Regent Classes

The Miraculous and the Biblical Traditions

This doctoral seminar is designed to help students explore in depth the miraculous element in the biblical traditions, with a focus and emphasis on the New Testament. Students will examine the dominant milieux of the biblical traditions in relation to the miraculous, the principle streams of miraculous traditions in the Bible, the history of the treatment of the miraculous (especially in relation to Jesus), the miraculous in the early Church, as well as the recent scholarly debates about the miraculous and its potential significance for contemporary theological speculation. The residency phase of this course simulates an academic conference in order to train students in the preparation and delivery of, as well as in responding to, scholarly papers through a small formal paper and discussion. At the end of the course the students should be able to exhibit a detailed knowledge of the various approaches to the miracles by the New Testament writers, demonstrate a thorough understanding of the perceived philosophical, scientific and theological objections to the miraculous, and show evidence of a command of the issues associated with a discussion of the miraculous in contemporary Christianity.

This course comprises four aspects:
The background to the miraculous in the New Testament which seeks to identify the major influences on the miraculous element in the New Testament.
Jesus and the miraculous which focuses on the place and significance of miracles and the miraculous in the ministry of the historical Jesus.
The miraculous in the early Churches as reflected in the New Testament which focuses on the varying understandings of the miraculous among early Christians.
The Problem of the Miraculous which focuses on the philosophical, scientific and theological objections to miracles as well as the supposed place of the miraculous in contemporary Christianity.

Related Reading List:

BULTMANN, Rudolf. History of the Synoptic Tradition, rev. ed. (New York: Harper and Row, 1963) with particular reference to Part III.
BULTMANN, Rudolf. “The Question of Wonder,” in his Faith and Understanding (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1987).
COTTER, Wendy. Miracles in Greco-Roman Antiquity: A Sourcebook for the Study of New Testament Miracle Stories (London and New York: Routledge, 1999).
EVE, Eric. The Jewish Context of Jesus’ Miracles (JSNTSup. 231; London and New York: Sheffield Academic, 2002).
FUNK, Robert W. and The Jesus Seminar. The Acts of Jesus: What Did Jesus Really Do? The Search for the Authentic Deeds of Jesus (New York: HarperCollins, 1998).
GEIVETT, Douglas and Gary R. HabermaS, In Defense of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case for God’s Action in History (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP, 1997).
GRANT, Robert M. Miracle and Natural Law in Graeco-Roman and Early Christian Thought (Amsterdam: North-Holland, 1952).
GREIG, Gary S. and Kevin N. Springer. ed., The Kingdom and the Power: Are Healing and the Spiritual Gifts used by Jesus and the Early Church Meant for the Church Today? (Ventura, Calif.: Regal, 1993).
KAHL, Werner. New Testament Miracle Stories in their Religious-Historical Setting: A Religionsgeschichtliche Comparison from a Structural Perspective (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1994).
KEE, Howard Clark. Miracle in the Early Christian World: A Study in Sociohistorical Method (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1983).
MEIER, John P. A Marginal Jew: Rethinking the Historical Jesus, vol. 2 (New York: Doubleday, 1994), with particular reference to Part three.
SMITH, Morton. Jesus the Magician (London: Gollancz, 1978).
SWINBURNE, Richard G. “Miracles,” The Philosophical Quarterly 18 (1968): 320-28.
SWINBURNE, Richard G. ed. Miracles (New York: Macmillan and London: Collier Macmillan, 1989).
SWINBURNE, Richard G. The Concept of Miracle (London: Macmillan, 1970).
THEISEEN, Gerd. Miracle Stories of the Early Christian Tradition (Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1983).
TWELFTREE, Graham H. In the Name of Jesus (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007).
TWELFTREE, Graham H. Jesus the Exorcist: A Contribution to the Study of the Historical Jesus (WUNT 2/54; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr and Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1993).
TWELFTREE, Graham H. Jesus the Miracle Worker: A Historical and Theological Study (Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP, 1999).

Schedule

The rotation schedule and the current semester's schedule are available on the Students page of Regent's School of Divinity website.

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