Miracles are a Logical Impossibility. Discuss.
Uploaded by sharmaine on Mar 23, 2007
iracles are a logical impossibility. Discuss.
A miracle is held to be an action of God, or an invisible agent, which goes against the laws of nature and has some religious meaning or significance. This is just one definition; there are many explanations as to what a miracle actually is. Hume says a miracle is: ‘ a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity or by the interposition of some invisible agent.’ R.F. Holland says a miracle is a coincidence that can be taken religiously as a sign and called a miracle. Mel Thompson believes that miracles are a matter of interpretation- how the person interprets the miracle. Aquinas held that a miracle was done by God, which nature could not do, or could not do in that order, or is done in nature but without the usual operation of nature, for example, the sun going backwards, or an instantaneous cure of someone who may have been cured in time naturally. Lastly Tillich believes a miracle is a sign event, which gives the mystery of a revelation, which does not destroy the rational structure of reality in which it appears. As you have established, there are many different views on what a miracle actually is. However, the definitions have various weaknesses.
Hume in ‘An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding of Miracles’ says: ‘The Christian religion not only was the first attended with miracles, but even at this day cannot believed by any reasonable person without one. Mere reason is insufficient to convince us of its veracity; and whosoever is moved by faith to assent to it, is conscious of a continued miracle in his own person, which subverts all the principles of its understanding, and gives him a determination to believe what is most contrary to custom and experience.’ That is, the Christian religion is based on miracles, both when it started and today.
However, Christianity is based on faith and love for God. All through the New Testament miracles that Jesus performed, were upon people who had faith in God. Faith thus came first. According to Hume, Christianity is not reasonable, and any Christian belief flies in the face of (‘subverts’) all understanding and experience. Therefore, according to Hume, all religious belief is contrary to human experience and reason. Bultmann argues that all miracles are ‘mythological’. Bultmann held that the Biblical miracles were part of a story...