A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by
natural or
scientific laws
[One dictionary define]
"Miracle"
as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency." and accordingly gets attributed to some
supernatural
Supernatural refers to phenomena or entities that are beyond the laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin (above, beyond, or outside of) + (nature) Though the corollary term "nature", has had multiple meanings si ...
or
praeternatural
The preternatural (or praeternatural) is that which appears outside or beside (Latin: '' præter'') the natural. It is "suspended between the mundane and the miraculous".
In theology, the term is often used to distinguish marvels or deceptive t ...
cause. Various
religions often attribute a phenomenon characterized as miraculous to the actions of a supernatural being, (especially) a
deity
A deity or god is a supernatural being who is considered divine or sacred. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines deity as a god or goddess, or anything revered as divine. C. Scott Littleton defines a deity as "a being with powers greate ...
, a
magician
Magician or The Magician may refer to:
Performers
* A practitioner of magic (supernatural)
* A practitioner of magic (illusion)
* Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context
Entertainment
Books
* ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...
, a
miracle worker
Thaumaturgy is the purported capability of a magician to work magic or other paranormal events or a saint to perform miracles. It is sometimes translated into English as wonderworking.
A practitioner of thaumaturgy is a "thaumaturge", "thaumatu ...
, a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
, or a
religious leader.
Informally, English-speakers often use the word ''miracle'' to characterise any beneficial event that is statistically unlikely but not contrary to the
laws of nature, such as surviving a
natural disaster
A natural disaster is "the negative impact following an actual occurrence of natural hazard in the event that it significantly harms a community". A natural disaster can cause loss of life or damage property, and typically leaves some econ ...
, or simply a "wonderful" occurrence, regardless of likelihood (e.g. "the miracle of childbirth"). Some
coincidences may be seen as miracles.
A true miracle would, by definition, be a non-natural phenomenon, leading many writers to dismiss miracles as physically impossible (that is, requiring violation of established laws of physics within their domain of validity) or impossible to confirm by their nature (because all possible physical mechanisms can never be ruled out). The former position is expressed (for instance) by
Thomas Jefferson, and the latter by
David Hume.
Theologians typically say that, with
divine providence
In theology, Divine Providence, or simply Providence, is God's intervention in the Universe. The term ''Divine Providence'' (usually capitalized) is also used as a title of God. A distinction is usually made between "general providence", which ...
,
God regularly works through
nature yet, as a
creator, may work without, above, or against it as well.
[Miracles]
on the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Definitions
The word ''miracle'' is usually used to describe any beneficial event that is physically impossible or impossible to confirm by nature.
Wayne Grudem defines a miracle as "a less common kind of
God's activity in which he arouses people's awe and wonder and bears witness to himself." A deistic perspective of
God's relation to the world defines a miracle as a
direct intervention of
God into the world.
Naturalistic explanations
A miracle may just be fake information or simply a fictional story, rather than something that truly happened. A miracle experience may be due to
cognitive errors (e.g.
overthinking,
jumping to conclusions) or
psychological errors (e.g.
hallucinations) of
witnesses. Use of some drugs such as
psychedelic
Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary states of consciousness (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips").Pollan, Michael (2018). ''How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of ...
s (e.g.
ecstasy
Ecstasy may refer to:
* Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness
* Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria
* Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand outside o ...
) may produce similar effects to
religious experiences.
Law of truly large numbers
Statistically "impossible" events are often called miracles. For instance, when three classmates accidentally meet in a different country decades after having left school, they could consider this as "miraculous". However, a colossal number of events happen every moment on Earth; thus, extremely unlikely coincidences also happen every moment. Events that are considered "impossible" are therefore not impossible at allthey are just increasingly rare and dependent on the number of individual events. British mathematician
J. E. Littlewood
John Edensor Littlewood (9 June 1885 – 6 September 1977) was a British mathematician. He worked on topics relating to mathematical analysis, analysis, number theory, and differential equations, and had lengthy collaborations with G. H. H ...
suggested that individuals should statistically expect one-in-a-million events ("miracles") to happen to them at the rate of about one per month. By his definition, seemingly miraculous events are actually commonplace.
Supernatural explanations
A miracle is a phenomenon not explained by known
laws of nature. Criteria for classifying an event as a miracle vary. Often a
religious text, such as the
Bible or
Quran, states that a miracle occurred, and believers may accept this as a fact.
Philosophical explanations
Aristotelian and Neo-Aristotelian
The
Aristotelian view of God
The unmoved mover ( grc, ὃ οὐ κινούμενον κινεῖ, ho ou kinoúmenon kineî, that which moves without being moved) or prime mover ( la, primum movens) is a concept advanced by Aristotle as a primary cause (or first uncaused cau ...
has God as pure actuality and considers him as the prime mover doing only what a perfect being can do, think.
Jewish neo-
Aristotelian philosophers,
who are still influential today, include
Maimonides,
Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon
Samuel ben Judah ibn Tibbon ( 1150 – c. 1230), more commonly known as Samuel ibn Tibbon ( he, שמואל בן יהודה אבן תבון, ar, ابن تبّون), was a Jewish philosopher and doctor who lived and worked in Provence, later part ...
, and
Gersonides. Directly or indirectly, their views are still prevalent in much of the religious Jewish community.
Baruch Spinoza
In his ''
Tractatus Theologico-Politicus''
Spinoza claims that miracles are merely lawlike events of whose causes we are ignorant. 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.
David Hume
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".
The crux of his argument is this: "No testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact which it endeavours to establish." By Hume's definition, a miracle goes against our regular experience of how the universe works. As miracles are single events, the evidence for them is always limited and we experience them rarely. On the basis of experience and evidence, the probability that miracle occurred is always less than the probability that it did not occur. As it is rational to believe what is more probable, we are not supposed to have a good reason to believe that a miracle occurred.
Friedrich Schleiermacher
According to the
Christian theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher
Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher (; 21 November 1768 – 12 February 1834) was a German Reformed theologian, philosopher, and biblical scholar known for his attempt to reconcile the criticisms of the Enlightenment with traditional P ...
"every event, even the most natural and usual, becomes a miracle as soon as the religious view of it can be the dominant".
Søren Kierkegaard
The philosopher
Søren Kierkegaard
Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , , ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical texts on ...
, 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, but Kierkegaard, writing as his pseudonym ''Johannes Climacus'', regards any historical reports to be less than certain, including historical reports of miracles, as all historical knowledge is always doubtful and open to approximation.
James Keller
James Keller
James Keller, M.M. (June 27, 1900 – February 7, 1977) was a Catholic priest in the Maryknoll Order. In 1945 he founded of The Christophers, a Christian inspirational group which broadcast a weekly inspirational television show (of the same ...
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."
Religious views
According to a 2011 poll by the Pew Research Center, more than 90 percent of
evangelical Christians believe miracles still take place. While Christians see God as sometimes intervening in human activities, Muslims see Allah as a direct cause of all events. "God’s overwhelming closeness makes it easy for Muslims to admit the miraculous in the world."
Buddhism
The ''Haedong Kosung-jon'' of Korea (Biographies of High Monks) records that King
Beopheung of Silla
Beopheung of Silla (r. 514–540 AD) was the 23rd monarch of Silla, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea. He was preceded by King Jijeung (r. 500–514) and succeeded by King Jinheung.
By the time of his reign, Buddhism had become fairly commo ...
had desired to promulgate Buddhism as the state religion. However, officials in his court opposed him. In the fourteenth year of his reign, Beopheung's "Grand Secretary",
Ichadon
Ichadon (501–527; Hanja: 異次頓), also known as Geochadon (Hanja: 居次頓) or by his courtesy name Yeomchok (Hanja: 厭觸) or Yeomdo (Hanja: 厭都), was a Buddhist monk and advisor to the Silla king Beopheung.
Miracle
Early in his reign ...
, devised a strategy to overcome court opposition. Ichadon schemed with the king, convincing him to make a proclamation granting Buddhism official state sanction using the royal seal. Ichadon told the king to deny having made such a proclamation when the opposing officials received it and demanded an explanation. Instead, Ichadon would confess and accept the punishment of execution, for what would quickly be seen as a forgery. Ichadon prophesied to the king that at his execution a wonderful miracle would convince the opposing court faction of Buddhism's power. Ichadon's scheme went as planned, and the opposing officials took the bait. When Ichadon was executed on the 15th day of the 9th month in 527, his prophecy was fulfilled; the earth shook, the sun was darkened, beautiful flowers rained from the sky, his severed head flew to the sacred Geumgang mountains, and milk instead of blood sprayed 100 feet in the air from his beheaded corpse. The omen was accepted by the opposing court officials as a manifestation of heaven's approval, and Buddhism was made the state religion in 527 CE.
The ''
Honchō Hokke Reigenki
, also called but commonly referred to as , is an 11th century Japanese collection of Buddhist tales and folklore ( setsuwa). It was compiled by the monk from 1040 to 1043, and consists of three volumes with 129 chapters, two of which are missin ...
'' (c. 1040) of Japan contains a collection of Buddhist miracle stories.
Miracles play an important role in the veneration of Buddhist relics in Southern Asia. Thus, Somawathie Stupa in Sri Lanka is an increasingly popular site of pilgrimage and tourist destination thanks to multiple reports about miraculous rays of light, apparitions and modern
legends, which often have been fixed in photographs and movies.
Christianity
The gospels record three sorts of miracles performed by Jesus: exorcisms, cures, and nature wonders.
[ Funk, Robert W. and the ]Jesus Seminar
The Jesus Seminar was a group of about 50 critical biblical scholars and 100 laymen founded in 1985 by Robert Funk that originated under the auspices of the Westar Institute.''Making Sense of the New Testament'' by Craig Blomberg (Mar 1, 2004) ...
. ''The acts of Jesus: the search for the authentic deeds of Jesus.'' HarperSanFrancisco. 1998. Introduction, p. 1–40 In the
Gospel of John, the miracles are referred to as "signs" and the emphasis is on God demonstrating his underlying normal activity in remarkable ways. In the New Testament, the greatest miracle is the
resurrection of Jesus, the event central to Christian faith.
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
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
4:29–31).
Other passages mention
false prophets who will be able to perform miracles to deceive "if possible, even the elect of Christ" (Matthew 24:24). 2 Thessalonians 2:9 says, "And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the Truth, that they might be saved." Revelation 13:13,14 says, "And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live." Revelation 16:14 says, "For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." Revelation 19:20 says, "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone." These passages indicate that signs, wonders, and miracles are not necessarily committed by God. These miracles not committed by God are labeled as false(pseudo) miracles though which could mean that they are deceptive in nature and are not the same as the true miracles committed by God.
In
early Christianity miracles were the most often attested motivations for conversions of
pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
s; pagan Romans took the existence of miracles for granted; Christian texts reporting them offered miracles as divine proof of the Christian God's unique claim to authority, relegating all other gods to the lower status of ''
daimones'': "of all worships, the Christian best and most particularly advertised its miracles by
driving out of spirits and
laying on of hands". The
Gospel of John is structured around miraculous "signs": The success of the Apostles according to the church historian
Eusebius of Caesarea
Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christia ...
lay in their miracles: "though laymen in their language", he asserted, "they drew courage from divine, miraculous powers". The
conversion of Constantine
During the reign of the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (AD 306–337), Christianity began to transition to the dominant religion of the Roman Empire. Historians remain uncertain about Constantine's reasons for favoring Christianity, and ...
by a miraculous sign in heaven is a prominent fourth-century example.
Since the
Age of Enlightenment, miracles have often needed to be rationalized:
C.S. Lewis
CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to:
Job titles
* Chief Secretary (Hong Kong)
* Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces
* Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
,
Norman Geisler,
William Lane Craig, and other 20th-century Christians have argued that miracles are reasonable and plausible. For example, Lewis said 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.
There have been numerous claims of miracles by people of most Christian denominations, including but not limited to
faith healings and
casting out demons. Miracle reports are especially prevalent in
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
and
Pentecostal or
Charismatic
Charisma () is a personal quality of presence or charm that compels its subjects.
Scholars in sociology, political science, psychology, and management reserve the term for a type of leadership seen as extraordinary; in these fields, the term "ch ...
churches.
Catholic Church
The
Catholic Church believes miracles are works of
God, either directly, or through the prayers and
intercessions of a specific
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
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 says that it tries to be very cautious to approve the validity of putative miracles. The Catholic Church also says that it maintains particularly stringent requirements in validating the miracle's authenticity. The process is overseen by the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The Catholic Church has listed several events as miracles, some of them occurring in modern times. Before a person can be accepted as a saint, they must be posthumously confirmed to have performed two miracles. In the procedure of
beatification of Pope John Paul II, who died in 2005, the Vatican announced on 14 January 2011 that
Pope Benedict XVI had confirmed that the recovery of Sister Marie Simon-Pierre from
Parkinson's disease was a miracle.
Among the more notable miracles approved by the Church are several
Eucharistic miracles wherein the
sacramental bread and wine are
transformed into Christ's flesh and blood, such as the
Miracle of Lanciano and cures in
Lourdes.
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.
Another miracle approved by the Church is the
Miracle of the Sun
The Miracle of the Sun ( pt, Milagre do Sol), also known as the Miracle of Fátima, is a series of events reported to have occurred miraculously on 13 October 1917, attended by a large crowd who had gathered in Fátima, Portugal, in response to ...
, which is said to have occurred near
Fátima, Portugal on October 13, 1917. According to legend, between 70,000 and 100,000 people, who were gathered at a
cove near Fátima, witnessed the sunlight dim and change colors, and the Sun 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.
Velankanni (Mary) can be traced to the mid-16th century and is attributed to three miracles: the apparition of
Mary and the
Christ Child to a slumbering shepherd boy, the curing of a lame buttermilk vendor, and the rescue of
Portuguese sailors from a violent sea storm.
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 been asserted to be inadequate will the Church assume ''
divine intervention'' and declare the miracle worthy of veneration by their followers. The Church does not, however, enjoin belief in any extra-Scriptural miracle as an
article of faith
A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) in a form which is structured by subjects which summarize its core tenets.
The ea ...
or as necessary for
salvation.
St. Thomas Aquinas, a prominent
Doctor of the Church
Doctor of the Church (Latin: ''doctor'' "teacher"), also referred to as Doctor of the Universal Church (Latin: ''Doctor Ecclesiae Universalis''), is a title given by the Catholic Church to saints recognized as having made a significant contribu ...
, divided miracles into three types in his ''
Summa contra Gentiles'':
Things that are at times divinely accomplished, apart from the generally established order in things, are customarily called miracles; for we admire with some astonishment a certain event when we observe the effect but do not know its cause. And since one and the same cause is at times known to some people and unknown to others, the result is that of several who see an effect at the same time, some are moved to admiring astonishment, while others are not. For instance, the astronomer is not astonished when he sees an eclipse of the sun, for he knows its cause, but the person who is ignorant of this science must be amazed, for he ignores the cause. And so, a certain event is wondrous to one person, but not so to another. So, a thing that has a completely hidden cause is wondrous in an unqualified way, and this the name, miracle, suggests; namely, what is of itself filled with admirable wonder, not simply in relation to one person or another. Now, absolutely speaking, the cause hidden from every man is God. In fact, we proved above that no man in the present state of life can grasp His essence intellectually. Therefore, those things must properly be called miraculous which are done by divine power apart from the order generally followed in things.
Now, there are various degrees and orders of these miracles. Indeed, the highest rank among miracles is held by those events in which something is done by God which nature never could do. For example, that two bodies should be coincident; that the sun reverse its course, or stand still; that the sea open up and offer a way through which people may pass. And even among these an order may be observed. For the greater the things that God does are, and the more they are removed from the capacity of nature, the greater the miracle is. Thus, it is more miraculous for the sun to reverse its course than for the sea to be divided.
Then, the second degree among miracles is held by those events in which God does something which nature can do, but not in this order. It is a work of nature for an animal to live, to see, and to walk; but for it to live after death, to see after becoming blind, to walk after paralysis of the limbs, this nature cannot do—but God at times does such works miraculously. Even among this degree of miracles a gradation is evident, according as what is done is more removed from the capacity of nature.
Now, the third degree of miracles occurs when God does what is usually done by the working of nature, but without the operation of the principles of nature. For example, a person may be cured by divine power from a fever which could be cured naturally, and it may rain independently of the working of the principles of nature.
Evangelicalism
For a majority of
Evangelical Christians,
biblicism
Biblical literalism or biblicism is a term used differently by different authors concerning biblical interpretation. It can equate to the dictionary definition of literalism: "adherence to the exact letter or the literal sense", where literal mea ...
ensures that the miracles described in the Bible are still relevant and may be present in the life of the believer. Healings, academic or professional successes, the birth of a child after several attempts, the end of an
addiction, etc., would be tangible examples of God's intervention with the
faith and
prayer, by the
Holy Spirit
In Judaism, the Holy Spirit is the divine force, quality, and influence of God over the Universe or over his creatures. In Nicene Christianity, the Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost is the third person of the Trinity. In Islam, the Holy Spirit acts as ...
. In the 1980s, the
neo-charismatic movement re-emphasized miracles and
faith healing. In certain churches, a special place is thus reserved for
faith healings with
laying on of hands during
worship services or for campaigns evangelization. Faith healing or divine healing is considered to be an inheritance of
Jesus acquired by his death and resurrection.
Hinduism
In Hinduism, miracles are focused on episodes of liberation of the spirit.
A key example is the revelation of
Krishna to
Arjuna
Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...
, wherein Krishna persuades Arjuna to rejoin the battle against his cousins by briefly and miraculously giving Arjuna the power to see the true scope of the Universe, and its sustainment within Krishna, which requires divine vision. This is a typical situation in Hindu mythology wherein "wondrous acts are performed for the purpose of bringing spiritual liberation to those who witness or read about them."
Hindu sages have criticized both expectation and reliance on miracles as cheats, situations where people have sought to earn a benefit without doing the work necessary to merit it.
Miracles continue to be occasionally reported in the practice of Hinduism, with an example of a miracle modernly reported in Hinduism being the
Hindu milk miracle of September 1995, with additional occurrences in 2006 and 2010, wherein statues of certain Hindu deities were seen to drink milk offered to them. The scientific explanation for the incident, attested by Indian academics, was that the material was wicked from the offering bowls by
capillary action.
Islam
In the
Quran, a miracle can be defined as a supernatural intervention in the life of human beings.
[Denis Gril, ''Miracles'', ]Encyclopedia of the Quran
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
According to this definition, miracles are present "in a threefold sense: in sacred
history, in connection with
Muhammad himself and in relation to
revelation".
The Quran does not use the technical
Arabic word for miracle (''Muʿd̲j̲iza'') literally meaning "that by means of which
he Prophet
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
confounds, overwhelms, his opponents". It rather uses the term 'Ayah' (literally meaning sign).
[A.J. Wensinck, ''Muʿd̲j̲iza'', Encyclopedia of Islam] The term ''Ayah'' is used in the Quran in the above-mentioned threefold sense: it refers to the "verses" of the Quran (believed to be the divine speech in
human language; presented by Muhammad as his chief miracle); as well as to miracles of it and the signs (particularly those of creation).
To defend the possibility of miracles and God's omnipotence against the encroachment of the independent secondary causes, some medieval
Muslim theologians
This is a list of notable Muslim theologians.
Traditional Theologians and Philosophers Ash'aris and Maturidis
* Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari
* Abu Mansur al-Maturidi
* Abu al-Yusr al-Bazdawi
* Abu al-Mu'in al-Nasafi
* Shahab_al-Din_Abu_Hafs_Uma ...
such as
Al-Ghazali rejected the idea of
cause and effect
Causality (also referred to as causation, or cause and effect) is influence by which one event, process, state, or object (''a'' ''cause'') contributes to the production of another event, process, state, or object (an ''effect'') where the cau ...
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.
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
biographical literature records claims of miraculous accounts of men and women. The miraculous prowess of the Sufi holy men includes ''firasa'' (
clairvoyance), the ability to disappear from sight, to become completely invisible and practice ''buruz'' (
exteriorization). The holy men reportedly tame wild beasts and traverse long distances in a very short time span. They could also produce food and rain in seasons of drought, heal the sick and help barren women conceive.
[The heirs of the prophet: charisma and religious authority in Shi'ite Islam By Liyakatali Takim](_blank)
/ref>
Judaism
Descriptions of miracles (Hebrew ''Ness, נס'') appear in the Tanakh. Examples include prophets, such as Elijah who performed miracles like the raising of a widow's dead son (1 Kings 17:17–24) and Elisha
Elisha ( ; or "God is my salvation", Greek: , ''Elis îos'' or , ''Elisaié,'' Latin: ''Eliseus'') was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eli ...
whose miracles include multiplying the poor widow's jar of oil (2 Kings 4:1–7) and restoring to life the son of the woman of Shunem (2 Kings 4:18–37). The Torah describes many miracles related to Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
during his time as a prophet and the Exodus
The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the ...
of the Israelites. Parting the Red Sea
The Crossing of the Red Sea ( he, קריעת ים סוף, Kriat Yam Suph, parting of the Sea of Reeds) forms an episode in the biblical narrative of The Exodus.
It tells of the escape of the Israelites, led by Moses, from the pursuing Egyptia ...
, and facilitating the Plagues of Egypt are among the most famous.
During the first century BCE, a variety of religious movements and splinter groups developed amongst the Jews in Judea. A number of individuals claimed to be miracle workers in the tradition of Moses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
, Elijah, and Elisha
Elisha ( ; or "God is my salvation", Greek: , ''Elis îos'' or , ''Elisaié,'' Latin: ''Eliseus'') was, according to the Hebrew Bible, a prophet and a wonder-worker. His name is commonly transliterated into English as Elisha via Hebrew, Eli ...
, the Jewish prophets. The Talmud provides some examples of such Jewish miracle workers, one of whom is Honi HaM'agel
Honi HaMe'agel (חוני המעגל Khoni, Choni, or Ḥoni; lit. Honi the Circle-drawer) was a Jewish scholar of the 1st-century BCE, during the age of the ''tannaim'', the scholars from whose teachings the Mishnah was derived.
During the 1st ce ...
, who was famous for his ability to successfully pray for rain.
Most Chasidic
Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...
communities are rife with tales of miracles that follow a ''yechidut'', a spiritual audience with a '' tzadik'': barren women become pregnant, cancer tumors shrink, wayward children become pious. Many Hasidim claim that miracles can take place in merit of partaking of the ''shirayim'' (the leftovers from the rebbe's meal), such as miraculous healing or blessings of wealth or piety.
Criticism
Thomas Paine, one of the Founding Fathers of the American Revolution, wrote "All the tales of miracles, with which the Old and New Testament are filled, are fit only for impostors to preach and fools to believe."
Thomas Jefferson, principal author of the Declaration of Independence of the United States, edited a version of the Bible in which he removed sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects as well as perceived misinterpretations he believed had been added by the Four Evangelists. Jefferson wrote, "The establishment of the innocent and genuine character of this benevolent moralist, and the rescuing it from the imputation of imposture, which has resulted from artificial systems, [footnote: e.g. The immaculate conception of Jesus, his deification, the creation of the world by him, his miraculous powers, his resurrection and visible ascension, his corporeal presence in the Eucharist, the Trinity; original sin, atonement, regeneration, election, orders of Hierarchy, etc. —T.J.] invented by ultra-Christian sects, unauthorized by a single word ever uttered by him, is a most desirable object, and one to which Joseph Priestley, Priestley has successfully devoted his labors and learning."
American Revolutionary War patriot Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for ...
wrote, "In those parts of the world where learning and science have prevailed, miracles have ceased; but in those parts of it as are barbarous and ignorant, miracles are still in vogue."
Robert Ingersoll wrote, "Not 20 people were convinced by the reported miracles of Christ, and yet people of the nineteenth century were coolly asked to be convinced on hearsay by miracles which those who are supposed to have seen them refused to credit."
Elbert Hubbard, American writer, publisher, artist, and philosopher, wrote "A miracle is an event described by those to whom it was told by people who did not see it."
Biologist Richard Dawkins
Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ath ...
has criticised the belief in miracles as a subversion of Occam's razor
Occam's razor, Ockham's razor, or Ocham's razor ( la, novacula Occami), also known as the principle of parsimony or the law of parsimony ( la, lex parsimoniae), is the problem-solving principle that "entities should not be multiplied beyond neces ...
.
Mathematician Charles Hermite, in a discourse upon the world of mathematical truths and the physical world, stated that "The synthesis of the two is revealed partially in the marvellous correspondence between abstract mathematics on the one hand and all the branches of physics on the other".
Baden Powell Baden-Powell () is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Baden-Powell
* The Rev. Prof. Baden Powell (mathematician) (1796–1860), mathematician, clergyman and liberal theologian.
By his first marriage father of:
:* Baden Henry Powell ...
, an English mathematician and Church of England priest, stated that if God is a lawgiver, then a "miracle" would break the lawful edicts that had been issued at Creation. Therefore, a belief in miracles would be entirely atheistic.
See also
* ''A Course in Miracles
''A Course in Miracles'' (also referred to as ''ACIM'' or the ''Course'') is a 1976 book by Helen Schucman. The underlying premise is that the greatest "miracle" is the act of simply gaining a full "awareness of love's presence" in a person's ...
''
* Act of God
In legal usage in the English-speaking world, an act of God is a natural hazard outside human control, such as an earthquake or tsunami, for which no person can be held responsible. An act of God may amount to an exception to liability in con ...
* Cessationism
* '' Deus ex machina''
* Lourdes effect
The term Lourdes effect has been coined by the Belgian philosopher and skeptic Etienne Vermeersch to account for the observation that some supernatural powers seem to have a sort of resistance to manifesting themselves in a completely unambiguous ...
* Magic and religion
Magical thinking in various forms is a cultural universal and an important aspect of religion. Magic is prevalent in all societies, regardless of whether they have organized religion or more general systems of animism or shamanism. Religion and ...
* '' Miracles'' by C.S. Lewis
CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to:
Job titles
* Chief Secretary (Hong Kong)
* Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces
* Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...
* Miracles of Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith, Joseph Smith, Jr. was the leader and founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Being Continuationism, Continuationist, the movement is characterized by a belief that the miracles, vision (spirituality), visions, prophecy, prophecies, ...
* Our Lady of Lourdes
* Our Lady of Medjugorje
Our Lady of Medjugorje ( hr, Međugorska Gospa), also called Queen of Peace ( hr, Kraljica mira) and Mother of the Redeemer ( hr, Majka Otkupiteljica), is the title given to visions of Mary, the mother of Jesus, which began in 1981 to six Herze ...
* Paranormal
* Pieter De Rudder
Pieter De Rudder (July 2, 1822 in Jabbeke – March 22, 1898), in many French books Pierre De Rudder, in English Peter De Rudder. His recovery from a broken leg is one of the most famous recognized Lourdes miracles (a bronze cast of his bones i ...
* Relic
In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...
* Royal touch
The royal touch (also known as the king's touch) was a form of laying on of hands, whereby French and English monarchs touched their subjects, regardless of social classes, with the intent to cure them of various diseases and conditions. The th ...
* Scientific skepticism
* Signs and wonders
* Snake oil
* Spontaneous remission ("medical miracles")
* Superstitions in Muslim societies
Notes and references
General references and books
* Brown, Colin. ''Miracles and the Critical Mind''. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1984.
*
* Chavda, Mahesh. ''Only Love Can Make a Miracle''. Charlotte: Mahesh Chavda Ministries, 1990.
* Bontrager, Krista, "It’s a Miracle! Or, is it?"
Reasons.org
* Eisen, Robert (1995). ''Gersonides on Providence, Covenant, and the Chosen People''. State University of New York Press
The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by c ...
.
* Goodman, Lenn E. (1985). ''Rambam: Readings in the Philosophy of Moses Maimonides''. Gee Bee Tee.
* Humphreys, Colin J. ''Miracles of Exodus''. Harper, San Francisco, 2003.
* Kellner, Menachem (1986). ''Dogma in Medieval Jewish Thought''. Oxford University Press.
* Lewis, C.S. ''Miracles: A Preliminary Study''. New York, Macmillan Co., 1947.
* Moule, C. F. D. (ed.). ''Miracles: Cambridge Studies in their Philosophy and History''. London, A.R. Mowbray 1966, ©1965 (Survey of Biblical miracles as well).
* Twelftree, Graham. ''Jesus the Miracle Worker: A Historical and Theological Study''. IVP, 1999.
* Woodward, Kenneth L. (2000). ''The Book of Miracles''. New York: Simon & Schuster. .
*
Further reading
*Ton Bersee ''On the Meaning of 'Miracle' in Christianity. An Evaluation of the Current Miracle Debate and a Proposal of a Balanced Hermeneutical Approach'', Peeters Publishers, 2021
*Stephen Brogan ''The Royal Touch in Early Modern England: Politics, Medicine and Sin'', Royal Historical Society, 2015
*H. A. Drake ''A Century of Miracles: Christians, Pagans, Jews and the Supernatural, 312–410'', Oxford University Press, 2017
* Houdini, Harry
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician R ...
''Miracle Mongers and Their Methods: A Complete Expose'' Prometheus Books; Reprint edition (1993) originally published in 1920 .
*Robert Knapp ''The Dawn of Christianity: People and Gods in a Time of Magic and Miracles'', Profile books, Great Britain, 2017
* Marvin Meyer and Richard Smith ''Ancient Christian Magic: Coptic Texts of Ritual Power'' Princeton University Press, 1999
* D. Michaelides (editor) ''Medicine and Healing in the Ancient Mediterranean World'', Oxbow Books, 2014
* Joe Nickell ''Looking for a Miracle: Weeping Icons, Relics, Stigmata, Visions & Healing Cures'', Prometheus Books, 1997
* William A. Nolen
William A. Nolen (March 20, 1928 – December 20, 1986) was a surgeon and author who resided in Litchfield, Minnesota. He wrote a syndicated medical advice column that appeared in ''McCall's'' magazine for many years, and was the author of several ...
''Healing: A Doctor in Search of a Miracle'', Random House, 1975
* Roy Porter
Roy Sydney Porter, FBA (31 December 1946 – 3 March 2002) was a British historian known for his work on the history of medicine. He retired in 2001 from the director of the Wellcome Institute for the History of Medicine at University College L ...
''The Greatest Benefit to Mankind: A Medical History of Humanity'', W.W. Norton & Co., 1997
* James Randi ''The Faith Healers'', Prometheus Books, 1987
* Matthew Rowley and Natasha Hodgson (eds), ''Miracles, Political Authority and Violence in Medieval and Early Modern History.'' London, Routledge, 2022
* 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''.
* Rory Royba
Miracles or Magic?
Xulon Press, 2005.
*
External links
Miracles
article in the ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''IEP'') is a scholarly online encyclopedia, dealing with philosophy, philosophical topics, and philosophers. The IEP combines open access publication with peer reviewed publication of original pape ...
''
Skepdic.com
Skeptic's Dictionary on miracles
*
*
*
Miracle
in the Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science.
The history of thinking about miracles in the West
an Indian Skeptic's explanation of miracles: By Yuktibaadi, compiled by Basava Premanand
Basava Premanand (17 February 1930 – 4 October 2009) was an Indian skeptic and rationalist from Kerala, India. He organised many tours around rural India for the promotion of scientific thinking, exposing alleged miracles and scams carried o ...
* Andrew Lang
Psychanalyse-paris.com
"Science and 'Miracles'", ''The Making of Religion'' Chapter II, Longmans, Green, and Co., London, New York and Bombay, 1900, pp. 14–38.
* Almut Hoefert (ed.): Miracles, Marvels and Monsters in the Middle Ages. (Living History Books, published in 2016 by the professional portal of the historical sciences in Switzerland, info-clio.ch
Hume on Miracles
{{Authority control
Miracles,
Philosophy of religion
Religious terminology