Miracle Flashcards
What’s a miracle for a religious believer
Something that reveals existence of god
Example of miracle
Jesus turning water to wine
Musa turning stick to snake
Walking on water jesus
Aquinas definition of miracle
Things done by divine power apart from order things usually follow
What Aquinas believe
Everything which existed had a nature (something it able to do
What’s a miracle have to have(aquinas)
Divine cause
Example of a miracle for aquinas
Splitting of red sea
It don’t usually go opposite side
Give one type of Aquinas miracle
Event done by god which nature can’t do (reversal orbit of sun)
Event done by god which nature wd be able to do (recovery from terminal illness)
Event which nature cd do but without using forces of principles of nature( it’s like skipping a few processes so turning water to wine)
What’s a contingency miracle (Holland)
Coincidence interpreted in a religious fashion
Does Holland believe in a break in the law of nature
Na
It js a sign take into perspective as a sign then labeled a miracle
Miracles r down to interpretation
Explain train analogy
Child playin on train tracks
Train stops js before hitting child
Events r explainable
Mother wd say miracle but that js her interpretation
Dawkins wd say it’s a beneficial cause
How cd train analogy be viewed as divine intervention
God may have acted through the laws of nature to stop the child
Who Hume
An empiricist philosopher
What were miracles seen as in 18th century
Proof of revelation and claims of religion
They were seen as bonafide
Hime definition of miracle
Transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of deity or by imposition of some invisible agent
What’s a law of uniformity
Thing to which is constant in its repitition
So certain actions produce certain consequences based on scientific observation of nature
What laws of nature rely on
Past experience to tell us how natural world operates
What transgression mean
It has to violate how natural world operates
and express divine cause
Hard interpretation
Laws of nature are unchangeably uniform
If miracles are transgression of what can’t be changed, there impossible
Or what appears to be a violations just a misstated law
Soft interpretation
Natural laws aren’t fixed
It can have exceptions(due to god intervention)
Not credible as that means anything is possible.its not.
What does Swinburne reject
The phrase violation of a law of nature
What phrase does Swinburne add
Occurrence of a non repeatable counter-instance to law of nature
What’s Swinburne say
Laws of nature can be paused for a miracle to occur
What Swinburne acknowledge
Difficult to outweigh scientific evidence however we got enough historical evidence to suggest there is god
If gods omnipotent he can…(Swinburne)
Suspend laws of nature but not too often as free will has to occur
