!

CHAP.
IV.

Lardners

5. "Heretics, (says Lardner,) have often been 'treated with much harshness and great severity of 'expression. Some seem to have reckoned that they Works, had a right to say the worst things of Heretics which 235,237. 'they could; and others have thought themselves 'obliged to believe all the evil that has been reported ' of them.

vol. ix. p.

Ibid.

P. 240.

6. "One thing laid to the charge of many of those P. 239. Heretics is Magic-another thing is lewdness, and 'all manner of wickedness, and likewise teaching it. There is no small agreement between the charges 'brought against the first Christians in the beginning ' of the second century, and the charges against the Heretics in later authors; which may create a sus'picion that these last were formed upon the model ' of the former, and consequently are without ground."

ikid

7. "What the crimes, were, which were laid to 'the charge of the Primitive Christians, we know ' from divers writers, Greek and Latin - From whom ' it appears that, besides atheism, or impiety to the 'established deities, they were charged with having 'their wives in common, with promiscuous lewdness ' in their assemblies, with incest, and eating human 'flesh, especially young children, whom they first 'killed and then ate, at their nocturnal meetings, ' where persons of each sex, and every age were 'present."

8. "Turner says, these calumnies seem to have p. 241. 'begun with Christianity itself. Tacitus, speaking of the Christians in the time of Nero, says, they ' were generally hated for their wickedness; that is, they lay under a bad character with the people."

Eccl.His

i. p. 73.

9. "The Romans, (says Mosheim,) concluded, tery, vol. that the christian sect, [i.e. heresy, was not on'ly unsupportably daring and arrogant, but, more'over, an enemy to the public tranquility, and every way proper to excite civil wars and commotions in ' the empire."

ibid

6

10. " Tacitus, reproaches them with the odious 'character of haters of mankind, and styles the reli'gion of JESUS a destructive superstition. Suetonius 'speaks of the Christians, and their doctrine, in ' terms of the like kind." He calls christianity " a

Note [m] poisonous and mulignant superstition."

11. What is here added, may sufficiently show CHAP.

14.

upon what ground the charge of heresy was excited and continued against the Heretics. Thus says Paul : I confess, that after the way which they call heresy, 80 Acts xxiν worship I the God [not gods of my fathers. And it was predicted by Christ Jesus himself, that his followers should have their name cast out as evil, and all manner of evil spoken against them falsely.

12. From which it appears, that while the apologists, the honorable Catholic Fathers, cleared themselves of those ridiculous charges, by uniting with the universal faith and manners invented by Saccas, they rolled over the burden of reproach upon those who would not conform: Of course a heretic in the second or third century, according to the universal opinion, must be a magician, an atheist, a lewd inces

tuous man-eater.

Works,

vol. ix.

13. According to Lardner, St. Jerome scruples not Lardners to say, "They are worse than heathens, the worst of "all men; and if they are free from all reproach in P. 225. "their lives, yet they have only the shadow and ap"pearance of virtue, not the truth." "This is cer

tain, (says Lardner,) that as bad things were said of the Primitive Christians by Jews and heathens, ' as ever were said of the ancient heretics by Catholics."

14. And we might add, that as bad things were said by Jews, heathens, and Catholics, against Christ and his followers, in the three first centuries, as can be said by Antichristians, against the followers of Christ in this latter day; which may appear, not only from those general chars which have been mentioned, but from many things of the like nature, which were published to the world, with some appearance of authority; of which the following may serve as a specimen.

15. Celsus, an Epicurean Philosopher of the second century, wrote a book against the Christians, entitled "THE TRUE WORD." Lardner thinks it was a time of persecution when he wrote, [about the year of Christ 176] because he several times speaks of the Christians as teaching their principles private

p. 236.

CHAP. ly, and holding assemblies contrary to law, and hiding

IV.

themselves.

See L's. 16. The following extracts of this subtle writer are Works, copied from Lardner's Jewish and Heathen Testimonies.

vol. vii.

p. 9, 18.

ibid

" I could say many things, (says Celsus, personating "a Jew) concerning the affairs of Jesus, and those "true too, different from those written by his disci"ples, but I purposely omit them. It is but a few "years since he [Jesus] delivered this doctrine, who " is now reckoned by the Christians to be the Son of "God." "In another place, Celsus calls Jesus "the "first author of this sedition."

17. "After this he brings in his Jew, arguing 19. against Jesus in this manner. First, that he pre'tended he was born of a virgin: then he reproaches ' him with his birth in a Jewish village, and of a poor ' woman of that country, who subsisted by the labour ' of her hands."

18. " And he says, she was put away by her hus band, who was a carpenter by trade, he having found, 'that she was guilty of adultery. Then he says, that 'having been turned out of doors by her husband, 'she wandered about in a shameful manner, till she 'had brought forth Jesus, in an obscure place; and 'that he being in want, served in Egypt for a liveli'hood; and having there learned some charms, such as the Egyptians are fond of, he returned home; and then valuing himself upon those charms, he 'set up himself for a God."

19. Again-" That the mother of Jesus, being ' great with child, was put away by the carpenter, who ' had espoused her, he having convicted her of adultery with a soldier named Pantheras. Afterwards • Celsus goes on: "Was the mother of Jesus hand"some, that God should be in love with her beauty? "It is unworthy of God, to suppose him to be taken " with a corruptible body, or to be in love with a wo" man, whether she be of royal descent or otherwise."

20. "In another place Celsus says: "But if God "would send forth a spirit from himself, what need had he to breathe him into the womb of a woman? "For, since he knew how to make men, he might " have formed a body for this spirit, and not cast his " own spirit into such filth."

21. Upon what principle could this Epicurean as- CHAP.

cribe filth to the womb of a virgin? Must it not have been from the debauched state of his own carnal mind, which could conceive nothing clean, where the unclean and brutal passions of human nature might be gratified?

22. And why does he call in question the beauty of the mother of Jesus? Is it to prove that God can have nothing to do with a woman? or is it not rather to cast contempt upon that particular woman, who was chosen for a higher purpose than to gratify the carnal desires of man? Admitting that she was not beautiful, but even ugly, in the eyes of an Epicurean; this could be no reasonable objection to the gospel, which came not to promote either the lust of the flesh, or the lust of the eye: but doubtless this was the secret cause of his enmity.

IV.

vol. vii. p. 21.

23. "Afterwards the Jew in Celsus, addresses Je- Lardner, sus, and says: What occasion had you, when an " infant, to be carried into Egypt, lest you should be "killed? A God has no reason to be afraid of death. "And now an angel comes from heaven to direct you " and your relations to flee into Egypt, lest you should " be taken up and put to death; as if the great God, "who had already sent two angels, upon your ac"count, could not have preserved you, his own Son, " in safety at home."

24. " In another place Celsus has these words: " But if he [Herod) was afraid, that when you was "come of age, you should reign in his stead; why " did you not reign when you was of age? But so far " from that, the Son of God wanders about, cringing " like a necessitous beggar, or sculking from place " to place, as if he was afraid of being taken up."

ibid. p.26.

25. Again: "Celsus says, "That Jesus taking to ibid.1.18. "himself ten or eleven abjects, vile publicans and " sailors, went about with them getting his subsist"ence in a base and shameful manner." "In anoth'er place the Jew in Celsus says, "Jesus set out with " ten profligate publicans and sailors."

26. Again, concerning the disciples of Jesus, Celous has these words: "Some of them say: Do not "examine, but believe: and, thy faith shall save thee :

IV.

CHAP. "and, the wisdom of this world is evil, and folly "good." And again: "These are their institutions: "Let not any man of learning come hither, nor any "wise man, nor any man of prudence; but if any "man be unlearned, if he is ignorant, if he is silly, " let him come without fear. Thus acknowledging, " that these are the men who are acceptable to their "God; and thereby manifesting, that they are neither "willing, nor able to gain any but the foolish, the "vulgar, the stupid, slaves, women and children."

Vol. viii.

p. 3. Dia log. of Minutius

27. In such a manner, this learned sophist runs through a great part of the New-Testament, and by such kind of reasoning as would even carry a show of sanctity, he endeavours to show to the world, that Jesus and his followers are unspeakably below them, in meanness, and all manner of low debauchery.

28. The following is also from Lardner : " Cacilius Natalis, a heathen, arguing against the Chris

'tians, speaks to this purpose: "As for the feast, it Felix. " is a well known thing: every body talks of it. They ed A. D. " come together upon an appointed day, with all their

publish

210.

" children, their sisters and mothers; persons of each " sex, and of every condition. And after feeding " plentifully, when the lights are put out, they prac" tise promiscuously, incest, and all manner of un"cleanness."

29. These and such like, were the reproaches of Christ, of which the learned Catholic fathers had to clear themselves, in order to lay the foundation of their honorable kingdom. But this they could never have effected, had they not first proved to the world, by their practice, and their writings, that they rejected that singular manner of life, which had first given occasion to such false and blasphemous reports.

30. And therefore, while they maintain the innocence of Jesus and his first followers, they unite with the same old spirit of falsehood, in rolling off these reproaches from themselves, and loading the living heretics of their day with the scandal; and under a deceitful mask they try to make it appear, that they, and not the heretics, stand related to the once despised Jesus, and have the only right to the distinguishing name of Christians.