{"id":2985,"date":"2012-03-27T19:42:18","date_gmt":"2012-03-27T18:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/?p=2985"},"modified":"2025-09-15T11:03:30","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T10:03:30","slug":"god-can-heal-today-say-mps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/god-can-heal-today-say-mps\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;God can heal today&#8217; say MPs"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_35771\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-35771\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-35771\" src=\"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-300x213.jpg\" alt=\"Bath Healing Leaflet\" width=\"300\" height=\"213\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-300x213.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-591x420.jpg 591w, https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-600x426.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg 636w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-35771\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bath Healing Leaflet<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Three prominent Christian MPs have challenged the Advertising Standards Authority to produce evidence to support their assertion that God cannot heal, reports <strong><a title=\"Total Politics - all links open in a new window\" href=\"http:\/\/www.totalpolitics.com\/blog\/314662\/mps-try-to-overturn-and39god-can-healand39-ad-ban.thtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Total Politics<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a title=\"ASA link\" href=\"http:\/\/asa.org.uk\/ASA-action\/Adjudications\/2012\/2\/Healing-on-the-Streets_Bath\/SHP_ADJ_158433.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The ASA ruled on 1st February 2012 <\/a><\/strong>that Christians in Bath may not say in an advertisement:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;NEED HEALING? GOD CAN HEAL TODAY! &#8230; We&#8217;d love to pray for your healing right now! We&#8217;re Christian from churches in Bath and we pray in the name of Jesus. We believe that God loves you and can heal you from any sickness&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>In a letter (on the Total Politics link above) to the Chairman of the ASA, Lord Smith of Finsbury, the MPs, Gary Streeter MP (Con), Gavin Shuker MP (Labour) and Tim Farron (Lib-Dem), from the all-party group\u00a0Christians in Parliament, mention the prayer that has gone up for Fabrice Muamba and ask if those praying for him are wrong.<\/p>\n<p>The openly-&#8216;gay&#8217; Chris, Lord, Smith of Finsbury who is also a <strong><a title=\"CHE link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.c-h-e.org.uk\/news.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">vice-president of the Campaign for Homosexual Equality, <\/a><\/strong>spent his years as an MP doing just that.\u00a0 In 2009, the ASA <strong><a title=\"The Guardian\" href=\"http:\/\/www.guardian.co.uk\/media\/2009\/jan\/21\/asa-clears-atheist-bus-ad-campaign\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">cleared the atheist bus ads<\/a><\/strong> which claimed there was no God.<\/p>\n<p>As the MPs point out,\u00a0a belief that God can heal today is based on &#8216;two thousand years of Christian tradition and the very clear teaching in the Bible&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>The Lord Jesus said: <strong>Mark 16:17\u00a0 &#8216;And these signs shall follow them that believe;\u00a0&#8230;\u00a018\u00a0&#8230; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.&#8217;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The Apostle James said: <strong>James 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One of the claims made by the ASA is that belief\u00a0that God heals might stop people going to the doctor.\u00a0\u00a0In fact, none of the Bath Christians would advise against medical assistance.\u00a0 Christian theology views medicine as a gift from God and being a doctor or nurse as a vocation.\u00a0 One of the evangelists, Luke, was a doctor.\u00a0 No Christian is going to tell a man with gall stones not to have the operation.<\/p>\n<p>But just as God did not step in to save the Israelites from the advancing Egyptian army in Exodus 14 until they had exhausted all human ideas, and the woman with a flow of blood in Luke 8\u00a0had seen all the doctors before she came to Jesus, so it is often when the efforts of medicine can do no more that the miracle comes.<\/p>\n<p>At other times, as in Fabrice Muamba&#8217;s case, prayer covers the whole pattern of events, such that an operation and healing go more swiftly and smoothly than anyone could imagine.\u00a0 And then the doctors speak of &#8216;a miracle&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Faith is also important.\u00a0Both the Lord Jesus and the Apostle James tell us not to doubt.\u00a0 The &#8216;double-minded&#8217; will receive nothing from the Lord, says James.\u00a0 We must not pray and then say to ourselves &#8216;I don&#8217;t think the Lord will do it, but it&#8217;s worth a try.&#8217;\u00a0 And prayer has to be fervent, from the heart.<\/p>\n<p>Just put &#8220;miraculous healing&#8221; into any search engine, be encouraged, and confound the ASA!<\/p>\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Three prominent Christian MPs have challenged the Advertising Standards Authority to produce evidence to support their assertion that God cannot heal, reports Total Politics. The ASA ruled on 1st February 2012 that Christians in Bath may not say in an advertisement: &#8220;NEED HEALING? GOD CAN HEAL TODAY! &#8230; We&#8217;d love to pray for your healing [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-freedom"],"aioseo_notices":[],"rttpg_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"landscape":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"portraits":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-300x213.jpg",300,213,true],"large":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"td_0x420":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-591x420.jpg",591,420,true],"td_80x60":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-80x60.jpg",80,60,true],"td_100x75":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-100x75.jpg",100,75,true],"td_180x135":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-180x135.jpg",180,135,true],"td_238x178":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-238x178.jpg",238,178,true],"td_265x198":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-265x198.jpg",265,198,true],"td_300x160":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-300x160.jpg",300,160,true],"td_300x194":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-300x194.jpg",300,194,true],"td_300x350":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-300x350.jpg",300,350,true],"td_341x220":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-341x220.jpg",341,220,true],"td_341x400":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-341x400.jpg",341,400,true],"td_511x400":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-511x400.jpg",511,400,true],"td_537x360":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-537x360.jpg",537,360,true],"td_640x0":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"td_640x350":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-636x350.jpg",636,350,true],"td_681x0":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"td_681x400":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-636x400.jpg",636,400,true],"td_741x486":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"td_1021x580":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"ultp_layout_landscape_large":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"ultp_layout_landscape":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet.jpg",636,452,false],"ultp_layout_portrait":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-600x452.jpg",600,452,true],"ultp_layout_square":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-600x452.jpg",600,452,true],"woocommerce_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-300x300.jpg",300,300,true],"woocommerce_single":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-600x426.jpg",600,426,true],"woocommerce_gallery_thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/bath-healing-leaflet-100x100.jpg",100,100,true]},"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"Stephen","author_link":"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/author\/stephen\/"},"rttpg_comment":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href=\"https:\/\/www.christianvoice.org.uk\/index.php\/category\/christian-freedom\/\" rel=\"category tag\">Christian freedom<\/a>","rttpg_excerpt":"Three prominent Christian MPs have challenged the Advertising Standards Authority to produce evidence to support their assertion that God cannot heal, reports Total Politics. 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