On Miracles - Softcover

Reseña del editor

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1852. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER VII. RATIONALISM: --MYTHISM:--SPIRITUALISM: --ROMANISM. SECTION I. THE VIEW OF SIIRACLES HELD BY GERMAN RATIONALISTS. The self-idolizing intellect of the day, in its peculiar and pedantic terminology, is fond of distinguishing the inventors and propagators of novel theories in psychological, moral, or theological science, by the becomingly modest designation of "Great Thinkers." The application of the highsounding title has made it abundantly manifest, that a man may be a great thinker without being a particularly wise thinker. The two, one should conceive, ought, in all propriety, to be synonymous. But, instead of being always significant of wisdom, the former seems many a time to denote no more than originality and extravagance; to be used, indeed, much in the same way as when we familiarly speak of " great nonsense." When any man takes a fancy to get himself ranked among these " great thinkers," he must set his plodding brain to excogitate something that is out of all the ordinary and old-fashioned courses of thought,--something of his own,--something that has never before found its way into any other human intellect. Now, from such a source,-- from a mind under the influence of such a dominant desire, there is no great reason to expect any thing very sound--any thing bearing the impress of good common sense--to emanate. The a priori probability is, the framing and issuing of some system of wild and airy abstractions,--mystical speculations, --which owe their seeming depth only to their muddiness, and of which the shallowness would at once be apparent, could they but be subjected to a process of filtration. Thus has it been in regard to the subject before us, as with regard to not a few others. There are two theories, respecting Christian mir...