Re: OT but Important: Usenet Abuse and Impersonation by a sick individual using IP address 4.24.232.158
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832. Miracles are no longer necessary, because we have had them already. But
when tradition is no longer minded; when the Pope alone is offered to us;
when he has been imposed upon; and when the true source of truth, which is
tradition, is thus excluded; and the Pope, who is its guardian, is biased;
the truth is no longer free to appear. Then, as men speak no longer of
truth, truth itself must speak to men. This is what happened in the time of
Arius. (Miracles under Diocletian and under Arius.)
833. Miracle.--The people concluded this of themselves; but if the reason of
it must be given to you...
It is unfortunate to be in exception to the rule. The same must be strict,
and opposed to exception. But yet, as it is certain that there are
exceptions to a rule, our judgment must though strict, be just.
834. John 6:26: Non quia vidisti signum, sed quia saturati estis.188
Those who follow Jesus Christ because of His miracles honour His power in
all the miracles which it produces. But those who, making profession to
follow Him because of His miracles, follow H
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are wrought strange miracles.
Which is the most clear?
Tu quid dicis? Dico quia propheta est. Nisi esset hic a Deo, non poterat
facere quidquam.[190]
835. In the Old Testament, when they will turn you from God. In the New,
when they will turn you from Jesus Christ. These are the occasions for
excluding particular miracles from belief. No others need be excluded.
Does it, therefore, follow that they would have the right to exclude all the
prophets who came to them? No; they would have sinned in not excluding those
who denied God, and would have sinned in excluding those who did not deny
God.
So soon, then, as we see a miracle, we must either assent to it or have
striking proofs to the contrary. We must see if it denies a God, or Jesus
Christ, or the Church.
836. There is a great difference between not being for Jesus Christ and
saying so, and not being for Jesus Christ and pretending to be so. The one
party can do miracles, not the others. For it is clear of the one party that
they are opposed to the truth, but not of the others; and thus miracles are
clearer.
837. That we must love one God only is a th
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me, but have removed their heart far from me,"--there is the reason and the
cause of it; for if they adored God in their hearts, they would understand
the prophecies,--"and their fear towards me is taught by the precept of man.
Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people,
even a marvellous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall
perish, and their understanding shall be hid."
Prophecies. Proofs of Divinity.--Is. 41: "Shew the things that are to come
hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: we will incline our heart unto
your words. Teach us the things that have been at the beginning, and declare
us things for to come.
"By this we shall know that ye are gods. Yea, do good or do evil, if you
can. Let us then behold it and reason together. Behold, ye are of nothing,
and only an abomination, etc. Who," (among contemporary writers), "hath
declared from the beginning that we may know of the things done from the
beginning and origin? that we may say, You are righteous. There is none that
teacheth us, yea, there is none that declareth the future."
Is. 42: "I am the Lord, and my glory will I not give to another. I have
foretold the things which have come to pass, and things that are to come do
I declare. Sing unto God a new song in all the earth.
"Bring forth the blind people that have eyes and see not, and the deaf that
have ears and hear not. Let all the nations be gathered together. Who among
them can declare this, and shew us former things, and things to come? Let
them bring forth their witnesses, that they may be justified; or let them
hear, and say, It is truth.
"Ye are my witnesses, saith the Lord, and my servant whom I have chosen;
that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am He.
"I have declared, and have saved, and I alone have done wonders before your
eyes: ye are my wit
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for their object, labour to no purpose. We know that we do not dream, and,
however impossible it is for us to prove it by reason, this inability
demonstrates only the weakness of our reason, but not, as they affirm, the
uncertainty of all our knowledge. For the knowledge of first principles, as
space, time, motion, number, is as sure as any of those which we get from
reasoning. And reason must trust these intuitions of the heart, and must
base them on every argument. (We have intuitive knowledge of the
tri-dimensional nature of space and of the infinity of number, and reason
then shows that there are no two square numbers one of which is double of
the other. Principles are intuited, propositions are inferred, all with
certainty, though in different ways.) And it is as useless and absurd for
reason to demand from the heart proofs of her first principles, before
admitting them, as it would be for the heart to demand from reason an
intuition of all demonstrated propositions before accepting them.
This inability ought, then, to serve only to humble reason, which would
judge all, but not to impugn our certainty, as if only reason were capable
of instructing us. Would to God, on the contrary, that we had never need of