Word of Faith Movement

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The Word of Faith movement (English Word of Faith ) is a special direction of Christianity, which in some Pentecostal and charismatic churches spread has found. She comes from the Anglo-Saxon region and is best known in Germany through the books by the American Kenneth Hagin . It is also known as the Faith Movement.

Origins

The origins of the movement go back to the 19th century. As one of the first representatives of the movement Essek William Kenyon (1867-1948) could be seen. Kenneth Hagin (1917–2003), often referred to as the "father of the modern Word-of-Faith movement", may have been heavily influenced by Kenyon's writings. Similar to his “Theology of Confession”, he worked out a four-part formula that became part of his teaching: “Say it; Do it; Receive it; Tell it on. ”(Original:“ Say it; do it; receive it; tell it. ”) Many preachers were influenced by Hagin, including some (especially in America) better-known names such as Kenneth Copeland , Creflo Dollar , Joyce Meyer , Jerry Savelle , Bill Winston , Joel Osteen , Charles Nieman and Hobart Freeman .

Critics of this movement claim esoteric roots. Dan R. McConnell from Oral Roberts University put forward the thesis of the " Kenyon Connection " (English: Kenyon Connection ). This states that Kenyon is only adopting the teachings of the New Spirit movement and distributing them under a different name. So, according to McConnell, the Word of Faith movement is nothing more than a Trojan horse .

The Baptist evangelist Justin Peters, who is an avowed critic of the movement and has appeared frequently on American television as a word of faith expert , sees the roots of the movement in the metaphysical cults of the 19th and 20th centuries (e.g. : Aimee Semple McPhersons International Church of the Foursquare Gospel , Phineas Quimby's Neugeist Movement, Mary Baker Eddy's Christian Science ).

theology

Believe

The heart of the theology of the Word of Faith Movement is Chapter 11 EU of the Letter to the Hebrews from the New Testament . It defines belief as something that transcends the empirical realm. Clinging to biblical promises despite experiences to the contrary is central to the teaching of the Word of Faith. So you stay in a state of expectation and tension about the things that God has promised you. The teaching that the believing Christian, insofar as he clings to the redemptive act of Jesus, is already perfect. This theology is fundamentally based on a division of reality into invisible reality and visible, as yet unrealized reality. According to the faith movement, God has made a commitment to always act in accordance with biblical promises and principles (a popular word in the movement). Faith now has to do with applying these principles to one's life.

The concept of faith thus has less the dimension of the relationship to God and more the character of a claim to certain promises. That is why a common phrase in these circles is that one “believes for something”, that is, “has faith”, in order to achieve certain things.

epiphany

The Word of Faith movement distinguishes between two types of teaching: Logos and Rhema : Logos is the rational speech, the written word of the Bible, theological reflection and teaching. Rhema, on the other hand, is the word of God that "happens". It denotes a certain ecstatic state in which one becomes aware of the word of God. You experience biblical truths existentially, feel how they have meaning for your own life. This is the state that actually precedes faith (as defined above). All of a sudden you get a deeper or even corrected insight into biblical contexts, and the courage to relate this to your life arises.

The object of belief

There are some recurring themes in the faith movement. The most important thing is the new identity in Christ. One teaches on the basis of Romans (10.4 EU ) that the believer now has a new, god-like nature. Since God wants his children to be well, one should trust him in spite of adverse circumstances and not doubt that the promised blessing will come. This also includes - and there are definitely differences in the accentuation - material wealth and health. There is also talk of a claim by believers. God has chosen not to act or hardly act outside of his promises, which must be received with faith.

Confession

Faith alone is not enough. Based on Romans 10,10  EU (“He who believes in the heart and confesses with the mouth, he will be saved.”) It is important to also express the insights gained through knowledge of revelation about the blessings that are due to believers. The word becomes effective through pronouncing it - according to Mk 11.23  EU : “If someone speaks to this mountain: Raise yourself and throw yourself into the sea! and do not doubt in his heart, but believe that what he says happens, so whatever he says will come to him. "

practice

Accentuation and diffusion

Different congregations and preachers who belong to the faith movement emphasize quite different dogmas from this doctrinal structure. On the one hand, some emphasize the new identity in Christ particularly strongly. As a counter-model of a convulsive endeavor to sanctify, this teaching penetrates into non-charismatic evangelical circles. A connection point to classical Pentecostal ideas is the emphasis on (healing) miracles. Another direction is wealth theology . Typically one of the "principles by which God works" is considered here to be that of "sowing and reaping." There is also an emphasis on giving primarily to one's community. In contrast to Calvinist ideas, such wealth is less than a confirmation of the election of the believer (Word of Faith churches are usually not Calvinist), but more as a missionary sign of how well followers of Christian God are doing.

Church life

In many ways, parish life resembles that of a typically charismatic free church. An attractionist model of mission is followed in which non-believers come to faith through the success and well-being of believers and through personal experience of benefits and blessings. Consequently, the central missionary events are also healing worship services.

Among the best-known preachers of the movement outside America today are Enoch Adeboye and David Oyedepo in Nigeria , David Yonggi Cho in South Korea , and John Angelina ( Gospel Life Center ), Peter Wenz ( Gospel Forum ), Helmut Bauer ( Word and Spirit ) and Wolfhard Margies ( community on the way ).

Remarks

  1. ↑ http://www.christianitytoday.com. /
  2. ^ DR McConnell, The Kenyon Connection: A Theological and Historical Analysis of the Cultic Origins of the Faith Movement. Master's thesis, Oral Roberts University (1982).
  3. ^ Sermon by Justin Peters ("A Call for Discernment - A Biblical Critique of the Word of Faith Movement") , freely available online as mp3.
  4. ↑ Kenneth E. Hagin. Biblical Faith - A Study Course. 8th edition 2007. Breakthrough Verlag, ISBN 3-924054-50-9 , p. 55.
  5. ↑ "Word of Life Churches" and the "Word of Faith Teaching" on religio.de.
  6. ^ Allan Heaton Anderson: An Introduction to Pentecostalism . Global Charismatic Christianity (=  Introduction to Religion ). Cambridge University Press, 2013, ISBN 978-1-107-03399-3 , Chapter 6: Sub-Saharan Africa; Chapter 7: Asia, Australia and the Pacific, pp. 112-135; 136–156 ( limited preview in Google Book search).

literature

  • Reinhard Hempelmann: The Word and Faith Movement. In: Reinhard Hempelmann (ed.): Panorama of the new religiosity. Search for meaning and promise of salvation at the beginning of the 21st century. 2nd revised edition on behalf of the Evangelical Central Office for Weltanschauungsfragen (EZW). Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2005, pp. 495-499. ISBN 3-579-02320-9

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