Miracles Flashcards
What is the realist view of miracles
Realism accepts that science can give humans a true description of the world, and that the world is mind-independent (i.e. that it
will exist the way it is, regardless of what humans think about it.)
This is not just a scientific viewpoint, it is also a religious one – religious believers may take a realist view of God and his behaviour in
the world, and realists would suggest that God really acts in the world, and these actions can be witnessed and understood by
humans when they do occur.
What is the anti-realist view of miracles?
denies that we can have knowledge of a mind-independent world, as we interpret the world
around us through our minds and thus the interpretations are subjective and not meaningful. From an A-R perspective, it is impossible to
meaningfully discuss God because he is unobservable.
Therefore, discussions of miracles cannot refer to events that actually happened and can be historically verified. This is because the mind is
subjective and how we interpret the world.
What did R.F. Holland say about Miracles
Holland takes an anti real approach to miracles
Holland defines a miracle as:
“A remarkable & beneficial coincidence that is interpreted in a religious fashion”
Holland’s example is that of a child on a railway crossing – in the story a child playing on the tracks gets stuck, & an express train on the tracks is not due to stop & cannot see the child to stop in time. The mother emerges from her house without enough time to save her child, but by chance the train stops just before hitting the boy. The mother thanks God for the miracle which has occurred.
Because the mother interpreted it in a religious fashion, it is a miracle.
What did Maurice Wiles say about Miracles?
A realist view of miracles, that they really happen and we can actively understand them, is unacceptable. Instead, it is necessary to take
an anti-realist stance on miracles – he asks what so-called miraculous events reveal about God’s intentions for the world.
Jesus in the New Testament is clearly a man who engaged in a fight against evil – but he did not use miracles to prove God would intervene in the world from above – in fact, when tempted in the desert, he refused to perform a miracle to show his power. This shows that real miracles are not integral to the Christian faith.
Wiles argues that accounts of miracles are “myths” that are presented to express something about God.
The only “miracle” that could be considered is creation itself – an extraordinary act by God that brought the earth into existence.
What did Paul Tillich say about Miracles?
Miracles are symbols that point us to God – Jesus did not have to really be the son of God for this teaching to have a meaningful impact on people.
What was Hume’s criticisms of Miracles?
Hume used probability to argue that there will always be more likely explanations than those coming from religion when it comes to miracles. (this can be related to Occam’s Razor – the simplest explanation is normally the right one).
He argued that the more improbably a claim is (e.g. that a miracle has occurred) the more reliable the witness needs to be. He looks at Scripture and at religious believers and argues that the sources of their beliefs in miracles are not reliable enough, e.g. texts of the Bible have an evangelistic agenda (they were written to make people believe in Jesus, so they might not be true).
Scientific discoveries made the chances of miracles seem lower and lower – God was just an answer to a question mankind had yet to find the true answer to.
He also spoke of laws of nature, which we have discovered through science & which are rarely broken.
What are the 3 types of ways miracles can be understood?
Miracles as a beneficial coincidence
Miracles by God through people
Miracles as a violation of law of nature
What are Miracles of beneficial coincidence
When an event happens apparently by chance that proves the existence of a supernatural being. These events can be confirmed historically
Example:
Julienne Koepecke in 1971 plane crash thay killed everyone on board but her, she survived 9 day trek through the jungle to reach help
Miracles by God through people
This refers to the many instances in the Bible where God empowers people to perform great miracles such as Moses being given empower to blight Egypt with 10 plagues and part the red sea to deliver thr Jews from slavery. The belief is that humans can perform events with no scientific explanation through the power of God. Miracles that people perform through God’s power are very important to the belief systems of the Catholic church’s as they sanctify saints, people who have performed miracles through the power of God
Miracles as a violation of natural law
In this case a miracle refers to something that could not have happened when nature alone was at work. This event is brought about through the intervention of a supernatural power e.g. God. The natural world is viewed as a closed system
Logically it is possible that if God exists he could intervene in this closed system, for example, bring so,one back to life after their death or prevent a body from decomposing after death. God wills directly to break the natural law.
Problems with miracles of beneficial coincidence
The realistic definition of a miracle is limited, it only describes an event (an amazing coincidence), not God’s involvement in it. The interpretation of this event as a ‘Miracle’ comes from, external spurces- in Peru , Christians believed that Juliane’s experienced proved that God was with her.
However there are ethical problems with miracles of chance - why did Juliane survive when 91 others didn’t? Equally why do hundreds of thousands of people die every year when God could intervene to save them.
Problems with miracles by God through people
The historical integrity of accounts in the Bible are often questioned- it is suggested that writers have an agenda to prove the existence of God/tell stories that will make people believe in him.
It is impossible to strongly verify accounts of miracles after they have taken place as strong verification can only be done in person (synthetic), or through reasonable argument (analytic) and this is not the case when hearing about miracles sec0dn hand
Problems with miracles as a violation of natural law
Science does not accept that it is possible to intervene in the natural laws and many scientists completely deny the existence of a God who can intervene in the “closed” system of the world
Laws of nature are descriptive, meaning that they sum up what has been previously observed so logically they cannot be broken
The problem of evil also questions why God does not intervene in all instances of evil in the world
