Health, Wealth & Happiness: Has the Prosperity Gospel Overshadowed the Gospel of Christ? by David W. Jones & Russell S. Woodbridge is is their layperson-accessible theological debunking of the popular so-called “prosperity gospel” (
Wikipedia), explaining how it came to be and gain its current status, while encouraging one to examine and compare its tenets against the teachings of actual scripture, free courtesy of Christian publisher Kregel.
I had a quick peek inside this one, and the opening chapters seemed well-researched and reasonable, done in a fact-emphasizing, quasi-scholarly way which provides contextual history for the religious philosophical thought processes which paved the way for the modern faithful to become receptive to the prosperity gospel ideas, with references for extra reading, and may well be of interest to more secular Gentle Readers interested in the rise of the movement.
ETA: fun fact: it turns out this book is actually listed in the Wikipedia entry as one of the bibliography sources for their write-up.
Currently free, probably just for one day @
B&N &
Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK). Price-drop-check linkage for
Google Play where sometimes the US gets freebies Canadians don't.
Description (frankendescription cobbled together from the paperback blurb which was much catchier, and the ebook blurb which is probably a more accurate descriptor)
46% of self-identifying Christians believe God will make them rich if they have enough faith.
Every day on radio or TV there's a new gospel being proclaimed--the gospel of prosperity. This gospel teaches that God wants to fulfill our every desire for health, wealth, and happiness, and all it takes is enough faith. The preachers of prosperity tout their own opulent lifestyles as proof of their message: God wants his children to have it all. Is this the gospel? Or is it just a feel-good, self-centered appeal to our materialistic impulses that omits the message of Jesus and the cross?
The Bible does have a lot to say about wealth and possessions, but those teachings are routinely twisted out of context or carelessly misinterpreted. Authors David W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge go back to the Scriptures to set forth a truly biblical understanding of wealth, poverty, suffering, and giving. They identify five crucial areas of error related to the prosperity gospel movement and challenge readers to rediscover the true gospel of Jesus.
The desire for a thriving, healthy, and productive life is as strong as ever, especially in tough economic times. As people become more disillusioned at the state of the economy, they also become more susceptible to the lure of the prosperity gospel and its teachings of health, wealth, and happiness for the faithful. But what happens when the promise of prosperity overshadows the promise of the real gospel--the gospel of Christ?
Believing that the prosperity gospel is constructed upon faulty theology, authors David W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge take a closer look at five crucial areas of error relating to the prosperity gospel. In a fair but firm tone, the authors discuss the history and theology of the prosperity gospel movement to reveal its fraudulent core biblical teachings that have been historically and popularly misinterpreted, even by some of today's most well-known pastors. After an introduction and assessment of the movement, readers are invited to take a look at Scripture to understand what the Bible really says about wealth, poverty, suffering, and giving.
Theologically sound but acessible to all readers, Health, Wealth & Happiness is sure to become a trusted resource for laypersons, pastors, and Christian leaders.