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The Healing Reawakening by Francis MacNutt The book was originally titled: "The Nearly Perfect Crime" Although the main method leading to the conversion of the Roman Empire during the early years of Christianity lay in dramatically healing the sick and casting out evil spirits, the belief in supernatural healing nearly disappeared from mainline churches during the following centuries. In weakening this central teaching of the Gospel, they unwittingly opened themselves to the influence of Paganism, Platonism, Stoicism and Gnosticism.How did something so central to Jesus’ own heart, something so essential to the spreading of the gospel, nearly disappear? Join Francis MacNutt as he explores the fascinating "crime" at work to undermine the Christian power ministry. The Holy Spirit has not stopped pouring out his blessings. With this book we can rediscover the empowerment that the early church once experienced. For the first three centuries of Christianity, healing prayer was an ordinary practice; any and every Christian had the confidence to pray for the sick and cast out demons. For two centuries, they had all the writings we call the Bible, as well. They also had major persecution from the Roman federal government. The church was well on its way to winning the world for Christ. After the Roman emperor Constantine declared himself converted in the year 312, Christianity became legalized. It became more or less fashionable to be a Christian. The union of church and state changed both. Emperor Constantine's counselors were still occultists. He was baptized as a Christian only on his deathbed. All other religions became illegal. The federal government demanded everyone to be baptized and come to their official churches weekly as proof they were Christian. The federal government created a "clergy" class called "priests" as enforcers. Everyone else was designated "laity." New Testament type churches were broken up. Evangelism stopped. Gradually, healing prayer was restricted only to clergy, then only to bishops, then only to kings and then to nobody. Likewise exorcism. Likewise the Bible. Thus the government and its agents became the final authority instead of the Holy Spirit. Even today there are those who try to corrupt or destroy Christian signs & wonders. Even today they try to corrupt or destroy the Bible. Even today they try to suppress or discourage exorcism. Francis rewrote this book four times before he was satisfied with it. Even so, this message must have been painful to write because he is a Roman Catholic ex-priest and seminary teacher. Praise God, he followed truth wherever it led. This book is available at all bookstores as hardback for $18.99 |