The New Pentecostal Message?: An Introduction to the Prosperity Movement by Lewis Brogdon

Author:Lewis Brogdon
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781498205900
Publisher: Cascade Books, an Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
Published: 2015-08-22T23:00:00+00:00

McConnell views this as not only problematic but also an indication that the origin of Word of Faith teaching is in metaphysical cultic teachings and not the revelation knowledge often claimed by Hagin. Kenyon’s roots, according to McConnell, are not Pentecostalism but actually the metaphysical religious beliefs of nineteenth-century luminaries like Mary Baker Eddy and Charles Emerson. To him, this unchristian link proved the true origins as Word of Faith teaching.

McConnell also provided an insightful summary of prosperity teaching on three key points. The belief in prosperity is inconsistent with key teachings in Scripture, it completely challenges the traditional theology of the cross, and it disregards the Bible’s teachings about the poor. On the first point, he began with the contention that the doctrine of prosperity has only two influences: the cultic metaphysical influence and the cultural influence which he viewed as the church’s accommodation of the worldly values of America. Some of the issues he raised in this important section relate to need. He asked, “How much does one need?” because he believes Word of Faith teachers misconstrue need. Another issue raised was the prosperity of Paul. Paul appears to be a counterexample of the king’s kid rule prominent in Word of Faith and prosperity circles. In the Philippian letter, Paul admitted to having experienced both abundance and lack. There was absolutely no indication from Paul that his experience of lack was somehow problematic for his faith. On the other hand, McConnell saw a parallel between the king’s kid rule and the immature attitude of the Corinthians that Paul vigorously sought to correct.

The central issue for McConnell was the implications of the cross as it relates to the Word of Faith movement in general and prosperity teaching in particular. He said, “At stake is nothing less than the meaning of the central event of Christianity: the cross and resurrection of Jesus.”86 For him, prosperity teaching contradicted the meaning of the cross on multiple levels: it subverted the demand of the cross for self-denial, it reduced God to a means to an end, and it focused on the things of the world as a sign of God’s approval. On a fundamental level, the claims of prosperity and perpetual health seem to contradict the central event of Jesus’ suffering and death and how it gives meaning to Christian discipleship. Beyond the cross, he argued that prosperity teaching was deficient because of its understanding of the teachings of Scripture about the poor. In fact, McConnell believed prosperity teachers constructed a theology that not only rationalized the disparity between rich and poor, but also that teachers degrade and insult the poor by claiming that they dishonor God. And he charged that Scripture’s warning to the rich is either ignored or greatly minimized. His analysis was leveled to prove that the movement falls outside the realm of orthodox Christian teaching.

Others would join McConnell in critiquing the implications of the prosperity gospel for Christian teaching. In The Bankruptcy of the Prosperity Gospel: An Exercise in

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