Miracle

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an occurence that defies set physical laws

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Really the definition should be: defies known physical laws.The definition of miracle is: 1. an event or action that apparently contradicts known scientific laws 2. a remarkable thing Etymology of the word miracle
the Latin miraculum, "an object of wonder", became miracle in Ecclesiastical Latin which became miracle Old French which entered Middle English (as miracle) some time before the middle of the 12th century.Miraculum comes from the Latin verb mirare, "to wonder", itself from Latin mirus, "wonderful".Native Americans wondered at many of the things that the Whites brought to their continent. Did they consider them supernatural or a curiosity?

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like healing a cripple instantaneously

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My initial response is: "Cool Beans! Wonder how they did it?"
But since I have no medical background, I have no way to investigate, so the curiosity stops there.

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

The quotes in Message 8 aren't mine, but am responding to the rest of the post and Message 9.Just as a miracle is nothing more than a remarkable thing or event that apparently contradicts known scientific laws, supernatural describes what exists outside a man's normal experiences or the known laws of nature.My experiences and knowledge will be different from those of someone from an isolated tribe or from those of a scientist. What I consider miraculous, a scientist may not because they know more about the laws of nature etc.As Jar mentioned, resusitating someone from death or near death with CPR would probably have been considered a miracle to early Christians if not demonic.

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I don't think it's necessary to have a medical background to realize that what just happened can't be medically explained.

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Considering that your OP only said a cripple, I have no way of knowing if the healing can be medically explained. Obviously, it could not be medically explained by me, so as I said, initially my repsonse is that it is miraculous, but I wouldn't instantly advertise it as a supernatural miracle by a divine power.It would be better to deal with a real situation, than hypothetical sci-fi type of situations.

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A group of people prayed with and for the man and his glass eyeball miraculously changed into a real one.

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Now this situation is supposedly a real one, correct? Was it ever investigated?Have you ever read of an instance in the Bible where God took a manmade substance and transformed it into something natural?

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

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Is it a "good" thing or a "bad" thing?

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Apparently the source of the healing is what is important.If the healing is done by someone not considered to be Christian, then the healing is not from God; and if it isn't from God, then the only thing left is Satan.Personally, I figure any healing is good.

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.

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Many christians can't seem to decide who a "true" christian is

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I'm not sure if it deals with who is "true" or not.Like Jar, I think it would be a good discussion.Since spirituality is within us and invisible to onlookers, how does one discern the veracity of someone else's inner spirituality?From the various posts in these forums, you can tell that Christians don't really know how to tell either.I've asked a few preachers and they don't really know either, then they won't discuss it anymore.Example: If I said that God showed me that Jesus was not born of a virgin (by our terms today), a preacher would say that it was not God that showed me this because it disagrees with the NT.Same if someone is healed using a Native American prayer, or a new age techique, or someone with no religion has a gift we don't understand; is that person any less healed? Personally, I don't think so. Healed is healed.That is why I like this forum. I can ask the questions the preachers don't want to talk about.

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A gentle answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.