How to Be Solid in Nature So You Can Discern a Miracle
Know Nature Deeply
To recognize a miracle—or even to claim one—requires an intimate understanding of what nature does. Natural law is not a suggestion; it is the predictable framework by which the universe consistently operates. Without this grounding, any so-called miracle is indistinguishable from ordinary events or anomalies we simply do not yet understand.
Understand What a Miracle Would Be
A miracle is traditionally defined as an event that violates or suspends natural law. Yet this definition is paradoxical: you cannot identify a violation unless you are certain of the law being violated. If natural laws can change at will, then no law is truly fixed, and the miracle loses meaning.
Stay Agnostic About the Source
If an event appears to violate natural law, we cannot assume it is divine. It could stem from some unknown natural mechanism, a misperception, or even a hidden law we have yet to understand. Claiming divine authorship is not warranted without extraordinary evidence.
Recognize the Moral Implications
Miracles that contradict natural law inherently challenge our trust in the universe. Our confidence in natural order is essential to survival, education, and rational decision-making. Elevating miracles as evidence of God may inadvertently promote irrationality or moral confusion by suggesting nature itself can be suspended at will.
Be Skeptical of Religious Framing
Religions often insist that miracles are signs from God. But such claims assume a divine agenda and require a selective acknowledgment of natural law. Miracles are framed to appear supernatural, but they may equally undermine the very laws believers rely on to make sense of the world.
Trust Observation, Not Assumption
To discern a miracle responsibly, start from the perspective that natural law is constant and reliable. Any event that appears extraordinary must first be examined rigorously under this assumption. Miracles that cannot be tested or reproduced are not evidence—they are claims that challenge reason itself.
Preserve Confidence in Nature
Miracles, by definition, challenge our understanding of natural law. Before attributing significance to them, we must ensure that our perception of the world remains grounded. Trust in the predictable universe is more valuable than any unverified anomaly or purported divine intervention.
Bottom Line
Being “solid in nature” is about cultivating a rigorous understanding of how the world actually works, resisting assumptions about supernatural causes, and maintaining confidence in natural law. Only with this foundation can one responsibly evaluate claims of miracles—without automatically accepting or rejecting them, but with clarity and rational integrity.
APPENDIX:
If miracles are not against the law of nature, then there is no need to bring in God as an explanation for them. Perhaps some kind of invisible intelligent computer is doing them. We can invent whatever possible explanation we wish and nobody has any business saying, “God did this or that”.
You cannot tell if a miracle event is in opposition to nature or not. Miracles imply that we should abandon our most important belief, that nature works with regularity for the sake of a less important belief, that God communicates through miracles – events which change nature! They are anti-person and therefore pro-evil. Yet miracles need to assume natural law is valid and fixed before they can break it or be an exception to it.
It is only the evidence of physics and its proofs that has the right to declare if a natural law has any fluidity. Believers have no right to declare it fluid so that they can make room for miracles. That is religion telling science what to teach instead of letting science do its job.
We should always assume that there is possibly a natural explanation for miracles, even if we believe them. We might not have an explanation yet or the truth may be lost. A remarkable coincidence, can in theory make a miracle that is not real, seem real. Miracles are so poor as signs we should rage that Mary seems to be appearing somewhere instead of springs appearing to give water to dying children in the desert.
If reports appeared of cats walking on water, rocks that go walkabout and beach pebbles turning into seashells, you know religion will ignore them. Real respect for nature and science DEMAND that it does not and conducts an investigation. All religion cares about is anomalies that are useful to its ideology. The "Virgin Mary" in her apparitions never tells people to investigate non-religious miracles. Or to be cautious with reason and the truth in such matters.
Believers have to pretend they know more than they know in order to proclaim miracles as part of their faith. In reality they are being arrogant and using faith to channel that arrogance.