Benny Hinn

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Toufik Benedictus "Benny" Hinn
Born	December 3, 1952 (1952-12-03) (age 55) Jaffa, Israel^[1]
Occupation	Televangelist Author Speaker
Spouse	Suzanne Harthern
Children	three daughters, one son

Toufik 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, which are later broadcast worldwide on his television program, This Is Your Day.^[2]

1 History
2 Ministry and theology
3 Criticism and controversy
- 3.1 Senate investigation
4 Bibliography
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] History

Toufik Benedictus Hinn was born in Jaffa, Israel to a Greek father and an Armenian mother^[3]. He was raised within the Greek Orthodox Church, and has acknowledged that his family nicknamed him "Tutu" as a child. Soon after the Six-Day War, Hinn's family emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where Hinn attended and later dropped out of the Georges Vanier Secondary School. In his books, Hinn states that his father was the mayor of Jaffa at the time of his birth, and that as a child, he was socially isolated and was handicapped by a severe studder, but was nonetheless a first-class student.^[4] These claims, however, have been disputed by critics of Hinn.^[5] As a teenager in Toronto, Hinn converted from Greek Orthodoxy to Pentecostalism, eventually joining a singing troupe made up of young evangelicals. According to a 2004 CBC report on Hinn, his newfound religious devotion during this period became so intense that his family became concerned that he was turning into a religious fanatic.

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.^[4]

Upon moving to the United States, Hinn travelled to Orlando, Florida, where founded the Orlando Christian Center in 1983. Eventually, Hinn began claiming that God was using him as a conduit for divine healing powers, and began holding faith healing services in his church. These new "Miracle Crusades" were soon held at large stadiums and auditoriums across the United States and the world, the first nationally-televised service being held in Flint, Michigan in 1989. During the early 1990s, Hinn launched a new daily talk show called This Is Your Day, which to this day airs clips of supposed miracles from Hinn's Miracle Crusades. The program premiered on the Trinity Broadcasting Network of Paul Crouch, who would become one of Hinn's most outspoken defenders and allies. Hinn's ministry began to rapidly grow from there, winning praise as well as criticism from fellow Christian leaders. In 1999, he stepped down as pastor of the Orlando Christian Center, moving his ministry's administrative headquarters to Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of Fort Worth, while hosting This Is Your Day from a television studio in Orange County, California, where he now lives with his family. His former church was renamed Faith World Church under pastoring of Clint Brown, who merged his Orlando church with Hinn's.

[edit] Ministry and theology

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Benny Hinn

Benny Hinn promotes himself as a Christian healing evangelist and Bible teacher. He is the author of a number of best-selling inspirational Christian books. His thirty-minute TV program This Is Your Day, is among the world’s most-watched Christian programs, seen 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.

Hinn conducts regular "Miracle Crusades" – revival meeting/faith healing events held in sports stadiums in major cities throughout the world.

Hinn's teachings are based on Word of Faith theology which espouse belief in the inerrancy of the Bible, contemporary works of the Holy Spirit and the "perpetuity of spiritual gifts" which includes activities such as 'speaking in tongues', faith healing, exorcism, and consequential financial prosperity.^{[citation needed]} The doctrine and practices regarding theological interpretation and worship which Hinn teach are only partly accepted by mainstream Christianity.^{[citation needed]} While almost wholly accepted by the Charismatic Christian community (Christian believers who subscribe to the tenets of the Charismatic Movement and whom, according to a recent study by The Barna Group, make up 46% of the Protestant church and 36% of the Catholic Church^[6]), there are many others in mainstream Christianity who do not subscribe to these particular beliefs. Specific concerns of Hinn's critics include a lack of transparency regarding his personal income derived from ministry, disputes as to substantial claims that the sick are actually healed through his ministry.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Criticism and controversy

By far the most controversial aspect of Hinn's ministry is his claim to be have the "anointing", the special power given to him by God to heal the sick. At Hinn's Miracle Crusades, he has allegedly healed attendees of blindness, deafness, cancer, AIDS, and severe physical injuries. Since 1993, however, investigative news reports by programs such as Inside Edition, Dateline NBC, the Australian edition of 60 Minutes, and several network affiliates in the United States have called these claims into question.

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,^[7] election of the first female president of the USA,^[8] the East Coast of the United States will be devastated by earthquakes,^[7] etc., all before the third millennium. Hinn also appeared on the Trinity Broadcasting Network in October 1999 to claim that God had given him a vision that thousands of dead people would be resurrected after watching the network -- laying out of scenario of people placing their dead loved ones' hands on TV screens tuned into the station -- and that TBN would be "an extension of Heaven to Earth." Hinn has also claimed that Adam was a "superbeing" who could fly to the Moon; that God froze the Red Sea with his breath when he parted it; and that Christ would make a personal appearance at a crusade in Nairobi, Kenya in 2001.

In April 2001 HBO aired a documentary called "A Question of Miracles" on Hinn. [2] The director Antony Thomas told CNN's Kyra Phillips that they did not find cases where people were healed by Hinn.[3] Thomas told the New York Times about Hinn's claims, "If I had seen miracles, I would have been happy to trumpet it . . . but in retrospect, I think they do more damage to Christianity than the most committed atheist."[4]

In 2002, Joe Nickell of the Skeptical Inquirer wrote a critical analysis of Hinn's healing claims.^[9] Nickell cited information that Hinn's cures have not been documented by independent reviews, and said "there is a danger that people who believe themselves cured will forsake medical assistance that could bring them relief or even save their lives."^[10]

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.^[11] Benny Hinn Ministries is not a member of the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability.^[12]

In November 2006 the CBC Television show the fifth estate did a special titled "Do You Believe in Miracles" on the apparent transgressions committed by Benny Hinn's ministry.^[13] 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.^[14] 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. ^[15] Benny Hinn claims proof from the faithful's doctors that healings have been successful.^[16] However according to the show none of these doctor notes have ever been produced as evidence to his claims.^[17]

In December 2006, BHM sent out a mailing asking for donations towards a new Gulfstream G4SP jet valued at an estimated $36 million and costs over $600,000/year to maintain and operate.^[18]

[edit] Senate investigation

On November 6, 2007, United States senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa announced an investigation of Hinn's ministry by the United States Senate Committee on Finance. In a letter to BHM,^[19] Grassley asked for the ministry to divulge financial information^[20] to the Senate Committee on Finance to determine if Hinn made any personal profit from financial donations, and requested that Hinn's ministry make the information available by December 6, 2007. The investigation also scrutinized five other televangelists: Paula White, Kenneth Copeland, Eddie Long, Joyce Meyer, and Creflo Dollar^[21]^[22] . On December 6, 2007, Hinn told the Associated Press that he would not respond to the inquiry until 2008.^[23]

[edit] 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.