The Most Important Ingredient

There are other aspects of faith-healing that are congruent with the magical process. Belief is considered necessary for a healing to take place. More than that, the healers impress upon their subjects that initial belief must be expanded into an absolute, unquestioning faith before any result will be forthcoming, and that faith must be maintained from that moment onward or the charm will be broken. This gives rise to a perfect explanation for the subsequent failure of the process: The recipient of the healing ceremony was unable to “keep the faith.” That is the most disturbing aspect of all. Today’s faith-healers impose a heavy potential burden of guilt on their victims. People are told that any failure of the healing magic is due to lack of their faith. They, not Jesus or the healer, must take the blame. David Paul, one of the more energetic of the modern evangelist /healers, launches into a wild tirade before those in his congregation, calling them “miserable, wretched creatures” who cannot make decisions, cannot prosper and cannot survive—he says—with—out “Jeeezuz” on their side. And that, he says, calls for total, unquestioning surrender, which preachers such as Paul can supervise because of their great wisdom. There are a few important bits of specialized behavior that are expected of both preacher and congregation in modern charismatic religious rites. One recognized antic requires that the preacher strike on the forehead persons singled out for healing. Sudden shouts of “Be healed!” or “Praise Jesus!” usually go along with this. In response, those so struck are expected to fall back into the arms of waiting “catchers” skilled at intercepting them. Anything from a short exclamation of ecstasy to a full-throated roar of spiritual exultation—from the falling devotee—is also expected to accompany this “slaying in the spirit.” Of course, the occasional celebrant, finding the sudden attention too attractive to resist, will cartwheel out of control, flailing about and screeching. Short of hosing him down with cold water, there is little that can be done for the afflicted until the ecstasies subside.

A Trick with Biblical Roots

The most impressive of all the show-biz stunts used by the evangelist /healers is the trick of “calling out” members of the audience. It consists of wandering about the audience, picking out an individual apparently at random, and calling him or her by name. A street address may also be given. A doctor’s name is usually announced, and an account of the person’s affliction goes along with it. Other details, from a pet’s name to the fact that a relative is in prison, can be thrown in. Most evangelists will go to great lengths to assure viewers repeatedly that they have never spoken to or questioned those whom they address with this information. Needless to say, the audience members are greatly influenced by this seeming miracle. To them the only explanation of this phenomenon is that the performer has learned his information from God, as he claims. Evangelists, particularly Pentecostals and charismatics, often quote from I Corinthians 12, wherein the “Nine Gifts of the Spirit” granted by God to special adepts are described. Two of these are the Gift of Knowledge (the ability to “call out” folks for healing) and the Gift of Healing itself. To today’s faithful, it appears that such people as Pat Robertson and the others possess these gifts, because they apparently can and do demonstrate them, both in person and via television. It must be added that fundamentalists, by and large, do not embrace the use of the Gifts by preachers. We are faced with two basic questions. First, are the televangelists offering proof of the Gift of Knowledge when they “call out” individuals in the audience? No. But different preachers use different methods to provide this illusion. I will describe here the method used by W. V. Grant, a prominent healer/evangelist who will be discussed later in detail in a chapter devoted to his ministry. Other methods used by other preachers will also be discussed in chapters devoted to them as individuals. Second, are they producing actual healings—by whatever means, and by whatever attribution—that can be verified? This question will be addressed in detail in Chapter 16.