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70 CredibiiUij of the Gospel History.
what he there asserts. Again; of" this he ' has no advantage
who has not the love of that God and Christ who is
preached by the law and the prophets, and in the gospel.'
' Because thaty both prophets and apostles have thus taught;
for James says in the Acts of the Apostles :' Acts x. 14.
Finally he complains of some who advanced things ^ contrary
to the precept of the law and of all the scriptures.
Here are many marks of high respect for the books of the
New Testament, M'hich are equalled with, or reckoned superior
to, those of the Old Testament ; and together with them
are esteemed the rule of christian belief and practice. And
the apostles are joined with the prophets.
15. There is still a remarkable passage to be transcribed
concerning an apocryphal writjng, which passage
farther confirms the authority of the sacred scriptures of the
New Testament.
He argues against some heretics who made use of fire, as
well as water, in the administration of baptism. ' But,'
says'' he, ' the principal foundation (not to mention any
other) of this false and pernicious baptism, is a book forged
by those same heretics for the sake of this very error, which
is called the preaching of Paul. [Some think it should be
Peter. It'^ might be called by both these names.] In
which book, contrary to all the scriptures, you will find
Christ, who alone never offended at all, both making confession
of his own sin, and almost against his will compelled
by his mother Mary to receive John's baptism : likewise,
that when he was baptized, fire was seen upon the Avater ;
which is not A\Titten in any gospel. And when a considerable
time had passed, you w ill find also, that Peter and Paul,
after they had had a conference together about the gospel at
Jerusalem, and there had been some mutual difference be-
veteris testamenti raanifeste pi-aedicant. p. 28. b. " Quia hoc facto
nihil proficit, qui non habet dilectionem ejus Dei et Christi, qui per legem et
prophetas et in evangelio hoc mode praedicatur. p. 28. b. ^ Quia et
prophetse et apostoli ita prgedicarunt. Ait enim Jacobus in Aclis apostolorum.
p. 27. b. ^ Contra prseceptum legis et omniuni scripturarum. p. 22. b.
* Est autem adulterini hujus, immo intemecini baptismatis, si quis alius
auctor, turn etiam quidam ab eisdem ipsis haereticis propter hunc eundera
errorem confictus liber, qui inscribitur Pauli Praedicatio. In quo libro contra
omnes scriptura.";, et de peccato proprio confitenfem, qui solus omnino nihil
deliquit, et ad accipiendum Joannis baptisma pene invitum a matre sua esse
compulsum. Item, cum baptizaretur, ignem super aquam esse visiun, quod in
evangelio nullo est scriptum ; et post tauta tempora Petrum et Paulum, post
conlationem evangelii in Hierusalem et mutuam altercationem et rerum agendarum
dispositionem, postremo in urbe quasi tunc primum invicem sibi esse
cognitos. Et quffidam alia hujuscemodi absurde ac turpiter in ilium librum
invenies congesta. p. 30. ^ Vid. Baluz. Notas ad h. 1.