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.
Miracle #1: Thor was feeling suicidal, so he tried something new with his life (in his case, he tried Christianity). This "something new" worked for him, so he stopped looking for other ways to curb his suicidal tendencies, and he probably believes to this day that no other “thing” can curb them. I have no reason to think Christianity is the only cure for his mental problems, so I have no reason to think this is a miraculous event.
Miracle #2: Thor converted someone else to Christianity without trying to do so. Since human beings have been known to change religions, I do not see how this specific instance is any more miraculous than any other (especially since no specifics were given). I, too, have converted people—but not to Christianity. I don’t consider what I’ve done is “miraculous,” so why should I consider what Thor’s done is also miraculous?
Elsewhere Thor writes: “I believe that if you are not convinced [of biblical miracles], it is because you have not yet decided to obey.” That is such a painfully bad explanation to my ears that I have to say something. I can’t speak for all non-believers, but I, personally, am not convinced of biblical miracles because there is no good evidence to believe in biblical miracles. But for some reason I don’t think Thor has the “ears to hear” that most reasonable of explanations.
Also, Thor seems unaware that the “refusal to obey” retort works both ways. Perhaps the “real reason” Thor is a Christian and not a Muslim is because he has “not yet decided to obey the rules of the Koran”? Perhaps he doesn’t want to pray five times a day, or fast for an entire month, or travel all the way to Saudi Arabia to make a pilgrimage? To suggest such a thing is just as ludicrous to me as Thor’s suggestion above.
Thor also writes “I find there is sufficient evidence for me to believe in the miracles of Jesus Christ, but often not enough to convince someone else.” I thought that was the topic we were going to discuss. What evidence does Thor find convincing? His essay doesn’t mention any. In fact, his entire essay sounds to me like a clever sounding smoke-screen used avoid critically evaluating the evidence for the miracles of Jesus.
Thor writes: “The difference can not be in the evidence, but must be in the person examining the evidence.” To this I agree. Finally! What other factors might be involved here? I can think of two: fear of death (or some kind of reassurance that we will see our loved ones again after we die), and fear of Hell. Since fear is such a strong emotion (perhaps the strongest, as it invokes a “fight or flight” response), it makes sense to me that someone’s emotions might over-ride their common sense. This is all the more reason to be skeptical of religious claims– that is, if one is more concerned with truth than with “how they feel.”
Let me also touch on a few minor topics in his essay that I’d also like to address:
1. Thor wrote: “(By the way, I explained to my wife that the reason most cultures have a flood story is because it really happened.)” I would just like to add my own “by the way” here. The reason that most ancient cultures have flood stories is probably because most ancient cultures were situated next to large rivers. They had to be, since advanced irrigation techniques weren’t invented yet. Combine that fact with the fact that all rivers eventually flood, and one can begin to understand why most cultures have flood myths. Each culture probably thought "the whole world" was flooded because the entire world as they knew it was flooded.
2. Thor writes: "God has no interest in people trying to prove the existence of miracles. Why would He show up for the test?" I can think of two reasons why God might show up for a test. First, he reportedly told his followers to “Test everything” and “Hold on to the good” (1 Thess 5:21 NIV). Second, there are characters in the Old Testament that tested God, and God showed up for their tests. See Judges 6:36-40. If Gideon was allowed to test God (twice), why aren’t we all allowed to testing God (once)?
3. Thor wrote: “Many came to believe in a miraculous Jesus, and many others came to believe that Jesus was a charlatan and a hoax. Something extraordinary must have happened. What?” I agree that something extraordinary happened. Every time an obscure cult blossoms into a global religion, something extraordinary has happened. But that doesn’t imply that the supernatural played any part in it. I think Thor might be confusing those two terms (extraordinary and supernatural).
4. Thor wrote: "However, in reality, miracles frequently have the confirmation of multiple witnesses." Granted, I don’t think miracles happen “in reality,” but his remark about multiple witnesses reminded me of the very well attested Hindu Milk Miracle (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_milk_miracle). What I find interesting in that wikipedia article is that even though the people were given a scientific explanation for their miracle, they chose to disregard it and believe in a supernatural explanation instead. I suspect Thor would do the same thing.
5. Thor wrote: “Do you know why you want to believe what you believe?” Personally, I don’t think I have a choice in what I believe or disbelieve. There was a time when I questioned the existence of God and a time when I questioned the Scientific Method (specifically, the theory of evolution). But the more questions I raised, and the more I researched these topics, the more everything fell into place. The more everything made sense. At this point in my life it’s obvious to me that gods and miracles don’t exist.
