1. Comment #20675 by dmcr35 on February 5, 2007 at 4:38 pm

It doesn't make me very proud to know this creep grew up in my hometown of Toronto.

Check the archive for "Benny Hinn" to view a great documentary by the CBC on this charlatan.

I'm really not sure that I have much simpathy for the believers in this episode.

Dave

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2. Comment #20684 by Pilot22A on February 5, 2007 at 6:04 pm

As Voltaire said:

"Religion began when the first scoundrel met the first fool."

If people want to give their money to this guy (and that is clearly what religion is about) then I have no sympathy for them.

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3. Comment #20689 by MIND_REBEL on February 5, 2007 at 7:27 pm

Think of all the money that could have been donated to science, instead of benny's new jet. This perfectly demonstrates the moral and ethical limitations of a capitalist society. People have so much money they waste them on fairytales instead of supporting the observation and understanding of the natural world.

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4. Comment #20694 by mintcheerios on February 5, 2007 at 9:28 pm

People who fall for Benny Hinn are not necessarily fools. Hopelessness and desperation make otherwise rational people vulnerable to ridiculous claims. If a pill that instantly cured AIDS came out and was $1.95 at any local pharmacy, there wouldn't be many AIDS patients lining up at a Benny Hinn crusade. Hinn is cleary taking advantage of people with chronic and terminal illnesses.

The problem is religion and the protection it gets from criticism. It is socially acceptable to a large extent to believe that Jesus can cure people through miracles. But because people will laugh at the idea of Zeus performing cures, it's no surprise that there aren't any successful faith healers who claim to get their powers from Mt. Olympus. If we could equate the absurdity of believing in Jesus to believing in Yoda, Christianity would fall apart like a stack of cards. The only way to do this is to open the doors to religious criticism.

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5. Comment #20712 by linck on February 6, 2007 at 4:37 am

I feel sorry for the people that are desperate and are being cheated so badly.

The worst of it is not the rip off and that the people are still sick or dying.
No, what winds me up is that they are told it is their own fault.
"Hey, God gave me the power to heal you. I channelled it and if it doesn't work it is purely down to your lack of believe. If you would really love Jesus he wouldn't let you suffer (but you are obviously not doing so)"

The parents of the boy that died of cancer now don't only have to deal with the fact that they lost a child but even more that it is their own fault. They had the chance to safe him but they screwed it up.

It is like the middle ages were sickness was regarded a punishment of god and the only "treatment" was to pray for forgiveness.

The "good old days" are coming back...

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6. Comment #20718 by Homo economicus on February 6, 2007 at 6:19 am

Said MIND_REBEL:
'This perfectly demonstrates the moral and ethical limitations of a capitalist society.'

No, it perfectly illustrates how desperate people will try anything for those they love, and that rationality goes out the window for some when their life is at stake.

The charlatan needs no economic or political system to flourish. Just willing people to pay him in the hope of a fix. That in Benny Hinn it is so blatant on such a scale you would hope more people would be ridiculing him and have him up for fraud.

Maybe the best hope would be a full tax audit?

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7. Comment #20742 by TeapotTheist on February 6, 2007 at 8:02 am

Homo economicus - it is clearly fraudulent. You say charlatans don't need a particular system to flourish, but don't you think a just system would put a stop to that kind of behavior?

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8. Comment #20789 by L.Minnik on February 6, 2007 at 2:21 pm

Sometimes I wonder how many clergymen actually believe everything they say.

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9. Comment #21525 by DL on February 9, 2007 at 7:07 pm

The documentary dmcr35 might be referring to can be seen here:

http://www.cbc.ca/fifth/main_miracles.html

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10. Comment #21803 by Old Coppernose on February 11, 2007 at 6:14 am

These gus are so off the wall I sometimes wonder if I am hallucinating. Did I really hear one guy say that Hinn had raised someone from the dead, and if anyone had someone in the home who had died recently, to lay the body in front of the TV during the broadast so they might come back to life???

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11. Comment #21844 by Flavius_Josephus on February 11, 2007 at 7:43 am

Hello Everyone!

I'm Brandon Burton, who along with Greg Tinkler were the ones who did this investigation about which we are posting. I must say that I'm not surprised to see Benny still around and going strong. And to comment on the statement by L.Minnik, I think they know exactly what they are doing. Most of them have previous criminal records as thieves, and con artists. Pick out 4 televangelists, and search their backgrounds... you will find all kinds of scary stuff. I'm planning a new investigation here in Illinois, where we have a "faith healer" who was in the news not too long ago. I'll let The Infidel Guy know about this upcoming investigation as well. This time, we have micro cameras and mics... fun stuff!!

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