February, 1942
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NE S S
44
ual house clearly enough for the Wise Men to have found it. “He calls attention to the fact that there is no record that any others saw the phenomenon. In fact, he' declares, if others had seen it, agents of Herod probably would have had it called to their attention and would have fol lowed the moving body the few miles that led to Bethlehem, and then the massacre which came afterwards would not have taken place.” THE SUPREMACY OF THE SUPERNATURAL • Dr. Alter does not attempt to define or describe the miraculously produced star seen by the Wise Men. But one fact is obvious: It was unique. It was totally dissimilar to “natural heavenly bodies.” It was supernatural, not natural. ' A real menace to the faith of youth must be recognized in the unceasing attempts being made to “naturalize” the miracles of God. There are some scientists, and other theorizers, who even endeavor to “naturalize” the vir gin birth of Christ. Their intentions may be good, but the effect of their endeavors is pernicious. There is no “biological explanation” of the virgin birth, any more than there is an “as tronomical explanation” of the Star of Bethlehem. Science is correct in saying that the virgin birth of a hu man being is “biologically impos sible.” But all things are possible with God. ^ That is the meaning of miracles. They occur according to supernatural plan and power. They cannot occur according to Nature. They are “im possible” from the standpoint of the potencies and possibilities of Nature. They are literally acts of God. They are unique acts of God which He de liberately keeps shielded from the un derstanding of man. When God works through Nature, He permits men to observe and understand His opera tions. That is the purpose of science: to throw light upon God’s ; operations through Nature. But when God oper ates outside Nature, He leaves the curious mind of man without a clue. A miracle is not a violation, of natural law; if it were, man could observe and “ check up on it.” A miracle oc curs in the supernatural sphere— out side Nature: in a realm where man cannot investigate and observe. By miracles, God shows His infinite superiority to Nature; He demonstrates the supremacy of the supernatural. By miracles, God-humbles and baffles the inquisitive mind of man. Miracles mean, not only the suprem acy of God over Nature, but the su premacy of God over the mind and im agination of men. .
sensation would explain every de tail of the story.” , Dr.' Alter wisely rebukes those who insist upon a “natural explanation” of supernatural miracles. He com ments: “Many people have been wor ried because astronomers have not found an explanation for a story which probably did not seem connected with astronomy in the mind of the original narrator. The attitude of the average churchman who is asked for his reaction to the conclusion that the Star of Bethlehem was a mir acle and not an astronomical oc- . currence is generally that it strengthens rather than weakens his faith. It puts the whole thing on a higher plane:” , Naturalistic scientists may attrib ute this “puzzling solar phenomenon” to "an explosion of gases." But sound thinkers will find the simple fact of God a better explanation. Scientific speculators may seek for the answer in the “astronomical record” ; but suc cessful seekers after truth will find it in the mysterious but manifest will of God. Scientific theorists may en deavor to find the explanation in a fanciful conception of “a conjunction of two or more planets, overlapping in -the sky” ; but Scriptural thinkers will find it all made clear in the Revelation of God. THE FAILURE OF THE NATURALISTS • Dr. Alter very,plainly shows that all naturalistic explanations are un availing. “In citing arguments to suggest the star might have been a nat ural object such as a comet-, nova, or unusual grouping of planets, astronomers and others, according to Dr- Alter, have neglected or / side-stepped passages in the lat ter part of Matthew’s account which disproved any natural in terpretation. “He points out that no star or object as high as five miles over head could mark out an Individ-
brighter then than this year, due to a more favorable position in her orbit with respect to the earth.” In summarizing ' “ scientific ideas” regarding the star of Bethlehem, the Wide World press service stated: “Other explanations of the star which the Magi followed to find Christ are a comet and a nova. If it was a comet, then that comet has not since appeared, for, com- $ ets’ coming can be traced both into the future and into the past if they appear more than once. “ A nova is literally a new star caused by an explosion of gases big enough to engulf the entire solar system. The explosions oc cur in old stars and sometimes in stars too faint to be seen normal ly with the naked eye. A nova appears only once; hence .there •would be no astronomical record other than the tale of the Wise Men. “A conjunction of two or more planets—that is, apparent over lapping in the sky of these stars— is another explanation. But none of these star gatherings came nearer than six years to the date of Christ’s birth.” • Light upon the “solar phenomenon that marked Christ’s birth” must be found in the Word of God rather than in the “astronomical record” ; it must be conceived and understood as a supernatural, not a natural, phenom enon. This is the conclusion reached by Dinsmore Alter, astronomer at Griffith Observatory, Griffith Park, Los Angeles, California. The publica tion, Our Sunday Visitor, states that Dr. Alter “ reached this conclusion af ter years of study of the subject in view of the latest findings of astro nomical science.” According to Dr. Alter: “The star of Bethlehem which guided the Wise Men of the East , to the birthplace of Jesus could not possibly have been any known natural heavenly body and must, instead, have been created by a miracle.” He declares: “This conclusion neither adds • nor detracts from the probability of the Biblical story, if the birth of Christ itself was miraculous, it is only reasonable tp assume that the Personality behind all of it might wish to acquaint the Wise Men with the fact by impressing the appearance of the star on their minds. Such a non-astronomical MIRACLES AND THE SUPERNATURAL:
Made with FlippingBook HTML5