Biblical Miracles

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Lot's Wife

Read the account in Genesis 19:1-26

Lot was the only righteous man in the whole of Sodom and Gomorrah, and God warned him and his family to flees the town, as he was soon to destroy it.

Lot's wife turned to look back at what they were leaving behind, and she was turned into a pillar of salt.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNrRKL-V8gA (Incorporar)

What does this miracle tell us about God's wishes for us?

God wants us to move forward from wrongdoings and move towards what is right. Lot's wife was looking back at something that was sinful and harmful to her, and God wants people to live free from sin and its harm.

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Moses summons plagues of locusts

Read this account in: Exodus 10:12-20

Moses was trying to persuade Pharaoh to release his Jewish slaves, and Moses predicted a plague of locusts coming over the land.]

God told Moses to stretch out his hand, and thousands of locusts invaded Pharaoh's kingdom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tVTEyuCKn4 (Incorporar)

What does this miracle tell us about God's wishes for us? Are some preferred over others?

God wishes that we are all free from slavery and free to worship Him.

He does not prefer some people over others, however, the plague was a response to Pharaoh's refusal to release the slaves and abide by God's will.

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Battle of Ai

Read this account: Joshua 10:1-43

During a battle, Joshua commands the sun to 'stand still'.

The Israelites and their allies were able to win the battle because of this extra time given by God.

Summary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BboIS63X-Og (Incorporar)

Problems caused by this miracle:

God is favouring Israel over everyone else - cannot be fair/just

God is using hailstones as weapons - cannot be omnibenevolent

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Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead

Read this account: John 11:1-44

A man named Lazarus had been in his tomb for four days when Jesus arrived.

Jesus tells people to take away the stone from the entrance to the tomb, and thanked God that he hears us.

He calls Lazarus out from the tomb and Lazarus emerges, wrapped in his grave clothes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR1ku3kE2lY (Incorporar)

Can there be a way in which this miracle can be explained without divine intervention?

Lazarus may have had a clinical death, where circulation and the heart stop.

This is also known as cardiac arrest, and perhaps Lazarus was somehow revived from this cardiac arrest.

Read more on the Lazarus phenomenon.

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Feeding of the 5000

https://youtu.be/3E1A4pLtFDY (Incorporar)

After Jesus had healed a large crowd of thousands and taught them about the Kingdom of God.

It's estimated that the crowd consisted of 5000 men, as well as an undocumented number of women and children.

The leftovers were enough to fill 12 baskets.

It's possible that instead of being an actual miracle, the perceived 'miracle' can actually be explained with science.

Possible explanations:

The large number of people created a feeling of mass hysteria, as the bread and fish may have fed more people than expected, and the reports of the event were exaggerated.

People were starving, so perhaps their stomachs had shrunk in size, meaning that they did not need as much food to satisfy their appetite.

Also, this took place in a hot country, which means two things. Firstly, people's appetites would be smaller if they are in hotter conditions. Secondly, people would drink a lot more water, which would make them bloated/full more easily.

The bread given in this miracle was barley bread. Barley can be used as a derivative of drugs, so perhaps people weren't really aware of what happened because of their possible intoxication.