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acles, but these efforts have all failed. It was first attempted to prove that these recorded miracles were simply natural \ events, but this attempt failed. It was then attempted to prove that the reports were fabrications, pious frauds, o f Christ’s disciples, but this attempt likewise failed. It was then attempted to prove that the gospels did not belong to the time o f Christ’s disciples, but were written at a later period and palnjed off as the produc tions o f men who "did not really write them. This last attempt was made in a most skill ful, laborious and scholarly way. For a time ft almost seemed as if the attempt might succeed, but at the last it broke down utterly. The argument for the early date and historical accuracy o f the gospel stories in the ultimate outcome was only brought out the more clearly by the attacks made upon them, and the argument is abso lutely unanswerable. It is an interesting fact that the final and decisive blow in 1 favor - o f the authenticity o f the most important o f the four gospels, the gospel of John, was struck by a Unitarian, Dr. Ezra Abbott. Dr. Ezra Abbott’s demonstration o f the Johannean authorship of the fourth gospel was written many years ago, but all attempts to answer it have failed utterly. The miracles then attributed to Jesus Christ He actually performed. But these substan tiate His claim to be Divine. Not that the mere performance proves one to be Divine, but when one claims to be Divine and then performs miracles o f the character that Christ performed, not merely healing the sick, but stilling the wind, calming the waves o f the sea, raising the dead, casting out demons, by His mere word, these works taken in connection with His character and His teaching and His claims prove Him to be Divine. 3. Christ’s¿■claim to be Divine is sub stantiated in the third•place by H is influ ence on the history of. the world. It needs no argument to prove that Christ’s influence upon the history o f the world has been beneficial immeasurably beyond that o f any other who has ever
simply because H e claimed to be', but because o f the Way in which H e substan tiated the claim. Christ’s claim to be Divine is substanti ated : 1. First o f all by His character. The beauty and strength and nobility of the character o f Jesus Christ is well nigh universally admitted. The Jew admits it, both Rousseau and Renan, the great French skeptics insisted upon it, even Colonel Ingersol spoke most beautifully o f'it. On one o f his last visits to the city o f Chicago he repeated what he had often said before, “I wish to say once for all that to that great and serene man I pay, I gladly pay, the homage o f my admiration and my tears.” But here, is, this man whom all admit to have been a good man, a man o f honor, humility, truth, and nobility* claiming to be Divine. I f H e was not D ivine , H e WAS THE BOLDEST BLASPHEMER AND MOST ARRANT IMPOSTOR THIS WORLD HAS EVER seen. Can any honest man who has ever read the story , o f Jesus Christ with any attention and candor believe He was a blasphemer and impostor? That is the only alternative, you must either admit the lofty claims He made about His Deity, or hold Him to have been a blasphemer and an impostor. Every one who denies the Deity o f Christ practically lays at His door the charge of blasphemy and imposture. Men sometimes say to me, “I do not believe that Jesus was Divine, but I believe that He was a good man.” I reply, “ No, if He was not Divine He was not a good man.” I f Jesus' was not Divine He was right fully put to death according to Jewish law. The manner o f His trial was illegal, the mode o f death by which He was executed was not that prescribed, but the death pen alty was the right penalty according to Jewish law. The one who denies the Deity o f Christ justifies His killing. 2. Jesus Christ’s claim to be Divine is substantiated by the miracles which H e per formed. Herculean efforts have been put forth to discredit the gospel stories o f His mir
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