(correction added, thanks)
ASSIST Ministries reports:
More than 500 physicians from 26 countries gathered June 1-2 for a conference at the Grand Convention Center, Cebu City, the Philippines, in which medical doctors from around the world presented scientific evidence of divine healing.
…Delegates were delighted hear of a congratulatory message for the conference sent by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Philippines and also from Francisco T. Duque III, M.D., Msc., the country’s Secretary of Health.
Keynote addresses were delivered by the Hon. Antonio Yapha, Jr., M.D., Chairman of the Committee on Health and a member of the Philippines’ House of Representatives, and the Rev. Bishop Romeo Corpuz Sr., President of All Creation Global Network Ministries, Inc.
The conference was organised by the World Christian Doctors Network, which, despite its grandiose title, exists exclusively to promote the ministry of the Korean faith healer Lee Jae-Rock. I’ve discussed Jae-Rock’s dubious claims to supernatural power – as well as his somewhat eccentric theological beliefs, which have led to his expulsion from the Korean Christian Association – several times before on this blog: see here and here.
Jae-Rock has been associated with the Philippines for several years. In 2001 he led a leadership conference, where he received gushing praise from Arroyo:
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo sent her special advisor, Secretary Agelito M. Sarimento with her welcoming address at the opening ceremony. In a written statement, Arroyo said, “Let me commend your organization, under the spiritual guidance of Rev. Dr. Lee Jae-Rock, for its continuing commitment in preaching the five-fold gospel to both believers and unbelievers all over the world. In this ever-modernizing environment, we Christians should help share to all peoples of the world our Lord Jesus Christ’s good news.”
However, according to a religious website called The Bereans, some Christians came to believe that they had been “deceived”, and Jae-Rock did not enjoy the endorsement of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches.
Interestingly, this latest conference was also addressed by David Prentice of the Family Research Council, and it was puffed beforehand by the American Family Association’s Agape Press (which has formerly denounced the US neo-Pentecostal grouping known as Every Nation as a “cult”). It is most curious to see such organisations work with a man who – among much else – claims that his spiritual power can be proven by photographs in which he appears with a UFO, and that he has “sinless blood” thanks to a blood transfusion.
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