Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Principia · 12-27-2002, 05:04 PM

The NBC show has a sort of undercover-expose-the-fraud kind of segment on Benny Hinn. I don't know if this is the right forum, but hey, I thought people might be interested.

Methos · 12-27-2002, 06:05 PM

I assume that you mean tonight's Dateline. I'll have to remember to turn it on in two hours.

Methos

beoba · 12-27-2002, 06:14 PM

Didn't know Dateline still did news.
</rant>

<3 the BBC

Vicar Philip · 12-27-2002, 06:20 PM

I'm watching it now, looks pretty good! I love hidden camera shit. Especially when it shows the phoniness of a charlatan.

Vicar

Vicar Philip · 12-27-2002, 07:09 PM

Well, no real surprises. Still pretty entertaining though.

The really depressing thing about it is that no matter how many of these undercover pieces they do, the gullible and naive already entrenched with this scam artist will only increase in their "faith." Very sad.

Ah well, 'tisn't me anymore. God holds no sway over THESE bones.

Principia · 12-27-2002, 07:11 PM

In case people miss the segment, here's the website from MSNBC describing Benny Hinn's quackery:

Quote:

At all of his live crusades, Benny Hinn proclaims a breath-taking litany of miraculous healing. Pastor Benny has said that everyone who gets up on his platform has been checked by a doctor. His ministry also claims it has a follow up process with people afterwards that it describes as �exhaustive� and �thorough,� and that medical information it collects is reviewed first by a nurse, then by a doctor.
So we wanted to find out how that process works and which of those claims of miracles actually can be verified. We thought a good place to start would be with the ministry itself. Last year, we asked Benny Hinn to help us confirm the 56 healings we counted at just one of his crusades � the one in Las Vegas.
[...]
But if Hinn knows the full story about who was healed in Las Vegas, he�s not sharing it with us. In a letter from its lawyer, the ministry refused to provide proof of any of those healings to �Dateline.�
So since the ministry wouldn�t give us any information, we did some checking of our own about Las Vegas, and other reported healings.
Remember the woman we met in Las Vegas who said she�d been cured of lung cancer? With our hidden camera, we were able to go back stage to her follow-up interview.
Hinn staffer: �Now, what happened tonight that makes you feel God touched you?�
She did speak to a Hinn staff member, but it�s hard to know how from this conversation alone he could have known whether she was cured of cancer, or even if she had it in the first place.
Staffer: �That primary tumor can be one cell.�
She was asked a few questions, but it didn�t appear to us that there was any medical examination.
Staffer: �Keep trusting God. Follow it up with your physicians. Thank you so much. The Lord bless you all.�
Unfortunately, there�s one thing we were able to determine about this woman without the ministry�s help. She died two and a half months after the crusade. The cause was lung cancer.
And then there was Evander Holyfield�s heart ailment � which seemed to disappear after that crusade in 1994 � touted as one of pastor Benny�s greatest healing successes.
When Holyfield then won his world title back, it seemed a storybook ending � except for one problem. According to the Nevada Athletic Commission, two different clinics determined that Holyfield had been misdiagnosed. His doctor had been given incomplete information about his condition. In other words, there was nothing seriously wrong with Holyfield�s heart in the first place. But three years later, pastor Benny was still claiming credit for the champ�s miraculous healing.
On the �Larry King� show with Pastor Benny, he was aksed: �Evander Holyfield credits you with curing his heart problem, although doctors said that maybe it was misread in the first place.�
Hinn: �God healed him in one of our crusades, yeah.�
Evander Holyfield had no comment through his lawyer.

LOL

EDIT: to link to part 1 of the transcript, rather than part 2.

Debbie T · 12-27-2002, 07:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Vicar Philip
Well, no real surprises. Still pretty entertaining though.

The really depressing thing about it is that no matter how many of these undercover pieces they do, the gullible and naive already entrenched with this scam artist will only increase in their "faith." Very sad.

Ah well, 'tisn't me anymore. God holds no sway over THESE bones.

I am still waiting to see it in my Time Zone but it sounds like it will be good.

SharonDee · 12-27-2002, 07:22 PM

Well, I was disappointed. This episode didn't need to be two hours long. Hospitals overcharging for gobbledygook charges? **yawn** Computer sales bait 'n' switch going on? Ya don't say... By the time I realized that the show was going to be two hours long, with the last hour dedicated to Hinn (and they rehashed what they'd just said before the commercial break each time they returned from one), I felt that NBC's hidden camera promise fell far short of the mark in helpful reporting and plain entertainment value.

I could've been reading... I knew better than to look for quality television from the networks. I should have picked up one of those books I got for Christmas.

butswana · 12-28-2002, 06:53 AM

I busted out laughing when people started hitting the deck. That was great. This guy is a real piece of shit. A real rich piece of shit.
Unfortunately, a lot of people react like that woman did. "He's doing Gawds' work. Leave him alone."

Sabine Grant · 12-28-2002, 07:38 AM

I did not see the segment on Dateline but I am grateful that this man is being exposed for his fraudulous claims.
It has been a mystery to me as a christian how so many believers have not discerned thru their self proclaimed direction from the Holy Spirit the actual phoniness and absence of Christlikeness in the character and appearance of Benny Hinn.
The man oozes lies and deception. He is a disgrace to the character of Christ. Exploiting faith . Joining the clan of heavenly zapped pharisees who claim to be anointed to do God's work. They exercise such fascination on those crowds of misled believers still looking for miracles and signs, drifting further and further away from the message of Christ.

If any of the questions I have seen raised about the character of the christian god in this forum by non theists, there is one I want to ask my God.... " why are those folks, your people too, remaining blind to the real character of the Benny Hinns....they have your word as I do....they should know you thru Christ...you warned them of the coming of false prophets....why?"

Some of us christians have the duty to bring awareness to other christians as to the reality of those phonies. Any theist out there who believes Benny is the real thing.... I will take you on PM and compare his character to Christ's.
There is not much a non theist can do to help a theist discern the phoniness of a Benny Hinn. Unfortunatly you can only be accused of attacking God.
There is so much of the evils of christianity to be undone. It is not too late.
We are not brave enough. We should be able to face a crowd and denounce the fakes, phonies and frauds.
I am awaiting other christians' comments.... are we guilty of passivity and apathy? can we change that and how? can we reach the Benny Hinn's crowds?

12-27-2002, 05:04 PM	#1
Principia Veteran Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: anywhere Posts: 1,976	Benny Hinn on Dateline The NBC show has a sort of undercover-expose-the-fraud kind of segment on Benny Hinn. I don't know if this is the right forum, but hey, I thought people might be interested.

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12-27-2002, 06:05 PM	#2
Methos Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Southern California Posts: 45	I assume that you mean tonight's Dateline. I'll have to remember to turn it on in two hours. Methos

12-27-2002, 06:14 PM	#3
beoba Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Boston Posts: 699	Didn't know Dateline still did news. </rant> <3 the BBC

12-27-2002, 06:20 PM	#4
Vicar Philip Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Cozy little chapel of me own Posts: 1,162	I'm watching it now, looks pretty good! I love hidden camera shit. Especially when it shows the phoniness of a charlatan. Vicar

12-27-2002, 07:09 PM	#5
Vicar Philip Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Cozy little chapel of me own Posts: 1,162	Well, no real surprises. Still pretty entertaining though. The really depressing thing about it is that no matter how many of these undercover pieces they do, the gullible and naive already entrenched with this scam artist will only increase in their "faith." Very sad. Ah well, 'tisn't me anymore. God holds no sway over THESE bones.

12-27-2002, 07:22 PM	#8
SharonDee Regular Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: the Bible Belt (TN hole) Posts: 317	Well, I was disappointed. This episode didn't need to be two hours long. Hospitals overcharging for gobbledygook charges? yawn Computer sales bait 'n' switch going on? Ya don't say... By the time I realized that the show was going to be two hours long, with the last hour dedicated to Hinn (and they rehashed what they'd just said before the commercial break each time they returned from one), I felt that NBC's hidden camera promise fell far short of the mark in helpful reporting and plain entertainment value. I could've been reading... I knew better than to look for quality television from the networks. I should have picked up one of those books I got for Christmas.

12-28-2002, 06:53 AM	#9
butswana Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN Posts: 1,804	I busted out laughing when people started hitting the deck. That was great. This guy is a real piece of shit. A real rich piece of shit. Unfortunately, a lot of people react like that woman did. "He's doing Gawds' work. Leave him alone."

12-28-2002, 07:38 AM	#10
Sabine Grant Talk Freethought Staff Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Florida Posts: 32,364	I did not see the segment on Dateline but I am grateful that this man is being exposed for his fraudulous claims. It has been a mystery to me as a christian how so many believers have not discerned thru their self proclaimed direction from the Holy Spirit the actual phoniness and absence of Christlikeness in the character and appearance of Benny Hinn. The man oozes lies and deception. He is a disgrace to the character of Christ. Exploiting faith . Joining the clan of heavenly zapped pharisees who claim to be anointed to do God's work. They exercise such fascination on those crowds of misled believers still looking for miracles and signs, drifting further and further away from the message of Christ. If any of the questions I have seen raised about the character of the christian god in this forum by non theists, there is one I want to ask my God.... " why are those folks, your people too, remaining blind to the real character of the Benny Hinns....they have your word as I do....they should know you thru Christ...you warned them of the coming of false prophets....why?" Some of us christians have the duty to bring awareness to other christians as to the reality of those phonies. Any theist out there who believes Benny is the real thing.... I will take you on PM and compare his character to Christ's. There is not much a non theist can do to help a theist discern the phoniness of a Benny Hinn. Unfortunatly you can only be accused of attacking God. There is so much of the evils of christianity to be undone. It is not too late. We are not brave enough. We should be able to face a crowd and denounce the fakes, phonies and frauds. I am awaiting other christians' comments.... are we guilty of passivity and apathy? can we change that and how? can we reach the Benny Hinn's crowds?

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