- Miracles are historically attested by multiple biblical witnesses (as well as by many other Christian sources throughout history)--if our arguments for the historical reliability of scripture are sound, then that also applies to the miracles those texts report. To believe that miracle reports are unreliable because ancient people were particularly gullible is not only extremely prejudicial, but also ignores much of what we actually know of the cultural history of the biblical period.
- Jesus, of all ancient figures, was especially associated as being a miracle-worker (as attested even by sources outside the Bible, like the historian Josephus). The fact that Jesus was regarded as especially unique in this aspect strongly suggests that ancient people were not gullibly seeing "miracles" everywhere--they knew one when the saw it, and they saw them in Jesus.
- Skeptical arguments tend to reject the possibility of miracles on an a priori basis--that is, not on the grounds of evidence about miracles, but on the basis of a pre-existing philosophical belief system. In other words, such skeptics tend to reject miracles as an act of faith in their own philosophy, not on an evidentiary basis.
- Some skeptics claim miracles are impossible because the natural world is a closed system, and we've never seen anything that can manipulate the laws of nature or add energy to a system that doesn't come from some already-existing source. However, this ignores the fact that Christian theology (as well as classical philosophy) has always regarded God as outside the system, not within it like we are, and that as the author of that system, he has both the right and the ability to enact just those sorts of manipulations that skeptics deem impossible.
- When skeptics are faced with clear evidence for a miracle, they tend to deny its validity by suggesting that there are other factors present in the situation which were unknown to us--perhaps the effects of an as-yet-unknown principle of science. Ironically, however, this is nothing but "science-in-the-gaps"--expressing a faith in unknown areas of science as an explanation, which is exactly what skeptics accuse Christians of doing when we suggest God as a possible explanation for inexplicable events (usually derisively referred to as "God-in-the-gaps").
- Miracles arise both because of who God is (see Ps. 77:13-14) and because of his mission in the world (see Acts 2:22, Heb. 2:3-4). Of all world religions, Christianity is the one that shows the greatest incidence of the miraculous, and by a very significant measure. Miraculous signs and wonders are part of the Christian announcement of the gospel message in new areas (as they were at the beginning), and so miracle reports still occur most frequently in those places around the world where the gospel is being introduced.
- Miracles still happen today and are often very well-documented. Listen to the sermon/lecture link above for some such stories, and for a comprehensive and scholarly selection of recent miracle reports with evidentiary documentation, see Craig Keener's book Miracles.
- A quote from Rex Gardner, a medical doctor: "That God does heal in the late twentieth century should be accepted on the evidence of all these independently-verified medical case records. If you do not accept this, you should ask yourself what evidence you would be prepared to accept, and if the answer is 'none,' then you should at least admit that you have abandoned logical enquiry."
- But if God can and does do miracles, why don't they always happen when Christians pray for them? Why do so many prayers for healing go unanswered?
- First, miracles are gifts of God, but sometimes his will leads in another direction than what we might hope for. We simply don't know the future, and we don't have a broad understanding of all the many factors involved--we can't see the whole picture like God can.
- Second, having miracles on-demand would reduce God to a welfare system for handouts. It would not inspire real relationships of faith and love. God is still sovereign, and we are not. It is his prerogative to heal if he wills. When such healing occurs, it is a gift we accept with thanksgiving, and when it does not, we trust that he is still accomplishing what is most to his glory and our own good.