ground taken by the Tübingen school respecting the "tendency," or theological bias, of the first two Gospels, and of the writings of Luke, is not now maintained by critics of an independent spirit, such as Reuss, Holtzmann, and Mangold. Is it too much to believe that a similar retrogression may be expected in the case of the Fourth Gospel? The two great critical questions are the credibility of the Acts, and the authorship of this Gospel. On the first of these questions, as it appears to me, the most enlightened criticism is moving steadily towards a general recognition of the trustworthiness of Luke. Respecting the Fourth Gospel, there are no present signs of an approaching unanimity of judgment. For one, I cannot bring myself to believe that this Gospel was manufactured by a Christian believer early in the second century, and palmed off on the churches of Asia where John had lived and died. For the attempt of Keim and Scholten to drive the Apostle out of Asia can only be considered as a desperate expedient to escape a conclusion which seems inevitable from the fact of his having lived and taught there. While I reject the extreme positions of the Tübingen school, I should be the last to deny that, directly or indirectly, by its agency, and especially by the labors of the late Dr. Baur, a flood of light has been thrown upon the New Testament period. What life and movement there was in the Apostolic age! What momentous questions were agitated among the Apostles themselves! What a progress of doctrine among them! And how wide of the mark, in many particulars, is the popular apprehension of the opening era! After having formed a judgment of the character and value of the original documents, the way is open for the consideration of certain main points in the life and ministry of Jesus, together with the leading events in the Apostolic age. The chapters under this head conclude with a description of the characteristic features of early Christianity. In prosecuting the studies, the results of which are included in this volume, I have resorted to the primary sources; and I venture to hope that, here and there, especially in the part relating to the New Testament writings and their contents, I have been able to set forth some points in a somewhat clearer light than has been done heretofore. Where I have been assisted by the labors of others, it is little to say that I have exercised an independent judgment, and have tested statements and opinions by the evidence on which they claim to rest. I wish, however, to give full credit to the modern writers to whom I am most indebted. Upon the Greek religion I am under large obligations to the excellent treatises of Nägelsbach on the Homeric and Post-homeric Theology. Although I have been guided by him, to a considerable extent, even in the order of topics, yet it is proper to say that in almost all cases, the illustrative passages from the ancient authors were selected by myself, in my own reading. Upon the history of the Jews, and their social and religious life, I must, first, gratefully own my indebtedness to Ewald. His faults his arrogant temper in relation to other scholars, and the dogmatic tone in which unverified conjectures are put on a level with demonstrated truth-lie on, the surface, and are patent to all. But not less obvious are his profound and exact learning, with which is blended a rare ability to seize on comprehensive points of view, and, I will add, his unaffected piety. I have derived aid from the recent German works on the contemporary history of the times of Christ. Hausrath I have consulted with profit, although I differ widely from his critical views; but the condensed, lucid, and 1 Die homerische Theologie in ihrem Zusammenhange dargestellt, von Carl Friedrich Nägelsbach, 1840. Die nachhomerische Theologie des griechisch. Volks-glaubens bis auf Alexander, dargestellt von Dr. Karl Friedrich Nägelsbach, Prof. d. Philolog. zu Erlangen. 1857. 2 The extracts from Homer are given from Mr. Bryant's translation; those from Eschylus and Sophocles from the translations by Mr. Plumptre; and the passages from Plato are cited from Prof. Jowett's version (the ed. in 4 vols., 1861). But I have usually given the original text of the ancient authors, for the benefit of those who prefer to translate for themselves. thorough work of Schürer,' which confines itself to the Jews, I have found of great service. Derenbourg, among others, has supplied me with information from Rabbinical sources. Gfrörer has been useful upon the subject of the Jewish Theology in the time of Christ. I have not neglected the modern Hebrew scholars, Jost, Grätz, Herzfeld, Geiger, and others. On various points of Jewish history I have referred with advantage to Milman, and to the graphic pages of Stanley. As to Roman customs and manners, I owe most to the compact and well-digested treatise of Friedländer. Although I cannot always follow him to the full extent, in his judgments respecting ancient society, where they depart from the usual opinions, I have drawn freely from the invaluable store of facts which he has collected. As regards the Reforms of Augustus, the work of M. Boissier on the Roman Religion from Augustus to the Antonines, has been of advantage. The Histoire des Theories et des Idées Morales dans l'Antiquité, of M. Denis, has brought to my attention certain aspects of this subject which, without its aid, I might have overlooked. When a student in Germany I translated, and published in an American Journal,3 an Essay of Neander on the Relation of Grecian to Christian ethics. That Essay, more than anything else, has stimulated me to the study of Greek Philosophy in this particular relation, and some of its thoughts will no doubt be found in the chapter on that subject. With respect to the critical discussions upon the New Testament books, and upon the early Christian history, I have not undertaken to make references to the copious literature any farther than was absolutely needful. It seemed undesirable to do 1 Lehrbuch d. Neutestamentl. Zeitgeschichte, von Dr. Emil Schürer, A. o. Prof. d. Theol. zu Leipzig. 1874. * Darstellungen aus d. Sittengeschichte Roms in d. Zeit von August bis zum Ausgang d. Antonine. Von Ludwig Friedländer, Professor in Königsberg. Th. i. (ed. 4), 1873; Th. ii. (ed. 3), 1874; Th. iii. (1871). 3 Bibliotheca Sacra, vol. x. * Wissenchaftl. Abhandlungen, von Dr. August Neander, pp. 140– 214. (1851.) more in this direction, as I have written, not for scholars and ministers alone, but also for the cultivated public who are interested in such inquiries. Besides, the best works on the Introduction to the New Testament supply this information, and the student has access to the accurate and exhaustive bibliographical Articles of Professor Abbot, in the American edition of Smith's Bible Dictionary. It gives me pleasure to express the obligations I am under to the writings of Professor Lightfoot. The frequent references which I have naturally been led to make to them, indicate better than any words of eulogy can do, my appreciation of the scholarship, candor, and critical tact which characterize them. Those who have long been accustomed to look to the Germans to lead the way in these studies must hail with peculiar satisfaction the appearance, in our own language, of works of so high merit. The writings of Lightfoot, Westcott, Ellicott, Jowett, Stanley, Discussions like those of Mr. Hutton and of Mr. Sanday upon the Fourth Gospel, even the Essays of Matthew Arnold, unsatisfactory as many of the opinions expressed in them may be, and the anonymous work entitled "Supernatural Religion," which reproduces the most extreme theories of the Tübingen School, all indicate that the barren age of English Theology, in the department of Criticism, is fast drawing to a close. It remains for me to make my grateful acknowledgments to my friends, Mr. W. L. Kingsley, and Professor L. R. Packard of Yale College, for the assistance which they have given me while this volume has been passing through the press. NEW HAVEN, September, 1877. |