Posted on 12/27/2015 8:56:51 AM PST by Greetings_Puny_Humans
Joel Osteen and The Prosperity Gospel
(June/July 2009 - Volume 15, Issue 4)
The New Age book and video by Rhonda Byrne, The Secret, which gained popularity recently due to Oprah Winfrey's strong promotion, teaches that we can "create [our] own happiness through the law of attraction." Whether it is cash, health, prosperity or happiness, all can be ours if we will just learn to use "the secret." Byrne tells us, "Disease cannot live in a body that is in a healthy emotional state." But be warned: "If you have a disease and you are focusing on it and talking to people about it, you are going to create more disease cells."[1]
Such rhetoric should sound familiar to anyone even faintly aware of the Word of Faith Movement, often termed "the prosperity gospel." This group has been infiltrating evangelicalism for decades and is now the fastest growing segment of Christianity in the world. Some have estimated that up to 90 percent of those claiming to be Christians in Africa are of the prosperity gospel variety.
Well-known personalities within the movement include Kenneth Hagin (deceased), Kenneth Copeland, Robert Tilton, Paul Yonggi Cho, Benny Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Frederick Price, John Avanzini, Charles Capps, Jerry Savelle, Morris Cerullo, Joyce Meyer and Paul and Jan Crouch.
As implied by the title "Word of Faith," the supporters of this movement believe that faith works like a mighty power or force. Through faith we can obtain anything we want -- health, wealth, success, or whatever we please. However, this force is released only through the spoken word. As we speak words of faith, power is discharged to accomplish our desires.
In Christianity in Crisis, Hank Hanegraaff summarizes the theology of Kenneth Hagin (considered by many to be the father of this movement) as found in his booklet How to Write Your Own Ticket with God:
In the opening chapter, titled "Jesus Appears to Me," Hagin claims that while he was "in the Spirit," Jesus told him to get a pencil and a piece of paper. He then instructed him to "write down: 1, 2, 3, 4." Jesus then allegedly told Hagin that "if anybody, anywhere, will take these four steps or put these four principles into operation, he will always receive whatever he wants from Me or from God the Father." That includes whatever you want financially. The formula is simply: "Say it, Do it, Receive it, and Tell it."
Step number one is "Say it." "Positive or negative, it is up to the individual. According to what the individual says, that shall he receive." Step number two is "Do it." "Your action defeats you or puts you over. According to your action, you receive or you are kept from receiving." Step number three is "Receive it." We are to plug into the "powerhouse of heaven." "Faith is the plug, praise God! Just plug in."
Step number four is, "Tell it so others may believe." This final step might be considered the Faith movement's outreach program.[2]
Kenneth Copeland states the faith formula this way: "All it takes is 1) seeing or visualizing whatever you need, whether physical or financial; 2) staking your claim on Scripture; and 3) speaking it into existence." [3]
Paul Yonggi Cho, pastor of the world's largest church in South Korea , borrowing from the occult, has developed what he calls the "Law of Incubation." Here is how it works: "First make a clear-cut goal, then draw a mental picture, vivid and graphic, to visualize success. Then incubate it into reality, and finally speak it into existence through the creative power of the spoken word."[4]
If a positive confession of faith releases good things, a negative confession can actually backfire. Capps says the tongue "can kill you, or it can release the life of God within you." This is so because, "Faith is a seed . . . you plant it by speaking it." There is power in "the evil fourth dimension" says Cho.
Hagin informs us that if you confess sickness you get sickness, if you confess health you get health; whatever you say you get. The spoken word releases power -- power for good or power for evil is the commonly held view of the movement. It is easy to see why the title "positive confession" is often applied to this group.
As you might guess, the teachings of the "Word of Faith" movement are very attractive to some. If we can produce whatever our hearts desire by simply demanding what we want by faith, if we can manipulate the universe and perhaps even God, then we have our own personal genie just waiting to fulfill our wishes. The similarities between Word of Faith teachings and The Secret are unmistakable.
The New Look: Joel Osteen
Many Christians can discern the obvious error of New Age teachings behind The Secret and similar books such as Eckhart Tolle's The New Earth (another Oprah favorite), as well as the over-the-top proclamations of many within the prosperity gospel movement. However when similar teachings are repackaged, reworded and presented in a winsome fashion, a larger number will fall prey. Enter Joel Osteen and his brand of the prosperity gospel-lite. As we will see, Osteen teaches essentially the same theology as his Word of Faith mentors, but he gives it an updated twist.
(More at link)
**It makes me sad that there are people out there so vulnerable to these leeches.**
Some folks just have to learn the hard way. Remember the woman that had suffered many things in trying to be healed from her issue of blood? There are people that go to live with the ‘Philistines’ because things are going bad where they live (Abraham and Isaac), but then they realize that they are not in God’s will, even though it seemed like the right place to be at the time.
**And Joel Osteen, those close together gopher eyes & creepy smile just makes me want to slug him.**
Disliking someone, because of physical aspects they were born with, is not a good reason for that behavior. Even a smile is genetic because of the bone and muscle structure.
I will say that hating someone’s hairdo is acceptable, IMO. My wife hasn’t worn makeup for almost 33 years. Neither one of us misses it. I’m so conditioned to it, that it’s often the first thing I notice on a woman.
But, hating sin is inherited from God, and is a must.
**I will say it’s also not God’s purpose in anyone’s life to make people poor, ill and miserable.**
Well then, you should do just great if you happen to be a (Christian) merchantman and get shipwrecked on the coast of Iran or Libya.
Now you are just being silly.
If you think God put you here to suffer instead of prosper, you and I disagree.
Righteousness is true wealth. Material wealth and health is not the center of the Gospel, nor is even respected by God.
God is responsible both for material wealth and poverty. He gives and He takes away, all for His own glory and purpose. The Christian covets spiritual wealth, and is thus always wealthy even when poor. God has created many impoverished saints throughout the entirety of history, not because He wanted to harm them for no reason, but for His own glory and the growth of the saints.
Anyone familiar with New Age occultism would understand the clear roots of these teachings.
“I will say it’s also not God’s purpose in anyone’s life to make people poor, ill and miserable.”
What was Job’s story, then?
I usually try & not slag people off because of their looks because genetically it is what you are given. But I do think he has beady, insincere eyes & an extremely fake smile. Plus I remember how awful his wife acted years ago on a plane flight.
Not a fan of these charlatans!
The prosperity offered by the Gospel is of the heart not the wallet.
Osteen and others are more concerned with the wallet then the heart.
Again,little if anything to do with what I said! In my worship God did not put us here to be miserable. You want to be poor, ill and miserable? Go ahead if it makes you feel better.
Similar to the leftists who think the West should feel guilty for poor nations.
I’d like to see their Scriptural support for this kind of stuff.
More on wolves in sheep’s clothing being exposed.
The Kundalini Spirit Has Invaded the Church Masquerading as the Holy Spirit!!!
BE VIGILANT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfXmDkQiE2o
Exposing Benny Hinn
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bffI10DDj-c
They’re both relatively short.
So what are all the people in other countries doing poor, persecuted, and martyred for? Why are they in jail for their faith?
Isn’t their faith strong enough?
Maybe you should educate them that God doesn’t want them in those circumstances and they just need to speak blessing and freedom on themselves and see how that works out for them.
But first, read the last part of Hebrews 11, verses 35-40 and get back to us on why God allowed them to endure what they did and why they did NOT receive what He promised them.
Did you ever read what Jesus said to the Laodecian church in Revelation?
It might be good if you did some time.
There’s far more to life than physical material success, but the word of faith movement disallows for God to use hardship and adversity to accomplish His purposes in us.
I just love how they all decide how God should be working in my life, feel obligated to tell me that, and then condemn ME when what’s happening in my life doesn’t fit with how they think it should be.
Did God tell you personally that He wants everyone to be healthy and rich? How does that fit with Jesus telling us that in this world we WILL have tribulation?
Honestly, the people who I see struggle most in their spiritual lives are the ones who decide for God how He should be working and then get thrown for a loop when He doesn’t perform on demand for them.
Good grief! You are not going to change my mind and I am not going to change yours!
You want to be poor and suffer go ahead.
I intend to enjoy life, as I believe God intended! I am with grandkids trying to watch the Steelers game.
Merry Christmas!
No, I intend to enjoy life and watch the Steelers game.
Genesis...the temptation of Eve....”You shall be as the gods...”!
What makes you think that’s what I WANT?
Of course nobody wants that.
But God does not perform on demand for His creation, doing their bidding as they see fit.
I don’t doubt Jesus was healthy, but He also was poor and He got CRUCIFIED. Hardly the course of a life that televangelists portray that we all should have.
And I did not fail to notice that you failed to answer the questions.
This all started because I mentioned I enjoyed Dr Eugene Scott and Joel Olsteen. That’s all. Then I am piled on by people who seem to want to convert me. What should I convert to? Lutheran? Presbyterian? Catholic? Episcopal?
I am happy with my relationship with God.
Merry Christmas.
BTW Steelers lost...of course.
It's like admitting to being a fan of Justin Beiber or Miley Cyrus. Of course you were going to get jumped. What did you expect?
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