...Sign Miracles Paper | BIBL 323 D17 201240 | Rev. Abdue L. Knox, I L22937066 | And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. John 20:30-31 NKJV Everywhere Jesus went people were amazed at His miraculous powers. The Apostle John uses Jesus miracles as an organizing principle in his gospel. He calls them semeia, or “signs” indicating that each miracle was a concrete demonstration of Jesus’ divinity and messiah ship. The purpose of the signs were to produce belief as they did for the disciples at the wedding at Cana (John 2:11) and the household of the Nobleman (John 4:53). But these same miracles would incite anger and violence as in the case of healing the man born blind in John 11. (Earl D. Radmacher 1997) The first sign miracle Jesus performed in John’s Gospel was changing water into wine found in John 2:1-12. Jesus and His new disciples arrived at a wedding celebration that had already begun. Mary the mother of Jesus came to Him and told Him that the wine had run out. “Mary was simply informing him of the need, not ordering Him. Her statement is in fact much like a prayer made to Jesus. She knew he could do something.” (Towns 2002) Jesus directed the servants to fill six water pots, which he then turned into wine. “The changing of water into wine is surely meant...
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...Liberty University BIBL 323 The Eight Sign Miracles of Jesus There are four Gospels in the New Testament, and each seemingly written to a different audience base that show different aspects to deity. There are a total of 37 different miracles attributed to Jesus during his years of ministry on earth; although, there are only eight miracles detailed in the Gospel of John. John is considered to be more sectarian and exclusive than the other three gospels. This book was written to convey and convince all those who read it of the Deity of Jesus. The author tells us in John 20, “And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name”. So, it is in this Gospel of John where depictions of extraordinary events that cannot be explained by natural or scientific laws is articulated in written form to beautifully show forth the divine nature of Jesus the Christ. The first sign miracle that John uses takes place at a wedding in Cana. Jesus was attending a wedding along with his disciples and mother. This was possibly a wedding for one of his family members because his mother was overseeing the duties of the caterers. According to John, a problem arose when the party had run out of wine to serve, and Mary the mother of Jesus, came to him for help. At this point, Jesus seemingly reluctantly...
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...SIGNS AND MIRACLES PAPER Liberty University, November 27th , 2011 Introduction “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of His disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and by believing you may have life in His name.” John 20:30-31 (HCSB) In the Gospel of John there are eight recorded sign miracles that Jesus Christ performed. This paper will briefly describe each miracle and how it reveals the deity of Jesus Christ. Turning of Water into Wine The first miracle Jesus performed was changing water into wine. He and His disciples arrived at a wedding celebration that was already in progress. Mary, the mother of Jesus, came to Him and told Him they had run out of wine, presumably because she knew that He was capable of doing something about the dilemma.[1] Jesus responded by telling her that His hour had not yet come. While scholars disagree on what Jesus meant by this statement, it is obvious that Mary, as a woman of faith, understood enough that she instructed the servants at the wedding to do whatever Jesus asked them to do.[2] Jesus did in fact direct the servants to fill six pots with water, which He then miraculously changed into a fine quality wine. “The changing of water into wine is surely meant to bring out the power of Jesus to bring about new beginnings.”[3] We might parallel the higher quality of wine that Jesus made from the water with the higher quality of life...
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...BIBL323 | Signs and Miracles | The Eight Signs and Miracles performed by Jesus Christ | | Sherell Andrews | 2/17/2013 | The eight signs and miracles Jesus performed and how each reveals his deity. | In the gospel of John there are eight signs and miracles that Jesus Christ performed; these signs and wonders are written so that you may believe Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. The first miracle stated in John was Jesus turning water into wine. He and his disciples arrived at a wedding celebration that was in progress. Mary, the mother of Jesus, came to him and told Him they ran out of wine; she knew he would find a way of getting more wine.[1] Jesus responded by saying his hour had not come yet. His mother had enough faith in Jesus and instructed the servants at the wedding to do what he ask them to do, He ask them to fill the water pots with water.[2] He miraculously changed the water into wine. This miracle is said to bring out new beginnings in the ministry of Christ. Many Scholars parallel Jesus turning water in to wine to his death and resurrection. You could explain it as a full circle in Christ ministry. John shows “Changing the water of Judaism into the wine of Christianity, the water of sins and being unsaved into the wine of eternal life in Christ and to be saved” [3] This miracle points to the deity of Christ in and the fullness of eternal life in Christ power over creation. The next miracles in the gospel of John are the healing of the...
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...defined miracles as a “violation of the laws of nature” and consequently rejected their occurrence as both improbable and impractical. This view has been supported by modern scientists and philosophers such as Atkins, Dawkins and Wiles to a certain extent. However Aquinas, Tillich and Holland and Swinburne to a certain extent reject Hume’s reasons, instead arguing that miracles have a divine cause and that Hume’s arguments are weak. This essay will argue that Hume’s reasons for rejecting miracles are not valid and in doing so consider his two main arguments; lack of probability and Hume’s practical argument. Hume’s first reason for rejecting miracles was a lack of probability. He argued that evidence from people’s experience of observing the world showed the laws of nature to be fixed and unvarying. However to suggest a miracle occurred was to say that the laws of nature had been violated, hence his definition of miracles being a “violation of the laws of nature.” Miracles were reported has having occurred by eyewitnesses, as is stated in the Bible in the case of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. However for Hume it was far more likely that the eyewitnesses were mistaken in what they witnessed, than for Jesus to have actually raised Lazarus from the dead and in doing so violated fixed laws of nature. A violation of the laws of nature was therefore an improbable occurrence. Wiles’ agrees with Hume’s point that it is more likely the eyewitness was wrong than a miracle occurred...
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...a) Outline at least two definitions of the term miracle. Examine key reasons for believing in miracles. The term miracle is queried over constantly for the reason that there are various definitions all consisting of why we should believe miracles to be true. Two of which belong to Thomas Aquinas’ and Richard Swinburne. Each poses reasons for why one should believe in miracles and whether they do really and truly exist. Firstly Aquinas posits his suggestion that miracles are ‘Those things…which are done by divine power apart from the order generally followed in things’. He sets out his definition with three main aspects; starting with the idea that events are done by God which nature could never have the capability of doing. One example used to support this is that it’s logically impossible to stop the Sun yet God with his divine power can. Therefore if this is broken and an act goes against it, it is thus a miracle. The second proposition is that things that are done by God which nature can do but not in that order also qualify as being a miracle. The final idea that Aquinas puts forward is that the events done by God that nature can do but God does without the use of natural laws also are deemed to be miracles. The significant thing about Aquinas’s definition of a miracle is that he allowed for the possibility of miracles to occur within the system of natural activity. Moreover he allowed for the possibility that God’s activity with the natural realm may be part of...
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...(Plan) Do Miracles Really Happen? The Hindu milk miracle was a phenomenon, considered by many Hindus as a miracle, which started on 21 September 1995, in which statues of the Hindu deity Ganesha allegedly "drank" milk offerings.] Before dawn, a Hindu worshipper at a temple in south New Delhi made an offering of milk to a statue of Ganesha. When a spoonful of milk from the bowl was held up to the trunk of the statue, the liquid was seen to disappear, apparently taken in by the idol. Word of the event spread quickly, and by mid-morning it was found that statues of the entire Hindu pantheon in temples all over India were taking in milk. Showkat Nanda, a young photo journalist, captured on Wednesday, January 23, a rare pattern made by clouds in the sky of North Kashmir’s Baramulla town forming the Arabic spelling of the word Allah. "When I glanced towards the sky, it was something unique to capture, as I saw an indiscernible pattern of clouds forming word ALLAH," Nada told IslamOnline.net. "I was truly surprised. I observed it for a while and continued to click with my camera." Jesus then went to the tomb of Lazarus with Mary, Martha and the rest of the mourners. There he asked them to remove the stone that covered the hillside burial place....
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...A miracle, as a broad definition, is an act of God that “transgresses the laws of nature” (David Hume), an act that seems to defy all rational. For many this offers strong evidence for the existence of God, as these inexplicable events must have a cause, that of a transcendent, metaphysical being. However, for others, most notably David Hume, miracles are a logical impossibility, an oxymoron if you will. He tried to prove, through a priori and a posterior reasoning that miracles, because of their metaphysical origin, cannot be what people claim them to be (intervention by God). Problems with the law of nature to language problems with the way miracles are experienced and reported provide ammunition for those that agree with the assumption in the title. By defining what miracles are and then exploring the criticisms and counter criticisms for these definitions we should arrive at a conclusion as to whether miracles, in the sense they are defined, are possible. Brian Davis proposed that there were two different types of miracles, the essential difference being the varying degree of possible divine intervention that can be attributed to the event. Strong Miracles are events that can only be attributed to God – he is intervening in the world to change the course of history. This may be, as Hume suggested, a “transgression of the laws of nature by a particular violation of the Deity, or by the interposition of some invisible agent”. However, Humey boy took issue with strong miracles...
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...When thinking back on the fable the first words that come to mind are fascinating, compelling, and utterly memorable. The Five Temptations of a CEO was like no other business book that I have ever read before. Management consultant Patrick Lencioni told the tale of a young CEO who, facing his first annual board review, knows he is failing, but doesn't know why. It was a great book for current and future leaders to recognize the mistakes that can be made and how to avoid them. In this fable I learned that success as a leader can come down to practicing a few simple behaviors that can be difficult for each of us to master. The author begins with a statement that’s speaks of a reality. It is the idea that when an individual becomes a CEO, they will be presented with incredible difficulties. These challenges are the result of falling prey to one or more of the five temptations. This fable allowed me to truly absorb the meanings of the temptations so I could more easily associate with them. The five temptations are: results vs. status, accountability vs. popularity, clarity vs. certainty, conflict vs. harmony and trust vs. invulnerability. What is it like to be a CEO of a company? I have wondered this for as long as I have dreamt to be in the position of a Chief Executive someday, somehow, somewhere. The more I read, the more I realize that this lofty ambition, held by millions of others, is more difficult than I may like to bargain for in a large corporate environment...
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...Abandoned Church of God: Akron, Alabama. Digital photograph. ©2010 April Dobbins. Miracle from the forthcoming novel The Proximity of Distance Tope Folarin OUR HEADS MOVE simultaneously, and we smile at the tall, svelte man who strides purposefully down the aisle to the pulpit. Once there, he raises both of his hands then lowers them slightly. He raises his chin and says let us pray. “Dear Father, we come to you today, on the occasion of this revival, and we ask that you bless us abundantly, we who have made it to America, because we know we are here for a reason. We ask for your blessings because we are not here alone. Each of us represents dozens, sometimes hundreds of people back home. So many lives depend on us Lord, and the burden on our shoulders is great. Jesus, bless this service, and bless us. We ask that we will not be the same people at the end of the service as we were at the beginning. All this we ask of you, our dear savior, Amen.” The pastor sits, and someone bolts from the front row to the piano and begins to play. The music we hear is familiar and at the same time new; the bandleader punches up a pre-programmed beat on the cheap electronic piano and plays a few Nigerian gospel songs to get us in the mood for revival. We sing along, though we have to wait a few moments at the beginning of each song to figure out what he’s playing. We sing joyful songs to the Lord, then songs of redemption, and then we sing songs of hope, hope that tomorrow...
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...FYS 101 “Miracles come to those who risk defeat in seeking them. They come to those who have exhausted themselves completely in a struggle to accomplish the impossible… [My father's] last wish was that I save myself for a battle I would not understand. Do you know what he said? He said, ‘The greatest fight is when you are fighting in the smoke and cannot see with your eyes.’ ” Winter’s Tale Apply, analyze, and evaluate this quote. Apply: I can apply this quote to certain obstacles in my life. Sometimes, there are times where I feel helpless and struggle to figure out how to overcome these obstacles but once reading this quote, it is reassuring to know that I am not the only person who has to deal with obstacles in life. There are times where I feel like giving up but reading this quote helps me and gives me faith that eventually, these obstacles will result in a “miracle”. Analyze: By analyzing this quote, I deconstructed the quote by sentence. I found that the first and second sentences mean that in order to receive positive results, one must put themselves at risk of losing or failing. Without risk, one might not achieve their ultimate goal. The next few sentences can signify that most of a person’s greatest obstacles are those in which a person cannot see the end of the obstacle. I believe that “the greatest fight” is one that is unprecedented and one that is most difficult. Evaluate: By evaluating this quote, I believe that the quote argues that in order to fully...
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...Hume was a verificationist and approached miracles from an empirical view, relying on probability as a basis for his reasons for rejecting miracles. Hume defined miracles as a ‘violation of the laws of nature’, he believed that the laws of nature were set in stone, through the use of a posteriori knowledge Hume identified them as being universal and unchanging. Hume observed that some Biblical miracles, such as Jesus walking on water, violated those laws of nature. He then went on to identify the probability that a violation of these laws could occur, Hume argued that if the probability of an event occurring was low then there was little chance that the miracle had actually occurred. This would be true in the event of a baby falling from a 3rd floor window and escaping unscathed, the probability of this happening is extremely low thus Hume would state that a report of it happening was false and it probably did not happen. Through using the principle of probability a miraculous event should be labelled as a miracle only where it would be unbelievable for it to be anything less. Upon following this principle it is less likely that the testimony is false than the miracle occurred should you have a prior belief, however if you do not believe in a deity and the probability of a miracle occurring then the miracles happening is less likely than the testimony being false. This argument used by Hume is not an effective argument as there are cases in which the laws of nature have been...
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...that one should never be convinced to the occurrence of a miracle based on the testimony but by the evidence of rightful experiences. Hume described a miracle is a violation of the laws of nature; and as a firm and unalterable experience has established these laws, the proof against a miracle, from the very nature of the fact, is as entire as any argument from experience can possibly be imagined. For example, stones that drink milk - found to be faked and a woman miraculously escaped crushing by a truck in Nagpur. Both the incidents happened in India, where religious beliefs take hierarchy over the scientifically proved facts. First example, stones that drink milk. This rumor became a viral talk that spread all over the country through media. In return, the public thronged to the temple to see the idol of god drinking milk. Number of devotees who visit the temple has drastically increased within days with so many offerings left at temple in the form of money and gold to the god. In fact, it is proved to be just a falsehood testimony by the illiterate people who thought that the god himself made his presence on earth. Scientists explained it as caused by capillary action of the material of the statue that absorbed the milk offered by the devotees. Second example, a woman miraculously escapes the death crush by a truck in Nagpur, India. It is a true testimony which on listening no one would believe. This is really a miracle and it has evidence to prove. Here’s the link to prove that...
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...,ASSESS HUME’S REASONS FOR REJECTING MIRACLES Hume’s rejection of miracles comes from his theory that there are laws of nature which are based on past experience, a posteriori, and appear to be unvarying and universal. During this essay I will put forward Hume’s approach before assessing his reasons for the rejections of miracles and what other philosophers have said about his rejection. According to the dictionary definition, a miracle is defined as: ‘a highly improbable or extraordinary event that is not explicable by natural laws and is considered to be divine’. Hume’s definition of a miracle is not that different from the dictionary definition, defining them as: ‘a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity, or by the interposition of some invisible agent.’ He puts forward two separate arguments against miracles; one being a priori and the other being a posteriori. The first of his arguments is based on the lack of probability and is a priori. Hume argues that miracles are violations of the laws of nature and a ‘firm and unalterable experience’ has established these laws of nature. He did not deny that these events, miracles, would not happen; but instead said that they are the least likely event possible, and improbable events need witnesses of higher credibility than witnesses required for more probable events. Hume argued that even the most impressive testimony will at most counterbalance the unlikeliness of the event. Clearly, a serious...
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...Davao Vision Colleges Inc. Stone Rock Village, Catalunan Grande, Davao City EDUCATION DEPARTMENT _______________________________________________________ BOOK REPORT (HOW TO LIVE A LIFE OF MIRACLES) (By: Bo Sanchez) ________________________________________________________ Submitted by: WElla R. GuEvarra 1ST year, BEED Submitted to: Mrs. ivie lebria Instructor Just like Bo Sanchez I am just a normal person. And yet, like every human inhabitant of the modern world, I have experienced many of the miracles of life; I have received a great deal of hearsay of it; and I know that I am always under its influence and mercy. Though I am unable to comment on its methods or the truth of its discoveries, I am nonetheless appropriately interested in its motives in what it thinks it is doing and how it justifies itself. I agree with the proposition that science miracles has become a sort of religion. I want to know by what power it has crowned itself and mitered it. Miracles are a very mysterious thing. It has no future explanation like to know the parts of a thing and how they are joined together, to know what things do and do not have in common, and to know the laws or principles by which things cohere, live, and act. Such inquiries are native to human thought and work. It’s just a unexpected turn of events that favors us. We need to discover a new way of living. We need...
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