The Grounds of Christianity Examined by Comparing The New Testament with the OldEnglish, George Bethune
Religion
The Grounds of Christianity Examined by Comparing The New Testament with the Old
English, George Bethune
Rationalism
Jo. xiii. v. 21. Jesus says to his Disciples, "a new commandment I
give unto you, that ye love one another." This is not true, for the
love of man towards his neighbour, was not a new precept, but at
least as ancient as Moses, who gives it, Levit. xix. as the command
of God, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."
Acts vii. v. 4. "When he (Abraham) went out of the land of the
Chaldees, he dwelt in Charran; from thence after his father was
dead, he led him into this land in which ye dwell." This directly
contradicts the chapter in Genesis where the story of Abraham's
leaving Haran is related; for it is certain from thence, that Abraham
left his father Terah in Haran alive, when he departed thence. And
he did not die till many years afterwards. This chronological
contradiction has given much trouble to Christian Commentators,
as may be seen in Whitby, Hammond, &c. &c.
V. 14, Stephen says, "Jacob therefore descended into Egypt, and
our Fathers, and there died. And they were carried to Sichem, and
buried in the sepulchre which Abraham bought from the Sons of
Hemor the Father of Sichem." Here is another blunder; for this
piece of land was not purchased by Abraham, but by Jacob. Gen.
xlix. 29; so also see the end of Joshua. But it is evident, that
Stephen has confounded the story of the purchase of the field of
Machpelah, recorded in Gen. xxiii. with the circumstances related
concerning the purchase by Jacob.
In v. 43 of the same chapter, there is another disagreement between
Stephen's quotation from Amos, and the original. [In the Acts the
quotation is,--"Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and
the Star of your God. Remphan, figures which ye made to worship
them, and I will carry you away beyond Babylon." In Amos, ch. v.
26--"But ye have borne the tabernacle of Moloch and Chinn your
images, the Star of your God which ye made," &c.]
So also there is in the speech of James, Acts xv. a quotation from
Amos, in which to make it fit the subject, (which after all it does
not fit,) is the substitution of the words, "the remnant of men," for
the words, "remnant of Edom," as it is in the original.
All these mistakes, besides others to be met with in almost--I was
going to say in every page, of these Histories of Jesus and his
Apostles, sufficiently show how superficial was the acquaintance
of these men with the Old Testament, and how grossly, either
through design or ignorance, they have perverted it. Indeed from
these mistakes alone, I should be led strongly to suspect, that the
Books of the New Testament were written by Gentiles, as I can
hardly conceive that any Jew could have quoted his Bible in such a
blundering manner.
CHAPTER XI.
WHETHER THE MOSAIC LAW BE REPRESENTED IN THE
OLD TESTAMENT AS A TEMPORARY, OR A PERPETUAL
INSTITUTION.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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