Have You Personally Witnessed a Supernatural Event?

[MediumTex]

I would define a supernatural event as one involving the temporary invalidation of one or more laws of physics or other laws of nature as we understand them.

I would not consider the existence of the world or the birth of a baby as a supernatural event, although these things are obviously very impressive.

I tend to think that there is no such thing as a truly supernatural event, since we know that there either is or isn't a God or other supernatural being, and if there is such a being I would expect that he would have created the laws of nature as a binding set of rules for the dimension we inhabit, and if there is not such a being I would obviously expect that the law of nature would not be overruled from time to time by an external omniscient presence if no such external omniscient presence existed.

But one well-documented supernatural event might be a reason to re-think things.  Does anyone have one to report?

[Storm]

I've never witnessed a supernatural event, although I realize that it is very possible to hallucinate such things:

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Heres Tom with the Weather.”? - Bill Hicks

[MediumTex]

Yeah, I should have said "witnessed a supernatural event without any obvious explanation."

I've seen plenty of interesting stuff that I now would not consider to have been supernatural, including sound waves that can chase people, shadowy figures, eggs turning into chickens and sombreros spinning on treetops.

[Gosso]

I would define a supernatural event as one involving the temporary invalidation of one or more laws of physics or other laws of nature as we understand them.

I would not consider the existence of the world or the birth of a baby as a supernatural event, although these things are obviously very impressive.

I tend to think that there is no such thing as a truly supernatural event, since we know that there either is or isn't a God or other supernatural being, and if there is such a being I would expect that he would have created the laws of nature as a binding set of rules for the dimension we inhabit, and if there is not such a being I would obviously expect that the law of nature would not be overruled from time to time by an external omniscient presence if no such external omniscient presence existed.

But one well-documented supernatural event might be a reason to re-think things.  Does anyone have one to report?

Every night!  My mind goes off on all sorts of crazy adventures to places I have never seen before.

I've never witnessed a supernatural event, although I realize that it is very possible to hallucinate such things:

“Today a young man on acid realized that all matter is merely energy condensed to a slow vibration, that we are all one consciousness experiencing itself subjectively, there is no such thing as death, life is only a dream, and we are the imagination of ourselves. Heres Tom with the Weather.”? - Bill Hicks

Awesome!

But are you just hallucinating, or are you seeing the world for what it truly is?

[Tyler]

I've not witnessed a supernatural event with no possible logical explanation.  I'm not sure those exist -- even if a true miracle happened and cancer disappeared from the earth overnight, someone would postulate a possible scientific reason it happened.  If you're a believer, perhaps that's the point anyway -- a divine creator who knows the future could use very simple occurrences we think of as "coincidence" to shape the world without ever needing to open the skies and rain blood to prove a point.

In any case, I have experienced an event that seems to have defied the odds in an extreme way.  As a kid, my family was involved in an auto collision where we were hit by two 18-wheelers at highway speeds, were spun several times, and the car was completely totaled.  Noone was wearing seat belts.  And the five of us walked away with nothing more than a few minor cuts from flying glass.  We used to keep the hood ornament from the car on the fireplace mantle as a trophy.

Whether or not we beat the odds due to supernatural intervention, great engineering of the car, or pure luck is certainly debatable.  But looking at photos of the car afterwards, it's hard not to have your faith built up a bit.  

[Tyler]

I don't have the pictures personally, but I'll ask around to see if a family member still does.  I think they'd be fun to hold onto.

[AdamA]

I have never witnessed a supernatural event, but have been frequently surprised by people who say they have. 

I suspect a very high percentage of the population believes they have witnessed such an event.  I'll bet it would be close to 50%. 

[MediumTex]

I have never witnessed a supernatural event, but have been frequently surprised by people who say they have. 

I suspect a very high percentage of the population believes they have witnessed such an event.  I'll bet it would be close to 50%. 

What kind of physical trauma have you seen someone experience and survive that was surprising to you?

This would fall short of the supernatural, but might still be considered "superlucky".

Given how fragile we are physically, I'm always impressed at the things people can survive without dying.

[AdamA]

What kind of physical trauma have you seen someone experience and survive that was surprising to you?

This would fall short of the supernatural, but might still be considered "superlucky".

Given how fragile we are physically, I'm always impressed at the things people can survive without dying.

That anyone ever survives even a modestly high speed automobile accident is amazing to me.  I will sometimes see a picture of an unscathed person's car after a crash and have no idea how they are still alive.

Years ago I had a friend who ran a red light and drove underneath the trailer of a mack truck, completely decapitating the top of his car from the base of the windshield up.  He dislocated his knee, but had no other injuries.  I wanted to ask him, "did you duck or something?"

Also, people running from the police seem to have a "supernatural" ability to jump from fairly significant heights without dying. 

[jackely]

That anyone ever survives even a modestly high speed automobile accident is amazing to me.  I will sometimes see a picture of an unscathed person's car after a crash and have no idea how they are still alive.

I had a head-on collision with a car at about 40 mph in my senior year of high school. I wasn't wearing a helmet. I remember the moment of impact and then I remember a bunch of people standing around and someone saying I was dead. Then I remember getting up and walking away from the crowd so I could sit down by myself to figure out what just happened while the ambulance was on the way. It turned out I had nothing more than a bruise on my hip and a few scratches.

After the motorcycle was repaired I got back on it to get my nerve back and was going about 60 mph on a country road when a dog came running out from a yard. This was not an unusual thing while riding a motorcycle on a country road. Usually the dog just wants to chase you for the fun of it. I just gunned it as I usually did to hurry on by. For some reason the dog kept coming and lunged at me as though he had every intention of killing me. I think the dog was killed instantly. I nearly lost control of my bike but managed to avoid crashing. I remember turning around and heading home shaking like a leaf. I never did get my nerve back. At think that was the first moment in my life when I started to really comprehend the concept of mortality.

At one point in my life I saw supernatural involvement in this and though that maybe God had spared me to do some great thing. Since I haven't done any great thing and likely never will at this point in my life that idea has gone by the wayside but who knows? Maybe some dark force in the universe really did want to kill and God did intervene for reasons unknown to me.

[Gosso]

That anyone ever survives even a modestly high speed automobile accident is amazing to me.  I will sometimes see a picture of an unscathed person's car after a crash and have no idea how they are still alive.

I had a head-on collision with a car at about 40 mph in my senior year of high school. I wasn't wearing a helmet. I remember the moment of impact and then I remember a bunch of people standing around and someone saying I was dead. Then I remember getting up and walking away from the crowd so I could sit down by myself to figure out what just happened while the ambulance was on the way. It turned out I had nothing more than a bruise on my hip and a few scratches.

After the motorcycle was repaired I got back on it to get my nerve back and was going about 60 mph on a country road when a dog came running out from a yard. This was not an unusual thing while riding a motorcycle on a country road. Usually the dog just wants to chase you for the fun of it. I just gunned it as I usually did to hurry on by. For some reason the dog kept coming and lunged at me as though he had every intention of killing me. I think the dog was killed instantly. I nearly lost control of my bike but managed to avoid crashing. I remember turning around and heading home shaking like a leaf. I never did get my nerve back. At think that was the first moment in my life when I started to really comprehend the concept of mortality.

At one point in my life I saw supernatural involvement in this and though that maybe God had spared me to do some great thing. Since I haven't done any great thing and likely never will at this point in my life that idea has gone by the wayside but who knows? Maybe some dark force in the universe really did want to kill and God did intervene for reasons unknown to me.

That is really scary stuff.

Maybe that post will stop someone from buying a motorcycle, which may prevent their early death, then they become someone that has a large influence on the population.  And it was all because of you!

[Ad Orientem]

I am a bit reluctant to post this as it is something the family doesn't discuss much.  But some years ago my cousin Alice, who was crippled from advanced Multiple Sclerosis, in desperation went to a Protestant faith healer. I wasn't present but the details of what happened were related by people, including her husband, who were there. It was one of those faith healing services so there were quite a few people there. Anyways she was brought up in her wheelchair for the altar call. Once there she was helped to her feet and supported by my cousin Brett and another man while the minister prayed over her. What happened next was straight out of every B movie you have seen on the subject. He laid hands on her and she went stiff as a board and then fainted.  When she came too she walked out of the church like she was getting ready for a marathon. She went home, cooked a massive dinner and then went to bed and slept for more than 12 hrs. Prior to this she had not been able to move under her own power or do much of anything without help in several years. Even her ability to speak clearly was fading.

Today she has a slight limp but is in almost every other respect in excellent health and her doctors (she has seen quite a few) have no explanation for her recovery.

[MediumTex]

I am a bit reluctant to post this as it is something the family doesn't discuss much.  But some years ago my cousin Alice, who was crippled from advanced Multiple Sclerosis, in desperation went to a Protestant faith healer. I wasn't present but the details of what happened were related by people, including her husband, who were there. It was one of those faith healing services so there were quite a few people there. Anyways she was brought up in her wheelchair for the altar call. Once there she was helped to her feet and supported by my cousin Brett and another man while the minister prayed over her. What happened next was straight out of every B movie you have seen on the subject. He laid hands on her and she went stiff as a board and then fainted.  When she came too she walked out of the church like she was getting ready for a marathon. She went home, cooked a massive dinner and then went to bed and slept for more than 12 hrs. Prior to this she had not been able to move under her own power or do much of anything without help in several years. Even her ability to speak clearly was fading.

Today she has a slight limp but is in almost every other respect in excellent health and her doctors (she has seen quite a few) have no explanation for her recovery.

That's awesome.  That's the kind of thing I was looking for.

[Jan Van]

Maybe that post will stop someone from buying a motorcycle, which may prevent their early death, then they become someone that has a large influence on the population.  And it was all because of you!

Of course it could work the other way too 

[jackely]

I am a bit reluctant to post this as it is something the family doesn't discuss much.  But some years ago my cousin Alice, who was crippled from advanced Multiple Sclerosis, in desperation went to a Protestant faith healer. I wasn't present but the details of what happened were related by people, including her husband, who were there. It was one of those faith healing services so there were quite a few people there. Anyways she was brought up in her wheelchair for the altar call. Once there she was helped to her feet and supported by my cousin Brett and another man while the minister prayed over her. What happened next was straight out of every B movie you have seen on the subject. He laid hands on her and she went stiff as a board and then fainted.  When she came too she walked out of the church like she was getting ready for a marathon. She went home, cooked a massive dinner and then went to bed and slept for more than 12 hrs. Prior to this she had not been able to move under her own power or do much of anything without help in several years. Even her ability to speak clearly was fading.

Today she has a slight limp but is in almost every other respect in excellent health and her doctors (she has seen quite a few) have no explanation for her recovery.

That's awesome.  That's the kind of thing I was looking for.

I took your post to mean you were only looking for miracles personally witnessed with your own eyes so I didn't share any based on hearsay evidence but I am aware of quite a few from reputable sources.

When you think about it, I guess the whole substance of Christianity involves hearsay evidence that you either believe or you don't.

[Tortoise]

Do those Protestant faith healers have a 100% success rate? If not, I wonder what it's like when they occasionally lay the hands on and absolutely nothing happens--the person just stares at them blankly and expectantly, as if to say, "I'm waiting!"

Seems like that could be a little embarrassing.

[jackely]

Do those Protestant faith healers have a 100% success rate? If not, I wonder what it's like when they occasionally lay the hands on and absolutely nothing happens--the person just stares at them blankly and expectantly, as if to say, "I'm waiting!"

Seems like that could be a little embarrassing.

For the record, I don't believe in "Protestant faith healers" and I'm embarrassed if I gave the impression that I did. I think they are all frauds and the success rate is close to zero with any success at all being contributed to psychological factors. As for the situation you are describing above, it doesn't happen. It's an interesting study in mass psychology but nobody wants to embarrass the faith healer.

[AdamA]

I think they are all frauds and the success rate is close to zero with any success at all being contributed to psychological factors.  

The placebo effect is very real, and probably plays a larger roll in healing than most people would like to think.

As for the situation you are describing above, it doesn't happen. It's an interesting study in mass psychology but nobody wants to embarrass the faith healer.

Interesting...

I believe it probably almost never happens, but I gotta think that a few faith healers have been embarrassed once or twice (although I couldn't find any examples to post when I searched youtube).  

[MediumTex]

Do those Protestant faith healers have a 100% success rate? If not, I wonder what it's like when they occasionally lay the hands on and absolutely nothing happens--the person just stares at them blankly and expectantly, as if to say, "I'm waiting!"

Seems like that could be a little embarrassing.

For the record, I don't believe in "Protestant faith healers" and I'm embarrassed if I gave the impression that I did. I think they are all frauds and the success rate is close to zero with any success at all being contributed to psychological factors. As for the situation you are describing above, it doesn't happen. It's an interesting study in mass psychology but nobody wants to embarrass the faith healer.

When you think about the matter from the perspective of the faith healer, how difficult must it be to be faced with all of those sick people knowing that you really have nothing to offer them except a lot of anticipation.

In that rare situation where sometthing miraculous does seem to happen, I wonder what the faith healer thinks to himself. 

"Dang, maybe I'm finally getting the hang of this."

[jackely]

http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Su ... 036&sr=8-1

Finished over the memorial day weekend and give it 5 stars.

[Lone Wolf]

No.  I'm not even one degree of separation from a story that I found at all believable.

I've never heard of a supernatural occurrence that didn't sound like it was more likely the product of the mind.  The brain is a fascinating system.  What goes on in our skull-sized kingdoms is about as interesting as any supernatural story I've heard.

I've seen plenty of interesting stuff that I now would not consider to have been supernatural, including sound waves that can chase people, shadowy figures, eggs turning into chickens and sombreros spinning on treetops.

Where did you run into the shadowy figure?  Did you catch him in a dream or during the transition into sleep?  I "encountered" him when I slipped into half-sleep during an extended bout of insomnia during my teenage years.

Sufferers of sleep paralysis (a condition where your body falls asleep but your mind remains awake) often run into him or a figure like him.  It can apparently be absolutely terrifying, especially if you are in sleep "lock down" with your limbs immobile.

If I ever get my whole lucid dreaming thing to work, I may call on him and ask him what it was he wanted of me back in the early 90s. 

[lazyboy]

http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Su ... 036&sr=8-1

Finished over the memorial day weekend and give it 5 stars.

Thanks, jackh, I'm interested in reading Unbroken, particularly since it was written by Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit. Here's her article from the New Yorker describing her own personal struggles with illness and how writing Seabiscuit helped to bring healing into her life. I find it to be a compelling story:
http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=2003-07-07#folio=056

[jackely]

http://www.amazon.com/Unbroken-World-Su ... 036&sr=8-1

Finished over the memorial day weekend and give it 5 stars.

Thanks, jackh, I'm interested in reading Unbroken, particularly since it was written by Laura Hillenbrand, the author of Seabiscuit. Here's her article from the New Yorker describing her own personal struggles with illness and how writing Seabiscuit helped to bring healing into her life. I find it to be a compelling story:
http://archives.newyorker.com/?i=2003-07-07#folio=056

I bought the book because survival stories are my favorites. I don't want to spoil the story for you but I was pretty surprised about the "redemption" part. If  you want to talk about miracles then the miracle of probably the most mistreated Japanese POW of WWII forgiving, in an instant at a Billy Graham crusade, the most sadistic of all Japanese tormentors was pretty powerful to me. Choked back a lot of tears reading it.