Heal or heel?

Religion: While the Bible shows that God can heal people supernaturally, claims of particular faith-healers should be examined. Here’s what WORLD learned about the “Lakeland Outpouring” healings of television preacher Todd Bentley | Warren Cole Smith

Associated Press/Photo by John Raoux

Christopher Fogle, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, loved to fish. It was a break from his fast-paced, 25-year career with the Perkins Restaurant chain.

But when Fogle got severe cancer, his relaxing fishing trips, which he sometimes took with his children, ended. It was a devastating blow for the active 45-year-old. But for Todd Bentley, television preacher and self-proclaimed healer, the cancer represented an opportunity to "proclaim the glory of God."

Indeed, last year Bentley began his "Lakeland Outpouring," a months-long series of "healing services" that Bentley and his Fresh Fire ministry started April 2 and ended under a cloud of controversy Aug. 11 ("Same old scam?," June 28, 2008). In between, the meetings attracted hundreds of thousands of people to a huge tent in Lakeland, Fla.