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Jan Hanvold

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Jan Kåre Hanvold (born 29 April 1951) is a Norwegian Word of Faith preacher, televangelist pastor, and businessman. Hanvold is the founder and owner of the Christian television station Visjon Norge, which is broadcast throughout Scandinavia, and is involved in several other Christian media organizations including Vision Bibel Center, Euro Vision Network AS, and Radio Visjon.[1]

Background

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In the 1980s, inspired by American neo-charismatic theology, Hanvold began to invest heavily in evangelism and healing meetings with hired preachers, including at Jordal Amfi, an ice hockey rink in Oslo.[2][3] The business was united under the Ny Visjon ('new vision') banner and was run out of a former factory in Drøbak.[2][4] In 1985, he started a Bible school in the building, Ny Visjon bibelskole, based on Kenneth Hagin's Word of Faith movement.[5] It was founded along with Sigfred Rafoss and Hans Bratterud [no], both with central roles in Oslo Fullevangeliske Kirke (OFK).[5] There were also plans for a new Christian newspaper.[4] Together with Bratterud, Hanvold also ran the European Broadcasting Network and the New World Channel, a TV channel inspired by American Christian TV channels.[6] The channel reached around 100,000 households in Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands and France before it was shut down in 1986.[7] At the same time, Hanvold ran his own company, Jan Hanvold Ministries, which distributed recordings of speeches by international preachers and himself.[6][5] In 1989, Hanvold also set up the Vision Bible Center (VBC) foundation to conduct missionary work and distribute Bibles in Eastern Europe under the name Bibelen for Alle ('the Bible for All').[2]

The business gradually spiraled out of control, culminating in a series of bankruptcies in 1989. Hanvold personally declared bankruptcy, was not allowed to run a business for a period of time due to bankruptcy (konkurskarantene), and was sentenced to 120 days in prison, of which 45 days were unconditional.[2][8]

As Visjon Bibel Center was a foundation with no links to Hanvold's other corporate structures, it survived the bankruptcy. In 1990, Frank Kaleb Jansen became a member of the foundation's board. At the same time, he became the face of the foundation in fundraising for missionary work.[2] At this time, Hanvold was also on the board of OFK Radio, which was run by Hans Bratterud.[9]

He has referred to Visjon Norge as an "electronic church".[10]

Theological profile

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Hanvold holds to Evangelical Christian theology with its emphasis on Jesus Christ as savior, and a strong belief in miracles seen in daily life. Hanvold's theological views have led to him being compared with Norwegian Pentecostal preachers Aage Samuelsen and Aril Edvardsen.[11] Hanvold preaches prosperity theology and is clear that spiritual and financial success are closely linked.[12] He also supports Israel and the Jewish people.

Business

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Hanvold's business has been investigated for its spending practices,[13][14][15][16] and his resume includes a series of bankruptcies and a jail sentence.[8] He has been criticised for raising large amounts of money through his religious media projects;[17][18][19] in 2016 the Norwegian state broadcaster NRK estimated that his media projects had raised more than 1 billion kr ($119,045,291 USD) in 15 years.[20][21] Scrutiny of these projects has discovered that the funds he raises for charity are scantily spent on the purposes for which they are raised.[8][22][23] In 2010 Hanvold accused Norwegian fundamentalist Christians of embezzlement, claiming that by donating less than one tenth of their income as tithe to Christian organizations, the group is stealing 8 million kr ($1,323,590 USD) from God annually.[24] Hanvold, in 2010 and 2016, made more money than any other person employed by Norwegian Christian organizations, according to official tax figures.[25][26]

Views

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Hanvold announced that he was praying for the failure of the Norwegian coalition government in 2005.[27]

Hanvold has criticized the Norwegian Princess Märtha Louise's plans to open a private school, known as Astarte Education, teaching students how to communicate with angels. Hanvold accused the princess of "blasphemy" and said she was "an emissary from hell."[28]

In 2016 and 2020, Hanvold supported the candidacy of American president Donald Trump, "claiming before the election that Trump had won."[21]

Criticism

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Norwegian Pentecostal leader Ingunn Ulfsten has said that "Hanvold does not represent the Pentecostal movement".[29] A 2019 master's thesis found similar sentiments among other Norwegian Pentecostal and free church pastors.[30]

References

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  1. ^ "Eierskapstilsynet". Norwegian Media Authority (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 23 August 2007. Retrieved 27 September 2008.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Predikantens vekst og fall . . . og på'n igjen". Aftenposten. 23 October 1993.
  3. ^ Kristensen, Vidar; Gabrielsen, Gunnar Bakke (1990). Møte med livet: kristendomskunnskap for 7.-9. klasse (in Norwegian). Vol. 2: Lærerveiledning. Oslo: Aschehoug. p. 36. ISBN 8203132154.
  4. ^ a b "'Ny Visjon' i Drøbak satser: Bibelskole og kristen avis". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 30 July 1984.
  5. ^ a b c Bergem, Anders (1987). Himmelen på forskudd?: oppgjør med framgangsteologien (in Norwegian). Oslo: Luther. pp. 28–29. ISBN 9788253174648.
  6. ^ a b "Med Gud som sponsor". A-magasinet. 6 July 1985.
  7. ^ Chalaby, Jean K. Transnational Television in Europe: Reconfiguring Global Communications Networks. I.B. Tauris. p. 16.
  8. ^ a b c Birkeland, Camilla (16 November 2005). "Predikant Jan Hanvold er på farten igjen som pengeinnsamler" [Preacher Jan Hanvold is on the road again as a money collector]. Hegnar Online (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 17 February 2011.
  9. ^ "Må ut av eteren?". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 31 March 1990.
  10. ^ Solvang, Lene (Spring 2008). 'Bygg mine tv-kanaler!': En analyse av den elektroniske kirke i Norge (PDF) (Master's thesis) (in Norwegian). University of Oslo. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Tro og mirakler Gud og mammon". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 31 July 1985.
  12. ^ "Mirakeltro møter bastant motstand". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 7 September 1985.
  13. ^ Granli, Lene; Olsson, Maria Sofie (25 April 2008). "Undersøker pengerot" [Investigating money mess]. NRK (in Norwegian).
  14. ^ Kallestad, Jarle (24 April 2008). "Få stiller spørsmål" [Few ask questions]. Vårt Land (in Norwegian).
  15. ^ "Tilsyn truer med å kaste Hanvold" [Oversight threatens to oust Hanvold]. Vårt Land (in Norwegian). 4 April 2008. Retrieved 28 September 2008.[permanent dead link]
  16. ^ Norheim, Astrid Dalehaug (12 June 2008). "Spør om Visjons eiendomskjøp" [Ask about Visjon's real estate purchases]. Vårt Land (in Norwegian).
  17. ^ Kallestad, Jarle (24 April 2008). "Samlet inn 175 millioner på ni år" [Collected 175 million in nine years]. Vårt Land (in Norwegian).
  18. ^ Herland, Jon (24 April 2008). "Betal penger, bli velsignet" [Pay money, be blessed]. E24 (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 25 April 2008.
  19. ^ Kallestad, Jarle (22 April 2008). "Ber om millioner, lover velsignelse" [Asks for millions, promises blessing]. Vårt Land (in Norwegian).
  20. ^ Nordahl, Bjørn Olav; Hasselgård, Maria; Kumano-Ensby, Anne Linn; Akerbæk, Eva; Leine, Heidi Larsen (25 October 2016). "Pengepredikanten" [The Money Preacher]. NRK (in Norwegian).
  21. ^ a b Haugen, Hans Morten (2023). "The Christian Right in Norway". In Lo Mascolo, Gionathan (ed.). The Christian Right in Europe: Movements, Networks, and Denominations. Political Science. Vol. 129. Bielefeld: Transcript Verlag. p. 295. doi:10.14361/9783839460382. hdl:20.500.12657/85717. ISBN 978-3-8394-6038-2 – via Open Access Publishing in European Networks.
  22. ^ Hansen, Thormod R. (3 August 2005). "Kjøper eiendom for nødhjelpspenger" [Buying property with emergency aid money]. Bygdeposten (in Norwegian).
  23. ^ Norheim, Astrid Dalehaug (9 May 2008). "Ber Hanvold dokumentere mer" [Hanvold asked to document more]. Vårt Land (in Norwegian).
  24. ^ Kallestad, Jarle (30 October 2010). "Kristenfolket underslår 8 milliarder i året" [Christians embezzle 8 billion a year]. Vårt Land (in Norwegian).
  25. ^ Weibye, Tor (21 October 2011). "Hanvold tjener best i Kristen-Norge" [Hanvold makes the most money in Christian Norway]. Dagen (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 30 March 2012.
  26. ^ Suvatne, Steinar Solås; Ringstad, Herman (27 October 2017). "Omstridt TV-pastor tjente 1,5 millioner i fjor" [Controversial TV pastor earned 1.5 million last year]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  27. ^ Jensen, Ingvild (2 December 2005). "Ber for regjeringskrise" [Praying for a government crisis]. Aftenposten (in Norwegian).
  28. ^ "Norwegian Princess Märtha's new Course Offereing: Communicating with Angels 101". Der Spiegel. 14 August 2007.
  29. ^ Almedal, Karl (9 March 2020). "Pinseleiar: – Hanvold representerer ikkje Pinserørsla". Dagen (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  30. ^ Overen, Christian (3 June 2019). Et behov for å markere avstand: En studie av vekkelseskristne pastorers reaksjoner på Jan Hanvold (PDF) (Master's thesis) (in Norwegian). University of Oslo. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
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