8. What does the bible begin with, and what is that

portion called?

9. What are the books of the Pentateuch called?

10. What does Genesis mean, and what does it con

tain ?

11. What period of time does the book of Genesis comprise ?

12. What is the next book to Genesis ?

13. What does the word Exodus mean?

14. What period of time does it comprise, and what events does it relate ?

15. What are the three remaining books of the Pentateuch called?

16. What do they chiefly describe, and what do you particularly remark of the book of Deuteronomy? 17. Name the five books which follow immediately after those of the Pentateuch ?

18. What do they chiefly relate to, and what length of period of the history of the Jews do they comprise ?

19. What is the most prominent and instructive part of this history?

20. Tell me what the books of Ezra and Nehemiah

contain ?

21. When was the name of Jews first applied to the

Who was Job, whose name the next book bears?

What lessons do we learn from this book?

Who were the Psalms written by?

What is their object?

24.

25.

26.

27.

Who were the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes 28.

written by, and what means Ecclesiastes ?

What do these books contain ?

29.

What further remark have you to make upon the 30. book of Ecclesiastes ?

We next come to the prophetical books; tell me 31. how they are divided?

What was their object, and who were the persons 32. called prophets?

In what countries were the prophecies delivered? 33. Give me the general character of these writings. 34. What book follows the prophecies, and what does 35. it contain ?

What does the word gospel mean? how many gos

pels are there, who were they written by, and what do they chiefly relate?

Do the four gospels agree in their relations ?

36.

37.

State some of the principal facts recorded in the 38. gospels.

What is contained in the Acts of the Apostles?

39.

Who were the epistles written by, and to whom 40. were they addressed ?

What do they contain ?

41.

What is the Apocalypse, or Revelation of St. John? 42.

43. What are the writings comprised under the name of Apocrypha?

44. Why are they so called?

45. Now that we have gone in a cursory way through

the books contained in the bible, which we hum

bly believe to be true, why should it be thought necessary to bring forward proofs of their authenticity ?

46. What would in general be thought a sufficient proof of the truth of the facts recorded in the

bible?

47. How do you propose to prove that the matters of fact recorded of Jesus Christ, or of Moses, be

true ?

48. Enumerate the marks which you mention in the first of those two rules, as necessary to establish the truth of the facts recorded.

49. Give some example to illustrate the first of these marks.

50. But might not the fact have been invented, and asserted to be true in after ages, when the men

of that generation, in which it was said to have been done, were gone by?

51. You have stated above, according to the second rule, that these four marks must meet when the facts recorded are true; do they therefore meet in those recorded of Moses and of Jesus Christ?

But why should not the five books of Moses have 52. been written some ages after he lived?

But let us suppose, for an instant, that these things 53. had been practised prior or before this alleged forgery, and that the Jews were made to believe that they practised them in memory of such and such occurrences as were then invented?

Produce a familiar instance to prove that such a 54. forgery could not have been imposed upon any

nation.

Do the four marks, of which we have spoken, in 55. what regarded Moses, also attach themselves to

the history of our Saviour, and to the religion he established on earth?

How are the matters of fact, on the contrary, re- 56. ported of Mahomet and the heathen deities supported by those marks?

Do you mean to say, that when these four marks 57. are wanting, the facts recorded must be false? What further marks, over and above the four 58. former, appertain more especially to the Christian dispensation ?

What particular remark have you to make on the

fifth mark?

59.

Mention some of the general prophecies in the 60. Old Testament, which constitute the sixth mark, regarding the coming of our Saviour.

Are there not some striking coincidences between 61. some of the prophecies in the Old Testament

and the facts mentioned respecting our Saviour in the New?

62. Did not our Saviour himself predict many events which have come to pass?

63. What is the peculiarity to be observed in the seventh mark over the pretended predictions of the heathen oracles?

64. Of what nature were the types by which our Saviour was prefigured?

65. Give me some instances of both those types.

66. You have said that the eighth and last mark makes it impossible for the relators or hearers of the facts recorded of Jesus Christ to believe them, if false, without supposing an universal deception of the senses of mankind; how do you prove this mark to be conclusive of the truth of Christianity?

PART II.

67. We now proceed to the second part of our subject, namely, the sacred history of the world from the creation to the coming of our Saviour; what length of time does that include ?

68. What portion of that period elapsed from the crea

tion to the deluge?