Miracles

What are miracles (this posting is inspired by discussion in class today and discussion in the gym w/ Ang)? Are miracles the result of intervention in space-time by God - if so then we have a deistic concept of God. This would be a deistic concept of God because we would view God as a being who remains apart from His creation, and intervenes only during certain time periods. So an orthodox understanding of God would see God as constantly involved in His creation, sustaining all of creation. So if God is constantly involved in His creation then a miracle cannot be defined as God's intervening in space-time, because God continually intervenes in space-time (in the person of the Holy Spirit, hence the helpfulness of the doctrine of the Trinity). I think a miracle could be defined as God's unusual interaction in His creation, i.e. people usually die, and do not rise from the grave, but in certain circumstances God causes people to rise from the grave. Or we could discuss turning water into wine, or ax-heads floating in water. Regardless, a miracle is something that is different about the way God interacts with His creation, than He usually does.

What are the purpose of miracles? According to the Gospel of John miracles were signs to show that Jesus was the Son of God. Moses used miracles to show who God is, also to show the authority that God had given to him. Elijah and Elisha used miracles to show that there God was greater than Baal. Why aren't miracles prevalent today? Well according to the parable of Lazarus in hell, he was not allowed to tell his relatives about hell because they had already ignored Moses and the prophets. Are we the same way in the US? We have ignored the teachings of Jesus about God, so what good would miracles do? Does God choose not to make miracles common because people would just ignore them as they have ignored God's revelation? I think the state of one's heart is important when discussing miracles. If one were to naturalize a miracle that God performs, this defeats the purpose behind performing the miracle. Miracles are to demonstrate that God is - I am who I am - and people choose to ignore them or explain them away, than they do not serve their purpose.

I have rambled on and forgotten what the most important thing is that I wanted to say... David Hume claims that extradinary claims require extradinary evidence. So miracles to be true require extradinary evidence - well, why? The purpose of a miracle is to point someone towards God, not to exalt humans, so a miracle should always glorify God. Hence, any miracles that praise humans are clearly not from God - but I am rambling again. How do you get extradinary evidence, do you need more people to testify, or do you need photographs or film? If God is involved in everyday events, then it does not seem to be the case that we need extradinary evidence, but I am presupposing Theism. Hmm, gonna have to think about this some more....

to be continued....