Is it necessary to accept that Jesus performed "miracles" to be Christian?

[patrick]

I think my question needs a bit of explanation, especially as I've put 'miracles' in quotes. I am aware, through a bit of browsing here, that many will disagree on what does or doesn't constitute a miracle. I'd rather not get too much into that unless one feels it's absolutely necessary. My view at moment is that the spiritual realm has very little *direct* bearing on physical reality (be it by God's design or not), so believing that there were miracles that appear to directly intervene on the physical is very difficult for me, and I have suspended judgment about whether they physically occurred or not.

On the other hand, while Jesus's resurrection does strike me as a miracle in most senses of the word, it does not seem to defy reality like the more flashy miracles. The spiritual realm is very mysterious, and so too is the connection between body and spirit. So this part of the Bible does not seem all that disbelievable to me, nor would it even bother me that this is the miracle of miracles that God has done for us.

I realize that it might be easier to simply ask what *is* necessary to believe in order to be Christian, but I am also still largely unaware of what the differences among denominations are, so this might help illuminate some of that as well.

[abelcainsbrother]

Faith is what pleases God if you can't believe God can do miracles then something is wrong,we cannot pick and choose which parts of the bible we accept and which parts we reject we must accept all of it and what God can do.It is easy to believe God can do miracles and so I don't understand why it is so hard.Thanks for your question but yes you must believe Jesus who was God in human flesh did miracles and rose from the dead.Compare the idea that this vast universe just popped into its existence and formed itself all on its own without anything to cause it,to God who is all powerful and eternal created this vast universe and everything in it.

[Philip]

One becomes a Christian through faith in the REAL (see the HISTORICAL) Jesus recorded in Scripture. PERIOD! But what does THAT mean? It means that the Jesus revealed in Scripture is the one you have put your faith in. If you believe in a non-Biblical described Jesus, then you do not have faith in the REAL Jesus! If one says that the Jesus they have faith in was Lucifer's brother - hate to tell ya, but that is not a faith in the Nazarene! Now, technically, you must believe Jesus is from/of/IS God, that He came here to earth in the flesh, suffered, was crucified, and rose from the dead - and you have faith that these are true, AND that He CAN and WILL save you - and you desire Him to/invite Him in. Those are the essentials. Now, could you doubt Jesus turned water into wine but yet nonetheless believe in His power over death, that He came back to life after dying a horrible death on a Roman cross? How about a far better question: Why would you doubt the One you believe to be God, Who has the ability to triumph over death, Who the Bible tells us is the Creator of the world - why would you doubt miracles attributed to Him? As, of course, the ONLY reason we know about Jesus and our need to have faith in His ability and desire to save us is because the SOURCE of that knowledge is THE BIBLE. Start doubting this detail and that (see, this recorded miracle and whatever others) of Scripture, then why believe ANY of it? What we know about Jesus and ALL of the described miracles come from the very same collective source (Scripture!). It never ceases to amaze me that people will acknowledge that God came, died, was Resurrected, that He created an entire UNIVERSE by speaking it into existence, but then they say, "Yeah, but I'm not so sure about Jesus filling those wine jugs in Cana!"

[EssentialSacrifice]

plouiswork:
Jesus's resurrection does strike me as a miracle in most senses of the word,

where does it miss ? what is "a miracle" in most senses of the word ? ... example?

[PaulSacramento]

It is necessary to understand what and who Jesus was and what He did and why and part of that is understanding the miracles He performed and why he did them.

[patrick]

plouiswork:
Jesus's resurrection does strike me as a miracle in most senses of the word,

where does it miss ? what is "a miracle" in most senses of the word ? ... example?

It has to do with the relationship between the physical and the spiritual, where a miracle intervenes on physical reality. Although having thought about it more the fact that Jesus would have required the blood he lost on the cross to become reanimated, even the resurrection I guess is a bit beyond belief.

[abelcainsbrother]

One Headline.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VML0viqY17k

[theophilus]

The gospel message is that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and in three days rose from the dead. You cannot become a Christian without believing in one miracle, resurrection of Jesus. If Jesus could perform this miracle then it is clear he has the power to perform lesser miracles.

The miracle of the resurrection is the only one a person must believe to become a Christian but being a Christian will lead to belief in the other miracles. If someone who professes to be a Christian denies or doubts the other miracles this might be an indication that he isn't really saved.