Benny Hinn Denounces the Prosperity Gospel
Those who live in Orlando and Dallas are probably familiar with Benny Hinn (born Toufik Benedictus Hinn). He and his wife, Suzanne, have been married and divorced (to each other) twice. He holds stadium revival meetings, is on television, and has written books, one of which is Good Morning, Holy Spirit. Among other things, he claims to be a faith healer and says that he was influenced by Kathryn Kuhlman, who operated out of Pittsburgh. She contracted cancer and begged Oral Roberts to heal her, but he declined. This writer is aware of one woman from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, who died after being "healed" by Kathryn Kuhlman and throwing away her medicine. Two days later she had swelled up so badly they had to cut away the door frame to get her out of her house to a hospital. That theology is dangerous.
Hinn's theology has also included preaching the prosperity gospel for a number of years, but he has recently changed his mind concerning that. If anyone is not familiar with the prosperity gospel, Hinn's denunciation of it should provide clues: "The gospel is not for sale, the blessing of God is not for sale, miracles are not for sale, and Prosperity is not for sale." In a nutshell, the Prosperity Gospel is defined by Google in the following way:
a Christian belief that God grants financial blessings, health, and success to believers who have enough faith, offer positive confessions, and give money to religious causes, viewing wealth as a sign of God's favor….
In particular, the religious cause is usually the "evangelist" making the plea for money. "Give a generous contribution, and you may receive 10 times or 100 times what you give," went the pitch. Very few ever received 100 times what they gave, but one could probably find some testimonials to that effect. Hinn thinks it's time to correct his theology. None of the other prosperity preachers has jumped on Hinn's bandwagon to our knowledge, but it would be nice. Hinn bemoans: "Giving has become such a gimmick." Hasn't much of Christianity become a gimmick?
Worship certainly has. The emphasis now is, "Who can put on the best feel-good show?" instead of, "What kind of worship pleases God?" (John 4:23-24). Positive messages are also the order of the day; nobody wants to hear about sin. And what better way to make people feel good than to convince them they've been healed of their ailments? And that may work for those that are psychosomatically induced. Some may feel better for a few days. But no one is healing the lame, the blind, the mute, or the deaf—not to mention raising someone from the dead. Will Hinn change his theology on that?