Did Miracles
Happen In The Early Centuries Of Christianity?
(The Use Of
Miracles As An Apologetic Argument In The First Four Centuries Of Christianity)
Daniel R. Jennings
Introduction
David Hume defines a
miracle as “a violation of the laws of nature”[1]. These violations have been a part of every
culture since the beginning of time with no civilization having existed in
which there are no recorded instances of miracles. In each of these cases, the recorded miracle
was used as an apologetic argument by the person who claimed it to be a
miracle. Christianity has been no
different. It will be the purpose of
this paper to examine the use of miracles as an apologetic argument by the
early church. By early church, it is
meant to refer to the first four centuries of Christian history.
Did Miracles Happen In The First
Century?
The
inquiry into the use of miracles as an apologetic argument begins by examining
the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the founder of Christianity. It is recorded that Jesus performed many
miracles and by his own acknowledgment these miracles themselves were an
apologetic argument that the claims he made were authentic truth. “Even though you do not believe me,” he said,
“believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in
me, and I in the Father.”[2]
Jesus
Christ died, resurrected and then ascended into the heavens ca. 31AD but the
miracles that He worked continued to occur and be used apologetically by those
disciples who continued His ministry.
Writing to the Roman Christians in 54AD the Apostle Paul said, “I will
not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me
in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done--by the
power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit.”[3] In other words, the Gentiles had been led to
obey God by the working of signs and wonders.
In
64AD the Apostle Paul was executed and by the end of the first century there
were no more original disciples of the Lord still living. The writings of Paul and these other original
disciples were collected and compiled to become the completed Holy
Scriptures. However, the letters and
books that make up the New Testament are not the only Christian letters and
books that history has preserved. After
the death of the apostles numerous treatises were penned and then distributed
amongst the Christian community. Many
times, these writings contained references to miracles in an attempt to
apologize for the true Christian faith.
Did Miracles Happen In The Second
Century?
Ignatius
[30?-107], a disciple of the Apostle John, was the third bishop of Antioch in
Syria. Sentenced to death by wild beasts
for being a Christian he was transported to Rome to be killed in the
amphitheater. On his way to martyrdom he
penned a letter to the Philadelphian Christians in which he referred to a
prophetic message which he had received from the Holy Spirit. He states, “the Spirit proclaimed these words: Do
nothing without the bishop; keep your bodies as the temples of God; love unity;
avoid divisions; be the followers of Jesus Christ, even as He is of His Father.”[4] This miraculous message was intended to
encourage Christians to keep their faith in the one whom they had placed their
trust in previously, despite the numerous persecutions that they were enduring.
After his death, Christians wrote a record of his
martyrdom to be distributed and in it they refer to a miraculous vision of
Ignatius from heaven after his death.[5] This vision was used as an apologetic
argument to encourage and strengthen believers and non-believers as well.
Polycarp
[c.70-155] was the Bishop of Smyrna in the first half of the second century,
and was martyred around 155AD, at the age of eighty-six. Ancient documents show him to also have been
a disciple of the Apostle John. After
Polycarp’s death a Christian named Irenaeus penned a description of the events
that surrounded his execution. Just as
with Ignatius, miracles are recorded in an attempt to encourage people to
accept the validity of the message that Polycarp preached.
In this description
it is recorded that before Polycarp was captured by the Romans, “while
he was praying, a vision presented itself to him three days before he was
taken; and, behold, the pillow under his head seemed to him on fire. Upon this,
turning to those that were with him, he said to them prophetically, “I must be
burnt alive.”[6] After being captured and tied to a stake to
be burned the executioner had trouble lighting the fire and the fire itself
formed the shape of an arch surrounding Polycarp. When they realized that they could not burn
him, a soldier stabbed him with a small sword and out of Polycarp came a dove
and a great amount of blood so that the fire was extinguished.[7]
Justin
Martyr [?-c.165] was a Gentile who converted to Christianity after failing to
find satisfaction from his studies with Stoicism, Aristotelianism,
Pythagoreanism, and Platonism. Impressed
by Christian martyrs he was eventually led to accept Christ after an elderly
Christian taught him about the Hebrew prophets.
Ironically, he would follow in the footsteps of those Christian martyrs
during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
Justin’s writings reflect the work of a true early apologist including
at least three apologetic works. As his
predecessors did, Justin used miracles as one of his apologetic arguments. In a dialogue with an unbelieving Jew he
stated that, “the prophetical gifts remain with us, even to the
present time. And hence you ought to
understand that [the gifts] formerly among your nation have been transferred to
us[8].” Concerning the casting out of unclean spirits
during his day Justin wrote, “For every demon, when exorcised in the name of
this very Son of God…is overcome and subdued.[9]”
To encourage believers during trials Justin wrote,
“daily some [of you] are becoming disciples in the name of Christ, and quitting
the path of error; who are also receiving gifts, each as he is worthy,
illumined through the name of this Christ. For one receives the spirit of
understanding, another of counsel, another of strength, another of healing,
another of foreknowledge, another of teaching, and another of the fear of God[10].”
In his second Apology, Justin mentions “And now you
can learn from what is under your own observation. For numberless demoniacs throughout the whole
world, and in your city, many of our Christian men exorcising them in the name
of Jesus Christ…have healed and do heal, rendering helpless and driving the
possessing devils out of the men, though they could not be cured by all the
other exorcists, and those who used incantations and drugs.”[11]
Irenaeus [?-c.200] was a disciple of
the above-mentioned Polycarp and influenced by Justin Martyr’s teachings. He was eventually consecrated the bishop of
Lyons in Gaul (modern day France). Of
his writings only two complete works have survived, yet they prove invaluable
in determining and understanding a third generation Christian’s use of miracles
as an apologetic force. In his work Against
Heresies, Irenaeus lays out an apologetic against the cult which is now
known as Gnosticism. In comparing this
false version of Christianity with the real one he sets forth the argument that
the Gnostics cannot perform miracles and he points out in refutation of them
that the Christians of his day could:
For
they can neither confer sight on the blind, nor hearing on the deaf, nor chase
away all sorts of demons…Nor can they cure the weak, or the lame, or the
paralytic, or those who are distressed in any other part of the body, as has
often been done in regard to bodily infirmity. Nor can they furnish effective
remedies for those external accidents which may occur. And so far are they from
being able to raise the dead, as the Lord raised them, and the apostles did by
means of prayer, and as has been frequently done in the brotherhood on account
of some necessity — the entire Church in that particular locality entreating
[the boon] with much fasting and prayer, the spirit of the dead man has
returned, and he has been bestowed in answer to the prayers of the saints…[12]
Theophilus [115?-c.182] was the
bishop of Antioch[13] and
a dedicated fighter against heresy. He
was one of the earliest commentators upon the Gospels, perhaps the first, and
he seems to have been the earliest Christian historian of the Church of the Old
Testament. Having composed several
works, only one has remained. In his Apology
To Autolycus he sets forth a strong defense in favor of Christianity
against the idolatrous false religion that Autolycus was proposing. In his defense Theophilus relates how that in
his day Christians were still casting demons out of demoniacs when he noted,
“the fact, that even to this day the possessed are sometimes exorcised in the
name of the living and true God; and these spirits of error themselves confess
that they are demons who also formerly inspired these writers.”[14]
Did Miracles Happen In The Third
Century?
Minucius Felix [fl. 210] is one of
the earliest Christian apologists and in a work entitled The Octavius he
presents a dialogue between a Christian and a heathen in order to prove the
superiority of Christianity over paganism.
In it, he details the power that the Christians of his day had over
demons and presents a picture of a powerful Christianity which relied upon
faith, prayer, grace and the power of Jesus manifested through the indwelling
presence of the Holy Spirit. “A great
many, even some of your own people,” he says, “know all those things that the
demons themselves confess concerning themselves, as often as they are driven by
us from bodies by the torments of our words and by the fires of our prayers…for
when abjured by the only and true God, unwillingly the wretched beings shudder
in their bodies, and either at once leap forth, or vanish by degrees, as the
faith of the sufferer assists or the grace of the healer inspires. Thus they
fly from Christians when near at hand…[15]”
Origen
[c.185-254] was a third century theologian and head of the catechetical school
of Alexandria, where he himself had previously been a student under Clement of
Alexandria. A voracious writer he
composed by one account as many as six thousand works, though most of them are
now lost. His testimony regarding the
experiencing of miracles is invaluable in helping to determine the use of
miracles in the third century as an apologetic argument. In a polemical work aimed against pagan
philosophy one finds Origen frequently defending the faith by citing that the
Church did, and still continued to, experience miracles. Writing in 240 he testifies that, “And
the name of Jesus can still remove distractions from the minds of men, and
expel demons, and also take away diseases…[16]” Later in this work he pointed out that,
“Moreover, the Holy Spirit gave signs of His presence at the beginning of
Christ’s ministry, and after His ascension He gave still more; but since that
time these signs have diminished, although there are still traces of His
presence in a few who have had their souls purified by the Gospel, and their
actions regulated by its influence.[17]”
Origen himself claims to have personally witnessed
many of these manifestations. Giving his
personal testimony to miracles he stated, “there are still preserved among
Christians traces of that Holy Spirit which appeared in the form of a
dove. They expel evil spirits, and
perform many cures, and foresee certain events, according to the will of the
Logos…many have been converted to Christianity as if against their will, some
sort of spirit having suddenly transformed their minds from a hatred of the
doctrine to a readiness to die in its defense, and having appeared to them
either in a waking vision or a dream of the night. Many such instances have we known, which, if
we were to commit to writing, although they were seen and witnessed by
ourselves, we should afford great occasion for ridicule to unbelievers, who
would imagine that we, like those whom they suppose to have invented such
things, had ourselves also done the same.[18]”
The above quote provides an
invaluable insight into the use of miracles as an apologetic argument in the
third century. Here one finds a direct
relationship being made by Origen between miracles happening and salvation
occurring all in an attempt to convert the unbelieving Jew Celsus.
Elsewhere Origen uses the
lack of miracles in the Jewish community to enforce his belief that God’s favor
had passed from the Jews to the Christians.
He writes, “Therefore we may see, that after the advent of Jesus the
Jews were altogether abandoned, and possess now none of what were considered
their ancient glories…For they have no longer prophets nor miracles, traces of
which to a considerable extent are still found among Christians, and some of
them more remarkable than any that existed among the Jews; and these we
ourselves have witnessed, if our testimony may be received.[19]”
He routinely mentions
exorcism, indicating that the practice was commonplace amongst Christians of
his day by stating that, “those demons which many
Christians cast out of persons possessed with them…And this, we may observe,
they do without the use of any curious arts of magic, or incantations, but
merely by prayer and simple adjurations which the plainest person can use. Because for the most part it is unlettered
persons who perform this work; thus making manifest the grace which is in the
word of Christ, and the despicable weakness of demons, which, in order to be
overcome and driven out of the bodies and souls of men, do not require the
power and wisdom of those who are mighty in argument, and most learned in
matters of faith.[20]”
In the above
quote Origen not only uses miracles apologetically but he also uses the
practitioners as an apologetic argument noting that the people who performed
them were unschooled thus giving credence to the belief that these were real
miracles not illusions concocted by cunning individuals.
Origen plainly
believed and taught that one way the Gospel was demonstrated was through these
signs and wonders. “The Gospel,” says Origen “has a demonstration of its own,
more divine than any established by Grecian dialectics. And this diviner method is called by the
apostle the “manifestation of the Spirit and of power”…[the apostle writes] of
“power,” because of the signs and wonders which we must believe to have been
performed, both on many other grounds, and on this, that traces of them are
still preserved among those who regulate their lives by the precepts of the
Gospel.[21]”
In regards to the
conversion of the Greek and Barbarians he writes, “we, if we deem this a matter
of importance, can clearly show a countless multitude of Greeks and Barbarians
who acknowledge the existence of Jesus. And some give evidence of their having
received through this faith a marvelous power by the cures which they perform,
invoking no other name over those who need their help than that of the God of
all things, and of Jesus, along with a mention of His history. For by these means we too have seen many
persons freed from grievous calamities, and from distractions of mind, and
madness, and countless other ills, which could be cured neither by men nor
devils.[22]”
Elsewhere
speaking of healing Origen states emphatically that, “this feature evinces the
nobility of the work of Jesus, that, down to the present time, those whom God
wills are healed by His name.[23]
From
studying Origen it is very clear that in the third century miraculous gifts
were used as an apologetic argument.
Cyprian
[200-258], bishop of Carthage, himself was a man of faith and belief in a
miracle working God. Writing to those
under his charge he mentioned many miracles in an attempt to encourage and
validate his authority and decisions.
His own testimony tells us that, “Let us urgently pray and groan with
continual petitions. For know, beloved
brethren, that I was not long ago reproached with this also in a vision, that
we were sleepy in our prayers, and did not pray with watchfulness…[24]”
Elsewhere he relates the fantastic story of even
children coming under the influence of God’s Holy Spirit when we writes, “For besides the visions of the night, by day also, the
innocent age of boys is among us filled with the Holy Spirit, seeing in an
ecstasy with their eyes, and hearing and speaking those things whereby the Lord
condescends to warn and instruct us.[25]”
In another place he makes mention of a
prophecy which was recorded and delivered to him in a written letter: “For with your words you have both adorned those things
which had been less instructed in us, and have strengthened us to the
sustaining of those sufferings which we bear, as being certain of the heavenly
rewards, and of the crown of martyrdom, and of the kingdom of God, from the
prophecy which, being filled with the Holy Spirit, you have pledged to us in
your letter. All this will happen, beloved, if you will have us in mind in your
prayers, which I trust you do even as we certainly do.[26]”
In Cyprian’s time there were persons who
would not or could not accept that God still spoke to men through visions and
dreams. In defense Cyprian wrote, “For I
remember what has already been manifested to me, nay, what has been prescribed
by the authority of our Lord and God to an obedient and fearing servant
[through visions and dreams]; and among other things which He condescended to
show and to reveal, He also added this: “Whoso therefore does not believe
Christ, who maketh the priest, shall hereafter begin to believe Him who
avengeth the priest.” Although I know that to some men dreams seem ridiculous
and visions foolish, yet assuredly it is to such as would rather believe in
opposition to the priest, than believe the priest.[27]” This episode provides insight
into the use of miracles showing that they were used not only to encourage
non-believers to accept the Gospel but also to encourage Christians to accept
the authority of their spiritual leaders.
Did Miracles Happen In The Fourth
Century?
Antony of the Desert [c. 251–356]
was born at Coma, near Heracleopolis Magna in Fayum, to a well-to-do
family. Upon their death when he was
twenty, he disposed of all of their property gained through the inheritance and
sought to live the life of an ascetic monk.
His story is known chiefly through the biography written by his friend
Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria. It is
this biography which contains many references to miracles and was written, in
part, to be used as an apologetic which used miracles as its strength of
argument. In it one reads of Antony that
it was clear that the power to heal and the experiencing of miracles was from
God and not from his own self. He “healed
not by commanding, but by prayer and speaking the name of Christ. So that it
was clear to all that it was not he himself who worked, but the Lord who showed
mercy by his means and healed the sufferers. But Antony's part was only prayer
and discipline…[28]”
In the list of ancient records one
finds seven books composed by a certain Arnobius [fl. 297-303], who set out
with pen and paper to refute the heathen idolatry which was so prevalent in his
day. In regards to his conversion Jerome
tells us in his Chronicon that “Arnobius is considered a distinguished
rhetorician in Africa, who, while engaged at Sicca in teaching young men
rhetoric, was led by visions to the faith…[29]” In his Seven Books Against The Heathen
Arnobius, not surprisingly, lists the supernatural occurrences associated with
the Christianity of his day as proof that Christianity is true and paganism
false. “Was He one of us,” Arnobius
says, “who, after His body had been laid in the tomb, manifested Himself in
open day to countless numbers of men; who spoke to them, and listened to them;
who taught them, reproved and admonished them; who, lest they should imagine
that they were deceived by unsubstantial fancies, showed Himself once, a second
time, aye frequently, in familiar conversation; who appears even now to
righteous men of unpolluted mind who love Him, not in airy dreams, but in a
form of pure simplicity; whose name, when heard, puts to flight evil spirits,
imposes silence on soothsayers, prevents men from consulting the augurs, causes
the efforts of arrogant magicians to be frustrated, not by the dread of His
name, as you allege, but by the free exercise of a greater power?[30]”
As
the Roman Empire’s persecution of Christians decreased with the conversion of
Roman Emperor Constantine in 312, the prominence and place given to them
equally suddenly increased. Of these one
finds Lactantius [c.260-340], a Christian teacher who was given the
responsibility of tutoring Constantine’s son Crispus in his Latin. In his writings one finds a discourse
concerning demons and in it he elaborates upon the power that Christians had in
casting out and defeating them. He
presents this power as normal and commonplace amongst the Christians of his
day. “And the nature of all these deceits
is obscure,” says Lactantius “to those who are without the truth. For they think that those demons profit them
when they cease to injure, whereas they have no power except to injure... they
fear the righteous, that is, the worshippers of God, adjured by whose name they
depart from the bodies of the possessed: for, being lashed by their words as
though by scourges, they not only confess themselves to be demons, but even
utter their own names…[31]”
Constantine was the son of
Constantius Chlorus, an Augustus[32] of
the Roman Empire. He eventually
succeeded his father as co-emperor and would go on to become the sole emperor
of Rome after converting to Christianity.
Of Constantine it is told that he himself was a man who experienced the
miraculous. Eusebius recorded that
persons “were discovered in the act of forming secret plots against the
emperor; all their intentions being miraculously revealed by God through
visions to His servant [Constantine].
For he frequently vouchsafed to him manifestations of himself, the
Divine presence appearing to him in a most marvelous manner, and according to
him manifold intimations of future events.[33]”
He goes on to say, “Indeed, it is impossible to express
in words the indescribable wonders of Divine grace which God was pleased to
vouchsafe to His servant. Surrounded by these, he passed the rest of his life
in security…[34]” This mention is important because Eusebius
knew that in the
100 years prior to him there had been some 30 emperors with an average reign of
a little over three years. The fact that
Constantine lived as an emperor for 31 years is seen by Eusebius as miraculous
and proof that the God he worshipped was the real one.
Not surprisingly, Constantine personally bore witness
to the miracles that were prevalent in the Church of his day. In a letter to Macarius of Jerusalem he wrote
concerning the authenticity of the Christian message that, “the credibility of
the truth daily demonstrates itself by fresh miracles,” and Constantine’s hope
was that this daily barrage of miracles would encourage men so that “the souls
of us all should become more diligent respecting the holy law, with modestly
and unanimous eagerness[35].”
Conclusion
In conclusion this paper has
demonstrated that miracles were used by Christians as an apologetic argument
beginning with the time of Christ and extending up until the fourth
century. Concluding with the fourth
century is not meant to imply that after this time Christians stopped using
miracles as an apologetic argument. It
was merely chosen as a stopping point because the period known as ancient
history is accounted to stop during this century as well as the period which
Biblical scholars refer to as the Ante-Nicene Age.
[1] David Hume, An
Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding (New York, NY: Oxford University
Press, 1999), 169.
[2] The Holy Bible, King James Version, John 10:38.
[3] The Holy Bible, King James Version, Romans 15:18-19.
[4] Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle To
The Philadelphians, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers with
Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A.
Cleveland Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages, 1996), 165.
[5] Anonymous, The
Martyrdom of Ignatius, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers
with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and
A. Cleveland Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages, 1996), 247-248.
[6] Irenaeus of
Lyons, The Martyrdom of Polycarp, Ante-Nicene
Fathers, Vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, eds.
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages, 1996), 81.
[7] Ibid, 86.
[8] Justin Martyr, Dialogue With
Trypho, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers with Justin
Martyr and Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland
Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages, 1996), 461.
[9] Ibid, 464.
[10] Ibid, 405.
[11] Justin Martyr, Second Apology, Ante-Nicene
Fathers, Vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, eds.
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages,
1996), 351.
[12] Irenaeus of Lyons, Against
Heresies, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1: The Apostolic Fathers with Justin
Martyr and Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland
Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages, 1996), 809-810.
[13] Theophilus
found himself occupying the bishopric of Antioch only one bishop away from the
aforementioned Ignatius.
[14] Theophilus of Antioch, The
Apology of Theophilus To Autolycus, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 2: The
Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts,
James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages, 1996), 179.
[15] Minucius Felix, The Octavius of
Minucius Felix, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4: The Apostolic Fathers with
Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A.
Cleveland Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages, 1996), 375.
[16] Origen, Against Celsus,
Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 4: The Apostolic Fathers with Justin Martyr and
Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe
(Albany, OR: Ages, 1996), 824.
[17] Ibid,
1217-1218. Ironically, this statement of Origen’s is
often used to support the claim that miracles were rare in his day and,
therefore, not a viable apologetic argument.
This completely overlooks the numerous other statements made by Origen
testifying to the occurrence of miracles and his use of them as apologetics.
[18] Ibid, 800.
[19] Ibid, 837.
[20] Ibid, 1213.
[21] Ibid, 760.
[22] Ibid, 923.
[23] Ibid, 862.
[24] Cyprian of Carthage, Letters, Ante-Nicene
Fathers, Vol. 5: Fathers of The Third Century, eds. Alexander Roberts, James
Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages, 1997), 588.
[25] Ibid, 597.
[26] Ibid, 836-837.
[27] Ibid, 774.
[28] Athanasius of
Alexandria, Life of St. Antony, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series
2, Vol. 4, ed. Philip Schaff and Henry Wace (Albany, OR: Ages, 1997), 626.
[29] Jerome, Chronicon, Entry for the
year AD 326, Early Church Fathers - Additional Texts, ed. Roger Pearse,
November 29, 2005, <http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/jerome_chronicle_00_eintro.htm>.
[30] Arnobius, Seven Books Against The
Heathen, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 6: Fathers of The Third Century, eds.
Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages,
1997), 802.
[31] Lactantius, The Divine
Institutes, Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 7: The Apostolic Fathers with Justin
Martyr and Irenaeus, eds. Alexander Roberts, James Donaldson, and A. Cleveland
Coxe (Albany, OR: Ages, 1996), 131.
[32] One of two “co-emperors” who ruled during and following the
emperorship of Diocletian (ca. 236-316).
[33] Eusebius of Caesarea, The Life of
Constantine, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Vol. 1, eds. Philip
Schaff and Henry Wace (Albany, OR: Ages, 1997), 677.
[34] Ibid.
[35] Socrates Scholasticus, Ecclesiastical
History, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series 2, Vol. 2, ed. Philip
Schaff and Henry Wace (Albany, OR: Ages, 1997), 69.