Faith-healing Revisited. A Charismatic Christian Intervention to the Therapy Culture in Finland

Abstract

<p>Healing has always been a central practice in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches throughout the world. The chapter focuses on a modernized practice of traditional Pentecostal faith healing implemented by the Healing Rooms, a globally expanded predominantly Charismatic Christian intercessory prayer service. The underlying purpose of this activity is undoubtedly evangelization. However, this mission is carried out exclusively by praying for clients individually according to their personal requests at local prayer clinics. In Finland, the Healing Rooms functions are based on a systematically organized lay network that connects people from different Christian backgrounds, including non-Charismatic ones. The leaders of the Finnish branch have consciously modified the practice to fit the post-Lutheran culture of a Nordic society. Thus, the Healing Rooms crosses and blurs the borders of traditional Pentecostal evangelizing methods by drawing closer to the methods of late modern Western psychologized therapy culture.<br /></p>