I think that the argument should be weakened slightly. Rationally compelling miracles can't be an argument *against* theism because that would imply that they're not rationally compelling in the first place - the argument refutes itself in much the same way that the claim that God doesn't want his existence to be known refutes the claim that we rationally know of his existence. Rather, the argument here demonstrates that there just can't be a rationally compelling miracle, because rational belief in God requires belief that God has some reason to stay hidden and thus couldn't produce a rationally compelling miracle.
The trouble with miracles is that they are so random and senseless. Look at St. John of Cupertino. There are so many eyeswitnesses that any court would accept that it really happened. He floated during mass. He did not want to float, as it resulted in him getting kicked out from towns and charged by the Inquisition twice. It was not a trick with ropes. People would notice that in a church. It was not a conspiracy by the church to make people believe. The Inquisition charged him with witchcraft, twice. The most likely explanation is that it was genuine.
But then it looks just like the Sysadmin of the Matrix playing random cruel jokes on people.
I'm struggling with the hidden part. Folks are talking about God all the time. History is chalked full of God. We're conscious beings embedded in incredibly complex information systems. If you believe in a creator God, than every amazing complexity in the cosmos is a revealing miracle.
If God exists, it is such an immersive experience we cannot contextualize not God . I get that people want breaks in the order, a bit of could to contextualize the greater order (aka miracle). The greater problem is that the order breaks down all the time; perception of fallible, higher actors play on the world creating illusions.
Where I am baffled is how a materialist can perceive the utter complexity of the perceived world and conclude that he is the highest order ever to emerge. It's like a liver cell filtering my whiskey, fully embedded in cellular life and scoffing at the notion of "man".
I think that the argument should be weakened slightly. Rationally compelling miracles can't be an argument *against* theism because that would imply that they're not rationally compelling in the first place - the argument refutes itself in much the same way that the claim that God doesn't want his existence to be known refutes the claim that we rationally know of his existence. Rather, the argument here demonstrates that there just can't be a rationally compelling miracle, because rational belief in God requires belief that God has some reason to stay hidden and thus couldn't produce a rationally compelling miracle.
Could the argument be phrased as “those events which are *commonly considered* rationally compelling miracles are evidence against theism”?
The trouble with miracles is that they are so random and senseless. Look at St. John of Cupertino. There are so many eyeswitnesses that any court would accept that it really happened. He floated during mass. He did not want to float, as it resulted in him getting kicked out from towns and charged by the Inquisition twice. It was not a trick with ropes. People would notice that in a church. It was not a conspiracy by the church to make people believe. The Inquisition charged him with witchcraft, twice. The most likely explanation is that it was genuine.
But then it looks just like the Sysadmin of the Matrix playing random cruel jokes on people.
I'm struggling with the hidden part. Folks are talking about God all the time. History is chalked full of God. We're conscious beings embedded in incredibly complex information systems. If you believe in a creator God, than every amazing complexity in the cosmos is a revealing miracle.
If God exists, it is such an immersive experience we cannot contextualize not God . I get that people want breaks in the order, a bit of could to contextualize the greater order (aka miracle). The greater problem is that the order breaks down all the time; perception of fallible, higher actors play on the world creating illusions.
Where I am baffled is how a materialist can perceive the utter complexity of the perceived world and conclude that he is the highest order ever to emerge. It's like a liver cell filtering my whiskey, fully embedded in cellular life and scoffing at the notion of "man".