Die Wissenschaft und das Wunder
Religious history has brought forth reports of miracles and >supernatural· phenomena in abundance. The significance of such accounts for the religious system they belong to varies greatly depending on the respective cultural-historical contexts in which they were produced and used. The vast amoun...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | German |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Diagonal-Verlag
2012
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In: |
Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft
Year: 1999, Volume: 7, Issue: 2, Pages: 121-144 |
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Science
/ Miracle
/ Phenomenon
/ Belief in miracles
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RelBib Classification: | AA Study of religion AB Philosophy of religion; criticism of religion; atheism |
Online Access: |
Volltext (Verlag) |
Summary: | Religious history has brought forth reports of miracles and >supernatural· phenomena in abundance. The significance of such accounts for the religious system they belong to varies greatly depending on the respective cultural-historical contexts in which they were produced and used. The vast amount of miracle stories, however, indicates their overall importance for the world view of religious people at different times and in different places. Neither Religionswissenschaft nor Mentalitätsgeschichte (history of mentalities) or any other historically working discipline can afford to ignore this aspect of religious literature. The majority of >educated< Europeans since the Enlightenment (including historians of religion), however, find it difficult to believe in the existence of miracles. In this article the prevailing attitudes and approaches towards accounts of the miraculous from medieval times to the present are roughly outlined. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the study of miracle stories can be very fruitful for historians of religion, as soon as the inquiry into the >truth< of the accounts is replaced by a thorough investigation of the >sign value< and social function of mirabilia in their respective socio-historical context. |
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ISSN: | 2194-508X |
Contains: | In: Zeitschrift für Religionswissenschaft
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1515/0031.121 |