Watchdog says prayer can't heal
t.cork@bepp.co.uk
A Christian group has been banned from claiming praying for people can heal them after a woman complained to the Advertising Standards Authority.
-
Hayley Stevens' complaint against a Christian group was upheld
The ASA upheld Hayley Stevens' complaint, but Bath's Healing in the Streets team have said the decision was an attempt to ban 'the basic Christian belief that God can heal illness'.
Ms Stevens complained to the ASA last year after being handed a leaflet from one of the Healing on the Streets (HotS) team outside Bath Abbey. The group, like dozens of others from churches across the West, set up outside churches and offer to pray for people for free.
She said she objected to the group's leaflet and said its claims that the power of God and prayer could cure a range of illnesses, including cancer and depression, could give people 'false hope' and was 'irresponsible'. The HotS group handed a leaflet to people after they were prayed for advising them to continue to take whatever medication they had been given, and to continue to see their doctors.
In a ruling released yesterday, the ASA upheld Ms Stevens' complaint and told HotS not to make claims which stated or implied that, by receiving prayer from their volunteers, people could be healed of medical conditions.
It was also ruled that the group should not refer to medical conditions in their adverts 'for which medical supervision should be sought'. It was instructed to amend its advertising on leaflets and websites from 'God can heal you' to 'We believe God can heal you'.
"We told HotS not to make claims which stated or implied that, by receiving prayer from their volunteers, people could be healed of medical conditions," the ASA statement read. "We also told them not to refer in their ads to medical conditions for which medical supervision should be sought."
Yesterday, HotS has reacted angrily to the decision and confirmed it will appeal against the findings.
In a statement, the group said: "It seems very odd to us that the ASA wants to prevent us from stating on our website the basic Christian belief that God can heal illness.
"The ASA has even demanded that we sign a document agreeing not to say this, which is unacceptable to us – as it no doubt would be for anyone ordered not to make certain statements about their conventional religious or philosophical beliefs," they added.
"The response to what we do has been overwhelmingly positive, and we find it difficult to understand the ASA's attempt to restrict communication about this. Our website simply states our beliefs and describes some of our experiences. We tried to reach a compromise, recognising some of the ASA's concerns, but there are certain things that we cannot agree to."
Speaking exclusively to the Western Daily Press last night, Ms Stevens said she was pleased with ASA ruling but even though she was a campaigning atheist, she denied she had complained on religious grounds.
The 24-year-old from Bradford on Avon in Wiltshire is a regular blogger and speaker at sceptic conferences.
She said: "I have complained before to the ASA about claims to do with healing people, but they were against spiritual healers or people making false claims about treatments. I didn't even realise the Healing on the Streets people were Christian until I got home and looked at their website.
"My issue isn't with their Christian faith, it is with the potentially dangerous situation of vulnerable people who think they will be cured of something as serious as cancer.
"I don't think it is appropriate for them to be out on the streets taking the chance that they could come across someone with, say, mental health issues who should be being treated properly."
6 Comments
by momangelica
Thursday, February 09 2012, 11:30AM
“"Hi RC301,
With all due respect, this conversation is not going to go any better than a person who had known only the experiences of a Care Home or Orphanage decrying the Traditional Family Life experience to a child from a Traditional Family background.
The God Issue can never be "cleared up"; God gave us free will. To give more proof than He already has, besides an adequate proof of himself through His Creation + within our core, would be an infringement of that free will.
As for Jesus and His miracles, greater men than you have tried but failed throughout 2,000 years to disprove Him but they could not.
Turin Shroud!
The tunic of Juan Diego with the miraculous image of Our Lady of the America's.
The incorrupt bodies of hundreds of saints.
Now this one should interest you.......Ratisbonne conversion......so do take the time to read it as a a couple of years ago,a miracle of the healing of five tumours in a Bristol Frenchay Hospital patient, Carol, who was waiting to die but her tumours completely disappeared after she was handed a Miraculous Medal. It made the Bristol Evening Post. Her doctor said it happened in such a way "she wanted lots of the medals".
Incidentally, through the correspondence in the B.E.Post it transpires that many more people said they had been given the medals when visiting the hospital with terminal illnesses and have been completely cured. These medals were given out by a young man, a porter who worked there who was a member of a Catholic society, The Legion of Mary.
The Miraculous Medal is one of the favourite tools we members carry to pass to those in need and is known throughout the world............ .
......The experience of Ratisbonne.
http://tinyurl.com/7exrfa3
Happy reading and googling.
All the best. Mom."”
by momangelica
Wednesday, February 08 2012, 5:16PM
“Hi RC301,
With all due respect, this conversation is not going to go any better than a person who had known only the experiences of a Care Home or Orphanage decrying the Traditional Family Life experience to a child from a Traditional Family background.
The God Issue can never be "cleared up"; God gave us free will. To give more proof than He already has, besides an adequate proof of himself through His Creation + within our core, would be an infringement of that free will.
As for Jesus and His miracles, greater men than you have tried but failed throughout 2,000 years to disprove Him but they could not.
Turin Shroud!
The tunic of Juan Diego with the miraculous image of Our Lady of the America's.
The incorrupt bodies of hundreds of saints.
Now this one should interest you.......Ratisbonne conversion......so do take the time to read it as a a couple of years ago,a miracle of the healing of five tumours in a Bristol Frenchay Hospital patient, Carol, who was waiting to die but her tumours completely disappeared after she was handed a Miraculous Medal. It made the Bristol Evening Post. Her doctor said it happened in such a way "she wanted lots of the medals".
Incidentally, through the correspondence in the B.E.Post it transpires that many more people said they had been given the medals when visiting the hospital with terminal illnesses and have been completely cured. These medals were given out by a young man, a porter who worked there who was a member of a Catholic society, The Legion of Mary.
The Miraculous Medal is one of the favourite tools we members carry to pass to those in need and is known throughout the world............ .
......The experience of Ratisbonne.
http://tinyurl.com/7exrfa3
Happy reading and googling.
All the best. Mom.”
by RC301
Tuesday, February 07 2012, 11:44PM
“Monangelica,
I take it from your inability to provide any references to documents representing "letters written from Kings to other kings from areas outside of Jerusalem, which contain discussions about His healing of people" contemporary with the life of Jesus that my suspicion that such documents do not in fact exist was correct.
When I hear this type of thing from what, for the want of a better term, might be called 'ordinarily' religious people, I usually dismiss deliberate dishonesty and attribute it to an overly credulous attitude taken towards claims made by others. Unfortunately religion is riddled with the attitude that dishonesty used in the promotion of the religion does not count a lying, particularly at the top of the organisations. I recommend taking a more questioning attitude, especially towards those who would assume an attitude of authority. That way you may avoid squandering your credibility quite so quickly (and if you want your credibility back try admitting your mistake, as most will understand that humans make mistakes and will forgive the honest ones).
Incidentally, the existence of St. Jerome is neither disputed nor relevant. And miracles, if there were really beyond dispute the God question would have already been long settled.”
by momangelica
Tuesday, February 07 2012, 8:49PM
“Hi RC301,
I always advise folk to refer to the Saints - the expert in these matters.
The source of the independent discussions of Jesus came from St Jerome, Dr. of the Church and Historian.
http://tinyurl.com/83373rp
http://tinyurl.com/7vjm6ym
ancienthistory.about.com/od/earlychurch/g/Jerome.htm
Why do we still have a problem with the Christian idea of Christ, Healing, forgiveness of sins
and all things Catholic when we have wondrous miracles under our noses. Example; The body of St Bernadette still perfect with nail and hair needing trimming, her body is in Nevers in France.
ST Padre Pio, who died in 1968 and when his body was exhumed 50 years later,(normal time to test to see who is a Saint) almost perfection.
St Catherine Laboure, in Paris.
The little child who saw our Lady in Fatima in 1917 Jacinta; Perfect.
Google them.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg - so as to speak, of St's and their ability to confound nature, science and intelligence.. They are the signposts to the truth. Start from there.
All the best. Mom A.”
by RC301
Tuesday, February 07 2012, 5:44PM
“Monangelica, when you say "It is not a myth about the miracles of Jesus as there are letters written from Kings to other kings from areas outside of Jerusalem, which contain discussions about His healing of people" you are contradicting an often repeated observation that, outside of the Bible (which post-dates Jesus' time anyway), there are no documents collaborating Jesus' existence that are contemporary with the time he is supposed to have existed. If such documents actually did exits then anyone claiming that they did not would be referred to those documents, settling the matter and discouraging them from repeating that assertion. It is much easier to claim the existence of non-existent documents than to deny the existence of document that do exist, as you appear to have just demonstrated.
Are your stories supposed to be believed because you are religious, or because they correspond with reality? You have given up on the option of having both.”
by momangelica
Monday, February 06 2012, 5:41PM
“In response to the ASA upholding the complaint of a 24 year old lady, who is a "skeptic" and does not believe that God can heal is an unjust action. It is not a myth about the miracles of Jesus as there are letters written from Kings to other kings from areas outside of Jerusalem, which contain discussions about His healing of people.Leprosy was incurable back then remember; the Son of God cured the sick and raised the dead in vast numbers. Last August, I was passing through the Bath Abby Courtyard and was delighted to see the Healing Team as I had an affliction with my vocal chords and nothing was working to improve them. I had a wedding looming and I could not sing as something was covering my V. chords. I asked the team to pray over me. They did. Then I owned up to having visited an Exorcism site where the original tapes were played with the voice of Demons speaking. That was the time of the start of the afflictions. The healing team then did a different prayer one against Satan and his works. (they wanted me to let them know the result, I said yes but lost their details) The very next morning, I tried my voice, as I had each morning for a month, and was soooo relieved to find that the symptom had vanished. I told many people about it from that day to this and they can bear witness if needed. Another example of God's healing was when a friend's father, a doctor, had a melanoma on his leg and after aggressive treatments ranging over a couple of years was not healed and had now traveled up to his groin. The prognosis was serious. If it went passed the groin it would be fatal. I asked them if I could anoint him with Oil of St Peregrine (the Saint of Cancer on legs / body) my friend agreed. I prayed through the "Full Authority of the Church and through God and His Saints. He was anointed and blest with the oil; Two years later he is alive and well, only last Thursday his wife popped in to see me and mentioned how miraculous his healing was, how two acquaintances had the same type of cancer and treatment in hospital but now are dead. She says "Thanks be to God"! And she thanked me in front of my children.
The young lady who protests against God and His healing knows nothing!”