Televangelist Benny Hinn admits he took prosperity teaching too far

The 65-year-old, who has repeatedly been branded a Prosperity Gospel preacher, said he was “as guilty as others” who have sometimes departed from Biblical teaching.

In a Facebook Live broadcast, he said: “We get attacked for preaching prosperity; well, it’s in the Bible.

“But I think some have gone to the extreme with it, sadly, and it’s not God’s word what is taught and I think I’m as guilty as others.

“Sometimes you go a little farther than you really need to go and then God brings you back to normality and reality.”

Prosperity theology has been described as affirming that Christians are automatically entitled to financial and health blessings.

Hinn said that, with age and developing greater understanding, he realised that unbiblical interpretations of scripture influenced his teaching.

Hinn’s ministry was investigated by US politicians on the Senate Committee on Finance in 2007, to determine whether he had benefit personally from donations made to his church work.

The probe, which concluded four years later, issued no punishment and conclusion that Benny Hinn Ministries was guilty of any wrongdoing.

Hinn, who has been accused in the past of lavish living, said he no longer travels by private jet, saying “I fly commercial just like anyone else…”