Miracles: A Journalist Looks at Modern Day Experiences of God's Power
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Readable yet challenging, hopeful and helpful
Do you believe in miracles? While Christians universally answer yes, this question brings up a myriad of questions for the Church today. Many Christians are increasingly cautious of affirming miracles because of the damage done publicly by faith healers and outright shenanigans. Popular books abound recounting personal stories of being transported to heaven, seeing Jesus, talking to angels and of course, being healed. Should every such story be believed? And if we refuse to believe are we being cynical and unbelieving in our outlook?
Beyond this larger question, the average Christian often has to make tricky decisions in real life scenarios. They are confronted with a claim to a miracle in the life of someone they know at work or in their church. They are pressured to come to a Pentecostal revival where they canâÂÂt help but be skeptical of the outlandish behavior and incredible conclusions made by their friends. Just how are we to think about miracles, when we pray for them on behalf of our family and friends every day? We all know God can heal, and we want his healing touch, but we just arenâÂÂt sure that we should expect it, or what to do when we think weâÂÂve really seen it.
Tim Stafford, a senior writer for Christianity Today steps into this quagmire and offers us some help in a remarkable new book titled, Miracles: A Journalist Looks at Modern-Day Experiences of GodâÂÂs Power. Tim navigates this thorny problem by recounting a true story that he experienced in his church, a fairly high-brow, staid and conservative Presbyterian assembly, by his telling. A young man experienced a healing from a debilitating pain in his feet that had required crutches and a wheel chair for years. His family were understandably overjoyed at his sudden and dramatic healing experienced at another church several hours away. But they were a little disappointed that their fellow church members didnâÂÂt share all their enthusiasm.
Stafford uses this story as a case in point, and interviewed the family as well as other families affected by this story from his church. Tim also draws on his travels to far-flung corners of the globe, where the miraculous may be more common. But rather than basing his conclusions on eye-witness testimony, Stafford also surveys the Old and New Testaments and the early years of church history looking for takeaways that we can apply to this perpetually difficult question. The result is a lucid and eminently readable account of his exploration. And his book is more than a page-turner. He brings sage advice, common sense, and an open spirit to the topic as well as his own honest account of disappointment and growth in this area.
StaffordâÂÂs book wonâÂÂt change the mind of the die-hard proponent of an extreme position on this issue. Those who see miracles around every corner will still find them, and those who hesitate to affirm the miraculous anywhere after Rev. 22, will equally be unconvinced. But for the average believer, without an axe to grind, StaffordâÂÂs treatment will be challenging and uplifting, and ultimately helpful. I was encouraged to trust in our miracle-working God more, and to see the miraculous in the ordinary means of grace that God so faithfully provides.
Disclaimer: This book was provided by Bethany House. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.
January 12, 2013
Miracles: A Balanced View on Supernatural Healing
I should start this review by saying that I believe in miracles. In fact, I always have. Even when people I loved died after I prayed for them to be healed. Even when the situations I prayed would change remained the same. I still never hesitate to ask God to make a difference in situations ranging from desperate to ordinary. This is part of the charismatic tradition in which I was raised (somewhat different from the Pentecostal tradition the author references throughout the book) and something that is still part of my faith.
I expected this book to be either written by an ardent Pentecostal promoting the reality of miracles or a cynical cessationist (someone who believes that all supernatural gifts of the spirit such as prophecy, tongues and miracles no longer occur) looking to disprove and explain away miraculous events. I was pleasantly surprised to find it to be neither.
Instead this is a candid look at miracles by someone who was brought up to believe in them in theory but not in practice. He believes in praying for miracles but isnâÂÂt part of a church tradition where it is made into much of a production. Stafford discusses the problems but also the freedom of demystifying miracles and healings. When our bodies heal themselves it is a wonderful, amazing event, and yet it is a function we take for granted. But he also acknowledges real experiences where nothing can explain why someone recovered except the supernatural hand of God.
This book is a great one for both believers in and skeptics of miracles alike because of the balanced few he presents. As a journalist, Stafford investigates but never allows himself to fall prey to cynicism. As someone who believes for and actively prays for miracles and healings I appreciate his suggestions for how to better handle the process. I think this book would also be beneficial to someone who is looking for more information about miracles but has many doubts. It is the most balanced view on the subject IâÂÂve ever encountered. The author skillfully avoids stereotypes and catch phrases, instead focusing of the experiences of people he has encountered in his years as a journalist, allowing the reader to explore real miracles in the lives of real people. This is a worthwhile read and I highly recommend it.
I was not compensated for this review but I did receive a free copy of the book to review.
December 26, 2012
An interesting read
The author, Tim Stafford claims to have written this book from a journalistic view. However to write something from a journalistic view, it has to obtain little to no opinion and be based on facts and observations. Tim Stafford does not hold back on his opinions in this book, and I feel that his opinions cloud things up.
One statement he makes that I simply can not agree with is to the affect that "a miracle must be instant, complete and permanent". This is a mans description of a miracle. But what is God's description of a miracle?
I really do believe that believing in miracles comes down to faith. People want miracles so that they will have faith and then be able to believe in God. Unfortunatly things don't always work that way.
Despite my personal dislike for this book, I do think that there is some decent information in here for the general public. However, understand that the author is not an expert and really just an average person writing his opinion (as am I), so take that with a grain of salt.
I received a free copy of Miracles in exchange for my honest opinion. I received no other compensation.
October 15, 2012
Miracles.
The Bible is full of miracles, and of course, I believe that every single one of them really happened, from the parting of the Red Sea to the many people Jesus healed. I've heard of miracles happening to people during my life, and maybe even witnessed a few in a small way. But I'll admit that I can be skeptical when a story of a miraculous event comes through word of mouth, passed from person to person. I also tend to be skeptical when it comes to huge, flashy healing services where dozens or hundreds of people claim to experience miracles in a short amount of time. {The older I get, the less I'm impressed with flashy and noisy experiences and the more I value quiet and humble and genuine things.}
So I was intrigued by this book: Miracles, by Tim Stafford. And it turned out to be a really interesting read. The author covers a lot in this book...everything from why people doubt miraculous stories to the history of miracles to what to think when miracles don't happen {or maybe I should say, when miracles don't happen in the timing we want. He says that miracles are a taste of what's to come. Some miracles and healings might not happen on earth, but they'll all be accomplished in heaven}.
I think he has a great attitude about all of the issues covered. We should keep our eyes open and believe that miracles can happen and do happen. But we should also realize that they shouldn't draw attention to themselves but instead to God and His power. Miracles shouldn't be our complete focus.
I liked the recap of the miracles in the Old and New Testaments. I had never realized before that most of the ones that are written about in the Old Testament were public miracles...ones that were actually witnessed by thousands of people, not just carried by word of mouth. But in the New Testament, things shift toward miracles being for a smaller audience, usually a handful of people seeing Jesus heal someone. And if you remember, several times he instructed the healed person not to spread the news. I also thought it was interesting when the author pointed out that the majority of miracles written about in the Bible happened in two periods that cover only about 7% of the two thousand years or so total. During the rest of the time, either there weren't an awful lot of miracles or they just weren't recorded.
I really enjoyed reading Miracles. If this is an issue you've been thinking about lately, you should definitely check it out (whether you're a bit of a skeptic or not, or somewhere in between).
{I received this book free for review from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. I apologize for being a bit late with my review!}
September 18, 2012
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