David McKenzie

Miracles are not immoral: a response to James Keller's moral argument against miracles

James Keller recently argued that miracles in the sense of divine intervention are immoral because in such acts God would unfairly choose to help the beneficiary of the miracle over others who may be equally in need and just as deserving. I respond generally by arguing that his analysis overlooks the possibility that those who do not receive the miraculous intervention may receive other benefits of equal or greater value and that there may be purposes for miraculous intervention which transcend individual benefit. More specifically, I argue that Kellers understanding of miracles does not accommodate the Christian doctrine of grace, that he does not come to grips with the evangelical purpose of miracles depicted in Christian apologetics, that his view of the context in which miracles occur is abstract and sterile in light of charismatic experience, and finally that his argument leads to the counterintuitive conclusion that the Resurrection of Christ is somehow immoral. In the light of these considerations, I argue that miracles are not immoral.

Pannenberg on God and Freedom

No problem has been more difficult for Christian theology than the relation between divine power and human freedom. Many theologians have sacrificed the latter for the former, and a few have been willing to sacrifice divine power for human freedom. But it has often been maintained that God is omnipotent and that human beings are free in the sense required to render them morally responsible and to give them a sense of dignity. The problem is immediately obvious. If omnipotent is defined, as it sometimes is, in such a way that the power of God is thought to determine all historical events, including human decisions, then the latter would seem to be functions of the divine will or, in other words, necessitated. And, of course, if they are necessitated, it would seem to be logically impossible to maintain that they are free in the crucial sense. Stated succinctly, the problem is this: How can human beings be morally responsible and have a sense of personal dignity if their acts are necessitated by the power of an omnipotent God? With characteristic candor as well as courage, Wolfhart Pannenberg has addressed this issue in many of his writings, most directly in his book, The Idea of God and Human Freedom. Everyone senses that Pannenbergs theology is still in the making and that he has yet to say his final word on this or any other major topic. Nonetheless, he has made some very provocative suggestions regard-