Re: [asa] Miracles in ordinary events

> To take this further, I've read a number of times the definition of
> "miracle" as something which violates known natural processes. For
> instance, from Gordon Glover's excellent book Beyond the Firmament, is the
> suggestion, "Because these rare events are contrary to the uniformity of
> nature and to our everyday human experience, we call them miracles."
>
> My comment to this, however, is that an extraordinarily timed, perfectly
> natural event, is just as miraculous as one which violates the known laws of
> nature. I've suggested this one before without much comment that I
> remember, so (at the risk of bring wrong about this one example) what if the
> crossing of the Red Sea was actually a natural phenomenon which occurred at
> just the right moment for the Israelites? Would it be any less a miracle?
>
> However, the other issue from a scientific point of view is detectability.
> If a scientific analysis shows that the event in question happens naturally
> at other times than at the "miraculous" instance, does pure science have the
> means to determine whether the event was a miracle? I would argue that EVEN
> THOUGH the event was clearly a miracle, in terms of timing and theologically
> understood "purpose", science can't authoritatively state that it was a
> miracle, since no laws of nature were violated. Glover comments on the
> problem of using improbability to define miracle, because unlikely events
> could simply happen, so it's very difficult for science to prove it was a
> miracle.

All of the distinctions are somewhat artificial. On the one hand,
emphasizing a violation of natural law as part of a miracle can easily
get into god of the gaps type thinking. While emphasizing God's role
in all events, whether or not they violate natural law, is important,
there's no lower boundary on the probability of an event that prevents
it from providing a spiritual lesson. I got a fairly useful dose of
humility the other day by sending a private message to an email list.
(Others can judge better than I how well the lesson sticks).

Events that violate our best understanding of natural laws are
amenable to scientific detection (or perhaps might be viewed as being
detected through the failure of science to explain them.) Crossing
the Sea of Reeds involved a natural cause (wind), but the timing was
rather precise (not amenable to scientific analysis) and Moses was
tipped off before hand (violation of natural laws). Because of all
the focus on violations of natural law in popular claims about ID,
YEC, etc., it's useful to have a word used specifically for them in
discussion. However, their importance is in the theological insight
gained, which can also derive from an event that is not even
improbable.

-- 
Dr. David Campbell
425 Scientific Collections
University of Alabama
"I think of my happy condition, surrounded by acres of clams"
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