is declared--most explicitly -declared--by Paul himself. - -By the account in the Acts, they were the persons to whom he had been -preaching Jesus; and who, by that preaching, had been confounded and -provoked. Among those persons, a conspiracy was formed for murdering -him; and it was to save him from this conspiracy that the disciples let -him down the wall in a basket. - -Such is the colour, put upon the matter by the author of the Acts. Now, -what is the truth--the manifest and necessary truth, as -related--explicitly related--by Paul himself? related, in the second of -his letters to his Corinthians, on an occasion when the truth would be -more to his purpose than the false gloss put upon it by his adherents as -above? The peril, by which he was driven thus to make his escape, -was--not a murderous conspiracy, formed against him by a set of -individuals provoked by his preaching;--it was the intention, formed by -the governor of the city. Intention? to do what? to put him to death -against law? No; but to "_apprehend_" him. To apprehend him? for what? -Evidently for the purpose of bringing him to justice in the regular -way--whatsoever was the regular way--for the offence he had so recently -committed: committed, by betraying his trust, and entering into a -confederacy with the offenders, whom he had been commissioned, and had -engaged, to occupy himself, in concert with the constituted authorities -of the place, in bringing to justice. - -"In Damascus," says he, 2 Cor. xi. 32, 33, "the governor under Aretas -the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to -apprehend me. And through a window in a basket was I let down by the -wall, and escaped his hands." - -And on what _occasion_ is it, that this account of the matter is given -by him? It is at the close of a declamation, which occupies ten -verses--a declamation, the object of which is--to impress upon the minds -of his adherents the idea of his merits: viz. those which consisted in -labour, suffering, and perils: merits, on which he places his title to -the preference he claims above the competitors to whom he -alludes:--alludes, though without naming them: they being, as he -acknowledges therein, ministers of Christ, and probably enough, if not -any of them Apostles, persons commissioned by the Apostles. Greater, it -is evident, must have been the danger from the ruling powers of the -place, than from a set of individual intended murderers:--from the power -of the rulers there could not be so much as a hope of salvation, except -by escape: from the individuals there would be a naturally sufficient -means of salvation; the power of the rulers presenting a means of -salvation, and that naturally a sufficient one. - -Note here, by the by, one of the many exemplifications, of that -confusion which reigns throughout in Paul's discourses: the result, of -that mixture, which, in unascertainable proportions, seems to have had -place--that mixture of nature and artifice. It is at the end of a long -list of labours, sufferings, and perils, that this anecdote presents -itself. Was it accordingly at the end of them that the fact itself had -taken place?--No: it was _at_ the very commencement: or rather, so far -as concerned preaching, _before_ the commencement. Only in the way of -allusion--allusion in general terms--in terms of merely general -description, without mention of _time_ or _place_, or persons -concerned,--are any of the other sufferings or perils mentioned: in this -instance alone, is any mention made under any one of those heads: and -here we see it under two of them, viz. _place_ and _person_: and -moreover, by other circumstances, the _time_, viz. the _relative_ time, -is pretty effectually fixed. - -Immediately afterwards, this same indisputably false colouring will be -seen laid on, when the account comes to be given, of his departure for -Jerusalem: always for preaching Jesus is he sought after, never for -anything else. - -According to this representation, here are two governments--two -municipal governments--one of them, at the solicitation of a functionary -of its own, giving him a commission to negotiate with another, for the -purpose of obtaining, at his hands, an authority, for apprehending a set -of men, who, in the eyes of both, were guilty of an offence against -both. Instead of pursuing his commission, and using his endeavours to -obtain the desired cooperation, he betrays the trust reposed in him:--he -not only suffers the alleged malefactors to remain unapprehended and -untouched, but enters into a confederacy with them. To both governments, -this conduct of his is, according to him, matter of such entire -indifference, that he might have presented himself everywhere, as if -nothing had happened, had it not been for his preaching:--had it not -been for his standing forth _openly_, to preach to all that would hear -him, the very religion which he had been commissioned to extinguish. - -In such a state of things, is there anything that can, by any -supposition, be reconciled to the nature of man, in any situation,--or -to any form of government? - -Three years having been passed by him in that to him strange country, -what, during all that time, were his means of subsistence? To this -question an unquestionable answer will be afforded by the known nature -of his situation. He was bred to a trade, indeed a handicraft -trade--tent-making: an art, in which the operations of the architect -and the upholsterer are combined. But, it was not to practise either -that, or any other manual operation, that he paid his visit to that -country. When he really did practise it, he took care that this -condescension of his should not remain a secret: from that, as from -everything else he ever did or suffered, or pretended to have done or -suffered, he failed not to extract the matter of glory for himself, as -well as edification for his readers. In Arabia, his means of subsistence -were not then derived from his trade: if they had been, we should have -known it:--from what source then were they derived?[17] By the very -nature of his situation, this question has been already answered:--from -the purses of those, whom, having had it in his power, and even in his -commission, to destroy, he had saved. - -And now, as to all those things, which, from the relinquishment of his -labours in the field of persecution to the first of his four recorded -visits to Jerusalem, he is known to have done, answers have been -furnished:--answers, to the several questions _why_ and by what _means_, -such as, upon the supposition that the supernatural mode of his -conversion was but a fable, it will not, it is hoped, be easy to find -cause for objecting to as insufficient. - - -SECTION 5. - -ARABIA-VISIT--MENTIONED BY PAUL, NOT ACTS. - -Not altogether without special reason, seems the veil of obscurity to -have been cast over this long interval. In design, rather than accident, -or heedlessness, or want of information,--may be found, it should seem, -the cause, of a silence so pregnant with misrepresentation. In addition -to a length of time, more or less considerable, spent in Damascus, a -city in close communication with Jerusalem, in giving proofs of his -conversion,--three years spent in some part or other of the contiguous -indeed, but wide-extending, country of Arabia--(spent, if Paul is to be -believed, in preaching the religion of Jesus, and at any rate in a state -of peace and innoxiousness with relation to it)--afforded such proof of -a change of plan and sentiment, as, in the case of many a man, might, -without miracle or wonder, have sufficed to form a basis for the -projected alliance:--this proof, even of itself; much more, when -corroborated, by the sort of certificate, given to the Church by its -preeminent benefactor Barnabas, who, in introducing the new convert, to -the leaders among the Apostles, for the special purpose of proposing the -alliance,--took upon himself the personal responsibility, so inseparably -involved in such a mark of confidence. - -In this state of things then, which is expressly asserted by Paul to -have been, and appears indubitably to have been, a real -one,--considerations of an ordinary nature being sufficient--to -produce--not only the effect actually produced--but, in the case of many -a man, much more than the effect actually produced,--there was no -demand, at that time, for a miracle: no demand for a miracle, for any -such purpose, as that of working, upon the minds of the Apostles, to any -such effect as that of their maintaining, towards the new convert, a -conduct free from hostility, accompanied with a countenance of outward -amity. But, for other purposes, and in the course of his intercourse -with persons of other descriptions, it became necessary for him to have -had these visions: it became necessary--not only for the purpose of -proving connection on his part with the departed Jesus, to the -satisfaction of all those by whom such proof would be looked for,--but, -for the further purpose, of ascribing to Jesus, whatsoever doctrines the -prosecution of his design might from time to time call upon him to -promulgate;--those doctrines, in a word, which, (as will be seen), being -his and not Jesus's--not reported by anyone else as being Jesus's--we -shall find him, notwithstanding, preaching, and delivering,--so much at -his ease, and with unhesitating assurance. - -A miracle having therefore been deemed necessary (the miracle of the -conversion-vision), and reported accordingly,--thus it is, that, by the -appearance of suddenness, given to the sort and degree of confidence -thereupon reported as having been bestowed upon him by the Apostles, a -sort of confirmation is, in the Acts account, given to the report of the -miracle: according to this account, it was not by the three or four -years passed by him in the prosecution of their designs, or at least -without obstruction given to them;--it was not by any such proof of -amity, that the intercourse, such as it was, had been effected:--no: it -was by the report of the vision--that report which, in the first -instance, was made to them by their generous benefactor and powerful -supporter, Barnabas; confirmed, as, to every candid eye it could not -fail to be, by whatever accounts were, on the occasion of the personal -intercourse, delivered from his own lips. "But Barnabas (says the -author) took him and brought him to the Apostles, and declared unto them -how he had _seen_ the Lord by the way, and that he had spoken to him, -and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus." Acts -9:27. - -When in the year 57, Paul,[18] to so many other boastings, was added the -sufferings he would have us think were courted and endured by him, while -preaching in the name of Jesus, that gospel, which he proclaims to have -been his own, and not that of the Apostles, little assuredly did he -think, that five years after, or thereabout, from the hand of one of his -own attendants, a narrative was to appear, in which, of these same -sufferings a so much shorter list would be given; or that, by an odd -enough coincidence, more than seventeen centuries after, by a namesake -of his honored patron, Doctor Gamaliel, the contradiction thus given to -him, would be held up to view. - -In the second of his epistles to his Corinthians, dated A.D. 57,--the -following is the summary he gives of those same sufferings. Speaking of -certain unnamed persons, styled by him false Apostles, but whom reasons -are not wanting for believing to have been among the disciples of the -real ones,--"Are they," says he, 2 Cor. xi. 23, "ministers of Christ? I -speak as one beside himself, I am more: in labours more abundant: in -_stripes_ above measure: in prisons more frequent: in deaths, oft.--Of -the Jews five times received I forty stripes, save one.--Thrice was I -beaten with rods; once was I stoned: thrice I suffered shipwreck: a -night and a day have I been in the deep." Thus far as per _Paul_. - -Add from his former Epistle to the same in the same year, battle with -beasts, one. "If, after the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at -Ephesus, what advantageth it me," continues he, 1 Cor. XV. 32, "if the -dead rise not, let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." - -Let us now see how the account stands, as per _Acts_. On the part of -this his panegyrist, whether any such habit had place as that of cutting -down below their real amount, either the sufferings or the actings of -his hero, the reader will have judged. Of both together, let it not be -forgotten, the Acts' account comes some five years lower, than the date -of the above tragical list: in it are included those sufferings and -perils which we have seen, namely, those produced by the voyage to Rome, -and which, at the time of Paul's list, had not taken their commencement. -Now then for the Acts' list. Stripes, nine-and-thirty in a parcel, none: -difference five. Beatings with rods, saving one possible one, of which -presently, none; difference, three. Stoning, one[19]. Shipwreck, as yet -none: the accident at Malta being three years subsequent. "Night and day -in the deep,"--according as it was _on_ or _in_ the deep--either nothing -at all, or an adventure considerably too singular to have been passed -over. _Diving-bells_ are not commonly supposed to have been, at that -time of day, in use; but whoever has a taste for predictions, may, if it -be agreeable to him, see those same scientific instruments or the -equivalent in this Gospel of Paul's predicted. - -As to the parcels of stripes, the self-constituted Apostle takes credit -for, they would have been,--supposing them administered,--administered, -all of them, according to law, meaning always the law of _Moses_: for, -it is in that law, (namely in Deuteronomy XXV. 3) that the clause, -limiting to nine-and-thirty, the number to be given at a time, is to be -found. Of these statements of Paul's, let it not pass unnoticed, the -place is--a formal and studied Epistle, not an extempore speech: so that -the falsehood in them, if any, was not less deliberate than the Temple -perjury. - -Of all these same boasted bodily sufferings, eight in the whole, when -put together,--one was, at the outset, reserved for consideration: let -us see what light, if any, is cast upon it by the Acts. One beating, the -Acts informs us of: and it was a beating by order of magistrates: and -accordingly, a beating according to law. But the law, according to which -it was given, was not Jewish law: the magistrates, by whose order it was -given, were not Jewish magistrates. The magistrates were heathens: and -it was for being Jews, and preaching in the Jewish style, that Paul, and -his companion Silas, were thus visited. It was at Philippi that the -affair happened: it was immediately preceded by their adventure with the -divineress, as per Acts 16:16; 34, Chap. 13: and brought about by the -resentment of her masters, to whose established business, the -innovation, introduced by these interlopers, had given disturbance: it -was followed--immediately followed--by the earthquake, which was so -dexterous in taking irons off. Whether therefore this beating was in -Paul's account comprised in the eight stripings and beatings, seems not -possible, humanly speaking, to know: not possible, unless so it be, that -Paul, being the wandering Jew, we have sometimes heard of, is still -alive,--still upon the look-out, for that aėrial voyage, which, with or -without the expectation of an aėrostatic vehicle, we have seen him so -confident in the assurance of. - -Remains the battle with the beasts. What these same beasts were, how -many there were of them,--how many legs they respectively had--for -example, two or four--in what way he was introduced into their -company,--whence his difference with them took its rise,--whether it was -of his own seeking, or by invitation that he entered the lists with -these his antagonists,--how it fared with _them_ when the affair was -over,--(for as to the hero himself, it does not appear that he was much -the worse for it);--these, amongst other questions, might be worth -answering, upon the supposition, that these antagonists of his were real -beings and real beasts, and not of the same class as the arch-beast of -his own begetting--Antichrist. But, the plain truth seems to be, that if -ever he fought with beasts, it was in one of his visions: in which case, -for proof of the occurrence, no visible mark of laceration could -reasonably be demanded. Meantime, to prove the negative, as far as, in a -case such as this, it is in the nature of a negative to be proved,--we -may, without much fear of the result, venture to call his ever-devoted -scribe. To this same Ephesus,--not more than a twelvemonth or -thereabouts, before the date of the Epistle--he brings his -patron,--finds appropriate employment for him,--and, off and on, keeps -him there for no inconsiderable length of time. There it is, that we -have seen, Chap. 13, §. 7., his handkerchiefs driving out devils as well -as diseases: there it is, and for no other reason than that _he_ is -there--there it is, that we have seen so many thousand pounds worth of -magical books burnt--and by their owners: there it is, that with a -single handkerchief of his,--which so it were but used, was an overmatch -for we know not how many devils,--we saw a single devil, with no other -hands than those of the man he lodged in, wounding and stripping to the -skin no fewer than seven men at the same time. If, then, with or without -a whole skin at the conclusion of it, he had really had any such -rencounter, with one knows not how many beasts, is it in the nature of -the case, that this same historiographer of his, should have kept us -ignorant of it? To be shut up with wild beasts, until torn to pieces by -them, was indeed one of the punishments, for which men were indebted to -the ingenuity of the Roman lawyers: but, if any such sentence was really -executed upon our self-constituted Apostle, his surviving it was a -miracle too brilliant not to have been placed at the head of all his -other miracles: at any rate, too extraordinary to have been passed by -altogether without notice. The biographer of Daniel was not thus -negligent. - -After all, was it really matter of pure invention--this same battle? or -may it not, like so many of the quasi-miracles in the Acts, have had a -more or less substantial foundation in fact? The case may it not have -been--that, while he was at Ephesus, somebody or other set a dog at him, -as men will sometimes do at a troublesome beggar? or that, whether with -hand or tongue, some person, male or female, set upon him with a degree -of vivacity, which, according to Paul's zoology, elucidated by Paul's -eloquence, entitled him or her to a place in the order of beasts?--Where -darkness is thus visible, no light can be so faint, as not to bring with -it some title to indulgence. - -Of the accounts, given us by the historiographer, of the exploits and -experiences of his hero while at Ephesus, one article more will complete -the list. When any such opportunity offered, as that of presenting him -to view, in his here assumed character, of a candidate for the honours -of martyrdom,--was it or was it not in the character of the -historiographer to let it pass unimproved? To our judgment on this -question, some further maturity may be given, by one more law-case, now -to be brought to view. Under some such name as that of the _Ephesian -Diana_, not unfrequent are the allusions to it. _Church of Diana -silversmiths versus Paul and Co._ is a name, by which, in an English law -report, it might with more strict propriety be designated. Plaintiffs, -silversmiths' company just named: Defendants, Paul and Co.; to wit, said -Paul, Alexander, Aristarchus, Alexander and others. Acts, 22:41. Action -on the case for words:--the words, in tenor not reported: purport, -importing injury in the way of trade. Out of the principal cause, we -shall see growing a sort of cross cause: a case of assault, in which -three of the defendants were, or might have been, plaintiffs: cause of -action, assault, terminating in false imprisonment. In this -exercetitious cause, defendants not individually specified: for, in -those early days, note-taking had not arrived at the pitch of -perfection, at which we see it at present. That which,--with reference -to the question--as to the truth of the beast-fighting story,--is more -particularly material in the two cases taken together,--is this: in the -situation, in which these junior partners of Paul found themselves, -there was some difficulty, not to say some danger. Pressed, as he -himself was afterwards, in his invasion of Jerusalem,--pressed in more -senses than one, _they_ found themselves by an accusing multitude. What -on this occasion does Paul? He slips his neck out of the collar. So far -from lending them a hand for their support, he will not so much as lend -them a syllable of his eloquence. Why? because forsooth, says his -historiographer, Acts xix. 30, 31, "the disciples suffered him not:" -_item_, v. 30, "certain" others of "his friends." When, as we have seen -him, spite of everything that could be said to him, he repaired to -Jerusalem on his _Invasion Visit_,--he was not quite so perfectly under -the government of his friends. On the present occasion, we shall find -him sufficiently tractable. Was this a man to be an antagonist and -overmatch for wild beasts? - -Now as to the above-mentioned principal case. Plaintiffs, dealers in -silver goods: Defendants, dealers in words. To be rivals in trade, it is -not necessary that men should deal exactly in the same articles:--the -sale of the words injured the sale of the goods: so at least the -plaintiffs took upon them to aver: for, in such a case, suspicion is not -apt to lie asleep. The church of Diana was the Established Church, of -that place and time. To the honour, the plaintiffs added the profit, of -being silversmiths to that same Excellent Church. To the value of that -sort of evidence, which it is the province of silversmiths to furnish, -no established church was ever insensible. The evidence, furnished by -the church silversmiths of these days, is composed of _chalices_: under -the Pagan dispensation, the evidence furnished by the church -silversmiths of the church of the Ephesian Diana, was composed of -_shrines_. When, with that resurrection of his own, and that Gospel of -his own, of which so copious a sample remains to us in his -Epistles,--Paul, with or without the name of Jesus in his mouth, made -his appearance in the market, Plaintiffs, as we have seen, took the -alarm. They proceeded, as the pious sons of an established church could -not fail to proceed. Before action commenced, to prepare the way for a -suitable judgment,--they set to work, and set on fire the inflammable -part of the public mind. The church was declared to be in danger, ver. -27: the church of Diana, just as the church of England and Ireland would -be, should any such sacrilegious proposition be seriously made, as that -of tearing out of her bosom any of those precious sinecures, of which -her vitals are composed. In Ephesus, it is not stated, that, at that -time, any society bearing the name of the _Vice Society_, or the -_Constitutional Association_, was on foot. But, of those pious -institutions the equivalent could not be wanting. Accordingly, the -charge of _blasphemy_, it may be seen, ver. 37, was not left unemployed. -So the defence shows: the defence, to wit, made by the probity and -wisdom of the judge: for, by the violence of the church mob,--who, but -for him, were prepared to have given a precedent, to that which set -Birmingham in flames,--the defendants were placed in the condition of -prisoners: and the judge, seeing the violence, of the prejudice they had -to encounter, felt the necessity, of adding to the function of judge, -that of counsel for the prisoners. - -But it is time to turn to the text: not a particle of it can be spared. - -ACTS xix. 22-41. - - 22. So he sent into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto him, - Timotheus and Erastus; but he himself stayed in Asia for a - season.--And the same time, there arose no small stir about that - way;--For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made - silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the - craftsmen;--Whom he called together with the workmen of like - occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our - wealth.--Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but - almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned - away much people, saying, that they be no gods, which are made - with hands:--So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set - at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana - should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom - all Asia and the world worshippeth.--And when they heard these - sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is - Diana of the Ephesians.--And the whole city was filled with - confusion: and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of - Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with one accord - into the theatre.--And when Paul would have entered in, unto the - people, the disciples suffered him not.--And certain of the chief - of Asia, which were his friends, sent unto him, desiring him that - he would not adventure himself into the theatre.--Some, therefore, - cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confused; - and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together.--And - they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him - forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made - his defence unto the people;--But when they knew he was a Jew, all - with one voice, about the space of two hours, cried out, Great is - Diana of the Ephesians.--And when the town clerk had appeased the - people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth - not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great - goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from - Jupiter?--Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, - ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.--For ye have - brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, - nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.--Wherefore, if Demetrius, and - the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, - the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one - another.--But if ye inquire anything concerning other matters, it - shall be determined in a lawful assembly.--For we are in danger to - be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause - whereby we may give an account of this concourse.--And when he had - thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly. - -The _Judge_ by whom the principal cause was tried, and the plaintiffs -non-suited, is styled, we see "_the Town Clerk_:" the more appropriate -and respected title would not on this occasion have been ill-applied to -him. Except what we have here been seeing, we know nothing of him that -is _positive_: but, seeing thus much of him, we see that he was an -honest man: and an honest man is not ill portrayed by negatives. He had -no coronet playing before his eyes: no overpaid places and sinecures for -relatives. He had not been made judge, for publishing a liturgy of the -church of Diana, with an embroidery composed of his own comments,--or -for circulating, with anonymous delicacy, a pious warning, never to be -absent from the shrine of Diana, when the sacred cup was, proffered by -the hands of holy priests. Accordingly, when the charge of _blasphemy_ -was brought before him,--being a heathen, he found no difficulty in -treating it, in that gentle and soothing mode, in which, when, from the -bosom of an established church it enters into a man, the spirit, which -calls itself the spirit of Christianity, renders him so averse to the -treating it. If, when his robes were off, he spoke of Diana what we now -think of her,--he did not, when they were on, foam or rave, -declare--that all, who would not swear to their belief in her, were not -fit to be believed, or so much as fit to live. - -By him, one man was not robbed of his rights, because another man, when -called upon as a witness, refused to perjure himself. By him, a man was -not refused to be heard as a witness, nor refused protection for the -fruits of his industry, nor deprived of the guardianship of his -children, because he waited to see Diana, before he declared himself a -believer in her existence. In the open theatre was pronounced the -judgment we have seen. He did not, by secret sittings, deprive men of -the protection of the public eye. He did not, we may stand assured--for -we see how far the people of Ephesus were from being tame enough to -endure it--he did not keep men's property in his hands, to be plundered -by himself, his children, or his creatures, till the property was -absorbed, and the proprietors sent broken-hearted to their graves. He -did not--for the people of Ephesus would not have endured it--wring out -of distress a princely income, on pretence of giving decisions, -declaring all the while his matchless incapacity for everything but -prating or raising doubts. He did not display,--he could not have -displayed--the people of Ephesus could not have endured it--any such -effrontery, as, when a judicatory was to sit upon his conduct, to set -himself down in it, and assume and carry on the management of it. He -would not have sought impunity--for if he had sought it in Ephesus, he -would not have found it there--he would not have sought impunity, in -eyes lifted up to heaven, or streaming with crocodile tears. - -Thus much as to his negative merits. But, we have seen enough of him, to -see one great positive one. When, from the inexhaustible source of -inflammation, a flame was kindled,--he did not fan the flame,--he -quenched it. - -The religion of Diana having thus come upon the carpet, a reflection -which could not be put by, is--spite of all efforts of the church -silversmiths, in how many essential points, negative as they are, the -religion of Diana had, on the ground of usefulness, the advantage of -that, which _is_ the religion of Paul, and _is called_ the religion of -Jesus. Diana drove no men out of their senses, by pictures or -preachments of never-ending torments. On pretence of saving men from -future sufferings, no men were consigned by it to present ones. No -mischievous, no pain-producing, no real vice, was promoted by it. It -compelled no perjury, no hypocrisy: it rewarded none. It committed, it -supported, it blessed, it lauded, no depredation, no oppression in any -shape: it plundered no man of the fruits of his industry, under the name -of _tithes_. For the enrichment of the sacred shrines,--money, in any -quantity, we may venture to say, received: received, yes: but in no -quantity extorted. One temple was sufficient for _that_ goddess. -Believing, or not believing in her divinity,--no men were compelled to -pay money, for more temples, more priests, or more shrines. - -_As to the religion of Jesus, true it is, that so long as it continued -the religion of Jesus, all was good government, all was equality, all -was harmony: free church, the whole; established church, none: monarchy, -none; constitution, democratical. Constitutive authority, the whole -community: legislative, the Apostles of Jesus_; executive, the -Commissioners of the Treasury: not Lords Commissioners, appointed by a -King Herod, but trustees or _stewards_; for such should have been the -word, and not _deacons_,--_agents elected by universal suffrage_. In -this felicitous state, how long it continued--we know not. What we do -know, is--that, _in the fourth century_, _despotism_ took possession of -it, and made an instrument of it. Becoming _established_, it became -noxious,--preponderantly noxious. For, where _established_ is the -adjunct to it, what does _religion_ mean? what but _depredation_, -corruption, oppression, hypocrisy? _depredation_, _corruption_, -_oppression_, _hypocrisy_--these four: with delusion, in all its forms -and trappings, for support. - -So pregnant is this same boasting passage--1 Cor. xv. 32, the labour it -has thrown upon us, is not altogether at an end. By what it says of the -resurrection, the memory has been led back, to what we have seen on the -same subject, in one of Paul's Epistles to his Thessalonians: brought -together, the two doctrines present a contrast too curious to be left -unnoticed. Of the apparatus employed by him in his trade of -_disciple-catcher_, his talk about the resurrection, was, it may well be -imagined, a capital article. Being, according to his own motto, _all -things to all men_, 1 Cor. ix. 22, whatever it happened to him to say on -the subject, was dished up, of course, according to the taste of those -he had to deal with. To some it was a _prediction_: for such, we have -seen, was the form it assumed when the people to be wrought upon were -the Thessalonians. To others, when occasion called, it was a statement -concerning something _past_, or supposed to be past. On an occasion of -this sort it was, that the name of Jesus, another article of that same -apparatus, was of so much use to him. True it is, that to the doctrine -of the _general_ resurrection in time future, he had, it must be -remembered, no need of declaring himself beholden to Jesus: at least, if -on this point, the Acts' history is to be believed: for, of the -Pharisees,--the sect to which Paul belonged--of the Pharisees, as -compared with the other sect the Sadducees, it was the distinctive -tenet. But, of the then future, the then past, as exemplified in the -_particular_ case of Jesus, could not but afford very impressive -circumstantial evidence. Of this momentous occurrence, there were the -real Apostles, ready to give their accounts,--conformable, it may be -presumed, to those we see given, as from them, by the four Evangelists. -These accounts, however, would not suit the purpose of the -self-constituted Apostle: in the first place, because they came from -the real Apostles, with whom, as we have so often seen, it was a -declared principle with him not to have had anything to do: in the next -place, because the Apostles were too scrupulous: they would not have -furnished him with witnesses enough. His own inexhaustible fund--his own -invention,--was therefore the fund, on this occasion, drawn upon: and, -accordingly, instead of the number of witnesses,--say _a score_ or two -at the utmost--he could have got from the Apostles,--it supplied him -with _five hundred_: five hundred, _all at once_: to which, if pressed, -he could have added any other number of percipient witnesses whatsoever, -provided only that it was at _different_ times they had been such. - -So much for explanation: now for the announced contrast. Whoever the -people were, whom he had to address himself to,--they had contracted, he -found, a bad habit: it was that of _eating and drinking_. Reason is but -too apt to be seduced by, and enlisted in the service of her most -dangerous enemy--_Appetite_. Not only did they eat and drink; but they -had found, as it seemed to them, _reason_ for so doing. They ate and -drank--why? because they were to die after it. "Let us eat and drink," -said the language we have seen him reproaching them with, 1 Cor. xv. 32. -"Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." - -The case is--that, in pleasure, in whatever shape they see her,--all -men, to whose ambition supernatural terrors supply an instrument of -dominion, behold their most formidable rival. Against such a rival, -wonderful indeed it would be, if their hostility were not -proportionable. No morality accordingly do they acknowledge, that does -not include, with or without other things, hatred,--with or without -contempt, of pleasure. Such, too, as is their morality, such is their -law. Death is scarce severe enough, for a pleasure, which they either -have, or would be thought to have, no relish for. So at least says what -they teach: but, teaching how to act is one thing; acting accordingly, -another. Thus we all see it is, in so many instances: and thus, without -much danger of injustice, we may venture to suppose it may have been, in -that of the self-constituted Apostle. - -Not so Jesus: no harm did he see in eating and drinking, unless with the -pleasure it produced greater pain. With this reserve, no harm,--for -anything that appears in any one of the four histories we have of -him,--no harm did he see in anything that gives pleasure. What every man -knows--and what Jesus knew as well as any man--for neither in words nor -in acts did he deny it--is,--that happiness, at what time soever -experienced,--happiness, to be anything, must be composed of pleasures: -and, be the man who he may, of what it is that gives pleasure to him, he -alone can be judge. - -But, to return to eating and drinking. Eating and drinking--he gives his -men to understand--even he, holy as he is, should not have had any -objection to, had it not been for this same resurrection of his, which -he was telling them of: eating and drinking--a practice, to which, -notwithstanding this resurrection of his, and so much as he had told -them of it, he had the mortification to find them so much addicted. So -much for his _Corinthians_. It was, as we see, _for want_ of their -paying, to what he was thus telling them about the resurrection, that -attention, to which it was so well entitled,--that _they_ still kept on -in that bad habit. But his _Thessalonians_--they too, as we have seen, -had got the same bad habit. Well: and what was it that gave it them? -What but their paying too much attention to this same resurrection of -his, dished up in the same or another manner, by the same inventive and -experienced hand. In conclusion, on laying the two cases together, what -seems evident enough is--that, in whatever manner served up to them, his -resurrection, whatever it was, was considerably more effectual in making -people eat and drink, than in weaning them from it. - - -SECTION 6. - -GAMALIEL--HAD HE PART IN PAUL'S PLAN? - -Gamaliel--in the working of this conversion, may it not be that -Gamaliel--a person whose reality seems little exposed to doubt--had -rather a more considerable share, than the above-mentioned unknown and -unknowable Ananias? - -Gamaliel was "a doctor of law" Acts 5:34--a person of sufficient note, -to have been a member of the council, in which the chief priests, under -the presidency of the High Priest, Acts 5:24, took cognizance of the -offence with which Peter and his associates had a little before this -been charged, on the occasion of their preaching Jesus. Under this -Gamaliel, had Paul, he so at least is made to tell us, studied, Acts -22:3. Between Paul and this Gamaliel, here then is a connection: a -connection--of that sort, which, in all places, at all times, has -existence,--and of which the nature is everywhere and at all times so -well understood--the connection between _protegé_ and protector. It was -by authority from the governing body, that Paul was, at this time, -lavishing his exertions in the persecution of the Apostles and their -adherents:--who then so likely, as this same Gamaliel, to have been the -patron, at whose recommendation the commission was obtained? Of the -cognizance which this Gamaliel took, of the conduct and mode of life of -the religionists in question,--the result was favourable. "Let them -alone," were his words. Acts v. 38. The maintenance, derived by the -_protegé_, on that same occasion, from the persecution of these -innoxious men--this maintenance being at once odious, dangerous, and -precarious,--while the maintenance, derivable from the taking a part in -the direction of their affairs, presented to view a promise of being at -once respectable, lucrative, and permanent;--what more natural then, -that this change, from left to right, had for its origin the advice of -this same patron?--advice, to which, all things considered, the epithet -_good_ could not very easily be refused. - - -FALSE PRETENCES EMPLOYED. - -To the self-constituted Apostle, false pretences were familiar. They -were not--they could not have been--without an object. One object was -power: this object, when pursued, is of itself abundantly sufficient to -call forth such means. But, another object with Paul was money: of its -being so, the passages referred to as above, will afford abundant -proofs. A man, in whose composition the appetite for money, and the -habit of using false pretences are conjoined, will be still more likely -to apply them to that productive purpose, than to any barren one. In the -character of a general argument, the observations thus submitted, are -not, it should seem, much exposed to controversy. - -But, of a particular instance, of money obtained by him on a false -pretence,--namely, by the pretence of its being for the use of others, -when his intention was to convert it to his own use,--a mass of evidence -we have, which presents itself as being in no slight degree probative. -It is composed of two several declarations of his own,--with, as above -referred to, the explanation of it, afforded by a body of circumstantial -evidence, which has already been under review: and as, in the nature of -the case, from an evil-doer of this sort, evidence to a fact of this -sort, cannot reasonably be expected to be frequently observable,--the -labour, employed in bringing it here to view, will not, it is presumed, -be chargeable, with being employed altogether without fruit. - -First, let us see a passage, in the first of his Epistles to his -_Corinthians_, date of it, A.D. 57. In this, we shall see a regularly -formed system of money-gathering: an extensive application of it to -various and mutually distant countries, with indication given of -particular times and places, in which it was his intention to pursue it: -also, intimation, of a special charitable purpose, to which it was his -professed intention to make application of the produce of it, at a place -specified: namely, Jerusalem. - -First then comes, 1 Cor. 16:1-8. A.D. 57. - -"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to -the churches of _Galatia_, even so do _ye_.--Upon the _first day of the -week_, let every one of you _lay by him in store_, as God hath prospered -him, that there be no gatherings when I come.--And when I come, -whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring -your liberality unto _Jerusalem_.--And if it be meet that I go also, -they shall go with me.--Now I will come unto you when I shall pass -through Macedonia; for I do pass through _Macedonia_.--And it may be -that I will abide, yea and winter with you, that ye may bring me on my -journey whithersoever I go.--For I will not see you now by the way: but -I trust to tarry a while with _you_ if the Lord permit.--But I will -tarry at _Ephesus_ until Pentecost." At Ephesus, where he becomes an -object of jealousy, as we have seen, to the church-silversmiths; and, -from his declared business at those _other_ places, some evidence surely -is afforded of what was his probable business in _that_ place. - -Next let us see a passage in his Epistle to his _Romans_: date of it, -A.D. 58. Here, in two instances, we shall see the success, with which -this system was pursued by him: as also a maxim, laid down by him--a -maxim, in which the existence of this same system, on his part, is -acknowledged: a maxim, in which his hopes of success in the pursuit of -it, are declaredly founded. - -Rom. 15:24-28. A.D. 58. - -"Whensoever I take my journey into _Spain_, I will come to you; for I -trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward -by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.--But now I go -unto _Jerusalem, to minister unto the Saints_.--For it hath pleased them -of _Macedonia_ and _Achaia to make a certain contribution for the poor -saints which are at Jerusalem_.--It hath pleased them verily: and their -debtors they are. For if the Gentiles have been made _partakers of their -spiritual things_, their _duty_ is also _to minister unto them in carnal -things_.--When therefore I have performed this, and have sealed to them -this fruit, I will come _by you_ into _Spain_." - -In the instance in question, money (we see)--of the quantity of course -nothing said--is mentioned by him, as being actually in his hands: the -purpose, for which it was there,--and to which he would of course be -understood to intend applying it,--being also mentioned by -him:--applying it, at Jerusalem, to the use of the poor saints. So much -for _professed_ intentions. Now then for _real_ ones. Answer, in his own -words: that those Gentiles, who by him had been made partakers of his -spiritual things, might, as in "_duty_" bound, "minister" to him, so -much the more effectively "in carnal things:" that he, who preached, -what he called the Gospel, might, as he had been preaching to his -Corinthians also (1 Cor. ix. 14) be enabled so much the more comfortably -to "live by" it. - -"The poor saints which are at Jerusalem:"--_the_ poor saints--to wit, -not here and there a saint or two, but the whole Christian population -living together on a common stock--if now, A.D. 58, they were living, as -A.D. 53 they were (Acts ii. 44; vi. 1) and, in this particular, from the -beginning to the end of the history, no change is mentioned--in -Jerusalem--was it in the nature of man, in that state of men and -things,--was it in the nature of men and things, that any man, who had -any knowledge of their situation, and of the terms on which Paul, from -first to last, had been with them, could for a moment have thought of -lodging, for _their_ use, any the smallest sum of money in _his_ hands? -as well might it be said, at this moment--a man, whose wish it was to -convey money to Spain, for the use of the Cortes, would choose the hand -of the Duc d'Angouleme to send it by. All this time, _there_ were the -Apostles of Jesus--patrons of those same saints: and, anywhere more -easily than _there_, could he be. That, with this money in his hands, -among his objects was--the employing more or less of it in the endeavour -to form a party there, may not unreasonably be supposed, from what we -have seen of that _Invasion Visit_, by which his designs upon Jerusalem -were endeavoured to be carried into effect. For, according to Acts -19:21, already when he was at Ephesus, as above, was it his known -design, to try his fortune once more in Jerusalem, and after that in -Rome. This may have been among his designs, or not. Be this as it may, -this would have been no more than a particular way, of converting the -money to his own use. - -Not that, if at this time, and for _this purpose_ from even the quarters -in question, money had come, as he says it had, there was anything very -wonderful in its so doing. As to _us_ indeed _we_ know pretty well what -sort of terms he was on, from first to last, with the community in -question: _we_ know this, because his historiographer has made us know -it. But, as to the people of those same countries respectively,--at -their distance from Jerusalem, what, in their situation, might easily -enough happen was,--not to have, as to this point, any adequate -information till it was too late to profit by it: and, that such would -be their ignorance, is a matter, of which he might not less easily have -that which, to a man of his daring and sanguine temper, would be a -sufficient assurance. - -One thing there is, which, on the occasion of any view they took of this -subject, may perhaps have contributed to blind their eyes. This is--the -fact, of his having actually been concerned, in bringing money to -Jerusalem, for a similar purpose, though it must be confessed, not less -than fourteen years before this: to wit, from Antioch, as stated in -Chapter V., speaking of _that_--his second Jerusalem Visit, by the name -of the _Money-bringing Visit_. - -But,--what may easily enough have happened, distance in time and place, -together considered, is--that to those particulars, which composed no -more than the surface of the business, _their_ knowledge was confined: -while _we_, though at the distance of more than seventeen centuries, -know more or less of the inside of it,--let into it, as we have been, by -the author of the Acts. - -As to their arriving sooner or later, at the suspicion, or though it -were the discovery, that the money had not, any part of it, reached the -hands it was intended for, nor was in any way to do so,--what bar could -the apprehension of any such result oppose, to the enterprise, -systematic, as we see it was, of the creator of Antichrist? When, to a -man, who occupies a certain situation in the eye of the political world, -calls for accounts are become troublesome,--Scipio might have informed -him, if he had not well enough known of himself, how to answer them. - -When a charge made upon you is true--evidence full against you, -and none to oppose to it,--fly into a passion, magnify your own -excellence--magnify the depravity of your adversaries. This mode, of -parrying a charge, is perfectly well understood in our days, nor could -it have been much less well understood in Paul's days. As for _his_ -adversaries, Paul had a storm _in petto_ at all times ready for them: -for the materials, turn to any page of his Epistles: whatever, in this -way, he had for rivals,--_that_ and more he could not fail to have for -accusing witnesses. To the creator of Antichrist--sower of tares between -Pharisees and Sadducees,--whatever were the charges, defence, the most -triumphant, could never be wanting: arguments, suited with the utmost -nicety, to the taste of judges. He would warn them, against false -brethren, and liars, and wolves, and children of Satan, and so forth: -he would talk to them, about life and death, and sin and righteousness, -and faith and repentance, and this world and that world, and the Lord -and resurrection: he would talk backwards and forwards--give nonsense -for mystery, and terror for instruction: he would contradict everybody, -and himself not less than anybody: he would raise such a cloud of words, -with here and there an _ignis fatuus_ dancing in the smoke,--that the -judges, confounded and bewildered, would forget all the evidence, and -cry out _Not Guilty_ through pure lassitude. - -As to us,--the case being now before us, what shall be our verdict? -Obtaining money on false pretences is the charge. Guilty shall we say, -or not guilty? Obtainment on a certain pretence, is proved by _direct_ -evidence--his own evidence: proof, of falsity in the pretence, rests, as -it could not but rest, on _circumstantial_ evidence. - -One observation more: for another piece of circumstantial evidence has -just presented itself: it consists of the utter silence, about the -receipt of the money or any particle of it,--when, if there had been any -such receipt, occasions there were in such abundance for the mention of -it. A.D. 57, in his first to his Corinthians,--there it is, as we have -seen, that he urges them to lay by money for him, declaring it is for -the saints at Jerusalem; and that on this same errand it is, that he is -going to Macedonia,--and that in his way to Jerusalem he will give them -another call, to receive, for that same purpose, the intermediate -produce of these proposed _saving-banks_. In his letter to the Romans, -written the next year, A.D. 58--written at Corinth,--then it is, that he -has already made the said intended money-gathering visit, and with -success:--with success not only in Macedonia, as he had proposed, but in -Achaia likewise: and, with this money in his hand, and for the purpose -of delivering the money to those for whom he obtained it;--for this -purpose (he says) it is, that he is at that moment on his way to -Jerusalem--the place of their abode. This is in the year A.D. 58. Well -then: after this it is, that he takes up his abode at Ephesus. And when, -after his contests with the church silversmiths there, he departs from -thence, whither does he betake himself? To Jerusalem? No: he turns his -back upon Jerusalem, and goes for Macedonia (Acts xx. 1.) then into -Greece, where he stays three months; and purposes, Acts 20:3, to return -through Macedonia. A.D. 60, it is, that, for the first time, Acts 20:16, -any intention of his to visit Jerusalem is declared, he having coveted -no man's silver or gold, as his historian, Acts xx. 33, makes him assure -us. When, at length he arrived there, what his reception was, we have -seen. Had any of the _money_ been received there, would such as we have -seen have been the reception given to the _man_? When, by the Christians -at Jerusalem, Agabus was sent to him, to keep him if possible from -coming there,--is it in the nature of things, that they should have -already received any of it, or been in any expectation of it? In what -passed between him and the Elders, headed by the Apostle James, is any -the slightest allusion made to it? When, in Cęsarea, all in tears, Acts -21:12, 13, his attendants were striving, might and main, to dissuade him -from going to Jerusalem,--did he say anything about the money--the money -he had been so long charged with? Oh no; not a syllable: to Jerusalem he -is resolved to go indeed: Oh yes: but not the shadow of a reason can he -find for going there. - -When arrived at Jerusalem, the brethren, says the Acts 20:17, received -him gladly. The brethren: yes, what adherents he had, would of course -receive him gladly, or at least appear to do so. But the money? On their -side, was anything said about the money? Not a syllable. Either at this -time by his own hand, or any time before, by other hands, had they -received this money, or any considerable part of it, could they have -received him otherwise than not only gladly, but gratefully? - -All the time, the hero was thus employed in money-craving and -money-gathering, the historian, let it never be out of mind, was of the -party: four years before, A.D. 53, had he been taken into it; yet not -any the least hint about these money-matters does he give. So far indeed -as regarded what was avowedly for Paul's own use, neither could the -receipt nor the craving of the money from their customers, have been -unknown to him; for this was what they had to live upon. But the letters -his master wrote--wrote to their customers everywhere--letters, in which -the demand was made, for the so much more extensive purpose,--of these, -so many of which have reached these our times, the contents may to him -have easily enough remained a secret: little reason had he to expect, -none at all to fear, the exposure,--which now, at the end of more than -seventeen centuries, has, at length, been made of them,--confronted, as -they may now be, with the particulars he himself has furnished us with. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[13] Acts vii. ver. 47. Speech of St. Stephen. "But Solomon built him an -house. Howbeit the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands; as -saith the prophet, Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: what -house will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the place of my -rest?" In itself, perfectly comfortable all this, to the dictates of -reason and the instruction of Jesus: but not the less clear blasphemy -against the Mosaic law. - -[14] Acts ix. ver. 1 and 2. "And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings -and slaughter against the Disciples of the Lord, _went_ unto the _High -Priest_,--And _desired_ of him letters to Damascus to the Synagogues, -&c." - -[15] Acts xxii. ver. 5. "As also the High Priest doth bear me witness, -and all the estate of the Elders: from _whom also I received letters_ -unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there -bound unto Jerusalem for to be punished." - -[16] Yet, for even at the outset, after certain "days spent with the -disciples," and employed of course in receiving from them the necessary -instructions, he preached Jesus with such energy and success as not only -to "confound," Acts ix. 19 to 24, the unbelieving among the Jews, but to -provoke them to "take counsel to kill him." - -[17] Paul, says--2nd Cor. 11:6--"For though I be rude in speech yet am I -not in knowledge nay, in everything we have made it manifest among all -men to you-ward, or did I commit a sin in abasing myself that ye might -be exalted, because I preached to you the Gospel of God for naught? I -robbed other Churches, taking wages of them that I might minister unto -you; and when I was present with you I was in want, I was not a burden -on any man; for the brethren, when they came from Macedonia supplied the -measure of my want, and in everything I kept myself from being -burdensome unto you and so I will keep myself. As the truth of Christ is -in me no man shall stop me of this glorying in the regions of Achaia, -&c." - -When ever we get a Temperamental and psychological view of Paul, we see -verified the deductions of the author of this treatise, that he was a -transparent imposter. An unscrupulous adventurer. With talent well -adapted to dogmatically command the attention of the ignorant and -especially those of organized hereditary idolatry, the extreme vanity, -the vain glorious pretensions of this new priest was well adapted to -obtain obsequious complacence from such people. He always presents -himself in a controversial spirit of self-exaltation. - -His egotistic diction could hardly be made more manifest than in the -terms above quoted, to wit:--"I robbed other Churches taking wages of -them that I might minister unto you, &c." It presents a striking -contrast to the benevolent and fraternal spirit of Christ and his -disciples. - -[18] N.B. The editor at this place inserts pages of discussion--which -the author exhibited by way of an appendix. At the expense of a little -redundancy and incongruity the editor inserts it in this place.--Ed. - -[19] According to the Acts' account, this same stoning, if it was the -same, was much in the style of that same resurrection of Eutychus, which -we have seen in Chapter xiii. §. 10. As to Paul, when this martyrdom had -been suffered by him,--"some" says Acts xiv. 19, were "supposing he had -been dead:" and on that supposition, "drew him out of the city." Paul, -on the other hand, thought otherwise: he supposed himself alive, and, on -that supposition, he walked off, as if nothing had been the matter with -him. "Certain Jews ... say verses 19 and 20, having stoned Paul, drew -him out of the city, supposing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the -disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and -the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe." - - - - -CHAPTER III. - - _Paul disbelieved.--Neither his divine Commission nor his inward - Conversion ever credited by the Apostles or their Jerusalem - Disciples.--Source of Proof stated._ - - -SECTION 1. - -TO PAUL'S CONVERSION VISION, SOLE ORIGINAL WITNESS HIMSELF. - -Void, as we have seen, of all title to credence, is the story of Paul's -commission from Jesus:--void may it be seen to be, even if taken by -itself, and without need of resort to any counter-evidence. Who could -have expected to have found it, moreover, disproved by the most -irresistible counter-evidence--by the evidence of the Apostles -themselves? Yes: of the Apostles themselves, of whom it will plainly -enough be seen, that by not so much as one of them was it ever believed: -no, not to even the very latest period, of which any account has reached -us: namely that, at which the history of the Acts of the Apostles -closes, or that of the date of the last-written of Paul's Epistles, -whichsoever of the two may be the latest. - -In regard to the story of his conversion, its cause, and manner,--it has -been seen, that it is either from himself directly, or from an adherent -of his, the author of the Acts,--who had it from himself, unless Ananias -was a person known to the author of the Acts, and heard by him,--it is -from Paul, and Paul alone, that all the evidence, which the case has -happened to supply, has been derived. - -In regard to the degree of credence given, to his pretence to the having -received a commission from Jesus, still the same remark applies: still, -either from himself, or from the same partial, and, as will be seen, not -altogether trustworthy, narrator, comes the whole of the evidence, with -which the case happens to have furnished us. - - -SECTION 2. - -COUNTER-WITNESSES, THE APOSTLES. BY THEM, THE STORY WAS PROBABLY -NOT HEARD--CERTAINLY NOT CREDITED. - -Jerusalem, according to the Acts, was the headquarters of the noble army -of the Apostles: the ordinary residence of that goodly fellowship:--a -station, which they none of them ever quitted, for any considerable -length of time. - -In the course of the interval, between the date assigned by Paul to his -conversion, and that of the last particulars we have of his -history,--mention, more or less particular, may be found of four visits -of his--distinctly four related visits, and no more than four,--to that -metropolis of the new Church. On no one of these occasions, could he -have avoided using his endeavours, towards procuring admittance, to the -fellowship of the distinguished persons, so universally known in the -character of the select companions and most confidential servants of -Jesus: of that Jesus, whom, in the flesh at any rate, he never so much -as pretended to have ever seen: _from whom_ he had consequently, if they -thought proper to impart it, so much to learn, or at least to wish to -learn: while _to_ them he had nothing to impart, except that which, if -anything, it was only in the way of _vision_, if in any way, that he had -learned from Jesus. - -That on three at least of these four occasions, viz. the 1st, 3d, and -4th, he accordingly did use his endeavours to confer with them, will be -put out of dispute by direct evidence; and that, in the remaining one, -namely that which in the order of time stands second,--successfully or -not, his endeavours were directed to the same purpose,--will, it will be -seen, be reasonably to be inferred from circumstantial evidence. In the -character of an additional occasion of intercourse, between him and one -of the Apostles, namely, Peter, the chief of them,--will be to be added, -that which will be seen taking place at Antioch; immediately upon the -back, and in consequence, of the third of these same visits of his to -Jerusalem. - -As to the mode of his conversion as above stated,--the _time_, for him -to have stated it to them, was manifestly that of the first of these -four visits;--say his _reconciliation-visit_: and that, of that first -visit, to see them, or at any rate the chief of them, namely, Peter, was -the object,--is what, in his Epistle to the Galatians, we shall see him -declaring in express terms. - -After all--that story of his, in which the supposed manner of his -conversion is related, as above,--did he so much as venture to submit it -to them? The more closely it is examined, the less probable surely will -be seen to be--his having ventured, to submit any such narrative, to a -scrutiny so jealous, as theirs, under these circumstances, could not -fail to be. - -One of two things at any rate will, it is believed, be seen to a -certainty: namely, Either no such story as that which we see, nor -anything like it, was ever told to them by him; or, if yes, it obtained -no credit at their hands. - - -SECTION 3. - -IN PROOF OF THIS, SO MUCH OF THE ACTS HISTORY MUST HERE BE -ANTICIPATED. - -For proof, of the disbelief, which his story will, it is believed, be -found to have experienced, at the hands of those supremely competent -judges,--the time is now come, for collecting together, and submitting -in a confronted state to the reader, all the several particulars that -have reached us, in relation to these four important visits. - -Between the first-recorded and the last-recorded of the four, the length -of the interval being so considerable as it will be seen to be, namely, -upwards of 17 years at the least,--and, in the course of the interval, -so numerous and various a series of incidents being to be seen -comprised,--the consequence is--that this one topic will unavoidably -spread itself to such an extent, as to cover the whole of the -chronological field of the history of the Church in those eventful -times. A sort of necessity has thus been found, of taking a view of the -principal part of all those several incidents, in a sort of historical -order, in a succeeding part of this work: hence, of that which, for the -proof of what has just been advanced, will here be necessary to be -brought to view,--no inconsiderable portion will be an anticipation, of -that which belongs properly to the historical sketch, and, but for this -necessity, would have been reserved for it. - - -SECTION 4. - -TOPICS UNDER HIS SEVERAL JERUSALEM-VISITS. - -Thick clouds, and those covering no small portion of its extent, will, -after everything that can be done to dispel them, be found still hanging -over the field of this inquiry. But, if to the purpose of the present -question, sufficient light be elicited; in whatever darkness any -collateral points may remain still involved, the conclusion will not be -affected by it. - -As to the credibility of Paul's story,--taken in itself, and viewed from -the only position, from which we, at this time of day, can view it,--the -question has just been discussed. - -That which remains for discussion is--whether, from the Church, which -Paul found in existence--the Church composed of the Apostles of Jesus, -and his and their disciples--it ever obtained credence. - -On this occasion, to the Apostles more particularly must the attention -be directed: and this--not only because by their opinion, that of the -great body of those disciples would, of course, on a point of such vital -importance, be governed; but, because, in the case of these confidential -servants and habitual attendants of Jesus, the individuals, of whom the -body is composed, and who are designated by one and the same -denomination, are always determinable: determinable, in such sort, that, -at all times, wheresoever they are represented as being, the eye can -follow them. - -To judge with what aspect Paul with his pretensions was viewed by them, -always with a view to the main question--whether, in any particular, the -alleged supernatural cause of his outward conversion, and thence of his -presumable inward conversion, ever obtained credence from them;--one -primary object, which requires to be attended to, is--personal -intercourse; viz. the sort of personal intercourse, which between him on -the one part, and them, or some of them, on the other part, appears to -have had place. - -Of this intercourse, the several _interviews_, which appear to have -had place, will form the links. Correspondent to those _interviews_ -will be found to be so many _visits_: all of them, except one, -visits made by him to the great original metropolis of the Christian -world--Jerusalem:--the scene of the acts and sufferings of the departed -Jesus:--the ordinary abode of these his chosen disciples and successors. -If, to these visits of Paul's is to be added any other interview,--it -will be in another city, to wit, Antioch: and, in this instance, between -Paul, and not, as in the case of the other visits might naturally be -expected, the Apostles in a body; but one, or some other small number of -members, by whom a visit to that place was made, in consequence of their -having been selected for that purpose, and deputed by the rest. - -Of the interviews corresponding with these visits, the real number,--and -not only the real number, but the number upon record,--is unhappily, in -no inconsiderable degree, exposed to doubt; for, considering the terms -they were upon, as we shall see, at the interviews produced by Paul's -first Jerusalem visit, it does not by any means follow, that, between -the persons in question, because there were two more such visits, there -was, on each occasion, an interview. - -Two of them, however, at any rate, if any degree of credence whatever be -given to the documents, remain altogether clear of doubt: and whatever -uncertainty may be found to attach upon any of the others, may be -regarded as so many fixed points: fixed points, forming so many -standards of reference, to which the others may in speaking of them be -referred, and by reference to which the reality and time of those -others, will be endeavoured to be ascertained. - -For the designation of the visits which produced these two -unquestionable interviews, the terms _Reconciliation Visit_, and -_Invasion Visit_, will here be employed: the former being that which -gave rise to the first-mentioned of the two interviews, which, after the -conversion, appear for certain to have had place between the rival and -contending powers; the other, to the last. - -1. By the _Reconciliation Visit_ is here meant--that visit--by which was -produced the _first_ interview, which, after the conversion of Paul, had -place between him and any of the Apostles. Its title to this appellation -is altogether unquestionable. After these proceedings of Paul's, by -which the destruction of so many of the Christians had already been -effected, and that of all the rest was threatened,--it was not -possible, that, without a reconciliation,--if not an inward at any -rate an outward one,--any interview, on both sides voluntary, should -have taken place. Of the Apostles, Peter was the acknowledged chief: -that it was for the purpose of seeing Peter, that a visit of Paul's to -Jerusalem--the first of those mentioned by him--was made,--is -acknowledged by himself: acknowledged, in that Epistle of his, to his -Galatian disciples, of which so much will have to be said, Gal. i. and -ii.[20] Without the assistance of some mediator, scarcely was it in the -nature of the case, that, in any way, any such reconciliation could have -been effected. In the person of Barnabas,--a most munificent patron, as -will be seen, of the infant church,--this indispensable friend was -found. - -According to the received chronology, the time of this visit was A.D. -38. In the account, given in the Acts, Acts 16:6, of the conjunct -missionary excursion made from Antioch by Paul and Barnabas--an -excursion, the commencement of which is, by that same chronology, placed -in the year 53,--Galatia stands fifth, in the number of the places, -which they are spoken of as visiting. Of any visit, made in that -country, either before this or after it, no mention is to be found in -the Acts, except in Acts 18:23: on which occasion, he is spoken of as -revisiting Galatia, "strengthening the churches."[21] - -Of what passed on the occasion of this visit, the account, given as -above by Paul, will be seen receiving explanation, from what is said of -this same visit in the Acts. - -ACTS ix. 26 to 30. - - 26. And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself - to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not - that he was a disciple.--But Barnabas took him, and brought _him_ - to the Apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in - the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached - boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.--And he was with them - coming in and going out at Jerusalem.--And he spake boldly in the - name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they - went about to slay him.--Which when the brethren knew, they brought - him down to Cęsarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. - -2. By the _Invasion Visit_ is here meant--that visit of Paul to -Jerusalem, by which his arrestation, and consequent visit to Rome in a -state of confinement, were produced. _Invasion_ it may well be termed: -the object of it having manifestly been--the making, in that original -metropolis of the Christian world, spiritual conquests, at the expense -of the gentle sway of the Apostles: spiritual acquisitions--not to speak -of their natural consequences, temporal ones. It was undertaken, as will -be seen, in spite of the most strenuous exertions, made for the -prevention of it: made, not only by those, whose dominions he was so -needlessly invading, but by the unanimous remonstrances and entreaties -of his own adherents. - -The date--assigned to the commencement of this visit, is A.D. 60. -Interval, between this his last recorded visit and his first, according -to the received chronology, 22 years. - -Neither of the occasion of it, nor of any individual occurrence which -took place in the course of it, have we any account--from any other -source than the history of the Acts. Paul's account is all in generals. - - -3. Paul's Jerusalem Visit the Second.--According to the Acts, Acts -11:30, "which also they did, and sent it to the Elders by the hands of -Barnabas and Saul," between these two indisputable interviews of Paul's -with the Apostles occurs another visit, herein designated by the name of -the _Money-bringing Visit_. Under the apprehension of a predicted -dearth, money is sent from the Antioch to the Jerusalem saints. -Barnabas, and with him Paul, are employed in the conveyance of it. Time, -assigned to this Visit, A.D. 43. Of this visit, not any the least trace -is to be found in any Epistle of Paul's. Yet, in this Epistle of his to -his Galatians, he will be seen undertaking in a manner, to give an -account, of every visit of his to Jerusalem, in which, with reference to -spiritual dominion, between himself and the Apostles, anything material -had ever passed. - -By this silence of Paul's, no counter-evidence is opposed, to the -account given of this visit in the Acts. What may very well be is,--that -he went along with the money, and departed, without having had any -personal communication with any Apostle, or even with any one of their -disciples. - -4. _Deputation Visit._ Paul's Jerusalem Visit the Third--say his -Deputation Visit. According to the Acts,[22] Paul being at the Syrian -Antioch, certain men came thither from Judea, teaching, that Mosaic -circumcision is necessary to Christian salvation. Dissension being thus -produced, Paul, and Barnabas as usual with him, are dispatched to confer -on this subject with the Apostles and the Elders--Time, assigned to this -visit, A.D. 52. Interval between the first and this third visit--years -15. - -In addition to the first Jerusalem Visit, mentioned as above by Paul, to -wit, in the first chapter of his Epistle to his Galatians,--in the -second, mention is made of another. - -Of the incidents mentioned by Paul, as belonging to this other visit, -scarcely can any one, unless it be that of his having Barnabas for a -companion, be found, that presents itself as being the same with any -incident mentioned in the Acts, in the account given of the above named -Deputation Visit. But, between the two accounts, neither does any -repugnance manifest itself: and, forasmuch as, in a statement, the -purpose of which required that no interview, in which anything material -passed between him and the Apostles, should pass unnoticed,--he mentions -no more than one visit besides the first,--it seems reasonable to -conclude, that it was but one and the same visit, that, in the penning -of both these accounts, was in view. - -As far as appears, it is from the account thus given by Paul of the -second, of the two visits mentioned by him as made to Jerusalem, that -the received chronology has deduced the year, which it assigns to the -Deputation Visit, as recorded in the Acts. - -In Paul's account alone--in Paul's, and not in that in the Acts--is the -distance given in a determinate number of years. According to one of two -interpretations, 17--the number above mentioned as adopted in the -current chronology--is the number of years mentioned by Paul as -intervening between those two visits. But even in this place, a -circumstance that must not pass altogether unnoticed is,--that, -according to another interpretation, to which the text presents itself -as almost equally open, the length of the interval would be considerably -greater. Galatians i. 17: "Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which -were Apostles before me: but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto -Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, -and abode with him fifteen days." After what period?--after that of his -conversion? or after the expiration of this his second visit to -Damascus? Reckoning from this latter period, the interval may be ever so -much greater than that of the three years: for, to the three years may -be added an indefinite length of time for the second, and even for the -first, of his abodes at Damascus. But, as we advance, reason will appear -for concluding, that, being in the eyes of the Damascus rulers, as well -as the Jerusalem rulers, a traitor--in the highest degree a traitor--his -abode at Damascus could not, at either of these times, have been other -than short as well as secret. - -Gal. ii. 1: "Then, fourteen years after, I went up again to Jerusalem -with Barnabas, and took Titus also." This being supposed to be the -Deputation Visit, these fourteen added to the former three, make the -seventeen. - -5. _Peter's Antioch Visit._--In Paul's Epistle, addressed to his -Galatians, as above,--immediately after the mention of his own second -Jerusalem Visit as above, comes the mention of an interview, which he -says he has at Antioch with Peter: "Peter being come," he says, "to that -place." Gal. ii. 11. In the Acts, 15:22, immediately upon the back of -the accounts of the Deputation Visit, as above,--comes an account of -what may be called a _counter Deputation Visit_. Of the former -Deputation Visit, according to the Acts, the result is--from the -Apostles, the Elders, and the whole Church, a _letter_, concluding with -a _decree_: and "by men chosen of their own company," this letter is -stated as having been carried to Antioch: and, with these men, so -chosen, Paul and Barnabas are stated as returning to Antioch, from which -city, as above, they had been deputed. As and for the names of "chosen -men," those of Judas, surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, are mentioned: -"chief men among the brethren" is another title by which they are, both -of them, distinguished. To these, no other names are added: in -particular, not that of Peter. Thus far the Acts. - -As to Paul, in the account _he_ gives, of the discussion, to which, -after--and apparently, as above, in consequence of--his _secondly -mentioned_ interview with Peter at Jerusalem,--no mention is made either -of Judas Barsabas, or of Silas: of Peter--and him alone--it is, that, on -this occasion, any mention is made. Peter comes, as it should seem, to -Antioch from Jerusalem; which last city seems to have been his ordinary -abode. But, on this occasion likewise, in addition to this visitor, -mention is again made of Barnabas, of whom, as far as appears, from the -time of the Reconciliation Visit down to this time, Antioch was the -ordinary abode. In relation to each of these several Visits, a brief -preparatory indication of the topic or topics, which will be brought to -view, when an account comes to be given of it, may in this place have -its use. - -I. _Reconciliation Visit._--On this occasion, a difficulty that -naturally presents itself--is--if the relation is in substance true, and -the occasion is the same--how it can have happened, that if Peter was at -Antioch--Peter, the universally acknowledged chief of the Apostles--no -mention should be to be found of him in the Acts: instead of him, two -men as yet unknown--this _Judas Barsabas_, and this _Silas_--neither of -them of the number belonging to the goodly fellowship of the -Apostles,--being the only persons mentioned. - -But, for this difficulty, conjecture presents a solution, in which there -is nothing either in itself improbable, or inconsistent with either of -the two accounts--that of Paul as above, and that in the Acts. This -is--that those two were the men, and the only men, deputed in the first -instance: but, that after them, at no long interval, came thither to -their assistance that chief of the Apostles. Whether the importance of -the question be considered--to wit, whether, upon being received as -Christians, Gentiles should be obliged to submit to Mosaic -circumcision--whether the importance of the question, or the -strenuousness of the debates to which it is spoken of as having given -rise, Acts 15:2, be considered--the visit of the chief of the Apostles -at Jerusalem, to the scene of controversy at Antioch, presents not any -supposition, to which any imputation of improbability seems to attach. - -ACTS xv. 1 to 34. - - 1. And certain men which came down from Judea taught the brethren - and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye - cannot be saved.--When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no small - dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul and - Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto - the Apostles and Elders about this question.--And being brought on - their way by the Church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, - declaring the conversion of the Gentiles, and they caused great joy - unto all the brethren.--And when they were come to Jerusalem, they - were received of the Church, and of the Apostles and Elders, and - they declared all things that God had done with them.--But there - rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, - saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them - to keep the law of Moses.--And the Apostles and Elders came - together for to consider of this matter.--And when there had been - much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and - brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among - us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the - Gospel, and believe.--And God which knoweth the hearts, bare them - witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us:--And - put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by - faith.--Now therefore why tempt ye God to put a yoke upon the necks - of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to - bear?--But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus - Christ, we shall be saved even as they.--Then all the multitude - kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring - what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by - them.--And after they had held their peace, James answered, saying, - Men and brethren, hearken unto me.--Simeon hath declared how God at - the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for - his name.--And to this agree the words of the Prophets; as it is - written,--After this I will return, and will build again the - tabernacle of David which is fallen down; and I will build again - the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:--That the residue of men - might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name - is called, saith the Lord who doeth all these things.--Known unto - God are all his works from the beginning of the world.--Wherefore - my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the - Gentiles are turned to God:--But that we write unto them, that they - abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from - things strangled, and from blood.--For Moses of old time hath in - every city, them that preach him, being read in the synagogues - every sabbath-day.--Then pleased it the Apostles and Elders, with - the whole Church, to send chosen men of their own company to - Antioch with Paul and Barnabas; _namely_, Judas surnamed Barsabas, - and Silas, chief men among the brethren.--And they wrote letters by - them after this manner; The apostles and elders and brethren send - greeting unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and - Syria and Cilicia.--Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which - went out from us have troubled you with words, subverting your - souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised; and keep the law; to whom we - gave no such commandment:--It seemed good unto us, being assembled - with one accord, to send chosen men unto you, with our beloved - Barnabas and Paul;--Men that have hazarded their lives for the name - of our Lord Jesus Christ.--We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, - who shall also tell you the same things by mouth.--For it seemed - good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater - burden than these necessary things;--That ye abstain from meats - offered to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and - from fornication: from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall do - well. Fare ye well.--So when they were dismissed, they came to - Antioch: and when they had gathered the multitude together, they - delivered the Epistle.--Which when they had read, they rejoiced for - the consolation.--And Judas and Silas, being prophets also - themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words, and confirmed - them.--And after they had tarried there a space, they were let go - in peace from the brethren unto the Apostles.--34. Notwithstanding - it pleased Silas to abide there still. - -GALATIANS ii. 1 to the end. - - 1. Then fourteen years after, I went up again to Jerusalem with - Barnabas, and took Titus with me also.--And I went up by - revelation, and communicated unto them that Gospel which I preach - among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, - lest by any means I should run, or had run in vain.--But neither - Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be - circumcised.--And that because of false brethren unawares brought - in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in - Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.--To whom we - gave place by subjection, no not for an hour; that the truth of the - Gospel might continue with you.--But of those, who seemed to be - somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me; God - accepteth no man's person) for they who seemed _to be somewhat_, in - conference added nothing to me.--But contrariwise, when they saw - that the Gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the - Gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter:--For he that wrought - effectually in Peter to the Apostleship of the circumcision, the - same was mighty in me towards the Gentiles.--And when James, - Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace - that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right - hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they - unto the circumcision.--Only _they would_ that we should remember - the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.--But when Peter - was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to - be blamed.--For before that certain came from James, he did eat - with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew, and - separated himself, fearing them _which were_ of the - circumcision.--And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him, - insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away by their - dissimulation.--But when I saw that they walked not uprightly, - according to the truth of the Gospel, I said unto Peter before them - all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and - not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do - the Jews?--We _who are_ Jews by nature, and not sinners of the - Gentiles,--Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the - law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in - Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and - not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no - flesh be justified.--But if while we seek to be justified by Christ - we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the - minister of sin? God forbid.--For if I build again the things which - I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor.--For I through the law - am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.--I am crucified - with Christ. Nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in - me: and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith - of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.--21. I do - not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness _come_ by the - law, then Christ is dead in vain. - -Of the falsity of his story concerning the manner of his -conversion,--one proof, that has been given, has been deduced from the -inconsistency, of the several accounts which we have of it--all of them -originally from himself--as compared with one another. - -Of the erroneousness of the notion of his having ever been in the eyes -of the Apostles what he professed himself to be--of this, and at the -same time of the want of correctness, and trustworthiness, in every -account, which, by him, or from him, is to be seen rendered, of his -proceedings, adventures, and dangers--proof will, on the ensuing -occasions, be afforded, by evidence of this same kind: by similar -instances of inconsistency, which will be all along brought to view. - -On the occasion of his _first_ visit to Jerusalem--to the metropolis of -Christendom--will be to be noted--1. The cause and manner of his -arrival. 2. The circumstances of his abode--its duration, and business. -3. The cause and circumstances of his departure. 4. The general result -of this his expedition. - -1. Of the cause of his visit, and manner of his arrival, we shall see -two different accounts: namely, one, given by himself directly, in an -epistle of his to his disciples in Galatia; the other, by a man, who -afterwards became his adherent and travelling companion--namely the -author of the Acts. - -2. Of the duration and business of his abode, we shall see, in like -manner, two different accounts, delivered respectively by those same -pens. - -3. So, of the cause of his departure;--from the same two sources. - -4. So, of the circumstances of it. - -5. Of the general result of this same expedition of his, we have no -fewer than three different accounts: namely, the same two as above; with -the addition of a third, as reported, in the Acts, to have been given by -Paul himself, in the course of the speech he made, at the time of his -fourth visit, to an assembled multitude, headed by the constituted -authorities among the Jews:--when, after having been dragged by force -out of the Temple, he would--had he not been saved by a commander of the -Roman guard--have been torn to pieces. - -On this occasion, we shall find, that, by his own confession, made for a -particular purpose--for the purpose of saving his life--under an -exigency which allowed no time for the study of consistency, and -recorded by the blindness and inconsiderateness of his biographer;--we -shall find, that the account, whatever it was, which, on the occasion of -this his first visit, he gave of himself to the Apostles, failed -altogether in its endeavours to obtain credence. - - -SECTION 5. - -TOPICS UNDER VISIT II.--MONEY-BRINGING VISIT. - -Of the occasion and particulars of the second of these four visits, we -have but one account: viz. that which is to be seen in the Acts. - -Compared with what belongs to the other visits, that which belongs to -this is but of small importance. The information, to be collected from -it, will, however, be seen to be this: namely, that this was the second, -of the attempts he made to join himself to the Apostles: and that it -succeeded no better than the first. It did not even succeed so well: -for, notwithstanding the claims which the business of it gave him to -their regard--it was to bring them a sum of money, the fruit of the -liberality of the Church at Antioch--he could not so much as obtain -admittance into the presence of any one of them. Without much -hesitation, this may be affirmed. If he had, he would have made mention -of it: for, it will be seen, that, whatsoever apparent countenance he -ever succeeded in obtaining from them, it was his care to make the most -of it. - - -SECTION 6. - -REMARKS ON VISIT III.--DEPUTATION VISIT. - -Of the occasion, and particulars, and termination, of the _third_ of -these four visits, we have two, and but two, accounts: one--that given -in the Acts; the other--that given by Paul himself, as above, in his -letter to his Galatians: that in the Acts, the only one which goes into -particulars; and which must accordingly be taken for the basis of the -narrative, and in that character be brought to view in the first -instance: that given by Paul himself confining itself to generals; but, -as far as it goes, much more to be depended upon, and affording much -more instruction, than that given in the Acts. - -Among its immediate consequences, this third visit appears to have had -some sort of intercourse between Paul and Saint Peter at Antioch--the -next most considerable seat of the new religion after Jerusalem; at -Antioch, to which city, Paul,--who, with Barnabas, had been settled -there,--was on his return: Peter being then on a temporary visit, made -to that place, for the final settlement of the business, by which the -last preceding visit of Paul to Jerusalem had been occasioned. - -At the time of this visit, the residence of Paul was at this same -Antioch. The occasion of it was--the dissemination there, of a doctrine, -which, by certain persons not named, had been imported thither from -Jerusalem: a doctrine, according to which it was taught to the -brethren--"Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot -be saved." For the settlement of this important matter,--Barnabas, with -Paul for his companion, besides other companions not named, was, by the -brethren at Antioch, now, for the second time, sent, as a delegate, to -the brethren at Jerusalem. - -On every one of these three visits, it was under the protection of this -Barnabas (it will be seen) that Paul had presented himself:--on the -first of them, for the purpose of making known his conversion, and, if -possible, forming a connection with the brethren there;--the second, for -the purpose of bringing them money, the fruits of the respect and -affection of the brethren at Antioch;--the third time, for the -settlement of this important point of doctrine. As for Barnabas, he was -a _Cypriot_, who, as will be seen, had an establishment at Jerusalem: -and who, by his indefatigable zeal, added to his unrivalled munificence, -appears to have obtained an influence not exceeded by any but that of -the Apostles. - -Of this same Deputation Visit, being the third of the recorded visits of -Paul to Jerusalem,--followed by, and coupled with, one of Peter to -Antioch--Gal. ii. 11, the place of Paul's residence,--two most important -results, or alleged results, are mentioned: the first, mentioned by the -author of the Acts alone, the decree, of a council, composed of the -Apostles and certain other persons, by the name of Elders, at -Jerusalem;--which decree, together with a letter, was from thence sent -by the hands of Judas Barsabas and Silas, to the brethren at Antioch; -Paul and Barnabas being of the party, on their return to that same -place: the other result, mentioned by Paul alone, a sort of _partition -treaty_, by which the field of doctrinal labour, and thence of spiritual -dominion was divided between him, (Paul), on the one part, and the -Apostles on the other. The _Jewish world_, for a less ambiguous -designation would hardly find a sufficient warrant, to remain with the -Apostles; the _Gentile world_, to be left free to the exertions of the -declared convert and self-constituted Apostle. As to the _decree and -letter_, reasons for questioning the authenticity of these documents -will be hereinafter brought to view, Ch. 6. Of the _partition treaty_, -the reality presents itself as altogether natural and probable--and, by -circumstantial as well as direct evidence, sufficiently established: by -direct evidence supported, by circumstantial evidence confirmed. - - -SECTION 7. - -TOPICS UNDER VISIT IV.--INVASION VISIT. - -Of the occasion of the fourth and last of these four visits--call it -_Paul's Invasion Visit_--we have, though but from one immediate source, -what may, to some purposes, be called two distinct and different -accounts, included one within another: to wit, that which the historian -gives as from himself, and that which he puts into the mouth of his -hero, whose adventures he is relating. On this subject, from the mouth -of the hero, the historian has not given us, and probably could not give -us, anything but mystery. From the circumstances, it will be seen, -whether the appellation _Invasion Visit_, by which this last of his -recorded visits to Jerusalem is here distinguished, is not fully -justified. - -Neither, of the occurrences which took place during the course of it, -nor of the mode in which it terminated, have we any more than one -account; viz. the account which, speaking in his own person, is given of -it by the author of the Acts.[23] - -But, upon one part of this account--and that a part in itself in no -small degree obscure--light, and that such as, it is believed, will be -found to dispel the darkness, will be seen thrown, by an article of the -Mosaic law: upon which article, light will be seen reciprocally -reflected, by the application here recorded as having been made of it. -This regards the _Temple scene_:--an expensive ceremony spun out for -days together only to produce the effect of an _Oath_. - -On the occasion of this visit, in spite of a universal opposition on the -part of all concerned--his own adherents and dependents, as well as his -adversaries of all classes included,--Paul, for reasons by himself -studiously concealed,--and, if brought to light at all, brought to light -no otherways than by inference,--will be seen making his entry into -Jerusalem, as it were by force. In the hope of freeing themselves, as it -should seem, of this annoyance, it is,--that the rulers of the Christian -church, insist upon his clearing himself from certain suspicions, in the -harbouring of which the whole church had concurred.[24] - - -SECTION 8. - -SELF-WRITTEN BIOGRAPHY--ITS SUPERIOR VALUE AND CLAIM TO CREDENCE. - -On the occasion of this portion of history, it seems particularly -material, to bring to view an observation, which, on the occasion of -every portion of history, it will, it is believed, be of no small use to -have in remembrance. - -In comparison of self-written biography, scarcely does any other -biography deserve the name. - -Faint, indeterminate, uninstructive, deceptive, is the information -furnished by any other hand, of whatsoever concerns the state of the -mental frame, in comparison of what is furnished by a man's own. Even of -those particulars which make against himself,--even of those motives and -intentions which he would most anxiously conceal,--more clear and -correct, as far as it goes, if not more complete--is the information -given by him, than any which is commonly afforded, even by an impartial -hand. By a man's own hand, not unfrequently is information afforded, of -a sort which makes against himself, and which would not, because it -could not, have been afforded by any other hand, though ever so hostile. -He states the self-condemnatory mental facts, the blindness of -self-partiality concealing from his eyes the condemnatory inference: or, -even with his eyes open, he lays himself under the imputation: bartering -merit in this or that inferior shape, for the merit of candour, or for -the hope of augmenting the probative force of his own self-serving -evidence, in favour of every other merit for which it is his ambition to -gain credence. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[20] Gal. i. 18. "Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see -Peter, and abode with him fifteen days." - -[21] Of any mention made of Galatia, in any of the Books of the New -Testament, the following are, according to Cruden's Concordance, the -only instances: 1 Cor. xvi. 1. "... have given order to the churches at -Galatia." Times, assigned to these Epistles, A.D. 59. 2 Tim. iv. 10: -"Crescens is departed to Galatia." A.D. 66. 1 Pet. i. 1: "to the -strangers scattered in Galatia." Date A.D. 60. - -[22] Acts xv. 1-4. 1. "And certain men which came down from Judea taught -the brethren and said, Except ye be circumcised after the manner of -Moses, ye cannot be saved.--When therefore Paul and Barnabas had no -small dissension and disputation with them, they determined that Paul -and Barnabas and certain other of them should go up to Jerusalem unto -the Apostles and Elders about this question.--And being brought on their -way by the church, they passed through Phenice and Samaria, declaring -the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused great joy unto all the -brethren.--And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of -the Church, and of the Apostles and Elders, and they declared all things -that God had done with them." - -[23] Be this as it may, that he must have been in the way to hear, from -various persons present, accounts, such as they were, of what was said -by Paul,--seems to follow almost of course. This seems applicable even -to the _latest_ of the two occasions; for, though the place, Cęsarea, -was some distance from Jerusalem, 56 miles,--yet the distance was not so -great, but that the persons, who were attached to him, might, for the -most part, be naturally supposed to have followed him: and in particular -the historian, who, according to his history, continued in Paul's suite -till, at the conclusion of this his forced excursion, he arrived at -Rome. - -But, on the subject of _possible materials_, one concluding query here -presents itself. On a _subject_ such as that in question, on an -_occasion_, such as that in question, for a _purpose_ such as that in -question, a _speech_ such as either of those in question, might it not, -by a person in the historian's situation--not to speak of other -situations--be just as easily made without any special materials, as -with any the most correct and complete stock of materials? - -[24] Between Paul's third visit, and that which is here reckoned as his -fourth, another is, by some, supposed[I.] to, have been taken place; on -which supposition, this concluding one, which is here styled the fourth, -ought to be reckoned the fifth. - -But, for the support of this supposition, the grounds referred to for -this purpose do not seem sufficient:--not that, if the supposition were -true, any consequence material to the present purpose would follow. - -For this supposition, what ground there is, consists in a passage in the -Acts:--Acts 18:20, 21, 22. - -20. When they, the Jews at Ephesus, desired [him] to tarry longer time -with them, he consented not; - -But bade them farewell, saying, I _must_ by all means _keep this feast -that cometh in Jerusalem_; but I will return again unto you, if God -will. And he sailed from Ephesus. - -And when he had _landed_ at Cęsarea, and _gone up_, and saluted the -_church_, he _went down_ to Antioch. - -There we have the grounds of the supposition. But, what is the support -they give to it?--declaration, affirming the existence of an intention, -is one thing; actually existing intention is another. Even supposing the -existence of the intention in question,--intention is one thing; -corresponding action, another. Jerusalem is not mentioned. Cęsarea -being on the sea-coast, Jerusalem is indeed in the interior: and -therefore, it may be said, is a place, to which, if a man went from -Cęsarea, he would "_go up_:" but, from Cęsarea, it being on the coast, -a man could not go to any place in Judaea not on the coast, without -_going up_. - -So much for _place_:--and now as to _time_. The time mentioned as the -object of the _intention_, is the _passover_; but, that the time, at -which, being _gone up_, Paul "_saluted the church_"--this being all -which, upon this _going up_, he is here stated as doing--that this time -was the passover, is not stated. - -As to the _salute_ here stated as given to the _church_,--at the -conclusion, and as a material part of the result, of this inquiry, it -will appear plain beyond all doubt, that, if by "_the church_" be -understood any member of it at Jerusalem, besides two, or at most three, -of the Apostles,--according to this interpretation, from the time of his -Conversion Visit to Damascus antecedently to his first visit to -Jerusalem, down to the last visit here reckoned as his fourth--there -never was a day on which the _church_ would have received his salute. - -What will also be rendered manifest is--that it was an object with the -author of the Acts, to induce a belief, that Paul, before the conclusion -of his first visit, was upon good terms with the church, and so -continued to the last: and that, to this end, a purposed -misrepresentation was employed by the historian. - -Not that, in regard to the visit here in question, to the purpose of the -argument--it makes any sort of difference, whether it had place or had -not. If it had place, neither the conclusion, nor any part of the -argument, will be seen to require any variation in consequence. - - [I.] Wells's _Historical Geography of the Old and New Testament_, - ii. 271. Ch. 5. Of Saint Paul's Travels and Voyages into Asia. - "St. Paul" (says Wells very composedly) "_having kept_ the passover - at Jerusalem, went thence down, &c."--And for this the Acts are - quoted as above: but the Acts, it will here be seen, say no such - thing. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - - Paul disbelieved _continued_.--_First of his four Visits to - Jerusalem after his Conversion_; _say_ Jerusalem Visit I. _or_ - Reconciliation Visit.--_Barnabas introducing him from Antioch to - the Apostles._ - - -SECTION 1. - -PAUL'S PROCEEDINGS BETWEEN HIS CONVERSION AND THIS -VISIT.--CONTRADICTION. PER PAUL, IT WAS NOT TILL AFTER THREE YEARS -SPENT IN ARABIA; PER ACTS, IMMEDIATELY. - -Already on another occasion, and for a different purpose, have the two -accounts, between which this self-contradiction manifests itself, been -brought to view: viz. on the occasion of the accounts, given or -supposed to be given, by Paul, of the cause and manner of his -conversion:--accounts given in the first place, in writing, and -consequently, with all requisite time for deliberation, in his Epistle -to the Galatians:--given, or supposed to be given, in the next place, by -a speech spoken, namely, that which, in the Acts is reported as spoken -by him, on the occasion of his trial, to Festus and Agrippa:--Festus, -the Roman Proconsul, Agrippa, the Jewish King. - -In the whole account of this matter, as given by Paul in his Epistle to -the Galatians, how much of truth there probably was, and how much of -falsehood or misrepresentation,--has been seen already in some measure, -ch. II. i. 5, and will be seen more fully as we advance. - -As to his motive for this visit, he has endeavoured to keep it to -himself: but, by the result, according to the account he himself gives -of it, it is betrayed. It was--to effect the so much needed -_reconciliation_:--his reconciliation with the Apostles:--the Apostles, -in relation to whom his disregard is professed, the need he had of them, -no otherwise than virtually, nor yet the less effectually confessed. -Without an interval of considerable length between his conversion and -this visit, all such reconciliation would have been plainly hopeless. -From this circumstance, the length, as alleged by him, of his abode in -Arabia, receives obvious and highly probative confirmation. The -confirmation is, indeed, reciprocal. The nature of his situation, proves -the need he had, of an interval of considerable length, before any hope -of reconciliation could be fulfilled, or, naturally speaking, so much -as conceived: by this circumstance, his abode in some other country is -rendered probable to us: and this other country may, for aught we know, -as well have been the country mentioned by him--to wit, _Arabia_, -as any other: and, thus it is, that this assertion, of his having -been three years in Arabia, between the time of his departure from -Jerusalem to Damascus, and his return to Jerusalem to see Peter, is -confirmed:--confirmed, by the natural length, of the interval, requisite -to the affording any, the least chance, that Peter could be induced to -meet upon terms of amity and intercourse a man, in whom he beheld the -murderer of a countless multitude of human beings, linked to him by the -closest bonds of self-regarding interest, as well as sympathy and -brotherly love. - -As to contradiction, contradiction cannot easily be much more pointed, -than it will be seen to be, between the account in respect of time, as -given in this instance by Paul, and the account given of it by his -historiographer in the Acts. On a double ground, it is Paul's account -that claims the precedence. Of _his_ account, such as it is, the rank, -in the scale of trustworthiness, is that of _immediate_ evidence; that -of his historiographer, no higher than that of _unimmediate_ -evidence:--evidence once removed; having, for its most probable and -least untrustworthy source, that same _immediate_ evidence. Paul's -evidence is, at the same time, not only more circumstantiated, but -supported by the reasons which he has combined with it. Not till three -years after his alleged miraculous conversion, did he go near to any of -the Apostles.--Why?--Because, though, _at_ that time, for reasons which -he has left us to guess, he had regarded himself as having considerable -need of them,--_till_ that time he did not regard himself as having any -need of them. And, why was it, that, for so great a length of time, he -did not regard himself as having any need of them?--The answer he -himself gives us, Gal. i. 10: ... "do I seek to please men?--I certify -to you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me, is not after -man.--For I received it not of man, nor was I taught it but by the -revelation of Jesus Christ.--When it pleased God, who called me by his -grace,--to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the -heathen, _immediately_ I conferred not with flesh and blood:--Neither -went I up to Jerusalem to them which were Apostles before me; but I went -into Arabia, and returned _again_ unto Damascus.--Then after three years -I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen -days.--But other of the Apostles saw I none, save James, the Lord's -brother." - -Thus far Paul himself. Let us now see, what is said in regard to the -time, by his subsequent attendant and historiographer. Acts ix ... "as -he (Saul) journeyed, he came near Damascus, and, suddenly there shined -round him a light," &c.--ver. 8. "And Saul arose from the earth, and ... -they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.--And he was -three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.--And there was -a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord -in a vision...--...go into the street called _Straight_, and inquire -in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus...--17. And Ananias -... entered into the house, and ... said, Brother Saul, the Lord ... -hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight ...--And ... he -received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.--And when he had -received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the -disciples which were at Damascus.--And straightway he preached Christ -in the synagogues,...--22. ... and confounded the Jews which dwelt at -Damascus,...--And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took -counsel to kill him.--... and they watched the gates day and night to -kill him.--Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the -wall in a basket.--And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to -join himself to the disciples: but they were _all_ afraid of him, and -_believed not that he was a disciple_.--But Barnabas took him, and -brought him to the _Apostles_, and declared unto them how he had seen -the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had -preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus." - -With what the historiographer says in his own person, agrees, as to the -particular point now in question, what, in the studied oration, he puts -into Paul's mouth. In that account likewise, immediately after the -mention of what Paul did at Damascus,--follows, the mention of what he -did at Jerusalem: and, as to everything done by him among the Gentiles, -not only does the mention of it come after the mention of what was done -by him at Jerusalem, but, between the two, comes the mention, of -whatever was done by him, in any of the coasts of Judea. Acts 26:19. -"Whereupon, O, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly -vision:--but showed, first unto them of Damascus, and of Jerusalem, and -throughout all the coasts of Judea; and then to the Gentiles, that they -should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance." - -Here then, according to Paul's own account, after his visit to Damascus -from Jerusalem, he visited Arabia, and moreover Damascus a second time, -before he made his visit to Jerusalem to see Peter: before this visit -did he make both those other visits; and, in making them, pass three -years, with or without the addition, of the time, occupied by his first -visit to Damascus,--and the time, occupied by his abode in Arabia. -According to Paul's own account then, between his second departure from, -and his arrival at, Jerusalem from thence, there was an interval either -of three years, or of so much more than three years. On the contrary, -according to both the accounts given of the matter by his -historiographer in the Acts, there was not between the two events in -question, any interval other than such as the journey from the one to -the other--about 130 British miles as the crow flies, say about 160, -allowance made for turnings and windings,--would require. - -Now, as between Jews and Gentiles, _alias_ heathens:--to which of these -two descriptions of persons, were his preachings addressed in the first -instance? - -According to his Epistle to his Galatians, preaching to the heathen -being his peculiar destination, this accordingly is the vocation upon -which he proceeded in the first place: and we have seen how probable it -is, not to say certain, that, in this particular, what he asserted was -true. His appointment being to "the heathen," he conferred not with -flesh and blood: _i.e._ with the Apostles, their immediate disciples, or -other flesh and blood of the Christian persuasion: for, of any such -conference--of any assistance or support from any such quarter, he has, -in this same Epistle, been declaring and protesting--most vehemently -protesting--that he had no need. Neither then for the purpose of -conference with "those who were Apostles," as he says, "before him," nor -for any other purpose, went he up to Jerusalem: no, not till either -three years after his conversion, or three years, with the addition of -another term of unmeasurable length. - -Now then, how stands this matter according to the Acts--according to the -speech put into Paul's mouth by the author of the Acts? Instead of the -Gentiles being the description of persons, to whom, in the first -instance, he applies his labours,--it is the Jews. What he _shows_ is -"_shown_," in the first place, to those "of Damascus;" then "at -Jerusalem;" then "throughout all the coasts of Judea;" and, not till -_then_--to the Gentiles: of his abode in Arabia--of any visit of his to -Arabia--not any of the slightest mention, or so much as allusion to it. -But, all this while, for anything that appears to the contrary, Arabia -was completely open to him: whereas, after the offence he had committed -against the authority of the ruling powers at Judea, it was not, morally -speaking, in the nature of things that he could have continued in any -place coming within that description--have continued, long enough to -make any sensible impression: and, in Jerusalem in particular, in this -same Epistle to the Galatians, from which the above particulars are -taken,--it was, as he himself declares, only in secrecy, that, even -fourteen years after this, he ventured to disseminate those doctrines, -whatever they were, that were peculiar to himself, 2nd Gal.: 1, 2. -"Then, fourteen years after, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, -and took Titus with me. And I went up by revelation, and communicated -unto them that Gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but _privately_ -to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had -run, in vain." - -Thus stands the contrariety:--the contrariety, between Paul's own -account of his own proceedings, and the account, which, by the author of -the Acts, he is represented as giving of them, on another occasion. -Says Paul _himself_, in his own Epistle to his Galatians--After my -conversion, it was to the Gentiles that I applied myself first: to the -Jews, not till afterwards; nor then, to any considerable extent. Says -the author of the _Acts_, in a speech, which he puts into the mouth of -Paul--It was to the Jews that he applied himself first, and _that_ to a -great extent: to the Gentiles, not till afterwards. - -Thus stands the contrariety, taken in itself. As to the _cause_, it will -neither be far to seek, nor dubious. In the differences of situations, -occasions, and purposes in view--in the differences, that had place in -respect of all those particulars--it will be found. - -On the occasion, on which Paul himself speaks, what was the persuasion -which it was his endeavour to produce? It was--that, for a number of -years, commencing from the moment of his conversion,--with no persons, -who, to this purpose, could be called _Jews_, had he, to any such -purpose as this, had any intercourse: for, this being admitted, it -followed, of course, that, if, on the subject of the religion of Jesus, -he had really received the information he declared himself to have -received, it was _not_ from the Apostles, that he had had it, or any -part of it. "On them (says he) I am perfectly independent: to them I am -even superior. With Jesus _they_ had no communication but in a natural -way; with the same Jesus _I_ have had communication in a supernatural -way:--in the way of '_revelation_.' My communication with him is, -moreover, of a date posterior to theirs--to any that they can pretend -to: in so far as there is any contrariety between that I teach and what -they teach, it is for theirs, on both these accounts--it is for theirs, -to yield to mine. From God is my doctrine: in opposition to it, if -either they, or any other men presume to preserve, let the curse of God -be on their heads. ver. 8. Accordingly, at the time of my first visit to -Jerusalem after my conversion, no communication had I with them, for, no -such communication, teaching as I did from revelation, could I stand in -need of, I had already passed three years at least in Arabia, teaching -to the Gentiles there my peculiar doctrine. This peculiar doctrine, as I -made no scruple of teaching it to those Gentiles, as little, on the -occasion of that visit of mine to Jerusalem, did I make any scruple of -teaching it to Jews as well as Gentiles. True it is, I did not then -teach it publicly:--I did not teach my peculiar doctrine, so publicly as -they did theirs. But, as to this comparative secrecy, it had for its -cause the advantage of being free from opposition; for, had the fact of -my teaching this doctrine so different from theirs--been known to -them,--they might have opposed it, and thus my labours might have been -lost." - -Whether, in the representation here given of what he says to his -Galatians, there be any misrepresentation, the reader may judge. - -On the occasion, on which _his historian_ represents him as speaking, -what now, as to this same matter, was the persuasion, which the nature -of his situation required him to endeavour to produce? It was, that Jews -were the sort of persons, with whom, during the period in question, he -had, to the purpose in question, been holding intercourse: Jews, even in -preference to--not to say to the exclusion of--Gentiles: so far is he -from being _now_ represented, as stating himself to have held converse -with Gentiles, to the exclusion of Jews; which is, that of which he -_himself_ has been seen taking so much pains to persuade his Galatian -disciples. Yes: as far as competition could have place, Jews, on this -occasion, in _preference_, at least, to Gentiles: for, on this occasion, -what he was labouring at was--to recommend himself to the favour of his -Jewish Judge, King Agrippa, Acts 26:8-21, by magnifying the services he -had been rendering to the Jews, his very accusers not excepted: -services, to the rendering of which, close and continued intercourse, -during that same period, could not but have been necessary. - -On this occasion, being accused of--his historian does not choose to say -what,--his defence was--that, of the persecution he was suffering, his -preaching the _resurrection_ was the only real cause: that, having been -born and bred a Pharisee,--in preaching that doctrine, so far from -opposing, he had been supporting, with all his might, the principles -maintained by the constituted authorities: adducing, in proof of the -general proposition, the evidence furnished by a particular fact, the -resurrection, that had place in the case of Jesus, Acts 25:19: that -when, in his conversion vision, Jesus gave him his commission, the -principal object of that commission was--the instruction of the -Gentiles: to wit, by informing them--that, to such of them as would -believe in the resurrection, and repent of their sins, and do works -accordingly,--the benefit of it would be extended: that to this mandate, -it was true, he did not ultimately fail to pay substantial obedience: -yet, such was his affection for his brethren the Jews,--that it was not -till, for a considerable time, he had been conferring on _them_ the -benefit of his labours, that he betook himself to the Gentiles. Acts -26:19. "I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision:--But showed -first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the -coasts of Judea; and _then_ to the Gentiles, that they should repent, -&c.--For these causes the Jews caught me in the Temple, and went about -to kill me." - -The repugnancy (says somebody), the repugnancy, is--not between Paul and -Paul--but between Paul and the author of the Acts; and, since the facts -in question are occurrences in which Paul himself was either agent or -patient, to the author of the Acts, and not to Paul, is the -incorrectness, wherever it be, to be imputed. Be it so: for the purpose -of the argument at least, be it so: but, if so it be, what are we to -think of the author of the Acts? Take away the author of the Acts, what -becomes of Paul? Take away the authority of the Acts in the character of -an inspired writer--writing from supernatural inspiration, after an -immediate and continued intercourse, in some unexplained and -inexplicable manner, with the Almighty,--what remains, then, of the -evidence, on the ground of which the mighty fabric of Paul and his -doctrine has been erected? - -A man, who is thus continually in contradiction--sometimes with himself, -at other times with the most unimpeachable authorities--what credence -can, with reason and propriety, be given to his evidence, in relation to -any important matter of fact? at any rate, when any purpose, which he -himself has at heart, is to be served by it? Of such a man, the -testimony--the uncross-examined and uncross-examinable testimony--would -it, of itself, be sufficient to warrant a verdict, on a question of the -most inconsiderable pecuniary import? how much less then, on questions, -in comparison of which those of the greatest importance which the -affairs of this life admit of, shrink into insignificance? Even, suppose -veracity, and every other branch of probity, unimpeached and -unimpeachable,--if such confusion of mind, such want of memory, such -negligence, in relation to incidents and particulars, of too immensely -momentous a nature, to escape, at any interval of time, from the most -ordinary mind;--if such want of attention, such deficiency, in respect -of the most ordinary intellectual faculties and attainments, are -discernible in his narrative,--what solid, what substantial ground of -dependence can it furnish, or even leave in existence? - -Of this sort are the questions for which already no inconsiderable -warrant has, it is believed, been found; nor, if so, throughout the -whole remaining course of this inquiry, should they ever be out of mind. - - -SECTION 2. - -GROUNDS OF PAUL'S PROSPECT OF RECONCILIATION ON THIS OCCASION WITH -THE APOSTLES AND THEIR DISCIPLES. - -On this head, in addition to, and in explanation of, the sort of -narrative given in the Acts,--information, of the most instructive and -impressive stamp, may be seen furnished by himself: at the head of it, -may be placed that, which may be seen in his Epistle to his Galatian -converts. - -At Jerusalem was the board-room in which sat the Council of the -Apostles: of those men, to whom their bitterest enemies would not, any -more than their disciples and adherents, have refused the appellation of -constant companions and selected disciples of the departed Jesus. To -them was known, everything that, in relation to Jesus, was known to any -one else: and moreover, in unlimited abundance, particulars not capable -of being known by any one else. - -As to Paul, let us suppose him now a believer in Jesus; and, on this -supposition, note what could not but have been the state of his mind, -with relation to those select servants of Jesus. - -In them he beheld the witnesses--not only of the most material and -characteristic acts and sayings of their Master, but of his death, and -its supernatural consequences--the _resurrection_ and _ascension_, with -which it had been followed. - -In them he beheld--not only the witnesses of his _miracles_, but a set -of pupils, to whom such powers of working the like miracles--such -miraculous powers, in a word, as it had pleased him to impart,--had been -imparted. - -In their labours, he beheld the causes of whatsoever prosperity, he -found the society, established by them, in possession of. - -In himself, he beheld the man, who, with such distinguished acrimony and -perseverance, had done his utmost, for the destruction of that society, -into which, for the purposes, indication of which has been so clearly -given by his own pen, he was preparing to intrude himself. - -To form an ostensible cause for his intrusion,--in addition to such -information, as, by means of his persecution, it had happened to him to -extract from those whom he had been persecuting, what, on his part, had -he?--He had his own learning, his own talents, his own restless and -audacious temper, and the vision he had got up:--the baseless fabric of -that vision, a view of which has just been given. - -Of the representation thus given of the matter,--whether we take his own -account of it, or that of the Acts,--suppose the truth to rest upon no -other ground than this vision, with or without that other vision, which -has been seen so slenderly tacked to it, and so strangely inserted into -it,--thus slender is the ground, on which we shall find him embarking -upon his enterprize,--assuming to himself, without modification or -apology, the name of _an Apostle_,--thrusting himself into the society, -and putting himself altogether upon an equality, not to say more than an -equality, with the whole company of the men, whose title to that -appellation was above dispute:--those of them who, among the chosen, had -been the most favoured, not excepted. - - -GALATIANS i. 11-23. - - 11. But I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached - of me is not after man.--For I neither received it of man, neither - was I taught _it_, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.--For ye - have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, - how that beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God, and wasted - it:--And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in - mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions - of my fathers.--But when it pleased God, who separated me from my - mother's womb, and called _me_ by his grace,--To reveal his Son in - me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I - conferred not with flesh and blood,--Neither went I up to Jerusalem - to them which were Apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and - returned again unto Damascus.--Then after three years I went up to - Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.--But other - of the Apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.--Now the - things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie - not.--Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;--And - was unknown by face unto the Churches of Judea which were in - Christ.--But they had heard only, that he which persecuted us in - times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. - -Thus, however indistinctly and incoherently stated, stands the matter, -on the surface of both these accounts. On the surface. But, by a little -reflection on the nature of the case--the obvious and indisputable -nature of the case--as collected from all accounts, as already brought -to view in a preceding chapter II, we shall be led to another -conception, and the only tenable one. - -The plan of worldly ambition--that plan by which we have already seen -his outward conversion produced--had been not only formed, but acted -upon:--acted upon, during a course of at least three years: of three -years, employed at Damascus in preparation,--in Arabia in probation. -What remained, and was now become necessary, was--some sort of -countenance from the Apostles: from the Apostles, and thence, if -possible, from the rest of the then existing Church. Necessary -altogether was this countenance for his support: for, to this plan the -_name_ of Jesus was essential. It was in that _name_, that all his -operations were to be carried on:--in that name, from the use of which -it was to be universally understood, that it was according to -directions, and with support, from the departed Jesus, that by this, his -newly-enlisted servant, everything was said and done. - -In Damascus--yes:--in Damascus, where were the only persons, with whom, -for the purpose of his dominion, he could with safety communicate: that -is to say, persons, whom his commission from the Jerusalem authorities -had placed under his power. In Arabia--yes: where, though he had made no -progress of which he saw any advantage in giving any account--he at any -rate had not experienced any opposition, of such a sort as to engage him -to drop his scheme. In those comparatively distant countries--yes. But, -in Jerusalem--the birthplace of Jesus and his religion,--in that -metropolis, within which, or the near neighbourhood of it, all the -witnesses of its rise and progress--all the proselytes, that had been -made to it, were collected,--and from whence, and to which, the votaries -of that religion, out of which it had sprung, would be continually -flocking from all quarters;--in this place, for a man, known so -notoriously to them all as a persecutor, in whose scheme of persecution -they had all of them been involved,--for such a man to have, all on a -sudden, begun preaching and acting, in the name of that Jesus, whom, to -use his own language, he had persecuted--such an enterprise as this, -which, even with the utmost support which it was in their power to give, -would have been audacity, would, without some sort of countenance from -them,--have been downright madness. - -To perfect success it was necessary, that not only these shepherds of -the Church pasture, but, through them the whole flock, should thus be -brought under management. So far as regarded those same _rulers_, we -shall find him, in a certain degree,--and even, with reference to his -purpose, in a sufficient degree,--successful. But, with reference to the -Disciples in general, and to all those rulers but three,--it will be -seen to have completely failed. - -Circumstanced as he was, to those rulers alone, was it possible for him -to have addressed himself, with any the smallest hope. To any assembly -of the faithful at large, to have repaired with no better recommendation -than his vision story,--even with Barnabas, ready, as we shall see, to -take him by the hand,--would have been plainly hopeless. Not less so -would it have been--to present himself to the Apostles,--if, in support -of such proposition as he had to make,--nothing more apposite, nothing -to them in their situation more credible, than this same vision -story,--had been capable of being produced. On them, therefore, the case -seems already pretty well ripe for the conclusion, that, no such story -was ever attempted to be passed. But, setting aside that aėrial -argument,--inducements of a more substantial nature, such as we shall -find brought to view by Paul himself, were neither on this occasion -wanting,--nor could, at any time, have been out of the view of that same -Barnabas, whom we shall see appearing so often, in the character of his -generous patron and steady friend. "On this plan, might Barnabas say to -them,--On this plan, which he has chalked out for himself, he will be -acting--not only not in opposition to, but even in furtherance of, your -wishes and endeavors. Grecian as he is,--skilled in that language, and -that learning, which serves a man as a passport through the whole of the -Gentile world,--it is to that world that his labours will confine -themselves; a field surely ample enough for the most comprehensive -views. To you he will leave,--and leave certainly without privation, and -therefore naturally without regret,--that field, of which you are -already in possession,--and, by the boundaries of which, your means of -convenient culture are circumscribed." - -"On this plan,--not only will your exertions remain unimpeded, but the -influence of the name of Jesus--that name, on the influence of which -those same exertions are so materially dependent for their -success,--will, in proportion to Paul's success, be extended." - -In a discourse, to this effect, from the generous and enlightened -mediator,--may be seen the natural origin of that agreement, which, -further on in its place, under the name of the _partition treaty_, there -will be occasion to bring, in a more particular manner, under review. - -But, what is little less evident, than the propriety and prudence of -this plan, viewed at least in the point of view in which it might not -unnaturally be viewed by Barnabas, is--the impossibility, of coming -forward, with any tolerable prospect of success, with any such plan in -hand, in presence of a vast and promiscuous assemblage. To engage, on -the part of any such assemblage, not to say any steady confidence, but -any the slightest hope,--that, from an enemy even to death, the same man -would become a partner and assistant,--would require a most particular -and protracted exposition, of all those facts and arguments, which the -requisite confidence would require for its support:--a detail, which no -such assembly would so much as find time to listen to, were it possible -for it to find patience. - -Even in the case of the Apostles themselves,--taking the whole council -of them together, the nature of the plan, it will be seen, admitted not -of any successful negotiation. Accordingly, to the chief of them alone, -to wit, to Peter, was it so much as the intention of Paul to make any -communication of it in the first instance: and, in the whole length of -the intercourse, such as it was, that he kept up with, them--in all the -four visits, in the course of which that intercourse was kept up--being -a period of not less than twenty-five years, to wit, from the year 35 to -the year 60,--with no more than three of the eleven, will he be seen so -much as pretending to have had any personal interview: _they_ not seeing -him, except when they could not avoid it; and _the others_ never seeing -him at all. - - -SECTION 3. - -OCCASION OF THIS VISIT, AS PER PAUL'S OWN ACCOUNT. - -After his conversion--after the time at which, if he is to be believed, -he saw that first-mentioned of his visions--that vision, by which the -most strenuous opponent of the new religion was changed into one who, in -profession, was the most active of its supporters,--what was the course -he took? Did he repair immediately to Jerusalem from whence he came? Did -he present himself to the eleven Apostles--to the confidential -companions of the departed Jesus, to lay before them his credentials? to -report to those by whom everything about Jesus that was to be known to -man was known--what had been experienced by him?--by him, Paul, by whom, -till the moment of that experience, nothing of it whatever had been -known? Not he, indeed. Behold what he says himself. - -Instead of so doing, off he goes, in the first instance to Arabia; from -whence, at the end of a length of time not specified, he returns to -Damascus. At length, however, to Jerusalem he does repair: at length, -into the presence of those against whose lives he had so long -conspired,--he now uses his endeavours to intrude himself. - -At length? at the end then of what length of time? At the end of three -years? Yes: but from what point of time computed? From the time of his -conversion on the road,--or from the last day of his stay at Damascus, -upon his return thither from Arabia? By that man, let an answer to these -questions be given--by that man who can find grounds for it. - -Thus much, however, may, at any rate, be said:--of the length of this -interval three years is the minimum. - -In what view did it occur to him to seek this conference? in what view -to make the attempt? and in what view delay it? - -1. As to his view in seeking it,--it must be left to inference:--to -conjecture, grounded on circumstances. - -2. Being engaged, as he was, in the plan of making converts to a -religion, called by him the religion of Jesus,--and this among the -nations at large--among others besides those in the bosom of whose -religion the founder of the new religion had been born;--feeling, as it -seemed to him, the need, of information in various shapes--concerning -the acts and sayings of Jesus;--not having, for the purpose, had, as -yet, access, to any of the persons, to whom the benefit, of an interview -with Jesus, upon terms of peculiar confidence, had been imparted;--he -was desirous, of taking this--his only course--for rectifying the -misconception, under which, to no small extent, he must probably have -been labouring,--and filling up the deficiencies, under which he could -not but be labouring. - -3. Obvious is the need he had, of countenance from these universally -acknowledged chiefs, of the religion professed to be taught by him. - -Good, says some one: but, having, from the first, been thus long -labouring, under the need of information,--how happened it, that he so -long delayed, the exertions he made at length, for the obtaining of it? - -The answer is surely not unobvious. - -Had the time, of his presenting-himself, been when the memory of his -conversion was fresh,--when the memory, of the vision, by which it was -to be stated as having been effected, would, supposing it really -experienced, have been fresh also,--in such case, the narrative, true or -untrue, would have found, opposed to its reception, all imaginable -repugnance, in so many ulcerated minds: and, on the supposition of its -being untrue, he--the supposed percipient and actually narrating -witness--he, who knew nothing about the subject of his testimony, would -have had to submit himself to the severest imaginable cross-examination, -at the hands of those, to whom everything about Jesus was matter of -perfect knowledge. - -Thus the matter would have stood, in the first instance. On the other -hand, as time ran on, several results, favourable to his design, would -naturally have taken place. - -1. The exasperation, produced by the experience of the persecution -suffered at his hands, would have been diminished. - -2. His own recollection, of the particulars, might be supposed less -vivid. - -3. The curiosity, respecting them, would have become less eager. - -4. Time might have given admission to behaviour on his part, of a sort, -by which distrust might be lessened, confidence strengthened. - -Well; now we have him at Jerusalem,--and for the first time after his -conversion. When thus, at Jerusalem,--of those whom he went to see, whom -did he actually see? Answer, Peter for one; James, whom he styles the -Lord's brother, and who, according to him, though not literally a -brother, was, however, a kinsman of Jesus:--these two, according to his -own shewing; these two, and no more. "Then after three years I went up -to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But of the -other Apostles saw I none, save James, the Lord's brother." Gal. 1:18, -19. - - -SECTION 4. - -OCCASION, AS PER ACTS ACCOUNT COMPARED WITH PAUL'S. - -Such as hath been seen is Paul's account of the matter:--Paul's own -account, of the interval that elapsed, between his conversion, and the -first of his subsequent visits to Jerusalem:--to the residence of the -Christians, whom he had been persecuting, and of the rulers, under and -by the authority of whom, the persecution had been carried on. Such, -loose as it is, is his account, of the interval between these two -events: and of the place, in which, either almost the whole, or at any -rate the greatest part of it, was passed. - -Such was Paul's own account of his own proceedings,--at the distance of -twenty-five years and more. Compare with it, now, the account, given by -his historiographer--given, of the interval, that, according to him, had -place, between these same two events. Acts 9:19-29. - -Here, no three years' sojournment in Arabia: no visit to that country: -no notice, of any place, other than Damascus, as being a place, in which -the whole, or any part, of the time in question, was passed. In a -position, with respect to each other, scarcely different from that of -contiguity,--are the two events brought together. The blood of their -disciples scarce washed from off his hands, when, with Barnabas for his -introducer, he presents himself to the Apostles! - -At the very time, when the Jerusalem rulers, would have been expecting -to receive from him, the proofs of his punctuality, in the execution of -the important plan, of official oppression, of which, at his own -instance, he had been solemnly constituted and appointed the -instrument; when, after going over to and forming a league with the -criminals, for such they must have been called, whom he had been -commissioned by these rulers to bring to justice;--at this very time it -is, that he returns to the seat of their dominion:--to the place in -which, at that very time, his return to them, with the intended victims -in captivity, could not but be the subject of universal expectation! - -Let any one now judge, whether, in any state of things, natural or -supernatural, the sort of conduct thus supposed is credible. - -At Damascus, instead of presenting himself to the Damascus rulers, to -whom the commission of which he was the bearer was addressed,--the first -persons, whom, according to this account, Acts 9:19, he sees, are "the -disciples," _i.e._, the persons whom, by that commission, he was to -arrest: and, with them, instead of arresting them, he passes "certain -days." - -These certain days ended,--does he thereupon, with or without an -apology, present himself to these same rulers? Not he, indeed. Not -presenting himself to them, does he, by flight or otherwise, take any -measures, for securing himself, against their legitimate and necessarily -intended vengeance? No such thing:--instead of doing so, he runs in the -very face of it. He shows himself in the Jewish synagogues, in the -public places of worship: and there, instead of preaching Moses and his -law, he preaches Christ,--that Christ, whose disciples he was -commissioned to extirpate. - -This breach of trust--this transgression, which, however commendable in -itself, could not but,--in the eyes of all those by whom, or for whom, -he was in trust,--be a most flagitious and justly punishable act of -treachery,--could it even from the first, for so much as two days, -together, remain unknown? Not it, indeed: if, in this particular, to -this same conversion story, as related by this same author, any credit -is due. For, according to this same account,--in this same journey, and -at the very time of his conversion vision, was he alone? No; he had -companions: companions, who, whatsoever became of him, would, at the -very time of his entrance, unless any cause can be shown to the -contrary, have entered thither in due course. Well, then--ask the men in -authority,--"This Paul, in whose train you came,--where is he, what has -become of him?" Such would of course have been the questions put to -these, his companions, even on the supposition, that by these same -companions, no visit had, of their own accord, been paid to these same -rulers, under whose authority they went to place themselves. - -At length,--and the days which by this time had elapsed were -"_many_,"--he finds it expedient to quit Damascus. He is driven from -thence: but by what force? By the exercise of the legal authority of the -offended rulers? in a word, by public vengeance? No: but by a private -conspiracy--nothing more: for, to these rulers,--so different are they -from all other rulers,--whether their authority is obeyed or contemned, -has, all the while, been matter of indifference. - - -ACTS ix. 19-30. - - 19. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was - Saul _certain days_ with the _disciples_ which were at - Damascus.--And straightway he preached _Christ_ in the synagogues, - that he is the Son of God.--But all that heard him were amazed, and - said, Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name - in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring - them bound unto the chief priests?--But Saul increased the more in - strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving - that this is very Christ.--And after that _many days_ were - fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:--But their laying - await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night - to kill him.--Then the disciples took him by night, and let him - down by the wall in a _basket_.--And when Saul was come to - Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they - were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a - disciple.--But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, - and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and - that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at - Damascus in the name of Jesus.--And he was with them coming in and - going out at Jerusalem.--And he spake boldly in the name of the - Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about - to slay him.--30. Which, when the brethren knew, they brought him - down to Cęsarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. - -In the above account--a remarkable incident is presented, by the -occasion and manner of his escape from Damascus. In part, it has for its -support an assertion made by Paul himself; but, as usual, as to part it -is scarcely reconcileable with the account he gives of it. In respect of -the adventure of the _basket_, the two accounts agree: and thus the -occasion is identified and fixed. It is in respect of the description of -the persons, by whom the attack upon him was made or meditated, that the -accounts differ. According to the Acts, the hostile hands are those of -the Jews, who are spoken of as so many unauthorized and criminal -conspirators: but, according to Paul, they are those of the constituted -authorities--a governor acting under a king. - - 31. "In Damascus"--says he, in 2 Cor. 11:32-33--"In Damascus, the - governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with - a garrison, desirous to apprehend me. And through a window in a - basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands." - -Now, supposing the adverse force to have been that of a band of -conspirators, it was natural for them to watch the "city gates": a more -promising resource they could scarcely have had at their command. But, -suppose it to have been that of the governor,--what need had he to watch -the gates? he might have searched houses. By the reference made, to a -matter of fact, which, supposing it real, must in its nature have been -notorious--to wit, the existence of a king, of the name in question, in -the country in question, at the time in question--a comparative degree -of probability seems to be given to Paul's account. A curious -circumstance is--that, in this Epistle of Paul's, this anecdote of the -Basket stands completely insulated; it has not any the slightest -connection with anything that precedes or follows it. - -In the Acts' account, as already observed, Chap. 4, it looks as if it -was immediately after the adventure of the basket, that he went on this -his first visit to the Apostles at Jerusalem: for, as we see, it is -immediately thereupon that his arrival at that city is mentioned. If so, -the abode he had _then_ been making at Damascus, was probably _after_ -his return from Arabia: that return from Arabia, which we have seen him -speaking of in his Epistle to the Galatians, Gal. i. 15. "When it -pleased God ... to reveal his son to me, that I might preach him to the -heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood; Neither went -I up to Jerusalem, to them which were Apostles before me; but I went -into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. _Then after_ three years, -I went up to Jerusalem, to see Peter." &c. - -"After three years?"--three years, reckoning from what _time_? Here we -see the ambiguity, and along with it the difficulty. If reckoning from -his conversion,--then we have the three years, to be spent--partly in -Damascus, partly in Arabia: in Damascus, in obtaining, perhaps, from the -Christianized Jews--in return for the impunity given to them by the -breach of the trust committed to him by the Jerusalem rulers--money, for -defraying his expenses while in Arabia. If, reckoning from his escape -from Damascus in a basket, then we have three years, during which not so -much as any the faintest trace of him is perceptible. All, therefore, -that is clear is--that according to his account of the matter, there was -an interval of at least three years between his conversion, and this -first of his subsequent Jerusalem visits--this visit of his to -Jerusalem, to see the Apostles. - -Between the two interpretations,--in respect of length of time, observe -here the difference. According to one of them, between the conversion -and the first Jerusalem visit, we have an interval of three years, and -no more: and, in this interval, three lengths of time--one passed in -Damascus, another in Arabia, a third, terminated by the basket -adventure, passed also in Damascus, are all included: the entire -interval determinate: but its parts, all of them, indeterminate. -According to the other interpretation, we have also three lengths of -time: the first, indeterminate, passed in Damascus; the second, as -indeterminate, passed in Arabia; the third, passed in Damascus, and this -a determinate one--namely, the three years. Thus, upon the first -supposition, the interval consists of three years, and no more: upon the -second supposition, it consists of three years, preceded by two lengths -of time, which are both indeterminate, but one of which--that passed in -Arabia--may have been to any amount protracted. - -Upon either supposition,--it seems not unlikely, that it was immediately -after his escape from Damascus, that this first visit of his to -Jerusalem took place. And, the greater the preceding interval of time, -whether passed in Arabia or Damascus, the less unpromising his prospect, -that the resentments, produced by the provocations given by him to the -Christians, by his persecution of them,--and to the Jewish rulers, by -his treachery towards them,--should, both, have to such a degree -subsided, as to render even so short a stay, as that of fifteen days -which he mentions, consistent with personal safety. Yet, as we see in -the Acts, are these two events spoken of as if they had been contiguous: -at any rate, it is in contiguity that they are spoken of. - -Uncertainties crowd upon uncertainties. At the time of Paul's -conversion,--had Damascus already this same king, named Aretas, with a -governor under him? If so, how happens it, that, of this state of the -government, no intimation is perceptible, in the account given of that -conversion in the Acts? Was it--that, at that time, there existed not -any such monarchical personage? but that, before the adventure of the -basket, some revolution had placed him there? - -According to Paul's account,--the state of things, produced in Damascus -by his exertions, was somewhat curious. On the face of this account, in -ordinary there was no _garrison_ in Damascus: it was only by special -order from the monarch, and for no other purpose than the bringing to -justice--or what was called justice--the person of the self-constituted -Apostle,--that a garrison was put into the town, with a governor for the -command of it. - -What a foundation all this for credence! and, with it, for a system of -religious doctrine to build itself upon!--religious doctrine--with the -difference between eternal happiness and eternal misery depending upon -it! - - -SECTION 5. - -CAUSE OF THE DISCORDANCE BETWEEN THE TWO ACCOUNTS. - -Between these two accounts, such being the discordance--where shall we -find the _cause_ of it? Answer: in the different views, in which, at the -time of writing, the two accounts were penned: in the different objects, -to the accomplishment of which, at the time of penning their respective -accounts, the endeavours of the two writers were directed. - -The author of the Acts--what, then, was _his_ object? To obtain for his -patron--his chief hero--alive or dead--a recognition, as universal as -possible, in his assumed character of an Apostle. The more complete the -recognition, bestowed upon him by those most competent of all -judges,--the more extensive the recognition he might look for, at the -hands of all other their fellow-believers. - -Sufficient was this--sufficient for the general purposes of the -party--in the eyes of a person other than Paul, even though that other -person was a protegé, a retainer, a satellite. - -Sufficient this was not, however, to the arrogance of the head of the -party--Paul himself: at least, at the time of his writing this his -letter to his Galatian converts. - -Think you, says he, that any relation, I have ever borne to any of those -who were Apostles before me, had, on my part, anything in it of -dependence? Think you, that I ever stood in need of anything at their -hands? Think you, that I had ever any more need of them, than they of -me? Not I, indeed. The Gospel, which I have always preached--neither -from them did I receive it, nor from them, in preaching it, did I ever -seek or receive any assistance. Gal. i. 11, 12. Think you, that I stood -in any need, or ever supposed myself to stand in any need, of any -acceptance or acknowledgement at their hands? Not I, indeed. When my -revelation had been received by me, did I present myself to them, for -any such purpose as that of remuneration and acceptance? Not I, indeed. -I went not to them: I went not so much as to Jerusalem, where they then -were: I conferred not with flesh and blood:--off I went to Arabia; and -when my business in Arabia was at an end, even then, did I repair to -Jerusalem? Not I, indeed. I returned again to Damascus. True it is, to -Jerusalem I did go at last.--But when?--Not till three years -afterwards. Well--and, when I was at Jerusalem, how many, and which of -them, think you that I saw? Think you, that I put myself to any such -trouble, as that of seeing them all together? the whole herd of them? -No. Peter was naturally a chief among them: with him I had accordingly -some business to settle:--him, accordingly, I saw, as also James, whom, -as being a brother, or other near kinsman, of Jesus, I had a curiosity -to see. - -Paul himself wrote at one time; this his disciple at another: each of -them pursued the purpose of the time. Not on this occasion, at any -rate,--perhaps not on any other, was there anything, that either wrote, -concerted between them.[25] Of this want of concert, what has just been -seen is one of the consequences. - -Reserved as we have seen him, in regard to time and other -circumstances,--one circumstance more there is, for which our curiosity -is to no small amount, debtor, to the author of the Acts. This -is--information, of the means--of the channel, through which Paul -obtained the introduction, which, without mention made of the object, we -have seen him acknowledging that, so far as concerned Peter, he was -desirous of: and _that_ to such a degree, as to undertake a journey from -Damascus to Jerusalem, some 120 or 130 miles, for the purpose. - -Repugnancy, so natural, and naturally so vehement--even at the end of -three years, or the still greater number of years--by what means could -he remove it, or so much as flatter himself with a prospect of being -able to remove it? To this question, it is to the author of the Acts -that we are indebted for an answer: and that answer a satisfactory -one:--it was by the assistance of Barnabas, that the object, so far as -it was accomplished, was accomplished. - -To the religion of Jesus, after as well as before this,--to the Apostles -in particular before this,--Barnabas was a supporter of no small -importance. - -At the time when the financial arrangements were for the second time -settled;[26]--when, from the substance of the opulent among the -faithful, enough was collected for the support of all the -indigent;--among those, by whom, on this second occasion, lands and -houses, were for this purpose sold, particular persons are, on this -second occasion, for the first time mentioned. The first place is -occupied by this Barnabas: and not till after him come Ananias and -Sapphira--the unfortunate pair, of whose fate mention will have to be -made in another place. - -Joses was, it seems, the original name--the proper name of this -beneficent protector: Barnabas, the _Son of consolation_, Acts 4:36, was -no more than a title of honour,--a token of gratitude. A title of -honour? and by whom conferred? Even by the Apostles. By Barnabas, -therefore, whatsoever thereafter comes to be reported as done,--it is by -_the Son of consolation_ that we are to understand it to have been, and -to be, done. - -As to the arguments, by which this son of consolation succeeded,--in -prevailing, upon two, and, if we are to believe Paul, no more than two, -of these so lately persecuted or threatened servants of Jesus,--to be, -for a few days, upon speaking terms, with him, who so lately had been -their deadly, as well as open enemy,--it is from imagination, with -judgment for her guide, that they must, if at all, be deduced from the -surrounding circumstances of the case. - -As to these arguments, however,--whatever were the rest of them, of two -of them a hint is given by the author of the Acts: these are,--the -story of the conversion,--and the boldness of the preaching, which at -Damascus was among the first-fruits of it. Those which, under the -guidance of judgment, imagination would not find much difficulty in -adding, are,--the evil--that might result from his enmity, in case the -advances then made by him were rejected,--and the useful service, which, -by the blessing of God, might be hoped for at his hands, if admitted in -the character of an ally and cooperator: at any rate, so long as the -whole field of his exertions, and in particular the geographical part of -it, continued different from theirs. - -With Peter, on whatever account, it was Paul's own desire to hold a -conference:--so we have seen him declaring to the Galatians. To this -Peter, whom he was desirous of seeing, and whom at length he succeeded -in seeing,--to this Peter did he then himself tell the story of his -vision, of his conversion, and the mode of it? If at any time he -did,--at any rate, if the author of the Acts is to be believed,--it was -not till Barnabas, the son of consolation, had told it for him. Had it -been by himself that his story had been to be told in the first -instance,--he would thereby have stood exposed to cross-examination: -and, among those things, which Barnabas might in his situation say for -him,--were many things, which, if at all, he could not, with anything -like an equal prospect of good effect, have said for himself. To any -asseveration of his own,--in any promises of future amity, it was not in -the nature of the case, that from his own mouth they should give -credence. But, when by Barnabas, of whose zeal in their cause they had -received such substantial proofs--when from this son of consolation they -received assurance, that Paul had actually engaged himself in that line -of service, which he professed himself desirous to embrace;--that he had -engaged so far, that no prospect of safe retreat could reasonably be in -his view;--then it was, that, without imprudence, they might, venture to -hold at least a conference with him, and hear and see what he had to say -for himself. - -As to the account, given on this occasion by Barnabas, of the famous -vision,--had it been but preserved, it would probably have been no less -curious than those which we have been already seeing. Though we cannot -be precisely assured in what way,--we may be pretty well assured, that, -in some way or other, additions would have been to be seen made in it, -to the list of _variations_. - -But, the great advantage,--producible, and probably produced, by -the opening of the matter, as performed by Barnabas,--was this: -in company with those arguments, by which the sincerity of Paul was -to be demonstrated,--would naturally come those, by which intimation -would be given, of the advantage there might be, in forbearing to -apply too strict a scrutiny, to this important statement. The -interests, which, in the character of motives, pleaded for the -acceptance, of the advance made towards reconciliation and mutually -advantageous cooperation,--would, in this manner, prepare the way, -for receiving, without any troublesome counter-interrogation, the -important narrative: or, perhaps, for considering the matter, as -already sufficiently explained, by the son of consolation,--in such -sort that, to the new Apostle, the trouble of repeating a narrative, -which he must already have so frequently found himself under the -necessity of repeating, might be spared. - -The greater was the importance, of the service thus rendered to Paul by -the son of consolation,--the more studiously, in giving the account, as -above, of the intercourse with the Apostles at Jerusalem,--the more -studiously, would he avoid all mention of it.[27] - - -SECTION 6. - -LENGTH OF THIS VISIT--PAUL'S EMPLOYMENT DURING IT. - -Fifteen days, if Paul is to be believed--fifteen days, and no more,--was -the length of time, during which his intercourse with Peter continued: -Gal. i. 18, that same length of time, and no greater, it may without -much rashness be inferred, was his stay at Jerusalem. - -These fifteen days,--or whatever, if anything longer, was the duration -of his stay in that seat of their common religion,--in what occupations -were they employed? It is in the Acts, if anywhere, that this question -will receive its answer. It was in "disputing against the Grecians." -Acts 9:29. - -That such should have been his occupation, is in his situation -altogether natural. - -Of a sort of _partition treaty_, as having, at one time, been entered -into between himself and Peter,--Paul, in his so-often mentioned -letters to the Galatians, informs us in express terms. As to the time, -which, on that occasion, he has in view,--it was, according to -appearance, not the time of _this_ his first visit, but of the third. At -that third visit, the treaty was, at any rate, either entered into for -the first time, or confirmed: receiving, at the same time, what was on -both sides agreed upon, as an amendment requisite to add to it, in -respect of clearness, correctness, or completeness. - -But, at this visit, it seems altogether natural, that, with more or less -of these same qualities, a treaty of this sort took place. By the sort -of relation, produced between them, by the state of interests,--the -existence of an agreement of this sort seems sufficiently probabilized: -and, from the few words, in which, by the author of the Acts, mention is -made of the Grecians, and of Paul's disputes with them,--the inference -receives the confirmation afforded by _direct_ evidence. - -With the Grecians then it was, that these disputations of Paul were -held. Why with the Grecians, and no other? The reason is no mystery. -Greek was the language of Paul: Greek, for anything that appears, was -not the language of Peter, or of any other of the Apostles. Applying -himself to the Grecians, and to them alone,--Paul might, to any amount, -have given additional extent to his own dominion, without subtracting -anything from theirs. - -Not productive, it should seem, of much fruit,--was this portion, of the -new Apostle's labours. No sooner are we informed, of the boon thus -offered to these Grecian Gentiles, than comes, moreover, the further -information, that some there were, that "went about to slay him. Which -when the brethren knew, they brought him," it is added, "to Cęsarea, -and sent him forth to Tarsus." Acts 9:29. - -Meantime, those men, who went about to slay him,--who were they? -Possibly they were Grecians, if by the disputation in question, the -annoyance produced was so intolerable to them, as to be productive of a -wish and enterprise thus flagitious: and, if the evidence afforded by -the rules of grammar be in this case regarded as conclusive,--the -pronoun _they_ having for its last possible antecedent the substantive -_Grecians_--these, and no other, must have been the intended murderers. -On the other hand, among the heathen--the philosophical disputants of -this nation,--disputations, having any such abstractions for their -subject, were not wont to be productive, of any such practical and -flagitious consequences. Among the heathens, moreover, it appears not, -that, antecedently to his conversion, the zeal of Paul had led him to -put any to death: on the other hand among the Christianized Jews, his -fellow-religionists, the number of persons, of whom he had put to death -some, and in other ways plagued others, was unhappily but too great. By -the religion _into_ which they had been converted,--revenge, it is true, -was not (as in that which they were converted _from_) magnified, but -prohibited: but, the influence of it has never been equally efficient -upon all minds. - -Be this as it may,--upon his leaving Jerusalem, it was to the region of -Syria and Cilicia, that, at this time, he betook himself. So, in his -letter to his Galatians, he himself says, Gal. 1:21; and, by what is -said in the Acts, he is not contradicted, but confirmed. By himself what -is mentioned is--the _region_, viz. Syria and Cilicia: by the Acts what -is mentioned is--the _cities_, viz. Cęsarea and Tarsus. -Cęsarea,--whether at that time it was in Syria or not,--was, at any -rate, little, if anything, out of the way, from Jerusalem to Tarsus. -Cęsarea was a town upon the coast:--one among those maritime towns, -which, whether parts or not of Syria, are in the way between the inland -city, of Jerusalem, and the coast of Cilicia: with which coast, by a -river,--Tarsus, marked in the map with the mark of a capital town, -appears to communicate. - -In speaking of this change of place, the terms employed by Paul, are -general terms,--"_I came._" By what _means_ he came, he does not -mention: nor does there appear any particular reason why he should have -mentioned them. - -In the Acts, the account is more particular:--he was, in a manner, -forced from the one place to the other:--he was, at any rate, -_escorted_: it was by "_the brethren_," he was so dealt with. "Which -when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Cęsarea, and sent him -forth to Tarsus." Acts 9:30. - -By the brethren?--Yes.--But by what brethren? By the general body of the -Christians, or any that belonged to it? No:--for, it was from their -wrath, that he was making his escape. No:--not by the justly exasperated -many; but by such few adherents as, under such prodigious disadvantage, -his indefatigable artifice and energy had found means to conciliate. - - -SECTION 7. - -MODE AND CAUSE OF ITS TERMINATION. - -In relation to this subject, we have two, and no more than two, -accounts,--both from the same pen,--that of the historiographer in the -Acts; and these two accounts, as usual, contradictory of each other. -The first, in the order of the history, is that given by him in his own -person: Acts 9:27, 28, 29. The other, is that given by him in the person -of Paul: namely, in the course of his supposed first-made and -unpremeditated speech,--when, on the occasion of his last visit to -Jerusalem--his Invasion Visit, he was pleading for his life before the -angry multitude. Acts 22:17, 18, 19, 20, 21. - -Now then, let us compare the two accounts. - -Speaking in his own person,--it is to the fear of certain Grecians, that -the historiographer ascribes Paul's departure for Jerusalem. In -disputing with them, he had been speaking "boldly in the name of the -Lord Jesus": and _thereupon_,--and as we are desired to believe, -_therefore_,--came certain designs and endeavours to slay him. Designs? -on the part of whom? Answer:--on the part of those same Grecians: cause -of these designs and endeavours, irritation, so it is intended we should -suppose,--irritation, produced in the breasts of those same -Grecians;--and produced by the dispute. - -Now, as to the words of the historiographer, speaking in his own person. -It is immediately after the mention of Paul's transactions with the -Apostles and the other disciples, that after saying, Acts 9:28, that -"... he was with them coming in and going out of Jerusalem," the -narrative continues thus: ver. 29; "And he spake boldly in the name of -the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians, but _they_ went about -to slay him: ver. 30; Which when _the brethren_ knew, they brought him -down to Cęsarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus." - -Such is the account given, of the departure of Paul from Jerusalem, on -the occasion in question--given by the historiographer, speaking in his -own person, of the manner of the departure, and at the same time of the -cause of it. Behold now how different is the account given, of the same -matter, by the same historiographer, in the same work, when speaking in -the person of his hero. Nothing now as to any disputes with Grecians: -nothing now of these, or any other human beings, in the character of -beings who were angry with him, and _that_ to such a degree, that, to -save his life, it was deemed necessary by his adherents,--styled on this -occasion "_the_ brethren," to take charge of him, as we have seen, and -convey him from Jerusalem to Cęsarea and elsewhere. - -The case seems to be--that, between the time of writing the account -which has just been seen, and the time for giving an account of the same -transaction in the person of the hero, as above,--a certain difficulty -presented itself to the mind of the historiographer: and, that it is for -the solution of this difficulty, that he has recourse, to one of his -sovereign solvents--_a trance_. The difficulty seems to have been this: -The class of persons, whom, on that first visit of his he had -exasperated, were--not "_Grecians_," or any other Gentiles, but -Christians: Christians, the whole body of them--Apostles and Disciples -together: the same class of persons, to which belonged those who, on the -occasion of this his last visit--the _Invasion Visit_--were to such a -degree exasperated, by this fourth intrusion of his, as to be attempting -his life. How hopeless any attempt would have been, to make them -believe, that it was not by themselves, but by a set of Heathens, that -his life was threatened on that former occasion, is sufficiently -manifest. Here then comes a demand, for a substitute, to that cause, -which, distant as the time was, could not, however, be altogether absent -from their memory: and which, so far as it was present, could not but -heighten their exasperation:--this substitute was _the trance_. - -The cause of the departure is now--not the fear of any human being, but -the express command of "_the Lord_":--a command delivered in the course, -and by means, of this same _trance_. Moreover, as if, from such a -quarter, _commands_ were not sufficient of themselves; on the present -occasion, it will be seen, they came backed by _reasons_. Was it that, -as the historiographer has been telling us in his own person, certain -Grecians were exasperated? No: but that the persons, to whom, with -Barnabas for his supporting witness, Acts 9:27, he had been telling his -story, gave no credit to it: so that, by a man with his reputation in -this state, nothing in the way of his business was to be done. - -But now let us see the text. It comes immediately after that passage, in -which Paul is made to speak of Ananias, as giving orders to him, in the -name of the Lord: orders, concluding in these words: Acts 22:16: ... -"arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of -the Lord." This said,--his story, as told to the multitude, continues -thus: "And it came to pass that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, -even while I prayed in the temple, I was in _a trance_: And saw him -saying unto me, Make _haste_, and get thee _quickly_ out of Jerusalem: -_for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me_. And I said, -Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those that -believed on thee: And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I -also was standing by, and consenting to his death, and kept the raiment -of them that slew him. And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee -far hence unto the Gentiles. And they gave him audience unto this word, -and then lifted up their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from -the earth; for it is not fit that he should live." - -It may now be seen, how useful and convenient an implement this same -trance was: how well adapted, to the occasion on which it was employed. -Taken by itself, this story about the enraged Grecians might serve to -impose upon readers in general: but, to the knowledge of the really -enraged Christians, whose wrath he was endeavouring to assuage,--it was -not only too palpably false to be related to them, but too much so, to -be even for a moment supposed to be related to them: hence came the -demand for the supernatural cause. Nothing, it is evident, could be -better suited to the purpose. The assertion was of the sort of those, -which, how palpably soever untrue, are not exposed to contradiction by -direct evidence: and which, supposing them believed, ensure universal -respect, and put all gainsayers to silence. - -An incident not unworthy here of notice, is--the sort of acknowledgment -contained in the words--"for they will not receive thy testimony -concerning me." In this may be seen--a confirmation of the important -fact, so fully proved on the occasion of the first or _Reconciliation -Visit_: and we see--with what consistency and propriety, the mention of -it comes in, on the present occasion: namely, in a speech, made to a -multitude, of which, many of those,--by whom he had been disbelieved and -rejected on that former occasion,--must of course have formed a part. - -Such is the fact, which, after having communicated to us, in his own -person, Acts 9:26, "they were all afraid of him, and believed not that -he was a disciple," the historiographer is frank enough to communicate -to us a second time, through the mouths of Paul and "the Lord," the one -within the other. _True_ enough this information: and, moreover, at -Jerusalem, as well when the historiographer was writing, as when Paul -was speaking, _notorious_ enough: or we should hardly have had it _here_ -and _now_. But, what a truth to put into the mouth of Paul, whose title -to credence for his claim, is so effectually destroyed by it! - -To return to what, on the occasion of the first visit, is said by the -historiographer, in his own person, about the Grecians. That it was -false, as to the main point,--namely, that it was by the fear of those -same Gentiles that he was driven out of Jerusalem,--is now, it is hoped, -sufficiently evident. But, as to his having held disputation with -them,--in this there seems not to be anything inconsistent or -improbable: and this part, supposing it true, might, in so far as known, -help to gain credence for that which was false. - -A circumstance--not altogether clear, nor worth taking much trouble in -the endeavour to render it so, is--on the occasion of this dialogue, the -change made, of the supernatural vehicle, from a _vision_ into a -"_trance_." Whatsoever, if any, is the difference,--they agree in the -one essential point: namely, that it is in the power, of any man, at any -time, to have had as many of them as he pleases: hearing and seeing, -moreover, in every one of them, whatsoever things it suits his -convenience to have heard or seen.--"I saw a vision:" or, "I was in a -trance": either postulate granted, everything whatsoever follows. - -This _trance_, it may be observed, is of a much more substantial nature -than any of the _visions_. By Paul in his _road vision_,--vision as it -was,--neither _person_ nor _thing_, with the exception of a quantity of -light, was seen: only a voice, _said to be the Lord's_, heard. In this -trance, the Lord is not only heard, but seen. In those visions, that -which is said to have been heard, amounts to nothing: on the present -occasion, what is said to have been heard, is material to the purpose, -and perfectly intelligible. Not that there could be any use in Paul's -_actually_ hearing of it: for what it informed him of, was nothing more -than that which, at the very time, he was in full experience of. But, in -a situation such as his, it was really of use to him, to be _thought_ to -have heard it: and therefore it is, that, in the speech ascribed to him, -he is represented as _saying_ that he heard it. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[25] In the current chronology, this Epistle to the Galatians is placed -in the year 58; on the part of the author of the Acts, the first mention -of his being in the company of Paul is placed in the year next -following, to wit, 59. Note, that at the end of the Epistle to the -Galatians, it is stated to be written from Rome: yet, according to the -current chronology, his arrival at Rome, in custody, from Jerusalem,--at -which time unquestionably he had never as yet visited Rome,--did not -take place till the year 62. - -[26] First time, Acts ii. 45. Second time, Acts iv. 34. - -[27] "I conferred not with flesh and blood." (Gal. ii. 16.) "Of those -who seemed to be somewhat, whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to -me." Not till "after three years" did I go "up to Jerusalem to see -Peter." With language in this strain, it would have harmonized but -indifferently, to have added, "nor should I have seen him then, had it -not been for Barnabas." - - - - -CHAPTER V. - - _Paul disbelieved_ continued.--_Jerusalem Visit II._ - _Money-bringing Visit._--_Barnabas accompanying him from Antioch._ - - -SECTION 1. - -AT ANTIOCH, AGABUS HAVING PREDICTED A DEARTH, MONEY IS COLLECTED FOR THE -JERUSALEM SAINTS. - -At his own house it was, that we last left our self-declared Apostle: at -his own birthplace--Tarsus: what we have next to see is--what drew him -from thence. - -All this while there were other disciples that had not been idle. To the -new religion, already was Antioch, Antioch in Syria, become a new -Jerusalem. - -Upon the dispersion of the Jerusalem Christians, occasioned by -the judicial murder of the sainted trustee of the poor's -fund--Stephen,--some of them, among whom were some natives of -Cyprus,--in which island was situated the property of the son of -consolation, Barnabas,--had betaken themselves to that same island, -others to that same city of Antioch in Syria. - -ACTS xi. 19-24. - - 19. Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that - arose about Stephen, travelled as far as Phenice and Cyprus, and - Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.--And - some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were - come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord - Jesus.--And the hand of the Lord was with them; and a great number - believed, and turned unto the Lord.--Then tidings of these things - came unto the ears of the church which was in Jerusalem: and they - sent forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch.--Who, - when he came and had seen the grace of God, was glad; and exhorted - them all, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the - Lord.--For he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith: - and much people was added unto the Lord. - -Of these, some addressed themselves exclusively to the _Jews_: others -ventured so far, as to make an experiment upon the _Grecians_. -Unfortunately, these terms are, neither of them, wholly free from -ambiguity. By the word _Jews_, may have been meant either Jews by -_birth_ and _abode_, or Jews by _religion_: by the word _Grecians_, -either Jews who, born or dwelling within the field of quondam Grecian -dominion, used the Greek as their native language,--or Greeks, who were -such, not only by language, but by religion. In this latter case, their -lot was among the Gentiles, and much more extraordinary and conspicuous -was the importance of the success. - -"They which preach the Gospel, should live of the Gospel." Such, in his -own words, 1 Cor. 9:14, is the maxim laid down by Paul, for the -edification of his Corinthian disciples. To save doubts and disputation, -he prefaces it with the assurance--"even so hath the Lord ordained." No -great need of support from revelation, seems to attach upon a maxim so -natural, and so reasonable: from the time of the first planting of the -Gospel, it appears to have been, as indeed it could not fail to be, -universally acted upon; saving such few exceptions as a happy union of -zeal, with sufficient pecuniary means, might render possible. - -How, under the Apostolical aristocracy, it had been acted upon in -Jerusalem, has been seen already. The time was now come,--for its being -established, and acted upon in Antioch. - -At Jerusalem, under the spiritual dominion of the Apostles, -lived a man of the name of _Agabus_. Among the endowments,--of -which, in the character of _qualifications_, a demand was by some -understood to be created, by the business of propagating the new -religion,--qualifications, a list of which, according to his conception -of it, Paul, 1 Cor. 12:10, has given us,--was one, which, among these -endowments, was called the "_gift of prophecy_":--a gift, under which, -as under that of speech in general, particularly when applied to -occasions of importance, the faculty of _prediction_--of forming correct -judgments respecting future contingencies--would, if not necessarily, -very frequently at least, come to be included. - -In the instance of the _prophecy_ here in question, this same -prospective faculty, it should seem, was actually included. - -The _fact_, for the purpose of predicting, or giving information of -which, this useful emissary was, on the present occasion, sent from -Jerusalem to Antioch,--was--that of signifying, that there should be a -great dearth: an _inference_ deduced from it, was--that, at this same -Antioch, for the relief of the brethren at Jerusalem, _contributions_ -should be collected, and sent to Jerusalem. - -ACTS xi. 27-30. - - 27. And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto - Antioch.--And there stood up one of them named Agabus, and - signified by the spirit that there should be a great dearth - throughout all the world; which came to pass in the days of - Claudius Caesar.--Then the disciples, every man according to his - ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in - Judea:--Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by the hands - of Barnabas and Saul. - -In the calamity of _dearth_ may be seen one of those events, of -which--especially if the time of it be not predesignated with too rigid -an exactness--a prediction may be hazarded,--and even by any -man,--without much risk of falling under the disgrace attached to the -appellation of _a false prophet_. Of this observation, an -exemplification seems to have been afforded, in the present instance. -With not unaccustomed prudence,--"the spirit," by which, on this -occasion, the calamity was "signified," forbore, as we see, from the -fixation of any particular year--either for the prophecy, or for the -accomplishment of it. "The days of Claudius Caesar" are mentioned as the -time of the accomplishment. By agreement of all chronologists,--the -duration of his reign is stated as occupying not less than thirteen -years. Whether this same reign had then already commenced,--is not, on -this occasion, mentioned: from the manner in which it is mentioned, the -negative seems not improbable; if so, then to find the time which the -prophecy had for finding its accomplishment to the definite term of -thirteen years, we must add another, and that an indefinite one. - -According to the situation, of the individuals by whom the word is -employed,--_worlds_ vary in their sizes. Of the dearth in question, the -whole world, "all the world," is, by the author of the Acts, stated as -having been the afflicted theatre: "great dearth throughout all the -world." Acts 11:28. As to the rest of the world, we may leave it to -itself. For the purpose then and now in question, it was and is -sufficient--that two cities, Jerusalem and Antioch, were included in it. -The calamity being thus universal,--no reason of the ordinary kind is -given, or seems discoverable--why, of any such contribution as should -come to be raised, the course should be--from Antioch to Jerusalem, -rather than from Jerusalem to Antioch. Inquired for, however, on -religious ground,--a _reason_ presents itself, without much difficulty. -What Rome became afterwards, Jerusalem was then--the capital of _that -world_, which now, for the first time, received the name of _Christian_. -According to one of the sayings of Jesus--if Paul, his self-appointed -Apostle, is to be trusted to--of them it was pronounced "_more blessed -to give than to receive_":[28] but in the eyes of the successors of St. -Peter at all times,--and at this time, as it should seem, in his own--it -was _more blessed to receive than give_. - - -SECTION 2. - -BARNABAS AND PAUL DISPATCHED WITH THE MONEY TO JERUSALEM. - -Of the _amount_ of the eleemosynary harvest, no intimation is to be -found. As to the _consequence_ of it, Barnabas, we see, is the man -stated as having, with obvious propriety, been chosen for the important -trust: Barnabas--of whose opulence, trustworthiness, steadiness, and -zeal, such ample proofs, not to speak of those subsequent ones, which -will be seen in their place, had already manifested themselves. In -consequence of the information, already received by the Mother Church -in Jerusalem, of the prosperity of the Daughter Church, Acts 11:20, 21, -planted, as above, in the capital of Syria,--this most active of all -Christian citizens had been sent to give increase to it. - -But, of the talents and activity of Paul, his indefatigable supporter -and powerful patron had had full occasion to be apprized. Accordingly, -without the aid of this his not less indefatigable helper, still was the -strength of the rising church, in the eyes of the patron, incomplete. "A -prophet," says a not ill-grounded proverb, "has no honor in his own -country." In his native city, among the witnesses of his youth, Paul had -indeed found _safety_: but, as the nature of the case manifests, in a -circle, from which respect stood excluded by familiarity, safety had not -been accompanied with _influence_: and, in eyes such as those of Paul, -safety without influence was valueless. Under these circumstances,--the -patron, going to Tarsus in person in quest of his protegé, could not -naturally find much difficulty in regaining possession of him, and -bringing with him the so highly-valued prize, on his return to Antioch. -"Then," says the Acts, 11:25, 26, "departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to -seek Saul: And when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch." - -At this place, with their united powers, they had been carrying on their -operations for the space of a twelvemonth, when the petition for -pecuniary assistance was received there. - -As for Paul,--from the moment of his conversion, notwithstanding the ill -success of his first attempt,--the prime object of his ambition--the -situation of President of the Christian Commonwealth--had never quitted -its hold on his concupiscence. Occasions, for renewing the enterprise, -were still watched for with unabated anxiety:--a more favourable one -than the one herein question, could not have presented itself to his -fondest wishes. The entire produce, of the filial bounty of the Daughter -Church, was now to be poured into the bosom of the necessitous Mother. -For the self-destined head of that rising Church, two more acceptable -occupations, than those which one and the same occasion brought to him, -could not have been found:--First, the collection of the -contributions;--and then the conveying of them, to the place of their -destination. Of the labours of such agents, in such circumstances, the -success, we are told, they found, was a natural result. "Then," says the -Acts 11:29, 30, "Then the disciples, every one according to his ability, -determined to send relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea:--Which -also they did; and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and -Saul." Thus much as to the _public_ purpose. Very different was the lot -of Paul's _personal_ project. What the elders could not have any -objection to the receipt of, was--the money. But, what they had an -insuperable objection to, was--the receipt of the yoke of this their -outwardly-converted, but once already rejected, persecutor. This second -enterprise,--though still under the same powerful leader, and produced -by such flattering prospects,--succeeded no better than the first. -Five-and-twenty verses after, we are told of the _termination_ of this -their second Jerusalem visit; and this is all we hear of it: "And -Barnabas and Saul," says the Acts 12:25, "returned from Jerusalem, when -they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose -surname was Mark." This same John Mark they got by their expedition: and -this, for anything that appears, was all they got by it. - -Between the mention of their arrival at Jerusalem, and the mention of -their departure from thence,--comes the episode about Peter:--his -incarceration and liberation under Herod; and the extraordinary death of -the royal prosecutor,--of which, in its place. As to the interval,--what -the length of it was, and in what manner, by Paul, under the wing of the -Son of Consolation, it was occupied,--are points, on which we are left -altogether in the dark: as also, whether the _time_ of these adventures -of Peter, the _mention_ of which stands inserted between the mention of -the two occurrences in the history of Paul, was comprised in that same -interval. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[28] Acts 20:35. It is in the parting scene--when about to break from -his dissuading disciples, and enter upon his invasion project--that Paul -is represented as saying to them: "Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, -how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive." Whence this -self-appointed and posthumous Apostle of Jesus got these words of -Jesus--if such they were--must be left to conjecture. In the works of -the four received biographers of Jesus, with _Cruden_ and his -_Concordance_ for guides, all search for them has been fruitless. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - - _Paul disbelieved continued.--His third Jerusalem Visit.--Paul and - Barnabas delegated by Antioch Saints, to confer on the Necessity of - Jewish Rites to Heathen Converts to the Religion of Jesus._ - - -SECTION 1. - -OCCASION OF THIS VISIT. - -We come now to the transaction, on the occasion of which, the grand -object of Paul's ambition received, in part, its accomplishment: namely, -that, by which,--though without any such popular election as, in the -instance of Matthias, had been necessary to constitute a man an -associate to the Apostles,--he was, in some sort, taken by them into -fellowship, and admitted, with their consent, into a participation of -their labours. - -This occasion was--the dispute, which, in the Syrian Antioch, took -place, according to the author of the Acts, on the question--whether, -under the religion of Jesus, circumcision was necessary to salvation: a -question, in which,--whether explicitly or no,--was implicitly, it -should seem, and perhaps inextricably, understood to be involved, the so -much wider question--whether, under that same new religion, the old -ceremonial law should, in any part of it, be regarded as necessary. - -On this same occasion, two important subjects present themselves to view -at the same time: the one, a question of _doctrine_ relative to -circumcision, as above; the other, a question about _jurisdiction_, as -between Paul on the one part, and Peter, with or without the rest of the -Apostles. - -As to what concerns the debate about circumcision, we have no other -evidence than the statement of the author of the Acts. - -As to what concerns the jurisdiction question, we have the evidence of -Paul himself, as contained in his letter to the Galatian converts: and -an original letter, howsoever dubious the correctness of the author in -respect of matters of fact, is more trustworthy than a multitude of -anonymous narratives.[29] - -In respect of the progress made by the religion of Jesus,--Antioch, it -has already been observed--the Syrian Antioch--had become a second -Jerusalem; and, so far as concerned the Gentiles at large, its maritime -situation gave to it a convenience, that was not shared with it by that -inland city. - -At the time here in question,--the Gentiles had received more or less of -instruction, from three different sets of teachers:--1. from the -disciples who had been driven from Jerusalem by the tragical death of -Saint Stephen; 2. from Saint Peter, principally on the occasion of the -excursion made by him to Lydda, Saron, Joppa, and Cęsarea; and 3. from -Paul and Barnabas, on the occasion, and by the means, of the long tour, -made by them for that special purpose, as above. - -At this maritime metropolis of the faith, the new religion was spreading -itself,--and, as far at least as depended on exemption from all -disturbance from without, in a state of peace and tranquility;--when, by -a set of _nameless_ men from Judea,--if to the author of the Acts credit -is to be given on this point, for by him no mention is made of any one -of their names,--the harmony of the Church was disturbed. - -Converts as they were to the religion of Jesus, yet,--in their view of -the matter, if the author of the Acts is to be believed, without -circumcision, no salvation was to be had. - -By Paul it is said, "they came from James," Gal. 2:12, which is as much -as to say that they were sent by James: and accordingly, when James's -speech is seen, by him will these scruples of theirs be seen advocated. - -If the Gospel history, as delivered by the Evangelists, is to be -believed,--nothing could be more inconsistent, on many occasions with -the practice, and at length with the direct precepts, of Jesus, than -this deference to the Mosaic law: if human prudence is to be -regarded,--nothing could be more impolitic--nothing more likely to -narrow, instead of extending, the dominion of the Church. On this -principle, no man who was not born a Jew, could be a Christian without -first becoming a Jew, without embracing the Mosaic law; and thus loading -himself with two different, and mutually inconsistent, sets of -obligations. - -From Paul, this conceit,--as was natural,--experienced a strenuous -resistance. No recognition as yet had Paul received, from the body of -the Apostles. In Jerusalem, for anything that appears,--though this was -at least seventeen years after the death of Jesus--they remained -alive--all of them:--at any rate the two chiefs of them, if Paul is to -be believed, who, Gal. i. 19, says he saw them, namely, Saint Peter "and -James, the Lord's brother": which two, he says, he saw, out of a number, -the rest of whom, he studiously assures his Galatians that he did not -see: though by his historiographer, Acts 15:4, by his all-comprehensive -expression, "_the Apostles_," we are desired to believe, that he saw all -of them.[30] Whichever be the truth,--at Jerusalem, the metropolis of -Judaism, no employment could, under these circumstances, be reasonably -expected for Paul: whereas, _out_ of Judea,--wherever the language of -Greece was the mother tongue, or familiarly spoken,--the advantage, -which, in every address to the Gentiles, he would have over those -unlearned Jews, was universally manifest. - -Such, however, were the impressions, made by these unnamed manufacturers -and disseminators of scruples, who, if Paul is to be believed, came from -James the brother of our Lord--that, by the whole Church, as it is -called, of Antioch, a determination was taken--to send to Jerusalem, to -the Apostles and the Elders that were associated with them, a numerous -mission, headed by Paul and Barnabas, who are the only two persons -named. Accordingly, out they set, "after having been brought on their -way," says the author of the Acts, 15:3, "by the _Church_," which is as -much as to say, by the whole fraternity of Christians there established. - - -SECTION 2. - -THE DELEGATES HOW RECEIVED.--COUNCIL OF APOSTLES AND ELDERS. - -Against the pretensions of a man thus supported, vain, on the part of -the original and real Apostles, would have been any attempt, to resist -the pretensions of this their self-constituted rival: they, Barnabas and -Paul, were received, says the author of the Acts, of the Church and of -the Apostles and Elders.[31] - -Arrived at Jerusalem, Paul and Barnabas told their own story--related -their adventures and experiences--declared, to use the language of the -Acts 15:4, all things that God had done unto them. - - * * * * * - -Notwithstanding the utmost exertion of Paul's ever-ready -eloquence,--some, it is stated, there were, who, believers as, in a -certain sort, they were in the religion of Jesus,--were not to be -persuaded, to give up so much as a single tittle of the Mosaic law: -these were, as it was natural they should be, of the sect of Pharisees. -"There rose up," says the Acts 15:5, "certain of the sect of the -Pharisees which believed, saying that it was needful to circumcise them -(the Gentiles), and to command them to keep the law of Moses." - - * * * * * - -Of these private discussions, the result was--the convocation of an -assembly of the managing body, in which, associated with the Apostles, -we find others--under the name of _Elders_. - -How, on an occasion, on which the proposed subject of determination was -a question of such cardinal importance to the religion of Jesus;--how it -should have come to pass, that the Apostles, to whom alone, and by whom -alone, the whole tenor of the acts and sayings of Jesus had been made -known--made known by an uninterrupted habit of exclusive intimacy, and -especially during the short but momentous interval between his -resurrection and ascension;--how it should have happened, that, to the -Apostles, any other persons not possessed of these first of all titles -to credence and influence, should have come to be associated,--is not -mentioned. Upon no other authority than that of this author, are we to -believe it to be true? On the supposition of its being true,--there -seems to be, humanly speaking, but one way to account for it. That which -the Apostles, and they alone, _could_ contribute to the cause, was--the -authority and the evidence resulting from that peculiar intimacy: what -they could _not_ contribute was--money and influence derived from -ordinary and external sources: to the exclusive possession of these -latter titles to regard, will, therefore, it should seem, be to be -ascribed, supposing it credited, the circumstance of an incorporation -otherwise so incongruous. - -"Received," say the Acts 15:4, they were.--But by whom received?--By the -Church, by the Apostles, by the Elders, says that same history in that -same place. By _the_ Apostles: to wit--so as any one would conclude--by -_all_ the Apostles--by the whole fellowship of Apostles. - - * * * * * - -Whether in any, and, if so, in what degree that conclusion is correct, -we have no determinate means of knowing. - - * * * * * - -If, however, it was so to the utmost,--nothing appears in favor of the -notion, that between Paul on the one part, and the Apostles and their -disciples on the other, there existed at this time any real harmony. -For, in what character was it that he made his appearance? In that of a -commissioned envoy, from the whole body of the Church, established in -that station, which was next in importance to Jerusalem, to which he was -sent. And who was it that, at that time, as on both the former times, -he, Paul, had in his company? Still his constant patron and associate -Barnabas--the munificent friend and patron of that church which he was -visiting--the indefatigable Barnabas. - -By Paul himself, in his Epistle to the Galatians, 2:9, 10, 11, the idea -of any such extensive cordiality,--say rather of cordiality to any the -smallest extent,--is pretty plainly negatived.[32] On that occasion, it -was that of the Partition Treaty, what his interest required was--that, -on the part of the Apostles and their disciples, the concurrence given -to it, should appear as extensive as possible. If then they had all of -them, really and personally concurred in it,--or even if the contrary -had not been notorious, this is the conception which he would have been -forward to convey and inculcate. No such notion, however, does he -venture to convey. When speaking of them in general terms--of no -affection on either side, more kindly than that of ill humor, does he -give any intimation. Gal. 2:6. "Of those who seemed to be somewhat, -whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepted no man's -person: for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing -to me." - -When, again, he comes to speak of the sort of intercourse, such as it -was, which he had with the Apostles,--who are the persons that he speaks -of? All the Apostles? the body of the Apostles in general?--No: James, -Cephas, the Hebrew name of which Peter is a translation, and John: these -three, and no more. These are the men, whom, to him Paul and his -protector Barnabas in conjunction, he on that same occasion speaks of, -as "giving the right hand of fellowship:" to wit, for the purpose of the -Partition Treaty, the terms of which immediately follow. - -And, even of these men, in what way does he speak? As of men "who seemed -to be pillars:" so that, as to what concerned the rest of the Apostles, -he found himself reduced to speak no otherwise than by conjecture. And -this same "right hand of fellowship"--what was their inducement for -giving it?--It was, says he, that "they perceived the grace that was -given unto me": _i.e._, in plain language, and ungrounded pretension -apart,--the power, which they saw he had, of doing mischief:--of -passing, from the character of a jealous and restless rival, into that -of a declared enemy: into that character, in which he had originally -appeared, and with such disastrous effect. - -Immediately after this comes the mention of the visit, made by Peter to -Antioch: and therefore it is, that, no sooner is Peter--that chief of -the Apostles of Jesus--mentioned,--than he is mentioned, as a man whom -this Paul "withstood to his face, because he was to be blamed." Gal. -2:11. - -Peter was to be blamed: those other Jews that were come to Antioch from -James--they were to be blamed. Barnabas, under whose powerful -protection,--by the Church at Jerusalem, her justly odious persecutor -had, at three different times, been endured,--he too was to be blamed. -He too was, at that time, to be blamed; and, as will be seen presently -after, openly quarrelled with; and, if on this point the Acts are to be -believed, parted with. Acts 15:39. "And the contention was so sharp -between them, that they departed asunder one from the other: and so -Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus." - - -SECTION 3. - -DEBATES--COURSE CARRIED BY JAMES AGAINST PETER. - -Of what passed at this assembly, the only account we have--the account -given to us by the author of the Acts--is curious:--curious at any rate; -and whether it be in every particular circumstance true or not,--in so -far as it can be depended upon, instructive.[33] - -We have the persons mentioned as having spoken: they are, in the order -in which they are here enumerated, these four:--to wit, Peter, Barnabas, -Paul and James. Of the speech of Peter, the particulars are given: so -likewise of that of James: of Barnabas and Paul, nothing more than the -topic. - -Against the Mosaic law _in toto_, we find Peter; and such contribution -as he is represented as furnishing to this side of the cause in the -shape of argument. On the same side, were Barnabas and Paul: what they -furnished was matter of fact:--namely, in the language of the Acts, -"what miracles and wonders God had wrought among the Gentiles by -them:"--in plain language, the success they had met with among the -Gentiles. - -On this question, on the side of the chief of the Apostles, were--the -manifest interest of the religion of Jesus as to extent of -diffusion,--the authority derived from situation,--the express command -of Jesus as delivered in the Gospel history,--and Jesus' own practice: -not to speak of the inutility and unreasonableness of the observances -themselves. Yet, as far as appears from the author of the Acts,--of -these arguments, conclusive as they would or at least should have -been,--it appears not that any use was made: the success, he spoke of as -having been experienced by himself among the Gentiles,--in this may be -seen the sole argument employed in Peter's speech. Thus,--in so far as -this report is to be believed,--thus, upon their own respective -achievements, did,--not only Paul but Peter,--rest, each of them, the -whole strength of the cause. - -Spite of reason, religion, and Jesus, the victory is in this account, -given to James--to Jesus' kinsman, James. The motion is carried: the -course proposed, is a sort of middle course--a sort of compromise. At -the hands of Gentile proselytes, in deference to the Mosaic law, -abstinence from four things is required: namely, meats offered to -idols, blood, things strangled: these, and the irregularities of the -sexual appetite,--whatsoever they were, that were meant by the word, -rendered into English by the word _fornication_. - -If any such decision were really come to,--by nothing but -necessity--necessity produced by the circumstances of place and -time--will it be found excusable. Abstinence from food killed in the way -of sacrifice to heathen gods, on the occasion of public sacrifices: yes; -for, for such food, little relish could remain, on the part of persons -devoted to the religion of Jesus: from fornication, yes; for, for a -sacrifice in this shape, even among the Gentiles, some preparation had -been made by stoicism. But, as to blood and things strangled,[34] that -is to say, animals so slaughtered as to have more blood left in their -carcasses than the Mosaic law would allow to be left in them--animals -slaughtered otherwise than in the Jewish manner,--thus forbidding -teachings of the religion of Jesus, to eat a meal furnished by Gentile -hands,--this, as above observed, was depriving them of their most -favourable opportunities, for carrying their pious and beneficent -purposes into effect, by adding to the number of believers. - -Altogether remarkable is the consideration, upon the face of it, by -which, if the historian is to be believed, this decision was produced. -"For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being -read in synagogues every sabbath day," Acts 15:21. May be so: but what -if he has? what is that to the purpose? Good, if the question were about -the Jews: but, it is _not_ about the Jews: the Gentiles, and they only, -are the subjects of it. And the Gentiles--what know or care _they_ about -Moses? what is it that is to send _them_ into the synagogues, to hear -anything that is "read in synagogues"? - -By this imaginary abstinence from blood,--for, after all, by no exertion -of Mosaic ingenuity could the flesh ever be completely divested of the -blood that had circulated in it,--of this perfectly useless prohibition, -what would be the effect?--Not only to oppose obstacles, to the -exertions of Christian teachers, in their endeavors to make converts -among the Gentiles,--but, on the part of the Gentiles themselves to -oppose to them a needless difficulty, in the way of their conversion, by -rendering it impossible for them, consistently with the observance of -this prohibition, to associate with their unconverted friends and -families at convivial hours. Thus much as to what concerns the -Gentiles.[35] - -Since, and from that time, the religion of Jesus has spread itself:--we -all see to what extent. Spread itself: and by what means? By means of -the decision thus fathered upon the Apostles? Upon the Apostles, the -Elders, and the whole Church?--No: but in spite of it, and by the -neglect of it. - -Charged with a letter, containing this decision, did Paul, together with -his friend Barnabas, return from Jerusalem,--if the author of the Acts -is to be believed,--to the society of Christian converts, by which he -had been sent thither: charged with this letter, carrying with it the -authority of the whole fellowship of the Apostles. Paul himself--he -Paul--what sort of regard did he pay to it? _He wrote against it with -all his might._ No more Jewish rites! No more Mosaic law! Such is the -cry, that animates the whole body of those writings of his which have -reached us. - - -SECTION 4. - -RESULT, SUPPOSED APOSTOLIC DECREE AND LETTER TO ANTIOCH, WHICH, PER -ACTS, PAUL CIRCULATES. - -Of a decision, agreed upon and pronounced to the above effect--a -decision expressed by a decree;--and of a copy of that decree, included -in and prefaced by a letter addressed to the saints at Antioch,--were -Paul and Barnabas, along with others who were associated with them, on -their return to that city, the bearers:--that is to say, if, as to these -matters, credence is given, to the statement, made by the author of the -Acts; by whom the alleged decree and letter are given, in words, which, -according to him, were their very words:--these words are those which -follow: - -ACTS 15:22 to 32. - - 22. Then pleased it the Apostles and Elders, with the whole church, - to send chosen men of their own company to Antioch, with Paul and - Barnabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren.--And they wrote - letters by them after this manner: The Apostles and elders, and - brethren, _send_ greeting unto the brethren which are of the - Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia.--Forasmuch as we have - heard, that certain which went out from us have troubled you with - words, subverting your souls, saying, Ye _must_ be circumcised, and - keep the law: to whom we gave no such commandment:--It seemed good - unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto - you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,--Men that have hazarded - their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.--We have sent - therefore Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the same things - by mouth.--For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay - upon you no greater burden than these necessary things;--That ye - abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from - things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep - yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.--So when they were - dismissed, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the - multitude together, they delivered the epistle.--_Which_ when they - had read, they rejoiced for the consolation.--And Judas and Silas, - being prophets also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many - words, and confirmed _them_. - -Supposing it genuine,--a most curious, important and interesting -document, this letter and decree must be allowed to be. Supposing it -genuine: and, in favor of its genuineness, reasons present themselves, -which, so long as they remain unopposed, and no preponderating reasons -in support of the contrary opinion are produced, must decide our -judgment. - -Not long after the account of the acceptance given at Antioch to this -decision,--comes that of a conjunct missionary excursion from that place -made by Paul, with Timotheus, and perhaps Silas, for his companion. At -the very commencement of this excursion--if, in the decree spoken of, -this decree is to be understood as included; and there seems no reason -why it should not be, they are represented as taking an active part in -the distribution of it. Acts 16:4. "And says the historian, as they" -(Paul, &c.) "went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees -for to keep, that were ordained of the Apostles and Elders that were at -Jerusalem." - -That, by Paul, this token, of association with the Apostles, should at -that time be exhibited and made manifest, seems altogether natural. It -affords a further proof, of the need, which, at that period of his -labors, he regarded himself as having, of the appearance--the outward -signs at least--of a connection with the Apostles. - -True, it is, that the persuasion of any such need is altogether -inconsistent with that independence, which, in such precise and lofty -terms, we have seen him declaring in his Epistle to his Galatians,--is -sufficiently manifest. But, in the current chronology, the date, -ascribed to that Epistle, is by five years posterior, to the date -ascribed to the commencement of this excursion: date of the excursion, -A.D. 53; date of the Epistle, A.D. 58: difference, five years: and five -years are not too great a number of years, for the experience of success -and prosperity, to have raised to so high a pitch, the temperature of -his mind.[36] - -Even before this time, we find him even outstretching the concessions, -which, in that decree, in the case of the Gentiles, in compliance with -the scruples of the Jewish disciples they had to deal with, we have been -seeing made by the Apostles, in favor of the Mosaic law. -Abstinence--from meat offered to idols, from blood, from things -strangled, and from fornication--composed all the Mosaic observances -exacted in that decree. To these, he, in his practice, at this time, -added another, and _that_, in respect of extent, in a prodigious degree -a more important one: to wit, the submitting to circumcision. For, to -this painful observance,--in which a submission to all the other Mosaic -observances was implied,--he had already subjected his new convert -Timotheus, whom, in this excursion, in addition to Silas, he took with -him for a companion. Born of a Greek father as he was,--adult as he -was,--he took him, says the historian, and circumcised him. Circumcised -him--and why?--"_Because of the Jews, which were in those -quarters._"[37] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[29] Acts xv. 1 to 4:--"1. And certain men which came down from Judea, -taught the brethren, _and said_, Except ye be circumised after the -manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved.--2. When therefore Paul and -Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation with them, they -determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go -up to Jerusalem unto the Apostles and Elders about this question.--3. -And being brought on their way by the Church, they passed through -Phenice and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles: and they -caused great joy unto all the brethren.--4. And when they were come to -Jerusalem, they were received of the Church, and of the Apostles and -Elders; and they declared all things that God had done with them." - -[30] Gal. i. 18, 19. "Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to -see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.--9. But other of the -Apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother." - -Acts 15:4. "And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of -the Church, and of _the_ Apostles and Elders; and they declared all -things that God had done with them." - -The cause of this contrariety lies not far beneath the surface. Paul had -one object in view; his historiographer another. In the two passages, -they wrote at distant times, and with different purposes. In his address -to his Galatian disciples, Paul's object was to magnify his own -importance at the expense of that of the Apostles: to establish the -persuasion, not only of his independence of them, but of his superiority -over them. The generality of them were not worth his notice; but having -some business to settle with them, Peter, the chief of them, he "went" -to see, and James, as being "the Lord's brother," he vouchsafed to see. -On that particular occasion, such was the conception which Paul was -labouring to produce: and such, accordingly, was his discourse. As for -the historiographer, his object was, of course, throughout, to place the -importance of his hero on as high a ground as possible. But, in this -view, when once Paul had come to a settlement with the Apostles, the -more universal the acceptance understood to have been received by -him--received from the whole body of Christians, and from those their -illustrious leaders in particular,--the better adapted to this his -historiographer's general purposes would be the conception thus -conveyed: accordingly they were received, he says, "of the Church, and -the Apostles, and Elders." - -[31] Acts xv. 4. "And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were -received of the Church and of the Apostles and Elders, and they declared -all things that God had done unto them." - -[32] Gal. ii. 6. "But of those who seemed to be somewhat, whatsoever -they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person: for -they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me.--And -when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the -grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right -hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto -the circumcision.--Only they would that we should remember the poor; the -same which I also was forward to do.--But when Peter was come to -Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed." - -[33] Acts 15:5-21. 5. "But there rose up certain of the sect of the -Pharisees which believed, saying, That it was needful to circumcise -them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses.--And the Apostles -and Elders came together for to consider of this matter.--And when there -had been much disputing, Peter rose up, and said unto them, Men and -brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made choice among us, -that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the Gospel and -believe.--And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving -them the Holy Ghost, even as _he did_ unto us;--And put no difference -between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.--Now therefore why -tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which -neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?--But we believe that -through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as -they.--Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave audience to -Barnabas and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had wrought -among the Gentiles by them.--And after they had held their peace, James -answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me:--Simon hath -declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of -them a people for his name.--And to this agree the words of the -prophets; as it is written,--After this I will return, and will build -again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build -again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up:--That the residue of men -might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles upon whom my name is -called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.--Known unto God are -all his works from the beginning of the world.--Wherefore my sentence -is,--that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned -to God:--But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions -of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from -blood.--For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, -being read in the synagogues every sabbath day." - -[34] After the word blood, the mention made of things strangled seems to -have been rather for explanation than as a separate ordinance. Of -strangling, instead of bleeding in the Jewish style,--what the effect -would be, other than that of retaining blood, which the Mosaic ordinance -required should be let out, is not very apparent. - -[35] Another observation there is that applies even to the Jews. By -Moses were all these several things forbidden. True: but so were a vast -multitude of other things, from, which (after the exceptions here in -question) the prohibition is, by this decision, taken off. These things, -still proposed to be prohibited, as often as they entered a synagogue, -they would hear prohibited: but, so would they all those other things, -which, by this decision, are left free. - -[36] In the account of this excursion, Galatia--now mentioned for the -first time in the Acts,--is mentioned, in the number of the countries, -which, in the course of it, he visited. It stands fourth: the preceding -places being Derbe, Lystra, Iconium and Phrygia. Acts 16:1 to 6. In Acts -18:23, "He ... went over [all] Galatia ... strengthening the disciples." - -[37] Acts 16:1 to 3. Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and behold, a -certain disciple was there named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, -which was a Jewess and believed: but his father was a Greek:--Which was -well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium.--Him -would Paul have to go forth to him, and took and circumcised him, -because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that -his father was a Greek. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - - _Paul disbelieved continued.--After His Third Jerusalem Visit, - Contest Between Him and Peter at Antioch._ PARTITION TREATY: PAUL - _for Himself_: PETER, JAMES _and_ JOHN, _for the Apostles_. - - -SECTION 1. - -CONTEST AND PARTITION TREATY, AS PER ACTS, AND PAUL'S EPISTLES. - -GALATIANS ii. 1 to 16. - - 1. Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with - Barnabas, and took Titus with _me_ also.--And I went up by - revelation, and communicated unto them that Gospel which I preach - among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, - lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.--But neither - Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be - circumcised:--and that because of false brethren unawares brought - in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in - Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage.--To whom we - gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of - the Gospel might continue with you.--But of those who seemed to be - somewhat, whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God - accepteth no man's person: for they who seemed to be somewhat in - conference added nothing to me;--but contrariwise, when they saw - that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, _as - the gospel_ of the circumcision _was_ unto Peter;--For he that - wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the - circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:--and - when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived - the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the - right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and - they unto the circumcision.--Only they would that we should - remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.--But - _when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face_, - because he was to be blamed.--For before that certain came from - James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he - withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the - circumcision.--And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; - insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their - dissimulation.--But when I saw that they walked not uprightly - according to the truth of the Gospel, I said unto Peter before them - all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and - not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do - the Jews?--We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the - Gentiles,--knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the - law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in - Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, - and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall - no flesh be justified. - -So much for the question about Jewish rites. - -We come now to the state of affairs between Paul and Peter. Concerning -this, we have little, as hath been seen, from the author of the Acts: -from Paul himself, not much: but what there is of it is of prime -importance. - -On this occasion, to judge from the account given in the Acts,--between -Paul and Peter, all was harmony. In their principles, in their speeches, -they may be seen pleading on the same side: arguing, and arguing in -vain, both of them against the superior influence of James: of that -James, of whose written works, in comparison of those we have from Paul, -we have so little. But presently, on one side at least,--we shall see -contention--preserving contention--and rival ambition, for the cause of -it. - -In this pregnant and instructive letter,--Paul's second letter to his -Galatians,--the authenticity of which seems to be altogether out of the -reach of doubt,--among the particulars, that bear relation to this the -third visit, the following are those, by which the greatest share of -attention seems demanded at our hands. - -In the first place, let us view them in the order in which they _stand_: -that done, the degree of _importance_ may determine the order in which -they are _considered_. - -1. Fourteen is the number of years, between this third visit of his to -Jerusalem, reckoning either from the first of his visits made to that -same holy place after his conversion, or from his departure from -Damascus after his return thither from Arabia. - -2. On this journey of his to Jerusalem, he has with him not only -Barnabas, as mentioned in the Acts, but _Titus_, of whom no mention is -there made. - -3. It is by revelation, that this journey of his was undertaken. - -4. The Gospel, which he then and there preaches, is a Gospel of his own. - -5. Private at the same time, and for reasons thereupon given, is his -mode of communicating it. - -6. Titus, though at his disposal, he leaves uncircumcised. - -7. _False brethren_ is the appellation he bestows upon those, who, on -this occasion, standing up for the Mosaic law, give occasion to this -debate. - -8. Elders, Apostles, kinsmen of Jesus,--be they who they may,--he, Paul, -is not on this occasion a man to give place to any such persons: to give -place by _subjection_: say rather in the way of _subordination_. - -9. Unnamed are the persons, on whom the vituperation he discharges, is -poured forth. Thus much only is said of them: namely, verse 12, that -they "came from James," the brother of our Lord. Contemptuous throughout -is the manner in which he speaks of all those persons whom he does not -name. Quere, Who are they, to whom, in everything that goes before that -same verse, he is alluding? It seems from thence, that it was with -James, from whom they received support, that those scruples of theirs, -out of which sprung these differences and negotiations, originated. - -10. Leaving the Jews to Peter--he claims to himself as his own the whole -population of the Gentiles. - -11. To this effect, an explicit agreement was actually entered into; -parties, he and Barnabas of the one part; James, Peter, by his Hebrew -surname of Cephas, and John, of the other part. - -12. Of this agreement, one condition was--that, of such pecuniary -profit, as should be among the fruits of the labors of Paul among the -Gentiles, a part should be remitted, to be at the disposal of Peter. - -13. Paul, at the time of this visit, stood up against Peter. - -14. The cause, of his doing so, was--an alleged weakness and -inconsistency in the conduct of Peter, and his gaining to his side--not -only Jews of inferior account, but Barnabas. - -15. The weakness and inconsistency consisted in this: viz: that whereas -he himself had been in use to act with the Gentiles, yet after the -arrival at Antioch of those who came from James at Jerusalem,--he from -fear of the Jewish converts, not only ceased to eat with the Gentiles, -but to the extent of his influence forced the Gentile converts to live -after the manner of the Jews. - -16. On the occasion of this his dispute with Peter, he gave it -explicitly as his opinion,--that, to a convert to the religion of Jesus, -Jew or Gentile,--observance of the Mosaic law would, as to everything -peculiar to it, be useless, not to say worse than useless, Gal. 2:16, -"for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." - -1. As to his place in relation to the Apostles. His was not inferior to -anybody's: upon terms altogether equal did he treat with the Apostles: -in and by the first partition treaty,--he, with Barnabas for his -colleague,--Barnabas, from whom, according to the Acts, he afterwards -separated,--obtains the whole of the Gentile world for the field of -their labors. Thus elevated, according to his account of the matter, was -the situation, occupied by him on the occasion of this his third visit -to Jerusalem, in comparison of what it had been at the time of his -first,--and, to all appearance, at the time of the second. At the time -of his first visit, the Apostles,--all but Peter and James, upon which -two Barnabas forced him,--turned their backs upon him: upon his second -visit, none of them, as far as appears, had anything to do with him: -now, upon his third visit, they deal with him upon equal terms: and now, -not only Peter and James, but John, are stated as having intercourse -with him. - -2. Of this partition treaty, important as it is, no mention is to be -found in the Acts. From first to last,--in the account given in the -Acts, no such figure does he make as in his own. In the Acts, of the -speech of Peter, and even of that of James, the substance is reported: -of Paul's, nothing more than the subject: viz. his own achievements -among the Gentiles: against Paul's opinion, as well as Peter's, the -compromise, moved by James, is represented as carried. - -3. As to the cause, or occasion, of his third visit to Jerusalem. In the -account given in the Acts, it is particularly and clearly enough -explained. It is in conjunction with Barnabas that he goes thither: both -of them, to confer with the Apostles and elders, on the subject of the -notion, entertained by numbers among the Jewish converts, that, by -conversion to the religion of Jesus, they were not set free from any of -the obligations imposed by the law of Moses. - -Of this commission,--creditable as it could not but have been to -him,--Paul, in his account of the matter, as given to the Galatians, -makes not the least mention. No: it is not from men on this occasion nor -on others, it is not from men, that he received his authority, but from -God: it is by revelation, that is, immediately from God, and by a sort -of miracle. - -4. What, in obedience to this revelation, he was to do, and did -accordingly, was,--the preaching of a gospel of his own; a gospel which -as yet he had not preached to any body but the Gentiles. Preaching? how -and where? in an assembly of the whole body of the believers in Jesus, -the Apostles themselves included? No: but privately, and only to the -leading men among them: "to them which were of reputation." - -A gospel of his own? Yes: that he did. Further on, it will be seen what -it was: a Gospel, of which, as far as appears from the evangelists, no -traces are to be found, in anything said by Jesus: especially, if what, -on that occasion, he, Paul, taught by word of mouth at Antioch, agreed -with what we shall find him teaching in his Epistles. - -5. "False brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out -our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring up into -bondage." Liberty? what liberty? evidently that liberty which consisted -in exemption from the ceremonials of the Mosaic law. Who then were these -false brethren, these sticklers for the ceremonial law? If the account -in the Acts is to be believed,--they were the greater part of the -fraternity of Christians in Jerusalem: a party so considerable, that -Peter, the chief of the Apostles, though in his sentiments on this -subject so decidedly and completely opposite to them, was obliged to -give way to it: and, as to several of the obligations,--by which, as -above stated, no small obstacle was opposed to the progress of the -religion of Jesus,--the whole body of the Apostles found themselves -under the like necessity. If he himself is to be believed, Gal. 2:12, -the men in question were men, who, if they continued in those scruples -in which they went beyond the brother of our Lord, had, at any rate, in -the first instance, received from that highly distinguished personage -their instructions. And shortly after this, Acts 16:3, in deference to -this party, Paul himself "took Timothy, a Gentile, and circumcised -him." But, supposing the public transactions, thus reported in the -history of the author of the Acts, to have really had place;--namely, -mission of Paul and Barnabas, from the Christians of Antioch to -Jerusalem,--mission of Judas Barsabas and Silas, from the Apostles and -elders, with Paul and Barnabas in their company, to Antioch,--letter of -the Apostles and elders sent by them to the Christians of Antioch,--all -this supposed, how erroneous soever in their opinions, in affirmance of -the obligatoriness of these ceremonials,--this majority, to whose -scruples the whole body of the Apostles saw reason to give way,--could -they, by this self-intruded convert, be considered as persons to whom -the epithet of _false brethren_, would be admitted to be applicable? - -6. Does it not seem, rather, that this story, about the deputation of -Paul and Barnabas to the Apostles and brethren at Jerusalem from the -Apostles at Antioch, and the counter deputation of Judas Barsabas, and -Silas, to accompany Paul and Barnabas on their return to Antioch, -bearing all of them together a letter from the Apostles at -Jerusalem,--was an invention of the anonymous author of the Acts? or -else a story, either altogether false, or false in great part, picked up -by him, and thus inserted? - -7. Mark now, in this letter of Paul, another circumstance: and judge -whether it tends not to cast discredit on what is said of Peter in the -Acts. - -In the Acts account we have seen Peter in the great council, supporting, -in a sort of speech, the liberty side--of the question,--Jesus against -Moses,--supporting it in the great council, in which, in that same -account, Paul, though present, is, as to that point, represented as -silent: in that same account, shall we see Peter, five years before this -time, addressing himself to the Gentiles,--using this same -liberty,--and, when called to account for doing so, employing _his_ pair -of visions, his and Cornelius's, Acts 10:30-41, in and for his defence: -we shall see him in this new part of his career,--in this part, for -which he was by both education and habits of life so ill qualified,--we -shall see him so much in earliest in this part of his labors, as to have -expended miracles,--a supernatural cure, and even a raising from the -dead,--for his support in it. - -Had any such facts really happened--facts in their nature so -notorious,--would Paul, in this letter of his to the Galatians, have -spoken of Peter, as if he had never made, or attempted to make, any -progress in the conversion of the Gentiles? Speaking of the sticklers -for Moses, as well as of Peter,--would he have said "When they saw that -the Gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the Gospel of -the circumcision was to Peter?" Gal. 2:7, "For he that wrought -effectually in Peter to the Apostleship of the circumcision, the same -was mighty in me toward the Gentiles?" - -That, in some way or other, Peter had tried his hand upon some persons -who were Gentiles--in this there is nothing but what may well enough be -believed: provided it be also believed--that, in the experiment so made -by him, he had little or no success:--for, that after the expenditure of -two such miracles of so public a nature, besides a pair of visions,--he -had after all made so poor a hand of it, as to be content to give up to -Paul the whole of his prospects from that quarter,--does it seem -credible? - -8. As to the partition-treaty itself,--whatsoever were the incidents -that had brought it about, nothing could be more natural--nothing more -probable--nothing more beneficial to the common cause--to the religion -of Jesus, meaning always so far as the religion taught by Paul was -comfortable to it. Each retained to himself the only part of the field, -for the cultivation of which he was qualified: each gave up no other -part of the field, than that, for the cultivation of which he was _not_ -qualified. - -9. Gal. 2:12. "For before that certain came from James, he did eat with -the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated -himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. - -10. "But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the -uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision -was unto Peter. - -11. "And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, -perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas -the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and -they unto the circumcision. - -12. Gal. 2:10. "Only they would that we should remember the poor; the -same which I also was forward to do. - -13. "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, -because he was to be blamed. - -14. "For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the -Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew, and separated himself, -fearing them which were of the circumcision.--And the other Jews -dissembled likewise with him: insomuch that Barnabas also was carried -away with their dissimulation. - -15. "But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the -truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a -Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why -compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" - -16. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by -the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that -we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of -the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." - -Note, in this same letter, the mention made of Peter's eating with the -Gentiles. "For before that certain came from James, he, Peter, did eat -with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated -himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision." - -Note here, an additional reason for discrediting the whole story of -Peter's expedition,--_miracles_ and visions included,--as reported in -the Acts. In regard to the _visions_,--from this circumstance it may be -seen, that either no such visions were, as stated in the Acts 11:1-13, -related by Peter, on his defence against the accusations preferred -against him on this ground,--or that, if any such relation was given, no -credit was given to it: for, it is after this, and, according to -appearance, long after,--that, according to the Acts 15:1-33, not less -than five years after, the meeting at Jerusalem took place; that -meeting, at which, at the motion of James, the adherence to the Mosaic -law was indeed in part dispensed with; but, so far as regards the -practice charged upon Peter as an offence,--namely the eating with the -Gentiles, insisted on and ordained. - -If Paul's evidence was good and conclusive evidence in support of Paul's -visions,--how came Peter's evidence not to be received as good and -conclusive evidence in support of Peter's visions? Paul's evidence, with -the visions reported by it, was not better evidence, in support of his -claim to the Apostleship,--than Peter's visions, if the account in the -Acts is to be believed, in support of the abrogation of the Mosaic law. -Yet, as, according to the author of the Acts, by Paul's account of his -visions, the Apostles were not any of them convinced; so here, according -to Paul, by Peter's account of his visions, if ever really related to -the fellowship of the Apostles, and to the elders,--their -associates,--that same goodly fellowship was not convinced. - - -SECTION 2. - -PARTITION-TREATY--PROBABILITY GIVEN, BY THE FINANCIAL STIPULATION, TO -PAUL'S ACCOUNT OF IT. - -Of this important treaty, mention may have been seen above. In the -financial stipulation which may have been observed in it,--may be seen a -circumstance, by which an additional degree of credibility seems to be -given, to Paul's account of the transaction; at the same time that light -is thrown upon the nature of it. Paul alone, with his adherents, were to -address themselves to the Gentiles: but, in return for the countenance -given to him by Peter and the rest of the Apostles, he was to _remember -the poor_; which is what, says he, "I also was forward to do." Now, as -to the remembering the poor, what is meant by it at this time of day, -was meant by it at that time of day, or it would not have been meant by -it at this:--supplying money, need it be added? for the use of the poor. -Whatsoever, in relation to this money, was the intention of the -rulers,--whether to retain any part in compensation for their own -trouble, or to distribute among the poor the whole of it, without -deduction;--in other words, whether profit as well as patronage,--or -patronage alone, and without profit,--was to be the fruit;--human nature -must, in this instance, have ceased to be human nature, if, to the men -in question--Apostles as they were--the money could have been altogether -an object of indifference. According to a statement, to which, as above, -ch. ii., though contained in this anonymous history, there seems no -reason to refuse credence,--community of goods--a principle, even now, -in these days, acted upon by the Moravian Christians--was a principle, -acted upon in those days, by the Jewish Christians. The property of each -was thrown into one common stock: and the disposal of it was committed -to a set of trustees, who--it is positively related--were confirmed, -and, to all appearance, were recommended by,--and continued to act under -the influence of,--the Apostles. - -On neither side were motives of the ordinary human complexion--motives -by which man's nature was made to be governed--wanting, to the -contracting parties. By Peter and the rest of the Apostles, much -experience had been acquired, of the activity and energy of this their -self-constituted colleague: within that field of action, which alone was -suited to their powers, and within which they had stood exposed to be -disturbed by his interference, within that field to be secured against -such interference,--was, to them and their interests, an object of no -small moment. Such seems to have been the consideration, on the part of -the acknowledged and indisputable Apostles. - -Not less obvious was the advantage, which, by the stipulation of this -same treaty in his favour, was in a still more effectual manner, -secured to Paul. That, when the whole transaction was so fresh,--all -that Paul was able to say for himself, with all that Barnabas was able -to say for him, had not been sufficient, to induce the Apostles to give -credence to his story about the manner of his conversion,--in a word, to -regard him in any other light than that of an impostor,--is directly -asserted by the author of the Acts. So again, in his unpremeditated -speech to the enraged multitude, Acts 22:18, "They will not receive thy -testimony concerning me," is the information which the Acts make him -report as having been communicated to him by the Lord, when "while I -prayed in the Temple," says he, ver. 17, "I was in a trance." Should a -charge to any such effect happen to encounter him in the course of his -labours;--should he, in a word, find himself stigmatized as an -impostor;--find himself encountered by a certificate of impostorship;--a -certificate, signed by the known and sole confidential servants, as well -as constant companions, of that Jesus, whom--without so much as -pretending any knowledge of his person, he had thus pretended to have -heard without seeing him,--and at a time and place, in which he was -neither heard nor seen by anybody else;--it is obvious enough, in any -such case, how formidable an obstruction of this sort was liable to -prove. On the other hand, so he were but once seen to be publicly -recognized, in the character of an associate and acknowledged labourer -in the same field,--a recognition of him in that character--a virtual -recognition at least, if not an express one--would be seen to have taken -place:--a recognition, such as it would scarcely, at any time after, be -in their power to revoke: since it would scarcely be possible for them, -ever to accuse him of the principal offence, without accusing themselves -of the correspondent connivance. Note, that, of this treaty, important -as it was--this partition-treaty--by which a division was made of the -whole Christian world--no mention, not any the least hint, is to be -found in the Acts. - -Thus much for this third visit of Paul's to Jerusalem, reckoning from -the time of his conversion: thus much for this third visit, and the -partition-treaty that was the result of it. In and by his fourth visit -to that original metropolis of the Christian world,--we shall see how -this same treaty was violated--violated, without any the slightest -reason or pretext, or so much as an attempt, on the part of his -anonymous biographer,--either by his own mouth, or by that of his -hero,--to assign a motive. Violated--that is to say, by and on the part -of Paul: for, of Peter, no further mention is, in all this history, to -be found. - -The truth is--that, instead of "the Acts of the Apostles," the History -of Paul--namely, from the time of his conversion to the time of his -arrival at Rome--would have been the more proper denomination of it. Of -any other of the Apostles, and their acts,--little, if anything, more is -said, than what is just sufficient, to prepare the reader, for the -history of Paul, by bringing to view the state of the Christian world, -at the time of his coming upon the stage. As to Saint Peter,--the -author's chief hero being all along Saint Paul, in whose train, during -this last-mentioned of his excursions, he represents himself as being -established,--what is said of Saint Peter and his achievements, stands, -as it were, but as an episode. And though, by this historiographer, no -mention is made of the _partition-treaty_, it has eventually been of use -to us, by serving to show what, at the time of entering into that -engagement, was the situation of St. Peter; and how good the title is, -which the transaction presents to our credence,--as being so natural, -because so manifestly for the advantage of both the contracting parties, -as well as of the religion of Jesus, in so far as that of Paul was -conformable to it. - - -SECTION 3. - -TIME OF THE PARTITION TREATY, MOST PROBABLY THAT OF VISIT I. - -The time, at which this partition-treaty took place, appears involved in -much obscurity, and presents some difficulties: question--whether it was -at the first, or not till the third, of these visits--of these four -visits of Paul's to Jerusalem. - -The consideration, by which the assigning to it the time of the first -visit has been determined, is--that it was at this first visit, that the -demand for it, in respect of all interests concerned, namely, that of -the religion of Jesus--that of the existing Christians in general,--as -well as that of the individuals particularly concerned on both -sides,--took place: that, from that time, so, as far as appears, did the -observance of it: and that it was not till a long time after, that -either symptoms, or complaints of non-observance, seem to have made -their appearance. - -4. Among the conditions of the treaty, the financial stipulation has -been brought to view:--party to be remembered, the poor--then under the -gentle sway of the Apostles: party, by whom they were to be remembered, -Paul--their recognized, though, for aught appears, no otherwise than -locally and negatively recognized, associate. In and by the Deputation -Visit, on the part of Paul, with the assistance of Barnabas,--we see -this stipulation actually conformed to and carried into effect. From the -Christians at Antioch to the Apostles at Jerusalem,--for the benefit of -the poor, at that metropolis of the Christian world, by the conjoined -hands of Paul and Barnabas,--money, it has been seen, was actually -brought. - -On the other hand, an observation which, at first sight, may seem to -shut the door against this supposition, is--that whereas in his letter, -to his Galatians, Gal. i. 18, 19, after saying, "I went up to Jerusalem -to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days," and adding, "But other -of the Apostles saw I none, save James, the Lord's brother"; he, not -more than fourteen verses afterwards, Gal. 2:9, in the verse in which -his account of this important treaty is continued,--speaks as if it was -at that very time that he had seen--not only the above two Apostles, on -this occasion designated by the names of James and Cephas--but John -likewise: and that this must have been his third Jerusalem visit, -because it is after _mention_ made of that same third visit, which, in a -passage intermediate between these, namely, Gal. 2:1, is stated, in -express terms, as being by fourteen years posterior to his first -visit,[38] that this circumstance, of his seeing John likewise, is -mentioned as having had place. - -But, in neither of these considerations, is there anything, that -presents itself as conclusive, against the supposition--that whatever -treaty there was, took place at the first visit. - -1. As to the first, at that time it is, that for giving intimation of -the treaty, _giving the right hands of fellowship_ is the expression -employed: and that if this union were to be taken in a literal, and -thence in a physical sense, as an agreement in which, as a token of -mutual consent, the physical operation of junction of hands was -employed,--here must have been an actual meeting, in which John was seen -as well as the two others--and, consequently, on the supposition that -the account thus given by Paul, is, in this particular, on both -occasions correct,--this must have been a different meeting from the -first: on which supposition, on comparison with the account given in the -Acts of Paul's second visit,--there can be no difficulty in determining -that this visit cannot have been any other than the third. But, so -evidently figurative is the turn of the expression,--that, even in the -language used in this country at this time, slight indeed, if it -amounted to anything at all, would be the force, of the inference drawn -from it, in favour of the supposition of mutual presence. To signify an -agreement on any point--especially if regarded as important--who is -there that would scruple to speak of his having given the right hand of -fellowship to another, although it were known to be only by letter? or, -even through the medium of a common friend, and without any personal -intercourse? - -2. As to the other consideration, whatsoever might be the force of it, -if applied to a composition of modern times--after so many intervening -centuries, during several of which the arts of literary composition -have, with the benefit of the facilities afforded by the press, been the -subject of general study and practice;--whatsoever on this supposition -might be the force of it, applied to the style and character of Paul, -little weight seems necessary to be attached to it. Of the -confusion--designed or undesigned--in which the style of this self-named -Apostle involves every point it touches upon, not a page can be read -without presenting samples in abundance, to every eye that can endure to -open itself to them: in this very work, some must probably have already -offered themselves to notice; and before it closes, many will be -presented in this express view: the point in question belongs to the -field of chronology: and, of the perturbate mode of his operation in -this field, a particular exemplification has been already brought to -view, Ch. 2, in a passage, in which, of a long train of sufferings and -perils,--some real, some to all appearance not so--the one first -undergone is last mentioned.[39] From the order in which two events are -mentioned by this writer, no argument, in any degree conclusive, can be -deduced, for the persuasion, that that which stands first mentioned, was -so much as intended by him to be regarded as that which first took -place. - -In the very passage, in which the giving the right hands of fellowship -to him and Barnabas is mentioned, and immediately after these very -words,--it is said--that "we _should go_ unto the heathen, and they unto -the circumcision." Thus, then, the conjunct excursion of Paul and -Barnabas--an excursion, not commenced till about ten years after this -same first visit, Acts 13 and 14, is mentioned, as an incident at _that_ -time future. True it is, that the word directly expressive of the future -is, in the English translation, but an interpretation, and as such -marked. But, had any prior excursion of this kind taken place before, -there seems no reason to suppose, that the event, which, by the context, -would surely have been taken for an event then as yet to come,--would, -had the intention been to represent it as no more than a repetition of -what had taken place already, have received a form, so ill adapted to -its intended purpose. - -But, two verses before, stands that, in which mention is made of the -circumstance, by which, according to Paul, the course taken by the -Apostles, in respect of their entering, into this treaty, is brought to -view. "But contrariwise," says he, Gal. 2:7, "when they saw that the -Gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as _the Gospel_ of -the circumcision was unto Peter:" 9. "And when James, Cephas, and John, -who seemed to be pillars, _perceived_ the grace that was given to me, -they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we -_should go_ unto the heathen," ... &c. - -Now these _perceptions_--the perceptions thus ascribed by him to the -Apostles--when was it that they were obtained? Evidently at no time -whatever, if not at the time of his _first_ visit: for, these were the -perceptions--say rather the conceptions--the conveyance of which is -beyond dispute manifest, not only from the whole nature of the case, -according to the accounts we have of it, but from the account expressly -given by the author of the Acts; and that account, in some part -confirmed, and not in any part contradicted, by Paul himself, and in -this very epistle.[40] - -To conclude. That, at the time of the Deputation Visit, Visit III., the -treaty in question could not but have been on the carpet, seems, it must -be confessed, altogether probable, not to say unquestionable. But, that -at the time of the Reconciliation Visit, Visit I.,--it was already on -the carpet, seems, if possible, still more so. For, without some -understanding between Paul and the Apostles--and that to the effect of -this same treaty (the impossibility that Paul's conversion story should -have been the cause, having, it is believed, been hereinabove -demonstrated) without some understanding of this sort, neither the -continuance ascribed to the Reconciliation Visit, nor the existence of -either of the two succeeding visits, to wit, the Money-bringing Visit, -and this Deputation Visit, seem within the bounds of moral -possibility.[41] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[38] Gal. 2:1. "Then fourteen years after, I went up again to Jerusalem -with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also." - -[39] 2 Cor. 2:32. "In Damascus, the governor under Aretas the king kept -the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me," -&c. namely, on his conversion. - -[40] To this same Partition Treaty, allusion seems discernible in Paul's -Epistle to his Roman adherents. Romans 15:15 to 22. "Nevertheless, -brethren, I have written the more boldly unto you, in some sort, as -putting you in mind, because of the grace that is given to me of -God,--That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, -ministering the Gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles -might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.--I have -therefore whereof I may glory through Jesus Christ in those things which -pertain to God.--For I will not dare to speak of any of those things -which Christ hath not wrought by me, to make the Gentiles obedient by -word and deed,--through mighty signs and wonders by the power of the -spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I -have fully preached the Gospel of Christ.--Yea, so I have strived to -preach the Gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon -another man's foundation:--but, as it is written, To whom he was not -spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall -understand.--For which cause also I have been much hindered from coming -to you." - -[41] From this passage in Paul's Epistle to his Galatians[II.], compared -with a passage in his first Epistle to the Corinthians[III.]--the Bible -edited by Scholey, in a note to Acts xv. 39, (being the passage in which -the rupture between Paul and Barnabas is mentioned), draws the -inference, that, after this rupture between Paul and Barnabas, a -reconciliation took place. - - [II.] Gal. ii. 9. "They gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of - fellowship, that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the - circumcision." - - [III.] 1 Cor. ix. 6. "Or, I only, and Barnabas, have not we power to - forbear working?" - -From the passage in question, if taken by itself, true it is that this -supposition is a natural one enough. For, according to all appearances, -the date of this Epistle to the Corinthians is posterior to that of the -rupture: and, from the conjunct mention of the two names, if there were -no evidence on the other side, it might naturally enough be supposed -probable, how far soever from certain, that the intention was thereby, -to report the two persons, as operating in conjunction, and even in each -other's company. But, to the purpose of the argument no such supposition -(it will be seen) is necessary. Labouring they both were herein -represented to be, and to all appearance were, in the same field, viz. -the field of the Gentiles: labouring, after and in conformity to this -same treaty--the agreement made by them with the Apostles--the partition -treaty so often mentioned. But, from this it followed not, by any means, -that they were labouring in the _same part_ of that field. For the -purpose of the argument, the question was--What was the sort of -relation, that had taken place, between these two preachers on the one -part, and their respective disciples on the other? It is of this -relation that it is stated by Paul, and stated truly, that as between -him and Barnabas, it was the same: both being actual labourers in their -respective parts of the same field: both being equally at liberty to -cease from, to put an end to, their respective labours at any time: not -that both were labouring in the same place, or in any sort of concert. -"Or I only, and Barnabas, have not we, says Paul, power to forbear -working?" - -Thus inconclusive is the argument, by which the existence of a -reconciliation is inferred. Against evidence so weak, the contrary -evidence seems decisive. After mention made by him of the rupture,--had -any reconciliation ever taken place, within the compass of time embraced -by his history, would the author of the Acts have left it unnoticed? -That, among his objects was the painting every incident, in colours at -least as favourable, to the church in general, and to Paul in -particular, as he durst,--is sufficiently manifest. By a rupture between -two such holy persons,--a token, more or less impressive, of human -infirmity, could not but be presented to view: and, to any reflecting -mind--in those marks of _warmth_ at least, to say nothing worse, which, -from first to last, are so conspicuous, in the character and conduct, of -this the historian's patron and principal hero, ground could scarce fail -to be seen, for supposing--that it was to _his_ side rather than that of -Barnabas--the generous and ever-disinterested Barnabas--that the blame, -principally, if not exclusively, appertained. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - - _Interview the Fourth.--Peter at Antioch.--Deputies to Antioch from - Jerusalem, Judas and Silas.--Paul disagrees with Peter and - Barnabas, quits Antioch, and on a Missionary Excursion takes with - him Silas. What concerns the Partition Treaty, down to this Period, - reviewed.--Peter and the Apostles justified._ - - -SECTION 1. - -PAUL'S ACCOUNT OF THIS INTERVIEW QUOTED.--ACTS ACCOUNT OF WHAT FOLLOWED -UPON IT. - -We now come to the last of the four different and more or less distant -occasions on which a personal intercourse, in some way or other, is -recorded as having had place, between Paul on the one part, and the -Apostles or some of them on the other, antecedently to that, on which -Paul's history, so far as any tolerably clear, distinct, and material, -information has descended to us, closes. Of this interview, the scene -lies at Antioch: Peter having, for some consideration no otherwise to be -looked for than by conjecture, been led to pay a visit, to that place of -Paul's _then_ habitual abode, after, and, as seems probable, in -consequence of, Paul's third recorded visit to Jerusalem--his -_Deputation Visit_. - -Let us now cast an eye on the documents. Respecting Paul's disagreement -with Peter, the only one we have, is that which has been furnished us -by Paul himself. It consists of the following passage in his Epistle to -his Galatians. - -GALATIANS 2:11 to 16. - - But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, - because he was to be blamed.--For before that certain came from - James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he - withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the - circumcision.--And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; - insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their - dissimulation.--But when I saw that they walked not uprightly - according to the truth of the Gospel, I said unto Peter before - _them_ all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of - Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles - to live as do the Jews?--We _who are_ Jews by nature and not - sinners of the Gentiles,--knowing that a man is not justified by - the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we - have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the - faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works - of the law shall no flesh be justified. - -Let us now see the account, given in the Acts, of what passed in -Antioch, in relation to Paul, Barnabas and Silas,--during a period, -which seems to be either the same, or one in contiguity with it, -probably antecedent to it. - -ACTS 15:35 to 41. - - Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teaching and preaching - the word of the Lord with _many others_ also.--And some days after, - Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go again and visit our brethren, - in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see - how they do.--And Barnabas determined to take with them John whose - surname was Mark.--But Paul thought not good to take him with them, - who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went not with them to - the work.--And the contention was so sharp between them, that they - departed asunder one from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark and - sailed unto Cyprus;--And Paul chose Silas and departed, being - recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.--And he went - through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches. - -With regard to Paul's separation from Barnabas, departure from Antioch, -and taking Silas for a companion,--we have nothing from Paul himself: -nothing, from any other source, than, as above, the Acts. - -In Paul's account, however, may be seen a passage, Gal. 2:13, by which -some light is thrown upon the breach of Paul with Barnabas. In the Acts, -though the _"contention" is said to be "sharp,"_ no cause is stated for -it, other than a difference respecting the choice of a companion: -namely, on an excursion, which they are represented as having agreed to -make, in the company of each other, as before. - -But, according to Paul, he had had cause of complaint, against his old -friend Barnabas, on another account. Barnabas had sided with the -Apostles: Barnabas had been "carried away with their dissimulation"; by -the dissimulation of those Apostles of Jesus, the virtuous simplicity of -the self-constituted Apostle, so he desires his Galatian disciples to -believe, had been foiled. - - -SECTION 2. - -PAUL DISAGREES WITH PETER--AND BARNABAS--QUITS ANTIOCH, TAKING SILAS -FROM THE APOSTLES. - -In no place can this man exist, but to exercise hostility or provoke it: -with no man can he hold intercourse, without acting towards him, if not -in the character of a despot, in that either of an open and audacious, -or in that of a secret adversary, or both. Against Peter, at Jerusalem, -in his Deputation Visit, he is intriguing, while he is bargaining with -him. With the same Peter, when arrived at Antioch, he quarrels: for, at -Antioch, Peter was but a visitor--a stranger; Paul, with Barnabas for -his constant supporter, was on his own ground: no betrayed rulers -_there_ to fear--no persecuted Christians. He quarrels--so he himself -informs his Galatians--he quarrels with the chief of the Apostles: he -"withstands him to his face." Why? because, forsooth, "he was to be -blamed." In conclusion, to such a pitch,--by the degree of success, -whatever it was, which by this time he had experienced,--to such a pitch -of intemperance, had his mind swelled--he quarrels even with Barnabas: -with Barnabas--in all his three antecedent visits to Jerusalem, his -munificent protector, and steady adherent: with that Barnabas, in whose -company, and under whose wing, one of his missionary excursions had -already been performed. Acts 11:19-27; Ib. 2:37-40. - -At Antioch, the number of his competitors could not but be considerable: -at Antioch, the number of years, which he appears to have passed in that -city, considered,--the number of his enemies could not be small. He -accordingly plans, and executes, a new missionary excursion. He stands -now upon his own legs: no Barnabas now,--no necessary protector, to -share with him in his glory: to share with him, in equal or superior -proportion, in the profit of his profession: in that profit, the image -of which, in all its shapes, was flitting before his eyes,--and which we -shall accordingly see him gathering in, in such unequalled exuberance. -He now looks out for a humble companion--an assistant: he finds one in -Silas: that Silas, whom, with Judas Barsabas, we have seen come to -Antioch, deputed by the Apostles and their disciples, to conclude, in -that second metropolis, the negotiation, commenced in the first -metropolis of the new Christian world. Deserter from the service in -which he was sent, Silas enlists in that of the daring and indefatigable -adventurer. Thus much, and no more, do we learn concerning him: for, in -the picture drawn in the Acts, no character is given to him, except the -being found in company with Paul, in some of the places which Paul -visits: except this exercise of the locomotive faculty, nothing is there -to distinguish him from the common stock of still-life. - -From this fourth recorded epoch in the intercourse between Paul and the -Apostles, we now pass to that which stands fifth and last, to wit: that -which was produced by his fourth and last visit to Jerusalem:--his -_Invasion Visit_, A.D. 62. - -In the interval, come four years,--occupied by a series of successive -excursions and sojournments,--in the course of which, all mention of -Silas is dropped, without remark: dropped, in the same obscure and -inexplicit manner, in which the historian affords to the reader, -supposing him endowed with the requisite degree of attention, the means -of discovering, Acts 16:10, that not long after the commencement of this -same period, the historian himself, whoever he was, was taken into the -train of the self-constituted Apostle. To the reader is also left the -faculty, of amusing himself in conjecturing, about what time, and in -what manner, this latter event may have taken place; an event, from -which such important consequences have resulted. - -Of these portions of Paul's life, some view will come to be taken, in a -succeeding chapter, under another head:--under the head of Paul's -supposed miracles: for, it is in the account given of his achievements -and adventures, and of the transactions in which, in the course of this -period, he was engaged,--it is in the course of this account, that we -shall have to pick up, the supposed accounts of supposed miracles, -which, in this part of the Acts history lie interspersed. This review -must of necessity be taken, for the purpose of placing in a true light, -the evidence, supposed to be thus afforded, in support of his claims to -a supernatural commission. - -To this change of connection on the part of Silas,--from the service of -the Apostles of Jesus to that of the self-constituted Apostle,--the -character of _defection_ on the part of Silas,--_seduction_ on the part -of Paul,--may here be ascribed without difficulty. By the Apostles, one -Gospel was preached--the Gospel of Jesus:--we see it in the Evangelists. -By Paul, another and different Gospel was preached:--a Gospel, later and -better, according to him, than that which is to be seen in the -Evangelists:--a Gospel of his own. If, even down to this time, mutual -prudence prevented an open and generally conspicuous rupture,--there was -on his part, at any rate, an opposition. If, to men, whose conduct and -temper were such as they uniformly appear to have been,--any such word -as _party_ can, without disparagement, be applied, here were two -_parties_. He, who was _for_ the self-constituted Apostle, was _against_ -the Apostles of Jesus. In a word, in the language of modern party, -Silas was a _rat_. - - -SECTION 3. - -THE PARTITION TREATY, AND THE PROCEEDINGS, IN RELATION TO IT, DOWN TO -THIS PERIOD, REVIEWED. - -In regard to the Partition Treaty,--taking the matter from Paul's first, -or Reconciliation Visit, A.D. 35, to his departure from Antioch, on his -missionary excursion, after the interview he had had at that city with -Peter,--the state of the affairs, between Paul and the Apostles, seems -to have been thus:-- - -1. On the occasion, and at the time, of his first Jerusalem Visit--his -Reconciliation Visit--a sort of reconciliation--meaning at least an -outward one--could not,--consistently with the whole train, of what is -said of his subsequent intercourse and interviews with the -Apostles,--could not but have taken place. - -2. Of this reconciliation, the terms were--that, on condition of _his_ -preaching in the name of Jesus,--_they_ would not, to such persons in -Jerusalem and elsewhere, as were in connection with them,--_speak_ of -him any longer in the character of a persecutor: for, by his -disobedience and breach of trust, as towards the Jerusalem constituted -authorities,--such he had put it out of his power to _be_ any longer: -not speak of him as a persecutor, but, on the contrary, as an -associate:--he taking up the name of Jesus: and preaching--never in his -own, but on every occasion in that holy, name. - -3. On this occasion,--it being manifest to both parties, that, by his -intimate acquaintance with the Greek language, and with the learning -belonging to that language, he was in a peculiar degree well qualified -to spread the name of Jesus among the Gentiles in general;--that is, -among those to whom the Jewish was not a vernacular language;--whereas -their acquaintance with language was confined to their own, to wit, the -Jewish language;--on this occasion, it followed of course, from the -nature of the case, and almost without need of stipulation, -that,--leaving to _them_, for the field of their labours, Jerusalem, and -that part of the circumjacent country, in which the Jewish alone was the -language of the bulk of the population,--_he_ should confine his -exertions, principally if not exclusively, to those countries, of which -Greek was, or at any rate Hebrew was not, the vernacular language. - -To him, at that time, it was not in the nature of the case, that -absentation from Jerusalem, or any part of the country under the same -dominion, should be matter of regret. Within that circle, he could not, -for any length of time, abide publicly, for fear of the legal vengeance -of the constituted authorities: nor yet among the Christians; although -from their chiefs he had obtained, as above, a sort of prudential -endurance; considering the horror, which his persecution of them had -inspired, and the terror, with which, until his conversion had been -proved in the eyes of all by experience, he could not as yet fail to be -regarded. - -Whatever was the object of his concupiscence,--whether it were the -fund--and we have seen how attractive the bait was--which, at that time, -in that metropolis of the Christian world, offered itself to an -ambitious eye,--still, though his opportunities had as yet confined his -exertions to the _second_ city in that increasing world, his eyes never -ceased looking to the _first_. - -Twice, accordingly, between the first of his Visits,--his Reconciliation -Visit--and this his last interview with Peter,--we see him visiting that -inviting spot: each time, protected and escorted by the munificent -Barnabas and his influence--to make him endurable: each time with a -public commission--to make him respected:--the first time with money -in his hand--to make him welcome. - -That, all this while, neither _good faith_ nor _prudence_ were capable -of opposing to the violence of his ambition, any effectual check,--is -abundantly manifest. - -That _good faith_ was not, we learn distinctly from himself. For though, -from the very nature of the two correlative situations, it is out of all -question, as above, that, without some agreement to the effect above -mentioned, he could not, even with the benefit of every possible means -of concealment, have been preserved for two days together from the -vengeance which pressed upon him, from _below_ as well as from _above_; -yet still was he, by his secret intrigues, Gal. 1:11, violating the -treaty, at the expense of those upright, patient, and long-suffering -men, to whose observance of it, he was every day indebted for his life. - - -SECTION 4. - -PETER AND THE APOSTLES JUSTIFIED AS TO THE FINANCIAL STIPULATION IN -THE TREATY, AND THE SUCCEEDING MISSIONARY LABOURS OF PETER AMONG -THE GENTILES. - -Of the financial stipulation, the account we have has been seen:--an -account given by one of the parties to it--Paul:--the other party -being--the Apostles. In the instance of Paul, in the demonstration, -supposed to be given of it, the worldliness, of the motives which gave -birth to it, has in a manner been taken for granted. Well, then, if in -the one instance such was the character of it,--in the other instance, -can it have been any other? The question is a natural one; but not less -so is the answer. For note, the stipulation is express--that, by -Paul--by Paul out of the profits of his vocation--the poor, meaning the -poor of Jerusalem--the poor among the disciples of the Apostles--should -be remembered. Remembered, and how? Remembered, by payment of the -money--into the hands, either of the Apostles themselves, or, what comes -to the same thing, some other persons, in connection with them, and -acting under their influence. Now, then, once more. Of the man, by whom -the money was to be _paid_--of this man, the motives, you say, were -worldly: is it credible then, that they should have been less so, in the -instance of the men by whom they were to be _received_? - -Answer. Oh! yes, _that_ it is. Between the two cases, there is this -broad difference. Whatever Paul might receive, he would receive for -himself: whatever, after payment made, under the treaty, to the use of -the Jerusalem poor, he retained,--he might retain for his own use. But -the Apostles--that which, if anything, they received, in the name of the -poor, and as for the use of that same poor,--would they--could they, for -their own use, retain it, or any part of it? Not they, indeed. Not in -their hands were the poor's funds: not in theirs, but in a very -different set of hands:--in the hands of a set of trustees--of the -trustees already mentioned in this work, Ch. 2--of those administrators, -whose function, to every reader who has not the Greek original in view, -is so unfortunately disguised by the word _Deacons_. And these deacons, -by whom appointed? By the Apostles? No; but, by the whole communion of -the saints--by the whole number of the members of the Christian -commonwealth;--and in the way of free election,--_election, on the -principle of universal suffrage_. Monarchists and Aristocrats! mark -well!--_of universal suffrage_. - -So much for the treaty itself. Now, as to the subsequent conduct of the -parties, under it, and in relation to it. As to the partition--Paul to -the Gentiles, Peter and his associates to the Jews--such was the letter -of it. Such being the letter--what, at the same time, was the spirit of -it? Manifestly this: on the one hand, that the field, to which Paul's -exertions should apply themselves, and confine themselves, should be -that field, for the cultivation of which, with any prospect of success, -he was exclusively qualified: on the other hand, that the field, to -which their exertions should apply themselves and confine themselves, -should be that, for the cultivation of which, they were--if not -exclusively, at any rate more peculiarly, qualified. In a word--that, of -all that portion of the world, that presented itself as open to the -exertions, of those who preached in the name of Jesus,--they should -reserve to themselves that part which was already in their possession, -to wit, Jerusalem, and its near neighbourhood, together with such parts -of Judea, and its neighbourhood, of which their own language, the -Hebrew, was the vernacular language: this minute portion of the world -reserved, all the rest was to be left open to him: over every other part -of it he was to be at liberty to cast forth his shoe. Judea--the country -of the Jews? say, rather, the Jews themselves:--the Jews wherever found: -for, revelation apart, it was in _language_, that Paul's -pretensions--his exclusive qualifications--consisted. The Apostles spoke -nothing but Hebrew: Paul was learned, and eloquent, in a certain sort, -in Greek. - -In regard to the interpretation to be put upon this treaty,--suppose any -doubt to have place,--in the word _Gentile_, would obviously the seat -and source of it to be to be found. Suppose, on the one hand _persons_ -to be the objects, of which it was meant to be designative,--then, let -there be but so much as one single uncircumcised man in Jerusalem, or -elsewhere,--to whom, in the view of gaining him over to their communion, -the Apostles, or, with their cognizance, any of their disciples, -addressed themselves,--here would, on _their_ part, be a breach of the -treaty. Suppose, on the other hand, _places_ to be the objects, of which -it was meant to be designative,--on that supposition, within that tract -of country, within which alone, the necessary means, of communicating -with the bulk of the population, were in their possession,--they might -apply themselves, to all persons without restriction: and this, still -without any real breach of the agreement--of the spirit and real import -of the agreement. - -In respect either of _persons or places_, by the agreement, according to -this--the obvious sense of it--what was it that Paul gave up? In truth, -just nothing. Had his mind been in a sober state,--strange indeed, if -the field thus afforded by the whole heathen world, was not wide enough -for his labour: in all parts of it he could not be at once; and the most -promising parts were open to his choice. Cessation of Paul's -hostilities excepted, what was it that the Apostles gained? Not much -more. - -As already observed--what was not gained by it, is what is above: what -was really gained by it, is what follows. - -What Paul gained was--exemption from the annoyance, which otherwise he -would everywhere have been exposed to have received, by being designated -as the quondam notorious persecutor, and still unreconciled enemy, of -the Apostles and their disciples:--in a word, of all others who preached -in the name of Jesus. - -That which the Apostles actually gained, was--that confirmation and -extension of their influence, which followed of course, upon every -extension, received by that field, within which the influence of the -name of Jesus was extended. - -That which, besides what is above, they _ought to_ have gained, but did -not gain, is--exemption from all such annoyance, as could not but be -inflicted on them, in proportion as Paul, preaching to persons, to whom -_they_ had access, a Gospel which was his, and not theirs,--should, -while in pretence and name an associate, be, in truth and effect, an -adversary and opponent. - -This is what--though they not only should have gained, but might also -reasonably have expected to gain--they did _not_ gain. For, not to -insist any more on his secret intrigues in Jerusalem itself, and his -open opposition in the second Jerusalem, Antioch, as above; we -shall--when we come to the next and last of his interviews with the -Apostles on the occasion of his Invasion Visit--see, to what lengths the -madness of his ambition carried him, in that birthplace and metropolis -of the Christian world. - -By the sort of connection, which, notwithstanding such obvious and -naturally powerful principles of discrimination, have on each occasion, -been visible, as between the undoubted Apostles, and this self-styled -one--three distinguishable questions cannot but, from time to time, have -been presenting themselves:--1. The sort of countenance--partial, cold, -and guarded as it was--shown by the old established and goodly -fellowship to the ever-intruding individual--is it credible? 2. Can it, -in fact, have been manifested, in conjunction with a disbelief, on their -part, of his pretensions to a degree of supernatural favour with the -Almighty, equal or superior to their own? 3. And, if not only possible, -but actual--was it, in point of morality, justifiable? - -By a few obvious enough considerations, an answer--and, it is hoped, a -not altogether unsatisfactory one,--may be given to all these questions. - -As to whatever was natural in the course of the events, Barnabas was -necessary to the rising Church: and Paul was, all along, necessary, or, -at least, was so thought, to Barnabas. - -1. Barnabas was necessary to the Church. Already, it has been seen, how -preeminent was the support received by it from his munificence. In him, -it had found at once the most liberal of benefactors, and, unless Peter -be an exception, the most indefatigable of agents. On the part of no one -of even the chosen servants of Jesus, do proofs of equal zeal and -activity present themselves to our view. - -In an ensuing chapter, we shall see Peter trying his strength among the -Gentiles. Yet, from the direction thus given to his Apostolic zeal, no -violation of the treaty, it will be seen, can with justice be imputed to -him, if the interpretation above given to the word _Gentiles_ be -correct. - -1. In the first place,--according to the Acts, the date of this -excursion is _antecedent_ to that third interview, which took place on -the occasion of Paul's third Jerusalem Visit--his Deputation Visit: that -is to say, to the time, at which, and not before, though, if the above -reasoning be just, in a sort of general terms the preliminaries had been -agreed upon, the general preliminary arrangements were followed, -confirmed, explained, and liquidated, by more particular ones. - -2. In the next place--of all the places,--which, in the course of this -excursion of Peter's, are mentioned as having been visited by -him,--there is not one, that Paul is mentioned as having ever visited: -whereas, in the first of them that is mentioned, the Apostles are -mentioned as having already a band of disciples.[42] - -3. In the third place,--the date, assigned to this excursion of Peter's, -is, by several years, antecedent even to the first, of the several -excursions of Paul's, of which mention is made in the Acts. In the -received chronology--date assigned to the commencement of Peter's -excursion, A.D. 35; date assigned to Paul's first excursion, A.D. 45. - -While Peter was thus occupying himself, Paul was still at Tarsus:[43] at -Tarsus--his own birthplace--whereto,--in consequence of the danger, to -which his life had been exposed by his first Jerusalem Visit, his -Reconciliation Visit,--he had taken his flight.[44] - -4. In the fourth place,--notwithstanding the perpetual hostility of -Paul's mind, as towards Peter and the rest of the Apostles,--on no -occasion, on the score of any breach of this article in the partition -treaty, is any complaint, on the part of Paul, to be found. When -dissatisfaction is expressed, doctrine alone is mentioned by him as the -source of it: doctrine, the ostensible; dominion, the original and real -source. - -Spite of the treaty,--spite of the manifest interest, of the only -genuine religion of Jesus--the Gospel taught by the Apostles,--still in -places to which they had access--in places in which, in consequence, -they had formed connections,--he persisted in intruding himself: -intruding himself, with that Gospel which he says himself, was his, not -theirs--and not being theirs, was not Jesus's:--intruding himself, in -places, in which, even had his Gospel been Jesus's, _their_ connections -being established, there existed no demand for him and _his_. Can this -be doubted of? If yes, all doubt will at any rate be removed, -when,--spite of all the endeavours that could be employed, either by -them or by his own adherents, to prevail upon him to desist,--we shall -see him entering Jerusalem on his Invasion Visit: as if, while, for -preaching the religion of Jesus, all the world, with the exception of -the Jewish part of it, was not enough for this intruder,--the Apostles -of Jesus--eleven in number, with their elected associate, -Matthias,--were not, all together, enough, for that small part of it. - -The _name_ he preached in, _that_ indeed not his own, but Jesus's: but -the _doctrine_ he preached--the Gospel, as he called it--not _Jesus's_, -nor anybody else's, but his own. All this, as he has the assurance to -declare,--all this did he preach without their knowledge. And why -without their knowledge? because, as he himself has the still more -extraordinary assurance to _declare_--for _confession_ is the result not -of assurance, but weakness--because, as he himself acknowledges,--if so -it had been, that this Gospel of his had come to the knowledge of the -Apostles--of those associates, to whom he was all along holding out the -right hand of fellowship, this Gospel of his could not have been -listened to--this preaching of his would have been in vain. - -Already, however--for in this he may be believed--already, throughout -this _first_ intercourse, though the expression is not used till he came -to speak of the _third_,--already must the right hand of fellowship have -been held out, and on both sides: and, what followed of course,--and was -not only affirmed by his statement, but demonstrated by the result,--on -this last occasion was the treaty again brought upon the carpet and -confirmed, after such modifications as it may naturally have received, -from the consideration of intervening incidents. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[42] Acts 9:32. "And it came to pass, as Peter passed through all -quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda." - -[43] Acts 11:25. "Then departed Barnabas for to seek Saul." A.D. 43. - -[44] Acts 9:30, "Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to -Cęsarea and sent him forth to Tarsus." - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - - _Paul disbelieved continued--The Fourth and Last Jerusalem Visit. - The Purpose concealed: Opposition universal; among his own - Disciples, and among those of the Apostles._ - - -SECTION 1. - -MOTIVES TO THIS VISIT. - -Of this momentous visit to say what were the real objects, must in a -great part be left to conjecture:--to inferences drawn from the known -circumstances of the case. By himself, as will be seen, they were -concealed with the most persevering anxiety. - -But, in default of direct evidence, the point may without much danger of -error be settled by circumstantial evidence. The common objects of -political concupiscence--money, power and vengeance--were all before his -eyes: _money_--in no less a quantity than that of the aggregate mass of -the property of the whole church:--that fund, for the management of -which, the Apostles' seven trustees, under the name of Deacons, were not -more than sufficient:--that fund, by which the repulsed concupiscence of -the sorcerer of Samaria had so lately been excited:--_power_, that -which was exercised by the direction of the consciences of the whole -number of the faithful, some time before this, not less in number than -three thousand: _vengeance_, for the repeated rebuffs, by which, at the -interval of so many years from each other, his endeavours to supplant -the Apostles had been repelled. - -In a general point of view, ambition,--rival ambition,--the same motive -which sent Caesar to Rome, may be stated as having sent Paul, at this -time, to Jerusalem: to Jerusalem--the metropolis of the Christian world, -by design; and thence, eventually and undesignedly, to the metropolis of -the whole civilized world. - -By two opposite desires--two antagonizing but correspondent and mutually -explanatory desires--desires, in both parts intense and active, the -external marks of which are sufficiently visible in two different -quarters,--the nature as well as prevalence of this motive, will, it is -believed, be found sufficiently proved:--a desire, in the breast of the -self-constituted Apostle, to establish himself in the original -metropolis of the Christian world:--a desire on the part of the -Apostles--of the Apostles constituted by Jesus--to keep him out of it. - - -SECTION 2. - -THE VISIT ANNOUNCED BY PAUL AND DEFERRED. - -Ephesus, at which place he had arrived not long after his departure from -Corinth, where he had made a stay, as it should seem, of more years than -one,[45] touching in the way at Cenchrea, where he shaved his head for -the performance of a vow--Ephesus is the place, at which, by the author -of the Acts, Paul is for the first time made to speak of himself, as -harbouring, having in mind the making of this visit: and on that -occasion, the visit is spoken of, as being the subject of a settled -determination, and in particular as being the time fixed upon by him for -the execution of this design. Acts 18:20, 21. "When they, the Jews at -Ephesus, desired him to tarry longer with them, he consented not; but -bade them farewell, saying, I must _by all means keep this feast_ that -cometh in Jerusalem: but I will return again to you if God will." - -As to the keeping of this or any other feast at Jerusalem or at any -other place--if it was under any such notion as that of contributing to -his own personal salvation by any such Mosaic work, it was an object -inconsistent with his own principles--with his own so repeatedly and -strenuously advocated principles:--and the like may be said of the -head-shaving and the vow, performed by him, at Cenchrea, in his way to -Ephesus from Corinth: and moreover, in this last-mentioned instance, -more particularly in contradiction with a precept so positively -delivered by Jesus, namely, _Swear not at all_,--if, under swearing, the -making of vows is to be understood to be included. - -Of this design, the next intimation which occurs in the Acts, is in the -next chapter, Acts 19:21, "When these things were ended," namely, the -discomfiture of the exorcists, and the burning of the books of curious -arts at Ephesus,--"Paul, it is said, _purposes in the spirit_, when he -had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, -After I have been there, I must also see Rome." - -Fortunate it is for the credit--either _of the spirit_, or of Paul, or -of the author of the Acts, that it was on this second occasion only, and -not on the first, that it was _in the spirit_ that he proposed to go to -Jerusalem by the then next feast: for, notwithstanding the "_must_" and -the "_by all means_,"--so it is, that between those his two -determinations as above, no less a space of time than two years is -stated as elapsing, on one occasion, at one and the same place.[46] And -this place--what was it? it was Ephesus: the same place, at which, on -his departure from it, the first determination was declared: after -which, and before this his second visit to Ephesus,--he is represented -as having visited Cęsarea and Antioch. - -The next mention, is that which occurs in the next chapter, chapter -20:16. "Paul," we are there told, being then at Miletus, "had determined -to sail by Ephesus, because he would not spend the time in Asia: for he -hasted, if it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of -Pentecost." - -At Miletus it is, that he sends for, and receives, from Ephesus, a -number of his adherents in that place. Upon their arrival, he is -represented as making a formal speech to them: and now, he not merely -proposes in the spirit, as before, but is "_bound in the spirit_," to go -thither.[47] Vain would be the attempt to ascertain, with any approach -to exactness, the interval of time, during which the operation of the -spirit remained in a sort of suspense between _purpose_ and -_obligation_: it may have been months, only: it may have been years. - -While, by one spirit, Paul was thus urged on, every now and then, -towards Jerusalem;--by the same spirit, or by another spirit, he was -pulled back.[48] - -In the very next verse, Acts 20:22, in which he speaks of his being -"bound in the spirit unto" that place, not knowing, as, in his speech, -he thereupon adds,--"not knowing the things that shall befall me -there,"--he goes on, and says: "Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in -every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of -these things," says he, ver. 24, "move me, neither count I my life dear -unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the -ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel -of the grace of God." - -To raise, in the breast of Paul, the expectation, that of his proceeding -in the course it was his way to take in preaching that religion, to -which, from a persecutor, he had, in appearance, become a convert, -affliction, in a variety of shapes, might prove to be the -fruits,--needed no information from the spirit; if, by receiving -information from the spirit, he meant any communication of a -supernatural kind--anything beyond information in the ordinary -shape;--be the effect--be the purpose, good or bad,--such is the lot, -that awaits innovation in the field of politics--the spiritual part -included, as well as the temporal--at all places, and all times. - -A passage, which now presents itself, helps to show how easily and -copiously, out of a few words, written in ancient times, mysteries and -miracles have been manufactured in modern times. In Acts 20:22, we have -seen Paul, "_bound in the spirit_," as he is made to assure us, to go -unto Jerusalem. In the next chapter, 21:4, we find disciples ... who -said to Paul, "_through the spirit_," that he should _not_ go up to -Jerusalem. Oh! what a useful word this word _spirit_! Let a man say -plainly and simply, I shall go, or be going, to Jerusalem--or, Don't go -to Jerusalem,--his words go for no more than they are worth: in either -case, with a proper proposition to introduce it, add the word "spirit," -the matter becomes serious. Out of a word or two, you thus add to the -Godhead a third person, who talks backward and forward for you, and does -for you whatever you please. - -At so small a price, even to this day, are manufactured, every day, a -sort of _verbal_ miracles, which, as many as are disposed, are welcome -to improve into real ones. - -To reconcile men to this expedition of Paul's, the spirit was the more -necessary,--inasmuch as it was not in his own power, or even in that of -any one of his numerous attendants and dependants, to assign so much as -one ostensible reason for it. - -That, to the advancement of religion--of the religion of Jesus--no such -presence of his was necessary;--that no good could result from it;--that -much evil could not but result from it;--was obvious to all eyes. Of the -original number of the Apostles,--for aught that appears, not less than -eleven were still remaining on the spot: men, to every one of whom, all -acts and sayings of Jesus were, by memory, rendered so familiar:--men, -on the part of some of whom, and, at any rate, on the part of the chief -of them, Peter,--there was no want of zeal and activity. While to these -men a single city, or, at the utmost, one small region--composed the -whole field of exertion--the whole earth besides is left open by them -to Paul: still, such is the ravenousness of his ambition, nothing can -content him, but he must be intruding himself--thrusting his restless -sickle into their ripening harvest. - - -SECTION 3. - -THE DESIGN INDEFENSIBLE. - -All this--is it not enough? Well then, take this one other--this -concluding proof. In the teeth of all their endeavours, and among them, -some that will be seen extraordinary enough, to prevent it,--was -undertaken the fourth and last of his four recorded visits to their -residence--Jerusalem. - -But, in the first place, in the utter indefensibility of the design, -shall be shown the _cause_, of the opposition so universally made to it. - -Tired of a mixture of successes and miscarriages,--disdaining the -conquests he had been making in so many remote, and comparatively -obscure regions of the world,--he had formed--but at what precise time, -the documents do not enable us to pronounce--the determination, to -exhibit his glories on the two most illustrious of theatres:--in the two -capitals--Jerusalem, of the Jewish, and now of the Christian world; -Rome, of the whole classical heathen world:--and in the first place, -Jerusalem, now, for the fourth time since his conversion. It was at -Ephesus, as we have seen, this determination was first declared. - -To Rome, he might have gone, and welcome: namely, in so far as his -doctrines could have confined themselves within the limits of those of -Jesus: which, however, it will be seen, they could not: but, success -being moreover supposed, nothing but good could such visit have had for -its result. - -But, by a visit to any place other than Jerusalem, various were the -points of spleen and ambition, that could not have been satisfied. -Nothing would serve him, but, over that Edom Jerusalem, he would, in the -first place, cast forth his shoe. - -Unless the eleven most confidential servants, selected by Jesus himself -to be the propagators of his religion, were altogether unworthy of the -task thus allotted to them,--nothing to the good purposes of that -religion could be more palpably unnecessary, nothing to the purposes of -peace and unity more pernicious, than the intrusion thus resolved upon. -That the number of these legitimately instituted Apostles had as yet -suffered any diminution, is not, by any of the documents, rendered so -much as probable. Neither in the works of Paul himself, nor in that of -his historiographer, is any intimation to any such effect to be found. -In their own judgments, had there been any need of coadjutors--any -deficiency of hands for the spiritual harvest,--they well knew how to -supply it. Of the sufficiency of such knowledge, they had given the -most incontestable proofs: the election of Matthias was the fruit of it. -They showed--and with a disinterestedness, which has never since had, -nor seems destined to have, any imitators--that, in the Christian world, -if government in any shape has divine right for its support, it is in -the shape of democracy;--representative democracy--operating by -universal suffrage. In the eye of the Christian, as well as of the -philosopher and the philanthropist, behold here the only legitimate -government: the form, the exclusion of which from the Christian world, -has been the object of that league, by which, by an unpunishable, yet -the most mischievous--if not the only mischievous--sort of blasphemy, -the name of Christian has been profaned. - -This method of filling offices, was no more to the taste of Paul, than -to that of a Napoleon or a George. He determined to open their eyes, and -prove to them by experience, that monarchy,--himself the first -monarch--was the only legitimate form of government. The difficulties of -the enterprise were such as could not escape any eyes:--least of all his -own: but to die or conquer was his resolve: so he himself declares.[49] -What, in case of success, would have been the use made by him of it? The -fate of the Apostles may be read in the catastrophe of Saint Stephen: -the vulgar herd would, in his eyes, have been as declaredly foolish as -the Galatians. Gal. 3:1. "O, foolish Galatians!" Who did bewitch you, -etc. - -The invasion was not less inconsistent with good faith, than with -brotherly love, peace and unity. It was a direct violation of the -_partition-treaty_: that treaty, of which he gives such unquestionable -evidence against himself, in the boast he makes of it to his Galatians. -Gal. 2:9. "When James, Cephas (Peter), and John, who seemed to be -pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me -and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the -heathen, and they unto the circumcision." - - -SECTION 4. - -OPPOSITION MADE TO IT BY HIS OWN ATTENDANTS AND OTHER ADHERENTS. - -To find so much as the colour of a reason for this perfidy, was too much -for the ingenuity of his attendant panegyrist. In the eyes of the whole -body of his attendants, of whom the historian was one, so completely -unjustifiable was his design in every point of view,--they joined in a -remonstrance to him, beseeching him to give it up. - - -ACTS 21:12 to 14. - - And when we heard these things, both we, and they of that place, - besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.--Then Paul answered, What - mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be - bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord - Jesus.--And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The - will of the Lord be done. - -At no such loss, however, was Paul himself: for this, and for everything -else it was his will to do, he had a reason ready made. It was no less -concise and economical than convenient: a word, and no more than a word, -was the price paid for it:--_revelation_ was that word.[50] So he -assures his "foolish" Galatians: and if they were foolish enough to -believe it, these, though first, have not been last, in the career of -foolishness. - -Allow a man but the use of this one word, so it be in the sense in which -Paul here uses it--admit the matter of fact, of which it contains the -assertion,--the will of that man is not only sufficient reason, but -sufficient law, for everything: in all places, and to all persons, his -will is law. The will of this man is the will of that God, by whom this -revelation of it has been made to him: the will of God, what man shall -be audacious enough to dispute? - -The motives, which gave birth to this act of perfidy and hostility, will -now be visible enough, to every eye, that dares to open itself to them. -At the time in question, they were too manifest to need mentioning: and -at the same time too unjustifiable, to bear to be mentioned by his -dependent historian, when speaking of the opposition, which, even on the -part of his own dependents, it produced. They besought him--with tears -they besought him: but, as to the reflections by which these tears were -produced, they could not bear the light: it was not for a declared -adherent to give them utterance. The sort of colour, put upon the -project by Paul, with the help of one of his phrases--this was the only -colour that could be found for it. It was for the _name_ of the Lord -Jesus, Acts 21:13, that he was ready--"ready, not to be bound only, but -also to die." For the name? O, yes, for the name at all times; for, in -the name of Jesus, he beheld from first to last his necessary support: -and of the Lord Jesus, nothing, as we shall find,--nothing from first to -last, did he ever employ but the name. But, to be bound at Jerusalem--to -die at Jerusalem--to be bound--to die--supposing this to take -place,--where--to the religion of Jesus--would be, where could be, the -use of it? There, at Jerusalem, the Apostles--the real Apostles of -Jesus:--executing, without either dying or being bound for it, the -commission, which to them had been really given by Jesus. - - -SECTION 5. - -OPPOSITION MADE TO IT BY THE APOSTLES AND THEIR DISCIPLES. - -Thus indefensible and deplorable, in the eyes even of his own -dependents,--it may be imagined in what light the invasion presented -itself at Jerusalem, to those who found themselves so cruelly menaced by -it. - -At the first place, at which, after a voyage of some length, they landed -on their way to Judea,--they found the alarm already spread. This place -was Tyre: there they found "disciples," Acts 21:4, "who said to Paul," -and "through the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem." It was -through _their spirit_, that they bade him not to go; but _his -revelation_, as we have seen, bade him to go, notwithstanding:--his -revelation was too strong for their spirit. If it was from the _Lord -Jesus_, as he all along informs us, that his revelation came, while -their spirit was the _Holy Spirit_, otherwise called the _Holy -Ghost_,--already another schism was produced: a schism, in a council -still higher than that of the Apostles. - -At Ptolemais, on the road from Tyre to Jerusalem, they stayed but one -day: Acts 21:7, not long enough, it should seem, for any fresh marks of -opposition to this enterprise to manifest themselves. - -Continuing their approach to the metropolis, the next day they came to -Cęsarea, Acts 21:4, "The house," then "entered into," was that of -Philip, there styled the Evangelist, one of the seven trustees, who, -under the name, rendered in the English translation by that of Deacon, -at the recommendation of the Apostles, had been chosen by universal -suffrage, for the management of the pecuniary affairs of the Church. -Here they took up their quarters: and here a fresh scene awaited them. - -In the person of a man, whose name was Agabus, the Apostles and their -associates had found, as we have seen, an agent of approved talents, and -usefulness: to him they had been indebted, for the most important -service, of a temporal nature, which the history of the church in those -days furnishes:--the supply of money already received, as above -mentioned, from the first-born daughter of the church--the church of -Antioch, in Syria. At this place, Cęsarea, as a last resource, this -same Agabus, or another, was, as it should seem, dispatched to meet--at -any rate did meet--the self-appointed Apostle in his way; and, in the -character of a _prophet_, for so _this_ Agabus is styled, strained every -nerve, in the endeavour to divert the invader from the so anxiously -apprehended purpose. - -Whoever he was, employed on this occasion, but employed in vain, were -all the treasures of his eloquence. The Holy Ghost was once more, and by -name, set in array against Paul's Lord Jesus. The powers of verbal and -oral eloquence were not thought sufficient: action--and not only of that -sort which, in the eyes of Demosthenes, was an object of such prime -importance, but even pantomime--was employed in aid. Acts 21:11. As to -argument--fear in the bosom of the Church, for a life so precious, was -the only one, which the skill of the orator could permit him to employ: -as to fear for their own sakes, and resentment for the injury which they -were predestinated to suffer,--these were passions, too strongly felt -to be avowed. "He took Paul's girdle," Acts 21:11, "and bound his own -hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews -at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him -into the hands of the Gentiles." - -Supposing the Agabus mentioned on this occasion, to be the same Agabus -as he who was mentioned on the occasion of the apprehended -dearth--supposing this to be he--and no reason presents itself in favour -of the contrary supposition--well known indeed must he have been to -Paul, since it was by his means that Paul was indebted for the -opportunity of paying, to Jerusalem, that second visit of his, from -which, as we have seen, so little fruit was reaped. - -The singular circumstance here is, the manner, in which, on this second -occasion, mention is made of this name--Agabus: "a certain prophet named -Agabus," Acts 21:10. Whether this was, or was not, the same as the -former Agabus,--this mode of designation presents itself as alike -extraordinary. If he _was_ the same,--in that case, as, by the addition -of the adjunct "a certain prophet," a sort of cloud is thrown over his -identity,--so, by so simple an expedient as that of the non-insertion of -these redundant words, the clouds would have been dispelled. If he was -_not_ the same,--so expressive being the circumstances, by which -identity stands indicated--namely, the quarter _from_ whence the same; -the quarter _to_ which the same; the importance of the mission, and the -demand for talents and influence, in both cases so great; on this -supposition, to prevent misconception, no less obvious than urgent was -the demand, for some mark of distinction, to be added on this second -occasion: in a word, for that sort of mark of distinction, which, on -other occasions; may, in this same history, be seen more than once -employed: witness _that John_, twice distinguished by the name of _John, -whose surname was Mark_. Acts 22:25, _ib._ 25:37. - -Hence a suspicion, nor that an unnatural one--that, in this history, the -part, in which the name Agabus occurs for the first time, and the part, -in which that same name occurs for the second time, were not the work of -the same hand. - -With or without the assistance of the Holy Ghost, with the like -importunity, though in a tone corresponding to the difference of -situation, was a dissuasion, to the same effect, added, with one voice, -by the adherents, of whom the suite of the self-appointed Apostle was -composed, and by all the other Christians then present. "And when we -heard these things," says the author of the Acts, "both we, and they of -that place, Cęsarea, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem." Acts -21:12. - -The Holy Ghost, whom all the rest of the Church had for their advocate, -was no equal match for the Holy Ghost whom Paul had for his adviser. -"What mean ye," says he, "to weep and to break mine heart? for I am -ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of -the Lord Jesus." Acts 21:13. To a Holy Ghost so highly seated, -submission from a Holy Ghost of inferior rank, was the only course left. -"When he could not be persuaded, concludes the historian, we ceased, -saying, The will of the Lord be done." - -Paul die at Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord Jesus? He, Paul, this -self-constituted Apostle, who, upon his own showing, had never seen -Jesus? for the name of Jesus, forsooth, die at Jerusalem? at that -Jerusalem, at which the indisputable Apostles had been, and continued to -be, living and labouring, in the service of that same holy name, each of -them, or they are much misrepresented, not less ready and willing, both -to live and upon occasion to die for it, than he could be? Was it then -really to die for the name of Jesus? was it not rather to live? to live -for his own name, for his own glory, for his own profit, and for the -pleasure of depriving of their flock those shepherds of souls, by whom -his pretensions had been disallowed, his glory disbelieved, his advances -received with that distrust and jealousy, for which the long and bitter -experience they had had of him, afforded so amply sufficient a warrant? -men, in whose eyes, though in the clothing of a shepherd, he was still a -wolf? - -What was he to die for? By whose hands was he to die? By no danger, -since he had ceased to be their declared persecutor, had any Christians, -in their character of Christians, whether disciples or preachers, then, -or at any time, been menaced;[51] of no such danger, at any rate, is -any, the slightest, intimation ever to be found: if any danger awaited -him, it was by himself, by his own restless and insatiable ambition, by -his own overbearing and ungovernable temper, that it was created. Had he -but kept to his agreement; had the whole of the known world, with the -single exception of Judea, been wide enough for him: no danger would -have awaited him:--he and Jerusalem might have remained in peace. - -What service that _they_ could not, could _he_ hope to do to the cause? -For doctrine, they had nothing to do but to report the discourses; for -proof, the miracles which they had witnessed. To this, what could _he_ -add? Nothing, but facts, such as we have seen, out of his own head,--or, -at best, facts taken at second hand, or through any number of removes -from _them_,--and, in an infinity of shapes and degrees, travestied in -their passage. - -In this account, the curious thing is--that upon the face of it, the -Holy Ghost of prophet Agabus is mistaken: nothing happened in the manner -mentioned by him: for, in the same chapter comes the account of what did -happen, or at any rate is, by this same historian, stated as that which -happened:--by no Jews is the owner of the girdle bound: dragged by the -people out of the temple,--by that same people he is indeed attempted to -be killed, but bound he is not: for, with his being bound, the attempt -to kill him is not consistent: binding requires mastery, and a certain -length of time, which killing does not: a single blow from a stone may -suffice for it. - -As to the Jews delivering him unto the hands of the Gentiles,--it is by -the Gentiles that he is delivered out of the hands of the Jews: of the -Jews, the endeavour was--to deprive him of his life; of the Gentiles, to -save it. - - -SECTION 6. - -PLAN OF THE APOSTLES FOR RIDDING THEMSELVES OF PAUL. - -In this important contest, the Holy Ghost of Agabus was predestinated to -yield to the irresistible power of Paul's Lord Jesus. He made his entry -into Jerusalem, Acts 21:17, and the very next day commenced the storm, -by which, after having been on the point of perishing, he was driven, at -last, as far as from Jerusalem to Rome, but the particulars of which -belong not to the present purpose. - -What _is_ to the present purpose, however, is the company, which, upon -this occasion, he saw. James, it may be remembered, was one of the three -Apostles--out of the whole number, the only three who, on the occasion -of the partition treaty, could be prevailed upon to give him the right -hand of fellowship. Into the house of this James he entered: and there -what he saw was an assembly, met together for the purpose, of giving him -the advice, of which more particular mention will be made in its place. -It was--to clear himself of the charge,--a charge made against him by -the Jewish converts,--of teaching all the Jews, which are among the -Gentiles, to forsake Moses, and of inculcating that doctrine by his own -example, Acts 21:20-24. Well! at this assembly who were present? -Answer--the Elders--all of them: of the Apostles with the single -exception of James, at whose house it was held, not one: not even -John,--not even Peter:--the two other Apostles, by whom on their part, -the treaty had been entered into:--Peter, the chief of the -Apostles;--John "the disciple," John 19:26; 20:2; 21:7-20, whom Jesus -loved. The nerves of James it appears, from other tokens besides this, -were of a stronger texture than those of either of these his two -colleagues; he alone stood the brunt. As for Peter, he had been so -"withstood to his face" by Paul on the occasion of his first visit, -that he had no stomach to be so withstood a second time. - -James, it may be remembered, was the Apostle, at whose motion, against -the opinion and speech of Peter, the resolution insisting upon certain -Jewish observances, on the part of heathen converts to the Church, was -carried. - -Here then, in support of the proposition maintained, by James,--here, -was an assembly of the rulers of the Church convened: the Elders--the -elected coadjutors of the Apostles all of them present: of the Apostles -themselves, not one: James excepted, whose presence, it is evident, -could not, on this occasion, be dispensed with. Of this assembly, the -object, and sole object, was--the insisting upon Paul's taking, for the -sake of the peace of the Church, a certain measure. Now, the measure -thus insisted upon, what was it? The clearing himself of a certain -charge then mentioned. And this charge, what was it? A charge--of which, -consistently with truth,--of which without such direct falsehood, as if -committed would be notorious,--he could not clear himself. In this case, -one of two things would absolutely be the result. Either he would be -rash enough to commit the falsehood,--in which case his reputation and -power of disturbing the peace of the Church would be at an end; or, -shrinking from the summons, he would virtually confess himself guilty: -in which case likewise, he would find his situation, in the midst of an -universally adverse multitude, no longer tenable. - -For this clearance, a ceremony was prescribed to him:--a ceremony, the -effect of which was--to declare, in a manner, beyond all comparison, -more solemn and deliberate than that of anything which is commonly -understood by the word _oath_,--that he had not done anything, of that -which he stood charged with having done, and which it could not but be -generally known that he had done. Witness those Epistles of his, which -in another place we shall see, Ch. 12:--Epistles in which he will be -seen, so frequently, and upon such a variety of occasions, and in such a -variety of language, not only proclaiming the needlessness of -circumcision--its uselessness to salvation,--but, in a word, on all -points making war upon Moses. - -No course was so rash, that Paul would shrink from it, no ceremony so -awful, or so public that Paul would fear to profane it. Of the -asseveration, to which he was called upon to give, in an extraordinary -form, the sanction of an oath, the purport was universally notorious: -the falsity, no less so: the ceremony, a solemnity on which the powers -of sacerdotal ingenuity had been exhausted, in the endeavour to render -is efficaciously impressive. Place of performance, the most sacred among -the sacred: act of entrance, universally public, purpose universally -notorious; operations, whatever they were, inscrutably concealed from -vulgar eyes: person of the principal actor occasionally visible, but at -an awful elevation: time, requisite for accomplishment, Acts 21:27, not -less than seven days: the whole ceremony, effectually secured against -frequent profanation, by "charges" too heavy to be borne by the united -power of four ordinary purses.[52] With all the ingredients of the most -finished perjury in his breast,--perfect consciousness, fixed -intentionality, predetermined perseverance, and full view of the -sanction about to be violated,--we shall see him entering upon the task, -and persevering in it. While the long drama was thus acting in the -consecrated theatre, the mind of the multitude was accumulating heat -without doors. The seven days necessary, were as yet unaccomplished, -when indignation could hold no longer: they burst into the sacred -edifice, dragged him out, and were upon the point of putting him to -death, when the interference of a Roman officer saved him, and became -the first link in that chain of events, which terminated in his visit to -Rome, and belongs not to this place. - -Thus much, in order to have the clearer view of the plan of the -Apostles, and of the grounds of it, from which will be seen the -unexceptionableness of it, it seemed necessary for us here to -anticipate. But such rashness, with the result that followed--the -Apostles, in their situation, how could they have anticipated it? - -Baffled, in their former endeavours to keep the invader from entering -the holy city--that holy city, with the peace of which his presence was -so incompatible, such was the course which they devised and embraced -from driving him out of it. For the carrying of this measure into -effect, a general assembly of the governing body of the Church was -necessary. At this assembly had no Apostle been present, it could not, -in the eyes of the Church at large, have been what it was necessary it -should appear to be. Though, of the whole number of the Apostles, no -more than one was present,--yet, his being the house at which it was -held, and the others, whether summoned or no, being expected of course, -by the disciples at large, to be likewise present,--the Elders being -likewise "_all_" of them present,--this attendance was deemed -sufficient: as to the other Apostles--all of them but the one whose -presence was thus indispensable,--abhorrence, towards the man, whose -career had in their eyes commenced with murder, continued in imposture, -and had recently been stained with perfidy,--rendered the meeting him -face to face, a suffering too violent to be submitted to, when by any -means it could be avoided. - -On this occasion, the opinion, which, as we have seen, cannot but have -been entertained by them, concerning Paul and his pretensions to -Revelation, and to a share equal to their own in the confidence of -Jesus,--must not, for a moment, be out of mind. - -The whole fellowship of the Apostles,--all others, to whom, at the time, -anything about the matter was known, believed his story to be, the whole -of it, a pure invention. In their eyes it was a fabrication: though we, -at this time of day--we, who of ourselves know nothing about it, take -for granted, that it was all true. - -For proving the truth of it, all we have are his own accounts of it: his -own accounts, given, some of them, by himself directly: the rest -ultimately, his being the only mouth from which the accounts we have -seen in the _Acts_ could have been derived. Bearing all this in mind, -let us now form our judgment on the matter, and say, whether the light, -in which the Apostles viewed his character and conduct, and the course -pursued by them as above, was not from first to last, not only -conformable to the precepts of their master, but a model of patience, -forbearance, and prudence. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[45] Acts 18:11. "He continued there, at Corinth, a year and six -months."--18. "And Paul tarried there yet a good while, and then took -his leave." - -[46] Acts 19:10. "And this continued by the space of two years; so that -all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews -and Greeks." - -[47] Acts 20:22. "And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto -Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there." - -[48] Acts 20:23. "Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, -saying, that bonds and afflictions abide me." - -[49] Acts 20:24. "But none of these things move me, neither count I my -life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and -the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the -Gospel of the grace of God." - -Acts 21:13. "Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break my -heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem -for the name of the Lord Jesus." - -[50] Gal. ii. 2. "I went up by revelation." - -[51] In Acts 12:1, King Herod is indeed spoken of as having "stretched -forth his hands to vex certain of the Church, and he killed," it is -said, "James, the brother of John, with the sword." Then comes the story -of Peter's imprisonment and liberation. But the cause of these -inflictions had nothing to do with religion: the proof is--nor can there -be a more conclusive one--to no such cause are they attributed. - -[52] Acts 21:23, 24. "We have four men, say the Apostles and Elders, we -have four men which have a vow on them:--Them take, and purify thyself -with them, and be at charges with them." - - - - -CHAPTER X. - - _Paul disbelieved continued.--His Fourth Jerusalem Visit continued. - His Arrival and Reception. Accused by all the Disciples of the - Apostles, he commences an exculpatory Oath in the Temple. Dragged - out by them--rescued by a Roman Commander--sent in Custody to - Rome._ - - -SECTION 1. - -AT JERUSALEM, PAUL IS RECEIVED BY THE ELDERS AND JAMES, BUT BY NO OTHER -APOSTLE. - -Spite of the opposing Holy Ghost,--spite of the Apostles, and their -prophet,--there he is at Jerusalem. Now comes an incident--or say, -rather, a relation--which is altogether curious. - -At "Jerusalem," says the history, "the brethren received us gladly," -Acts 21:17. The brethren? what brethren? the brethren, by whom Agabus, -with his stage-trick, had been sent some sixty or seventy miles' -journey, in the endeavour to keep him at a distance? the thousands of -Jews thereupon immediately mentioned? those Jews, who, though believers -in Jesus, are not the "less zealous of the law," and enraged at Saul -for those breaches of it, with which he is charged? - -That, by such of them, if any, by whom--by the appearance he made, with -his suite, it had happened to be more or less overawed,--that by these, -an appearance of gladness was assumed, seems credible enough: look for -those, by whom he could have been received with real gladness--they will -not, it should seem, be very easy to be found. - -Not, till the next day after his arrival, do Paul and his suite present -themselves to any in authority in this spiritual commonwealth. The first -person, to whom, on this occasion, he presents himself, is James: that -one of the Apostles, who, with the exception of Peter, is the person, -and the only person, with whom Paul has, on the occasion of any of his -visits, been represented as holding converse. Not with this James--not -with any settled inhabitants of Jerusalem--has he had his lodging: only -with Mnason,[53] a man of Cyprus, whom, lest lodging should be wholly -wanting, they had brought with them from Cęsarea. Of this so -extensively apprehended arrival, there had been full time for ample -notice: among the rulers, those, who, as well as James, chose to see -him, were all present. Who were they? the elders--"all the elders." Of -the Apostles, not so much as one, besides James. Let it not be said, -that, under the word _elders_, the Apostles were meant to be included: -on other occasions, on which elders are mentioned, Acts 15:4; 6:23, the -Apostles are mentioned, as forming a body, distinct, as they naturally -would be,--distinct from these same elders. - -Salutations performed, he addresses the assembly in that strain, -which was so familiar to him: boasting upon boasting, and, above -all things, boasting that he does not boast: "declaring," says his -historian;--declaring? what? declaring what was his business at -Jerusalem? declaring what service, in his eyes the cause stood in need -of, at his hands? Not he, indeed: to any such effect, declaration might -not have been altogether so easy. What he declared, and that -"_particularly_," was--what "things God had wrought among the Gentiles -by his ministry." Exactly on this, as on his last preceding visit,--when -all, but himself, were speaking to the question before him--Peter on one -side; after him, James on the other side--nothing, is either he, or his -companion Barnabas, represented as saying, that belongs to the question; -nothing, but "declaring what miracles and wonders, God had wrought among -the Gentiles by them." Between what is represented, as having been said -on the two occasions,--one difference, and no more than one, is visible. -On the former occasion, "miracles and wonders"; on this latter occasion, -no miracles no wonders:--nothing more than _things_. Supposing any of -them particularized--neither miracles nor wonders had, it should seem, -been fortunate enough to obtain credence: for that reason, it should -seem, that, on this occasion, all mention of them is dropped. - -Hearing of these _things_, what did these elders? Being things that -"God," as they were informed, "had wrought," they could do no less than -glorify "the Lord." Acts 21:19-20. As in Paul's Epistles, so here, in -the Acts,--by _the Lord_, it is Jesus, who, as far as it appears, is the -person, all along meant to be designated. Here, _God_, it may be -observed, is the person, by whom everything good, that is done, is done: -Jesus--the Lord Jesus--the person, who is _glorified_ for it. - -To make his boasts, was _his_ business with _them_: but, to subscribe to -those same boasts, was not _their_ business with _him_. - -Their business was--to inform him, of the storm of unpopularity, which -by his audacity he had brought upon himself: to inform him of the storm, -and to point out the only course, which, in their view of the matter, -presented a chance for his escape from it. "Thou seest,"--say -they,--"thou seest how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; -and they are all zealous of the law. And they are informed of thee, that -thou teachest all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake -Moses; saying, that they ought not to circumcise their children, neither -to walk after their customs," Acts 21:20. "What is it, therefore?" add -they, "the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that -thou art come." - - -SECTION 2. - -LOW TONE ASSUMED BY HIM ON THIS OCCASION. - -On more accounts than one, remarkable,--and not a little instructive, is -the account we have of this last recorded visit: and, in particular, as -to what concerns the reception he experienced from the ruling powers of -the Church. - -It is, in some particulars, more especially to be depended -upon,--inasmuch as, at this important meeting, the author of the -Acts--if he is to be believed--was himself present. - -The first remarkable circumstance is--that, on this occasion, Paul, the -self-elected Apostle--instead of taking the lead, and introducing his -companions--keeps behind, and is introduced _by them_: such was the -pliancy, with which--even on this expedition, of invasion and projected -conquest,--an expedition,--undertaken, in spite of everything that could -be done, both on the part of the intended objects of the conquest, and -on the part of his own adherents--such was the pliancy, with which this -man, among whose boasts was that of being all things to all men, could -bend himself to circumstances. - -Acts 21:15-18. "And after those days, we took up our carriages, and went -to Jerusalem. There went with us, also, certain of the disciples of -Cęsarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, -with whom we should lodge." At Jerusalem, not so much as a house, to -harbour them, could they have been assured of, but for this old -disciple--fellow countryman, of Paul's old patron, the Son of -Consolation, Barnabas. Not even with him could they have been assured of -this token of friendship, had he not either been already of their party, -or detached himself to meet them, and afford them the assurance: -although, at Cęsarea,--from some cause, of which, while the effect is -brought to view, no intimation is given,--they were fortunate enough to -obtain a hospitable reception, Acts 21:8, at the house of Philip. This, -however, be it observed, was not Philip, the Apostle, whether it may -have been Philip, styled here the Evangelist:--one of the seven -trustees, or directors, Acts 6:5, to whom, with his six colleagues, -under the name, so inexpressively rendered, in the English, by the word -_Deacons_,--the management of the common fund had, by the suffrages of -the disciples, been committed, must be left to conjecture. - -17. "And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren," Acts 21:17, -"received _us_ gladly." What _brethren_? The Apostles, or any one of -them? no: The elders? no. Who then?--Who, but such of the members of the -Church, as, notwithstanding the general repugnancy,--as testified at -Tyre, and afterwards, by prophet Agabus, at Cęsarea,--could, by the -influence of the Cypriot Mnason, or otherwise, be prevailed upon to see -them. - -And, _to_ whom was it, that this sort of reception, whatsoever it was, -was afforded? Was it to Paul? No: it was to _those_, who, on other -occasions, were with _him_; but, with _whom_, on this occasion, his -prudence forced his pride to submit to be. - -Witness the next verse, Acts 21:18; "And the day following," not till -the day following, "Paul went in with us unto James." _With them_--with -these his attendants--did Paul, then and there, go in:--not _they with -him_. - -At the house of James--mark well, now--who were the persons present? -Answer--"all the elders." But, forasmuch as these elders were, _all_ of -them, present,--notice, within the compass of the two fragments of two -days,--notice, to and by all of them must have been given and received: -for it has just been seen, whether, between any of them, on the one -hand,--and Paul, or, so much as any one of his attendants, on the -other,--there could have been any such sort of good understanding, as to -have produced any the least personal intercourse, but at, and on, the -occasion of the general and formal meeting:--a meeting, which--as will -be seen presently--had, for its sole object, the imposing upon him, in -the event of his continuance at Jerusalem, an obligation: an -obligation--to a man in his circumstances--it has been seen, of how -perilous and repulsive a nature. - -Such, then, was the notice, as to have brought to the place, all the -Elders--All the Elders?--good. But, these _Elders_--Elders among the -_disciples in ordinary_,--on an occasion such as this, what were _they_ -in comparison of the Apostles--the only known chosen servants, and -constant companions of Jesus? Well, then, while--at this meeting--this -formally convened meeting--those Elders were, every one of them, -present--what was the number of _Apostles_ present? Answer--Besides -James, not one. - -And--why James?--manifestly, because it was at _his_ house, that the -meeting was held. - -And--why at _his_ house? Because, on the occasion, and for the purpose, -of the _partition treaty_,--that treaty, so necessary to the peace of -the Church,--on the one hand; and, to the carrying on of Paul's scheme -of dominion, on the other hand;--James was one, of the only three, who -could ever endure the sight of the self-declared Apostle: Peter and -John, as hath been seen, being the two others:--and, because, when, for -the purpose of investing the meeting, in the eyes of the disciples at -large, with the character of a meeting of the ruling administrative -body--the Apostles,--less than that one, if there were any, there could -not be. This one, James--under the pressure of the present -emergency--prevailed upon himself to be: and, to be so irksome an -intercourse--notwithstanding the obviousness of the demand for as great -a number, as could be collected, of that primarily influential body--of -no other of the Apostles, could the attendance be obtained: not even of -Peter, who, on a former occasion, had brought himself to endure the -hateful presence. - - -SECTION 3. - -POSTERIOR TO ALL HIS SUPPOSED MIRACLES, HIS SILENCE PROVES THEM UNREAL. - -Now, then, as to _miracles_. Had Paul, really and truly, ever received -from Jesus, any such preeminent and characteristic appendage and mark of -Apostleship,--here, of all others, was an occasion, on which it -concerned him to make proof of it. Here was an occasion, on which, with -the design, and for the purpose--the palpable, and almost universally -and so strenuously opposed design and purpose--of constituting himself -the superior of the Apostles, he was presenting himself--though in -circumstances of such humiliation--in the character of an equal, with -whom they had treated on equal terms. Here--in order to impose silence -on all gainsayers--here was the occasion, for his bringing to public -view, this most important of all items in the list of his credentials. -The Apostles, to whom--without any exception, by Jesus, if the -Evangelist, Mark 16:15-18, is to be believed--this power had, previously -to his ascension, been imparted,--these, if any, were the men--not to -say the only men--qualified to form a judgment on the question--whether, -by any other individual, and, more especially, by the individual before -them, namely, by this their self-declared colleague, any such -extraordinary power had, on any, and what, occasion, been exercised or -possessed. Of all imaginable occasions, this was the one, on which he -had most at stake, in the being able to make proof of so matchless an -endowment:--of an endowment, which in the character of a proof, in -support of all his claims, would, in the very nature of it, have been so -perfectly irresistible. - -Well, then: this proof of his title--did he use every endeavour, or make -any offer, to produce it? No: not so much did he venture upon, as, in -any the most general terms, to assert, or, so much as insinuate, the -existence of it. According to his own statement, what was the general -description of the tokens brought forward by him, for the purpose of -obtaining acceptance? Were they _signs and wonders_? Oh, no! His -historiographer, indeed--in that, or any other such indeterminate, and -conveniently ambiguous phrase--his historiographer, at some twenty or -seven-and-twenty years' distance, might venture, Acts 14:3, to speak of -his exploits--of the effects produced by his exertions: in the like -terms, in writing to his Corinthian disciples, he might, even himself, -venture, for once, to speak of his own exploits.[54] But, before an -assembly, so composed, was this boast, loose, and conveniently -ambiguous, as it was,--in his eyes, too much to venture. Acts -21:19--Behold here the passage: "And when he had saluted them, he -declared particularly"--what? what--signs and wonders? No: but -simply--"what _things_ God had wrought among the Gentiles by his -ministry." - -Had he hazarded so much as the general expression of signs and -wonders--well, and what were these signs and wonders? give us, at any -rate, something by way of a sample of them? In any one of them, was -there anything supernatural? anything--beyond the success, the -extraordinary success--we are to understand, your exertions were -attended with? Questions, to some such effect as this, which, in an -assembly, so composed, had he ventured upon any such expressions, he -could not but have expected to be annoyed with. - -The occurrences which, in the course of it, in the character of -_miracles_, he has ventured to present to view, will have been seen in -their place and order. Yet,--notwithstanding the mention there -respectively and severally made of them--no mention of them does he, in -the account given by him of the meeting, venture to put in his leader's -mouth. Why? because--forasmuch as, by Paul himself, no such pretence was -ventured to be made--the meeting was too important, and too notorious, -to render it safe to advance any such matter of fact; the face being -false; or, that any such pretensions were really made. - -But, hereupon come two questions. - -1. Had any such miracles been really wrought--was it in the nature of -things, that, on this occasion, Paul should have omitted all mention of -them? even so much as the most distant allusion to them? - -2. If any such intimation had really been given, by the historian -himself, is it in the nature of the case, that, on this occasion,--he -having been one of the witnesses, in whose presence they had been -performed,--all mention of such intimation should have been omitted? - -Well, then--suppose that to both these questions, let it but be a -negative answer or the true one, the consequence is plain--no such -miracles were wrought. Yet, in his narrative, has this man--exhibiting -himself, at the same time, in the character of a _percipient_ witness, -in relation to them--ventured to assert the existence, one after -another, of the whole list of these particularized miracles, not to -speak of the cluster of unparticularized ones. - - -SECTION 4. - -ACCUSED BY THE DISCIPLES, HE COMMENCES, AT THE RECOMMENDATION OF -THE APOSTLES, AN EXCULPATORY OATH IN THE TEMPLE. - -Such being in their eyes the danger; now comes their expedient for the -arresting of it. It is an altogether curious one: and among those -persons styled _elders_--all the elders--to every sincere and pious -Christian it will naturally be matter of no small satisfaction that no -one of the whole fellowship of the Apostles is to be found. - -According to the description here given of it, the expedient is of such -a sort, that--but for the occasion on which it is represented as being -proposed,--scarcely would it be possible to divine what is meant; what -it was that was proposed to be done; or, whatever it was, what could be -the use or effect of it? - -"Do therefore this," Acts 21:23, continues the speech attributed to -these elders, "do therefore this that we say to thee: we have four men -which have a vow on them:--Them take, and purify thyself with them, and -be at charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may -know that those things, whereof they were informed, are nothing; but -that thou thyself also walkest orderly and keepest the law.--As touching -the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they -observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things -offered to idols, and from blood and from fornication.--Then Paul," it -is added, "took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them -entered into the temple to signify the accomplishment of the days of -purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of -them." - -In the terms of the historian, the matter of the accusation in question -is this: namely, "that thou," speaking to Paul, "teachest all the Jews -which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses": it then divides itself -into two branches: one is--that "they ought not to circumcise their -children"; the other is--that "they ought not to walk after the -customs":--_i. e._, conform to any part of the habitual -observances--acts and forbearances together--prescribed by the Mosaic -law. - -Such is the accusation: such the act charged upon him, in the character -of an offence:--the teaching of the doctrine in question. - -In regard to the question--whether the doctrine he is thus said to have -taught, had really ever been taught by him,--much will depend upon the -difference between simple _permission_ and _prohibition_: in English, -upon the difference between _need not_ and _ought not_. If,--in the -doctrine, the teaching of which is thus charged upon him as a -crime,--simple _permission_ was included--if, in speaking of the -converts in question, the saying was--that they _need_ not circumcise -their children--that they _need_ not walk after these customs--this and -no more;--in this case, that the charge, such as it is, was true, is -altogether out of doubt:--if, on the other hand, the act he was charged -with, went so far as to the teaching that they _ought_ not to circumcise -any of their children, or that they _ought_ not to walk after the -customs prescribed in the Mosaic law--on this supposition, the truth of -the charge will at any rate not be quite so clear as in the other case. - -According to the English translation, that which is charged as an -offence, was not committed, unless, in the doctrine taught, a direct -_prohibition_ was contained: to a doctrine importing nothing more than a -simple _permission_ to abstain from the acts and forbearances in -question, the charge would not have any application. Not thus -unambiguous, however, is the Greek original; either by prohibition, or -by ample permission, might the doctrine charged as criminal have been -taught. - -Such is the description of the obnoxious practice, with which Paul is -here stated as having been charged: the practice by which the odium is -stated as having been incurred. - -But this imaginary guilt, in what view do they mention it as imputed to -him? In this view evidently, viz., that at their recommendation he may -take that course, by which, in their view, he will escape from the wrath -of which he had become the object. The effect thus aimed at is,--that -the indignation of which he is the object, may be made to cease. How -made to cease? in one or other of two ways: for the nature of the case -admits not of any other: either by proving that _that_ which he had -been supposed to have taught, had not in truth ever been taught by him, -and thus, that no such offence as he was charged with, had, in fact, -ever been committed by him; or that, if any such offence had been -committed, the practice recommended might be accepted as an _atonement_: -or rather as an assurance, that whatever in his past conduct had given -them offence, would not be repeated by him in future. - -When the supposed remedial practice has been explained,--then -immediately after comes, we see, a more particular indication of the -good effects, for the production of which it is recommended. These -are--in the first place, that, whatsoever were the doctrines he was -charged with having taught it, it will be generally known that no such -doctrines were ever taught by him: in the next place, that it will in -like manner be known, that by himself no such habitual offence as that -of an habitual violation of the law in question was committed. - -Such are the effects, stated as resulting from his performing the -ceremony, the performance of which was thus recommended to him. - -This ceremony we see: and what we see at the same time is--that it could -not be, in the nature of it, productive of any such effects. - -Here is a certain doctrine, which he had been charged with having -taught. If the case was, that he had taught it; let him have purified -himself ever so purely, whatsoever was meant by purification,--let him -have purified himself ever so completely, let him have paid ever so much -money, let him have shaved his head ever so close,--by any, or all of -all these supposed meritorious acts, how could that be caused, not to -have happened, which in fact had happened? by what means could they -afford proof of his performance of any ceremony, other than those very -same purification ceremonies themselves? - -As to the purpose of furthering the temporal interest of the individual -in question; namely, by removing the load of odium, with which at that -time it seems he was burdened,--how far, in relation to this object, the -expedient promised to be an effectual cure, is more than at this time we -can find any ground for saying: as to any good purposes of any other -kind, that it was not in the nature of it to be productive of any, may -be pronounced without much danger of error. - -Here at any rate was a ceremony--a ceremony the object of which was--to -apply, to the purpose of ensuring obsequiousness, the power of the -religious sanction. - -The object, to which it was meant to apply that form, comes, it may be -seen, under the general denomination of an _oath_. An oath is either -assertory or promissory: if it be an oath of the promissory kind, it is -called a _vow_. An oath which is not a vow cannot respect anything but -what is past: upon that which is past, no human act can any longer -exercise any influence. A _vow_ has respect to something future--to the -future conduct of him by whom the vow is taken: and to this conduct a -man, in and by the taking of the vow, engages to give the form therein -mentioned. - -Whatsoever, therefore, these ceremonies were in themselves,--thus much -seems plain enough, respecting the immediate effect they were designed -to answer: namely, either the delivery of a certain species of -_evidence_, or the entering into an _engagement_ to a certain effect: -the evidence being a denial of the act charged: the engagement, a -promise not to practice any acts of the sort in question in future. - -Whatsoever was the effect looked for, and intended, by the -ceremony,--thus much we know, if the historian is here to be believed: -namely, that, in conformity to the advice, Paul betook himself to the -performance of it. - -But, in so doing, thus much also we know: namely, that he consented to, -and betook himself to one of two things: an act of perjury, if the -effect of the ceremony was to convey an assertion, that he had never -taught, that a Jew, on being converted to the religion of Jesus, _need_ -not circumcise his children, or walk after the Mosaic customs: an act of -apostasy, if the effect of it was an engagement never to teach this same -doctrine in future: an act of apostasy--and for what? only to save -himself from the displeasure entertained towards him on unjust grounds -by a set of ill-advised and inconsistent disciples. - -Under the general head of _Paul's Doctrines_, particular title _Faith -and Works_, it will be seen what pains he had taken, on so many -occasions, to weed out of men's breasts, Gentiles and Jews together, all -regard for the Mosaic law--to cause them, in the words of the charge, -_to forsake Moses_. "By the works of the law," says he in his letter to -the Galatians, Gal. 2:16, "by the works of the law shall no flesh be -justified." - -In this same letter, and in the same paragraph,--he speaks, of a speech -which he had made, of a reproof which, at Antioch, he had given to -Peter:--given to him, at a point of time long before the time here in -question, namely, that of his last preceding visit--his third visit to -Jerusalem,--this being the fourth. Let us see, once more, on what -occasion, and for what cause, this reproof: we shall thereby be the -better enabled to judge--how far, supposing the ceremony to have the -effect of an assertory oath,--how far that oath can have been -conformable to the truth. - -Speaking of Peter, "Time was," he says, "when he did eat with the -Gentiles: but at Antioch, as above, certain persons came from James": -Gal. 2:12, 13, and then it was that "he, Peter, withdrew and separated -himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.--And the Jews," -continues he, "dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also -was carried away with their dissimulation." Of his return to Judaism, or -at any rate of the dissimulation which accompanied it, what is the -judgment which, if he is to be believed, he pronounced? Answer, That in -so doing "they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the -Gospel." Thereupon it is, that he charged Peter with inconsistency, and -reproved him for it: "Because," says he, "he was to be blamed." Gal. -2:14. "When I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the -Gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest -after the manner of the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest -thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?" - -Before me lies a book by Thomas Lewis, M. A., in four 8vo volumes, -entitled _Origines Hebraicae_. In this book, under titles _Vow_ and -_Purification_, my expectation was, to find some explanation of this -matter: as also of the other _vow_ taken by Paul at Cenchrea, Acts -17:18, in the interval between his third visit to Jerusalem, and this -fourth: but no mention is made of either: nor does anything appear, by -which any light can be reflected upon either. - -On the four men, whom, in pursuance of the recommendation in question, -Paul is said to have taken, that he might "purify himself along with -them," the intended effect of the ceremony in question is said to -be--the making or performance of a _vow_. But, from the circumstance of -its being a vow in their case, it follows not absolutely that it may not -have been an oath--an assertory oath, in his case. - -At Jerusalem, for the taking or performance of a vow, a man was received -into the temple:--a district more extensive by far, it appears, than the -district called _Rules of the King's Bench_ at London: from the account -given by Lewis, as well as by this,--it appears that, on every such -occasion, fees were taken by the priests. As to the four men here in -question--having already, as it is stated, a vow on them, but nothing as -yet done in consequence,--it looks as if it had been by poverty that -they had hitherto been kept from the accomplishment of their purpose: on -which supposition, Paul being the head of a considerable party, and as -such having a command of money,--part of the recommendation seems to -have been--that, to acquire the reputation of liberality, he should open -his purse to these his proposed companions, and pay their fees. - -On the occasion here in question, whatsoever was the purpose and -intended effect of the ceremony, what appears from verse 27, Acts 27, -is--that seven days were regarded as necessary for the accomplishment of -it: no mention of this in Lewis. - -On this occasion, by the author of the Acts, once more is mentioned the -conciliatory decree of the Apostles and Elders. Still, not a syllable -about it is to be found in any Epistle of Saint Paul, or in any other -of the Apostolical Epistles that have come down to us. - -Humanly speaking,--in what motives, in what circumstances, in what -considerations, shall we say, that the causes, final and efficient, of -this temperament--this _mezzo termino_--this middle course--are to be -found? The answer that presents itself is as follows: - -Two stumbling-blocks were to be steered clear of:--the scruples of the -Jewish converts, and the refractoriness of the Gentiles. So far as -regarded abstinence from idolatrous feasts, and from meat with the whole -blood in it, killed and dressed in a manner other than that in practice -among the Jews,--conformity, it was judged, need not be dispensed of, at -the hands of the Gentiles: and, so long as they would be content with -meat killed and dressed after the Jewish mode,--the Jewish teachers -might, without giving offence to their Jewish converts, have the -convenience of partaking of the tables of the Gentile converts. As to -the rest--the endless train of habitual observances, by which so large a -portion of a man's life was occupied and tormented, neither these -permanent plagues, nor the initiatory plague of circumcision, though the -affair of a minute, and performed once for all, were found endurable: -neither upon himself nor upon his children would a man submit to have it -practiced. - -After all, if the author of the Acts is to be believed,--it was by the -Jews of Asia, and not by those of Jerusalem, that, at Jerusalem, the -tumult was raised, by which this purification of Paul's was rendered -incomplete, and his stay at Jerusalem cut short: he being removed for -trial to Rome; at which place the history leaves him and concludes. - -Of the behaviour observed by the Jerusalem Christians, on that -occasion--Apostles, Elders, Deacons and ordinary brethren all -together--nothing is said. Yet, of these there were many thousands on -the spot, Acts 21:20: all of them of course informed of the place--the -holy place,--in which, at the recommendation of the Elders, Paul had -stationed himself. By the Jews of Asia were "all the people on this -occasion stirred up," Acts 21:27: yet, among so many thousands, no -protection, nor any endeavour to afford him protection, for aught that -appears, did he experience. Yet Asia it was, that had been, to the -exclusion of Judaea, the theatre of his labours: from Asia it was, that -the train of attendants he brought with him, were come--were come with -him to these brethren--"the brethren,"--as if it had been said, _all_ -the brethren,--by whom, according to the author of the Acts, they were -"received so gladly." - -At this period ends all that, on the present occasion, it will be -necessary to say, of this last recorded visit to Jerusalem. Of the two -inconsistent accounts said to have been given by him of his -conversion--one to the Jerusalem mob, the other to King Agrippa--full -notice has been taken under the head of his conversion: of the miracles -ascribed to him at Malta, mention is here made, in the chapter allotted -to the history of his supposed miracles. Of any other subsequent acts or -sayings of his, no notice will require to be taken in this place. The -matter here in question has been--the sort of relation, stated as having -had place, between this self-constituted Apostle, and those who beyond -controversy were constituted such by, and lived as such with, Jesus -himself: and to this have incidentally been added the causes, which have -continually been presenting themselves, for suspicion, in respect of the -verity and authenticity, or both, of the history, which, under the name -of the Acts of the Apostles, has come down to us, connected by the -operations of the bookbinder, in the same volume with the several -histories of the four Evangelists, and the Epistles--not only of Paul -himself but of others among the Apostles; and with the work styled, as -if in derision, "_The Revelations_." - - -SECTION 5. - -THE DESIGN OF THIS RECOMMENDATION JUSTIFIED. - -But the Apostles--says somebody--what are we to think of the Apostles? -If by Paul a _perjury_ was thus committed, were they not--all of them -who joined in this recommendation--so many _suborners_ of this same -perjury? - -The answer will, it is hoped, by most readers at least, have been -anticipated.--Yes or no, if so it be, that it was their expectation that -he would commit it: no, assuredly; if it were their expectation--their -assured expectation--that he would _not_ commit it: that, even in his -person, even after all they had witnessed in him, the union of -profligacy and rashness would never soar to so high a pitch. The -necessity they were under, of ridding themselves of his presence was -extreme:--of ridding _themselves_--and, what was so much more, their -_cause_. Stay in the same town, and in the same company with them, he -could not,--without being either their known _adversary_, or their known -_associate_. Their known _adversary_ he could not be, without either -continuing himself to be an object of universal horror, or else -rendering _them_ objects of horror, to the whole body of their -disciples. Their _associate_ he could not be, without involving _them_ -in that odium, with which he himself was, by the confession of his own -adherent and historiographer, covered. Under these circumstances, not to -speak of the cause of mankind, for saving _themselves_ and _their_ cause -from destruction,--what course could they take, so gentle, and at the -same time, to all appearance, so surely effectual, as the proposing to -him this test?--a test, which no man could rationally expect, that any -man in his circumstances would take. - - -SECTION 6. - -DRAGGED OUT OF THE TEMPLE BY JEWS OR CHRISTIANS, HE IS SAVED BY A -GENTILE, NAMELY, A ROMAN COMMANDER. - -With this occurrence concludes so much of Paul's history, as,--for the -purpose of perfecting the demonstration given, of the disbelief -manifested towards his pretensions to a supernatural intercourse with -the Almighty,--it was found necessary here to anticipate. - -In the matter of the chapter--the 13th--in which Paul's supposed -miracles are brought to view,--his history is, as to all those -particulars which seemed necessary to be brought to view for the purpose -of the present inquiry,--deduced to very near the time, at which the -historian of the Acts, having conducted him to Rome, leaves him there: -leaves him there, and with no other notice, than that of his having, at -the time, at which the history closes, passed two years at that capital, -in a sort of ambiguous state between freedom and confinement: waiting to -receive, at the hands of the constituted authorities, the final -determination of his fate. - -Meantime, lest anything should be wanting, that could have contributed -to the elucidation on a point of such supreme importance, follows in the -next chapter a concluding and more particular view of the grounds, on -which, on the occasion of his visit to the temple, the intention of -deliberate perjury was found necessary to be imputed to him. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[53] Acts 21:16. "There went with us also _certain_ of the disciples of -Cęsarea, and brought with them one Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, -with whom we should lodge." - -[54] 2 Cor. 12:12. "Truly the signs of an Apostle were wrought among you -in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds." Not that, by -the words assigns and wonders, when used by Paul, anything more was -meant, than what, but a few years after, was, according to him, doing, -or about to be done, by Antichrist. 2 Thess. 2:9. "Even him, whose -coming is, after the manner of Satan, with all powers, and signs, and -lying wonders." _Lying_ is, indeed, the adjunct prefixed, in this -instance; but, lying or not lying, if Paul be believed, they failed not -to produce the effect intended by them. Signs and wonders being such -equivocal thing, no great wonder if--writing at Corinth to nobody knows -what disciples of his at Rome, A.D. 58, Rom. 15:18, 19,--he could -venture, if this was venturing, to speak of what he had been doing in -Jerusalem and Illyricum, in the same terms. "For I will not dare to -speak, says he, of any of those things which Christ has not wrought by -me, to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed.--Through mighty -signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from -Jerusalem, and round about, unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the -Gospel of Christ." - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - - _Paul disbelieved continued.--Paul's fourth Jerusalem Visit - continued.--Perjurious was the Purpose of the exculpatory Oath - commenced by him in the Temple._ - - -SECTION 1. - -GENERAL PROOF OF THE PERJURY FROM THE ACTS. - -We have seen the indignation produced by Paul's invasion of the dominion -of the Apostles: we have seen it carried to its height, by his -commencement of, and perseverance in, the exculpatory ceremony, for the -purpose of which he made his entrance, and took up his lodgment in the -temple. We have seen the fruits of that same indignation: we have seen -the general result of them. What remains is--to give a clearer and more -explicit conception, than can as yet have been given, of the _cause_ of -it. - -This was--neither more nor less, than an universal persuasion--that the -assertion,--to which, on his part, this ceremony had for its object the -attaching the sanction of an oath,--was, to his full knowledge, false: -the oath employed being, in its form, beyond comparison more impressive, -than any that has been known to be at any time in use, in this or any -other country: and that, accordingly, the confirmation given to the -falsehood, in and by means of that most elaborate and conspicuous -ceremony, was an act of _perjury_: of perjury, more deliberate and -barefaced, than anything, of which, in these days, any example can have -place. - -That, on this occasion, the conduct of the self-constituted Apostle was -stained with perjury, is a matter, intimation of which has unavoidably -come to have been already given, in more parts perhaps of this work than -one. But, for a support to a charge, which, if true, will of itself be -so completely destructive of Paul's pretensions--of all title to -respect, at the hands of every professor of the religion of Jesus--no -slight body of evidence could have been sufficient. - -For this purpose, let us, in the first place, bring together the several -elementary positions, proof or explanation of which, may be regarded as -necessary, and at the same time as sufficient, to warrant, in this case, -a verdict of _guilty_. - -To these charges, is immediately subjoined such part of the evidence, as -is furnished, by the account of the matter, as given in the Acts: in -another section will be brought to view the evidence, furnished by Paul -himself, in his Epistles. The evidence from the Acts is of the -_circumstantial kind_: the evidence from the Epistles is _direct_. - -1. To Paul was imputed as a misdeed, the having recommended the -forsaking of the Mosaic law. Recommended, namely, to such disciples of -his as, having been born and bred under it, were found by him settled in -some Gentile nation. Proof, Acts 21:21, ... "They," 'the Jews which -believe,' ver. 20, "are informed of thee, that thou teachest all the -Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying, that they -ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the -customs." - -2. To a great extent, the imputation was well grounded: for, to a great -extent, it had been his practice, to give the recommendation thus -described. Of this position the proof will follow presently. - -3. By Paul, the truth of this imputation was utterly denied: denied by -the opposite denegatory assertion: and, the imputation being as above -well grounded,--in so far as any such denegatory assertion had been made -by him, he had knowingly uttered a wilful falsehood. - -4. In proof of the sincerity of this denial, it was proposed to Paul, on -the part of the Apostles and Elders, to give a confirmation of it, by -the performance of a certain appropriate ceremony. - -5. The ceremony thus proposed, was one that was universally understood, -to have the effect of attaching, to any assertion, connected with it for -the purpose, the sanction of an oath. - -6. Knowing such to be the effect of the ceremony, he gave his assent to -the proposition, and determined, by means of it, to attach the sanction -of an oath to such his denial, as above: and thereby, the assertion -contained in that denial, being, as above, to his knowledge, false,--to -commit, in that extraordinary solemn and deliberate form and manner, an -act of perjury. - -7. In pursuance of such determination, he accordingly repaired for that -purpose to the temple and had his abode therein for several days: the -completion of the requisite number being no otherwise prevented, than by -the irruption of the indignant multitude, assured as they were of his -being occupied in the commission of a perjury. - -Proof of charges 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Acts 21:23, 24, 26, 27, 28. - -23. "_We_, the Apostles and the Elders, or at least the Apostle James, -ver. 18, have _four men_, which have a _vow_ on them; - -24. "Them take, and _purify thyself with them_, and be _at charges_ with -them, that ... _all_ may know that those things, whereof they were -informed concerning thee, are _nothing_; but _that_ thou thyself also -walkest orderly, and keepest the law. - -26. "Then Paul took the men, and _the next day purifying himself with -them_ entered into the temple, to _signify_ the accomplishment of the -days of purification, until that an _offering_ should be offered for -every one of them. - -27. "And when the _seven days were almost ended_, the Jews, which were -of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and -laid hands on him. - -28. "Crying out, Men of Israel, help; This is the man, that teacheth all -men everywhere _against_ the people, and _the law_, and this place: and -further brought Greeks also into the temple; and hath _polluted_ this -holy place." - -Of the perjuriousness of Paul's intent, a short proof, namely of the -circumstantial kind, is thus already visible, in the indignation -excited,--its intensity, its immorality, and the bitter fruits of it. -Will it be said no? for that the indignation had, for its adequate -cause, his being thought to have spoken slightingly of the law in -question--it being the law of the land,--and that, to this imputation, -the ceremony, it being, as above the performance of a _vow_, had no -reference? Assuredly no: no such interpretation will be found tenable. -True it is, that, by the persuasion, that he had thus been dealing by -the Mosaic law,--by this persuasion, without need of anything else, the -indignation may well have been produced: but it could only have been by -the knowledge, that, upon his having been called upon to confess the -having so done, or to deny it, he had, in this most extraordinary and -universally conspicuous mode, given continuance and confirmation to his -denial--it could only have been by _this_ knowledge, that the excitement -was raised up to so high a pitch. For, What was it that the information -had charged him with? It was the forsaking Moses. What was the purpose, -for which the recommendation was given to him--the recommendation to -perform this ceremony? It was the _purifying_ himself, "that all might -know" that the information was groundless. "That those things," say the -Apostles with the Elders to him, "whereof they," the thousands of Jews -which believe, ver. 20, "were informed against thee were -_nothing_:"--"to _purify thyself_," says the official translation: more -appositely might it have said _to clear thyself_: for in that case, the -idea of an _imputation_ would clearly enough, though but implicitly, -have been conveyed: whereas, to some minds, the idea conveyed by the -word _purify_ may perhaps be no other than that of some _general_ -cleansing of the whole character, by means of some physical process, to -which, in so many minds, the psychological effect in question has, by -the influence of artifice on weakness, been attached. - -Such then, namely, the clearing himself of the imputation by so solemn a -confirmation of the denial of it,--such was the purpose, for which, in -the most unequivocal terms, his performance of the ceremony was -recommended: such, therefore, was the purpose for which it was -commenced; such, accordingly, was the purpose for which it would have -been consummated, but for the interruption which it experienced: -experienced not from his hands, but from hands among which, there seems -sufficient reason to believe, were the hands, if not of the very persons -by whom it had been recommended, at any rate of those who till that time -had been in use to be guided by their influence. - -To this interpretation, what objection is there that can be opposed? If -any, it can only be that which to some minds may perhaps be suggested by -the word _vow_. - -But the fact is--this word _vow_ is a mistranslation: the proper word -should have been _oath_. By an oath everyone understands at first -mention an _assertory_, not a _promissory_, declaration: by a _vow_, a -_promissory_, not an _assertory_ one. But an _assertory_ declaration, as -every one sees, is the only sort of declaration, that admits of any -application to the case in question. By nothing that, in Paul's -situation, a man could _promise_ to do, in addition to the performance -of the ceremony, could any evidence be given, of a man's having, or not -having, done so and so, in any time _past_. - -That by that which was actually done, that which was essential was -considered as having been done,--is proved, by what is put into Paul's -mouth in relation to this subject, in his defence against the accusation -brought afterwards against him, before the Roman governor _Felix_, by -the spokesman of the Jewish constituted authorities, _Tertullus_. There -it is, that, beyond all doubt, what he is speaking of, is his CLEARANCE, -as above: for there also, the word in the official translation, as well -as in the Greek original, is _purified_: in the past tense, purified. -This being assumed, it follows, as a necessary consequence, that either -in the course of that part, which at the time of the irruption, was -already elapsed of the _seven days'_ ceremony, in the temple; or, what -seems more probable, antecedently to the commencement of it, a -denegatory declaration--a declaration denying the fact charged in the -accusation,--had been made: for, that the ceremony itself was never -accomplished, is what is expressly stated:--of the term of seven days -stated as necessary to the accomplishment of it, no more than a part, it -is said, had elapsed, when the final interruption of it took place. - -To return to the time of Paul's entrance into the temple. - -Thus, as hath been seen, stands the matter, even upon the face of the -official English translation. But in verse 26, the word employed in the -Greek original, removes all doubt. "Then," says the translation, "Paul -took the men, and the next day _purifying himself_ with them, entered -into the temple." Purifying himself, in the present tense, says the -translation: and, even this alone taken into consideration, the -purifying process, whatever it was, might be supposed to have been but -commenced before the entrance into the temple, and as being thus as yet -in pendency, waiting the exit out of the temple for its accomplishment. -Thus it is, that, in the translation, the verb is in the present tense, -_purifying himself_: but, in the Greek original, it is in the past -tense, _having purified_ himself: so that, in the original, the -purification, whatever it may have been, is in express terms stated as -having, even before his entrance into the temple, already accomplished. - -Note that, if the historian is to be believed, he had on this occasion, -the fullest opportunity, of being, in the most particular manner, -acquainted with everything that passed. For, when, as above, the -recommendation was given to Paul, on his appearance before the Apostle -James and the Elders,--he, the historian, was actually present, "And the -day following," says he, Acts 21:18, "_Paul went in with us unto James_; -and all the Elders were present." - -Supposing _that_ the true interpretation,--of what use and effect then, -it may perhaps be asked, was the ceremony, of which the temple was the -theatre? The answer has been already given. It cannot have been any -other than the attaching, to the declaration that had been made, the -sanction, of an oath. Without the ceremony performed in the temple, the -declaration was a declaration _not_ upon oath, and as such not regarded -as sufficient evidence:--evidence, in the shape which, the historian -says, had been actually required for the purpose: when the ceremony, of -which the temple was the theatre, had been gone through, and the last of -the number of days, required for its accomplishment had been -terminated;--then, and not before, it was regarded as having been -converted into the appropriate and sufficient evidence. Thus it was, -that this seven days' ceremony was no more than an elaborate substitute -to the English ceremony of kissing the book, after hearing the dozen or -so of words pronounced by the official functionary. - -On this occasion, the Greek word rendered by the word _vow_, is a word -which in its ordinary sense was, among Gentiles as well as Jews, exactly -correspondent to our word _prayer_. But, the idea denoted by the word -_prayer_, applies in this case with no less propriety to an _assertory -oath_ than to a _promissory vow_. Directly and completely, it designates -neither. In both cases an address is made to some supposed supernatural -potentate: in cases such as the present, beseeching him to apply the -sanction of punishment to the _praying_ individual, in the event of a -want of sincerity on his part: in this case, in the event of his not -having done that which, on this occasion, he declares himself to have -done, or, what comes to the same thing, his having done that which he -declares himself _not_ to have done: in the other case, in the event of -his not doing that which he has promised to do, or doing that which he -has promised _not to do_.[55] - -All this while, it is not in a direct way, it may be observed, that this -word _vow_ is employed, and application made of it to Paul's case: not -in speaking of Paul himself in the first instance, but after speaking of -the _four other men_, whom it is proposed he should take for his -comrades, on his entrance into the temple. "We have four men," James and -the Elders are made to say, Acts 21:23, 24, "We have four men which have -a vow on them: Them take, and purify thyself with them ... that ... all -may know, that those things, whereof they," the multitude, ver. 22, -"were informed concerning thee, are nothing": no otherwise, therefore, -than by the case these four men were in, is the case designated, in -which it is proposed to Paul to put himself. - -As to the case these four men were in,--no otherwise than on account of -its connection with the case Paul was in,--is it in anywise of -importance. As probable a supposition as any seems to be--that of their -being in the same case with him: accused, as well as he, of teaching -"Jews to forsake Moses:" for, between their case and his, no intimation -is given of any difference: and, as the _"purifying himself"_ is what is -recommended to him, so is it what they are stated, as standing -eventually engaged to do on their part. If then, in _his_ instance, -purifying himself means--clearing himself of a charge made against -_him_,--so in their instance must it naturally, not to say necessarily, -have meant--clearing themselves of some charge made against _them_. -Moreover, when, as above, he is, in the Greek original, stated as having -actually purified himself, before his entrance into the temple, so are -they likewise; for it is "_with them_," that his purification is stated -as having been performed. - -This being assumed, it might not be impossible to find a use for the -word _vow_, even in its proper sense--its _promissory_ sense: for, what -might be supposed is--that before the entrance into the temple, at the -same time with the _denegatory declaration_, a _vow_ was made--a solemn -_promise_--to enter into the temple, and back of the declaration with -the sanction of an oath, by going through the ceremony. But, forasmuch, -as, in the import of the Greek word, no such idea, as that of a -_promise_, is comprised,--the only use of this interpretation would -be--to save the translators from the imputation of an impropriety, with -which it seems rather more probable that they stand chargeable. - -All this while, of Paul's conduct on this occasion, to what part was it -that the blame belonged?--Surely, not to the endeavour, to wean men from -their attachment to the Mosaic laws: for thus far he copied Jesus; and -in copying did not go against, but only beyond, the great original. True -it is, that, in so doing, he served his own personal and worldly -purposes: not less so, that, in this subserviency, he found the -inducement by which his conduct was determined: for, by how much -stronger men's attachment would continue to be to the dead lawgiver, by -so much, less strong would it be to the living preacher. But, in so far -as a man's conduct is serviceable to mankind at large, it certainly is -not rendered the less serviceable, or the less laudable, by his being -himself included in the number. The blame lay then--not in teaching men -to forsake Moses: for, thus far, instead of being blame-worthy, there -was nothing in his conduct, that did not merit positive praise. What -there was amiss in his conduct--in what, then, did it consist? Plainly -in this, and this alone: namely, that, on being taxed with having so -done,--instead of avowing and justifying it, he denied it: and, having -denied it, scrupled not to add to the falsehood the aggravation of such -extraordinarily deliberate and solemn perjury, as hath been so plainly -visible. And, to what purpose commit so flagrant a breach of the law of -morality? Plainly, to no other, than the fixing himself in Jerusalem, -and persevering in a project of insane and selfish ambition, which, in -spite of the most urgent remonstrances that could be made by his most -devoted adherents, had brought him thither: for, he had but to depart in -peace, and the Apostles of Jesus would have remained unmolested, and the -peace of Christendom undisturbed. - -An article of evidence, that must not be left unnoticed,--is the part -taken, on this occasion, by the historiographer. Nowhere does this -eyewitness take upon himself to declare,--nowhere so much as to -insinuate--that of the charge, thus made upon his hero, there was -anything that was not true: nowhere does he so much as insinuate, that -the declaration by which he says Paul had cleared himself of the charge, -and, as we have seen, _before_ his entrance into the temple for the -purpose of enforcing it by the sanction of an oath,--was anything short -of a downright falsehood. After this, he makes a defence for Paul before -Felix;[56] he makes a defence for Paul before Festus;[57] he makes a -defence for Paul before Festus and Agrippa;[58] and, on no one of all -those occasions, is the defence anything to the purpose. He, indeed, -makes Paul declare, that he, Paul, had always been a strict observer of -the Mosaic ordinances. This may have been either true or false: but, -true or false, it was equally foreign to the purpose. Not improbably, it -was, in a considerable degree, true: for if, while he gave to other Jews -his assurance, that the operations in question, burthensome as they -were, were of no use, he himself continued to bear the burthen -notwithstanding,--the persuasiveness of his advice would naturally be -augmented by the manifestation thus given of disinterestedness. It may -accordingly have been true: but, false or true, it was equally foreign -to the purpose: the question was--not what he had done himself; but what -he had recommended it to others to do. - - -Thus--from everything that appears, by all such persons as had the best -means of information--the charge made upon him was _believed_,--let it -now be seen, whether we should not be warranted in saying, _known_,--to -be true. - -As to "_The Jews of Asia_,"--and the mention made of this class of men, -as the instigators of the tumult--can any support be derived from it, -for the inference, that it was by something else in Paul's conduct, and -not by any such perjury as that in question, that the vent, thus given -to the indignation, was produced?[59] No, assuredly: altogether -inconsistent would any such supposition be, with the main part of the -narrative. Whoever were the persons with whom the manual violence -originated;--whatever were the reproaches cast upon the invader on other -grounds;--the purpose--the sole purpose--for which he entered upon the -ceremony, is rendered as plain as words can make it. It was the -clearing himself of the charge of teaching Jews to forsake Moses: and, -supposing the fact admitted, everything, in the way of justification, -being, before such a tribunal, manifestly inadmissible,--of no such -charge was it possible for him to clear himself, without denying the -truth of it. But, according to the historian, to confirm this denial, by -the solemnity, whatever it was,--was the purpose, and the sole purpose, -of it: of this, the negative assertion, contained in the denial, being -untrue, and, by him who made it, known to be so,--confirming such -denial, by the solemnity,--call it _oath_--call it _vow_--call it -anything else,--was committing an act of perjury: and, to believe that -such his denial was false, and yet not believing him guilty of -perjury--at any rate, on the supposition of the accomplishment of the -solemnity--was not possible. How numerous so ever may have been the -other causes of provocation, given by him--how numerous so ever, the -different descriptions of persons to whom they had been given;--no -disproof could, by all of them put together, be given, by this -solemnity, to the denial in question,--supposing it false. - -To the present purpose, the only question is--whether, by Paul, on the -occasion in question, an act of perjury was, or was not, committed? -not--what was the cause, whether that, or any other, of any indignation -of which he was the object. Even therefore, might it be allowed, that a -_vow_, in the sense of which it is contradistinguished from an _oath_, -was performed by him, or about to be performed,--still it would not be -the less undeniable, that it was for the purpose of converting the -simple declaration into a declaration upon oath, that he entered upon -the solemnity: and that, therefore, if in the simple declaration there -was anything to his knowledge false, the consequence is--that by his -converting it into a declaration upon oath, he rendered himself guilty -of perjury. - -The observation, thus applied, to what is said of the "_Jews of Asia_," -will be seen to be applicable, and, with equal propriety, to what is -said about his being charged with "bringing _Greeks into the temple_:" -and, in particular, about his being supposed to have brought in "_The -Ephesian Trophimus_:" and moreover, what may, in this last case, be -observable, is--that this about the Greeks is expressly stated as being -a _further_ charge, distinct from the main one: nor yet is it so much as -stated, that, by any such importation, to what degree so ever offensive, -any such effect, as that signified by the word _pollution_ was produced. - -Not altogether destitute of probability seems the supposition, that -these two circumstances--about the Jews of Asia, and about -Trophimus--may have been thrown in, by this adherent of Paul's, for the -purpose of throwing a cloud of confusion and obscurity over the real -charge: and if so, the two circumstances, with the addition of the three -different defences, put into the hero's mouth, on the three several -occasions of the endeavour,--must be acknowledged to have been employed, -not altogether without success. - -Here then closes that part of the evidence, which, to the purpose of a -judgment, to be passed at this distance of time from the facts, may be -considered as so much _circumstantial_ evidence: in the next section may -be seen that part, which comes under the denomination of direct -evidence. - - -SECTION 2. - -PROOF FROM THE EPISTLES. - -We come now to the _direct_ evidence: that evidence--all of it from -Paul's own pen:--all of it from his own Epistles. It consists in those -"teachings to forsake Moses," which will be now furnished, in such -unequivocal terms and such ample abundance, in and by those fruits of -his misty and crafty eloquence:--in the first place, in his letter to -the disciples, which he had made, or hoped to make at Rome:--date of it, -according to the received chronology, about four years anterior to the -time here in question:--in the next place, in two successive letters to -the disciples, whom, it appears, he had made at Corinth:--both these -addresses, set down, as belonging to the same year as the one to the -Romans. Moreover, in his so often mentioned Epistle to the Galatians, -matter of the same tendency is to be found. But, this last being, -according to that same chronology, of a date posterior by some years to -the time, at which the charge of having preached the sort of doctrine in -question was, on the present occasion, made,--it belongs not to the -present question, and is therefore left unemployed. And, in the same -case, is some matter that might be found in his Epistles to the -Thessalonians. - -1. First then as to the Mosaic "law and customs," taken in the -aggregate. - -On this subject, see in the first place what the oath-taker had said to -his _Romans_. - - - Rom 15:14. "I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there - is nothing unclean of itself; but to him that esteemeth anything to - be unclean, to him it is unclean."--17. "For the kingdom of God - is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the - Holy Ghost." - - Rom 3:20. "_By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be - justified_ in his, God's sight; for by the law is the knowledge of - sin." - - Rom. 3:27, 28, 29, 30, 31. "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. - By what law? of works? Nay; but by the law of the faith.-- - Therefore, we conclude, that _a man is justified by faith without - the deeds of the law_.--Is _he_ the God of the Jews only? is - _he_ not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also:-- - Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by - faith, and uncircumcision through faith.--_Do we then make void_ - _the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law._" - - Rom. 10:9. "... if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord - Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him - from the dead, thou shalt be saved.[60]--12. For there is no - difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over - all is rich unto all that call upon him.--For whosoever shall - call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."[61] - - Rom 14:2. "... one believeth that he may eat all things: another - who is weak, eateth herbs.--Let not him that eateth despise him - that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that - eateth; for God hath received him.--_One man esteemeth one day - above another: another esteemeth every day alike._[62]" - - 1 Cor. 6:12. "_All things are lawful unto me_, but all things are - not expedient:" or _profitable_ margin, "all things are lawful for - me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.--_Meats - for the belly_, and _the belly for meats_; but God shall destroy - both it and them." - - 1 Cor. 8:8. "But _meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we - eat, are we the better; neither if we eat not, are we the - worse_.--Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will - eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to - offend." - - 1 Cor. 9:19-23. 19. "For though I be free from all men, yet have I - made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.--_And - unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews_; to - them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain - them that are under the law:--_To them that are without law, as - without law_, being not without law to God but under the law to - Christ, _that I might gain them that are without law_.--To the - weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all - things to all men, that I might by all means save some.--And - this I do for the Gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof - with you." - - 2 Cor. 3:12 to 17. "Seeing then that we have such hope, we use - great plainness of speech.--And not as _Moses, which put a vail - over his face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly - look to the end of that which is abolished_.--But their minds - were blinded; for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken - away in the reading of the Old Testament; which vail is done away - in Christ.--But even unto this day, _when Moses is read, the - vail is upon their heart_.--Nevertheless _when it shall turn to - the Lord, the vail shall be taken away_.--Now the Lord is that - spirit; and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." - -Now as to _circumcision_ in particular. - - Rom. 2:25, 26, 27, 28, 29. "For _circumcision verily profiteth, if - thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy - circumcision is made uncircumcision.--Therefore if the - uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his - uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?_--And shall not - uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge - thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the - law?--For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly, neither is - that circumcision which is outward in the flesh:--But he is a - Jew, which is one inwardly: and circumcision is that of the heart, - in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, - but of God." - - Rom. 3:1, 2. "What advantages then hath the Jew? or what profit is - there of circumcision?--Much every way: chiefly, because that - unto them were committed the oracles of God." - - Rom. 4:9, 10, 11, 12. "_Cometh this blessedness then upon the - circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also?_ for we say - that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.--How was - it then reckoned? when he was in circumcision, or in - uncircumcision. Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision.--And - he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness - of the faith which _he had yet_ being uncircumcised: that he might - be the father of all them that believe, though they be not - circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them - also:--And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the - circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of - our father Abraham, which he had being _yet_ uncircumcised." - - Rom. 15:8. "Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the - circumcision for the truth of God to confirm the premises made unto - the fathers." - - 1 Cor. 7:18. "Is any man called being circumcised? let him not - become uncircumcised. _Is any called in uncircumcision? let him not - be circumcised.--Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is - nothing, but the keeping of the commandments of God._" - -From any one individual, who, in either of these distant cities, had -seen any one of these same Epistles,--let it now be seen whether -information of their contents, supposing it credited, would not have -sufficed to produce those effects, the existence of which is so -unquestionable. Not but that the same rashness, which suffered him to -furnish such abundant evidence against himself in those distant regions, -could scarce fail to have given birth to credence in abundance, of -various sorts, and of a character, which, on that occasion, would be -much more impressive. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[55] On this occasion, supposing the purpose of this ceremony to be, as -here contended, no other than that of applying, to a declaration -concerning a matter of fact, the supernatural penal sanction, by which -it was converted into an oath,--a natural enough subject of inquiry -is--to what cause is to be attributed the extraordinary length thus -given to it?--seven days at the least; to which, upon examination, would -be found virtually added, as much greater a length of time, as the holy -person, to whose custody the oath-taker consigned himself, might be -pleased to prescribe. Answer, without difficulty,--the affording time -and pretence for the exaction of his _surplice fees_:--namely, those -established by law,--with the addition of others, to as large an amount, -as the need which the oath-taker had of the accommodation thus to be -afforded to him, could engage him to submit to. As to the length of -time,--in the passage in question, the translation exhibits some -obscurity: nor is it altogether cleared up by the original. A -determinate number of days, to wit, seven, is indeed mentioned, ver. 27, -but immediately before this, ver. 26, comes a passage, from whence it -seems unquestionable, that, whatever were the time a man had been thus -detained, he was not to be let out, until, over and above what good -things it had been made necessary he should bring in with him, a further -payment, and as it should seem, in a pecuniary shape, had been made: "to -signify," says ver. 26, "the accomplishment of the days of purification, -until that an offering should be offered for every one of them." "And -when _the seven_ days were _almost_ ended," continues ver. 27: -immediately after which comes the account of the tumult, by which they -were prevented from being _quite_ ended. - -As to the phrase--"_to signify the accomplishment of the days_," what -seems to be meant by it is--to make known when the number requisite for -the completion of the train of operations had been _accomplished_. But, -to make known when that number had been _accomplished_, it was -previously requisite to make known when it had _commenced_: and, for -making _this_ known, the act, probably a public one, of making entrance -into the temple, was employed. - -As to the origin, as well as particular nature, of the ceremony,--though -no such word as _Nazarite_ is here employed, on turning to the Book of -_Numbers_, chapter the sixth, it will be manifest, that the ceremony -here in question is the same as that, by which, according to the receipt -there given, any man whatever, whether, and any woman also, must be left -to conjecture, might be converted into a _Nazarite_. _Nazarite_ is from -a Hebrew word, which meant originally neither more nor less than a -person _separated_. A person consigned himself to the custody of "_the -priest of the congregation_:" or, as we should now say, the _parson of -the parish_. The ceremony accomplished, the patient was thereby put into -a state of appropriate sanctity: and, from this metamorphosis, as the -priest and the Nazarite could agree, any inference might be drawn, and -any purpose at pleasure accomplished. Neither to the _extent_ of the -inference, nor therefore to the _purpose_ designed, were any limits -visible. Everything depended upon the priest: for, though of certain -particular operations made requisite, a most particular list is given, -all of them of the most insignificant character in themselves, yet so -thickly and so plainly sown are the seeds of _nullity_, that, when all -the appointed fees, of which there is also an enormous list[IV.], had -been paid, it would still lie at the option of the priest, to pronounce -the whole procedure null and void, unless, and until any such final -compliment as he chose to expect, were paid to him. Among the most -obviously, as well as extensively convenient purposes, to which it was -capable of being applied, is this of which the present case affords an -example: namely, the manufacturing of evidence: could he but find means -to satisfy the priest, a man might, to all legal purposes, and even to -the satisfaction of all appropriately disposed minds, prove, and with -conclusive effect, any thing to be false, which everybody knew to be -true. By fabrication, falsification, or suppression of evidence, what is -the right that may not be usurped? what is the wrong that may not, with -success and impunity, be committed? - -In the Mosaic law, immediately before _this_ institution Numbers, chap. -5., comes another, by means of which every man, who was tired of his -wife, might, in another way, with the assistance of a priest--and, for -aught that appears, any priest--clear himself of that incumbrance. All -the man had to do was--to _say_ he was "_jealous_" of her: the priest -thereupon took charge of her. If priest and husband were agreed, "_the -water of jealousy_" did its office: if not, the woman remained -imprisoned. Against the superhuman evidence, afforded by the purifying -process here in question, no quantity of human evidence was to be -available. In like manner, to warrant this poisoning process, not any -the smallest particle of human evidence was necessary: the case in which -it is to be performed, is "_if there be no witness against her, neither -she be taken_," says the text, _Numbers_ 5. 13. Verily, verily, not -without sufficient cause, did Jesus, from first to last, take every -occasion, to weaken the attachment of the people, to a system of law, of -which those institutions afford two, among so many samples. Yet, while -in the very act of depreciating it, is he represented as declaring his -purpose to be the _fulfilling it_: Matt. 5. 17. for, such was the verbal -veil, which the prejudices he had to encounter, rendered it necessary to -him at the moment, to throw over the tendency of his endeavors. Fulfill -the very law he was preaching against? Yes: but in one sense only: -namely, by fulfilling--not the real purpose of it,--the establishment of -the corrupt despotism of the priesthood,--but the professed purpose of -it, the good of the community: in regard to the law, fulfilling, in a -word, whatever there was that was good in it, whatever there was that -deserved to be fulfilled. Jesus, in whose opinion death was too severe a -punishment, for a wife, in the case of a breach, on _her_ part, of a -contract, the breach of which was by the _other_ contending party -practised with impunity--Jesus, who accordingly, in saving the offender, -exposed to merited disgrace the sanguinary law--was doubtless still -further from approving, that parish priests, in unlimited numbers, -should poison innocent women for the accommodation of their husbands, or -sell licenses to commit every imaginable wrong by perjury. - -_Vow_ is _oath_: this is not the only occasion, in which the -self-constituted Apostle, if his historiographer is to be believed, took -the benefit, whatever it was, of this ceremony. In Acts 18:16, he -"_shaved his head_," it is said, at Cenchrea:--why?--"for he had a vow -upon him." What the vow was, we are not told; this, however, we know, as -well from Acts 21:26, as from Numbers 6, he could not have got anything -by it, had the parson of the parish of Cenchrea been otherwise than -satisfied with the "_offering_" that was made. - -[IV.] In the bargain between vow-maker and vow-sanctifier, the following -list of fees, provided for sanctifier, by _Excellent Church_ of that -country, in those days whatever they were,--may serve to show the use of -it to one of the contracting parties. To complete our conception of the -nature and effects of the arrangement, nothing is wanting, but that -which so unhappily must for ever remain wanting--a history of the -_purposes_, to which from the commencement of the government to the -dissolution of it, the solemnity had been applied on the vow-maker's -side. Of these purposes, we must content ourselves as well as we can -with the sample, for which we are here indebted to the author of the -Acts. The table of fees is as follows: - -It is extracted from the Book of Numbers, chapter 6:1 to 21. - -Fees to be paid in all cases: fees liquidated in quantity, and thence in -value. - - { 1. He lamb of the first year, one. - I. { 2. Ewe-lamb of the first year, one. - { 3. Ram without blemish, one. - -Fees, not liquidated in quantity, and thus left to be liquidated in -quantity, and thence in value, by the will of the priest. - - { 4. Basket of unleavened bread, one. - { 5. Parcel of cakes of fine flour mingled with oil. - II. { 6. Parcel of wafers of unleavened bread anointed with oil, one. - { 7. Meat-offering, one. - { 8. Drink-offerings--numbers and respective quantities not - liquidated. - -Fees payable, on a contingency: a contingency not describable without -more time and labour, than would be paid for by the result. - - III. { 9. Turtle-doves or pigeons, two. - { 10. Lamb of the first year, one. - -IV. Mysterious addition, the liquidation of which must be left to the -Hebrew scholar. Ver. 21. "Besides _that_ that his hand shall get:" -(whose hand? priest's or vow-maker's?) "according to the vow which he -vowed, so he must do after the law of his separation:"--probable -meaning, according to the purpose, for which he performed the -ceremony--the advantage which he looked for from it. - -Moreover, by any one whose curiosity will carry him through the inquiry, -causes of _nullity_ may be seen as sedulously and copiously provided, as -if by the _astutia_ of an English judge, or pair of judges, to whose -profit the fees were to be received: effect of the nullity, of course, -repetition; necessity of repeating the process, as in case of _new -trial_ or _arrest of judgment_, with the fees. - -Religion was thus no less aptly served at Jerusalem, under Mosaic -institutions,--than Justice is to this day, under matchless constitution -and English institutions, at Westminster. - -[56] Paul at the suit of Tertullus, A.D. 60. Acts 24:1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 11, -18. - -"And after five days Ananias the high priest descended with the elders, -and with a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor -against Paul.--And when he was called forth, Tertullus began to accuse -him,--Saying, We have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of -sedition among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of -the sect of the Nazarenes:--Who also hath _gone about to profane the -temple_; whom we took, and would have judged according to our law.--And -the Jews also assented, saying, that these things were so.--Then Paul, -after that the governor had beckoned unto him to speak, answered,--Thou -mayest understand, that they are yet but twelve days since I went up to -Jerusalem for to worship.--Whereupon certain Jews from Asia _found me -purified in the temple_, neither with multitude nor with tumult." - -[57] Paul before Festus alone, A.D. 60. Acts 25:7, 8. - -"And when he was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem stood -round about, and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul, which -they could not prove:--While he answered for himself, Neither against -the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, -have I offended anything at all." - -[58] Paul before Festus and Agrippa, A.D. 62. Acts 26:1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, -7, 20, 21. - -"Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to speak for thyself. -Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and answered for himself:--I think -myself happy, King Agrippa, because I shall answer for myself this day -before thee, touching all the things whereof I am accused of the -Jews;--Especially because I know thee to be expert in all customs and -questions which are among the Jews; wherefore I beseech thee to hear me -patiently.--My manner of life from my youth, which was at the first -among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the Jews;--Which knew me -from the beginning, if they would testify, that after the most -straightest sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee.--And now I stand -and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our -fathers:--Unto which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God -day and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, King Agrippa, I am -accused of the Jews.--20. But showed first unto them of Damascus and at -Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the -Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for -repentance.--For these causes, the Jews _caught me in the temple_, and -went about to kill me." - -[59] "And when the seven days were almost ended," says Acts 21:27, "_the -Jews which were of Asia_, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up -all the people, and laid hands on him." - -[60] A cheap enough rate this, at which salvation is thus put up. Of -what use then morality? Of what use is abstinence from mischievous acts, -in what degree so ever mischievous? "Oh! but," says somebody, "though -Paul said this, he meant no such thing:" and then comes -something--anything--which it may suit the defender's purpose to make -Paul say. - -[61] Another receipt for making salvation still cheaper than as above. -Not so Jesus. Matt. 7:21: "_Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, -Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven_; but he that doeth the -will of my Father which is in heaven." - -[62] Behold here the degree of importance attached by Paul to -_sabbaths_. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - - More Falsehoods.--Resurrection Witnesses multiplied.--World's End - predicted.--To save credit, Antichrist invented. - - -SECTION 1. - -RESURRECTION-WITNESSES MULTIPLIED. - -After what has been seen of the seven days' course of perjury, proofs of -simple falsehood will be apt to appear superfluous. To make certainty -more sure, two preeminent ones shall, however, be brought to view. They -may have their use, were it only as examples of the palpableness, of -those falsehoods, which, for so many hundreds of years, and through so -many generations of commentators, are, under favourable circumstances, -capable of remaining undetected. The extravagance of the addition, made -by the audacious stranger, to the number of the Resurrection-witnesses, -as given by themselves:--the predicted end of the world in the prophet's -own lifetime,--and the creation of Antichrist for the purpose of putting -off that catastrophe,--may even be not altogether unamusing, by the -picture they will give, of that mixture of rashness and craftiness, -which constitutes not the least remarkable, of the ingredients in the -composition of this extraordinary character. Moreover, Antichrist being -in the number of the bug-bears, by the images of which many an enfeebled -mind has not yet ceased to be tormented;--putting an extinguisher upon -this hobgoblin may have the serious good effect, of calming a mass of -disquietude, which how completely soever groundless, is not the less -afflicting, to the minds into which it has found entrance. - -First, as to the resurrection-witnesses. In relation to a fact of such -cardinal importance, the accounts which have reached us from the four -biographers of Jesus are not, it must be confessed, altogether so clear -as could have been wished. But, on so ample a subject, howsoever -tempting the occasion, anything that could here be offered, with any -promise of usefulness, would occupy far too much space, and be by much -too wide a digression from the design of the present work.[63] - -Sufficient to the present purpose will be the observation, that nothing -can be more palpably or irreconcileably inconsistent with every one of -them, than the amply and round number, thus added by the effrontery of -this uninformed stranger, to the most ample that can be deduced from any -of the accounts, thus stated as given by the only description of -persons, whose situation would give to their testimony the character of -the best evidence. - -Behold now the account of the number and of the persons in Paul's own -words. It is in the fifteenth chapter of the first of his two letters to -his Corinthians. "Moreover, brethren," ver. 1, "I declare unto you the -Gospel, the good news, which I _preached_ unto you, which also ye have -received, and wherein ye stand.--By which also ye are saved, if ye -keep in memory what I preached unto you unless ye have believed in -vain.--For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also -received, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the -Scriptures:--And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third -day, according to the Scriptures:--And that he was seen of Cephas, -then of the twelve:--After that, he was seen of _above five hundred -brethren at once_; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, -but some are fallen asleep.--After that he was seen of James, then of -all the Apostles.--And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one -born out of due time.--For I am the least of the Apostles, which am -not meet to be called as Apostle, because I persecuted the church of -God."[64] - -As to the five hundred brethren at once, with the additions _in petto_, -the more closely the Gospel accounts are looked into, the more entire -will be a Man's conviction of the extravagance of this account. In -addition to the eleven Apostles that remained after the death of the -traitor Judas, it may be matter of question, whether so much as a single -individual can be found, who, in any one of the Gospels, is stated as -having, after the death of Jesus, received from the testimony of sense, -the demonstration of his presence. Of the percipient witnesses in -question, not to waste space and time in needless discussions, taking a -round number, and including both sexes taken together, no number -approaching to twenty can be made out from any one of the four Gospel -accounts, nor from all of them taken together. To what end then -substitute, to less than twenty, more than five hundred? To what, but to -supply by falsehood the deficiency left by truth. The thing to be done -was the coming up to the expectations, whatever they might be, of his -Corinthians. Number twenty,--said he to himself,--may perhaps fall -short: well then, strike out the twenty, and set down five hundred. Thus -did the self-constituted Apostle take a leaf out of the book of the -unjust steward. Luke 16:1-20. - -Now then as to mutually contradictory numbers--that given by the four -Evangelists, and that given by this one stranger,--to which shall we -give credence? As to the Evangelists,--whether, in the situation in -which they were, and writing for the purposes for which they -wrote,--these most intimate of the associates of the departed Jesus, and -percipient witnesses of the several facts in question,--all of them -spoken of in the same narration, all of them so fully apprised of the -whole real number--could have been disposed, any one of them, to get -down a number _short_ of the truth,--may be left to anyone to imagine. - -But, according to Paul's calculation, the truth would not come up to his -purpose:--to his particular purpose: a number, such as could not fail of -doing so, was therefore to be substituted. - -_Five hundred_ was as easily written as _twenty_. Had Jerusalem, or any -place in its neighbourhood, been the place, to which this letter of his -was to be addressed, some caution might have been necessary. But -Corinth--a place so remote from the scene of action--being the abode of -the disciples, to whom this letter of his was addressed,--and the -letters themselves, not destined to be seen by any other than devoted -eyes,--Invention found herself at ease. - -Meantime, while Jesus was thus magnified, Paul was not to be forgotten. -Insufficient still would be the cloud of witnesses, unless himself were -added to it. "Last of all," says he, 1 Cor. 15:8, "he," Jesus, "was seen -of me also." Seen by him Paul? at what place? at what time? At the time -of his conversion, when hearing a voice and seeing light, but nothing -else? But the whole constellation of his visions will here be crowding -to the reader's view, and any more particular reference to them would be -useless: suffice it to observe, that on no other occasion, either does -Paul himself, or his historiographer for him, take upon himself to say, -that he had ever seen Jesus any otherwise than in a _vision_, -whatsoever may have been meant by this so convenient term. On no -occasion is it so much as pretended, either by him or for him, that _in -the flesh_ Jesus was ever seen by him. By no fingers of his -murder-abetting hand, had ever been so much as pretended to have been -probed, the wounds of Jesus. Yet, what are the terms employed, by him, -in speaking of the _sight_, he pretended to have had of Jesus? exactly -the same, as those employed by him, when speaking of the evidence, -vouchsafed to the Apostles. - - -SECTION 2. - -FALSE PROPHECY,--THAT THE WORLD WOULD END IN THE LIFETIME OF -PERSONS THEN LIVING. - -The unsatiableness of Paul's ambition meets the eye at every page: the -fertility of his invention is no less conspicuous. So long as, between -this and the other world, the grave stood interposed,--the strongest -impression capable of being made by pictures of futurity, even when -drawn by so bold a hand, was not yet sufficient for stocking it with the -power it grasped at. This barrier, at whatever hazard, he accordingly -determined to remove. The future world being thus brought at both ends -into immediate contact with the present,--the obedient, for whom the -joys of heaven were provided, would behold the troubles of _the middle -passage_ saved to them, while the disobedient would see the jaws of hell -opened for their reception, without any such halting-place, as might -otherwise seem to be offered by the grave. In particular, by a nearer as -well as smoother road than that rugged one, he would make his way to -heaven: nor would they, whose obedience gave them a just claim to so -high a favour, be left behind. - -His Thessalonians were the disciples, chosen by him for the trial of -this experiment. Addressed to them we have two of his Epistles. In these -curious and instructive documents, the general purport--not only of what -had been said to the persons in question on a former occasion, but -likewise of the observation of which on _their_ part it had been -productive,--is rendered sufficiently manifest, by what we shall find -him saying in the first of them. "Good," said they, "as to _some_ of us, -whoever they may be: but, how is it to be with _the rest_? in -particular, with those who have actually died already: not to speak of -those others who will have been dying off in the meantime: for you do -not go so far as to promise, that we shall, all of us, be so sure of -escaping death as you yourself are." "Make yourselves easy," we shall -find him saying to them: "sooner or later, take my word for it, we -shall, all of us, mount up together in a body: those who are dead, those -who are to die, and those who are not to die--all of us at once, and by -the same conveyance: up, in the air, and through the clouds, we shall -go. The Lord will come down and meet us, and show us the way:--music, -vocal and instrumental, will come with him, and a rare noise altogether -there will be! Those who died first will have risen first; what little -differences there may be are not worth thinking about. Comfort -yourselves," concludes he, "with these words." Assuredly not easily -could more comfortable ones have been found:--always supposing them -followed by belief, as it appears they were. But it is time we should -see more particularly what they were. - -1 Thess. 4:10 to 18.--"And indeed ye do it," viz. love one another, ver. -9, "toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech -you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;--And that ye study to be -_quiet_, and to do _your own business, and to work with your own hands, -as we commanded you_;--That ye may walk honestly toward them that are -without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.--But I would not have you -to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are _asleep_, that ye -sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.--For if we believe that -Jesus died and rose again, even so _them also which sleep in Jesus will -God bring with him_.--For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, -that _we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall -not prevent them which are asleep_.--For the Lord himself shall descend -from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the -trump of God: and _the dead in Christ shall rise first.--Then we which -are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the -clouds_, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the -Lord.--Wherefore comfort one another with these words." Hereupon, -without any intervening matter, follows that of the next chapter. The -division into chapters,--though, for the purpose of reference, not -merely a useful, but an altogether necessary one,--is universally -acknowledged to have been a comparatively modern one. - -1 Thess. 5:1-11. "But _of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have -no need that I write unto you_.--For yourselves know perfectly, that -_the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night_.--For when they -shall say, Peace and safety, then _sudden destruction cometh upon them_, -as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.--_But ye, -brethren, are not in darkness_, that that day should overtake you as a -thief.--Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: -we are not of the night, nor of darkness.--Therefore _let us not sleep, -as do others; but let us watch and be sober_.--For they that sleep, -sleep in the night; and they that be drunken, are drunken in the -night.--But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the -breastplate of _faith_ and love; and for an helmet, the hope of -salvation.--For _God hath not appointed us to wrath_, but to obtain -salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.--Who died for us, that, whether we -wake or sleep, we should live together with him.--Wherefore _comfort -yourselves_ together, and edify one another, even as also ye do." - -An ingenious game was the one thus played by Paul, if ever there was -one. Of this prophecy,[65] what when once mentioned, is plainly enough -visible, is--this is of the number of those predictions, by which profit -is put in for, and no loss risked: for such is the shape given to it. So -long as the predictor lived, it would remain good and undisfulfilled: -at the end of a certain time--namely, at the end of the life of the -longest liver of the aggregate number of individuals in existence at -that time,--the disfulfillment would indeed take place. But if, by that -time, the predictor had made his exit,--as, in this case, being already -of a certain age, it is tolerably certain he would,--the reproach of -false prophecy would not have reached him: and, even, supposing it to -have reached him, as it would do if he survived the last of them, still -the speculation would not be a very bad one. His _prophecy_, his -_purposes_ would have been fulfilled. - -Not altogether without claim to observation, is the manner, in which, by -the adroitness of the soothsayer, the anxiety of questioners is evaded. -That he himself does not know, nor ever expects to know,--that is what -his prudence forbids his telling them. "The day of the Lord so cometh as -a thief in the night:" this is what, in answer to former importunities, -he had at _that_ time told them. "For you yourselves," says he, "know -this perfectly;" that is, in so far as they could know from _his -telling_: this being, in this instance, the only source,--of that -_delusion_, to which he gave the name of _knowledge_. This he had told -them _then_: and more, he takes care not to tell them _now_. "Of the -times and seasons, brethren," says he, "ye have no need that I write -unto you." Meantime, their hopes and fears, and therewith their -dependence upon his good pleasure, are kept still alive: in the first -place, the hope--that, knowing already more than he as yet desires to -disclose, he may by ulterior obsequiousness be prevailed upon to -disclose it: in the next place, the hope--that, though not as yet -possessed of the information, he may at some future period be able to -obtain it, and in that case give them the benefit of it. - -To a speculation of this sort,--in how particular a degree favourable -the mode of communication by letter was, is sufficiently visible. -Writing, was an operation not quite so prompt, in those days as in -these. Between Thessalonica and Athens,--from whence, as they tell us, -these Epistles were written,--there was not, it may be affirmed without -much danger of error, any established letter-post: and, even if there -was,--to this or that question, which a man sees in a letter, he makes -or does not make answer, as he finds convenient. Not exactly so, when -the questioner is at his elbow. - - -SECTION 3. - -DISORDER AND MISCHIEF PRODUCED BY THIS PREDICTION. - -We have seen the prophecy: let us now see the effects of it. They were -such as might have been expected. They were such as had been expected: -expected, as may have been observed, at a very early period. But there -was rather _more_ in them than had been expected. - -Of the confusion, which, by an expectation of this sort, in a state of -society, so much inferior, in the scale of moral conduct, to any, of -which in this our age and country we have experience, was capable of -being produced,--it can scarcely, at this time of day, be in any man's -power, to frame to himself anything approaching to an adequate -conception. So far as regards peaceable idleness, of the general nature -of it, some faint conception may under modern manners be formed, from -the accounts of the effects produced by a similar prediction, delivered -first in France, then in England, about the time of Queen Anne:--so far -as regards a mixture of idleness and positive mischief in a time of -terror, under ancient manners,--from the accounts, given by Thucydides, -of the effects produced at Athens, by the near approach of death, on the -occasion of the plague;--and, from that given by Josephus, of the -effects produced by the like cause, on the occasion of the siege, which, -under his eye, terminated in the final destruction of Jerusalem by the -Romans. - -According to each man's cast of mind, and the colour of the expectations -that had been imbibed by it,--terror and self-mortification, or -confidence and mischievous self-indulgence, would be the natural result: -terror and self-mortification, if apprehensions grounded on the -retrospect of past misconduct predominated--mischievous indulgence, if, -by the alleged or supposed all-sufficiency of faith,--of faith, of which -the preacher was the object--the importance of morality had, even in the -imagination of the disciple, been thrown into the back-ground: -confabulation without end, in the case of terror; cessation from work, -in both cases. - -Had he been somewhat less positive on the head of _time_,--the purposes -of those announcements of his might have been completely, and without -any deduction, fulfilled. The terror he infused could not be -unfavourable to those purposes, so long as it made no deduction, from -the value of the produce of their industry! It was his interest, that -they should "_walk honestly_," lest they should be punished for walking -otherwise:--punished, capitally or not capitally--and, in either case, -bring his teaching into disgrace. It was his interest, that they should -_work_, in such sort, as to earn each of them the expense of his -maintenance; lest, by abstaining from work, they should, any one of -them, impose a burthen upon the charity of the others, or be seen to -walk dishonestly, to the prejudice of the common cause, as above. It was -his interest, that they should, each of them, gain as much as could be -gained without reproach or danger; because, the greater the surplus -produced by each disciple, the greater the tribute, that could be paid -to the spiritual master, under whose command they had put themselves. -Thus far his interest and theirs were in agreement. But, it was his -interest, that, while working to these ends, their minds, at the expense -of whatever torment to themselves, should be kept in a state of constant -ferment, between the passions of hope and fear; because, the stronger -the influence of the two allied passions in their breasts, the more -abundant would be the contributions, of which, to the extent of each -man's ability, they might reasonably be expected to be productive. Here -it was, that his interest acted in a direction opposite to theirs: and -it was by too ardent a pursuit of this his separate interest, that so -much injury, as we shall see, was done to all those other interests. - -Of the disease which we shall see described, the description, such as it -is, is presented, by the matter furnished by the practitioner himself, -by whose prescription the disease was produced. This matter we must be -content to take, in that state of disorder, which constitutes one of the -most striking features of the issue of his brain. In speaking of the -symptoms,--addressed as his discourse is to nobody but the patients -themselves by whom these symptoms had been experienced,--only in the way -of allusion, and thence in very general terms, could they naturally have -been, as they will actually be seen to be, presented to view. As to -details,--from them to him, not from him to them, was, it will readily -be acknowledged, the only natural course. - -In the same Epistle,--namely in the second, which is the last, but, in a -passage which does not come till after the announcement, which, as will -be seen under the next head, was to operate as a remedy,--stands the -principal part of the matter from whence we have been enabled to collect -the nature of the disease. The chapter is the third and concluding -one:--the words that add nothing to the information, are here and there -omitted. - -1. "Finally, brethren, pray for us ...--that we may be delivered from -unreasonable and wicked men; for all men have not faith.--And we have -confidence in the Lord touching you, that ye both do and will do the -things which we _command_ you.--And the Lord direct your hearts ... into -the _patient waiting for Christ_.--Now we _command_ you, brethren ... -that ye _withdraw yourselves from every brother that walketh -disorderly_, and not after the tradition which he received of us.--For -yourselves know how ye ought to follow _us_: for we _behaved not -ourselves disorderly among you:--Neither did we eat any man's bread for -nought_: but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we -might not be chargeable to any of you.--_Not because we have not power_, -but to make ourselves an example unto you to follow us.--for _even when -we were with you_, this we _commanded_ you, that _if any would not work, -neither should he eat_.--For we hear that _there are some which walk -among you disorderly, working not at all, but are busybodies_.--Now them -that are such, _we command_ and exhort by our Lord Jesus Christ, _that -with quietness they work, and eat their own bread_.--But ye brethren, -_be not weary in well-doing_.--And if any man obey not our word by this -Epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be -ashamed." - -By anything we have as yet seen, the symptoms of the disease, it may be -thought, are not painted in any very strong colours. But, of the -virulence of it there is no want of evidence. It may be seen, in the -drastic nature of the remedy:--a remedy, for the invention of which, we -shall, in the next section, see the ingenuity of the practitioner put to -so extraordinary a stretch. - - -SECTION 4. - -PAUL'S REMEDY FOR THE DISORDER, AND SALVO FOR HIMSELF.--ANTICHRIST -MUST FIRST COME. - -We have seen the disorder: we had before that seen the causes of it. We -now come to the remedy--the remedy provided by the practitioner for a -disease of his own creating. Of the shape given to this remedy, the -ingenuity will be seen to be truly worthy of the author of the disease. -It consists in the announcement made, of an intermediate state of -things, of the commencement of which, any more than of the termination, -nothing is said: except that it was to take place, antecedently to that -originally announced state of things, by the expectation of which the -disorder had been produced. Of the _time_ of its commencement, no: -except as above, on that point no information is given. But of its -_duration_, though no determinate information, yet such a description is -given, as suffices for giving his disciples to understand, that in the -nature of things, it could not be a short one: and that thus, before the -_principal_ state of things took place, there would be a proportionate -quantity of time for _preparation_. Satisfied of this, they would see -the necessity of conforming themselves to those reiterated "_commands_," -with which his prediction had from the first been accomplished; and to -which he had so erroneously trusted, when he regarded them as composing -a sufficient antidote to the poison he had infused. That the warning -thus provided for them would be a very short one, he left them, it will -be seen, no great reason to apprehend. A sort of spiritual monster,--a -sort of an ape of _Satan_, a rival to the Almighty,--and _that_ by no -means a contemptible one--was to enter upon the stage. - -What with force and what with fraud, such would be his power,--that the -fate of the Almighty would have appeared too precarious, had not the -spirits of his partisans been kept up, by the assurance, that when all -was over, the Almighty would remain master of the field. - -The time, originally fixed, by him for the aerial voyage, was too -_near_. By the hourly expectation of it, had been produced all those -disastrous effects which had ensued. After what had been said, an -_adjournment_ presented the only possible remedy. But this adjournment, -after what had been said, by what imaginable means could it be produced? -One only means was left by the nature of the case. - - 2 Thess. 2:1-12. "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of - our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto - him,--That ye _be not_ soon shaken in mind, or be _troubled_, - neither by spirit, nor by word, nor _by letter as from us,[66] as - that the day of Christ is at hand_.--Let no man deceive you by any - means; for _that day shall not come, except_[67] there come a - falling away first, and _that man of sin be revealed_, the son of - perdition;--_Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is - called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the - temple of God, showing himself that he is God_[68]--Remember ye - not, that when I was yet with you, I told you _these - things_[69]--And now ye know what withholdeth, that he might be - revealed in his time.--For the mystery of iniquity doth already - work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of - the way.--And _then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord_ - shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and _shall destroy with - the brightness of his coming_.[70]--Even _him, whose coming is - after the working of Satan,[71] with all power and signs and lying - wonders_[72]--And with all _deceivableness of unrighteousness_ in - them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, - that they might be saved.--And for this cause God shall send them - strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:[73]--That they all - might be _damned, who believed not the truth_,[74] but had pleasure - in unrighteousness." - -To this rival of his God--God and rival--both of them of his own -creation, the creator has not, we see, given any name. By this omission, -he has, perhaps, as perhaps he thought to do, rendered the bugbear but -the more terrible. The deficiency, such as it is, the Church of England -translators of the English official translation of the Bible, have -filled up: they have taken it in hand--this bantling of Paul's--and -christened it _Antichrist_. "He," Paul, "showeth," say they, "a -discovery of _Antichrist_, before the day of the Lord come." Such is the -discovery, communicated in the _heading_, prefixed to the second chapter -of the second of the two Epistles: and, of the readers of this so -abundantly and gratuitously distributed Bible, how few are there, by -whom any such distinction as that between the headings and the text is -borne in mind! The right reverend divines in question,--were they the -first authors of this discovery, or was it ready-made to their -hands?--made by that church, from the errors of which their own has been -so felicitously purified? To this question, let those look out for, and -find, the answer,--in whose eyes the profit is worth the trouble. - -Not a few are the divines, who have discovered Antichrist sitting in St. -Peter's chair, with a triple crown on his head. In the chair of Luther, -or in that of Calvin, would the triple monarch be disposed to discover -the hobgoblin, if he thought it worth while to look for him. Has he -ever, or has he not, made this discovery already? - -"Oh, but," says somebody, "_we_ does not here mean _we_ only who are -alive at this present writing; it means, _we_ Christians of all -ages:--any number of ages _after_ this, as well as this, included. In -the designation thus given, neither the individuals he was addressing, -nor he himself, were necessarily comprehended." This accordingly, if -anything, must be said, or the title of the self-constituted Apostle, to -the appellation of _false prophet_, must be admitted. Oh, yes! this may -be said, and must be said: but what will it avail him? In no such -comprehensive sense did _he_ use it; for, in that sense, it would not -have answered his purposes: not even his spiritual and declared -purposes, much less his temporal, selfish, and concealed purposes. Why -was it that these disciples of his, as well as he, were to be so -incessantly upon the watch! I Thess. 5:6, 7, 8. Why, but because "you -yourselves," says he, ver. 2, "know perfectly, that the day of the Lord -cometh like a thief in the night." Who, on that occasion, could be meant -by _we_, but himself and them? In no such comprehensive sense was it -understood by _them_: if it had been, no such consequences as we have -seen following, could have followed. After the experience he and they -had had, of the mischief produced by the narrow sense put upon the -all-important pronoun, would he have continued thus to use it in that -same narrow sense, if it had not been his wish that in that same sense -it should continue to be understood? Would he have been at all this -pains in creating the spiritual monster, for the declared purpose of -putting off their expectation of the great day, if, but for this -put-off, it would not have come on?[75] In what part of all his -preachings can any distinct ground be seen for any such supposition, as -that any portion of the field of _time_, beyond that by which his own -life was bounded, was ever present to his view? In the field of _place_, -yes: in that field his views were of no small amplitude: for in that -field it was by his ambition that they were marked out: but in the field -of _time_, no symptoms of any the smallest degree of enlargement will -anywhere be found. But, on this occasion, suppose other ages, and those -others to any extent, included in his views: from their including such -future ages, would it follow that they had no application to the age -then present?--But, supposing them understood to apply to that age, -thereupon in comes the mischief in full force. - -Any man that has been reading these Epistles,--let him suppose, in his -own breast, any the most anxious desire to raise an expectation, such as -that in question: and then let him ask himself, whether it be in the -power of that desire to suggest language, that would afford any -considerably better promise of giving effect to it. - -Of the _nature_ of the _disorder_, as well as of the cause of it,--the -persons, to whom the world is indebted for the preservation of these -remains of the self-constituted Apostle,--have given us, as above, some -conception. Of the _effect_ of the _remedy_, it would have been amusing -to be informed: unfortunately, this portion of his history is not -comprised in the labours of his historiographer.[76] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[63] The account given by Luke of the resurrection and ascension of -Jesus is contained in the last chapter, chap. 24:53. According to this -account, by no men was Jesus seen in the interval between those two -events, besides the eleven Apostles and a few others, all together not -more than enough, to sit down together at meat, in one of the houses of -a village. Luke 25:9, 28, 29, 30. Number of the occasions on which Jesus -was seen by the Apostles, two: the company the same without addition, -and both occasions having place within twenty-four hours. Between these -two occasions it is that Paul sticks in the one of his own invention, in -which Jesus was seen by above five hundred brethren at once. - -Point-blank on this head is the contradiction given to this story of -Paul's, by his own attendant and historiographer: namely, in the account -put into the mouth of Peter, speaking to Centurion Cornelius, Acts 10:39 -to 42. Expressly is it there said, ver. 40, "Him" (Jesus) "God raised up -the third day, and showed him openly;--Not to all the people, but unto -witnesses chosen before of God even to us, who did eat and drink with -him after he rose from the dead." When in the year 62, or some posterior -year, the author of the Acts was writing his history, nothing, it will -be inferred, did he know of the contradictory account given by his hero, -in writing in a letter written in the year 57. - -[64] Follows a sample of Paul's logic wrapped up as usual in a cloud of -tautologies and paralogisms, the substance of which amounts to -this:--Jesus resurrects; therefore all men will do the same. Admitting -the legitimacy of this induction, what will be the thing proved? That -every man, a few days after his death, will come to life again, and eat, -drink, and walk in company with his friends. - -[65] By the word _prophecy_ the idea meant to be conveyed in Jewish -language seems to be very generally misconceived. It is regarded as -exactly synonymous to _prediction_. Nothing can be more erroneous. In -New Testament language in particular, it is no less applicable to past -events than to future. Witness, "Prophecy who is it that smote thee." -Luke 17:64. In the Greek, the word is occasion, it meant evidently -neither more nor less than _speak out_. Hence it came to signify -speaking in public: hence again, speaking as a statesman: hence again, -writing as a statesman, as well as speaking. Not that a statesman could -ever or can ever be a statesman, and in the above sense, _a prophet_, -without being a _predictor_ likewise: as often as any proposed measure -is on the carpet, such he must be, or what he says must be nothing to -the purpose. Merely by uttering a prediction concerning future events, -Paul would not have included, in his prophecy, any such pretension, as -that of a supernatural communication received from the Almighty: but, -the one here in question was one which, supposing it true, could not -have come from any other source. - -[66] Here we have a sort of retractation. This shows how he was -frightened. - -[67] Here he gives the intermediate warning; thence the respite. - -[68] Here we see the rival of Paul's god: and we see how dangerous an -one. - -[69] Like enough; but in the same unintelligible style, in which he -tells all men all things. - -[70] All's well that ends well: the friends of the Almighty may now -dismiss their fears. - -[71] Here we see the rival of the Almighty sunk into the ape of Satan. -What if he and Satan had made an alliance? Happily they could not agree, -or time was wanting for settling the conditions. - -[72] All power, with _lying_ to boot. But for the above-mentioned -assurance, who would not have trembled for Paul's God? - -[73] This was fighting the ape of Satan with his own weapons. But--this -God of Paul's creation--in what, except an ultimate superiority of -power, is he distinguishable from Satan and his ape? Those, who have -been so quicksighted of late in the discovery of blasphemy, and so bent -on punishing it,--have they ever found so clear a case as this which is -before us? Would not they have begun at the more proper end, had they -begun with the editors of these Epistles? - -[74] For this damnation,--on the present as on so many other occasions, -those who are so eager to believe, that all who differ from them on a -question of evidence, will be consigned to everlasting torments, are -indebted to the right reverend translators: the original says -_condemned_. This may be understood to mean--_damned_ in the ordinary -sense of the word _damned_, or whatever less unpleasant result may be -more agreeable. - -[75] Of this child of the self-appointed Apostle's brain, it seems not -altogether improbable, that, in case of need, some further use was in -contemplation to be made: with the skin of this bugbear, might, upon -occasion, be invested, any person, to whom, either in the character of a -declared _adversary_, or in that of a _rival_, it might happen, to have -become in a certain degree troublesome: a _declared adversary_,--that -is, either a Gentile or an unbelieving Jew: _a rival_,--that is, one -who, believing in the religion of Jesus, adhered to that edition of it, -which had the Apostles of Jesus for its publishers, or followed any -other edition which was not _his_: one of those, for example, upon whom -we have seen him making such bitter war in his Epistle to his Galatians. -Of the two, the believing rival would of course be much more -troublesome, than the non-believing adversary, from whom, if let alone, -he would not experience an annoyance. Of this rival class were they -whose "_unrighteousness_," 2 Thess. 2:10, had recourse to -"_deceivableness_:" for as to non-believers, no need could they have of -_deceivableness_; to foil him, they had but to turn aside from him, and -stand as they were. Those men, whose unrighteousness had recourse to -deceivableness, who could they be, but the men of the same description -in this respect as those, whom in chapter third of his Epistle to his -Galatians, he complains of as having "bewitched" them; and _that_ in -such sort, as to have made him so far lose his temper as to call them -"_foolish_:" and that _they_ were rivals, is a matter altogether out of -doubt. In a word, rivals were the only troublesome sort of men, who, at -the writing of this Epistle, could, with the nameless monster since -named _Antichrist_, be yet to come. - -[76] As for that "_helmet of faith_," which, in the passage first -quoted, he has been seen commanding his disciples to put on--of that -faith, which is the everlasting object of his so indefatigably repeated -"_command_," and which is always faith in _Paul_,--for of Jesus scarcely -is so much as a word, except the name, to be found in any of his -Epistles,--as to this helmet, it is the sort of cap, which a man learned -how to put on, when he had made himself perfect, in what may be called -the _self-deceptive exercise_, or in a word _the exercise of faith_. It -is composed of two very simple operations: at the word of command, the -recruit turns its face _to_ the arguments on one side; at the word of -command, it turns its back to those on the other side. The test of -perfection is--its being able to hold in its embrace, for any length of -time, both parts together of a self-contradictory proposition; such as, -that three _man's-persons_,--to use the German word, or if any _other -sorts of persons_ there are three others,--are but one. When the helmet -sits close enough on his head to enable him to do this, there is no fear -of its falling off. Holding fast to improbabilities, how absurd and -extravagant soever, is thenceforward but child's play to him:--for -example, belief in the future existence of Paul's Antichrist: including, -the coming on of those scenes, in which that _raw-head and bloody bones_ -is to be the principal performer. - -To this, as to anything else, the mind of man is capable of being -brought, by assurances of infinite enjoyment, in case of his having made -himself perfect in this exercise, or of infinite torment in case of his -neglecting it: of course, still more effectually, by both assurances put -together; and, considering the facility of both operations, easier terms -could not very easily be imagined. A capital convenience is--that, for -producing faith in this way, not a particle of anything in the shape of -evidence is necessary: the place of evidence is supplied by -assurance:--by the intensity, real or apparent, of the persuasion, to -which expression has been given, by what the preacher has said or done. -The more intense the apparent assurance on the one part, the greater the -apparent _safety_, obtained by yielding to it, on the other: and thus it -is, that no absurdity can be so flagrant, that the side on which it is -found may not be embraced, under the notion of its being the _safe_ -side. When Paul, with his accustomed vehemence, was preaching the -world's end, so many of his Thessalonians as believed in it, believed, -that believing in it was being on the safe side. On the part of the -preacher, the more vehement and impudent the assurance, the greater on -the part of the disciple, the apparent _danger_ on the disbelieving, the -apparent _safety_ on the believing side. - -By this means are produced the signs and wonders we read of in the -Epistles of our modern missionaries; for, how conclusive soever the -evidence may be, which the assertions they employ might call in for -their support,--conclusive to every reasonable mind by which it was -received,--assuredly it is not by the evidence, but by the unsupported -assertion, that, on the occasion of those exploits of theirs,--whatever -credence has place, is produced. - - - - -CHAPTER XIII. - - _Paul's supposable Miracles explained._ - - -SECTION 1. - -OBJECTIONS, APPLYING TO THEM IN THE AGGREGATE. - -But, it may be said, Paul's alleged commission from God was certainly -genuine; for it is proved by his miracles. Look at the Acts, no fewer -than twelve miracles of his you will find. If then taken by themselves, -for want of that accurate conception of the probative form of evidence, -to which maturer ages have given birth, the account of the miracle by -which his conversion was wrought fails of being completely -satisfactory,--look at his miracles, the deficiency will be filled up. -The man, to whom God had imparted such extraordinary powers--powers so -completely matchless in these our times,--can such a man have been a -liar--an impostor? a liar for the purpose of deceit--of giving support -to a system of deception--and that a lucrative one? An imposition so -persevering as to have been carried on, from youth to death, through, -perhaps, the greatest part of his life? - -The observation is plausible:--the answer will not be the less -satisfactory. - -The answer has two branches: one, _general_, applying to all the alleged -miracles in question, taken in the lump: the other _particular_, -applying to the several miracles separately considered. - -Observations applying to the whole together are, the following: - -1. Not by Paul himself, in any one of his own Epistles, is any such -general assertion made, as that he had received from God or from -Jesus,--or, in a word, that he was in possession of, any such power, as -the power of working miracles. - -2. Nowhere in the account given of his transactions by the author of the -Acts, is he in any of his speeches represented as making reference to -any one act of his in the character of a miracle. - -3. Nowhere in that same account, is he represented as stating himself to -be in possession of any such powers. - -4. Not by the author of the Acts, is he spoken of as being in possession -of any such power. - -5. Nowhere by the author of the Acts, is he in any general terms spoken -of, as producing any effects, such as, in respect of the power necessary -to the production of them, approach to those spoken of as having been -produced by Simon Magus; by that declared impostor, in whose instance, -no such commission from God is represented as having been received. - -6. Neither on the occasion of his conversion, nor on any other occasion, -is Paul stated to have received from Jesus any such power as that of -working miracles:--any such power as the real Apostles are--in Mark -16:15, 16, 17, 18--stated to have received from Jesus. - -Was it that, in his own conception, for gaining credence to his -pretension of a commission from Jesus--from Jesus, styled by him the -Lord Jesus--any need of miracles, or of a persuasion, on the part of -those with whom he had to deal, of _his_ having power to work miracles? -By no means. Of the negative, the story told by him of the manner of his -conversion is abundant proof. Of the efficient cause of this change in -his mind, the account given, is plainly given in the character of the -account of a miracle. But of this miracle, the proof given consists -solely in his own evidence: his own statement, unsupported by that of -any other person, or by reference to that of any other person: his -account, of the discourse, which on the occasion of the vision, in which -nothing was seen but a flood of light, he heard from the Lord Jesus: his -own account, of the vision, which he says was seen by Ananias: his own -account, of that other vision, which, according to Ananias, he, Paul, -had had, but of which Paul himself says nothing. - -In the work of his adherent and sole biographer, the author of _the -Acts_,--we have five speeches, made by him, in vindication of his -conduct, in the character of a preacher of the religion of Jesus; and, -from his own hand, Epistles out of number: yet nowhere is any reference -made, to so much as a single miracle wrought by his own hand, unless the -trance which he falls into when he is alone, and the vision which he -sees, when nobody else sees anything, are to be placed to the account of -miracles. Miracles? _On_ him, yes; _by_ him, no. True it is, that, on -one occasion, he speaks in general terms of "signs and wonders," as -having been wrought by him. But vague, in the highest degree, is the -import, as well as wide the extent, of those general terms: nor is it by -any means clear, that, even by himself, any such claim was meant to be -brought forward, as that of having exhibited any such manifestations of -supernatural power, as are commonly regarded as designated by the word -_miracles_. In the multitude of the persons, whom, in places so widely -distant from one another, he succeeded in numbering in the list of his -followers--in the depth of the impression, supposed to have been made on -the heart of this or that one of them--in all or any one of these -circumstances, it was natural he should himself behold, and, whether he -did or no, use his endeavours to cause others to behold, not only so -many sources of wonder, but so many circumstances; all conspiring to -increase the quantity of that confidence, which, with so much industry, -and, as far as appears, with such brilliant success, he was labouring -to plant in every breast: circumstances, serving, in the minds of his -adherents in general, in the character of a sign or proof, of the -legitimacy of his pretension, as above. - -But, of any such supernatural power as that which is here in question, -could any such loose and vague expressions be reasonably regarded as -affording any sort of proof? No:--unless whatsoever, in the affairs of -men, can justly be regarded as _wonderful_, ought also to be regarded as -a miracle. - -In one passage, and one alone, either in the Acts or in his own -Epistles, is he found laying any claim, how distant and vague soever, to -any such power, as having ever been exercised by him. And, in this -instance, no one individual incident being in any way brought to view or -referred to, what is said will be seen to amount absolutely to nothing, -being nothing more than, without incurring any such interpretation as -that of imposture, is at the present time continually averred by -Christians of different sects. - -He who makes so much of his _sufferings_, had he wrought any miracles, -would he have made nothing of his _miracles_? - -In the next place, although it must be admitted, that, on several -occasions, by his sole biographer and professed adherent, viz., the -author of the Acts, a sort of colour of the marvellous seems endeavoured -to be laid on; laid on over the incident itself, and over the part, -which on that occasion was taken by him; yet on no one of these -occasions, unless perhaps it be the last--of which presently,--does the -account, given by him of what passed, wear any such complexion as shall -render it matter of necessity, either to regard it as miraculous, or to -regard the biographer, as having on that occasion asserted a complete -and downright untruth. - - -SECTION 2. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE I.--ELYMAS THE SORCERER BLINDED.--_Acts_ 13:6 to 12. - -1. Of these supposable miracles, the first that occurs is that which had -for its subject Elymas the sorcerer. - -At Paphos, in the island of Cyprus,[77] Paul and his associate Barnabas -are sent for, by "the deputy of the country," Sergius Paulus, who -desires to hear the word of God. But at that same place is a certain -Jew, of the name of Barjesus, alias Elymas,--a sorcerer by profession, -who "withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith." To -this man, it is not said, either where or when, Paul is thereupon -represented as making a short speech, at the end of which, after calling -him a child of the devil, and so forth; he says to him, "_Thou shalt be -blind, not seeing the sun for a season_. Thereupon," continues the -story, "immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went -about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy," it -concludes, "when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the -doctrine of the Lord." - -Supposing this story to have had any foundation in fact,--of the -appearance of blindness thus exhibited, where shall we look for the -cause? In a suspension of the laws of nature, performed by the author -of nature, to no other assignable end, than the conversion of this Roman -governor? At no greater expense, than that of a speech from this same -Paul, the conversion of a king,--King Agrippa--if the author of the Acts -is to be believed, was nearly effected. "Almost," says Agrippa, "thou -hast persuaded me to become a Christian." So often as God is -represented, as operating in a direct--however secret and -mysterious--manner, upon the heart, _i.e._, the mind, of this and that -man,--while the accounts given of the suspension of the laws of nature -are comparatively so few--to speak in that sort of human language, in -which alone the nature of the case admits of our speaking, if the -expense of a miracle were not grudged,--might not, in the way above -mentioned, by a much less lavish use of supernatural power, the same -effect have been produced? viz., by a slight influence, exercised on the -heart of governor Paulus? - -Whatsoever may have been the real state of the case,--thus much seems -pretty clear, viz., that at this time of day, to a person whose judgment -on the subject should have, for its ground, the nature of the human mind -as manifested by experience,--another mode of accounting for the -appearance in question will be apt to present itself as much more -probable. That is--that, by an understanding between Paul and -Elymas--between the ex-persecutor and the sorcerer--the sorcerer, in the -view of all persons, in whose instance it was material that credence -should be given to the supposed miracle,--for and during "_the season_" -that was thought requisite, kept his eyes shut. - -The sorcerer was a Jew:--Paul was also a Jew. Between them here was -already one indissoluble bond of connection and channel of intercourse. -Elymas, by trade a sorcerer, _i.e._, an impostor--a person of the same -trade with Simon Magus, by whom so conspicuous a figure is cut in the -chapter of this history--was a sort of person, who, on the supposition -of an adequate motive, could not naturally feel any greater repugnance, -at the idea of practicing imposition, at so easy a rate as that of -keeping his eyes shut, than at the idea of practicing it, in any of the -shapes to which he had been accustomed:--shapes, requiring more -dexterity, and some, by which he would be more or less exposed, to that -detection, from which, in the mode here in question, it would be -altogether secure. - -But Paul--was he in a condition to render it worth the sorcerer's while -to give this shape to his imposture? Who can say that he was not? Yes: -if to a certain degree he had it in his power, either to benefit him or -to make him suffer? And who can say but that these two means of -operating, were one or other, or both of them, in his power? As to the -sorcerer's betraying him, this is what he could not have done, without -betraying himself. - -True it is, that, by acting this under part,--this self-humiliating -part,--so long as Paul stayed, so long was the sorcerer, not the first, -but only the second wonder-worker of the town. But no sooner did Paul's -departure take place, than Elymas, from being the second, became again -the first. - - -SECTION 3. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE II.--AT LYSTRA, CRIPPLE CURED.--_Acts_ 14:8 to 11. - -Second of these supposed miracles,--cure of the cripple at Lystra. - -This miracle makes a bad match with the before-mentioned one. - -Seeing a man at Lystra, neither man's name, nor place's, except in that -general way, nor time, in any way mentioned,--seeing a man in the guise -of a cripple, "_Stand upright on thy feet_," says Paul to him with a -loud voice. "And," continues the story, "he leaped and walked, -steadfastly beholding and perceiving that he had faith to be healed." -Chorus of the people thereupon, "The Gods are come down to us in the -likeness of men." - -To the production of an appearance of this sort, what was necessary? a -real miracle? No, surely: so long as a vagrant was to be found, who, -without any risk, could act a part of this sort for a few pence, in an -age so fertile in imposture. - -True it is, that this same man, whoever he was, is represented as being -"impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never -had walked." But these words, how much more than any other words, of the -same length, in the same number, did the writing of them cost the author -of this story? As to the correctness of his narratives,--of the -self-contradictory accounts given by him of Paul's conversion, a sample -has been already given. As to detection, supposing this circumstance -false,--detection is what the account thus given of it renders -impossible. For--this same cripple, what was his name? from birth to -this time, where had he been living? Of this nothing is said. That, at -Lystra, or anywhere else, the account was ever made public, is neither -affirmed, nor so much as insinuated: not but that it might have been -published, and, at the same time, though as to everything but the scene -that exhibited itself to outward appearance, false,--might not have -found any person, at the same time able and willing to contradict the -falsity, and thus naturalize the miracle. - - -SECTION 4. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE III.--DIVINERESS SILENCED.--_Acts_ 16:16-18. - -While Paul and his suite,--of whom, according to the author of the Acts, -he himself was one,--were at Philippi,--a Roman colony, and capital of a -part of Macedonia,--among their hearers, is Lydia--a purple-seller of -the City of Thyatira. Being converted, she receives the whole party into -her house. - -From this house, on their way to prayers,--probably in a Jewish -synagogue,--they are met by a certain damsel, as nameless as the -lame-born cripple, who, being possessed of a spirit of divination, or of -Python, brings to her masters, for masters it seems she had more than -one, much gain by soothsaying. Here then is a female, who, by being -possessed by or with a spirit,--a real spirit, whether devil or a spirit -of any other sort,--is converted into a prophetess, and, doubtless, in -the main a false prophetess. - -In the present instance, however, she is a true prophetess: for, -following Paul and his suite, she runs after them, saying, "These men -are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us the way of -salvation. And this did she many days." - -If, instead of a demon, it had been an angel, that took her vocal organs -for the instrument of his communications, it is difficult to say, in -what manner he could have deserved better at the hands of these -"servants," real or pretended, "of the Most High God." - -Yet, from some cause or other that does not appear, so it was it -seems,--there was something about her with which Paul was not well -pleased. "Being grieved, he turns and says,"--not to the damsel herself, -but to the spirit, which _possessed her_, or rather, since for the -benefit of her masters, it brought her so much gain, which _she -possessed_,--"I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to come out -of her." - -Amongst the superstitions of that and other ages, one was--the notion of -a property, possessed by such and such words--possessed, by these mere -evanescent sounds--by the air of the atmosphere, when made to vibrate in -a certain manner:--a property, of working effects in endless abundance -and variety, and those, too, supernatural ones. In some instances, the -wonders would be wrought by the words themselves, whatsoever were the -mouths by which they were uttered. In other instances, they required, -for the production of the effects, a person, who being possessed of a -particular and appropriate power, should, for the purpose of giving -exercise to such his power, give them passage through his lips. Of this -latter kind was the present case. The command issued as above, "he," for -it was a he-spirit, "came out of her," the damsel, "the same hour." - -When the devil that Josephus saw expelled, came out of the man, the -channel at which he made his exit, being manifest, it was accordingly -specified: it was the man's _nose_. This was something to know: -especially, in relation to an occurrence, the time of which was at so -great a distance from our own. At the same time, however, other -particulars present themselves, by which curiosity is excited, and for -want of which, the information thus bestowed must be confessed to be -rather imperfect. What the shape of the devil was? what the substance? -whence he last came? to what place, to what occupation, after being thus -dislodged, he betook himself, and so forth: not to speak of many others, -which howsoever instructive and satisfactory it would have been to be -acquainted with, yet now that all acquaintance with them is hopeless, it -would be tedious to enumerate. - -In the present instance, not only as to all these particulars, has the -historian,--eyewitness as it should seem he was of everything that -passed,--left us in the dark; but, neither has he vouchsafed to afford -us that single article of information, scanty as it was, for which, as -above, in the case mentioned by Josephus, we are indebted to Josephus: -to Josephus--that most respectable and instructive of the uninspired -historians of his age. - -In relation to this story, as well as to those others, the same question -still presents itself:--if told of the present time,--if spoken of in -some newspaper, as having happened in the present year,--exists here any -person, even among the most ignorant populace, with whom it would obtain -any permanent credence? - -But, a reported state of things--which, if reported as having had place -in the present century, would, by its disconformity to the manifest -state of things, and the whole course of nature, be regarded as too -absurd and flagrantly incredible to deserve to be entitled to a -moment's notice,--what is there that should render it more credible, -when reported as having happened in this same world of ours, at any -anterior point of time? - - -SECTION 5. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE IV.--AT PHILIPPI, AN EARTHQUAKE: PAUL AND SILAS -FREED FROM PRISON, A.D. 53. - -The passage, in which these events are related, is in Acts 16:19-40, -inclusive. - -On this occasion three principal events are narrated;--the incarceration -of Paul, an earthquake, and the liberation of Paul. Between the -earthquake and the liberation of this prisoner, what was in reality the -connection? In the answer there is not much difficulty: The same as that -between the earthquake and any other event that took place after it. -But, by an answer thus simple, the purpose of the narrator would not -have been answered: the purpose was--to induce, on the part of his -readers, the belief--that it was for the purpose of bringing about the -liberation of the self-constituted Apostle of Jesus, that the earth was -made to shake. As to the liberation, by means altogether natural was -that event produced: so he himself has the candour to inform us. Of this -quasi-miracle, or of the last-mentioned one, Philippi, capital of -Macedonia, was the theatre. By order of the magistrates of that town, -Paul and his attendant had been beaten one evening, and thrown into -prison: next morning, came to the jailor an order of these same -magistrates, and in obedience to it the prisoners were discharged. That, -in the minds of these magistrates, there was any connection, between the -earthquake and the treatment they had given to these adventurers, is not -so much as insinuated. The purpose, which it had in view, was answered: -it was the ridding the town of a pair of visitors, whose visit to it had -produced disturbance to existing institutions. Acts 16:20-40. - -Be it as it may with regard to the historiographer,--that it was an -object with his hero to produce a notion of a connection between the -stripes and the imprisonment he had undergone on one hand, and the -earthquake on the other, is manifest enough. The person, in whose mind -the prisoner had endeavoured to produce the idea of such a connection, -was the jailor: and, for its having in this instance been successful, -there seems little difficulty in giving credit to the historiographer. -Everything that appears to have been said, either of Paul or by Paul, -tends to show the wonderful strength of his mind, and the facility and -promptitude, with which it enabled him to gain the ascendency over other -minds. In the language of the place and time, he had bid the -fortune-telling damsel cease her imposture, and the imposture ceased. -Acts 16:18. Committed to prison he formed a project for making a -proselyte of the keeper: and, in this too, and in so small a compass of -time as a few hours, there seems reason to believe he was successful. In -his presumption, in daring to execute the sentence of the law upon so -holy a person, the keeper saw the cause of the earthquake; and, whether -by Paul any very strenuous endeavours were used to correct so convenient -an error in geology, may be left to be imagined. Paul, when introduced -into the prison, found no want of comrades: how then happened it, that -it was to Paul's imprisonment that the earthquake, when it happened, was -attributed, and not to any of his fellow-prisoners? Answer: It happened -thus. - -Of the trade, which, with such brilliant success, Paul,--with this -journeyman of his,--was carrying on, a set of songs with the name of God -for the burthen of them, constituted a part of the capital, and, as it -should seem, not the least valuable. When midnight came, Paul--the -trader in godliness--treated the company in the prison with a duet: the -other prisoners, though they shared in the benefit of it, did not join -in it. While this duet was performing, came on the earthquake; and Paul -was not such a novice as to let pass unimproved the opportunity it put -into his hand. - -The historiographer, if he is to be believed, was at this time in Paul's -train, as well as Silas; for so, by the word _we_, in the tenth verse of -this same chapter, he, as it were, silently informs us. The beating and -the imprisonment were confined to the two principals; by his comparative -insignificance, as it should seem, the historiographer was saved from -it. From the relation, given to him by Paul or Silas, and in particular -by Paul,--must this conception, formed by the historiographer of what -passed on the occasion, have of course been derived. It was coloured of -course in Paul's manner: and in his colouring, there was of course no -want of the marvellous. By the earthquake, not only were "foundations -shaken" and "doors opened," but "bands loosened." The "feet" of the two -holy men had been "made ... fast in the stocks," ver. 24: from these -same stocks, the earthquake was ingenious enough to let them out, and, -as far as appears, without hurt: the unholy part of the prisoners had -each of them bands of some sort, by which they were confined; for, ver. -26, "everyone's bands were loosed:" in every instance if they were -locked, the earthquake performed the office of a picklock. Earthquakes -in these latter days, we have but too many, in breaking open doors they -find no great difficulty; but they have no such nicety of touch as the -earthquake, which produced to the self-constituted Apostle a family of -proselytes: they are no more able to let feet out of the stocks, or -hands out of hand-cuffs, than to make watches. - -These elucidations being furnished, the reader is desired to turn to the -text, and lay before him: to reprint it would require more paper than he -might choose to see thus employed. - -As to the name of God and the name of Jesus, the two names, it should -appear, were not--on the occasions in question--used at random. When the -fortune-telling damsel was the subject of Paul's holy labours, she -having been in some way or other already gained, ver. 17, the case was -already of a sort, in which the name of Jesus Christ, the name under -which the self-constituted Apostle enlisted all his followers,--might be -employed with advantage. - -When Paul and Silas were committed to prison, no such name as that of -"Jesus Christ" would as yet have served. Of "Jesus Christ" neither had -the keeper as yet heard anything, nor had the other prisoners. But, of -God, in some shape or other, they could not but have heard all of them: -_God_ accordingly was the name, by which at this time the sensibilities -of the persons in question were to be worked upon. When the earth -trembled, the jailor trembled likewise: he "came trembling and fell -down," ver. 29, before Paul and Silas. And brought them out, ver. 30, -and said, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" Now then was the time come -for the enlistment--for the enlistment in the spiritual warfare against -the devil and his angels: in the as yet new name of "the Lord Jesus -Christ" were these recruits accordingly enlisted, as now, for the -purpose of carnal warfare, in the name of King George. "And they said," -continues the narration, ver. 31, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and -thou shalt be saved, and thy house." - - -SECTION 6. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE V.--AT CORINTH, PAUL COMFORTED BY THE LORD IN AN -UNSEEN VISION, A.D. 54.--_Acts_ 18:7-11. - -A vision, being a species of miracle, could, no more than a pantomime, -have place without some expense. In the present case, as in any other, a -natural question is--What was the object to be accomplished, upon which -the expense--whatever it was--was bestowed? The answer is--The keeping -his attendants, whoever they were, in the necessary state of -obsequiousness: for no other is perceptible. To the dependants in Paul's -train, it was no very uncommon sentiment to be not quite so well -satisfied with the course he took, as he himself was. Corinth was at -this time the theatre of his labours: of the men, whoever they were, who -had staked their fortunes upon _his_, some,--the historiographer, as it -should seem, of the number,--there were, whose wish it was to change the -scene. In that Gentile city,--the chief ruler of the Jewish synagogue, -Crispus by name--this man, besides another man, of the name of Justus, -"whose house joined hard to" that same synagogue, had become his -converts: "and many of the Corinthians hearing, believed and were -baptized." Eyes, however, there were, in which the success, whatsoever -it was, was not yet enough to afford a sufficient warrant for his stay. -A vision was necessary, and a vision accordingly, or at least a -something, which was called by that name, made its appearance. "Thus -spake the Lord," says the historiographer, ver. 9, "Thus spake the Lord -to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not -thy peace.----For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt -thee; for I have much people in this city." Nor was the vision without -its effect; for, as the next verse informs us, ver. 11, "He continued -_there_ a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them." - -That which, on this occasion, may be believed without much difficulty -is, that the word thus taught by Paul was Paul's word: and, that which -may be believed with as little, by those, whoever they may be, who -believe in his original conversion-vision, is--that it was God's word -likewise. From Paul himself must the account of this vision have been -delivered to the historiographer: for, unless at the expense of a sort -of miracle, in the shape of an additional vision at least, if not in -some more expensive shape, no information of any such thing could have -reached him. In these latter days, no ghost is ever seen but in a -_tete-a-tete_: in those days, no vision, as far as appears, was ever -seen but in the same degree of privacy. A vision is the word in these -pages, because such is the word in the authoritative translation made of -the historiographer's. That which Paul is related to have heard, -is--what we have just seen as above: but that, upon this occasion -he saw anything--that he saw so much as a flash of light, this is -what we are not told: any more than by what other means he became so -well assured, that the voice which he heard, supposing him to have heard -a voice, was the Lord's voice. In these latter days,--inquiries, of -some such sort as these, would as surely be put, by a counsel who were -against the vision,--as, in the case of the Cock-lane Ghost, which -gave so much exercise to the faith of the archlexicographer, -were put by the counsel who were against the ghost; but, by a -sort of general understanding,--than which nothing can be more -convenient,--inquiries, such as these,--how strictly soever in season -when applied to the 19th century of the vulgar ear, are altogether -out of season, as often as they are applied to the commencement of it. - -As to the speaking by a vision, the only intelligible way, in which any -such thing can really have place, is that, which under the pressure of -necessity has been realized by the ingenuity of dramatists in these -latter days. Such is the mode employed, when the actors, having been -struck dumb by the tyranny of foolish laws, and consequently having no -auditors, convey to the spectators what information seems necessary, by -an appropriate assortment of gold letters on a silk ground: whether the -Lord who, on this occasion, according to Paul, spoke to the eyes of -Paul, came provided with any such implement, he has not informed us. -Without much danger of error, we may venture to assert the negative: -for, if such was the mode of converse, there was nothing but what might -happen without sign or wonder: and, on this supposition, no addition was -made by it, to those signs and wonders, which, as has been seen, it was -his way to make reference to, in the character of evidence. - - -SECTION 7. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE VI.--AT EPHESUS, DISEASES AND DEVILS EXPELLED BY -FOUL HANDKERCHIEFS.--_Acts_ 19:1-12. - -At Ephesus, Paul makes a stay of between two and three years; for "two -years" together, disputing "daily in the school of one Tyrannus," "so -that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both -Jews and Greeks. - -"And God," continues the history, "wrought special miracles by the hands -of Paul." - -These "_special_ miracles," what were they? Of the whole number, is -there so much as a single one particularized? No; not one. _Special_ as -they are, the following is the account, and the only account given of -them. "So that," continues the history, "from his body were brought unto -the sick, handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, -and the evil spirits went out of them." - -No circumstances whatever particularized, name of the person, name of -the place, description of the time--nothing, by means of which, in case -of falsity _in toto_, or incorrectness in circumstance, the misstatement -might have been exposed,--to what degree of credence, or so much as -consideration with a view to credence, vague generalities such as these, -can they present so much as the slightest claim? If allusions such as -these are to pass proof, where is the imposture, to which proofs--proofs -sufficient in number and value--can ever be wanting? - -Opposed as Paul was, wherever he went,--by gainsayers or -persecutors, or both--sometimes successful, sometimes altogether -unsuccessful,--sometimes in a slight degree successful--in so much as -any one occasion, either in this history, or in any one of his own -numerous Epistles, do we find so much as a single one of these -"_special miracles_," any more than of any other miracles, brought to -view by him, or so much as alluded to by him, in the character of proofs -of the commission to which he pretended? Answer: No, not one. - -Diseases cured, evil spirits driven out, by handkerchiefs and -aprons!--by handkerchiefs and aprons brought from a man's body! Diseases -cured and devils seared away by foul linen! By Jesus--by any one of his -Apostles--were any such implements, any such eye-traps ever employed? -No; never. As to diseases, if by such means a disease had been -_propagated_, the case would have been intelligible enough. But what was -wanted was a miracle: and this would have been no miracle. The price, -received by the holy wearer for any of these cast-off habiliments--the -price, of the precious effluvia thus conveyed--by any such little -circumstance, had it been mentioned, some light might have been cast on -what was done. - -One thing, indeed, may be stated with some assurance: and this is--that, -after a man, well or not well, had received one of these same dirty -handkerchiefs, or of these same dirty aprons, no evil spirit in him was -visible. - -One other thing may also be stated with no less confidence:--this is -that, infection out of the question, and supposing Paul free from all -contagious disease, if, without handkerchief or apron, the disease would -have had its exit,--by no such handkerchief or any such apron was the -exit of it prevented. - -Note, that all this time, according to this man, the author of the Acts, -he himself was in Paul's suite. Yet, taking credit for all these -miracles--taking credit thus for miracles out of number, not so much as -one of them all does he take upon himself to particularize.[78] - - -SECTION 8. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE VII.--AT EPHESUS, EXORCISTS SCEVAS -BEDEVILED.--_Acts_ 19:13-20. - -Thus it is that, as under the last head has been observed, of all these -alleged successful exhibitions, not so much as a single one is -particularized. - -In lieu, however, of these successes of Paul's, something of a story to -a certain degree particularized we have. But this is--what? a successful -performance of Paul's? No: but an unsuccessful attempt of certain -persons,--here termed exorcists,--who took upon themselves to act -against him in the character of competitors. - -Well, then: when the time came for demonstrating supernatural powers by -experiment, these exorcists--these impostors, no doubt it was intended -they should be deemed--made a very indifferent hand of it. Good: but the -true man, Did he go beyond these same impostors? Not he, indeed: he did -not so much as attempt it. But, let us hear his historiographer, who all -this while was at his elbow. Acts 19:13-20. "Then certain of the -vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had -evil spirits, the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by -Jesus, whom Paul preacheth. - -"And there were," continues the narrative, ver. 14, "seven sons of -Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so." Thus far the -narrative. - -The sons of the chief of the priests? Such men styled not only -_exorcists_ but _vagabonds_? If they are not here, in express terms, -themselves styled _vagabonds_, at any rate, what is here imputed to them -is the doing those same things, the doers of which have just been -styled, not only _exorcists_, but at the same time _vagabonds_. But let -us continue, "And the evil spirit," ver. 15, "answered and said, Jesus, -I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye?--And the man, in whom the evil -spirit was, leaped on them and overcame them, and prevailed against -them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." Thus far -the narrative. - -To whatsoever order of beings the hero of this tale may have -belonged;--whatsoever may have been his proper appellative,--a man with -two natures, one human, the other diabolical,--a man with a devil in -him, a madman,--or a man in his sound senses counterfeiting a diabolized -man or a madman,--the tale itself is surely an eminently curious one. Of -these human or superhuman antagonists of his--of these pretended masters -over evil spirits--the number is not less than seven: yet, in comparison -of him, so feeble and helpless are they all together, that he not only -masters them all seven, but gets them down, all seven together, and -while they are lying on the ground in a state of disablement, pulls the -clothes off their backs: but whether one after another, or all at the -same time, is not mentioned. Be this as it may, hereupon comes a -question or two. While he was stripping any one of them, what were the -others about all that time? The beating they received, was it such as to -render them senseless and motionless? No: this can scarcely have been -the case; for, when the devil had done his worst, and their sufferings -were at the height, out of the house did they flee, wounded as they -were. - -"Jesus I know, and Paul I know," says the mysterious hero, in the -fifteenth verse. Hereupon an observation or two calls for utterance. -Supposing him a man, who, knowing what he was about, counterfeited the -sort of being, who was half man, half devil,--one-half of this speech of -his, namely, _Paul I know_, may without much difficulty be believed. -But, upon this supposition, forasmuch as he acted with so much effect -against these rivals of Paul's,--a supposition not less natural, to say -the least of it, is--that to Paul he was not unknown, any more than Paul -to him: in a word, that on this occasion, between the evil spirit and -the self-constituted Apostle, a sort of understanding had place. Be this -as it may, how extraordinary a person must he not have been, to -undertake the complete mastery of seven men at once! Seven men, all of -them young enough to have a father, not only living, but officiating as -a priest: and at the same time, all of them old enough, if not to -exercise, mastery over evil spirits, at any rate to undertake it! - -In Paul's suite, all this time, as far as appears, was the author of -this narrative. The scene thus exhibited--was he then, or was he not, -himself an eyewitness of it? On a point so material and so natural, no -light has he afforded us. - -Another circumstance, not less curious, is--that it is immediately after -the story of the unnamed multitudes, so wonderfully cured by foul -clothes,--that this story of the devil-masters discomfited by a -rebellious servant of theirs, makes its appearance. Turn now to the -supposed true devil-master--on this score, what was it that he did? Just -nothing. The devil,--and a most mischievous one he was,--_he_ was doing -all this mischief:--the man, who had all such devils so completely in -his power, that they quit possession, and decamp at the mere sight or -smell of a dirty handkerchief or apron of his;--he, though seeing all -this mischief done,--done by this preėminently mischievous as well as -powerful devil,--still suffers him to go on;--and not any the least -restraint in any shape, does he impose upon him; but leaves him in -complete possession of that receptacle, which, according to the -narrative, he wanted neither the power nor the will to convert into an -instrument of so much mischief. Was it from Paul himself, that, on this -special occasion, for this special purpose, namely, the putting down -these presumptuous competitors, this mysterious being received so -extraordinary a gift? This is not said, but not improbably, as it should -seem, this was the miracle, which it was intended by the historian -should be believed. - -Occasions there are--and this we are desired to believe was one of -them--in which the impossibility of a thing is no bar to the knowledge -of it. - -"And this was known," continues the narrative, ver. 17, "And this was -known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus: and fear fell -on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified." - -Now, supposing this thing known, the fear stated as the result of it may -without difficulty be believed:--fear of being treated as those sons of -the chief of the Jewish priests had been: fear of the devil, by whom -those, his unequal antagonists, had been thus dealt with: fear of the -more skilful devil-master, under whose eye these bunglers had been thus -dealt with. - -But the name here said to be _magnified_--the name of the Lord -Jesus--how _that_ came to be _magnified_: in this lies all the while the -difficulty, and it seems no small one. - -The _name_, on this occasion, and thus said to be employed, whose was -it? It was, indeed, the Lord Jesus's. But was it successful? Quite the -contrary. It made bad worse. In the whole of this business, what was -there from which the name of Jesus could in any shape receive -magnification? Yes: if after the so eminently unsuccessful use, thus -made of it by those exorcists, a successful use had, on the same -occasion, been made of it by Paul. But, no: no such enterprise did he -venture upon. Madman, devil, counterfeit madman, counterfeit devil,--by -proxy, any of these he was ready to encounter, taking for his proxy one -of his foul handkerchiefs or aprons: any of this sort of work, if his -historiographer is to be believed, he was ready enough to do by proxy. -But, in person? No; he knew better things. - -"And many that believed," concludes this part of the narrative, ver. 18, -"came and confessed, and showed their deeds." Yes; supposing there were -any, by whom all this or any part of it was believed,--that they spoke -and acted in consequence, may be believed without much difficulty: and, -with this observation may the story, and the sort of elucidation -endeavouring to be given of it, be left to close. - - -SECTION 9. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE VIII.--MAGICAL BOOKS BURNT BY THE -OWNERS.--_Acts_ 19:19, 20. - -Such as it was, the supposable miracle last mentioned was not without -its supposed fruit: destruction of property, such as it was--destruction -of property, and to an amount sufficiently wonderful for the -satisfaction of any ordinary appetite for wonders. But let us see the -text. It follows in the verse 19, next after that, in which mention is -made, as in the last preceding section, of what was done by the "many -who believed." - -"Many of them also," ver. 19, "which used curious arts, brought their -books together, and burned them before all men; and they counted the -price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver." "So -mightily," ver 20, "grew the word of God, and prevailed." And there ends -the story of the books of curious arts. - -As to the sum total, nothing can be more precise: as to the items, could -the list of them be but produced, this would be indeed a treasure. As to -the denomination _magical_, given in the title of this section to those -books, styled books "_of curious arts_,"--in the text, short is the only -apology that need be made for it. Of the number of those _curious arts_ -could not, most assuredly, have been any of the arts included at present -under the name of _fine arts_; of the character of the _arts_ here -designated by the appellation of _curious_, a sufficient indication is -afforded by the story, by which the mention of them is, as above, -immediately preceded. They were the arts, by which effects were -undertaken to be produced, such as the self-constituted Apostle -undertook to produce by so much more simple means. How vast soever were -the collection, what would be the value of it,--the whole taken -together,--when so much more than could be done by everything which it -professed to teach, could be done by about a score or a dozen words, on -the single condition, that the lips by which they were uttered were -properly commissioned lips, not to speak of the still more simple -operation of the touch of a used handkerchief? - -Of the state of art and science in the wake of the great temple of -Diana, the representation here given is of itself no small curiosity. -Books of curious arts--all of them arts of imposture--books, employed, -all of them, in teaching the most secret of all secrets--books of this -description, so well known to all men, as to bear a market-price! a -market-price, so well known to all men, as if it were the price of bread -and butcher's meat: and, in the single town of Ephesus, these books so -numerous,--such the multitude or the value,--or rather the multitude as -well as value, of them taken in the aggregate, that the price, that had -been given for such of them as were thus given up, and which are only -part, and, as it should seem by the word _many_, not the larger part, of -the whole number, of those, which, at that same place, were at that same -time in existence,--was, upon summing up, found actually to amount, so -we are required to believe, to that vast sum. - -Of the aggregate, of the prices that had been paid, we are told, for -this smaller part of the aggregate number of the books, then and there -existing on this single subject,--inadequate, indeed, would our -conception be of it were we to regard it as not exceeding the value of -the whole library collected by King George the Third, and given by his -successor to the English part of his subjects. _Data_, though not for -numeration, yet sufficient for conception, are by no means wanting. To -consult Arbuthnot, or any successor of his, would be mere illusion; in -so far as the value of money is unknown, prices in money serve but to -deceive. History--and _that_ the most appropriate history--has furnished -us with much surer grounds. Thirty pieces of silver, Matt. 28:3-10, was -the purchase-money of the field, called _the potters' field_, bought for -a burying-ground, with the money received and returned by the traitor, -Judas, as the reward for his treachery. Suppose it no more than half an -acre. What, in English money of the present day, would be the value of -half an acre of land in or close by a closely built metropolis? A -hundred pounds would, assuredly, be a very moderate allowance. Multiply -the hundred pounds by fifty thousand, you have five millions; divide the -five millions by thirty, you have, on the above supposition, 166,666_l_. -and odd for the value of these books. Look to the English translation, -look to the Greek original, the pieces of silver are the same. - - -SECTION 10. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE IX.--AT TROAS, EUTYCHUS FOUND NOT TO BE -DEAD.--_Acts_ 20:7-12. - -In this story may be seen another example, of the facility with which, -when men are upon the hunt for miracles, something may be made out of -nothing: the most ordinary occurrence, by the addition of a loose word -or two, metamorphosed into a miracle. - -Paul, one evening, was treating his disciples with a sermon: he was at -the same time treating them, or they him, with a supper. The -architecture of the house was such, that, under favourable -circumstances, a fall might be got from the top of it, or thereabouts, -to the bottom, without much difficulty. If any difficulty there was, on -the occasion in question it was overcome. According to circumstances, -sermons produce on different minds different effects: from some, they -drive sleep; in others, they produce it. On the occasion in question, -the latter was the effect experienced by a certain youth. His station -is represented as being an elevated one:--so elevated that, after -the fall he got from it, it may be believed without difficulty, he -lay for some time motionless. Paul "went down" to him, we are told, -and embraced him. The youth received the embrace; Paul, the praise -of tender-heartedness:--this is what may be asserted with a safe -conscience, though it be without any special evidence. Trifling, -however, is the boon he received from that congregation, in comparison -of what he has been receiving from so many succeeding ones--the -reputation of having made so brilliant an addition to the catalogue of -his miracles. By the accident, whatever may have been the interruption, -given by it to the festivity, no end was put to it. Sermon and supper -ended, the rest of the congregation went their way: and with them went -the youth, to whom had anything serious happened, the historian would -scarcely have left us uninformed of it. - -On this occasion, between the hero and his historian, there is somewhat -of a difference. The historian will have it, that when Paul reached the -body he found it dead. Paul's own account of the matter is the direct -contrary: so the historian himself informs us. Here then the historian -and his hero are at issue. But, the historian, having the first word, -makes, if we may venture to say so, a rather unfair advantage of it, and -by this same first word gives a contradiction to what he makes his hero -say in the next. "He was taken up dead," says the historian, who was or -was not there: "His life is in him," says the preacher, who was there -beyond dispute. - -But let us see the text. - -ACTS 20:7-12. - - 7. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came - together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart - on the morrow, and continued his speech till midnight.--And there - were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered - together.--And there sat in a window a certain young man named - Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long - preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third - loft, and was taken up dead.--And Paul went down, and fell on him, - and embracing him, said, Trouble not yourselves, for his life is in - him.--When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, - and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he - departed.--And they brought the young man alive, and were not a - little comforted. - -At this time of day, any such contrariety might produce some -embarrassment; but, when it is considered how long ago the thing -happened, no such uneasy sensation is experienced. A supposition, by -which all embarrassment is excluded, is so immediately obvious, as to be -scarce worth mentioning. When Paul reached the body, the soul was -already in the other world; but, with the kisses goes a whisper, and the -soul comes back again. Whether from indolence or from archness, there is -something amusing in the course the historian takes for enlivening his -narration with these flowers: he sketches out the outline, but leaves it -to our imaginations to fill it up. - - -SECTION 11. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE X.--ON SHIPBOARD, PAUL COMFORTED BY AN ANGEL. - -ACTS 27:20-25. - - And when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small - tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be preserved was - thenceforth taken away.--But after long abstinence Paul stood in - the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened to me, - and not have loosed from Crete, but have prevented this harm and - damage.--And now I exhort you to be of good courage: for there - shall be no loss of life among you, but of the ship, _there shall - be loss_.--For there stood by me this night an angel of that God, - whose I am, and whom I serve, saying,--Fear not, Paul, thou must be - brought before Caesar; and lo, God hath graciously given to thee - all who sail with thee.--Wherefore, Sirs, be of good courage: for I - believe God, that it will be as it hath been told me. - -The sea being stormy, the crew are alarmed. The storm, however, is not -so violent, but that Paul is able to make a speech, and they to hear it. -To keep up their spirits, and, at the same time, let them see the sort -of terms he is upon with the Almighty, he tells them a story about an -angel. The angel had been sent to him upon a visit, and was but just -gone. The business of the angel was to quiet the mind of the Apostle. -The matter had been settled. The precious life was in no danger: and, -not only so, but, out of compliment to him, God had been pleased to -grant to him the lives of all who were happy enough to be in his -company. - -In the situation, in which so many lives are represented as being -placed,--no very severe condemnation can easily be passed upon any -little fraud, by which they might be saved. But, is it really to be -believed, that this angel, whom, in a deckless vessel, for the vessels -of _those_ times were not like the vessels of present times, no person -but Paul either saw or heard, was really sent express from the sky by -God Almighty, on such an errand? If not, then have we this additional -proof,--if any additional proof can be needed,--to help to satisfy -us,--that, where a purpose was to be answered, falsehood, or as he would -have called it _lying_, was not among the obstacles, by which Paul would -be stopped, in his endeavours to accomplish it. - - -SECTION 12. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE XI.--AT MALTA, A REPTILE SHAKEN OFF BY PAUL -WITHOUT HURT.--_Acts_ 28:1-6. - -A fire of sticks being kindled, a reptile, here called a viper, is -represented as "coming out of the heat," and fastening on Paul's hand. -On beholding this incident,--"the barbarous people," as the inhabitants -are called, whose hospitality kindled the fire for the relief of the -shipwrecked company, concluded that Paul was a murderer: and were, -accordingly, in expectation of seeing him "swollen, or fallen down dead -suddenly." Nothing of this sort happened, their next conclusion was, -_that he was a God_. As such, did these barbarians, as did the civilized -inhabitants of Lystra, sacrifice to him, or in any other way worship -him? No: these conceptions of theirs reported, there the story ends. - -Of this story, what is to be made? At this time of day, among Christians -in general, what we should expect to find is, that it passed for a -miracle. But, if by miracle is meant, not merely an accident, somewhat -singular and extraordinary,--but, by a special act of Almighty power, an -effect produced, by means disconformable to the uniform course of -nature,--it might be too much to say, that even by the reporter himself, -it is for the decided purpose of its being taken for miracle, that it is -brought to view. - -If, however, the design was not here, that the incident should be taken -for a miracle,--the story amounted to nothing, and was not worth the -telling. But, if it _is_ to be made into a miracle, where is the matter -in it, out of which a miracle can be made? - -The reptile--was it really a viper? Neither the barbarians of Malta, nor -the reporter of this story, nor in a word, at that time of day, any -other persons whatever, were either very complete or very correct, in -their conception of matters belonging to the field of natural history. -At present, reptiles are crawling creatures. At this time of day, when -_leeches_ are excepted, to fasten upon the part they have bitten is not -the practice with any reptiles that we know of. If, instead of _viper_, -the Greek word had been one that could have been translated -_leech_,--the story would have been probable enough, but, were it only -for that very reason, no miracle could have been made out of it. Shaken -down into the fire, that is, into the burning fuel,--a small reptile, -such as a leech, how brisk soever in the water, would be very apt to be -overpowered by the heat, before it could make its escape: with a reptile -of the ordinary size of a viper, this would hardly be the case. - -Be this as it may, "he felt,"--so says the story,--"he felt no harm." -How came it that he felt no harm? Because the Almighty performed a -miracle to preserve him from harm? So long as eyes are open, causes out -of number--causes that have nothing wonderful in them--present -themselves to view before this. "The beast," as it is translated, "was -not a viper":--if really a viper, it happened, at that moment, not to be -provided with a competent stock of venom: it had already expended it -upon some other object:--by some accident or other, it had lost the -appropriate tooth. Not to look out for others,--any mind that was not -bent upon having a miracle at any price, would lay hold of some such -cause as one of these, sooner than give itself any such trouble as that -of torturing the incident into a miracle. - -To bring under calculation the quantity of supernatural power necessary -to the production of a given effect is no very easy task. At any -rate,--without more or less of expense in a certain shape, nothing in -that way could ever be done. In the case here in question, what could -have been the object of any such expense? Was it the saving the -self-constituted Apostle the pain of a bite? The expense then, would it -not have been less--the operation, so to speak, more economical--had a -slight turn been given to Paul's hand, or to the course of the reptile? -But, in either case, neither would the name of the Lord, nor--what was -rather more material--that of his Apostle, have received that -glorification which was so needful to it. - -Any such design, as that of giving an unequivocal manifestation of -Almighty power, such as should stand the test of scrutiny, testifying -the verity of Paul's commission to the end of time,--any such design -could the incident have had for its final cause? A more equivocal,--a -less conclusive,--proof of the manifestation of supernatural power, -seems not very easy to imagine. - -Here then comes once more the so often repeated conclusion:--the -narrative began to be in want of a miracle, and the miracle was made. - -In those days, among that people, miracles were so much in course, that -without a reasonable number of them, a history would hardly have -obtained credence: at any rate it would not have obtained readers, and -without readers no history can ever obtain much credence. - - -SECTION 13. - -SUPPOSABLE MIRACLE XII.--AT MALTA, DEPUTY PUBLIUS'S FATHER -CURED.--_Acts_ 28:7-10. - -"In the same quarters," says the story--it follows immediately upon that -of the viper. "In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of -the island, whose name was _Publius_, who received us and lodged us -three days courteously.--And it came to pass, that the father of Publius -lay sick of a fever, and of a bloody flux, to whom Paul entered in and -prayed, and laid his hands on him and healed him.--So when this was -done, others also which had diseases in the island, came and were -healed.--Who also honoured us with many honours, and when we departed, -they laded us with such things as were necessary." - -Of the fevers, which, within the compass of any given spot, and any -given space of time, have place, it almost always happens, that a -certain number go off of themselves. Of, perhaps, all sorts of -fever,--at least of almost all sorts at present known, thus much is -agreed upon by all physicians:--they have at least two regular courses, -one of which terminates in death, the other or others in recovery. -Supposing the person in question to have had a fever,--what is pretty -clear is--that, if _of itself_, it would have taken a favourable -termination, there was nothing, in the forms employed by Paul, viz., -utterance of prayers and imposition of hands, that could have any -natural tendency to _cause_ it to take an unfavourable one. - -But--the course afterwards taken by the fever, was there anything in it -to distinguish it from the ordinary favourable course? If not, in that -case, so far from miraculous, there is nothing that is so much as -wonderful in the case. - -Note here two things--the narrator one of the party; the narrative so -loose and uncircumstantial. But _to see_ is one thing; _to narrate_, -another. - -Three days, it seems, and no more, did Paul and his suite stay at the -house of this Publius. Was it during that time, or not till afterwards, -that Paul performed on him those ceremonies, of which healing is -represented as having been the consequence? Was it within that same -space of time, or not till afterwards, that the healing is supposed to -have taken place? As to the English word _healing_, it cannot be accused -of being indecisive. But in some languages they have words, by which a -very convenient veil is thrown over the result. In the languages in -question, for the endeavour to heal, whether successful or unsuccessful, -the word employed is the same. The Latin affords one of these convenient -words, _curo_. The Greek has another, _iasato_, and in the Greek -original of this history, this is the word employed. - -In a case where a ceremony and nothing else is trusted to, it being -supposed that the patient really has the disease, the safe and prudent -course is, so to order times and seasons, that between the time of -performing the ceremony, and the time at which restoration to health is -expected to take place, the time shall have come for the practitioner to -have shifted quarters; for, in this case, this is an interval more or -less considerable during which it being taken for granted that the -desired result will take place of course, reward, in the shapes of -profit and honour, will pour in upon the scientific head. - -Here, as elsewhere, not only no _symptoms_ are particularized, but no -_place_ is mentioned: no _time_ is particularized, no _persons_ are -mentioned as _percipient witnesses_: even the individual who was the -subject of the cure is not mentioned by name. - -As to the givers of the supposed honours and presents--persons are -indeed mentioned:--mentioned, but no otherwise than by the name of -_others_. One individual alone is particularized: particularized as -having received the benefit of these ceremonies. This is the father of -Publius. This man, to use the phraseology of the passage, was _also -healed_. But--this man who was he? He was no less a person than the -father of the chief man in the island. Well then, what are the honours, -what the allotment of "_such things as were necessary_?" What were the -proofs of gratitude, afforded by this man, who was so much better able -to afford such presents, than any of those other persons cured? By such -proofs of remuneration, some evidence--some circumstantial -evidence,--supposing them exhibited at a proper time, would have been -afforded, in proof of the reality of the service. But, neither by the -person thus spoken of as healed, nor by his son--the chief man in the -island,--is it said that any such proofs were afforded. For such a -silence when the case of an individual was brought to view, coupled with -the express declaration made, of gifts presented by persons -unnamed,--three cases cannot but present themselves, as being any one of -them more probable, than that, on this occasion, a real miracle was -performed. One is--that there was no disease, perhaps no such person: -another is, that though there was a disease, it went off of itself: the -third is, that it never went off at all. - -One thing may be asserted without much fear of contradiction: -and that is, that in this country, if in terms such as these, -accounts were inserted in the public prints;--accounts of diseases -cured without medicine;--diseases cured by nothing but words and -gesticulations;--though the accounts given were ever so numerous, not -the smallest notice would they be thought worthy of,--not the smallest -attention would they receive from anyone, unless it were for the joke's -sake. - -What is more,--numerous are the publications, in which, encompassed -with circumstantiality in all manner of shapes, not only the names of -the fortunate patients are mentioned, but under the signatures of those -patients declarations made, assuring the public of the reality of the -cure,--and yet, when at the same time, by competent persons, due inquiry -has been made, it turns out after all that no such cure has been -performed. - -Accounts, which would not be believed were they to come out at a time of -so widely diffused knowledge, are they to be believed, merely because -the time they belonged to,--facts and accounts together,--was, as to all -such matters, a time of universal ignorance? The less a man understands -the subject, the more firmly is he to be believed, as to everything he -says of it? Or is it that, between then and now, _men_ and _things_ have -undergone a total change? and, if so, when did it take place? - - -SECTION 14. - -CONCLUSION: THE SUPPOSABLE MIRACLES CLASSED AND SUMMED UP. - -Inferences,--conveying more or less of instruction,--may, perhaps, be -found deducible,--at any rate our conception of the whole series taken -together, will be rendered so much the clearer, by bringing the same -supposed marvels again under review, arranged in the order of time. - -For this purpose, the time may be considered as divided into three -periods. - -In the first are included--those, which are represented as having had -place during the time when at the outset of his missionary expedition, -Paul had Barnabas for his associate. Of these there are two, viz. 1. At -Paphos, A.D. 45, Sorcerer Elymas blinded. 2. At Lystra, A.D. 46, cripple -cured. Of this part of the expedition, the commencement, as in the -current account, placed in the year 45. - -In the second period are included--those, which are represented as -having had place, during the time when Paul, after his separation from -Barnabas, had Silas for his associate, and the unnamed author of the -Acts for an attendant. This ends with his arrival at Jerusalem, on the -occasion of his fourth visit--the Invasion Visit. - -In the current accounts, this event is placed in the year 60. Within -this period, we have the seven following supposed marvels: 1. At -Philippi, A.D. 53, divineress silenced. 2. At Philippi, A.D. 53, -earthquake: Paul and Silas freed from prison. 3. At Corinth, A.D. 54, -Paul comforted by the Lord in an unseen vision. 4. At Ephesus, A.D. 56, -diseases and devils expelled by Paul's foul handkerchiefs. 5. At -Ephesus, A.D. 55, Exorcist Scevas bedeviled. 6. At Ephesus, A.D. 56, -magic books burned by the owners. 7. At Troas, A.D. 59, Eutychus found -not to be dead. - -In the third period are included--those which are represented as having -had place, in the interval between his forced departure from Jerusalem -for Rome, and his arrival at Rome. - -In the current accounts, this event is placed in the year 62. Within -this concluding period, we have the following supposed marvels: 1. On -shipboard, A.D. 62, Paul comforted by an angel. 2. At Malta, A.D. 62, a -reptile shaken off by Paul without his being hurt. 3. At Malta, A.D. 62, -Deputy Publius's father cured by Paul of some disorder. Year of all -these three last marvels, the same as that of Paul's arrival at Rome. -Total number of supposed marvels, twelve. - -To the first of these three periods belong two supposed marvels, which, -supposing them to have any foundation in truth, present themselves as -being, in a greater degree than most of the others, exposed to the -suspicion of contrivance. A moderate sum, greater or less according to -the state more or less flourishing of his practice, might suffice to -engage a sorcerer, for a few minutes or hours, to declare himself -struck blind: a still more moderate sum might suffice to engage an -itinerant beggar, to exhibit himself with one leg tied up, and after -hearing what was proper to be heard, or seeing what was proper to be -seen, to declare himself cured. - -This was the period, during which Paul had Barnabas, or Barnabas Paul, -for an associate. In these cases, if fraud in any shape had place,--it -is not without reluctance, that any such supposition could be -entertained, as that Barnabas--the generous, the conciliating, the -beneficent, the persevering Barnabas--was privy to it. But, times and -temptation considered, even might this supposition be assented to, on -rather more substantial grounds, than that which stands in competition -with it: namely, that for the production of two effects,--comparatively -so inconsiderable, and not represented as having been followed by any -determinate effects of greater moment,--the ordinary course of nature -was, by a special interposition of Almighty power, broken through and -disturbed. - -Is it or is it not a matter worth remarking--that, of all these twelve -supposed occurrences, such as they are,--in not more than four is the -hero represented,--even by his own attendant, historian, and -panegyrist,--as decidedly taking any active part in the production of -the effect? These are--the blinding of the sorcerer, the cure of the -cripple, the silencing of the divineress, the curing of Deputy Publius's -father: the three first, at the commencement of this supposed -wonder-working part of his career; the last,--with an interval of -fifteen years between that and the first,--at the very close of it. In -the eight intermediate instances, either the effect itself amounted to -nothing, or the hero is scarcely represented as being instrumental in -the production of it. These are--the being let out of prison after an -earthquake had happened--being comforted, whether by God or man, in a -vision or without one--having handkerchiefs, by which, when he had done -with them, diseases and devils were expelled--being present when a gang -of exorcists were beaten and stripped by a devil, whom they had -undertaken to drive out of a man--being in a place, in which some -nonsensical books were burned by their owners--being in a house, in -which a youth said to be dead, was found not to be so--being comforted -by an angel, who had the kindness to come on board ship -uninvited--shaking off a reptile, without being hurt by it. - -Whatever store may be set at this time of day upon all these marvels, -less cannot easily be set upon them by anybody than was by Paul himself. -For proof, take the whole tenor of his own Epistles, as well as the -whole tenor of his visions, as delivered by his attendant. Numberless as -were the scrapes he got himself into,--numberless as were the hosts of -enemies he everywhere made himself,--open as all ears were to everything -that presented itself as marvellous,--unable as men were to distinguish -what could be done from what could not be done,--pressing as was at all -times the need he had of evidence, that could arrest the hands of -enemies,--on no occasion do we find him calling into his aid, so much as -a single one of all these supposed irrefragable evidences. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[77] _And they had also John to their minister_, 13:5. What _John_ was -this? Answer, see chap. 15:37 to 40. This appears to have been that -John, whose surname was Mark, who was the cause of the angry separation -of Paul from Barnabas. - -[78] Another branch of his trade, already mentioned in this same -chapter, as having been carried on by him in this same place, namely, -Ephesus,--and which, where circumstances created a demand for the -article, appears to have been more profitable than that of expelling -devils or diseases,--is _that_, of which the Holy Ghost was the subject. -This power of conferring--that is to say, of being thought to -confer--the Holy Ghost,--such, and of such sort was the value of it, -that Simon Magus, as there may be occasion to mention in another -chapter, had, not less than one-and-twenty years before this, offered -the Apostles money for it. Acts 8:18-24, A.D. 34. This power, two -preceding verses of the same 19th chapter, namely the 5th and 6th, -represent Paul as exercising: and, whatsoever was the benefit derived, -twelve is the number of the persons here spoken of as having received -it. - -Acts 19:5-7. After "they," the above twelve, v. 7, disciples, v. 9, -"were baptized, v. 5, in the name of the Lord Jesus;" when Paul, v. 6, -"had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they -spake with tongues, and prophesied." Here then, if, by thus laying on of -hands, it is by _Paul_ that any operation is performed, it is the -conferring of "the Holy Ghost." But this power, whence had Paul received -it? Not from Jesus, had the self-constituted Apostle received this gift, -whatever it was, any more than he had baptism, by which ceremony, as -appears from Acts 8:16, it was regularly preceded: as in the case of the -magician it actually had been. Not from Jesus: no such thing is anywhere -so much as pretended. Not from the Apostles, or any of them; from two, -for example, by commission from the rest--as in the case of Peter and -John, Acts 8:14-19:--no such thing is anywhere so much as pretended. In -no such persons could this--would this--their self-declared superior, -have vouchsafed to acknowledge the existence, of a power in which he had -no share. On this occasion, as on every other, independently of the -Apostles did he act, and in spite of the Apostles. - -As to the "_speaking with tongues and prophesying_," these are -pretensions, which may be acknowledged without much difficulty. -_Tongues_ are the organs most men speak with. As to _prophesying_, it -was an operation that might as well be performed after the fact as -before the fact: witness in Luke 22:64, "Prophesy, who is it that smote -thee?" Read the Bible over from beginning to end, a _prophet_, whatever -else be meant, if there be anything else meant, you will find to have -been _a politician: to prophesy_ was to talk _politics_. Make a new -translation, or, what would be shorter, a list of _corrigenda_, and -instead of _prophet_ put _politician_,--a world of labour, now employed -in explanations, will be saved. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - - _Acts, part false, part true: Author not Saint Luke._ - - -SECTION 1. - -BY THE FALSE PARTS, THE GOSPEL NOT AFFECTED: MOST PARTS TRUE. - -In regard to the Acts, a notion, generally, not to say universally, -received, is--that it had Saint Luke for its author: and that, -accordingly, it may with propriety be regarded as a continuation of the -Gospel of that Evangelist, written by the same hand. Were this -conception a correct one, whatsoever shock were given to the credit of -the Acts, would unavoidably extend itself to the Gospel history: at any -rate, to that part of it which bears the name of Luke. - -Before this chapter is at an end,--the reader, if the author is not much -mistaken, will not only be convinced that that opinion is untenable, but -see no small ground for wondering, how by any person, by whom any survey -had been taken of the two objects in that point of view, any such notion -should ever have come to be entertained. - -Another memento, of which, if made before, even the repetition may in -this place, perhaps, be not without its use, is--that, from nothing that -is here said, is any such conception meant to be conveyed, as that the -history called _The Acts_, is from beginning to end, like that of -Geoffrey of Monmouth's _History of Britain_, a mere falsity. In a -great part, perhaps even by much the greatest, it is here looked upon as -true: in great part true, although in no inconsiderable part incorrect, -to say no worse: and, in particular, on every point, on which the colour -of the marvellous is visible. As to the sort and degree of evidence due -to it, one general assumption there is, by which the whole of this -inquiry has, from first to last, been guided. This is--that, in relation -to one and the same work, whatsoever be the subject of it, credence may, -without inconsistency or impropriety, by one and the same person, be -given and withholden: given, on this or that occasion; withholden, on -this or that other occasion: given, in so far as the truth of the -contents seems probable; withholden, as far as it seems improbable. - -For the support of this assumption,--all that, on the present occasion, -can be offered, is--an appeal to universal experience. As to the general -foundations of the law of evidence,--for any excursion into so wide an -expanse, neither this chapter nor any other part of this work would, it -has been thought, be generally regarded as a proper place. What had been -written on that subject has accordingly been discarded. - - -SECTION 2. - -TIME BETWEEN RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION--ACTS CONTRADICTS LUKE. - -In the first place then, Saint Luke cannot have been the author of the -Acts. - -The reason is very simple. In respect of the time between Jesus's -resurrection and his ascension,--the one of these narratives gives one -account, the other, another account: and, so wide is the difference -between the two, that by one and the same person they could not have -both been given. According to Saint Luke, the time during which, after -his resurrection, and before his ascension, Jesus was seen by his -disciples, extended not beyond _one_ day: according to the Acts, it -extended as far as _forty_ days. By Saint Luke, that the time was not -more than a day, is not indeed said in so many words; but upon -examination of the text, it will be found, that, consistently with the -particulars given, no longer duration can be assigned to it. In the -Acts, that the time, during which he continued showing himself after his -_passion_, Acts 1:3,[79] to the Apostles, was "_forty days_," is -affirmed in those very words. - -The point here in question, be it observed, is not _truth_, but -_consistency_: not the truth of either of the two accounts; but their -consistency, the one with the other: and, instead of consistency, so -palpable is the inconsistency, that the conclusion is,--by no one man, -who did not, on one or other of the two occasions, intend thereby to -deceive, can both of them, morally speaking, have been penned. - -Now for the proof. First, let us hear Saint Luke: it is all of it in his -last chapter--the 24th. In verse 10, mention is made of certain women, -three named, others not named. In verses 2 and 3, "they entered into," -it is said, "the sepulchre," ver. 2, "and found not the body of the Lord -Jesus." In ver. 9, "they returned," it is said, "from the sepulchre, and -told all these things to the eleven, and to all the rest." Thereupon it -is, that, of all them, "two" ver. 13, of whom Cleopas, ver. 18, was one, -"went _that same day_ to Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about sixty -furlongs: and while they communed together," it was that "Jesus," ver. -15, "drew near, and went with them," whereupon between him and them a -conversation therein reported, ensued. The conversation,--the same -conversation, as reported in verses from 16 to 27,--continues till their -arrival at the village, ver. 28, namely, Emmaus, as per ver. 13. -According to the next verse, ver. 29, "the day," namely, that same day, -"being far spent," at that same place, "he went in to tarry with them," -they having "constrained him." Then also it is that, ver. 30, "he sat at -meat with them:" and, ver. 31, "they knew him, and he vanished out of -their sight." Moreover, "at that same hour" it is, ver. 33, that "they -returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them -that were with them, saying," ver. 34, "The Lord is risen indeed, and -hath appeared unto Simon." Then it is also, that, ver. 36, they -reporting what had passed, "as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in -the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you." Thereupon -follows a conversation, reported in verses from 37 to 49, in the course -of which he, ver. 43, "did eat before them." Then it is, that, -immediately after the last words, which, in ver. 49, he is stated to -have uttered, come these words, ver. 50, "And he led them out as far as -to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to -pass," says the next verse, ver. 51, "while he blessed them, he was -parted from them, and carried up into heaven. And they worshipped him," -continues the next verse, ver. 52, "and returned to Jerusalem with great -joy." And, with the next verse, which says, "they were continually in -the temple, praising and blessing God,"--the chapter, and with it the -Gospel, ends. - -So much for Saint Luke. Now for the author of the Acts, chapter 1, ver. -3, "To whom," says he, namely the Apostles, ver. 2, "he," namely Jesus, -ver. 1, "showed himself alive after his passion by many infallible -proofs, being seen of them _forty_ days..." - -Thus while, according to the author of the Acts the time--during which -Jesus was seen by the persons in question was not less than _forty_ -days,--according to Saint Luke, the whole time, during which this same -Jesus was seen by those same persons, was not more than _one_ day. And -who was this historian, who, on the supposition of the identity, -speaking of this all-important scene, on one occasion says, that it -lasted no more than _one_ day; and, on another occasion, professing, -Acts 1:1, to be giving continuance to such his former discourse, -declares, in so many words, that it lasted "forty days"? It is Saint -Luke, one of the Apostles of Jesus;--one, of the eleven, before whose -eyes, everything of that which has just been read, is stated as having -passed. - -With all this before him, does the editor of the edition of the Bible, -called Scholey's Bible, in a note to the commencement of the Acts, very -composedly assure us, that "from its style, and other internal marks, it -is evidently the production of Luke": quoting for his authority, Bishop -of Lincoln's _Elements of Christian Theology_, vol. 4. Who this same -Bishop of Lincoln was, by whose Elements of Christian Theology, -instruction such as this is administered, let those inquire, in whose -eyes the profit of the inquiry promises payment for the trouble. From -any such particular inquiry, the profit will perhaps appear the less, -the greater appears the probability, that, in the minds of all -Bishops,--from the first that ever committed his instructions in -theology to the press, down to those by whom the Christian world is -illuminated at this present writing,--the same sort of discernment, or -the same sort of sincerity, has all along had place. - -When 20,000_l_, a year--or though it were but 20_l_, once told--or, -though it were but salvation from everlasting torment--is to be gained; -gained, by the perception, that two men, the one of whom writes in -point-blank contradiction to the other, are one and the same man,--the -task is not, naturally speaking, of the number of those, by the -performance of which much wonder need be excited. - -The sort of improvement, made by the author of the later history, upon -the account given in the earlier, has now been seen. Would anyone wish -to see the inducement? He will not have far to look for it. For making -the impression, which it was his desire to make,--the _one_ day, -allotted to the occurrence by one of the company, was not, in the -estimation of the anonymous writer, sufficient. To render it sufficient, -he calls in the powers of arithmetic: he multiplies the _one_ by forty; -and thus, to the unquestionable satisfaction of a host of -mathematicians,--Barrow, Newton, and so many other mathematical divines, -not to speak of Locke, of the number--thus is done what is required to -be done: thus, by so simple an operation, is the probative force of the -occurrence multiplied forty-fold.[80] - - -SECTION 3. - -AS TO ASCENSION, ACTS IS INCONSISTENT WITH LUKE. - -Thus far, the embellishments, made by our anonymous artist, have had for -their ground the work of the original hand: meaning always Saint Luke, -with whom the common error has identified him. Here comes an instance, -in which the whole is altogether of his own workmanship. This is the -story of the "two men in white apparel," by whom, what, in his eyes, -were the deficiencies in the instruction offered by Jesus to the -witnesses of his ascension, may be seen supplied. - -Still the same delicacy as before: by his own hand no miracle made: only -a quantity of matter, fit for this purpose, put into the hands of -readers; and to their imagination is left a task so natural and so, -agreeable. - -Scarcely, after finishing his instructions to his Apostles, has Jesus -ceased to be visible to them, when, if Acts is to be believed, "two men -in white apparel"--two men, _to_ whom none of them were known, and _by_ -whom none of them were known, make their appearance, and from nobody -knows where. But these same two men in white, who are they? "Oh!" says -_Imagination_, for the hints we have already seen given to her are quite -sufficient, "Oh!" says Imagination, "they were angels. Think for a -moment, and say what else they can have been. Had they been men, could -they have been thus unknowing and unknown? could their appearance have -been thus sudden? not less sudden than the vanishing of a spirit? not to -speak of the beautiful white clothes you see they had,--and would they -have been thus dressed? To believe them men, would be to believe in -direct contradiction to Saint Luke; for, in his account of the matter, -as you may see, from first to last, not two men were there in the whole -party, that were not in the most intimate manner known to each other. -But though, by Saint Luke's account, so decided a negative is put upon -all men-strangers, yet nothing is said about angels. Angels, therefore, -they may have been,--you may venture to say they _were_: and the report -made by all persons present, remains nevertheless uncontradicted." - -"Another proof, that they cannot have been men, and that therefore they -were angels. Of these beings, who were then unknown to all the company, -what was the errand? It was no less than the giving to the whole company -of the companions of Jesus,--of that Jesus, by whom, after giving to -them such instructions as he thought fit to give to them, they had but -that moment been left,--the giving to them some _other_ instructions, -which he had not thought fit, or else had forgot, to give to them. But, -as by no men-strangers could any such conceit have been entertained, as -that, by the party in question, any such instructions would be listened -to,--so, by no men-strangers can it be that any such instructions were -given:--an additional proof that they cannot have been anything but -angels." Thus readily does the imagination of the reader, answer with -her logic, the call given to her by the imagination of the author. - -Angels if they were, they appear not to have been very knowing ones. -Sent, for the purpose of giving information,--and such information, -nothing of that which was known to all those, to whom they came to give -it,--nothing, if they themselves are to be believed, was known to them. -Addressing themselves to the company--the company whom Jesus had but -that moment left,--"Whom saw ye going up," say they, ver. 11, "into -heaven"? Then comes the information, which Jesus, on his departure, -Jesus, we are expected to believe, has not thought fit, or else had -forgot, to give. "This same Jesus," say they, ver. 11, "which is taken -up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen -him go into heaven." Here we have the information and--they to whom it -was given,--what can they have been the better for it?--"Shall so come." -Yes: but when and where, and to what end, and what to do? points these, -as to all which, the information is altogether mute. - -One other proof is yet behind. What has been seen as yet is in the first -chapter. The tenth of his eight and twenty chapters is not finished, -where, speaking in agreement with Saint Luke, he now disagrees with -himself. On this occasion, it is by the mouth of Peter that he speaks. -"God," he makes Peter say, Acts 10:41, "God showed him," Jesus, -"openly."--Showed him, let anybody ask, and to whom? "Not," says he, "to -all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us who -did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead." Thus again it -is, that for any men-strangers, not a particle of room is left. But, -for angels, considering the materials they are made of, no quantity of -room can be insufficient: therefore, once more, nothing can these men -have been but angels. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[79] As to the word _passion_, that by this word could not have been -meant the same event as that denoted by the word _resurrection_, cannot -but be acknowledged. But, with regard to the alleged inconsistency, this -distinction will not be found to make any difference: for, as will be -seen, it is not till after his resurrection, that, by Saint Luke, Jesus -is represented as having begun to show himself. - -[80] In chapter XII. of this work, section 1, notice has already been -taken, of a similar operation as having been performed by Paul himself: -of the improvement made in _that_ case, the subject was the number of -the witnesses: according to the real Apostle, who was one of the -company, the number, as we have seen, was eleven, and a few more: this -number, whatever it was, the self-constituted Apostle, who knew nothing -about the matter, took in hand, and multiplied till he had raised it to -five hundred. Thus, with or without concert, with like effect,--and it -is almost needless to say, with the same object, and from the same -inducement,--may be seen the master and the journeyman, working on -different occasions, but with well-matched industry, at the -manufacturing of evidence. Add now together the results of the two -operations, and note the aggregate. Number of witnesses, according to -Luke, say,--for the sake of round numbers,--twenty; though there seems -little reason to suppose it so great: addition made to it by Paul, 480. -Number of days,--during which, as above, they continued seeing and -hearing what they saw and heard,--according to Saint Luke, but one: -according to Paul's attendant, 40. Multiply together the two -improvements, that is to say, the 480 by the 40, you have 19,200 for the -sum total of probative force, added by the arguments of the author of -the Acts to the amount of the original quantity, as reported by Saint -Luke. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - - _Law Report.--Jews versus Paul: Trials five, with Observations._ - - -SECTION 1. - -INTRODUCTION. - -On the occasion of what passed at the Temple, the report of a great -law-case,--to speak in modern and English language,--the case of _The -Jews against Paul_, was begun. The judicatory before which he underwent -that trial,--partly before the Jewish multitude, partly before the Roman -chief by whom he was rescued,--was a sort of mixed and extempore -judicatory, something betwixt a legal and an illegal one: for, as has -been seen in the case of Saint Stephen, and as may be seen in the case -of the woman taken in adultery, and moreover, in the body of the law -itself, a sort of mob-law might, not altogether without ground, be -stated as forming part and parcel of the law of Moses. To this sort of -irregular trial, succeeded, before the definite judgment was pronounced, -no fewer than four others, each of them before a tribunal, as regular as -any the most zealous supporter of what is called legitimacy could -desire. In execution of this definitive judgment it was, that Paul was -sent, on that half-forced, half-voluntary expedition of his, to Rome: at -which place, on his arrival at that capital, the Acts history closes. Of -the reports of these several trials, as given in the Acts,--follows a -summary view, accompanied with a few remarks for elucidation. - - -SECTION 2. - -TRIAL I. PLACE, JERUSALEM TEMPLE.--JUDICATORY, THE MIXED -MULTITUDE.--_Acts_ 22:1 to 21. - -Scene, the Temple. Judges, prosecutors, and--stated as intended -executioners, a Jerusalem multitude. Sole class, by whom any declared or -special cause of irritation had been received, the Christianized Jews, -provoked by Paul's preachings against the law of the land, to which they -as yet maintained their adherence; by his intrusion upon their society, -by which, were it only for his former persecution, he could not but be -abhorred; and by the notorious perjury he was at that moment committing, -having chosen to commit it, rather than cease to obtrude upon them the -object of their abhorrence. - -Of the particulars of the accusation nothing is said: but, the above -circumstances, and the subsequent charges made upon him the next day by -the constituted authorities,--who immediately took up the matter, and -carried on a regular prosecution against him,--sufficiently show, what, -if expressed, would have been the purport of them. By the preparations -made for execution, we shall see broken off the defence, before it had -come, if ever it was designed to come, to the substance of the alleged -offence. - -Points touched upon in it are these:-- - -1. Defendant's birthplace, Tarsus; parentage, Jewish; religious -persuasion, Pharasaical; education, under Gamaliel, verse 3. - -2. Part, borne by him, in the persecution of the Christians, when -Stephen was stoned: his commission for that purpose stated, and the High -Priest and Elders called to witness, verses 4 and 5. - - N.B. Time of _that_ same commission, according to the received - chronology, not less than 26 years before this. - -3. Story, of that first vision, of which so much has been seen: namely, -that from whence his conversion was dated: occasion, his journey to -Damascus, for the execution of that same commission, verses 6 to 16. - -4. Story of his trance: for this see Chapter IV. §. 7. In this state, -"the Lord" seen by him.--_Lord to Defendant._ "Get thee quickly out of -Jerusalem, for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me." -_Defendant, to Lord._ Informing or reminding said Lord of the details of -the part borne by said defendant in the persecution of Saint -Stephen.--_Lord to Defendant._ "Depart, for I will send thee far hence -unto the Gentiles." Note, Defendant cut short: Lord's patience no match -for defendant's eloquence. - -_Judges and executioners._--At the word _Gentiles_, exclamation:--"Away -with him ... he is not fit to live":--clothes cast off, as in Stephen's -case, as if to prepare for stoning him.[81] "Dust thrown into the air." -Present, chief captain Claudius Lysias, who commands him to be "brought -into the castle," and "examined by scourging." While, for this purpose, -they are binding him, on Defendant crying out, "_I am a Roman citizen_," -the binding ceases, no scourging commences: the next day he is released, -and the "chief priests and all their council" are "sent for," and -Defendant is "set before them." - - -SECTION 3. - -TRIAL II. JUDICATORY, JERUSALEM COUNCIL-BOARD.--_Acts_ 23:1 to 10. - -Judges, chief priests in council assembled: present, the high priests. -Prosecutors, the said judge: other prosecutors, as far as appears, none. -In modern Rome-bred law, this mode of procedure, in which the parts of -judge and prosecutor are performed by the same person, is styled the -_inquisitorial_: in contradistinction to this, that in which the part of -prosecutor is borne by a different person, is stiled the _accusatorial_. - -Charges or questions put, not stated. - -_Defendant._ "I am a Pharisee ... the son of a Pharisee. Of the hope and -resurrection of the dead I am called in question." - -Thereupon, ver. 9, "great cry" ...--"Great dissention." "Chief captain, -fearing lest," Defendant, "Paul should have been pulled in pieces of -them," inuendo the said judges, "commands soldiers," who take him back -into the castle. - -"Cry? dissention?"--whence all this? Acts has not here been explicit -enough to inform us. As to Defendant's plea, that it was for believing -in the resurrection that he was prosecuted,--what could not but be -perfectly known to him was,--that it neither was true, nor by -possibility could be so. Among said Judges, parties two--Pharisees and -Sadducees: Pharisees the predominant. "The Sadducees," on this occasion, -says ver. 8, "say there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit; -but the Pharisees confess both." Prosecuting a Pharisee for preaching -the resurrection, meaning always the general resurrection, would have -been as if a Church-of-Englandist Priest were indicted in the King's -Bench, for reading the Athanasian creed. Accordingly--it was a stratagem -of the Defendant's--this same misstatement: such it is expressly stated -to be:--when defendant "_perceived_," ver. 6, "that the one part were -Sadducees, and the other Pharisees,"--then it was that he came out with -it: and, already it has been seen, how effectually it answered its -purpose. - -Enter once more the history of the _trance_. Note here the sudden -termination of Defendant's first Jerusalem visit, alias his -_Reconciliation Visit_, and turn back to Chapter IV. §. 7, Cause of -it,--historian speaking in his own person--"Grecians," Acts 9:29, "went -about to slay him," for disputing with them:--historian, speaking, to -wit, here, in defendant's person, Christianized Jews' disbelief of his -conversion, and of that vision story of his, that he produced in -evidence of it. It is on the occasion of the just-mentioned Temple -trial, that Defendant is made to come out with it. On that occasion, as -hath been seen, it was of no use: but, in this second trial, it will be -seen to be of prime use. That it was told over again at this trial is -not indeed expressly said: but, that it was so is sufficiently manifest. -This and no other is the handle which his supporters in the council lay -hold of: and this they could not have done, had he not, as will be seen -presently, put it into their hands. "The Scribes," says ver. 9, "that -were of the Pharisees' part, arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil -in this man; but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not -fight against God." Well then--this spirit, or this angel, who was he? -Who but that spirit, whom defendant had so manifestly told them of, and -who was no other than that "_Lord_" of his, whom he had seen in the -trance: in the trance, which, while the multitude were beating him, -invention had furnished him with for the purpose. - -Mark now, how apposite a weapon the Pharisees found, in this same -trance, in their war against the Sadducees. As to Jesus,--though from -first to last, so far from being recognized by their sect, he had been -the object of that enmity of theirs under which he sunk,--yet, so far -as, in general terms, he preached the _general_ resurrection,--his -doctrine not only agreed with theirs, but was of no small use to them: -it was of use to them, against those political rivals, whose opposition -to their sect was the sole cause of everything that was troublesome to -it. As to Paul,--had he confined himself, to the speaking of Jesus's -_particular_ resurrection,--this indeed was what no Pharisee could be -disposed to admit: but if, by Paul or anyone else, Jesus, or any other -person, was at any time seen in an incorporeal state,--here was a piece -of evidence on their side. With relation to any interview of the -_Apostles_ with Jesus after his resurrection, nothing that Paul had to -say--to say with truth or colour of truth--was anything more than -_hearsay_ evidence: but, as to that, which on this occasion, he had been -relating about the Lord, whom he had seen in his trance,--this, how -false soever, was not only _direct_, but _immediate_ evidence: evidence, -in the delivery of which, the _relating_ witness stated himself to have -been, with relation to the alleged fact in question, a _percipient_ -witness. - -That, on this occasion, Paul dwelt, with any particularity, on the -appearance of Jesus in the flesh after his resurrection, is not said: -and, as it would not have contributed anything to the purpose, the less -particular the safer and the better. _Lord_ or not _Lord_, that which -appeared was at any rate a _spirit_: and for the war against the -Sadducees, a spirit was all that was wanted: no matter of what sort. - - -SECTION 4. - -TRIAL III. PLACE, CĘSAREA.--_Acts_ 24:1-23. - -SCENE, "Governor" Felix's judicatory. Judge, said Governor. Prosecutor, -Orator Tertullus: Present, his clients,--the "High Priest" and "the -Elders." Procedure, accusatorial. Time, "twelve days," ver. 11, "after -Trial 1; eleven, after Trial 2." - -I. Counsel's Speech--Points touched upon in it, these:--verses 1-4. - -1. Opening compliment to Governor Judge.--His "providence" and -"clemency." - -II. 1. Vituperative surplusage, of course, as if in B. R.: though not -paid for, in fees and taxes, by the sheet.--Defendant, "a pestilent -fellow." - -Charges three. To make the matter more intelligible, had the proceeding -been by writing in the first instance, they might have been styled -counts. - -2. Charge 1. Defendant "a mover of sedition among all the Jews -throughout the world." - -3. Charge 2. Said Defendant "a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes." - -4. Charge 3. Defendant "gone about to profane the temple." - -5. Statement made of Trial 2, and the termination given to it by Roman -chief captain Lysias, taking said Defendant out of their hands, and -commanding accusers' appearance in this court: verses 7, 8. - -6. _Viva voce_ evidence accordant: witnesses, neither quality nor number -stated. "And _the Jews_ also assented, saying that these things were -so." ver. 9. - -III. Defendant's defence: verses 10-21. - -Points touched upon in it, these:-- - -1. Defendant's confidence in this his judge. - -2. At Jerusalem "to worship" was his errand. The ostensible one, yes: of -the real one,--supplanting the Apostles,--of course nothing said. - -3. In the temple, defendant was not "found by _them_," by whom? -"disputing with any man." Disputing? No. It was to take the oath--the -seven-days-long false oath,--that he went there:--this, and nothing -else. The priests, in whose keeping he was, and on whose acceptance the -validity and efficacy of the ceremony depended, were not men to be -disputed with. - -4. Defendant not found by them "raising up the people, neither in the -synagogues, nor in the city." ver. 12. No: neither was any such raising -charged upon him: nor would it have suited his purpose. Seditious _acts_ -are one thing; seditious _discourses_, another. From seditious acts he -had nothing to gain; from seditious discourses everything: to wit, in so -far as the effect of it was to weaken men's attachment to the law of the -land, and engage them to transfer it to the schism he had raised in the -religion of Jesus. - -5. General denial: but not amounting to _Not Guilty_. "Neither _can they -prove_ the things whereof they now accuse me." ver. 13. - -6. In verses 14, 15, 16, matter nothing to the purpose. Orthodox his -belief: among the objects of it, the resurrection: void of offence -towards God and man, his conscience. - -7. False pretence--object of this his visit to Jerusalem--of this his -_Invasion Visit_--falsely stated. "Now after many years I came to bring -alms to my nation, and offerings." ver. 17. - -8. When Defendant was "found purified in the temple," it was "neither -with multitude, nor with tumult." True: but nothing to the purpose: the -priests, in whose boarding-house he was, while the _purifying_, that is -to say, the eating and paying, process was carrying on, were not a -_multitude_: nor would _tumult_ have been either profitable or -practicable. - -9. The men, who so found Defendant there, were "certain Jews from Asia," -and, if they were accusers or witnesses, ought to have appeared in that -character on the present occasion. "Who ought," says ver. 19, "to have -been here before thee, and object, if they had aught against me." Ought? -why ought they? Defendant called no witnesses: by non-appearance of -witnesses, if against him, so far from being injured, he was benefited. -The proceeding, too, was _inquisitorial_, not _accusatorial_: it -required no accusers. Jews of Asia indeed? as if there were any Jews of -Asia, to whom any more natural or legitimate cause of indignation could -have been given by his misdeeds, than had been given by them to all the -Jews in Jerusalem, not to speak of the rest of the world, or the -Christianized Jews. - -10. By Defendant's saying to the judges in Trial 2, that it was for -preaching the resurrection that he stood accused by and before them--by -this, without anything else, the indignation thereupon expressed by them -against him had been excited. "Or else," say verses 20, 21, "let these -same here say, if they have found any evil doing in me, while I stood -before the council, Except it be for this one voice, that I cried, -standing among them, Touching the resurrection of the dead I am called -in question by you this day." - -Follows the judge's decision, "When Felix," says ver. 22, "heard these -things, having more perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and -said, When Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know the -uttermost of your matter." Such is stated to have been the decision of -the judge: and, so far as regarded what passed on Defendant's trial -before Jerusalem council, it was clearly the only proper one: a more -impartial, as well as, in every point of view, suitable witness, the -case could hardly have afforded: and, as to the main question, nothing -could be more natural, than that what it had fallen in Lysias's way on -that occasion to observe, might afford instructive light. - -Interlocutory order. Defendant recommitted: but access to him free for -everybody. "And he commanded a centurion," says ver. 23, "to keep Paul, -and to let him have liberty, and that he should forbid none of his -acquaintance to minister, or come unto him." - -In this state continues Paul for "two years": at which time, says ver. -27, "Porcius Festus came into Felix's room: and Felix, willing to show -the Jews a pleasure, left Paul bound." - -In verses 24, 25, 26, this interval of delay is filled up with an -account, such as it is, of certain intrigues, of which the Defendant was -the subject. The Roman has a Jewess for his wife. The prisoner is sent -for, and wife shares with husband the benefit of his eloquence. -Self-constituted Apostle preaches: heathen trembles: trembling, however, -prevents not his "hoping" to get money out of the prisoner, if this part -of the history is to be believed. "And after certain days," says ver. -24, "when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he -sent for Paul, and heard him concerning," what is here called, "the -faith in Christ." Faith _in Christ_ indeed? After the word _faith_, the -word _Christ_ costs no more to write than the word _Paul_: but in -whatever was said about faith by Paul, which would be the most prominent -figure,--Christ or Paul--may by this time be imagined. As for any faith -which it was in the nature of the case, that the Roman heathen should -derive from the Greek Jew's eloquence, it must have been faith in Paul, -and Paul only. Paul he had seen and heard, Christ he had neither seen -nor heard; nor, for aught that appears, anything concerning him, till -that very time. - -"And as he reasoned," says ver. 25, "of righteousness, temperance, and -judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this -time, when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee. He hoped," -continues ver. 26, "that money should have been given him of Paul, that -he might loose him: wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed -with him." - - -SECTION 5. - -TRIAL IV. PLACE AGAIN, CĘSAREA.--_Acts_ 25:1-12. - -SCENE, Cęsarea judicatory.--Judge, new Roman governor, Festus. -Accusers, "Jews," not named, sent by the high priest and his colleagues -from Jerusalem to Cęsarea for the purpose. Defendant still in the -prison at Cęsarea: Roman judge, at Jerusalem. Prosecutors, the council -there--petition to have Defendant brought thither. Judge chooses rather -to go to him at Cęsarea, than thus send for him to Jerusalem. - -According to the _historian_, it was for the purpose of causing -Defendant to be murdered, in the way to the judicatory, that the -prosecutors were so earnest as they were to obtain the _habeas corpus_: -according to _probability_, it was for any purpose, rather than that of -committing any such outrage upon the authority of their constituted -superior, with an army at his command. Be this as it may, instead of -sending for Defendant to Jerusalem, the judge returned himself to -Cęsarea. - -"Now," says ver. 1, "when Festus was come into the province, after three -days he ascended from Cęsarea to Jerusalem.--Then the high priest and -the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul, and besought him.--And -desired favour against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, -laying wait in the way to kill him.--But Festus answered, that Paul -should be kept at Cęsarea, and that he himself would depart shortly -thither.--Let them therefore, said he, which among you are able, go down -with me, and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him.--And -when he had tarried among them more than ten days, he went down unto -Cęsarea; and the next day sitting on the judgment-seat commanded Paul -to be brought." - -Charges, not particularized: said of them, not so much as that they were -the same as before. "Many and grievous complaints against Paul, which -they could not prove": ver. 7--such is the only account given of them. - -Defence--points contained in it. As before, no offence, says ver. 8, -against the law--no offence against "the temple." One point added, "Nor -yet against Caesar." Good. But how comes this here? Here we have a -defence, against what, it is plain, was never charged. - -_Festus_--judge, to Defendant, ver. 9: "Wilt thou go up to Jerusalem, -and there be judged of these things _before me_?" - -Defendant to judge, ver. 10: "I stand at Caesar's judgment-seat, where I -ought to be judged": meaning, as appears from the direct words of appeal -in the next verse,--by a Roman, not by a Jewish judicatory, ought I to -be tried. Against the being judged at Cęsarea, instead of Jerusalem, he -could not naturally have meant to object: at least, if the historian -speaks true, in what he says about the plot for murdering the prisoner -on the road. - -2. "To the Jews," says ver. 10, "have I done no wrong." Thus far nothing -more is said than _Not Guilty_. But now follows another trait of that -effrontery, which was so leading a feature in Paul's eloquence, "as," -continues he, "thou very well knowest." Now what anybody may see -is,--that Festus neither did know, nor could know, any such thing. -Witness the historiographer himself, who, but eight verses after, (18, -19, 20,) makes Festus himself, in discourse with King Agrippa, declare -as much. But the more audacious, the more in Defendant's character; and -the greater the probability, that, in the conflict between the -Law-Report and the narrative, truth is on the side of the Report. - -3. Conclusion: ver. 11, defendant gives judge to understand, that if he, -the Defendant, has done any of the things he has been charged with, he -has no objection to be put to death: but in the same breath ends with -saying, "I appeal to Caesar!" submitting thus to Festus's judgment, -whatever it may be, and at the same time appealing from it. - -Festus judge: ver. 12, "when he had conferred with _the council_," -whoever they were,--"Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar thou -shalt go." Here ends Trial IV. - - -SECTION 6. - -TRIAL V. AND LAST.--PLACE, STILL CĘSAREA. - -This requires some previous explanation. - -A few days after the last preceding trial, came to Cęsarea, says verse -13, _Agrippa and Bernice_: Festus being still there: Agrippa, sub-king -of the Jews under the Romans: Bernice, it may be presumed, his queen: -saluting this their superior, their only business mentioned. Follows -thereupon a conversation, of which Defendant is the subject, and which -continues the length of fourteen verses. Defendant having appealed to -Caesar, judge has determined to send him to Caesar accordingly. But, -considering that, by the emperor, on the arrival of a man sent to him in -the character of a prisoner, some assigned cause, for his having been -put into that condition, will naturally be looked for; and, as the only -offences, the Jew stands charged with, are of a sort, which, while to -the heathen emperor they would not be intelligible, would to a Jew -sub-king, if to any one, be sufficiently so;--thereupon it is, that he -desires his sub-majesty to join with him in the hearing of the cause, -and by that means put him in a way to report upon it. - -Speaking of the accusers, "they brought," says Festus to Agrippa in -verse 18, "none accusation of such things as I supposed.--But had -certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one -Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive.--And because I -doubted of such manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to -Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.--But Paul...had -appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus..." Such, as -above noticed, is the declaration which the historian puts into the -mouth of Festus: and this, after having so recently made Paul tell -Festus, that his, Paul's, having done no wrong to the Jews, was to him, -Festus, matter of such perfect knowledge.[82] - -Now then comes the trial, Acts 26:1. Scene, at Cęsarea, the Emperor's -Bench. Lord chief justice, Roman governor Festus; Puisne judge, Jew -sub-king Agrippa. Present, "Bernice...chief captains and principal men -of the city." Special accusers, none. Sole speaker, whose speech is -reported, the Defendant. - -Points in Defendant's speech, these: - -1. Verses 2 and 3. Patient hearing requested, acknowledgment of -Agrippa's special confidence. - -2. Verses 4 and 5. Protestation of Phariseeism. - -3. Verses 6, 7, 8. Same false insinuation as before,--Phariseeism the -sole crime imputed to him. - -4. Verses 9, 10, 11. Confession or avowal, whichever it is to be called, -of his proceedings six-and-twenty years before, against the -Christianized Jews, shutting them up in prison, in pursuance of -authority from "the chief priests," down to the time of his -conversion-vision. See Table I. Conversion Table. - -5. Verses 12 to 20. Account of this same vision. See that same Table. - -6. Declaration. "For _these_ causes the Jews caught me in the temple, -and went about to kill me."--For these causes? For what causes? If for -being a Pharisee, or preaching the general resurrection, or even the -particular one,--assuredly no. But, if for the breach of trust, in -joining with the state offenders, the Christianized Jews, whom he was -commissioned to apprehend;--joining with those state offenders, and then -bringing out the vision-story for an excuse;--if telling everybody that -would hear him, that the law of the land was a dead letter;--and, if the -denying he had ever done so; and, for giving himself the benefit of such -mendacious denial, rendering the temple an instrument of notorious -perjury;--if it was for all this, that they "went about" indeed "to kill -him,"--but to kill him no otherwise than in the manner prescribed by -that same law,--Jewishly speaking, they were not to blame in what they -did,--humanly speaking, nothing can be seen that is not altogether -natural in it. - -7. Conclusion: namely, if not of what he would have said,--at any rate, -of what, according to the reporter, he was permitted to say:--it is -formed by a passage, in which, in continuance of his plan for keeping up -his interest with the Pharisee part of the council, his ingenuity -employs itself in strengthening the connection between the particular -resurrection of Jesus, and the general resurrection maintained by the -Pharisees. - -"Having therefore," says verse 22, "obtained help of God, I continue -unto this day, _witnessing_ both to small and great, saying none other -things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should -come:--That Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first that -should rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to -the Gentiles."--Lord Chief Justice Festus, "with a loud voice, as he," -the Defendant, "thus spake for himself--Paul, thou art beside thyself; -much learning hath made thee mad." In the mouth of a Roman, and that -Roman so high in rank, the notion thus expressed had nothing in it but -what was natural enough. As to the _general_ resurrection, _that_ was -one of the above-mentioned "questions about their own superstition," -which he therefore left to the Jewish judges: as to the _particular_ -resurrection, of this he had heard no better evidence than the -defendant's: and what, in discriminating eyes, _that_ was likely to be -worth, the reader has by this time judged. - -8. Defendant in reply, ver. 25: Not mad, but sober:--for confirmation, -appeal to the Jewish sub-monarch, then and there present. "I am not mad, -most noble Festus; but speak for the words of truth and soberness.--For -the King knoweth of these things, before whom also I speak freely; for I -am persuaded, that none of these things are hidden from him; for this -was not done in a corner." Here would have been a place for the five -hundred, by whom, after his resurrection, Jesus was seen at once--see -above chapter--but, upon the present occasion, the general expression, -here employed, was deemed preferable. "King Agrippa," continues verse -27, "believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest." - -King Agrippa to Paul, ver. 28. "Almost thou persuadest me to be a -Christian." - -Paul to Agrippa: "I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that -hear me this day were both almost and altogether such as I am, _except -these bonds_." No bad trait of polite oratory this exception. - -Assembly breaks up.--"And when he had thus spoken, the King rose up, and -the governor and Bernice, and they that sat with them. And when they -were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth -nothing worthy of death or of bonds. Then said Agrippa unto Festus, This -man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar." -Observation. In this observation, something of the obscure seems to -present itself. For, Paul himself being the appellant, and _that_ for no -other purpose than the saving himself from death or bonds, he had but to -withdraw the appeal, and, supposing a judgment pronounced to the effect -thus mentioned, this was everything he could have wished from it. But, -Paul having already, to judge from his Epistle to the Romans, laid the -foundation of a spiritual kingdom in the metropolis of the civilized -world,--it looks as if he had no objection to figure there, as we shall -find him figuring accordingly, in the character of a state-prisoner, for -the purpose of displaying, and in the eye of the Caesar of that day, a -sample of his eloquence, in a cause so much greater than any in which -that of the first Caesar could ever have displayed itself. Reason is not -wanting for the supposition, that it was by what passed at the council, -that the idea was first suggested to him: for "the night following, the -Lord," says 23:11, "stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul; for -as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness -also at Rome." The Lord has commanded me so and so, is the sort of -language in which he would naturally make communication of this idea to -his attendants. - -The circumstantiated and dramatic style of this part of the narrative, -seems to add to the probability, that, on this occasion, the historian -himself was present. On this supposition, though in the Greek as well as -in the English, they are represented as if they had quitted the -justice-room,--any conversation, that took place among them immediately -after, in the street, might not unnaturally have been overheard by him. -In chapter 24, ver. 23, stands Felix's order of admittance, as above, -for Paul's acquaintance, to minister or come to him. One other attendant -has appeared, in the character of his sister's son, Acts 23:16; by whom -information was given to Felix, that the men there spoken of were lying -in wait for him to kill him. On the occasion of this invasion of his, it -would have been interesting enough to have had a complete list of his -staff. - -Here ends trial fifth and last: and in the next verse it is, that, -together with other prisoners, and the historian at least for his free -attendant, he is dispatched on his voyage. Acts 27:1. "And when it was -determined that we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and -certain other prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' -band.--And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, _we_ launched..." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[81] If in any former part of this work, in speaking of this scene, the -persons in question have been spoken of as having actually proceeded to -acts of manual violence, it was an oversight. - -As to the examination by scourging,--singular enough will naturally -appear this mode of collecting evidence: declared purpose of it, "that -he," the captain, "might know wherefore _they_," the Jews, "cried out -against him," meaning the defendant. A simpler way would have been to -have asked _them_; and, as to the scourge, what use it could have been -of is not altogether obvious. To begin with torturing a man, and proceed -by questioning him, was, however, among the Romans a well-known mode of -obtaining evidence. But, then and there, as now and everywhere, unless -the United States form an exception, "whatever is--is right," provided -always that it is by power that it is done. - -[82] Acts 25:12-27. - -"Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast -thou appealed unto Caesar? unto Caesar shalt thou go.--And after certain -days king Agrippa and Bernice came unto Cęsarea to salute Festus.--And -when they had been there many days, Festus declared Paul's cause unto -the king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by Felix:--About -whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the elders of the -Jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him.--To whom I -answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, -before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have -license to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against -him.--Therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on the -morrow I sat on the judgment-seat, and commanded the man to be brought -forth:--Against whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought none -accusation of such things as I supposed:--But had certain questions -against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, -whom Paul affirmed to be alive.--And because I doubted of such manner of -questions, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be -judged of these matters.--But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto -the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I might send -him to Caesar.--Then Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also hear the man -myself. To-morrow, said he, thou shalt hear him.--And on the morrow, -when Agrippa was come, and Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered -into the place of hearing, with the chief captains and principal men of -the city, at Festus' commandment Paul was brought forth.--And Festus -said, King Agrippa, and all men which are present with us, ye see this -man about whom all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at -Jerusalem and also here, crying that he ought not to live any -longer.--But when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of death, -and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I have determined to send -him.--Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto my lord, wherefore I -have brought him forth before you, and specially before thee, O, King -Agrippa, that after examination had, I might have somewhat to -write.--For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not -withal to signify the crimes laid against him." - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - - _Paul's Doctrines Anti-apostolic_.--_Was he not Anti-Christ?_ - - -SECTION 1. - -PAUL'S DOCTRINE WAS AT VARIANCE WITH THAT OF THE APOSTLES. - -If Paul's pretensions to a supernatural intercourse with the Almighty -were no better than a pretence;--his visit to Jerusalem, from first to -last, an object of abhorrence to the Apostles and all their disciples; -in a word, to all, who in the birthplace of Christianity, bore the name -of Christian, and were regarded as belonging to the religion of -Jesus;--if, not only to _their_ knowledge, but to that of the whole -population of Jerusalem, he was a depraved character, marked by the -stain,--not merely of habitual insincerity, but of perjury in its most -aggravated form;--if it was no otherwise than by his having declared -himself a Roman citizen, that he escaped from the punishment--apparently -a capital one--attached by the law of the land to the crimes of which he -had been guilty; if, in a word, it was only in places, in which -Jesus--his doctrines, and his Apostles--were alike unknown, that this -self-declared Apostle of Jesus was received as such;--if all, or though -it were but some, of these points may be regarded as established,--any -further proof, in support of the position, that no doctrine of his, -which is not contained in some one or other of the four Gospels, has any -pretension to be regarded as part and parcel of the religion of Jesus, -might well, in any ordinary case, be regarded as superfluous: and, of -the several charges here brought to view, whether there be any one, of -the truth of which the demonstration is not complete, the reader has all -along been invited to consider with himself, and judge. If thereupon the -judgment be condemnatory, the result is--that whatever is in Paul, and -is not to be found in any one of the four Gospels, is not Christianity, -but Paulism. - -In any case of ordinary complexion, sufficient then, it is presumed, to -every judicious eye, would be what the reader has seen already: but the -present case is no ordinary case. An error, if such it be, which -notwithstanding all the sources of correction, which in the course of -the work have at length been laid open and brought to view, has now, for -upwards of seventeen centuries past, maintained its ground throughout -the Christian world, cannot, without the utmost reluctance, be parted -with: for dissolving the association so unhappily formed, scarcely, -therefore, can any argument which reason offers be deemed superfluous. - -For this purpose, one such argument, though on a preceding occasion -already touched upon, remains to be brought to view. It consists of his -own confession. Confession? say rather avowal: for--such is the temper -of the man--in the way of boasting it is, not in the way of concession -and self-humiliation that he comes out with it. Be this as it may--when, -speaking of the undoubted Apostles, he himself declares, that he has -received nothing from them, and that he has doctrines which are not -theirs, shall he not obtain credence? Yes: for this once, it should -seem, he may, without much danger of error, be taken at his word. - -To see this--if he can endure the sight--will not cost the reader much -trouble, Table II. _Paul disbelieved Table_, lies before him. Under the -head of _Independence declared_, in Paul's Epistle to his Galatians, -chapter 1, verses 11, 12, he will find these words. "But I certify you, -brethren, that the Gospel which was _preached of me is not after man_: -for _I neither received it of man_, neither was _I taught, but by the -revelation of Jesus Christ_." Thus far Paul. If then it was not received -by him by the revelation of Jesus Christ--this Gospel of his; nor yet, -as he assures us, "_of man_,"--the consequence is a necessary one--it -was made by him, out of his own head. - - -SECTION 2. - -OF CONFORMITY, USE MADE OF THE NAME OF JESUS NO PROOF. - -Of the name of Jesus, whatever use he may have made--made (as it was -seen) without authority--can any use, made in contradiction to this his -own confession, afford any the slightest ground for regarding _his_ -Gospel, whatever it be,--his Gospel, or any part of it,--as belonging to -the religion of Jesus? If so, then are all impostors the persons they -falsely pretend to be--all counterfeit productions of any kind, genuine -ones. - -While preaching to Gentiles at a distance from Jerusalem, from any use -he could have the assurance to make of so revered a name, it is almost -superfluous to observe, how much he had to gain, and how little to lose. -In a case of this sort, how much soever there may be that is offensive -in the demeanour of the pretended agent eulogizing, no part of it is -ascribed to the pretended principal eulogized: and, in such his eulogy, -the pretended agent is not hampered by any of those considerations, by -which he would stand precluded from all prospect of advantage, had he -the effrontery to lay it in equally strong colours on himself. Thus, in -the case of Paul, from putting in the foreground where he did, the name -of Jesus, there was this great advantage to gain: and, the pretended -principal being never present to disavow him, the consequence was--that, -so long as no accredited and credited agents, of that same principal, -were at hand to contradict his pretensions,--the mere name of this -principal would be no obstacle, to the preaching of doctrines, ever so -decidedly at variance with his. - -If, on the other hand,--in a company, in which he was preaching -doctrines of his own, which were not Jesus's,--men should happen to be -present, to whom, by reason of their personal acquaintance with Jesus, -or with any immediate disciples of Jesus, these same doctrines of Paul's -should be perceived and declared not to be Jesus's, here would be an -inconvenience: and, on this account,--wherever, without using the name -of Jesus, or any other name than his own, he could be sufficiently -assured, of obtaining a degree of confidence sufficient for his -purpose,--this course, supposing it successful, would, on several -accounts, be more advantageous. - -Here then, on each occasion, or at any rate on some occasions, would be -an option for him to make: namely, either to preach in the name of -Jesus, or else to set up for himself:--to set up for himself, and, on -the strength of a pretended revelation from the Almighty, without the -intervention of Jesus, preach in no other human name than his own. - -From a passage, in the first of his two Epistles to his Corinthian -disciples, it looks as if an experiment of this kind--an experiment for -adding nominal independence to real--had actually been tried: but that, -the success of it was not such as to be followed by continuance. For -this suspicion--for it is but a suspicion,--any reader who thinks it -worth his while may see the grounds in the subjoined note.[83] - - -SECTION 3. - -PAUL, WAS HE NOT ANTICHRIST? - -A child, of Paul's ready and fruitful brain--a bugbear, which the -officious hands of the English official translators of his Epistles, -have in their way christened, so to speak, by the name of -_Antichrist_,--has been already brought to view. See Chap. XII. §. 4. If -there be any persons, to whose religion,--in addition to a devil, with -or without horns and tail,--with or without other spirits, in no less -carnal howsoever unrepulsive forms,--an Antichrist is necessary for the -completion of the polytheistical official establishment; and if, in -place of an ideal, they can put up with a real Antichrist,--an -Antichrist of flesh and blood,--they need not go far to look for one. Of -Saul, alias Paul, the existence is not fabulous. If, in his time, a -being there was, in whom, with the exception of some two or three -attendants of his own, every person, that bore the name of Christian, -beheld, and felt an opponent, and that opponent an indefatigable -adversary, it was this same Paul: Yes, such he was, if, in this -particular, one may venture to give credence, to what has been seen so -continually testified,--testified, not by any enemy of his, but by his -own dependent,--his own historiographer,--his own panegyrist,--his own -steady friend. Here then, for anybody that wants an Antichrist, here is -an Antichrist, and he an undeniable one. - -Antichrist, as everybody sees, Antichrist means neither more nor less -than that which is opposed to Christ. To Christ himself, the bugbear, -christened by the English bishops _Antichrist_, was not, by its creator, -spoken of as opposing itself. To Christ himself, Paul himself could not, -at that time, be an opponent: the Jesus, whom he called Christ, was no -longer in the flesh. But of all that, in the customary figurative -sense--of all that, in any intelligible sense, could on this occasion be -called _Christ_--namely, the real Apostles of Jesus, and their disciples -and followers,--Paul, if he himself is to be believed, was an opponent, -if ever there was one. - -Paul preached the resurrection of the dead. Agreed. But did not all -Pharisees do so, too? And was not Paul a Pharisee? And Jesus--had he not -in all Pharisees so many opponents? And the real Christians, had they -anywhere in his lifetime, any other opponent so acrid or so persevering -as this same Paul? - -Paul preached the resurrection of the dead. Agreed. But _that_ -resurrection of the dead which he preached, was it not a resurrection, -that was to take place in the lifetime of himself and other persons then -living? And--any such resurrection, did it accordingly take place?[84] - -FOOTNOTES: - -[83] "Were ye baptized," says he, speaking to his Corinthians, 2 Cor. -ii. 13. "Were ye baptized in the name of Paul?--I thank God," continues -he, "that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius,--Lest any man -should say that I had baptized in mine own name.--And I baptized also -the household of Stephanas; besides, I know not whether I baptized any -other." For an experiment of this kind, it should seem from that -Epistle, that motives were by no means wanting. For, among these same -disciples, in the preaching of his doctrines, he had found himself -annoyed by divers names more or less formidable: there was the name, -though probably never the person--of _Cephas_, the real Hebrew name, of -which, in the four Gospels, written as they are in Greek, _Peter_ is the -translation: there was the name, and not improbably the person--of -_Apollos_, whom, about three years before, Acts 18:18-26, two female -disciples of Paul's, Aquila and Priscilla, had at Ephesus enlisted under -his banners: there was, according to him, _the name of Christ_, though -assuredly, never the person of _Jesus_. - -"For it hath been declared unto me of you, brethren," says he, 1 Cor. i. -11, "that there are contentions among you,--Now this I say, that every -one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I -of Christ." Thereupon follows immediately a short flourish of Paulian -eloquence:--"Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye -baptized in the name of Paul?" and so forth, as above. - -"Division," says he, "among you:" in this phrase may be seen the style -of modern royalty. Towards a will so intimately connected with the -divine as the royal, no such temper of mind, so intolerable as -opposition, is ever to be supposed: were it on all occasions equally -known--known to all, and alike interpreted by all, no division could -have place: but, some put one interpretation upon it, some another: in -some eyes, this course is regarded as best adapted to the giving effect -to it; in others, that: hence that division, to which, on every -occasion, it is the duty of all to put the speediest end. Now then as to -Paul. This same assumed fatherly affection, under the name of -elder-brotherly--this desire of seeing concord among brethren--what was -it in plain truth? Answer, love of power. Would you have proof? Take in -hand this same Epistle of his to his Corinthians, or, if at verse the -tenth, it will be to this purpose early enough, and read on, till you -come to chapter iv. verses 15, 16. "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the -name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and -that there be no divisions among you: but that ye be perfectly joined -together in the same mind, and in the same judgment.--For it hath been -declared unto me," and so forth, as above. Read on, and at length you -will come to the essence of all this good advice, 1 Cor. 4:15. "For, -though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ," says he, "yet have -ye not many fathers; for, in Christ Jesus, _I have begotten you_, -through the Gospel.--Wherefore, I beseech you, _be ye followers of me_." - -At this time, it should seem that, on the occasion of this his courtship -of the Jews of Corinth, not only was the name of Peter an object of his -declared rivalry, but the name and person of his own sub-disciple -Apollos, an object of his jealousy. "For, while one saith," 1 Cor. iii. -4, "I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not," says he, -"carnal?--Who then," continues he, "is Paul, and who is Apollos, but -ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?--I -have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.--Now he that -planteth and he that watereth are one; and every man shall receive his -own reward according to his own labour." Fifteen verses after comes a -flourish, in which Apollos is spoken of for the last time. "Whether -Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things -present, or things to come, all are yours;--23. And ye are Christ's, and -Christ is God's." At the word _Cephas_ ends, it may have been observed, -common sense: what follows being dust for the eyes: dust, composed of -the flowers of Saulo-Paulian eloquence. - -As to Apollos, if so it was, that, at one time, in the mind of our -spiritual monarch, any such sentiment as jealousy, in regard to this -sub-minister had place, it seems to have been afterwards, in some way or -other, removed: for, in his Epistle to Titus, bearing date about seven -years after, namely A.D. 64, the devotion of the subject seems to have -been entire. Speaking to Titus, Tit. 3:13, "Bring with you," says Paul, -"Zenas the lawyer, and Apollos, on their journey diligently, that -nothing be wanting to them." - -[84] Paul must have thought that he had the Church at Corinth under -complete control of his hypnotic suggestion or otherwise so much under -his control as to assume the exalted office of Clairvoyant Oracle -without question. He says, 2 Cor. 1-7, "I must needs glory, though it is -not expedient; but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord, I -know a man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body I know -not; or whether out of the body, I know not, God knoweth). Such a one -caught up even to the third heaven. And I know such a man (whether in -the body, or apart from the body, I know not, God knoweth); how that he -was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is -not lawful for a man to utter. On behalf of such a one will I glory: but -on mine own behalf I will not glory, save in my weakness. For if I -should desire to glory, I shall not be foolish; for I shall speak the -truth: but I forbear, lest any man should account of me above that which -he seeth me to be, or heareth from me. - -"And by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations--wherefore, -that I should not be exalted overmuch, there was given to me _a thorn in -the flesh_, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be -exalted overmuch. Concerning this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that -it might depart from me. - -"And he has said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee." - -It would require a Swift, Dryden, Pope, Milton or Knowles to stage the -above so as make appreciable objective quantities out of the above -verbal terms. They might create characters and give them the plumage of -angels, nymphs, spirits, heathen gods, etc., and so feast the -imagination into paranoia. - -"Thorn in the flesh." This phrase has baffled the Ecclesiastics. The -earlier Commentators interpreted it to mean Paul's great disappointment -in all his schemes to subordinate the Apostles of Christ to his -personal dominion of which so much has been disparaged by the author. - - - - -END. - - - - -INDEX TO CONTENTS. - - - TABLE I-XXII - - - CHAPTER I. - - Paul's Conversion. Improbability and Discordancy of the - Accounts of it 1 - - 1. List of these Accounts, with preliminary Observations. - Table in which they are confronted 1 - - 2. Vision I. Dialogue on the road: Paul hears a voice, - sees nothing 8 - - 3. Vision II. Ananias's 21, 34 - - 4. Ananias: his Visit to Paul at Damascus 26, 57 - - 5. Vision III. Paul's anterior Vision, as reported by the - Lord to Ananias. _Acts_ ix. 12 62 - - 6. Visions, why two or three, instead of one? 64 - - 7. Commission to Paul by Jerusalem Rulers--Commission - to bring in Bonds Damascus Christians--Paul's Contempt - put upon it 69 - - 8. Companions--had Paul any upon the road? 72 - - 9. In Paul's Epistle to his Galatians,--by his silence, Acts - Accounts of his Conversion are virtually contradicted 77 - - - TABLE II - - CHAPTER II. - - Outward Conversion--how produced--how planned 89 - - 1. Motive, Temporal Advantage--Plan 93 - - 2. At Damascus, no such Ananias probably 97 - - 3. On Damascus journey--Companions none 100 - - 4. Flight from Damascus: Causes--false--true 101 - - 5. Arabia Visit--mentioned by Paul, not _Acts_ 108, 113 - - 6. Gamaliel--had he part in Paul's plan? 125 - - - CHAPTER III. - - _Paul disbelieved_.--Neither his divine Commission nor his - inward Conversion ever credited by the Apostles or their - Jerusalem Disciples.--Source of Proof stated 135 - - 1. To Paul's Conversion Vision, sole original Witness - himself 135 - - 2. Counter-Witnesses, the Apostles: by them, the Story - probably not heard--certainly not credited 136 - - 3. In proof, so much of the _Acts_ history must here be - anticipated 138 - - 4. Topics under his several Jerusalem Visits: _viz_. - I. Reconciliation Visit 139, 143 - - 5. Topics under Visit II.--Money-bringing Visit 153 - - 6. Remarks on Visit III.--Deputation Visit 154 - - 7. Topics under Visit IV.--Invasion Visit 156 - - 8. Self-written Biography--its superior Value and Claim - to Credence 159 - - - CHAPTER IV. - - _Paul disbelieved_ continued. _First_ of his four Visits - to Jerusalem after his Conversion--say _Jerusalem Visit - I_. or _Reconciliation Visit_.--Barnabas introducing him - from Antioch to the Apostles 160 - - 1. Paul's Proceedings between his Conversion and this - Visit.--Contradiction. Per Paul, it was not till after - three Years spent in Arabia; per _Acts_, immediately 164 - - 2. Grounds of Paul's Prospect of Reconciliation on this - Occasion with the Apostles and their Disciples 171 - - 3. Occasion of this Visit, as per _Paul's_ own Account 177 - - 4. Occasion, as per _Acts_ Account compared with Paul's 180 - - 5. Cause of the Discordance between the two Accounts 188 - - 6. Length of this Visit 192 - - 7. Mode and Cause of its Termination 197 - - - CHAPTER V. - - _Paul disbelieved_ continued. _Jerusalem Visit II._ - _Money-bringing Visit._--Barnabas accompanying him - from Antioch 203 - - 1. At Antioch, Agabus having predicted a Dearth, Money - is collected for the Jerusalem Saints 203 - - - 2. Barnabas and Paul dispatched with the Money to Jerusalem 208 - - - CHAPTER VI. - - _Paul disbelieved_ continued.--_Jerusalem Visit III._ - _Deputation Visit._--_Paul_ and _Barnabas_ delegated by - _Antioch_ Saints, to confer on the Necessity of Jewish Rites - to Heathen Converts to the Religion of Jesus 211 - - 1. Occasion of this Visit 211 - - 2. The Delegates how received.--Council of Apostles and - Elders 215 - - 3. Debates--Course carried by _James_ against _Peter_ 220 - - 4. Result, supposed Apostolic Decree and Letter to - _Antioch_, which, per _Acts_, Paul circulates 224 - - - CHAPTER VII. - - _Paul disbelieved_ continued. After his third Jerusalem - Visit, Contest between him and _Peter_ at Antioch. - _Partition Treaty_: _Paul_ for himself: _Peter_, _James_ - and _John_ for the Apostles 228 - - 1. _Contest_ and _Partition-Treaty_, as per _Acts_ and - _Paul's Epistles_ 228 - - 2. Partition-Treaty--_Probability_, given by the _financial - Stipulation_, to Paul's Account of it 238 - - 3. _Time_ of the Partition-Treaty, most probably that of - _Visit I_ 242 - - - CHAPTER VIII. - - _Interview the Fourth._--_Peter_ at _Antioch_.--Deputies to - Antioch from Jerusalem, _Judas_ and _Silas_.--Paul disagrees - with _Peter_ and _Barnabas_, quits Antioch, and on a - Missionary Excursion takes with him _Silas_. What concerns - the Partition Treaty, down to this Period, reviewed.--Peter - and the Apostles justified 249 - - 1. _Paul's_ Account of this Interview quoted.--_Acts_ - Account of what followed upon it 249 - - 2. Paul disagrees with _Peter_ and _Barnabas_; quits - Antioch, taking _Silas_ from the Apostles 252 - - 3. The _Partition Treaty_, and the proceedings in relation - to it, down to this Period, _reviewed_ 255 - - 4. Peter and the Apostles justified, as to the _financial - Stipulation_ in the Treaty, and the succeeding Missionary - Labours of _Peter_ among the _Gentiles_ 258 - - - CHAPTER IX. - - _Paul disbelieved_ continued.--_Jerusalem Visit IV._ and - last _Invasion Visit_. The Purpose concealed: Opposition - universal; among his own Disciples, and among those of the - Apostles 266 - - 1. Motives to this Visit 266 - - 2. The Visit _announced_ by Paul and _deferred_ 267 - - 3. The design indefensible 272 - - 4. Opposition made to it by his own _attendants_ and other - _adherents_ 275 - - 5. Opposition made to it by the _Apostles_ and their - disciples 277 - - 6. Plan of the _Apostles_ for _ridding themselves_ of Paul 282 - - - CHAPTER X. - - _Paul disbelieved_ continued.--_Jerusalem Visit IV._ - continued. His Arrival and Reception. Accused by all the - Disciples of the Apostles, he commences an _exculpatory - Oath_ in the Temple. Dragged out by them--rescued by a - Roman Commander--sent in Custody to Rome 288 - - 1. At Jerusalem, Paul is received by the _Elders_ and - _James_; but by _no other Apostle_ 288 - - 2. Low Tone assumed by him on this Occasion 291 - - 3. Posterior to all his supposed Miracles, his Silence - proves them unreal 295 - - 4. Accused by the Disciples, he commences, at the - Recommendation of the Apostles, an _exculpatory - Oath_ in the Temple 298 - - 5. The Design of this Recommendation justified 308 - - 6. Dragged out of the Temple by _Jews_ or _Christians_, - he is saved by a Roman Commander 309 - - - CHAPTER XI. - - _Paul disbelieved_ continued.--Paul's _fourth Jerusalem - Visit_ continued. _Perjurious_ was the Purpose of the - exculpatory Ceremony commenced in the Temple 310 - - 1. General Proof of the Perjury from the Acts 310 - - 2. Proof from the Epistles 327 - - - CHAPTER XII. - - More Falsehoods.--Resurrection-Witnesses multiplied.--World's - End predicted.--To save credit, Antichrist invented 333 - - 1. Resurrection-Witnesses multiplied 333 - - 2. False Prophecy, that the World would end in the Lifetime - of Persons then living 338 - - 3. Disorder and Mischief produced by this Prediction 343 - - 4. Paul's Remedy for the Disorder, and Salvo for himself. - _Antichrist_ must first come 347 - - - CHAPTER XIII. - - Paul's supposable _Miracles_ explained 354 - - 1. Objections, applying to them in the Aggregate 354 - - 2. Supposable Miracle I. Elymas the Sorcerer blinded.--_Acts_ - xiii. 6-12 358 - - 3. Supposable Miracle II.--At Lystra, Cripple cured.--_Acts_ - xiv. 8-11 361 - - 4. Supposable Miracle III.--Divineress silenced.--_Acts_ - xvi 16-18 362 - - 5. Supposable Miracle IV.--At Philippi, an Earthquake: - Paul and Silas freed from Prison, A.D. 53 365 - - 6. Supposable Miracle V.--At Corinth, Paul comforted by - the Lord in an _unseen_ Vision, A.D. 54--_Acts_ - xviii. 7-11 369 - - 7. Supposable Miracle VI.--At Ephesus, Diseases and - Devils expelled by foul Handkerchiefs.--_Acts_ - xix. 1-12 372 - - 8. Supposable Miracle VII.--At Ephesus, Exorcist Scevas - bedeviled.--_Acts_ xix. 13-20 373 - - 9. Supposable Miracle VIII.--Magical Books burnt by the - Owners.--_Acts_ xix. 19, 20 380 - - 10. Supposable Miracle IX.--At Troas, Eutychus found - not to be dead.--_Acts_ xx. 7-12 382 - - 11. Supposable Miracle X.--On Shipboard, Paul comforted - by an Angel.--_Acts_ xxvii. 20-25 385 - - 12. Supposable Miracle XI.--At Malta, a Reptile shaken off - by Paul without hurt.--_Acts_ xxviii. 1-6 386 - - 13. Supposable Miracle XII.--At Malta, Deputy Publius's - Father cured.--_Acts_ xxviii. 7, 8 389 - - 14. Conclusion: the Supposable Miracles classed and - summed up 393 - - - CHAPTER XIV. - - Acts, Part false, Part true: Author not Saint Luke 397 - - 1. By the false Parts, the Gospel not affected: most Parts - true 397 - - 2. Time between Resurrection and Ascension--Acts contradicts - Luke 398 - - 3. As to Ascension, Acts inconsistent with Luke 403 - - - CHAPTER XV. - - Law Report.--Jews _versus_ Paul: Trials five, with - Observations 406 - - 1. Introduction 406 - - 2. Trial I. Place, Jerusalem-Temple.--Judicatory, the mixed - Multitude.--_Acts_ xxii. 1-21 407 - - 3. Trial II. Judicatory, Jerusalem Council-Board.--_Acts_ - xxiii. 1-10 409 - - 4. Trial III. Place, Cęsarea.--_Acts_ xxiv. 1-23 413 - - 5. Trial IV. Place, again, Cęsarea.--_Acts_ xxv. 1-12 417 - - 6. Trial V. and last.--Place, still Cęsarea 420 - - - CHAPTER XVI. - - Paul's Doctrines Anti-Apostolic.--Was he not Antichrist? 426 - - 1. Paul's Doctrine was at variance with that of the - Apostles 426 - - 2. Of Conformity, use made of the Name of Jesus no Proof 428 - - 3. Paul, was he not Antichrist? 432 - - - * * * * * - -TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES: -Punctuation corrected without comment. Original spelling retained with -the exception of the following apparent typesetting errors: - -Pg iv "D'unning's" changed to "Dunning's"--"Dunning's clearness" - -Pg xxiv "Stright" changed to "Straight"--"street which is called -Straight," - -Pg 13 "read" changed to "road"--"in the road leading"; "was" changed -to "what"--"But what is" - -Pg 14 "superservicable" changed to "superserviceable"--"such a -superserviceable witness" - -Pg 75 "proveable" changed to "provable"--"real and provable facts." - -Pg 79 "he" changed to "the"--"uprightly according to the truth of the -gospel" - -Pg 81 "Casearea" changed to "Caesarea"--"down to Caesarea" - -Pg 82 "Cladius" changed to "Claudius"--"in the days of Claudius" - -Pg 83 "Gentile" changed to "Gentiles"--"among the Gentiles"; missing -word "brethren" added "unto the brethren" - -Pg 84 "the" changed to "they"--"when they were dismissed"; "Casearea" -changed to "Caesarea"--"landed at Caesarea" - -Pg 119 "pourtrayed" changed to "portrayed"--"is not ill portrayed" - -Pg 120 "woud" changed to "would"--"Ephesus would not"; "coud" changed -to "could"--"could not have endured" - -Pg 142 and 226 "Galacia" changed to "Galatia"--"Galatia stands fifth," -and "over [all] Galatia" - -Pg 178 numbering corrected. Original had two 1's. - -Pg 179 "narative" changed to "narrative"--"in such case, the narrative" - -Pg 222 "cosideration" changed to "consideration"--"is the consideration, -upon" - -Pg 251 "saled" changed to "sailed"--"Mark and sailed unto" - -Pg 261 "has" changed to "his"--"Had his mind been" - -Pg 262 "unsatifactory" changed to "unsatisfactory"--"not altogether -unsatisfactory" - -Pg 273 "probably" changed to "probable"--"so much as probable."; -"ligitimate" changed to "legitimate"--"the only legitimate government:" - -Pg 275 "attedant" changed to "attendant"--"of his attendant" - -Pg 280 "distiguished" changed to "distinguished"--"distinguished by -the name"; "dissuation" changed to "dissuasion"--"was a dissuasion to -the" - -Pg 292 "and" changed to "an"--"an old disciple" - -Pg 296 "irrestible" changed to "irresistible"--"so perfectly -irresistible." - -Pg 318 "previoulsy" changed to "previously"--"it was previously -requisite" - -Pg 319 "chcarge" changed to "charge"--"took charge of her." - -Pg 337 "be to" changed to "to be"--"not to be forgotten." - -Pg 363 "in" changed to "on"--"on their way" - -Pg 365 "absurb" changed to "absurd"--"too absurd and flagrantly" - -Pg 366 "succussful" changed to "successful"--"instance been successful" - -Pg 376 "epirits" changed to "spirits"--"masters over evil spirits" - -Pg 386 missing word "be" added--"purpose was to be answered"; "their" -changed to "theirs"--"conceptions of theirs reported," - -Pg 415 numbering corrected, II changed to III; 13 changed to 10. - -Pg 438 "Galations" changed to "Galatians"--"In Paul's Epistle to -his Galatians" - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Not Paul, But Jesus, by Jeremy Bentham - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK NOT PAUL, BUT JESUS *** - -***** This file should be named 42984-8.txt or 42984-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/2/9/8/42984/ - -Produced by Dianne Nolan and the Online Distributed -Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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