Supernatural Religion [by W R Cassels]

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. HISTORICAL VALUE OP THE WORK. DESIGN AND COMPOSITION. The historical value of the Acts of the Apostles has very long been the subject of vehement discussion, and the coarse of the controversy has certainly not been favourable to the position of the work. For a considerable time of course the...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. HISTORICAL VALUE OP THE WORK. DESIGN AND COMPOSITION. The historical value of the Acts of the Apostles has very long been the subject of vehement discussion, and the coarse of the controversy has certainly not been favourable to the position of the work. For a considerable time of course the traditional view continued to prevail, and little or no doubt of the absolute credibility of the narrative was ever expressed. When the spirit of independent and enlightened criticism was finally aroused, it had to contend with opinions which habit had rendered stereotype, and prejudices which took the form of hereditary belief. As might naturally be expected, many writers in more recent times have defended the authenticity of the Acts and asserted that the work is substantially historical and trustworthy; and, at the present day, apologists still express unshaken confidence in its character and enthusiastic faith in its truth and inspiration. On the other hand, a large body of eminent critics, after an exhaustive investigation of the Acts, have concluded that the work is not historically accurate, and cannot be accepted as a true account of the Acts and teaching of the Apostles.1 1 Baur, Paulus, i. p. 8 ff., 19 ff., 96 ff., 119 ff., 134 ff., 143, anm. 1, 166, 189 et passim; K. G., i. p. 125 f.; Sr. Bauer, Apostelgesch., 1850, p. 114 ff.; Chrulianus, Das Ev. des Reichs, p. 767 ff.; Davidson, Int. N. T., ii. p. 207 ff., 275 ff.; Gfrorer, Die heil. Sage, i. p. 27 f., p. 383 ff., 421 f. (second part historical, cf. 422 ff.); Hausrath, N. T. Zeitg., iii. p. 420 ff.; IlilyenfeU, Zeitschr. -wiss. Theol., 1860, p. 101 ff.; Einl. N. T., p. 225 ff., 574 ff., 593 ff.; Hultzmann, in Bunsen's Bibelw., viii. p. 350 f.; in Schenkel's Bibel Lex., i. p. 213 f.; Zeitschr. Ariss. Theol...