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Faith Healing vs Divine Healing and the Advance of Paranormal Christianity

By: Miracle Evangelism

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Much has been said about the issue of "Faith Healing," the practice of invoking or administering physical, mental or emotional healing by the application of faith. The term, alongside the term "Faith Healers" have been used to describe a broad range of people and methods of healing from many different religious or non religious backgrounds. The terms "faith healing" and "faith healers" have been used erroneously to describe many prominent Christian mystics, who deny being "faith healers" or practicing "faith healing" at all. Rather, they would refer to themselves as "healing evangelists" or "miracle evangelists" practicing what is now commonly termed "Divine healing."

Such evangelists hold their meetings in small town revivals, tent revivals, international mass crusades and missions trips, healing crusades in coliseums, and other venues. Many wonderful reports and video documentaries of miracles, signs and wonders have surfaced, which showcases the incredible events happening in our time. One could refer to the proponents of this practice as "prophets of the healing message," in a crucial and prophetical time period of history.

America (and the world, for that matter) has seen its spiritual shifts-the traditional colonists of the Jamestown era, the more religiously convicted Plymouth Brethren of what today is Massachusetts, the godlessness that reigned for a period among their descendants, followed by the great first and second great awakenings, then the long chapters of history relating to the Methodist, Wesleyan and other revivals, the emergence of the nineteenth century cults, followed by the great Pentecostal revivals from the rural white community Unicoi mountains to urban Los Angeles' initially black community's Azusa street outpourings, eventuating in the tug of war between the traditional religionism and atheism of the twentieth century in the USA and the emergence of Eastern mysticism during that period.

The 21's century however has seen America shift from traditional religion and atheism to becoming what has been termed America being "more spiritual than ever in her history." Not that this should excite the Christian community, because "more spiritual" does not necessarily mean more Christian-in fact thousands upon thousands of Westerners have embraced or at least flirted with Eastern religions and spiritual expression. These religions would include Hinduism, Buddhism, Zoarasterism, and even the more Americanized versions of the East, such as Christian Science, Universalism and the Universalist Church, or more pre-Christian European beliefs as is manifested in Wicca and Goth.

Many Americans have traded their traditional main stream Christian religion for something else, which they follow much more passionately than they had followed mere traditional religion. Along with the interest in other religious or spiritual faith, also came a stronger belief in the supernatural, or paranormal. Psychic television shows draw tremendous ratings, and "health and healing fairs" seem to be attended by a vast array of palm readers and yogis offering their services. While attendance has dwindled in many churches, others have experienced tremendous growth.

Interestingly, while the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (LDS/Mormons) and the Watchtower Society (Jehovah Witnesses) both claim to be the fastest growing Christian religions, they are still outgrown by Islam. There is however a religious movement that is growing faster than the said Christian religions and even faster than Islam. It doesn't always get the credit, because it is not an organized denomination. The Pentecostal/Charismatic movement has grown faster than Islam, LDS and the WS, with approximately one half of a billion adherents around the world, and growing at a steady pace. This phenomenon has been noticed and has also been featured on Al Jazeera, the Moslem television network.

It is to be noted that the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement in Christianity is a very decisively evangelical movement, adhering to the traditional, fundamental, orthodox faith, with worshipers from both Protestantism and Catholicism, in addition to traditional Pentecostals and Charismatics. Their statements of faith support orthodox theology. Politically they predominately fall within the "religious right" community, supporting pro life and traditional marriage, opposing abortion and gay marriage. Why then is there such a phenomenal growth in a movement that very strongly embraces fundamentalism and traditional, orthodox Christianity?

This question is especially appropriate considering that Eastern religious philosophy has increasingly become accepted and promoted within Western culture? The reason for this seems to be because of its harmonious blend between orthodoxy and the paranormal, fundamentalism and supernaturalism. As a Pentecostal leader, Evangelist Reinhard Bonnke put it, they "…preach the original Gospel, with the original power." The Pentecostal/Charismatic movement has a strong emphasis on the actual, active working of the Holy Spirit in both the corporative church setting as well as in the daily life of the believer. The term "Pentecostal" has its Scriptural roots in Acts 2:1, where the church received the "baptism in the Holy Ghost," and the term "Charismatic" has its roots in the Greek word charisma, the word used to describe the "gifts of the Holy Spirit."

No wonder that the mystical side of Christianity with its belief in the supernatural or paranormal has had such phenomenal growth. This is where the word "faith healing" with its "faith healers" comes in. While there is a strong emphasis on the psychic powers of the psychic in the non-Christian spiritual community, there is a strong emphasis on personal prophecy given by the New Testament Christian prophets. And yet again, where there is a strong emphasis on "distant healing," "energy healing" and "quantum touch healing" in the non-Christian spiritual community, there is a strong emphasis given to faith healing by the faith healer in the Pentecostal/Charismatic community.

But not everyone in Christendom is happy with the faith healing scenario. On the one hand there are those Christians who believe that God does not do miracles today, and on the other hand healing evangelists vehemently denounce faith healing in itself, with the following argument: "We do not believe in faith healing. We believe in divine healing." For the casual observer there seems to be no difference between the two, but for true fundamental, orthodox healing evangelists, the issue takes on a high priority.

The reason for this is that faith healing would make faith in itself a god, because it is God that heals. Therefore, if faith heals, faith is God. For the fundamental, orthodox Christian, who emphasizes the literal interpretation of Biblical text that God is a person, this is a taboo. Therefore the term "Divine healing" is much more common and acceptable, because it is God who heals, not the faith of man in itself.

Is faith then involved at all in Divine healing? "As long as faith points, and connects a person to God Himself," says healing evangelist Joel Hitchcock. He continues, "Faith in itself is not the healer. God is the healer, but faith makes a connection to God." He references Mark 5:29-34, where Jesus Christ (as God in the flesh) heals a woman from an issue of blood. Yet Christ credits the woman's faith for her healing. Joel Hitchcock explains that "… it was God who healed her, so it was [a case of] Divine healing), but it was the woman's faith that connected her with God, and healed her…" According to Hitchcock, "faith healing borders on the occultic… (sic)", … and "the healing evangelist should always emphasize that it is God that heals or does the miracle, not the healing evangelist …" and that the evangelist should "…emphasize the divinity and pre existence of Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life, death on the cross, burial, resurrection, ascension and second coming, alongside with the present ministry of Jesus by the person of the Holy Spirit." He reports that "…thousands upon thousands of souls have been saved in our mass crusades, or healing festivals…" and that "…it is the notable healings-the stunning, awesome miracles of Divine healing and terrific wonderful signs and tremendous wonders that confirm the preaching of the Word, that draw the multitudes to Christ."

Indeed, it seems that the current generation of healing evangelists are merely following the same trend that the previous generation of healing evangelists followed, such as Oral Roberts, AA Allen, RW Schambach, TL Lowery, TL Osborne, Jack Coe, Kathryn Kuhlman, William Branham, and others had followed. They in turn had followed the same trend that their previous generation of healing evangelists had followed, such as Smith Wilgglesworth, John G Lake, William J Seymour, Amy Semple McPherson and others, some of whom had witnessed the ministries of John Alexander Dowie, and the "grandmother of Pentecost," Maria Woodworth Etter.

It is encouraging to see a younger generation of healing evangelists emerge. They have witnessed the scandals of televangelists, and seen its excesses. It seems like a strong emphasis is given to integrity and honor in ministry, resulting in the rise of real, legitimate ministries. While these healing evangelists still will have to prove their integrity and honor and earn the trust of this generation, momentum has built and the future looks bright for modern versions of old fashioned healing and miracle evangelists.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

Miracle Evangelism promotes Divine Healing as an alternative to so called Faith Healing. Joel Hitchcock's blog on the topic is found at divinehealingprayer.blogspot.com/ and teaching on Divine Healing Prayer at www.joelhitchcock.com/TVdhp.htm where videos such as www.youtube.com/watch?v=abl24ymnfQY may be viewe

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