Divine intervention

Divine intervention is an event that occurs when a deity (i.e. God or a god) becomes actively involved in changing some situation in human affairs. In contrast to other kinds of divine action, the expression "divine intervention" implies that there some kind of identifiable situation or state of affairs that a god chooses to get involved with, to intervene in, in order to change, end, or preserve the situation.[1]

For other uses, see Divine Intervention (disambiguation).

Accounts of divine intervention

Stories of divine intervention typically include a background story that lays out what "the situation" is and why the god in the story chooses to intervene. Often the god steps in to help or protect someone or something favored by the god.

A prototypical story of divine intervention can be found in Hindu mythology, in the story of Narasimha. In the story, the demon king Hiraṇyakaśipu has extracted a guarantee from Brahma that he can be killed neither by man nor animal, neither indoors nor outdoors, neither during the day nor during the night. Feeling invulnerable, Hiraṇyakaśipu begins to persecute devotees of Vishnu, whom he hates. A Vaishnavite boy named Prahlāda prays to Vishnu for help. Vishnu hears his prayer and manifests himself as Narasimha (half-man, half-lion) and rips Hiraṇyakaśipu apart in a doorway (neither indoors nor outdoors) at dusk (neither during the day nor during the night).

In ancient Greece, divine intervention was frequently sought from the gods of the pantheon of Greek mythology, which contained accounts of such intervention. In The Iliad, substantial attention is given to the involvement of Zeus and Poseidon involving themselves on the side of either the Greeks or the Trojans in the Trojan War— engaging in miraculous acts, changing the weather, or bolstering the strength of combatants to aid their preferred side.[2]

One of the most famous stories of divine intervention occurs in the Old Testament when Yahweh parts the Red Sea to allow his chosen people (Moses and the Israelites) to escape the pursuing army of the Pharoah. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and turned the sea into dry land; and the waters were divided. The Israelites went into the sea on dry ground, the waters forming a wall for them on their right and on their left.[3]

Philosophical issues with divine intervention

Various cultures have imagined many different kinds of divine action, including miracles, divine revelation, divine providence, and divine retribution. There are well-known theological and philosophical issues surrounding those other kinds of divine action. The same kinds of issues also exist for divine intervention, which can be seen more broadly as a type of miracle.

William P. Alston has written that "Talk of divine 'intervention' stems from a deist picture of God as 'outside' His creation, making quick forays or incursions from time to time and then retreating to His distant observation post".[4] This, however, overlooks the fact that tales of divine intervention occur most frequently in religions (e.g. Hindu and Greek mythology) that view the gods as very human-like interested observers of— and active participants in— human affairs.

See also

References
  1. According to the Cambridge Dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/intervene) the definition of "to intervene" is "to become involved intentionally in a difficult situation in order to change it or improve it, or prevent it from getting worse."
  2. Mary R. Lefkowitz, Greek Gods, Human Lives: What We Can Learn from Myths (2003), p. 68.
  3. NRSV, Exodus 14.21
  4. William P. Alston, "Divine Action: Shadow or Substance?" In Thomas F. Tracy, ed., The God Who Acts: Philosophical and Theological Explorations (1994), p. 41-62.
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