Edit: After reading check out this response by Ben Molyneux, and this one by Charlie Comerford.
The bible is full of miracles, from the manna given to the Israelites in the desert, to Jesus walking on water, to the many and varied healings. Jesus alone recorded 37 'miracles', and John 21 says there were “many other [miracles]” that went unrecorded.
But do miracles still happen today? A quick google search reveals hundreds upon thousands of people who claim to have had some form of miraculous experience, especially common are miraculous healings, including many from incurable conditions.
Science does give us some explanations for so-called miracles, for instance placebo effect, or even the power of positive thinking in dealing with illness, however there are many things that happen that science can not adequately explain.
I think that looking at these more traditional miracles throws up more questions than answers, but I also think that if we simply focus on if the happen or not, we miss the point. The question is not so much did God do these things, but what is the purpose behind them? For instance, does Jesus walk on water is far less important a question than why are we told that Jesus walked on water? In other words the purpose behind the miracle is the thing of importance, not the miracle itself.
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| Jesus Walking on water |
The catholic Church describes miracles as “works of God, either directly, or through the prayers and intercessions of a specific saint or saints” which is a fairly broad definition, so with that In mind I've thought about what a modern day miracle would look like.
We like to think of miracles as supernatural acts of God, in which something incredible happens (preferably involving dramatic effects, like explosions, or at the very least a bit of smoke), and we tend to minimise 'works of God' which can be passed off more easily as works of man, but if we look at the above definition, it specifically mention the intercessions of saints. If we as saints are not physically doing something, I believe there are no miracles. Through the whole bible God works through his people, and it is no different now.
In churches, we are obsessed with seeing the outworking of God's power, we long for miracles, and yet how often do we neglect going and being miraculous? Jesus tells us to love our neighbour as ourself, and to me there would be no more obvious example of a miracle in history than if our churches started to live by this. Honestly whether or not miracles happen should not even be a question, because our churches should be full of them, just maybe not in the way we expect.
You're definitely right that if we want to see miracles (supernatural or otherwise) we need to get out and do stuff. My question to you is - if someone comes to you with an illness, do you pray for healing?
ReplyDeleteShort answer; no.
DeleteI struggle a lot with the concept of 'supernatural miracles', I don't want to deny them, but I find it impossible to affirm them either.
Otherwise 'miracles' are easier, because even if we're wrong about everything, you've done something good.
I don't pray, but if I could do something to physically help, I'd like to think I would (although they're are definitely times I haven't/won't).
I think the Catholic Church would take issue with how you have used their definition. It is miracles attributed to dead chrians that Rome views as evidence that they have passed through purgatory into heaven and hence can be canonised as official saints to be prayed to. I don't disagree with your conclusions as such, but using rome's definition wrongly as your base weakens your argument somewhat.
ReplyDeleteHi Simon,
DeleteYeah I'm aware that the Catholic Church wouldn't like my use of their definition, I probably should have made a clear distinction between my thoughts and theirs. My view is basically that their definition of miracles is good, but they use it wrongly.
I mainly used their definition because finding another widely accepted definition isn't all that easy (and it fit in with what I was trying to say, in the way I used it). I'm not a catholic, hence my disagreement, but equally I still think it is interesting that a Catholic definition of miracles specifically mentions not just God but "a saint".