It’s a Miracle

It seems like every hour I hear someone talk about a miracle happening. I am at home now and have the TV on in the background. Within two minutes I heard the term used twice; once for a caesarian birth and the next for a new surgery technique that helped a woman who was previously debilitative.
For me, this metaphor has become part of our language to such a degree that the metaphor has increased magical thinking and a lack of understanding of nature, science and the validity of faith.
I hate to be a kill joy, but there are no true miracles. A miracle is an event that goes outside of the natural laws of the universe, i.e. spontaneous regeneration of a new limb when one has been severed. It is not an event that is common, such as a birth, and it is not an event that is unusual but within statistical probability such as getting a Royal Flush twice in a row. The odds for some events happening are tremendous. The odds for winning the Powerball Jackpot are one in over 195 million. It I was to win, it would feel like a miracle but it is still easily within the realm of possibility.
The primary definition of a miracle, according to Merriam Webster, is “an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs”. Here is the problem… when we call something a miracle we are claiming divine intervention. We are forcing God to become part of very event. We allow mundane and expected events to be the cause of our human will, science, natural phenomenon or whatever. However, when it is special or a bit unusual we say God had his hand in the event.
I believe this use of language and communication is forcing our brain to become lazy. In the past, argumentation , debate and critical thinking were an integral part of our liberal arts education. Now we are continuing to give higher education degrees to individuals who cannot use logic and reason. Words mean something and natural events and scientific advances are not a product of divine intervention.

Another difficulty when we use the miracle claim, is our selective use of it. When Senator Gabrielle Giffords was shot and survived, people from all over the nation called it a miracle. However, the death of the young girl who was also present was the “act of a Mad Man”, or even worse, “God’s Will”. When we make God the author of natural events, we also have a tendency to make God a monster while placing some individuals as being worthy of special treatment and others to be forgotten by God. It is true that Giffords’ recovery is wonderful and promising; however, it was far from a miracle. A miracle would have been someone waving their hand over her head and the wound being fully repaired without any consequences. Yet we use magical talk and undercut the special events, the trained personnel who worked so hard to help her. We also place God to be the Judge of those who are special enough to be saved and one who kills little girls.
I prefer to think of God as limited in his power and one who loves everyone. I don’t see God as choosing to save one through his almighty power and to cause others to suffer and die… All for His Glory!?