Pentecostal Profits: the Prosperity Gospel in the Global South
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University of Lethbridge Research Repository OPUS http://opus.uleth.ca Theses Arts and Science, Faculty of 2014 Pentecostal profits: the prosperity gospel in the global south MacTavish, Ron Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Dept. of Religious Studies, 2014 http://hdl.handle.net/10133/3527 Downloaded from University of Lethbridge Research Repository, OPUS PENTECOSTAL PROFITS: THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH Ron MacTavish B.A. History, University of Alberta, 1973 B.Ed. (with distinction), University of Alberta, 1974 B.A. (with great distinction), University of Lethbridge, 2012 A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies Of the University of Lethbridge In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MASTER OF ARTS Religious Studies University of Lethbridge LETHBRIDGE, ALBERTA, CANADA © Ron MacTavish, 2014 PENTECOSTAL PROFITS: THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL IN THE GLOBAL SOUTH RON MACTAVISH Approved: * (Print Name) (Signature) (Rank) (Highest Date Degree) _______________________ ____________________ ________ _______ ________ * Supervisor _______________________ ____________________ ________ _______ ________ * Thesis Examination Committee Member __________________________ _____________________ ________ ________ ________ * Thesis Examination Committee Member __________________________ _____________________ ________ ________ ________ * Thesis Examination Committee Member __________________________ _____________________ ________ ________ ________ * Thesis Examination Committee Member __________________________ _____________________ _________ ________ ________ * Chair, Thesis Examination Committee Abstract: This study explores the link between the development of the so-called prosperity gospel and the explosive growth of Pentecostalism in the Global South. It examines the evolution of the prosperity gospel as a strand of Pentecostalism in its country of origin, the United States. It then investigates the dramatic acceptance of the theology in selected pockets of the Pacific Rim, Latin America and Africa. Specific exemplars of the theology ─ famous pastors or burgeoning new denominations ─ are scrutinized and their methodologies for missionizing are probed. The study also touches on the theology’s impact on the rest of Christianity and on some other religions in the Global South. The reasons for the success of the theology in the Global South are considered. They point to the surprising conclusion that the prosperity gospel is not new, but old, and that it resonates with religious impulses that precede all of the world religions. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER ONE -THE ORIGINS OF THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL ......................................... 10 CHAPTER TWO - ASIA ............................................................................................................... 33 KOREA ...................................................................................................................................... 33 THE PHILIPPINES ................................................................................................................... 54 INDONESIA AND MALAYSIA .............................................................................................. 66 CHAPTER THREE - LATIN AMERICA ..................................................................................... 75 BRAZIL ..................................................................................................................................... 76 GUATEMALA ........................................................................................................................ 105 CHAPTER FOUR - AFRICA ...................................................................................................... 110 NIGERIA ................................................................................................................................. 116 CONCLUSION ............................................................................................................................ 161 BIBLIOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................ 195 APPENDICES ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. A: PROSPERITY GOSPEL SCRIPTURE ................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. B: KENNETH COPELAND’S FORMULAIC PRAYER ....................................................... 212 C: THE FULL GOSPEL BUSINESS MEN’S FELLOWSHIP INTERNATIONAL ............. 213 D: THE GRASSLEY SENATE INVESTIGATION ............................................................... 215 E: THE REDEEMED CHRISTIAN CHURCH OF GOD – LETHBRIDGE PARISH ........... 217 iv LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: “At Campmeeting” 16 Figure 2: Faith Explodes in Bill Winston’s Faith Conference 27 Figure 3: The Yoido Full Gospel Church, Seoul, Korea 40 Figure 4: El Shaddai evening rally, Manila 65 Figure 5: Catedral Mundial da Fe-Rio de Janeiro 87 Figure 6: Grand Opening of the new UCKG church in Khayelitsha, South Africa 99 Figure 7: Secretary Clinton meets with Guatemalan Foreign Minister Harold 107 Cabelleros Figure 8: Casa de Dios-Guatemala City. The new megachurch of Cash Luna 109 Figure 9: Benson Idahosa ministering abroad 124 Figure 10: Redemption Camp, Nigeria, 2013 139 Figure 11 Pastor Adeboye prays for Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria, at 139 Redemption Camp, 2012 Figure 12: The world's largest church building, Faith Tabernacle, Canaanland, Nigeria 147 Figure 13: David Oyedepo, relaxing on one of his five corporate jets 149 Figure 14: New Creation Church, Singapore 176 Figure 15: Artistic rendering of the new "Temple of Solomon" being built by the UCKG 188 in Sao Paulo, Brazil Figure 16: Pastor Kong Hee and his rock star wife, Sun Ho, from City Harvest Church, 193 Singapore v ACCRONYMS AIC African Independent Church DOMI David Oyedepo Ministries International FGBMFI Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship International NASFAT Nasrul-Lahi-Fatih-Society PFN Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria RCCG Redeemed Christian Church of God UCKG Universal Church of the Kingdom of God vi Comprehending the prosperity gospel might be the most pressing task of anyone trying to study the changing shape of global Christianity. Philip Jenkins1 The Lord is my banker: I shall not owe. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He restoreth my loss: He leadeth me beside still waters. Yea though I walk in the valley of the shadow of debt, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; Thy silver and thy gold, they rescue me; Thou preparest a way for me in the presence of my business competitors; Thou anointed my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life And I shall do business in the name of the Lord. Amen. Dr. D.K.Olukoya2 The pastor replaced the witch doctor. 3 Ogbu Kalu 1 Philip Jenkins, “The Case for prosperity,” The Christian Century 127, no. 24 (2010): 45. 2 Dr. D. K. Olukoya is the head of Mountain of Fire Miracles Ministries, a Pentecostal denomination in Nigeria. For additional insight into Dr. Olukoya’s creative exegesis of Psalm 23 see, Nimi Wariboko, “Pentecostal Paradigms of National Economic Prosperity in Africa,” in Pentecostalism and Prosperity: The Socio-Economics of the Global Charismatic Movement, eds. Katherine Attanasi and Amos Yong (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012), 39. 3 Ogbu Kalu, African Pentecostalism: An Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 114. vii INTRODUCTION Before Lifting the Curtain The word “Pentecostal” conjures up a myriad of images and terms such as holy rollers, speaking in tongues, vibrant singing and lately, Sarah Palin. Before lifting the curtain on this thesis it is appropriate to define the term, “Pentecostal.” Pentecostals take their name from the story described in the Acts of the Apostles which saw the Holy Spirit descend on the Apostles and their disciples in the upper room of a Jerusalem dwelling. The original theological tenets of Pentecostalism included salvation, divine healing, glossolalia and millenarianism. As Pentecostalism evolved new strands of theology have been added and accepted by some facets within the orbit of this now dynamic movement. The most striking example of this development is the so called “prosperity gospel” which promises financial success to believers. Many observers consider the remarkable growth of Pentecostalism as the most significant religious phenomenon of the twentieth century.4 For too many others, however, Pentecostals are ignored, overlooked, or underestimated. As this thesis will demonstrate, not apprehending or understanding the ramifications of twenty-first century Pentecostalism is an oversight with major implications. Pentecostalism: The Less-Than-Obvious Phenomenon Connecting the dots is difficult to do, particularly if you don’t even see the dots. So it is with the dramatic growth of Pentecostalism, from a fringe group of Topeka, Kansas, Wesleyan-Holiness seekers just over a century ago, to a more than six hundred million-strong tidal wave of devotees who, while they comprise one quarter of 4 One such scholar is Harvard professor, Harvey Cox. See Fire from Heaven: The Rise of Pentecostal Spirituality and the Reshaping of Religion in the Twenty-first Century (New York: Da Capo Press, 1995). 1 Christianity or approximately one in twelve people