Another point that seems ancient about our Apology is that
it contains traces, and very interesting traces, of the use of
a creed, very similar to the Apostolic Symbol, but involving
certain notable points of difference. We shall discuss the question
more at length by and by; but at present it will be interesting


14 THE APOLOGY


to notice, especially in view of the obviously friendly attitude of
the writer towards the Jews, that his creed contained a clause to
the effect that

‘He was crucified by the Jews,’


perhaps without the clause that was current in later times, ‘ under
Pontius Pilate.’ Now I am aware that there are some persons
to whom this will seem an argument for a later date; for example
M. Renan, Origines VI. p. 277, says: “les Chrétiens commencaient
ὰ faire retomber sur l'ensemble de la nation juive un reproche
que stirement ni Pierre ni Jacques ni l’auteur de l’Apocalypse
ne songeaient & lui adresser, celui d’avoir crucifié Jésus.” It
would be interesting however to compare this statement of
M. Renan with the language of Peter in Acts Ἡ. 36, “Whom ye
crucified ;” of James in Ep. v. 6, “ye murdered the Just;” or
with the writer of the Apocalypse where he describes Jerusalem
as the spiritual Sodom and Egypt, “where also our Lord was
crucified.”

The very same charge is made by Justin in his dialogue with
Trypho’, who uses language very similar to that of the Epistle of
James, and in discussing the miseries which have befallen the
Jewish race, says pointedly “Fairly and justly have these things
come upon you; for Ye slew the Just One.” Why should we
assume such a sentiment to be a mark of late date ?

These references do not, however, suggest that the sentence
in question was in the Creed. To prove that, we should have to
go much farther afield, for the known forms of early creeds do
not seem to contain it: if, however, we were to examine the
Apocryphal Christian Literature of the early centuries, we should,
no doubt, find many traces of the lost sentence. For example, it
comes over and over in the Apocryphal Acts of John, a Gnostic
document which Wright edited and translated from the Syriac.
