to weaken its
credit, whatever may be my own opinion with regard to its supernatural
claims.

In fact, to speak correctly, the Old Testament is at this moment the
sole true canon of Scripture, acknowledged as such by genuine
Christianity; it was the only canon which was acknowledged by Christ,
and his immediate Apostles. The books of the New Testament are all
occasional books, and not a code or system of religion; nor were they
all collected into one body, nor declared by any even human authority
to be all canonical till several hundred years after Jesus Christ. They
are books written by Christians, and contain proofs of Christianity
alleged from the Old Testament, but contain Christianity itself no
otherwise, it appears to me, than as explaining, illustrating, and
confirming Christianity supposed to be taught in the Old Testament.
They are mostly, where they inculcate doctrines, Commentaries on the
Old Testament deriving from thence, and giving what the writers
imagined to be contained in and hidden under the letter of it. And
upon the same principle that the books of the New Testament were
received as canonical, so was the Pastor of Hermas, the Book of Enoch,
and others, just as highly venerated by the early Christians. But they
did not at first, as I apprehend their expressions, rank them with the
Old Testament, which was called "the Scriptures," by way of excellence.
The Old Testament was in fact supposed by the writers of the New, to
contain Christianity under the bark of the letter; and they represent
Christianity as having been preached to the ancient Jews under the
figure of types, and allegories. See Gal. iii. 8. Heb. xi. and the
first Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, ch. x. In a word, the
Apostles professed to "say none ether things than those which the
prophets and Moses did say." Acts xxvi. 22,

Jesus and his Apostles do frequently, and emphatically style the books
of the Old Testament "The Scriptures," and refer men to them as their
rule, and canon. And Paul says, Acts xxiv. 14, "After the [Christian]
way, which ye call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers;
believing all things that are written in the law, and the prophets."
But it does not appear, that any new books were declared by them to
have that character. Nor was there any new canon of Scripture, or any
collection of books as Scripture made whether of Gospels or Epistles
during the lives of the Apostles; as is well known to you.--And if