Abstract
Since Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem and started his ministry, His followers took the title Christians while the religion became Christianity. Jesus and his followers performed signs and wonders which were called miracles. The power to do this was believed to be from God. The religion faced resistance, which led to the death of Christ. Over the years though, the religion has persisted and miracles still happen. Current scientific developments explain some of the phenomena referred to as miracles, but it is necessary to properly dissect this idea.
Critique of God-of-the-Gaps Theology
Christians term miracles as the extra-ordinary events that are one way of God’s manifestation which show that God is actually with us, and he can miraculously intervene in our desperate moments. Spivey & Moody (1989) further analyze the modern day perception of miracles. They agree that miracles are events that defy the laws of nature, classifying them into three levels; nature, healings and resuscitations. However, they note that some of these events can be scientifically explained.
This argument forms the basis for Bube’s argument, who argues that though religion is important, it should not be used as an escape to facing realities simply by citing them as miracles which can’t be explained. He observes that the nature, healing and resuscitation miracles can be given naturalistic explanations. This therefore shows that miracles are used as an explanation for things that science cannot explain. Bube therefore calls for the levels of description theology (Spivey & Moody, 1989). The two do not interrelate but compete with each other, with science providing a rational basis for redefined faith. He notes that both science and faith need redefining to bring out a comprehensible synthesis, in which both would complement in bringing an understanding of reality.
References
Spivey, R. & Smith, D. M. (1989). The New Testament Understanding of Miracles. New York, NY: Macmillan
