Texas church asks members to pay $500 to drink pesticide ‘elixir’ to cure erectile dysfunction

A bizarre "non-religious" church in Texas is set to hold an event this weekend in which participates will drink a potentially-fatal chemical found in pesticides because the organization's leader claims it holds the power to heal conditions including erectile dysfunction, the Houston Chronicle reports.

Jim Humble, the archbishop of Genesis 2 Church of Health and Healing, hawks "Miracle Mineral Supplement" as a cure-all for cancer, AIDS, arthritis, malaria, acne, erectile dysfunction and other ailments, the Chronicle reports. The catch? It's made from sodium chlorite -- a chemical used in pesticides, fracking and fabric bleaching.

It can be deadly if swallowed. Yet participants will fork over $500 a head for a three-day seminar at a Houston-area hotel to learn about the supposed health benefits of the "the world's most important broad-spectrum, nontoxic anti-microbial agent."

They will be sampling concoctions of the chemical as well, after event organizers ""provide the materials, bowls, scales, etc., to have you do it yourself."

State authorities have received one complaint against the group, which alleges they are a cult, the Chronicle reports. A spokesperson for the US Food and Drug Administration said there has been one death associated with medicinal ingestion of the chemical -- though not related to Humble's church.

The octogenarian claims to have discovered the elixir while on a mining expedition in South America. He also believes he can create gold and platinum by manipulating water, the Chronicle reports.

"Five hundred thousand people died from taking FDA-approved drugs," Humble lectured in an online video cited by the Chronicle. "It's so ridiculous. It doesn't make any sense at all - all these reports of health injuries. A couple of stomachaches is a health injury. ... I've got to admit that's as crazy a thing as any agency has ever done."