ROUND TWO!
ROUND TWO!
First of all, I’d like to commend famousGandalf7 on his bravery and willingness to conduct this debate in charitable fashion. It takes testicular fortitude

to stand up for what one believes in, especially when one’s belief is the minority view. I respect that, and I respect that fG7 is not in this debate seeking to “tear me apart.” This approach to defending the Word-Faith Movement is refreshing, and a definite change of pace from the usual responses to critiques of the Movement, which range from hostilely defensive (“If you want to criticize Ken Copeland for his preaching on faith, or Dad Hagin, get out of my life! I don’t even want to talk to you or hear you. I don’t want to see your ugly face. Get out of my face, in Jesus’ name [1]”) to the threatening (wishing to blow one’s enemies’ heads off with a “Holy Ghost machine gun [2]”). Finally, I have to commend fG7's refusal to shield the Movement's leaders under the "Touch not mine anointed" rubric, as many of them are wont to do.
Now all this is commendable, and I have to give a hearty “Amen!” to fG7’s opening paragraph (at least to its surface meaning; I’ll have to discover what meanings fG7 ascribes to the words he uses before I can yield full agreement—a Mormon will say he believes in Jesus Christ, but have an entirely
other Christ in mind than the one I profess). Having said that, I do have to acknowledge what I see as the differences between biblical Christianity and the Word-Faith Movement. I can use my time and space here merely loving fG7 (which would make for a pretty dull battle), but I am called to “speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15),” which is what I’m here to do. I’m also called to “let [my] love be without hypocrisy (Rom 12:9),” and in order to do so, I have to state up front that there is no love lost between myself and the destructive heresies characteristic of the Word-Faith Movement. Finally, I am called to “have no part in the works of darkness, but rather, expose them (Eph 5:11).” This, also, is what I am here to do. If the fruits of the Word-Faith Movement are the works of darkness (and I believe there’s sufficient evidence to show that they are), then they will be exposed.
Now, fG7 seems willing to use the example of Kenneth “Dad” Hagin, Sr., as being representative of the Movement in general. I am more than willing to accede to his wishes in this area. It proves little to me that he had friends such as Sumrall and Kuhlman, whom I see as ordinary Charismatic/Pentecostal teachers. This debate is not about whether or not miracles have ceased in our day; both sides of that particular debate have genuine place in the Body of Christ. This debate is centered on the beliefs and practices distinctive of the Word-Faith Movement, and it’s a tragedy that genuine Christians such as Sumrall, Kuhlman, and Billy Graham (who gave an address at the opening of Oral Roberts University) have, perhaps unknowingly, lent respectability to the Movement by close association with its leaders. “By their fruits you shall know them (Matt 7:30),” Jesus said—not “By their friends.” If we’re to examine Hagin, it must be an examination of the fruits of his ministry. These fruits come in many shapes, but I wish to focus on two forms in particular: his teachings and his disciples.
Hagin’s Teachings
Most, if not all, of the distinctive doctrines of the Word-Faith Movement (including most of my list from the start of Round One) find their roots in the teachings of Kenneth Hagin [3]. It is through Hagin we get the idea that man should “have faith in his faith,” as evidenced by a booklet entitled
Having Faith in Your Faith [4]. It is in this booklet that we find a formula of faith based upon Jesus’ words in Mark 11:23, about which Hagin states, “Notice two more things about this 23rd verse: (1) He believes in his heart; (2) he believes in his words. Another way to say this is:
He has faith in his own faith. . . . Having faith in your words is having faith in your faith [5].” This twisting of Jesus’ words displaces God as the object of man’s faith and replaces Him with his own faith. It also relegates God to the role of a cosmic gofer at the beck and call of those who follow this formula, as evidenced by the title of another of Hagin’s booklets,
How to Write Your Own Ticket With God (!) [6].
Hagin’s teachings have also been the foundation of what is known as the “little gods” doctrine: that man was intended to be an exact duplicate of God the Father, and that while the Fall deprived man of his “godhood,” becoming a Christian restores that godhood to him. “Man,” states Hagin in his booklet
Zoe: The God-Kind of Life, “was created on terms of equality with God, and he could stand in God’s presence without any consciousness of inferiority [7].” Later in the same booklet, he says,
“[T]he believer is called Christ. . . . That’s who we are; we’re Christ!” "The believer," Hagin states elsewhere, "is as much of an incarnation as was Jesus of Nazareth [8]." Because of this, the born-again believer is entitled to health; or, as Hagin himself puts it,
"Divine health is my covenant right! [9]" Said entitlement did not prevent Hagin from having four major cardiac episodes, including one full-scale arrest [10]. Nor did it prevent the death of the wife of a Rhema Bible Training Center student of ovarian cancer. This couple, rather than seek medical assistance, denied the symptoms of the cancer, with deadly results [11].
Perhaps worse than all of this is the distortions of Christ's character made by Hagin, laying the foundation for others to claim Jesus became a demoniac during the Passion. Hagin has said, "Spiritual death means something more than separation from God.
Spiritual death also means having Satan's nature. . . . Jesus tasted death-- spiritual death-- for every man [12]." This distorted Christology also necessitates Christ going to hell to suffer [13] and, while there, becoming "born again" [14]-- the first person to do so!
This closes my second round of this Battle Royale. In Round Three, unless fG7 presents points of evidence that necessitate an answer, I will cover Hagin's disciples. It should be noted in advance that, of course, Hagin's disciples are free will agents and that Hagin is not necessarily responsible for what they promote. For that reason, I will only draw attention to those teaching which run directly parallel to Hagin's teachings (for example, I won't be going into Benny Hinn's unique view of the female anatomy prior to the Fall, since that didn't originate with Hagin). In Round Four, I intend to see what the Bible has to say about all of this. Up to now, I've been voicing my own opinion, which means squat. God's opinion is what really matters here, as I'm sure fG7 will agree.
One final note before I close: fG7 says he can't see what the hubbub is all about, and that if the Word-Faith Movement is not of God, it will fade away on its own. I wish I could be that confident about it. I heard a statistic about four or five years ago, that out of every four people who leave the Southern Baptist Church, one leaves to become a Mormon. The CJCLDS has been around for over one hundred years, is currently the fastest growing Christian "sect", and shows no signs of slowing down or of "fading away on its own." Should I then trust that it is of God? God forbid!
Footnotes
[1] Paul Crouch, “Praise-a-thon” program on Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN) (2 April 1991), cited in
Christianity in Crisis, Hank Hanegraaf, Harvest House, 1993 (I’ll be using Hanegraaf’s
magnum opus on the Word-Faith Movement often [and I highly recommend it to you, dear reader], and will hereafter be referring to it as
CIC.)
[2] Benny Hinn, “Praise-a-thon” program on TBN (8 November 1990), cited in
CIC.
[3] Who popularized the teachings of Essek William Kenyon, who in turn got his ideas by syncretizing Christianity with the New Thought teachings of Phineas Parkhurst Quimby. Although it’s important to know the history behind these teachings, it is not essential to the argument at hand.
[4] Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1988, cited in
CIC.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Kenneth Hagin Ministries; later incorporated into
Exceedingly Growing Faith, 1988. Cited in
CIC.
[7]
Zoe: The God-Kind of Life, Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1989, cited in
CIC.
[8] Kenneth E. Hagin, "The Incarnation,"
The Word of Faith (periodical) (December 1980). Cited in
CIC.
[9] Kenneth E. Hagin,
Faith Food for Spring, Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1978. Cited in
CIC.
[10] Hank Hanegraaf,
Christianity in Crisis, p. 237
[11] Ibid., p. 239
[12] Kenneth E. Hagin,
The Name of Jesus, Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1981, cited in
CIC.
[13] Kenneth E. Hagin, "How Jesus Obtained His Name," audio tape #44H01, side 1, cited in
CIC.
[14] Kenneth E. Hagin,
The Name of Jesus, Kenneth Hagin Ministries, 1981, cited in
CIC.