miracles and faith

Hope Faith Miracle

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What is the correlation between faith and hope, and what exactly is a miracle as it relates to hope and faith?

Compiled By: Caren Robinson

”The whole world is a series of miracles, but we’re so used to them we call them ordinary things”

~ Hans Christian Andersen

My current connection to this topic is originated from being raised in a faith based home; exploring/educating myself about multiple religions over the course of my life, and life experiences that have shaped my view on each of these concepts.

I already know this is a controversial topic because there are so many beliefs, strong opinions, and non-believers, that I risk alienating someone with my writing, or not connecting with my audience. This was also spurred by the experiences I have had since recovering from a catastrophic car wreck with my youngest son and a series of traumatic life events. This near death experience forced me to face everything I knew to be true and examine that which I didn’t know or understand as well. It conjured up pieces of complex opportunities that I would not have been given were I not to live through these experiences.

I know that this piece will challenge perceptions, and ideally I will be able to present it in a way that is palatable and provokes thought.

What also draws me to this topic is the state of our Country; the global strife; the battle between being spiritual vs religious, vs science focused, vs a balance with some or all of those pieces; and my interpretation of the research done on these concepts and what that looks like. What draws me to this also involves what I have witnessed happen through different life experiences and unexplained events.

When beginning to explore this topic I had to ask myself in a really direct manner – how can I make this unique, novel, personal, and not rehash what has already been said or spoken numerous times before but just in different formats?

I went on a hunt to be able to at first define what faith, hope and a miracle was. Then I began to really immerse myself into how they correlated. Anyone seeking to cope, anyone that believes in a power greater than themselves would benefit from this writing. Anyone, whether they were religious or not, whether they subscribed to a certain belief system or they didn’t – any of them would benefit and get valuable information from this writing. That was the goal and remains the goal throughout this blog entry.

So we begin with the dictionary definition of faith. We can find this in a number of dictionaries and while the definitions are similar, there is a lot of overlap. For this particular blog post though, I chose to utilize the Miriam-Webster dictionary.

Miriam-Webster dictionary defines “faith” as:

  1. a: allegiance to duty or a person; loyalty b: fidelity to one’s promises
  • a: belief and trust in and loyalty to God; belief in the traditional doctrines of religion

b: firm belief in something for which there is no proof; complete trust; believe without question

  • a: something that is believed especially with strong conviction especially: a system of religious beliefs

Miriam-Webster dictionary defines “hope” as:

  1. to cherish a desire with anticipation: to want something to happen or be true
  • trust; reliance
  • to desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment; expectation of fulfillment or success
  • to expect with confidence; someone or something on which hopes are centered

Miriam- Webster dictionary defines “miracle” as:

  1. a: an extraordinary event manifesting divine intervention in human affairs
  • an extremely outstanding or unusual event, thing, or accomplishment
  • a divinely natural phenomenon experienced humanly as the fulfillment of spiritual law

I would identify myself as more of a spiritual person at this point in my life, rather than a religious person. Yet what does that really even mean? You may have heard a lot of folks now-a-days describe themselves that way. There is an even growing number of individuals who are breaking from the confines and walls of organized religion, or don’t even subscribe to any particular belief system who may still describe themselves as spiritual. Then again, you have that subset of individuals still who do not consider themselves religious or spiritual and yet still have faith, hope, and believe in miracles.

The majority of our society uses the words “religion” and “spirituality” interchangeably with the idea that they are the same things. However they are very different and have very different concepts.

“Religion is the rules, regulation, ceremonies, and rituals developed by man to create conformity and uniformity in the approach to God. Spirituality is God’s call in your soul.”

~ lyanla Vanzant

Religion is more external from ourselves and encompasses more of that institutional type of belief process. This is something that often involves a specific building with a structured belief system that contains members, converts, or pledges who practice certain rituals, beliefs, or practices. The fear of punishment for one’s actions is often a principle factor in religion. Religion simply involves a group of people who have common beliefs and faith about the divine. It is about adherence to rules, laws, and specific actions. Religion often discourages people from listening to their own instincts. In fact, most religions instruct and teach their “believers” to accept and do what they’re told, without questioning it; forcing them to stay fixed to a specific text, the scriptures, or whatever specific ideology they are being taught by their religious leaders.

Spirituality is really more internal and self-directed energy and essence that is more about one’s inner-self, soul, and personal development. A solitary experience of the divine that focuses on the individual experience, encourages the focus on individual energy, positive mindsets, and acts based solely on love; the ability to combine truths from various belief systems and apply those beliefs to their lives. Being spiritual entails maintaining one or more beliefs, adapting those beliefs based on personal study, self- reflections, interpretation, and the ability to connect with something greater than ourselves. Spirituality is very personal, and unique. It may involve some very sacred traditions, or practices; and yet, may be reflected in something as abstract as art, or our connection to nature or music. Spirituality encourages folks to do what they feel is right, despite the consequences.

Neither of these is better than the other and is truly a matter of personal preference – though there are plenty of people ready to fall on their sword defending one over the other, but that is not what we are here to discuss or argue in this blog post.

“Miracles are not in contradiction to nature.

They are only in contradiction with what we know of nature.”

~Saint Augustine

People that have hope, have faith. Seemingly, a person cannot have one without the other. Yet what is the correlation between them? There are many that would say that:

  • they have faith because they need hope
  • people have hope because they need faith
  • people have hope because they have faith
  • they have faith because they have hope

After all, “faith” expresses confidence in the truth, value, or veracity of someone or something and is often characterized by the absence of empirical proof that is not necessarily verifiable. Faith represents a belief that actually exists.

“Faith, in slogan form, is resilient reliance, by which we mean a disposition to rely with resilience in the face of challenges”

~Daniel Howard-Snyder

Then we have “hope”. Hope is directed to what will come, what is possible, toward the future…..of what may come. This may also be viewed as an anticipated fulfillment of a particular intention or focus.

According to Shannon Kincaid, Ph.D. and Philip Pecorino, Ph.D. from Queensborough Community College of The City University of New York – they state in one of their research papers that “…..one does not have to be an incurable optimist to claim that faith is a sufficient and necessary condition of hope. When people have hope they have faith, because they hold a belief that says “I believe that the future will be better.” And while they have no grounds to “prove” the hopeful assumption, they have faith in it. While faith without hope is possible, hope without faith is not. Thus faith is not sufficient for hope. Faith is necessary for hope but faith is NOT SUFFICIENT for hope because you can have faith about a number of things and yet no real hope. “

Then that brings us to miracles. Why do the vast majority of people not believe in miracles? This is possibly the direct result of living in a technologically science-driven and informational era where people are constantly demanding “proof” of everything and often, there is no “proof” of any miracles. No one has ever recorded, on camera, with no cuts or special effects, a leper being healed, a blind man being given vision, or anything even close, outside of medical advancement and treatment options.

Additionally, a lot of folks find it difficult to embrace or believe in something they cannot explain or cannot see. This is also why there is a falling away from organized religion to some degree because there is, to some individuals, no convincing evidence that God exists and if God doesn’t exist then surely miracles cannot exist. Yet, miracles, to me, are not a God-principle. Miracles are simply an unexplained event which absolutely defies, nature, physics, or any logical explanation. Then again, you can believe in supernatural events and not believe in God. Some would argue even that miracles are the result of confirmation bias, or coincidence, and impossible when it comes to the laws of Science and physics and often dismissed as falsities with those things that cannot be explained through a scientific process. The eighteenth-century Scottish skeptic philosopher David Hume argued, “the wise man should not believe in miracles”. The basis for his assertion was what might be called the “repeatability principle”— evidence for what occurs over and over (the regular) always outweighs evidence for that which does not (the rare). Since miracles are rare and contradict our uniform experience, Hume argues the wise man ought never to believe in miracles. While it’s true that a wise man should base his belief on the weight of evidence, it’s not true that evidence for uniform experience always outweighs evidence for what is singular and rare. Hume’s principle nullifies science itself. As an inductive discipline, science necessarily presupposes the possibility of discovering new things that may contradict uniform experience. It views rarity as that which disqualifies rational belief, yet rarity is of the essence of a miracle. Sure, it could easily be said that we need to exercise a heightened sense of awareness and sincere caution when confronted with accounts of the miraculous, however we should also be apt to following the evidence where it leads, even if we cannot explain it, no matter how extraordinary and improbable it is.

“… look for hope in a realistic way, and choose to lean in to it – but let it be part of the larger whole. You need not avoid the grief and distress that go along with the big picture. In fact, hope – or light – can be that much more exquisite and meaningful when it comes with full acknowledgment that darkness exists, too..”

~Dr. Andrea Bonlor PhD

Ultimately, we have control over the way we choose to believe. Whether we choose to have faith, hope, or believe in miracles even – or we choose not to believe in any of these. The belief or non-belief in and of itself seems to have a direct correlation to our actions. Since beliefs affect our behaviors, we have to step up and take responsibility for them. It is imperative to examine claims from all sides. It is imperative to examine claims from several different perspectives. It is imperative to be able to think on our own steed, and form our own conclusions based on our intuition and what we know to be true rather than simply accepting the opinions or forced beliefs of others. It is also imperative to be able to wrap our minds around the fact that not all things have an explanation. Not all things can be proven by Science. We are responsible for our beliefs because they are the consequences of things over which we do have control (for example paying attention to our prejudices, biases, or whether we choose to be open minded and curious; whether we choose to be religious or spiritual). Yet we have no control over the outcome or end result of a specific action or non-action because the Laws of the Universe often defy this.

These times that we live in they are uncertain. In a moment life can change. Everything we knew to be true can be catapulted and often is an immersive experience when thrust into unexpected life altering events. During these times, it is difficult to feel hopeful. There are plenty of studies to show that having hope for the future helps build our resilience – that ability to get through the seemingly impossible and recover more quickly. Hope can reduce stress, reduce anxiety, trauma, and depression. According to the “hope theory” formulated by positive psychologist Charles Snyder and his colleagues, hope gives people the will, determination, and sense of empowerment that allows them to reach their goals. Hope encourages emotional ownership. Hope reminds us of what we are working for or towards. Hope holds space and optimism for the future, keeps us committed to self-care, and ironically is science based. Let me explain. When a person has hope, it releases endorphins in the body and lowers stress levels. This increases mood, improves behaviors, and makes us more productive, even if the end goal or result seems illogical. Now hope is not the same as wishing either though. There is a profound difference between hoping and wishing. Wishing encourages passivity, whereas hope represents an active stance and actually taking action in a specific direction.

If I am focusing on a specific direction, a specific outcome, a desired result and I have hope, can I also have faith without being religious? I believe that we can. A lot of people are fed up with all the negative connotations and bad actions within various religious belief systems, churches, etc. yet they believe in a creator that is infinite and overall cannot be comprehended by anyone. After all, the human mind cannot quite seem to comprehend the infinite, which is why most people find it difficult to accept miracles as a possibility. While we may know, as a species, as people the meaning of infinite or vast….comprehending it is not something we have mastered. Not even with Science.

“Hope is a match in a dark tunnel, a moment of light,

just enough to reveal the path ahead and ultimately the way out.”

~ Dr. Judith Rich

Personally, I believe in God. I believe in the omnipotent power of the Universe. In a power or divine greater than myself. I believe in the Creator, even though I cannot fathom the form of the creator except that the creator is in the molecules and DNA of all things animated and inanimate. I believe that to be a Christian is to be “Christ-like” and that to be “Christ-like” means to embody that which is lovely, pure, and of good rapport. I believe that to be “Christ-like” means to treat others like you want to be treated. It means to be selfless, humble, confident, giving, charitable, and tolerant. I believe that embracing this form of belief is a culmination into one simple yet powerful word – FAITH. Yet I also believe that one can have Faith and not embrace any of these beliefs.

I can say with pure conviction that I would not have survived all that I have this far into my life without a strong connection to my Faith and a deep Spiritual Connection with something greater than myself. I can say that throughout the recovery process after the wreck I was in, there are times – when it feels – that all I have that is consistent, is my Spiritual self, and my every present life clinging grasp, onto HOPE.

I am not without humility when it comes to the fragility of life in general. I am truly in awe of the miraculous events, too numerous to be coincidental, involving that wreck and all of the circumstances in my life since. I truly believe that there were angel wings wrapped around my son that day. It is the only explanation for his survival….the only explanation for my survival. My continued courage to overcome seemingly insurmountable difficulties, medical and otherwise have only been conceivable due to my connection to God and the abiding Faith that I embrace. This propels me and gives me strength to never give up HOPE. I am not religious by any means. You may or may not have a tie to faith, hope, or miracles in your own life and your own experience. Yet I challenge you to keep an open mind and not to get bogged down on the things you cannot explain or prove. Sometimes you just have to know, to trust, and to make the best decisions you can. I also wholeheartedly believe in, support, and have a great and deep love for Science. Yet despite the laws of physics and all that comes with that line of thought, I am still faced with the unseen power of the topic of this writing.

There is indeed a correlation between faith and hope. There are indeed miracles that can happen as it relates to hope and faith and the belief that you give energy and power to.

Have FAITH. Never give up HOPE.

With FAITH comes HOPE.

Where there is HOPE there is FAITH.

Where there is FAITH. MIRACLES happen.

I AM LIVING PROOF OF THAT!!!

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