Divine intervention
Divine intervention is an event that occurs when a deity (i.e. God or a god) becomes actively involved in changing some situation in human affairs. In contrast to other kinds of divine action, the expression "divine intervention" implies that there is some kind of identifiable situation or state of affairs that a god chooses to get involved with, to intervene in, in order to change, end, or preserve the situation.[1]
For other uses, see Divine Intervention (disambiguation).Types of divine intervention[edit]
Various cultures have imagined many different kinds of divine action, including miracles, theophany, divine revelation, divine providence, and divine retribution. The expression act of God is typically used to describe an event outside human control, for which no person can be held responsible.
Philosophical issues with divine intervention[edit]
The notion of divine intervention assumes that God or gods exist, that they take an active interest in human affairs, and that they choose to intervene in human affairs (for reasons that may or may not be clear). These assumptions lead to a number of philosophical issues surrounding the idea of divine intervention.
William P. Alston has written that "Talk of divine 'intervention' stems from a deist picture of God as 'outside' His creation, making quick forays or incursions from time to time and then retreating to His distant observation post."[4] Alston, however, overlooks the fact that deists typically reject the notion of miracles and divine intervention. He also overlooks the fact that tales of divine intervention occur most frequently in religions that view the gods as very human-like interested observers of— and active participants in— human affairs.
Even if one assumes the existence of God or gods, there is still a problem of providing plausible reasons for attributing a specific event to divine intervention, as opposed to attributing it to natural causes or simply random chance.
Another serious problem is establishing the credibility of reports of divine intervention. Often reports of divine intervention include reports of events that violate natural law. David Hume argued in this famous essay Of Miracles that one can never be justified in accepting such reports.
Related problems include the problem of the existence of God, the nature of laws of nature, the problem of evil and the question of why God allows (or causes) natural disasters and tragedies to happen,[5][6][7] and questions surrounding the notion of fate or destiny.[8] The notion of special intervention by God becomes problematic, for instance, if one also believes that God controls everything that happens, and that nothing happens that God does not will to happen.[9] As R. C. Sproul says: "In a universe governed by God, there are no chance events."[10] In such a universe, everything that happens is, in a sense, a result of divine intervention.