MIRACLES.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2150, 16 May 1914, Page 9

MIRACLES.

ARE THEY POSSIBLE? DR. HEADLAM'S SECOND LEO' TU'RE.

■ Professor Hcadlam, of King's College, London, delivered the second of his series of iUoorStouso Lectures in St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral. .M/.'Sbourae, on April 29. Tlig Cathedral*was crowded. Broadly speaking the lecture was (says tlie "Argus" report) a well-thought-out argument in iinsiver to Hume's ffeh'tiilioii of a miracle.—"ft ■violation ,oi the laws j of nature." And the manner of the j argument was uiuq.uo, for having taken ' this dclinitiou of au ''tifibelfevm'" the | lecturer proceeded to literally kill. it with the criticism of another unbeliever, Husky. Hβ quoted the cold, cynical defender of the Agnostic position in all his most, telling 'arguments, and then added his own quota. "The fact : erf the matter is,' , lie said, "Hunw was using the term 'law of nature in a manner entirely inconsistent, with his own philosophy or with its current use in physical scienee." Then ho turned to an illustration of the "law or iiatm-e" as they were understood in- the pre-eeien-tific days, ami pointed to Bisßbp Hooker's exposition, following it with 'tile conception of modern science. , I'Yoni thatit was a natural step to question' Whether Nature was always, uniform,; and to pass to a discussion of the grounds on which Nature had hecomie to. lo ineehanica'ly interpreted—-the apparent iii" ovitabkitess of tilings called ''natural.*' , I'hat \s"as the pqi'ut at which Dr. &a.dlam had ainiep—to show that the.-fiSe-nhanicul, inevitable eoncepiien in ;.'Natnro was hut ;i concept ion', iiac'Nature itself, and that therefore nuradles were not impossible. But having disposed o{ the question of impossibility of .iiiiraoias, Dr. Headlam went further, anil answeTed t-hij objection that screnco bad shown that miracles were at least improbable. Tiio beginnings of Ohrisiianity, bo asid, had teesi accompanied by two grent miracles —the Incarnation and tke Rostirrectioiv —and that, it w,is believed, had meant : SiVing new powers and thoughts to man-: ktnij, ami certain events had bapneued! 'inconsistent with ordinary esjperioncs. It _had meant, in fact, a itew'startingpoint in the worid. .pid.tho histbr'y of the world as conceived by science Jit* the present time suggest that sucli a liew departure was iinpossible? And along that liue Dr. Hcadlnin sot out to answer the question. He drew n picture of a mind of limited jet groat intelligence, observing th« earth during' 'each- successive opochj gazing down upon, it'when it was bu! a molten' mass, looJjing 'upon it Again, \rhen-the. phenomena of life was there, and finally', after uiilfians. of years, finding man. fhtn the lecturer asicisd bis question, "Now, if that ho the scientific picture- if the'world, does it not suggest that there is nothing'(namsistent" with, the teachings of scienee in the coining into tlus- world of umv forces and powers contrary W experience?"

It was a cHffiax that told, aftrl it 'was a climax which tlie lecturer accentuated. "We tlo.iiot know," he said, ."and.we arc not likely to know, how what'wo call'a mail camo into being. AVe YecoKiiiso that there was a long period taf preparation for man's coming into existence, but there must have beeii a particular period in the world's '-history when tho special. characteristic, which wo call self-eoiisciousttess, for Melt of a fetter terra, first boim-n© developed. That probably happened • once, sivd. w-eo only; it is not, as far a-s we can sue-, i r* 1 ?^ 0 ■•?-n (i "i^?-l w i ;^ld '* produced ■fiaalifyiS of'.wiiieli .there' could havu bficn no esijcrksnce.. Now. broadly speak* ins, tlitr claims.of Christianity arc mucli tho same as this. that at .a-par-ticular time in hdmisri 'history,- 'af/tinw for irlitch preparation, had' bcoh 'jinide, there d'ccurrisd -. events 6f' whicli ■ thciro had becii no cxpericnt-Cj uiid eonl-d bi) no ex|ioriciice; that there caffio'a bhaiige' in the. aspects .and powers of • human- nnttire, and'that tliis ciiOT-ge was aoconipantcd by ooftain ftvents, .contrary to all ordinary human experience Tho point that I would urge »s this: That

science clues not give us any: graaiid? for thinking that such a change .is im'=tirobable, and -that it is quite liut-rnc to say that.events do not happen contrary'to 'experience; that-tho whole history and. development and' evolution of tlie world shows that things clto haj}pen quite contrary to any. finite-experi-ence; that (.ho world changes, and that tho uniformity, wbieli, as a toatfcr of fact, we otecryo, is only limited , and conditional iu character; .Judged by the nnalojry of nature, therd is a reasohftble kkhiikl for believing in the oeciifrenno of events of a remarkable character at a parttenlar time in thehistory of tho hcmiaii race.'.' .:

Tho Third iefifuro,. . ■ The cathedral was filled with another large atidienco for the third lecture, Miiiiv oi' those "iwescufc bfo-uglit paper iuid pencil will) tliein, and iidtcd down tSie points of :tho nrgument, Dr. Headlam stated (says tUo "Age" revan) that there was a ittttunil tendtmcy of tho lnua.iu inintl to. desire unity , , and the systems of thought probably most in voijuo to-day worts tJioso wliieli a])--jieared to satisfy'tliai .dftwand. Such wore pantheism ajul tbfi philosophies of tljfl absolute. She one reptc*E»ted a monistic system esp-ressed in teligious phraseology; the otliev was the iftoro piiilosopiiic-al exposition of the somo JMhit'of view, fu tho pantlieistie eonception of tho universe miraoks hail no l'slaec. It was always difßeiilt to kitosy fjuito what a philosophy of- theAbsolute was, biit it wight ho 'tikm\ to!mean an explanation of things. i.vi terms Qf purs thought It ' gave • no place for such a miracle as tte J.iiCarnation. From the Christian-'S-taiKlgeiiifc. no"system could be satisfactory'"\V ; li|ctv did not- cxftlain and admit a ri?al liiccTfnatioii. The pbilos(?phy of Bergson'supportod the critical' position whre-h liisiaimod at cstaMis-liing—"that ouf.ititvllcotnal conceptions erf Battue cl<> -iiot fio'tistittite or correspond with ■..vfiality, b\it oiilv forfflulato a particiilaf -feiiow-. : ledfio which we can grasp »t .the/Bio-■ . mciit, of tiro partif'ulor nspeel .tlffi't-wo' [may require for ottr practical' pur-.-I pose." •■ ... ■'~-'.. "It has Wii" argiurd," . siiid 'Or. Heiulhm, "that tins only possihfci-ipro&f of a revelation js miracles. Tlto'b ai'o many who wovikl bo incliiiEd to question stifli a positiou nownclays. U waiilcj certainly be claimed tlint miracles .alsuc were not sufficient j soi-no-woiiH; fib as far as tq say ttey >ycro 'not adequate. Now, en a priori rtetv such '.' al-s;-' tlio nbpvc, whetlier in favour of or iig-jiiosii miracles, I am not personally'.jprepatfoi tii;defend I havo th-6 greatest. snspi«i'qn of tliat typo of .Uirdcrtakea to prove in a detniciivb itimi; uer'■.that things could only.;- p&Bsibly happen in ono pa.rtkakr 'way.i'Airsucb latgiimcnts nro ' nwst precafkins;' I Would, feo«'flvor; -sviggest thai" tltes'e ts '.niinthcr aiitl los , . -lincevtaiu ivay.frem Avh'ich' we oati approaeh Uiings. -It h qyiite easy for o-iuj pd-rsoli to hfcsert-tfcat .miracles mvi-st h-apiieii ■ if .WsvWfiwt cvt'jencc; it is quite easy fer : lrot-hev \wvKOfi to asse-.-t that miracles arc net evidence, it \vo\ild ho. better .for Ms Iβ oonsider how things actually im!)(>o,uin !.he worW." In. Uii\ fi'M plnw.'it was one tiiiiiir to accept Chrisritttiitr te-tk.v; it was another thing i.- , - accept it-wliefi it wi\s fii'st prwt-hed, If ii iiiiiii lwcamo a Christian 1!(W .- ho' joined-wtiitt was, at any rattt, a largo csistiiig *ocie*y.. Netliing like that- <;iscisi?d irt: the first flays of the Church. Surely people might say somo ctear ind'<ati('», of God's purpose whs .ficcfi'ssary.'"; Then,, secomij.y. wliatever ijn'fjht hi- ■■(he . a nriflri judamo-nt cfpliikrfnphws or tlirn-s logtsns, .flu- popnUr/mau) -h'arl always lirlt'i: that it was a Jinrael-s'-ihat ed to the iameiiate presence and wori

of God. Would it have been pessiMo for Jcsns to prove to His disciples that He was the Christ unless Hβ had given evidence of Himself iti ways whitii would appeal to thoin, aisd ivhieh' they . Wbulil expect? Then, thirdly, wlw.tior wo believed that miraclcg really l;appdned.or not, it was..qvtite certain that tho progress of Christianity from the beginning was, as a matter of fact, lrelj)cd by belief in miracles. It was quite clear as a. matter of fact, aud from thepoint of view of human nature, tl.at miracles were neither uiwlocesfiftry, r<ir useless, noi , ineffective. They harmonised with the analogy of all j.um-an es- . periencc.