Faith Healers or Fake Healers?

Faith Healers or Fake Healers?

By Rev. Keith Gibson

Among the celebrities in the Word Faith Movement, none is more well known than Benny Hinn. From his lavish life-style to his on-stage performances, Benny Hinn has become the modern stereotype of the faith healers, even providing at least partial inspiration for Steve Martin’s character in the movie Leap of Faith. Hinn claims that thousands have been healed in his crusades. There have even been claims of the dead being raised. But when pressed for documentation, the ministry has been woefully unable to provide much, if any, evidence for these assertions. Despite years of exposé’s by both Christian and secular sources alike, his ministry continues to have thousands of ardent followers. It is estimated by various sources that his organization takes in over one hundred million dollars per year, though this amount is disputed and is impossible to verify as the ministry refuses to publicly disclose its finances.

The purpose of this article will be to take another look at faith healing by focusing on the ministry of Benny Hinn and attempting to evaluate his results. Undoubtedly, some will see this article as simply “anti-charismatic.” Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no intent to disparage any branch of Christianity. It is essential, however, that Christians test those who claim to speak for God and who claim a special anointing from God (cf. 1 John 4:1; 1 Cor. 14:29). It is hoped that, by looking at Hinn’s ministry, discernment may be gained for evaluating other purported faith healers as well. It is certain that we have not seen the last of them.

What Is a Miracle?

As we begin to evaluate the claims of Benny Hinn, we must first determine the boundaries for ascertaining a true miracle. Often, in articles of this sort, the assumption is made that a general consensus exists regarding what constitutes a miraculous event. However, the word itself has become so commonplace in modern usage as to simply indicate a stroke of good fortune. But a true miracle is more than an unusual, fortuitous event. Webster’s Dictionary defines a miracle as, “an extraordinary event manifesting a supernatural work of God.” (1) Norman Geisler similarly defines a miracle as, “a special act of God in the world, a supernatural interference into nature, a special divine intervention.” (2) He further goes on to state, “A miracle is not simply an extraordinary event but one that would not have occurred without special divine intervention.” (3)

This definition of miracles is significant for evaluating modern faith healers, including Hinn. It may be conceded that many sick and hurting people leave the crusades feeling better, but this is not the same as saying that they have been cured miraculously. There are numerous possible explanations for apparent healings as we will see.

Comparison to Christ

One way to evaluate whether or not ministers like Hinn possess healing power would be to compare their miracles to those of Christ. When this is done, striking differences begin to appear. First, Christ healed specific individuals. Never once do we read a passage where Jesus say’s anything like,

A muscle condition has been healed. I give you the praise. Just now lift your hands and call upon His precious name, dear Jesus, dear Jesus, dear Jesus. Sinuses have just been healed, I give you praise. A neck injury has been healed, I give you the praise. In the audience God is touching people right now right here, the Lord is touching many of you in this audience right here in this studio, I give you praise Jesus. In your homes, many of you are being healed. Someone’s shoulders have just been released from pain, someone with a shoulder problem has just been healed, I give you praise Jesus. (4)

Yet this is standard fare among healers like Hinn who regularly stands at the front of the auditorium and recites illnesses supposedly being healed as though he is taking roll. Those who think they are among the recipients of healing are then invited to come to the front to testify.

It should be noted too that all of this is carefully orchestrated by Hinn’s associates. Many who are not considered a good healing risk are restricted from access to Hinn. Dr. Stephen Winzenburg, a professor at Grand View College in Des Moines, Iowa has conducted research into evangelists’ ministries. Concerning Hinn, Dr. Winzenburg states, “He’s very much like a circus ringmaster when he’s there in the arena. People may be coming for healing, but it’s very much controlled hysteria.” (5)

Another difference is that the miracles of Christ were immediate. Christ never commands a follower to claim a healing that did not occur or to go home confessing a healing and waiting for it to materialize. But again, this is common in Word Faith circles.

Those Jesus healed did not relapse, either. But compare this to the case of Ernestine Rodriguez of Santa Fe, NM who was pronounced healed of brain cancer by Hinn during a 1992 broadcast. Tests performed three weeks later demonstrated the cancer remained. Hinn’s explanation on a later broadcast was, “I do know this: Healing is received by and must be kept by faith. There’s been the cases where they’ve lost their healings.” (6) Another example is Jordie Gibson, who determined to stop kidney dialysis and fly to a Hinn crusade in Anaheim. Gibson is still a believer and believes that he experienced God’s healing power, though he has had to return to dialysis. (7) Yet, never do we see Jesus instructing those He has touched to maintain their healing by faith.

Christ’s healings were always successful. But listen to the story of William Vandenkolk of Las Vegas as related in the Los Angeles Times,

Sitting cross-legged in front of a big-screen TV, the 11-year-old squints through Coke-bottle glasses at a Miracle Crusade video made more than two years ago in which he starred as a boy who miraculously recovered from blindness. “I liked it at first because I thought I was being healed,” says Williams in the living room of his aunt and uncle’s home. On the screen, Hinn bends down to William, his hands on the child’s face. “Look at these tears, “ says Hinn, peering into the child’s eyes. “William, baby, can you see me?” Before more than 15,000 people in a Las Vegas arena, William nods. In a small voice, the boy says, “As soon as God healed me, I could see better.” Hinn, an arm wrapped around William, tells the audience that God has told him to pay the child’s medical expenses and education. People weep. Today William is still legally blind and says his sight never improved, and that his onstage comments were wishful thinking.” Incidentally, the family has yet to receive any of the promised money for medical or educational expenses. (8)

An HBO special documented Hinn’s crusade in Portland, Oregon. On stage Hinn performed 76 alleged miracles. The documentary’s producers asked the ministry for the names of the healed. Thirteen weeks later, only five names were received. Upon investigation, none had received an actual healing. One of those was 10 year-old Ashmil Prakash who had been stricken with two brain tumors. Despite the “healing” pronounced by Hinn and the pledge made by his impoverished parents to give thousands of dollars to Hinn’s ministry, the child died seven weeks after the crusade. (9)

Lastly, the healings of Jesus were not psychosomatic. Jesus raised the dead and gave sight to those born blind and lame. Despite the claims, no good documentation exists that any of today’s healers have done similar miracles. The sad fact is they can’t even heal their own family members. Hinn’s mother was diabetic and his father died of cancer. (10) The stories of other faith healers are similar.

What Is Going On?

So what is one to make of all of the testimonies of miraculous occurrences? What of all those who every day are paraded on a host of shows on TBN and other networks including Hinn’s own, This Is Your Day? Several items must be considered by the discerning Christian.

1. Some of the healings are psychosomatic. People whose primary problems are psychosocial in nature respond positively to placebo affects such as faith healers. In fact, the entire atmosphere of the crusades is orchestrated to build to a climax at the appearance of Hinn and the healing touch. Jesus never had to set the mood in order to be able to work. These emotionally charged events can have great impact on those whose conditions are more psychological than physical.

2. Many are not healed at all. Having a person stand on stage and claim to be healed of cancer or other ailment doesn’t prove the healing has actually taken place. Such healings should be verified by a qualified physician using proper medical studies. These claims to healing can be the result of:

Temporary euphoria- many people are caught up in the moment. The adrenaline rush and anticipation, even the excitement of being in the presence of one considered so anointed, may be enough to provide momentary relief. This is especially true of conditions whose primary symptom is pain.

Positive Confession- what happens at these crusades cannot be separated from a theology that teaches its adherents they possess what they confess. In the belief system of many of these people, to confess that they are not yet healed would be to guarantee that they wouldn’t receive it. Many of them are simply confessing what they believe they will receive at some point.

Hero Worship- There is tremendous desire on the part of many of these participants not to embarrass the healer. They believe so much in the person that they will react as they are instructed, even when they know it is not true. Consider the story of a woman supposedly healed of blindness by Oral Roberts. When instructed by Roberts onstage, “Tell us what’s happening inside you.” She replied, “There- There was a light.” However when interviewed the next day she admitted that nothing had happened. She stated simply, “I didn’t want to disappoint him.” (11)

3. Some are outright fakes. James Randi, a magician, in his book, Faith Healers, documents many of the tactics used to deceive the gullible. Some are as simple as placing staffers in the audience who pretend to be healed. W.V. Grant would pull the heel of one shoe out slightly to make it appear that he was lengthening a leg. Peter Popoff received his “Words of knowledge” through a transistor in his ear through which his wife, via radio transmission, instructed him as she read from cards collected by staffers. Several faith healers have rented wheelchairs to use as props. Some have even encouraged people who walked into the crusade to sit in one of these chairs so they could be taken up to the front to get a better view. These same people were then pulled out of their wheelchairs to the amazement of the crowds. (12) The list of tricks is almost endless.

4. Some are natural occurrences. The fact is that many illnesses get better naturally. This is true regardless of the treatment provided and sometimes without any treatment at all. These, then, are not miraculous healings, but rather the result of the wonderful way humans have been created by an all-wise God. For instance, ninety percent of all patients with low back pain will recover in approximately six weeks regardless of whether the pain was caused by a simple strain or a herniated, degenerative or bulging disc. (13) Even cancer has been known to have spontaneous remissions. These occur among believers and unbelievers alike, people who were prayed for as well as those who weren’t, and are presently without medical explanation. (14)

Many people claim that their healing began at a crusade and then occurred gradually over time. But simply because a person got better after seeing Benny Hinn does not mean the person got better because of Benny Hinn. In logic, this is referred to as the Post Hoc Fallacy (“After this; therefore, because of this”). An example should demonstrate the problem. A balding man may realize that he didn’t begin to lose his hair until after he had children. He may surmise from this that he lost his hair because of his children and may genuinely believe that to be the case. However, it is also possible, even probable, that the man is losing his hair because of his genetic make-up and would have lost his hair even if he never had children. His children are merely incidental to his hair loss but are not the cause. In the same way, many who are “healed” at Hinn crusades are simply experiencing the natural course of the body healing itself. The visit to see Hinn was merely incidental to their recovery and not the cause of it at all. The recognition of true miracles demands tougher criteria.

5. Despite the lack of evidence, the possibility should be left open that some may be legitimately healed. As Justin Peters, a Southern Baptist minister from Mississippi quoted in the Los Angeles Times, says, “As much disdain as I have for Benny Hinn, the vast majority of people who see him are real Christians….When 25,000 people are praying for God to heal them, it would be surprising if God did not heal some.” (15)

Concerns

So what’s the problem anyway? False hope is better than no hope right? Maybe Benny can’t heal but who’s he hurting? Perhaps we should just leave him alone.

But people are hurt. False hope is actually devastating. Listen to the words of Brian Darby who works with the handicapped in Northern California: “You can’t minimize the impact of not being healed on the person, the family, the extended family….They have a sense of euphoria at the crusade and then crash down.” (16) The effect of not being healed can be terribly disillusioning. However, healers such as Hinn can always deflect criticism by blaming the sick for not having enough faith.

And what about those who might stop taking essential medication thinking they have been healed without medical verification? On the September 30, 2003 episode of Hinn’s, This Is Your Day, a young woman is brought to the platform with what appears to be a blood sugar test kit. It is referred to by Steve Brock as her diabetes “pack”. After stating that God has healed her, she proceeds to throw the pack down on the floor of the platform. (17) Left untreated, diabetes can cause a host of debilitating medical complications and ultimately death. One sincerely hopes this young lady visits her physician to verify her healing. Healings of diseases such as diabetes and cancer cannot be validated within the confines of the crusades. There is serious concern for the welfare of many claiming healing.

There is also concern for the Name of Christ and the reputation of the church. The actions of Hinn and those like him bear little resemblance to Christ’s as we have seen. When did Jesus ever slay anyone in the Spirit? Would Christ throw his coat on people to knock them down? Or blow on them? Despite promises to reduce his theatrics, Hinn can be seen on the same show referenced previously waving his hand at the choir shouting, “Receive it!,” at which point the entire choir falls. Hinn runs through the front rows touching heads causing people to fall. Are any of these actions even remotely reminiscent of Christ? Flamboyant hucksters like Hinn who live in mansions on the donations of the desperate bring reproach on the name of Christ. Those who continue to blindly follow these false teachers cause the church to appear gullible in the eyes of the world and, indeed, far too many who name the Name of Christ are just that.

As Christians, we are a people of faith. There is an aversion to believing that anyone who claims a relationship with Christ would be anything less than honest and ethical. Additionally, many Christians want to believe in healers like Hinn as evidence that God is still at work. And indeed, God is still a God of miracles. But biblical faith is not blind or irrational. It is time for the people of God to demand more than anecdotal stories from those claiming the power of the apostles. While documentation of real miracles is lacking, documentation of those who have died at Hinn crusades, such as in Kenya, is not. (18) The miracles of Christ and the apostles were real. The same cannot be said for Benny Hinn and others like him.

Rev. Keith Gibson

BEWARE OF FAITH TRADERS
A REQUEST TO TEACHERS AND STUDENTS

It is time we take on Evil Evangelists who slights the Holy Trinity and tarnish the image of Christianity and making it a laughable stock in the minds of non-believers by indulging in disgusting trading practices. You realize the Examination eve tension in students and their over-concerned parents and to fish in troubled waters Commercial Evangelists of different guises appear and fraudulent as they are, they make false promises to students and bring on stage witnesses to prove their credentials. In these some reputed Christian schools of yore act as willing pimps to fleece the naïve and the gullible and these Evangelists with fattened purses go on in investing in real estates and Gold under pseudo trusts for the sole benefit of their future generation. The sad thing is that even the highly educated elite falls victims to these self anointed holy conmen. This year out of the Thousands of elite-managed Schools in Chennai, only two acted as spineless pimps. But through Television Channels and words of mouth the word spreads among students and they rush to these meetings and pay heavily for their indiscretion in cash and false faith. Jesus Christ is far away from these street pick-pocket Evangelists and He does not attend meetings to be commanded by them. Ultimately your efforts only can reward you. No average student will rise to the point of distinction because some A, B or C cry (no tears please) and pray in public. Anything, which you do on reward, is purely commercial and no sincerity or involvement is attached thereto.I wish to make four requests to you: -

1. Please work hard and the results will follow. This is the Universal Law.
2. Please tell your students and friends that the evil commercial evangelists are out to exploit you in a given situation and it is a sin to pay money to these stinking charlatans of the most inferior quality. They disgrace the world and their religion! Evil Evangelists outrun the good ones in the community.
3. Please let me have a list of those who benefited with incredible results through brokers’ prayers with full address so that I can investigate into it. I understand that some sincere teachers too who love their wards participate in these prayers and buy some of their wares including their patented faith. If you allow faith to take over the effort to win will take a beating.
4. Please do not allow students or brother/sister teachers to promote commercial evangelism in your institution. Beware of paid brokers in your institution!

These requests are made purely in your interests and I request you further to promote this site among your friends. You will stand to benefit by browsing this as well as my other sites. Click on my profile appearing on the side bar and other sites will soon appear. For the international responses I have received on a question of the quality of Teachers and students, please find it in http://thedebatersforum.blogspot.com.

Kindly keep in touch with me through my E-mail: - tomatsenator@gmail.com

BIGOTS TURNING

MAGGOTS TO RELIGION

(Save Christianity Campaign)

Kerala high court orders probe on

christian charismatic centre

The Kerala High Court on 10th March directed the Government to constitute a special investigation team (SIT) headed by Vinson M. Paul, Inspector General of Police to probe into various allegations, including sexual exploitation of women against the Catholic run Charismatic Divine Retreat Centre(CDRC), at Muringoor in Thrissur district of Kerala

Justice K. Padmanabhan Nair also ordered that the SIT should inquire into the allegation of foreign exchange violations by the Centre and unnatural death that took place in and around the Centre during the past two years. He ordered that the team be constituted within two weeks.

The direction came on an anonymous letter complaining about criminal and anti-social activities taking place at the centre. After initiating suo motu proceedings on the basis of the letter, the court had received a complaint from a woman detained at the District Jail, Kozhikode, saying that a priest at the Divine Centre raped her. She was detained in the jail in connection with a theft in the centre. According to her, she had filed a complaint before the District and Sessions Judge, Kozhikode, regarding the rape. She said that the police were not investigating the case. She alleged that in the past two years, a number of dead bodies were found on the National Highway and the railway track near the centre. According to her, these deaths were not deaths due to accidents.

She, in her complaint, said that the bodies were buried in the public ground. The keeper of the burial ground had once objected to bringing dead bodies having injuries. He was found dead in mysterious circumstances within two months. The priest at the centre was sexually exploiting women coming to the centre, she alleged.

The court said that the investigation into the complaint of the woman was in cold storage. The attempt of the investigation officers was to exonerate the accused and make the complainant as accused.

The court ordered appointment of a senior officer in view of the allegations that senior IAS and IPS officers were associating with the functioning of the centre. The court also made it clear that it was open to the SIT to resort to scientific methods such as polygraph test, brain mapping and DNA finger printing. The preliminary report should be filed within one month.

A visit to the CDRC confirms these observations. The Centre is inside a fortress with huge gates that are always locked. Mystery surrounds the whole area and none would talk to you except designated priests. Requests for interview with the participants are sternly denied. The CDRC authorities were not willing to talk about the controversy surrounding the centre.

It is not uncommon to see over thousands of "candidates for miracles" on a given day at the CDRC near Thrissur town. The Divine Retreat Centre, where retreats in six languages, including English, are simultaneously conducted in six 6 different auditoriums, is an offshoot of the Potta ministry. The retreats are conducted every week of the year with an average of 10,000 people per week and up to 20,000 during the summer holidays. Over 300,000 non-Christians and millions of Christians have attended these on-going weeklong retreats since last seven years and have converted to Christianity.

How does the Church attract so many non-Christians to the retreat center? A false Hindu scholar using the alias Aravindaksha Menon appears at every retreat to explain the sacrifice described in Purusha-Suktham as being the first reference to Christ. In addition, the centre has plagiarised Hindu hymns, classical bhakti works like Poonthanam's 'Jnanapana,' and ritual offerings to entice Hindus to convert.

Against all rules and regulations, the powerful Catholic lobby, backed by Western funding, has even managed to force the construction of a railway station near the retreat centre to pump in thousands of devotees from Goa each week for the seven-day retreat. The Secular politicians of the Congress and Communists support the Centre obviously with an eye on their votes.

It is not just Christians who come there, but people of all creed, bound in common only by misfortune, disease and sorrow, and the fierce expectation of a miracle. Even today, if a survey is conducted in the mental hospitals of middle Kerala, more than 50% of the inmates come straight from Muringoor due to failed "miracles". The effects of this misguiding retreat are often tragic. Recently, two young men committed suicide within a week after they came out of the seven-day retreat. The number of mental patients men and suicides arising from the retreat is simply astounding.

Founded in 1987 by Mathew Naickomparambil in Muringoor the retreat centre has not been used by the Catholic Church to alleviate the sufferings of the desperate but instead to exploit the poverty and misfortune of the people.

At the Divine Retreat Center devotees from all walks of life throng to witness the so called miracle of body, mind and soul healing. The propaganda is the blind can see, the dumb can talk and the lame can walk.

The powerful Catholic Church meticulously propagates the Centre. Mention illness or spiritual quest, and someone from the Church would meet you and induce you to visit the Centre. Today, Muringoor is projected as a byword for miraculous healing, cure for addictions, strong spiritual experiences, and a way of life founded on the Bible!

Retreat centers are spread all over India-in Kalyan, a Mumbai suburb, in Farida-bad, near New Delhi, and at Ernakulam in Kerala. Besides, priests of the Vincentian congregation, the initiators of the movement, travel around the world, from Australia to the USA, from the UK to the Middle East and collect huge amounts, utilizing the same for proselytisation purposes.

Although couched in Biblical terminology, the retreat is founded on sound psychological and economical principles such as catching the attention of the poor, week and the meek.

It is hoped that the probe would reveal the real face of CDRC. But it is suspected that the powerful Christian lobby is influencing the Congress and the Marxists to scuttle the probe. http://www.haindavakeralam.org

The Dreadful Dracula Houses of Kerala

The Catholic Christian Convents of Central Kerala

By Dr. C.I.Issac

The Central Kerala, particularly, the Kottayam district is the highest Christian populated [8, 95,000 or 45.83%] area and is the Vatican of India. It is the bastion of Christian vested interests also. A sizable number of priests and nuns who work all over India hails from this particular area. So it is the nuclei of India’s Christian conversion programme [India for Christ Programme]. Above all, the contemporary European Church is facing spiritual crisis due to its youths’ reluctance to ordain as priests and nuns and the Churches of Central Kerala solves that through the export of the same. Through this thumbnail sketch of the present-day Kerala Church, this article is intended to draw the attention of the esteemed readers on the malady of those Christian girls who destined to be as nuns or ‘bride of the Jesus’, within the four walls of the convents.

For the last two decades the disastrous end of young girls who embraced the nun-hood turned to be a news item in the column of the vernacular newspapers of Kerala. So far a dozen such news catches the headings of the press. Of the first is the pathetic end of 19 year old student cum nun Sr. [Sister] Abhaya of Pius X Convent in the heart of the town, Kottayam. She belongs to a lower middle class Catholic family of Kottayam district. On 1992 March 27th, her body was found in the well of the said convent. Her father Thomas Areekkara and mother Leelamma raised serious doubts about the death of their daughter Beena [changed her name in to Sr. Abhaya after taking the veil]. They categorically say that her daughter has any raison d'être to commit suicide.

The dawn of 27th March was a sad day to the students and teachers of BCM college of Kottayam, where Sr. Abhaya was a student, who met disastrous end in the Pius X convent. The Christian police officer who rushed to the spot was given priority to destroy the evidences, instead of collecting evidences related to her suspicious death. No doubt it was with the political blessings from above. Later ups and downs in the investigations are much evident to justify this doubt. The growing economic and political power of Christians [particularly the Church] in Kerala considerably influenced the course of its investigation. The parents of the deceased nun and the philanthropists of Kottayam continued their legal battle to book the culprit, miserably failed. The Christian CBI officer who was in charge of investigation resigned from the office while investigation was in progress. The suspected priest and the mother of the convent who ought to be the prime witness in the case were sent to Vatican by the Church authorities and subsequently they became the citizens of the Papal State. Even though the government of India has a healthy diplomatic relation with Vatican, the investigating agencies miserably failed to extradite them for interrogation.

The story of the disastrous deaths of nuns in the convents of Kerala not ends with the mysterious death of Sr. Abhaya. It was the beginning of a new turn in the history of church sponsored criminalism in Kerala. Subsequently, after two weeks, another nun called Sr. Mercy found dead in a waterless pond in the compound of the convent at Mukkootuthara in the Kottayam district. The all-powerful church hierarchy was able to manipulate the course of investigation from its bud and write-off the death as an accident of drowning. The story of the disastrous death coming out from the convents of Central Kerala is shrouded in mystery and equal or more than that in the 19th century detective novel Dracula of Bram Stocker.

Another scapegoat of the ‘convent-death’ is Sr. Paulcy of the Snehagiri [Hill of Love] Convent of Palai near Kottayam. It was on 17th May 2000. she died of the consumption of poisoned meet food. No other inmates of the convent is affected with food poison, is the paradox to be answered. But the convent authorities had given obituary advertisement in leading vernacular newspaper that Sr. Paulcy [35] died of heart attack. Even though she lost her life in the night of 17th May, the matter was informed to her parents who reside very near to the convent only after eight O’clock in the morning of the next day. Parents of the unfortunate nun raised doubts about the death and the police intervened. The post-mortem report negated the Convent hierarchy’s argument of the ‘heart attack’. The sister and mother of the deceased nun recollected the story which told her a few weeks back that, “a lot of foreign remittance is flowing to the Convent and she happened to see the details of the remittance caused the wrath of the Mother superior of the Convent and she scolded a lot her”. [2nd largest circulated daily of Kerala; Matrubhoomi Daily, Kottayam, 25th June 2000]. Any way the story of mysterious deaths of nuns clearly giving some clue that most of the convents in the Central Kerala are not only the abodes nuns but also the seat of mysterious transactions including the violation of the Commandments 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th. [For the details of the quoted Commandments, see Exodus, Chapter XIX, Aphorisms 2 – 17].

After a couple of months, Sr. Sofi, a 27 year old nun of Velliyappally Valakkattu Convent of Palai became the next victim of “Convent Tragedy”. Her body found in the well of the convent. As usual police has registered an FIR. But the investigation not yet reached any shore of conclusion. It is quite natural that a prominent leader of Kerala politics and his party is the product of the Catholic Church and he belongs to Palai. So in all the church/priest/nun related criminal offences are always shrouding in obscurity. Hence the unnatural death of Sr. Sofi also got the same destiny.

The story of the destiny of Sr. Anjo has yet another dimension. A 22 year old nun found solace in suicide on 29th December 2003. She was an intelligent and smart girl who opt the path of “Bride-ship of the Christ” owing to the compulsion of the family and parents. She was the inmate of SH Convent, Chanjodi near Kottaym. To the Anjo the life in the monotonous convent was boring and she thought about the deliverance. The parents and the Convent authorities insisted her to continue in veil. She lost all hopes of deliverance and finally she fond solace in hanging on the fan. [Feature from Keralasabdham Weekly,- a prominent Malayalam news weekly - 19th January 2003, pp 12, 13].

The tragic death Sr. Ancy, 32, of Bethany Convent of Ranny-Perunnadu was the story of yet another unfortunate who found [it is said] her destiny in the well of the convent. She was a teacher of the school run by the church. Her dead body found in the well in the early morning. But the convent authorities informed the police only after 10’O clock in the morning. This response of the convent authorities was doubtful. The police investigation lost its momentum elsewhere in the deluge of time. Once again the name of one more nun, Sr. Ancy, was also written in the list of Christ’s Brides, which appears, on the walls of paradise.

Now the story of unnatural deaths in the convents is not at all news to an ordinary Malayalee. Even though, it is genuine to bring the news of the tragic end of the last but not least nun. On 23rd June 2006 Sr. Lisa of Saint Francis Clarist Convent of Iravuchira, a hamlet near Kottayam, who ends her life in the convent by consuming poison. The relatives and guardians of the deceased Sr. Lisa strongly believe that her decision of ending life is the outcome of the torture and humiliation that met by her from the convent authorities. [Janmabhoomi Daily – a prominent Hindu news paper - Kottayam, 26th June 2006].

The above mentioned are only some identical incidents from a dozen convent tragedies that took place in the recent past. Those politicians who cast their covetous eyes on the vote banks of the Church have no sufficient will to ensure justice to the souls of the ill-fated women who forced to take veil. The parents of the unfortunate Sr. Abhaya’s fight for justice not yet produced any fruits. The power seeking politician’s interference in the investigation turned down as the stumbling block behind the way to ensure justice to the soul of Sr. Abhaya.

The wretched girls who fettered in the convents are hailing from economically poor Christian families of Kerala. The wealth and religion are not traveling together in the practical experience/case of Christianity in the west. The contemporary European Christian experience substantiates this universal truth. The rich European region is now reluctant to contribute priests and nuns to cater the demands of the Church. Now this gap is filled from less prosperous countries of Asia and Africa. The Church in Kerala is booking profit out of the economic backwardness that still exists amongst the Christian families and thus recruits girls from such families as nuns. Usually girls are enrolled in to the bandwagon of nunnery at the tender ages. The compulsions of the parents who are allured by the Church are grazing its lass to the ‘heavenly prisons’ [convents]. One cannot deny the role of convents schools to motivate young and innocent girls to the ‘slaughter houses’ [convents].

The Syrian Christian community with immense wealth, celebrating their marriage ceremonies with the pomp of “Maha Kumba Melas”, is the real culprit behind the plight of poor girls behind the bars of convents. The seven-digit dowry and celebration turned as a nightmare to the poor Christian families. So the economically weak in the Christian community can’t imagine marriage of their daughters. Kottayam, a small town of 25 lakhs of people and five Cathedrals with Christian economic dominance, has one and a half dozen ‘five star jewelers’ shows the extent of the pompous of richness of Syrian Christians. Now money is a deciding factor in this community. So, economically weak Christians are gearing to compete with the rest through acquiring money. As a result they are compelling their lasses to opt either to nursing or to nunnery. The convent is dam cheap as compared to nursing. So the economically too poor parents are forced to herd their damsels to the convents. Therefore, the Kerala’s Syrian Christian Church is the chief contributor of the 95% of nuns required for the proselytism activities of the Churches in India.


The allegations both moral and material are the universal ghost haunting the Christendom all over the world. One Catholic Priest from India [Kerala] got four months jail term for sexually abusing a twelve year old laity girl in USA. The convicted Rev. Francis X Nelson [38] hailing from Kerala served as the Confidential Secretary Kottar [Tamilnadu] Bishop Leon Tharmaraj. [The New Indian Express, Kochi, 28 March 2003]. Broklyn [USA] Diocese Bishop has forced to transfer 42 files related to sexual abuses involved by twenty five Catholic priests to the authorities during the trial of the Rev. Nelson’s case. [Janmabhoomi Daily, Kochi, 28 March 2003]. The Vatican recently confessed that priests and nuns under the Roman Catholic Church in several countries including India and Italy involving in sexual relations. La Republica daily of Italy reports that priests and nuns involved rape, conception and abortion are frequently reported from various regions. [Janmabhoomi Daily, Kochi, 22 March 2001]. Priests involvements in murder and other subversive activate are increasing at a high rate.

It is believed that the Catholic Priests and Nuns are chronic bachelors and chronic spinsters respectively who practices Bramachariay/Sanyasaa Ashram/life of hermit are using high calorie fat food is one among several reasons of the increase of sexual appetite. This is the main reason for the sex related crimes also. If the church is interested to maintain the purity of the concept of hermit life amongst its soldiers of proselytism, it is better to follow Hindu practices of vegetarianism and yoga. Otherwise papal effort to maintain hermitage in the Church order will be a futile effort.

Let us return to Kerala scenario. In September 2001 St. Alphonsa Church at Kolayad near Kannur was ransacked by some [the discontented laity] people. Those who are lamenting of Sanga Parivar attack on churches in other states followed lukewarm attitude towards this attack. This was happened so, because of the frustration that brewing inside the church. Fr. Job Chittilappally, a 71 year old padre of St. Varaprasada Matha Church, near Chalakudi in Trichur district found dead with stab injuries in August 2004. The Church has shown no enthusiasm in booking the culprit, is noteworthy. Earlier for petty problems nuns and priests along with laity display their might in the street. But in this case there were no such road shows. All these are the signs of the ever-deteriorating morale space of the Church and Christianity all over.

So here comes the question of social justice. The ill-fated girls who destined to the hellish suffering within the four walls of convents have the right to live. The government and constitution has moral and legal right to ensure the right of life of them. So the practice of recruiting girls to the convents before the growth of ‘wisdom teeth’ must go. The recruitment to the profession of nunnery at the tender age is not different from girl-foeticide. So it must be treated as criminal act and those who involve, with out considering the social status of person, must brought before the law. If criminal laws are not sufficient to deal with, it should make further laws to book the culprits. Courtesy: haindavakeralam.org

Does this not look funny?

A Televangelist has this ready-to-use format if you wish him to pray for you on any of these issues for which he as a BLESSINGS BROKER can get results. (If you are a little inquisitive you will not find any of these in the list - lost teeth, baldness, sexual dysfunction, amputated organ.... Televangelists are the greatest curse Christianity has every suffered!)

Military Service – army, navy, airforce, costguard, marines, coalition forces
Pysical ailment – emotional distress - depression,

Cancer - breast, bone, brain, colon, kidney bladder, liver, lung, ovarian/uterian, prostrate

Hepatis C

Heart - attack, stroke, heart failure, surgery, blocked artery

Lungs - pneumonia, cystic fibrosis, fluid

Diabetes - sugar level, foot/limp amputation (can't after amputation)

Accidents - coma, brain injury, internal organs. broken/crushed bones,

Business – job -rent, foreclosure, automobile, bankruptcy

Marriage Restoration - divorce, abuse

Family situations - abuse, rebellious children, child

Court Cases - business, family, propety, allegation.

Addiction - alcohol, drugs, tobacco and sexual perversion

Protection - travel, life-threats, ministry

Guiidance/Wisdom - business, litigation, ministries, family situations

Occult – Salvation - Family Member, Friend

....AND THIS DEVIL DOES GOOD BUSINESS BECAUSE WE ARE A BUNCH OF NAIVES.

The Sthitaprajna or Perfect Sage

according to the Hindus
Characteristics of the Perfect Sage

Arjuna said:

(54) What is the description of the man who has this firmly founded wisdom, whose being is steadfast in spirit, O Krishna? How should the man of settled intelligence speak, how should he sit, how should he walk?

The Blessed Lord (Krishna) said

(55) When a man puts away all the desires of his mind, O Arjuna, and when his spirit is content in itself, then is he called stable in intelligence.
(56) He whose mind is untroubled in the midst of sorrows and is free from eager desire amid pleasures, he from whom passion, fear, and rage have passed away, he is called a sage of settled intelligence.
(57) He who is without affection on any side, who does not rejoice or loathe as he obtains good or evil, his intelligence is firmly set (in wisdom).
(58) He who draws away the senses from the objects of sense on every side as a tortoise draws in his limbs (into the shell), his intelligence is firmly set (in wisdom).
(59) The objects of sense turn away from the embodied soul who abstains from feeding on them but the taste for them remains. Even the taste turns away when the Supreme is seen.
(60) Even though a man may ever strive (for perfection) and be ever so discerning, O Arjuna, his impetuous senses will carry off his mind by force.
(61) Having brought all (the senses) under control, he should remain firm in yoga intent on Me; for he, whose senses are under control, his intelligence is firmly set.
(62) When a man dwells in his mind on the objects of sense, attachment to them is produced. From attachment springs desire and from desire comes anger.
(63) From anger arises bewilderment, from bewildermeant loss of memory; and from loss of memory, the destruction of intelligence and from the destruction of intelligence he perishes.
(64) But a man of disciplined mind, who moves among the objects of sense, with the senses under control and free from attachment and aversion, he attains purity of spirit.
(65) And in that purity of spirit, there is produced for him an end of all sorrows; the intelligence of such a man of pure spirit is soon established (in the peace of the self).
(66) For the uncontrolled, there is no intelligence; nor for the uncontrolled is there the power of concentration and for him without concentration, there is no peace and for the unpeaceful, how can there be happiness?
(67) When the mind runs after the roving senses, it carries away the understanding, even as a wind carries away a ship on the waters.
(68) Therefore, O Arjuna, he whose senses are all withdrawn from their objects his intelligence is firmly set.
(69) What is night for all beings is the time of waking for the disciplined soul; and what is the time of waking for all beings is night for the sage who sees (or the sage of vision).
(70) He unto whom all desires enter as waters into the sea, which, though ever being filled is ever motionless, attains to peace and not he who hugs his desires.
(71) He who abandons all desires and acts free from longing, without any desires of mineness or egotism, he attains to peace.
(72) This is the divine state, O Arjuna, having attained thereto, one is (not again) bewildered; fixed in that state even at the end (at the hour of death) one can attain to the bliss of God. ~ Meister Eckhart

20 Signs that identify Commercial Evangelists!

They misinterpret and twist Bible verses to sharpen their personal agenda.

They can be of local or foreign brands – very expensive.

They create their own fables on Biblical figures.

They are good at acrobatics and ‘jump dances’ on the stage.

They feign epileptic seizures that in turn stimulates hysterical reactions in others.

They live by body languages – their faces rotate and eyebrows dance.

They are good in voice modulation, they scream, screech and shriek.

They wail while their tears hide in their eyelids.

They are good at uttering lies and in practicing deception, they are master brains.

They live a life of shame as parasites on the innocent knaves and gullible.

They decorate themselves with expensive attire and jewelry paid for by believers, disgracing Him.

They are self-anointed earthly blessings-brokers with no covenant, binding on them.

They travel all over the world and build up assets everywhere under the Sun.

They are insulated against action, as no power would ever dare to challenge them.

They spent on philanthropy as fishing baits for more returns.

They put innocent children into faith marketing and none would dare touch them invoking Child Labour Act.

They live either on TV hallows or borrowed hallows from ecclesiastical Judas Iscariots.

They beg without shame and corner the returns in solid personal assets under shady Trusts.

They are blind on faith; but smartly live on cornered faiths.

My Prayer to conclude: ‘God. They do not know what damage they do to the community that trusts them and what slight and sham they cause on You and the image of Christianity in collaboration with your accredited herds in identifiable robes. Forgive them because they neither know nor evaluate the damage their atrocious actions cause on Christianity as a whole’

This is pasted in other blogspots too. Mathew Thomas

FAITH CRIMINALS EXPOSED!

True faith never blinds

Healthy Christian faith and healthy spirituality versus addictive religion, toxic faith, and obsessive fanaticism!

James Randi’s, experiences with faith healers, particularly fundamentalist Christian faith healers, who've been described as the world championship wrestlers of religion.

A talk between Mr. James Randi and Mr. Paul Willis on Faith Healing!

Randi: Well first of all they don't do any faith healing, I think I can say that from a point of view of authority. I investigated for my book 'The Faith Healers' 104 cases of people who said they had been healed by faith healers or about whom it was said they were healed. And I found out those 104 people belonged to three classes: first class is people who never had the disease that they thought they did. A quick example of that is a woman who said she'd been healed of throat cancer where the faith healer admitted he touched her on the forehead. So I questioned her further, and eventually got to talk to her doctor. And her doctor sort of shook his head and he said, 'I have examined her for throat cancer at least 15 times in the past few years. Her mother died of it some years ago and every time she gets a sore throat of any kind, or a frog in her voice or whatever, she swears she has throat cancer. She comes to me and I examine her, and say, "No, no trace of any abnormality there" but she still wants to believe she has throat cancer.'

The second class of people that I examined in those 104 people, were people who still had the diseases of which they said they'd been healed. One gentleman, he said he'd been healed of diabetes. W.P. Grant, who had apparently treated this man by again hitting him on the forehead with his palm. There has never been a recorded case of diabetes being healed but it can be treated effectively either with insulin or other drugs that simulate the effect of insulin. He said, 'I'm aware of that, but I want to testify to my healing.' I said, 'OK, can I talk to your doctor?' and he said, 'Yes'. There was a pause and he said, 'By the way, my doctor won't agree that I've been healed.' I said, 'Wait now, either you are healed or you're not healed.' He said, 'Yes, but my doctor's not a Christian you see.' And he said, 'Oh I see, you're one of those skeptical people?' I said, 'Yes indeed I am, Sir, I admit that.' And he said, 'Well, I don't think I want any more of this conversation.' I said, 'One question more: are you still taking insulin?' He said, 'I thought you'd ask that.' He said, 'Yes, the Devil makes me take the insulin.'

The third class of people was even sadder. They were people who were already dead by the time I got around to interview them. And one case was in St Louis, Missouri, we went up to the front door and we were just knocking on the front door and they opened the front door and the gentleman was being wheeled out in the body bag on a gurney. He had died of the disease he said he'd been healed of, just the night before.
I can't say that faith healing has never worked or that it doesn't ever work. All I can say is my experience is 100% failure.

Paul Willis: You also did some investigations of the faith healers themselves, and found that they were using all sorts of tricks to make people think that they could actually perform a healing.

Randi: We found that a chap named Peter Popov here; what they would do is they would interview the crowd as they came into the place, and they'd find someone with an ailment of a certain kind, get them to describe it, and then they would transmit this to the faith healer when he was out on the floor, and we'd hear the wife's voice saying, 'Go down aisle 2 Peter, the fellow in the red shirt in the third row right on the aisle there, his name is Bill.' And so Popov would go down and say, 'Bill, why am I saying Bill? Is your name Bill?' And Bill would light up. 'And you're going to tell Dr Gladstone - what is your doctor's name?' 'Dr Gladstone'. 'Did you tell that to me, or to anyone?' 'No, I didn't.' But what they didn't say or didn't ask him was he'd filled it out on a form and handed it in previously because he was asked to do so. So this was just a case of regurgitating the information, but it was being given to them by his wife who was backstage at a transmitter, and he had a little hearing aid device that enabled him to hear this.
Paul Willis: You've managed to show a number of them to be fakes, but since I've been here I've turned on the tally and there's still plenty of them out there. Do you feel you're fighting a losing battle?

Randi: It's a losing battle. One fellow once said to me "Mr Randi, I assume you will realise that you're shoveling water uphill". It takes a certain amount of bravery to face up to the fact that you're not going to be rescued by an angel, or that you have to get rid of the Devil or some such thing who is cursing you. No, you've got a bacterial infection, take some penicillin.

EVANGELISTS OR ...................

T.V. Evangelism and Evangelists
C. D. Norman

The current trend in evangelism is through T.V. broadcasts. It has two advantages: it reaches a wider audience and it ushers in a comfortable inflow of money for the evangelists, apparently to run more of the programmes. The viewers are happy and so are the evangelists. Besides the inflow of money, they become widely known and popular over a much wider area than it was possible during the days before the advent of TV.

The number of TV evangelists in Tamil Nadu is surprisingly high as are the number of commercial TV channels willing to accommodate them. Christian religious programmes in Tamil are telecast by channels like Raj digital, Jaya TV, Vijay TV and SS Music. Besides there are a number of English channels (round the clock): GOD channel, Miracle net, Daystar and New Hope TV. Also Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Hindi channels. They all proclaim one decisive overt objective: To reach the gospel to the ends of the earth so as to bring the second coming of Christ sooner.. And their concealed objective is conversion.

I have been watching some of these Tamil and English programmes, not to satisfy my emotional or spiritual needs but to evaluate them in my own light.

These evangelists can be broadly grouped in to two categories.

1) Those with objective of propagating Christian faith and theology in a forceful and authoritative tone (unlike sermons in the churches which are docile and time bound - 15 minutes) aimed both at receptive Christians and indifferent non-Christians.

2) Prosperity gospellers who offer miracle healing and additional incentives like monetary gains, jobs, promotions and the like through their prayers. The first group of evangelists are much less watched than the second who are articulate, expressive, dramatic and capable of drawing huge crowds to their meetings and a large viewership for their TV programmes.

Prosperity evangelists are well dressed, well groomed, healthy and happy. Some of them are globe-trotters. They are, by and large, dressed in expensive clothes and if the entire family is involved in evangelism, one can guess how extensively furnished their wardrobe should be. There is a very popular family centred in Madras: father, mother, son, daughter-in-law, grand son and grand daughters all of them claiming to be evangelists in their own right and having been anointed by fire and Holy Spirit. They live off the contributions from their votaries and TV viewers, soaking up a substantial part of the money for their personal use. They live in luxurious style in expensively furnished living quarters and office areas, all air conditioned, possibly, unlike Jesus whom they proclaim to the people who was poor, homeless, and never asked for money to support himself or his disciples. Raising themselves up to the level and life style of modern social and economic standards of high society, they travel in expensive cars, demand five-star hotel accommodation wherever they are invited to organise their meetings, at the expense of the local people vast majority of whom could ill afford to support such expensive evangelism. But they do lend their support, nevertheless, because of the faith drilled into their minds that God will repay them hundred fold if they uphold the ministry, even with what little they could spare. Invariably such meetings end up with more demand for money to build a new prayer house or to expand the existing ones , which buildings eventually end up as family property under a thin veil of family-trust, assumed to be the gift from God for their service to Him

When one evangelist lady from the west who always presents herself in very expensive dresses was questioned why she was extravagantly dressed, she asked them not to be jealous for she would be dressed even more gorgeously in heaven in the presence of God. Which was not the answer to the question.

One evangelist, a sadhu in saffron robes demanded., some two years go, Rs.60 lakhs for developing a studio with equipments for the making of his TV programmes. The amount was promptly subscribed by his followers. His present demand is for rupees thirty-five crores for the expansion of his studios and TV ministry to Nepal, Tibet and other North Indian Languages. GOD channel is a typical example. Only last year it demanded eight million pound sterling from its viewers for its broadcasting studios. Amazingly, the sum was subscribed almost within a week. And their demand today is 20 million pound sterling for modernising their studios and updating the equipments to accommodate the latest technology in telecasting. Money is pouring in, though not as fast as after their first demand. 20 million pound sterling is Rs. 150 crores in our currency.


Pastor Benny Hinn who attracts large crowds for his crusades all over the world claims to spend millions of dollars for his crusades. If one observed the vast arrangements made for his crusades one will be able to realise the truth of his statements. For his Bangalore crusade in January 2005, he said, he spent two million dollars. And he conducts a crusade almost every month through the course of the year, in one country or the other around the globe.

Paul Dinakaran once said that they (the family) run 40 different programmes every week in various languages and that on an average each programme costs Rs.25,000 from the stage of planning and preparation to its telecasting. This means an expenditure of rupees five crores every year. ( In the Jesus Calls programme on 1st of May 2005 it was announced that they run 100 programmes in a week!) And this, in brief, is the financial aspect of TV evangelism. And who bears the burden? It is everybody’s guess.

Most of these programmes carry clippings from films on Jesus. These ‘cuts’ from films made by western producers are used either to motivate the viewers or to fill in ‘gaps’ in their programmes. The miracles performed by Jesus are repeatedly shown as also his suffering at the hands of the Roman soldiers and His crucifixion, in order to touch the hearts of the viewers and arouse their compassion. How many times can one watch the same visuals exhibited over and over again in one or the other channel? For a non-Christian viewer this might look ridiculous. Too frequent an exposition of the films on the life of Christ becomes a mockery and serious violation of God’s command not to represent Him in any form including visual. Jesus was human , no doubt, during the period he lived on this earth as depicted in these pictures but he was also divine, Son of God.

The influence of commercial cinema can be seen in the shooting and exhibition of song and dance sequences in religious broadcasts, the songs, in any case, are not very musical to the ear. Some of these songs are supplemented by body movements of the singer or a group of singers , such as hand gestures, jerking of the legs and gyration of hips along with zoom-in or zoom-out background shots of rivers in spate, water falls, cascades of water leaping over and between rocks, flower beds in parks, flight of colourful birds, rural scenes of moving bullock carts on village tank bunds etc. The display of dances and fanciful backdrops distract the attention of the viewer more than be helpful in conveying the real message of the programme.

The solemn and beautifully worded church hymns and lyrics have been dumped in to the dust bin by the TV evangelical programmers. . We hardly hear them sung even by church choirs in these programmes. Dinakaran (sr) comes out occasionally with a lyric sung in deep guttural voice. Another gentleman singer in the robes of a priest goes almost into a trance while singing his own compositions, very sentimental, very emotional. He also breaks in to a dance movement somewhat resembling “kummi”, as it is known in Tamil. I understand he is in great favour with Christians whose musical appreciation is quite primitive and emotional susceptibility high.

Another unhealthy trend in TV evangelism is the use of group dances similar to those in commercial cinemas . This has nothing to do with the spreading of Christian knowledge. The dancers are extravagantly and expensively dressed,dances choreographed by amateurs and the performance mainly aimed at highlighting the children of the family of evangelists.

Presenting one act plays called “short Plays” or “Kuru Natakam” in Tamil as introductory part of a programme is another hazard of watching these programmes. The people who act these plays neither have histrionic talent nor artistic inclination. The plays are meant to highlight morals which are derived from the scriptures. Themes like a drunkard husband, son addicted to drugs, office clerk indifferent and disobedient to his boss, a family deep in debt etc. At the end of the play comes a quotation from the Bible, someone in the play triumphantly declaring those verses. The erring characters repent and are instantaneously reformed . All ends well. The world is happy and peaceful again. Except the discerning one who looked for some quality in the drama. He develops a headache.

Any play intended to project a moral at the end is bound to be boring. The target audience to these plays are essentially the simple minded who are incapable of distinguishing right from the wrong and who absorb these morals at one moment and forget them the next. Bobby Talayarkhan, a famous cricket commentator once said while broadcasting from Bombay, “The TV set you are sitting before is an idiot box with the idiot at this end.” In the case of moralistic TV plays one is not sure on which side of the TV is the idiot.

When the examination months of April and May approach, the evangelists wake up afresh like hibernating frogs after the first rain. They organise prayer meetings for those hapless students lost in their study, call them together to conduct prayer sessions (not study sessions) and pray over the TV for brilliant success in their examinations in order to get easy entrance into universities and professional colleges. TV interviews are conducted where ex-students who did well in their exams in previous years are called to witness the benign effect of prayers by this or that brother or uncle. They are given prayer cards which the students are supposed to carry with them but not a word is spoken of hard work and concentrated study. Every student is promised the first place in the examination. The students are happy as also their parents. The evangelists are happy too for having made so many young believers, until the day the results are published when it becomes clear to all that only one among them can stand first, not all as prayed for.

I remember the witness of a girl who went through this regimen. She said, “A week before the examination I fell sick. I couldn’t study at all. I prayed with brother ….. ‘s prayer card . When I went to the examination hall my mind went blank. I took out the prayer card and prayed. I then went through the question paper and prayed again. And when I started to write, to my surprise, I kept on answering all the questions as if I knew the answers well. Then I realised that that it was not I but Jesus who wrote the answers. I thanked Him for that . I got good marks in the exam and obtained a first class certificate. Thanks to Jesus, thanks to bro…… “ If the girl had realised it was Jesus who wrote her papers she should also have known that she didn’t deserve her degree and must have had the moral courage to return the certificate to the university. Actually the degree must have been conferred on Jesus. There is a catch somewhere. Did Jesus help her with good memory to attempt her papers well or did Jesus connive with her in cheating? Sometimes a person’s vision goes blurred and logic gets derailed.

Now and then we find these religious channels being used for advertising the sponsor’s own products like books, videotapes, audio tapes, CDs etc. Books of Benny Hinn range from Rs. 1200 to Rs. 1700. His pictorial calendar for 2005 was priced at Rs 1850 and a made-in-Israel earthen lamp which gives out fragrant fumes when lighted is prices at Rs. 4750. Admissions to a group of engineering colleges is given wide publicity by supporting visuals of their lecture halls, laboratories, libraries, hostels, kitchens, playgrounds and other places of interest in the campus including the enclosure for prayer where offerings can be made. Some senior students of the college are called upon to give testimony on the advantages of joining this college. Evangelism then takes a second place

Evangelist Paul Dinakaran and his wife are on a visit to Norway (telecast: late April 2005) along with their camera crew on the pretext of evangelism but actually with the commercial intention of securing the collaboration of four Norwegian Universities with their own Karunya University. Full coverage of this including their meetings with the bosses of the Norway Universities and a lady member of Norwegian Parliament have been telecast with impunity in their TV programme with the sole purpose of advertising their Karunya University during the time paid for by their votaries for evangelical work. Are they so naïve to assume that their admirers are eager to see them kick the snow in Oslo (as shown in the visual) and throw hands full of snow towards the camera? Or are they blinded by their popularity as not to see what they are doing can come under fire and be criticised by observant people?

A preacher from Andhra exhibits his lovely campus of Theological College run by him and charity home for women, near Vijayawada. Quite a number of them also run orphanages, technical schools. Bible colleges, charity homes which they advertise along with their spiritual messages. Pastor Benny Hinn’s support by a contribution of 2 million dollars to a Christian charity hospital in Calcutta, every year, was widely acclaimed both by the donor and the recipient on the TV screen.

Some of the evangelists in their desire to show how popular their ministries are, show footages of visuals of the crowd attending their meetings video-graphed from different vantage points. Benny Hinn loves to declare the details and the number of ‘saints’ at his crusades. He believes that the total attendance in his three days crusade in Bangalore was 7 millions (seventy lakhs) which is one million more than the entire population of the city of Bangalore. But the Bangalore police estimated the total attendance all the three days to be around two and a half millions. Bangalore police had to file an affidavit with the Karnaraka High Court on the conduct of Benny Hinn’s crusades. Why this vast difference in the two estimates? If Benny Hinn’s team had gone wrong in their estimate in Bangalore it is likely that the went wrong at other place too. But then why the emphasis on the number?


The central theme of almost all prosperity oriented evangelists are ;miracle cure of diseases, solving of domestic troubles, settling monetary problems, childless couples to be blessed with babies, long unmarried boys and girls to find their spouses soon, recovery from deep debts in business and the like. People do claim total relief from their troubles as a result of the prayers by these evangelists and go on the stage to witness what God had done for them. Interviews are arranged which are well rehearsed before hand and video-graphed for telecasts later. Even telephone interviews are arranged for the convenience of those who live far away. These witnesses are mainly aimed at believers to strengthen their belief further and at the sceptics to convince them of the miracles

No doubt these servants of God are prayerful men and women. They claim direct communication and interaction with God through incessant and continuous prayers in their personal lives. Some of them claim that God spoke to them in audio voice or ‘appeared’ before them in all glory like brilliant light etc. One of them said in his broadcast that Jesus appeared before him while praying for a lady in bed in a hospital in Singapore and spoke to him. I sent him an e-mail asking him if Jesus resembled the pictures of Jesus which we normally assume to be his physical appearance and displayed in our homes, in what dress was he attired, was it all white or coloured, in what language He spoke to him. My enquiry may appear sacrilegious and impertinent to many but, no, it was my curiosity to know in more detail about his vision. It was an honest enquiry. He did not reply. I had a feeling he wouldn’t

Preachers like Benny Hinn, Dinakaran (sr) and (jr) and many others, while praying in general for the sick, casually call the names of the sick and the suffering, among the congregations gathered before them and sometimes names of persons even far away from the meetings. It is claimed that these names are revealed to them by the Holy Spirit Techniques of TV help them later to coordinate the earlier events of calling the names, followed by the interviews with the persons called, add the witness of miracles that had happened to them and telecast the visuals with dramatic effect in the minds of their TV audience.

Faith healings and miracles were only a part of the ministry of Christ during His life on this earth. The basic requirement of Christian faith is saving of human souls through their declaration of faith in Christ as Son of God and the acceptance of the shedding of His blood for the redemption of man from Adamic sin. Jesus had to resort to parables and miracles in order to attract the attention of the ordinary Israelites who were mostly illiterate and to bring them to the path of salvation through faith. His divine healings, restoring the sight to the blind, raising the dead back to life depended upon peoples’ declaration of their faith in his divinity and confession of their faith that Jesus could do what looked impossible for others. Unquestioned faith and commitment were prerequisites to healing and other miracles.

Jesus, being divine, could undo partly, instantaneously and briefly his own laws of nature, like raising Lazarus four days after he was buried., commanding storms to stop blowing or turning water in to wine. In the case of Lazarus there was an absolute reversal of chemical decomposition, reviving the property called life and restoring all biological functions of the resurrected physical body. Ordering the ceasing of a storm instantaneously by rebuking it involves the sudden stopping of an enormous force being conveyed by the wind and reducing the force to nothing, goes against the law of conservation of energy. When water was converted to wine, simple molecules of water H2 O changed to complex molecules of a large number of organic chemical constituents of wine as though by mutation of atoms which was against all known laws of chemistry. Jesus could do them because He was God himself (son of God), the creator, modifier, destroyer and re-maker of laws of nature. With all that He was humble after each healing. “Do not tell others about this”, “Go to the temple and make the sacrifices demanded of the cure and the cleansing of leprosy”. And that was all. It was the people who spoke of all His miracles and spread the news by word of mouth
The offer of prayer on request over the telephone by volunteers is an innovative facility offered through twenty-four hour prayer houses where people with their head phones ‘ON’ sit through night and day in anticipation of distress calls from the sick and the suffering, from far and near, just to pray for them. They are called “jeba veerar” in Tamil, (possibly derived from Salvation Army terminology). Great. One organisation has planted its volunteers in Bombay, Madras, Madurai, Thirunelveli, Trivandrum, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and God knows where else. Your woes are dutifully listened to by them and prayed for with tears pleading with God for redressing of the problems on hand. It is based on the belief that God in heaven is constantly listening to the messages from these prayer houses dealing out cures for the sick, jobs for the unemployed, promotion in jobs to the overlooked employees, and most significantly removing instantly cancerous growths from patients minutes before being wheeled to the operation theatre, to the utter amazement of the surgeons and confusion of the operating team. But the distressing thing is that the prayers are followed up, I am told, with requests (or demand) for money as contribution . It is quite likely, I have no first hand knowledge.
There are a couple of evangelists who when raising their prayers to God before the mike and a million strong congregation, cry with tears rolling down their cheeks to let the TV watchers see how deeply they identify themselves with human suffering and plead with God with burden and agony in their souls. The opening sentence of a book by a Parsi author who was a war correspondent in the Far East during the Second World War runs, “Men do not cry, not men like me.” He had been eye-witness to many a tragic war deaths and wanton destruction. But our evangelists are different.
Miracle and prosperity oriented evangelists pray for almost identical problems, repeatedly again and again. They have in stock memory a list of human ailments pertaining to the heart, the lungs, brain, blood, the circulatory system and the like which they refer to in turn, one or two at a time which they combine with requests for the gift of babies for long barren couples, early marriages for long awaiting boys and girls for their spouses, building new houses for those in need of one, wiping out of burdensome loans and restoring domestic harmony where the home is divided and in conflict. These prayers are impersonal, general and may apply to hundreds and thousands under similar circumstances world over. Praying for a named person for his or her specific needs is understandable but a general request to remove the brain tumours from all the patients all over the world is ridiculous. Had every prayer of theirs been granted there should be no sick person on this planet and all hospitals closed and the doctors and nurses thrown out of jobs.
The Bangalore crusade of pastor Benny Hinn was dedicated to bless India. There was a significant slant towards pleasing the Karnataka Govt. and local politicians while at the same time being challenged by the BJP activists who asked, “Who is this man from the US to bless us?” A number of ministers of Karnataka government including the Chief Minister and high dignitaries and officials were invited and welcomed personally on the dais. Indian national anthem and Vandematharam CD by A.R.Rahman were played full length to please the politicians. On the third day of the crusade the people were asked to bring Indian national flag with them to be waved at suitable points during the meeting,
It is well known that Dinakarans went on a pilgrimage to Delhi to meet Kanchi Sankarachariar who was camping there for the favour of his recommendation with the then BJP Govt. at the centre to grant the status of deemed university to Karunya Institute of Engineering, for which the acharya was presented with a silver Hindu puja vessel in which the holy ash (vibhuthi) is kept .
This mixing of Christian evangelists with politicians, government officials and Hindu saints for favours does not speak well of them, to say the least, whatever be the motive or compulsion that drives them into such situations. These observations of mine may be dismissed by many as negative, frivolous, mischievous and at worse, irreligious. Good, bad or indifferent, evangelism has caught up worldwide and is spreading like wild fire to every corner of the planet making use of the most modern means of communication and technical excellence made available for man through advancement in science. We have come a long way from the days of Jesus who advised his disciples ,”Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bags for the journey; or extra tunic or sandals or a staff ….” and from the days when the crowd that followed Him was perhaps not more than five thousand individuals whom he addressed not through mikes and loudspeakers but by his own gentle voice. And what a difference between then and now!

A HATHAYOGI SINKS

The venue – Bombay. The period – late 50s. The feat – walking (or sliding?) over water- The Sponsor – the late R. K. Karanjia, a fellow traveler, Editor of The Blitz, a committed leftist, a Russia lover, a great friend of Mr. V. K. Krishna Menon and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru – all steel cast rationalists, intellectuals and non believers. Now read the story: -

One fat, fair complexioned, saffron clad figure claimed himself as a practitioner of Hatha Yoga and branded himself “Hatha Yogi”. The Blitz weekly was his promoter and its pages could comfortably accommodate him along with progressive Marxist theories – an instance of coexistence preached by his political Gurus. Shri Hathayogi could convince doubting thomas Karanjia without any demonstration that he could walk over water which none could achieve ever in world history. Hatha yoga or no yoga Hatha yogi proved every one that none could excel him as a top salesman as he could sell his ideas to a hard nut like Karanjia. When Karanjia accepted the claim and gave considerable publicity backing through his publication the Mumbai public accepted it as a preacher’s dictum. Now the stage was set for the demonstration for the people to see for themselves this miraculous feat of our Hathayogi walking over the water.

A 5 ft. deep small tank was constructed in the heart of the city and filled in with Corporation water. The hathayogi with colorful robe – no swimsuit, mind you – appeared on the scene with a cultivated smile and those who assembled stood up in respect clapping (not slapping). Karnjia received him in reverence and led him to the brink of the tank. Hathayogi murmured something for a minute or so as is the practice even now of such holy men and to the excitement, expectations and ecstasies of the assembled he put his right foot - mind you, not the much-maligned poor left foot - over the water and lo and behold the human sized elephant sank deep into the water. No time lost, his followers jumped into the tank and raised the body to the safety of the land. The next scene was filmic – no trace of Karanjia and his Guru around.

Before I conclude, let me make some observations. The same question I asked in the Eye Care Special issue of The Sales Digest - I wish to repeat. This happened nearly fifty five years ago. Had we changed our outlook on claims and conclusions? We have holy men around us clad in orient and western attires who claim of miracles through prayers and to convince us of these they cite instances and parade testimonials on the stage. Any doubts or reasons that surface in us we suppress fearing God’s wrath and consign it to the recycle bin and there we delete it to our detriment. When our commonsense and intellect warn us of these frauds and cheats who amass wealth in the name of God, we ignore it and succumb to it. In all cases we gradually lose our reasoning power and in most cases our money too to these charlatans. At least let us allow our children exercise their intelligence and commonsense to identify these God-shaded criminals and keep away from them and their shaded sacred identity. This is an essential part of good parenting. Mathew Thomas

ON CONVERSION

The questions I have raised in an international Web Forum and the answers I have received. Please view this with an open mind. More questions and answers will follow” -


QUESTION: Is not conversion a heinous and shameful act and a violation of the law of creation?

More on this question: -As the son of a Christian priest I have observed Harijans being converted to Christianity on inducements. Those days T Vs were not present. A Bishop assigned to this job would visit the Church and he would place on a Black Board, pictures of Jesus Christ in action and talk about His noble preaching and love. At the end clothes will be distributed to the poor people. Many will choose to get converted to Christianity anticipating conversion rewards but it was not based on faith, but on need. What happens afterwards? They will refuse to join the congregation as they were still segregated. The Church stood on a hill and the cemetery was in layers – up to down. The bottom layer was allotted for these converted low cast Harijans. They were known then as Pulayas and Parayas and were living in abject poverty – sometimes eating animal carcasses and leftovers. Gandhiji named them Harijans and gave them some deserving consolation. I put this question in this context!



BEST ANSWER - CHOSEN BY VOTERS

Forced conversion is always wrong. No one should join any religion unless they are actually convinced of its veracity or have a heartfelt belief therein.

Not exactly! It would be unloving if someone kept the enjoyment of God from others
Of course there are loving ways of talking to people and unloving ways, and the Bible commands us to speak the truth in love

I do question it because conversion is usually done by promises in which man should not be making. It is also done by fear, "believe in God, or go to hell." I feel it should be a personal relationship, and not done in fear.

Conversion is never by inducement, allurement or by force. It is always by heart. The problem is that in our country the downtrodden are paid no attention, neither by the main religions nor by the government. Christianity has taught this country, education, health and lifestyle. In Orissa Rev. Stein used to provide Brasiers to the naked Adivasi ladies and under garments to the people. He taught the people to wear clothes, bathing and keeping neat and clean. He provided education also to the downtrodden and neglected tribe. In this way many converted to Christianity by their free will. Do you call it forcible converting? If some high cast does not like conversion to Christianity, they should do all goods to the people, that Christians are doing. Are these people serious about the plight of the non-Christians who are allegedly being converted? Do they take care of them? Do they provide them livelihood? Do they take care of health of the poor people? Are they arranging education and healthcare for these people? No! Further, Is conversion illegal? Every citizen of India has a right under Article 25 of the Constitution of India to profess any religion he likes. If I want to profess Islam, who can forbid me from doing so? If I want to convert to Hinduism, will Hindus resist?
Further, this is a hollow propaganda by the anti-Christian forces that Christians are converting Hindus to Christianity. They blame that Christians are engaged in paying money for conversion. Is it not ridiculous? Can any body change one's religious feelings by giving money or kind? No. Come on! Pay me a million dollars, I shall convert to your religion, but can you change my heart?
I know a court case, wherein antichristian forces got filed a case by a Hindu alleging that a pastor has converted him to Christianity by force. While cross-examining the lawyer asked, " Were you made Christian? "Yes" he replied. "Are you now Christian or Hindu?" No. I am still Hindu" he replied. The judge acquitted the pastor on the plea taken by the lawyer I e "If the complainant is still a Hindu, it means he has not been converted". So to say that conversion to any religion cannot be effected by force, allurement or inducement.
Again a thing! The religious meetings and function are being disturbed and interfered by the antichristian forces. Administration keeps mum. I say do these forces have right to disturb the religious meetings an functions? Have they right to beat up and punish the Christians. This is a job of Judiciary. If they find any illegal conversion, they should initiate legal proceedings against the accused! Only the judiciary is to punish the culprit. Therefore I do not believe in "Conversion by inducement". Conversion is neither heinous nor shameful nor violation of law.

Trying to buy a human into a religion or practices is certainly devilish. At the same time looking for buyers is equally mean. In an ideal society, people should be free to practice their harmless beliefs and children should be free to challenge their parents' beliefs.
Mother Teresa's argument favouring job reservations for Harijan Christians proves that conversions did not improve social status but certainly created division in the society.

There is no harm in allowing a willing person to convert to other faith. When we are born we do not know what we have to practice. A faith is just thrust upon us by our parents, though in the later part of our lives we may realise the uselessness of the religion we may be following. In my humble opinion, the people who do not allow freedom to follow one's path are actually doing a very heinous crime themselves. God will never forgive them, I know for sure.

Conversion is not wrong according to any law. Primarily conversion is God's natural law, where all convert into another, being for example Chemical conversion. When you are talking about Christians converting the Harijans to their religion is wrong, here is my point. Were there Brahmins in our country before the Aryans invaded India? After their coming religion and casteism started. Then those who find truth in what they study and find it to be right logically, they can accept. Seeing the dirty side of suffronisation and it's doing Dr. Ambedkar converted into Buddhism. We are here on earth for some time then we have to face eternity of hell and heaven. So we have to seek God. And one finds his God to be one he can believe. If not go to seek Him and find him, because it is matter of eternity. But if Christians are doing force conversion then they are violating the human personal law. Indian constitution forbids force conversion: not voluntary conversion based upon his/her knowledge

Well if you wanna know the reality behind Steines and Mother Teresa and all those missionaries just log on to www.hinduwisdom.info . Forced conversions are a crime against humanity. These Christians have also created many plans for the conversion of the whole world to Christianity. Tell me if Christians are "secular" then why do they convert? Why? Why can't they simply mind their own business. If they have the guts then why don't they preach their religion, spread the "gospel" in Islamic countries where "Sharia" is practiced. Why? Their is only one reason to it:- the Muslim whether he is a beggar or a prime minister is too proud of his religion. He will die fighting but will never convert. Please, don't get carried away by the answer of people like "ghudu". Well if Graham Steines was interested in helping the Harijans, the poor, then why , why did he bring Jesus in the middle? Why did he ask Christians to bring non-Christians into the forests for bible lessons.

If you want to know the truth about these people then please log on to:-

Www.christianaggression.org
Www.hinduwisdom.info
Www.theconversionagenda.blogsp...
Www.pseudosecularism.blogspot....
Www.cpmterror.com
Www.organiser.org
Www.hindujagruti.org

Creation did not create religion. It was evolved by humans for their convenience to achieve the ultimate goal of Moksha. So conversion from one faith to another is only your trial and fail method to reach your goal. What is wrong with it.But if you are talking in western world's perspective then things would be different and it would have an altogether different connotation for eastern world