Christian Faith Healers

pchen
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Christian Faith Healers

I have a very good friend who has recently become convinced he has healing powers.  Yesterday he told me his friend has regrown two severed limbs. 

 

I'm trying to figure out which branch of Christianity these beliefs stem from so I can do more research on these alleged healings.

 

He believes in the "power raining down", that there is a constant power struggle between God and the Devil, and that all people of all other religions are being actively deceived by the devil.  He also sincerely believes that people do not believe in miracles because they do not allow themselves to do so.

 

 


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pchen wrote:I have a very

pchen wrote:

I have a very good friend who has recently become convinced he has healing powers.  Yesterday he told me his friend has regrown two severed limbs. 

 

I'm trying to figure out which branch of Christianity these beliefs stem from so I can do more research on these alleged healings.

 

He believes in the "power raining down", that there is a constant power struggle between God and the Devil, and that all people of all other religions are being actively deceived by the devil.  He also sincerely believes that people do not believe in miracles because they do not allow themselves to do so.

 

 

i'm not sure about your motives for wanting to know more about this, but let me say a couple things.

first, note this very carefully:

you will not convince this gentleman of anything.  ever.  period.  if you try, you will waste your time and possibly a portion of your health.

second, if you yourself are trying to find out if this is at all possible, ask for a demonstration.  ask to see clear, full-body before and after photos of his friend.  collect all the evidence you can.  don't bother researching the "tradition."  the insane have no traditions.

"I have never felt comfortable around people who talk about their feelings for Jesus, or any other deity for that matter, because they are usually none too bright. . . . Or maybe 'stupid' is a better way of saying it; but I have never seen much point in getting heavy with either stupid people or Jesus freaks, just as long as they don't bother me. In a world as weird and cruel as this one we have made for ourselves, I figure anybody who can find peace and personal happiness without ripping off somebody else deserves to be left alone. They will not inherit the earth, but then neither will I. . . . And I have learned to live, as it were, with the idea that I will never find peace and happiness, either. But as long as I know there's a pretty good chance I can get my hands on either one of them every once in a while, I do the best I can between high spots."
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 The insane may well have

 

The insane may well have traditions. They will be insane traditions but even so...

 

If someone has regrown a severed limb, then this needs to be noted and investigated. It will become valid medical information.

 

Show the proof and we can go from there. Heck but it will tell us why god never heals amputees.

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pchen
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I realise that I cannot

I realise that I cannot change my friend's beliefs whatsoever.  Although he is a reasonable, kind person, his faith is kept in a box which rationality cannot touch. 

 

I'm only slightly interested in these claims because I have never encountered them before.  Obviously there are always claims of tumors falling off, or diseases suddenly going away, but even in the most terminal cases these can be self-limiting or cured by legitimate medical practice.  To believe one has regrown a limb, however requires a serious amount of delusion.

 

 


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pchen wrote:To believe one

pchen wrote:

To believe one has regrown a limb, however requires a serious amount of delusion.

 

What kind of drugs is your friend on?  Tell him you know of a homeless vet missing a limb or two who would like to meet the miracle worker.

 

-- I feel so much better since I stopped trying to believe.

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The other posters who have

The other posters who have responded to you are being polite with their words. We could really blast this person with much harsher words.

Don't waste your time on this. It is bunk, and that is all there is to it. Human limbs do not regrow back. Period. This type of claim is not exclusive to Christianity and has been made all over the world past and present. People like the idea of magically becoming whole again. No one likes losing body parts and this delusion is merely a fantasy people buy and sell because living with reality frightens them.

It is funny how the people who claim to regrow arms or legs never talk about regrowing a head. These same nuts would find it nutty themselves if you suggested they blow their own heads of with a shotgun and regrow their own head.(NOT SUGGESTING THAT AT ALL, DONT SHOOT YOURSELF)

There are lots of nutty claims out there that have no credibility to them. Loc Ness Monster, Big Foot, Crop Circles, JFK conspiracy, UFO, Ouija Boards, and re-growing limbs are all the same superstitious garbage.

If you want a good book that explains this type of delusion:

"Why People Believe Weird Things"

It is possible to re attach a limb VIA doctors and surgery, but you will not re grow a finger or arm or toe or leg. If it doesn't get re attached by a medical team, the limb dies, and that is it. And even if the doctors manage to reattach the limb, most of the time the range of motion is still damaged and the limb will never fully function 100%. None of what doctors do is done with magic wands or superstitions.

What your friend believes is a stupid superstition. The moon is not made of cheese and the earth is not flat and humans do not regrow their own limbs.

 

 

 

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pchen wrote:I have a very

pchen wrote:

I have a very good friend who has recently become convinced he has healing powers.  Yesterday he told me his friend has regrown two severed limbs. 

 

I'm trying to figure out which branch of Christianity these beliefs stem from so I can do more research on these alleged healings.

 

He believes in the "power raining down", that there is a constant power struggle between God and the Devil, and that all people of all other religions are being actively deceived by the devil.  He also sincerely believes that people do not believe in miracles because they do not allow themselves to do so.

 

 

 

This sounds like the same brand of Christianity that usually cures young attractive women of sin by inserting one's penis in their vagina, and then telling them that the lord requires their silence. Try hacking off your friends winky, and see if he grows it back.


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pchen wrote:I have a very

pchen wrote:

I have a very good friend who has recently become convinced he has healing powers.  Yesterday he told me his friend has regrown two severed limbs. 

 

That's possible if the 'friend' is a child under 10 years and the lost 'limbs' are fingertips. They however regrow naturally, without healing powers.

pchen wrote:
I'm trying to figure out which branch of Christianity these beliefs stem from so I can do more research on these alleged healings.
Isn't he in some Christian sect? It would be nice to know which one.

pchen wrote:
He believes in the "power raining down", that there is a constant power struggle between God and the Devil, and that all people of all other religions are being actively deceived by the devil.  He also sincerely believes that people do not believe in miracles because they do not allow themselves to do so.
There are various beliefs. For example, I believe in "shit falling down", that the top level leaders make some idiotic policy and all ranks order it to those under them because nobody wants to do it, until the shit falls on the lowest workers. From there originates the saying "Holy shit."

 

 Try to tell your friend about the following: The Illuminati want to control the world, they send airplanes owned by NATO to spread chemicals above the land that make chemtrails. The chemicals are chosen to dull down people's thinking, to damage genetically non-modified crops and to remain in atmosphere as a gigantic layer capable of holographic projection. The Illuminati use the HAARP facility on Alaska to warm up atmosphere and land, to create catastrophic weather and earthquakes in countries hostile to America, with together with withering crops will bring down weak nations economically on knees. They also use its microwave radiation to influence people's minds. Soon, the Monsanto corporation will take over food markets worldwide with patented genetically modified crops and will control the price of food. And one day the HAARP will project into atmosphere a holographic image of extraterrestrial saviors coming to us worldwide and our drugged and microwaved brains will gladly accept it. The Illuminati will then rule with an iron hand ever after.

Now, when your friend does not believe in that, tell him that it is because his thinking is controlled by HAARP microwaves and that if he would wear a tin foil hat and wouldn't drink tap water (fluorized, alluminized) his thinking would eventually clear up and he would see the light of truth!
 

Beings who deserve worship don't demand it. Beings who demand worship don't deserve it.


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pchen wrote:  He believes

pchen wrote:

  

He believes in the "power raining down", that there is a constant power struggle between God and the Devil, and that all people of all other religions are being actively deceived by the devil.  He also sincerely believes that people do not believe in miracles because they do not allow themselves to do so.

 

A common type of thinking that I have seen under many Christians, is that the people of all the other religions (even the ones that call themselves Christians) are following the wrong message and that THEY are following the correct one. Doesn't it seem odd to your friend that God is only choosing to reveal himself to a tiny minority and allowing the devil to deceive the rest ?

In trying to determine what sect that he might be a member of, there could be several. I know of one branch that exists here in the South, where you have to pick up a snake to test your faith. Healing powers are also ascribed to the more "divine" of the congregation :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snake_handling

They base the belief off of this :

And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues. They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover : Mark 16: 17-18

Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you Luke 10 : 19

They also claim a chapter out of acts, where Paul was bitten by a viper and lived.

They are a branch of the Pentecostal faith. They also believe in consuming poison as a test of faith. One particular branch actually has tried consuming strychnine as a test of faith.

The more mainstream Pentecostal sects generally believe in speaking in tongues, the women have uncut hair and no cosmetics and only dresses worn, the men must have short hair and long sleeved shirts. The more mainstream speak in tongues, become filled with the "Spirit" they call it, and such, but do not generally handle snakes like some of the more extreme branches.

Some states, the one I currently live in, have passed laws against snake handling, but they are still in existence and still disregard the law. They are quick to tell you that they are not "bound by man's law".

The Pentecostal Movement in general is a associated with the "faith healing movement" although not all Pentecostals have to handle snakes or oukr faith healers. . Ask your friend if he speaks in tongues, or feels the "Holy Ghost" fill him when he "heals" and chances are pretty good that he belongs to one of the various branches of the Pentecostal Church. There is an abysmally large number of them in the city where I live, right along with the Southern Baptists.

 Here's the kicker :

If the snake bites you and you die. It was because you did not truly believe in God and death is deserved. Same thing with the poison. Followers will not seek medical help if such an event occurs. They will also tell you that if you follow the moral teachings of god, you have nothing to fear from anyone.

If you can not speak in tongues, then you have not been chosen by God and can not be saved.

If you can not do the faith healing in these sects, then you have not been chosen by god.

Pretty wild faith for people that believe in a loving god aint it ?

Here is one of their websites :

http://www.freewebs.com/holiness-snake-handlers/

 

“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno


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   Faith healing imo is a

   Faith healing imo is a horrible thing. I did a thread on people waiting for faith healers for their sick kids and the kids died. Just the mention of the words faith healer makes my skin crawl.

 edit: Idk if Mormons believe in faith healing but they don't believe in taking necessary medical precautions. I knew this guy that was Mormon with a kid that had cerebral palsy and he refused a blood transfusion. The kid got the transfusion because the mother did something to over ride his decision. The thing that was funny was that this guy was an EMT.

If all the Christians who have called other Christians " not really a Christian " were to vanish, there'd be no Christians left.


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rebecca.williamson

rebecca.williamson wrote:

   Faith healing imo is a horrible thing. I did a thread on people waiting for faith healers for their sick kids and the kids died. Just the mention of the words faith healer makes my skin crawl.

 

Yep there have been several cases of stuff like that happening. Not all faith healing falls under the blanket of those Pentecostals (that just happens to be the group that I zeroed in on cause there seems to be quite a few in my area) But I have heard of the Christian Science people allowing children to die because "GOD" was supposed to save them.

Here are some odd facts about the snake handlers. Their "founder" died from being snake bit. Never mind the fact that he had been bitten over 400 times in his life, the doctrine of that faith is absolute. If the snake kills the person, their faith was weak. So I am guessing that the founder had a moment of weakness in his fatih and God allowed the snake to bite him.

At least 71 people have died during church services that they know of for sure, because of snake handling. The numbers are hard to determine due to the fact that these people refuse to see a doctor and believe their snake bite is ultimately caused by THEMSELVES.

http://www.unexplainedstuff.com/Religious-Phenomena/Snake-Handling.html

http://www.rickross.com/reference/snake/snake8.html

Here's some great examples of Christian Science and what it can do to people :

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE0D61030F935A3575BC0A966958260

http://www.watchman.org/cults/chrdeath.htm

I agree with Christopher Hitchens when he says that faith is the weakest of all the virtues. In fact, I don't see blind faith as anything other than insane.

 

“It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people.”
― Giordano Bruno


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harleysportster

harleysportster wrote:

rebecca.williamson wrote:

   Faith healing imo is a horrible thing. I did a thread on people waiting for faith healers for their sick kids and the kids died. Just the mention of the words faith healer makes my skin crawl.

 

Yep there have been several cases of stuff like that happening. Not all faith healing falls under the blanket of those Pentecostals (that just happens to be the group that I zeroed in on cause there seems to be quite a few in my area) But I have heard of the Christian Science people allowing children to die because "GOD" was supposed to save them.

Here are some odd facts about the snake handlers. Their "founder" died from being snake bit. Never mind the fact that he had been bitten over 400 times in his life, the doctrine of that faith is absolute. If the snake kills the person, their faith was weak. So I am guessing that the founder had a moment of weakness in his fatih and God allowed the snake to bite him.

At least 71 people have died during church services that they know of for sure, because of snake handling. The numbers are hard to determine due to the fact that these people refuse to see a doctor and believe their snake bite is ultimately caused by THEMSELVES.

http://www.unexplainedstuff.com/Religious-Phenomena/Snake-Handling.html

http://www.rickross.com/reference/snake/snake8.html

Here's some great examples of Christian Science and what it can do to people :

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE0D61030F935A3575BC0A966958260

http://www.watchman.org/cults/chrdeath.htm

I agree with Christopher Hitchens when he says that faith is the weakest of all the virtues. In fact, I don't see blind faith as anything other than insane.

 

 

Yeah it's insane! I don't understand why anyone would do that kind of crap. I don't understand the faith healing crap either. It's one thing to believe in your god and think you will go to heaven but to believe in faith healing, well that's a different type of insanity all together

If all the Christians who have called other Christians " not really a Christian " were to vanish, there'd be no Christians left.