A miracle is an event attributed to divine intervention. Alternatively, it may be an event attributed to a miracle worker, saint, or religious leader. A miracle is sometimes thought of as a perceptible interruption of the laws of nature. Others suggest that God may work with the laws of nature to perform what people see as miracles. Theologians say that, with divine providence, God regularly works through created nature yet is free to work without, above, or against it as well.
In casual usage, "miracle" is seen as any event that is statistically unlikely but beneficial, (such as surviving a natural disaster), or simply a "wonderful" occurrence, regardless of likelihood, such as a birth. Other miracles might be: survival of a terminal illness, escaping a life threatening situation or 'beating the odds'. Some coincidences may be seen as miracles. The rapid German recovery after the Second World War was sometimes called the German Miracle.
The word is often used to give an impression of great and unusual value in a trivial context: Miracle Whip, a commercial food product; Fort Myers Miracle, a sports team.
This article deals with miracles as supernatural, not the other usages described.
Read more about Miracle: Explanations For Miracles, Criticism
Famous quotes containing the word miracle:
“This is the real creation: not the accident of childbirth, but the miracle of man-birth and woman-birth.”
—D.H. (David Herbert)
“Everything is a miracle. It is a miracle that one does not dissolve in one’s bath like a lump of sugar.”
—Pablo Picasso (1881–1973)
“According to the historian, they escaped as by a miracle all roving bands of Indians, and reached their homes in safety, with their trophies, for which the General Court paid them fifty pounds. The family of Hannah Dustan all assembled alive once more, except the infant whose brains were dashed out against the apple tree, and there have been many who in later time have lived to say that they have eaten of the fruit of that apple tree.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)