Mesmer practicing his art in his apartment	"Mesmerist" Benny Hinn performing on stage in a crusade

Mesmer presiding over a magnetic séance	Benny Hinn waving his hand over a "magnetized" subject

What is Mesmerism?

Mesmerism was formulated by Franz Anton Mesmer, a physician and healer who achieved remarkable cures.  Preoccupied with the health of his compatriots and concerned about the various diseases afflicting mankind, he developed a method to relieve the pain and suffering of his patients and followers.  He believed in an invisible, curative fluid or energy pervading the universe that might influence the human body.  Some kind of an "anointing" if you will. According to him, an unbalanced supply of that fluid in the body would make the difference between health and illness.

Therefore, he spent a great deal of effort in trying to master that "invisible fluid."  He succeeded in developing a method, which is defined as follows: The capacity of raising the emotional state of an individual, or a crowd, to an abnormal, but controllable intensity.  Music, which plays a role in the control of the mind and nervous system of people, is a tool in raising this emotional state.  The verb to mesmerize means: to hypnotize, to spellbind.  Its action results in a bondage that might be mild for some but total for others.  The verb entered the language of the West as a synonym for "to throw into a trance."  The phenomenon is better known today as being "slain in the spirit," or "falling under God's power."

Once people are mesmerized, they can no longer analyze.

He exercised the laying on of hands by touching or making passes with his hands close to a body.  In his view, cures were induced through "magnetic passes" of the operator's hands.  Yes, the pain would go away and people believed they were cured.  He would point at a patient standing sometimes many feet away from him; the next instant, the patient's body would lie on the floor in convulsions.  He had an ability to throw his subjects into a state between sleep and wakefulness, and became a master of it.  His disciples used his technique and accomplished the same feats.  Some even "improved" or modified it with stunning results.

BENNY HINN emulates his idol Kathryn Kuhlman and has copied her style and method.  The only difference I've been able to observe is that Miss Kuhlman wore a white dress and he wears a white suit.  He claims his anointing comes from God.  Isn't it strange that he cannot produce biblical healings?  In over 25 years of ministry there's never been one single leper cured, or a person raised from the dead!  He has an ability similar to Mesmer to throw his followers into a state between wakefulness and unconsciousness.  His theatrics and emotional crusades take pain away leading his admirers to believe they're healed.  From what?  Asthma, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, fibromyalgia, blood and heart conditions, etc.  How about the paraplegics, children with Down's syndrome, those who've suffered terrible burns or have been left crippled after a serious stroke?  Do they all lack faith?

Wouldn't you agree that Benny Hinn's "anointing" is selective and quite limited?

He regularly uses his staff members - like his lead-singer Steve Brock - to set the example for those unfamiliar with the "slain in the spirit" phenomenon.  They all fall down giving the impression that an anointing emanates from Benny Hinn.  I have numerous video clips showing individuals stretching their arm out to break the fall or bending their knees because the men behind them failed to catch them in the usual manner.  Isn't it strange?  Surely they know they fall safely into the waiting arms of catchers.  Remove them from the scene, and I guarantee you his show will lose some of its punch.  Occasionally, he calls his own family on the platform.  I have seen his wife Suzanne pull her jacket back down over her stomach as she "fell in the spirit."  If she had been "slain in the spirit" would she have cared about her appearance?

FRANZ MESMER was renowned for his musical knowledge and refined playing.  In his séances, he used an elaborate arrangement of music, lights, and other paraphernalia as stage properties to set the mood and relax his patients.  Not only did he cherish music, he was also convinced that it intensified the communication of "universal fluid" - the anointing.  Medical men of his days already understood the relationship between mood and cure.  Under his commands, musicians shifted from stormy to soft music to induce the mesmeric state through the music's sharp penetrative tones and vibrations.

BENNY HINN has learned his routine from Kathryn Kuhlman who also widely used mesmeric power.  Very often during the course of the service, Benny will order Sheryl Palmquist - the official organist of Benny's ministry - to change the tempo of the music, and to quickly flow with him in the same spirit!  His performance includes melodious whispers and fearful shouts.  And he has some angelic music played by Sheryl whenever he prays to give a feeling of divine atmosphere.  He puts on, we have to admit, a very entertaining performance.  His stage show rivals a Broadway production.  In the early days of his ministry, he even confessed to a Canadian reporter that he’s an artist, that he’s always been an artist...and that's how you should consider him.

FRANZ MESMER achieved remarkable cures of functional disorders.  Accounts of mesmeric cures are numerous.  Thousands believed that such treatments were responsible for the recovery from back troubles, arthritis, paralysis, liver or stomach problems, epilepsy, stuttering, and even blindness.  Scores or followers reported prickly sensations or tingling or some rush of energy going through them as the operator exercised the ritual.  Isn't that a perfect sample of testimonies in Benny Hinn's ministry?

BENNY HINN is widely known for his Miracle Crusades.  Thousands attend his meetings and testify of feeling some tingling, numbness or heat going through their body as a result of the anointing of a faith healer.  In addition, Benny regularly tells his followers that they can lose their healing.  He recommends that they should read verses to remain "healed."  If they get sick again, well...it's not his fault.  I suggest to you that they've never been healed in the first place.

When God heals, He heals instantly, completely, and permanently.

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