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Suetonius, four pagan authors, who were contemporaries of St. John or of his disciples. Pliny, who flourished about twenty years after the destruction of Jerusalem, and who was governor of Bythinia, wrote to the emperor Trajan, that he had put two christian slaves to the torture. But I find nothing, said he, but a bad and extravagant superstition. He calls the zeal and constancy of the Christians, "a wilful and inflexible stubbornness." Speaking of those whom fear had driven to renounce their profession of religion, he adds, "They declared that all their fault or error consisted in assembling before light, on a fixed day, and singing a hymn to Christ as unto a God." They certainly never would expose themselves to death for the support of an imaginary person, or the hero of a romance. Jesus Christ has existed, and given proofs of his divinity, since Christians of both sexes, and of every age, were ready to die for him, at a time when ocular evidence, and recent facts, left no means to cover an imposture. This persecution commenced before the reign of Trajan; for the emperor Nero, having caused fire to be set to the city of Rome, in order to form an idea of the burning of Troy, punished the Christians, as if they had been the authors of the crime. Behold how Tacitus mentions this event in the 15th book of his Annals. Nero, to smother the noise of his crime, suborned false witnesses to accuse a people hated for their iniquities, commonly called Christians; making them undergo the most dreadful punishments. The author of this sect was Christus, whom Pontius Pilate, the governor, put to death. This pernicious sect had been suppressed for some time, recovered strength, not only in Judea, where it originated, but likewise in Rome, which is the common sink of the crimes and follies of all the world. They seized on all who professed themselves Christians; in short, by the imperial mandate, an immense multitude were condemned, less for having set fire to Rome, than because they were objects of universal hatred. They added mockeries to their

tortures.

tortures. Some were covered with skins of ferocious animals, and torn by dogs; others crucified, and others burned in the evenings, to illuminate the streets during the night.These passages are cited, not only to shew that the heathens acknowledged the existence of Jesus Christ, and the innocence of Christians; but also, to demonstrate the exact accomplishment of the prophecies: "Ye shall be hated of all nations for my sake;" said the Saviour. The Christians were the objects of universal hatred, saith Tacitus. I mention this to refute Voltaire, who tells his dupes, that " Domitian was the first of the Cesars who disturbed the Christians.

St. Luke informs us, that the emperor Claudius commanded all Jews to depart Rome, Acts xviii. 2. And Suetonius, a heathen historian, in his life of Claudius, chap. 25, agrees with the sacred penman, saying, "He drove the Jews from Rome, who caused continual tumults at the instigation of one Christus;" for this is what the Pagans generally call Jesus Christ. If Jesus had never existed but in the imagination of his disciples, Lucian, in his Peregrinus, could not have called him, "The great Man crucified in Palestine ;" nor could he have said, "that the Christians forsook the pagan divinities, to adore their crucified Master." Had our divine Master been no more than a grand sophist, as Lucian insinuates, heaven would not have confirmed his prediction concerning the temple of Jerusalem, by a striking prodigy. Behold the fact: "The disciples of Christ (saith St. Matt. xxiv. 1.) came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple; and Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." As if he had said, This fine temple is going to be destroyed, and with it shall end the continual sacrifice, offered by the Jewish priests to God. When the emperor Julian had replunged himself in pagan darkness, he burned with a crafty zeal against the christian

religion,

religion, thinking to weaken it, by proving that Jesus Christ was a false prophet; and imagining this would be sufficiently done, by rebuilding the temple of Jerusalem, and the Jews again to offer their sacrifice. But the attack was against the King of kings. Ruffinus and Sozomen mention this business at large. See what Ammien Marcellin says in his Annals, book 23. "Julian having a great desire to perpetuate the memory of his reign, by the grandeur of his enterprizes, formed the design of rebuilding the superb temple of Jerusalem, which having been taken by assault, and after many bloody encounters, was destroyed, while Vespasian and Titus were carrying on the siege. To rebuild this temple would require immense sums: Julian having charged Alipius of Antioch with the undertaking, he who had commanded in Britain under the governors. But when Alipius, seconded by the governor of the province, was eager to advance the work, globes of fire, bursting suddenly from the earth, near the foundation of the building, rendered the place inaccessible by the constant assaults which they made upon the workmen, many of whom perished by the flames. So that they were obliged to desist from pursuing the enterprize, to which fate, and the element of fire, were so strongly opposed." More than this can scarcely be expected from a heathen author, who had been a general in Julian's army: but he speaks sufficiently clear, so as not to leave any doubt of the truth of so remarkable an event.

If pagan authors have only spoken of Jesus Christ indirectly, or slightly, it is not the same with the Mahomedans. Though in many respects they are Pagans, saith the learned Dr. Moore, their law contains many articles of the Old and New Testament. The principal dogma of their faith, and which with ravishment they constantly confess in their mosques, is (La illa ilella) "There is but one God." It is true, this is only what is believed by the Jews; but the Ma

homedans

homedans go much further; having a design to prove that they merit the name of semi Christians, which is given them by a learned author: for in both their Alcoran and the Zuna, it is declared, "That Jesus Christ was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and that he was born of the Virgin Mary;", "That the gospel is the light, the way, and the salvation of men; and that such as reject it shall perish;" "That Christ knew the thoughts of the heart, gave sight to the blind, and speech to the dumb, healed incurable diseases, and raised the dead." The Alcoran even attributes three advantages to Jesus Christ, which it refuses to Abraham, to Moses, and to Mahomad himself: the first is, " that he was translated soul and body into heaven," from whence (it is said in the Zuna) "he shall return to judge the world in righteousness." The second is, That he shall be called "THE WORD OF GOD:" and the third, That he shall be named "THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD." See Confusio Secta Mahometana, by Johannes Andreas, and many others.

-I would remind my readers, that the reason of the above quotations is, first, to shew that though the Alcoran so much disfigures Christianity, for the chastising of disobedient and hypocritical Christians; yet it admits enough of our doctrines to overthrow idolatry, and the external empire of Satan upon earth; insomuch that in Africa and India, Mahomedanism prepares idolaters for the reception of Christianity. And, secondly, to nourish our hope, that the Mahomedans who have already such exalted notions of Jesus Christ, will embrace the gospel, when the great scandals of the Christian churches shall be done away; the additions which Mahomed has made to the gospel, being founded only upon false miracles, and absurd reveries: on the contrary, that pure Christianity contained in the gospel, is so reasonable, that all who examine with candour, are obliged to acknowledge the force of those proofs which demonstrate its truth. From the above

citations

citations it is evident, that both Jews, Pagans, and Mahomadans, have acknowledged the existence of our grand PкoPHET, in such a manner, that it remains an indubitable fact.

If you imagine that Jesus Christ was a false prophet, you believe that it was by mere chance that the temple and city of Jerusalem were destroyed, according to his prediction. And that it is mere accident which preserves the Jews in their dispersion and opprobrious condition, so clearly foretold by Moses. Or you suppose, against all probability, that the harmony of the Jewish and Christian prophecies, in this respect, is an imposture, plotted between Jews and Christians,to impose upon the world. Upon this supposition you likewise imagine, that when Jesus Christ said to his disciples, "I will make you fishers of men;" "lo, I am with you to the end of the world;""the gates of hell shall not prevail against my church;" you imagine, I say, that when Jesus Christ spake thus, he saw by accident that his gospel would spread thro' all the Roman empire, and that the most powerful monarchs, Dioclesian and Julian, should not be able to overturn Christianity. In short, that his holy doctrine would be disseminated thro' all parts of the known world, and even civilize nations in a part of the globe not then discovered. You moreover think, that it was by mere chance that Jesus Christ foretold, in these. words, the vile hypocrisy and scandalous divisions of wicked Christians. "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets shall arise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.”

Notwithstanding this spiritual apostasy of Christians in our days, so clearly foretold by Jesus Christ and his apostles, [compare Matt. xxiv. 10. with 2 Tim. iii. 1-5. and 2 Thes.

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