Miracles

Question 1

Significance of stories in religion

Answer 1

Role of miracle stories:

• Signs of God’s activity
• Support development of faith
• Support belief in revelation

Miracles indicate the religions understanding of God’s activity, purpose and character

Question 2

Competing claims in different religions

Answer 2

Only the ‘true’ religion can have ‘true’ miracles. Some religions believe that other religions have no miracles, others say that miracles of other religions are false.

Hume:
Each religion claims that it is the true religion. Since not all religions can be true - we should not believe any miracle stories.

Religious pluralism:
Weak RP - All other religions are false, but some people may be open-minded to the other stories being true.
Strong RP - Truth can be found in more than one religion. If miracle stories support truth claims, they could support RP.

Objections to RP:
Strong RP fails. Religions cannot co-exist because they contradict each other.

Question 3

Hume - Scepticism

Answer 3

Experience is limited to our understanding, but there is an answer.
Large groups of intellectual people never confirm miracles.
People enjoy surprise and wonder.
Tales of miracles are more popular among ignorant peoples, less popular in civilisation.
Miracles are based on testimony. We can’t trust this.

Question 4

Definitions

Answer 4

Religious significance:
Miracles are events that have religious significance because they are evidence for the truth of religion.
Objection:
This does not capture the exceptional nature of miracles.
Is what counts as a ‘miracle’ subjective?

Caused by God:
This is what makes them so miraculous, outside of nature/transcendent.
Criticism:
Not indicating that the event breaks the laws of nature fits with a pre-rationalist understanding of the world.

Violations:
Miracles violate the law of nature. So they cannot be explained by nature/the physical realm.
Criticism:
A law is true, in general, so if an even is a violation of it, the law is not genuine.