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What's Wrong With Word of Faith?

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And Why Should We Care?

People have asked why I'm against Word of Faith churches. They want to know why I, as a Christian, would say anything against a Christian church. They ask "If they are not hurting people, why should I care?" They also mention that these churches make people feel better, and that they bring a lot of people to the faith.

Watch these two videos and then read on, and you will know EXACTLY why I should care, and why all Christians should care.

Don't Think About What's Right, Feel What's Right

Many of the "Word of Faith" Churches seem to be more worried about "feeling the Spirit" rather than sound biblical teaching. Worshiping in the Spirit, praying in the Spirit, being slain in the Spirit, healing with the Spirit, and perhaps a long sermon on the Spirit Realm (be it heaven's angels or hell's demons) seem to cover most of the services that I've attended at these types of churches. When I've actually heard a different type of sermon from them, I was left wandering why so many pieces didn't add up. I also wondered why they were so against traditional churches, calling them "dead" and having a general disdain for anyone who would question their methods.

Faith Healings, The Prosperity Gospel, & Other Questionable Teachings: Bad theological advice, teachings such as "we are little gods", a look at Benny Hinn & his faith healings, and a glimpse of how a non-Christian (or even a Christian!) may react to some of the things that happen in many of our churches.
Why I'm Against "Name It and Claim It" Theology: Reasons why the name it & claim it teachings of the word of faith movement are, (sorry to say), heretical.

James Randi Proves a Word of Faith Preacher to be a Fraud

James Randi is a skeptic. I'm not saying that to insult him (I love the work that he has done, look him up on youtube, he's great!), that's what he calls himself. He is not a christian, when asked in an interview if he believed in any god he said no. His main mission seems to be to debunk mystics, psychics, and the like. Oddly enough he came across a preacher pulling the same types of tricks. This video, this preacher, this is the reason that I, and all Christians, should be VERY concerned over this movement.

The Actual YouTube Video, Complete With Comments From Viewers: If you want to see what disillusion looks like, read the comments from viewers. Some comments are from nonbelievers and atheists who use things like this as a "See, I told you so". Still think that word of faith only helps people?

Popoff Is Still A Preacher!

My Reasons For Speaking Out Against Word of Faith

If they are not hurting people, why should I care? Lying to people is hurting people. Making people believe that you are speaking the word of God when you are lying hurts all Christians, especially the ones being lied to.

These churches make people feel better. Temporarily. Once you realize that you've been had, will you still feel better? Will you still trust in an organization that lied to you?

They bring a lot of people to the faith. They can bring as many people in as they want, but if they are theologically wrong, than they are not teaching anybody correctly. Bringing in more people means lying to more people, more people disillusioned, more people that can turn away and never put their trust in Christianity again. If anything, we should be MORE concerned that THEY are the ones bringing in all of these new Christians!

Why would I, as a Christian, say anything against a Christian church: For my answer to this, read on.

Christianity Should Be A Good Example To The World

As the church for the one living God, Christians have to set an example. If we have sects of the church that are not setting a good example, than Christianity, and the church as a whole, seems hypocritical and will not be trusted by people who don't understand that not all churches are the same. As a former member of a word of faith church, I can tell you that a LOT of people do not know that orthodox churches are different from word of faith churches - without experience with both types, people just assume that they are the same.

As Christians we want our churches to thrive. There is nothing wrong with having a large church - in fact, a large church is a great thing! However, when there is a scandal concerning a large church, one that makes it look like a money-making entity rather than a religious entity, that hurts all of Christianity. As Christians we know that it's hard to get a good Christian message out in the world, that publicity tends to side with the things of the world rather than showing the things of God. So do we want our only publicity to be scandal? A lot of the word of faith churches are going under fire for their practices, and rightly so. However, this does not show others the good side of Christianity, it shows a church divided. As one of the people speaking against word of faith, I guess I'm one of the people guilty of the "church divided" problem. However, that's a better alternative than being a church united with false practices.

Here are a few of my lenses that are associated with word of faith:

Name It & Claim It Theology: This lens outlines some of the practices of the word of faith movement, including prosperity and faith healing teachings.
Speaking in Tongues: What the bible says about speaking in tongues.
A little bit about my Christian background, and links to more of my lenses about Christianity.: This lens tells about my Christian background, the types of churches I have attended, and my own struggle with the word of faith movement.

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favored1 Dec 12, 2011 @ 3:24 pm | delete

Jesus said, "If they are not preacing against God (actually against Jesus) leave them alone." He is the judge and will sort it all out. Our job is not to divide the church. We don't need enemies when people of God are causing the friction in the church. We may not understand it, but are not to be a stumbling block. Not every Word of Faith church is the same. Actually the phrase is directly from scripture when Paul said it is the Word of Faith that we preach. It is through God's compassion and Spirit that we learn not everyone is at the same point in their journey.

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equusstu Dec 12, 2011 @ 5:30 pm | delete

If they are not preaching truth, then are they not preaching against God? I used to belong to a word of faith church, and I have seen many people fall away from Christianity because of false doctrine. You're right, we are not to divide the church, but should we allow falsehoods to become the norm, and allow the church to be viewed as flawed and, let's face it, silly? Christianity is under attack, and as Christians we are not putting our best foot forward if we allow this "modern" take on the gospel to be the face of our religion. God will sort this out, so lets bring as many of our brethren to this "sorting" as we can through truth and love, not lies and falsehoods.