Known as “John of God,” a Brazilian faith healer claims spirits
take control of his body to enable him to perform surgeries without
anesthesia and other healing procedures. The spiritual center he founded,
located in the little town of Abadiania in Brazil’s remote central
highlands, has been dubbed “the Lourdes of South America” (“Controversial”
2006), while he himself has been
called a charlatan and worse (“Is” 2005).
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Joe Nickell PhD, is the author
of numerous books, including Pen, Ink, & Evidence and Unsolved History.
His web site is at
www.joenickell.com
Figure
1. The author, adopting the persona of a pilgrim seeking a miracle cure,
attends a “John of God” healing service. Dressing in white was a requisite of
the event. (Photos from the author’s file) |
First
alerted by a CNN producer to a John of God healing service in Atlanta,
I determined to go undercover to get a close look at what was transpiring.
I worked with National Geographic Television and Film on a segment for
their Is It Real? series program, “Miracle Cures,” which
included an analysis of the John of God phenomenon.
John of
God
Known
in his native Portuguese as Joao de Deus-”John of God”-Joao Teixeira de Faria was born in 1942 to
Poor parents. He grew up unable to stay in school or hold a job. At
sixteen, he reportedly discovered his miraculous ability when, in a
vision, a woman directed him to a nearby church. There,although he maintains
he does not remember what happened, having been entranced, he allegedly
performed a miraculous healing.
He thus
began a career that impresses the credulous. Claiming to be a medium
(one who communicates with spiritsof the dead), he insists he is guided
by more than thirty entities - although, curiously, Joao speaks only
Portuguese, regardless of which entity is possessing him at a given
time. King Solomon was his first entity. Others followed, including
Ignatius Loyola, the Spanish noble who founded the Jesuit order in 1540;
Joao’s center is named for him: Casa de Dom Inacio de Loyola. Oswaldo
Cruz, a physician who helped eradicate yellow fever, is another alleged
entity, along with other past healers, in a sort of spiritist pantheon
(“Controversial” 2006; “Is” 2005).
Spiritism
is essentially spiritualism, a belief that one can communicate with
spirits, but with the added conviction that spirits repeatedly reincarnate
in a progression toward enlightenment. In Brazil, which is steeped in
superstition and has a climate of belief in African spirits, spiritism
has become a powerful religious movement, overlayed onto Catholicism.
It may involve mediumistic searches for past lives and even so-called
“psychic surgery” (Bragdon 2002, 14-20; Guiley 2000, 360-362).
Supposedly,
psychic surgeons open the body paranormally-without surgical instruments
or anesthetic-and heal diseases by manipulating vital organs. Typically,
they have involved fraudulent practices including sleight of hand. For
instance, “tumors” have proved to be pieces of chicken intestines
and blood that of a cow (Nickell 1998, 159-162).
John of
God, however-styled “Joao-in-Entity” when supposedly possessed-has
a different style. He performs dubious “surgeries” that are either
“visible”or “invisible.” The former may involve twisting forceps
up a person’s nostrils or using a knife to scrape an eyeball or slice
open a fleshy abdomen-all without anesthesia. According to a pro Joao
book, “In over thirty-five years of the Entity’s surgery, it has
been extremely rare for there to be any infections” (Bragdon 2002, 11).
Certainly,
his procedures are a sham. The twisting of forceps up a pilgrim’s
nose is an old circus and carnival sidesshow stunt. The feat depends
on the fact that, unknown to many people, there is a sinus cavity that
extends horizontally from the nostrils over the roof of the mouth.
Figure
2. “John of God” (right)-supposedly possessed by a spirit entity-directs
treatments for the afflicted. Seated in the background is the author, ready to
undergo an “invisible surgery.”
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With “invisible
surgery,” the entity du jour
gives a prayer, after which thousands of “healing entities” busy
themselves, allegedly, by operating on an organ, revitalizing a muscle,or
otherwise “simultaneously attending to the problems of the people
in the room” (Bragdon 2002, 11). Augmenting the sessions are encouragements
to meditate, drink water blessed by the entities, and take prescribed
herbal remedies.Investigation
I had already
obtained a ticket to the John of God event in Atlanta when I was contacted by
National Geographic Television. We then worked together on an investigation that
shed new light on the Brazilian’s claims.
Shrewdly,
Joao’s entities avoided performing “visible surgeries” in Atlanta,
where he might have been arrested. I was chosen for an “invisible”
procedure as I hobbled by with a cane, wearing the requisite white outfit
that, I was told, “helps maintain a higher vibrational frequency”
(“John” 2006a; 2006b). I also wore a minor disguise since frequent
media appearances have made me more recognizable (see figures 1 and
2).
As I would
discover, Joao is an unlikely miracle worker. A grade-school dropout,
he was, reports an admirer, “forced to live as a wanderer, traveling
from city to city healing the sick and living from their donations of
food” (Pellegrino-Estrich 1995). Because, in Brazil, it is illegal
to practice medicine without a license, he has been charged and fined-even
jailed briefly. A district attorney who investigated him has reported
that Joao sent her-indirectly, through a relative-death threats. John
of God denies that, along with an accusation that he took advantage
of one woman who had come to him for healing. “There is a lot of jealousy.
People talk,”
he says defensively. “What dictates is the conscience toward God.”
Noting his apparent wealth, some critics say his “healings” are
merely a front to make him a rich man (“Is” 2005).
Certainly,
his procedures are a sham.The twisting of forceps up a pilgrim’s“
nose is an old circus and carnival sideshow stunt, explained in my book
Secrets of the Sideshows (Nickell 2005, 238-241). Looking far more
tortuous than it is, the feat depends on the fact that, unknown to many
people, there is a sinus cavity that extends horizontally from the nostrils
over the roof of the mouth to a surprising distance-enough to accommodate
a spike, icepick, or other implement used in the “Human Blockhead”
act.
At my
instigation, National Geographic filmed a performance of such an act
at the Washington, D.C., showbar Palace of Wonders, operated by carny
impresario (and friend) James Taylor. Our blockhead was “Swami Yomahmi,”
a.k.a. Stephon Walker, whom I introduced with my best carny-sideshow
spiel. Walker even cranked a rotating drill bit into his nose. He also
used a blunt knife to scrape the white part of his eyeball and acknowledged
that such stunts look more risky than they are.
A surgeon
who commented on John of God’s incisions stated that they were superficial
(little more than skin deep, apparently) and would not be expected either
to bleed very much or even to cause much initial pain. The same is true
of scraping the white of the eye or inserting something into the nasal
cavity (“Controversial” 2006). Physicians affiliated with the SKEPTICAL
INQUIRER voiced similar opinions. The brief nasal procedure occasionally
leaves someone’s nose bleeding, but his or her body’s own healing
mechanisms will no doubt repair the minor injury. The bottom line regarding
the procedures is that they are pseudosurgeries that have no objective
medical benefit other than the well known placebo effect.
Furthermore,
the “holy water” that “Joao-in-Entity” blesses and that supposedly helps effect
cures is ordinary water. I provided a specially labeled bottle I had purchased
in Atlanta, and National Geographic had it tested at a major D.C.-area facility,
the Washington Suburban Sanitation Commission. It was found to have no unusual
properties and to be entirely unremarkable (“Miracle” 2006).
As to
Joao-in-Entity’s herbal remedies, actually only a single herb is prescribed,
but those seeking aid are told that the entities are able to use it
to help cure a wide variety of ailments (“Miracle Cures” 2006).
The herb is one of the, many varieties of passionflower,
a mystical plant associated with Jesus’ crucifix ion, and it has been
used since ancient times as a “sedative, nervine and antispasmodic.”
Herbalists say it soothes the nervous system and produces restful
sleep that brightens one’s outlook (Lucas 1972, 128-129). Small
wonder it would be the drug of choice for a “healing” center to
distribute widely.
Matthew
Ireland had a type of brain tumor that was fast-growing and inoperable.
Subsequent MRI testing did show that the tumor mass was not gone as
the entity had claimed. |
Many people
offer testimonials as to the beneficial effects they have supposedly
received at the hands of John of God. In fact, however, the successes
attributed to the entities may be nothing more than what occurs at other
alleged miracle sites, like Lourdes, where the vast majority of supplicants
remain uncured. Since such “healings” are typically held to be miraculous
because they are “medically inexplicable,” claimants are engaging
in the logical fallacy of “arguing from ignorance”-that is, drawing
a conclusion from a lack of knowledge. Touted healings may actually
be attributable to such factors as misdiagnosis, spontaneous remission,
psychosomatic conditions, prior medical treatment, the body’s own
healing power, and other effects (Nickell 1998, 133-137).Consider,
for example, the case of Matthew Ireland, a pilgrim from Guilford, Vermont,
whose doctor told him he had a type of brain tumor that was fast growing
and inoperable. After two years of radiation treatments and chemotherapy,
Ireland made three visits to John of God. Subsequent MRI testing did
show that the tumor mass had shrunk by fifty percent, but it was not
gone as the entity had claimed. Ireland’s former oncologist attributes
the partial success to the aggressive radiation treatment and concedes
it is possible that the specific type of tumor may have been misdiagnosed
(“Miracle” 2006; “Is” 2005).
Often,
at healing services like those of John of God in Brazil, pilgrims’
emotions may trigger the release of endorphins, brain-produced substances
that reduce sensitivity to pain. They may thus believe and act as if
they have been miraculously healed-even throwing away their crutches-whereas
later investigation reveals their situation to be as bad, or worse,
than before (Nickell 1998,136). However, I did note that, at the Atlanta
John of God event, those who came with walkers, crutches, and wheelchairs
left with them. Sadly, the entities had not taken away their afflictions,
only their money.
Acknowledgments
I am grateful
to my wife, Diana Harris, not only for her forbearance but also her
direct assistance in this project. I am also grateful to Isham Randolph
and others from National Geographic Television and Film for their professional
work, as well as to Timothy Binga, the director of CFI Libraries, and
Lauren Becker, then CFI’s assistant director of communications, for
research assistance.
Note
1. At
the event I attended in Atlanta on April 4, 2006,
at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel, a staffer told me the water could
be replenished by refilling the bottle when the level gets low, using
ordinary tap water-the original water energizing the newly added.
References
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Bragdon, Emma.
2002. Spiritual Alliances:Discovering the Roots of Health at the
Casa de Dom lndcio. Woodstock, Vermont: Lightening Up Press.
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Controversial faith-healer
schedules Atlanta visit. 2006.
Available at
www.wsbtv.com/print/7257434/detail.html; accessed April
4, 2006.
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Guiley, Rosemary Ellen.
2000. The Encyclopedia of Ghosts and Spirits,
2nd ed. New York: Checkmark Books.
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Is “John of
God” a healer or chatlatan? 2005.ABC News, Februaty 8. (Available
at
www.religionnewsblog.com/print.php?p=10253 accessed April 4, 2006.
(The ABC Primetime Live
broadcast on which this article is based aired February 10, 2005.)
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John of God in Atlanta.
2006a. Available at
www.johnofgodinatlanta.com Accessed March 15.
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John of God in Atlanta. 2006b.Personal communication from
donjenna@johnofgodinatlanta.com. March 8.
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Lucas, Richard. 1972.
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Nickell, Joe. 1998.
Looking for a Miracle: Weeping Icons, Relics, Stigmata, Visions
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—. 2005. Secrets of the Sideshows.
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Pellegrino-Estrich,Robert.1995.John
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