Realist Views - Miracles

Realist

Miracles are seen as real events, brought about by God.

Features of Realism

- Come about through activity of God / someone empowered by him

- Signs of the Kingdom of God

- Objectively true, even if not fully understood

Types of Realist Miracles

- Miracle as an extraordinary coincidence of a beneficial nature

- Miracle brought about by God, through people

- Miracle as a violation of natural law

Extraordinary coincidence of a beneficial nature

- E.g. Explosion of Nebraska Baptist Church in 1950

- All 15 members of the choir late for different reasons

- They therefore all miraculously survived the explosion

Extraordinary coincidence of a beneficial nature: Problems

- Why is God selective with his coincidences?

- How does he decide where to intervene and where not to?

Brought about by God through people

- Biblical example = God working through Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery

- Many Christians believe Biblical events = Real historical events

- 2016: Catholic Church declared Mother Teresa a Saint

- Mother Teresa had performed at least two miracles, by prayers made through her

Violation of natural law

- When God's intervention interferes with the normal laws of nature

- Intentional act of God's will

- Has religious significance

Violation of natural law: Problems

- Encourages "God of the Gaps" approach

- Today's science sees the laws of nature as descriptive & probabilistic, so rejects violations of them

- Evidence of miracle must outweigh evidence supporting the natural law which was supposedly "breached"