What Would It Take To Be Convinced?

[Pyrrho]

Here's the problem with miracles.

Suppose you see an amputee's limb grow back, and you believe. What's special about you? Shouldn't all people in all times have the same opportunity as you? So, all people would need to see a limb grow back. 

But, if limbs have been growing back as far back as anyone remembers, and are still growing back now...there's nothing miraculous about limbs growing back. People would just label it as spontaneous regrowth. 

You could say that it doesn't have to be a limb growing back each time. It could be different signs for different people. But imagine such a world - nothing could be miraculous, as there wouldn't be supposedly inviolable physical laws to begin with.

Miraculous signs must necessarily be seen by few and communicated by mundane means to the masses.

The first problem with your idea can be explained quite simply.  Imagine the world, exactly as it is, but with this difference:  One man, who lives forever, goes around healing people with lost limbs.  He just touches the stump and it instantly grows back, perfectly recovered.  He does this publicly, and lets scientists and others examine everything carefully beforehand and while he is doing it.  This man tells you he is god.

Well, we would certainly know that something was very special about this man, even though him healing people was an everyday occurrence.  So your idea that miracles have to be rare to be recognized as miracles is just wrong.


Also, that description is very far from how things go with actual stories of miracles, which has already been stated in this thread:

http://atheistforums.org/thread-33158-po...#pid934903

Basically, all actual stories of miracles are silly to believe.  You yourself reject countless such stories.  After all, you don't believe the miracle of Zeus converting into a swan, do you?  The stories in the Bible are equally silly and unreasonable to believe.  The difference is that you were raised to believe the one set of stories, and to disbelieve the others.  Consequently, you feel strongly about which ones to believe, but it has nothing whatever to do with reason.