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How many people were healed in Branham's meetings?: Difference between revisions
How many people were healed in Branham's meetings? (view source)
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==What independent observers said== | ==What independent observers said== | ||
Controversy surrounded Branham right from the start of his public ministry. '''In 1947''', a minister in Saskatchewan, Rev. Alfred Pohl, stated that many who Branham pronounced as healed later died.<ref>Carl Dyck, ''William Branham: The Man and His Message'', Saskatoon, 1984, ISBC 0-919847-00-5</ref> | Controversy surrounded Branham right from the start of his public ministry. '''In 1947''', a minister in Saskatchewan, '''Rev. Alfred Pohl''', stated that many who Branham pronounced as healed later died.<ref>Carl Dyck, ''William Branham: The Man and His Message'', Saskatoon, 1984, ISBC 0-919847-00-5</ref> | ||
Pohl stated that he saw several people pronounced well by William Branham who died shortly there after. He relates one case of a friend whose wife had been prayed for: | Pohl stated that he saw several people pronounced well by William Branham who died shortly there after. He relates one case of a friend whose wife had been prayed for: | ||
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:''Let me ask, did this sort of thing happen to those who were healed by the Lord Jesus or by His apostles? Where, then, is it recorded? As Christians we sometimes think that we're "charitable" if we overlook these things, but is this real "charity" or love? Is it loving to permit this type of thing to be carried on in our churches, to the needless suffering, agony, disappointment, and expense of the sick? And more importantly, is it scriptural not to deal with the false, the counterfeit? (see Titus 1:7-14).<ref>Alfred Pohl's entire testimony is available from the [[Research Sources for William Branham and His Message|Berean Research Institute]]</ref> | :''Let me ask, did this sort of thing happen to those who were healed by the Lord Jesus or by His apostles? Where, then, is it recorded? As Christians we sometimes think that we're "charitable" if we overlook these things, but is this real "charity" or love? Is it loving to permit this type of thing to be carried on in our churches, to the needless suffering, agony, disappointment, and expense of the sick? And more importantly, is it scriptural not to deal with the false, the counterfeit? (see Titus 1:7-14).<ref>Alfred Pohl's entire testimony is available from the [[Research Sources for William Branham and His Message|Berean Research Institute]]</ref> | ||
In '''1948''', W.J. Taylor, a district superintendent with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, raised the same concern. He and his executive asked for a thorough investigation, presenting evidence that claims of the number of people healed were vastly overestimated. While he expressed warm regard for Branham as a person, he stated, ''"I firmly believe that there is a possibility that this whole business is wrong".''<ref>Kydd, Ronald A. N. (1998). Healing through the Centuries: Models for Understanding. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-913573-60-4.</ref> | In '''1948''', '''W.J. Taylor, a district superintendent with the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada''', raised the same concern. He and his executive asked for a thorough investigation, presenting evidence that claims of the number of people healed were vastly overestimated. While he expressed warm regard for Branham as a person, he stated, ''"I firmly believe that there is a possibility that this whole business is wrong".''<ref>Kydd, Ronald A. N. (1998). Healing through the Centuries: Models for Understanding. Hendrickson Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-913573-60-4.</ref> | ||
Walter Hollenweger, a noted Pentecostal historian who worked as translator for Branham in one of his campaigns in Switzerland, wrote of Branham: | '''Walter Hollenweger''', a noted Pentecostal historian who worked as translator for Branham in one of his campaigns in Switzerland, wrote of Branham: | ||
:''He possessed an extraordinary diagnostic gift and could identify the illnesses (sometimes even the names) of persons he had never seen. Unfortunately '''his healing prognosis was accurate only in rare cases'''. The excuse of healing evangelists in such cases has always been: The patient did not really believe; for they were convinced that faith leads automatically to health.<ref>Hollenweger, Walter J. (1997). Pentecostalism: Origins and Developments Worldwide. Baker Academic. ISBN 978-0801046605.</ref> | :''He possessed an extraordinary diagnostic gift and could identify the illnesses (sometimes even the names) of persons he had never seen. Unfortunately '''his healing prognosis was accurate only in rare cases'''. The excuse of healing evangelists in such cases has always been: The patient did not really believe; for they were convinced that faith leads automatically to health.<ref>Hollenweger, Walter J. (1997). Pentecostalism: Origins and Developments Worldwide. Baker Academic. ISBN 978-0801046605.</ref> | ||