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Visions and Appearances of Jesus
Can you imagine how extraordinary and transcendent it would be to have Jesus appear before you? For the people discussed in this book, that is just what happened. This book surveys these awe-inspiring accounts over the centuries and down to the present time. No serious doubt seems to exist that visions of Jesus have occurred and might continue today. Even those who are skeptical about the reality of religious experiences seem to agree that such visions have occurred, although they tend to dismiss them as hallucinations. However, enough reports have occurred in the history of the church to make such reports believable. Visions and Appearances of Jesus examines the remarkable fact that Jesus has seemingly appeared to people in every century. Phillip Wiebe examines this claim, highlighting details of the ''encounter experiences'' of 28 living people, whom he personally interviewed. He presents ongoing experiences as supporting evidence for the biblical claims that Jesus was seen alive after his death, and defends the resurrection as understood by Christian tradition.
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 8, 2014
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September 18, 2015
I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and I found it to be interesting. The author gives a little background on how and why this topic is of interest to him then he lays out his criteria for deciding if a vision or appearance is likely valid. Whether you agree with his assessments or not you at least know how he decided whether or not to accept a vision as real.
He then relates several Biblical and Apocryphal visions and appearances not only of Jesus but also some of Mary. These descriptions vary in length from a paragraph or two to a page. Most descriptions include a short commentary on why he thinks it's believable.
The book is well referenced, though it doesn't include any weblinks. I can somewhat understand this as links move or expire and it's easy enough to do a quick websearch to find the information, but they would have been nice.
If a person in already inclined to believe in visitations from Jesus and Mary this book isn't going to do much to strengthen that belief. Nor will it change the mind of someone who believes that visitations are not real. It may sway someone on the edge of belief, mostly through providing many likely unknown visitations as well as other sources to read more in depth about them. I did learn about many visitations that I hadn't heard of before.
It's a good introductory book on this topic, providing enough examples for someone to have direction on where to look, and what to look for, in exploring further.
He then relates several Biblical and Apocryphal visions and appearances not only of Jesus but also some of Mary. These descriptions vary in length from a paragraph or two to a page. Most descriptions include a short commentary on why he thinks it's believable.
The book is well referenced, though it doesn't include any weblinks. I can somewhat understand this as links move or expire and it's easy enough to do a quick websearch to find the information, but they would have been nice.
If a person in already inclined to believe in visitations from Jesus and Mary this book isn't going to do much to strengthen that belief. Nor will it change the mind of someone who believes that visitations are not real. It may sway someone on the edge of belief, mostly through providing many likely unknown visitations as well as other sources to read more in depth about them. I did learn about many visitations that I hadn't heard of before.
It's a good introductory book on this topic, providing enough examples for someone to have direction on where to look, and what to look for, in exploring further.
Displaying 1 of 1 review