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Bulletin 144 Date : 23rd Sep 2008
Dealing with Healing

We recently had a man in to do some decorating for us. As sometimes happens in these situations, conversations lead to the question, ‘what do you do?’ From here things led naturally to matters of faith and our decorator, who also happens to be a children’s entertainer and magician, encouraged me to watch the Channel 4 programme ‘Derren Brown:Messiah’ featuring the illusionist Derren Brown.

Well I did, and I was horrified at what I saw. Here is a man who makes a living out of controlling people’s minds and inducing altered states of consciousness. In this programme, which I gather was a repeat, he was showing how he could induce conversion to Christianity through a single touch of his hand. If you search YouTube for Derren Brown you will see this and a whole raft of other video clips in which he manipulates people through his hypnotic power.

What troubled me was that our decorator urged me to look at this because he sees religion in a similar light. If you search YouTube for Todd Bentley and Benny Hinn you will see similar stage acts, this time in the name of Christianity.

Derren Brown is making a living out of exploiting vulnerable people. His stage act of converting people with a touch is easily explained by experts in hypnosis as he uses classic techniques to induce a state of altered consciousness. In a matter of seconds he induced a whole crowd to fall backwards without touching them – something which Benny Hinn is known for too. The difference is that Derren Brown admits he is an illusionist and he is engaging in a stage act.

So, should we, as Christians, be wary of headline-grabbing, larger-than-life Christian ministers who appear to have spiritual powers which seem to outstrip the normal Christian minister? The recent controversy over Todd Bentley (apparently he is in divorce proceedings and has stepped back from the church) and the Florida Revival has even induced R. T. Kendal to pin his colours to the mast in the current edition of Christianity magazine and I have much sympathy for his views.

For me, it’s more about our need to side with the vulnerable. Derren Brown shows what can be done to manipulate the mind of a vulnerable or receptive person. We have a responsibility to ensure that all proper safeguards are in place when ministering to people who, through no fault of their own, have found themselves in a vulnerable or even desperate situation. They naturally turn to people who they hope they can trust and we know that such treatment may take months or even years to be effective. This is not the stuff of a stage act. When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman at the well he said we are to worship God in ‘spirit and truth’ (John 4:24). Deception and illusion need to be rooted out wherever they arise.

I mentioned to my decorator how moved I had been by Paul Field’s recent musical, ‘Cargo’ which featured the work of William Wilberforce and the slave trade abolitionists. I also said how sad we are that slavery and exploitation, although outlawed 200 years ago are now more prevalent than ever. Vulnerable people are being exploited and Christian people need to continue the struggle.

Isn’t it sad that the enormous amount of excellent healing work which is carried out anonymously within our churches can be tainted by the antics of the few who grab all the headlines? But, that’s life – newspapers wouldn’t sell if they were not filled with bad news, violence or scandal.