Benny Hinn
| Tofik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 3 1952  Tel
Aviv Israel |
| Occupation | Televangelist Author Speaker |
| Spouse | Suzanne 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.[1]
History
Benny Hinn was raised within the Greek Orthodox Church, and attended Georges Vanier Secondary School in Toronto, 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.[2]These claims, however, have been disputed by some of his critics.[3]
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.[2]
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
Benny Hinn is well known for his flamboyant, highly theatrical and often controversial style of ministry[3], 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[4] or cancer[4], 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".[5]
Criticism and Controversy
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.[6] Benny Hinn Ministries is not a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.[7]
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. 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.
Currently this ministry is receiving a "F" rating (0-70) in financial transparency from Ministry Watch.[8]
On August 24, 2007 the CBC Television show the fifth estate did a special on the apparent transgressions committed by Benny Hinn's ministry. 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,[9] election of the first female president of the USA,[10] the east coast will be devastated by earthquakes,[9] etc., all before the 3rd millennium.
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
- Christian Televangelist scandals
- Charismatic movement
- Kathryn Kuhlman
- Televangelism
- Word of Faith
- Personal Freedom Outreach
- Trinity Foundation
References
- ^ Benny Hinn gives aid for tsunami victims. Hindustan Times (2007-01-03). Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
- ^ a b Benny Hinn, Good Morning, Holy Spirit, chapter 2
- ^ a b Bloom, John, (Reprinted on Website of Trinity Foundation, Inc.). "The Heretic", D Magazine, 2003-08. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
- ^ a b [Australia's Crusade Begins with Powerful Anointing http://www.bennyhinn.org/articles/articledesc.cfm?id=167]
- ^ "The Miracles and the Money", Transcript of CNN Impact, March 16, 1997. Retrieved on 2007-04-13.
- ^ MinistryWatch.com: MinistryWatch.com Recommends that Donors Withhold Giving to Benny Hinn Ministries
- ^ [http://www.apologeticsindex.org/h01.html Benny Hinn: Apologetics Research Resources
- ^ Ministry Watch Summary Report (May 2005). Retrieved on 2007-08-19.
- ^ a b Fisher, G. Richard; M. Kurt Goedelman. PROPHECY OR PRESUMPTION? TIME IS RUNNING OUT ON THE SPURIOUS ORACLES OF BENNY HINN. Retrieved on 2006-04-01.
- ^ Let Us Reason Ministries. Retrieved on 2006-04-01.
External links
- Benny Hinn Ministries – Official website
- Faith World – Official website Hinn's former church
- Do You Believe in Miracles? a report by CBC News
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