Kevin Belmonte - Miraculous: A Fascinating History of Signs, Wonders, and Miracles

The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen.

G. K. C HESTERTON

Seek the L ORD and His strength; seek His face evermore! Remember His marvelous works which He has done, [and] His wonders.

P SALM 105:45

D efinitions matter. They are where we begin to better understand things weve been interested in but may not know much about.

The subject of miracles, to cite a case in point, is one that holds great fascination. Yet many may not know a lot about what miracles actually are.

Here we may turn to a distinguished scholar whose writings have long been a source of blessing to the church. Dr. Walter Elwell wrote that a miracle is an extraordinary event... accomplished by God as a sign of some purposes of his own.

Billy Graham, Americas pastor, has told us still more. A miracle, he wrote, is an event beyond the power of any known physical law to

Miracles, it has been said, are a conspicuous feature of the Bible. And so they are. In the Old Testament, for example, God performed many miracles during the time when Moses led the children of Israel. In the New Testament, the miracles performed by Jesus were signs for a watching world. Their purpose then and now was and is to show that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing [we] may have life in His name (John 20:31).

Our word for miracle comes from the Latin word mirari, to wonder. And well might we wonder when we consider the nature of miracles and their purpose. For always, Scripture teaches, the emphasis is on what God has revealed through the miracles He has bestowed on humanity. Miracles are all about Him, and what He has revealed is extraordinary.

In the whole Scripture there is nothing but Christ. He is the sun and truth in Scripture.

In the chapters to follow, we will look at great and representative miracles from the Old and New Testaments. But at the outset, it is deeply important to keep in view the central truth stated above. To once again cite Luther, The whole Scripture is about Christ alone. He is the heart of the greatest story ever told.

It may also be said that miracles have a profoundly important history. From ancient times to the present, wondrous things have taken place. In our age of constant innovation, technological achievement, and the sad tendency to see ourselves as the captains of our fates, we may be tempted to make little time for miracles or give little credence to them. But to live our lives without a sense of the miraculous is to live impoverished lives.

Of course, no one can pretend to have the last word on the subject of miracles, and no definition of them will satisfy everyone. Some see miracles as things that unfold over a lifetime; others as events that take place in a tightly focused window of time. Some see miracles as phenomena that shape the destiny of nations; others perceive them as moments that are profoundly personal in nature. There are divergent opinions, and all of this is readily admitted. The best one can do is to consult widely respected sources and seek to be fair and judicious in speaking of them.

Such methods have served as guiding principles for this book.

Between its covers are some of the best and most eloquently considered thoughts about miracles that have ever been given to us. During my research, Ive been privileged to keep company with, and learn from, some of the finest men and women whose words adorn the pages of Christian history. May something of the grace and wisdom that attended their ways be ours also. And may we, like them, come to see something more of the blessing and richness that flow from a deeper understanding of what miracles are.

The question of what miracles are prompts the onset of a fascinating journeya pilgrimage unlike any other. In the pages of this book, a grand and memorable conversation beckonsone that leaves no doubt that God has been our help in ages past and that He is our hope for years to come. This book aspires to join that enduring conversation, and contribute to it in meaningful ways. In short, may the conversation continue.

I would only add one further note. It follows that since this text seeks to be comprehensivethough not exhaustivediscussions of teachings about miracles from the major Christian communionsProtestant, Catholic, and Orthodox alikewill be taken into account. In doing so, I have tried to be guided by the best elements of mere Christianityto write respectfully, charitably, and helpfully about traditions beyond my own, which is the Protestant tradition. I have family members and friends who worship within the Catholic and Orthodox communions, and their love and devotion for God has been a source of blessing to me. I hope I may in some small way return the favor with what follows in this book.