The Objection to Miracles

Introduction:

One of the most common reasons why people reject Christianity today is because the modern person rejects miracles on principle. There is a common retort that the modern person who is educated and has benefitted from all the progress of science and can cast our eye over history to all the negative effects of religion can happily put ignorant and superstitious thinking away and boldly accept that there is no such thing as miracles. It is common to have a conversation with someone who says that the miracle of the virgin birth is false, or a borrowed myth to make Jesus out to be something He wasn’t. Or that when Jesus walked on water He only appeared to be walking on water when in fact He was walking on a sand bank just under the surface. Or when Jesus fed the 5000, He did not miraculously produce food, but rather the generosity of the little boy shamed the crowd into sharing their travel provisions which proved to be more than enough. Or that Jesus swooned and did not die and resurrect. This sort of thinking has gained a lot of momentum with the New Atheists, Richard Dawkins has even written a children’s book trying to get kids to think that miracles cannot happen.

We will begin by looking at all the ways people deny miracles and then make our defence.