Challenges to miracles and their effectiveness

For:

We can say that in terms of miracles as contingency miracles, then there would be no problem accepting them. For the theist they are due to the intervention of a deity, whereas to some they are just events with coincidences.

Hume's argument relating to not having enough witnesses is countered by the claim made by St Paul that when Jesus rose form the dead, he was seen shortly by 500 people.

However, historical reliability of accounts may be challenged. The resurrection accounts could have been written by those who had a vested interest or did not intend for it to be taken literally.

However others say that testimony is not simply enough to consider when evaluating miracles. Other physical effects can be x-rays to show miraculous healing.

Against:

How do we tell if a law of nature has been broken? It could just be that the law was incomplete.

Swinburne attempted to address this and rephrased what is mean by the breaking of a law of nature. However, this still does not answer the question

Many theists see God as sustainer and not an interventionist. Saying that miracles are true then contradicts this by implying that God is interventionist.

if God is omnipotent, surely he can be both?

If we believe that miracles occur, we are faced with the dilemma of the problem of evil.

Miracles contradict science. Often miracles are also concluded because there is no other alternative. This is often called the 'God of the gaps' argument.

On the other hand, it can be said that that is the very reason why they are miracles. Miracles just mean that science's predictions based on the laws are incorrect. Science is neutral so cannot say if miracles cannot happen or not.

It can be said that the rational thing to do is to say that miracles exist whilst keeping an open mind for more information to turn up.

It could also be solved by looking at our understanding of laws of nature. We might be forced to conclude that laws of nature are not as fixed as we believe but are incomplete and can be adapted to include what is happening.