"Anyone who claims a gift of healing and uses such to draw praise, attention, followers or money to
himself is not a true minister of God. The Lord Jesus Christ told you in the book of John that the Holy
Spirit would not speak of Himself. These men who are always talking about their faith, their gifts or
their power, and are testifying that they are NOT filled with the Holy Spirit." JAMES W. KNOX
CONTROVERSIAL German preacher Reinhard Bonnke has claimed only a modest haul of 'miracles' during his recent Ulster crusade. Globetrotting Bonnke arrived in Belfast last week for three rallies at the Odyssey Arena amid claims of miracles - including the healing of cancers - on his crusades across Africa. "When I step onto a platform in Africa or India or anywhere else, often without a touch of mine the blind begin to see, the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, and the cripples to walk," and " Miracles happened as if copied from the gospels and the book of Acts". Reinhard Bonnke even claims that a dead unborn baby was resurrected in its mother's womb during one of his rallies.

Reinhard Bonnke claimed no such miracles at the Odyssey, but he claimed some healing successes in a report of his Belfast adventure published on his website. "Prayers for healing took place each night and many testimonies of God’s healing power were heard. Those with breathing difficulties felt their lungs fully inflate for the first time in years. One lady, an asthmatic for twenty-four years, demonstrated her now ‘wheezeless’ breathing into the microphone. There were countless reports of relieved pain, with further demonstration of new-found flexibility from a man who had been run over by a heavy vehicle some years earlier and had suffered painfully ever since. Skin conditions cleared up and stiffened joints found mobility night after night – the Glory was all God’s. Many couples responded to prayers for barren wombs. It will be 9 months at least before we know the outcome" [1]

Where did all the biblical style miracles that are suppose to happen at his crusades go to?? Reinhard Bonnke had a great chance in Belfast to prove his critics wrong over his miracle claims. However Bonnke was optimistic... "Many couples responded to prayers for barren wombs. It will be nine months at least before we know the outcome!" However the truth is that 'praying for barren wombs' is a practice neither Jesus Christ or the apostles indulged in, and is unheard of in New Testement teaching. The so called 'healing successes listed above by Bonnke's ministry are not miracles either never mind biblical.

As reported well before his visit to Belfast, Northern Ireland [Not Ireland] testimonies of miracles are 'two a penny', in fact many of the various cults, witch doctors, psychic surgeons, and new age healers also make the same kind of miracle claims as Reinhard Bonnke. Even an advert in a Northern Ireland newspaper promoting a “miracle pen” had with it a number of 'documented' healings. However Reinhard Bonnke knows that such claims are harder to make in Northern Ireland, after a number of reports in local newspapers and on television exposed his dubious practices and bogus miracle claims.

A eye witness who attended two of the three Reinhard Bonnke meetings as an observer was amazed at the 'sensational' reports found on the CfaN website regarding the visit of Reinhard Bonnke to Belfast - Northern Ireland [Not Ireland]. [2] The eyewitness friend said how he saw people slumped on seats with their Pepsi and hamburgers whilst the service was taking place, all at the same time as people were continually entering and leaving the arena. The eyewitness said it reminded him more of a picture house/baseball game rather than a gospel service. This eyewitness who was at two of the three meetings reports that a great number of claims made on the CfaN website have clearly been exaggerated probably for the American market?

False Claims such as "Throughout the crusade the air was filled with an excitement of enormous proportions. Each night it spilled out unto the streets of Belfast as the crowds left, praising and worshipping God well into the night as they went." The eyewitness reports that this is a total fabrication, as most people left the meeting talking or looking around the stalls. In fact the eyewitness reports that even the hymns sung at the meetings were unknown to most of those in the audience. The eyewitness reported that things got so bad that people were even leaving the meeting when the closing prayer was being said.

More exaggerated claims and 'sensational' reports about a ten year old boy are also made on the site... "Standing out from those gathered at the foot of the platform, awaiting his salvation, stood one small boy. A boy of about ten years of age, a symbol of the child in Ireland. A child who could have been a member of the paramilitary even at that age; a child who could have been more than able to shoot live ammunition from real guns; a child who could have been involved in drugs, alcoholism and crime. A child now brought into a loving relationship with his heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ – a child saved!!"

The truth is that Reinhard Bonnke has a ministry of exaggerated claims and sensational storytelling that when checked out are found to be far from the truth. How long will the church put up with such show men who bring so much discredit to the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ? [2 Peter 2:1-3] --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Footnotes:

[1] http://www.cfan.org/offices/usa/crusades/europe/belfast0601/belfast601pg1.htm
http://www.cfan.org/offices/usa/crusades/europe/belfast0601/belfast601pg2.htm
[2] ibid