The Supernatural in the New Testament, Possible, Credible, and Historical / Or, An Examination of the Validity of Some Recent Objections Against Christianity as a Divine Revelation

by C. A. Row

But it is clear that the miracles recorded in the New Testament, if caused by material forces at all, could not have been due to their ordinary action. They must have been due either to an unknown combination of known forces, or to the calling of unknown forces into activity, or to the immediate agency of the divine mind. It is clear therefore that their occurrence as objective facts proves the presence of mind acting in some way on the material forces of nature. To determine the mode in which this action mast have taken place has nothing to do with the question of miracles, or the reality of their occurrence.

A miracle therefore may, for all practical purposes of this argument, be defined as an occurrence which cannot be effectuated by the ordinary action of the known material forces of the Universe, and could only have been brought about by the agency of intelligent volition; and which is preceded by an announcement on the part of the agent that it is about to happen or takes place directly on his bidding. The latter element, as I have observed, is essential to constitute the occurrence an evidential miracle. Otherwise in our ignorance of what unknown forces may exist in the universe, we could have no certainty [pg 042] that the event was not a mere unusual occurrence effected by some already existing but unknown forces. To the highest form of the miracles in the New Testament, however, such an idea would be inapplicable.

It may perhaps here be objected that in laying down this definition of a miracle, I have not sufficiently identified its performance with the governing power of the universe, i.e. God; but that if supernatural agents exist, inferior to God, it may be due to their operation; and consequently that it may not be evidential of a divine commission. This objection will be fully considered in a subsequent portion of this work.

A supernatural event is one which exceeds and which cannot be effected by any force existing in material nature. But there must always be a difficulty in determining whether an occurrence, viewed as a bare objective fact, belongs to that class of events which is supernatural, or only to that which is unusual. This will always be the case until our knowledge of the forces of the universe is so complete that we can ascertain for certain what are the limits of their possible action, and whether it is possible to bring into action any forces that may exist, but are unknown to us. In strict language therefore, it is impossible to be certain whether an occurrence, as a bare objective fact, is supernatural, until we are acquainted with the possible action of every force that exists in the universe. This difficulty, however, is one that is entirely theoretical, and has not the smallest practical importance with respect to the miracles of the New Testament. Men have had several thousand years' experience of what can be effected by the ordinary forces of material nature. Occurrences which lie beyond their power to effectuate prove the presence of intelligence and volition. The introduction of an unknown [pg 043] force can only be accomplished by a being who, although he may be immanent in nature, is yet capable of controlling its material forces. Occurrences therefore which transcend the power of the known forces existing in the universe to accomplish, whether they are material or human, may for all practical purposes be viewed as supernatural; that is to say, they denote the presence and agency of a being who is possessed of power, intelligence, and volition. Whether that being be human, superhuman, or divine, must be determined by an intelligent exercise of our reason.

It is useless to discuss this question further. We are dealing with a very definite question, the miraculous events recorded in the Gospels. With respect to the great majority of them, there can be no doubt as to their being supernatural occurrences, if they took place precisely as they are recorded. We know enough of the ordinary forces of material nature to be certain that the instantaneous cure of a blind or leprous man by a word does not lie within the sphere of their operation. Such an event must denote the special interposition of an extremely high degree of intelligence and power. Common sense will affirm that it could only be brought about by the intervention of the supreme power of the universe, i.e. God.

In this sense every supernatural occurrence may be said to be likewise evidential, when we have ascertained for certain that it is due to supernatural causes, and that it cannot have been brought about by the action of unintelligent forces, or by those which are capable of being modified by the agency of man. But in that case it would only prove the presence and intervention of a being who is capable of controlling the unintelligent forces of nature. The real difficulty, as I have observed, is to prove the supernatural nature of [pg 044] the occurrence. But although, if it was certainly supernatural, it would prove the intervention of a supernatural agent, it would say nothing as to the purpose for which such an intervention took place. It follows therefore, that to constitute a supernatural occurrence in the strict sense of the term a miracle, it must take place after an announcement that it is going to happen, and take place at the bidding of the agent who performs it.

It is highly important, in considering the miracles of the Gospels, that the distinction between a merely supernatural event and an evidential miracle should be kept steadily in view. All creative acts would be supernatural events, but they would not necessarily be evidential miracles. The incarnation, and other occurrences mentioned in the New Testament, are supernatural ones; but to mix them up with evidential miracles is simply to invite confusion of thought. Another class of supernatural occurrences mentioned in the New Testament seem to have been wrought, not for purposes directly evidential, but to awaken attention; and another class of supernatural endowments were vouchsafed, to render it possible to lay deep in human society the foundations of the Church as a visible and permanent institution. Such occurrences are not directly but indirectly evidential, and it will be necessary carefully to distinguish between them and occurrences brought about for directly evidential purposes. To keep this distinction clear, I shall designate the last by the term “miracle.” A miracle is supernatural in two ways: namely, in the agency which produced the objective fact, and in the announcement of its occurrence.

The common definition of a miracle, as a violation or a suspension of the laws of nature, is open to very grave objections. The question, as I have observed, at [pg 045] once arises, what is included under nature? It also assumes that we are acquainted with the mode in which miraculous agency must be exerted; which we are not. Other definitions which have been proposed take for granted positions which those who undertake to prove the credibility of miracles ought never to concede. The plain fact is, that we are simply ignorant of the mode in which God acts on material nature; and every definition must be faulty which assumes that we have that knowledge. To say that miracles must involve even a suspension of the laws of nature introduces a needless difficulty. No law or force of nature need be suspended in its action to render the occurrence of a supernatural event possible. All that is necessary is that forces should be introduced which are capable of overbalancing the action of opposing forces. It is extremely inaccurate to affirm that the force of gravitation must be suspended in order to render possible either walking on the water, or an ascent into the sky.

It is equally unwise and unphilosophical to affirm that God cannot work a miracle by the use of intermediate agencies, i.e. by the partial employment of the forces of the material universe. It is true that in most of the miracles recorded in the New Testament we cannot affirm the use of such media, although we observe an economy in the use of divine power: i.e. no power is exerted beyond that which is necessary to produce the particular result in question. But in the Old Testament the use of such media is unquestionably affirmed. To lay down in our definition of a miracle a particular theory as to the mode in which it must be accomplished, involves the whole subject in needless difficulties.

This question has been obscured by representing a miracle as performed by the intervention of a higher [pg 046] law, superseding the action of a lower one. This introduces the conception of force into the idea of law, and leads to confusion of thought. Laws, or the invariable sequences between phenomena, are neither forces nor powers. The counteraction of one force by another is an event of daily occurrence. All that is needful for the working of a miracle is the intervention of a force or mental energy which is capable of acting on matter, and of overbalancing those ordinary forces which would produce a contrary result.