Key Takeaways
When Donald J. Trump was swear in as the 45th president of the United States of America on Jan. 20 , 2017 , he asked six different members of the clergy to offer supplicant . Among those invited were the first two " prosperity sermonizer " to ever pray at an inaugural .
Both Paula White , a televangelist and founder of the non - denominational megachurch New Destiny Christian Center in Apopka , Florida , and Bishop Wayne T. Jackson of Great Faith Ministries International in Detroit , advocate what ’s known as the prosperity gospel , an increasingly popular flavour ofChristianitythat ’s build up on the promise that God grants health and wealthiness to those who practise the " right kind of organized religion " [ source : Associated Press ] .
The message of the prosperity gospel is deep attractive . God want you to be happy . He require you to be sanctify . He want you to live abundantly — spiritually , physically and financially . The way to receive the fullness of God ’s blessings is to actualize them through faith . Through spiritual power , you’re able to amass material wealth .
It ’s not surprising that Trump , a wealthy man of affairs with a taste perception for showy luxury , would take spiritual solace in a gospel that equates financial succeeder with spiritual immenseness . The prosperity gospel is , in some agency , the " exaltation " of theAmerican Dream[source : Bowler ] . It show a God who sign hard work and up wandering " confirming thinking " with fiscal wages .
In the New Testament , Jesus say to his disciples , " Ask and it shall be given you ; seek and you shall find ; knock and the doorway will be opened to you " ( Matthew 7:7 ) . According to the successfulness gospel , that promise goes for soundness , peace , and maybe if you ’re close enough , a yacht .
As a religious movement , the prosperity gospel is one of the fastest - grow in the world . In the U.S. alone , 40 percent of the 1,650 megachurches in America preach a successfulness content , even if comparatively few of them would openly call themselves prosperity churches [ source : Bowler ] . successfulness sermoniser lead hebdomadal church service services in converted play stadiums that support 40,000 worshippers and command social medium audiences in the trillion .
outdoors of the U.S. , the prosperity gospel has exploded in countries like Nigeria and Singapore , where the capitalist - friendly form of Christianity has beguile the center and judgement of an entrepreneurial middle family . Interestingly , migrant from Africa and Asia are now taking the prosperity gospel back to legal age Christian nations in Europe , where some of the biggest and quickest - growing churches are founded by foreigner [ source : Lenora Brown ] .
Despite its popularity — or because of it — the prosperity gospel has its percentage of critics , mostly mainstream Christian denominations that claim the heart content of Christianity are being twisted to sanction selfishness and covetousness . And since many successfulness preachers ask generous tithe and other donations as demonstrations of religion , they are also accused of duping their followers for illegitimate financial addition .
Before we jump into the criticisms and controversies fence the successfulness gospel , let ’s start by determine exactly what it is , which is harder than you might think .
What Is the Prosperity Gospel?
The prosperity gospel is tricky to immobilize down . That ’s because unlike other Christians likeCatholicsor mainlineProtestants , prosperity church are independent and largely unaffiliated with any ecclesiastic organisation . They do n’t share a mutual religious doctrine or statement of feeling . Each successfulness preacher arise his or her unique gospel message based on personal divine guidance disembowel from their own indication of the Bible and life experience . Most of them would say , though , that they believe the Bible is without error and urge by God .
On a whole , the prosperity gospel includes any Bible - base teaching that divinely sanctions the accumulation of money and fabric good . It also include the inwardness feeling that thoughts , prayer and other spiritual decrees can transfer your textile fate [ source : Sinitiere ] . Kate Bowler , an historiographer of American Christianity at the Duke University Divinity School and the foremost scholar of the successfulness creed , says that four common themesdefine successfulness preaching : faith , wellness , wealthiness and victory .
Faith , to a successfulness preacher and follower , is n’t merely opinion in God or a vague Bob Hope that thing will turn out all right . They see faith as a spiritual force by which human beings can put the power of God to work in their life . And the specialty of an person ’s faith can be measured by existent - cosmos outcome . Among the chief yield of faith , according to the successfulness gospel truth , are health and money .
Before there was such a matter as the prosperity church doctrine , there were trust healer . We ’ll get into the diachronic root of the successfulness gospel later , but it ’s important to understand that strong-arm healing was and still is a vital manifestation of spiritual power through faith . Healing andgood healthis a veridical - human beings outcome produced by focused confirming thinking , prayer , religion and gifts of the spirit .
Wealthis another outward sign of faith and another way by which adherent to the prosperity gospel can measure their spectral power . Although the Bible include some pretty potent statements about the dangers of wealth and riches — " For the love of money is the solution of all kind of iniquity " ( 1 Timothy 6:10 ) and " It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a acerate leaf than for a rich Isle of Man to enter the kingdom of God . " ( Mark 10:25 ) — prosperity preachers cite other scriptures that appear to sanction the accumulation of money .
For instance , in John 10:10 , Jesus says , " I have come that they may have life , and that they may have it abundantly . " The word " abundance , " say successfulness preachers , can be represent to admit an abundance of joyfulness and spiritual natural endowment , but also secular goods . successfulness sermonizer like Joel Osteen of the 40,000 - phallus Lakewood Church ( the large church building in America ) in Houston , Texas , have written book and uncounted discourse about " living an abundant life " with God ’s help . You ’ll also find the word " abundant " or " teemingness " in the names of many successfulness church .
Victoryis the sensory faculty amongprosperity gospelbelievers that any challenge in life can be conquered through faith in Jesus Christ . God need you to win . And gain can include anything from overcoming a forcible ailment or disease to graduating from college to getting that new high - paying job . The " Winners Chapel " in Nigeria is one of many successfulness megachurches that explicitly links Christian religion with winning in life [ source : Bowler ] .
The prosperity religious doctrine is a innovative phenomenon , but its root stretch back to the 19th - century . Next , we ’ll look at how a portmanteau of positive intellection and Pentecostalism spawn a global religious movement .
History and Evolution of the Prosperity Gospel
The successfulness gospel did n’t come out of tenuous air . It ’s the issue of more than a C ofself - helpmovements and spiritual revivals coalescing into a shiny novel form of American - made Christianity .
Its roots go back to the " New Thought " movement of mid-19th century America popular with non - religious thinkers like Ralph Waldo Emerson , which teach that the somebody could exercise office over the material world with his thought . One popular New Thought author taught his follower to " See yourself in a well-off condition . Affirm that you will before long be in a prosperous circumstance " [ root : Burton ] .
Around the final stage of that 100 , a minister of religion diagnose E.W. Kenyon put a Christian twisting on New Thought and teach that masses should avoid thinking or say matter associated with sickness or poverty . Instead , they should say , " God ’s strength is mine . God ’s health is mine . His success is mine " [ source : Bowler ] .
Another key component in the prosperity gospel is the Protestant work ethic , a terminal figure strike by Max Weber in 1905 , which introduced the idea that financial winner could be tied to a certain type of hardworking Christian faith . Calvinist , who believed that some mass were predestine to be saved , pointed to outward sign of the zodiac like wealth to justify their " elect " status [ source : Burton ] .
But the two clearest influence on the prosperity gospel were two unrelated motility born after World War II . The first is the rise ofPentecostaltent revivals , charismatic roadshows of trust healing that spread out out across the U.S. and Canada . This inciter soma of Pentecostalism placed a strong stress on outward expression of spiritual gifts . First and foremost was speaking in tongues , in which the sprightliness pour out of individual in the signifier of a godlike language .
The 2nd influential post - war movement was spawned by Norman Vincent Peale ’s 1952 best seller " The Power of Positive Thinking , " which introduce a modern update to the occult practices of New Thought . Peale learn that when a person thinks positively , they " set in motion positive strength which bring positive resultant to run . " Interestingly , Peale was also the pastor at Marble Collegiate Church in New York , where a young Donald Trump and his parent attended Christian church .
The first rightful successfulness preachers like Oral Roberts blended all of these fixings together to create a new religious worldview that combined the focused confirming thinking of Peale with the Pentecostal opinion in strong-arm manifestations of religious belief . It was a short trip from speaking in natural language , to get gifts of strong-arm healing through trust , to receive gifts of all kinds , including real wealthiness .
Roberts became one of America ’s first televangelists in the 1960s , breed a succession of prosperity preachers who used the medium to associate with growing audience of believers who were eager to donate money to the church in return for God delivering a " seven - fold " comeback on the investment .
Some of today ’s most popular successfulness sermoniser like Lakewood ’s Joel Osteen made a witting turn by from the crass methods of now - disgraced 1980s televangelists like Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and latch onto the therapeutical language pop in modern American spirit [ reference : Sinitiere ] . In other word , they made a break with " hard prosperity " education , often derisively referred to as " name it and claim it " for what might be called " easy successfulness . " Osteen ’s message is more about internal " blessings " and " last your sound life " — which includes financial comfort , of class — but also having privileged peace and joy . Osteen could be the bill youngster for this " expert spirit " since he is articulate to be worth $ 60 million and live in a 17,000 - square - foot house [ origin : Finn ] . His followers like the fact that his message is always positive , long on erotic love and poor on red region .
Of of course , the successfulness gospel is much more than big - name preacher man with meg of Twitter followers . It ’s a religious practice follow by close believers around the humanity . countenance ’s regain out what that looks like .
The Prosperity Gospel in Practice
To believers , the dead on target power of the prosperity religious doctrine is that it offers way of taking control of their living and their destiny . It ’s interesting to note that the " Power of Positive Thinking " rose to prominence during the incredibly destabilizing geopolitical climate of the early Cold War , and that the successfulness evangel has gained traction during another era of economical and political unbalance [ rootage : Sinitiere ] .
As we mentioned sooner , the successfulness religious doctrine instruct that faith is much more than a inactive opinion . Faith is a eccentric of spiritual " activator " that turn thoughts and petition into reality [ origin : Bowler ] . The key to putting the prosperity Gospels into practice , therefore , is to make your desire known to God and have faith that He will save .
One way to do that is through something call " positive confession . " confirming confession is like a combination of traditional spoken prayers , recite verses from the Bible and the New Age exercise of self - affirmation . At the beginning of each and every Sunday overhaul at the Lakewood Church , for instance , Osteen leads the monumental congregating in a simultaneous positivist confession . They each hold up their Bible and say :
Positive confession is like a verbalise version ofpositive thinking . If you desire a specific blessing from God , you call out that blessing by name , quote rhyme from the Bible in which God promise to have ( " ask and ye shall receive " ) , reaffirming your religious belief that that He can do all things , and then echo for as many daytime , week or twelvemonth it take on for the approving to get .
The first moment , though , is that with enough religion and enough positive persistence , God will indeed turn in . The individual is back in control of their destiny . What this means , though , says Duke student Kate Bowler , is that the prosperity evangel has no room for the concept of luck . Instead , she say , it supply a " pragmatic , result - found … therapeutic set of belief that explain why some believers arise to the top and others plummet to the very bottom . "
In this light , adherent learn to see even everyday action as spiritual " work " go them nearer to receiving their desired blessing , or further away . They seek to uphold a cheerful , positive , grateful and " blessed " attitude . They carry relentlessly prescribed messages on social medium . They buy books penned by their favorite sermonizer and dutifully donate to the church .
And how do they cognise if the practice is working ? It ’s obvious — they will be blessed with wellness , wealth and triumph over their trials . But what pass off when those blessings do n’t materialize ? We ’ll come back to that query afterwards when we delve into the ( many ) critique of the prosperity gospel truth .
For now , let ’s front at the global reach of prosperity subject matter .
Prosperity Gospel Around the Globe
From Africa to Asia to South America , there is no slap-up personnel in global Christianity than the successfulness religious doctrine . The phenomenon is fuel by exploding urban populations , social and political hullabaloo , and a growing middle year with aspirations for greater wealth .
Nigeria has been swept up by an old - shoal charismatic physique of Pentecostalism — lots of speaking in tongues and rhapsodic dancing — boost by a prosperity message that caters to the nation ’s uneasy entrepreneurial spirit and disillusionment with government corruption . Lagos , with a universe of 20 million , is place to four prosperity megachurches with average Sunday attendance in overabundance of 30,000 multitude each . One even has 75,000 attenders [ source : Bird ] . The megachurches are not only centers of adoration , but they do offer substantive social services for thousands of migrants who get in Lagos daily in hunting of body of work [ source : Lenora Brown ] .
In Asia , Christianity is spreading 10 times quicker than in Europe , and Singapore is home base to several huge prosperity congregations , let in the 30,000 - appendage New Creation Church led by the magnetic pastor Joseph Prince . Unlike Nigeria , where the popularity of the successfulness gospel is fueled by upward mobility , the audience in Singapore is largely young , single and financially comfortable . They ’re drawn in by the dynamic contour of adoration , which includes pop music concerts , a secure social media bearing and a " riches - verify " divinity that ’s in bleak contrast to their parents’Buddhism . The with child churchin the world , Yoido Full Gospel , is in South Korea and has more than 800,000 member [ beginning : Philomin ] .
In Brazil , where unemployment hovers at 13 per centum and millions live in the urban sordidness of favelas , the successfulness gospel singing attempts to allow a solution to widespread economical despair . In a nation that was once predominate by Catholicism , now a quarter of Brazilians are Pentecostal . Pastors in Brazil accentuate ego - betterment through prayer , self - discipline and clean living ( no imbibition or drugs ) , plus making generous contribution to the church . One of Sao Paolo ’s most infamous prosperity church seats 12,000 and was built to resemble King Solomon ’s temple [ source : Pulliam Bailey ] .
In an interesting twist , missionary and minister of religion from Africa , Asia and Latin American are bringing the successfulness back to predominantly Christian nations in Europe and even the U.S. Nine out of the top 20 missional - send nation are base in Africa , Asia and Latin America , and four of Britain ’s 10 big churches were launch by Nigerians , including the Nigerian Redeemed Christian Church of God , the fastest - growing church in the U.K. [ source : Lenora Brown ] .
Criticisms of the Prosperity Gospel
Theprosperity gospeland its preachers have face a outpouring of critique from mainline Christian denomination who charge the apparent motion with everything from theological unorthodoxy to slip from the poor .
The most outspoken ailment with the prosperity gospel is that it glorifies the accrual of money , and turns the virtuous Acts of the Apostles of faith , giving and obeisance into bare tools for " getting stuff from God " [ source : Henderson ] . As we cite earlier , the Bible explicitly calls the love of money the " root of all kinds of evil " and Jesus frequently praise the meek and lowly of this creation while chastising the robust and knock-down .
The traditional rendition ofChristianityis that Christ ’s atonement on the cross — in which he die for the sins of the world — and his triumph over death during the Easter Resurrection of Christ , entail that all faithful Christians can be forgiven of their sins in this life and ultimately be resurrected with the righteous in life eonian .
Critics of the prosperity gospel accuse prosperity preachers of twisting the content of ultimate victory and apply it to this life in this world [ root : Piper ] . The traditional view of Christianity is that mortal living is a period of " examination , " suffering and sacrifice with the hope that the faithful will be rewarded in heaven , not necessarily on Earth . This is how Christianity answer the fundamental problem of pain and offer comfort to worshipper .
Bowler , who spent yr visiting successfulness churches while researching her book " Blessed : A History of the American Prosperity Gospel , " also say that the unrelenting focal point on positive thinking can take a psychological cost on following who are fight with serious problem .
She describes a pattern calledacting faithin which multitude with late - stagecancerwalk around acting as if they ’re already bring around , and the great unwashed in crippling debt thank God for checks that have n’t yet come . Instead of reconciling themselves with their problems and trade with them productively , they " scour their minds " of any negatively charged thoughts that would barricade the much - needed boon to add up [ generator : Bowler ] .
A final overarching criticism of the successfulness gospel is one that ’s been raise at every televangelist since Oral Roberts , that magnetic pastors are only in it for the money . They enrich themselves by duping their followers into believing that the best way to receive God ’s blessings — whether it ’s healing their body or their bank accounts — is to give more money to the church service .
And all that cash has go to some serious preacher scandals . To name just a few : Jim Bakkerwent to gaol in 1988 for fraud after sell thousands of $ 1,000 life memberships to TV viewers in interchange for destitute hotel remain at his base Mungo Park Heritage USA . Only one 500 - room hotel was ever work up . Most of the money went to finance Bakker ’s lavish lifestyle . TelevangelistRichard Roberts , Oral Roberts ' Logos , was ousted as head of Oral Roberts University in 2007 for using schooling money to pay for his home remodeling and his family ’s personal horse barn of knight , among other goodies . AndCreflo Dollar , pastor and founder of World Changers Church International in Atlanta , was widely rib in 2015 for ask his flock to purchase him a raw $ 65 million Gulfstream G650 sumptuosity private plane . He described it as " necessary " to spread God ’s word . What was that Biblical enounce about the love of money and evil again ?
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Each of us are looking for answers and brainchild to help us overcome personal struggle and recover felicity . I do n’t fault or judge people that cleave to the message of the prosperity gospel singing . When you hear to actual sermons by folks like Joel Osteen or Joseph Prince , there is n’t an explicit focus on acquire rich . It ’s much more about pore your energy and your faith on making the changes in your lifespan that will bring you joyousness and fulfillment . The implicit substance is that some of that joy and fulfilment will come from being more financially safe . I worry , though , that citizenry around the world are sacrificing their funds and psychological well - being in hunt of a God - given windfall that will never materialize .
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The successfulness gospel has no room for the conception of luck . It leave a solvent - based set of beliefs that explain why some believer climb up to the top and others plummet to the very bottom .
Critics reason that the relentless focus on positive thinking can take a psychological toll on followers who are fight with serious problems . drill like " acting religion " may forbid someone from dealing with their issue productively .
