Editing Miracles

A '''miracle''' is a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature, such that can be explained by divine intervention, and is sometimes associated with a miracle-worker. Miracles are a shift in time. Miracles eliminate the need for time. Miracles can accomplish in an instant what might have other wise taken millions of years.

 Many [[folktales]], [[religion|religious]] texts, and people claim various events they refer to as "miraculous". People in different cultures have substantially different definitions of the word "miracle." Even within a specific religion there is often more than one of the term. Sometimes the term "miracle" may refer to the action of a [[supernatural]] being that is not a god. Thus, the term "divine intervention," by contrast, would refer specifically to the direct involvement of a deity.
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In casual usage, "miracle" may also refer to any [[probability|statistically unlikely]] but [[good and evil|beneficial]] [[Phenomenon|event]], (such as the survival of a [[natural disaster]]) or even which regarded as "wonderful" regardless of its likelihood, such as [[birth]]. Other miracles might be: survival of a terminal illness, escaping a life threatening situation or 'beating the odds.'

== Miracles as supernatural acts ==
In this view, a miracle is a violation of normal [[physical law|laws of nature]] by some supernatural entity or unknown, outside force. Some scientist-theologians like [[John Polkinghorne|Polkinghorne]] suggest that miracles are not violations of the laws of nature but "exploration of a new regime of physical experience."<ref>[[John Polkinghorne]] ''Faith, Science and Understanding'' p59</ref>

The logic behind an event being deemed a miracle varies significantly. Often a religious text, such as the [[Bible]] or [[Quran]], states that a miracle occurred, and believers accept this as a fact.  However, [[C.S. Lewis]] noted that one cannot believe a miracle occurred if one had already drawn a conclusion in one's mind that miracles are not possible at all.  He cites the example of a woman he knew who had seen a ghost, who had discounted her experience; claiming it to be some sort of hallucination (because she did not believe in ghosts).

Many conservative religious believers hold that in the absence of a plausible, parsimonious scientific theory, the best explanation for these events is that they were performed by a supernatural being, and cite this as evidence for the existence of a god or gods. However, Richard Dawkins criticises this kind of thinking as a subversion of [[Occam's Razor]].<ref>''[[The God Delusion]]''</ref> Some adherents of [[monotheistic religion]]s assert that miracles, if established, are [[evidence]] for the existence of an [[Omnipotence|omnipotent]], [[Omniscience|omniscient]], and benevolent God.

==Miracles in religious texts==
===In the Hebrew Bible===
Descriptions of miracles (Hebrew '''''Ness''''', '''נס''') appear in the [[Tanakh]].

=== In the New Testament ===
:''See also [[Miracles attributed to Jesus]].''
The descriptions of most miracles in the Christian [[New Testament]] are often the same as the commonplace definition of the word: God intervenes in the laws of nature. In [[John the Evangelist|St John]]'s [[Gospel of John|Gospel]] the miracles are referred to as "signs" and the emphasis is on God demonstrating his underlying normal activity in remarkable ways.<ref> see e.g. [[John Polkinghorne|Polkinghorne]] op cit. and any pretty well any commentary on the Gospel of John, such as [[William Temple (archbishop)|William Temple]] ''Readings in St John's Gospel'' (see e.g. p 33) or [[Tom Wright (theologian)|Tom Wright]]'s ''John for Everyone''</ref>

[[Jesus]] is recorded as having turned [[Wedding at Cana|water into wine]]; feeding a multitude by turning a loaf of bread into many loaves of bread; and [[Lazarus|raising the dead]]. Jesus is also described as [[Resurrection of Jesus|rising from the dead]] himself, God his father having raised him. Jesus explains in the [[New Testament]] that miracles are performed by [[faith]] in God.  "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “move from here to there” and it will move." ([[Gospel of Matthew]] 17:20). After Jesus returned to heaven, the book of Acts records the disciples of Jesus praying to God to grant that miracles be done in his name, for the purpose of convincing onlookers that he is alive. ([[Acts of the Apostles|Acts]] 4:29-31). Other passages mention [[False prophets]] who will be able to perform miracles to deceive "even the elect of Christ" (Matthew 24:24, 2 Thes 2:9, Revelation 13:13)

===In the Qur'an ===
[[File:Miraj by Sultan Muhammad.jpg|thumb|left|225px|A 16th century [[Persian miniature painting]] celebrating Muhammad's ascent into the Heavens, a journey known as the [[Isra and Mi'raj|Miraj]]. Muhammad's face is veiled, a common practice in [[Islamic art]].]]
{{main|Islamic view of miracles}}
Miracle in the [[Qur'an]] can be defined as a supernatural intervention in the life of human beings.<ref name="EoQ"> Denis Gril, ''Miracles'', [[Encyclopedia of the Qur'an]] </ref> According to this definition, Miracles are present "in a threefold sense: in sacred [[history]], in connection with [[Muhammad]] himself and in relation to revelation."<ref name="EoQ"/> The Qur'an does not use the technical [[Arabic]] word for miracle (''Muʿd̲j̲iza'') literally meaning "that by means of which [the Prophet] confounds, overwhelms, his opponents". It rather uses the term 'Ayah'(literally meaning sign).<ref name="EoI"> A.J. Wensinck, ''Muʿd̲j̲iza'', [[Encyclopaedia of Islam|Encyclopedia of Islam]] </ref> The term ''Ayah'' is used in the Qur'an in the above mentioned threefold sense: it refers to the "verses" of the Qur'an (believed to be the divine speech in [[Natural language|human language]]; presented by [[Muhammad]] as his chief Miracle); as well as to miracles of it and the signs(particularly those of creation).<ref name="EoQ"/><ref name="EoI"/>

In order to defend the possibility of miracles and God's omnipotence against the encroachment of the independent secondary causes, some medieval Muslim theologians such as [[Al-Ghazali]] rejected the idea of [[Causality|cause and effect]] in essence, but accepted it as something that facilitates humankind's investigation and comprehension of natural processes. They argued that the nature was composed of uniform atoms that were "re-created" at every instant by God. Thus if the soil was to fall, God would have to create and re-create the accident of heaviness for as long as the soil was to fall. For Muslim theologians, the laws of nature were only the customary sequence of apparent causes: customs of God.<ref>Robert G. Mourison, The Portrayal of Nature in a Medieval Qur’an Commentary, Studia Islamica, 2002</ref>

== Miracles as events planned by God ==
In rabbinic [[Judaism]], many [[rabbi]]s mentioned in the [[Talmud]] held that the laws of nature were inviolable. The idea of miracles that contravened the laws of nature were hard to accept; however, at the same time they affirmed the truth of the accounts in the [[Tanakh]]. Therefore some explained that miracles were in fact natural events that had been set up by God at the beginning of time.

In this view, when the walls of [[Jericho]] fell, it was not because God directly brought them down. Rather, God planned that there would be an [[earthquake]] (or some such other natural disaster) at that place and time, so that the city would fall to the Israelites. Instances where rabbinic writings say that God made miracles a part of [[creation myth|creation]] include [[Midrash]] ''Genesis Rabbah'' 5:45; Midrash ''Exodus Rabbah'' 21:6; and [[Talmud|Ethics of the Fathers/Pirkei Avot 5:6.]]

== Philosophers' explanations of miracles ==
Fundamentally, no philosopher sticking to the scientific world view could explain the existence or not of miracles, since miracles are incompatible with it by definition. What philosophers discuss is the fact that they could be taken or not as a justification to the existence of supernatural forms of expression different from those given to reason and experience, or in minor intellectual approaches, to what is considered to be fair and unfair from a '''human God's''' perspective to be given to the common human claims for palliation of suffering.

=== Aristotelian and Neo-Aristotelian views of miracles ===
[[Aristotle]] rejected the idea that God could or would intervene in the order of the natural world. [[Jew]]ish neo-[[Aristotelian]] [[philosophy|philosophers]], who are still influential today, include [[Maimonides]], [[Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon]], and [[Gersonides]]. Directly or indirectly, their views are still prevalent in much of the religious Jewish community. <!-- Christian and Muslim neo-Aristotelian philosophers should also be discussed in this section; also please note if their works are still studied and accepted today, and if so, by whom. -->

=== Baruch Spinoza's view of miracles ===
In his [[Theologico-Political Treatise]] Spinoza claims that miracles are merely lawlike events whose causes we are ignorant of. We should not treat them as having no cause or of having a cause immediately available. Rather the miracle is for combating the ignorance it entails, like a political project. See [[Epistemic theory of miracles]].

=== David Hume's views of miracles ===
According to the philosopher [[David Hume]], a miracle is "a transgression of a law of nature by a particular volition of the Deity, or by the interposition of some invisible agent.".<ref>[http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/miracles/ Miracles] on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy</ref> See [[Of Miracles]].

=== Søren Kierkegaard's views of miracles ===
The philosopher [[Søren Kierkegaard]], following Hume and [[Johann Georg Hamann]], a Humean scholar, agrees with Hume's definition of a miracle as a transgression of a law of nature,<ref>[links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0022-4189(195110)31%3A4%3C274%3AHAK%3E2.0.CO%3B2-2 Hume and Kierkegaard] by Richard Popkin</ref> but Kierkegaard, writing as his pseudonym ''Johannes Climacus'', regulates any historical reports to be less than certain, including historical reports of such miracle transgressions, as all historical knowledge is always doubtful and open to approximation.<ref>[http://www.stolaf.edu/collections/kierkegaard/newsletter/issue43/43003.htm Kierkegaard on Miracles]</ref>

=== James Keller's views of miracles ===

[[James Keller]], along with many other philosophers, states that "The claim that God has worked a miracle implies that God has singled out certain persons for some benefit which many others do not receive implies that God is unfair.” <ref> Keller, James. “A Moral Argument against Miracles,” Faith and Philosophy. vol. 12, no 1. Jan 1995. 54-78 </ref> An example would be "If God intervenes to save your life in a car crash, then what was He doing in Auschwitz?". Thus an all-powerful, all-knowing and just God, predicated in Christianity, would not perform miracles.

== Nonliteral interpretations of the text==
These views are held by both classical and modern thinkers.

In [[Book of Numbers|Numbers]] 22 is the story of [[Balaam]] and the talking [[donkey]]. Many hold that for miracles such as this, one must either assert the literal truth of this [[Old Testament|biblical story]], or one must then reject the story as false. However, some Jewish commentators (e.g. [[Saadiah Gaon]] and [[Maimonides]]) hold that stories such as these were never meant to be taken literally in the first place. Rather, these stories should be understood as accounts of a [[prophet]]ic experience, which are [[dream]]s or [[vision (religion)|visions]]. (Of course, such dreams and visions could themselves be considered miracles.)

[[Joseph H. Hertz]], a 20th century [[Meforshim|Jewish biblical commentator]], writes that these verses "depict the continuance on the subconscious plane of the mental and moral conflict in Balaam's soul; and the dream apparition and the speaking donkey is but a further warning to Balaam against being misled through avarice to violate God's command."

== As products of creative art and social acceptance ==
In this view, miracles do not really occur. Rather, they are the product of creative story tellers. They use them to embellish a hero or incident with a theological flavor. Using miracles in a story allows characters and situations to become bigger than life, and to stir the emotions of the listener more than the mundane and ordinary.

== As misunderstood commonplace events ==
[[Littlewood's law]] states that individuals can expect miracles to happen to them, at the rate of about one per month. By its definition, seemingly miraculous events are actually commonplace. In other words, miracles do not exist, but are rather examples of low probability events that are bound to happen by chance from time to time.

==Claims of Miracles==
[[C.S. Lewis]], [[Norman Geisler]], [[William Lane Craig]], and other Christian apologists have argued that miracles are reasonable and plausible. For example, C.S. Lewis says that a miracle is something that comes totally out of the blue. If for thousands of years a woman can become pregnant only by sexual intercourse with a man, then if she were to become pregnant without a man, it would be a miracle.<ref>{{cite web| title =Are Miracles Logically Impossible?| publisher =Come Reason Ministries, Convincing Christianity| url =http://www.comereason.org/phil_qstn/phi060.asp| accessdate =2007-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title =“Miracles are not possible,” some claim. Is this true?| publisher =ChristianAnswers.net| url =http://www.christiananswers.net/q-eden/edn-t011.html| accessdate =2007-11-21}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title =A Jurisprudential Analysis Of Hume’s “in Principal” Argument Against Miracles| author =Paul K. Hoffman| publisher =Christian Apologetics Journal, Volume 2, No. 1, Spring, 1999; Copyright ©1999 by Southern Evangelical Seminary| url =http://www.ses.edu/journal/articles/2.1Hoffman.pdf|format=PDF| accessdate =2007-11-21}}</ref>
===Religious groups===
====Catholic Church claims====
{{seealso|Marian apparition|Stigmata|Incorruptibility}}
The [[Catholic Church]] recognizes miracles as being works of [[God]], either directly or through the prayers and intercession of a specific [[Saint]] or Saints. There is usually a specific purpose connected to a miracle, e.g. the conversion of a person or persons to the Catholic faith or the construction of a church desired by God. The Church tries to be very cautious to approve the validity of putative miracles. It maintains particularly stringent requirements in validating the miracle's authenticity.<ref>http://jcgi.pathfinder.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,982807,00.html</ref> The process is overseen by the [[Congregation for the Causes of Saints]].<ref>http://www.30giorni.it/us/articolo.asp?id=3664</ref>

The Catholic Church claims to have confirmed the validity of a number of miracles, some of them occurring in modern times and having withstood the test of modern [[Scientific method|scientific scrutiny]]. Among the more notable miracles approved by the Church are several [[Eucharistic miracle]]s wherein the [[Sacramental bread|Sacred Host]] is transformed visibly into [[Christ]]'s living [[transubstantiation|Flesh and Blood]], bleeds, hovers in the air, radiates light, and/or displays the image of [[Christ]]. The first example of the Host being visibly changed into human flesh and blood occurred at [[Lanciano|Lanciano, Italy]] around 700 A.D. Unlike some miracles of a more transient nature, the Flesh and Blood remain in Lanciano to this day, having been scientifically examined as recently as 1971.

According to 17th-century documents, a young Spanish man's leg was miraculously restored to him in 1640 after having been amputated two and a half years earlier<ref>Messori, Vittorio (2000): Il miracolo. Indagine sul più sconvolgente prodigio mariano. - Rizzoli: BUR.</ref> (see [[miracle of Calanda]]).

Another miracle claimed valid by the Church is the [[Miracle of the Sun]], which occurred near [[Our Lady of Fatima|Fátima, Portugal]] on October 13, 1917. Anywhere between 70,000 and 100,000 people, who were gathered at a [[Cova da Iria|cove]] near Fátima, witnessed the sun dim, change colors, spin, dance about in the sky, and appear to plummet to earth, radiating great heat in the process. After the ten-minute event, the ground and the people's clothing, which had been drenched by a previous rainstorm, were both dry. There are numerous first-hand reports of the details from both religious and secular sources.

In addition to these, the Catholic Church attributes miraculous causes to many otherwise inexplicable phenomena on a case-by-case basis. Only after all other possible explanations have proven inadequate may the Church assume Divine intervention and declare the miracle worthy of veneration by the faithful. The Church does not, however, enjoin belief in any extra-Scriptural miracle as an [[Articles of Faith|article of faith]] or as necessary to [[salvation]].

====Protestant Claims====
There have been numerous claims of miracles in Christendom. Mainline [[protestant]], [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]], [[Pentecostal]] and [[Charismatic (Christians)|Charismatic]] Christians accept spiritual gifts, including healing and the working of miracles.
Some of the types of miracles that are claimed to occur in modern times are healings, casting out demons, multiplying food, etc.

====Hindu claims====
The [[Hindu milk miracle]] was a phenomenon considered by many [[Hindus]] as a miracle which occurred on September 21, 1995.
===Buddha===

[[Buddha]] is said to have performed miracles such as [[walking on water]]. (see [[Miracles of Gautama Buddha]])
====Muhammad====
{{main|Miracles of Muhammad}}
====Vespasian====
The emperor [[Vespasian]] was credited with having performed several miracles. According to stories recorded by the Roman historians [[Dio Cassius]] and [[Tacitus]], Vespasian worked several healing miracles, while visiting the shrine of [[Sarapis]] in [[Egypt]]. Among these miracles, Vespasian is credited with healing a blind man and restoring another man's crippled hand (Tacitus Histories 4.81).<ref name=pbs>[http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/portrait/religions.html Religion in the Roman World]</ref>

====Apollonius of Tyana====
According to his later biographer, Philostratus, [[Apollonius of Tyana]] possessed extraordinary gifts, including innate knowledge of all languages, the ability to foretell the future, and the ability to see across great distances. Apollonius's possession of divine wisdom also endowed him with the ability to heal the sick and demon-possessed, and [[Philostratus]] narrates the miraculous quality of a number of these cures and exorcisms.<ref name=pbs/>

== Miracles in Other Religions ==
 
Followers of the Indian [[guru]]s [[Sathya Sai Baba]] and [[Swami Premananda]] claim that they routinely perform miracles. The dominant view among skeptics is that these are predominantly [[sleight of hand]] or elaborate [[magic trick]]s.

Some modern religious groups claim ongoing occurrence of miraculous events. While some miracles have been proven to be fraudulent (see [[Peter Popoff]] for an example) others (such as the [[Holy Fire|Paschal Fire in Jerusalem]]) have not proven susceptible to analysis. Some groups are far more cautious about proclaiming apparent miracles genuine than others, although official sanction, or the lack thereof, rarely has much effect on popular belief. <!-- Any addition here of the names of purported miracle-mongers as if they worked genuine miracles is plainly NPOV and will be reverted. -->

== See also ==
* [[Miracles of Jesus]]
* [[Intercession of saints]]
* [[Miracles at Lourdes]]
* [[Divine Providence#In Jewish thought|Divine Providence In Jewish thought]]
* [[Cessationism]]
* [[A Course in Miracles]]
* [[Occasionalism]]
* [[Signs and wonders]]
* The [[Lourdes effect]]
* [[Spontaneous remission]] ("medical miracles")

== Notes and references ==
{{reflist|2}}
{{refbegin|2}}
* Colin Brown. ''Miracles and the Critical Mind''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984. (Good survey).
* Colin J. Humphreys, ''Miracles of Exodus''. Harper, San Francisco, 2003.
* Krista Bontrager, [http://www.reasons.org/resources/apologetics/its_a_miracle.shtml?main#_edn8 It’s a Miracle! Or, is it?]
* Eisen, Robert (1995). ''Gersonides on Providence, Covenant, and the Chosen People''. State University of New York Press.
* Goodman, Lenn E. (1985). ''Rambam: Readings in the Philosophy of Moses Maimonides''. Gee Bee Tee.
* Kellner, Menachem (1986). ''Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought''. Oxford University Press.
* [[C. S. Lewis]]. ''Miracles: A Preliminary Study''. New York, Macmillan Co., 1947.
* [[C. F. D. Moule]] (ed.). ''Miracles: Cambridge Studies in their Philosophy and History''. London, A.R. Mowbray 1966, ©1965 (Good survey of Biblical miracles as well).
* Graham Twelftree. ''Jesus the Miracle Worker: A Historical and Theological Study''. IVP, 1999. (Best in its field).
* Woodward, Kenneth L. (2000). ''The Book of Miracles''. New York: Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-684-82393-4.
* M. Kamp, MD. Bruno Gröning. The miracles continue to happen. 1998, ([http://www.bruno-groening.org/english/mwf/buchauszug/defaultb-auszug.htm Chapters 1 - 4])
{{refend}}

== Bibliography ==
*[[Harry Houdini|Houdini, Harry]] ''Miracle Mongers and Their Methods: A Complete Expose'' [[Prometheus Books]]; Reprint edition (March 1993) originally published in 1920 ISBN 0-87975-817-1.
* [[Andrew Dickson White]] (1896 first edition. A classic work constantly reprinted) ''A History of the Warfare of Science with Theology in Christendom'', See chapter 13, part 2, ''Growth of Legends of Healing: the life of [[Saint Francis Xavier]] as a typical example''.

== External links ==
{{Wiktionary}}
* [http://www.smajournalonline.com/pt/re/smj/fulltext.00007611-200712000-00016.htm The history of thinking about miracles in the West.]
* [http://signtificverses.blogspot.com/ Click here for Scientific Miracles of the Qur'an] 
* [http://www.miraclesofthequran.com/  About the miracles of the Quran]
* [http://www.backtoislam.com/?cat=68 God's Miracles, Islamic perspective]
* [http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/yuktibaadi.htm An Indian Skeptic's explanation of miracles: By Yuktibaadi] compiled by [[Basava Premanand]]
* [http://www.cdk.si/grz/relig_ic_e.htm Religious miracles]
*[http://www.55a.net/firas/english/ The Quran Miracles Encyclopedia]
*[http://www.islamicmedicine.org/medmiraclesofquran/medmiracleseng.htm Medical Miracles of the Quran]
* [http://www.skepdic.com/miracles.html Skeptic's Dictionary on miracles]
* [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/miracles/  Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry]
* [http://www.chabad.org/article.asp?AID=248167 Why Don't Miracles Happen Today? - A Jewish view on miracles nowadays] chabad.org
* [http://home.regent.edu/ruthven/cess.html On the Cessation of the Charismata] — the problem of miracles today.
* Andrew Lang, [http://www.psychanalyse-paris.com/823-Science-and-Miracles.html "Science and 'Miracles'"], ''The Making of Religion'' Chapter II, Longmans, Green, and Co., London, New York and Bombay, 1900, pp 14–38.
* {{CathEncy|wstitle=Miracle}}
* {{Wikisource1911Enc Citation|miracle}}
* My Burning Bush, Nancy's Miracle from God, from Judaism to the Lord Jesus Christ by Nancy Goldberg Hilton,hiltonbooks.com
* Article "miracle" in the Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science * [http://www.disf.org/en/Voci/86.asp]


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