Can the Skeptical Scientist Experience Spiritual Miracles/Divine Grace?

I think, as a "skeptical scientist" is expected to be skeptical about everything, the answer is, typically, No.

As I understand it, spiritual miracles like materialization, healing and visions need intense faith in a person/deity/formless Divinity (God) for the miracles to happen, usually. But the "skeptical scientist" is expected to be skeptical about everything! That, IMHO, would not allow him/her, usually, to develop intense faith in God. So the "skeptical scientist" will, usually, not experience spiritual miracles/Divine Grace.

The wiki page on scientific skepticism, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_skepticism, states, 'Scientific skepticism ( also spelled scepticism) is the practice of questioning whether claims are supported by empirical research and have reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge".' It credits Carl Sagan, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Sagan, famous US astronomer, astrophysicist and cosmologist, with the term, 'scientific skepticism'. 

The wiki page further states "Scientific skeptics do not assert that unusual claims should be automatically rejected out of hand on a priori grounds - rather they argue that claims of paranormal or anomalous phenomena should be critically examined and that extraordinary claims would require extraordinary evidence in their favor before they could be accepted as having validity."

If a scientist has faith in miraculous power of Divinity without having objective and extraordinary evidence of miraculous/supernatural/paranormal powers of Divinity, then, according to the above view of scientific skepticism, that person is not a skeptical scientist. You can't be both - a skeptical scientist and a person of faith in God (as there is no validated scientific evidence of Divine power)! Either you be a skeptical scientist OR you have faith in Divinity!

I beg to disagree with the above either-or choice arising out of the scientific skepticism wiki page views, though I am not a scientist, let alone a skeptical scientist (I am a software technologist who has a Physics graduate degree (1983)). IMHO, a person can wear multiple hats in his/her life. So while one is wearing the scientist hat one can be skeptical about the scientific area that one is investigating and demand reproducible and objective evidence for any scientific claims. But the same person, after he/she has finished the scientific area investigation, can remove the skeptical scientist hat and wear the hat of faith in God whose power encompasses the whole of human and non-human existence, as against the limited realm of science, and enjoy the wonderful benefits of such faith.

[Please note that I am not saying that such a scientist needs to be a disbeliever in God while doing scientific investigation. He/she may continue to actively have that faith in God while doing scientific investigation in the area of their work without that faith in God reducing their rigour for objectivity and reproducibility for any scientific work they are involved with.]

I think many scientists who came into the orbit of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (or highly evolved spiritual masters/mystics across the world from various religions/no-religion) were extremely fortunate that they had individual/subjective experience of his Divine/Godly paranormal powers, even when they were skeptical, sometimes deeply skeptical, of Bhagawan's Divine powers. I view these acts of Swami as acts of phenomenal Grace showered on these skeptical scientists. These acts would have 'cured' many such scientists of their skepticism about God and allowed them to wear both hats of a scientist as well as a devotee of/believer in God. 

I have been told that Swami was a mirror in which people could see their own reflections. In other words, as I understand it, a person with faith gets back a reflection of faith from Swami which would include Divine/paranormal experiences. But a person with doubt would (usually) get back doubts of his/her faith from Swami! I have heard Swami put this faith matter in a very simple but yet profoundly truthful way, in a discourse in Kulwanth Hall (sometime after Oct. 2002). He said if you say Yes (meaning you believe in him), Sai will respond Yes (shower Divine Grace on you). Here's a relevant quote from a 1968 Swami discourse, 'If you will accept me and say "Yes," I too will respond and say, "Yes, yes, yes." If you deny and say "No," I also echo "No." Come, examine, experience, have faith. This is the method of utilizing me.', http://www.sathyasai.org/discour/1968/d681123.htm. [Perhaps it is similar with other spiritual masters/mystics the world over.]

It is as simple as that! It doesn't need sophisticated science and technology; it just needs a "heart", in other words, emotional & intuitive part of mind, that believes in Him (or other forms of Divinity of various religions in the world or even formless aspect of Divinity) to experience Divine Grace/spiritual miracles.