Subtle music and soft words, carried upon the cool night winds, gently penetrate most of the six thousand who have come to this open-air soccer stadium in George Town. Random shrieks rise and fall from the crowd. Some begin to twitch and convulse, others cry. Virtually all reach upward with outstretched fingers, clawing at the heaven they hope to glimpse. Benny Hinn sings on, ��Hallelujah� Hallelujah� Hallelujah�� His illuminated figure is frozen against the black sky. Then, suddenly, he announces that the Holy Spirit is descending. It�s healing time in Grand Cayman.

Call it human psychology run amok, one man�s charisma or the touch of God, but whatever one concludes about an evening spent with Benny Hinn, his power to stir emotions cannot be denied. Hinn tours the planet �healing� and spreading Christianity. He is supported by millions of followers, many through his television programme, This is Your Day!, which is beamed by sattelite into numerous countries around the world via the Trinity Broadcasting Network. Hinn routinely �heals� people of cancer, AIDS, drug addiction, etc. These dramatic acts and his ministry�s $60 million income have drawn suspicion from the public and unflattering reports by media giants such as CNN and the BBC. But critics be damned, Hinn stands today as one of the most popular religious figures on Earth and it�s not hard to see why.

Intently guarded by a squad of weight-trained Secret Service-types (complete with radio ear-pieces), Hinn works the stage like a master. His words flow and his smile glows. The stylish gray hair never moves as he stares into the cool Caribbean breeze. A little man, Hinn grows large in the spotlight.

�I love this place,� said Hinn wasting no time in charming his hosts. �This is a blessed paradise. The waters here are the most beautiful in the world, even better than Hawaii. Maybe when Jesus comes he will come to the Cayman Islands.� Hinn was on target from the start, even pronouncing �Cayman� as the locals do rather than all those tourists and expats that never quite tune in do. Hinn is a people-person to say the least and he moves fast. One minute he is in Jordan sipping tea with royals, the next he is hugging a shoeless crack addict on a stage in Grand Cayman.

God needs money. Hinn became defensive when the topic turned to money.

�When you give, it doesn�t go to me,� he declared. �All of it goes to the ministry. Not me, my wife or my children ever touch one cent. I never have. I get a salary from my church back home [Orlando, Florida]. I do this for free. Check me out. Go ahead, check me out. All the money goes to the work of God, to get the Gospel out.�

Hinn continued, explaining that the most important reason he asks people to give is so that God can bless them.

�If you have problems, if you want to get out of debt, then give tonight. God said �give and it shall be given unto you�. God cannot bless you until you put something in His hand.�

Hinn then informed the audience that his ministry accepts donations by checks and credit cards. Scores of ushers roamed the isles with buckets and the money flowed from the some 6,000 believers in attendance.

�Don�t just give,� he added, �sow, so that you can reap a mighty harvest.�

Several months ago, Hinn was asked by CNN�s Larry King why he needs so much money when Jesus made do with a donkey and a pair of sandals. Hinn replied that Jesus didn�t have a TV show to run.

Touch! A Benny Hinn production is impressive from start to finish. The musicians are talented, the sound and lighting of pop concert quality, and Hinn flows from point to point in the programme with seamless style. But it is the �healings� which steal the show every time.

�God heals today,� declared Hinn. �I don�t know why they fall under the power. It just happens.�

Effortlessly, Hinn entranced his believers as the music slowed. He sang just one word, �hallelujah�, over and over. His eyes shut tight and his hand extended out to the masses before him.

�Some will feel electricity, some will feel heat all over their body, some will feel vibrations.�

�Hallelujah� Hallelujah�.� he continued singing as screams broke the crowd�s silence.

�The Holy Spirit is coming upon us,� Hinn announced. �Take your healing now. Take your broken body, your broken life and fix it. Just look up and say, �fix it!��

This is when the �healing� actually occurs at a Hinn Crusade. Those that appear on stage already experienced their �miracles� back in their seats. On stage, Hinn applies a sort of final touch to complete the experience. And what a final touch it is.
In assembly-line fashion, the flamboyant Hinn goes to work. Assistants fed him believers alternately from both sides of the stage. He touched the face of a woman who said she had been addicted to cocaine for many years. She trembled noticeably and collapsed into the arms of an usher behind her. She is �free� of the addiction demon, said Hinn. The crowd cheered wildly. A young boy is �cured� of chronic eczema. He and his father collapsed in unison at the touch of Hinn�s hand.

Arthritis, diabetes, a heart condition, all those ailments and more are �healed� by Hinn this night. If a believer reacts strongly, he instructs the ushers to pick the person up so he can apply another touch of the �Holy Spirit� and put them down again. Believers in the audience exploded with passionate approval in reaction to these double and triple doses of the �Holy Spirit�.

Hinn is quick to credit God for the �healings�.

�I have nothing to do with this,� he says to the audience. �I am even more amazed than you are.�

Glass Houses. Drawing some five or six thousand people on consecutive evenings in a country with a population of just 33,000 was an impressive feat. Obviously Hinn is popular in the Cayman Islands, as he is in many other countries, thanks to the appeal of his mission and the power of television. In the wake of his visit, however, there were also those in the Cayman Islands that questioned his credibility, both on the �healings� and the millions of dollars his ministry takes in each year. Those are easy stones to cast, however. Too easy. What many of Hinn�s attackers might ask themselves is why this healthy skepticism and clear thinking vanishes when confronted by their own beliefs. Is it logical to ridicule Benny Hinn without also questioning the much more significant pillars which support him and so much more supernatural belief around the world?

Benny Hinn