“If you can explain what is going on, then God isn’t doing it.”
It’s a great sound byte. Several respected Christian leaders have taught it. And it certainly feels true. In many congregations it would be a reliable “amen!” line. However, not only is the statement itself false but it reflects a damaging and unbiblical way of thinking about faith and Christian living.
“It may seem that, compared to what we see in Scripture, visible miracles are very few and far between today. But greater invisible miracles are in fact are happening all the time around us as God regenerates hard human hearts.” - Randy Alcorn
“The materialist would simply dismiss my friend’s story saying such things are impossible. This is David Hume’s not-so-clever argument: ‘Miracles are impossible therefore miracles do not happen.’ … Human experience tells us otherwise. Inexplicable things happen.” - Imaginative Conservative
“The growth of spiritual secularism, or secular spiritualism, does not disprove the secularization thesis, but it does reframe it.” - Breakpoint
“Andy Stanley is in the headlines once again…. He began a new series with the question, ‘Do you have to believe in miracles to be a Christian?’ His answer? Yes, but only two foundational miracles—’the miracle of the universe’ and ‘the miracle of the resurrection.’” - AiG
“…all these examples showcase people who directly observed astounding miracles and were unfazed by them. How could that happen?” - Robin Schumacher
“In theology, such an activity as this—a bush with fire burning within it, but not being consumed—is said to be contra naturam, meaning ‘against nature.’… What Moses saw in this fire was a supernatural, visible manifestation of the glory of God.” - R.C. Sproul
“Although some earlier writers had viewed miracles as beyond laws of nature, Hume treated them as ‘violations’ of laws of nature. Once he adopted this definition, he insisted that miracles are miracles only if they violate natural law. Then he argued that natural law cannot be violated, so therefore miracles do not happen.” - C.Today
“In his new book, A Simple Guide to Experience Miracles: Instruction and Inspiration for Living Supernaturally in Christ, renowned Christian philosopher J.P. Moreland makes a provocative claim. Ninety-five percent of what the average evangelical church accomplishes in a given year, suggests Moreland, could be explained even if God didn’t exist.” - Breakpoint
The so-called “long day” recorded in Joshua 10:12-14 has generated much discussion among Bible scholars. Before Copernicus’ heliocentric solar system gained acceptance, interpreters argued that the sun’s and moon’s orbits were halted. Martin Luther, for example, reportedly denounced Copernicus and declared, “I believe the Holy Scriptures, for Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, not the earth.”1 But with the advent of modern astronomy and science, serious objections have been raised against this interpretation.
