God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel


Book Description

A captivating first-person look at one of the world's most powerful prosperity dynasties that offers a unique perspective on greed, the Church, and the journey toward Truth. Millions desperate for hope and solutions are enticed by the promise of the prosperity gospel--that God will do whatever they need with just a little faith and a financial gift. All the while, prosperity preachers exploit the poor and needy to stockpile their riches. What can followers of the true gospel do to combat the deception? Through a remarkable and fascinating journey, Costi Hinn went from a next-generation prosperity preacher to the first to abandon the family faith and share the true gospel. Nephew of the world-famous televangelist, Benny Hinn, Costi had a front-row seat to the inner workings and theology of the prosperity gospel. But as Costi's faith deepened, so did his questions about prosperity teaching. As the deceptions in his past were exposed, Costi came face to face with the hypocrisy and devastation caused by his belief system, and the overwhelming truth about the real Jesus Christ. This captivating look into the daily lives of one of the world's leading prosperity dynasties offers a thoughtful perspective on the perils of greed, the power of the true gospel, and hope for the future of the global church. Through real-life stories, Costi challenges and equips readers to be living lights pointing the way to the true gospel and the saving grace of Christ. God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel will bolster your faith and encourage your own journey toward the Truth. Spanish edition also available.




Health, Wealth, and Happiness


Book Description

Be faithful in your giving and God will reward you financially. It's not always stated that blatantly but the promises of the Prosperity Gospel--or the name-it-and-claim-it gospel, the health-and-wealth gospel, the word of faith movement, or positive confession theology--are false. Yet its message permeates the preaching of well-known Christian leaders: Joyce Meyer, T. D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, and many more. The appeal of this teaching crosses racial, gender, denominational, and international boundaries. Why are otherwise faithful Christians so easily led astray? Because the Prosperity Gospel contains a grain of biblical truth, greatly distorted. For anyone who knows that Prosperity Gospel theology is wrong but has trouble articulating and refuting the finer points, this concise edition contains all the robust arguments of the hard-hitting original edition in a shorter, more accessible form.




The Prosperity Gospel Exposed


Book Description

"Michael Fortner makes an invaluable contribution by showing that such commonly heard claims as that believing in Jesus will make you rich are totally mistaken." (Robert S. McElvaine, author of Grand Theft Jesus: The Hijacking of Religion in America) Unlike other writers on this subject, the author once believed the Prosperity Gospel, but after twenty years of financial struggle and frequent unemployment God called him to research the Prosperity Gospel. What he found proves the Prosperity Gospel is totally false, and a horrible sin, and calls for a Reformation of the Charismatic Movement. Other books on this subject take a theological point of view, but the prosperity teachers failure is in not properly interpreting the Scriptures; so he analyzes every verse they use to teach the Prosperity Gospel, and gives the correct interpretation. As a result of properly interpreting the Scriptures, this book totally destroys the Prosperity Gospel. Fortner says all Christians have been deceived by wealth, not just Charismatics, the result is spiritual lukewarmness. The Scriptures show that Biblical prosperity is having all your needs met, or not being in want, but the American definition is having lots of stuff. He also says that many pastors, especially the mega-church pastors, earn too much money, while Jesus taught that his future ministers should live without high incomes or material wealth. This book says most preachers on Christian TV today, the Bible refers to as almost true yet false prophets because they are leading people away from the truth. But he is not against all Pentecostal / Charismatic doctrines, but takes a balanced approach because he grew up attending an old fashioned Pentecostal church. He believes Christianity in America today is the church of Laodicea, and so God has already started to refine us as gold; which means suffering the fire of judgment. He details the economic and natural disasters that have come upon America in the last few years and calls it is the judgment of God upon us, and calls for Christians to repent of materialism and the Prosperity Gospel. He says that the judgment will likely get worse until we repent, resulting in another Great Awakening in America. Michael D. Fortner was called into the ministry at age 20, but because he is not an eloquent speaker he chose to spend his adult life doing in-depth study of the Scriptures. He has a B.A. in journalism with a minor in history, and is a skilled researcher, with God-given ability to figure things out. He is also the author of "The Truth About United Flight 93" (showing the conspiracy theories are false), and Discoveries in Bible Prophecy. He is the editor of The Sibylline Oracles: Revised and Updated, and The Book of Enoch Updated. This book gets under the skin of people who believe in the prosperity gospel and it makes them really angry because it proves them wrong. Introduction ... Chapter 1 - Deceived by Wealth ... Chapter 2 - Spirituality and Riches ... Chapter 3 - The Way of Balaam ... Chapter 4 - Using Proper Context and Interpretation ... Chapter 5 - No Wisdom Here ... Chapter 6 - The New Covenant Priesthood ... Chapter 7 - Rich and Poor Christians ... Chapter 8 - Supernatural Signs or Strange Fire ... Chapter 9 - The Almost True Yet False Prophet ... Chapter 10 - Holy Laughter and Strange Manifestations ... Chapter 11 - Strange Charismatic Doctrines ... Chapter 12 - Prophetic Voices Crying in the Wilderness ... Chapter 13 - The Judgment of God and Revival ... Conclusion ... Bibliography ... At this low price you can buy a print copy and an eBook copy so you can search for words and phrases. Ebooks now take the place of indexes; without an index a printed book uses less paper and sells at a lower price. Please leave a review of this book, thanks.




Blessed


Book Description

Catherine Bowler's Blessed represents the first attempt to examine the twentieth-century American prosperity gospel movement as a whole, seeking to introduce readers to its major figures and features.




Exposing Mega Churches and the Prosperity Gospel Scam


Book Description

Nearly eight million people will die from starvation this year and 554,000 homeless Americans will sleep in cardboard boxes and eat out of garbage cans today, while Christian mega churches and ministries in America have enough money in their bank and investment accounts to feed all of these starving people three meals a day throughout the year, and to also house, feed, and provide medical care for every homeless person in America. Seven hundred children die from starvation every hour while prosperity preachers drive Rolls Royce automobiles, live in multi-million-dollar homes and fly in private jets.




Invading Babylon


Book Description

You were transformed to transform your world! For too long, Christianity has been defined by a false concept of church. As a result, believers have built walls around their lives, keeping culture at a distance. As Christians have tried to keep culture out of the church, unfortunately, the church has kept itself out of the culture. This was never Jesus’ design for the your life! Before church was established as a place that people “came to,” Jesus instituted it as an army that brought transformation to society, starting with salvation and continuing with seven spheres of influence: Church, family, education, government, media, arts, and commerce. Six revolutionary voices in the modern church deliver Invading Babylon. This essential guide will equip you to: Understand your vital role in shaping society. Release God’s will in your sphere of influence. Become an unstoppable citizen in God’s Kingdom. It’s your time to arise and be a light in a dark world.




Satan's False Prophets Exposed


Book Description

A shocking expose' of the Word of Faith movement, Toronto Blessing revivals, and Prophetic Movement, like none written before. Gold dust, feathers, glory clouds, out of body trips, are some of the signs and wonders that are "strong delusion" from false prophets. Some are actually in league with Satan. The evidence is shocking, and names are given.




Know the Heretics


Book Description

There is a lot of talk about heresy these days. The frequency and volume of accusations suggest that some Christians have lost a sense of the gravity of the word. On the other hand, many believers have little to no familiarity with orthodox doctrine or the historic distortions of it. What’s needed is a strong dose of humility and restraint, and also a clear and informed definition of orthodoxy and heresy. Know the Heretics provides an accessible “travel guide” to the most significant heresies throughout Christian history. As a part of the KNOW series, it is designed for personal study or classroom use, but also for small groups and Sunday schools wanting to more deeply understand the foundations of the faith. Each chapter covers a key statement of faith and includes a discussion of its historical context; a simple explanation of the unorthodox teaching, the orthodox response and a key defender; reflections of contemporary relevance; and discussion questions.




Your Best Life Now


Book Description

In this remarkable New York Times bestseller, Joel Osteen offers unique insights and encouragement that will help readers overcome every obstacle in their lives.




Everything Happens for a Reason


Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A meditation on sense-making when there’s no sense to be made, on letting go when we can’t hold on, and on being unafraid even when we’re terrified.”—Lucy Kalanithi “Belongs on the shelf alongside other terrific books about this difficult subject, like Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air and Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal.”—Bill Gates NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY REAL SIMPLE Kate Bowler is a professor at Duke Divinity School with a modest Christian upbringing, but she specializes in the study of the prosperity gospel, a creed that sees fortune as a blessing from God and misfortune as a mark of God’s disapproval. At thirty-five, everything in her life seems to point toward “blessing.” She is thriving in her job, married to her high school sweetheart, and loves life with her newborn son. Then she is diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. The prospect of her own mortality forces Kate to realize that she has been tacitly subscribing to the prosperity gospel, living with the conviction that she can control the shape of her life with “a surge of determination.” Even as this type of Christianity celebrates the American can-do spirit, it implies that if you “can’t do” and succumb to illness or misfortune, you are a failure. Kate is very sick, and no amount of positive thinking will shrink her tumors. What does it mean to die, she wonders, in a society that insists everything happens for a reason? Kate is stripped of this certainty only to discover that without it, life is hard but beautiful in a way it never has been before. Frank and funny, dark and wise, Kate Bowler pulls the reader deeply into her life in an account she populates affectionately with a colorful, often hilarious retinue of friends, mega-church preachers, relatives, and doctors. Everything Happens for a Reason tells her story, offering up her irreverent, hard-won observations on dying and the ways it has taught her to live. Praise for Everything Happens for a Reason “I fell hard and fast for Kate Bowler. Her writing is naked, elegant, and gripping—she’s like a Christian Joan Didion. I left Kate’s story feeling more present, more grateful, and a hell of a lot less alone. And what else is art for?”—Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior and president of Together Rising