7 Great Lies of Organized Religion – Lie #8
Where I grew up, they said: “Miracles don’t happen anymore. They ceased with the disciples.” I believed what they told me.
Dozens of personal experiences and medically documented cases have caused me to do a 180 on this. Miracles are REAL. The idea that miracles are fake is literally the 8th lie of Organized Religion. (Fake miracles masquerading as real ones are the other side of that coin, by the way… and there are many fake miracles.)
Miracles are far more common than many would have you believe. Today, I share several of my own personal experiences. And several thoroughly documented events.
Before we dig in, I need to tell you a conversation with my younger brother Bryan, whose story I tell in my book Evolution 2.0 and on my site www.cosmicfingerprints.com.
Bryan had gotten a Master’s Degree in Theology at Master’s Seminary in Southern California. Master’s is very conservative and holds a doctrinal position that miracles ceased after the disciples. He’d spent time in the ministry including a stint as a missionary. Because of mounting doubts, he was bailing on the whole thing.
He says to me:
“Perry, I’ve studied the New Testament inside and out. I’ve studied Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. And you know what? There is NOTHING in the Bible whatsoever to suggest that miracles should stop.
“So… WHERE’S THE MIRACLES???”
I rifle through my mental file folders. I’ve heard lots of stories 3rd hand. No personal experiences of my own to report.
(Gulp.)
He continues: “Every single supposed ‘miracle’ can be explained by sleight of hand, placebo effect, or wishful thinking. There’s no such thing as a medically documented miracle.”
He was definitely right about the New Testament part. Nowhere is there so much as a hint that the miracles were going to go away. In fact miracles are held out as proof of the authenticity of Jesus as the Son of God. From healing the paralytic to forgiving sins to feeding the 5000 to rising from the dead, all are offered as things only God can do.
I was quite concerned that he was right about the placebo effect and the wishful thinking. Made me queasy.
Felt like a sucker. A mark. Gullible.
Plus, when you turn on the TV and see the faith healers plying their trade, most of us run out of the room screaming. Educated people are way too smart for that, right?
What if all this stuff about miracles is hocus-pocus and Santa Claus? What an icky, shameful feeling.
My eyes were suddenly wide open for information that would either confirm or deny this.
For several months I was almost persuaded that he might be right.
But little by little things started happening. The evidence began to point the other way.
Experience #1: I had lunch near Cincinnati Ohio with an old co-worker named Charlie Keck. September 27, 2002. Charlie was an engineer who lived in Tipp City Ohio. His wife was named Geri, and she’d had lupus.
She’d *had* lupus. But she didn’t have it anymore.
She and Charlie had treated it for years, prayed for years that it would be healed, and it wouldn’t budge.
Then one morning at her Bible study, a woman suddenly stood up and said, “God just told me to pray for you, to be healed, RIGHT NOW.”
So they did. And Geri felt this warm sensation flushing through her abdomen and the lupus was healed. Just like that. No more doctor visits, no more treatments. The whole chronic disease, gone.
Experience #2: I got to Rajahmundry, India in June 2007 with the customer service manager at my company, Jeremy Flanagan. Jeremy, as it turns out, has been having experiences like this himself. Healing people.
At a church service one Sunday, the pastor, Isaiah Gottimukkala, invites anybody who wants any kind of healing prayer to line up in front of Jeremy. Jeremy calls me over to help him and we start prayin’ for people.
One woman, maybe 60 years old, had fallen a year ago and hurt her arm. She could not raise her elbow past the middle of her chest. When she moved her arm up and down she complained that her shoulder would crack and pop and Jeremy and I could feel that too, when we put our hands on her shoulder when she’d move it.
He started praying for her. Probably spent 15 minutes. By the time Jeremy was done both shoulders felt identical, there was no cracking and she could raise her arm above her head on her own strength.
I asked her to do it for me and I snapped a picture. She said it didn’t hurt anymore and both arms were equally good.
Another lady, Mary, maybe 30 years old, had somewhat recently had brain surgery to remove a cancerous tumor. She pulled her hair back and I could tell just brushing my hand over her head that there was a big piece of her skull taken out and a large indention on her head.
She complained that she’d been having seizures since the operation, and she has had no feeling anywhere in her left arm.
Jeremy started praying that God would heal her entire skull and put everything back. We prayed for her and prayed for her. After about a half hour her head hadn’t changed but she started feeling tingling on her skin and by the time we were done, she said she could feel everything with her left arm exactly like her right arm.
No success on her skull filling in. Not yet anyway. But she was VERY excited about the feeling come back in her left arm!
We go home, and 2 months later I email Pastor Isaiah’s brother, Ananth. I want to know if these people are “still healed.” (Or did the problems come back? It sometimes happens.) Here’s his reply:
Respected Mr. Perry Marshall,
Greetings from India!
Thank you very much for your prayers.
Your trip to India was amazing. Many were healed and increased their faith in God. They are sharing their testimony to many people. Many times they are asking about you and Mr. Jeremy for prayers. We told them that next year definitely they will come to pray for you and for many.
I would like to share the testimony of my Grand mother(My father’s mother). Her name is Mrs. Suvarthamma and her age is 75. She was suffering from severe headache and neck pain from so many years and also if she takes anything from her mouth she will be feeling pain in her throat.
After your prayers She is completely healed. She is very happy and doing all the works easily irrespecitve of her age. God did miracle in her life through your prayers.
Another women named Mrs. Mary, Her age is 30. She had operation on her head. Hair was fully sworn and the head was like smooth sponge. She used to have pain on her head daily. and also her hand is not working and she doesnt have any feeling on her hand.
After your prayers she bacame healed. She feels her hand and she can do works with that hand normally as another hand. Praise the Lord.
Every one hearing of her witness, asking us about you and requesting us to bring you back to India.
These are some of the Miracles happend because of your prayers.
My brother Pastor Isaiah and his wife Surekha and all the boys of the Rajah Boys Home and Pastors in the Deep Forest are sending their greetings to you.
Thanking you Sir,
Yours faithfully,
Ananth
I’ve told you about two people there in Rajahmundry India. There were many more – most got some benefit, some didn’t seem to get any. These are the most dramatic examples of what happened. But I’ll tell you one thing: I learned that prayer CHANGES things. Especially when administered the way the apostles always said to.
I fully understand that a lot of people reading this are very, very skeptical.
As well you should be.
After all, you weren’t there, were you? No you weren’t. You only have my word to go on.
Well, I forgot to bring my portable MRI machine on the plane so I could do before / after scans of all these people, and as concerns this particular event, my own eyewitness testimony is about as good as I can provide right here.
If you’ll stick with me, later in this article I’ll give you information on publicly documented miracles that you can investigate for yourself. Meanwhile I’ve got more personal experiences to share.
Todd Bentley: A crazy, controversial guy, but some of his miracles were real.
Experience #3: In the spring of 2008 a “revival” broke out in Lakeland Florida. Hugely controversial. A guy named Todd Bentley, a Canadian Harley-riding preacher guy with jeans and cowboy boots and covered with tattoos started healing people in this crazy tent meeting.
It grew and grew until 5,000 to 10,000 people were showing up every single night. This went on until August 2008. The whole thing caved in when Bentley was found to be having an affair with one of his staff members.
(Hey, I told you this thing was controversial. Wait, there’s more…)
I jumped on a plane and flew there to see the whole thing for myself. I was there May 27, 2008.
On the hotel shuttle bus to the meeting I met a woman from Hong Kong who had flown to London to pick up her daughter, a college student who had severe Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The daughter was skinny as a rail and looked like the walking dead. They were there to get healing.
I get there and the whole place is a freaking nuthouse. Loud music, crazy people dancing and singing, and rolling around on the floor. This Todd Bentley guy is marching around the stage, shouting, kicking people, slapping them, proclaiming them healed.
Across the stage the people go. Bentley is yelling all kinds of proclamations. At one point he stops and says:
“I’m telling you right now, somebody in here has been deaf in one ear for 34 years. Who is that? Thirty-four years deaf. The Lord just spoke to me. Come up here.”
I’m in the center section near the back. About 20 feet from me, over my shoulder and to the right, a guy raises his hand. “That’s me. I went deaf from a gunshot 34 years ago today.”
Bentley prays for him and he’s healed, instantly. You can watch this in this video:
The man’s name was Brian Burgee. He’s pastor of Rock Church of Tampa Bay.
Brian’s story was reported in the Charlotte Observer on June 19, 2008. You can read it here.
I met Charles Chandler, the reporter who wrote it. We have a mutual friend who lives in North Carolina. Chandler followed up with the people described in the article personally and checked their stories.
I was there that night. I saw it happen with my own two eyes.
This article is referenced on Wikipedia. My neighbor is the editor in charge of the Todd Bentley page on Wikipedia. The healings in Lakeland were such a hot potato, most of the mainstream media wouldn’t touch it.
When people are really getting healed and things are happening that the establishment claims are impossible, mostly what you get is silence. Or irrational protests from people who still insist it’s impossible.
(Not all that different from atheists trying to tell me DNA isn’t actually a code.)
Jeronimo and Noemia Cessito, Beira, Mozambique
Experience #4: I have a friend named Noemia Cessito. She and her husband Jeronimo run a school, church, AIDS hospice, medical clinic and feeding program in Beira, Mozambique. I went to visit them in the summer of 2003.
Mozambique is extremely poor. Luxuries that westerners take for granted are simply unheard of there.
Noemia tells this strange story:
When I arrived in Mozambique in 1984, the country was in the middle of a 15 year civil war. It was a hard time. A lot of people were dying not just from the fighting but from starvation.
One evening our church met for prayer. People started to pray for things like shoes, a chair, a shirt, a loaf of bread. I never heard anyone pray for a pair of shoes or a loaf of bread before. I had always prayed: “Lord, please provide for my needs.”
So, I was sitting beside this little six year old girl and we divided into pairs to pray. That little girl began to pray, “Oh God, give shoes to my brother, Carlos. Oh, God, give some some bread to my sister Maria. And I said “Amen” to each of her requests.
Later at home, I got down on my knees to pray some more and when I was kneeling, I was trying to pray for the war because I had heard about a terrible battle on the Zamebezi river.
In the middle of thinking about that, I got this desire for some ice cream. I thought, “Good Lord! How could I possibly think about ice cream now when there is so much war and starvation?” But yet, deep in my heart, I heard a voice saying, “Ask for some ice cream from God.”
I ignored the thought. How could I possibly ask for ice cream when so many people are starving and are in so much need? I continued to pray. But my mouth started to water because I so wanted to have some ice cream. And then I began to cry. I didn’t have the courage to say, “God, please give me some ice cream.” I knew that I could, but I didn’t have the courage.
But, then at the end of my prayer, I said to God, “God, I would sure love to taste some ice cream.” And then, I cried some more. I thought, how selfish can I be! There are so many suffering and starving. I was crying because I was homesick for Brazil, and I so wanted a taste of ice cream.
About noon the next day a truck from Zimbabwe drove up to the door where I was staying and the driver got out and knocked. He wanted someone named, Naomi. I didn’t understand English at that time but he kept saying Naomi, Naomi and I finally realized that Naomi must be my name in English.
So I took the package and when I touched it my heart froze. I knew right away what it was because the box was cold.
So I asked the driver, “Who sent this? Where did it come from?” He didn’t understand me but finally through gestures I got out of him that someone at the airport gave him that box to deliver to “Naomi.” It had been flown in on a plane from South Africa. To this day I have no idea who sent it or where it came from.
Well, I put that little carton of ice cream in the freezer of the refrigerator with a sense of overwhelming gratitude. It was then that I began to understand that I can ask from God even the most insignificant things.
Since then I’ve faced a lot of hard times. I’ve nearly died of malaria, and I’ve gone hungry. But, as the many difficulties arose, I would remember that carton of ice cream. It’s the biggest lesson of my life.
Experience #5: I’ve got a friend named Jess Smiley. She and her husband Sam live about 2 miles from my house. We go to church together.
Jess feels the sorrow, but sings anyway
The last 7 years have been HARD on Jess.
7 years ago her husband Jamie contracted leukemia, a form that is lethal. After a 2 year battle she lost him.
In the fall of 2007 her son Alex was 11 years old. He had started developing bruises on his skin and a doctor’s appointment revealed that he too had leukemia.
Wow. An 11 year old boy with leukemia. Imagine facing that.
Alex went through 9 months of brutal chemotherapy treatments and it went into remission.
18 months later, it came back. With a vengeance.
More chemotherapy. More prayers. More desperation.
Alex chose to stand up and FIGHT.
Since Alex was losing his hair, several of his friends, including Dylan Fancher, all decided to shave their heads as a sign of Solidarity with Alex during his healing and recovery process.
Below is a video of Alex shaving Dylan’s head in the restroom of Alex’s hospital room:
Alex Smiley shaves Dylan Fancher’s head: Solidarity, and Friends Forever
Just the day before, Alex had begun his Chemo treatments. (The joy of shaving Dylan’s head sorta made up for the first day of chemo.)
That was July 6, 2009.
On Wednesday, October 14, 2009, an infection raged out of control and Alex died. A young man full of promise, gone at age 13.
Jess had remarried since Jamie’s death. She lost both her husband and first-born son to leukemia.
She made it through Alex’s funeral under the care of friends, lots of prayer and a couple pints of vodka.
Words cannot express how grieved we all were. We all prayed so hard. For Alex to be healed. For this curse to be lifted. But Alex lost the battle. For whatever reason, rescue did not come.
Jess soldiered on.
It just so happens that we were with Jess at a church conference in Toronto. On the night of January 20, 2010, God SPOKE to Jess and in a moment of laser clarity, showing her that He was pushing a “reset” button on the destiny she thought she had lost. He was restoring to her what she thought was no more.
That night God also gave her an impartation of JOY and LAUGHTER.
The bitterness and the grief melted away and she began laughing with delight. For weeks she was almost giddy and exuberant.
It was like nothing I had ever seen.
All I can say is, you had to see it for yourself to fully appreciate it. I’ve told you some miracle stories. People getting healed of lupus, deafness and paralysis are all remarkable. But being healed from aching loss and sickening sorrow over a lost husband and dear son – that one takes the cake.
It’s not that she doesn’t miss Alex or Jamie. Or that she doesn’t still grieve. It’s just that the bitter sting has been taken out. Jess experienced a literal impartation of the beautiful scripture of Isaiah 61:
For those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.
They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
My friend, I do not know why Alex and her husband were taken from us. God alone knows the answer to that question.
But God did minister to her in her sorrow in a most profound way.
YOU have also lost loved ones.
YOU have also had unanswered prayers. We all have. I know the feeling of exasperation and desperation when you pray and it feels as though those prayers are bouncing off the ceiling.
Jess Smiley knows that feeling too. Believe me, she does.
You pray for the uncle or aunt or grandpa or child. Your prayer doesn’t get answered the way you want it to. It’s bitter and dark.
But you know what…
You only have to experience ONE undeniable miracle and then you KNOW. After that, there is no going back.
And that’s what happened to me. I’ve only shared a small collection of stories. There are others. They’re real and I’ve seen them with my own two eyes.
Experience #6: 0n April 17, 2012, I was at a conference in Moravian Falls, North Carolina, sitting right next to a woman named Dierdre from Sydney Australia when she was healed after 40 years of severe hearing loss in one ear. Here’s me interviewing her about what happened:
Remember Brian Burgee from Tampa Florida, above, who was deaf in one ear and was healed in 2008? With the Dierdre experience I have now seen TWO people who were healed from deafness in one ear, both from childhood accidents, both deaf in that ear for more than 30 years. I was a personal direct witness and I have both testimonies on video. Recall that Burgee’s healing was also verified by reporter from the Charlotte Observer.
I solemnly attest to you that all these people and experiences are true and I have reported them to the best of my ability.
I will never again be at the mercy of theories from someone who thinks miracles are fake. Cuz I know they’re real.
But they are my experiences not yours.
Do you want God to show up in your life?
Then right now I give you permission to ASK HIM. If you seek God you will find Him.
But there’s something else I wish to offer you as well.
And that is:
Documented evidence of other miracles.
1. The book “Real Miracles” by Richard Casdorph, M.D., medically documents 10 miracles. Each chapter is a case study of one miracle, including doctors reports, xrays, etc. It reports ailments like huge tumors, Multiple Sclerosis and cancer vanishing completely, with medical documentation.
If you’re the least bit curious about this, just go ahead and buy the book. It’s on Amazon.
2. In Catholic circles, the Miracle of the Sun at Fatima on October 13, 1917 is very well known and has been exhaustively documented. Literally 70,000 people including all kinds of newspaper reporters and people of every age and background testified to what happened near Fatima, Portugal. The event was predicted in advance on July 13, August 19 and September 13 that same year by three children. Which is why thousands of people were there to witness it.
Wikipedia does a good job of summarizing what happened. (Yes, I understand, if you’re a protestant you probably don’t relate to the “Virgin Mary” stuff. That’s OK. There’s no rule that says you have to.) I encourage you to study the event for yourself and see if there isn’t substantial evidence that something miraculous occurred.
3. In September 2010, the Southern Medical Journal published an article titled: Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Proximal Intercessory Prayer (STEPP) on Auditory and Visual Impairments in Rural Mozambique. The official publication can be found here and the original authored manuscript from Indiana University can be found here. 24 people were tested; hearing of deaf subjects improved by 10-60 decibels. Vision of some of the blind subjects also improved, ranging from none to 15X.
I am personally only 1 degree of separation from the healers involved in this study. Here in Chicago I have some friends Nathan and Liz Stanton. They were married in Mozambique by pastor Heidi Baker who is a missionary there. For the Southern Medical Journal research, Heidi Baker partnered with Global Awakening in Mechanicsburg Pennsylvania, who sent a teaching team to my own church not long ago.
Heidi Baker is well-known in Mozambique for going into villages, asking villagers to bring her their deaf, then healing them. At minute 5:56 you’ll see Heidi Baker heal a deaf woman in front of a large crowd of people, live:
This video is an excerpt from the movie Finger of God. by Darren Wilson. He’s the narrator of this documentary. I’m personally acquainted with him, having met him in November 2009. Darren himself was ardently against miracles until a relative experienced a miracle he could not explain, which launched him on a journey of investigation.
4. On Friday August 30 2010, Delia Knox was healed after two decades of paralysis. She stood up in her wheelchair in the Mobile Alabama Convention Center and walked around the room in the presence of thousands of eyewitnesses.
The following report appeared in the Mobile Alabama Press-Register, September 2, 2010:
MOBILE, Alabama — On Christmas Day 1987 singer and evangelist Delia Knox lost the use of her legs after a car she was a passenger in was struck by another vehicle driven by a drunken driver.
Now, on a video made last Friday, Knox is seen walking for the first time in 22 years during a revival at the Arthur R. Outlaw Mobile Convention Center.
The video, which is on YouTube and on the site of the Mobile church run by Knox and her husband, Levy Knox, is said to be a testament to not one, but numerous miracles said to have taken place during the Bay of the Holy Spirit Revival.
You can watch the YouTube video of the live healing taking place here:
On Thursday October 21, 2010, Delia Knox returned to her home town of Buffalo, New York and into her mother’s arms. The local TV station WIVB Channel 4 taped the homecoming and reported the healing:
Delia Knox and her husband Levy, next to her wheelchair
Finally there are some things that need to be said about miracles. Quoting 1 Corinthians 12:28:
“And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.
“Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts.”
If you’re a Christian, I challenge you with this:
Most of the church, the protestant church in particular, has been actively disobeying this command. These verses clearly present a hierarchy of authority and gifts:
1. Apostles
2. Prophets
3. Teachers
4. Workers of Miracles
5. Healers
6. Helpers
7. Administrators
8. Those who speak in tongues
The protestant church has amputated #1, #2, #4, #5 and #8. The teachers and administrators have been left in charge.
Paul said to desire the greater gifts.
The church has been banning them.
I know pastors and seminary professors who’ve been fired from their jobs because they believed in miracles. How tragic and anti-Christian that is. I have a friend who had severe ADHD and was deaf in one ear. He was healed of both at once in May 2007. He won’t let me use his name and picture here on my blog because his father is a prominent figure in evangelical Christianity and news of a miracles might threaten his dad’s career.
And we wonder why the church is anemic??? We wonder why there’s an atheistic bias in the western world? It’s no surprise church has become a flaccid, legalistic, boring institution. A dreary way to kill an otherwise enjoyable Sunday morning.
It’s because 5 out of the 8 spark plugs have been yanked out. The engine is coughing and sputtering on 3 of its 8 cylinders.
Why are “Cessationist” arguments invariably so complex and insert all kinds of assumptions which themselves have no scriptural support?
MANY Christians say to me, “Absolutely I believe God still heals. God can do anything He wants to. God just does it whenever he chooses to now. He doesn’t heal through healers.”
If that’s you, I’ve got a question for you:
Can you show me ONE place in scripture – Old or New Testament – where ANY person was healed without a healer?
Cessationists often say “The gifts were only present for the apostolic age – a short, special period of time to validate the apostles so they could finish writing the scriptures.” Where did they get that?
The Bible never says anything of the sort. When Paul says in 1 Corinthians 14 “Earnestly desire the greater gifts”, was he only talking to apostles?
Cessationists are often skilled rigorous expositors of scripture, but the cessationist arguments don’t meet their own standards of interpretation.
The church has sliced off one of its testicles and thrown it in the garbage. No wonder it doesn’t feel like a man.
This is one of the reasons that TV healing ministries have become such a circus: it’s partly because most of Christianity has marginalized the healing gifts. This is why some healers are charlatans. But it’s a whole different world when you see people whom you’ve known for years get healed in person, with your own eyes – not on TV. When you experience it for yourself, like I have.
My friend, let me assure you: When the church begins to operate on all 8 cylinders, it becomes a force to be reckoned with. As all my friends who’ve been healed will attest. The atheists and cynics and religious gestapo can whine and moan all they want to, but real people are being set free every day.
(Oh, and I haven’t said a single word about the awesome power of prophetic people. I’ll save that discussion for another post.)
You’re invited. If you’re ever in Chicago, come to Greater Chicago Church, 705 Jackson Boulevard, Oak Park Illinois on a Sunday morning and I’ll introduce you to some of these dear friends. They’ll look you in the eye and tell you their stories and you’ll know it’s all for real. If you need healing, they’ll pray for ya, too.
The same thing is happening in every city and town in the world. It’s seldom in the newspaper or on TV. But maybe that’s for the better. Cuz it’s going on just the same.
In Matthew 11, Jesus’ cousin John the Baptist was in prison. He was depressed and discouraged. Nothing was going the way he’d planned. He had grave doubts because his prayers weren’t being answered.
John sent a message to Jesus.
When John heard in prison what Christ was doing, he sent his disciples to ask him, “Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”
Amen.
Perry Marshall
P.S.: There’s a popular atheist jingoism these days: “Why doesn’t God heal amputees?” It’s often stated with spitting anger and venom. The assertion is made that there’s no such thing as an amputee whose arm grew back. This held up as proof positive that miracles don’t exist.
To date I haven’t personally met an amputee whose arm has grown back. Today I told you what I have seen. The closest I’ve come is my friend Yosef Bender from Chicago. Yosef was at a Kathryn Kuhlman healing service many years ago. (Casdorph’s book “Real Miracles” investigates 10 of Ms. Kuhlman’s healing incidents.) Behind Yosef was a woman who had one arm that was too short with a single finger at the end instead of a hand.
From the stage, Kuhlman called out that there was someone up in that section whose arm was deformed. A few seconds later, Yosef heard this intense commotion and loud crying behind him. He turned around and this woman’s hand had fully grown back. She was so happy she was crying hysterically.
This is as close as I’ve personally gotten to a healed amputee.
Documented histories of healed amputees do exist. The Miracle of Calanda occurred in Calanda, Spain in 1640, according to 17th century documents. The documents state that a young farmer’s leg was restored to him after having been amputated two and a half years earlier. This event is described in detail in the book Il Miracolo by Vittorio Messori. This is described in detail on Wikipedia.
I rather suspect there are at least a few healed amputees out there. Will the skeptics listen to their stories? I don’t know. Will they change the skeptics’ minds? I don’t know. But if you want to think for yourself investigate these things on your own, I recommend that you start by reading “Real Miracles” by Richard Casdorph, M.D.
The most preposterous biblical statements for those unacquainted with the intricacies of textual analysis lies in the category of miracles. For millions of people the whole idea of sticks turning into serpents (Exod. 7:10), a serpent and a donkey talking (Gen. 3:4-5 and Num. 22:28-30), iron floating (2 Kings 6:5-6), a woman turning into a pillar of salt (Gen. 19:26), the sun standing still (Josh. 10:13), and people rising from the dead (Matt. 27:52), for example, are as far from the realm of possibility as black is from white. Little do these realise that their rejection of miracles is simultaneously a rejection of the validity of the Bible itself.If all miracles were excluded from the Bible, the book would be dealt a crushing blow from which recovery would be impossible. As apologist William Arndt says on page 26 in “Bible Difficulties,” “If we take everything miraculous out of the Bible, how little will there be left.”
The entire universe is governed by Law. The gradual development of species in all the kingdoms of Nature works by uniform laws. This is admitted, and the law enforced far more strictly in Esoteric than in modern Science. Science rejects every claim to the “miraculous,” and accepts nothing outside the uniform and immutable laws of nature. The world turns on its axis, the earth rotates round the sun, climates change from spring to winter, etc., all in strict accordance with nature’s Laws. Apparent miracle is but absence of knowledge about man’s inner, hidden powers. In the East such “miracle” men abound in the thousands, and none of them has any connection with Christ.
Vishnu, yes, many miracle men exist in the east, with extrordinary powers, perhaps as of yet untapped human organs, mental potential. But all these outer miracles are just lights and show, the truest miracle is in the heart of man, the healing of a broken heart or changing the fundamental intent of the heart from evil to good, the extraction of bitterness and revenge from the heart and replacing it with love and forgiveness. This is something which not even the most amazing visual “marvel” can accomplish. The “Law” is there, but as to every law, there are clauses, and miracles dwell in the clauses.
There seems to be a lot of personal opinions given here and a great deal of stock placed in subjective experience. If you want to see what the BIBLE says concerning the matter, I invite you to read the following article:
http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/5-miracles
You won’t regret it.
All this debate about God. Even a little child knows that things
don’t just drop out of the sky,or spontaneously sprout from the ground or just pop up from nowhere.
When things happen there is always a cause or ‘Causer’. Hence
even a baby will look around for a causative agent.
Keep looking
J.Sithole
Actually a little child will assume that things do pop up from nowhere. Until recently adults used to assume that living things popped up from nowhere (spontaneous generation). This assumption was disproved by empirical experiment. Also children learn that laws are consistent and often outgrow the idea of magical (or spiritual) causes. Do not confuse cause with Causer.
Perry
I note that this discussion hardly addressed the issue at hand.
A miracle can describe either an improbable event or a divine (supernatural) intervention.
The first happens commonly and is not a real miracle but simply poetic language. Often it is assumed that therefore “real” miracles can occur.
If someone feels they observed or experienced a healing or remission of illness they easily assume it is a miracle. In the Kathryn Kuhlman book, a remission of illness is assumed to be of God without honestly considering other natural (eg. placebo) possibilities. The two most prominent healings in my local pentacostal church are both universally believed. I know both people recipients and their inside stories. I do not doubt their sincerity but do not believe either miracle is divine. Similarly I doubt any anecdote that you quote above.
You mockingly mention the question of “why doesn’t God heal amputees? Stated respectfully this argument assumes that all supposed healings are misunderstood and have natural causes. They cannot occur naturally so they are never claimed. Of course rare anecdotes or (only) one document dated 1640 is hardly convincing unless you are sitting in a church full of believers.
Your reference to “atheistic jingoism” and “spitting anger and venom” is bordering on defying your own rule of keeping the debate polite. Your P.S. is intimidating people from asking this genuine question. This is good persuasion but bad logic.
In my christian days, I remember praying for healing for friends, who usually recovered from their headaches or flus. Still I wondered if these things would have passed anyway. You know the feeling.
Perry, When I was young I read a book about some children in England who regularly saw faeries in their garden. Written as reliable, with photos and all, I supposed it was true. While the children have long admitted that it was all an attention grabbing trick (the faeries were paper cutouts), this story is still taught and believed by millions of new agers. Better evidence than anecdotes in publications is needed. The Bible says it is foolish to not believe in God, I would disagree.
My suspicion is that true miracles didn’t stop happening, they never started.
Here is the question; “If God exists, why won’t he prove himself?”
Dear Mr. Perry,
I am a subscriber to “7 Lies” and just received your 5th module, “is there only one truth?”. I suppose this is the most controversial one, and I have to say I agree AND disagree. I’ll explain.
“I’m just going to highlight a very simple, logical reality that each of us, in our search for Truth, must recognize…”
“The implications of these different views run very deep, and they are fundamentally incompatible. It’s logically impossible for both views to be true…”
These are some of your quotes from the text. I am a Christian, raised in a Christian family, but now living and working in a predominantly Muslim country, and the question comes to my mind a lot, “after all, which one of us is right? It’s either them or me.” If you will notice, in both of the quotes you used the word “logic”. But I think you attach too much importance to this word. Logic is the working of our mind to understand the world around us, but to understand God and the world hereafter logic will never do. Paul made this abundantly clear in 1Corinthians 1. The founders of what we consider today “rational thinking/logic/philosophy” were none other than the Greeks, whom he singles out specifically saying, “the Greeks seek after wisdom”. How can “the thing formed” propose to know fully “he who formed it”?
Now, you will agree with me that we don’t know everything about God, and you will agree with me that we DO know SOMETHING about him. But here is the question: do we know what percentage know of him? Can we say, we know 90%, 50% or 10% of God? To be able to make such a statement we would have to know the final number, where does He end? We would have to quantify God in order to find our percentile placement. Therefore, such a statement is impossible, therefore, it is possible (perhaps not probable) that the view held by other faiths is just another side to the same coin. We say “tomAYto” they say “tomAHto”.
One of the most moving portions of the gospel is where Jesus has just healed the son of a Gentile and says: “many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” (Mathew 8)
I propose… that no one has a copyright on God, any more than they have a copyright on life itself. God exists independently from us, as an objective being, whom every human being knows naturally, and is instinctively attracted to. The many religions are just attempts at capturing such an awesome reality in man-made language.
I propose… that no one (not even Christians) has a copyright on Christ. Christ is “open source” for all of humanity, and is much, much greater than mere Christendom. The role of Christendom is to preserve and promote the message of Christ, as well as the significance of his life and death. But Christ does not “belong” to us any more than he belongs to the Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Pagans… He is there for all of them. And one day we may just find one of them sitting across from us on that famed “Father’s table”.
I propose… that (as you suggested) there is only one truth: “Everyone who LOVES, KNOWS God, because God IS love.” Everything else branches out from the truth.
I propose… that there are not many lies in the world, only one: “YE shall be as gods”, the worship of self, an egocentric mentality. Everything else branches out from this lie. (Which “theoretically” is not even a lie, but if one tries living their life by it one finds out just how false it is.)
You used an interesting word, “if Islam is essentially true… If Buddhism is essentially true…” And I believe that this is the key, to look at the essence of things, rather than the shell. Yes, they might conflict in the details of ritual, doctrine and theology, but if one looks at the essence of that teaching, one can find whether it belongs to the truth or to the lie, essentially. Those who collectively belong to the truth are then called “brothers”… and brothers are often very, very different from each other, and often their quarrels are the most vicious of all, but they are still heirs of the same Father.
In conclusion I would say that I fully agree with the thrust of your article, everything is not just totally “relative”. There are concrete spiritual “laws”, there are objective spiritual realities, and it’s not all just a big wish-wash of people’s imaginations. And (HEAR, HEAR) truth will stand for itself. “If this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nothing: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” (Acts 5)
Thank you for your insights, and may God bless you and your work,
Chris
Why don’t we ever see miracles of arms growing back? Of facial disfigurements going back to normal? Of major physical diseases being taken away. I’ve had major surgery and have titanium screws in me. Will those screws just go away and all the reconstruction return to pre surgery normals along with the healing?
Every healing I have seen as ‘proof’ is never proof of anything. It’s ALWAYS something nobody can say yes or no to. For example, “An older woman could not move her arm.” How do we really know she couldn’t move her arm? Maybe she just said she could not move her arm. Why not a woman without arms because of an accident, gets her arms back? WE NEVER SEE THIS!
God doesn’t play games with peoople’s minds. If he is going to use a miracle as a testimony to his creative power, then he’ll demonstrate his miracle power. A headache suddenly going away is not any significant result of any special power! Heck, then we can start praying to aspirin now.
I wan to believe, I really do. I just wan to see something notable. I want to see a man who has been buried for 3 days and who smells of decay, regenerate and return from the dead. I do not want to see a paramedic resuscitate a man and then say, “look he’s back from the dead!”
Notable miracles. Not misdiagnosed diseases that can’t be proven otherwise miracles. I want to see hip replacements turn into flesh and bone, or a retarded child become intelligent. where are these things!?
An elderly woman with a diagnosed malignant tumor on the back of her hand had unsuccessful surgery twice to remove it but it came back each time. She was also being treated for an ulcer condition and could only eat bland food. After praying over her and touching her hand for a few seconds, both the tumor and the ulcer were healed. The skin on the back of her hand where the tumor was has the appearance of a young woman’s skin. She was immediately able to stop taking ulcer medication and has since been eating food she likes. The proof is with this woman who is living and gives testimony to her healing.
A man who was deaf in one ear from a mortar and a spot of cancer on his nose was healed by prayer and a brief touch to his nose. I did not know he had been deaf in one ear for twenty years until after he announced he could hear again.
A physician who was born with one leg shorter than the other had a deteriorating hip after 60 years and was in pain. The Holy Spirit instructed me to pray for his healing. At that moment, his short leg was stretched to match the longer one and his hip healed. Documented measurements of both legs, before and after healing, prove that he was healed of the condition.
A woman with severe ovarian cysts was in pain and would lie on the floor for hours. She was healed and remains pain free.
These are just a few of the notable miracles of healing diagnosed conditions I have experienced/witnessed. Perhaps, others have more notable ones to share.
The screws “could” disappear, if you have sufficient faith and if it is God’s will. Faith is not believing in something but trusting in that which we believe. To trust in God means to give oneself over to God in all things and accept whatever befalls us, regardless of the outcome. Our primary trust in God must be in regard to salvation, without which any other trust is pointless.
We should also acknowledge that miracles do not occur for ourselves but for the greater glory of God and for the salvation of men. Sometimes, it is not always God’s will that a person be healed. For instance, although the Holy Spirit has healed others through me, I still have nylon rope and scar tissue holding my shoulder together after reconstruction. It is a cross I’ve been given and so I do my best to accept it. Perhaps, my shoulder is not made perfect again because i have not accepted my cross?
I hope this helps and may you experience the healing by the power of the Holy Spirit, which you ask the Father for in Jesus’ name. More importantly, pray for the grace to accept whatever cross you are given for whatever purpose it has been given you.
God Bless.
I wanted to leave you a message on a healing that was documented via video. A woman had gone to the hospital several times and told they did not know what to do, so she went from prayer healing to prayer healing…. and she received exactly what she sought from God !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAuM_5bwo6s
God does miracles in plain sight ! He said he would and he keeps his word!
I`ve got a hot testimony for you .Ive been suffering with migraines for many years.Alongside that Ive been growing strong in my spirit and the Holy Spirit, regarding the truth of healing,revelation,authority etc but as my experience with the migraines didnt fit the biblical model I had resigned myself to thinking they were a ” thorn in the flesh” , as experienced by Paul the Apostle to keep him humble.Last night ( sun) after a pretty smooth day I was attacked with migraine again after only just getting over one.I had a sleepless night til 4am , then I dozed off and had a dream. In the dream there were 3 people fighting.The one in the middle was like a Chinese and was clothed in something like a ninja or karate type outfit. He prevailed over the other two and was victorious. Then I realised ( in the dream) that it was a movie and the credits came rolling on. The ninja was played by He In Us (Gods got a sense of humor ! ) I became fully awake and now had the choice whether to act on this revelation.I was aware that I had the authority to command the migraine to go. Also I perceived that it was a demonic affliction. I said to it ” How dare you attack a child of God..Go in Jesus name” Immediately the migraine lifted !!! and that thing was on its bike !!! Glory to Him that is in us, Who is Greater than he that is in the world.Mick Tulk.
P.S. Its now months since that happened and I am completely migraine free.
I should say which you have created such a helpful site, I stumbled across this inside Yahoo.
I have to say that a migraine attack occurred last week but although it shook me it has not shaken my trust in Gods faithfulness. On the contrary it has heightened my awareness of the spiritual battle that is ” out there ” and in which we will see the victory of Jesus enforced.
Great testimony Tony. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
What amazes me is that people get into deep and almost aggressive and mostly fruitless discussions.
And nobody quotes the Lord himself about this things! like:
Matthew 21:18-22
18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.
20 When the disciples saw this, they were amazed. “How did the fig tree wither so quickly?” they asked.
21 Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. 22 If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
So Jesus pretty much says you can perform this, if you pray and believe. And if anyone wants to say “oh but that was just for the apostles” then prove it. Because everyone saying that there are no miracles anymore, first they are saying that God can’t do what he wants. He can make us all start doing miracles tomorrow if that were His will so who are we to judge his thoughts? careful there.
Second thing is, if this was specifically just for the apostles, then how are we ever going to guess what’s for “the rest of us” and whats for “just the apostles”? and if it was just for them, why write it down? could it be so we could read and learn like we did with the entire Bible? so maybe it was also a message for the people to come?
It’s not complicated people, don’t live in Fear and Confusion (we all know who’s responsible for that) pray if you feel doubt, God will give you the answers for sure. :)
I do believe that Miracle happens.
All of us as human and living things, are here not by chance because the heart just know how many beats to beat, the heat regulator (sweat gland), the precise ability to connect the racket with the ball that scientists, engineers said will dwarf even the present day most sophiscated computers Programme designed to replicate the human action….
I hope all of us have peace, be healthy and be happy.
Thank you
Steve
I do believe miracles ceased when the last disciple died. I don’t believe in someone that heals a sick person. The bible clearly states do not turn to mediums or those that consult the dead. The bible also states the dead are asleep, they cannot harm us. So who do these mediums talk to? Demons, to mislead us. Regarding healing someone yes it might seem like a miracle but its not coming from Jehovah God as miracles ceased when the last disciple died. So they are getting their power from the demons to mislead people from the truth.
Cameron, Miracles did not end with the last disciple. Consider this: Jhn 14:12 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Joe 2:23 So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the LORD your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before.
Perry,
There is no doubt in my mind that miracles of healing still happen. But it is God that does the healing in answer to prayer. The difficulty I have with your example of Todd Bentley isn’t his appearance or background, it is that it is all about him and how great he is. He claims the credit rather than acknowledging that God is doing the healing.
Warren
Its really important that we have been granted the priviledge of grace through the gift of revelation into the holy scriptures. However, our pesuits in religious matters differs depending on what we believe about God, the bible, the ministery & gifts of the Holy Spirit & how they relate to each one of us, individually or as an organisation. Among divesity of views, particulally on the subject of miracles, one has to consider carefully how the biblical accounts in the gospels, the Acts & epistles should relate to a any credited miracles of our time. This principle makes it easier for anyone of us to either rightfully descern the work of God or the deceptions forged by Satan. We are commanded to “prove ALL THINGS & hold fast hat is good” (1 Thess 5:22). On these grounds i dont suppose it could readly be deemed ‘holding what is good’ if it’s something that we are not quit sure about, ie; whether it originates with God or with the Devil. Unfortunately, in most cases the opposite is true, ie: we tend to deem what is demonic ‘as good’ because of its subtility & craftness (Gen 3). I believe we are right on the move with our generation being the one to encounter ‘the end-time/ last-day deception’ prophesied in the bible in which many FALSE prophets perfoming great signs & wonders are to deceive even the elect (Matt 24:24) . Nevertheless christians need to know & differentiate those doctrines that are centiral or essential for salvation from non-essential ones to avoid satan’s delusions. Here are some of the fandamental teachings of the bible upon which our salvation depends : baptism (water/spirit), justification, sanctification etc & contrarly, i present the most cherished NON-salvation teachings or practices of modern times in the following list : (1)OUR SALVATION does NOT depend on whether we use or not use musical instruments during church services, (2) whether we permit dancing in the church or not, (3) whether we practice (PHYSICAL) healings or not, (4)whether we pay tithes or not, (5)whether we believe in the current prophetic wave or not, (6) whether we belive in extra-biblical writtings or not (7) whether we execise the modern-day tongues phenomenon or not (8) whether or not we seek medical attention from doctors or relying on the so -called faith healers of today etc. The bible isn’t so much into these views just as it does on formal dressing or garments, growing or shaving beard. Anyhow, what is more important is to follow the apostolic consel on Romans 14:1-2 to receive those who are weak in faith without contenting with their views on non essential doctrines. God bless you!.
There has been a lot of study done on the Apostle Paul, and many students believe Paul is a re-incarnation of the Christ,as well as many others down through history, such as Isaac Newton, Albert E. Einstein, Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Abraham Lincolin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, to name a few that have played the part of Christ, the servant, Master.
1776 was the beginning of a New National world order. One Nation Under God, with liberty, and Justice, “Freeedom” for all
Not quite perfected, with the cracked Liberty Bell
A New Liberty Bell without a crack will soon be molded perfect!
SMK-7
I live in Switzerland and minister here and in places like Pakistan. Miracles are a normal part of my life because I simply believe
Mark 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues; 18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
Notice the promise is to “those who believe” – “they” shall experience these things.
So it seems in the words of Jesus there is no limitation or restriction. It is really that simple.
That not all are healed, that not all healers are perfect etc. is clear.
On my website under Pakistan you will see a testimony of a girl healed of a fist sized tumour and delivered from an evil spirit.
http://davidmtaylor.com/blog/?p=1013
Most people who have problems with miracles and talk about end times deception never cast out a single demon. Maybe they need to explore that question too. Because healing the sick and casting out demons go hand in hand in the ministry of Jesus and his followers. If the need for healing ceased then does that mean that the need for deliverance ceased. If that is the case how can there be deceptive spirits still at work? You see this shows who is really being logical and who has a renewed mind.
love and blessings
David M. Taylor.
great video!
The Lord still heals, He’s healed me many times. By HIS strips we are healed.
I’m going to go a little off topic. He also still delivers us from demons. Don’t think Christians have demons? Think again. Someone who’s suffered rejection is full of bitterness and anger that invites in demons. This is why the Lord tells us to LOVE our enemies. We must love and forgive from the heart, not the head.
Read Romans. These are wonderful promises from the Lord if we obey Him. Most people don’t know what the Lord has for them or the opportunity because they don’t the Bible. Don’t read it as a religious duty, read it to find out what it really says. The so called pastors out there won’t tell you – they
don’t know either. You have to read it yourself and ask the Lord for wisdom.
If you’re too lazy to read, listen to the audios on http://www.ubm1.org. I’m not promoting the website, I’m promoting the truth. No cost associated, only your time if you’re willing to give it up for the truth.
Be blessed.
The only thing I want is to marry the women of my dreams, I know who she is, and when I feel like giving up, I am usually told not to by someone who believes in a God, or I read something to that effect.