Miracles: Wonder and Meaning in World Religions Book

Despite the dominance of scientific explanation in the modern world, at the beginning of the twenty-first century faith in miracles remains strong, particularly in resurgent forms of traditional religion. In Miracles, David L. Weddle examines how five religious traditions—Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam—understand miracles, considering how they express popular enthusiasm for wondrous tales, how they provoke official regulation because of their potential to disrupt authority, and how they are denied by critics within each tradition who regard belief in miracles as an illusory distraction from moral responsibility.In dynamic and accessible prose, Weddle shows us what miracles are, what they mean, and why, despite overwhelming scientific evidence, they are still significant today: belief in miracles sustains the hope that, if there is a reality that surpasses our ordinary lives, it is capable of exercising—from time to time—creative, liberating, enlightening, and healing power in our world.

Publishers Weekly

A professor at Colorado College, Weddle (The Law as Gospel) examines the stories of miracles among the gurus, rebbes, bodhisattvas, saints, and imams of Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam through the centuries. Finding a common ground in the definition that "a miracle is an event of transcendent power that arouses wonder and carries religious significance for those who witness it or hear or read about it," he examines each tradition through the same lens. The author explores the mysterious healings in the waters at Lourdes and those effected by evangelists Aimee Semple McPherson and Oral Roberts, and explains why Sunnis, Shiites, and Sufis disagree about the nature of miracles in Islam. This far-ranging book is also well-organized, with summaries at the end of each chapter. In a pluralistic world, Weddle presents an engaging study of what millions of religious people in the world believe about miracles even while others do not. This comprehensive history of miracles for both believers and skeptics should appeal not only to academics but also to anyone interested in the enigmas of faith. (July)