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Contra Faustum Manichaeum libri triginta tres

27.

Nam illud quod adiungis dissimilem fuisse traditionem Christi atque Moyseos et ideo non fuisse verisimile, ut si crederent Moysi, crederent et Christo, immo illud potius esse consequens, ut si alteri Iudaei crederent, alteri necessario repugnarent, non utique diceres, si considerationis oculum paululum attolleres orbemque terrarum sine contentionis caecitate conspiceres in hominibus doctis atque indoctis, Graecis et barbaris, sapientibus et insipientibus, quibus se debitorem dicebat apostolus et Moysi et Christo simul credentem. Si ergo non erat verisimile, ut Iudaei Moysi et Christo pariter crederent, multo minus verisimile est, ut orbis terrarum Moysi et Christo pariter credat. p. 472,27 Cum vero videamus omnes gentes utrique credere et illius prophetiam cum evangelio huius convenientem fide robustissima et celeberrima retinere, non ad aliquid impossibile gens una vocabatur, cum ei diceretur: Si crederetis Moysi, crederetis et mihi, potiusque est miranda et vehementius arguenda duritia Iudaeorum, qui hoc non fecerunt, quod totum mundum fecisse conspicimus.

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Reply to Faustus the Manichaean

27.

As to your argument that the doctrine of Moses was unlike that of Christ, and that therefore it was improbable that if they believed Moses, they would believe Christ too; and that it would rather follow that their belief in one would imply of necessity opposition to the other,--you could not have said this if you had turned your mind's eye for a moment to see men all the world over, when they are not blinded by a contentious spirit, learned and unlearned, Greek and barbarian, wise and unwise, to whom the apostle called himself a debtor, ¹ believing in both Christ and Moses. If it was improbable that the Jews would believe both Christ and Moses, it is still more improbable that all the world would do so. But as we see all nations believing both, and in a common and well-grounded faith holding the agreement of the prophecy of the one with the gospel of the other, it was no impossible thing to which this one nation was called, when Christ said to them, "If ye believed Moses, ye would also believe me." Rather we should be amazed at the guilty obstinacy of the Jews, who refused to do what we see the whole world has done.