The word miracle comes from the Latin word miraculum
meaning “something wonderful.” Of course “wonderful” like
“beauty” is in the eye of the beholder and few people agree on
what constitutes a miracle. So, as Albert Einstein inferred
above, there are those who will tend to see miracles everywhere
and those who see no miracles anywhere.
It may be said that the Scottish philosopher David Hume
(1711-1776) is one of those who tended to not see miracles
anywhere. In regard to miracles, David Hume said, “A miracle is
a violation of the laws of nature…” He elaborated on this by
explaining that a healthy man just dropping dead wouldn’t be a
miracle simply because it is known to happen. On the other hand
a dead man coming to life would be a miracle because it is not
known to happen.
However, trying to convince Mr. Hume that such a miracle
had happened would be no small feat because, “When anyone tells
me, that he saw a dead man restored to life, I immediately
consider with myself, whether it be more probable, that this
person should either deceive or be deceived, or that the fact,
which he relates, should really have happened. I weigh the one
miracle against the other; and according to the superiority,
which I discover, I pronounce my decision, and always reject the
greater miracle. If the falsehood of his testimony would be more
miraculous, than the event which he relates; then, and not till
then, can he pretend to command my belief or opinion.”
So, basically, it is easier to believe that any testimony
about a miracle should be dismissed as some sort of deception
rather than believe that the laws of nature have been broken.
If Mr. Hume were alive today this would probably extend to
photographs, video and audio recordings. With the technology
presently available, just because we see or hear something just
simply doesn’t make it automatically true.
For reasons unknown, many believe miraculous events are
strictly the purview of God. Of course people tend to not
believe that there is any God other than the one represented by
their particular religion. So there is also much disagreement
on which miracles are really miracles caused by the “real” God.
It boils down to a little circular reasoning where if a miracle
is attributed to a God that is not acknowledged as God then the
miracle cannot be a miracle no matter the degree to which it
violates the natural laws. Essentially, the evidence of the
miracle simply must be wrong because that God isn’t God and
therefore the miracle cannot be a miracle.
So, are there any miracles for which it would be more
miraculous for the testimony to be wrong than it is for the
miracle to be true?
In spite of the difficulties associated with acknowledging
the existence of any miracle, there are a number of matters that
could possibly be considered miracles that have had some degree
of testimony or evidence in their favor. Among these are:
- Spontaneous healing
- Alien visitation (interstellar or angels)
- Unusual mental powers
- Reincarnation
- Time Travel
Each of these has evidence that can be very compelling.
There are numerous cases of documented spontaneous healing
of a variety of illnesses where the healing is counter to the
laws of nature. Particularly in cases of stage four cancer,
where all available remedies have failed, there are documented
cases of advanced cancer simply disappearing. Were the X-rays,
MRIs and blood tests simply wrong? Was there some deception, or
was there a real miracle?
Is alien visitation a miracle? Perhaps it depends upon
whether or not the alien visitors are considered angels (i.e.,
messengers from God). But if there are alien visitors and they
are not messengers from God is it any less miraculous that out
of billions and billions of stars in this galaxy that a visitor
from another star system happened to wind up here?
Among the roughly six billion people on earth there are a
hand-full of people whose minds can do amazing things. There is
a man who can recite the value of pi with perfect accuracy out
to over 20,000 digits in roughly five hours. This same man,
Daniel Tammet, can perform calculations in his head that exceed
the capacity of many calculators and again does so with complete
accuracy. He does this without consciously calculating
anything. He just sees the numbers in his head. Of course then
there is the real Rainman, Kim Peek, who can tell you what day
of the week any day in history falls on, but can’t shave himself
or tie his own shoes. He can also tell you the zip code or area
code of any town you might care to name. Of course there are
those that will say there is nothing miraculous about what these
men do, but it certainly seems to defy the laws of nature.
In the area of reincarnation there are many examples that
have been researched extensively by Dr. Ian Stevenson of the
Department of Psychiatric Medicine at the University of Virginia
School of Medicine, Charlottesville, Virginia. An interesting
article was published by Dr. Stevenson regarding the
relationship between certain birthmarks on children that seem to
relate to previous lives that they remember
(http://www.sinor.ru/~che/birthmarks.htm). Dr. Stevenson can be
seen interviewing a subject in a village in Myanmar at the
following
http://www.healthsystem.virginia.edu/internet/personalitystudies/.
In Regard to reincarnation, there are few stories any more
compelling than the one surrounding young James Leininger who
has accurately described a previous life as World War II pilot,
James Huston Jr. Time after time, specific items he has related
about an earlier life aboard the aircraft carrier Natoma, the
plane he flew, another flyer he identified by name (Jack Larsen)
and specific details surrounding his own death have been proven
true (an eye witness to the final moments of James Huston Jr.
being shot down over Chichi Jima was located). Further details
can be found at http://www.ntcsites.com/acadianhouse/nssfolder/
publicfolder/AP/cover_feature_24_3.htm. But is this a
miracle? It certainly runs contrary to what we consider “the
laws of nature.” At what point is a young boy able to relate
enough details about a previous life before we can say that it
would be more miraculous for him to “make up” such a convincing
story as opposed to actually having lived the previous life that
he talks about?
In regard to time travel, there are countless reports of
missing time and even a few cases of time repeats where people
seem to experience a replay of events. In one such case in 1991
a Nova Scotia university student was making a bus trip home to
visit his parents. At one point he noted that the bus had
passed a Michelin tire factory only to notice once again a few
minutes later that the bus was once again passing the same
factory. Was this a miracle, déjà vu, time travel, or just a
lost bus driver?
There are also many reports of skipped time. One case of
skipped or missing time involves two women who were driving from
northern California to a conference in Las Vegas a few years
ago. During the trip they were in contact by amateur radio with
a well known radio talk show host with whom they were
acquainted. As they talked, the radio show host had to excuse
himself from their conversation for a few minutes; letting them
know he would be right back and would give them a call on the
same frequency. The women drove on for a few minutes and soon
heard their friend calling over the radio. Answering him, they
were questioned about where they had been for the last hour or
so. At first this made no sense to them because they believed
they had only talked to their friend just a few minutes earlier.
Finally, they realized they were no longer on the same road they
had been on when they had last talked to him. In fact, they had
apparently already gone through a town that they believed was
still ahead of them. They were where they should be, but had no
idea how they had gotten there or where the time had gone.
By some miracle did these two women somehow skip ahead in
time, were they both in some kind of hypnotic state even while
one of them was driving, were they just deceived or were they
being deceptive as David Hume might suppose?
Perhaps if we recognize one simple fact everything will
come into focus. Life itself is the ultimate miracle. To this
day we simply don’t know the cause of life as opposed to nonlife.
We don’t know what animates us, makes us who we are, or
gives us the inspirations that expand knowledge beyond that
which is already known. So, as Einstein speculated, perhaps we
might choose to “live as if everything is a miracle
