Zugänge zum Wunderbaren

The contributors to this volume examine discourses on miracles in early Christianity and their contemporary theological reception, advancing the central thesis that miracles should not be understood merely as breaches of natural laws or as marginal narrative phenomena, but rather as complex semiotic processes that interpret and transform reality. The contributors focus on texts that range from the first century to the present, particularly New Testament writings, early Christian literature from the Eastern Mediterranean region, and current homiletic and liturgical contexts in German-speaking countries.
Methodologically, the volume combines historical-critical exegesis, semiotic analysis, and practical-theological reflection. The contributors assume that miracles can only be adequately understood within their respective concepts of reality and must therefore always be analyzed in the interplay of text, intertext, and cultural context. This interdisciplinary perspective moves beyond established narrow interpretations that either reduce miracles to a specific genre or dismiss them as irrational relics of premodern worldviews. Together, the essays develop an expanded concept of the miracle that intertwines sign, reality, and interpretation - opening early Christian texts to contemporary discourse and establishing miracle research as an integral part of theological hermeneutics.