On ignoring miracles and apparitions

[George Demianeg]

I have read in some Orthodox sites that the spiritual person doen not and must not pay attention at all to any miracles or apparitions even if true, and that caring about this matters is a sign of unhealthy spirituality. And that it is better to neglect these phenomena completely because even if we neglect true and divine miracles this is better than falling in the trap of the devil by false miracle.

To Which extent is what I have read true or false according to the Bible and Patristic teachings and the Orthodox Theology and Spirituality?

[James Blackstock]

I have read in some Orthodox sites that the spiritual person doen not and must not pay attention at all to any miracles or apparitions even if true, and that caring about this matters is a sign of unhealthy spirituality. And that it is better to neglect these phenomena completely because even if we neglect true and divine miracles this is better than falling in the trap of the devil by false miracle.

To Which extent is what I have read true or false according to the Bible and Patristic teachings and the Orthodox Theology and Spirituality?


I recommended this book to another with similar questions. You might benefit from it greatly.

InXC,
James
http://www.sainthermanpress.com/catalog/chapter_one/orf_book.htm

[Michael Stickles]

I have read in some Orthodox sites that the spiritual person doen not and must not pay attention at all to any miracles or apparitions even if true, and that caring about this matters is a sign of unhealthy spirituality. And that it is better to neglect these phenomena completely because even if we neglect true and divine miracles this is better than falling in the trap of the devil by false miracle.

To Which extent is what I have read true or false according to the Bible and Patristic teachings and the Orthodox Theology and Spirituality?

The Bible contains numerous warnings about false miracles, and less-than-flattering words about those who seek after signs and wonders, such as:


Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it. For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:23-24)

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, "Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let us worship them," you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deuteronomy 13:1-3)

But he answered them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah." (Matthew 12:39)

And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign shall be given to this generation." (Mark 8:12)

Father Seraphim Rose, in his book Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future, brings up the remarks of Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov in regards to the roots of this desire, and its dangers (emphasis mine):



It is one of the signs of the last times that there shall be terrors and great signs from heaven (Luke 21:11). Even a hundred years ago Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov, in his book On Miracles and Signs (Yaroslavl, 1870, reprinted by Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, N.Y., 1960), remarked on "the striving to be encountered in contemporary Christian society to see miracles and even perform miracles…Such a striving reveals the self-deception, founded on self-esteem and vainglory, that dwells in the soul and possesses it" (p. 32). True wonder workers have decreased and grown extinct, but people "thirst for miracles more than ever before…We are gradually coming near to the time when a vast arena is to be opened up for numerous and striking false miracles, to draw to perdition those unfortunate offspring of fleshly wisdom who will be seduced and deceived by these miracles" (pp. 48-49).


This is one of the chief dangers that the instructions you mentioned -- to ignore even true miracles -- are intended to protect us from. I have read in many places that telling true miracles from deceptions often requires great discernment, and we do well not to trust ourselves in this regard.

The danger of deception (whether demonic or simple self-deception) is so commonplace in the spiritual life that virtually every "mystical" tradition - whether Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Buddhist, etc. - instructs its practitioners to place little or no stock in apparitions and miracles. One of my favorite examples is a Buddhist story about an exchange between a Zen master and his disciple:



Disciple: Master, in my meditations I see a great light, with the Buddha behind it!
Master: That's nice. Just focus on your breathing, and it will go away.


In Christ,
Mike