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Gold Dust Phenomenon Stirs Up Questions Among Charismatics

While gold dust keeps appearing in charismatic meetings in the United States and abroad, metal tests puzzle those who say the substance is falling from heaven.

by Andy Butcher

A Brazilian evangelist at the center of the "gold dust" phenomenon being reported at charismatic churches across the United States and Europe says she is unfazed by scientific reports suggesting that all that glitters is not what it seems.

Two independent tests on samples of the gold-colored dust that falls from Silvania Machado's head during services have found the substance to be more like plastic glitter, with no gold content.

But Machado, who attributes the manifestation to her divine healing from cancer, is untroubled by the conclusions of the analyses carried out on behalf of "Charisma" magazine. "To me, it doesn't matter what it is as long as it's from God," she said. "Some people focus on the signs instead of the fruit. I must continue to share with the world what God has done in my life and the life of my family."

Speaking through an interpreter, Machado tells packed churches how after more than 10 years of sickness, during which she desperately sought a cure through a spiritualist, she was finally healed after being prayed for by Christians. Now when she prays for others, gold-colored flecks start to rain from her head.

The curious occurrence is happening elsewhere. Revivalist Ruth Heflin--who first brought Machado to the United States after hearing about her ministry--regularly sees the same manifestation at her meetings. She believes the dust is a sign of God's glory.

"The Lord loves for us to show off the gold dust because of His relationship with us," said Heflin, whose ministry is based in Ashland, Va. "We couldn't do this ourselves. He is doing it because His coming is so near."

In May, John Arnott of the Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship (TACF) canceled a scheduled four-day appearance by Machado after sending a sample of the flecks that cascaded from her head on the first night for testing. A geochemist at the University of Toronto concluded the specks did not contain any gold or platinum but were some type of plastic film.

Machado and her team were "sweet as could be" when Arnott presented the findings, he told "Charisma."

"I just threw up my hands and said, 'I don't know,'" Arnott said. "It is not up to me to judge them, but I couldn't reconcile the two, so I just said, 'We're not going to proceed with the meetings.'"

"Charisma" had two samples of Machado's gold dust analyzed by the U.S. Geological Survey in Washington, D.C. Both were deemed to be plastic film with no traces of gold, platinum or silver.

These days Machado avoids carrying a handbag to or stepping down from the platform at her meetings to avoid accusations that she is faking the phenomenon, reported "The Richmond Times-Despatch" recently. One of those attending a meeting at Heflin's Calvary Pentecostal Tabernacle told the newspaper that chemical components of the dust were meaningless to her faith.

"The gold doesn't have to do with how man measures metal," said Debbie Kendrick. "It might not be anything we've ever seen before. It's more like manna from heaven."

Meanwhile, churches also are reporting incidents in which people's silver fillings are being miraculously renewed or even replaced by gold ones. A number of cases have been documented and verified at TACF, reinforcing Arnott's decision not to continue the Machado meetings. "I didn't want to have her here because we have had far too much of the real thing--gold teeth and gold dust--to have something suspect," he said.

But Heflin stands by Machado. It was God's presence, not the gold dust, that first convinced her Machado was genuine, she said. "I began to weep because of the wonderful sense of His presence," Heflin said of Machado's meetings. "Perhaps we should call it 'glory dust' instead of 'gold dust.'"

A full report on the gold dust and gold teeth phenomena will appear in the November 1999 issue of "Charisma." The article contains an account--documented by dental records--of an Oklahoma woman who received seven gold crowns during a healing service in Tulsa six months ago.