Does Jesus love you more if you send your pastor a thousand bucks?

In an interview on CNN, Costi Hinn, nephew of televangelist Benny Hinn, explains what changed his mind about heretical Word of Faith/prosperity/health & wealth teaching and why he now believes that, as a child, he was introduced to false teaching. Costi is now an outspoken critic of the prosperity gospel and speaks out against it. As a result, he is estranged from his family. The video is followed by an exposé on the Hinn family empire written by liberal CNN news anchor Carol Costello who also conducted the interview:

Head of the Hinn Family Empire, Benny Hinn

We use Jesus’s name in twisted — and often awful — ways to make points that are more about us and less about Jesus and his teachings. Pro-life and want to pack heat? Numerous articles are dedicated to which gun Jesus would carry to protect the “weak and defenseless.”

Certain leaders, who claim to be religious, are dedicated to a greedy notion of Jesus who just wants one thing for his loyal followers: money, money and more money.
My interest in this exploitation of Jesus deepened after I met Costi Hinn. His uncle, Pastor Benny Hinn, claims God uses him as a conduit to cure disease: He simply “lays hands,” Jesus-like, on a chronically ill person, pushes them to the ground and — bam! — the person bounces back to health.