simon greenleaf testimony of the evangelists

“Every document, apparently ancient, coming from the proper repository or custody, and bearing on its face no evident marks of forgery, the law presumes to be genuine, and devolves on the opposing party the burden of proving it to be otherwise,” Greenleaf wrote.Īccording to this “Ancient Document Rule” the New Testament would qualify as authentic, since it bears no marks of forgery and has been in the proper custody of the church down through the centuries, as shown by manuscript evidence.The following quotations are from throughout his work: Greenleaf’s conclusions include strong points of evidence. It defends an important link in the overall apologetic argument for Christianity-the trustworthiness of the New Testament witnesses. When challenged to apply these rules to the New Testament documents, Greenleaf produced a volume ( The Testimony of the Evangelists) which defends the authenticity of the New Testament. He not only taught law at Harvard University and produced the standard three-volume study of legal evidence ( A Treatise on the Law of Evidences, 1842–53) used to teach lawyers the rules of legal evidence and the means by which the authenticity of documents and witnesses can be tested. Simon Greenleaf (1783–1853) was one of the great minds in American legal history. 'synopsis' may belong to another edition of this title.The Testimony of the Evangelists - Simon Greenleaf The Testimony of the Evangelists The Gospels Examined by the Rules of Evidence We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public.

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Simon greenleaf testimony of the evangelists