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<ref>"But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort" Luke 6:24.</ref> <ref>"But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort" Luke 6:24.</ref>


The "health and wealth" teachings have been heavily criticized, with opponents arguing that Faith teachers{{Fact|date=August 2007|comment=Which teachers in specific?}} tend not to stress the multiple scriptures warning against emphasis on material prosperity and telling of the importance of helping the poor.{{Fact|date=August 2007}} The "health and wealth" teachings have been heavily criticized, with opponents arguing that Faith teachers{{Fact|date=August 2007|comment=Which teachers in specific?}} tend not to stress the multiple scriptures warning against material prosperity and telling of the importance of helping the poor.{{Fact|date=August 2007}}


Expository preacher John Piper criticised the assumption of Christianity bringing prosperity as the opposite of what is biblically true. Piper points out that Christ warned the apostles that they would suffer great persectution for the sake of his name (all eleven, after Judas Iscariot, suffered Martyr's deaths). In a January 2006 sermon entitled "How our suffering advances the gospel", Piper stated bluntly that "the prosperity gospel will not make anybody praise Jesus; it will make people praise prosperity". Expository preacher John Piper criticised the assumption of Christianity bringing prosperity as the opposite of what is biblically true. Piper points out that Christ warned the apostles that they would suffer great persectution for the sake of his name (all eleven, after Judas Iscariot, suffered Martyr's deaths). In a January 2006 sermon entitled "How our suffering advances the gospel", Piper stated bluntly that "the prosperity gospel will not make anybody praise Jesus; it will make people praise prosperity".

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Word of Faith, also known among its members as Word-Faith or simply Faith, is a religious movement within some Pentecostal and charismatic churches worldwide. The central doctrine is that health and prosperity are promised to all believers, and are available through faith.

Origins

Word-Faith teachings trace their roots to E. W. Kenyon (1867-1948), a New England Bible teacher, schoolmaster, and prolific writer. Kenyon authored eighteen books that form the basis of much Word-Faith theology. He coined a number of phrases still heard in the movement including, “What I confess, I possess.”

Kenneth Hagin (1917-2003), of Tulsa, Oklahoma, was heavily influenced by Kenyon’s writings. Hagin is often referred to as the “father” of the modern Word-Faith movement. He elaborated on Kenyon’s theology of confession, preaching a four-part formula for receiving God’s promises: “Say it; do it; receive it; tell it.”

Other preachers in Tulsa were mentored by “Dad Hagin”, and began to preach the same doctrines. The most prominent of these preachers is Kenneth Copeland.

The origins of Word of Faith teachings are shrouded in a number of overlapping theories. The Kenyon Connection, a thesis proposed by D.R. McConnell of Oral Roberts University, declares that Kenyon adopted the teachings of New Thought and relabeled them. Thus, the Word-Faith movement in McConnell’s view constitutes a Trojan horse. This argument was the primary conclusion reached by McConnell’s Master’s thesis published as a book, “A Different Gospel”. At the opposite end of the spectrum is the theory of Pastor Joe McIntyre, now head of Kenyon’s Gospel Publishing Society in Washington State. McIntyre argues that the primary influences of Kenyon were A.B. Simpson and A.J. Gordon of the Faith Cure branch of Pentecostalism. McIntyre’s version is told in the authorized biography, E.W. Kenyon: The True Story.

In between these two extreme views are the similar arguments of William DeArteaga and Robert Bowman, formerly of the Christian Research Institute. DeArteaga concedes some New Thought influence in Kenyon's teaching, but he argues that Kenyon's theories helped the church rediscover some Biblical truths. The primary work in defense of this theory is DeArteaga's "Quenching The Spirit." Arguing similarly but in an opposite direction is Bowman, whose "Word-Faith Controversy" is more sympathetic to Kenyon's historical background yet more critical of his doctrine than DeArteaga.

Teachings

Healing

The Word-Faith teachings are that physical healing was included in Christ's atonement, and therefore is available here and now to all who believe. Frequently cited in favor of the doctrine is Isaiah 53:5: "By his stripes we are healed." They also point to Jesus' healings, especially Matthew 8:17, which says that he healed the sick so that "it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the Prophet, 'Himself took our infirmities, and bore our sicknesses'."

Because Isaiah speaks in the present tense ("we are healed"), many of the most prominent Faith preachers teach that believers should overlook the symptoms of sickness, and instead positively believe and confess that they are already healed. According to adherents, sickness is an attempt by Satan to rob believers of their divine right to total health.

Most do not openly advocate dispensing with medical treatment, although some, such as Fred Price, have claimed to be strong enough in faith that they no longer need medicine.

'Little gods' Controversy

Word of Faith Ministers have been accused of teaching that believers are "little gods". Kenneth Hagin wrote that God "made us in the same class of being that He is Himself," and that the believer is "called Christ" because "that's who we are, we're Christ!" According to Hagin, by being "born again", the believer becomes "as much an incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth". Kenneth Copeland says Adam was "not a little like God ... not almost like God ... not subordinate to God even", and has told believers that "You don't have a God in you. You are one." Based primarily on the book of Psalms 82:6, which says "I have said, Ye are gods and all of you, children of the Most High"; this was also corroborated by Jesus making reference to this scripture in John 10:34. A common theme in Word-Faith preaching is that God created man as "an exact duplication of God's kind." (Hebrews 1:3, John 14:12, etc)

The promulgation of this teaching is one of the most contentious doctrines with its critics, who consider it heresy. Many Evangelical critics have asserted that the teaching is in fact, cultic. Hank Hanegraaff, for example contends the 'little gods' doctrine is on a par with the teaching of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and Jim Jones. In response, Faith defenders have claimed the teaching is simply underscoring the biblical view of the believer's "true identity in Christ", and is no more heretical than similar-sounding claims by C.S. Lewis and the Eastern Orthodox Church.. However, the Orthodox dogma of "Theosis" does not teach that man becomes, or can become, one in essence with God: being "born again" in baptism does not create another incarnation, it establishes a participation in the one incarnation, Jesus Christ. Only the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are in the same class of being that He is Himself. Other than Christ, man partakes of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4) in God's energies, His grace and power working in creation, never in His essence. Furthermore, C.S. Lewis underscores that we are to "act like little Christs". This is not to be confused with "being little Christs".

Prosperity

According to Word-Faith theology, financial prosperity and wealth was also included in the Atonement. This is based on an interpretation of the words of the Apostle Paul: "Yet for your sakes he became poor, that you by his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9). Critics believe Paul was speaking of spiritual riches, rather than material prosperity. Faith proponents support their view by arguing that the context is the giving of material wealth.

It is often taught by Word-Faith proponents that Jesus and the apostles were rich, and therefore that believers should expect the same financial success. Supporters such as Kenneth Copeland have argued that Prosperity Gospel is validated by the teachings of the Apostle John: "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 2). Copeland posits that “as the seeds of prosperity are planted in your mind, in your will and in your emotions…they eventually produce a great financial harvest." Critics argue that interpreting the salutation of John at the beginning of the epistle as a promise of prosperity is not consistent with New Testament teaching.

Faith & confession

In Word-Faith teaching, a central element of faith is "confession". The doctrine is often labelled "Positive Confession". Noted Word-Faith teachers such as Kenneth E. Hagin and Charles Capps have argued that God created the universe by speaking it into existence (Genesis 1), and that humans are created with the same power to speak things into being by their words. Thus, making a positive confession (by reciting a promise of Scripture, for example) has the power to cause things to happen. Word-Faith preachers have likened faith to a "force".

Likewise, according to Word-Faith teaching, "negative confession" can bring about negative results, and therefore believers should be careful to watch their words. This is argued for example on an interpretation of Proverbs 18:21: "Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and they that love them will eat the fruit thereof", also Numbers 14:28 "...saith the Lord, as you have spoken in my ears, so will I do" and many more such scriptures.

Jesus died spiritually

Often referred to simply as “JDS”, this is the teaching that in order to atone for sins, Jesus had to die both physically and spiritually. As a consequence of his ‘dying spiritually’, the Faith movement argues that Jesus thus needed to be born again just as any other sinner. While making it clear that Jesus Himself was never a sinner, they argue that Jesus was ‘forsaken by God’ just as if Jesus had committed every sin in human history.

E.W. Kenyon was the first to explicitly articulate the doctrine in a number of his works, including “What Happened From The Cross To the Throne” and “Identification: A Romance In Redemption”. It was later taken up by Hagin, Copeland and many of their followers. The doctrine asserts that Jesus’ bodily sacrifice was but the beginning of the Atonement, which continued with Jesus’ suffering in Hell. It is often said that Jesus took on humanity’s “satanic” nature, and was “born again” in Hell. . Hagin’s teaching was featured in his book, The Name of Jesus, 1978 edition. Yet, in a 1991 letter to the Christian Research Institute, Hagins son, Kenneth Hagin Jr, argued that Hagin Sr had never taught the born again Jesus or the adoption of Satan's nature.

The critic D.R. McConnell has labeled the teaching heresy, believing it compromises the teaching that Jesus' blood atoned for sin.. Critics have also expressed concern that the notion that Jesus became one in substance with Satan, and had to be "recreated" and born again is an unscriptural one that strips Christ of the defining qualities of deity.

Critics and controversy

One of the earliest critics of the teaching was Oral Roberts University professor Charles Farah, who published From the Pinnacle of the Temple in 1979. In the book, Farah expressed his disillusionment with the teachings, which he argued were more about presumption than faith.

That same year, Pentecostal scholar Gordon Fee wrote a series of articles denouncing both the health and the wealth gospels. In 1982, one of Farah's students, Daniel Ray McConnell, submitted a thesis to the faculty at Oral Roberts University arguing that Kenyon was the father of the teaching, that Hagin had plagiarized his doctrines from Kenyon, and that the unique doctrines of the Word-Faith were heretical. McConnell's thesis was published as the book, "A Different Gospel," in 1988.

One of McConnell's classmates, Dale H. Simmons, published his own research in earning a doctorate at Drew University. Simmons argued that Kenyon was influenced by both the metaphysical cults and the Faith Cure movement of the nineteenth century. 1990 saw the publication of "The Agony of Deceit" as a conglomeration of critiques of Word of Faith doctrines. One of the authors, Christian Research Institute founder Walter Martin, issued his judgment that Kenneth Copeland was a false prophet and that the movement as a whole was heretical.

In 1993, Hank Hanegraaff's Christianity in Crisis charged the Faith movement with heresy, and accused many of its churches of being "cults." He accused the Faith teachers of "demoting" God and Jesus, and "deifying" man and Satan.

Other critics, such as Norman Geisler, Dave Hunt and Roger Oakland, have denounced Word-Faith theology as aberrant and contrary to the teachings of the Bible. Critics have also condemned the teachings on wealth, arguing that the Bible condemns the pursuit of riches.

The "health and wealth" teachings have been heavily criticized, with opponents arguing that Faith teachers tend not to stress the multiple scriptures warning against material prosperity and telling of the importance of helping the poor.

Expository preacher John Piper criticised the assumption of Christianity bringing prosperity as the opposite of what is biblically true. Piper points out that Christ warned the apostles that they would suffer great persectution for the sake of his name (all eleven, after Judas Iscariot, suffered Martyr's deaths). In a January 2006 sermon entitled "How our suffering advances the gospel", Piper stated bluntly that "the prosperity gospel will not make anybody praise Jesus; it will make people praise prosperity".

See also

Further reading

Criticism of Word of Faith

  • Charismatic Chaos by John MacArthur (ISBN 0-310-57572-9)
  • Christianity in Crisis by Hank Hanegraaff (ISBN 0-89081-976-9)
  • A Different Gospel by Dan R. McConnell (ISBN 1-56563-132-3)
  • New Wine or Old Deception by Roger Oakland (ISBN 0-936728-62-0)
  • Seduction of Christianity by Dave Hunt (ISBN 0-89081-441-4)
  • Righteous Riches. The Word of Faith Movement in contemporary African American Religion by Milmon F. Harrison (ISBN 0-19-515388-X)
  • The Word-Faith Controversy by Robert M. Bowman Jr. (ISBN 0-8010-6344-2)
  • The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels by Gordon Fee (ISBN 0-935789-00-6)
  • Unfeigned Faith by Judson Cornwall (ISBN 0-8007-5057-8)
  • The Love of Power or the Power of Love by Tom Smail, Andrew Walker, and Nigel Wright. (ISBN 1-55661-454-3)

Support of Word of Faith

Notes & references

  1. Kenyon, E.W. Hidden Man. Ed. Ruth A. Kenyon. Lynnwood, WA: Kenyon Gospel Publishing Society, 1981.
  2. Kenneth E. Hagin, Right and Wrong Thinking, (Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1966)
  3. Jerry Savelle, If Satan Can't Steal Your Joy..., (Harrison House, 1982)
  4. Frederick K.C. Price, Faith, Foolishness or Presumption?, (Harrison House, 1979)
  5. Kenneth E. Hagin, Zoe: The God-Kind of Life, (Kenneth Hagin Ministries, Inc., 1989)
  6. Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Virgin Birth" in Word of Faith Magazine (December 1977)
  7. Kenneth Copeland, "Following the Faith of Abraham", (Teaching tape, Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1989)
  8. Kenneth Copeland, "The Force of Love", (Teaching tape, Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1987)
  9. Charles Capps, Authority in Three Worlds, (Harrison House, 1982)
  10. Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity in Crisis, (Harvest House, 1992)
  11. James R. Spencer, Heresy Hunters: Character Assassination in the Church, (Huntington House, 1993)
  12. "Deificiation," The Orthodox Study Bible", (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1993), p. 561.
  13. John Avanzini, "Was Jesus Poor?" (videotape)
  14. ”Kenneth Copeland, How to Prosper from the Inside Out, Kenneth Copeland Ministries, http://www.kcm.org/studycenter/finances/pdf/prosper_inside_out.pdf
  15. Leland Ryken, How Much Does 3 John 2 Promise? Christian Research Journal, Volume 28, Number 1 (2005), reprinted at http://www.equip.org/free/JAJ302.htm
  16. Kenneth Copeland, The Force of Faith, (KCP Publications, 1989)
  17. D.R. McConnell, A Different Gospel, updated edition, (Hendrickson, 1995), p117
  18. Kenneth Copeland, What Happened from the Cross to the Throne (audiotape)
  19. D.R. McConnell, A Different Gospel, updated edition, (Hendrickson, 1995), 114-131
  20. Charles Farah, From the Pinnacle of the Temple, (Logos, 1979)
  21. Hank Hanegraaff, Christianity in Crisis, (Harvest House, 1993)
  22. "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Luke 18:24-25.
  23. "But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort" Luke 6:24.

External links

Major Word Of Faith Ministries
Criticism of Word Of Faith Movement
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