UNIT 5 PR Revision - Miracles

UNIT 5 PR Revision - Miracles

AO1 - Assessment of knowledge and understanding of topics and key concepts

AO2 - Assessment of evaluation and expressing opinion

What are Miracles?

Many people believe in God because of miracles, events that are against the laws of nature. They say that God is reaching into our world to help us and to reveal himself. They are always good.

Good

• Thousands of people have experienced them, from all different cultures
• They are against the laws of nature
• Healing miracles are proven
• They change people's lives completely - conversion of Saul

Bad

• Science may have not advanced to explain them yet; there is no proof; saying God is the easy way out
• People interpret differently for the same event; witnesses could be biased
• It could be a coincidence
• Why does God perform miracles for some people and not everyone; undeserved miracles?
• How do we know God did it?

David Hume

David Hume was a Scottish philospher who didn't believe that miracles existed. His argument said:

1. The miracle must have never been seen before in nature - not normal experience
2. The miracle must break the laws of nature
3. The witnesses of the miracle must come from a civilised country - otherwise they do not know enough to say that something is a miracle
4. The witnesses have to be secular - not religious - otherwise they would be biased

Bad

• How does Hume know which countries are civilised and if all the people in it are uneducated? - it's a bit harsh!
• Just because there have been lots of healing miracles, it doesn't mean that only the first one was true!
• If something happens not too often, it doesn't mean it is part of normal experience

What do miracles show us about God - Nature of God?

Good

• Miracles show God has supremacy - he is the highest of the highest; he can do things against the laws of nature
• Miracles show God has immanence - he is with us in the world, guiding us through life
• Miracles show God has omnipotence - again, he can do things against the laws of nature
• Miracles show God is benevolent - he loves us and performs miracle for us
• Miracles show God is personal; he interacts with us

Bad

• Why does God perform miracles for some people and not everyone; undeserved miracles?
• Why does God put his name in aubergines when he could be curing people?
• Why does God only cure one person with a disease and not anyone else?

Examples of Miracles

Holy Books

• In Christianity, Saul was a Jew who rounded up Christians. Going to Damascus, he was blinded by a light that only he could see. Three days later a Christian claimed to be sent by God cured him. Saul changed his name to a more Christian-sounding Saint Paul and traveled around spreading Christianity.
• In Exodus 3 of the Bible, Moses saw a bush on fire that wasn't burning. Then God spoke to him and later Moses freed Egyptian slaves.
• In the Gospel of Mark, Blind Bartimaeus was healed of his blindness by Jesus
• Feeding of the 5000 people by Jesus with 5 loaves and two fish
• Resurrection of Jesus

History

• Healing and curing of illnesses at Lourdes
• Saints' bodies not decomposing
• Ganesha statues drinking milk

Hume's Argument against Miracles - CONCISE

Hume was a philosopher who said that all miracles are untrue. Main points are:

• There is not enough evidence - insufficient evidence to outweigh evidence for laws of nature
• All witnesses are either unreliable, since they are biased to saying that the miracle occurred, not educated enough to determine whether or not something is due to science or religious, because they would exaggerate or lie