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6.

The Miracles Argument. The miracles of the Bible, as well as those of modern times, cannot be accounted for by science or natural law, therefore they must have as their cause a higher power. This higher power is God. C. S. Lewis defined a miracle as “an interference with Nature by supernatural power.” In fact, Lewis admits, “unless there exists, in addition to Nature, something else which we may call the supernatural, there can be no miracles.”

Counterargument. A miracle—as so well displayed in Sidney Harris’s cartoon in which a scientist inserts the phrase “and then a miracle occurs” in the middle of a long string of equations—is really just a name for something we cannot explain. This is the “God of the gaps” argument, but as soon as we are able to fill the gap with an explanation, it is no longer a miracle. If Jesus’ walking on water is shown to be nothing more than a desert mirage, or the exaggerated tale of enthusiastic proselytizers, it is no longer a miracle. Additionally, how could you ever “prove” a miracle? It seems rather unlikely that one could prove that Jesus suspended the laws of nature that determine the surface tension of water (or of gravity, or whatever). The point of miracles is to inspire the faithful with religious reverence. One does not prove a miracle; one believes a miracle on faith, which is exactly how religion should be believed.

7.

Pascal’s Wager Argument. At the age of thirty-one the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal had what he termed a “mystical experience” that changed his life. Not content to rest his belief entirely in the mystical (and knowing this would never convince fellow skeptics such as René Descartes), he formulated what has become known as Pascal’s wager. If we wager that God does not exist and he does, then we have everything to lose and nothing to win. If we wager that God does exist and he does, then we have everything to gain and nothing to lose. Pascal was not naive enough to believe that people would then just place the bet, or that God would just accept the gamblers into His heavenly casino. He realized that belief comes through action so he argued that you also needed to go through the motions by attending Mass and taking the sacraments, and in time you would come to really believe. In the jargon of social psychology, you would shift from “conformity” to “internalization,” incorporating God into your core of deeply held beliefs.

Counterargument. First, this is not actually a proof of God since Pascal himself admitted that one still needs faith. Second, believing in God and going through the motions of attending church, praying, taking the sacraments, and so forth, is not a case of “nothing to lose.” There is plenty to lose, including the time and effort it takes to do all this when one could be doing something else. Finally, what if there were some other higher intelligence, even more powerful than God, and His sacraments included some of the more earthly pleasures? Not only would you be missing out on these, you might be eternally punished for placing the wrong wager or choosing the wrong God. This may sound unlikely, but from a purely objective point of view it is no more illogical than the existence of a Judaeo-Christian God.

8.

The Mystical Experience Argument. This is the ultimate close encounter with God himself, directly and experientially: “I know God exists because I have experienced him.” Bill Wilson, founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, reported just such an experience when he got on his knees and said, “If there is a God, let him show himself now.” Wilson describes what happened next:

Suddenly the room lit up, with a bright white light. I was caught up in an ecstasy for which there are no words to describe. It seemed to me in the mind’s eye that I was on a mountain, that a wind, not of air, but of the spirit was blowing and then it burst upon me that I was in another world of consciousness. All about me and through me was a wonderful presence and I thought to myself, “so this is the God of the preachers.