Medicine encounters things that defy reason and expectations all the time.
Well then, medical journals must brimming over with such encounters. After all, they happen all the time!
Is this, in fact, the case? I don't read them myself, being far more interested in the hard sciences such as astronomy.
There have been studies done on the effect of prayer on healing and patient recovery.
Here's a report on such studies:
http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/06-04-05
A quote:
"Results showed no statistically significant differences between the prayed-for and non-prayed-for groups. Although the following findings were not statistically significant, 59% of patients who knew that they were being prayed for suffered complications, compared with 51% of those who were uncertain whether they were being prayed for or not; and 18% in the uninformed prayer group suffered major complications such as heart attack or stroke, compared with 13% in the group that received no prayers."
Yes, I know that it's from a skeptical website, and that you'll probably dismiss it. People who believe in UFOs, The Bermuda Triangle, and astrology feel much the same.
A verified miracle will not convince someone who doesn’t want to believe in God, but that leaves them with trying to figure out some other way to explain it.
While I freely admit that I lean towards a naturalistic explanation (that's what seems to work in the real world, after all), rest assured that given sufficient evidence I would come to a different conclusion.
Well, it's been a hoot, but it's getting late (yawn...). Off to bed!
This is the internet we're speaking of...if you do a google search of ghosts, the Loch Ness Monster, and ESP, you'll find more sources about each than you have time to read.
....buuut not so much when you google "skepticism".
Well alrighty-then!
I've LIVED several medical miracles. I don't need to read about them, but as a hospice nurse I can name instances where 100% of doctors, scientists had no explanation for what occured, no natural explanations & nothing verified by science, etc. etc. etc.
Like the man that lived over 40 days with no water. He was supposed to die when taken off the vent since he had a severe stroke affecting his midbrain.
That was one thing, but no intake of any fluids for that long...in a weakened state to begin with nonetheless, there's simply no scientific literature to support it. No "natural" explanations.
I've seen similar instances with food.
And I've seen no natural explanations that have even been offered, let alone satisfactory.
I also haven't seen any adjustments to the consensus that people can go 10-22 days without water before succumbing and this happened several years ago.