Supernatural Religion Volume II Part 23

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contemporary of the Apostle, could have stated this, the whole pa.s.sage is clearly fabulous and written by a person who never saw the book at all. This extraordinary piece of evidence is so obviously absurd that it is pa.s.sed over in silence by other critics, even of the strongest apologetic tendency, and it stands here a pitiable instance of the arguments to which dest.i.tute criticism can be reduced.

In order to do full justice to the last of the arguments of Tischendorf, we shall give it in his own words: "Before we separate from Papias, we have still to consider one testimony for the Gospel of John which Irenaeus, v. 36, -- 2, quotes out of the very mouth of the Presbyters, those high authorities of Papias: 'And therefore, say they, the Lord declared: In my Father's house are many mansions(1) (John xiv. 2). As the Presbyters set this declaration in connection with the blessedness of the righteous in the City of G.o.d, in Paradise, in Heaven, according as they bear thirty, sixty, or one hundred-fold fruit, nothing is more probable than that Irenaeus takes this whole declaration of the Presbyters, which he gives, ---- 1-2, like the preceding description of the thousand years' reign, from the work of Papias. But whether this be its origin or not, the authority of the Presbyters is in any case higher than that of Papias," &c.(1) Now in the quotation from Irenseus given in this

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pa.s.sage, Tischendorf renders the oblique construction of the text by inserting "say they," referring to the Presbyters of Papias, and, as he does not give the original, he should at least have indicated that these words are supplementary. We shall endeavour as briefly as possible to state the facts of the case.

Irenaeus, with many quotations from Scripture, is arguing that our bodies are preserved, and that the Saints who have suffered so much in the flesh shall in that flesh receive the fruits of their labours. In v. 33, -- 2, he refers to the saying given in Matt. xix. 29 (Luke xviii. 29, 30) that whosoever has left lands, &c., because of Christ shall receive a hundred-fold in this world, and in the next, eternal life; and then, enlarging on the abundance of the blessings in the Millennial kingdom, he affirms that Creation will be renovated, and the Earth acquire wonderful fertility, and he adds: -- 3, "As the Presbyters who saw John the disciple of the Lord, remember that they heard from him, how the Lord taught concerning those times and said:" &c. ("Quemadmodum pres-byteri meminerunt, qui Joannem discipulum Domini viderunt, audisse se ab eo, quemadmodum de temporibus illis docebat Dominus, et dicebat,"

&c.), and then he quotes the pa.s.sage: "The days will come in which vines will grow each having ten thousand Branches," &c.; and "In like manner that a grain of wheat would produce ten thousand ears," &c. With regard to these he says, at the beginning of the next paragraph, v. 33, -- 4, "These things are testified in writing by Papias, a hearer of John and a.s.sociate of Polycarp, an ancient

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man, in the fourth of his books: for there were five books composed by him.(1) And he added saying: 'But these things are credible to believers. And Judas the traitor not believing, and asking how shall such growths be effected by the Lord, the Lord said: They who shall come to them shall see.' Prophesying of these times, therefore, Isaiah says: 'The Wolf also shall feed with the Lamb,' &c. &c. (quoting Isaiah xi.

6--9), and again he says, recapitulating: 'Wolves and lambs shall then feed together,'" &c. (quoting Isaiah lxv. 25), and so on, continuing his argument. It is clear that Irenaeus introduces the quotation from Papias, and ending his reference at: "They who shall come to them shall see," he continues, with a quotation from Isaiah, his own train of reasoning. We give this pa.s.sage to show the manner in which Irenaeus proceeds. He then continues with the same subject, quoting (v. 34,35) Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, the Apocalypse, and sayings found in the New Testament bearing upon the Millennium. In c. 35 he argues that the prophecies he quotes of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the Apocalypse must not be allegorized away, but that they literally describe the blessings to be enjoyed, after the coming of Antichrist and the resurrection, in the New Jerusalem on earth, and he quotes Isaiah vi. 12, lx. 5, 21, and a long pa.s.sage from Baruch iv. 36, v. 9 (which he ascribes to Jeremiah), Isaiah xlix. 16, Gala-tians iv. 26, Rev. xxi. 2, xx. 2--15, xxi. 1--6, all descriptive, as he maintains, of the Millennial kingdom prepared for the Saints; and then in v. 36, the last chapter of his work on Heresies, as if resuming his

1 Eusebius has preserved the Greek of this pa.s.sage (H. E., iii. 39), and goes on to contradict the statement of Irenaeus that Papias was a hearer and contemporary of the Apostles.

Eusebius states that Papias in his prefaco by no means a.s.serts that he was.

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previous argument, he proceeds:(1) -- 1. "And that these things shall ever remain without end Isaiah says: 'For like as the new heaven and the new earth which I make remain before me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name continue,'(2) and as the Presbyters say, then those who have been deemed worthy of living in heaven shall go thither, and others shall enjoy the delights of Paradise, and others shall possess the glory of the City; for everywhere the Saviour shall be seen as those who see him shall be worthy. -- 2. But that there is this distinction of dwelling [------] of those bearing fruit the hundred fold, and of the (bearers) of the sixty fold, and of the (bearers of) the thirty fold: of whom some indeed shall be taken up into the heavens, some shall live in Paradise, and some shall inhabit the City, and that for this reason [------] propter hoc) the Lord declared: In the... (plural) of my Father are many mansions [------].(3) For all things are of G.o.d, who prepares for all the fitting habitation, as his Word says, that distribution is made to all by the Father according

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as each is or shall be worthy. And this is the couch upon which they recline who are invited to banquet at the Wedding. The Presbyters disciples of the Apostles state that this is the order and arrangement of those who are saved, and that by such steps they advance,"(1) &c. &c.

Now it is impossible for any one who attentively considers the whole of this pa.s.sage, and who makes himself acquainted with the manner in which Irenaeus conducts his argument, and interweaves it with quotations, to a.s.sert that the phrase we are considering must have been taken from a book referred to three chapters earlier, and was not introduced by Irenaeus from some other source. In the pa.s.sage from the commencement of the second paragraph Irenaeus enlarges upon, and ill.u.s.trates, what "the Presbyters say" regarding the blessedness of the saints, by quoting the view held as to the distinction between those bearing fruit thirty fold, sixty fold, and one hundred fold,(2) and the interpretation given of the

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saying regarding "many mansions," but the source of his quotation is quite indefinite, and may simply be the exegesis of his own day. That this is probably the case is shown by the continuation: "And this is the Couch upon which they recline who are invited to banquet at the Wedding"--an allusion to the marriage supper upon which Irenaeus had previously enlarged;(1) immediately after which phrase, introduced by Irenaeus himself, he says: "The Presbyters, the disciples of the apostles, state that this is the order and arrangement of those who are saved," &c. Now, if the preceding pa.s.sages had been a mere quotation from the Presbyters of Papias, such a remark would have been out of place and useless, but being the exposition of the prevailing views, Irenaeus confirms it and prepares to wind up the whole subject by the general statement that the Presbyters, the disciples of the Apostles, affirm that this is the order and arrangement of those who are saved, and that by such steps they advance and ascend through the Spirit to the Son, and through the Son to the Father, &c., and a few sentences after he closes his work.

In no case, however, can it be legitimately affirmed that the citation of "the Presbyters," and the "Presbyters, disciples of the Apostles," is a reference to the work of Papias. When quoting "the Presbyters who saw John the disciple of the Lord," three chapters before, Irenaeus distinctly states that Papias testifies what he quotes in writing in the fourth of his books, but there is nothing whatever to indicate that "the Presbyters," and "the Presbyters, disciples of the Apostles,"

subsequently referred to, after a complete change of context, have anything to do with Papias. The references to Presbyters in this

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work of Irenaeus are very numerous, and when we remember the importance which the Bishop of Lyons attached to "that tradition which comes from the Apostles, which is preserved in the churches by a succession of Presbyters,"(1) the reference before us a.s.sumes a very different complexion. In one place, Irenaeus quotes "the divine Presbyter"

[------], "the G.o.d-loving Presbyter" [------],(2) who wrote verses against the heretic Marcus. Elsewhere he supports his extraordinary statement that the public career of Jesus, instead of being limited to a single year, extended over a period of twenty years, and that he was nearly fifty when he suffered,(3) by the appeal: "As the gospel and all the Presbyters testify, who in Asia met with John the disciple of the Lord (stating) that these things were transmitted to them by John.

For he continued among them till the times of Trajan."(4) That these Presbyters are not quoted from the work of Papias may be inferred from the fact that Eusebius, who had his work, quotes the pa.s.sage from Irenseus without allusion to Papias, and as he adduces two witnesses only, Irenaeus and Clement of Alexandria, to prove the a.s.sertion regarding John, he would certainly have referred to the earlier authority, had the work of Papias contained the statement, as he does for the stories regarding the

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daughters of the Apostle Philip; the miracle in favour of Justus, and other matters.(1) We need not refer to Clement, nor to Polycarp, who had been "taught by Apostles," and the latter of whom Irenaeus knew in his youth.(2) Irenaeus in one place also gives a long account of the teaching of some one upon the sins of David and other men of old, which he introduces: "As I have heard from a certain Presbyter, who had heard it from those who had seen the Apostles, and from those who learnt from them."(3) &c. Further on, speaking evidently of a different person, he says: "In this manner also a Presbyter disciple of the Apostles, reasoned regarding the two Testaments:"(4) and quotes fully. In another place Irenaeus, after quoting Gen. ii. 8, "And G.o.d planted a Paradise eastward in Eden," &c., states: "Wherefore the Presbyters who are disciples of the Apostles [------], say that those who were translated had been translated thither," there to remain till the consummation of all things awaiting immortality, and Irenaeus explains that it was into this Paradise that Paul was caught up (2 Cor. xii. 4).(5) It seems highly probable that these "Presbyters the disciples of the Apostles"

who are quoted on Paradise, are the same "Presbyters the disciples of the Apostles" referred to on the same subject (v. 36, ---- 1,2) whom we

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are discussing, but there is nothing whatever to connect them with Papias. He also speaks of the Scptuagint translation of the Bible as the version of the "Presbyters,"(1) and on several occasions he calls Luke "the follower and disciple of the Apostles" (Sectator et discipulus apostolorum)(2), and characterizes Mark as "the interpreter and follower of Peter" (interpres et sectator Petri)(3), and refers to both as having learnt from the words of the Apostles.(4) Here is, therefore, a wide choice of Presbyters, including even Evangelists, to whom the reference of Irenaeus may with equal right be ascribed,(5) so that it is unreasonable to claim it as an allusion to the work of Papias.(6) In fact, Dr. Tischendorf and Canon Westcott(7) stand almost alone in

5 In the New Testament the term Presbyter is even used in reference to Patriarchs and Prophets. Heb. xi. 2; cf.

Matt xv. 2; Mark vii. 3, 5.

6 With regard to the Presbyters quoted by Irenaeus generally. Cf. Routh, Reliq. Sacrse, i. p. 47 ff.

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advancing this pa.s.sage as evidence that either Papias or his Presbyters(1) were acquainted with the fourth Gospel, and this renders the statement which is made by them without any discussion all the more indefensible. Scarcely a single writer, however apologetic, seriously cites it amongst the external testimonies for the early existence of the Gospel, and the few who do refer to the pa.s.sage merely mention, in order to abandon, it.(2) So far as the question as to whether the fourth Gospel was mentioned in the work of Papias is concerned, the pa.s.sage has practically never entered into the controversy at all, the great ma.s.s of critics having recognized that it is of no evidential value whatever, and, by common consent, tacitly excluded it.(3) It is

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admitted that the Bishop of Hierapolis cannot be shown to have known the fourth Gospel, and the majority affirm that he actually was not acquainted with it. Being, therefore, so completely detached from Papias, it is obvious that the pa.s.sage does not in any way a.s.sist the fourth Gospel, but becomes a.s.signable to vague tradition, and subject to the c.u.mulative force of objections, which prohibit an early date being ascribed to so indefinite a reference.

Before pa.s.sing on there is one other point to mention: Andrew of Caesarea, in the preface to his Commentary on the Apocalypse, mentions that Papias maintained "the credibility" [------] of that book, or in other words, its apostolic origin.(1) His strong millenarian opinions would naturally make such a composition stand high in his esteem, if indeed it did not materially contribute to the formation of his views, which is still more probable. Apologists admit the genuineness of this statement, nay, claim it as undoubted evidence of the acquaintance of Papias with the Apocalypse.(2) Canon Westcott, for instance, says: "He maintained, moreover, 'the divine inspiration' of the Apocalypse, and commented, at least, upon part of it."(3) Now, he must, therefore, have recognized the book as the work of the Apostle John, and we shall, hereafter, show that it is impossible that the author of the Apocalypse is the author of the Gospel; therefore, in this way also, Papias

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is a witness against the Apostolic origin of the fourth Gospel.

We must now turn to the Clementine Homilies, although, as we have shown,(1) the uncertainty as to the date of this spurious work, and the late period which must undoubtedly he a.s.signed to its composition, render its evidence of very little value for the canonical Gospels. The pa.s.sages pointed out in the Homilies as indicating acquaintance with the fourth Gospel were long advanced with hesitation, and were generally felt to be inconclusive, but on the discovery of the concluding portion of the work and its publication by Dressel in 1853, it was found to contain a pa.s.sage which apologists now claim as decisive evidence of the use of the Gospel, and which even succeeded in converting some independent critics.(2) Tischendorf(3) and Canon Westcott,(4) in the few lines devoted to the Clementines, do not refer to the earlier proof pa.s.sages, but rely entirely upon that last discovered. With a view, however, to making the whole of the evidence clear, we shall give all of the supposed allusions to the fourth Gospel, confronting them with the text. The first is as follows:-- [------]

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The first point which is apparent here is that there is a total difference both in the language and real meaning of these two pa.s.sages.

The Homily uses the word [------] instead of the [------] of the Gospel, and speaks of the gate of life, instead of the door of the Sheepfold. We have already(1) discussed the pa.s.sage in the Pastor of Hernias in which similar reference is made to the gate [------] into the kingdom of G.o.d, and need not here repeat our argument. In Matt. vii. 13, 14, we have the direct description of the gate [------] which leads to life [------], and we have elsewhere quoted the Messianic Psalm cxviii. 19, 20: "This is the gate of the Lord [------],(2) the righteous shall enter into it."

In another place, the author of the Homilies, referring to a pa.s.sage parallel to, but differing from, Matt. xxiii. 2, which we have elsewhere considered,(3) and which is derived from a Gospel different from ours, says: "Hear _them_ (Scribes and Pharisees who sit upon Moses' seat), he said, as entrusted with the key of the kingdom which is knowledge, which alone is able to open the gate of life [------], through which alone is the entrance to Eternal life."(4) Now in the very next chapter to that in which the saying which we are discussing occurs, a very few lines after it indeed, we have the following pa.s.sage: "Indeed he said further: 'I am he

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concerning whom Moses prophesied, saying: 'a prophet shall the Lord our G.o.d raise up to you from among your brethren as also (he raised) me; hear ye him regarding all things, but whosoever will not hear that prophet he shall die.'"(1) There is no such saying in the canonical Gospels or other books of the New Testament attributed to Jesus, but a quotation from Deuteronomy xviii. 15 f., materially different from this, occurs twice in the Acts of the Apostles, once being put into the mouth of Peter applied to Jesus,(2) and the second time also applied to him, being quoted by Stephen.(3) It is quite clear that the writer is quoting from uncanonical sources, and here is another express declaration regarding himself: "I am he," &c., which is quite in the spirit of the preceding pa.s.sage which we are discussing, and probably derived from the same source. In another place we find the following argument: "But the way is the manner of life, as also Moses says: 'Behold I have set before thy face the way of life, and the way of death'(4) and in agreement the teacher said: 'Enter ye through the narrow and straitened way through which ye shall enter into life,' and in another place a certain person inquiring: 'What shall I do to inherit eternal life?' he intimated the Commandments of the Law."(5) It has to be observed that the Homilies teach the doctrine

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that the spirit in Jesus Christ had already appeared in Adam, and by a species of transmigration pa.s.sed through Moses and the Patriarchs and prophets: "who from the beginning of the world, changing names and forms, pa.s.ses through Time [------] until, attaining his own seasons, being on account of his labours anointed by the mercy of G.o.d, he shall have rest for ever."(1) Just in the same way, therefore, as the Homilies represent Jesus as quoting a prophecy of Moses, and altering it to a personal declaration: "I am the prophet," &c., so here again they make him adopt this saying of Moses and, "being the true prophet," declare: "I am the gate or the way of life,"--inculcating the same commandments of the law which the Gospel of the Homilies represents Jesus as coming to confirm and not to abolish. The whole system of doctrine of the Clementines, as we shall presently see, indicated here even by the definition of "the true prophet," is so fundamentally opposed to that of the fourth Gospel that there is no reasonable ground for supposing that the author made use of it, and this brief saying, varying as it does in language and sense from the parallel in that work, cannot prove acquaintance with it. There is good reason to believe that the author of the fourth Gospel, who most undeniably derived materials from earlier Evangelical works, may have drawn from a source likewise used by the Gospel according to the Hebrews, and thence many a.n.a.logies might well be presented with quotations from that or kindred Gospels.(2) We find, further, this community of source in the fact,

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that in the fourth Gospel, without actual quotation, there is a reference to Moses, and, no doubt, to the very pa.s.sage (Deut. xviii.

15), which the Gospel of the Clementines puts into the mouth of Jesus, John v. 46: "For had ye believed Moses ye would believe me, for he wrote of me." Whilst the Ebionite Gospel gave prominence to this view of the case, the dogmatic system of the Logos Gospel did not permit of more than mere reference to it.

The next pa.s.sage pointed out as derived from the Johannine Gospel occurs in the same chapter: "My sheep hear my voice." [------]

There was no more common representation amongst the Jews of the relation between G.o.d and his people than that of a Shepherd and his Sheep,(1) nor any more current expression than: hearing his voice. This brief anonymous saying was in all probability derived from the same source as the preceding,(2) which cannot be identified with the fourth Gospel.

Tradition, and the acknowledged existence of other written records of the teaching of Jesus oppose any exclusive claim to this fragmentary saying.