Miracles scholars

Supporters/advocate/proponent

Aquinas

·         His definition of miracles = as ‘those things done by divine power apart from the order usually followed in things’. This view suggests that God can do what he wants with his creation.

·         Has identified 3 types of miracle:

·         An event done by God which nature could not do – could be said to be the most traditional approach. They are acts that contradict our regular experience. Aquinas uses the example of the reversal of the course of the sun.

·         An event done by God which nature could do, but not in this order such as recovering from paralysis or a terminal illness. It’s possible for these things to happen but it is not usually expected, and so could be attributed to the direct intervention of God.

·         An event done which nature could do but without using the principles or forces of nature. For example, recovering from a cold more quickly than usual perhaps because someone prayed for this, and then it might be called a miraculous intervention of God.

·         This allowed for a range of possible events, which we could call miracles.

·         This also did not limit a miracle to a violation of a natural law and so is therefore, primarily identified by Gods intervention.

·         A miracle is an act of God, which is beneficial to the recipient, which may break a natural law but does not necessarily have to.

Tillich

·         Miracles = signs from G-d - should reveal something about him to people

·         Miracles have to violate laws of nature to be out of the ordinary

·         Signs with religious significance

·         not G-d violating the laws of nature

·         They have to go against the laws of nature to be a miracle

·         Miracles have to reveal something about God's nature

·         This is an interesting concept of miracle as it has little to do with violations of laws of nature, but more to do with the impression it makes on the person, whether it leads them to change the direction of their life and whether it has any religious significance. So it focuses more on the consequences and effects it has on the person

·         What this means is that natural events may be perceived as a miracle and have religious significance for the person witnessing the events

·         For example, a person has been brought back to life that has been dead for three days. Even if it could be proved that the person had only been comatose, this might still be seen as a miracle by the observer owing to the impression it makes on him or her

·         He argues that a miracle is an event that does not contradict the rational structure of reality

C.S. Lewis

·         Stated that we're either…