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Meditation 1360
Why are they defending the indefensible?
That "Miracle" still isn't, nor are the others.

by: John Tyrrell

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Four years ago I critiqued a video posted by Billy Burke World Outreach channel on YouTube. I pointed out in Meditation 1144: A Miracle that isn't that the video  "Boy With No Optic Nerve Healed" was clearly a total misrepresentation. At best, the video showed that a young boy with a "lazy eye" was improving thanks to appropriate medical care. At worst - and this I failed to state in my original article - the supposed cure by Burke might have convinced the parents that further medical care would be unnecessary and the young lad's treatment would be discontinued.

In any event, whether because of my article or for other reasons, Burke's ministry removed the video from YouTube. It's gone, though numerous other purported cures by Burke remain there for the gullible to view.

You'd think if Burke wanted to respond to my article (and I did not expect him to), he could have answered with a brief message stating "The video was posted by an overzealous member of my staff who misinterpreted the video. You are right that this was not a healing of a missing optic nerve."

But, of course, Burke did not officially respond. And that's OK by me.

But, there have been a continuing flow of Disqus comments on the article from people who have received cures or witnessed cures or know someone who has been cured. I am almost tempted to think this is an orchestrated response. But of course a legitimate and upstanding ministry would not do this, would they?

Only one response in support of Burke, and that quite recently, actually addressed the article, attempting to counter my claim that there was no cure at all.

* Screenshot, as comments / videos relating to Burke do get deleted by the originators. Text below for those with images turned off.

As far as I am concerned, this supports my article completely. Clearly lazy eye. Clearly not cured. A cure would mean that the boy would be reading with both eyes equally involved. Covering the good eye and reading with the lazy eye is just what the doctor ordered. And as for the bewildered mother - she just did not know what was going on with her child's treatment. No miracle. No cure. Just extremely credulous witnesses.

The above is not really worth another Burke article and I could just leave things as they were without further comment except the same person came back to me with the following astonishing tale.

** Again a screenshot. Text below.

Say what?

Implants dissolved supernaturally! Natural breasts grew back! And all the doctors are is "stupified"?

I'd say the "doctors" are extremely stupid, not stupefied.

Given the expensive lawsuits from the problems with an earlier generation of breast implants, no conscientious physician is going to be content with stupefaction at dissolving breast implants. Medical ethics and standards demand full investigation and reporting for these events. He / she is going to insist on a full suite of tests to determine where the implants went. He / she will report this to the implant manufacturer who will also get involved. No doctor involved in something as serious as breast cancer or involved with implant surgery is going to be just stupefied. They will want to work out what has happened.

And as for breast tissue growing back, again, particularly for a breast cancer patient with recurrent cancer, the doctor is going to do a full range of tests to ensure what is growing is indeed normal tissue. And if it is, there would be a full investigation into the why. After all, there are currently millions of dollars being spent in research projects to find a way to regrow breast tissue naturally.

Quite simply, I do not believe that story. IT JUST DID NOT HAPPEN AS DESCRIBED. I'll assume Mr. Richardson misinterpreted / misunderstood what happened to his cousin.

But the story inspired me to visit Burke's website, where I found a video entitled METAL RODS ARE VAPORIZED FROM THIS WOMAN'S BACK. It's also currently on YouTube. Given that Burke has deleted videos previously, I took the liberty of downloading this astonishing feat - vaporizing metal rods indeed!

Did anyone who watched that video see any evidence metal rods were dissolved?

Back in Meditation 1144, I wrote: "And to distribute the video with the claim that a boy blind from birth with no optic nerve has been cured - that's thoroughly blatant dishonesty."

And I'll say this time "To distribute a video with the claim that metal rods are vaporized from a woman's back - that's thoroughly blatant dishonesty too."

Perhaps Billy Burke would like to prove me wrong about this. So given these reports that he can dissolve breast implants and replace them with natural soft and supple breasts, that he can vaporize metal rods in a woman's back, I'll issue this public challenge to Burke: cure my knees. Vaporize or dissolve my titanium and Teflon artificial knees and replace them with fully functioning flesh, bone, and cartilage knees. It would be nice if you could eliminate the scarring from the past operations, but that's not essential.

Here's the deal, Billy Burke:

1. you pay all my expenses (including travel and medical consultations) to wherever you want to perform the "miracle."
2. I will repay you double if the miracle succeeds.
3. Prior to you performing the miracle, you will arrange, including paying all costs, for me to get a full examination and diagnosis from a mutually agreed, recognized, and well-qualified orthopedic surgeon not connected in any way with your ministry.
4. After you have performed the miracle, you will arrange for the same orthopedic surgeon to examine me once more and certify the knee implants are gone and that I have natural fully-functional knees
5. The results (including before and after X-rays) will be posted on this site.
6. A successful miracle will even result in my published apology.

For someone who can dissolve breast implants and vaporize metal rods, this exercise should be a piece of cake resulting in a very public validation of what you are doing.

I expect you to suggest my disbelief disqualifies me from such a miracle, but if your god wants me to believe, this may be his last best opportunity to achieve it.

Other than that, Billy, I'm fine with you telling your followers to continue posting their cures in the comments, whether to this article or the previous one on discussing your "miracle." Most visitors to this website are intelligent enough to see the holes in the stories and ask why none of these cures is backed up with verifiable before and after diagnoses. Which means, in your own self interest, you might want them not to post. It's your choice.

Notes:

* I was one of usher standing there when it happened behind the boy. Real Deal, Mother almost passed out from shock. She brought the boy for prayer, but never expected him to be healed. Later that night on the sidelines, his mother had him reading his letters and numbers out of kids books with "Good Eye" covered. She was bewildered!!

** Your the one that is blind! A Pharasee. Additionally I had ribs that were crooked from a car accident, could not take a full breath, they are completely straight now, all at once. My cousin had a double mastectomy. 7 yrs later cancer came back. I took her to a service the first night of her treatment. The Lump, the pain gone immediately! Her deflated implants dissolved supernaturally, and soft supple breasts grew back, with no scars. Doctors stupified. For those that have eyes, let them see.

An amusing additional note

One of the other followers of Burke's ministry who chose to comment positively on Burke's powers also commented a few years back on an ABC report on the faith healer John of God, saying he was controlled by occult spirits and was a charlatan.

He may be right about John of God being a charlatan, but John of God is far from being the only faith healer charlatan. I suggest it is quite reasonable to consider all faith healers to be charlatans.

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