The Tattooed Faith Healer

I've written and read on faith healers enough to make myself nauseous, but it's one of those subjects that will always break your heart. Here is Todd Bentley in a recent interview with Lisa Ling. Note how she phrases her questions around Todd's "power".



The Indonesian woman with the "exploding tumor" is on of the craziest stories I've heard, but a quick search on Youtube reveals several crazy Todd Bentley videos. Now I don't have any beef with Pentacostals, if they believe the Holy Spirit is coursing through them while they speak in tongues and thrash violently around on the floor is fine by me. Different denominations express their faith through different practices and I have no problem with them until "preachers" like Todd Bentley start conning the weak, poor, and desperate out of their money. Take for example Lisa's interview question from the above video.

Lisa Ling: Do you think that anyone can learn how to heal?
Todd Bentley: I think you can help people to have faith to believe in healing. I think there's, you can teach people how to pray for the sick. And you know how to be more effective maybe when they do pray for the sick. Yeah, I think anybody has the ability to pray in the name of Jesus and God answers prayers.

Bentley's response demonstrates his shockingly lack of connection to his fellow man. I believe that he believes that he's doing the right thing by praying for and laying on hands on his followers, but the divine healing that Bentley dishes out is conditional: you'll be healed on the strength of your faith and if God wills it. Of course the level of medical treatment one receives at a hospital also depends on the size of your wallet but at least medicine is based on tangible research (if done properly). If Bentley wants to participate in a tangible good he should raise money to donate to foundations researching the incurable diseases he states he has cured with his "power".

Of course without Bentley and friends to remind us what craziness looks like we wouldn't be inspired to create gems like these.