Required reading
Systematic Theology Volume 1 by Charles Hodge (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Chapter 12 (Miracles).
My summary
Today we learn about miracles.
Hodge firstly defines miracles as 'an event, in the external world, brought about by the immediate efficiency or simple volition of God.'
Almost the rest of the chapter is concerned with answering objections to this definition of a miracle from both theists and atheists.
Hodge concludes the chapter by speaking about the value of miracles as a proof of divine revelation.
What grabbed me
I liked the quote from Luther at the beginning of the chapter: 'Such being the indefinite meaning of these Scriptural terms, it is not surprising that the word miracle was used in the Church in a very loose sense. Anything wonderful, anything for which the proximate cause could not be discovered, and anything in which divine agency was specially indicated was called a miracle. Thus Luther says, "Conversion is the greatest of all miracles." "Every day," he says, " witnesses miracle after miracle ; that any village adheres to the Gospel when a hundred thousand devils are arrayed against it, or that the truth is maintained in this wicked world, is a continued miracle to which healing the sick or raising the dead is a mere trifle." As neither the etymology nor the usage of the word leads to a definite idea of the nature of a miracle, we can attain that idea only by the examination of some confessedly miraculous event. '
The conversion of a sinful man is indeed miraculous!
Next week's reading
Read Chapter 13 (Angels).
Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.
No comments:
Post a Comment