Posted on 05/26/2009 7:42:57 AM PDT by Alex Murphy
Canadian preacher Todd Bentley will rue the day that he learns that a reporter at the U.S. magazine World has a long memory.
Mr. Bentley, whose claims to take part in spectacular healings were a feature of his revival in Lakeland, Florida last year, will no doubt be dismayed to hear that that two of the people that he claimed at the time to have helped have since died of the grave illnesses that were "healed" at his meetings.
The faith-healing evangelist has had problems with documenting his healings for many years now. When I first wrote on Mr. Bentley for the Report magazine(s) back in 2001, I asked for some proof that he had been able to help heal people through his prayers. All that Fresh Fire Ministries was able to send me were a couple of vague notes. One was from a doctor that noted that his patient "felt better", but nothing indicating that there was anything that would be visible to a third party.
Last year at Lakeland, there were indications that Mr. Bentley was stretching things a bit. Robert Ricciardelli, another charismatic minister, urged Bentley to stop saying that people were being raised from the dead, when they were unable to substantiate any of them. (He repeated his concern on a Seattle christian radio program as the revival was continuing.)
Mr. Bentley's inclination to run with accounts that would help hype the revival once blew up in his face. One enterprising YouTube user, suspecting that Mr. Bentley would say anything from the pulpit to hype his revival without checking out the truth of his statements first, decided to conduct an amusing test that Mr. Bentley fell for, being reeled in like a fish. It’s still on YouTube in two parts. Part one is here. Part two is here.
Those who watched the ABC News program Nightline on July 9 of last year will recall reporter Jeffrey Kofman trying to pin down Mr. Bentley on the amount of people that he had helped to heal. The exchange starts at 3:33 of the video portion saved here where Mr. Kofman asked for proof that would be conclusive for a third party that the revival had healed someone. Mr. Bentley talked about "thousands" of healings while Mr. Kofman observed "We just want three." ABC News, however, was disappointed, as their staff was unable to substantiate any of the accounts of healing that Mr. Bentley provided.
Which leads me to the latest story in World, which hits newsstands in the U.S. as I write. (Warning to my readers--I'm told that apparently you can only get the full version of the online story the first time that you access it. Blogger P.J. Miller at Sola Dei Gloria, however, has copied most of the relevant details in a blog post here.)
World reporter Warren Cole Smith wrote a critical story on Mr. Bentley last year and recently decided to follow up on a list of 13 people that Mr. Bentley's ministry provided, at the time, of people who had been healed at Lakeland.
Christopher Fogle, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was suffering from cancer when he was at Lakeland. Mr. Smith adds:
Fogle was No. 12 on the list, along with this note: “Healed through the Outpouring and is back to fishing.”
That was on Aug. 8, 2008. There was just one problem. Two weeks earlier, on July 22, Christopher A. Fogle—according to his obituary in the Keokuk (Iowa) Daily Gate City, “left this life . . . after a courageous battle with cancer.”
Mr. Smith carries on with his adept reporting spadework:
When I called Phyllis Mills, of Trinity, N.C., on April 22 [2009], to hear the testimony of her healing, a polite family member said, “Phyllis passed away a few days ago. In fact, we’re on our way to her funeral now.”
Mills, 66 at the time of her death, had lung cancer and was undergoing aggressive treatments when she was, according to the list, “healed at the revival.” Mills “was taking radiation, but was sent home,” according to notes on Bentley’s list, with “no trace of cancer in her body.”
Mr. Smith writes that some of the people on Mr. Bentley's list that he spoke to do feel better. However, they tend to either have no medical proof of the healing, or their recovery may be due to other reasons than their Lakeland visit.
Praying for someone to be healed, I would say, is one of the kindest things that a Christian would do, so I want to encourage it. Even if it only shows caring and offers emotional comfort to the patient, prayer is worth doing. However, we do need to recognize that prayer for the sick should be done with honesty and integrity, recognizing that sometimes people may not be healed. Christians should exhibit Christlike behaviour and character when trying to be kind to the ill.
Playing fast and loose with the facts is not a sign of integrity. Mr. Bentley needs to be honest, even brutally so, if he hopes to truly help the sick through what he does. If he is not honest, the resulting fruit of Mr. Bentley's ministry will definitely be wormy.
Your point?
I don’t know what point he was trying to make but here’s what I took from the article. This guy is about as low as you can get. Exploiting God and the sick for profit is despicable.
Just a couple thoughts of my own...
Any meer man who thinks he is a appointed personal conduit of God is a fool or a malicious sinner. We all have equal access to our Lord.
God helps those who help themselves. Use prayer as a focus for what you personally need to do, not as avoidance for God to pick up your lazy slack.
I would agree with that.
The most misquoted versus in the Bible. Why you ask, because its not in the Bible.
Did I say it was? Did I quote it from there? It’s simply a common folk saying of truth.
Just out of curiosity - how do you personally that know it's true.
Wow. Testy aren’t we.
OK, fine. God helps only lazy slackers who sit on the couch waiting for miracles out of the blue. The people actually working twords fixing their problems he could care less about.
Heartbreaking. Fodder for atheists, agnostics.
“It’s simply a common folk saying of truth”
Sorry you are getting flamed, I will agree with the statement by adding that God also helps those who can’t help themselves. You are correct that it is prayer, and more importantly, BELIEF, that invites God into our lives to help us. God blesses the work of our hands and blesses those who are helpless.
“appointed personal conduit of God is a fool or a malicious sinner.”
This is actually untrue. Although a percentage of the body of Christ believes that healing ministries ceased with the Apostles, the bible doesn’t say that. The acts of the Apostles are also for spirit filled believers today. Here’s an example of how we should do it: demon possessed ‘psychic’ follows Paul around for days, he finally turns around and says to the spirit “I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And so it did. ACTS 16:16-18
Jesus DID NOT heal ALL the sick in Israel. Not sure why a Christian would think they could make that claim today...
“Jesus DID NOT heal ALL the sick in Israel”
because of unbelief
“Not sure why a Christian would think they could make that claim today...”
because of belief
Jesus did not heal BECAUSE of Belief ONLY or even ALL the time. When He left Earth, there were plenty of sick who remained unhealed.
No one heals everyone today - and it isn’t because of
unbelief. It is because no one has the gift of healing.
Peter would walk down the street and when his shadow fell on
someone, they would be healed. Ain’t happening.
Today, the healers have all kinds of gimmicks to be
money grubbers and heal psychosomatic illness.
“No one heals everyone today”
If the article said ‘all’ or ‘everyone’ I missed that.
“It is because no one has the gift of healing”
Don’t take my word for it, research stories of healing for yourself, there are some.
BTW, use of terms such as all, always, never, no one and everyone is usually based on an incorrect assumption. One who is Omniscient could make that claim.
I have heard of miraculous recoveries due to prayer. I’ve never heard of a legitimate healing coming from a kick to the stomach or a pooyah to the forehead.
“It is because no one has the gift of healing”
>Don’t take my word for it, research stories of healing for yourself, there are some.
I believe God sometimes heals. I do not believe anyone
has demonstrated the Gift of Healing today. If so, they
could empty out a hospital just by walking down the hall.
It doesn’t happen.
Nor did Biblical healing always require faith on the
part of the person being healed. Sometimes it was the
faith of a father, sometimes the actual person, sometimes
a shadow fell on them and they were healed.
No, it isn’t. Most folks think it’s scripture, LOL.
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