| Summary: | In his introduction, the Author stresses how important it is, in the context of a mentality easily allergic to miracles, to determine the historical standing of the miracle narratives found in the Gospels. He underlines particularly the need of a theology of miracles based on contemporary perspectives in historical and critical research on the Gospels. The task of verifying the historical authenticity of the gospel narratives can be carried out at three levels: at the level of global historicity, by collating evidence favorable to the accounts as a group; at the level of rigorous criteriology, by applying to the gospel narratives the criteria of historical authenticity recognized by contemporary exegesis; finally, on the level of individual passages, by examining each of the accounts in the light of these same criteria. The Author stresses that these three levels are not mutually independent, but intimately related. The article gives special prominence to the second level of verification: the study of criteria of authenticity. In the case of the Gospels, these criteria are mostly internal. The Author distinguishes between evidence, criteria, and proof. And among the criteria properly so called, he distinguishes primary or basic criteria: criterion of multiple attestation, criterion of discontinuity, criterion of conformity, criterion of necessary explanation; secondary or derived criteria, such as the characteristic style of Jesus' words and deeds; and mixed criteria, in cases where an important stylistic clue is joined with one or more historical criteria. The proof of the Gospels' historical authenticity results from the convergent application of favorable evidence and criteria. In the final section, the Author indicates what a specially apt instance the miracle narratives provide for the application of each of the above criteria. In illustration, constant reference is made to individual passages and a good many are analyzed.
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