Argument from Miracles

Reports of miracles, above all the resurrection of Jesus, provide evidence that a supernatural power acts in the world.

The argument from miracles begins from reports that events have occurred which natural causes cannot explain. The central case in the Christian tradition is the resurrection of Jesus: the empty tomb, the appearances to followers, and the sudden transformation of a frightened group into a movement willing to die for its message. The argument claims that a supernatural explanation fits these reports better than the natural alternatives, such as fraud, hallucination, or legend. If even one such event genuinely occurred, then a purely naturalistic picture of the world is incomplete.

The Argument in Form

There are well-attested reports of events that natural causes cannot explain, above all the resurrection of Jesus.
The best explanation of these reports is that a supernatural power acted.

Therefore, miracles provide evidence for God's existence.

Proponents and History

The argument has ancient roots in the New Testament accounts and in the early Church's appeal to the resurrection as public evidence. In the modern period, it was sharpened by defenders responding to David Hume's essay Of Miracles, and in recent decades by historians and philosophers who argue that the resurrection best explains the available historical data. N. T. Wright, Gary Habermas, and William Lane Craig have each presented versions of the case, drawing on the empty tomb, the appearances, and the origin of the Christian movement.

Standard Objections

David Hume argued that no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, since uniform human experience speaks against violations of natural law, and testimony is always more likely to be mistaken or false. Critics add that miracle reports are common across incompatible traditions, and that historical evidence for ancient events is fragmentary. Natural explanations, including misperception, legend, and the growth of stories over time, are offered for the resurrection reports. Defenders reply that Hume's rule assumes the very naturalism at issue, and that the evidence should be weighed case by case.

References

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Miracles Free / open access
Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy — Miracles Free / open access

Related Across the Site

Argument from Consciousness Argument — Conscious, intentional minds are difficult to explain on a purely physical account of the world, and theism explains them better.
Cosmological Argument Argument — Everything that begins to exist has a cause, and the universe began to exist, so the universe has a cause.
Moral Argument Argument — Objective moral values and duties exist, and they are best explained by a moral lawgiver.
Ontological Argument Argument — God is the greatest conceivable being, and a being that exists is greater than one that does not, so God must exist.
Teleological / Design Argument Argument — The order, complexity, and fine-tuning of the universe point to a designer rather than to chance alone.
Miracles and Modern Scientific Thought Essay — Miracles
The Problem Of Miracles Essay — Miracles
The Problem Of Miracles: A Historical And Philosophical Perspective Essay — Miracles

Related Arguments

Argument from Religious Experience — Widespread and persistent religious experiences are best explained by a transcendent reality that people genuinely encounter.
Cumulative Case / Pascal's Wager — No single argument may settle the question alone, but together the arguments form a cumulative case, and Pascal's Wager adds a prudential reason to believe.
Cosmological Argument — Everything that begins to exist has a cause, and the universe began to exist, so the universe has a cause.