STRONGHOLD OF TRUTH
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( b) There is the direct testimony of the books them selves. If we examine them we see clear evidence that they did come from the Apostles' time. If any one gave me a book purporting to be of the 18th century, and if I read in it the word "boycott." I should say, of course, that it was not from that century. The word marks it as modern and Victorian. And again, if I read about aeroplanes, I should know that the book was not of the 18th century, but of the 20th. That is the test, like the watermark of a bank note. In that little point, as you will see, is an evidence of genuineness. Hairs in the Bill A gentleman once showed me an American dollar bill, and said: "This is one thing by which you can be sure of its genuineness" ; and he pointed out on the back of it some different colored hairs in the paper. He said: "That is a secret; no one knows how they are put in, and they are the evidence of the genuineness of the bill." Since then I almost always look for these hairs, for naturally I want to see whether a bill is genuine. The New Testament has similar evidence of genuine ness. Its allusions to Jewish, Roman and Greek history and customs prove its early date. Such allusions would in many cases have been impossible later. Yott can test this for yourselves, and, like Sir William Ramsay, you will be fully compensated for doing so. You remember he said he went out a few years ago to Asia Minor, believing that the Acts of the Apostles was not a gen uine, first-century work, but he returned convinced that it dates back to the first century, and that it was the work of St. Luke, the companion of St. Paul. ( c) There is the testimony of adversaries. Every opposition to Christianity from the first century has been directed towards the New Testament. vVhy did men like Celsus, Porphyry, Julian and Rousseau oppose it? If they did not think anything of this book, why did they trouble about it? Why did they not leave it alone? And why do not men today leave it alone? Because the Bible does not leave them alone. What is still more important
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