A
website and a leaflet, for Healing on the Streets - Bath, viewed on 10
May 2011:
a. The website home page stated Our vision is to :-
Promote Christian Healing as a daily life style for every believer, through
demonstration, training and equipping. We are working in unity, from
numerous churches outside the four walls of the building, In order to :- -
Heal the sick ....
A page headed What people have told us afterwards ...
included five testimonials in which people stated that after receiving
prayer their conditions had been improved.
b. The leaflet was available for download on the website
under the heading Download a healing flyer by clicking below. The
leaflet stated NEED HEALING? GOD CAN HEAL TODAY! Do you suffer from Back
Pain, Arthritis, MS, Addiction ... Ulcers, Depression, Allergies,
Fibromyalgia, Asthma, Paralysis, Crippling Disease, Phobias, Sleeping
disorders or any other sickness? We'd love to pray for your healing right
now! We're Christian from churches in Bath and we pray in the name of Jesus.
We believe that God loves you and can heal you from any sickness. Issue
A complainant challenged whether:
-
the claim in ad (b) that the advertiser could heal
the named conditions was misleading and could be substantiated;
-
the testimonials in ad (a) misleadingly implied that
the advertiser could heal the conditions referred to; and
-
the ads were irresponsible, because they provided
false hope to those suffering from the named conditions.
-
The ASA challenged whether the ads could discourage
essential treatment for conditions for which medical supervision should
be sought.
ASA Assessment: Complaints Upheld
1., 2. & 3. Upheld
The ASA acknowledged that HOTS sought to promote their
faith and the hope for physical healing by God through the claims in their
ads. However, we were concerned that the prominent references in ad (b) to
healing and the statement You have nothing to lose, except your sickness
in combination with the references to medical conditions for which medical
supervision should be sought such as arthritis, asthma, MS, addictions,
depression and paralysis, could give consumers the expectation that, by
receiving prayer from HOTS volunteers, they would be healed of the
conditions listed or other sicknesses from which they suffered. We also
considered that the testimonials in ad (a) could also give consumers that
expectation, and furthermore, noted that a video on the website also made
claims that HOTS volunteers had successfully prayed for healing for people
with cancer, fibromyalgia, back pain, kidney pain, hip pain, cataracts,
arthritis and paralysis. We noted the testimonials on the website and in the
video but considered that testimonials were insufficient as evidence for
claims of healing. We therefore concluded the ads were misleading.
We acknowledged that HOTS volunteers believed that
prayer could treat illness and medical conditions, and that therefore the
ads did not promote false hope. However, we noted we had not seen evidence
that people had been healed through the prayer of HOTS volunteers, and
concluded that the ads could encourage false hope in those suffering from
the named conditions and therefore were irresponsible.
We acknowledged that HOTS had offered to make amendments
to the ads, and to remove the leaflet from their website. However, we
considered that their suggested amendments were not sufficient for the ads
to comply with the CAP Code.
On these points, ads (a) and (b) breached CAP Code rules
1.3 (Social responsibility), 3.1 and 3.6 (Misleading advertising), 3.7
(Substantiation), 3.47 (Endorsements and testimonials), 12.1 and 12.6
(Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
4. Upheld
We understood that HOTS volunteers were instructed to
give a letter to the recipients of prayer which told them they should not
stop taking their medication or following the advice of medical
professionals. We also noted their offer to add a prominent reference along
the lines of that letter to their website. However, we considered that,
because both the leaflet and the website made claims that through the prayer
offered by HOTS volunteers people could be healed of specific medical
conditions for which medical supervision should be sought such as arthritis,
asthma, MS, addictions, depression and paralysis, the ads could discourage
people, and particularly the vulnerable or those suffering from undiagnosed
symptoms, from seeking essential treatment for medical conditions for which
medical supervision should be sought. We concluded the ad breached the Code.
On this point, ads (a) and (b) breached CAP Code rule
12.2 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty
products). Action
The ads must not appear again in their current form. We
told HOTS not to make claims which stated or implied that, by receiving
prayer from their volunteers, people could be healed of medical conditions.
We also told them not to refer in their ads to medical conditions for which
medical supervision should be sought.
HOTS Bath official response
From
hotsbath.org
We are disappointed with the ASA's decision, and will
appeal against it because it seems very odd to us that the ASA wants to
prevent us from stating on our website the basic Christian belief that God
can heal illness.
The ASA has even demanded that we sign a document
agreeing not to say this, which is unacceptable to us - as it no doubt would
be for anyone ordered not to make certain statements about their
conventional religious or philosophical beliefs.
All over the world as part of their normal Christian
life, Christians believe in, pray for and experience God's healing; our
ministry, in common with many churches, has been active in praying for God's
healing (of Christians and non Christians) for many years.
Over that time the response to what we do has been
overwhelmingly positive, and we find it difficult to understand the ASA's
attempt to restrict communication about this. Our website simply states our
beliefs and describes some of our experiences.
We tried to reach a compromise, recognising some of the
ASA's concerns, but there are certain things that we cannot agree to --
including a ban on expressing our beliefs.