Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 23, 1993 TAG: 9305230169
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Most of us in Southwest Virginia have by now heard all we want to hear about the drywall contractor/preacher who recently "married" a second wife "in the eyes of God." His first wife still is married to him, and his second wife is only 16. This gentleman is currently awaiting trial.
What you may not know is that this man was inspired by a cassette tape of a sermon preached by one William Marrion Branham in the early 1960s. Branham's sons and followers (Branham died in 1965) claim he did not actually endorse polygamy, just said that when it occurred it was all the woman's fault.
"The Healer Prophet" grew out of Weaver's doctoral work at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Ky. His book traces the growth of Branham's theology and popularity and establishes his place in the context of the American healing revivals and the Pentecostal Church.
Born into poverty in April 1909, near Burkesville, Ky., Branham was having visions by the time he was 3. Periodically during his miserable, impoverished childhood and adolescence, God would speak to him through a whirlwind. At the age of 24, he started his career as an independent Baptist minister, tent revivalist and faith healer, often attracting crowds of 3,000 and more in a single night.
At first, nothing could stop Branham.
Despite his humble demeanor, poor speaking skills and atrocious grammar he became the pacesetter of the healing revivals that swept America in the '40s and '50s.
Simply by shaking your hand, he could tell what ailed you. He gave away handkerchiefs he had blessed. He claimed that an angel spoke through him, that Jesus stood beside him on the platform at night and that a halo followed him. He even substituted for his friend Oral Roberts when Roberts was too tired to preach.
As his ministry grew, Branham became more and more convinced that he was the last prophet before the Second Coming of Christ. (Some said he was Christ). As his confidence grew, so did his inclination to throw in a little theology with his healing. It was his theology that finally caused people to turn away.
He adamantly preached that Eve had had sexual intercourse with the serpent and that all women now carry the seed of the devil in them; that a man can divorce his wife for cutting her hair; that he had had more revealed to him than either Martin Luther or John the Baptist; that the Catholic Church is of the devil and that denominations are evil. The list goes on.
Weaver treats his subject with a straightforward, almost sensitive style. The material is copiously noted and includes an index and bibliography. This book primarily is a work of scholarship (it includes remarkably little of Branham's personal life), but is quite accessible to the interested lay-reader. Strongly recommended for those interested in the history of faith healing, the Pentecostal Church or the influences on some of the smaller congregations in our area.
Kenneth M. Locke is a Radford writer.
by CNB