The Miracle of the Sun (Portugal, 1917) - A Collective Hallucination??

1. 73

   Rishy Richposted 14 years ago

   From Wiki:
   
   The Miracle of the Sun (Portuguese: O Milagre do Sol) is an alleged miraculous event witnessed by 30,000 to 100,000 people on 13 October 1917 in the Cova da Iria fields near F�¡tima, Portugal. Those in attendance had assembled to observe what the Portuguese secular newspapers had been ridiculing for months as the absurd claim of three shepherd children that a miracle was going to occur at high-noon in the Cova da Iria on 13 October 1917.[1]
   
   According to many witness statements, after a downfall of rain, the dark clouds broke and the sun appeared as an opaque, spinning disc in the sky.[2] It was said to be significantly less bright than normal, and cast multicolored lights across the landscape, the shadows on the landscape, the people, and the surrounding clouds.[2] The sun was then reported to have careened towards the earth in a zigzag pattern,[2] frightening some of those present who thought it meant the end of the world.[3] Some witnesses reported that their previously wet clothes became "suddenly and completely dry."[4]
   
   
   
   
   
   
   Estimates of the number of witnesses range from 30,000-40,000 by Avelino de Almeida, writing for the Portuguese newspaper O S�©culo,[5] to 100,000, estimated by Dr. Joseph Garrett, professor of natural sciences at the University of Coimbra,[6] both of whom were present that day.[7]
   
   
   The event was attributed by believers to Our Lady of F�¡tima, an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary to three young shepherd children in 1917, as having been predicted by the three children on 13 July,[8] 19 August,[9] and 13 September[10] 1917. The children reported that the Lady had promised them that she would on 13 October reveal her identity to them[11] and provide a miracle "so that all may believe."[12]
   
   According to these reports, the event lasted approximately ten minutes.[13] The three children also reported seeing a panorama of visions, including those of Jesus, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and of Saint Joseph blessing the people...
   
   
   Critical evaluation of the event:
   
   1. The theory of a collective hallucination or mass hysteria
   
   2. Some of the optical effects at Fatima may have been caused by a cloud of dust from the Sahara
   
   3. Could just be a rare natural phenomena
   
   Arguments pls ...

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      lynnegemposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      my sister and I have actually experienced the same phenomena as at fatima.  two years ago we were on a pilgrimage in medjugorje, one day we decided to climb cross mountain praying the stations of the cross to Jesus.  When we reached the top my sister wanted to immediately climb back down as it was now dusk and rapidly getting dark, I insisted we rest first before the descent.  We were astonished for as we rested a huge white halo filled the sky, this disappeared then twice more it appeared and finally the centre filled and we were looking at, what appeared to us as a massive planet the surface of which was orange and golden, like molten lava (I later realised looking at pictures of what is portrayed as the suns surface in science magazines that this is exactly what we saw) the feeling of tremendous love enveloped us and there was no fear only total astonishment.  This "planet" faded and in its place was silent lightening streaks of blue, blood red and gold, and for a time a globe appeared within the lightening streaks which was blood red with a dark ring surrounding it.  We made our way down the mountain as it was now pitch black and the lightening continued to streak for the two hours  it took to descend from the mountain.  Whilst we were descending we could clearly see our way down because the moon was shining a blightly as a powerful torch down the rocky mountain.  When we told our friends about this experience they informed us there had been no lightening that night whatsoever.  I dont know the meaning of this miracle but have assumed it is to do with revelation as this in parts describes Jesus return with lightening and the virgin mary is described as clothed in the sun.  I refute any alien nonsence or any suggestion we were hallucinating as I know this and other miracles we have been blessed to experience is truly the work of our creator.

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2. 79

   kirstenblogposted 14 years ago

   Could be an interesting hub in this
   
   Ages back I saw a show about a girl who cried tears of glass and they even managed to get a shot for the documentary of the glass chips coming from her eyes like tears. It was somewhat convincing as it was one of those BBC documentaries and looked convincing, still not sure I could say one way or the other .
   
   These odd events sure do sound wild and mysterious when we hear or read about them.

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3. 48

   mathlogicposted 13 years ago

   The "Critical Evaluation of the Event" misses the point which is that whatever you choose to believe was the physical cause of the miracle at Fatima, nevertheless, it was predicted up to the precise minute - high noon of Oct. 13, 1917.  It was furthermore predicted that it would cause many to believe.  Point of fact : Mary delivered on her predictions. And that is why even to this very generation, another prediction was given : "henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed."

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   ralwusposted 13 years ago

   Don't believe it, never will. I think it was all a fabrication of the church. Sorry.

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5. 88

   Paragliderposted 13 years ago

   What about the silent testimony of the several billion people who were alive at the time and reported nothing unusual? If the sun starts careening towards the Earth, don't you think there might be one or two perturbations felt?
   
   Whatever they thought they saw, the sun had nothing to do with it!

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      lynnegemposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Obviously it was a vision given to the faithful.  I believe we have an earthly body which sees the things of the earth and which dies to the earth eventually and we have a spiritual body where our soul resides and which has eyes to see the things of the spirit world (which is not of this earthly world).  I believe the spirit body is dead until people are born again in christ and then we can experience truly wonderful things even miracles such as at Fatima.  The Virgin Mary is trying to call people to an awakening in Christ of their spirit, for if the spirit is not awakened surely it will die along with our human body eventually to the earth. So it is the most important thing we will ever do because our very soul is eternal.

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   sandra rinckposted 13 years ago

   I want to say that something happened because it is very unlikely that that many people saw it but I do wonder if they drank the water.

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      Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I would wonder how conscious those people were at the time? With relation to human consciousness and awareness.

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         Home Girlposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         The moral: don't climb the mountains... might see something worse.
         But as they say: you always see what you want to see. If I believed all stories my children were telling me at one point or another...

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            Cagsilposted 13 years agoin reply to this

            Interesting thought. Thank you.

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   getitriteposted 13 years ago

   Since Christianity is just a myth, this whole story reeks of fraud.  Why should Muslims and people of other faiths buy this crap, since there is a presupposition, in the Christian mindset, that God...is the nonsensical God in the bible.
   
   Furthermore, if the sun moved in an abrupt way as reported, I'm sure the results would be catastrophic to all peoples on the earth, not just the people in Fatima Portugal.

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