MR. VOYSEY AND THE EPISTLE TO THE THESSALONIANS.
[TO THE EDITOR OF TILE "SPECTATOR.]
SIR,—In justice to a teacher from many of whose opinions I differ widely, I would observe that your reviewer, in supposing Mr. Voysey to have no other ground for ascribing the Epistles to the Thessalonians to a time when men began to be disappointed at the delay in the expected coming of Christ, than their position in the subsequent collections of St. Paul's Epistles, has overlooked the fact that the Pauline authorship of the second Epistle has been contested by more than one eminent critic, and that the late C. F. Bauer, whose learning no one disputes, assigns both epistles to an age subsequent to St. Paul's death, on grounds which, though I agree with De Witte in thinking them insufficient, are far from deserving a contemptuous rejection.—I am, Sir, &c., E. V. N.
[Our reviewer did not overlook the fact, which, indeed, is mentioned by Mr. Voysey. Of course it has nothing whatever to do with the question. Mr. Voysey's argument is this (he is speaking of Matt. xxiv., 29-35) :—" If words have any meaning at all, these words show that Jesus was mistaken in his prediction
[the prediction of his return] But this involves the error of the Apostles and the early Church, who all firmly believed that Christ would come again in the lifetime of some
of them, and who accepted his words literally The later Epistles show signs of the disappointment of this expectation
(see 2nd Peter, iii., 4, and 2nd Thew., ii., 2-3)." And he adds in a note, "The genuineness of these two Epistles is doubted by some critics." This means, what is of course perfectly obvious,. that if the Epistles are not genuine they drop out of the argument altogether. Mr. Voysey appears to think the 2nd Thessalonians genuine, and builds his argument (modified by the critical doubt. mentioned) on the supposition that it was written late in St. Paul's life, whereas, if it was written by St. Paul at all, it must. have been written early.—En. Spectator.]
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