An M.D. Examines: Does God Still Do Miracles
Dr. Brad Burke
Cook Communications
ISBN/SPCN: 0781442826
Book - Paperback Trade
160pages

Does God Still Do Miracles is one installment of the four-book series “An M.D. Examines” by Dr. Brad Burke. Other books in the series tackle such tough topics as “Is God Obsolete,” “Why Does God Allow Suffering” and “Why Doesn’t God Stop Evil.”

Burke’s bio notes that he is “a young Christian medical specialist who took a five year sabbatical from practicing medicine to research and write the compelling book series.” He currently lives “with his wife Erin in the Windsor/ Detroit area where he practices medicine as a Canadian and American Board Certified Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist (physiatrist).”

Burke rightly begins this installment by not only seeking to clearly define miracles but with a differentiation. Borrowing heavily from John MacArthur’s Charismatic Chaos (which itself provides a clue as to Burke’s position), Burke defines miracles as:

A miracle is an extraordinary event wrought by God through human agency, an event that cannot be explained by natural forces.

Burke then differentiates between spiritual miracles (Providence, Salvation, etc.) and miracles of physical healing noting that God’s ongoing hand of Providence is indeed a miracle of the highest magnitude. He notes that the primary focus of this book is to consider the physical healing miracles that many claim happen nearly everyday. Any such investigation must bring into account the claims of the so-called “faith healers” which Burke does.

He asks what the purpose of Scriptural miralces was and notes that miracles were primarily confined to three major epochs: 1) Moses and Joshua, 2) the prophets Eliha and Elisha, and 3) Christ and the Apostles. In doing so, Burke has adopted at least a mild cessationist view which ties the Scriptural miracles to the advancement of the Gospel. Once the Word was enscripturated, miracles of this nature ceased. In each of the three epochs, the miracles validated the message and the messengers.

Burke helpfully points out that Jesus’ miracles met certain criteria which the modern “faith-healers” do not: 1) Jesus healed completely, 2) Jesus healed immediately, 3) Jesus healed in public, 4) Jesus healed mostly visible organic diseases, 5) Jesus healed even those without faith and 6) Jesus healed with a purpose (authenticating His messianic claim and to show that He had the power to forgive sins).

Burke then contrasts Jesus’ public healing/miracle ministry with those of the so-called “faith healers” of today. He cites numerous investigations which demonstrate that most if not all of the claims made by Benny Hinn and others are anything but miracles. After describing a scene in which a man in a motorized chair was asked to move to the back of a Benny Hinn crusade, Burke wonders:

As this was a “miracle service,” shouldn’t Hinn’s ushers have gathered up the most critically ill and disabled individuals and sat them directly in front of the stage? Why were the sickest individuals pushed toward the back or seated in the back rows of certain sections? The reason Hinn probably doesn’t seat the sickest people in front is because, as at Kathryn Kuhlman’s crusades, the sickest and most disabled individuals leave the crusades without a healing. Imagine watching a “healing crusade” where the people were getting up on stage claiming cures from arthritis, fibromyalgia, and asthma, when twenty feet away there were rows of ailing people who were totally blind from birth, or in wheelchairs suffering debilitating joint contractures from cerebral palsy, or completely paralyzed from the waist or neck down — some on ventilators. It wouldn’t look good for the famous faith healer, would it?

Burke cites an interview with Justin Peters, staff evangelist at the First Baptist Church in Vicksburg, Mississipi. Peters lives with cerebral palsy and went forward for a miracle that same evening but was turned away. In a later interview, Peters remarked:

I want people to understand that people who look like I do, that have an obvious disability are never allowed up on stage. It’s always somebody that has some kind of illness that cannot be readily seen. And if God is truly healing the sick through Benny Hinn, we should expect to see amputees grow new limbs. We should expect to see the severely mentally retarded restored. We should expect to see people that are crippled and have withered arms and legs to be restored. But we don’t. And so the evidence, the lack of evidence speaks volumes.

Burke then considers the positive health effects of faith: any faith on the body, noting that “our bodies are hardwired to respond positively to optimistic, relaxing beliefs - and to respond negatively to cynical, anxiety-provoking beliefs.” Burke cites several examples of mind-body connections including false pregnancies and the “placebo effect” found in many clinical trials in which patients given only a placebo show some improvement because they thought they were receiving treatment.

Burke is careful to note that he is not saying that “sickness is all in the head,” but that we must not undersestimate the power of the mind influenced by faith when it comes to the body. In other words, many with a non-visible illness (such as those “healed” at many crusades) may indeed, at least for a period of time, think they have been healed. The fact that they can dance across a stage for a short period of time is certainly not a miracle of any magnitude.

In tackling the issue of whether or not it is truly God’s will that every believer be physically healthy as many “faith healers” claim, Burke handles Isaiah 53:5 (via 1 Peter 2:24-25) well to demonstrate that the reference to our healing by His wounds is in reference to spiritual healing, i.e. salvation. Burke also deals with several misunderstood and misapplied verses such as Galatians 3:13, and John 14:13 to demonstrate that the hermeneutic used to justify many of these bogus “healings” is itself bogus and that God often uses suffering as a powerful tool in the lives of His people.

Before concluding that God’s greatest miracle is salvation, Burke points out that, though physical healing miracles are quite rare:

God can do any miracle He wants, whenever He wants, however He wants, in any manner He wants. But we cannot expect God to work miracles on demand. By saying that God must act in a certain way in response to our demands is to limit the freedom, sovereignty, majesty, and wisdom of our almighty God. I’m saying that God can do anything He wants for His greatest glory; faith healears are saying that if we have enough faith, God must heal every time no matter what.

Burke skillfully weds medical insights and investigation with careful handling of the Scriptures and for that he must be commended. The book is written in an easy-to-read yet informative manner that is easily handled in a single sitting. The book is presented in a well-balanced and inquisitive manner, acknowledging that God can do whatever He wants while urging caution as to using the word “miracle” and hesitancy to acknowledge most of the claimed physical healings we find as true miracles. For most, there are valid, natural and medical explinations which do not constitute them as miracles.

As a pastor, I would recommend this book to any questioning the current avalanche of miracle healings that are claimed at every turn. Burke does a good job limiting his discussion to physical healing though it would be very easy to follow the rabbit trails into tongues and other related issues. By clearly defining miracles, Burke helps to raise our view of God rather than lower it. While admitting that God can certainly do anything He wishes, Burke also calls the reader to examine everything carefully, something most faith healers certainly don’t want you to do, which is itself quite telling.

The book itself is comparable to John MacArthur’s Charismatic Chaos and hank Hanegraff’s Counterfeit Revival and serves as a helpful addition to those books adding many medical insights the other books lack.
This is a highly recommended resource.

• Read Dr. Brad Burke’s books
• Read Charismatic Chaos by John MacArthur
• Read Counterfeit Revival by Hank Hanegraaff