Churches wary of evangelist's visit

Fiji Times/January 17, 2006

Two local Baptist churches have warned people not to blindly accept Benny Hinn's Miracle Crusade.

Pastor Ryan Gray of the Victory Baptist Church in Suva said people should not blindly accept Mr Hinn but should check on his ministry.

"We are showing audio and visual footage of Mr Hinn's ministry at our church and it clearly shows that his practices are questionable," Mr Gray said.

"The footage shows that his teachings are contrary to what the Bible says and people should check what he does against the Bible," he said.

Mr Gray said there was a good turnout on Sunday night and those who attended, saw the "true picture" of Mr Hinn.

"The Trinity Foundation, which is a Christian watchdog in the United States, had carried out an investigation into Mr Hinn and it has found that he was indeed dubious."

"For 13 years, the foundation has been investigating him and it has found that Mr Hinn's ministry should not be classed as a religious ministry because it does not operate like a church."

Mr Gray said people needed to be warned because a lot of people would be giving money toward the crusade.

"It was found that in America there could be anything more than $2million collected in one crusade and he would do the same here — take the money and leave."

Pastor Navi Bola of the Liberty Baptist Church in Ba said he had raised his concerns regarding Mr Hinn to the Government but nothing had been done about it.

"I have DVDs which shows Mr Hinn's false healings because people had actually died after they were supposedly healed by Mr Hinn," Mr Bola said.

"I for one am concerned that a lot of people would be deceived by Mr Hinn because some people have actually saved money to give to the crusade."

Mr Bola said people should be informed about Mr Hinn before the crusade so they can make their own conclusion on whatever they will witness.

In December, Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase said the Government would providing VIP security for Mr Hinn.

He said the Government had offered to foot Mr Hinn's security bill because he was an important figure.

However, the Methodist Church said Mr Hinn didn't need protection because he already had divine protection.