一個基督徒看奇蹟

Miracle from a Christian Perspective

奇蹟是一個宗教現象，但是它也構成一些宗教難題，這件事在臺灣是最清楚不過的。在現象學上，要分辨真假奇蹟的確是不容易的：神聖既不可證，奇蹟也就相對地吊詭了。在西方歷史中，由於啟蒙運動的影響，奇蹟受到很大的挑戰，自由主義期待一個沒有奇蹟的宗教。但是從宗教學來說，奇蹟卻是神聖進入歷史的結果，相信神聖而拒絕奇蹟，在宗教學上仍是難以自圓其說。本文試圖從基督徒的立場看奇蹟。全文分三部分。首先，我必須為奇蹟立個界說，好作為全文的出發點和立足點。然後，我要討論耶穌的奇蹟，這是自十九世紀以來，尤其是在理性主義的影響下，基督宗教內部討論奇蹟最常論到的話題：耶穌到底有沒有顯過奇蹟？或者，耶穌的奇蹟是否如同福音的故事那樣？最後，我要進到當代的奇蹟現象，還要對這現象作點鑒識。

Miracle is a religious phenomenon, yet it also creates some religious problems. It is not easy to discern from a phenomenological perspective whether a miracle is real or not. To the extent that the Holy is beyond any scientific verification, miracles are paradoxical. In the western history, miracles have suffered serious challenge since the Enlightenment. Liberal thinkers normally reject miracles. For them, a religion is acceptable to the extent that it can do without miracle. But if we admit, from a religious point of view, the possibility that the Holy enters history, we must also admit that there is room for miracle-events. This article tries to discuss the problem of miracles from a Christian point of view. It is divided into three parts. It first attempts a definition of miracle, a kind of working hypothesis that may serve as a starting point for the following discussion. It then discusses the problem of the miracles of Jesus, which problem is most hotly debated within modern Christian scholarship: Did Jesus work miracles? Or were his miracles done just as they are reported in the gospels? Lastly, the article will have a look at the miracle phenomena in the contemporary world and will add some appreciation on them.