ionable ought to be the characters of the witnesses to be. And
when no court of justice among us in determining a question of fraud to
the value of sixpence will admit the testimony of witnesses who are
themselves notoriously convicted of the same offence of which the
defendant is accused;" how can it be expected that any reasonable
unprejudiced person should reasonably be required to admit similar
evidence, i.e. the testimony of such men as the fathers in favor of the
divine authority of books which are accused of being the offspring of
fraud and credulity; and which relate too to a case of the greatest
importance possible, not to himself only, but to the whole human race?!

For my own part, I cannot; and I think I could not without renouncing
all those rules and principles of evidence, and of good sense, which in
all other cases are universally respected. And when we consider the
character of those by whom these histories were first received and
believed, the unreasonableness of insisting upon the belief of these
accounts will appear aggravated. What was the character of the early
Gentile Christians? This we can ascertain from only two sources--the
writings of their leaders, and those of their heathen contemporaries.
According to the latter they were very weak and credulous. The
primitive Christians were perpetually reproached for their gross
credulity by all their enemies. Celsus says that they cared neither to
receive nor to give any reason of their faith, and that it was an usual
saying with them, do not examine, but believe only, and thy faith will
save thee. Julian affirms, that the sum, of all their wisdom was
comprised in this single precept, believe. The Gentiles, says Arnobius,
make it their constant business to laugh at our faith, and to lash our
credulity with their facetious jokes.

"The fathers on the other hand, defend themselves by saying, that they
did nothing more: on this occasion than what the philosophers had
always done; that Pythagoras' precepts were inculcated by an ipse
dixit, and that they had found the same method useful with the vulgar,
who were not at leisure to examine things; whom they taught therefore
to believe, even without reasons: and that the heathens themselves,
though they did not confess it in words, yet practiced the same in
their acts." Middleton's Free Enquiry. Introduc. Disc. p. 92. Lucian
says, "that whenever any crafty juggler expert in his trade, and who
knew how to make