apostles, and particularly how apt they were to be alarmed at the introduction of any thing that was new to them, and had the leaft appearance of contrariety to the law of Mofes, it will both fupply a strong argument in favour of the truth of chriftianity, and against their receiving the doctrine of the divinity or pre-existence of Chrift either then or afterwards. Their rooted prejudices against the apostle Paul (whose converfion to christianity must have given them great fatisfaction) merely on account of his activity in preaching the gofpel to the uncircumcifed Gentiles (though with the approbation of the rest of the apostles) shows that they would not receive any novelty without the strongest evidence. Their dislike of the apostle Paul, we know from ecclefiaftical hiftory, continued to the latelt period of their existence as a church, and they would never make use of his writings. But to the very laft, their objections to him amounted to nothing more than his being no friend to the law of Mofes,

The resemblance between the character of

the Ebionites, as given by the early chrif

tian

tian Fathers, and that of the Jewish chriftians at the time of Paul's laft journey to Jerufalem, is very ftriking. After he had given an account of his conduct to the more intelligent of them, they were fatisfied with it; but they thought there would be great difficulty in fatisfying others. "Thou "feest brother," fay they to him, Acts xxi. 20. "how many thousands of Jews "there are who believe, and they are all "zealous of the law. And they are in"formed of thee, that thou teachest all the

Jews who are among the Gentiles, to for"fake Mofes; faying that they ought not "to circumcife their children, neither to "walk after the cuftoms. What is it "therefore? The multitudes muft needs σε come together, for they will hear that "thou art come. Do therefore this that "we fay unto thee; We have four men who

have a vow on them; them take, and pu-* "rify thyfelf with them, and be at charges. "with them, that they may have their "heads, and all may know that those things "whereof they were informed concerning thee are nothing, but that thou thyself

"alfo walkeft orderly and keepest the law." So great a resemblance in fome things, viz. their attachment to the law, and their prejudices against Paul, cannot but lead us to imagine, that they were the fame in other respects also, both being equally zealous obfervers of the law, and equally strangers to the doctrine of the divinity of Christ. In that age all the Jews were equally zealous for the great doctrine of the unity of God, and their peculiar cuftoms. Can it be suppofed then that they would fo obftinately retain the one, and fo readily abandon the other?

I have not met with any mention of more than one orthodox Jewish christian in the course of my reading, and that is one whose name was Joseph, whom Epiphanius fays he met with at Scythopolis, when all the other inhabitants of the place were Arians, Hær. 30. Opera, vol. 1. P. 129.

CHAP.

CHAPTER IX.

Of the fuppofed Church of Orthodox Jews at Jerufalem, fubfequent to the Time of

Adrian.

MOSHE OSHEIM speaks of a church of trinitarian Jews, who had abandoned the law of Mofes, and refided at Jerufalem, fubfequent to the time of Adrian. Origen, who afferts that all the Jewish christians of his time conformed to the law of Mofes, he fays, must have known of this church; and therefore he does not hesitate to tax himwith afferting a wilful falfehood. Error was often afcribed to this great man by the later Fathers, but never before, I believe, was his veracity called in queftion. And leaft of all can it be fuppofed, that he would have dared to affert a notorious untruth in a public controverfy. He must have been a fool, as well as a knave, to have ventured upon it.

Bodies of men do not fuddenly change their opinions, and much lefs their customs and habits; least of all would an act of violence produce that effect; and of all mankind the experiment was the least likely to answer with the Jews. If it had produced any effect for a time, their old customs and habits would certainly have returned when the danger was over. It might just as well be supposed that all the Jews in Jerufalem began at that time to speak Greek, as well as that they abandoned their ancient customs. And this might have been alledged in favour of it, that from that time the bishops of Jerufalem were all Greeks, the public offices were no doubt performed in the Greek language, and the church of Jerufalem was indeed, in all refpects, as much a Greek church as that of Antioch.

Mofheim produces no authority in his Differtations for his affertion. He only fays, that he cannot reconcile the fact that Origen mentions, with his feeming unwillingness to allow the Ebionites to be chriftians. But this is eafily accounted for from the attachment which he himself had to the

doctrine