On Miracles
Just as knowledge surpassing the understanding of the masses is called divine knowledge, so works whose causes are generally unknown are referred to as divine works. The masses believe that God's power and providence are most clearly demonstrated when they witness extraordinary phenomena in nature. They think that nothing proves God's existence more conclusively than the deviation of nature from its usual order. Thus, they assume that those who explain miracles through natural causes deny God and His providence. They hold that as long as nature operates according to its usual order, God does not act, and when God acts, the power of nature ceases. Accordingly, they imagine two distinct powers: God's power and the power of natural things, which, of course, God created. The masses, therefore, call unusual occurrences in nature miracles, or works of God, in opposition to those who study the natural sciences. They can only worship God and attribute everything to His will if they disregard natural laws and admire God's power most when they imagine it overcoming the power of nature. This notion originates from the ancient Jews, who recounted their miracles to persuade the pagans of their time.
After examining the common prejudices of the people regarding nature, let us consider the truth:
Nothing happens contrary to nature; nature always follows its eternal and immutable order.
We cannot know God's essence or existence through miracles; rather, we comprehend this much better through the immutable order of nature.
The Scripture understands God's providence as nothing other than the order of nature itself.
The interpretation of miracles in Scripture.
Everything necessarily exists solely by God's decree, and the universal laws of nature are nothing but God's decrees. If something occurred in nature that contradicted its universal laws, it would also contradict God's will. Nature, therefore, always follows those laws, which encompass eternal necessity and truth, even if we do not know all of them. Nothing happens in nature that does not follow from its laws; nature operates with a stable order. Thus, the term "miracle" can only be understood in relation to human perception, meaning a work is considered miraculous when we do not know its natural cause.
If something happened in nature that contradicted our concepts of God, we would need to doubt those concepts and thus doubt God as well. Miracles that go against the order of nature raise doubts about God's existence rather than supporting it. A miracle—something inexplicable by natural causes—either has natural causes beyond human comprehension or is attributed to God as the cause. However, since everything that occurs through natural causes also happens solely by God's will, a miracle is simply a work whose causation cannot be explained because it surpasses human understanding. From miracles that surpass our comprehension, we cannot understand God's essence or existence. We come to know God and His will by understanding natural things as thoroughly as possible. We also cannot infer God's existence from miracles because miracles are finite works, and from such an effect, one cannot infer an infinite power.
God's decree or command is nothing other than the operation and order of nature itself. When Scripture states that something happened by God's will, it occurred according to the order of nature, and nature's operation did not cease during it. Everything happens naturally. Scripture does not aim to explain things through natural causes but instead narrates events that deeply capture the imagination, doing so in a style more suited to evoke wonder. Miracles do not necessarily imply God's absolute command; miracles have secondary circumstances and natural causes.
It is rare for people to recount events exactly as they happened; they usually mix in their judgments. Scripture recounts many things as fact that were believed to be true but were mere imaginations or imagined phenomena. These accounts were shaped to fit the understanding of those who transmitted them to us. To interpret them, we must also understand the figures of speech and expressions of the Hebrews. The Hebrews sought not only to speak eloquently but also to express their religious humility. This is why Scripture often seems to recount only miracles, even when speaking of the most natural things. God has arranged everything suitably in its time, and what He does endures forever. Nature, therefore, follows a firm and immutable order, with laws so perfect that nothing can be added to or taken from them. Miracles appear as something novel only due to human ignorance.
Spinoza "Teológiai-politikai tanulmány", Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest, 1984