Benny Hinn Rebukes Prosperity Preachers: 'It's an Offense to the Holy Spirit to Put a Price on the Gospel'
"The lid is off," says Benny Hinn. The televangelist says he's been
sick of the prosperity gospel for a while, and now he's speaking out
about it.
A video posted Sept. 3 shows the preacher denouncing the prosperity gospel as "an offense to the Holy Spirit."
"I'm sorry to say prosperity has gone a little crazy," Hinn says. "And I'm correcting my own theology, and you need to all know it, because when I read the Bible now, I don't see it with the same eyes I saw it 20 years ago."
Hinn says Charisma CEO Stephen Strang asked him last year if he wanted to go public with it, but Hinn initially told him, "Not totally, because I don't want to hurt my friends and my love, who believe things I don't believe in."
But now Hinn isn't holding back.
"I believe it's an offense to the Lord, it's an offense to say, 'Give $1,000,'" he says. "I think it's an offense to the Holy Spirit to put a price on the gospel. I'm done with it. I will never again ask you to give $1,000 or whatever amount, because I believe the Holy Ghost is just fed up with it."
Hinn says this theology hurts the gospel.
"I'm making this statement for the first time in my life, and frankly, I don't care what people think of me anymore," he says.
Hinn says he rebuked Pastor Dan Willis of Lighthouse Church of All Nations for teaching the prosperity gospel, telling him to "never preach that message again." Hinn told Willis he no longer wanted any part of that theology.
"If I hear one more time, 'Break the back of debt with $1,000,' I'm going to rebuke them," he says. "I think that's buying the gospel. That's buying the blessing. That's grieving the Holy Spirit. That's about all I will say. If you are not giving because you love Jesus, don't bother giving. I think giving has become such a gimmick, it's making me sick to my stomach."
Although Hinn used to be an outspoken advocate for the prosperity gospel, he caused major waves last year when he apologized for his teaching, saying it didn't line up with the biblical definition of prosperity. Hinn announced his change of heart the same day the famed evangelist Billy Graham died.
Around that time, Hinn opened up to Charisma magazine about how he was changing his theology on that matter. He said he still believed in prosperity but was beginning to realize the Bible defines true prosperity as "no lack."
"In the book of Acts, we read that the New Testament church had no lack," he told Charisma. "Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Luke specifically wrote, 'Nor was there anyone among them who lacked.' Obviously, from time to time, there were people in the early church who had needs while others were blessed more abundantly, but because of the faithfulness of God's people, the saints who 'had lack' immediately had their needs met and experienced no lack."
Above all, Hinn said, prosperity is found through abiding in the presence of Jesus.
Since last year, though, Hinn seems to be strengthening his stance against the prosperity gospel. Watch the recent video to hear his latest thoughts.
A video posted Sept. 3 shows the preacher denouncing the prosperity gospel as "an offense to the Holy Spirit."
"I'm sorry to say prosperity has gone a little crazy," Hinn says. "And I'm correcting my own theology, and you need to all know it, because when I read the Bible now, I don't see it with the same eyes I saw it 20 years ago."
Hinn says Charisma CEO Stephen Strang asked him last year if he wanted to go public with it, but Hinn initially told him, "Not totally, because I don't want to hurt my friends and my love, who believe things I don't believe in."
But now Hinn isn't holding back.
"I believe it's an offense to the Lord, it's an offense to say, 'Give $1,000,'" he says. "I think it's an offense to the Holy Spirit to put a price on the gospel. I'm done with it. I will never again ask you to give $1,000 or whatever amount, because I believe the Holy Ghost is just fed up with it."
Hinn says this theology hurts the gospel.
"I'm making this statement for the first time in my life, and frankly, I don't care what people think of me anymore," he says.
Hinn says he rebuked Pastor Dan Willis of Lighthouse Church of All Nations for teaching the prosperity gospel, telling him to "never preach that message again." Hinn told Willis he no longer wanted any part of that theology.
"If I hear one more time, 'Break the back of debt with $1,000,' I'm going to rebuke them," he says. "I think that's buying the gospel. That's buying the blessing. That's grieving the Holy Spirit. That's about all I will say. If you are not giving because you love Jesus, don't bother giving. I think giving has become such a gimmick, it's making me sick to my stomach."
Although Hinn used to be an outspoken advocate for the prosperity gospel, he caused major waves last year when he apologized for his teaching, saying it didn't line up with the biblical definition of prosperity. Hinn announced his change of heart the same day the famed evangelist Billy Graham died.
Around that time, Hinn opened up to Charisma magazine about how he was changing his theology on that matter. He said he still believed in prosperity but was beginning to realize the Bible defines true prosperity as "no lack."
"In the book of Acts, we read that the New Testament church had no lack," he told Charisma. "Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Luke specifically wrote, 'Nor was there anyone among them who lacked.' Obviously, from time to time, there were people in the early church who had needs while others were blessed more abundantly, but because of the faithfulness of God's people, the saints who 'had lack' immediately had their needs met and experienced no lack."
Above all, Hinn said, prosperity is found through abiding in the presence of Jesus.
Since last year, though, Hinn seems to be strengthening his stance against the prosperity gospel. Watch the recent video to hear his latest thoughts.
My teachings 'damaged a lot of people', says Benny Hinn
Don’t Believe Benny Hinn When He Says He’s Rejecting the Prosperity Gospel
September 6, 2019
This is a guest post by Karen Alea. She’s a writer and co-host of Deconversion Therapy: A Comedy Podcast about Religion. She and her family live in Tennessee. Follow her on Twitter @KarenAlea and @The_Deconverted.
…
Faith healer and televangelist Benny Hinn, who became wealthy by telling believers that they should give his Christian ministry their cash, said this week that he was completely wrong about the idea that God wants us to be rich.
If you’re not familiar with him, Hinn is the preacher often seen in white suits swinging his arms at people and touching them on the foreheads as they fall to the ground and writhe in supposed religious bliss.
Like many televangelists, his sermons are punctuated with requests
for cash — or as he puts it, “seed money” that God will ultimately grow
into even more wealth for the donors.
Unconfirmed reports put Hinn’s wealth at around $40 million. Whatever the real number is, it’s almost certainly huge. Why wouldn’t it be when he’s known for bilking his followers for one thousand dollars at a time?
And yet earlier this week, Hinn stated, “I am correcting my own theology… I don’t see the Bible in the same eyes I saw the Bible 20 years ago.” (You can see it around 1:21:00 in this video)
What went unstated in his message was that his nephew, Costi Hinn, made waves two years ago when he began speaking out against his uncle’s greedy theology. Costi Hinn also came out with the book God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies.
Perhaps an uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner contributed to Uncle Benny’s about-face. Or maybe it had something to do with being investigated multiple times for financial reasons.
Either way, the prudent thing to do would be to pay attention to what he does in the future, not what he’s saying now. A rich man who condemns wealth doesn’t deserve praise for that alone.
Especially when that rich man said virtually the same thing more than a year ago. Really. In 2018, Hinn stated, “Today, the idea is abundance and palatial homes and cars and bank accounts… The focus is wrong… It’s so wrong.” (So much for “making this statement for the first time in my life.”)
Or maybe we can look to Hinn’s website today, since the webmaster hasn’t received the message. The donation page still asks donors to give a certain amount per month. Including $1,000.
Or maybe Hinn hasn’t changed one bit as evidenced by a pitch he made just two days after “correcting” his own theology. He asked viewers to send him seed money for “debt elimination.”
That video was quickly removed. But the internet never forgets.
When’s he going to “rebuke” himself…?
Hinn hasn’t given up the prosperity gospel. He just found a better marketing strategy for it.
…
Faith healer and televangelist Benny Hinn, who became wealthy by telling believers that they should give his Christian ministry their cash, said this week that he was completely wrong about the idea that God wants us to be rich.
If you’re not familiar with him, Hinn is the preacher often seen in white suits swinging his arms at people and touching them on the foreheads as they fall to the ground and writhe in supposed religious bliss.
Unconfirmed reports put Hinn’s wealth at around $40 million. Whatever the real number is, it’s almost certainly huge. Why wouldn’t it be when he’s known for bilking his followers for one thousand dollars at a time?
And yet earlier this week, Hinn stated, “I am correcting my own theology… I don’t see the Bible in the same eyes I saw the Bible 20 years ago.” (You can see it around 1:21:00 in this video)
“I think it’s an offense to the Lord, it’s an offense to say give $1,000. I think it’s an offense to the Holy Spirit to place a price on the Gospel. I’m done with it. I will never again ask you to give $1,000 or whatever amount, because I think the Holy Ghost is just fed up with it.Of course, that’s easier to say after you’ve already accumulated millions of dollars. If Hinn now admits he was wrong, is he planning to give back all the money he acquired through those means? Don’t hold your breath. Hinn also didn’t talk about what Bible verse(s) he misinterpreted, why he got this all wrong, or what spurred his change of heart.
“Did you hear me?” Hinn asked as his audience responded affirmatively in high spirits.
“I think it hurts the Gospel, so I’m making this statement for the first time in my life and frankly, I don’t care what people think about me anymore,” he continued.
…
“When they invite me to telethons I think they will not like me anymore. Because when you look at the word of God … if I hear one more time, break the back of debt with $1,000, I’m gonna rebuke them. I think that’s buying the Gospel. That’s buying the blessing. That’s grieving the Holy Spirit. … If you are not giving because you love Jesus, don’t bother giving,” Hinn argued. “I think giving has become such a gimmick; it’s making me sick to my stomach.”
What went unstated in his message was that his nephew, Costi Hinn, made waves two years ago when he began speaking out against his uncle’s greedy theology. Costi Hinn also came out with the book God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies.
Perhaps an uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner contributed to Uncle Benny’s about-face. Or maybe it had something to do with being investigated multiple times for financial reasons.
Either way, the prudent thing to do would be to pay attention to what he does in the future, not what he’s saying now. A rich man who condemns wealth doesn’t deserve praise for that alone.
Especially when that rich man said virtually the same thing more than a year ago. Really. In 2018, Hinn stated, “Today, the idea is abundance and palatial homes and cars and bank accounts… The focus is wrong… It’s so wrong.” (So much for “making this statement for the first time in my life.”)
Or maybe we can look to Hinn’s website today, since the webmaster hasn’t received the message. The donation page still asks donors to give a certain amount per month. Including $1,000.
That video was quickly removed. But the internet never forgets.
Hinn hasn’t given up the prosperity gospel. He just found a better marketing strategy for it.
