<h2 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper">Q &amp; A</h2>

Groesbeck was killed on impact, but her 18-month-old daughter, Lily, survived. The scene of the crash would not be discovered for another 14 hours.

When police arrived, they did not know if anybody was inside the car, which had come to rest upside down near the river's edge. However, as they approached, several officers heard a mysterious voice: "Help us! Help us!" it rang out.

They pulled Lily out of the car, alive but unconscious, but her mother was long dead. Where did the voice come from? "It's a miracle," claimed Officer Tyler Beddoes.

Later he recounted this tale to CNNCable News Network is a US international television news organisation., which posted an clip of his testimony to YouTube. Beneath the video many comments also express belief in divine intervention. "It was the mother's spirit protecting her child," says one - "this was the work of God," asserts another.n

These people are not alone in their belief. A new survey has revealed that three in five UK adults believe that some form of miracle is possible. Furthermore, 72% of people aged 18 to 24 believe miracles can happen - more than any other age group.n

The figures may surprise some, as other studies have reported a fall in religious belief. In 2017, an poll found that over half of the UK population has no religion, and only 3% of under 24's describe themselves as AnglicanAdherents of the Church of England (or one of its spin-off churches around the world)..

Miracles have long been a cornerstone of Christian faith, from the resurrection of Jesus Christ to his turning water into wine.

However, they came under sustained attack during the EnlightenmentAn intellectual movement of the eighteenth Century that ruthlessly criticised religion, traditions and inherited privilege.. Philosopher David Hume proposed a naturalist view of the world - that events can only be explained by physical and naturally occurring stimuli.

This view has influenced thinkers like Richard DawkinsA British scientist who is associated with New Atheism, a position that is critical of religious belief., who claims that miracles are simply "coincidences which have a very low probability, but which are, nonetheless, in the realm of probability".

Are miracles possible?

Of course, some argue. It is arrogant to claim that everything can be explained by science. Whether God intervenes in your life is a matter of faith. But allowing for the possibility of supernatural events, and the notion that nature's laws can be broken, is sound judgement. Humans simply cannot declare miracles impossible.

Nonsense, others respond. Belief in miracles is an offence to reason and goes against the weight of humanity's collective experience of how the world works. People who witness "miracles" are often influenced by religious zeal, psychological stress or confused by unfamiliar surroundings. There is always a rational explanation.

What do we know? The survey also reports that 43% of people have prayed for a miracle. While a lot of people believe that some form of miracle can happen, many are sceptical of the role of God - 38% of people stated that miraculous things can happen, but that these things are not necessarily related to God. Furthermore, 46% said they did not believe that Jesus Christ performed miracles of any kind.

What do we not know? What explains the disparity between a belief in the possibility of miracles, and a comparative disbelief in the role of religion. It could be that some people believe that supernatural phenomena can take place in a non-religious way. Others may consider the term "miracle" to mean something extremely unlikely, rather than an event which specifically breaks the rules of nature.

CNN - Cable News Network is a US international television news organisation.

Anglican - Adherents of the Church of England (or one of its spin-off churches around the world).

Enlightenment - An intellectual movement of the eighteenth Century that ruthlessly criticised religion, traditions and inherited privilege.

Richard Dawkins - A British scientist who is associated with New Atheism, a position that is critical of religious belief.