d Testament; the perfect purity of the Greek of the New
Testament was held; and fabulous accounts of early martyrs and
miraculous legends were elevated to the same standard of authority with
the gospels. What wonder, then, that when such absurdities were
entertained by the evangelical portion of the church the temptation of
others to skepticism was so great? Men like Ernesti could not resist the
enticement to combat such a state of criticism; and he gave himself to
the task with all the ardor of his nature.

He was the classic scholar of his day. The purity of his diction and the
fertility of his authorship gained him a hearing among the educated and
refined. His word became law. In his case, as with many others of his
countrymen both before and after him, his theological tastes gave him
far more authority than his merely linguistic and literary attainments
could have gained for him. He was distinguished as a preacher not less
than as a scholar. Enamored with the old classic times, the atmosphere
of Greece in her glory of taste and culture, and of Rome in her lustre
of victory and law made him impatient of the dull theology of his day.
He lived not in Germany, but in the temples and bowers of paganism. His
Latinity was scarcely inferior to the flowing utterances of his heathen
masters. He edited many classical works, and succeeded in regenerating
the humanistic studies of Europe. For this all honor be given him; but
he did not rest here. He examined the New Testament with the critic's
scalpel, and applied the principles of ordinary interpretation to the
word of God. He held that Moses should receive no better treatment than
Cicero or Tacitus. Logos was _reason_ and _wisdom_ in the Greek
writings; why should it mean Christ or the Word when we find it in the
gospel of John? Regeneration need not be surrounded with a saintly
halo; it is absurd to suppose that it can mean any more than reception
into a religious society. The Holy Spirit does not communicate divine
influences, but certain praiseworthy qualities. Unity with the Father is
mere unity of disposition or will. The Old Testament is very good in its
way, but it certainly cannot be intended for all mankind; since many
parts can have no salutary influence whatever on the heart and life. It
might be of some use to the Jews, but since we are so far beyond them it
is quite out of place for us.

Both Grotius and Wetstein had been the forerunners of Ernesti in this
method