While growing up in India, I saw miracles everywhere. They were so common that there never once occurred an idea to reexamine them. In our youth not only did we believe in them but more often than not our elders too believed in them and encouraged us at every given opportunity. Those among us who could perform miracles were often viewed more positively than those who couldn’t. It didn’t matter whether you could produce a miracle or not, we all believed that miracles are a real phenomenon. I give you one good example:
While in high school, my friends and I felt fortunate upon hearing that we were blessed by a “stove god” who has descended upon our medium-sized city. The talk of the town was nothing but this “stove god.” So real was this god’s presence that the entire city’s inhabitants were ecstatic simmering with high pitch activities. How did “stove god” act? The answer was simple: When you turn on the kerosene filled three-legged stove, the god’s spirit descended upon the stove and then the stove began to hop just like a frog. You could literally see the stove in action and it had the whole town interested. As young boys and girls we were all mesmerized by this extraordinary godly visit. None of us, however, questioned this mass hysteria and none of us knew how to probe deeper to find the truth.
Upon migrating to the United States, some encounters with the skeptical community literally forced me to go back in time and reexamine the past miraculous events. Today I can say firmly that we were painfully wrong: there were no miracles. Nor was there ever a “stove god.” The problem that had engulfed us was a simple one: we were raised to believe in miracles and once we were brainwashed there were no ending to the continuous flow of miracles which reinforced further our set of beliefs. In this way our society was set up in believing in supernaturalism.
Reading and believing in the Bible is no different from what I faced in India. Frankly I was astounded when I read the Bible noting the amount of miracles imbedded.
Moving on to Jesus Christ, earlier I wanted to encroach upon the topic of “miracles of Jesus Christ.” For reasons that are not entirely clear to me what I ended up getting was something different; more like an “introductory level course to miracles.” Hopefully, in future, we should dwell on a debate exclusively on the miracles attributed to Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
In the meantime, I welcome you to this debate. I am indebted to the following panel members for writing and sharing their views with SikhSpectrum readers.
Rev. Tony Zekveld is well known to the readers. He lays out a general belief in miracles without addressing the rationale and providing any evidence. This is also true of our next two panel members: Jass Singh and Thor Carden. Rev. Zekveld’s contention of using the Bible itself to proving the authenticity of biblical miracles is something that is not acceptable. To prove a miracle that is recorded in the Bible, evidence lodged from outside of the Bible should at least be the starting point. The burden of proof rests upon the believer and not upon anyone else.
Since Rev. Zekveld has mentioned Sikh Gurus, I thought I might state here that Guru Nanak and the succeeding Sikh Gurus didn’t believe in miracles and supernaturalism. I am thankful to Dr. Baldev Singh for allowing me to reproduce here a few lines taken from his yet unreleased “The Primer on the Nanakian Philosophy”.
Guru Nanak rejected the notion that God performs miracles. God according to Guru Nanak is a Rational Being. The Cosmos is sustained and supported according to God’s Hukam [meaning Laws of Nature]. Everything is subject to Hukam and nothing is beyond it. Every action and reaction and happening occurs according to Hukam. Hukam is immutable and it controls the entire activity of the Cosmos. It is ignorance of the Hukam, which makes people say that such a phenomenon or happening is a miracle.
hukmI hovin Awkwr hukmu n kihAw jweI ]
hukmI hovin jIA hukim imlY vifAweI ]
hukmI auqmu nIcu hukim iliK duK suK pweIAih ]
ieknw hukmI mKsIs ieik hukmI sdw BvweIAih ]
hukmY AMdir sBu ko bwhir hukmu n koie ]
nwnk hukmY jy buJY q haumY khY n koie ]
The visible world in the Cosmos is created according to Hukam, which is inexplicable (in totality). Life evolves and develops according to Hukam. Living beings develop higher and lower levels of consciousness and intelligence, and experience pain and pleasure according to Hukam. Some are liberated (illuminated) through the understanding of Hukam whereas others fall into the trap of ignorance by ignoring Hukam. Everything in the Cosmos is subject to Hukam and nothing is beyond it. Nanak, it is only when one comprehends the Hukam that one subdues one’s Haumai (self-centeredness). Aad Guru Granth Sahib, Jap 1, p. 1.
It is also appropriate to mention here that Guru Nanak didn’t believe in the “original sin,” or in the idea of “sin” as promoted and interpreted by the fundamentalist Christians.
Jass Singh is also well known to our readers via his past articles and letters to the editor. He has always been gracious to my requests for his inputs.
Rev. Thor F. Carden is making his first appearance here. He earned Bachelor of Arts in Management from Trevecca Nazarene University, Nashville, TN, in 1992, and a Masters of Religion with emphasis on Pastoral Counseling, from Liberty University, Virginia, in 2005. He also has earned 21 post-graduate hours from Belmont University, Vanderbilt University, University of Tennessee and over 2,000 hours of industrial and professional training.
Rawel Singh is a retired Brigadier from the Indian Army and he is well known to the readers through his articles and active responses on the feedback section. His article elaborates on the miracle issue as discussed by Jass Singh from different perspectives.
T. H. Mitchell is making his first appearance here. He has a bachelor degree in Computer Science. He studies both religion and philosophy in his spare time. He was raised a Roman Catholic, fell in love with a beautiful Hindu girl, and fell out of favor with the Church when they wouldn't allow the marriage of a Catholic and a non-Catholic. He has responded critically to Rev. Thor’s article.
I write first of all as a follower of Christ and, then, as a pastor called to teach the Word of God. So please understand as I write, I presuppose that the Word of God is true and it is God’s authoritative Word for all mankind.
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This paper is a brief overview and not an exhaustive treatise on the topic of miracles, or theism versus atheism.
Non-theists generally adopt a metaphysical position that entails the impossibility of miracles. The fundamental principle is that whatever happens is natural, and what is not natural does not happen.
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Many say the Bible is lying because it reports miracles, and everyone knows miracles are impossible. I was not an eyewitness to the miracles of Jesus reported in the Bible. I cannot attest to their veracity directly. However, I am convinced of their truth, because I have experienced miracles myself, and because I have met the Author of them.
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A miracle is any extraordinary occurrence that cannot be explained by the laws of nature. The examples of this are someone escaping from almost sure death, an illness being cured by means other than medical intervention, a baby being safely transported by flood waters.
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In Thor's essay, " Miracles of Jesus," he claims two miracles happened to him, and then states, "If you do not accept the two salvation experiences described above as miraculous, I cannot show you the other miracles Jesus has worked in my life, because you do not have eyes to see them." I do not accept either event as miraculous, and I would like to explain why.
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