But Non-Christians Have Miracles, Too

[Michie]

In his two-volume study Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, scholar Craig Keener confirms that “hundreds of millions” of people today report experiencing or witnessing miraculous events. It seems that miracles are not as uncommon as some skeptics might have claimed.

But do miracles occur outside of Christianity? And if they do, what does that say about the authenticity of Christian claims? Non-Christians claim to experience miraculous events, which, skeptics argue, invalidates Christian miracles. At the very least, they say, we should accept them with equal credulity.

Should Christians feel threatened by these competing miracle claims? Not necessarily. It would be unreasonable to assume that all miracle reports are equally credible. Just as criminal allegations should be investigated on a case-by-case basis, so should miracle claims. The fact is, God may work a miracle outside of an explicitly Christian context.

If a non-Christian religion makes a miracle claim, we can first look at that religion’s theological framework and ask whether miracles should be expected.

Consider, for example, the teachings of Siddhartha Buddha. He was agnostic (at best) about the existence of a personal and all-powerful God. Furthermore, he discouraged the working of marvels (e.g., magic) because the desire for power or influence would be a hindrance to enlightenment. Long after Buddha’s lifetime, however, stories of his great powers began to emerge. Although later Buddhist teaching allowed for a variety of doctrinal views, original teachings by the Buddha seemed to exclude or at least provide little basis for miracle-working and would be reason to give critics pause.

In a similar vein, miracles were also attributed to Muhammad many years after his death. Ayman Ibrahim, a professor of Islamic studies, observes in referring to Sura 6:37, “In the Quran, Allah, of course, has the power to send down miracles, signs, and wonders, but, it appears, that he did not send any to Muhammad, and thus people wondered: ‘Why has no sign been sent down upon him from his Lord?'” Ibrahim points out that, in the Quran, Allah identifies Muhammad as a “warner” without a sign (Sura 29:50). Thus, although Islam believes in a God capable in theory of performing miracles, we still have grounds to be critical of miracles later attributed to Muhammad.

Continued below.

But Non-Christians Have Miracles, Too

Skeptics are wrong when they assert that miracles claimed by other world religions nullify the authenticity of Christian miracles.

www.catholic.com

 

[Presbyterian Continuist]

In his two-volume study Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, scholar Craig Keener confirms that “hundreds of millions” of people today report experiencing or witnessing miraculous events. It seems that miracles are not as uncommon as some skeptics might have claimed.

But do miracles occur outside of Christianity? And if they do, what does that say about the authenticity of Christian claims? Non-Christians claim to experience miraculous events, which, skeptics argue, invalidates Christian miracles. At the very least, they say, we should accept them with equal credulity.

Should Christians feel threatened by these competing miracle claims? Not necessarily. It would be unreasonable to assume that all miracle reports are equally credible. Just as criminal allegations should be investigated on a case-by-case basis, so should miracle claims. The fact is, God may work a miracle outside of an explicitly Christian context.

If a non-Christian religion makes a miracle claim, we can first look at that religion’s theological framework and ask whether miracles should be expected.

Consider, for example, the teachings of Siddhartha Buddha. He was agnostic (at best) about the existence of a personal and all-powerful God. Furthermore, he discouraged the working of marvels (e.g., magic) because the desire for power or influence would be a hindrance to enlightenment. Long after Buddha’s lifetime, however, stories of his great powers began to emerge. Although later Buddhist teaching allowed for a variety of doctrinal views, original teachings by the Buddha seemed to exclude or at least provide little basis for miracle-working and would be reason to give critics pause.

In a similar vein, miracles were also attributed to Muhammad many years after his death. Ayman Ibrahim, a professor of Islamic studies, observes in referring to Sura 6:37, “In the Quran, Allah, of course, has the power to send down miracles, signs, and wonders, but, it appears, that he did not send any to Muhammad, and thus people wondered: ‘Why has no sign been sent down upon him from his Lord?'” Ibrahim points out that, in the Quran, Allah identifies Muhammad as a “warner” without a sign (Sura 29:50). Thus, although Islam believes in a God capable in theory of performing miracles, we still have grounds to be critical of miracles later attributed to Muhammad.

Continued below.

But Non-Christians Have Miracles, Too

Skeptics are wrong when they assert that miracles claimed by other world religions nullify the authenticity of Christian miracles.

www.catholic.com

There is Scriptural validation of the miraculous happening with non-Christians. We see that when Moses confronted Pharaoh, the court magicians were able to replicate the plagues that God did, up to a point. There is nothing to say that these men did not have supernatural powers. Also, it has been widely reported of supernatural events occurring occult events.

What is different about the miracles of the New Testament was their purpose: that they were done so that people could know that God is real, that Jesus is the true Messiah and that they can be saved by believing on His name.