posed to concede, that some remarkable deeds were performed by the author and the early preachers of Christianity: but, at the same time, as it may be doubted whether he would resort to magic for a solution, he might deny that these remarkable deeds were effected by any interposition of heaven. The whole matter he might be inclined to resolve into a mere trick or juggle; often, as in the case of pretended exorcisms of demons and cures of sick persons, adroitly and successfully accomplished through the intervention and by the aid of confederates. One man, who is in the secret, pretends to be possessed by a devil: another man, who is also in the secret, affects to labour under some dreadful disorder. When the mechanism of the cheat has been thus duly got up, the word of healing is spoken, and the patient (marvellous to relate) is suddenly restored to perfect health. Such is the objection, which is now to be considered and I will begin with fairly confessing, that, had no miracles been wrought save of the above description, it would at least have been very plausible. Certain difficulties, indeed, would still have occurred: for it might well seem strange, that, with all their enmity and all their opportunities, the Jews and the Pagans should never once have detected the fraud; that not a single confederate, either through fickleness or disgust or penitence or the fear of death, should have made a confession; and, most especially (an argument which I have already insisted upon,) that Judas, when he sold and betrayed his Lord, should not have fully exposed to the irritated Jewish rulers the whole of this nefarious impos ture. Yet, notwithstanding such difficulties, the objection would have been plausible, and might even upon a well-disposed mind have left a very unpleasant impression.* But the fact is, that *This objection is well answered by Bp. Douglas, even on its broadest basis: I, on the contrary, show, that certain miracles were wrought, in which the mechanism of confederacy was physically impossible; and from their performance I would argue, that the other recorded miracles were real miracles also: for it is absurd to imagine, that he, who could work real miracles, would sometimes resort to collusion for the purpose of producing false miracles. Miracles, the offspring of imposture, can never have any chance to gain credit or to pass undetected, in the time or at the place where they are pretended to be wrought, unless there is a strong confederacy on foot, privy to the imposture, and engaged to carry it on: and this has been generally the case of the most noted pretensions of Popery. But we have the fullest assurance that can possibly be had, that there was not any such confederacy on foot to propagate the miracles of Jesus. Had Christianity indeed been a religion already established in the world, when these miracles were pretended to; and had it been previously believed by those, who believed the miracles: a combination to deceive the public might have been possible; and the very possibility of such a combination would justly have excited suspicions of its being real. But, when we reflect from what beginnings Christianity arose, and in what manner it made its entrance into the world; that Jesus, the great founder of it, had not one follower when he set up his claim, and that it was his miracles which gave birth to his sect, and not the sect already established that appealed to his miracles: from these circumstances we may conclude unexceptionably, that there could not possibly be a confederacy, strong enough to obstruct an examination of the facts and to obtrude a history of lies upon the public. But why need I insist upon this, when I can urge further, that, even though there had been a confederacy among the witnesses of the Gospel miracles, this could not have screened them from detection; as the persons, who had all the means of inquiry in their hands, were engaged in interest to exert themselves on the occasion, nay, actually did put their power in execution against the reporters of these miracles? Forged miracles may pass current, where power and authority screen them from the too nice inquiry of examiners. But, whenever it shall happen that those who are vested with the supreme power are bent upon opposing and detecting them; the progress which they make can be but small, before the imposture is discovered and sinks into obscurity and contempt. If this observation be well founded, as I am confident it is; that lying wonders should pass undetected among the Papists, will not be thought strange for such stories among them have generally been countenanced, if not invented, by those, with whom alone the power of detecting the imposture and of punishing : miracles were wrought, which, from their special nature, exclude all possibility either of deception or collusion: and the argument from them is plainly this. If certain miracles were performed, which cannot be accounted for save by the direct intervention of heaven, he, who performed them, must have been a true prophet: but, if he were a true prophet, then all his other miracles, which we might haply have accounted for on the score of collusion, must have been genuine miracles; for it is at once absurd and superfluous to imagine, that he, who in some cases was empowered to work real miracles, should in other cases descend to a base and in fact an unnecessary collusion. The miracles, which I shall select to exemplify this position, are, the feeding of multitudes with food wholly inadequate to their numbers, and the sudden acquisition of various languages by men who were previously altogether illiterate. On two several occasions, each time in the neighbourhood of the lake of Tiberias, did Christ perform the first of these miracles First, he fed five thousand men, besides women and children, with five loaves and two fishes: and, when the whole multitude had eaten to satiety, there remained of the fragments twelve baskets full.* Next, he fed four thousand men, beside women and children, with seven loaves and a few little fishes and, on this occasion, seven baskets full were left of the broken meat, when all had eaten and had been satisfied.† : the impostors was lodged Now the miracles of Jesus, it is notorious, were not thus sheltered-That there was no imposture detected, therefore, could not be owing to want of proper examination." Criterion. p. 302-305. Matt. xv. 32-39. Matt. xiv. 13-22. Here, I maintain, there was no room either for collusion or deception. Two vast multitudes of both sexes and all ages, accidentally collected together, could not all have been confederates : and, as for any collusion on the part of the disciples alone, the thing was palpably impossible. Food, naturally sufficient for five thousand men only, women and children being excluded, at the rate of a pound weight to each man, would considerably exceed two tors. To convey this food to the place, where the multitude was assembled, would at the least require two stout carts. But these carts could not be brought unseen to the place of meeting and, if the people had merely seen the disciples serving them with food from the carts (which they clearly must have done, had such an action ever really taken place ;) nothing could have persuaded them, that a miracle had been wrought, and that they had all been fed from only five loaves and two fishes which some one happened to have brought with him in a wallet. Collusion, therefore, in the present instance is manifestly impossible. Equally impossible also is deception. No sleight of hand, no dexterity of juggling, could convince a fasting multitude, that they had all eaten and were satisfied. Hunger would be too potent for imposture. Not a single man, woman, or child, would be persuaded, that they had eaten a hearty meal; if, all the while, they had received no sustenance. The same remark applies to the sudden acquisition of languages by the apostles, on the day of Pentecost. They had assembled together, it seems, with one accord, in one place when there came a sound from heaven, as of a mighty rush ing wind; and cloven tongues, like as of fire, sat upon each of them. The consequence was, that they were instantaneously endowed with the power of speaking languages which were previously unknown to them.* This was the miracle: and here again, as in the former case, there was no room either for collusion or deception. No juggling confederacy could enable men to speak suddenly a great variety of languages, with which they had previously been unacquainted: nor could any deception be practised upon those, who heard them speak. Jews and proselytes, from many different parts of the world, were then assembled at Jerusalem; to each of whom was obviously familiar the language of the country, where he ordinarily resided. When a man addressed them, they would severally know, whether he spoke in their native tongue or not. A Roman Jew or proselyte could not be ignorant, whether what he heard was Latin: nor could any argument convince a Cretan Jew or proselyte, that an apostle, though speaking his native Syriac, was yet all the while uttering Greek. Deception was plainly quite out of the question. A Phrygian Jew might rashly fancy, that the men were full of new wine and were mere unintelligible babblers, so long as he heard any of them addressing the Roman strangers in Latin; and the same opinion might be hastily taken up by a Cretan Jew, if listening to an apostle as he spoke to a Mede or an Elamite in their respective tongues. But, when each heard himself addressed in his own language Acts ii. 1-4. |