How Did Owen Irving Use Miracles In The Production And Destruction Of Faith

Miracles in the Production and Destruction of Faith In basic religion classes, students are told that as Catholics, they need to have a faith in God and that their faith may not seem reasonable at times. As the students get older, they are told that in order to strengthen their faith, doubts, and working through these doubts, are an expected part of their lives while miracles may strengthen their growing beliefs. To further complicate the matter, students are taught that too many doubts can bring about a loss of faith, as can doubts from these same miracles. In John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany, Irving discusses this balance between healthy doubts bringing about faith and too many doubts eroding faith. Using miracles to test the different

This, though at the time merely mysterious and very strange, begins Johnny’s ascent into faith. Also strange is Mr. Meany’s story claiming that Owen had been a virgin birth. This statement truly inspires doubt in Johnny as he cannot fathom how any couple could have such “colossal ignorance” and “[use] Owen” in Owen's own ignorance (475). However, Johnny’s faith solidifies during a conversation with Reverend Merrill following these two odd “coincidences” showing how doubts can lead to faith. While talking to Rev. Merrill, the Johnny already seems to be gaining faith that Owen had indeed been sent by God and that the miracles were true. He counters Rev. Merrill’s explanations for Owen with pointed remarks such as “what did you tell Owen about it” and “do you believe that” showing that he is losing faith in Rev. Merrill and is starting to form his own conclusions (477). Finally, the scene culminates when Owen’s disembodied voice instructs Johnny to “LOOK IN THE THIRD DRAWER, RIGHT-HAND SIDE” and he discovers the lost murder-weapon-baseball and his father’s true identity (479). With this final miracle, Johnny’s faith almost inversely mirrors how Johnny sees Rev. Merrill’s faith: where Rev. Merrill “was privileged to witness the miracle of Owen Meany” but could only complain about “lost faith,” Johnny takes the miracle as a gift and uses it to further bolster his growing faith (482). Through the miracles that brought doubts and questioning, Johnny Wheelwright discovered a faith that exists purely “because of Owen Meany”