Saturday, April 2, 2016

miracle definitions

1828 Webster's Dictionary
MIR'ACLE, noun [Latin miraculum, from miror, to wonder.]
1. Literally, a wonder or wonderful thing; but appropriately,  2. In theology, an event or effect contrary to the established constitution and course of things, or a deviation from the known laws of nature; a supernatural event. Miracles can be wrought only by Almighty power, as when Christ healed lepers, saying, 'I will, be thou clean, ' or calmed the tempest, 'Peace, be still.'

Vocabulary.com
Miracle:  1. a marvellous event manifesting a supernatural act of a divine agent  2. any amazing or wonderful occurrence

Oxforddictionaries.com
Miracle:  1. A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divine agency:
the miracle of rising from the grave  1.1. A highly improbable or extraordinary event, development, or accomplishment that brings very welcome consequences:
it was a miracle that more people hadn’t been killed or injured  1.2. An amazing product or achievement, or an outstanding example of something:
a machine which was a miracle of design
[AS MODIFIER]: a miracle drug

John MacAuther   gty.org
"What is a miracle? Let me give you a simple definition. A miracle is an interference with nature by a supernatural power. A miracle is something outside our box invading our little box, something outside our world coming into our world and making waves and ripples. Miracles are events in the external world wrought by the power of God. A miracle is God stepping into the universe, setting aside the normal laws of nature to do a supernature act. The Bible describes miracles usually, especially in the New Testament, in three terms: signs, wonders and mighty works. And therein you have the definition of miracles, really. They were mighty works to create wonder, to act as a sign."

Tyndale Bible Dictionary
MIRACLE A divine act by which God reveals himself to people. The classical definition of miracle assumes that it is contrary to natural law, but this is a misnomer for two reasons. First, many of the miracles of the Bible used nature rather than bypassed it (e.g., the wind that parted the Red Sea, Ex 14:21). Second, there no longer is a concept of “absolute natural laws”; rather, a phenomenon that is not readily explainable may reflect laws that scientists do not yet fully understand. In Scripture the element of faith is crucial; a natural approach cannot prove or disprove the presence of “miracle.” The timing and content of the process can be miraculous, even though the event may seem natural. The revelatory significance is also important. In every case God performed the miracle not merely as a “wonder” to inspire awe but as a “sign” to draw people to himself.

Although English speakers regularly use "miracle" to refer to a broad range of wondrous events, the biblical concept is limited to those not explainable solely by natural processes but which require the direct causal agency of a supernatural being, usually God. These occur throughout all major eras of history but do appear with greater frequency at key periods of God's self-revelation.    http://christiananswers.net/dictionary/miracle.html 


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