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MIRACLES
(Continued from page 21)
wanting to be healed of sorne
malady sometimes claim they are
improving as a result of contact
with a " healer" because they are
afraid that
not
so affi rming would
demonstrate a lack of faith, which
would mean they definitely will
not be healed. Often at "healing
revivals" and other such occasions
the same individuals come up to
the minister for prayer, service
after service. Perhaps the first
few times they are allowed up on
the stage in plain view of the
audience. Thereafter the "repeat–
ers" are asked to si t in the front
rows during services and to
remain seated. At the end of the
service the minister comes down
off the stage and lays hands on
them. There of cour se the
audience can't really see that the
same people are being "healed"
time after time.
One elderly blind man faithful–
ly sat in the front row every night
for months. And every night he
exclai med as the minister carne
down and touched him, " Yes sir,
my eyesight is coming clearer."
But even as he sat there he con–
fided to a
P/ain Truth
reporter
that his condition hadn't really
changed at all- "yet"!
Another individual at the same
service in Wisconsin conceded to
The Plain Truth
that during a
"testimony period" he gave
thanks that he was being healed
"gradually," but that was not the
case-it was wishful thinking.
Such incide nts abound in
" healing revivals;" real miracles
do not.
Psychosomatic ailments.
Many doctors believe that up to
80 percent of all diseases are psy–
chosomatic in origin, that is to
say they are caused or inftuenced
by emotions. A partial list of such
maladies can be as varied as:
headache, colitis, asthma, back–
ache, high blood pressure, ulcers,
menstrual disorders, even, many
are convinced, sorne colds, rheu–
matoid arthritis and cancer.
Researchers point out that if a
body can make itself ill by emo-
26
tionally inducing such functional
disturbances, it can also rid itself
of them through a profound emo–
tional experience of sorne kind.
" Healers," shrines, reHcs, etc. are
really producing a "placebo
effect." Thus many sick who
expect
to feel better after treat–
ment by a "healer," actually do
improve or recover completely.
Scientists are discovering
amazing things about the natural
power the body has to combat ill–
ness when there is a right mental
outlook present. For example:
"Three University of California
scientists have demonstrated that
hopeful thoughts may cause the
body to secrete its own pain-kill–
ing drugs.... Already demon–
strated to the satisfaction of sorne
scientists is that positive feelings
such as faith and hope stimulate
white blood cells and other known
parts of the immune system that
combat disease"
(U.S. News
&
World Report,
February
12,
1979) .
1t
must be emphasized here
that when such remission of ill–
ness takes place it occurs through
the operation of natural laws.
lt
is
not divine healing-the forgive–
ness of sins.
The Bible itself draws a direct
connection between one's emo–
tional state and one's health. A
hopeful, optimistic outlook pro–
motes physical well-being. Prov–
erbs
. 17:22
states: "A cheerful
heart is a good medicine, but a
downcast spirit d ri es up the
bones" (RSV). Again in Proverbs
14:30 we read: " A tranquil mind
gives life to the ftesh, but passion
makes the bones rot" (RSV).
Hypnotism.
Sorne "healers"
utilize hypnotism. The power of
suggestion can aid the disappear–
ance of a psychosomatic disease.
Or it can make a sick person
believe he is healed whether or
not he ·is. Or it can convince a
person that he had an illness he
never really had. In any case, this
is not God's method of healing.
Lying wonders.
As we indi–
cated earlier, Satan and his
demons, while they cannot heal,
can perform certain mi racles and
" lying wonders." " Healing" ses–
sions often are conducted with
outright demonic symbolism and
manifestations. Weird lights have
been known to appear. A sweet
aroma called the "heaven l y
scent" may waft across the room.
People babble in strange tongues
and go into trances. Sorne waltz
around, "dancing in the spirit."
Others see "visions."
Frequently after people are
prayed for by the "healer" they
fall backward semiconscious into
the arms of a waiting usher.
It
is
said they have been "slain in the
spirit." You do not find such non–
sense in the Bible! Every place in
the Scriptures where the righ–
teous fall down before God, they
fall
forward
on their faces- pros–
trate before the Almighty. On the
other hand, everywhere the Bible
tells of people falling backward,
God's Spirit is not in them! That
happens to be a fact that can be
demonstrated with the help of
any Bible concordance.
It
is clear in the Bible that if an
individual happens to be pos–
sessed by a demon, his physicai
condition may be a ffected. A
demon caused a woman Christ
encountered to be hunched over
(Luke 13:11 ). In another instance
a demon caused periodic fits and
convulsions in a boy (Luke
9:39).
Obviously then there were times
when the boy was
between
fits
and convulsions. If a demon can
cause such physical manifesta–
tions in a human, can it not also,
by timing its seizures, make it
appear
a person it possesses has
been healed or that a demon has
been cast .out-at least while
others are watching-in order to
deceive and delude the onlook–
ers?
But la lt Heallng?
Another point to consider is that
that sorne of the "healings" as
described in recent articles in var–
ious publications are not normal
healings. Like the man with a sev–
ered spinal cord who after 20
years in a wheel chair was argued
into going to a "healing· service."
Though he had absolutely no con–
fidence he would be healed and
was just about to leave, he was
suddenly ordered to stand up and
(Continued on page 30)
The
PLAIN TRUTH