Does Christianity accept the occurrence of healing miracles outside of Christianity?

I'm asking this question inspired by a recent anecdote told by someone I trust, but the point is to go beyond the anecdote and ask a more general question. The anecdote is as follows: My mother is a widow, but she's seeing a man who is also a widower. My family has a very good relationship with him. He is Catholic. He recently told us about a supernatural/paranormal experience he had before his wife died of cancer. At that time, he was desperate to find a solution for the cancer his wife was suffering from. A friend of his told him he had had a successful experience with a healer who cured him of stomach cancer several years earlier, and he shared the contact information and address. He coordinated an appointment with the healer and went there with his wife. He was really surprised to find that a lot of people were in line waiting for their turn, as if, through word of mouth, people who had a successful experience with the healer would recommend her (it was a she) to their friends and acquaintances, and those to theirs, and so on. So it was clear that this healer was well-known and in demand. The man and his wife went in. The healer examined the wife and noticed that the cancer was in an extremely advanced stage, and said there was nothing she could do for her at that point. However, the man himself was struggling with a strange skin condition that had started a few years earlier, where he would get stains and protuberances, like cysts, in several parts of his upper body, including a few that were quite noticeable and painful when he touched them. Since he was already there, he took the opportunity to arrange a healing session for himself. If I remember correctly, he had about three meetings with the healer. He said something along the lines of this: he was in the same room with several other people who were also seeking healing, and they all had to pray some Catholic prayers that the healer guided them through. But at certain points the healer would utter words that no one else in the room could understand (maybe she was "speaking in tongues"?). Then, probably in the last session, she asked each person in turn to visualize the route to their homes, because that night someone would visit them in their room to perform the "operation" to heal them. He visualized the exact route to his house, and he felt like the healer was able to read his mind while he was doing it. After that, she instructed him to go to his bedroom, sleep early, leave a candle burning and a glass of water, and wear a white blanket. He did as instructed, and he remembers that at some point during the night, while he was asleep, he felt like entities visited him and started moving him around in bed, but he perceived it as if it were part of a dream. But he heard a voice that woke him up saying, "Turn off the candle," just before the candle was about to be fully consumed. He did so, and immediately fell asleep again. A few hours later, he woke up, drank water from the glass, and then checked his skin for the presence of the stains, protuberances, and cysts, and they were gone. The skin condition was completely healed. And I trust this man. He's a very honest, hard-working man, and he's been going out with my mother for several years now. He inspires trust, and he disclosed this experience to us in the context of telling us what he experienced while trying to save his now deceased wife from cancer. For me, the way he described the healer sounded a bit like an esoteric, occult, witchy healer, and yet the fact that he was healed from this skin condition from one day to the next is undeniable for him. However, if these things truly happen in the world, one would need to make sense of them and fit them within a Christian worldview. Does Christianity accept the occurrence of healing miracles outside of Christianity? How does Christianity make sense of experiences like this one? --- --- # CLARIFICATION While the man is Catholic, I never mentioned the healer's (who is female) religious background. I suspect she may be involved in some form of esoteric or syncretic tradition. I consulted an AI about this story, and here is what it suggested: > **Kardecist Spiritism (Espiritismo)** > > The healer's practices align most closely with **Kardecist Spiritism** > (known as *Espiritismo* in Portuguese-speaking countries like Brazil), > a spiritualist doctrine founded by Allan Kardec in 19th-century France > and highly adapted in Latin America. It's not a traditional religion > but a philosophical-spiritual movement blending Christianity, > reincarnation, and mediumship, widely practiced in Brazil. Here's why > this fits best, matching key elements: > > ### Core Matching Elements: > - **Group healing sessions with prayers**: Spiritist centers (*centros espíritas*) often hold collective "passes" (energy transmissions) or > healing sessions where mediums guide participants in > Christian/Catholic prayers (e.g., Our Father, Hail Mary), as Jesus is > central to Spiritism. This respects the man's Catholic faith while > incorporating mediumship. > > - **Speaking unknown words ("tongues")**: Mediums in Spiritism channel spirits (*incorporação*), sometimes uttering languages or sounds > incomprehensible to attendees, akin to glossolalia but attributed to > discarnate entities rather than Holy Spirit baptism. > > - **Visualizing home route for "night visit"**: A hallmark of Spiritist *cirurgia espiritual* (spiritual surgery). The medium > psychically "reads" the route and dispatches spirit doctors/surgeons > to perform invisible operations during sleep. This is routine in > Brazilian Spiritism—no physical tools, just mental direction. > > - **Home ritual preparation**: Instructions like early sleep, burning candle (for spirit attraction/light), glass of water (to absorb > "spiritual fluids" or toxins from the "surgery"), and white blanket > (symbolizing purity/protection, like a shroud) are textbook. The > dream-like sensation of entities moving the body, voice commands > (e.g., extinguishing candle for safety), and post-wake > checkup/drinking water match countless testimonials. > > - **Rapid, complete healing of chronic condition**: Spiritist healings claim to remove "perispiritual" blockages or cysts via spirit > intervention, often overnight. Long lines and word-of-mouth fame are > common for popular mediums (*médiuns curadores*). > > - **Advanced cancer untreatable**: Spirits reportedly refuse "karmic" or terminally advanced cases, focusing on reversible ailments. > > ### Why Not Other Options? | Alternative | Why Less Likely | |-------------|-----------------| | **Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR)** | Includes tongues, group prayers, healings—but no home "entity surgeries," route visualization, or candle/water rituals. More prayer-focused, less mediumistic. | | **Pentecostalism/Evangelical** | Tongues and healings fit, but rejects "entities" visiting homes (seen as demonic); emphasizes faith healing in church, not dream operations. | | **Umbanda/Candomblé (Afro-Brazilian)** | Similar rituals/home works, but heavier African deities/orixás, less Catholic prayers; often involves offerings/herbs, not pure visualization. | | **Folk Catholicism (e.g., benzedeira)** | Prayers and blessings common, but typically hands-on with herbs/oils; no spirit surgeries or tongues. | | **New Age/Reiki/Shamanism** | Lacks Catholic prayers; more energy work/crystals, less structured spirit teams. | | **Filipino Psychic Surgery** | Physical fake incisions, not dream-based; no Catholic prayer emphasis or home rituals. | > ### Christian Worldview Fit > Spiritism claims compatibility with Christianity: Spirits are evolved souls (including biblical figures), > healing honors God's laws via reincarnation/karma. Many Catholics > participate syncretically in Brazil (e.g., 3-4% identify as Spiritist, > millions more blend it). Critics (orthodox Catholics) view it as > occult, but practitioners see it as divine aid. The man's trust and > healing don't contradict faith—he framed it as supernatural help > during desperation. > > This is probable, not certain—regional variations exist—but the ritual > details are a near-perfect match for documented Brazilian > *Espiritismo*. If you have more details (e.g., location), it could refine this.