Miracles, Science, and the Nature of Doubt
Here is a recap of Monday's small group discussion:
First, we argued that the miracles in the Bible cannot be refuted by science because the very goal of science is to seek explanations to the causes of certain events within the natural realm, but miracles by definition lie outside that realm. They are supernatural events that transcend the limits of scientific explanation. But though miracles transcend the natural, they do not defy the natural - they neither violate natural law nor logic.
One helpful source for clarification is C.S. Lewis in the chapter on Miracles in God in the Dock. In the section he explains that miracles are not a violation of natural law but either a "reversal or suspension" or simply "a localized occurrence of a universal phenomenon." The latter is a bit confusing. He illustrates by saying,
A word of encouragement for you: doubt is not the direct opposite (the antithesis) of faith. Doubt and faith are not mutually exclusive things. It is possible to have a mature faith and still experience doubt (all Christians experience it to some degree). In actuality, doubt is the direct opposite of full knowledge If you have any trace of doubt about something, it is because you lack complete knowledge about it. But remember that our faith is ultimately not in a complete comprehension of facts but in a personal trust in an actual person, namely Jesus Christ.
For example, I have faith in my wife. That faith is not rooted in a complete 100% comprehension of everything about her (because I don't have that...or ever will) but simply in my trust of her as a person. So let's say I surprise her at work and discover her hugging another man that I do not know. Should I suddenly lose my faith in her because I don't know all the facts, specifically the identity of this man and the reason for their embrace? Such uncertainty could encourage doubt, but my personal trust in her overcomes all doubt. My faith in her is not based on knowing all the facts but based on her and everything I know about her backed by all the experience I’ve had with her, and all that evidence leads me to believe there must be another reason why she is hugging this guy. For all I know he could be a coworker whose wife just passed away from cancer and she was consoling him (this is all hypothetical by the way :)). The point is that a personal relationship with an individual always prevails over doubts concerning the details and facts we have yet to understand about the person. Faith is neither a blind leap in the dark (since it still involves evidence and experience) but nor is it a complete 100% knowledge in facts, void of doubt. Faith is an engagement of both heart and mind rooted in a real, growing relationship with another person.
But you might ask, "What if I doubt the existence of God altogether?" What if I sometimes think God is not even real or if all we've come to believe is just a delusion - nothing more than a fairy tale? How can you rely on a relationship with a person if you doubt their very existence?
First, I suggest you reread and meditate over that list of arguments for the existence of God in our book. Consider the weight of the evidence. Second, exercise whatever measure of faith you have (though it be small as a mustard seed) by asking God to reveal or confirm Himself to your heart and mind. Third, don't despair but also don't delay. Fall on your knees, open the Bible, encounter your Christ, consider the evidence, experience His presence, and lastly cry out to God with all the faith you have (along with the father of the boy with an unclean spirit who had his share of doubts), "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24).
First, we argued that the miracles in the Bible cannot be refuted by science because the very goal of science is to seek explanations to the causes of certain events within the natural realm, but miracles by definition lie outside that realm. They are supernatural events that transcend the limits of scientific explanation. But though miracles transcend the natural, they do not defy the natural - they neither violate natural law nor logic.
One helpful source for clarification is C.S. Lewis in the chapter on Miracles in God in the Dock. In the section he explains that miracles are not a violation of natural law but either a "reversal or suspension" or simply "a localized occurrence of a universal phenomenon." The latter is a bit confusing. He illustrates by saying,
"Some of the miracles [in the NT] do locally what God has already done universally...God created the vine and teaches it to draw up water by its roots and, with the aid of the sun, to turn that water into a juice which will ferment and take on certain qualities. Thus every year, from Noah's time till ours, God turns water into wine. That men fail to see...they attribute real and ultimate causality to the chemical or other material phenomena which are all that our senses can discover in it. But when Christ at Cana makes water into wine, the mask if off." (John 2:1-11)Second, some of us shared that we do not normally have doubts about the existence or historic reality of miracles but rather our doubts are usually over bigger things. If we think and ponder long enough, some creeping doubts begin to arise in our minds that have to do with God and the Bible.
A word of encouragement for you: doubt is not the direct opposite (the antithesis) of faith. Doubt and faith are not mutually exclusive things. It is possible to have a mature faith and still experience doubt (all Christians experience it to some degree). In actuality, doubt is the direct opposite of full knowledge If you have any trace of doubt about something, it is because you lack complete knowledge about it. But remember that our faith is ultimately not in a complete comprehension of facts but in a personal trust in an actual person, namely Jesus Christ.
For example, I have faith in my wife. That faith is not rooted in a complete 100% comprehension of everything about her (because I don't have that...or ever will) but simply in my trust of her as a person. So let's say I surprise her at work and discover her hugging another man that I do not know. Should I suddenly lose my faith in her because I don't know all the facts, specifically the identity of this man and the reason for their embrace? Such uncertainty could encourage doubt, but my personal trust in her overcomes all doubt. My faith in her is not based on knowing all the facts but based on her and everything I know about her backed by all the experience I’ve had with her, and all that evidence leads me to believe there must be another reason why she is hugging this guy. For all I know he could be a coworker whose wife just passed away from cancer and she was consoling him (this is all hypothetical by the way :)). The point is that a personal relationship with an individual always prevails over doubts concerning the details and facts we have yet to understand about the person. Faith is neither a blind leap in the dark (since it still involves evidence and experience) but nor is it a complete 100% knowledge in facts, void of doubt. Faith is an engagement of both heart and mind rooted in a real, growing relationship with another person.
But you might ask, "What if I doubt the existence of God altogether?" What if I sometimes think God is not even real or if all we've come to believe is just a delusion - nothing more than a fairy tale? How can you rely on a relationship with a person if you doubt their very existence?
First, I suggest you reread and meditate over that list of arguments for the existence of God in our book. Consider the weight of the evidence. Second, exercise whatever measure of faith you have (though it be small as a mustard seed) by asking God to reveal or confirm Himself to your heart and mind. Third, don't despair but also don't delay. Fall on your knees, open the Bible, encounter your Christ, consider the evidence, experience His presence, and lastly cry out to God with all the faith you have (along with the father of the boy with an unclean spirit who had his share of doubts), "I believe; help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24).
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