Where are All the Miracles?
One of the many “quick answers” I get when telling Christians that I don’t believe in God is this:
“How would you explain all the miracles in the world?”
In fact, I get it so often from loved ones and friends that I decided to write this blog post in an attempt to debunk the very thought that miracles prove God’s existence.
Can’t explain it? Then it’s got to be God’s work!
This my dear readers is the most common version of the question. The very common story of someone suddenly getting healed and the face of baffled doctors often lead people to think that it’s a miracle. I think it’d be valid to call it a miracle but not necessarily the work of God. You see, there are things in this universe that we still can’t explain but that doesn’t mean there’s an omnipotent being behind them.
Unexplained things are just that – unexplained things. Time will come when someone or some group will manage to explain the unexplained. Back in time, people couldn’t explain the mystery behind rain, sunrise, sunset, the moon and many more and they attribute all these things to God. No rain? Ask God to open up the heaven and let the rain pour out. But now we all know the very process that produces rain. Miracles are simply occurrences in nature that are yet to be explained and not necessarily God’s work.
You shall cast out demons…
But do demons really exist? Just like God, I don’t think demons exist. So please prove the existence of God first before you tell me of all these demon stuff.
Lastly, where all the miracles?
If God exists and he does all these miraculous healings and raising of the dead all over the world then they should be all over the news right? But they’re not! Allow me to quote a verse from the Bible.
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” – John 21:25 NIV
If Jesus really did so many things as John thinks (the world would not have room for the books that would be written) then I’d also suppose that at least there’d be no single sick person during his time. But of course miracles are not just healings. Maybe Jesus walked over water a million times. Or maybe he fed 5,000 men 5,000 times (yah, I know that’s not counting the women and children).
Let me quote another verse from the book of John.
I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. – John 14:12 NIV
By mid-2005 the world population was estimated to be somewhere 6.4 Billion (source: Wikipedia – World Population). At the same time, the estimated percentage of Christians all over the world was around 33% or about 2.1 Billion.
For the sake of those who’d argue that not all of those 2.1 Billion are “real Christians”, let’s say that only about 10% of the 33% are real Christians. That’s more or less 210 Million “real Christians”. Too much? Ok, let’s bring it down to 1% which lowers the count to 21 Million. I think that’d be fair enough.
If Jesus did so many miracles as John suggests and if all who have faith in Jesus will be doing what he has been doing (or even greater), then I think there’s reason to believe that we will be seeing miracles just about everywhere. Hospitals would be empty and highly probable that no atheists like me exists. Even if we say that only 1% of the 1% (bringing the number down to 210,000) are “true Christians”, we still would be seeing lots of miracles in our streets.
But Where are All the Miracles??? Tell you what, let’s bring the number of Christians down to 12. If such a group of Christians, doing everything that Jesus did, exists then I think the whole world would know about them. Sad to say though, I’ve yet to meet such a person, and probably even you.
To summarize, first bring me in front of a miracle. And if you happen to manage to bring me to one that I cannot personally refute, don’t clap your hands and shout “praise the Lord” just yet. If I can’t explain it then I think some other “ordinary, down to earth, mortal” will be able to explain it.
Have a nice day!
Posted in Thoughts of a Filipino Atheist
September 19th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
You’re wrong.
September 19th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
i cannot explain how it happened – it must be a miracle!
September 20th, 2008 at 12:42 am
It all depends on how you define a miracle.
If you live 8000 years ago and didn’t really understand the mechanics of the solar system, you will think that the journey of the sun rising from the east and setting to the west is a miracle. To me, its not a miracle.
BeastFCD
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:13 am
First let me say that as far as Jesus Christ is concerned the reason he performed miracles was as a proof of his divinity, proof of his Godhood.
Throughout the gospel of John when referring to miracles the word “signs” is used not the word “works”. Jesus is not talking about miracles in John 14:12.
You cannot expect all the miracles you are arguing for because:
a. The miracles Jesus performed were to proof to the people of his day his divinity.
b. John 14:12 is not referring to miracles when it says “works”
Kenny
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 am
Beast,
No I don’t think people 8000 years ago would consider the sun rising in the east and setting in the west a miracle. That is something that happened on a regular basis. They may not understand it, but it wouldn’t be a miracle.
They would probably consider the sun coming up in the west and setting in the east as a miracle.
Kenny
September 23rd, 2008 at 12:54 pm
Hi Kenny,
I appreciate your reply but I have to say that it’s a bit off…
You see, Jesus did not only perform those miracles to prove his divinity. He also did those to help the needy and the sick. Miracles (at least according to the bible) is being done in Israel for years before by the prophets and none of them were proving some sort of divinity.
Also, for the sake of contextualizing John 14:12, I pasted below John 14:10-14
* Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.
* Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.
* I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
* And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.
* You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.
I think saying that Jesus only meant “works” is wrong because it is quite obvious in these verses that he too was referring to miracles. Now, let’s assume that you are correct – that Jesus was only referring to his works and not his miracles – I still find it odd that there are no Christians nowadays who are living like Jesus.
Cheers!
September 26th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Mike,
I am not saying that Jesus did not have compassion on the people that he healed. What I am saying is the purpose of the miracles was to prove his divinity. Throughout the old testament the prophets when referring to the coming messiah pointed to miracles as a sign of him. In the Bible it is God that performs miracles. There are no old testament prophets who performed miracles.
The translation that you have of John sure does make it look like Jesus is talking of people doing miracles. All I can say to that is I believe the translation you have is playing fast and free with the original language in order to make the reading easier to the modern reader. In my opinion the translation has completely changed the meaning of the scripture.
As far as “no Christians nowadays who are living like Jesus” Maybe not. Jesus was and is the only perfect man. I know many Christians who try to live a Christ like life. None of us are perfect. If we were there would have been no reason for Christ’s atonement.
September 26th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Hi Kenny,
There are many old testament prophets who performed miracles.
Elijah raised a dead child from the dead and brought down fire from heaven, he also parted the Jordan river.
Elisha floated an axehead on water and he too parted the Jordan. A dead person was even raised when it bumped Elisha’s tomb.
Isaiah caused the sun to return ten steps on the dial.
These are old testament prophets and they did perform miracles.
Maybe the modern translations are not accurate enough but I’m pretty sure these stories were meant as they are.
As for Christians not being like Christ, I think you forgot the “teaching” that every Christian is supposed to be empowered by God to be like Christ. Sadly though, the empowerment doesn’t seem to be enough.
Mike
September 27th, 2008 at 9:21 am
In the old testament it was God performing the miracles through his prophets. When a miracle happened in the old testament the prophet had to pray to God, or perform some sort of ritual or use some object (a staff, a mantle(shawl)) in order for the miracle to happen. In almost all cases the miracle is credited to the Lord or done in the name of the Lord. When Jesus performed miracles he did not pray to God, he needed no object from God.
John 20
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book:
31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
I think these scriptures sum up the fact that Jesus performed miracles to prove his divinity.
I agree with you that it is sad that many people who call themselves Christian do not live Christ like lives. I do believe that people do have the power to be like Christ. Its all just a matter of choices.
September 27th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Hi Kenny,
Fair enough. I do however still believe that Christians are meant to perform miracles in the name of Jesus as mentioned in the last verses of Matthew. Either way, whether the bible was referring to “acts of goodness” or “acts of miracles” – I still find any of these two pretty much lacking.
Mike
September 28th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Mike,
I must say that this conversation with you has prompted me to study the scriptures we have been discussing.
I have been studying St. John. I can no longer take the position that “works” does not mean miracles. I admit that I got the idea that “works” was not miracles from someone else. After my own careful study I like you believe “works” can mean miracles.
John 10:25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.
To me this scripture both makes your point that works=miracles and my point that Jesus performed miracles to prove divinity.
John 9:1And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
Then Jesus cures him of his blindness.
So if “works” is interpreted to mean miracles then your argument has some validity.
And yes I believe that miracles can be performed in the name of Christ.
As far as why aren’t there all sorts of people being cured of disease through miracles. That’s a simple one. If people were healed all of the time by the power of God it would no longer seem miraculous and we wouldn’t attribute it to God.
Peace
September 28th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
Hi Kenny,
I really appreciate your decision to “study”. Seldom do I encounter Christians who go back to the bible to study. They simply argue and argue. Hehehe.
As for what you said as to why miracles are not common, I don’t think I’d agree. You see, airplanes are airplanes even if they’re common. They may be taken for granted but they remain to be airplanes. The same goes for miracles. Even if miracles were common, I think they’d still be miracles and will seem miraculous mainly because miracles are “supernatural acts of god”. More miracles being performed in the name of God or Christ will definitely make it a point that God is alive and true.
You see, if you want to teach a remote tribe the English language, what you do is teach all of them and give them all the resources you can (books, paper, pen, audio and video tapes, etc). You don’t make it a “rare commodity”. Now, if all of them begins to speak English, would the English language cease to become that? No, it remains to be that but this time, there are more who understands and uses it.
Mike
December 27th, 2008 at 2:13 am
Chic@s, please read a BOOK, just once in a while, not a bible all the time, P U H L E A Z E !?
May 13th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
The reason why God doesn’t perform miracles “that anyone is capable of seeing, believing and realizing” has served it’s purpose.. Atheist came to be, and the believers are separated from the non.. That’s just as it is..
May 13th, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Imagine this, if everything in this world is right, is perfect, and is beautiful at the beginning of everything, even as for today, then how can any person even realize the significance of those? How can anyone appreciate anything if it would all be just the same? Noone won’t be able to appreciate the beautiful things God has created if everything is fine and dandy.. Noone will be able to separate anything from anything.. I mean, you can tell whats beautiful and what’s unpleasant, right? You can tell that hardwork is right because you can see that doing nothing except by praying is wrong.. It has served its purpose, and that’s why the “wrong” side of it has served its purpose, for people to see what is truly “right”..
Let me tell you a quote I believe in:
“This world is IMPERFECT, that’s why it is PERFECT..”
Take what you will on that..:)
May 19th, 2009 at 12:22 am
So let me get this straight:
We are told that God is capable of all these great things but in the thousands of years that have passed, all we could get for a miraculous encore performance are poetic little “miracles” like our blooming flowers and nice summer days?!
The people of back then deserved a demonstration of god’s power but people today have to take it all on faith?!
Sounds a little too convenient for the priests peddling this tripe.
The truth is, the more we learn about the world around us by applying the discipline of science, the more of these “Miracles” get exposed for what they are. Rare explainable events that religious zealots like to take credit for by proxy of their god.
“Those firemen didn’t save those people. God did because he created the firemen!”
It’s like saying that an invisible pink unicorn is all powerful because he can be pink AND invisible at the same time.
The only miracles that happen today are the commonly occuring variety (Miracles of Nature) and the ones we make ourselves (Miracles of Science). Miracles of God are a category of miracle that is told of in dusty old tomes. These miracles seem to have about as truth to it as the tale of Thor battling Jormungandr.
June 1st, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too? – douglas adams
June 1st, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Amen to you Three Fold! Or is that a Three Fold Amen. LOL.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:28 pm
Reminds me of a friend with whom I was talking to. He pointed to the skies and asked me, who created all these things? I replied bluntly (with a smile). “No one. Do we always need a creator for things to exist?”
June 13th, 2009 at 4:16 pm
I appreciated reading this post and some of the comments. I too have been wrestling (in my case, as a Christian) with the fact that miracles are so sparse in our experience as compared with what the Bible claims happened.
You and your readers might be interested in reading my thoughts on the matter on my blog at the following links:
http://timblaisdell.blogspot.com/2008/06/miracles-what-and-where-are-they.html
http://timblaisdell.blogspot.com/2008/07/more-on-miracles.html
Thanks again, and best regards.
July 8th, 2009 at 12:07 am
We are told that God is capable of all these great things but in the thousands of years that have passed, all we could get for a miraculous encore performance are poetic little “miracles” like our blooming flowers and nice summer days?!
-Like I said, those are the beliefs of a person childish enough to demand that he needs to see things to believe, that everything has to be in a picture for them to appreciate it, and that’s the reason why “real miracles” are not available for everyone to appreciate… It separates the atheist from the believers… and atheist also has their own purpose, which you are obviously serving right now.. be proud… oh, yeah, and thanks for doing your part…
July 8th, 2009 at 12:08 am
(We are told that God is capable of all these great things but in the thousands of years that have passed, all we could get for a miraculous encore performance are poetic little “miracles” like our blooming flowers and nice summer days?!)
Three Fold,
-Like I said, those are the beliefs of a person childish enough to demand that he needs to see things to believe, that everything has to be in a picture for them to appreciate it, and that’s the reason why “real miracles” are not available for everyone to appreciate… It separates the atheist from the believers… and atheist also has their own purpose, which you are obviously serving right now.. be proud… oh, yeah, and thanks for doing your part…
July 8th, 2009 at 12:09 am
Three Fold,
Like I said, those are the beliefs of a person childish enough to demand that he needs to see things to believe, that everything has to be in a picture for them to appreciate it, and that’s the reason why “real miracles” are not available for everyone to appreciate… It separates the atheist from the believers… and atheist also has their own purpose, which you are obviously serving right now.. be proud… oh, yeah, and thanks for doing your part…
July 8th, 2009 at 12:13 am
Mr. Mike Lopez,
Do you really have to just agree? Can’t comment on my comment?
“No one. Do we always need a creator for things to exist?”
Yes, simple as that…:)
September 21st, 2009 at 5:26 pm
May God guide the atheists to do their part well towards finally believing. That would be a miracle.
September 23rd, 2009 at 3:25 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVQYRZbbg7s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5Za9-uX4b8&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfmrqZwUjCQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se2jA33UIbA
http://www.holyfire.org/eng/karta.htm
also, the holly water, the relics of the sainghts
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtowwtsgK2s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CEWqih0vflQ
there are to many
the best way is to see the miracle, for example to the jordan river, to enter the river when the miracles takes place(it is a fixed day)
September 23rd, 2009 at 7:02 pm
But still, that’s not enough. A very powerful God and all the miracles we get are holy fires (once a year), holy snakes and holy watter??? C’mon!!! I wanna see something like multiplying bread and fish to feed all the hungry people of Africa and Asia!
October 18th, 2009 at 2:01 am
But still, that’s not enough. A very powerful God and all the miracles we get are holy fires (once a year), holy snakes and holy watter??? C’mon!!! I wanna see something like multiplying bread and fish to feed all the hungry people of Africa and Asia!
- just because you can do something doesn’t mean you must do it…
October 18th, 2009 at 2:53 am
Oh please Martin. I think GOD MUST FEED the hungry people of Africa and Asia. I mean with all these people praying for GOD TO HELP THEM, I sometimes wonder if he really cares – that is, if he really does exist.