WHAT IS A MIRACLE?

 

            The Bible is full of miracles - from the creation to Jesus feeding 4 and 5,000 people with just a handful of a few loaves of bread and fish.

            On the other hand, skeptics reject the miracles of the Bible. 

 

WHAT IS A MIRACLE?

            The Dictionary of Philosophy and Religion defines a miracle as: "an event which cannot be understood as part of the natural order" ("Miracle", Atlantic Highlands, NJ: Humanities Press, 1980. pg 360).

            The Concise Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (318; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1991) defines a miracle as "events that run counter to the observed processes of nature."

           

            In the spirit of the prophets, who also had to deal with a lot of skepticism relative to the invisible nature of God, "Come now, and let us reason together," says the Lord (Isaiah 1:18).

 

ARE MIRACLES POSSIBLE?

          Are miracles violations of natural laws? Are there laws that we have not discovered yet? Is there a God who can supersede the laws that He Himself has put in to place? If the God of the Bible exists, then miracles are possible.

 

ARE MIRACLES CREDIBLE?

            This argument is based on experience. No one - at least in modern times - has seen or experienced a miracle, therefore we can't believe they happened in the Bible times. But to say that some, or most, people have not experienced miracles does not mean that no one has experienced or seen a miracle.

          These skeptics think that a rare event is not as believable as a common event. The more frequently something happens, the more likely it is to believe that it did happen. Miracles are, by definition, rare events. But just because something is rare - someone will have a perfect hand in bridge at some point! - it doesn't mean it's impossible.

 

ARE MIRACLES SCIENTIFIC?

            Is it true that only what can be predicted can qualify as an explanation for an event? There are many events that happen in the world that cannot be predicted. Car accidents. A house robbery. Even scientists cannot always predict what will happen. Ask any weatherman!

          But the Bible teaches that miracles are necessary when God chooses to use them. God doesn't intervene in nature just to play around with us and confuse us. In their appropriate contexts, miracles do mean something. Consider Exodus 14:30-31.

 

          If the evidence leads to the conclusion that Jesus is God-in-the-flesh, then it is illogical and unreasonable to deny that conclusion. Jesus is God in the flesh and our Lord and Master.

 

          God does not call us to believe "impossible things." "Examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

 

--Paul Holland