Word of Faith, also known as Word-Faith or simply Faith, is a teaching within neo-pentecostal and charismatic churches worldwide. The central doctrine is that health and prosperity are promised to all believers, and are available through faith. Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Pentecostal can also mean pertaining to... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The charismatic movement began... Faith has two general implications which can be implied either exclusively or mutually; To Trust: Believing a certain variable will act a specific way despite the potential influence of known or unknown change. ...

Origins

Word-Faith teachings trace their roots to E. W. Kenyon (1867-1948), a New England evangelical 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."^[1] Essek William Kenyon (1867-1948) was an evangelist, pastor of the New Covenant Baptist Church, and president of a Bible Institute, Bethel Bible Institute in Spencer, Massachusetts, for twenty-five years. ... This article is about the region in the United States of America. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      The word evangelicalism often refers to...

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." Kenneth E. Hagin (August 20, 1917 - September 13, 2003) was a Pentecostal minister for about seventy years. ... Downtown Tulsa Tulsa is the second-largest city in Oklahoma. ...

Other preachers in Tulsa were mentored by "Papa" Hagin, and began to preach the same doctrines. The most prominent of these is Kenneth Copeland. Kenneth Copeland (born December 6, 1936 in Lubbock, TX) is a Pentecostal Word of Faith preacher and televangelist. ...

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." New Thought describes a religiophilosophical movement that developed in the United States during the late 19th century, originating with the metaphysical healing practices of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby and the “mental science” of Warren Felt Evans, a Swedenborgian minister. ...

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. The Bible (From Greek βιβλια—biblia, meaning books, which in turn is derived from βυβλος—byblos meaning papyrus, from the ancient Phoenician city of Byblos which exported papyrus) is the sacred scripture of Christianity. ... A common dictionary definition of truth is agreement with fact or reality.[1] There is no single definition of truth about which the majority of philosophers agree. ...

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'." Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... For other uses, see Atonement (disambiguation). ... Isaiah the Prophet in Hebrew Scriptures was depicted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling by Michelangelo. ...

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.^[2] According to adherents, sickness is an attempt by Satan to rob believers of their divine right to total health.^[3]

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.^[4]

'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!"^[5] According to Hagin, by being "born again", the believer becomes "as much an incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth".^[6] Kenneth Copeland says Adam was "not a little like God ... not almost like God ... not subordinate to God even",^[7] and has told believers that "You don't have a God in you. You are one."^[8] A common theme in Word-Faith preaching is that God created man as "an exact duplication of God's kind."^[9] Kenneth E. Hagin (August 20, 1917 - September 13, 2003) was a Pentecostal minister for about seventy years. ... Michelangelos The Creation of Adam, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, shows God creating Adam, with Eve in His arm. ...

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.^[10] 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.^[11]. 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. ^[12] Maharishi Mahesh Yogi (b. ... This article is about the cult leader. ... Clive Staples Lewis (November 29, 1898 – November 22, 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis, was an author and scholar. ... ...

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^{[citation needed]}. Faith proponents support their view by arguing that the context is the giving of material wealth^{[citation needed]}. Paul of Tarsus (b. ... (Redirected from 2 Corinthians) See also: First Epistle to the Corinthians and Third Epistle to the Corinthians The Second Epistle to the Corinthians is a book of the Bible New Testament. ...

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.^[13] 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."^[14] 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.^[15] Kenneth Copeland (born December 6, 1936 in Lubbock, TX) is a Pentecostal Word of Faith preacher and televangelist. ... John the Apostle (Hebrew: Johanan ;Greek Ιωάννης, see names of John) was one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. ... The Third Epistle of John is a book of the Bible New Testament. ...

It is noteworthy that the Jerusalem church of the first century which comprised Peter, James the brother of Jesus and John, pillars of the new testament church were poor. So poor in fact that Paul made it a significant part of his ministry to take collections from the gentile churches to relieve the poor in Jerusalem. see: Romans 15:26, Galatians 2:9-10, 1 Corinthians 16:1-3

Faith & confession

In Word-Faith teaching, the central element of faith is "confession". The doctrine is often labelled "Positive Confession". Noted Word-Faith teachers such as Hagin and Charles Capps have argued that God created the universe through the power of the spoken word (Genesis 1), and that humans were 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".^[16] Charles Capps is a minor figure in the Word of Faith movement, but one who has had a major influence on the movement through his books. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ...

Conversely, according to Word-Faith teaching, "negative confession" can bring about negative results, and therefore believers should be careful to watch their words. This is often based on a literal interpretations of Proverbs 18:21: "Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and they that love them will eat the fruit thereof." Biblical literalism is the supposed adherence to the explicit and literal sense of the Bible. ... The Book of Proverbs is one of the books of the Ketuvim of the Tanakh and of the Writings of the Old Testament. ...

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. For other uses, see Atonement (disambiguation). ...

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.^[17] 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.^[18] . Hagin's teaching was featured in his book, 'The Name of Jesus,' 1978 edition. Yet in a 1991 letter to the Christian Research Institute, Hagin's son, Kenneth Hagin Jr, argued that Hagin Sr had never taught the born again Jesus or the adoption of Satan's nature. “The Inferno” redirects here. ...

Many critics have labelled the teaching heresy, believing it compromises the teaching that Jesus' blood atoned for sin.^[19]. These critics have also expresed 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.^[20] Oral Roberts University or ORU, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the largest charismatic Christian university in the world. ... Charles Farah, Jr. ...

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. Gordon Fee is a New Testament scholar who, after teaching briefly at Wheaton College in Illinois, has for many years taught at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts until 1986. ... Oral Roberts University or ORU, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is the largest charismatic Christian university in the world. ...

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. Drew University is a small, private university located in Madison, New Jersey. ...

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.^[21] Hendrik Hank Hanegraaff is an American author, radio talk-show host and advocate of evangelical Christianity. ... Look up Heresy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Cults is a suburb on the western edge of Aberdeen, Scotland. ... Gustave Dorés depiction of Satan from John Miltons Paradise Lost Satan, from the Hebrew word for adversary (Standard Hebrew: , Satan; Tiberian Hebrew ; Koine Greek: Σατανάς Satanás, Persian: , Satanás; Aramaic: , ; Arabic: , , Geez: , Turkish: Şeytan), is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally applied to...

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^{[citation needed]}. Dr. Norman L. Geisler is a scholar, contributor to the field of Christian apologetics, and the author or coauthor of some sixty books defending the Christian faith. ... Dave Hunt (1926 – ) is a Christian apologist, speaker, radio commentator and author. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library. ...

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.

Resources

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)

John MacArthur John F. MacArthur, Jr. ... Hendrik Hank Hanegraaff is an American author, radio talk-show host and advocate of evangelical Christianity. ... Dave Hunt (1926 – ) is a Christian apologist, speaker, radio commentator and author. ... Gordon Fee is a New Testament scholar who, after teaching briefly at Wheaton College in Illinois, has for many years taught at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts until 1986. ...

Support of Word of Faith

• Faith and the Pharisees: Sincere Critics Have Been Sincerely Wrong by Ted Rouse (ISBN 1-890900-03-6)
• The Laws of Prosperity by Kenneth Copeland (ISBN 0-88114-952-7) (now available online as a PDF)
• Quenching the Spirit: Discovering the Real Spirit Behind the Charismatic Controversy by William DeArteaga (ISBN 0-88419-432-9)
• The Tongue: A Creative Force by Charles Capps (ISBN 0-89274-061-2)
• What You Say Is What You Get by Don Gossett (ISBN 0-88368-066-1)
• Living a Life Filled with God's Prosperity http://www.ChristianBiblicalProsperity.com
• Tom Brown gives a defense of the Word of Faith http://tbm.org/faithmove.htm
• Defending the Modern Faith Movement http://www.victoryword.100megspop2.com/
• Articles supporting Word of Faith

Kenneth Copeland (born December 6, 1936 in Lubbock, TX) is a Pentecostal Word of Faith preacher and televangelist. ... Charles Capps is a minor figure in the Word of Faith movement, but one who has had a major influence on the movement through his books. ...

Notes & references

See also

• Full Gospel
• Prosperity theology
• Creflo Dollar
• The Prayer of Jabez
• Robert Tilton

The Full Gospel movement within Protestant Christianity places special emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit and in that God wills for his children to be prosperous in all areas of their lives: Spiritual - John 3:3,11; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Romans 10:9-10. ... Prosperity theology or Prosperity doctrine is the doctrine that prosperity and success in business is external evidence of Gods favor. ... Creflo Augustus Dollar, Jr. ... The Prayer of Jabez : Breaking Through to the Blessed Life is an inspirational book published in 2000 by Bruce Wilkinson as the first book in the BreakThrough book series. ... Robert Tilton (born June 7, 1946) is an American televangelist who achieved notoriety in the 1980s and 1990s through his paid television program Success-N-Life. ...

External links

Criticism of Word Of Faith Movement

• What Is the Word of Faith Movement?, A concise contrasting of WF doctrines with Biblical truth.
• The Atonement of Christ and the "Faith" Message, by Brian Onken
• The Atonement and Word Faith Theology by the Watchman Fellowship, an independent Christian research and apologetics ministry.
• Atonement Where?, by Moreno Dal Bello
• Wells without Water, My experiences with the Word-Faith movement, by Tricia Tillin.
• The Word of Faith Movement By Gary E. Gilley
• Examination of What the Word of Faith Really Teaches by Richard J. Vincent
• Heresies of the Word-Faith Movement Christian Youth Alliance
• Freedom From the Faith Movement, The Personal Testimony of Jeff Beard
• Understanding Word-Faith Teaching, by Rob Bowman
• Collection of articles about the Word-Faith movement and its various adherents.
• Apologetics Index article examining the Word-Faith movement.