Year 13 - Miracles

Which word describes a theory of truth which corresponds to the state of affairs in reality?

• realism

• anti-realism

• subjective

• deductive

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Miracles

Philosophy

Which word describes a theory of truth which coheres with what is accepted in the community?

• realism

• anti-realism

• objective

• inductive

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Miracles

Philosophy

Which philosopher argued that a miracles is a "transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity or by the interposition of some invisible agent"?

• David Hume

• Maurice Wiles

• Paul Tillich

• RF Holland

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Philosophy

Miracles

Which philosophers follow a realist definition of miracles - that they describe events whose truth depends on whether they happened in reality? Select all that apply.

• David Hume

• Richard Swinburne

• Nigel Warburton

• RF Holland

• Paul Tillich

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Philosophy

Miracles

Which philosophers follow an anti-realist definition of miracles - that they describe events whose truth depends on whether people see them as miraculous.

• David Hume

• Richard Swinburne

• Nigel Warburton

• RF Holland

• Paul Tillich

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Philosophy

Miracles

What did Hume mean when he rejected miracles, saying "No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact, which it endeavours to establish"?

• It must be more likely that the miracle occurred than that the story is made up.

• All miracle stories are unlikely.

• I think, therefore I am

• Miracle stories have not been witnessed by enough people.

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Philosophy

Miracles

Who would describe miracles as astonishing events that point to the mystery of being?

• David Hume

• Richard Swinburne

• Maurice Wiles

• Paul Tillich

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Philosophy

Miracles

Who would describe miracles as extraordinary occurrences seen in a religious way?

• David Hume

• Richard Swinburne

• Maurice Wiles

• RF Holland

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Philosophy

Miracles

Which of the following is not one of Hume's challenges to miracles?

• There have never been enough trust-worthy, educated men claiming a miracle to make the accounts believable.

• People want to become a part of the wonder that miracle stories evoke.

• All religions use miracles to support their claims.  In destroying the miracle claims of other religions, they destroy their own claims.

• Miracles cannot just be breaches in a natural law.  They must hold some deeper significance.

Answer explanation

This was part of Swinburne's definition of a miracle. He said:

Miracles cannot just be breaches in a natural law. They must hold some deeper significance. E.g.

- The resurrection from the dead in full health of a man whose heart has not been beating for twenty-four hours.

- Water turning into wine without the assistance of chemical apparatus or catalysts.

- A man getting better from polio in a minute.

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Philosophy

Miracles

What did Hume mean when he said miracles “are observed chiefly to abound among ignorant and barbarous nations.”

• Miracles only happen where people are too uneducated to realise they are not really miracles.

• All religions use miracles to support their claims.  In destroying the miracle claims of other religions, they destroy their own claims.

• People want to become a part of the wonder that miracle stories evoke.

• He doesn't intend to go on holiday to Galilee because the people there are of questionable intelligence.

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Philosophy

Miracles