A new statement is aiming to address the growing influence of prosperity gospel and “word of faith” teachings in African churches.
The Africa Statement on Prosperity Gospel and Word of Faith Theology (ASPG) has been produced in Swahili, English and Amharic, and signed by notable pastors and church leaders across the continent.
It describes such teachings as: “[In reality] a constellation of mutually self-reinforcing doctrines which hold, essentially, that health and wealth in this life are guaranteed to Christians as a direct consequence of the atoning work of the Son of God on the cross. These blessings of material prosperity are to be seized by exercises of ‘faith’ that range from financial giving to speaking words of positive proclamation.”
This teaching has reportedly crept into the congregations of many churches on the African continent and even become their “functional doctrine”. According to ASPG, even churches with solid statements of faith have become “infiltrated by this health-and-wealth doctrine”, tragically undermining their own stated beliefs.
ASPG writes: “It is becoming harder and harder to trust that just because a congregation bears the name ‘Presbyterian’ that it will adhere to the doctrines set forth in the Westminster Confession. Just because a congregation bears the name ‘Anglican’ does not mean it adheres to the Thirty-Nine Articles. Just because a congregation bears the name ‘Baptist’ does not mean that it conforms to statements such as the 1689 London Baptist Confession, the New Hampshire Confession, or others like it.”
The statement includes 14 articles, affirming a particular belief and denying another.
Denials within the statement include: the belief that God guarantees health and wealth to His children in this life; the existence of “generational curses” due to a Christian’s own sin or that of their unbelieving forefathers; the idea that suffering is necessarily a result of weakness of faith – and many more denials and affirmations, combining to make a fairly extensive list.
The full statement can be read at africastatement.org.
