RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION ? REVIEWING THE DISTORTED VALUES OF THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL MOVEMENT
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7391912Keywords:
Prosperity Gospel, Prosperity Theology, religious persecution, valuesAbstract
Religious Persecution ? Reviewing the Distorted Values of the Prosperity Gospel Movement.
In this paper, “Religious Persecution? Reviewing the Distorted Values of the Prosperity Gospel Movement,” the author briefly discusses the origins of the prosperity message in the Christian tradition and some of the basic values of the movement. He also brings forth the aspect of persecution in relation to prosperity theology and after presenting a concise Bible based reply to the prosperity message he concludes that prosperity gospel does not live any room for persecution, because its teachings are anti-biblical and anti-factual.
References
• Anderson, Allan H., “African Pentecostalism and Prosperity: Continuity and Discontinuity,” in African Pentecostalism and World Christianity – Essays in Honor of J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu, edited by Nimi Wariboko & Adeshina Afolayan, African Christian Studies Series, 18, Eugene, Oregon: Pickwick Publications, 2020, p. 259-74.
• Anderson, Kerby, Making the Most of Your Money in Tough Times. Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House Publishers, 2009.
• Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena, “Communications, New Technologies and Innovation,” in The Oxford History of Protestant Dissenting Traditions – Volume V – The Twentieth Century: Themes and Variations in a Global Context, edited by Mark P. Hutchinson, Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2018, p. 491-521.
• Asamoah-Gyadu, J. Kwabena, “Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa,” in Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa, edited by Kenneth R. Ross, J. Kwabena Asamoah-Gyadu and Todd M. Johnson, Edinburgh Companions to Global Christianity, Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press, 2017, p. 19-42.
• Barnett, Paul, The Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, UK, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1997.
• Best, Ernest, Second Corinthians, Interpretation – A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, Louisville, Kentucky, Westminster John Knox Press, 2012.
• Borup, Jørn, “Prosperous Temple Buddhism and NRM Prosperity Buddhism,” in Buddhism and Business. Merit, Material Wealth, and Morality in the Global Market Economy, edited by Trine Brox & Elizabeth Williams-Oerberg. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press, 2020, p. 59-75.
• Bowler, Kate, Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, New York, Oxford University Press, 2013.
• Bray, Gerald, editor, Thoms C. Oden, general editor, James, 1-2 Peter, 1-3 John, Jude, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, New Testament, Volume XI, London, New York, Routledge, 2013.
• Chilenje, Victor, “The Challenges of Prosperity Gospel for Reformed/Presbyterian Churches in the 21st Century,” in In Search of Health and Wealth. The Prosperity Gospel in African, Reformed Perspective, edited by Hermen Kroesbergen. Eugene, Oregon, Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2014, p. 3-20.
• Das, Rupen, “What the Majority World Is Saying about Mission Today” in Evangelical Review of Theology, 46.3/August 2022, p. 197-212.
• Hefner, Robert W., “The Unexpected Modern – Gender, Piety, and Politics in the Global Pentecostal Surge,” in Global Pentecostalism in the 21st Century, ed. Robert W. Hefner, Bloomington and Indianapolis, Indiana, Indiana University Press, 2013, p. 1-36.
• Jennings, Mark Alan Charles, “Great Risk for the Kingdom: Pentecostal-Charismatic Growth Churches, Pastorpreneurs, and Neoliberalism,” in Religion and Theology, Breakthroughs in Research and Practice, Hershey, Pennsylvania, IGI Global, 2020, p.160-172.
• Jones, David W. & Russell S. Woodbridge, Health, Wealth and Happiness – Has the Prosperity Gospel Overshadowed the Gospel of Christ? Grand Rapids, Michigan, Kregel Publications, 2011.
• Pyysiäinen, Ilkka. “Servants of Two Masters: Religion, Economy, and Cooperation,” in Religion, Economy, and Cooperation, edited by Ilkka Pyysiäinen, religion and Reason, Berlin, New York, De Gruyter, 2010, p. 1-34.
• Roberts, Keith A. & David Yamane. Religion in Sociological Perspective, 5th edition, Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Singapore, Washington DC, Sage, 2012.
• Rotaru, Ioan-Gheorghe. Om-Demnitate-Libertate (Human-Dignity-Freedom), Cluj-Napoca, Editura Risoprint, 2019.
• Schirrmacher, Thomas, The Persecution of Christians Concern Us All, Studies in Religious Freedom, 2, Bonn, Verlang für Kultur und Wissenschaft, 2001.
• Seifrid, Mark A., The Second Letter to the Corinthians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary, Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, UK, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2014.
• Sharpe, Matthew, “Name it and claim it. Prosperity Gospel and the Global Pentecostal reformation,” in Handbook of Research on Development and Religion, edited by Matthew Clarke, Cheltenham / Northampton, Massachusetts, Edward Elgar, 2013, p. 164-80.
• Stickney, Ginger, “Godly Riches: The Nineteenth Century Roots of the Modern Prosperity Gospel,” in Religion and Class in America: Culture, History and Politics, edited by Sean McCloud & William A. Mirola. Leiden, Boston, Brill, 2009, p. 159-74.
• Stott, John R. W., The Letters of John, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Volume 19, Downers Grove, Illinois, Inter Varsity Press, 2014.
• Stow, Simon, American Mourning. Tragedy, Democracy, Resilience, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2017.
• Stowers, Stanley K., Letter Writing in Greco-Roman Antiquity, Philadelphia, The Westminster Press, 1989.
• Timms, David, The Power of Blessings, Minneapolis, Minnesota, Bethany House, 2010.
• Walker, J. K., The Concise Guide to Today’s Religions and Spirituality, Eugene, Oregon, Harvest House, 1998.
• Weber, Max, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Translated by Talcott Parsons, New York, Charles Scribner’s, 1958.
• Yarbrough, Robert W., 1-3 John, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baker Academic, 2008.