Posted on 01/27/2005 1:26:28 PM PST by pkajj
Bangalore, Jan. 24 -- A three-day faith show here by American evangelist Benny Hinn may have concluded without any major trouble, but it has left behind a trail of controversies. With the Karnataka government going all out to provide the logistics support for the Festival of Blessings that concluded here Sunday night, the high-tech show attracted nearly a million people from all over India and some from abroad.
Though massive protests, a 12-hour shutdown and stray incidents of violence in the city overshadowed the inaugural day, the congregation passed off peacefully during the weekend much to the relief of the organizers and the state government.
While prayers and high-decibel choir sessions under dazzling lights and special effects drew applause, the healing sessions at the end drew protests and questions by rationalists and rightwing Hindu activists on the "miracle powers" of the Israeli-born Hinn.
In fact, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has demanded the resignation of Dharam Singh for permitting Hinn to conduct the festival and "mislead" the people with his healing powers to cure the sick and terminal patients.
Challenging Hinn's claims that several people got cured of their diseases by participating in the prayer / healing sessions with the blessings of Jesus Christ, Hindu activists said an equal number of sick went home disappointed with no change in their health condition.
Refuting the charges, Hinn told the gathering that God alone was the healer and he simply prayed to invoke the Lord's blessings to cure the sick and help the poor as Jesus Christ did over 2,000 years ago. “I am only a servant of Jesus. I came here because people in India also need healing, just like anywhere in the world. God wants to heal. That is why millions of people have come to attend the festival and not for me," Hinn asserted.
After a dozen or so testimonies of "cures", a man jumped over the fence to reach the stage. He explained his "ailment" to the volunteers. "Pastor, this man here has not walked for years. But today, a wonderful miracle has happened to him. He can walk, run, jump... in fact, he jumped over the fence," said an American volunteer whose job is to recount the health problems and the apparent miracles.
"Hallelujah! Shall we have a huge round of applause for this glorious feat of the Lord? I told you, none of you will leave this place sick," pastor Hinn replied. The "cured" man jumped and ran about. Hinn gave him a slight nudge on the chin. But the man did not collapse, unlike many others who did after they "felt" an electric current pass.
Now the inside story: This "healed" man (Raj) was a decoy planted by The Times of India to find out how Hinn's medical team separates the wheat from the chaff. Raj, actually in fine health, came to the meet pretending to have a pronounced limp, and was put in the "sick" enclosure.
As the "healing" session began, this man started screaming that he was cured. Like him, thousands of people claimed a cure and jostled to get onstage. Doctors in Hinn's team explained to TOI that they could make out the "really cured" from those who were not.
"We check them meticulously. We cannot explain these miracles, but they are happening. We can make out who has been cured and we send only those persons onstage," explained one doctor. Raj was certified "cured".
At the conclusion, Hinn thanked the state government, the city police and the Indian organizers for the peaceful conduct of the festival, and told the gathering that he would return to India in February 2006 to hold a similar congregation at Hyderabad.
Hinn's subsequent departure followed all procedures and rules, including processing through emigration and Customs, the organizers maintained. However, Immigration ACP Vijaya Kumar and Customs superintendent Krishna Murthy asked Hinn to bless the niece of a deputy collector of Customs who suffers from a speech impairment.
The officials approached Hinn's aircraft with the child after the plane started moving to the runway for take-off, the organizers said. On being denied access to Hinn, the officials directed the Air Traffic Control to deny the aircraft permission for take-off. Only after the child, Bhavana, was photographed and prayed for by Hinn's security officials was the plane allowed to take off, the organizers maintained.
Is the way he wears his hair called a Hinn-do?
(A little ecumenical humor...)
I don't know what to call him, except uniquely coiffed. But I hope that somehow the people who heard him in India will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
no, thats a levitating comb-over.
I'll bet many burdens were lifted--and by burdens, I mean wallets.
he's got worse hair than Trump......never knew what to make of that guy...........
That well may be the case. I just figure God is greater than Benny Hinn.
You got that right. The only place he does not heal people is in hospitals.
Agreed. This shyster disgusts me, especially when I see kids up on his stage.
BBC comedy? What?
Benny Hinn/Benny Hill.
Great Religious Truths:
1. Muslims do not recognize Judaism as a religion.
2. Jews do not recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
3. Protestants do not recognize the Pope as the leader of the Christian faith.
4. Baptists do not recognize each other at Hooters.
I'm ecstatic that this subject came up!
I can't agree with you more about this slimeball's scam.
I've watched his lame show on t.v.
He's always able to "heal" folks in between commercials...ever notice that?...What timing!!!
There will be a special place in hell for this man because as you've stated, he's probably created more atheists than the aclu.
I don't know about Benny Hinn. But the Times here are self-admitted deceivers. (They planted a phony cripple in the healing line.) So why trust them?
Never heard number 4 before. I can still feel the carbonation from my Coke in my nasal passages. It hurts. LOL
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