The Stigmata, Rainbow Bodies, and Hume’s Argument Against Miracles

Abstract

The testimony that Jesus rose from the dead or that St. Francis miraculously received stigmata is supposed to vindicate Christianity over other religious traditions. Similarly, the rainbow bodies of important spiritual exemplars in Tibetan Buddhism can be taken to justify the Buddhist tradition over its counterparts. What should we believe when the evidence suggests that the competing miracle claims contained in two different religious contexts both happened? One of David Hume's arguments against miracles is that the competing testimonies contained in diverse religious traditions cancel each other out. In this paper, I argue against Hume. Specifically, I argue that there is logical space for thinking that Buddhist and Christian miracle claims are not competing but are to be understood consistently together.