i_ from the fourth gospel), are insuperable. Every one of
these records is coloured by the prepossessions of those among whom the
primitive traditions arose, and of those by whom they were collected and
edited: and the difficulty of making allowance for these prepossessions
is enhanced by our ignorance of the exact dates at which the documents
were first put together; of the extent to which they have been
subsequently worked over and interpolated; and of the historical sense,
or want of sense, and the dogmatic tendencies of their compilers and
editors. Let us see if there is any other road which will take us into
something better than negation.

There is a widespread notion that the "primitive Church," while under
the guidance of the Apostles and their immediate successors, was a sort
of dogmatic dovecot, pervaded by the most loving unity and doctrinal
harmony. Protestants, especially, are fond of attributing to themselves
the merit of being nearer "the Church of the Apostles" than their
neighbours; and they are the less to be excused for their strange
delusion because they are great readers of the documents which prove the
exact contrary. The fact is that, in the course of the first three
centuries of its existence, the Church rapidly underwent a process of
evolution of the most remarkable character, the final stage of which is
far more different from the first than Anglicanism is from Quakerism.
The key to the comprehension of the problem of the origin of that which
is now called "Christianity," and its relation to Jesus of Nazareth,
lies here. Nor can we arrive at any sound conclusion as to what it is
probable that Jesus actually said and did, without being clear on this
head. By far the most important and subsequently influential steps in
the evolution of Christianity took place in the course of the century,
more or less, which followed upon the crucifixion. It is almost the
darkest period of Church history, but, most fortunately, the beginning
and the end of the period are brightly illuminated by the contemporary
evidence of two writers of whose historical existence there is no
doubt,[47] and against the genuineness of whose most important works
there is no widely admitted objection. These are Justin, the philosopher
and martyr, and Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles. I shall call upon
these witnesses only to testify to the condition of opinion among those
who called themselves disciples of Jesus in their time.

Ju