the Messiah given in the Old
Testament, it is all irrelevant, and "some prophecies" (or even one)
unaccomplished, which it is expressly said should be accomplished at
the appearance of the Messiah, are quite sufficient I conceive to
nullify his claims.

In the 29th page you say that "the Gospels are something more than
loose and idle rumours of events which happened in a distant age, and a
distant nation. We have the testimony of men who were the associates of
Jesus Christ; who received his instructions from his own lips and saw
his works with their own eyes."

I presume that after what I have represented to Mr. Cary upon the
subject of the Gospels according to Matthew and John, who know are the
only Evangelists supposed to have heard with their ears, and seen with
their eyes the doctrines and facts recorded in those books, you will be
willing to allow, that this is very strong language. You observe in
your note to p. 19, that the other writings of the New Testament,
(except Luke, Acts, and Paul's Epistles) "may be all resigned, and our
religion and its evidences will be unimpaired." This language too
appears to me to be too strong, since if you give up all but the
writings you mention we shall by no means have "the testimony of men
who were the associates of Jesus Christ, who received his instructions
from his own lips, and saw his works with their own eyes," for in
giving up so much do you not resign the gospels according to Matthew
and John?

2. It requires some softening I think on these accounts; since 1. Luke
was not an eyewitness of the facts he records in his gospel, it is only
a hearsay story. 2. It contradicts the other gospels.

3. It has been grossly interpolated.

4. The learned Professor Marsh in his dissertation upon the three first
gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, (in his notes to Michaelis'
Introduction to the N. T.) represents, and gives ingenious reasons to
prove, that those gospels are Compilations from pre-existing documents,
written by nobody knows who. So that the pieces from which the three
first gospels were composed were, according to this Hypothesis,
anonymous, and the gospels themselves written by we do not know what
authors; and yet, you know sir, that these patch-work narratives of
miracles have passed not only for credible, bat for inspired!

5. The Book of Acts was rejected by the Jewish Christians, as
containing accounts untrue, and contradictory to their Acts of the
Apostles