The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1901-02-18
WON'T STAND
A RIGID TEST


| Christian system.
II the miracles of the Bible were matter Of
| tradition, the case would he different, Tor, in
that case. they might be proved to bc--what a
good many ecclesiastical traditions area series
| ol "old wives fables" But instead OF being
| traditions, they are vcritablc history. and we
have as good reason to believe IN the resurrection
| Of Lazarus. and in the resurrection OF Christ, as
| we have TO believe in the death OF socrates, or
| in the assassination Of Julius Caesar Indeed il
| testimony grows weaker on account OF its age,
have less reason to believe in the assassination
| of Julius Caesar than We have 10 believe in the
| resurrection OF Jesus Christ.
FALSE MIRACLES.
| The Bible warns Us against false miracles and
| signs and wonders. Jesus put His disciples on
| their guard in respect TO all such wickedness.
| lie said Beware of false prophets; and again:
| 'There shall arise false Christs, and false pro-
| phets, and shall show great signs and wonders;
| insonuch that, ii it were possible, they shall
| deceive the ycry elect" In harmony with these
words q, Christ the Apostle Paul wrote 10 limo
| thy, saying: Now tho spirit speakcth expressly,
| that in the latter times some shall depart from
| the faith, giving heed to Seducins spirits"
There is mystery oi inquity," aS veil as a
| mystery OF holiness. 1t is quite evident that,
| for wise reasons God has from time to time per-
| mitted evil spirits 10 exert superhullln, II not
supernatural power. Filled with a Satanic spirit,
and welding Satanic power, they attracted at
| tenton by their "Signs and lying wonders" and
| by their deceivibenesS OF unrghteousness,
and the record is that thou who did not love the
truth. because iull OF ''strong dclusons,' that
| they believed "lies,'
Miracles OF this kind are no novelty. Church
| history is full Of them. The maGicians OF Egypt
could initiate Moses, and all along the Christian
| ages Antchrsts have tried to rival the Christ
| But miracles wrought by Satan and his agent.
| must not be Confounded with miracles wrought
| by Christ and his apostles, Modern ecclesiastical
miracles must not be placed in the same cate
CORY with ancient Bible miracles, They cannot
hc compared. ON the contrary, the miracles
wrought by Christ and by His disciples, whicl
are recorded in the New Testament, stand ou
in bold contrast with the so'callcd miracles that
are recorded in the apocrypha ''gospclS,' 'anC
in the mythical biographies Of saints
FAR TOO NUMEROUS.
THE frequency with which certain alleged
miracles are nowadays performed is in striking
contrast with the rarity of Bible miracles. |
we could believe reports that have been widely
| circulated. there were more miracles wrought
last year in the United states by few of ON
esotorc fellow citizens than were wrought b,
Almighty God during the whole period of hu
man history from Adam to ChrSt-or four thous
and years.
Bible history is significantly parsimonious in it
record of miracles, but our csotcric friends ar
most generous in the OF their miraculou
power, and most lavish in publishing abroad tn
stories of their miracles. In the Bible we hav
an account Of FIVE or six miracles during tn
first two thousand years of human history. o
one miracle for every three or tour centure.
| All the miracles recorded in the Bible uumbe
| less than a hundred and twenty, which. on a
average, is one miracle for every three and onc
half CcntuIies-the Bible covering 4 period O
about four thousand years
II appears, therefore, that it. il not nccCsssr
that miracles should he frequent in order to max
| their testimony valuable. The great tToubl
with the alleged miracles wrought by our esoteri
friends in these days is that ,hey are altogehe
too numerous. 1t is no libel to say that thei
testimony is veal, in proportion to their number
Moreover, these alleged miracles will not endur
amy such rigid tcsts have been applied I
| Bible miracles, Tho Bible miracles were no
| wrought in secret, nor "done in a corner" bl
in public, and before the eyes OF adverse vii
nesses. These miraculous cures and "healngs
which are published abroad, and which are q
fected without medicine or surgery are utterl
. useless as evidence in favor OF the Christian II
ligion. They do not bear the slightest rcsen
blance 20 the Bible miracles-to such a mraol,
for example, as the instantaneous opening Of tll
eyes OF a man who was born blind, or 10 sue
miracles as the resurrection Of Lazarus and III
resurrection oi Christ The only truth of scriI