For me the past year or so has been a time of diverse experiences and challenges, but the most testing, both spiritually and emotionally, have been the many instances where I have tried to help despondent Christians ejected from the current merry-go-round of the 'signs and wonders' movement.
Those whose lives have suffered under what is described as 'Radical Christianity' need hope and consolation. But worse still is the burden to reach those still held captive by this movement. Most individuals caught up in the so called 'move of God' will only ever have fellowship with like-minded enthusiasts. Their personal experiences become their doctrinal yardstick and the wider picture is obscured to them.
More and more, to protect their congregations from dissenters like myself, the leaders are developing a cocoon Christianity, in which the awful tragedies taking place around the globe under the umbrella of 'signs and wonders' rarely become known to people within the movement. But stories of great sadness are emerging.
True healing ?
One cannot but have sympathy where people who seek healing die within a short space of time.
During my own time in a signs and wonders church we had 'holy laughter' manifestations some time before it became known as the Toronto blessing. One lady died of breast cancer after believing the Lord had told her that she needed to laugh for 20 minutes a day for healing. Unable to do this she went forward to receive 'the anointing'. After receiving it she believed she was healed. Sadly, she died within a year.
Jean Carr, a member of a Pentecostal church in North Wales 'lost her brave fight' for life as recorded in her local paper on April 27 1995. This same paper had run a story about her miracle recovery two years earlier (in February1993). With two periods of bad health in 1994 spoken of later by her husband, one is left wondering about the original healing. Former members of the church have expressed unhappiness with the 'faith in faith' teachings (along the lines of the Word-Faith movement epitomised by US preachers like Morris Cerullo, Kenneth Hagin and Kenneth Copeland) which were endorsed by the pastor. The following year another tragedy occurred when Tom Montali, being treated for depression, jumped from a moving train and died. Earlier in the year former church members re-call it being announced that he had been healed and no longer needed anti-depressants.
Giving up medication
This brings up the question of those who, believing they are healed, cease medical treatment. In 1992 Christians were shocked by the death of Audrey Reynolds, a 25 year-old from Clapham in London who died after attending Morris Cerullo's Mission to London. Audrey drowned in her bath having abandoned her epilepsy medication.
The crusade meetings had followed the standard pattern. There is prolonged praise and worship which relaxes the congregation and can produce a state of suggestibility/hypnosis. This is followed by testimonies from those now without pain. Clinically, hypnosis reduces the reaction to pain and in many cases leads a person to believe he or she is actually healed. This is why many people come forward to testify of freedom from pain.
To put this in perspective a text-book for doctors states that positive responses to placebo prescriptions can be as high as 30 - 40%. According to some sources there are particular personality traits that identify a placebo responder. These are traits such as extroversion, sociability and neuroticism. Studies of placebo effects show that most responses are not entirely psychological: physiological changes (such as lowered blood sugars and blood pressure) have been observed, suggesting a 'real' effect.
Requests to the Morris Cerullo organisation from Dr. Peter May, the Advertising Standards Authority and BBC's Heart of the Matter programme over the past five years, have so far yielded no convincing evidence of true healing (rather than just temporary absence of symptoms). In the Scriptures people were almost always healed instantly and remained healed, and there was no use of music, 'slaying in the Spirit' or crowd psychology. At the coroner's inquest for Audrey Reynolds, Sir Montague Levine, Southwark coroner, stated: 'It is a tragedy that she went to this meeting and thought she was cured of everything. Sadly it led to her death.'
Another sad case from the Mission to London 1992 was that of the beautiful four year-old African girl Natalia Barned who had neuroblastoma (a childhood cancer growing above the kidney). She was pronounced healed by Cerullo after she showed an absence of pain. The following day Cerullo led the congregation in thanks to God for healing of the cancer. Tragically, within two months, she had died of that same disease. The pain appeared to go away under the hypnotic effect of the crusade atmosphere but the disease did not.
Injuries
The number of victims 'slain in the Spirit' continues to rise proportionately with the number of churches who adopt Word-Faith/Toronto type phenomena. Sometimes serious injuries can occur.
In 1985 at his Oklahoma City crusade someone 'slain in the Spirit' by Word-Faith teacher Benny Hinn fell on top of 85 year-old Mrs. Ella Peppard, fracturing her hip. She later died of complications. Mrs. Peppard's family brought a legal action against Mr. Hinn which he settled out of court, reportedly for a seven-figure sum of money.
Many injuries often go unrecorded in an environment where 'the Holy Spirit' can do what he likes.
One woman received a sprained ankle, broken glasses and a black eye while attending a Toronto-style meeting at which the Rt. Rev. David Pytches of Chorley Wood prayed for her. Again someone 'slain' fell on top of her. A most worrying aspect was that later in testifying on video she appeared quite happy about what had happened and accepted these injuries as from the Lord.
Schizophrenia
The devastating story of Kim Hemy who had been regularly attending the Sunderland Christian Centre where she went for the 'Sunderland Refreshing' (a version of the Toronto phenomenon) continues to distress me.
Kim had recently moved from Leicester, taking her young son with her after the break-up of a relationship. Because of eating disorders and a family history of schizophrenia she was under medical supervision and had undergone a psychiatric evaluation in May 1995. Churches cannot be held responsible for the actions of everyone who walks through the doors. Individuals are ultimately responsible for their own actions. However, we should surely be deeply concerned that whatever Kim received at the Sunderland Christian Centre could not prevent a tragedy occurring. We have contacted the Centre by letter and by phone for a comment, but none was forthcoming.
In October 1996 Durham Crown Court heard she was suffering from congenital schizophrenia after stabbing her seven month-old son over 70 times ! One paper carried the story of a 'mentally-ill born-again Christian'. Prosecutor John Evans told the court how police officers, called to her house by concerned family and a local G P were confronted with the 'terrible sight' of the stabbing taking place as they forced entry into the living room. Officers tried in vain to save the child's life. One officer subsequently re-signed from the force because of trauma.
During the trial the court heard evidence of her loud sessions of 'self-deliverance' from demons, witnessed by her family who lived next-door. She also spent long periods of religious chanting, often in her garden for all to hear.
The Toronto-style phenomenon is an altered state of consciousness found in many religions which pursue meditation and hypnosis. Kim's background, before she moved to Tyne and Wear was peppered with interest in Eastern meditative religions. But now it seems that altered states of consciousness are being espoused as orthodox Christian manifestations by church leaders. In particular I feel that this is a matter about which bodies such as the Evangelical Alliance cannot afford to remain neutral. I do pray that the sober members within the Alliance will take an honest look at these things. While wanting unity on the essentials this is a serious problem within the body of Christ.
Mark Haville is the Director of the National Prayer Network, and working with Yorkshire Television on a programme investigating these issues.
