TD: Benny Hinn (was Re: [CS-FSLUG] RFC: Change of Statement of Faith)

[Timothy Butler]

> I dont know the full reason for the attacks on Benny, But I know  
> this, what you do concerning this man of God touches on why many do  
> not recieve from God. They focus so much on the man God has  
> assigned to a certain task, calling and comission to the point that  
> they literally forget the God who gave this assignment in the first  
> place. Benny, Oral, John Lake, Kathryn Kulman, Smith Wigglesworth,  
> Jesse Duplantis, Kenneth Copeland, Jennifer Cundiff, Nathan  
> Cundiff, Jack Hayford, Paul Crouch, and the list goes on. These  
> people are operating in thier call, the gifts and comissions the  
> God (not man) gave them. No, there are not many who agree with God's
     Well, I'm not sure why you included yourself on the list -- but  
since I don't want to accuse you of this, I'm only going to respond  
about the *other names* on the list, folks like Benny Hinn and Oral  
Roberts... and Televangelists by and large.

     I don't doubt that some people have come to a real faith via  
Hinn, Roberts and others. But, many more have simply been led into  
something not unlike Johann Tetzel, who went around sixteenth century  
Germany did to people:

     "As soon as the coin in the coffer rings,
         The soul from purgatory springs."

     Hinn, et al., are infamous because many people are made to feel  
they must write out massive amounts of money to these guys to "be  
saved." Faith is a free gift. As Luther rightly rejected Tetzel (and  
his ilk) and therefore began the Protestant Reformation, so many of  
us reject Hinn and others like him. We are told by Jesus to be as  
wise as serpents in addition to being as harmless as doves. Moreover,  
we are told to judge a tree by its fruit. While I personally know no  
one who has been brought to Christ by Hinn, et al., I do know many  
who have been lost to the enemy because of the seeming hypocrisy of  
these men.

     God's fruit is good fruit. When a ministry seems to be turning  
more people away from Christ than bringing people into the kingdom, I  
presume that clearly this ministry is not of God for it is not  
producing good fruit. Perhaps its people mean well and even think  
they are doing good, but they are failing to heed God's call, either  
by ignorance or malevolence.

     In marketing, they report that one positive action generates  
1/10 of the word of mouth response of one negative action. That means  
that if Benny Hinn evokes a negative reaction to the majority of  
people I talk to, it will probably take somewhere around 10  
Christians to reverse what he does. I would rather see the church  
separate itself from people that cause this damage because  
ultimately, I'd like to see the most people in Heaven, not the most  
evangelists given praise.

     I'd note this is similar to the trend with the so-called special  
effects gifts we have been discussing. Things such as being slain in  
the spirit may be useful in some places, but at many times, they only  
scare away seekers and make it look like the Maker of Order is really  
the perpetrator of chaos. The Apostle Paul advised against speaking  
in tongues in public if there were not translators available... yet  
the church willingly violates the apostle's command. No wonder it  
comes to bad results! Again, we must judge an action or a person by  
its or his fruit... if the action is not necessary to stay true to  
God's command and yet it is pushing people out of the church, it is  
not good!
> decision, but it is not thier call to tell these what to do. It is  
> God's. It is however your obligation as a believer to LOVE your  
> brothers and sisters in Christ regaurdless of human opinion. To  
> Love is the greatest commandment. So that said, I urge you to  
> repent for the attacks on your brother and however possible BE  
> RECONCILED.

     I am commanded to love my neighbor, but I am also called to  
righteously judge the sinful behavior of those who are not only my  
neighbor but also brothers and sisters in Christ. It is not wrong to  
call on the sins of those who exploit people out of money in the name  
of God. This is what the temple merchants did and Jesus responded in  
righteous anger.

     As I said, while I am replying to your list of people, I exclude  
you and your family since I have no reason to believe that you are  
exploiting the situation as these others are.

     Blessings,
             Tim

---
Timothy R. Butler | "Now  that  I am a  Christian  I  do have moods
Editor, OfB.biz   | in which the whole thing looks very improbable:
tbutler at ofb.biz   | but when I was an  atheist I had moods in which
timothybutler.us  | Christianity looked terribly probable."
                                                       -- C.S. Lewis