Far-left Squad member Rep. Cori Bush detailed her experiences as a religious faith healer in her autobiography, “The Forerunner: A Story of Pain and Perseverance in America.” In her book, she discussed how she learned to tap into the power of God within her and use it to heal others. Bush shared stories of performing miracles, such as helping a toddler who couldn’t walk take her first steps and curing a woman with tumors by laying hands on her and praying.
One of the stories Bush recounted in her autobiography involved a toddler who had a brain bleed and couldn’t walk. During a prayer service in St. Louis, Bush carried the child from the prayer room into the sanctuary and encouraged her to walk. To everyone’s amazement, the child took her first steps and kept on walking. The child’s grandmother witnessed the miraculous moment and expressed her gratitude by praising God for the healing that had taken place.
In another instance, Bush claimed to have cured a woman with tumors who was in need of surgery but lacked health insurance. By laying hands on the woman and praying, she felt the tumors shrink and disappear. Despite these extraordinary accounts detailed in her book, it did not gain much attention when it was released by Knopf in 2022, despite a media blitz to promote it.
Bush has long been connected to a faith-healing church in Missouri, whose lead pastor asserted that he had healed her of coronavirus through faith healing over the phone. However, as Bush faces a tough primary against Wesley Bell, the prosecuting attorney of St. Louis, polls indicate that she is significantly behind in support. Skepticism has been raised by medical experts, such as Dr. Monica Gandhi, who advised people to seek medical treatment for serious ailments like cancer rather than rely solely on faith healing.
The revelations about Bush’s faith healing abilities have added another layer to her already controversial tenure as a member of the Squad in Congress. While her supporters hail her as a champion for progressive causes, her opponents criticize her for promoting fringe beliefs and practices. As she navigates her political career and an intense primary race, Bush’s claims of performing miracles as a faith healer raise questions about the intersection of religion, medicine, and politics in the modern world. It remains to be seen how these stories will impact her chances in the upcoming election and her reputation as a public figure.
