Dear Readers:
I very much enjoyed the short respite; although I am not well rested, (but not jetlagged) after my travel to places where my work takes me. So, I will respond briefly: In [EMAIL PROTECTED], "santoshhelekar" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: >I have debated with Joe Vaz on this matter... True, I did debate (at length) with Santosh on �Re: Of Miracles and Beliefs....� and he had said then: Quote:�I am frankly tired of this argument now, because I think I have failed miserably in explaining to Mr. Vaz�� Unquote. Well here he goes again: >Here is what my understanding of the scientific method is. >This is the science I know and practice on a daily basis >in my own modest way: > >1. Science always tries to seek rational natural explanations for >observed phenomena - explanations that do not violate established >scientific principles based on objective evidence. > >2. When confronted with an apparently unusual and extraordinary >observation the default scientific position is to still seek natural >explanations perhaps involving modification of the existing >principles. I had extensively debated the subject on miracles, and let me say this again �- I do not claim to know it all; I am in a continual process of learning. For the benefit of the readers and to negate any misunderstanding on the miracle concept, I reiterate: A statement that a miracle occurred, usually - as in the case of many of the biblical miracles - refers to God as causing something that is not the sort of occurrence that one would expect to be is explainable in terms of laws of nature, if it could be explained at all. God's power is shown in the miracle: o directly through His own immediate action or o mediately through creatures as means or instruments. In the latter case the effects must be ascribed to God, for He works in and through the instruments. Hence God works miracles through the instrumentality. The miracle is essentially an appeal to knowledge. Therefore miracles can be distinguished from purely natural occurrences. A miracle is a fact in material creation, and falls under the observation of the senses or comes to us through testimony. Its miraculous character is known: - From positive knowledge of natural forces, e.g., the law of gravity, the law that fire burns. To say that we do not know all the laws of nature, and therefore cannot know a miracle, is beside the question, for it would tantamount the miracle an appeal to ignorance. One may not know all the laws of the penal code, but one can know with certainty that in a particular instance a person violates one definite law. - From our positive knowledge of the limits of natural forces. Thus, e.g., we may not know the strength of a man, but we do know that he cannot by himself move a mountain. In enlarging our knowledge of natural forces, the progress of science has curtailed their sphere and defined their limits. Hence, as soon as we have reason to suspect that any event, however uncommon or rare it appears, may arise from natural causes or be conformable to the usual course of nature, we immediately lose the conviction of it being a miracle. A miracle is a manifestation of God's power. - Miracles are signs of God's Providence over mankind; hence they are of high moral character, simple and obvious in the forces at work, in the circumstances of their working, and in their aim and purpose. Examples are: Red Sea parting as depicted in the movie "The Ten Commandments" (i.e., not simply a low tide); Jesus raising the dead man Lazarus to life (John, xi). People living at the time of Moses or Christ knew just as well as we do -- that seas do not "normally" part, and that people are not, -- in the normal course of nature, resurrected. What is required for a notion of the miraculous is not some sophisticated notion of what a law of nature is, but just a strong sense of what constitutes the normal, natural course of events. And this is something the ancients had just as much as those living in a scientific age have. Place and Value of Miracles in The Christian View of the World: Christianity teaches that God created and governs the world. This government is His Providence. It is shown in the delicate adjustment and subordination of the tendencies proper to material things, resulting in the marvelous stability and harmony which prevail throughout the physical creation, and in the moral order, which through conscience, is to guide and control the tendencies of man's nature to a complete harmony in human life. Man is a personal being, with intelligence and free will, capable of knowing and serving God, and created for that purpose. To him nature is the book of God's work revealing the Creator through the design visible in the material order and through conscience, the voice of the moral order based in the very constitution of his own being. Hence the relation of man to God is a personal one. God's Providence is not confined to the revelation of Himself through His works. He has manifested Himself in a supernatural manner throwing a flood of light on the relations which should exist between man and Himself. The Bible contains this revelation, and is called the Book of God's Word. It gives the record of God's supernatural Providence leading up to the Redemption and the founding of the Christian Church. Here we are told that beyond the sphere of nature there is another realm of existence -- the supernatural, peopled by spiritual beings and departed souls. Both spheres, the natural and the supernatural, are under the overruling Providence of God. Thus God and man are two great facts. The relation of the soul to its Maker is religion. Religion is the knowledge, love, and service of God; its expression is called worship, and the essence of worship is prayer. Thus between man and God there is constant intercourse, and in God's Providence the appointed means of this intercourse is prayer. Prayer: By prayer man speaks to God in acts of faith, hope, love, and contrition and implores His aid. In answer to prayer God acts on the soul by His grace and, in special circumstances, by working miracles. Hence the great fact of prayer, as the connecting link of man to God, implies a constant interaction of God in the life of man. Therefore in the Christian view of the world, miracles have a place and a meaning. They arise out of the personal relation between God and man. The conviction that the pure of heart are pleasing to God, in some mysterious way, is worldwide; even among the heathens, pure offerings are prepared for the sacrifice. This intimate sense of God's presence may account for the universal tendency to refer all striking phenomena to supernatural causes. Error and exaggeration do not change the nature of the belief founded in the abiding conviction of the Providence of God. Now Christian philosophy teaches that God, in answer to prayer confers not only spiritual favors but at times interferes with the ordinary course of physical phenomena, so that, as a result, particular events happen otherwise than they should. This interference takes place in miracles and special providences. When we kneel to pray we do not always beg God to work miracles or that our lives shall be constant prodigies of His power. The sense of our littleness gives a humble and reverential spirit to our prayer. We trust that God, through His Infinite knowledge and power, will in some way best known to Him bring about what we ask. Hence, by special providences we mean events which happen in the course of nature and of life through the instrumentality of natural laws. When, therefore, we pray for rain or to avert a calamity, or to prevent the ravages of plague, we beg not so much for miracles or signs of omnipotence: we ask that He who holds the heavens in His hands and who searches the abyss will listen to our petitions and, in His own good way, bring about the answer we need. Testimony: A miracle, like any natural event, is known either from personal observation or from the testimony of others. In the miracle we have the fact itself as an external occurrence and its miraculous character. The miraculous character of the fact consists in this: that its nature and the surrounding circumstances are of such a kind that we are forced to admit natural forces alone could not have produced it, and the only rational explanation is to be had in the interference of Divine agency. The perception of its miraculous character is a rational act of the mind, and is simply the application of the principle of causality with the methods of induction. The general rules governing the acceptance of testimony apply to miracles as to other facts of history. If we have certain evidence for the fact, we are bound to accept it. The evidence for miracles, as for historical facts in general, depends on the knowledge and veracity of the narrators, i.e., they who testify to the occurrence of the events must know what they tell and tell the truth. The extraordinary nature of the miracle requires more complete and accurate investigation. Such testimony we are not free to reject; otherwise we must deny all history whatsoever. We have no more rational warrant for rejecting miracles than for rejecting accounts of stellar eclipses. Hence, they who deny miracles have concentrated their efforts with the purpose of destroying the historical evidence for all miracles whatsoever and especially the evidence for the miracles of the Gospel. Thank you for your attention and patience. May God Bless you. Best wishes, Joe Vaz _________________________________________________________________ Join the world�s largest e-mail service with MSN Hotmail. http://www.hotmail.com =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-W-E-B---S-I-T-E-=-=-= To Subscribe/Unsubscribe from GoaNet | http://www.goacom.com/goanet =================================================================== For (un)subscribing or for help, Contact: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Dont want so many e=mails? Join GoaNet-Digest instead ! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Help support non-commercial projects in Goa by advertizing!! * * * * Your ad here !!
