Arguments against
Arguments for
Miracles are simply examples of the power of the mind to command the body
The philosopher David Hume argues that the witnesses to the miracles were frequently uneducated people of doubtful reputation. He believes that it is part of human nature to exaggerate.
None of the certified miracles at Lourdes had any limbs growing back or anything truly miraculous (Tony Gosling)
Some miracle cures are claimed by individuals who had nothing wrong with them. Their ailment was psychosomatic. This means that though some bodily feature was actually affected, the real root of the problem was mental or emotional.
So called faith cures are due to a phenomenon known as spontaneous remission. This is an unexpected withdrawal of disease symptoms, and an inexplicable disappearance of the ailment. It occurs in about one out of every 80,000 cancer patients.
Miracles did occur in the Old and New Testaments but they do not happen today. They have ceased. They are no longer required. We have the Word of God, the Bible, to tell us all that we need to know about God. Miracles were signs to people who did not have the Bible, signs to point them to God.
If God is really involved in the daily running of the world, and if the laws of nature are His laws anyway, what’s to stop Him overriding them if He wants to? To say that God wouldn’t do that sort of thing is beside the point, because the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, tells us that on occasion He did. We may find this difficult to believe, but once we allow God into the equation, nothing is impossible.
Roman Catholics believe that the Virgin Mary has appeared to them in places such as Lourdes and that miracles continue to happen there and in other places of pilgrimage today.
Many people speak of seeing miracles occurring in churches they attend and hearing countless stories from people they regard as trustworthy. People are not always healed, but it shouldn’t be a surprise when it happens. Jesus Christ, the greatest worker of miracles, is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8)
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