Showing posts with label João Teixeira de Faria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label João Teixeira de Faria. Show all posts

Monday, November 24, 2014

ADDENDUM::Dueling miraculous healing claims clash in Australia - JREF

Infamous "healer" John of God is on tour of Australia. Interestingly, one of the local faith healers has taken exception to this. John Mellor of Sunshine Coast claims he heals through the power of Jesus. John of God, he asserts, claims instead that "spiritual entities from the dead enter him and take over his body" to effect a “cure”.

Uh oh, a dispute about methods!

Ignored is the fact that faith healing has not ever been shown to be effective in curing disease over conventional treatment.

Dueling miraculous healing claims clash in Australia - JREF

Friday, November 21, 2014

No Healing Miracles Found in ‘John of God’ Follow-Up Investigation - JREF

On October 25th, the Australian 60 Minutes television program featured a follow-up to Liz Hayes’s 1998 skeptical investigation of João Teixeira de Faria, who is better known as "João de deus" or "John of god." João has been credulously promoted by Oprah Winfrey as a medium who channels the spirits of dead doctors and saints to perform miraculous healings for people from around the world who visit him each week at his “Casa” in Abadiânia, Brazil.

Here is a summary of what was revealed in this airing - though the title sort of gives it away...

In Part 1 of the follow-up, reporter Michael Usher revealed that a woman declared as cured of breast cancer by a spirit entity channeled by João died in 2003. A woman in a wheelchair with multiple sclerosis who, in the 1998 report said she visited to João with the expectation of walking again didn’t feel any effect, is still in a wheelchair, and her condition deteriorated. Her trip to the Casa cost $5,000. Usher said that none of the other people [forty Australians] who made the pilgrimage that Hayes joined for investigation improved.
,,,
Usher attempted to interview João, but the exchange became testy after Usher asked if João is more about money than miracles and if he ever sexually assaulted his followers. The report shows that João walked away, responded sarcastically to the interpreter following him that he sexually assaulted her mother, and returned to the interview insisting to see what has been recorded. He does not come off as godly in this investigation.

No Healing Miracles Found in ‘John of God’ Follow-Up Investigation - JREF