11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 1

Chapter 11.8 Modern Miracle Working & Fraud Not Everything Amazing is Real

Table of Topics

A) Introduction to Explaining Modern Claims to Miracle Working

B) Super-supernaturalism’s Inadequate Approach to Fraud

C) Fraud in the Ancient Church: Apollonius

D) Fraud Among Spiritualists & Shamans

E) Fraud in Early Super-supernaturalism E.1) Fraud of Indonesian “Revival” E.2) Fraud of E.3) Fraud of E.4) Fraud of resurrections

F) Fraud in Modern Super-supernaturalism F.1) Fraud of the “Toronto Blessing” F.2) Fraud of the “Happy Hunters” F.3) Fraud of John Wimber F.4) Fraud of

Publications & Particulars

11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 2

Primary Points  We have found super-supernaturalism’s claims to miraculous gifts fall far short of their biblical attributes.  It is not our burden to explain all super-supernatural phenomena. If it has been proven to be unbiblical, or even extrabiblical, then it would seem the burden of explanation rests with super-supernaturalists.  Our concerns are that 1) people are claiming abilities that only messengers of new divine revelation possessed in Scripture, 2) healings that God has granted through the secret and faithful prayers of Christians are being claimed by faith healers, 3) false teaching regarding the miraculous gifts has and will lead to even greater deception later, 4) modern faith healers are just plain lying at times, 5) some healings are no doubt demonically empowered, and finally, all of this is being done in the name of our Christ.  There is a consistent lack of diligence or ability of super- supernaturalists to provide undeniable, detailed proof of their claims  Pagan spiritualists throughout history have been exposed as frauds.  Many of super-supernaturalism’s leaders have been proven frauds including Kuhlman, Roberts, Wimber, and Hinn. 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 3 A) Explaining Modern Claims to Miracle Working

Thus far in our study we have looked at the biblical characteristics of the gifts of miracle working and healing, and in the process, we have found super-supernaturalism’s claims to these gifts fall far short of their biblical attributes. 1 Not only does most of the miracle working claimed in the movement lack the power and convincing nature of those possessing the miracle working gifts in Scripture, they also lack their purpose. Accordingly, modern super-supernaturalism completely ignores the biblical fact that every God-sent miracle worker in the Bible was also a messenger of new divine extra biblical revelation from God. 2 The reason super-supernaturalism so blithely dismisses the biblical criteria for God-sent miracle workers is that, not only do they lack any new divine revelation, but such a claim would incur greater scrutiny of their life and ministry. As it is, modern “miracle workers” in the Church simply wish to portray themselves as just wanting to help people and preach the Gospel, which obviously raises much less concern. Nonetheless, unbiblical behavior and deception in the Church is never to be acceptable for those who love and fear God. As we’ve demonstrated, the difference between those possessing the biblical gifts of miracle working in Scripture, and those claiming them today, is so great, that it would seem presumptuous and misleading for them to label their experiences as these gifts. Nonetheless, super-supernaturalism can claim some fairly supernatural experiences. They can produce a multitude of astounding stories, and not only events that happened somewhere on the other side of the world, but right in their own local churches. How do we explain this? First of all, it can be said that it is not our burden to explain all super-supernatural phenomena. If it has been proven to be unbiblical, or even extrabiblical, then it would seem the burden of explanation rests with super-supernaturalists. Especially when they have insisted all along that the phenomena are biblical and from God. Along these lines, and regarding specifically the issue of healing, respected Bible teacher John MacArthur writes: Charismatics plead, “But incredible things are happening; how do you explain it?” I hear the same refrain constantly from Charismatic friends: “I know this lady whose son who had cancer and— My friend’s mother was so bent over with arthritis she couldn’t move and—.” In reply I say: “Since no Charismatic healer can come up with genuinely verifiable cases of instant healing involving organic disease; since no Charismatic healer heals everyone 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 4 who comes for healing and hundreds go away from their services as sick or crippled as when they came; since the Word of God needs no confirmation . . . since Charismatic writers appear to disallow God his own purposes in allowing people to be sick; since Charismatic healers seem to need their own environment; since the evidence they bring forth to prove healings is often weak, unsupported, and over- exaggerated; since Charismatics are not known for going into hospitals to heal even though there are plenty of faithful people in hospitals; since most instances of healings by Charismatics can be explained in ways other than God’s unquestioned supernatural intervention; since so much confusion and contradiction surrounds what is happening—let me ask the return question: How do you explain it? It certainly is not the biblical gift of healing” 3

The second reason we need not explain every supernatural phenomena is that the mere absence of an alternative explanation does nothing to prove that the phenomena were empowered by God. Reformed theologian B. B. Warfield (1851-1921) was right when he wrote: Bare inexplicableness cannot be accepted as the sufficient criterion of the miraculous. There are many things which we cannot explain, and yet which nobody supposes to be miraculous. . . . Nature was made by God, not man, and there may be forces working in nature . . . which are beyond [current] human comprehension. Simple inexplicableness, therefore, is not an adequate ground on which to infer miracle. There must be something else about an occurrence besides its inexplicableness to justify us in looking upon it as a direct act of God’s. 4

Accordingly, just because we cannot explain a particular phenomenon, there is no reason to conclude it is a miracle, much less an act of God. And this is particularly so when the phenomenon is completely absent from the Scriptures, as so many modern super-supernatural phenomena are, such as being, “slain in the Spirit,” or “holy laughter.” 5 However, because we claim that modern super-supernatural phenomena have nothing to do with the biblical miraculous spiritual gifts, it would seem appropriate to offer some alternative and legitimate explanations for them. But how do we begin to sift through the claims of the miraculous in super-supernaturalism today? First of all, we must exclude from the discussion any direct 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 5 miracles 6 that God alone has in fact performed, but that modern “miracle” workers have taken credit for. Unfortunately, the real fact that God is still doing wonderful miracles, the best of which is converting people into new creations, can be lost in all the need to correct super-supernaturalism and protect the Church from its potentially damaging errors. 7 We want to repeat, as we have throughout this section of Knowing Our God (KOG), that we love, expect, and believe in miracles and God’s ability and willingness to perform them even in our day. But for what we think are biblical reasons, we do not expect or believe in miracle workers. Accordingly, purely God-wrought miracles provide no support for super-supernaturalism’s claims that the miraculous spiritual gifts of commanding instantaneous, complete, and truly miraculous healings are still operating, and there is no doubt that some are taking credit for being God’s instruments in working a miracle when in fact God did not use them at all. This leads us to another explanation that also drastically reduces the number of miracles super-supernaturalism can claim: Fraud. Obviously in any environment where spectacular claims are being made in order to prove something, exaggeration and even outright deception are inevitable and unfortunate. A few examples of the many that could be demonstrated will be briefly noted below. Therefore, it is suggested that if: 1) No one would confuse direct miracles, perhaps occurring in answer to prayer, with delegated miracle working occurring through the command of someone with the biblical gift of miracle working, and 2) If everyone was being extremely careful to avoid exaggeration and be completely honest; then the number of “miracles” needing to be explained within super-supernaturalism would be significantly less, if not extremely few. Still, there is no doubt that there are supernatural phenomena within the movement today. And again, if we are going to claim that it has nothing to do with miraculous spiritual gifts from God, then by what power is it? It will become evident that apart from real God-sent miracles and fraud, there are basically two categories of explanations that super-supernatural phenomena fall into: 1) Natural causes, and 2) Supernatural causes. Natural causes include “the power of suggestion” and supernatural causes obviously include demonic influences. More specifically, the more supernatural or spectacular unbiblical miraculous phenomena are, the more likely their explanation is found in the demonic realm. And if such a thing is indeed occurring in God’s Church, then it demands some careful evaluation. In the following we attempt to basically categorize alternative explanations of super-supernatural phenomena into either fraud, 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 6 mind-cure, or demonic. Admittedly, however, it is very difficult to make hard and fast distinctions. For example, the unbiblical spiritual cult of Christian Science can claim some remarkable cures. While they clearly do not involve divine miracle working, it is unclear whether they should be categorized as mere deceptions and exaggerations, psychological cures, the operation of demonic powers to deceive, or a combination of all these. Therefore, we are not dogmatic on how we categorize the phenomena below. Nonetheless, we attempt such categorizations in order to simplify a very complex topic. Few, if any, Christians would deny that God is healing people today and at times working some wonderful miracles on behalf of His children. 8 Our concerns, however, in addition to the many shared elsewhere, are that 1) people are claiming abilities that only messengers of new divine revelation possessed in Scripture, 2) healings that God has granted through the secret and faithful prayers of Christians are being claimed by faith healers, 3) false teaching regarding the miraculous gifts has and will lead to even greater deception later, 4) modern faith healers are just plain lying at times, 5) some healings are no doubt demonically empowered, and finally, all of this is being done in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And again, the fact that such “miracle workers” are performing their “miracles” in the name of Jesus does not comfort us, but rather it alarms us as Christ told us plainly that “many . . . evildoers” “will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not . . . in your name . . . perform many miracles?” (Matt 7:21-22). So indeed, it would seem the claims of modern super- supernaturalism warrant a more careful examination.

B) Super-supernaturalism’s Inadequate Approach to Fraud

It is typical, of course, for super-supernatural teachers to give the impression that real miraculous healings are in abundance even today. Jack Deere, for example, relates the following second-hand description of the healing ministry of a man named Paul Cain: Mike told us many fascinating stories about alleged supernatural incidents that had surrounded his [Cain’s] birth, his life, and many New Testament-quality miracles that had occurred in his ministry. 9

Although Mr. Deere is honest enough to admit the “stories” are “alleged,” he leaves no doubt that he believes them and wants us to 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 7 as well. Additionally, who says they were “New Testament-quality miracles” and what were they? Finally, it can be noted that Mr. Deere, also predictably, never tells of what had to be the vast majority of the times that this so-called modern-day prophet Paul Cain attempted to heal someone and completely failed. To simply relate his supposed “successes” skews the honest picture and ignores the fact that Mr. Deere has no rational or biblical right to claim that Mr. Cain or anyone else has the authentic gift of healing. Dr. MacArthur rightfully points out the consistent lack of diligence or ability of super-supernaturalists to provide undeniable, detailed proof of their claims: If . . . miracle workers sincerely believe their mighty works are supposed to be signs for unbelievers, why not publish proof that these events really took place? Phenomena such as digit and limb replacement, the healing of birth defects, supernatural dentistry, and raising the dead should be easy to document, especially if physicians are present. Independent validation of such wonders would make international headlines. That would certainly help bring about the kind of worldwide response [they] say they are hoping for. But a pattern begins to emerge from Charismatic literature: the truly spectacular miracles always seem to involve nameless people. Real people’s miracles tend to be mundane and hard-to-prove—cures involving back pain, “inner healings,” migraine relief, emotional deliverance, ringing in the ears, and so on. . . . The most dramatic miracles come with sketchy details and are nearly always anonymous. Rarely do they even involve people who are known personally to those who report the miracles. Corroborating eyewitness accounts are sometimes cited but never documented. Most UFO sightings come with more convincing evidence. 10

Likewise, after his own extensive study on the claims of “miracle-workers,” Dr. Warfield concluded in his classic book, Counterfeit Miracles: It seems to be the experience of every one who has made a serious attempt to sift the evidence for miraculous healing that this evidence melts away before his eyes. Many remarkable cures are wrought, but nothing which compels the inference of miraculous healing seems to be unambiguously established. What emerges as final result is that a sharp line is drawn between the class of cures which can be obtained and the class of cures which cannot be obtained by [modern faith healing], and this line is drawn approximately at the exact spot where the line runs which separates cures which can be 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 8 healed by mind-cure, mesmerism and other [natural causes and] practices, and those which cannot. There are classes of sickness which Faith-Healing can cure, and there are classes of sickness which it cannot cure. In particular, for example, it is powerless to heal broken bones, to renew mutilations, to do so little a thing as to restore lost teeth. . . . What is the use of invoking miracle to do work equally well done without miracle, and repudiating all effects for which miracles are required. If a man asserts that he controls the motion of the sun by miraculous power, I want some better proof that he does so than his pointing to the rising and setting sun every day at its appointed time. 11

Obviously, part of the problem is insufficient diagnoses of these ailments that are supposedly being cured. Accordingly, Dr. Warfield commented on the need for discernment even when a supposed diagnosis of the supposed ailment is given: Every one who has sought to trace up alleged cases of Faith- Healing will have felt the grave doubt which frequently rests upon the identification of the disease which is asserted to have been cured. Yet we are asked to believe in multifarious miracles on the faith of the diagnosis of this, that, or the other unknown person. Nothing is more remarkable than the scorn which the average Faith-Healer pours on physicians as healers, and the unbounded confidence which he reposes in them as diagnosticians. 12

It was pointed out above that, “Obviously in any environment where spectacular claims are being made in order to prove something, exaggeration and even outright deception are inevitable and unfortunate.” There is a great deal of fraud occurring in super- supernaturalism and it would seem that too few in the movement care. This is why few of the miracle stories we consider to be believable, and which we share throughout this section of KOG, come from super-supernaturalist sources. They have simply proven themselves too often to be deceptive. We have noted elsewhere super-supernaturalism’s inability to claim the biblical attributes for their miracle workers and their subsequent denial that they even need to. In other words, apparently we are to simply accept their claims to the biblical gifts of miracle working and the “miracle” stories they tell to prove their claim. On the contrary, the Reformed theologian Gordon H. Clark (1902-1985) wrote the obvious: “Since the faithhealing business attracts many quacks, verifying alleged miraculous healing requires 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 9 more than a smiling patient.” 13 Likewise, C. S. Lewis wrote: Most stories about miraculous events are probably false; if it comes to that, most stories about natural events are false. Lies, exaggerations, misunderstandings and hearsay make up perhaps more than half of all that is said and written in the world. We must therefore find a criterion whereby to judge any particular story of the miraculous. 14

As we discuss at length elsewhere, that criterion is Scripture, 15 and many of the claims to miracles in super-supernaturalism fall short of these biblical standards. Unfortunately, then, there is a great deal of lying in the Church today, as there has been throughout the history of super-supernaturalism. Before we note several instances of such deception in the Church it is unfortunately necessary to remind the reader of the seriousness of lying. In Colossians, the Apostle Paul simply commands, “Do not lie to each other” (3:9; cf. Eph 4:25; 1 Tim. 1:10, 13). The Scriptures indicate that no true Christian will be gripped by this sin enough that they might be called “liars,” for such people are damned to Hell (cf. Rev 21:8, 27; 22:15). Lying is so demonic that Christ referred to it as the devil’s “native language” (John 8:44). Biblically speaking, there is no work more destructive and demonic than lying. God’s view of fraud within the Church is graphically portrayed by His killing Ananias and Sapphira for this very thing (cf. 5:1-10). In contrast, lying, exaggeration, and fraud seem quite rampant in the Church today, particularly in super-supernatural environments.

C) Fraud in the First Century: Apollonius

It is very interesting to note that about the time Jesus was born, another man was born who would be used a couple centuries later to claim Christ’s miracle working was not unique. Apollonius of Tyana (c. 3 B.C.- 97) was apparently a wandering philosopher throughout the Roman world in the first century who purportedly performed miracles. His philosophy was thoroughly pagan, as he taught that God really had no desire to be worshipped by humanity, but could be contacted through a mystical process. 16 NT scholar Colin Brown writes of Apollonius: Through the centuries critics of Christianity have repeatedly drawn attention to what they conceived to be parallels between Jesus and Apollonius of Tyana, a NeoPythagorean 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 10 sage and wandering ascetic who lived in the first century and was credited with exorcistic and miraculous powers. Philostratus [a philosopher] was commissioned by the Empress, Julia Domna . . . to write a Life of Apollonius. The circumstances and contents of the book have prompted the suggestion that Apollonius and his cult were fostered as a rival alternative to Christianity. The most striking parallel occurs in the comparison of Lk. 7:11-17 and the Life of Apollonius iv.45, which tells how Apollonius encountered the funeral procession in Rome of a bride who had died in the hour of her marriage. Apollonius restored her, but Philostratus leaves open the question of whether the ascetic "detected some spark of life in her . . . or whether life was really extinct. 17

Indeed, some reported seeing the girl’s breath in the cold air before Apollonius supposedly resurrected her. 18 Because the legend of Apollonius was used extensively by the critics of the early Church, several early Church leaders investigated the claims being made. For example, the noted bishop and historian Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 263-c. 339) wrote a rather detailed critique of the claims being made of this pagan “miracle worker,” and concluded “There are a thousand other examples then which we may select from the same books where the narrative refutes itself by its very incongruities, so enabling us to detect its mythical and miracle-mongering character.” 19 Eusebius gives a fairly detailed enumeration of contradictions (e.g. it was claimed the gods had taught Apollonius all languages, yet in India he needed an interpreter) and sensational elements (e.g. encountering dragons) in the writing concerning Apollonius, that it is rather reasonable to conclude with Eusebius that the stories are mythical. Likewise, Photius (c. 815-897), perhaps the greatest scholar of the Byzantine world, concludes his own study of the book written on Apollonius when he writes, “He tells similar stories, equally foolish and preposterous, and these eight books are so much study and labor lost.” 20 Like the early Church leaders, most modern scholars, including the very liberal ones, believe our sources for the life of Apollonius are highly questionable. Accordingly, the noted Christian apologist Norm Geisler writes: The alleged source for these stories, Damis, is most likely a nonexistent person used as a literary device. James Fergeson states: "Philostratus professed to have discovered an old document by one Damis as his source, but such discoveries 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 11 are the stock-in-trade of historical romances, and we can place no credence upon Damis." Damis is alleged to have come from a city, Nineveh, that did not even exist during the time of his life. Throughout, there is no evidence for a factual basis of the stories. As a report, the account contains many geographical and historical inaccuracies. For example, Nineveh and Babylon were destroyed 300 years earlier. The Caucasus Mountains are described as a dividing point between India and Babylon, which is inaccurate. A possible motive for the publication was a desire to counteract the growing influence of Jesus. One historian says, "It was she (Julia Domna) who encouraged Philostratus to put together a life of Apollonius of Tyana as a counterblast to Jesus." Another said that, since she was to become the high priestess of the Hellenistic polytheism, "Realizing the need of finding a historical figure fitted to counter the propaganda of the subversive gospels, she sought particularly to revive the memory of a hero of pagan hagiology, Apollonius of Tyana." There is no evidence for the historicity of Philostratus's work on Apollonius. It gives every evidence of being a work of fiction. . . . In short, there is no real comparison between Apollonius and Christ. Jesus claimed to be the Son of the theistic God and proved it by historically verified miracles, including his own resurrection from the dead. Apollonius made no such claims and had no such witnesses to support any alleged miracles. On the contrary, the single witness is late, unsubstantiated, and shows every sign of being myth, not history. 21

Indeed, the textual and historical evidence for Apollonius is incredibly meager compared to the Gospels of Jesus Christ. 22 In the second century, Bishop Irenaeus (c. 180) relates the following concerning another fraud named Marcus: [T]here is another among these heretics, Marcus by name, who boasts himself as having improved upon his master [Jesus]. He is a perfect adept in magical impostures [fraud], and by this means drawing away a great number of men, and not a few women, he has induced them to join themselves to him, as to one who is possessed of the greatest knowledge and perfection, and who has received the highest power from the invisible and ineffable regions above. Thus it appears as if he really were the precursor of Antichrist. For . . . he is regarded by his senseless and cracked-brain followers as working miracles. 23 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 12

Unfortunately, this Marcus sounds all too familiar as just another celebrity of super-supernaturalism. We could wish that more leaders in the modern Church would demonstrate the discernment and honesty that Irenaeus did in his day.

D) Fraud Among Spiritualists & Shamans

To better illustrate how fraud can occur in the Church, we will first note some examples of this outside the Church. Pagan spiritualists and mediums throughout history have been exposed as frauds. In the 1800’s the Fox sisters duped a multitude into thinking they could produce the miraculous. Josh McDowell and Don Stewart write of them: Many groups, including scientists, who investigated the Fox sisters and the rappings went away baffled. Among those who investigated was the famous New York editor, Horace Greeley. Greeley concluded that "whatever may be the origin or cause of the tappings, the ladies in whose presence they occur do not make them." In 1886 the Fox sisters confessed that they were frauds. The raps were produced by cracking their toe joints. Margaret conducted a series of demonstrations showing how she did it. At the New York Academy of Music, Margaret Fox stood on a small pine table on the stage in her stocking feet and produced loud distinct raps that could be heard throughout the building. 24

Along the same lines, McDowell and Stewart write: Harry Houdini and Joseph Durminger exposed in their day the fraudulent practices of mediums. More recently M. Lamar Keene, the famous medium, revealed how he deceived untold thousands with his gimmicks. These individuals, along with others who are well qualified in spiritistic phenomena, believe all such practice is deception. 25

M. Lamar Keene, a very successful magician and spiritualist himself, wrote: I was also a whiz at apports [the sudden appearance of solid objects into or through other solid objects]. These were gifts from the spirits; sometimes they were worthless trinkets like rings or brooches; other times, more impressively, they were objects we had stolen from the [client]. 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 13 The apports, as previously described, sometimes arrived in full light and other times tumbled out of the trumpet in the dark. In exotic variations I arranged for apports to turn up in a newly baked cake, in a sandwich, or inside a shoe. Once at a church function I told a woman the spirits had apported something for her into a chocolate cake, and when she cut into it and found her necklace, she screamed, "Oh my God, this was at home in my drawer when I left to come to church!" The truth was that we had pilfered it from her purse more than a month before and she evidently hadn't missed it. 26

Another case of modern fraud that might help sharpen our discernment is shared by Norman Geisler: Some [supposed miracles] are simply fraudulent tricks. Such is the case of the African witch doctor who claimed to have killed a man to appease the gods and then restored him to life. Illusionist Andre Kole, who has exposed many occult charades, discovered that the witch doctor had dug a tunnel by which the man he faked killing had escaped, and later returned. 27

E) Fraud in Early Super-supernaturalism

Unfortunately, the kind of fraud that is described above in non- Christian environments has occurred since the beginning of modern super-supernaturalism. We have noted elsewhere that the founding fathers of “faith healing” in America in the 1950’s and 60’s such as A. A. Allen, Jack Coe, and William Branham had appalling character and doctrine, bringing their claim to even being Christians into question. 28 While modern super-supernaturalists continue to laud these men as heroes, charismatic Bible scholar Hank Hanegraaff writes: [D]enominational leaders within Pentecostalism [at the time of these “heroes”] candidly acknowledged the reprehensible influences these men had on the Christian cause. Rather than commend them, they condemned the flamboyant lifestyles and fantastic lies of these endtime restorationists. 29

E.1) Fraud of Indonesian “Revival”

One rather famous story that was used extensively in super- supernatural literature as proof that the biblical gifts of miracle working and healing had been restored, occurred in the 1960’s 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 14 regarding a supposed “revival” in Indonesia. Concerning this, Professor Douglas McLeod at Emmaus relates: Reports were quickly published in the West that all the miracles of the apostolic age were being reproduced in Indonesia, including the raising of the dead. George W. Peters, well-known missionary leader, went to Indonesia, visited the sites of the revival, and interviewed many of the people involved. He found that there were: (1) “faith healings,” i.e., relief from psychosomatic illness, (2) physical healings that were the result of spiritual salvation (i.e., conversion brought release from malaise of various kinds, and (3) liberation from demonic influence and possession. As for true divine healings, Peters could not confirm any, and, as for resurrection, he found that these native peoples used the word death to describe unconsciousness, coma and death. None of the people he interviewed would be classified as dead by medical standards. Peters warned that in evaluating such reports we must take into account the distinctive worldview and mentality of the people. Their cultural heritage takes very seriously dreams, fantasies, and hallucinations that are as real to them as facts and events are to us. He also noted that the same kinds of miracles were claimed by the pagan religions in Indonesia. 30

Even the super-supernaturalist leader Michael Green wrote concerning these claims from Indonesia: There has been reference to the revival in Indonesia about which stories are told of miraculous happenings to parallel anything that is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. . . . [P]ersonal acquaintances of mine who have visited the country there more than once tell me that reports of miracles have been greatly exaggerated. Distance, as ever, lends enchantment. 31

While Dr. Green prefers to call this great “exaggeration” by the super-supernaturalist “Christians” who produced this fraud, it is more honest to call it the abominable sin of lying in the Church. And such has been the habit and history of this movement.

E.2) Fraud of Kathryn Kuhlman

One of the most prominent celebrities of early super- supernaturalism was Kathryn Kuhlman (1907-1976). We have 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 15 noted elsewhere that Benny Hinn, the modern superstar of super- supernaturalism has admitted that he frequently visits Ms. Kuhlman’s gravesite to replenish “the anointing” from her bones. 32 Unfortunately, we have also documented elsewhere that, like virtually every other celebrity of super-supernaturalism, Kathryn Kuhlman was immoral and greedy. 33 More specifically to our current point, despite Ms. Kuhlman’s many claims to healings occurring in her ministry and the thousands who believed her and flocked to her crusades, she was also a fraud. Perhaps because of Ms. Kuhlman’s remarkable popularity and claims, a medical doctor by the name of William Nolen performed a very thorough study of her ministry and documented his findings in the book, Healing, A Doctor in Search of a Miracle. For example, he had Ms. Kuhlman provide a list of the cancer victims she claimed to have cured. He later reported the following: I wrote to all the cancer victims on her list—eight in all—and the only one who offered cooperation was a man who claimed he had been cured of prostatic cancer by Miss Kuhlman. He sent me a complete report of his case. Prostatic cancer is frequently very responsive to hormone therapy . . . [and] also . . . radiation therapy. This man had had extensive treatment with surgery, radiation, and hormones. He had also been “treated” by Kathryn Kuhlman. He chose to attribute his cure—or remission, as the case may be—to Miss Kuhlman. . . . If Miss Kuhlman had to rely on his case to prove that the Holy Spirit “cured” cancer through her, she would be in very desperate straits. 34

In all, Dr. Nolen studied eighty-two cases of healings Kathryn Kuhlman claimed, using names she supplied. Of the eighty-two, only twenty-three responded and were interviewed. Dr. Nolen’s conclusion at the end of the entire investigation was that not one of the so-called healings was legitimate. 35 Along the same lines, Dr. Erwin Lutzer, the well-respected Bible teacher, relates: Many years ago I attended a healing service conducted by Kathryn Kuhlman, the famous faith healer of a past era. Throughout her message she kept saying that people should be expecting healing even as she spoke; only the healed were to come forward to "claim their healing." Near the end of her message, several came forward to say, "I have been healed." One man, in particular, caught my attention. He had come to the meeting in a wheelchair, but now was walking with stooped shoulders across the stage, acknowledging the cheers of the crowd. When he came down from the platform, I 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 16 motioned to him and asked what he had been healed of. He whispered in my ear, "I'm not sure I'm healed yet, but I am trusting the Lord for healing." "So you were able to walk before you came here today?" I asked. "Yes, but I walk with difficulty." That night thousands of people went home from the meeting and told their friends, "I saw a man healed with my own eyes!" Another man who claimed his "healing" said he was of the Muslim faith; others said they were healed of back pains, smoking, and alcoholism. Most heartbreaking, however, was to see hundreds of people in wheelchairs wheeled back to the buses that had come from Milwaukee, Detroit, and Saint Louis. Perhaps it had just been a difficult day for the faith healer, but I was not convinced that anyone had been healed that long afternoon, though of course, only God knows for sure. 36

Likewise, in his very careful study of Ms. Kuhlman, Wayne Warner documents several attempted healings under her ministry which failed. 37 As we have discussed thoroughly in the first chapter of this book, this is not at all the attributes of someone who really possesses the biblical gift of healing. Dr. Nolen does not believe that Ms. Kuhlman was intentionally deceptive, and offers some interesting, if not kind observations concerning the psyche of a supposed faith healer, and touches on what may be the main motivation for the fraud among them: I don’t believe she is a liar or a charlatan or that she is consciously dishonest. . . . I think she sincerely believes that the thousands of sick people who come to her services and claim cures are . . being cured of . . . diseases. I also think— and my investigations confirm this—that she is wrong. . . . Though she uses hypnotic techniques, she doesn’t know anything about hypnotism and the power of suggestion. She doesn’t know anything about the autonomic nervous system. Or if she does know something about these things, she has certainly learned to hide her knowledge. There is one other possibility: It may be that Miss Kuhlman doesn’t want to learn that her work is not as miraculous as it seems. For this reason she has trained herself to deny, emotionally and intellectually, anything that might threaten the validity of her ministry. 38

Nonetheless, as we have discussed elsewhere, such fraud has its damaging consequences in the Church. 39 Even Dr. Nolen reports that: 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 17 One woman who was said to have been healed of spinal cancer, threw away her brace and ran across the stage at Kuhlman's command; her spine collapsed the next day . . . and she died four months later. 40

That would seem to be borderline murder by one of the most prominent celebrities of early super-supernaturalism. Kathryn Kuhlman is not the only super-supernaturalist who has claimed that the biblical miracle working gifts are operating today in their ministry, but has been exposed as a fraud. Accordingly, Dr. MacArthur relates the findings of world-renowned magician who: [H]as written a book in which he examines the claims of faith healers. . . . He asked scores of faith healers to supply him with “direct, examinable evidence” of true healing. . . . Not one faith healer anywhere gave him a single case of medically confirmed healing that could not be explained as natural convalescence, psychosomatic improvement, or outright fakery. Randi’s conclusion? “Reduced to its basics, faith- healing today is simply ‘magic’.” 41

E.3) Fraud of Oral Roberts

Finally, in an effort to put the healings of super-supernaturalism on par with those in the early Church, there has been claims of resurrections from its beginning. Accordingly, one of the most famous founders of super-supernaturalism, Oral Roberts, made several such claims. Of Roberts, super-supernaturalist leader Jack Hayford has said: "If God had not, in His sovereign will, raised up the ministry of Oral Roberts, the entire charismatic movement might not have occurred." 42 However, Dr. MacArthur cites the example of a Newsweek investigation of the televangelist which cites him stating at a conference in 1987: “I can’t tell you about [all] the dead people I’ve raised. I’ve had to stop a sermon and go and raise a dead person.” When asked to provide names and addresses of even one individual he had brought back to life, Roberts was unable to do so. 43

However, Mr. Roberts “finally mentioned one girl who had passed out in his service. When asked how he knew she was dead, he said her body felt cold and that both he and the girl's mother believed she was dead.” 44 A man that so many claimed to be so spiritual was lying. 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 18 E.4) Fraud of resurrections

Nonetheless, super-supernaturalists have continued to claim that modern miracle working gifts have brought people back from the dead. For example, C. Peter Wagner, professor of Church Growth at Fuller Seminary says, “I . . . believe that dead people are being raised in the world today. . . . I would not be surprised if it were happening several times a year.” 45 First, we seriously doubt it as such occurrences would certainly be in the news. Secondly, in most cases, what Dr. Warfield wrote many years ago has continued to prove true: “It seems to be the experience of every one who has made a serious attempt to sift the evidence for miraculous healing that this evidence melts away before his eyes. 46 Thirdly, while super-supernaturalists insist such resurrections have occurred in direct relation to the ministry of a particular person, no such thing has ever been proven. Elsewhere we have noted apparently legitimate resurrections that have occurred in recent times, 47 but if they did, they were direct miracles performed by God which do nothing to substantiate the claims of super- supernaturalism to the biblical miracle working gifts. On the topic of claims to modern resurrections, Dr. Geisler writes the following: Non-Christian religions and some fringe Christian groups have claimed great miracles, including the ability to raise the dead. No instance of an actual resurrection has been substantiated with anything like the evidence for the resurrection of Christ. Most are patently false. Some alleged resurrections are mystically induced "comas." Some Indian gurus are able to slow down their body processes by altering their state of consciousness. This enables them to spend hours in a grave with little oxygen. At least one modern escape artist was able to escape from a coffin buried under nine feet of dirt in an hour and a half. He made no claim to resurrection. He simply learned to conserve the oxygen from his large coffin while digging through loose soil to the surface. Some cases are simply medical resuscitations. Medical science performs resuscitation regularly on people who are clinically but not actually dead. An actual resurrection occurs when someone was physically dead. By contrast, Jesus raised Lazarus after he had been buried for four days and his body was decomposing (John 11:39). 48

11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 19 F) Fraud in Modern Super-supernaturalism

F.1) Fraud of the “Toronto Blessing”

If anything, the fraud among super-supernaturalist has gotten worse over the years, not better. One of a multitude of examples that could be shared is described by Mr. Hanegraaff in his very well documented book, Counterfeit Revival. In it he relates the following hoax involving John Arnott, the pastor of the Toronto Airport Vineyard Church, the home of the rather famous “Toronto Blessing”: Of all the miracles claimed by the Counterfeit Revival, Arnott calls the healing of Sarah Lilliman “the best one so far.” Arnott not only tells his unsuspecting audience that the healing was “documented,” but he also makes a point to chide those who may not have the kind of faith it took to facilitate the miracle. Lilliman, says Arnott, was: “like a vegetable . . . totally incapacitated, paralyzed, and blind.” Her friend, “out [unconscious] under the power [supposedly of the Holy Spirit] has a vision: Jesus said, ‘Go pray for Sarah, your friend, I’m going to heal her’. . . . “that girl, totally incapacitated, paralyzed, and blind, after two and a half hours of soaking prayer, got up seeing.” Sadly, however, Arnott’s story plays fast and loose with the truth. An examination of the facts shows just how wildly Arnott has embellished the story: - Sarah was not totally incapacitated, paralyzed, and blind [As Arnott had claimed]. - Jesus did not heal Lilliman as He supposedly promised her friend He would [she remains legally blind]. - When Arnott’s associate (who allegedly documented the case) was interviewed, he confessed that he had not done any investigation. . . . Today despite the broad circulation of this story by Arnott and his associates as evidence of God’s power in the Toronto Blessing, Sarah Lilliman is still, as before, legally blind. Unfortunately, just as before, she and her family are continuing to struggle with her physical and psychosomatic disorders. . . . [T]his fabrication on the part of Arnott is not unique. Fellow Counterfeit Revivalists [all of whom are super- supernaturalists] pepper their appearances with fabrications, fantasies, and frauds, seemingly unaware of the disastrous 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 20 consequences [and the demonic and self-damning nature of lying!]. 49

F.2) Fraud of the “Happy Hunters”

Mr. Hanegraaff exposes another instance of fraud in the popular ministry of the “Happy Hunters,” Charles and Francis who were among the foremost promoters of the “holy laughter” 50 phenomenon: One of the miracles involved a woman who allegedly grew a new breast while laughing: “I had a mastectomy last year and had my left breast removed, and while we were all laughing, God grew a new breast back on.” The Hunters now admit that they do not have a shred of evidence to support this story, but that has not kept them from circulating increasingly bizarre tales of other undocumented “holy” laughter healings. 51

F.3) Fraud of John Wimber

Elsewhere we have documented the deceptive exaggerations of the founder of the super-supernaturalist Vineyard movement, John Wimber (1934-1997). 52 Perhaps Mr. Wimber did much good in his many years of ministry and he is widely admired to this day. Nonetheless, his lying regarding the occurrence of the miraculous in his ministry is inexcusable. For example, in the context of giving proof that he had raised someone from the dead, Mr. Wimber: refers to a man who fell, hit his head, was apparently unconscious for three minutes, and “came to” with a bump on his head. After Wimber and others prayed the bump eventually went away. This is incredible, not as a miracle, but that anyone would consider this as a possible raising of the dead. 53

Some leaders in super-supernaturalism are willing to admit that the exaggerations within the movement are abundant, but the proof is scarce. For example, Mr. Wimber claimed some years before he contracted cancer himself: Today we see hundreds of people healed every month in Vineyard Christian Fellowship services. Many more are healed as we pray for them in hospitals. On the streets and in homes. The blind see; the lame walk; the deaf hear. Cancer is disappearing! 54

11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 21 On the contrary, the super-supernatural theologian Dr. Max Turner admits that: While the claims are many, the substantiating evidence is somewhat thinner on the ground. As Andrew Walker (himself sympathetic to the Charismatic movement) warns: “It is precisely at the level of rigorous investigation into the miraculous that the Pentecostal movements, since their earliest days, have let themselves down. In the euphoria and excitement of [supposed] revival, miracles have been testified to in abundance, but rarely verified. Testimonies are [a] direct, successful, and personal means of communication, but they are by definition prone to exaggeration [lying!] or capable of incorrect assessment. Congregations awash with the emotion of enthusiasm feed off rumor, conjecture, and hearsay [lying!]. 55

Why won’t any of these super-supernaturalists use the word “lying” in their confessions of the fraud being promoted by the people giving these reports? Regarding the amount and kind of evidence needed to prove a miracle, Dr. Turner points out: For those at an inspiring healing service, some change of feeling in the part of the body affected, combined with a conviction that God is healing, may be enough. For the investigating doctor with a professional reputation to maintain, however, there needs to be a competent and documented medical history of the condition before the healing, and clear evidence of change that cannot simply be accounted for in terms of temporary or spontaneous remission. Though we could wish otherwise, it needs to be said, in all honesty, that there are relatively very few occasions that stand up to such rigorous medical analysis. . . . [W]here does this get us? It suggests we may need to recognize the quotation from John Wimber . . . as an impassioned and programmatic confession of Jesus’ ability to heal today, rather than as a precise report on the typical [and actual] nature and number of healings in Vineyard fellowships. 56

It would seem a smoother explanation for intentional and misleading lying on Mr. Wimber’s part could hardly be written. Dr. Turner continues: Elsewhere, Wimber has freely admitted that in praying for children with Down’s Syndrome he had seen improvement in only one in about two hundred cases, and then the 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 22 improvement was only slight [possibly subjective, probably temporary, and maybe nonexistent?]. In the same context he claims between 3 per cent and 8 per cent success in prayer for different types of blindness. 57

And Mr. Wimber claimed the biblical gift of healing was operating in his churches? It will be pointed out below that blindness can be caused by both demon possession or emotional/psychological problems and therefore restoration of sight can be accomplished merely through exorcism or the power of suggestion. Mr. Wimber’s dismal success rate could easily be explained by these two phenomena, but not by a claim to possess the biblical gift of healing. Dr. Turner then explains the results of a study performed on a rather famous “Signs and Wonders” conference Mr. Wimber performed in Britain. It is important to remember, however, that the study was a survey given to the attendees to report what they experienced. No scientific investigation was performed. And yet even the self-reporting of these people who had come for a “Signs and Wonders” conference was unimpressive. Dr. Turner admits: These various healings clearly do not quite match the rhetoric of Wimber’s affirmation with which we opened this section, and there can be little doubt that the percentages would be [even] less impressive had the survey [how about a medical study?] been conducted amongst hospital patients, or even in an average church, instead of amongst those attending a conference on Signs and Wonders. 58

F.4) Fraud of Benny Hinn

Elsewhere we have noted Mr. Hinn’s embarrassing greed. 59 Unfortunately his healing record is as dismal as his financial record. In April 2001 HBO aired a documentary called “A Question of Miracles” directed toward Mr. Hinn’s ministry. The director Antony Thomas told CNN's Kyra Phillips that they did not find a single case in which someone had actually been healed by him. Likewise, Mr. Thomas told the New York Times, “If I had seen miracles, I would have been happy to trumpet it . . . but in retrospect, I think they [Hinn’s ministry] do more damage to Christianity than the most committed atheist.” In an NBC Dateline report, Mr. Hinn claimed 56 healings at a Las Vegas crusade but none of them could be confirmed. In addition, Mr. Hinn boasted of curing former boxing champion Ivander 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 23 Holyfield of a serious heart condition, which was found later to be misdiagnosed. In November 2006 the CBC Television show The Fifth Estate did a special titled “Do You Believe in Miracles?” on the habitual fraud in Mr. Hinn’s ministry. With the aid of hidden cameras and crusade witnesses, the producers of the show demonstrated his misappropriation of funds, his fabrication of the truth, and the way in which his staff chose crusade audience members to come on stage for televised healings. According to the show the seriously disabled who attend his healings are interviewed and then weeded out from ever getting the chance to come on stage. Not only has Mr. Hinn failed to heal people, he has succeeded in killing some. Reuters reported that four died from a lack of crowd control at a Hinn crusade in Nairobi. The Nation Newspapers Limited reported that a sick baby died at one of his crusades. 60 Finally, as a result of Mr. Hinn’s antics of “slaying” people in the “Spirit,” Ella Peppard died from complications she suffered after Hinn “slayed” someone right on top of her. 61 And this greedy, lying, reckless fraud claims to be servant of the Lord Jesus Christ? There is no doubt that Benny Hinn is one of those “many” who “prophesy . . . drive out demons and perform many miracles,” who will one day hear the One whose name he used in vain, “I never knew you. Away from Me you evildoer” (Matt 7:22-23).

Publications & Particulars

1 Regarding the biblical characteristics of the gifts of miracle working and healing, see chapter 11.1. 2 Regarding our claim that every God-sent miracle worker in the Bible was also a messenger of new divine extra biblical revelation from God, see chapter 11.2. 3 John MacArthur, Charismatic Chaos (Zondervan, 1992), 265. 4 Warfield, Counterfeit Miracles (Banner of Truth Trust, 1972), 120. 5 Regarding the unbiblical nature of such super-supernatural phenomena as being, “slain in the Spirit,” or “holy laughter” see section 4.11.B. 6 For the important distinction between direct miracles performed by God, 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 24

and delegated miracle working performed by humans see section 10.3.A.1. 7 Regarding the damage and dangers of modern super-supernaturalism see chapter 10.16. 8 For accounts of amazing modern miracles see esp. chapters 10.2-3. 9 Jack Deere, Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, (Zondervan, 1993), 38, underlining added. 10 MacArthur, 159-60. 11 Warfield, 191. 12 Ibid., 188. 13 Gordon H. Clark, Faith and Saving Faith (Trinity Foundation, 1990), 210. 14 C. S. Lewis, Miracles: A Preliminary Study (Macmillan, 1947), 121. 15 Regarding the biblical attributes of miracle working see chapter 11.1. 16 Maria Dzielska: Apollonius of Tyana in Legend and History, Rome 1986, 139-141. 17 Colin Brown, “Miracles” in the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 4 Vols. (Eerdmans, 1986), III.377-8. 18 See Warfield, 16-17. 19 Eusebius of Caesarea, “The Treatise Of Eusebius, The Son Of Pamphilus, Against The Life Of Apollonius Of Tyana Written By Philostratus, Occasioned By The Parallel Drawn By Hierocles Between Him And Christ,” ch. 32. Online at http://www.tertullian.org/fathers/eusebius_against_ hierocles.htm. See also Origen, Against Celsus, online at www.ccel.org, VI:21. 20 Photius, Myrobiblion, “Commentary on Life of Apollonius,” online at http://www.livius.org/ap-ark/apollonius/life/va_photius.html. 21 Norman Geisler, Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Baker, 1999), 44-5. Dr. Geisler lists other sources regarding Apollonius including: J. Ferguson, Religions of the Roman Empire; G. Habermas, et. al., “Apollonius of Tyana: First Century Miracle Worker,” paper presented before Evangelical Philosophical Society. 22 For further discussion of fraudulent ancient texts regarding miracle workers see section 11.9.B. 23 Iraneaus, Against Heresies, I:13, online at www.ccel.org. 24 Josh McDowell and Don Stewart, Understanding the Cults (Here's Life Publishers, 1982), 242. 25 Ibid., 250. 26 Ibid., 243. 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 25

27 Geisler, 118. 28 Regarding the appalling character and doctrine of the founding fathers of “faith healing” in America see section 11.7.B.9.b. 29 Hank Hanegraaff, Counterfeit Revival (Word, 1997), 131. 30 George W. Peters, Indonesia Revival (Zondervan, 1973), 57–85. 31 Michael Green, I Believe in the Holy Spirit (Eerdmans, 2004), 221. 32 Benny Hinn, “Double Portion Annointing,” Part #3, Orlando Christian Center, Orlando, FL, audiotape, aired on Trinity Broadcasting Network, April 7, 1991. 33 Regarding Kuhlman’s immorality see section 11.7.B.9.c. 34 MacArthur, 253-254. 35 Ibid. 36 Erwin Lutzer, Seven Convincing Miracles (Moody, 1999), 156-7. 37 Wayne Warner, Kathryn Kuhlman: The Woman Behind the Miracles (Servant, 1993). 38 MacArthur, 253-254 39 Regarding the damaging practices of “faith healers” see section 10.16.H. 40 Quoted in James Randi, The Faith Healers (Prometheus Books, 1989), 228. 41 Ibid., 255. 42 Jack Hayford, Associated Press, 12/15/09. 43 Kenneth L. Woodward with Frank Gibney, Jr., “Saving Souls-or a Ministry?”, Newsweek, July 13, 1987, 52. 44 Geisler, 475. 45 C. Peter Wagner, The Third Wave of the Holy Spirit (Servant, 1988), 112. 46 Warfield, 191. 47 For a modern story of resurrection that we currently deem credible see section 10.3.C.5. 48 Geisler, 475. 49 Hanegraaff, 61. 50 Regarding the unbiblical nature of the “holy laughter” phenomena see section 4.11.B.4. 51 Hanegraaff, 36. 52 Regarding the deceptions of John Wimber see section 10.14.C.3. 11.8: Miracle Working & Fraud 26

53 Thomas R. Edgar, “The Cessation of the Sign Gifts” Bsac 145 (1988), 378. 54 Max Turner, The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts (Hendrickson, 1998), 332. 55 Ibid., 332-33. 56 Ibid., 333, 335, (italics added). 57 Ibid., 335-36. 58 Ibid., 337. 59 For further on Benny Hinn see section 10.15.A.7. 60 “Hinn, Benny” at Wikipedia online at www.wikipedia.org. 61 Hanegraaff, 173.