DEC. 3, 2007

BELIEF & PRACTICE
Modern miracles: Belief endures

Americans continue to believe in miracles by a wide margin, despite a growing understanding of the science behind what were once often considered supernatural events. Polls show that more than eight in 10 Americans believe in divinely worked wonders, and nearly two-thirds say they know someone who has experienced a miracle. In fact, miracle stories are so fascinating — to the public and to the media — that reports of miracles make up a significant portion of religion coverage, be they studies on prayer and healing or reports of apparitions. In September 2007, the Allentown Morning Call reported on crowds that gather in a Minersville, Pa., alley at 6 p.m. every day to see what some believe is an image of the Virgin Mary that appears on a garage door. In June 2007, the Chicago Sun-Times reported on stories of an image of Jesus in a car window in Texas, the name Allah seen in a sliced tomato in Britain, and the face of God that appeared on the ceiling of a Tennessee church.

Then there are stories of healings and recoveries that are unique or can’t be explained well by modern medicine, which many attribute to miracles. And in the face of desperate odds, such as miners trapped underground, families cling to the hope for a miracle.

Miracles have a long and important place in religious traditions. But are miracles central to claims for proof of the divine? And if today’s science can explain so-called miracles from ancient times, does that mean those were not miracles — and are meaningless? What really constituted a miracle then — and what constitutes one now, in this day and age?

Why it matters

For many believers, miracles are potent signs of God’s existence for a skeptical world. Miracles are also a hallmark of some of the fastest-growing religions. For other believers, most of today’s miracle stories are little more than titillating glimpses of the supernatural or simply superstition and have little to do with true faith and mature spirituality. In the wider culture, miracle stories are often the flashpoint in the fierce debate over God and religion between believers and today’s neo-atheists. Also, proving or disproving miraculous events is a principal arena for investigation by experts exploring the border between science and religion.

Click the map for interview sources in your state and region

• Lisa J. Schwebel is an assistant professor in the department of classical and Oriental studies at Hunter College in New York City and author of Apparitions, Healings and Weeping Madonnas: Christianity and the Paranormal. Contact 212-772-4960, lschwebe@hunter.cuny.edu.
• Frank J. Tipler is a professor of mathematical physics at Tulane University in New Orleans and author of The Physics of Christianity, which argues that basic Christian miracle stories such as the Resurrection and the Virgin Birth can be consistent with the known scientific laws of the universe. Contact 504-865-5727, tipler@tulane.edu.
• Eitan P. Fishbane is an assistant professor of Jewish philosophy at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City, the intellectual center of Conservative Judaism. Fishbane is an expert in the history and literature of Jewish mysticism, including medieval Kabbalah. Contact 212-678-8864, eifishbane@jtsa.edu.
• Margaret Poloma is an emeritus professor of religion at the University of Akron who has written extensively about miracles. She says people believe in miracles because they need to have hope in something bigger than themselves. Contact 330-972-6837, mpoloma@uakron.edu.
• The Rev. James Martin is a Jesuit priest and author of a memoir, My Life With the Saints. He can talk about the tradition of miracles in Catholicism and the canonization process. Contact 212-515-0146, martin@americamagazine.org.
• Marcia K. Hermansen is a theology professor and director of the program of Islamic World Studies at Loyola University in Chicago. She wrote the entry on miracles for the Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World. Contact 773-508-2345, mherman@luc.edu.
• William Dinges is a professor of religion and culture at the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. In the Catholic tradition, he says, belief in miracles stems from the fact that Catholicism is a very sacramental tradition that takes the supernatural seriously. He says it believes that divine reality is not passive, but works through the world in extraordinary ways. Contact 202-319-6890, dinges@cua.edu.
• David Grandy is an associate professor of philosophy at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He co-authored the book Magic, Mystery and Science: The Occult in Western Civilization. Contact 801-422-5749, david_grandy@byu.edu.
• Paul Kurtz is the founder of the Amherst, N.Y.-based Council for Secular Humanism, which sponsors the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. The CSI says it “encourages the critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a responsible, scientific point of view.” The CSI has an extensive list of associated experts from around North America and beyond who could comment critically on miraculous claims. Contact 716-636-7571 ext. 202, PaulKurtz@aol.com, or CSI executive director Barry Karr at 716-636-1425, skeptinq@aol.com.
• Seung Ai Yang is an associate professor of sacred Scripture at St. Paul Seminary School of Divinity, the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minn. She wrote the entry on miracles for the Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Contact 651-962-5061, sayang@stthomas.edu.
• Koichi Shinohara is a senior lecturer in the department of religious studies at Yale University in New Haven, Conn. She wrote the entry “Changing Roles of Miraculous Images in Medieval Chinese Buddhism” for the publication Images, Miracles and Authority in Asian Religious Traditions. Contact 203-432-0839, koichi.shinohara@yale.edu.
• Jon Butler is dean of the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., and a professor of history and religious studies. He can discuss Americans’ belief in miracles. Contact 203-432-1364, jon.butler@yale.edu.
• Vanessa L. Ochs is director of Jewish studies at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. Ochs writes about Jewish sacred traditions and spiritual practices. Read a Sept. 23, 2005, interview Ochs gave to Religion & Ethics Newsweekly. Contact 434-924-6722, vlo4n@virginia.edu.
• L. Michael White is director of the Institute for the Study of Antiquity and Christian Origins at the University of Texas at Austin. White is a leading expert on early Christianity and wrote an essay on miracles in the ancient world for the 1998 PBS/Frontline documentary From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians. Contact 512-232-1438, lmwhite@mail.utexas.edu.
• Michael Alan Signer is a professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. He wrote the essay “Restoring the Balance: Musing on Miracles in Rabbinic Judaism” for the collection Miracles in Jewish and Christian Antiquity. Contact 574-631-7635, michael.a.signer.1@nd.edu.
• Michael Budde is chairman of the political science department at DePaul University in Chicago and a frequent lecturer on religious studies. Budde can discuss the growth of churches that believe in miracles. Contact 773-325-1974, mbudde@depaul.edu.
• Terry L. Nichols is chairman of the theology department at St. Thomas University in St. Paul, Minn. He has written widely on faith, miracles and science. Contact 651-962-5320, tlnichols@stthomas.edu.
• Todd Klutz is a graduate of Wheaton College, a senior lecturer in New Testament studies at the University of Manchester in England and editor of Magic in the Biblical World: From the Rod of Aaron to the Ring of Solomon. Contact 011-44-0161 275 3608, Todd.Klutz@manchester.ac.uk.
• Kenneth L. Woodward is a longtime religion reporter and author of several books, including The Book of Miracles: The Meaning of the Miracle Stories in Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. Contact 914-762-2130, KennethLWoodward@msn.com.
• See a May 7, 2007, ReligionLink edition on atheism for sources critical of miracle claims.

Background

GENERAL BACKGROUND AND HISTORY
Scholars note that in earlier times, miracles were often what are called “nature miracles,” that is, large-scale public wonders worked by God (or the gods), such as making the sun stand still in the Hebrew Bible, or by prophets acting in the name of the divine. In modern times, and especially in recent years, the trend has been toward smaller-scale, private miracles, such as healings or personal visions or messages. Such miracles can be harder to verify, explain or debunk.

Experts also say that the term miracle has become so popular that almost anything inexplicable or coincidental is considered a miracle. Appearances of faces or figures in various objects are commonplace, and popular culture abounds with reference to the miraculous in television shows, movies and sports. There are innumerable books on miracles and miracle experiences.

Classically, a miracle is always considered the work of God, who may operate through a holy person. But a miracle is not wrought by that person’s own power. Experts also note that although it is common to describe miracles as a suspension or violation of natural law, proponents of miracles prefer to say that miracles actually restore the natural order, such as when a sick person is healed.

While all major religions feature miracles stories, a belief in the miraculous is most prominent and prevalent in Christianity. Because miracles are an integral part of the canonization process for saints, the Catholic Church has the most elaborate and rigorous process for verifying or explaining miraculous claims. Especially newsworthy are current miracle claims associated with the late Pope John Paul II and the late Mother Teresa of Calcutta, both of whom are being promoted for sainthood. But experts say that at the grass-roots level, miracles, especially healings and related phenomena, are integral to growing nondenominational communities, such as Pentecostal churches.

SURVEYS AND RESOURCES
• See a November 2007 Harris Poll that found that 79 percent of Americans believe in miracles.
• See a Barna Poll released Oct. 21, 2007, that found that an average of two-thirds of American adults believe six of the Bible's "miracle" stories are literally true.
• A 2004 national survey of 1,100 physicians, conducted for the Louis Finkelstein Institute for Religious and Social Studies of The Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, found that 74 percent of doctors believe miracles occurred in the past and 73 percent believe they can occur today. The poll results were posted by Worldhealth.net.
• A February 2003 Harris Poll showed that 84 percent of Americans believe in miracles. The figure falls to 72 percent among those with postgraduate degrees, and is higher among other segments.
• A 2000 Newsweek poll found that 84 percent of Americans believe God performs miracles, that 79 percent believe the miracles in the Bible actually took place, and that 63 percent know someone who claims to have experienced a miracle. Read a July 2000 Skeptical Inquirer commentary on the article about the poll results.
• Read an April 24, 2000, Washington Post story that discusses a number of poll findings on miracles.
• A 1997 survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press tracks the consistently strong belief in miracles during the decade from 1987 to 1997. In 1997, 61 percent of the public completely agreed with the statement: “Even today miracles are performed by the power of God.” That was up 14 points since 1987. Some 24 percent said they would “mostly agree” with that statement.

NEWS REPORTS
• See a Sept. 1, 2007, Morning Call story about how hundreds of people gathered each day at 6 p.m. in an alley in Minersville, Pa., to see what some say is an image of the Virgin Mary that appears on a garage door. It's posted by JeffChristman.com.
• Read an Aug. 28, 2007, Hollywood Reporter story about an upcoming ABC television series called Miracle Man, in which a disgraced televangelist-turned-atheist finds that God is using him to perform real miracles.
• Read a May 21, 2001, Christianity Today essay titled “Which Miracles Are Real? How can we tell which miracles, signs and wonders are of God?”
• See a Dec. 22, 2000, Religion & Ethics Newsweekly segment on miracles.

OTHER RESOURCES
• “The Miracles Page” lists alleged miracles of various faiths, and ChristusRex lists Marian apparitions in the United States.
• Read the essay on miracles in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which includes David Hume’s well-known argument against the likelihood of miracles and a discussion of the religious significance of miracles.
• Read the entry on miracles in the 1911 edition of The Catholic Encyclopedia. (The 1911 edition has since been superseded in some respects, but this entry is a good historical overview.)
• Read The Skeptic’s Dictionary entry on miracles.