Book Review: David W. Jones & Russell S. Woodbridge > Health, Wealth & Happiness- Has the Prosperity Gospel Overshadowed the Gospel of Christ?

Health, Wealth & Happiness

By David W. Jones & Russell S. Woodbridge / Kregel Publications

The desire for a thriving, healthy, and productive life is as strong as ever, especially in tough economic times. As people become more disillusioned at the state of the economy, they also become more susceptible to the lure of the prosperity gospel and its teachings of health, wealth, and happiness for the faithful. But what happens when the promise of prosperity overshadows the promise of the real gospel--the gospel of Christ?

Believing that the prosperity gospel is constructed upon faulty theology, authors David W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge take a closer look at five crucial areas of error relating to the prosperity gospel. In a fair but firm tone, the authors discuss the history and theology of the prosperity gospel movement to reveal that its foundation is the alteration of core biblical teachings.  Although even some of today's most well-known pastors teach these doctrines the authors show how they are actually a distortion that undermines the teaching of the Bible. After an introduction and assessment of the movement, readers are invited to take a look at Scripture to understand what the Bible really says about wealth, poverty, suffering, and giving.

Theologically sound but acessible to all readers, Health, Wealth & Happiness: Has the Prosperity Gospel Overshadowed the Gospel of Christ is sure to become a trusted resource for laypersons, pastors, and Christian leaders.

It is a tragedy that the so called prosperity movement has become so influential. What is even more tragic though is that many Christians are unable to recognize that these teachers are proclaiming is a serious distortion of the Gospel. Because teachers like Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, and Joyce Meyer have combined their eclectic teaching with Biblical elements many people are confused into thinking that what they are hearing from them is Christian teaching. It is not. This book by David W. Jones and Russell S. Woodbridge is a gift to the Church because of the extent these teachings have not only infiltrated the culture at large but also many of our Churches.

The authors begin with a short but thorough critique of the prosperity / Word of Faith movement. The critique starts with an examination of the foundational assumptions of prosperity teaching and traces their development from their origins in the mystical “New Thought” movement through the more popular “soft” prosperity teaching found in various churches today. The authors’ then move on to an examination of specific elements of the teaching that includes many direct quotes from popular prosperity teachers and the errors they involve.

Once they convincingly make the case that prosperity teaching is unbiblical and spiritually dangerous they then present a Biblically based corrective to those distorted doctrines. They discuss the Bible’s teaching on suffering, wealth, poverty, and giving in a way that is positive, accessible, and balanced. The book also contains resources for further study for those who wish to learn more.

The value of this book is that it is brief, easy to read, and well written yet it manages to deal with the major errors in prosperity teaching in an effective way. I pray that this book will be widely read by those who think that these teachings properly fall within the broad range of “Evangelical Christianity”. I pray that we would take up the challenge that the authors give us to go to the Bible and understand what God has said about these issues so that we might be more knowledgeable about how to understand these issues. I pray also that many who are followers of these prosperity teachers would be led to look carefully at what they are being taught and believe. I gladly recommend this book. It should be widely read and widely shared.