A God Who Intervenes Miraculously in the World Cannot Be Benevolent

A God Who Intervenes Miraculously in the World Cannot Be Benevolent

This statement is a paradox in itself, as it assumes that God can act

miraculously, and that He is benevolent. This can be seen as a

contradiction, as these two beliefs are incompatible. A God who

intervenes miraculously in the world cannot be benevolent, because of

the presence of natural and moral evil in the world. Surely a God who

was able to act through miracles and prevent such evil and chose not

to would be partisan, which would obviously detract from his

benevolence. Therefore this statement poses a challenge to the theist,

who believes in both a benevolent God who cares for humanity, and an

omnipotent God who is able to perform the miraculous.

The question assumes a realist view of miracles, which claims, ‘the

word ‘miracle’ is correctly applied if and only if the event is

brought about by the action of God.’1. With this understanding of

miracles, it is obvious that God’s apparent benevolence is not

consistent with the problem of evil. However, how does one decide

which events are brought about by the actions of God, and which are

simply coincidences which have a religious interpretation imposed on

it.

Gareth Moore develops this point further, and suggests that it is

possible that God is irrelevant to the concept of miracle, and that

miracles are simply events, which cannot be explained. With this

interpretation there is the implication that if miracles cannot be

explained, the motivation for God creating them out of his benevolence

is even harder to establish. If there were reasons and explanations

for miracles, and God was seen to decide when reasons are justified

for a miracle to take place, it would be hard to equate the God of the

Bible who is benevolent with such harsh and partisan actions.

However there is evidence in the Old Testament, that suggests that God

is partisan, for example the idea that God will come to judge us on

Judgement Day seems unjust and shallow.