Is Valentine Greatrakes 'The Stroker' a real miracle?

Common questions

Is Valentine Greatrakes 'The Stroker' real or fake?

Miracles Jar's verdict is Explained: it happened — nature explains it. It happened — and nature accounts for it. On the evidence, the record is well documented.

Has Valentine Greatrakes 'The Stroker' been explained?

The event appears to have happened, but a natural explanation accounts for it — the leading account is expectation, suggestion & the placebo response. It reads as remarkable rather than miraculous.

What is the evidence for Valentine Greatrakes 'The Stroker'?

Miracles Jar weighs 3 sources for this case. Points that support the claim: Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, Henry More, and other Fellows of the Royal Society personally witnessed and attested to cures; and 53 signed testimonials from named witnesses appended to Greatrakes's published Brief Account. Points that cut against it: Documented failures: Greatrakes failed to cure several patients during his London tour, including cases witnessed by skeptical physicians; and Boyle explicitly considered natural mechanisms (warmth, friction, mental effect) as possible explanations alongside divine action.

What is the natural explanation for Valentine Greatrakes 'The Stroker'?

The leading natural account is expectation, suggestion & the placebo response. Belief produces real, measurable change in the body. The relief can be genuine while the cause stays entirely natural. The full breakdown shows where that explanation holds — and where it stops.

When and where did Valentine Greatrakes 'The Stroker' happen?

It is said to have occurred 1662-1666 in Ireland; Worcester; London, England.