Lame Miracles… God could do better than this…

Do not feel compelled to click on my ad above. – BUM

In response to the diary writer: http://www.opendiary.com/entrylist.asp?authorcode=D627385

Whose name is a bunch of Japanese characters that don’t resolve on my browser, nor probably many who read my diary, so, with his permission I’m going to refer to him as "Shin".

I’m going to number my general comments, so if Shin, or anyone wants to address any of my specific claims, you can label which you are referring to.

Shin left this note:

"You want a miracle? Here:

http://www.zeitun-eg.org/pg0001.htm

Enjoy. True history is full of them. -True history- rather than history written by those who do not want to accept the existence of religion and God, so they must cover it up and pretend that people so full of honesty they would sooner die than tell a lie, would die for Him.

It is miraculous!" – Shin

New rule. Miracles have to be something remotely impressive.

1. If you claim "healings" as a miracle, I’m only accepting an amputated limb growing back as a healing miracle.

As you said, history is full of these miracles. Shouldn’t be too hard to find one … Let me know what you got!

2. In response to, "they must cover it up and pretend that people so full of honesty they would sooner die than tell a lie, would die for Him."

I asked: Who died rather than tell a lie, when, and what was the lie?

The only note that seemed to respond to my direct challenge of your claim was: http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/COPERTIN.htm

Which gave the biography of JOSEPH OF COPERTINO 1603-1645…

I thought you were going to give me an example of someone who witnessed Jesus’ resurrection, as this was the topic of the entry.

Also, a person living more than a thousand years after Jesus dying for whatever reason doesn’t prove anything at all about Jesus. We got martyrs of later converts in a ton of religions. Further examples of this sort don’t prove anything.

So, Shin, please tell me, what did you have in mind when you said "they must cover it up and pretend that people so full of honesty would die for Him."

I’ll ask again:

Who died rather than tell a lie?
When did this happen?
What was the lie?

These are fairly simple questions, I’m looking forward to the answers.

3. "He doesn’t need to prove Himself on your command and specifications to the world, because the reason the world doesn’t see Him is not because there are not abundant miracles, but because it does not want to see because of what that would mean to people’s lives."

Just curious, why is it, do you think, that of all these miracles that God performs, He never gives us a "persistent" miracle that can be verified at any later date by anyone?

I’m sure I’ll get in trouble for wording it that way, so I’m going to put it this way:

Why, for example, didn’t God leave the angel that flew from heaven to roll away the stone of the tomb to proclaim to anyone that approaches that "He is risen!"?

Hell, I don’t even need this angel to say anything.

Just have a posted angel for anyone who went to the place where the most important miracle of all time happened.

This would be an acceptable miracle. It’s verifiable by anyone, at any time, and would provide some pretty good evidence that angels exist.

4. How many non-Christian miracles do you believe in? Do you believe in these Islamic miracles, for example, that the BBC reported?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7193579.stm

The story includes the following:

    "People get cured here, that is why they come to the cemetery," says Samad, one young visitor.

    Many people talk about miracles that have happened in the cemetery.

    Some say many sick people who had lost all hope of recovery were miraculously cured within moments of their first visit.

    "Several paralysed people have left the cemetery walking on their own two feet," says Sangeena."

You responded to this with: "Also, find something comparable to Fatima or Zeitun, or the hundreds of saints that have documentatedly raised the dead and other miracles."

Really? So these healing miracles aren’t impressive to you?

What if they had a documented case of an amputated limb being grown back after visiting this site? — I know, me too!

"The difference between myths and beliefs is in the evidence, which a fair minded person will note is clear, witnessed, and by impartial and even anti- observers." – Shin

Just to be sure I undertand you right.

You don’t believe in any non-Christian miracles.

If this is incorrect, please let me know which non-Christian miracles you believe in.

Part of me thinks it would be an interesting thing to try… if I had taken the BBC story and changed it to be a story about miracles occurring in a cemetery of Christian martyrs and asking Christians if they expect me to believe these miracles. And if they say yes, give a person the real link to this being a story about Islamic miracles… perhaps that kind of cognitive dissonance would produce an effect…