I have noticed that when presented with miracle claims from other religions, Christian apologists will suggest the possibility that they could just be attempts by demons to deceive us. However, couldn't people from other religions say the exact same thing about the evidence for the Ressurection? Here are some blog posts where I heard this idea and I wanted to get your response. Thank you.
Jesus' resurrection is foundational to Christianity and at the forefront of Christianity's system of miracles in some contexts. It's not the only Christian miracle, though, and Christianity doesn't only appeal to miracles to persuade people.
There's a network of miracles the resurrection is associated with. As Peter explains in Acts 2, the same Jesus who was attested by the resurrection (2:32) also was attested by other miracles he performed (2:22), prophecy fulfillment (2:30), and the miracles of the early Christians (2:33), for example. The resurrection is unusually significant in some contexts, but scripture appeals to a large number and variety of miracles. So should we.
The argument from prophecy, for example, is prominent in the Bible and was at the forefront of the earliest patristic apologetics, but has been neglected to some extent in our day. I've written some posts on prophecy in recent years that you may want to read. Here's an introductory post I wrote on how to begin arguing for prophecy fulfillment on the basis of common ground with skeptics. To go into more depth, here's a post that expands upon that first one. And this one discusses some of the principles involved in evaluating prophecy. Here's a post listing some examples of non-Christian fulfillment and corroboration of Christian prophecies.
I've also written about how to begin arguing for Christianity. Those who are less familiar with issues like the ones mentioned above may want to start with the post just linked, then go on to the others.
Regarding appeals to a Cartesian demon or demonic activity in general, you can find many posts in our archives discussing those subjects. Here's something I wrote in response to the notion that Christian miracles are just manifestations of human paranormal abilities. Much of what I wrote there is applicable to a Cartesian demon scenario and appeals to demonic activity more broadly. If Christianity is false, yet not only outperforms its competitors, but even does so by a wide margin (as it, in fact, does), all the while claiming to speak for God, then we have no choice but to be deceived. It doesn't follow that it's likely, or even an equal chance, that we are being deceived. It's merely a possibility, and it's one that seems unlikely from what we know of God and seems highly counterintuitive to me. There are limits to what a human can do. Appeals to a Cartesian demon, some other form of demonic deception, or some equivalent can be cited against any belief system. If you reject Christianity on the basis of that sort of objection, what's the alternative?
Keep in mind, as well, that Christianity doesn't require that all or even most non-Christian miracles are demonic. There are many posts in our archives discussing how non-Christian miracles can come from a non-demonic source. See the fourth paragraph of the post here for a brief discussion of some of the explanatory options. Or see this post for more discussion. There are many other relevant posts in our archives.
Thanks for these links, jay-dog! I haven't seen them before. Let me find some time to read through them and then see if I can offer anything useful to you. It looks like Jason made several good points and also thanks to CD for pointing out that there may be relevant posts in our archives. Anyway I'll try to get back to you soon if I have anything helpful to say! Thanks again, jay-dog.
Of course Hawk can respond as he sees fit, but I would suggest searching Triablogue for "Cartesian demon" since this type of thought experiment has received considerable attention through the years on this blog.
Hey Hawk,
ReplyDeleteI have noticed that when presented with miracle claims from other religions, Christian apologists will suggest the possibility that they could just be attempts by demons to deceive us. However, couldn't people from other religions say the exact same thing about the evidence for the Ressurection? Here are some blog posts where I heard this idea and I wanted to get your response. Thank you.
https://philosophicaldisquisitions.blogspot.com/2011/02/devils-lying-wonders-part-1.html
https://philosophicaldisquisitions.blogspot.com/2011/02/devils-lying-wonders-part-2.html
https://philosophicaldisquisitions.blogspot.com/2011/02/devils-lying-wonders-part-3.html
Jesus' resurrection is foundational to Christianity and at the forefront of Christianity's system of miracles in some contexts. It's not the only Christian miracle, though, and Christianity doesn't only appeal to miracles to persuade people.
DeleteThere's a network of miracles the resurrection is associated with. As Peter explains in Acts 2, the same Jesus who was attested by the resurrection (2:32) also was attested by other miracles he performed (2:22), prophecy fulfillment (2:30), and the miracles of the early Christians (2:33), for example. The resurrection is unusually significant in some contexts, but scripture appeals to a large number and variety of miracles. So should we.
One context in which it's important to take a broader view of Christian miracles, instead of limiting our attention to something like Jesus' resurrection, is competition with other miraculous belief systems. Much as Moses outperformed the magicians of Pharaoh and the book of Revelation portrays Christ as overpowering the Antichrist, it's significant that Christianity has demonstrated more supernatural power than its competitors. In addition to our material on Jesus' resurrection, see our discussions of the evidence for the events surrounding his childhood, the miracles in his adulthood leading up to his resurrection, the miracles of the apostles (such as those referred to in Acts and Paul's letters), prophecy fulfillment, Christian miracles of the patristic era, and modern Christian miracles. Those are just several examples among others that could be cited.
The argument from prophecy, for example, is prominent in the Bible and was at the forefront of the earliest patristic apologetics, but has been neglected to some extent in our day. I've written some posts on prophecy in recent years that you may want to read. Here's an introductory post I wrote on how to begin arguing for prophecy fulfillment on the basis of common ground with skeptics. To go into more depth, here's a post that expands upon that first one. And this one discusses some of the principles involved in evaluating prophecy. Here's a post listing some examples of non-Christian fulfillment and corroboration of Christian prophecies.
I've also written about how to begin arguing for Christianity. Those who are less familiar with issues like the ones mentioned above may want to start with the post just linked, then go on to the others.
Regarding appeals to a Cartesian demon or demonic activity in general, you can find many posts in our archives discussing those subjects. Here's something I wrote in response to the notion that Christian miracles are just manifestations of human paranormal abilities. Much of what I wrote there is applicable to a Cartesian demon scenario and appeals to demonic activity more broadly. If Christianity is false, yet not only outperforms its competitors, but even does so by a wide margin (as it, in fact, does), all the while claiming to speak for God, then we have no choice but to be deceived. It doesn't follow that it's likely, or even an equal chance, that we are being deceived. It's merely a possibility, and it's one that seems unlikely from what we know of God and seems highly counterintuitive to me. There are limits to what a human can do. Appeals to a Cartesian demon, some other form of demonic deception, or some equivalent can be cited against any belief system. If you reject Christianity on the basis of that sort of objection, what's the alternative?
DeleteKeep in mind, as well, that Christianity doesn't require that all or even most non-Christian miracles are demonic. There are many posts in our archives discussing how non-Christian miracles can come from a non-demonic source. See the fourth paragraph of the post here for a brief discussion of some of the explanatory options. Or see this post for more discussion. There are many other relevant posts in our archives.
Thanks for these links, jay-dog! I haven't seen them before. Let me find some time to read through them and then see if I can offer anything useful to you. It looks like Jason made several good points and also thanks to CD for pointing out that there may be relevant posts in our archives. Anyway I'll try to get back to you soon if I have anything helpful to say! Thanks again, jay-dog.
DeleteHi jay-dog, I just put up this post. Hope it helps!
DeleteOf course Hawk can respond as he sees fit, but I would suggest searching Triablogue for "Cartesian demon" since this type of thought experiment has received considerable attention through the years on this blog.
ReplyDelete