Annet Peter
The Miraculous Conception
"30. And the angel said unto her, 'Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
"31. 'And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
"39.'He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
"33. 'And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.'
"34. Then said Mary unto the angel, 'How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?'
"35. And the angel answered and said unto her, 'The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
"36. 'And, behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
"37. 'For with God nothing shall be impossible.'
"38. And Mary said, 'Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.' And the angel departed from her.
"39. And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill-country with haste, into a city of Juda.
"40. And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elizabeth.
"41. And it came to pass, that, when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.
"42. And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, 'Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.'
"43. 'And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?'
"44. 'For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.'
"45. 'And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.'
"46. And Mary said, 'My soul doth magnify the Lord.'
"47. 'And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.'
"48. 'For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall-call me blessed.'
"49. 'For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy, it his name.'
"50. 'And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
"51. "He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
"52. 'He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.'
"53. 'He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.'
"54. 'He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy.'
"55. 'As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.'
"56. 'And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house."
The whole of the foregoing matter, as well that taken from Matthew as that from Luke, is rejected by the Unitarians as spurious. This sect, which is every day increasing, contains, and has long contained, many very learned men; and these men have for the use of the sect made a new translation of the Testament, which is published under the title of "The New Testament, in an improved Version," &c.
In a long note, appended to the 16th verse of the 1st chapter of St. Matthew, reasons are given for rejecting the story of the miraculous conception. Among other things it observes, "The account of the miraculous conception of Jesus was probably the fiction of some early Gentile convert, who hoped, by elevating the founder, to abate the popular prejudices against the sect. See upon this subject, Dr. Priestley's History of Early Opinions, Vol. IV. Book iii. c. 99; Pope on the Miraculous Conception; Dr. Williams's Free Enquiry; Dr. Bell's Arguments for the Authenticity of the Narratives of Matthew and Luke, and Dr. Williams's Remarks; Dr. Campbell's and Dr. Newcombe's Notes upon the Text; Mr. Evanson's Dissonance, chap. i. sect. 3. chap. iii. sect. S.; Jones's Developement of Events, Vol. I. p. 365," &c.
In a note to the 1st chapter of Luke, the Improved Version has six articles, containing reasons for rejecting both that and the succeeding chapter. The six articles are summed up by the following observation: "And there are many other circumstances in the story which wear an improbable and fabulous aspect."
"It has," they continue, "been objected, that so large and gross an interpolation could not have escaped detection, and would never have been so early and so generally received. In reply to this objection it is observed, that the interpolation was not admitted into the Hebrew 1 copies of Matthew's Gospel, nor into Marcion's 2 copies of Luke.
1 The language in which Matthew is supposed to have written.
2 Marcion was the leader of a sect in the second century.
That it is notorious that forged writings, under the names of the apostles, were in circulation almost from the apostolic age. See 2 Thessalonians, chap. ii. ver. 2. That the orthodox charge the heretics with corrupting the text; and that the heretics recriminate upon the orthodox. Also, that it was much easier to introduce interpolation when copies were few and scarce, than since they have been multiplied by means of the press. And, finally, that the interpolation in question would, to the generality of Christians, be extremely gratifying, as it would lessen the odium attached to Christianity from its founder being a crucified Jew, and would elevate him to the dignity of the heroes and demi-gods of the heathen mythology."