Evidence that miracles violate nature or is it
evidence that miracle claims are trying to declare a violation - or both?
Both sceptics of miracles and believers argue that miracles are bad if they
violate nature and are unworthy of devotion.
It would be insane to imagine an all-powerful God having to violate nature to
fix something or do something. And if there is no God then could it be that
there still supernatural powers that do violations of nature? Unbelievers think
nature is reasonably uniform and so things such as a statue coming to life
cannot happen.
The religionists hold that miracles are exceptions to the law of nature but not
violations. They only assume that. That is no good and is risking belief in
violations of nature and such belief would be irrational and dangerous. Their
view tells us a few things about them not least their arrogance.
Most miracles pose as evidence for a violation.
There are so many miracles reported in the world - most of which are
spiritualistic in tone. Some of them seem to be saying a violation has happened.
People who believe that miracles are a violation of nature experience miracles
as evidence or confirmation that their understanding is right. It is only a few
philosophers and theologians who deny that miracles are a violation. In popular
spirituality, miracles are thought of as a kind of magic or almost as magic. If
a miracle happens and is a sign, it only confirms beliefs the recipients already
have and the main relevant belief is that the miracle is a contradiction of
nature like the magic.
No matter how good the evidence is that a violation of nature has happened the
religionists will reject the evidence or they will ignore it which is the same
thing. Christianity believes that the miracles reported of witches in the Middle
Ages didn't happen because they violated nature and were absurd. If miracles are
contradictions of nature and that means they are impossible, it follows that
believers are only accepting miracles that are not a contradiction of nature and
ignoring the ones that claim to be contradictions. If many miracle reports
describe a contradiction, how can ones that don't be trusted? How can you say
that the evidence for a miracle that is not a contradiction may be accepted but
if the miracle is a contradiction then it must be rejected? That is merely
admitting that evidence is only receiving lip service and the evidence isn't the
reason the miracle is accepted as real at all. Miracles then would be guilty of
producing and encouraging deceit.
The fact that many miracles lead to harm and advocate lies may indicate that
they violate nature.
Catholics guess that say the miracles of Lourdes back up the pope and the evil
doctrine that he stands for. They think they show that God approves of the
pope’s Church when he does miracles in that Church alone. They would reason that
the wonders are signs that the Church is the most reliable source of the word of
God and some logically refuse to use contraception for the Pope forbids it, with
fatal and disastrous results. To invite people to run their lives by religious
assumptions like yours is totally supercilious for people should run their lives
by what the best evidence says is right. But this is assuming again? No. Recall
that to assume nature works by unchangeable laws is better than to assume that
the supernatural can intervene. You can live without the second assumption but
you cannot live without the first.
There is no way a Christian can prove all the miracles reported in the Bible.
There are too many miracle claims in the world to investigate them all. Religion
cannot claim that miracles are not violations of nature for there is evidence
that it is wrong. There can be evidence in favour of false miracles. Religion is
merely picking out the miracles and proposing these for belief as long as they
suit religion's aims and schemes. It has no business claiming to be rational and
properly investigative.
Many feel that belief in miracles borders on belief in magical violations of
nature. But as the distinction between miracle and magic is arbitrary it is
clear that it is wise to say all miracles pose as violations of nature but some
do more posing than others!