Christianity, Miracles and Modern Man - Christianity101So just what about the issue of miracles? The Bible records many miracles occurring over a period of more than 4000 years. But it is easy to get the misconception that miracles were common occurrences in biblical times. This is not the case. It is the nature of history to record events out of the ordinary therefore miracles will seem much more common than they actually are. The very reason that these things were recorded is because they were unusual occurrences of supernatural or miraculous activity. We must be careful, however, when we approach the Bible to be willing to entertain the idea that something outside of what we see, hear, and feel could exists. All of these sensory experiences are in the realm of science. But science, which deals with the laws of nature, can say nothing of the supernatural. Science has its limits - especially in the area of the miraculous - because miracles are by definition, non-natural events.
If miracles exist as I've described, then we would not expect everyone to have experienced a miracle and we cannot rule them out because we have never personally witnessed one. In other words it is wrong to reason that a miracle cannot occur on logical grounds (by reason alone) because one has never seen one. It is certainly possible that supernatural events have indeed taken place throughout the history. And it is better to come with an attitude that it might be possible. Let's leave this question open. We commonly assume that ancient peoples believed miracles occurred regularly and were more gullible than we are. They certainly wouldn't have been able to explain as much about the natural world as we can. But this does not make them ignorant, willing to believe any abnormal event is supernatural. They were awed by the laws of nature - but they were also aware of a difference between things that occurred naturally, such as lightning, and those which didn't, such as people rising from the dead. They lived day to day without these amazing experiences just as we do. Books
on Miracles, Faith & Christianity Christisnity
Introduction | The
resurrection of Jesus Christ | the
Bible as history
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