[47] "Hist. Christ. Lit. and Doct." ii. p. 217.
[48] See Chr. Wordsworth, "On the Canon," p. 55. Lec. ii. and Ed. 1851.
Dr. Davidson speaks of the New Testament writings being ranked as "Holy Scripture" by Dionysius of Corinth, A.D. 170.
Our author asserts (p. 167) that "many works were regarded as inspired by the Fathers besides those in our Canon," and mentions especially the Gospel of Peter having been read at Rhossus. He says: "The fact that Serapion, in the third century, allowed the Gospel of Peter to be used in the Church of Rhossus shows the consideration in which it was held, and the incompleteness of the canonical position of the New Testament." Now, he ought to have quoted Serapion's own explanation, which we have preserved by Eusebius. He says (in his treatise written to confute what was false in the Gospel of Peter): "We receive Peter and the other apostles even as Christ; but the writings falsely called by their names, we, as competent critics, renounce, knowing that we received not such things. For when I was with you I supposed that all were agreed with the true faith; and, without reading the Gospel called Peter's, which they brought forward, I said, If this is the only thing that seems to cause you dissension, let it be read." Serapion says he borrowed the book and read it, and found many things agreeable to Christ's doctrine, but some discrepant additions.
Thus the reading of the Gospel of Peter at Rhossus cannot be instanced as a proof that other Gospels besides the canonical ones were used as inspired books, nor can any other be mentioned as having been thus regarded, the Gospel according to the Hebrews not being apocryphal, but a part of the New Testament, whether we take it to be, as our author supposes, the basis of Matthew's Gospel, or, as we say, a corrupted version of that apostle's Greek work. "To argue that because one spurious Gospel was temporarily received among a few persons, therefore there was no real canon of Scripture, and we cannot be sure that any Gospel is genuine, shows about as much common sense and logical acumen as would be displayed by a critic eighteen centuries hence, who, discovering in one of our newspapers an account of the conviction of a gang of coiners, should argue that because their base half-crowns had got into circulation, and had passed current with some persons who might have been expected to detect the fraud, therefore there was no such thing as a legal currency of intrinsic value among us; or if there were, still we did not know or care to inquire into the genuineness of the coin which we accepted and passed."[49]