The problem, says Craig, is that Hume has not considered all of the relevant probabilities. So something is clearly wrong with this principle. If we applied Hume’s principle to such a case, it would be irrational for us to believe that such a highly improbable event had actually occurred. This was the Age of Enlightenment, a time in which skepticism about miracles was becoming increasingly widespread among the educated elite. The title of the essay, “Of Miracles,” originally appeared in Hume’s larger work, An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding, first published in 1748. One of the most influential critiques of miracles ever written came from the pen of the skeptical Scottish philosopher David Hume. As a Christian examining these arguments, we find little of value to convince us to reject a biblical worldview saying that God can and has intervened in natural history to perform miracles. Hume’s first premise assumes that there could not be miracles and his second premise is based on his distaste for the societies that report miracles. Michael Gleghorn examines Hume’s influential critique of miracles and points out the major shortfalls in his argument.
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