Jefferson’s contemporary, the great modern philosopher David Hume, claimed that since the laws of nature were set, miracles were, strictly speaking, impossible. Following these Enlightenment era prompts, an awful lot of contemporary Christian theologians and Bible commentators have tried to explain away Jesus’ miracles as spiritual symbols.
N.T. Wright argues that it’s hard to explain the enormous popularity of Jesus apart from this fascination with his wonder-working. More to it, though God typically lets the universe run according to its natural rhythms and patterns, what is to prevent God from shaping it and influencing it occasionally in remarkable ways in order to signal his purpose and his presence?
