Book Review: Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change your Life by Eric Metaxas

“History,” writes Eric Metaxas in the introduction to his book entitled Miracles, “comprises subjective accounts of human beings, and from those subjective accounts we arrive at an ‘objective’ truth” (xii).  He asserts that we need to ask ourselves whether those subjective accounts are reliable by sifting through the information and considering the witnesses as one would do in a court of law.

This, he says, is what we must do when we hear accounts of miracles.  We must “examine (them) with the greatest rigor possible” to determine whether something is truly a miracle.  Otherwise, we could deserve the label of “gullible” that those who reject the very idea of supernatural events sometimes use to describe us.

Book Review: Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change your Life by Eric Metaxas

“History,” writes Eric Metaxas in the introduction to his book entitled Miracles, “comprises subjective accounts of human beings, and from those subjective accounts we arrive at an ‘objective’ truth” (xii).  He asserts that we need to ask ourselves whether those subjective accounts are reliable by sifting through the information and considering the witnesses as one would do in a court of law.

This, he says, is what we must do when we hear accounts of miracles.  We must “examine (them) with the greatest rigor possible” to determine whether something is truly a miracle.  Otherwise, we could deserve the label of “gullible” that those who reject the very idea of supernatural events sometimes use to describe us.

Book Review: The Concept of Miracle by Richard Swinburne

In The Concept of Miracle, Richard Swinburne (RS) examines Humean arguments against miracles[i] and finds them wanting. His modest goal in this book is not to argue for the truth of miracles, but rather to defend the possibility of justified belief in the miraculous. He approaches this goal by rebutting anti-miraculous Humean arguments and discussing criteria which, if met, would ground justified belief in the occurrence of a miracle.

As with any work of Swinburne’s, even a short book like this one (a mere 71 pages) has plenty of ‘meat’ to be slowly digested, and plenty of links between earlier and later material. This presents a reviewer with a decision—to follow RS closely, or to restructure to make what seem to be the central points clearer. I’ve chosen the latter approach.

Terminology Tuesday: Miracles

Miracle: An event brought about by a special act of God. There is much disagreement about the definition beyond this minimum. Some thinkers argue that a miracle must involve an exception to the laws of nature or (perhaps alternatively) involve some event that exceeds the natural powers or capacities of natural things. Others insist that a miracle is recognizable primarily by its revelatory power as a sign that shows something about God or God's purposes and that such events do not have to be scientifically inexplicable. Since David Hume's famous attack on miracles, the possibility of miracles and the kind of evidence needed for belief in miracles has been subject to debate. Traditional apologetics viewed miracles as important confirmation or certification that a prophet or apostle was genuinely sent by God.1

1. C.Stephen Evans, Pocket Dictionary of Apologetics & Philosophy of Religion (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2002), p. 76.

Book Review: Hume's Abject Failure by John Earman

In Hume’s Abject Failure, John Earman (henceforth JE) levels several complaints against Hume’s argument against miracles, of which I will focus on only one: Hume’s treatment of inductive reasoning.[i] JE takes some pains to stress that his critique derives from what he sees as objective flaws in Hume’s argument and not from an antipathy to Hume’s conclusions.[ii] JE poses a couple of criteria for an adequate epistemology—criteria which, he feels, Hume’s account of induction cannot meet.[iii]

JE argues that the most reasonable reading of Hume’s argument against miracles is as follows. Say we have seen a long succession of some event A occurring. Further stipulate that in all known instances of A, it turns out that A was also B. On JE’s reading of Hume, this makes the statement ‘All As are Bs’ a presumptive law of nature.[iv] This yields the conclusion that we should assign the likelihood that the next A will also be a B to 1. In other words, we should possess absolute certainty that the next occurrence will not be a violation of our presumed law of nature. Put into Bayesian terms[v], this can be expressed as follows:[vi]

Craig Keener Interview on Miracles: Transcript

The following transcript is from an Apologetics 315 interview with New Testament scholar Craig Keener. Original audio here. If you enjoy transcripts, please consider supporting, which makes this possible.

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BA: Hello, this is Brian Auten of Apologetics 315. Today's interview is Dr. Craig Keener, professor of the New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is especially known for his work as as a NT scholar on Bible background, and his popular level IVP commentary for the NT has sold over half a million copies. Dr. Keener is also the author of a newly-released book entitled Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, which is a two-volume work which we'll be discussing a bit today. The purpose of this interview is to gain some insights from Dr. Keener's study in the area of miracles, look at miracle claims today and how they relate to NT claims, and get his advice from an apologetic perspective. Well, thanks for joining me today Dr. Keener.

CK: It's great to be with you.

BA: Dr. Keener, would you mind first telling our listeners a bit more about yourself, maybe your background, and what your current work is?

Read Along: Chapter 3—Are Miracles Possible?

Today we continue with Chapter Three in the Read Along with Apologetics 315 project. This is a chapter-by-chapter study through the book Is God Just a Human Invention? And Seventeen Other Questions Raised by the New Atheists by Sean McDowell and Jonathan Morrow. (Hear an interview about the book here.) Below you will find an audio intro for Chapter Three, a brief summary of the chapter, a PDF workbook with questions for the chapter, and some notable quotes. You're also encouraged to share your comments and feedback for each chapter in the comment section below. Feel free to interact!

Craig Keener on Miracles

"It was Hume who first spoke of miracles as violations of nature. But Christians don't believe that the Legislator is subject to any of the laws of nature."

- Craig Keener, here.

Scholar Interview: Craig Keener

Today's interview is with Dr. Craig Keener, professor of the New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is especially known for his work as a New Testament scholar on Bible background. He is also author of Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. He talks about his background and current work, how his newest book came about, defining miracles, unpacking Hume's objections against miracles, assessing miracle claims outside of Christianity, appealing to naturalistic explanations for miracles, the theological context of miracles, reasons to trust New Testament miracle claims, contemporary miracle claims from around the world, miracles in the west, verifiable and non-verifiable miracle claims, asking for "miracles on demand," miracles and naturalism, the place for miracles and an apologetic for Christianity, and more.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (68 min)

See the table of contents of and first chapter of Miracles here.

Enjoy.

Subscribe to the Apologetics 315 Interviews podcast here or in iTunes.

Craig Keener Interview on Miracles

Dr. Craig Keener has written a monumental new two-volume work entitled Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. Dr. Michael Brown recently interviewed Dr. Keener on the Line of Fire program regarding this book (podcast available here). This is a 90-minute interview on the topic of miracles and the content of the book, with questions from callers.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (1hr 28min)
Enjoy

Sunday Quote: C.S. Lewis on Miracles

"Those who assume that miracles cannot happen are merely wasting their time by looking into the texts: we know in advance what results they will find for they have begun by begging the question."

- C.S. Lewis

Miracles (New York: Macmillan, 1947, 1978), p. 4.

The Question of Miracles: Interview with Craig Keener

Michael Licona of 4Truth.net interviews Craig Keener of Palmer Theological Seminary on the topic of miracles. He provides numerous examples of credible miracle reports from antiquity through the present. Keener also addresses a number of objections to miracles. Interview source at 4Truth. Craig Keener's book on miracles Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts will be released later this year.

Full Interview MP3 Audio here (77 min)

Enjoy.

5 Characteristics of Willful Unbelief MP3 Audio by John MacArthur

John MacArthur explores 5 characteristics of willful unbelief in this sermon entitled: Unbelief Investigates a Miracle. This is well worth the listen. Get the Grace to You podcast feed here.

Full MP3 Audio here. (20 min)

Enjoy.

Last year's post was about doubt. See here.

Recent Objections to Miracles MP3 Audio by Gary Habermas

Gary Habermas presents this lecture at the European Leadership Forum entitled: Recent Objections to Miracles. Habermas co-authored the book In Defense of Miracles with Douglas Geivett. This audio is from the ELF Podcast here.

Full MP3 Audio here. (1hr 13min)

Enjoy.

What was last year's post? See here.

Is God Active in the World Today? Gary Habermas Interview MP3 Audio

Philosopher and historian Gary Habermas is interviewed by Michael Licona on the topic: Is God Active in the World Today? Habermas discusses six ways in which God is presently active in the world, including topics like miracles, healing, and near-death experiences. (found at 4truth.net)

Full MP3 Audio here.

Enjoy.

Ken Boa on Miracles MP3 Audio

Ken Boa offers a 4 lecture apologetics course on the subject Why Believe in Miracles. Be sure to check out his website for more resources. Subscribe to his podcast here.

Why Believe in Miracles Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Enjoy.

A Lecture on Miracles by Walter Martin - MP3 audio

The late great Walter Martin (perhaps most famous for his book Kingdom of the Cults) presents a lecture on miracles. In it, he refutes Hume's objection to miracles and uses Hume's own criteria against him. A clear and compelling case.

Here is the MP3.
Slightly poor quality audio later in the recording, but a very good listen.

Enjoy.