The Ultimate Miracle

- Daniel Thomas

The spiritual understanding of the indigenous was not written in “Scriptures”. It’s a fabric of every day life and experience. Appreciating the beauty of creation is a kin to religious feeling. Today natural signs and omens, direct experiences are labeled superstitious hallucinations. Are we to believe nature itself is not real? Or have we lost touch with reality? The logical person must deny all miracles or none. Our myths are no less credible than those of the Hebrews. We see miracles on every hand. Nothing of the marvelous could astonish us; animals could speak or the Sun stand still. The virgin birth seems scarcely more miraculous than the birth of every child. The miracle of the loaves and fishes excites no greater wonder than the harvest from a single ear of corn. Our religion is a way of life, not dogma. Every act of our life, in a sense, is a religious act. Our whole life is prayer. There’s no need setting aside one day as Holy, since all days belong to the Creator. We have sundances and other ceremonies, but no more worship the Sun than the Christian worships the cross. Spiritual arrogance is foreign to our nature and understanding. Elements of proselytism, self-aggrandizement, and open contempt of all beliefs but our own is extremely repellent. Each man is good in the sight of the Creator. The Great Spirit does right, we are satisfied. It is not necessary for eagles to become crows. After all major religions are preached, expounded, and studied by intelligent scholars, written in quality books, embellished in fine language with finer covers, we all still have to face the ultimate miracle, the supreme mystery that is the essence of worship without which there can be no religion. Unsolved and unsolvable except in things that it is good for one spirit to know.