- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199732586
- eISBN:
- 9780199894895
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199732586.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book is a study and translation of the testimony given by witnesses at the canonization hearings of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who died in 1231 at age 24 in Marburg, Germany. In January 1233 and ...
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This book is a study and translation of the testimony given by witnesses at the canonization hearings of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who died in 1231 at age 24 in Marburg, Germany. In January 1233 and again in January 1235, papal commissioners interviewed hundreds of people as witnesses to the healing miracles associated with Elizabeth’s shrine. What these witnesses said about their maladies and their cures provides an unusually clear window into the workings of a nascent saint cult within the context of rural Germany. When the commission convened for the second time, it also heard from Elizabeth’s four closest associates, the so-called handmaids who had witnessed her transformation —under the guidance of her confessor Conrad of Marburg —from the powerful wife of the Thuringian landgrave (Ludwig IV) to a humble hospital worker in Marburg. Their statements, along with that of Conrad himself, allow for a better understanding of the effects of mendicant spirituality (normally associated with more urban environments) on a woman from the highest levels of German society.Less
This book is a study and translation of the testimony given by witnesses at the canonization hearings of St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who died in 1231 at age 24 in Marburg, Germany. In January 1233 and again in January 1235, papal commissioners interviewed hundreds of people as witnesses to the healing miracles associated with Elizabeth’s shrine. What these witnesses said about their maladies and their cures provides an unusually clear window into the workings of a nascent saint cult within the context of rural Germany. When the commission convened for the second time, it also heard from Elizabeth’s four closest associates, the so-called handmaids who had witnessed her transformation —under the guidance of her confessor Conrad of Marburg —from the powerful wife of the Thuringian landgrave (Ludwig IV) to a humble hospital worker in Marburg. Their statements, along with that of Conrad himself, allow for a better understanding of the effects of mendicant spirituality (normally associated with more urban environments) on a woman from the highest levels of German society.
Jake Chandler and Victoria S. Harrison (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199604760
- eISBN:
- 9780191741548
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199604760.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Metaphysics/Epistemology
At a time in which probability theory is exerting an unprecedented influence on epistemology and philosophy of science, promising to deliver an exact and unified foundation for the philosophy of ...
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At a time in which probability theory is exerting an unprecedented influence on epistemology and philosophy of science, promising to deliver an exact and unified foundation for the philosophy of rational inference and decision-making, it is worth remembering that the philosophy of religion has long proven to be an extremely fertile ground for the application of probabilistic thinking to traditional epistemological debates. This book offers a representative sample of the work currently being carried out in this potentially rich field of inquiry. Grouped into five sections, the chapters span a broad range of traditional issues in religious epistemology. The first three sections discuss the evidential impact of various considerations that have been thought to have a bearing on the question of the existence of God. These include witness reports of the occurrence of miraculous events, the existence of complex biological adaptations, the apparent ‘fine-tuning’ for life of various physical constants and the existence of seemingly unnecessary evil. The fourth section addresses a number of issues raised by Pascal’s famous pragmatic argument for theistic belief. A final section offers probabilistic perspectives on the rationality of faith and the epistemic significance of religious disagreement.Less
At a time in which probability theory is exerting an unprecedented influence on epistemology and philosophy of science, promising to deliver an exact and unified foundation for the philosophy of rational inference and decision-making, it is worth remembering that the philosophy of religion has long proven to be an extremely fertile ground for the application of probabilistic thinking to traditional epistemological debates. This book offers a representative sample of the work currently being carried out in this potentially rich field of inquiry. Grouped into five sections, the chapters span a broad range of traditional issues in religious epistemology. The first three sections discuss the evidential impact of various considerations that have been thought to have a bearing on the question of the existence of God. These include witness reports of the occurrence of miraculous events, the existence of complex biological adaptations, the apparent ‘fine-tuning’ for life of various physical constants and the existence of seemingly unnecessary evil. The fourth section addresses a number of issues raised by Pascal’s famous pragmatic argument for theistic belief. A final section offers probabilistic perspectives on the rationality of faith and the epistemic significance of religious disagreement.
Matthew Dal Santo (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199646791
- eISBN:
- 9780199949939
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199646791.001.0001
- Subject:
- Classical Studies, Ancient Religions, European History: BCE to 500CE
This book argues that the Dialogues on the Miracles of the Italian Fathers, Pope Gregory the Great's (590–604) most controversial work, should be considered from the perspective of a wide-ranging ...
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This book argues that the Dialogues on the Miracles of the Italian Fathers, Pope Gregory the Great's (590–604) most controversial work, should be considered from the perspective of a wide-ranging debate about the saints which took place in early Byzantine society. Like other contemporary works in Greek and Syriac, Gregory's Latin text debated the nature and plausibility of the saints' miracles and the propriety of the saints' cult. Rather than viewing the early Byzantine world as overwhelmingly pious or credulous, the book argues that many contemporaries questioned and challenged the claims of hagiographers and other promoters of the saints' miracles. From Italy to the heart of the Persian Empire at Ctesiphon, a healthy, sceptical, rationalism remained alive and well. The book's conclusion argues that doubt towards the saints reflected a current of political dissent in the East Roman or early Byzantine Empire, where patronage of Christian saints' shrines was used to sanction imperial autocracy. These far-reaching debates about religion and authority also help re-contextualize the emergence of Islam in the late ancient Near East.Less
This book argues that the Dialogues on the Miracles of the Italian Fathers, Pope Gregory the Great's (590–604) most controversial work, should be considered from the perspective of a wide-ranging debate about the saints which took place in early Byzantine society. Like other contemporary works in Greek and Syriac, Gregory's Latin text debated the nature and plausibility of the saints' miracles and the propriety of the saints' cult. Rather than viewing the early Byzantine world as overwhelmingly pious or credulous, the book argues that many contemporaries questioned and challenged the claims of hagiographers and other promoters of the saints' miracles. From Italy to the heart of the Persian Empire at Ctesiphon, a healthy, sceptical, rationalism remained alive and well. The book's conclusion argues that doubt towards the saints reflected a current of political dissent in the East Roman or early Byzantine Empire, where patronage of Christian saints' shrines was used to sanction imperial autocracy. These far-reaching debates about religion and authority also help re-contextualize the emergence of Islam in the late ancient Near East.
Hugh Rice
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198250289
- eISBN:
- 9780191598302
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198250282.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
Proposes an abstract conception of God, which identifies the will of God with the basic facts about good and bad. I argue that this conception does justice both to the nature of goodness and to the ...
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Proposes an abstract conception of God, which identifies the will of God with the basic facts about good and bad. I argue that this conception does justice both to the nature of goodness and to the sovereignty of God. And, while it is does not represent God as a person, it allows for the attribution to him of properties that form the key elements of many people's conception of God. I argue that a belief in God, so conceived, is a natural extension of ordinary scientific outlook and a belief in objective value. I defend this belief in objective value and claim that it is reasonable to explain the existence of the world in terms of such value. In the latter part of the book, I discuss the problem of evil, and the question of whether there are good reasons for believing in miracles. Finally, I discuss the value of rational belief in God.Less
Proposes an abstract conception of God, which identifies the will of God with the basic facts about good and bad. I argue that this conception does justice both to the nature of goodness and to the sovereignty of God. And, while it is does not represent God as a person, it allows for the attribution to him of properties that form the key elements of many people's conception of God. I argue that a belief in God, so conceived, is a natural extension of ordinary scientific outlook and a belief in objective value. I defend this belief in objective value and claim that it is reasonable to explain the existence of the world in terms of such value. In the latter part of the book, I discuss the problem of evil, and the question of whether there are good reasons for believing in miracles. Finally, I discuss the value of rational belief in God.
Glenn Dynner
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195175226
- eISBN:
- 9780199785148
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195175226.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter concerns the mechanics of Polish Hasidism's political ascendancy by reconstructing conquests of local institutions at various levels. In the nine case studies, the stages of Hasidic ...
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This chapter concerns the mechanics of Polish Hasidism's political ascendancy by reconstructing conquests of local institutions at various levels. In the nine case studies, the stages of Hasidic conquest range from the establishment of separate prayer houses, to domination of the communal study house (bet midrash) and/or synagogue, to control of rabbinical and other communal appointments. The chapter concludes with an assessment of governmental policy towards Hasidim that reveals, through a comparison with official treatment of Christian pilgrims and miracle sites, a surprising lack of overt discrimination against Hasidism on the part of Polish officialdom.Less
This chapter concerns the mechanics of Polish Hasidism's political ascendancy by reconstructing conquests of local institutions at various levels. In the nine case studies, the stages of Hasidic conquest range from the establishment of separate prayer houses, to domination of the communal study house (bet midrash) and/or synagogue, to control of rabbinical and other communal appointments. The chapter concludes with an assessment of governmental policy towards Hasidim that reveals, through a comparison with official treatment of Christian pilgrims and miracle sites, a surprising lack of overt discrimination against Hasidism on the part of Polish officialdom.
Glenn Dynner
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195175226
- eISBN:
- 9780199785148
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195175226.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Judaism
This chapter evaluates the movement's grassroots appeal through its miracle working enterprises, arguing that Polish zaddikim were neither charlatans, nor were they, technically speaking, “popular” ...
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This chapter evaluates the movement's grassroots appeal through its miracle working enterprises, arguing that Polish zaddikim were neither charlatans, nor were they, technically speaking, “popular” leaders. In their embrace of folk religion, they were apparently sincere and differed little from traditional mystical practitioners,ba'alei shem, but differed markedly in their social status and concomitant influence among the Jewish masses and Polish officialdom. Women and youth obtained unprecedented access to zaddikim; yet followers from the Jewish elite granted special or lengthier audiences and were groomed for leadership succession. The chapter concludes with a look at the most ambivalent zaddik with respect to miracle working, R. Simha Bunem of Przysucha.Less
This chapter evaluates the movement's grassroots appeal through its miracle working enterprises, arguing that Polish zaddikim were neither charlatans, nor were they, technically speaking, “popular” leaders. In their embrace of folk religion, they were apparently sincere and differed little from traditional mystical practitioners,ba'alei shem, but differed markedly in their social status and concomitant influence among the Jewish masses and Polish officialdom. Women and youth obtained unprecedented access to zaddikim; yet followers from the Jewish elite granted special or lengthier audiences and were groomed for leadership succession. The chapter concludes with a look at the most ambivalent zaddik with respect to miracle working, R. Simha Bunem of Przysucha.
Colin Howson
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198250371
- eISBN:
- 9780191597749
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198250371.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
This book is an extended discussion of Hume's famous sceptical argument that we have no reason to believe that the future will resemble the past. In the context of scientific methodology, this ...
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This book is an extended discussion of Hume's famous sceptical argument that we have no reason to believe that the future will resemble the past. In the context of scientific methodology, this implies that however stringent the process of experimentation, the data supplied does not in itself support any one general hypothesis over another. There have been many attempts since Hume published this argument to show that it is mistaken, or that it itself begs the question. These attempts, which fall under the various headings of probabilism, reliabilism, deductivism, the No‐Miracles argument, and naturalism, are examined and are all found to be wanting. It is then argued that Hume's argument is sound, but that conceding this does not show that there are no valid inductive inferences. The final sections of the book are devoted to showing that there are such arguments, namely probabilistically valid arguments, whose premises are assignments of prior probability. Such arguments are clearly conditional, like those of deductive logic, their conclusions depending on the premises. Indeed, this book argues that the laws of probability are as authentically logical principles as those of deductive logic, mediating like them non‐ampliative inferences from premises to conclusion. Hume's position, that all inductive arguments depend on assumptions about the likely course of nature, is endorsed, since these assumptions can be identified with the prior probability assignments. Thus, though Hume was correct, there is nevertheless room for a genuine logic of inductive inference, supplied by the laws of probability.Less
This book is an extended discussion of Hume's famous sceptical argument that we have no reason to believe that the future will resemble the past. In the context of scientific methodology, this implies that however stringent the process of experimentation, the data supplied does not in itself support any one general hypothesis over another. There have been many attempts since Hume published this argument to show that it is mistaken, or that it itself begs the question. These attempts, which fall under the various headings of probabilism, reliabilism, deductivism, the No‐Miracles argument, and naturalism, are examined and are all found to be wanting. It is then argued that Hume's argument is sound, but that conceding this does not show that there are no valid inductive inferences. The final sections of the book are devoted to showing that there are such arguments, namely probabilistically valid arguments, whose premises are assignments of prior probability. Such arguments are clearly conditional, like those of deductive logic, their conclusions depending on the premises. Indeed, this book argues that the laws of probability are as authentically logical principles as those of deductive logic, mediating like them non‐ampliative inferences from premises to conclusion. Hume's position, that all inductive arguments depend on assumptions about the likely course of nature, is endorsed, since these assumptions can be identified with the prior probability assignments. Thus, though Hume was correct, there is nevertheless room for a genuine logic of inductive inference, supplied by the laws of probability.
Crawford Gribben
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195325317
- eISBN:
- 9780199785605
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195325317.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
This chapter documents Irish Cromwellian debates about the possibility of the extraordinary. This debate cut across the emerging denominational structures, as preachers and theologians debated the ...
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This chapter documents Irish Cromwellian debates about the possibility of the extraordinary. This debate cut across the emerging denominational structures, as preachers and theologians debated the orthodoxy of miracles, prophecies, and the certainty of answered prayer. This debate highlighted the eclecticism at the heart of the Cromwellian reformation, as prominent clergy developed a spirituality that was apparently at odds with their scholastic puritan heritage.Less
This chapter documents Irish Cromwellian debates about the possibility of the extraordinary. This debate cut across the emerging denominational structures, as preachers and theologians debated the orthodoxy of miracles, prophecies, and the certainty of answered prayer. This debate highlighted the eclecticism at the heart of the Cromwellian reformation, as prominent clergy developed a spirituality that was apparently at odds with their scholastic puritan heritage.
Adele Reinhartz
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195146967
- eISBN:
- 9780199785469
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195146967.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
The Gospels assert that Jesus is not the son of Joseph but of God, and point to Jesus' miracles, God's declarations, and other aspects of Jesus' extraordinary life as evidence for his divine sonship. ...
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The Gospels assert that Jesus is not the son of Joseph but of God, and point to Jesus' miracles, God's declarations, and other aspects of Jesus' extraordinary life as evidence for his divine sonship. The challenge for filmmakers lies in the visual nature of the film medium. How to illustrate this extraordinary paternity on the silver screen, when God as such cannot be portrayed visually? The biopics also employ a variety of techniques, including symbolism (e.g., lighting), and the portrayal of Jesus' miraculous deeds. A number of films also explore the possibility of skepticism — on the part of the audience and even on Jesus' part — regarding Jesus' divine identity.Less
The Gospels assert that Jesus is not the son of Joseph but of God, and point to Jesus' miracles, God's declarations, and other aspects of Jesus' extraordinary life as evidence for his divine sonship. The challenge for filmmakers lies in the visual nature of the film medium. How to illustrate this extraordinary paternity on the silver screen, when God as such cannot be portrayed visually? The biopics also employ a variety of techniques, including symbolism (e.g., lighting), and the portrayal of Jesus' miraculous deeds. A number of films also explore the possibility of skepticism — on the part of the audience and even on Jesus' part — regarding Jesus' divine identity.
Philip M. Soergel
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199844661
- eISBN:
- 9780199932856
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199844661.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This study examines the uses of miracles in Protestant wonder books in the century after the outbreak of the Reformation. The wonder book was a new genre that emerged in the troubled years after ...
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This study examines the uses of miracles in Protestant wonder books in the century after the outbreak of the Reformation. The wonder book was a new genre that emerged in the troubled years after Martin Luther’s death and the outbreak of religious wars in 1546. Originally conceived as a kind of apocalyptic text intended to interpret the “signs of the times” during this uncertain period, wonder books were filled with accounts of celestial visions, comets, natural disasters, monstrous births, and other seeming signs and portents, events in which the hand of God was revealed. As the genre developed, its authors, mostly Lutheran pastors and theologians, increasingly delved into the theology of miracles and the supernatural, and the wonder book became a vehicle for waging the bitter polemic typical of evangelicalism during its second and third generations. Writing for a mostly clerical audience, these books satisfied an enduring appetite for news of God’s daily intervention in human affairs. Thus, in contrast to longstanding traditions of scholarship that have characterized the Reformation as a step on the way to the “disenchantment of the world,” this monograph demonstrates that German evangelicals were themselves active enchanters.Less
This study examines the uses of miracles in Protestant wonder books in the century after the outbreak of the Reformation. The wonder book was a new genre that emerged in the troubled years after Martin Luther’s death and the outbreak of religious wars in 1546. Originally conceived as a kind of apocalyptic text intended to interpret the “signs of the times” during this uncertain period, wonder books were filled with accounts of celestial visions, comets, natural disasters, monstrous births, and other seeming signs and portents, events in which the hand of God was revealed. As the genre developed, its authors, mostly Lutheran pastors and theologians, increasingly delved into the theology of miracles and the supernatural, and the wonder book became a vehicle for waging the bitter polemic typical of evangelicalism during its second and third generations. Writing for a mostly clerical audience, these books satisfied an enduring appetite for news of God’s daily intervention in human affairs. Thus, in contrast to longstanding traditions of scholarship that have characterized the Reformation as a step on the way to the “disenchantment of the world,” this monograph demonstrates that German evangelicals were themselves active enchanters.
Gerald SJ O'Collins
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199203130
- eISBN:
- 9780191707742
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199203130.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
The divine identity of Jesus is essential for the efficacy of salvation and its entire story. That story comprises all the stages in the human history of the incarnate Son of God—right from his ...
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The divine identity of Jesus is essential for the efficacy of salvation and its entire story. That story comprises all the stages in the human history of the incarnate Son of God—right from his conception through to his glorious coming at the end of time.Less
The divine identity of Jesus is essential for the efficacy of salvation and its entire story. That story comprises all the stages in the human history of the incarnate Son of God—right from his conception through to his glorious coming at the end of time.
Robert J. Fogelin
- Published in print:
- 1992
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195071627
- eISBN:
- 9780199833221
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019507162X.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, General
Since this article was reprinted in this volume, I have come to think that it is fundamentally in error. I take a very different approach to this topic in A Defense of Hume on Miracles, Princeton ...
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Since this article was reprinted in this volume, I have come to think that it is fundamentally in error. I take a very different approach to this topic in A Defense of Hume on Miracles, Princeton University Press (2003).Less
Since this article was reprinted in this volume, I have come to think that it is fundamentally in error. I take a very different approach to this topic in A Defense of Hume on Miracles, Princeton University Press (2003).
Axel Hadenius
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199246663
- eISBN:
- 9780191599392
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199246661.003.0007
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Analyses the development of a new mode of state in the Middle Ages in Europe. This was the emergence of an interactive state, signified by a regulated intercourse between state and society. This was ...
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Analyses the development of a new mode of state in the Middle Ages in Europe. This was the emergence of an interactive state, signified by a regulated intercourse between state and society. This was a state built on pluralism, power sharing and constitutionalism. Certain institutional and societal conditions contributed to this development, which laid the ground for the so‐called ‘European miracle’.Less
Analyses the development of a new mode of state in the Middle Ages in Europe. This was the emergence of an interactive state, signified by a regulated intercourse between state and society. This was a state built on pluralism, power sharing and constitutionalism. Certain institutional and societal conditions contributed to this development, which laid the ground for the so‐called ‘European miracle’.
Colin Howson
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198250371
- eISBN:
- 9780191597749
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198250371.003.0012
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Science
The coda discusses Hume's famous account of miracles in the Enquiry, and his criterion for belief in miracles, and shows that it amounts to a simple argument in the probability calculus.
The coda discusses Hume's famous account of miracles in the Enquiry, and his criterion for belief in miracles, and shows that it amounts to a simple argument in the probability calculus.
Michael Ward
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195313871
- eISBN:
- 9780199871964
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195313871.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Literature
The problem of occasion: why did Lewis write the Chronicles of Narnia? Writing was always the way to freedom for him, and the debate about Naturalism with Elizabeth Anscombe at the Socratic Club ...
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The problem of occasion: why did Lewis write the Chronicles of Narnia? Writing was always the way to freedom for him, and the debate about Naturalism with Elizabeth Anscombe at the Socratic Club caused him difficulties which may have required mental and imaginative liberation. In Miracles, his defence of Idealism, he had argued that human reason was monarchical and that Naturalists preferred to live in a democratic universe. In part, the first Narnia Chronicle was written to demonstrate the same case imaginatively as he had made propositionally in his apologetics.Less
The problem of occasion: why did Lewis write the Chronicles of Narnia? Writing was always the way to freedom for him, and the debate about Naturalism with Elizabeth Anscombe at the Socratic Club caused him difficulties which may have required mental and imaginative liberation. In Miracles, his defence of Idealism, he had argued that human reason was monarchical and that Naturalists preferred to live in a democratic universe. In part, the first Narnia Chronicle was written to demonstrate the same case imaginatively as he had made propositionally in his apologetics.
Jacalyn Duffin
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- January 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195336504
- eISBN:
- 9780199868612
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195336504.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity
This book examines the nature of miracles in four centuries of records on the canonization of saints held in the Vatican Secret Archives and Library. The history of the canonization process is ...
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This book examines the nature of miracles in four centuries of records on the canonization of saints held in the Vatican Secret Archives and Library. The history of the canonization process is explained with special reference to the place of miracles within it. Separate chapters focus on the saints and their supplicants, the physicians, and the drama of the cure. A conclusion presents some parallels in the workings of religion and of medicine. The primary sources for this book are the records of testimony on more than 1,400 miracles gathered by clerics working within the official process for recognizing saints. More than 90 percent of these miracles are healings from diseases. The vast majority of the records include the personal accounts of the people healed (miraculé[e]s) and their treating or expert physicians. Presentation of the witnesses and their stories leads to an exploration of medicine and religion as semiotic traditions built around the experience of illness, healing, and death. This work intersects with histories of medicine, of religion, in its official and popular forms, and with the current debate on physical healing through spiritual means. Although the project is rooted in Roman Catholic traditions, it permits more general statements about the behaviors of sick people and the formal responses to suffering from religion, medicine, and, indeed, history.Less
This book examines the nature of miracles in four centuries of records on the canonization of saints held in the Vatican Secret Archives and Library. The history of the canonization process is explained with special reference to the place of miracles within it. Separate chapters focus on the saints and their supplicants, the physicians, and the drama of the cure. A conclusion presents some parallels in the workings of religion and of medicine. The primary sources for this book are the records of testimony on more than 1,400 miracles gathered by clerics working within the official process for recognizing saints. More than 90 percent of these miracles are healings from diseases. The vast majority of the records include the personal accounts of the people healed (miraculé[e]s) and their treating or expert physicians. Presentation of the witnesses and their stories leads to an exploration of medicine and religion as semiotic traditions built around the experience of illness, healing, and death. This work intersects with histories of medicine, of religion, in its official and popular forms, and with the current debate on physical healing through spiritual means. Although the project is rooted in Roman Catholic traditions, it permits more general statements about the behaviors of sick people and the formal responses to suffering from religion, medicine, and, indeed, history.
Aviad Kleinberg
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- May 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780231174701
- eISBN:
- 9780231540247
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Columbia University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7312/columbia/9780231174701.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
Where God's invitation to eat his flesh raises unexpected problems. What do we do with spiders and mice and where in the digestive system does the Eucharist turn back into flour and wine before ...
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Where God's invitation to eat his flesh raises unexpected problems. What do we do with spiders and mice and where in the digestive system does the Eucharist turn back into flour and wine before things get really nasty.Less
Where God's invitation to eat his flesh raises unexpected problems. What do we do with spiders and mice and where in the digestive system does the Eucharist turn back into flour and wine before things get really nasty.
Jonathan L. Kvanvig (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- May 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199603213
- eISBN:
- 9780191725388
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199603213.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Metaphysics/Epistemology
This is the third volume of the Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion series. As with the first two volumes, these essays follow the tradition of providing a non-sectarian and non-partisan ...
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This is the third volume of the Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion series. As with the first two volumes, these essays follow the tradition of providing a non-sectarian and non-partisan snapshot of the subdiscipline of philosophy of religion. This subdiscipline has become an increasingly important one within philosophy over the last century, and especially over the past half century, having emerged as an identifiable subfield within this time frame along with other emerging subfields such as the philosophy of science and the philosophy of language. This volume continues the initial intention behind the series of attracting the best work from the premier philosophers of religion, as well as including top philosophers outside this area when their work and interests intersect with issues in philosophy of religion. This inclusive approach to the series provides an opportunity to mitigate some of the costs of greater specialization in our disciplines, while at the same time inviting greater interest in the work being done in the philosophy of religion. We thus present the third volume in this series, a volume containing contributions by an impressive group of philosophers on topics of central important to the philosophy of religion.Less
This is the third volume of the Oxford Studies in Philosophy of Religion series. As with the first two volumes, these essays follow the tradition of providing a non-sectarian and non-partisan snapshot of the subdiscipline of philosophy of religion. This subdiscipline has become an increasingly important one within philosophy over the last century, and especially over the past half century, having emerged as an identifiable subfield within this time frame along with other emerging subfields such as the philosophy of science and the philosophy of language. This volume continues the initial intention behind the series of attracting the best work from the premier philosophers of religion, as well as including top philosophers outside this area when their work and interests intersect with issues in philosophy of religion. This inclusive approach to the series provides an opportunity to mitigate some of the costs of greater specialization in our disciplines, while at the same time inviting greater interest in the work being done in the philosophy of religion. We thus present the third volume in this series, a volume containing contributions by an impressive group of philosophers on topics of central important to the philosophy of religion.
Richard Swinburne
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199212460
- eISBN:
- 9780191707193
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199212460.003.0013
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This book has argued that the Christian revelation satisfies the four tests of a genuine revelation from God very well: the content of the original revelation is plausible, it was confirmed by a ...
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This book has argued that the Christian revelation satisfies the four tests of a genuine revelation from God very well: the content of the original revelation is plausible, it was confirmed by a miracle, it has been interpreted by a church in a plausible way, and the interpretation is plausibly true. No other purported revelation satisfies these tests nearly as well. There is plenty of scope for the Christian Church to develop its interpretations yet further.Less
This book has argued that the Christian revelation satisfies the four tests of a genuine revelation from God very well: the content of the original revelation is plausible, it was confirmed by a miracle, it has been interpreted by a church in a plausible way, and the interpretation is plausibly true. No other purported revelation satisfies these tests nearly as well. There is plenty of scope for the Christian Church to develop its interpretations yet further.
Richard Swinburne
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199212460
- eISBN:
- 9780191707193
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199212460.003.0007
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
There are four tests for whether a purported propositional revelation does indeed come from God: that its content is plausible (that not intrinsically improbable); confirmed by miracle; interpreted ...
More
There are four tests for whether a purported propositional revelation does indeed come from God: that its content is plausible (that not intrinsically improbable); confirmed by miracle; interpreted in a plausible way by a church founded by the prophet who originally delivered the revelation; and that the interpretation is plausibly true. A miracle is a violation of a law of nature, which God alone can bring about. Christianity (unlike Judaism, Islam, and Eastern religions) is a serious candidate for having a revelation authenticated by a miracle — the Resurrection of Jesus.Less
There are four tests for whether a purported propositional revelation does indeed come from God: that its content is plausible (that not intrinsically improbable); confirmed by miracle; interpreted in a plausible way by a church founded by the prophet who originally delivered the revelation; and that the interpretation is plausibly true. A miracle is a violation of a law of nature, which God alone can bring about. Christianity (unlike Judaism, Islam, and Eastern religions) is a serious candidate for having a revelation authenticated by a miracle — the Resurrection of Jesus.
