Luisa asked:

I know what miracles are but wondering how they play a role in justifying religious belief?

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All religions require to show signs of a mystic content. A religion by its very nature must show that it is
in contact with a spiritual world, from which the very power of creation derives. Having been more in
contact with the Christian religion than any other, I am better placed to discuss miracles from the
point of view of Christianity.

Miracles are a manifestation of spiritual power, those able to perform them reveal links with such a
power. Jesus, portrayed by Christianity as the Son of God, had to be shown to have powers far
beyond those of ordinary human beings; miracles are a way of making manifest such powers. The
very entrance into the world by Jesus had to be seen as a miracle in itself, an ordinary birth entailing
a normal father and mother would not have made any impact. Jesus' entry into the world was not only
a miracle but also a drama.

Some miracles are more convincing and give better witness to spiritual powers than others. Changing
water to wine and feeding the five thousand might still leave some doubt in the back of the mind that
there is a possibility of some sort of conjuring trick; however, bringing the dead back to life, and
healing the sick and infirm by touch or word, are the sorts of miracles that leave little doubt in
anyone's mind that some supernatural power is at work.

The question is often asked, "Why did Jesus not step down from the cross to demonstrate the
miraculous powers he was gifted with?" The simple answer is that the more powerful miracle is to rise
from the dead, Jesus had to die to be resurrected, otherwise the purpose was defeated. Power over
death is a necessary revelation in any religion.

The christian gospels reveal to us that the power to perform miracles can be gifted to anyone who
dedicates their life fully to God, and prove to have undying faith. Hence we read in the gospels of the
ability of Paul, Peter and other apostles who were capable of performing miracles. To prove that
miracles do not just belong to the past events of the gospels, we find a continual history of miraculous
phenomena alleged to be linked to certain pious persons and to the appearance of apparitions. Those
thought to be responsible for miracles or unexplained phenomena are given the title of Saints by the
Church.

To complete the answer to your question, miracles are fundamental to religious belief, they point to
the existence of a super-power, or in the case of the Christian religion to the presence of God in our
midst.

John Brandon