A response to Derren Brown

If the pre-programme publicity were to be believed, Derren Brown’s ‘Miracles for Sale’ (aired on Channel 4 – 25/04/11) was set to be some of his best television work yet. And was it? Well...it was pretty disappointing actually. It certainly wasn't objective - rather, Derren’s attempt to show that ‘faith healers’ (as he calls them) are all frauds. He claimed that there has NEVER been any medical evidence of someone being supernaturally healed. But to make such a sweeping statement without doing some research and at least presenting some evidence so the audience can make up their own mind as to whether or not this is true - that’s just cynical. If he had in fact done some research, he could have been objective and balanced, pointing out that there are indeed cases of medical evidence which could indicate instances of healing that are out of the ordinary. Instead, Derren focusses on a small minority of 'healers' whose practises are undoubtedly questionable - and paints that as the picture of every person who prays for people to be healed! Its like urging people not to eat eggs just because there are a few bad ones around!

The entire premise of Derren’s show was his attempt to expose what he believes to be fakery. But fighting deceit with deceit is just not credible. Its as logical as trying to extinguish fire with fire! And deceive is exactly what the show did. The member of the public who Derren trained as a ‘faith healer’ was clearly extremely uncomfortable at times at the sheer extent of the deceit in which he was involved. To advertise a healing meeting, knowing that this meeting was going to be complete fakery based on a fake ‘ministry’ of a fake ‘healer’ – well, that’s as bad as some of the charlatans who he’s trying to expose in that it knowingly gave entirely false hope to those members of the public who actually turned up! The manner in which the fake healer left the auditorium at the end (after giving a speech in which he wished a special place in hell for faith healers) was deeply unfair on members of the public, who clearly looked confused by the whole thing. And as for Derren’s quest to expose greed and selfishness – I wonder how much money he was paid for making this show? A lot...I suspect. He will not be unhappy with the publicity he’ll be getting from it either.

But despite the deeply flawed premise of the show, it does bring up some valid issues that those of us who passionately believe in God’s healing would do well to take note of. For example, it emphasises the importance of a heart of compassion that truly loves people and wants to serve them by seeing them healed and whole through the message of Jesus. If our heart is sincere to see this happen – then money will NEVER be an issue or a demand. On a personal note, I never make financial charges for events that I lead where I pray for people to be healed. Often, I’ve actually been out of pocket! The important thing is to keep a servant heart. There’s no point in talking about faith if we’re not prepared to practise it.

Then there’s the necessity for wisdom that avoids hype and hysterics. Why would Almighty God, the creater of Heaven and Earth, ever need us to hype Him for a healing meeting? God is REALLY good at what He does!! So there is no need for gimmickry when it comes to praying for people to be healed. Blowing, shouting, screaming, whipping the crowd up into a frenzy and the like – it actually takes away from the power of what God wants to do. Those who pray for the sick MUST be keen to let God be seen – not just in our words, but in action.

We would also do well to learn how to handle testimonies of healing. So often, this is handled with such insensitivity and lack of wisdom. Before giving a story of healing wide publicity, it is wise to allow the recipient opportunity to live in the experience for some time instead of being opportunistic and airing it on TV or publishing it in magazines straight away. The latter will undoubtedly gain a lot of attention for a ministry in the short term – but the former will undoubtedly give credit to God in the long term. Although it is rare for a doctor to write the world ‘MIRACLE’ on a medical report (something which they’re unlikely to do even if they truly believe a miracle has happened), the medical reports can emphasise the ‘out of the ordinary’ nature of someone’s recovery. So to have this actually gives extra credibility to the testimony.

Overall, I was disappointed with Derren’s show. I’m sad that he has taken such a cynical approach and focussed on some of the bad examples (most of the people he mentioned I’ve never even heard of!). Derren is a really likable guy – and it’s not surprising to me why he’s got such a following. I do wonder though if, behind that cynical veneer, there is a heart that is searching for the real thing? Hmmm.

As someone who strongly believes that God heals today – my faith has not changed one iota. I’m convinced the best way to combat bad practice is to model good practice. I will not stop believing...and I actually believe the BEST is yet to come.