Miracles Flashcards
(25 cards)
What did Bernadette of Lourde’s vision prove to catholics
That mary had ascended into heaven, and that praying to her is important
What are NDEs
Near death experiences-often result in people reporting religious experiences e.g. leaving their bodies behind
Whhat religious practices come from religious experiences
Muslims pray 5 times a day-Muhammeds experience on the great journey
Judaism-Kosher comes from leviticus or deuteronomy-books derived from religious experience
Sikhs bathe in the golden temple-mimicking guru nanaks experience bathing when he received a religious experience
What did Schliermacher believe about religious experience
All religious beliefs and practices should be led by religious experience-inspired rudolf otto
He referes to RE as self authenticating-It doesnt need testing
What are criticisms of scheliermachers view on religious experience
He places too much emphasis on the subjective
Reduces religion to emotion-denies truth claims
RE should be measured against religious teachings, rather than teachings against RE-He neglects importance of scripture
How can religious experence affect faith value systems
Religious experiences can form the basis of a value system e.g. unitive RE can affirm the idea everyone is equal
Religious experience can affirm value systems-Francis of Assisi’s visions affirmed christian belief in caring for the poor
Religious experience is judged by the value system-The religion judges whether or not the RE is valid e.g. Hitler claiming his life was saved so he may save germany may not be considered valid
Value system given authority by RE-Affirms Religious teachings on certain things e.g. destruction of sodom and gommoroh for being sinful
Which sociologist believed that religion helped societies function
Emile Durkheim-wrote “The Elementary Forms of Religious Life”
What are examples of religious experience giving a community unity
Collecctive worship-e.g. Hajj, Church, Prayer etc
Festivals-Hannukah, Christmas etc
Leaders-Jesus, Muhammed,etc-many based on RE
What are the ways religious experience can be of value to the individual
Religious experience can restore faith-e.g. charles wesley
Give people faith in times of opposition-Bernadette was intially doubted, and francis faced opposition from his father in being an ascetic
Renewal of commitment to faith-Buber-I-it becomess an I-thou relationships-emotional involvement, become closer to god etc
Which 4 scholars define miracles
Aquinas, Hume, Holland and swinburne
Inn what book does Aquinas attempt to define miracles
Summa contra gentiles
What is Aquinas’ primary definition for a miracle
They had to have an ‘absolutely hidden’ cause and be ‘intrinsically wonderful’
a magic trick or a solar eclipse would not be miraculous, as we know what causes them
What are Aquinas’ 3 ranks of miracles and what examples does he give
- Something done by God nature could never do-The sun and moon made to be still in the sky, or to rotate backwards=, as in Isaiah and Joshua
2.Something done by God that nature could do, but in a different order or timeframe- e.g. Someone suddenly cured of illness
3.Something that normally happens in nature but is done by God and not the normally preceding cause-e.g. Causing rain or suddenly calming a storm
What is Hume’s definition of a miracle
It has to be against the natural order of things(break the laws of nature)
It must be a one-off-if it happened regularly, it wouldnt be a miracle
Has to be done intnetionally by god or another supernatural being-by ‘particulalr volition’
Gives the example of resurrection, which he says no one has witnessed
What is R.F. Hollands definition of a miracle
Influenced by Wittgenstein
Argued that miracles could occur without any breaking of the laws of nature-It is a subjective definition
“a remarkable and beneficial coincidence”
These are called contingency miracles-child on the tracks analogy
What is Swinburne’s definition of miracles
Agrees with Hume’s definitiion but says that it cannot be repeatable or recreated
must have a point- caused by god-and the miracle must allude to this
Why might religious believers say that miracles do occur
Evidence from sacred texts-e.g. new testament
Affirmation of traditions-God is all powerful(TTWNGCBC), he will be able to perform miracles
God is loving-saves people
Belief that god intervenes in history-(He is immanent(Martin Buber))
God is personal
WHat does the Apostles creed confirm
Jesus was miraculously conceived and miraculously rose from the dead
How many confirmed cases of religious healing have happened at Lourdes
67
What was Bultmann’s opinion on miracles
He thoguht they didn’t happen-Myths that werent appropriate for the 20th century audience-demythologising the bible will lead to the real truth-
He saw miracles as an obstacle to faith
Why did maurice wiles reject belief in miracles
Argues against miracles on moral grounds
Why would a god intervene in some things and not others e.g. holocaust or bombings
Miracles in the bible seem trivial- e.g. turning water to wine to avoid embarrasment at a wedding
He believed god must work in other ways
Why was David Hume sceptical about miracles
By definition-no sensible person should believe them-
If theres any other explanation, rationally, it should be taken
Testimony based belief-always more likely the person is deluded or lying
Says they tend to come from ‘ignorant and barbarous’ places with no scientific theory
People like to believe in the supernatural, and so are biased-Religious believers may look to confirm their beliefs or make things up to gain converts
Miracles are contradictory-If we accept 1 miracles as real-e/g/ muhammeds night of power-it discounts every other religious experience
How does Richard Swinburne defend against Hume’s arguments on miracles
Swinburne argues that our laws of nature are corrigible-not set in stone-Scientists accepted evidence against the steady state theory (redshift)-so there is reason to accept the contravening of the laws of nature on miraculous grounds
God is benevolent and wishes for miracles to remain rare-moral hazard-we need to keep trying and not rely on god
Principles of testimony and credulity-We accept historical accounts of events with far less testimony and evidence than some miracles
If we assume people are naturally biased, we should do that with every claim-logical positivism-disproved
What technique does swinburne use to “prove” miracles
Bayesian inference
