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

A miracle therefore may not be the result of the action of any force which falls within the range of our knowledge. It may be necessary for its performance to neutralize the action of all existing forces by the calling into energy of more powerful ones. But their operation need not even be suspended. An adequate force, or power, or cause (it matters not by what name we call it) is present to effectuate the result; viz. the power which rules the universe, i.e. God. As Mr. Mill justly observes, the only question which can be raised if the existence of God is assumed, is, not the want of the presence of an adequate cause, for the supposition pre-supposes the presence of one, but the want of will on the part of God to bring about the result. Thus it may be fairly argued that God will not work a miracle, from the fact that He has not done so in the course of previous observation.

It has been frequently affirmed that a miracle is an act which is contrary to the laws of nature, or a violation of them, or a suspension of them, or a violation of the order of nature; and that its occurrence is therefore incredible, as being contrary to reason. A miracle need involve neither of these. The laws of nature as conceived by physical science are a set of antecedents followed by a set of invariable consequents. A miracle does not interfere with this. Its very conception involves a new antecedent followed by its consequent. The utmost that can be urged is that we have never before witnessed the presence of that particular antecedent and consequent, or that the antecedents which we have witnessed have been followed by totally different consequents. The only mode in which such a [pg 127] law could be violated would be, if a particular antecedent was present and no other capable of modifying its action, and it failed to be attended with its proper consequent. But this is not involved in the conception of a miracle.

Let us now suppose that the expression “laws of nature” is extended so as to comprise the forces of nature as well as its invariable sequences. Such a use of the term is very common. In this point of view, it is impossible to affirm that the laws of nature are violated by the performance of a miracle. This could only be the case if they were made to produce the opposite results to those which they actually produce. Thus, if a boiler were filled with water and a fire kindled under it, and no other force was present capable of neutralizing the action of the fire; if, instead of the temperature of the water being raised, it gradually froze, there would be a clear violation of the laws of nature, i.e. its forces would cease to produce their usual results. But there is nothing in the idea of a miracle that involves this. It postulates the presence of a force or forces which are adequate to counteract the action of those already in existence, and to produce the adequate result.

It will be objected that we have never recognized the existence of such forces in our previous experience. Such an objection would be valid only on the assumption that there is no force in the universe besides those which have been already recognized by us. This, however, science will in the present state of our knowledge hardly venture to affirm. Besides, it is contrary to the supposition with which we started, viz. the existence of a power able to control nature, that is, God.

Nor is the assertion correct that the performance of a miracle necessarily involves even a suspension of the [pg 128] laws of nature. This may be the mode of the divine acting; but it is most important to observe that it by no means follows that it must be so. A miracle may be performed by the introduction of a force which has sufficient power to counteract the forces of nature even while they are in the fullest operation. To take an illustration: It has been frequently said that the force of gravity must have been suspended in favour of Peter's body when he walked on the water, and in favour of that of our Lord when he ascended into heaven. But this is by no means the case. The mere suspension of the law of gravitation would not in either case have effected the results in question. The presence of other forces was necessary. The law of gravitation might have been in the fullest operation, and the miracle might have been performed by the action of other forces adequate to neutralize it. The narrative itself implies that this force was so far from being suspended, that it was in full operation at the time when the miracle was performed, for the moment the power which supported Peter's body ceased to act he began to sink.

But further: even if we assume that any natural forces have been suspended in the performance of a miracle, we are not called on to assume their general suspension, but only in favour of the particular case in question. This observation is rendered necessary because it has been frequently urged against the possibility of miracles that their performance must have thrown the whole mechanism of the universe into confusion, and involved an extensive reconstruction of the processes of nature. This would unquestionably be the case if the working of a miracle involved the difficulty in question. But I have shown that it need not involve even the suspension of any natural law whatever, [pg 129] and if such suspension took place in any particular case, the force might have been acting with full energy everywhere else.

The counteraction or modification of one force by the agency of another is an event which we witness every day. The force of gravity is in the fullest operation whenever we lift a weight from the ground—it is not suspended for a single moment. The ability to modify the results of the action of one force by the agency of another, or to combine many forces so as to produce a definite result, constitutes the essence of all mechanical contrivance. The self-determining power of the human will is that which calls all these particular modifications of existing forces into activity. By means of it, the entire aspect of external nature has been changed from the appearance which it would have presented, if no other agency had existed besides the forces of nature which belong to matter. Man has been a power manifested in the midst of them. I am quite aware that he can create no new force, and that he can only control or modify the action of those which exist, but is never capable of suspending them. Yet this power has produced marvellous results on the external world, so that it presents a wholly different aspect from that which it would have done if the forces of nature had simply continued acting uncontrolled by the influence of mind. Even in material nature itself, we meet with repeated instances of such modifications of the results of one force by the action of another, as for example when the force of gravitation is counteracted by that of magnetism, or of capillary attraction. The action of no force is suspended, it is only modified.

The assertion therefore is inaccurate which affirms that the performance of a miracle involves the suspension of a single force in nature. It is consequently so [pg 130] far no violation of any natural law. All that the idea of it involves is the presence of a force which is capable in a particular instance of counteracting the action of those forces which would produce a contrary result if left to themselves. It is quite unnecessary for us to determine, in reference to the subject under consideration, whether the result may be brought about by a combination of forces which energize within the visible sphere of things, or by bringing into action some latent force, or one which only occasionally manifests itself, or by the immediate action of the divine mind, which, having in itself all the forces necessary to produce the universe, must possess those which are necessary to effect the miracle.

It is a fact worthy of observation that in the case of the miracles recorded in the Bible, the materials out of which the new results were produced already existed in nature, as in the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes. No act of creation was necessary. All that was required was the presence of a force or forces, able to build up these materials into the forms in question. God does this in ordinary course by what we designate natural forces, by means of which corn is grown and flesh produced. Can it be pretended that no other forces are under the control of, or exist in God, which are able to produce these results in a different manner, even while the ordinary forces of nature continue in activity?

It has been further urged that a miracle involves a violation of the laws of nature, because as it cannot be effected by any of the forces of nature with which we are acquainted, the presence of an unknown force adequate to produce one must be a violation of the laws of nature.