PRev1: I told him, in private mind you, that I was leaving because I could not agree with what was being taught at his school; and, because he was unwilling or incapable of backing up his claims for "Faith" healing with any form of hard evidence.

At this, Peter became quite angry and...
He told me that, it was a good thing I was leaving because...
If I didn't, he would have been "forced" to "rebuke" me -- in public -- for having questioned him about the only "case history" for "faith" healing he chose to share in his introductory lecture (having just returned from a crucial "crusade" where Christ had been Preached to those Heathen Swedes. Praise, Jesus!)

The "case" in question just happened to involve a young female member of the church I had attended the Sunday prior to Peter's lecture.



She had stood before the congregation and revealed that the "healing" she had "received" at the Youngren Crusade earlier that month... Was only temporary, at best.

You see, she had a congenital hearing defect. An imbalance, affected by water pressure on the inner ear -- both left and right -- caused her to be partially deaf, all of her life.

Because of the nature of this defect...
At times, she would be unable to hear from the left ear...
At other times, she would be unable to hear from her right ear...
Sometimes, she would be unable to hear at all and...
Sometimes, she would be able to hear out both ears.
However... At no time was her hearing ability ever, entirely... 100 per cent.

When she went to Youngren's Crusade, she approached the stage in hopes of a healing.
When Peter "laid hands" on her... In the process, moving her head back and forth, and from side to side... The water imbalance adjusted itself to that point where she was able to hear from both ears.

Praise the Lord!
It's a Miracle!
The Woman Can HEAR!!

Well, on that Sunday she told us...
She had been to the Doctor's office that week and, tests revealed that her congenital condition remained... unchanged.

There was no "healing"...
There was only a temporary alleviation of pressure on the inner ear.
Exactly the same temporary alleviation that she had already experienced...
So many times before in her life.

The day of Peter's lecture, I informed him that, unfortunately, he was using a "case history" of a "healing" that never took place.

At that time, I made the "mistake" of asking him if he had another example he might share with us. In my excitement at the prospect, I also asked if he kept records of some of the "healings" he had participated in and, I asked if it might be possible, at some time through the course, that those records might be made accessible to the students.

*--Whooooeeee--*... The Excrement Hit the Oscillating Air-Projection Device!

Apparently, one does not "question" a great man of god like Peter Youngren.
And, one does not request "evidence" for anything that great man of god claims to have done.
For, after all, a great man of god does not need to prove Anything to Anyone!

Well, needless to say, I was somewhat taken aback at the idea that this Devotee of Mammon felt entitled to "rebuke" me.
So, I informed him that, if he HAD done such a thing, I would have found it necessary to "rebuke" him right back for having the Nerve to allow such erroneous teachings to take place under his roof and... In the Name of Jesus.

To this, he responded that I may not agree with the teachings but, I could not expect to agree with everyone.

Upon hearing this, my mind flashed back to the previous night, which I had spent in prayer, searching the scriptures for an answer to the question of whether or not the Lord wanted me to stay or to leave... and, I recalled the one line of text that seemed to jump off the page when, at one point, the book had slipped and fallen from my hands. The words of that line of scripture uttered forth from my lips, quietly, and in awe...

1 Corinthians 11:19 --
No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God's approval.

And, this was the point that caused Peter to blow a gasket...
He vehemently disagreed with the text and declared that it wasn't necessarily true.

When I told him how that verse had come to my lips at that time...
He shouted out the epithet which I now hold to be a Badge of Honor...

"YOU are a Hell-Spawned, SEED of Satan; SENT to Destroy My Ministry!"

Shaking my head, I told him sadly that, if he truly believed those words then, he had far more troubles to face than a "baby christian" like myself could ever deliver.

A few more words were exchanged... with Peter simply refusing to accept my proclaimed status as a "baby christian" on the basis that my Biblical proficiency and acumen were far too great for him to believe such a claim.

At any rate, I left, that morning, without saying a word about that private exchange to any of the students.

So, there you have it... yet again.
The "cause" of Peter's epithet.

-PRev1-