“THE QUESTION OF MIRACLES,” CHAPTER 12 OF SELECTED SHORTER WRITINGS OF BENJAMIN B. WARFIELD, by B. B. Warfield

A Brief “Bonus” Summary from Books at A Glance

By Kyle Taft

 

Overview

Over the course of three journal editions, B.B Warfield provides a sustained argument centered around a defense of not only the possibility of miracles, but of the actual occurrence of the biblical miracles in particular. Throughout these articles he responds to those who reject miracles outright and refutes their claims.

Though these three articles are a short work, totally only twenty pages altogether, Warfield helpfully breaks down the work into several subheadings:

 

The Question of Miracles

Warfield believes that the discussion of miracles must have as its starting point the question of definition. This definition must not simply refer to the size of an event, the personal presence of God, or to His sovereignty. On the other hand, this definition cannot be too complex or hard to discover. Warfield proposes two errors in formulating this definition: one of overstatement and one of understatement.

 

Overstatement: “Violations of Nature”

Regarding overstatement, Warfield argues that the definition of miracle as a “violation, or suspension, or transgression” (121) of nature cannot be considered valid. Instead of being counter…

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