Hello slevesque, my goal for this post is to show you what Dr. Adequate is also trying to show you, that the difference between something being a miracle or not isn't from being a theist/atheist, it's from where you stop looking for answers.
First, your story:
I can give a personnal example of a miracle:
There is a lady I know very well that was diagnosed with a cancer by her doctor, who used x-rays etc. to identify it. Despite that she had the x-ray right in front of here, she refused to believe it and so went to another city to see another doctor so that he would examine her if she had a cancer. (Health care is free here in quebec, so she was paying herself a little 'luxury' haha) Same tests, same results with the same cancer at the same place. She still didn't accept it, and drove 2 hours to another hospital in another city, and was rechecked if she had cancer. Again, exactly the same results. Now seeing these three independant confirmations that she had a cancer, she finally accepted it. After scheduling here operation to have it removed, she said to the doctor: ''God didn't say his last word on all this!'' and left. Fast forward a month or two later, at the day scheduled for here operation. She was in the hospital elevator with the doctor, all set to go down to the operation room when a nurse came running to announce that the pre-operation tests had revealed that there were no more cancer. The new x-rays were totally different from the three previous ones, and the cancer had in fact disappeared. When the lady turned to the doctor and asked: 'What happened ?' the doctor simply replied: 'It happenned exactly what you told me.' This was revealing because that doctor was not a christian at all, and yet didn't even try to explain what had happened. He had recognized a miracle when he saw one.
Second, my story:
quote:
Initially, the room only had a full bowl of candy. Then one child went into the room for 10 minutes. He left. The bowl was still full of candy. Then another child went into the room for 10 minutes. She left. The bowl was still full of candy. In fact, 100 children entered the room, remained for 10 minutes, and left. A check on the bowl shows that it was still full of candy. The next child went into the room for 10 minutes. Then left. Checking on the bowl of candy, we find that some is missing.
Your story - cancer does not go away very often
My story - children do not steal candy very often
Your story - the cancer was there, then later it wasn't
My story - the candy was there, then later it wasn't
Your story - there is a known, natural method that explains why the cancer went away (remission)
My story - there is a known, natural method that explains why the candy went away (kids eat candy)
Your story - there may be other methods to naturally explain why cancer can be quickly healed that we have yet to understand
My story - there may be other methods to naturally explain why candy disappears that we have yet to understand
Your story - we are unable to obtain any further information to help us determine if the healing was a miracle or natural
My story - we are unable to obtain any further information to help us determine if the missing candy was a miracle or natural
Your story - you claim it was a miracle
My story - what do you claim was it's cause?
What is the difference between your story and my story?
-I think it is your personal lack of experience with cancer patients compared to your personal multitude of experience with candy-eating kids. What do you think?
What makes people claim miracles as causes?
-I think it is personal indredulity (as above), but what do you think?
How can we tell if something really was a miracle, or if we're just saying that and it actually was a natural event that we're simply unable to go back in time to see?
-I don't think it's possible to tell a difference between these two things. I do, however, know that once we accept the claim of "miracle" there is absolutely no chance for future discovery of a possible new aspect to the natural world (perhaps God-given) that we live within.
GK Chesterton writes:
The believers in miracles accept them (rightly or wrongly) because they have evidence for them. The disbelievers in miracles deny them (rightly or wrongly) because they have a doctrine against them.
Stile writes:
You will never hear an honest explorer claim that a miracle happened. For that would extinguish the possibility of learning.
If a miracle happens and we do not accept it because there's a possibility it still happened naturally, we have lost nothing. Even in the eyes of a God - given He is self-confident.
If a natural phenomenon occurs and we accept the answer of 'miracle' at any point, we have lost all hope of educating ourselves.
™ Version 4.2
