Difference between revisions of "Miracle"
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Though the term "miracle" can often be heard from Christians and non-Christians alike, the entire Bible only contains one genuine reference to "miracle" and that was a quote of a non-believer (the Pharaoh) in Exodus 7:9 (RSV): "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Prove yourselves by working a '''miracle''',' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'" | Though the term "miracle" can often be heard from Christians and non-Christians alike, the entire Bible only contains one genuine reference to "miracle" and that was a quote of a non-believer (the Pharaoh) in Exodus 7:9 (RSV): "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Prove yourselves by working a '''miracle''',' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'" | ||
| − | Under Christianity and Judaism, God is truth and a miracle is nothing more than a "sign" of the truth. | + | Under Christianity and Judaism, God is truth and a miracle is nothing more than a "sign" of the truth. "Miracle" is the non-believer's term for what believers properly describe as a "sign", a term that does appear repeatedly in the Bible. |
A purely scientific definition of a miracle is this: a net decrease in [[entropy]]. It follows from this definition that the greatest miracle would be the conversion of decaying matter to human life, as in the Resurrection. | A purely scientific definition of a miracle is this: a net decrease in [[entropy]]. It follows from this definition that the greatest miracle would be the conversion of decaying matter to human life, as in the Resurrection. | ||
Revision as of 19:43, February 20, 2007
A miracle is defined by Merriam-Webster (1997) as "an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs."
Though the term "miracle" can often be heard from Christians and non-Christians alike, the entire Bible only contains one genuine reference to "miracle" and that was a quote of a non-believer (the Pharaoh) in Exodus 7:9 (RSV): "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Prove yourselves by working a miracle,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'"
Under Christianity and Judaism, God is truth and a miracle is nothing more than a "sign" of the truth. "Miracle" is the non-believer's term for what believers properly describe as a "sign", a term that does appear repeatedly in the Bible.
A purely scientific definition of a miracle is this: a net decrease in entropy. It follows from this definition that the greatest miracle would be the conversion of decaying matter to human life, as in the Resurrection.
