terly, and the Four Gospels
alone preserved. And we will suppose some critic taking upon himself to
argue that the Gospel of St. John was written after the Nicene Creed. On
the principles and mode of argument of the author of "Supernatural
Religion," he would actually be able to prove his absurdity, for he
would be able to allege that the doctrine and terminology of the Fathers
of the first General Council was "opposed to" that of the Fourth Gospel;
and so they could not possibly have acknowledged its authority if they
had even "seen" it. For he (the critic) would allege that the words of
St. John respecting the Incarnation are not adopted by the Creed which
the Nicene Fathers put forth; instead of inserting into the Creed the
words [Greek: ho logos sarx egeneto], which, the critic would urge, they
_must have done_ if they would successfully oppose foes who appealed to
the letter of Scripture, they used other terms, as the participles
[Greek: sarkothenta] and [Greek: enanthropesanta]. [91:1] Again, the
supposed critic would urge, they applied to our Lord the phrase [Greek:
gennethenta pro panton ton aionon], a phrase "so markedly different and
indeed opposed to that of the Fourth Gospel," as the author of
"Supernatural Religion" urges with respect to [Greek: gennema pro panton
ton poiematon], and [Greek: apo tou Patros ton holon gennetheis.] Again,
the critic would urge that instead of calling the Son "God" absolutely,
as in the sentence "the Word was God," they confess Him only as [Greek:
Theos ek Theou], and this because He is [Greek: gennetheis], and so he
would say, with the author of "Supernatural Religion," "This is a
totally different view from that of the Fourth Gospel, which in so
emphatic a manner enunciates the doctrine, 'In the beginning was the
Word, and the Word was with God, and God was the Word;'" and so our
supposed critic will exclaim, "See what abundant proof that these
Fathers had 'never even seen' the Fourth Gospel;" and according to all
rules of Rationalistic criticism they had not, or, at least, they
thought nothing of its authenticity; whilst all the time this same
Gospel was open before them, and they devoutly reverenced every word as
the word of the Holy Ghost, and would have summarily anathematized any
one who had expressed the smallest doubt respecting its plenary
Inspiration.

SECTION XVI.

JUSTIN AND ST. JOHN ON THE SUBORDINATION OF THE SON.

The second matter connected with the