204 REV. H. C. M. WATSON 



evidence, if competent, may convince even a Positivist that 

 God exists, or that a Power adequate to the performance of a 

 miracle exists. If the reasoning of Nicodemus is vahd, — We 

 know that Thou art a teacher come from God, for no man can 

 do the miracles that Thou doest, except God be with him, — it 

 is evident that testimony, which places us in a sim.ilar relation 

 to miracles as an eye-witness, can justify the inference that 

 God exists. An argument from miracles is of the nature of 

 the argument from design. 



Therefore, the testimony advanced in proof of the occurrence 

 of a miracle must be of some weight, however slight, in the 

 direction of proving the reality of the occurrence. Unless a 

 man's disbelief rests upon a scientific basis, testimony, trust- 

 worthy testimony, of the occurrence of a miracle must carry 

 some weight. 



2. That a Miracle is inconsistent with Divine Wisdom and 

 Almighty Foiver. 



The second branch of the principal objection is that a miracle 

 is impossible, because it is inconsistent Avith what are pre- 

 sumed to be the attributes of God, viz., His divine wisdom. 

 His almighty power. This form of the objection is quite in- 

 consistent with that which we have already discussed : that 

 assumed that the existence of God could not be a matter of 

 knowledge ; this assumes that He exists, and that His 

 attributes, or several of them, are known to us. The objec- 

 tion assumes that His purpose in the government of the 

 universe and His method of achieving that purpose are matters 

 of knowledge ; and affirms that they are inconsistent with the 

 existence of miracles. Whatever real knowledge we have of 

 the Divine Being is derived either from inference or from 

 revelation. The latter, for our purpose, may be assumed to 

 dwell in the book called the Bible. The Bible, which thus 

 reveals the existence and attributes of the Divine Being, also 

 tells us that miracles have been wrought. It may, therefore 

 be inferred that their existence presents no inconsistency with 

 the Divine attributes as known to us. I merely note this 

 available reply in passing. I now proceed to deal with the 

 specific form which the objection takes. 



A miracle, it is , said, is an afterthought, and is of 

 the nature of a contrivance. It implies, therefore, defect 



