Probably the saddest "cut" of all is the FACT that
the majority of what the Word of Faith/Prophetic Movement charismaniacs
teach does not even work in their own sorry lives. I do not deny that
the Lord our God is a Healer - - - but He does so according to His
sovereign will. We, His children DO NOT command healing to "be."
The people cited below all (with the exception of the Wimber's) teach that
healing is the right of all God's children, that we can speak creative
miracles into existence, that we can live in such an "anointed" manner
as to NEVER even get sick!
I grew up being taught "practice what you preach"
which is a pretty good philosophy to live by. What I have come to learn
after years in the charismatic movement is that what the majority of the
international leaders are teaching does not even work for them.
What is also interesting is all the people below
DID NOT RUN TO A BENNY HINN MIRACLE CRUSADE.
Nor did they RUN TO ORAL ROBERTS. Why
not? could it be that KNEW, these guys did not have
any real power to heal? They went to medical doctors to get
"fixed." None of these folks got a "miracle" or received "divine
healing" directly from the hand of God. They did what every person
with common sense would do, got professional help.
Lastly, it is interesting to me to note that almost
all of the people cited below fall into the category of Word of Faith teachers
- - - and statistically their cancer rate is off
the scale! These are ministers who know one another, teach
the same things, and travel in the same ministerial circles . . .and cancer
is a common thread among them. It would not be unusual for all of
these WOF people to be gathered in one room - - - yet all of their families
have been struck with cancer.
According to their teaching on divine healing, the
authority of the believer, the name of Jesus, the
atonement - this should not be and yet it is. Even if these
not-so-mighty preachers want to claim this is nothing but an all out attack
from Satan - how do they explain the following:
a) How did Satan get a foothold? (I know these folks were not
confessing sickness or disease)
b) Since you teach complete authority over Satan, than even in an attack
they should get total victory. (Going to the doctor is not total
victory, it is a sign of weak or missing faith in their minds)
Divine Healing
That Wasn't
(keep in mind most of these folks teach it is God’s will to heal you
every time you are sick)
Doyle "Buddy" Harrison, Founder of Harrison House Books, son-in-law of Kenneth E. Hagin died Nov. 1998 of cancer. He was the founder of Faith Christian Fellowship, the WOF denomination. How could he have died of cancer? He was in the "faith movement" BEFORE Copeland and others . . .
0. E.W. Kenyon, Father of the Word of Faith Movement. One of the initial teachers of divine healing and it always being God's will to heal His children. Died in a coma brought on by a malignant tumor. Copeland teaches that Kenyon was sitting in a rocking chair, his daughter came into the room and Kenyon said "there's Jesus, good bye," and went to glory. This is a lie. He died from disease.
1. John Osteen, mega-church pastor in Houston - his wife, Dodie got liver cancer and through the mercy of God and medical attention survived. John Osteen is more sound today than when he initially began with the renewal movement, he is probably not as much a WOF teacher as he used to be.
2. Frederick K. Price, Word of Faith
mega-church pastor in Los Angeles - his wife, Betty got cancer and was
medically treated (chemo-therapy) and by the mercy of God was patched up.
"If you need a crutch upon or something
to help you get along, then praise God, hobble along until you get your
faith moving to the point that you don’t need a crutch." How
Faith Works pp. 92-92
I guess after all the years of sitting under "anointed" faith teaching
by one of the movements leading faith teachers was not enough for Fred’s
wife - she needed a doctor after all.
3. Jamie Buckingham, Discipleship Movement & charismatic author - died of cancer. He was under a medical doctors care.
4. Charles Capps, Word of Faith teacher, teaches power of our words to create reality - his wife got cancer and was medically treated.
I guess Chuck’s wife must have not spoken the right magic words to keep the cancer from her body.I don’t deny the existence of disease. I deny the right of that disease to exist in this body, because I’m the Body of Christ." The Tongue p. 43.
5. John Wimber, Signs & Wonders
Movement, author of "Power Healing," - just died from cancer. He
too, was medically treated - no "power" healing for him, only chemo-therapy.
5a. Chris Wimber, GM of Vineyard
Music died Feb 6, 1998 of melanoma cancer. Mahesh is
supposed to have "healed" people of cancer and AIDS - yet there was no
"healing" for Chris.
6. Mack Timberlake, Word of Faith pastor - suffering from throat cancer, getting medical attention.
7. R.W. Schambach, Faith Healer - got a quadruple heart bypass (from a real live human doctor)
Maybe so, but isn't it nice that He has provided doctors too? Without them, R.W. would have long ago faced his judgment."You don’t have any problems, all you need is faith in God."
8. Dr. Hobart Freeman, Word of Faith
teacher & pastor of Faith Assembly - over 90 people died in his
church following his teaching and then Hobart died due to a medically treatable
disease.
I personally respect Hobart & his misguided followers.
They actually took the teachings of the WOF movement to their logical conclusion.
They stood on the "promises" alone and believed in their doctrine enough
to face painful deaths instead of refusing to deny what they believed.
Hobart Freeman is the most chilling testimony of the complete bankruptcy
of the WOF errors. If WOF teachings were true they would have certainly
worked for Hobart and the 90+ people who died in "faith believing." (BTW
- Hobart is a name NONE of the WOF'ers mention, he was too serious about
the teachings).
9. Joyce Meyer, the fast rising Word of Faith female preacher. On Aug. 31, 1998 on her morning broadcast admitted that she had breast cancer and was MEDICALLY TREATED. I found her admission to be very interesting.
9. Prophet Keith Grayton, Prophetic Movement - died of the complications of AIDS He spoke at our Church in Detroit, and declared he was totally healed. He died a year or so later.
10. Kenneth Hagin, "father" of the
Word of Faith Movement - sister died of cancer, (he wears glasses as
does his son). Hagin’s great faith and special anointing could not keep
her on the planet or his eyesight from growing dim.
10a. Hagin's sister died from cancer.
10b. Hagin's wife had to go to the
hospital for an operation even though Jesus "appeared" to Hagin
and gave him a special anointing to heal the sick (read I Believe In
Visions). If people believe Hagin is anointed then they will
be healed, I guess his own family members doubt his healing powers.
11. Robert Tilton, God's "profit" admitted he had to get special face-lifting surgery because of the danger of getting ink poisoning from laying on all the prayer requests he received. Why didn't he command healing . . .like he does for countless others over the airwaves?
These people teach that it is God’s will to heal His children every time they come to Him in "faith." They also teach that we can "have what we say." Yet when they get sick what do they do? They go to the doctor just like the rest of us. None of the above received a "divine healing" or a "miracle" by the Biblical standard. In fact, several of these fine "Christians" berate other people who get sick and say it is due to their "lack of faith." However, when they or their family members get sick it is always an "attack of the devil," trying to stop their important Kingdom work.
My point is simple - what they preach does not work. Why not? Because their teaching is not Biblical and thus God does not back up their doctrine.
How Do They Explain The Following Text?
Deut. 34:7 And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.
I have heard many WOF teachers "preach" this text in the context of "Divine Life" which refers to NEVER getting sick at all. The fact is Kenneth Hagin Sr. and Junior both wear glasses, as does Oral Roberts, Marilyn Hickey, Charles Capps, and Joyce Meyers (to name a few). NONE of the Pentecostal/Charismatic teachers of divine healing/health/life have ever lived to be 120 years old either. The fact is their eyesight fails with age, like everyone else’s, but this does not stop them from preaching their false doctrines regarding healing.
How Do They Explain?
Katherine Kuhlman - an acknowledged
divine healer DIED from heart disease
in Tulsa OK, Oral Roberts could not heal her!
A.A. Allen - an acknowledged
divine healer and exorcist DIED from
alcohol & drug abuse.
Aimee Semple McPherson -
an acknowledge divine healer - died of a barbiturate overdose. Why
was she taking pills in the first place? Wasn't the "peace" of God enough
for her?
Jack Coe - an acknowledged
divine healer DIED from disease.
John G. Lake - DIED
of a stroke in 1935. He is held up as a great "healer" and
miracle worker.
Gordon Lindsey- DIED
either of a stroke or heart condition. Yet he propagated the Healing
Revival of the lates 1940's and early 1950's. Why?
These people were leaders in the field of divine healing, they allegedly got "results" and yet they too died from medical problems. How can this be? Why couldn't their fellow faith-healers get them healed? The answer? - Because NONE of these folks EVER HEALED ANYBODY! They were frauds and con-men/women who DID NOT PRACTICE WHAT THEY PREACHED. When the chips were down where did they go? To the next tent meeting or miracle crusade? HECK NO! They ran to their private highly paid physicians and surgeons!
Morality
(these folks claim(ed) a close walk with Jesus daily, many claim to
see Him regularly in open visions, some claim to be His prophets, all claim
a close intimate walk with Christ)
1. Robert Tilton, Word of Faith Televangelist - 2 divorces, multiple law suits, caught in many lies, utters many false prophecies, uses unscrupulous means to garner millions from God's "gullible."
2. Peter Popoff, Televangelist - a proven fraud (read "The Faith Healers" by James Randi)
3. W.V. Grant, Televangelist - convicted felon for tax fraud, a divorcee.
4. Leroy Jenkins, Televangelist - convicted felon for arson & assault.
5. Jimmy Swaggert, Televangelist - adulterer, opulent lifestyle while crying broke on television.
6. Marilyn Hickey, Word of Faith teacher - shameless use of charismatic trinkets (blessed cornmeal, oils, cloths, seeds, coins, etc.).
7. Marjoe Gortner, came from 3 generations of Pentecostal preachers. He laid hands on multitudes to give them the "gift" of tongues. . . yet he himself was not saved. He admitted this publicly, and made a movie showing him in action. Unsaved, yet seeming to flow in the miraculous.
8. Jim Bakker, convicted felon. Jim & Tammy lived high off the hog for many years. Later they divorced, and in jail the Lord seems to have dealt with Jim and I think he has repented.
9. E.W. Kenyon, divorced his wife yet taught that faith is a law that works by another law, the law of love! We are told by WOF teachers that Kenyon was a man of faith and power - but how could his "god-kind-of-faith" been in operation if he could not even love his wife properly?
These ministers represent just a portion of the charismaniac stew available on television. Each one of them is far more a servant of their own greed and lust for money & fame than they are a servant of Jesus Christ. Each of them promotes a wide range of heretical concepts always backed up with a plea to send the your money.
The problem is that these (and others) claim a high degree of sanctification. Each claims to either have met with Jesus personally, seen Him in an open vision, been visited by angels, etc. . .Yet with only a cursory look into their personally lives and lifestyles one quickly sees how fraudulent their claims are.
There are others can be seen in this section
Some might want to say "these people do not represent the movement" or that I have "stacked the deck." The sad TRUTH of the matter is that these people are KEY PEOPLE in the movement. Some of these are the acknowledged LEADERS. Since what they promote does not work in their own lives why should anyone else believe them?