‘Our knowledge of miracles leads us to the conclusion that God exists.’ Discuss this point of view.

The first 200 words of this essay...

'Our knowledge of miracles leads us to the conclusion that God exists.' Discuss this point of view.

A miracle may be defined in different ways, presenting the first problem in establishing their occurrence.

A miracle is a concept which, in everyday usage, might mean little more than an unexpected yet welcome event. However, in religious terminology it is usually considered to describe something of much greater significance. And yet, even here, opinion varies on what may or may not be legitimately classed as a miracle.

St Thomas Aquinas identified three definitions of a miracle. The first includes all those events in which something is done by God that nature could never do (the resurrection of Jesus Christ, for example, would fit into this category). The second describes events in which God does something that can occur in nature, but not in that order. The third relates to events in which God does what usually occurs in nature, but without the operation of nature. Another biblical example of this third definition might be a man recovering from polio in a minute. It is certainly not impossible to recover from polio, but to do so in