Derren Brown: Miracles for Sale – Tonight 9pm

267 Comments

1. There is another reason for this behaviour apart from greed. It is an established fact that people with a very firm genuine simple faith are often able to lead good lives and overcome obstacles in their lives in an amazing way. I regard this as a self-evident fact. Many people want to believe, and want to be encouraged to believe. The evangelist may practice low shabby trickery to try to induce this simple faith, because of the good that will flow from it. Many of the medieval priests who constructed false relics doubtless had a similar motive. This (almost) provides a noble motive for some trickery. Our modern age emphasizes scientific truth, but arguably there is also religious truth, maybe even more important. The events on stage are a pail caricature of something more subtle but real.
2. i am tempted to write something mental so i end up in one of your books like those in tricks of the mind.
   anyway just watched miracles for sale and really enjoyed it despite my woeful internet connection meaning i had to pause every 20 seconds. (trust me a show has to be good to keep me doing that for over an hour)
   i also wanted to thank you for having all your shows available on 4od. its proof to me that you believe in the messages you send rather than just being in it for the money.
   oh and your pickled chimp is beautiful and strange in equal measure.
   i hope you read these. but i doubt you have time what with all the evil scientist things you clearly do in secret.
3. Dear Derren, I really appreciated all the effort you put into the show, I think it is so important to highlight the insustry that Christianity has become especially in Britain and American – it is all about politics and money.
   In the modern church what matters is who you know, how near the front of the church you are and how much time and money you can ‘donate’.
   I am aware of all this as I was once a Christian and my family own two churches in the UK, but the politics, lies and pressure pushed me away..
   Personally, I have been prayed over to be healed FIVE times by different healers and preachers to give sight to my right eye which has been blind since birth and guess what! I still can’t see anything! And trust me, I had enough fucking faith.
4. Great show, though much less Derren-centric than I was expecting. Given Nathan’s stress and Derren’s great abilities to calm (I don’t want to say hypnotise), I did think Derren might have used his skills to help Nathan deal with the whole situation. In fact, there was almost no input on the Derren front apart from the original idea – a great one, I might add, and clearly something that is close to his heart. But Nathan was coached by acting tutors, ex healers etc, there was none of the usual “hand on shoulder/arm and use affirmations” etc.

   One thing baffled me – if they were trying to keep it all so secret, why on earth did they drive up the driveway of that famous “healer’s” place, even if the gates were open? Could have blown the whole thing wide open and for what?
5. I have studied ancient Hebrew and Greek for 30 years, and the Messiah only opened the eyes of the blind to the secrets of the Scriptures, being all of Moses and all of the Prophets. The first thing that Christ did when he rose from the dead was to open his own disciples minds to his biographies – the Scriptures which every false Christian is brain-dead to. The Holy Spirit is only given to the few who are chosen students of the Scriptures, and not to every crackpot who sets foot in a building falsely called a church. Well done Derrin for exposing some of the con artists, but they have been around for 6000 years and they are not doing any different than the politicians do – this is why they are not arrested. Derrin Brown has not given a bad name to the Holy Spirit, only Christians do this!
6. Derren Brown – Fantastic as always!
7. I’d like to say well done to you too Derren. Fantastic and insightful programme.

   But Id also really like to sing praises (is that a pun?) to the crew, pre and post production workers too. This was a superb looking show. Wonderfully shot, lit, edited and everything else. If I could one day produce or work on or own something that produces images like I saw tonight I will be a very happy man.

   Brilliant show. Can’t wait to see what you do next. Might I suggest a mass hypnotism and have your minions do your bidding. The royal wedding is next week, perfect time to do so.
8. A great programme tonight. I just hope this goes on to expose these frauds to a greater public.
9. I was aware that faith healers are hypnotists, showman, liars, and thieves but ‘Miracles For Sale’ showed me that they are also, albeit indirectly, murderers. But it is not for the moral message that I watch Derren Brown. It is because his programmes are always by far the best thing on the box or at the cinemas. The premise and delivery of ‘Miracles For Sale’, and the adventure I was taken on, was outstanding fun. It was interesting, informative, emotional, and it ended much too soon. Nathan is a natural performer. But my greatest praise is for Derren, and I hope you read this- your genius (and originality) as an entertainer is even greater than your genius as a psychological illusionist. And that is the greatest praise I can give.
10. Enjoyed the show. Slightly uncomfortable viewing in that Nathan’s scruples, apprehension or nerves were viewed as a nuisance, and in this, the filming seemed to be a little one-sided with Nathan being exposed more than Derren. Felt the guy had a difficult job and that there were high expectations placed upon him. He gave the show a lot of integrity and it was interesting to see the moral dilemmas being thought out. Unfortunate that the turnout for the final performance was low, especially given the amount of careful preparation that had taken place.

    Ending seemed a bit rushed. Would have liked to have seen a bit of “good feeling” between the two men to address earlier tensions before they parted company.

    Well done Derren and the team.
11. I just want to say a big thank you for this program. I am a christian but labelled a ‘cessationist’ by a lot of the christain world these days as I do not believe in these so called modern mircles, healing, tongues, progressive revelations etc. If any believer does challenge these charismatic ideas then again we are labelled as lacking in faith (such a convenient argument). So a big, big thank you for exposing these people. I think you did it very well, and I wasn’t offended by anything that was said, rather i was nodding in agreement the whole way through. The show was done with complete respect for the christian faith.
12. Nice one Derren & the team !, i hope this programme is up in its’ entirety on the internet asap so it can be viewed over in the USA and other countries where these religious scamsters work.
    Idea ! : you’ve worked on the “faith-healers” – now how about doing a programme on the “faith-murderers” – those such as the Taleban & Al-Queda and various other islamist groups who manage to convince others to blow themselves up and kill freedom loving people with the promise that they will get 72 virgins.
    Perhaps intelligence reports and interviews could be studied with ex-jihadists.
13. Thank you for this program. Considering Derren has come out of a christian background I felt this was a very balanced program, and one that didn’t attack faith, but attacked greed and power-hungry chrisitans.

    I am a christian who struggles with depression, and over the years have been so desperate for a ‘cure’ I would contemplate joining a cult if it ‘fixed’ me!

    I want to believe in God’s healing, but have never seen any proof – I’ve seen some seem to respond to prayer for pain, but no one cured.

    I’ve been to charismatic meetings and been told I have a ‘block’ when I’ve resisted being pushed over by the preacher. I’ve heard charismatic preachers growning and laughing, and animal noises bleating as people are ‘set free”, and ‘slain in spirit’,. I question what is real….
14. For ‘growning’ read groaning, lol!
15. I loved the idea and the show, well done to all involved. The thing that stood out the most for me was when you were all clearly put in a quandary about your duplicitous intent when it dawned on you that you would have to dupe genuinely nice people. That seems to be the trait that a lot of these faith healers and other types of healers and spiritual peddlers lack. Sadly these people can only get away with it because there are so many gully gullible people in the world who want to believe that someone magical can and will come and save or fix them. I do believe in the power of prayer David Hamilton’s open yet scientific mind helped me accept that fact, rather than the priests and nun’s who tried to bully it into me.
    Maybe you could hit the Ghost buster trail next and clear up the contradiction that is often in the land of spirit, where at the same time of insisting people/spirits/ghosts need to be sent to the light they also make a tidy sum calling them back and asking unanswerable questions like “will I ever be happy?”
    Bravo Mr Brown!
16. Fantastic, engaging show. I concur with what Em was saying though – why go to the gates of the famous healer? That did seem completely pointless. Perhaps it was to lure them out, knowing they’d react so strongly, and to show the world the kind of security they are able to afford?
17. A very thought provoking programme. I was already aware of some of these atrocities committed by faith healers, it was odd to see some clips which i had previously came across on the internet being used in the show! Still, it was harrowing to see some of these faith healers in action and openly deceiving and exploiting their congregations to such an extent. How someone can go to prison for using donation funds for personal expenditure, come out and continue doing the exact same thing is astounding. I truly hope that anyone who attends these faith healer shows saw Miracles for Sale and hopefully now will be able to be freed of the charismatic grip of a so called pastor. Brilliant show, much credit to your team.
18. I love Derrens work, usually. But this show didn’t work for me. There must be better ways to show the people who fall for these conmen the error of their ways (perhaps expose during a live webcast?). I doubt if any will watch the program. The final straw for me was that only a handful of people turned up for ‘Pastor James’s’ show. Overall a fail but I thought ‘James’ was great!
19. What about Nathan himself? Having spent 6 months training for this event, learning all sorts of skills (use of suggestion, showmanship, acting, etc) what impact has this had on his own life? May we have an update on him please?
20. Am I allowed another post – been reading up on well-known American tele-evangelists, and just wonder why American culture seems more susceptible to their ‘charms’ than the British…. Are we more cynical as a nation (and more difficult to hypnotise/put into a suggestible state/trance)?

    I would have liked to see this show engage with the growing ‘healing on the streets’ movement, but I have personal reasons for being cynical of this due to my ex-husband’s involvement 🙂 (He dumped me while I was sectioned in hospital with depression: guess he decided I didn’t have enough faith to be healed)>
21. Unless your program is shown in the Texas and the whole USA, what would be the point of your whole sham. Yes there are con artists, you being the ultimate, FOR MONEY! What is the difference between you and the fake healers.
    I felt sick to my stomach watching your program for many reasons, One, that these people are fakes, faking healing for money. Two, you are obviously without any morals or feeling for humans and their beliefs and finally Three, your stooge Nathan (James) seemed like a genuine, caring man who felt just as bad as the people being conned, who you were trying to show up, by doing likewise to line FOR YOUR POCKETS.
    There are genuine Healers & Mediums, there are genuinely spiritual people, who like me must feel sick that you didn’t have the decency to show honesty exists
22. As always, great entertainment, liberating content, and awesome creative work! Thanks guys 🙂

    As a kid I remember going to some faith healing events, I ended up beneath my parent’s chair falling asleep with my thumb in my mouth 😀
23. Many thanks for an entertaining and informative show. It’s always a pleasure to see sceptical and rational programmes receive an airing. Keep up the good work of demonstrating over and over again just how frail and tenuous a grasp on reality most people have and how easily manipulated their perceptions are. Hopefully more of them will realise over time that not being able to see and think straight is a disadvantage in many ways and will become more sceptical and rational as a result. I hope so.
24. One of the best things I’ve seen on tv….since the last DB special 😉
25. So where do we go from here Derren? Being brave enough to challenge one aspect of misperceived human “reality”, could just be a beginning. Should we now call a halt, for a further two and a half millennia? Or do we commence challenging everything from today? There is much to question. From the advertising “up to” trick. Which in truth is a cast iron guarantee of absolutely naff all. To a referendum choice between two flavours of republican voting techniques, as the substitute for real democracy. Wherein the people would mandate actual polices, as opposed to politicians magicing up their own mandates. Who knows we might even change the world, by altering the minds of all the people on it.
26. Hey Derren,
    Just watched your miracles for sale programme and I was actually really impressed. As a Christian I really do believe that God can do miracles etc, but I definitely appreciated you uncovering the scams that people run in greed. I also really loved that you included christian groups who were helping you and it wasn’t just an attack on religion.
    I just wanted to let you know that I have been to meetings etc where people have been healed, but never have they been asked for money and they were never told to throw away medication or anything like. In fact who ever is in charge of the service/healing whatever, will normally tell them to test it and to test it when they go home, so don’t panic, not every healing service is like the maniacs you went to visit!
    Thanks, Danielle x
27. Miracles for Sale was fantastic. I think most mums are ‘faith healers’. We’ve all had moments when our children fall over and look to us for a reaction. If we reply with ‘oh dear you poor thing, does it hurt’ then they cry. If we reply with ‘up you get, you’re alright, it doesn’t hurt’ then they run off and carry on playing with no tears. The power of suggestion!
28. Derren, I enjoyed the show. Now can you do one about self-help gurus and things like The Secret ? I do believe in The Law of Attraction but it is seriously over-hyped by the industry.
29. I’ve just watched Miracles for Sale. Brilliant. The fact this continues in this day & age is disgusting, & the lives at risk makes me sick. It’s about time someone finally had the courage to show what many healers (I can’t 100% say all, as I don’t know) do.
    In response to ‘dalbertini’ above; Don’t be so foolish. Derren Brown has NEVER said or in any way implied what he does is anything but trickery. He uses his knowledge, which he’s developed over the years, to show people the true power of the human mind. Anyone who can really demonstrate this seemingly impossible task infront of hundreds/thousands/millions of people both face to face & on TV, is well worth the money. I have never turned off my TV, after watching Derren, not to having learnt something about myself. Thank you Derren. x
30. after watching this program i nearly applauded the tv ! no one on earth has the ability to channel the power of god to perform miracles.
    a lot of americans are pure mugs.
31. Darren says “No faith healer has ever been able to provide evidence of a single miraculous healing ever having had occurred.” I wonder if he’s just been talking to the wrong ones then.
    It is a shame if people doubt God’s power to heal just because some people in America are making big business out of a fraud.
    I do know people personally who have received real and long-lasting healing from God and have surprised their doctors who can find no medical cause for the disappearance of their complaint.
    I have heard eye-witness accounts of people being healed from physical disabilities such as Down Syndrome.
    There were plenty of sceptics in Jesus’ time, and there are plenty today; that doesn’t make God’s power any less true.
32. What a program Derren Brown, well done to you and your team. I’m a Christian, and was so happy to see this counterfeit “Christianity” exposed. I had dealings with the Charismatic church for many years until by the Grace of God came to know the truth. That was through studying the Bible by the way and not some “feeling” or “experience” or “inner voice” as some will have you believe, so I know the ins and outs of this movement. I’ve read comments above and I see mixed comments from people who say they are christians. If you love God’s Truth (written word: the Bible), then you will hate anything that distorts it. It is very sad that these Tele-Evangelist twist the Bible deceiving people, their doctrine isn’t sound. This is why I hate the Charismatic movement with a passion.
33. Excellent programme.

    I find the whole subject of belief/deception and psychology/religion fascinating. Cannot help pondering on what evolutionary advantage man got from coming together in large groups to share a common belief? Other than that they were being controlled and manipulated by those who have learned how to deceive.
34. This program was so well exposed. Darren has highlighted what most of us have already experienced at some point in our lives. In 2004, my mother was supposed to be “healed” from Breast Cancer by well known Kenyan Pastor in London, but later she died. Guess what, a DVD of her healing sessions was still being sold at the pastor’s Church in south London even after my mother passed away. How upsetting to me and my family. That pain has never left our hearts and we will never ever forgive him for that matter. (seeling DVD). I feel so sorry for many poor Africans who are being used in Africa by those Americans pastors by making money out of them. Thank you Darren. Does anyone knows how i can get a DVD of this program???
35. Really good show, Im glad you revealed the touchy subject behind faith and money. What
    these ‘healers’ people are doing in ‘the name of jesus’ is horrednious and greedy as they live of the profits of fooling desperate and vulnerable people.
36. I’m amazed that some of the christian posters above still close their eyes. cover their ears and shout “NOT MY FAITH”. Derren clearly showed that pain can be relieved by inducing an adrenalin rush and psychological manipulation. NO NEED FOR GOD.

    I do understand that religious folk have trouble shaking off thier childhood fantasies, but this renders them gullible and open to these fraudsters.

    BTW Any of you so called faith healers can claim $1 million here: http://www.randi.org/site/index.php/1m-challenge.html by simply providing proof of your “powers”.
    Being christians you’ll give the money to charity of course;)
37. Derren and team, my brother who sadly died last December was schizophrenic, he had always been religious but had suffered with schizophrenia since he was 14 (he died at 30). He used to claim he was Jesus, that he could hear God. He was taken to a healer, something I felt so uncomfortable with as I wanted him to believe that his illness was medical, he needed to take his medication to better it. I’m pretty sure after this meeting he became more delusional and was reluctant to take meds seriously. He was told he had demons following him, like a ‘shadow’ over him. He spoke to me about it after and it upset me a lot. He died from taking his meds irresponsibly and I tried for so long to get him to believe in his meds. Thanks for showing the darker side of healing it is very real and harmful xx
38. Dear Derren & Nathan,
    What a wonderful piece of work. From spirituality religion has been skyjacked by the so called Pastors. They have made this into a money making industry by draining money from people who are already suffering from some sort of mental or physical disability. Internet and TV have made their task easy as their market is the whole world. Like drops make an ocean, flow of money from all over the world has made these Pastors stingingly rich. This is prompting many more to take up this as this is an easy way to make big money, in addition tracing the cash flow for tax purposes is also very difficult.
    Programmes such as “Miracles for Sale” need wide publicity as this will educate at least a few and save many more from falling prey to such Devils. Well done Derren, Nathan
39. Well done Derren, another fantastic show and I loved your reaction to Nathan swearing in front of the bongo player!!
40. A fantastic programme Derren, well done to you, Nathan and all your team for having the courage to make it, I’m sure at times you were in real danger. I used to be a ‘born again’ Christian but lost my faith over years of watching the greedy, power hungry way that pentecostal pastors conduct themselves. I’ve seen services in the UK like the ones you showed and it is frightening how easy it is to get swept along and end up giving money you can’t afford.

    A dear friend of mine was told when her breast cancer returned that it was because she hadn’t had enough faith – she had been the children’s pastor of the church. She was devistated by that phone call, when she died I felt so angry by the way she had been treated. I am now an athiest and my life is so much better now I am truely free.
41. The programme was good,but this is only the start of what could be done to the tele -evangelist or people who con money out of vunerable people.

    I have written many articles against cults, but these money grabbing ******** are just as bad if not worse.

    I was involved in the movement where people where slain in the spirit or Toronto Blessing and was sucked in for a while. When I decided no-one was going to push me over, I was accused and bullied that I was resisting the Holy Spirit.

    I speak from experience as I worked for an evangelist who eventually saw the dollar signs beckoning him over there. He preached the prosperity message and I saw him in action. I saw what goes on behind the scenes and how people than can ill afford to donate were basically being conned out of their money.
42. May I just encourage, Rae says: April 26, 2011 at 7:55 am

    Rae, I can identify with what you may be going through as I’ve also struggled with depression over the years. As a Christian, I’m encouraged to know that one day I will be free of this body and of the sufferings/pain. I see in the Bible people like Job who struggled with depression due to adversity, David due to stress and conflict, Apostle Paul due to weariness, they were in the Lord and yet God chose not to immediately relieve them from suffering. Most of all, Jesus, facing the cross, called on the Father, yet God did not let the cup of wrath of God pass Him by (thank God for that or we’d have to pay for our own sins). Be encouraged that if He has saved you He is still with you whether or not He answers your prayers as you hope.
43. Although I enjoyed the show, I can’t help but feel Derren failed to do what he set out to do – to expose these healers to the people who are being duped by them. Having spent over six months in training Nathan, it seemed like a huge anti-climax for him to perform to such a small audience (on screen it looked like somewhere between 20 to 50 people). The reality is that the people in America that are being conned are highly unlikely to ever see last night’s show and this will have no effect on the faith-healing world. Derren obviously realised that it is much harder to damage these people’s reputations than he imagined and, as proven by the show, failed to cause any real lasting difference.
44. i laughed so hard when derren said “i think the bongo player heard you say fucking.” LOL
45. Hi Derren
    Thanks for a fab show, nice to see people showing the world what does happen in small areas.. The main thing to remember from this is God / Jesus doesn’t want paying for your to be healed, if anyone says you have not been healed as you have not given enough it rubbish! God will heal you if he thinks it’s right and your believe it’s right…
    thanks again for a top class show, and well done in backing out of using the PR company
46. Loved it Derren!! You and the crew did a great job 😉 Was on the edge of my seat watching it – bet it took a lot of courage! 🙂 How do your legs feel now they’re both miraculously the same length? haha! Svengali on the 3rd of May – can’t wait! 🙂
47. Like many who have left comments, I too am a committed Christian, and applaud the way you handled all the elements of the show. To try and get people to see fakery at work whilst not mocking their faith was a difficult issue, and you did it well. I especially appreciate your care given that “Christians” may not always be that considerate of you and your personal beliefs. Bravo!
48. Ken says: April 26, 2011 at 1:12 am that because the audience were already open to Jesus’ message it wouldn’t matter who was delivering it. Wonderful – anyone can be a faith healer in JC’s name. However, most of those attending these healing services would have spent much time praying to JC beforehand and not receiving succour from the omnipotent one. Why would he ignore reasonable pleas for aid and let his followers be tricked by these evil tricksters working in his name. There can only b one answer to an open mind.
    Great show by Derren and team especially Nathan who must have really had to question his faith as the months passed by.
49. Hi Darren,

    What a challenge and how well you did in achieving the ultimate exposure. Unfortunately there are so many vunerable people. Well done and I look forward to your next expose.

    Excellent Work
    Kate
50. You did it Derren. You did it. Another one that’ll not go unseen by millions across the world. The work you do on TV is incomparable to what anyone else has done, well at least I see it that way. Glad it all worked out and congrats to you and team.