Have you ever expected or sought a miracle?

A hot new work following the global bestseller, “Jesus is History”!
A fascinating spiritual exploration that follows one story after another

Lee Strobel, who went from being a "staunch atheist and cynical skeptic" to a "persistent spiritual seeker and passionate evangelical."
With the sharp investigative style of a pastor with a journalistic background, this time he attempted to explore the world of the "supernatural," a world that is often overlooked due to vague preconceptions and thus difficult to approach.
The hot new book following the international bestseller “Jesus is History,” “A Miracle or a Coincidence.”
Many people living in this age scoff at the notion that God supernaturally intervenes in our daily lives.
But as this book demonstrates, God's supernatural activity is equally credible and wondrous in the Bible as it is today.
Lee Strobel first asks prominent skeptic Michael Shermer to give his strongest argument against miracles.
Next, we explore the evidence to counter Shermer's claims and develop a compelling argument for God's ongoing involvement in our world.
It contains in-depth and honest conversations with theologians who are well-versed in the ancient world, scholars who approach religious studies without bias, physicists who studied theology, missionaries dedicated to the Middle East, a veteran detective turned Christian apologist, evangelicals with experience in various Christian camps, and philosophers who confess deep hope in the midst of suffering.

From pages 27-28
When I was a novice minister, I was asked to lead a prayer meeting on behalf of the pastor in charge.
About 100 people gathered in the chapel.
It was a time to put James 5:14 into practice.
“Is anyone sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.” My role was to pray for all present, and some elders were on standby to pray for individual anointing with oil for those who wanted to pray later.
Honestly, I had mixed feelings.
Most prayers came out easily.
It was a prayer asking for wisdom for the medical staff, comfort for the patients, relief from pain, increase in hope and faith, and guidance for the hands that perform surgery.
Of course, this was all important too.
But the problem came when I actually asked God for healing.
How bold should I be? How strongly should I express my prayers? What if I desperately beg God for healing and nothing happens? I harbored such fears.
Would it be an evasion of responsibility to conclude a prayer with "Lord, let your will be done"? Ultimately, I prayed with the utmost sincerity and faith, as I knew how.
I honestly prayed to God to supernaturally restore the health of all attendees.
But deep down, I doubted whether He could really heal their illnesses in this life.
Moreover, I felt selfishly saddened when I thought that my credibility as a pastor was at stake in this matter.

From pages 70-71
When I ask Shermer why he personally doubts miracles, he always mentions Hume.
“Hume’s classic argument still holds true today.
Is it easier to suspend natural law, or is it more likely that the person claiming the miracle was mistaken or deceived? Errors in perception are common.
People make things up out of nothing.
We all have had that experience many times.
It could be a delusion, a hallucination, or a mistake.
Whatever it is, it's more likely to be something like that than a miracle."
“So you find Hume’s thinking persuasive?” I asked.
“Of course.
His counterargument to the miracle is, in my view, a rather overwhelming argument.
The rest is just footnotes.”
"Why do you think Christians believe in miracles? Is it because they're so gullible?"
“It has nothing to do with education or intelligence.
When I was a Christian, I used to think that even the smallest things were God's doing.
Anything that didn't fit that mold was always ignored.
This is confirmation bias.
It's about looking only for evidence that confirms what you already believe, and ignoring evidence that contradicts it.
The power of expectation is immense.
Take a group of people through an old theatre in London and say, 'This place is often haunted.'
Ask another group, "We're renovating the theater. What do you think?"
Even if two groups hear the same noise or see the same shadow, their interpretations will be completely different.
“Because everyone has different expectations.”
“Do you think that kind of expectation also influences people at church meetings?”
“Of course! It can have a big psychological impact.
I don't see Pentecostal leaders as being deceitful.
You must truly believe that God's power is at work.
But people who expect their condition to improve often end up staying the same.
It's a placebo effect.
For a while, I felt like my health had improved.
However, there is little documentation proving that the so-called new oil condition is permanent.”
“How do you define faith?”
“It’s believing something without evidence.
If there is evidence, it cannot be belief.
There's no need to believe the theory that germs spread disease or that HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) causes AIDS.
There is enough evidence, so we just accept it.
So, if you believe something without sufficient evidence, it falls into the category of faith.”

From pages 198-199
In the Bible, we see that God often advances His plans through dreams and visions.
There are about 200 instances in the Bible where God used this type of supernatural intervention, from Abraham, Joseph, and Samuel in the Old Testament to Zechariah, John, and Cornelius in the New Testament.
Today, such miraculous manifestations are concentrated among Muslims from Indonesia to Pakistan and the Gaza Strip.
Of course, each person's experience is unique, but in many cases there are elements that confirm authenticity.
For example, the words Jesus gave in a dream are something the dreamer could not have known in any other way.
There are also cases where two people have the same dream at the same time on the same day.
Moreover, these experiences are remarkably consistent across borders, showing that they are not simply the product of an overactive imagination.
There is no reason for a devout Muslim to imagine an encounter with the Christian Jesus.
If you apostatize from Islam due to his inducement, you may be sentenced to death in some countries.
Why is this phenomenon occurring today? Islam, a religion that vehemently denies core elements of Christian theology, is experiencing such apparitions so frequently today, especially to its followers? What does Jesus say to each of them that shakes their lives to their core? If Jesus can appear in dreams and visions like this, why doesn't he reveal himself to everyone in this way? Are missionaries losing their jobs because of this phenomenon? Frankly, this supernatural intervention didn't fit neatly into my theological framework.
The more this happened, the more desperate I became to find out the truth.

From pages 242-243
When skeptic Michael Shermer interviewed me, he said that the best answer to the question of the origin of the universe was simply “I don’t know.”
There are other possible explanations besides “God did it.”
Strauss: Is that really so?
The foundation of our lives is not vague possibilities, but actual probabilities.
Is it possible my wife poisoned the cereal I ate this morning? Anything is possible, but that doesn't mean it's entirely probable.
The real question is this:
Based on our observable universe, what is most likely? All evidence suggests that the universe did indeed have a beginning.
The rest are all possibilities, with no observational or experimental evidence to support them.

From pages 263-264
Strauss sat down on the road, glanced out the window, and concluded the conversation philosophically.
“…(omitted)… When an artist looks at a painting, he says, ‘The painter’s feelings are conveyed through this brushwork.’
As a physicist, I know that I exist thanks to the finely tuned mass of the virtual particles in the proton.
I also feel the Creator's heart there.
He is a creative and loving person.
Otherwise, why would the entire creation come into existence for our benefit? Honestly, I just look at the picture and say, "Hmm, that's good."
To me, it's just paint on canvas.
I cannot see the deep reality that the painter sees.
But as a scientist, I have the privilege of seeing the complex and subtle nuances of nature that others cannot.
And these observations always lead to one conclusion:
“There is no hypothesis that can compare to God to explain the universe.”

From pages 283-285
Wallace: I often find myself wondering about details of an event that are missing from one gospel account, only to find the answer to that question inadvertently coming from another gospel writer.
Me_ So you're talking about so-called unknowing coincidence.
Wallace: That's right.
There are 40 more such unintentional eyewitness testimonies in the New Testament.
…(syncopation)…
Have you ever experienced this kind of unintentional coincidence while working as a police officer?
Wallace: There are many cases where the statement of one witness alone does not resolve the issue, and then additional witnesses come forward later.
This is a common characteristic of true eyewitness accounts.
Me: What other examples are there?
Wallace: In the Gospel of Matthew, when Jesus was on trial, the chief priests and the Sanhedrin struck him and said, “Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?” (see Matthew 26:67-68).
They make me do all kinds of strange things.
Couldn't Jesus have simply identified the attackers? But the same scene in Luke's Gospel adds another detail.
Jesus' eyes were covered.
(He snapped his fingers together.) And so the riddle is solved again.
Me_ What is the conclusion?
WALLACE: The most reasonable explanation is that several eyewitnesses wrote their gospels based on what they saw, and unintentionally included supporting details without agreeing.
I guess this was another puzzle piece for you too.
Wallace: And there are many more.
Many of the Gospels' distinctive features are confirmed by archaeology, and many of their core claims are confirmed by non-biblical sources.
What the apostles taught is also consistent in the records left behind by their direct disciples.
Moreover, there are so many ancient manuscripts of the Gospels that it is easy to trace the original text.
Me_ Good, Detective.
So what is your verdict?
Wallace: The Gospels can be messy and each one is full of personality.
There are different perspectives and some areas where we don't agree.
If you collect any witness statements, that's a given.
So now I am convinced that the Gospels are a credible testimony to the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

From pages 311-312
Olson: These days, when we proclaim Jesus and his resurrection, all we expect is people to nod their heads and say, “Yes, I agree.”
But when they return home, they live as if nothing had happened.
Because I no longer expect miracles.
We do not expect God to do things that cannot be explained.
Because then life becomes unpredictable.
I_ This is a sad perspective for a Christian to have.
Olson: That's right.
Yet many people are happier with predictable lives than truly expecting God to do something extraordinary in their lives.
When we hear of supernatural activity and miracles occurring in Africa, we say, “Oh, praise God,” but behind that, there is this unspoken message:
'I'm glad that doesn't happen here.
Because that's scary and dangerous.'

From pages 335-336
While researching for this book, I encountered many moving examples of miracles in which God restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, and life to the dead.
Whenever they received God's grace in a visible way, I, too, was in their shoes and rejoiced with them.
But every time I wrote down the story, a question came to mind.
Why didn't Leslie experience a miracle? Of course, I know God's promise that if we remain committed to Him, He will work good even through suffering.
But why doesn't my wife have a miracle? Of course, I know that hardship breeds patience and shapes our character.
But why doesn't my wife have a miracle? Of course, I know there are no tears in heaven.
But why doesn't my wife experience miracles? My wife lives in pain every day.
A miracle is needed.
Michael Shermer said his prayers for his paralyzed girlfriend didn't seem to reach heaven.
At that time, I also sympathized with that sorrowful feeling.
I didn't lose my faith, but I understand why he lost his faith.
You might agree.
I have been praying to God to meet my desperate needs, but no miracle has happened.
So this chapter is for you, my wife, Shermer, and me.

--- From the text