Where are the faith healers as the coronavirus is ravaging the world?
“Faith healing is often seen as a demonstration of supernatural benevolence or an affirmation of the transcendental capacity of the deities, spirits, and ancestors. So what happened to these supposed abilities of these superhuman agents? Do these deities exist or are they figments of various cultural imaginations? Why have faith healing potentials failed to manifest as the world grapples to contain the pandemic?”
(Leo Igwe – Modern Ghana) Has the outbreak of the coronavirus marked an end to faith healing practices in Nigeria, Africa and the world? This question has become necessary because traditional, Christian and Islamic faith healing claims have been rampant….
And they include claims of healing persons who are suffering from all sorts of illness, the blind, lame or those with HIV/AIDS. Faith healing is huge business enterprise.
Surprisingly, following the Covid-19 crisis, individuals and institutions that claim to possess faith healing powers have been silent, surreally silent. Before the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic, a Nigerian faith healer said that he would go to China and spiritually destroy the virus. However since the virus came to Nigeria, nobody has heard from this prophet of God. He must be self-isolating or socially distancing himself to avoid being infected! Not only him, but other acclaimed faith healers in the country and across Africa have also been so quiet and have refused to make any direct or indirect claim to heal any infected person. Why? What went wrong? Is it because faith healing is no longer effective? Or that faith healing cannot apply to the coronavirus? From T.B Joshua to Enoch Adeboye, from Rev. Oyedepo, Pastor Mboro and Shepherd Bushiri, the celebrity faith healers have gone underground; they are unable to invite infected persons to their churches or worship centers for deliverance. Instead, they are complying with the ban on religious gatherings. So what happened to their acclaimed faith healing powers?
Research