Miracles Revisited : New Testament Miracle Stories and Their Concepts of Reality

Since David Hume, the interpretation of miracle stories has been dominated in the West by the binary distinction of fact vs. fiction. The form-critical method added another restriction to the interpretation of miracles by neglecting the context of its macrotexts. Last but not least the hermeneutics of demythologizing was interested in the self-understanding of individuals and not in political perspectives. The book revisits miracle stories with regard to these dimensions: 1. It demands to connect the interpretation of Miracle Stories to concepts of reality. 2. It criticizes the restrictions of the form critical method. 3. It emphasizes the political implications of Miracle Stories and their interpretations. Even the latest research accepts this modern opposition of fact and fiction as self-evident. This book will examine critically these concepts of reality with interpretations of miracles. The book will address how concepts of reality, always complex, came to expression in stories of miraculous healings and their reception in medicine, art, literature, theology and philosophy, from classic antiquity to the Middle Ages. Only through such bygone concepts, contemporary interpretations of ancient healings can gain plausibility. Preface 9 I Rereading New Testament Miracle Stories 11 “For nothing will be impossible with God” (Luke 1:37): The Reality of “The Feeding the Five Thousand” (Luke 9:10–17) in the Universe of Discourse of Luke’s Gospel 13 Miracles of Judgment in Luke-Acts 31 Epiphany Reconsidered: A Parallel Reading of Acts 9:1–9 and Iliad 188–224a 41 Of Dogs and Women: Ethology and Gender in Ancient Healing. The Canaanite Woman’s Story – Matt 15:21–28 63 II Miracle Stories and Medical Discourse 79 Stories Just Under the Skin: lepra in the Gospel of Luke 81 Miracle and Natural Cause in Galen 109 The Physiology of Spirit in the Reformation: Medical Consensus and Protestant Theologians 123 III Politics of Miracle Stories 167 Disability and the Terror of the Miracle Tradition 169 Miracle and Eschatology in Two African American Slave Narratives and the Spirituals: From ‘Orality’ to Text 191 Cultural Translation: The Fig Tree and Politics of Representation under Nero in Rome (Mark 11:13–15, 19–20; Matthew 21:18–19; Luke 13:1–9) 209 Imperial Miracles and Elitist Discourses 241 IV Media of Miracles 257 The Healing Christ in Early Christian Funeral Art: The Example of the Frescoes at Domitilla Catacomb/Rome 259 The Rhetoric of Violence and Healing in the Church of Prophites Elias in Thessaloniki 283 The Wondrous World of the Cinema: Types of Depictions of the Miraculous in Jesus Films 301 V Rethinking the Miraculous 321 Miracles Revisited. A Short Theological and Historical Survey 323 New Testament Healing Narratives and the Category of Numinous Power 345 The Concept of Miracle and the Concepts of Reality. Some Provisional Remarks 359 Marvels, Miracles, Signs and the Real: Peirce’s Semiotics in Religion and Art 385 List of Contributors 399 Index of Subjects and Persons 403 Index of Biblical Sources 409 Index of Authors 415 "For nothing will be impossible with God" (Luke 1:37): The Reality of "The Feeding the Five Thousand" (Luke 9:10-17) in the Universe of Discourse of Luke's Gospel / Stefan Alkier Miracles of Judgment in Luke-Acts / Michael Rydryck Epiphany Reconsidered: A Parallel Reading of Acts 9:1-9 and Iliad 188-224a / Philip Erwin Of Dogs and Women: Ethology and Gender in Ancient Healing. The Canaanite Woman's Story Matt 15:21-28 / Elaine M. Wainwright Stories Just Under the Skin: lepra in the Gospel of Luke / Annette Weissenrieder Miracle and Natural Cause in Galen / Teun Tieleman The Physiology of Spirit in the Reformation: Medical Consensus and Protestant Theologians / Christopher Ocker Disability and the Terror of the Miracle Tradition / Sharon Betcher Miracle and Eschatology in Two African American Slave Narratives and the Spirituals: From 'Orality' to Text / James A. Noel Cultural Translation: The Fig Tree and Politics of Representation under Nero in Rome (Mark 11:13-15, 19-20; Matthew 21:18-19; Luke 13:1-9) / Annette Weissenrieder Imperial Miracles and Elitist Discourses / Hartmut Leppin The Healing Christ in Early Christian Funeral Art: The Example of the Frescoes at Domitilla Catacomb/Rome / Norbert Zimmermann The Rhetoric of Violence and Healing in the Church of Prophites Elias in Thessaloniki / Rossitza Schroeder The Wondrous World of the Cinema: Types of Depictions of the Miraculous in Jesus Films / Stefan Alkier Miracles Revisited. A Short Theological and Historical Survey / Stefan Alkier, David Moffitt New Testament Healing Narratives and the Category of Numinous Power / Werner Kahl The Concept of Miracle and the Concepts of Reality. Some Provisional Remarks / Heiko Schulz Marvels, Miracles, Signs and the Real: Peirce's Semiotics in Religion and Art / Hermann Deuser. The book revisits New Testament and other miracle stories with regard to three dimensions: 1. It proposes to connect the interpretation of miracle stories to concepts of reality. 2. It emphasizes the political implications of miracle stories and their interpretations. 3. It demands to read miracle stories within its contexts. The book addresses how ancient concepts of reality, always complex, come to expression in stories of miraculous healings and their reception in medicine, art, literature, theology and philosophy, from classic antiquity to the Middle Ages. Biographical note: Stefan Alkier, Goethe-Universität Frankfurt a.M., Germany;Annette Weissenrieder, San Francisco Theological Seminary and Graduate Theological Union, CA, USA