دانلود کتاب The Worldview of the Word of Faith Movement: Eden Redeemed

فهرست مطالب :

Half Title\nTitle Page\nCopyright Page\nDedication\nContents\nFigures\nPreface\nAcknowledgments\nAbbreviations\nIntroduction\n “Word of Faith” as the Descriptor of Choice\n Word of Faith as Movement and Ethos\n The Word of Faith’s Religious Context\n Complexity and Nuance through a Worldview-Analysis\n Analyzing the Word of Faith as a Worldview\n The Structure of the Book\nChapter 1: Models for Analyzing the Word of Faith\n 1.1 Taxonomy of Models of Analysis\n 1.2 The Doctrinal Model\n 1.2.1 Evaluation and Remaining Questions\n 1.3 The Biblical Model\n 1.3.1 Exegetical Focus\n 1.3.2 Hermeneutical Focus\n 1.3.3 Evaluation and Remaining Questions\n 1.4 The Historical Model\n 1.4.1 Evaluation and Remaining Questions\n 1.5 The Socioeconomical Model\n 1.5.1 Neoliberalism\n 1.5.2 Globalization\n 1.5.3 Deprivation Theory\n 1.5.4 Protestant Ethic\n 1.5.5 Enchanted Economics\n 1.5.6 Gift Economy\n 1.5.7 Religious Identity\n 1.5.8 Social Agency\n 1.5.9 Evaluation and Remaining Questions\n Conclusion\nChapter 2: Worldview and the Word of Faith\n 2.1 Worldview in Christian Scholarship\n 2.1.1 The Indexical and Worldview-Dependent Nature of Worldview Thinking\n 2.2 Worldview in Word of Faith Scholarship\n 2.2.1 Worldview as a System of Thought in Word of Faith Scholarship\n 2.2.2 Worldview as a Pattern of Life in Word of Faith Scholarship\n 2.3 N. T. Wright’s Worldview-Model and the Word of Faith\n 2.3.1 Wright’s Worldview-Model\n 2.3.2 The Relevance of Wright’s Worldview-Model\n 2.3.3 Wright and Worldview Concerns\n 2.3.4 Wright’s Worldview-Model Applied to the Word of Faith\n Conclusion\nChapter 3: Story in the Word of Faith Worldview\n 3.1 Story in Worldview\n 3.1.1 Definition of Key Terms\n 3.1.2 Nature and Functions of Worldview-Story\n 3.2 Story in the Word of Faith\n 3.2.1 Echoes of a Story in Word of Faith Discourse\n 3.2.2 The Adam Plot in Word of Faith Discourse\n 3.2.3 Eden Redeemed: Narrating the Word of Faith’s Story\n 3.2.3.1 Eden Redeemed’s Five Narrative Sequences The Eden Redeemed story is my construction based on the Adam plot correlated with the distinctive beliefs of the Word of Faith movement. The narration here follows the story’s five sequences, and I retain,\n 3.2.4 Narrative Analysis of Eden Redeemed\n 3.2.5 Eden Redeemed in Narrative Diagrams\n Initial Sequence 1: Eden In the first initial sequence of Eden, God sends Adam as the Agent with the Task to rule and increase in the world. As Helpers, Adam has divine equality, faith, authority, spiritual laws, and the double blessing of prosperity and\n Initial Sequence 2: The Fall In the second initial sequence of The Fall, Adam is dead spiritually, and his former rulership over the world is lost to Satan. Satan is now the acting Agent, ruling the world through the Helpers of authority and the curse of\n Topical Sequence 1: Redemption Redemption is the first of the two topical sequences. There God sends Jesus with the Task to redeem Adam’s lost authority. As Helpers, Jesus has divine equality, the anointing of the Holy Spirit, faith, spiritual laws, the b\n Topical Sequence 2: The Church In the second topical sequence of The Church, the Agent comprises the church made up of every born-again believer. The church’s Task is to rule and increase in the world and share the news of spiritual salvation. As Helpers\n Final Sequence: Heaven In the final sequence of Heaven, God acts again as the Sender of Jesus, who is tasked to bring the spirit of the born-again believers to heaven. Satan and the curse are finally destroyed. Figure 7 demonstrates how the narrative enti\n 3.2.6 Analysis of the Narrative Entities\n 3.2.6.1 God: Sender, Opponent, and Helper The way God is narrated in Eden Redeemed is resonant with the traditional Christian belief in a personal, triune being of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Following the conventional usage in Word of Faith discourse,\n 3.2.6.2 Adam and Believer: Agent, Receiver, and Opponent Adam and the believer make up the human Agents in the sequences of Eden and The Church, respectively. To accomplish the Task of ruling and increasing, the Agent has several Helpers. How the Word of\n 3.2.6.3 Authority to Rule and Increase: Task and Helper Adam’s original Task in the story was to rule and increase in the world. Because this Task directly relates to the Helper of authority, the entities of rule, increase, and authority are discussed to\n 3.2.6.4 Divine Equality: Helper Divine equality is a significant Helper to Agents in several narrative sequences. Divine equality speaks of how Adam was created in “God’s class” of beings and so shared God’s nature and life in his spirit. An often-used\n 3.2.6.5 Faith: Helper In its essence, faith is the spiritual, creative force, dimension, or reality by which God operates. Faith is narrated as Helper to God in creating the world. Because Adam was created as a spirit being and so shared divine equality\n 3.2.6.6 Spiritual Laws: Helper God used spiritual laws as a Helper (similar to faith) to create the world. Adam was granted access to operate by the same spiritual laws in Eden. Jesus was also helped by them to accomplish redemption, and the believer must\n 3.2.6.7 The Curse: Opponent and Helper “The curse” is a collective term for poverty, sickness, and spiritual death. It also includes fear, worry, low self-esteem, and failure. The curse is Satan’s Helper to rule the world in The Fall and in the parallel\n 3.2.6.8 Health and Sickness: Helper and Opponent The blessing of health comprises perfect health to the body and mind resulting in longevity. These dimensions of health are the natural results of the Agent’s participation in God’s life through divine equ\n 3.2.6.9 Prosperity and Poverty: Helper and Opponent The blessing God first bestowed on Adam in Eden consists of the dual Helpers of health and prosperity. Though prosperity often takes on wider significance in Word of Faith discourse (see Section 4.3.3),\n 3.2.6.10 The World: Receiver The world—that is, the earth and its inhabitants—is the Receiver when Adam fulfills his Task of ruling and increasing (in the sequence of Eden), also when Satan operates in the usurped dominion (The Fall), and when the believe\n 3.2.6.11 Satan: Opponent and Agent Satan makes the chief Opponent in the story. This personified evil is characterized as one of God’s holy angels who rebelled and fell. In Eden, Satan deceived Adam to surrender his authority, thus making Satan to assum\n 3.2.6.12 Jesus: Agent and Helper The roles of Jesus differ in the story’s progression. In Redemption, Jesus is the Agent sent by God to restore Adam’s authority in the world. In The Church sequence, Jesus assumes the role of Helper to the human Agent. In\n 3.2.6.13 The Holy Spirit: Helper, Sender? The Holy Spirit makes another valuable Helper in the story. In Redemption, the Spirit is Jesus’ key Helper to accomplish his Task of restoring human authority. As a Spirit-anointed human, Jesus exemplifies how al\n 3.2.6.14 Dual Death: Helper In Redemption, Jesus used dual death as Helper to conquer the Opponents of Satan and the curse. On the cross Jesus took in himself the spiritual nature of Satan, was separated from God the Father, and after being spiritually de\n 3.2.6.15 Revelation Knowledge and Ignorance: Helper and Opponent Another irreplaceable Helper to the Agent in The Church sequence is revelation knowledge. It speaks of a certain function of the Bible in the story. The biblical texts become a Helper for t\n 3.2.7 The Competing Prosperity Narrative\n 3.2.7.1 Weaknesses Enabling the Competing Prosperity Narrative There are weaknesses in the Word of Faith which enable the recasting of prosperity from Helper to Task (with the corresponding narrowing of the Receiver from the world to the Agent). As long a\n 3.2.7.2 Consequences of the Competing Prosperity Narrative The competing “prosperity gospel” narrative exerts an influence both inside and outside the Word of Faith movement. A misreading of prosperity as the story’s Task leads to sharp conflicts within t\n Conclusion\nChapter 4: Symbol in the Word of Faith Worldview\n 4.1 Analyzing the Semiotic Dimension of Worldview\n 4.1.2 C. S. Peirce’s Model of the Sign\n 4.1.2.1 The Threefold Taxonomy of Signs Based on his triadic model of the sign, Peirce developed a taxonomy as “the most fundamental” division of how semiosis is affected by the relationship between the sign-vehicle and the object. The sign-vehicle’s rel\n 4.1.2.2 The Key Role of the Interpretant Another dimension of Peirce’s semiotics that informs my application of Wright’s symbol to the Word of Faith is how a sign’s meaning is not inherent in the sign-vehicle but arises out of the dynamics of the triadic\n 4.2 Studying Worldview-Signs in the Word of Faith\n 4.2.1 Identifying Worldview-Signs in the Word of Faith\n 4.3 Worldview-Signs in the Word of Faith\n 4.3.1 Revelation Knowledge\n 4.3.1.1 The Semiosis of Revelation Knowledge The iconic nature of the knowledge-sign ascribes direct resemblance between the sign-vehicle and its object. In the worldview of the Word of Faith, it is possible to have perfect knowledge of the really real sp\n 4.3.2 Faith\n 4.3.2.2 The Semiosis of Faith Recognizing the complexities in the semiosis of faith within Word of Faith discourse is critical for a better understanding of the movement’s worldview. That faith can signify an impersonal object in the Word of Faith is note\n 4.3.3 Prosperity\n 4.3.3.1 The Semiosis of Prosperity Prosperity’s function as an index of faith is one of the most significant and unique features of the Word of Faith. Prosperity as an index-sign makes “a core canon” in their worldview. The Pew Research Center used the\n 4.3.4 Health\n 4.3.4.1 The Semiosis of Health The Word of Faith imagines an uncomplicated relation between health and the correct usage of faith. However, the semiosis of health as an indexical sign affects the worldview’s fidelity, coherence, and challenges a Pentecos\n 4.3.5 Optimism\n 4.3.5.1 The Semiosis of Optimism The semiosis of optimism makes the Word of Faith worldview to be one of “exuberant hope and unbridled optimism.” Optimism is grounded in the possibilities of faith. The indexical, cause-and-effect relationship between fai\n 4.3.6 The Charismatic Leader\n 4.3.6.1 The Semiosis of the Charismatic Leader The logic generated by the semiosis of the charismatic leader answers some otherwise difficult problems, for example why the lavish wealth of some of the most prominent Word of Faith preachers is not detrimen\n Conclusion\nChapter 5: Praxis in the Word of Faith Worldview\n 5.1 Praxis in Worldview\n 5.1.1 Wright’s Element of Praxis\n 5.1.2 Praxis as a Sign-Shaped Action Applied to the Word of Faith\n 5.2 Praxis in the Word of Faith\n 5.2.1 Speaking Positive Confessions\n 5.2.1.1 Analysis of Speaking Positive Confessions The causative dimension of indexicality shown by Rappaport generates a logic in the Word of Faith that “you can have what you say.” “In ‘positive confessions’, words come to create the very reality which\n 5.2.2 Gaining Revelation Knowledge\n 5.2.2.1 Analysis of Gaining Revelation Knowledge Analyzing the practice of gaining revelation knowledge shows how iconic logic generates a resolute confidence in how the Word of Faith sees the world, a privileging of spiritual insights that challenges a P\n 5.2.3 Sowing Money Seeds\n 5.2.3.1 Analysis of Sowing Money Seeds Analyzing the Word of Faith practice of sowing money seeds brings out its complex role in the Word of Faith worldview. Sowing brings positive benefits to the agent and the movement, while its indexical logic draws on\n 5.2.4 Manifesting Prosperity and Health\n 5.2.4.1 Analysis of Manifesting Prosperity and Health Requiring extra attention is how manifesting prosperity and health interrelates with globalized capitalism, as the practice expresses consumerism, individual agency, market-shaped aesthetic ideals and\n 5.2.5 Following the Charismatic Leader\n 5.2.5.1 Analysis of Following the Charismatic Leader The practice of following the charismatic leader gives insights into how iconic logic generates the leaders’ high status in the movement, that is, the practice draws on branding, and how power and the f\n 5.2.6 Extending Influence\n 5.2.6.1 Analysis of Extending Influence The practice of extending influence reveals critical aspects of the Word of Faith worldview. Discussed here are the presence of the market’s quantifiable hermeneutic, areas where iconic logic challenges Pentecostali\n Conclusion\nChapter 6: Ultimate Beliefs in the Word of Faith\n 6.1 Ultimate Beliefs in Worldview\n 6.2 Ultimate Beliefs in the Word of Faith\n 6.2.1 The Word of Faith Identity: Who Are We?\n 6.2.1.1 Pneumacentric Ontology The worldview-question of identity in the Word of Faith brings the focus to the core of the movement’s theology. This question requires, therefore, a more thorough discussion than the others. Ontological concerns, in the se\n 6.2.1.2 Trichotomist Anthropology Imagining humans to be fundamentally spirit beings generates, in turn, a particular radical trichotomist conception of human nature, expressed in Word of Faith discourse as: “man [sic] is a spirit, who possesses a soul, a\n 6.2.1.3 Exalted Anthropology The move the Word of Faith does from pneumacentric ontology via iconic logic to pneumacentric anthropology results in an exalted view of humankind. The Word of Faith holds that humans share by ontological rationality in the v\n 6.2.2 The Word of Faith Cosmology: Where Are We?\n 6.2.2.1 Dualistic Cosmology Out of the Word of Faith’s pneumacentric ontology arises not only how the movement views human nature but also its cosmology. The Word of Faith places the physical realm in a derivative relationship to the spiritual realm in te\n 6.2.2.2 Reductionist Goodness The cosmological dualism, which divides reality into spiritual and physical dimensions, has direct effects on how the Word of Faith views God’s nature. The image of God is formed in dualistic tension with Satan, that is, God\n 6.2.2.3 Law-Governed Causality The Word of Faith’s pneumacentric cosmology and view of spirit-causality (i.e., that experiences such as poverty or sickness in the physical realm have underlying spiritual causes) interconnect with their belief in spiritual\n 6.2.3 The Word of Faith Problem Statement: What Is Wrong?\n 6.2.3.1 High Satanology Word of Faith discourse is focused on defining the root cause of evil and human suffering (and to offer practical solutions). Two areas to discuss arise from their answer, that is, the movement’s high Satanology and human ignoranc\n 6.2.3.2 Human Ignorance and Inaction Regardless of Satan’s authoritative role, Satan is only the penultimate reason for the problems in the world; the ultimate responsibility lies with the believer. The Word of Faith’s exalted anthropology and law-govern\n 6.2.4 The Word of Faith Remedy: What Is the Solution?\n 6.2.4.1 Spiritual Activism The Word of Faith’s answer to “What is the solution?” correlates to how they defined the problem. The problem that believers are held from their ruling authority and entitled blessings by Satan’s power and their ignorance and in\n 6.2.4.2 Spirit-Epistemology The Word of Faith focuses on acting on revelation knowledge. This knowledge is spiritual illumination gained only by revelation and concerns, especially human identity, “rights and privileges” and the tools available to manif\n 6.2.4.3 Practical Instrumentality Word of Faith discourse emphasizes how revelation knowledge must be implemented to be effective. The Word of Faith is a “practical theology” that “theologises on the interplay between faith and action.” It offers a solut\n 6.2.5 The Word of Faith View of Time: What Time Is It?\n 6.2.5.1 Overrealized Theology of the Present In terms of the storied structure of their theology, it is imperative to recognize that “Word of Faith teaching defines salvation not primarily in eschatological terms but as the recovery of mankind’s lost Eden\n 6.2.5.2 Overrealized Eschatology Foundational to their overrealized view of the present and the believer’s location in time is the Word of Faith’s “radical realised eschatology,” which breeds triumphalist expectations of complete fulfillment of the promi\n 6.2.5.3 Ethereal Eschaton The Word of Faith holds to the popular view of the eschaton as the destruction of creation and a disembodied state in a spiritual heaven for the saved. Yet, the eschatological convictions in the Word of Faith contain unresolved\n Conclusion\nConclusion\n External Fidelity\n Internal Coherence\n Openness to Correction\n The Word of Faith Worldview and Pentecostalism\n Problems in the Adam Plot\n Dominance of Iconic Logic and Indexical Logic\n Influence of Market Logic\nBibliography\nIndex