ITS ESSENCE AND EVIDENCE: OR, AN ANALYSIS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT INTO HISTORICAL FACTS, DOCTRINES, OPINIONS, AND BY GEORGE W. BURNAP, D. D. BOSTON: CROSBY, NICHOLS, AND COMPANY, 111 WASHINGTON STREET. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by CROSBY, NICHOLS, AND COMPANY, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. CAMBRIDGE: PREFACE. THE following work was projected and commenced more than twenty years ago. At that time, German Rationalism had just begun to agitate the minds of American theologians, and disturb the peace of our churches. The author was led to investigate the grounds of belief in the supernatural origin and superhuman authority of the Christian religion anew. About that time, he fell in with a book of a very interesting and extraordinary character, written by the famous Jeremy Bentham, and entitled, "Not Paul, but Jesus." In this work that distinguished man attempted to show that Paul had corrupted Christianity, and that the Christianity of the Church had been anything but Christian since his time. The works of Jefferson were published almost contemporaneously, and they were found to contain nearly the same sentiments. |