The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-01-31
NOT VIOLATIONS OF LAW.
REV. CHAs. II. STRONG DISCUSSES
CHRIsT,s MIRACLES.

Natural Laws, He Says, Were Not VIZ
oIated, But Suspended or super
seeded by Higher POwers-Of the
Higher Laws We Know Nothing.
We Know the Lower Laws Only by
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Characteris-
tics of the Miracles of Christ.
The words "He arose from the dead"
taken from the Apostles Greed, furnish
ed Rev. Charles H. Strong, a theme for
the discussion of Miracles" in his SER
mon at St. Johns Church last night. The
discourse was in his usual interesting
style and presented some important points
in the consideration of the subject.
He said he would discuss the resurrec-
ton next Sunday, but regarded this as
the proper place for the discussion of the
subject of miracles. There is often a
tendency to disbelieve in the supernat
Ural, a tendency which at some time comes
to ALL The belief in God, however, leads
to a belief In miracles. The idea of
ghosts has disappeared from the trained
minds of to-day. But between the two
considerations, he said, the majority of
men to-day are not indsposed to believe
in miracles. Though many men are not
inclined to disbelieve in what appears mi
raeulous by itself, they are disposed to
inquire into the evidence and see whether
such things can be accounted for by any
well known laws.
The people of to-day, many of them,
will not say that all faith healers are i'm
posters. They believe that in some in
stances cures are so effected through the
well-known influence of the mind over
the body. The miracles of Christ have
many characteristics which predispose the
nearer to give them some attention. They
will not bindly believe, with Hume, that
there is no evidence TO make miracles
credible, and that they are all violations
of the laws of nature. There are many
answers to Hume. No amount of evil
dence will prove to a man living in the
torrid zone that there is such a thing as
snow until he sees it. The savage of At
RIGA would not believe that man could
talk from New York to a friend a thou
sand miles away in Chicago. To people
who do not know and understand these
things, they are miraculous.
Such things are found in everyday life,
and they are always in accord with the
laws of nature. There can be no such
thing as violation of a natural law, and
to that extent Hume is right But nat
ural law may be superseded by higher
and more powerful law. There is no such
things as chance. there is nothing hap
hazard. To say that God can violate a
natural law is out of the question. There
are some things that are not wise for
him to do. He spoke the word and the
law was made, and so 1t has been through
the ages, and so it is to-day. So il
will stand forever and be unchanged. The
story that the sun stool still, even for a
moment, is a fancy of fiction 1t WOULD
have thrown the whole world into chaos
so that the angels could not have gather
ed up the fragments. If miracles violate
the laws Of nature then there is no such
thing as a miracle.
But while the laws of nature are never
violated they are superseded every day by
higher laws and higher powers. The tidal
current is pushed aside by a vessel which
ascends the river against 1t. Men walk or
water by changing their specific gravity
so as to make themselves with the appa-
ratuS used lighter than water
So a miracle may be caused by
the suspension of a natural
law, through the operation of a higher Law
or power. What those higher laws are we
do not know; if We did we would cease tc
wonder at the miraculous The turning OF
water into wine is done every day through
chemical action. In the case mentioned in
the Bible we do not know how the higher
law interviewed. OF the natural law itself
| all we can say is we know what it is, bu
about it we know nothing.
Rev. Mr.. Strong spoke of the life Of
Christ in connection with his miracles, ard
of the force 1t produced which has beer
in constant activity upon the world eVel
since he lived. 1t is ever increasing il
it's momentum, and it operates through
| the individual. That Christ was divine
is a conclusion all will reach, and his 1eve
lation was a supernatural one. Supernat
ural works were, therefore, the outcome
of it. One of the most interesting fea
lures about the miracles of Christ is ths
manner in which they were related by thu
simple fishermen about him, without tbs
| expression of wonder or astonshment
They seemed to them natural as the works
of God
There is difference between the mira
! cles of Christ and those ascribed to Budd
ha, to Mahomet and the saints. The lat
ter were told for no particular purpose
| except as wonders and prodi
gies. They do not impress ever
the uneducated mind, being tolC
| to surround their heroes with halo O
glory Those Of Christ fit In harmonious
| " with the works of God, and we almos
! forget sometimes that they are miracles
and wonder only at what the Almighty
has done
Those miracles were not violations q
natural laws. Natural laws were sus
pended or superseded by higher laws. O
| which we do not know. We say we know
what the lower laws are; but we only
know their names. OF their nature VIZ
know nothing.
1 ACSH Am