NONSENSE FROM THE BIBLE (16 page)

Luke 18:19

And Jesus said unto him,
Why callest thou me good
?
none is good
,
save one
, 
that is
,
God

Remember - 2 Timothy 3:16-17

All scripture is given by inspiration of God
,
 
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

IF that scripture is true then there should not be any errors or contradictions in the Bible.

There are many, many more contradictions in the Bible - the Skeptics Annotated Bible website lists 462 contradictions and another site lists 1,001 Bible contradictions!

Should we seriously believe that the Bible is a reliable and accurate source of information about the existence of God? or the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus?  

Truth or nonsense? - It has to be nonsense!

 BIBLE NONSENSE NUMBER 10

When I was the pastor of a fundamentalist, Pentecostal, evangelical church I believed in divine healing. Since I had been born again, I was taught in similar churches and in Bible school that God heals the sick as there is healing in the
Name of Jesus
!

There are many Bible verses which give credibility to these beliefs - most are from the life of Jesus and his teaching concerning healing by prayer and ‘the laying on of hands.’ We all believed those verses and spent much time teaching and acting on those instructions, we prayed for the sick at almost every service and held special ‘healing’ services during each week.

There are also verses in the Old Testament of promises by God to heal the sick - here are three examples:

Exodus 15:26  

And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes,
I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee. 

Psalms 103:2-3  

Bless the LORD
,
O my soul
,
and forget not all his benefits
: 
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities
;
who healeth all thy diseases
; 

Jeremiah 30:17  

For
I will restore health unto thee
, and
I will heal thee of thy wounds
,
saith the LORD
; because they called thee an Outcast, saying, This is Zion, whom no man seeketh after. 

So according to the Bible God heals the sick. This means that we can pray to him according to his ‘word’ and we should receive healing.

Healing was a major part of the ministry of Jesus during those three years prior to his execution, or so it is claimed in the Bible.

Matthew 8:16-17 

When the even was come,
they brought unto him many that were possessed with devils
:
and he cast out the spirits with his word
,
and healed all that were sick
: 
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet
, saying,
Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses
. 

This was another of those so called prophecies, and again notice the line:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet.

(Note: Esaias was the Greek form of Isaiah)

The New Testament has many verses which are claimed to reveal the healing of the sick by Jesus as he travelled and preached. Here are just two examples:

Matthew 9:35  

And Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 

Matthew 15:30-31  

And great multitudes came unto him, having with them 
those that were lame
,
blind
,
dumb
,
maimed, and many others
,
and cast them down at Jesus’ feet
;
and he healed them
: 
Insomuch that the multitude wondered
,
when they saw the dumb to speak
,
the maimed to be whole
,
the lame to walk
,
and the blind to see
: and they glorified the God of Israel. 

So it is reported that Jesus not only preached but he also healed the sick including the blind, dumb and those with every sickness and disease. Having demonstrated his healing powers, he then instructed his disciples to do the same
in his name.
In fact he told them to do things which he had not done, so we are told in Mark’s Gospel:

Mark 16:17-18  

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
. 

The additions for the disciples were: To speak in other tongues (languages)
*29
and they could also take hold of snakes and even drink ‘deadly things’ and they would be immune from the poisons. Jesus had not, according to the Bible, included any of these additions during his own ministry.

Luke 9:1-2  

Then he called his twelve disciples together,
and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure disease. And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick. 

Jesus commissioned his disciples to go into all the (known) world and to preach and to heal the sick. Healing then was a major part of the ministry of Jesus and of his disciples. When Jesus was no longer on earth his disciples continued as Jesus had instructed and here the Apostle James gave further teaching on the subject of the healing ministry.

James 5:13-14  

Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
 
Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 

These verses by James are used today in Pentecostal and other churches which believe in divine healing. The elders of the church are to anoint the sick one with oils and then they are to pray over him or her.

This was the method we adopted in our church when we prayed for the sick, usually also by the laying on of hands - to the head or shoulders of the one we were praying for as the Apostle Mark had directed (see above)

So are the people healed in these services?

I can only say that many people certainly claimed to have been healed, especially when it was only a matter of minor problems such as muscular pains or headaches. There were others with more serious conditions who also believed that God was in the process of healing them after they had been prayed for.  

The most tragic of all unanswered prayers were for the chronically sick and terminally ill. I saw many who were prayed for who claimed that they had been healed but a few days or weeks later they were back in the prayer line asking again for prayer. This could happen again and again over a period of time and then eventually they may have recovered or they died. This is all particularly distressing when the one asking for prayer is young yet terminally ill. It would require a miracle to bring healing but despite much prayer and fasting by possibly hundreds of faithful believers, no lasting improvement was experienced and death prematurely claimed another victim. 

At the time I believed that God was working with us, especially when we saw what we considered to be results. Now some 22+ years later, I believe emotional and ‘spiritual’ support was experienced by those who claimed to be healed. I cannot say that there was any evidence that there was divine intervention in the normal course of nature that affected the health of anyone. I also attended many huge conventions in USA, Australia and New Zealand where prayers and ministry for healing were made for hundreds of people by well known international evangelists.

There are many evangelist ministries which major on healing; many have a following of hundreds of thousands, especially those with global television programmes. Their meetings or crusades are usually held in the largest auditorium in town, seating upwards of 20,000 or more. They have a huge team of voluntary assistants available to pass out the collection buckets when it is time to take the ‘offering’ - this is usually a major event in the service before prayers for the sick.

The service begins with up to an hour of ‘praise and worship’ led by excellent singers and musicians. The atmosphere is charged with emotion and expectation and then the star of the show - the evangelist comes onto the stage to greet the people and to pray for the offering which is about to be taken. The evangelist at this time tells the people that God will bless them as they give into the Gospel and some even suggest that if they give more than they can afford they will receive even greater blessings! First the ‘offering envelopes’ are usually passed out which may also have printed suggested donation amounts listed such as $10 - $50 - $100 or more. The purpose of the envelopes is also for those giving to claim tax relief on their gift if they write their name and address on the envelope. This is also a good means for the ministry to add them to their mailing list to enable the ministry to follow up with further requests for offerings, sometimes in exchange for receiving ‘free gift’ from the ministry. I remember the first time we attended a huge convention in Tulsa in 1978; we gave $100 and received a ‘free’ Bible as a gift!

After the offering, the evangelist preaches for about 45 minutes, usually using some texts from the Bible concerning God’s promises of healing. He then asks the sick to come to the front in preparation for him to pray for each them. Some may come in wheelchairs or on crutches, and in turn groups are ushered onto the platform and lined up to receive the ‘power of God’ - which they had been told would happen. The evangelist then rapidly touches each one and as he does they collapse, the ushers (or catchers) are already behind them and catch each one and gently lower them to the ground.  As each line falls to the floor, they are quickly lifted up to make room for the next group. The preacher is almost running and ready for the next line-up and so the performance is repeated until all have been prayed for. There is a special time when those in wheelchairs or with crutches are prayed for as the preacher pulls them up and out of the wheelchairs so they can stand or take a step or two - the attendants push the chair away and everyone believes they are healed. Hallelujah! Those with crutches have them tossed aside to provide a similar demonstration of the power of God!

So what really happened?  First of all, everyone present was already highly charged with emotion and expectancy, the inspirational singing and music enhanced this to a higher degree. Most of those on the platform already knew how to react when prayed for, that was to fall backwards. I have also witnessed, in many similar meetings, the preacher actually pushed each one backwards and unbalanced them so they had no option but to fall.  As for the wheelchairs, it has been revealed many times in investigatory television programmes, that people who had walking difficulties were placed into the wheelchairs in order to be taken to the front for prayer. They did not normally require a wheelchair. Most people with crutches can also walk without them for short periods of time. It is also strange that people with lost limbs or who are blind are rarely seen at these events, or if they were it would be completely obvious that they had not been healed by the prayers of the evangelist.

In a television enquiry into such a meeting held in Australia by a well known evangelist, some 30 people had claimed at the service to be completely healed but when interviewed a few weeks later, all were in their original condition. Not one ‘healing’ proclaimed by the evangelist could be substantiated. The main beneficiaries of these events are the evangelists themselves as is evidenced by their lavish lifestyles - as of the rich and famous. Some have many homes - mansions in fact - fleets of cars and several aircraft including private jets worth many million dollars.   

On a personal note:  When I resigned from the ministry I handed over the church and total ministry to my eldest son. He took over as pastor and CEO from that day back in 1989. After twenty years of working and devoting his life and time ‘for the Lord’ he suffered a major medical problem. He was on holiday with his wife overseas when he suddenly collapsed and was rushed to hospital where they diagnosed a tumour on his brain! He was flown back to Australia and immediately admitted to hospital.

He had surgery to remove the tumour which fortunately was benign. That is the good news, but the bad news is that part of his brain had been damaged. He has lost most of his sight and is partially physically impaired; he was unable to walk for many months without assistance. His recovery during the past two years has been slow but his general condition is better. He will never be able to drive a car again and he is unable to go anywhere without a carer or friend. He spends periods of time at home with his family but also stays most days each week in a remedial care home. He had to resign his position in the ministry of course and he will never be able to work again in any capacity. He is now 52 years old married with three daughters.

The reason I have included this story is because I know for sure that many thousands of Christians in Australia and in some other countries were all praying for him from the day they heard about this tragedy. He was an excellent minster and International speaker and author and had a weekly television programme which was broadcast by many stations worldwide. He worked hard for God and he continues to hold to his faith to this day.