Like many of you, I’ve often heard folks say something along these lines: “Well, in Biblical times things like that used to happen, but not anymore.” More often than not, we use the phrase “Biblical times” in our conversations to denote some particularly miraculous time or event in Biblical history such as the flood, the exodus from Egypt, the halting of celestial bodies, or Jonah’s being swallowed by a great fish.

L.M. Montgomery’s novel Emily of New Moon was the required reading of my undergrad that, quite possibly, excited me the very least. How could the misadventures of a young girl on Prince Edward Island possibly compare to the heroic heights of Beowulf or the literary—and ocean—depths of Moby Dick?

Over the course of the last year, I’ve taken on the labyrinthian task of dipping my toes into the murky depths of church history.