Miracle Flashcards
(127 cards)
1
Q
What are the various definitions of miracles that have been suggested?
A
- A miracle is an event which violates the laws of nature and which is brought about by the action of God
- A miracle is an event that has religious significance
- A miracle is an event caused by God
2
Q
What is the definition of a miracle as an event which violates the laws of nature?
A
This is the traditional and most popular view developed by David Hume, and it is centered around the definition of a miracle as a violation of natural law. This definition also shows a God who intervenes in the world, interacts with people and is involved in creation.
3
Q
What is the problem of the definition of miracle as an event which violates the laws of nature?
A
It can be seen as too narrow. Not all miracles are violations of the laws of nature but instead can be amazing coincidences that have religious significance. Religious significance may be the most important factor in defining a miracle. Also we may not know all the laws of nature.
4
Q
What is the definition of a miracle as an event that has religious significance?
A
According to this definition an event does not need to have broken the laws of nature to be regarded as a miracle but reveals something about God. This view does not require an interventionist God ubt sees miracles as events which reveal divine purpose and does not require belief in a God who intervenes occasionally to help some favoured individuals.
5
Q
What did R.F. Holland argue about miracles?
A
He argued that a miracle is nothing more than an extraordinary coincidence that is seen in a religious way. The example he gives is that of the train driver who has a heart attack and falls onto the brakes of the train “miraculously” saving a child stuck on the tracks. He’s definition is that a miracle is dependent on personal interpretation which is subjective.
6
Q
What is an interventionist God?
A
One who acts in the world and is involved with his creation.
7
Q
What is the definition of a miracle as an event caused by God?
A
This is the view of Thomas Aquinas who defined miracles as “those things…which are done by divine power apart from the order generally follows in things”. This view allows the possibility of miracles to occur within the system of ‘natural activity’ and allows the possibility that God’s activity may be part of the natural order of things. Further defined by Aquinas as “events in which God does something which nature can do, but not in that order” and “when God does what is usually done by the working of nature, but without the operation of the principles of nature”
8
Q
How is God pictured in the Bible?
A
As being involved and active in the world. Philosophers would say that the Biblical image of God shows him to be omnipotent and immanent. Immanent is used to mean that God is active and closely involved in creation.
9
Q
What is meant by immanent?
A
Existing or operating within; God permanently pervading and sustaining the universe.
10
Q
What is meant by transcendent?
A
Beyond or above the physical human experience.
11
Q
How quote did David Hume use define a miracle?
A
“A miracle may be accurately defined, ‘A transgression of a law of nature by a particular violation of the Deity or by the interposition of some invisible agent”
12
Q
What is the problem with Thomas’ Aquinas definition of miracles? (an event caused by God)
A
It is too broad as it can be difficult to attribute an event to God just because it is extraordinary or we lack the understanding of how it occurred. It leaves room for a lot of subjective interpretation.
13
Q
What happens in Joshua 10?
A
God allows Joshua to gain victory by throwing the enemy into confusion, throwing hailstones from the sky and making the sun stand still. Joshua is painted as the servant who accompanies God.
14
Q
What is meant by the word bias?
A
Unfairly favouring one person or group above another.
15
Q
What is a serious issue that arises from the stories of miracles i the Bible in terms of God being bias?
A
If the stories of the miracles i the Jewish scriptures in particular are taken literally, God favours on people, the Israelites, because God and the people had made an covenant. Although it is important to note that at the time all people believed that their God fought with them. Moreover the idea of God being biased assumes his actions fit in with human ideas of rationality, whereas his actions are often described as mysterious.
16
Q
What is the issues with miracles in terms of the problem of evil?
A
If God has such power and is good, why does God not work miracles to help people or to prevent suffering. In the Bible God is depicted as holding back the sun, throwing hailstones and controlling floods and storms, so if God has the power to do this why does he not prevent natural disasters where the innocent suffer?
17
Q
What is the issue with whether God performs miracles arbitrarily?
A
The fact that miracles seem to happen so rarely in the modern world raises a question about whether God performs miracles ‘arbitrarily’ (randomly). If this was the case it would suggest a changeable, unpredictable God.
18
Q
What is the conclusion of David Hume’s arguments against miracles?
A
The conclusion is that it is always more rational to doubt the truth of testimony or miracles than it is to believe it.
19
Q
What quote does Swinburne use to explain the necessary of miracles to hold some deeper significance than the transgression itself?
A
“If a God intervened in the natural order to make a feather land here rather than there for no deep ultimate purpose, or to upset a child’s box of toys just for spite, these events would not naturally be described as miracles”
20
Q
What quote does R.F. Holland use to explain his view of miracles?
A
“A coincidence can be taken religiously as a sign and called a miracle”
21
Q
What quote does David Hume use to criticise the definition of a miracle as an event with religious significant that doesn’t necessarily transgress the laws of nature?
A
“Nothing is esteemed a miracle, it it ever happens in the common course of nature”
22
Q
Why might certain theists doubt the existence of natural laws?
A
The would argue that every single event in the world is totally and directly dependent upon God. If God is equally present in every action, it would not make sense to speak of His ‘intervention’. Nevertheless, the majority of theists would accept that it is through natural laws that God continues to sustain the world, and in this case it still makes sense to say that in certain exception circumstances, God can choose to interrupt the working of His laws.
23
Q
What quote does Brian Davies use to explain why some theists may be against the definition of a miracle as a violation of natural laws?
A
For such people “God is as present in what is not miraculous as he is in the miraculous”
24
Q
What is a theist?
A
Someone who believes that the world was not only made by God, but that its existence continues to depend totally on the involvement of its creator.
25
How does John Hick define natural laws?
As "generalizations formulated retrospectively to cover whatever has, in fact, happened"
26
Why does John Hick argue against the definition of miracles as a transgression of natural laws?
It has been argued that our definition of natural laws can preclude the possibility of anything being termed a miracle. John Hick defines natural law as generalizations of what has happened in the past, so "we can declare a priori that there are no miracles", as the occurrence of an unusual, previously unwitnessed event should make us widen our understanding of the natural so as to incorporate the possibility of the new event. There would be no grounds for assuming that this new event breaks the law, for the law itself is only established on the basis of empiricle evidence.
27
How does Swinburne respond to Hick's argument against the definition of a miracle as a transgression of natural laws?
Swinburne allows that natural laws are not adequately able to cover every single possible happening everywhere. He believes, however, that they are able to give a generally accurate picture of what we should expect to happen in a given situation. He concludes therefore than an event such as the Resurrection could reasonably be considered miraculous, since it is totally contrary to the normal results of death and since it would not be expected to happen again in similar circumstances.
28
What quote does David Hume use to summarize his criticism of miracles?
"A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can be possibly imagined."
29
What is Hume's main point in his critique of miracles?
He's point is not so much that miracles are impossible, but that it would be impossible for us ever to prove that one had happened.
30
What quote does Hume use to explain why the testimony of miracles is not sufficient proof?
"No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact, which it endeavors to establish; and even in that case there is a mutual destruction of arguments, and the superior only gives us assurance to that degree of force, which remains, after deducting the inferior."
31
What are the five reasons that Hume criticizes miracles?
1. It is unreckonably more probable that the miracle be false than the evidence in favour of the natural law be proved incorrect
2. Miracles do not generally have many sane and reliable witnesses
3. Those testifying to the miracle will have a natural tendency to suspend their reason and support the claim
4. Mainly happens among "ignorant and barbarous nations"
5. Miracle accounts arising from each religious tradition cancel each other out
32
What does he mean when Hume criticizes miracles because it is unreckonably more probable that the miracle be false than the natural law be proved incorrect?
He's argument is that laws of nature have been supported innumerably over a period of many hundreds of years. An apparent miracle, therefore, which contradicts a natural law, would need to outweigh all the evidence that had established the law in the first place. Therefore, it is more likely that the miracle be false than the evidence in favour of the natural law be proved false.
33
What quote does David Hume use to suggest that miracles do not generally have many sane and reliable witnesses?
There has never been "...in all history, any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good-sense, education and learning, as to secure us against all delusion in themselves"
34
What quote does David Hume use to suggest that miracles come from ignorant nations?
"it forms a strong presumption against all supernatural and miraculous relations that they are observed chiefly to abound among ignorant and barbarous nations"
35
What quote does David Hume use to suggest that miracles from different religions cancel each other out?
"Every miracle, therefore, pretended to have been wrought in any of these religions (and all of them abound in miracles), as its direct scope is to establish the particular system to which it is attributed; so has it the same force, though more indirectly, to overthrow every other system. In destroying a rival system, it likewise destroys the credit of those miracles, on which that system was established."
36
What is the issue with Hume's argument that natural laws, as scientific evidence, always outweigh the evidence for miracles?
Hume's argument is based on the assumption that there must be a mutually exclusive choice between the generally accepted law on the one hand and the miraculous exception on the other. However, the whole point to a miracle is that it is an exception to the rule, as such its occurrence in no way challenges the force of the general rule, except on that occasion.
37
Why does Brian Davies criticize David Hume's argument that natural laws, as scientific evidence, always outweigh the evidence for miracles?
If Hume's argument were to be accepted, we should need to reject a large proportion of the scientific development in recent centuries. This is because many of these have forced us to accept as possible things that would have once been considered impossible upon the basis of past events.
38
What example does Brian Davies give to criticise David Hume's argument that natural laws, as scientific evidence, always outweigh the evidence for miracles?
"We might say (though rather oddly) that until someone walked on the moon, people were regularly observed not to walk on the moon. And people, in time have come to do what earlier generations would rightly have taken to be impossible on the basis of their experience." If we accept Hume's argument, then we would have had to refuse to moon landing for it contradicted previous knowledge.
39
Why does Richard Swinburne criticize Hume's assumption that natural laws, as scientific evidence, will always outweigh the evidence for miracles?
Swinburne argues that out knowledge of scientific law is based on the three types of evidence that can also be used to support miracles; this include our apparent memories, the testimony of others, and the physical traces left by the events in question. If such evidence is not sufficient to establish the occurrence of a miracle, neither is it sufficient to establish the certainty of a natural law.
40
What is the problem with Hume's argument that there have never been enough sane and reliable witnesses for miracles?
He did not explain what a 'sufficient number' would be, nor why he considered previous testimonies insufficient.
41
What is the problem with Hume's argument that miracles only occur in ignorant nations?
His claim that miracles "abound in ignorant and barbarous nations" is hard to accept, since just about every nation has provided such claims.
42
What are the four main criticisms as to whether or not any miracles have in fact occurred?
1. Some miracle accounts can be explained away as coincidences
2. Some miracle accounts appear pointless
3. Other miracle accounts should be rejected upon moral grounds
4. Other miracle accounts are not supported by sufficient evidence.
43
Why are some miracle accounts rejected as they appear pointless?
This criticism concerns the point that same miracle accounts do not fulfil Swinburne's requirement of attesting to some deeper significance as there may seem to be no particular reason why this phenomenon should take place or why it is of any religious significance.
44
Why are some miracle accounts rejected upon moral grounds?
This criticism concerning the actual occurrence of certain miracles is that they may be incompatible with the justice and love of God. Many miracle accounts involve God intervening in the world to bring about some benefit to those who worship him, though he does not seem to intervene equally. It could be argued he acts in a biased and arbitrary fashion.
45
What quote does Richard Swinburne use to argue that a miracle would point to the existence of agents other than humans?
"Suppose that E occurs in ways and circumstances otherwise strongly analogous to those in which occur events brought about intentionally by human agents, and that other violations occur in such circumstances. We would then be justified in claiming that E and other such violations are, like effects of human actions brought about by agents, but agents unlike men in not being material objects."
46
What is Richard Swinburne's argument that a miracle would point to the existence of agents other than humans?
Swinburne's argument suggests that the effects of miracles, such as a tumour disappearing, are strongly analogous to the work of human agents (surgeons curing a tumour) and as such we should reasonably postulate a non-material cause however, on account of the 'slight difference' in effects- for example, the fact that no material interference is involved in bringing it about.
47
What is the problem with Swinburne's argument that a miracle would point to the existence of agents other than humans?
In some cases a natural, but as yet undiscovered, reason may be the cause of the effect. In some cases at least, therefore, there would be no grounds to suspect the involvement of non-material beings. Even if we accept his conclusions, what grounds are there for attributing the miracles to God?
48
What quote does Hume use about belief and evidence?
"A wise man proportions his belief according to the evidence"
49
What is David Hume?
1. An empiricist- he believed that knowledge of the world comes from the observations made by our senses
2. A sceptic- He argued that we cannot reason accurately beyond what we see and hear as this requires us to make assumptions
50
What is Hume's theoretical case against miracles?
He defines a miracle as a transgression of a law of nature. He says that the laws of nature that we experience are uniform and constant. He notes we establish cause and effect relationships based on our experience of the world. The more experiences we have of an event, the less likely it is that the opposite will occur. Hume suggests that the only evidence available to us is the testimonies of others and concludes that we ought only to believe a miracle story if it would be more incredible that all witnesses were mistaken than if the event were true.
51
What are Hume's 4 practical arguments against miracles?
1. Miracles do not generally have many sane and educated witnesses
2. We have a natural interest in things that are unusual which is exploited by religious people
3. Most accounts come from ignorant nations
4. Almost all religions carry miracle stories yet they cannot all be right
52
What does Hume mean when he claims that miracles do not generally have many sane and educated witnesses?
Hume observes that; "there is not to be found in all history any miracle attested by a sufficient number of men, of such unquestioned good sense, education and learning as to secure us against all delusion in themselves"
53
What does Hume mean when he argues against miracles as we have a natural interest in things that are unusual which is exploited by religious people?
Hume's second practical argument is psychological. We have a natural interest in things that are unusual. This tendency towards things of surprise and wonder is exploited by religious people. Hume suggests that some religious people know that the stories they recount are false, but continue to spread them because it is a good cause.
54
What does Hume mean when he claims most miracle accounts come from ignorant nations?
Hume suggests that it is mainly amongst the "ignorant and barbarous nations" that miracles are reported and believed. He argued that if you look at the history of countries, their earliest stories are full of miracles, but as the nation develops and becomes educated these sorts of stories disappear.
55
What does Hume mean when he criticises miracles because all religions carry miracle stories yet they cannot all be right?
Almost all religions carry miracle stories yet they cannot all be right. The sets of testimonies would seem to cancel each other out because each faith alleges that the miracles they believe in provide evidence that their particular faith is true
56
Why did Richard Swinburne argue against Hume's criticism of miracles?
Swinburne noted that testimonies may not be the only evidence available. There are three types of historical evidence that can be used to support miracles; our apparent memories, the testimony of others, the physical traces left by the events in question. In anticipation to Hume's counter that scientific laws are somehow more objective, Swinburne emphasises that our knowledge of scientific laws is itself based upon these three types of evidence. If such evidence is not sufficient to establish the occurence of a miracle, neither is it sufficient to establish the certainty of a natural law.
57
Why has Hume's views on the laws of nature viewed as inconsistent?
Despite his practical and theoretical arguments against miracle, he suggested that our ideas of scientific laws may just be psychological habit based on what we repeatedly see. He famously observed that there was no good reason to expect the sun would rise in the morning.
58
What does John Hick believe about the laws of nature?
Hick said that we do not know the laws of nature, and they appear to have been broken before. He believed that when new things are observed our understanding of the natural law should simply be widened.
59
What quote does Maurice Wiles use that explains his view of miracles and the problem associated?
"Miracles must by definition be relatively infrequent or else the whole idea of laws of nature, even of a broadly statistical sort, would be undermined, and orders life as we know it an impossibility. Yet even so it would seem strange that no miraculous intervention prevented Auschwitz or Hiroshima, while the purpose apparently forwarded by some of the miracles acclaimed in traditional Christian faith seem trivial by comparison. Thus to acknowledge even the possibility of miracle raises acute problems for theodicy. "
60
Why did Maurice Wiles argue that miracles could only happen infrequently?
He argued that although God could perform miracles and suspend the laws of nature if he wanted, it would be impossible for this to happen very often, otherwise we would not be able to have laws of nature at all, and it would be impossible to live normal lives as we would never know what the world would do next.
61
Why is Maurice Wiles against the view of a God who acts in the world and works miracles?
He believed that such a God leads into all the difficulties for religious believes associated with the power of evil.
62
What is the problem of evil with miracles?
If God can intervene in the world through miracles to help one person or situation, it would suggest he has the power to intervene in further situations. Yet, if God does have the ability to intervene directly to prevent evil happening, why does he not do so?
63
Why does Maurice Wiles reject the idea that God acts in special or particular cases in response to prayers or other needs?
For Maurice Wiles, God acting in the world in this way leads to the questions about miracles showing God to be arbitrary and biased.
64
What did Maurice Wiles conclude about miracles?
Wiles concluded that either God does biased and arbitrary miracles in which case he would not be worthy of worship, or he does not intervene at all.
65
What is Maurice Wiles solutions to the problem associated with miracles and God?
Wiles' solution is to reject the interventionist view of miracles and of the natural of God, and understands the sole activity of God to create and sustain the world. Wiles, then is suggesting a more fundamental account of God's imminence (presence in the world). God does not just randomly intervene but sustains the world. Every law of nature, etc. reveals God to us as God is within it sustaining it, and so causing it to exist.
66
What quote does Maurice Wiles use to explain his understanding of the sole activity of God in the world?
"...the whole of the universe reveals God to people and God's activity is present, sustaining every part of the universe, since God causes the whole universe to exist".
67
How is the God of the Bible used to criticise Maurice Wiles' views?
The Christian tradition clearly depicts God acting in the world in a far more direct way than Wiles suggests. Stories in the Bible seem to indicate that God does directly intervene in the world and cause miracles to happen. It could therefore be argued on Biblical grounds that Wiles' views do not fully reflect the nature of God.
68
How is the idea of human rationality used to criticise Maurice Wiles' views?
Wiles' argument depends on the fact that human rationality can be applied directly to God. Questions about God's actions as arbitrary and biased only come up if you first suggest that God's actions need to conform to some sort of rational order that we understand. For some religious believers, God cannot be limited to what is rationally possible- God is a mystery whose purpose and nature transcend human abilities to interpret and understand them.
69
What happens in the Book of Job?
The Book of Job depicts Job challenging God; Job reaches no conclusions but still accepts God- for some believers God's purposes ultimately remain beyond human understanding.
70
Why does John Polkinghorne argue against Maurice Wiles' view?
John Polkinghorne argued that Wiles' view of God's action in the world does not reflect Christian religious experiences God, such as the fact that many people claim that God answers their prayers.
71
Why did Maurice Wiles claim that early Christians did not see any difficulty in accepting the occurrences of miracles?
For them, creation itself and all the regularities of the workings of nature were entirely dependent on the will of God, so there was nothing unacceptable in the idea that sometimes, God might will nature to work in a different way from usual in order to achieve his purposes.
72
Why does Maurice Wiles not reject the possibility of miracles for scientific, rationalist reasons?
He does not see anything logically wrong with the idea that God could choose, if he wanted to, to dry up the sea, because God had, after all, made the sea in the first place and decided how it would operate. The problem for Miles was not one of logical inconsistency, but a problem of making sense of the morality and the wisdom of God.
73
What quote does Maurice Wiles use to explain why he does not reject the possibility of miracles for scientific, rationalist reasons?
"Certainly the notion of miracle cannot simply be ruled out on scientific grounds as logically impossible, since the world we know is not a closed, determinstically ordered system. "
74
What are the main problems that arise from God's intervention in the world?
1. The problem of Evil
2. Does God act in a bias way
3. Does God perform miracles arbitrarily
75
What is Anthony Flew's view on miracles?
He accepts that Hume is correct to say that miracles cannot be proved and agrees that wise men should go with the evidence and reject miracles. He says that we can only have direct evidence of a miracle if we were actually present when it occurs, but this does not tend to happen so we need to resort to indirect evidence. When we are presented with a story about a resurrection from the dead or turning water into wine, we have to reject this as our repeated experience tells us that dead people stay dead and water does not suddenly become wine. These are the conclusions that we can make based on the evidence that is still available to us.
76
What is C.S. Lewis' view on miracles?
He argued that we either taken a naturalist world view and believe that reality is totally physical and material and that nothing else exists, or we take a supernaturalist view which means that we believe that non-physical things such as God and the soul may exist. A naturalist worldview is self-defeating as it is wholly deterministic with a physical view with no choice (hard determinism). If you accept this worldview it would be forced so you'd have no choice. So we should accept the supernaturalistc worldview, ad with this worldview the possibility of God and miracles is accepted. The naturalist, rejecting this is making assumptions about the world as just a purely physical thing.
77
What is Richard Swinburne's view on miracles?
He argues that perhaps God can suspend natural laws on occasion and if God is all loving, he would want to interact with his creation and may do so via occasional miracles. Miracles have to be infrequent otherwise it would be confusing as we would not know whether laws such as gravity would operate.
78
What did Richard Swinburne say on the laws of nature?
Swinburne argues that it is important to be clear about what laws of nature are. He says that they are not necessarily fixed truths, and that many of the scientific laws we adopt tell us what will almost certainly happen. In the Concept of Miracle says that "One must distinguish between a formula being a law and a formula being (universally) true being a law which holds without exception".
79
What is John Polkinghorne's view on miracles?
All science can tell us is that a given event is against normal expectations. It cannot completely disprove the occurrence of miracles. The theological question is whether it makes sense to say that God has acted in a new way? It may be perfectly possible for God to act in new and unexpected ways when circumstances change. The laws of nature do not change yet the consequences of these laws can change when one moves into a 'new regime' (where God deals with Humans in new way) Essentially, does it make sense for God to have acted in this new and unexpected way?
80
What is Alistair Mckinnon's view on miracles?
He writes that "the idea of suspension of natural law is self contradictory". We can substitute the words 'natural law" for "the actual course of events." Miracles would then be defined as "an event involving the suspension of the actual course of events (what will always happen)."If a miracle is defined as a transgression of the law of nature it is logically impossible as it is saying a miracle will go against what will always happen.
81
What is A Boyce Gibson?
The idea that nothing happens only once or for the first time is a humean (based on the ideas of David Hume) dogma that limits the creative agency of God.
82
What is Pannenberg's view on miracles?
He points out that a mechanical model of the universe as a closed system no longer reflects the more recent advances of the natural sciences Therefore, Hume's criticism of miracles limit the freedom of God.
83
What are the views of Richard Dawkins on miracles?
For Dawkins there can be no evidence for miracles strong enough to lead us to accept the laws of nature are ever broken, and believes it is more probable that the person was mistaken. However, all behaviour ultimately exists because of the evolutionary advance it gives, for example, as children we have to believe what adults tell us if we want to survive so we have an inbuilt capacity to believe but this does not discriminate between true and false. He also points to the possibility of a placebo effect or the result of coincidences.
84
What does John Polkinghorne say about natural laws?
He argues that human beings are part of nature and God acts through our free choices. He says that quantum theory suggests we live in an indeterminate universe where natural laws are not always predictable and therefore it becomes possible that God will act in a new and unexpected way. If God's acts are relatively infrequent they will not undermine human freedom or science. In an indeterminate universe a new event may be occasionally ushered in by God, which requires us to combine previously disconnected possibilities into a new coherent regime.
85
What quote does John Polkinghorne use to explain God's activity in the world?
"I believe that it is possible to form a coherent picture of God's activity in the world that embraces both the fact that in our experience dead men stay dead and also that God raised Jesus on Easter day"
86
why does Richard Dawkins argue against miracles in terms of coincidences in his conversation with scientist Russell Stannard?
1. People have strange experiences and disturbing experiences, such as "dreaming of someone for the first time and waking up to discover they are dead (Russell Stannard)" and other great coincidences.
2. Occasionally you would expect people to have coincidental experiences in life to which they attach special significance.
3. Examples of places such as Lourdes could be explained by the placebo effect, via psychological means.
87
What are the main key points of Richard Dawkins' argument against miracles?
1. Miracles are improbable
| 2. There are scientific ways of explaining these effects that do not require God as an explanation
88
How may Rudolph Bultmann's view of the stories of miracles in the New Testament aid the problem of evil argument associated with miracles?
Rudolph Bultmann regarded the stories or miracles in the New Testament as later additions to inspire us to follow God and be morally good. Miracle acounts should be read symbolically. They teach us about God's power or Jesus' compassion and should inspire us to help people in a similar way. This helps some of the difficulties regarding the problem of evil as God does not literally intervene in people's lives in an arbitrary manner, which would raise issues of fairness.
89
What does Maurice Wiles say about miracles and human freedom?
According to Wiles, if God intervenes all the time then human freedom is undermined and if that is undermined then the free will defence against evil fails.
90
What may be an issue with miracles and our need to grow and develop?
It could be argued, using an Irenaean-type theodicy, that the world presents us with opportunities to grow and develop our character. Therefore repeated intervention by God prevents us from growing and developing ourselves. We might become lazy and expect God to constantly perform miracles rather than work to make things better and alleviate suffering.
91
What are the possible responses to whether God performs miracles arbitrary?
It may be conceivable to suggest that God may act seemingly randomly in order to have an impact on humans. God gives humans freedom to choose to believe in him and to choose to love and respond to him. It may me that miracles acts as signs and encourage some people to respond to God. The Bible does refer to miracles in some circumstances as signs.
92
What are the responses to miracles and the problem of evil?
1. Natural disasters are part of the ordered world we live in, and if God constantly intervenes we will not be able to understand our world
2. Some claim that God does act but people fail to recognise it
3. In Augustine's theodicy, the blame for both natural and moral evil is laid at the door of human beings who misuse their free will. This may indicate that God may choose to intervene occasionally but is not morally obligated to do so.
93
What quote does Thomas Aquinas use to define the word 'miracle'?
"That which has a divine cause, not that whose cause a human person fails to understand"
94
What is Thomas Aquinas view on what defines a miracle?
Aquinas' idea of miracle comes from Aristotle. They both believed that everything which exists has a nature. Basically, this nature is a statement about what a thing is able to do. When Aquinas talks about a miracle having a "divine cause" he means that the event in question is not a normal part of the nature of things. Many Christians today add that miracles are not only caused by God but they also reveal something about God.
95
How does David Hume understand the laws of nature to be?
For Hume, a law of nature is something which can be tested scientifically and you only say something is a law of nature if every time you test the law you find the same result. Hume would say that laws of nature are proved inductively. Laws of nature are the best description of the ways in which the universe works, beyond any reasonable doubt.
96
Why is it difficult to refer to biblical miracles as violating the laws of nature?
The reason it is perhaps incorrect to see the miracles of the Bible as violating natural laws is because the stories, particularly those in the Jewish scriptures, come from a culture lacking any idea about the laws of nature. Instead, miraculous interventions by God were the way in which people explained the world around them.
97
What are the two significant miracle stories in the New Testament that show God acting in the world?
1. Jesus' birth; is an example of God acting in the world, and, for Christians becoming present in the world (Matthew 1-2; Luke 1-2()
2. Jesus' death and resurrection; For Christians the resurrection is the most important act of God in the Bible because it opens up the possibility of eternal life to all people.
98
What Bible stories suggest a seemingly bias God?
Joshua never losing in battle because God favours him, (Joshua 10) King Saul dies in battle after God has rejected him (1 Samuel 31) and God in the Jewish scripture is painted as the God of Isreal favouring the Israelites.
99
What quote did Keith Ward use in criticism of David's Hume's definition of miracles?
"I do think miracles happen, but I hate the phrase 'violations of the laws of nature.'It was invented by David Hume, who was a wonderful philosopher, but a notorious atheist. And he invented the phrase to make miracles sound ridiculous"
100
What example did Hume give about are tendency to circulate and exaggerate stories?
Among other examples, Hume mentions gossip about young people, commenting that two young people only had to be seen one together and people would think they were getting married.
101
What quote does Hume use to criticise the testimony for miracles?
"It appears, that no testimony for any kind of miracle has ever amounted to probability, much less proof."
102
What two points does Richard Swinburne emphasis about laws of nature?
1. Laws of nature are generalizations, i.e they communicate a general picture of how things work as simply as possible
2. Swinburne says that all natural laws are 'corrigible', meaning that a law of nature is the best description of how the world works that we currently have, but a new discovery may mean that a law of nature has to be modified or changed.
103
How does Richard Swinburne define miracles?
As "an occurrence of a non-repeatable counter-instance to a law of nature". By this, he means that a miracle is an event that does not fit in with the laws of nature as we understand them, but equally the event on its own is not enough to prove the law of nature inaccurate.
104
How else does Richard Swinburne argue against David Hume's practical arguments?
He questions how you define when people are educated, suggesting that what counts as "ignorant and barbarous" could mean that people lack a familiarity with science, but many people today are undoubtedly educated and still claim to experience miracles. He also suggests that miracles in any religion are not usually about proving one religious tradition's beliefs correct and another wrong, so it doesn't necessarily mean they cancel each other out. He also argue we should not automatically be sceptical and reject a story about a miracle without examining the evidence.
105
What four kinds of historical evidence are identified by Swinburne?
1. Memories of our experience
2. Testimony by other people about their experiences
3. Physical traces of the event
4. Understanding of modern science and what is thought to be physically impossible or most improbable
106
What is Swinburne's 'main' argument for assessing the evidence about an event?
Accept as many sources of evidence as possible. The more evidence there is to support the miracle claim, the stronger the probability that the miracle actually happened.
107
What is Swinburne's 'subsidiary' arguments for assessing the evidence about an event?
1. Different sources of evidence should be consistent
2. The value you place on a particular piece of evidence should depend upon the 'empirical reliability' of the evidence, i.e. if a witness is a known liar their evidence would not be taken seriously
3. Avoid rejecting without good reason pieces of evidence that may be relevant
108
What is the contingency definition of miracles?
This definition is very popular with modern philosophers of religion and refers to miracles as a sign pointing to God. In other words, miracle are events of great religious significance. In the New Testament Jesus is pictured as a work of signs and works of power; his miracles are signs from God.
109
How does Paul Tillich view miracles?
For some modern philosophers such as Paul Tillich, miracles are better seen as signs with religious significance. For Paul Tillich, miracles are not about God violating the laws of nature. A miracle is a sign event- something that is of religious significance and tells us something about God.
110
What characteristics of miracles did Paul Tillich identify?
1. Miracles are astonishing but "without contradicting the rational structure of reality", meaning that miracles are astonishing events but they need not violate the laws of nature
2. Miracles point people to what Tillich called the 'mystery of being' i.e. God; they reveal something about His nature
3. Miracles are "received as a sign event in an ecstatic experience" meaning it reveals God to people, and the revelation caused an ecstatic overwhelming experience
111
Who supports the contingency definition of miracles?
R.F. Holland and Paul Tillich
112
How does R.F. Holland define a miracle?
Linked with the idea of miracles being signs pointing to God, he defined miracles as being applied to a set of coincidental events that are given religious significance and continue to have this significance after the event.
113
How does Tillich argue that contingency miracles are different from other experiences in life?
The crucial point of Tillich's definition of miracles is that they are revelatory- the reveal something about God and this revelation is from God. The person who receives the revelation knows what they have recieved through faith. This revelation of God can occur through the natural world without violating natural laws because God is the Creator and sustainer of everything.
114
What is the problem with the contingency definition of miracles?
There is no real way to prove that a person who has experienced a miracle really did experience a miracle rather than it being a product of their thoughts and mind.
115
How did Richard Swinburne describe laws of nature?
He suggested they are 'probabilistic'- meaning that the laws of nature are actually describing what will probably happen. He explains this by referring to the fact that the quantum laws that govern the whole universe have been clearly shown by scientists to be probabilistic.
116
What set of arguments does Wiles put forward for not believing that miracles happen?
1. If miracles are violations of the laws of nature they have to occur infrequently to avoid the concept of laws of nature becoming meaningless
2. The pattern of the occurrence of miracles appears strange
3. The large number of evil events that are not prevented by God raises questions about God's omnipotence and goodness
117
What does Polkinghorne say about modern science and miracles?
He points to the fact that many scientists are also Christian but have not rejected the possibility that God does act in the world. Polkinghorne himself suggests that modern science does not exclude the possibility that God acts in the world.
118
What is a Deist?
A person who believes that God started the universe off with one creative act but then effectively left the universe to run without acting in it.
119
What are the significance or miracles for religious believers?
1. Miracles support arguments for God's existence
2. Miracles are signs of God's continuing activity in the world
3. Miracles show that prayers are answered
4. The miracle of the resurrection
5. Miracles show that Jesus is from God
6. Miracles show God's providence.
120
What is a cumulative argument?
A philosophical argument that is built up with many different arguments and pieces of evidence. A conclusion based on probability is then drawn from all the pieces of evidence. In modern philosophy of religion it is popular to create a cumulative argument for God's existence using the separate different arguments.
121
How may miracles support arguments for God's existence?
For some Christians the occurrence of miracles caused by God in the world is a reason to believe in God. Additionally, miracles, taken together with a range of different arguments for God's existence may be a good reason to believe God exists.
122
What quote does Swinburne say about miracles and the existence of God?
Miracles, "though not nearly enough on its own, it makes its contribution; and with other evidence...it could be enough to establish the existence of God."
123
What are the significance of miracles showing that prayers are answered?
What is striking is that there are a large number of accounts of people being healed in response to their prayers. This is significant for two reasons; first it shows the nature of God as loving and good, and second it is a sign that God acts in the world.
124
What does the Roman Catholic Church say about the purpose of Jesus' miracles?
"The signs worked by Jesus attest that the Father has sent him. They invite belief in him."
125
Why does Peter Atkins, a scientist, argue against miracles?
He suggests that people seek publicity or are deluded or hallucinate and so on, and that is the reason why they believe in miracles.
126
How does Arthur Peacock a scientist turned theologian suggest God acts?
He suggests that God acts through events which do not break the laws of nature.
127
What analogy does Swinburne give about God occasionally suspending his own laws of nature?
He compares the laws of nature with parents' rules, pointing out that parents teach rules as laws, but occasionally exceptions are made to the rule in particular circumstances. One illustration could be parents teaching their children the value and importance of the virtue of truth, yet that is not to say that parents are always truthful- such as planning a child's surprise party.
