Benny Hinn's Prophesies: Why do people still believe him?

Benny Hinn was here in Cape Town recently, and I couldn't believe how popular his mass meetings were.
Isn't he a charlatan and false prophet? He is on youtube and was filmed saying things like Fidel Castro would die, or that all homosexuals would be destroyed by fire in the 1990s.
I love watching his program, although I don't believe anything he says, but that soothing voice truely hypnotizes me. It's better than valium.

Are you a Benny Hinn believer? I'd love to hear what you see in him.
www.deceptioninthechurch.com...
www.christianresearchservice.com...

reply to post by halfoldman

I couldn't believe al the things Hinn tried to heal, from blindness, to tumors to impotence, while the only proof was making people march up and down a few feet.
I think the music and preaching is hypnotic, but there is something very dark about about Hinn, and sorry to say, most US Christianity. This is black magic mind control!

I watched him on TBN one time back in the late 90's early 2000. He told Paul Crouch that he had a word from God that TBN would air, and Miracles would happen. Miracles like, putting the TV on TBN in a funeral service and have the dead return to life. I heard it and couldnt believe he would make such a claim. There are many more, each more fantastical than the next.

I'm a believer and I believe in miracles........BUT! Come on, when this guy makes his predictions and they dont come to pass.... Time to turn the dial on this guy.

What do you expect from Free Masonic Televangelist.
I think Robertsons got him beat though.

Gotta remember that satan is loose in the churches of this world - as well as
on the radio, tv, movies, magazines, etc.

Better be alert - I can pretty much guarantee he won't be dressed in a red suit and carrying a pitchfork.

Yeah, making money off of sick people is probably the lowest you can go. Giving false hope to people who really believe they'll be healed at his meetings, and taking their money on top of that - that's just sick.

The Fifth Estate did a story on him that I found really interesting.

reply to post by halfoldman

Hey everybody, time for another ATS session after some work.
Thanks for all the insightful replies, which for me interestingly include:
- Benny Hinn is a Freemason
Is there any proof for this, or an implicit reason to say so? Perhaps there are some signs and symbols I'm missing? I've read "The secret history of the World", and this text shows how there are many other occult groups. It also claims Sai Baba is a black magician, and I class Hinn in the same class as Sai Baba. Which off-shoot or group would that be? I call it the "big hair cult", Hinn's rug is a "Hinn-do", while Baba has an afro. They sure mix "stage magic" with real controlling magick, and even look similar.
- Benny Hinn represents Satan within the church.
Not news really, but who can point fingers from within that structure against itself? Why do I find anti-Wicca, anti-gay books in the Christian bookshops, but never an anti-Hinn book? It seems the bookshops here are run by TBN, and one must turn to atheists and sceptics to fight the "evengelist devil". In fairness, there is an Internet site called "evangelistwatch", which does show a Christian yearning towards integrity.



[edit on 26-3-2010 by halfoldman]

He creeps me out.

But not as much as Osteen. I swear that guy is the Devil. He makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

However, my MIL totally thinks that Hinn is being unfairly targeted and that he is a hand of God. That demons possess those who speak against him.

This cover that for you..reply to post by halfoldman

Originally posted by Aeons
He creeps me out.

But not as much as Osteen. I swear that guy is the Devil. He makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

However, my MIL totally thinks that Hinn is being unfairly targeted and that he is a hand of God. That demons possess those who speak against him.

Agreed, the experience of seeing Hinn is totally creepy, even on TV. I've seen a mentalist "magician" on BBC Prime called Derren Brown (Tricks of the Mind), and he changed every self-confessed atheist in a room into a sobbing believer. The problem is, whithout a framework the feeling of being healed or converted doesn't last long after the experience. The methods are eerily similar to Hinn's.
Osteen blurts out a positive message, and yes, he too is creepy. With him it's mainly looks, and what some Christians call a "sugar-coated" message of salvation. Apparently there are also some pending IRS investigations on him. My biggest laugh is however John Hagee, especially when the rotund figure preaches on fasting! Hilarious!
In my day these people were all anti-Catholic (although they always accepted the salvation of some charisnmatic Catholics). This seems to have changed. Recently the Pope came to the US and Hagee et al. were sitiing in a huge Babylonian sun circle. Nowadays Hagee preaches "dual covenant" salvation - the concept that Jews can be saved without accepting Christ, which is heresy according to most theology.
Masons like George Washington are constantly praised as Godly on TBN (but never mentioned as Masons) and the 7-rayed male head of Mithras on the Statue of Liberty is constantly flashed across the screen. So the occult/brotherhood symbolism is there.
What is the TBN logo: A glowing solar cross, the dove symbol of the goddess Bel (Ishtar), and the horse and lion that have dual pagan/Christian meanings. For an occultist it is rife with dual meaning.

reply to post by randyvs

I hear you, but I cannot personally take sides with inter-Christian conspiracy. As a gay peson I find Hinn very homophobic (perhaps he doth protest to much-coff, coff). I mean the whole TBN set-up is just so camp. Hinn did say all gays would be destroyed by fire in the 1990s, so I'd need some more evidence that he furthers gay ordinations (his stream of Christianity doesn't really ordinate, at best it gives out diplomas from Christian institutions, and otherwise it's a free for all). I'd then also need some quotes where he comments on gay ordinations in various Churches. Otherwise, what is the proof? Isn't that just using homophobia for Christian mud-slinging? I'm sure there's a lot of closet cases there in any case, but not openly so (unless they are "ex-gays", or in some repentant "lifestyle therapy").
I mean it's showbiz, and that is something gays are often good at, but then these are self-hating, and not average gay people, and I rather won't comment on whom I suspect.

For Masonic/occult dual meanings on TBN, please see my previous post.

My first experience of Benny Hinn was in the 90s. I was pretty ripped one Saturday night and was channel surfing. I found his program and I honestly thought it was a comedy show.

Really!

The way it was set up, the people going into 'trance' after he touched their foreheads, the "I want the orchestra to play whatever God tells them to play" (yeah, try that someday and see if you like the noise), the suit, the gold bracelets/watch, the make-up, and THE HAIR all looked like a Saturday Night Live skit.
When I realized it was 'real' I was shocked. Horrified.
The most shocking part was that people were buying the whole act.

Pseudo-Religious Theater. Nothing more.

To this day, I can't see him without laughing hysterically.

Originally posted by halfoldman


Benny Hinn's Prophesies: Why do people still believe him?
...
I love watching his program, although I don't believe anything he says, but that soothing voice truely hypnotizes me. It's better than valium.

Are you a Benny Hinn believer? I'd love to hear what you see in him.

masses watch him and go to revivals with him as the headliner...
hey we are all social creatures, the meeting is more than the artist


Belief? perhaps in the porjected 'spirit' of the man. but surely not the content of his failed forecasts (predictions)... the failures are overlooked,
and his clean, saintly projection, is what the masses remember most of all.


i do not believe a word that he utters, and i see nothing but charlaton in him
...but i look and study the man, the act, the projection....
he's in fact another Michael Jackson, a showman, that is not unpleasant to the eyes and allows the viewer to create a 'sanctuary state' (in the hearts of believers) for the ministry of this man no matter the absurdity of his prophecies or his far from accurate prophetic record

'Smooth Operator' should be his theme song

reply to post by St Udio

I agree. The entertainment potential is significant, and he stands out from the rest. Perhaps that's also a sad comment on what else is on TV (repeats, reality TV's breasts and bums). Yeah, it's like watching that stage hypnotist or magic show as a kid, and always trying to figure out how they do it. And... I do love that voice.

When I first heard he was from Israel I figured it was a Palestinian who hated Americans, and thus rips them off. But then I heard he was of Jewish background. Well, he's an enigma. But he does look like one of those carpet salesmen that you wouldn't trust from a mile away. But it's the audience that makes him, and when you're there you suspend disbelief, because you think: How can so many people be wrong?

Well, perhaps as Marshall McCluhan said in the 1960's: "The medium is the message".

Benny Hinn has a huge faith-based following whose only requirement is that they believe. There is no thinking or logic involved when it comes to blind-faith, only the single-mindedness that Hinn, as a direct conduit of God, will answer their prayers and heal their maladies. And if he doesn't... well, it's their own fault for faltering in their belief.

The man is nothing more than a shyster taking advantage of a group of people looking for hope, compassion or something (or someone) in which to anchor their faith.

reply to post by maria_stardust

A good summary. Just to add, his stage show of "Toronto blassings" (making people fall down), and parading people up and down while their tearful testomies are broadcast as one-liners, convinces many of physical evidence.
The fact that he says "Jesus is the real healer" and never attributes anything to his own powers is in line with theology, and makes him seem humble. He certainly takes the cash however, and "Jesus" must have still chosen him or marked him as "special" (or everyone would do it) - which he never denies.
He's hard to pin down, even by location, he's constantly on the move, and I think there's some paranoia in that lifestyle. His glances are sometimes quite anxious and he seems to understand people are onto him, or that his game might be up at any moment. It doesn't bother him much, but he doesn't always look comfortable in his own skin.

reply to post by halfoldman





What curious primates we humans are !


A remarkable example of mass hysteria and no doubt a cathartic experience for many...... which they pay handsomely for the privilege.


Underneath that `impressive` hair-do must dwell quite the EGO .

I`ve noticed he can be a little heavy handed shoving the old grannies over too, ......

There was a movie that came out in the early '90s called Leap of Faith about a faith healer played by Steve Martin. While preparing for his role, Martin actually modeled his character after Benny Hinn. Not such a far stretch since both men can both pull off over-the-top performances.

Originally posted by maria_stardust
There was a movie that came out in the early '90s called Leap of Faith about a faith healer played by Steve Martin. While preparing for his role, Martin actually modeled his character after Benny Hinn. Not such a far stretch since both men can both pull off over-the-top performances.

I hadn`t heard of Benny Hinn before i saw that comedy but now that you mention it ... yeah - Steve Martin was seriously channelling this guy .

This form of `healing` is one thing but the whole `talking in tongues` caper is rather unnerving don`t you think Maria ?

reply to post by UmbraSumus

Goodness, good clip. Even the pic and the lighting, dry ice and so forth made me think for one second I was about to see Freddie Mercury in the 1970s! It really is a Christian equivelant of a rock/cabaret show!
In fairness, as far as entrance is concerned he charged R50 in Cape Town, when cheap seats for international rock acts cost R250. OK, we didn't get the big choirs and extras and were more of a footnote on his itinary.
Of course it's an open question how much he makes on "love gifts" and merchandise. I've heard of people dropping their gold chains and rings into the collection containers.