Alexandre Claude François Houtteville (Abbé Houtteville): i miracoli sono fatti che attestano la verità del cristianesimo

Abstract

Against Spinoza, who claims to demonstrate the impossibility of miracles strictly understood, Abbé Houtteville (author of La religion chrétienne prouvée par les faits) maintains that it is, instead, possible to adduce an invincible proof, which demonstrates the possibility of miracles. The contrast between the abbot and Spinoza pivots on the very concept of creation. Abbé Houtteville specifies that, in his opinion, the invariability of the universal laws consists only in the fact that they always determine the same effects through the same order of causes. The abbot denies that their invariability excludes any suspension of the laws themselves. But let's admit, writes Houtteville, that Spinoza's claim is true, and that it is therefore impossible for the laws of the universe to be interrupted or broken. Miracles could then be conceived as events connected to the action of general laws completely unknown to any limited spirit, both in themselves, both in terms of their number, and with regard to the infinite diversity of their mutual combinations. Miracles are indubitable facts, which alone can represent valid arguments that demonstrate the truth of the Christian religion, and make philosophical reasoning appear to be inconsistent sophisms.