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Benny Hinn and John MacArthur are human beings

Benny Hinn and John MacArthur are human beings

Last updated on: May 17, 2024 at 11:30 am by Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH

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Benny Hinn and John MacArthur are human beings 2024-05-17T11:30:44-04:00 Olapeju Simoyan, MD, MPH

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Televangelist Benny Hinn smiling

Benny Hinn – Photo courtesy Benny Hinn Ministries

“I’m a human being. I’ve made mistakes. I let pressure get to me. And because of that pressure, I said things and did things I should not have done. And for that, really, I am sorry.”

Benny Hinn, apologizing for his mistakes, including prophecies that “were not from the Lord.”

In an interview with The Strang Report, the world famous televangelist and faith healer, Benny Hinn, stated that his main regrets were endorsing the prosperity gospel and giving prophecies that were not accurate. The apology appears to have been a response to a 4- hour YouTube video in which Mike Winger, another preacher, does an exposé of Benny Hinn’s ministry. This certainly isn’t the first time Benny Hinn has apologized.

“Done with the prosperity gospel”

“I think it’s an offence to the Lord; it’s an offence to say give $1,000. It’s an offense to the Holy Spirit to place a price on the Gospel. I’m done with it. I will never again ask you to give 1,000 or whatever amount, because I think the Holy Ghost is just fed up with it.”

That was in 2019. Hinn’s words then indicated that he had been convicted that the prosperity gospel was false, describing it as “manipulation and gimmickry.” He was certainly correct about the manipulation and gimmickry part. Yet, he appears to have reverted to those same tactics shortly thereafter. Earlier this year (2024), while in Kenya, Hinn said:

“If they will do what I preached on, Kenya will be the richest nation on earth, not just in Africa.”

(It seems Kenyans didn’t do what he asked them to, since they are not the richest nation in the world or even in Africa).

If this apology gives anyone a sense of déjà vu, it might be because Benny Hinn made the following statements to Pat Robertson on the 700 Club in 1993:

…… “Sadly, …..I’ve taken a detour in my life…. I’m not proud of it….…. I was wrong – I was seeking prosperity.…..In the Scriptures….we find poor saints. The Lord wasn’t rich; the apostles were not rich, but God takes care of His own. But prosperity has a whole different meaning now out there in many circles. It means money …. big cars, big homes….. worldly wealth – that’s not biblical. The Bible’s definition of prosperity is where God is taking care of you as he takes care of the lilies and the birds of the air……”

Once again, Hinn was right about what constitutes true prosperity according to the Bible.

Video and audio clips, along with detailed commentary, can be viewed at this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbbW2L8GFFs

John MacArthur, another prominent preacher, has spoken out against Hinn in the past. People outside of specific ministries generally don’t have a problem calling preachers out, but one can’t help being concerned for those within ministries who believe that they can’t speak out against their leaders for fear of speaking against the “men of God.” The problem with “celebrity preachers” is that their followers tend to place them on pedestals. The lack of accountability and hero worship contribute create unhealthy environments, often with harmful consequences.

Pastor John MacArthur in a blue suit

Pastor John MacArthur
Photo courtesy -The Master’s University

“MacArthur saved me from the prosperity preachers”

John MacArthur himself is no stranger to controversy. A few years ago, during the pandemic, a blogger was repeating statements John MacArthur had made, including denial of the pandemic. A commentator cautioned the blogger about quoting MacArthur with regards to a specific issue and the blogger’s response was that MacArthur had saved him from the likes of Kenneth Hagin (meaning Pentecostal preachers, of which Benny Hinn is one). The blogger stated, very confidently, that MacArthur wouldn’t lead him astray, essentially stating that he could trust anything that MacArthur said. This person had left the Pentecostal (prosperity) preachers only to transfer the hero worship to MacArthur.

With the pandemic behind us, John MacArthur has recently been in the news again, this time for denying the existence of mental illnesses, which he described as “noble lies.” He has received a lot of criticism for those statements, but, as can be expected, some people have felt the need to defend him.

To err is human

John MacArthur and Benny Hinn are human beings like the rest of us. They make mistakes, whether they acknowledge them or not. One might wonder why Benny Hinn still has so many followers, given that he has apologized for misleading people in the past, only to revert to those same tactics. We can only hope and pray that this latest apology is sincere.

John MacArthur says there is no such thing as PTSD, ADHD and OCD. I have addressed this in a separate essay. I wish I could tell him that Eileen Gray may very well have PTSD after her experience of being in an abusive marriage, only to be publicly shamed by the church for leaving her abusive husband. Her children probably have PTSD from being sexually abused by their own father, (a staff member at John MacArthur’s church), who eventually went to prison for aggravated child molestation, corporal injury to a child, and child abuse.

People make mistakes and should be given room to acknowledge them and make amends. Let’s hope and pray that Benny Hinn’s most recent apology will be followed by real change. We can also pray that John MacArthur will have the humility to acknowledge that he doesn’t understand mental illness and make the effort to educate himself. Wouldn’t it be great if he would apologize to Eileen Gray and her children for the way they were treated by the church?

“No one’s prayers are better than mine”

Pastors are not God and people need to stop elevating them to a superhuman status. Several years ago, a friend of mine stated boldly:

“No one’s prayers are better than mine!”

That was such a confident statement, especially given the environment we were in at the time when our church leaders were placed on pedestals. She understood that she was just as important to God as any preacher. I hope those who feel they owe blind allegiance to Benny Hinn, John MacArthur and other spiritual leaders will recognize that no matter how much time they (the preachers) spend preaching, studying the Bible, or performing miracles, at the end of the day, they are just as human as the rest of us.

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