History or legend?

[eddybear]

This is a spin-off question from one of the threads about saints. Reading the lives of some of the ancient saints, there are frequent accounts of God working miracles through them, even after their deaths, many of which seem strange by modern standards. My question is, how can we tell whether these are true events, faithfully recorded for the benefit of future generations, or just legends?

When I look at the Scriptures, there are accounts of strange miracles, like Peter's shadow in Acts 5, or the man who revived when he touched the bones of Elisha. So the miracles that I read about are consistent with Scripture and could be true. But how can I tell?

[iamowen]

I would only trust Scripture ! All others are not of the same authority, nor of the same source or author.
Hope this helps
Owen

[Galaen]

A good way of testing thing out is to ask yourself the following questions;

Does it feel right and witness to your spirit?
Does it feel right and witness to other Christians' spirits?
Does it agree with scripture?

If the answer to all these is yes then things are usually ok but if one of them was out then I would be praying very hard for answers - but, it if did not agree with scripture I would be leaving it alone and asking the Lord to show me very clearly if He wanted me to get involved.

[eddybear]

I would only trust Scripture ! All others are not of the same authority, nor of the same source or author.
Hope this helps
Owen

I can see where you are coming from, and I agree with you that other documents do not have the same authority. But my concern is, if we stop at Scripture, we have to stop at AD 95 (or whenever Revelation was written), which means that everything that the Holy Spirit has been teaching the church over the last 2000 years gets lost.

[iamowen]

I can see where you are coming from, and I agree with you that other documents do not have the same authority. But my concern is, if we stop at Scripture, we have to stop at AD 95 (or whenever Revelation was written), which means that everything that the Holy Spirit has been teaching the church over the last 2000 years gets lost.

I don't agree. All that the Holy Spirit has been teaching for the last 2000 years is in total agreement with Scripture. My testimony may be true, but it is not as reliable as HIS Word. My sences can be tricked and my recolection of events can be flawed, but HIS Word, NEVER

[Jay Dub]

Do we need more then the scripture? Do you need these miracles for your faith to grow or is Gods Spirit within us enough?

Would you believe in God more if they all were true? would you believe in God less if they were false? The truth is these stories whether true or false should have no barring on our faith. We believe because we love God and his word

[DeaconDan]

When I look at the Scriptures, there are accounts of strange miracles, like Peter's shadow in Acts 5, or the man who revived when he touched the bones of Elisha. So the miracles that I read about are consistent with Scripture and could be true. But how can I tell?

You should not believe that bones or a shadow of a saint produced healing. So, how much less should you believe that non-biblical accounts of objects producing healing?

Acts 5 makes no claim that Peter's shadow produced healing. The verse indicates how close to people tried to get to Peter. Touching Elisha's bones did not produce healing or resurrection. The reference to the bones is just to make clear that God fullfilled his promise to Elisha (God owed Elisha one more resurrection).

Gullibility is not a manifestation of godly faith. On the contrary, it is a demonstration of weak faith because it shows the need for maraculous signs and wonders to build up the faith. In any case, biblically, no miracle is ascribed to either Elisha or Peter for the purpose of establishing the sainthood of these men.

[Chuckt]

I can see where you are coming from, and I agree with you that other documents do not have the same authority. But my concern is, if we stop at Scripture, we have to stop at AD 95 (or whenever Revelation was written), which means that everything that the Holy Spirit has been teaching the church over the last 2000 years gets lost.

This is a reason that you want to believe something. You don't want to believe that we have to stop at AD95 but then the alternative is believing anything that allegedly happens afterwards. Where do you draw the line?

[Onesiphorus]

You seem to be forgetting eddybear that Peter was an APOSTLE ,being made a saint by Rome is meaningless

PLease read the context of Elishas bones and the dead man ,it has absolutely nothing to do with healing 2 KIngs 13

remember what CHrist Jesus ,our only mediator between God and man said in Matthew 15:1-14

Read this very carefully

GENEVA STUDY BIBLE

[eddybear]

There seems to be a misunderstanding of my reasons for asking my question, so please let me clarify.

Firstly, I do not need any of these miracles to be true. Please don't claim things about me that are simply not true! My faith in Christ as my Saviour, crucified and risen, is not affected one way or the other.

Secondly, my motive has nothing to do with whether or not certain Christians are "Saints". Again, please don't read things into my question that are simply not there.

What I do want to do is look at historical evidence - of which there is plenty - and try to determine whether or not these accounts are true. If they are, then they may tell me things about God and his ways of dealing with men. That is important to me because I have a living faith in a living God, who interacts with real men and women today, as he has done in the 2000 years since Christ walked this earth, and before that as far back as it goes. The Scriptures record the start of this amazing story, and it has been playing out ever since.

So, what shall I do? Ignore 1900 years of God's activity in this world? Or try to learn from it, using the precedents in Scripture as a guide?

But enough of my self-defence.

A good way of testing thing out is to ask yourself the following questions;

Does it feel right and witness to your spirit?
Does it feel right and witness to other Christians' spirits?
Does it agree with scripture?

If the answer to all these is yes then things are usually ok but if one of them was out then I would be praying very hard for answers - but, it if did not agree with scripture I would be leaving it alone and asking the Lord to show me very clearly if He wanted me to get involved.

Those are helpful suggestions, thank you. It makes me think of one example where I was reading an account, and felt strongly that it wasn't right, so I decided not to read any more by that person. But often I simply don't know, hence my question.