Miracles & God's intervention in the world

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  • Created by: emily.m
  • Created on: 12-06-13 11:36

Miracles

Definition: Something which defies the laws of science and people can't think of an explanation so it makes you think that God must have done it.

Christians believe miracles are a sign of God's love and/or power.

Examples of Jesus' miracles

The Wedding at Cana

  • Jesus and his disciples were invited to a wedding and as there was no more wine Jesus turned water into wine
  • It was Jesus' first miracle, showing Christians how powerful he is

Walking on water

  • It was windy and Jesus walked on water to reach his disciples in a boat, afterwards they got to their destination more quickly
  • Demonstrates the power Jesus has
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Examples of Miracles

Holy Spirit at Pentecost:

  • The disciples are all in a room and a gust of wind enters, a flame rested on each of their heads and they began to speak in tongues. Everyone could understand their native language- some people thought they were drunk.
  • The event shows Gods power and how Christians should pass on the word of God

Modern day miracles: Lourdes

  • A girl claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary through visions around 150 years ago. Mary told St. Bernadette to dig into the ground and she found a spring (now seen as Holy water)
  • Today sick and disabled people visit Lourdes, France a lot in the hope to be cured
  • There are on average 8 million pilgrims a year that visit

The Catholic Church investigates miracles- they must be immediate and permanent otherwise they are not seen as a miracle

For Christians the puropse of a miracle is proof of God's existence, hope and a cure.

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God intervening through the world

God coming to earth as Jesus, both fully human and fully divine is seen as one of the greatest miracles, as is Jesus' resurrection.

Miracles can include:

  • Things God does but nature can't do (God stopping the sun in the sky)
  • Things God does that nature can do but in a different order (Someone recovering from a terminal illness)
  • Things God does that nature can do but God does without using forces of nature (someone wjo quickly recovers from an illness after prayer

Types of miracles from Jesus:

  • Healing (healing of paralytic)
  • Nature (calming the storm)
  • Exorcisms (healing of Legion)
  • Raising people from the dead (Lazarus)

Things like answered prayers can strengthen a Christians faith in God.

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