Hoping to overcome what John Meier refers to as the “academic sneer factor” when speaking of the miraculous, Owen Cummings examines the history of the miraculous from the Old Testament through attitudes of twenty-first -century theologians.

Working with selected miracles of Jesus from the canonical Gospel traditions and with background studies in the general understanding of miracles in the Greco-Roman world of the Hellenistic period, this collection of essays shows how we may understand the theological reasons why the early followers of Jesus included these stories in their traditions that constituted the canonical Gospels. Using individual stories from the Gospels, three of the essays demonstrate how literary-critical analysis can show the theological intent of the miracle story. A second set of three essays examines the way Mark and Luke view the miracle tradition within their larger task of writing the story of Jesus. A final set of three articles examines the Hellenistic background of such stories, and the way they were used in secular and Jewish sources, to gain perspective on what the early Christians intended with the miracle stories of Jesus.

Christianity Today 2013 Book Award Winner Winner of The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship's 2012 Award of Excellence 2011 Book of the Year, Christianbook.com's Academic Blog Most modern prejudice against biblical miracle reports depends on David Hume's argument that uniform human experience precluded miracles. Yet current research shows that human experience is far from uniform. In fact, hundreds of millions of people today claim to have experienced miracles. New Testament scholar Craig Keener argues that it is time to rethink Hume's argument in light of the contemporary evidence available to us. This wide-ranging and meticulously researched two-volume study presents the most thorough current defense of the credibility of the miracle reports in the Gospels and Acts. Drawing on claims from a range of global cultures and taking a multidisciplinary approach to the topic, Keener suggests that many miracle accounts throughout history and from contemporary times are best explained as genuine divine acts, lending credence to the biblical miracle reports.

Graham Twelftree extensively examines the miracles of each Gospel narrative. He weighs their historical reliability and considers the question of miracles and the modern mind.

For as long as the idea of "miracles" has been in the public sphere, the conversation about them has been shaped exclusively by religious apologists and Christian leaders. The definitions for what a miracles are have been forged by the same men who fought hard to promote their own beliefs as fitting under that umbrella. It's time for a change. Enter John W. Loftus, an atheist author who has earned three master's degrees from Lincoln Christian Seminary and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Loftus, a former student of noted Christian apologist William Lane Craig, got some of the biggest names in the field to contribute to this book, which represents a critical analysis of the very idea of miracles. Incorporating his own thoughts along with those of noted academics, philosophers, and theologians, Loftus is able to properly define "miracle" and then show why there's no reason to believe such a thing even exists. Addressing every single issue that touches on miracles in a thorough and academic manner, this compilation represents the most extensive look at the phenomenon ever displayed through the lens of an ardent nonbeliever. If you've ever wondered exactly what a miracle is, or doubted whether they exist, then this book is for you.

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