Biting the bullet

I'd never thought I'd see the day. I'm posting a link from Fox News, but only because it concerns an issue that is close to my heart. This is the network that according to its critics, wears its right wing colours on its sleeve, and has Colonel Oliver North, one of the key protagonists in the Iran-Contra affair, as an on air personality. Issues of suffering and illness are one of my hobby horses. Sometimes I dialogue with atheists in the blogosphere. In an attempt to portray religious people negatively, occasionally these atheist bloggers post horror stories about chronically ill Christians who refuse medical treatments because they believe that God will miraculously heal them, and that using conventional medicine would show that they lack faith, or bring God's wrath upon them. When this doesn't happen, and the illness worsens, or the person dies, this is put forward as proof that God doesn't exist, and that Christians are simple minded fools.

This is a misrepresentation of mainstream Christian thinking on this issue, which sees no inherent conflict between faith and the healing professions. When He chooses to heal, God isn't limited to working through supernatural means. If God is sovereign, He can bring healing however He chooses, so medical science can and should be affirmed as a gift from God, and not treated with suspicion. If I was seriously ill, I'd have people pray for me, but I'd get medical treatment as well. If only my brothers and sisters on the fringes of Christendom saw things the same way. It would mean less of those horror stories, wouldn't it? 

Spiritual snakeoil?

When I saw this picture in the latest issue of Christianity Today, I couldn't resist the urge to scan and upload it here. If I had Photoshop, I'd slightly alter this image by replacing the dove above Benny Hinn's head in this billboard with a pigeon. Doing this would succintly express my opinion about Mr. Hinn and his ilk, if you get what I mean, and I don't mean because it would bring him good luck. This billboard, which describes him as a "world-renowned healing evangelist," is slightly misleading. Hinn may be known worldwide, but he is hardly world renowned.

In fact, he is a controversial figure, attracting negative coverage in both the mainstream and Christian media. His critics charge that rather than genuinely delivering people from illnesses or physical infirmities, his healing crusades are actually conducted to raise money for his organisation. Since it appears that no one has ever actually experienced genuine healing at one of these crusades, it's questionable whether these funds are used to benefit others, or to finance Hinn's opulent lifestyle.