HOW CAN MIRACLES BE POSSIBLE? Lars Wilhelmsson

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1 1 HOW CAN MIRACLES BE POSSIBLE? Lars Wilhelmsson [A miracle is] a happening seen by four men at once, but by no one man in particular hence, a collective, but otherwise untrue fact. 1 Miracles are to those who believe in them. 2 --William Benham I should not be a Christian but for the miracles. 3 --St. Augustine --Elbert Hubbard Question fifteen asks, "How can miracles be possible? According to various studies made, between 45% and 55% of the unchurched people in America agreed that all of the miracles described in the Bible actually took place. Many explain away the notion of God acting in history as myth, pious fabrication, deception, or an event which was only thought to be miraculous. Many wonder, In this scientific age, how can any intelligent person who considers the orderliness of the universe believe in them?" Atheistic scientist Richard Dawkins put it bluntly: The virgin birth, the Resurrection, the raising of Lazarus, even the Old Testament miracles, all are freely used for religious propaganda, and they are very effective with an audience of unsophisticates and children. 4 RELIGIOUS PROPAGANDA? Are miracles merely used for religious propaganda by unsophisticated people caught in primitive speculation and superstition? In 1937 German physicist Max Planck said: Faith in miracles must yield ground, step by step, before the steady and firm advance of the forces of science, and its total defeat is indubitably a mere matter of time. 5 The rapid advancement of knowledge in the last sixty-four years since Max Planck made this pronouncement has hardly defeated people s faith in miracles. In fact, belief in miracles today is more pronounced than it was in the 1930's when people were drunk with increasing faith in science. DEFINITION A miracle is an extraordinary event as opposed to an ordinary event. It is perceived to be the result of the direct, purposeful action of a god or the agent of a god. The English word miracle derives from the Latin miraculum, which means a wonder, a wonderful thing.

2 2 There are basically two views of miracles. One is that miracles are contrary to nature and the other that they are in conformity to nature. St. Augustine believed that miracles were not necessarily contrary to nature, but only to what we understand of nature. Miracles are the result of the higher, divine ordering of nature. He likened miracles to fruit of seeds long dormant. 6 Thomas Aquinas like C. S. Lewis, however, defined them as an interference with Nature by supernatural power. 7 This leaves open the question as to how nature has been interfered with and gives recognition to the fact that God s working is ultimately a mystery. It allows for the fact that miracles are typically not seen directly. What is observed is a state of affairs before and after the event. Recognition of an event as a miracle is bound up with the wider view that one takes of reality, just as rejection of miracles is bound up with one s beliefs about the uniformities of nature. The questions raised by the occurrence of an extraordinary event that is understood to be a miracle are not only What happened? but also What does it mean? or more specifically, What is the divine message imparted through this event? Miracles are a common feature of literature and religious tradition in every culture, from the simplest to the most sophisticated societies, and from earliest historical times to the present. BIBLICAL MIRACLES Old Testament Several types of miracles are reported in the Bible. In the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) there are confirmatory miracles, through which God shows His choice and support of certain individuals or groups. Examples are direct visions of God that are granted to Abraham by the appearance of the smoking fire pot and flaming torch that the covenant with Yahweh will be fulfilled (Genesis 15:17-20), to Jacob, and especially to Moses with the burning bush confirming his call by God to lead His people out of slavery in Egypt (Exodus 3). A second type of miracle is judgmental, as in the plagues that happen to the Egyptians until the release of the Israelites (Exodus 8-12) or as in the fall of the walls of Jericho when its inhabitants resist Israel s entry into the Promised Land (Joshua 6:24-ch. 11). Another type is the divine act of deliverance of individuals, as when Daniel and his friends are preserved from the fiery furnace and from the lion s den (Daniel 1-6). Miracles of divine vision are those in which God and His purposes for His people are disclosed to certain persons, such as Isaiah (ch. 6), Ezekiel (ch. 1) and Daniel (ch. 7). New Testament There are various kinds of miracles in the New Testament as well. Miracles are central to the earliest understanding of who Jesus is and His role in the inauguration of God s rule in the world. For example, when Jesus is asked to explain who He is, He replies by pointing to

3 3 His miracles of healing as evidences of the fulfillment of the prophetic promises of benefits to the needy and the outcasts (Luke 7:18-23; Isaiah 29:18-19; 35:5-6; 61:1). He also points to His exorcisms as the major sign of the beginning of the defeat of the evil powers and the establishment of the kingdom of God (Luke 11:20). He refers to His own power to heal and to expel demons by the same phrase, the finger of God, used of God s action in delivering Israel from Egypt (Exodus 8:19). There are miracle stories in the New Testament that directly parallel those in the Old Testament. Pharaoh s magicians duplicated Aaron s act of casting down his rod, so that it became a serpent. But Aaron s rod swallowed their rods. Later tradition (several thousand years later) identified the magicians as Jannes and Jambres (2 Timothy 3:8). Through the plagues of Egypt (Exodus 9:14) both Israel and Pharaoh learn who the Lord is. The magicians are compelled to recognize the limits of their magic and tell Pharaoh, This is the finger of God (Exodus 8:19). Although Pharaoh hardens his heart at the first nine plagues, he finally allows Israel to leave Egypt (Exodus 7:8-13:16). These plagues show Yahweh to be the one who controls nature and history for His purposes. The Miracles of Jesus The miracles of Jesus cannot be detached from His teaching, the course of His ministry, or the reason why the Pharisees and others sought to kill Him. At a very early stage Jesus was perceived by His opponents as a blasphemous false teacher who was possessed by Satan and who must be eliminated. Underlying this attitude was the conviction that action must be taken in accordance with the teaching laid down in Deuteronomy 13, which makes it clear that no amount of signs could legitimate a false prophet whose teaching should be evaluated by the word of God. Jesus attitude toward the Sabbath and the current interpretation of the law and His presumption in pronouncing forgiveness of sins (Mark 2:7,18,23) were perceived as the work of a blasphemous false prophet who used signs and wonders in order to accredit Himself. The healing man with a withered hand on the Sabbath led to the Pharisees taking counsel with the Herodians to destroy Jesus (Mark 3:6). In the New Testament the resurrection of Jesus is presented as an historical event which is corroborated by testimony, by experience of the power of the risen Christ, by the existence of the church, and by its worship on Sunday (in commemoration of the resurrection). It represents the incursion of a higher order into the present world. 8 The resurrection vindicates Jesus as the Lord s anointed and the one in whom God had been active all along. This point has added significance in view of the repeated charge leveled against Jesus that He was possessed by Satan, the charge of blasphemy for which He was ultimately condemned, and the charge that His death on the cross was self-evidently a sign of God s curse (Mark 14:64; Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21:23). 9

4 4 Throughout the Bible miracles are presented as a means by which God discloses and fulfills His purpose in the world, especially on behalf of His people and for the redemption of those who respond in faith to His activity on their behalf. Signs and wonders are wrought by God as a testimony, but they also may be performed by false prophets who seek to deceive. And the signs of a false prophet are to be rejected, not on account of lack of empirical evidence but because they conflict with prior revelation given by God (Deuteronomy 13:1-6). The Church Is the Instrument of the Kingdom of God The Bible presents the church as the instrument of the Kingdom of God. The disciples of Jesus not only proclaimed the Kingdom in that the works of the Kingdom were performed through them as through Jesus Himself. As they went preaching the Kingdom, they too healed the sick, raised the dead and cast out demons (Matthew 10:8; Luke 10:17). Although theirs was a delegated power, the same power of the Kingdom worked through them that worked through Jesus. Their awareness that these miracles were wrought by no power resident in themselves accounts for the fact that they never performed miracles in a competitive or boastful spirit (though there is one incident where they (the seventy-two disciples) do and are rebuked by Jesus who points out that it is the fact that they are recipients of eternal life that is important, not that evil spirits submit to them and that they can bring down the fire of judgment on unbelievers Luke 10:17-20). The disciples mission as instruments of the Kingdom is implicit in Jesus statement that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against the church (Matthew 16:18). This means that the church will be stronger than death and will rescue people from the domination of Hades (the realm of the dead) to the realm of life. This means that when men and women have been brought into the salvation of the Kingdom of God through the mission of the church, that the gates of death the forces of evil--will be unable to prevail in their effort to defeat them. Before the power of the Kingdom of God, working through the church, Satan, sin and death have lost their power over them and is unable to claim final victory. I0 This messianic struggle with the powers of death will continue until the end of history as we know it. This battle between the forces of good and evil, which had been raging in Jesus ministry and had been shared by His disciples, will be continued in the future, and the church will be the instrument of God s Kingdom in this struggle. 11 The Early Church Fathers From the second century onward Christian apologists (e.g. Justin Martyr, Origen, Athanasius, Augustine) have appealed to miracles as evidence of divine attestation in support of the truth claims of Christianity. 12 At the same time the fathers were aware that a simple

5 5 appeal to miracles was not without difficulty since there were skeptics in the ancient world just as there are today. In ancient times people were well aware of the uniformities of nature and judged reports of alleged happenings in the light of their understanding of the way things are. In reply to the anticipated objection that miracles no longer occur, and therefore reports of miracles in the Bible should be dismissed, Origen, Augustine, and others appealed to continued miracles in the church which were supported by reliable testimony. 13 PHILOSOPHICAL SKEPTICISM British philosopher David Hume published his celebrated attack on miracles in his book, An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding in British debate concerning the historicity of miracles and their evidential value had been going on for over half a century. In the first part of his essay Hume rejected miracles as impossible on the grounds that they violated the laws of nature and that a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws. 14 In the second part of the essay Hume argued that the actual testimony to miracles was weak and inconclusive, originating in obscure parts of the world from ignorant, obscure men. When account is taken of human propensity to exaggerate and of miracles in other religions which cancel out those of Christianity, miracles are devoid of apologetic value. Instead of providing reasons for faith, they cannot be believed in without faith. 15 Hume s essay came to be considered as the classic attack on miracles. Subsequent skepticism has only modified details. Hume carefully avoided mention of the Gospel miracles, but it was obvious to all that Hume was attacking the apologetic appeal to the miraculous as divine accreditation of the Christian revelation. There is now wide recognition that Hume s argument did not disprove the possibility of miracles. In fact, his argument was essentially defensive as it was more concerned with demonstrating the impossibility of appealing to miracles as proof of a religious belief system, than with showing outright that miracles could not happen. Yet at times Hume spoke as if he had shown that miracles were impossible. 16 Are Miracles a Violation of the Laws of Nature? Do miracles necessarily violate nature as Hume claims? No. Rather they lie outside the realm of science as we know it. They are not repeatable. Since science seeks natural explanations they lie outside the scientific realm. Natural laws have implicit ceteris paribus (all other things being equal) conditions. This means that natural laws assume that no other natural or supernatural factors are interfering with the operation that the law describes. 17 For instance, even though oxygen and potassium combust when they are combined, yet we as human beings do not burst into flames even though we have oxygen and potassium in our bodies. This does not mean that it is a miracle and that laws of

6 nature are being violated because the law merely states what happens under normal or idealized conditions. This assumes that there are not any other factors interfering. But in this particular case, there are other factors interfering with the combustion, and so it does not take place. However, that is not a violation of the law In the same way, if there is a supernatural agent that is working in the natural world, then the normal or idealized conditions described by the law are no longer in effect. J. P. Moreland uses the law of gravity as an illustration of this. The law of gravity states that anything heavier than air will fall to the ground. Therefore if we drop an object, it will fall to the ground. However, if an apple falls from a tree and we reach out to catch it before it hits the ground, we are not violating or negating the law of gravity, we are merely intervening or interfering with it. 19 Just as we can intervene in or interfere with nature as free human beings, so can God, whether naturally or supernaturally. Are Testimonials of Faith Always Unreliable? Hume acknowledged that scientific laws are based on statistical observation and that on this basis laws may be said to describe the observed regularities in nature. This may lead us to call in question the veracity of testimony to the miraculous and invite consideration whether such testimony might be mistaken. But how can we know that all the reports of them are false? Obviously, we can t. In the New Testament we find that the reports of miracles, like the rest of the content, are part of the earliest strata of sources. Unlike the Islamic tradition which comes hundreds of years after Muhammad s life, the New Testament was written down within the first generation when the eyewitnesses were still alive (ca. A. D. 55). In the case of the death and resurrection of Jesus, the key event in Christendom (1 Corinthians 15), the reports of Jesus appearances go back to within the first five years after the event and thus is open to corroboration. Rather than the result of legendary development, such reporting is fresh data. Can Anyone Claim Absolute Knowledge of Nature? Testimony to the unusual, if well founded, may call in question our understanding of the laws of nature and the extent of their applicability. Only on the basis of an absolute knowledge of nature could it be argued that this or that miracle would be impossible. But who has an absolute knowledge of nature? It is no wonder that this consideration has led contemporary philosophers in Hume s tradition to modify his argument. Instead of trying to show the impossibility of miracles as violations of the laws of nature, and therefore that any given miracle could not have happened,

7 such skeptics argue either for the improbability of such an event or that an event must be regarded as an instance of a law which is not yet understood. The historicity of the event is acknowledged at the price of its character as a miracle (if a miracle is actually a violation of natural law) To rule out the miraculous because of it improbability is ludicrous. Since when should we believe what is most probable? Norman Geisler gives the following illustration: On these grounds a dice player should not believe the dice show three sixes on the first roll, since the odds against it are 216 to 1. Or, we should never believe we have been dealt a perfect bridge hand (though this has happened) since the odds against it are 1,635,013,559,600 to 1! 21 Our belief or disbelief in miracles should be based upon facts, not odds. Just because the odds that an event has happened or will happen are low, that in no way guarantees that it has not or will not happen. If this were true, no one would play the lottery (what has now become our American favorite past-time)! Can There Be Exceptions to Our Understanding of Laws of Nature of the Past? Hume is also inconsistent when he argued on the basis of conformity to what has been experienced in the past, that is, that nothing can be known with certainty about the future based on past experience. Since we cannot know for certain that the sun will rise tomorrow morning, how can we deny that miracles may not occur in the future? 22 As Geisler points out, if there can be no present exception that can change the previously understood laws of nature based on our uniform experience of the past, then how could there be any true progress in our scientific understanding of the world? When an observed exception to a past law is established, that law is revised and a new law replaces it. Is this not what happened when exceptions to Newton s law of gravitation were found and Einstein s law of relativity was considered broader and more accurate? 23 It there are no established exceptions there can be no progress in science. In fact, it is the exceptions to our understanding of the universe which move us on to another step of understanding in our limited but expanding grasp of the universe. Because scientific understanding is based upon regular and repeated events, one must be able to show how the exception is repeatable before it can be claimed to have a natural rather than a supernatural cause. Only repeatable exceptions call for natural causes. Therefore if an unrepeated exception shows signs of intelligent intervention from beyond our understanding of the natural world, then is it not reasonable to conclude it to have a supernatural rather than natural cause? 24

8 8 DO MIRACLES CONTRADICT SCIENCE OR SCIENTISTS? Do miracles contradict science or scientists? Since science deals with facts and reality, miracles merely supersede, not contradict, science. Could Jesus possibly have walked on the water? Did He in fact feed the five thousand with five loaves and two fish? Did the children of Israel actually go through the Red Sea, etc.? Scientists typically say, No! But does science give the same verdict? We can only answer these questions if we dig down to its basic presupposition. The real issue is whether or not God exists. If God exists, then miracles are logical and pose no intellectual contradictions. The argument moves from the greater to the lesser, that is, if God created the heavens and the earth as Genesis 1 claims, then any other miracle is possible since any other miracle would be less spectacular or difficult. Since the God of Christianity is by definition all-powerful, He can and does intervene in the universe He has created. Worldviews We see here a clash between worldviews how we see the world and reality. The scientific community as a whole has embraced a worldview which has condescendingly rejected outright even the possibility of miracles. Their "scientific" objection to the credibility of miracles is based upon their "discovery" and thus understanding of natural, physical laws by which the universe operates. According to these laws miracles are simply impossible. Underlying the objections to miracles is the common conviction that the world is a closed system of natural causes which does not admit supernatural interventions. 25 Therefore all historical judgments must be made in the light of our contemporary understanding of the world. That which bears no analogy to our present experience and understanding is thereby rejected outright. Those who hold to such a view claim that people who used to believe in miracles did so because they had a very primitive understanding of science. Such Christian doctrines as the virgin birth and the resurrection of Christ, for example, were probably the result of a prescientific worldview. It is argued that such reasoning is spurious since people of every age have known that two human parents are required for conception and that death is irreversible. Were the Disciples Predisposed to Believe? Others argue that although people in New Testament times knew that the kind of miracles performed described in the gospels and the Book of Acts were extremely extraordinary, their openness or predisposition to the belief in the supernatural resulted in their belief in what science has now proved incredible and thus impossible.

9 9 The disciples were often not predisposed to believe in miracles. When the disciples were in a boat with Jesus on the Sea of Galilee and a furious squall came up and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped (Mark 4:37), the disciples woke Him and said to Him, Teacher, don t you care if we drown? (Mark 4:38) Jesus go up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, Quiet! Be still! Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. And then He said to His disciples, Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith? (Mark 4:40). When Jesus challenged them to live up to His standards, they felt incapable of doing so and asked Him to increase [their] faith (Luke 17:1-5). Unlike Peter, the other disciples did not even get out of the boat when challenged to meet Jesus on the water. And Peter himself, once he saw the waves began to doubt and thus sink (Mark 6:45-56). Even though Jesus predicted His death and resurrection on many occasions, they simply did not believe it. And so after the trial, because of their association with Jesus, they were hiding for fear that they too would be imprisoned and killed. Like the rest, they were shocked to hear of the tomb being empty and of the resurrection appearances of Jesus. In one incident when Jesus appears to the disciples they were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost (Luke 24:37). Jesus said to them: While they [the disciples] were still talking about this, Jesus Himself stood among them and said to them, Peace be with you. Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch Me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have. When He said this, He showed them His hands and feet. And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, He asked them, Do you have anything here to eat? They gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and he took it and ate it in their presence. He said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about Me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:36-44). Reluctant believers! Fulfillment of prophecy was critical since the Old Testament depicts the Messiah as One who should suffer (Psalm 22; Isaiah 53) and rise from the dead on the third day (Psalm 16:9-11; Isaiah 53:10-11 to be compared with John 1:17 and Matthew 12:40).

10 10 The scientific community today, like the philosophical community, is not as sure of their understanding of natural, physical laws as it once was. Many scientists do not follow Rudolf Bultmann's pronouncement a generation ago that the advancement of science and technology has made it unreasonable for anyone to seriously hold the New Testament view of the world. Does modern science make belief in miracles and spirits irrational? Is it necessarily true that those of us who embrace the technology of science must also commit ourselves to a scientific world view on which that technology is dependent? In fact, is that technology really dependent on "the scientific worldview"? The answer to all these questions is increasingly "No" even in the scientific community. SPIRITUAL REALITIES Psychiatrist M. Scott Peck in his book, People of the Lie, gives countless cases of "evil" people some of whom were obviously demonized. Peck does not hesitate to refer to Satan as the personification of evil. In fact he states, I now know Satan is real. I have met him. 26 Like Peck, I have been involved in several (ca. a dozen) exorcisms and I too have met him and his minions (demons). Sociologist Wade Davis of Harvard University discovered in Haiti that spirits are real and that they possess people. He also found that his scientific tools were useless in evaluating such spiritual realities. After observing a woman holding a live coal in her mouth for three minutes, Davis writes: "The woman had clearly entered some kind of spirit realm. But what impressed me the most was the ease with which she did so. I had no experience or knowledge that would allow me to rationalize or to escape what I had seen." 27 William Wilson, a professor of psychiatry at Duke University Medical School, also combines a psychological and a Christian approach to evil. Clinical data makes him conclude that instances of the inner control of humans by evil spirits do occur and sees the evil spirits as a counterpart of the Holy Spirit who can control and guide human actions. 28 Satan is a spirit being (as all angels are, whether fallen or not) and therefore works as a spirit. He is not tangible in the same way that matter is. Rather, like God, Satan can manifest himself in and through material beings, even though he himself is not material. Peck writes about one case in which Satan manifested himself in a patient through the patient s writhing serpentine body, biting teeth, scratching nails, and hooded reptilian eyes. Through the use of the patient s body, Satan was dramatically and supernaturally snakelike. But he is not himself a snake. He is spirit. His power was exercised through the patient s body. 29

11 11 REVOLUTION IN PHYSICAL SCIENCE In recent years physical science has undergone such a revolution that the belief in the inviolability of the laws of Newtonian mechanics has given way to quantum theory. Thus physical "laws" are recognized as only "provisional descriptions of observed regularities in nature." 30 Heisenberg's "principle of indeterminacy" illustrates the radical nature of this scientific revolution. This means that physicists are incapable of knowing at the same time both the position and momentum of a subatomic particle. This makes it impossible to rule out a given configuration of particles. Any physical occurrence, therefore, could theoretically happen at some time by sheer chance, no matter how slim the probability of that occurrence may be. The unpredictable combinations of subatomic activity, however, have not replaced the principles of how the larger objects function which these particles make up. Thus gravity, for instance, is still intact it still prevents people from flying (unaided) or walking on water. The belief in miracles does not mean the denial of the validity of the regularities of nature. It is plain to any thinking person that the laws of our universe work in a very definite order or we would live in utter chaos. The belief in the supernatural intervention (special acts of God) in the course of human history does not necessarily mean that one believes that such intervention (miracle) must be a violation of the laws of nature. Rather the belief in miracles is based upon the supposition that God, who created this universe in the first place, can and does suspend or transcend the laws of nature that are otherwise fixed in regularity. The point is that there is no need for any laws to be violated if a new causal agent is introduced. Apologist Norman Geisler put it: "... belief in miracles does not destroy the integrity of scientific methodology, only its sovereignty. It says in effect that science does not have sovereign claim to explain all events as natural, but only those that are regular, repeatable, and/or predictable." 31 (Emphasis added) MIRACLES AND FAITH It is evident from Scripture that the miracles were never used to prove the existence of God. Rather, they are found in the context of belief in God, and serve as signs. Signs are not proofs. They are pointers, and indicators which come in the form of revelation and thus call for a response. Just as the signs of a false prophet are to be rejected, the signs of a true prophet are to be embraced. The false prophet s signs are not to be rejected because they lack empirical evidence, but because they are in conflict with prior revelation (Deuteronomy 13:1-6). The signs of the true prophets are to be accepted because they are those works which fulfill divine prophecy. It is because Jesus miracles fit with what is known through previous revelation that they can be recognized as the work of God.32

12 12 SIGNS AND WONDERS Sings and wonders may or may not suspension of natural causes. In the Old Testament we see that when God uses natural causes to show signs and wonders such as the plagues and the Exodus miracles they are clearly identified as such. From a biblical standpoint, the most important factor concerning miracles is not its stupendous character per se, but the way in which it relates to God s revelation of Himself and His ways. Whether natural causes are in play or not, biblical miracles are signs of the intervention of God and His ordering of events. 33 If natural causes serve their purpose, there is no reason not to use them. But if God s purpose is limited by such causes, then God will intervene supernaturally. Because God s supernatural intervention is presented against the backdrop of the normal, observable, verifiable regularities of nature and human life, they seem spectacular to us. Analogies This makes perfect sense since we have at least two analogies to illustrate this fact. In the first place, there are laws in our universe which transcend other laws. The law of aerodynamics, for example, makes it possible for something heavier than air to fly (e.g. the airplane). Obviously this law of aerodynamics has not jettisoned the law of gravity, it has merely transcended it. In the second place, in the area of human behavior we see that people, even with their limited, finite powers and abilities, can change events and bring about new events which would not have taken place by natural forces alone. If this is true of human beings, if they can actually make changes in the physical world, by what kind of logic can we dogmatically state that the Creator of this universe cannot do so? Miracles are logical if theism he belief in one God, the triune God is true. If we acknowledge Genesis 1:1, that God created the heavens and the earth, then it logically follows that He can supernaturally intervene in nature and in our personal lives according to His sovereign wisdo

13 13 NOTES 1 Eugene E. Russell, Webster s New World Dictionary of Quotable Definitions (New York: Webster s New World, 1988), Ibid. 3 Augustine, Contra Faustus Manichaeum xxxii.3 cited in The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Two edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1982), Richard Dawkins, Snake Oil and Holy Water, htm [1999, Nov.19] cited Lee Strobel, The Case For faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), Nicky Gumble, Searching Issues (Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK: Kingsway Publications, 1994), 99 cited in Strobel, The Case For faith, Colin Brown, Miracle, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Volume Three edited by Geoffrey Bromiley (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1986), C. S. Lewis, Miracles (New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1960), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Ibid. 10 George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament (William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1974), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Ibid., Ibid., In Defense of Miracles, ed. Douglas Geivett & Gary Habermas (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1997), Ibid.,

14 14 16 The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Strobel, The Case for faith, Ibid. 19 Ibid., The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, In Defense of Miracles, Ibid., Ibid., Ibid. 25 The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, M. Scott Peck, People of the Lie: The Hope for Healing Human Evil (New York: Simon & Shuster, 1983), 183 cited in John P. Newport, Life s Ultimate Questions (Dallas: Word Publishing, 1989), Wade Davis, The Serpent and the Rainbow (New York: Simon & Shuster, 1997), n. p. 28 John Warwick Montgomery, Demon Possession (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany Publishing House, 1976), 223 cited in Newport, Life s Ultimate Questions, Peck, People of the Lie, The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Norman Geisler, Miracles and Modern Thought (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982), n. p. 32 The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Ibid.