Skepticism And Belief Essay

821 Words4 Pages

Can you believe scientific facts, but still hope for miracles? The complexity of skepticism and belief is simply due to the hardship of changing mentality. Once one alleged miracle occurs, it evokes hope that it may happen again. Through my tribulations in life, I have found myself fighting my side of skepticism and my other side believing in miracles. When things go right, I claim a miracle. When things go left, I am forced to rely on scientific reasoning and go against my beliefs. Once I get to this point of disappointment, however, I begin to question my beliefs and ponder on the idea that miracles don’t truly exist. This battle I continuously face became active when I was faced upon two family members both battling cancer.
My family prayed …show more content…

My uncle was diagnosed with cancer shortly after my grandmother. Unfortunately, the outcome wasn’t the same. When I was informed, I immediately questioned why. Why wasn’t the outcome the same? We prayed for the miracle just as we did for my grandmother, but it didn’t happen. Even though scientific research proves that around 1,630 people die of cancer daily, I firmly believed that my uncle wouldn’t be included in that statistic. According to the excerpt “Miracles and Explanations” by Raymo Chet, he claims that miracles are a “one-time thing”. This would explain why my uncle didn’t have a miraculous outcome, however, it does bring up the question on what determines when a miracle will …show more content…

However, the skepticism that was brought upon me was highly complex. If I denied that miracles occur, I would also be doubting my own religion and going against the words of God. If I was to believe in my own faith and that miracles exist, however, the question would still remain regarding why another miracle wasn’t presented to my uncle, making me hesitant to value any scientific research. Referring again to Raymo Chet in the piece “Miracles and Explanations”, he claims, “As I searched among the miracles of my faith, I found none that was not contaminated with the likelihood of flawed testimony, fraud, or wishful thinking. Always there was the possibility of a natural explanation”. The quote that I retrieved from the excerpt directly relates to my state of confusion to whether I should believe in miraculous events or a natural explanation. The continous battle that has to be faced between skepticism and belief is one that will not be won by either side. It will remain a controversy throughout all aspects in my