Miracles Quiz I

Miracles Quiz I

1. What is St Thomas Aquinas’ definition of miracles?
2. Is Hume’s case against miracles inductive or deductive?
3. Swinburne argues that testimonies are not the only evidence against miracles what are the other two?
4. What is Alastair McKinnon’s position on miracles?
5. Under what grounds would Flew accept that a miracle has occurred?
6. What is the fundamental problem Wiles has with miracles?
7. Who are the two scholars who follow in similar footsteps to St Augustine and argue that we cannot judge that God is arbitrary and partisan but rather we may not understand his reasoning?
8. Why does Irenaeus reject the occurrence of miracles?
9. What is the contingency definition of a miracle?
10. What are the three types of miracles Aquinas states there are?

1. ‘Those things...which are done by divine power apart from the oder generally followed in things’.
2. Inductive - he bases it on the vast number of occasions when a miracle has not occurred.
3. Our apparent memories and physical traces left after the event e.g. dry clothes when Jesus walked on water.
4. That it is impossible for them to happen as a violation of a law of nature is not possible - it just means our understanding of the law was wrong and needs to be reassessed.
5. It primary evidence exists so you were there yourself when a miracle has occurred.
6. It leads to the belief in an arbitrary and partisan God. 
7. Neil Cantwell and Brian Hebblethwaite
8. Well it all begins with his soul-making theodicy which states that because we are made in God’s likeness and image we have free-will and intelligence. However, we are not made exactly because then we would be perfect. Natural evil then is to help us to grow and become perfect and moral evil is just the product of free will. Miracles do not occur as suffering is an important creation’s of God and it makes no sense to suggest he would intervene sometimes to stop this from happening. More on Irenaen Theodicy click here.
9. “A coincidence which can be taken religiously as a sign and can be called a miracle”
10. (i) Events which God does and nature cannot do e.g. stopping the sun in Joshua (ii) Event which God does does which nature could do but just not in that order e.g. the healing of exorcisms in Mark (iii) Events which God does without the use of natural laws e.g. forgiving of sins in Mark.