Thursday, September 4, 2008

Faith Healers: Selling Delusions to The Delusional

Previously I have shown a degree of charity, when it comes to the victims of these false faith-healers, better termed fake-healers.

And I’m not just referring to Pastor Michael Gugliemucci, when it comes to the term ‘false faith-healerS’ here (you’ll see there’s emphasis on the plural) By world standards Pastor Michael, is a light-weight in Pentecostal circles, 3rd division.

The list of fake-healers is extensive, and the ‘big names’ ply their trade around the globe ably assisted by local agents of deception, who use the obligatory word ‘Church’ at the beginning of their names.

Consumers can identify a ‘garden variety’ fake-healer by their use of the term pastor in their title, bad taste in expensive clothing, an entourage that resembles The Sopranos, special effects to rival U2, and last but not least an amazing ability to solicit Gods support (on provision of your credit card number and expiry date)

I could continue to lambaste the orcastrators of the grand illusion that ‘God can heal via my hand and prayers’ and signal sympathy towards the people they’ve fleeced.

But I then took a step-back, took time to examine the strange physiological ‘symbiotic’ relationship that exists between the fake-healer and the down-trodden & down right desperate believer.

It was then - the penny then dropped!

1.)If you are stupid enough to believe in an interventionalist God, you are going to be easy prey for rip-offs.

2.)Believers in deities are frequently unable to distinguish between the real world and the fantasy world of angels, devils etc.

3.)If the best God can do, is employ the likes of this miserable lot as earthy intermediaries through which to channel his healing powers, then it means God isn’t much good on character judgments, humanly fallible.

Concluded all you need is a bit of guile & bluff, a switched-on marketing company, and you have a market of over a billion suckers plus (oops believers) to rip into.

I no longer care about the likes of Benny Hinn etc, who rack in millions with false promises.

All they are doing is selling delusions to the delusional.

Further, researching the western equivalent of sharminism, I’m now totally convinced Benny, Pastor Michael and his ilk are on to a ‘sure winner’.

So as far as I’m concerned from here on in, go ahead and milk this market for all its worth, guys (and these showmen are always males).

No matter how ludicrous your claims, the inability to even offer basic corroborating evidence of your powers, as long as you include Mr God in your spiel – you’ll be believed!

I mean how much more fascicle & fanciful can it get, than telling an audience that Jesus himself is currently wandering around The Middle East converting Muslims!



Sorry Benny and followers, I’ve bad news for you guys.

Jesus was already booked-up in Florida for that night, by rival evangelist Todd Bentley!



But these two ‘second coming’ claims pail into insignificance, when pitted against the powers of their Lazarus-like buddy, Reinhard Bonnke.

Herr Bonnke, purports he can raise the dead!

This is him promoting The Planetshakers (you’ll remember them from earlier blogs and get to appreciate fake-healing is a multi-national billion dollar industry spanning the globe)



Literally millions of the emotionally dependent, subscribe to this load of crap.

Now, back to what I was saying before these amusing You-Tube diversions, and now you can see where I’m coming from here.

As a faith-healer, even when you do make a blunder in the public domain, combinating in the obligatory tearful confession where you admit you are a charlatan, there’s nothing to fear – you will be forgiven!

Your ‘target market’ automatically believes your powers without proof & when you f*ck-up rather than dumping on you, they forgive you!

And this all this happens of right!

There IS no downside, selling delusions to the delusional.

Pastor Michael, is a grand case in point.

He and his church will get to keep their loot, and he’ll be forgiven, even by those he ripped-off both spiritually and financially.

Frankly, it wouldn’t surprise me if Gugliemucci Jnr, starts back on the same bandwagon at some point. It’s hard to see him getting a proper job.

May be Gugliemucci could join-in with the Hinn ‘circus’, after all they share many of the same character traits, and that unique direct telephone-line to God. Hinn and Bonnke regularly fleece as a duo.

But sharing a stage and Gods word can prove logistically problematic for the fake-healers.

It becomes messy having to split the night’s takings, T.V rights etc.

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