Tag Archives: Naturalism

Commentary

Do miracles imply a violation of natural laws?

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Article here.

Excerpt:

Are miracles really possible? I’m not talking about how some describe a baby being born as “the miracle of life.” I’m talking about biblical reports of Jesus walking on water, healing the blind, and physically rising from the dead. Atheists sometimes say miracles overturn the laws of nature—and that’s not possible. Before considering the evidence, however, many skeptics have already decided that naturalism is true. But what about this? Do miracles—by definition—really overturn the laws of nature?

In the foreword to The God Conversation, Lee Strobel notes how J.P. Moreland responded to this challenge with a simple defense: ”The laws of nature are the way we describe how the world usually works. If someone drops an apple, it falls to the floor. That’s gravity. However, if someone were to drop an apple and I were to reach over and grab it before it hit the ground, I wouldn’t be overturning the law of gravity. I would simply be intervening. In a similar way, God is able to reach into the world that he created by performing a miracle. He isn’t contravening or overturning the laws of nature. He’s simply intervening” (7).

Human beings are non-material minds. We have bodies that our minds can control. We cause effects on our bodies by using our free will. And God is a non-material mind just like us. Only he doesn’t have a body, so he can intervene at any point in space and exercise his will. It’s not a violation of natural laws when we do it, and it’s not a violation of natural laws when he does it.

Videos

Stephen C. Meyer explains why intelligent design is science

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Video here. (H/T Uncommon Descent via ECM)

And one more – what is the effect to be explained in the origin of life?

There was a recent radio debate on the topic of whether intelligent design is science: Stephen C. Meyer vs. Chris Mooney on the Michael Medved radio show.

News

Book give-away: you could win a free copy of Signature in the Cell!

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Just click this link and leave a comment there. (H/T Evolution News)

Video:

Excerpt:

Today is July 14, and today’s contest is sponsored by Signature In The Cell, by Dr. Stephen C. Meyer. [5] FIVE lucky winners will receive a copy of Dr. Stephen C. Meyer’s book, Signature In The Cell: DNA and the Evidence for Intelligent Design.

Unlike previous arguments for intelligent design, Signature in the Cell presents a radical and comprehensive new case, revealing the evidence not merely of individual features of biological complexity but rather of a fundamental constituent of the universe: information. That evidence has been mounting exponentially in recent years, known to scientists in specialized fields but largely hidden from public view. A Cambridge University-trained theorist and researcher, director of the Discovery Institute’s Center for Science and Culture, Dr. Meyer is the first to bring the relevant data together into a powerful demonstration of the intelligence that stands outside nature and directs the path life has taken.

Just leave a comment in that post I linked above (NOT IN MY POST!) and they’ll contact you if you win. But you have to do it today.

Now if you were expecting a real post, then watch this fine debate with Paul Ryan and a couple of Keynesian journalists on CNBC. He does a good job winning them over, because he knows what he is talking about and he speaks with candor and conviction. We really need this guy to run for President in 2012 – I know he says he won’t because his kids are too small and his head isn’t that big, but still.

Or you can read more about Signature in the Cell below.