Faith healing is the use of supernatural or spiritual intervention to cure disease. Proponents claim their techniques or special spiritual insights can summon supernatural interventions on behalf of the ill. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Look up Supernatural in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Spirituality, in a narrow sense, concerns itself with matters of the spirit. ... This article is about the medical term. ...

Critics, such as professional magician James Randi, say faith healing is a quack practice in which the "healers" use well known non-supernatural illusions to exploit credulous people in order to obtain their gratitude, confidence and money.^[1] James Randi (born August 7, 1928), stage name The Amazing Randi, is a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. ... Pietro Longhi: The Charlatan, 1757 Quackery is a derogatory term used to describe questionable medical practices. ...

It is commonly held that whatever can be performed on demand as an ordinary event can no longer be viewed as miraculous, for by its consistent and repeatable nature it becomes an expected facet of natural science. [1]. Faith healing is not often considered a system of healthcare, but a sign of divine visitation.^{[citation needed]}

Faith healing in various belief systems

Christianity

The term "faith healing' is sometimes used in reference to the belief of some Christians who hold that God heals people through the power of the Holy Spirit, often involving the "laying on of hands". Those who hold to this belief do not usually use the term "faith healing" in reference to the practice; that expression is often used descriptively by commentators outside of the faith movement in reference to the belief and practice.^{[citation needed]} Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Christianity is... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      In mainstream Christianity, the... The laying on of hands is a religious practice found throughout the world in varying forms. ...

In the four gospels in the Christian Bible, Jesus both performs healings through divine power and indirectly acknowledges the role of the doctor, for example in saying, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" (Mark 2:17). Jesus endorsed the use of the medical assistance of the time (medicines of oil and wine) when he praised the fictitious Good Samaritan for acting as a physician, telling his disciples to go and do the same thing that the Samaritan did in the story.^[2] The healing in the gospels is referred to as a sign (John 6:2) to prove his divinity and to foster belief in himself as the Christ (John 4:48). However, when asked for miracles, Jesus refused (Mat 12:38). Gospel, from the Old English good tidings is a calque of Greek () used in the New Testament (see Etymology below). ... The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ...

Catholicism

Faith healing is reported by Catholics as the result of intercessory prayer of a saint or a person with the gift of healing. An example of a person reported to have the gift of healing is André Besette, a Holy Cross Brother known as the "Miracle Man of Montreal". // Christianity In Christian practice, intercessory prayer is the act of one person praying for or on behalf of another person or situation. ... In traditional Christian iconography, Saints are often depicted as having halos. ... Statue of Brother André outside St. ... The Congregation of Holy Cross (C.S.C.) is a Roman Catholic congregation of priests and brothers founded in 1837 by the Venerable Father Basil Anthony-Marie Moreau, CSC in Le Mans, France. ...

The Catholic Church requires one or two miracles for the canonization of a saint, depending on the case. Canonization may result from faith healing events reported as resulting from that person's intercession.^{[citation needed]} A miracle, derived from the old Latin word miraculum meaning something wonderful, is a striking interposition of divine intervention by God in the universe by which the ordinary course and operation of Nature is overruled, suspended, or modified. ... Icon of St. ...

Pentecostalism

In Pentecostalism during the 1920s and 1930s Aimee Semple McPherson was a controversial faith healer of growing popularity during the Great Depression. William Branham is usually credited as being the founder of the post World War II healing revivals. ^[3]. By the late 1940s Oral Roberts was well known and continued with faith healing until the 1980s. A friend of Roberts was another popular faith healer, Kathryn Kuhlman, who gained fame in the 1950s and had a television program on CBS. Also in this era, Jack Coe and A. A. Allen were faith healers with large a following, and travelled with large tents to hold mobile, open air crusades. In contrast Ernest Angley in Akron, Ohio made his fame on television.^{[citation needed]} Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      Pentecostal can... Aimee Stewart she was also the founder of the Foursquare Church. ... For other uses, see The Great Depression (disambiguation). ... William Marrion Branham (April 6, 1909, Indiana - 1965) was an influential Bible minister generally credited with founding the Latter Rain Movement within American Pentecostal churches, elements of which are present in most modern Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. ... This article is about Oral Roberts, the Christian televangelist. ... Kathryn Johanna Kuhlman (May 9, 1907 - February 20, 1976) was a 20th Century American faith healer. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ... Jack Coe (March 11, 1918 – December 16, 1956) was one of the first tent evangelists of the post World War Two. ... A. A. Allen (March 27, 1911 - June 11, 1970) was born Asa A. Allen at Sulphur Rock, Arkansas. ... Ernest Angley (born August 9, 1921 in Gastonia, North Carolina) is an international Christian evangelist, based in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. ...

Oral Robert's successful use of television as a medium to gain a wider audience led others to follow suit. For example, Pat Robertson and Peter Popoff became well-known televangelists who claimed to heal the sick.^{[citation needed]} Marion Gordon Pat Robertson (born March 22, 1930) is a televangelist from the United States. ... Peter Popoff (born 1946) is a German-born U.S. televangelist who has spent most of his adult life claiming to treat physical ailments through the use of faith healing. ... In the USA, a televangelist (television evangelist) is a religious minister (often a Christian priest or minister) who devotes a large portion of his (or her) ministry to TV broadcasts to a regular viewing and listening audience. ...

LeRoy Jenkins was a well-known and financially-successful faith healer during the 1970s, his operation grossing $3 million a year. In 1979, Jenkins ran afoul of the law and was sentenced to 12 years in South Carolina state prison for a multitude of crimes, including conspiring to burn down the homes of both a state trooper and a creditor. Released from prison early after serving 5 1/2 years, he resumed his faith-healing business. His tarnished reputation never healed.^{[citation needed]}Richard Rossi, known for advertising his healing clinics through secular television and radio, claimed he could demonstrate and prove God's power to unbelievers through indisputable miracles.^{[citation needed]} Richard Rossi (b. ... This article concerns secularity, that is, being secular, in various senses. ...

Modern healing evangelists include Benny Hinn and Peter Youngren, who based their work and model on Kuhlman. Hinn, like the others, was videotaped by hidden cameras and profiled on an episode of CBC's The Fifth Estate over allegations of fraudulent activity.^[4] Tofik Benedictus Benny Hinn (born December 3, 1952) is a controversial televangelist, best known for his regular Miracle Crusades – revival meeting/faith healing summits that are usually held in large stadiums in major cities. ... There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ... The correct title of this article is the fifth estate. ...

New Thought Movement

A specific form of faith healing -- called mental healing or spiritual mind treatment -- is an important aspect of the New Thought Movement. The New Thought movement, a religio-metaphysical healing group, was founded by Phineas Parkhurst Quimby[1](1802-66) of Belfast, Maine, an American mental healer, student of mesmerism, and practitioner of hypnosis, who claimed he could heal by mere suggestion. ...

Denominations that have emerged in New Thought, such as Religious Science, Divine Science, and Unity, make use of this form of healing. It is also advocated and utilized by non-denominational New Thought practitioners; for example, the New Thought author William Walker Atkinson wrote a book on the subject titled Mental Therapeutics, or Just How to Heal Oneself and Others in 1916 ^[5] The New Thought Movement or New Thought is comprised of a loosely allied group of denominations, organizations, authors, philosophers, and individuals who share a set of metaphysical beliefs concerning healing, life force, visualization, and personal power. ... Church of Religious Science Religious Science, also known as Science of Mind, was founded in 1927 by Ernest Holmes (1887–1960) and is a religious movement within the New Thought Movement. ... The Church of Divine Science is a religious group co-founded in the late 19th century by Nona L. Brooks (1861-1945) and her sister Fannie James in Denver, Colorado during the dramatic growth of the New Thought Movement in the United States. ... Unity Church or Unity as it more commonly known is perhaps of the New Thought denominations the most explicit in identifying with Christianity[1]; however they have been influenced by a wide range of ideas. ... William Walker Atkinson (December 5, 1862 - November 22, 1932) was a very important and influential American figure in the early days of the New Thought Movement. ...

New Thought is panentheistic -- that is, one of its premises is that God is in everything -- and that includes medicine. In the panentheistic New Thought belief system, man's true nature is seen as divine. Specific techniques, such as affirmative prayer and meditation, are utilized to allign a person with his or her true nature -- called the Christ Mind by some denominational practioners, and the Divine Mind or God by others -- and one experiences a mental and or a physical healing. ^[6] Panentheism (Greek words: pan=all and Theos=God) is the view that God is immanent within all creation and that the universe is part of God or that God is the animating force behind the universe. ... Affirmative prayer is a prayer to God that is focused on a positive outcome rather than a negative situation. ... For other senses of this word, see Meditation (disambiguation). ...

This is unlike forms of faith healing in which a belief or faith in another entity's power (e.g. the power of Jesus or the intercession of a saint) is said to heal one. New Thought does not dispute Jesus's divinity, but states that we all have the spark of divinity within us and it is our ability to access this inner divinity that heals us. Because New Thought postulates the divine in everything, including medications and doctors, believers may use traditional medical approaches alongside spiritual mind treatments. The mental-spiritual treatments and the physical treatments can be undertaken simultaneously or sequentially; in either case, the premise is that the belief that one can be healed is what heals one.

Christian Science

Christian Science advocates the use of prayer instead of medical treatment to treat illness.^{[citation needed]} Christian Science is a religious teaching regarding the efficacy of spiritual healing according to the interpretation of the Bible by Mary Baker Eddy, in her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (first published in 1875). ...

Criticism

The British Columbia Cancer Agency "strongly urges individuals who are ill not to seek treatment by psychic surgeon."^[7]

Another issue is when parents decline or refuse traditional medical care for their children. In some countries, parents argue that constitutional guarantees of religious freedom include the right to rely on alternative healing to the exclusion of medical care. Advocates of conventional medicine argue that studies have shown faith healing to be no more effective than a placebo, making it unethical to rely on, though advocates of spiritual healing argue there exist methodical and bias issues.^{[citation needed]}

Doctors as a rule consider it their duty to do everything that they can in the interests of the patient. In consequence, where they judge medical treatment necessary to save a child's life or health, and balancing the question with legal and privacy concerns, they may act contrary to the preference of a patient's parents. In 2000, a UK government ruling allowed a child to be treated by doctors against the parents' wishes. Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ...

James Randi researched Peter Popoff who claimed to heal sick people and give personal details about their lives. Randi exposed the fact that the voice of God was really radio transmissions of Popoff's wife, Elizabeth, off-stage reading information which she and her aides had gathered from earlier conversation with members of the audience.^[1] James Randi (born August 7, 1928), stage name The Amazing Randi, is a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. ... Peter Popoff (born 1946) is a German-born U.S. televangelist who has spent most of his adult life claiming to treat physical ailments through the use of faith healing. ...

References

James Randi (born August 7, 1928), stage name The Amazing Randi, is a stage magician and scientific skeptic best known as a challenger of paranormal claims and pseudoscience. ... The Faith Healers is a 1987 book by magician and skeptic James Randi with a foreword by Carl Sagan. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... is the 121st day of the year (122nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 294th day of the year (295th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... William Walker Atkinson (December 5, 1862 - November 22, 1932) was a very important and influential American figure in the early days of the New Thought Movement. ... William Walker Atkinson (December 5, 1862 - November 22, 1932) was a very important and influential American figure in the early days of the New Thought Movement. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st Century. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Bibliography

- Dr. Matthias Kamp, M.D.: Bruno Groening - A Revolution in Medicine. A medical documentation on spiritual healing. Grete Haeusler Publishing, 1998, (Chapters 1 - 4)

See also

• Psychic surgery
• Affirmative prayer
• Faith Healer, a 1979 play by Brian Friel

Psychic surgery is a form of medical fraud, in which the fraudster purports to be performing a paranormal surgical procedure. ... Affirmative prayer is a prayer to God that is focused on a positive outcome rather than a negative situation. ... Faith healing is the use of solely spiritual means in treating disease, which, in some cases, is accompanied with the refusal of modern medical techniques. ... Also: 1979 by Smashing Pumpkins. ... For other uses, see Play (disambiguation). ... Brian Friel (born January 9, 1929) is a playwright and director from Northern Ireland. ...

External links

• Russian law conjures with magic, BBC. 1 August 2005
• The Association of Former Pentecostals (Critical of some faith healing claims.)
• Faith Healing in The Skeptic's Dictionary