Omvendelse og forbøn

Resumé

This article deals with the charismatic Protestant Free Church in Denmark, "Kristent Centrum". It describes the organization of "Kristent Centrum" and the importance of healing within the Free Church, and it compares "Kristent Centrum" with the healing groups in Meredith B. McGuire's study Ritual Healing in Suburban Africa.

The main goal of the Free Church is to convert ordinary people and mainstream Christians into born-again Christians. Mopst of the Church meetings are "revivalist meetings", where leader Hans Berntsen tries to convince people to open up their hearts to Jesus. At the end of each session, Hans Berntsen prays for the people who have different kinds of problems and healing takes place. The church, which has approximately 2,000 members, has meetings all over Denmark. Besides activities which are directed towards conversion, only little goes on within "Kristent Centrum". The members go to meetings to experience an atmosphere of closeness to God, which Hans Berntsen and other leaders try to create. The healing and the singing at meetings contribute to this atmosphere and are appreciated by many participants. As shown in McGuire's study, few people go to the meetings for the sole purpose of being healed. In this respect religious healing seems to differ from other forms of alternative treatment, which are normally used in response to a specific illness. It is my belief that healing within "Kristent Centrum" is supposed to build up faith among the members. Healing seems to work differently within "Kristent Centrum" than among healing groups om McGuire's study, where healing restores order and meaning for the sick person by constructing illness etiologies based on the sick person's illness episodes. Furthermore, the healing gives the person a feeling of personale empowerment. Due to their belief in the greatness and the immediacy of God's power and the complete powerlessness of the human being, the participants in the meetings of "Kristent Centrum" do not feel empowered. Because of the lack of contact between Free Church leaders and people seeking healing at the meetings, no illness etiologies for sick people are constructed.