On Miracles

I've been thinking about miracles lately. In the Old Testament, we see a grand display of miracles in the life of Moses and the early exodus story. But once they are on their way beyond the Red Sea, miracles became, in a general sense, more of a immature demand of the people for their survival and something which God did with wrath. The Pentateuch seems to portray a general frustration with the people's unwillingness to grow up and trust. Miracles, it has been noted, are totally absent from the entire life of David. Some of the prophets, especially Elijah and Elisha, did miracles. But they are scarce in the prophetical and poetical books. In the New Testament, the initiation of the ministry of Jesus is full of miracles and the amazed crowds. But it seems to me, especially in Mark, that the miracles become less prominent in the later part of Jesus' earthly ministry. Indeed, the crowds start thinning out as the miracles become less frequent and Jesus' teaching takes center stage. Truth just isn't as attractive or interesting as miracles. The point seems to be that without relationship there is no miracle. By the time we get to the cross, devoid of miracle, nobody's there. Then with Paul, his ministry begins with miracles too. The Acts highlights these significant events. But they too seem to fade the further into Paul's ministry we go. Again, the truth becomes more central. By the time we find Paul under house-arrest in Rome, it is all about theological discussions. No miracle. I suggest he died pretty much alone too. The Pauline, Petrine and Johannine corpus, all shedding some light on the earliest church, are shy to speak about miracles. The Apostolic Fathers carry on this trait. Truth trumps miracles consistently.

So, I'm thinking of miracles. Tomorrow I hope to write about the Dionysian tendencies in our religious phenomenology.

I saw this pic on the friend of a friend's facebook. Creepy Sheepy!