The Christians rely mainly on the four Gospels for the historicity of
Jesus. But the original documents of which the books in the New
Testament are claimed to be faithful copies are not in existence.
_There is absolutely no evidence that they ever were in existence_.
This is a statement which can not be controverted. Is it conceivable
that the early believers lost through carelessness or purposely
_every_ document written by an apostle, while guarding with all
protecting jealousy and zeal the writings of anonymous persons? Is
there any valid reason why the contributions to Christian literature
of an inspired apostle should perish while those of a nameless scribe
are preserved, why the original Gospel of Matthew should drop quietly
out of sight, no one knows how, while a supposed copy of it in an
alien language is preserved for many centuries? Jesus himself, it is
admitted, did not write a single line. He had come, according to
popular belief, to reveal the will of God--a most important mission
indeed, and yet he not only did not put this revelation in writing
during his lifetime, and with his own hand, which it is natural to
suppose that a divine teacher, expressly come from heaven, would have
done, but he left this all-important duty to anonymous chroniclers,
who, naturally, made enough mistakes to split up Christendom into
innumerable factions. It is worth a moment's pause to think of the
persecutions, the cruel wars, and the centuries of hatred and
bitterness which would have been spared our unfortunate humanity, if
Jesus himself had written down his message in the clearest and
plainest manner, instead of leaving it to his supposed disciples to
publish it to the world, when he could no longer correct their
mistakes.

Moreover, not only did Jesus not write himself, but he has not even