Comments on: Benny Hinn, blessedness, and Benedict

By: Gentle Wisdom» Blog Archive » Benny Hinn is being divorced

Gentle Wisdom» Blog Archive » Benny Hinn is being divorced — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:24:29 +0000

[...] my blog for news about televangelist Benny Hinn’s divorce. I wrote about Benny before, here, but with no mention of divorce. But if people are looking here for news, I will give them some, [...]

By: Peter Kirk

Peter Kirk — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:15:06 +0000

Chris, I doubt if Benny will take his private jet with him when he retires, or God forbid has to resign as Todd Bentley did last year. I’m sure the jet belongs to his ministry organisation, which is almost certainly “incorporated under laws that make it more akin to a charity than a company”.

I guess Benny or his staff had tried to resolve the issue before he tried again. Perhaps they provided a letter of invitation but for some reason it wasn’t acceptable.

By: Chris E

Chris E — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:58:35 +0000

Peter –

I doubt if the Archbish will take his palace with him when he leaves office – as it belongs to his office and not his person. , his ministry is incorporated under laws that make it more akin to a charity than a company – and even CEOs have spending limits – which is why it doesn’t pay taxes.

And it’s interesting that he apparently tried to fly into Britain twice – once after being refused entry.

By: Colin Heath

Colin Heath — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:01:33 +0000

You may be right Peter. Perhaps we both have unanswered not quite rhetorical questions on Papal status. I am also unsighted on the nature and history of the Vatican’s position as a state. I am not clear how much it really compares to nations as normally understood. Whether it is a wordly or other wordly state may be an arguable point!

His predecassor’s 1982 visit was a pastoral visit to his flock. I cannot remeber who issued the invitation.

By: Peter Kirk

Peter Kirk — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:55:40 +0000

Chris, Benny Hinn is the CEO of a large (non-profit-making) company, and he is certainly not an average minister. When the Archbishop of Canterbury, CEO of the Church of England, gives up his palace on prime real estate on the Thames that will be the time when Anglicans can reasonably criticise Hinn.

Kevin, I’m not quite sure what vows Pope Benedict has taken. He’s a priest, not a monk. But he hardly appears to live modestly. Surely he and his entourage travel by private jet (owned by the Vatican, I suppose), just like Benny Hinn does (in a plane probably owned by the ministry organisation he heads). And the Pope’s palaces are certainly bigger than Benny Hinn’s. This isn’t criticism of the Pope, just a suggestion that people are using double standards in criticising the other Benny.

Colin, I think the Pope counts as a Head of State and so has special diplomatic status. I don’t know if that means he needs an invitation. But that special status should be objectionable to us Christians at least if we believe that the church is not to be identified with a worldly state.

By: Colin Heath

Colin Heath — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:26:53 +0000

A facetious thought. While the Vatican is a “state” in its own right, does the Pope as a citizen of that state count as an EU citizen. IF that is the case and in the absence of other circunstances, is not the start point is that he has a free right of entry to the UK so does not need an invitation.? Courtesy will mean that in practice he will receive one.

I do not feel informed enough to comment on Benny Hinn at this point.

By: Kevin Sam

Kevin Sam — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:46:30 +0000

The difference between the two Benedicts is that Pope Benedict has taken a vow of poverty or at least to live modestly, whereas, Benny has not. A vow of poverty tends to promote a certain measure of honor and respect.

By: Chris E

Chris E — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 12:28:16 +0000

Actually Peter, I’ve generally found that most people who support Hinn aren’t aware of the documented bits of his lifestyle, and simply see their giving as ‘helping his ministry’. His own explanation is to compare himself to the CEO of a large company.

And the day that the average Anglican Minister starts to stay in the most expensive hotel suite in Europe will be the day that an equivalency can be usefully drawn.

Still, if you want to strain at gnats and swallow camels that is rather up to you

By: Peter Kirk

Peter Kirk — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 08:48:50 +0000

Chris, I take your point. Hinn’s lifestyle is hardly a secret, so donors are not being misled. And they choose voluntarily to give to an organisation that offers limited accountability. Meanwhile the ways in which a Church of England diocese (the body which takes a large proportion of church collections and pays clergy out of it) is accountable to donors are somewhat indirect and tenuous.

Many Anglican priests, especially those working in poor areas, are perceived as living lifestyles an order of magnitude more lavish than many of their congregation. That’s probably not as true as it used to be, but they still often live in the largest house in the parish (although it does have to double as an office). So the difference is still not huge.

By: Chris E

Chris E — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 00:20:51 +0000

There are two differences that immediately spring to mind; Firstly, I presume Doug is in some way, accountable to his own congregation, and thus accountable to the people who are eventually funding his work. Secondly, the scale of compensation does make a difference, especially when the one raising the funds lives a lifestyle that is an order of magnitude more lavish than the majority of his donors.