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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.

Name: 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.
Author: Ballou, Hosea

Ballou, Hosea

Revelation; Universalism -- Doctrines

"'Another work of doubtful authority,' says Priestly, 'is _the
Shepherd of Hermes_, by some thought to be that Hermes who is
mentioned by Paul in his epistle to the Romans; but by others supposed
to be either spurious, or to have been written by a later Hermes, or
rather Hermes, brother of Pius, bishop of Rome, about the year 140.
Whoever was the author of this work (and though it was so much
esteemed by many christians, as to be publicly read in their churches)
it is certainly a very poor performance.' If this work therefore be of
so late a date, as, according to this account, it may be, and, from
all which appears to the contrary, we may presume it is, as the first
quotation of it is by Irenaeus, A. D. 178, it falls short of the proof
we want.

"The same observations will apply to the allusions to the gospels in
the epistles of _Ignatius_, as was mentioned in regard to the epistle
of _Clement_. They are not literal quotations, and therefore might
have been only traditions. I consider them no certain proof that the
gospels were written previous to this time, though it is very natural
to suppose _that_ to have been the fact. The same will apply to the
epistle of _Polycarp_, as we know not exactly what was meant at that
time by the scriptures; neither do allusions to certain passages in
the scriptures, especially such as the words of Jesus, prove the
existence of those scriptures at that time.

"In the time of Eusebius there were extant _five books of Papias,
bishop of_ Hierapolis in Syria, of _the interpretation of the divine
oracles_. 'Papias,' says Priestly, 'was a great collector of the
sayings of the apostles; and one of the traditions preserved by him
was that, after the resurrection, Christ would reign upon earth a
thousand years, an opinion which, from his authority, was long
respected by many.'[8] Papias, it seems, is the first who speaks of
the gospels by name, and he mentions only Matthew and Mark. That all
the gospels, however, existed in his day, and also bore the names
which they now do, I should not be disposed to dispute; neither is
there any thing to contradict the idea of their being written by the
persons reputed to be the authors of them.

[Footnote 8: Ch. Hist. vol. i. p. 203 Euseb. Hist. Lib. iii. Cap. 39
p. 135.]

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