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    for murdering the Christians in general . Origen farther says , that Josephus calls our apostle a weryjust man . But he does not speak thus of him , though it is plain he thought him a very just

    man . Origen observed how Josephus labours , without expressing it , to fill his readers with the excellence of James ' character , and of the iniquity of his death . Josephus does not himself censure the condemnation of James . But

    he says that the men in the city ^ most distinguished for their probity and accurate * knowledge of the laws * were grievously offended at this measure . He calls w too , the

    testimonies of Albinus and Agrippa , * to prove the injustice olid violence of the act : the former of whom writes to Ananus . with much anger , the latter deprives him of his priesthood on account of it .

    The virtue which Josepmis ascribes to the apostle James , he also ascribes to his fellow sufferers ; and he is evidently anxious not only to defend ^ but to give the most exalted idea of Jesus and

    his followers . He represents them as enemies to those thieves and robbers who infested Judea , and disturbed' the government , as men distinguished by their frobity and accurate knowledge of the laws , as

    men 5 ^ 1 ill-treatment whom was so impious in the sight of God , that he punished the offenders with purifying fire . From these , as well as other mimerous

    passages , it appears that Josephus was a decided believer in the spiritual system of Judaism taught by Jesus . The persons defended by him , were so obnoxious , were m circumstances so adverse and

    distressing , lhat no one could speak a word in their favour ,

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    without being a well-wisher te their cause , nor a well-wisher i 0 their cause , without losing not only his reputatipn with the world , but even hazarding hie f ^

    tune and his life . Yet Ori < ren is hardy enough tp say that " ^ Jose . phus did not believe our Jesus to be the Christ . " " Our learned butuncandid , apologist , thorough ! ly understood the writings of Jo . sephus . He knew that he speaks of the gospel , under the name of Judaism ; and defends the Chris , tians under the name of Jews : but he knew , also , that Josepbus was not a believer in the divinity and miraculous birth of Jesus : Origen knew ( as we shall hereafter see )

    that Josephusy so far from regarding these points as taught in the gospel , holds them up as the doctrines of certain impostors at Rome , who by their wickedness and falsehoods had brought disgrace on Christ and his cause .

    This being the case , Origen says of Josephus what the more bigoted sons of orthodoxy have said of the Unitarians in every age , namely , that he was not a believer in our

    Jesus as the Christ . Had Dr . Priestley lived , and written as he has done , in those early days , Origen and others , when their purpose suited them , would with

    the same unchristian tenjper have said of him , that he did not believe in our Jesus as the Christ ; Jerome was more candid , he has classed Josephus in the list of illustrious ecclesiastical writers . Eusebius also in his H . E . lib . ii . c .

    vk p . 54 , on alluding , perhaps , the ? very passage quoted by On gen , thus more adequately and justly represents the meaning of Josep hus . With this writer Josephus ag rees , both of whom alike make it maw-

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    290 Josephus ' s Testimony to the Apostle James .

• Citation
  • Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), May 2, 1811, page 290, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2416/page/34/