Religion: A Matter of Faith

Lawrence Parker, 34, is an unemployed aerospace worker in Barstow, Calif., whose family trusts deeply in its Pentecostal faith. Though their son Wesley, 11, had been suffering from diabetes for five years, Lawrence and Alice Parker took the boy two weeks ago to their local Assembly of God church to be treated by a visiting South American minister who claimed that he had healed himself through prayer. "We believe in faith healing," says Parker. "The preacher felt that he was healed and Wesley felt that he was healed." So sure were the Parkers that the cure had worked that they threw...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!