Customer Reviews

Miracles

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This book by CS Lewis was probably his most philosophical work. As such, it is not a light read at all and would probably prove difficult for beginners who have not been exposed to heavily philosophical material. But for those who want a highly intellectual philosophical discussion of the possibility of miracles, this book is certainly worthy of one's attention.

There are a number of strengths to this book which continue to make the book solidly relevant better than forty years after the revised edition came out. Lewis cuts to the heart of the matter very quickly in asserting that rejection of miracles apriori is a common attitude that at its core, is anti-intellectual. Attempts to base rejection of miracles on probabilities, as Hume tried to do, are philosophically untenable and require a betrayal of basic realities that are universally accepted.

Lewis then systematically dismantles the worldview that tends to most cradle apriori miracle rejection, naturalism. He compellingly shows that naturalism is a worldview that cannot stand up to philosophical scrutiny. Key to Lewis's presentation is his argument that naturalism can be demonstrated to be false in its complete rejection of supernaturalism merely by the reality of reason. Logic and reason of the mind, by themselves, are supernatural acts that cannot be explained or accounted for in nature, as naturalism demands. Supernaturalism, according to Lewis is not only possible, but pervasive since the act of logical thinking itself is supernatural in origin.

Lewis then eloquently argues that the relationship between nature and the supernatural are not hostile, but complementary. In Lewis's view, nature is quite pliable to accommodate and assimilate supernatural acts in ways that do not bring the kind of chaos and randomness that many naturalists believe to be reprehensible relative to the 'invasion' of nature by alleged supernatural acts. Lewis persuasively demonstrates that this concern is bogus.

Once the reality, possibility, and plausibility of miracles has been established philosophically, Lewis moves to classifying the Biblical miracles as either old creation or new creation miracles. Here, readers might be a bit disappointed by the presentation. Those looking for an evidential defense of miracles in general or any specific miracle in particular will not find it here. This is a philosophical presentation that is chiefly concerned with whether miracles are possible and/or probable. It is not an evidential defense of the possibility of any specific miracle. Lewis's central point is that human beings are disinclined towards believing in the inherent possibility of miracles for reasons that are not intellectually honest and calls for a fresh reappraisal of the possibility of miracles with a fresh attitude of open mindedness and a sincere commitment to soberly seek the truth absent bias. On this point, he does very well.

I noted that I thought the book deserved 4.5 stars rather than a full blown 5 stars. There are two main reasons why this is. First, his discussion of the Incarnation, while fascinating, was mostly off topic. The focus of Lewis's discussion was not on the miraculous nature of the Incarnation, but on its meaning to the believer and its relationship to nature. The discussion is good, but in a book on miracles, I found it to be misplaced. Second, and perhaps more crucial, is that Lewis succumbs to the very ad hoc skepticism that he argues so passionately against. Without elaboration, Lewis introduces the idea of 'Hebrew mythology' as being behind at least some of the miracles described in the Old Testament (Jonah and the whale being one). Why Lewis believes that some Biblical miracles are genuine while others are mythological is something he doesn't discuss. But the reader gets the sense that by taking this position, Lewis is caving in to the very kind of apriori rejection he repeatedly and rightly condemns throughout the book. Lewis's central argument is therefore undermined by his own unwarranted and unexplained backtracking from his own position.

But because this slip of reason is confined to only one or two paragraphs of the book, it is a weakness that while noteworthy and unfortunate, is not fatal to his argument. One who remains skeptical about the viability of miracles should consider that Lewis revised this book back in 1960 (in response to the arguments of Anscombe) and to date, there has been no compelling rebuttal to its tenets. Attempts to erect a solid rebuttal have been presented and then systematically refuted as erroneous and mostly illogical. As a result, this book has stood the test of time and remains a compelling argument that should provide great comfort and assurance to those who believe the Biblical miracles on faith, but wonder whether this belief can also be grounded in reason and philosophical argument. It can, and we should expect nothing less from the Creator who not only created nature and supernaturally intervenes in nature, but who also created perfect logic and reason.

This book provides readers with the best defense for the belief in a living Christianity. As a Christian at a secular university Miracles has proven time and again to be a source of comfort and assurance that to be a Christian is not to be lacking in intellect, unreasonable, or close minded. Rather, it is the man (or woman) who is willing to open themselves up to God who is truly to be praised for being intelligent, reasonable, and open-minded because they are responding to God's call to come and reason with Him -- instead of alone. Lewis was just such a man. For this, and for the many wonderful books he has written, he has my admiration and gratitude.

Not the best place to start if you don't consider yourself to be a first-rate thinker (Lewis' own _Mere Christianity_ offers some of the same arguments on an easier-to-digest level)... but if you're up to the challenge, I cannot recommend a stronger argument in favor of a fully supernatural Christian philosophy. NOT an attempt to explain the whole thing away as an allegory, as many so-called "apologists" do. NOT an attempt to use the Bible as a starting place, as many so-called "apologists" do. Lewis begins with only one assumption--one that every thinker uses for every theory ever attempted on any subject--and from that position carefully weaves the most detailed and skillful argument in my experience showing the existence and character of God. An extremely challenging book, especially for sceptics of Christianity, but one which they owe themselves to read (if nothing else, it will increase their faith in their own position and strengthen their mental habits!) This is the book which got me through college; and, next to the Bible itself, the most important book I've ever read. Note: if possible, order an edition printed after 1960, as the late 1940s edition contains a few logical errors which were later corrected. If you need help understanding the book or its arguments, feel free to e-mail me at the address above (flamemail, though, will be promptly deleted... honest criticisms will be attended to.) Good books to read after completing _M:aPS_... the New Testament itself (New American Standard or New International Version is probably best); Lewis' _Mere Christianity_; and then Lewis' _The Problem of Pain_.

Lewis examines many of the ill-conceived views of miracles that alot of people hold. He exposes them in light of the Bible, human reasoning and other examining tools. This approach is great for people who are seeking a philosophical prespective rather than a scientific or historical one (since many people reject scientific or historical views due to philosophical presuppositions). Another classic from Lewis.

If both the natural and the supernatural are real, why should they be perceived as being at odds? There's a difference between superstituion and spiritual reality. To ignore that unexplainable "miracles" occur is to be so devoted to a lie that you refuse to see the truth. Lewis extends his exploration on this topic to speculations that other writers would not touch. For example, secularists insist that Christians are so "straight laced" that they percieve heaven as a place where we float on clouds and play harps. Yawn! They haven't read this book. C. S. Lewis speculates that if sex is about the ultimate enjoyment in this "natural" life, the joys of heaven will be so much more intense that sex will seem dull by comparison. I might add Billy Graham has made similar inferences in his writings.

Periodically Christians will talk about God not being limited to time or space. Lewis elabortes on that by talking about God even being able to answer prayers "out of sequence" so to speak. He talks about the possibility of a prayer uttered at noon being answered at 10 am. God operates in an eternal "now" as Oral Roberts has been known to put it.

In summary, this book sheds light on the awesome nature of God. We were created for His pleasure. He is not restrained by anything He made. Miracles go beyond the limits we normally experience. This is a faith building book that helps you to see beyond the familiar.

I have had to read Miracles for a book review. I'm training for ordained Christian ministry and never expected, during my three years of study, to read any book as interesting and darned right clever as this one. Most of them are very boring!

Like many people, I had only read 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' when I was younger but never knew how starved of Lewis' passion for Christ, which is reflected through his theological publications, I had been. He is clearly very much in love with God whom he sees as incomparable with Nature.

The genius of 'Miracles' to me, lies in the fact that it is a very readable evangelistic text disguised as 'a philosophical preparation for the possibility of the existence of Miracles'. Lewis' method is very good. He uses a mixture of friendly sarcasm, reverse psychology and intense detail to get right alongside the reader who he assumes is not a Christian. As a Christian myself, I felt that the book was wasted on me, it should be being read by a person who does not yet know Jesus Christ as their Lord.

Most of the book is dedicated to excrutiating explanations of the Incarnation, God's use of the Miraculous in His constant governance of the Earth and Prayer.

If I had any problem with the book it would be that at times it is quite un-focussed on Christ. Lewis cites the Incarnation (God made Man in Jesus Christ) as God's primary miracle but he does not really explain what this means for the ordinary person in terms of grace (undeserved love of God for us all)and cancellation of sin through the Cross. Maybe, as an evangelistic type of person, I will never be satisfied with any book like Miracles! At times the book feels like a labour of love, his writing on the Law of Nature is painstaking and at times, a little tedious but this, I believe, is only a reflection of his passionate desire for the reader to know Christ. He just has to take you everywhere before taking you home to God!

One last obvious and unintended problem is founded in the fact that this book was written for a different age when the post-modernist free for all denial of absolute truth was just a glint in the modernist's eye. Lewis would also clearly be shocked that unlike his own 'unvenerated' age, sexual intercourse has lost its mystery and need for self-control. I think he would be shocked by today's society - or lack of it.

But really, this is a terrific book. Reading Miracles as a committed Christian, I can see the method he uses and where he will take the reader. It's as if he is speaking in code to Christians! But this code is no secret, to decipher it is to know the greatest gift ever given to humankind, the person of God in Jesus Christ.

It is only when you are almost finished does Lewis just about admit that he had an alterior motive for writing Miracles. But by then, he hopes, the reader will be ready to begin looking into the riches of the Christian Gospel (good news), not just the possibility of the Miraculous!

Go and read it or I could send you my notes on the book. Feel free to get in touch.

Enjoy! Nicola.

C.S. Lewis destroys preconceived notions of miracles with a utilitarian look at the natural and supernatural. With patience and insight, Lewis discerns that, contrary to popular belief, miracles are not flukes, they are not interruptions of nature, but companions to it. Indeed, nature, adjusting automatically, receives miracles with seamless ease. Furthermore, these handshakes, as it were, of natural and supernatural should actually be expected.

Throughout this book, C.S. Lewis drops kernels of wisdom that can provide some rather startling revelations. Of course, one sees as they are inclined to see, so the merely cynical may discover little. However, should you be willing to consider the probability or even the possibility of miracles, you might gain much from a reading. Miracles had a profound impact upon me. I sincerely hope it continues to do so. 5 huge stars.

Anyone who thinks that C.S. Lewis only wrote children's stories, fantasy and science fiction tales probably wouldn't be reading this book anyway. But if they did, they would find a book written by one of the 20th century's great thinkers. "Miracles" begins with an early quote that sets the tone for the rest of the book: "What we learn from experience depends on the kind of philosophy we bring to experience." Two experiences or worldviews are contrasted - the Naturalists who believe that nothing exists except Nature, and the Supernaturalists who believe in something beyond Nature. Lewis spends quite a bit of time examining the two views. Readers may think that too much time is devoted to this subject before getting to a discussion of miracles themselves, but the time spent is a necessary foundation to everything that follows.

How exactly do you define a miracle? Lewis defines a miracle as "an interference with Nature by supernatural power." Lewis then presents many questions. Are miracles in contrast to the laws of Nature? What exactly ARE the laws of Nature? Are exceptions possible? How does probability fit into the discussion of miracles? Later in the book, Lewis focuses on three categories of miracles: The Grand Miracle (God becoming man in Jesus Christ), Miracles of the Old Creation (miracles of fertility, healing, destruction, etc.), and Miracles of the New Creation (miracles of reversal, glory, resurrection). This last portion of the book I found to be the most fascinating as Lewis examines several specific miracles from the Old and New Testaments.

"Miracles" is a relatively short book, but properly read will take a little time to read. Take time to absorb and contemplate each chapter. Lewis left us with a lot of things to think about here, regardless of your worldview. You may not agree with everything Lewis says, but it will cause you to think long after you've closed the book.

There are glowing pages in "Miracles," written with Dr. Lewis's almost uncanny skill for illuminating profound truth with vivid illustration. The book is, as its sub title states, a "preliminary study," that is , a study preliminary to any historical inquiry into the actual occurrence of miracle.

With most historians the decision against th probability of miracles is made almost unconsciously before the historical work begins. The purpose of this book is to shift the question of probability from the unconscious to the conscious plane, and it's main argument is directed to embattling the eighteenth and nineteenth century assumption against the miraculous.

But, in the course of this, many subordinate questions are raised - the definition of "Nature," the rival conceptions of her Laws, the different meanings of the word "Probability," the status of metaphor and symbol, th imaginative elements in Naturalism, the antagonism between Christianity and mere "religion," and others.

A Brilliant work. Deserves greater popularity and recognition, as many of Lewis's other books have. This one is definitely among his absolute best!

This is not a book about the miraculous in every day life- about how miracles occur for the average person, and how to experience them. There are a lot of good books on those subjects. This is not one of them. It is however a much-needed book on the theoretical miraculous. Can miracles occur? What does it mean when they do? How do they fit in with reality?

Lewis answers in the affirmative- miracles do occur. Indeed a substantial portion of the book is an apologetic explaining how the miraculous can and does occur, despite the misgivings of philosophical Naturalism. For this purposes he initially sets up the proofs of a spiritual realm and of God. Ironically for a theoretical work, Lewis shows us how the miraculous is not contrary to the natural and physical world, but fits fully within it, or rather without. While not actually being part of the physical the miraculous partakes of the physical, or rather, the physical partakes of it. This is perhaps the genius of Lewis' book, that he shows how a miracle never suspends the laws of nature, but is fully what we would expect if there were laws of nature as well as a divine nature.

From here Lewis looks at particular miracles, particularly the greatest miracle of all, the Incarnation, and how this moment was what all of space and time leads up to and reflects upon. He also analyzes miracles and the different imports of various types historically recorded. Throughout he writes with his customary wisdom and wit, analyzing in common language what we had always somewhat already known, but never well enough to emerge into the conscious mind so that we could act upon it. For that, we need C.S. Lewis.

I found this book immensely illuminating. Though theoretical, it encourages the reader to embark on a journey beyond the mundane, to expand the horizons, to see the reality that is beyond all reality. Miracles exist for a purpose, Lewis tells us. They are not just dropped as a "God in the gaps", to fill a niggling problem that we cannot otherwise solve. They exist to reveal something greater, namely God. I was encouraged, overwhelmed with joy, as I read what Lewis revealed in new ways- the great miracle of the resurrection. But it doesn't end there. For just as miracles are part and parcel of the natural order, so is the resurrection. Above all the Christian religion can not be divorced from the miraculous. Nearly every other religion could survive without it- in Christianity, one particular miracle is so central that without it there is no meaningful religion. If Jesus is not God made man, and subsequently died and resurrected, there really is no point to believing the whole yarn.

And the resurrection allows for the resurrection of us all. Lewis has shown us that Christianity is not a mystical spiritualist religion, denying creation. Dualism of that sort was considered heresy millennia ago. Just as miracles could not deny the natural order without denying both science and the central doctrine of Christianity, so the resurrection mandates a resurrection of the physical as well as the spiritual. That's exciting news. Not just a new Spirit, but a new creation. Lewis forced me to contemplate that anew as he delved into what that might mean. What it fully means we can not this side of Eternity truly know. But it's going to be fun.

I wish he had stopped there. For his final page dampens the ardor of the book. There he discusses how miracles are unlikely to occur for the average person- they occur but rarely in history.

Ironically, Lewis seems to fall for the same problem he has been attacking throughout his book. He explains how the Naturalist is unable to accept the miraculous because they allow the natural mind to take control, rather than their reason, which itself is evidence of the supernatural. Lewis has not taken the time and study to look for the miraculous and to practice it in everyday life. For make no mistake, such requires time and study. It requires a willingness to be observant and attendant, and to practice, again and again. Not to make stuff up or assume the miraculous is present when it is not- Lewis is right in warning us against that error. But in an age of Naturalism, we have become attuned to not look for the miraculous, and we are all susceptible to this. Just so then we must needs train to see it again.

Secondly, I and others I know have experienced many miracles in life. They are rare, assuredly. But they do occur.

Lastly, Lewis does discuss these "everyday" miracles in his second appendix on Providence. He does a very good job of explaining there how predestination and free-will intermix to allow for the miraculous. But he would seek to reduce this to the natural order of things. God in all His foreknowledge determined the right order of events, incorporating our prayers, and answers to our prayers, within His divine plan. Well and good. But if this then denies the miraculous element of answers to prayers, it also strips away the miraculous from*every* event. For the miracles of Jesus would also then be simply part of His divine plan. Indeed, more so than any other, the Grand Miracle, of the Incarnation and Resurrection, are part of His divine plan, and therefore part of providence. Stating that an everyday answer to prayer is providence and therefore not miraculous cheats the miraculous of any power it has at all.

To find out how miracles can be every day, how they are freely available, how healing can be part of your life in a meaningful way, pick up another book, like those by Peter Wagner. To find out how miracles are possible, how their presence allows us to transcend this earthly plane by fully incorporating the earthiness of life, read and dive into this book.