MIRACLE

(Lat mir or, I wonder.) According to the definition of Dr. Johnson, "something beyond human power;" which, though in itself evidently vague and insuf- ■ may be explained by the addition of "a deviation from the established laws of nature." A miracle must be not only superhuman, but preternatural. Some writers add the '• immediate interference of God" as another condition of a miracle; but this a umes a point which is open to controversy, inasmuch as it precludes the agency of evil si irits in such interruptions of the course of nature, which is still a question among theologians. With respect to the Credibility of miracles, the most popular argument against '.hem is that of Hume, who considers no weight of particular oony credible when balanced against our universal exce of the constancy of the laws of nature. " No testimony."hesays, "is sufficient to establish a miracle, unle [s. 773]