The concept of miracles, primarily advanced by Western religion, has been challenged by philosophers such as David Hume, Kant, and Plato. Embodied by acts that violate nature's laws, miracles have been promoted by Islam and Christianity as the main reasons to believe in the existence of God. Westerners use the Holy Book to teach that acts, such as the Burning Bush, Jesus Resurrection, and Ten Plagues, are abnormal and could only be performed by a powerful deity. For the mentioned religions, miracles during Moses' time and then in Jesus Christ's period prove that God exists. Often, Westerners will go to extreme ends, such as proving the validity of a miracle, before approving it to avoid diluting their narrative that there were miracles in history, teachings that sustain the Christian and Islam faith today. However, the mentioned philosophers have questioned the Biblical perspectives of miracles, using unquestionable facts. The extensive analysis of miracles, using examples, shows their premise for Biblical authors and today's Christians in advancing the Gospel. The above evaluation also creates a platform to analyze the responses of philosophers. It then accords the reader to formulate their thinking concerning the truth of miracles' existence in the past and today.
When Christian begins to suffer, their best response, as conditioned by the Bible, is to pray and expect a miracle. If the Christian gets help, they term the act as a miracle, committed only by a powerful deity. Therefore, if a Christian recovers from a disease, such as cancer or COVID-19, they believe they have experienced a miracle ( A critique of David Hume’s on miracles | Maranatha Baptist seminary , n.d.) . Similarly, if the Christian survives a fatal road accident where other passengers died, or a 10,000 feet fall, they believe they have experienced a miracle. Christians also believe that historical events recorded in the Bible, such as the immaculate conception of Jesus Christ, resurrection, Burning Bush, turning of water into wine in the wedding of Cana, and creation to be miraculous acts. However, the primary question would be, do these events meet the threshold of a miracle? According to researchers, a miracle must meet three categories; it must violate nature, implying it is from a powerful being, proving the existence of a deity, which is called God in Christianity ( Chapter 3: Philosophy of Religion , n.d.) . However, in most of the events, Christians barely meet the threshold for miracles. For instance, if an individual survives a road accident because they were well strapped and other passengers who died were not, why should this event be termed a miracle yet it does not violate the laws of nature? Yet again, if a Christian recovers from cancer, why would they think the act is a miracle, yet the person underwent a rigorous medical treatment regimen? If a Christian survives an accident, why would they not term the death of other passengers as miracles? If the fact that an individual survived death is proof of a powerful deity's existence, then even the deaths of passengers in a road accident should be termed miracles.
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However, many Christians defend their beliefs by mentioning they are unexplainable. For instance, what explanation is there for a Burning Bush that is not lit by any human hand? Besides, many Christians challenge scientists to explain the origin of the first matter that resulted in the world's creation, as is recorded by the Big Bang Theory. Furthermore, most Christians challenge scientists by saying that ultimately, the human being's body is mortal. Therefore, when Jesus was resurrected, He violated the laws of nature, which mandate the body remains dead forever ( Pearce, 2021) . Philosophers, such as Plato, support the Christian view on the glorified body of Jesus Christ. According to Plato, the human body is mortal, and there does not exist any explanation whatsoever on why Jesus Christ was resurrected ( Iwuagwu, 2018) . Therefore, Plato argues that reality and everything in the world are made of matter, and miracles, such as the glorified body of Jesus Christ, violate this nature.
However, the concept of miracles has been challenged vehemently by philosophers such as Kant and Hume. According to Kant, miracles are advanced by unreasonable people who do not want to question every possible alternative for the way events occur ( Sanchez, M2021) . For instance, the Burning Bush may have been a hallucination by Moses, considering there were no witnesses to prove it happened. However, because Christians are unreasonable, they refuse to explore the mentioned alternative. The Kant explanation also applies to miracles, such as winning the Lotto. In truth, the Lotto winner is subjected to similar factors as the other people who fail. Therefore, it would be reasonable to say that the winner was lucky when their ticket was announced to be a winner. If the above event is a miracle, then the loss experienced by other Lotto players should also be termed a miracle, considering the same deity who engineered the winner's winning also choreographed loss for other players. However, most Christians refuse to explore the negative side of miracles, choosing to believe happy events as miracles and sad outcomes associated with the same events as God's will, which is irrational thinking as advanced by Kant. Finally, David Hume also challenges the concept of miracles, as provided by Christians. According to Hume, there is no evidence for miracles' existence, and there is no proof that miracles result from divine intervention by a deity ( Olufunso, 2019) . For instance, there is no evidence that Jesus turned water into wine at the wedding of Canna. Instead, the explanation for the event would be that Jesus innocently discovered that the wedding host had hidden some choice wine from guests and made the servants give it to attendants at the wedding, but the host was too embarrassed to admit their fraud. Moreover, perhaps Jesus was not conceived through the Immaculate Conception as detailed in the Bible. Perhaps Joseph and Mary conspired to say so that they hide their pre-marital intercourse mistake. Nevertheless, the concept of miracles remains a mystery to date and will continue to be so until a plausible explanation that unites the thoughts of philosophers, and that of followers of the Holy Book is created.
References
Chapter 3: Philosophy of Religion . (n.d.). Website for Queensborough Community College. https://www.qcc.cuny.edu/socialsciences/ppecorino/intro_text/Chapter%203%20Religion/Arg_Experience_Miracles.htm
A critique of David Hume’s on miracles | Maranatha Baptist seminary . (n.d.). Maranatha Baptist University - Maranatha Baptist University. https://www.mbu.edu/seminary/a-critique-of-david-humes-on-miracles/
Iwuagwu, E. K. (2018). A Philosophical Appraisal of Miracle in the Light of Its Multiple Claims in the Contemporary Nigerian Society. Journal of Philosophy, Culture and Religion , 38 (1), 64-72. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327386907_A_Philosophical_Appraisal_of_Miracle_in_the_Light_of_Its_Multiple_Claims_in_the_Contemporary_Nigerian_Society
Olufunso, 0. (2019). An assessment of David Hume's impossibility of miracle. Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies , 9 (1), 71-86. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344570765_AN_ASSESSMENT_OF_DAVID_HUME'S_IMPOSSIBILITY_OF_MIRACLE
Pearce, K. (2021). Do Miracles Occur? Big Questions in Philosophy , 1-22. https://www.tcd.ie/Philosophy/events/public-lecture-series/HT2021Slides/miracles.pdf
Sanchez, M. C. (2021). Orr and Kant: An analysis of the intellectual encounter behind ‘The Christian worldview’. Scottish Journal of Theology , 74 (2), 103 - 122. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0036930621000296[Opens in a new window]
