The Need to Address Alternative and New Religious Movements

What is the prosperity gospel understanding of the Bible? What is the "avenue" by which many proponents of the prosperity gospel receive such spiritual "revelation?" How has the prosperity gospel misunderstood what is "special" revelation? What is "special" revelation? What is the "general" revelation of the Bible in regards to the creation of the universe? How does a person attain salvation based upon what the "revelation" they receive from God?  These are questions that needs to be answer by those who claim that in order to understand the Bible are to be understood esoterically and mystical (Col. 2:18, 19).    As I stated in my previous articles is that mere casual reading of the scripture (e.g. "3 John 2") is just Only the tip of the theological iceberg.  There is a philosophical basis by which the prosperity gospel originate.  It may appear that many proponents of the prosperity gospel seem to have a "go...

The original article that I have wrote, "Getting a Grip on the Basics of Knowing How to Read the Bible" is very much basic when it comes to properly reading God's Word.  It is "unfortunate" that the leadership of many churches today especially both Charismatic and Pentecostal churches are ignorant when it comes to knowing "how to" properly read scripture. Scripture quoting and sanctimoniousness does not make a person a student of the Bible but if anything as my father said years ago, "Talking loud and saying nothing." (1 Cor. 12:1-2).  In order for believers to read properly God's Word is to take into account every word of scripture: that is paying attention to the author's original intent, the wording of the text of scripture, "small" words (e.g. "and") so as to bridge the gap between one thought into another, the grammatical structure of the context of scripture, and also such the immediate scripture as to its ...

I find it quite amazing that people who are on the social media especially the average churchgoer have not yet master the basic fundamentals of Bible interpretation.  It is very unfortunate that many who called themselves Christian leaders in the church today are unskilled when it comes to "properly" interpreting the Bible.  Instead of properly reading the scripture they in fact read over biblical passages of the Bible without taking into consideration the "wording" of the text of scripture, comparison passages that will shed light upon a particular difficult Bible passage nor understand the grammatical structure of the context of scripture as to its literal meaning, the type of literature, and the interrogatives so as to question the text in and of itself (2 Timothy 2:15).    Once again the church have not yet graduated from "The Fundamentals of Bible Interpretation." Many believers remain to on the milk of God's Word by which their senses are not...

How is it possible for "Christian" theologians  to "misread" the Bible by contextualizing the text of scripture? Well just recently I heard on a local Radio station where this particular minister begins his commentary by utilizing the Bible (e.g. Egyptian exile) in the book of Exodus to conceptualize the experience of Black people into the context of scripture. The experience of the Western culture and civilization view the Bible from a Euro-centric perspective that it is impossible to see the experience of Black people as to be oppress by the White slave owner.  If the experience of the Bible does not fit within the contours of the African American experience especially that of European theology than it would be problematic concerning that of their beliefs and culture.  Everything have be seen through that of the experience of Black liberation theology in regards to the experience of Black people by which the Bible is made to be a "suspect" as to the Wh...

Now that many of my readers have given a basic understanding of knowing "how" to read properly God's Word and that is to take into account the whole of scripture (2 Tim. 2:15).  The recent article that I wrote entitled, "How to Properly Read God's Word" is that the leadership of many churches today have in fact made an assumption based upon God's Word to say what it says without taking into account the whole of the biblical context of scripture.  In order to understand the whole of the context of scripture is to read previous and preceding verses or chapter so as to grasp that of its meaning. Scripture interprets scripture (1 Cor. 2:13, 14). The basics of Bible interpretation is being able to know "how" to interpret God's Word in light of the Bible itself.  The student of the Bible must allow God's Word to speak for itself; not to "infringe" upon the context of scripture. Whenever the leadership of the church "forge...

I have written numerous articles on, "How to Read Properly God's Word?" I find it necessary to go back to the drawing board because my my recent experience dealing with one of my student within our Bible class.  What I have learned during the course of my conversation with one of my students that "mere" casual reading of the scripture was just only the tip of the iceberg but there were other issues that were involved in the necessity of knowing how to read properly God's Word.  What I have discovered with my dialogue with one of my students by which I love dearly is being able to communicate but understanding clearly what was being asked of them to do.  Because of my students eagerness in sharing that of God's Word was very much admirable but what fall short in our conversation is to listen attentively to what is being said in the text of scripture.  People have the tendency to assume what a passage says or mean without taking into consideration the wh...

The average member who attend a "Word of Faith" church are ignorant of the history of the prosperity gospel. You may be saying, "Why is it important to know the history of the prosperity gospel?" All we need is God's Word to know that the Bible does teach prosperity. I am not into history, philosophy, and theology. By the way that's man-made doctrine taught by the tradition of men by which it makes the Word of God of no affect.  What I know about prosperity is that the Bible does teach prosperity. It is in God's Word. It is not something that we are taught to be of the senses, but it is of the spirit. The letter kills, but the spirit gives life.  That's what is wrong with religiously minded people. They got all this head knowledge but it does not lead anyone to the truth. This is the typical questions and statement of people who attend many Charismatic and Pentecostal churches today who have been influenced by the "Word of Faith" movement...

The history of the prosperity gospel traces its historical origins in both the philosophy of hedonism and utilitarianism (Col. 2:8).  On the one hand a "Christian" hedonist pursues that of his or her pleasure as a means to an end. In so many words the means justifies the end (e.g. "pleasure"); not the end that justifies the means.  Most "Christian" hedonist are not concern about the consequences of their action simply because they seek that which will give them pleasure.  In the words of most "hedonist," "I got to have it all. And I will do anything to get it that going to satisfy me." Not only is the "Christian" hedonist pursues that of his or her own pleasure but their persistence to go to whatever cost to fulfill their fleshly nature.  That is what known as, "consequential fatalism" by which the "Christian" hedonist can see a train heading their way but steps in front of the train by which they are not...

It is unfortunate that many Faith leaders are poor readers and interpreters of the Bible. For example they will take portions of a Bible verse or passage at the exclusion of the text as a whole so as to ignore both previous and preceding biblical context of scripture (2 Pet. 3:16). A good prime example in "how" that many Faith leaders interpret 3 John 2 where it says, "Beloved I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in good health even as you prospers." Many Faith leaders will take this particular Bible passage to mean something else than what God's Word warranted. First, the student of the Bible must seek to understand the history of the text of scripture under study. The rich history of the Bible is very much important in understanding the books of the Bible, the text of scripture, paragraphs and sentence within each verse of the Bible. Also when it comes to important words or "key" words at it relates to the passage/s of scripture that...