being an inferior God, and fubordinate creator of the world. For his affertions, that he had a divine gift beftowed upon him, whereby he found out this in the fcriptures of the old Teftament, bespeak it to have been quite a new thing to him, unheard of and unknown before. If he had been apprized that others had published the fame doctrine before him, he would not have pretended to the difcovery alone, and taken the credit of it to himself. For although much mistaken in this and other matters, he was a most honeft man, and free from vanity, and from all defire of setting himself off for any thing. We may therefore conclude, that no christian whatsoever, at least that Juftin knew of, had ever entertained fuch a thought concerning Chrift before him.

Now this circumftance alone, to you that can judge without prejudice, will be a fufficient confutation of that imaginary preexistence, which Juftin would give to Chrift, and a proof that he was intirely one of the human race. For if fuch a doctrine had been true; that Chrift, in any fhape, or under any character whatsoever, had been the agent of the deity, in the creation of the univerfe, and afterwards his minister in the government particularly of this globe that we inhabit; can it be a thing poffible, that he fhould never have told fo wonderful a thing to his difciples, and that they should not have mentioned it to their difciples,

and

and to the world? But nothing of this kind ever transpired. For it has been fhewn, that all that language, of coming from God, coming down from heaven, and the like, fignified nothing more than his having an extraordinary divine commiffion to preach the gospel. And it has been often, and rightly and justly obferved, on thefe occafions, that no notice is taken of Chrift as having preexifted; no refpect or regards mentioned in the fcripture, as paid or to be paid to him, but for the character which he fo nobly fuftained as a human being in this world. The highest praise recorded as given to him, is afcribed to him, as to the lamb that was flain: not to the Eternal, or the being next to the Eternal, for condescending to become man; but to the holy and innocent Jefus who willingly furrendered his life in the cause of truth and of human happiness. So that as no account is made of any thing that he was or did, before his birth in Judea, we must conclude, that he had no character before that time, and that then was the date of his existence.

If it fhould be faid, that before the age of Justin, Barnabas had spoken of Chrift as being concerned in the creation of the world, I would beg leave to refer to another place (c), for a full confideration of the language ufed by this venera

(c) Sequel to an Apology for refigning the vicarage of Catterick, p. 425-433.

ble ancient, whom very few of the learned allow to have been St. Paul's companion.

But indeed that writer, with others at that early period, had fuch a rage of allegorizing every thing in the Old Teftament, and applying it to Chrift and the gofpel, that there is no poffibility of collecting their real fentiments; if we could be fure that we have their genuine words. However, fhould they be found to teach any doctrine concerning Chrift, to which the fcripture gives no countenance, there can be no hesitation, which of the two we are to prefer.

Left any of thofe, who are not in the way of inquiring with exactnefs into fuch matters, fhould be perplexed with the language concerning Chrift, which is found in another of the apoftolic fathers; I would take occafion here briefly to fay, that with refpect to the epiftles of Ignatius, it is univerfally allowed, that liberties have been taken with them, by different parties of chriftians; and I would only make one remark.

When (fee Cotelier's edition of the Patres Apoftolici, by Le Clerc. vol. ii.) in thofe epiftles of this father, reckoned to be the leaft corrupted, we read in the beginning of the epiftle to the Ephefians:

Page 11. It is by the will of the Father, and of Jefus Chrift, our God.

Page

1

Page 15.

Our God Jefus Chrift, was car

<ried in the womb of the virgin Mary.' Page 27-29. Jefus Chrift, God.'

Page 30.

To the Smyrneans. I give thanks

to the God Jefus Chrift.'

With our New Teftament in our heads, when we find fuch language, we must say, that the good father went beyond his rule, in talking in fuch a different strain from that of the fcriptures, in making Chrift any thing above the condition of a creature, and in applying the facred name of God fo familiarly to him. But it is most probable, that the word, God, in these places, was put in by fome copyifts, who wifhed to make this early writer appear to favour their peculiar fentiments of Chrift.

SECTION XVII.

The early chriftian writers who came after Juftin, adopted this notion of Christ being the agent, and reprefentative of the Deity in the Old Teftament.

But though we cannot take Juftin's word without proof, that he had a particular illumination from the Divine Being, which enabled him to dif

cover

;

cover Chrift to be spoken of by Mofes and Solomon, as an inferior God and under-creator and governor of the world, before he became man and are moreover perfuaded from examining their own words, and the weakness of Juftin's inferences from them, that neither Mofes nor Solomon knew aught of Chrift's preexistence, or of the existence of any fuch great Being with God; it was nevertheless a doctrine fo palatable, and agreeable to the learned of thofe times, who had embraced chriftianity, that the greater part of them received it implicitly, and even improved on Juftin's in

vention.

This excellent perfon's known piety and many virtues, added to the authoritative air which he affumed of one really believing himself to be infpired, got the afcendant over men's minds, and made them take what he said to be true, without examination. And as it is of importance to make out clearly to all christian people, how fuch a delufion concerning Chrift's preexiftence, obtained a footing, and fpread itself to fuch an extent, it will be proper for me to produce instances, from fome of the principal chriftian fathers, and fucceffors of Juftin, not omitting others near our own times, to fhew the extreme readiness with which they all fell into this notion, and their fpeaking of and citing the thing, as a real fact, without the

leaft