Week 9: Chapter 8 — Miracles: Signs of God or Violations of Nature?

1.The authors argue that if you have already accepted that God created the universe out of nothing, then miracles are not a problem — they are, in fact, trivially easy for such a Being. Do you find this argument decisive, or does it seem to beg the question?

2.Geisler and Turek take on David Hume's famous argument against miracles — that the uniform experience of humanity against miracles always outweighs the testimony in favor of them. What is the authors' central critique of Hume's argument? Is Hume reasoning in a circle?

3.The authors distinguish between a miracle (God acting in and through nature for a special purpose) and a magic trick (a deceptive manipulation). Why is this distinction important for how we evaluate miracle claims?