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 Detailed Conten ts vii

Avoid excessive use of is/are verb forms • 68

Use active voice for clarity • 69
Word Choice • 71
Style Checklist • 74
Exercises • 74

5 Designing Documents • 85
Understanding the Basics of Document Design • 86
Know what decisions are yours to make • 87
Choose a design that fits your situation • 87
Plan your design from the beginning • 87
Reveal your design to your readers • 90
Keep your design consistent • 90
Designing Effective Pages and Screens • 93
Use blank space to frame and group information • 93
Space the lines of text for easy reading • 96
Adjust the line length to the size of the page or screen • 96
Use a ragged right margin • 96
Position words and illustrations in a complementary
relationship • 97
Helping Readers Locate Information • 98
Use frequent headings • 99
Write descriptive headings • 99
Design distinctive headings • 703
Use page numbers and headers or footers • 706
Document Design Checklist • 108
Exercises • 109

6 Designing illustrations • 112

Creating Illustrations • 112
Tables • 773
Bar and column graphs • 777
Circle graphs • 722
Line graphs • 722
Organization charts • 726
Flow charts • 728
Project schedule charts • 737
viii Detailed Con tents

Diagrams • 733
Photographs • 735
Infographics • 738
Video clips • 740
Designing Illustrations Ethically • 142
Illustration Checklist • 144
Exercises • 145

Part Two: Applications

7 E-rnails, Texts, Memos, and Letters • 151

E-mail and Text Messages • 152
Memos and Letters • 152
Guidelines for Ensuring Quality • 156
Appropriate Tone in E-mails, Texts, Memos, and Letters • 157
Guidelines for Dealing with Tone • 158
Planning and Writing Correspondence • 159
CASE 7 - 1: INFORMATIONAL E-MAIL MESSAGE • 760
CASE 7 - 2: iNSTRUCTIONAL MEMO • 762
CASE 7- 3: LETTER REQUESTING INFORMATION • 764
CASE 7 - 4: UNFAVORABLE NEWS LETTER • 767
CASE 7- 5: CLAIM LETTER • 769
CASE 7 - 6: LETTER OF REPLY • 777
Correspondence Checklist • 174
Exercises • 174

8 Technical Reports • 181

Kinds of Reports • 181
Report Categories- Informal and Formal • 182
Informal Report Heading • 182
Subject line • 783
Reference • 783
Action required • 783
Distribution list • 783
Parts of an Informal Technical Report • 183
Introduction • 783
Summary • 784
 Detailed Contents ix

Discussion • 784
Conclusion • 784
Recommendations • 785
Attachments • 785
Developing Reports • 185
CASE 8-1 • 789
CASE 8-2 • 205
Elements of Formal Reports • 209
Prefatory elements • 209
Abstracts and summaries • 277
Discussion, or body of the report • 274
Collecting and grouping information • 276
CASE 8-3 • 227
Conclusion(s) • 223
Recommendations • 223
Appendices • 223
Letter Reports • 223
Example Report for Study • 229
Writing Collaboratively • 229
The team leader • 230
Requirements of team leaders • 230
Requirements of team members • 237
Report Checklist • 231
Exercises • 232

9 Proposals and Progress Reports • 233

Proposals • 234
Example RFP • 235
The context ofproposal development • 235
Effective argument in proposal development • 238
Standard sections ofproposals • 239
CASE 9-1: RESEARCH PROPOSAL • 244
CASE 9-2: PROJECT PROPOSAL • 250
Progress Reports • 255
Structure ofprogress reports • 255
CASE 9- 3 • 258
CASE 9-4 • 265
x Detailed Contents

Style and Tone of Proposals and Progress Reports • 269

Checklist for Developing Proposals and Progress Reports • 269
Exercises • 272

10 Instructions, Procedures, and Policies • 274

Instructions versus Procedures • 274
Critical Role ofl11Structions and Procedures in the Workplace • 274
Planning Instructions and Procedures • 276
Structure and Organization • 277
Introduction • 277
Theory governing the procedure or instruction • 277
Warnings, cautions, hazards, and notes regarding
safety or quality • 278
Conditions under which the task should be performed • 278
Name of each step • 278
CASE 10- 1: THE GRIGNARD REACTION • 279
CASE 10- 2: ]OB INSTRUCTIONS • 294
CASE 10- 3: INSTRUCTIONAL LETTER • 300
Online Instructions • 303
CASE 10- 4 • 304

Checklist for Developing Instructions/Procedures • 306

Exercises • 307

11 Oral Reports • 309

Understanding the Speaking-Writing Relationship • 310
Analyzing the Audience • 310
Determining the Goal of Your Presentation • 311
Choosing and Shaping Content • 311
Analyzing the Context • 311
Choosing the Organization • 311
Choosing an Appropriate Speaking Style • 313
Choosing Visuals to Enhance Your Purpose and Your Meaning • 313
Planning Your Presentation- Questions You Need to Ask • 326
Audience • 326
Purpose • 326
Context • 326
Content • 326
 Detailed Conten ts xi

Graphics • 326
Style • 326
Speaking to Multicultural Audiences • 327
Designing Each Segment • 327
Choose an interesting title • 327
Develop your presentation around three main divisions • 327
Plan the introduction carefully • 328
Design the body • 328
Design the conclusion • 328
Choosing an Effective Delivery Style • 328
Techniques to Enhance Audience Comprehension • 329
Designing and Presenting the Written Paper • 330
Structuring the written speech • 337
Writing the speech • 337
Practicing the presentation • 332
Checklist for Preparing Oral Reports • 333
Exercises • 335

12 Resumes and Job Applications • 344

The Correspondence of the Job Search • 344
Letter of application • 345
The resume • 348
Follow-up letters • 359
Interviewing • 361
The interview • 367
Negotiation • 363
Before and after the interview • 363
Job Search Checklist • 364
Exercises • 365

APPENDIX A Brief Guide to Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage • 369

APPENDIX B Using Sources oflnformation • 382
APPENDIX C Report for Study and Analysis • 390

Index • 429
 Checklists
------------ ----
Chapter2
Planning and Revision Checklist • 33

Chapter 3
Ethics Decision Checklist • 55

Chapter4
Style Checklist • 74

Chapter 5
Document Design Checklist • 708

Chapter6
Illustration Checklist • 744

Chapter7
Correspondence Ch ecklist • 774

ChapterS
Report Checklist • 237

Chapter9
Checklist for Developing Proposals and Progress Reports • 269

Chapter 10
Checklist for Developing Instructions/Procedures • 306

Chapter 11
Checklist for Preparing Oral Reports • 333

Chapter 12
Job Search Checklist • 364

xii
 Preface
-------------
As we have emphasized throughout the first two editions of Essentials of Tech-
nical Communication, in the workplace, no one wants to read what you write-
seriously. In addition, they will read as little of what you write as they possibly can.
Even if your document will be of value to your readers, unless you make that point
clear at the beginning of your document, it may be tossed.
Your boss or coworkers may not have the necessary background, the time, or
the inclination to wade through your e-mail, memo, or report. We have developed
The Essentials of Technical Communication with this in mind, as a practical intro-
duction to all aspects of effective professional communication- a handbook to
help you get your message across on the job, where time equals money and poorly
crafted documents can have a host of unwelcome consequences.
As teachers of technical writing with more than 50 years of experience between
us, we know that following a few simple guidelines leads to more efficient and ef-
fective communications. In this book we provide the guidelines you need as you
plan, draft, and revise documents. Understanding these guidelines will help you
avoid blank-page terror and enable you to write effectively and quickly- both re-
quirements of employees who write for their jobs.

APPROACH

Our rationale is simple: we believe that the effective writer in a work situation m ust
learn and internalize basic concepts of rhetoric and then apply these in developing
documents. We've filled this brief book with memorable, concise guidelines. Each
chapter in Part One focuses on basic rhetorical principles, and Part Two applies
those principles to the planning and writing of particular types of documents.
A brief book enables instructors to adapt the book to their own uses. Many
teachers want to build on principles by adding their unique approaches. This book
provides the flexibility to allow for that possibility. In addition, many employees
who did not study technical or business writing in college will find this book use-
ful in learning how to write in the workplace.

ORGANIZATION

The book is organized into two parts. Part One (Chapters 1 through 6) lays out
essential communication principles:
+ Chapter 1, "Characteristics of Writing at Work:' describes technical writing, or
writing in the workplace, to show how it differs from academic writing.

xiii
xiv Preface

+ Chapter 2, "Writing for Your Readers;' presents the essential elements of ana-
lyzing readers and then choosing content, format, and style as these meet the
needs of the intended readers. We embed a discussion of the composing pro-
cess in this chapter.
+ Chapter 3, "Writing Ethically;' discusses the ethics of technical documents.
While most professionals have standards of good practice, writers should also
follow principles of communication ethics.
+ Chapter 4, "Achieving a Readable Style;' explains how to write concise, pristine
sentences and paragraphs.
+ Chapter 5, "Designing Documents;' illustrates basic principles for creating ac-
cessible and inviting documents. In a world of too much information, read-
ers often miss or ignore important messages not presented in an easy-to-read
format.
+ Chapter 6, "Designing Illustrations;' provides guidelines for developing effec-
tive visuals. Graphics software creates practically infinite possibilities for visu-
als, but effective use requires an understanding of fundamental graphic design
principles.
Part Two (Chapters 7 through 12) then applies the principles from Part One to the
types of documents most commonly prepared in the workplace:
+ Chapter 7, "E-mails, Texts, Memos, and Letters;' presents the basics of cor-
respondence and demonstrates how to ensure that these routine messages are
clear, readable, and effective.

+ Chapter 8, "Technical Reports;' presents the elements of report development

along with examples, including an annotated abstract. We provide a formal
report in Appendix C and on the book's companion website, www.oup.com/
us/tebeaux. (We also include links to documentation resources on the web-
site. With the emergence of bibliography and citation software we believe ex-
tensive instruction in documentation is no longer needed in the text, though
we do include a brief guide to the most common documentation systems in
Appendix B.)
+ Chapter 9, "Proposals and Progress Reports;' provides guidelines for develop-
ing business proposals and status reports. In this chapter, we use several stu-
dent examples as these respond to real situations in a university setting.
+ Chapter 10, "Instructions, Procedures, and Policies; describes how to develop
clear instructions for a variety of situations.
+ Chapter 11, "Oral Reports;' provides a short guide to developing and then pre-
senting a concise, effective PowerPoint presentation.
+ Chapter 12, "Resumes and Job Applications;' describes how to prepare job ap-
plication documents.
 Preface XV

FEATURES

• Sample Documents: This text, although concise, includes a range of sample

documents covering the essential types and styles you're likely to encounter
in the workplace. Many of these documents are available for download on
the book's companion website, www.oup.com/ us/ tebeaux, along with links
to documentation resources.
• Case Studies: In Chapters 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9, and 10, case studies show how different
types of documents function in different situations. These cases contextualize
the documents to give you a sense of how and when the techniques we outline
can and should be applied.
• Checklists: At chapter ends, we have included checklists- lists of questions
you can use to ensure that your professional documents achieve your purpose.
We hope you find that these are a handy reference tool. They are indexed in
the front of the book.
• Exercises: Exercises at the end of each chapter guide practice in the techniques
outlined in the text. Some of the exercises are designed to be done in class
and could be done or discussed in small groups, and others are take-home
assignments.
• Appendices: Three appendices contain a briefguide to grammar, punctuation,
and usage (A); a synopsis of information literacy and three widely used
documentation systems (B); and a sample report (C).
• Companion Website: The book's companion website at www.oup.com/us/
tebeaux offers additional resources for students, including chapter overviews,
self-quizzes, downloadable versions ofthe checklists from the book, helpful links,
annotated document pages, and downloadable sample documents, including
those from the exercises at chapter ends. The site includes an instructor's
manual, featuring downloadable PowerPoint files for use as lecture aids, chapter
objectives, teaching strategies, workshop activities, writing projects, worksheets,
and discussion questions. It also includes revision assignments, multimodal
writing assignments, and multilingual writing assignments.
• Instructor's Manual: The instructor's manual is available in a CD version that
includes a test bank.

NEW TO THIS EDITION

While improving upon our first two editions, we did not change those aspects of
the book that made it popular with professors and students of technical communi-
cation. This new edition maintains the concise and practical nature of the first two.
But we have made several important changes based on the excellent suggestions
from our expert panel of reviewers. We made each change to prepare students ( 1)
to write in an increasingly dynamic, digital age and (2) to write for an increasingly
diverse audience- both in the classroom and in the workplace.
xvi Preface

Changes we've made for the third edition include the following:
• Chapter 1: We've included new material on the need for information security
as the most important difference between writing at school and writing at
work. We caution students about the risks of social media, texting, and e-mail,
all of which in personal and business use carry legal liability.
• Chapter 2: We've added a new case document that incorporates both issues in
e-mail design and audience perspective.
• Chapter 3: We've added case documents to this chapter to encourage analysis of
ethical dilemmas and the professional obligations oftechnical commwticators.
Weve also included the Code of Ethics of the National Society of Professional
Engineers for comparison with the Society for Technical Communication's
Ethical Guidelines.
• Chapter 4: We've added additional examples of common style problems:
excessive "be" verbs and use of "there is, there are" constructions that reduce
the directness of sentences and often increase sentence length. We have
included a short report that includes excessive use of "be" constructions and
other sentence problems. We've also added sample sentences and possible
revisions based on the principles presented in this chapter as well as additional
sentences that exhibit major errors for students to discuss and correct.
• Chapter 5: New here is greater emphasis on the complementary relationship
of words and illustrations.
• Chapter 6: We've added project schedule charts and infographics to the wide
array of illustrations that we examine with annotated examples.
• Chapter 7: We've added a claim letter to the case documents we exantine in
this chapter to reinforce the principle of dear and concise communication
tailored to the audience.
• Chapter 8: We've included three case documents for analysis and discussion
and new examples of informal reports. We've also added a new example of a
student formal report in Appendix C.
• Chapter 9: We've included discussion of online multimedia progress reports.
Appendix C also includes the proposal and progress report for the new final
report on Alzheimer's disease.
• Chapter 10: We've added a new example of lab procedures prepared by
a graduate student as many college lab instructions are hastily prepared
by graduate students who do not think about the needs of undergraduate
students in science lab settings.
• Chapter 11: We have new examples of PowerPoint slides, including a full
slide presentation that exhibits qualities of good PowerPoint presentations
and ineffective slides that demonstrate common errors. Weve also provided a
speech prepared to be read and invited students to improve it.
• Chapter 12: We've updated the examples of resumes and letters of application
while reinforcing key rhetorical principles and the necessity of managing your
professional identity on social networking sites.
 Preface xvii

In all chapters, we offer new and revised exercises. These require students to think
critically about the topics discussed in the chapter.
Finally, the companion website and instructor's resources have been updated
with new examples, exercises, and materials. Of particular note is the revised in-
structor's manual, which contains sections in each chapter on multimodal and
multilingual writing, as well as new links, writing projects, and teaching strategies.
The test bank has been updated as well and offers a revised and expanded selection
of test questions.
 Acknowledgments
------------ ----
We are grateful to the dedicated book publishers of Oxford University Press for
their conscientious efforts to make this book eloquent, elegant, concise, and co-
gent. We continue to thank the reviewers commissioned by Oxford for the first
and second editions of this text: Susan Aylworth, California State University,
Chico; Latonia Bailey, Crowder College; Elizabeth Childs, Auburn University;
Cathy Corr, University of Montana Missoula; Ed Cottrill, University of Mas-
sachusetts Amherst; Richie Crider, University of Maryland; Melody DeMeritt,
California Polytechnic State University; Scott Downing, Kenai Peninsula College,
University of Alaska Anchorage; Leslie Fife, Oklahoma State University; Maureen
Fitzsimmons, Syracuse University; Elizabeth Holtzinger-Jennings, Pennsylvania
State University; Danica Hubbard, College of DuPage; Kendall Kelly, Southwest
Texas State University; Kevin LaGrandeur, New York Institute of Technology; Eliz-
abeth Lopez, Georgia State University; Lisa McClure, Southern Illinois University,
Carbondale; Raynette Meyer, Aiken Technical College; Elizabeth Manske, North-
ern Michigan University; Brenda Moore, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Mar-
guerite Newcomb, University of Texas at San Antonio; Mark Noe, University of
Texas-Pan American; Roxanna Pisiak, Morrisville State College; Liza Potts, Old
Dominion University; Ritu Raju, Houston Community College; Denise Stodola,
Kettering University; Leslie St. Martin, College of the Canyons; Dawn Taylor,
South Texas College; Aaron Toscano, University of North Carolina at Charlotte;
Michelle Weisman, College of the Ozarks; and Linda Young, Oregon Institute
of Technology. And we extend our thanks to those who reviewed for this new
edition: Robert Bleil, College of Coastal Georgia; An Cheng, Oklahoma State Uni-
versity Stillwater; Paul Dombrowski, University of Central Florida; Peter Dorman,
Central Virginia Community College; Doris Fleischer, New Jersey Institute of
Technology; Jennifer Haber, St. Petersburg College; Michael Klein, James Madison
University; Kimberly Miller, Case Western Reserve University; Sally Palmer, South
Dakota School of Mines and Technology; Joshua Prenosil, Creighton University;
Kristen Proehl, Clemson University; Jeff Pruchnic, Wayne State University; Dirk
Remley, Kent State University; Bonnie Startt, Tidewater Community College;
Eleanor Sumpter-Latham, Central Oregon Community College; Tammy Winner,
University of North Alabama; Susan Youngblood, Auburn University; and Pinfan
Zhu, Texas State University.
We also thank the innumerable colleagues and students who have challenged
and inspired us in the teaching of technical communication. And, as always, spe-
cial thanks to Jene and Linda for their love and support.

xviii
PART ONE

Principles
This page intentionally left blank
Characteristics of
Writing at Work
Technical, or business, writing describes writing that occurs in a business or work
setting. University offices, corporations, research centers, hospitals, businesses of
all sizes, even nonprofit organizations produce large quantities of technical writ-
ing, which differs from academic writing in a number of important ways. These
differences mean that you cannot write on the job the way you have written in
school. Writing in school and writing at work differ because the purposes and the
context of each differ. Thus, the products of each contrast sharply.
Technical writing has similarities to any sport you want to pursue: you must
first learn the foundational concepts, then understand how these concepts affect
the sport before you apply the principles as a participant.

I Quick Tips
I
I
I On t he job, keep in mind t hat no one wants to read anything you write.
m
I Most of the time they will not read all of what you write. They w ill read
I because they need to, not because they want to. They wil l read because you
I
I have inform at ion t hey need to t ake act ions o r m ake decisions. They don't
get paid to read: t hey get paid to take act ions and make d ecisions. The
I more t ime they need to read your document, the less productive time t hey
I have. Make sure everything you write is clear, co rrect, necessary, and polite.
I
I And never assume t hat anything you write is conf id ential.
D Mo dern organizatio ns have to keep t heir technical and business writ ing
I sec ure, whether it exists in paper or v irtual form. O rganizations t hat lose
I inform ation to cyber t hieves often face severe consequences.
I
I
I
I
•
3
4 Chapter 1: Characteristics of Writing at Work

WRITING AT WORK VERSUS WRITING AT SCHOOL

Workplace writing requires that you continue to apply what you have learned
about effective paragraph development, correct sentence structure, punctuation,
and usage. As an educated adult, your writing should exemplify correctness. Be-
yond these fundamental principles, business or technical writing will differ from
writing you have done as a student in five important ways.
Writing at work
1. Requires acute awareness of security and legal liability
2. Requires awareness that documents may be read by unknown readers, inside
and outside the organization, for an infinite time
3. Achieves job goals
4. Addresses a variety of readers who have different perspectives from those of
the writer
5. Requires a variety of written documents

Requires acute awareness of security and legal liability. The most fun-
damental characteristic of technical writing rests in the legal liability associated
with workplace information. This liability extends from federal privacy acts, such
as FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act), that protect you as a stu-
dent in college to protection of the research and intellectual property of the uni-
versity from cyber thieves.
Chief information officers in educational, business, government, and research
organizations work diligently to protect the privacy of information about their
employees and the knowledge generated by these employees by following both
federal and state privacy laws. Identity and information theft can occur at any
time, despite the best efforts of any chief information officer's staff and security
team. People throughout the world continue to attack computing systems to gain
access to credit card numbers, personal and medical information, and transcripts
of academic work, creative work, and research data- essentially whatever hackers
can access, either for their own use or to sell to crime cartels.
Electronic communication has become a blessing and a curse. Today's work-
place requires extensive technology. Research organizations, hospitals, banks, fi-
nancial organizations, law firms, physicians, even small, locally owned businesses
have to pursue strict security on all information they have about customers, cli-
ents, and patients. Organizations, like architectural firms, computer companies,
engineering companies, and manufacturers, must protect their intellectual prop-
erty from theft. The knowledge they produce for clients becomes the value of
the organization. When you begin a job, you need to learn the security rules and
follow them. For example, you will likely not be allowed to use your company
e-mail for any purpose other than company business. Your company telephones
will likely require the same restrictions. You should never access your personal
blogs or social networking sites from your employer's computer.
 Writing at Work versus Writ ing at School 5

To avoid potential security breaches,

• Remember that any text message you send will not be secure and may be
legally accessed, whether the cell phone you use belongs to you or your
employer. Company e-mail can be viewed by the company webmaster. Once
you begin working for an organization, use caution in what you discuss via
text messages and e-mail.
• Avoid blogs, unless your company uses secure blogs for creating collaborative
reports, for example. Remember that others can see what you have written.
Be sure that your comments exemplify tasteful, helpful, and accurate tone
and content.
• Any electronic communication- texts, e-mails, and social media messages-
can be subject to subpoena. Your Internet provider has to comply with "good
cause" subpoenas. Again, what you say in cyberspace never goes away.
• Avoid using browsers available on company computers to locate information
on any topic not related to your work.
• Use social media carefully. Your company may have a page on one of the
social media sites, but do not use it or respond to it. First, ask the purpose
of the site and the rules for its use by employees. Note: Many students have
been expelled from their universities for inappropriate use of social media. A
business organization, because ofconcerns for information security, will watch
how employees use social media. You can lose your job if your comments on
blogs, wikis, and other forms of social media disparage the organization and
perhaps divulge proprietary information.
• Many organizations, before they hire new employees, will check social media
to see what potential employees have said about themselves. Again, criminals
across the world also check. Divulging confidential information, personal
or professional, can have major consequences for you and organizations for
which you work, have worked, or "'rill work. Because virtual messages never
go away, ask yourself, "If I decided to run for public office in 20 years, would I
want people I don't even know to see what I said about myself today?"
• If you have a personal web page, be sure that what you place on the page makes
a positive statement about you and does not discredit your employer in any way.
• Guard your external storage drives carefully. Never leave one in your computer
when you work in a public place, even for a few minutes. When you purchase a
flash drive, be sure it has been manufactured by a reputable company. Never buy
nonpackaged flash drives. Never use a flash drive given to you as a gift from an
advertiser. You do not know what material, malware, or viruses have been placed
on the drive. Never forget that everything you write can be accessed by others.
Tip: Always write as if someone you do not know might be reading over your
shoulder. And follow all rules your employer stipulates. Accepting and agreeing
to follow rules of confidentiality of company information may be a condition of
employment with that organization. When you interview for a job, ask about the
company's website, all social media sites, and management of those sites.
6 Chapter 1: Characteristics of Writing at Work

In school, your primary obligation is to avoid plagiarism. But what you write at
work can be used against you in lawsuits. Once you sign your name to a report or
letter, your signature makes you responsible for the content. Hostile readers can
use what you say to support claims against you and the organization you represent.
Because we live in an increasingly litigious society, designing documents that will
prevent their misuse should be one of your primary goals.

Requires awareness that documents may be read by unknown readers .

Always anticipate unknown readers who may receive copies of your reports or
e-mail. Ask yourself this important question: "Does my report or e-mail contain
any information that could be misconstrued and affect me or the organization
adversely if unknown readers see my communication?" While academic writing
responds to assignments, applicable only for a specific semester, course, and pro-
fessor, workplace communications have no specific life span. They can be read and
then used in ways you never intended or envisioned.
You cannot underestimate the problem that unknown readers present. Nearly
everything you write for an organization will remain in the organization's archive
indefinitely. Copies of your reports and letters will be placed in files accessible by
readers who may not know anything about you or the situation you discuss in your
document. These documents will often be used in assessing your performance and
in determining your promotion potential. What you say suggests how well you have
done your job. Unknown readers may also use your reports to gain understanding
of a work situation they have inherited with a new job assignment. On the job, what
you write becomes much more than a knowledge indicator for a grade.

Achieves job goals. In school, you write to show your professor that you know
the subject matter and to make a good grade. But in the workplace, writing is the
major way that people achieve their job goals and document their work. Writing
becomes documentation that you have done your work and how you have done it.
How well you write will suggest how well you have done your work. It will become
part of the organization's permanent archives.

Addresses a variety of readers who have different perspectives. In col-

lege, you write your assignments for a single reader, a professor, a specialist in a sub-
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE WAVE OF

SCEPTICISM AND THE ROCK OF TRUTH ***
 THE WAVE OF SCEPTICISM
AND
THE ROCK OF TRUTH.

THE WAVE OF SCEPTICISM

THE ROCK OF TRUTH:

A REPLY TO

"SUPERNATURAL RELIGION: AN INQUIRY INTO THE

REALITY OF DIVINE REVELATION."
 MATTHEW HENRY HABERSHON.
"Animus ad amplitudinem mysteriorum pro modulo suo dilatetur, non
mysteria ad angustias animi constringantur."—Lord Bacon.

London:
HODDER AND STOUGHTON,
27 & 31, PATERNOSTER ROW.
MDCCCLXXV.

CORRECTIONS.

Title-page. For anima, read animi.

Page iv. For Wann Warden, read Wann Wurden.

xii. For one allowed, read one version allowed.

28 line 3. For and that Paul, read and that as for Paul.

52 line 3. For first century, read second century.

77 For He suffered martyrdom on, read He suffered

martyrdom,
it is said, on.

77 For in the amphitheatre at Antioch, read in the

amphitheater,
not at Rome, but at Antioch.

78 line 4. For letters, read versions.

109 line 8 from bottom. For whoever, read whomsoever.

123 line 7. For dead, read read.

177 line 7. For at the name of Jesus, read in the name of

Jesus.

"Every wave which beats against the rock of eternal truth seems
to rise out of the trough caused by some receding wave, and
raises its threatening crest as if it would wash away the rock.
"It is of the nature of truth, that the more it is tested the more
sure it becomes under the trial. These attacks of opponents are
among the means whereby fresh evidences of the certitude of
the Gospels are called out."
Translator of Tischendorf's
Wann Wurden Unsere Evangelien Verfasst.
 PREFACE.
This volume is an amplified and expanded essay read before the
members of the Young Men's Society in connection with Park
Church, Highbury, on the evening of the 2nd of November, 1874.
The original purpose of the author was to indicate to the associates
of that Christian institution how the influence of German anti-
Christian literature, made plain to English readers by such books as
the one under review, might be withstood and neutralised, and to
supply an antidote to the poisonous insinuations respecting
Christianity which many of the periodicals of the day disseminate in
noticing works of this character. Those that are not professedly
hostile to religion have a way of treating Truth and Error as if
nothing had been proved, and as if the question were quite an open
one whether Divine Revelation is, or is not, a reality. The present
design of the author has a wider range than he first intended. He
desires to induce, not only young men, but those nearer his own
age, and placed, much as himself, in the great centres of business,
who have not much time for research into such matters, to bring
their intelligence fairly alongside the bold pretensions of the cavillers
and quibblers who presume to know that there is no God, or that He
has not spoken. He desires to remind those who are doubting that
"there is a knowledge that creates doubts which nothing but a larger
knowledge can satisfy," and that he who stops in the difficulty "will
be perplexed and uncomfortable for life." Having investigated for
himself, the author indicates the result, and would like, if he can, to
facilitate the inquiry which it is, unquestionably, the duty and interest
of every one to make. If to rest on a foregone conclusion on a
matter of such momentous importance is not altogether justifiable
on the Christian side of the question, how much less so on the
other! For it should be remembered that, on the one side, looking at
the question from a primâ facie point of view, we have a faith which
has the endorsement of the highest civilisation, the best morality,
the truest culture, the noblest aspirations, and the greatest
happiness which humanity has ever experienced; in contrast with a
negation which has nothing to offer as a substitute, taking away the
light that illumines the path of life, and leaving it in utter darkness.
As to the book under review, the anonymous author seems to regard
the evidences of Supernatural Religion as a region of swamp or
sand, in which solid rock is nowhere to be found upon which faith
may obtain a firm footing. He takes us in his survey here and there,
and says that what seems to be solid stone is only slightly congealed
sand, which, at the touch of his criticism, dissolves and falls away.
We fix our attention on one of these masses, and the result is, that it
is not what he alleges, but, verily, granite. If the reader who is not
prejudiced against Christianity will attentively peruse this volume to
the end, he will probably incline to this opinion. If any whose views
in regard to Christianity are hostile should be at the trouble to read
it, it is the hope of the author that the result will be to stimulate
inquiry and research, for "that which is true in religion cannot be
shaken, and that which is false, no one can desire to preserve." In
so far as the writer of "Supernatural Religion" and others have, by
their reference to early Patristic literature, shown how certain it is
that Jesus lived and taught, they have done service to the cause of
Christianity; for the writings, the traditions, and the history of the
Church are too closely identified with the Sermon on the Mount to
admit of the probability that He who could thus teach was less than
"He believed Himself to be." On such a foundation the
superstructure is so appropriate, that the "possibility" which John
Stuart Mill conceived is near to probability, and probability to a full
assurance of faith.
82, St. Mark's Square,
West Hackney, London.
11th December, 1874.
 CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION
1

CHAPTER I.

MIRACLES.
Miracles the vital point in the investigation—Their modification to suit
scientific theologians—Antecedent credibility—Miracles not
super-Satanic—Profane oaths—Counterfeits—Christianity
misrepresented—J. S. Mill—Appeal to reason—The Fourth
Gospel ignored—Intellectual condition of the age when miracles
occurred—Royal College of Physicians—French Academy—
Priests ordained to forgive sins—Paul the only educated man of
his generation—Perfection and invariability of the order of
Nature in contrast with the wickedness of mankind—Abstract
question as to the credibility of miracles—Matthew Arnold and J.
S. Mill reject Hume's argument—Recent German criticisms in
favour of Christianity—Dr. Christlieb's "Modern Doubt and
Christian Belief"—Baur and the Tübingen School
11

CHAPTER II.
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS.
The argument from the silence of early writers—Limits of the inquiry
—Quotations from unknown sources and tradition—The
summary of what the author of "Supernatural Religion" alleges
his investigation produces—His plausibility, special pleading, and
boldness of assertion—His line across history—Verbal testimony
in the first two generations—Inscription over the cross—Clement
of Rome—Verbatim quotations—Tischendorf and early
translations of the New Testament into Latin and Syriac—
Pretensions on behalf of the Synoptics—Rénan's views of the
Gospels—Uniform plenary and verbal inspiration—Perversion of
Scripture—Epistle of Barnabas—The ninth chapter of Matthew
dissected and the miraculous eliminated—Tischendorf's opinion
ridiculed—Quoting unfairly—The Pauline and Petrine contention
—The Second Epistle of Peter—The Pastor of Hermas
41

CHAPTER III.
THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS—continued.
The Epistles of Ignatius—One version allowed to be genuine—The
Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians: its acceptance as genuine
by Irenæus—Hegesippus—Fragments only preserved of his
writings—The impossibility of knowing what was in the portions
not extant—Papias—His evidence respecting Mark's Gospel—His
assertion that Matthew wrote in Hebrew, and Tischendorf's
opinion that he wrote in Greek—Justin Martyr—His reference to
the Memoirs called Gospels—The Clementine Homilies—
Important quotation from Matthew—Paul's Epistle to the Church
at Laodicea—Construction of Matthew's Gospel—The Epistle to
Diognetus
75

CHAPTER IV.
 THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS—continued.
Basilides—The Gospel to the Hebrews—Special pleading in regard to
Hippolytus and the pronouns HE and THEY—Coincidence resorted
to—Events HAPPEN to occur as predicted—Valentinus—Marcion, a
critic of the modern sceptical sort—J. S. Mill—Tatian: his
harmony of the four Gospels—Dionysius of Corinth—The word
Scripture applied to the New Testament writings—The Gospel of
Peter—Serapion's explanation why it was read at Rhossus—
Melito of Sardis—The word old applied to the Old Testament
implying the existence of a New Testament—Claudius Apollinaris
and his reference to the four Gospels—Athenagoras—Opposite
opinions as to his quotation from Matthew—The Epistle of
Vienne and Lyons—Ptolemæus and Heracleon—Celsus—The
Canon of Muratori
99

CHAPTER V.
THE FOURTH GOSPEL.
The evidence of Irenæus—Epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians
genuine—"The Refutation of all Heresies" by Hippolytus—Justin
Martyr—The internal evidence—Philo's philosophy—The doctrine
of the triune nature of Jehovah—The Divinity of Christ—The
Holy Spirit—The nameless, unknown author—Rénan's views in
favour of the Johannine authorship—Linguistic difficulties—
William Penn—The raising of Lazarus from the dead—John's
memory—The Duke of Wellington—Mode of authorship—Men
separated from their writings, and books without authors—The
second century non-classical compared with the first—Facts
make history, not history facts—The living voice rather than
books the instrument for proclaiming the Gospel in the first
century—The folly of ignoring Divine Revelation
135
 CHAPTER VI.
CONTEMPORARY EVIDENCE.
The Apostle John the author of the Apocalypse—Importance of the
admission—The precise date of its composition—Its allegorical
character—"Pilgrim's Progress" and "Paradise Lost and
Regained"—The doctrines indicated in the Apocalypse—Rome
the mystical Babylon—Nero Cæsar—The number of the beast—
The Lord's day—Prominence of the allusion to the Lamb slain to
take away sin—Paul's epistles identical in doctrine with the
Apocalypse—Professor Owen—Quotation from "The Merchant of
Venice"
163

CHAPTER VII.
CONCLUSION.
An eloquent sentence analysed—Henry Rogers—John Stuart Mill—
Priestley—Paul's admonition to Timothy—The death of apostles
not recorded in writings alleged to have been written long after
their decease—Verdict pronounced before the case is complete
—Authority of Church Councils—The religion of the Bible a
spiritual matter, requiring spiritual discernment—Summary—
Peroration
183
 INTRODUCTION.
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are
dreamt of in your philosophy."
Shakespeare.
"When we consider further that a gift, extremely precious, came to
us, which, though facilitated, was not necessitated, by what had
gone before, but was due, as far as appearances go, to the peculiar
mental and moral endowments of one man, and that man openly
proclaimed that it did not come from himself, but from God through
him, then we are entitled to say there is nothing so inherently or
absolutely incredible in this supposition as to preclude any one from
hoping that it may perhaps be true."
John Stuart Mill.
 INTRODUCTION.
Nothing in these days is taken for granted. In science, philosophy,
politics, and religion, the foundations of belief are fearlessly
examined, and the facilities for the process are unprecedented.
Criticism has new and improved instruments, and they are
extensively used—often misused. It concerns us especially to know
how far our religious institutions are being affected.
Have devout men, during the three thousand years which history
chronicles, been under a delusion in believing that "there is a spirit
in man, and the Almighty giveth him understanding"?
Is popular Christianity "wide of the truth, and a disfigurement of the
truth," as an eminent writer the other day asserted? Such questions
float in our literature and find their way into our homes and our
sanctuaries.
Although no importance is to be attached to the reckless assertion
that the outworks of Evangelical Religion are in danger, and that the
very citadel itself is not impregnable, it is undoubtedly true that its
modern adversaries—reputable and otherwise—are bold, active, and
skilful, and there is need that its defenders should be alert and
vigilant. It will not do to rely altogether on the defensive lines and
tactics of our predecessors. Each generation has the stronghold
entrusted to its care, and new appliances are, from time to time,
required to resist novel as well as resuscitated modes of assault.
However certain be the ultimate triumph of His cause whose right it
is to reign, the rate of its progress depends upon the faithfulness
and heroism of His servants at their various posts of labour and
conflict.
To change the figure. The mirror which reflects Divine truth has to
be preserved and kept bright by human instrumentality. Superstition,
in the murky atmosphere of sacerdotalism, clouds it; by false
philosophy it is liable to be dimmed; while crude science or unsound
criticism, removing the silver lining to make the glass more
transparent, makes it useless. He does well who is able to act as its
conservator, and in some measure cleanse the surface, that
obscurity may be removed and eternal truth discerned.
I am aware that, as a rule, it is not desirable that hostile literature
should be helped into notoriety, and that believers should be
troubled with exploded fallacies and disturbed by arguments against
the truth as it is in Jesus a hundred times answered.
As Robert Hall justly remarks:—"It is degrading to the dignity of a
revelation, established through a succession of ages by indubitable
proofs, to be adverting every moment to the hypothesis of its being
an imposture, and to be inviting every ignorant sophist to wrangle
about the title, when we should be cultivating the possession."
But there are exceptions to every rule, and as I am not addressing a
promiscuous audience, but the members of a society whose rule is
to discuss all subjects without limitation, I venture to think I am
justified in bringing under your notice a recent heterodox book which
is so well written as to be likely to mislead if it be not neutralized.
And the more so, if I can make the author not only answer himself,
but other writers whose anti-Christian arguments are not put forth
anonymously, but with the authority of well-known names and much
reputation in the world of letters and science.
Let me further premise that the Christian is occupying an exceptional
position when he descends to the neutral level of the sceptic to
discuss the internal evidences of Evangelical truth. His usual
privileged abode is more favourable for the survey than the lower
ground, for the light is brighter and the air clearer on the mountain
heights where he is wont to contemplate religious matters, than on
the plain where faith has no temple, and reason, ignoring Divine
influence, operates with the carnal instruments of a negative creed.
To appeal to the spiritual discernment of a disbeliever in Divine
illumination would be like expecting a man who is not of the mystical
craft of the Masonic brotherhood to use the signs (if such there be)
of a Freemason. Yet the argument in defence of the reality of Divine
revelation is not complete without a reference to that "Spirit of
Truth" which Jesus Christ promised to send "to testify of him," and
to "bring all things to the remembrance" of those disciples who were
to "bear witness, because they had been with him from the
beginning."[1]
A good cause may be injured by injudicious and feeble advocacy, but
I trust I am not presumptuously meddling with a theme which only
an erudite scholar and theologian should deal with. I beg you to
bear in mind, however, that if I or others fail in the contest for truth,
there still will remain the indubitable proofs of Divine revelation in all
their variety and superabundance.
Although the ability, scholarship, and research displayed in this anti-
Christian work are considerable, I doubt if it has really much in it
that is original. The author has only cleverly reproduced and
rearranged the anti-Christian arguments, chiefly German,[2] which
are to be found in the library of the British Museum.
The "Examiner" says, in regard to three-fourths of the work, "It is
neither more nor less than a digest of recent German speculation on
the date and authorship of the Gospels; devoid of originality, and
infected with the verbosity and repetition of the authorities on which
it is based."
In the other notices of the work which have appeared so far, it has, I
think, been somewhat over-estimated.
The "Fortnightly Review" writes of it: "It is not too much to say of
the two volumes before us that they are by far the most decisive,
trenchant, and far-reaching of the direct contributions to theological
controversy that have been made in this generation."
The "Athenæum" says: "The book proceeds from a man of ability, a
scholar, and reasoner, who writes like an earnest seeker after truth,
and knows well all the German and Dutch books relating to the
criticism of the New Testament, as well as the English ones."
The "Westminster Review" asserts that "no more formidable
assailant of orthodoxy could well be imagined."
The "Spectator" designates it a "masterly but prejudiced examination
of the evidences for the antiquity of the Christian Scriptures."
"The Literary World" says: "This is, beyond all question, an important
book. The one grand pervading fault we find with it is its
partisanship. The writer plays the part of special pleader against
what he calls Ecclesiastical Christianity, and fails to represent what
could be said on the other side. It is a partisan production, a piece
of clever, ingenious, plausible, special pleading. The author has got
up his case with marvellous exclusiveness. He makes it an absolute
rule, so far as we perceive, to regard his opponents as having no
case at all."
The quarterly reviews, "Edinburgh," "Quarterly," and "British
Quarterly," have not yet pronounced an opinion on its merits.
My purpose is to show that the author of this anonymous work has
not been successful in accomplishing the two things he has
attempted, viz., to prove the incredibility of miracles by—
First, a recast of the often-exploded syllogistic fallacies of Hume;
and, secondly, by an elimination of the miraculous from the Gospels;
but that he has been successful, without intending it, in showing
that Supernatural Religion rests upon substantial contemporary
evidence.
The work consists of three parts. The first is upon miracles, treating
the subject as an abstract question. The second, upon the Synoptic
Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke). The third, upon the Fourth
Gospel. And there is a summary of the supposed results of the
reasoning and the investigation. The inference arrived at is
premature, for as the New Testament does not consist only of the
four Gospels, but contains other writings of equal importance, the
argument is incomplete, and the latter will have to be dealt with
before our author can reasonably expect any reader to entertain his
anti-miraculous hypothesis. Another volume is promised, but we may
safely venture to anticipate that it will prove no more formidable
than the other great waves of scepticism which have surged against,
but have not undermined, the rock upon which our faith is built.
 CHAPTER I.
MIRACLES.
"Seriously to raise this question, whether God can perform miracles,
would be impious if it were not absurd."
Rousseau.
 CHAPTER I.
In the first part of the work the following topics are discussed by the
author:—"Miracles in relation to Christianity and the order of nature
—Reason in relation to the order of nature—The age of miracles—
The permanent stream of miraculous pretension—Miracles in relation
to ignorance and superstition."
In stating the main purpose of his inquiry, he says (p. 8):—"It is
obvious that the reality of miracles is the vital point in the
investigation which we have undertaken." "If the reality of miracles
cannot be established, Christianity loses the only evidence by which
its truth can be sufficiently attested."
He might have dispensed with his arguments against the views of
those who endeavour to bring the miracles of the Bible within the
scope of the laws of nature, and to modify them by explanatory
interpretations so as to satisfy the demands of scientific and
philosophical theologians.
Christianity admits of no such treatment. In its essence it is
superhuman, abnormal, phenomenal, supernatural, though not
unnatural. A series of facts divinely attested, a proclamation of
mercy divinely commissioned, a system of means divinely blessed, is
the true definition of the gospel.
Discussing the antecedent credibility of miracles, our author makes
much of the references in the Bible to the working of miracles by
Satanic as well as Divine agency. "If," says he, "miracles are
superhuman they are not super-Satanic." The answer to this
obviously is, that what was merely a superstitious notion of the
Jews, and that which is taught by Divine authority, are two very
different things. Where in the Bible do we find that God reveals His
will by miracles which are not the manifestations of His own power?
Christ points to the superhuman works that He was doing in His
Father's name as evidence of His mission; and when the Jews
suggested that He cast out devils by Beelzebub, He said, "If Satan
cast out Satan he is divided against himself: how shall his kingdom
stand?"[3] The man born blind, to whom sight was given, said, "If
this man were not of God he could do nothing;"[4] and he said it was
"a marvellous thing" that the Jews did not know he was from God
who had wrought the miracle.
"Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews, said to Jesus, Rabbi, we know that
thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles
that thou doest except God be with him."[5] "Some of the Pharisees
said, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath
day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles?"
[6] "Some of the Jews said, Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?"
[7]

Our author's statement is certainly not supported by the passage

quoted from Deuteronomy xiii. 3, of which he says, "The false
miracle is here attributed to God Himself." The words of that
passage are: "If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of
dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, and the sign or the
wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us
go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve
them: thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that
dreamer of dreams: for the Lord your God proveth you, to know
whether ye love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all
your soul. Ye shall walk after the Lord your God, and fear him, and
keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve
him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of
dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you
away from the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of
Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust
thee out of the way which the Lord thy God commanded thee to
walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee." I
transcribe the whole passage, that its plain meaning may be seen,
and you may understand how much reliance is to be placed on our
author when he appears as a Bible commentator. Of course the
prophet referred to is one "pretending to the Divine inspiration and
authority of the prophetic office," and "the dreamer of dreams" one
who pretends that some deity has spoken to him in a dream.
If our author be a Biblical scholar, his scholarship is greatly at fault in
the passage he refers to in Ezekiel xiv. 9: "And if the prophet be
deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived
that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will
destroy him from the midst of my people Israel." According to the
Hebrew language, God is often said to do a thing which He only
suffers or permits. How can God be understood to harden Pharaoh's
heart in any other sense? The character of God is too plainly
described in the Bible to leave any uncertainty on this point.
The passages quoted from the New Testament only apparently
support his statement. He quotes Dr. Mansel in reference to them,
and no doubt his words truly apply where he says, "The supposed
miracles are not true miracles at all, i.e., are not the effects of Divine
power, but of human deception or some other agency." The
existence and powers of angels, good and bad, we know little about,
because little is revealed; but it is not the Bible but superstition
which teaches that the fallen spirits have more power than the
faithful ones in the affairs of this world, that Satan is more potent
than Gabriel. If we knew more about the origin of evil, this matter
would probably be less mysterious to our finite intelligence.
Our author describes (vol. i. page 47) what he supposes orthodox
Christianity includes; and among other strange assertions he says
that man was tempted into sin by Satan, "an all-powerful and
persistent enemy of God," thus making the fallen angel an Almighty
being.
This matter has an important bearing on the proper exhibition of
religious truth, for the more superstition is intermingled with it, the
more will unbelief be likely to be prevalent. On the one hand,
infidelity engenders superstition, and on the other, superstition
creates aversion to religion. I cannot but think that there is
something wrong in the way in which Christian men, in the pulpit
and elsewhere, often allude to the spirit of evil. He is represented in
Scripture as the "god of this world," but surely that is not to be
understood literally.
Jesus told the Jews that the devil was their father, as their deeds
being evil indicated, who was "a murderer from the beginning, and
abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he
speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father
of it."[8] As, therefore, the devil is the father of lies, so are we to
understand he is the God of this world. Not in any other sense. He is
potent, but not omnipotent; knowing, but not omniscient; has his
representatives distributed among the scenes of sin and death in our
world, and himself goeth "to and fro in the earth,"[9] but he is not
omnipresent. It is Oriental demonology which teaches that two equal
principles—good and evil—are alike dominant, not "the truth as it is
in Jesus;" Persian superstition, Gnostical heresy, not Divine
revelation.
The frivolous use of words and matters connected with the spiritual
world and our eternal interests is greatly to be disapproved and
condemned; but surely the mention of Satan is not to be designated
as profane, as if God's holy name were taken in vain. To comment
on what are called profane oaths in such a way is not to enlighten
the minds of the vulgar, but to mystify and conceal the truth of
Christianity. It is one thing to believe that there is in existence the
spiritual being whose evil doings our Saviour's coming into our world
frustrates, whose power is great, whose emissaries are innumerable,
and whose baneful suggestions and influence the Holy Spirit alone
can withstand, and quite another thing to believe that Satan could
give miraculous attestation to a lie, as God did to the truth. If there
are some passages of Scripture that seem to favour this false view, it
behoves us to suspect, having regard to the whole tenour of
Scripture affecting the doctrine, that the correct interpretation has
not been arrived at.
The existence of Satan, and his influence, personal, and by the
legions who fell with him, are of course superhuman ideas, and in
the category of the miraculous; but there is a wide difference
between the most striking sign of his spiritual power and the Divine
miracles wrought to attest the truth. It is God "who alone doeth
great wonders."[10]

"If this man were not of God he could do nothing."[11] "If I do not
the works of my Father, believe me not."[12]
"A miracle is a sign for our faith, to be apprehended in its Divine
intention, though it cannot be comprehended, because it is God's
especial work." When the magicians in the Court of Pharaoh saw the
miracles which Moses wrought, they said, "This is the finger of God,"
[13] which is, and intended to be, the inevitable inference. They
knew that all they could do was a sham, a pretence.
Counterfeits are as prominent in the history of our race as any
feature that could be specified, and an imaginary devil is
conspicuous in the category of the spurious. If there had been no
real one, the counterfeit could scarcely have been conceived. He is
the father of lies, and how numerous his progeny! While all else is
misrepresented, parodied, travestied, burlesqued, falsified, belied, it
would be strange if he had escaped. From the Eternal Himself down
to the most insignificant thing that is worth a forgery, what a
catalogue may in an instant be specified! The Divine law with its
ceremonial rites, and the Church with its ordinances; prophets and
apostles; gospels and epistles; science and philosophy; history and
biography; and, assuredly, miracles; in short, all truth—stem,
branch, twig, and leaf—is more or less, and at one time or another,
got up artificially, and the spurious or adulterated article offered, in
competition with the genuine one, to human credulity. This, if it
makes absolute truth difficult to buy, renders the injunction to "sell it
not," when bought, true wisdom. It seems to be, and of course is,
absurd to doubt the genuineness of the currency of a nation because
spurious coins are met with, but I believe that more scepticism is
produced by the consideration of the many religious impostures in
the world than by any other influence. The inference is childish in
the ignorant and unphilosophical in the scholar, but it is often
unconsciously arrived at in many minds as a plain and easy solution
of the question which cannot be evaded—Is Divine revelation a
reality?
Our author misrepresents Christianity, and uses the
misrepresentation as an argument against it, as, alas! is only too
common. John Stuart Mill actually says in his essay on Theism (p.
240) that "Christ is never said to have declared any evidence of His
mission (unless His own interpretations of the prophecies be so
considered) except internal conviction." If Mr. Mill ever read the New
Testament through, he would have found where it is written, "Jesus
answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things
which ye do hear and see: the blind receive their sight, the lame
walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up,
and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he,
whosoever is not offended in me." And also the words, "But I have
greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father
hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of
me, that the Father hath sent me."[14] "The Jews came round about
him and said, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the
Messiah, tell us plainly. Jesus answered, I told you, and ye believed
not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of
me."[15] "Believe me for the very works' sake."[16]
How, in the face of such an authoritative statement why miracles
were wrought by Jesus, can our author assume that they were not
intended to be an appeal to reason, and to be tested by the
intelligence and common sense they appealed to? The miracles were
wrought to convince men that Jesus was the Messiah, and were
adapted to that end. Our author's picture of Divine revelation is very
much a conception of his own, fashioned from isolated portions of
Scripture, pseudo-Judaism, and ecclesiastical representations of
Christianity.
He quotes Archbishop Trench, who, in defining the function of a
miracle, says,—"A miracle does not prove the truth of a doctrine or
the divine mission of him that brings it to pass;" and Dr. Arnold, who
says,—"It has always seemed to me that its substance is a most
essential part of its evidence, and that miracles wrought in favour of
what was foolish or wicked would only prove Manicheism:" which
passages of fallible commentators fail to express the distinction
between real miracles and spurious ones. But I ask, Why does he
appeal to what Dr. Trench and Dr. Arnold, or any other commentator
says, when he has before him our Saviour's own words? In arguing
against miracles, it is not competent for him to put his own
construction upon them in violation of the highest authority as to
their purpose and design. I understand his conclusions to be against
Christianity—not against what he is pleased to put in its place. It is
in the Fourth Gospel we find Christ's words, but that book is too
important a part of Divine revelation for any apologist to remain in
the field of discussion and continue the argument if his opponent,—
whether he be Mr. Mill or our author,—insists on assuming that on
the Christian side the question is an open one whether the Fourth
Gospel is to be accepted. The whole of the four Gospels as we have
them were read in all the Christian Churches on the three continents
in the middle of the second century, as our author well knows. He
acknowledges that Irenæus, who wrote about A.D. 180, compared
the four Gospels to the "four columns of the Church over the whole
world;" and that in writings of his which we have, and the
genuineness of which no one questions, there are hundreds of
references to the Gospels, the fourth included. There is no question
as to this being the fact at that date. It is the earlier date that the
argument bears upon. The four Gospels are held together by an
inseparable bond in the archives of the Church, and believers in
them assert they will all four stand or fall together. I can only
suppose that it was because Mr. Mill ignored the Fourth Gospel that
he ignored the verses I have quoted.
If an advocate has a weak case in hand, to damage the character of
the witnesses is a well-known mode of proceeding; so our author
asks who are the men who, it is asserted, saw these amazing
performances? What were the intellectual conditions of the age
when they occurred? "Did the Jews at the time of Jesus possess
such calmness of judgment and sobriety of imagination as to inspire
us with any confidence in accounts of marvellous occurrences
unwitnessed except by them, and limited to their time, which
contradict all knowledge and all experience? Were their minds
sufficiently enlightened and free from superstition to warrant our
attaching weight to their report of events of such an astounding
nature?" (Vol. i. p. 98.)
The reading of this sentence suggests a comparison between the
age he refers to and the century succeeding Harvey's discovery of
the circulation of the blood, during which our Royal College of
Physicians repudiated the discovery, some of the most eminent of
the faculty writing against it, and creating a prejudice against Harvey
by which his practice suffered considerably; and the scientific period
when the French Academy for a long time rejected the use of
quinine, vaccination, lightning-conductors, the steam-engine, &c.
To weaken the apostolic testimony, there is presented an elaborate
exhibition of the wide-spread belief among the Jews in sorcery,
dreams, portents, and numerous forms of superstition. In what age
have not these been prevalent? Are we free from them in this? If the
Divine communication had been postponed until now, and civilisation
could have attained to its present stage without its influence, would
its reception have been any different? Would the vested interests in
established usages and beliefs have raised no opposition? If there
are in this country, and in this day, thousands who believe, or
pretend to believe, that the priests who are ordained to forgive sins
can really do so, are we in a position to assume any great superiority
over the Jews, Greeks, and Romans of eighteen centuries ago? If
the most manifest and stupendous miracle were wrought to show
men the folly of drunkenness, lying, and other sins, would not the
results be just the same? Some would believe and testify, and others
say that the sign, not being of the precise sort to suit them, was not
conclusive. There must be a coming down from the cross, or
something else, to satisfy them. "If they believe not Moses and the
prophets, neither would they believe though one rose from the
dead." The testimony of the first disciples, it is said, is not
satisfactory, because they were uneducated, unscientific, uncritical.
Mr. Mill says Paul was the only exception in the first generation of
Christians. I remark that Matthew, in the position of a receiver of
taxes for the Roman government, though not learned, might be
shrewd to detect imposture; that Thomas was not too credulous;
and that as for Paul, if he could not judge of the value of the
testimony of the hundreds of men and women who told him, or
could have told him, what they were eye-witnesses of, what was his
education worth, and what about the miracle in his own case? Why
should it be doubted that the vision to which he refers in his
unquestioned letter to the Galatians really occurred? He therein tells
them (with an asseveration that, in the presence of God, he was not
lying)[17] that he was taught the gospel he preached by the
revelation of Jesus Christ. Whatever may be said about the authority
of the Acts of the Apostles, which relates the particulars of Paul's
miraculous conversion so minutely, we have the evidence of it in
Paul's own letter. Of course he would compare what was revealed to
him with what the eye-witnesses could tell him; and if he could
mistake a sunstroke, a trance, or a state of ecstatic dreaming for a
Divine revelation, his character, judged of by his own writings, is
verily incomprehensible. There is no such other enigma in all history.
In his equally unquestioned letter to the Corinthians he tells them
that he received from the Lord the particulars of the institution of
the Lord's Supper. Of this memorable event Paul had ample
opportunities of comparing what was revealed to him with what the
disciples who were present could tell him; and he was in such
intercourse with them, that the circumstances were highly
favourable for an educated man, such as he was, arriving at the
exact and absolute truth of the matter.
Our author's view of the question is narrowed by his refusing to
acknowledge that mankind is morally depraved by sin.
How a man, with the wickedness of such a city as London daily
forced on his notice, and a knowledge of the history of the race in
his memory, could have penned such a sentence as the following, it
is difficult to conceive. "The whole theory of this abortive design of
creation, with such important efforts to amend it, is emphatically
contradicted by the glorious perfection and invariability of the order
of nature." Can he not see that the degradation and wickedness of
humanity are in striking contrast to the "glorious perfection and
invariability of the order of nature"? He is bound to give some
reason for this anomaly if he will not accept what revelation makes
known to us as the cause.
The abstract question as to the credibility of miracles Paul discussed
in the year 58 at Cæsarea, in the presence of Festus and Agrippa,
when he said, "Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you
that God should raise the dead?" and it has been dealt with so
exhaustively by Newton, Locke, Butler, Paley, Whateley, Olinthus
Gregory, Wardlaw, Alexander, and a host of other writers, that there
is really little more to be said. The "Fortnightly Review" remarks that
the arguments on both sides are so familiar, that it is not necessary
to reproduce the present author's mode of dealing with this part of
the subject. Matthew Arnold describes it as an attempt to refute Dr.
Mozley's Bampton Lecture on Miracles—"a solid reply to a solid
treatise;" but that to engage in an à priori argument to prove that
miracles are impossible, against an adversary who argues, à priori,
that they are possible, is the vainest labour in the world. Now, as Mr.
Arnold is as much a disbeliever in miracles as our author, the worth
of his abstract argument may be taken at Mr. Arnold's estimate, and
he says: "The author of 'Supernatural Religion' asserts again and
again that miracles are contrary to complete induction, but no such
law of nature has been, or can be, established against the Christian
miracles, therefore a complete induction there is not."
If the miracle-disbelieving Matthew Arnold does not accept our
author's abstract argument, and since we find Mr. Mill designating
"two points" in Hume's celebrated attack as "weak" and
"vulnerable," I need not linger over this part of the work. I may
assume that it is sufficiently neutralised by men on his own side of
the question as able and learned as himself.
But it is not only Mr. Mill and Mr. Arnold who have recently shown
that Hume's celebrated argument, which our author reproduces and
defends, is not sound. It is satisfactory to know that from Germany,
where so much sceptical criticism has been promulgated, comes now
the most complete and conclusive exposure of the whole anti-
Christian argument. For the proof of this assertion I refer to a work
which has just been translated into English, and issued by Messrs. T.
and T. Clark of Edinburgh, entitled "Modern Doubt and Christian
Belief,"[18] by Theodore Christlieb, D.D., University Preacher and
Professor of Theology at Bonn; a most able, learned, and exhaustive
argument on the whole question, equal to the demands of those
who desire to know all about it, and to whom I earnestly commend
the book. He mentions that the great majority of the representatives
of the present scientific German theology are considered to have
essentially decided in favour of the faith, not only on dogmatical, but
also on exegetical and speculative grounds (p. 289).
This is in strong contrast to the assertion of our author (vol. i. p.
27), that "it may broadly be said that English divines alone, at the
present day, maintain the reality and supernatural character of such
phenomena;" and that "the great majority of modern German critics
reject the miraculous altogether, and consider the question as no
longer worthy of discussion."
For the benefit of those who may not have time to read Dr.
Christlieb's work, I will transcribe a few passages bearing on the
abstract argument we are discussing.
"Things moral and spiritual cannot be mathematically demonstrated.
He who said, 'My thoughts are not as your thoughts,' has introduced
in His words and actions a far higher logic than that whose principles
Aristotle laid down." (Preface, p. xi.)
"However much, in other respects, our opponents may differ, they all
agree in the denial of miracles, and unitedly storm this bulwark of
the Christian faith; and in its defence we have to combat them all at
once. But whence this unanimity? Because, with the truth of
miracles, the entire citadel of Christianity stands or falls. For its
beginning is a miracle, its Author is a miracle, its progress depends
upon miracles, and miracles will hereafter be its consummation" (p.
285).
"If the principle of miracles be set aside, then all the heights of
Christianity will be levelled with one stroke, and nought will remain
but a heap of ruins. If we banish the supernatural from the Bible,
there is nothing left us but the covers" (p. 286).
"The negation of miracles leads to the annihilation of all religion" (p.
286).
"Many are averse to the miraculous through fear of superstition, and
they overlook the sharp discrimination of Scripture between belief
and superstition, between miraculous power and witchcraft.
Whereas the sorcerer pretends to make supernatural powers
subservient to his person, the prophet or apostle accounts himself
only the instrument of God. It is God who alone works. The Son
Himself seeks through His works not His own honour, but that of His
Father.[19] Notice the unobtrusiveness of miracles in the holy
Scriptures, how Christ sharply repels the vain curiosity and vulgar
thirst of His age for wonders, and His prohibition of their publication.
Compare with these features the sensational miracles of the Roman
and Oriental Churches—images of saints who sweat blood, nod the
head, roll the eyes—or the Whitsuntide marvels among the Greeks
and Armenians at Jerusalem, when the Holy Ghost lights up candles
(but not hearts), and you will confess that such feats of legerdemain
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