Miracles

Front 1

Hume's definition of a miracle.

Back 1

A transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition or deity or by the interposition of of some agent.

Front 2

Swinburne definition of a miracle

Back 2

a miracle is an event of religious significance

Front 3

Examples of miracles as a violation of a law of nature?

Back 3

1. healing miracles

2. resurrections (raising from the dead)

3. walking on water/ levitation (natural miracles)

Front 4

Implications of a miracle as a violation of natural law (positive - 3)

Back 4

1. miracles show that god is all powerful by showing that he can break natural law (omnipotence)

2. miracles show that god is all loving as he is willing to change things to help those who ask for it (omni benevolence)

3. prayer is useful as God can be seen to react to believers

Front 5

Implications of a miracle as a violation of natural law (negative - 5)

Back 5

1. god who breaks his own laws to intervene is not perfect and therefore not the god of classical theism

2. god is unfair as he helps some but not others, he's choosy and prejudice towards some. Eg. he saves the Jews in Egypt as they crossed the red sea but not those who were dying in the holocaust.

3. laws of nature cannot be broken because they are laws that cannot be broken and we have no experience of them- therefore interventions are unlikely.

4. if a miracle happened we would have to extend the laws of nature as we have clearly misunderstood them.

5. this definition contradicts the god of classical theism who is an sustainer and preserver, not an observer and spectator.

Front 6

Hume's critiques of miracles (5)

Back 6

1. evidence from past testimony can never outweigh modern day experience of the regularity of nature

2. a wise man proportions his beliefs to the evidence

3. laws of nature have been established over many 100's of years

4. its more reasonable to believe that the law of nature has not been broken unless the testimonies falsehood were to be more miraculous that the fact it endeavours to establish.

5. a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature

Front 7

Hume's distrust of past testimony (6)

Back 7

1. insufficient number of witnesses who were educated and trustworthy and would have a lot to loose if they were found to be lying

2. people are prone to look for marvels and wonders

3. miracle stories come from "ignorant and barbarous nations", they gain authority without critical or rational investigation

4. people had a vested interest, eg. fame/money. Or were looking to establish a religion

5. religious traditions counteract each other. eg. Muhammeds ascension into heaven supports Islam but contradicts Christianity.

(here the unreliability doesn't come from the witness themselves rather the evidence is contradicted by other witnesses)

6. witnesses and evidence BOTH need to be tested for credibility

Front 8

Scientific arguments against miracles

(1/4)

Back 8

1. John Hick describes miracles as "generalisations formulated retrospectively to cover what has happened".

Therefore any occurrence of an unusual previously witnessed event should make us widen our understandings on what natural laws are.

Should an event break the law if nature it is because the law is only founded on concrete empirical evidence.

Humans do not know everything there is more to discover yet.

Front 9

Scientific arguments against miracles

(2/4)

Back 9

2. Scientists may argue that previously, events that were not understood were said to be God as we had no other explanation.

but now we understand the cause of these occurrences we know that they are caused by nature and to say that they are god is incorrect.

This is called the God of the Gaps theory, which is using god to fill in the gaps in our understanding.

Now we have an almost complete understanding of science there is no longer the need for god.

Front 10

Scientific arguments against miracles

(3/4)

Back 10

3. If we look more specifically at healing miracles,doctors are now aware of a psychological "treatment" called the placebo affect.

When patients believe pills or treatment are real/genuine when they are actually just dummy pills,their bodies still show physical improvement with similar effects to those with proper treatment.

The same works with religious people in that they believe that go is healing them so they get better.

Front 11

Scientific arguments against miracles

(4/4)

Back 11

4. Quantum mechanics is a scientific theory about random unpredictability/ indeterminsim where there's a level where laws do not operate so seemingly miraculous events occur, but in actuality it is chance.

Front 12

Religious responses against Hume, supporting miracles

(outweigh all scientific evidence)

(1/9)

Back 12

Hume says that a miracle account would need to outweigh all scientific evidence.

This is based in the assumption that you have to choose one or the other and that miracles would make everything we already know redundant.

However, the whole point of a miracle is that they are exceptions to laws of nature, so miracles do not challenge scientific evidence.

Front 13

Religious responses against Hume, supporting miracles

(past testimony)

(2/9)

Back 13

If Hume's argument is to be accepted we would have to reject large amounts of recent scientific developments.

This is because impossible situations form our past experiences are now possible

Brian Davies uses the example of the moon landing. If we accept Hume's arguments we must also reject large portions of science.

Front 14

Religious responses against Hume, supporting miracles

(evidence)

(3/9)

Back 14

Swinburne argues that there are three types of evidence to prove them are 1) our apparent memories. 2) the testimony of others. 3) the physical traces left behind by the event.

Swinburne argues that these are the exact same principles of evidence that science is based upon.

If such evidence is not sufficient to establish a miracle neither is it sufficient to establish science.

Front 15

Religious responses against Hume, supporting miracles

(no. of witnesses)

(4/9)

Back 15

Hume argues that there has never been a sufficient number of witnesses to validate the miracle but Hume never explained what a sufficient number would be .

e.g. at the resurrection of Jesus there was up to 500 people.

Front 16

Religious responses against Hume, supporting miracles

(ignorant barbarous nations)

(5/9)

Back 16

Hume said the miracles come from ignorant and barbarous nations and therefore are interpreted differently because their understanding of the world.

But, almost every nation , developed and non developed has provided a miracle claim so this is moot point

Front 17

Religious responses against Hume, supporting miracles

(contradictions)

(6/9)

Back 17

Miracles are not all contradictory. There's no reason why the individual miracles may not have occurred objectively, as long as they are not self contradictory.

Front 18

Religious responses against Hume, supporting miracles

(evidence)

(7/9)

Back 18

miracles are often backed up with solid evidence, especially those verified but the church.

e.g. miracles at the medical facility in Lourdes. Many people have recovered miraculously from terminal illnesses. This is backed up with hard scientific evidence as well as doctors testimonies.

These are ideal as doctors have nothing to gain but everything to loose. ie their reputation.

Front 19

Religious responses against Hume, supporting miracles

(definition)

(8/9)

Back 19

some people may argue that Humes definition of a miracle isn't even accurate and would instead define it as an event of religious significance and therefore his arguments about the possibility of them breaking laws of nature and science are irrelevant.

Front 20

Religious responses against Hume, supporting miracles

(conditions)

(9/9)

Back 20

When a miracle occurs the initial conditions are different since gods special activity is now a new added condition, hence the law has not been broken.

Laws of nature merely describe what we expect to happen given certain conditions. - when the conditions change, these laws no longer apply (temporarily) so the laws of nature haven't been broken as they didn't apply.

Front 21

Name all the religious responses against Hume for miracles

Back 21

1.Miracles are exceptions

Brian Davies, moon, science contradict past experience.

3. science is based on same principles as miracles

4.what's a sufficient number?

5. every nation has made a miracle claim

6.not contradictory, occurred objectively.

7. verified, evidence, Lourdes

8. event of religious significance.

9.conditions have changes

Front 22

Miracles as events of religious significance.

(1/3)

Back 22

Swinburne argues that a miracle should not only break a law of nature but also hold some religious significance.

He also believes that a miracle can occur without breaking a natural law.

He says that miracles are objective events, if god had not intervened the event would have not occured.

Front 23

Miracles as events of religious significance.

(2/3)

Back 23

In the judeo-christian belief signs are miracles that point to something beyond the actual event and are not seen as the whole miracle in themselves as the have a deeper meaning when examines and understood

e.g stigmata are bodily sores, scars or sentations in the same place as Jesus' crusifixion wounds that are often accompanied by religious expereinces.

An interprative view is that they are natural events that hold religious significance

Front 24

Miracles as events of religious significance.

(3/3)

Back 24

amazing coincidences are completely natural and interpreted by the person that they effect.

e.g. R.F Hollands' train track miracle.

and the nabraska choir miracle where there was an explosion in a church in Nabraska and at the time there should have been a choir rehersal, but all 15 members were running late for various reasons so no one was injured.

both contain unusual curcumstancesthat saved lives.

these miracles are called contingency miracles

Front 25

Meaning of miracles as events of religious significance.

(8)

Back 25

1. gives a theistic view of god

2. miracles show and prove that god exists

3. omnibenevolence and loves his creations

4. events that both violate natural laws but also ones that do not

5. events could be providentially ordered/ predetermined - however this undermines free will

6. god is omnipotent and controlls forces of nature and describes charactersitics of god

7. god is imperfect needs to change things

8. introduces the problem of evil - why makes the choices he does?

Front 26

Implications of an interpartive view of miracles.

(4)

Back 26

this understanding of miracles does not seen god as an interventionist but as a sustainer of the world. The word is dependent on gods sustaining activityfor its existance but does not involve god in its specific actions

god can providentially order the world so that natural causes of events are ready and waiting to produce certain other events at the correct time- perhaps in answer to prayer that god knew would be offered.

god transforms us and we transform the world so god transforms the world through us

quantum physics suggests nature displays indeterminism so it's no longer necessary to suggest god must suspend/violate natural laws in oder to act directly

Front 27

Religious responces to an interprative view.

Back 27

the reason that many people believe in god is because they are persuaded that he intervened supernaturally in a historical event (such as the ressurection of jesus)

sacred writings are recordings of supernatural events to vindicate the claims of those who are accepted as gods messengers on earth

sacred writings not only contain vast numbers of discriptions of apparent supernatural events but also give no hint that these are meant to be interpreted figuratively rather than literally.

Front 28

Challenges to an interventionist god from science.

(3)

Back 28

The universe works according to the laws of nature, so miracles can not be accomodated for using this system

science can explain things that were once considered miraculous. - miracles are stories that were unexplained at the time of happening as modern day miracles will be too.

Dawkins says that miracles are natural events considered through religious eyes. - this is especially true of contingency miracles / coincidnece miracles.

Front 29

Challenges to an interventionist god from religion

(5)

Back 29

Wiles believes that god performing natural law breaking miracles goes against our understanding of the way god interacts with the world and his relationship with the world.

He would not undermine laws of nature and the accepted order of the universe.

Pike - god is outside of time so would not be able to interact inside of time as he would be limited to a time frame

An interventionist god who occasionally moves in to suspend a law of nature is contradictory to the god of classical theism who is a sustainer and preserver not a spectator and observer.

if god is omni benevolent why does he not adress real world issues such as the problem of evil and suffering.

wiles argues that a god who acts in such trivial ways is a god not worthy of worship.

Miracles do not occur if the traditional understanding of God is to be maintained.