Miracles

Miracles

1. Hume

   • Hume's definition of miracle: a transgression of a law of nature by the particular volition of the deity.
   • Part 1
     • "A wise man proportions his beliefs according to the evidence".
     • "No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact which it endeavours to establish".
     • If we had complete knowledge of nature and this was a uniform experience then something would have to break this uniformity in order to be a miracle.
   • Part 2
     • Logically, the mind ought to go with the balance of probability but psychologically we have a supernatural tendency for things of 'surprise and wonder'. If religion is joined to the love of wonder, then we have the end of common sense.
       • Not all religions would fabricate about a miracle; religion can be the essence of someone's life and so they are likely to fight for their religion.
     • There is not to be found in all history any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, unquestioned good sense, education and learning, as to secure us against all delusion in themselves.
       • It is unfair to question a person's education to undermine their experience of a miracle.
     • It is mainly amongst the 'ignorant and barbarous nations' that miracles are reported.
       • Miracles are reported by both 'educated' and 'ignorant' people.
     • Hume notes that all religions carry miracle stories yet they cannot all be true; the sets of testimonies cancel each other out.
       • Could one religion be right? Are all religions mutually exclusive? Hume's point is rather vague.

2. Biblical concepts of miracles

   • Old testament miracles revealed a number of things about God:
     • God is prepared to intervene in human affairs to show his love, care and fatherly protection. He is involved with his creation.
     • God is prepared to break the laws of nature in order to complete his plans for his chosen people.
     • God's intervention may also take place more or less within the laws of nature.
   • New testament miracles:
     • Jesus performed nature miracles, healing miracles and miracles raising the dead.
     • God is prepared to intervene in human affairs to show his love and concern.
     • The 3 Greek terms into we tend to translate into 'miracle' in English are: serneion (a sign), teras (a wonder) and dunamis (an act of power).
     • "Blessed are those who believe without seeing".

3. Swinburne

   • There is a difference between laws of nature and universal truths, universal truths cannot be broken whereas laws of nature could potentially change.
   • There is an analogy between the effects that have human causes and alleged miracles, miracles suggest the existence of a non-material cause (God).
   • The principle of testimony.

4. Lewis

   • Argues that there are two types of people: naturalists and supernaturalists; argues that if naturalists believe in cause and effect, then surely them being a naturalist is out of their control.
   • If you tend towards supernaturalism and the idea of a sovereign God, then you can accept miracles.

5. Polkinghorne

   • Miracles are miracles because they go against the laws of nature.
   • God can change knowledge where he sees, therefore he changes the consequences and not the actual law - this is known as a new regime.

6. Flew

   • How can biblical miracles happen in the past if they don't happen now?
   • Empirical evidence shows that biblical miracles haven't occurred.
   • Evidence tells us that dead people stay dead and water does not turn into wine.
   • There is a lack of direct evidence and so we use indirect evidence to judge whether miracles occur.

7. Wiles

   • The main problem for Wiles is that if we take an interventionist view of miracles, then God's actions seem arbitrary. This raises questions about God's omnipotence and omnibenevolence as he doesn't seem to prevent evil.
   • "the universe reveals God to people".
   • Rejects the idea that miracles need to be understood symbolically.
   • It would be wrong to say that miracles cannot happen and then allow the resurrection; Wiles says there must be a way to explain the doctrine of the resurrection which doesn't involve a breach of nature.
   • Wiles is saying that Jesus was human, not divine, as he was "the perfection of human response to God" therefore we can still think of him as the incarnation.
   • May appeal to educated believers as it allows them to believe in God and uphold scientific laws.
   • Swinburne says that no one has shown it is impossible for miracles to occur so Wiles should not ignore the mass of biblical testimony.
   • What Wiles is suggesting does not accord with traditional religious beliefs about God. It suggests that religious believers have misunderstood the notion of miracles for 2000 years!

8. Dawkins

   • Argued that religious people believe in the "God of the gaps" which fills in information for which humans cannot understand.

9. Hick

   • Miracles occur in the sense that God gives human beings inspiration to act in a particular way.
   • Interesting view - avoids Hume and Mackie's criticism. Overall, not considered a valid definition of a true miracle as many atheists act in selfless ways.

10. Fideism

    • Faith takes priority over reason.
      • Applying this to miracles, if you believe that a miracle happened and you have faith in it, then it did occur, not matter how impossible it seems to have occurred.
    • Kierkegaard held the belief that God could not be found through education and philosophy; we must take a "leap of faith" with infinite passion and contrary to reason.
    • Barth argued that reason was of no value, otherwise we wouldn't need faith and revelation.
    • Fideism is self-defeating. If I claim that fideism is true, I must have a reason for doing so. However, if I give a justification, I am not longer a fideist.

11. Holland

    • A miracle is an event that has religious significance.
    • According to this definition, an event does not need to have broken the laws of nature to be regarded a miracle but reveals something about God.
    • A miracle is nothing more than an extraordinary coincidence that is seen in a religious way.
    • If you perceive it as a miracle, it is regardless of natural explanations.

12. Aquinas

    • Defined miracles as 'chose things...which are done by divine power apart from the order generally followed in things'.
    • Events in which God does something which nature can do, but not in that order.
    • When God does what is usually done by the working of nature, but without the operation of the principles of nature.
    • The problem with this definition is that we never know really if a miracle has occurred or whether we are simply using God to fill in the gaps of our knowledge and understanding.

13. Ward

    • People's bad fortune does not count against God's ability to act because the constraints of creation might not always make it possible for God to act.
    • If God did intervene, we wouldn't develop our moral sense nor understand that our action have consequences.
    • God doesn't act as it would undermine our freedom, but he does act when it would serve his purposes.
    • There is no moral problem with miracles if they contribute to God's justice and increase our knowledge and love of God.
    • He assumes that we can identify a divine perspective on justice that is different on our limited idea of justice and we can identify God's purpose as on of increasing knowledge.