quotations about miracles
To deny that a miracle is capable of proof, or to deny that it may be proved by evidence of the same nature as establishes the truth of other events, is, in effect, as I have said, to deny the existence of God. A miracle can be incapable of proof only because it is physically or morally impossible, since what is possible may be proved. To deny that the truth of a miracle may be established involves the denial of creation, for there can be no greater miracle than creation. It equally implies that no species of being that propagates its kind ever had a commencement; for if there was a first plant that grew without seed, or a first man without parents, or if of any series of events there was a first without such antecendents as the laws of nature require, then there was a miracle.
ANDREWS NORTON
"A Discourse on the Latest Form of Infidelity"
However portentous a fact may be, or even supernatural--if such facts exist--however solemnly a miracle may be done in sight of all, the lightning of that fact, the thunderbolt of that miracle is quickly swallowed up in the ocean of life, whose surface, scarcely stirred by the brief convulsion, returns to the level of its habitual flow.
HONORÉ DE BALZAC
Seraphita
Miracles are like facts of animal magnetism, or table-turning. They come into existence only where there are people ready beforehand to believe in them.
S. F. S.
The Month, vol. 126
The miracles of earth are the laws of heaven.
JEAN PAUL RICHTER
attributed, Dictionary of Burning Words
Miracles are like small animals in the forest. Sometimes you see them, but mostly you don't.
MAXINE GAUTHIER COMBS
The Inner Life of Objects
Miracles are like angels who have sometimes been visible to men, who would much more willingly have introduced them to an acquaintance with the laws and society of heaven, than have filled them with fear and consternation. They are insulated examples of laws as boundless as the universe, and by the manner in which we are affected by them, prove how much we have to learn, and how utterly incompetent we are to judge of the ways of God.
SAMPSON REED
Observations on the Growth of the Mind
Knowledge has its boundary line, where it abuts on ignorance; on the outside of that boundary line are ignorance and miracles; on the inside of it are science and no miracles.
HORACE MANN
Thoughts
The world was made of miracles, unexpected earthquakes, storms that came from nowhere and might reshape a continent. The boy beside her. The future before her. Anything was possible.
LEIGH BARDUGO
Crooked Kingdom
Miracles don't occur when I want what I haven't got or pray for neon letters in the sky. I can only perceive the miraculous by appreciating and being open to each moment. I tend, as I think many of us do, to think that miracles are only those things that bring great joy, happiness, clarity, or relief. But miracles often, at first, seem a mixed blessing at best or even quite painful.
MARILYN LANCELOT
Switching Addictions
From a scientific standpoint, a miracle is anything that is statistically improbable. Miracles are the opposite of traditions. Traditions are predictable and repetitive, something you can count on with certainty year after year. In contrast, miracles are unpredictable, unexpected, and unanticipated. The more unlikely an event, the more miraculous. In this way, a tradition of miracles is an oxymoron.
ANNA YUSIM
"The Role Holiday Traditions Play In Mental Health", Mind Body Green, December 25, 2017
Unfortunately, miracles are hard to come by in this thing we call life, but if the opening of a sea turtle nest doesn't make you a believer, precious little ever will.
KEVIN RAUB
"A perfect day in Brazil's aquatic Eden", CNN, January 4, 2018
Truly miracles are like wine, and vastly improve with age.
LUCIANUS
Progress, August 1886
Since man cannot live without miracles, he will provide himself with miracles of his own making. He will believe in witchcraft and sorcery, even though he may otherwise be a heretic, an atheist, and a rebel.
FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY
The Brothers Karamazov
Miracles are propitious accidents, the natural causes of which are too complicated to be readily understood.
GEORGE SANTAYANA
introduction, The Ethics of Spinoza
Like the biblical Christ who sometimes comes in the stranger's guise, or the angels who visit us unawares, some of the miracles are unrecognizable when they come into our lives, but if we're lucky, they remain with us long enough so we finally know the magnitude of the gift and the courage of the giver.
CATHY CASH SPELLMAN
"A Christmas Story", Huffington Post, December 22, 2017
Every believer is God's miracle.
PHILIP JAMES BAILEY
Festus
The days of miracles have passed. I do not believe, of course, that there was ever any day of actual miracles. I cannot understand that there were ever any miracles at all. My guide must be my reason, and at thought of miracles my reason is rebellious.
THOMAS EDISON
interview, Columbian, 1911
A miracle is when the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A miracle is when one plus one equals a thousand.
FREDERICK BUECHNER
The Alphabet of Grace
Miracles don't just happen for some and not for others. They occur when specific conditions are nurtured. Like a seed, with the right minerals, water, air, and sunshine, anyone, no matter who you are or what you have done in the past, can begin creating practical miracles.
JOHN GRAY
Practical Miracles for Mars and Venus
Miracles are instantaneous, they cannot be summoned, but come of themeselves, usually at unlikely moments and to those who least expect them.
KATHERINE ANNE PORTER
Ship of Fools