FORMS OF ATTACK 19 



The distinction between the natural and the super- 

 natural is necessarily brought to mind when we do 

 justice to the personal sovereignty of God over the uni- 

 verse. If God is the true Cause of all reality, and if 

 His will is expressed and fulfilled by the progress of 

 things, there must be operations which are supernatural 

 to the things which by means of them are lifted to a 

 higher level of being and life. And this holds good 

 whether the progress takes place by law or by inno- 

 vating fiat, whether by imperceptible variation or by 

 sudden mutation. No nature can evolve itself into a 

 nature that is higher in kind except by higher forces 

 than the nature thus developed originally possesses. 

 And, if the course of events is working out a rational 

 plan, the occurrence of phenomena which imply the 

 operation of supernatural forces — forces, that is, that 

 are not resident in previously existing natures — is to 

 be expected. No event, however amazing and exceed- 

 ing the capacity of scientists to co-ordinate with previ- 

 ous events, may be regarded as irrational or incredible, 

 unless it can be seen to have no place in the larger plan 

 of God. The miracles of the Gospel are as well attested 

 as any ancient events well can be; and, when viewed 

 from a Christian standpoint, they are seen to be rational, 

 because they have an intelligible place in the history 

 of divine operations in general. The phenomena 

 which are caused by the operations of a professional 

 breeder of varieties in artificial selection constitute 

 surprising innovations upon the previously established 

 order; and they are distinctly supernatural to the 



