Abstract:
The belief and use of belief in miracles, especially miraculous healings, is an integral part of the gospels and is at the heart of Christian theology and practice. In this work, we present the concept of miracle, its role in the messianic work of Jesus, and the philosophical-scientific confrontation regarding its possibility and credibility. Theological approaches that historically set out to respond to positivist skepticism, such as Deism, Liberal Theology and Neo-orthodoxy, are exhibited and counterpointed with the orthodoxy of the Historical-Grammatical Method, defended as rationally possible. Having clarified the harmony between reason and faith, we face the question of the Theology of Divine Healing and we perceive the foundation in the atoning sacrifice of Christ as a possible exegetical interpretation, but not exclusive to base faith on supernatural cures. We recognize that the theological dispute between the continuists and cessationists does not affect the belief in the actuality of healing miracles, since the discussion is about the maintenance of spiritual gifts, not the miracle itself. To outline a profile of the biblical framework of the Christian healing model, the cures for organic diseases performed by Jesus and described in the canonical Gospels were analyzed, excluding those cures in which exorcisms or demonism were mentioned, directly or indirectly, as the cause of illnesses. We show that the marks of Jesus' miracles are: the compassion of the one who heals for the one who suffers; the cure to take place completely and integrally; healing does not occur gradually, unless the division into stages has some other clear educational function; the initiative in the search for the grace of healing can come from the sick, as well as from others or from the sovereign will of God; the sick person's lack of faith or repentance is not a factor that excludes healing; there is no appeal to magical objects or mystical rituals which themselves hold the miraculous power; the fight against the propaganda of miraculous cures is constant, aiming at a faith focused on teaching that changes the lives of followers and against the practical utilitarianism of religion for the subject. The sale of custom-made and scheduled miracles of contemporary neo-Pentecostal movements do not bear any correspondence with the pattern of Scripture.
