This Christian claims her three amputated toes were regrown during a prayer service
It only took 30 minutes, according to Missouri's James River Church. There's no video.
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During a service earlier today at James River Church in Springfield, Missouri, a montage was played during which church members talked about miracles that occurred to them.
Some of them was the usual flavor of “miracle” where people said they were in pain, got prayed over, then magically felt better. But the final anecdote in the montage came from a woman whose story stretched every bit of credulity. (You can see it in context here around the 6:18:30 mark.)
The woman explained that she had three toes amputated after an accident. At a healing service, a person next to her asked if she wanted new toes. (Let’s assume she told that person her story.)
A group of women, we’re told, prayed over her foot, at which point she decided to take her shoe off “to see what was happening.”
And when I did, I had to grab the person next to me and say, “Do you see what I see?” And I saw three toes that were forming, and now there’s length to them tonight.
I can stand on my tippy toes. Listen, do you understand? I can stand on tippy toes… I couldn’t do that [before] because I didn’t have toes to tippy on!
Amazing if true.
Don’t bother looking for video of the forming toes. No one decided to break out their phones to document this medical miracle. We’re just supposed to take her word for it.
On Facebook, however, a lady who attends the church offered more details. (The pastor echoes what she says at the 4:10:00 mark here.)
“Bone began to form where there was none before.”
Over the course of 30 minutes, “all three toes grew and were even longer than her original pinky toe… Then a nail began to form on her toe and she got feeling back in all 3 toes.”
For a church that clearly has a state-of-the-art video production team, it’s baffling that no one seems to have captured any of this on film.
Nor are there any doctors who can attest to what her toes looked like last week versus this week. (For many reasons, I’m not about to believe the unnamed doctor who apparently examined those toes.)
On Facebook, the comments under that post are a mixture of very gullible people and skeptics who can’t believe anyone is falling for this. One popular comment: “I wonder if her nose grew twice as long too?!”
The skepticism is warranted. Why didn’t her God prevent the amputations in the first place? Why didn’t God prevent her from apparently getting shot by her husband to the point where she was in a two-month coma?! Why didn’t God let her get healed next to someone with a freaking camera?
Ah well. Sorry, kids with cancer. You’re out of luck yet again. God was too busy healing a woman who is very excited to be standing on her tippy toes once again.
Maybe next time. If you wanted to get healed, you should’ve gone to church. Because, for some reason, none of these people with God-given healing powers ever considered visiting a pediatric ward with their magical abilities.
By the way, despite the church’s active Facebook presence, they haven’t posted at all about this supposed “miracle.” Plenty of posts with links for people to donate, but no documentation for the one thing that would arguably make it the most influential church in the world.
***Update*** (8:29 a.m.): Here is a news story about the “accident” in question. Truly horrific what she went through.
Also, while the Facebook post above has now been deleted, one Twitter user captured this response from the supposed toe-grower herself saying she never took “before” pictures and has no plans to share “after” pictures.
(via Springfield Skeptics. Thanks to Jude for the link)
I was decapitated in a car accident. At church the lady next to me noticed my condition and asked if I would like prayer. I gave her the thumbs up sign. 30 minutes later I grew a new head. It was a miracle! There was even a video of the whole process (but it got overwritten accidentally with a cat video). But it obviously really happened because how else could I have written this message with no head?
One of the biggest reasons to doubt this, besides the obvious, is the fact that any video evidence of this would be the ultimate advertisement for Christianity and would no doubt convert millions more people to the faith, who would then attend the church services. And growing their congregation is the ultimate goal (which means a lot more power and money). With that in mind, and considering the fact that virtually everyone has a portable recording device these days, there's just no excuse to not get these supposed miracles on video, especially one that purportedly lasted a span of 30 minutes. No way a church would miss out on that opportunity unless they were full of sh!t.