By Earl Pike
One form of spiritual abuse that doesn’t get condemned nearly or vociferously enough can be found in what has been labeled the “prosperity gospel.” Briefly put, the prosperity gospel is the theologically indefensible notion that God wants you, those of you who truly believe in Him (I use the male pronoun here, as it is universally employed by prosperity gospel disciples), to prosper not only spiritually, but materially as well. In short, God wants you to be rich, or at least comfortably upper middle class.
I thought about this again this afternoon because I received a letter from Benny Hinn, who heads a ministry that bears his name in Irving, Texas. (How I received a letter from Mr. Hinn I can’t explain; I seem to be on a lot of odd lists.) His name may ring a bell: Hinn and a dozen other evangelists were summoned before a Senate Committee impaneled by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa back in 2007. Grassley was concerned about financial abuses in some of the better-known televangelist “ministries,” a concern, it turned out, with more than a little merit. According to Ministry Watch, a nonpartisan faith-based watchdog group that spotlights financial abuse in faith communities, the church business has been good to Hinn: “Personal perks for Hinn, family and his entourage include a $10 million seaside mansion; a private jet with annual operating costs of about $1.5 million; a Mercedes SUV and convertible, each valued at about $80,000; and what the church termed as “layovers” between crusades that included hotel bills ranging from $900 per night to royal suites that cost almost $3,000 for one night’s stay.” And that’s the short list.
http://www.liberalohioan.com/Pike-Prayer.html