Faith
Healers or Fake Healers?
By Rev. Keith
Gibson
Among the celebrities
in the Word Faith Movement, none is more well known
than Benny Hinn. From his lavish life-style to his on-stage
performances, Benny Hinn has become the modern stereotype
of the faith healers, even providing at least partial
inspiration for Steve Martin’s character in the
movie Leap of Faith. Hinn claims that thousands have
been healed in his crusades. There have even been claims
of the dead being raised. But when pressed for documentation,
the ministry has been woefully unable to provide much,
if any, evidence for these assertions. Despite years
of exposé’s by both Christian and secular
sources alike, his ministry continues to have thousands
of ardent followers. It is estimated by various sources
that his organization takes in over one hundred million
dollars per year, though this amount is disputed and
is impossible to verify as the ministry refuses to publicly
disclose its finances.
The purpose of
this article will be to take another look at faith healing
by focusing on the ministry of Benny Hinn and attempting
to evaluate his results. Undoubtedly, some will see
this article as simply “anti-charismatic.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. There is no
intent to disparage any branch of Christianity. It is
essential, however, that Christians test those who claim
to speak for God and who claim a special anointing from
God (cf. 1 John 4:1; 1 Cor. 14:29). It is hoped that,
by looking at Hinn’s ministry, discernment may
be gained for evaluating other purported faith healers
as well. It is certain that we have not seen the last
of them.
What Is
a Miracle?
As we begin to evaluate the claims of Benny Hinn, we
must first determine the boundaries for ascertaining
a true miracle. Often, in articles of this sort, the
assumption is made that a general consensus exists regarding
what constitutes a miraculous event. However, the word
itself has become so commonplace in modern usage as
to simply indicate a stroke of good fortune. But a true
miracle is more than an unusual, fortuitous event. Webster’s
Dictionary defines a miracle as, “an extraordinary
event manifesting a supernatural work of God.”
(1) Norman Geisler similarly defines
a miracle as, “a special act of God in the world,
a supernatural interference into nature, a special divine
intervention.” (2) He further
goes on to state, “A miracle is not simply an
extraordinary event but one that would not have occurred
without special divine intervention.” (3)
This definition
of miracles is significant for evaluating modern faith
healers, including Hinn. It may be conceded that many
sick and hurting people leave the crusades feeling better,
but this is not the same as saying that they have been
cured miraculously. There are numerous possible explanations
for apparent healings as we will see.
Comparison
to Christ
One way to evaluate whether or not ministers like Hinn
possess healing power would be to compare their miracles
to those of Christ. When this is done, striking differences
begin to appear. First, Christ healed specific individuals.
Never once do we read a passage where Jesus say’s
anything like,
A muscle condition
has been healed. I give you the praise. Just now lift
your hands and call upon His precious name, dear Jesus,
dear Jesus, dear Jesus. Sinuses have just been healed,
I give you praise. A neck injury has been healed,
I give you the praise. In the audience God is touching
people right now right here, the Lord is touching
many of you in this audience right here in this studio,
I give you praise Jesus. In your homes, many of you
are being healed. Someone’s shoulders have just
been released from pain, someone with a shoulder problem
has just been healed, I give you praise Jesus. (4)
Yet this is standard
fare among healers like Hinn who regularly stands at
the front of the auditorium and recites illnesses supposedly
being healed as though he is taking roll. Those who
think they are among the recipients of healing are then
invited to come to the front to testify.
It should be noted
too that all of this is carefully orchestrated by Hinn’s
associates. Many who are not considered a good healing
risk are restricted from access to Hinn. Dr. Stephen
Winzenburg, a professor at Grand View College in Des
Moines, Iowa has conducted research into evangelists’
ministries. Concerning Hinn, Dr. Winzenburg states,
“He’s very much like a circus ringmaster
when he’s there in the arena. People may be coming
for healing, but it’s very much controlled hysteria.”
(5)
Another difference
is that the miracles of Christ were immediate. Christ
never commands a follower to claim a healing that did
not occur or to go home confessing a healing and waiting
for it to materialize. But again, this is common in
Word Faith circles.
Those Jesus healed
did not relapse, either. But compare this to the case
of Ernestine Rodriguez of Santa Fe, NM who was pronounced
healed of brain cancer by Hinn during a 1992 broadcast.
Tests performed three weeks later demonstrated the cancer
remained. Hinn’s explanation on a later broadcast
was, “I do know this: Healing is received by and
must be kept by faith. There’s been the cases
where they’ve lost their healings.” (6)
Another example is Jordie Gibson, who determined to
stop kidney dialysis and fly to a Hinn crusade in Anaheim.
Gibson is still a believer and believes that he experienced
God’s healing power, though he has had to return
to dialysis. (7) Yet, never do we see
Jesus instructing those He has touched to maintain their
healing by faith.
Christ’s
healings were always successful. But listen to the story
of William Vandenkolk of Las Vegas as related in the
Los Angeles Times,
Sitting cross-legged
in front of a big-screen TV, the 11-year-old squints
through Coke-bottle glasses at a Miracle Crusade video
made more than two years ago in which he starred as
a boy who miraculously recovered from blindness. “I
liked it at first because I thought I was being healed,”
says Williams in the living room of his aunt and uncle’s
home. On the screen, Hinn bends down to William, his
hands on the child’s face. “Look at these
tears, “ says Hinn, peering into the child’s
eyes. “William, baby, can you see me?”
Before more than 15,000 people in a Las Vegas arena,
William nods. In a small voice, the boy says, “As
soon as God healed me, I could see better.”
Hinn, an arm wrapped around William, tells the audience
that God has told him to pay the child’s medical
expenses and education. People weep. Today William
is still legally blind and says his sight never improved,
and that his onstage comments were wishful thinking.”
Incidentally, the family has yet to receive any of
the promised money for medical or educational expenses.
(8)
An HBO special
documented Hinn’s crusade in Portland, Oregon.
On stage Hinn performed 76 alleged miracles. The documentary’s
producers asked the ministry for the names of the healed.
Thirteen weeks later, only five names were received.
Upon investigation, none had received an actual healing.
One of those was 10 year-old Ashmil Prakash who had
been stricken with two brain tumors. Despite the “healing”
pronounced by Hinn and the pledge made by his impoverished
parents to give thousands of dollars to Hinn’s
ministry, the child died seven weeks after the crusade.
(9)
Lastly, the healings
of Jesus were not psychosomatic. Jesus raised the dead
and gave sight to those born blind and lame. Despite
the claims, no good documentation exists that any of
today’s healers have done similar miracles. The
sad fact is they can’t even heal their own family
members. Hinn’s mother was diabetic and his father
died of cancer. (10) The stories of
other faith healers are similar.
What Is
Going On?
So what is one to make of all of the testimonies of
miraculous occurrences? What of all those who every
day are paraded on a host of shows on TBN and other
networks including Hinn’s own, This Is Your Day?
Several items must be considered by the discerning Christian.
1. Some of the
healings are psychosomatic. People whose primary problems
are psychosocial in nature respond positively to placebo
affects such as faith healers. In fact, the entire atmosphere
of the crusades is orchestrated to build to a climax
at the appearance of Hinn and the healing touch. Jesus
never had to set the mood in order to be able to work.
These emotionally charged events can have great impact
on those whose conditions are more psychological than
physical.
2. Many are not
healed at all. Having a person stand on stage and claim
to be healed of cancer or other ailment doesn’t
prove the healing has actually taken place. Such healings
should be verified by a qualified physician using proper
medical studies. These claims to healing can be the
result of:
Temporary euphoria-
many people are caught up in the moment. The adrenaline
rush and anticipation, even the excitement of being
in the presence of one considered so anointed, may
be enough to provide momentary relief. This is especially
true of conditions whose primary symptom is pain.
Positive Confession- what happens at these crusades
cannot be separated from a theology that teaches its
adherents they possess what they confess. In the belief
system of many of these people, to confess that they
are not yet healed would be to guarantee that they
wouldn’t receive it. Many of them are simply
confessing what they believe they will receive at
some point.
Hero Worship- There is tremendous desire on the part
of many of these participants not to embarrass the
healer. They believe so much in the person that they
will react as they are instructed, even when they
know it is not true. Consider the story of a woman
supposedly healed of blindness by Oral Roberts. When
instructed by Roberts onstage, “Tell us what’s
happening inside you.” She replied, “There-
There was a light.” However when interviewed
the next day she admitted that nothing had happened.
She stated simply, “I didn’t want to disappoint
him.” (11)
3. Some are outright
fakes. James Randi, a magician, in his book, Faith Healers,
documents many of the tactics used to deceive the gullible.
Some are as simple as placing staffers in the audience
who pretend to be healed. W.V. Grant would pull the
heel of one shoe out slightly to make it appear that
he was lengthening a leg. Peter Popoff received his
“Words of knowledge” through a transistor
in his ear through which his wife, via radio transmission,
instructed him as she read from cards collected by staffers.
Several faith healers have rented wheelchairs to use
as props. Some have even encouraged people who walked
into the crusade to sit in one of these chairs so they
could be taken up to the front to get a better view.
These same people were then pulled out of their wheelchairs
to the amazement of the crowds. (12)
The list of tricks is almost endless.
4. Some are natural
occurrences. The fact is that many illnesses get better
naturally. This is true regardless of the treatment
provided and sometimes without any treatment at all.
These, then, are not miraculous healings, but rather
the result of the wonderful way humans have been created
by an all-wise God. For instance, ninety percent of
all patients with low back pain will recover in approximately
six weeks regardless of whether the pain was caused
by a simple strain or a herniated, degenerative or bulging
disc. (13) Even cancer has been known
to have spontaneous remissions. These occur among believers
and unbelievers alike, people who were prayed for as
well as those who weren’t, and are presently without
medical explanation. (14)
Many people claim
that their healing began at a crusade and then occurred
gradually over time. But simply because a person got
better after seeing Benny Hinn does not mean the person
got better because of Benny Hinn. In logic, this is
referred to as the Post Hoc Fallacy (“After this;
therefore, because of this”). An example should
demonstrate the problem. A balding man may realize that
he didn’t begin to lose his hair until after he
had children. He may surmise from this that he lost
his hair because of his children and may genuinely believe
that to be the case. However, it is also possible, even
probable, that the man is losing his hair because of
his genetic make-up and would have lost his hair even
if he never had children. His children are merely incidental
to his hair loss but are not the cause. In the same
way, many who are “healed” at Hinn crusades
are simply experiencing the natural course of the body
healing itself. The visit to see Hinn was merely incidental
to their recovery and not the cause of it at all. The
recognition of true miracles demands tougher criteria.
5. Despite the
lack of evidence, the possibility should be left open
that some may be legitimately healed. As Justin Peters,
a Southern Baptist minister from Mississippi quoted
in the Los Angeles Times, says, “As much disdain
as I have for Benny Hinn, the vast majority of people
who see him are real Christians….When 25,000 people
are praying for God to heal them, it would be surprising
if God did not heal some.” (15)
Concerns
So what’s
the problem anyway? False hope is better than no hope
right? Maybe Benny can’t heal but who’s
he hurting? Perhaps we should just leave him alone.
But people are
hurt. False hope is actually devastating. Listen to
the words of Brian Darby who works with the handicapped
in Northern California: “You can’t minimize
the impact of not being healed on the person, the family,
the extended family….They have a sense of euphoria
at the crusade and then crash down.” (16)
The effect of not being healed can be terribly disillusioning.
However, healers such as Hinn can always deflect criticism
by blaming the sick for not having enough faith.
And what about
those who might stop taking essential medication thinking
they have been healed without medical verification?
On the September 30, 2003 episode of Hinn’s, This
Is Your Day, a young woman is brought to the platform
with what appears to be a blood sugar test kit. It is
referred to by Steve Brock as her diabetes “pack”.
After stating that God has healed her, she proceeds
to throw the pack down on the floor of the platform.
(17) Left untreated, diabetes can
cause a host of debilitating medical complications and
ultimately death. One sincerely hopes this young lady
visits her physician to verify her healing. Healings
of diseases such as diabetes and cancer cannot be validated
within the confines of the crusades. There is serious
concern for the welfare of many claiming healing.
There is also concern
for the Name of Christ and the reputation of the church.
The actions of Hinn and those like him bear little resemblance
to Christ’s as we have seen. When did Jesus ever
slay anyone in the Spirit? Would Christ throw his coat
on people to knock them down? Or blow on them? Despite
promises to reduce his theatrics, Hinn can be seen on
the same show referenced previously waving his hand
at the choir shouting, “Receive it!,” at
which point the entire choir falls. Hinn runs through
the front rows touching heads causing people to fall.
Are any of these actions even remotely reminiscent of
Christ? Flamboyant hucksters like Hinn who live in mansions
on the donations of the desperate bring reproach on
the name of Christ. Those who continue to blindly follow
these false teachers cause the church to appear gullible
in the eyes of the world and, indeed, far too many who
name the Name of Christ are just that.
As Christians,
we are a people of faith. There is an aversion to believing
that anyone who claims a relationship with Christ would
be anything less than honest and ethical. Additionally,
many Christians want to believe in healers like Hinn
as evidence that God is still at work. And indeed, God
is still a God of miracles. But biblical faith is not
blind or irrational. It is time for the people of God
to demand more than anecdotal stories from those claiming
the power of the apostles. While documentation of real
miracles is lacking, documentation of those who have
died at Hinn crusades, such as in Kenya, is not. (18)
The miracles of Christ and the apostles were real. The
same cannot be said for Benny Hinn and others like him.
Rev.
Keith Gibson
NOTES
1 Webster’s Illustrated Dictionary.
2 Norman Geisler, Signs and Wonders
, 24.
3 Ibid., 24.
4 See Sandy Simpson, Benny Hinn’s
Response to Dateline NBC, (November 1,2003) accessed
at www. deceptioninthechurch.com/hinndatelineresponse.html
which cites Hinn’s appearance on the Praise the
Lord TV program, December 29, 2002.
5 Kamon Simpson, “Benny Hinn:
faith healer or fraud?,” Kansas City Star (August
8, 2003). This article originally appeared in the Colorado
Springs Gazette.
6 G. Richard Fisher and M. Kurt Goedelman,
The Confusing World of Benny Hinn , 64-65. Emphasis
added.
7 William Lobdell, “The Price
of Healing,” L.A. Times Magazine (July 27, 2003).
8 Ibid.
9 M. Kurt Goedelman, Hinn, Bonnke Focus
of HBO Special, accessed at www.pfo.org/hinnhbo.
The special ran on Easter Sunday, 2001. Bonnke’s
crusade occurred in Nigeria and the results were worse
than Hinn’s. As Bonnke spoke invoking a fear of
witchcraft and evil spells, the crowd became frenzied
and 15 people were trampled to death trying to leave
the field.
10 Ibid.
11 Fisher and Goedelman, The Confusing
World of Benny Hinn, 111.
12 James Randi, The Faith Healers.
Chapters 5-14 are an in-depth look at a number of healing
ministries. Mr. Randi’s background as a magician
gives him a unique perspective from which to evaluate
these ministries. Randi’s organization has for
years offered $10,000.00 to anyone who can demonstrate
a true miracle which, to date, has never had to be paid
out.
13 “Treatment of Low Back Pain,”
internet article posted in 2000 found at Spine-health.com.
14 Geisler, Signs and Wonders, 56.
15 Lobdell, “The Price of Healing.”
16 Ibid.
17 This incident, as well as other
troubling cases, can be viewed by visiting Benny Hinn’s
ministry website and viewing past broadcasts of This
is Your Day.
18 See Personal Freedom Outreach Journal
(2000), accessed from their website at www.pfo.org/four-die.htm.
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