Preacher Todd Bentley may think he has a cure for what ails you--and it's a swift kick in the face.
The tattooed leader of Fresh Fire Ministries, based in Lakeland, Florida, plans on touring the UK this month, the Daily Mail reports. Several citizens, however, are begging officials to ban Bentley from the country, citing the preacher's violent healing tactics as potentially harmful.
In one interview, Bentley claims that the "Holy Spirit" told him to kick an ill elderly woman in the face with his biker boot.
"Just as my boot made contact with her nose," the 36-year old said, "she fell under the power of God."
In another video segment, the preacher claims he cured a man of both cancer and a broken sternum by socking him in the chest.
See Todd Bentley Discuss Kicking A Cancer Patient (story continues below) :
"I'm concerned by Todd Bentley's methods," said British physician Peter May. "I would urge people to keep away from him."
Member of Parliament Malcom Wicks even went so far is to request that Bentley be banned from the UK. "His visit can do nothing but harm," Wicks told Home Secretary Theresa May.
Bentley, who is originally from Canada, is a former Hells Angels member and drug addict, according to the National Post. At age 15, he was convicted of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old.
The Canadian first began to receive international attention when he became a key figure in the Lakeland Revival (also called the Florida Outpouring), a Christian revival originating in Lakeland, Florida in the spring of 2008. Over a two-month period, over 400,000 people attended the revival, which had a strong focus on divine healing.
Since then, Bentley's career has been fraught with controversy. In 2009 Bentley left his wife, Shonnah, for Jessa Hasbrook, a church intern with whom he had an affair, according to the Western Standard.
In December 2011, Bentley told an audience that he had a hand in bringing 33 people back from the dead, according to the Express, though the techniques Bentley allegedly employed are unclear. 20 of these cases were "medically verified," he said.
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