Aficionados of Star Trek know that the engineer Scotty enjoys a reputation as a miracle-worker, but when the Enterprise is facing near-certain destruction, he tells Captain Kirk, “I can’t change the laws of physics!” If miracles involve breaking the laws of physics, as is mistakenly believed, Scotty’s miracle-working is figurative at best. And if everything in the universe follows mindless, mechanical laws, any kind of special divine action seems impossible. Such a prejudice has a withering effect on Christian life. Towards the end of the second millennium, for example, many came to view Scripture as if reports of divine grace, inspiration, miracles, and providence needed to be explained away, leaving nothing but the dry bones of historical-critical analyses devoid of supernatural considerations.