DICT.TW Dictionary Taiwan

 mir·a·cle /ˈmɪrɪkəl/
 奇蹟,神奇,神奇的事

 Mir·a·cle n.
 1. A wonder or wonderful thing.
    That miracle and queen of genus.   --Shak.
 2. Specifically: 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, or one transcending the ordinary laws by which the universe is governed.
    They considered not the miracle of the loaves.   --Mark vi. 52.
 3. A miracle play.
 4. A story or legend abounding in miracles. [Obs.]
    When said was all this miracle.   --Chaucer.
 Miracle monger, an impostor who pretends to work miracles.
 Miracle play, one of the old dramatic entertainments founded on legends of saints and martyrs or (see 2d Mystery, 2) on events related in the Bible.

 Mir·a·cle, v. t. To make wonderful. [Obs.]
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 miracle
      n 1: any amazing or wonderful occurrence
      2: a marvellous event manifesting a supernatural act of God

 Miracle
    an event in the external world brought about by the immediate
    agency or the simple volition of God, operating without the use
    of means capable of being discerned by the senses, and designed
    to authenticate the divine commission of a religious teacher and
    the truth of his message (John 2:18; Matt. 12:38). It is an
    occurrence at once above nature and above man. It shows the
    intervention of a power that is not limited by the laws either
    of matter or of mind, a power interrupting the fixed laws which
    govern their movements, a supernatural power.
      "The suspension or violation of the laws of nature involved in
    miracles is nothing more than is constantly taking place around
    us. One force counteracts another: vital force keeps the
    chemical laws of matter in abeyance; and muscular force can
    control the action of physical force. When a man raises a weight
    from the ground, the law of gravity is neither suspended nor
    violated, but counteracted by a stronger force. The same is true
    as to the walking of Christ on the water and the swimming of
    iron at the command of the prophet. The simple and grand truth
    that the universe is not under the exclusive control of physical
    forces, but that everywhere and always there is above, separate
    from and superior to all else, an infinite personal will, not
    superseding, but directing and controlling all physical causes,
    acting with or without them." God ordinarily effects his purpose
    through the agency of second causes; but he has the power also
    of effecting his purpose immediately and without the
    intervention of second causes, i.e., of invading the fixed
    order, and thus of working miracles. Thus we affirm the
    possibility of miracles, the possibility of a higher hand
    intervening to control or reverse nature's ordinary movements.
      In the New Testament these four Greek words are principally
    used to designate miracles: (1.) Semeion, a "sign", i.e., an
    evidence of a divine commission; an attestation of a divine
    message (Matt. 12:38, 39; 16:1, 4; Mark 8:11; Luke 11:16; 23:8;
    John 2:11, 18, 23; Acts 6:8, etc.); a token of the presence and
    working of God; the seal of a higher power.
      (2.) Terata, "wonders;" wonder-causing events; portents;
    producing astonishment in the beholder (Acts 2:19).
      (3.) Dunameis, "might works;" works of superhuman power (Acts
    2:22; Rom. 15:19; 2 Thess. 2:9); of a new and higher power.
      (4.) Erga, "works;" the works of Him who is "wonderful in
    working" (John 5:20, 36).
      Miracles are seals of a divine mission. The sacred writers
    appealed to them as proofs that they were messengers of God. Our
    Lord also appealed to miracles as a conclusive proof of his
    divine mission (John 5:20, 36; 10:25, 38). Thus, being out of
    the common course of nature and beyond the power of man, they
    are fitted to convey the impression of the presence and power of
    God. Where miracles are there certainly God is. The man,
    therefore, who works a miracle affords thereby clear proof that
    he comes with the authority of God; they are his credentials
    that he is God's messenger. The teacher points to these
    credentials, and they are a proof that he speaks with the
    authority of God. He boldly says, "God bears me witness, both
    with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles."
      The credibility of miracles is established by the evidence of
    the senses on the part of those who are witnesses of them, and
    to all others by the testimony of such witnesses. The witnesses
    were competent, and their testimony is trustworthy. Unbelievers,
    following Hume, deny that any testimony can prove a miracle,
    because they say miracles are impossible. We have shown that
    miracles are possible, and surely they can be borne witness to.
    Surely they are credible when we have abundant and trustworthy
    evidence of their occurrence. They are credible just as any
    facts of history well authenticated are credible. Miracles, it
    is said, are contrary to experience. Of course they are contrary
    to our experience, but that does not prove that they were
    contrary to the experience of those who witnessed them. We
    believe a thousand facts, both of history and of science, that
    are contrary to our experience, but we believe them on the
    ground of competent testimony. An atheist or a pantheist must,
    as a matter of course, deny the possibility of miracles; but to
    one who believes in a personal God, who in his wisdom may see
    fit to interfere with the ordinary processes of nature, miracles
    are not impossible, nor are they incredible. (See LIST OF
    MIRACLES, Appendix.)