more from this thinker     |     more from this text

Single Idea 4868

[filed under theme 28. God / B. Proving God / 3. Proofs of Evidence / e. Miracles ]

Full Idea

Those who endeavour to establish God's existence and the truth of religion by means of miracles seek to prove the obscure by what is more obscure.

Gist of Idea

Trying to prove God's existence through miracles is proving the obscure by the more obscure

Source

Baruch de Spinoza (Letters to Oldenburg [1665], 1675?)

Book Ref

Spinoza,Benedict de: 'Ethics, Improvement of Understanding, Letters', ed/tr. Elwes,R [Dover 1955], p.302

A Reaction

Nicely put. On the whole this has to be right, but one must leave open a possibility. If there is a God, and He seeks to prove Himself by a deed, are we saying this is impossible? Divine intervention might be the best explanation of something.

The 13 ideas with the same theme [seeing unnatural events as proof of God's existence]:

20716 False prophets will perform wonders to deceive even the elect [Mark]
5974 People report seeing through rocks, or over the horizon, or impossibly small works [Plutarch]
7902 The Buddha made flowers float in the air, to impress people, and make them listen [Mahavastu]
4827 Priests reject as heretics anyone who tries to understand miracles in a natural way [Spinoza]
4868 Trying to prove God's existence through miracles is proving the obscure by the more obscure [Spinoza]
12571 If miracles aim at producing belief, it is plausible that their events are very unusual [Locke]
5030 Miracles are extraordinary operations by God, but are nevertheless part of his design [Leibniz]
12909 Everything, even miracles, belongs to order [Leibniz]
12784 Allow no more miracles than are necessary [Leibniz]
2227 A miracle violates laws which have been established by continuous unchanging experience, so should be ignored [Hume]
2228 All experience must be against a supposed miracle, or it wouldn't be called 'a miracle' [Hume]
2229 To establish a miracle the falseness of the evidence must be a greater miracle than the claimed miraculous event [Hume]
7636 It can't be more rational to believe in natural laws than miracles if the laws are not rational [Ishaq on Hume]