other innumerable Excellencies that adorn'd his Person and might sufficiently recommend him to the World He did'n't act like a Tyrant who by the Help of a prevailing Party takes Occasion to violate the known Laws of the Land in which he lives nor like a Robber who comes with Armed Men against them who innocently pass by the King's High-Way about their necessary Affairs or like a Wealthy Man who by the Help of Bribes induces Persons to come over to his Interest whether by right or wrong or like many others that might easily be mention'd whose Proceedings do manifestly deserve our Censure but like one who came to teach an ignorant and degenerate World what Thoughts they shou'd entertain of God and how they might so regulate their Morals as to maintain an humble and familiar Correspondence with his Blessed Majesty And as for Themistocles and several other Persons who gain'd a more than common Reputation and did real and extraordinary Service to their Native Country this must be said to draw a Shade over their greatest Glory that ev'ry Thing seem'd to smile on their just and honourable Attempts and as it were pave the Way for their glorious Victories and immortal Triumphs But as for our Blessed Saviour besides what I have already said which upon the first View one wou'd think was enough to have eternally conceal'd or shamefully fully'd the Name of the greatest Heroe that the World cou'd ever boast of the ignominious Death which he suffer'd on the Cross if he had had the fairest Character wou'd have giv'n his Followers just Cause to suspect him of being a vile Impostor if we may give any Credit to our Adversaries or at least have drawn a most dismal Veil over the few bright and entertaining Scenes of the most Aweful Tragedy that was ever acted CHAP. XXVIII AND 't is Matter of Wonder that our Saviour's Disciples who in the Judgment of our Enemies were not Eye-Witnesses of the Truth of his triumphant Resurrection and saw nothing but what was common and ev'n contemptible in his Person shou'dn't be afraid to imitate him in his Sufferings to encounter the most imminent and threat'ning Dangers and leave their Native Country to publish the Doctrine which their crucify'd but blessed Lord had taught em For I believe that no Person who laying aside his Prejudice examines these Matters duely will say that they wou'd ever have undergone the Fatigue of Ttinerant Preaching if they had not been fully perswaded of the vast Obligations that lay upon 'em both from Reason and Gratitude not only to conform their Manners to the holy Precepts of the Christian Religion but also to do what lay in their Power to bring many others under the same honourable and happy Bonds when as Matters went at that Critical Juncture they were sure to incur the Displeasure of the Heathen World who were zealous for their ancient Laws and Customs and cou'dn't endure the least seeming Innovation especially with respect to the pompous Ceremonies of their religious Worship But all these Difficulties were light and trivial in the Esteem of those who had Courage not only to prove to the Jewish Nation that our Blessed Saviour was frequently and expresly foretold by their own Prophetick Oracles but also to make it appear to others as Occasion offer'd that this very Person was the true Messiah who was crucify'd but t'other Day and willingly and ev'n chearfully laid down his precious Life for the whole Race of Men after the same manner tho' with unspeakable Advantage in which some others have sacrific'd all that 's near and dear to 'em for the good of their Native Country to free it from a raging Pestilence a threat'ning Famine or some violent impending Tempest that greatly endangers Ships and puts a Stop ev'n to Navigation which is so convenient and necessary for promoting an advantagious Trade into Foreign and very distant Parts For there are some secret Reasons in Nature which very few understand why the Death of one virtuous Man who readily suffers the greatest Evils that can possibly befall him for the real and perhaps lasting Welfare of the Place of his Nativity shou'd destroy or at least severely check the usurp'd Power of those infernal Daemons who are the Cause of Plagues Famines Storms and the like evident and great Disorders which frequently happen in the World And I wou'd fain know of them who don't believe that our Saviour dy'd for the general Benefit of the humane Race whether they won't give easie Credit to many Histories that are extant both of the Greeks and Barbarians which furnish us with frequent and remarkable Instances of Persons who have freely laid down their Lives for the publick Good and whose Death has been happily instrumental to purge away those threat'ning and grievous Calamities that infected Cities and perhaps whole Nations or whether on the Supposition that these are Matters of Fact it be in the least improbable that one cloath'd with humane Nature shou'd be nail'd to a Cross to destroy the Works of the Devil who before did often and too successfully exercise a Tyrannical Power over the Bodies and Souls of Men. Our Saviour's Disciples observing these Things and many Others of the like Nature with which in all Probability their prudent and indulgent Master thought fit to acquaint 'em and being fill'd with the Spirit of God for they were not inspir'd with their unusual Courage by the Virgin which the Poets speak of but by the true Wisdom of God they made haste Thro' the wide World their Fame to spread Hom. Il. Lib. 5. v. 2 CHAP. XXIX BUT 't is Time to return to the Jew whom Celsus personates who says That the Virgin Mary being big with Child was divorc'd by her Husband the Carpenter for committing Adultery with one Panthera a Soldier and being got with Child by that scandalous Wretch Let us see therefore whether the Inventors of this Story don't give a false and obscure Account of the Matter and whether by all that they have to say they are able to overthrow the Doctrine of our Saviour's miraculous Conception by the over-shadowing of the Holy Ghost For so surprizing a Passage as this is might very easily be falsify'd and 't was possible they might deny the Truth of it tho' they were inwardly convinc'd that our Saviour was not conceiv'd in the common Way of humane Generation And methinks it wou'dn't have been incongruous at all that they who didn't believe or rather wou'dn't acknowledge the Miracle shou'd invent a Fiction to serve their malicious and base Design But to invent one that was so far from having a plausible Appearance that 't was a great and notorious Untruth was to discover their Weakness to them who are able to distinguish Truth from Falsehood For do's it stand to Reason that one who was so useful to the World in general and express'd a most tender Concern both for the Greeks and Barbarians that they might reform their Manners from a Sense
cursed Hands in the bloody Death of our Blessed Lord. Celsus therefore might every Jot as well have granted that our Saviour knew what Accidents wou'd befall him and yet have talk'd with the highest Contempt of his Divine Praescience as grant that he was capable of working such Miracles as he wrought and at the same Time affirm that he was a Notorious and Vile Impostor And he might with all his Learning have shown that the Augurs and Auspices foretold Future Events by the Flying of Birds and by the Intrails of Beasts But he was loth it seems to make this Concession whereas he do's in some sort acknowledge that our Saviour wrought many Miracles and yet asserts he did 'em by the Help of Magick Phlegon was much more ingenuous who in the 13th and 14th Book of his Chronicon acknowledges that our Saviour foretold Future Events and says they exactly answer'd his Prediction tho' I observe that he seems sometimes to confound our Blessed Lord with the Apostle Peter And as it were in Spite of Prejudice he draws this natural Conclusion That since the Founder of our Holy Religion and many of his Followers were able to foretell many future and remarkable Events at so great a Distance of Time which exactly answer'd their Predictions we must suppose that they were acted by a more than Ordinary Power Then Celsus says That our Saviour's Disciples not being able to conceal those Things which were expos'd to Publick View thought that the best Game they had to play was to give out that their Master foresaw a long Time before all the Accidents that did afterwards befall him But either he didn't know or at least seems to be ignorant that our Blessed Saviour us'd the following Words to his Disciples All ye shall be offended because of me this Night which Mat. 26. V. 31. we know happen'd accordingly and was no false Prophet when he said to Peter Before the Cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice Ibid. V. 34. Now if they hadn't been Men of undoubted Integrity but had design'd to impose on our Credulity by false Narrations they wou'd certainly have discover'd so much of Worldly Policy as to have said nothing at all of Peter's Denying his Blessed Lord whose Cause he had so resolutely promis'd to maintain and never to have mention'd the Offence which ev'n some of the Disciples took at the mean Condition in which our Saviour condescended and thought fit to appear and if these Things which seem to represent the Followers of our Blessed Lord to a great Disadvantage were not related in the Gospels how cou'd Celsus or any other Person have tak'n Occasion from thence to cast a Reproach on our most Holy Religion But they were not unwilling that latest Posterity shou'd be acquainted with their Failings since they were well assur'd that this wou'dn't in the least hinder the happy Progress of the Everlasting Gospel or give the Reader any just Occasion to be guilty of the like Irregular Practices What Celsus adds is ridiculous to the last Degree The Disciples got this publish'd says he to secure the Reputation of their Master and 't is as if to prove that a Man is just I shou'd instance in several Acts of Injustice that he has done or to prove that he 's free from Passion I shou'd shew that he has been guilty of Murder or to prove that he 's immortal shou'd expose his dead Body to View and after all put People off with this frivolous Pretence that he foresaw whatsoever shou'd befall him But here 't is apparent that he grosly misapplies the Instances which he 's pleas'd to produce For there 's no Absurdity at all in supposing that our Blessed Saviour shou'd propose himself to us as a Bright Example of Moral Virtue and yet teach us to sacrifice our Lives and all that 's dear to us for the Sake of the Religion we embrace Consider also that the Death which he suffer'd is of General and Universal Advantage as I think I have sufficiently prov'd already And tho' Celsus do's fondly imagine that it makes very much for the Cause which he espouses that we don't deny that our Saviour suffer'd in the most notorious and shameful Manner yet this is for Want of knowing the SACRED MYSTERIES that are contain'd in the Passion of our BLESSED LORD as St. Paul observes and the several Predictions which are left upon Record by the Inspired Prophets concerning this difficult and important Affair Besides he seems not to know that there was a Celebrated Heretick who deny'd that the Sufferings of our Saviour were real This made him say You don't pretend that his bitter Passion was only in Appearance but without mincing the Matter you hold that he suffer'd in a strict and proper Sence For our Parts we think 't is a Notorious Heresy to maintain that our Saviour's Sufferings were only in Appearance since we must then affirm as the necessary Consequence of the fore-mention'd false and dangerous Position that his Resurrection as glorious as we suppose it to be was a meer Deceptio Visus For he that really dyes if he rises again must be really ris'n and on the contrary he that dy'd but in Appearance can only seemingly rise But because Infidels endeavour to expose the Doctrine of the Resurrection of our Saviour to the last Degree of Prophane Contempt I shall take Occasion to mention here what Plato relates of Er the Son of Armenius Plato's Common Wealth l. 10. who at the End of twelve Days rose out of his Tomb and told several remarkable Transactions that to his certain Knowledge had pass'd in the World of Spirits And I might mention the Story which Heraclitus tells of a Woman who continu'd a considerable Time without any Sign of Life which I think do's evidently and not a little serve my present Purpose since 't is with Infidels I 'm now engag'd And many pregnant Instances might easily be produc'd from History of Persons who have appear'd the Day after their Decease Is it then any Wonder at all that one who in the whole Course of his Life did so many Actions which nothing short of a Divine Power cou'd possibly enable him to perform who wrought Miracles to attest the Truth of his Doctrine which were so surprizing and so open to the View of his most implacable Adversaries that Celsus himself has not the Face to deny that they were true in Fact tho' indeed he ascribes 'em to the Power of Infernal Daemons I say is it any Wonder at all that so Divine a Person as our Saviour was shou'd have something that was remarkable in his Death and that his Holy Soul having freely and ev'n chearfully left his Body for a Time shou'd return to it as soon as ever it had perform'd the entire Duty of a Disunited Spirit Our Saviour has the following Words No Man takes it from me speaking of his Life but I lay it down of John 10. V. 18. my self I have Power
was the Resurrection of the two Children before-mention'd a great and diffusive Blessing to Mankind as we know the Resnrrection of our Saviour was when the Power of God did so eminently accompany the Preaching of the Gospel and caus'd it to make so deep and lasting an Impression upon the Minds of so many of his Hearers who at first were strangely prejudic'd against him CHAP. XXXI THE pretended Jew goes on and is ready to split his Sides with Laughing at the Earth-quake and ridicules the more than ordinary Darkness that were the AWFVL CONCOMITANTS of our Saviour's Sufferings But this I have already answer'd according to my weak Ability and produc'd the Testimony of Phlegon who acknowledges that these wonderful Events did really happen at the Time of our Saviour's Passion Then the Jew has the following Words You say that he rose from the dead tho' he was far from being able to secure his Person while he remain'd on Earth and shew'd upon his Body all the Marks of his Crucifixion and the very Print of the Nails with which his Hands and Feet were pierc'd But what dos this Gentleman mean by saying He wa'n't able to secure his Person If he means that our Blessed Saviour wa'nt able to secure himself from the common Contagion of Vice and Immorality what he says is absolutely and manifestly false For he never spoke a Word or did an Action that was in the least indecent or unworthy of an INCARNATE GOD. He was led as a Sheep to the Mat. 27 V. 2 Slaughter and as a Laneb before her Shearers was dumb so he open'd not his Mouth Viz. By way of Complaint or Uneasiness as St. Mathew acquaints us But if Celsus means that he didn't exert his Power to secure himself from the outward Calamities to which he was expos'd which morally consider'd were neither Good nor Evil I have prov'd already from the Gospels that he submitted to 'em with the greatest Readiness imaginable and shew'd the Reasons which justify'd his Conduct Then the pretended Jew having spoke of our Saviour's shewing all the Marks of his Crucifixion and the very Print of his Nails says There was no Witness of the Truth of this strange Account but one Fanatical Woman designing to ridicule Mary Magdalen who saw him after he was ris'n from the dead as we are told in the Gospels and because we are inform'd that he was seen by others he thought fit to add the following Words And perhaps some Body else of the same wretched Cabal Then he plainly discovers that he is one of those who admire the Epicurean Hypothesis when he endeavours to shew how a lively Idea of a deceas'd Person may be form'd in the warm Imagination in the following Words Who was deluded by her own idle Whimsies or too easily believ'd what she wou'd have to be true as we know it frequently happens There 's a great Deal of Force if we must give any heed to his idle Whimsies in this scurrilous Language But ev'n from hence we may be furnish'd with an Argument to prove the IMMORTAL SVBSISTENCE of HVMANE SOVLS when they are separated from their Bodies and the unavoidable Consequence of what he here asserts amounts to this at least that it survives the Body For if as Plato observes in his Dialogues about the HVMANE SOVL there are certain Images of dead Persons that are seen near their Tombs then they must be owing to some Cause or other And no Cause can be so rationally assign'd as the Soul of the deceas'd Person that assumes a Body which is adapted to it But Celsus who advances the fore-mention'd Notion wou'd make People dream while they are thoroughly awake and have their Sences about 'em and says They too easily believe what they wou'd have to be true Such Dreams indeed as he talks of are common when the Bodily Sences are lock'd up by Sleep but I think we can't easily account for 'em when Persons are awake unless they be troubl'd with Melancholy or fall'n into a Fit of the Frenzy Celsus it seems wa'n't ignorant of this and that made him call Mary Magdalen a Fanatick tho' the Scripture-History says nothing like it and our Saviour's Appearing after he was ris'n from the dead and showing all the Marks that were made in his Crucify'd Body must according to Celsus be solv'd by the Doctrine of the Images of deceas'd Persons but according to the Scripture-Account which he 's so cunning as to use when he thinks that it serves his purpose the Matter of Fact stood thus Our Saviour call'd one of his Disciples to him who cou'dn't for his Life believe that he was ris'n from the dead with the same Body I say with the same Body For the Appearance of Humane Souls after Death don't seem to be the least Matter of his Doubt Therefore 't is remarkable that he dos'n't say Except I see him but Except John 20. V. 25 I shall see in his Hands the Print of the Nails and put my Finger into the Print of the Nails and thrust my Hand into his Sides I will not believe He didn't question but that the Soul of a deceas'd Person might animate a Body which wou'd be visible to the corporeal Eye and bear a Resemblance to that from which 't was separated by Death not only with respect to the Eyes and Voice and Mien but also Sometimes appear in a like Habit cloath'd Hom. Il. Book 23 V. 67. Therefore our Saviour call'd Thomas to him and said Reach hither thy Finger and behold my Hands and reach John 20 V. 27. hither thy Hand and thrust it into my Side and be not faithless but believing And by the Way 't was agreable to the many Prophecies which we meet with concerning him the many evident Miracles he wrought and unusual Accidents that befell him that he shou'd rise from the Dead and that this considerable Circumstance shou'd as it were crown and compleat the rest The Prophetical Psalmist speaking in the Person of our Saviour has this Prophecy relating to him My Flesh also shall rest in Hope for thou wilt not leave my Soul in Hell nor Psalm 16 V. 9. suffer thy Holy One to see Corruption And the Body with which our Saviour rose from the Dead did neither consist of such gross Matter as it consisted of before nor of such subtil Matter as that with which separate Souls are cloath'd when an Apparition appears Therefore St. John has the following Words His Disciples were within and Thomas with em Then came Jesus the Doors being shut and stood in the Midst and said Peace be unto you And he adds these Words Then says he to Thomas reach hither thy Finger St. Luke tells us that When Simon and Cleopas were talking of the Things Luke 24 V. 14. that had happen'd to him Jesus himself drew near and went with em But their Eyes were holden that they shou'd not know him And he said to 'em What Manner of Communications are these that ye
and sacred Regard to the Honour of God and the Interest of their Dear and Ever Blessed Redeemer Now if the whole Course of our Saviour's Life was such as I have represented it without using any Artificiâ—l Colours and Bold Figures to emblazon it as we know is too frequently the Case of many of the feign'd Heroes of Antiquity how absurd a Thing is it to compare it with the cursed Operations of Magicians and is it not highly agreeable to the Dictates of impartial Reason to believe that he was GOD as he himself assures us and condescended to assume the Hamane Nature for our Common and Everlasting Benefit CHAP. LIX THEN Celsus confounding Things at a most miserable Rate and borrowing what is peculiar to one Sect of Christians that he may the more successfully reproach the whole Body of 'em says Certainly a God wou'd never have such a Body as yours that is so contemptible as being liable to so many and so considerable Imperfections In Answer to this we say he assum'd A Humane Body being conceiv'd in the Womb of the Blessed Virgin which render'd him capable of Suffering and Dying in some Respects like the rest of Men. In this Sence we may truly say he was a miserable Person Being tempted in all Heb. iv V. 15. Things as we are yet without Sin For with us 't is beyond all Doubt that He committed no Sin neither was Guile found in his Mouth and that God did 1 Pet. ii V 22. deliver him up as a Spotless Sacrifice for the Sins of an Apostate World Then Celsus says the Body of a God wou'd never have been form'd like your's But he can't deny that if our Saviour was born as we say he was then ev'n his Body had in some Sence a Stamp of Divinity upon it and might be call'd the Body of the Great God himself On the contrary he disbelieves and ridicules the Account we have of our Saviour's Conception by the Holy Ghost and thinks he was begotten in Adultery by one Panthera a Souldier on the Body of her whom we call the Blessed Virgin and that made him say the Body of a God wou'd never have been form'd like your's But I think I have said enough on that Head already to satisfy any Impartial and Candid Reader CHAP. LX. CELSVS goes on neither says he Do's the Body of God stand in Need of such Food for its Nourishment and Support as that with which yours is supply'd as if he cou'd shew out of the Four Evangelists not only that he ate but also by what Food his frail Nature was maintain'd But be it so I grant he ate the Passover with his Disciples and not only made Use of the following Words With Desire Luk. xxii V. 15. I have desir'd to eat this Passover with you but did actually partake of what was provided for him I grant also that being thirsty he drank at Jacob's Well But what is this to the Purpose 'T is said expresly he ate Fish ev'n after he was risen from the dead And this agrees very well with what we say viz. That he assum'd a Real and not a Phantastical Body and was conceiv'd in the Womb of the Blessed Virgin Then Celsus says A God had no need of such a Voice nor such Methods of Perswasion But this I think is one of the most frivolous Objections that he cou'd possibly have rais'd against us For I might tell him that Apollo one of the Gods of the Greeks who goes under the Name of Pythian and Didymaeâ—n made use of such a Voice when the Oracle was giv'n by the Pythian Priestess or the Priestess of Miletum And yet the Greeks don't take Occasion from hence to call in Question much less to deny the Divinity of Apollo or any other God who gave out Oracles at some convenient Place Now how much more did it conduce to the Spiritual Advantage of the World in General that God shou'd reveal his Will in the Person of our Blessed Saviour who spoke with such Authority and Power that he made a secret but irresistible Impression upon the Minds of Men. CHAP. LXI THEN Celsus whose wicked Opinions and Practices render him hateful to that God who is a Lover of right Reason and unaffected Virtue reproaches our Saviour in the following Words All his Miracles discover'd him to be a Person hateful to God and a notorious and vile Impostor But if we critically enquire into the Nature of Things and the Signification of the foregoing Words we shall find that in Propriety and Strictness of Speech no Person how wicked soever he may be can have this Character giv'n him that he is hated of God For the following Expression carries Abundance of Truth as well as Weight in it viz. Thou lovest all Things that Wis xi V. 24. are and hatest nothing which thou hast made for never wou'dst thou have made any Thing if thou hadst hated it If we meet with any Expressions in the Writings of the Prophets that seem to intimate that God hates his Creatures we must interpret 'em by this general and necessary Rule that the Scripture when it speaks of God do's often cloath him as it were with those very Passions which are frequently working in Humane Breasts But to what Purpose is it to return an Answer to a Person who ev'n in a Discourse Entitul'd A True Relation takes the Liberty to give Vent to his Passion in most unjust and severe Invectives and to treat our Blessed Saviour as if he were like him a Notorious and Vile Impostor For such Language as he gives him don't become a Man who pretends to Reason and Demonstration tho' he discovers at once his Want both of Sence and Breeding On the contrary he ought to have fairly stated the Controversy which there is between us to have examin'd Matters with the greatest Impartiality and Exactness and shou'd have avoided as much as might be all needless and ridiculous Digressions and Tautologies But because Celsus's Jew do's no longer continue his Discourse with our Blessed Saviour I shall draw my first Book to a Conclusion and if God will grant me the Knowledge of his Truth which is able to overthrow tho' not wholly to extirpate Error according to that Expression Destroy 'em by thy Truth I shall return an Answer to what Celsus offers as personating a Jew directing his Discourse to those of his Native Country who are suppos'd to be unhappily as he imagines brought off from Judaism to an open Profession of the Religion which we embrace Origen against Celsus Translated from the ORIGINAL INTO ENGLISH Book the Second Origen against Celsus CHAP. I. MY First Book in Answer to Celsus's Discourse Entitul'd A True Relation ending where he ceases to personate a Jew discoursing with our Blessed Saviour and being swol'n to a convenient Bulk I resolv'd to compose a second and therein I shall endeavour to confute what the same pretended Jew has to offer to those of his own Country who are
to lay it down and I have Power to take it up again And perhaps the Reason why his Holy Soul made Haste to leave his Body might be this that his Legs might not be broken as those of the Thieves were who were crucify'd by his Sides Then came the Soldiers and brake John 19. V. 32. the Legs of the first and of the other which was crucify'd with him But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already they broke not his Legs So that I have answer'd that Objection of Celsus how will you perswade us that he cou'd foretell these Things As for that other How will you ever make us believe that a Dead Person is immortal We say 't wou'd seem no Wonder at all if People wou'd but take us right that he that dy'd was not strictly immortal but he that rose from the Dead Nay we say that our Saviour was not immortal with respect to his Humane Nature before his Body was separated from his Soul For no Person who is to dye can properly be said to be immortal but then he 's truly immortal when he 's for ever loos'd from the Bands of Death Christ being rais'd from the dead dies Rom. 6. V. 9. no more Death has no more Dominion over him whatever some Persons may affirm who don't understand the Meaning of these mysterious Words CHAP. XV. WHAT Celsus adds is no less ill-grounded than what goes before What God says he or Daemon nay what Man of Common Sence will not take the most proper Methods that he can to avoid the Evils he foresees will befall him and especially when he knows he can easily prevent 'em if he will But Socrates was well-acquainted with the Nature of the Poyson that was giv'n him and if he had but follow'd the Advice of Crito he had escap'd out of Prison and secur'd his Person from the great Inconveniencies to which he was expos'd and yet he chose rather to dye than to act in the least unbecoming the Character of so Celebrated a Philosopher So Leonidas the Lacaedemonian General knew very well that he and his Company shou'd dve at Thermopylae yet preferring his Honour to his frail and mortal Life he said Come let us dine like those who are to eat their Supper with the Dead They who will take the Pains to consult Historians may find abundance of such Instances as these What Wonder is it then that our Blessed Saviour didn't use all possible Endeavours to avoid those Evils which he knew wou'd befall him when a far inferiour Person I mean the Apostle Paul foreseeing what Things he shou'd suffer at Jerusalem encounter'd the greatest Dangers and sharply reprov'd the Cruel Kindness of those who with Tears in their Eyes endeavour'd to prevent him from the happy Execution of his great Designs Nay many at this very Day who are not ignorant to what dreadful Calamities the Profession of Christianity will expose 'em and that if they wou'd openly renounce it they shou'd be immediately discharg'd and have their Goods restor'd I say many at this very Day despise Life with all its native and gawdy Charms and embrace Death it self ev'n approaching to 'em in the most frightful Shapes What Celsus adds is as ridiculous as what went before If says he Judas 's Treason and Peter 's Denial of his Master were foretold by Christ one wou'd think they shou'd for that Reason have had an Aweful Sense of His Divinity and thereby have been effectually secur'd from offering such base Affronts to their suppos'd Rightful Sovereign and most Liberal Benefactor But here Celsus with all his Wisdom do's unawares most grosly contradict himself because if our Saviour was GOD as well as Man then the Events of Things cou'dn't but exactly agree with what his Infinite Mind foresaw concerning 'em and by consequence the one must Vnavoidably betray and the other by a sad but Fatal Necessity deny him If Matters cou'd have happen'd otherwise if Judas hadn't betray'd nor Peter deny'd him being sufficiently forewarn'd of the Folly and Danger of committing such horrid Crimes his Veracity might easily have been call'd in Question For if our Saviour foresaw as we say he did that Judas shou'd betray him he also foresaw that Corruption of his Nature that that inclin'd him to his Treachery and if he foresaw that St Peter wou'd deny him he also foresaw his Infirmity that was the unhappy Cause of his committing so base a Crime and this was consistent enough with his permitting him to be surpriz'd into a gross Act of Sin And what do's Celsus's Jew propose I wonder when he says They betray'd and deny'd him throwing off all manner of Respect to him whom they own'd to be their Lord and Master For I have already shown that Judas himself as vile a Wretch as he was retain'd some respect for our Blessed Saviour ev'n in that horrid Instant in which he inhumanely betray'd him And the like may be said of St. Peter who after he had shamefully deny'd him went out and wept bitterly as St. Mathew acquaints us What the Jew adds is very ridiculous and childish If a Person says he do's once discover the Snares that are laid for him and detect his Adversaries they commonly desist from their malicious Purpose For the contrary is most evident from the Experience of all Ages of the World Then as if he were drawing to a Conclusion he says We mustn't imagine that these Things came e're the more to pass because he foretold 'em but rather infer from what I have said that he never did foretell em For 't is absurd to suppose that either Judas wou'd ever have betray'd or Peter have deny'd him had they been forewarn'd and appriz'd of his Prediction But since I have already overthrown the Principles on which his Discourse is founded the Conclusion which he draws viz. We mustn't imagine that these Things came to pass because he foretold 'em must fall to the Ground of Course We say the Events happen'd as Things in their own Nature possible and since they came to pass we see the Predictions verify'd For the Truth or Falshood of Prophecies is best known by the Event Therefore what he says viz. That they didn't come e're the more to pass because he foretold 'em but we must rather infer from what I have said that he did never foretell em For 't is absurd to suppose that either Judas wou'd ever have betray'd or Peter have deny'd him had they been forewarn'd and appriz'd of his Prediction This I say is most apparently false and his Inferences are not just Then he says that If our Saviour was GOD and really foretold these Things as You are apt to imagine they must necessarily come to pass so that a God is suppos'd to force his Disciples to be wicked with whom he seemingly express'd so endearing a Familiarity when on the contrary he of all Persons shou'd have been highly serviceable to all Mankind and especially to
he pleases to the contrary They acquaint us that the Blood which flow'd from our Saviour's Body was not fabulous like that which Homer speaks of but that soon after he expir'd One of the Souldiers with a Spear pierc'd his Side and forthwith there came out John 19 V. 34 35. Blood and Water and he that saw it bare Record and his Record is true and he knows that he says true In Dead Bodies 't is common for the Blood to stagnate and we don't use to see Water trickle down from the Veins but when our Saviour was dead Water and Blood flow'd from his pierced Side in a praeter-natural Way And if instead of putting an improper and forc'd Sence upon some Passages in the Gospels and thereby seeking all possible Occasion to reproach our Saviour and his Followers one wou'd but diligently and impartially consider the strange Events which are there related one might easily perceive that the Centurion and they who were set to watch the dead Body of our Saviour who had been Eye-Witnesses of the Earth-quake and many other surprizing Accidents that happen'd at that Time were struck with an unusual Terror and said Truly this Mat. 27 V. 54. was the SON of GOD. Then our Bigotted Adversary who only reads the Gospels with a Design to pick up some Scraps of 'em here and there which as he fondly imagines do make for the Interest which he espouses ridicules our Saviour on the Account of the Gall and Vinegar that was giv'n him to drink He was so very thirsty says he that he greedily drank off the bitter Draught In answer to this I might easily show that that Action of our Saviour will admit of an Allegorical Sence and must by no Means be consin'd to the bare literal Interpretation of the Words But I choose at present to return a more general Answer to this vile and notorious Calumny viz. That this Relation of the Evangelists exactly agrees with what was foretold under the Old-Testament-Dispensation For in the 69th Psalm The Messiah is brought in speaking the following Words They gave me also Gall for my Meat and in my Thirst they gave me Vinegar to drink Now let the Jews acquaint us who it is that the Prophetical Psalmist speaks of and name any other Person recorded in any History whether Sacred or Prophane who had Gall and Vinegar giv'n him to drink or let 'em freely acknowledge that what is here related was predicted as what wou'd certainly befall that Person whom we believe to be the TRVE MESSIAH and then we come upon 'em and ask 'em this natural Question how comes it to pass Gentlemen that you shou'd be so loth to see YOVR OWN PROPHECIES accomplish'd for which you have deservedly so profound a Veneration And methinks an impartial Enquirer into Truth shou'd scarce need any other Argument to convince him that our Blessed Saviour was the Person who was all along foretold than this that in him all the Jewish Prophecies concerning the Messiah were so exactly fulfill'd CHAP. XXIV THEN Celsus's Jew addresses himself to us in the following Words Do you really believe ev'n you who are so apt to swallow any Thing that is propos'd to you by some People how ridiculous soever it may be I say do you really believe that we do ill in not acknowledging your pretended SAVIOUR to be GOD and not looking upon him as one who sacrific'd his Life for the General Advantage of the Humane Race with this great Design among others to set us a Bright Example of Patience under the afflicting Hand of Almighty God To this I answer that we justly blame 'em because tho' they were born in a Land of Light and educated in the Knowledge of the Law and the Prophets which shou'd have been School-Masters to have brought 'em unto Christ they can't answer the solid Arguments which we bring against 'em and yet will obstinately persist in their wretched Vnbelief if the Grace of God don 't seasonably and remarkably interpose in their Behalf Farther we have great Cause to blame em because they will not see that the numerous and great Advantages which the Followers of our Blessed Lord did most certainly reap from the Heavenly Instructions which he gave 'em were an undeniable Argument that he assum'd Humane Nature with a kind and generous Intention to promote our common Interest and 't was not his Design at his first Appearance in the World immediately to distribute compleat Rewards and inflict the severest Punishments on Men according to their good or bad Behaviour but to have his Doctrine publish'd to the most distant Parts as the Prophets had most expresly foretold and to that happy End to accompany the Preaching of the Apostles with an irresistible Power Farther they justly incur our Censure by refusing to believe his Miracles which so evidently carry'd with 'em the Stamp of a Divine Authority and saying That he cast out Devils by Belzebub the Prince of Devils Lastly We think they render'd themselves highly obnoxious to the just Vengeance of Almighty God by treating him as a Slave and a Vagabond which was an odd Requital of the Kindness which he show'd 'em in causing the Gospel to be preach'd to every City and Village throughout the Land of Judaea For there was nothing mean or in any Respects unworthy of his Character in all the sad Fatigues which he underwent but on the contrary 't was a great and highly Honourable Action truly and every Way worthy of an incarnate God to give wholesome Precepts with a liberal Hand to such Persons as were capable of receiving Instruction from him What Celsus's Jew adds is most notoriously false Not being able says he during the whole Course of his Life so much as to prevail with his own Disciples to adhere to him he was at last very severely punish'd as I hope all the World is by this Time sufficiently inform'd But pray what was it that so greatly excited the Rage and Envy of the Chief Priests Elders and Scribes among the Jews but the Consideration of the vast Numbers of People that follow'd our Blessed Saviour ev'n into Desarts some of 'em being strangely charm'd with the sweet and Heavenly Expressions that dropt from his sacred Lips and others convinc'd by the Miracles which he had wrought which fill'd the Minds of his most inveterate Enemies with equal Malice and Astonishment And how apparently false are those Words which follow That he cou'dn't prevail with his own Disciples to adhere to him but they gave too evident Proofs of the Frailty of their Nature by their wretched Cowardize For what Malignant Influence soever their irregular Fear might have upon their Minds which were not yet duely fortify'd against the violent Shocks of outward and approaching Calamities they were fully satisfy'd in their own Minds and were ready for the most Part to profess that our Blessed Saviour was no other than the TRUE MESSIAH For St. Peter had no sooner deny'd his Lord but struck with
that for that Reason he had abundance of Enemies and when he was stript as it were of his Humane Body did converse with Naked Spirits in the Infernal Region to make Converts of those that were capable of being duly wrought on by his powerful Ministry and thereby of answering the DEEP DESIGNS of his ETERNAL and VNIVERSAL LOVE What Celsus's Jew adds is I think very ridiculous If says he after you have tamely suffer'd your to be led aside like a Company of prodigious Fools you think you need no other Apology than a few Pityful Arguments in your own Defence Pray why mayn't all those Scoundrels and Villains that like your JESUS have been publickly executed according to the just Demerit of their Crimes be accounted Persons who had the Broad-Seal of Heav'n But nothing in my Mind can be more clear than the wide Difference between the Exemplary Sufferings of our Blessed Saviour and the just Execution of those who have been condemn'd as Impostors or punish'd for some scandalous Crime And sure I am that no Man can shew with any Colour of Reason that a Person can ever be reclaim'd from the most notorious Crimes or indeed from any Immorality by the Help of Magick Then the pretended Jew comparing our Saviour with a Company of High-way Men says That by a Parity of Reason a Person may have the Impudence to say that such a High-way Man instead of being a Person of so infamous a Character was no less than a GOD because forsooth he acquainted his cursed Crew before-hand that he shou'd shortly suffer all those grievous Calamities which in the Event did befall him To this I answer in the first Place that our Believing our Blessed Saviour to be the True Messiah is not meerly or chiefly founded on his Fore-telling the dreadful Sufferings to which he was expos'd and which for our sakes he readily underwent In the second Place I acknowledge that the Holy Scriptures acquaint us that tho' our Saviour was GOD as well as MAN yet He was number'd with the Transgressors that Barabbas a Robber was releas'd and our Saviour crucify'd and plac'd between two Condemn'd Malefactors And I grant that if our Saviour's Disciples bore any Resemblance to Thieves and if 't was known in the Memory of Man that Persons of that infamous Character did readily expose themselves to the greatest Contempt and Scorn and the worst Treatment that Humane Wit and Malice cou'd invent and if they can rationally be suppos'd to do all this from a just Regard to the Glory of GOD and the Holy Precepts of our BLESSED REDEEMER then I confess Celsus wou'd have had some Ground for his bold and most prophane Comparison But our Saviour who laid down his precious Life as a Sacrifice for the Sins of Men and his sincere Disciples who by their unparallel'd Sufferings bore an Honourable Testimony to the Truth of his most Excellent Doctrine and were the only Persons whose bare Religion ever brought 'em into Trouble underwent the most violent Persecutions from their Enemies without the least Colour of Reason and contrary to the Known and Fundamental Laws of Humanity CHAP. XXVII NOW observe how Celsus renders himself ridiculous by what he says of the sincere Followers of our Blessed Lord During the greatest Part of his Life Says he they convers'd with him in a Femiliar Manner and seem'd to listen to the Instructions which he gave 'em but withal were so cunning that when they saw he was condemn'd to dye they wou'd neither dye with him nor for him and were so far it seems from putting in Practice that wholsom Doctrine which their Master had taught 'em viz. Chearfully to encounter the greatest Difficulties and Dangers and to be ready ev'n to dye for the sake of their Religion that they shamefully deny'd him and didn't envy any Martyrs the imaginary Honour of laying down their Lives for the Cause of Christ Here Celsus takes the Hint from the Gospels and aggravates some Faults of the Disciples with a Design no doubt to expose the Christian Religion to Contempt not considering they were just enter'd into the School of Christ nor mentioning one Syllable of their Recovery from their grievous Falls which was so remarkable that they preach'd the Gospel boldly and suffer'd abundance of Ill-treatment at the Hands of the Jews and had the Courage to welcome and ev'n defy Death in its most horrid Shapes I perceive he didn't care at all to take Notice of what our Saviour foretold to St. Peter When thou shalt be old thou shalt stretch forth thy Hands Nor of those John 21 V. 18 V. 19. Words This spake he signifying by what Death he shou'd glorify God He says not one Word of St. James the Brother of St. John nor of the latter and seems to be ignorant that Herod kill'd John the Baptist with the Sword because he bore Testimony to the Truth of Christ Nor do's he do St. Peter and the rest of the Apostles so much Justice as to mention their flaming Zeal in spreading the Gospel of our Saviour and to give us an Account how They departed from the Acts 15 V. 41. Presence of the Council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer Reproach for his Name wherein they vastly exceeded all that is related in the Histories of the Greeks concerning the Courage and Constancy of their justly-admir'd Philosophers So that we plainly see that from the very Infancy of Christianity they who embrac'd it were effectually taught by it to despise the gaudy Vanities of the present Life which the greatest Part of Mankind imagine to be so charming and agreeable and to have the sincere Desires of their Souls most vehemently carry'd out after another Life which is far more excellent and in a word is every way worthy of a GOD. I can't conceive how Celsus can be freed from the Charge of willful Imposture in the following VVords All that your pretended SAVIOVR cou'd do says he was only to get ten wicked Mariners and Publicans to publish his Doctrine to the World and Iwas more than he cou'd do after all his big Pretences to convince ev'n those credulous Animals of its Truth For 't is plain ev'n from the open Confession of the Jews that not only ten Persons were overcome by the Divine Efficacy of his Doctrine nor a Hundred nor a Thousand but at one Time four Thousand and at another Time a much greater Number and that he wrought upon 'em to so great a Degree that they forlow'd him into Desarts which alone were capable of containing those vast Numbers of Persons that thro' him did believe in GOD and where they reap'd great Benefit from his Exemplary Life and Engaging Conversation I confess the frequent Repetitions which Celsus makes do almost force me to be guilty of wretched Tautology and make me as impertinent as himself For if I didn't in some Measure tho' sorely against my Will comply with his way of Writing perhaps some weak Persons
being wicked Men and most notorious Impostors And a Greek or Egyptian or any other Infidel may say thus to a Jew O the Force of Truth Moses has told us plainly as your own Writings inform us that many shou'd come who wou'd perform the same Miracles which he did himself and yet be very wicked and designing Wretches For 't is writ in YOUR OWN LAW If there arise among you a Prophet or a Dreamer of Dreams and Deut. 13 V. 1. he gives thee a Sign or a Wonder and the Sign or the Wonder come to pass whereof he spake unto thee saying let us go after other Gods which thou hast not known and let us serve 'em Thou shalt not hearken to that Prophet or Dreamer of Dreams The pretended Jew goes on and makes our Saviour say That Satan will be the Original Author of their Cursed Art thinking thereby to ridicule and insult him But the Christians or any Infidels may as well alledge against his Celebrated Moses that these Prophets and Dreamers of Dreams wou'd counterfeit his Miracles The Jew says farther That our Saviour's Miracles ev'n according to his own Confession have no Stamp of a Divine Authority but are such Works as wou'd be done by the Vilest Persons upon Earth But an Infidel may turn the Argument upon Moses and say that his Miracles ev'n according to his own Confession have no Stamp of a Divine Authority but are such Works as wou'd be done by Persons of the most infamous Character And the following Words that our Saviour not being able to resist the Evidence of Truth do's in the same Breath condemn their Miracles and his own may every whit as well be retorted upon Moses And those Words of the Jew Isn't it I beseech you a most intolerable Thing that from the same Actions He by all Means must be denominated A GOD and Others be branded with the Infamous Title of MAGICIANS I say those Words of the Jew may be turn'd upon Moses thus Isn't it I beseech you a most intolerable Thing that from the same Actions He by all Means must be denominated a Faithful and EMINENT SERVANT of the BLESSED GOD and Others be branded with the odious Title of IMPOSTORS And those Words of the Jew Ev'n According to his own free Confession we have no more Reason to think that they were wicked Men than that he was a vile Wretch himself may be turn'd upon Moses thus what an Instance of Madness is it to look upon Moses as a Servant of GOD and more than ordinary Prophet and at the same Time to deny these honourable Characters to such Persons as were to work Miracles as well as he ev'n according to his own Prediction And those Words of the Jew which he thinks do give more Force to the Objection viz. That our Saviour himself has told us that such Actions were certain Indications of the most notorious Deceit and Impiety and not of a Divine Power accompanying the Persons who perform'd 'em may easily be retorted upon Moses CHAP. XXX THEN Celsus's Jew speaking to those of his Native Country who had embrac'd Christianity asks us the following Question for 't is plain he had his Eye upon us all along tho' for a blind he directs his Discourse to them What in God's Name cou'd induce you to believe in your pretended Saviour Was it his Foretelling that he shou'd rise from the dead But this may be turn'd upon Moses thus What induc'd you to believe in your most Celebrated Prophet Was it his Foretelling the Circumstances of his Death in the following Words So Moses the Servant Deut. 35. V. 4. 5. of the Lord dy'd there in the Land of Moab according to the Word of the Lord. And he bury'd him in a Valley in the Land of Moab over against Beth-peor But no Man knows of his Sepulchre unto this Day If the Jew ridicules our Saviour because he fore-told that he shou'd rise from the Dead we may by a Parity of Reason expose Moses to Contempt and say that he was the Author of the Pentateuch and inserted that Passage No one knows his Sepulchre unto this Day with a politick Design to render his Name Immortal Then the Jew continues his Discourse to those of his own Country-Men that were Christians in the following Words Well we 'll suppose says he for once that your pretended Saviour foretold that he shou'd rise from the dead But pray have not others made Vse of the same pityful Artifice to take Advantage of the Weakness of some silly People Zamolxis Servant to Pythagoras took this Method to delude the Scythians and it seems Pythagoras was so cunning as to do the same And Rampsinitus is reported to have done the like in Egypt who if any Credit is to be giv'n to History play'd at Dice with Ceres in the Region of the dead and forc'd her to give him a Handkerchief she had that was curiously embroider'd Orpheus did the same among the People who were call'd Odrysae Protesilaus among the Thessalians and Hercules and Theseus among the Inhabitants of Toenarus But here it deserves to be consider'd whether any Person that was really dead did ever rise with the same Numerical Body Do you who look on the Accounts that are giv'n by others as trifling Stories imagine that the Catastrophe of your senceless Drama is ever the more just or probable because you endeavour to adorn it with some fine Inventions because your Crucify'd JESUS gave a dreadful Out-cry when he lay at the very Point of Death because there happen'd to be an Earth-quake and a more than ordinary Darkness You boldly affirm that he rose from the dead tho' it seems he was far from being able to secure his Person while he remain'd on Earth and shew'd upon his Body all the Marks of his Crucifixion and the very Print of the Nails But you your acknowledge that there was no Witness of the Truth of this Account but one Fanatical Woman and perhaps some Body else of the same wretched Caball that was plainly deluded by her own idle Whimsies or too easily believ'd what she wou'd have to be true as it frequently happens or in the last Place which seems to me more probable had a Mind to amuse People with this imaginary Miracle and furnish such Cheats as her Self with a Pretence for disturbing the World with Notorious and Vile Impostures But since 't is a pretended Jew that says all this I shall answer him accordingly and turn the Edge of his own Weapon upon Moses by desiring that he wou'd resolve me the following Question Pray how many gross Impostors have done Miracles to take Advantage of the Weakness of some silly People and yet you are forward to give Credit to Moses on the Account of the Miracles he wrought Besides methinks 't is somewhat unsuitable to the Character of a Jew to alledge the Instances of Zamolxis and Pythagoras since the Jews 't is well known are little conversant with the Greek Historians
The Account which he gives us of Rampsinitus and Ceres wou'd have come with a much better Grace from the Mouth of an Egyptian who to lessen the Authority of Moses might say that 't was much more probable that the fore-mention'd Persons shou'd play at Dice together in the Region of the Dead and that he as a Proof of his Descent thither shou'd produce the embroider'd Handkerchief which he took from the Goddess than that Moses went into the Darkness which God himself did inhabit and that he alone had the Honour to come near him as he himself gives us an Account And we who are the Followers of the Holy Jesus may make the following Address to the pretended Jew when he talks at so extravagant a Rate Pray how do you answer the Greeks and Egyptians who raise many of the same Objections against Moses that you offer against our Blessed Saviour When you have heap'd up all the Arguments you can think of in Defence of Moses tho' we think at the same time that we can solidly and clearly prove him to be a True and very Eminent Prophet you 'll be forc'd unawares to acknowledge ev'n according to those Arguments which you your Selves make use of that our Blessed Saviour did vastly and indeed infinitely exceed him But because Celsus's Jew makes meer Game of the Histories which give us an Account of the Descent of some Heroes into the Region of the Dead and their Return from thence and thinks that their pretended DIVINE SORT OF ABSCONDING for a Time and then coming back again and making an Appearance upon the Stage of the World was all Artifice and Delusion as he plainly intimates when he speaks of the Opinion that the Odrysians had of Orpheus the Thessalians of Protesilaus and the Inhabitants of Toenarus entertain'd of Hercules and Theseus I shall make it appear that there is no Manner of Comparison between these Fables of the Greeks and the Account that the Evangelists give us of the Resurrection of Our Saviour 'T is obvious to remark that these Fabulous Heroes cou'd descend into the Region of the Dead whenever the Fancy took 'em and return as soon as they saw Cause to do so But since our Saviour was crucify'd in the open View of the Jews and Romans and after his Death was tak'n down from the Cross in the Sight of so many Witnesses what Reason have we to imagine that he feign'd his Descent into the World of disembody'd Spirits and his Return to our World again as the Greeks have feign'd their Heroes to have often done Nay I 'm inclin'd to think that from the Story of these Ancient Heroes we may be furnish'd with an Argument that will take away in a great Measure the SVPPOS'D INFAMY of the CROSS of CHRIST Had our Saviour dy'd in a common Way and giv'n the Jews and Romans no convincing Proof of the Reality of his Death he had certainly been liable to Suspicion as well as many of the Heroes of the Greeks tho' he had really been loos'd from the strong Bonds of the Grave in which he was some Time held I humbly conceive therefore that one principal Reason why he dy'd in so publick a Manner was this that no Person might have the least Umbrage of Jealousy that he crafâ—ily retir'd from the World and feign'd himself to be gone down to the Region of the Dead and took his own Time to appear again making the World believe that he was ris'n from the Dead when in Truth he was all this While as much alive as ever But to remove any such foolish Suspicion we need only consider that his Disciples most willingly expos'd themselves to imminent Dangers in publishing his Doctrine to the World tho' they were not ignorant of the rooted Prejudices of Men against it This certainly they wou'd never have been tempted to do if their Lord's Resurrection had been no more than an emty Fiction especially if we consider they not only perswaded others to lay down their Lives for the Cause of Christ but with the greatest Readiness wou'd if it were possible have dy'd Ten Thousand Deaths to promote it Then Celsus's Jew as if 't was impossible that any one shou'd rise from the Dead with the same Numerical Body makes Use of this rash Expression We must says he consider whether any Person that was really dead did ever rise with the same Numerical and Proper Body This One wou'd think shou'dn't come from the Mouth of one who bears the Character of a Jew who is suppos'd to believe what we find recorded in the two Books of Kings 1 Kin. 17. V. 22. concerning two Children one of which was restor'd to Life by Elijah 2 Kin. 4. V. 34. and the other by Elisha And I believe 't was Matter of our Saviour's Choice to be educated among the Jews because they were accustom'd to Miracles that so by comparing what he did with what had been done in the former Ages of the World they might be forc'd to acknowledge that his Miracles deserv'd the Preference by whom and in whose Name far greater Things were perform'd than had been done in the Memory of Man Then the pretended Jew having produc'd the Histories of the Greeks to shew us the strange Artifices which the Ancient Heroes us'd that People might imagine that they were ris'n from the dead directs his Discourse to those of his Native Country that were converted to the Christian Faith in the following Words Do you look upon the Accounts that are giv'n by others as trifling Stories and imagine that the Catastrophe of your Senseless Drama is ever the more just or probable because you endeavour to adorn it with some Fine Inventions because your Crucify'd Jesus gave a most dreadful Out-Cry when he lay at the very Point of Death To this I answer we believe that the Account which you have giv'n of the Ancient Heroes of the Greeks is grosly Fabulous but we are fully perswaded and I think on very rational Grounds that the Account which is giv'n us of our Blessed Saviour in those Holy Scriptures which are common to us both and of which we make our Boast as much as you your is far from deserving that contemptible Character which this Gentleman is pleas'd to give it Therefore we can never grant that the Glorious Miracles which were wrought in raising some Persons from the dead as we are credibly inform'd were no better than empty Fictions and vain Amusements We believe that our Saviour did really rise from the dead as the Prophets and he himself had foretold he shou'd and one Thing among others that makes his Resurrection the more remarkable and in which it excell'd that of any other Person is the following Consideration that he wa'n't rais'd from the dead by a Prophet such as Elijah or Elisha was but by the IMMEDIATE INFLVENCE of rhe GOD-HEAD Hence it came to pass that the happy Effects of his Resurrection were so Exrraordinary and so General Pray
UNTO YOU and I FORETELL YOU For what the Jew says may be retorted on himself since the GREAT GOD do's often speak exactly after the same Manner and thereby without Doubt did sufficiently and as it were de Novo authorize our Saviour to use that Turn of Expression And if there be any Force in what he farther objects viz. That our SAVIOUR wanted Power to prevail with his Hearers It makes as much against GOD Himself who is frequently brought in by the Prophets speaking with the same Air of Severity and any one who thinks that the Jew has Cause to blame our Saviour for using the fore-mention'd Expressions wou'd do well I think to consider that we meet with abundance of Very dreadful Exprobrations in Leviticus and Deuteronomy and if the Jew who is oblig'd to defend the Writings which Moses publish'd can offer any Thing to justifie the Expressions I refer to We may bring the same or much stronger Arguments in Defence of that seemingly-rigid Practice of our Saviour Nay we can offer more in Defence of Moses than the most bigotted Jew since our Saviour has acquainted us with its Spiritual and Mystick Sence tho' one who has any tolerable Knowledge of the Prophets may discern that the GREAT GOD can't be said to exceed the Bounds of Reason when he uses such threatning and upbraiding Expressions as these Wo unto you or I fore-tell you and 't wou'd be horrid Blasphemy to say That the All-wise Being takes such improper Methods for the Conversion of Sinners as argue that he wants the Common Prudence of a Man as Celsus makes our Saviour to do The Christians who hold that 't was the same God that spoke by the Prophets and by our Blessed Saviour can give a rational Account of those Threatnings and direful Exprobrations which we meet with in the Scripture And because Celsus pretends to be so great a Philosopher as well as so nicely vers'd in the Opinions which the Christians hold I shall just touch upon a few Things that I think very naturally occur I wou'd ask him whether Mercury in Homer don't take such Methods as were proper to bring Vlysses to a Sense of his Duty when he says Wretch that thou art what makes thee Hom. Od. lib. 12. v. 281. rove alone For 't is the Part of Syrens to fawn and flatter who sit and chaunt 'mong dead Mens Hom. Od. lib. 12. v. 145. Bones And speak after the following soft and soothing Manner Ulysses Glory of the Greeks draw near Hom. Od. lib. 12. v. 184. How then can he have the Face to say that when the Prophets and our Saviour say Woe unto you to wean the Minds of Men from their beloved Lusts they hadn't a serious and compassionate Regard to their precious and immortal Souls which they wou'd fain rescue if 't were possible with a Kind Cruelty if I may so say from the ever-burning and intolerably-scorching Flames of the Infernal Lake But perhaps he dreams 't is requisite that the Great God or any other Person who bears the Characters of Divinity shou'd merely consult the Dignity of his own Excellent Nature and act in such a Way as wou'd not be agreeable to the Capacities of Men nor proper to perswade their Wills and engage their best Affections And how ridiculous do's he render himself when he says that our Saviour wanted Power to perswade I cou'd produce many Parallel Instances from the Writings of the Jewish Prophets and of the Greeks themselves and know very well that some of the most Famous of 'em all were unable to prevail with their Enemies their Judges and Accusers to leave their Vices and apply themselves to the Study of Philosophy as a happy Introduction to a regular Course of Virtue CHAP. XXXVII THEN the Jew in Conformity to the Principles of Judaism says We hope for the Resurrection of the Body to Eternal Life and shall be abundantly convinc'd of the Possibility of it by the Resurrection of the Expected Messiah who will be the Glorious Pattern according to which we also shall be rais'd from the Dead But I 'm apt to think that the Jews will hardly grant that their Messiah will be the Pattern of their Future Resurrection However if they really think so and don't scruple to talk like Celsus's Jew I shall ask one Question that may serve for an Answer since he undertakes to confute us by our own Authors how comes it to pass that he has read those Passages which he thinks make for him but seems to have never read any Thing of our Saviour's Resurrection at least to be ignorant of his being the First-Born from Colos 1 V. 18 the Dead or can there be nothing in the Scripture but what he 's willing shou'd be there But since the Jew acknowledges the Resurrection of the Body 't is needless to bring Arguments to prove it whether he do's in earnest believe it and is able to defend it or no and therefore as to this Matter I shall return him no farther Answer CHAP. XXXVIII THEN says Celsus's Jew Where for God's sake is this pretended Messiah that you make such a Stir about for we want sadly to see him and are ready to embrace his Doctrine But we may ask him every Whit as well where is that Glorious Person who spoke by the Prophets and wrought so many Miracles to confirm the Law of their Celebrated Moses I say where is he that we may see him and may believe that you are God's peculiar Heritage You wo'n't say I suppose that Almighty God appear'd always to the Jews themselves And why may not we be allow'd to take the same Method in Defence of our Saviour who once rose from the Dead and did so powerfully work upon the Minds of his Disciples that their lively Hope of a Glorious Resurrection to an Immortal Life of Inconceivable Happiness and spotless Purity did revive their fainting Spirits and support and comfort 'em under the most grievous Torments Then he says Did this Pretender come down from Heav'n on Purpose that we might reject him As if he were fond of the Basest Affronts that cou'd possibly be offer'd him I answer No but he foresaw what Treatment he shou'd have and foretold the Unbelief of the Jews and made use of it as a Happy Occasion of the Calling of the Gentiles Vnhappy Unhappy indeed for them but very happy for us who are not of the Posterity of Abraham For their Fall as Divine Providence was pleas'd to order the Matter was the Rising of the Gentiles as the Prophetical Psalmist speaks A Psal 18. V. 43 People whom I have not known shall serve serve me As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me And as the Prophet Isaiah says I was sought of them Isa 65. V. 1. that ask'd not for me I am found of them that sought me not We know what a Series of Temporal and Dreadful Calamities the Crucifixion of our Saviour has entail'd if I may so say