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Series:   Elements in Religion and Monotheism

Monotheism and Miracle

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2025

Eric Eve
Eric Eve
Affiliation:
Harris Manchester College, Oxford

Summary

Monotheism implies a God who is active in creation. An author writing a novel provides a better analogy for God's creative activity than an artificer constructing a mechanism. A miracle is then not an interruption of the ordinary course of nature so much as a divine decision to do something out of the ordinary, and miracle is primarily a narrative category. We perceive as miracles events that are extraordinary while also fitting our understanding of divine purpose. Many miracle accounts may remain problematic, however, since recognizing that a given story purports to narrate a miracle does not determine whether the miracle occurred. This Elementweighs competing narratives. In doing so the understanding of the normal workings of nature will carry considerable weight. Nevertheless, there can be instances where believers may, from their own faith perspective, be justified in concluding that a miracle has occurred.
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Keywords

miraclemonotheismnarrativereligionbelief
Type
Element
Information
Series: Elements in Religion and Monotheism
Online ISBN: 9781009386500
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication: 13 February 2025

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Monotheism and Miracle
  • Eric Eve, Harris Manchester College, Oxford
  • Online ISBN: 9781009386500
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Monotheism and Miracle
  • Eric Eve, Harris Manchester College, Oxford
  • Online ISBN: 9781009386500
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Monotheism and Miracle
  • Eric Eve, Harris Manchester College, Oxford
  • Online ISBN: 9781009386500
Available formats
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