Natural & Supernatural: A Lecture by Lawrence Principe

As part of Science & Religion lecture series at Hampshire College, Lawrence Principe gave a lecture on Natural & Supernatural: Miracles and the order of nature on April 12, 2007. Lawrence Principe is Professor of the History of Science, Medicine & Technology and Professor of Chemistry at Johns Hopkins University. He has also done two fantastic lecture courses for the Teaching Company titled Science & Religion and History of Science: Antiquity to 1700. [If you have a commute that takes more than 20 minutes, then you should definitely try a Teaching Company course on almost anything - as their quality is consistently very high. No, I'm not paid by the company - but I am an addict of their courses (p.s. Only buy courses on sale - otherwise they are too expensive)]

Here is the abstract for his talk and below you will find the full video of his lecture:

Natural & Supernatural: Miracles and the order of nature
In the popular press and daily conversation we often hear events casually described as miracles. This abusive use of the term, however, leads us to forget that the word has a precise and highly-restricted theological meaning that was developed over centuries of scholarly investigation, particularly in the Latin Middle Ages. This lecture illustrates how precise discussions of miracles opened up crucial questions about the way the world works and the way in which human beings are able to study and understand it using the method we now call science. Indeed, several current science/religion issues are illuminated or resolved by a careful consideration of the miracles.