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Rod Parsley's
"Whopper"
ICCDM has
contacted Mr. Parsley regarding the testimony he shared in his latest mailing
(April 2, 1999). In his Mothers Day appeal he states the following
testimony: (the bold type has been added by ICCDM)
One year ago, on Mother's Day, as I was
ministering, I could feel a mother's faith pulling on my heart. In
the middle of the service, I asked for that mother who could believe for
a miracle to stand up.
A little
mother named Gina jumped up. . .the Holy
Spirit spoke through me and said, "Anything you ask me for today, I will
grant it." "I want my son set free of sin and sickness."
Now Gina had not seen her son for 12 years.
He was a professed homosexual, a heroin
addict, a crack addict, and a male prostitute on the street of Washington
D.C. He was committing crimes to support his drug habits and he was dying
from AIDS. Three months later, she got a call from her boy. He was
waved, and filled with the Holy Ghost! And there is more: he has
experienced a MIRACLE HEALING from AIDS! He was dying with
full-blown AIDS, and now he is completely healed and set free by God's
power! My friends, receive the word of
the Lord. God is no respecter of
persons! What God has done for Gina, He will do for you and your
lost loved ones.
ICCDM is
of the opinion that this testimony, like so many others shared by Charismatic
extremist ministries is untrue. Here we are told the following
concerning "Gina's" son -
She has not seen him in 12 years
He is a homosexual
He is a heroin addict
He is a crack cocaine addict
He is a male prostitute
He is involved in criminal activities
He has full-blown AIDS
He is dying from AIDS
A central
feature to most of these mythical stories is that the person is always
shown to be in the worst possible condition imaginable (which makes their
miracle so much greater in the readers eyes . . . and thus the minister
involved so much more "anointed" than
the reader.
Then due
to Parsley's sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, he yields himself to become
a channel for the spirit to speak through and "Gina" is given
cart blanche to ask for whatever she wanted, and as a mother she
asks that her son be set free from "sin and sickness."
Three months
later, she gets a call and her son is now
Saved
Filled with the Spirit
TOTALLY HEALED FROM AIDS
There are several things which DEMAND clarity. To begin with ICCDM
wants to know either Gina's address and/or phone number so she can be contacted.
Then we want her son's address and phone number so he can be contacted.
My wife and I worked with inner-city women who are HIV-Positive for many
years (1989-1995) and we know
that medical and social service records are kept by all HIV positive people
due to their medical needs, and social service benefits they can receive.
In other words, if this man got totally healed from AIDS via God's miraculous
power - then there will be medical records (1) proving his HIV status and
now (2) proving that he is HIV free. Why not supply this information?
It would be a great encouragement to others who are struggling with
AIDS to know that God does totally heal people with AIDS. In fact,
according to Parsley, He is no respecter of persons, i.e. He did it for
Gina's son, He is now obligated to do it for all people! Which
means the HIV-positive sister we took to a Benny Hinn "miracle meeting"
would have been healed . . . we buried she shortly after that meeting,
her hopes were crushed, and she died blaming herself.
This is a twisting of Scripture.
The context of Acts 10:34 is that God saves both Jew and Gentile, He does
not respect ethnicity in regards to salvation.
The verse does not mean that if God does something to or for one person,
He is obligated to do the same to any or all others in similar circumstances.
The Bible is filled with unique, one time actions by God to or for one
individual that were never repeated.
To teach Acts 10:34 in the manner Parsley does is not only poor scholarship,
but is devastating in the lives of those who "stand upon
that promise" for their family members. When these folks do not get
the same result that another believer got they often end up
(1) feeling
guilty because they lacked faith to manifest the "promise" for their loved
one(s)
(2)
struggling with anger or bitterness
at God because He "failed" keep His Word (according to their defective
understanding)
When these failures occur, it is ALWAYS the fault of the
person and NEVER the fault of the preacher who mislead the
person by twisting the Scriptures.
Until Mr. Parsley's ministry can supply the simple information we have
requested it is our position that he has lied about this story for
the purposes of building himself up in the eyes of his readers and possibly
trying to "build faith" in the readers heart by telling this tall tale.
God does not use made up stories and
fraudulent means to build faith, He uses His Word (Romans 10:17).
ICCDM will keep you appraised of what transpires regarding our inquiry.
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