by Robert W. McDonald

Created on: December 03, 2009   Last Updated: December 04, 2009

I do not approve of first person arguments because such arguments are, of necessity, subjective and thus cannot easily be extended to generalizations. I will attempt to keep my objections under control in order to explain why I do not believe in miracles.

For current purposes, I will accept David Hume's (1711 - 1776) definition of a miracle as being "...a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity, or... some invisible agent..." (An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding, Section 10) Notice that although Hume does not categorically reject or deny the existence of miracles, he restricts the definition of a miracle to "a transgression of a law of nature" and that such transgression must be implemented by a supernatural force or power. By this definition, there are only two methods by which I can assure myself that miracles are possible: by direct, personal, observation or by strict logical reasoning.

As to the former method I hold that, having spent the better part of the past 30 years as either a paramedic or as a Physician's Assistant with special interests in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, I have seen more than my share of both the critically ill and those about to step into that undiscovered country that awaits all. I would therefore expect to have seen at least one instance of survival and recovery that could not be explained except as the direct result of an intervention by a supernatural force or power.

Although I have tried, and on more than a few occasions, I cannot recall a single instance that I would unhesitatingly identify as miraculous. To be sure, I have seen many recoveries that I would call unexpected and definitely unlikely to have occurred but in each and every case I am unable to say that each case wasn't due to a combination of medical technology, excellent nursing care, and someone's refusal to admit defeat.

The same is true for prayer. In my younger days I thought that, when all else failed, it was time to "get off your feet and on your knees." Again, I can't recall even a single instance where even a full-blown 24-hour prayer marathon did anything other that give the families a little more time to come to grips with the inescapable truth that someone they loved wasn't coming home again.

Is it possible that miracles can be justified by logic and reasoning? Probably, but when I try to reason it all out I can't get much further than the Philosophy 101 arguments about dualism and guys like Descartes and Kant. Maybe I'll get back to you on that one if I figure it out.

My old mentor did teach me one thing about miracles that I did take to heart. His way of seeing things went like this:

"When God takes the patient by the hand, it's time for you to get your hands off the patient's chest."

You're right again, boss! Amen! And thank you.

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