Looking for a Miracle: Weeping Icons, Relics, Stigmata, Visions & Healing Cures [ILLUSTRATED] (Hardcover)

by Joe Nickell (Author) "We live in a time when rational thought and enlightened endeavor have given us wonders heretofore scarcely imaginable-ranging from such advancements in health and medicine..." (more)
Key Phrases: New York, Virgin Mary, Prometheus Books (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Nickell, a thoroughgoing skeptic, debunks Christian and non-Christian miracles alike, as well as alleged paranormal phenomena in this colorful probe. He attributes reports of weeping icons, bleeding effigies and the image of Jesus on the Shroud of Turin to faulty perception or recall, bias, hoaxing and the will to believe. He explains stigmata (the spontaneous duplication of Christ's crucifixion wounds upon the body of a Christian) as due to hoaxes, self-punishment or self-inflicted wounds. Nickell ( Mysterious Realms ) finds no compelling evidence for alleged cures at the French shrine of Lourdes, or for saintly halos, human auras, self-levitation or Pentecostal powers like speaking in tongues and faith healing. He gives flunking grades to Nostradamus, Jeane Dixon and Elizabeth Clare Prophet for their presumed clairvoyant abilities. A useful if one-sided cautionary survey. Author tour.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Nickell's career investigating paranormal phenomena produced the earlier Inquest into the Shroud of Turin ( LJ 3/1/83) and Mysterious Realms ( LJ 12/92). His efforts include creating a process that he claims replicates the image on the shroud. His broad search, emphasizing fraud and unreasonable credulity, uncovers no credible miracles. He documents his sources extensively, though he mistakenly calls the Anglican writer C.S. Lewis a Roman Catholic and equates the Trinitarian Holy Spirit with paranormal spirits. His arguments, although not attacking the core tenets of the Christian faith, virtually bludgeon the beliefs of those not sharing his skepticism. For general readers.
- Richard S. Watts, San Bernardino Cty. Lib., Cal.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 253 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; illustrated edition edition (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879758406
• ISBN-13: 978-0879758400
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #673,975 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Much needed inquiry, June 4, 1999

By A Customer

Joe Nickell doesn't question anyone's right to believe what they want, he simply questions those who would manipulate the faithful with false religious tangibility. Religion is not tangible, it is based on faith, and those who would use that faith for their own ends need to be exposed. A previous reviewer asked what could possibly be gained by 6,000 years of religious fakery? The naivete of that question shows that it is obviously being asked by someone too fearful to question the validity of their own faith. Control, power, fortune...aren't those the things we fight for even today? why is the Catholic church so rich? Is it because they don't want to be? That they are indifferent to the wealth gleaned from their faithful? Joe Nickell is among the astute observers of human behavior who simply wants to point out that devout religious faith, to the individual, is a choice for them to make, but devout religious faith manipulation and chicanery are much more common and need to be exposed for what they are, methods of controlling those who would not otherwise ask if the emperor, pope, minister, or faith-healer has any clothes.

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A valuable, well-researched study of questionable claims.., July 23, 2002

By A Customer

Depending on what side of the religious fence you're on, you can find this book to be either annoying and even offensive, or a great reference book about gullibility, to teach us how to think better. I have to confess I'm in the latter category.

What's often befuddles many devout believers is why someone would even analyze miracles in the first place. After all, life without belief in miracles seems to be empty. What Nickell points out, simply, is that before we jump to conclusions, and impulsively accept a supernatural "explanation" for such phenomena, we should at least take a look at NATURAL reasons why they occur -- or look like they occur. He provides one or more natural, logical reason(s) for every "supernatural wonder" he describes. What he's telling the reader is "Examine and test extraordinary claims". Even religious ones, taught to us by people we admmire. If we don't do that, then we're liable to be suckered into swallowing whole any belief system. And in doing so, we can lose touch with reality.

I don't get the sense that the author is singling out the Catholic Church as an evil entity, or that he's coming down hard, personally, on individuals in that organization. However, he uses Catholic claims of miracles as an illustration of the way in which beliefs, once they're given official sanction by authorities, are easily accepted. He might have used Hinduism, Christian Science, or UFO-ology, for that matter, to serve his same purpose. But traditional Catholicism is familiar to many Americans. For that reader, Nickell gives a different slant on a lot of beliefs they would be already acquainted with. He also aids the non-Catholic believers, and the non-religious, to understand Catholic (and some Pentecostal) miracle claims, in scientific terms. In other words, he scrutinizes them, to see if the claims actually have any common-sense or logical basis, and if there's really any proof to back up the claims. It's up to the reader to decide whether he's made a case against belief. I believe he has, based on his thorough research of these cases. Of course, you disagree. But I would invite you to read what he has to say, and make up your own mind.

As Nickell implies, there might be deception in some of these astounding instances. But that's not always easy to prove. In my opinion, his research has uncovered cases of blant trickery. Other times, from what I can see, they're just deeply-held convictions, in spite of evidence which refute the claims.

His arguments may never sway the most loyal religious folks. That's understandable. Faith is definitely a strong force in an individual's life. One thing is certain: faith in miracles is at least a matter of great sincerity.

But one problem with that sincere exercise of faith, Nickell shows, is that it doesn't guarantee truth. Very well-intentioned believers retain ideas they've held since they were kids. But Nickell's point is that we have to be careful about what we continue to hold onto, and take things with a grain of salt, when we hear about things like weeping icons or healings.

I think that the value of "Looking For A Miracle" is the lesson that faith in supernational powers, and magical thinking, isn't necessary for wholeness and happiness. From his many examples, it's obvious that such faith can instill a feeling of security and love. But Nickell says that isn't enough. He offers a different, more accepting view of life's varied experiences. His outlook, from what I gather, is that one can live in and appreciate the natural world, even with all of our limitations, like gravity, sickness and mortality. So it's a great book for helping us view life as thinking, realistic adults.

If you read it with that thought in mind, with a desire to learn a different point of view, you should get a lot out of it. Highly recommended!

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book but..., September 30, 2000

By	Roman (Pittsburgh, PA United States) - See all my reviews

I enjoyed this book very much. I'm a catholic and this book has in no way altered my beliefs about God. On the other hand, it did change my beliefs concerning miracles. Joe Nickell seems to have done a good job by searching out all the info and he seems to know his subject very well. Some of his arguments are very convincing, and some are not convincing at all I have to admit. I don't know if the sources he uses are reliable, but some of them seem to be quite reliable and trustworthy. I didn't check his sources, so in that sense I have to have just about as much faith to believe in his stuff than to believe in the miracles!!! No, I'm exaggerating. His sources are probably credible, but what bothers me a little in this book is his attitude that NO MIRACLES EXIST. It might be true - I don't know, I've never seen one - but he is just looking for proofs that miracles don't exist and he stops there. It doesn't answer all the mysteries that are still around all those alleged "miracles". He does give explanations for some of the "proofs" for miracles, but I've noticed that they are mostly for old miracles and all the "new" miracles are not being delt with enough. That's my feeling. Like Padre Pio. He hardly mentions him. Fatima, Lourdes and all those events: I still can't understand how those kids would do that: to lie in front of thousands of people. I don't know. Plus, his explanations about the sun moving are not conving at all. What about Saint Bernadette? Her body is preserved and yet he doesn't give us any explanations about why. He just assumes that they might have injected her body with some stuff... Very good book nonetheless. Highly recommended.