The argument from miracles is an argument for the
existence of God
The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and theology. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God (with the same or similar arguments also generally being used when talking about the exis ...
that begins by asserting that there are kinds of possible events the best explanation for which would be
supernatural
Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
agency, if the existence of these events are first assumed. Traditionally, events of the relevant kind are known as
miracles. All the argument requires is that miracles be such that the best explanations for them invoke supernatural agency.
Defenders of the argument include
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer, literary scholar and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Magdalen College, Oxford (1925–1954), and Magdalen ...
,
Richard Swinburne
Richard Granville Swinburne (; born 26 December 1934) is an English philosopher. He is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Over the last 50 years, Swinburne has been a proponent of philosophical arguments for the e ...
,
Gary Habermas,
William Paley
William Paley (July 174325 May 1805) was an English Anglican clergyman, Christian apologetics, Christian apologist, philosopher, and Utilitarianism, utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument ...
,
and
Samuel Clarke.
Versions of the argument
Deductive argument from miracles
One deductive argument is proposed by
William Paley
William Paley (July 174325 May 1805) was an English Anglican clergyman, Christian apologetics, Christian apologist, philosopher, and Utilitarianism, utilitarian. He is best known for his natural theology exposition of the teleological argument ...
broadly modeled on the version given by
Richard Whately
Richard Whately (1 February 1787 – 8 October 1863) was an English academic, rhetorician, logician, philosopher, economist, and theologian who also served as a reforming Archbishop of Dublin (Church of Ireland), Church of Ireland Archbishop of ...
:
# All miracles attested by persons, claiming to have witnessed them, who pass their lives in labors, dangers, and sufferings in support of their statements, and who, in consequence of their belief, submit to new rules of conduct, are worthy of credit.
# The central Christian miracles are attested by such evidence.
# The central Christian miracles are worthy of credit.
Explanatory argument from miracles
Another approach to arguing for a miracle claim is to argue that it is the best explanation for a small set of widely conceded facts. A typical “minimal facts” argument for the resurrection of
Jesus
Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...
starts with a list of facts such as these:
# Jesus died by crucifixion.
# His disciples afterward reported experiences which they believed were actually appearances of the risen Jesus.
# The disciples were transformed from fearful cowards into bold proclaimers who were willing to face persecution and death for their message.
# Paul, who had previously been a persecutor of the Christians, had an experience that he also believed was an appearance of the risen Jesus.
None of these four facts are supernatural claims in and of themselves. The argument maintains that virtually all critical scholars with the appropriate expertise accept these facts, relying on standard historical methods and reasoning. The explanatory argument begins with this broad scholarly consensus, asserting that all alternative explanations for these facts fall short when compared to the one that asserts Jesus truly rose from the dead. As a result, the conclusion is usually presented in a definitive and categorical manner, claiming that the resurrection explanation is the most compelling.
One key advantage of this approach is that it explicitly contrasts the resurrection hypothesis with other potential explanations. By doing so, the argument directly engages with alternative interpretations of the data, addressing them head-on.
Bayesian argument from miracles
Another approach to arguing for a miracle claim involves using
Bayesian probability
Bayesian probability ( or ) is an interpretation of the concept of probability, in which, instead of frequency or propensity of some phenomenon, probability is interpreted as reasonable expectation representing a state of knowledge or as quant ...
to argue that certain facts or sets of facts make the conclusion more probable. In the case of a categorical argument, this would mean showing that the conclusion is probable given the facts in question. For a confirmatory argument, the aim would be to demonstrate that the conclusion is significantly more probable when these facts are taken into account, compared to what it would be without them. This kind of argument could be structured in a categorical manner by employing the odds form of
Bayes's Theorem, which allows for a formal, quantitative comparison of probabilities in relation to the available evidence. Several criticisms have been presented against this argument.
References
Further reading
*
David Hume
David Hume (; born David Home; – 25 August 1776) was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist who was best known for his highly influential system of empiricism, philosophical scepticism and metaphysical naturalism. Beg ...
(ed. L. A. Selby-Bigge), ''
An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding'', Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1902 ().
*
Richard Swinburne
Richard Granville Swinburne (; born 26 December 1934) is an English philosopher. He is an Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oxford. Over the last 50 years, Swinburne has been a proponent of philosophical arguments for the e ...
(ed.), ''Miracles'', London: Collier Macmillan Publishers, 1989 ().
External sources
*
Miracles. ''
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''IEP'') is a scholarly online encyclopedia with around 900 articles about philosophy, philosophers, and related topics. The IEP publishes only peer review, peer-reviewed and blind-refereed original p ...
''.
*
Miracles. ''
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''SEP'') is a freely available online philosophy resource published and maintained by Stanford University, encompassing both an online encyclopedia of philosophy and peer-reviewed original publication ...
''.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Argument From Miracles
Arguments for the existence of God
Christian apologetics
Miracles