Slides: Miracles and Evangelism
Slide 1
Examples, Congo- Brazzaville
Mama Jeane Mabiala (2/3 accounts)
Marie- not eaten for three weeks, laid dead on mat
A baby born dead, umbilical cord around neck, coffin being built
Mile Grace, (1000-fold grace) now in school
Slide 2
Corpse brought to him after morning of failures with witch doctor
His wife also prayed, another raised
My brother-in-law’s parents-in-law
Slide 3
Therese Magnouha
2 years old
Stopped breathing about 3 hours
Restarted when Ngoma Moise prayed over her
Fine the next day
Finished seminary in Cameroon
My wife’s sister
Slide 4
Sarah Speer, Canadian nurse in Congo
Also reports raising of a baby through prayer twenty minutes after her medical team had given up on him.
Slide 5
Reports of nature miracles
Slide 6
Indonesian revival in the 1960’s- 1970s
Massive reports of miracles
Previously doubtful W. researcher (Kurt Koch) saw a number of blind eyes opened and saw water turned to wine.
Slide 7
Donna Aruka, Papua New Guinea, 1997
Worst drought I memory
Well nearby dry (just mud at the bottom)
Kindwa prayed, and in morning well was full and clear
Normally only like that after rain- but hadn’t rained in months
Slide 8
Watchman Nee though more healings associated with John Sung
1903-1972
Slide 9
Dr. Emmanuel Itapson (ECWA)
c. 1975, his father told skeptics that it would not rain in village for four days, though rainy season
For four days, water fell around village while village remained dry
After four days only one person in village still non-Christian
Slide 10
Scholars who claimed that eyewitnesses could not report experiences such as these simply reveal their own very limited exposure to the world!
Slide 11
Problem today: from David Hume (1711-1776)
Miracles are not part of human experience
Slide 12
David Hume
Regarded miracles as violations of natural law
As if God would be “breaking” a law to do them!
Against earlier thinkers
Most early Enlightenment scientists were Christians
This is a philosophic, not scientific, issue
Slide 13
The way he argued:
Miracles violate natural law
Natural law cannot be violated
Therefore, miracles don’t happen
But WHO SAYS that God cannot act upon, change or “violate” natural law if he wills? Hume simply presupposes this without admitting that he’s doing so. This is a statement of Hume’s opinion, not an argument.
Slide 14
Much of it depends on miracles violating natural law
But modern physics undermines Hume’s prescriptive conception of natural law
Slide 15
Supposedly inductive, but (often noted) actually circular
“Experience” shows no miracles
Therefore: Well-supported eyewitness claims for miracles must be rejected because miracles do not happen
Slide 16
Rejected: Healing of niece’s running eye sore
Instant
Public
Queen Mother’s physician
Slide 17
Presupposes atheism or deism
Hume explicitly framed his argument against contemporary Christian science and philosophy
Slide 18
Recent major philosophic challenges to Hume on miracles
J. Houston, Reported Miracles: A critique of Hume (Cambridge; Cambridge University Press, 1994)
David Johnson, Hume, Holism, and Miracles (Cornell Studies in the Philosophy of Religion; Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1999)
John Earman, Hume’s Abject Failure (Oxford, 2000 not from Christian view)
Much of Richard Swinburne, The Concept of Miracle (New Studies in the Philosophy of Religion; London: Macmillan and Co., 1970)
Slide 19
Hume only “ignorant and barbarous nations affirm miracles
If someone said this today, we would call him/her ethnocentric
Slide 20
P. Bultmann: “mature” modern people do not believe in miracles
“It is impossible to use the electric light and the wireless… and…. to believe in the New Testament world of spirits and miracles.”
Slide 21
Excludes from the “modern” world:
All traditional Jews
Traditional Christians
Traditional Muslims
Traditional tribal religionists
Spiritists; etc.
Limits the modern world to:
Westerners (and those influenced by them) shaped by the radical enlightenment: Deists and atheists (including Marxist derivatives)
Slide 22
Justo Gonzalez (citing Latin churches):
“what Bultmann declares to be impossible not just possible, but even frequent
Hwa Yung, retired Methodist bishop of Malaysia
Bultmann’s issue is W., not relevant in Asia
Philip Jenkins:
Christianity in the global South is quite interested in “the immediate workings of the supernatural”
John S. Mbiti:
Most western scholars “expose their own ignorance, false ideas, exaggerated prejudices and a derogatory attitude that fails to take seriously genuine experiences pervasive in Africa
Slide 23
How widespread are healing claims?
(Starting with churches known for that emphasis)
Slide 24
Review slide @ 30.44 in the video for all the stats in the countries represented
Slide 25
Thus:
For these countries, and for Pentecostals and Protestant charismatics in these countries alone
The estimated total of these people claiming to have “witnessed divine healings” comes out to somewhere around 202,141,082, 1.e., about 200 million
Slide 26
More Surprising. “other Christians”
Somewhere around 39% in these countries claiming to have “witnessed divine healings”
Thus perhaps over one-third of Christians worldwide who do not identify themselves as Pentecostal or charismatic claim to have “witnessed divine healings” (presumably many more than this)
Slide 27
Even in U.S.: A 2008 Pew Forum survey revealed:
34% of Americans claim to have witnessed or experienced divine or supernatural healing
30% for Hindus
34% for members of the Orthodox churches
27% for Catholics
54% for historic African-American churches
50% for evangelicals
Slide 28
The point
Is not what proportion of these claims involve divine activity or miracles
The point is whether Hume can legitimately start from the premise that “uniform human experience” includes miracles
Slide 29
Millions of non-Christians convinced
Changed centuries of ancestral beliefs because of extraordinary healings
Slide 30
China (not in survey) c. 2000
One official source: roughly 50 percent
House church estimate: roughly 90 percent
Not starting with Christian premises
Slide 31
Pastor Israel, one of my past seminarians from India
Through prayer for the sick
His Baptist church grew from a handful to about 600 (mostly Hindu converts)
Slide 32
J.P. Moreland:
Rapid evangelical growth in past three decades
Up to 70% of it “intimately connected to signs and wonders”
Even 3 decades ago:
1981 Fuller thesis, Christiaan De Wet:
surveyed over 350 theses representing most of the world, plus interviewing many missionaries
more reports of signs and wonders contributing to church growth than he could use
Slide 33
Not exclusively, but most often
Ground breaking evangelism in relatively new areas
God may answer prayer anywhere
But special “signs” most often reported during evangelism in largely unevangelized regions
Slide 34
Also in past:
Many church fathers claim to be eyewitnesses of healings and exorcisms that were converting many polytheists
Leading cause of conversion in 3rd and 4th centuries
Slide 35
Prominent feature of Korean revival (early 1900s, mainly Presbyterian)
Slide 36
Unity of Luke-Acts
samples
Slide 37
Mary and Zechariah (Lk 1)
1:12: the vision’s recipient troubled1:29 the vision’s recipient troubled
1:13: Don’t fear 1:30: Don’t fear
1:13 reason for miracle 1:30 reason for miracle
1:13 child’s name (John) 1:31 child’s name (Jesus)
1:15 child will be great 1:32 child will be great
1:15 filled with HS from womb 1:35 conceived through HS
1:16-17 mission 1:32-33 mission
1:18 question 1:34 question
1:19-20 proof or explanation 1:35-37 proof or explanation
1:20 Zechariah muted for unbelief 1:38 Mary praised for her faith
1:80 child grows 2:40,52 child grows
Slide 38
Luke and Acts Parallels
See many comparison spreadsheets @42:45 – 47:11 on the video
Slide 39
My own interest
Evangelism on the street, campuses
Starting small groups
Discovered the need for scholarship
Slide 40
Prayer before Holy Spirit
A frequent theme in Luke-Acts
Spirit on Jesus “praying” (Lk 3:21-22)
Prayed, filled (Acts 4:31)
Prayed for Samaritans to receive (8:15)
Saul praying (9:11), filled (9:17)
Cornelius praying (10:30), filled (10:44)
Slide 41
Callings – e.g., Exod 3-4; Luke 5; Acts 9
But also 1 Tim 3:1
Prayer and fasting (Acts 13:2-4)
Luke 10:2: abundant harvest but few laborers
Slide 42
1. Who to Be
a. Paul the same on ship and in Malta- serves people (Acts 27-28)
b. Paul’s character
- i. Calling matters more than life itself (20:24)
- ii. Warning each with tears (20:31)
- lll. Not covetous (20:33-35; 3:6)- important where many charatans
Slide 43
2. How to evangelize
a. More detail here
b. Evangelism not church planting
- Different gifts: cf. Philip before Caesarea
c. Ideally, for long-range multiplication
- Robert Coleman: Multiplication more than addition
- Establish disciples who can carry on the mission not just converts (thus Acts 14:22; follow up with sound teaching, warning against false teaching,15:41)
Slide 44
Of course, obstacles
Persecution (Acts 3-5)
Internal strife (Acts 6:1)
More persecution (Acts 7:58-8:3)
More divisions (Acts 15); etc.
BUT:
- Who says we can win and disciple just two people to Christ a year?
Slide 45
How to evangelize
A. Content: The Gospel Message
1. Contextualized:
- Synagogues (Acts 13)
- Farmers (Acts 14)
- Philosophers (Acts 17)
2. But the central message remains:
- Jesus died and rose
- (+, for non-monotheists, God)
Slide 46
Getting attention
Contextualize: allow for local culture (Acts 15:20)
- Jesuits in China and Vatican
Paul rarely missed an opportunity to speak of Christ (cf. 22:1-21; 27:21-25)
- Introduced the gospel only briefly where he was driven out quickly (cf. CIM)
- But stayed longer where he could (18 months in Corinth, 2.5 years in Ephesus)- got to know people, culture
- Churches usually grown in communities only after pastor stays for 5 years- know the community
Slide 47
a. Synagogues: already belief in one God, Scripture, God-fearers
b. Public discussion forums
- On street; Ac 14:9
- Educated: Stephen, Paul, Apollos
- Ac 17: philosophers, Areopagus
- Ac 19:9: philosophic school (Christian philosophy)
c. Relational networks