I hate people who take advantage of the desperate. They rank right up there with pedophiles. So I think you can understand why I have a special disdain for faith healers, those scam artists that combine the desperation of the incurably ill with the credulity of the faithful. It's a vile business. I have only pity for the desperate who turn to scam artists for help because I understand them. There have been times in my life I would have drunk motor oil if somebody somewhere said it would help. I won't list all the different herbs and supplements and such I have tried. It's embarrassing. Therefore, I have only contempt for those who take advantage of such despair and frustration for those who support it.
This morning I read Luke18:31-43. Jesus told his disciples that
he would be murdered by the Gentiles and then rise from the dead on the third
day. Also, as he walked by a blind man called out to Jesus so he could heal him
of his blindness. Jesus gave him his sight back.
I have witnessed one miraculous healing in Mexico back in August 2006. Our
group was praying for a while for a man paralyzed in his wheelchair. I don't
know how long we prayed but it was for maybe an hour. At the end of it he got up
out of his wheelchair and began to walk. At the end of the mission trip he was
pushing his wheelchair around while his non-paralyzed brother sat it in. Months
later he got a job at a factory. I don't know how he is doing now, since it was
almost four years ago, but I am sure he is doing fine.
It would be difficult to describe everything that is wrong with the above paragraph. First of all, we have no proof the man in the wheelchair was indeed paralyzed. He may have been a perfectly healthy plant. He could have suffered from any of a number of disorders or illnesses that require wheelchair use for medium or long distances, but allow one to stand or walk for short distances, such as pain, fatigue, heart or lung diseases, etc. We don't know and I doubt the writer did either.
Months later he got a job at a factory.
How does the writer know this? Did he see the man at the factory? I doubt it. He was told this and accepted it without question. However, even if the man were legitimately in need of a wheelchair, he could very well have had a self limiting disorder that required him to use a wheelchair and then improved to the point where he was healthy enough to work in a factory. That's assuming the man was ever in need of a wheelchair at all.
I don't know how he is doing now, since it was almost four years ago, but I am
sure he is doing fine.
He could be dead for all the writer knows. That's a ridiculous assumption. If the man has a relapsing/remitting disorder like Multiple Sclerosis, he could well be using a wheelchair as we speak. We have no way of knowing. I don't know if this is more of a study of the scam that is faith healing or the extremes of credulity.
I actually did comment on this post, pointing out all the things we don't know about this story, and this was the response:
Personalfailure... I understand your argument but it is not possible to
scientifically explain miracles because they can't be explained scientifically.
Miracles go above and beyond science. You have to have faith.
LALALALA- I can't heeeeaaaaar you! And really don't waaaaaaaant to!
This wouldn't bother me, but the people harmed in these scams aren't just the faithful, they are the desperately ill. People like me. We've got enough problems, we don't need scam artists preying on us.
