Benny Hinn says he is done with the prosperity gospel. But longtime observers are not ready to take his word on faith. Hinn has been a leading proponent of prosperity gospel theology since the s, teaching that God rewards active faith with health and wealth.
But on September 2, during his 3-hour, minute weekly broadcast, Hinn said he had changed. And miracles are not for sale. And prosperity is not for sale. Hinn said he now believes such give-to-get theology is offensive to God. And now the lid is off. You know why? Some of the Christians who have watched him closest, however, viewed the apparent renunciation with skepticism. He went on to preach prosperity again. He joined the Assemblies of God for a while, accepting the oversight of the Pentecostal denomination, but then separated and went back out on his own.
Hinn, according to some estimates, was receiving tens of millions of dollars in donations every year. An exact figure is unknown. The investigation ended in with no definitive findings. It is not clear whether there was any self-reform, though.
A spokesman for the IRS told CT that the agency cannot legally confirm or deny whether that investigation is ongoing. Online at Benny Hinn Ministries, a recent article says if you praise God, you will be blessed with material rewards. Hinn also critiqued the prosperity gospel in , saying it had gone too far. On the Monday broadcast, after saying he was correcting his theology, Hinn seemed to reiterate the substance of the prosperity gospel.
We cannot deny that if we give, we will receive. No way. God wants to bless his people way more than you want to receive that blessing. If the transformation is real, he said he would throw his uncle a parade.
There was a lot of showmanship in the statement. Costi Hinn said one thing he would hope to see is some measure of accountability. A board of outside overseers would go far, he said, towards ensuring this change is real. In an attempt to clear up his image, Hinn suggests meeting a Times reporter at the Four Seasons hotel in Newport Beach.
He is dressed casually in black, from designer sunglasses to leather jacket to shoes. His trademark hair has been brushed forward, bangs hanging over his forehead like Caesar. Hinn fiddles with his cell phone, which sports a Mercedes logo. Because the World Healing Center Church is recognized as a religious institution, Hinn is not obligated under federal law to release information publicly about its revenue or the identities of its board of directors.
But at this meeting, he says he has nothing to hide. First, Hinn declines to divulge his salary. But just before this story went to press, Hinn and his board changed their minds and had their public relations consultant provide the names.
By comparison, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Assn. The first question they ask him on the street is: Are you and the healings real? For William Vandenkolk of Las Vegas, the answer is no. Sitting cross-legged in front of a big-screen TV, the year-old squints through Coke-bottle glasses at a Miracle Crusade video made more than two years ago in which he starred as a boy who miraculously recovered from blindness. Before more than 15, people in a Las Vegas arena, William nods.
People weep. Today William is still legally blind and says his sight never improved, and that his onstage comments were wishful thinking.
Brian Darby, who has worked for 21 years with severely handicapped people in Northern California, says he has witnessed firsthand the disappointment left in the wake of a Hinn Miracle Crusade. Over the years, he says, many of his clients have attended the events, where they were swept up in a wave of excitement, thinking they were about to walk for the first time or have their limbs straightened. Raymond Scott tells a different story.
In , the Bakersfield resident had advanced colon cancer, a disease that required chemotherapy, radiation and multiple operations. In desperation, Scott attended a Hinn crusade in Sacramento, where, he says, God cured him. His doctor, Alan D. He never claims that he does the healing. God does. At each crusade, hundreds of people line up to offer testimonials of the healing they have received during the service.
In response, Hinn started the Miracle Follow-Up Department in to encourage those who believe they are cured to get checked out by their doctors before they stop using medications.
The department also recommends continued prayer and churchgoing. I needed to step out in faith. A volunteer usher at the event, Gibson pushed up the sleeve of his shirt to show the shunt in his arm for dialysis.
Back in Canada weeks after the crusade, Gibson says blood work shows his kidneys are functioning better, though he has had to resume dialysis.
All you need to do is ask. Hinn was born in Israel, one of six boys and two girls. Their children were raised in the Greek Orthodox faith.
The family moved to Toronto when Benny was As a high school senior, he abandoned his Greek Orthodox roots for Pentecostalism--an act of family defiance that Hinn says earned him a trip to a psychiatrist. Two years later, in , he heard the faith healer Kathryn Kuhlman preach.
Afterward, Hinn says, he had an eight-hour experience with the Holy Spirit during a night that changed the direction of his life. From there, he has said his ministry work kept him too busy to attend college as he became an itinerant evangelist, preaching mostly in Canada and the U. It was here that his television ministry began, first on local broadcasts and then on larger networks such as TBN.
In , he began monthly healing crusades around the country, furthering his national profile. In , Hinn resigned as pastor of the Orlando church to concentrate on his television ministry. He moved his headquarters to the Dallas-Fort Worth area and now employs people.
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