Collected Essays, Volume V: Science and Christian Tradition: EssaysHuxley, Thomas Henry
Religion
Collected Essays, Volume V: Science and Christian Tradition: Essays
Huxley, Thomas Henry
Agnosticism; Miracles; Religion and science
Far be it from me to set myself up as a judge of any such delicate
question as that put before me; but I think I may venture to express
the conviction that, in the matter of courage, Dr. Wace has raised for
himself a monument _ære perennius._ For really, in my poor judgment, a
certain splendid intrepidity, such as one admires in the leader of a
forlorn hope, is manifested by Dr. Wace when he solemnly affirms that
he believes the Gadarene story on the evidence offered. I feel less
complimented perhaps than I ought to do, when I am told that I have
been an accomplice in extinguishing in Dr. Wace's mind the last
glimmer of doubt which common sense may have suggested. In fact, I
must disclaim all responsibility for the use to which the information
I supplied has been put. I formally decline to admit that the
expression of my ignorance whether devils, in the existence of which I
do not believe, if they did exist, might or might not be made to go
out of men into pigs, can, as a matter of logic, have been of any use
whatever to a person who already believed in devils and in the
historical accuracy of the gospels.
Of the Gadarene story, Dr. Wace, with all solemnity and twice over,
affirms that he "believes it." I am sorry to trouble him further, but
what does he mean by "it"? Because there are two stories, one in
"Mark" and "Luke," and the other in "Matthew." In the former, which I
quoted in my previous paper, there is one possessed man; in the
latter there are two. The story is told fully, with the vigorous
homely diction and the picturesque details of a piece of folklore, in
the second gospel. The immediately antecedent event is the storm on
the Lake of Gennesaret. The immediately consequent events are the
message from the ruler of the synagogue and the healing of the woman
with an issue of blood. In the third gospel, the order of events is
exactly the same, and there is an extremely close general and verbal
correspondence between the narratives of the miracle. Both agree in
stating that there was only one possessed man, and that he was the
residence of many devils, whose name was "Legion."
In the first gospel, the event which immediately precedes the Gadarene
affair is, as before, the storm; the message from the ruler and the
healing of the issue are separated from it by the accounts of the
healing of a paralytic, of the calling of Matthew, and of a discussion
with some Pharisees. Again, while the second gospel speaks of the
country of the "Gerasenes" as the locality of the event, the third
gospel has "Gerasenes," "Gergesenes," and "Gadarenes" in different
ancient MSS.; while the first has "Gadarenes."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account