Miracles Lesson 1

Question 1

What is a miracle by definition?

Answer 1

Miracles are violations of natural laws

Miracles are events having religious
significance

Question 2

What are miracles according to Hume?

Answer 2

Miracles are “a transgression of a
law of nature by a particular
volition of the deity or by the
interposition of some invisible
agent”

Question 3

What example does Holland use to show his belief in miracles?

Answer 3

A child is stuck on a railway line in a pedal car. A train is coming, but the driver fails to see the child. However, just in the nick of time, the driver faints, his hand is taken off
the lever, and the brake is automatically activated. The train then stops in front of the child. There is no violation of nature; however, for a religious person, this may have religious significance and be thought of as a miracle.

This is more a case of seeing an event as a miracle. There is no hand of God; rather, the onus is clearly on the interpretation of the person.

Question 3

What does holland say about miracles?

Answer 3

Miracles are where something which is directly
brought about by God but doesn’t have to break the laws of
nature.

Question 4

What does Agustne say about the violation of the laws of nature?

Answer 4

There can be no true transgression of the laws of nature, because everything that happens according to God’s will happens by nature, and a transgression of the laws of nature would therefore happen contrary to God’s will.

Question 5

What example does aquinas use to prove his point about the transgression of the laws on nature?

Answer 5

If we were to see a man walking on water, and the man really were walking on water, that would not be possible given the laws of nature as we understand them. But it is
logically possible that our understanding of the laws of nature is incomplete.