Miracles Flashcards
What Greek word is used to describe miracles in the synoptics?
‘Dynamis’ - meaning act of power
How did Jesus perform his miracles?
In a public and dramatic fashion, creating wonder and amazement
What kind of miracles did Jesus perform?
- Healing people with visible disabilities
- Driving out demons and unclean spirits that shriek and curse
- More astonishing powers, like multiplying food and walking on water
How does David Hume describe miracles?
‘A transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the diety
What does Jesus’ ability to perform miracles and break the laws of nature show about him?
That the creator and lord of nature is present within him
What two types does H. Van Der Loos divide miracles into?
- Miracles of healing
- Miracles of control over nature
How do contemporary Christians interpret the miracles where Jesus banished evil spirits?
- Fundamentalist Christians argue that there really are demons possessing people
- Liberal Christians argue that this was a pre-modern interpretation of mental illness
- Both see Jesus curing it with a word as a miracle
What two categories does C.S Lewis divide miracles into?
- Miracles of old creation - These represent the powers that Jesus held by virtue of being a divine human (Adam and Eve has these powers, and so would all mankind if not for the fall)
- Miracles of the new creation - Powers that foreshadow what resurrected life will be like for humans
How do atheists and liberal christians often look to explain these miracles?
In a naturalist (non-supernatural) fashion
Which two naturalist approaches are most common amongst atheists and liberal Christians?
- Jesus was a hypnotist
- Jesus was an illusionist
Explore the idea that Jesus was a hypnotist
- Jesus had a powerful charisma and hypnotic powers
- Some miracles were caused by people hallucinating in the excitement generated
- The miracles were an early example of the placebo effect
- Jesus was able to cure many people psychologically. This might especially to exorcisms, with the love and respect Jesus showed them helping to cure their mental illness
What is the issue with viewing Jesus’ miracles as mere hypnosis?
- It is not possible to hypnotise non-consenting people in a crowd
- Some of the cures were too dramatic to be the placebo effect
- Some of the disabilities were physical rather than psychological
What would Jesus’ tricks have had to have been if he was just an illusionist?
Mere tricks of stage magic
How do those who believe Jesus to be an illusionist discredit his specific miracles?
- They say that he was walking on a sand bank rather than actually walking on water
- They believe that many of the lame and blind people he healed were really confederates - actors that pretended to be ill and healed by Jesus
Why would it be wrong to call Jesus a charlatan if his miracles were just illusions?
Because he was not trying to get rich from them; he made life alot more dangerous for himself instead
