Miracles

Miracles. What are they? Why do they occur? Are Christians delusional to believe in them? What are some of the miracles of the Bible? Do other religions have miracles and how do they differ? What are the arguments against miracles? Should we expect to see miracles today? These are the topics this blog thread will address.

In The Bonfires of Beltane, I describe miracles that St. Patrick performed. They were taken from legends surrounding him. And in the book’s climax, Taran, the main character, uses the power of God in a way we could call a miracle. (That scene, by the way, was borrowed from one of Patrick’s miracles.)

So can they really happen? Framed another way, the question is this: Can God do the impossible? Or rather, will he do the impossible? Is God inclined, sometimes, to work outside the normal course of events?

Many have trouble believing in miracles. They occur outside the normal order of our world. They break the natural laws we’ve come to expect. The skeptic looks at a miracle, shakes his head, and says, “Only a fool would believe in such a thing.” Yet if we don’t believe that God can do miracles, we cannot believe in the Bible, the revelation that God sent to mankind.

The Bible is replete with the miraculous. Joshua calls upon God and the sun stands still for an entire day. Moses brings ten plagues down upon a hard-hearted Pharaoh, and then parts the Red Sea. A young girl named Mary becomes pregnant with the Savior of the world even though she was a virgin. Jesus himself turns water into wine, feeds thousands from a single basket of fish and bread, walks on water, and raises Lazarus from the dead. Paul even raises Eutychus from the dead after the poor man nods off during one of Paul’s sermons and falls from an upstairs window. The book of Acts is filled with miraculous signs and wonders performed by the Holy Spirit.

So belief in miracles is a prerequisite to faith. If we don’t believe God can perform miracles, we really don’t believe in God.

For the next two months or so, I will be posting at least twice a week on the subject of miracles. The next post will address the question: What is a miracle?