' Wellhausen (Das Evang. Luc.) drops these chapters without a word of expla-
nation; Schmeidel is confident that the Gospel of Luke " once was without the first
two chapters" (art. Mary in E. B., 2961); they "must come from quite other
hands" thinks Usener (art. Nativity E. B.); Loisy maintains that at least the
hymns and verses relating to the Virgin Birth must be attributed to the redactor
CLes Merits des Luc, RHLr N. S. IV (1913) 367). Cf. also Lobstein (the Virgin
Birth, 41), Lester (tbe Historic Jesus, 57-68), Soltau (Birth of J. C, 49-50).
'Cf. Conrady (Die Quelle der kanonischen Kindheitsgesch, J. 728); Bousset
(Jesus, 1), Hamack (What is Christianity? 30), Loisy (the Gospel and the Church,
39), Campbell (The New Theology, 101), Martin (The Life of Jesus, 54-55); J.
Weisp (Die Schriften des n. T., 412); 0. Pfleiderer (Primitive Christianity, II.
109); Wemle (The Sources of Our Knowledge of the Life of Jesus, 100); VBlter
(Die Evang. Erzahlungen von der Geburt und Kindheit Jesu, 131).
* Steinmeyer, Die Geschichte d^ Geburt des Herrn u. seiner ersten Schritte im
Leben; Sweet, The Birth and Infancy of Jesus Christ; Durand, The Childhood of
Jesus Christ; Steinmetzer, Die Geschichte der Geburt und Kindheit Christi; Orr,
The Virgin Birth of Christ; Box, The Virgin Birth. The man who has done the
greatest work in upholding and vindicating Luke's historical trustworthiness is
Bamsay in his works: Was Christ bom at Bethlehem? Luke the Physician,
Luke's Narrative of the Birth of Jesus in Exp. ser. 8 vol. IV (1912) 481-507; The
Bearing of Recent Discoveries on TrustworlJiiness of New Testament.
'The Muratorian Canon, I, says that Luke wrote in order and "began his
narrative with the nativity of John," A-NF V. 603.
