|
Word-Faith Movement
|
John Henry
|
Nov 14, 2006 05:25 PST
|
The Word-Faith
MovementBy Gary E. Gilley
TONGUES-SPEAKING /
CHARISMATIC
The fastest growing segment of professing Christianity today is the
Word-Faith Movement, also known as the
Positive Confession or simply "Faith" movement. Its growth
is at least partially due to the massive amounts of money the leaders are
able to extract from the faithful. This influx of cash allows for huge
buildings and extensive ministries, and more importantly, wide exposure
on television, which translates into numerical growth. Not only do many
Word-Faith preachers broadcast their services and campaigns, but
Word-Faith adherents, Paul and Jan Crouch, own the largest
Christian-based television network in the world. The Trinity Broadcasting
Network (TBN), founded by the Crouches, with an estimated net worth of
approximately $600 million dollars, is capable of televising the Faith
message (as well as many other errant messages) all over the world.
Well-known personalities within the movement include
Kenneth
Hagin,
Kenneth
Copeland, Robert Tilton (who is staging a come-back),
Paul Yonggi
Cho,
Benny
Hinn, Marilyn Hickey, Frederick K.C. Price, John Avanzini, Charles
Capps, Jerry Savelle, Morris Cerullo and of course, Paul and Jan
Crouch.
Beliefs Faith Is a Force
As is implied by the title "Word-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,
whatever. However, this force is only released through the spoken
word. As we speak the words of faith, power is discharged to accomplish
our desires. Hagin's theme, as found in his booklet How to Write Your
Own Ticket with God, can be summarized as follows (Christianity in
Crisis, pp. 74-75):
In the opening chapter, titled "Jesus Appears to Me," Hagin
claims that while he "was in the Spirit" -- just like the
apostle John on the Isle of Patmos -- a white cloud enveloped him and he
began to speak in tongues. "Then the Lord Jesus Himself appeared to
me," says Hagin. "He stood within three feet of me." After
what sounded like a casual conversation about such things as finances,
ministry, and even current affairs, Jesus told Hagin 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 "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."
1. 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."
2. 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."
3. Step number three is "Receive it." We are to plug into
the "powerhouse of heaven." "Faith is the plug, praise
God! Just plug in."
4. Step number four is "Tell it so others may
believe." This final step might be considered the Faith movement's
outreach program.
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" (Christianity in Crisis, p. 80).
Paul Yonggi
Cho, 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"
(Christianity in Crisis, pp. 83-84).
If a positive confession of faith releases power, then according to
Word-Faith, 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. "This 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 one might guess, the teachings of the 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. Frederick K.C. Price wastes no words when he writes:
"Now this is a shocker! But God has to be given permission to work
in this earth realm on behalf of man. … Yes! You are in control! So if
man has control, who no longer has it? God. ... When God gave Adam
dominion, that meant God no longer had dominion. So, God cannot do
anything on this earth unless we let Him or give Him permission through
prayer" (Prayer: Do You Know What Prayer Is. ... and How to Pray?
The Word Study Bible, p. 1178).
This is certainly a theology that would appeal to the masses, and thus
accounts for the Faith movement's popularity.
The Deification of Man Faith teachers like to
teach, based upon serious mishandling of passages such as John 10:31-39
and II Peter 1:4, that Christians are "little gods."
Copeland says, "Now Peter said by exceeding great and precious
promises you become partakers of the divine nature. All right, are we
gods? We are a class of gods!" (Christianity in Crisis, p. 116).
Benny
Hinn declares, "God came from heaven, became a man, made man
into little gods, went back to heaven as a man" (Christianity in
Crisis, p. 382 n. 43). Earl Paulk wrote, "Until we comprehend that
we are little gods and we begin to act like little gods, we cannot
manifest the kingdom of God" (Satan Unmasked, p. 97).
The Humanization of God
While man is glorified, God is humiliated in the Faith system. Copeland
claims that God is a being who stands about 6'2"-6'3", weighing
somewhere in the neighborhood of a couple of hundred pounds, and has a
hand span of 9" across (Christianity in Crisis, p. 121). Copeland
also declares "Adam was the copy, looked just like (God). If you
stood Adam beside God, they looked just exactly alike. If you stood Jesus
and Adam side-by-side, they would look and sound exactly alike"
(Christianity in Crisis, p. 137).
Many of the Word-Faith teachers also embrace a heresy known as Tritheism,
which in essence teaches that there are really three separate Gods. Hinn,
under supposed inspiration, explains:
"Man, I feel revelation knowledge already coming on me here. Holy
Spirit, take over in the name of Jesus. ... God the Father, ladies and
gentlemen, is a person; and He is a triune being by Himself separate from
the Son and the Holy Ghost. Say, what did you say? Hear it, hear it, hear
it. See, God the Father is a person, God the Son is a person, God the
Holy Ghost is a person. But each one of them is a triune being by
Himself. If I can shock you -- and maybe I should -- there's nine of
them. Huh, what did you say? Let me explain: God the Father, ladies and
gentlemen, is a person with his own personal spirit, with his own
personal soul, and his own personal spirit-body. You say, Huh, I never
heard that. Well you think you're in this church to hear things you've
heard for the last 50 years? You can't argue with the Word, can you? It's
all in the Word (Christianity in Crisis, p. 123-124).
Hinn, under fire, later retracted his remarks, only to reaffirm them two
years later.
Jesus supposedly told Copeland, "They crucified me for claiming that
I was God. But I didn't claim I was God; I just claimed I walked with Him
and that he was in me" (Christianity in Crisis, p. 137-138). Many of
the Faith heresies concerning God can be traced to the notes found in
Dake's Annotated Reference Bible.
The Distortion of the Cross
Four atonement-related errors on the part of the Faith teachers can be
documented:
1) Christ was re-created on the cross from divine to demonic. To put
it in Faith vernacular, Jesus took on the very nature of Satan himself.
2) Your redemption was not secured on the cross, but in hell. In
fact, many Faith teachers claim that Christ's torture by all the demons
of hell was a "ransom" God paid to Satan so that He could get
back into a universe from which He had been banished.
3) Jesus was reborn (or born again) in the very pit of hell.
4) Christ was reincarnated through His rebirth in hell and that those
who (like Christ) are born again can become "incarnated" as
well.
Thus, Faith teachers take Christ, the spotless Lamb, and pervert Him
into an unholy sacrifice on the cross (Christianity In Crisis,
p.153).
Practices While many, even within the Word-Faith
churches, are unaware of some of the doctrinal heresies of the movement,
none can plead ignorant of the strange and bizarre practices and emphasis
of its leaders. The following things are standard occurrences in
virtually every one of their television broadcasts, evangelistic
campaigns, and church services.
A Prosperity Gospel
Nothing will create more euphoria in the average person than the promise
to make them wealthy, and this the Word-Faith leadership knows very well.
The Word-Faith teacher's lifestyle is clearly identified by opulence,
luxury, riches, and the assurance that all of this can be his followers
as well -- if only they apply certain principles.
Robert Tilton is normative. On a Trinity Broadcasting Network program in
1990 he said:
"Being poor is a sin, when God promises prosperity. New house? New
car? That's chicken feed. That's nothing compared to what God wants to do
for you" (Charismatic Chaos, p. 285).
Fred Price on a similar broadcast explains how it works:
"If you've got one dollar faith and you ask for a ten-thousand
dollar item, it ain't going to work. It won't work. Jesus said,
'According to your [faith],' not according to God's will for you, in His
own good time, if it's according to His will, if He can work it into his
busy schedule. He said, 'According to your faith, be it unto you'"
(Charismatic Chaos, p. 286).
Of course, the road to prosperity somehow always leads to the
offering plate of the Word-Faith Movement. Gloria Copeland (Kenneth's
wife) pulls no punches in her book God's Will Is Prosperity:
"Give $10 and receive $1000; Give $1000 and receive $100,000 …
give one house and receive one hundred houses or a house worth one
hundred times as much. Give one airplane and receive one hundred times
the value of the airplane. … In short, Mark 10:30 is a very good
deal" (p. 54).
A Health Gospel
The "name-it-and-claim-it" pundits are not content with mere
wealth; they want to feel well enough to enjoy their prosperity. So do
most of their listeners. So while you are giving away wealth, why not
dispense health as well?
The Word-Faith teachers, as is true of many other charismatics, believe
that Christ provided for physical healing at the cross. As a result, not
only are Christians saved from sin, they are promised a life of health.
Kenneth Copeland writes in Healed … to Be or Not to Be:
"The first step to spiritual maturity is to realize your
position before God. You are a child of God and a joint-heir with Jesus.
Consequently, you are entitled to all the rights and privileges in the
kingdom of God, and one of their rights is health and healing" (p.
25).
But, if healing is part of the atonement, why do Christians get
sick? Lack of faith, as Benny Hinn explains:
"The Bible declares that the work was done 2,000 years ago. God is
not going to heal you now -- he healed you 2,000 years ago. All you have
to do today is receive your healing by faith" (Rise and Be Healed,
p. 44).
Of course reality, in the form of sickness, has to be faced even by the
Word-Faith leaders. Fred Price may proclaim "we don't allow sickness
in our home," but his wife still has cancer. Kenneth Hagin brags
that he has not had a headache, the flu, or even "one sick day"
in nearly 60 years, but he has had four cardiovascular crises. Paul
Crouch may have healed Oral Roberts of chest pains on a TBN Broadcast,
but it didn't stop Oral from having a heart attack a few hours later
(Christianity in Crisis, pp. 237-238). How are these things explained
away? Predictably, by blaming them on the devil. Sickness in the
Word-Faith camp is usually seen as satanic attacks that must be repelled
by words of faith (i.e., "positive confession").
Experiences The faith leaders make some amazing
claims. Hagin, for example, has visited (so he says) both heaven and hell
as well as had out-of-body experiences (Christianity in Crisis, p. 334).
He has had many visits from Jesus and angels. He boasts of the ability to
heal, cast our demons, and levitate people (p. 336). Hinn opens his best
selling book with these words:
"It was three days before Christmas 1973. The sun was still
rising on that cold, misty Toronto morning. Suddenly He was there. The
Holy Spirit entered my room. He was as real to me that morning as the
book you are holding in your hand is to you. For the next eight hours I
had an incredible experience with the Holy Spirit. It changed the course
of my life (Rise and Be Healed, p. 1).
Hinn speaks of frequent personal visits from the Lord, the first
being at age eleven:
"I saw Jesus walk into my bedroom. He was wearing a robe that
was whiter than white and a deep red mantle was draped over the robe. I
saw his hair. I looked into His eyes. I saw the nailprints in His hands.
I saw everything. ... When it happened, I was asleep, but suddenly my
little body was caught up in an incredible sensation that can only be
described as 'electric.' It felt as if someone had plugged me into a
wired socket. There was a numbness that felt like needles -- a million of
them -- rushing through my body. And then the Lord stood before me while
I was in a deep, deep sleep. He looked straight at me with the most
beautiful eyes. He smiled, and His arms were open wide. I could feel His
presence. It was marvelous and I'll never forget it" (Rise and Be
Healed, p. 22).
When Hinn describes his conversion, he does not mention the cross,
repentance, or faith; rather, it is all couched in terms of
experience:
"What I really felt, though, was that this surge of power was
cleansing me -- instantly, from the inside out. I felt absolutely clean,
immaculate, and pure. Suddenly I saw Jesus with my own eyes. It happened
in a moment of time. There he was. Jesus" (Rise and Be Healed, p.
31).
Hinn claims power of a supernatural nature often emanates from his
body:
"Once, my mother was cleaning the hallway while I was in my room
talking with the Holy Spirit. When I came out, she was thrown right back.
Something had knocked her against the wall. I said, 'What's wrong with
you, Mama?' She answered, 'I don't know?' Well, the presence of the Lord
almost knocked her down" (Rise and Be Healed, p. 42).
Both the appeal of the book and its dangers are evident in this
quote:
"Are you ready to meet the Holy Spirit intimately and personally? Do
you want to hear His voice? Are you prepared to know him as a person?
That's exactly what happened to me, and it drastically transformed my
life. It was an intensely personal experience, and it was based on God's
Word. You may ask, 'Was it the result of a systematic Bible study?' No,
it happened when I invited the Holy Spirit to be my personal friend. To
be my constant guide. To take me by the hand and lead me 'into all
truth.' What He will uncover and reveal to you in Scripture will make
your study of the Bible come alive" (Rise and Be Healed, p.
48).
Both the Word-Faith leaders and their followers make the same mistake of
basing their lives on experiences and feelings rather than upon the
inspired Word of God.
Luminaries within the Movement
Kenneth Hagin is considered the father of Word-Faith. He has a
syndicated radio show carried by about 250 radio stations; a Bible School
(Rhema Bible Training Center) with 12,000 graduates from 1974-1992; a
magazine with 400,000 subscribers; and has sold millions of books and
other publications.
Kenneth
Copeland is the heir-apparent to the Faith throne (although Benny
Hinn has moved in to challenge). Copeland's empire spans the globe with
similar ministries as Hagin.
Benny
Hinn was pastor of Orlando Christian Center in Orlando, Florida. (He
recently moved his ministry to Dallas.) Hinn reaches the world through
evangelistic campaigns, television, and literature. His book Good Morning
Holy Spirit was the best selling Christian book in 1991, selling a
quarter of a million copies in only three months. He is perhaps best
known as a "Faith-Healer" in the traditions of Kathryn Kuhlman
(his idol) and Oral Roberts. His "ability" to "slay in the
Spirit" large groups of people at once (by blowing on them or waving
his arm their direction) has brought him considerable notoriety.
Frederick K.C. Price, the most prominent of black Word-Faith preachers,
pastors the 16,000-member Crenshaw Christian Center, and has his own
television show.
John Avanzini, best-known fundraiser among the Word-Faith leaders. He has
said, "A greater than a lottery has come. His name is
Jesus!"
Robert Tilton perfected the Christian infomercial through his
"Success-N-Life" television program.
Marilyn Hickey is (except for Gloria Copeland and perhaps Jan Crouch) the
best-known woman in the movement. She teaches people to speak to their
wallets and checkbooks in order that their wealth may increase.
David Yonggi
Cho is the pastor of the 700,000 Full Gospel Yoido Church in South
Korea. Cho, who often speaks at Robert Schuller Conferences on church
growth (along with Bill Hybels), is perhaps the closest link to the
occult. He teaches a concept called the "Fourth Dimension." The
first three dimensions are physical and are controlled by the fourth,
which is the spiritual. Cho teaches that Christians can get anything they
want by calling upon the spirit world in the Fourth Dimension and
visualizing what they want. When a person (Christian or unsaved) follows
the proper formula of positive thinking, speaking and visualizing, they
"incubate" and eventually give birth to their desires. These
techniques are the same used in his occult-infested country. Cho is aware
of this fact, but believes what works for "them" will work for
"us" -- so use it.
* This report has been excerpted and or adapted from an article
("The Word of Faith Movement") in the April 1999, Think on
These Things, Southern View Chapel, Springfield, IL, Gary Gilley,
Pastor.
Biblical Discernment Ministries -
8/00
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/char/more/w-f.htm
============
The views expressed in this article are not necessarily the
opinion of the moderator. Articles are distributed free to those who by
subscribing to this eGroup have expressed interest in receiving them for
non-profit educational purposes only. TO
UNSUBSCRIBE SEND A BLANK EMAIL TO:
biblical-wor-@list.worthyofpraise.org
LIST INFORMATION:
http://groups.LandmarkBibleBaptist.net
ARCHIVED ON THE WEB AT:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/True-FalseDoctrine
|
|
 |
|
