The "science" of Miracles

It's a more precise way. You're assuming that "may" has a more precise meaning than it actually does. You're using some very nit-picky points to try to tweak the definition of "miracle' in the direction you want it to go.The fact is that the only distinction between a miracle and any other event is the attribution to "inexplicable" causes. When you say, "I'll see you on the weekend - it may be Saturday or it may be Sunday," you are restricting the possibilities to a list. That's the definition that you're clinging to. It isn't one that anybody uses. What if Santa Claus was elected President of the United States? Start a thread.

Not obvious at all. I gave you an example: "I'll see you on the weekend - it may be Saturday or it may be Sunday." Not seeing you at all is not an option. It doesn't have to. It's clear from the context that a miracle is attributed to something. George sees a bright light, thinks it's a miracle and attributes it to the demon Wormwood. Jim sees the same bright light, understands how a flashlight works and attributes it to the laws of physics. The attribution is inherent. A miracle is an event that the observer can not explain, so he attributes it to supernatural causes.That doesn't disagree with Wikipedia. Even you can't say it without using words like "ascribe", and yet you claim that that isn't an important aspect of the definition. The same way it responds to anything else. What it would not do is call it a "miracle". If the results were inconclusive, they would be called inconclusive.

Consider the Miracle of the Sun, a.k.a. the Miracle of Fatima. People saw what they thought was a violation of the laws of physics - but scientists have suggested several possible explanations.What people are actually calling miracles - and in this case is confirmed as a miracle by the Roman Catholic Church - is not what we can't explain. It's what they can't explain.

Including science. Science doesn't have a "Goddidit" option, even for flying bridges.

Nothing I've said in this thread has anything to do with whether or not I believe miracles can exist. If science calls something a miracle, I'm perfectly happy to call it a miracle. As far as I know, it's science that doesn't include the possibility of miracles.

As I've said, if science calls it a miracle, I have no problem with calling it a miracle. If somebody calls something "inexplicable", that doesn't mean it's inexplicable to everybody.

What better source can you name?

Humans created science.

Nope. In fact, we were around for a long time before we figured it out.

Nothing that humans created existed before humans created it. Is that so hard to understand? You're trying too hard to figure out what makes me an unbeliever. I'm an unbeliever because beliefs like yours are so empty.

The topic is the science of miracles. It's science that doesn't accept miracles. If there isn't enough evidence to decide one way or another, then one belief is as good as another.

Show me a scientific paper that attributes it to a miracle. On the contrary, Wikipedia mentions the miracle of the sun. The Catholic Church calls it a miracle. Science does not. That's how the word "miracle" is actually used. Why would a flashlight be called a miracle by somebody who doesn't know the cause? You provided a fairy tale. I provided a real example, the miracle of the sun. It is considered a real miracle by the Roman Catholic Church but science does not acknowledge that any scientific laws were broken. Why can't you discuss the real example?

Does a scientific consensus ever call something "inexplicable"? It seems to me that there are likely to be a handful of possible explanations, none of which are accepted by a consensus.

Nope. I am not my own source. Reality is. Why not stick to reality? Look at the miracle of the sun. Science has several possible explanations. That's all I'm saying. A miracle is something that is labelled a miracle by somebody who can't explain it.

If the rapture happened exactly as told in the fairy tale, only fundamentalist Christians would interpret it as "the Rapture". Some other religious minds might interpret it as a miracle. Scientific minds would come up with possible explanations.