Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1883-11-02
MIRACLES AND NATURAL LAW.
The Topic OF Rev. J. Ii. Hartman's
Discourse in the Court House
Last Sabbath Evening.

Discourse in the Court House
Last Sabbath Evening.
TEXT: John ILL. lst and 2l verses:
"Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these
miracles that thou doest except God be
with him.
The facts of Revelation are strictly re-
vealed truths. 1t is not within the pow
er of the human intellect to discover
them. They need therefore authorita-
tive statement. They might have been
brought to us by divine overpowerlDg
persuasions. This would, however, have
ignored free agency and the native right
of choosing or rejecting. STILL another
way might have been their presentation
by men or betng attended by energy
and power attesting the divinity OF the
mission and message. Let one come
healing the sick, raising the dead, walk
ing upon the sea and stilling the tempest,
and his utterances must be equivalent to
the voice Of God.
But can miracles be in view of the fix
edness of natural laws? Miracles are
events without evident and adequate
causes to produce them. But such events
| are by no means uncommon occurrences
in the history of the universe. Among
them are found the coming into existence
of matter, light, life, the planets and
stars, the first of each spccles.. At the
beginning Of each great epoch then in
the physical realm in the ages past, we
have an event without ''evidcnt and nd
equate cause" Is the introduction of
the Christian system into the world, not
as important an epoch as any in the geo.
logical ages, and why should it net be
lna3guratcd by events having no evident
and adequate cause, to attest the divinity
of its protector?
1t is asserted there is no place for mira
cles In tho uniform system Of physical
laws. But IS 1t true that all the events
of the universe can be classified under
laws known and intlexible? Our knowl-
edge of the uniformity of physical laws is
based on hua4an testimony. Reliable
human testimony can not be gainsald
whether bearing On physical or spiritual
facts.
There is no testimony substantial
ting facts On which the natural sciences
are based more trustworthy than the tcs-
timony we have that miracles were per-
formed in the days of our Lords iDcarna-
zion. Christ claimed to he the author of
miracles as above defined. The apostles
testified that such events did take place
through his energy aud that by power re-
ceived from HIM they themselves pro-
duced results without evident and adc-
quate cause. Christ and the apostles
must either have been deceived or they
were the most INSCRIPTIONS impostors
the world has ever seen. They could not
have been deceived as to the genuineness
of the miracles they themselves perform.
ed, and it is impossible that our Lord with
the holiness and purity of character pe-
culiarly his own and the apostles who
found the rack and eXccutioncr's block
preceding virtue and morality should
have also practlced deception that out
RACES human nature. Their testimony is
inco ontrovertible and stands against the
assumption that natures laws are uniform
and know no exceptions.
If now we turn to science We find that
she herself protests against the uniforms
ty of law and forces upon US generali-
cation so broad as to include many events
without evident and adequate causes or
mlricles.
| We lnterrogate the astronomer as to
the nature, condition and laws of the
nebulous mass of the milky way and he
tells US that it is anomalous and controi)-
ed by q system Of laws entirely differeut
from anything we know. Why may not
miracles be classified under this same
head Of unknown forces which neyerthc-
less exist? 1t is we'll known astronomi-
cal fact that the binary stars In the out
lying PROVINCES of telescopic vision hold
an anomalous place in the heavens, and
there is no law within the circumference
Of human knowledge that will explain
how one star of tue gemini chases the
other about their common center. lnex-
pllcable events arc constantly occurring
In connection with the movements Of the
planets, their satellites and environments,
with the asteroids, meteorlc stones and
comets which blend with no present theo-
ry, and are incorporated within no gen.
eralizstion of physical laws, indicating
that We are surrounded by forces and un-
seen powers which like the angelic war
riors Of the prophets of old cannot be dis
covered by the unaided vision of man,
and which yet have as tangible an exist
ence as the miracles attending the scheme
of human redemption.
In asking men. therefore, to believe in
the miracles Of our Lord we are making
no greater claim on crednlity than doas
the scientist in submitting to US the en-
lgmatlcal and ungeneralized events Of the
universe constantly falling under his VS.
ion.