Pentecostal Benny Hinn Says Catholics Have More Miracles, Credits Eucharist
This is a bit unexpected.
A video is being shared around on social media (watch it at the bottom of this article) of Pentecostal preacher and supposed faith-healer Benny Hinn telling a Pentecostal audience that Catholics experience more miracles than Pentecostals. Amazingly, he credits this to the Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, which Hinn says he also affirms (at least a version of it). He also credits the fact that Catholics don’t “church hop” (or jump for church to church) as much as Pentecostals.
“They just released a study that more people are healed in a Catholic church than in Pentecostal churches,” Hinn tells his audience. It’s not clear what study he is referring to. “The studies have proven it,” he declares.
He then explains why he thinks that is the case: “Because Catholic people revere the Eucharist.
“More people get healed in a Catholic church during communion than Pentecostals… because to us it’s symbolic.”
He then defends the doctrine of the real presence: “Well Jesus didn’t say, ‘This is symbolic of body,’ he said, ‘This is my body’; [he didn’t say,] ‘This is symbolic of my blood,’ he said, ‘This is my blood.'”
“And I believe, I always have believed, that in the Spirit it is his body, in the Spirit its hid blood, so you revere it. There’s healing in communion. Absolutely, I’ve seen it happen in my own ministry.”
It’s important to note that Catholics believe in transubstantiation, which says that the bread and wine truly become Jesus in substance, not simply spiritually. In saying he believes the bread and wine becomes Jesus’ body and blood “in the Spirit,” Hinn appears to be affirming something different than the Catholic doctrine.
He then points to the relative lack of “church hopping” among Catholics: “And there’s healing in the Catholic churches because these people are devoted and show up every Sunday. They don’t church hop. We hop, they don’t. That’s why we’re sick, and many of them are healed.”
He then goes on to talk about miracles he’s seen in Coptic Christian communities, saying that they have miracles for similar reasons as Catholics.
Other than the fact that he’s addressing a Pentecostal audience, it’s not clear when or where the video was taken.
Here’s the clip:
What do you think this means for Benny Hinn? Let us know in the comments!
[See also: “It’s My Body”: How Abortion is the Opposite of the Eucharist]
[See also: 5 Extraordinary Eucharistic Miracles that Left Physical Evidence (With Pictures!)]