The Cure for Skepticism
While attending the Society For Pentecostal Studies meeting in Cleveland, Tennessee in early 2018, I had a troubling conversation about the viability of divine healing. A young academic told me he accepted the possibility of marvelous works but insisted that the occurrences were rare. He reiterated, “I have never witnessed a miraculous work nor am I acquainted with anyone who has.” He suggested that recent healing claims were mostly outlandish.His statements dumbfounded me. This man carried Pentecostal credentials but sounded like a skeptic from a European university. Though rooted in the Spirit-filled tradition, he was suspicious of any display of the supernatural.
As incredulity flowed from his mouth, it reminded me of the assertions of David Hume. Centuries ago, this philosopher argued that miracles are chiefly observed among the pagans. “If a civilized people has ever given admission to any of them that people will be found to have received them from ignorant and barbarous ancestors.”
Sadly, Hume’s form of cynicism is growing throughout the ranks of Pentecostalism. Margaret Poloma heard an Assemblies of God graduate student say, “I have never seen one case of such healing in my church. Healing is professed, but I have seen little evidence of its being practiced or experienced.” More disturbingly, Keith Warrington points out a “developing perception within classical Pentecostalism” is “that sickness may be of benefit to the sufferer.”
Many are questioning what used to be widely accepted. Whether Spirit-filled or not, miracles have “aroused unease of intellectual conflict for Christians formed by the enlightenment of the West.”
Credible Accounts
I wonder if the uneasiness would diminish if credible miracle accounts were widely distributed. If theologians and philosophers had access to reliable testimonies, it would be a catalyst for greater acceptance. If additional works the same caliber as Testing Prayer by Candy Gunther Brown and Miracles by Craig Keener were produced, it could alter public discourse.Fortunately, publications are being released that document healing and miraculous encounters. Most of these works were not written with the scholarly community in mind, but they offer a credible analysis of the extraordinary works of God.
Stories of Divine Healing
One notable example is the latest release from Randy Clark, Stories of Divine Healing: Supernatural Testimonies that Ignite Faith for Your Healing. Clark, a gifted missionary-evangelist, culled compelling testimonies from his healing schools and international travels.Although Clark’s collection is not made up of detailed case studies, the reports are cogently organized around “every physical part of the human body.” The compilation references healings in the circulatory, digestive, endocrine, immune, integumentary, muscular, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, skeletal, and urinary systems.The scope of the testimonies varies throughout this 288-page work. Most of the narratives originate from mission team members who traveled with Clark—physicians, pastors, blue-collar workers, and students. Clark acknowledges, “Some testimonies sound rather simple and straightforward while others confront us with the reality that God indeed does perform creative miracles.”We have “no tools to measure God, nor can we assess the authenticity of miraculous healings.” Some analysts will find the testimonies in Clark’s book more credible than others. Regardless of one’s position, stories like this deserve consideration.I am comforted by what others might see as a weakness in Clark’s work. His testimonies are sometimes punctuated with erratic elements. While some are fully developed, others provide little detail. Nevertheless, this type of writing is precisely what one would expect from a group of individuals who have gone on a mission. This book’s rawness and lack of polish is a sign of its authenticity.
Again, I must reiterate that it is advantageous for the academic community to peruse this collection of testimonies. Consider the questions and practical implications that come up when one reads the following account:
I saw a small cluster of guys pointing to their friend, who tentatively raised his hand. I went to check things out and saw a man with part of his back missing on the left side. I couldn’t tell if it was actually missing or deformed. On the left side just about at his waistline, there was this big indentation, which was so pronounced that I could put my hand partway into it. We were meeting in a soccer field at night, and there was very little light. I could barely see his back, only feel it. He was small, perhaps one hundred twenty pounds, but the muscles in his back were as hard as a rock, as if he might be a laborer. I called someone else on the team to come over. We prayed for a healing and a creative miracle as we weren’t sure which we needed. Very soon, his back began “moving,” but not as if he was flexing his muscles. Although the man showed virtually no emotional reaction, which is very common among the Makua people, all three of us who were praying were sure that his back was “filling in.” The place where the indentation had been felt much more normal. We knew we had just witnessed a wondrous miracle, and we were pretty excited.
Clark, along with other twenty-first century renewalists, believes that healing testimonies spark exploration and discovery. Astounding stories encourage people to press into the mystery and wonder of God. Clark reminds us, “Every testimony brings fresh revelation of Jehovah-Rapha—the Lord who heals you."
Reminded of Our Heritage
Leave it to a former Baptist to remind us what it means to live a Spirit-filled life. We are in a crisis when Pentecostals are more like David Hume than William Seymour. Randy Clark’s Stories of Divine Healing might be precisely what this movement needs. The stories provide a necessary corrective for academics entangled in textual and philosophical matters. In many ways, Clark’s marvelous book brings us back to where Pentecostalism was a century ago.
We must never forget that healing is what enabled Spirit-filled believers to first gain a foothold in the world. God forbid if we are becoming like the denominations our forefathers felt compelled to leave.Inexplicable healing stories are one of the fascinating ways that God is re-centering twenty-first century Pentecostalism.