Posted on 01/24/2005 10:20:39 PM PST by Gengis Khan
BANGALORE: For three days now, the city has groaned under the weight of the Benny Hinn show. Many of the apparently healed have justified the need for the mega event despite the multitude of problems. But the jury is still out on whether Hinn is a fraud or someone with connections to the Lord.
Questions on people's minds regarding Hinn's healing methods and utterances indicate that all may not have been above board. Sample these: Why were only those cured allowed on stage? Colonel Samuel (retd) suffers from immobility of the right side of his body. Hoping for a miracle, he, with wife in tow, managed to shuffle up to the stage. Only to be jostled away by an organiser, who said: "Only if you are healed can you go on stage. If you're not healed by Jesus, your time has not come." Are they really cured forever? Why are there no doctors from city hospitals, but mostly from Hinn's ministry? What actually is the miracle? What is his modus operandi?
Neither Hinn nor his stooges have any answer except a tepid one, faith. One question that will probably never be answered is how many of the healed will wake up one of these mornings, after Hinn has left for greener pastures, feeling unhealed? Like all faith healers, Benny Hinn Inc. is unwilling to put the healing claims to scientific scrutiny.
Pre- and post-healing medical records can tell the truth, but nobody is volunteering this information; neither are they keeping a count of those healed. Responding to TOI's query on some people rushing to the stage for a cure, Hinn said: "This is psychosomatic healing wherein the mind is capable of enabling the body to think itself healed. Even before I come on stage, there have been cases where people have been healed; the music, prayers and atmosphere add to it."
Hinn's organisers had a different take. They said prayers were responsible for the healing and miracles.
Even before Hinn's visit, rationalists had voiced apprehensions about mass hysteria that can overtake a person and claim a cure. Explains magician KS Ramesh: "I have made Ganesha drink 10 litres of milk. I have performed the healing operations that psychic surgeons perform, but I tell people it's magic and there is no religion involved. Faith is a multi-million industry."
Hinn's ministry is an opulent one, making $100 million a year globally; of this, Rs 15-20 crore is raised by the Indian chapter alone. When Hinn said, "I have met the Pope twice," someone wondered aloud, "Why can't he cure the ailing Pope then?"
Nevertheless, Hinn will continue to reap the harvest of his Bangalore show till another prayer meet in Hyderabad in February 2006.
As many as 15,000 people who were allowed to get up close and personal with Benny Hinn's healing touch over the past three days were given sick passes, at a local church, well in advance of the event. This could be why only a chosen few were allowed to experience the healing powers at the three-day Festival of Blessings event of the US evangelist. The 15,000 sick passes were distributed at the Full Gospel Assembly of God Church, witnesses told The Times of India.
People were told three months ago that a certain pastor and healer by the name Benny Hinn would come. "We were told that whoever was sick in body and spirit could enroll himself for the healing," P Gangamma, a volunteer at the FGAG church stated.
Gangamma herself could not get a pass despite reportedly suffering from a uterus complaint. "I have a uterus problem and I don't know why they aren't taking me in for the healing," she said. Like Gangamma, there were Joseph Raja, Jennifer Nelson, Asha Pamreche and Satish Bambalgi, who were similarly not given access to Hinn's miraculous healing session.
A man, who was accompanying his cerebral palsy-affected son, said: "I will do anything to get my two-year-old son cured. I only want Hinn to touch him because I believe he will be cured. I have been coming to the programme for three days now, but could not meet Hinn."
The choice of people to be healed by Hinn was highly selective, which has cast a shadow of doubt on whether the healing was for real or a mere show. N Bharath, a paralysed man from Madhya Pradesh who was among the chosen lot, told TOI that he was asked by Hinn's American volunteers about how long it had been since he stood on his feet. When Bharath replied that it had been 13 years, the volunteers refused to allow him access to the healing.
He was among the thousands of people who came with hopes of getting cured but were turned away by Hinn's healing redtape. On Sunday, hundreds of people had to make way for a plethora of VVIP platinum pass-holders .
Who was paid off?
Was paying this off cheaper than facing even false charges backed by every liberal ACLU type in the country who would spend them into poverty?
One thing common about charlatans is that you will find them in every religion.
I hope there is a special place in Hell for people who try and enrich themselves on the suffering of others. To tantalize the blind, the lame, the dying, the afflicted, the terminally ill, to dangle hope before parents of a severely afflicted child, is an indescribably cruel thing to do, and to do it in the name of God, to do it in the name of religion, I think, is unforgivable.I'll echo Nickel's last word after quoting this passage: "Amen."
This fellow at this site uses the LA Times as the word of all truth regarding the issue you mentioned. He even says he relies on the LA Times for this story and offers NO KNOWLEDGE of his own on the matter.
Now we saw how fair the LA Times was to Bush and Christians in general all last year and during the elections.
They got it right about what, 5% of the time with 95% bias?
The Los Angeles Times is validity for you? Interesting.
Cute, but this Nickel is a Senior fellow of the website you directed me to and they are very much associated with lots of aethiests all through the net.
Doesn't that smell the least bit fishy to you and do you really expect atheists to use science to validate anything Christian of of faith in your lifetime?
Amen
never ever in the history of these so called healers has someone grown another leg, arm or eyeball when they have been missing them,, somehow out of the millions healed God decided to only heal unseen problems and deemed bone spurs, ankle injuries or bad hearing more important to heal than devastating injuries,,,,,,,,, and I loved the guys response when Hinn says with pride he has visited twice with the Pope and the guy said why didn't you volunteer to try to heal all the Popes afflictions then,,,LOL,,,
The same preachers, ministers and priests have no problem asking for money to allow their Church to hear them speak the word of God.
If there is a healing ministry, it is your position that they should operate only while broke? Makes no sense to me.
I figure the fact that they travel the world is a staggering cost. They have to pay unions to run equipment. They have to buy and maintain the set and equipment, phones, employees and so forth.
You can't do that broke.
Now I'm sure there are other genuine faith healers that do this ministry different on a small local scale and they might be able to do it on five bucks a day.
It all depends on the circumstances, but I don't ridicule a ministry that collects money, what faith doesn't do that today with all the lives and buildings to finance?
And in every profession on earth. It is a human failing due to a sin nature.
What makes you think the Pope is meant to be healed?
Whether Crouch did or didn't engage in the behavior attributed to him in the article, he shouldn't have paid hush money, and I hope he didn't. It's tantamount to bribery.
The problem with TBN having an employee make accusations like this is that there are a gazillion layers from the ACLU and elsewhere willing to drag the issue into court and cause TBN expenses in the many millions to defend.
TBN is a target. Christianity is a target.
Becomes much cheaper to pay once and them never allow privacy with employees again for safety.
That's one of the reasons why these days lots of doors remain open so people can witness nothing happening.
It's too easy to make charges and gain a great pay day.
Like I said, Hinn isn't my cup of tea, but I do not think TBN thinks he is a phony.
I also think the local paper on which this tread was started would not exactly be thrilled with any form of Christianity.
If one has done nothing wrong, one shouldn't encourage others to question one's integrity and morality because one didn't have the stomach to face down a false accuser and resorted to payoffs instead.
The philosophy is nice, but the reality is that such a case would cripple TBN in court to defend.
Millions in costs to defend.
Would not only break the bank, but would allow what could be easily false accusations to be spoken like gospel through a trial which would make many members of their ministry to leave even if this was a false accusation.
So once, you pay something off, and the lesson you learn is to NEVER be alone with an employee again and to leave the doors open during most meetings and all where there are just two people who aren't married.
The cost of defending the truth and their honor could have easily wiped them out.
Similar crud is happening all through life, which is why there are open doors and many cameras installed to prove what did NOT happen.
AGAIN, I think Hinn (just like all ministers, preachers and priests) asks for donations.
It is scriptural to give to the CHURCH and at times the CHURCH might be the local healer.
I have never heard Hinn claim the healing is from him, he has always claimed that Christ deserves the glory and does the healing.
I am no fan of his style, but God works many times through those we least approve of. I don't know that this Hinn is false at all.
I'm not so sure he teaches any false thing either.
Why do most people believe Michael Jackson is guilty of pedophilia?
Because he paid off an accuser's family.
Assuming his innocence, Crouch has lost far more integrity via this purported payoff than he would have had he stood in front of a court, faced down his accuser and denied engaging in the behavior.
It could conceivably have cost him millions to do it, but what's more important? His solvency or his integrity as a man of God?
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