The Problem With Miracles

As I'm sure most of my regular readers are aware, I am a Bible-believing Christian. I accept that the Bible is the inspired Word of God. I believe that God used human beings to transfer His message to us. This He accomplished for our benefit. Furthermore, I believe the scriptures are inerrant. I'm not suggesting that minor translational discrepancies do not exist; I'm familiar with them. When I say "inerrant," I mean that God's Word is correct, accurate, and filled with truth.

Having briefly summarized my view, let's address a different aspect of this topic: If one accepts the above as true, why would one find difficulty in accepting the reality of miracles? I make this inquiry because, on a number of occasions, I have read or heard about self-proclaimed Christians doubting that certain miracles actually happened. Examples of Noah's Flood, the story of Jonah, and the wedding feast at Cana spring to mind.

The keynote, here, is that many people critical of biblical miracle stories claim Christian status. Probably the most well-known group in this category is the Jesus Seminar--a group of about two hundred New and Old Testament scholars. Many of its members proclaim themselves Christians, and are active in their respective churches. Yet a study of the Seminar's findings reveals that--of 176 separate events (many miraculous) involving Jesus and described in the Gospels--it found only ten of these deserving of a high rate of confidence as having actually occured. Another nineteen were termed probable, for a grand total of only sixteen percent receiving "likely" or "probable" rankings.

But all of this begs the question: If you believe in God's existence; if you believe that He created the universe and everything in it, including human beings; if you believe the Bible is His inspired Word, then why would you have difficulty with believing in miracles?

For a God who created life from nothingness--merely by speaking it into existence--it seems to me that bringing a universal deluge, or turning water into wine, or having a prophet survive three days in the belly of a great fish are all small potatoes, indeed.

In the end, I suppose it all boils down to what you believe. Do you believe the Bible is God's holy and inspired Word, or not? If so, then you have no basis for denying miracles, since they are biblical, and frequently demonstrated throughout the scriptures.