Neither miracles nor magic exist in reality for most educated people. Miracles involve supernatural means as do magic. God can work through normal life. I doubt the Jesus miracles in the gospel narrative. Firstly, if true, hundreds of millions would have converted and folowed him, making his ministry impossible. Rather than someone not mentioned in the historical record, he would truly have been Jesus Christ, Superstar. I studied his healing ministry extensively when I was ill. Jesus seems to do wonders for psychosomatic illness. Save Lazarus, and if Lazarus existed post-resurrection, he would have been a mega Superstar, too, crossing national boundaries.
The Jews claimed Jesus used magic. Miracles or magic is in the eye of the beholder.
Like all JWs, you are severely limited by lack of exposure to world cultures and the world itself.
Miracles abound in all religions.
Most of the Jesus narrative, a divine being at birth with special godly parentage yet human, a dying and rising God, miracles are essential parts of most Middle Eastern religions. These motifs exist in Native American, Egyptian, Greek, and Roman mythology. They are also present in Asian religions.
Someone with any knowledge would see this pattern and see Jesus as part of a human collective consciousness or conforming to certain myth patterns. It need not lessen his role. Jesus is merely the expression that surfaced in our present civilization. Many of these other "gods" predated Jesus by many years. OUr belief in Jesus is culturally determined. Psychological and social reasons chose this particular brand of Christianity.
Other Christians, with just as valid claims to determine what is Christian, did not endorse the Western view.
If Jesus is true, where we live should not matter. Jesus is not specific to Jews. If true, Jesus should be universal rather than Western based.
