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Word Gems 

exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

Are Miracles Proof of Divinity?

return to main-page of the "Jesus" article

The New Testament records Jesus as saying that his followers would do all of the wonders that he performed - and even more.

How many believe this today?

An identifying sign of his true followers, he said, would be not only the healing of the sick but the raising of the dead. Try going into a church and asking the priest or minister how many people he's healed or raised from the dead recently.

Well, this is a very impolite and embarrassing question. Truly, pastors, themselves, would be quick to point out that we can take this "infallible Bible" stuff too far. But wait now and listen to the face-saving prepared-script answers, which will fall into these categories:

1) "The age of miracles lasted only until the death of the apostles."

That is disappointing. I thought Jesus was establishing an empowered church that would be around for eternity.

But, moving right along:

2) "We do heal the sick and raise the dead - in a spiritual manner, which represents Jesus' real message."

But see, that's cheating - because Jesus showed us, by his example, the kind of healing and raising he was talking about, and it was the ordinary garden-variety version, not some etherealized disingenuity.

It is not difficult to understand why the clergy of Big Religion head for the tall grass when we ask for Jesus' own prescribed identifying signs of the church. The answer, of course, is that they have no "signs," no "miracles," no "wonders." Their very philosophies drain and destroy the life of true spirituality.

Miracles? no big deal...

All of the so-called miracles of Jesus are being offered regularly today.

Here's a book you might want to read:

Elliott's book speaks of marvelous events within a British church in the 1930s. It's a good reference, but quite dated now. I don't know if that particular church is still in business; but, what I do know is that the "signs" of Jesus are exhibited regularly in a number of places around the world.

Yes... even "raising the dead." Well, that's not really true, of sorts. There are no "dead." There never have been any "dead." There is no death, only transition to another state of being. The term "raising the dead" was invented by those who were ignorant of "afterlife science."

direct-materialization mediums

A direct-materialization medium has the ability to facilitate the appearance of those from the other side. While rare today, they do exist and you can attend one of their sessions.

Our friends, the clergy of Big Religion, are very threatened by all of this taking-Jesus-literally talk. And to protect their turf, they will try to scare you with the bogeyman of "It's Satan deceiving you! Satan masquerades as an angel of light to trick you!"

I deal with the Satan-myth elsewhere, but, in these situations, I often think of the words of Jesus in Luke: "... neither will they believe, even if one rose from the dead." Refusing to accept and blinding oneself to the patent truth of a materialized loved one was singled out by Jesus as a symbol of gross obtuseness.

If you say that Satan is behind this kind of wonderful experience, I will point out that Jesus offered dire warnings to those who would pervert his message in this way; that is, those who maliciously ascribe to Dark Forces the astounding manifestations of Light - because, this is just what Jesus' enemies said of him. The fundamentalists of his day claimed that Satan was behind his "miracles." I will deal with this in another article.

There are no miracles!

I remember a college instructor, in his humorous way, 50 years ago, telling us in class, to the effect, "Don't be so impressed with the ability to walk through walls. All you have to do is know how to sidestep the electrons."

Well, we all laughed, but he was quite right. And in my research of the afterlife I found a major recurring theme - particularly espoused by Robert Benson - that all events, happenings, and occurrences, in this world and the next, unfold and manifest according to natural law. "Miracles" are often viewed as something outside and transcending the laws of the universe - not so, say the afterlife teachers.

•  SIR FRANCIS BACON: "Facts often appear incredible only because we are ill-informed and cease to appear marvelous when our knowledge is extended."

Everything abides and functions within a certain harmonized and patterned regularity. If we are ignorant of the pattern, we call it a miracle. An aboriginal bushman, in times past, deposited in the middle of Times Square, stunned by the flashing digital billboards, the honking automobiles, and the imposing skyscrapers, would declare it all to be juju and magic.

In the next life, you will be able to walk through walls - yes, by "missing the electrons." You will have the ability to speed up or slow down the vibrational frequency of the substance composing your body - which, if sufficiently energized, will now easily pass through formerly solid matter. Spirit beings do this all the time, no big deal.

And so it is with the "magic" of direct materializations. If you're on the other side, wanting to come through and tell somebody that you still love them, then, what you'll do, from your side, is slow down the vibrating essence of your body; and on this side, you'll find it useful to enlist the aid of one with specialized psychic abilities to augment and aid this process.

Jesus said that whatever he did, we will do, and more

That's in the "infallible Bible." Why do so many fundamentalists hate these words? They are threatened, of course, exceedingly so, by those who know how to do the things that Jesus did.

I don't like the word "psychic" or "medium." They're perfectly fine words, per se, but they now come with too much baggage; too much "magical" effect.

Here's what's happening: What we see in Jesus is the evolved and developed Man. He is an elder brother who demonstrated what all of us will one day be able to do. We have abilities built into our sacred person, factory installed, of which we presently know little.

Those with "psychic" talents exhibit that which everyone might display. These gifts are for all, but, as with most talents, they must be developed.

Regarding the development of mediums, it's been pointed out that a hundred years ago there were many more "sensitives" available to society; even, many more direct-materialization mediums. Why the relative scarcity today?

It sometimes requires several years of accessing and developing one's "inner life" to bring mediumistic gifts to full-flower. In our techno-age, there are so many distractions which hinder the contemplative life.