At the heart of many questions concerning the existence of God, the believability of Jesus Christ, and the reliability of the Bible, is the issue of the miraculous. The Bible records many miracles that are intended to strike wonder and amazement into the hearts of the observers and readers. The parting of the Red Sea, the virgin conception, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ are among these well known miracles. Are they historical events, or are they dramatic and exaggerated forms of telling stories that are aimed at promoting national religion? Are they believable, or are they to be rejected a priori because they do not fit into the modern scientific worldview? Though the resurrection of Jesus has been considered, we want to step back and look the issue of miracles as a whole.

What Are Biblical Miracles?

The term "miracle," as used today, has come to mean just about anything that a person wants to make it mean. Many religious people refer to ordinary things as miraculous. This has damaged the perception of Biblical miracles. In general terms, a miracle is an inexplicable event that appears to transcend or suspend all natural laws (or observations). it is supernatural in origin. Biblically a miracle is an act of mighty power that originated from God. C. S; Lewis wrote that a miracle is '+. .. an interference with Nature by supernatural power. Unless there exists, in addition to Nature, something else which we may call the supernatural, there call be no miracles" (Miracles 5). Miracles transcend nature. They do not conform to typical observations of the natural world.

Some miracles in the Bible are not so much unnatural, but supernatural Arndt wrote: "At times it may be exactly like a natural event; but the conditions under which it takes place are such that we classify it as a miracle" (Difficulties 27). For example, some try to explain the parting of the Red Sea through natural causes, such as a great wind, which the Bible itself indicates (Exod. 14:21); but how does one explain the timing of the wind? Along these lines, it is interesting to note that Biblical miracles are not freakish in nature. When Jesus fed the five thousand, he used food instead of dissolving their hunger some other way. When God saved the children of Israel from the Egyptians, he provided a way for them to travel on dry ground instead of automatically transporting them over the sea. The miracles were not freakish, but they were more than sufficient to show that there was supernatural power involved.

Miracles and God's Existence

To the modern scientific mind, miracles are figments of imaginations from ages past. They come from times out of which arose many myths, fables, and legends. They were for the benefit of the nation, but they are not historical. They are unscientific and unworthy of meaningful thought in view of modern scientific enlightenment. It should be remembered that this particular position is a bias based upon a preconceived notion that there is no God. It is not based upon proof that miracles are impossible.

The believability of miracles hinges upon the existence of God. Since it cannot be shown that God does not exist, then an honest person should admit that His existence is, at least, possible, if not probable. If the existence of God is possible, then there is a possibility, regardless of how remote someone may think it is, that He has supernaturally intervened in this world at some point in history. To deny these possibilities is to argue from an assumption, not from the facts, for no fact has ever shown otherwise. Unless one is of the mind to close all doors of possibility, even though admitting that we don't know all things, then these possibilities must be acknowledged. The naturalist has closed the doors of possibility with the nontheist bias.

Miracles fall into the category of history. Biblical miracles cannot be proved or disproved by science. As with any event in the past, they are open to historical investigation and interpretation. As noted, if they are ruled out before investigation, then a clear bias is present. However, we cannot determine in advance what can or cannot occur. We cannot determine in advance that it is impossible for a miracle to have occurred. We must investigate the historical claims. And this brings us right back to the Bible and its reliability. If we can trust the Bible, then we can believe that miracles have occurred.

Early Christians did not need to prove that Jesus performed miracles. They appealed to the knowledge of the listeners, who were already familiar with the events. Peter referred to signs that Jesus performed: "Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know" (Acts 2:22). If these were myths, then saying things like this to enemies of Jesus would have given ample opportunity for Christianity to be stamped out early on in its history. Facts like these may be explained by assuming that they are philosophically impossible, that the records are fraudulent, or that such statements were written in after the fact. However, the records cannot be assumed as false just because of what they contain, for that is objection on mere subjective grounds. If they cannot objectively be shown to be unreliable or written later, then they should be accepted as primary source documents testifying to the reality of miraculous events. On these grounds, our faith may be assured.