A Series of Letters, in Defence of Divine Revelation: In Reply to Rev. Abner Kneeland's Serious Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Same. To Which is Added, a Religious Correspondence, Between the Rev. Hosea Ballou, and the Rev. Dr. Joseph Buckminster and Rev. Joseph Walton, Pastors of Congregational Churches in Portsmouth, N. H.Ballou, Hosea
Religion
A Series of Letters, in Defence of Divine Revelation: In Reply to Rev. Abner Kneeland's Serious Inquiry into the Authenticity of the Same. To Which is Added, a Religious Correspondence, Between the Rev. Hosea Ballou, and the Rev. Dr. Joseph Buckminster and Rev. Joseph Walton, Pastors of Congregational Churches in Portsmouth, N. H.
Ballou, Hosea
Revelation; Universalism -- Doctrines
6th. The difficulty you suggest concerning St. Paul's saying that
Jesus was seen, after his resurrection, by more than five hundred
brethren at once.
1st. As you object to the idea that the miracles of the Shakers depend
at all on the miracles of Jesus for their imposition, it may be
considered sufficient, on my part, if I show that you have fully
supported the proposition which you profess not to see.
I will, however, first presume, that I am not authorised to say that
the miracles of the Shakers are imposition, I have not contended that
they are; the ground for which I contend is this, viz. if these or any
other pretended miracles among us are impositions, they depend on the
miracles of Jesus for this power, as much as counterfeit money depends
on the true for its imposition. That you have given sufficient support
to what I have stated, you will see at once by the following passage
quoted from your arguments on this subject: "They do not deny the
miracles of Christ and his apostles any more than Christians in
general deny the miracles of Moses and the prophets; but appeal to
_theirs_ as being equally of divine origin, and thereby clothe their
religion with the same divine authority." Is it possible that the
writer of the foregoing sentence should not see, that he established
the very thing which he had just said he could not see? What is that
_divine authority_ with which the religion of Moses, the prophets and
of Christ is clothed? Answer, _miracles_. What authority do you
pretend the Shakers make use of to clothe their religion? Answer "_the
same_." How does this differ from counterfeit money, on the
supposition that these miracles are imposition?
It is abundantly evident that the Jews expected that the Messiah, when
he came, would establish his character by miracles as Moses did his,
and as some of the prophets were enabled to do. Therefore, do we read
Matt. xii. 22, 23.--"Then was brought unto him one possessed with a
devil, blind and dumb: and he healed him insomuch, that the blind and
dumb both spake and saw. And all the people were amazed and said, is
not this the son of David?"
Jesus himself saith, Luke iv. 24, 27. "Verily I say unto you, no
prophet is accepted in his own country. But I tell you of a truth,
many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was
shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout
all the land; but unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta,
a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow; and many lepers were
in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was
cleansed, saveing Naaman the Syrian."--See John vii. 31. "And many of
the people believed on him, and said, when Christ cometh, will he do
more miracles than these which this man hath done?"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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