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ANTI-REALIST VIEW OF MIRACLES - Coggle Diagram
ANTI-REALIST VIEW OF MIRACLES
MIRACLES AS NATURAL COINCIDENCES [HOLLAND]
They are nothing more than an extraordinary coincidence that have a beneficial nature that's interpreted in a religious way
E.G A boy stuck on a railway track with a train approaching
The driver faints, causing the train to stop which saves the boys life.
The boys mother sees this as a miracle, even though she understands there's a naturalistic explanation as to why the driver fainted which has nothing to do with Gods doing but however interprets it as God responding to human need
However this view will vary according to the values, hopes and intentions of people concerned- w.g the drivers relatives wouldn't consider that a miracle
SCIENTIFIC
We can have no knowledge of a mind-independent world since the phenomena observed by our senses are interpreted by the mind
There can be no commitment to anything unobservable(such as God as a being) because it has no cognitive content
MIRACLES
We can have no knowledge of a transcendent realm so the idea of a miraculous intervention by God is not a sensible idea
Miracles are 'in the mind'- mental states that are to be understood in terms of psychology/sociology
Miracle is something that transforms a community of people
MIRACLES AS SIGN EVENTS [TILLICH]
"Event which is astonishing, unusual, shaking without contradicting rational structure of reality"
To be considered a miracle, it has to be astonishing, without breaking any laws of nature
it must point to a mystery
it has to be a sign/symbol within a religious experience
His view is anti-realist because:
there is no commitment to God being a being who, from a transcendent realm, intervenes to bring about a miracle
no law of nature is violated
others would observe the same events but not see them as miracles
SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS VIEWS FOR RELIGION
For anti-realists, the importance of miracles is subjective: they are not objectively true
The significance for religious is personal
They dont relate to real events brought about by a real god
Their reality is in the mind of the person who experiences an event which has extraordinary personal significance
Such views address the problems raised for theologians by their apparent contradiction with what is known of science and also by their apparent selectivity
this preserves their intellectual and moral integrity
For Tillich, their significance is psychological and personal
they were sign-events, bound up with the experience of the mystery of being is at heart with religious experience
For Holland, miracles were natural happenings that were beneficial in nature and had religious significance for the person involved
For wiles Jesus' mircacles were stories pointing towards Gods purposes for the world that intended christians to play their part in overcoming evil and suffering
MIRACLES AS 'EXPERIENCING-AS' [HICK]
Miracles are natural events that have religious significance
e.g the 10 plagues and the exodus
If an event seems to breach a law of nature, that is not because of supernatural invention
Natural laws are simply our retrospective generalisations that encompass human observation and experience
its simply that our understanding of that law has not been sufficiently wide, so the law needs expanding so that it takes into account the 'exception'
if an event seems inexplicable its because our scientific knowlegge is limited: there will be natural explanations