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An Essay on the Character of the Apostles and Evangelists
An Essay on the Character of the Apostles and Evangelists Author:Richard Graves Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: the will. Its origin is clear, its progrefs gradual, and its proof fatisfactory. Examine, by this criterion, the faith of the founders of Chriftianity. It is ... more »the peculiar character of enthufiafm not to be confcious of the weaknefs of thofe proofs to which it appeals, it therefor employs no difguife to conceal their weaknefs, but perpetually betrays itfelf by the very nature of the evidence which it adduces in its fupport. We may therefore examine the account which the apoftles have given of the origin of their faith, fecure that if it was founded on the delufion of fanaticifnij that delufion will appear in the whole tenor of the gofpel hiftory. $ E T I O N II. The faith of the apoftles in. their Lord, at its firft origin and progrefs, wfis founded not on the dclu- fions of enthufiafm, but on rational proofs. r ". IT is peculiarly important to trace the firft origin of any opinion, becaufe this frequently decides its permanent character. When therefore the twelve apoftles firft followed their divine Mafter, was it from the power of enthufiaftic caprice ? Confider ourbur Lord's entrance on his miniftfy. John was baptizing in the river Jordan, at noon-day, fur- rounded by multitudes, " froml Jerufalem and " all Judea, and all the region round about;" the humble Jefus approaches—for thirty years m had he lived in retirement—no fame n of private miracles or fecret inspirations had been fpread abroad, to inflame public expectation or deceive vulgar credulity ; he had pradtifed no religious auiterity to excite veneration ; he had collected no partizans to fupport his authority; he approaches as a young man, alone and undiflinguimed, modeftly defiring to partake of the baptifm of John—but undiflinguimed he did not long remain, the prophet difcerned and acknowledged his...« less