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:
“Friendship is never established as an understood relation.... It is a miracle which requires constant proofs. It is an exercise of the purest imagination and the rarest faith.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“With our splendid harbour, our beautifully situated city, our vast territories, all our varied and inexhaustible natural wealth, if we don’t convert our colony into a great and prosperous nation, it will be a miracle of error for which we shall have to answer as for a gigantic sin.”
—Henry Parkes (1815–1896)
“The most beautiful lives, to my mind, are those that conform to the common human pattern, with order, but without miracle and without eccentricity.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)