The Fallacy Sessions: Miracles Are Dead

Do supernatural events still occur?

As our culture moves closer to a naturalistic worldview, more and more people are discarding the idea of miracles. After all, the very definition of a miracle goes against everything naturalism stands for.

The dictionary depicts a miracle as “A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency.” Since the world refuses to believe in a “divine agency” there clearly can’t be miracles. But is this true?

To truly figure out whether miracles still happen (if they ever did), we have to go back to the beginning.

The Origin of Miracles.

If you scour the Bible, you will find dozens of instances where miraculous things happen. In fact, over 100 miracles are recorded in the Old and New Testaments combined.

Arguably the most obvious miracle is found in the first chapter of the Bible, where God creates the world. (Caveat: as I said last week, yes, a Big Bang is a “non-supernatural” way to explain the world’s origin. Except something – or Someone – had to trigger the Bang. The universe can’t spawn out of nowhere.) It’s evident from the beginning that miracles are present on Earth – because it was a miracle that brought the world into existence.

Jesus and His miracles.

Time and time again we overlook the Old Testament miracles because of how much we associate the term “miracle” with Jesus. After all, throughout the four gospels, you’ll find 37 unique accounts of Jesus performing a miraculous deed.

Miracles were one of the primary ways Jesus proved His divinity and caught people’s attention.

Are miracles from God?

I realize that as absurd as it may sound, I need to address the topic of where miracles originate. As a whole, are they Holy, or demonic? The Pharisees raised this exact issue surrounding Jesus’ miracles in Matthew 12:24-28 (NIV).

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow [Jesus] drives out demons.” Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them… “If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand? And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your people drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.”

I won’t deny that the devil also uses “miracles” to pull people to his side. But miracles as a whole are a good thing – God created them. Anything the devil tries to trick us with is but a shade of the glory of a true, heavenly miracle.

Do modern miracles happen?

I know the answer is yes. Why? Because I’ve seen them. No, I didn’t watch Someone feed 5000 people with a few loaves of bread. But I have seen God heal people of sickness and cancer, fix a massive water pump, somehow provide for us right when we needed it, and way more. At camp this summer I experienced what felt like an endless string of miracles, as God helped us overcome problem after problem.

I want you to pause for a few seconds and think about your own life. When were there times when something happened that you couldn’t explain? Remember that time you were facing impossible odds, and “somehow” things worked out? Can you think of a time when God healed somebody of a sickness, or you missed death by an inch?

And I won’t even get into all of the miracles of Biblical proportions being reported by believers in other parts of the world (like Asia). That could be a whole post unto itself.

Perhaps we put the wrong context on the word “miracle”. We try to compare what God is doing now to what He was doing back then. Most of the time God isn’t parting a giant sea in front of us. That doesn’t mean He isn’t performing miracles.

A miracle doesn’t have to be a massive thing – it can be as tiny as something you don’t think twice about, like when you narrowly missed that car cruising through a red light. Look around and you’ll notice miracles taking place in your life more frequently than you notice.

Why should we believe in miracles?

When things get hard, God keeps giving us hope. Miracles are one of the many ways God displays His power on earth. He does things naturalism can’t explain. He does things we humans can never do.

Miracles are also a way for us to show God we trust Him. Instead of turning away from Him when things get bleak, miracles give us a bigger reason to turn to Him. Granted, God doesn’t always answer our requests via a miracle. But keep in mind that He alone knows the bigger picture. He knows what the ultimate outcome will be, and it’s always for our good. We just don’t always see it.

So if you hear that miracles don’t happen anymore – or if you’re tempted to believe that – it’s a fallacy. God continues to work miracles to this very day, and He always will. Just by looking at my own life, I can see this is true. Keep trusting God, and He will do incredible, miraculous things.

If there’s a lie or fallacy you’ve been facing that you’d like me to address, please leave a comment. I’d love to write a post about it!

“He is the one you praise; He is your God, who performed for you those great and awesome wonders you saw with your own eyes.”