Interpreting The Miracles

STORIES FROM THE BIBLE

Signs of God reveals why discussion of the nature of miracles is of central rather than marginal importance where belief in God is concerned. Miracles cannot be shunted to one side as an embarrassing hangover from a 'pre-scientific age'. Miracles have played an important role in the history of all the major world religions, and many religious believers claim that they continue to do so. Yet they have also been criticized from a philosophical viewpoint as incompatible with a belief in laws of nature, and those who seek to have their religious beliefs properly attuned to the modern world often prefer to do without them. This accessible book examines the nature of miracles both in philosophical and historical terms, and concludes that, whether or not miracles happen, it is difficult to see how religious belief could survive without them.

Christians often view Jesus’s miracles simply as proofs of his divinity. However, as prolific author Vern Poythress shows in this new book, they also serve as “signs of redemption,” foreshadowing the salvation that Christ accomplished through his cross and resurrection. This means that the stories of Jesus’s miracles—like the calming of the storm or the feeding of the 5,000—are relevant for both Christians and non-Christians alike, clearly pointing to the gospel. After setting forth a framework for viewing all of Jesus’s miracles through this lens, Poythress then reflects on the meaning and significance of 26 distinct miracles recorded in the Gospel of Matthew—helping modern readers understand and apply them to their own lives today.

Children everywhere know that our world needs fixing, but it is the rare author who can put herself in children's shoes, and capture their complicated feelings in words. Susie Morgenstern has a gift for taking serious subjects and making sure they're clever, touching, and never too heavy. In this striking new picture book, she tackles the penetrating question Who is taking care of our world? When a little boy is asked What do you want to do when you grow up? he dreams of improving the world in wonderful ways-but realizes in the end that even the biggest dreams need to start small. Evocative art, hauntingly reminiscent of Maurice Sendak's classic In the Night Kitchen, illuminates the simple but inspiring story.