Blessed and Highly Favored”: the Theological Anthropology of the Prosperity Gospel

“BLESSED AND HIGHLY FAVORED”: THE THEOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY OF THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL Nathan Ivan Walton Charlottesville, VA Master of Divinity, Duke Divinity School, 2012 Bachelor of Arts, University of Virginia, 2009 A Dissertation presented to the Graduate Faculty of the University of Virginia in Candidacy for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Religious Studies University of Virginia May 2018 Acknowledgements This dissertation has only been possible because of the support of family, friends, advisors, colleagues, and both academic and ecclesial communities. I would first like to express my gratitude to my advisor Dr. Charles Marsh, who has helpfully modeled for me how to bridge theology and praxis as an academic discipline but also as a way of life. His convictions regarding lived theology have placed a lasting fingerprint on this project. My other committee members have each contributed to my academic success in unique but equally significant ways. Dr. Heather Warren continues to provide a living and breathing example of how the life of the mind can be nourished and sustained by a commitment to drink deeply from the well of Christian community. Dr. Paul Jones has been a mentor who has helpfully challenged me to complement my commitment to theology in practice with an analytic rigor that illumines the riches of faith in constructive and socially productive ways. Dr. Sabrina Pendergrass has helped me to grasp more deeply how theological reflection can be further enriched by the resources of qualitative research. Moreover, her encouragement and mentorship have given me greater confidence in my own potential as a young scholar. I also wish to acknowledge the generous fellowship support of the Forum for Theological Exploration. My experiences as an FTE Fellow provided me not only with helpful academic feedback, but a community of supportive mentors and colleagues from whom I continue to learn. I also wish to acknowledge the fellowship support of the Louisville Institute. My conversations with other LI Dissertation Fellows as well as Louisville Institute staff have played crucial roles in this project’s ultimate shape. Lastly, I wish to thank both Dr. Valerie Cooper and Dr. Paul Jones for overseeing my initial examination of the Prosperity Gospel while I was an undergraduate in U.Va.’s Distinguished Majors Program several years ago. Their encouragement nourished the seeds that would eventually germinate into this dissertation. In addition to academic support, there are countless others who have aided in the completion of this project. First and foremost, my wife Diamond has been an indispensable source of encouragement and wisdom as I have navigated the process of writing. From timely words of comfort to assuage my anxiety, to Microsoft Word editing tips, she has aided me in a multitude of ways that are beyond measure. In addition, my mother was ever supportive of my work, while also reminding me that my identity was not reducible to it. I also wish to thank my church community, Charlottesville Vineyard, for giving me an outlet to put my theological musings into practice, and I especially thank my pastor, Jim Bleakley and his wife Megan, for supporting me in my vocation as a pastor-scholar. Lastly, I wish to thank God, without whom this project would never be possible. This dissertation is as much a product of these influences as my own. Table of Contents ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 3 OVERVIEW OF DISSERTATION.............................................................................................................. 6 I. Chapter One ........................................................................................................................................... 6 II. Chapter Two ......................................................................................................................................... 8 III. Chapter Three .................................................................................................................................... 10 IV. Chapter Four ..................................................................................................................................... 12 V. Chapter Five ....................................................................................................................................... 13 THE BIRTH OF THE WORD OF FAITH MOVEMENT ......................................................................... 17 I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 17 II. New Thought ...................................................................................................................................... 17 III. Faith Cure.......................................................................................................................................... 23 IV. Higher Christian Life ........................................................................................................................ 26 V. Essek W. Kenyon ............................................................................................................................... 28 VI. Pentecostalism .................................................................................................................................. 38 VII. Kenneth Hagin ................................................................................................................................. 41 VIII. Oral Roberts ................................................................................................................................... 45 IX. Black Spiritualism ............................................................................................................................ 46 X. The Charismatic Movement ............................................................................................................... 48 XI. The Modern Prosperity Gospel ......................................................................................................... 51 XII. Literature Review ............................................................................................................................ 59 LIVED THEOLOGY & THEOLOGICAL ETHNOGRAPHY .................................................................. 71 I. Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 71 II. Lived Theology as Method ................................................................................................................ 72 III. The Narrative Structure of Christian Discourse ................................................................................ 76 IV. The Rise of Ethnography .................................................................................................................. 79 V. Prosperity Church .............................................................................................................................. 85 VI. Shalom Ministries ............................................................................................................................. 87 VII. Ethnographic Positioning ................................................................................................................ 89 VIII. Participation Observation ............................................................................................................... 91 IX. In-Depth Interviews .......................................................................................................................... 96 X. Content Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 98 XI. Open and Focused Coding ................................................................................................................ 99 XII. Lived Theology and Theological Ethnography ............................................................................. 100 THE CONTENT OF PROSPERITY ........................................................................................................ 102 I. Financial Prosperity at Prosperity Church ......................................................................................... 102 II. Financial Prosperity at Shalom Ministries ....................................................................................... 118 III. Divine Healing at Shalom Ministries .............................................................................................. 123 IV. Divine Healing at Prosperity Church .............................................................................................. 127 V. Prosperity Church and Shalom Ministries ....................................................................................... 128 VI. The Power of the Prosperity Gospel ............................................................................................... 130 VII. Individualism and Self-Sufficiency ............................................................................................... 139 THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL, DIETRICH BONHOEFFER, &

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