Why Some Christians Doubt Miracles

Most denominations believe what the Bible says regarding the miraculous events recorded in it. But there are some which doubt that actual miracles happened, saying they're mere allegory.

This doubting of God's power comes from a materialist point of view. Proponents of denying biblical miracles follow the evolutionary idea that only matter and energy exist. Anything which can't be examined and measured doesn't exist, according to them.

If those miracles didn't happen, the people at the various times in which they occurred could easily have debunked them. For example, Christ's resurrection could have been disproved or discredited. But the Apostle Paul explained in 1 Corinthians 15:5 and 6 (BBE), "And he was seen by Cephas; then by the twelve; Then by more than five hundred brothers at the same time, most of whom are still living, but some are sleeping;"

The Gospels and The Acts of the Apostles are filled with wonders. Neither were they done in secret but were seen by the public. As John 7:31 (BBE) reports about the opinion of the crowds, "And numbers of the people had belief in him, and they said, 'When the Christ comes will he do more signs than this man has done?'"

But some folks might argue that Jesus was a magician who tricked people into seeing things. Christ healed people with serious deformities, including paralysis. In one case, a man was paralyzed and lay by the pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years. That's a long time to feign lameness. Then John 5:9 (BBE) reports, "And the man became well straight away, and took up his bed and went. Now that day was the Sabbath."

And unlike today's fake healers on Christian television, Christ actually restored withered limbs. As it says in Mark 3:5 (BBE) tells us, the miracle was seen by all in the synagogue. "And looking round on them he was angry, being sad because of their hard hearts; and he said to the man, 'Put out your hand.' And he put it out, and his hand was made well."

The miracles of the apostles were also undeniable. Peter and John healed a lame man by the temple who begged there for years. Anybody might have seen him walking if he had been faking it.  But Acts 4:15 and 16 (BBE) shows how troubled the Pharisees were about this obvious miracle. "But when they had given them orders to go out of the Sanhedrin, they had a discussion among themselves, Saying, 'What are we to do with these men? for certainly it is clear to all who are living in Jerusalem that a most important sign has been done by them, and it is not possible to say that it is not so'."

Look at how much I've written and I haven't even mentioned the Old Testament miracles. I'll have to do that another time. Even so, I'll mention those doubters of divine miracles in my next book called You Think You're Going to Heaven?On Thursday, I'll post about how people view Jesus in the western world.