2. Miracles
World Scripture
When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door upon the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. Then he went up and lay upon the child, putting his mouth upon his mouth, his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands; and as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. Then he got up again, and walked once to and fro in the house, and went up, and stretched himself upon him; the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
2 Kings 4.32-35
I [Jesus] heal the blind and the leprous, and bring the dead to life with Allah’s permission.
Qur’an 3.49
A great crowd followed [Jesus] and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus, and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I shall be made well.” And immediately the hemorrhage ceased; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone forth from him, immediately turned about in the crowd, and said, “Who touched my garments?” And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” And he looked around to see who had done it. But the woman, knowing what had been done to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him, and told him the whole truth. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
Mark 5.24-34
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful to ask alms of those who entered the temple. Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked for alms. And Peter directed his gaze at him, with John, and said, “Look at us.” And he fixed his attention upon them, expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but I give you what I have; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” And he took him by the right hand and raised him up; and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and walked and entered the temple with them, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Acts 3.1-8
The World-honored One, the All-compassion and Guide, for the sake of King Ajatasatru, entered into the moonlight-samadhi. Having entered the samadhi, a great light issued. The light was pure and cool, and it went to the king and shone in the king’s body. The boils on his body got cured and the choking pains died out. Relieved of the pains of the boils and feeling cool in body, the king said to the Buddha, “Where does this light come from? It shines on me and touches me; it cures all boils, and the body feels peace.” The Buddha answered, “O great king! This is the light of the heaven of heavens. This light has no root; it is boundless… It is seen only where there is a desire to save… O King, you said before that there was no good doctor in the world who could cure the body and mind. Because of this, this light is first sent out. It first cures your body, and then, your mind.”25
Mahaparinirvana Sutra 575-76 (Buddhism)
The physical healing of Christian Science results now, as in Jesus’ time, from the operation of divine Principle, before which sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear as naturally and as necessarily as darkness gives place to light and sin to reformation. Now, as then, these mighty works are not supernatural, but supremely natural. They are the sign of Immanuel, or “God with us,”—a divine influence ever present in human consciousness.
Science and Health (Christian Science)
Then a blind and dumb demoniac was brought to [Jesus], and he healed him, so that the dumb man spoke and saw. And all the people were amazed, and said, “Can this be the Son of David?” But when the Pharisees heard it they said, “It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons.”26
Matthew 12.22-24
Because I see danger in the practice of miracles, I loathe and abhor and repudiate them.
Digha Nikaya 9.66 (Buddhism)
A man should not rely on miracles, and even if the Holy One, blessed be He, has once performed a miracle for him he should count on it another time, for miracles do not happen every day. And whoever runs into obvious danger may thereby exhaust all his merit previously accumulated.
Zohar 1.111b (Judaism)
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
The Bible says that Sarah, Abraham’s wife, bore Isaac when she was nearly ninety years old. Do not think that it is impossible. If you women are confident, you could also conceive by spiritual power. Spiritual power is miraculous.
(283:126, April 8, 1997)
The unity of mind and body generates a mysterious, invisible power. When you enter that state, miracles occur… When you are united with God’s love, you can perform miracles. Healing fire comes out of your open palms. You can move your audience simply by willing it so… You can revive those who are [spiritually] dead.
What power is this? It is the power of love. All this is possible only through the power of love. Love is such that the more you practice it, the greater it becomes. But there is a condition. To obtain that power, you must subjugate your physical body.
(282:229-30, March 26, 1997)
With absolute faith, anything is possible. Suppose while walking on the street you met a sick man. Feeling deep compassion for him, without a second thought you stretch out your hands over him, place your hands on him and pray for him sincerely with tears. Then, a miracle will happen.
Yet I do not want to be involved in miracles. Jesus performed many miracles, yet people did not appreciate their value. Despite all the miracles, he was driven to death. It is no use to heal those who are not worthy. More than miracles, what they need is truth. Truth is unchanging and eternal, but signs and miracles are fleeting. What is temporary cannot govern what is eternal.
(252:258, January 1, 1994)
It is possible to revive a dead person by breathing his or her spirit self back into the physical body. Yet certain conditions are required. First, the person should not be dead for too long—not more than three days—so that the flesh has not decayed. Within that period, if the spirit is called back into the body the person can come back to life; it is not very difficult.
However, bringing someone back to life on earth after God has called that person to the spirit world requires paying a suitable price. It should either be compensation of greater value [than the person’s life], or something to benefit the whole purpose. Maybe to revive that one person, three or four others might have to die. Therefore, you should carefully consider the benefit of bringing someone back to life. If you do not take responsibility for doing it, you will violate the heavenly law. All in all, performing miracles is not necessarily good.
(15:176, October 7, 1965)