Apologetics: Debunking Deconstruction – Why Don’t Miracles Happen All the Time?

Back to this series where I really need a better way of introducing arguments against Christianity posed by deconstructors. You read the title, so you know what we’re talking about today and if you’re familiar with my stance on some sects of Christianity such as the hyper-charismatics or NAR (New Apostolic Reformation), y’all know that I have somewhat mixed feelings on miracles and their place in the church. I would consider myself to be a continuationist with my seatbelt on. I believe miracles continue to happen, but they are not something that are super common, nor are they meant to be (unlike what some people teach). But with that aside so you know where I’m coming from, let’s get to answering the original question.

To start off, let’s define what a miracle is. According to Britannica, a miracle is “extraordinary and astonishing happening that is attributed to the presence and action of an ultimate or divine power.” It can also be defined a bit more broadly as “events, signs, wonders or experiences that demonstrate God’s greatness and power.” Some examples of this would be God sending down manna from heaven, the feeding of the five thousand, the resurrection, the creation of the universe, a sudden, unexplainable healing, etc.

So now that we know what a miracle is, we can get to answering why they don’t happen all the time. My answer to this is, “If miracles happened all the time, at what point would we stop attributing it to God and start considering it to just be a natural phenomenon?” For example, the fact that the universe exists should be considered no less than miraculous. The chances of the universe even coming into existence are so small that there’s no agreed upon number in the scientific community. Even some of the theories about how the universe formed that have been long accepted by the scientific community as gospel are now needing to be updated according to the University of California. However, because we live in it and see it every day, while we’re awed by it, we try everything we can to attribute it to something else, something natural instead of the supernatural, something we can only sort-of begin to understand.

Because of this, the majority of the time, what we mean when we talk about a miracle is something that can’t really be explained by science, that’s so out-of-the-norm that it has no other explanation. We’re looking for a walking-on-water type of thing, and that’s why God doesn’t put miracles in front of us 24/7. He knows how we work. If we constantly saw miracles that pointed to Him, eventually we would chalk it up to something else. It would no longer be special.

There’s also the fact that, while certainly useful in showing God’s glory, miracles can seriously distract from God’s glory as well if we make them an idol. I’ve talked about this before on my blog, but if you’re constantly seeking miracles from God and demanding them, then what are you really worshipping: God and who He is or the miracles that He may give you? The answer is the miracles and that can be a very dangerous path to fall down.

Until next time,

M.J.