Chapter XIV. The Love Of The Marvellous—Its Bearing On The Value Of Testimony To Miracles.
It has been objected that the love of the marvellous has in every age constituted so remarkable a phase of human nature as greatly to weaken, if not entirely to invalidate the testimony to the performance of miracles. It is alleged that the great historians of ancient times have recorded a number of supernatural occurrences which are now summarily rejected as incredible: and it is therefore argued that all narratives of miraculous occurrences must share the same fate. This objection differs from that which I have considered in the former chapter, in that it avoids the necessity of imputing to the followers of Jesus and the authors of the Gospels a degree of superstition and credulity greatly in excess of that which characterizes the majority of mankind. It will be therefore necessary to give this subject a careful consideration.
It is an unquestionable fact that the human mind has been in all ages disposed to accept a number of narratives of supernatural occurrences upon very insufficient testimony, and which the principles of sound reason lead us to reject as untrue. Such beliefs have been peculiar to no one period of the world's history, but have been co-extensive with the human race; and they form one of the most remarkable facts in our nature. Many of the ancient historians have reported such occurrences without apparent suspicion; or if [pg 311] they entertained any doubts respecting their truth, they did not venture even to whisper them into the popular ear. What is still more; eminent men of the ancient world did not scruple to act in matters of this kind a part which they knew to be deceptive, because they held the opinion that such beliefs, though they might be laughed at by philosophers, were necessary to act as restraints on the vulgar. Thus we know, on the most indubitable authority, that a Roman Augur could gravely act his part before the public at the very time that he was secretly laughing in his sleeve at the ridiculousness of his art. It does not therefore follow because the ancient historians have reported numbers of occurrences of this nature with considerable gravity, that they accepted them as facts. They were frequently influenced by the spirit of accommodation, thinking it necessary for the welfare of society to keep up the vulgar ideas on the subject. It would be inaccurate therefore to attribute all the accounts of such things which we meet with in ancient writers to simple credulity, or to infer from them that they did not believe in an inviolable order of nature of some kind. With respect to the arts of magic, however, one feels that even the greatest of the ancient writers contemplated them with a kind of bated breath. This would appear to have been the state of mind even of Tacitus, with one exception the greatest historian of the ancient world, and one who was intimately acquainted with the various systems of its philosophy. Conscious as he was that vast numbers of the professors of magic were impostors, he seems hardly able to realize the fact that the whole art was a delusion.
It has been affirmed that the progress of physical science has destroyed in this nineteenth century all belief in the actual occurrence of the supernatural, and [pg 312] that it now prevails only in some of the dark corners of Christendom. The widespread belief in the phenomena of spiritualism, which is certainly very far from being confined to religious men, and from which some students of physical science have not been exempt, is a striking proof of the contrary. All that can be affirmed with truth is that, in these modern times, these forms of belief have taken a new direction. Modern science has done much to establish and spread the belief that the operations of all natural, i.e. material forces are uniform. Many of its students have even brought themselves to the belief that the occurrence of any event whose existence is due to the action of any other than the known forces of nature, is impossible: though this is far from being the invariable, and is certainly not the necessary result of its study. Still, probably, the most ardent votary of these opinions would find it difficult to keep himself wholly free from terrors arising from unseen causes, if they were aroused by a suitable apparatus. The study of physical science is far from being a universal safeguard against the invasions of superstition. Its causes lie far more deeply rooted in our nature than the principles of physical science can reach. Nor is it able to guard against an extravagant use of the imagination.
Whether, in the present state of our philosophy, we have fully penetrated to the depths of this principle thus working in the mind of man, may admit of doubt; but its presence there, as an essential portion of our nature, is an unquestionable fact. We are not without the means of getting a general idea of its character. It is doubtless intimately connected with those principles of our nature which constitute man a religious being, and which form a fundamental part of his mental constitution. As such it must, like all our other faculties, [pg 313] have a legitimate and an illegitimate action. It points, as we shall see, to the existence of the supernatural. A rational religion forms the object for its appropriate exercise. Whenever man has been destitute of this, and his reason has been weak, this principle, devoid of its proper object, has always manifested itself in various forms of extravagance. So powerful is it in the human mind that even avowed atheism has not been proof against its power. Julius Cæsar was an atheist, and possessed one of the most powerful minds that ever inhabited the human frame. Yet, on the great day of his triumph, he ascended the steps of the Capitol for the purpose of averting an avenging Nemesis. Napoleon the First was no atheist, though few persons who have ever lived have been more free from the restraints of religion or superstition. Although he possessed a mighty intellect and was no stranger to the truths of modern science, yet even he believed in his star. Many other instances of men of powerful intellect who disbelieved in religion, yet who entertained singular superstitions, might be easily adduced. I refer to them for the purpose of proving that the principle out of which such things originate must be one which is deep-seated in the nature of man, and therefore an essential portion of it. If it is founded on a fundamental principle of our mental constitution, it follows that it must have a legitimate subject-matter on which to exercise its powers, and that the abnormal forms of it which are so frequently manifested are the results of some disorder in its action. What then is its nature?
There are certain principles deeply-seated within us, which form as definite a portion of ourselves as even our rational faculties, and which directly prompt to the belief in the supernatural, and therefore point to its existence. Among these, the faculties of imagination, [pg 314] wonder, reverence and awe, hold a conspicuous place. It is impossible to deny that they form portions of the actual constitution of our minds, however we may account for their origin. Is it then our duty to eradicate them because they prompt us to the belief in something which transcends the visible order of nature? This will hardly be affirmed by the most thorough-going sceptic; for if it be our duty to do so, the human mind must be a mass of disorder in the midst of a universe of order. If we were to make the attempt (for indeed it has been attempted) the result would be to upset the balance of our mental constitution, and it would terminate in failure. Human nature, taken as it is, constitutes a whole. These faculties hold in it a place subordinate to reason and to conscience. When our rational, our imaginative, and our moral powers act harmoniously together, they constitute man a religious being.
But, for the purposes of the present argument, I have simply to draw attention to the fact that imagination, wonder, reverence and awe form an essential portion of our being. It would be in the highest degree undesirable to get rid of them, even if we were able. How mighty is the influence of the first of these principles! It lies at the foundation of everything that is great and noble in man. To it are due the magnificent creations of poetry; in fact everything which adorns life, and much of that which raises us above the mechanical forces of nature. Destitute of it, our reason could not act; nay, it could not even exist; and we should be reduced to the mere mechanical action of the understanding, the wheels of which would be in danger of rusting. Nor has the faculty of wonder a less definite place in our being. It is closely connected with our imagination, which supplies [pg 315] it with objects fitted to excite it, and ought to be exercised under the guidance of reason. Its object is the great and the vast, shall I not say, the infinite? Regulated by reason and united with awe, it produces reverence. Reverence points to the existence of some object which is really worthy of veneration. Veneration can only be legitimately exercised on that which is truly venerable. As such it directly points to a personal God, and refuses to rest in anything short of Him as able fully to gratify its aspirations. Viewing them as a whole, the legitimate object of these faculties, and the subject from which they can receive their fullest gratification, is that Great Being who everywhere manifests Himself in this glorious universe. But when man has ceased to contemplate in nature a rational power guiding and controlling it, the principle of wonder has frequently prompted him to gratify its aspirations by peopling it with a multitude of phantastic creations. When under the influence of awe, he has contemplated it in its terrible aspects, unguided by a being who possesses a moral character, these feelings have prompted the imagination to fill it with beings who excite the feeling of superstitious dread.
Although the vastness of the material universe and the energy of its forces can excite the feeling of wonder, yet that of reverence refuses to find in the mere extension of space, or the might of material forces, any object adequate to its demands. The vastness of the material universe may fill the mind with wonder and admiration; but even wonder refuses to rest satisfied with a vastness of which the limits are known. It demands something which is conceivable, which yet runs up into the regions of the inconceivable. But even here the feeling of reverence can find nothing on which to energize. It directly points to a moral being [pg 316] in whom it can find a centre, and it will find its gratification in nothing short of one. To talk, as many Pantheists do, of feeling reverence for an impersonal Universe, is a misuse of language. What! to reverence a Being, if the impersonal Universe can be called a Being, which is everlastingly casting up the bubbles of existence in the form of moral agents, and is everlastingly devouring them, devoid alike of consciousness, volition, and a moral nature!
It follows, therefore, if these principles form a constituent portion of our nature, that like all our other faculties, they must admit of a right and a perverted use. It is therefore absurd to lay down as a general principle, because they admit of an illegitimate use, that the whole class of phenomena connected with them are worthy of nothing but summary rejection, without exercising our reason on the evidence on which they stand. All that their existence can prove in reference to this subject is something which is very like a truism; that mankind, being liable to all kinds of mistakes and errors, and having frequently fallen into them, no class of phenomena ought to be accepted as facts, until evidence of their occurrence has been adduced which is capable of satisfying our reason. But this is a very harmless proposition.
There can be no doubt that to a perverted use of these faculties is due the belief in a kind of current supernaturalism, which in various forms runs through the entire history of man. This has owed its origin to the efforts of the imagination to supply objects for its gratification when the reason is feeble and the moral faculties have become perverted. Hence the readiness of large masses of mankind to accept narratives of marvels without regard to the evidence on which they rest. They are accepted simply as gratifying the principle [pg 317] of wonder. This is the cause of what I have designated by the term “Current Supernaturalism.”
But because all our faculties admit of abuse, and the higher they are, the greater, this forms no reason for rejecting their legitimate use, or the entire subject-matter on which they operate. As I have observed, the principle is found energizing wherever man exists. Although in one age it may be more active than in another, it is alike the inheritance of the civilized man and the savage. It has displayed itself in the creations of the poet and the writer of fiction; in the various forms of religious thought; in the production of ghost-stories and pictures of the under-world; in the creation of the various forms of demonology, witchcraft and magic; in the milder form of fairy-tales; in charms and incantations, and in efforts to pry into the future. Even in philosophy and science we may trace its influence, not only in aiding and suggesting their great discoveries, but in propounding multitudes of startling theories, erected on the smallest basis of fact. These not only gratify this feeling, but promise an apparently royal road to knowledge, which avoids the long and tedious one of only propounding theories after a careful investigation of facts. But in the regions of intellectual pursuit, its abnormal manifestations are pre-eminently in the science of historical criticism, in those numerous departments of historical inquiry where the facts are few and vague. Here nothing is easier than to supply the absence of facts by theory, and to erect a magnificent edifice on a foundation of sand. The ancient soothsayer gratified vulgar curiosity by guessing at the events of the future. There is a species of modern soothsaying which expends its energies in guessing at the events of the past. Such guessing presents an unspeakable fascination to a large number [pg 318] of minds, by its happy mixture of fiction and fact, and is the true analogue to many of the forms of ancient thought. It has been necessary to draw attention to these things for the purpose of proving the widespread influence of this principle on human nature. Its action has manifested itself in different forms in different ages; but the cause is the same in all, the existence in man of a principle which points to the existence of God, and which can only receive its adequate gratification in Him.
The action of similar principles produces in man the love of the extraordinary, the unusual and the novel. This is so powerful that unless it is kept in subordination to reason, it produces a number of fictitious beliefs. So strong is it, that it may be truly said of large numbers of mankind that they spend all the time which they are not compelled to devote to the serious realities of life, in little else than hearing and speaking of some new thing. It is undoubtedly the cause of a large number of fictitious beliefs, and produces, in minds where the rational powers are weak, a ready acceptance of the unusual, the strange, and the wonderful. The same principle, acting in conjunction with others, when uncontrolled by reason, has occasioned many of the exaggerations which are to be found in history.
Still, as one of the fundamental principles of our minds, it cannot but have a legitimate sphere of action. United with curiosity, it is the chief source of all mental activity. It is that which produces the earnest desire to penetrate into the regions of the unknown. As such, it is essential to the activity of our rational faculties, and has been the exciting cause which has rendered all our great discoveries possible.
It follows, therefore, that if these principles form [pg 319] part of our mental constitution, the objection that they destroy the value of miracles as a testimony to a revelation is absurd. We might as well argue that because the love of the marvellous has generated a belief in a number of fictions as facts in ordinary history, it invalidates its testimony to events which have really happened, or renders all unusual occurrences incredible. I will illustrate this by an example. Herodotus tells us in his history that there were certain tribes who dwelt in wooden habitations erected over lakes, and he gives us several particulars as to their manner of life. This fact, until a comparatively recent period, might have been pronounced incredible, and have been supposed to have originated in the simple love of the marvellous, either in the author or in his informants. I own that when I first read the historian, this was the opinion which I formed respecting it. But we now know that he reported an actual fact. On the other hand it is certain that a great portion of the details of the Scythian expedition of Darius must have originated in the undue activity of the mental faculties to which I have referred, i.e. that they are inventions. But if the principle of summarily rejecting narratives of events which lie beyond our experience is valid, because the abnormal activity of certain faculties has urged men to invent, and believe in a multitude of fictions, the account of the lake-dwellings given by the historian ought to have been rejected as equally unworthy of credit, with some of the occurrences of the Scythian expedition. It is impossible to deal with the events of history on any general à priori principles; they must stand or fall on their own intrinsic evidence.
It follows, therefore, that if these principles admit of an abnormal action, we are still by no means justified in a summary rejection of all unusual occurrences. It only [pg 320] forms an adequate reason for closely scrutinizing the evidence on which the credibility of history rests. The faculty of imagination, instigated by that of wonder, has produced widespread beliefs in a mass of supernatural events which are utterly incredible. But as that faculty must have a legitimate action somewhere, it is clear that its abuse can be no valid reason for the rejection of all supernatural occurrences, unless for other reasons they are proved to be incredible. The whole must be a question of evidence and of reason. If it formed a valid ground for the rejection of miracles, it is clear that the principle on which it is founded cannot be confined to any such narrow limits, but must have a wide and general application, and extend to all that is wonderful and unusual.
It is an unquestionable fact that a large proportion of mankind in every age have eagerly sought the means of affording gratification to the feeling of wonder, and that this has been the means of introducing into history a considerable number of fictions of various kinds. But does this invalidate its testimony? Does it justify us in rejecting whole classes of phenomena as unworthy of consideration? We have already seen that whatever principle is applied to miracles must be equally applied to all extraordinary events, because as phenomena there is no difference between them. We admit that many fictions have got into history. These it is the duty of the critical historian to detect and displace. Will anyone affirm that their introduction invalidates the events in the history of the past, which rest on an adequate attestation? What that is, I shall consider hereafter. Whatever effect this may have exerted on the minor details of history, will anyone affirm that its great outlines do not rest on a substantial basis of truth? It is impossible to lay [pg 321] down on these subjects a wide and comprehensive canon which will save us the trouble of careful and accurate investigation. All reports of extraordinary events, marvels, and miracles, must stand or fall with the adequacy of the evidence which can be adduced for their occurrence, and cannot be decided by any artificial rule. If the evidence is good, they must be accepted, notwithstanding the fact that extensive classes of marvels have been accepted by mankind on testimony wholly insufficient to establish their truth. If the evidence fails, they must be regarded as the result of the abnormal exercise of faculties which yet have a legitimate place in our mental constitution.
Nothing is more common than the assertion that at certain periods of history, mankind have been ignorant that there is an order in nature; and that this ignorance has given these faculties such unbounded play as to render all reports of supernatural occurrences unworthy of credit, notwithstanding any amount of evidence which may be alleged in their favour. It is urged that, if men are ignorant that there is an order in nature, to such a state of mind nothing would be really supernatural; but every event, whether supernatural or otherwise, would be viewed as a matter of ordinary occurrence. To this state of mind a miracle would convey no meaning, and therefore it would be valueless as evidence of a divine revelation. In other words, it has been affirmed that there have been certain conditions of mankind in which the love of the marvellous has been so powerful, and the action of reason so weak, as to destroy all sense of the distinction between a natural and a supernatural occurrence.
I reply that the Christian revelation was not addressed to such a condition of the human mind. On the contrary, it was made after a long course of [pg 322] preparation for its introduction. After the whole course of previous history, under the controlling providence of God, had prepared the way for His Advent, Jesus Christ appeared. The Gospel was not preached to men in the lowest state of barbarism, but to civilized man. What may have been the ideas of degraded savages, at some early period of the history of our race, it will be needless to inquire. With mankind in such a condition we have nothing to do in the present controversy, but with the state of thought in the Roman Empire during the first century of our era. This was no period of mental darkness or of boundless credulity. In the early ages, when every phenomenon of nature was viewed as due to the action of some capricious god, the belief in an order of nature must have been in a high degree vague and uncertain. But such a state of things, whatever it might once have been, had long since passed away. The period of history now under consideration was one of widespread intelligence, varying greatly in different parts of the empire, but still one of intelligence and civilization.
It is impossible for men to attain a degree of progress necessary for the existence of civilization, and still to remain ignorant that a large class of natural occurrences follow an order which does not admit of deviation. Civilization would be impossible unless this were generally recognized. It is in fact founded on its recognition. At the same time, there is a class of phenomena which are not recognized by the ordinary mind as following a definite order. It is within this alone that the beliefs of current supernaturalism exert their activity. But the supernatural occurrences narrated in the New Testament do not belong to this ambiguous order of events, and are therefore unaffected by them.
[pg 323]There is a large class of events which civilized man cannot help recognizing as belonging to a definite order and sequence, and where the belief in the marvellous exerts little or no influence. The violation of this order he views as impossible. Thus he cannot fail to recognize the fact that men cannot walk on the water without support; that thousands of persons cannot be fed by a few loaves and fishes; that diseases never leave us instantaneously by no other agency than that of a touch or a word; and that men who have been actually dead have never returned to life. No amount of the love of the marvellous has ever induced men to consider such occurrences possible. Whatever may have been the current supernaturalism of the ancient world, it did not embody beliefs of this description. This is proved by the entire course of ancient history. Its supernaturalism is of a wholly different order. The love of the marvellous, therefore, has never so confounded the distinction between the natural and the supernatural among civilized men, as to have deprived a miracle of its significance.
Such an assertion respecting any part of the Roman Empire, during the century which preceded and that which followed the Advent, would be contrary to fact. On the contrary, certain classes of events which were reported to have happened, were invariably believed to have been really supernatural. They were so far from being considered as devoid of meaning, that persons supposed to be skilled in the art of interpreting them were habitually consulted as to what they were intended to denote. The only exceptions to this were those occurrences which were supposed to have been brought about by the art of magic. These seem to have been viewed as in some measure due to the existence of occult powers in nature, the results of which [pg 324] the professors of the art had succeeded in mastering. It may be safely affirmed that at no portion of this period was the love of the marvellous so prevalent in any portion of the Roman Empire as to have deprived a real miracle of its signification.
It follows therefore that it is impossible to lay down any abstract rule which will save us the trouble of investigating the evidence of miracles, because mankind has in all ages been greatly influenced by the love of the marvellous, and under its influence has invented a number of occurrences which reason pronounces incredible. The action of this principle is far from being confined to subjects connected with religion, but extends over the whole range of literature. While it is quite true that, under the influence of various principles of this description, numbers of fictions have been reported by ancient historians, this forms a valid reason only for rejecting those which rest on no adequate attestation. The adoption of the other principle would render all knowledge of the past impossible. All the faculties of our minds admit of a legitimate and an illegitimate use. To reject the results of the right use of our faculties, because they are capable of a wrong one, is absurd.
But an opposite view may be taken of the entire question, and one which is dictated by the principles of reason.
Several principles in man directly point to the existence of the supernatural. Among these veneration and conscience occupy a conspicuous place. These acting in conjunction with reason constitute man a religious being. Man alone of all living beings is capable of religion. The principle of reverence finds its only adequate gratification in the contemplation of moral perfection. Moral perfection is inconceivable [pg 325] where personality and volition are not. This principle therefore forms the counterpart in man which is directly correlated to the being and the perfections of a personal God. It follows that instead of these principles invalidating the existence of the supernatural, they establish it. The conception of immensity is the adequate subject-matter on which our faculty of wonder works. The highest conception of greatness is realized in God. In Him therefore this faculty receives its most perfect realization. Reverence points to greatness united with supreme moral goodness. The imperfection of man will not satisfy it. It therefore impels man to bow down before the throne of One who transcends the imperfections of the created universe. If there be a personal God, supremely good, who is the Creator and moral Governor of the universe, nothing is more in conformity with our highest reason than that He should make a further manifestation of Himself to man, in addition to that which He has made in the material universe.
Chapter XV. Our Summary Rejection Of Current Supernaturalism Considered In Its Bearing On The Evidence For Miracles.
There can be no doubt that there is an enormous mass of supernatural beliefs which we feel at once justified in rejecting without troubling ourselves to inquire into the evidence on which they rest. Others also we reject because on investigation we find them altogether destitute of evidence. Others again which rest on evidence which would be sufficient to establish an ordinary fact, we reject notwithstanding this attestation, on the ground of their inherent improbability. It has been objected that our summary rejection of the great mass of current supernaturalism puts the case of miracles out of court, and renders them so improbable, that it is unnecessary minutely to examine the evidence which can be adduced in support of them. I propose therefore in this chapter to consider the reasons for our summary rejection of the great mass of current supernaturalism, and its bearing on the credibility of the miracles in the New Testament.
First: I observe that the stories of current supernaturalism are not the only ones which we reject in a summary manner. We treat in the same way a great number of other stories which offend against the principles of common sense. It is clear that in these latter [pg 327] cases, we do not reject them merely because they are supernatural, but because they are generally incredible. The fact therefore that we thus reject a number of absurd narratives without inquiry into the evidence on which they rest, cannot be urged as a reason for rejecting other occurrences which are not involved in any such absurdity. If the principle is valid against miracles, it must be equally so against other extensive classes of facts. To assert that miracles are thus absurd or ridiculous is to assume the point which ought to be proved.
Secondly: We reject the great mass of current supernaturalism because it is unable to assign any adequate reason for its existence. When it is alleged that a miracle has been performed as an attestation of a revelation, if it forms a necessary portion of such attestation, this is an adequate reason for the miracle. But the great mass of current supernaturalism is utterly unable to assign any reason for its existence; or if reasons have been given, they are quite inadequate. Of this the case of magic is an example. If it were a reality, it would not only interfere with the order of nature, but no reason could be given for this interference. If, on the other hand, its phenomena were alleged to be due to secret forces in nature, then they would belong to an order of grotesque and monstrous phenomena, which we are justified at once in refusing to believe to be due to the action of intelligence or goodness; and on the supposition that there is a moral Governor of the universe, it is utterly incredible that they would occur either by his agency or with his permission.
Perhaps the best attested occurrences of current supernaturalism are the phenomena of spiritualism. It will tend to the illustration of this subject, if we [pg 328] consider the grounds on which we reject a large portion of its reported phenomena quite irrespectively of the evidence produced in favour of their reality, and ascribe the belief in them to the effect of an excited imagination, and in some cases to imposture. In considering this subject, it is not necessary to examine whether the phenomena alleged by spiritualists, if true, would be really supernatural, or belong to an order of nature hitherto unknown.
Many of the manifestations of spiritualism possess a grotesqueness which we see in no other class of natural phenomena. If they are alleged to be the results of the action of natural forces previously unknown, then they must belong to a class of forces which contrast in a most remarkable degree with all known ones; that is to say, the known and the unknown forces of nature must be utterly out of harmony with one another. I am now speaking on the supposition that such forces are merely natural ones, not under the guidance of intelligence. In that case they must have been always in existence, only latent; yet they now for the first time manifest themselves under very special circumstances and conditions, such as are highly favourable to the existence of delusion. The abnormal character of these phenomena, so entirely at variance with the known order of nature, forms the strongest ground for the conviction that they cannot be the results of the action of unknown natural forces. It would require an overwhelming amount of evidence to convince us that these two sets of natural forces, distinguishable by the strongest possible contrasts, (viz. those which produce the visible phenomena of nature, and those which produce another class, intermittent in their action, of which grotesqueness and monstrosity are the most striking characteristics, and which [pg 329] only manifest their existence under circumstances calculated to throw a suspicion on their reality), can be the results of the action of forces which have been present in nature during all past time.
But further: these phenomena, if natural, must belong to an order of nature which is not only unlike the visible order, but would throw its action into confusion. I am here reasoning on the supposition that the moral order of the universe is due to the action of nothing but physical forces. If this be so, it must form a portion of the existing order of nature. But the forces which, on the supposition of the truth of spiritualism, must be capable of being brought into activity, would interrupt that moral order of which we are actually conscious. Their action, if real, would interrupt the entire course of the moral world. No man would be safe from their intrusion. Even in our deepest retirement we should never be free from the invasion of their prying curiosity. Such a power would be incompatible with the moral order of society. It follows, therefore, that an unknown order of nature, presenting the most violent contrast to the visible one, whose phenomena do not follow an invariable but an intermittent law, and are only alleged to manifest themselves under conditions favourable to imposture, possesses such a degree of inherent improbability as to justify its rejection, even by those who recognise the action of none but material forces in the universe.
But to those who recognise the present order of nature as due to the action of a wise and intelligent Creator, it becomes absolutely incredible that forces such as the phenomena of spiritualism require for their production, can form a portion of that order which He [pg 330] has created, as they contradict every conception which we can rationally form of his character.
But if these phenomena are viewed as due to the action of supernatural agency, the reality of their occurrence becomes still more inconceivable. If such agency is capable of being exerted, we can only conceive that its exertion is permitted for the realization of some known end. Yet the phenomena of spiritualism serve no purpose whatever. Spiritualists have been holding their séances for many years; but no one practical result has yet been realized by them. The spirits of the departed have been invoked, but they have never yet given a single useful response. Surely if there be a spirit world, its occupations cannot be the production of the abnormal, the mean and the grotesque. Its employments must possess some pretensions to be esteemed dignified. It has been alleged that such manifestations help to convince the incredulous of the reality of the immortality of man. On the contrary, the idea that spirits can be guilty of such phantastic tricks can only help to throw discredit on the doctrine. It follows, therefore, that if the phenomena of spiritualism are viewed as due to supernatural causes, it is utterly incredible either that the Governor of the Universe would permit such a course of action, or that the spirits themselves, unless deprived of reason, would exhibit themselves in such a variety of phantastic forms, and for no other apparent purpose than to effect a number of capricious interferences with the visible order of nature. This incredibility is so great as to entitle us summarily to reject the idea that the reputed phenomena can be actual occurrences. In addition to this, the alleged manifestations are made under circumstances pre-eminently suited to excite suspicion.
[pg 331]The phenomena of modern spiritualism are a fair illustration of the general character of the current supernaturalism of the ancient world. It was for the most part equally senseless and absurd. The attestation to its actual occurrence was of a very inferior character to that which can be urged in favour of the alleged facts of spiritualism. I have merely taken notice of these latter as an illustration of the general aspect of the phenomena of current supernaturalism, and as placing before us the reasons which fully justify us in rejecting a large portion of it without minutely inquiring into its evidence.
I will now proceed to contrast the entire mass of current supernaturalism with the miracles of the New Testament for the purpose of still further illustrating the grounds on which we reject it, while we claim for the latter that their reality must be tested by the evidence which can be adduced in favour of their actual occurrence.
Let me again draw attention to the fact that the only correct conception of a miracle in connection with this controversy, is that of an event wrought in external nature with a definite moral aim and purpose. Extraordinary events, to which no such moral aim and purpose can be assigned, may be unusual occurrences, but are in no proper sense of the words evidential miracles. An isolated occurrence of an extraordinary nature, and an event marked with a definite moral purpose, are two wholly different things. The one may be credible, and the other wholly incredible. We habitually recognise the distinction in ordinary life, and it entirely affects our judgment of the probability of an event. We esteem the action of a particular person quite credible under one set of circumstances, which we should reject as incredible under another. Thus [pg 332] if we were informed that a friend with whom we were intimately acquainted, had precipitated himself from a height into the water, supposing him to be sane, we should not believe it. But if we received the information that he had done it to save a person from drowning, and we knew that he was a man of courage, we should accept the fact without the smallest hesitation. On this account, therefore, the moral aspect of the alleged miracle is of the utmost importance; and it is necessary for its correct conception that it should not only be an extraordinary occurrence in external nature, but that it should take place at the bidding of another, and in order to render it credible, that it should be calculated to effectuate some definite moral purpose.
Alleged supernatural events, which are destitute of these accompaniments, are always liable to a very high degree of à priori suspicion. In fact it would be difficult to prove them to be supernatural. All that could be affirmed respecting them would be that they were very unusual occurrences, which it was impossible to account for by the action of any known force. If the universe is under the government of God, all supernatural action must either be the result of His agency or permission. If He interferes with the order of occurrences, it is evident that such interference cannot be capricious, but must have a definite purpose. We are justified, therefore, in refusing to accept occurrences as supernatural, which are destitute of all appearance of purpose in their performance.
But further: the alleged miracle must be consistent with the character of God, before it is possible to attribute it to Him as wrought by His direct agency. This rests on the same principle on which we refuse to [pg 333] credit the reports of actions performed by men which are contradictory to their well known characters. But this is far more certain with respect to God than it can be of man. Human characters can at best be but imperfectly known, and there are unseen depths in the human heart which sometimes render actions possible, which stand in striking contrast to the general character of the agents. To state the truth generally, as it is impossible that man can act in opposition to the inmost principles of his moral being, so in a far higher degree is it impossible that God can contradict the perfections of His moral nature. This being so, it follows that we are entitled to reject all miracles alleged to have been wrought by God, which are contrary to His moral attributes; all which are low, mean, or grotesque, and unfitted to realize an elevated moral purpose.
It will here be objected that if these positions are true, demoniacal miracles are rendered impossible. I have already pointed out that if demoniacal supernaturalism is affirmed in the New Testament to be an actuality, its action is described as being limited to the human mind, and that whatever permitted activity is conceded to it, always bears the most distinctive marks of being from beneath. There is no possibility of mistaking between such supernatural occurrences and the miracles of God.
Such then are our general principles, the truth of which can hardly be contested. If they are true, the great mass of current supernaturalism is worthy of rejection for the following reasons.
1. While it claims to be the result of supernatural agency, it is destitute of all definite moral purpose, and such moral impress as it bears is mean and degraded. What end, I ask, was it designed to serve? It involved an almost continual interference with the order of [pg 334] nature; or if at times it claimed to be due to occult forces, they were only suited to confound the visible order of the universe. I am reasoning on the supposition that there is a God who rules the world. This being so, it is impossible to conceive that such a mode of acting can be His. Under this head of supernaturalism fall all the monstrous and the grotesque, and the entire range of magical phenomena.
2. The whole range of ancient supernaturalism is in contradiction to everything which we can conceive of the moral character of God. Let us take as an illustration the phenomena of Soothsaying. Who can believe that God employed the entrails of slaughtered beasts as the means of revealing the future? or that it was consistent with his character to manifest his will through a multitude of monstrous portents? There is perhaps not a single occurrence of ancient supernaturalism which does not offend against our primary conception of the Divine character; and, therefore, the whole is worthy of summary rejection.
3. Ancient supernaturalism assigned its occurrences to no cause adequate to produce them. Those who asserted its reality, referred it to the action of deities who possessed very limited power, or to occult powers in nature. Such occult powers we now know to have no existence, and the power attributed to the supposed deities was far too limited to be capable of producing the results in question. All reputed events, the alleged cause of which is unable to produce them, we are entitled to reject without further investigation.
4. A large amount of ancient supernaturalism rested on no evidence whatever. Of those portions for which any reasons were alleged, the evidence itself was of a character exactly suited to discredit it. Of this kind was the whole of the supernaturalism connected [pg 335] with the state religions. These were in the hands of men who used them for the purpose of acting on the vulgar, and who therefore readily accepted the report of anything, however incredible, which could subserve their end. Other portions were palpable impostures worked for the basest and most selfish purposes. A very brief acquaintance with the nature of the evidence on which it rests is sufficient to justify us in rejecting it without entering on any inquiry as to its details.
Such being the general character of ancient supernaturalism, it is absurd to argue that its existence is a reason for rejecting along with it another order of supernaturalism, which stands contrasted with it in every particular. We might as well urge the existence of a vast number of counterfeits as a reason for rejecting everything which is genuine. We do not reject it because it is supernatural, but because it is utterly incredible. A statement of a few particulars will exhibit the contrast between it and the supernaturalism of the New Testament in a striking point of view.
1. Christian supernaturalism alleges that its occurrences are the result of the action of a force which, if present, is certainly adequate to produce them. Ancient supernaturalism alleges no cause whatever, or one wholly inadequate.
2. Christian supernaturalism alleges a perfectly adequate purpose for its production; that purpose being the attestation of the divine mission of Jesus. Ancient supernaturalism alleges either no purpose at all, or a degraded one.
3. Christian supernaturalism is made to centre around the greatest and most exalted character that has ever appeared in history. Ancient supernaturalism, instead of being connected with the most eminent characters [pg 336] of the times, directly connects itself with the most questionable.
4. Christian supernaturalism is stamped throughout with a high moral character and aspect. This is wholly wanting in the supernaturalism of the ancient world.
5. Christian supernaturalism belongs to an elevated order and type; the objects realized by it were for the most part benevolent. The mode of its action was dignified and the effects produced by it were instantaneous, following directly on the word of the agent. The mode in which its miracles were performed is characterized by the utmost simplicity, destitute alike of anything scenic or fantastic, entirely in harmony with the great character who performed them. The supernaturalism of the ancient world is marked by the opposite characteristics.
6. Christian supernaturalism, or to speak more correctly, the greatest supernatural occurrence which Christianity records, namely the Resurrection of Christ, has not only left a mighty impression on history, but has created a civilization of its own which embraces all the progressive nations of the world, and exerts a powerful influence even on those who deny its truth. The only result wrought by the supernaturalism of the ancient world was the moral degradation of those among whom it prevailed.
7. The supernaturalism of Christianity rests on an attestation which even unbelievers would allow to be quite sufficient to establish the truth of any ordinary facts. The other rests either on no testimony at all, or on one which is open to the gravest suspicion.
Such are some of the striking contrasts which distinguish the supernaturalism of the New Testament from that of the ancient world. When two series of events present such opposite features, it is the duty of [pg 337] a sound philosophy to trace these distinctions to their causes, and to show what is the nature of the forces which have impressed on each series its own peculiar characteristics. Instead of this, however, we are invited to pronounce both alike incredible; that is to say, because one series of events is deeply impressed with characteristics which render them incredible, we are invited to pronounce a similar condemnation on another series, which is distinguished by the most opposite features, and which has only this point in common with the former, that both belong to an order of events which we designate as supernatural. Nothing can be more unphilosophical than such a mode of reasoning. We reject the one series in a mass, not because the events which it contains are supernatural, but because they are absolutely incredible. A similar rule we apply to ordinary, no less than supernatural occurrences.
But it will doubtless be objected that there is another series of supernatural occurrences which rational men, with a few exceptions, greet with an equally summary rejection, viz. the long series of ecclesiastical miracles which extends in an almost unbroken succession from the second century of our era nearly to the present day. These, it has been urged, are alleged to have been wrought in attestation of Christianity, and bear some remarkable analogy, as facts wrought in external nature, to the miracles recorded in the Gospels. It is argued that if we reject the one, we are for the same reason bound to reject the others.
The following points may be considered as admitted.
First; That every century from the second downwards has been characterized by a considerable amount of pretension to the possession of supernatural power; [pg 338] and during this period one section of the Christian Church claims to have actually wrought miracles.
Secondly; Several of these miracles, viewed merely as phenomena in outward nature, are precisely similar to those recorded in the New Testament.
Thirdly; When a miracle is alleged to have been performed at the present day, as has recently been the case in a neighbouring country, not only all unbelievers in the possibility of supernatural occurrences, but also all rational Christians concur in its summary rejection, not merely on the ground that the evidence is insufficient, but that the event is in itself incredible.
Fourthly; That rational men reject in a similar manner and for similar reasons the great mass of ecclesiastical miracles as unworthy of serious inquiry into their attestation.
With respect to the second point, I have already observed that if we view miracles merely as phenomena in external nature, and if a similar belief in a current supernaturalism, which we have seen to be one of the phenomena of human nature, prevailed in the Church, it was to be expected that the current forms of ecclesiastical supernaturalism would adopt those of the New Testament for their basis, and consequently that it would abound in narratives of resurrections from the dead and the cures of various diseases. This is actually the case. It may also not only excite our wonder that the model was not far more exactly copied, but that ecclesiastical, and especially monkish miracles, which constitute an overwhelming majority of the miracles of Church history, abound so largely in features which stand in such marked contrast to the miracles of the New Testament, their peculiar characteristics being the same as those of ancient supernaturalism, viz. the [pg 339] monstrous and the grotesque. This point is one which demands the serious consideration of unbelievers; for if, as they aver, they are both due to the action of the same causes, this diversity requires to be accounted for. The truth is, that with the exception that both series contain reports of miracles which are similar or mere objective occurrences, in other respects their characteristics differ widely.
With respect to the fact that rational men concur in the rejection of modern miracles, it should be observed that this is not because all supernatural events are believed to be incredible; but because the reputed events themselves possess characteristics which excite in us the gravest suspicions of their truth; and especially because by far the greatest number of them are well known not to have originated in mere credulity, but in actual imposture. Men or communities who have once lent themselves to the deliberate coining of miracles, are of blasted reputations, and whenever marvellous occurrences are reported by such persons, we are justified in rejecting them without further inquiry. It is evident that these are the grounds on which such stories are rejected, and not simply because they are supernatural, since those who believe in the supernaturalism of the New Testament concur with those who disbelieve in it, in thus rejecting them.
I must now briefly consider the general grounds on which we reject the great mass of ecclesiastical miracles, while we accept those in the Gospels as actual occurrences.
The general ground of our rejection of them is precisely the same as that on which we reject the supernaturalism of the ancient world. The only thing which distinguishes them from the latter, is that they [pg 340] contain a number of events which viewed as bare facts are similar to those recorded in the Gospels. In every other respect the contrast is complete. I shall only draw attention to a few considerations which might otherwise escape the notice of the reader.
The ecclesiastical miracles were not wrought in attestation that the person working them had a divine commission, but that a divine power permanently abode in the Church. The qualification which was thought necessary for the exhibition of this power was the possession of a great degree of reputed sanctity. The exercise of miraculous power was supposed to prove, not that its possessor had a divine commission, but that he was a saint. The saint was supposed to have in himself some inherent power of working miracles, bearing a considerable analogy to that which the woman with the issue of blood believed to be possessed by our Lord. A miraculous power in the shape of a virtue issued from the saint. Hence the supernatural power which was ascribed to dead men's bones and to relics. Such a supernatural power is devoid of everything which presupposes a divine purpose, and of all evidential value. Its frequency would destroy the nature of a miracle as an attestation of a divine commission, and involve an interference with the order of nature, which would destroy the sense of its regularity, the knowledge of which is so essential to our well being, as well as to the conception of a miracle. Moreover, the supernatural agency is not supposed to be due to the direct intervention of God, but to some imaginary virtue residing in man.
The ecclesiastical miracles of which we have anything like a detailed account, when they are not simply regarded as due to the direct sanctity of the person [pg 341] performing them, are never alleged to be performed in proof of a divine commission; but when they are asserted to have been evidential, they are affirmed to have been wrought in proof of some doctrine, or in favour of some particular party in the Church; or, what invests them with a still greater degree of suspicion, in favour of the power of a particular order. The last class of alleged miracles may at once be dismissed as due to simple imposture. The first are strongly contrasted with those of the New Testament, where we cannot find the account of a single miracle wrought in attestation of a doctrine, the one or two apparent exceptions being really performed to attest a divine commission. But when a miracle is wrought to prove an irrational doctrine, the credibility of the miracle perishes with the truth of the doctrine. We are, therefore, justified in rejecting the miracles whenever we have sufficient evidence that the doctrines which they were alleged to attest are untrue. Again: whenever a particular party alleges a divine attestation in its favour, its character may be known by its works. The parties in the Church who have claimed such miraculous attestation, have proved by their actions that the idea of a divine interference in their favour is incredible, as being inconsistent with the divine character.
It is perfectly true that at the present day all rational men, with few exceptions, concur in rejecting almost the entire mass of ecclesiastical miracles. They do this, however, not because they believe miracles to be impossible, but because they are persuaded that God will not work one on a light or trivial occasion, and because the great mass of such pretended miracles are characterised by marks which are inconsistent with the [pg 342] idea that they have been wrought by God. With our larger acquaintance with the order of nature, we no longer believe that it is possible for miracles to be wrought by any inherent virtue in things themselves, but that if performed at all, it can only be by the direct agency or permission of the Author of Nature. In a word, the general incredibility of the ecclesiastical miracles, and their repugnance to our conception of the mode of the divine acting is the reason why we reject them altogether.
It is also unquestionably true that at the present day a great majority even of religious persons would receive with no little incredulity the report of a miracle, while such incredulity would not have existed at a former period. This is due to two causes: first, our increased knowledge of the permanence of the forces of material Nature; and secondly, our belief that supernatural occurrences can only take place by the direct agency and permission of God, and not by means of my supernatural power inherent in particular persons. From this we draw the inference that almost all the alleged ecclesiastical miracles must be rejected as inconsistent with the divine character. We are of opinion, therefore, that a miracle wrought for any other purpose than the attestation of a revelation is not credible; and as from the nature of the case revelations must be rare, we summarily reject all reports of supernatural occurrences as impostures, or the offspring of a heated and undisciplined imagination.
Now although this is generally the case, yet it is unquestionable that if a miracle was reported to us with a pre-eminently strong attestation, no rational person would refuse to give a serious consideration to the evidence merely because the event was [pg 343] supernatural. A reported miracle would doubtless be attended with no inconsiderable degree of antecedent improbability; but if a man with whom we were intimately acquainted, of sound intellect, and high moral character were to allege that he had performed an act which, if real, must have been indisputably miraculous, it would be altogether irrational to reject his assertion summarily as unworthy of consideration merely because in all ages miraculous stories have been extensively believed. The application of such a principle would lead us into the grossest error.
This question has a very important bearing on the subject before us. It has been alleged that while nothing has been more common than the ascription of miracles to eminent men, it is impossible to find a man of sound judgment and high moral character who has deliberately affirmed that he has performed one himself. That such affirmations have been very rare is certain, and for the simple reason, that miracles have been very rare occurrences. But the assertion that no such cases are to be found is inaccurate. One, at all events, exists, although probably the only one, but it is that of a man of the most undoubted veracity, the Apostle Paul. As I have already observed, four of the most important writings which have been attributed to him are admitted by a vast majority of those unbelievers who are competent to form an opinion on the subject, to be his genuine productions. These are before us, and we can form from them a full judgment as to the character of the man. In them he distinctly tells us that he performed miracles. He writes: “I have therefore whereof I may glory in those things which pertain to God. For I will not dare to speak of any of those things which Christ hath not wrought by me to [pg 344] make the Gentiles obedient by word and deed, through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the Gospel of Christ.” (Rom. xv. 18, 19.) Here at least we have a direct affirmation on the subject. It is not the only one made by him. But there is also one which is equivalent to another affirmation made by One whom unbelievers must admit to have been the greatest man who ever lived, Jesus Christ Himself. Those with whom I am reasoning allow that the discourses in the Synoptic Gospels are accounts of His real utterances. In them He directly affirms that He performed miracles.
Even those against whose opinions I am arguing, will concede that the characters of Christ and St. Paul stand at the greatest height of moral elevation. If there are any other persons whose utterances have been handed down to us, who have deliberately made this affirmation, their numbers are unquestionably few. Certainly no other thoroughly great and elevated character has done so. This is a remarkable fact and well worthy of consideration. While many of the Fathers have affirmed that miracles were performed by others, not one of them has affirmed that he has wrought any himself. The supernaturalism of the New Testament differs, as we have seen, from all other alleged kinds of supernatural occurrences. It differs moreover in this respect, that one of the persons through whose agency these miracles are declared to have been performed, has made a deliberate affirmation that he wrought them; and that the founder of Christianity, in recorded utterances which are admitted to be genuine, has likewise asserted that miracles were wrought by Him.
[pg 345]It follows, therefore, that our summary rejection of all the current supernaturalism which has been alleged to have taken place at various periods of history, is quite consistent with our accepting as true the series of supernatural events recorded in the New Testament, which are distinguished by characteristics of an entirely different order.