TV Star Benny Hinn Under Investigation

Benny Hinn Under Investigation

2008-03-03 16:37:51 - There is nothing mysterious about how you earn $US200 million ($215 million) a year promising people prosperity, healing and eternal salvation.

Hong Kong, March 3, 2008, Buzz Technologies, Inc. (PINKSHEETS:BZTG.pk) Actorvist.com

No one knows how to do it better than Pastor Benny Hinn. I am sure many have seen the Hinn song and dance machine in action - healing and sucking in the money.

No one does it like Benny Hinn. In the world of televangelists, he reigns supreme. Leadership in the charismatic movement is established through "the anointing". Theological or pastoral studies mean nothing. If people are healed and you raise a lot of money, you have the anointing.

No one churns out the healings like Benny Hinn. His This Is Your Day! show is one of the most-watched Christian TV programs, with viewers in 190 countries. In the US, it runs on paid-for air time more than 200 times a week on 80 stations. It is translated into Spanish, Romanian, Norwegian, Italian, Hindi and Tamil.

No one knows how much Hinn makes personally. In 1997 he said it was somewhere between $US500,000 and a million. More recently some documents stolen from his rubbish pointed to a salary close to $US2 million. His lawyers deny this. The "parsonage" built for him cost $US3.5 million. It has seven bedrooms, eight baths, a view of the Pacific and room for 10 cars including the odd BMW and his favourite Mercedes-Benz G500.

Last November the US Senate Committee on Finance asked for audited financial statements. It wanted detailed explanations of all compensation to Hinn, housing allowances, clothing, jewellery, personal grooming, loans, credit card statements, and a list of all vehicles and aircraft, including a $US36 million Gulfstream jet that Hinn no doubt used to fly to Australia.

Hinn is outraged by these demands and sees the hand of Satan behind them. He claims to have prayed to the Lord repeatedly: "Before I injure Your name, take me out. Before I harm Your kingdom, kill me."


Hinn brings a large group of operators with him, veterans of a hundred events like this. They have meetings of more than a million in Kenya, Latin America and Indonesia. A couple of men from Hinn's TV show cruised the rows of the sick like sharks, looking for prospects for healing. They were not interested in the profoundly ill. The man and his boy, the poor fellow asleep on his bed, were of no use to Pastor Benny.


Hinn preaches a sermon straight out of Elmer Gantry - 1950s hellfire and damnation from fundamentalist Southern American Protestant Christianity.


Then Hinn moves to the money. For 20 minutes he starts his act cajoled, prophesied, pleaded, shouted and demanded. This is the engine room of the crusade. No one does this better than Hinn. His white Nehru suit glistened like a halo in the spotlight. He moves urgently around the stage. "I'm going to tell you something. This is a prophecy. You are about to see the biggest transfer of wealth in the history of the world. You are going to see prosperity like you never dreamed of. Money is being transferred from sinners to the righteous." His voice booms out: "Are you righteous?" "Yes," they cried. "Are you righteous?" "Yes," we cried a little louder. "This is money you never dreamed of. Are you righteous?" "Yes," they thundered.

Hinn believes the great cosmic drama of the end of the world is around the corner. Because of these unusual times, when evil will abound and God will call forth extraordinary men to great things, special things are in store.

God gives money to people who use it to preach the Gospel and show the world how wonderful it is to be a prosperous Christian. Just as the children of Israel plundered the gold of the Egyptians when they were led out by Moses, the righteous with the right faith in God will plunder the wealth of this world's sinners. That was money argument one.

Argument two: "The Jews were taught by God how to give. When they brought their gifts to the Lord, it was only the best. We have lost the gift of giving. God deserves the best. You give God the best and you'll get the best from him. Are you here for God's blessing? What are you going to give the Lord tonight?"

Money argument three is used universally in charismatic churches around Australia. It is called "sowing the seed". God rewards those who sow seeds of faith. As a grain of wheat is sown in the ground and comes up multiplied by 10, even by 100. "God will multiply your gift to him. You give him a little he will multiply a little."

The close is his normal: "The Lord is going to speak to you tonight. He is not asking you to give to Benny Hinn. This is a gift to the Lord. To some of you he will say $1000, to others $2000 or $5000, to some it may be $10,000. Don't turn your back on the Lord - "

With a 250-voice choir singing about the joys of faith, and Hinn warning them not to miss the opportunity, the envelopes were distributed around the centre. Visa, MasterCard or bank account details. He is not interested in $20 and $50 notes. Cash is small time. He needs big licks to keep his machine going.

Then came the healing time. Hinn gives them another 15-minute talk about the healing power of Jesus. His argument goes like this: Jesus healed people in the Gospels. Jesus is alive today and Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. So he is healing today. "I don't care what your pastor says. I don't care what your doctor says. I can tell you what the Bible says. Jesus is here tonight and is waiting to heal you. DO YOU HAVE THE FAITH?"