Benny Hinn Stays Eastern Orthodox

[MerryPrankster]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benny_Hinn

Notorious televangelist Benny Hinn was born in the Middle East to an Eastern Orthodox family and converted to Pentecostalism after his family emigrated to Canada following the Six Day War.

What if he had never converted?

I imagine he'd live a quiet, more normal life, and the American religious scene would be likewise.

Given his false prophecies and general weirdness, there might be fewer people "turned off" to Christianity as a result, but given his evangelicalism, there might be fewer Christians in the first place. There would also be fewer orphans being cared for since, to his credit, he has done that too.

(The overall purpose of the OP can also be fulfilled by having his family dying in the Six Day War or never emigrating.)

 

[The Wandering Poet]

Unless we take the ultimate everything is different form of butterfly worship... Benny Hinn not being around will certainly have a positive effect on British Pentecostalism, as he is the butt of many a Brittish Assembly of God Ministers sermon on why you should not watch televangelists.

As for the greater effect, it would be positive as it gets rid of another one of the great prechers that arer in favour of the "prosperity gospel" so ultimately I'd say you would have a net gain as you lose less people to that false cult.

Note: To any non-Christian looker on, the "prosperity gospel" is the name for the teaching of many very rich televagelists which preaches either/both that God will make you rich financially if you donate to their cause and/or if you are poor you are clearly a sinner, while if you are rich God is rewarding you for being so holy and faithfully to him.

Countless lives have been ruined by that false teaching, with many a family broken, job lost & poverty arising due to the following of the false teachers of the "prosperity gospel!"

 

[MerryPrankster]

You'd really love the book The Kingdom of the Cults.

It has a whole chapter dedicated to the "Word-Faith Movement" in which it states that although most people involved in that ideology are truly Christian (as opposed to JWs, the Unification Church, etc.), the WFM and prosperity ideology are grossly unbiblical.

That chapter is also incredibly funny due to all the insane things these people have said.

 

[The Wandering Poet]

You'd really love the book The Kingdom of the Cults.

It has a whole chapter dedicated to the "Word-Faith Movement" in which it states that although most people involved in that ideology are truly Christian (as opposed to JWs, the Unification Church, etc.), the WFM and prosperity ideology are grossly unbiblical.

That chapter is also incredibly funny due to all the insane things these people have said.

My mum has got a copy of it (not that I've read it yet.)

The Guy who is in charge of the Assmeblies of God Scotland, Andrew Smith, who hails from my town, reguallary preaches against it...

He likes to use the famous story of a farmer who lost his family and crops because he kept listening to the televagelist who said that you had to believe for the blessing and so he would recieve it and that to act on it before the right time would be sinning... the poor famer kept on waiting until by the time the televangelist announced it was the "season of the harvest" the ealry frost had come and destroyed his crops. His wife and children left him as he refused to give up on the prosperity gospel, and he now works for keep in one of the televagnelists compainies... and refusing to see his family becuase they were not willing to wait for God's blessing.

Sad.

 

[John Farson]

For a second there I read his name as Benny Hill.

 

[TaetusPrimus]

Benny Hill would be a more trustworthy preacher than Benny Hinn. Instead of blowing on people to "slay them in the Spirit", he'd only go for women, and knock them down by pushing a certain body part. Hilarity would ensue.

Christianity in Crisis is a Protestant polemic against "Word-Faith' preaching.

 

[Orville_third]

This is one issue I fully agree with my parents on. I'm most certainly not a fan of the prosperity gospel, and it's been demolished thoroughly by people from all over the theological spectrum.

 

[EWHM]

For a second there I read his name as Benny Hill.

Most of the Christians I know hold Benny Hill in much higher esteem than Benny Hinn. The prosperity gospel is downright loathed in lower case o orthodox Christian circles. Benny Hill, on the other hand, simply causes chuckles and sometimes the rolling of eyes.