The curious case of Mr. Locke’s Miracles

Authors

T Brian Mooney, University of Notre Dame Australia
Anthony Imbrosciano, University of Notre Dame AustraliaFollow

Publication Details

Mooney, T. B., & Imbrosciano, A. (2005). The curious case of Mr. Locke’s Miracles. International Journal for Philosophy of Religion, 57 (3), 147-168.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11153-004-1682-7

Abstract

Locke considers miracles to be crucial in establishing the credibility and reasonableness of Christian faith and revelation. The performance of miracles, he argues, is vital in establishing the “credit of the proposer” who makes any claim to providing a divine revelation. He accords reason a pivotal role in distinguishing spurious from genuine claims to divine revelation, including miracles. According to Locke, genuine miracles contain the hallmark of the divine such that pretend revelations become intuitively obvious. This paper argues that serious tensions exist in Locke’s position regarding miracles, which impact on the reasonableness of the assent to Christianity which he presumes they provide.

Keywords

Peer-reviewed