English summary of the article "Conversion and Prayer"

(In Danish: Sune Wadskjær Nielsen, "Omvendelse og forbøn:Om kristen helbredelses betydning i den karismatiske frikirke Kristent Centrum" i Religionsvidenskabeligt tidsskrift, no. 32, Marts 1998. )

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 in the Free Church, and it compares “Kristent Centrum” with the healing-groups in Meredith B. McGuire's study Ritual Healing in Suburban America.

The main goal of the Free Church is to convert ordinary people and mainstream christians into reborn Christians. Most 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 people with different kinds of problem and healing takes places. The church, which has approximately 2000 members, has meetings all over Denmark. Besides activities which are directed towards conversion, only little goes on in the church. The members of “Kristent Centrum” go to these meetings to experience an atmosphere of closeness to God, which Hans Berntsen and other leaders try to create. The healing and the singing at the meetings contribute to this atmosphere and is appreciated by many participants. As shown in McGuire's study, only 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 is normally used in response to a specific illness. It is my belief that healing in “Kristent Centrum” is supposed to build up faith among the members.  Healing seems to work differently in “Kristent Centrum” than among the healing groups in 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 personal empowerment. Due to belief in the greatness and the immediacy of  God's power, and the complete powerlessness of the human being, the participants of meetings in “Kristent Centrum”s do not have a feeling of being empowered individuals. Because of the lack of contact between Free Church leaders and people seeking healing at the meetings, no illness etiologies for sick persons are constructed.

In April 1998 "Kristent Centrum" was split up into two free churches. The oldest congregation of the free church, which was based in Aalborg continued under name of "Kristent Centrum", where as Hans Berntsen formed his own free church called "Mission Danmark".

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