If healing ministry interests you, you will find Celebration of Healing a breath of fresh air. The book is a compilation of Emily Neal's best works. It covers her confrontation with physical healing in a church setting while she had little faith in God or belief in healing. As a reporter she undertook an investigative search to uncover the truth about healing ministries. During that search she found God and discovered a personal healing ministry that enveloped her the rest of her life.
Why has healing through the church declined over the years? Neal writes: "I believe that the decline is attributable to increasing controversy within the church and to the church's position of conflict with emerging medical science. The once-united church had become split by controversy and was no longer steadfast in faith. Much as it is today, it was floundering in the morass of conflicting opinion, and inevitably there occurred a weakening of spiritual power and of the people's faith. It became a vicious cycle: as the church's faith weakened, so did the power of healing; and as healing declined, the faith that remained was further diminished."
Even though I can't agree with her theology of death, Neal's views on pain, repentance, and faith are insightful.
