In my initial post on the word “miracle”, I analyzed eight different definitions of the word “miracle” into seven different elements:

• IMPACT 
• GENUS 
• SPECIES 
• AGENT/CAUSE 
• EXCEPTION 
• BASELINE 
• PURPOSE 

In Part 1 of this series of posts, I argued that the element of IMPACT should be eliminated from definitions of “miracle”. I also suggested that the requirements in the GENUS and SPECIES elements of the definition by Habermas were the best, and that the requirement in the SPECIES element of the definition by Evans was also very good and should be a requirement added to the requirement in the SPECIES element of the definition by Habermas.

In Part 2, I argued that the AGENT/CAUSE element should be very broad in terms of a definition that captures the ordinary meaning of the word “miracle” (i.e. the very broad requirement in the definition by Habermas), but that in the context of miracles being put forward as evidence for a Christian belief, we should stipulate a much narrower requirement, namely the requirement that God caused the event.

In Part 3, I argued that the BASELINE and EXCEPTION elements should be eliminated from definitions of “miracle” in order to avoid importing controversial or questionable philosophical theories into the definition of this key word. The main alternative philosophical theories being from Aquinas and Hume: miracles involve an exception to the natural order (Aquinas) or miracles involve an exception to the laws of nature (Hume). These alternative theories can still be maintained and used in philosophical discussions about miracles as evidence for Christian beliefs, independently of how the word “miracle” is defined.

In Part 4, I argued that the PURPOSE element should be eliminated from definitions of “miracle” because the PURPOSE requirement is either too broad (and thus redundant) or is too narrow (and thus contradicts the basic requirement that the cause of miracles is God).

In Part 5, I combined the best requirements for the three remaining acceptable elements (namely: GENUS, SPECIES, and AGENT/CAUSE) together to form a hybrid definition based on my analysis and evaluation of eight definitions of the word “miracle”. Then I made a few minor revisions to that hybrid definition to form what I consider to be a good and solid definition of the word “miracle” for use in the context where miracles are being discussed as evidence for a Christian belief:

X is a miracle IF AND ONLY IF:

(a) X is an event in the physical universe, and

(b) X may be detected by means of observations made by use of ordinary human senses, and

(c) X was intentionally brought about by God.