Bin Laden - The Bad News - Jesus Army

modern JESUS army Streetpaper No. 92 5
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LAURENCE COOPER
Streetpaper
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Derren Brown: the truth for sale?
I FIND TV illusionist
Derren Brown a wee
bit creepy. What triggers
my reaction to
him is my sense that
he is dishonest in a
damaging way.
In Derren Brown’s recent
programme, Miracles for
Sale, Brown coached a
British man into being
a fake faith healer so
he could convincingly
perform “faith
healing” on
churchgoers
in Texas.
Brown said
he wanted
to show that
these healings
were a big fraud
carried out in God’s
name: God isn’t involved
in the healings that take
place in these Christian
meetings; it’s nothing but a
money-spinning racket.
Criticisms of moneygrubbing
televangelists are
nothing new. I, like many,
despise confidence trickery
in God’s name. It happens
too much and has happened
all through history.
It’s stomach turning.
But Derren Brown
doesn’t just attack the ugly
scams of greedy conmen;
he tars all people of faith
with his brush. There’s no
balance in his programme.
Not a single look at nondramatic
healings that take
place often in churches.
Brown doesn’t interview a
single sane, sensible person
to testify to God’s healing –
and there are many, some of
whom I know personally.
Brown wants to sling
mud all over the place and
he does so very effectively.
He’s sowing the seeds of his
own barren outlook on life:
“God doesn’t exist. Religion
is a fantasy”.
That, in my view, is a
pretty weak angle on a
vast topic that has thrilled
minds and filled hearts for
centuries.
Ignorance is bad enough.
But I think it’s worse than
that.
Does Brown really want
to help people who are being
conned? Is that his main
motive here? Or is it more
about amassing the benefits
of celebrity? Trumpeting
his own powers of sleight of
hand and eye?
Not that Brown’s “powers”
are actually very
convincing to anyone in the
know. His fake stage prayers
ring hollow to someone who
prays and is involved with
true prayer all the time. It’s
like handing me a chocolate
coin and expecting that I
will accept it as a pound.
The hidden motive is
obvious. In the end, in fact,
doesn’t it all boil down to
just – money, Derren?
TO HEAL OR NOT TO HEAL?
SMITH WIGGLESWORTH
PRAYER CARE People pray for each other at Jesus Army events
Anna’s modern
day miracle
The power of prayer brought healing from M.E.
AT THE AGE of 19,
Anna Purkiss
began suffering
from M.E. This
is an extremely
debilitating
illness involving
the immune and
nervous systems.
Anna says “Even
things like reading
or talking to people
wore me out, let alone
any physical activity.
The pain was a major
problem for me: it was
like how you ache after
you’ve done a lot of
exercise, but really badly all
over my body.”
Anna was so ill that she had
to take a year out of university
in the first year. She struggled
to come to terms with a huge
change in life, dealing with
the illness itself and trying to
cope with the sudden isolation
caused by her condition.
Anna was desperate, and
received prayer for healing
at a Jesus Army event called
“Winning Weekend” in August,
2010, in a giant marquee in
Northamptonshire.
“I was prayed for by two
friends” says Anna. “We
all prayed. I cried – a lot! –
and then I fell to the floor,
overcome. I felt peace and a
cool sensation go through my
body, from my toes to the top
of my head. I opened my eyes,
and sat up. I felt completely
normal again; properly awake,
with a clear head, and not in
pain for the first time in three
years!”
Anna was a bit in shock, but
delighted! She immediately felt
better, so stayed until the end
of the event. That represented
a huge turnaround.
Now, almost a year later,
Anna is still going strong: “I’m
feeling really great, and have
managed to do so much stuff.
I have visited people, gone
swimming and shopping,
walked quite a lot, volunteered
at my local primary school. It
feels like I’ve got my life back
– and I’m so happy!”
Although she was already
a Christian, Jesus, the miracle
maker, is now more real to
Anna than ever before.
(1859-1947) was an
early twentieth century
Pentecostal pioneer
from Yorkshire.
When he prayed
for people, truly
remarkable things
happened: some
people regained
their hearing and
sight, and cancerous
growths disappeared,
new limbs even grew.
Despite Wigglesworth’s
remarkable healing gift, not all
he prayed for were healed. His
own wife died six years after
he became a Pentecostal, his
son two years after that. His
daughter, who assisted in his
meetings, was never healed
of her deafness. For three
years, Wigglesworth himself
suffered with gallstones.
STUART PATNELL
is a leader in the Jesus
Army. He remembers
another leader praying
for a friend’s mother.
She had a painful,
long-standing
back problem. She
couldn’t walk properly.
After prayer,
she walked without
difficulty or pain.
“Everyone in the room
JOHN WIMBER
(1934-1997), founder of
the Vineyard movement,
was a “beer-guzzling,
drug-abusing pop
musician”, who was
converted at age 29.
Wimber was
known for his
honesty. In a 1996
article, he told of
amazing healing
success stories, but
was crying because it was so
amazing” says Stuart.
“Her husband fell over in
sheer shock.”
Stuart also has a gift of
healing. Yet he has himself
suffered illness over the
years. “God has given me
the strength to live for Him
and even to pray for others’
healing while I’ve been ill
myself” says Stuart.
also of some sad examples of
people not being healed.
Wimber also had cancer
at the time and said “Some
Christians believe we should
never struggle. If that’s
true, then I’m not a good
Christian. Not only have I
suffered physically with health
problems, but I also struggled
with depression during my
battle with cancer.”