Miracles Flashcards
Who are the Philosophers associated with miracles?
- Maurice Wiles
- RF Holland
- David Hume
Who is Maurice Wiles?
Anglican priest and academic
Is Maurice Wiles for or against miracles?
Against
What does Maurice Wiles reject?
He rejects the idea of any interventions by God into the created universe
What does Maurice Wiles not reject miracles on the grounds of?
Logic or science:
He does not see anything logically wrong with the idea that God could choose (if he wanted to) to create miracles
What does Wiles reject miracles on the grounds of?
He rejected them from a moral perspective
What book does Maurice Wiles illustrate his views on miracles in?
God’s action in the world
Maurice Wiles “God’s action in the world” quote
“… it would seem strange that no miraculous intervention prevented Auschwitz or Hiroshima (…) miracles acclaimed in traditional Christian faith seem trivial by comparison”
Examples of miracles healing in the Bible…
- a woman with internal bleeding (Mark 5:25-26)
- a man born blind (John 9:1-7)
Maurice Wiles conclusion on miracles
Wiles concluded that it is better theologically, to believe in a God that does not do any miracles than one that is not morally good
Objection to Maurice Wiles
We cannot make God conform to human rationality as God acts in ways beyond our human understanding
What is an example of miracles that are important to Christians?
- The resurrection of Jesus
- Jesus walking on water
- The feeding of the 5000 people
Why is the resurrection of Jesus important for Christian faith?
- the basis of Christian faith
- it validates who Jesus claimed to be
- validates life after death
- validates Jesus’ teachings
- Jesus died for our sins
What allowed Jesus to walk on water?
His faith in God
What is the “feeding of the 5000” also known as?
The “miracle of the five loaves and two fish”
What perspective does RF Holland have on miracles?
An anti-realist perspective
What does RF Holland call his argument?
Contingency miracles
What does Holland argue that miracles are?
Nothing more than an extraordinary coincidence interpreted in a religious way
RF Holland quote
“a coincidence can be taken religiously as a sign and called a miracle”
What example does Holland give to support his argument?
Holland gives the example of a boy stuck on a railway track with a train approaching. The train driver faints causing the train to stop which saves the boys life
The boys mother sees it as a miracle - even though she understands that there is a naturalistic explanation (interpretation)
Hume is an…
empiricist
What is an empiricist?
The idea that our beliefs should be based on evidence and experience
Hume miracle quote
“a violation of the laws of nature”
Hume’s multiple claims argument
Testimony for miracles “destroys itself”
The fact that different religions all have miracle stories in them means their claims cancel eachother out
Hume on the low quality of testimony for miracles
There is no miracle witnessed by multiple people who were of good sense, education, integrity and reputation
Instead, miracle stories come “chiefly” from ignorant and barbarous nations and when found in civilised people, they tend to be inhereted from ignorant and barbarous ancestors
Hume’s argument from evidence and probability
When judging what to believe, we should proportion our beliefs to the evidence. So, the evidence we have for the miracle (testimony) must be weighed against the evidence for the law of nature (scientific experiments)
