The Bible is full of miracles. Yet how do we make sense of them today? And where might we see miracles in our own lives? In this installment of the Hansen Lectureship series, historian and theologian Timothy Larsen considers the legacy of George MacDonald, the Victorian Scottish author and minister who is best known for his pioneering fantasy literature, which influenced authors such as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, G. K. Chesterton, and Madeleine L'Engle. Larsen explores how, throughout his life and writings, MacDonald sought to counteract skepticism, unbelief, naturalism, and materialism and to herald instead the reality of the miraculous, the supernatural, the wondrous, and the realm of the spirit. The Hansen Lectureship series offers accessible and insightful reflections by Wheaton College faculty members on the transformative work of the Wade Center authors.
"Rarely, if ever, does a theologian grasp the essentials of luminaries such as C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, George MacDonald, G. K. Chesterton, and Madeleine L'Engle. But here, in this exquisitely argued, beautifully crafted, and elegantly written thesis, Timothy Larsen offers a beguiling meditation on incarnation, doubt, and reenchantment. With his careful and nuanced focus on George MacDonald,
Martyn Percy, dean of Christ Church, Oxford
"Larsen . . . writes about MacDonald with great sympathy and admiration, but also with a clear eye and deep sense of irony."
