The Relation of Science and Religion.pdf - Online Christian Library

284 SCIENCE AND RELIGION.from relation to the mediatorial work of theRedeemer as concerned with the pardon ofsin, and restoration of man to holiness ofcharacter. It thus becomes an essential testof the validity of Christian evidence to settlethe compatibility of miracle with the knowledgenow possessed of the laws of nature.It is not necessary here to discuss the credibilityof miracles, as affected by the questionwhether there can be sufficiency of testimonyto support the occurrence of a miracle,-aquestion which has engaged an amount of attentiondisproportionate to its intellectualworth. The suggestion of the question wasnothing better than an example of misleadingingenuity, allowed to stand on the page onwhich it was indited in manifest violation ofthe laws of evidence and the essential conditionsof human knowledge. The value of testimonydoes not depend on the nature of thething to which it applies, but on the characterof the witness, and the opportunity for observingand testing the facts described. Thereare, for example, a series of surgical operationsbeing performed in Edinburgh for removalof tuinors (Ovariotomy), and beingrepeated at intervals of two or three weeks,