This isn't a new story so you may have seen it before, however it's worth bringing up again as a reminder for us all never to be fooled and conned into willingly part with our hard earned money.
Some poor souls with illnesses fall for this con in the hope of easing their pain and suffering.
Exposure of a truly appalling conman.
Faith Healer Exposed.
Faith Healer Exposed.
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recovering conservative
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Faith Healer Exposed.
I remember the night James Randi exposed Peter Popoff on the Tonight Show w. Johnny Carson. Popoff was at least as big as Benny Hinn is today, and likely was making just as much money profiting from the gullibility of fools! First, Randi played a short videotape of Popoff's typical performance -- then the same tape was played, but this time with an added voice appearing in the background....which turned out to be Popoff's wife, speaking into a small, portable transmitter. And she was giving him those instructions you hear in that clip, which he was receiving with a portable earpiece, designed to look like a hearing aid (funny, no one thought of asking Popoff before, why God couldn't fix his hearing!).
Randi explained that he had been tipped off by someone who was attempting to investigate faith-healing fraud, but was stymied by privacy laws and tax disclosure rules, that still give churches protection to do whatever they want with donations in America, to this day! Anyway, Popoff's wife had been seen working the crowd before performances numerous times; so there were many who suspected that there was secret communication, but weren't sure of the method. Randi suggested that all was needed was a radio scanner to find which frequency they were transmitting on.....and the rest is history!
James Randi is 82 today, and has only recently recovered from an ordeal of chemotherapy to treat cancer....so he knows he's on borrowed time! In a recent interview earlier this year, when asked about any regrets -- he responded that the fact that Popoff, Uri Geller, and other not-so-famous fraudsters that he has exposed, have resurfaced, and are still making money...though on a more limited scale....is the only thing that has pierced his general feeling of optimism for the future. Randi expected, as would most sensible people, that once someone is exposed as a fraud -- that's it! They're gone! But, this is underlying risk that feelings of faith presents! Faith does not work by reason or evidence. Faith is about using one's own intuitions and jumping to conclusions of what is true, and what is false. And foundational beliefs based on faith are difficult to change for most people....especially as they get older, and have established a set worldview.
When Popoff was first exposed, I confronted some people I knew who were part of evangelical and charismatic movements that stressed faith-healing. They invariably considered Popoff an anomaly, but were certain that faith-healing was real, and that other similar con-artists in white suits were the real conduits of "God's Holy Spirit". So, most of Popoff's followers in the 80's, went off to Oral Roberts, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn, or similar charlatans. And, here we are today, in 2010, and Peter Popoff is back doing the faith healing and prosperity gospel fraud on American TV, and also in Canada, England, and Australia! He may not make as much as Benny Hinn...who according to one former insider who had a documentary shut down by a Benny Hinn lawsuit...which estimates Hinn's ministry takes in a gross of $100 million per year! And that's mostly tax free people! Since most of his earnings can be earmarked as church expenses and charitable works.
If you're ever wondering why skeptics, atheists, and assorted heathen unreligious people are alarmed by the growth of fundamentalism and arguments from faith being inserted into politics, business, and science education; the gullibility of crowds waving their arms in the air to "feel" the holy spirit, is why many of us are feeling less optimistic these days, and seriously believe that civilization is coming to an end in our lifetimes!
Randi explained that he had been tipped off by someone who was attempting to investigate faith-healing fraud, but was stymied by privacy laws and tax disclosure rules, that still give churches protection to do whatever they want with donations in America, to this day! Anyway, Popoff's wife had been seen working the crowd before performances numerous times; so there were many who suspected that there was secret communication, but weren't sure of the method. Randi suggested that all was needed was a radio scanner to find which frequency they were transmitting on.....and the rest is history!
James Randi is 82 today, and has only recently recovered from an ordeal of chemotherapy to treat cancer....so he knows he's on borrowed time! In a recent interview earlier this year, when asked about any regrets -- he responded that the fact that Popoff, Uri Geller, and other not-so-famous fraudsters that he has exposed, have resurfaced, and are still making money...though on a more limited scale....is the only thing that has pierced his general feeling of optimism for the future. Randi expected, as would most sensible people, that once someone is exposed as a fraud -- that's it! They're gone! But, this is underlying risk that feelings of faith presents! Faith does not work by reason or evidence. Faith is about using one's own intuitions and jumping to conclusions of what is true, and what is false. And foundational beliefs based on faith are difficult to change for most people....especially as they get older, and have established a set worldview.
When Popoff was first exposed, I confronted some people I knew who were part of evangelical and charismatic movements that stressed faith-healing. They invariably considered Popoff an anomaly, but were certain that faith-healing was real, and that other similar con-artists in white suits were the real conduits of "God's Holy Spirit". So, most of Popoff's followers in the 80's, went off to Oral Roberts, Pat Robertson, Benny Hinn, or similar charlatans. And, here we are today, in 2010, and Peter Popoff is back doing the faith healing and prosperity gospel fraud on American TV, and also in Canada, England, and Australia! He may not make as much as Benny Hinn...who according to one former insider who had a documentary shut down by a Benny Hinn lawsuit...which estimates Hinn's ministry takes in a gross of $100 million per year! And that's mostly tax free people! Since most of his earnings can be earmarked as church expenses and charitable works.
If you're ever wondering why skeptics, atheists, and assorted heathen unreligious people are alarmed by the growth of fundamentalism and arguments from faith being inserted into politics, business, and science education; the gullibility of crowds waving their arms in the air to "feel" the holy spirit, is why many of us are feeling less optimistic these days, and seriously believe that civilization is coming to an end in our lifetimes!
Faith Healer Exposed.
The real problem people like Randi face is the absolute conviction and belief of the 'audience'. Take away the audience, and these consters would find another market to extort.
Faith Healer Exposed.
You get a few of these here in NZ - where there are starting to organise some laws around this sort of thing - with regards to profiteering of the back of something that is found to have no merit.
The only thing is that the company Lawyers Hamilton isn't able to get around this fully due to the faith phenomenon - you can't prove or disprove what he is doing exists UNLESS you find him out that he knows what he's doing is false and they have this on tape.
The only thing is that the company Lawyers Hamilton isn't able to get around this fully due to the faith phenomenon - you can't prove or disprove what he is doing exists UNLESS you find him out that he knows what he's doing is false and they have this on tape.