In the past, prosperity gospel evangelists were known for their slick suits, gaudy television sets, and prayer cloths. But according to Dean Inserra, this kind of instant health and wealth teaching is now a fringe movement that is more mocked than followed. In its place, a new prosperity gospel has emerged that is now going mainstream. What are the characteristics of this “new and improved” version, and who are the leaders of this movement? On this program, Shane Rosenthal talks with Dean Inserra, author of Getting Over Yourself: Trading Believe-in-Yourself Religion for Christ-Centered Christianity.
Show Quote:
Unfortunately, in our day the gospel has been confused with the American dream. The Jesus of today’s prosperity gospel is no longer the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, or the Word who was present at creation and who reigns over all things. Instead, he has become a kind of personal success guru who dispenses positive thoughts to help us achieve empowerment, motivation and personal fulfillment.
Dean Inserra
Recommended:
Getting Over Yourself
Author: Dean Inserra
Is trying to be “the best you” actually ruining you? From “living your best life” to “self-actualizing,” “finding your destiny,” and “waiting on the best to come,” the contemporary messages of the world exhort us to believe that we are promised and entitled the biggest and best life can possibly offer. But is that actually what Jesus promises? Is that even close to the message of the gospel?
Christless Christianity
Author: Michael Horton
Christians have always had their differences, but never in church history have there been so many statistics indicating that many Christians today are practicing what can only be described as “Christless Christianity.” Christless Christianity guides the reader to a greater understanding of a big problem within the American religious setting, namely the creeping fog of countless sermons in churches across the country that focus on moralistic concerns and personal transformation rather than the theology of the cross. Michael Horton’s analysis of the contemporary church points believers back to the power of a gospel that should never be assumed.
