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ON

THE INCARNATION.

PART I.

ON THE IDEA OF THE INCARNATION, AS NOT DERIVED
BY THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH FROM JEWISH

OR GREEK SPECULATIONS.

THE

Christian Advocate's Publication

FOR M.DCCC.LIII.

BY JOHN ALEXANDER FRERE, M.A.,

FELLOW AND TUTOR OF TRINITY COLLEGE,

AND LATE WHITEHALL PREACHER.

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Cambridge:

Printed at the University Press.

T is against the more mysterious doctrines

IT.

of Christianity that its opponents in modern days chiefly direct their attack.

This attack is conducted in two ways.

They endeavour to shew, (1) that the Christian Dogma is the result of an intermixture of Jewish and Hellenic Theosophy: and (2) that, even if received, such mysterious doctrines can be of no practical utility.

It is to the discussion of the first of these points that I have devoted the portion of my work now given to the public. In an after portion I shall endeavour to address myself to the second.

I ought to add that for some hints worked out in the third and fourth Chapters, I am indebted to Dorner's Entwickelungsgeschichte der Lehre der Person Christi.

TRINITY COLLEGE,

Dec. 7, 1853.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Some general considerations on the Doctrine of the Incar-
nation and Atonement of Christ

CHAPTER II.

On the attempt to assimilate the Doctrine of the Incarnation
to the Tales of the Greek Mythology

CHAPTER III.

On the attempt to represent the idea of the Incarnation
as derived from Judaic Theosophy

CHAPTER IV.

On the supposed difference between the Authors of the
Synoptic Gospels and St John, as to their views of
Christ's Person, and of the nature of Faith in His

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CHAPTER 1.

SOME GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE INCARNATION AND ATONEMENT OF CHRIST.

IT

is common for those who attack the system of Christian revelation, on the ground of the mysterious character of many of its doctrines, to assume that the reception of such mysteries is supposed to lead to nothing further. They argue as if the advocate of the Gospel was content with inculcating the importance of such mysteries in themselves, without pointing out any further practical results to which the acceptance of them must necessarily conduct the believer in them. If we were to judge of the nature of the Gospel teaching from the character of the attacks thus directed against it, we should conceive it to be nothing more than a setting forth to the world of sundry doctrines, a belief in the truth of which was required as absolutely necessary to salvation, but which were neither intelligible to the reason of men, nor, even if received, could exercise any practical influence on their conduct. The truths which, as derived from the Bible, are taught by the Church to her followers, are represented as, in many cases, equally unfathomable by the intellect, and uncalculated, even where entertained, to touch the heart of man. And the

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