week 10 discussion post #1

On the topic of Miracles


This seems like a bit of a difficult topic to discuss, in the sense that I don't think there will be many people able to provide examples of their own miraculous experiences.

To me, it seems that the concept of a 'miracle' is fairly subjective, i.e. people use the word to varying degrees. An example: Some people consider the act of giving birth to a child as a miraculous occurrence, even though they know its a result of a woman's egg being fertilised, etc. Personally, I think the building of the Pyramids and the Taj Mahal, and many other 'classic' works of architecture, are miraculous, considering the comparative lack of tools/technology they had in those days!


I've heard of instances where a person's heart has literally stopped, but doctors/emergency crew have been able to revive that person, therefore bringing them back from the dead, regardless of how long that person was 'dead' for.

Then you have the odd story of a person being in a coma for decades, only to wake up to a completely changed society. I recall reading a news article within the last 12 months or so, of a man whose last memories prior to waking from his coma, were of a Germany still divided by the Berlin wall. How somebody can remain unconscious for so long, and then come 'back to life' so to speak, is beyond me.

Although science and technology have progressed far, there are still many things we don't know about, or don't fully understand. Humans made assumptions and devised the "laws" of nature, based on a continuous experience - but I think it's impossible for life and nature to be so straightforward as to follow a set of 'laws'. Hence we the one-off instances, the 'un'-usual events, as strange, and/or miraculous..