Miracles are scientifically impossible

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A miracle is any supernatural event. As such, a miracle cannot be studied scientifically except to document its occurrence.^[1] There is no natural law which says miracles can or cannot occur. However, many miracles are claimed to be Paranormal events, in which case they are natural events which science has not explained. There are several errors which may occur when discussing miracles:

1. Confusing miracles with the paranormal, and then acting as if miracles can be studied scientifically. While the paranormal is merely unexplained, supernatural events are outside the purview of science.
   
2. Denying the existence of miracles: this requires proving a negative, and so it an irresponsible claim which invokes a burden of proof.
3. Claiming that miracles are acts of God, or making other claims about them. Since miracles cannot be studied scientifically, such claims cannot be proven. Some definitions of the word "miracle" define a miracle as an act of the devine, but to actually claim divine intervention would usually be scientifically unsupported.
   
4. Asserting that miracles necessitate other concepts, such as God. Although miracles are culturally bound up with such concepts, since they are not subject to science we cannot claim to know this as a fact.
5. Asserting that specific events are supernatural miracles: since we do not know all the laws of nature, we cannot assert that miracles are not natural. We do not know, for example, if other universes (hypothesized by science) might intrude at times on our own, and we do not know if our universe allows things which seem like miracles to our current understanding.
6. Thinking that miracles are impossible because they "violate the known laws of nature." It is true that by definition, the laws of nature are violated by miracles, but at the same time there is no law of nature that says the laws of nature cannot be violated. While it is often thought that they cannot be violated because violations have never been observed, in the context of miracles such observation is the very claim in question.

There are many documented instances of seemingly miraculous happenings. However, it is not known whether they are supernatural events (as sometimes claimed) or whether they are unexplained events which can occur under known natural laws.

Many claimed miracles, such as the appearance of the faces of religious figures in food would be expected to happen by chance, given the number of different physical configurations that foodstuffs can take. However, they may be associated with events, such as healings, which are harder to explain.

See also

• Vinstonas Wu on miracles

References

1. ↑ A miracle does not conform to physical laws or consistencies, being supernatural, and thus cannot give rise to scientific theories.