Atheists take miracles as merely a fictional creation unconsciously designed to satisfy the needs of the religious mind for some external salvation. They see miracles as violations of natural laws, an event that nature could not have produced on its own - an event that will always be incompatible with the relevant natural laws.
In his book, "KRAFT UND STOFF," Ludwig Büchner argues that:
“Science, however, has long banished every thought of supernatural interference in demonstrating the mechanical and accidental processes in these phenomena.”
Page 87
Force and Matter
By Ludwig Büchner
Edited by J. Frederick Collingwood
According to Ludwig Büchner, force is inseparably bound to a material substrate and thus cannot be regarded as a kind of supernatural and transcendent entity. He argues that all changes and events follow mechanical laws. These laws are not imposed on nature from outside, but are built into matter itself. Matter is eternal and has no bounds, neither on a microscopic nor on a macroscopic scale. It is ruled by rigid and universal laws, which do not allow for miracles. His emphases is on the concept that soul or mind, as well as organic life, are the product of specially combined materials that are endowed with special mechanical forces. There is neither an immaterial spiritual substance, nor a vital force, nor an externally set purpose of nature. He, like many others, concluded that a miracle could not be believed because the testimonial evidence in its favour necessarily contradicted uniform human experience of the laws of nature.
In general, the orderly, elegant and harmonious processes of nature indeed curtail any apparent probability of miracle.
Astronomers revealed the vastness of the universe, physicists discovered that the same laws applied beyond the moon as applied below it and that the universe is a vast machine and biologists found a minuscule universe of a vastness comparable to the macrocosm.
The predictability of all events in nature is possible only because of cyclical patterns of growth, maturity and decay.
We as rational beings are in a position to state with absolute certainty what nature could or could not produce on its own. All acknowledge that the scientific enterprise is continually discovering new and often startling and unexpected information about the causal relationships that obtain in our universe.
I will now quote few well-established facts of science, which are so evident that if a person denies then it will be impossible to find a more obviously true principle on which to build a precise logical proof.
1. Big Bang
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
2. Metric expansion of space
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_expansion_of_space
3. Orbits
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit
4. The Solar apex
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_apex
5. Iron carried by meteorites to earth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron
6. The deep ocean currents
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contourite
7. Halocline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halocline
55:19-20
8. Human embryo and its stages of development
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embryo#Human
9. Skin a Pain Receptor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatosensory_system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutaneous_receptor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutaneous_receptor#Types
I have deliberately selected these nine purely scientific concepts to demonstrate that in today’s hyperactive scientific world miracle is not only possible but also actual and existent.
For establishing my argument, I will first quote some verses from Quran, which correspond to the nine scientific facts that I have cited above.
1. Big Bang
“Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? … ”
Al Anbiyaa' (21)
-Verse 30-
2. Metric expansion of space
“With power did We construct the heaven. Verily, We are Able to extend the vastness of space thereof.”
Translation by Dr. M. Taqiud-Din & Dr. M. Khan
“With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace.”
Translation by Yusuf Ali:
Adz-Dzaariya (51)
-Verse 47-
3. Orbits
“And He it is Who has created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each in an orbit floating.”
Translation by Dr. M. Taqiud-Din & Dr. M. Khan
“It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.”
Translation by Yusuf Ali
Al Anbiyaa' (21)
-Verse 33-
4. The Solar apex
“And the sun runs his course for a period determined for him: that is the decree of (Him), the Exalted in Might, the All-Knowing.”
Yaa Siin (36)
-Verse 38-
5. Iron carried by meteorites to earth
“…WE SENT DOWN IRON, in which is (material for) mighty war, as well as many benefits for mankind…” (Quran 57:25)
6. The deep ocean currents
“Or (the state of a disbeliever) is like the darkness in a vast deep sea, overwhelmed with a great wave topped by a great wave, topped by dark clouds, darkness, one above another, if a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it! And he for whom Allah has not appointed light, for him there is no light.”
Translation by Dr. M. Taqiud-Din & Dr. M. Khan:
“Or (the Unbelievers' state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hands, he can hardly see it! for any to whom Allah giveth not light, there is no light!”
Translation by Yusuf Ali:
An Nuur (24)
-Verse 40-
7. Halocline
“It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: One palatable and sweet and the other salt and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, a partition that is forbidden to be passed.”
Al Furqaan (25)
-Verse 53-
8. Human embryo and its stages of development
“O mankind! if ye have a doubt about the Resurrection, (consider) that We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed, in order that We may manifest (our power) to you;”
Al Hajj (22)
-Verse 5-
“Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay);
Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed;
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!”
Al Mu'minuun (23)
-Verses 12, 13, 14-
9. Skin a Pain Receptor
“Those who reject our Signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire: as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the penalty: for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.”
An Nisaa (4)
-Verse 56-
Now think of a Bedouin who lived in 7th century AD had developed all these true scientific facts. All these facts were inconceivable for anyone who was living in the 7th century Arabia. In that era no one could have known such details due to lack of knowhow and proper tools, especially the facts like how universe was born and that it is expanding or the staging and classification of human embryo. Scientists have just recently found out these facts by means of complicated and advanced scientific methods.
There are too many scientific accuracies in Quran, which cannot be taken as a mere chance. Quran is a living miracle as it revealed true scientific fact in a non-scientific era. It not only limited to scientific facts but also covers all other disciplines of human life. However, basic purpose of Quran is to give warning and good tidings and not, the science tutorials.
The most compelling reason for the uniformity of nature and successful progress in science is that nature was the result of design by an intelligent being. God is not only the creator of the universe in the sense of being the first cause, but he is also the agent who is the cause of its continuous existence. The existence of the world at every moment depends upon God’s will. The One who designed the architecture and all relevant laws has also the power to suspend those laws or intervene on purpose.
“We will show them Our Signs in the universe, and in their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that this (the Quran) is the truth. Is it not sufficient in regard to your Lord that He is a Witness over all things?”
Fush Shilat (41)
-Verse 53-
In his book, "KRAFT UND STOFF," Ludwig Büchner argues that:
“Science, however, has long banished every thought of supernatural interference in demonstrating the mechanical and accidental processes in these phenomena.”
Page 87
Force and Matter
By Ludwig Büchner
Edited by J. Frederick Collingwood
According to Ludwig Büchner, force is inseparably bound to a material substrate and thus cannot be regarded as a kind of supernatural and transcendent entity. He argues that all changes and events follow mechanical laws. These laws are not imposed on nature from outside, but are built into matter itself. Matter is eternal and has no bounds, neither on a microscopic nor on a macroscopic scale. It is ruled by rigid and universal laws, which do not allow for miracles. His emphases is on the concept that soul or mind, as well as organic life, are the product of specially combined materials that are endowed with special mechanical forces. There is neither an immaterial spiritual substance, nor a vital force, nor an externally set purpose of nature. He, like many others, concluded that a miracle could not be believed because the testimonial evidence in its favour necessarily contradicted uniform human experience of the laws of nature.
In general, the orderly, elegant and harmonious processes of nature indeed curtail any apparent probability of miracle.
Astronomers revealed the vastness of the universe, physicists discovered that the same laws applied beyond the moon as applied below it and that the universe is a vast machine and biologists found a minuscule universe of a vastness comparable to the macrocosm.
The predictability of all events in nature is possible only because of cyclical patterns of growth, maturity and decay.
We as rational beings are in a position to state with absolute certainty what nature could or could not produce on its own. All acknowledge that the scientific enterprise is continually discovering new and often startling and unexpected information about the causal relationships that obtain in our universe.
I will now quote few well-established facts of science, which are so evident that if a person denies then it will be impossible to find a more obviously true principle on which to build a precise logical proof.
1. Big Bang
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bang
2. Metric expansion of space
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_expansion_of_space
3. Orbits
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbit
4. The Solar apex
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_apex
5. Iron carried by meteorites to earth
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iron
6. The deep ocean currents
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contourite
7. Halocline
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halocline
55:19-20
8. Human embryo and its stages of development
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embryo#Human
9. Skin a Pain Receptor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatosensory_system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutaneous_receptor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutaneous_receptor#Types
I have deliberately selected these nine purely scientific concepts to demonstrate that in today’s hyperactive scientific world miracle is not only possible but also actual and existent.
For establishing my argument, I will first quote some verses from Quran, which correspond to the nine scientific facts that I have cited above.
1. Big Bang
“Do not the Unbelievers see that the heavens and the earth were joined together (as one unit of creation), before we clove them asunder? … ”
Al Anbiyaa' (21)
-Verse 30-
2. Metric expansion of space
“With power did We construct the heaven. Verily, We are Able to extend the vastness of space thereof.”
Translation by Dr. M. Taqiud-Din & Dr. M. Khan
“With power and skill did We construct the Firmament: for it is We Who create the vastness of pace.”
Translation by Yusuf Ali:
Adz-Dzaariya (51)
-Verse 47-
3. Orbits
“And He it is Who has created the night and the day, and the sun and the moon, each in an orbit floating.”
Translation by Dr. M. Taqiud-Din & Dr. M. Khan
“It is He Who created the Night and the Day, and the sun and the moon: all (the celestial bodies) swim along, each in its rounded course.”
Translation by Yusuf Ali
Al Anbiyaa' (21)
-Verse 33-
4. The Solar apex
“And the sun runs his course for a period determined for him: that is the decree of (Him), the Exalted in Might, the All-Knowing.”
Yaa Siin (36)
-Verse 38-
5. Iron carried by meteorites to earth
“…WE SENT DOWN IRON, in which is (material for) mighty war, as well as many benefits for mankind…” (Quran 57:25)
6. The deep ocean currents
“Or (the state of a disbeliever) is like the darkness in a vast deep sea, overwhelmed with a great wave topped by a great wave, topped by dark clouds, darkness, one above another, if a man stretches out his hand, he can hardly see it! And he for whom Allah has not appointed light, for him there is no light.”
Translation by Dr. M. Taqiud-Din & Dr. M. Khan:
“Or (the Unbelievers' state) is like the depths of darkness in a vast deep ocean, overwhelmed with billow topped by billow, topped by (dark) clouds: depths of darkness, one above another: if a man stretches out his hands, he can hardly see it! for any to whom Allah giveth not light, there is no light!”
Translation by Yusuf Ali:
An Nuur (24)
-Verse 40-
7. Halocline
“It is He Who has let free the two bodies of flowing water: One palatable and sweet and the other salt and bitter; yet has He made a barrier between them, a partition that is forbidden to be passed.”
Al Furqaan (25)
-Verse 53-
8. Human embryo and its stages of development
“O mankind! if ye have a doubt about the Resurrection, (consider) that We created you out of dust, then out of sperm, then out of a leech-like clot, then out of a morsel of flesh, partly formed and partly unformed, in order that We may manifest (our power) to you;”
Al Hajj (22)
-Verse 5-
“Man We did create from a quintessence (of clay);
Then We placed him as (a drop of) sperm in a place of rest, firmly fixed;
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!”
Al Mu'minuun (23)
-Verses 12, 13, 14-
9. Skin a Pain Receptor
“Those who reject our Signs, We shall soon cast into the Fire: as often as their skins are roasted through, We shall change them for fresh skins, that they may taste the penalty: for Allah is Exalted in Power, Wise.”
An Nisaa (4)
-Verse 56-
Now think of a Bedouin who lived in 7th century AD had developed all these true scientific facts. All these facts were inconceivable for anyone who was living in the 7th century Arabia. In that era no one could have known such details due to lack of knowhow and proper tools, especially the facts like how universe was born and that it is expanding or the staging and classification of human embryo. Scientists have just recently found out these facts by means of complicated and advanced scientific methods.
There are too many scientific accuracies in Quran, which cannot be taken as a mere chance. Quran is a living miracle as it revealed true scientific fact in a non-scientific era. It not only limited to scientific facts but also covers all other disciplines of human life. However, basic purpose of Quran is to give warning and good tidings and not, the science tutorials.
The most compelling reason for the uniformity of nature and successful progress in science is that nature was the result of design by an intelligent being. God is not only the creator of the universe in the sense of being the first cause, but he is also the agent who is the cause of its continuous existence. The existence of the world at every moment depends upon God’s will. The One who designed the architecture and all relevant laws has also the power to suspend those laws or intervene on purpose.
“We will show them Our Signs in the universe, and in their own selves, until it becomes manifest to them that this (the Quran) is the truth. Is it not sufficient in regard to your Lord that He is a Witness over all things?”
Fush Shilat (41)
-Verse 53-
