MondayMorningInsight - Leadership & Encouragement for Church Leaders

Robert Schuller: We’ve Discovered a Cure for Parkinson’s

Posted by: Todd
Posted on: Mon, October 20, 2008
Viewed 108
(22) comments so far

“This is giving people false hope,” said Bob Kendall, 48, who was diagnosed seven years ago. “To me this is really sad. If there was a breakthrough and a cure, it wouldn’t be a televangelist announcing it, believe me. There are a lot of people up in arms.”

Neurological experts say they’re not aware of any breakthrough. Dr. Neal Hermanowicz, director of the movement disorder program in UCI’s Department of Neurology, said it would be unusual for such a discovery to remain a secret, as promising work in progress is routinely presented and discussed at medical conferences.

“I don’t know of anybody anywhere in the world who is close to a cure for Parkinson’s disease,” said Hermanowicz, who was first asked about Schuller’s sermon by a patient on Thursday.

“Usually if something big is about to occur, there’s evidence presented at our meetings,” he said. “So if somebody has something really big it would be unusual to have no inkling of it in advance.”

Schuller told congregants that he learned about the breakthrough while at a recent conference in Toronto for members of Horatio Alger, a nonprofit group that honors community leaders who have achieved success “through honesty, hard work, self-reliance and perseverance over adversity,” the group’s Web site says.

Any thoughts?

According to the OC Register, Robert H. Schuller announced recently during an internationally televised sermon at the Crystal Cathedral that his friend has discovered a cure for Parkinson's disease, sparking a backlash among those who suffer from the neurological disease and bewilderment among medical professionals.

Schuller was introducing a different guest for his "Hour of Power" sermon when he made the announcement, promising his congregation that the medical researcher would soon fly in from Pittsburgh "to share with us how God helped him to discover a cure — that's the word they use — for Parkinson's disease."

But no one else in the medical community has heard about it...

Comments

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Dane on Mon, October 20, 2008

It would be nice if a cure for a major disease came by some route other than the medical insiders!

I have no expectation Schul is on the mark here. Regardless, I hope everybody ends up embarrassed for criticizing him in this instance!
Roger on Mon, October 20, 2008

Katrina,

It has been much more than being made to “feel good.” We have felt God’s presence. Have you attended a worship service at the Crystal Cathedral?
CS on Mon, October 20, 2008

Roger:

I’ve been to the Crystal Cathedral a few times. Some of my family are opera singers and were a part of the cast of the annual Nativity and Easter performances / plays put on there. It’s a beautiful place, and is definitely impressive.

Here’s some of the basic problems with Schuller and why he is labeled as a heretic:

-He believes that man’s largest problem is with self-esteem, not sin.

-He believes that Christ went to the cross to fix our self-esteem problems, not to free us from sin.

-He denies the existence of Hell, instead saying that Hell is when we have been stripped of our self-esteem.

-He believes in universalism.

-He preaches a message of self-love, when the Bible has a message of self-denial.

There’s more to it than this; just google “Robert Schuller quotes” and see what comes out.

—

CS
Tim on Mon, October 20, 2008

Katrina,

We don’t know who you are so how can we or Roger “trust you?” You seem to lump all mega churches in the same boat. While I have certainly seen a fair number of mega churches that whisper to the comfortable, most of the ones I come into contact with preach a powerful message of Truth and Spirit and do not leave confession of sin, repentence, and humility before an Almighty God at the front door. Ask Todd for a list of mega churches he is familiar with and worship at one of them and see if you still “feel” the same way. It may release you from an uncomfortable burden you seem to carry.
Jan on Sun, October 26, 2008

I’ve had reservations about R. Schuller for a long time, but I would not go so far as to say he is not a believer at all.

Having lived in that area for a lot of years, I saw many come to Christ through the ministry there.

My neighbor was Schuller’s chauffer, yea just him having one makes me uncomfortable, but he was a solid believer and believed that Schuller was too.

I also saw some very dynamic ministry for seniors and youth there and they sent millions to very solid evangelical missions.

Does he “do church” the way I think it should be done? Definitely not. But I hesitate to judge whether or not he’s saved. I think God will determine that for himself.
Pezz on Mon, October 27, 2008

Katrina,

Why did you drag megachurches into this conversation? Do you really think all megachurches got that way because they are man centered and don’t preach biblical doctrine? You sound bitter at big churches. That’s too bad. I could make the a similar generalization about non-megachurches….. they are still small and not growing because they would rather have bake sales and community interaction than preach a gospel that may be offensive. Look at what happened to the mainlines that have forsaken the gospel and are seeing their numbers dwindle. Do you think Andy Stanley is afraid to preach hard truth and leads a man-centered church? Go to his website and listen to some of his key messages. Listen to his teaching on Islam and tell me he’s shallow. You have made a generalization that just isn’t factual. There are a few “clouds without rain” out there, but they generally don’t last very long…
Victoria on Thu, October 30, 2008

At issue here is not our trust or lack thereof in Dr. Shculler. It is our lack of trust in his common sense. He should have waited on the announcement until in the presence of his expert, or until he could reasonably announce when to expect the “official” announcement. Just the fact that the whole medical community is not on board yet does not mean he hasn’t found anything.

And, I don’t blame the good-hearted pastor for being excited. To him it is wonderful news which he wishes to spread in order to help as many as possible, as soon as possible. So are we gonna plaster him for being a tad over-exuberant? I just pray he’s right, and that the cure is coming soon!

I will also use my son as an example. My “Asperger’s Syndrome” child is doing exceedingly well and improving drastically in a special Autism Treatment program (DAN) that is averaging about an 85% cure rate in those who try it. Even so, the Autism Society’s national website still says that there is no cure. Our military doctor wouldn’t even write me a referral because he felt that the doctors in the program are all “quacks”! So, we have had to pay our own way. And, my “quack” has a plaque on her wall proclaiming that the AMA even gave her their esteemed “Pediatrician of the Year” award a few years ago. Because the program uses mostly dietary and “healing the cause” treatments, instead of just medicating the symptoms with ritalin and other harsh drugs, its doctors are considered “quacks”. Well, when my son finishes the program, even if he is not one of the 85% of children cured, we will still be content because of the tremendous gains the Lord has brought us through the treatments so far.

So, I would just love to tell the whole world that they should at least try the treatment, but few are listening. Don’t wait for the medical community to rally around this “cure”—it could be a long time before they do. Just be happy for anyone who is helped and Praise the Lord for whomever He uses to accomplish that help and/or healing.