# Religious men's Miracles.... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 19, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678 "2006-01-19T17:22:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![orionzpear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@orionzpear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orionzpear)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/1 "2006-01-19T17:22:53Z")
Jesus perform many miracles during his lifetime. His first was turning water into wine at a wedding in cana… I was wondering if other founders of religion also had supernatural powers (according to their own faiths). Did Mohammad also perform miracles? Buddha? Martin Luther King? Joseph Smith? (Aside from his translation of the Book of Mormons), etc… Thanks all ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/2 "2006-01-19T17:44:21Z")
> [@orionzpear](#): > > Martin Luther King? Whatnow? ---
**Author:** ![orionzpear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@orionzpear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orionzpear)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/3 "2006-01-19T17:54:57Z")
oopps, :smack: I mean martin luther of the reformation. the guy who posted his 95 theses to the door in wittenberg church (guess there were’nt any message boards back then) 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/4 "2006-01-19T18:01:39Z")
None attributed to Muhammed. I am not aware that Martin Luther King founded a religion. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/5 "2006-01-19T18:10:52Z")
Someone with more specific knowledge can hopefully elaborate, but I heard of at least one guy before Jesus who had many of the same miracles attributes to him, and was considered by some to be the messiah. Sorry for the vagueness. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/6 "2006-01-19T18:17:34Z")
You are probably thinking of [Mithra](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra). No miracles attributed to [Gautama Buddha](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gautama_Buddha), the founder of Buddhism, who emphasized that he was not a deity. No miracles attributed to Martin Luther either. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/7 "2006-01-19T18:23:34Z")
I am not aware of any miracles attributed to Martin Luther, but generally in Christian history miracles are by no means exclusive to Jesus. Most hagiographies (biographies of saints) list all sorts of crazy miracles performed by Christian men and women throughout the centuries. Those traditions aside, the Bible records miracles performed by some of Jesus’ disciples as well as Old Testament figures such as Moses. (Technically, all of these miracles are not performed _by_ the individual, but by God, _through_ the individual). ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/8 "2006-01-19T18:33:33Z")
> [@Walloon](#): > > You are probably thinking of [Mithra](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mithra). Possibly, but I may need to correct some oversights in that article; there’s no mention of the time he fought Godzilla. \ ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/9 "2006-01-19T18:43:18Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Possibly, but I may need to correct some oversights in that article; there’s no mention of the time he fought Godzilla. > > \ \< slaps **Revtim** with Wet Trout \> My brother made that same joke in Sunday School & got paddled for it. **orionzpear** –miracles _are_ attributed to Jesus BenJoseph. However, other sources suggest that he spent time in Egypt, & learned slight-of-hand there. Modern stage illusionists can replicate all of the seeming miracles attributed to Jesus BenJoseph. That doesn’t mean he was or was not what he claimed to be–it is simply info “on the books”, so to speak, & ought not to be ignored. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/10 "2006-01-19T18:45:58Z")
Buddha has supernatural powers attributed to him in some stories. He could supposedly glow in the dark and read minds, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/11 "2006-01-19T18:49:46Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > My brother made that same joke in Sunday School & got paddled for it. You studied about Mithra in Sunday School? That’s one progressive church. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/12 "2006-01-19T18:54:13Z")
[Miracles attributed to Buddha](http://www.parami.org/buddhistanswers/what_about_miracles.htm) I believe that some Roman Emperors were also credited with miracles. Suetonius and Tacitus claim that Vespasian healed a blind man and a lame man, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/13 "2006-01-19T19:01:16Z")
> [@PoorYorick](#): > > You studied about Mithra in Sunday School? That’s one progressive church. Oops. Brain fart. :o Brudda Tommy made a “Godzilla comes from God” line at the Episcopal Church, & got his fanny fanned all the way home. And yes, he **was** going: “WEE-WEE-WEE!” Mostly 'cause he was so scared of Mom & Dad’s humiliated fury. Grounded 2 weeks, & dog poo cleaning duty for the whole summer, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/14 "2006-01-19T19:21:39Z")
> [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > **orionzpear** –miracles _are_ attributed to Jesus BenJoseph. However, other sources suggest that he spent time in Egypt, & learned slight-of-hand there. Modern stage illusionists can replicate all of the seeming miracles attributed to Jesus BenJoseph. Except maybe raising a guy from the dead. Not that it _couldn’t_ be done with a lot of prep work. 😃 Miracles are attribute to Buddha (of Buddhism) and Lao Tzu (of Taoism), and at one point to Confucius. Unlike Christianty, the miracles were written into the record many centuries after these figures lived. ---
**Author:** ![orionzpear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@orionzpear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orionzpear)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/15 "2006-01-19T19:21:56Z")
[ **orionzpear** –miracles _are_ attributed to Jesus BenJoseph. Is this the Jesus Christ we Catholics believe in? Or Another person? First time I’ve seen someone called the guy that name. You have any links I could go to? it sounds interesting… ---
**Author:** ![flight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbce88/32.png) [@flight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flight)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/16 "2006-01-19T19:28:23Z")
> [@orionzpear](#): > > [ **orionzpear** –miracles _are_ attributed to Jesus BenJoseph. > > Is this the Jesus Christ we Catholics believe in? Or Another person? First time I’ve seen someone called the guy that name. You have any links I could go to? it sounds interesting… Same guy. I believe the Ben is the Hebrew way to say “son of”, like Johnson. I have generally heard it used by non-Christians who would think it inappropriate to use the title “Christ”. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/17 "2006-01-19T19:34:47Z")
> [@orionzpear](#): > > [ **orionzpear** –miracles _are_ attributed to Jesus BenJoseph. > > Is this the Jesus Christ we Catholics believe in? Or Another person? First time I’ve seen someone called the guy that name. You have any links I could go to? it sounds interesting… “Jesus BenJoseph” simply means “Jesus, the son of Joseph”, & is a common way of naming someone in that era. Yes, same guy. A couple of other posters have listed links in the past. Check this. > **[Historicity of Jesus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus)** > > The question of the historicity of Jesus is part of the study of the historical Jesus as undertaken in the quest for the historical Jesus and the scholarly reconstructions of the life of Jesus. While the Christ myth theory proposes that Jesus never existed, virtually all scholars reject the Christ myth theory and accept that a human Jesus existed,\[note 1\]\[note 2\] although not all events mentioned in the gospels are accepted universally. Standard historical criteria have The quest for the histor... As with all Wikipedia articles, take it with a grain of salt. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/18 "2006-01-19T19:59:28Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Except maybe raising a guy from the dead. Not that it _couldn’t_ be done with a lot of prep work. 😃 > > Miracles are attribute to Buddha (of Buddhism) and Lao Tzu (of Taoism), and at one point to Confucius. Unlike Christianty, the miracles were written into the record many centuries after these figures lived. Christian miracles were not written into the record until many decades after Jesus lived either and none of the miracle stories are attested by eyewitnesses. Vespasian’s miracles, on the otherhand, were attested during his lifetime. Tacitus claims to have heard about them from eyewitnesses (though he implies a belief that the healngs were staged). I don’t think stage magic explanations need to enter into this. The authors of the Gospels made up the miracle stories to illustrate theological points. No naturalistic explanations are required to explain purely mythical events. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/19 "2006-01-19T20:09:59Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > The authors of the Gospels made up the miracle stories to illustrate theological points. How can you know? ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2006, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678/20 "2006-01-19T20:25:27Z")
> [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > Christian miracles were not written into the record until many decades after Jesus lived which is unsuprising, since the only records we have at all were written decades (“many” is debatable) after he lived. It’s just as accurate to say that the miracles are present in the earliest records of Jesus’ life. > [@Diogenes the Cynic](#): > > I don’t think stage magic explanations need to enter into this. The authors of the Gospels made up the miracle stories to illustrate theological points. No naturalistic explanations are required to explain purely mythical events. You know it’s unlikely that the Gospel authors “made up” the miracle stories, since there is quite an overlap between them. It is much more likely that they all got the stories from a common source. And there is no reason to assume that the stories did not originate from eyewitness accounts, _unless_ you dismiss the possibilty of miracles occuring at all, _a priori_. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/religious-mens-miracles/340678.md?page=2)