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Miracles, Divine Action, and the Christian Perspective Colton Mccoy Department of Biology; College of Arts and Sciences Abilene Christian University

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Miracles, Divine Action, and the Christian Perspective Colton Mccoy Department of Biology; College of Arts and Sciences Abilene Christian University Miracles Miracles, Divine Action, and the Christian Perspective Colton McCoy Department of Biology; College of Arts and Sciences Abilene Christian University After exploring various definitions for miracle and its characteristics in Christian thought, I will consider modes of action for carrying out such events in light of an overarching position that ‘miracle’ must be defined in relation to a higher purpose. Determining what this purpose is presents greater concerns than either definitions of miracle or mechanisms of divine action in carrying out miracles. In an introductory biology course my something foreign must enter into the professor explained the function of the natural word and have its effect there. Just spleen in the immune system as an organ as white blood cell activation in the spleen is that white blood cells enter so they can be not the whole story when it comes to splenic activated to combat antigens in the body. At activity, a miracle’s effect in nature is not all the time, I was satisfied with this there is to address when it comes to description; later, I took an immunology miracles. The miracle must enter reality. The course and quickly learned that things were white blood cell must come into the spleen. not as simple as I had first heard. For a The interface between the two realities is white blood cell to enter the spleen, there is where the concept of divine action becomes a complicated process that occurs in the important. It seems that most philosophers vessel walls of the spleen involving all sorts and religious thinkers prefer to speak of of cell adhesion molecules that latch onto miracles in terms of their activity in nature even more types of molecules present on the to the neglect of the mechanism for divine vessel wall and eventually arrest the motion action responsible for their existence in of the white blood cell. The white blood cell nature. I would like to discuss here that is then able to enter the spleen through a mechanism of divine action. Perhaps it will process involving numerous cell signaling complement C.S. Lewis’ take on miracles in molecules and the invagination of the vessel nature as well as the Christian perspective wall. At this point, the cell is inside the on miracles in the Bible and today. spleen and can become activated as described by my introductory biology course Defining Miracle professor. There is even more detail The flippancy with which we use the involved than what I have just described to word miracle and its ubiquity in the English finish the story. vernacular have created an atmosphere of uncertainty surrounding the entire concept. An Analogy? This is made especially evident when one Perhaps there is an analogous tries to objectively examine what constitutes process for miracles to occur. C.S. Lewis a miracle. People often speak of “the miracle defines a miracle as supernatural of life,” which, for most, is really just a interference in the natural world1. In order manner of expressing wonder at the for a miracle to take place which conforms astronomical odds against our existence. to the Lewis definition of the word, Before any one of us developed into just a 1 Lewis, 1947 Dialogue & Nexus | Fall 2014-Spring 2015 |Volume 2 1 Miracles fetus, we were a sperm and an egg. A single The former take nature to be the whole of sperm outraces hundreds of millions of reality. They say that nothing exists apart others to reach the egg and combine the from nature and therefore it may not be genomes of the two parents. Then, as if that invaded by any outside entity. The latter were not incredible enough, after a period of believe nature is not the whole of reality, 9 months we each develop eyes and ears and and that there exists outside of nature a nervous system which is now capable of another reality or even multiple realities. contemplating that entire process. All the The naturalist view leaves no room for while, the planet on which each of us were belief in miracles for if nature is all that conceived is spinning at 460 meters per there is, it cannot be interfered with by an second during that very act and, more outside source. It is what scientists might incredible still, it is the only one (to the best call a closed system. The supernaturalists of our knowledge) within hundreds of light view nature as an open system which gives years capable of supporting organic life. possibility to the occurrence of miracles Upon investigation of the etymologic because it makes the claim that nature is not origins of the word miracle, it should be no the entirety of reality. surprise many regard the aforementioned I should be clear by saying, as Lewis events as miraculous. The English miracle, does, that to be a supernaturalist is not to be derives its meaning from the Latin a Christian and to be a naturalist is not the miraculum, meaning ‘to wonder at.’2 same as being an atheist. Both views leave Spontaneous remission of a cancer (i.e. its room for the belief in a god, which may or unexplained and unpredicted disappearance may not turn out to be the God of Christian from the body) is often denoted miraculous theology. The Christian naturalist and the because of the 1 in 100,000 odds of Christian supernaturalist would most likely occurring in a given patient; it amazes us. have very different images of God. The We wonder at the remission of the death naturalist believes in a God that is not sentence (although not wondering at its outside of reality, but within, which equally improbable cause). produces a view of God as the sum of the Events are labeled miraculous when, parts of nature just as a grandfather clock is from our experience, we cannot explain why the sum of cogs, wood and glass. they happened the way they did; we only The argument against naturalism is know that it is thus. The uncertainty felt the subject for another paper, but I believe it within seems to be reflected in the varied is very difficult to reconcile with the definitions of the word. For the purpose of timelessness of God, the incarnation, and the this paper I will assume the C.S. Lewis Gospel stories, among other doctrines definition of the word (a supernatural foundational to the Christian faith. interference in the natural world), as I Supernaturalism, which we will discuss believe it to be the most valid and in line here, lends itself to a view of God who is with popular Christian and secular thought. wholly discrete and set apart from nature. It supports a creatio continua, i.e. the ongoing The C.S. Lewis Position involvement of God in the universe that is In his book Miracles, C.S. Lewis accepted by most theologians. makes a distinction between what he calls Supernaturalism seems to be the most the naturalists, who do not believe in congruent with many elements of the miracles, and the supernaturalists who do.3 Christian faith and is the one held by Lewis. 2 Sezgül, 2013 3 op. cit. ref. 1 Dialogue & Nexus | Fall 2014-Spring 2015 |Volume 2 2 Miracles Lewis says that it would be a fallacy of a law which applies almost all of the time. to assume that miracles, as in violations of The third, which Lewis subscribes to, is the natural laws, occur for the supernaturalist. belief that the law of nature has inherent Supernaturalists believe that there is a being truth associated with it, and it is thus mere that created what we know as nature, and nonsense to suggest that something may this power could also have created multiple occur which is out of accordance with that natures subject to different natural laws than law. the ones which we are subject to. Lewis It can be easily seen that the first two refers to multiple realities as being like two beliefs described in the previous paragraph books by the same author4. Characters in the do not bar miracles from happening. two books have no relation to one another Although something may have happened in except for their common derivation in the some particular manner yesterday, it does mind of the author. Likewise, our reality not follow that the same should occur today. may have no relation to another save for its And just because the apple falls downward a common origin in the mind of the Creator. hundred million times, does not mean that it The point at which these realities overlap, or may not race towards the sky every now and the divine being influences nature is the then. point at which a miracle takes place. Much of the controversy surrounding However, their bumping into one another or the definition of “miracle” stems from a the hand of the divine dipping into nature is disagreement on whether it must be a entirely dependent on the will of the divine. violation of the law of nature or not. Hume, The creator may choose to make this happen for example, said that miracles are in or may choose not to. complete contradiction to the law of nature, At this point it is important to and that because an “unalterable experience discuss what is meant by “the laws of has established these laws” nothing can nature.” Lewis asserts that there are three happen that contradicts them5. Lewis admits general beliefs about the law of nature. The that the final belief, which implies the first is to believe that the laws we observe, uniformity of the natural law in space and say Newton’s laws, are just facts and that time, seems to pose a threat to the possibility although these are the laws we observe, of miracles for the same reason that Hume there is no inherent truth associated with suggests.
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