|
THE FORGED “APOSTLES' CREED”
The “Apostles' Creed,” forged by the Fathers several centuries after the Apostles, must be added to the Patristic list. Of this famous Creed, which every Christian presumably knows by rote and piously recites in numberless services, CE. again confesses it spurious: “Throughout the Middle Ages it was generally believed that the Apostles, on the day of Pentecost, while still under the direct inspiration of the Holy Ghost, composed our present Creed, each of the Apostles contributing one of the Twelve articles. This legend dates back to the sixth century, and is foreshadowed still earlier in a sermon attributed to St. Ambrose, which takes notice that the Creed was ‘pieced out by twelve separate workmen.'” (CE. i, 629.) Indeed, “not a few works have been falsely attributed to St. Ambrose.” (CE. i, 387; cf. p. 406.)
We may smile at the peculiarly clerical way in which CE. would “whitewash” the great Bishop of Milan, St. Ambrose (?c. 340-397), from the lie direct which admittedly he told in that Sermon,—saying that the Bishop simply “takes notice that the creed was pieced out,” etc.; the truth being that Ambrose positively affirmed the fable as truth, and may have invented it. His positive words are; “that the Twelve Apostles, as skilled artificers, assembled together, and made a key by their common advice, that is, the Creed; by which the darkness of the devil is disclosed, that the light of Christ may appear.” (Ambrose, Opera, tom. iii., Sermon 38, p. 265; quoted in The New Testament Apocrypha, New York, The Truth Seeker Co.)—a work which I feel impelled to commend to all who wish to know at first hand the 25 remarkable Church “Gospel” forgeries there collected.
THE FORGED ATHANASIAN CREED
In likewise the celebrated Athanasian Creed of the Church, attributed to St. Athanasius and so held by the Church “until the seventeenth century” (CE. ii, 34), with most evil results, is now an admitted forgery. In words of Gibbon: “St. Athanasius is not the author of the creed; it does not appear to have existed within a century after his death; it was composed in Latin, therefore in one of the Western provinces. Gennadius, patriarch of Constantinople, was so much amazed by this extraordinary composition, that he frankly pronounced it to be the work of a drunken man.” (Petav. Dogmat. Theologica, tom. ii, 1, vii, c. 8, p. 687; Gibbon, p. 598.)
JESUS CHRIST'S FORGED LETTERS
We may look for a moment at several of the most notorious of the forgeries perpetrated for the glory of God and for imposture upon the superstitious Christians to enhance Pagan credulity in the tales of Christ. If the Gospel tales were true, why should God need pious lies to give them credit? Lies and forgeries are only needed to bolster up falsehood: “Nothing stands in need of lying but a lie.” But Jesus Christ must needs be propagated by lies; upon lies, and what better proof of his actuality than to exhibit letters written by him in his own handwriting? The “Little Liars of the Lord” were equal to the forgery of the signature of their God,—false letters in his name, as above cited from that exhaustless 101 mine of clerical falsities, the Catholic Encyclopedia, which again describes them, and proves that they ‘Were forged by their great Bishop of Caesaria: “The historian Eusebius records [HE. I, xii], a legend which he himself firmly believes concerning a correspondence that took place between Our Lord and the local potentate (Abgar) at Edessa. Three documents relate to this correspondence: (1) the Letter of Abgar to Our Lord; (2) Our Lord's answer; (3) a picture of Our Lord, painted from life. This legend enjoyed a great popularity, both in the East, and in the West, during the Middle Ages. Our Lord's Letter was copied on parchment, marble, and metal, and used as a talisman or an amulet.” (CE. i, 42.) But it is not true, as we have seen already confessed, that Eusebius innocently believed that these forgeries were genuine—for they were all shamelessly forged by Eusebius himself: “who vouches that he himself translated it from the Syriac documents in the archives of Edessa.” (CE. i, 610.) Again it is said by CE., that these forged letters, with the portrait, were “accepted by Eusebius without hesitation, and used by ?Addison in his work on Christian Evidences as genuine” (Ib. vi, 217).
It should be mentioned, first, that Abgar was not a personal name of a King of Edessa, but was a generic title of all the rulers of that small state: “By this title all the ?toparchs of Edessa were called, just as the Roman Emperors were called Caesars, the Kings of Egypt Pharaohs or Ptolemies, the Kings of Syria Antiochi.” (ANF. viii, 651, note.) With this first check on the forging Bishop, here is what he said in his Church history, Book I, chapter the thirteenth. (p. 63 seq.) Note the false fervor of the holy Bishop to sugar-coat his circumstantial and commodious lie and fraud: “While the Godhead of our Saviour and Lord Jesus, Christ was proclaimed among all men by reason of the astonishing mighty-works which He wrought, and myriads, even from countries remote from the land of Judaea, who were afflicted with sicknesses and diseases of every kind, were coming to him in the hope of being healed, King Abgar sent him a letter asking Him to come and heal him of his disease. But our Saviour at the time he asked Him did not comply with his request. Yet He deigned to give him a letter in reply. ... Thou hast in writing the evidence of these things, which is taken from the Book of Records which was at Edessa; for at that time the Kingdom was still standing. In the documents, then, which were there, in which was contained whatever was done by those of old down to the time of Abgar, these things are also found preserved down to the present hour. There is, however, nothing to prevent our hearing the very letters themselves, which have been taken by us from the archives, and are in words to this effect, translated from Aramaic into Greek.
“Copy of the letter which was written by King Abgar to Jesus, and sent to him by the hand of Ananias—[the Bishop was the Ananias in this tale, and aptly named his letter-carrier],—the Tabularius, to Jerusalem:
‘Abgar the Black, sovereign of the country, to Jesus, the good Saviour, who has appeared in the country of Jerusalem: Peace. I have heard about Thee, and about the healing which is wrought by Thy hands without drugs and roots. For, as it is reported, Thou makest the blind to see, and the lame to walk; and Thou cleansest the lepers, and Thou castest out unclean spirits and demons, and 102 Thou healest those who are tormented with lingering diseases, and Thou raisest the dead. And when I heard all these things about Thee, I settled in my mind one of two things: either that Thou art God, who has come down from heaven, and doest these things; or that Thou art the Son of God, and doest these things. On this account, therefore, I have written to beg of Thee that Thou wouldest weary Thyself to come to me, and heal this disease which I have. For I have also heard that the Jews murmur against Thee, and wish to do Thee harm. But I have a city, small and beautiful, which is sufficient for two.'“Copy of those things which were written by Jesus in reply by the hand of Ananias, the Tabularius, to Abgar, sovereign of the country:—
‘Blessed is he that believeth in me, not having seen me. For it is written concerning me, that those who see me will not believe in me, and that those will believe who have not seen me, and will be saved. But touching that which thou hast written to me, that I should come to thee it is meet that I should finish here all that for the sake of which I have been sent; and, after I have finished it, then I shall be taken up to Him that sent me; and, when I have been taken up, I will send to thee one of my disciples, that he may heal thy disease, and give salvation to thee and to those who are with thee.'“To these letters moreover, is appended the following, also in the Aramaic tongue”,—here following the official record of the visit of one “Thaddaeus the apostle, one of the Seventy,” and him wonderful works in Edessa. “These things were done in the year 340. In order, moreover that these things may not have been translated to no purpose word for word from the Aramaic into Greek, they are placed in their order of time here. Here endeth the first book.” (HE. i, 13; ANF. viii, 651-653.) Bishop Eusebius is thus seen to have been a most circumstantial liar and a well-skilled forger for God. From this episcopal lie sprouted like toadstools a whole literature of “various books concerning Abgar the King and Thaddaeus the Apostle,” in which are preserved to posterity a series of five letters—very much in the style of modern patent-medicine testimonials—written by Abgar to Tiberius Caesar and to neighboring potentates, endorsing Jesus and his healing powers; with a reply from Tiberius declaring that “Pilate has officially informed us of the miracles of Jesus.”. With respect to the other letters testimonial, it is recorded: “Abgar had not yet received answers to these letters when he died, having reigned thirty-eight years.” (Ibid. pp. 657-741, 706.)
These crass episcopal forgeries were welcomed into the Church, and for fifteen centuries have gone unrebuked by Pope or Church. Even since the Reformation so strong was the belief in the Abgar-Jesus forgeries, that notable prelates in England including Archbishop Cave, have “strenuously contended for their admission into the canon scripture. ... The Reverend Jeremiah Jones observes, that common people in England have this Epistle in their houses, in many places, fixed in a frame, with the picture of Christ before it; and that they generally, with much honesty and devotion, regard it as the word of God, and the genuine Epistle of Christ.” (Quoted 103 in editorial note to the Epistles, in The Lost Books of the Bible, p. 62.) To such state of superstitious credulity does the Church with its pious impostures prostitute the minds of its ignorant and credulous votaries. The portrait of Jesus, referred to above, is said, in other versions of the Letter, to have been sent by Jesus to the King; this portrait is now displayed at both Rome and Genoa. (NIE. i, 38.)
Can't find what you're looking for? Have an idea or a question? Let us know in the Discussion Forum
|
|
|
|
| Need to ask me a question? Something missing, broken, or incorrect? I make every attempt to reply to all email. Click here to send me an email. |
