³¹ In this skeptical 20th century, such things are incredible. Regarding miracles, Professor Ezra P. Gould notes: “There is one reservation which some of the critics feel themselves justified in making . . . that miracles do not happen.”²¹ Some accept that Jesus may have effected healings, but only of the psychosomatic, ‘mind over matter,’ type. As for the other miracles, most explain them away either as inventions or as real events that were distorted in the telling.

32, 33. How have some tried to explain away Jesus’ miracle of feeding the large crowd, but why is this illogical?

³² As an example of this, consider the occasion when Jesus fed a crowd of more than 5,000 with just a few loaves and two fishes. (Matthew 14:14-22) Nineteenth-century scholar Heinrich Paulus suggested that what really happened was this: Jesus and his apostles found themselves attended by a large multitude that were getting hungry. So he decided to set a good example for the rich among them. He took what little food he and his apostles had and shared it with the multitude. Soon, others who had brought food followed his example and shared theirs. Finally, the whole multitude was fed.​²²

³³ If this is what really happened, though, it was a remarkable proof of the power of good example. Why would such an interesting and meaningful story be distorted to make it sound like a supernatural miracle? Indeed, all such efforts to explain away the miracles as other than miraculous pose more problems than they solve. And they are all based on a false premise. They start by assuming that miracles are impossible. But why should that be the case?

Chapter 6

The Miracles​—Did They Really Happen?

One day in 31 C.E., Jesus and his disciples were traveling to Nain, a city in northern Palestine. As they got close to the gate of the city, they met up with a funeral procession. The deceased was a young man. His mother was a widow, and he had been her only son, so now she was all alone. According to the record, Jesus “was moved with pity for her, and he said to her: ‘Stop weeping.’ With that he approached and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still, and he said: ‘Young man, I say to you, Get up!’ And the dead man sat up and started to speak.”​—Luke 7:11-15.

1. (Include introduction.) (a) What miracle did Jesus perform near the city of Nain? (b) How important are miracles in the Bible, yet do all people believe that they really happened?

IT IS a heartwarming story, but is it true? Many find it hard to believe that such things ever really happened. Nevertheless, miracles are an integral part of the Bible record. Belief in the Bible means believing that miracles occurred. In fact, the whole pattern of Bible truth depends on one very important miracle: the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Why Some Do Not Believe

2, 3. What is one line of reasoning that the Scottish philosopher David Hume used in an effort to prove that miracles do not happen?

² Do you believe in miracles? Or do you feel that in this scientific age, it is illogical to believe in miracles​—that is, in extraordinary events that give evidence of superhuman intervention? If you do not believe, you are not the first. Two centuries ago, the Scottish philosopher David Hume had the same problem. It may be that your reasons for disbelief are similar to his.

³ Hume’s objections to the idea of miracles included three outstanding points.​¹ First, he writes: “A miracle is a violation of the laws of nature.” Man has relied from time immemorial on the laws of nature. He has known that an object will fall if it is dropped, that the sun will rise each morning and set each night, and so forth. Instinctively, he knows that events will always follow such familiar patterns. Nothing will ever happen that is out of harmony with natural laws. This ‘proof,’ Hume felt, “is as entire as any argument from experience” against the possibility of miracles.

4, 5. What are two other reasons put forward by David Hume to disclaim the possibility of miracles?

⁴ A second argument he presented was that people are easily fooled. Some want to believe in marvels and miracles, especially when it has to do with religion, and many so-called miracles have turned out to be fakes. A third argument was that miracles are usually reported in times of ignorance. The more educated people become, the fewer miracles are reported. As Hume expressed it, “Such prodigious events never happen in our days.” Thus, he felt it proved that they never did happen.

⁵ To this day, most arguments against miracles follow these general principles, so let us consider Hume’s objections, one by one.

Against the Laws of Nature?

6. Why is it illogical to object to the idea of miracles on the ground that they are ‘violations of the laws of nature’?

⁶ What about the objection that miracles are ‘violations of the laws of nature’ and therefore cannot be true? On the surface, this might seem persuasive; but analyze what is really being said. Usually, a miracle can be defined as something that occurs outside the normal laws of nature.a It is an occurrence so unexpected that onlookers are convinced they have witnessed superhuman intervention. Hence, what the objection really means is: ‘Miracles are impossible because they are miraculous!’ Why not consider the evidence before jumping to such a conclusion?

7, 8. (a) With respect to the laws of nature as we know them, in what ways have scientists become more broad-minded in their view of what is and is not possible? (b) If we believe in God, what should we also believe as to his capacity to do unusual things?

⁷ The truth is, educated people today are less prepared than was David Hume to insist that the familiar laws of nature hold true everywhere and at all times. Scientists are willing to speculate on whether, instead of the familiar three dimensions of length, breadth, and height, there may be many additional dimensions in the universe.​² They theorize on the existence of black holes, huge stars that collapse in on themselves until their density is virtually infinite. In their vicinity the fabric of space is said to be so distorted that time itself stands still.​³ Scientists have even debated whether, under certain conditions, time would run backward instead of forward!​⁴

⁸ Stephen W. Hawking, Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University, when discussing how the universe began, said: “In the classical theory of general relativity . . . the beginning of the universe has to be a singularity of infinite density and space-time curvature. Under such conditions, all the known laws of physics would break down.”​⁵ So, modern scientists do not agree that because something is contrary to the normal laws of nature it can never happen. In unusual conditions, unusual things may happen. Surely, if we believe in an almighty God, we should admit that he has the power to cause unusual​—miraculous—​events to take place when it befits his purpose.​—Exodus 15:6-10; Isaiah 40:13, 15.

What About the Fakes?

9. Is it true that some miracles are fakes? Explain your answer.

⁹ No reasonable person would deny that there are fake miracles. For example, some claim the power to heal the sick by miraculous faith healing. A medical doctor, William A. Nolan, made it his special project to investigate such healings. He followed up on numerous claimed cures among both evangelical faith healers in the United States and so-called psychic surgeons in Asia. The result? All he found were examples of disappointment and fraud.​⁶

10. Do you feel that the fact that some miracles have been demonstrated to be fake proves that all miracles are fraudulent?

¹⁰ Do such frauds mean that genuine miracles never happened? Not necessarily. Sometimes we hear of forged bank notes being put into circulation, but that does not mean that all money is forged. Some sick people put a lot of faith in quacks, fraudulent doctors, and give a lot of money to them. But that does not mean that all doctors are fraudulent. Some artists have been skilled at forging “old master” paintings. But that does not mean that all paintings are fakes. Neither does the fact that some claimed miracles are clearly fakes mean that genuine miracles can never happen.

‘Miracles Do Not Happen Now’

11. What was David Hume’s third objection to the idea of miracles?

¹¹ The third objection was summed up in the expression: “Such prodigious events never happen in our days.” Hume had never seen a miracle, so he refused to believe that miracles could happen. This kind of reasoning, however, is inconsistent. Any thinking person has to admit that, before the days of the Scottish philosopher, “prodigious events” happened that were not repeated during his lifetime. What events?

12. What wonderful events happened in the past that cannot be explained by the laws of nature that operate today?

¹² For one thing, life began on earth. Then, certain forms of life were endowed with consciousness. Eventually, man appeared, endowed with wisdom, imagination, the capacity to love, and the faculty of conscience. No scientist can explain on the basis of the laws of nature that operate today how such extraordinary things happened. Yet we have living evidence that they did happen.

13, 14. What things are commonplace today that would have seemed miraculous to David Hume?

¹³ And what about “prodigious events” that have happened since David Hume’s day? Suppose we were able to travel back in time and tell him about today’s world. Imagine trying to explain that a businessman in Hamburg can speak to someone thousands of miles away in Tokyo without even raising his voice; that a soccer match in Spain can be seen all around the earth even as it is being played; that vessels much larger than the ocean-going ships of Hume’s day can rise from the surface of the earth and carry 500 people through the air for thousands of miles in a matter of hours. Can you imagine his response? ‘Impossible! Such prodigious events never happen in our days!’

¹⁴ Yet such ‘prodigies’ do happen in our days. Why? Because man, using scientific principles of which Hume had no concept, has learned to construct telephones, television sets, and airplanes. Is it, then, so difficult to believe that on occasion in the past God could have, in ways that we still do not understand, accomplished things that to us are miraculous?