Acknowledgments xv
Acknowledgments M y academic specialization involves the nt and its ancient setting, but this book required some expertise in additional areas. (In particular, I could have offered more critical evaluations of the diversely shaped cure reports had I possessed medical training.) I have done my best with these other areas, but I needed others' help. I am grateful to friends and colleagues who provided feedback on various parts of this manuscript, including my brother, Dr. Christopher Keener, for comments based on his training as a physicist; and my wife, Dr. Médine Moussounga Keener, a historian by training and my interpreter for a number of the interviews in Central Africa, not only for interviews in French but also for those in Kitsangi and Munukutuba.
I am grateful to medical doctors and specialists who went out of their busy ways to provide advice on cases, including those not cited because I chose to omit accounts based on their feedback. Among them are Tahira G. Adelekan; Manita
Fadele; David Zaritzky; and especially Nicole Matthews, who did considerable research and often helped me to distinguish which healing accounts were less apt to have analogies in normal recoveries. In the process, I discovered that I had already omitted some genuinely significant stories, and she helped keep me from playing down some others. I am also grateful to my student Donald Moore, a clinical director of voice and swallowing disorders, for reviewing and evaluating a number of accounts in this book. These friends were busy and none had time to review all the cases, but I am grateful for their help. I remain responsible for the mistakes in content that remain and for any views expressed in the book. I am grateful to my institution at the time, Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University, for granting me a reduced load in view of my several writing projects.
I must particularly thank Jeron Frame at Palmer Seminary's library, who graciously, regularly, and without complaint ordered for me a vast number of interlibrary loan sources, both academic and popular, on miracles, spirit possession, religion and health, and philosophy of science. She did so even though I did not initially explain the strange character of my project that required at least a basic acquaintance with such a range of sources, some of which are not always the special forte of seminary libraries. Other libraries and research centers, especially the xv
xvi Acknowledgments following, provided important help: in Baguio, Philippines, Asia Pacific Theological
Seminary (in addition to the regular library facilities, I am particularly grateful to D. Rosanny Engcoy for helping me find valuable sources at the Asia Pacific
Research Center); in Springfield, Missouri, the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (especially Joseph Marics); online access to the Flower Pentecostal
Heritage Center (with the help of Darrin Rodgers); and in St. Paul, Minnesota, Luther Seminary Library and the ELCA Region 3 Archives (Bruce Eldevik and others). I am also grateful to institutions that allowed me to lecture on this subject and provided stimulating interaction, including, in the United States, Wheaton
College, Eastern University, Asbury Theological Seminary, and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and, in Australia, United Theological College (a campus of Charles Sturt University), Wesley Institute, and Crossway College.
Databases of abstracts, in this case, especially Religious and Theological Abstracts, also expanded my access to materials considerably.
I am grateful to my translators during my Latin American interviews, David Gomero Borges and Brian Stewart. I also am grateful to the many persons who directed me to other sources of information, especially to those who provided my earliest leads, including Candy Gunther Brown of Indiana University, who regularly and generously answered my queries and supplied sources, despite our different disciplinary approaches; John Pilch (Johns Hopkins University); Hendrik van der Breggen (Providence College); Paul Eddy (Bethel University); Christopher
Hall (Palmer); Robert Larmer (University of New Brunswick); Paul Lewis (Asia Pacific Theological Seminary); Michael Licona (Southern Evangelical Seminary);
Tim McGrew (Western Michigan University); J. P. Moreland (Talbot School of Theology); Warren Newberry, Byron Klaus, and the now late Gary McGee (Assemblies of God Theological Seminary); John Piippo (Palmer); Marie Brown;
Eileen Cecilia; Mike Finley; and John Lathrop. These sources do not all share the same approach with one another or with me, and none of them should be held responsible for the views expressed here, but I must acknowledge my great appreciation for their assistance. I am grateful to the many persons who sacrificed their time to grant me interviews or send me correspondence. I name them at those appropriate places, although they sometimes supplied additional leads as well.
Many other individuals would have supplied helpful information, had I known to contact them; but it is safe to assume that there will be other authors and other books that will treat this issue more fully. For example, from an objective, scientific standpoint, Candy Gunther Brown's forthcoming contributions will undoubtedly continue to fill a large need.
Finally, I am grateful to Baker Academic for publishing this work, originally contracted with Hendrickson. Baker acquired a number of titles from Hendrickson during the editing phase of this work, yet enthusiastically adopted the project as its own; they have been overwhelmingly gracious and skillful. I am grateful to Tim
Muether for the author index and to my editors at various stages, including Brian
Bolger, Shirley Decker-Lucke, Allan Emery, and especially Tim West.