Thomas Aquinas' definition of a miracle

'that which has a divine cause, not that whose cause a human person fails to understand' (Thomas Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles)

Highlights fundamental point for religious believers - miracles are events caused by God

- Reflected in the meaning of the word 'miracle' - comes from the Latin word 'miraculum' (object of wonder)
- Jesus curing the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12) - no interest to religious believer how Jesus cured the man; point is that God caused the man to be cured and it is an event to be wondered at

Aquinas' idea of miracle comes from Aristotle

- Aquinas and Aristotle both believed that everything which exists has a nature - what the thing is able to do
- Example: Part of the nature of human beings that makes them different from animals is that they can thinkabout the future and the meaning of life and death
- 'Divine cause' - the event in question is not a normal part of the nature of things

Many Christians today would also add that miracles also reveal something about God to people

	Created by pkayy11 almost 13 years ago

OCR A2 Philosophy notes on Miracles