The Trial of the Witnessses of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ | Page 3

for the Christian religion. But the
matter now before the court is, Whether the objections produced by Mr.
Woolston, are of weight to overthrow the evidence of Christ's
resurrection? You see then the evidence of the resurrection is supposed
to be what it is on both sides; and the thing immediately in judgement
is, the value of the objections; and therefore they must be set forth. The
court will be bound to take notice of the evidence, which is admitted as
a fact on both parts. Go on, Mr. A.
Mr. A. My Lord, I submit to the direction of the court, I cannot but
observe, that the Gentleman on the other side, unwilling as he seems to
be to state his evidence, did not forget to lay in his claim to prescription;
which is perhaps, in truth, tho' he has too much skill to own it, the very
strength of his cause. I do allow, that the Gentleman maintains nothing,
but what his father and grandfather, and his ancestors, beyond time of
man's memory, maintained before him: I allow too, that prescription in
many cases makes a good title; but it must always be with this
condition, that the thing is capable of being prescribed for: and I insist,
that prescription cannot run against reason and common sense.
Customs may be pleaded by prescription; but if, upon showing the
custom, anything unreasonable appears in it, the prescription fails; for
length of time works nothing towards the establishing anything that
could never have a legal commencement. And if this objection will
overthrow all prescriptions for customs; the mischief of which extends
perhaps to one poor village only, and affects them in no greater a
concern, than their right of common upon a ragged mountain: shall it
not much more prevail, when the interest of mankind is concerned, and
in no less a point than his happiness in this life, and all his hopes for
futurity? Besides, if prescription must be allowed in this case, how will
you deal with it in others? What will you say to the ancient Persians,
and their fire-altars? nay, what to the Turks, who have been long
enough in possession of their faith to plead -----
Mr. B. I beg pardon for interrupting the Gentleman, but it is to save
him trouble. He is going into his favorite common-place, and has

brought us from Persia to Turkey already; and if he goes on, I know we
must follow him around the globe. To save us from this long journey,
I'll waive all advantage from the antiquity of the resurrection, and the
general reception the belief of it has found in the world; and am content
to consider it as a fact which happened but last year, and was never
heard of either by the Gentleman's grandfather, or by mine.
Mr. A. I should not have taken quite so long a journey as the
Gentleman imagines; nor, indeed, need any man go far from home to
find instances to the purpose I was upon. But, since this advantage is
quitted, I am as willing to spare my pains, as the Gentleman is desirous
that I should. And yet I suspect some art even in this concession, fair
and candid as it seems to be. For I am persuaded, that one reason,
perhaps the main reason, why men believe this history of Jesus, is, that
they cannot conceive, that any one should attempt, much less succeed
in such an attempt as this, upon the foundation of mere human cunning
and policy; and 'tis worth to go round the globe, as the Gentleman
expressed himself, so see various instances of the like kind, in order to
remove this prejudice. But I stand corrected, and will go directly to the
point now in judgement.
Mr. B. My Lord, the Gentleman, in justification of his first argument,
has entered upon another of a very different kind. I think he is sensible
of it, and seeming to yield up one of his popular topicks, is indeed
artfully getting rid of another; which has made a very good figure in
many late writings, but will not bear in any place where he who
maintains it may be asked questions. The mere antiquity of the
resurrection I gave up; for, if the evidence was not good at first, it can't
be good now. The Gentleman is willing, he says, to spare us his history
of ancient errors; and intimates, that upon this account he passes over
many instances of fraud, that were in like circumstances to the case
before us. I would not have the main strength of his case betrayed in
complaisance to me. Nothing can be more material than to show a fraud
of this kind, that prevailed universally in the world.