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 .
TBN sells him air time. It's a business relationship, and nothing more. Hinn is a fraud.
Not a joke at all. TBN was or is in Tustin, CA. I know for a fact the people working there are sincere Christians not desiring to pull some snake oil show.
As far as Hinn, as I said, he isn't anything I'm comfortable with, but it takes all kinds of styles to get to all kind of people.
TBN, regarding their money has applied it to a world wide Christian satellite network spreading Christianity across the globe. TBN does good work.
The healing begins as soon as your check clears.
Only if the jury is the same one that found O.J. not guilty.
They may sell his ministry air time, but unless they saw it as truly Christian and not some snake oil scam, they wouldn't let him on.
You and I have a radically different opinion of TBN. I wouldn't trust Crouch and his bunch any further than I could throw them.
Let's let it rest for tonight my friend. It's getting late. We will duke it out some other time.
WHY?
Observation. I see a lot of hucksterism, begging for cash, and lifestyles so opulent they border on grotesque. I see very little actual Christianity. But that's just my opinion. You're of course entitled to yours.
Why were only those cured allowed on stage?
To the authors: It's the format, dummies.
..for a minute there, I though it was Benny Hill. :^)
"And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full."
Lest someone label me as judgmental, this is only my opinion of the genuineness of Hinn's (and others') works.
Give me scripture and verse to justify what Hinn does. We can all have our own opinions, but what does the Bible say about it?
THere are only a few straightened letters difference between The Benny Hinn Show and the Benny Hill Show.
And even less between Benny Hinn and Benihana.
The subject of divine healing is not an easy one to discus for a number of reasons. First there are scriptural considerations and Considerations from the Gospels.
Secondly there are considerations as to who if anyone God would bestow his power on.
Third there are considerations for those who perform said miracles and are false -- and what is the definition of false is.
Forth people do not know the church history or their own denominations much less something like the modern faith healing movement.
I personally have known people in the faith movement and I personally know evangelists that date back to the 1950's I am with people here in alaska that have direct ties to Rodney Howard Brown and Benny Hin Kenneth Hagan who is now deceased Kenneth Copeland and other names.
I would be happy to answer questions as to Benny Hinn and other evagelists living and dead. are what they doing real or false. Who of them are charalans and why.
Why are some healed and some not?
And more importantly why is the church different than what we read of in the bible?
Rather than write one of my five page epistles where I try to exhaustively answer the questions with every scripture and the greek or hebrew of key words or getting a bit preachy -- if anyone wants to ask a question and is willing to discuss it over a few posts so we deal with this stuff in a manner that is fair to God fair to the bible and fair to the person asking I will try to help.
For the person that wants only a five word answer or me to tell you where all the dead bodies are in the healing ministry I won't be apart of taring everything with one broad brush.
Baptists Prebyterians Lutherans Evangelicals and everyone else. All are welcome anytime to email me. I try to answer all in a timely manner -- I have correspong with dozens from FR on a bprad range of subjects concerning the bible faith and salvation.
I never watch his show,'cept when channel flipping and he is singing; I get a kick out of his singing voice.
Well, i am a Christian, and i could say that God can heal any kind of sickness on anyone who seeks healing. But with regard to somebody or a minister focusing on healing ministries im not that well convinced... yes, we can pray for somebody's healing but God's answer will not be always Yes, sometimes it will be No or Wait... if some folks got healed right away on Hinn's ministries it might be that God was pleased with their faith and has decided to heal them or those folks are just plain actors and actresses who are paid to promote the ministry...
If you want to get healed, examine yourself spiritually and pray to God, be faithful to Him. You dont have to go to Benny Hinn's event just to get healed. Go directly to God.
In these last days beware of false prophets...
***Lest someone label me as judgmental, this is only my opinion of the genuineness of Hinn's (and others') works.***
Ping...you are entitled to that brother...
I can see TBN selling time for a commercial for George Foreman's grilling machine, I don't see them selling time for a fraudulent ministry if they thought that was what it was.
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