Fact Sheet – Miracles

 

Introduction:

A miracle is an event that appears to be inexplicable by the laws of nature and hence is considered to be supernatural in origin or an act of God or supreme entity. Miracles have always been a debatable topic, as there are several opposing views on the existence of miracles. Firstly, there are many religious people who see miracles as signs from God, and view those who experience miracles to be divine or favoured by God. Miracles strengthen the faith of these believers and prove the existence of an almighty spirit. Secondly, others believe that a supernatural world exists and miracles happen through it. They believe that miracles are only significant if they reveal a deeper meaning to life. Finally, there are many others who believe that a supernatural world and miracles are impossible. These people believe that there is nothing beyond the physical matter in our world.

 

Christian Miracles:

Christian miracles that are likely to have a divine origin are generally grouped into three categories, which are major, minor and other miracles. Major miracles include stigmata, bilocation, involuntary levitation, and healings. Minor miracles include incorruptibility of the body, odor of sanctity, and divine images. Other types of miracles include invisibility, manifestations of objects, multiplication of food, raising the dead, dematerialization and materialization, weeping statues, inedia, emission of light from the body and ebullition of blood.   

On September 23, 1971, 10 year-old Clorette Robinson of Oakland California started bleeding from the palm of her hand. She was rushed to the hospital and examined by both doctors, who could neither stop nor explain the bleeding, and psychiatrists who could not find anything wrong with her. A few days later, she experienced stigmatism again, but this time she bled from her side, forehead and feet. The stigmatism continued until March 31, 1972, and ended altogether.

There have been more than 300 cases of stigmata that have been reported, mostly Catholics whom Christ's crucifixion is extremely important. However, many believe that stigmata are caused by psychological disorders such as hysteria. Herbert Thurston writes in his book, The Physical Phenomena of Mysticism, that highly religious people may become so obsessed with the image of Jesus suffering on the cross, they mentally reproduce the wounds on themselves. Yet, science cannot explain why the wounds never closed or became infected or the cause of the nail-like projections.

In 1992 in San Thomas, Mexico, while praying for her dying mother, a 12-year-old girl, Anna Avila, noticed that the statue of Madonna was weeping tears. "I thought it was the morning dew, so I touched the droplet," said Ana. "It tasted salty, like a real tear." When she returned home, she found her mother in the kitchen preparing dinner and singing. The woman had not been able to get out of bed for three months. As news spread, other healings were reported. "People have come from South and North America, from Europe and from Asia," says Father Amoros, the local priest. "And all have been healed." He says, "People arrive on stretchers and crutches, then walk away under their own power after praying to the Madonna and touching her tears.”

 

Aboriginal Miracles

             A white buffalo calf named Miracle was born as a sign of hope for the native Indians. The rare birth has great cultural significance for the Great Plains Native American tribes. The calf's birth will "bring purity of mind, body and spirit, and unify all nations -- black, red, yellow and white". Since the birth, thousands of visitors have traveled to the Wisconsin farm to catch a glimpse of Miracle. According to statistics from the National Buffalo Association, the likelihood of a white calf birth is approximately 1 in 6,000 million.

 

Buddhist Miracles

"Burmese religious pilgrims flocked by the thousands at the weekend to Nyaunglaybin Township, 160 kilometres north of Rangoon, to witness a "miracle" of multi-coloured light beams appearing from a Buddhist monastery." (Source: DPA, Germany, March 1997) Residents of Nyaunglaybin say the light beams have been occurring since March 9, and has drawn increasingly large crowds to the small town. At the centre of the phenomenon is a Buddhist monk named Sayadew. Earlier this month some of Sayadew's followers claimed to see "relics of the Buddha", or mortal remnants of the Lord Buddha who died more than 2500 years ago, on the monk's robes.

 

Hindu Miracles

  1. Flame took the form of the symbol OM (Hindu symbol for the Universe) and stayed in this form long enough to be photographed.
  2. Sai Baba materializing a small Bible before eyewitnesses.
  3. The portrait of Sai Baba manifested in the clouds.
  4. Sai Baba often materializes special, very fine ash - vibhuti, which has healing powers.
Dear Dave,
...However, was his thesis that Sai does not have many of the powers, which he claims, which Haroldsen has much evidence to support; he could show that Sai Baba is, to a great extent, a hoax... I saw Baba come out of the personal interview room and sit down.  As he was sitting there I noticed a large gold watch under his small hand, which he was unsuccessfully trying to hide.  A moment later he made the familiar circular motion with his hand as if he were materialising the object, and then gave a student the watch.  I then noticed that behind the cushion in his chair there was something shiny, and he paid careful attention to correct the position of the cushion to hide the object...  
Sincerely,

Jed

 

Islamic Miracles

This tree is discovered in a forest near Sidney. As you can see the bottom half of the tree trunk is bowed in such a way that it resembles a person in a posture of Islamic Prayer - the RUKU. Looking close you can see the hands resting on the knees. The most amazing thing is that the "man" is directly facing the Holy Ka’aba in Makkah.

 

Conclusion:

It is almost certain that some miracles are indeed facts. D. Scott Rogo, believes that today’s science and technology are not advanced enough to explain the physics of the miraculous. However, he does not deny the option of a spiritual world that may be responsible for miracles.