My latest obsession is Benny Hinn. Yep, you heard me, Benny Hinn.
See, here's the deal: at my new job, we get to watch TV if we have lunch in the kitchen/dining area. The lunch gang I've hooked up with, very funny individuals with senses of humor similar to my own, get a kick out of putting Benny's show on at 2:30 PM.
Now, prior to my watching this show, I had heard of Benny but had no real info on him. I figured he was just another crazy televangelist begging for money so he could save souls. I was right, but I must say I was in for an even bigger surprise when I finally tuned in. For one thing, Benny looks Pakistani, which, as you all know (or should know), is not a culture that follows Christian beliefs and traditions. (I have since learned that his dad was Greek and his mom was Armenian, but whatever, Benny didn't meet my expectations). The real twist comes in that his brother, Henry Hinn, looks like a cast member of the Sopranos. These two men cannot be blood-related, they simply cannot! So whatever, I was surprised at their appearances..
For those of you who have never experienced Benny, what he basically does in his show is talk all this gibberish about Jesus and "little messiahs" and all manner of nonsense that any person with a shred of common sense knows better than to believe. Theologically speaking, he has no clue what he's saying, it looks like he makes it up as he goes along (I have also learned that he has no formal religious training, and apparently, he hasn't really read a Bible since he can't refer to it correctly). But here's what makes Benny magical: he has these crusades, wherein people gather in arenas (and really, it is terrifying to see so many people packed in, actually buying in on this junk), where he is able to heal people by touching them or blowing on them. He has this thing called the "anointing," which is presumably the Holy Spirit, and he 'throws" it on people to heal them.
See, the thing is that Benny has the power to set up grand events and at a pre-disposed time summon up this power so he can throw it at people. He basically gets everyone in a fever pitch, and just as the music reaches its peak, he blows into the microphone and makes the motion of throwing something at the audience. And WHAM! They all fall down.
Really, they do. They fall onto the floor, touched by Benny's healing power. Then he has people come up and give testimonials. They say such things as, "I had a tumor in my brain. And then just now I felt I heat right there, a mighty power, and now it's gone. Praise the Lord, I know it's gone!" And just like that, they're healed. And if any of these folks don't follow up with a doctor's visit, I personally think they're absolute idiots who deserve whatever they get.
Now, as I've begun to investigate Benny (because shit, this HAS TO be illegal!), I have learned some interesting things about his techniques and his background. I have just considered him a crackpot, and his followers I've considered just plain stupid idiots. The truth is, I don't believe in any of those televangelists, the Jerry Falwells and Jim Bakkers and Jimmy Swaggarts, or any of those assholes who have people thinking they have the key to salvation. They're so self-righteous and judgmental: close-minded hypocrites who place themselves above the rest of society and use their positions to excuse their debaucheries.
So I chalked Benny up as one of them. But it turns out that Benny is a pariah in the crooked world of televangelism, and here's why: Aside from not having any formal religious education, Benny is blasphemous. Really, I've read various reports that quote him, and yeah, he really sounds more anti-Christian than anything else. Among other things, it's not right to be throwing the Holy Spirit at people. More seriously, it's against Christian teaching to say Jesus "became like Satan" and actually went to Hell when he died, or that God feels he kind-of failed with the whole Jesus thing (oh, I forgot, God also talks to Benny and gives him messages not found in any religious document anywhere). And, he has his show on the long-labeled-blasphemous Trinity Broadcast Network (and shit, I thought Mother Angelica, with her endless drivel on EWTN was the real blasphemy!) Benny's also blasphemous because he thinks the Pope is pretty cool and that Roman Catholicism isn't all bad (which, as a RC, I'm kind-of insulted that such an opinion would make him blasphemous.)
Ok, so to summarize, Benny is a blasphemous crackpot, and the rest of his kind are just crackpots.
To learn more about Benny, try www.fakefaithhealers.com and www.deceptioninthechurch.com.