The Word of Faith Movement: Towards a Constructive Engagement
- Johannesburg, South Africa South African Theological Seminary 2016
- 269p PDF A4 Abstract. Table of contents. Works cited.
The objective of this study is to come to an authentic understanding of the Word of Faith movement at a variety of levels: its origins, its theology, and its influence, all for the purpose of laying a foundation for constructive and informed engagement with the Word of Faith movement.This study is not easy to classify in terms of the standard sub-divisions of theology. Since the objective of the study is to come to an accurate understanding of a contemporary religious movement so as to facilitate constructive dialogue, it involves a combination of historical, systematic, and practical theological components. The methodology throughout is based on literary methods.The study aims to answer four key questions. Firstly, is the Word of Faith movement a metaphysical cult or an authentically Christian movement with aberrant theology? The study concludes that the Word of Faith movement is authentically Christian; however, the movement has theological teachings and beliefs that are not supported by a contextual Bible reading. Secondly, what is the organising framework for the theology of the Word of Faith movement, and how plausible is the movement’s theology? On this point the study demonstrate show the key theological beliefs of the movement relates to its ‘little gods’ teaching and how these key beliefs are dependent upon an understanding and acceptance of the ‘little gods’ teaching. Thirdly, why does the Word of Faith movement attract and keep adherents despite its theological deficiencies? Here the study relies, among others, on Bainbridge and Stark who showed that cults form to address people’s immediate and social needs. It also makes use of Festinger’s theory of cognitive dissonance to show that individuals respond to a tension between their beliefs and their experiences by 4 adapting their beliefs in terms of their perceived and/or real reward. Avery and Gobbel show how powerful the relationship between the spiritual leader and the listener can be, this results in a form of surrogate validation whereby the individual allows him or herself to be influenced.Finally, how should the Evangelical Church engage with the Word of Faith movement? In answering this question it is clear that education is central. I further argue,that from an ethics perspective,a Christ centered approach to theology is of equal importance as is using scripture as the foundation used for the validation of beliefs and teachings. I conclude that Smith’s model for doing theology addresses all these elements and, if used, arrives at a missional focused theology where theological belief and scriptural reading speaks to the contemporary church.
Theology, Practical--Word of Faith Movement --World wide