Why Can't Christians of today raise people from the dead?

[Chrish1975]

I was just reading in the Book of Acts on how Peter, the first Pope, raised a girl from the dead. Why can’t Christians of today raise a person from the dead, so that more will believe?

 

[JerryZ]

I was just reading in the Book of Acts on how Peter, the first Pope, raised a girl from the dead. Why can’t Christians of today raise a person from the dead, so that more will believe?

If it pleases God it could happen, we are never to ask for signs in order to believe

 

[R_C]

We can: “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength”. Anything. Raising the dead is no exception: there is no limit to the power of God.

However, we don’t do it simply because we do not have enough faith.

A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign: and a sign shall not be given it

But he said: “No, father Abraham: but if one went to them from the dead, they will do penance.” And he said to him: “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they believe, if one rise again from the dead.”

when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?

And, by the way, there have been such cases of “resurrections” throughout the centuries, and even in modern times. While you don’t see this happen visibly, it still happens.

An example comes to mind due to my personal devotion, but there are certainly many others: the case for the beatification of St. Teresa de Los Andes.

On December 4, 1985 the volunteer of the Firefighters of Santiago the Cile Héctor Uribe Carrasco fell from the roof during a fire, receiving a strong electric discharge. The doctors declared him clinically dead. His fellow companions and his mother prayed the Servant of God Teresa de Los Andes and placed a relic on his chest. After a few minutes, vital signs were detected. He survived the incident. The case was presented to the Congregation for the Cause of Saints in Rome, which later issued a decree on the miracle, stating that “the modality of the healing which was expedite, complete, and persisting could not be explained according to medical knowledge”.

I did some quick research and I actually found a very recent article by ETWN, this one, from March 26, 2012. This is a few months ago.

When I walked in I could see paramedics at the foot of the only occupied gurney there, so I hurried and walked in. “Sorry, Fr. John, you’re too late. He’s gone.” Anne said, smiling. She had a lot of compassion, but also understood that I’d come as fast as I could. They were removing wires from an older man. I noticed that he was wearing a Brown Scapular, one of the old cloth ones. I reached and said “He’s wearing an old fashioned Scapular”. When I touched it there was a beep from a monitor, then another. The nurse, Anne, said “What did you do?” I said “Nothing!” She and another nurse jumped to work, reconnecting wires and calling for help. The Paramedics stood with their jaws dropped. The patient opened his eyes and said (in an Irish accent) “Oh, good, Father. I’ve been waiting for you. I want to go to Confession.”

If God still grants these miracles, it means that they do save a few souls. However, salvation does not depend on extraordinary sign, but on ordinary love God’s presence is much more visible when you save people from death (physical and spiritual) through true (agape) love.

 

[benjohnson]

With God’s Grace, Christians help raise people from the dead all the time.

What has changed is that we don’t see the results immediately.

With the Waters of Baptism, and the True Body and Blood of Christ - upon our death, we look eagerly for the our new everlasting life with our risen lord in the world to come.

 

[thistle]

I was just reading in the Book of Acts on how Peter, the first Pope, raised a girl from the dead. Why can’t Christians of today raise a person from the dead, so that more will believe?

John 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Have you come to believe because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.”

 

[Reuben_J]

With God’s Grace, Christians help raise people from the dead all the time.

What has changed is that we don’t see the results immediately.

With the Waters of Baptism, and the True Body and Blood of Christ - upon our death, we look eagerly for the our new everlasting life with our risen lord in the world to come.

Great post. Miracles of the New Testaments should be seen in both ways - literally and symbolic. After the Lord’s death on the cross and his resurrection, his mission was completed. We thus experience a new era.

Miracles of the healing of the blind man, the paralytic, the deliverance from the devil, the multiplication of the bread and fish, the raising of the dead and even the changing of water to wine, would be seen beautifully for their symbolism in the context of the Savior having been rising from the dead.

We are blind, the Lord allows us to see his truth and message.

We are paralyzed, the Lord allows us to get up and overcome our weaknesses so that we can conquer sin.

We are oppressed by sin and evil, the Lord delivers us and set us free.

We are poor materially, spiritually and lack of talent to serve him, the Lord will multiply them for our need as he did with the fish and the bread.

We are once dead (with sin), the Lord raise us to new life in Baptism. We are dead, the Lord raise us up to eternal life to be with him forever in heaven.

We lack of wine, well, probably the Lord gives us to drink from the fountain of the Holy Spirit, that we may be spirit filled.

On the other hand, the literal aspect of miracle should not cease with the apostles as we as believers are promised with them by the power of the Holy Spirit.

 

[livingwordunity]

I was just reading in the Book of Acts on how Peter, the first Pope, raised a girl from the dead. Why can’t Christians of today raise a person from the dead, so that more will believe?

Because if someone chooses not to believe even raising someone from the dead won’t convince them. A hardcore skeptic can always say that the person was never all the way dead or that they must have faked their own death and fooled everyone. So it makes it pointless for God to try to convince the skeptics in this way. Christ (God the Son) chose to do it back then to fulfill the messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.

 

[Truthstalker]

Who says it does not happen today? You are uninformed. You need to hang around some missionaries. God moves in power like this when new people are reached with the Gospel. It does not tend to happen in communities familiar with Christianity.

 

[Sam_777]

Saint Simon the Shoemaker faith miracle:
"Caliph al-Muizz, who reigned during 972-975 AD, used to invite religious leaders to debate in his presence. In one of those meetings in which the patriarch Abraham, also known as Pope Abraam, and a Jew named Yaqub ibn Killis (and in another account of this story was known as Moses) were present, Abraham got the upper hand in the debate. Plotting to take revenge, Ibn Killis quoted the verse where Jesus Christ said in Gospel of Matthew: “He replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Matthew 17:20), and demanded that the Pope prove that his religion is right by means of this. After hearing ibn Killis say this, the caliph asked Abraham "What sayest thou concerning this word? Is it your gospel or not?“The patriarch answered “Yes, it is in it.” After hearing Abraham answer, the caliph demanded that this very miracle be performed by Abraham’s hand or else he and all the Copts would be killed by the hand of the sword. It was then after hearing this that the patriarch asked for three days to complete the miracle.”

 

[Evan]

cbn.com/700club/guests/bios/Chauncey-Crandall-091510.aspx

cbn.com/700club/features/amazing/raised_from_dead091603.aspx

cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/vod/DR10v2

cbn.com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/vod/SAF13v5_WS

therisinglight.com/2010/florida-man-raised-from-the-dead-by-praying-cardiologist/

Just to list a few raised from the dead, by Christians of this century

 

[PJM]

=Chrish1975;9972922]I was just reading in the Book of Acts on how Peter, the first Pope, raised a girl from the dead. Why can’t Christians of today raise a person from the dead, so that more will believe?

1. Well for starters Christ NEVER approved “Christu=ianity”… ONLY Catholism
2. Look around: is there “true [Objective] Faith” in evidence? In politices, in the church in me?
3. Peter and Paul Both are reported to have done this. What kind of men; what kind of Catholics were they?
4. Is today’s CC and todays “catholic” conforming to what GOD WANTS?

Abortion?
Contraception?
Divorice?
Voting Pro-LIFE!

In each of these areas “self proclaimed catholics” equal the general population in Grevious-SIN.

Now, friend, ask yourself again…WHY:shrug:

God Bless,
Pat /Pjm

 

[Truthstalker]

1. Well for starters Christ NEVER approved “Christu=ianity”… ONLY Catholism
2. Look around: is there “true [Objective] Faith” in evidence? In politices, in the church in me?
3. Peter and Paul Both are reported to have done this. What kind of men; what kind of Catholics were they?
4. Is today’s CC and todays “catholic” conforming to what GOD WANTS?

Abortion?
Contraception?
Divorice?
Voting Pro-LIFE!

In each of these areas “self proclaimed catholics” equal the general population in Grevious-SIN.

Now, friend, ask yourself again…WHY:shrug:

God Bless,
Pat /Pjm

Interesting, isn’t it, that all the miracles cited involve non-Catholic Christians? And the Catholics are giving up on miracles here? Is that your ‘Why’?

And are you in a position to invite others to judge the Catholic Church as to whether it is what God wants? Might you not be tempting others to sin here?

But basically I think you are saying that a legalistic righteousness is required for miracles, and your Church does not have it. Apparently, then, according to this view, the non-Catholics have it, so you seem to be arguing for people to abandon the Catholic faith and become Protestants or Copts. Is that what you meant to say?

Just wondering…

 

[Verbum]

Hi Chrish,

Here’s an ariticle that ltalks about saints, ancient and modern who raised people from the dead.

miraclesofthesaints.com/2010/10/saints-who-raised-dead-people-brought.html

Verbum

 

[Ignatius]

I was just reading in the Book of Acts on how Peter, the first Pope, raised a girl from the dead. Why can’t Christians of today raise a person from the dead, so that more will believe?

Maybe Christians of today don’t have enough Faith.