David Hume (1711 - 1776) penned what has arguably become one of the most widely quoted works against the possibility of miracles. Hume's essay, "Of Miracles," appears in his larger work, An Inquiry Concerning Human Understanding. In this short essay, Hume tries to argue in such a way that virtually no evidence for a miracle would be sufficient to establish a claim that a miracle has taken place. 

On the next two editions of Apologetics Profile we speak with Christian philosopher Dr. Timothy McGrew about Hume's life and times and some of the weaknesses of Hume's arguments. Tim gives us helpful insights into the nature of Hume's thesis and helps us understand some of the more often cited quotations used by non-believers today who argue against the possibility of miracles. On part one we talk a little about Hume's life and times and get into part one of Hume's essay. 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: 

BONUS: Tim was also interviewed for one of our meetings of the Atheist & Christian Book Club (www.AtheistChristianBookClub.com) to respond to Bart Ehrman's book, Jesus Interrupted. You can watch that interview here:

Dr. Timothy McGrew is Professor and Chairman of the Department of Philosophy at Western Michigan University. He specializes in theory of knowledge, logic, probability theory, and the history and philosophy of science. He has published in numerous journals including Mind, The Monist, Analysis, Erkenntnis, British Journal for the Philosophy of Science, and Philosophia Christi. His recent publications include the article on “Evidence” in The Routledge Companion to Epistemology, coauthorship of The Philosophy of Science: An Historical Anthology, coauthorship (with Lydia McGrew) of the article on “The Argument from Miracles” in The Blackwell Companion to Natural Theology, and the article on “Miracles” for The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.

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