the ordinary rules of criticism. Internal evidence does not modify the
inferences from external testimony. Apart from continual minor
contradictions throughout the first three Gospels, it is impossible to
reconcile the representations of the Synoptics with those of the fourth
Gospel. They mutually destroy each other as evidence. They must be
pronounced mere narratives compiled long after the events recorded, by
unknown persons who were neither eye-witnesses of the alleged miraculous
occurrences nor hearers of the statements they profess to report. They
cannot be accepted as adequate testimony for miracles and the reality of
Divine Revelation.

Applying similar tests to the Acts of the Apostles we arrived at similar
results. Acknowledged to be composed by the same author who produced the
third Synoptic, that author's identity is not thereby made more clear.
There is no evidence of the slightest value regarding its character,
but, on the other hand, the work itself teems to such an extent with
miraculous incidents and supernatural agency that the credibility of the
narrative requires an extraordinary amount of attestation to secure for
it any serious consideration. When the statements of the author are
compared with the emphatic declarations of the Apostle Paul and with
authentic accounts of the development of the early Christian Church, it
becomes evident that the Acts of the Apostles, as might have been
supposed, is a legendary composition of a later day, which cannot be
regarded as sober and credible history, and rather discredits than tends
to establish the reality of the miracles with which its pages so
suspiciously abound.

The remaining books of the New Testament Canon required no separate
examination, because, even if genuine, they contain no additional
testimony to the reality of Divine Revelation, beyond the implied belief