Most everyone I ever discussed Miracles with whether they believe in them now or not at one time did not believe in Miracles. This was the case even about most of the authors who have written about Miracles.
But the reality of Miracles is based usually upon whether the person believes in God or not. By far and away the majority of people, like me, who have done the research have come away a believer in both Miracles and in God.
So, to me the subject of miracles is many times the first step for someone who ends up believing in God. As a matter of fact, there are a number of scientists and Astronomers who have actually admitted that the likelihood from numerous scientific surveys about the creation of the Universe that the likelihood of some evolutionary incident being the source of the Big Bang is highly unlikely. But these scientists still admit that they could never admit a belief in a supernatural God for fear of being drummed out of the science community. Even Jesus remarked that some would not believe in Him unless he performed a miracle. I don’t recall the source of the quotes when Jesus said to Thomas just touch my wound and you will see that I was nailed to a cross.
So, it is understandable why Lee Strobel in his book entitled Miracles begins his book with a true story from Dr Ben Carson’s time when he first entered med school on his way to a degree which would launch his amazing career first as a famous pediatric neurosurgeon. I didn’t realize that Ben had the third highest ever SAT score in twenty years from a Detroit black high school. He also received a free ride scholarship from Yale University. And as most people remember he also ran for President and though he failed at that endeavor he did serve in the Cabinet as a Secretary of Health Education and Welfare.
His miraculous story happened when he was near failing a required Chemistry course for a medical degree. Just before final exams , during his first year at Yale, and facing the possibility of flunking Chemistry, Ben the night before the final he vowed he would stay up all night to study as much as he could for this chemistry exam. He relates the specific prayer he prayed that night just before falling to sleep without making it all the way through the night studying. He prayed to God that He would show him what He wanted Ben to do if it wasn’t medicine. Ben tells the story of his dreams that night and how he saw a blackboard with a finger writing formula which he recalled were from his textbook. Then when Ben was in the exam room the next morning and opened his test book, he realized these test formulas on the test were the same ones he saw the night before being written on the blackboard.
And it turns out he passed the test with a score that prevented him from flunking the course and the rest is history.
Now I am sure that there are those that say the story was made up for some kind of reward. But herein lies the truth that Ben Carson was not into lying. He is a man of God, a strong believer, and to those people who claim that doesn’t make any difference that believers lie just like everybody else. But the truth and the word honesty to those kinds of people who would accuse anyone of lying when something doesn’t fit the narrative of a non-believing atheist is unfortunately encumbered with a belief system which cannot understand the truth of a person who is a believer in God. Such is the world where Satan and his minions exist to destroy truth and honesty and particularly all those who believe in God. That is something we must live with, but we also know that Satan is a defeated foe and though we may tire of reminding him he knows it and it really busts his chops that we know it also.
And one more thing, as Lee Strobel , the author of the book “Miracles” and a reformed atheist reminds us it is an interesting conservation to have with a non-believer about what it would take to convince them that miracles, and God, are real. One response was “ If a chicken started speaking English, learned to read, and beat a grandmaster at chess,” then this non-believer would provisionally concede that something like this might not be impossible to accept without acceding to a supernatural force. But then said that they could never bring themselves to utter the word “miracle.”
However, from one of Strobels’ other interviews with a non-believer who said that he doesn’t believe that God insists on total adherence to the ten commandments and that likely he would accept our best efforts. But in reality, the truth of living in accordance with God’s complete adherence to His requirement for a perfect life is much more than that, and that unless we are willing to give our life over to serving the poor, sacrificing everything, and living a selfless existence then maybe . But the non-believer can’t believe it, and the further reality is that God knows it as well that you are not able to, but He offers His forgiveness for your shortfall and if we can accept this then He wants us in Heaven with Him and millions of others.
