Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

miracles which are altogether above nature, so that they are in no way connected with
any means. But there are also miracles which are contra media, in which means are
employed, but in such a way that something results which is quite different from the
usual result of those means.
2. THE POSSIBILITY OF MIRACLES. Miracles are objected to especially on the ground that
they imply a violation of the laws of nature. Some seek to escape the difficulty by
assuming with Augustine that they are merely exceptions to nature as we know it,
implying that, if we had a fuller knowledge of nature, we would be able to account for
them in a perfectly natural way. But this is an untenable position, since it assumes two
orders of nature, which are contrary to each other. According to the one the oil in the
cruse would decrease, but according to the other it did not diminish; according to the
one the loaves would gradually be consumed, but according to the other they
multiplied. It must further suppose that the one system is superior to the other, for if it
were not, there would merely be a collision and nothing would result; but if it were, it
would seem that the inferior order would gradually be overcome and disappear.
Moreover, it robs the miracle of its exceptional character, while yet miracles stand out as
exceptional events on the pages of Scripture.
There is undoubtedly a certain uniformity in nature; there are laws controlling the
operation of second causes in the physical world. But let us remember that these merely
represent God’s usual method of working in nature. It is His good pleasure to work in
an orderly way and through secondary causes. But this does not mean that He cannot
depart from the established order, and cannot produce an extraordinary effect, which
does not result from natural causes, by a single volition, if He deems it desirable for the
end in view. When God works miracles, He produces extraordinary effects in a
supernatural way. This means that miracles are above nature. Shall we also say that they
are contrary to nature? Older Reformed theologians did not hesitate to speak of them as
a breach or a violation of the laws of nature. Sometimes they said that in the case of a
miracle the order of nature was temporarily suspended. Dr. Bruin maintains that this
view is correct in his Het Christelijk Geloof en de Beoefening der Natuur-wetenschap, and
takes exception to the views of Woltjer, Dennert, and Bavinck. But the correctness of that
older terminology may well be doubted. When a miracle is performed the laws of
nature are not violated, but superseded at a particular point by a higher manifestation
of the will of God. The forces of nature are not annihilated or suspended, but are only
counteracted at a particular point by a force superior to the powers of nature.
193