There is competent and satisfactory evidence for the facticity of the New Testament record. “A proposition of fact is proved, when its truth is established by competent and satisfactory evidence,” Greenleaf wrote.Since there is probable evidence that the New Testament witnesses told the truth, the possibility that they could have been lying does not outweigh the truth of their witness. “In trials of fact, by oral testimony, the proper inquiry is not whether it is possible that the testimony may be false, but whether there is sufficient probability that it is true,” Greenleaf wrote.“In matters of public and general interest, all persons must be presumed to be conversant, on the principle that individuals are presumed to be conversant with their own affairs,” Greenleaf wrote.Īpplied to the New Testament witnesses, this would mean that the books coming from them must be presumed authentic, since they were speaking of their own affairs, with which they were conversant.“Every document, apparently ancient, coming from the proper repository or custody, and bearing on its face no evident marks of forgery, the law presumes to be genuine, and devolves on the opposing party the burden of proving it to be otherwise,” Greenleaf wrote.Īccording to this “Ancient Document Rule” the New Testament would qualify as authentic, since it bears no marks of forgery and has been in the proper custody of the church down through the centuries, as shown by manuscript evidence.The following quotations are from throughout his work: Greenleaf’s conclusions include strong points of evidence. It defends an important link in the overall apologetic argument for Christianity-the trustworthiness of the New Testament witnesses. When challenged to apply these rules to the New Testament documents, Greenleaf produced a volume ( The Testimony of the Evangelists) which defends the authenticity of the New Testament.
He not only taught law at Harvard University and produced the standard three-volume study of legal evidence ( A Treatise on the Law of Evidences, 1842–53) used to teach lawyers the rules of legal evidence and the means by which the authenticity of documents and witnesses can be tested. Simon Greenleaf (1783–1853) was one of the great minds in American legal history. The Testimony of the Evangelists - Simon Greenleaf The Testimony of the Evangelists The Gospels Examined by the Rules of Evidence
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