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| PentecostalTheology.comEditor’s Note: This PDF file contains two chemical analyses related to the Times Free Press investigation of the His Name is Flowing Oil ministry. The first analysis, beginning on page 1, was performed by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and is of the oil the ministry claimed had been flowing from its Bible. The second analysis, located on page 4 and conducted by the same lab, compares the ministry’s Bible oil to the Ideal brand of mineral oil sold at Tractor Supply Co
Chemical analysis tests gathered by the Times Free Press challenge the basis of a popular Dalton, Georgia, ministry that claims to have a Bible flowing with oil as coming from the Tractor Supply Co
SOURCE and PDF results here: https://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2020/feb/13/claims-bible-daltflowing-oil-undermined-new-i/515550/
Updated at 9:55 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, 2020: The team hosting the events posted on its website that the Bible stopped flowing with oil on Jan. 10, though they made no mention of this at its weekly gatherings since that day or when speaking to the Times Free Press nearly two weeks later. The group stopped distributing oil on Feb. 4 and will no longer hold services in Dalton, according to the online statement. Earlier the ministry stopped sending FREE oil samples form the said oil dripping BIBLE…
Each week, hundreds of people come to Dalton’s Wink Theater to see the Bible owned by Jerry Pearce. Those who gather described deep religious experiences when the oil Bible touched them. Others said the oil cured them of sickness or helped them kick addictions.
Through donations, Pearce and Johnny Taylor, the other leader of His Name is Flowing Oil, have made a full-time job of traveling the country with the Bible, estimating they have handed out around 350,000 free vials of the oil.
The Times Free Press wrote about the increasingly popular gathering in November 2019. The next day, someone contacted the newspaper saying Pearce was a regular customer at the Tractor Supply store in Dalton. The person said Pearce often bought large amounts of mineral oil — a clear oil similar in appearance to the oil Pearce claims is coming from his Bible.
In December 2019, two Dalton Tractor Supply managers visually identified Pearce and said he consistently bought gallons of mineral oil. However, company policies barred them from providing more specific customer information.
The Times Free Press then paid for a series of chemical analyses by the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, comparing samples of the oil Pearce hands out with the chemical structure of mineral oil and comparing Pearce’s oil with the Ideal brand mineral oil sold at Tractor Supply.
The tests found Pearce’s oil is petroleum-derived and the results “strongly suggest that the oil sample is mineral oil,” according to the analysis. The second test, comparing the chemical composition of Pearce’s oil to the product sold at Tractor Supply, found a nearly exact match.
Pearce said the managers at Tractor Supply are lying. He and Taylor repeated they do not have to defend their work, something they said in November.
“Everything we do is in the light,” Taylor said. “I don’t know how we could defend it other than it just comes up out of the Bible.”
Online, people remain polarized about the ministry, with some calling it a hoax and others praising the results they got from using the oil. The ministry began in 2017 in the week after President Donald Trump’s inauguration when Pearce and Taylor had powerful religious experiences and oil began coming from the Bible, they said.
In the three years since, the two men traveled thousands of miles with the book, even taking it to Canada. In November, Pearce said the Bible does not flow with oil when they are traveling, only when the book is in Dalton.
The weekly gatherings at the Wink Theater in Dalton are ongoing. In the next month, the ministry is scheduled to travel to California, Alabama and North Carolina.
Contact Wyatt Massey at wmassey@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249. Follow him on Twitter @news4mass.
Ray E Horton
An interesting point is that healings and other possible results may very well be real even if the oil is fake. As a touch point for faith, God can use anything, which is quite amazing. Over 45 years ago, as a Catholic Charismatic, I was slain in the spirit and healed while praying before a host wafer in a gold display, in what was called the divine presence, adoration of the Holy Eucharist. Of course, I now know that God’s presence resides within me, and there is no need for things like that. Yet, when I didn’t know that, it produced a faith with healing results.
Joe Absher
that certainly explains a lot .
Varnel Watson
Joe Absher I dont think so – it actually opens for even more questions like why would a guy run a scam but not think the local Tractor Supply would tell on him ?
Joe Absher
Why did you believe it ? Answer that question .
Daniel J Hesse
Prevenient grace.
Varnel Watson
meaning what in this discussion OP?
Varnel Watson
jerry and johny we share great cogop friends together and have for so many years In the prev. comments I have shred about about visits there and the GREAT prayer we had together but also the great doubt in a Christian hoax Ray E Horton William DeArteaga
when we visited last year Daniel J Hesse just asked me about this BIBLE we went to see was. I had my personal observations and would love to share them I do believe we might see some really amazing things in THIS LAST DAYS when we realize He has given us all that we need… but is this oil Bible one of them?
They hold regular services monday night and TU morning with the Bible present the problem is that it takes longer than 1 service to fill up the tub When we last visited they had service but the BIBLE was under heavy security and we were barely allowed to see it again – not so the first time Something was wrong write then
HOWEVER there is a NUMBER of bloggers out there who blew it out of proportion. There was even some science lab tests that could have been discussed in detail BUT all the buzz made by wanna be reporting bloggers gave no chance to reason and science Certainly NO chance to real Pentecostal spirituality There were and still are new age seekers, church science and other cult groups whose write ups circulate on the internet and give no chance to the real miracle to be manifested and reasoned upon non-Christian hoax and fake news to repent They give NO credit to the GOD of Christianity and simply mooch on such “news” with their blog ads making money of the faith of real believers Its real shame but what can we do?
As soon as we posted this someone claiming to be an Inner Healing Practitioner – whatever that is said J.D. King has told them to contact us about the oil leaking BIBLE Made no sense so we looked closer into it – this was last december I think The services stopped and they announced the BIBLE was making NO more oil in a few short days What it was the local Tractor Supply was selling them gallons of mineral oils for refills Chatt FREE PRESS has called for investigation and took them a while to catch up and print a few weeks back THEN we called the discussion with Isara Mo on anointing oil placed on heads and someone called it new age – I believe this oil dripping hoax might be related to new age as well
I am surprised Peter Vandever who is now so close to this has not visited and wrote about it for his own blog sake http://www.pentecostaltheology.com/what-is-a-inner-healing-practitioner/
Melinda
Just wondering what your take is on Holy Water. Can we have it analyzed too?