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Benny Hinn

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Tofik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn
Born (1952-12-03) December 3, 1952 (age 72)
Israel Jaffa, Israel[1]
Occupation(s)Televangelist
Author
Speaker
SpouseSuzanne Harthern

Tofik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn (born December 3, 1952) is a televangelist, best known for his regular "Miracle Crusades" – revival meeting/faith healing summits that are usually held in large stadiums in major cities.[2]

History

Benny Hinn was born in Jaffa, Israel to Palestinian Arab parents.[1] He was raised within the Greek Orthodox Church, and attended Georges Vanier Secondary School in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, where he was known as Teufik Hinn.

He states that his father was the mayor of Jaffa; and that as a child, he was socially isolated and handicapped by a severe stammer, but was nonetheless a first-class student.[3]These claims, however, have been disputed by some of his critics.[4]

He has written that on December 21, 1973, he traveled by charter bus from Toronto to Pittsburgh to attend a "miracle service" conducted by evangelist Kathryn Kuhlman. Although he never met her personally, he often attended her “healing services” and has often cited her as an influence in his life.[3]

He founded the Orlando Christian Center in 1983. In 1999, he handed the church (by the time renamed to the World Outreach Center) to Clint Brown and moved to Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, while maintaining the legal entity “World Outreach Center Benny Hinn Ministries”[citation needed]. His former church was renamed Faith World Church under pastoring of Clint Brown, author of 250 praise songs and 14 albums, who merged his Orlando church with Hinn's.

He is married to Suzanne Harthern and lives in Dana Point, California.

Ministry and theology

Wikiquote has quotations related to Benny Hinn.

Benny Hinn is well known for his flamboyant, highly theatrical and often controversial style of ministry[4], at which members of the congregation and the choir are frequently "slain in the Spirit" en masse, and purported healings of medical conditions, whether Lou Gehrig's disease, AIDS, arthritis[5] or cancer[5], are televised from the stage.[citation needed]

He hosts a thirty-minute show, This Is Your Day, on various Christian television networks, including Trinity Broadcasting Network, Daystar Television Network, Revelation TV, The Christian Channel, Vision TV, INSP Networks, and The God Channel. He also organizes regular "Miracle Crusades" – revival meeting/faith healing summits that are usually held in large stadiums in major cities.

His teaching is similar in many respects to the Word of Faith doctrine, with a particular emphasis on healing.

According to Ole Anthony, for the film Leap of Faith, Steve Martin "modeled the evangelist character on Benny Hinn".[6]

Criticism and Controversy

In April 2001 HBO aired a documentary called "A Question of Miracles" on Hinn. [2] The director Antony Thomas told CNN's Kyra Phillips that they did not find cases where people were healed by Hinn.[3] Thomas told the New York Times about Hinn's claims, "If I had seen miracles, I would have been happy to trumpet it . . . but in retrospect, I think they do more damage to Christianity than the most committed atheist."[4]

In 2002, Joe Nickell of the Skeptical Inquirer wrote a critical analysis of Hinn's healing claims.[7] Nickell cited information that Hinn's cures have not been documented by independent reviews, and said "there is a danger that people who believe themselves cured will forsake medical assistance that could bring them relief or even save their lives."[8]

In March 2005, Ministry Watch, an independent evangelical organization which reviews Christian ministries for financial transparency and efficiency and advises potential donors accordingly, issued a Donor Alert stating that "the reported exorbitant spending of the Hinn family reveals that BHM has far more money than it needs to carry out its ministry" and advising Christians to "prayerfully consider withholding contributions to Benny Hinn" while praying for his restoration and repentance.[9] Benny Hinn Ministries is not a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.[10]

Starting in June of 2007, at the end of his This is Your Day program, Hinn stated he is behind in his bills to TBN and said he needs "your love gifts" so he can become current and continue to preach the gospel around the world.[citation needed] Hinn stated the cost of his worldwide crusades and the increased price of everything else has left him financially behind in his bills, but says TBN founders Paul and Jan Crouch have been very supportive. In December 2006, he sent out a mailing asking for donations towards a new Gulfstream G4SP jet valued at an estimated $36 million.[11]

Currently this ministry is receiving a "F" rating (0-70) in financial transparency from Ministry Watch.[12]

In November 2006 the CBC Television show the fifth estate did a special titled "Do You Believe in Miracles"on the apparent transgressions committed by Benny Hinn's ministry.[13] With the aid of hidden cameras and crusade witnesses, the producers of the show attempted to demonstrate Benny's misappropriation of funds, his fabrication of the truth and, the way in which his staff chose crusade audience members to come on stage for televised healings. According to the show the seriously disabled who attend his healings are interviewed and then weeded out from ever getting the chance to come on stage. Instead, those who have minor injuries are brought up in their place. Benny Hinn claims proof from the faithful's doctors that healings have been successful. However according to the show none of these doctor notes have ever been produced as evidence to his claims.

Hinn made a number of unfulfilled (religious) prophecies for the 90s, such as God will destroy America's homosexual community in 1995 or the death of Fidel Castro,[14] election of the first female president of the USA,[15] the east coast will be devastated by earthquakes,[14] etc., all before the 3rd millennium.

Senate Investigation

On November 6, 2007, United States senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa announced an investigation of Hinn's ministry by the United States Senate Committee on Finance. Grassley asked for the ministry to divulge financial information to the committee to determine if Hinn made any personal profit from financial donations, and requested that Hinn's ministry make the information available by December 6, 2007. The investigation also scrutinized five other televangelists: Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, Eddie Long, Joyce Meyer, and Creflo Dollar.[16]

Bibliography

  • Benny Hinn. Kathryn Kuhlman: Her Spiritual Legacy and Its Impact on My Life. W Pub Group. ISBN 0-7852-7888-5.
  • Benny Hinn. Good Morning, Holy Spirit. Nelson Books. ISBN 0-7852-7176-7.
  • Benny Hinn. He Touched Me an Autobiography. Nelson Books. ISBN 0-7852-7887-7.
  • Benny Hinn. The Anointing. Nelson Books. ISBN 0-7852-7168-6.
  • Benny Hinn. Welcome, Holy Spirit How You Can Experience The Dynamic Work Of The Holy Spirit In Your Life. Nelson Books. ISBN 0-7852-7169-4.
  • Benny Hinn. This Is Your Day for a Miracle. Orlando, FL: Creation House. ISBN 0-88419-391-8.
  • Benny Hinn. The Biblical Road to Blessing. Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 0-7852-7517-7.
  • Benny Hinn. Miracle Of Healing. Nashville, Tenn: J. Countryman. ISBN 0-8499-5399-5.
  • Benny Hinn. The Blood. Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House. ISBN 0-88419-763-8.
  • Benny Hinn. Going deeper with the Holy Spirit. Benny Hinn Ministries. ISBN 1-59024-039-1.
  • Benny Hinn. Lord, I Need a Miracle. Nashville, Tenn: Thomas Nelson Inc. ISBN 0-8407-6251-8.

See also

References

  1. ^ Joe Nickell "Benny Hinn: healer or hypnotist? - Investigative Files". Skeptical Inquirer. May 2002. FindArticles.com. 22 Oct. 2007. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m2843/is_3_26/ai_85932614/pg_1
  2. ^ "Benny Hinn gives aid for tsunami victims". Hindustan Times. 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  3. ^ a b Benny Hinn, Good Morning, Holy Spirit, chapter 2
  4. ^ a b Bloom, John (2003-08). "The Heretic". D Magazine. Retrieved 2006-10-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ a b [Australia's Crusade Begins with Powerful Anointing http://www.bennyhinn.org/articles/articledesc.cfm?id=167]
  6. ^ "The Miracles and the Money". Transcript of CNN Impact. March 16, 1997. Retrieved 2007-04-13.
  7. ^ Joe Nickell, "Benny Hinn: healer or hypnotist? - Investigative Files". Skeptical Inquirer. May 2002. FindArticles.com. 22 Oct. 2007.
  8. ^ Joe Nickell, "Benny Hinn: healer or hypnotist? - Investigative Files". Skeptical Inquirer. May 2002. FindArticles.com. 22 Oct. 2007.
  9. ^ MinistryWatch.com: MinistryWatch.com Recommends that Donors Withhold Giving to Benny Hinn Ministries
  10. ^ [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/h01.html Benny Hinn: Apologetics Research Resources
  11. ^ ""Dove One" brochure" (PDF). Benny Hinn Ministries. Retrieved 2007-01-15.
  12. ^ "Ministry Watch Summary Report". May 2005. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
  13. ^ McKeown, Bob (2004-12). "Do You Believe in Miracles?". The Fifth Estate. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2006-10-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  14. ^ a b Fisher, G. Richard. "PROPHECY OR PRESUMPTION? TIME IS RUNNING OUT ON THE SPURIOUS ORACLES OF BENNY HINN". Retrieved 2006-04-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ "Let Us Reason Ministries". Retrieved 2006-04-01.
  16. ^ "Televangelists Living Like Kings?". CBS News. November 6, 2007. Retrieved 2007-09-17.


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