Are there any Christians out there that believe unexplainable miracles can still happen, like the kind Jesus performed in the Gospels?

[SteveVH]

Atheists and non-believers of course would not be convinced. I would not blame them. The miracles aren’t there to convince you. They’re not part of a deal God’s offering.

Like everything God gives, they’re gifts.

People think God has to offer them a deal, they give their part of the deal, carry off what God offers, and then you go back to whatever it was you wanted to do. Trouble is, God’s not a salesman. He works miracles as He sees fit, towards His end, which is our loving Him and each other. Miracles would do no good towards that end in this present time.

Your post baffles me and I hope that I am just misunderstanding.

Is your conclusion that God does not perform miracles in our present time? How do you account for the miracles mentioned above, or do you simply not believe them? We have had very recent miracles through the intercession of St. Pope John Paul, II which were considered in his recent canonization. As a Catholic, I am bewildered. Again, I may just be completely misunderstanding your position.

Thanks.

 

[Pat_Albertson]

Bump.

Now, is this a miracle? Yes, absolutely, it violates the laws of physics. Does anybody know the miracle is taking place even if they see the little old lady struggling with her package? How could they? Who is there measuring the tension in her muscles or the pressure distribution on the soles of her shoes? Even if she’s walking in snow or mud, who goes around attempting to calculate stresses and strains from random footprints? I’ve really only heard about people doing that for bigfoot. And with regard to the little old lady’s footprints, any tangible evidence of such a miracle will soon disappear. Will anybody (other than me, and maybe now you) even consider making records or impressions of her footprints?

(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

What would it take to know absolutely everything about even a small plot (10 ft. x 10 ft.) of ground and the people and animals who cross it?

 

[lutheran_farmer]

Besides a few incidents in my own life that defy explanation, (and events in the lives of people I know) there is a miracle at every mass.

 

[TarkanAttila]

Your post baffles me and I hope that I am just misunderstanding.

Is your conclusion that God does not perform miracles in our present time? How do you account for the miracles mentioned above, or do you simply not believe them? We have had very recent miracles through the intercession of St. Pope John Paul, II which were considered in his recent canonization. As a Catholic, I am bewildered. Again, I may just be completely misunderstanding your position.

Thanks.

That’s not what I meant. Don’t worry. I do believe in even modern miracles. I believe canonisations are confirmed by something.

What I mean is that, from God’s perspective, He does not need to work what are miracles to us to be God. He works miracles out of love for us.

One atheist asks: “Why doesn’t God heal amputees?” It was the title of an infamous atheist video. The answer is simple: God needn’t. Any miracles are at His command, not mine, His will, not mine.

An atheist of the YouTube ilk will go on and on about how God doesn’t work miracles to prove He exists, and then go on to prove confirmed miracles are natural phenomena, or hoaxes. They really are rather hard to please. They will not find God, because they wish to find Him on their terms - i.e, through “mass miracles” - rather than His.

 

[SteveVH]

That’s not what I meant. Don’t worry. I do believe in even modern miracles. I believe canonisations are confirmed by something.

What I mean is that, from God’s perspective, He does not need to work what are miracles to us to be God.

God does not have to do anything to be God. He simply IS.

He works miracles out of love for us.

Absolutely.

One atheist asks: “Why doesn’t God heal amputees?” It was the title of an infamous atheist video. The answer is simple: God needn’t. Any miracles are at His command, not mine, His will, not mine.

Agreed. As Christians we are taught to embrace the cross. There is value in suffering and only God knows where the greatest benefit lies. Sometimes it is through a healing. Sometimes it is through offering our pain and suffering to Christ on the cross. Suffering can indeed be a blessing. One thing we can take comfort in is that God always knows best. If we submit ourselves to his will it matters not if we suffer or experience a miraculous healing. Indeed, one who suffers in holiness may have a greater affect on souls than a healing.

An atheist of the YouTube ilk will go on and on about how God doesn’t work miracles to prove He exists, and then go on to prove confirmed miracles are natural phenomena, or hoaxes. They really are rather hard to please. They will not find God, because they wish to find Him on their terms - i.e, through “mass miracles” - rather than His.

I’ve always wondered why atheists care so much about something in which they don’t believe.


Blessings.

Steve

 

[TarkanAttila]

I am glad we are on the same page, Steve.

God bless, and blessed Sunday.

 

[SteveVH]

I am glad we are on the same page, Steve.

God bless, and blessed Sunday.

And you as well.

 

[chris298]

Hi Lori and all, I wrote the following account years ago and my interpretations and beliefs of what happened has altered slightly, but my description of what Our Father allowed me to see and experience is true.
I have had to post it as 2 posts because you’re allowed 6000 characters per post, so here’s post
1 of 2…

The following is an account of how an angel helped my dearest friend Angela. To clarify one point, Angela was unable to get medical help for any of her health problems due to previous bad experiences that she had.
Angela’s body died in November 2006, and I know that she lives on with Our Father in heaven, either as an angel or sleeping, awaiting a resurrection.
And so I keep a diary written to Angela. The following is from an entry I wrote in 2008, to keep a written record of The Miracle:
29-08-2005* 00:00

You call me,
the period that went on for ages ( I think it started 27-08-2005, lasted for weeks and was the penultimate period)
00:00-02:00

You were screaming in agony with outrageous pain coming from the region of your right ovary - we think it was another burst ovarian cyst, this had happened a few times before, and around the same day of the cycle. You couldn’t move your right leg.

02:00-03:00

You started to call out ‘Please God help me’ continually.
I joined you in asking Our Father for help, saying ‘Please God help her’, then ‘Please God help’ continually.
I stopped calling out, you were still screaming in agony. I was sitting on the chair beside you, you were lying on the window side of the bed.
I was bent forward, then something told me to sit up straight, eyes forward. I thought, ‘yes, be positive, strong for Angela’. Then, it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds later, the blue beam of light! A crystal clear, deep blue, laser-like beam of light, flashed into the room through the open doorway, stopping by the wall to my right. A white flash of light, the size of an open hand came after the blue beam, where it stopped by the wall. It looked like no other kind of light - like you said later…

I first thought someone must have been standing in the hallway and flashing a torchlight into the bedroom, and that maybe it was the police, someone having called them because of the screaming. I didn’t want to leave your side, so I listened very carefully, and thought, no-one could have got into the flat without me hearing. What was this light, where did it come from? I looked at the curtains, they were closed, no light could have got in that way - wrong angle anyway.
The boiler room door was closed.
Not sure about the kitchen door - wrong angle anyway.
And everywhere was dark, with either the kitchen light or lamp in the hallway as background lighting.
I didn’t have time to dwell on this because you were still screaming in agony.
So I thought ‘O.K. if God is going to help, it looks like it’s got to be through me, since I am the only person physically here with you…’
So I bent forward, hovering both of my hands a couple of inches above you, taking care not to touch you, since I knew this would make things worse - you couldn’t be touched when you were in pain.
No more than a few seconds could have passed, maybe only 2, or more like 1 second, because I had only just done this when there he was!
The Angel came between you and me. I sat back and watched, he was a large man, short dark hair, dark beard, white clothing. He looked kind of like how Saint Peter is portrayed.
Obviously an angel, he was a living person, I could see clearly the features of his face and his facial expression, he was very matter of fact, professional, getting on with his job, competent. And just like the light was ‘like no other light’, this person was like no other person…

 

[chris298]

Post 2 of 2

…His facial expression, persona, manner, a perfect person - no flaw in him, an angel, a son of Our Father - no sin existing in him. His face glowed. It seems to me, that he radiated righteousness.
He cradled you in his arms and sat you up, a transparent version of you, your body was still lying on the bed.
I could see a ball of white light in your abdomen and another in his abdomen, about the size of an open hand.
The light in his abdomen seemed to be absorbing the light in your abdomen, both lights were joined, looking like a dumbell made of light.
He then layed down the transparent version of you, and moved to the top left corner of the room, where he joined at least 2 other spirits, ( there seemed to be 3 of them )
moving into the middle of them, and becoming as transparent as they were, just slightly above invisible. They all seemed to be smiling.
I looked at you, you were smiling, a gentle, serene, content smile. It was only at this point that I realised you had stopped screaming. I looked at the spirits, and in my heart thanked them for helping you, and then, with reference to the next door neighbour and everyone else who was giving us trouble while you were dying a slow painful death, I said in my heart ‘What about them?’ - meaning, if you can help like this, what about the other problems…The spirits replied, silently, ‘We’ll deal with them, you be here for Angela’, which I took to mean ‘We’ll deal with them and everyone else, including yourself, farely and justly at the appropriate time - this being a matter for us and not you or anyone else. You, you be here for Angela.’

I then looked at you, and you were so serene, with that lovely smile that you have.
I looked out through the open door to the hallway and recalled the blue beam of light and white flash, and the angel, the abdominal lights, the conversation, everything.
I then thought 'how do I tell you this? You’ll think I’m mad. But then I came to my senses and recalled your experiences to do with Saint Sebastian which you had told me about. It was around this moment that I could no longer see the spirits in the room.
I said ‘I saw a flashing light’, you opened your eyes, looked at me briefly, then looked forward and said ‘I’m always seeing them’.
I then explained what I meant, and told you the whole story. When I described the blue beam, you said ‘It’s like no other light’.
You wanted to know what the angel looked like, and said that Sebastian didn’t have a beard…One day we’ll find out who that was, if you haven’t done already…
Then you realized that you weren’t in pain and could move your right leg.
I stayed with you for 3 days until you could get around unaided. And for 2-3 of those days, whilst I stayed with you, I kept saying ‘that really did happen, didn’t it?’ to which you would say ‘yes’. It was only when you made it clear that you were completely fed up of this that I stopped.

 

[tonyfish58]

Yes and Every Day to Peoples of all Faiths of God

God Bless and Regards Tony

 

[Protestor]

So, what do you believe about real, unexplainable miracles? Can they still happen, today, like they did in the Gospels? Or, are they just those ordinary graces that we sometimes call miracles, and give more credit than they deserve, now? Do non-Catholic churches have any examples of holy people (saints) in their church history, that really could perform these types of miracles, just like the Apostles did in the Gospels?

I am a continuationist or I am not a cessationalist however you want to name me I believe in miracles. My friend has healed people I am not sure that you would consider him a bonafide saint, but I do, and I assuming healing is a miraculous.

 

[SteveVH]

I am a continuationist or I am not a cessationalist however you want to name me I believe in miracles. My friend has healed people I am not sure that you would consider him a bonafide saint, but I do, and I assuming healing is a miraculous.

If there was a healing, it wasn’t your friend that healed anyone, but rather the Holy Spirit. I have witnessed the same thing with a friend of mine. What a wonderful gift to be used by God to show his compassion and power.

 

[spedteacherita]

I’ve always been interested in stories about miracles. Those were always some of my favorite stories from the Gospels. The Catholic Church has recognized many thousands of amazing miracles that Saints of the Church have performed over the years, from the time of the Apostles, all the way up to the present day. I’ve read a lot of books about the lives of the Saints, and I love to read about all of their miracles. But, in more modern times, it seems that most Christians (even most Catholics) don’t really believe that those kinds of miracles can still happen. Many people call very ordinary things ‘miracles’, that I would never consider to be miracles, at all. I might call some of them special graces received from God, but not real miracles. I think the word itself has lost a lot of it’s real meaning and impact, because of that. (i.e. “It’s a miracle! I got the job I really wanted after I prayed for it!” No, that’s probably a special grace received through prayer, but not really a miracle.)

So, what do you believe about real, unexplainable miracles? Can they still happen, today, like they did in the Gospels? Or, are they just those ordinary graces that we sometimes call miracles, and give more credit than they deserve, now? Do non-Catholic churches have any examples of holy people (saints) in their church history, that really could perform these types of miracles, just like the Apostles did in the Gospels?

I know there are some televangelists that make claims of performing miracles, but are they really true? I have serious doubts about most people that claim to perform miracles, no matter what church they belong to. It’s way too easy for people to fake that kind of thing, at least these days. Isn’t it? On the other hand, I’m pretty sure it’s still possible. I think it can still happen, but I just don’t think there are too many people out there that have the kind of faith necessary to be able to do it. Sad but true.

I absolutely believe that miracles happen but I also think we, as Christians must be careful to make sure that they stand the test of lining up with God’s inerrant Word. John warns us:

1 Jn 4:1-3 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”

 

[Rasoleil]

I only have a short story of a coincidence, and not a miracle. Perhaps it was just a small sign. Earlier this year when my wife and I were walking in the city, an unkept couple came up to us and asked us for money. They told us that their apartment had caught on fire and that they lost all of their possessions, and to make matters worse, their landlord refused to help them in any way whatsover. They said that they hadn’t eaten in awhile and all they were asking was for a little money to eat. I really didn’t have that much money on my, because just walking downtown can be risky at times. I carried enough for bus transportation money and alittle more in case we needed to catch a taxi. I reached in my pocket and pulled out some quarters, and as I was about to hand it to them, they had this look of tremendous gratitude, and just for a couple dollars worth of quarters. Before I was about to hand over the change, I decided to ask them a question. Basically, I asked them if they were telling the truth ( I know, a stupid question ), and they said yes, of course. Of course anyone can lie about things like that, but I felt the need to ask. I then pulled out the money I had reserved for a taxi ride, should we would need one. I had a twenty dollar bill, and I told them that I was going to give them this twenty dollars, but I told them that I was going to ask them again if they were telling the truth. They told us yes and that they swore to God that they were telling the truth about their predictiment. As they were telling me this, they both exhibited such gratitude and started crying and were joyful at the same time. We even hugged. I told them that I believed them, and that even if they were lying, that I gave them this money because I thought that I was doing was right. They again assured me that they were telling the truth.
I know, that this story probably has bored a lot of people, and it wasn’t a miracle, but I felt that telling all the details was important because of what happened not 5 minutes later. The bus stop was only a 5 minute walk from where we were, and as we approached the bus stop, to our left, on the ground, was a bill, and there was no one else around. As I picked it up, I immediately noticed that it was a twenty dollar bill. I was shocked, and my wife look at me in disbelief, not because we found money, but because we had just given the same amount away. Had there been others waiting at the bus stop, if the bill had been there already, someone would have undoubtedly picked it up, or if someone at the stop or someone just walking on the sidewalk dropped the bill, then someone again would have picked it up. I kept the same bill that I found as a reminder of what happened that day.
This was a coincidence, no doubt, but an amazing coincidence in my opinion because I found on the street, not only the same amount I gave to this couple, but the same denomination.