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Friday, September 2, 2016

Miracles and the 'black hole' of naturalism

By DAN ROBINSON

Editor/Photographer

I have read/heard a common theme among strict naturalists: a complete rejection of the supernatural is required in order to remain rational, and there must be - without exception - a natural explanation behind every apparent supernatural event. Some have stated that even if they were to see a spectacular miracle happen right before their eyes, that they still would hold that there was some natural explanation/cause to what they witnessed (at worst, it could have been a hallucination). To some in this mindset, naturalism trumps all, even one's own sensory experiences.

Many in this same group demand that God do something to prove His existence. It is desired to observe *anything* that can be scientifically verified (something visually obvious such as an amputee regrowing a limb).

But once one crosses this "event horizon" in their atheism, no amount of logic, reason or evidence can allow them to escape. What could God do to convince someone in this state? Even the most spectacular and vivid supernatural experience will be dismissed as having some natural explanation, and therefore not influental to his or her beliefs. The naturalist that has progressed to blanket anti-supernaturalism has boxed himself/herself in to a position that is impossible to be reasoned out of, even by God Himself.

It has occurred to me that the difference between faith and no faith boils down to a simple fundamental decision one has to make at some point in their life. At that point, two diverging but internally-logically-consistent paths will take the person in one direction or another. Crossing over to the other path is not possible without going back to the very beginning and starting over. If one finds themselves in the "black hole of naturalism", the only escape is to wipe the slate clean and explore where the logical path of faith can lead.

I am not affiliated with Reasonable Faith or Gary Habermas (though they are two of my favorite speakers/authors), but I think these are thoughtful videos on this subject: