Download or read book Blessed written by Kate Bowler and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2013-05-08 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How have millions of American Christians come to measure spiritual progress in terms of their financial status and physical well-being? How has the movement variously called Word of Faith, Health and Wealth, Name It and Claim It, or simply prosperity gospel come to dominate much of our contemporary religious landscape? Kate Bowler's Blessed is the first book to fully explore the origins, unifying themes, and major figures of a burgeoning movement that now claims millions of followers in America. Bowler traces the roots of the prosperity gospel: from the touring mesmerists, metaphysical sages, pentecostal healers, business oracles, and princely prophets of the early 20th century; through mid-century positive thinkers like Norman Vincent Peale and revivalists like Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin; to today's hugely successful prosperity preachers. Bowler focuses on such contemporary figures as Creflo Dollar, pastor of Atlanta's 30,000-member World Changers Church International; Joel Osteen, known as "the smiling preacher," with a weekly audience of seven million; T. D. Jakes, named by Time magazine one of America's most influential new religious leaders; Joyce Meyer, evangelist and women's empowerment guru; and many others. At almost any moment, day or night, the American public can tune in to these preachers-on TV, radio, podcasts, and in their megachurches-to hear the message that God desires to bless them with wealth and health. Bowler offers an interpretive framework for scholars and general readers alike to understand the diverse expressions of Christian abundance as a cohesive movement bound by shared understandings and common goals.

Download or read book God Greed and the Prosperity Gospel written by Costi W. Hinn and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2019-07-09 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A captivating first-person look at one of the world's most powerful prosperity dynasties that offers a unique perspective on greed, the Church, and the journey toward Truth. Millions desperate for hope and solutions are enticed by the promise of the prosperity gospel--that God will do whatever they need with just a little faith and a financial gift. All the while, prosperity preachers exploit the poor and needy to stockpile their riches. What can followers of the true gospel do to combat the deception? Through a remarkable and fascinating journey, Costi Hinn went from a next-generation prosperity preacher to the first to abandon the family faith and share the true gospel. Nephew of the world-famous televangelist, Benny Hinn, Costi had a front-row seat to the inner workings and theology of the prosperity gospel. But as Costi's faith deepened, so did his questions about prosperity teaching. As the deceptions in his past were exposed, Costi came face to face with the hypocrisy and devastation caused by his belief system, and the overwhelming truth about the real Jesus Christ. This captivating look into the daily lives of one of the world's leading prosperity dynasties offers a thoughtful perspective on the perils of greed, the power of the true gospel, and hope for the future of the global church. Through real-life stories, Costi challenges and equips readers to be living lights pointing the way to the true gospel and the saving grace of Christ. God, Greed, and the (Prosperity) Gospel will bolster your faith and encourage your own journey toward the Truth. Spanish edition also available.

Download or read book The Prosperity Paradox written by Clayton M. Christensen and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-01-15 with total page 415 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clayton M. Christensen, the author of such business classics as The Innovator’s Dilemma and the New York Times bestseller How Will You Measure Your Life, and co-authors Efosa Ojomo and Karen Dillon reveal why so many investments in economic development fail to generate sustainable prosperity, and offers a groundbreaking solution for true and lasting change. Global poverty is one of the world’s most vexing problems. For decades, we’ve assumed smart, well-intentioned people will eventually be able to change the economic trajectory of poor countries. From education to healthcare, infrastructure to eradicating corruption, too many solutions rely on trial and error. Essentially, the plan is often to identify areas that need help, flood them with resources, and hope to see change over time. But hope is not an effective strategy. Clayton M. Christensen and his co-authors reveal a paradox at the heart of our approach to solving poverty. While noble, our current solutions are not producing consistent results, and in some cases, have exacerbated the problem. At least twenty countries that have received billions of dollars’ worth of aid are poorer now. Applying the rigorous and theory-driven analysis he is known for, Christensen suggests a better way. The right kind of innovation not only builds companies—but also builds countries. The Prosperity Paradox identifies the limits of common economic development models, which tend to be top-down efforts, and offers a new framework for economic growth based on entrepreneurship and market-creating innovation. Christensen, Ojomo, and Dillon use successful examples from America’s own economic development, including Ford, Eastman Kodak, and Singer Sewing Machines, and shows how similar models have worked in other regions such as Japan, South Korea, Nigeria, Rwanda, India, Argentina, and Mexico. The ideas in this book will help companies desperate for real, long-term growth see actual, sustainable progress where they’ve failed before. But The Prosperity Paradox is more than a business book; it is a call to action for anyone who wants a fresh take for making the world a better and more prosperous place.

Download or read book Health Wealth and Happiness written by David W. Jones and published by Kregel Publications. This book was released on 2017-07-25 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Be faithful in your giving and God will reward you financially. It's not always stated that blatantly but the promises of the Prosperity Gospel--or the name-it-and-claim-it gospel, the health-and-wealth gospel, the word of faith movement, or positive confession theology--are false. Yet its message permeates the preaching of well-known Christian leaders: Joyce Meyer, T. D. Jakes, Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, and many more. The appeal of this teaching crosses racial, gender, denominational, and international boundaries. Why are otherwise faithful Christians so easily led astray? Because the Prosperity Gospel contains a grain of biblical truth, greatly distorted. For anyone who knows that Prosperity Gospel theology is wrong but has trouble articulating and refuting the finer points, this concise edition contains all the robust arguments of the hard-hitting original edition in a shorter, more accessible form.

Download or read book Everything Happens for a Reason written by Kate Bowler and published by Random House. This book was released on 2018-02-06 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A meditation on sense-making when there’s no sense to be made, on letting go when we can’t hold on, and on being unafraid even when we’re terrified.”—Lucy Kalanithi “Belongs on the shelf alongside other terrific books about this difficult subject, like Paul Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air and Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal.”—Bill Gates NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY REAL SIMPLE Kate Bowler is a professor at Duke Divinity School with a modest Christian upbringing, but she specializes in the study of the prosperity gospel, a creed that sees fortune as a blessing from God and misfortune as a mark of God’s disapproval. At thirty-five, everything in her life seems to point toward “blessing.” She is thriving in her job, married to her high school sweetheart, and loves life with her newborn son. Then she is diagnosed with stage IV colon cancer. The prospect of her own mortality forces Kate to realize that she has been tacitly subscribing to the prosperity gospel, living with the conviction that she can control the shape of her life with “a surge of determination.” Even as this type of Christianity celebrates the American can-do spirit, it implies that if you “can’t do” and succumb to illness or misfortune, you are a failure. Kate is very sick, and no amount of positive thinking will shrink her tumors. What does it mean to die, she wonders, in a society that insists everything happens for a reason? Kate is stripped of this certainty only to discover that without it, life is hard but beautiful in a way it never has been before. Frank and funny, dark and wise, Kate Bowler pulls the reader deeply into her life in an account she populates affectionately with a colorful, often hilarious retinue of friends, mega-church preachers, relatives, and doctors. Everything Happens for a Reason tells her story, offering up her irreverent, hard-won observations on dying and the ways it has taught her to live. Praise for Everything Happens for a Reason “I fell hard and fast for Kate Bowler. Her writing is naked, elegant, and gripping—she’s like a Christian Joan Didion. I left Kate’s story feeling more present, more grateful, and a hell of a lot less alone. And what else is art for?”—Glennon Doyle, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Love Warrior and president of Together Rising

Download or read book The Greatest Chapter in the Bible Pack Of 25 written by John Piper and published by Good News Publishers. This book was released on 2020-04-30 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Greatest Chapter in the Bible Adapted from Why I Love the Apostle Paul by John Piper By John Piper The greatest chapter in the Bible is Romans 8. Why? Because Romans 8 spells out all that God is for us in his Son, Jesus Christ. Romans 8:32 says, "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" What are the great obstacles between us and everlasting happiness? One obstacle is our sin. We are all sinners (Rom. 3:23), and the wages of that sin is eternal death (Rom. 6:23). Another obstacle is the wrath of God. If God is justly wrathful toward us in our sinful guilt, then we have no hope of everlasting happiness. When Paul calls Jesus God's own Son, the point is that there are no others like him, and he is infinitely precious to the Father. The point of Romans 8:32 is that this love of God for his one and only Son was like a massive, Mount Everest obstacle standing between God and our salvation. Here was an obstacle almost insurmountable. Could God--would God--overcome his cherishing, admiring, treasuring, white-hot, infinite, affectionate bond with his Son and hand him over to be lied about and betrayed and denied and abandoned and mocked and flogged and beaten and spit on and nailed to a cross and pierced with a sword, like an animal being butchered and hung up on a rack? The unthinkable reality that Romans 8:32 affirms is that God did it. He did hand him over. God did not spare him. In this passage Paul is saying the most unthinkable thing: God handed over his Son to death. "This Jesus [was] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). God himself handed over his Son. Nothing greater or harder has ever happened. Or ever will. Therefore, God has done the hardest thing to give us everlasting happiness. He did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. What does this guarantee? Paul puts it in the form of a rhetorical question (that means a question he expects us to immediately answer correctly): "how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" "All things" is not a promise of a trouble-free life. Four verses later Paul says, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." (Rom. 8:36) Instead, "all things" means all things we need to be eternally happy in God. Since God did not spare his own Son, all things will work together for our good (8:28), we will be glorified (8:30), and nothing, not even persecution or famine or danger or death, can separate us from the love of God in Christ (8:35-39). Paul said, "All the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus]" (2 Cor. 1:20). That is because the Father did not spare his Son. He did it so that all things--all these promises--would be absolutely certain for those who trust him. I have fought all the battles of my life with the promises of God--battles against fear and lust and greed and pride and anger. Battles for courage and purity and contentment and humility and peace and love. All of them by the word of God--the promises of God. Behind every one of those battles is the logic of heaven: "I did not spare my own Son; therefore, my promise to you cannot fail. I will help you. Go. Do what I have called you to do." This promise isn't just for me. It's for anyone who reads it and receives, by faith, Jesus Christ as their Savior, their treasure, their hope, and their joy. If you want to receive Jesus Christ as your treasure today, thank God right now that you have this desire. It is a wonderful gift. Then call out to him in prayer and tell him what is in your heart. Perhaps with these words: O God, I believe that Jesus Christ is your Son, and that you have opened the eyes of my heart to see the truth of Christ and my great need for him. I see that I am a sinner and need forgiveness. I see that Christ died for sinners and rose again. I see the wonderful promise that all who believe in Christ receive this forgiveness and eternal life. So I do believe, and I appeal to your mercy to save me from my sin, and welcome me, as you promised, into eternal life with you. Put your Spirit within me, I pray, and give me all the help I need to follow Jesus as Lord, and obey his teachings. Please lead me to a Bible-believing church where I can grow in faith and with others who love Jesus. Amen.

Download or read book The Danger of Prosperity written by William Bates and published by Digital Puritan Press. This book was released on 1685 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In The Danger of Prosperity, William Bates insightfully teaches Christians how wealth, honor, and fame often contribute to the downfall of the unwary. He challenges his readers with the tender encouragement of a shepherd, to carefully consider the ways in which prosperity that is abused is both fatal and destructive, while providing numerous helps that Christians who enjoy God’s hand of blessing can use to avoid its sinful abuse and improve it to God’s glory and their eternal advantage. This classic work has been carefully prepared for the enjoyment and benefit of a new generation of Christian readers. Previously available only as part of a “complete works” lithograph from the early 19th century, this edition–completely revised by the editor of The Digital Puritan–includes embedded scripture references from the English Standard Version, as well as numerous annotations to make the text more understandable to the modern reader. Includes a biographical preface by James Marsh.

Download or read book Why Nations Fail written by Daron Acemoglu and published by Currency. This book was released on 2013-09-17 with total page 546 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine? Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are? Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how to explain why Botswana has become one of the fastest growing countries in the world, while other African nations, such as Zimbabwe, the Congo, and Sierra Leone, are mired in poverty and violence? Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson conclusively show that it is man-made political and economic institutions that underlie economic success (or lack of it). Korea, to take just one of their fascinating examples, is a remarkably homogeneous nation, yet the people of North Korea are among the poorest on earth while their brothers and sisters in South Korea are among the richest. The south forged a society that created incentives, rewarded innovation, and allowed everyone to participate in economic opportunities. The economic success thus spurred was sustained because the government became accountable and responsive to citizens and the great mass of people. Sadly, the people of the north have endured decades of famine, political repression, and very different economic institutions—with no end in sight. The differences between the Koreas is due to the politics that created these completely different institutional trajectories. Based on fifteen years of original research Acemoglu and Robinson marshall extraordinary historical evidence from the Roman Empire, the Mayan city-states, medieval Venice, the Soviet Union, Latin America, England, Europe, the United States, and Africa to build a new theory of political economy with great relevance for the big questions of today, including: - China has built an authoritarian growth machine. Will it continue to grow at such high speed and overwhelm the West? - Are America’s best days behind it? Are we moving from a virtuous circle in which efforts by elites to aggrandize power are resisted to a vicious one that enriches and empowers a small minority? - What is the most effective way to help move billions of people from the rut of poverty to prosperity? More philanthropy from the wealthy nations of the West? Or learning the hard-won lessons of Acemoglu and Robinson’s breakthrough ideas on the interplay between inclusive political and economic institutions? Why Nations Fail will change the way you look at—and understand—the world.

Download or read book Prosperity and Poverty written by E. Calvin Beisner and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2001-11-19 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in a world with millions in need, a nation torn by conflicting ideologies that offer failing remedies for economic ills. Yet the gospel calls Christians to feed the hungry and care for the poor. But how? Prosperity and Poverty offers clear teaching on Biblical principles of stewardship and economics, enabling us to make informed choices in these areas. The stakes are high. Our decisions mean the difference between starvation and plenty, between liberty and oppression, for tens of millions of people.

Download or read book Prosperity written by Colin Mayer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-11-01 with total page 364 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is business for? Day one of a business course will tell you: it is to maximise shareholder profit. This single idea pervades all our thinking and teaching about business around the world but it is fundamentally wrong, Colin Mayer argues. It has had disastrous and damaging consequences for our economies, environment, politics, and societies. In this urgent call for reform, Prosperity challenges the fundamentals of business thinking. It sets out a comprehensive new agenda for establishing the corporation as a unique and powerful force for promoting economic and social wellbeing in its fullest sense - for customers and communities, today and in the future. First Professor and former Dean of the Säid Business School in Oxford, Mayer is a leading figure in the global discussion about the purpose and role of the corporation. In Prosperity, he presents a radical and carefully considered prescription for corporations, their ownership, governance, finance, and regulation. Drawing together insights from business, law, economics, science, philosophy, and history, he shows how the corporation can realize its full potential to contribute to economic and social wellbeing of the many, not just the few. Prosperity tells us not only how to create and run successful businesses but also how policy can get us there and fix our broken system.

Download or read book Priests of Prosperity written by Juliet Johnson and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2016-02-25 with total page 311 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Priests of Prosperity explores the unsung revolutionary campaign to transform postcommunist central banks from command-economy cash cows into Western-style monetary guardians. Juliet Johnson conducted more than 160 interviews in seventeen countries with central bankers, international assistance providers, policymakers, and private-sector finance professionals over the course of fifteen years. She argues that a powerful transnational central banking community concentrated in Western Europe and North America integrated postcommunist central bankers into its network, shaped their ideas about the role of central banks, and helped them develop modern tools of central banking. Johnson's detailed comparative studies of central bank development in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Russia, and Kyrgyzstan take readers from the birth of the campaign in the late 1980s to the challenges faced by central bankers after the global financial crisis. As the comfortable certainties of the past collapse around them, today’s central bankers in the postcommunist world and beyond find themselves torn between allegiance to their transnational community and its principles on the one hand and their increasingly complex and politicized national roles on the other. Priests of Prosperity will appeal to a diverse audience of scholars in political science, finance, economics, geography, and sociology as well as to central bankers and other policymakers interested in the future of international finance, global governance, and economic development.

Download or read book Prosperity without Growth written by Tim Jackson and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2016-12-08 with total page 351 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What can prosperity possibly mean in a world of environmental and social limits? The publication of Prosperity without Growth was a landmark in the sustainability debate. Tim Jackson’s piercing challenge to conventional economics openly questioned the most highly prized goal of politicians and economists alike: the continued pursuit of exponential economic growth. Its findings provoked controversy, inspired debate and led to a new wave of research building on its arguments and conclusions. This substantially revised and re-written edition updates those arguments and considerably expands upon them. Jackson demonstrates that building a ‘post-growth’ economy is a precise, definable and meaningful task. Starting from clear first principles, he sets out the dimensions of that task: the nature of enterprise; the quality of our working lives; the structure of investment; and the role of the money supply. He shows how the economy of tomorrow may be transformed in ways that protect employment, facilitate social investment, reduce inequality and deliver both ecological and financial stability. Seven years after it was first published, Prosperity without Growth is no longer a radical narrative whispered by a marginal fringe, but an essential vision of social progress in a post-crisis world. Fulfilling that vision is simply the most urgent task of our times.

Download or read book Prosperity written by Charles Fillmore and published by BEYOND BOOKS HUB. This book was released on 2024-02-12 with total page 3 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prosperity by Charles Fillmore is a transformative guide that explores the spiritual principles behind achieving abundance and prosperity. Originally published in the early 20th century, this book provides readers with metaphysical insights and practical wisdom, emphasizing the power of spiritual understanding in creating a life of prosperity.

Download or read book Prosperity for All written by Roger E. A. Farmer and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 297 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, economists around the world have advanced theories to explain the persistence of high unemployment and low growth rates. Written in clear, accessible language by prominent macroeconomic theorist Roger E. A. Farmer, Prosperity for All proposes a paradigm shift and policy changes that could successfully raise employment rates, keep inflation at bay, and stimulate growth.

Download or read book More Than a Healer written by Costi W. Hinn and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How does healing fit into God's will, especially when God doesn't heal? Our hearts, our bodies, and our world are desperate for healing. We all experience brokenness, and we rightfully look to Jesus for restoration. But many Christians have been taught the lie that God will heal us if our faith is strong enough, and that he is punishing us when bad things happen. Growing up in one of the world's leading faith-healing dynasties, Costi Hinn witnessed the tragedy of people chasing after healing more than the Healer. In this book he provides biblical clarity to some of the most challenging questions of the Christian faith. Does grace guarantee healing? How do we catch ourselves from slipping into the trap of seeking God for what he can do for us and not for who he really is? Beginning with the vivid memory of the night he discovered his son's cancer diagnosis—Costi unpacks the layered feelings and questions we have about God and his healing power, and he provides practical principles for growing closer to Jesus. With gentle clarity and biblical wisdom, he explains how to: Faithfully pray for healing while trusting in God's sovereignty. Navigate tough conversations about the topics of divine healing, love, and justice. Hold on to faith even in the most painful trials. More than chasing after the Jesus we want, this hopeful and encouraging book will guide you to discovering the Jesus we truly need—and the true power and hope that comes from a genuine relationship with him.

Download or read book The Little Book of Prosperity written by Chris Gentry and published by Hampton Roads Publishing. This book was released on 2020-03-01 with total page 123 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This small book provides a blueprint for a life beyond your wildest dreams. It is a primer for achieving wealth, loaded with the most salient prosperity wisdom of the last hundred years. The content is further enhanced by thoughtful exercises that will aid you in your personal success journey. Each of the chapters focuses on one of the twelve principles and includes selections of writings from the world’s greatest prosperity teachers, including Napoleon Hill, James Allen, Norman Vincent Peale, Julia Cameron, Stephen Covey, Zig Ziglar, and many more. Those principles are: Goals Dreams Perseverance Growth Self-Confidence Imagination Self-Talk Master Minds Play Decisions Taking Action Giving Back Read less Here is your opportunity to explore your goals, your dreams, your self-confidence, and much more. “This is not a book for those who are afraid to hear the truth about what it takes to achieve prosperity. Nor for those who want to read long, feel-good books that take forever to get to the point. This is a book for those who need short yet powerful reminders to keep them on track. It is chock-full of mind gems, or wisdom in a nutshell, that will see you through both the good times and the hard times on the journey to success.” —from the foreword by David Cameron Gikandi

Download or read book Gospelbound written by Collin Hansen and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A profound exploration of how to hold on to hope when our unchanging faith collides with a changing culture, from two respected Christian storytellers and thought leaders. “Offers neither spin control nor image maintenance for the evangelical tribe, but genuine hope.”—Russell Moore, president of ERLC As the pressures of health warnings, economic turmoil, and partisan politics continue to rise, the influence of gospel-focused Christians seems to be waning. In the public square and popular opinion, we are losing our voice right when it’s needed most for Christ’s glory and the common good. But there’s another story unfolding too—if you know where to look. In Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra counter these growing fears with a robust message of resolute hope for anyone hungry for good news. Join them in exploring profound stories of Christians who are quietly changing the world in the name of Jesus—from the wild world of digital media to the stories of ancient saints and unsung contemporary activists on the frontiers of justice and mercy. Discover how, in these dark times, the light of Jesus shines even brighter. You haven’t heard the whole story. And that’s good news.