Wiles vs Hume

• There is an 147 year difference between Wiles and Hume
• Both Hume and Wiles were academics, however they had different topics:

  • Wiles focuses more on God than Hume
  • Subjects have opposing views and different methods of proving information
• Hume is against religion, Wiles is committed to Christianity
• Wiles

  • Christian
  • God chooses not to intervene
• Hume

  • Atheist
  • There is no God who is able to violate natural laws
• Hume's assumptions

  • Christianity is irrational
  • All believers must believe in miracles
  • Christians believe themselves to be sinners if they do not believe in miracles
• Miracles in the Bible

  • Hume- literal descriptions of false facts
  • Wiles- Symbolic and mythological to help us understand God's nature
• Wiles says the explanation does not matter, it is not about whether an event can be explained in natural terms
• Wiles does not have to engage with Hume's argument
• There are no divine actions in the world that violate natural laws, Wiles does not have to explain how natural laws can be violated
• The miracle is a matter of personal interpretation- it is a symbol, not simply a matter of physical fact