Unit 4 Miracles Flashcards
Examples of a healing miracle?
Jesus performed many healing miracles such as healing the blind of those with leprosy and casting demons out f people.
Why could Jesus do healing miralces?
Jesus could have special powers from God or he is part of God so he can do these things that aren’t normal. Or they just didn’t happen eg bible made up or misinterpretations
Example of a nature miracle Jesus has done?
Calmed the storm that threatened to overturn a boat he was in, fed five thousand people with 5 loafs of bread and two fish. Walked on water. If they true prove Jesus was different from other men. Supposed to of resurrected after being crucified.
Example of miracle in Islam
Muhammad (pbuh) was saved by a spider quickly spinning a web across a cave so it looked like no one was hiding in it
Christianity; God and miracle
God works directly in the world through miracles, stories like Moses parting the Red Sea shows God working through humans. Some Christians believe Jesus was God made flesh so when he performed miralces it was God. But others believe he was part human so many believe the stories to be metaphorical
What is the three main definitions of a miracle?
Something that is impossible, something that cannot be explained within the laws of nature, something done by God
Story of Jesus feeding the five thousand
He had been preaching all afternoon everyone was hungry, boy had bread and fish Jesus shared it out and everyone ate till they were full but 12 baskets of food were left over.
Islam, Allah and miracles
Only Allah can perform miracles. Jesus was a prophet but nothing more and all miracles were done through the work of Allah. The pbuh that follows Muhammad’s name is to remind everyone he was not special, just a man chosen by Allah
Story of the cave of the bull
Muhammad flees from Makkah and hide in a cave. A spider spins a web over the cave and a tree blooms by the entrance so it looked like no one had entered and his attackers don’t think he is inside
Atheism and miracles
they don’t believe in God so miracle are not performed by him. A boy being pulled from the rubble days after an earthquake destroyed the building, we call this a miracle but it just means it was incredibly unlikely and he was really lucky.
What do miracles tell us about God?
- he loves and cares for his creations
- he is immanent (gets involved with the world)
- he is knowledgable and powerful
What religions say only God has power to perform miralces?
Judaism (Moses all his power and miracles are done because of God for example God turned his staff into a snake which eats the priests summoned snakes showing God power is better than everyone’s) and Islam
Modern miracle workers
Mother Teresa (gave up her whole life to helping people dying in streets of Calcutta) and Martin Luther king (changed the lives of thousands of black people in America)
Miracles in scripture
Miracles from holy books like the bible eg resurrection of Jesus - he is crucified and dies, body is ready to be buried but as its Shabbat his body is left in tomb, body is gone, Jesus appears to Mary other disciples more and several hundred other people
Miracles from tradition (historical miracles)
Healing at Lourdes, a Roman Catholic shrine in France. Bernadette was getting firewood and she sees Virgin Mary a spring flooded up and the spring has healing powers.
Modern day miracles from personal experience
Katy got into a car accident and firefighters couldn’t get her out. She asked to pray and a priest appeared and prayed with her. Suddenly the firefighters tools worked and they got her out. Went to thank the priest and he had disappeared
Why do people believe miracles actually happen?
- many people seen them happen, more people who experience something the more likely it is to of happened eg Hindu god Ganesha seen drinkin milk on TV
- people experience miracles themselves, if you experience something you are more likely to believe it
- important religious figures are involved in miracles, if someone you respect has performed a miracle then you are likely to trust it happened
Why do people believe miracles are the work of a supreme being or God
- their holy books tell them God is responsible, many religious believers eg Muslims believe their holy text is the source of all knowledge so if it says someone performed a miracle then it happened
- it appeared to be the only explanation, scientific investigations have been carried out and nothing. Investigative journalists have looked into healers and no explanation for the powers. So no explanation means they must be supernatural
- the only being who could break the laws of nature is the one who created it, there exists fixed and permanent laws of nature, creator of these laws was God, sometimes the laws are broken so it must of been God who did it
Argument against trusting evidence from the holy book
The miracles of Jesus only appear in the bible nt other holy books so it could cause a problem for believers because the books might not be as reliable as they think. we have no way to find out the author or the intention of the author - don’t know if the miracles are real or exaggerated
Argument against God doing miracles
If God can help some people through miracles why not everyone. If he can feed 5000 why let people starve. If he can part the Red Sea and save slaves why does war happen.
religious believers might say it is all part of his plan we can’t understand or he only helps those deserving
Argument against believing God is the reason for these miracles
They could be caused by anything - they could be coincidences, a misunderstanding, a lack of clarity or a supernatural being that isn’t God like the devil or a God from another religion
What did David Hume describe miracles as
A transgression of a law of nature performed by God or gods working in the universe
What is humes first point doubting miracles happen
There isn’t enough evidence - there is overwhelming evidence that people don’t fly or appear in two places at once or rise from the dead. If something is going to be accepted as a miracle there has to be more evil be for it than the existing laws of nature
Religious argument against Hume believing there isn’t enough evidence for miracles
He has missed the point, they aren’t changing the laws of nature they are special because they are a rare example of breaking the laws of nature
Humes second point against miracles
Witnesses are unreliable - they can’t be trusted because they are biased, nearly all miracles confirm the belief the person has and they use this as evidence to back up something they already believe in
Religious argument against humes saying witnesses of miracles are unreilab lie
Miracles aren’t intended as proof of anything but show people who believe in god how powerful he is
Humes third point against miracles
Witnesses are uneducated - he claims most miracles are reported by primitive, uneducated people. This means they will accept events as miracles because they have no other explanation, if they had a better understanding of science they wouldn’t report it as a miracle (solar eclipses were miracles until science explained them)
Religious argument against humes saying witnesses of miracles are uneducated
It simply isn’t true. The people who wrote the bible were very informed and many great scientists throughout history have also accepted miracles and its offensive to dismiss religion as ignorance
Humes fourth point against miracles
Clash of religions - not all religions can be right. If a miracle is performed by Christian God it cant also be performed by a Hindu god. If we don’t know which God is responsible we can say no religious are right
Religious believers argument against humes argument of a clash of religions
Their religion is right and all others are wrong, so it’s not an issue for them
