Word of Faith
From Theopedia
The Word of Faith movement or word-faith theology developed in the latter half of the 20th century in mainly Pentecostal and Charismatic churches. Its beginnings trace back to an early twentieth century evangelical pastor, E.W. Kenyon (1867-1948), who preached that God would award financial and other gifts if the faithful would ask. Kenyon coined the phrase, "What I confess, I possess." Kenneth E. Hagin is often credited with being the father of the modern Word of Faith movement, using a four-part formula he claimed to have received from Jesus: "Say it; do it; receive it; tell it."
Proponents of the doctrine include Oral Roberts, Kenneth & Gloria Copeland, Kenneth Hagin, Jerry Savelle, Charles Capps, Bill Winston, Creflo Dollar, Charles Nieman, Hobart Freeman, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, T.D. Jakes, and Marilyn Hickey, among others. They teach that Christians must claim the grace God has promised them, whether in material goods, health, social position, or roles within the church.
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Teachings
Faith
Probably the most distinctive teaching of the word-faith movement is "an idealized and prescriptive conception of faith that diminishes the relational and personal dimensions of Christian spirituality... [They push] the logic of faith to an idealized and absolute conclusion" [1].
Health and material prosperity
The word-faith movement promotes "an enthusiasm for material prosperity as a concrete expression of the goodness of God towards his people that is difficult to square with the high value placed, for various reasons, on poverty in the Bible, and which is likely to compromise the church s prophetic voice." [2]
The "health and wealth" teachings have been heavily criticized for avoiding scripture that warns against material prosperity (eg. Luke 6:20, Matthew 19:24, Ezekiel 16:49, James 2:5) and tells of the importance of helping the poor (eg. Isaiah 58:5-7, Luke 12:33 Mark 10:21, Acts 20:35, Psalm 82:1-5; Proverbs 19:17, 21:13, 22:9, 24:31, 29:7; Luke 20:37-42, Acts 10:5).
- See main page: Prosperity gospel
Salvation history
The word-faith movement teaches "a narrative of salvation history that is at odds with mainstream evangelical thinking at a number of crucial points" [3].
Christ's spiritual death
"Spiritual death means something more than separation from God. Spiritual death also means having Satan's nature. Jesus tasted death, spiritual death, for every man." (Kenneth E. Hagin, The Name of Jesus (Tulsa, OK: Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1981), 31.
"The righteousness of God was made to be sin. He accepted the sin nature of Satan in His own spirit. And at the moment that He did so, He cried, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me?" You don t know what happened at the cross. Why do you think Moses, upon instruction of God, raised the serpent upon that pole instead of a lamb? That used to bug me. I said, "Why in the world would you want to put a snake up there the sign of Satan? Why didn t you put a lamb on that pole?" And the Lord said, "Because it was a sign of Satan that was hanging on the cross." He said, "I accepted, in My own spirit, spiritual death; and the light was turned off." (Kenneth Copeland, "What Happened from the Cross to the Throne" (Fort Worth, TX: Kenneth Copeland Ministries, 1990), audiotape #02-0017, side 2.
Other info
- Proponents of the Word of Faith movement promote a trichotomous view of the nature of man (cf. Nature of man).
Quotes
- "There is a marked desire to shock, which goes with the showmanship of the Word of Faith movement but which may also echo the background buzz of polemic and debate with mainstream Christianity. Word of Faith teachers have a habit of making theologically provocative statements that may appear much less scandalous when unpacked. The tabloid theologizing is designed to disrupt traditional assumptions and generate excitement about the life of faith on a routine basis." [4]
Resources
Criticism of Word of faith
- Charismatic Chaos by John MacArthur (ISBN 0310575729)
- Christianity in Crisis by Hank Hanegraaff (ISBN 0890819769)
- Counterfeit Revival by Hank Hanegraaff (ISBN 0849942942)
- New Wine or Old Deception by Roger Oakland (ISBN 0936728620)
- Occult Invasion by Dave Hunt (ISBN 1565072693)
- Seduction of Christianity by Dave Hunt (ISBN 0890814414)
- When New Wine Makes a Man Divine by Roger Oakland (ISBN 0963779745)
- Righteous Riches. The Word of Faith Movement in contemporary African American Religion by Milmon F. Harrison (ISBN 019515388)
Support of Word of Faith
- The Laws of Prosperity by Kenneth Copeland (ISBN 0881149527)
- The Tongue: A Creative Force by Charles Capps (ISBN 0892740612)
- What You Say Is What You Get by Don Gossett (ISBN 0883680661)
- The Anointing by Benny Hinn (ISBN 0785271686)
- Feast of Fire by John Kilpatrick (ISBN 0963709038)
- I Believe in Miracles by Kathryn Kuhlmann (ISBN 0882706578)
- God's Generals by Roberts Liardon (ISBN 0883689448)
Notes
See also
- Trichotomy and Humanity
External links
Critical
- The Prosperity Movement: Wounded Charismatics, by Roger L. Smalling
- The 'Word-faith' Movement, by Chris Hand
- The Word-Faith Movement, by Gary Gilley
- An Examination of the Word-Faith Movement, by Richard Vincent
- Conclusions: Word of Faith and Evangelical Unity (PDF)
- Positive Confession (Watchman Fellowship)
- Word-Faith Theology (Watchman Fellowship)
- Word Faith Theology and Mormonism (Watchman Fellowship)
- Word-Faith Movement, by Clete Hux (Watchman Fellowship)
- Ten Reasons To Reject Word of Faith Teaching, by Tricia Tillin
- What's Wrong With The Faith Movement? (Part 1, Part 2), by Hank Hanegraaff
- Faith in Faith or Faith in God?, by Hank Hanegraaff
- Word-Faith Movement (ApologeticsIndex.org) - Scroll down to Word-Faith Movement section
- Heresies Of The Word-Faith Movement
Favorable
- Ten Reasons NOT To Reject Word-of-Faith Teachings - A Response to the tract written by Tricia Tillin Titled Ten Reasons To Reject Word-of-Faith Teachings
