Is ‘Jesus Heals’ False Advertising When He Doesn’t?

May 7th, 2012. By AbiK

Cruising down I-95 a while back there was a billboard that simply said, “Jesus Saves”. No idea who sponsored it, though one would imagine it was a Christian organization of some sort. Regardless, as with most billboards, it was advertising something. In this case, Jesus. The come-on of course being that if you “buy” Jesus, He’ll seal the transaction by saving you (or your soul). But, what if He doesn’t? Is that false advertising?

Well, a recent Australian billboard took things a bit further by saying, “Jesus Heals Cancer” (see picture, photo by Paul Taylor, nzherald). The billboard also reportedly had a tally of those whom Jesus had apparently healed—a total of six cancer survivors. Glory be to God.

However, not everyone was happy with the Jesus Heals billboard—including an Australian family whose 3 year old son is undergoing treatment for leukemia. Their beef? The sign read like a factual statement—not a message of hope, and therefore, it’s misleading—and offensive.

Amen.

And one can only wonder had the 3 year old been old enough to read, how would mommy and daddy be expected to explain why Jesus hadn’t healed him yet? Were they not ‘good enough’ Christians (assuming, of course, that they’re Christians)? Why was he being ostracized from the healthy and the cleansed?

After the Australian Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received a total of nine such complaints, it launched an investigation into the matter. The result? The ASA deemed that while the sponsor of the ad did not have any intention to offend, it clearly did not display the ‘”due sense of social responsibility required” and therefore breached the code of ethics.’ (nzherald.co.nz)

Unfortunately, most of us know someone who—even with ‘taking the narrow path’ in life—has succumbed to cancer. And most practicing Christians certainly believe that while God is omnipotent, there is only so much He can, or will, do—leaving us mere mortals to find solace in platitudes like “God must have needed him/her in heaven”. What else is there to say, after all?

The billboard in Australia was the work of the Equippers Church—their tagline: “Equipping People for Life through Faith in Jesus Christ”. Here’s an excerpt from one of their web pages (boldface added by author):

Equippers exists to create an environment where young and old of every culture can easily connect and discover the purpose of their existence. We value the different cultures that make up our community, however we also believe in the importance in having the same spirit in all our expressions. We encourage everyone to put the culture of the Kingdom ahead of their own cultural expectations, as we become united in the same purpose, the cause of Christ.

We believe that the Bible is inspired by God—that it is accurate authoritative and applicable to every part of our lives. Our desire is to communicate the message of God’s word without compromise in a relevant, life-giving way.

Draw your own conclusions from the above, but one word comes to mind: fundamentalist. To round out your picture of the Equippers Church, a few applicable keywords might be: Christian contemporary music, missions, ministries, Hallelujah Project, Shout Conference. You get the vibe. Unfortunately, the vibe tends to call for drinking the proverbial kool-aid and encouraging others to partaketh of the cup as well. Even if it means buying a billboard to proselytize the weak into thinking they’ll be ‘healed’.

To their credit, they do practice what they preach and do so with apparent conviction—case in point, here’s an example from Senior Pastor Kathy Monk’s twitter stream:

Choose to do life with Jesus, the other alternative is ridiculous, stupid & deadly…#JustDoIt

Deadly? Stupid?

Wouldn’t that be a nice message for a cancer patient right now—yes, Jesus heals cancer—but wait there’s more!—an addendum that didn’t make it onto the billboard: to NOT follow Jesus is deadly! And guess what? If you don’t follow Him, you’re stupid, too! Christianity at it’s most ‘Christian’ there, right? Thankfully not the Christianity I grew up with (for the record, I’m Christian born and bred.)

So yes, clearer minds prevailed on this one. The sign was apparently updated to read: “Jesus Heals every Sickness & Every Disease – Matthew 4:23”. Which, from a false advertising perspective is just fine. After all, when you’re trying to promote what’s in essence a best-selling book and its book club, what better to use than a pull quote?

Tags: Consumer Fraud, Equippers Australia, Equippers Church, false advertising, Jesus Heals Billboard

This was posted on Monday, May 7th, 2012 at 8:35 am and is filed under Consumer Fraud, Emerging Issues . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.