Saturday, 18. October 2008
Miracles - will they never cease?

The parting of the Red Sea, the feeding of the five thousand, the turning of water into wine - miracles. Miracles?

Yet Miracles have been part of human culture for thousands of years. From beliefs about the shin bone of a saint to ideas about the nature of creation and the laws of nature, miracles have been a measure of disputes within religion and between religion and rationality from St Augustine in the 4th century to David Hume in the 18th. They have also been used by the corrupt and the powerful to gain their perverse ends.

Miracles have been derided and proved to be fraudulent and yet, for many, the miraculous maintain a grip on our imagination, our language and our belief to this day.

image
Three Miracles of Saint Zenobius, Metropolitan Museum of Art


Melvyn Bragg asks: Miracles - will they never cease?
He is joined by:

  • Martin Palmer, Director of the International Consultancy on Religion, Education and Culture
  • Janet Soskice, Reader in Philosophical Theology at Cambridge University
  • Justin Champion, Professor of the History of Early Modern Ideas at Royal Holloway, University of London



Listen to this programme in full here (42 minutes):



Broadcast was on 25 September 2008 at BBC 4, 'In Our Time'.
Also available for RealPlayer.


See also:
Miracles by Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
Category: Music & Voices | Mysteries & Enigmas | Religion & Early Cultures |


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