Judged in theological terms, the Osteen message is the latest and slickest version of Prosperity Theology. That American heresy has now spread throughout much of the world, but it began in the context of American Pentecostalism in the early twentieth century. Prosperity theology, promising that God rewards faith with health and wealth, first appealed to those described as \u201cthe dispossessed\u201d\u009d \u201d\u201d the very poor. Now, its updated version appeals to the aspirational class of the suburbs. Whereas the early devotees of Prosperity Theology prayed for a roof over their heads that did not leak, the devotees of prosperity theology in the Age of Osteen pray for ever bigger houses. The story of how the Osteens exercised faith for a big house comes early in Joel Osteen\u2019s best-seller, Your Best Life Now.<\/p>\n
According to Osteen, God wants to pour out his \u201cimmeasurable favor\u201d\u009d on his human creatures, and this requires a fundamental re-ordering of our thinking. \u201cTo experience this immeasurable favor,\u201d\u009d Osteen writes, \u201cyou must rid yourself of that small-minded thinking and start expecting God\u2019s blessings, start anticipating promotion and supernatural increase. You must conceive it in your heart before you can receive it. In other words, you must make increase in your own thinking, then God will bring those things to pass.\u201d\u009d<\/p>\n
There is nothing really new in this message. Anyone familiar with the New Thought movement and later books such as Napoleon Hill\u2019s Think and Grow Rich will see a persistent theme. The important issue is this \u201d\u201d Prosperity Theology is a false Gospel. The problem with Prosperity Theology is not that it promises too much, but that it aims for so little. What God promises us in Christ is far above anything that can be measured in earthly wealth \u201d\u201d and believers are not promised earthly wealth nor the gift of health.<\/p>\n