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Mr . Gogan on MiH $ c ^ e »* v . ' 69 ®
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f IBSIhI $ eragat il certain papers ia JL ^© fir itep ^ sitMy , on the subject of Mirades , has led me to transmit to you ohe dr two remarks , which ,
thouj ^ fifcj directly applicable to the observation pf your * correspondents , may not be altogether useless . la inquirm ^ into the truth of the miracles recorded in the New
Testament * We ought to consider them as they « i * e there represented , not as events without an author and without an object , but as events which ark expressly rdferred to a DSvirie agency , and which were mte * de < l to answer a
certain purpose . The resurrection of a man from the dead , regarded as an insulated eveftt from which no conclusion couid b % | " 4 g ^^ and fey which no object Aras ig ^ fted ^ would require strong evide ^^ Mdeed to render it credible * © ut ^ hr resurrection of a
man as a pledge of the future existence of munkind , and as an event which * va& to lay the foundation © # a theology which should change ( and ^ hich has changed ) the mligion of th £ world ,
is very differently circumstanced . It is also to be considered , that if God should please to interfere in a supernatural manneriti the gover&tfient of the world , tfuch interference would be
miraculous ; and i&u&t bte supported by miracles as ks proof . The question , the ** , respfeetittg the probability or improbability 4 f the ( Jhtistia ^ miracles resolve itself ittto the « n * e&ti <> n , #
whether ft bfc pf CTb ^ bfe r improbable that <} od should step aside from the usual plat * of hie atlrmftietration in such a murin&f and fot m&h > ail object as is etalted in the Christian S ^ dptut ^ s ; and he who feels assured that stich an .
m * efposition ctito be cOnfirrh ^ by ' " ¥ no Ustimoiiy , v « i ^ y af coarse sav > e himself 4 he «^ Nj £ | b of itf ^ uMiig toto the b ^ 4 zn €$ k& 4 fo& f mis-dy ^ wiil ^ ii to & s ** ppone&i -00 h 0 > Wh 6 htx& ifot irrtved at this a ^ ttmtic ^ v h ^ llot ^ ita ^ to do
4 > ut m e ^^ ittte ns itrtprjWaliy aa be < can - « M fei ^ delfe ^ wM ^ w ^ Ito-before Win , «« id , to ^ onfeider ^ rli ^ thei * it -ft- in itself worth y of djh © dH ; . iffe -wilL act uuphiloeo ^ iilcally i ( y at every step , he
recurs to the antecedent improbability of uitraeJes , ( of which we ai ' e very ineottipet ^ jUdg ; fe ^ ih o rdtei ^ to t hrd w a su ^ itn ^ H ^ on ^^ Ki dettc ^ whfe b ap-$ * mt& to W '^ n ^ iiicing uttd datMac
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to ^ fv Pte s ^ tn ^ f * q ^ afer * he- tg **^ fitrtiny Mti % d muefe - ^^/^^ wW&se * lutety i fend for this pl ^ n reason , because be has tio balance fh which he
eiwk weigh the evidence Jff ie&tmp&f against an toti&cj&i ^^ so as to ascertain ^ p ^^ isefy # li ^ il Afe latter fe surmotinted by the forator . * In the case 6 # ^ faet whfch we dee m
to « be improbabfe , We are fecru £ ulaWs , and ought to be scrupulous , as to the validity 6 € the testimony on which'it rests ; but we never pretend to apply a scale by which we can estimate improbability on the one hand , and the force of t ^ ttootiy bn the other , m order to decide Whettter the ftwit is to be received , ^ -And in innumerable case ^
a high degree of s ^ ttpposfed Improbability is so cbmpiet ^^ overcome by the power of testiiiioiiy , that it forfns no deduction whatever frdiii the c * mftdence with SvhlcH a fact & believed . Nothing is more coitfmoii than to hear t ^ t feu eh or su ^ h thh ^ ilnig ^ it have been thought irnpossifitehht that ,
ne-, vertfteless , it is' frneZ Atidftbe ntiracle 3 of the New Testafoght tftight to be inquired into hi the ^ stoe tttahner iti Which we inquire iti to thert&ith o ? any fact # liich we demand sh 6 uld be supporteid by etear ahA sdlW cadence . Tf the tiotipn of Such * tiivifte uite ^ po ^ itibh tfs is recorded in ' the Christian 4
Scriptiires ,, caWtes its 6 wa refutatrdn ttlong with it , we need inqtii ^ e no further . But f f not , We ought td examfne Its evidehefe vvith strictness and intpar-. n . J i * - ¦ i - ^ i ** ¦ i ill .. r 1 i _ ¦ i ¦ ¦ ¦ '¦ • • A ¦ ¦ r ^ ' „ " *" * I will here take the . liberty to refer to aai Observation Which I formerly idade
on this object . " In niaay ^ ase ^ mfrn cannot wait to calculate between tfce ^ s ^ rengjth of the evidence and , thp improbability of the fact ; and , in some cases , Could he wait for ever , he ^ oiild not know how to manage tihie calcuiation . A « d . of he
^ corisciottft his infltknitf ^ chooseis , in sUcb cas ^ s , lather tb examine the Validity of-the testtoohjr , of wtiieh he can judgk with' tolerable exactness * than to fatigue his faculties with endeavouring to balance the evidence which is laid before him
against improbabilities , th 0 foi ^ e w 4 rich he cannot estimate ^ ; And in the caae of Christianity , if he conceives hunsplf ! to be , an incompetent judge of , % he antecedent crediblitty of a divine revej ^ jpn ^ . h \ i hur fainess i 6 t 6 ihqilire into tjie' evidtenqe mth us much \ m # &tt \ a , \ ity & $ he can , aiVci te Hbide by tjxe result of sxxph fri < £ thty : " * ^
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Dec. 2, 1821, page 699, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2507/page/3/
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