Last night at mens group we had a very interesting discussion take place. After weekly updates and before our prayer time, I asked a question to the four guys who regularly attend Tuesday night discipleship.
I asked if anyone in the group had ever seen a bona fide miracle. Something distinctly supernatural and unmistakably the hand of God. It was a question that I had been dealing with for awhile. When I open the Bible I see numerous things which appear to be beyond this realm of existence. Folks being healed by an apostles shadow, the resurrection of a dead man after he falls from a window, the many exorcisms recorded in scripture, etc...And these examples are not even things that Jesus did, they are things his early apostles performed. So, I pondered...why do we see that occurring then and not now? Where are the miracles in 21st century America?
Several of the guys told stories about miracles and supernatural things they had experienced...
- Steve talked about the miracle of his sons birth and he offered a suggestion that medicine is, in itself, a miracle of sorts. He also said that when someone is presupposed to disbelieve in the supernatural, they will explain it away no matter what.
- John spoke about his experience almost drowning in the middle of a lake and his sudden, unassisted, safe arrival at the shore. He admitted it might be that he had a memory block about finding a way to swim back to shore, but I doubt he would have blocked that detail while vividly remembering the rest. Looks like angelic intervention to me.
- Jeremy gave us a interesting story about a young man he took to church one Sunday, a man dealing with lots of demonic oppression, and how the congregation was led by the Spirit to see the very particular spiritual battles the man was dealing with (despite none of them knowing of him prior). A story that concluded well, with the boy leaving free of malevolence that night.
However, even with those stories on the table, it was clear that miracles and supernatural activities were not a regular or daily part of life for us. So, I found myself back at the question of why. Why do signs and wonders show up with such frequency in the Gospels and the book of Acts - yet, we are hard pressed to find any today?
The group threw out a few ideas...
- God can't do miracles. He never could or he can't anymore. (obviously, we didn't go with this one)
- God isn't in the miracles business anymore. The church and the canon are established, that's all we need. (aka the cessasionst view, none of us seemed to completely subscribe to this one either)
- God simply decides not to perform many miracles anymore. He could do them, he has just ordained to cut back on them. (as Calvinists, we all acknowledged this view of God's sovereign will, yet it still leaves one wondering why he would cut back on miracles between 200 years ago and today)
- We play some role in "blocking" our own supernatural experiences. Certainly salvation is all God and he is in complete control of all things, knowing the outcome before it occurs - but perhaps...could it be that he gives us some measure of responsibility thru faith and belief to cultivate these supernatural healings and occurrences for ourselves? That might explain the high number of miracles in countries that trust in such things as a reality.
My friend Andrew talked about this years ago...what if the reason Americans don't experience the supernatural is because we are so rational and explanatory. Could that "hinder" the wonders from happening in our midst. Couldn't that theory apply even within Christendom...charismatics have supernatural experiences all the time (or so they claim) and Calvinists rarely talk about the experience of the supernatural. Do reformed people hold a theology that is somewhat closed to the idea of regular miracles thereby blocking their occurrence?
What do you think? I am particularly interested in the opinions of Andrew (the most charismatic of my readers), Adam (the reformed intelligentsia of my readers), and Doc (my Catholic friend).
Why don't we experience miracles and supernatural events in the same way today as they did in the early church?
Discuss!
In the Bible, there were only three windows of time inwhich God did wholesale miracles
ReplyDelete1) The Exodus
2) During the time of the Prophets prior to the Captivity
3) The ministry of Jesus and the Apostles
I have some thoughts, but it'll be a little while before I put them down. For the record, I'm a cessationist, though I had a hard time recognizing my position in your summary. There are different kinds of cessationists. Many are open to the possibility of modern-day miracles, just not the normativity of modern-day miracles.
ReplyDeleteI agree Adam. I believe in miracles, but am leary of anything charismatic
ReplyDeleteSince you have invited me to comment on your work, I offer a few points.
ReplyDeleteFirst, it seems to me that we cannot know every miracle. Many escape our notice. But there are miracles, attested by believers, that have become part of tradition.
In the Catholic Church, miracles are continuing. For instance, there are the miracles at Lourdes and Fatima to name some fairly recent events.
In addition, every named saint has at least two miracles attested to by those who have prayed in his name ( a blessed has one miracle). Of course the saint himself does not perform the miracle. Only God can do that.
The only example I can give from a person I knew is my late father-in-law. In the mid 50's, he had a rare cancer in his leg that was fast-growing
and always fatal. The family made a pilgrimage to Canada to a shrine, prayed for his recovery and he went on to live another 45 years. The recovery made the textbooks. This was well before I met him, of course.
I hope that the weather not been too unkind to you. There are pictures on TV and in the paper that make me wonder.
Best to you
My definition of a healing miracle: has to be organic and incurable, and the healing has to be instantaneous through prayer with no doctor or medicine involved. When Jesus and the Apostles healed, it was instant, no matter what the ailment and no medicine was involved
ReplyDeleteGlad to see all the comments. I will post my thoughts after Adam gives his view and (hopefully) after my friend Andrew comments!
ReplyDelete