Introduction:
In the last post here Growing Christian Resources: Post #1 Principles For Miraculous Healing - Introduction , I began this new series by noting the need to understand miraculous healing from principles we can glean from Jesus' miraculous healing ministry.
In one respect, the purpose and manner of His healing ministry is almost unique when we compare other periods of miraculous activity in the Bible. In another respect, there are principles we can glean that can help us in this present era of history. It is important we first do what I call “clearing the ground” of misconceptions against miracles. We will understand four related ideas as we deal with the often-time resistance to miracles so as to unseat skeptical arguments we’ve heard over time.
A. Miracles attest to God's existence.
B. Miracles affirmed Jesus’ preaching and identity.
C. Miracles must be adequately defined.
D. An argument for miracles.
Let's then consider the place of miracles in a world made by God.
A. Miracles attest to God’s existence.
Theologian Vern Poythress’ on page 18 of his book “The Miracles of Jesus” draws a connection between the reality of miracles and God’s existence:
“But it is also important to address the question of whether the miracles really happened. Miracles confront us with the question of what kind of world we live in. Does the nature of the world allow for miracles, or is the world closed to them? Is the world just a self-sufficient mechanism that allows no deviation from its regularities? Questions about the world quickly lead to questions about God.”
Exodus 15:11 reminds us: “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, awesome in praises, working wonders?”
Miracles are important because they attest to God’s existence.
B. Miracles affirmed Jesus’ preaching and identity.
The Bible assumes the existence of miracles, and demonstrates such, because of it being God’s revelation. Jesus’ preaching and teaching ministry included miracles to confirm His identity (as God, as Messiah). John 5:36
“But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”
Even Jesus’ healing of the leper and the paralytic that we will eventually see in Luke 5:12-16 certifies Jesus’ fulfillment of predictive prophecy from the Old Testament (see Isaiah 35:6-2; Isaiah 61:1-2a). Miracles are important because they attest o God’s existence. Miracles affirmed Jesus’ preaching and identity. Thirdly….
C. Miracles must be adequately defined.
Sometimes the reason why people object to miracles in the Gospels or the Bible is due to lack of a working definition. We can see once again the definition of a miracle we gave in the last post: A miracle is an infrequently occurring act by God in a spiritually significant setting that confirms His messenger and message.
Are miracles possible? For the last three hundred years our Western Culture has operated on the assumption that miracles, in principle, are impossible and cannot be identified. 18th century Scottish skeptic David Hume had popularized this definition about miracles being violations of the laws of nature. We can summarize his argument as follows:
1. First, miracles are violations of physical laws.
2. Second, physical laws cannot be violated.
3. Therefore, miracles are impossible.
Hume mistakenly taught that physical laws “prescribe” what happens in our world. Scientific laws do not “prescribe” how our world is to be, but rather “describe” our physical world apart from the intervention of some kind of agent.
The biggest weakness of Hume's reasoning is that it commits the dreaded fallacy of "vicious circular reasoning". What that means is that Hume has already baked-in the conclusion to his premises before his conclusion. In other words, Hume assumes a definition about miracles that presupposes they're violating nature's laws. That same assumption he then assigns to the natural laws themselves. Hence, miraculous events are ruled out in the two premises prior to the conclusion, leading the conclusion to repeat what Hume has already assumed!
Author C.S Lewis notes:
"In calling them miracles we do not mean that they are contradictions or outrages; we mean that, left to her own resources, she could never produce them."
Jesus notes in John 10:38 “but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”
Lewis gives an illustration that can counteract Hume's faulty thinking. Imagine a dresser drawer with six pennies placed in it on a Monday. Then on Tuesday, we would place six additional pennies in the same drawers. When we would open the drawer on Wednesday, we ought to expect to find twelve pennies, since the laws of mathematics describes 6 plus 6 equals twelve. Lewis then describes a person coming into the room and taking some pennies between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.
If we open the drawer on Wednesday, expecting to find twelve cents, and instead find a different amount, what are we to conclude? Have the laws of mathematics been "violated". No. Instead, an agent has intervened, changing the expected resulted. Miracles are important because they attest to God’s existence. Miracles affirmed Jesus’ preaching and identity. Miracles must be adequately defined. Fourthly, when we talk about the place of miracles in a world created by God, it helps to have an argument for them.
D. An argument for miracles.
#1. If miracles do not exist, God does not exist. (Note: Miracles are non-naturally caused events, based off our earlier definition.)
#2. Anything that begins to exist has a cause for its existence.
#3. The universe began to exist.
#4. Thus, the universe has a cause.
#5. The universe’s cause would be non-natural.
#6. The universe’s cause, being non-natural, in principle, is miraculous.
#7. Therefore, God exists.
Out of all the premises in this argument, premise #5 is most pivotal. Since the universe began to exist, any cause prior to it could not be physical, finite, nor non-personal. Why? The universe by definition is all physical, material, space-time reality. The cause of the universe could not be a material cause. Also, the cause of the universe would have to be a personal agent, since there was a decision needed to begin the universe, and only a person possesses volition. Also, the cause of the universe would need to be eternal, which would mean this intelligent agent would exist by necessity of His own nature apart from the universe.
Contemporary multi-verse theory, which postulates some kind of "world-universe generating mechanism" does not do away with this observation, since in multiverse theory, the mechanism driving the so-called multiverse cannot be itself eternal. Even if the multi-verse were scientifically proven, it would still have to deal with the second-law of thermodynamics, which states that physical reality, over time, is running out of available, usable energy, leading to the conclusion that such a system had to have had a beginning.
As we have argued then, if a natural, physical reality like our own had a beginning, then reason would tell us that the cause would possess opposite properties or characteristics. The universe is a non-personal, material, physical space-time reality. The cause of the universe would need be Personal, immaterial, non-physical, non-spatial, timeless, independent Being - a.k.a God. This is why I argue that in principle, the universe's beginning was miraculous. God's creation of the universe would lead us to expect at least the higher probability of miracles taking place within the very universe He created.
Closing thoughts
The above argument at least shows the place of miracles in our world, an important first step as we approach Jesus’ miraculous healings. With that ground clearing done, and hopefully demonstrating how to deal with skepticism about miracles (especially in the Bible), we will look next time at an important principle about miraculous healing from Jesus' ministry: Pray by the will of God.