Benny Hinn is a snake-oil superstar. He wants you to donate $1,000 to help pay for his new private jet to help him carry the Gospel of Christ to remote locations in the world like Florida.

At recent partners conferences I have talked about the cost to secure this state-of-the-art jet aircraft, the tool we must have for declaring the Gospel to the nations in his last hour, and the miracle the Lord has provided—Dove One, an aircraft that became vailable just as the door of opportunity began to close on aircrafts the ministry had previously been utilizing.

I think this is great. As a committed illuminist, I profess anything which acts to transfer money (and hence power) from the stupid to the smart to be a good thing. We’re going to need all the brains we can get if the human race is to solve the great technical problems of the future: the inevitable asteroid strike, the energy crunch, climate change, safe nanotech, strong AI, and the perversity of matter.

Benny Hinn is just a huckster preacher-man. He’s not going to solve any big problems. But his lavish personal life - his $10m mansion, his 2 Mercedes, his private jet - is founded on a high-tech economy. The plane costs $1.5m a year to run, employing flight technicians and aerodynamic engineers even higher up the brain chain than him. Perhaps they won’t be in the business of saving the world either, but the crucial point is that the purchasing of expensive high-tech goods has created a financial incentive to be smart. The more money is spent on planes, computers, televisions, and goods and services which require considerable intellectual effort to create, the more people are encouraged to get into the business of being clever. Not to mention the fact that Hinn’s lifestyle is the reward for him being clever.

Conversely, losing $1,000 to a con-man is the very strong, very direct financial penalty for being stupid.

With the forces of stupidity riding high in the world today, we need every incentive possible to turn people away from its faustian lures.

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