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Hume Miracles Analysis

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Miracles

To begin with, a miracle is an extraordinary event that is welcomed by most. A miracle cannot be explained by natural or scientific laws; therefore, it is believed to be the work of a divine agency. It is not clear what Hume’s position on the existence of God is; however, he rejects miracles. Miracles are the foundation of believing in God; thus, we can assume that Hume at the very least questioned the existence of God.

Hume’s position on miracles is very clear from the get go, he does not believe miracles are a possibility based on probability. Hume denies the possibility of miracles existing in section X of the Enquiry. Section X of the Enquiry is composed of two parts. Part one is an argument against believing miracles. Part …show more content…

Miracles are important because they are the basis of a supernatural being, God, existing. Hume believes that there two problems with believing in miracles. The first is that it is not scientifically possible. The second is that it is theologically flawed; for instance, why does God need to prove himself? Additionally, Hume proposes that a wise man should proportion his belief to the evidence and because there is no evidence in favour of miracles, he should reject them. Hume believes the problem with testimony is the final issue with the question of miracles existing. Hume believes that testimonies cannot be believed because there is no evidence to support it. Hume believes that the biggest issues lies with the testifier; for instance, the testifier’s character, corroborating witnesses, and empirical evidence. The authority of any scripture (e.g., the Torah, the Bible, the Quran) is based on the testimony of the witnesses. The witnesses usually claim that the laws of nature were broken; for example, Moses parting the red sea. Hume questions the legitimacy of these testimonies because the evidence that the laws of nature were broken is weaker than the testimony that they were not broken. Thus, Hume believes that we should not believe reports of …show more content…

Most humans have to a certain extent been brainwashed about the possibility of miracles. For example, there is no proof of Moses splitting the water in half, it is not only hearsay but also impossible. Furthermore, if splitting the water was possible, how come it has not happened again since? Supporters of miracles could argue and say that miracles happen once and the probability of it happening again are slim to none. However, the possibility of someone winning the lottery is extremely low; but, multiple people have been witnessed to win; thus, it is possible. In addition, we are supposed to believe that these miracles exist without questioning them; for instance, if someone were to walk into a Catholic church and question the validity of the virgin Mary, he or she would probably not be treated kindly. Furthermore, it is scientifically impossible to perform miracles. For instance, it is claimed in the Bible that Jesus brought a dead man back from the dead, which is

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