Sci-Fi or the Bible?
Prosperity Gospel, also known as Health and Wealth gospel, or Word-Faith movement, is a cheap faith based on a lack of understanding and misuse of scripture, and an over indulgence on material desires for wealth and comfort. Even the most objective of literary critics can affirm that the beliefs of prosperity gospel in no way maintain hermeneutic or contextual consistency to the teachings actually found in the Bible. Rather the teachings of prosperity gospel seem more motivated by greed and the cultural context of Sci-Fi mysticism.
Certainly you may think “no one could give any credibility to a faith that begins to look like Star Trek or Star Wars.” Yet we see people everyday faithfully pouring their energy and finances into these heretical faiths. People follow whole heatedly, blinded by their desperation, even when these false teachers make claims about the Christian’s ability to heal the sick such as the following:
“When Christians heal “a force field of power comes out of you” and “the closer you are to the person, the more power they will feel and receive” (Charles and Frances Hunter, Handbook for Healing. Pg.91).” They also make claims that for every dollar you give, that you will receive 100 times that amount back in financial gain, and yet it seems the only people getting rich are the ones we see on TV.
I feel a deep hurt for those who have been seduced into this false faith through the sci-fi mysticism of such books. I have seen the rotten fruits of such teachings. It hurts the one who desperately dives into such heresy. But it also hurts those around that person. The teachings of this false faith creates an unhealthy sense of narcissistic arrogance, an elitist superiority evidenced by constant judgment of others particularly about the weakness of their faith, and emotional instability marked by a situational and often contradictory morality that allows the person to do whatever is necessary to obtain what they desire, such as deception, misleading, or slander. I hurt for these people, and I pray that someone of sound doctrine, wisdom and biblical faith will guide these people from the darkness of these lies, back to the truth of God.