Editing Preternatural (section)

{{Short description|That which appears outside or beside the natural}}
[[File:Preternatural tumours.jpg|thumb|''A Compleat Treatise of Preternatural Tumours'' (1678) by John Brown]]
{{Paranormal}}

The '''preternatural''' (or '''praeternatural''') is that which appears outside, beside or beyond (Latin: ''[[:Wikt:preter-|præter]]'') the [[nature|natural]]. It is "suspended between the mundane and the miraculous".<ref>Allchin, Douglas, "Monsters & Marvels: How Do We Interpret the "Preternatural"?", ''The American Biology Teacher'', November 2007. p.565.</ref>

In [[theology]], the term is often used to distinguish marvels or deceptive trickery, often attributed to [[witchcraft]] or [[demon]]s, from purely [[divine power]] of genuinely [[supernatural]] origin that [[wikt:Special:Search/transcend|transcends]] the [[wikt:law of nature|laws of nature]]. Preternatural is also used to describe gifts such as [[immortality]], possessed by [[Adam and Eve]] before the [[fall of man]] into [[original sin]],<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://afc.org/fc_question/what-special-gifts-did-god-give-to-adam-and-eve/ | title=What special gifts did God give to Adam and Eve? }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?id=35763 | title=Dictionary : PRETERNATURAL GIFTS }}</ref> and the [[saints and levitation|power of flight]] that [[angels]] are thought to have.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/preternatural| title = Preternatural {{!}} Encyclopedia.com}} </ref> In the [[early modern period]], the term was used by scientists to refer to abnormalities and strange phenomena of various kinds that seemed to depart from the norms of nature.