AND HISTORICAL RESEARCH UPON THE NEW TESTAMENT. 165 



which Iconium belonged. There ceased, then, to be a frontier 

 between Iconium and Lystra*; and Acts xiv, 6, could not have been 

 written later." (Lecture before the Victoria Inst., vol. xxxix.) 



This is but one example to which many others might be added. 

 Professor Eamsay has spent years in investigations in Asia 

 Minor, and his conclusion is that — 



"It is the same with everything in the travel narrative of Acts. 

 The narrative is direct from experience of the localities and districts 

 and boundaries as they were when the journeys were made." 



What is true of the Acts he also finds true, in this respect, of 

 the Synoptic Gospels. 



(19) Bethesda. — It can hardly be said that indications are 

 lacking that the Apostle John also composed his Gospel from 

 notes taken at the time of conversations and events recorded. 

 The long discussion between the Jews and our blessed Lord, 

 recorded in the seventh and eighth chapters of his Gospel, 

 especially make this impression. And then we find written in 

 the fifth chapter, v. 2, the statement, " Now there is {eariv) in 

 Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew, 

 Bethesda, having five porches." The sheep gate (or market) 

 and the five porches could not have been there after the de- 

 struction of Jerusalem.* 



But, however this may be, the fact that the writer was an 

 eye-witness, as he claims to be, is clearly shown by his familiar- 

 ity with the whole environment of this marvellous Gospel. 



We should keep constantly in mind the fact that the testimo- 

 nies cited in this discussion are independent of each other. They 

 are not like links in a chain which parts if one link be broken. 

 They are rather to be compared with the strands of a great 

 hawser, the weakest of which, instead of weakening the rest, 

 adds a little to their combined strength. 



(20) EoMAN Historians speak of Christ. — We may fitly 

 conclude this necessarily imperfect survey by recalling the fact 

 that, while such men as Professor Drewsf insinuate that there 



^ See the writer's article " The Real Date of the Gospels," Bibliotheca 

 Sacra, October, 1908. 



t Several destructive critics have made bold attempts to invalidate the 

 evidence of even the existence of the Christ of the New Testament. The 

 most prominent at the present time is Professor Arthur Drews, of the 

 Karlsruhe Technical High School. He succeeded in drawing attention to 

 himself, and creating a sensation in German theological circles, by his 

 book, Christmmythe, 1909, and a notable discussion in BerHn. 



Others had preceded him, or are still presenting similar views, such as 



