This needs to be tied in with a key characteristic of churches that specialize in the Prosperity Gospel. We get into a detailed analysis of these key features of churches and, or, movements that preach the prosperity gospel later in our analysis. Other proponents of the Prosperity Gospel who helped to develop and propagate it are A. Osborn and W. Osteen, B. Wilkinson and popular preachers in the likes of K.
Copeland, Creflo Dollar, B. Hinn, Bishop E. Long, J. Meyer and P. Of interest to us, because of recently reported effects of the Prosperity Gospel teaching in Zimbabwe, is A. Allen who in published The Secret to Scriptural Financial Success, a book rooted basically in the prosperity ideology R.
Robins, Recently in Zimbabwe, one prominent prophet taught about these miracle prayer cloths and devotees went around rubbing these miracle prayer cloths on cars their desire with the belief that they would miraculously own them. He also taught that through faith financial problems could be solved and would give a testimony in which he had a miraculous experience when God supernaturally changed one-dollar bills into twenty-dollar bills to allow him to pay his debts D.
Again in Zimbabwe a popular news paper carried an article in which a devotee from a Prosperity Gospel sermon went straight into a big supermarket with tree leaves she believed would be converted into dollar notes. Already without giving more details we notice some of the cons of this kind of Gospel.
Later we get into a detailed analysis of the pros and cons of the prosperity gospel and these two examples shall be analyzed in detail.
The utilization of televangelism continued right into the s, with the prosperity gospel being popularized by prominent televangelists like Kenneth Hagin, Jim Bakker, Robert Tilton and Benny Hinn R. Coleman, Coleman examines the process by which Charismatic Christianity turned the Christian movement into a globalised faith through electronic media such as television, videos and the Internet.
These media were incorporated into Christian worship and that made services lively. During these live services the prosperity gospel was preached and the more popular the services became the more rapidly the Prosperity Gospel was spread.
The influence of this prayer that invited Christians to seek prosperity cannot be underestimated. Data we gathered through participant observation shows that the prayer was cited and imitated over the past two years in numerous sermons of young Zimbabwean pastors, even from those usually non-charismatic mainstream churches like the United Methodist Church UMC. Robbins, So, right from the onset, we may assert that one of the pros of the prosperity gospel is that it is quite attractive.
As we argue later below, there is no doubt about it that the proponents of such a gospel in Zimbabwe have become crowd pullers even though the tenacity and malleability of the pulling factor s still need to be tested over time. The Basic Tenets Of The Prosperity Gospel And The Prosperity Gospel Movement We have categorized the basic tenets of the prosperity Gospel Movement under fewer than four sub-headings as we show below only for purposes of analysis otherwise most of what we say may fall under any of the headings isolated below.
For example, it is not very easy to separate belief and practice and thus it is not possible to separate theology, biblical interpretation and practice of faith.
However, what we did below helps us to partition our discussion in a way that is easy to analyze the various aspects of the Prosperity Gospel Movement clearly. We take particular note of S. The Basic Prosperity Gospel Theology It would not be a justifiable position as we see from the history to view the theology of Prosperity Gospel as homogeneous but basically the Prosperity Gospel proponents agree in principle on the following basic theological standpoints: a That Christians are entitled to well-being that is both spiritual and physical.
Hunt, Coleman notes that according to Prosperity Gospel theology, positive confession allows Christians to exercise dominion over their souls and material objects around them. Brown, Wilson, and as Coleman this process is often taught in almost mechanical terms whose results can be worked out mathematically using given formulae. Theirs is a literal interpretation of the text which some scholars describe as non-traditional interpretation of Bible verses for example, S.
Practices Giving, especially tithing as a form of giving, takes centre stage in Prosperity churches. Services have been observed to be long as they commonly include two sermons, one with special emphasis on giving and prosperity in more cases than one zeroing in on biblical references to tithing after which there is an explicit call to an offering session. Klassen says a lot in his two chapters 13 and 15 but we are interested in his sharp analysis of the Word of Faith Movement in chapter 13 of his book especially his correct observation regarding the treatment given to cash donations.
Klassen observes that Prosperity Gospel church leaders often take particular interest in specifically blessing the money being donated; some have even been reported to instruct worshipers to hold their donations above their heads during the prayer. The Zimbabwean counterparts are known to do this as well.
The second sermon, usually on another topic, follows the offering session and if what we observe from the Zimbabwean examples, it focuses on physical wellbeing and during this second sermon miracles and exorcisms galore. Following a typically Deuteronomic theology the poor are thus regarded as accursed by God.
Following an argument he pursues earlier in his doctoral thesis S. Clifton, Besides giving and wellbeing, devotees in Prosperity Gospel churches, in their everyday practice of faith have a tendency to speak positive statements about aspects of their lives that they wish to see improved and as C.
Brown notes, these statements, are meant to be positive confessions that will miraculously change aspects of people's lives if spoken with faith. From our Zimbabwean examples, dress must be immaculate and hair done in a particular style that shows not only style or fashion but class. Therefore, as J. While there have been efforts towards the promotion of what S. Clifton refers to as a theology of empowerment and human flourishing with the goal of releasing people from a "welfare" or "victim" mentality and even financial responsibility, this encouragement towards extravagance militates against these efforts.
In the United States this is reported to have caused serious problems. Hanna Rosin a national correspondent of The Atlantic argues that prosperity theology contributed to the housing bubble that caused the lates financial crisis.
The rationale for the latter as criteria for evaluating the Prosperity Gospel movement is the historical fact that scholars generally agree to in principle that John Wesley is the father of all Pentecostalism in which case, most of these movements are offshoots from that Pentecostalism albeit via Evangelicalism. Positive Traits Of The Prosperity Gospel Movement We agree with many who argue that when we look at the basic import of the Prosperity Gospel per ser it is difficult to find anything wrong with it.
For example, T. Jakes is correct when he sees poverty as a barrier to living a Christian life in favor of prosperity, suggesting that it is easier to make a positive impact on society when one is affluent and rejecting what he sees as the demonization of success See J.
From the point of view of sociology it is known that wealth and success in general contribute towards a high social status. An analysis of group dynamics also shows that people in general tend to listen more to, and tend to congregate more around, the affluent than ordinary lowly members of society.
In any case, both the Old Testament and the New Testament give testimony to this fact that it is difficult to control and to lead while in dire poverty. In the New Testament we see the Church spreading with the aid of affluent members of society, the likes of Gaus who owned a plaza and in whose house the Church congregated.
There is no question about it that the Church like any social institution requires financial resources. It is a given fact that in the s, churches teaching prosperity theology saw significant growth in the Third World P. Jenkins, While according to P. Jenkins poor citizens of impoverished countries often find the doctrine appealing because of their economic powerlessness and the doctrine's emphasis on miracles, in Zimbabwe the Gospel has attracted even those who are economically up as they seek to secure further and enhance their wealth.
While according to K. Wiegele Western Africa, particularly Nigeria has see explosive growth and in the Philippines, the El Shaddai movement, part of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, has spread prosperity theology outside Protestant Christianity. Therefore, there is something in this Prosperity Gospel that we cannot ignore.
However, we have quite some disturbing events especially in Zimbabwe with people believing that tree leaves can be converted into money. These are clear indicators that somewhere somehow there is something wrong. Therefore, there is need to look at the whole phenomenon of the Prosperity Gospel critically in a bid to arrive at its cons.
For many, faith is the coin you put into a 'vending machine God,' obligating Him to dispense your selection. The hard truth is that the tendency toward suffering in this life is more normal for the Christian than the promise of perfect health and extraordinary wealth.
There is aProper Pursuit of Prosperity,but it bears little resemblance to the so-called 'good news' being hawked by many of today's 'purveyors of prosperity.
You will also find the answer to the question: Is there a legitimate expectation of prosperity this side of heaven? There is a day of perfect prosperity promised to all who believe, but that day is not in this lifetime. We exist not for the pursuit of our own gratification but to do God's bidding—not the other way around.
He combines an emphasis on biblical theology with global realities and personal experience that makes for an extremely effective argument. The goal of seeking and applying balanced truth is instructive for us all. Do you know that God wants His people to prosper?
Our God strongly desires that we, His children, find success in everything. He desires that we live a life of advancement and progress not just physically and emotionally, but financially, as well.
Pastor Reginald Steele has a desire to encourage the Body of Christ to believe that God has promised us a life of prosperity and that we, as Christians, have a successful journey through life. Truly portable and available at volume discounts. The book has been newly type set and all images updated. This is the perfect handout for education of the gold standard.
The book is a. How you relate to money is a big dealwhether you have much or you dont! Too many Christians have the wrong idea about money! Some base their thinking on the worlds system, while others base their opinions on unbalanced church doctrines. Some have gone so far as to advocate poverty. Unlike all those "get rich quick" schemes out there today, this basic plan just teaches you how to use the money you're already making, turn.
The rules have changed. The old strategies of hard work, fitting in, and loyalty no longer guarantee a secure and shiny future. So the ether will have existence and deposit matter only so long as Mind has use for it. When infinite Mind has completed the cycles of creation, both the invisible and the visible universes will be rolled up as a scroll and disappear and only Mind remain.
It adds greatly to the stability of a Christian's faith to know that Jesus anticipated the discoveries of modern science of the existence of that kingdom called "the ether. He did not say it was a place the good would inherit after death but an estate we could have here and now.
Jesus taught that we can incorporate life-giving rays into our mind, body, and affairs through faith. Where physicists merely describe the mechanical presence of life as energy, Jesus taught man how by the exercise of his mind he can make that life obey him. Instead of a universe of blind mechanical forces Jesus showed the universe to be persuaded and directed by intelligence. What we need to realize above all else is that God has provided for the most minute needs of our daily life and that if we lack anything it is because we have not used our mind in making the right contact with the supermind and the cosmic ray that automatically flows from it.
Jesus Christ Heals Charles Fillmore. Mysteries of Genesis Charles Fillmore. Teach Us to Pray Charles Fillmore.
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