The Lens of Faith

By Janne T. Sivula

Does God interact with the world? This book looks at evidence that suggests there is a personal God who is interested in human beings. This is the most widespread view among religious people around the world. In monotheistic religions, God is viewed as a being who has intervened in the world to reveal himself to humanity. He interacts with the universe through miracles or supernatural revelations. God is believed be personally intervene in the lives of believers through, for example, religious experiences and prayers. So, I ask, what evidence there is that God interacts with the universe and intervenes in human affairs, even revealing Himself to us intentionally.

Another question I ask, is: is there a true religion? Many religions consider themselves divine revelations. I ask, how convincing is the evidence?

I consider religions and beliefs about God as a skeptic. This means that I demand solid evidence for extraordinary claims. The claim that ancient people accurately predicted events in the distant future or knew things about the universe that science has only recently discovered is such a claim. Another very common religious belief is that certain divinely ordained people were able to work miracles bending the laws of nature to their will. These beliefs only appear convincing if they are viewed through a lens of faith. See more excerpts from this book at thinkingman.fi

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thinking Man
• Release date: Mar 27, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215031124

Janne T. Sivula

I am a Finnish theologian in my 40s. I am interested in the science-religion boundary.  My lens on the world is scientific. My website is thinkingman.fi

Book preview

The Lens of Faith

Janne T. Sivula

Thinkingman.fi

2023

Table of Contents:

1. Introduction:  3

2. Jesus’ Miracles: 18

3. Miracle workers: 38

4. Old Testament God: 61

5. Prophecies: 79

6. Scientific Miracles: 107

7. Personal Revelations: 128

8. The Lens of Faith:  156

9. Further Reflections on God and Religion: 178

1 Introduction

The topic of this book is the theology of revelation. Historically, many religions have presented themselves as revelations from God. Now the information age is moving us towards religious pluralism. We live in multicultural societies with a variety of religious beliefs on display. Organized religion is on the decline. In the west, the process of secularization has been going on for centuries. Secularization indicates a decrease in religious adherence and practice. Its roots are in the Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe and America, which were predominantly Christian at the time. In a recent survey, approximately half of the population of Iran, too, reported losing their religion.[1]

There is also a tendency towards religious freethinking. Religions are not always treated as revealed truth in the modern world. Beliefs and practices from different religions are mixed and dogmatic theological differences are often considered of little relevance. Researchers call this process sacralization. This situation leads me to ask: is there any rational justification for the concept of special revelation? How can the revealed religion be recognized among the thousands of religions on the planet?

This book deals with evidence that suggests that there is a personal God who takes an interest in human beings. This is the most common view among religious people around the world.  In monotheistic religions, God is thought of as a being who has intervened in the world to reveal himself to humanity. He interacts with the universe through miracles or supernatural revelations. God is thought to be personally involved in the lives of believers through, for example, religious experiences and prayers. Thus, it is asked, what evidence there is that God interacts with the universe and intervenes in human affairs, even deliberately making himself known to us.

The purpose of this book is not to deliberate on a generic God whose only role concerning the universe is to set its process going at the Big Bang. This is deism - the belief that God created the world and then let it evolve by itself. Deists believe God established the moral and natural laws but is not actively involved in human affairs. Deists believe in God based on reason and without reference to revelation. Deism flourished during the Enlightenment, when the deists challenged Christianity in many ways, largely by rendering miracles problematic.  

In debates concerning the existence of God, there are cosmological, teleological, moral, and ontological arguments. Cosmological arguments seek to prove God by the existence of the world. Teleological arguments look at the world's organization to prove it was created. The basic idea of the moral argument is that objective moral values and duties exist, and these moral truths require a grounding in something beyond mere human opinion or social convention. Ontological arguments seek to prove the existence of God through the concept of a perfect being. To the extent that these arguments are valid, they seek to prove a very generic God. They only manage to say that God exists and has created the universe. It is possible to think that God created the natural laws that govern the world, creating its order and (apparent) purposefulness. The arguments discussed in this book have to do with the existence of a specific type of god. They point to supernatural events where God interferes with the laws of nature, acting out miracles, visions, and inspiration.

If there is a personal God with a conscious will and thoughts, we might expect him to act on these within the world. The Christian God is thought to be operating from a transcendental reality and is not bound by the laws of nature. He is a personal being interacting with the world. He is an anthropomorphic being with feelings, thoughts, and deeds. The question becomes: Where is the evidence for this interaction? Besides Christianity, many other religions claim to be revelations from God. Their evidence is the main arena for discussion in this book.   

General and Special Revelation

This book is about supernatural revelation as opposed to natural or general revelation. It is important to explain the difference between them.  It is thought that God has communicated with humankind through both general revelation and the Book of Nature or the observable universe. General revelation refers to God’s knowability through the natural intellectual faculties without an additional revelatory act. General revelation happens through the universe, its various contents, and human moral consciousness. Special revelation, the topic of this book, is given by influencing the lawful universe from beyond the laws of nature. In Christian literature, special or supernatural revelation refers to extraordinary divine activity. Christianity holds that God has revealed his word and his teachings on key matters like sin, salvation, and morality, in the Bible. According to Christian theology, special revelation has occurred in historical events as well as inspired texts. The biblical writings contain descriptions of historical events where God expresses his will and reveals himself.  Within orthodox Christianity, Jesus is seen as God's incarnation. The life of Jesus, his words, and especially the end of his life are considered the most important sources of special revelation.  Jesus is God's self-expression in human history.[2]

Miracles, visions, and religious experiences can be categorized under personal revelations. Typically, these sorts of experiences are private by nature. They occur in every religion. They are not considered primary evidence but are often thought to be part of a cumulative case for God.

My main focus is on Christian theism. Christianity is most likely the most evidential religion in the sense that many different kinds of proofs have been presented for it over its history. It is still the largest religion on the planet. Nevertheless, many other religions make similar claims about revelation as well. The orthodox Jews hold that the Torah, the law of Moses, found in the written text from Genesis to Deuteronomy, is the dictated word of God. The Torah is sometimes said to be a copy of the eternal Torah that exists in the heavenly realm and is changeless and irrevocable. It forms the basis of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. They also believe God inspired their prophets, like Jeremiah and Isaiah. The writings arise out of and often record visions, ideas, histories, or stories that are inspired by God.[3]

In Islam, the supreme form of revelation is tanzil, the verbal dictation of a message from God. It is embodied only in the Qur’an, which was recited by Mohammed section by section at different times but is traditionally said to have been received by him from the archangel Gabriel overnight. It is a copy of the eternal Quran and the self-communicated speech of God.[4]

The Book of Mormon was introduced by Joseph Smith as a holy history of ancient American nations. It signified that God had revealed himself to others than Middle-Eastern nations. The Book of Mormon is considered inerrant and an authentic translation of an ancient text written in the Americas by prophets. Mormons view the book as a companion to the Bible and consider both to be divinely inspired scripture.[5]

In the Baháʼí Faith, prophets are not only teachers but manifestations of God sent to Earth. All religions are just one religion that is evolving and changing over time. All the world’s faiths draw on the same basic spiritual truths and have been founded by one of the Manifestations of God. The Manifestations, who include Adam, Abraham, Moses, Zoroaster, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, the Báb and Bahá'u'llah are considered perfect human beings. They serve as the mouthpiece of revelation, fitted for each time and place.[6]

The topic of this book doesn't apply as well to Eastern religions as it does to Western, monotheistic religions. Jains, Daoists, and Buddhists do not believe in a God who could intervene in human affairs. Adherents of eastern religions are, in general, much less interested in providing evidence of divine revelation or the supernatural than Christians and Muslims are. However, many parallels can be drawn. Jains maintain that their teachings are eternal, recognized by two dozen successive sages, or Tirthankaras. The teachings were stored down through time before they were finally established by Mahavira in their present form. Mahavira, achieved kevala, omniscience, making Jainism a sort of revealed religion. There is nothing to improve on in Mahavira’s teaching.

Hindus consider that the writings that are heard (sruti) are to be distinguished from those that are remembered (smriti). The Vedas, Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads are texts dictated to the Rishis by the gods. The Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, are considered smriti, or remembered texts. They are believed to be verifiable through archaeological evidence.

Many Hindus believe the Vedas have always existed but were only heard at a certain point in the past and written down. The epistemology of one school of philosophy, the Mīmāṃsā school, is to affirm the faultless authority of the Veda. It was not created by humans, but neither does it have a divine origin. As a particular combination of eternal words, it is self-existent and without any author (apauruṣeya). Nor can the Veda be invalidated by subsequent experience. According to the Mīmāṃsā interpretation, the Veda deals only with empirically unverifiable otherworldly subjects. Neither does the Veda contain internal discrepancies.

Sikhs view the Guru Granth Sahib as their eternal Guru. The scripture is not merely a collection of teachings or historical accounts but is regarded as the living Guru, the spiritual guide that provides wisdom and guidance for Sikhs in all aspects of life.

In most religions, there are also beliefs about supernatural entities that interact with humans. Buddhism is generally not considered a revealed religion but a philosophy of the Buddha. However, there are many Buddhists who believe in supernatural Bodhisattvas. They are believed to be compassionate, respond to prayers, and reveal scriptures such as the Lotus Sutra by dictation.  They might even originate whole Buddha worlds, for instance, the Pure Land or Western Paradise. In those worlds, devotees can live in purified enjoyment.[7]

The Nature of the Evidence

Even though this book discusses the evidence for God, it will focus on the supernatural and miraculous evidence, not the natural. Since this book discusses God's alleged interactions, communications, or direct involvement in the world, the nature of the evidence is miraculous. Humans can interpret, for instance, political and weather phenomena, and their personal experiences as the activity of God. Looking at these anecdotes from a distance, one cannot prove them one way or the other. Part of the purpose of the book is to ponder how genuine miracles could be detected.

Ostensibly, the evidence speaks for a personal God intervening in world affairs, inspiring holy texts, and influencing events supernaturally. For this purpose, the concepts of the supernatural and miraculous need to be defined.

A miracle could be conceived as a wonder of the universe. It is miraculous in itself that we are here on this rock, hurtling through space at an amazing speed. 

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is  a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

(Attributed to) Albert Einstein.

Under this definition, a miracle is a natural event. A miracle  could be an atom, a cell, or consciousness, which are all complex and wondrous phenomena. The development of a human embryo within a cell could be called a miracle even though the specific process by which this happens is known. For this book, however, a miracle is not a natural phenomenon that can be studied and understood.   

The definition of a miracle is almost the same as that of the supernatural. A fourfold definition of the miraculous can be used. The first three definitions apply to the supernatural, and the last one pertains to the miraculous. First, the supernatural assumes transcendence.  The supernatural pertains to beings that are super - above or beyond the physical world. They are not subject to the laws of nature as we know them. They do not decay or require physical subsistence.

In addition to being immortal, gods, demons, and spirits are thought to be capable of moving through matter and time without limitations from the natural laws. They are, however, also causally related to the lawful world and able to influence events within it. They can appear to humans, move objects, and answer prayers.

Finally, they need to be conscious. To influence the world, they need to be able to observe it and be mindful of its happenings. It is consciousness that makes the supernatural - supernatural. Thus, the supernatural involves the deliberate, conscious influence of a transcendent being on the natural world. These beings could be called disembodied minds – minds that operate in the world independently and free of normal physical limitations. 

A supernatural act can in itself be either good or bad, benevolent or malevolent.  A malevolent form of the supernatural would be, for example, a demonic possession or a haunting. But a miracle is always something benevolent, something the person experiencing the miracle would wish to happen - an answer to a prayer, for instance. A miracle could be defined as a fortunate event brought about in the natural world by the intervention of a conscious, transcendent agent.     

Within all religions, there are innumerable human miracle workers, bending the laws of nature in various ways at (God’s) will. Either through the powers of their minds or by channeling gods, they are thought to be able to momentarily override the laws of nature by moving objects with the power of the mind (psychokinesis) or acquire extrasensory perception (ESP), like clairvoyance, remote viewing, astral projection, precognition, and telepathy. This is thought to happen through either channeling gods or developing psychic powers through conscious effort and religious practice. Parapsychology is scientific research on mental phenomena that are beyond the normal. This topic will be discussed in the third chapter.

These sorts of miracles are thought to be influenced by God. Ostensibly, they give evidence of God's omnipotence, or his ability to observe the world and influence it according to his will. They give evidence of omnipotence and help us understand why a certain religion is true over all others. 

Many holy texts are thought to contain evidence of God's supernatural influence. The texts are believed to contain an understanding of the world unreachable to normal human beings. An omniscient being could inspire a text full of scientific facts that no human living at the time could have known. 

Holy texts could also predict future events accurately. It is believed that God sees the future and understands the functioning of the world. He can and does tell us beforehand what will happen, even in the most distant future. There is believed to be an omnipotent being directing historical events and the writing of holy texts. This influence would be proven through fulfilled prophecies. 

The Synopsis of the Book

This introductory chapter lays out the content and purpose of the book and my own background. 

In chapter 2, the miracles associated with Jesus are discussed. These stories are historically highly questionable. Most likely, miracles originated with early Christian missionaries. Miracles were attributed to Jesus because they justified the early Christian faith in the face of opposition and missionary work. 

Chapter 3 is about other miracle stories within other religions. Miracle working is a very common theme around major religious figures across the board. Innumerable prophets, saints, gurus, and shamans are thought to have psychic powers. The most likely explanation for these stories seems to be religious justification and authorization. 

In chapter 4, the historicity of the Old Testament is pondered. The Old Testament contains theological history intermixed with myth, legend, and folklore. There seems to be no valid reason to assume that the Old Testament God existed outside the minds of human beings. The biblical authors likely attributed natural disasters and political changes to the will of God.

In chapter 5, biblical prophecies in the light of modern exegetical understanding are considered. In the holy books, no evidence from prophecy would stand up to critical scrutiny. Legitimately fulfilled prophecy must be accurate, precise, and improbable, for example.

In chapter 6, the topic is scientific miracles within holy texts. According to these arguments, holy texts contain scientific facts that were out of reach for the people who wrote them. This evidence is especially weak and based on a free association between verses and  natural phenomena.

In chapter 7, the topic is personal revelations - miracles and direct experiences of the divine. What is questionable is not the experience itself, but the reason that caused it. There are numerous natural reasons and causes behind alleged miracles. The cause of an alleged miracle can be neurological or psychological. Religious studies have shown that the religious symbols or figures of one religion never appear universally.

In chapter 8, the topic is more religious evidence.  There is a lot of evidence that will only stand up to uncritical scrutiny. The real reasons for religious belief are experience-based. Community, psychological support, and positive values maintain religious belief. This gives religious people a lens of faith through which the evidence is viewed and evaluated. 

In chapter 9, the implications of the contents of this book are pondered. If there is a God, he has given us such feeble evidence that it makes the religious choice a guessing game. The situation leaves room for a trickster God who does not care what we think or how we behave. The other alternative is that there is an impersonal, deistic God. The nature of religion as a man-made phenomenon is discussed.

My Background and Approach

I wrote this book as a non-religious person. Despite growing up in a Christian country and being baptized and confirmed, I never considered myself to be a Christian. I don't remember thinking much about the character of Jesus earlier than in my 20s. Christianity is the religion, though, with which I am most familiar.  I have a master’s degree in theology. I majored in New Testament exegetics. I also have a lifelong interest in the natural sciences.

I view religions and beliefs in God as a skeptic. This means demanding solid evidence for extraordinary claims. The claims that ancient people prophesied accurately about events in the far future or knew things about the universe that science has only recently been able to find out are just such claims. The claim that ancient people were able to control nature with their minds is another such claim. Skepticism means leaning towards natural explanations. It means withholding belief without solid evidence. I presuppose that all alleged miracles have natural explanations. The miracles of one religion are no more real than those of another. Extraordinary claims should be doubted, tested, and scrutinized before they are believed. 

This approach may come off as biased against the supernatural. I would suggest, however, that people are by nature skeptics of the supernatural. That is, unless the supernatural does not involve their own religion. Religious people often compartmentalize their thinking. They accept supernatural claims within the framework of their own religion, often without question. Faith shields certain beliefs from critical examination. The average Christian very likely believes the prophecies of the Bible. They are most likely skeptics when studying similar evidence within other religions. They adopt a different approach altogether while examining the prophecies and scientific miracles in the Quran. This kind of evidence would suggest that the Quran is a revealed text. In this effort, the criteria for prophecy- a subject of chapter 5 -become very important. 

It may also be difficult for a Christian to believe the innumerable miracles of gurus and saints from other religions. He will likely want very good evidence when it is claimed that an Indian guru, a Buddhist arhat, or a Muslim saint worked miracles. Not unquestioning faith, but questions about the origins of these stories likely will arise instead. At the same time, a conservative Christian will want to overlook the scientific consensus that the gospels are not eyewitness accounts.

Ancient miracle stories involve historical factors and events that cannot be proven positively one way or the other. The investigation thus necessarily involves an area of doubt. One can use it to judge in favor of one's own religion and against other religions.

In this, our personal and cultural situations make a great difference. How we learn and understand the world is the result of influences, experiences, and the specific contingencies of life. Usually, we become intimate with one or two religions through cultural influences. Religion appears frequently in films, television programmes, music and literature. Characters, storylines and themes often contain religious elements, rituals and symbols. Famous religious paintings, sculptures and architecture are celebrated as cultural treasures. Many musicians and bands draw inspiration from religious themes, and religious music genres such as gospel and hymns have influenced popular music.

Religious holidays and festivals are integrated into popular culture, often with secular interpretations and customs. Christmas and Easter, originally Christian festivals, have been adopted by people from different backgrounds as secular holidays with gifts and decorations. Religious language and idioms are woven into everyday speech. People use expressions such as God bless you, Holy Grail and cross my heart" without necessarily having a religious meaning attached to them.

We view the world through our assumptions, beliefs, biases, and prejudices, which we acquire through our upbringing, education, and environment. Some beliefs express who we are as people with distinctive values and commitments. Thus, the interpretation of certain religious stories as real or truthful – as actual miracles - and the absolute importance of the meaning attributed to many of them come from our background and cultural exposure. Without such connections, these stories are likely to be considered quite trivial. These worldview assumptions also guide people’s interpretation of unlikely occurrences in their own lives as miracles or as mere coincidences. 

Debates about God

This book comes partly as a reflection on the debates between atheists and believers I've been following over the years on the internet. Many of the observations made here come from these discussions and debates. 

Besides Jesus' resurrection, his miracle-working is considered the most important piece of evidence for Christianity. Attributing miracles to significant religious figures seems to be a near-universal human tendency. Miracles