Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-01-17
rnE QUESTION OF MIEAcLEs

llChilJ az Tue ehltu hhVlfHVlf'
THE QUESTION OF MIRACLES.
A recent article IN the New York In
dependent on the recession Of faith
lr miracles. has started quite a discus
r!,n IN the religious press Of the Eng
speaking world,
The writer OF the article claimed that
belief In miracles was not essential.
The story OF the miracles Of our Lord,
for instance, might be discfedIted aud
HIS teachings yet accepted. Whether
Chrst'--so The argument runs--"was
born OF virgin Of not whether Ills
Gegh and blood and bones rose from
the sepulcher or not, whether four
hundred believers saw Him ascend into
heaven or not-and we shall not hasten
to give up our bellef-we yet know
HAT the Christian religion rests on the
Sermon on the Mount. on the Eleventh
commandment, on the regeneration Of
the souls taught to Nicodemus. on
Psuls psalm OF charity So, II the
miracles should one Of these days have
TO 20, we should stlll hold fast to ell
tie duty the obligation the service
the character, the new heart, the holy
life Of love. and should slill believe that
we had retained all that was vital In
Christianity, all that the miracle was
used TO support"
The failacy Of this reasoning is APP
parent, when It is remembered that the
first divlnelg commissioned exponenls
Of the Gospel OF Jesus, so TO
speak, staked all on the resurrec-
tlnn as an historical fact That
Jesus after having died, rose from the
dead; that He walked with His follow
ers, talked to them, portook OF food
with them, blessed them, and finally
assembled into heayen-the historical
truth OF all this is the very founda-
ton stone OF Christianity "And II
Christ be not raised, your faith is In
vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then
they also which are fallen asleep In
Christ are persisted l Cor 49, II, 49,
That Is a clear statement OF the impor-
lance IN the Christian structure Of the
most stupendous Of all miracles II Is
the foundation on which the edihce
stands. and with which II must fall. At
Is nonsense to argue that the miracle
can be denied and the doctrine retain
ed
The controversy on this point shows
where the modern method of criticism
necessarily must lead TO. According to
that criticism we commence by doubt
Ing the historical accuracy OF the his
iorica part Of the Scriptures. We SIM
ply call them myths" The next step
Is population Of the authority Of
the Scriptures. And then comes, ma
turally, doubt In a life after this, and a
tendency to the belief that man Is but
an accidental form Of life that exists
for a moment like an air bubble
on the troubled waves. and then Is no
more, That Is the logical outcome,
The effort to hold fast that which is
vital'' and discard the rest, as II seems
best TO poor human understanding,
with It's limited horizon, Is only another
form Of total surrender TO the enemy.
Inhdellly Is never satisfied, until II has
consumed all.
The position Of doubt assumed by
many protested believers today is, how
ever, a logical outcome of the general
denial Of latter-day revelations. "Chris-
tIans' of today tell US that there can
be no more direct communication with
the heavenly Father, such as was had
in former dlspensations there can be
no visions. no visits Of angels, no heay-
emily manifestations, no miracles If
this Is true, the presumption Is very
strong indeed. that the books that tell
about such manifestations in ancient
times are myths. and that the critics"
are correct IN refusing TO believe them.
The denial OF the revelations OF God In
this age, must necessarily lead to that
position. The Gospel must either be ac-
cepted entirelyor else rejected entirely.
Between "Mormonlsm' and lnfdel-
ity, there is really no logical position.