Madonna Book:

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Editorial Review:
Is there a middle ground between miracles and tall tales? Here's a book to help believers in Christianity make sense of it all.

On June 1, 1974, a woman in England claims to have watched a news account of a massive a chemical plant explosion that killed 28 people-four hours before it actually happened!

In 1963 a woman's husband mysteriously disappeared. She consulted a psychic who, upon handling a piece of one of the husband's shirts, immediately announced, "he's in La Jolla. He went there to heal a psychic wound when he was 14 and his father disappeared." That turned out to be accurate!

In the United States, apparitions, miracle cures, and other paranormal phenomena, including stigmata, possessions, ghostly apparitions, and weeping (or bleeding) statues, have recently been reported in 8 states and at least two boroughs of New York City.

Many people dismiss such stories as urban legends or as the kind of tall tales children tell in order to scare each other. Even though visions, prophecies, and miracles have been a focal point of religious faith throughout history, the skepticism of the modern world has tended to gloss over or ridicule reports of these phenomena.

Nevertheless, many people continue to accept such accounts--according to a poll in Life Magazine, 83% of Americans believe miracles. And, the documentation of a miracle remains a prerequisite for sainthood within the Catholic Church. Why do so many believe-despite our skeptical age.

Is there valid evidence to substantiate these stories of occult happenings?

In Apparitions, Healings, and Weeping Madonnas, Lisa Schwebel examines a broad variety of mystical experiences through the twin lenses of scientific and paranormal research. Her fascinating and important book sets out to record how religious people have described their "supernatural" experiences and then places these accounts within the wider context of the Christian mystical tradition. The author closely examines accounts of such seemingly "miraculous" phenomena as ghosts and apparitions, weeping icons, prophecy, healings, and visions.

The author then examines what psychology and the physical sciences teach us about the phenomena of visions and miracles. She explores mystical accounts that have been reported throughout history-often without accompanying claims of divine intervention-and investigates what such accounts reveal about the authenticity of mystical phenomena. Schwebel also demonstrates how research in parapsychology can provide a theoretical framework for analyzing visions and miracles.

Taken together, the anecdotes and stories in this book provide compelling documentation of events that defy the teachings of modern science. And the author provides modern Christians with the knowledge that will help them to differentiate between tall tales and the truly inexplicable.

Apparitions, Healings, and Weeping Madonnas: Christianity and the Paranormal Reviews:
Dime Store Theology
2004-06-02 - This rambling discourse spends a third of the book defining the
terminolgy of the field of parapsychology. It is all downhill for
the remaing two thirds.The author jumps around and is never able
to do more than make bizarre scenaros that are used to discredit
long held beliefs.The appendix contains charts that are so useless that the reader is reminded of the college freshman trick
of filling the term paper with double spaced pages and anything that would thicken a weak report.
The author makes many timeline errors and I had the feeling that
she had not researched and verified much of the data.

Offers an enormous amount of insight
2004-04-14 - In Apparitions, Healings, And Weeping Madonnas: Christianity And The Paranormal, Lisa J. Schwebel (Assistant Professor of Religion, Hunter College, City University of New York), examines a broad set of phenomena that have been claimed to be direct interventions of God into the mortal realm. Looking at these various accounts from the twin points of view of theology and parapsychology, Apparitions, Healings, And Weeping Madonnas offers an enormous amount of insight, as well as providing suggestions for a reliable criteria with respect to discerning whether a vision is genuine. A thoughtfully reasoned and meticulously analyzed account that pays due respect to science and faith alike, Apparitions, Healings, And Weeping Madonnas is inherently fascinating and impressively informative reading.

Kudos for this unique book, Apparitions....
2004-01-26 - This book is perfect for me as a layperson who has an interest in the subject, but had known little until reading Apparitions, Healings and Weeping Madonnas. The author's style is such that she respects the reader's intelligence, while educating and informing, expanding our perspectives. This is a book that sheds light on the paranormal, no matter what one's faith. I highly recommend this book.

Inspired treatment of a fascinating topic
2004-01-06 - Much has been written about visitations/appearances from the Virgin Mary but none as innovative and well researched as this. The material is treated in a balanced and insightful manner but remains extremely readable.

Highly recommended to anyone with an interest in parapsychology.

Fascinating and well-researched
2003-12-27 - Interestingly written, fascinating research... analyzes various understandings of miraculous from the parapsychological to the psychoneuroimmunological to the theological. Really enlightening. A fresh look and a must-read for anyone interested in the religious understanding of miracles.