“Who started the Prosperity Movement?” – I found this question in the Search Terms list this morning and it piqued my curiosity enough to drop everything and find an answer. What I discovered is… very revealing, and helps explain why so many ‘traditional’ Christians find the movement, sometimes called the “Word of Faith” movement, vaguely disturbing.
In case anyone reading has had the good fortune not to be exposed to the Prosperity Movement, here are a few of its core beliefs. The movement has a Christian veneer and claims to revere the Bible but teaches that (a) Christians are all little gods; (b) physical illness and other forms of suffering are a result of a lack of faith; (c) God wants to prosper you, make you wealthy and successful, and help you realize your potential; (d) God MUST do anything you ask for in Jesus’ name; and (e) any church or believer who disagrees with a Word of Faith preacher/teacher is suspect and should be avoided. None of these teachings can be found in Scripture… in fact the god of the Prosperity movement has a lot more in common with Oprah than with the God of the Bible.
So who started it? Credit goes to Dr. Roger L. Smalling, minister in the Presbyterian Church of America and a career missionary in Latin America, for the answers that follow. I highly recommend his online book The Prosperity Movement: Wounded Charismatics for an intelligent, compassionate, and easy-to-read refutation of the movement.
From Chapter 4 of Dr. Smalling’s book:
“Word of Faith has its roots in a pagan cult that rivaled Christianity during the first three centuries of the Christian era, known as Gnosticism […which] held to a form of Dualism. This meant matter is bad and spirit is good. The Bible, however, teaches God created both realms and called all creation, spiritual and material, ‘good’. “[Gnostics] held that a series of spiritual laws exist between the two dimensions by which both realms could be controlled. […] A Gnostic goal was to attain to divinity and become a kind of creative “god.” This was through the “releasing” of his spirit from the material realm through his special “knowledge” of the mystical forces governing the universe.
“Iranaeus, one of the third century fathers who combated Gnosticism in his book Against Heresies, comments on the spiritual pride characteristic of Gnostics: “They consider themselves ‘mature’, so that no one can be compared with them in the greatness of their knowledge, not even if you mention Peter or Paul or any of the other apostles…” (I, XIII, 6)”
(side note: We’ve been reading a lot of Iranaeus in seminary this year. For a guy who lived in the 100-200’s AD his stuff is AMAZINGLY relevant to our day. Highly recommended reading.)
Smalling continues:
“In 1875, Mary Baker Eddy […launched] the Christian Science sect. The First Church of Christ Scientist was founded in Boston in 1879. Eddy had adapted many of the early Gnostic concepts in her writings, which included the denial of the reality of illness and matter.
“One of the early converts to Christian Science, and a member of the Mother Church from 1903 until his death in 1908, was Dr. C.W. Emerson. He founded a college in Boston […] One of the early students of Emerson’s school was a young man by the name of E.W. Kenyon. Kenyon picked up some of the Gnostic concepts and incorporated them into his own writings later on.
“The terms “Word of Faith” and “Revelation Knowledge” are found throughout Kenyon’s books. […] His booklet, Two Kinds of Knowledge, is especially dangerous because of its subtlety. In it, […] “revelation knowledge” comes directly to our spirit, bypassing both reason and the five senses. Kenyon believed that since God is spiritual, it is impossible to understand God or spiritual truth without this special “revelation.” Through this, a dangerous and subtle error enters. If a person swallows it, then the Bible itself comes to be judged by the standard of the “revelation knowledge” that one experiences subjectively. Subtly and unconsciously, the reader of Kenyon becomes his own standard of truth. […] Untrained Christians eager for supernatural experiences can easily fall into Kenyon-style mysticism.
“Kenyon died in 1948, but the Gnostic torch didn’t die with him. It was embraced by a young Pentecostal hungry for the supernatural, Kenneth Hagin… the recognized founder and leader of the Word of Faith movement. Hagin praises Kenyon to the skies in one of his first books, The Name of Jesus, and confesses his deep indebtedness to him. Hagin later passed on these teachings to Kenneth Copeland. Through Copeland came Charles Capps, Jerry Savelle, and others. T.L. Osborn also expressed deep debt to Kenyon in a letter to Kenyon’s granddaughter in 1972, calling an him “an Apostle.”
Smalling then goes on to quote from Hagin’s book Art of Intercession, in which Hagin describes being visited by and having conversations with a Jesus-spirit: “During this visit, the supposed Jesus-spirit gave him a startling “revelation.” All the theologians in the past who taught that God was in absolute control of all things were wrong. Hagin claims, “God is not ruling in this world … And God cannot do anything unless somebody down here asks him.””
This revelation can be countered with the following scripture passages: “Whatever the Lord pleases He does, in heaven and in earth… Psalm 135:6; “That the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men…” Daniel 4:17 Smalling concludes: “Am I implying that the “being” who visited Kenneth Hagin and gave him the Word of Faith revelations is not really Jesus Christ, but a deceiving demon? Be assured, I am not implying it. I’m stating it as a fact.”
Smalling believes the Charismatic movement was, at least in part, hijacked by Hagin and his friends. The Charismatic movement, which rightfully sought a fresh understanding of and experience of the Holy Spirit in worship and in life — as opposed to the “dead orthodoxy” of the mainline churches in the 1960s and 70s — unfortunately threw out the baby with the bathwater by not grasping the possibility of a “living orthodoxy”. This left the Charismatic movement theologically defenseless when Hagin came along. Smalling writes:
“The movement gained momentum with the more articulate and younger Kenneth Copeland. His book Laws of Prosperity launched him to Faith Movement stardom, offering a new worldview that filled in the theological gaps left by an abandoned orthodoxy. Books by “faith” teachers flooded the market and the new Charismatics snapped them up like starving fish after bait. Sadly, cash flow rather than truth determined what books appeared in the Christian market. Those with a dissenting voice found it difficult to get their books published.
“An even bigger boon for the Prosperity Movement came in the 80’s when Paul Crouch of Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), announced the faith movement was the route he would take in his programming. Jim Bakker of the PTL Network and Paul Crouch endorsed the faith movement’s concepts, giving it worldwide exposure. Result: Gnosticism, disguised under the banner of “faith,” began to root itself deeply into the psyche of American Charismatics.”
Smalling also notes — quite rightly — that not all Charismatics were taken in by this heresy.
“The influence of the Prosperity Movement has been partially stemmed by three factors. First, the Assemblies of God, the largest and most influential Pentecostal denomination in the world, repudiated the Word of Faith teachings in an official position paper. Second, two books warning about the movement were published and became well known: Hank Hanegraaf’s, Christianity In Crisis and Dave Hunt’s Seduction of Christianity. Finally, the most serious blow came with the fall of Jim Bakker (PTL) in the late ‘80’s, and similar scandals among American TV evangelists. These events, however, were only a trimming of the branches and failed to penetrate the roots of the movement, namely Hagin and Copeland and their false god. Though weakened, the tree still flourishes in the U.S. today.”
So that’s the “family tree” of the Prosperity Movement, from the roots down.
I can’t stress enough how spiritually dangerous this stuff is! I’ve met so many people who have followed it for awhile and become completely disillusioned, not only with the church but with God Himself. It must be understood: the Word of Faith / Prosperity movement is not of Christ. It has nothing to do with the God of the Bible and everything to do with ancient teachings of pagan Greek philosophers.
Not sure where you got your “facts” from but I have been around the “Word of Faith” for 20 years and have never heard any of the preachers espouse any of what you say are the “core beliefs”. Your points a,b, d,e are just the relisting of what people who think that “Word of Faith” is heresy have misrepresented as the teaching of Word of Faith preachers. I have heard your point c preached “c) God wants to prosper you, make you wealthy and successful, and help you realize your potential” Let me ask you what is wrong with point c? It appears to me that there are many scriptures in the Bilble that point to God wanting His people to be Blessed and prosper.
You are certainly free to believe what you want about “Word of Faith” but so am I. What I don’t understand is why people feel they need judge someone else’s doctrine and then “warn” about it. If we have received salvation through Christ’s redemtive work and are going to Heaven what does it really matter if we believe that God wants us prosperous here on Earth? Should we not work together focusing sharing the salvation message with those who have not yet received it?
Thanks for any input or insight.
Phredone, you said you’ve been around WOF “for 20 years” and have never heard these teachings? That is really quite amazing.
During that time, the main proponents of these teachings have been all over tv and radio, and have dozens of books, CDs, and DVDs circulating.
You’d have to be in a coma to have not heard any of this stuff.
Hi Phred and welcome! Sorry for the delay in replying – my email has been down for a couple days and only now let me know about your post.
I’m not quite sure which points are a, b, c, and so on but I’ll do my best to address your questions.
The source of this article is mostly a book (quoted above) written Dr. Roger L. Smalling, a PCA minister and lifelong missionary. He has seen first-hand the damage done by Prosperity teachings in third world countries. There are other articles on this blog that I’ve written and done my own research for (see sidebar under “False Teachings”).
I have no doubt you’ve never heard the “core beliefs” preached — most pastors in the 21st century don’t know the Prosperity movement has its roots in a combination of ancient Greek philosophy and the 19th-century Christian Science movement. They don’t teach a lot of church history in Word of Faith seminaries, which is unfortunate.
In regard to: God wants to prosper you, make you wealthy and successful, and help you realize your potential” Let me ask you what is wrong with point c? It appears to me that there are many scriptures in the Bible that point to God wanting His people to be Blessed and prosper.
Absolutely God blesses His people — I have no argument with that. He promises great blessings to those who obey Him and do what He commands.
But the Bible does not teach that God’s blessings are necessarily material. They may be, but usually they aren’t. Paul writes: “He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” (I Cor. 1:28-29) In fact the greatest blessing — knowing God Himself — is not material at all. Following Him often involves sacrifice of material goods… sometimes even sacrifice of life itself. That’s why Jesus says “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” (Luke 9:23)
What it boils down to is a difference in focus: am I a Christian because of what God can do (people-centered)? Or am I a Christian because I love God and want to serve Him (Christ-centered)?
If we have received salvation through Christ’s redemptive work and are going to Heaven what does it really matter if we believe that God wants us prosperous here on Earth?
It matters a great deal. Christianity isn’t just about getting into heaven. It’s about living for God here and now. Not living for what we want, but for what He wants. It’s about using the time we have to become the people He wants us to be… on the inside, not on the outside, making sacrifices for the sake of others in His name. He didn’t save us so we could have everything we want in this life. He saves us so we can become like Him and then be with Him forever.
Should we not work together focusing sharing the salvation message with those who have not yet received it?
Yes… but evangelism needs to focus on the Cross of Christ, and His call to follow Him and die to self… not on the fringe benefits.
Thanks for the article Peg.
Its saddens my heart to see people make comments like the previous commentor.
There is nothing wrong with prosperity,, unless that is your primary focus. Like osteens “you best life now”.
I mean for peets sake,,, I feel like saying,,, if you would rather have your best life now,, instead of in the afterlife,,, be my guest. What can I do to stop you. WHAT CAN GOD DO TO STOP YOU???
BUt if you want to have “your best life now”,,, what does that say about your eternal hope and eternal destiny??????????
Time is just a puzzle piece in eternity. As scipture says,,, our life is like a passing wind,, come and gone in a snap.
A hundred thousand million years of prosperity on this earth,,, is not worth one single eternity of seperation from God.
Thanks for the article,, I will post it on our groupblog about the Word of Faith.
THEWORDontheWordofFaithINFOblog.com
Hi Damon,
Welcome and thanks for your comments!
re: “But if you want to have “your best life now”,,, what does that say about your eternal hope and eternal destiny?
That really is the point, isn’t it? As the apostle Paul said, if it’s only for this life we hope in Christ, we are to be pitied above all. It’s the Promised Land we’re headed for, and this world ain’t it.
Peace,
Peg
Absolutely inspiring. What you find, when you study history, is that history has a way of repeating itself, especially because men being men never learn. The sheer heresies that have found their way into our time almost always have their roots further back than most even realise. We may not call it gnosticism, but that it essentially what it is, a false religion that sees their “god” crippled, and only they can do something to change anything. As I personally know some people who are quite strong on the PG movement, I know just how deceptive and seductive it can be. Now there’s nothing wrong with being blessed, God wants to bless us, but it’s a twist on the real Biblical realities. Discernment, however, is at an all-time low.
Hi Derek,
Thanks for stopping by. I’m with you totally on history repeating itself and I wish more people took the time to get to know it. (As a side note I am troubled to see history being re-written on the likes of the History Channel — we need to be keeping an eye on our original sources.)
“Discernment is at an all-time low” — you said it! Any thoughts on how to turn this trend around?
I have one question regarding Benny Hinn and Kenneth Hagin.
Have millions and millions of people around the world been brought to salvation in their spirit or soul or body through their ministries?
In other words, has God honored their words and lives and manifested His love and mercy and grace to countless people with redemption and healings and miracles and demonic deliverance and renewing of minds with God’s word and restoration of broken lives, families and relationships and on and on?
Then, since God has so honored these men, it would behoove us to not take snippets of teachings out of context perhaps and find out what these teachers really are saying. That is, read the book these “quotes” come from.
I also would like to see a comparison of the results of the life and teachings of Benny or Kenneth and Mr. Smalling. I guarantee there is no comparison.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your post… the questions you raise are good ones.
First, I think it’s important to keep in mind that God counts things differently than people do. Our God is a God who changed the world with only twelve disciples, most of them poor and uneducated.
Second, God is capable of bringing people to faith in some pretty strange ways. For example, there are thousands who have found Jesus through New Age religion and have later come to understand that while Jesus is true, New Age religion is not. What makes the difference is the seeker’s heart. If a person is really seeking Jesus they will find Him — that’s His promise — even if they’re standing in a spiritual quagmire when they do.
I’m highly skeptical of the claims of both Hinn and Hagin in regard to healings, deliverances, and so on. I know the gifts of the Spirit are real, I just doubt the integrity of these men. I don’t think the Holy Spirit’s gifts are given so people can become rich and famous and live flashy lives. And I don’t think the Holy Spirit of God can be trained to perform on command. I think their teachings promote greed and self-centeredness and are spiritually harmful. If people are coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ through their ministries, terrific! But they will do well to find better pastors to grow them into spiritual maturity.
Hi Peg,
I am one who has seen miracles happen in front of my eyes.
They happened when Jesus walked the earth and people opened their hearts and minds to receive the “gospel of the kingdom” that Jesus preached. People who had simple faith that there IS a God and He loves us and wants us saved from all manner of illness and infirmity and oppression of the devil.
It’s very simple. Devil’s works are bad. God’s works good.
I learned a lot from Kenneth Hagin and none of it has hurt me or anyone I minister to. Through Hagin and Norvel Hayes and E.W.Kenyon and Smith Wigglesworth and dozens of others God teaches His people we are loved and cherished and all God wants is to bless us.
I have never heard any of those who taught me anything promote greed or anything else unGodly. People who have greed in their heart don’t get that way hearing “God wants us to prosper”. They already are that way. Kenneth Hagin never taught anyone to be greedy. He only taught God is a loving God who wants to bless us with every good thing.
As for me, I will always believe and preach and teach people to see God as a loving Father who only asks them to turn from living according to their own ways and believe and obey His way.
Of course this is only obtained through Jesus precious body and blood.
All I ever heard Kenneth or Benny say was “Accept the wonderful gift Jesus purchased for all mankind on the cross.”
All God asks is for us to renew our minds to think His thoughts and speak His words and His Holy Spirit WILL work in our lives to bless us and make us a blessing to others. Why? Because He loves us. And God and Jesus get ALL the glory and praise and honor and worship.
All we as God’s children are His subjects in His kingdom to bring about the expansion of His kingdom. And to be His ambassadors and ministers to other people.
Hi Paul,
I totally believe you where it comes to miracles. I know miracles happen and I have seen a few myself. One of the things I have learned, especially since starting seminary and seeing things from “the other side of the pulpit” (so to speak) is that it’s not the spiritual maturity of the healer that brings about healing, but the faith of the person being healed that matters. Even Jesus couldn’t heal where people had no faith.
It’s also important to keep in mind that Jesus didn’t heal everybody all the time. His miracles were meant as a demonstration of God’s Kingdom power, to prove that the Kingdom had come. But the apostle Paul suffered from an illness of some kind and prayed for healing and the answer he received was “my grace is sufficient for you”. As you say, what God does is always good — but we may not understand why He does what He does.
As for God’s purposes — “all God wants is to bless us” — I’m afraid I have to disagree with you here. God’s purpose is not to make us happy in this life. God’s purpose *is* to do us good, but that’s just a side-effect of his ultimate purpose. God’s ultimate purpose is to make a people for Himself, to grow us up to be like Him, to be in relationship with us for eternity. In order to do that He needs to mature us, cleanse us, perfect us… all these things are blessings but we may not always experience them as pleasant. Just like children have to learn to eat vegetables… or just like a bone must sometimes be re-broken in order to be set properly… God’s work in our lives may sometimes be painful. Only in the long run does it lead to blessing and glory.
What is harmful about the Prosperity Gospel is that it teaches people they can have everything they want NOW, in this life. And the people who are held up on TV as role models of how to live the Christian life have worldwide fame and all the money and material goods they could ever want… and yet they’re constantly asking for more. Like Jesus said, they have already received their reward.
Keep on preaching and teaching that, my brother, and you will never go wrong! 🙂 May God bless your ministry richly.
Peg
The only thing I can say about false teachings and false doctrine is that it did one thing. After being let down so many times by it,I turned to God’s Word,prayer,and history looking for answers.
I think it was all a learning process God wanted me to go through.
I guess fakes exist because God said if you want to believe a lie He would send strong delusion. II Thessalonians 2:10-12.
I agree… which is why I’ve shifted the focus of this blog to Bible teaching rather than debunking false teachings. I still take a shot at the false teachers from time to time but I want the bulk of the message to be about God and His Word.
I’m glad you saw through the lies! 🙂
This has been an interesting read, Peg. 🙂 I especially like the last 2 comments from both Ken and you.
Having myself been a part of quite a bit of the Hagin et al teachings (I rejected Copeland from the first), I was always amazed that people applied what he said to the natural. My husband and I both felt his emphasis on faith had more to do with my having faith to believe I was a new creation, not bound by my past; faith to believe He was bringing forth his righteousness in me, despite what I saw and felt, and to not allow all the unrighteousness I saw discourage me; faith to be a cheerful giver when I had little, not because of any great reward or multiplying back to me of my “gift” but rather because I had a vision of believers helping one another and knew He was really the source of all I had. I.e. faith to live the life He called us to. Maybe God just had blinders on our eyes!
I could go on, but hope you see the drift of what I am sharing. We sat in meetings and walked out encouraged and strengthened in our walks with the Lord and what He was doing in our lives; and amazed when we heard those around us “claiming” motor homes and bicycles!
We did receive gladly what we were taught, but then also went home and searched the scriptures to see whether they be true. And where we saw error, we simply threw it out. But I know I benefited and have a fuller spiritual life today because of much that I learned in that arena.
Not to say that much of the Word of Faith movement yes, has brought forth disappointment and disillusionment; but then, so has our interaction with many legalistic mainline (including reformed, sorry) churches. Where we saw much emphasis on conduct and very little love.
Just a little different perspective. 🙂 I might add that it has been years since we left that circle of friends, with one of the main reasons, ironically, being yes, their teaching that God cannot work without us. Rubbish!!
Charlotte,
Thanks for a lovely post! BTW no need to apologize about disagreeing with reformed churches. I quoted a Presbyterian pastor for this article because his research was good, but I’m not Presby myself.
I love what you wrote: having faith to believe I was a new creation, not bound by my past; faith to believe He was bringing forth his righteousness in me, despite what I saw and felt, and to not allow all the unrighteousness I saw discourage me; faith to be a cheerful giver when I had little, not because of any great reward or multiplying back to me of my “gift” but rather because I had a vision of believers helping one another and knew He was really the source of all I had. I.e. faith to live the life He called us to.
I wish all churches taught this!!
I think if I had the original post to write over again I would be a little kinder to the folks who attend Word of Faith churches. I still have hard words for the leaders of the movement because they should *know better*. But I’ve met a lot of good people in the movement, and seen good things done in Jesus’ name, and you’re right, no church or movement has a corner on legalism! I’m glad you were blessed by the church’s ministry and feel you gained from it even if ultimately you had to move on.
If it’s any comfort I don’t think we’re necessarily meant to find a lifelong church home, or any kind of lifelong home, on this earth… the “forever home” is still to come…
Don’t worry. I am sure you are right about a great deal of what was written. I just heard so many “all or nothing” statement/accusations about “other” doctrines than the “pure” one our church offered that I think I am probably oversensitive. 🙂
I do know how I thought both of Dave Hunt’s books, The Seduction of Christianity and Beyond Seduction made such good points about much of modern Christianity, not just the charismatic movement, though yes there were some things I think he, too, was blinded by. (I guess that means only I have the true doctrine, eh??? 🙂 )
However, I was disappointed in the reaction of many of our friends to things he pointed out that were so obviously true. It’s difficult for us to admit maybe we are wrong in some areas, but essential to being open to admitting our own fallibility.
At any rate, keep up the good work. Open discussion is good. There are obviously some crucial issues/beliefs that are not open to debate, so to speak; but there are others that if even the theologians have debated them for years, who am I…?
I hear you about the “all or nothing” statements!
Speaking of Dave Hunt – there was another book by Walter Groothius that came out about the same time as “The Seduction of Christianity” – “Exposing the Lie” was it? that I thought made a great companion to Hunt’s book. Same subject matter, different approaches, so each tends to pick up on what the other misses, and the two put together give a more complete and accurate picture.
Amen to keeping the basics solid and the discussions open. Theologians are amazing to read… wish they were still here today to defend their doctrines against some of their followers, LOL.
II Timothy 6:5-6
vs.5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds,and destitute of the TRUTH,supposing that GAIN is Godilness:from such WITHDRAW thyself.
vs.6 But Godliness with contentment is GREAT GAIN.
Destitute of the Truth….Jesus said He was the Truth and the Way…….ummm they are destitute. They don’t know Him,they just know gain. Gain is their Jesus.
Ken,
Scripture says, “There is one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all.” It is a tragedy that there are so many different kinds of churches out there, and so many disputes going on, when Jesus prayed for His Body to be One, even as He and the Father are One.
Having said that, there are two realities we need to acknowledge: (1) no single individual or church has the *whole* truth; and (2) sin creeps in, even into the church, causing the kinds of perversities and lies you’re talking about.
God tells us to test the spirits — and the way we do that is through studying Scripture, prayer, and discussing the words of the various teachers with each other.
I guess what I’m saying is we need a bit more detail — names, quotes, etc. Who specifically is seeking after gain, what have they said about money that makes you think so, etc? With specifics the battle can be fought and won.
For the first time I have just finished learning about the Word of Faith movement from a friend who wants me to join. What it teaches leave me feeling so empty. I have labeled it Carnival Religion because it reminds me of a carnival barker standing outside a tent and shouting to people as they pass by, “Ladies and gentlemen, step right up and see the one, the only, the most powerful god perform works of wonderment before your very eyes. Your every wish is his command. Ask and you shall receive for he has promised to give you all that you need and he cannot lie. Remind him of his promises and the only answer he can give is ‘yes’ and ‘amen.’ Trapped by his own word, you can have the power of the universe over him to do your bidding. But, only one request per person. Only 25 cents. Just one quarter of a dollar to command the one and only god to do your bidding. For only 25 cents, you can have power over him through his own word. But, only one request per person per visit, please. However, you may visit as often as you like for just 25 cents per visit. Step right up!”
Is this what faith in God has come to? I am saddened to think so.
Tom
Tom, I think you’re seeing things very clearly. And you’re right, it does leave people feeling empty — which I think is why they keep coming back for more, they’re hoping to ‘feel the power’ one more time so they don’t feel so empty.
Thank goodness there is a lot more to living the faith than what the Word of Faith movement has to offer! There are lots of people looking for something better so you’re in good company. And healthy, well-rounded churches are out there to be found. In the meantime you don’t need a pastor or a movement to know that Jesus died for you and walked out of the grave alive to open the way for you to have friendship with God. Keep on sticking with Him and don’t let the turkeys get you down!
Thank you for your post. I have been doing research trying to gather information to present to a friend. I somewhat understand the teachings of the WOF as my church growing up had a lot of similar attributes. Once I got out of that church, I started actually reading the Word and learning who God indeed is! It was liberating! Humbling! I see my friend struggling with her faith because she has believed the lies taught in those circles. She has struggled with employment, relationships, health, etc and I’ve seen her depression and anxiety increase the more she “clings” to these teachings when God doesn’t perform how the WOF says He should. She has questioned God and thus turned to herself for “creative power”. It saddens me… breaks my heart. And then I see another friend struggling with her husband seeking the self-glory and riches he believes is promised in the Word. He flat out said the other day “I’m done with praying. I’m claiming that the seeds we’ve sown will prosper us”. Sad how it’s all about “us” and not about the Kingdom of God.
Hi Christy and thanks for your note! It’s encouraging to know the posts here are of help. And yes — isn’t the Word of God liberating!? It sets the heart and soul free to soar, even in the worst of circumstances.
I am sorry to hear about your friends and their difficulties. It’s not unusual for people caught in the WOF movement to become disillusioned, depressed, or angry. Sending up a prayer for them that God will call them into the light of His truth.
It really is all about Him — Amen!
Hi Peg,
We recently updated our website.
Please note the corrected link to THE PROSPERITY MOVEMENT:
http://www.smallings.com/english/books/ProspENG.htm
In His bonds,
Roger & Dianne
Thanks for the update, Roger & Dianne – I’ve edited the OP link. Continued blessings on your ministry!
This is a nice concise study on the history of the prosperity movement, thank you for it! I was years ago an avid proponant of WOF and Toronto blessing and realize constantly how much ive been influenced by all of it and let it ruin my simple faith in Jesus! thank you and blessings.
Thank you for the kind words!