I knew Hagin would get it right in the end.  Good for him but nobody likes a
whistle blower I'm afraid.

Phil.


Phil.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Schwery" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, March 10, 2008 8:20 AM
Subject: Fwd: [Charisma] Forgotten Warning


> I didn't know Hagin wrote this book.
>
> Text of forwarded message follows:
> >highly, why didn't they pay attention to their guru?]
> >
> >Kenneth Hagins Forgotten Warning
> >Before he died in 2003, the revered father of the Word-Faith
> >movement corrected his spiritual sons for going to extremes with
> >their message of prosperity.
> >
> >Charismatic Bible teacher Kenneth Hagin Sr. is considered the father
> >of the so-called prosperity gospel. The folksy, self-trained Dad
> >Hagin started a grass-roots movement in Oklahoma that produced a
> >Bible college and a crop of famous preachers including Kenneth
> >Copeland, Jerry Savelle, Charles Capps, Jesse DuPlantis, Creflo
> >Dollar and dozens of others-all of whom teach that Christians who
> >give generously should expect financial rewards on this side of heaven.
> >
> >Hagin taught that God was not glorified by poverty and that
> >preachers do not have to be poor. But before he died in 2003 and
> >left his Rhema Bible Training Center in the hands of his son,
> >Kenneth Hagin Jr., he summoned many of his colleagues to Tulsa to
> >rebuke them for distorting his message. He was not happy that some
> >of his followers were manipulating the Bible to support what he
> >viewed as greed and selfish indulgence.
> >
> >Those who were close to Hagin Sr. say he was passionate about
> >correcting these abuses before he died. In fact, he wrote a brutally
> >honest book to address his concerns. The Midas Touch was published
> >in 2000, a year after the infamous Tulsa meeting.
> >
> >Many Word-Faith ministers ignored the book. But in light of the
> >recent controversy over prosperity doctrines, it might be a good
> >idea to dust it off and read it again.
> >
> >Here are a few of the points Hagin made in The Midas Touch:
> >
> >1. Financial prosperity is not a sign of Gods blessing. Hagin wrote:
> >If wealth alone were a sign of spirituality, then drug traffickers
> >and crime bosses would be spiritual giants. Material wealth can be
> >connected to the blessings of God or it can be totally disconnected
> >from the blessings of God.
> >
> >2. People should never give in order to get. Hagin was critical of
> >those who try to make the offering plate some kind of heavenly
> >vending machine. He denounced those who link giving to getting,
> >especially those who give cars to get new cars or who give suits to
> >get new suits. He wrote: There is no spiritual formula to sow a Ford
> >and reap a Mercedes.
> >
> >3. It is not biblical to name your seed in an offering. Hagin was
> >horrified by this practice, which was popularized in faith
> >conferences during the 1980s. Faith preachers sometimes tell donors
> >that when they give in an offering they should claim a specific
> >benefit to get a blessing in return. Hagin rejected this idea and
> >said that focusing on what you are going to receive corrupts the
> >very attitude of our giving nature.
> >
> >4. The hundredfold return is not a biblical concept. Hagin did the
> >math and figured out that if this bizarre notion were true, we would
> >have Christians walking around with not billions or trillions of
> >dollars, but quadrillions of dollars! He rejected the popular
> >teaching that a believer should claim a specific monetary payback rate.
> >
> >5. Preachers who claim to have a debt-breaking anointing should not
> >be trusted. Hagin was perplexed by ministers who promise
> >supernatural debt cancellation to those who give in certain
> >offerings. He wrote in The Midas Touch: There is not one bit of
> >Scripture I know about that validates such a practice. Im afraid it
> >is simply a scheme to raise money for the preacher, and ultimately
> >it can turn out to be dangerous and destructive for all involved.
> >
> >(Many evangelists who appear on Christian television today use this
> >bogus claim. Usually they insist that the miraculous debt
> >cancellation will occur only if a person gives right now, as if the
> >anointing for this miracle suddenly evaporates after the prime time
> >viewing hour. This manipulative claim is more akin to witchcraft
> >than Christian belief.)
> >
> >Hagin condemned other hairbrained gimmicks designed to trick
> >audiences into emptying their wallets. He was especially incensed
> >when a preacher told his radio listeners that he would take their
> >prayer requests to Jesus empty tomb in Jerusalem and pray over them
> >there-if donors included a special love gift. What that radio
> >preacher really wanted was more people to send in offerings, Hagin wrote.
> >
> >Thanks to the recent resurgence in bizarre donation schemes promoted
> >by American charismatics, the prosperity gospel is back under the
> >nations microscope. Its time to revisit Hagins concerns and find a
> >biblical balance.
> >
> >Hagin told his followers: Overemphasizing or adding to what the
> >Bible actually teaches invariably does more harm than good. If the
> >man who pioneered the modern concept of biblical prosperity blew the
> >whistle on his own movement, wouldnt it make sense for us to listen
> >to his admonition?
> >
> >J. Lee Grady is editor of Charisma. The Midas Touch is available
> >from Kenneth Hagin Ministries at <http://www.rhema.org>rhema.org.
> >http://www.charismanews.com/
> >
> >No virus found in this incoming message.
> >Checked by AVG.
> >Version: 7.5.518 / Virus Database: 269.21.7/1323 - Release Date:
> >3/10/2008 11:07 AM
> End of forwarded message text:
>
> John
>


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11:07 AM