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In interesting remembrance of the high sense your learned body were pleased to express of my successful studies, when I received your general vote of thanks, delivered to me by the Master himself, the late Dr. Craven, for the honour you were pleased to consider that my poor talents and application, in statu pupilari, had conferred on our College, which holds such distinguished rank in the most distinguished University in the world; I very respectfully dedicate the DIEGESIS, the employment of my many solitary hours in an unjust imprisonment, incurred in the most glorious cause that ever called virtue to act, or

a

fortitude to suffer. You will appreciate (far beyond any wish of mine that you should seem to appreciate) the merits of this work. Your assistance for the perfecting of future editions, by animadversion on any errors which might have crept into the first; and the feeling with respect to it, which

; I cannot but anticipate, though it may never be expressed ; will amply gratify an ambition whose undivided aim was to set forth truth, and nothing else but truth.

ROBERT TAYLOR, A.B.

PRISONER.

Oakham Gaol, Feb. 19, 1829.

CONTENTS.

PROLEGOMENA.

Page
Importance of the subject-Criminality of indifference-

Dr. Whitby's last thoughts, &c...

1

CHAPTER I.

Definitions—Time, Place, Circumstances, Identity of Jesus

Christ of Nazareth, necessary to be established-Geography

of Palestine....

4

CHAPTER II.

The Christian and Pagan Creeds collated— The Apostle's

Creed, a Forgery-Inference that it is a Pagan document

applied to Christian purposes–Necessity of examining the

pretences of all writings that lay claim to Canonical

authority .......

9

CHAPTER III.

State of the Heathen World-Heathenism to be judged as

Christians would wish their own religion to be judged— The

Pacific Age–The genius of Paganism most tolerant and

philosophical --Vast difference between the philosophers and

the vulgar– The philosophers were Deists—The vulgar

infinitely credulous.....

11

CHAPTER IV.

The State of the Jews- The Jews the grand exception to

the prevalence of universal toleration—They plagiarized

Pagan fables into their pretended divine theology-Were as

gross Idolaters as the Heathens-Truth of Judaism not essen-

tial to the truth of Christianity-The Pharisees-The Sad-

ducees—The Cabbala—The Jews had no notion of the immor-

tality of the soul; while the Heathens had more practical

faith therein, than any Christians of the present day........ 20

CHAPTER V.

State of Philosophy-A generally prevailing debility of the

human understanding-Vitiation of morals- Destruction of

documents-Maxims of deceiving the vulgar, and perpetuating

ignorance, approved by St. Paul-King's College, London,

Gnosticism-Systems of philosophy

30

Page

Chapter VI.

Admissions of Christian writers-Deficiency of evidence-

Christians before the Christian era-Christian frauds—Chris-

tian scriptures not in the bands of the laity-Christianity and

Paganism hardly distinguishable-Miraculous powers, dreams,

visions, charms, spells-Name of Jesus a spell.

38

CHAPTER VII.

Of the Essenes or Therapeuts—Differences of opinion with

respect to them-Every thing of Christianity is of Egyptian

origin-Apostolic and Apotactic monks—The Therapeuts

were Christians before the Augustan era-Eclectics—The

forgery of the gospels ascribed to mongrel Jews.

58

CHAPTER VIII.

The Christian scriptures, doctrines, discipline and eccle-

siastical polity, long anterior to the period assigned as that of

the birth of Christ-Recapitulation-An original translation

of the famous 16th chapter of the 2nd book of Eusebius's

Ecclesiastical History.....

66

CHAPTER IX.

of Philo and his testimony-Sum of his admissions....... 74

CHAPTER X.

Corollaries—Eusebius-Sufficient guarantee for the text of

Philo-Conflicting opinions-Severe sarcasm of Gibbon-

The demonstration absolute that the monks of Egypt were

the authors of the gospels-Mr. Evanson's perplexities relieved

- Alexandria the cradle of Christianity--Its slow progress-

Episcopal insolence of Dionysius-St. Mark, a monk.

... 75

CHAPTER XI.

Corroborations of the evidence arising from the admissions

of Eusebius, in the New Testament itself..

86

CHAPTER XII.

References to the monkish or Therapeutan doctrines to be
traced in the New Testament, John the Baptist, a monk-
Monkish rules in the New Testament-Apollos, a Therapeut,
- Vagabond Jews—The New Testament entirely allegorical
- The English translation of it, Protestantizes in order to

keep its monkish origin out of sight—St. Paul's account of

the resurrection wholly different from that of the Evangelists

- The conclusion .

90

CHAPTER XIII.

On the claims of the scriptures of the New Testament to

be considered as genuine and authentic-Preliminary—The

authenticity of St. Paul's epistles, and of so much of his his-