Experience with the Supernatural in Early Christian Times

The Christians' Bible is rich in miracles. Supernaturalism runs like a scarlet thread through the whole book from Genesis to Revelation. For centuries this phenomenon was contemplated with entire satisfaction by both laity and clergy. But in modern times a different way of thinking has been gaining favor. Many a Christian today passes hastily over the miracle stories in the Scriptures and dwells with greater satisfaction on the less spectacular portrayal of men's moral ideals and spiritual struggles abundantly recorded in his sacred book. One whose inclinations move in this direction may sometimes feel at a loss to account for the prominence of the miraculous in Hebrew religion, and more particularly in early Christianity. Why did the advocates of the new religion concern themselves so extensively with the imagery of supernaturalism? To answer this question is the purpose of the present volume. -- preface.