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Honorary Board
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Argument from MiraclesThe occurrence of miracles is frequently purported to be evidence of the supernatural, and therefore of the existence of a God. In addition to the articles below, see also related Debates, Reviews, and Links. To purchase related reading, go to the Secular Web Book Store.
Resurrection [ Index ]Selected articles on the Resurrection of Jesus "miracle."
Shroud of Turin [ Index ]Selected articles investigating claims of the Shroud's authenticity.
Answers to Prayer (1999) by Lee Salisbury Salisbury asks why so many Christians are experiencing extreme difficulties, given Jesus' promise that prayers would be answered (Mt. 7:7). A Case of Immaculate Abortion? (1988) (Off Site) by Gary Posner A doctor, deeply religious and opposed to abortion, finds himself faced with the choice of either terminating his patient's pregnancy or leaving her exposed to choriocarcinoma, a virulent malignancy of the placenta which is usually fatal. After asking "guidance from God," the doctor prepares to abort the fetus--only to find that it has "miraculously" disappeared from his patient's uterus. The Conception of the Miraculous and Christian Apologetics (1997) [ Index ] by Keith Parsons The occurrence of miracles is considered an important element of Christian faith and doctrine. In this reprint of his 1982 MA Thesis, Parsons considers various criticisms of the conception of the miraculous as well as the efforts of some Christian apologists to "deal with these difficulties." Parsons seeks to answer "whether the attempts to refute the philosophical criticisms of the miraculous succeed or fail--with the result that a cogent Christian apologetic cannot be produced." Does 1 Corinthians Chapter 15 Teach a Physical or a Spiritual Resurrection? (2000) by David Friedman 1 Corinthians 15 is a crucial chapter for understanding the meaning of the resurrection. While literalists claim that it supports a physical resurrection, Friedman shows that the contrary is true--what is spoken of in the chapter is spiritual, not physical, resurrection. Examining an 'Unsolved Mysteries' Report of a 'Miraculous' Cure (1995) (Off Site) by Gary Posner Posner investigates the claims of a 42-year-old Florida woman who, after a large lump was discovered in her breast. Having read about "the power of prayer and meditation," the woman claims God answered her prayers by healing her, to the . Examining Miracle Claims (1996) by Joe Nickell "Today's widespread scientific illiteracy, even an outright attitude of anti-science, is concurrent with the spread of magical thinking even in our own relatively enlightened culture. With the rise of the 'New Age' movement has come a resurgence of such nonsense as astrology, crystal healing, the 'channeling' of departed spirits, and alleged abductions by creatures in flying saucers. Similarly, there has been a revival of religious fundamentalism, including miracle claims. These range from magical images and 'miraculous' relics to various 'divine' experiences and claims of healing by faith alone. Here is a brief look at some of the miracle claims paranormal investigators encounter." God in the CCU?: A critique of the San Francisco hospital study on intercessory prayer and healing (1990) by Gary Posner A study conducted by a San Francisco cardiologist indicates that "God exists, and that he had interceded in the recovery of a group of coronary care unit patients[.]" Despite both Paul Harvey's and Charles Osgood's endorsement of these claims in their radio commentaries, Posner finds that the study suffers methodological flaws. Hume on Miracles, Frequencies, and Prior Probabilities (1998) by Victor Reppert Reppert argues that "[b]oth apologetics and anti-apologetics should be engaged in persuasion, not coercion, and that the attempt to ground irrationality charges against one's opponents is a misguided enterprise." An Inquiry into Davis' Account of the Possibility of Rational Belief and Rational Scepticism in the Resurrection of Jesus (1998) [ Index ] by Tyler Wunder In his 1984 article "Is it Possible to Know that Jesus Rose From the Dead?" Professor Stephen T. Davis suggests that it is possible for both belief and disbelief in the resurrection to be held rationally. Wunder examines this claim, and finds that "Christological Mythicism" presents a superior argument to the naturalistic cases presented by Davis. Islamic Science: Does Islamic Literature Contain Scientific Miracles? by Denis Giron Over the last decade growing numbers of Muslims have declared the Qur'an to be a book filled with scientific miracles that demonstrate it is of divine origin. Numerous web sites, books and videos have been produced that proclaim Islam to be truly a religion of divine origin, citing "scientifically accurate" statements in the Qur'an and Hadiths. The author critically examines this claim and concludes that the numerous and obvious scientific errors within the Qur'an point to a wholly human origin. Kooks and Quacks of the Roman Empire: A Look into the World of the Gospels (1997) by Richard Carrier Carrier argues that when we examine the background of the time and place in which the gospels were written, we discover that "these were times replete with kooks and quacks of all varieties, from sincere lunatics to ingenious frauds, and there was no end to the fools and loons who would follow and praise them." The Man with No Heart: Miracles and Evidence (1998) by Richard Packham What would it really take to justify belief that a miracle has happened? MessiahGate: A Tale of Murder and Deception (1987) by Larry Taylor The job of a historian, Taylor says, is to treat with skepticism regarding testimony about the past, which can be propaganda, or "real evidence but biased," or complete forgeries, as many examples demonstrate. How does a historian's skepticism apply to the story of Jesus? The Miracle Of The Resurrection (1995) [ Index ] by Jeffrey Lowder "More skeptics reject the resurrection because of its miraculous nature than for any other reason. If the resurrection is historical, then something truly extraordinary has occurred: the raising of Jesus from the dead. But many people find it difficult to believe that an event of this type has occurred." In this chapter of The Historicity Of Jesus' Resurrection, Lowder discusses why he believes the resurrection is an "important historical issue that needs to be addressed by both Christians and skeptics." Miracles (1997) (Off Site) by Michael P. Levine Levine analyzes the philosophical dimensions of miracles, including classic and modern definitions and arguments, the religious significance of miracles, etc. Includes comprehensive bibliography. Published in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Resurrection (1987) by Robert M. Price "Resurrection is the Semitic and biblical alternative to the Greek idea of immortality of the soul on the one hand, and to the Indian idea of reincarnation on the other. Resurrection refers to the glorious hope that at the end of earthly history, the righteous of past ages will rise bodily to new life to receive the justice and the reward they were denied in life. Believers in resurrection are to be found in many religions, and within each faith details of belief differ, but the Christian hope of resurrection hangs on the resurrection of Jesus Christ." Review of Jordan Howard Sobel's Logic and Theism (2006) by Theodore M. Drange Jordan Howard Sobel's Logic and Theism is long, abstruse, and technical, but valuable for those who have an interest in its topics. Those looking for arguments based on empirical phenomena said to be best explained by the God hypothesis should look elsewhere. Sobel's focus is, rather, issues of definition and logical structure. He addresses everything from the ontological argument to the fine-tuning argument, demolishing all of the main arguments for God's existence. Moreover, he argues that the kind of omnipotence and omniscience that theists ascribe to God is incoherent, and defends both evidential and logical arguments from evil against the existence of God. Finally, he turns to a discussion of practical reasons for belief in God, such as those invoked by Pascal's wager. No cutting-edge research on these topics should omit Sobel's work. Review of Reasonable Faith (2007) by Chris Hallquist William Lane Craig's Reasonable Faith is an apologetics textbook ranging over arguments for the existence of God to the alleged evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. It also includes discussions of Craig's views on faith, the meaning of life, miracles, history, and Jesus' view of himself, as well as an original chapter on the reliability of the New Testament by evangelical New Testament scholar Craig Blomberg. In this critique Chris Hallquist argues that at best Reasonable Faith provides thoughtful arguments for the existence of some sort of God, but not the Christian God specifically, and that Craig fails to adequately answer arguments that belief in miracles--including belief in the miracle of Jesus' resurrection--is unwarranted. Moreover, by implication Craig wants his audience to renounce the basic moral notion that no one deserves eternal punishment for picking the wrong religion. In the end, Craig wants us to believe something that all reason is against, though paradoxically every apologetic assumes that we must take reason seriously. This is, ultimately, why Craig's apologetic fails. The Rivalry Between Religions (2007) by Raymond D. Bradley In this highly original and challenging essay, Raymond Bradley develops an argument that all religions are probably false inspired by David Hume's famous discussion of the 'contrary miracles' of rival religions. According to Bradley's argument from contrariety, any one of the vast numbers of religions ever conceived (or to be conceived) makes factual claims contradicted by the claims of all of the other religions. Moreover, the claims of any particular religion are generally as well-attested as the claims of all of the others. Consequently, given the "weight" of the "evidence" of all of the other religions, the probability that the claims of any one religion are true is exceedingly low. From this it follows that all religions are probably false. Science, Confirmation, and the Theistic Hypothesis (1986) [ Index ] by Keith M. Parsons This thesis examines various attempts to construe theism as an explanatory hypothesis and to defend it with arguments similar to those employed in the confirmation of scientific hypotheses. It is the aim of this work to show that such a construal fails to confirm theism and in actuality leads to its disconfirmation.
Science and Miracles (1998) by Theodore M. Drange Using the simplified definition of a "miracle" as an event which violates a law of nature, Drange investigates the relation between science and miracles. He argues that scientists, as scientists, can't believe that such events ever occur, but leaves open whether they could consistently believe in miracles apart from their scientific work. If they do, it would only be in virtue of having compartmentalized minds. Objection #2: Since Miracles Contradict Science, They Cannot Be True (2001) by Kyle Gerkin Part of Gerkin's comprehensive review of Lee Strobel's The Case for Faith, Strobel's interview with William Lane Craig is analyzed and critiqued. Objection #2: Since Miracles Contradict Science, They Cannot Be True (4th ed., 2006) by Paul Doland Part of Doland's comprehensive review of Lee Strobel's The Case for Faith, Strobel's interview with William Lane Craig is analyzed and critiqued. The Syrophoenician Woman in Mark 7:25-30/Matthew 15:21-28 by James Still An advanced analysis for the serious reader concerning the famous story of the pagan woman whose clever retort against Jesus wins the day. Why I Don't Buy the Resurrection Story 6th ed. (2006) [ Index ] There are many reasons that I am not a Christian. I am an atheist for reasons more fundamental than anything to do with particular religions, but the arguments in favor of the Christian creed as opposed to any other are ubiquitous and always center around the historical claim that Jesus was raised from the dead. As an historian with a good knowledge of Greek, I am now very qualified to make a professional judgement in the matter. This essay explains why I find the Resurrection to be an unconvincing argument for becoming Christian.
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