Monday, April 12, 1999 Published at 14:15 GMT 15:15 UK
Church defends miracle cure campaign
David Gregg is helped up after being "cured"
A church that had its knuckles rapped by advertising watchdogs is standing by its claim that a man had a miracle cure at a service.
The advert told people to go to the Peniel Pentecostal Church in Brentwood, Essex, to see "Music and Miracles" for themselves.
It said: "Five minutes ago David Gregg was half-carried, half-dragged into the hall.
But a complaint about the advert, from a member of the public, has been held up by the Advertising Standards Authority.
David Gregg gave a personal testimony in the advert, saying he had not taken a painkiller since the healing session.
On Monday he said: "All I can say is what happened to me, and I can't prove it one way or the other. I went into the church and I came out the church without any pain. I've got to believe what happened to me."
Services at the church regularly attract between 600 and 800 people. This is the third complaint to be made against it and the second to be upheld.
An earlier authority statement said it was concerned that the advert could raise the hopes of vulnerable readers who might believe that they would be cured of physical pain or disability.
The church maintained that it was not guilty of exploitation because there was no financial transaction involved and worshippers could leave at any time.
Church spokeswoman Anne Brown said: "This is a matter of faith, it's a matter of Christianity. Jesus was raised from the dead, I think they'd have a hard time believing that as well."
Animal-rights lobby criticised
Meanwhile, an animal-rights group has also been criticised by the ASA for claims made in an anti-foxhunting ad.
The International Fund for Animal Welfare advert showed a photograph of a pack of hounds ripping a fox apart under the headline "RIP".
The ASA said that IFAW's accompanying claim that "one (fox) that died this way was found with lungs full of soil" was "an exaggeration".
The advertising watchdog also upheld an objection to the claim that hunts were "shooting 10,000 hounds a year because they're too old or too friendly to chase foxes".