Matt and Joel Osteen

Matt left a message in my guestbook about what I said about Joel
Osteen and his new book, but without leaving any contact information,
so I'll respond in my blog. "You are completely WRONG."

Well, not completely. I still am disturbed that this book (and many
others, such as TD Jakes' new book) is a bestseller before anyone has
actually been able to read it. For some books, like cookbooks or
how-to books, this wouldn't be an issue; but for a book that will be
spiritual guidance to millions of people, the issue is that millions
have placed their blind trust in Osteen without giving anyone a chance
to read the book and reflect upon its contents. Whether the book
contains orthodox Christianity or is merely the first book warmed
over, the point is no one knows because no one has read a word of it.

I do have a lot of sympathy for Matt's view, because I used to think
the same way. Matt says Osteen is "doing something right, as he is
encouraging mainstream people...to come to God and put him first place
in their life. I give credit to people who are trying to make a
difference." Not too long ago (but before Osteen was around), I used
to think exactly the same way: High-profile evangelists on television
and the radio had to be doing some good, even if they weren't
completely orthodox and there were some questions about the way they
operated. Surely, the good they were doing in spreading the message of
Christianity outweighed the bad aspects? After many years of study,
I've come to the conclusion that I was wrong, and my desire to find
some good in these preachers blinded me to the truth about them.

Osteen is not Christian, and I think that is the key point. He is a
Word of Faith believer, and they're not Christians. You can trace Word
of Faith back to Parkhurst Quimby, and the various mind-over-matter
beliefs that came onto the scene in the late 19th century. I won't get
into it here, but if you want to know more, you can trace "Park"
Quimby's beliefs along the thread that runs through (among many
others) Christian science, positive thinking, possibility thinking,
E.W. Kenyon, Kenneth E. Hagin, Kenneth Copeland, etc. I even see this
teaching in Paramahansa Yogananda! The mind-over-matter teachings that
say how you think, or speak, controls reality are like a lamprey that
has sunk its teeth into Christianity and is sucking the life out of
it. These beliefs are not Christian. They're obscuring the true gospel
message. Nothing good has ever come of this movement, and nothing ever
will. Someone could easily write a book about how the Word of Faith
movement has worked its way into Christianity and is destroying it
from within. Osteen is teaching something that isn't Christian. He has
a weak, toothless "salvation message" for a few seconds at the end of
his program, but his program, worldwide meetings, and books are
discussing something that isn't Christian. He's teaching Word of
Faith, a man-centered religion.

Some believers do get called out, and that's good news. Every time I
hear a true gospel sermon, I am thankful that God called me out of the
Word of Faith world into the world of the gospel. The Holy Spirit can
use any means to call a sinner and work the will of God. Look at how
Cyrus, Darius, Nebuchadnezzar, Pilate, and others were used by God to
further the plan of salvation. So I'm glad that's happening even
today. I found Sermon Audio because I was researching the Word of
Faith movement and trying to figure it out. (The first sermon I ever
listened to here was Ian Brown's sermon on Benny Hinn.)