Karnataka court gives permission, but trip is off.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Under fire for allegedly bringing a “hidden agenda” with him, famed evangelist Benny Hinn has cancelled his trip to Bangalore.
Hinn was scheduled to be in the city from January 15-19, hosting an elaborate religious-based function at the Jakkur Airfield. Hindu groups, however, protested Hinn’s forthcoming appearance there, saying that the Christian religious leader was coming solely to try and convert people, and should therefore be prevented from stirring up trouble.
Several non-religious groups also objected to Hinn’s visit, saying that he is fraudulent and should not be trusted in his pursuit of spreading faith to unsuspecting people. Along with the Hindu groups, they have been urging the Karnataka High Court for several weeks to block Hinn’s visit.
On January 10, the Karnataka High Court said they would allow the visit, but made certain that specific police precautions were put in place to protect Hinn. Now, it seems that Hinn and his backers would rather not deal with the trouble at all.
The televangelist is no stranger to controversy. Several news outlets and documentary filmmakers, including one from HBO in 2001 entitled A Question of Miracles, have said that Hinn’s supposed miracle-working is nothing more than a scam.
His orthodoxy has been brought into question, and he has made several overtly controversial statements throughout his career, such as that all homosexuals in the US will die and that the world would end in 1992 (and then later in 1999). He has also been the subject of a Senate investigation.
Born in1952 in Israel, Hinn and his family moved to Canada following the Arab-Israeli war of 1967. He moved to Orlando, Florida in 1983, and began his “miracle crusades” shortly thereafter. He launched his own daily talk-show in the 1990s called “This is Your Day,” in which he claimed to perform fantastic miracles, such as healing incurable diseases, on-air for millions of Americans to watch.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com