MIRACLES
What they are, why they happen and how
they can change your life.
By Eric Metaxas.
Hodder and Stoughton. 340 pages. £16.99.
ISBN 978 1 473 604 766
The title is a bit misleading. The author cites Hume’s definition of a miracle as a transgression of a law of nature by God or some invisible agent. He prefers to speak of something outside space and time entering space and time.
That means that all sorts of things can be described as miracles, from the existence of the universe to the reconciliation of estranged marriage partners. Is that breadth of category helpful? I am not sure.
The first part is a general introduction: to rule miracles out on scientific grounds is itself unscientific; the existence of the universe is miraculous (using a powerfully marshalled set of arguments from fine tuning); from there we segue unexpectedly to the observation that the relative rarity of miracles raise problems about the goodness of God; NT miracles are purposeful signs; the resurrection of Jesus is historical. Though I didn't disagree with much of it, reading this section was rather like answering the phone to a highly enthusiastic telephone salesman who has a great deal to communicate, breathlessly and at high speed, whether one is listening or not.
Real-life stories
Having established some sort of general framework, the author comes onto his real purpose in writing, the second part of the book, ‘The Miracle Stories’. It starts with a number of conversion accounts, including the author’s own. What these heart-warming stories have in common is that in each there is an account of God chasing them down through coincidences, voices and dreams. Then there are stories of healings – from AIDS/HIV, a pinched nerve in the neck, severe allergic conditions, a cerebral haemorrhage, a nut allergy. Next is a series of descriptions of ‘inner healing’, including the healing of a broken marriage. Accounts of angelic miracles follow before we hear about the ‘miraculous’ experience which led to the writing of the author’s biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, his friend finding some lost keys in the middle of the windscreen of her car and other surprising incidents, all interpreted as divine interventions.
In one of these, a court case is presented as unexpectedly decided in favour of a needy lady as a result of the intervention of, er, her dead husband’s prayers. The book ends with an invitation to ‘tap into the benefit of the greatest resource available’ – i.e. a God who is real and active in the world in Christ. I did not like that turn of phrase as a summary of the gospel.
I wouldn’t suggest lending Miracles to a sceptic or young Christian unless you have read it yourself. It didn’t do a lot for me (and I wouldn’t have it on our church bookstall), though generally I like reading stories about God at work in people’s lives. I think that was partly because it felt as though it had been written too quickly, without the admittedly heartwarming stories being given the reflective evaluation they required. The rather over-energetic enthusiasm seemed to me to lack a bit of balance and discernment – and also to lack a wise editorial hand to shape a nuanced sense of argument. My advice would be to forget this one and read his Bonhoeffer instead – a better book.
