i went with mark lafave to see benny hinn on thursday evening at the joe louis arena. i've seen him on TV, so was really curious to experience it live. i'm also doing my dissertation on miracle in the church, so this seemed like appropriate research!
here's my take on it, both the good and the bad. i saw a lot of folks there worshipping and praising God, and it looks like a lot of people overseas are having genuine conversions and new relationship with Jesus. Benny also seemed fairly balanced in what he spoke about--that God's forgiveness is the greatest miracle, etc. the videos from overseas were just fantastic... i'm talking crowds of several hundred thousand in india, huge crowds in japan, the philippines. people crying, talking about relationship with jesus and forgiveness from sin; getting healed. very cool stuff.
my biggest disappointment is (of course) with how flashy and hyped-up everything was. Benny comes out midway through worship, right at the height of things, like some kind of rock star... the gleaming white outfit, etc. etc. neither did i care for the guy who was speaking when we entered at 7pm... he was really trying to hype things up--yelling, shouting... basically encouraging us to be as loud as possible. basically I saw everything that I don't really care for in the Pentecostal church (although they're certainly not all that way). Benny also preached some of the "prosperity Gospel" stuff that I don't care for--that if you give money to his ministry you are *guaranteed* a blessing (financial/material) in return. While that may be true in some ways, there's no guarantee that financial giving will automatically generate a financial return.
i do believe that there were some genuine healings, but i think they also overblew this and hyped it up... i watched through my binoculars as Benny's entourage went through the rows of wheelchairs, and I know for sure that some of those people could already walk. one lady in particular i had just seen standing; before Benny's "deputy" went over to her, literally threw the cushion that she was holding on her lap into the air, pulled her to her feet, and took her up front. then they take the wheelchair up front as if a complete cripple were healed. to be fair, they didn't specifically state that each person was crippled before, but that's the impression given. i also watched one set of parents with a severely handicapped child, and you could tell they were quite disappointed that their son wasn't healed. It seems like the staff gravitated more toward the people with milder forms of disease, and away from those with obviously withered or deformed limbs. like I said, i do think that there were some genuine healings there, i don't think any of the guests were "planted", and i do think people experienced the holy spirit; but the whole show was just over the top.
anyway, those are just my thoughts. i do like what's happening overseas in Third-World countries; I think maybe he should focus his ministry there, because people in the U.S. are too cynical for his kind of show. i would never take someone who was wavering in their faith, or already skeptical, to see him.
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10 years ago
2 comments:
don that is so cool that you got to experience that - i have heard so much about benny hinn so i love that someone whose opinion i trust gave honest opinions based on experience. thanks!!!
Benny Hinn is one of the worst enemies of reason; Benny Hinn cures more people than antibiotics. This self called �curator� is capable of going on TV and shows his supernatural powers on saving people with all kind of diseases. In my opinion this clown is an opportunist that takes advantage of people in need of a miracle (or should I say resignation). What�s the point on this kind of shows? Should I feel more optimistic and my faith in god should grow after watching it? Am I so ignorant or blind or brain washed to believe that Benny Hinn cures people just with a touch of his hand? If faith cures why do we still have so many people (from all type of religions) dying from diseases like aids, flu, tuberculosis, cancer, diabetes, etc?
Surrounded by a very suggestive scenario, music, performers and public; Benny Hinn takes the scene on a �forget-me-soon� suit and with words from the bible and words from his own imagination convince people they can get better just with faith. Even though I am a believer of the power of the mind, I don�t think this is the way to take advantage of this power.
In one scene of the comedy movie �Borat� this type on non-sense is expose to the point you can see people running, dancing of joy, crying and even looking like under the influence of drugs at church. Wouldn�t be more productive to use all that energy into something more positive for the community? Shouldn�t be better to use that time into helping people in need? Shouldn�t be more productive to go to the nearest hospital and donate blood? Shouldn�t be better to go on a Sunday morning to the closest foster house and read a book to a foster kid? There is a plethora of activities more productive than just dancing and praying.
Why doesn�t Benny Hinn use his time doing these kinds of activities? The answer is very simple; money. The activities I just mentioned don�t bring any money to church therefore any money for him. Sad but true. Benny Hinn is another example of hypocritical religious leaders.
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