The Pioche weekly record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1877-1900, 1896-02-06
-0.-,xv THE MIRACLES.

uuarTIEF IN THE MIRACLES.
Tn the eyes of an ignorant person the
.h1llf,i Neutrality-suspicious. or the expert
.nernist NAV pass for a thaumaturgist
h,yf the moment one explains 10 ohIs -
o~.r, nersoa the means employed 10
accomniish the wonders. he VIII cease
- 80 miracles in them. III, before pc
inc thus enlightened. he oelieVes t,iat
he sees miracles in what astoIlIsies
him. II is because he can not mas e
thai there may be means perleelly a
49, .hese marvellous effects. Hence ne
ettS,h,,tes them to a superhuman power
-, cod ar TO the devil. Arguing III
~ fashion. Prof. Albert Reville' OF
the college de France. Paris, opens ms
naner in the New World, on ne
PSirecies OF Jesus In the Synoptic Cos
pels." He then says; - - the
~ ANYTHING denotes the change IN an, ,lo
human mind which has taken place LII u9
,ns 8 ce,' and half, Il ~ assnredil ls,
..hs 81, view from which miracles
haya be regarded by the imInehse
major men r VINO 10 Ss sSy their G mere
an,i... H. tlas respect, has spread amons
me masses who do not always naNe Neiig AZ
Substantial reasons Tor sharinS3 , ~, ~ in
nn,t,,erah HE minor experiences Wlcn
have ended IN forming compact , hasss
The anti-miraeulous movsineh' e., Get
with the Reformation, when, IN ~,
hanIshed the supernatural from tn t
Church. that Is from the ordinary, pl snra-
cal life Of the church. and which, 1hV nc
over, found itself n,, G0np To- flourish in Ro-
man Catholicism. 1t Is true that 'u ~
Paforna tion claimed to preserve lar" =.
the reality Of the Biblicai mn M bnid In
Mas .he same reasons which were USED
10 sipport the reality OF these mn -
could Just as well have YES De ~ VIXEN d' the
Sathalic church boosted. We know nov
the necessity for the former was go 90
blamed But were there no Iohse[ fo,,nd
he diseases 10 heal, doubters TO conIounu'
pie pie ssnnors 10 convert? Had the mis-
sIona ries who carried Christianity 70 sne
heathen peoples OF America or t ne
IRENE East Pa sa.cneT D he in the same manner
10 those who they were seeking 70 TO- s 3hait
From that time on In order 10 Justly nv ~
negations, Protestah1s "ea acts that were
hrnneht IN against them. whether lhey
Sonnd them insufficienty attested. OF saw
in them the exalted PhanItom ap0 O gro
tasn,,e to them las indeed they Were
sometimes); whether the accounts couIu
not be subjected TO any serious cr,al1is ~.
or whether, finally, they, awakenea .ne
Snsnicion OF culpable fraud, this examina-
I'm Confirmed them In their unbeiief.
prof. Reville says that 1t may be
that nv very reason or 'tne rellBlous
greatness of Jesus, the sovereign
beauty Of his teaching, the inexpressl-
BILE charm which he exercised over the
Galilean multitude FOR a time, anu the
indestructible and passionate love
which he inspired in those who follow
cd him closely and remained faithful
10 him. his biographers. In reproducing
a tradition already full of accounts
marked by the stamp OF enthusiasm,
NAV have scattered miracles with full
hands upon the truly historical course
of his public career, without suspectlng
the objections that this manner of pro-
ceoure would raise later on" Prof.
Reyille's mode OF examining the mir
acles Is illustrated in the following ex-
tract:
the raising OF the daughter OF Jairus. Ac-
cording to Mark the father OF this very
sick child comes to find Jesus, tells hin
that she is at the point Of death ana ne XII
hands upon her. Jesus grants his prayer
on the way, they come and tell Jairus
that his daughter Is dead. Jesus bids hin
not to despair He dismisses the Grove
which followed him. and those who were
already filling the house with their lemen
tations. He tells them that the child Il
n nSam nser D accompanied by only three o
his disciples and the parents OF the yount
girl he takes her by the hand and bids
her rise; she rises indeed and he orders
them to give her something 70 eat. IL Y
q remarkable feature, recurring very OF
ten in the case of miracles which, II seem
10 rs would have been blaZed abroad Al
much as possible, that Jesus forbids then
to speak OF the event as II under the cir
cumstances described. II could have re
mained unknown. But putting this poin
aside. II is evident that Marks narratiV
leaves us absolutely uncertain whether
real death. OF an apparent one, syn
cope or a comatose state, deceivlng N
persons present, was Intended In LUX
viii AZ there IL a tendency to represen
the child as alrc ady dead when the fathe
comes To find JeFus, and II is no longe
n question, as in Mark, OF healing her; h
is to raise her. But In Matt; TX. II. she ]
Enthusiastically dead. so that the frs
evangelist was obliged 10 suppress the dc
tail according to which Jairus, was In
formed of the death of lis child only
his return to his house. ana we no lonse
comprehend at all the as sertion or Jesu
to those present that she Is not dead bu
sleeping. We can not doubt, accordlh
to the text of Matthew, that, we nav
here a resurrection In the full force
the term. / am much Inclined 10 DeleN
that the three narrators had tundamehl
ally the same idea, but that the commo
source which they have embodied wa
much less plicit, and spoke of an Q,
traordinary ure rather than OF resu
rection. ! It had plainly affirmed u
miracles, lh evangelist Mark would nc
or rendering it doubtful. We are IN,
led to affirm a marked graduation In u
manner in which the event Is related
the three gospels, and the primitive ma
rative, or that which is nearest TO u
promitive source, that OF Mark, leav'
the fullest room for the supposition TN
something other than resurrection Is
question here.