miracles Flashcards

1
Q

What is a realist?

A

Refers to a miracle as a real world event that breaks laws of nature or is unexplainable

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2
Q

What is an antirealist?

A

Refers to the impact of an event in the ppl who experience them

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3
Q

Who is a realist?

A

Hume

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4
Q

Does Hume believe miracles are subjective or objective?

A

Objective

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5
Q

Who are anti realists?

A

Wiles, Holland + Tillich

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6
Q

What do realists believe miracles are?

A

Extraordinary coincidence of nature
Brought up by a spiritual power, working through ppl

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7
Q

When was Hume alive?

A

18th century

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8
Q

What is Hume’s definition of a miracle?

A

A transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of a deity

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9
Q

What’s an e.g. of a miracle as an extraordinary coincidence of beneficial nature?

A

Julian Koepcke being the 1 survivor on a plane crash out of 86 passengers

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10
Q

How many miracles did Jesus perform? Where is this stated?

A

37 miracles in New Testament

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11
Q

What is natural law?

A

What is possible + not possible for nature to do on its own

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12
Q

What is a miracle in terms of natural law?

A

Something that couldn’t have happened if nature alone was at work

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13
Q

What does John Mackie think?

A

Doesn’t believe in God but doesn’t think its unreasonable to think a God could break laws of nature

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14
Q

What is the problem to the account of miracles being a violation of natural law?

A

Modern science doesn’t accept that natural laws can be violated
If a natural law is broken is it more likely that it was God or that we didn’t get the law right in the first place

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15
Q

What does science think about violation of natural laws?

A

Natural laws can’t be broken, only revised

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16
Q

How else can we consider natural laws?

A

Probabilistic - shows what’s likely not what’s defo gonna happen

17
Q

What do antirealists tend to believe?

A

The impact of the miracle over whether its possible or not

18
Q

Does Wiles believe miracles are objective or subjective? Why?

A

Subjective
Its an interpretation by the mind

19
Q

Why doesn’t Wiles like the idea of miracles as real world events?

A

It makes God seem like he has. favourites

20
Q

What would an anti realist say about the church explosion?

A

Its not a sign from God + didn’t break laws of nature but its interpreted that way bc of the impact

21
Q

What is the example of the sunset for the anti realists?

A

One person may see a sunset as a daily event; another may see it as a spiritual awakenings

22
Q

What is the baseline of an antirealists view of miracles?

A

It doesn’t matter what happens, if it feels like a miracle, it can be called a miracle

23
Q

What did Holland say about miracles?

A

Theres nothing miraculous about miracles except the way they’re interpreted

24
Q

What example does Holland give?

A
  • A child rides a toy car onto a railway + is stuck when train due to pass can’t stop
  • The train breaks inches from the child
  • The mother thinks of it as a miracle BUT the driver of the train fainted + his breaks were applied auto.
25
What does the example from Holland tells us?
The mothers aware that God didn't;t cause the driver to faint, but she interprets it as God's response
26
What are Hume's 4 criticisms of miracles?
- Theres never been a miracle reported by 'sufficient'/'reliable' witnesses - Ppl are nat. inclined to believe anything - Reports come from ignorant + barbarous nations - Miracle stories from diff. faiths cancel them out
27
What are 4 counters to Humes criticisms of miracles?
- Hume doesn't give a def of 'sufficient'/'reliable' - vague - In 18th cent there wasn't any science to explain stuff like there is today - Most recorded miracles came from Western countries (e.g. Lourdes) - Theists tend to believe in their religion only
28
What does Hume say about a wise man? What does this mean?
A wise man proportions his belief to the evidence - we believe 100 accounts over 1
29
Where does Hume's argument about miracles differ from a Christians argument? Why might he be wrong?
He says the improbability of a miracle defeats the idea that it happened But the whole point is that miracles are the least probable thing
30
How does Tillich say we should interpret miracle stories?
Look at miracle stories as symbols
31
What does Wiles say the one miracle was?
The 1 miracle was creation and then the universe was left un-intervened
32
What example can be used to question God's lovingness in terms of miraculous visions?
Why would God send a miraculous vision to Bernadette of Lourdes but not stop the holocaust?
33
What shows significance of Hume's views in ref to religious beliefs?
- Miracles might be evidence for God's existence - Confirms God's positive attributes - God's way of communicating w us - Theres no point in believing in a metaphorical resurrection
34
What does Reza Aslan argue?
The Gospels exaggerated Jesus as a person + his 37 miracles Ppl wrote Gospels 100s of years ago + prob wrote stuff to make Christianity seem worth following
35
What shows significance of Wiles' views in ref to religious belief?
- Wiles' views make the challenges of Hume irrelevant - More holistic view - Claims that Gods 1 intervention led to claims that he was a deist not theist - Wiles still claimed god was actively sustaining the world