Controversies dog Benny Hinn's evangelistic show

Times of India ^ | January 24, 2005 | Bangalore

[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.

[stars & stripes forever]

God has different ways of healing people. Sometimes people are healed instantly, but He also heals with medicine. It is up to God if He heals and how He heals.

My mom has had Chrones disease all of her life, and though Doctors gave her a 10 year life expentancy when she was in her thirties, she is now 84 years old. He didn't 'cure' her, but she did receive an instant healing of a brain tumor about twenty years ago. It happened between two MRIs. The tumor was also spotted on a CATSCAN prior to that.

Benny Hinn tells people to check with their doctors for the healing.

[Oreo Kookey]

But there is certainly less than zero merit in what he does. Millions follow this nut ball and therefore are not being fed Christian principles, the Gospel, anything Godly. I hate how he uses some really great Christian music to hype the audience to get them ready to believe his crapola. It makes me ill to watch hungry people being fed unsavory "food".

I'm sure this was what you meant, not that you hated Hinn. You're no hypocrite. Most of us do the same thing when we get ticked at what we see going on. Christianity gets it's bad name from so called Christians who use the Name of Jesus to spread their false teachings. I was a victim of similar stuff before I was saved.

I pray each and every one of those people have ears to hear the truth and are sometime in a place where the truth is told. Thank You Lord.

[Oreo Kookey]

Do you agree with Benny's statement that if they died, they must have lost their faith?

I'd like to ask Hinn if he thinks he is going to die one of these days. The physical death, I mean. His spiritual death or life is between him and Christ. Good thing too, he wouldn't like my pronouncement.

[Oreo Kookey]

Of course God can heal and does heal. No question. The questions have been answered many times about Hinn and the fraud he does, however.

What a thrill for you mother. Just proves she didn't need the likes of Benny Hinn to facilitate the healing. I have received major healing following a stroke and I know it was the Lord doing the healing. It was so exciting to have it happen in me. Many people were praying for me and I am today a functioning human being, out of the throws of a debilitating event.

We serve a God Who is the same yesterday, today and forever. Praise God.

[Beowulf9]

Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prphesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name? And yet then I will say to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness! Mathew 7:22

[Dataman]

I can relate. I ended a debate with an atheist friend

Welcome to the war.

[Dataman]

How on earth will a person trust in Jesus Christ if they can't trust the fraudulent Binny Hinn's of this world?

Because Jesus Christ is trustworthy and Hinn is not.
Because Jesus is the Messiah and Hinn is not.
Because Jesus is God and Hinn is not even though he claims such.
Because Jesus Christ never lied but Hinn lies regularly.
Because Jesus wants your soul and Hinn wants your money.

[Dataman]

I can't think of a more appropriate application of that verse.

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP - There are so many things wrong with Hinn's so-called ministry

[agrace]

That's great, but it has nothing to do with the fact that Hinn claimed that everyone would be healed at his show. It'd be pretty easy to document to the contrary, and actually this claim is pretty mild compared to the false prophecies and crazy doctrinal statements Hinn has made in the past.

[aababy]

It is the Gospel from Jesus healed the people.If facility to make belief in God may heal the sick in hospitals.
Bennyhinn is a tool to work the gospel of Jesus.

[AlGone2001]

My brother and I took my aunt to a Benny Hinn meeting here in Atlanta a few months ago and she was healed of MS.

She had it for 12 years and was able to get out of her wheel chair and stay out of it.

People like to slam Benny, but they can't truly state how he carries on his ministry any way different from the first century church.

It is always wisdom to be wary of people who claim to have a gift from the Lord, but the scripture also tells us to "touch not God's anointed, and do his prophets no harm".

Is Benny strange? He sure is. Christianity is strange in itself, isn't it?

Anyone who ever watched Benny in ministry also knows that he does not claim to be a faith healer. In fact, he has a team of over 100 people who pray with him and they work through the crowd praying over the sick before Benny comes out.

Benny simply comes to the front of the crowd and teaches (primarily in the area of evangelism) and then asks the people to line up to give praise reports.

When my aunt was healed, my brother and I got to go up on the stage with her. There were hundreds of people behind us.

This thing is real, and I suggest that people who are offended simply because it doesn't line up with their church doctrine need to dust off their bibles and read them.

[aababy]

I went to Bangalore Crusade held from 21 to 23 Jan'2005.
We the huge crowd gave praises to God with Bennyhinn.
Pstr.Bennyhinn led the 2100 voice choir.It was amazing.Miracles were testified on the stage.
Thank you for your testimony on freerepublic.
Partner of BH from India.

[aababy]

Grace from God to you.
The positive suggestion to the people is always a strategy of a preacher.If everybody take it in mind the +ve will start work soon.Try it.It may lead to a miracle.
Pstr.Bennyhinn did it with spiritual message.

[aababy]

Bennyhinn offered US$2,50,000.00 dollars to India who suffer due to Tsunami.
Also he took all expenses had on the venue in Bangalore for Indian people(it may equivalent to US$2,00,000.00
Bennyhinn give to the people what he had.
A wonderful person.Who does like that?

[agrace]

Benny Hinn is a false prophet. His own words have condemned him over and over. Doesn't matter a bit how spiritual his meetings feel. Are you familiar with the kinds of outrageous - and wholly false - predictions he has made in the past? We're told in scripture not to listen to such people.

And since when is the power of suggestion a biblical tool?