American evangelist
Kathryn Johanna Kuhlman
|
---|
Richard Roberts and Kathryn Kuhlman ministering.
|
Born
| (
1907-05-09
)
May 9, 1907
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Died
| February 20, 1976
(1976-02-20)
(aged 68)
|
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Occupation
| Evangelist
|
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Known for
| Miraculous healings
|
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Spouse(s)
| Burroughs Allen Waltrip ("Mister"), October 18, 1938? ? 1948 (divorced)
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Kathryn Kuhlman
(May 9, 1907 - February 20, 1976) was an American
Christian
evangelist
who was referred to by her contemporaries and the press to be a '
faith healer
'.
Early life
[
edit
]
Kathryn Johanna Kuhlman was born in 1907 near
Concordia, Missouri
, where her father was mayor.
[1]
She was one of four children to
German-American
parents Joseph Adolph Kuhlman and Emma Walkenhorst.
[2]
Kuhlman received Bible instruction at home from her parents, who were both Methodist.
[3]
[
better source needed
]
Kuhlman had a spiritual experience at age 14, and several years later she began
itinerant preaching
with her elder sister and brother-in-law in
Idaho
. Later, she was ordained by the
Evangelical Church Alliance
.
[4]
Amanda H. Williams of
Brooklyn, New York
helped to birth Kuhlman's healing ministry.
[4]
Ministry
[
edit
]
Kuhlman traveled extensively around the United States and abroad holding healing meetings between the 1940s and 1970s. She was considered to be one of the most well-known faith healers in the world, however, the term "faith healer" was something she rejected as offensive.
[
citation needed
]
In 1955, despite being told by doctors about a heart condition in her late 40s, Kuhlman kept a very busy schedule, often traveling across the US and abroad, holding two to six-hour long meetings which could last late into the evenings.
[5]
Kuhlman had a weekly
TV program
in the 1960s and 1970s called
I Believe In Miracles'
that was aired nationally. She also had a 30-minute nationwide radio program, which featured sermons and frequent excerpts from her healing services in music and message. Her foundation was established in 1954, and its
Canadian
branch in 1970. Late in her life she was supportive of the nascent
Jesus movement
.
[6]
By 1970 she had moved to
Los Angeles
, conducting healing services for thousands of people, and was often compared to
Aimee Semple McPherson
.
[7]
She became well known for her "gift of healing" despite, as she often noted, having no
theological training
.
[7]
[
dead link
]
She was friendly with Christian television evangelist
Pat Robertson
and made guest appearances at his
Christian Broadcasting Network
(CBN) and on the network's flagship program
The 700 Club
.
In 1975, Kuhlman was sued by Paul Bartholomew, her personal administrator, who claimed that she kept $1 million in jewelry and $1 million in fine art hidden away and sued her for $430,500 for breach of contract.
[8]
[9]
Two former associates accused her in the lawsuit of diverting funds and of illegally removing records, which she denied and said the records were not private.
[10]
According to Kuhlman, the lawsuit was settled prior to trial.
[11]
Kuhlman's devotion to her ministry was summed up in the 1976 biography
Daughter of Destiny
, written by Jamie Buckingham:
"The television ministry itself required more than $30,000 a week. To stop, to even cut back, would mean she was beginning to fail. The same was true with the miracle services. As the pain in her chest grew almost unbearable, instead of holding fewer services, she increased the number."
Healing
[
edit
]
An estimated two million people reported that they were healed in her meetings over the years.
[12]
Following a 1967 fellowship in
Philadelphia
,
Dr. William A. Nolen
conducted a case study of 23 people who said they had been cured during one of her services.
[13]
[14]
[15]
[16]
Nolen's long term follow-ups concluded that there were no cures in those cases. One woman who was said to have been cured of spinal cancer threw away her brace and ran across the stage at Kuhlman's command; her spine collapsed the next day and she died four months later.
[11]
[17]
Nolen's analysis of Kulhman came in for criticism from believers. Lawrence Althouse, a physician, said that Nolen had attended only one of Kuhlman's services and did not follow up with all of those who said they had been healed there.
[18]
Dr. Richard Casdorph produced a book of evidence in support of miraculous healings by Kuhlman.
[19]
Hendrik van der Breggen, a Christian philosophy professor, argued in favor of the claims.
[20]
Author
Craig Keener
concluded, "No one claims that everyone was healed, but it is also difficult to dispute that significant recoveries occurred, apparently in conjunction with prayer. One may associate these with Kathryn Kuhlman's faith or that of the supplicants, or, as in some of Kuhlman's teaching, to no one's faith at all; but the evidence suggests that some people were healed, even in extraordinary ways.".
[21]
Dr. Richard Owellen, a member of the cancer?research department of the
Johns Hopkins Hospital
who appeared frequently at Kuhlman's services, testified to various healings that he said he had investigated.
[22]
Personal life
[
edit
]
Kuhlman met Texas evangelist Burroughs Waltrip in 1935, when he was a guest speaker at Kuhlman's Denver Revival Tabernacle, and the two preachers soon found themselves in a romantic relationship with each other.
[23]
Eventually, Waltrip divorced his first wife, left his family, moved to
Mason City, Iowa
, and started a revival center called Radio Chapel, Kuhlman and her pianist friend, Helen Gulliford, helped him raise funds for this new venture.
[6]
After a romance between Waltrip and Kuhlman began, she told her friends that she could not "find the will of God in the matter", seemingly feeling guilt-ridden. Kuhlman's friends tried to encourage her to not marry Waltrip. However, she reasoned that Waltrip's wife had left him, not the other way around. (The details of their separation are not clear.)
[23]
On October 18, 1938, she secretly married "Mister," as she called him, in Mason City, but the wedding supposedly brought her no peace.
[24]
The couple had no children and eventually separated in 1944, divorcing in 1948.
Regarding her marriage, in a 1952 interview with the
Denver Post
, Kuhlman stated, "He charged?correctly?that I refused to live with him. And I haven't seen him in eight years."
On many occasions, Kuhlman expressed remorse for her part in the pain caused by the breakup of Waltrip's previous marriage, citing his children's heartbreak as particularly troubling to her. She claimed it was the single greatest regret of her life, second only to the betrayal of her loving relationship with Jesus.
Death
[
edit
]
In July 1975, a doctor diagnosed Kuhlman with a minor
heart flare-up
; in November, she had a relapse.
[26]
As a result, Kuhlman underwent open-heart surgery in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
, during which she died on February 20, 1976.
[4]
It was reported in her biography that at the time of her passing in the hospital, a bright light was witnessed hovering over her corpse.
Kathryn Kuhlman was buried in the
Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery
in
Glendale, California
. A plaque in her honor is in the main city park in Concordia, Missouri, a town in central Missouri on Interstate Highway 70.
[
citation needed
]
After she died, her
will
led to controversy.
[27]
She left $267,500, the bulk of her estate, to three members of her family and twenty of her employees. Smaller bequests were given to 19 other employees. According to the
Independent Press-Telegram
, her employees were disappointed when they learned that "she did not leave most of her estate to the foundation as she had done under a previous 1974 will."
The Kathryn Kuhlman Foundation had continued, but due to lack of funding, it terminated its nationwide radio broadcast in 1982. Ultimately, the foundation closed its doors in April 2016.
[28]
Legacy
[
edit
]
Many believers uphold Kuhlman as an important forerunner to the present-day
charismatic movement
.
[29]
She influenced
faith healers
Benny Hinn
and
Billy Burke
. Hinn has adopted some of her techniques and he also wrote a book about Kuhlman, as he frequently attended her preaching services.
[30]
Burke did meet her and was counseled by her, having claimed a miracle healing in her service as a young boy.
[31]
In 1981,
David Byrne
and
Brian Eno
sampled one of Kuhlman's sermons for a track which they created during sessions for their collaborative album
My Life in the Bush of Ghosts
. After failing to clear the license to Kuhlman's voice from her estate, the track was reworked to use audio from an unidentified
exorcism
, with this modified version being released as "
The Jezebel Spirit
".
[32]
The Kuhlman version was later included on the 1992
bootleg recording
Ghosts
, titled "Into the Spirit Womb".
[
citation needed
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Kathryn Kuhlman,
I Believe in Miracles
, Prentice-Hall Publishers (1962)
- Kathryn Kuhlman,
God Can Do It Again
, (1969)
- Kathryn Kuhlman,
Nothing Is Impossible With God
, Bridge-Logos Publishers (1974)
- Kathryn Kuhlman,
Never Too Late
, Bridge-Logos Publishers (1975)
- Kathryn Kuhlman,
The Greatest Power in the World: A Spirit-Filled Classic
Bridge-Logos Publishers (2008)
- Kathryn Kuhlman,
A Glimpse into Glory:
A Spirit-Filled Classic
Bridge Publishing INC International Concepts.,U.S. (1979)
- Kathryn Kuhlman,
Gifts of the Holy Spirit,
Publisher - Kathryn Kuhlman (2022)
- Kathryn Kuhlman,
Victory in Jesus and the Lord's Healing Touch,
Leopold Classic Library (2015)
- Kathryn Kuhlman,
Twilight and Dawn: The Great Physicians Second Opinion
, Bridge-Logos Publishers (1979)
Biography
[
edit
]
- Buckingham, Jamie (1976).
Daughter of Destiny: Kathryn Kuhlman...Her Story
. Bridge-Logos Foundation.
ISBN
0882703188
.
- Wayne E. Warner,
Kathryn Kuhlman, The Woman Behind the Miracles
, Servant Publications/New Wine Press (1993)
- Artman, Amy Collier,
The Miracle Lady: Kathryn Kuhlman and the Transformation of Charismatic Christianity
,
Wm. B. Eerdmans
Publishing Co., (2019)
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Unknown (February 22, 1976).
"Kathryn Kuhlman, Evangelist And Faith Healer, Dies in Tulsa"
.
New York Times
.
- ^
"Biography of Kathryn Kuhlman"
.
healingandrevival.com
. Retrieved
2023-10-20
.
- ^
"Kathryn Kuhlman"
.
Christian Life Ministries Australia
. Retrieved
2023-10-20
.
- ^
a
b
c
Settle, Gary (February 22, 1976).
"Kathryn Kuhlman, Evangelist And Faith Healer, Dies in Tulsa"
.
New York Times
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
- ^
Wacker, Grant.
"Female Evangelical Leaders Have a Hidden Predecessor to Thank"
.
ChristianityToday.com
. Retrieved
2023-04-10
.
- ^
a
b
Bp-Relate (2016-09-15).
"Biography Of Kathryn Kuhlman"
.
Believers Portal
. Retrieved
2024-05-20
.
- ^
a
b
"Aimee Macpherson has a Dazzling Successor"
.
Pasadena Star-News
. July 4, 1970
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
- ^
"Evangelist Sued By a Former Aide"
.
Washington Post
. July 18, 1975
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Chandler, Russell (July 3, 1975).
"Ex-Aides Sue Kathryn Kuhlman"
.
Los Angeles Times
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Kathryn Kuhlman Sued By Former Associates"
.
St. Petersburg Times
. July 12, 1975
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
a
b
Lester, Kinsolving (November 8, 1975).
"Inside Religion: Kuhlman Tested By MD's Probe"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
- ^
SHERMAN, BILL (Feb 20, 2016).
"Famed preacher Kathryn Kuhlman died here 40 years ago"
.
Tulsa World
. Retrieved
2018-03-16
.
- ^
"Psychic Healing? Investigator declares no"
.
The Greenville News
. August 16, 1975
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
Also see: William Nolen,
Healing: a doctor in search of a miracle
. New York: Random House
ISBN
0-394-49095-9
- ^
"Dr Nolen Looks at Faith Healing"
.
The San Mateo Times
. March 7, 1975
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
- ^
Michaelson, Michael (February 2, 1975).
"Men of medicine and a medicine man"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
- ^
"Extra-Dispensary Perceptions"
.
Time
. March 17, 1975. Archived from
the original
on January 14, 2009
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
- ^
Randi, James
(1989).
The Faith Healers
. Prometheus Books.
ISBN
0-87975-535-0
. 228.
- ^
Althaus, Lawrence (1977).
Rediscovering the Gift of Healing. Nashville: Abingdon
. p. 59.
- ^
Casdorph, Richard (1976).
The Miracles: A Medical Doctor Says Yes to Miracles!
. p. 169.
- ^
Hendrik van der, Breggen (2004).
Miracle Reports, Moral Philosophy, and Contemporary Science
. p. 382.
- ^
Keener, Craig (2011).
Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts
. pp. 614 (ebook format).
- ^
Kathryn Kuhlman, Evangelist And Faith Healer, Dies in Tulsa,
New York Times
, Feb. 22, 1976.
- ^
a
b
"Kathryn Kuhlman - "The Woman Who Believed in Miracles"
"
.
AfricaChurches.com News Portal
. 2018-12-24
. Retrieved
2022-12-31
.
- ^
Artman, Amy (March 29, 2019).
"Turning Points in the Life of Kathryn Kuhlman"
.
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
Retrieved
May 9,
2019
.
- ^
"Kathryn Kuhlman Is Dead"
.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
. February 21, 1976. Archived from
the original
on January 4, 2013
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
- ^
"Kuhlman Bequests Listed"
.
Independent Press-Telegram
. April 17, 1976
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Kathryn Kuhlman's Foundation Shutters Doors 40 Years After Her Death - Charisma News"
.
- ^
Hanegraaff, Hank (1997).
Counterfeit Revival
. Word Pub.
ISBN
9780849938924
.
- ^
Nickell, Joe (May?June 2002).
"Benny Hinn: Healer or Hypnotist?"
.
Skeptical Inquirer
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-10-12
. Retrieved
2007-11-12
.
- ^
"Billy Burke Evangelist - Teaching Resources"
.
- ^
Kembrew McLeod
and
Peter DiCola
(14 March 2011).
Creative License: The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling
.
Duke University Press
. pp.
167
.
ISBN
9780822348757
. Retrieved
11 February
2014
.
The Jezebel Spirit Byrne.
External links
[
edit
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International
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National
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Other
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