Prosperity gospel makes people have 'false hope and fear', says Benny Hinn's nephew

(Photo: Unsplash/Alexander Mils)

Following the prosperity gospel leads people astray by causing them to have "false hope" and live in the fear that if they stop giving the preacher their money, they will not experience their miracle, says Costi Hinn. 

The nephew of Benny Hinn continued his campaign against the prosperity gospel in a recent Gospel Coalition podcast in which he said that "health and wealth" teaching was deceiving "ignorant" people. 

"False hope and fear are probably the two biggest products," he said.

"You got the false hope part, we all understand that when it comes to the prosperity gospel, but the other one, the fear of God or fear is, you know, even if I'm waiting on getting my miracle, I'm staying under the anointed umbrella and the protection of this anointed man or woman of God, by submitting to them and giving my money."

Hinn, who worked in his uncle's ministry for years before quitting and denouncing his teaching, went on to liken believing in the prosperity gospel to investing in a protection racket. 

"Either way, whether you're just wanting a miracle, or you're just wanting to stay protected while you wait for your miracle, you got to pay to play," he said. 

The attraction, he explained, though, is that it delivers exactly the kind of message people want to hear. 

"A message that says, 'I'm going to be blessed, and my kids aren't going to have cancer, and nobody's going to be sick.' I mean, that is something that every person wants, we naturally seek comfort. We don't want pain," he said.

Discussing ways to counteract the prosperity gospel, he advised Christians to anchor their own faith in the truth before trying to reach out to people who are caught up in false teaching. 

"Don't stay in the holy huddle," he said.

"I'm not trampling on biblical separation where we're in the world, but not of it. I'm not saying go and attend a prosperity gospel church, because you'll infiltrate that, that's not wise.

"Stay on the shoreline, stay on safe ground and throw the rope to those that are in the whitewater going over the waterfall. Get yourself secure, understand the gospel, arm yourself with truth and then throw the rope of rescue to others."