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Thread: Word of Faith Myths

  1. #1

    Word of Faith Myths

    I thought I would start a related thread focusing on what WOF ISN'T. The MO of your typical anti-WOF Websites is on creating WOF "strawmen," creating a false representation that most would be shocked to read. The non-discerning reader then falls into the misinformation-trap, consequently jumping on the "burn the heretic" bandwagon.

  2. #2
    WOF Myth #1 - WOF people believe that they are God.

    This is one of the top falsehoods spread about the WOF movement. Let me set the record straight. The core teaching of WOF believes that man is NOT God - he is God's creation, ontologically distinct.

    But can man be "like" God? Here theological descriptors come into play and careful articulation is important.
    When the new birth comes, we are "new creatures" and will be transformed to be more Christ-like.

    2 Corinthians 3:17-18
    Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

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  4. #3
    I agree JD, but admittedly there have been a few knuckleheads who used rhetoric to give people that impression. No minister of the gospel should ever state "we are gods" or "you are a god". It's one of several things that WoF televangelists have said that came back to bite the movement in the hind parts.

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  6. #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Jew and Greek View Post
    I agree JD, but admittedly there have been a few knuckleheads who used rhetoric to give people that impression. No minister of the gospel should ever state "we are gods" or "you are a god". It's one of several things that WoF televangelists have said that came back to bite the movement in the hind parts.
    Hey, Rod,
    Yes, I think teachers need to think over how they present information, considering the audience, and try to be clear as possible, especially for difficult or controversial topics.

    Ravi Zacharias, for example, recognizes that theology should be handled precisely, and is careful to define terms, especially when analyzing others beliefs.

    These days, there is a need for pastors has to express clearly, comprehensively (and defensively, unfortunately) what it is they are trying to communicate. in the past, Pastors spoke freely, as to "family", because their people knew where they were coming from and were empathetic listeners. Those days are gone, with fault-finders and HH lurking around like sharks, ready to chomp on a sound bite they don't like.

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  8. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan david View Post
    WOF Myth #1 - WOF people believe that they are God.

    This is one of the top falsehoods spread about the WOF movement. Let me set the record straight. The core teaching of WOF believes that man is NOT God - he is God's creation, ontologically distinct.

    But can man be "like" God? Here theological descriptors come into play and careful articulation is important.
    When the new birth comes, we are "new creatures" and will be transformed to be more Christ-like.

    2 Corinthians 3:17-18
    Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
    I've never heard anyone claim that WOF believes that they are God but I have heard people claim that WOF believes that they are little gods and the definition of that can be fairly close.

  9. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan david View Post
    Hey, Rod,
    Yes, I think teachers need to think over how they present information, considering the audience, and try to be clear as possible, especially for difficult or controversial topics.

    Ravi Zacharias, for example, recognizes that theology should be handled precisely, and is careful to define terms, especially when analyzing others beliefs.

    These days, there is a need for pastors has to express clearly, comprehensively (and defensively, unfortunately) what it is they are trying to communicate. in the past, Pastors spoke freely, as to "family", because their people knew where they were coming from and were empathetic listeners. Those days are gone, with fault-finders and HH lurking around like sharks, ready to chomp on a sound bite they don't like.
    Extravagant and wildly imprecise statements made by big name ministers have been a treasure chest for heresy hunters for decades. I'm sure their closest followers (mostly) "got" what they were trying to say but practically everyone else didn't and doesn't.

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  11. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Jew and Greek View Post
    I agree JD, but admittedly there have been a few knuckleheads who used rhetoric to give people that impression. No minister of the gospel should ever state "we are gods" or "you are a god". It's one of several things that WoF televangelists have said that came back to bite the movement in the hind parts.
    Too often Word-Faith and Charismatic teachers were going for "fresh revelation" and "shock value". I also think they were trying to appeal to crowds who were becoming bored with simple foundational truths and needed new stuff to keep the crowds coming back and the continued sales of books and tapes.

    That being said, I have never seen the "little gods" teaching as controversial as our critics have made it out to be. I understood exactly what was being taught (we are children of the King, "sons of God," share in His throne and authority, etc.). My only contention is that the very truths being taught under the controversial "little gods" title could and have been taught without using unnecessary controversial language.
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  13. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Colonel View Post
    Extravagant and wildly imprecise statements made by big name ministers have been a treasure chest for heresy hunters for decades. I'm sure their closest followers (mostly) "got" what they were trying to say but practically everyone else didn't and doesn't.
    I guarantee you that the Word-Faith critics were not even trying to understand what was meant by it. If you can recall, we attempted to clarify these things on CARM only for the anti-wofers to put their fingers in their ears and go "lalalalalalalalalala."

    The reason most of these critics are referred to as "heresy hunters" is due to the very fact that they are attempting to dig for anything that they can use to pronounce the movement as heresy. Most of the time the "little gods" proponents are quoted out-of-context and their explanations as redacted, making the person look like Rev. Moon or a Mormon. It was not a sincere desire to get to the truth a an agenda to destroy a movement that was opposed to their cessationism and hyper-Calvinism and a threat to their fanatical "orthodoxy".
    Christ's Victory Bible Teaching Center
    Web site: http://www.cvbibleteachingcenter.org


    Vindicating God Ministries
    (A Unique New Bible Teaching Ministry)
    Web site: http://www.vindicatinggod.org
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vindicatinggod
    Gab: https://gab.com/victoriousword
    Minds: https://www.minds.com/victoriousword/
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  15. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Jonathan david View Post
    WOF Myth #1 - WOF people believe that they are God.

    This is one of the top falsehoods spread about the WOF movement. Let me set the record straight. The core teaching of WOF believes that man is NOT God - he is God's creation, ontologically distinct.

    But can man be "like" God? Here theological descriptors come into play and careful articulation is important.
    When the new birth comes, we are "new creatures" and will be transformed to be more Christ-like.

    2 Corinthians 3:17-18
    Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.
    If you are trying to get all of the myths into one thread, this is going to be a long discussion. Maybe each myth should get its own thread. I already have a myths in my head but don't want to divert attention right now from continuing to address this particular myth.
    Christ's Victory Bible Teaching Center
    Web site: http://www.cvbibleteachingcenter.org


    Vindicating God Ministries
    (A Unique New Bible Teaching Ministry)
    Web site: http://www.vindicatinggod.org
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/vindicatinggod
    Gab: https://gab.com/victoriousword
    Minds: https://www.minds.com/victoriousword/
    MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/troyedwards15

  16. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by victoryword View Post
    I guarantee you that the Word-Faith critics were not even trying to understand what was meant by it. If you can recall, we attempted to clarify these things on CARM only for the anti-wofers to put their fingers in their ears and go "lalalalalalalalalala."

    The reason most of these critics are referred to as "heresy hunters" is due to the very fact that they are attempting to dig for anything that they can use to pronounce the movement as heresy. Most of the time the "little gods" proponents are quoted out-of-context and their explanations as redacted, making the person look like Rev. Moon or a Mormon. It was not a sincere desire to get to the truth a an agenda to destroy a movement that was opposed to their cessationism and hyper-Calvinism and a threat to their fanatical "orthodoxy".
    True, but some of the quotes were very hard to understand even with the right background for it. And I wasn't sure if they were meant to be interpreted as favorably as I attempted to interpret them either !

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