In this book, Hank Hanegraaff does a very adequate job of exposing a rising movement popular in our so called "christian" culture of today. According to the author, the "Word of faith" movement is on the rise and is endorsed by the media and many political sectors. The movement encompasses a vast array of "prosperity" preachers.
At first glance, I was overwhelmed. This book is 347 pages and I was sure that a book of this size was bound to be redundant on this subject matter. The author does repeat himself on several occasions throughout the book but I feel the repetition was necessary to drive home his overall point - Christians today are in crisis if they don't recognize the cultic movement on the rise around them.
I was both enlightened and saddened regarding various "evangelicals" caught up in the "Word of faith" movement. The author lumps pastors such as Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyers, and Rod Parsley with those caught up in the New Age movement. The author states, "While Faith preachers such as Osteen have noteworthy differences from New Agers such as Vitale and Byrne, they are united in the belief that the force of faith is so powerful that even the Master of the Universe is bound by it's irrevocable reality." The book was informative, but did have an "in your face" approach and even though he uses scripture throughout his book to support his statements, I would recommend (as with any book), that it be read as looking at the opinion of another, not fact.
3 comments:
Thanks for the overview of the book Sue. I'd not heard of it. Prosperity preachers have never appealed to me, even when I was in a church that taught some of that years ago. It always turned me off and just didn't feel "right" in my spirit. Thanks for the heads up regarding the book. Love yoU!
I have not read this book, but you know there is a lot of teaching out there that's different. I am always amazed with Joel O'Steen...he has a wonderful message but very little scripture and very little about living a life for Christ. His message seems to come across that no matter what you do or how you are living, God is right there waiting to give you everything you want, just ask. But that approach is no doubt very popular when you see the size of his church. But then "its all about me" is also popular. Thanks for the overview, I may try to pick up the book and read it too.
I almost ordered this book a few weeks ago, but didn't because of the length of the book. Some authors will repeat themselves to fill up book space, I was afraid this book would be one of those. I'm glad to hear that it isn't. This book sounds interesting.
Very Nice review Aunt Sue
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