The Historical Proofs of Christianity [pp. 223-247]

TIE~ PRJ INCE TOZ RE VIEW.
epochs of Revelation, the Mosaic era, the reform and advance
of the Old Testament religion under the great prophets, and in
connection with the ministry of Christ and the founding of the
Church. "We know," it was said, "that thou art a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou
doest, except God be with him."
On the contrary, ecclesiastical miracles profess to be for a
lower, and, in general, for a signally lower end. At the best, they
are to give efficacy to the preaching of a missionary. Miracles
were requisite to attest Revelation. When they have once
taken place, testimony is all that can reasonably be demanded
as a ground of faith. There need not be a perpetual interruption of the course of nature. Even the Roman Catholic Church
holds that the whole deposit of Revelation was with Christ and
the apostles.
But, in a vast majority of instances, the ecclesiastical miracles are for some end below that of serving as the credentials of
a missionary. At the best, they are to relieve the distress of an
individual, with no ulterior and more comprehensive end such as
is inherent in the miracles wrought by Jesus and the apostles.
In a multitude of instances they simply minister to an appetite
for marvels. Witness the wonders that crowd the pages of the
apocryphal Gospels. Many are for objects extremely trivial.
Tertullian gives an account of a vision in which an angel prescribed to a female the size and length of her veil. Some, like
the Jansenist miracles at the tomb of Abbe Paris, to which
Hume appeals, are in the cause of a political or religious party
and against an antagonistic faction. Very frequently, miracles
are valued, and said to be wrought, merely as verifications of the
sanctity of a person of high repute for piety.
The distinction which we are here considering is one of
great importance. No doubt there is a presumption against the
probable occurrence of miracles, which grows out of ourinstinctive
belief in the uniformity of nature, and the conviction we have
that an established order is beneficent. This presumption Christians believe to be neutralized by the need of Revelation, and
by the perceived character of the Christianr system and of its
author. But in proportion as the end assigned to miracles is
lower, that adverse presumption remains in full force.
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