The Gory Details of 'Miracles'

I would think that any kind of tampering, whether to "stop decomposition of a corpse, or just pretty them up" would constitute fraud.

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But we are talking about "decoration" that was done long after death - decoration that was done to make the body look uncorrupted. Whether it was done to fleece people of their tourist dollars or not, the evidence is certainly tainted.How can we determine whether the preservation was natural or supernatural if somebody has been poking and prodding the evidence?

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If that's true, then any question of the wax's preserving qualities is moot. There has been ample oppurtunity to analyze the bodies. We would not be speculating here about "maybe this" or "maybe that" if the analysis had been done.Any reluctance on the part of the "owners" to have a proper analysis done casts further suspicion on their own belief in the authenticity of the "miracles".

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Questions are not a disease.

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The need to have answers can be a disease - aka addiction.A miracle loses its impact if we look too closely at the gory details. The Answer^TM sometimes is that there was no miracle at all, just a mundane event.

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That's like saying that the "need" to avoid heroin is an addiction. And I never said it was. I said that the need for answers can be an addiction. An addiction is a dependence. Independence from heroin is an addiction?-------------So anyway, miracles:If we "need" an Answer^TM to every question, the universe loses its wonder.We need to wonder before we can search for answers. Thinking that you have The Answer^TM already just short-circuits the whole process.In a world where everything is a miracle, miracles are redundant.

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Can't go wrong with basic black.

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You're still confusing the two words.We are dependent on oxygen, water and food. We need them to survive.An addiction is a dependence on something that we don't need to survive - like heroin or belief in God. "Legitimacy" is irrelevant.-------------Can you just let go of your confusion, stop chewing on both feet at once and try to address the topic?
The only reason I brought up the need (addiction) for Answers^TM was with respect to miracles: A miracle is "less miraculous", I said, if we look at the gory details.The question would be: do you want to have miracles or do you want to have Answers^TM?
The two conflict with each other.

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**puts gun in holster** I have always been an advocate of the "miracle of timing". Case in point: the crossing of the Red Sea. It doesn't matter how deep the water was or how high the "wall" of water piled up on both sides. The important thing is that when the Israelites crossed, the route was passable - when the Egyptians tried to follow, it was not.Many of us have had "small miracles" in our own lives.Many years ago, I was working construction one winter far out in the country. On this particular day, it was minus twenty or so and my boss had forgotten the keys to the only building we could shelter in, the only building with a heater, so we had to have our breaks in the car.At quitting time, the car wouldn't start - there was a hole clean through the distributer cap and the spark was shorting out to the engine block.We were just trying to figure out how we were going to survive the night when a car came down the hill. A friend happened to be in the area, knew we were working there and stopped by to say "Hi."Miracle? Well, I'm still alive.

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Trouble is, we can't see your feet 'cause they're always in your mouth.Why do you think Jesus spoke in parables so often? He knew that in order to be effective, preaching has to be clear.I probably pay more attention to you than most people around here, and even I don't read most of your ranting. I'd like to think you're not beyond redemption. Please stop disappointing me.

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