The History of Miracle Healing in Christianity

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The History of Miracle Healing in Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion that is based on the life of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world’s largest religion with 2.38 billion followers. The apostles of Christ were a group of men and women with various apostolic gifts. They were given power to heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead.

Healings were rare in the apostolic era. Instead, apostles’ miracles pointed to their messengership. These were not the same as the miracles of nature, such as walking on water. Their power was limited. In fact, their healings were to only show people the way of faith.

During the apostolic era, there were only a few individuals with the power of healing. Those who claimed to have such gifts were investigated for chicanery.

But in the charismatic third wave, a core group of evangelicals began to cross denominational boundaries. They included Charles Kraft, Ted Haggard, George Otis, and John Wimber.

These individuals began to preach a new form of Christian practice that crossed denominational and geographical boundaries. They were largely characterized by their emphasis on prayer and evangelism.

Many charismatics today know that they are in the middle of an epic end-times battle with demonic powers. This means they are pursuing conversion and perseverance in their faith.

Nevertheless, these Christians believe that their prayers will determine the outcome of the cosmological battle between God and Satan. Hence, their doctrine elevates their believers to almost divine status. Some critics have criticized this doctrine for being scripturally unfounded, absolving the individual from personal responsibility for sin, and leading to an unhealthy obsession with demonic enemies.