But the Christian writer seems, by the usual course of the argument, to have been deprived of the common presumption of charity in his favor; and reversing the ordinary rule of administering justice in human tribunals, his testimony is unjustly presumed to be false, until it is proved to be true..{independent historians} have been treated, in the argument, almost as if the New Testament were the entire production, at once, of a body of men, conspiring by a joint fabrication, to impose a false religion upon the world. Simon Greenleaf
About This Quote

There is a tendency among some Christians to view critical historians as a group of people who have conspired together to present a biased and false picture of the world. They see that this bias and false presentation is the reason why many believe the Christian accounts of history. However, this is not what the Christian writer was referring to. Instead, he meant that historians are all too ready to see things through their religious lens. Once they do this, they fail to look at any evidence that might prove something different than their religious beliefs.

Source: An Examination Of The Testimony Of The Four Evangelists, By The Rules Of Evidence Administered In Courts Of Justice

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More Quotes By Simon Greenleaf
  1. The evidence which we have of the great facts of the Bible history belongs to this class, that is, it is moral evidence; sufficient to satisfy any rational mind, by carrying it to the highest degree of moral certainty. If such evidence well justify the...
  2. But the Christian writer seems, by the usual course of the argument, to have been deprived of the common presumption of charity in his favor; and reversing the ordinary rule of administering justice in human tribunals, his testimony is unjustly presumed to be false, until...
  3. The learned are not agreed as to the time when the Gospel of John was written; some dating it as early as the year 68, others as late as the year 98; but it is generally conceded to have been written after all the others.
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