they would become acquainted with Him. 'Thou art my
Son; this day have I begotten Thee.'" (Ch. lxxxviii.)

The author of "Supernatural Religion" lays very great stress upon this
passage, as indicating throughout sources of information different from
our Gospels. He makes the most of the fact that John is said to have
"sat" by the Jordan, not apparently remembering that sitting was the
normal posture for preaching and teaching (Matthew v. 1; Luke iv. 20).
He, of course, dwells much upon the circumstance that a fire was kindled
in the Jordan at the time of our Lord's baptism, which additional
instance of the supernatural Justin may have derived either from
tradition or from the Gospel to the Hebrews. Above all, he dwells upon
the fact--and a remarkable fact it is--that Justin supposes that the
words of the Father wore not "Thou art my beloved Son, in Thee I am well
pleased," but "Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee."

Now I do not for a moment desire to lessen the importance of the
difficulty involved in a man, living in the age of Justin, giving the
words, of the Father so differently to what they appear in our Gospels.
But what is the import of the discrepancy? It is simply a theological
difficulty, the same in all respects with that which is involved in the
application of these very words to the Resurrection of Christ by St.
Paul, in Acts xiii. 33. It is in no sense a difficulty having the
smallest bearing on the supernatural; for it is equally as supernatural
for the Father to have said, with a voice audible to mortal ears, "This
day have I begotten Thee," as it is for Him to have said, "In Thee I am
well pleased."

What, then, is the inference which the author of "Supernatural Religion"
draws from these discrepancies? This,--that Justin derived his
information from the lost Gospel to the Hebrews.

"In the scanty fragments of the 'Gospel according to the Hebrews,'
which have been preserved, we find both the incident of the fire
kindled in Jordan, and the words of the heavenly voice, as quoted by
Justin:--'And as He went out of the water, the heavens opened, and
He saw the Holy Spirit of God in the form of a dove descend and
enter into Him. And a voice was heard from heaven, saying, 'Thou art
my beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased;' and again, 'This day
have I begotten Thee.' And immediately a great light shone in that
place.' Epiphanius extracts this passage fro