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Believe. Pray. Pay.

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Cult: Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.

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We live in a world where we are constantly finding this special cure in life. Some miraculous form of hope that one day our loved one will get healthier and our personal being even happier. But it’s this strange belief that a superior person can have this miraculous ability to heal a human by one single touch. A stranger can have this affect on someone. But with a cost.

There are many people posing as faith healers to feed their hunger for money and indulge themselves to a glamorous lifestyle. A likable man with a dashing suit on was known for curing his audience in America and also made sure they all fund his life-saving performance by going round with a donation collection box or appear on a shopping channel selling ‘miracle water’. Peter Popoff has made headlines for countless exposés that he was a fraud and a money-making schemer. Here’s what Tru TV stated about him:

Peter Popoff

In the 1980s, German-born Peter Popoff had a nationally televised show and was receiving large donations for his campaign to smuggle bibles into the Soviet Union via a hot air balloon.  The bible drop never happened, but Popoff’s nationally televised shows of extraordinary faith healing continued, making him a national icon.  That is until James Randi attended one of Popoff’s faith healing events. Randi brought a radio receiver with him.

While the audience saw Popoff magically call out details of the audience he couldn’t have known, Randi found an audio channel in which he could hear Popoff’s wife telling Popoff details from audience Q&A cards she had collected before the show. 

Think Again TV investigated Popoff at his return in faith healing and talked with James Randi (a well-known magician and skeptic) on the phone, who exposed Popoff in the 1980s on a talk show. They also show a secret footage of his event in Toronto in 2011, showcasing another of his healing tricks.

 

Another healer with a huge following is Bob Larson. A pastor who self-proclaims that he is ‘the world’s foremost expert on cults, the occult and supernatural phenomena. While he still has his own events in America sharing seminars and one-to-one discussions, he also sells his own books and DVDs such as Demon Proofing Prayers and Confronting Christian Cults.

As this website seems to aid Larson’s growing business in which he helpfully shares his religious beliefs and knowledge of cults and the supernatural, one thing struck to mind. Larson’s growing business wouldn’t be complete if he had his own School of Exorcism. Enrollment prices stretching to $900-$2.500, you can be taught from Apprentice Level to Exorcist Level, gaining a spiritual understanding into ‘healing the fragmented soul’. On his youtube channel, there are various videos of Larson showing his exorcising techniques, some which are quite disturbing to watch.

“You are asking the public to donate. Don’t you think the public deserves to know where the money goes?” – John Mattes

An old news footage from FOX News shows an interview with Larson who’s been gruelly questioned by journalist Mattes on his finance motives and asked if he was making millions of profit from his live exorcism events.

Interestingly, an article by Mark Bunker exposes Bob Larson on his exorcism scams, comically describing the events that unfold in Larson’s popular ‘Exorcism Workshops’. He suggested at the end of the workshop to the audience that they can donate $50 which would get them a DVD of his trip to Australia, ‘$100 for a second DVD’ and ‘for $150 they would get a third’ DVD. Bunker also saw Larson ‘wrote $5000 on the board’ and proclaimed as evidence for his cheeky suggested donation that one generous believer ‘single handedly donated $25,000!’ Makes you question how much he gets paid for every workshop he does in a year.

Currently on Larson’s website, he stated he will be visiting London, titled 2013 LONDON MISSION TRIP. The dates and the objective are currently unknown, but I’m sure there would be a fee entry to help reimburse his flight.

Faith healers have created this artful blur of business and faith whereby it is directed towards a morally invested and religiously devoted community. Faith healers have the power to make each audience member’s experience worthwhile, ultimately altering their state of mind. A human being can have an ability to pose as a healer and deceive their audience in order to crutch on an incandescent hope that one day, everything will be alright, as long as their coins are flying out of their pockets.

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WNOL Investigates Team are attending The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations’ Anointing Water Revival event at the Troxy on 10th of November to see their proclaims that ‘God heals‘ the sick are true. Also, check our page to see more of our research on this topic with exclusive interviews, clips of interesting documentaries and extra multimedia findings.

What do you think about faith healers and cults? Tweet us your thoughts @WNOLInvestigate.

 

By Kim Adis

*Images courtesy of The Yorck Projectboblarson.org & dimland.blogspot.co.uk

 


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