ART. V. — The Evidences of Christianity in their External Divi- sion, exhibited in a Course of Lectures, delivered in Clinton Hall, under the appointment of the University of the City of New York. By CHARLES P. M'ILVAINE, D. D. ART. VI. Decision and Charity. A Letter to the Editors of the Review of a modern Substitute for a Supposed Sinful Nature, as exhibited and recommended in Professor Stu- art's "Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans." ART. VIII. — A Family Prayer Book, and Private Manual: to which are added Forms for Religious Societies and Schools. With a Collection of Hymns. By CHARLES BROOKS. ART. IX.- Meaning of y. Fourth Letter from the Rev. MR. ART. X.-A History of King's Chapel, in Boston; the first Epis- 245 ART. I.-The Biography of Intelligent Reformers, and History of the Reformation in the Sixteenth Century. Being Vol. iii. of the New Series of the Christian Monitor. ART. II. A Chapter of Intellectual Philosophy. The Final ART. III. Report on Punishment by Death. By a Committee of the House of Representatives. June 9, 1831. ART. V.-The District School as it was, by ONE, WHO WENT TO IT. 324 ART. VI. — 1. A Complete History of the Several Translations of the Holy Bible and New Testament into English. By JOHN LEWIS, A. M. The Third Edition. To which is now added a List of various Editions of the Bible, from the Year 1526 to the Present Time, extracted from Bishop NEWCOME'S Historical View of English Biblical Translations; with a Continuation by another Hand. 2. The Existing Monopoly, an Inadequate Protection of the Au- thorized Version of Scripture. By THOMAS Curtis. 3. Oxford Bibles. An Article published in the British Maga- zine for March, 1833. Mr. Curtis's Misrepresentations ex- ART. VII. Popery and its kindred Principles unfriendly to the Improvement of Man. A Dudleian Lecture, delivered before ART. VIII. - A Statement of Reasons for not believing the Doc- THE CHRISTIAN EXAMINER. No. LV. NEW SERIES-No. XXV. MARCH, 1833. ART. I. The Apocryphal Testament, being all the Gospels, Epistles, and other Pieces now extant, attributed, in the First Four Centuries, to Jesus Christ, his Apostles, and their Companions, and not included in the New Testament by its Compilers. Translated, and now first Collected into one volume, with Prefaces and Tables, and various Notes and References. From the last London Edition. ton. 1832. Bos We have little fault to find with this publication, except as regards the mode of getting it up. The pieces which enter into the collection, are, we suppose, perfectly harmless. No considerate reader, at least, can be injured by them, nor can the cause of Christianity suffer by their republication, provided their origin and history, so far as known, be told. But it was due, we think, from the editor, in fairness, to state the principle on which they were excluded from the number of books esteemed of authority among Christians. The language of the Preface, too, is, in some respects, exceptionable. It speaks of the writings which compose the New Testament, as selected from the "various Gospels and Epistles then in existence," by certain "compilers," a mode of expression which, as will hereafter appear, is calculated to convey an erroneous impression of the manner in which the volume of canonical Scriptures was formed. Again, the editor of the present publication places the pieces embraced in it, in the number of those "considered VOL. XIV. — N. S. VOL. IX. NO. I. 1 sacred by Christians during the first four centuries," after the birth of Christ. If, by this language, he means to insinuate, as it would seem (for his statement is wholly unqualified), that all, or any of the several productions, admitted into the collection, were esteemed "sacred" by Christians. generally, during the period referred to, the insinuation, as we shall see, is not supported by the least shadow of evidence. The title is objectionable for a similar reason. It describes the volume as containing all the compositions now extant, which were "attributed, in the first four centuries, to Jesus Christ, his apostles, and their companions, and not included in the New Testament." Attributed by whom? Not, surely, by the great body of Christians, or by any considerable portion of them. Of this we have no proof, as regards any one of the writings in question, but conclusive evidence to the contrary. It is not our intention, at this time, to go into any elaborate discussion of the evidence for the authority and genuineness of the several books composing the New Testament. This is not needed. Our object is simply, by a few plain remarks, to put our readers in possession of the principle upon which, according to our apprehension, those books have been received by Christians as canonical, in other words, as books claiming our reverence as containing an authentic record of a divine revelation, to the exclusion of all other writings attributed to the same period. Our statements must of necessity be very general. To fortify them at every step, by an appeal to facts, would require a volume instead of a brief essay. Those who desire further information on the subject we must refer to the very learned works already_in existence, particularly those of Lardner and Jones.+ Paley's work, composed chiefly of materials derived from the former, contains an admirably condensed view of the most important facts and arguments connected with the subject, and is within the reach of all. We speak of the New Testament as a whole, and it is asked, By whom was it put together? By whom were the * Credibility of the Gospel History. New and Full Method of Settling the Canonical Authority of the New Testament. By Jeremiah Jones. View of the Evidences of Christianity. several pieces contained in it collected into one volume? By an individual, or by a council or body of men? What authority had this supposed individual, or body of men, to decide upon the books to be received or rejected? It would be difficult to give a formal and concise reply to these questions. Nor is it important; for they do not, in our opinion, indicate the proper mode of inquiry; do not put us on the right track. It is quite obvious that none of the ancient councils undertook to settle authoritatively the canon of the New Testament. We have better evidence of the genuineness and authenticity of the several writings which compose it, than the decisions of a council. The New Testament is a collection of pieces, written at different times, by different authors; a collection, we should say, if we except the Revelation, of occasional memoirs and letters. We have no certain evidence that any written records of our Saviour's life and instructions existed for several years after he left the earth. The Apostles were at first engaged in preaching; in relating what they had seen and heard of Jesus; recounting the history of his life and teachings, and explaining and defending the great principles of his religion. Those who enjoyed the benefit of their personal ministrations, would feel little need of any written documents. Had they doubts, or did they desire further information on any point, their wishes could be easily gratified by the opportunities they enjoyed of familiar intercourse with their teachers. But this was not a privilege they could long hope to retain. They would anxiously look forward to the time when the death of the Apostles would for ever deprive them of so precious a blessing. And even before that event, as the first preachers of Christianity, in the fulfilment of their commission, were compelled to travel over different countries, the converts of a particular city or province, would very naturally desire to possess some written accounts of what they had heard from their lips. This would give rise to such narratives of our Saviour's life as are contained in our present Gospels. Two of these Gospels, those of Matthew and Mark, are expressly said, on the authority of a most ancient tradition, to have originated in this way. Luke declares his own purpose in writing, in his preface. The aged John may, or may not, have written to preserve the memory of some incidents in the life of his Master, and record several of his discourses, not mentioned by the other Evangelists, or to correct some false impressions which he had observed to be gaining currency among Christians. Both these motives were attributed to him in early times. The Epistles obviously had their origin in the wants of the individuals or communities to which they were addressed. They are occasional letters, called forth by the exigencies of the times. Take the Epistles of Paul for example. It is quite natural to suppose that the converts made by him in a particular place, where he did not long remain, would need further instruction after his departure. Disorders would creep in, which would require to be corrected; false teachers would intrude, or controversies would arise, to agitate the little community, or trials and persecutions would be met, which would endanger their steadfastness in the faith. In all such cases, as he might not be able soon to revisit them in person, his obvious course would be, to address them in a letter, containing admonitions and advice adapted to their situation. The Gospels or memoirs, and letters, thus produced, would for some time lie dispersed in the hands of those for whose use they were immediately intended. As they became known to the generality of Christians, however, as the productions of those to whom they were attributed, copies of them would be taken, and gradually collected into a volume for better preservation, or more convenient use. This col lection would, from time to time increase, as the productions of different writers, commissioned to teach the new religion, became known as theirs. Some pieces, from their minuteness, or the remote situation of those to whom they were addressed, might long remain in obscurity, but as soon as ascertained to be in existence, and of acknowledged genuineness, they would be added to the collection. Meantime accounts gathered from uncertain tradition, and mixed up with no little extravagance and falsehood, would be committed to writing, perhaps by honest but weak men. Fictitious narratives would be constructed, and letters would be composed with a good or ill design. These would be read for a time by a portion of Christians, before their true character was understood. But the forgery, in case of forgery, would be soon detected. Or if genuine, the writings |