There is also another well known, incontrovertible proof of the deceit and falsehood of the leading Christians of early times, of which every person in the least conversant with the ecclesiastical history of those times must be convinced—­their pretended power of working miracles!  On this subject I shall say nothing, but refer the reader to the work of Dr. Middleton already mentioned, for an ample account of their lying wonders, which they imposed as miraculous upon the simple people.

With regard to the internal evidence for the authenticity of the writings; composing the New Testament, it is still less satisfactory than the external evidence.  And this may be well believed, when the reader is informed that the great Semler, after spending his life in the study of ecclesiastical history; and antiquities, which he is allowed to have understood better than any before him, affirmed to his astonished coreligionists, that, except the Gospel of John, and the Apocalypse, the whole New Testament was a collection of forgeries written by the partizans of the Jewish and Gentile parties in the Christian church, and entitled apostolic, in order the better to answer their purpose.  This opinion has been in part adopted in England, by a learned and shrewd clergyman named Evanson, who has almost demonstrated, that the Greek Gospel of Matthew was written in the second century after the birth of Jesus by a Gentile.  For he proves that it could not be written by a Jew, on account of geographical mistakes, and manifest ignorance of Jewish customs.  He also gives good reasons for rejecting the authenticity of some of the epistles.  In short, he has poured such a flood of light upon the eyes of his terrified brethren, as will, ere long, no doubt enable them to see a little clearer than heretofore.

He gives several instances of geographical blunders in Matthew.  I shall mention only one.  Matthew says, in the 2nd chapter, that when Joseph, the husband of Mary, returned from Egypt, “hearing that Archelaus reigned in Judea, he was afraid to go thither, and therefore turned aside, into the parts of Galilee.”  Now this, as will appear from a map of Palestine, is just like saying, “a man at Philadelphia, intending to go to the State of New York, on his route heard something which made him afraid to go thither, and therefore he turned aside—­into Boston!”

That the author of that Gospel was ignorant of Jewish customs will be evident from the following circumstances.  He says Jesus told Peter, that before the cock crew he would deny him thrice; and that afterwards, when Peter was cursing and swearing, saying “I know not the man! immediately the cock crew.”  Now it is unfortunate for the credit of this story, that it is well known, that in conformity with Jewish customs, at that time subsisting, no cocks were allowed to be in Jerusalem, where Jesus was apprehended.  This is known, and acknowledged by learned Christians, who have extricated themselves from this difficulty, by proving that the crowing of the cock, here mentioned, does not mean, as it appears to mean, absolutely the crowing of a cock, but that it means—­what dost thou think reader? why it means—–­the sound of a trumpet!!*