Miracles in the Normal News
To be included in this news log, a report of a miracle must be carried by at least one secular
media news agency. Due to the highly controversial nature of such reports, I will cite the actual
news agency that posted the report. [Remember, Father in Heaven respects atheists and
agnostics: He apparently delights in rendering his existence unverifiable by conventional
methods....]
I will report on miracles without regard to:
- The religion involved, or
- Whether prayer requested the miracle or not.
It is difficult enough to spiritually discern the actual source of a miracle when it happens in front
of someone. It would be total arrogance for me to claim ability to discern from a secular media
report.
If you are aware of a miracle news report by a secular media news agency not listed here, please
email me with the description of the news agency (or secular newspaper) and date. I don't care
how old the news report is. Once I locate the news report for myself, I will proceed to list it here.
October 5, 2000 [Associated Press]
- A home in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, recently acquired an image of the Virgin Mary in the window
of a private home (apparently in August 2000). While the image is definitely not of human workmanship, an investigation by the
Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen reports that it is more of a Rorschach blot than a genuine image.
[Contrast with the Vicar of Driffield's report on February 25, 2000]
May 12, 2000 [Associated Press, date blotted by MyCNN]
- Palma Sola Presbyterian Church in Bradenton, near Tampa, has been gifted with an unrequested
picture of Jesus on an outer wall. The image first appeared on Wednesday [May 10, 2000??] when church
workers sprayed the wall with a pressure hose to clean it. However, the image is visible only
when the wall is wet....
- Using water on cars and lawns is restricted to one day per week in Manatee
County.
- However, the church officials are acting on a plausible loophole [the law doesn't restrict the use
of water for religious reasons] to spray down the wall several times a day.
February 25, 2000 [Reuters]
- The Vicar of Driffield, Reverend Richard Carhill, reported that an image on a wall of the
Church of England's All Saints at Great Driffield, East Yorkshire has recently become
recognizable by many parishioners as the face of Jesus Christ. Currently, the eyes, nose,
mouth, and crown of thorns can be clearly made out. Apparently, the image recently started to
contain an optical illusion that can be switched on or off by deliberate attention, much like a
Necker cube.
![This is a Necker cube. Either the top left or the bottom right corner, of the middle square, is the front corner of this almost-transparent cube. [Go ahead, try it both ways.]](grafx/NeckerCube.gif)
January 2, 2000 [MyCNN relayed this from Associated Press: the date may be off by a few
days. I recovered this during the MyCNN Y2K aftermath: the copyright statement by AP says
1999.]
- After attending a revival at the New Life Community Church in (or near) Weatherford, Texas,
dozens of people reported the transmutation of dental work into gold. Teeth, crowns, plates,
bridges, and bands were so reported. Several people later realized that the dental work in
question was several decades old, and retracted their initial claims. Most of the reports are
still extant, however (as of January 2, 2000).
- Weatherford, Texas is about 30 miles west of Fort Worth, and is reported to have a
population of about 15,000.
- The New Life Community Church is affiliated with the International Church of the
Four Square Gospel. The latter church was founded by the late Los Angeles radio
evangelist Amy Semple MacPherson.
Opinions, comments, criticism, etc.? Let me know about it.
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