by Lee Strobel
“The truth is, there’s great celebration at the moment someone very ill realizes they have been instantaneously made whole,” he said. “But still, churches have funerals. Not all are healed.”
When the Miracle Isn’t Yours
I first came across Holloway, a gregarious, balding, and self-effacing father of four girls, when I heard him debate American skeptic Michael Shermer about miracles on a British radio program.
Shermer may not have come away convinced—as far as I’m aware, he hasn’t shut down Skeptic magazine—but I suspect lots of listeners concluded from Holloway’s documented cases that God is still up to something supernatural in the lives of the hurting.
Naturally, Shermer raised the question of why many people remain sick despite intercessory prayer. It didn’t come off as a debater’s ploy to score points. For me, as the husband of a chronically ill wife, it’s a thoroughly legitimate issue.
“Even Jesus didn’t heal automatically,” Holloway explained to me. “When Jesus was in Nazareth, Matthew’s gospel says, ‘He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.’1 The disciples were given authority to heal in Matthew 10, and yet seven chapters later, they failed to heal an epileptic boy.2 Paul didn’t heal everyone; the Bible says he left Trophimus sick in Miletus,3 and Paul himself was never relieved of his ‘thorn in the flesh.’4 So there are biblical reasons that we shouldn’t be surprised when everyone isn’t healed in each and every instance.”
Nevertheless, the emotional punch of this issue still stings. The other day I came across a guest blog from someone who speaks with personal authority on miracles that haven’t happened.5
Tricia Lott Williford’s husband died unexpectedly after a twelve-hour illness, leaving her a widowed single mom with two children not yet in kindergarten. The author of And Life Comes Back: A Wife’s Story of Love, Loss, and Hope Reclaimed frequently deals with the issue of personal heartache and unanswered prayers. Here, she was writing with unvarnished honesty.
“When God gives to other people in a way he hasn’t given to you, it’s easy to feel left out, and it’s hard to want to hear how good he has been to other people,” she said.
She quoted Nancy Guthrie as saying, “Some claim that strong faith is defined by throwing our energies into begging God for a miracle that will take away our suffering and then believing without doubting that he will do it. But faith is not measured by our ability to manipulate God to get what we want; it is measured by our willingness to submit to what he wants.6
“The truth is,” continued Williford, “there’s no formula we can count on for when Jesus says yes and when he says no. That’s the catch with sovereignty: He gets to decide yes, no, if, when, and how. We can’t figure out what he’ll decide, and we can’t base our own confidence on his favor. We can, however, base our confidence on his faithfulness.
“Miracles are temporary, but the word of Jesus, his teachings—they bring eternal life. Real life. Your faith in him, your belief that he is real, even when the miracle isn’t yours, even when he doesn’t say yes to you—this is what brings eternal life.”
Though Williford has now been blessed with a new marriage, she finds that others are helped when she speaks about some of her struggles along the way. She has discovered that our ability to endure hardship is nearly limitless—if we have the confidence to live in hope.
Her advice to those who suffer: “Saying to God, ‘Lord, I don’t trust you, but I want to,’ is the beginning of hope when the miracle isn’t yours.”
Finding Common Ground
I reclined in my easy chair after wrapping up the last of my travel and research for this book. File folders, textbooks, yellow legal pads, and stacks of interview transcripts were strewn on the floor of my family room, having outgrown my cluttered office. Cup of coffee in hand, I was reflecting on this journey of discovery into the miraculous and the supernatural.
I thought fondly of my interview with Michael Shermer nearly a year earlier. Though we disagree on much, neither of us let that stand in the way of a cordial relationship. He’s an easy guy to like. I was glad to have given him every opportunity to build the case against miracles—and I did, indeed, identify some common ground.
For instance, Shermer’s magazine published a seven-page article by a retired physician named Harriet Hall in which she sought to refute the possibility of divine intervention in the world.7 While there’s much in the piece to dispute, I also found myself agreeing with some of her assertions.
For instance, she says spontaneous remissions occur. Granted. She says there are charlatans in the world. Unfortunately, yes. She says sometimes blood tests are in error, X-rays are misinterpreted, and diagnoses are wrong. Absolutely. She says coincidences happen. Definitely.
She says some people have a motivation to lie. Undoubtedly. She says even honest people can misperceive things. Certainly. She says memories can falter. Indeed. She says people who are only apparently dead can revive. Unquestionably. She says any quack can supply testimonials that his snake oil works. Sure.
All of that is accurate, but does it explain away all of the accounts of miracles? Sorry, no. Believing in miracles doesn’t necessitate endorsing every supernatural claim that gets splashed across the front page of supermarket tabloids.
Hall said eyewitnesses are “notoriously unreliable.” Yes, there can be problems with some eyewitnesses, but I would hazard to guess that if Hall’s spouse were murdered, she would want any eyewitnesses to testify in court against his assailant.
All her point does is emphasize that it’s important to test eyewitness accounts by considering the witness’s character, motives, biases, and opportunity to see what occurred—and to seek corroboration and documentation wherever possible.
This is simply standard practice for lawyers, judges, journalists, detectives, historians, juries, and others who are authentically trying to pursue truth.
Persuaded by the Evidence
Ultimately, the case against miracles falls short. In fact, its very foundation has been eroded by the “abject failure” of philosopher David Hume to debunk the miraculous—to borrow a phrase from the title of the devastating Oxford-published critique of his writings.8 Hume’s supposed “knockdown” argument against miracles was, in the end, knocked down itself.
What’s more, Craig Keener’s voluminous study of miracles is compelling in its depth and scope. I found myself agreeing with the skeptical physician who admitted that while there might be possible naturalistic explanations for some of the miracle accounts reported by Keener, that’s not true of all of them. Not by a long shot.
Actually, I was impressed by so many astounding instances of supernatural intervention in which there were multiple, reliable eyewitnesses; medical documentation; and a lack of motivation to deceive.
As for the clinical study that Shermer so confidently touted—the one that showed no effect of intercessory prayer on healing—well, it has been decisively undermined.
Candy Gunther Brown revealed that the people doing the praying in the project were part of a non-Christian sect that doesn’t even believe in the possibility of divine intervention. Thus, the ten-year, $2.4 million study tells us nothing about the effect of authentic Christian prayer on healing.
On the contrary, Brown’s own peer-reviewed research shows instant improvements in eyesight and hearing after hands-on prayer by sincere followers of Jesus. Other peer-reviewed studies also show prayer to have a positive impact on healing. More and more, researchers are taking the case for miracles from anecdote to data.
The extraordinary dreams among Muslims, as reported by missionary Tom Doyle, clearly go beyond mere coincidence because they are validated by an external and independent source or event. For instance, many dreams were later authenticated when the dreamer encountered specific individuals he or she had only seen in their earlier vision. That’s not just happenstance; something peculiar was going on.
Something supernatural, you might say.
On a fundamental level, I found myself ever more convinced that the origin and fine-tuning of the universe, which physicist Michael Strauss described in his interview, point powerfully toward the existence of a supernatural Creator.
And I am persuaded that the facts of history, cited by detective J.Warner Wallace, establish convincingly that Jesus of Nazareth not only claimed to be the unique Son of God, but then proved it by returning from the dead.
In fact, the resurrection goes beyond confirming the existence of the divine. The torture, death, and empty tomb of Christ also answer the question of why God would want to intervene in individual lives through his miraculous touch.
The willingness of Jesus to endure the crucifixion tells us that God is motivated to take extraordinary action to rescue individuals from the consequences of their wayward life. And if he loves individuals that much, then it’s reasonable to believe there would be times when he would choose to use one hand to hold back the forces of nature while using his other hand to miraculously heal someone who is suffering.
Reaching Your Verdict
As a former atheist myself, I’m always interested in what it would take for a skeptic to concede that a miracle had occurred. In our interview, Michael Shermer suggested that a human regrowing an amputated limb might be persuasive to him.
Harriet Hall doesn’t find even that to be sufficient. After all, she said, “an advance in science might conceivably give us enough control over our DNA to do what lizards and starfish do.”
So where does Hall set the bar of belief? How about this? she asks: “What if a chicken started speaking English, learned to read, and beat a grandmaster in chess?”
Something like that, she said, could cause her to “provisionally conclude” that something “outside the ordinary course of events” had happened, something that seemed “impossible to explain without appealing to supernatural forces.” Even then, however, she couldn’t quite bring herself to utter the word miracle.
I chuckled as I read that. Certainly I could understand the temptation to set the evidential bar comically high—to say, in a sense, Miracles are impossible, period. Now, go ahead and try to make your case.
The Bible talks about our human tendency to suppress the truth and walk the other way from God, and I’ve seen this play out in my own life. When I was an atheist, I didn’t want Christianity to be true. I was living an immoral, drunken, and narcissistic lifestyle—and I enjoyed it.
When Leslie came to faith in Jesus, her character and values began to change for the better. While that was intriguing, I wanted the old Leslie back. I figured if I could disprove that Jesus returned from the dead, maybe I could debunk Christianity.
As I unleashed my curiosity on this pivotal event of the faith, I knew I would be wasting my time if I approached the investigation with a biased perspective, my conclusion already reached in advance.
If my journalism training taught me anything, it was to keep an open mind as I pursued answers. Only the worst hacks abide by the motto, “Don’t let the facts stand in the way of a good story.” In law school, I learned how to evaluate evidence and testimony to determine whether they are solid or shaky.
Here’s what surprised me: Christianity invites investigation. The apostle Paul said if you can show that the miracle of the resurrection is mythology, make-believe, a mistake, a legend, or a fairy tale, then you are justified to abandon the faith.9 When the gospels report supernatural events, they aren’t introduced with, “Once upon a time . . .” Rather, they’re reported in sober language, with specificity and within a historical context that can be checked out.
After nearly two years of research, I came to my own verdict about miracles: they’re often credible and convincing, and they contribute powerfully to the cumulative case for Christ. Compelled by the facts, I joined Leslie in following Jesus—and the word miracle isn’t far off in describing the way God has revolutionized my life as a result.
As for the time I invested in studying the evidence for this particular book, it was certainly well spent. In the end, my confidence in a miracle-working God has been deepened and strengthened. As a court of appeals would say, The verdict is affirmed.
If Christianity is true, though, this means Shermer’s reliance on a merit-based system of salvation would be tragically misplaced. I remember him saying in our interview that he didn’t think God would judge him harshly if he tried, however imperfectly, to live by the Golden Rule.
I recall asking him, “What if the entry-level standard of being good is giving your life completely to serving the poor, sacrificing everything, and living a wholly selfless existence? Would you measure up?”
“Well . . . ,” he replied hesitantly. “Seriously, I don’t think that could be the standard.”
Actually, the standard is even greater than that—it’s perfection. That’s something none of us can attain through our efforts. Thankfully, God’s provision is grace—a free gift of forgiveness and eternal life to all who receive it in repentance and faith.10 That’s what Jesus’ death and resurrection were all about: paying the penalty we deserve for our failures and wrongdoing, and then rising to give us new life with him—forever.11
It’s the most valuable miracle of all.
Each of us must make our own decision to receive or decline his gift. As you reflect on the contents of this book, I trust that you will keep an open mind and a receptive heart. It’s my hope that you will be encouraged by this promise from the book of Proverbs:
If you scream for insight
and call loudly for understanding,
if you pursue it like you would money,
and search it out as you would hidden treasure,
then the LORD will be awesome to you,
and you will come into possession of the
knowledge of God.12
Acknowledgments
Although one name is credited on the cover, this book has many “coauthors” who contributed significantly to its content and production. I am profoundly thankful for each of their roles in shaping this manuscript and getting the final product into your hands.
As always, my friend Mark Mittelberg offered key guidance and astute editing on the project from start to finish. Before any of my manuscripts go to the publisher, Mark is there to sift through them and offer valuable input.
John Sloan, the Zondervan editor for all of my Case series titles, was a constant source of encouragement and sage wisdom throughout the research and writing of this book. He has made strategic suggestions that have improved each volume in the series.
I am thankful too for the entire staff at Zondervan, especially Dirk Buursma, my new copy editor; Tom Dean and the marketing and sales teams; Zondervan trade publisher David Morris; and the dedicated folks who designed, produced, and publicized this book.
My wife, Leslie, deserves special commendation for tolerating my absences as I traveled the country to seek out experts on miracles. And speaking of the authorities I interviewed, thanks to each of them for sharing their expertise and personal stories. In the end, a writer is no better than the sources he consults.
Most of all, I am grateful to the God of miracles, who gave a drunken and narcissistic newspaper editor new life and a new purpose: to tell the world there is hope through Jesus. I can’t help but think that I’m Exhibit A in the case for miracles.
Meet Lee Strobel
Atheist-turned-Christian Lee Strobel, the former award-winning legal editor of the Chicago Tribune, is a New York Times bestselling author of more than twenty books. He formerly taught First Amendment law at Roosevelt University and currently serves as professor of Christian thought at Houston Baptist University.
Lee was educated at the University of Missouri (Bachelor of Journalism degree) and Yale Law School (Master of Studies in Law degree). He was a journalist for fourteen years at the Chicago Tribune and other newspapers, winning Illinois’ highest honor for public service journalism from United Press International. He also led a team that won UPI’s top aw
ard for investigative reporting in Illinois.
After examining the evidence for Jesus, Lee became a Christian in 1981. He subsequently became a teaching pastor at two of America’s most influential churches and hosted the national network TV program Faith under Fire. Now he is a teaching pastor at Woodlands Church in Texas.
Lee has won national awards for his books The Case for Christ, The Case for Faith, The Case for a Creator, and The Case for Grace. In 2017, his spiritual journey was depicted in a major motion picture, The Case for Christ, which ranks among the top twenty faith-based films at the box office.
Lee and Leslie have been married for forty-five years. Their daughter, Alison, is a novelist. Their son, Kyle, is a professor of spiritual theology at the Talbot School of Theology at Biola University.
Recommended Resources for Further Investigation
Miracles
Belmonte, Kevin. Miraculous: A Fascinating History of Signs, Wonders, and Miracles. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2012.
Brown, Candy Gunther. Testing Prayer. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2012.
Earman, John. Hume’s Abject Failure: The Argument against Miracles. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Geivett, R. Douglas, and Gary R. Habermas. In Defense of Miracles: A Comprehensive Case for God’s Action in History. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997.
Grudem, Wayne A., ed. Are Miraculous Gifts for Today? Four Views. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996.
Keener, Craig S. Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts. 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2011.
Larmer, Robert A. Dialogues on Miracle. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2015.
———. The Legitimacy of Miracle. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2014.
Lennox, John C. Miracles: Is Belief in the Supernatural Irrational? Cambridge, MA: Veritas Forum, 2013.
Lewis, C. S. Miracles: A Preliminary Study. New York: HarperOne, 2001.
Metaxas, Eric. Miracles: What They Are, Why They Happen, and How They Can Change Your Life. New York: Dutton, 2014.