The Enlightenment contributed much to Western culture, and spurred an era of unprecedented discovery and development.
It also contributed the concept that reason alone is capable of explaining everything that happens in the world, and that a scientific reason for all phenomena can always be found. Over time, this viewpoint mutated into the idea that there is no place for God in the ‘real’ world. Science can explain everything; there is nothing other than the material world in which we live.
Back in the 19th century, and indeed through most of the 20th century, it seemed that this viewpoint was valid: science continually discovered and described the workings of the universe, both minute and cosmic. It seemed that all of the answers were being discovered, one at a time–and it would be only a matter of time before we had a perfect picture of the universe, how it started and how it works. Then the old stories of God creating the universe and regularly intervening in it could be relegated to the realm of myth and fantasy.
But funny things kept happening, despite this rational worldview:
- in China, a country where atheism had been promoted for decades and religion had been suppressed, more than 100 million people embraced Christianity in the space of 30 years; reports of miracles abounded
- Scientists discovered that the more they examined the universe, the more it looked like it had been hand-crafted on purpose
- Miracles kept happening, and science had no explanation for them.
Now, I’m talking about miracles where experts can’t offer logical explanations–not cases where a statue cries or the image of Jesus appears in a waffle. Below are several cases where medical experts admit there are no plausible explanations for the cures that took place. The most famous of these is probably the story of Marlene Klepees, who was treated at the prestigious Mayo Clinic for cerebral palsy. Now, there is no cure for cerebral palsy. It slowly debilitates and kills its victims. But Marlene was miraculously cured of the affliction after it had reduced her to a quadriplegic. Today she is healthy with no signs of cerebral palsy. If the Mayo Clinic disputed her story, no doubt they would have spoken out, because their reputation is on the line. But they didn’t, because the story is true. To make this story more outlandish to atheistic ears, Marlene received a vision that she would be cured.
These are just a few examples of miracles. They’ve been happening everyday since, well, forever. In the Bible, they are referred to as signs and wonders. The Greek word for miracles is signs. Signs point you toward something. Miracles are abundant, and to us, random. They point to the eternal intervening in the material world. And as I said, they are happening everyday.
Like in Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Millions of people have gotten sober by following AA’s Twelve Steps. Boiled down into a sentence, you get sober by admitting you are powerless over alcohol and then asking a Higher Power to remove the obsession from your life. And God does. If you are willing, then the insurmountable urge to debilitate and drown yourself with alcohol is taken away.
Sounds too simple to be true, right? But for 80 years that’s how it’s worked. The newly-sober addicts aren’t expected to become Christians, but they are encouraged to develop and maintain “conscious contact” with their higher power.
How does this work? The scientific community has advanced many explanations, because the scientific community usually has many conflicting explanations for anything that involves the human mind. Psychiatrists, behavioral psychologists, anthropologists, and lots of other ologists weigh in on issues from love to altruism to near-death experiences, each with their own explanation. Explanations grounded in science, and conjecture.
They just won’t use the word miracle. But if you’ve ever met a hardcore atheist who is drinking himself to death and then in a matter of weeks has seen his craving for alcohol disappear, you might be forgiven for using the word.
If you start with a pre-existing belief that miracles can’t happen because they don’t match your world view, you will constantly find reasons to ignore, refute or reject evidence of miracles. But they will keep on happening without you.
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