Tuesday, June 21, 2022

The Case Against Miracles

John Ankerberg
By Dr. Ron Rhodes: Many modernists have claimed that miracles are impossible, given the clear teachings of science. Claimed miracles are dismissed in several ways. Some say the observers of alleged miracles are just mistaken. Others argue that simply because we don’t have a present explanation for some inexplicable event does not mean the supernatural was involved; as we grow in our understanding of the natural processes, we may come to a new natural understanding regarding what many previously thought were miraculous events. Almost all critics of miracles hold that the statistical consistency of natural law—or “laws of nature”—is such that supernatural events are impossible.

Sometimes we come across references to the “miracles of modern technology.” Some argue if our ancestors witnessed some of the advances we have today—the airplane, telephone, television, laser, for example—they would surely have considered such things miraculous. The lesson we learn here is that the more scientific understanding we have, the less necessary to believe in the supernatural.

Christians respond that the events described in the Bible are truly miraculous. No matter how much science one knows, the physical resurrection of a person who has been dead and decomposing for three days will never be naturally explainable. The supernatural is clearly involved in such an event.

In the present chapter, my goal will be to briefly examine some of the significant objections to miracles and then respond to these objections from a Christian perspective. We will see that the Christian need not commit “intellectual suicide” in maintaining a commitment to belief in supernatural miracles.


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