Realist and Anti-realist Interpretations of Miracles

• What is the definition of a realist view of philosophy?

  Although we cannot necessarily understand miracles, there is still evidence that they occur so this means that they are / reveal a truth in the universe
• What are the different realist views of miracles?

  1. Miracle as an extraordinary coincidence of a beneficial nature

  2. Miracle as an event brought about by the power of God or another spiritual power, working through people

  3. Miracle as a violation of natural law
• 1. Miracle as an extraordinary coincidence of a beneficial nature


  There is evidence that a miracle has occurred, so they are rarely disputed, however it is believed that this is a coincidence and not brought about by a higher being. Examples: Juliane Koepcke was a German-Peruvian high school student. In 1971 she was on board flight 508 when it encountered a thunderstorm and crashed, killing all 6 crew members and 85 of the 86 passengers. She was the sole survivor. Even with several injuries she survived nine days in the jungle. Another example is the account of a gas explosion at West Side Baptist Church in Nebraska in 1950. The explosion demolished the Church but luckily the 15 choir members were all late for different reasons that day
• 2. Miracle as an event brought about by the power of God or another spiritual power, working through people


  The miracle could not have happened if nature alone was at work, so it was due to intervention of a spiritual nature. Examples: Moses, whose actions in carrying out the ten plagues on Egypt (Exodus 7:8-11:10) are given through the power of Yahweh. Miracles as demonstrations of divine power are important in Catholic tradition. The 'Congregation for the Causes of the Saints' investigates accounts of miracles performed by those who are considered for canonisation. Something is only accepted as a miracle if there is substantial strong evidence for it in which there was no scientific explanation
• 3. Miracle as a violation of natural law

  A supernatural being bypasses natural law to perform a miracle. If something occurred against all probabilities, then it was likely to be a miracle. Hume and Swinburne held this view. The event has to be the result of an act of God's will, as opposed to a completely inexplicable chance happening. The requirement for God to be the agent of the miracle acknowledges that to be a miracle, the event has to have religious significance
• What is the anti-realist view of miracles?

  1. The mind is the only means of observing the world

  2. Immanuel Kant. The mind belongs to this universe and truth can only be the things that are observable in the universe

  3. Miracles are states of the mind - we believe therefore it happens
• What does Paul Tillich believe about miracles?

  Miracles are sign events. To be considered a miracle, the event first must be astonishing, without breaking any law of nature; second, it must point to the mystery of being, relating specifically to the experiencer's existence; and third, it has to be a sign/symbol within a religious experience. Tillich's view of miracles is anti-real because...

  - there is no commitment to the idea of God as a 'being' who, from a transcendent realm, intervenes to bring about a miracle

  - no law of nature is violated

  - others would observe the same events but NOT see them as miracles
• What does R. F. Holland believe about miracles?

  Miracles are coincidences. Holland uses the example of the boy on the train tracks: the driver doesn't see the boy, the driver faints and accidentally falls on the breaks, stopping the train, allowing the boy to get to safety. Holland offers an anti-real perspective of this miracle:

  - the mother is aware that God did not cause the driver to faint

  - she offers no supernatural rationalisation of what happened

  - nevertheless she interprets what happened as God's response to human need

  - she sees the miracle as a supernatural event caused by God, but that is simply her view. It does not mean God actually caused it