So everyone’s favorite evangelist BennyHinn is here in Baltimore healing the masses (but of course he couldn’t do a thing to prevent this (disturbing link; sad story). All day long, on the street and on the bus, I caught snatches of conversation praising Mr. Hinn.
And I also caught snatches of information about Mr. Hinn’s offstage life. I wish I could tell you it involves crack and porn and underage prostitudes of many genders, but that would be a lie.
But what I heard was that at a very posh local hotel, Mr. Hinn requests that all magazines and the contents of the minibar be removed from his room. That’s very well and good for an alleged man of God, but he also requires all robes, soap, and all the other usual nice-hotel accoutrements be removed. You see, people are trying to poison him, apparently though the tiny sample bottles of shampoo and body lotion.
He asks for six washclothes, six bath towels, six hand towels, nine pillows, and one blender. Why can Mr. Hinn be poisoned through a bathrobe but not a pillow? I don’t know. The ways of the Lord are mysterious.
The bed of Mr. Hinn must be turned down on the left-hand side. Most importantly, his quarters can only be cleaned with plain water. No furniture polish, no bathroom cleanser, no window cleaner, no domestic chemicals of any kind.
He doesn’t tip. He told one server that “Jesus will tip you.” Last I heard, said server was still waiting for the Son of God to come through with that 15-20% of the bill.
Also, if he’s such a man of God, wouldn’t God save him from being poisoned, etc?
After all, God told Oral Roberts (I think) that He would kill him if Oral didn’t raise six million bucks for his ministry (and limos and whatever) in such and such amount of time. Oral did itjust in the nick of time and God didn’t kill him.
Maybe ol’ Benny isn’t pushing the money issue hard enough?
Oh, it goes beyond not wanting soap. They’re going to kick me out of the office here, so someone else google for articles about Benny bringing up people on stage and getting them out of their wheelchairs. He doesn’t ask them if they can stand or walk for short periods. It’s what I heard, any way.
The actually respected Christian magazines have put the screws to him for years about his wacky statements, even in his books, where he has time to edit. He’s one of those people I personally wish would just shut up, and I’m probably the most churchy person in this thread.
That and the other things I’ve heard the guy say* make me more suspect someone with a mental disorder. In that case, he might being having his strings pulled by someone else.
BTW, I’ve been to a Benny Hinn crusade, and I didn’t feel anything. But, then again, I stayed away from the stage as I find “falling in the Spirit” to be unpleasant.
*He once said that God told him He’d kill him if he ever stopped preaching. Seeing as that’s not something any Christian would expect God to say, I suspect he actually heard something. Combine that with paranoia, and a schizophrenic disorder seems likely.
I could believe in a real ministry like his, but he does not bear the fruits of the Spirit. There are Biblical tests that would out him as a fraud. So I share the OP’s bafflement about the people who still believe him.
