What is a MIRACLE

[RaceRunner]

Dosent the definition of a miracle hinge greatly on ones view of the soverignty of God?

If as the Bible says "the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm" are storms then "supernatural"?

Does God have his way in ALL whirlwinds and storms, or just SOME whirlwinds and storms?

Is it a miracle when a car breaks down? (An incident in Ravi Zacharias' life would definitely qualify)

Is it a miracle to cut ones thumb off? (an incident in my ex brother in laws life when such an incident provided a chance to witness to borderline suicidal man would indicate possibly)

If God is in control of all things then all things are supernatural.

If God is in control of only some things then only SOME things are supernatural.

A miracle is divine INTERVENTION.

When God created the world, He set things in motion and those things would continue without His direct intervention. In that way, the animals go through their cycles, have their young, live, die, eat, sleep, etc. In that way, the flora yields its flowers, seeds germinate, sprouts grow. In that way, when a male and female humane unite their bodies, at the right time, a child is conceived and a baby is born. In that way, the wind carries seeds, young spiders, and other things from one location to the other. Lightning starts fires that create opportunities for new growth. The earth's moon regularly passes directly between the Sun, causing a "total solar eclipse" (the only planetary satellite in our solar system that does so). And time, space, and human failings would fail me to list the infinite other examples.

All of these things are miraculous in that God's actions have set them in motion. However, while some would disagree, I would argue that it is not a MIRACLE when a man has an affair with his secretary and she gets pregnant. All births are wonderful, but not all are miracles. Miraculous births are seen when one parent is sterile, or, as in the case of Jesus, a virgin. Miraculous births are when a child is diagnosed in the womb to have a dreadful disease, but is born whole. WHile some may search for miracles in every situation, the ordinary does not equal miraculous.

The natural processes were set up, and the system requires very little direct intervention. The animals and man reproduce; microorganisms dispose of animal feces, salt water disposes of that which would polloute the seas. All according to the divine system established in the Creation.

BUT SOMETIMES, God does something that is outside of the natural course of events. Sometimes a post-menopausal, elderly woman bares a child. Sometimes a finite amount of oil goes far beyond what it is naturally able to do. Sometimes, a young boy's small lunch feeds the multitudes.

While the fact that God made all things, and the lad's lunch of fish and bread may be miraculous in that it has its 1000s-of-years-old source in God's providence, yet it is not truly miraculous when that lad eats his portion and is filled. BUT THE MIRACLE OF DIVINE INTERVENTION, is seen when that portion that would merely fill the belly of the lad, is multiplied to feed thousands.

Oh, I believe in miracles. I have seen the miracle in which an automobile accident provided funds for a necessary ministerial activity. I've seen healings. I myself have been healed from chronic asthma. Yet, when I am cut, and the blood coagulates, and then the skin grows back together, is it a miracle? Only in the sense that our blessed heavenly Father foresaw the need, and engineered our bodies to cope with the hazards we would face. But at this particular moment, God hasn't the need to intervene, the body is carrying out the process for which it was created. It is without a doubt wonderful, but I would argue that it is no miracle.

But when Jesus made an arm where there was none, when the axe-head floated upon the waters, when Shedrach, Meshech and Abednago came out of the furnace without even the smell of smoke, these all go beyond the natural process, and are shown to be true miracles.

Gerald said that if God is in control of all things, then all things are supernatural. But if in control of some things, then only some things are.

God IS in control of all things, but many of those things are not supernatural, because He controls them through natural laws; therefore they are natural. The supernatural is defined by those cases where He causes the natural laws to be suspended. He is always in control, but sometimes He INTERVENES.

Good definition.

[THE RAzEr]

I liked you definition! God doing something for us that we can not do for ourselves.

Thus the implication is: Everything is a miracle. God created all. He created us.

Yet the way we use the term miracle is like it is on a scale of one to ten.

For most of us it has to get to a 6.5 or greater before our thoughts get into the realm of "Now that was a miracle'.

I think it is good for us, every once in a while to hear about or experience a 9.1 or even a 10.

It makes us really think about the power of our AWESOM GOD.

However, the 10 sometimes puts us in the rememberence mode, and we dwell on the 'remeber when' rather than the 'be thankful now'.

An example is the story of Israel's journey in the wilderness. I think when they talked about miracles, they talked more about the Red Sea than the miracle of all of them surviving in a wilderness as they walked in circles for 40 years. The walk was a miracle, but the perception was the walk was a 2.4 and the Red Sea parting was an 12.6.

Ray

[RamboPreacher]

I liked you definition! God doing something for us that we can not do for ourselves.

Thus the implication is: Everything is a miracle. God created all. He created us....

we get to have air to breath, most of uys have water to drink, etc. I am not soon to dismiss these as miracles (as example), as I mentioned.

[TW]

Since I posed the question originally, it is probably appropriate for me to state my views on this.

While all things come from God, and thus could be termed miraculous, the manner in which the term "miracle" is commonly used goes beyond this. God established the physical laws that allow His creation to sustain itself, from the atomic level up. Thus all things come from God. He however granted great latitude in how things interact, the probability of an interaction. To me a miracle is an event that defies probability, for which there can be no rational explanation other than Divine Intervention. The miracle of the water into wine is a great example. Was it "possible?" Yes, it was possible, as Jesus showed us, "all things are possible with God." Is it probable? No! I would hate to try to calculate the odds of filling a jar that had a trace of wine in it with water, and getting anything other than flavored water. Yet Jesus did it and not only produced wine, but the finest wine served at the wedding feast. It went beyond "probable," and there is no rational explanation.

So for me, a "miracle" is an event that is not probable and has no rational explanation, leaving only the possibility of Divine Intervention. Or as has been said before "God doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves."


TW