of other Gospels, all of which
were once accepted as genuine.

And that, while there is no real evidence of the life or the
teachings, or the Resurrection of Christ, there is a great
deal of evidence to show that the Gospels were founded upon
anterior legends and older ethics.

But Christian apologists offer other reasons why we should accept the
stories of the miraculous birth and Resurrection of Christ as true. Let
us examine these reasons, and see what they amount to.

OTHER EVIDENCES OF CHRIST'S DIVINITY

Archdeacon Wilson gives two reasons for accepting the doctrines of
Christ's divinity and Resurrection as true. The first of these reasons
is, the success of the Christian religion; the second is, the evolution
of the Christlike type of character.

If the success of the Christian religion proves that Christ was God,
what does the success of the Buddhist religion prove? What does the
success of the Mohammedan religion prove?

Was Buddha God? Was Mahomet God?

The archdeacon does not believe in any miracles but those of his own
religion. But if the spread of a faith proves its miracles to be
true, what can be said about the spread of the Buddhist and Mohammedan
religions?

Islam spread faster and farther than Christianity. So did Buddhism.
To-day the numbers of these religions are somewhat as follows:

Buddhist: 450 millions.

Christians: 375 millions, of which only 180 millions are Protestants.

Hindus: 200 millions.

Mohammedans: 160 millions.

It will be seen that the Buddhist religion is older than Christianity,
and has more followers. What does that prove?

But as to the reasons for the great growth of these two religions I will
say more by and by. At present I merely repeat that the Buddhist faith
owed a great deal to the fact that King Asoka made it the State religion
of a great kingdom, and that Christianity owes a great deal to the fact
that Constantine adopted it as the State religion of the Roman Empire.

We come now to the archdeacon's second argument: that the divinity of
Christ is proved by the evolution of the Christlike type of character.

And here the archdeacon makes a most surprising statement, for he says
that type of character was unknown on this globe until Christ came.

Then how are we to account for King Asoka?

The King Asoka of the Rock Edicts was as spiritual, as gentle, as pure,
and as loving as the Christ of the Gospels.

The King A