Bible-Believers and Gullibility

Bible-believing Christians should be the least gullible people on earth. The Bible says, “The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going” (Prov. 14:15). This means that the prudent man is careful and tests everything by God’s Word. Yet over the past 40 years of Christian living, I have been amazed at how easily God’s people can be lured into “alternative health care” programs that have quack written all over them. The most recent example that has come to my attention is Master Miracle Solution (MMS), a toxic bleach solution marketed by Jim Humble as “the Miracle Mineral Solution of the 21st Century,” a cure for cancer, AIDS, hepatitis, herpes, TB, malaria, possibly Ebola, “and many more of mankind’s worse diseases.” “Archbishop” Humble is the founder of “Genesis 2 Church of Health and Healing.” He claims to have “developed a technique for healing by touch.” We have read that he is anti-vaccination, anti-insurance. He encourages his followers not to trust “traditional” medicine, but he would have them trust him explicitly. When mixed with citrus juice, MMS forms chlorine dioxide, a strong bleach. Users of MMS are even told to expect to become ill through ingesting the solution and to understand that this is evidence that it is working to “kill all pathogens, parasites, diseases, and even heavy metals” (“Jim Humble’s MMS Fraud,” The Health Wyze Report, n.d.). A U.S. Food and Drug Administration warning says that MMS “when used as directed, produces an industrial bleach that can cause serious harm to health. ... High oral doses of this bleach, such as those recommended in the labeling, can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and symptoms of severe dehydration.” MMS was banned in Canada after “a life-threatening reaction.” MMS has every mark of quackery. It promises near perfect health and longevity. It makes astounding claims. It is associated with an alleged “Bible diet.” It is tied to a money-making scheme. It is promoted through testimonials, and it is accompanied by an attempt to discredit standard medicine. (For more about quack diets and alternative health programs see our new book The Bible and Diet, available in print as well as a free eBook edition from www.wayoflife.org.)

(Friday Church News Notes, February 6, 2015, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)

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