Re the HOW vs. WHAT/WHY/WHEN distinction:I reject this series of premises. Agree with supernatural being beyond natural laws. However, a supernatural cause is not beyond understanding and evidence, at least on some level.
One of the flaws of modern thinking is just because we can explain something makes it less of a miracle. We may not know HOW of the supernatural but we certainly know and can know the WHAT and the WHY and the WHEN.
You said:
"We may not know HOW of the supernatural but we certainly know and can know the WHAT and the WHY and the WHEN."
WHAT - We can know that something happened (e.g., a healing, a multiplication of food, a resurrection).
WHEN - We can know when it happened.
WHY - We can know the purpose or meaning of the event.
HOW -The mechanism by which it happened.
The CCA does not deny that we can know the WHAT, WHEN, and WHY of an event. It questions whether we can have a coherent causal explanation (HOW) without a physical mechanism. Without that, supernaturalists claims are gaps not explanations.
Re understanding:
You said:
If we know the WHAT, WHEN, and WHY of an event, do we "understand" it (the "How")?"A supernatural cause is not beyond understanding and evidence, at least on some level."
The CCA would say: Partially, yes. But not fully.
We might understand the significance of the event.
We might understand the purpose of the event.
We might understand the context of the event.
But if we do not understand the mechanism (HOW), we do not have a complete causal explanation. And without a coherent causal account, we have an explanatory gap.
The CCA seeks to bridge that gap by offering a coherent account of HOW the Source operates.
Re "explaining does not diminish":
You said:
I agree with this completely."One of the flaws of modern thinking is just because we can explain something makes it less of a miracle."
Explanation does not diminish miracle. It deepens our understanding of it.
- Understanding the physics of light does not diminish the beauty of a sunset.
- Understanding the biology of healing does not diminish the wonder of recovery.
- Understanding the Source's coherence does not diminish the awe of creation.
The only exemption from that rule would be atheism. That which can acknowledge the machinery and not the MIND involved with the mechanics. Atheism would be the "flaw of modern thinking" and knowing how something is done only takes away the entertainment value - like knowing how a magician does his illusions.
Or as Nicodemus reportedly said to Jesus "we know that you are a teacher who has come from God, for no one could perform these signs you are doing if God were not with him" - the signs are "performance" because it is not understood how these were done and since we do not understand, then such MUST be from GOD, because we also do not understand how GOD does these things because "GOD is supernatural".
If one follows the supernaturalist logic to its conclusion, God becomes a performer - a magician whose power is measured by the audience's inability to explain what just happened. The miracles are not signs pointing to truth; they are spectacles designed to dazzle, rather than to transform the witnesses own understanding.
A question for you, Wrangler:
You have said that a supernatural cause is not beyond understanding and evidence.
What evidence do you have for a supernatural cause?
Is it historical evidence (texts, testimonies)?
Is it experiential evidence (personal experience)?
Is it philosophical evidence (logical arguments)?
If you have evidence for a supernatural cause, how do you distinguish it from a natural cause?
What is the test?
What makes one explanation "supernatural" and another "natural"?
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The CCA does not deny that we can know the WHAT, WHEN, and WHY of miraculous events. It questions whether we can have a coherent causal account (HOW) without a physical mechanism.
If you can provide a coherent account of HOW a supernatural cause produces physical effects - without resorting to mystery or lawlessness I would be genuinely interested to hear it.
If you cannot, then the CCA's account (a physical Source with mastery over physical reality) remains the most coherent explanation available.
In Love,
Eternal Entity