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.

Tobias Nicklas (Herausgegeben von) Born 1967; 2000 doctorate and 2004 habilitation at the University of Regensburg; Professor of Exegesis and Hermeneutics of the New Testament at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Regensburg. Michael Sommer (Herausgegeben von) Born 1984; 2013 doctorate and 2020 habilitation at the University of Regensburg; Professor of Exegesis and Theology of the New Testament at the Faculty of Catholic Theology at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. Thomas Paulsen (Herausgegeben von) Born 1959; 1992 doctorate and 1998 habilitation at Ruhr University Bochum; Professor emeritus of Greek Studies at the Institute of Classical Philology at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main. Kristina Dronsch (Herausgegeben von) Born 1971; doctorate at Goethe University Frankfurt am Main; Professor of Diaconal Studies at Evangelische Hochschule Hamburg.