a short time of their continuing together at Jerusalem; and even of this period the a count is very concise. The work afterward consists of a few important passages of Peter's ministry, of the speech and death of Stephen, of the preaching of Philip the deacon; and the sequel of the volume, that is, two thirds of the whole, is taken up with the conversion, the travels, the discourses and his also, large portions of time are often passed over with very scanty notice. Now lay these three periods together, and observe | in fact a history of the twelve apostles only during how the progress of the religion by these accounts is represented. The institution, which properly began only after its author's removal from the world, before the end of thirty years had spread itself through Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, almost all the numerous districts of the Lesser Asia, through Greece, and the Islands of the gean Sea, the sea-coast of Africa, and had extended itself to Rome, and into Italy. At Antioch in Sy-tory of the new apostle Paul; in which history, ria, at Joppa, Ephesus, Corinth, Thessalonica, Berea, Iconium, Derbe, Antioch in Pisidia, at Lydda, Saron, the number of converts is intimated III. That the account, so far as it goes, is for by the expressions, "a great number," "great this very reason more credible. Had it been the multitudes," "much people." Converts are men- author's design to have displayed the early protioned, without any designation of their number,gress of Christianity, he would undoubtedly have at Tyre, Cesarea, Troas, Athens, Philippi, Lystra, Damascus. During all this time, Jerusalem continued not only the centre of the mission, but a principal seat of the religion; for when Saint Paul turned thither at the conclusion of the period of which we are now considering the accounts, the other apostles pointed out to him, as a reason for his compliance with their advice, "how many thousands (myriads, ten thousands) there were in that city who believed."+ Upon this abstract, and the writing from which it is drawn, the following observations seem material to be made: collected, or, at least, have set forth, accounts of the preaching of the rest of the apostles, who cannot, without extreme improbability, be supposed to have remained silent and inactive, or not to have met with a share of that success which attended their colleagues. To which may be added, as an observation of the same kind, IV. That the intimations of the number of converts, and of the success of the preaching of the apostles, come out for the most part incidentally; are drawn from the historian by the occasion; such as the murmuring of the Grecian converts; the rest from persecution; Herod's death; the sending of Barnabas to Antioch, and Barna to a place, and finding there disciples; the clamour of the Jews; the complaint of artificers interested in the support of the popular religion; the reason assigned to induce Paul to give satisfaction to the Christians of Jerusalem. Had it not been for these occasions, it is probable that no notice whatever would have been taken of the number of converts in several of the passages in which that notice now appears. All this tends to remove the suspicion of a design to exaggerate or deceive. I. That the account comes from a person, who was himself concerned in a portion of what he re-bas calling Paul to his assistance; Paul coming lates, and was contemporary with the whole of it; who visited Jerusalem, and frequented the society of those who had acted, and were acting, the chief parts in the transaction. I lay down this point positively; for had the ancient attestations to this valuable record been less satisfactory than they are, the unaffectedness and simplicity with which the author notes his presence upon certain occasions, and the entire absence of art and design from these notices, would have been sufficient to persuade my mind, that whoever he was, he ac- PARALLEL TESTIMONIES with the history, are tually lived in the times, and occupied the situa- the letters of Saint Paul, and of the other apostles, tion, in which he represents himself to be. When which have come down to us. Those of Saint I say, "whoever he was," I do not mean to cast a Paul are addressed to the churches of Corinth, doubt upon the name to which antiquity hath as- Philippi, Thessalonica, the church of Galatia, and, cribed the Acts of the Apostles (for there is no if the inscription be right, of Ephesus; his miniscause that I am acquainted with, for questioning try at all which places, is recorded in the history: it,) but to observe, that, in such a case as this, the to the church of Colosse, or rather to the churches time and situation of the author is of more import- of Colosse and Laodicea jointly, which he had not ance than his name; and that these appear from then visited. They recognise by reference the the work itself, and in the most unsuspicious form. churches of Judea, the churches of Asia, and "all II. That this account is a very incomplete ac- the churches of the Gentiles."* In the Epistle to count of the preaching and propagation of Chris- the Romans, the author is led to deliver a retianity; I mean, that, if what we read in the his-markable déclaration concerning the extent of his tory be true, much more than what the history contains must be true also. For although the narrative from which our information is derived, has been entitled the Acts of the Apostles, it is preaching, its efficacy, and the cause to which he ascribes it,-"to make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, *Considering the extreme conciseness of many parts I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ." In of the history, the silence about the numbers of converts the Epistle to the Colossians, we find an oblique is no proof of their paucity; for at Philippi, no mention but very strong signification of the then general whatever is made of the number, yet Saint Paul ad- state of the Christian mission, at least as it ap dressed an epistle to that church. The churches of Ga-peared to Saint Paul:-"If ye continue in the latia, and the affairs of those churches, were consider able enough to be the subject of another letter, and of much of Saint Paul's solicitude: yet no account is preserved in the history of his success, or even of his preaching in that country, except the slight notice which these words convey;-" When they had gone throughout Phrygia, and the region of Galatia-they essayed to go into Bithynia."-Acts xvi. 6. † Acts xxi. 20. faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven;" which Gospel, he had reminded them near the beginning of his letter, was present with them, as it was in all the world." The expressions are hyperbolical; but they are hyperboles which could only be used by a writer who entertained a strong sense of the subject. The First Epistle of Peter accosts the Christians dispersed throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. It comes next to be considered, how far these accounts are confirmed, or followed up by other evidence. letter in which this application is contained, was written not quite eighty years after Christ's ascension. The president, in this letter, states the measures he had already pursued, and then adds, as his reason for resorting to the emperor's counsel and authority, the following words:-"Suspending all judicial proceedings, I have recourse to you for advice; for it has appeared to me a matter highly deserving consideration, especially on account of the great number of persons who are in danger of suffering: for, many of all ages, and of every rank, of both sexes likewise, are accused, and will be accused. Nor has the contagion of this superstition seized cities only, but the lesser towns also, and the open country. Nevertheless it seemed to me, that it may be restrained and corrected. It is certain that the temples, which were almost forsaken, begin to be more frequented; and the sacred solemnities, after a long intermission, are revived. Victims, likewise, are every where (passim) bought up; whereas, for some time, there were few to purchase them. Whence it is easy to imagine, that numbers of men might be reclaimed, if pardon were granted to those that shall repent."* Tacitus, in delivering a relation, which has already been laid before the reader, of the fire which happened at Rome in the tenth year of Nero (which coincides with the thirtieth year after Christ's ascension,) asserts, that the emperor, in order to suppress the rumours of having been himself the author of the mischief, procured the Christians to be accused. Of which Christians, thus brought into his narrative, the following is so much of the historian's account as belongs to our present purpose: "They had their denomination from Christus, who, in the reign of Tiberius, It is obvious to observe, that the passage of was put to death as a criminal by the procurator Pliny's letter, here quoted, proves, not only that Pontius Pilate. This pernicious superstition, the Christians in Pontus and Bithynia were now though checked for a while, broke out again, and numerous, but that they had subsisted there for spread not only over Judea, but reached the city some considerable time. "It is certain," he says, also. At first, they only were apprehended who "that the temples, which were almost forsaken confessed themselves of that sect; afterward a vast (plainly ascribing this desertion of the popular multitude were discovered by them." This tes- worship to the prevalency of Christianity,) begin timony to the early propagation of Christianity is to be more frequented, and the sacred solemnities, extremely material. It is from an historian of after a long intermission, are revived." There great reputation, living near the time; from a are also two clauses in the former part of the letstranger and an enemy to the religion; and it ter which indicate the same thing; one, in which joins immediately with the period through which he declares that he had "never been present at the Scripture accounts extend. It establishes any trials of Christians, and therefore knew not these points: that the religion began at Jerusalem; what was the usual subject of inquiry and punishthat it spread throughout Judea; that it had reach-ment, or how far either was wont to be urged." ed Rome, and not only so, but that it had there obtained a great number of converts. This was about six years after the time that Saint Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans, and something more than two years after he arrived there himself. The converts to the religion were then so numerous at Rome, that, of those who were betrayed by the information of the persons first persecuted, a great multitude (multitudo ingens) were discover ed and seized. The second clause is the following: "Others were named by an informer, who, at first, confessed themselves Christians, and afterward denied it; the rest said, they had been Christians, some three years ago, some longer, and some about twenty years.' It is also apparent, that Pliny speaks of the Christians as a description of men well known to the person to whom he writes. His first sentence concerning them is, "I have never been present at the trials of Christians." was a term familiar both to the writer of the letter, and the person to whom it was addressed. Had it not been so, Pliny would naturally have begun his letter by informing the emperor, that he had met with a certain set of men in the province, called Christians. It seems probable, that the temporary check This mention of the name of Christians, withwhich Tacitus represents Christianity to have re-out any preparatory explanation, shows that it ceived (repressa in præsens) referred to the persecution at Jerusalem, which followed the death of Stephen, (Acts viii;) and which, by dispersing the converts, caused the institution, in some measure, to disappear. Its second eruption at the same place, and within a short time, has much in it of the character of truth. It was the firmness and perseverance of men, who knew what they relied upon. Next in order of time, and perhaps superior in importance, is the testimony of Pliny the Younger. Pliny was the Roman governor of Pontus and Bithynia, two considerable districts in the northern part of Asia Minor. The situation in which he found his province, led him to apply to the emperor (Trajan) for his direction as to the conduct he was to hold towards the Christians. The Col. 1. 6. Here then is a very singular evidence of the progress of the Christian religion in a short space. It was not fourscore years after the crucifixion of Jesus, when Pliny wrote this letter; nor seventy years since the apostles of Jesus began to mention his name to the Gentile world. Bithynia and Pontus were at a great distance from Judea, the centre from which the religion spread; yet in these provinces, Christianity had long subsisted, and Christians were now in such numbers as to lead the Roman governor to report to the emperor, C. Plin. Trajano Imp. lib. x. ep. xcvii. that they were found not only in cities, but in villages and in open countries; of all ages, of every rank and condition; that they abounded so much, as to have produced a visible desertion of the temples; that beasts brought to market for victims, had few purchasers; that the sacred solemnities were much neglected:-circumstances noted by Pliny, for the express purpose of showing to the emperor the effect and prevalency of the new institution. were confined to Greece, and to their particular retainers; but the doctrine of the Master of Christianity did not remain in Judea, as philosophy did in Greece, but it spread throughout the whole world, in every nation, and village, and city, both of Greeks and Barbarians, converting both whole houses and separate individuals, having already brought over to the truth not a few of the philoso phers themselves. If the Greek philosophy be prohibited, it immediately vanishes; whereas, No evidence remains, by which it can be proved from the first preaching of our doctrine, kings that the Christians were more numerous in and tyrants, governors and presidents, with their Pontus and Bithynia than in other parts of the whole train, and with the populace on their side, Roman empire; nor has any reason been offered have endeavoured with their whole might to exto show why they should be so. Christianity did terminate it, yet doth it flourish more and more." not begin in these countries, nor near them. I do Origen, who follows Tertullian at the distance of not know, therefore, that we ought to confine the only thirty years, delivers nearly the same acdescription in Pliny's letter to the state of Chris-count: "In every part of the world (says he,) tianity in those provinces, even if no other ac- throughout all Greece, and in all other nations, count of the same subject had come down to us; there are innumerable and immense multitudes, but certainly, this letter may fairly be applied in who, having left the laws of their country, and aid and confirmation of the representations given those whom they esteemed gods, have given of the general state of Christianity in the world, themselves up to the law of Moses, and the reliby Christian writers of that and the next succeed-gion of Christ: and this not without the bitterest ing age. resentment from the idolaters, by whom they Justin Martyr, who wrote about thirty years were frequently put to torture, and sometimes, to after Pliny, and one hundred and six after the death: and it is wonderful to observe, how, in so Ascension, has these remarkable words: "There short a time, the religion has increased, amidst is not a nation, either of Greek or Barbarian, or punishment and death, and every kind of torture."t of any other name, even of those who wander in In another passage, Origen draws the following tribes, and live in tents, amongst whom prayers candid comparison between the state of Christiand thanksgivings are not offered to the Father anity in his time, and the condition of its more and Creator of the Universe by the name of the primitive ages: "By the good providence of God, crucified Jesus." Tertullian, who comes about the Christian religion has so flourished and infifty years after Justin, appeals to the governors creased continually, that it is now preached freely of the Roman empire in these terms: "We were without molestation, although there were a thoubut of yesterday, and we have filled your cities, sand obstacles to the spreading of the doctrine of islands, towns, and boroughs, the camp, the senate, Jesus in the world. But as it was the will of and the forum. They (the heathen adversaries God that the Gentiles should have the benefit of of Christianity) lament, that every sex, age, and it, all the counsels of men against the Christians condition, and persons of every rank also, are con- were defeated: and by how much the more emverts to that name." I do allow, that these ex-perors and governors of provinces, and the people pressions are loose, and may be called declamatory. But even declamation hath its bounds: this public boasting upon a subject which must be known to every reader was not only useless but unnatural, unless the truth of the case, in a considerable degree, correspond with the description; at least, unless it had been both true and notorious, that great multitudes of Christians, of all ranks and orders, were to be found in most parts of the Roman empire. The same Tertullian, in another passage, by way of setting forth the extensive diffusion of Christianity, enumerates as belonging to Christ, beside many other countries, the "Moors and Gætulians of Africa, the borders of Spain, several nations of France, and parts of Britain, inaccessible to the Romans, the Samaritans, Daci, Germans, and Scythians ;" and, which is more material than the extent of the institution, the number of Christians in the several countries in which it prevailed, is thus expressed by him: "Although so great a multitude, that in almost every city we form the greater part, we pass our time modestly and in silence. § Clemens Alexandrinus, who preceded Tertullian by a few years, introduces a comparison between the success of Christianity and that of the most celebrated philosophical institutions: "The philosophers every where, strove to depress them; so much the more have they increased, and prevailed exceedingly." It is well known, that within less than eighty years after this, the Roman empire became Christian under Constantine: and it is probable that Constantine declared himself on the side of the Christians, because they were the powerful party; for Arnobius, who wrote immediately before Constantine's accession, speaks of the whole world as filled with Christ's doctrine, of its diffusion throughout all countries, of an innumerable body of Christians in distant provinces, of the strange revolution of opinion of men of the greatest genius, orators, grammarians, rhetoricians, lawyers, physicians, having come over to the institution, and that also in the face of threats, executions, and tortures.§ And not more than twenty years after Constantine's entire possession of the em pire, Julius Firmicus Maternus calls upon the emperors Constantius and Constans to extirpate the relics of the ancient religion; the reduced and fallen condition of which is described by our author in the following words: "Licet adhuc in quibusdam regionibus idololatria morientia palpi * Clem. Al. Strum. lib. vi. ad fin. t Orig. cont. Cels. lib. vii. first, are lost; and, about twenty years afterward, Justin Martyr, whose works remain, presented apologies for the Christian religion to the Roman emperors; Quadratus and Aristides to Adrian, Justin to Antoninus Pius, and a second to Marcus Antoninus. Melito, bishop of Sardis, and Apollinaris, bishop of Hierapolis, and Miltiades, men of great reputation, did the same to Marcus Antoninus, twenty years afterward and ten years after this, Apollonius, who suffered martyrdom under the emperor Commodus, composed an apology for his faith, which he read in the senate, and which was afterward published.† Fourteen years after the apology of Apollonius, Tertullian addressed the work which now remains under that name to the governors of provinces in the Roman empire; and, about the same time, Minucius Felix composed a defence of the Christian religion, which is still extant; and shortly after the conclusion of this century, copious defences of Christianity were published by Arnobius and Lactantius. tent membra; tamen in eo reo est, ut à Christianis | Alexander, bishop of Jerusalem, founded a library omnibus terris pestiferum hoc malum funditus in that city, A. D. 212. Pamphilus, the friend of amputetur:" and in another place, "Modicum Origen, founded a library at Cesarea, A. D. 294. tantum superest, ut legibus vestris-extincta ido- Public defences were also set forth, by various adlolatriæ pereat funesta contagio."* It will not be vocates of the religion, in the course of its first thought that we quote this writer in order to re-three centuries. Within one hundred years afcommend his temper or his judgment, but to show | ter Christ's ascension, Quadratus and Aristides, the comparative state of Christianity and of Hea- whose works, except some few fragments of the thenism at this period. Fifty years afterward, Jerome represents the decline of Paganism in Language which conveys the same idea of its approaching extinction: "Solitudinem patitur et in urbe gentilitas. Dii quondam nationam, cum bubonibus et noctuis, in solis culminibus remanserunt." Jerome here indulges a triumph, natural and allowable in a zealous friend of the cause, but which could only be suggested to his mind by the consent and universality with which he saw the religion received. "But now (says he) the passion and resurrection of Christ are celebrated in the discourses and writings of all nations. I need not mention, Jews, Greeks, and Latins. The Indians, Persians, Goths, and Egyptians, philosophize, and firmly believe the immortality of the soul, and future recompenses, which, before, the greatest phiosophers had denied, or doubted of, or perplexed with their disputes. The fierceness of Thracians and Scythians is now softened by the gentle sound of the Gospel; and every where Christ is all in all." Were therefore the motives of Constantine's conversion ever so problematical, the easy establishment of Christianity, and the ruin of Heathenism, under him and his immediate successors, is of itself a proof of the progress which Christianity had made in the preceding period. It may be added also, "that Maxentius, the rival of Constantine, had shown himself friendly to the Christians. Therefore of those who were contending for worldly power and empire, one actually favoured and flattered them, and another may be suspected to have joined himself to them, partly from consideration of interest: so considerable were they become, under external disadvantages of all sorts." This at least is certain, that throughout the whole transaction hitherto, the great seeined to follow, not to lead, the public opinion. SECTION II. Reflections upon the preceding account. IN viewing the progress of Christianity, our first attention is due to the number of converts at Jerusalem, immediately after its Founder's death; because this success was a success at the time, and upon the spot, when and where the chief part of the history had been transacted. We are, in the next place, called upon to attend to the early establishment of numerous Christian societies in Judea and Galilee; which countries had been the scene of Christ's miracles and ministry, and where the memory of what had passed, and the knowledge of what was alleged, must have yet been fresh and certain. We are, thirdly, invited to recollect the success of the apostles and of their companions, at the several places to which they came, both within and without Judea; because it was the credit given to original witnesses, appealing for the truth of their accounts to what themselves had seen and heard. The effect also of their preaching strongly confirms the truth of what our history positively and circumstantially relates, that they were able to exhibit to their hearers supernatural attestations of their mission, It may help to convey to us some notion of the extent and progress of Christianity, or rather of the character and quality of many early Christians, of their learning and their labours, to notice the number of Christian writers who flourished in these ages. Saint Jerome's catalogue contains sixty-six writers within the first three centuries, and the first six years of the fourth; and fiftyfour between that time and his own, viz. A. D. 392. Jerome introduces his catalogue with the following just remonstrance:-"Let those who say the church has had no philosophers, nor eloquent and learned men, observe who and what they were who founded, established, and adorned it: let them cease to accuse our faith of rusticity, and confess their mistake." Of these writers, se- We are, lastly, to consider the subsequent growth veral, as Justin, Irenæus, Clement of Alexandria, and spread of the religion, of which we receive Tertullian, Origen, Bardesanes, Hippolitus, Eu- successive intimations, and satisfactory, though sebius, were voluminous writers. Christian wri-general and occasional, accounts, until its full and ters abounded particularly about the year 178. final establishment. In all these several stages, the history is without parallel: for it must be observed, that we have p. 666. *Euseb. Hist. lib. iv. c. 26. See also Lardner, vol. ii. t ↑ Lardner, vol. ii. p. 687. the labours of its missionaries: but I see in it a strong proof of the Divine origin of the religion. What had the apostles to assist them in propagating Christianity which the missionaries have not? If piety and zeal had been sufficient, I doubt not but that our missionaries possess these qualities in a high degree: for, nothing except picty and zeal could engage them in the undertaking. If sanctity of life and manners was the allurement, the conduct of these men is unblamable. If the advantage of education and learning he looked to, there is not one of the modern missionaries, who is not, in this respect, superior to all the apostles: and that not only absolutely, but, what is of more importance, relatively, in comparison, that is, with those amongst whom they exercise their office. If the intrinsic excellency of the religion, the perfection of its morality, the purity of its precepts, the eloquence or tenderness or sublimity of various parts of its writings, were the recommend not now been tracing the progress, and describing the prevalency, of an opinion, founded upon philosophical or critical arguments, upon mere deduction of reason, or the construction of ancient writings; (of which kind are the several theories which have, at different times, gained possession of the public mind in various departments of science and literature; and of one or other of which kind are the tenets also which divide the various sects of Christianity;) but that we speak of a system, the very basis and postulatum of which was a supernatural character ascribed to a particular person; of a doctrine, the truth whereof depends entirely upon the truth of a matter of fact then recent. "To establish a new religion, even amongst a few people, or in one single nation, is a thing in itself exceedingly difficult. To reform some corruptions which may have spread in a religion, or to make new regulations in it, is not perhaps so hard, when the main and principal part of that religion is preserved entire and un-ations by which it made its way, these remain the shaken; and yet this very often cannot be accomplished without an extraordinary concurrence of circumstances, and may be attempted a thousand times without success. But to introduce a new faith, a new way of thinking and acting, and to persuade many nations to quit the religion in which their ancestors have lived and died, which had been delivered down to them from time immemorial, to make them forsake and despise the deities which they had been accustomed to reverence and worship; this is a work of still greater difficulty. The resistance of education, worldly policy, and superstition, is almost invincible." If men, in these days, be Christians in consequence of their education, in submission to authority, or in compliance with fashion, let us recollect that the very contrary of this, at the beginning, was the case. The first race of Christians, as well as millions who succeeded them, became such in formal opposition to all these motives, to the whole power and strength of this influence. Every argument, therefore, and every instance, which sets forth the prejudice of education, and the almost irresistible effects of that prejudice (and no persons are more fond of expatiating upon this subject than deistical writers,) in fact confirms the evidence of Christianity. same. If the character and circumstances, under But, in order to judge of the argument which is drawn from the early propagation of Christianity, I know no fairer way of proceeding, than to compare what we have seen on the subject, with the success of Christian missions in modern ages. In the East India mission, supported by the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, we hear sometimes of thirty, sometimes of forty, being baptized in the course of a year, and these principally children. Of converts properly so called, that is, of adults voluntarily embracing Christianity, the number is extremely small. "Notwith-with the state. The magistrate was the priest. standing the labour of missionaries for upwards of two hundred years, and the establishments of different Christian nations who support them, there are not twelve thousand Indian Christians, and those almost entirely outcasts."t I lament, as much as any man, the little progress which Christianity has made in these countries, and the inconsiderable effect that has followed Jortin's Dis. on the Christ. Rel. p. 107. ed. iv. † Sketches relating to the history, learning, and manners of the Hindoos, p. 48; quoted by Dr. Robertson, Hist. Dis. concerning ancient India, p. 236. On both sides of the comparison, the popular religion had a strong establishment. In ancient Greece and Rome, it was strictly incorporated The highest officers of government bore the most distinguished part in the celebration of the public rites. In India, a powerful and numerous cast possess exclusively the administration of the esta Baghvat Geeta, p. 94, quoted by Dr. Robertson, Ind. Dis. p. 306. † Others of the deities of the East are of an austere and gloomy character, to be propitiated by victims, sometimes by human sacrifices, and by voluntary tor. ments of the most excruciating kind.--Voyage de Gentil, vol. i. p. 244-260. Preface to Code of Gentoo Laws, p. 57, quoted by Dr. Robertson, p. 320. |