The uncommon life
Popular historian and self-proclaimed former Christian-turned-atheist, Dr. Bart Ehrman, in his debate with Dr. William Craig, clarified that a historian’s job is not to tell “what” happened, but what was “most likely” to have happened.
He goes on to explain why that makes it impossible for him to hold to the idea of a historical miracle.
If the historian is looking for what is most likely to have happened, then he could never accept a historical miracle since miracles are never the most likely thing to have happened… “by definition.”
I can totally see his point. Though, first, I do not agree with his definition of a miracle being “unlikely”. I am not sure what evidence he would have for the rarity of miracles.
It is a common definition that miracles are when God defies “natural law”… however, I am not certain that GK Chesterton wasn’t right about natural laws being somewhat miraculous themselves:
 “It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them.”   (G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy)
Maybe even natural processes are fundamentally miraculous. I talk about the difference between “how” and “who” (or even “why”) in part 4 of a series of articles about creationism’s relationship to scientific discovery.
Though not anywhere near as well trained in history as he is, I am very well trained and even more experienced in human lives.
In this, I have come to accept an oxymoron… and an apparent (though not literal) paradox.
It seems that everyone has an “uncommon” life.
In the last 20 plus years of doing counseling, I have heard hundreds of people’s life stories. In my effort to understand before seeking to be understood, or even before just being able to effectively come alongside people, I actively listen to them tell their life story.
When it comes to life stories, kid, I’ve flown from one side of this galaxy to the other, and I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff, and everything I’ve seen leads me to believe that there’s one all-powerful Force governing everything. (with apologies to Han)
I have come the conclusion that everyone’s lives are bizarre. Nutty coincidences that often hardly seem coincidental.
Everyone’s lives are filled with these “coincidences” that strain even the most credulous person’s sensibilities.
In fact, I would go so far as to say that maybe the most unifying factor in people’s lives is that we all have experiences… often defining experiences… that are extraordinarily unlikely.
In my experience most people who can stomach the concept of a miracle believe that they have experienced them.
It seems that everyone has experienced million-to-one odds… and been the one… in multiple experiences!
Our lives are extraordinary and somehow, thus, common. More next week. (**** Link to follow).