Thursday, June 20, 2013

An Overview of Religious Financial Fraud-The $34 Billion Scandal from Christian Headlines Blog

Jan 8, 2011
Administrator

An Overview of Religious Financial Fraud

The $34 Billion Scandal

The January 2011 issue of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research reported that Christian religious leaders will commit an estimated $34 billion in financial fraud in 2011 while $31 billion will be spent on global missions. Researchers from the Center for the Study of Global Christianity estimate that Christian religious leaders will commit $90 million in financial crimes daily and the fraud is growing at a rate of 5.97% each year. If the researchers are correct, religious financial fraud among Christians will almost double in 14 years to $60 billion annually by 2025. 1
Dr. David Barrett, the first editor of the World Christian Encyclopedia and a researcher for the Center, has been studying religious financial fraud for more than 20 years. According to Dr. Todd Johnson, the Center’s director, these statistics were the result of Barrett “developing a balance sheet for global Christianity.” Barrett was “trying to understand the totality of Christian finance.” 2

A Global Problem

Barrett and Johnson in the reference book “World Christian Trends” reported, “Probably 80% of all cases are kept private or swept under the carpet, but each year a rash of megathefts (over $1 million each) is uncovered and publicized in the secular media.” 3 Here is a small sample of religious financial scandals from around the world:
  • Brazil: Bishop Edir Macedo, head of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, and 9 of his associates have been charged with embezzling more than $2 billion. 4
  • Canada: Televangelists Ron and Reynold Mainse allegedly recruited investors in a Ponzi scheme. 5
  • China: A whistleblower goes to jail for speaking out after donations for earthquake victims were stolen. 6
  • Italy: Police confiscated 23 million euros in a Vatican bank account as part of an investigation into money laundering. 7
  • Ukraine: Pastor Sunday Adelaja charged with fraud in promoting a business venture to his congregation that lost $100 million. 8
  • United Kingdom: Church treasurer Derek Klein embezzled funds to pay for a stamp collection. 9
  • United States: Trent Huddleston, former senior accountant at Oral Roberts University, alleges that more than $1 billion was money laundered annually by members of the Oral Roberts University board. 10

Common Funding Sources of Religious Thieves

  1. The Offering Plate — In 2002 NBC Dateline aired an exposé on Benny Hinn. Mike Estrella, a former Benny Hinn Ministries employee responsible for counting the money given at Hinn’s crusades, said that he observed Gene Polino, Hinn’s CEO, embezzle thousands of dollars from the crusade collection buckets.11Wikipedia describes this practice as “skimming” which “refers to taking cash ‘off the top’ of the daily receipts of a business …” 12
    This form of fraud is hard to detect but occassionally the skimmers are caught. A member of St. Ita Catholic Church’s finance committee marked a $100 bill before placing it in the offering plate. The bill disappeared before the church could deposit it in the bank. A priest later acknowledged taking the money. 13
  2. The Ministry Checking Account and Credit Card — Jason Reynolds, the finance director of National City Christian Church, used the church credit card to acquire a Lexus SUV and Land Rover. He also embezzled over $200,000 by writing himself checks. 14These forms of fraud can be reduced by requiring two signatures for checks and by insisting on lower credit limits for credit cards.
  3. Investments — In 1999 the Baptist Foundation of Arizona filed for bankruptcy after accumulating $530 million in liabilities. Dishonest administrators engaged in a cover-up to hide bad investments. William Crotts and his associates set up more than 90 dummy corporations to hide financial losses and used a ponzi scheme to cover old investments. 15New Church Ventures was the largest dummy corporation formed by the BFA and held $173 million in debts. New Church Ventures had zero employees and provided no funds for building new churches even though that was its stated objective. 16
    The Phoenix New Times investigated Jalma Hunsinger, the president of New Church Ventures, and reported on strange insider deals and flipped property fraud. The owner of the Simms Tower offered this $1.9 million building to the BFA for $1 as a tax write-off because the building was contaminated by asbestos. When the Foundation turned down the offer, Hunsinger acquired the building and used it as collateral for a BFA $6.8 million loan. 17

Trinity Foundation Investigates the Televangelists

In 1987 filmmaker Harry Guetzlaff‘s production company was failing. Out of desperation he pledged money to televangelist Robert Tilton in hopes for a financial blessing. When Guetzlaff lost his home and approached Tilton’s organization for help, he was denied any assistence. Guetzlaff went to the Trinity Foundation and told his story to Ole Anthony, director of the Foundation. Anthony launched an investigation into Tilton’s direct mail operation and assisted the ABC News program PrimeTime Live on a TV exposé.18
The Trinity Foundation has investigated religious financial fraud for 23 years. Trinity investigators have gone through the trash of televangelists to obtain evidence, worked undercover inside ministry offices, assisted TV news programs and newspapers in developing investigative reports, and operated a phone line for victims of fraud (1-800-229-VICTIM).
While conducting these investigations the Trinity Foundation has redefined its mission. The Trinity board adopted a 4-point agenda for opposing religious financial fraud.
  1. Increase public awareness by continuing to provide information requested by various news media organizations and giving interviews when appropriate.
  2. Enable the establishment of civil case law regarding religious fraud.
  3. Enable the establishment of criminal case law regarding religious fraud.
  4. Work with government agencies toward establishing greater accountability for religious, non-profit organizations.19

The IRS Dirty Dozen

The United States Internal Revenue Service posts an annual list of the most common forms of tax fraud they encounter called the “The Dirty Dozen.” In recent years the reports have singled out two specific forms of religious financial fraud.
  • 2008: “IRS examiners are seeing an upturn in instances where taxpayers try to disguise private tuition payments as contributions to charitable or religious organizations.” 20
  • 2005: “Participants apply for incorporation under the pretext of being a “bishop” or “overseer” of a one-person, phony religious organization or society with the idea that this entitles the individual to exemption from federal income taxes as a nonprofit, religious organization. When used as intended, Corporation Sole statutes enable religious leaders to separate themselves legally from the control and ownership of church assets. But the rules have been twisted at seminars where taxpayers are charged fees of $1,000 or more and incorrectly told that Corporation Sole laws provide a “legal” way to escape paying federal income taxes, child support and other personal debts.” 21

Common Forms Of Religious Financial Fraud

Churches Operating As Tax Shelters

The 2004 Internal Revenue Manual of the IRS noted that some churches are being used fraudulently to avoid taxes:
“While desiring to protect churches from undue interference by the IRS, Congress, in enacting IRC § 7611, recognized that an increasing number of taxpayers had used the church form primarily as a tax-avoidance device.” 22
Realtor and banker George Michael of Lake Bluff, Illinois, claimed that he converted his 15,000 square foot lakefront mansion worth $3 million into a church so that his disabled wife would have a place to worship. Michael’s neighbors and local government officials claim the home was not a church and that Michael was attempting to avoid paying more than $70,000 in property taxes. After the Illinois Department of Revenue granted a religious tax exemption, local officials went to court to have the tax exemption removed and won in court on July 6, 2009. 23

Conversion and Self Dealing

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports, “IRS rules do not bar transactions between a nonprofit group and a business that is owned or controlled by the same person, a practice known as self-dealing.” 24 Self dealing is one of the key methods that fraudulent nonprofit executives use to enrich themselves. Here’s an example of how it works:
A televangelist owns a for-profit company that publishes all of his books and DVDs. Then he sells the books and DVDs at full retail price to his nonprofit rather than at a discount or wholesale price. A televangelist can use this technique to excessively profit from his nonprofit organization.
Pastors Mike and Elaine Millé of White Dove Fellowship in Harvey, Louisiana, purchased property costing $850,000 in August 2007 and sold the property to their church about 90 days later for $1,229,112 for a profit of $379,112. This transaction is not just an example of self dealing, it is also flipped property fraud. After learning of the transaction, the Trinity asked the IRS to investigate the Millés and White Dove Fellowship. 25

Excessive Compensation

Nonprofit organizations in the United States can lose their tax-exempt status and be required to pay excise taxes if employees receive excessive compensation. Yet this rarely happens. When the Charlotte Observer investigated compensation for charity executives, it reported, “Most years, fewer than 10 of the nearly two million U.S. nonprofit leaders are penalized for receiving excessive compensation.” The newspaper also noted that there is “roughly one enforcement agent for every 4,000 tax-exempt groups nationally” so very few nonprofit organizations get audited. 26
The Charlotte Observer reported that televangelist David Cerullo of The Inspiration network “was paid nearly 1.7 million” in 2008. However, the newspaper left out that Cerullo received $331,881 in nontaxable benefits that year. 27
Cerullo has the highest compensation of any religious broadcaster in the United States that files 990 forms with the IRS. Churches are exempt from filing so some megachurch pastors and televangelists are refusing to make their compensation public. Kenneth Copeland doesn’t disclose his income but has bragged that he is a billionaire. 28
In 1921 the United States federal government established a tax exemption for ministerial housing expenses to help poor congregations provide housing to clergy. 29
This exemption is now being abused to provide religious leaders with large tax-exempt housing benefits. When Crystal Cathedral filed for bankruptcy, its financial records revealed “$832,490 in tax-exempt housing allowances given to eight people …” 30
WFAA reported that Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, “was paid $240,000 a year as a parsonage allowance; that’s in addition what sources say is a $1 million yearly pastor’s salary. 31
A lawsuit filed by the Freedom From Religion Foundation could result in this housing allowance being ruled unconstitutional in 2011. 32

Insurance Fraud

The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud produces a Hall of Shame list each year to bring attention to insurance fraud. Pastor Gerald Rayborn was featured on the 2004 list for burning down his church for $800,000. 33
Dennis Jay, the Coalition’s director, reported in Claims Journal that “Rev. Roland Gray helped stage nearly 200 car crashes plus phony slip-and-fall injuries in restaurants and hotels. He recruited parishioners and even his brother, who also was a minister.” 34
After obtaining seven life insurance policies for a blind man, pastor Kevin Pushia hired a hitman for $50,000. Pushia plead guilty. 35

Fraud Among Nonchristian Religious Groups

Rabbi Saul Kassin, head of America’s largest Sephardic synagogue, was arrested in 2009 with four other rabbis for money laundering almost $3 million. 36
Salman Ibrahim established credibility among Chicago Muslims through his involvement in the Shariah Board of America. Ibrahim formed Sunrise Equities Inc., as an Islamic investment company, and paid dividends rather than interest which is prohibit by the Koran. Investors lost $30 million when Ibrahim disappeared from the United States. 37
Religious con artists have been effective at targeting Mormons, costing their victims $1.4 billion.38
Atheists aren’t exempt from religious financial fraud. William Murray, son of America’s most famous atheist, Madalyn Murray O’Hair, claims his mother embezzled millions of dollars from American Atheists. A former employee of American Atheists supported Murray’s claims by revealing on the TV program City Confidential that he was told what foreign bank O’Hair had deposited $18 million. David Roland Waters, another employee of American Atheists, embezzled $54,000 and murdered Madalyn Murray O’Hair after she disclosed the theft of funds.39

Endnotes

1 Todd M. Johnson, David B. Barrett, and Peter F. Crossing, “Status of Global Mission, 2010, in Context of 20th and 21st Centuries”, International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 35, No.1, page 29, January 2011
2 Interview of Todd M. Johnson in June 2008
3 David B. Barrett and Todd M. Johnson, World Christian Trends, page 660, 2001
4 “Brazil evangelical leader accused of fraud: Church founder allegedly siphoned off billions to buy jewelry, businesses”, AP, August 12, 2010 link
5 Bene Diction, “Ron Mainse of 100 Huntley Street makes statement on alleged ponzi scheme”, Bene Diction Blogs On, September 15, 2009, link
6 “Government Approved Church Leaders Withhold Donated Quake Funds; Whistleblower Christian Sentenced”, China Aid / Christian Newswire, July 30, 2009, link
7 Nicole Winfield, “Italian police seize $30M from Vatican in probe”, AP, September 21, 2010,link
8 Adrienne S. Gaines, “Sunday Adelaja Accused of Supporting Investment Scheme”, Charisma, December 19, 2008, link
9 Aidan Mcgurran, “Church fraudster told to sell off stamp collection on web to pay back victims”, London Mirror, April 19, 2008, link
10 April Marciszewski, “More than $1 billion annually was funneled through ORU, lawsuit claims”, Tulsa World, February 7, 2008, link
11 “Benny Hinn has millions of believers and millions in donations”,NBC Dateline, December 27, 2002, link
12 “Skimming (fraud)”, Wikipedia, link
13 “Priest indicted in Edgewater church theft” , Chicago Tribune, August 9, 2008, link
14 Del Quentin Wilber, “Former church finance director charged in theft scheme”, Washington Post, December 30, 2009, link
15 “Baptist Foundation of Arizona” Wikipedia, link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptist_Foundation_of_Arizona
16 Lawrence C. Mohrweis, “Lessons from the Baptist Foundation Fraud” The CPA Journal link
17 Terry Greene Sterling, “A Shaky Foundation: For the Baptist Foundation of Arizona–and its baffling insider real-estate deals–the devil’s in the details”, Phoenix New Times, April 23, 1998,link
18 Burkhard Bilger, “God doesn’t need Ole Anthony”, The New Yorker, December 6, 2004, link
19 Interview of Trinity Foundation member Pete Evans
20 Phishing Scams, “Frivolous Arguments Top the 2008 ‘Dirty Dozen’ Tax Scams”, IRS, March 13, 2008, link
21 “IRS Announces the 2005 Dirty Dozen”, IRS, February, 28, 2005, link
22 “Internal Revenue Manual – 4.76.7 Church Tax Inquiries and Examinations IRC § 7611″, IRS, June 1, 2004 (note: this section was re-written in 2010), link
23 Linda Blaser, “Judge Removes Religious Tax Exemption From Shore Acres Drive Home”, Pioneer Local, July 23, 2009, link
24 Ernie Suggs, “King son’s firm paid $1.3 million by center”, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, page A1, Date: May 20, 2005
25 Lee Zurkik, “Criminal investigation into West Bank televangelist?”, WVUE, November 17, 2010 link
26 Ames Alexander, “For too many nonprofits, charity starts at the top”, Charlotte Observer, December 20, 2009 link
27 The Inspirational Network Inc 2008 – 990, pages 7, 24 (available at guidestar.org)
28 “Kenneth Copeland is a billionaire”, Google Video, link (video from KCM Ministers’ Conference, January 23, 2008)
29 Robert Marus, “House approves bill to protect minister-housing allowances”, Associated Baptist Press, April, 19, 2002, link
30 Abby Sewell and Nicole Santa Cruz, “Bankruptcy filings show generous pay for relatives of Crystal Cathedral founder”, Los Angeles Times, December 3, 2010 link
31 Brett Shipp, “Prominent Grapevine pastor linked to luxury”, WFAA, February 4, 2010, link
32 Stephanie Samuel, Church Legal Expert: Minister Housing Tax Break Under Attack”, Christian Post, December 29, 2010, link
33 Merritt Melancon, “Two plead guilty in 2005 church torching”, Athens Banner-Herald, June 15, 2010, link
34 Dennis Jay, “Fraud in the Church Takes Heavy Toll on Congregation, Insurers”, Claims Journal, August 23, 2010, link
35 “Pastor admits to scam and conspiring to kill blind man”, Scripps Media, August 28, 2010,link
36 Paul Vitello, “Syrian Sephardic Communities Shaken by Charges Against a Leading Rabbi”, New York Times, ,July 23, 2009 link
37 Michael Tarm, “Prosecutors: $30M Ponzi scheme targeted Muslims”, Associated Press, November 18, 2010 link
38 John L. Smith, “How affinity fraud’ hurts LDS church members”, Mormon Times, September 14, 2010 link
39 “Madalyn Murray O’Hair”, Wikipedia, link

20 Comments

  • [...] avoid showing how they spend their tax-exempt donations? Again, it’s hard to tell. But there are estimates:The January 2011 issue of the International Bulletin of Missionary Research reported that Christian [...]

  • Could you please correct footnote #1 regarding Barrett and Johnson’s statistics about fraud? I went to the source you cited and I can find NOTHING related to this issue.

  • That is a great post, shame on the people who are involved in these activities

  • Thank you for your article and bringing these fraudulent behavior to light so that saints who have been brainwashed can really get a better understanding that Religious and spirituality is for sale. Even though Jesus died on the cross and paid in full for our sin:
    Many of these preacher misinterpret the word tithes and they only use particular scripture to manipulate the desperate in giving into a false hope.
    The bible did not focus on money and minister getting rich, bu to follow Christ. If we are followers of Christ why do we who are followers of Christ need to oppress the poor to furnish the lavish lifestyle?
    Also ” beggars are a burden in the kingdom of God.
    Some of These beggar have become bully in the pulpits.
    And have use their intimidating tactic to force people,like the “woman” and many other saints in Chicago that we have dedicated our Facebook page ” saintagainstchurchbullies” to bring awareness that this ongoing issues
    These pastor and thier “enforcers/”lieutenants use harassed, intimidations, through physical and verbal abuse to run these saint out of and locked them out of the church because they asked for a TAX -EXEMPT Letter of the record showing the cash offering that was given for two years: this causr retailation because this woman asked for a copy of her cash donations and that makes the pastor of that church nervous and make him resort to bulllying the woman and other members who dare to ask for copy of the tax-exempt record.

  • While I’m not going to run around screaming “the sky is falling!”, I do think that there is quite a bit of fraud going on within non-profit organizations. Churches and charities should begin to consider practicing professional accounting, maybe even look to a third, disinterested party to examine their finance reports. While a church isn’t (or shouldn’t) be out for profit, leaders would do well to adopt a few business management principles in order to maintain financial integrity. I greatly admire theology schools that are integrating business classes into their degree coursework, as too often church employees are hazy about the legal handling of finances. Without proper training, a church is an easy target for “affinity fraud,” and can fall prey to an outside scammer or even one of their own members.

  • To be sure, this is an affront to the Name of Jesus Christ and is a stumbling block for those who need to enter into the Kingdom of God!
    BUT…..
    This article has the same flavor of secular newspaper articles to with:
    1) If 30 billion were pilfered in 2010, one would think that one wouldn’t need examples of 1999, 2002, 2004 etc.
    2) If one says “PROBABLY 80% of all cases are kept private or swept under the carpet”, one could also say “PROBABLY, the reporter is 75% wrong on his 80% estimate and one could subtract 18 BILLION off the top of his guessed amount of 31 billion. Unless, of course, he was PROBABLY wrong it is MAYBE not as much as one MAY think and PERHAPS his ESTIMATES were more on the PERSONAL opinion?
    3) “The IRS Dirty Dozen
    The United States Internal Revenue Service posts an annual list of the most common forms of tax fraud they encounter called the “The Dirty Dozen.” In recent years the reports have singled out two specific forms of religious financial fraud.” and your subsequent IRS statements of 2008 and 2005.
    - – - – - – - – - – -
    a) The ‘Dirty Dozen” were never found to be guilty of anything
    b) IRS statements of 2005 and 2008 have nothing to do with the IRS attempts.
    c) This happened during a highly politicized era and these dozen are powerhouses that are influencing peoples votes that would bring sanity back to the Congress
    d) the Senate was VIOLATING IRS laws in attempting to discredit these people (remember that the world didn’t like Jesus either and said he had a demon”
    FINALLY,
    This has a flavor of trying to sell newspapers which is what the world does. Just as much as I hate when Christians act like the world in stealing God’s money (and He will judge it) – I hate it when article writers act like the world too.
    Sincerely,
    Act Like the Light if You are in the Light

  • The saddest thing about any of this is that as Christians, we fail to read the word of God and can not recognize the deception. We fail to help our neighbors and choose to fund unseen activities.
    If we have extra money to assist people with why are we not helping those many people around us? I think because it requires an effort just as it requires an effort to know God!
    It is utterly unbelievable to me the absolute apathy that we serve God and I am no different and do not hold myself up as some great example but the truth is we choose to do things that require nothing of ourselves. As a result we do not have discernment and can not judge spiritual matters or don’t have eyes to see the truth of a matter.

  • well done I like it i knew the series would be something. Hope all is well
  • [...] [...]
  • [...] this astounding but horrific article on a blog called “Christian Headlines Blog” that opens up the research on how religious organizations provide a safe haven for 34 [...]

  • It also extends to secular charities were instances of fraud or theft or malpractices are covered up rather than brought to justice because people hesitate to give to charities if they are tarred with the same brush as the perpetrator. I think that an all round policy of total financial transparency (good and bad) is long overdue.
    The way it is at present perpetrators of fraud etc get away with it and go on to do the same at other institutions because it is never revealed why they left their previous employment. Very sad state of affairs.
    However I must admit although you covered other religious groupings I felt that the coverage was primarily aimed at Christians which seems a bit biased. Surely a more balanced view would serve your cause better.

  • Fantastic article! This is the kind of information that needs to be brought to the attention of more Christians so that we can not allow these “fake” Christians to feed off of our charity.
    My first run in with this kind of thing was when I ran into a contractor and his wife and they told me the wouldn’t be doing contracting work anymore because they “found something more lucrative”, which come to find out was starting their own CHURCH!
    BTW, please install the Facebook social plugin for wordpress you can find it by searching for facebook social plugins for wordpress or use this link:http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/facebook-social-plugins/
    With this plugin we can easily share your articles to the social web…and help you get the word out!
    Again, great piece of work!
  • [...] recently started a new series on their blog looking at an overview of religious financial fraud. This is their first article in the series.  According to the article, the International Bulletin of Missionary Research reported that [...]

  • It would be interesting to have an article on how the “prosperity” pastors surround themselves with “elders” who do not hold them accountable, or if someone does try to address either the false teaching or financial (or other moral) improprieties they are then asked (forced) to leave. The teaching of John Bevere and others on “honor,” encourages church members not to question such things and submit to their leaders. It is basically Christian brainwashing. It is sad to see people sitting in churches, particularly the Assembly of God denomination, who think the district is overseeing the teaching that goes on there, when this is simply not the case. You can watch sermons on line and see how unbiblical the teaching is, but these pastors are not accountable to anyone, including the district who receives their fees for their pastoral licenses, giving these charlatans credibility. The district does not want to lose its fees, so it does nothing.

  • David,
    Thank you for your comments. I’m working on a series of four more articles on this subject. One of the articles will describe the techniques that fraudulent religious leaders use in cover-ups. This article will go into more detail about the ORU lawsuit.
    Also, I did not report it in the article but Brazilian Bishop Edir Macedo is under investigation in the United States for money laundering $237 million. Former church members have exposed financial practices in Macedo’s church.
    One last point for you to consider. Just because someone is found innocent in our courts doesn’t excuse them before God, the perfect judge. Sometimes evidence is thrown out of the courtroom. Judges have been bribed. Jurors have been victims of intimidation. Sometimes the courts rule unjustly and the guilty go free.

  • Shameful stuff, to be sure, no matter who is the culprit, and a very worthwhile topic to research. I still don’t like the “Global Problem” paragraph, though, because it uses a majority of mere allegations as though all of them are proven in the court of law, which is probably a mistake in an article of this kind.
    It also makes we wonder about denominational oversight in these Christian situations. Where’s the accountability in those cases where pastors are members of denominations? Many ministries, to be sure, are UNACCOUNTABLE to any oversight by Bishops, District Superintendents, etc., and to my mind) are unduly independent ,for thoroughly suspicious reasons.
  • [...] The EFCA has made it clear they will not be in a hurry. The other post worth looking at is the first of what is going to be a couple of posts on televangelism, finances and US law from Christian Headlines blog: An Overview of Religious Financial Fraud. [...]

  • Great Article!

  • Outstanding reporting! Choke-full of valuable info. You covered all the bases: Christians, Jews, Mormons, Muslims and atheists.
  • [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Neil Cox. Neil Cox said: RT @jameslindly: An Overview of Religious Financial Fraud – Christian Headlines Blog:http://bit.ly/e2v6tk // @BarryBowen @ChristianHlines [...]


Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Death By.Faith from letusreason. org/wf25.htm

                                 Death by faith

Here's a rhyme, how much wood could a wood chuck chop, if a wood chuck could chop wood?Here's another. How much deception can be seen and heard, when there is no word, and nobody is really listening?How long will we look the other way while people are ravaged by false teaching's promoted by men who spread their own miracle rumors?It was E.W. Kenyon in his book the Hidden man on pg.99 wrote, �I know that I am healed because he said that I am healed and it makes no difference what the symptoms may be in my body.� An example would be if they are coughing and you say you have a cough they respond by �no I don�t, I haven�t had a cough in years.� That�s called denial of reality at best, and lying at worst.This is what was adopted by Kenneth Hagin who writes in his book �In the name of Jesus� on the topic of divine healing and health. �I have so often said, I haven�t had a headache in so many years (45 to be exact) ... Just a few months ago, as I left the office building and started home, suddenly my head started hurting, someone might say, �well, you had a headache. No, I didn�t have one! I don�t have headaches. I haven�t had a headache since August 1934. 45 years have come and gone. And I haven�t had a headache�but if I had a headache, I wouldn�t tell anybody. And if somebody asked me how I was feeling, I would say, I�m fine, thank you.� (In the Name of Jesus, p.44) Notice he says he wouldn't tell you how he really feels because his words override the pain. Is this honest? Is it true? Is this the way someone is to represent the Lord. Did Jesus teach this nonsense? Of course not.E.W. Kenyon studied at the Emerson College of Oratory in Boston which was a hotbed at the time for the emerging New Age thought. They imagined they have discovered laws of faith, promoting a Christianized version of occultism.Kenyon had divorced his wife even when he taught that what one speaks they will possess. E.W Kenyon who is certainly the Father of the Word of Faith Movement taught divine healing and that it was always God's will to heal. But he died in a coma, brought on by a malignant tumor.  He died from disease.Kenneth Hagin states: It is not God's will for any to be sick (Healing the fathers Provision, p.9 ) I believe that it is the plan of our father that no believer should be sick that every believer should live his life to full time and actually wear out if Jesus tarries then fall asleep in Jesus. I state boldly that it is not the will of God my father that we should suffer with cancer and other dread disease and reap pain and anguish. No its God's will that we should be healed.�While Hagin says he has had no headaches, he had 4 major cardiovascular failures. But this is one of those incidents he's not telling you (Christianity in Crises, pp.237-238; a Different Gospel by D.L McConnell) Hagin suffered 4 separate episodes of heart-crisis in 1939, 1942, 1949, and 1973.Hagin claims he was healed of numerous sicknesses a �deformed heart,� �paralysis,� and �incurable blood disease.� He also declared his �healing from the top of my head to the soles of my feet� on August 7, 1934, so that �every symptom of distress, deficiency and physical wrongness was driven out of my body,� perpetually. �I'm still healed after 49 years,� Hagin said. (Kenneth E. Hagin, Exceedingly Growing Faith, 2d rev. ed. [Tulsa, OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1990, 48-49, 82-83.) His healing occurred on Tuesday of the �second week� of August 1934, or August 7, which was not the same date as the �second Tuesday� that month [August 14). Elsewhere Hagin gives various dates, such as �6 days before my 17th birthday [August 20, 1934,� which would be August 14, the �second Tuesday of August 1934�: (Kenneth E. Hagin, El Shaddai [Tulsa, OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 19801, 24-25.) But see Kenneth E. Hagin, How You Can Be Led by the Spirit of God (Tulsa, OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1978), 87 (healing on a �Thursday� in August 1934). In still another place Hagin claims his healing was on �August 8, 1934,� which was a Wednesday (Kenneth E. Hagin, Zoe: The God-Kind of Life [Tulsa, OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1981], 13.) Maybe Hagin needs his memory healed as well. (adopted from Christianity in Crises)Kenneth Hagin died Sept. 23.2003 After eating breakfast his head fell to his chest. Charisma News Service reported that �An exact cause of death was not immediately known� Hagin had been hospitalized in a cardiac intensive care unit since Sept. 14, when he collapsed at home. (Charisma News Service  September 23, 2003 edition People & Lifestyle) We later find out that was transported by an ambulance admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit and remained in the hospital until he died. This become an interesting point of contention because Hagin claimed he was healed of his heart problem supernaturally years before. He also held to the belief that one should actually wear out, not die this way.E.W. Kenyon wrote mockingly, �We have sung `Nearer the cross' and we have prayed that we might be `Nearer the cross' but the cross has no salvation in it. It is a place of failure and defeat.� (Advanced Bible Course, p.279) Does this sound familiar? It should. Kenneth Hagin copies him, (as he did most of his theology) saying, �Do you think that the punishment for our sin was to die on a cross? If that were the case, the two thieves could have paid your price. No the punishment was to go into hell itself and to serve time in hell separated from God ... Satan and all the demons of hell thought that they had him bound, and they threw a net over Jesus and they dragged Him down to the very pit of hell itself to serve our sentence.�If Jesus was not victorious on the cross, he was not victorious at all! Yet these same men will teach by his stripes we are healed. Which is it? Are we healed for our sicknesses at the cross and not for our sins?It is reported that the �father� of the modern Word of Faith Movement Kenneth Hagin had his wife go to the hospital for an operation. Yet Hagin claims that Jesus �appeared� to Hagin and gave him a special anointing to heal the sick. (in I Believe In Visions). Is Hagin an anointed healer?Kenneth Hagin had his sister die of cancer. Hagin�s great faith and words of confession did not keep her from death. I don't say this to belittle the pain or loss, but to point to the facts. It doesn't work like they say, otherwise this would not be happening to them. There would be a substantial difference between the faith teachers and those who do not practice this word faith confession. But the facts show otherwise.'�Hagin's son mentioned that his own young son (senior Hagin's grandson) was �diagnosed as having a brain tumor that required immediate surgery,� but there is no mention of any faith healing whatsoever.''' (Kenneth E. Hagin, Jr., The Answer for Oppression (Tulsa, OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1983], 14-16, 23). (Cited from Christianity in Crises, Hank Hannegraaf)Hagin and his son wears glasses as their eyesight is growing dim just like anyone else who grows older. Many of these men who promise healings are getting older, they wear hair pieces, and these are simple things compared to organic disorders that they supposedly heal. So they cannot even cure the ABC's and yet they claim they are curing in others the xyz's. And worst of all they run to the doctor for surgery. So what do they really believe?Kenneth E. Hagin's son-in-law Buddy Harrison, who is the Founder of Harrison House Books, and Head of the Faith Christian Fellowship (FCF) Word of Faith denomination, died Nov. 1998 of cancer. This is unfortunate that this should occur, however it is evidential that the son-in-law of Kenneth E. Hagin, submitted to cancer and died. He was in the �faith movement� before Copeland and many others so... what does this mean in light of what he promoted and has written? Did he practice what he preached? definitely. But what he taught was simply was not true.Promises are a never ending stream for the gullible. Benny Hinn says unequivocally �There will be no sickness for the saint of God� (Rise and Be Healed! 1991, p.14). �If your body belongs to God, it does not and cannot belong to sickness� (ibid. p.62); �The day is coming, I tell you this, I know it like I know my name, the day is coming there will not be one sick saint in the body of Christ. Nobody will be, nobody's gonna be, no one will be raptured out of a hospital bed. You're all gonna be healed before the rapture.� (Benny Hinn, �Praise the Lord,� 7/8/96) Bible verse- NONE. As often the case it rests on the authority of man, not God.John writes Diotrephes loved to have the preeminence in the Church. There are many today that threaten the welfare of the believers by their preeminence. So it is important for us to identify the people who say they represent God and can ruin peoples health and lives by there teachings. Some people take this all too lightly until they are visited with personal disaster from this theology.Satan said to God about Job (2:4), �Skin for skin, yes, all that a man has will he give for his life.� The most heart-breaking stories involve people who have incurable organic sickness and are desperate for a last chance. They listen to anyone who can give them hope  and they will do anything to preserve their life, sometimes even believing a lie for some hope! There are those who preceded the modern day movement of healing that died. they too taught God will always heal by faith.  A.A. Allen died from cirrhosis of the liver. Jack Coe died from polio. Dr. Hobart Freeman and over 100 of his followers died after refusing medical attention while believing for their healing (more of this at the end of the article).Many others have died needlessly because they tried to confess healing and bind Satan ignoring medical treatment. According to their position, divine healing is in the atonement, and when Satan attacks, the authority of the believer uses the name of Jesus, and confesses their healing. Even if these teachers say it is an attack from Satan - how did Satan get in there? Since they were not confessing sickness or disease in the first place. Some like Copeland go even further and say it is divine health not just divine healing. This is something we will not experience until the Millennium, but he says he has it now.Copeland says �I've had people die on me standing there saying bless God you ain't gonna die. And they did anyway and I'm glad I stood, and I'm glad I stood, and I'm glad I stood. I ain't never stood for anything in my own life that didn't come to pass. I can only use my faith just so far with you.�Copeland is saying that his faith works efficiently and successfully for himself but for others it is not optimum strength. Yet it is not his fault. He teaches  faith never fails, especially for himself. So where is God in this. Its all dependent on him. His faith, his power, his will. But it can fail for you. But he will also say, �The very faith that God used when He created, and what we read there in the first 2 chapters of Genesis, is the faith that�s burning in your spirit. But now if you�ve made Jesus the Lord of your life, it�s the same faith. Well, He created all those planets, how come you can�t create something? You don�t know as much about it as He does. He has a greater working knowledge of that faith than you do. But we�re learning. Our time is coming. And in some ways its already here� (Aug. 18,1999 John Hagee's Church, on LeSea Broadcasting).Like Copeland many have died trying to activate spiritual laws and principles. Numerous people who have been influenced by this teaching have said that they stood on the word for people dying, and this person is not going to die and they died. And their faith becomes crushed because they thought they heard God say they would live. How? By someone else usually telling them by his stripes we are healed. They may not directly tell the people to get rid of their insulin or other medicines but they encourage this by stating emphatically that it is a promise of God to heal all by faith.Kenneth Copeland, in a taped message entitled �Why all are not healed� (# 01-4001), states, �Several people that I know had criticized and called that Faith bunch out of Tulsa a cult. And some of 'em are dead right today in an early grave because of it, and there's more than one of them got cancer.� Prophetess and promoter of the gold dust Ruth Ward Heflin died from cancer.  (Article: The Life and Times ofGolden Girl and Globetrotter Ruth Ward Heflin,  by G. Richard Fisher, Personal Freedom Outreach)While these faith healers claim to heal all kinds of diseases, their cancer is still in the body of Christ and growing both spiritually and physically. What is interesting is that the people who are called Word of Faith teachers do not seem to have any of a lesser ratio of cancer and sickness than others. These ministers know one another, they teach the same doctrine, and share the same stories. . .and sickness is common among them and their families. It is unusual for a specific group that teaches the same doctrine of healing to have a higher percentage of their families to be struck with cancer. Is God telling them something? Are they or their followers taking notice? No, that would be a negative confession... Furthermore, almost all the faith teachers wear glasses, It's right there on their face as they tell you that you can be healed and call out all the diseases people are being healed of. God made it so you can�t miss their contradiction, but many do. Why? Because they do not know how to listen with discernment, they believe almost every word these men say verbatim. How sad. On January 6, 1999 Diane Sawyer, and Sam Donaldson of 20/20 did a report on the Followers of Christ, where over a thousand people attend a small church outside Portland, Oregon. An alarming number of children in the Followers have died while their parents prayed instead of getting a doctor. 78 children are buried since 1955 in the Followers of Christ cemetery just outside Oregon City. Doctors said at least 21 probably would have lived with medical intervention, often by using simple antibiotics.An article in the Journal of Pediatrics examined the deaths of 172 children from families who relied upon faith healing from 1975 to 1995. They concluded that four out of five ill children who died under the care of faith healers would most likely have survived, if they had received medical care. Eighty-one percent of the deaths were caused by conditions that had a medical survival rate of 90%.Many die from the promotion of health by faith. Charles Meade, is the founder of an End Time's cult located in Florida. They have had Over 19 children die due to his faith stance and his revulsion medicine.One of the more famous cases is Dr. Hobart Freeman, who was the founder and pastor of the Glory Barn. He blamed his own son-in-law for a lack of faith in the death of his own grandchild. The fact was a routine operation could have saved his life. He had detested medical doctors and persuaded his members to avoid the doctors as well. His faith stance touched 97  people directly, they died!  And  Eventually Hobart himself died in 1984. Despite all the documentation of deaths instead of healings, his ministry continues in the congregations he established. People ignore the facts and follow the person.In 1998, Dr. Seth Asser, a critical-care pediatrician at Methodist Children's Hospital in San Antonio did a paper in the professional Journal Pediatrics. Asser examined the deaths of 172 children from families who relied on faith healing. Families from Christian Scientist, Faith Tabernacle, Faith Assembly and several other assorted religious. He concluded 4 out of 5 ill children who died under the care of faith healers would have most likely survived if they had received medical attention. 81% of the deaths were caused by conditions that had a 90% chance of survival rate if they would have seen there physician. Most could have been cured from routine medical care.The Christian Science Church which has been practicing faith healing, has a national membership of 170,000. They had 28 child deaths between 1975 and 1995, according to one (Asser's) study. So When we say Christian Science is a cult, and way less people die percentage wise than the faith Churches, what do we say to our people? There are no real statistics on how many have become sick or died from the word faith teaching of Isa.53 by his stripes we are healed. But we can estimate it certainly is more than Christian Science, and it may be closer to the J.W's and their anti-blood policy.The charismatic author Jamie Buckingham wrote  �I'm healed� In charisma Magazine and a several months later died of cancer. Jamie was under a medical doctors care. �One day my wife ... suddenly spoke aloud [and] said, 'Your healing was purchased at the cross.' ... Here is what I discovered. You have what you speak. If you want to change something, you must believe it enough to speak it. ... If you say you're sick, you'll be (and remain) sick. It was not mine. It was the devil's. I didn't have cancer. I had Jesus. The cancer was trying to have me, but the Word of God said I was healed through what Jesus did on Calvary. ... It was a Friday afternoon. The tape was an Oral Roberts' sermon ... I came up off the sofa, shouting, 'I'm healed!' My wife leaped out of her chair and shouted, 'Hallelujah!' For the next 30 minutes all we did was walk around the house shouting thanks to God and proclaiming my healing� �The cancer was trying to have me, but the word of God said I was healed through what Jesus did at Calvary.� (Jamie Buckingham, �My Summer of Miracles,� Charisma, April 1991). Ten months after the publication of his article claiming he was healed he died of cancer ( Feb.17, 1992)Buckingham had made other statements to the fact, �I also believe God has promised me that I can live to be at least 100 years old �(Charisma April 1990). His wife had a prophecy �You will not die but live and proclaim what the Lord has done.�Everyone believed this, his wife , Oral Roberts, his congregation-but they were all wrong. This is not an uncommon practice of people believing they have heard from God and died. Instead of preparing to meet their make they presume that they will have many more years on earth.One of the more recent sad stories was John Osteen who was a pastor in Houston of a mega-church, who had kidney dialysis in late 1998. He also had a heart catheterization in August that determined all was well with his heart at that time. Later on doctors performed surgery to put in a pacemaker for his heart.Pastor Osteen knew �he was in need of a miracle.� He claimed God had given him Psalm 27:14. Requests went out to his friends to wait on the Lord with him, and agree with him for a creative miracle for his kidneys and his heart.They agreed with the Psalmist in Psalm 41of the Lords deliverance and protection to keep him alive. He will transform  his illness. He will raise him up! The �Lord� gave him a vision that he would be preaching into his 90's.Osteen �confessed,� his healing and 20,000 members in his church stood in �agreement� with him for his recovery. They believed he would have his miracle just like his wife Dodie received her miracle (Dodie his wife got liver cancer and was treated through medical attention).  But unfortunately did not happen for John. Here is a man who lived the faith message and when it came down to it, it failed. As it has for so many others. This does not mean it fails 100%, because God is the one who heals and he will have mercy on whom he wills.If someone says they are having heart trouble and they deny this symptom claiming their healing by faith they could die. A perfect example of this is when Oral Roberts was on Paul Crouch on �Praise the Lord� show on TBN (October 6, 1992).  I watched as Crouch was asked to lay hands on Oral Roberts to minister to his chest pains, Roberts exclaimed, �I feel the healing power of Jesus!� and said it felt like an �electric current go through him.� Paul you are anointed. Oral Roberts was pronounced healed on TBN. But was he really? It was reported less than four hours later, while visiting a home in Newport Beach, Roberts felt more pains and was hospitalized at Hoag Presbyterian Memorial Hospital (also in Newport Beach), shortly after midnight. Subsequent articles report that Roberts's heart attack was �near fatal.� (�Evangelist Has Tests,� The Orange County [CA] Register [Dec.16 1992], A-7) the healing evangelist now has a pacemaker (�Roberts Out of Hospital,� The Orange County [CA] Register (2l December 1992), A-30). Of course this is ignored by the crowds that follow his healing doctrine. One can only wonder why?Frederick K. Price, Word of Faith pastor of a mega-church in Los Angeles teaches that no one should die before 70. He became famous for saying why would God want to live in a sick body.� If you keep talking death, that is what you are going to have. �If you keep talking sickness and disease, that is what you are going to have, because you are going to create the reality of them with your own mouth. That is a divine law.� (Fred Price, Realm, 29).� ... how can you glorify God in your body, when it doesn't function right? How can you glorify God? How can He get glory when your body doesn't even work? ... What makes you think the Holy Ghost wants to live inside a body where He can't see out through the windows and He can't hear with the ears? What makes you think the Holy Spirit wants to live inside of a physical body where the limbs and the organs and the cells do not function right? ... And what makes you think He wants to live in a temple where He can't see out of the eyes, and He can't walk with the feet, and He can't move with the hand? ... The only eyes that he has that are in the earth realm are the eyes that are in the body. If He can't see out of them then God's gonna be limited he's not going to be helped...� applause (Frederick K.C. Price, �Is God Glorified Through Sickness?� (Los Angeles: Crenshaw Christian Center, n.d.), audiotape #FP605).Price also discourages the use of medication, saying, �When you have developed your faith to such an extent that you can stand on the promises of God, then you won't need medicine� (Faith, foolishness or presumption, p.88, 1979, Harrison House). Price states, �We don't allow sickness in our home (Is Healing for All? p.20,  Harrison House, 1976)Really Fred? Yes you do. His own wife, Betty got cancer. How did it come into their house? In October 1990 Price openly said she had developed cancer-an �inoperable malignant tumor in her pelvic area.�  (Betty Price praise report, Ever Increasing Faith Messenger). She was medically treated by chemo-therapy and God had mercy on her and she was healed. Thank God for his mercy and not mans word. What does this mean after hearing Prices own statements of how legalistic he is, �We don't allow sickness in our home.� According to her husbands teaching the Holy Spirit leave his wife because she had a sick body. His faith was not enough, Fred�s own wife needed a doctor just like anyone else would.  Price now claims she is free of cancer, medication, and pain (but only �95 percent free of a limp� (CRI telephone interview with Crenshaw Christian center staff member July 31 1992) also Betty Price health update...then... and... now from Betty Price. Ever Increasing Faith Messenger 13, 4 (fall, 1992):5 (cited in Christianity in Crises).It is not by the amount of our faith that has God heal us. God can heal even if there is little faith represented. God is not bound to heal by our declaration of faith; healing rests in His sovereign will and timing. We need to understand that all miraculous healing is an act of God's grace, otherwise we are in control not him. Unless one understands the sovereignty of God and his control they will never have the peace God wants to give them through any trial of sickness.Charles Capps, Word of Faith teacher, mimics Copeland as he teaches power of our words to create reality saying �You can have what you say! � � I don�t deny the existence of disease. I deny the right of that disease to exist in this body, because I�m the Body of Christ� (The Tongue p. 43.) �This is not theory, It is fact. It is spiritual law. It works every time it is applied correctly.� His wife got cancer and was medically treated. So where's the power that is claimed for his own personal miracle.Ruth Carter Stapleton, ( Faith Healing sister of former US President Jimmie Carter) believed in faith healing and refused medical treatment for cancer. She died in 1983 of the disease.Ruth Heflin who was 60 years died of cancer Sept.15, 2000. Yet she firmly believed  �I suddenly knew how easy it is to raise the dead and to heal all manner of sickness and disease.. how easy it is to see blind eyes open and deaf ears unstopped� (Harvest Glory her 1999 autobiography).R.W. Schambach, is one of the favorite Faith Healer's on LeSea and TBN. He has said �You don�t have any problems, all you need is faith in God.� and on TBN recently he stated �God will heal you�. But its reported that he got a quadruple heart bypass from doctor (not doctor Jesus). What do those who hold to the faith teaching say about their own leaders doing this? It is for the most part ignored.What about their healing, their confession is not their possession. It's not working for them either. I know some may mean well and naively teach this but it more harmful to believe in fantasy than to face the reality of truth and have time to do something about it.Why did none of the people who are deathly sick call for Oral Roberts or go to a Benny Hinn crusade? Why didn't they send for a prayer cloth from Parsley or get a trinket from Marilyn Hickey. If what they teach is true none of them should be sick for long, they should all have supernatural healing.Why not? Maybe they know something that you don't? They do not trust their own welfare into their hands of faith. There are many Word Faith teachers that are getting medical attention. Instead of being healed by faith, they go to medical doctors to get their bodies repaired like anyone else. None of these folks got a �miracle� or received �divine healing� directly from the hand of God or themselves. They did what every person with common sense would do, they got medical help.John Wimber who made famous the Signs and Wonders Movement, believed in �Power Healing,� was dying from cancer. He was medically treated even though he believed God could heal. No �power� healing was presented, it was chemo-therapy. He eventually died of something unrelated to his sicknessChris Wimber of Vineyard Music died on Feb 6, 1998 of melanoma cancer. Although they had members who supposedly �healed� people of cancer and other sicknesses, even Aids - there was no �healing� for Chris.Concerning the deaths of people Morris Cerullo has pronounced healed. Among these so-called `miracles' was a four year old child falsely pronounced Healed by Cerullo in a London arena before an audience of thousands. The child died shortly afterward. Natiela Barnes age 4 died as a result of Morris Cerrulo pronouncing her healed (Charismania-when Fundamentalism goes wrong, Rowland Howard, London 1997 41-43).Dr. Peter May, a respected evangelical physician and member of the Christian Medical Fellowship and Church of England General Synod, asked for a list of six of Cerullo's best medically documented miracles. When these were eventually forthcoming not one proved to have been a genuine cure. The tragedy of these kinds of deaths is that they were covered by the media, undermining Christian witness to the general public.�Audrey Reynolds went to Cerullo's Mission London in 1992, certain she had been healed of ankle injury. She felt well and therefore stopped taking all medication including her anti-epilepsy drugs. Six days later she had a fit and drowned in her bath. The Southwark Coroner, Sir Montague Levine, concluded: �It is a tragedy that she went to this meeting and thought she had been cured of everything. Sadly it led to her death.�Real faith in truth does not kill, so what is going on? People are dying from these men's teachings and proclamations of people being healed. The public notices when someone claims to be healed. Before we publicly claim this, we need to make sure, lest we have them mock the church because of a false testimony. The truth matters people, and nothing can hurt the truth more than outlandish unproven assertions of supernatural power that does not take place. Why should we believe tremendous miracles take place just because a Televangelist says so?Now you won't have to go to faith healer but visit a healing center. Benny Hinn Promises to build a World Healing Center where there will be Healing Stream and healing fountains, healing gardens, with healing statues of biblical healing saints from the Old Testament. Hinn promises to build chapels for everyone of those greats of the past where you can visit Kathryn Kuhlmann, Amiee Simple McPhearson, Oral Roberts and Dr. Sumerall.What many do not know is that Hinn�s idol Kathryn Kuhlman, died of heart failure in 1976. It was found out that she had lived with heart disease for nearly twenty years.  Its not my point to impugn Kuhlman, but there a many testimonies that are against the healings, as there are for them. The point is that these people who claim to heal are sick, sometimes very ill themselves.Kurt Koch was a renowned evangelical researcher. In one portion of his book Occult ABC he describes his research into Kathryn Kuhlman's healing ministry. He carefully followed up on a list of 28 cases of alleged healings in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area. These cases were submitted to him by the Kuhlman's organization as the best examples of healings which had occurred under her ministrations. He summarizes his findings as: �Ten had not been healed, seven had experienced an improvement in their condition, eleven had diseases in which the mind can play an important part. In the whole of this extensive report, there is not one clear case of healing from an organic disease� (Kurt Koch, Occult ABC, 1981).Kathryn Kuhlman had brought one of her healing services to St. Louis. A fleet of chartered buses brought people to the meeting from a near 200-mile radius of the city. One driver from the bus noted: �'She doesn�t always succeed,� said a driver from Chester. �My bus was pretty quiet on the way home last year [after her service]. But for some of those people a little inspiration does wonders, if only for a little while. I had a guy last year who was dying of cancer. He got up on the stage and said he was healed. He died a week later.'� (St. Louis Post Dispatch, 5/4/75, �Praying, Hoping, Waiting...� pg. G11).Did anyone die after Jesus pronounced them healed? Of course not. Do you ever see anyone leave the stage at the Healing Crusades not being healed. Is everyone getting healed? Because that is the impression they give. If miracles actually convinced people, Jesus' own family would have been convinced, but they were not.Dr. Nolan did work on 82 cases of Kathryn Kuhlman's healings using names that she herself supplied. His conclusion at the end of the entire investigation was that not one of the so called healings was legitimate not a one! This does not impugn God, but those representing him. For God is able to heal today as he always was able. I believe God heals and that we should pursue healing from him, but not only him. Doctors are a God sent profession. What do you think the Jews did in the OT before Jesus came? They went to doctors. After Jesus left do you think they looked for only healers when they were sick?Hinn states the TV will be conduit for this power as �People around the world who will lose loved ones, will say to undertakers, ahh, not yet. I want to take my dead loved one and place him in front of that TV set for 24 hours� Placing them before a television set, waiting for God�s power to come through and touch them. (TBN 10/19/99)Recently Sheryl Pruit Salem's daughter tragically died and it was distressing to see her break down and then say God is sovereign. The very opposite of what they (word/faith) actually believe, as they do not pray thy will be done. Hinn said he is going to have the Salem's on the program that had a tragic loss of their 6 year old child. Yet right after he stated this he said �No matter what you need our God wants to heal you and bless your life� (Dec.28, '99). Why did they not seek Hinn out to heal their child if this is true? Why does none of the sick healers go to Hinn for their healing if he holds healing services more than all of them? Do they not have enough faith?There seems to be as much room for faith healing malpractice as there is malpractice in the medical industry. What becomes most disturbing is when people get computerized letters from certain TV faith healing ministers saying that the Lord has led them to pray for a certain one to be healed. They received a word of knowledge for you or your loved one. The problem is they receive this letter after that person has already died. So who is telling them this? Why are they not resurrected? (That's another article- on all the hyped resurrection stories occurring).Before you finish reading this article I want to say that I do believe in healing and miracles. So I'm not anti-supernatural, what I oppose is the false stories and unbiblical methods that give rise to them. I'm believing for a miracle for those in the Word/ Faith movement.  Many who are involved in this movement need a miracle to get out.Almost the majority of the known healers went for some kind of treatment from medical professionals. This was in spite of all their claims of miracles and the practice of their �positive confession� faith.Even Joyce Meyers did, and she was honest to admit that she had breast cancer and was medically treated. One of the few honest admission�s.There are many documented cases where people who were dying prayed to God of their own religion (and imagination) and were healed. There are numerous documented cases where people who were sick and dying had made no claim to faith, used prayer, or even believed in God, had a miraculous cure. How are these explained? You could be sure if a faith-healer was nearby they would find a way to attribute it to their ministry.Now we have a first with  Rev. Skankster's Online Healing Ministry. (http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/7383/heal.html) link no longer worksYou no longer have to go to a crusade� That's right, now YOU can be healed ONLINE, in the comfort of your own home! Whether you're young or old, black or white, rich or poor...God's healing power is available to you at the touch of a button. Please, come and join us. Witness the miracles of Jesus Christ!He claims on his site, No Affliction is out of reach of healing! Any affliction will be completely healed. (When enough funds are received he will expand his services to include online EXORCISMS) Now, even the most unyielding demons can be cast out from the comfort of your favorite chair.... All this is GUARANTEED! All this for the incredibly low, low price of $49.95. Which he claims is � a small price to pay for your own personal miracle!�This is a VERY special service available only at this address on the Internet!His Directions are: 1. Place your left hand on the screen. 2.Now without removing your left hand from the screen, click the �HEAL NOW!� button with your mouse. 3.Sit back and experience the warmth and peacefulness that accompanies God's healing powers as your ailment is divinely removed. 4.This is the most important step! After you have received your healing you must say, �Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the annointing!� Be sure to stress annointing or else it will not work.�Yes say the magic words to be deceived. Well the healing Rev. Shankster is certainly a prankster. The sad part is that many will na�vely  go to him, desperate for a healing.What if I told your loved one that God guarantees YOU TO BE HEALED when they were dying. Would you want to see them take a chance on this? What if it didn't work, would you be angry? What does it take to mobilize you? Do we care for the people who are being deceived by these false promises? The faith of some men become a license to kill.So why do people die from THIS faith? Because the faith they are exercising is not the faith of the Bible. God does not promise that EVERYONE will be healed if they have faith. So it is not based on truth. So why do some get healed and others not?  Because God is gracious and merciful, and it is there time. For whatever reason, only God knows. He has the power to heal at any time, but he has chosen not to all the time. He also has the power to destroy all wickedness, but he has chosen not to. Yet this too is a promise in the Scripture. We know one day he will. So it becomes a matter of timing, not just a matter of faith. It is the same for healing. As Christians we believe in the power of God! Do we actually believe that God can raise the dead? Certainly! The real question is �When?� The Scriptures are clear in Romans 8:23, We are �waiting for ... the redemption of our bodies.� The Resurrection is connected to the 2nd coming of Christ as stated in 1 Corinthians 15. If he resurrects some individuals today, Praise the Lord. If he does not, we still have hope in his promise.A story everyone should read - http://geocities.com/robbi01/ This article will continually be updated as long as these people continue to teach this falsehood and die from disease and sickness they claim to be healed of.  Touch , Topple, Tilt    Another gospel  Exercising Discernment   Suffering Is Healing in the atonement   PrayerFalse Teachers among UsWas Jesus Rich! Danger , Deception and Diabolical teachingIts Jubilee    I have what I Think I have  Isaiah 53 by his Stripes I'm Healed  His miracles    The Prosperity of the faith Teachers   Whose influencing Whom?  The Image of God in Man   Were All Healed by Faith Another Kenneth Copeland  false prophecyBecoming Rich in this present age   Rod Parsley's teachingGloria Copeland's teachingsK. Copeland's teachings Jesus the SinnerJesus of the Faith MovementWalter Martin's Warning to the Church  Death by faith The Price is right or wrong?Parsley, Purple Passion and Paisley I'm rich!        � 2009 No portion of this site is to be copied or used unless kept in its original format- the way it appears. Articles can be reproduced in portions for ones personal use. Any other use is to have the permission of  Let Us Reason Ministries first. Thank You. We always appreciate hearing  from those of you that have benefited by the articles on our website. We love hearing the testimonies and praise reports. We are here to help those who have questions on Bible doctrine, new teachings and movements.  Unfortunately we cannot answer every email. Our time is valuable just as yours is, please keep in mind, we only have time to answer sincere inquiries from those who need help. For those who have another point of view, we will answer emails that want to engage in authentic dialogue, not in arguments. We will use discretion in answering any letters.   Let Us Reason MinistriesWe thank you for your support in our ministry