Review of Prosperity Gospel

[shailesh mishra 4]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Prosperity Gospel" by Roger Smalling.]

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5 out of 5 stars

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In his well-researched book "Prosperity Gospel," author Roger Smalling presents a persuasive, scripturally-grounded critique of the Word of Faith movement from an evangelical perspective. By tracing the origins of these dangerous teachings to ancient Gnostic heresies, Smalling makes a compelling case that prosperity preachers have revived errors by proclaiming Christians can manipulate supposed spiritual laws to gain health, wealth, and success.

Smalling provides extensive biblical analysis to support his critique. For example, he systematically dismantles the claim that Christians inherit material wealth through Abraham's covenant by demonstrating thoroughly that the covenant contained no such promise and that Abraham was already prosperous before the covenant was established.

When addressing the issue of divine healing, Smalling acknowledges the continuing validity of healing gifts while soundly refuting the false notion that lack of healing always indicates insufficient faith. He compassionately affirms biblical prosperity and supply while rejecting the unbalanced emphases and lavish lifestyles of many prosperity preachers.

Anticipating potential objections, Smalling responds thoroughly and convincingly. Even when acknowledging that positive confession practices can seem to work in some cases, he still rejects them as thoroughly unbiblical and inconsistent with scripture.

Providing insightful analysis of the cultural and psychological factors contributing to these teachings’ popularity, Smalling speculates convincingly that the movement meets felt needs among upwardly mobile Christians influenced by American pragmatism and desire for control.

I give this excellent book a full 5 out of 5 stars for its combination of grace, scriptural fidelity, scholarly rigor, and potential to liberate wounded believers from prosperity errors. The only minor weakness is insufficient citation of outrageous prosperity preacher quotes to highlight the absurdity of their claims, but Smalling’s scriptural analysis and compassionate tone render this criticism negligible. I highly recommend this book both for its critique of prosperity teachings and its positive presentation of biblical truth regarding faith, healing, and provision.

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Prosperity Gospel
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