Henry I. Lederle: The Third Wave: New Independent Charismatic Churches, Part 2
Positive Confession
The doctrine of positive confession comes directly from the idealism of E. W. Kenyon. Perhaps it was inevitable that in the pioneering stage, the newness of this teaching would lead to unfortunate excesses. For many centuries, Western culture has been dominated by a realist worldview in which physical matter and the material world are seen as fixed and closed. The world is seen as a “space-time box” and is accessible to our knowing only through empirical investigation by the five senses and through analytical reasoning. Any involvement of a supernatural being, such as God, is at best indirect and, in line with the cessationist teaching of many conservative Christians, should be limited to “the age of miracles,” which has passed. This doctrine of cessationism is based on a dispensational theory of God’s using different strategies in different epochs of history. In our present Church age, God no longer operates with the miraculous but rather only through the Scriptures. William DeArteaga, in his book Quenching the Spirit, defines idealism as the philosophical position that mind and matter can interact, with mind having some influence over matter (p. 335). The classic expression of an extreme idealist view would be sorcery, magic, or alchemy, in which officiants incant formulae in order to change reality magically. DeArteaga himself argues rather for a moderate idealism, which he sees as being in accordance with Scripture. (More about this in chapter 7.)
In the face of the strong realist tradition of the Western Church, any ascendancy of idealist thought represents a radical shaking of the foundations. Knee-jerk reactions abound. Positive confession is portrayed as manipulating God, deifying humans, and disregarding God’s sovereignty. It is possible to supply several quotations from Word of Faith teachers’ sermons that are vulnerable to such portrayals. A fine line separates believing that what you say can have an impact on concrete reality from lapsing into claiming things just for one’s own comfort and gratification. It is distressing when speakers “guarantee” material wealth seemingly in direct connection with contributing financially to a particular Christian ministry. Unfortunately, this is a perception that is widespread among people today, based both on limited exposure and on some unbalanced preaching on television. Reality has a way of catching up with those who distort the truth in such a way. It is possible that such overblown claims may seem to “work” for a season, but the ultimate fall and collapse of such extreme teaching is inevitable. We also know that God in His mercy is longsuffering and patient, wanting us to repent.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that the prayer of faith and the spoken word do have power and, when used in accord with God’s purposes, they can miraculously change circumstances. Two Scripture references will suffice—Mark 9:23, “All things are possible to him who believes”; and Mark 10:27, “With people it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.” Naturally the danger exists that faith may be placed on particular historical promises in the Bible that are then automatically transposed to contemporary circumstances in a one-to-one relation (without any confirming quickening of the Spirit’s guidance, often called a rhema word). Ultimately, faith rests securely as a trusting in Christ Jesus; in God the Father, who calls us to covenantal relationship and whose love is unfailing; and in the Holy Spirit, who is our Helper and dependable Guide.
Prosperity
The teaching on prosperity is also is an area fraught with potential pitfalls. In the Protestant Reformation, a spiritualizing tendency abounded. God’s preeminent blessing was the forgiveness of sins, grace for the soul, and spiritual liberation from bondage. Long neglected was the rich Old Testament tradition of an encompassing shalom or peace that includes the promise of land, offspring, and material blessings—sitting under your own fig tree and vine, and the integral concept of salvation in the New Testament, which includes not only salvation for the soul, but physical healing for the body. As a result, money itself is often considered suspect, rather than just the love of money (1 Tim 6:10). Western asceticism and the monastic cult of poverty have further clouded the issue. The Faith movement bucks this trend by teaching that the blessings of Abraham may come to the Gentile peoples through Christ (Gal 3:13–14) and that these include material blessings. Usually, preaching of this nature also emphasizes tithing. Despite some extravagant portrayals, most Word of Faith teachers make it clear that giving from egotistical and selfish motives is unacceptable. Hagin himself denounces the type of faith that is focused on “getting Cadillacs” for oneself. Prosperity is defined as having sufficient for one’s needs and the ability to bless the poor.
The ministry of Oral Roberts was revolutionized by the simple statement from 3 John 2, that God desires for us good health and welfare or prosperity. He later developed the concept of seed-faith, which underscores three principles: God (and not our abilities) is our Source and Provider; Give generously to others—the so-called law of seed time and harvest (or give and it shall be given to you); and, Be expectant in your faith—Expect a miracle! This is not the language of automatic manipulation or mechanical guarantees, although it can sometimes be twisted to sound that way. The reference in Mark 10:29–30 that selfless service in evangelism will bring a hundredfold return is preceded by Jesus’ admonition to the wealthy man (the so-called rich young ruler) to sell his possessions and give to the poor. Human covetousness can take these verses out of context and turn them into a calculating attitude of giving one item in an attempt to receive a hundred back for oneself.
Category: Church History, Pneuma Review, Spring 2012
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