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Miracles - Essay
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Essay outlining key thinkers and ideas behind Religious miracles.
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Kenzi Dickinson Philosophy & EthicsGiving examples, give an account of what is understood by the term “miracle.”
There are many examples of miracles in the New Testament, and so many Christians may see
these as proof of the existence of God. For a Christian, the miracles in the Bible have several
purposes: They demonstrate the love and goodness of God. God is compassionate and responds
to prayers and demonstrations of faith. Second, they demonstrate God’s power over nature,
illnesses and even death. They show that God is continually involved and active in the world that
he has created. Finally, they are signs pointing to the person and message of Jesus, they
demonstrate that he is from God.
Miracles in the Old Testament are generally acts of God that support and help the
faithful. They demonstrate the glory of God and bring punishment on the wicked or those who
oppose God’s people. The central miracle in the Old Testament is the events surrounding the
exodus from Egypt. The scriptures tell of Moses standing before Pharaoh and asking that the
Israelites be freed. With each refusal, plagues follow which only affect the Egyptians. These
culminate in the death of the first born and the crossing of the Red Sea. The Egyptians who
attempt to follow the Israelites are killed as the waters of the sea return to their normal place. In
the New Testament, Jesus performed many miracles, such as the Raising of Lazarus – John 11:1-44,
and Feeding the 5000 – John 6:1-15.
According to David Hume, a miracle is: “A transgression of a law of nature by a particular
volition of the deity or by the interposition of some invisible agent.” Definitions of miracles are
often very broad and leave them particularly wide to interpretation. We may say that it is a
miracle that someone has recovered from a cold, but that is only the believer’s interpretation
and cannot be verified as miraculous. It simply reflects the way that the believer looks at the
world, and that he or she sees a religious significance in the event even if another may see it as a
mere co-incidence.
Hume created a case against miracles saying not that they do not happen, but that it
would be impossible to prove them – and so he is an empiricist (bases knowledge on
experience). He stated that a miracle is “A transgression of a law of nature brought about by a
particular violation of a Deity.”
Hume gave several arguments against believing in miracles. Firstly, there is not enough
evidence of miracles to outweigh our general experience. Secondly, there is a lack of sufficient
witnesses – Hume believed that miracles must be witnessed by a highly credible, good sense,
well-educated person. The testimonies usually came from ignorant sources.
Hume also believed that many people tend to exaggerate and are drawn towards the
sensational and drama. The often have a desire to believe. Finally, he argued that there are
conflicting claims that cancel each other out.
Hume will never be fully able to fully prove to believers that miracles do not occur, as the
definition of a miracle implies divine activity and this is ultimately beyond our earthly
considerations. But sceptics and believers can be said to both agree that the occurrence of
miracles must be a very rare event.
Aquinas defined of miracles as ‘that which has a divine cause, not that whose cause a
human person fails to understand.” This definition is important, as it highlights a fundamental
point for Religious believers; miracles are events caused by God. Many Christians may add a
further point to this definition; they would say that miracles are not only caused by God, but
they also reveal something about God to people.
Swinburne stated that “If he (God) has reason to interact with us, he has reason very
occasionally to intervene and suspend those natural laws by which our life is controlled.”
Swinburne acknowledges that it is difficult to outweigh the scientific evidence, but that we do
have enough historical evidence to suggest that there is a God and that God can violate the laws
of nature. It is perfectly probable that there could be one off exceptional and unrepeatable
Miracles 22/01/17
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