2nd Televangelist Refuses To Cooperate With Senate Investigation Into Shady Church Finances

AP:

A second Christian ministry is refusing to meet a Thursday deadline for a Senate investigation into preachers' salaries, perks and travel, The Associated Press has learned.

Benny Hinn of World Healing Center Church Inc. and Benny Hinn Ministries of Grapevine, Texas, said in a statement to the AP on Thursday that he will not respond to the inquiry until next year.

Read the whole story: AP

Comments

[Harrier]

Here in California, I thought it was amazing when Shuller made the Crystal Cathedral. That guy spend more effort an money trying to raise money just to support the Cathedral, than on actually spending that time talking about god and religion.

Now we are seeing others have private jets. Tell me that's something that is within the scope of religion

[smokeystover39]

I am flabbergasted that many of the bloggers on this site who I would consider rational and supporters of the rule of law would encourage Congress to investigate Benny Hinn and his like. Up front I believe Hinn, Haggart, Swaggert, Robertson and the like are con men at one extreme and criminals at the other extreme. In my humble opinion they are the money changers in the Temple whose sole goal is to enrich themselves BUT if we let Congress go on a fishing expedition against those who WE don't think are sincere representatives of God, it's only a short step to Congress investigating the Catholics, Jews or any of the Protestant denominations. Be very careful what you wish for because you just might get it. Let the market place take care of these bozos - where is Haggart or Swaggert today????

Congress has much more important work to do investigating the Bu$h thugocracy AND getting us out of Vietraq.

[Seath]

This is what Bush is going to do after he is caught - go into the ministry. In the first dictionary written by Johnson in England the defination of Patriotism was "...the last refuge of a scoundrel." Now days the last refuge for all rats that are caught is religion. I wonder where Hinn will go after he is exposed. The problem is that you have to catch them in some actionable crime. Just exposing them as greedy frauds to their congregations won't do it. The people who follow these sorts of crooks would never be bothered with by facts or reason.

[edresearcher]

These mega-preachers are really running corporations, not churches. Cheap American Christianity is their product and they justify anything they do by claiming that they're God's servants who preach the gospel to millions, saving souls from eternal damnation. So what's a little mansion or fleet of cars?

[ROADRUNNER DEM]

I'd like to know who paid the premiums for Jerry Falwell's $34 million life ins policy. And how does Pat Robertson get to own a Diamond in S. Africa & a race horse ($1mil)??
Then he has the nerve to cajole little old ladies & sweet young mothers to give of their incomes! They should give their tithes & offerings to a local church or a charity like the Salvation Army where people's real needs are met.
These thieves in fine clothing will have to answer to Almighty God one day!

[TovSquirrel]

Heretics all!

[loki]

I think these churches speak for themselves. A preacher becomes a multimillionaire, and all he does is preach to his flock. Just how did he get so wealthy? Its pretty obvious. Meyers from Missouri has had her tit in the ringer more than a few times, but the good lord has blessed her with unlimited funds from followers to afford a slew of attorneys. Hopefully one day they will see what she has really done, and how she really makes the millions. If someone were to do the things these people do, but not claim to be one of the Government approved religions, they would be in jail already.

[sparkandy]

Ah! A chance to rant! I HATE these phonies. I live in Oral Roberts territory, and that nest of snakes is just the tip of the iceberg. I swear, anyone who listens to these false prophets and gives money to them, needs to be lobotomized immediately. Let's nail the greedy bastards to the wall, take all their ill gotten gains, and give it to the poor. Then let's exile them to a desert island with no communication except notes in bottles and let them fight it out to see which one can screw the others the most.

[vitasackvillewesttexas]

look at the mega-churches in texas. supposedly robert hagee's office is more luxuriously appointed than the vatican! and joel osteen has $60 million of "his own money" to spend on a church. this is disgusting. beyond disgusting. gods should not need marketing departments. i remember sneaking in the dorm drunk and watching the faith healers hit people on the forhead and declare "HEALED" in a big faky shaky voice. carnival drifters have more class than any of these assclowns.

[itsnotmyfault]

You reap what you sow. Every single investigation into the Bush administration's illegal conduct has been met with a refusal to answer subpenas to testify or faulty claims of executive privilege or promises of unconditional pardons. The Bush ceaseless contempt for the rule of law and the constitution inevitably results in a total decay of our system of checks and balances and our judiciary, very much to the detriment of all of our citizens. Now these criminally inclined religious zealots feel even they can refuse to respond to the impotent demands of our United States Senate. How sad is that?

[RevMetheus]

Revoke tax exempt status for churches. Easy solution. Separation of church and state is one thing, but what does it have to do with paying taxes on property and revenue?

Not a damn thing.

[GQB]

Boy, don't these bastards change they tune about separation of church and state when they want to hide their fleecing of their flock.

[manndan]

Cool jacket Benny. Is it from the Ferdinand Marcos Collection?

[nomobull]

bush,huckabee and these guys are whom Jesus was refering to when he says get thee away i knew you not

[ROBOT8]

"Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise."

- James Madison

"Ecclesiastical establishments tend to great ignorance and corruption, all of which facilitate the execution of mischievous projects."

- James Madison

"The purpose of separation of church and state is to keep forever from these shores the ceaseless strife that has soaked the soil of Europe in blood for centuries."

- James Madison