For those not familiar, Benny Hinn is a “faith healer” who convinces Christians that he’s been given the divine gift of healing the sick. Joel Osteen is a… something, who convinces Christians that if they have enough faith, they will be healthy and wealthy.
Do other world religions have such charlatans?
They’re a dime a dozen here in Buddhist Thailand.
A number of those of the jewish faith sometimes considered some of the great Hasidic Rebbes from the Baal Shem Tov on charlatans.
The modern dynasties have a certain fascination.
Dr Zakir Naik, an Islamic preacher from India who enjoys a massive following and popularity, is pleased to offer one and all “the Solution for Humanity,” the world’s first Islamic SmartPhone, available worldwide for a nominal fee of 240 USD.
India’s Nirmal Baba has fooled and continues to fool Indians.
I’m willing to bet that there are more faith based con men in India(perhaps even per capita) than anywhere else.
Couldn’t that be based on population size alone?
And hate to wade into GD territory here but what exactly is the line between a “real” religious leader and a “fake” religious leader?
All else being equal I think I’d prefer the harmless feel good fluff of Osteen, versus a hard line fire and brimstone preacher telling his congregation the gays are going to burn in hell.
I guess the line might be defined by sincerity. Its possible for a religious leader to be fervent, but sincere, then there’s the big mini$try evangelist types whose real objective is milking the wallets of the crowd. Pretty much all of the ‘prosperity gospel’ guys are in the latter category, because, duh, their message is about getting rich (so it’s kinda obvious what motivates them)
could be true.
But I have nothing against people like Nirmal Baba. People who go to him are usually people who are in mental distress due to physical problems, family problems and/or financial problems. Nirmal Baba will charge money for consultation (samagum) and gives them certain jobs (like visiting ‘x’ temple). People’s minds get distracted from their problem while completing the job that Nirmal Baba asked them to do and since they have faith in Baba, it also works as placebo effect.
People like Asaram who exploit them in a way that it harms people are bad.
I get the impression that this woman is sort of like a Hindu version of Joel Osteen, in the “harmless feel-good fluff” vein. As I understand it, she basically goes around the world hugging people.