p. 3 | When the Bible was Written by Dudley Marvin Canright

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Jan 2, 1879

When the Bible was Written.

By Dudley Marvin Canright

From the Council of Nice we go back ten years, to A. D. 315, which brings us to the world-renowned Eusebius, bishop of Cæsarea, an intimate friend of the Emperor Constantine. Eusebius was a man of extraordinary learning, diligence, and judgment, and singularly studious in the Scriptures. His invaluable Ecclesiastical History, written at that date, is a volume of over four hundred pages, containing a particular account of Jesus Christ, his twelve apostles, the early rise and wonderful progress of Christianity in the world. He gives a minute account of each book of the New Testament, calling each by its name, telling who wrote it, how sacred it was held by the whole church, etc. Chapter twenty-five of Book III. he devotes particularly to a catalogue of these books. His list is exactly the same as that which we now have. Here, then, is another nail in a sure place.

We will now push our inquiry about fifty years farther back, bringing us to A. D. 260, or to the middle of the third century, to the testimony of Victorinus, bishop of Pettau in Germany. 'Victorinus wrote commentaries on different books of the Old Testament, an exposition of some passages of St. Matthew's gospel, a commentary on the Apocalypse, and various controversial treatises against the heretics of the day; in which we have valuable and most explicit testimonies to almost every book of the New Testament.' Horne's Introduction, vol. I, p. 80. No doubt, then, about the old Bible thus far.

Going back to a still more remote period, we come to the great and learned Origen. Of all the fathers who flourished in the third century, he is unquestionably the most learned and renowned. He was born A. D. 184, and died about A. D. 253. Thus it will be seen that he lived within a hundred years of the death of St. John, and was therefore so near the time of the publication of the books of the New Testament that he could hardly avoid obtaining the most accurate knowledge of their origin and authors. So great was the esteem in which this man was held, even by the heathen, that their philosophers dedicated their writings to him. He traveled all over the Eastern world, collecting different manuscripts and versions of the Bible. He compiled a Bible called the Hexapla. It contained six columns to a page, one in Hebrew, one in Hebrew with Greek characters, and the other four the versions of the Bible by Aquila, Symmachus, the Septuagint, and Theodotian.

'Besides these, which in themselves form a decisive testimony to the authenticity of the Scriptures, he wrote a threefold exposition of all the books of the Scripture; viz., scholia, or short notes; tomes, or extensive commentaries, in which he employed all his learning, critical, sacred, and profane; and a variety of homilies and tracts for the people. Although a small portion only of his works has come down to us, yet in them he uniformly bears testimony to the authenticity of the New Testament, as we now have it; and he is the first writer who has given us a perfect catalogue of those books which Christians unanimously, or at least the greater part of them, have considered as the genuine and divinely inspired writings of the apostles.' Horne's Introduction, p. 81. What more abundant testimony to the existence of the Scriptures at that time could any Christian ask?

From this we proceed to the second century. Here we find Tertullian, of the city of Carthage. He lived within fifty years of the last of the apostles, and was a vigorous writer in defense of Christianity. His work abounds in quotations and long extracts from the books of the New Testament. It is said that 'his quotations occupy nearly thirty folio pages.' Lardner says, 'There are more and larger quotations of the small volume of the New Testament in this one Christian author, than of all the works of Cicero in the writers of all characters for several ages.' Irenæus and Clement both lived in this century. They often quote from the apostolic writings; but our limits forbid giving quotations from these and others of this century.

Tertullian says, in his Apology to the Roman Presidents, 'Look into the words of God, our Scriptures, which we ourselves do not conceal, and many accidents bring into the way of those who are not of our religion.' Does not this appeal to the heathen rulers to read 'the words of God,' show that these writings were then in circulation? In the time of Tertullian it is believed that the original manuscripts were still in existence. He says: 'Well, if you be willing to exercise your curiosity profitably in the business of your salvation, visit the apostolic churches, in which the very chairs of the apostles still preside, in which their truly authentic letters are recited, sounding forth the voice and representing the countenance of each one of them. Is Achaia near you? you have Corinth If you are not far from Macedonia, you have Philippi, you have Thessalonica. If you can visit Asia, you have Ephesus; and if you are near Italy, you have Rome, from whence also you may be easily satisfied.'—De Præscriptione, cxxxvi, p. 245.

'If Tertullian did not mean that the original manuscript, but only authentic copies of the epistles to the Corinthians, Philippians, etc., were to be seen by application, why send inquirers thither? Could an authentic copy of the epistle to the Philippians be seen nowhere but at Philippi? or of that to the Corinthians nowhere but at Corinth?'—Alexander on the Canon, p. 142.

One step farther back and we are in the generation immediately succeeding the apostles. Here we find Justin Martyr, born ten years before John was banished. 'After becoming a Christian, he occupied a high stand in learned writing and holy living. His remaining works contain numerous quotations from, as well as allusions to, the four gospels, which he uniformly represents as containing 'the genuine and authentic accounts of Jesus Christ and his doctrine.' The same is true in relation to the Acts of the Apostles, and the greater part of the epistles. The book of Revelation is expressly said by Justin to have been written by 'John, one of the apostles of Christ.' Having lived before the death of that apostle, he had the best opportunity of knowing.'—M'Ilwaine's Evidences, p. 72.

'Further, in his (Justin Martyr's) first apology he tells us that the memoirs of the apostles and the writings of the prophets were read and expounded in the Christian assemblies for public worship; whence it is evident that the gospels were at that time well known in the world, and not designedly concealed from any one.'—Horne's Introduction, p. 85.

'We finish the second century with Papias, bishop of Hieropolis in Asia, whom Irenæus speaks of as a hearer of John, and a disciple of Polycarp, a pupil of John the apostle. How he obtained his information will appear from the only fragment of his writings remaining. It is found in Eusebius. 'If at any time I met with one who had conversed with the elders, I inquired after the sayings of the elders; what Andrew or what Peter said; or what Philip, Thomas, or James had said; what John or Matthew, or what any other of the disciples of the Lord were wont to say.' Thus we have a witness who lived near enough to the beginning to inquire of those who had conversed with the apostles, if not to listen to St. John himself. Too little remains of his writings to furnish many testimonies, especially as he had it not in view to confirm the authenticity of any part of the scripture; but still he gives a very valuable testimony to the gospels of Matthew and Mark, and the first epistles of Peter and John. He alludes to the Acts and the book of Revelation.

'Thus we have ascended to the apostolic age. But we may reach still higher. We have in our possession the well-authenticated writings of four individuals and fathers in the primitive church, who, because they were contemporary with the apostles, are called apostolical fathers. Two of them, Clement and Hermas, are mentioned by name in the New Testament; the third, Polycarp, was an immediate disciple of St. John; the fourth, Ignatius, enjoyed the privilege of frequent intercourse with the apostles. There is scarcely a book of the New Testament, which one or another of these writers has not either quoted or alluded to. Though what is extant of their works is very little, it contains more than two hundred and twenty quotations, or allusions to the writings of our sacred volume, in which they are uniformly treated with the reverence belonging to inspired books, and entitled, 'The Sacred Scriptures,' 'The Oracles of the Lord.''

D. M. CANRIGHT.