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RIMAMSIKWE HABILA KITAUSE Reg. No.: PG/Ph.D/11/59635

A HISTORICAL STUDY OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA, 1970-2014

RELIGION AND CULTU RAL STUDIES

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Ebere Omeje Digitally Signed by: Content manager’s Name

DN : CN = Webmaster’s name

O= University of Nigeria, Nsukka

OU = Innovation Centre

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A HISTORICAL STUDY OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA, 1970-2014

BY

RIMAMSIKWE HABILA KITAUSE Reg. No.: PG/Ph.D/11/59635

DEPARTMENT OF RELIGION AND CULTURAL STUDIES FACULTY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

NOVEMBER, 2015

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TITLE PAGE

A HISTORICAL STUDY OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA, 1970-2014

BY

RIMAMSIKWE HABILA KITAUSE Reg. No.: PG/Ph.D/11/59635

A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF RELIGION AND CULTURA L

STUDIES, FACULTY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF DOC TOR

OF PHILOSOPHY DEGREE (Ph.D) IN RELIGION AND CULTURA L STUDIES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

NOVEMBER, 2015

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CERTIFICATION KITAUSE, RIMAMSIKWE HABILA, a Postgraduate Student in the Department of

Religion and Cultural Studies with Reg. No.: PG/Ph.D/11/59635 has satisfactorily

completed the research work for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN

RELIGION AND CULTURAL STUDIES.

The work embodied in this project is original and has not been submitted in

part or full for any other diploma or degree of this or any other University.

.................................................. ........................ Rev. Fr. Prof. H. C. Achunike Date (Supervisor) .................................................. ........................ Rev. Fr. Prof. H. C. Achunike Date (Head of Department)

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DEDICATION

With a heart full of gratitude, I humbly dedicate this thesis in cherished memory of

my well-beloved and unforgettable father and mother, late ITSE HABILA

KITAUSE who passed onto glory on March 4, 1999 and late IYA ALISABATU

HABILA who slept in the Lord on July 11, 2006 whose prayers, wishes, concerns

and sacrifices have catapulted me to where I am today. Sadly, they are no more to

enjoy the fruits of their labour of love. I equally dedicate this thesis to my son

KOTSO TRIUMPH HABILA and daughter TSINTOP REJOICE HABILA, praying

and wishing sincerely that they will surpass me in all areas of life.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS All glory, honour and thanks are unreservedly due to God, who alone is King,

the eternal and immutable God whose unmerited benevolence, protection, guidance

and grace has inspired and preserved me throughout my academic pursuit. Though,

the journey has been very challenging, rough and tough, but it is only, and only for

Him that this landing is very safe and sweet. It is on this premise that I must quickly

and most sincerely with very deep satisfaction register my unflinching and profound

gratitude to all the admirable contributors to the successful completion of this

programme and especially my research work in particular. I am deeply indebted to all

my sources.

Therefore, I will like to place permanently on record my immense and

undying gratitude to my supervisor, Rev. Fr. Prof. Hilary Chukwuka Achunike for his

versatile wealth of academic scholarship, resourcefulness, expertise criticisms,

approachability, insistence on breaking new ground, fresh insights and originality, and

his up-to-dateness in the area of his specialty. Without mincing words, Father

Achunike has in all ways throughout the programme always been stirring up the fire

and zeal for hard work in me through constant identification of current issues of

national and international interest, close supervision of any assigned written work,

which enable him to provide me with sound academic mentorship. He thoroughly

supervised this work. I see it as a rare privileged to have worked under this reputable,

strong and foremost Nigerian Church historian whose interest in my academic

progress is quite amazing; allowing me to fly on his academic wings. I am ever

grateful for making his library available for my use. Prof. Achunike is indeed more

than a father to me encapsulate in his warmth of heart, nature of kindness,

generosity and friendliness towards me. I am extremely very proud to be associated

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with him, a vast scholar worth his salt. I have no single moment of regrets whatsoever

being under his tutelage for these years. Prof. Achunike thanks a million times. May

Heaven richly reward you for being there for me at all times! Amen!

I am greatly indebted to my eldest brother, Mr. Jeremiah R. Habila, the

Deputy University Librarian, Federal University Wukari for his ardent patience, deep

love and enthusiasm for my education as well as his generous financial assistance

towards me. I am particularly thankful to him and his wife for the role they played in

my life which is simply unquantifiable. Also deserving of my gratitude are my

brothers Mr. Bitrus Habila and Mr. Rimamtsiwe Habila and their wives; my sister

Mrs Polina J. Japhet and her late husband, Late Mr. Japhet Joshua Iratishe for their

magnanimity and constant financial and material support. May God reward all of you

abundantly in Jesus name!

I am most appreciative of my beautiful wife and queen, Mrs. Margaret R.

Habila who had toiled and moiled indefatigably with me for these ten years of our

marriage. I must indeed confess that she is my strength and everything; who has

always been supporting me and managing the home competently while I concentrated

on my study. I sincerely thank her in high spirit for her companionship, understanding

and all the sleepless nights she had while I was on journeys and as a very senior nurse

always bringing her wealth of experience to bear in nursing my corpulent beautiful

children and myself. My sweet baby, I love you and I say thank you so much. You are

the reason why I made it gallantly. Remain ever blessed. Amen!

I am very much indebted in gratitude to Rev. Prof. Ibrahim Musa Ahmadu the

University of Jos for his huge support and for granting me the privilege of an

interview from where he bears his mind freely on prosperity preaching in Nigeria. I

am most thankful to all the Professors of my department for their excellent

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contributions in my education notably Prof. E. N. Chinweokwu, Prof. Agha U. Agha,

Prof. Malachy I. Okwueze and Prof. Christopher O. T. Ugwu who is so dear to me. It

is with a great pleasure that I register my thanks to all the academic staff of my

department particularly Dr. S. O. Onyeidu, Ven. Dr. B. C. D. Diara, Rev. Dr. Sr. Mary

Jerome Obiora, Ven. Dr. Collins Ugwu, Rev. Dr. Ngele Omaka, Dr. C. N. Ibenwa, Dr.

Chinyere Nwaoga, Rev. Canon Nweze Stanley, Lady Chidinma Precious

Ukeachusim, our departmental Postgraduate students’ President. To all the non

academic staff, I say a hearty thank you. May God bless you all!

I am particularly overwhelmed by the show of love and interest over my

education and progress from my paternal uncle Rev. and Mrs. Adams Eyab. I am so

`thankful for your constant phone calls and encouragement. I cannot also so easily

forget the wonderful encouragement of Dr. Richard Adeola, Rev. Barr. and Mrs Y. S.

Tukura, Rev. Dr. Ben Ubeh, Rev. Remigius Oguh, Rev. R. Y. Shamaki, Rev. and

Mrs. Innocent Boyi, Mr. Andetarang G. Iramae, Dr. Edon Aboki and Mr. E. A.

Tonga. They are simply wonderful. A word of appreciation to my cousins Mr. Ifraimu

Musa for the much concern about my total wellbeing and progress in life and Mr. and

Mrs. Elkanah Musa for always sheltering my family and I in Jos each time we come

around and especially throughout my research trips to Jos.

I must remain ever grateful to Rev. Anokam Obed Osonwa of the Assemblies

of God Church Port Harcourt for his constant friendliness and financial assistance. Of

special mention is Barr. Y. N. Akirikwen and his wife for their very huge financial

and moral support. Of special mention too is Mr. Frank Kyafa Adamu who assisted

me with a good sum of money. The Rev. and Assoc. Prof. Mrs. Rimamnde M.

Andemum equally deserve special mention for assisting me with good amount of

money. Equally, Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Markus Kaigama, Mr. and Mrs. Reuben Iratishe,

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Mrs. Juliana C. Shaiki and Mrs Gloria Agaibe stood by me financially in the course of

the programme. Thank you so much for your support. I am honestly bereft of the right

word to use in appreciating Elder Walter E. Maduagwu and Dr. Maxwell Aniekwem

of Ukraine who helped me out when I was having difficulty in paying for all my

international publications. Elder Maduagwu has always been a very close friend in

times of financial and emotional need. Thanks are also due to Dr. Samuel Bello

Adeseye for the role he played with regards to my Ph.D admission at UNN and his

assistance to my education generally, Dr. Istifanus Akila Barde who first

accommodated me at Nsukka and continued to lift me in his car most times to and fro

Nsukka, Rev. Fr. Gabriel Ngbea who did likewise, Mr. Rimamchaten Lawi

accommodated me during my final session of 2014/2015, Mr. and Mrs. Fwabenya

Ishaku Kuni, Archbishop Ibe Ogboso Ukah and Mrs Monica Ejim Uche, all supported

me wonderfully.

I thank in a special way Evangelist William D. Lamu, the Permanent

Secretary, Ministry of Education, Jalingo, Taraba State and Dr. Rebecca D. Irany of

TSU Jalingo for graciously, painstakingly and assiduously proofreading this work in

spite of their very tight schedules. To all of you, I say a big thank you for the honour.

A very special gratitude to Chap. Dr. Leonardo Stephen, Taraba State Commandant of

United Nigerian Chaplaincy for all his wonderful encouragements and prophetic

declarations on my life endeavours. A word of thanks to my friend Rev. Dr.

Okechukwu Nwachukwu who had so much material on my area of research but only

selfishly allowed me access to very few of them to photocopy. I learnt from it and for

this I appreciate him.

The following also rendered invaluable assistance in various ways, for which I

am most grateful: Mr. Bitrus Bature of Kaduna Polytechnic, who tirelessly went

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through Kaduna city for three months in search of relevant books on prosperity for

me; Rev. Nansel Barry and Pastor Uche Okpani Peace for loaning me 23 and 22

prosperity books respectively; Mrs. Mahci Amos Nkare of Glamorous Bookshop who

offered me some books free of cost; Rev. Fr. Jonah Rimamndeya of St. Augustine

Major Seminary Jos who kindly sought three relevant books for my research free of

charge; Mr. Ande Roland of Taraba State University (TSU) for always giving me free

access to the university’s internet facility and preparing my Ph.D proposal power

point presentation; Mr. Caleb Yakubu Tapu who helped to provide me with a song,

Lady Grace Ozioma Nwamah of Imo State University, Engr. Charles Ugwunna of

Taraba State Polytechnic and Mr. Jonathan Apuru also of TSU for their constant

patience in putting me through whenever I am faced with serious challenge in my

laptop and typesetting. To all of you I say a big thank you.

Indeed, time and space is limiting me compulsorily to acknowledge all that

contributed in one way or the other to the successful completion of my academic

pursuit. It is my prayer that God in his infinite mercies who alone knows your labour

of love will richly reward you in Jesus name! Thank you so much!

Rimamsikwe Habila Kitause Department of Religion and Cultural Studies University of Nigeria, Nsukka

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ABSTRACT

Prosperity gospel preaching is a double-barrelled socio-religious phenomenon which is fast becoming one of the most significant expressions of Christianity and is remarkably wielding a pervasive influence within the Nigerian religious space. As a dominant strain of popular spirituality, prosperity gospel has remained a major socio-cultural force in Nigeria. The study generally attempts a comprehensive study of prosperity gospel in Nigeria and specifically, it examines the impacts and conflicting views on the reasons for the shift in emphasis of prosperity preachers from asceticism to materialism. The study is crafted using phenomenological approach for its richness and objectivity. The results show that prosperity preaching is currently the major preoccupation of the Pentecostals and has challenged endemic poverty in Nigeria through its emphasis on spiritual and economic empowerment programmes of the prosperity purveyors which is engendering remarkable social, economic and spiritual transformation in the Nigerian society. But the Pentecostals’ undue emphasis on giving as an investment for future prosperity occasioned by wrong interpretation of Scriptures by prosperity preachers resulting to misinformation and misapprehension of people about prosperity has negatively impacted on a broad spectrum of the Nigerian Christians and churches financially, socially and spiritually. At the moment, there seems to be a gradual paradigm shift in the orientation of people from hard labour to idleness and from holiness to worldliness in Nigeria. In view of the foregoing, the work, in recognition of some positivism of prosperity gospel draws its conclusion that the impacts of prosperity gospel are more damaging than beneficial in Nigeria

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TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE i

APPROVAL PAGE ii

CERTIFICATION iii

DEDICATION iv

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS v

ABSTRACT x

TABLE OF CONTENTS xi

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS xvi

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the Study 1

1.2 Statement of the Problem 5

1.3 Aim of the Study 7

1.4 Significance of the Study 8

1.5 Scope of the Study 9

1.6 Research Methodology 10

1.7 Definition of Terms 12

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 15

2.1Biblical or Theological Perspective of Prosperity 16

2.2 Pre Pentecostal Understanding of Prosperity 23

2.3 Pentecostal Interpretation of Prosperity 28

2.4 Summary of Literature Review 37

CHAPTER THREE: HISTORICAL EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMEN T

OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA 41

3.1 Origin of Prosperity Preaching Worldwide 41

3.2 Nigerian Historical Roots of Prosperity Preaching 44

3.3 Development of Prosperity Preaching in Nigeria 52

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3.4 Dimension of Prosperity Preaching in the World 58

3.5 Factors Responsible for Prosperity Preaching in Nigeria 66

3.5.1 African Worldview on Prosperity and Materialism 67

3.5.2 Competition for Possession of Worldly Resources 71

3.5.3 The 1980s Socio-economic Condition of Nigeria 82

CHAPTER FOUR: IDEOLOGY OF PROSPERITY PREACHERS

IN NIGERIA 90

4.1 Distinctiveness of Prosperity Preaching in Nigeria 90

4.1.1Foundational Affirmations 92

4.1.2 Faith as Positive Confession 95

4.1.3 Giving and Receiving 96

4.1.4 Poverty and Sickness 99

4.2 Principles/Laws of Prosperity 102

4.2.1 Be a Faithful Tither 104

4.2.2 Giving Willingly and Generously 108

4.2.3 Be a Covenant Builder 111

4.2.4 Investing in the Gospel 112

4.2.5 Giving to the Poor 113

4.2.6 Having High Regard for Spiritual Leaders and Partnering

With them 113

4.2.7 Making Absolute and Solid Commitment to the Local

Assembly 114

4.2.8 Confession Brings Possession 115

4.3 Purpose of Prosperity Preaching 116

4.3.1 Prosperity is Proof for God’s Covenant and for Building

His Church 121

4.3.2 Blessed to be a Blessing to Humanity 124

4.3.3 Enjoyment of God’s Children on Earth 125

4.4 Wrong Interpretation of Scriptures 128

4.4.1 Biblical Interpretation Principles 131

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4.4.2 Illustrations of Hermeneutical Blunders in the Prosperity

Gospel 132

4.4.2.1 The Interpretation of the Promise of “Everything”, “All Thing ”

and “Anything” in Some Bible passages 133

4.4.2.2 The Threefold Prosperity promise in 3 John2 134

4.4.2.3 The Seed Faith Principle in Luke 6:38 136

4.4.2.4 The Hundredfold Return Principle in Mark10:29-30 137

4.4.2.5 Prosperity-Bound Mentality in Luke 16:22 138

4.5 Wrong Understanding of People about Prosperity 139

CHAPTER FIVE: RESPONSE TO PROSPERITY GOSPEL

PREACHING IN NIGERIA 146

5.1 Responses to Prosperity Preaching 146

5.2 Women and Prosperity Preaching 147

5.3 The Youth and Prosperity Preaching 153

5.4 Antagonists of Prosperity preaching (Holiness Preachers) 162

5.5 Mainline Churches Response 170

5.6 Social Critic 180

CHAPTER SIX: IMPACT OF PROSPERITY PREACHING GOSPEL

IN NIGERIA 192

6.1 Social Positive Significance of Prosperity Preaching in Nigeria 192

6.1.1 Prosperity Preaching as Vehicle for All-round Empowerment 193

6.1.2 Rehabilitation of Social Outcasts and Poverty Alleviation 197

6.1.3 Improvement of Human Capacity for Self-Development 199

6.1.4 Entrepreneurial Development and Employment Opportunities 200

6.1.5 Numerical Explosion of Christian Population 203

6.1.6 Rapid National Development 204

6.1.7 Educational Development and Human Capital Development 205

6.1.8 Leadership Development, Good Governance and

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National Transformation 206

6.2 Negative Impact of Prosperity Preaching 208

6.2.1 Prosperity Gospel Promotes Materialism 209

6.2.2 Prosperity Gospel Inspires Syncretism 212

6.2.3 Prosperity Gospel Leads to Declining Spiritual

Commitment and Character 216

6.2.4 Prosperity Gospel Fuels Greed and Impoverishes People 218

6.2.5 Prosperity Gospel Nurtures Fraud, Rivalry and Competition 220

6.2.6 Prosperity Gospel Keeps People in Poverty 224

6.2.7 Prosperity Gospel enslaves people 226

6.2.8 Prosperity Gospel Feeds Pride 229

CHAPTER SEVEN: DISSECTION OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL

PREACHING IN NIGERIA 233

7.1 An Authentic Gospel 233

7.2 A Different Gospel (From Asceticism to Materialism) 239

7.3 Omissions of Prosperity Preaching 251

7.4 The Future of Prosperity Gospel in Nigeria 259

7.4.1 Factors that sustain Prosperity Gospel in Nigeria 260

7.4.1.1 Astronomical Expansion of prosperity ideology 260

7.4.1.2 The overwhelming Popularity of Prosperity Gospel 261

7.4.1.3 Deeply Entrenched Poverty in Africa 261

7.4.1.4 The Desire and Search to get better 262

7.4.1.5 Prosperity promises/Allurement as Bait 263

7.4.1.6 A Simple-Easy-Going Theology of Sweatless Prosperity 264

7.4.1.7 Evangelistic Campaigns and Churches’ Proliferation as Factor 264

7.4.1.8 Numerical Growth of the Pentecostals/Charismatics

Solidify Prosperity Gospel 266

7.4.1.9 The Nature of Pentecostalism 268

7.4.1.10 Unchanging Global Trends Sustain Prosperity Theology 269

7.4.1.11 Prosperity Gospel as Immunity against Witchcraft and Problems 270

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7.4.1 12 Prosperity Gospel as Socially Relevant to All Societies

of the World 271

7.5 The Probable End of Prosperity Gospel 272

CHAPTER EIGHT: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION 275

8.1 Summary of Findings 275

8.2 Contribution to Knowledge 277

8.3 Recommendations 279

8.4 Suggestions for Further Study 282

8.5 Conclusion 283

References 286

Appendix: LIST OF INTERVIEWEES 319

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AD - Anno Domini

ANCBI - All Nations for Christ Bible Institute

ATR - African Traditional Religion

B. A. - Bachelor of Arts

B. TH - Bachelor of Theology

CAC - Christ Army Church

CAN - Christian Association of Nigeria

CGMI - Church of God Mission International

Christ Embassy - Believers Love World

CPA - Christian Praying Assembly

CPC - Congress for Progressive Change

DAWN - Disciple A whole Nation

ECWA - Evangelical Church Winning All (formerly the Evangelical

Church of West Africa).

FCT - Federal Capital Territory

GRA - Government Residential Areas

GSM - Global System for Mobile communication

IMF - International Monetary Fund

INEC - Independent National Electoral Commission

INT - Institute for National Transformation

J P - Jerusalem Pilgrim

KJV - King James Version

M. A. - Master of Arts

M.TH - Master of Theology

NBC - The Nigerian Baptist Convention

NGOs - Non-Governmental Organizations

NIV - New International Version

PFN - Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria

Ph.D - Doctor of Philosophy

PMCC - Printme Communications Company

PRC - Pew Research Center

PTL - Praise the Lord

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RCCG - Redeemed Christian Church of God

RCM - Roman Catholic Mission

SAP - Structural Adjustment Programmes

SCOAN - The Synagogue Church of All Nations

SNG - Save Nigeria Group

SURE-P - Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme

TFCI - The Foundation for Community Inspiration

The Deeper Life - Deeper Life Bible Church

The Lord Chosen - The Lord Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries

The Winners’ Chapel - Living Faith Church Worldwide

TSU - Taraba State University

USA - United States of America

WCC - World Council of Churches

WOFBI - The Word of Faith Bible Institute

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

The emergence of prosperity gospel preaching dates back to the 19th and 20th

centuries. It is currently a universal phenomenon that is frequently preached in urban

areas especially in churches and on the electronic media. It has commanded scholarly

attention, debates and literature on the subject. Historical records abound that

prosperity preaching began in the United States of America (USA). This was

precipitated through the formative role played by Essek William Kenyon who lived

from 1867-1948, and who is said to have initially put in place the cardinal principles

for prosperity gospel preaching (Young, 2005; Mumford, 2012). The principles

Kenyon develop was probably cultic in origin (McConnell, 2007). However, Kenneth

Erwin Hagin (1917-2003) seems to have borrowed heavily from Kenyon’s ideology

and developed his own prosperity theology. It is established that Kenyon’s ideologies

were also adopted, propagated and popularized by television and faith preachers in the

1950s like William Branham, Oral Roberts and Gordon Lindsay among several others

(Okwori, 1995). Prosperity preaching was handed down to posterity under different

nomenclatures such as “word faith” or “word of faith movement”, “positive

confession”, “faith formula”, or “faith message”, “hyper-faith”, “health and wealth

theology”, “name it and claim it gospel”, “blab it and grab it gospel”, “gospel of

success”, and “prosperity gospel” as it advanced down through the ages (Jones, 2006;

Achunike, 2007; MacArthur, 1992). For the purpose of this study, prosperity

preaching, prosperity gospel or prosperity gospel preaching will be used

interchangeably. McConnell (1990) informs that right from its source in the USA,

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prosperity gospel emphasizes the “Three “Ps”: Power, Prestige and Prosperity” (p.

170).

As a student, the televangelists significantly influenced Benson Andrew

Idahosa (1938-1998), a Nigerian, at Christ for the Nations Bible Institute in the USA

(Emeka, 2002). History shows that within this epoch, prosperity preaching blossomed

and was transported to different parts of the globe by people who contacted the

various purveyors of prosperity preaching in the USA (Okwori, 1995). At the turn of

events in the 1970s, Idahosa responsively brought and planted his Nigerian version of

the prosperity message somewhat slightly at variant to the USA version, giving it an

African context (Emeka, 2002). Idahosa, pioneered prosperity gospel preaching in

Nigeria and thus emerged its true Nigerian father (Ojo, 2013).

Prosperity gospel certainly is a global subject. It is known that right from the

inception of prosperity preaching in Nigeria, many Nigerians are ever enthusiastic

about it and are vigorously pursuing it in the same manner that people are captivated

about religion and are deeply engrossed in its activities. This desire and search for

prosperity probably cuts across all religions and all fields of human endeavour. This

seems to account for the reason prosperity churches are proliferating in contemporary

Nigeria. In the observation of Iheanacho (2009), the more these prosperity churches

multiply in Nigeria, the more “They gradually shift emphasis from spirituality and

eternal life to earthly life course, here and now” (p.106).

Without doubt, prosperity as preached in Nigeria has enjoyed great patronage

from the masses. Most Nigerians are probably embracing prosperity messages for its

promise of wealth and health (Gwamna, 2013). Added to this is the fact that

prosperity preaching is probably thriving in Nigeria gloriously because of African

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worldview on materialism and achievement. It is seen that in Nigeria today, material

wealth has become a yardstick for measuring who is prosperous in the society to be

accorded respect without which one is neglected or disrespected. It is in view of this

that at the moment, there is a crazy desire to acquire wealth whether by fair or foul

means irrespective of whose ox is gored. It is in line with this that Okoro (2011)

seems to remark that “Unbridled pursuit of material wealth obstructs the mind’s

ascent to such lasting values as the ‘after life’, moral standards and the judgement of

posterity” (p.50).

The prosperity protagonists are reiterating that it is the will of God for his

children to be emancipated from the spirit and shackles of poverty to a life of cross-

less abundance of wealth and dominion in Christ because they are worshipping a rich

God (Achunike, 2002). In their homily, they seem to interpret the Scriptures out of

context as well as water down its message to some certain extent. Even though, the

issue of misinterpretation of the Scriptures is something that preachers of the gospel

are generally prone to if no careful study and the right method of its interpretation is

strictly adhere to. By this, preachers have most times succeeded somehow in making

people to have wrong understanding of the Scriptures about the total meaning of

prosperity and the way God prospers his children generally.

This kind of message of hope and liberation of the Pentecostals is quite

appealing to Nigerians who have all along been under the dungeon of awful lack and

sufferings. This teaching appears to present a strong pull to people engendering large

responses to prosperity gospel in Nigeria. It is instructive to note that all Christians

believe in prosperity. To them, particularly Christians from the mainline churches,

God prospers his creatures. But since the 1970, Pentecostals have been emphasizing

prosperity gospel differently.

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There are moderate and extreme prosperity preachers in Nigeria. It is observed

that the extremists among the prosperity preachers especially from the neo

Pentecostals emphasize that poverty is a curse, and abundance is equated to God’s

approval and blessings (Oyedepo, 2010). Therefore children of God are simply to

“Name it and claim it”, “Just have faith!”, “Give and you will get!” (Adeleye, 2011).

According to Adeleye, catch phrases like these have coerced many Christians to

believe that by merely trusting God with positive confession, it will bring about

effortless abundance of wealth and health miraculously. But the experience of this

type of teaching the world over, has shown that the Gospel of Jesus Christ does not

promise prosperity without pain or salvation without sanctification (Igwegbe, 2007;

Ibrahim, 2013). Iheanacho (2009) paints the ugly picture of the phenomenon better in

her words thus:

With catchy and animating words, ministers advertise for harvest of

miracles, which turn out to be harvest of money. Using both evil and

satanic powers to draw large crowds to their churches, they convince

their followers to sow ‘quality seeds’ (special levy), and wait for their

miracles, coming on the way. Followers are told that the more they

sow, the more the blessings that will come their way. While the

minister and miracle worker smile to the bank, his clients go home in

the euphoria of hope for imminent and miraculous socio-economic

break-through in life. This phenomenon of materialism and

commercial ministry is contrary to the teachings and attitude of Christ

and the early church over blessing, and miraculous deliverance of

people in affliction (p.3).

5

Sadly, this message of prosperity in point of fact has made deep in-roads in

Nigeria, giving rise to negative orientation towards honest labour, and seemingly

producing a generation that abhors the principle of hard labour. This perhaps,

disenfranchises the younger generation of seeming progress in all spheres of life’s

endeavour. There is now a noticeable shift in the orientation of people from hard work

to idleness and from holiness to worldliness, to mention the least within the Nigerian

religious arena.

It is against this backdrop that this work, decidedly attempts to objectively

investigate deeper into the phenomenon of prosperity preaching in Nigeria. It equally

endeavours to carry out a historical survey of the phenomenon of prosperity preaching

in Nigeria with a view to reconstructing historically, the origin and advancement of

prosperity gospel preaching in Nigeria. The work, it is hoped, is a humble

contribution to the ongoing researches on prosperity preaching within the Nigerian

religious landscape. It tries to underscore the reasons for the fast expansion of

prosperity churches in Nigeria while looking at the general behaviour of the

worshippers.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Prosperity preaching is an urban religious phenomenon that has become so

pronounced in Nigeria in the 21st century. As popular as prosperity preaching is, most

of the books written on it are not authored by experts in the field. Majority of these

literatures are essentially motivational in nature, and mostly seem to be written from a

myopic and personal conviction and standpoint of the authors. Such literatures are

increasingly flooding the Nigerian religious space. The most prolific among the

Nigerian prosperity exponents is David Olaniyi Oyedepo of The Living Faith Church

6

Ota who indeed is currently championing the course of prosperity preaching in

Nigeria (Achunike, 2007). It is said that Oyedepo has perhaps authored over 80 books

at the moment on prosperity and other related issues. He is equally said to have earned

the sobriquet “Mr. Breakthrough” for apparently overemphasizing the message of

open doors and sweat-less success for Christians in Nigeria (Achunike, 2007).

Historical evidence demonstrates that there is currently an acute dearth of

comprehensive historical study that is in print on prosperity preaching in Nigeria. The

only elaborate academic work in Nigeria known to the present researcher was the one

done by Nwachukwu (1995) on “Biblical Evaluation of Prosperity Gospel as

Preached in Some Nigerian Churches” which is an unpublished Master of Arts (M.

A.) dissertation which is written from a biblical standpoint and seen to have been

written from a perspective of a great bias against certain prosperity preachers in

Nigeria (Onwu, 2006). This M. A. dissertation has been updated as a doctoral thesis

by the same author as “Biblical Evaluation of the Concept of Economic Prosperity

among Preachers in Nigeria” (Nwachukwu, 2012).

There are however, a growing number of academically based journal articles

on prosperity preaching which lack adequate coverage on the subject. The ostensible

absence of a historical documentation on the Nigerian prosperity preaching

necessitates this humble study. This study therefore attempts to fill a historical gap in

knowledge by developing a historical document on the subject under investigation.

This is done with a view to complementing the already concluded research of

Nwachukwu (2014) on the “Biblical Evaluation of the Concept of Economic

Prosperity among Preachers in Nigeria”.

7

1.3 Aim of the Study

Prosperity preaching in Nigeria deserves special study. This is rooted in the

fact that there is at the moment a growing interest on prosperity in the academic and

religious arena across the globe. Principally, this study attempts a reconstruction of

the history of prosperity preaching in Nigeria. That is to say that the study endeavours

a comprehensive and concise history of prosperity gospel preaching in Nigeria. It sets

out to seek and preserve the knowledge about the eruption and steady growth of

prosperity preaching in Nigeria. Specifically, the study intends to wade through the

contents of prosperity preachers’ ideologies with a view to critically analyse and

articulate the dimension of prosperity preaching in the world especially Nigeria within

the period under review. The study x-rays and unearths the positive and negative

contributions of prosperity preaching in Nigeria. It goes further to clarify the various

accusations of critics that prosperity preachers in Nigeria have strayed like lost sheep

in their homilies due to over emphasis on materialism thereby sacrificing the true

Gospel of Christ on the altar of wealth and health messages. It is therefore the thrust

of this work to advance explanation for the conflicting views on the reason for the

sudden shift in emphasis of prosperity preachers in Nigeria from asceticism to

materialism which probably favours the mushrooming of Pentecostal churches in

recent years.

Added to this, the research tries to stimulate some consciousness in

Christendom of the urgent demand to emphatically dissuade the modern day

Pentecostal prosperity preachers from the temptation of pursuing earthly treasures to

the detriment of their own eternal destinies and those of others. It raises alarm on the

indifferent attitudes of some Nigerians to their personal Christian life who in turn

place their faith on “men of God” rather than God himself.

8

1.4 Significance of the Study

This study is very relevant because its findings will immensely benefit the

academic community, the Churches as well as the general readers. To be precise, the

following points express the significance of the study:

i. This study is a contribution to the knowledge bank of education. It serves as

an objective and balanced historical research in Church History that will

be added to the already existing body of literature on prosperity preaching

in Nigeria. Hence, it is hoped that it will be a reference material for future

researchers for the reconstruction of Nigerian Church History.

ii. The study serves as an eye opener that over emphasis on materialism is a

recent development in the Nigerian Christianity. It therefore sounds the

alarm that most of the neo Pentecostal prosperity churches in Nigeria

probably exist to hypnotize, defraud and swindle unsuspecting

worshippers of their hard earned resources in the name of “Seed-faith” and

other named offertory for prosperity.

iii. The study enlightens and sensitizes all Christians in Nigeria of the crucial need

to imbibe the culture of hard labour as enshrined in the Holy Scriptures.

iv. The study will generate awareness and knowledge for all Christian leaders, the

Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Ecumenical Councils on

the urgent need to tame the unnecessary rise of Pentecostal’s “Man-must-

wack” churches in Nigeria.

v. This study strives to unfold all the meaningful contributions of prosperity

preaching in the development of Nigerian state and the citizenry.

1.5 Scope of the Study

9

The word ‘scope’ is used here to convey three senses. In the first instance, it

denotes the depth into which this work intends to go in investigating prosperity

preaching in Nigeria. On this note, the study focuses on the origin, history,

developments, emphasis, responses and consequences of prosperity preaching in

Nigeria. The work will additionally study every aspect of prosperity preaching within

the Nigerian religious environments that could illuminate and broaden more

comprehension on the subject matter.

Secondly, scope is being used to connote the land space on which this work

proposes to cover. The study therefore intends to cover the entire country, but with

more concentration on Southern Nigeria. The choice of this region is informed by the

fact that in Southern Nigeria, there is a density of Christian population and activities

as revealed by Agi (1998) in his studies on the religious map of Nigeria. Though, this

study area may sound too large for adequate coverage, but it needs to be clarified that

prosperity preaching is an urban religious phenomenon which is mostly concentrated

in major towns and cities in Nigeria almost to the total neglect of the rural areas. This

probably accounts for the rapid skyrocketing of Pentecostal churches in Nigerian

urban settlements.

Thirdly, it determines the period covered by the study. The study which

commences from 1970 covers four consecutive decades. But the study digresses a

little to examine events preceding 1970s to provide a coherent and logical flow of

historical incidents. The year 1970 has been delineated for conveniency for the study

because the 1970s have been the most decisive period of Nigerian Pentecostalism as it

revitalizes Pentecostal activities which punctuates the eruption of prosperity

preaching in Nigeria engendering the explosion of Pentecostal churches (Ukaoha,

2013). The terminal point for the study is 2014 which covers a period of forty four

10

years of Pentecostalism, its real existence, preachment and influence in all

ramifications in Nigeria.

1.6 Research Methodology

This work is primarily historical and irenic in nature. The study adopted

phenomenological approach to skilfully research into the various dimensions and

manifestations of prosperity preaching in Nigeria. Ejizu (2013) defines

phenomenology as a composite word from two Greek nouns; phenomenon, meaning

“something seen” and logos, meaning “word/study/enquiry”. Literally,

phenomenology refers primarily to the study of “that which is seen”.

Ejizu expatiates that phenomenology is a descriptive science that seeks to

unfold the archaeological realities of objects, beliefs and practices without

presuppositions in its careful employment of the principles of ‘epoche’ and ‘eidetic’.

Explaining further, Odili (2013) avers that while epoche stands for the effort to being

impartial and detached from one’s biases and sentiments; eidetic vision aims to grasp

the meaning and intentionality of religious data which are expressions of an inner

religious experience and faith. Phenomenology in the view of Achunike (2009)

involves a description of “that which shows itself” as well as bracketing it in order to

put aside things that distract the full perception of human consciousness.

The phenomenological approach which is empirical in nature as used in this

study is based on practical experience which helps the researcher to look at

information the way they present themselves without bias. The field research which

involved the use of participant observation was both participatory and non-

participatory; interviews and informal discussion. The researcher conducted personal

interview with a sample size of 30 different ministers of the gospel from 30 different

denominations because they appear to be the major players in prosperity gospel

11

preaching in Nigeria. It appears convincing that phenomenological approach along

with historical method employed in this study fit the study because it allows the

researcher to get personally involved as a participant observer and document facts

from a historical perspective. This involvement aids the researcher to see things for

himself and opens the researcher to new ideas through direct participation,

observation and interviews.

The historical procedure is adopted in this study while employing the use of

phenomenology to trace accurately the origin, growth, and development of prosperity

preaching in Nigeria sequentially from its onset to date, putting each important event

in their correct time perspective (Odili, 2013). As a scientific art, this historical

writing employs historical tools in gathering, interpreting and analysing available data

in the reconstruction of the history of prosperity preaching in Nigeria. Hassan (2012)

remarks that this process of research assists historians to supply the exact time certain

events transpired in the past.

Since history is an adventure into knowledge, the researcher puts to use both

documentary and oral sources such as library research and field work as well as the

historian’s rigorous source criticisms to arrive at authentic facts about every transition

and transformation that has occurred in the period covered by this study as far as

prosperity preaching in Nigeria is concerned. In the historical method, there were two

forms of available existing materials namely; the printed and the electronic sources of

information. The printed sources, much of which falls under primary sources include

books written by the precursors and all the protagonists of prosperity preaching in

Nigeria. Included in this category are Churches’ Sunday School Manuals, Magazines,

Constitutions, News Bulletins or Newsletters, Calendars, Leadership Training

Manuals, Membership Manuals, New Comers/Converts Manuals, Diaries, Speeches

12

or Addresses, Bible Study Outlines and Tithe Cards/ledgers, Annual Thanksgiving

Envelopes among others. The electronic sources include: audio recorded cassettes,

video recorded cassettes, recorded documentaries and commentaries on Churches

anniversary celebrations, birthday celebrations of their founders and a host of others.

Other secondary sources include: journal articles, internet materials, newspapers and

non-church magazines.

1.7 Definition of Terms

For clarity sake, it is incumbent upon this work to make conceptual

clarification of key terms like prosperity, poverty, asceticism and materialism as

adopted in the study.

Prosperity

The term ‘prosperity’ is derived from the verb ‘prosper’. The word ‘prosper’

conveys two senses according to the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.

First, it means to be successful and become rich. Secondly, it means to grow and

develop in a healthy way. To be prosperous is to be wealthy or thriving successfully

in every sphere of life (Aldus &Neill, 2009). This means that Prosperity is not only

about money; but covers such other areas as being in good condition of health, being

successful in a journey, marriage, career or any undertaking in life. Prosperity

summarily is the condition of being either wealthy or healthy as well as being

successful in any life endeavour.

Poverty

13

Poverty is the condition of being poor. The word ‘poor’ indicates not having

sufficient money or means to live comfortably in life. It is the state of experiencing

scarcity of resources to live like the rich in the society. Nwachukwu (2012) opines

that the term is used “especially for persons of low social and economic status” (p.7).

Poor is used in this work to mean those who lack the basic means of sustenance such

as food, shelter and clothing. According to Agbo (2009), the terminology ‘poor’ refers

to someone in a hopeless situation in the face of necessary life demands.

Asceticism

Asceticism implies the habit of not allowing oneself physical pleasures

especially for religious reasons (Hornby, 2006). An ascetic is a person who shuns or

abstains from any form of pleasures or comforts as a religious discipline. Okhlom

(1998) explains that asceticism is a kind of spiritual training which aims at attaining

Christian perfection through self-denial, abstinence and renunciation. By implication,

what this signifies is that a Christian who is Heavenly minded ought not to meddle

oneself with the mundane things of this material world which may at the long run

becloud one’s godly aspiration and vision.

Materialism

Materialism expresses the notion of excessive interest in or devotion to

material possessions and financial success. It concerns money and possessions rather

than spiritual values. Materialism as perceived by Eyre (1987) places premium on

things more than the Creator of things. It emphasizes preoccupation with material

things rather than intellectual and spiritual things (Nwachukwu, 2014). Materialism is

the tendency to believe and act as though material possessions are all that matter in

life. It is said that materialism destroys the capacity for spiritual faith and perverts the

14

way one is suppose to live before God in this world. Achunike (2002) affirms that

“Materialism impedes genuine response to Christianity” (p.315). According to

Onwuchekwa (2002) “Materialism is the greatest problem of this nation. It is

responsible for increase crime wave and wickedness in the land (Nigeria)” (p.18).

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CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

The attempt here is to provide the necessary theoretical framework upon

which the entire research work is based. It is observed that “The danger of literature

review is repetition of what will be said inside the text” (Kalu, 2001, p.12). So in

trying to escape from this problem, Sheltiz (1976) in Chidozie (2012) seems to

propose that “One of the simplest ways of economizing effort in any inquiry is to

review and build upon work already done by others” (p.9). It is in view of the above

facts that the present researcher feels obliged to organize this work in such a manner

that avoids repetition of the same issues in the subsequent chapters.

Hence, the most decisive point of engagement in this review is to concentrate

on the issues of gaining a deeper understanding of the concept of prosperity. This is

done by attempting to dig out Biblical or Theological understanding of prosperity, Pre

Pentecostal perspective of prosperity and Pentecostal interpretations of prosperity.

Structurally therefore, the review adopts a thematic style for easy understanding.

Thematic organization implies that common themes in the works read such as the

ones identified above are categorized according to their relatedness to each other and

to the overall theme. In the opinion of Odili (2013) “A thematic organization makes it

much easier to examine contrasting perspectives, theoretical approaches,

methodologies, findings etc., and to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of, and

point out any gaps and fill these gaps in, previous research” (p.159). This is probably

the heart of literature review.

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2.1 Biblical or Theological Perspective of Prosperity

Prosperity as a theme in all probability has its root in the scripture. Its

principles appear to be closely associated with giving especially tithing. Tithing is an

ancient custom which predates the giving of the law (Willmington, 1984). It is

revealed that tithing as a timeless practice is first recorded in Genesis 14:17-20

(Douglas & Tenney, 1987). Here, Abraham the Patriarch is reported to have paid

tithes of all his booty to Melchizedek, the King of Salem, the Priest of the Most High

God (Ross, 2000).

It is somehow difficult to understand where Abraham first learnt about tithing

and especially the idea of making the tenth as rate for paying tithe as a religious duty.

It is equally doubtful comprehending Abraham’s choice of Melchizedek, who the

Bible acknowledges was not the only king in existence then and also the only king

that came out to welcome him on his victorious return from battle over the

confederated kings (Larson, 1998). It is more problematic in clarifying the role of

divine guidance in the selection of Abraham’s tithes recipient and the exactness of the

period in history of the genesis of tithe payment, to be able to advance concrete

explanation for this Abraham’s act of worship.

A scholarly attempt in tracing the actual beginning of tithing in the Bible with

accuracy seems futile. It is admitted by all those who thoughtfully deal with this issue

that Abraham must have gained knowledge about tithing elsewhere (Ellison & Payne,

1986; Mahoney, 2002). It is most probable that before Abraham migrated from Ur, his

land of nativity, he must have been involved in making sacrifices with his father

Terah to their local deities. Records abound that many old nations like Babylon,

Persia, Egypt and China pay tithes to their deities and rulers (Dietlein, 1967). It is

17

thought that what probably informed the practice among these ancient “ungodly”

cities could likely be the reason Abraham indulged in the custom.

It seems convincing that many heathen rulers worshipped and served other

gods with abominable acts such as sacrificing of animals and even their sons and

daughters to idols (Bruce, 1976). It is equally revealing from the available historical

records that up to now, there is yet no clear cut proof as to when and where tithing

commenced among these “ungodly” nations. But historical evidence supports that

tithing probably began when humanity started organizing and living in communities.

As it happened, there arose the need as separate group of people to have leaders who

could rule over them.

According to Nwokoro (2007) “There were contributions for the rulers; either

by choice or imposition” (p.5). These contributions were seen as tax serving as a mark

of respect and honour to their leaders with the resultant effect that these leaders in

return for these taxes paid, released their goodwill and blessings upon the people for

their obedience and loyalty. Hence, the people’s prosperity is closely linked somehow

to their kings’ words of blessing after their due homage to them. With the passage of

time, it became expedient that a standard measurement system be introduced for

convenience and the avoidance of any confusion in the mode of payment of any due

or tax to these kings. Most scholars are of the view that in harmonizing the payment

system, it was thought wise then to use the numbers tens and twenties for counting in

which case the human fingers and toes were readily available for use (Nwokoro,

2007).

Given the above, it can be deciphered that since this practice was widespread

among nations during Abraham’s days, it became easier for him to adopt it. By the

18

time Abraham was appreciating God on his victory by offering to Melchizedek the

tenth of his booty the practice was probably being recognized as tithe viewed as a

holy deed. It is remarked that the act of blessing usually implies spiritual superiority.

Abraham, by offering tithe to and receiving blessings from Melchizedek may have

likely acknowledged Melchizedek’s priestly authority over him (Richards, 2002). It

became clearer that the blessings of the superior upon the inferior may have been

induced through giving which was best expressed in tithing. Abraham gave out tithes

and it provoked a blessing from Melchizedek, God’s representative (Harrison, 1988).

Melchizedek upon receiving the tithes responsively prayed for Abraham to be blessed.

That is, he pronounced God’s favour upon Abraham (Watkins & Watkins, 1992).

Blessing is God’s favour, help, protection and the like (Merriam-Webster, 1993;

Unger & White, 2000).

Ross (2000) asserted that:

Melchizedek is the only person whom Abram recognized as his

spiritual superior. Abram accepted blessing from him (v.19), and paid

him a 10th (a tithe) of all he had (v.20). Abram did this deliberately, in

full awareness of what he was doing...Abram knew that he would

become more prosperous, and he knew who was blessing him. He

intended to receive everything from God and not even a thread from

Sodom...The king of Sodom was obviously a wicked man over a

wicked empire; Abram discerned that dealing with him might be

dangerous. Abram could have reasoned that God was seeking to bless

him by means of this offer (p. 54).

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From this assertion, it appears glaring that Abraham’s revelation about tithe

payment might have come to him directly from God. This is judged by the fact that he

was ever cautious about whom to offer his tithes. Tithing might have probably

originated from God, who in his economy initiated it for the prosperity of his people.

Tithing appears very likely to be the means God uses in showering his abundance

blessings upon Abraham. It is perceived to be reciprocal in nature. It is like giving and

taking. Abraham might have learnt by intuition that there is a direct connection

between giving the tithe and the enjoyment of prosperity. He envisaged God as the

author of genuine prosperity which seems to have propelled his act of faith in tithing.

It is probably in line with this that Lindsay (1996) remarks that Abraham “Recognized

and acknowledged that in a peculiar way, one tenth of all he possessed belonged to

God, and he was always careful to see that it got into God’s hands” (p.20).

Abraham as it is revealed by Onwukeme (2014) became a prosperous man.

This, Abraham himself acknowledges by attributing his prosperity to God his source.

Prosperity as perceived by Abraham in the opinion of Onwukeme is probably the

obtaining of divine favour which is first and foremost spiritual and which is

accompanied with material blessings. Taken in this context, biblical prosperity may

be understood as the receiving of all round blessings from God the giver of all good

things. In a related sense, Biblical prosperity may be understood as having more

wealth than one needs to live on as seen in the Bible. The four notable Bible

characters that seem to match this claim of prosperity are: Abraham, Joseph, Job and

Solomon. It is observed that these men of God demonstrated a daring and practical

step of faith in God before experiencing God’s super abundance prosperity as proof of

being favoured by God. Biblical prosperity is a blessing galore. It is believed to be

20

God-induced and not through manipulation of any kind or merely being mathematical.

It is an overt manifestation of God’s faithfulness upon his children.

Prosperity as a concept has also attracted nuances of interpretations by the

various constituencies within the Nigerian religious arena culminating into a wide

range of teachings and practices in the 21st century. In its multi-faceted form,

prosperity preaching is influencing a large number of Christians across a broad

section of the Christian faith (Ayegboyin, 2013). The phenomenon is currently cutting

across denominational barriers in Nigeria. At the moment, the subject is being

theologically defined which is also practically being reflected in the Christian

theology of giving in Nigeria.

In his article on “Theology and Practice of Christian Giving” which conveys

the Roman Catholic’s later view, Mondithoka (2007) intimated that giving and

steward are intertwined. Historically, it is held that the Catholics brought the practice

of tithing into Christendom (Dietlein, 1967). Mondithoka (2007) remarked that “Very

few Christians have a proper, balanced biblical-theological understanding of giving

and so not many give” (p.1). Combining the results of his studies on the Johannine

and Pauline theology of giving, Mondithoka stressed that the God of the Bible is a

loving-giving God. To him, Christians are to express their reasonable gratitude and

response to God’s love by simply loving and giving to God of their very best. This is

anchored on the fact that Christians are simply stewards of what God has allowed

them to have and use out of his own volition.

The view of Mondithoka is that God is not under any obligation, duress or is

bound by any law or principle of prosperity to give back to donors of what they give

to him. This implies that God’s blessings upon an individual are not only meant for

21

the individual alone but for the judicious use of God’s purposes in this life. Giving

back to God is an act of worship; a mark of one’s maturity in the faith and a sign of

one’s loyalty to him. Giving in the opinion of Mondithoka is to be done regularly,

cheerfully, sacrificially, generously and purposely in proportion to one’s income.

Giving, if faithfully done attracts “God’s approval and not for men’s applause” (p.4).

The author reiterated that faithful tithing without any ulterior motive is acceptable in

the sight of God. He concluded that to be loving-giving is to be like God who is

loving-giving.

Agunwanba (2007) in his submission maintained that Christianity is founded,

sustained and propagated by giving. Giving, he stressed is a central feature of love.

The Christian life is characterized by action in giving and not just by being theoretical

about it (1John 3:17-18). This implies that Christians are perhaps naturally wired to

practice the act of giving unconditionally. While supporting Mondithoka’s view on

giving, Agunwanba added that the divine role of Spirit’s guidance in giving is

imperative. He elucidated that if one obediently gives as the Spirit leads and on a

fertile ground, one will doubtless obtain God’s favour as an aftermath. A favour

obtained is blessing experienced which is equal to prosperity. Agunwanba concluded

that Christian prosperity connotes total prosperity which covers both the spiritual and

physical wealth. In his view, material prosperity is not to be isolated from spiritual

prosperity because it is the spiritual prosperity that is ultimate in life and beyond. By

implication, what this meant is that it is only as one prospers spiritually that one’s

material prosperity is eternally useful to one.

Puni (2013) established in his article “A Theology of Tithe and Practice of

Tithing in the Seventh-Day Adventist Church” that “Stewardship is all of me in

response to all of God” (p.1). On the one side, God is seen as the Master, Creator,

22

Owner, Giver, Redeemer and Lord of all. On the other side, there is a steward who is

a creature, receiver and manager of all God’s blessings. A steward in

acknowledgement of God’s Creatorship and Lordship over oneself responsively

expresses one’s personal faith and covenant relationship with God through financial

stewardship.

The author remarked that in tithe and offering, a steward submits to God in

worship by returning to God what is due to him. Tithe, to Puni’s mind is holy and

belongs to God. Hence, giving back to God substances by way of tithing is simply an

expression of one’s loyalty to him. It is a faithful honouring of God through giving in

whatever form. It is the surrendering of “Our hearts and everything that we are and

have to his control” (p.6). This way of honouring God provokes God’s abundant

prosperity upon the giver (Mal.3:10) as God’s blessings.

Alcorn (2003) surveyed the issues of giving and the prosperity of Christians in

general in his Money, Possessions and Eternity. He considered giving as reciprocating

God’s grace upon oneself. According to him, the radical, sacrificial and open handed

giving of the early Christians remains a timeless example for Christians of all ages.

The early disciples eagerly gave to cushion the effect of poverty in their midst without

expecting a return. They gave, out of love. The giving involves not only money, but

everything. This view is quite popular in Christendom against the Pentecostals

emphasis on giving.

As willing givers, they see God as the true owner of what they have at their

disposal. Man is simply seen as the custodian and manager of God’s asset on earth. A

manager usually manages what is not actually his. Alcorn quipped that by adopting

the under mentioned New Testament’s guidelines for giving, it gives Christians new

23

orientation and changes their selfish quest for personal prosperity: Give and give

generously, regularly, deliberately, voluntarily, sacrificially, excellently, cheerfully,

worshipfully, proportionately and quietly. It is concluded that giving is for the

purpose of building God’s Kingdom in general terms. It is not to establish man’s

personal financial empire on earth. Giving that meets God’s standard attracts God’s

blessings when the fruit of that gift is attested to by God himself and not by any

human agent. Hence, there is no gain in seeking for public recognition in giving

whatsoever.

2.2 Pre Pentecostal Understanding of Prosperity

The subject of prosperity is becoming more popular and is gaining more

grounds by the day among the mainline churches, the world over. How prosperity is

perceived by the mainline churches reveal the degree to which the phenomenon is

currently being embraced and taught as a Christian doctrine in these churches. In the

literature on prosperity preaching in the mainline churches, not so much has been

documented along this line due to the unpopular nature of the subject outside of the

Pentecostals. The few issues that attracted attention in the theology of the mainline

churches on prosperity, centres around giving either directly to God as tithe and

offering or indirectly through charity as enshrined in the Holy Scriptures.

It is instructive to note that most mainline churches give due recognition to

prosperity as a biblical concept but somehow shy away from elaborate teaching on it

(Kitause & Achunike, 2013). In the theology of the mainline churches, all increase in

spiritual and physical things are attributable to God. He is the source of all things. So

giving to God as Christians is taught as an obligation. Giving is moderately

emphasized in the mainline churches. It is to be done out of one’s volition and not by

24

coercion. Giving is seen as a demonstration of one’s love for God. According to

Kwashi (1993), “Love always begins with giving” (p. 23). It is stressed that love and

nothing else is the motivating factor in giving. So, prosperity as thought of in the

mainline churches comes from God and is not dependent on how much one gives to

be blessed in return. In other words, giving has no boomerang effect as thought of

today in the mainline churches in Nigeria.

In his writing on prosperity, Achunike (2007) declared that “Tithe payment is

becoming a common experience in the Catholic Church” (p.91). There is probably a

growing awareness in the mainline churches nowadays that prosperity is somehow

connected to giving. Of recent, more people are having the impression that prosperity

takes its root in giving. This line of thinking probably makes Aggo (2008) to assert

that giving offering is the vehicle for the manifestation of prosperity. Since tithing and

offering are forms of giving, people are beginning to associate their tithing and

offering to prosperity. It is noticed that of late, the Pentecostals in Nigeria are having

much influence on the mainline churches both in their lifestyles and in their teachings

(Ibenwa, 2012). It is affirmed that many Catholics now pay tithe as a result of

Pentecostal influence. The Charismatics in the mainline churches pay tithe as well.

As earlier noted, payment of tithe is an Old Testament practice which has been

in existence before the laws of Moses and after the laws with specific aim of

channelling it to taking care of God’s priests or ministers. Eventually, there was a

paradigm shift such that tithe now serves multi-purpose use (Mills, 2009). Before

now, tithing appears to be optional. According to Dietlein (1967), it was not until

AD785 that Charlemagne promulgated a decree and signed the compulsory payment

of tithe into civil law. Currently, tithing is ongoing in Christendom with varying

25

divergence in its emphasis and usage. This is owing to the varied interpretations of the

custom.

In the view of Ignatius Obinwa in Achunike (2004), the name Support of the

Church was adopted in the Cannon Law either consciously or unconsciously in

preference to tithe as at then. To him, whatever name is in use at the present is

immaterial, but what is of paramount importance is the fact that tithing is something

that is done in the mainline churches out of one’s volition. People practice tithing

willingly and cheerfully without any strings attached to it or without any ulterior

motive of getting a harvest of breakthrough from God as an aftermath. As it appears,

in the Catholic Church, the practice of tithing has Scriptural support as reflected in the

various comments and stance of the numerous Catholic priests as Achunike (2004)

sampled in his studies.

Tithe payment is becoming more popular in the mainline churches. Ibenwa

(2011) affirmed that the mainline churches like the Catholic, Anglican, Methodist and

Presbyterian churches have recently started educating the faithful on tithing and are

practicing it. Prior to this period as Theophilus Odukwe in Achunike (2004) observed,

it is uncommon to see Catholic priests emphasizing and urging the congregation to

bring 10% of their salaries or monthly income which translates to tithe and the

blessings that are associated with it. Speaking about the practice, Ihewulezi (n’d’) in

his opinion warned that tithers should as a matter of responsibility weigh the

economic status of their families before embarking on same as removing part of the

family income in the name of tithing is tantamount to subjugating the rights and

privileges of the other family members.

26

Though, tithing has started in the mainline churches which in point of fact is

not a new thing altogether, there seems to be a rejuvenation of interest in the practice,

perhaps because of the allurement of prosperity promises that go with it at the

moment (Ukpong, 2010). As it happened, the percentages of those who are faithfully

practicing tithing in the mainline churches in Nigeria today are considerably fewer in

number than those in the Pentecostal circles. This experience probably cuts across the

globe. Many probably see tithing in today’s Christianity as unbiblical and as the

Pentecostals’ modern creation to extort money from people. For instance, it is

observed that about 95% of the Catholics in the whole world are oblivious of the fact

that the Catholics paid tithe before (Achunike, 2014). According to Dietlein (1967), it

is the Catholics that first began tithe payment before any Christian denomination

across the globe.

Be that as it may, the reality on ground is that there is a resurgence of religious

teachings on tithing in the Nigerian religious arena (Ukpong, 2008). According to

Agunwanba (2007), the churches in Nigeria may be compartmentalized into three

major groups depending on their level of emphasis on prosperity preaching. In his

own words:

The first group emphasises it so much that it forms the bulk of almost

every sermon; the second tends to hold a moderate view of it; while the

last group views the theme as very insignificant, if not demonic. In

their opinion, it should not be considered at all (pp. 2-3).

The subject of prosperity is surfacing in the mainline churches today with

vigour. Challenged and influenced by Pentecostalism, the mainline churches have

been reawakened to probably give a balanced teaching about financial prosperity. The

27

teaching that Christians can gain financial freedom from serving God without

reference to hard labour and one’s personal commitment in achieving prosperity is

noted by Sapp (2003) as false doctrine disseminated mainly by morally corrupt minds.

The mainline churches seem not to condescend to the teaching that one prospers only

when one gives continuously. This seems to be the major area of departure for the

Pentecostal churches in Nigeria because they encourage persistent giving in order to

sustain or increase one’s open doors of prosperity.

The mainline churches understand prosperity to be a blessing from God.

Blessings as perceived are quite different from something one earns by one’s efforts

as against Pentecostals’ belief. This God-given blessing upon his children is not an

automatic birthright; a special reserve for Christians who care to claim it perhaps by

faith as put forth vehemently by Pentecostal churches. It is not something that came to

an individual as a result of one’s power of positive confession. In positive confession,

it is believed that one gets what one says or possesses what one confesses, which

indeed is one of the cardinal emphasises of the modern day prosperity preachers (Mill,

2011).

Added to this, God’s blessing is not only about money in the theology of the

mainline churches. God’s blessing comes in ways an individual cannot fathom. It

comes in different forms and is unimaginable. That is, one cannot give God a set

formula to receive what one desires desperately, or thinking to receive from God. One

could be blessed abundantly by God with the fruits of the womb without adequate

financial cash flow or vice versa. God may, in the understanding of the mainline

churches bestow a person with tremendous peace of mind and divine health without

making the person to experience possession of much money and fleets of vehicles.

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Prosperity is understood to be a state of spiritual well being which may or may

not be accompanied with physical well being. Wealth only in material substance does

not qualify one as a prosperous person. The biblical Lazarus in the perspective of the

mainline churches was a prosperous fellow in his own right, even though he

temporarily lacks the basic necessities of life at that point in time. The prosperity of a

man in his spiritual state far exceeds the prosperity of a man in his physical state. God

may decide to bless an individual simultaneously with both spiritual and physical

things, but that remains his prerogative.

2.3 Pentecostal Interpretations of Prosperity

Prosperity preaching is probably the staple diet of the Pentecostals. This is

likely so because the word ‘Prosperity’ seems not to be a new import in the

Pentecostal circles. As a matter of fact, prosperity message has become the staple

spiritual nourishment for the majority of poor Nigerian masses in all strands of

Christianity. In this attempt to search out Pentecostals’ understanding of prosperity, it

is worthwhile to tie the term ‘Prosperity’ to its root by first uncovering its origin.

McConnell (1995) in his A Different Gospel traced the historical root of

prosperity gospel globally. He demonstrated with irresistible scholarship along with

Cotterell (2013) and Urban (2014) that the root of prosperity preaching, in all its

manifestation are to be found in Kenneth Hagin. McConnell argued that Kenneth

Hagin took most of his ideas from E. W. Kenyon. That was not enough. He proved

beyond doubt that Hagin, apart from adopting Kenyon’s theology, copied copiously

from Kenyon’s writing in some cases verbatim and in some others cases added his

own embellishments in developing the prosperity theology which he spread widely.

He maintained that Kenyon’s definition of prosperity is in terms of deliverance from

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poverty and the power to deliver others. Also, Kenyon is said to have interpreted

prosperity in terms of the believer’s fundamental needs and nothing more.

McConnell (1995) concluded that Kenyon, though “preached prosperity, but he did

not condone materialism or greed” (p.173). As it happened, some scholars having

judged from all available historical records came to the consensus that Kenyon

remains the true originator of prosperity gospel across the globe (Hollinger, 1989;

McIntyre, 1997; Kalu, 1998; Onwu, 2006; Achunike, 2007; Hummel, 1991). Though,

as history documents, Kenyon as the prosperity preaching initiator, has formulated the

initial cardinal principles for prosperity, his ideas were chiefly propagated and

popularized by faith preachers (Mumford, 2012).

Lovett (2002) in his article “Positive Confession Theology” threw more light

as to the circumstances surrounding the birth and conceptual meaning of prosperity

gospel in America. He maintained that the new teaching espoused by E. W. Kenyon is

traceable to his exposure to metaphysical ideas derived from attendance at Emersion

College of Oratory in Boston. This College was said to be a spawning ground for New

Thought philosophical ideas. The major tenets of the New Thought Movement are

health or healing, abundance or prosperity, wealth and happiness.

Lovett reiterated that the New Thought philosophy can be traced to Phineas P.

Quimby who lived between 1802 and 1866. Quimby’s ideas were said to have gained

prominence towards the close of the last Century. Quimby studied spiritism,

occultism, hypnosis and other aspects of parapsychology. According to Lovett, it was

Quimby who healed Mary Eddy Baker, the founder of Christian Science in 1862. She

attempted to make witchcraft credible by the use of scientific language. It is most

probable that Eddy borrowed the term Christian Science along with theoretical

formulations from Quimby. Incidentally, what she borrowed from Quimby eventually

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became the basis for the Mind Science Cult which she found. On his part, Quimby

labelled his formulation the Science of Christ. From Phineas P. Quimby, William

Branham, E. W. Kenyon and John G. Lake, emerged a view about God that was

adopted by Kenneth Erwin Hagin, Kenneth and Gloria Copeland, Charles Capps, and

Frederick K.C. Price, among several others.

In his book How God Taught Me About Prosperity, Hagin (1985) seemed to

debunk in strong terms the allegation of his lifting from Kenyon’s work. He rather

claimed that he received his own revelation about prosperity preaching straight from

God. He puts it thus: “The Lord Himself taught me about prosperity. I never read

about it in a book. I got it directly from Heaven. It blessed me and my family so

much” (Hagin, 1985, p.1). Hagin in this book recounted with regrets about his

wretched state of being as a Baptist pastor occasioned by what he described as

ignorance prior to his new found revelation about prosperity.

In his quest for financial liberation through seeking God’s face in prayer,

Hagin was said to have suddenly stumbled on Isa.1:19 which say “If ye be willing and

obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land”. This revelation according to him marks a

new dawn in his life. It was indeed, a turning point; a breakthrough which

consequently unleash abundance of prosperity upon him. Prosperity therefore

according to Hagin as revealed to him in the revelation can come to anyone who cares

for it by simply “Claiming whatever you need” (p.19). Prosperity as understood here

translates to having abundance of money or silver and gold. It translates to anything

that enables a Christian to have “Dominion over the world and the fullness thereof”

(p.14). Prosperity as perceived by Hagin is enjoying the good of the land in every

aspect of life. In spite of Hagin’s claims of receiving prosperity concepts directly from

God, scholars blamed him for copying from Kenyon. For example, the Lovett’s article

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quoted above demonstrates the source in which Hagin drank from, namely that of

Phineas P. Quimby who taught positive and cultic principles.

It is seen that Hagin has a mistaken idea about God’s modus operandi of

prosperity. The saying goes that if wishes were horses, beggars would ride. Can

prosperity indeed emanate by merely claiming whatever one needs? If so, then

everybody would have become rich in Nigeria by simply claiming whatever the eyes

desire in life. That would have indeed solved the problem of poverty in Nigeria.

Having said this, it must be pointed out clearly that Hagin’s claim about becoming

prosperous with material wealth is spurious and is far from being true.

Copeland (1974) in her The Laws of Prosperity gave an exegesis of 3John2 in

fashioning out the meaning of prosperity. She intimated her readers first and foremost

that prosperity covers much more than finances. To her, prosperity operates in three

realms. There is spiritual prosperity; there is mental prosperity; and there is physical

prosperity. To prosper spiritually in the view of Copeland is to first become born

again in order to experience a regeneration of heart. When this happens, one is

divinely positioned already to receive from God all the things He has promised in his

word exclusively for his children. The author extrapolated that as the soul of man

prospers, he also experiences the prosperity of the mind which is mental prosperity. A

prosperous soul, in the view of Copeland operates consistently within God’s will. This

accounts for the reason God is pleased to bless such a one.

Copeland further remarked that physical prosperity entails visible increase in

material wealth of an individual which also leads to one’s personal worth and fame. It

implies possessing gold, silver, influences, financial favour or power, political favour

or power and social favour or power. In the opinion of Copeland, prosperity is an all-

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inclusive concept covering the spiritual, the mental and the physical dimension. True

prosperity thus covers spirit, soul and body. It is the thinking of Copeland that the

word of God produces prosperity (Heb. 4:12). The book concluded that as one walks

in the light of God’s word after being born again, one becomes prosperous in every

aspect of life. The implication is that one will lack nothing spiritually, mentally and

physically. This, according to Copeland is prosperity in its totality. Anything short of

this is not prosperity in its full sense because it cannot be one-sided. Prosperity in his

opinion has to be all-round otherwise it is an incomplete prosperity. This position of

Copeland is not acceptable in the sense that no man has absolute control over one’s

destiny. God prospers people as he wishes in spite of their efforts. Copeland’s

understanding of prosperity is to some degree faulty.

Cho (1987) in a book Salvation, Health & Prosperity studied believers’

threefold blessing in Christ and the meaning of prosperity. He saw man as a tripartite

being with spirit, soul and body. He observed that man in his fallen state is

condemned and disconnected from God’s commonwealth. In his thinking, God made

known to man the riches of his glory when man obtains the salvation of his soul. Now

in Christ, man enjoys abundant prosperity which is a total package from God to man.

God in redeeming man out of spiritual, physical and financial poverty did enrich man

with excellent physical, spiritual and material health and wealth to live a comfortable

and an ever prosperous life on this planet earth.

Furthermore, Cho (1987) acclaims that “The prosperity God wants to see in

our lives applies to the whole picture of living: child-rearing, our jobs, businesses,

human relationships, the necessities of life, the stability of life, joy and so on” (p.55).

This prosperity is a total wellness of man in all things. It is living an abundant life of

prosperity in all earthly things. This God given blessings of children, material and

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spiritual wealth as well as long life redound to a life which lacks nothing. Cho’s

concludes that through Christ, believers “Receive the prosperous life, a life flowing

with all the provisions anybody will ever need-which he made possible for us by

living in poverty” (p.68). The question remains: How humanly possible is it for one,

no matter how wealthy one is, to be in this life and lacks nothing? This, of course, is

only possible with God who is Spirit. Some prosperity preachers’ speculation

epitomized in Cho’s understanding about prosperity is unattainable to some extent.

Following closely, Jones and Chaplan (2007)’s study which centres on Vow of

Prosperity: Spiritual Solutions for Financial Freedom devoted a whole chapter in

defining prosperity. Prosperity in the perspective of this study is “A successful,

flourishing or thriving condition”. Prosperity is good fortune, it reiterated. Added to

this, sustainable prosperity is viewed as when one is said to be experiencing sound

mental, spiritual, and physical wellbeing. In the book, the two scholars illustrated that

“A teacher with energetic, happy students hungry for knowledge is prosperous, and

also prosperous is when parents are admired by a well-raised child” (p.29). Prosperity

is summed up as a state of the mind’s peacefulness and serenity. It is a mind-set

developed by constant focus on what is good and right for one’s life. The view

expressed here seems to represent the popular notion of prosperity.

Ukpai (2011), a Classical Pentecostal and an itinerant prosperity preacher in

his Supernatural Abundance attempted an in-depth examination of the subject to

show that prosperity is supernatural abundance of God upon his children. This

supernatural overflowing of God’s blessings to Ukpai’s mind is the believers’

covenant right because as he emphasized, God does not want his Children to go

through this life empty. He saw prosperity as achieving good success and enlargement

in material wealth. It is God making one buoyant in every facet of life. The author

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stressed that believers in Christ enter into “undreamed effort-less supernatural

abundance because they are financial high fliers” (p.iii). In the opinion of Ukpai,

prosperity is enjoying God’s earthly fullness (Ps.24:1), exemplified in financial

freedom and greatness. The book concluded that prosperity is reaping the harvest of

financial seed sown by faith.

This view denies man’s own role in becoming prosperous. It denies the

principle of hard labour in achieving prosperity in life. If Apostle Paul in 2Thess. 3:10

cautions against idleness and categorically said that he who does not work should not

eat, how then would Ukpai encourage an undreamed effortless prosperity for today’s

Christians in Nigeria? It should be noted that mere sowing of seed faith and expecting

supernatural abundance without concrete steps taken to achieving prosperity will

amount to tempting God, the givers of all good things.

Oyedepo (2005) provided more invaluable insights into Pentecostal

understanding of prosperity. In his Understanding Financial Prosperity, Oyedepo

pointed out that God’s ultimate will is to usher his children into the realms of

prosperity. This, God determines to do by providing them with supernatural access

into his secrets concerning Kingdom prosperity which is sweat-less and sorrow-free.

To Oyedepo, God is making his children to be commanders in the realm of terrific

wealth. God is availing his children with express approval to freely access Heaven’s

wealth unhindered.

Prosperity in the perception of Oyedepo is not just the availability of cash

only. One may have the cash flow without necessarily prospering. Prosperity is seen

in the book as the state of no lack in every inch of the word. Prosperity is a state of

wellbeing which one enters into through the covenant of abundance. Oyedepo

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maintained that prosperity is absence of pains, sorrows and anxieties for money and

other necessities of life. Prosperity as conceived by the author is the abundant release

of wealth to escape from every discomfort of life. He expressed his position thus “I

am redeemed to be enriched...I am saved to display His wealth...So wealth is my

heritage, abundance is my birthright” (p.16). Prosperity is enjoying the beauties of

God in life. The book surmised that prosperity is believer’s identity without which

“one is a misfit in the Kingdom” (Oyedepo, 2005, p. 16). This implies that without

experiencing abundant prosperity in this life, an individual does not worth a penny as

a Christian.

The above opinion seems to overlooks the place of suffering or the Cross of

Jesus Christ. Oyedepo seems to promote human mathematical formulae through his so

called covenant of abundance which is given in the achievement of sweat-less,

effortless and cross-less prosperity in this life. How can prosperity be a birthright by

merely obeying the Pentecostals law of giving? How can one place the biblical

Lazarus in the light of Oyedepo’s claim that the poor Christians are misfits in the

Kingdom of God? Oyedepo’s claim appears spurious to the researcher and lacks

merit. Again, if prosperity is total absence of pains and sorrow as he seems to suggest,

it is doubtful whether the rich ever falls sick at all in this life, or whether they ever

lost their loved ones to have a taste of sorrow or grieving for the departed loved ones?

Is it indeed possible for the rich to escape from every discomfort of life as claimed by

Oyedepo? These questions deserve answers.

Some prosperity preachers seem to misinterpret the Scriptures to suit their

selfish interest. Their insistence on giving and that the way one gives is the way one

will ever prosper is wrong and unscriptural. There is no doubt about the fact that God

prospers his people. God prospers his children in more ways than one. It is not only

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limited to financial prosperity. Prosperity comes in different forms. For many

prosperity preachers to emphasize prosperity only in monetary terms is unacceptable.

This clearly shows the extent to which the world is now imbibing the emerging global

market culture. In Nigeria today, many Pentecostals are keying into the new trend.

This is not healthy at all for the Nigerian Christianity.

According to Achunike (2014):

The notion of making Christianity a mere acolyte in the prevailing

global market culture must be rejected. Prosperity, the way it is

preached is individualistic pure and simple. It does not consider many

or the greater number. It does not value or see meaning in suffering. It

encourages seed sowing which is a type of trade by barter with God,

and it sees poverty as necessarily evil” (pp. 18-19).

This assertion betrays the fact that there is the demand for Pentecostal prosperity

preachers in Nigeria to down play their over emphasis on materialism and strike a

balance between the prosperity message and the Cross of Jesus Christ which is the

hall mark or the mainstay of Christianity.

Acknowledging the fact of the misinterpretations of the Scriptures, Baker

(1996) admitted that he was wrong in his interpretation of 3John2. The verse reads

“Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as

thy soul prospereth” (KJV). According to Baker (1996), he has preached and

interpreted this verse to mean that “God wanted His people to prosper...financially

and materially, in other words to get rich” (p.536). But while serving his five years

jail terms between 1989 and 1994, he studied the Scriptures thoroughly and

discovered to his dismay that his interpretation of 3John2 was completely out of

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context. He was baffled that the literal translation of the word ‘Prosper’ from the

Greek means “Road, or route, a progress, or journey” (p.537). He discovered that the

interpretation of this verse has nothing to do with financial prosperity as is often being

emphasized by prosperity preachers today.

It is probably in the realization of the above fact that Cox (1999) admonishes

his fellow Pentecostals not to keep derailing in their focus and homily. He speaks

thus:

As a Christian theologian I also wish to suggest that the ‘market

religion’ which is the substance of this global market culture is, from a

perspective, clearly a form of idolatry - a ‘false religion’ – but that

instead of confronting it and challenging it as the early Christians did

at Ephesus, Christians today all too often collude with it, and

sometimes even sacralise it (p.388).

This citation clearly suggests a change of attitude on the part of Christians in the

whole globe to disassociate themselves from the prosperity gospel in order not to be

polluted by it. They should make it a point of duty to wait patiently on God, their

provider, for their all round prosperity. This will save them from being used and

abandoned by prosperity preachers without realizing the promised prosperity after

sowing much seed of faith in the name of prosperity.

2.4 Summary of Literature Review

The literature reviewed is obviously not exhaustive. As the phenomenon of

prosperity preaching unfolds in Nigeria with its nuances, further interpretations may

emerge in the future. The review dwelt briefly on the origin of prosperity gospel

38

preaching and extensively on x-raying the biblical or theological, pre Pentecostal and

Pentecostal perspective of prosperity to lay firm background for the study. It is

obvious from the review that prosperity preaching has not been sufficiently studied by

experts in the field. This therefore created a historical gap in knowledge which the

present writer painstakingly braced up to fill as the study attempts to undertake a

comprehensive scholarly historical survey of the phenomenon of prosperity gospel

preaching in Nigeria.

The study breached this gap by putting in place a comprehensive and concise

history of prosperity gospel in Nigeria in a single volume. Though, many have written

about Idahosa’s early life and ministry vis-a-vis the emergence of prosperity gospel,

this study however, generally undertakes an elaborate study on prosperity gospel that

covers the entire country which has spanned for over four decades now. The study

noted a deviation in the emphasis of prosperity preachers from asceticism to the

pursuance of materialism which needs to be called to order. Prosperity as emphasized

by prosperity preachers is far beyond materialism, but covers such other things as

health, power, prestige and journey or life undertaking.

Some of the previous researches explained away Idahosa’s intention for

adopting prosperity gospel which this work adequately interpreted as Idahosa humble

aspiration to greatness. This study provides explanation for the proliferation of

Pentecostal churches in the major cities of the world as well as accounting for the

reason for the rapid spread of prosperity theology throughout Christian denominations

in Nigeria today. This seems to have breached the gaps in Knowledge identified in

this research. Prosperity gospel, it is informed has more negative impacts than

positive contributions due to gross misconception about the way God prospers his

creatures.

39

The study shows that most of the neo Pentecostal prosperity preachers in

Nigeria who wrote on the subject assumed a defensive position for preaching

prosperity and go further to do everything possible within their reach at any given

opportunity to justify it. Gradually, the prosperity preachers brought their contagious

influence to bear on the mainline churches as well as the Classical Pentecostal

churches in Nigeria. It has revealed that consequent upon the adamant and

uncompromising stance of prosperity preachers in Nigeria in promoting the prosperity

gospel, it has provoked attention and chains of reaction of critics from the social

media and the holiness circles. By taking the offensive side, they accuse prosperity

preachers of swindling and milking unsuspecting worshippers of their hard earned

resources leaving the masses more impoverished physically and spiritually than ever.

As reviewed, most scholars who subjected the term ‘prosperity’ and the

phenomenon of prosperity preaching to a theological and scholarly search light

discovered that there are different interpretations meted out to the word ‘prosperity’

which has also generated varying degrees of emphases about prosperity preaching in

the Nigerian churches. Conceptually, prosperity as the study shows conjures up

different understandings which eventually culminated in the different practices in

Christendom in the name of prosperity. The concept of prosperity in the view of most

scholars is synonymous with breakthroughs, success; enlargement, blessings, open

doors, open Heavens, upliftment and lifting up are well identified in the literature.

Sometimes, these connotations are used interchangeably as a corollary with

prosperity. In the review, in spite of the different positions held, most authors seem to

agree that giving, either to God directly by way of tithing and offertory or giving to

man indirectly plays an integral role in the prosperity of mankind generally.

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This practice of giving in the opinion of some authors played both positive and

negative roles in the Nigerian Christianity. It is remarked that giving as emphasized in

the Nigerian churches has shaped the life of the Church financially, socially and

spiritually. It has greatly improved the economic fortune of churches as organizations

as well as individual Christians alike in Nigeria. Negatively, the custom has sapped

most Christians economically against their expectation for prosperity. The study

reviewed much more materials which are foundational to this research, but samples

the above for the purpose of economizing time and space.

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CHAPTER THREE

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF PROSPERITY

GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA

3.1 Origin of Prosperity Preaching Worldwide

There is yet not enough historical evidence as to when precisely the Christian

practice of prosperity preaching began globally. But there appears to be a general

consensus among scholars that the practice likely crept into the religious arena with

the “Word Faith Movement” sometimes between the 19th and 20th centuries in the

United States of America (USA) (Walter, 1997). In tracing the historical roots of the

Faith Movement, Okwori (1995) identifies the philosophic influences of the 19th

century which produced American thinkers like William James, Charles Pierce,

Oliver Wendell Holmes and John Dewey. From these earliest American philosophers

and psychologists emerged pragmatic system that brought about philosophical,

theological, educational and scientific ideologies. As noted, the influence of these

philosophical thoughts has an overbearing effect on American success culture. It

became the basis and a springboard for American success drive as a nation. This may

also account for the reason America seems to be the headquarters of capitalism in the

contemporary world (H. Achunike, Personal Communication, July 31, 2014).

According to Diara (2010) “Capitalism is a system where an individual can own and

control a lot of wealth and use it to create more wealth for himself” (p.33).

It is said that the pragmatism that characterizes American thought and life was

incidentally carried into her religion. This perhaps partly explains the reasons for ‘The

Three Wave changes that occurred in the American Christianity at the turn of the 20th

century. Okwori (1995) noted that ‘The Three Wave changes that took place in

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America were those of: (i) “Pentecostalism” which was pioneered by Charles Fox

Parham (1873-1929), and was championed by William Joseph Seymour (1870-1922).

The cardinal emphasis of this movement was the baptism in the Holy Spirit with

speaking in tongues as evidence (Anderson, 2000; Obaje, 2003), (ii) the “Faith-

prosperity movement” authored by Essek William Kenyon (1867-1948) which

stresses positive confession and a four-part formula for receiving God’s promises:

‘Say it; do it; receive it; tell it’ (McConnell, 2007). The last being “The Signs and

Wonders movement” spear headed by C. Peter Wagner and John Wimber with the

caption “Power evangelism which emphasizes divine healing as forgiveness from sin,

breaking the hold of poverty and oppressive social structures” (Synan, 1971). These

antecedent occurrences were said to have probably brought about the historic

prosperity gospel in the USA.

From all indications, Kenneth Erwin Hagin (1917-2003) is the most probable

father of the Modern Faith Movement. This is premised on the fact that he played a

very significant role in the movement (Hummel, 1991). Hagin is reported to have

been influenced heavily by the teachings and writings of Essek William Kenyon, a

non Pentecostal Gospel minister, who was ordained in the Methodist Church but has

spent most of his life ministering in the Baptist Church. He it was who history

indicates articulated and documented the essentials of prosperity theology (McIntyre,

1997; McConnell, 1995). As proved by Hummel (1991), “It was Kenyon’s books that

have the greatest influence on the Faith Movement over the years” (p. 8). Kenyon was

not alone. He was a contemporary of Ralph Waldo Trine (a metaphysical cult

author), Mary Baker Eddy (the founder of Christian Science), Norman Vincent Peale

and Robert Schuller among others. Hagin, most scholars affirmed copied from

Kenyon’s ideology and developed his own prosperity theology. It is established that

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Kenyon’s theologies as well as that of Hagin were widely adopted and spread by

almost all the television and faith preachers in the 1950s. Towns (2008), captures the

scenario surrounding the rise of the prosperity preachers aptly thus:

The fact that the Divine Healing movement emerged at the same time

as the New Thought movement and Christian Science appeared is not

insignificant. Phineas Quimby (1809-1966) developed ideas related to

health, healing, abundance, prosperity, wealth and happiness. His ideas

were preserved in New Thought and developed in Christian Science

and sowed the seeds that gave birth to a new generation of evangelists

preaching a gospel of prosperity. Particularly, the New Thought

movement had a significant influence on E. W. Kenyon (1867-1948)

who may be considered the father of twentieth century prosperity

doctrine in Pentecostalism (p.14).

The “Word Faith Movement” was basically an American creation (Akoko,

2007). According to Okwori (1995), “American prosperity gospellers are mentors to

those in other parts of the world” (p.17). He stresses the point that America is also the

converging point for the prosperity gospel. It is said that among the underlying factors

that led to the eruption of prosperity preaching in the USA was the 1960s and early

1970s American economic boom. This, it is noted created many job opportunities for

people resulting in the cash flow in America. The prosperity preachers in the USA

seem to have cashed into the situation by propagating the gospel of prosperity as a

means of raising funds for world evangelization and to probably build media empires

to reach wider audience with the Gospel. As noted by Gifford (1998) the American

experiment of prosperity preaching proved to be very rewarding and successful as

enormous resources were made and channelled toward global evangelization. The

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teaching of prosperity is observed to have leaned heavily on an outlook and the

hermeneutics of affluent and materialistic Middle-class America (Young, 2005). It is

observed reveals that within this epoch, prosperity preaching flowered and was

conveyed to different parts of the globe including Nigeria (Kitause & Achunike,

2013).

3.2 Nigerian Historical Roots of Prosperity Preaching

The question often arises as to the precursor of prosperity preaching in

Nigeria. It is unequivocal that Benson Andrew Idahosa who later became Pentecostal

Archbishop pioneered prosperity gospel in Nigeria (Emeka, 2002). It is not very

certain what informed Idahosa’s decision to adopt this gospel in Nigeria. But the

events that surround Idahosa’s early life and ministry might probably help to provide

some clues as to what prompted his action (Idahosa, 1987).

Benson Idahosa was born on September 11, 1938 into the family of John and

Sarah Idahosa. Both parents were of Bini origin which is predominant in Benin City.

His father John traded on timber while his mother was a home maker. Even though

his father John was a very hardworking man, but he was not rich. This made Benson

Idahosa to have a very humble and challenging beginning. That apart, Idahosa as a

child was susceptible to frequent sickness that made his father to reject and abandon

him at the refuse bin (Garlock, 1998). He was however rescued by the tender mercy

of his mother. This forced Idahosa to leave his parents temporally and shuttle between

his uncle, Joseph’s house, his paternal grandfather’s house and his aunt, Beatrice’s

house for his up-bringing. This situation apparently denied Idahosa access to quality

education early in life (Garlock, 1998).

45

As a boy without such parental love and care, Idahosa was left to roam about

with his peers in Benin City. But in spite of this predicament, Idahosa was very

ambitious and dreaming of big things in life (Idahosa, 1987). On occasional visits to

the Government Reserved Areas (GRA) in Benin City, he would tell his friends that

one day he will stay in the GRA. According to him, his friends would take him for a

joke but to him, he meant what he said. Idahosa (1987) speaks about this experience

thus:

As a young boy, my curiosity always got the best of me. My little

friends and I roamed up and down for fun and mischief. Our

wandering occasionally brought us to the Government Residential

Areas (G.R.A.), the domain of the whites...Time and again as we

visited the G.R.A., I surveyed the flowery beauty and the iron gates

which surrounded these posh buildings, and I always assured my

skeptical school friends: “Nothing will stop me from living in the

G.R.A. one day” (pp.48-49).

Idahosa eventually managed to go through his elementary education with the

support of his amiable relatives and the proceeds he earned from menial labours. In

1959, Idahosa became born again through the ill-fated circumstance of a football kick

shot which he calculatedly released to disrupt a blaring sound of a loud speaker from

a nearby Assemblies of God Church (Emeka, 2002). Upon conversion, he grew

spiritually under the tutelage of Mbabat Udo Okpo, the minister who led him to

Christ. Okpo taught and administered the Holy Ghost baptism to Idahosa and he

received same with the evidence of speaking in tongues. After this experience,

Idahosa became very zealous about the things of God and began preaching to his own

people in Benin about Christ. For his commitment and display of Charisma, he soon

46

turned out to be evangelism leader of his church, Sunday school teacher and a lay

preacher while still a member of the Assemblies of God Church, Benin.

To be able to face the enormous task before him and to chart the new course of

life successfully, Idahosa enrolled for a Correspondence course in England to obtain a

better education. He also took up appointment with Bata Shoe Company and

continued with his village outreaches. One night he claimed that he receive a

revelation while he heard an audible voice telling him to go into full time ministry and

to take the Gospel to the whole world. Upon this mandate, he started a prayer group

and Bible study sessions in the little storefront building on Forestry Road in Benin

City in 1968 which eventually metamorphosed into an independent church (Garlock,

1998). The year that followed, precisely on April 6, 1969 Idahosa and Margaret

Lawrence Izevbigie of the Anglican Church wedded in the little storefront building.

Though, Idahosa began a prayer group, he maintained his membership with the

Assemblies of God Church. What made Idahosa to leave the Church on October 24,

1968 was a marriage related issue that cropped up. The Church had frown at his

decision to go outside of a Pentecostal church, which according to them is ‘a living

church’ to marry from the Anglican Communion which they regarded as ‘a dead

church’ (Idahosa, 1987). His exit from the Church enabled him to groom the prayer

group into what became a church of its own as Church of God Mission International

(CGMI) Incorporated with its Headquarters in Benin City, Nigeria. Enwerem (1995),

remarks that within eight years of the founding of the CGMI, Idahosa’s church

progressed rapidly due to its emphasis on prosperity preaching. He writes:

The Reverend Benson Idahosa...in defence of his top-of-the-line

lifestyle, said that his God is not a poor God and his Church grew from

a small congregation with, as some say, ‘a paltry sum of N419 in 1975’

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to what Idahosa described as ‘a multi-million naira project’ by 1988

(p.90).

With the challenge emerging from the new Church, Idahosa decided to pray

and seek for more spiritual mentors to guide him through in life and ministry. In

another revelation he is purported to have received, Idahosa is said to have been

directed to S. G. Elton, a British Missionary of the Apostolic Church residing then at

Ilesha, Nigeria. After testifying to him of what the Lord is doing through him, Pa

Elton, as he was fondly called accepted to become Idahosa’s spiritual Godfather. Pa

Elton promised Idahosa of his full spiritual and financial support and to link him up

with his friends abroad. He first raised funds for the roofing of Idahosa’s church in

Benin. He also brought his friend Gordon Lindsay from America to visit Idahosa in

Benin. As it happened, it was during this ‘August’ visit to Benin in 1971 that Idahosa

received full ordination as a minister of the Gospel on March 21, 1971 by Pa Elton

and Gordon Lindsay. In 1972, he was offered scholarship to study at Christ for the

Nations Bible Institute of Gordon Lindsay in Dallas in America to be fully armed and

prepared for the ministry.

It is really difficult to say whether Idahosa during his life time ever attended

Rhema Bible College of Kenneth Hagin in Tulsa, Oklahoma as reported by Akoko

(2007) and Marshall (1992). This is so because as it appears, even Idahosa’s study

duration at the Christ for the Nations Bible Institute was short lived due to the burden

he said he carried to preach to his people in Nigeria and who was released for that

purpose by Gordon Lindsay before his graduation (Garlock, 1998). If it was true that

he ever schooled at Rhema Bible College, he probably might have done it through a

Correspondence course as he did at London Benneth College, England.

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While in America, Idahosa was exposed to many American churches and

pastors of the prosperity bred. There he came to know T. L. Osborn, Oral Roberts, Jim

Baker and a host of other prosperity proponents who significantly influenced his life

and ministry. The spill-over effect was the adoption of their prosperity theology and

their patterns of ministry which he imported and duplicated in Nigeria. It would

appear convincing that Idahosa’s adoption of prosperity gospel may not be

unconnected with his early life ambition of becoming a great man coupled with his

early exposure in ministry to American prosperity exponents he adopted as mentors,

who indeed exerted the most influence on him both in their schools and churches

while in America. Okwori (1995) seems to validate this claim in his own words:

Idahosa has admitted that his life ambition for material things was so

wild that it shocked his friends to hear about it...We conclude then that

Idahosa’s pre-conversion ambition was covetous, and even after his

conversion he did not see any need to repent of it (pp.36, 40).

Be that as it may, it is important to clarify that Idahosa may not have been

covetous by simply expressing life dreams and aspirations which in the real sense is a

natural and common practice by any other person as presumed by Okwori in the

above citation. Idahosa might have thought about innovations as he ponders about his

life and ministry that could possibly enable him to achieve the desired breakthroughs

and prominence in life simply by adopting the gospel of success. And in seeking to

make it big in life, anybody is free to try anything provided that venture does not

constitute a clog in the wheel of someone else’s progress. It is reasonable therefore to

think that Idahosa as a person indeed reserve the right as a free citizen of Nigeria, and

as a minister in his own right in Nigeria to experiment his own achievement pursuit

with the adoption of the gospel of success as he did. Emeka (2002) however observes

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that even though, Idahosa’s message of prosperity raises a lot of dust and controversy

occasioned by his ostentatious lifestyle as against his members’ frugal lifestyle, but

that notwithstanding, most of these controversies are not against Idahosa’s adoption

and view on prosperity, but over his application of the prosperity.

Commenting on the issue of Idahosa’s childhood aspiration which Okwori

(1995) termed and qualified as covetousness on the part of Idahosa for indulging in

prosperity preaching, Adeboye (2014) clarified that life dreams is generally a function

of desires. To him, the driving force behind greatness is desire. He speaks succinctly

thus:

How does a man experience greatness? The starting point on the part to

greatness is the desire to be great. For one to be great, you must have

definiteness of purpose; that is, the knowledge of what you want and a

burning desire to achieve it, backed by faith in God. Desire is borne

out of need and dissatisfaction with your present status or lot in life.

The proof of desire is pursuit...Your life gravitates towards the desires

of your heart. Desire is what gives birth to miracles. Desire inspires

and motivates...The proof of definite desire is pursuit irrespective of

the current situations and circumstances. Definite desire translates into

reality (Open Heavens Devotional Manual, Friday, October 31).

This assertion justifies Idahosa’s action for putting his life on course by

visualizing and dreaming big things early in life. It is Idahosa’s early vision that

landed him where he eventually found himself in life. He moved gradually from

obscurity to greatness irrespective of his family background. Idahosa was never

complacent. His desire to succeed in ministry seems to have inspired his life goals and

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mission statements which he must have clearly stated. It is seen that Idahosa’s strong

desire to make it in life helps to fuel his zeal to follow the course he pursued until he

finally reached his target in life before his demise.

It is said that Oral Roberts’ influence in Nigeria coupled with the influence of

others like Reinhard Bonnke, T. L. Osborn, John Avanzini, Morris Cerullo, Fred K.

C. Price, Benny Hinn and a host of others is most remarkable. These 1st and 2nd

generations of foreign prosperity preachers have been on frequent preaching visits to

Nigeria as a result of contact made by Benson Idahosa (Obasanjo, 2009). According

to Hummel (1991), Oral Roberts “Popularized Seed-Faith giving which guarantees

that donors will soon reap rich returns on their investment” (p.16). He has since been

declared the originator of seed-faith principle. In his observation, Adeleye (2011)

concurs that “The greatest influence on the emergence of the prosperity gospel in

Nigeria is Oral Roberts whose teaching Idahosa embraced and taught” (p. 81). He is

probably believed to be the undisputed father of the prosperity gospel in Nigeria.

Historically, therefore, prosperity preaching surfaced on the Nigerian soil in the mid-

1980s through the influence of Benson Idahosa (Ojo, 2013). Okwori (1995)

acknowledges that Benson Idahosa has always been fondly referred to as ‘Papa’ by

his followers for the role he played as a mentor to the numerous advocates of

prosperity preaching.

Idahosa’s international influence was widespread. He mentored Earl Paulk

from the USA (Emeka, 2002). In 1978, Idahosa through his scholarship scheme

sponsored many non-Nigerians for a nine-months Bible and theological training in

Benin. By 1988, he graduated so many foreigners from his Bible Institute with

Ghanaians forming the bulk of the population. By this, Idahosa further exported

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prosperity gospel to other countries of the world. To cement prosperity concept

properly in these countries, he ensured that the ministries of his foreign followers

flourished and triumphed. Worth mentioning are men like: Nicholas Duncan Williams

who oversees Christian Action Faith Ministries International (Action Chapel

International) Accra, Ghana; James Kwaku Saah also of Action Chapel International;

Charles Agyem-Asare of World Miracle Bible Church and Chris Doe-Tetteh of Solid

Rock Chapel International (DNA, 2015). Idahosa, before his death on March 12, 1998

abandoned the traditional practice of the Pentecostal churches and adopted the

Episcopalian pattern of title. Hence, his ordination as Bishop took place in 1981while

that of Archbishop occurred in 1985 (Emeka, 2002). After this, he consecrated some

of his disciples as bishops in Nigeria and abroad. Some of Idahosa’s spiritual sons

have emerged Archbishops after his demise notably; Sam Amaga of Foundation Faith

Ministry, Port-Harcourt, Nigeria and Earl Pearly Paulk of Cathedral at Chapel Hill,

United States of America among others (Weber, 2009).

Conversely, other schools of thought would like to think that prosperity

preaching originated here in Africa. This view was propounded by Gifford (1990) and

supported by Ojo (2006) and Onwu (2006). These scholars gave reasons for the

upsurge of prosperity preaching in Africa, particularly in Nigeria. According to

Gifford (1990), “Prosperity as a religious idea, was not introduced into Africa by

American tele-evangelists, and is not ‘a foreign element in African Christianity’ ”

(p.382). In their arguments, Gifford, Ojo and Onwu substantiate that Nigerian

Charismatics have been associated with American evangelists from the mid-1970s yet

did not develop this teaching until the mid-1980s when many African nations began

to feel the impact of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)- inspiration of Structural

Adjustment Programmes (SAP). Why was it so? They reasoned and asked

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inquisitively. It is argued that Idahosa had been in contact with the Americans since

the early 1970s, and so what then prevented him from introducing the prosperity

gospel immediately he was influenced by them in the 1970s? It is therefore on the

basis of this line of thinking that these scholars insisted that the Charismatics should

be commended, to have on their own read the Scriptures thoughtfully as Africans and

have appropriated its message to suit their own contemporary socio-economic

situations as evidenced in the embracement of prosperity message of the 1980s. On

his part, Kalu (2003), speaking in reference to the period says that “Idahosa’s

emphasis on prosperity fitted into the mood of the times and inspired many into the

born again fold” (p.278). They thus concluded that the emphasis on prosperity was

developed internally in Africa by the Charismatics as a response to the socio-

economic changes of the 1980s. However the argument, it is worth noting that in

probably all historical situations, it would be wrong to imagine only a single factor

responsible for the eruption of any phenomenon which in the case of prosperity

preaching may not just be a mono causal factor.

3.3 Development of Prosperity Preaching in Nigeria

Prosperity gospel seems to have taken firm root in Nigeria and is steadily

thriving by the day. The preaching of prosperity has taken the centre stage in the

Nigerian Christianity. It is a glaring reality that Nigerian urban cities are replete with

prosperity churches. These churches appear to be springing up and multiplying by

leaps and bounds almost on a monthly basis. Kalu (1975) observed that “Every nook

and cranny in Nigeria is endowed with a couple or more of these churches, poised like

pubs on London streets” (p.22). One wonders what possibly could be responsible for

this unpalatable development! The reasons for this mishap may not be far-fetched.

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The probability is very high that prosperity preachers have been raised in

contemporary Nigeria in their thousands, who in turn are producing more of like

minds. The Nigerian prosperity preachers, just like spiders are increasingly spreading

their tentacles from one major Nigerian city to the other. By this, they make

prosperity preaching to be fast developing into a very big industry in Nigeria and

beyond. Prosperity preaching, no doubt is now a force to be reckoned with in modern

Nigeria. It cannot therefore be ignored by the wink of the eyes.

At the moment, the Nigerian religious climate is so overcharged with

religiosity that to tune in the radio or to tune on the television sets is to listen to

distorted prosperity messages of God’s abundance coming out from unschooled

prosperity preachers almost 24 hours a-day from different radio and television

stations in Nigeria (Achunike, 2004). The phenomenal success and quick expansion

of these prosperity churches within the Nigerian religious firmament is indeed

worrisome to the religious, political and academic worlds. As earlier documented,

Benson Andrew Idahosa (1938-1998), the then Nigerian Pentecostal Archbishop is

the chief architect and he will forever be remembered for being instrumental in

introducing and spreading modern Pentecostalism with all its attachments in Nigeria

(Omotoye & Opoola, 2012). He, it was, who in the mid-1980s single-handedly

planted, watered, nourished and watched the seed of prosperity gospel germinate and

grew to its present form in Nigeria (Gwamna, 2013). As it has been the custom with

most Pentecostals, as soon as the Church of God Mission International (CGMI)

incorporated had firm footing in Nigeria, Idahosa quickly established a Bible School

in 1975 with the name All Nations for Christ Bible Institute (ANCBI) in Benin City.

It is now called Benson Idahosa University, Benin which became effective in 1994.

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This, Idahosa did in order to raise personnel to cater for the growing need of his ever

expanding ministry and to consolidate the Nigerian Pentecostalism.

It is imperative to remark at this juncture that the growth and expansion of

modern Pentecostalism in Nigeria is indistinguishable to the growth of the Nigerian

prosperity gospel. As the wild wind of Pentecostalism blows everywhere in Nigeria, it

carries along with it the gospel of success. Ochiagha in Igwegbe (2007) speaks about

the scenario of the swift spread of Pentecostalism in Nigeria in his very words

“Pentecostalism is spreading like wildfire” (p. 227). Gradually, Nigeria especially

Lagos became “the most Pentecostal city in the world” (Anderson, 2010, p.4). This

wind of revival cuts across Nigerian borders into the neighbouring African countries

such as the Republic of Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya, Chad, Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire,

Sierra Leone and Togo among other countries within the shortest intervals (Okwori,

1995; Ojo, 2006 and 2013; Akoko, 2007).

In another development, the establishment of Idahosa World Outreach helped

to quicken the diffusion of prosperity gospel in Nigeria in particular and the global

world at large. At least, it has assisted Idahosa to travel far and wide with the gospel.

It is said of Idahosa that he has preached the gospel of success in 134 countries of the

world (Emeka, 2002). Also the employment of television preaching in the 1970s first

by a Pentecostal pastor, Benson Idahosa made the gospel to percolate everywhere in

Nigeria and beyond as it was targeted to reach a wider audience in challenging the

prevalence of immorality through the media (Idahosa, 2002). According to Achunike

(2002):

Idahosa became the first indigenous pastor to engage in televangelism

in Benin City, Nigeria. A-one hour programme cost him a thousand six

55

hundred dollars. The first Redemption Hour programme was a success

but Idahosa did not go unscathed. The denominational churches in the

town became jealous and criticised him but viewers responded

enthusiastically (p.70).

From this assertion, it is obvious that many Nigerians were reached with the gospel of

prosperity through Benson Idahosa. This is sensed from the fact of their quick

response in challenging Idahosa’s appearance on the television by the mainline

churches. Being captivated perhaps with the contents of the message, the people

wished Idahosa to continue featuring in the television. So, Idahosa’s influence on the

ranks and files of the Nigerian Christians is probably unquantifiable.

Among the Nigerian home groomed prosperity preachers who were immediate

disciples of Idahosa are: David Olaniyi Oyedepo the founder of Living Faith Church

(Winners’ Chapel), Ota; Fred Ado of the International Praise Church, Kaduna; Sam

Amaga who founded Foundation Faith Church, Port Harcourt; Hayford Anayo

Iloputaife the slain founder of Faith Revival Ministries World Outreach, Lagos;

Gabriel Oduyemi of Bethel Ministries, Lagos; Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor who

pastors Word of Life Mission, Warri; Michael Chukwuweike Okonkwo popularly

known as Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission, Lagos ; Simeon

Okah of Flock of Christ Mission, Lagos; Tunde Jordan of Christ Chapel International,

Lagos and others. Even though, Idahosa influenced people like Patrick Anwuzie of

Zoe Ministries and Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly and so many others,

but they refused to come under his tutelage directly. Other Pentecostal ministers like

Chris Okotie, popularly known as funky pastor is of the Household of God

Fellowship, Lagos; Sam Adeyemi the overseer of Daystar Christian Centre, Lagos;

Adeboye Enoch Adejare of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Lagos and so

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many others were all influenced by Benson Idahosa. These Nigerian ministers

preached prosperity and further developed it in Nigeria.

The most outstanding among Idahosa’s godson is David Olaniyi Oyedepo.

This is because he was first to be ordained by Idahosa as the Pentecostal Bishop of

Northern Nigeria. Again Idahosa used to invite Oyedepo from time to time then to

perform some functions in his Church in Benin and they maintained good rapport

with each other before Idahosa’s death in 1998.

The question of Oyedepo’s birthday is still contestable. While Kuponu (2007)

asserts that he was born in 1954, Omotoye and Opoola (2012) say that he was born in

1949. However, Israel (2008) and Obasanjo (2009) affirm that David Oyedepo was

born on September 27, 1954 at Oshogbo, Osun State. But Oyedepo is an indigene of

Omu Aran in Kwara State. He became born again in 1969. Also conflicting is the

issue of the date of Oyedepo’s consecration as a bishop by Idahosa as the Pentecostal

Bishop of Northern Nigeria. Owoeye (2000) reports that this incident took place in

1985, but Kuponu (2007) held that it happened in September 1988. However it is,

David Oyedepo probably was ordained in 1988 given that there is more detailed

information by Kuponu about the event that led to his ordination exercise. The

occasion which is said to have collided with the foundation laying ceremony of the

Church that began on September 17 was consummated with the ordination of

Oyedepo as Bishop on September 19, 1988.

David Oyedepo seems to have outsmarted all Idahosa’s protégées and is

currently championing the course of prosperity preaching in Nigeria. Omotoye &

Opoola (2012) reaffirm that “The prosperity teaching of Arch-Bishop Idahosa was a

foundation and bedrock for Bishop David Olaniyi Oyedepo of the Living Faith

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Church” (p.3). On December 11, 1983, David Oyedepo founded the Winners’ Chapel

with the Headquarters first in Kaduna before transferring it to Ota in Ogun State in

1989. The reason that propelled this transfer is not clear. But one thing that may be

deduced from the action is the fact that Kaduna appears to be the stronghold of the

Nigerian Mafia and is always prone to religious crisis (Takaya & Tyoden, 1987; Agi,

1998; Nicholas, 2014). It appears that the incessant religious skirmishes that

characterized Kaduna State as at then may have negatively informed Oyedepo not to

invest such laudable and money guzzling ventures such as the Headquarters of his

Ministry and the Covenant University among others in Kaduna city. The validity of

this speculation becomes clearer in that, in a matter of two years after the movement

of his Headquarters Church to its present location, the development on the site soon

overspreads a large territory, something he could have as well done in Kaduna where

he first started the ministry. Even though, Oyedepo did not remove the Church from

Kaduna, he carried out low keyed development of the Church there and concentrated

more at Ota in Ogun State.

Oyedepo appears to have become more popular than Idahosa. He seems to

have also raised more disciples than Idahosa his mentor. How he achieve that was that

Oyedepo established many schools ranging from nursery, primary, secondary,

theological colleges and two universities at present to his credit. First, he established

The Heritage School which is the nursery/primary section. Pupils from this school

complete their schooling to continue in the secondary arm which is The Faith

Academy College. Thereafter they proceed to the Bible College or Institute with the

name The Word of Faith Bible Institute (WOFBI) which is situated at Kaduna

founded on September 1, 1986. Graduands from WOFBI move either into Covenant

and Landmark Universities established by Oyedepo or find their ways to other

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Nigerian Universities. From these schools, a great considerable numbers of disciple

youths within and without the country are trained as pastors and missionaries who are

posted to branches of the Winners’ Chapel and other countries of the world. With

these schools in place, it became easier for Oyedepo to train many pastors of his type.

Prominent among Oyedepo’s disciples are David Abioye, the executive vice president

of the Winners’ Chapel presently overseeing the Living Faith Churches in the Federal

Capital Territory (F.C.T.) Abuja and George Adjeman who broke out from the

Winners’ Chapel to form his own Church in Ghana (Olanipekun, 2006). It is said of

Abioye that he is the most loyal of all Oyedepo’s followers. The Winners’ Chapel has

eight dioceses spread across the country, viz: Kaduna, Port-Harcourt, Warri, Ibadan,

Owerri, Abuja, Ilorin, and Kano, each is being overseen by a Bishop.

Apart from Oyedepo’s influence in the development of prosperity preaching in

Nigeria, other loyalists of Idahosa like Sam Amaga has also gone ahead to establish a

Christian Private University called Salim University at Lokoja, Kogi State in 2009, an

effort to raise seasoned global prosperity ministers and leaders. Enoch A. Adeboye

has established Redeemer University at Ede, Osun state in 2005 (Osuntokun, 2014).

These and other Pentecostal Universities in Nigeria which have international

recognition have been graduating the youths on a grand scale with prosperity mind-

set. In addition to this, Idahosa and all his numerous disciples authored books on

prosperity to disseminate prosperity concepts locally and internationally. It must not

be forgotten that the mainline churches in Nigeria have equally established so many

Primary and Secondary schools, Seminaries, Theological Colleges and Universities,

thus competing favourably with their Pentecostal counterparts in the training of their

church workers, evangelists, missionaries, pastors, bishops, prelates and archbishops

among others (Omotoye, 2006).

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3.4 Dimension of Prosperity Preaching in the World

The world is fast becoming a global village. Virtually everything is advancing

to its peak. Technology is developing at an alarming rate. The Global System for

Mobile communication (GSM) is in place. Religious fundamentalists are on rampage

causing much insecurity in the world. The outbreak of Lassa fever, HIV and Ebola

viruses are shocking realities that threaten human existence. Prosperity preaching is

equally at its zenith and on a global scale. There was time when prosperity ideas

filtered into Nigeria and was received with mixed feelings in view of holiness

consciousness within the Pentecostal circles. But with the passage of years, prosperity

gospel has gradually permeated the world religious atmosphere with its overriding

influence.

Today, prosperity preaching is seen as a global phenomenon that is looming

large everywhere almost unhindered (Ibrahim, 2013). The Pentecostals of different

strands and traditions across the globe have all joined the bandwagon of prosperity

preaching and are busy re-branding and repackaging prosperity teaching. They seem

to be making the best of efforts to see the possibility of wooing all and sundry to it.

This indeed has encouraged religious migrants of all persuasions to be attracted to

Pentecostalism because of its promises of wealth and health. According to Ngwodo

(2012):

The movement’s unique selling point was its interpretation of

salvation as material enrichment, fiscal vitality and upward mobility.

Consequently, greater earning power in a depressed economy was

defined as a sign of spiritual wellness; an indication that one is in a

state of grace. Poverty was demonised as a satanic affliction of the

faithless (p.2).

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Alas, without mincing words the prosperity preachers appear to be succeeding. It is

therefore expedient to find out the dimension of prosperity preaching in the world

today. What can one say is the current trend of things in prosperity preaching?

In the words of Walton (2012), “Christianity is no longer an intellectual

exercise in an age of prosperity gospel” (Walton cited in Ekeke, 2012, p.1). Religious

preaching in his view was supposed to be an intellectual as well as spiritual exercise.

This implies that Christian churches were meant to be places “To educate minds and

expand the hearts – action that defines faith, belief that encourages discussion, and

joyousness that allows for the occasional bout of existential angst” (Walton cited in

Ekeke, 2012, p.1). It is observed sadly that with the advent of prosperity preachers in

the modern world, preaching is no longer done the way it used to be. Preaching is no

longer sacred and intellectually stimulating. Preaching has become an emotional thing

or an acrobatic show with no substance in it. Prosperity preachers appear not to be

carrying out an in-depth study of the Scriptures in order to give out sound biblical

teaching to parishioners as they ought to. It is more like an entertainment in the

cinema hall with people responding simultaneously to preachers with shout like ‘Ride

on preacher’, ‘we hear you’, and lots more. What are being taught today are

sentimental messages, gearing towards arousing the emotions of the people to give

handsome offertory to ‘God’ through their “men of God”.

Preaching, from all indications have become mere exhortations on pulpits. It is

more of scheming for money. It appears clear that the most preoccupation of

preachers of prosperity in the contemporary world is this strategising for money. The

experience of Ugwueye (2002) may perhaps substantiate this claim:

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I attended a Pentecostal crusade at Bonny Island in Rivers State where

one of the most notable Pentecostal pastors in Nigeria today ministered

for three days. This ‘man of God’ is well known for ‘commanding

power to move’ and people would be falling down violently on the

ground. At a stage in his preaching on the third day, he announced that

the organizers of the crusade, Assemblies of God Church, Bonny, were

looking for some ten million naira for the building of God’s house and

God had assured him already that the money was there ready. He said

there was not going to be anything like launching; rather he would like

people who could afford from five hundred thousand naira upwards to

come out. Before coming out, they should list five pressing problems

which they would like the Lord to solve for them within one year,

provided they would redeem their pledges within one year. “No matter

how hard or impossible the problems seem the Lord had assured me

they would all be solved this night”, the pastor said. About ten people

came forward and they were given special prayers...Meanwhile, at

each stage of this drama, many young men and women of this church

were already there collecting the names and addresses of those who

made pledges (pp.223-224).

This offer was extended to people who may afford N100, 000 and N10, 000

upwards respectively. One may decipher that so much time and energy were used

doing this instead of preaching to the people. It is therefore a point beyond doubt that

greater part of any Pentecostal service or crusade in most parts of the world today is

probably used for dancing, jostling, whistling and raising money to some extent

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instead of preaching the sound word of God (Gbile, 2011). This is a known case

especially in Nigeria.

It is axiomatic among neo Pentecostals that acquisition of title is now a

fashion. Prosperity preachers are generally power and title drunk. In Nigeria for

example, the practice began with Idahosa in the mid-1980s. It is reflected that he

probably arrogated the Episcopalian title to himself to promote the perception on the

Pentecostal pastors who initially were not being respected for reasons best known to

those of the other Christian blocs. As observed, it is seen to be in the character of

Pentecostals pastors to seek honorary doctorate degrees or pursue doctorate degrees

from mushroom unrecognized theological Seminaries or Colleges abroad to qualify

them for consecration as Bishops. Obiora (1999) confirms this point that “It is

common to find pastors rushing to remote and unaccredited Bible Colleges to get

funny degrees – B.A.; B.TH; M.A; M.TH etc” (P.161). Disappointedly, some of them

never read beyond secondary school level, yet in matters of few months of training,

they are awarded “Higher Degrees”.

In the opinion of Obiora, these ministers do not necessarily need a fraudulent

doctorate degree to preach the word of God. The reason perhaps for this is probably to

become more popular, more marketable and to be accorded more respect in the

society. As noticed, people seem to respond more enthusiastically to programmes

when it is announced or advertised that a bishop is going to be the guest speaker of

the programme. So in envisaging the preferential treatment or the advantage being

attached to the title bishop, many are now scrambling to become one. Emeka (2002)

captures one of the reason lurking behind the much craving for being a bishop in

Nigeria in the following words:

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As was witnessed during the burial of Idahosa himself, Bishops were

rated higher than ministers with other titles, who were not allowed to

sit on seats prepared for the Bishops and perform services that were

left for the Bishops. The implication is that a minister or head of a

Church with longer ministerial experience and status is adjudged lower

than a minister who has fewer years of experience in the ministry but

bears the title Bishop (pp.276-277).

It is most probable that much money is used by pastors to lobby their ways to

be admitted for consecration as bishop. This is seen in the number of Pentecostal

bishops and archbishops ever multiplying in Nigeria today. Some of them with just a

single congregation still worshipping under batchers or thatched roofs have already

bagged “Ph.D” in theology struggling their ways to be ordained as bishops.

There is another development so evident in the Nigerian Pentecostal churches.

It is no news that Pentecostal prosperity preachers are venturing into the political

arena. Some of the Pentecostal pastors are becoming more politically motivated or

enticed (Burgess, 2012). In Nigeria for instance, Chris Okotie has already

distinguished himself as the most politically minded pastor (Abah, 2013). He vied for

an elective position as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria twice without

winning. This was during the 2003 and the 2007 general election in Nigeria (Ukah,

2008; Musa, 2009). According to Burgess (2013), Okotie’s actions were opposed by

many Pentecostals who were of the view that a pastor should not abandon the priestly

role for political office. This view notwithstanding some Christians commended

Okotie for the giant strides in politicking. Also worth mentioning is Tunde Bakare

who was a running mate to Muhammadu Buhari, a retired army general and the

former Military Head of State under the platform of Congress for Progressive Change

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(CPC) in the April 2011 Nigerian general election (Abah, 2013). Presently, Yemi

Osinbajo, a Professor has been elected Vice President of the Federal Republic of

Nigeria to Muhammadu Buhari. Apart from seeking for elective positions, prosperity

preachers’ closeness to Government propelled the Government to appoint them as

Special Advisers on religious matters, Government House or Para- military Chaplains,

members in Commission of Inquiry, Chairmen of Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board,

involving government in the politic of electing either the Local Government, State or

National chairmen of CAN or PFN. For instance, Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor is the

current Nigerian CAN president.

Moreover, in order to achieve their quest for power and popularity, most of the

prosperity preachers pay frequent visits to the government house to familiarize

themselves with the government of the day. They seek friendship with the upper

echelons of society such as politicians, bankers, police commissioners, service chiefs,

Government officials, successful businessmen and women among others. For

instance, due to Tunde Bakare’s closeness with Muhammadu Buhari, he appointed

Bakare to be the chairman of the Transition Committee in April, 2015 (Ibrahim,

2015). They keep steady track records of these personalities, pay occasional visits to

them with the promise of their constant breakthrough prayers and also to invite them

to grace their birthdays or church anniversary celebrations as the case may be. They

equally influence government officials to get ticket for pilgrimage to the Holy Land

just to acquire the title “JP”.

The propensity among the contemporary Pentecostals is the urge to advertise

themselves and their churches. Most Pentecostals appear to have been driven by

selfish desire to adopt televangelism as a way of reaching the wider audience with the

gospel. But the perception underneath seems to be the longing to gain more popularity

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and to advertise probably their manipulated miracles. So they overstretch their

member often to raise money for the purpose of buying air time to feature regularly in

the television or in the radio stations. Once they are on the air, they maximally use the

medium to advertise their churches’ camp meetings or retreats. This is done in such a

way that the jingle that is utilized for the advertisement of these programmes exhibit

demonstration of ‘God’s power’ which is presumably manifesting through their

ministries. This, they do to attract people to both their churches’ indoor and outdoor

meetings. To add to this, it is worthy of note that there are equally genuine men of

God who use God’s power to perform miracles. But it seems difficult these days to

discern between the genuine and the fake ones as many of them appear to do almost

the same thing.

In addition to the above is the fact that it is now fashionable for top prosperity

preachers to procure aircrafts, fleet of expensive cars, personal mansion and huge

assets worth millions of naira among other things to their honour. Most of these

preachers have taken to flamboyant lifestyle and live in luxuries. They obtain special

car registration number plates like: ZOE 1, ZOE 2, UKPAI 1, UKPAI 2, UKPAI 3,

and at a very exorbitant rate (Emeka, 2002). When on a journey, they use a siren,

security agents, and Para-military boys of their church in well-designed uniforms as

well as Okada riders as escorts. They enter any city with a long convoy of choice

vehicles with men of the Road Safety Commission clearing the way for them. By this,

they are steadily making the headway in influencing their being accommodated in the

Government Presidential Lodge anywhere they go to.

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3.5 Factors Responsible for Prosperity Preaching in Nigeria

Prosperity preaching is currently booming in Nigeria. It is said to be a top

bracket business where God is perhaps being ‘marketed’ (Obiora, 1999). In

contemporary Nigeria, the tendency is probably high that “Religion is fast coming

into its own as the food basket of the nation ballooning into a flourishing agro-allied

industrial complex” (Obiora 1999, p.57). The Christian Church in Nigeria seems to be

fast growing into very lucrative ventures of entrepreneurs, considering the kind of

advertisements in the electronic and print media. According to Tasie (2001) most of

the conceivable modern advertisement machineries are utilized to persuade clients to

attend their crusades, revival or miracle services, where they could make

appointments for them with God. Closely examined, Daudu and Gbule (2000) remark

that:

Outsiders often think of some churches as business centres where

presidents and founders make quick money by exploiting their

members. Some ministries and churches are run like personal liability

companies where the leaders are accountable to no one else but

themselves. Where a finance committee system operates, members are

often close relatives and friends of “owners” of such churches (pp.125-

126).

It is evident that Nigerian Christianity is witnessing an unprecedented growth

in the number of Christian churches and ministries all over the country. And the most

spread are the prosperity preaching churches. What factors then underlie the

preaching of prosperity with its attendant plurality of churches in Nigeria? The

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following factors are identified and expressed as chief determinants for the preaching

of prosperity in Nigeria.

3.5.1 African Worldview on Prosperity and Materialism

A worldview is the framework from which reality is perceived and sense is

made of life and the world people live. According to Cotterell (2013) “worldview is

simply the sum total of our understanding of the world as we reach that understanding

both through our observation of it and God’s revelation concerning it” (p.9). It is any

ideology, philosophy, theology, movement or religion that provides an overarching

approach to understanding God, the world and man’s relations to God and the world.

Worldview provides a kind of overview or general outlook of things (Kitause, 2014).

A religious worldview may signify a collection of beliefs about life and the

universe held by an individual or a group (Barron, 2010). Any belief that is connected

to religion is a special kind of belief which is quite different from other belief system.

It is observed that the way people perceive and interpret religion varies from

community to community and this speaks of the differences in people’s religious

tradition all over the world. African worldview on prosperity and materialism is quite

different from those of American and European perspectives. What then can one say

is African cosmology on prosperity and materialism?

African worldview is materialistic and life-affirming. African spirituality is

also charismatic. People easily link any misfortune to a cause which needs to be taken

care of. This explains the reason why the Nigerian Pentecostals link every mishap or

sickness to African worldview. Based on this understanding, most elderly African

women who are barren believe that giving a live fowl or goat to masquerade will avert

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any misfortune and bring blessings. Since the prosperity gospel cashed into this

situation it makes many people to patronise it.

Traditionally in Africa, success in economic, political and religious life is

glorified (Onwu, 2005). African traditional set up reveres success and achievements.

This is why those who have distinguished themselves in economic, political or

religious spheres are honoured (Achunike, 2007). Ojo (2006) confirms that as a

traditional African cultural value, “Wealth is a means to recognition in the society and

the means towards political power in post-colonial Africa” (p.208). To Chukwudum

(1981), the average Nigerian wants to be adored for his wealth. Achebe (1958)

captures African peoples’ philosophy of achievement in an Igbo proverb thus: “If a

child washed his hands clean he could eat with king” (p.6).

This principle of life in Africa probably makes every African people to adopt

a lifestyle of materialism. Most people in Africa want to make it by all means in order

for them to be relevant in the society. So failure in anything in life is a serious threat

to one’s dignity and popularity. Failure in Africa is therefore seriously feared. The

emphasis on materialism or prosperity makes people to explore and exploit anything

provided it amounts to amassing wealth that guarantee good life. African people

believe in the “good life” or “abundant life” which includes the totality of well-being.

This better side of life is secure in the harmonious relationship with the spirit world

who serves as guardians and protectors of the living mankind.

Prosperity is linked to one’s destiny on earth. Destiny in Africa’s cosmology is

controlled by multifarious gods including ancestors and one’s personal god because

they are believed to protect and prosper the individual and the community (Onwu,

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2006). This is probably what Kitause (2011) meant when he wrote about the Kuteb

people’s belief:

This understanding makes a Kuteb man to work steadily in close

proximity with his ancestors. His entire life is teleguided by the

ancestors. His fortunes or misfortunes are firmly linked with his

closeness and rapport with his ancestors. Hence, the ancestors are

approached for various blessings: blessing of wealth, health, children,

fertility of soil and blessing of longevity (p.36).

To ensure constant support of the divine being for a continual earthly

prosperity, traditional Africans generally perform sacrifices, use charms, festivals and

magic to manipulate, appease, avert, control and subjugate these forces (Onwu, 1985).

These traditional customs were performed alongside other practices to keep wicked

spirits at bar which are probably being suspected to impede one’s physical prosperity

prior to the introduction of Christian religion in Nigeria. African Christians carry this

mind set into Christianity. Therefore backwardness, retardation, or failure in life is

easily associated with some forces perceived to be working against the progress of

any person. This might also be interpreted to be a curse placed upon the person in

question in which case calls for quick solution. The search for solutions to people’s

immediate problems compelled people to rush towards Pentecostalism as an escape

route. According to Gwamna (2012)

This derives from the fact that Pentecostals are believed to provide

solutions to problems through their powerful prayers, breaking of

curses and covenants, demonic attacks and of other forms of satanic

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bondage, as characteristic of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles

Ministry (MFM) (p.11).

The above quotation is apt. It betrays the fact that there are many issues people

grapple with which are in dire need of solutions. Anywhere such solutions could be

accessed people tend to throng there. This, in one way seems to account for the

massive rush of people towards prosperity churches in Nigeria. As observed by

Adewole (2004):

For many Nigerian Christians, the Gospel makes sense only to the

extent that it promises to deliver them from material and social forces

that constitute the untold yet avoidance hardships of daily

survival...God is seen as God only when he answers prayers here and

now, and provides immediate solutions to the problems faced by his

children (p.52).

It is observed that “the rapid spread of the prosperity gospel in Nigeria is aided

by the Nigerian culture and values” (Onwu, 2006, p.5) exemplified in their

perspective of things. Onwu reiterates that materialism is part of Nigerian cultural

value because in every stage of its evolutionary history the people abhorred poverty

and adorned wealth and the wealthy. So in contemporary Africa, it seems nobody

cares how wealth is acquired, but renders praises and commendations to whoever

becomes rich notwithstanding the means used to acquire the said wealth. This might

probably explain why Achunike (2014) says that “The Igbo worldview and

spirituality which are materialistic have contributed in the silence of the Church in

face of stupendous and illicit wealth” (p.8). Similarly, Anyacho (2013) notes that:

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The proponents of this new teaching try to impress upon their

followers that Christians, like every other person are born to be rich.

As the emphasis on prosperity began to dominate the gospel message,

many preachers employed a lot of strategies to get money from their

members besides making people feel that it is unchristian to be poor. In

fact poverty is seen in some Christian quarters as sin (p.205).

As can be deduced, money is being deified. It is most probable that the

Pentecostal salvation economy revolves around money. According to Ekpenyong

(2005) “Money is a concretised energy that burns hotter than even fire” (p.4). Ukah

(2012) amplifies this fact better in his own words “For Nigerian Pentecostal leaders,

money burns more brightly than holiness and honesty” (p.9). For this reason “More

than 80% of sermons by Nigerian pastors concern money; more than 65% of books

and booklets revolve around the theme of money and prosperity and success” (Ukah

2012, p.9). Ukah concludes that in the perspective of the Pentecostals, spiritual

success should be defined in terms of material and ostentatious lifestyle.

3.5.2 Competition for Possession of Worldly Resources

It is observed that a very important social and economic characteristic of

Nigerian Pentecostalism is their competitive spirit and drive. Ukah (2012) opines that

Pentecostal church owners compete for public resources which include recognition,

visibility, respect, money and symbolic power and authority. Pentecostals competition

is said to be fought in the media marketplace. This perhaps explains the reason the

prosperity preachers in Nigeria present prosperity messages forcefully with marketing

strategy (Ojo, 2006). Pentecostal churches appear to be structured in the manner that

it gives wider allowances for competition to thrive on so easily. These prosperity

churches appear more like “spiritual and economic corporations with the centre of

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gravity being the founder-owner who self-represents as the Chief Executive Officer

(CEO) and Managing Director of the entity” (Ukah, 2012, p.7).

Generally, religious competition is fraught with many difficulties such as

fraud, conflict and absence of cooperation (Ukah, 2012). Nigerian Pentecostalism is

replete with it. Gaining from his critical examination of the recent trend in Nigeria,

Idama (2000) remarks that:

The number one issue tearing churches and denominations apart today

is food. Since “Founders and Presidents” in particular have fed

themselves fat, living in supreme luxury, affluence and flamboyance at

the expense of both fellow ministers and the congregation, many

ministers have found it necessary to become “Founders and

Presidents” in order to have a bigger share of the cake. Hidden cleverly

behind every strife and split in the Church today is the desire to control

the wealth of the denomination...Food and greedy gains have become

the undoing of churches (p.40-41).

This citation points out clearly that founding churches in the perspective of

the Nigerian founders remain the surest and fastest way of making it in life. The

founding of churches is usually followed by the expansion of same into very big

cathedrals in order to accommodate larger followers. The next step is to familiarize

and link up with government officials and those that mattered in the society to be able

to raise money to enrich oneself and buy air time for featuring in the radio and

television stations to properly advertise their churches and programmes. The use of

the media is to cultivate consumer desires. This is predicated on the fact that the more

members one has the more the income that accrued to him through tithes and

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offerings. So whether it is through printed posters, billboards, radio or television

stations, the target is the same: to arouse or stir up the appetite of people to attend

their programmes where perhaps they can use psychology on people to part them with

their money (Adewale, 1985). In this regards, a lot of propaganda is put in place to

attract people to Pentecostal revivals and crusades for divine healing (Omotoye,

2010). Logan (2013) sheds more light when he said that:

Christianity in charismatic churches and on television and radio today

is not the fervency that Jesus desires. All the showmanship of falling

down on the floor slain in the spirit, uncontrollable laughter, wild

gibberish, and pseudo healing is primarily emotional hype. It is not

born out of control by the Holy Spirit, but is designed to appeal to the

flesh and the old prideful nature. Many of the worship sessions are

nothing more than three-ring circuses and many of the young attend for

the purpose of entertainment and curiosity. Many of the performers are

simply caught up in emotionally induced states of ecstasy, and they do

bizarre things claiming to be spirit-filled (p.4).

This citation points out one thing very clearly which is “mission and

evangelism has morphed into the self-advertisement of a “spiritual patron” or

“bigman” who is the repository of charismata: miracles, healings, financial blessings

and so forth” (Ukah, 2012, p.8). The Nigerian prosperity preachers daily strategise on

how to come up with the best advertisement jingles that could surpass the one before.

Tasie (2001) professes that:

It is commonplace to see posters related to the activities of these “men

of God” saying: Come to the power night crusade and meet the

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anointed man of God Pastor/Rev/Bishop/Archbishop/Dr (as the case

may be) XYZ. Come with all your troubles, sickness, infertility,

decline in business, no promotion at work place, demonic possession,

your court case e.t.c. e.t.c. The blind will receive their sight, the

cripple will rise and walk, the deaf will hear and the dumb will speak.

One even says: “If you have problem in passing JAMB, GCE, or SSCE

come and you will receive your miracle of success”...To these “men of

God”, cut off points is nonsensical; hard work is stupidity. The

emphasis is the Jesus of miracle not the suffering messiah (p.11).

The above quotation reveals the extent to which the Pentecostals lured and

cajoled people to show up in their crusades and programmes. The picture given above

is typical of some Pentecostal advertisements in Nigeria. People are daily drawn to

prosperity churches in Nigeria for wants of solutions to their numerous social, health

and economic challenges. Hence, prosperity preachers capitalized on their problems

and fleece them of their resources in the name of seed faith to secure answers to their

predicaments. Interestingly, the prosperity preachers are having a field day. This is

naturally so because prosperity sermon makes so much sense in a country with a

depressed economy and also a society riddled with poverty, ignorance, disease,

unemployment and hardship.

Furthermore, some of the prosperity preachers proceed to lobby their ways for

the award of honorary doctorate degrees to qualify them for ordination as bishops to

widen their horizon, influence and marketability. It is also discovered that a prominent

Pentecostal leader – Paul Emeka the embattled man of God, who until his suspension

on March 5, 2014 as the General Overseer of the Assemblies of God Church

arrogated to himself a Professorial title just to gain more popularity and influence in

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Nigeria (O. Anokam, personal communication, February 22, 2015). He seems to be

the first Pentecostal pastor in Nigeria that went to that extent.

There were mixed reactions to this development. To the Pentecostal world, it

was a welcoming development as they can now freely aspire to acquire professorial

title to themselves which will boost their image, reputation and curriculum vitae. But

to the world of the academic, it was a bomb shell. Prominent academics responded

sharply against what they consider to be an ugly upsurge. It is said that for the

Pentecostal pastors to adopt professorial title without meriting it academically; it is a

very serious abuse of title and an insult to the academics (I. Ahmadu, personal

communication, March 1, 2015). For one, it reduces and tarnishes the reputation of

the professors who went through thick and thin to assume it. By that the Pentecostals

would have succeeded in dragging that most elevated and envious title and position

meant to be reserved and restricted within the academic environment to the mud and

may never again command respect from the public. For most professors, they have

only been bearing and managing to allow the Pentecostal pastors to answer the title of

“Reverend Doctor” however they acquired it which should stop at that point. This

signifies that any other attempt by the Pentecostals to arrogate professorial title to

themselves will be met with stiff resistance from the academic world. To many minds,

what happened to Paul Emeka is a lesson for other title hungering Pentecostals to

learn.

Combining the advantage of media preaching and big title, some of the

Pentecostal ministers start producing mass recording of prosperity messages into

tapes, VCDs, CDs and DVDs plates. David Oyedepo and Sam Amaga are good

examples to mention here. No sooner had they finished preaching or teaching than

they also turn their prosperity messages into booklets and books. Their church

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members probably valued, valorised and read these materials more than the Bible.

They produced stickers which members buy for display on their vehicles, gates and

doors. They equally churn out monthly, bimonthly or yearly devotional or prayers

manuals for the consumptions of their followers and clients.

For instance, Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy produces over 500,000

copies of Rhapsody of Realities every month in 92 languages, Enoch Adeboye of

RCCG publishes more than 500,000 copies of Open Heaven; Helen Ukpabio of

Liberty Gospel Church, Calabar publishes A Brand New Day, William F. Kumuyi

produces daily devotional guide known as Daily Manna and Chris E. Kwakpovwe of

the Voice of Liberty Ministries publishes countless number of Our Daily Manna for

both adult and children quarterly. These, no doubt yield no small amount of proceeds

to prosperity preachers in Nigeria. Critically examined, it is clear that there is a great

deal of competition going on among preachers of prosperity within the Nigerian

religious space.

Expectedly, the up-coming Pentecostal pastors imitate almost everything from

those whom they considered to be ahead of them in the ministry in terms of prosperity

preaching, media evangelism, acquisition of assets, size and architectural designs of

cathedrals, marketing strategies among several others. They tend to perceive that

prosperity preaching has much more dividends as is evidenced in the overall assets

and the opulent lifestyle of its proponents. Prosperity preaching is most likely paying

off the prosperity preachers in Nigeria handsomely. Its promoters are probably

benefiting from it immensely. According to Ajaero (2007), prosperity preachers have

successfully grown large followership and are steadily building strong financial

empires in Nigeria. Most of the prosperity churches look somewhat like private

liability companies with the tendency of multiplying themselves in the Nigerian

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capital cities. Thus, like spider web they spread their tentacles everywhere in order to

woo more people mostly of the political class or the bourgeoisie of the society to their

fold.

The scenario looks somehow competitive in nature as one church tries the best

it can to out-do the other in putting up expansive buildings with the best architectural

designs, buying fleet of luxury cars or jets, organizing flamboyant camp meetings,

retreats or conferences, which probably is designed to retain the membership of the

particular ministry or church in question. According to Ukah (2012) the resilience of

Pentecostalism which accounts for its success and vibrancy is the twin engine of

competition and emulation. As observed by Eboh (1999), some presidents or founders

of Pentecostal churches in Nigeria are in the habit of running their churches as if it is

a personal business outfit. Oyedepo (1992) seems to support the view of a church to

be run as a business venture. He has this to say:

Ministry is essentially business. Jesus said! Wist ye not that I must be

about my father’s business (Luke 2:49). It is God’s business, not the

father’s religion...We have been accused of turning ministry into a

business. But that is not true. We met it as a business. Jesus, the author

and founder of ministry told us that it is a business (p.195).

Oyedepo advanced reason for taking this position. To his mind, the reason

behind stagnancy in most ministries is due to the un-business-like approach of those

ministries. He seems to have encouraged his counterparts to similarly employ market

strategy as he did and be more business minded so as to reap bountiful harvest of

profit from their investment in church ministry (Oyedepo, 1992).

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In view of the above, it appears convincing that some preachers in Nigeria

before beginning their ministries might have probably nursed the ambition of running

the Church as a business outfit, and have targeted profits before even establishing

those churches. This could likely be the reason it is said that:

Pentecostalism is a modern-day commercial enterprise garbed in the

cloak of a religion with deception and exploitation as its foundation; its

goal being the complete monetization of the ignorance of its multitude

of adherents. It is nothing short of liberal market Christianity heavily

prospering from merchandising the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Worldwide, it remains the only legally and politically accepted

movement completely based upon systematic fraud, deception and

cheating. It is the theology of the naira (Cold, 2011).

This citation seems to shed more light on what the Nigerian prosperity

preachers have up their sleeves which appears hidden. A quick glance at the lifestyles,

extravagancy and assets of the Nigerian prosperity preachers brings this fact to

limelight.

According to Alade et al. (2012) “Pastors that cruise in executive jets include

Pastor Enoch A. Adeboye, Rev Matthew Ashimolowo, Pastor Chris Oyakhilome,

Bishop David Oyedepo and the latest entrant, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor among others”

(p.15). Recently added to this list is Sam Adeyemi of Daystar Christian Centre, Lagos

(Umoh, 2013). Paradoxically, the same loyal congregants who complain about their

pastors flamboyant lifestyles are the same who finance it. The cost of each executive

Jet is put between $40 million and $65 million depending on the finishing, engine

capacity, on board entertainment, navigational facilities, general operational

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efficiency and its configuration. It is estimated that no lesser than N900 million is

spent annually to maintain each Jet. This covers expenses ranging from employing a

Pilot, cabin crew at any given flight, 10 staff attached compulsorily to the airplane, a

certified maintenance engineer, a dispatcher, other personnel, regular re-currency

training overseas, and mandatory simulator training every six months, documentation,

landing and parking space charges, fuelling, hotel accommodation, taxes, salaries and

the likes. One of the Pilots speaks thus “I really feel for my boss, but he has the

money. But to me, anyone who doesn’t make money carelessly cannot own a Jet”

(Alade et al. 2012, p.15).

Apart from owning Jets, some of the prosperity preachers have gone ahead in

the 21st century to establish private Christian universities. Igwe (2012) observes that

there has been “This allegation of over-priced private universities...levelled against

those built by the Jet-owning pastors of the Pentecostal churches like Bishop David

Oyedepo and Pastor Enoch Adeboye” (p.26). In addition, there are universities

founded by Sam Amaga, Benson Idahosa among others which are really yielding no

small amount of money for them.

Akinyele (2009) asserts that “Many of our Churches have evolved into mega-

corporations...Churches are now devoted to making money and not preaching the

gospel...It is also criminal to use money of the poor to establish schools which they

cannot afford for their children” (p.25). Furthermore, Nsehe (2011) documents that

the five richest pastors in Nigeria are the prosperity preachers. The question that

easily pops the mind is: Why is it that it is only the prosperity preachers that are on

the list of the richest pastors in Nigeria? This simply signifies that truly, prosperity

preaching is certainly, the surest means of escaping poverty in Nigeria.

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As it happened, historical evidence abound that David Olaniyi Oyedepo of the

Living Faith Church has passed the litmus test and has without doubt, emerged the

wealthiest of all Nigerian pastors. His net worth of asset is estimated at $150 million.

He is believed to own four Jets valued at almost $100 million (Benziger, 2012). He

owns Dominion Publishing House that turns out numerous books mostly on

prosperity, Covenant University, Faith Assembly, Elite High Schools, Banks, Audio-

Visual Centre, Hospital and Maternity, Bookstores and Filling Stations among several

others (Ukah, 2007; Obasanjo, 2009; Nsehe, 2011; Onongha, 2011).

The second richest pastor is Chris Oyakhilome among the Nigerian pastors.

Oyakhilome has been disassociated from the PFN (Ekhator, 2013). His asset is valued

between $30 million and $50 million. He operates Newspapers, Magazines, Love

World TV Network (24 hours operation), a record label, Satellite TV, hotels and

extensive real estate. Next is Temitope Balogun Joshua, a dis-fellowshipped pastor

with the PFN, having asset of between $10 million and $15 million. He is praised for

being the most philanthropic among Nigerian pastors even though people have linked

his benevolence to have been cloaked in a shroud of secrecy of occultism (Ekhator,

2013). This may account for the reason PFN has refused to register him as one of its

members.

Matthew Ashimolowo is having assets whose value is put at between $6

million and $10 million. Equally, Pastor Chris Okotie, the most politically minded

Nigerian pastor is having between $3 million and $10 million worth of asset. It is

worth noting that lack of concrete recorded evidence has made it difficult for this

work to establish whether Enoch A. Adeboye has not yet overtaken the position of

Chris Oyakhilome, identified as the second richest pastor in Nigeria (Elite, 2006).

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Brainstorming on the Nigerian situation, Gbile (2011) observes that:

What is lacking in the present day Church is this fairness. There is no

fairness amidst God’s people again. The pastor is richer than everyone

in the Church. He displays his affluence. He gets many of the members

to run around for him alone and does not consider this as unfair

(p.210).

How the congregants have become economical with their offerings because of

incessant demands from pastor is further captured by Gbile in these words:

In many churches today, since pastors are used to raising offering

every Sunday, the congregation has also come to understand that

offerings are raised, not necessarily because God has asked for them

but because it has become a custom. So, the people have also become

very ‘wise’ now. They know that in every service, the pastor would

raise two or three offerings. Therefore, they would determine that no

matter what he says, they would not give beyond a certain amount.

They change their high denomination currencies to smaller ones. When

the Pastor calls them to dance forward and drop their offerings, the

people would dance forward and drop a small amount of money. All

the young men and ladies, who desire to go for disco dance but have

not been able, now grab that opportunity and dance to their hearts

content. As they dance forward and drop their little money, they go

back, sit down, waiting for next round (Gbile, 2011, P. 181).

This lengthy quotation seems to clarify that not all the numerous offerings

raised by pastors during every service are voluntary. It is also most probable that the

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offerings are becoming too frequent and too boring an exercise that eventually make

the people start noticing that those collections are going into the pastors’ personal

pocket otherwise the people would not have become suddenly wise in their giving.

But whatever is the case, it is observed that most Pentecostal pastors especially all the

presidents and founders of churches in Nigeria have really benefitted from this over

stress on money. Ibrahim (2013) confirms that “The neo-Pentecostal prosperity

gospel has gained and is still gaining ground in the country. Churches preaching

prosperity gospel have spread all over the country and abroad” (P.22) as a result of

materialism.

3.5.3 The 1980s Nigerian Socio-economic Condition.

Another major factor underlying the preaching of prosperity in Nigeria are

issues related to the Nigerian depressed economy. It is observed that Pentecostal

churches exploded numerically as from 1980s when Nigeria’s economic fortunes

experienced severe setbacks and slide (Gwamna, 2012). This led to severe negative

consequences on the people such as loss of jobs through retrenchments, growth in

unemployment rate and industrial strike actions. According to Magbadelo (2004), the

adversities provided a fertile ground for the planting, germination, growth and

balkanization of all forms of religion. This naturally heightens the people’s quest for

transcendent meaning and solutions in the face of suffering and discontentment. The

social tension that attended this economic recession makes life unbearable for most

Nigerian (Kunhiyop, 2001).

Isiramen (2007) observes that these socio-economic and political problems in

Nigeria resulted into psychological and physical trauma which somehow aggravated

the “neurosis” for most Nigerians whose living conditions have considerably

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deteriorated. She buttresses this by saying that it was probably under these conditions

that the Pentecostals presented themselves through their activities to be capable

therapists to the “neurotic conditions” in which many Nigerians found themselves.

The situation in the view of Nnamani (2007) conditioned people to grab the offer

made by Pentecostalism, even if it amounts only to a diversion therapy.

As it were, the Pentecostal prosperity preachers being so earth-bound

degenerate into a gospel of materialism by assuring the people that God has met all

their needs in the suffering and death of Jesus Christ and that he has destined success

for them in every area of their life: success in escaping death, in acquiring wealth and

in maintaining health. They stress that anything short of this is not their portion in this

life. As can be seen, the Pentecostal’s message of material prosperity appeals to the

generality of the people who see wealth and health, prestige and prosperity as the

ultimate in life and as obvious sign of divine favour. In this way, the prosperity

preachers narrowed down salvation to the here and now issues. This perhaps accounts

for the reason why most people patronized Pentecostal churches thereby making them

to proliferate in every nook and cranny of Nigeria in the 1980s. Thus, the people are

often caught in the vicious circle of their own gullibility.

As it happened, the Nigerian prosperity preachers took advantage of the

economic crisis and the pauperization, destitution and desperation that has become the

lot of the majority of Nigerians and carry out their prosperity preaching probably to

dig gold from people in Nigeria. They fascinate the rich with their promises for

security and protection as well as the poor with their promises of breakthroughs and

miracle of success (Ezeh, 2007). And since people are always in lack and are

constantly anxious about their lives, their future, insecurity and poverty, they are

easily brainwashed, duped and exploited by prosperity preachers owing to the

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allurements of these prosperity promises (Elue, 2007; Dim, 2007). According to

Nnamani (2007), this situation may not be totally untrue in view of the facts that

Nigeria as a country has been:

Under siege by harsh economic conditions: unemployment and

retrenchment galore, that project uncertainties and hopelessness into

the future; there are lots of social and political insecurities heightened

by corruption, lack of adequate health facilities, violent crimes and

political oppression (p. 24).

Naturally, these unpleasant circumstances always beg for solutions and usually

the simpler the solutions the better. Pentecostalism therefore by its very nature is

probably problem-solving and pragmatic oriented. It appears to be making its imprint

in the sand of time by responding meaningfully to the Socio-economic problems that

have plagued and bedevilled the Nigerian nation. Its prosperity preaching seems to be

a soothing balm in contemporary Nigeria where perhaps millions of its citizens are

under severe torture of poverty. According to Isiramen (2007):

The Nigerian nation is presently weighed down by huge external debts,

unemployment, mass retrenchment, armed robbery, assassinations,

disinvestments, collapse of infrastructures, food crisis, insecurity, over-

devalued national currency, homelessness, pervasive poverty,

demonstrations, closure of citadels of learning, strikes as well as

alienating and repressive economic policies. The apparent dismal

failure on the part of the government to arrest these unpalatable

circumstances has resulted in Nigerians seeking solutions from the

religious domain (p.283).

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It is observed that the Socio-economic and political problems in Nigeria have

rendered many Nigerians incapacitated materially and financially. This probably

paved ways for the emergence of the numerous prosperity preachers in Nigeria to

come up with messages of liberation with the sole aim of restoring the hope of the

people who have all along been depressed socially, economically and spiritually. The

Pentecostal preachers therefore, in their usual manner of preaching, attempt to spur

the minds of the people through their various prosperity emphases. Adopting a

pastoral care, they tend to assume an empirical posture by dishing out promises of

healing to all sorts of ailments and to making prosperity available to all (Oregbunam,

2007); thus filling a kind of social, emotional and spiritual vacuum that have been

created by such frustration, hardship, sickness, failure, disappointment, poverty,

hopelessness and all vagaries of life (Igwegbe, 2007).

Pam (2012) substantiates that:

The Pentecostal’s preach messages that arrest the situation on ground.

They preach messages that give people hope such as ‘You can make

it’, ‘There is hope for the hopeless’, ‘This is your season of harvest’,

‘Year of your laughter’, ‘Your turning point’, ‘You are a star’, ‘From

nobody to somebody’, ‘You are worshipping a rich God’, ‘God will

meet you at the point of your need’. These messages really spur the

minds of the people that are in need (p.243).

These captions of Pentecostals message tend to act as a tranquillizer to people

who perhaps have all along been passing through some emotional stress. They make

people to develop internal shock absorber to cope momentarily with their individual

and collective challenges while believing God for their total breakthrough in life.

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Being egoistic and economically extortive in orientation, prosperity preachers make

people to believe that the extent of their gaining favour from God depend on their

“sowing the seed of faith” (Dim, 2007). After this manner, most ministers, in the

words of Jibril (2012), “Hypnotize members and swindle them of their hard-earned

money in the name of sowing seed of faith for prosperity” (p. 2), using “catchy and

animating words” (Iheanacho, 2009, p.107). This makes Obiora (1998) to say that

“marketing God is fast becoming a top bracket business” (p. 47) and Nigeria is

“basically a money worshiping nation” (p. 88).

In his opinion, Olaopa (2012) asserts that such messages of prosperity

eventually became the staple spiritual nourishment for people whose tomorrow has

been compromised by bad governance. The prevailing circumstances in the country

gave rise to people like Benson Andrew Idahosa, David Olaniyi Oyedepo and a host

of others to salvage the Nigerian situation (Akoko, 2007). Both Idahosa and Oyedepo

testified that they have been commissioned by God with the mandate of liberating

Nigerians from the shackles of poverty. Idahosa speaks about his divine encounter

with God earlier on May 18, 1973 at 2:30 am but did not preach prosperity seriously

until mid-1980s when the reality of economic doldrums began to stare them on the

face (Ojo, 2006; Emeka, 2002). According to Benson Idahosa, God clearly spoke to

him the following words as expressed by Garlock (1978) thus:

The world and its people are complaining daily of poverty and want. I

have given you the mouth of miracles and blessings to my people. I

have asked the cashiers of heaven to be on duty as long as you have a

need for my own honor and glory. I shall supply all your needs

according to my riches in glory [Phil. 4:19]. Begin to bless your people

with all blessing; ask them to ask me anything they need, and I shall

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provide it for them. If only they will honor me with their wealth, I shall

make them to be prosperous in all areas of their lives...Go to the church

in the morning and tell them poverty died last night. What you bless on

earth is blessed in heaven (p.190).

Obasanjo (2009) concurs that Oyedepo similarly recounted his experience of

divine mandate of liberation. Oyedepo (2006) speaks about this liberation mandate

thus:

I was away in the United States of America in the summer of 1987 for

a series of speaking engagements when I had a unique encounter with

God in my hotel room which culminated in the delivery of another

mandate. This was in the early hours of August 26, 1987. While

getting out of bed to begin my morning devotion, the Spirit of the Lord

spoke clearly to me: “Arise get back home and make my people

rich”...I saw home as Africa not just Nigeria, where most people live

below the poverty line. I immediately arose...I abandoned all my

speaking engagements and rushed back home in obedience to this

mandate, and today to the glory of God, multitudes have been made

rich through the anointed teachings and diverse ministrations. This is

the root of the prosperity message of this ministry and the proofs are

all around today (p.21).

Oyedepo is one out of the numerous disciples of Idahosa in Nigeria with such

claim of having been commissioned by God to preach prosperity in order to alleviate

people hardship. But the question remains: Has Oyedepo been able to solve the

problems of people’s poverty in Nigeria? It seems that there are still many poor

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people even in his church who are lagging behind in terms of material wealth. Even

though some people somehow may have been made rich by Oyedepo, but how many

are they compare to millions that are still suffering as a result of poverty in Nigeria?

How may someone explain the situation of people who are naturally gifted by God

but are still poor materially?

Oyedepo upon receiving the mandate swing into action immediately by

starting to preach prosperity uncompromisingly. It is said of Oyedepo, that his

writings seems to betray the fact that abundant prosperity are there for people who

keenly followed a set formulae for ‘breakthroughs’. Any person therefore who runs

short of God’s blessings in his life is probably operating under a curse as perceived by

Oyedepo. Operating under a curse in the view of preachers of prosperity is to

experience perpetual “failure, poverty, unhappiness, and all forms of difficulty” (Ojo,

2013). Oyedepo further attributes the cause of people’s unfavourable circumstances to

either their carelessness or their deliberate refusal to obey the law of tithing and

sowing good seed for bumper harvest in the future (Oyedepo, 1995). According to

Isiramen (2007) this kind of conviction forms the basis for the prosperity preaching of

Pentecostal pastors in Nigeria.

It is a common knowledge that all the prosperity preachers maintain an

unshakable ground that God wills all believers to be materially rich and be over

comers in every human endeavour (Oyedepo, 2005; Ukpai, 2011). This present writer

rejects the Pentecostals claim of everybody becoming rich simply by obeying

Pentecostals prosperity principles in view of what the Scriptures say in Deut. 15:11

that: “There will always be poor in the land. Therefore I command you to be open

handed toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land”. This issue

will be discussed in much detail shortly. But Achunike (2002) observes that “The

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avidity for money has engulfed the present-day man and woman. Everybody seems to

be in a hurry to make money and by all means” (p.71). He maintains that this

commercialization of Christianity has shown no signs of stopping; rather, it is daily

increasing and one wonders whether it will ever stop. It seems therefore that the

Pentecostals of Nigeria have been carried away by their deep desire for materialism.

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CHAPTER FOUR

IDEOLOGY OF PROSPERITY PREACHERS IN NIGERIA

Prosperity preaching is characterized by a set of ideas or beliefs which the

proponents of this gospel promote as they propagate it. These ideologies significantly

influenced people’s general behaviours, interpretations and understanding of

prosperity. The critical concern of this chapter is to subject these ideologies and

principles to a closer scrutiny.

4.1 Distinctiveness of Prosperity Preaching in Nigeria

Theologically speaking, it seems almost impossible to clearly delineate the

distinctive characteristics or doctrinal emphases of prosperity gospel in Nigeria. This

problem stems from the facts that the doctrinal emphases of prosperity do not present

itself as a written theology. The prosperity theology of the Pentecostals is always

woven in or interspersed with other doctrines especially that of healing. Prosperity

teaching seems to be a rhetorical and experiential teaching in which the appeal is as

much tied to the language used and the personality of the proponent as to the

theological content (Young, 2005). Another noticeable hitch in evolving a coherent

and logical system of doctrine of prosperity lies in the considerable variations that

exist between the promoters of prosperity. But the general orientation and tendency

among preachers of prosperity is that they tend to embark on teaching that geared

towards enhancing “the quality of life and to empower the individual for achieving

success in life” (Ojo, 2013). Ojo in the same breath observes that the emphasis on

success and prosperity emerged as a distinct doctrinal emphasis in the mid-1980s and

is associated with the ministry of Benson Idahosa.

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Success in Pentecostal’s perspective is intertwined with prosperity. In order to

be prosperous, a believer needs to be successful and being successful defines the

external contours of prosperity (Kuponu, 2007). Success and prosperity are perceived

among the Pentecostals as forms of healing when the Christian overcomes failure,

poverty and backwardness, and lives a life of sufficiency and abundance (Ojo, 2013).

To Adeyinka (2000) prosperity for a child of God is enjoying “Peace, joy, enough

provision, sound health, abundant blessings, marital bliss and fulfilling jobs” (p.vii).

Prosperity, conceived as being very successful and prosperous, is said to be a legal

right of the believer which is entered into as a result of a covenant relationship with

God. In this type of belief, it seems that there is nothing like if it is the will of God.

Prosperity is summed up by Oyedepo as “A condition of being successful, in which

one enjoys abundant peace, and experiences fulfilment in every area of life. It is a

state of wellbeing which one enters into through the covenant of abundant” (Kuponu,

2007, p.105). In a similar parlance, Oyedepo again defines prosperity as “a state of

well being in your spirit and body. It is the ability to use God’s power to meet every

need of men...In prosperity, you enjoy a life of plenty and fulfilment. Prosperity is a

state of being successful in life on a big scale” (Ojo. 2006, p.206). In Pentecostals’

belief, prosperity begins with the prosperity of the soul that comes with repentance

and the new birth. Although material prosperity emanates from God, the source of all

things but man has a responsibility to trigger it up through the work of his hands.

Having said this, it needs be clarified that although the emphasis of prosperity

appears to dominate prominently in Pentecostals’ teaching, it is but a part of the core

belief systems of Pentecostal churches. As noticed, Pentecostal churches of the

holiness background like the RCCG and the Deeper Life among others tend to adopt

the emphasis on prosperity moderately in addition to other existing core emphasis. In

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this case, prosperity emphasis seems to linger on in those churches as a particular

response to the social and economic needs of the people rather than as a structural

belief (Ukah, 2003). It is glaring that there are certain common elements seen in the

teaching of prosperity preachers in Nigeria which Young (2005) identified and in

which this work also aligns itself to as the cardinal emphases of prosperity. These are

being discussed here as distinctive features of prosperity preaching in Nigeria. This

section unfolds under the following sub-headings namely:

4.1.1 Foundational Affirmations

The Pentecostals affirm first and foremost that all Christians by virtue of their

relationship with God have the right and even the responsibility to be prosperous in all

areas of life. Prosperity as held is to be experienced by believers in all its form. All

the Pentecostal churches affirm that God wants his people to be financially prosperous

beyond merely having “enough” (Olson, 2013). This financial prosperity in the

perspective of Olson, like physical healing, is available through positive faith which is

spoken without doubt. This teaching has its roots in the 19th century New Thought

especially as taught first by Charles and Myrtle Fillmore, founders of Unity before

Phineas P. Quimby and E. W. Kenyon copiously copied from it. These thinkers taught

that prosperity is every person’s potential blessing which is available through a

spiritual technology called “Affirmations”. It is speculated that the Pentecostal

prosperity gospel has cultic origin which is built on New Thought (Okwori, 1996;

Achunike, 2007). According to Olson (2013) “Kenneth Hagin was steeped in

Kenyon’s teachings and passed them on to other Pentecostal prosperity preachers and

evangelists” (p.2). So by drawing from the various New Thought teachers, the

concept of “power of positive thinking emerged” culminated into the power of

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positive speaking. By implication, it is held that healing and financial prosperity can

be spoken into existence through “affirmations” which is positive sayings.

Prominent Nigerian prosperity preachers like Idahosa (1987); Adeboye

(1989); Kumuyi (1990) and Oyedepo (2010) among several others have since keyed

into this line of teaching. Ojo (2006) confirms that “The most notable prosperity

preachers in Nigeria include the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa, Bishop David

Oyedepo, Rev. Francis Wale Oke, Rev. Chris Okotie...and Bishop Mike Okonkwo”

(p.207). They all emphasize that believers in Christ are all destined to enjoy God’s

abundant fullness. Kumuyi (2013) particularly declares that:

It is an infallible truth that God takes delight in the prosperity of His

children...Because God desires that His children prosper, He has drawn

an all-inclusive plan for our prosperity - material, financial, physical,

spiritual and otherwise...Prosperity is your legal right as a child of God

and He will prosper you (p.1).

For Ukah (2003) the conceptualization of prosperity by Adeboye is three-

dimensional: (i) material comfort and wellbeing; (ii) health and healthy living and;

(iii) salvation of the soul. This is a conception that is based on 3John2. Adeboye

(1989) interprets material comfort and wellbeing to imply cars, houses, clothes, land

and anything that money can buy. He reiterates that God wants Christians to prosper

in every sector of life which includes physical, material, mental and spiritual

(Adeboye, 2011). Corroborating this, Ojo (2013) confirms that the Pentecostals

“Believe that Christians must be wealthy; hence material success measured by owning

big cars, nice clothing and fat bank deposits as the mark of true spirituality” (p.12).

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As convincing as this Pentecostals claim may seem, there is a concern about

the Pentecostals position. This line of teaching in all probability is bound to give rise

to serious pastoral and theological problems. It is worrisome that it appears as if the

Pentecostals prosperity gospel is not really liberating people from their impoverished

conditions. It is most probable that their prosperity gospel is not so much providing

the prosperity it claims for all believers in Christ. But time and again, Christians are

persistently being encouraged to aim at success in every endeavour. Those who

probably failed to be successful are blamed for not appropriating prosperity message

correctly. Olson (2013) buttresses this point thus:

The consequence of the prosperity gospel is believing that those who

try it and remain in poverty are themselves solely responsible for their

poverty. They simply don’t have sufficient faith or haven’t spoken the

right words powerfully enough...If they just have enough faith and

spoke financial prosperity into existence, they would be rich! (pp. 3-4).

On the basis of this claim, most Christians in the eyes of prosperity teachers

who are probably lacking in material goods are therefore condemned and blamed for

their remaining poor, indicative of the fact that those Christians are clearly operating

outside of God’s will, the reason for their penury. For the prosperity preachers, there

is nothing wrong with their theology of prosperity. To their minds, their prosperity

theology is so perfect that if anyone could faithfully observe it, it will guarantee one

the much desired breakthroughs in life. It can thus be deciphered in view of this

analysis that the prosperity gospel seems to be giving people some kind of false hope

in something which God did not promise. It is not everything that one may possess on

earth. God only meets people’s needs and not their wants. So, this work makes bold to

dismiss some of the Pentecostals’ claim of achieving everything by simply operating

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within the Pentecostal principle of success because it is not rational. It is equally

unbiblical. Some of God’s blessings come through hard work.

4.1.2 Faith as Positive Confession

Prosperity doctrine is based upon a belief in the unified power of faith and the

tongue. Faith in the view of prosperity preachers remain an important factor; an

instrument for receiving material blessing from God. It is often stressed that it is ones’

faith in God that makes God to deliver resounding prosperity to the individual. Faith

in the thought of preachers of prosperity is such a force that once it is put to use God

has no option than to respond quickly to the individual. This force of faith is to be

wielded by individual believers for their prosperity. In the scheme of thought of

Oyedepo (1985) “Faith becomes a creative force when it finds expression in words

that are spoken” (p.18). Faith is thus expressed through ones’ confession. Faith speaks

“I believed, therefore I have spoken” (Towns, 2008). This implies that the speaking of

the words of faith is a function of the reality that is to be created, that is words spoken

in faith will always come to pass. This view suggests that reality, whether good or bad

is created with the words of the mouth. According to prosperity preachers, the mouths

of believers are great assets or tools available to the believers at all times for their

effective use. With it, the world of prosperity and abundance is created by simply

producing audible meaningful sounds. This also means that unnecessary or negative

words are also to be avoided otherwise those meaningless words will produce

unpleasant situation. For Price (1992) a negative confession nullifies the blessings of

the word of God on a believer. This is probably what informed Oyedepo (1992)’s

speculation about the mouth thus:

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Your mouth is a weapon of authority ordained by God to keep you in

perfect dominion. It is your instrument for the exercise of supernatural

authority. You must make distinct sounds with your mouth concerning

what you desire before you can see a sign in that direction. Every sign

and wonder is a direct product of a sound (p.76).

Price (1992) again maintains that “Confession is saying, and saying is

confession” (p.15). Confession involves naming it, claiming it and taking it. This is

probably why Mills (2011) remarks that “Name it, claim it and take it”, is simply a

descriptive term for exercising your faith” (p.1). Every Christian is expected not only

to have faith but to also exercise it by verbalizing the words of faith. Positive

confession is what will bring wealth as held by prosperity preachers because

according to them faith-filled words are power force which is conductive and so

changes things (Copeland, 1989). This supports the Pentecostals claim that whatever

one says is certain to come about. To this, it is added that if humans have faith in God,

he will deliver his promises of security and prosperity. Confessing these promises to

be true are perceived to be an act of faith, which God will honor. This, in the opinion

of Young (2005) leads to popular slogans as “Name it and claim it”, “believe it and

receive it” and “what you say is what you get” (p.7). This again is an error because it

is not everything one declares that comes to pass if that thing is not in the will of God.

It is seen that the Pentecostals most of the times merely exercise a materialistic faith

which is probably not in conformity with God’s perfect will for his people.

4.1.3 Giving and Receiving

Giving is a very important concept among the Pentecostals of Nigeria.

Nigerian prosperity gospellers state that prosperity is impossible without giving. As

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observed by Adelaja (2009) giving is the main emphasis in the theology of prosperity

preachers. The driving force behind this emphasis on giving is what Tilton (1983)

refers to as the “Law of Compensation”. Ukpabio (2009) similarly sees it as “Divine

Compensation”. As emphasized, the major key to prosperity is giving. When one

gives as taught by preachers of prosperity, one receives back from God in a

hundredfold in return (Copeland, 1978). In this way, giving is seen not as an end in

itself, but also as a potential avenue for the material enrichment of the giver (Young,

2005). Giving, says Oyedepo (2010) “is the key to receiving Heaven’s increments.

Without it, God has no access to you, because His law states that there can be no

harvest without first planting a seed” (P.84). This teaching on giving is anchored on

Luke 6:38, 2 Cor. 9:6 and Eccles. 11:1 among other passages.

Receiving, says Stewart (2009) begins with giving because there are no short

cuts to it. In his view, nothing happens until somebody gives something to God and

the more one gives the more one receives. Stewart reiterates that “To a large extent

you control how much God can bless you by how much material you give Him to

work with” (p.91). This connotes in the opinion of prosperity proponents that any

Christian who faithfully give to God and keep the laws of prosperity ensures health,

riches and honours (Agunwanba, 2007). Adekoya (2009) affirms that “Giving is what

prepares you for receiving” (p.20). For giving is living (Oyedepo, 2013). Oyedepo

opines that when one stops giving; one starts dying immediately. Adeboye (2001)

teaches that when one begins to give extraordinarily, one will begin to receive

extraordinarily. In the opinion of Adeboye, giving is a key that opens the door of

abundance. Again, he says when one is giving, it is like loading ones’ cloud and when

the cloud is full then it is going to fall down as rain of abundance. This naturally leads

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to “a cycle of ever-increasing prosperity” (Jones, 2006, p. 4). According to Fomum

(1988):

Giving to the Lord is a sowing process. You reap according to how

much you sow and the quality of what your seeds are...If we sow our

best, we shall receive a hundredfold of God’s best, if we sow left-

overs, we shall receive a hundredfold of God’s left-overs. Be careful

what you give to God. Give Him the best, the topmost, and you shall

always have the topmost (p.28).

It is obvious as noted by Achunike (2007) that “Giving with a difference is

basic in Pentecostal churches. Prosperity exponents urge their audience to give and

give and give. It is called seed sowing. And if one does not sow, one automatically

fails to reap” (p.91). In proving this point, Oyedepo (1997) teaches that by defaulting

on tithes which to him is “an inescapable covenant obligation that will bring with it an

almost irredeemable financial curse” (p.187) because “prosperity is impossible

without tithe” (p.189). As if to substantiate this postulation, Diara (2011) expresses

that “It is emphasized that members should pay their tithes regularly so as to obtain

financial breakthrough. Steady payment of tithes is a prerequisite for achieving

prosperity, and the tithes end up in the pockets of the ‘men of God’ (64). This

statement may not be completely untrue as Dickson (2014) authenticates that the

overemphasis on tithes and the quick response of members to its payments make “The

pastors’ income appears to be soaring” (p.3).

It may probably be true that giving leads to prosperity as claimed by

prosperity preachers. Although, many have testified positively that their giving leads

to increment in their resources which in a way validates Pentecostal’s teaching on

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giving before receiving. But it is not always true that those who give out something

with the mind to receive actually received something proportionate to their

expectation. Why is it so if it is all about giving to receive? Pentecostals equally claim

that it is only when someone becomes born again and practice the law of prosperity

that God prospers him. How about those countries like Japan and China among others

whom majority of them are not born again and do not serve God but are yet very rich

in material things? The truth of the matter is that God generally prospers his creatures

whether they give to him or not. The Pentecostals claim seem not to hold muster

because whether one gives or not, if one works assiduously toward success, the

individual in question may likely attain success. Another important fact is that if God

wills, a hard working person will be successful irrespective of the person’s religious

inclination. God ordinarily seems to reward all hard work with success. Again, if

riches are dependent upon Pentecostals’ principles of giving and receiving, why then

are there rich farmers in the rural areas, where probably prosperity gospel is not

preached? As can be noticed, prosperity is all about God blessing his creatures

unconditionally out of his unmerited favour.

4.1.4 Poverty and Sickness

The prosperity gospellers see poverty and sickness as something that can be

escaped by Christians. Poverty in the belief of prosperity preachers is a curse. Curses

in their opinion prevent progress in life and are the reason for physical and spiritual

bondage and failures. A curse can be placed on an individual either by God, the devil

or humans. In Pentecostals’ scheme of thought as Ukah (2003) puts it “Poverty could

be a curse in a different sense. It could be as a result of the accumulation of past

actions or inactions” (p.186) which the Pentecostals often qualified as likely non-

payment of tithes (Dickson, 2014). So, being in poverty or in sickness is something

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that can be blamed on the individual who is in that condition. In a sense, those who

suffer are in a state of sin or in disobedience to God as taught by prosperity preachers.

Christians therefore have the responsibilities to claim their prosperity by first obeying

God through covenant of abundance in tithing and for setting themselves free from

every clutch of Satan.

It is on record that Benson Andrew Idahosa “Taught that poverty and want are

not the lot of his God but that of the devil and that any person living under the

bondage of poverty and want needs deliverance from the possession of the devil”

(Okwueze, 2012, pp.114-115). Idahosa was said to have applied exorcism as a method

of attacking the evil spirit of poverty and want. From this, one can glean that poverty

is a spirit that has to be dealt with if one must navigate his way to prosperity. This

means that deliverance is a must for those experiencing poverty for their emancipation

from it.

According to Ojo (2006), this Pentecostals’ position may have been

responsible for their emphases on deliverance and prosperity. It is thought that

Christians have to be empowered in order to deal with their personal problems and

those of the society. This is to go a long way in enhancing their enjoyment and life

expectancy. In doing this, the Pentecostals linked all abnormalities in life to their

traditional African background. So, in their determination to deliver themselves,

“Efforts are concentrated to remove such past negatives, which if not removed,

prevent progress into the spiritual present” (Ojo 2006, p.209). In his observation,

Young (2005) acknowledges that “There is great emphasis on the activity of Satan

and demons in the hindrance of prosperity, especially in the area of health. Hence the

need to get rid of any demon of poverty before true prosperity can be experienced”

(p.9). This deliverance requires the personal faith of the person in need of prosperity

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to be effective. The prayer for deliverance employed words in the negative such as

‘pull down’, ‘destroy’, ‘bind’, ‘render powerless’ and a host of others. The prosperity

preachers interpret sickness and backwardness in cultural terms and seek deliverance

from them as a way to part with their past for meaningful progress in the present. To

effect a positive change, the evil spirit that hinders or impoverishes Christians is to be

done away with completely. This invariably will pave ways for prosperity. This

prosperity is perceived by prosperity preachers in positive terms. Hence, appropriate

vocabularies such as ‘claim’, ‘accept’, ‘enjoy’, ‘sow and reap’ and ‘possess’ among

others are incorporated.

Viewed from another angle, Folarin (2007) thinks that:

The manner in which charismatic bodies teach the prosperity gospel

can be dangerous. It over-estimates Satan and his power and at times

the teaching approaches dualism. Such a teaching can produce bondage

instead of deliverance. Again, this wrongly relieves men of

responsibility for their sins, and their problems. All the blame is now

shifted to the devil and his agents. Overemphasizing material

prosperity endangers the great traditional themes like love of God,

sacrifice of Jesus and grace (p.13).

Olukoya (2008) in emphasizing the important of deliverance to achieve

prosperity remarks that a man can have a lot of money, but the power that will

swallow the money is already in his pocket. He identifies these powers to be

devourers, little foxes, cankerworms, sicknesses and death, just to mention but a few.

In his approach to the matter more personally, Olukoya reiterates that it is imperative

that Christians develop perfect hatred for poverty at all times and to take an

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aggressive step by praying “Poverty-destroying prayers. You must pray against the

spirit of poverty with holy aggression” (Olukoya, 2008, p.46). It is only after then that

one has to follow this prayer up with “Confessions for prosperity until prosperity

becomes a glorious possibility in your life...The power of the spoken word is a tool

which poverty cannot resist” (Olukoya, 2006, p.126). This position of Olukoya is

subject to further scrutiny by researchers.

4.2 Principles/Laws of Prosperity

Every existing game has got its own rules of operation. Prosperity as a

phenomenon seems to have some guiding principles or laws governing it. These

principles or keys to achieving prosperity have been searched by many who aspire to

gain material wealth. In his declaration, Stewart (2009) opines that “The Bible is full

of suggestions and rules for obtaining blessings from God” (p.114). Based on these

various biblical suggestions on how to access God’s blessings, prosperity preachers

cunningly propounded series of prosperity principles or laws to be followed as being

pathways to prosperity. These principles appear very flexible as no rigid criterion was

adopted in formulating what different preachers of prosperity came up with as

prosperity laws. As has been observed, each of these prosperity preachers seems to

share his or her individual experiences or revelations of what should constitute keys to

achieving prosperity. The probability is high that God reveals principles or laws of

prosperity at different epochs in history, if truly he reveals them. As noticed too, most

of the principles in use vary from preacher to preacher. This lack of uniformity in

prosperity principles most probably explains the very nature of spiritual laws of which

prosperity principle is just a part.

The fact that God is Spirit and that his revelation to human kind about his acts

and ways is gradual shows that no single preacher on earth can claim to have a

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monopoly of knowledge of God’s complete revelation about prosperity for all ages.

God’s ways are mysterious. They are not man’s ways. The laws that govern spiritual

things are not just the same that governed the physical things. Copeland (1974) attests

that the laws of prosperity which God gave to him were from God’s own Word, the

Bible. Stewart (2009) remarks that God’s master plan works when one persistently

follows its simple principles with sincere faith in God. By implication, this signifies

that prosperity principles which were at one time or the other revealed to a preacher,

and who in turn observe it faithfully and found it to be very effective may not

necessarily work for another preacher who refuses to adhere strictly to it at that

particular time or another period in history. There exist different principles of

prosperity just as there are quite a great number of prosperity preachers in the world

today. Each of these preachers claimed to have received one principle or the other

from the Lord and each prosperity principle is based on ones’ personal studies,

revelation and conviction on the subject.

According to Allen (2011) “Prosperity is at first a spirit, an attitude of mind, a

moral power, a life, which manifests outwardly in the form of plenty, happiness, joy”

(p.120). This is foundational to understanding the various principles of prosperity

scrutinized in this study. Hence, it is safe to say that there is no single route to

prosperity which is certainly the reason for the numerous keys to it. Based on this

fact, it is impossible therefore for this study to come up with well defined principles

or laws of prosperity. Rather, what this present work does is to sample some of the

cardinal principles or laws of prosperity as surveyed from the volumes of literature

produced by prosperity exponents and examine them more closely. Interestingly, the

likes of Copeland (1974), Peale (1993), Amaga (1997; 2003), Oke (2001), Adeboye

(2002), Hagin (2002), Pringle (2005), Stewart (2009), Oyedepo (1998; 2007) among

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several others all bare their minds on the major principles or keys to prosperity which

are being investigated here.

As taught by preachers of prosperity, obtaining God’s blessings is a matter of

one’s carefulness and strict observance of prosperity principles and rules. Amaga

(1997) asserts that if any man does not have God’s light or knowledge on prosperity,

that person will keep struggling with the issue of attaining prosperity without positive

outcome. For Amaga, any person who simply lacks what to run with, may not easily

access God’s abundant prosperity. So in order to enjoy God’s super abundant

prosperity, seekers of prosperity need to dutifully observe prosperity laws identified

by prosperity preachers as covenant children of God to enjoy the prosperity. In a

general way, Ojo (2013) confirms that most preachers of prosperity often provide the

principles or keys to utilise in entering the covenant of prosperity. These have been

identified to include: dreaming big, believing, obedience to God’s command, sowing

seed sacrificially, partaking in miracle meal, positive confession, using anointing oil,

claiming the power in the blood of Jesus among several others (Awolola, 2003;

Oyedepo, 2010; Iloputaife, 1996; Idahosa, 1987). No law seems to be independent of

the other. It appears that one law of prosperity leads to the other laws. Outstanding

among these principles are:

4.2.1 Be a Faithful Tither

The principle of faithful payment of tithes is top most of the prosperity

principles. Tithing is considered the most familiar financial subject to Christians

(Copeland, 1974). Peale (1993) remarks that the principle of tithing runs through the

Bible like a gold cord which is said to have been proven by many people hundreds of

years to be financially rewarding. The workability of this principle in the view of

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Peale is that when people faithfully give to God ten percent of their gross income,

amazing blessings pour in. Tithing is a covenant issue, says Oke (2001). It is stressed

that to be a covenant proof of God’s blessings, one is expected to consciously obey

this principles of tithing. According to Amaga (2003) “Tithe paying is God’s principle

of outpouring of blessings. It is a principle not only of outpouring but of sustaining

the outpouring of blessings” (pp.154-155). Adekoya (2004) agrees that “Tithing is a

covenant exercise that commands open heavens and God’s down pour of abundance”

(p.14). The benefits that come with faithful and consistent tithing in the view of

Adekoya (2009) are abundant prosperity, abundant blessings, abundant grace,

abundant life, abundant power, abundant peace, overflowing riches, divine

providence, full and fulfilling joy, promise of protection and safety, promise of long

life, promise of generational blessings, promise of blessing of distinction and a host of

others.

Pondering on the subject of tithing, Copeland (1974) declares that “Tithing is

an investment in God” (p.74). Tithing to his mind is the part of one’s income that

belongs to God which goes directly to God. A tither is said to enjoy certain privileges

which non tither do. In tithing as Copeland (1974) conceives of it “You are laying the

foundation for financial success and abundance. You are establishing deposits with

God that can be used when you need them” (p.79). It is re-echoed that the fastest or

surest way to break any standing curse with God is to start paying tithes. This, it is

said, will liberate one from every financial hardship by reason of God’s Supernatural

power being active on one’s behalf.

Oyedepo (1997) maintains that God’s rain of plenty is only released on people

on the basis of their insight into the workings of the covenant of blessing. By this, it is

meant that those who do not pay their tithes cannot escape poverty. This is because,

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overflowing abundance is by giving, Oyedepo reiterated. Tithing in the opinion of

Oyedepo is insurance against destruction in whatever form. Oyedepo is reported to

have assured his followers that if “They do not pay their tithes, they will be harassed

by devourers: frequent car breakdowns, losses, sickness and so on are all

manifestations of the devourer” (Adeleye, 2011, P. 93).

Hill (2002) intimates that to default in tithes payment is tantamount to robbing

God directly. He added that bank robbers, in the real sense of the word may have

more respect in the sight of God than tithe defaulters who is flagrantly robbing God.

For Hill, it is dangerous to sit by non-tithers in the Church because they might find it

easier to rob their fellow human beings. In his observation, Adjeman (1995) reiterates

that “Stealing is different from robbing. To rob means applying force to take that

which does not belong to you...One steals when no one can see. You rob in the

presence of the victim” (pp.3-4).

In the perspective of Adeboye (2003):

Anyone who is not paying his or her tithes fully is not going to

Heaven. Some people have taught you that if you do not pay your

tithes, God will not give you blessings. This is true, but a little more

serious. You do not pay your tithes; you do not go to Heaven. Why?

Because there are no robbers in Heaven. The Bible calls those who do

not pay their tithes robbers in Mal. 3:8 (P. 44).

It is evident from this assertion that there seems to be a shift in the emphasis

about tithing. The emphasis on tithing is not only for the sake of material blessings of

the people, but for them to be able to make it to Heaven. The central focus for tithing

is for RCCG members to consider tithing as both a passport to Heaven as well as

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source of their earthly prosperity. This posture of RCCG may not be unconnected to

the church’s foundation on holiness.

Be that as it may, Ukpong (2008) observes that:

The principle of tithing as an essential requirement to make Heaven

Shows how important the issue has become in the Redeemed Christian

Church of God in particular and Nigerian Pentecostalism in general.

Tithing is not practiced only by the RCCG but the temptation to

consider tithing as a passport to Heaven, and source of earthly wealth

is definitely not in harmony with the religious sensibility of many

Christians (P.130).

However the belief, the fact is that tithing has remained a great source of

revenue generation for churches in contemporary Nigeria (Kitause and Achunike,

2013). While some Christians willingly observe tithing as an obligation to God out of

their own volition, many do it out of fear or threat from their pastors, some do it out of

sheer sympathy for their pastors, (at least to find food for them since in their thinking

pastors are jobless individuals who only go into full-time ministry just to look for

their daily food). This line of reasoning may or may not be correct. Others practice it

because they see other people simply paying tithes without understanding the nitty-

gritty of tithing. For the last group of people, they just want to join the current trend of

things in the Church just to be identified by their pastors or to appear fashionable.

According to Dickson (2014), “The prosperity-preaching pastors are using fear, guilt,

and ignorance as a means to manipulate their members into giving more and more of

their scarce income while the pastors live high on the hog” (p.2).

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This speculation may not be totally baseless as it is noted by Gbile (2011) that

there seems to be unfairness in the way cash flows in churches in Nigeria currently.

According to him what is lacking in the present day Church is this fairness. There

seems to be no fairness amidst God’s people again. He discovers that the pastor is

richer than everyone else in the Church and goes ahead to display his affluence by

getting many of the Church members to run around for him alone and does not

consider this as unfair. This is particularly true of most founders of Pentecostal

churches in Nigeria. Although, this view has been contested that founders of

Pentecostal churches are made rich by God without necessarily exploiting the people

just like other biblical leaders such as Abraham, Jacob, David and Solomon (W.

Lamu, Personal Communication, April 7, 2015). But it seems convincing that the

exhibition of pastors’ affluence speaks volumes in convincing everyone that most

pastors in Nigeria are not altogether blameless from the accusation of swindling their

church members in order to be rich given the way tithes and offertory are emphasize

and practiced in today’s Christendom.

4.2.2 Giving Willingly and Generously

Generous giving is a hallmark of a prosperous person in Pentecostals’ belief.

The Pentecostals seem to practice generous giving more willingly than the mainliners

in Nigeria. Some Pentecostals are philanthropists. This might be as a result of their

repeated teachings on giving freely. No wonder, there are so many prosperity

preaching churches today that are currently engaged in poverty alleviation

programmes and other social services in Nigeria (Kitause, 2014). The Pentecostals are

being taught consistently about cheerful giving in order to be blessed by God. Most of

them have imbibed that culture of purposeful giving to God as well as to their

fellowship brethren. They are taught that being blessed is for the purpose of becoming

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a blessing to other people. Giving to God and to man when the call is made is an

opportunity for one’s personal blessings too.

A prosperity seeker needs not to be cajoled to give before one gives, it is

frequently emphasized. The Pentecostals are constantly being reminded that God

blesses an ever willing heart. So whoever cares to prosper in this life must faithfully

practice the act of giving continuously as a necessary requirement for prosperity. For

in giving, God has provided a level playing field of opportunity for everyone to be

blessed materially beyond measure. This is in consonance with Pringle (2005)”s

position: “Giving is God’s way...It is God’s multilevel marketing plan for success”

(pp.25-26).

Prosperity preachers educate their members that offering is generally a love

gift to God. Offering is not the same as tithing in Pentecostals’ belief because offering

is generally a kind of wilful giving to God after payment of tithes. Ball (2003) asserts

that “As New Testament believers, our giving really only begins after we have tithed

to our local church” (p.23). In offering, one demonstrates the degree of one’s love to

God. In showing one’s love, one is to give without getting tired or without

complaining. This worldview probably encourages the prosperity preachers to devise

different named offerings to be collected in most of the meetings of the churches

(Ugwueye, 2002). These numerous offerings are seriously putting smiles on the faces

of founders of churches in Nigeria. The proceeds from one named offering become a

temptation to create other named offerings (Idama, 2000; Adeyemo, 2011).

The teachers of prosperity teach that the principle of generous giving works.

They maintain that prosperity is a matter of giving out willingly, cheerfully and

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generously. Good health and wealth to their minds does not just come graciously, it

takes sowing the “Seed of faith”. To the Pentecostals, as Ibrahim (2013) observes:

To “sow a seed” is to donate money generously through the faithful

payment of tithes and offering to their ministries in order to reap the

harvest in the future. Offering times is often called “blessing time”,

with the exhortation that those who give bountifully will receive

bountifully and those who give sparingly or refuse to give will face

threatening curses. The more the seed, the more the harvest (P.18).

Ibrahim adds that to the Pentecostals, God is a “money multiplier”.

How tithing, offering and seed sowing have suddenly become hub in the

activities of Nigerian Christianity and are practised in the Pentecostal churches in

Nigeria is really captivating and inviting. Gbile (2011) condemns the overemphasis on

money other than focusing attention on the preaching of messages that will transform

the lives of Nigerian Christians. Gbile (2011) remarks that “It is not even about giving

money to win a greater income, as it is preached by the prosperity preachers of our

day...Giving that only emphasizes how rich you will become, is not the pattern we see

in Christ Jesus” (pp. 202-203). Prosperity in the opinion of Gbile comes when one

releases his or her life selflessly in service to God and to the brethren. Gbile reiterates

that giving should not be one-sided as these preachers preach. He worries about the

way cash flows in the Church nowadays, which appears to be the major concernof

some preachers.

But whatever is the case, it is observed that most Pentecostal pastors

especially all the presidents and founders of churches in Nigeria have really benefitted

from this over stress on money (Ojo, 1998; Agha, 2012). According to Cunningham

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(1998) “Christians suffer in their giving and the ministers who receive continue to

build their kingdoms, drive in their luxurious cars, and live in extravagant homes”

(p.1). He cautions that there is nothing wrong with a minister having these things but

not at the expense of others. Ibrahim (2013) confirms that “The neo-Pentecostal

prosperity gospel has gained and is still gaining ground in the country. Churches

preaching prosperity gospel have spread all over the country and abroad” as a result of

materialism (P.22).

4.2.3 Be a Covenant Builder

The Pentecostals are encouraged to be covenant builders if they must

experience the real blessings of God in their lives. To become a covenant builder for a

covenant blessing, Christians must necessarily distinguish themselves through

wisdom and industriousness in ensuring that their local assemblies are structurally

built with the latest architectural design; have decent facilities for use in worshipping

God and to be spiritually sound (Oke, 2001). Members have to be up and doing in

meeting the day to day needs of their churches. They are to consciously make

financial input to advancing the work of God after their obligatory payment of tithes

and offering (Amaga, 1997). God is said to take special interest in those covenant

builders who in spite of their personal challenges hazardously sacrificed additional

resources to meeting every need of the Church. The popular Scripture for this

category of covenant builders is “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due

season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).

It is promised that as one keeps giving, “God will send the blessings of

prosperity cascading into your life” (Stewart, 2009, p.117). In relation to this, Ukpai

(2011) has this to say “God promised to prosper our giving...Give regularly not

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occasionally, to be a covenant giver, there must be consistency in giving. Remember,

every piece of gold kept away from God, will keep you away from Him” (pp.24, 30).

Though, this might sound very convincing, but Adelaja (2009) thinks differently.

Adelaja expresses that true prosperity comes not just when we give but also when we

know the laws of money and discipline ourselves to abide by them. This, to his

assessment is the difference between being rich and poor. He maintains that although

there is an important place for the law of giving, it is only one of many laws. By itself,

it will fail to make anyone sustainably wealthy.

4.2.4 Investing in the Gospel

There is an investment Christians can make by their involvement in spreading

the gospel throughout the world. This is endeavouring to obey the Great Commission

of Jesus Christ as stated in Mark 16:15 which says “Go ye into all the world, and

preach the gospel to every creature”. What it means by Pentecostals to support the

gospel here is that supporting the gospel is joining force with other people to make the

world become a better place for people to live in. Supporting the preaching of the

Gospel is helping in solving both the world and life’s multitudinous problems (Oke,

2001). Anyone who does this automatically becomes true world changers as preached

by prosperity preachers. It is said that there is nothing that changes men like the

glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ. Therefore anyone who is willingly sponsoring the

gospel with his money offers a hurting world brilliant hope to grapple effectively with

their issues in life. Another area of investment is supporting ministries that carry out

the job of teaching God’s people to enable them function effectively in spiritual

affairs. This is probably the premise on which Christian faith is being sustained

globally. Copeland (1974) testifies that “The most productive form of investing is a

steady, regular investment into solid business. There is nothing more solid than God’s

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work! Begin to be a regular investor. Be faithful to it” (p.84). He makes the point

clearly that every man who invests into the gospel has a right to expect the staggering

return of one hundredfold of God’s blessings.

4.2.5 Giving to the Poor

The Pentecostals believe that identifying with the downtrodden of the society

is equivalent to lending money to God directly with handsome pay back in the nearer

future. The poor are regarded as special set of people that God sets his eyes on daily.

The unvarnished truth is that the poor lacks the basic means to live satisfactorily like

the rich in the society. This makes their daily dependence on God to be unavoidable

and absolute. So, they cry moment by moment to God for their sustenance. Giving to

the poor is taken to be a very great service to God as well as to the human kind. It is

taught that to touch the big heart of God for an embarrassing blessing, one is expected

to consciously plan and give something to the poor to relieve them of their burdens.

The Pentecostals are taught that it is the greatest disservice for believers in Christ to

intentionally close their eyes or hearts towards those in need in the society. In view of

the fact that the poor are always within reach, calls for serious resolve on the part of

Christians to make their sincere almsgiving go up to God as a memorial for him to

respond positively to them as he did to Cornelius in Acts 10: 4.

4.2.6 Having High Regard for Spiritual Leaders and Partnering with them

The principle of respecting, honouring and partnering with men of God is said

to work for those who key into it by faith. Spiritual leaders occupy special place in

God’s scheme of things being his messengers and representatives on earth. They are

accountable to God for the total spiritual well being of Christians of all ages. They are

responsible for feeding and taking care of God’s flocks. Their enormous assignments

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remain overseeing and leading Christians into their inheritance in Christ. This is not

only limited to spiritual inheritance but also physical. Leaders as oracles of God are

well positioned to speak mysteries, blessings and prosperity into the lives of their

members. They can as well release judgement or excommunicate unrepentant erring

members of the Body of Christ. This is to serve as deterrent to other compromising

members of the Church.

As leaders faithfully dished out the word of God as a service to God,

Christians are to be responsive enough by ministering to the leader of their material

things. They should partner with men of God to make their work stress-free. That will

serve as an encouragement and motivation for rendering such services. It is

emphasized that without partnership, God’s anointed servant is incapacitated in his

work. The Pentecostals made frequent reference to Matthew 10:41-42 and

2Chronicles20:20. God, it is enjoined repays every faithful labour done out of love.

4.2.7 Making Absolute and Solid Commitment to the Local Assembly

God has designed every local assembly for the fellowship of his Children. It is

where believers share their common interest including their testimony, joy and

sorrow. Members of the Body of Christ are to submit themselves to one another in

love. They are to show their unflinching and wholehearted love and commitment to

Christ by being responsible members of that community of believers. They are to be

steadfast, unmovable and always abounding in the work of the Lord in anticipation for

the raining day of harvest of blessings (1 Corinthians 15:58). Commitment of

Christians is to be manifested in their persistency and affectionate devotion to service.

Christians are to build the Church of God by sacrificing their quality time, talents,

skills, knowledge, material substances and tears in prayers. This is because the

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Church is the place of covenant fellowship with God. This principle works in the

sense that God does not ignore any labour of his children:

4.2.8 Confession Brings Possession

Believing God for abundance does not just come automatically. It comes by

first confessing one’s desires to God. This is the teaching that has become

conspicuous among preachers of prosperity at the moment. The emphasis goes thus:

“Don’t pray the problem; speak the solution” (Towns, 2008, p.2). The principle is said

to work when one first visualises the things desired and then goes on to speaking them

into reality (Capps, 1987). That confession brings possession has always been the

watch word of prosperity gospellers in Nigeria. In confession, one shall have what

one says (Price, 1992). The confession to be made has to be positive always because

negative confession nullifies God’s Word in the lives of believer in Christ. So, in

claiming one’s blessing, one must mandatorily name it and speak it. It involves

developing a blessing mind-set (Odukoya, 2006). Developing the right mentality this

way puts one in the consciousness to continuously speak positive things even amidst

tough situations.

Confession making is not just making unrealisable statements in the name of

faith. It is not making empty and idle so-called confessions of faith. Hill (2002)’s

emphasis is that “The sensible positive confession is to agree with God’s Word and

what it says about you” (p.86). Hill reiterates that words are very powerful and as

such should not be confessed negatively otherwise it will debar one from attainable

physical prosperity. Positive confession is said to be a necessary ingredient to

successful Christian living. With regards to the excesses on this teaching, most

scholars are of the opinion that there are some good about positive confession. Hence,

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people are admonished not to be hasty in their judgement and throw the baby away

with the dirty water.

This work, while acknowledging some good aspects of prosperity preachers’

teachings on prosperity, equally make bold to dismiss some of the Pentecostals’ claim

that everything nameable, can be achieved by simply operating within the Pentecostal

principle of success. This study informs that some of God’s blessings come through

hard works. As observed, some of the Pentecostal’s assertions on prosperity appear

not to be rational. Some of them too seem to be unbiblical.

4.3 Purpose of Prosperity Preaching

The issue of money or prosperity has always been a controversial issue in the

Church, yet money has always been in high demands in Christendom. There has been

serious criticism among even the Nigerian Pentecostal pastors of the prevalence of

prosperity preaching. While some supported its adoption wholeheartedly others

sharply resisted it. Yet, the subject of money is the most focused, discussed and

handled in any meeting, organization or country of the world. All through life, money

is needed by Christians and non Christians, the poor and the rich alike. Money is

probably one of the greatest forces in history. It is very powerful. It is observed that:

Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. It takes

away cares, no doubt; but it brings with it quite as many cares as it

takes away. There is trouble in the getting of it. There is anxiety in the

keeping of it. There are temptations in the use of it. There is guilt in the

abuse of it. There is sorrow in the losing of it. There is perplexity in the

disposing of it. Two-third of all the strifes, quarrels, and lawsuits in the

world arise from one simple cause-money! Money most certainly is

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one of the most heart-ensnaring of possessions. It seems desirable at a

distance — yet it often proves a poison when in our hand! No man can

possibly tell the effect of money on his soul, if it suddenly falls to his

lot to possess it. Many a one did run well — as a poor man who forgets

God when he becomes rich. (Ryle, 1878, pp.13-14).

This citation discloses the fact that money fulfils or serves quite a number of

purposes. This section probes into what might probably be the purpose of prosperity

from the point of view of prosperity preachers in Nigeria as well as those who kick

against it. It investigates the reasons for the hot craving for money in Christendom

nowadays. The work equally ascertains the purpose for the prosperity of God’s people

in the present world.

As earlier noted, opinions are seriously divided on the subject of money.

Money appears generally to be good omen in the lives of people. But it is also noted

that money is the reason for many woes in the society. Put briefly and simply, money

is any currency used as legal tender (Chambers, 2009). It signifies wealth in general.

Money is what one earns by working and can use to buy things (Vallance et al,

(2009). According to Adelaja (2009):

Money is what economists call “legal tender”, and it is something that

is generally accepted as a means of payment, exchange, and pricing.

Money is what we use to measure wealth, because it is the easiest way

to move and handle wealth (p.xvi).

In his distinction, Adelaja (2009) clarifies that wealth is the subtotal of value

of assets owned by a person. Originally, wealth signifies possession of great qualities,

values and virtues of a person. So, any person “wishing to be rich is actually thinking

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in terms of all the things he wants and needs” (Adelaja, 2009, p.xvi). In the parlance

of many, the possession of much money is akin to being prosperous. This is premised

on the fact that with plenty money at hand, one can acquire virtually anything. With

much asset, one does not need an angel to come to terms with the fact that an

individual is swimming in prosperity or opulence.

History abounds with evidences that God often prospered his children with

material wealth. Biblical Abraham is a notable example of this. Abraham was so

blessed that someone comments favourably about him that “He was a farmer a very

big one. So were Isaac and Jacob” (Ozoko, 2012, p.43). Making references to these

biblical characters, prosperity preachers have without compromise gone into

preaching prosperity in full force. In defence of his teaching on prosperity Adeboye

(1996) emphatically declares that:

Money is a defence. I always pity those who say they do not want to

hear about prosperity. I pity anyone who talks about nothing but

prosperity. I pity anyone who preaches on everything else and leaves

out prosperity. I am going to prosper. Poverty is terrible (p.99).

Commenting on the stance of Adeboye on prosperity, Ukah (2003) expresses

the view that Adeboye’s personal conviction and doggedness even in the face of

opposition has marked his entire career as a religious leader and scholar. It is

important to note therefore that the position of several contemporary advocates of

prosperity appear to tilt towards making prosperity as a standard measurement for

knowing one’s true worth as Christians. Prosperity seems to be a parameter to

ascertaining who is a genuine Christian and who is not. Generally, prosperity

gospellers admonish that the only way to prove to the world that Christians are Christ

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representatives here on earth is by their show of affluence and how well they live. To

them, wealth is a sign of God’s blessing and poverty is a sign of God’s displeasure or

disapproval of the Christian who probably is indulging in sin (Agunwanba, 2007). It

is argued that as true Christians who worth their salt, standing right with God and

confessing positively brings about abundant prosperity. In the same vein, it is held

that as far as the issue of wealth is concerned, every Christian must be wealthy to

bring glory to God.

Added to this is the emphasis that God wants his people to be financially

prosperous, as well as have good health, good marriages and relationships, and to live

generally prosperous lives. That God empowers his people by blessing them to

achieve the promises that are contained in the Bible. Because of this, suffering does

not come from God, but rather, from Satan. The idea that God uses suffering for his

people’s benefit is considered to be a deception of Satan and absolutely against the

word of God. Additionally, if someone is not experiencing prosperity, it is because

they have given Satan authority over their lives. God is not able to do anything at all

unless the person invites him to do so. This, the prosperity exponents emphasize

seriously.

It is portrayed from the above that prosperity is believers covenant right and is

available upon acting positively on the word of God. In interpreting 3John 2, the

prosperity preachers maintain that modern believers in Nigeria can equally become

financially buoyant and wealthy. Aligning themselves with Copeland’s teaching, they

insist that “God has already planted seeds of prosperity in the believers’ minds, will

and emotions which is capable of producing a great financial harvest” (Copeland,

1974).

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Alcorn (2011) recapitulates what turns up in the minds of preachers of

prosperity this way:

Health and wealth preachers suggest that we may do whatever we

please with God’s provision. We may buy beautiful homes and cars,

take dream vacations, and live in wealth and prosperity – as long as we

give God the credit. Whether God wants the credit for some of these

lifestyles is another question. Some prosperity preachers go so far as to

say that God expects us – or even commands us – to live in luxury, in

order that we would not be “bad witnesses” by appearing to be

poor!...It seems as if these preachers would have us believe that Jesus

said, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have

lots of money and fabulous possessions” (p.84).

Money in the perspective of prosperity preachers is a mark of distinction

between those who know the Lord and those who do not know the Lord. It is a proof

of God’s favour upon his children because they are his well beloved. It is a concrete

evidence that they are in God’s book of remembrance (Malachi 3:16). It is said that

God who is the source of all prosperity had designed long ago how wealth is to be put

to use. In support of this, Stewart (2009) maintains that “Men may achieve success by

earned prosperity, inherited prosperity, given or found prosperity, or God-given

prosperity. But the ultimate source of all these blessings is God” (p.28). God in the

thinking of prosperity preachers allows prosperity for numerous reasons. Generally,

three major reasons are advanced why God blesses his children on earth. As observed,

it is discovered that all the purposes given either in favour of God’s prosperity upon

his children or against it fall under these three areas.

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4.3.1 Prosperity is Proof for God’s Covenant and for Building His Church

The first purpose of God’s prosperity was for him to establish his covenant

and to build his church on earth. The intention of God according to prosperity

preachers was to make his people have enough money so that they can do God’s work

with ease on earth. God’s Kingdom requires money for expansion, it is reiterated.

Money is needed because nothing is free on earth. Everything that is done involves

money at some levels. With this in mind, money has to be raised to urgently take care

of the work of God as required. This is one of the reasons used in justifying the

preaching of prosperity in Nigeria.

In the view of Adeboye (1995), the reason why God wants to bless his

children with material prosperity is because “We need money to do the work of God.

We need money so that people will see us and know that God is the Great Provider”

(p.21). The wealth God puts in people’s hands is for them to sponsor his work on

earth. As conceived by preachers of prosperity, when God blesses one and he does not

want to use it for the purpose it was meant for, it becomes a curse in God’s sight.

Under this condition, it is cautioned that the wealth may develop wings and fly away

(Prov. 23:5). Amidst criticism, Adeboye faces it head long by attributing every

criticism and negative public comment about prosperity as the work of the devil who

probably is always taking delight in hindering people from entering into their paradise

of wealth on earth (Ukah, 2003).

Reasoning along this same line, Oyedepo (2010) remarks that God believes in

money therefore it is ungodly for Christians not to believe in it also. In the thought of

Oyedepo (2010), “Those who have attacked wealth so badly have done so mainly out

of ignorance and a lack of understanding of what the mind of God is concerning it”

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(p.35). What then is God’s purpose for wealth or why does God want to prosper his

people financially, asked Oyedepo? For Oyedepo (2010):

God believes in silver and gold in building His kingdom. Money is

needed for the expansion of God’s kingdom on earth. No ministry, no

matter how anointed, can function without it. No servant of God, no

matter how great, can make any impact without it. Money is needed

every day to reach the lost. Even if you are holding a street meeting, it

costs money. Money is needed to get everything which the pastor has

received as a vision done. For instance, the unreached can only be

reached through money. It will also require money to cater for the

labourers...Without a doubt wealth is the principal weapon in the task

of spreading the gospel (p.42).

To probably concretise Christians’ understanding on the purpose of prosperity

as a renowned Pentecostal’s leader and one who introduces and grooms many

preachers after the manner of prosperity preaching in Nigeria, Idahosa (1987)

intimates that:

God created all of the wealth of this earth-not for unbelievers to

monopolise, but for the prosperity of His children who do His will. So

God is interested in your temporal and material needs too. The Bible

contains innumerable promises for financial and material prosperity

(p.30).

The above assertion betrays the fact that possessing prosperity is good and

cannot be negotiated with anything else. Money for Idahosa is a must since

“Christians intend to help accomplish God’s most important task on earth - that of

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taking the Gospel to every nation” (Idahosa, 1987, p.28). So, in order to acquire

money to carry out God’s purpose in this present world, Christians have to get rid of

the religious tradition that money is evil and that poverty is sacred. Idahosa reiterates

that when God talks about prospering his children, the indirect connotation in the

heart of God is that success will light their path. Hence, “I can say it with all

confidence that God wants you to have money, but does not want money to have you”

(Idahosa, 1987, p.46).

On the basis of the above, it is important to reason that if wealth is genuinely

acquired and be judiciously expended for God’s glory as purported by prosperity

preachers of today, that will really be wonderful and is indeed praise worthy for those

prosperity preachers. But it seems that the reverse is always the case in Nigeria. Most

often, many of the prosperity preachers who are richly blessed with much financial

muscle abuse the wealth and turn out to live above the standard of others; especially

above the standard of those who are the main reason for their riches and prosperity.

Instead of judicious use of the wealth which they acquired either by oneself or the one

which people contributed to do the work of God, prosperity preachers sometimes tend

to divert the money to building their own personal financial empires or buying luxury

cars for their own personal use, thus allowing the work of God to suffer.

As it has become obvious, most money raised for the work of God seems to

have been converted for the enrichment of the founders of churches and not for the

expansion of God’s Kingdom as they initially claimed. As gold diggers, most

Pentecostals have gone into establishing churches, probably to dig out gold from

people. Diara (2003) speaks on this thus “Many leave the orthodox churches with the

single motive to form their own churches where they will not only be chief executives

but also chief financial controllers” (p.217). In Diara’s observation, most of such

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people choose the Pentecostal mode of church life for easy attractability of the

masses. Truly, many are being pulled to Pentecostal churches nowadays for several

reasons and while there, prosperity preachers seem to employ all manners of deceit

and manipulation to beat congregants over the head about their ability to give more

and more of their scarce income (Dickson, 2014).

4.3.2 Blessed to be a Blessing to Humanity

The second major reason for God’s purpose of prosperity is so that Christians

may have enough money to give to those who do not have. It has been asserted that

God’s riches are for judicious distribution in servicing the needs of humanity

(Oyedepo, 2013). The Nigerian society is replete with handicapped people who could

hardly afford three squares meal a day. These vulnerable groups are the orphans, the

widows and the aged people. Commonplace today are numerous beggars, war

refugees, the jobless, the poor who require assistance almost on daily basis from those

who are economically well-to-do in the society. The Church therefore is to

demonstrate her relevance by addressing the felt needs of the society. This is said to

be a more practical way of influencing the society positively. Bearing this in mind,

Christians are to develop the right attitude towards riches. Riches as intended are to

be a blessing to be channelled towards solving societal problems which is among the

reasons for God’s prosperity upon his children.

In identifying with the less privilege for a possible return blessing, the best

way of doing it is to give out to people who may not have the opportunity to say

‘thank you’ to the giver (D. Ozoko, Personal Communication, July 23, 2014). Oke

(1999) warns that riches should not be used as a weapon for oppressing the poor

because God is seriously against that and he treats the poor with dignity and

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compassion. He explains that many Christians and ministries are in lack because they

are not giving to the poor. In the parlance of Oyedepo (2013), kingdom wealth is

entrusted to those God can trust to judiciously use it. Copeland (1974) stresses that

because there are people starving and dying for their inability to cater for their own

needs requiring that someone else provide for them justifies the reason God is putting

his resources on people’s hands to bail them out. He admonishes with these words

“As you give cheerfully and generously, God will cause every blessing to come to

you. He wants you to be able to give to others, to help meet their needs; therefore, He

will multiply your resources for giving” (Copeland (1974. P. 106). This, to him is the

way God’s system works!

In assessing Pentecostals care for the poor, it is really amazing that the

Pentecostals do have some kind of passion for the less privileged. This, they have

demonstrated by coming up with different Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs)

specifically to reach out to those in need in the society. Baiyeri (2008) identifies up to

thirty two different FBOs in Nigeria. Few of the ones highlighted are Islam-Based

organizations. Though, the Pentecostals through their social ministries and

organizations are doing wonders in meeting needs, rehabilitating drug barons,

prostitutes and armed robbers, catering for the widows, the orphans and the aged, it is

but another dimension of what the established churches have been doing in Nigeria

since its inception (Kitause, 2014).

4.3.3 Enjoyment of God’s Children on Earth

The third cardinal reason for prosperity is for the enjoyment of God’s children

on earth. Agunwanba (2007) asserts that God created the earth full of abundant

resources for people to enjoy. To his mind, God’s purpose is prosperity for all those

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who will serve him in spirit and in truth for them to utilise such wealth for his own

glory. Agunwanba is frank about the fact that those who subscribe to poverty do so

out of ignorant and at their own peril because there is nothing at all to gain from

poverty. This is on account of the fact that as Gberevbie et al. (2009) opine “Poverty

is an enemy of man, it humiliates and dehumanises its victim” (p.1). Mefor (2012)

observes that “Poverty crushes the spirit quite effectively” (p.1). Poverty to his mind:

Reduces man to his lowest ebbs and forces him to accept a fate of the

same kind as what he would wish only his enemy. Its first victim in

depersonalizing a man is self-esteem and confidence, which it crushes and

without which man is but a shadow of himself...Poverty asserts itself over

the person’s life and gradually eats him up until nothing is left. Even the

physical is eaten up by poverty, leaving often only a mass of bones

covered with discoloured skin. Poverty is therefore the worst thing that

can happen to a man (P.1).

Poverty in the view of Agunwanba (2007) is not in any way synonymous with

holiness; neither does abundance necessarily produce pride. Also, poverty is not a

benefactor to holiness and can never make one to become holier (Hill, 2002).

Knowing this, it is justifiable as it has been in harmony in the scheme of thought of

prosperity gospellers that for Christians to become rich and to use their God’s given

wealth for their own enjoyment in this life is really a welcoming development. This is

perhaps what Osborne (1985) thought of when he says that health, success, happiness

and prosperity are God’s will for believers when they believe God’s word to be

enough to act on it. In accordance with Pentecostals’ view on God’s purpose for

prosperity for his children on this planet, many prosperity preachers tend to

practically live in opulence and extravagant lifestyles. Many prosperity preachers

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have over done it which does not seem to bring any glory to God. Ngele (2013)

observes that “Worldliness and flamboyancy have taken over many preachers so

much so that the show of wealth; search, desires and pursuit of the mundane world

have overtaken a lot of preachers” (p.34). As if to confirm this assertion, Ozoko

(2012) testifies that:

Some [ministers] live in palatial homes, drive luxurious cars and

operate like Arab sheikhs. There is this false concept that if anyone is a

man of God, he should strive to live as luxuriously as his counterparts

in secular employments. There is nothing wrong with wealth, but it

may not be wise for a minister of the gospel to have a palatial,

luxurious lifestyle (p.36-37).

Unfortunately, just like the Laodicean Christians who thought they were living

wonderful Christian lives with probably large luxurious buildings, tinted glass

windows, large land interest and abundant material possessions which to them is a

true reflection of their spiritual condition, Christ condemned them as being spiritually

wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked (Revelation 3.17).

Be that as it may, there has always been a serious discrepancy as to people’s

opinions on the matter of the type of lifestyle or home ministers of the gospel should

live in. Some are in total support of luxurious homes for ministers of the gospel while

others are not. But generally, ministers most often are being advised to live

moderately in view of the demands of their office and the detrimental effect opulence

will have on their congregants.

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4.4 Wrong Interpretations of Scriptures

Christianity is making progress in Nigeria and elsewhere. The steady

revelation, interpretations and preaching of God’s word is on-going and is expected to

perform transforming role in the lives of believers across the globe. Preaching, says

Obasanjo (2009) is “a proclaiming, but it is public proclamation” (p. 149). Preaching

is heralding the message of God, the Most High King (Ngele, 2013). The questions

uppermost in the mind are: What type of message do prosperity preachers convey

publicly in Nigeria? How is the Scriptures interpreted that forms the core of

Pentecostals’ preaching in Nigeria?

According to Owojaiye (n.d.) “Many of our prosperity preachers are

preaching error. They are preaching what the disciples did not preach or teach. They

are preaching things outrightly condemned by our master the Lord Jesus Christ” (p.

3). He observes that neither Paul nor the early Church fathers spent their time

preaching money, riches or wealth, rather, he says, they devoted their time, resources

and energy preaching Christ crucified. The position of this evangelical preacher is

quite at variance with the stance of the many popular prosperity preachers in Nigeria.

Also, Adelaja (2009), who is equally a Pentecostal preacher, admits that “There is a

great deal of error in most American prosperity preaching, as in most countries where

the prosperity gospel is preached” (p.6). To verify whether the prosperity preachers

are preaching error as claimed by Owojaiye and Adelaja or not, it is expedient to

examine how the Scriptures are being interpreted by these prosperity preachers in

Nigeria.

It is seen that the Scriptures are probably being misinterpreted which seems to

be a calculated attempt by prosperity preachers at distorting biblical truth. This is

being done probably to put forth their narrow-minded theology of prosperity. As

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noted by Adeleye (2011) “Very often passages or verses of the Bible are isolated and

interpreted out of their literary context” (p.52). The reason for this is probably that

“The interpretational method of the prosperity preachers is inadequate” (Okwori,

1995, p.63). It is possible that the method of interpreting the Bible adopted by these

prosperity preachers is faulty which seems to account for the erroneous interpretation

of the Bible. It may also be that prosperity preachers neglect at times, the employment

of proper biblical interpretation which appears to account for such misinterpretation.

It is equally important to acknowledge too that wrong interpretations of the Scriptures

may not only be limited to the prosperity preachers. It is very likely that preachers

from other streams of Christianity may be guilty of the misinterpretation of the

Scriptures too which is something that all preachers are naturally prone to doing. But

this work may not digress into the detailed study of the methods of Bible

interpretations of the other preachers outside of the Pentecostals since this present

work is delineated to examine only prosperity preaching.

As observed by Fee (1978), Pentecostals “Attitude toward Scripture regularly

has included a general disregard for scientific exegesis and carefully thought-out

hermeneutics. In fact, hermeneutics has simply not been a Pentecostal thing” (p.120).

This assertion reveals the fact that the Pentecostals appear to adopt very poor

principles of hermeneutics. Hermeneutics, says Fee (1978) is a word theologians use

to speak of the science of Bible interpretation which is a crucial building block in all

theology. This technique of Bible interpretation has been in use in Christendom many

centuries ago to make sense of what the Bible says which the prosperity preachers

seem to have overlooked and this has probably given rise to the unavoidable wrong

interpretations of the Bible in recent times. According to MacArthur (1992):

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The task of hermeneutics is to discover the meaning of the text in its

proper setting; to draw meaning from Scripture rather than reading

one’s presuppositions into it. The importance of careful biblical

interpretation can hardly be overstated. Misinterpreting the Bible is

ultimately no better than disbelieving it...Interpreting Scripture to make

it say what it was never intended to say is a sure road to division, error,

heresy, and apostasy (p.87).

This quotation makes the point clearer that preachers of prosperity are not

doing any good to Christianity by consistently diluting, manipulating, misinforming

and misrepresenting the word of God. These, they succeeded in doing through

“unacceptable methods of interpretation” and “occasional misinterpretation” of the

Bible (Horton, 1990, p.64). In the thinking of Okwori (1995), to disregard responsible

methodology of Bible interpretations lead to inescapable chaos. According to Adeleye

(2011), through private interpretations of the Scriptures by prosperity preachers, the

truth of the word of God has been distorted. Not only that. It has also made it easy for

purveyors of prosperity preaching to over-emphasise or de-emphasise God’s truth to

suit their subjective purposes. So, the lack of careful study of the Bible has enabled

prosperity preachers to say what the Scripture is not saying. Okwori (1995) identifies

some of the areas of Pentecostals’ inadequacies in the interpretation of the Scriptures

to include: (1). Disregard for the progressive nature of revelation, (2). Failure to put

texts in their literary context and (3). Neglect of the grammatico-historical method.

In consonance with the assumption that the prosperity preachers do not make

use of reliable method of Bible interpretation to arrive at the truth of God’s word,

Baker (1997), a famous prosperity preacher in the USA in the 1980s, confesses that he

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was a victim of this. Being a repentant prosperity preacher, he testifies vehemently

against his initial method of studying the Bible thus:

During my days at PTL [Praise The Lord] I used a method called

“proof texting” when I preached. I just picked verses out of the Bible

that dealt with the same topic. But when I was in prison I studied the

Scriptures in context. And I realized that many of my pet verses were

taken out of context and had nothing to do with what I was using them

for. You can make the Bible say anything you want (Baker, 1997,

p.48).

Realising this Baker (1996) confesses in view of his twisting the Scriptures

that “The prosperity message did not line up with the tenor of Scripture” (p.533).

The question that easily pops the mind is: How then should the Bible be

interpreted? This is a very crucial and practical question that demands an immediate

attempt at this juncture. There are generally five principles for sound biblical

interpretations. These principles are only given brief explanation to create more room

for an in depth illustrations and discussions on the hermeneutic blunders as witnessed

in the prosperity gospel.

4.4.1 Biblical Interpretation Principles

MacArthur (1992) highlights these sound interpretation principles to include

the under mentioned:

(i) The literal principle which indicates that the Scriptures should be read

naturally and the words of the Bible read are to be interpreted literally in their

normal sense in the same way words are understood in ordinary daily use.

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(ii) The historical principle which signifies that there should be proper grasping of

the cultural, geographical and political setting in which a passage was written

to be able to understand and interpret the passage accurately.

(iii) The grammatical principle implies that the syntactical construction of a

passage with all its preposition is to be understood as a key to knowing the

meaning of the passage for its correct or accurate interpretation.

(iv) The synthesis principle expresses that Scripture interprets Scripture. This

method seeks to find meaning to obscure passages in the Scripture in the light

of other clearer passages.

(v). The practical principle seeks to apply biblical or divine truths to people’s lives

by unmasking their sins and hidden guilt thereby exposing any concealed, un

confessed and un forsaken sin into the open which enables him to become

convicted of his backslidden state culminating into his turning away from the

sin he was reproved for making him to embark on a new walk of righteousness

and holiness unto the Lord.

So failure on the part of the prosperity preachers to adhere to the hermeneutical

principles of Bible interpretations leads to gross and fatal accident of

misinterpretation. This is what will be extrapolated straight away.

4.4.2 Illustrations of Hermeneutical Blunders in the Prosperity Gospel

It is probably not an overstatement to say that prosperity preachers have

carelessly misinterpreted the Scriptures. The fact about this is so glaring that this work

devotes this section to unveiling some of the Scripture passages that have undergone

frequent misinterpretations by these preachers of prosperity in the wider world. It is

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hard to detect which text of the Bible is most misinterpreted. Hence, there is no strict

rule as to knowing and presenting in its logical order the passages or texts that have

been most misinterpreted either in the Old Testament or in the New Testament of the

Bible. This work takes a glance at the following examples:

4.4.2.1 The Interpretation of the Promise of “Everything”, “All Thing ” and

“Anything” in Some Bible passages

To begin with, it is imperative to state at the onset that most prosperity

preachers have the tendency to interpret “Everything”, “All Things” and “Anything”

in some Bible passage out of context sometimes. In the observation of Okwori (1995),

prosperity gospellers understand and interpret those Bible passages with everything,

all and anything to mean everything, all and anything nameable or claim able –

everything without exceptions. For instance, Phil.4:6 and 19 which read “Be careful

for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your

request be made known unto God...But my God shall supply all your need according

to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (KJV). The interpretation dished out to

especially Phil.4: 19 by Idahosa (1987) expresses “For God to “supply all your

needs”, He must provide money” (p.11). Idahosa maintains that God “will meet all of

your needs and give you enough prosperity to have “plenty left over” to share” (p.10).

To some extent, the emphasis given as interpretations to that passage is more on

material blessing than on spiritual. This might be misleading. Ideally, when Scriptures

use the term ‘all’, ‘everything’ or ‘anything’, it may not necessarily mean everything

conceivable in the real sense. This is because there are needs and there are wants. It is

believed that God can supply people’s needs and not their wants. But the prosperity

preachers seem to portray as if God is always bound by prosperity principle to give to

believers everything nameable provided people carefully observe the laws of

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prosperity. It is opined that “If the Scripture means ‘everything’ I think the Scripture

means everything. The problem of that Scripture is ‘needs’. God can give us our

needs (all of it) but what is interpreted as needs by prosperity preachers is often want

or lust” (R. Irany, Personal Communication, March 17, 2015)

4.4.2.2 The Threefold Prosperity promise in 3 John2

This is perhaps the most popular New Testament passage that prosperity

preachers use to theologise on prosperity. Most preachers have used this text to

promote their prosperity preaching. The rendering of 3John2 from the King James

Version is “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in

health, even as thy soul prospereth”. The etymology “prospereth” in the text can be

very misleading if one does not study its original Greek root of the word. According

to Baker (1996):

I had preached on this verse for most of my ministry. It said exactly

what I believed - that God wanted His people to prosper, and by that, I

interpreted it to mean prosper financially and materially, in other

words, to get rich. Again, I never really examined the true meaning of

the text, nor did I ever seriously consider why this verse, on the surface

anyhow, seemed to contradict so much of what the New Testament

said in other places. I simply pulled this verse out of context and took

it to the bank – literally! (p.536).

After discovering to his dismay that that passage has nothing to do with

material wealth, Baker again stresses “John was not saying “Above everything else, I

want you to get rich. Above everything, you should prosper and make money”

(p.536). Surprisingly, Baker get informed that the literal translation of the word

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‘Prosper’ from the Greek dictionary connotes “Road, or route, a progress, or journey”

(p.537). He learned through study that what John was saying was a greeting. Hence,

the proper interpretation of 3John2 would have been “I want you to have a good

journey through life, even as your soul has a good journey to Heaven” (Baker, 1997,

p.48). Quite interesting too, Thayer (1981) in Jones (2006) affirms that “The term

translated “prosperity” is a form of the Greek word eujodovw. This word...does not

mean to prosper in the sense of “gaining material possessions”, but rather means “to

grant a prosperous expedition and expeditious journey”, or “to lead by a direct and

easy way” (p.6). From all indications therefore, this verse has nothing to do with

money or financial prosperity as is often being emphasized today by prosperity

preachers.

At this juncture, it may be interesting to know that since 1987, after Baker has

sounded the warning about the misinterpretation of 3John2, many preachers who are

financially biased and whose target is to harvest money from Christians and to

become rich quickly are still committing the same error of misinterpreting 3John2.

For instance, Oyedepo (2010) interprets 3John2 to indicate prosperity in wealth or

financial abundant which is a “Possession of a great amount of property, money,

riches etc. So, wealth speaks of comfort, of fulfilment; and God desires exactly that

for you” (p.9). His direct translation of that passage is “Above everything else, this is

my supreme will for you. Above every other will, He wants you to be comfortable

and healthy...It is God’s idea. It is His idea, His intent, His purpose. He wants you to

be comfortable” (Oyedepo, 2010, p.10).

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4.4.2.3 The Seed Faith Principle in Luke 6:38

This text is among the several verses of the Bible that most Pentecostals

frequently use during offertory for separate exhortation to promote their offerings.

Not all the Pentecostal churches promote offering with exhortation. Luke 6:38 says

“Give, and it shall be given unto you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken

together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you

use, it will be measured to you” (NIV). It seems that some prosperity preachers tend

to swindle people of their hard earned resources after working on their emotions and

psychology before offerings are collected. It should be noted that the issue of

hypnotizing people did not just begin with the prosperity preachers in Nigeria. There

have been frequent cases of “419ners” which make people to part with their

belongings against their wishes even before now. So it is little wonder that some of

the prosperity preachers are perhaps being negatively influenced by such dubious

people in the society. This verse is also used with regards to sowing seed of faith.

According to Adeleye (2011), this verse is not only about giving to God financially

and expecting returns. It is not only about sowing money and looking forward to be

rewarded with large sums of money.

This verse primarily talks about sowing love, mercy and forgiveness in order

to reap the same measure of love, mercy and forgiveness. This text is originally used

in connection with judging or condemning others. It is an injunction that people ought

to behave well towards their fellow human beings so as not to be condemned when

faced with God’s own judgement at the close of the age. Though, most Pentecostals

are in the habits of explaining away the aspect of sowing love and mercy in order to

reap forgiveness in favour of materialism, William N. Lamu believes that Luke 6: 38

also include giving to God financially and expecting returns (W. Lamu, Personal

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Communication, April 7, 2015). In his humble submission, he maintains that it seems

the theologians dwell on hermeneutical principles of interpretation of text (logos).

They don’t seem to talk or believe about the revelation of God from a text. However it

is, it appears that a good number of Pentecostals have tied the interpretation of Luke

6: 38 to only financial prosperity.

4.4.2.4 The Hundredfold Return Principle in Mark 10: 29-30

Hundredfold promise was Jesus’ original idea. He used it in reaction to Peter’s

statement in trying to ascertain their final reward in relation to their sacrifices in

spreading the gospel. Thinking out the meaning of the passage, it is said that “When

the disciples forsook their families for Jesus’ sake, they entered new associations in

the family of God that were a hundred times as great” (Okwori, 1995). It is thought

that part of that new association was the fellowship they shared with other early

Christians with whom they had all things in common, including the sharing of their

material possessions. Also to be considered in the interpretation was the warm

reception and hospitality enjoyed by believers as they moved around to preach the

gospel.

Though, in matters of interpretation of the Scriptures, one may not absolutely

claim to have a hundred percent accurate interpretation. But far from being true, it

seems that the interpretation of the prosperity preachers on Mark10: 29-30 is lopsided

and seems to be out of context. For instance, the promulgator of hundredfold

principle, Copeland (1978) writes that:

The hundredfold return really is: You give $1.00 for the gospel’s sake and

the full hundredfold return would be $100. Ten dollars would be $1,000. A

hundredfold return on $1,000 would be $100,000. Webster’s New 20th

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Century Dictionary says that hundredfold means one hundred times the

bulk or measure of anything. Mark 10:30 is a very good deal” (p.71).

It is self-evident that most of the prosperity preachers’ Bible interpretation is

probably monetary in nature. Jesus probably meant something different from what

Copeland and her disciples think about the passage.

4.4.2.5 Prosperity-Bound Mentality in Luke 16:22

The prosperity preachers are so money conscious that they tend to ordinarily

and indiscriminately interpret most Bible passages to be prosperity inclined. The

interpretation of John Praise, the founder of Dominion Chapel, Abuja, Nigeria is

typical of this. In his message on “Developing a Posture of Wealth Mentality”, John

Praise in his reference to the story of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:22 asks,

Why was Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom? His interpretation to this passage as an

answer was:

Lazarus had such a poor mentality of himself and a poverty mentality such

that when he got to heaven the gold street made him afraid. He could not

live alone in his own mansion, so Abraham had to bring him on his lap to

give him orientation about wealth. To avoid that, we have to learn to

rebuke the spirit of poverty and confess positively (Adeleye, 2011, p.53).

This interpretation appears to be out of context. It is probably not in agreement

with the original intent of the writer. Abraham occupies the most central place in the

history of the Jews as a patriarch. He is revered by all the Jews. So, to rest in

Abraham’s bosom is the highest expectation of every Jews. Hence, the possible

interpretation to Jesus’s statement “Lazarus, a poor beggar, was carried “into

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Abraham’s bosom” would have been “Lazarus was at Abraham’s side in paradise or

heaven” (Adeleye, 2011, p.53).

It is a dangerous thing to misinterpret the Scriptures and preach heresy as

perceived in the theology of prosperity preachers in Nigeria. It is disastrous in view of

its far reaching negative implications on the generality of Christians in Nigeria. The

purpose of teaching the word of God is for Christians to be transformed and be

grounded in the word of God and not just for them to experience material prosperity

only.

4.5 Wrong Understanding of People about Prosperity

There is a purpose for everything under the sun. Every religious preaching is

set forth to achieve a particular desired goal. One of such objectives is probably to

inform and nurture God’s people with unfaltering divine truths. Another purpose is to

give instruction and training in righteousness to enable Christians to earnestly contend

for the faith which was once delivered to the saints (2Tim.3:16-17, Jude3). In

Christian religious parlance, preaching arouses a living faith and turning the minds of

the listeners towards God so that they may direct their actions to vivid understanding

of the contents of their religious tradition as well as to the true meaning of the world

around them and of human existence (Enwerem, 2003). Above all other purposes

underlying any preaching, is a message that is geared towards the salvation of all the

hearers, including the preachers themselves. Any distortion of the good news or of the

gospel truth may engender misinformation that can hamper the total well being of the

listeners.

Prosperity gospel preaching as good news was meant to address the real issues

of life. It was effort in the right direction to bring comfort and succour to the poor,

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liberty to the captives as well as emancipation of people from whatever is oppressing

them (Luke 4:18). This implies that any deviation from the original truth jeopardizes

the overall efforts in trying to set people free from either their physical or spiritual

challenges. This fact is the basis on which this work examines the type of

understanding people have with regard to prosperity. What can be said forms the bulk

of information which people have received about prosperity in Nigeria? Is it a positive

understanding or a negative one? The probability is very high that people are not

being fed properly with the right information through the teaching of prosperity

preachers. This is anchored on the fact that there has been gross misinterpretation of

the Scriptures as evidently demonstrated above.

According to Adelaja (2009):

The prosperity movement presents an erroneous view on the gospel of

prosperity by limiting wealth creation to the power of confession. You

often hear them teach that what you say is what you get, or “confessing

it means possessing it”. Start speaking about it and it will come into

being as God creates what you are speaking. This is the wheel of

fortune approach to faith, and it amounts to extortion because it

purports to teach people how to make God work at their behest. Most

teachers of prosperity teach an incomplete aspect of financial

empowerment (p.9).

This citation spotlights the fact that prosperity preachers dish out incomplete

information about prosperity to gullible prosperity seekers just to grab what they can

grab from people. They seem to fail in their responsibility to communicate workable

principles that will bring about wealth to people as it ought to have brought. The

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principle of giving to receive from God in the future as preached, seems, to be

working only for the prosperity preachers themselves because it appears that the

giving out principle has always been one sided (Gbile, 2011). Hence, while the

prosperity preachers keep getting richer by the day their members are constantly being

fleeced of their resources. Mohler (2010) comments in support of this fact that the

“Poor, disadvantaged, and disenfranchised people seem so drawn to a false gospel that

leaves them poorer and makes their preachers wealthy...Prosperity theology leads to

deeper poverty. It’s only those at the top that drive the expensive cars and ride in

private jets” (p.3).

It seems convincing therefore that most people have been misinformed in the

light of Deuteronomy 28:13a that wherever a Christian finds oneself, one must be the

person in charge (Asamoah-Gyadu, 2014). This mentality has probably made some

Christians to be victims of some manipulations in order to brace up to the challenge of

being in control at all times especially having much money above those of others and

to live a life of affluence. This has equally made many people to strive each day to be

‘at the top’ or to be ‘the head and not the tail’ at all cost engendering perhaps the spirit

of competition; a behaviour which looks somewhat like the survival of the fittest in

the society. Adeboye (2014) explains what being on top is:

Those who are on top enjoy it up there. Those who are below remain in

suffering. I prefer being on top. When you are on top, you will get

special protection. The one who is on top is special and of more value

than the one who is below (Open Heaven Devotional Manual, Friday,

October 31).

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According to Asamoah-Gyadu (2014) the wrong understanding of people

about prosperity has led many young people in Africa to terminate their employment

prematurely to start their own businesses, and young pastors seceding to start their

own ministries. The spill over effect is that although, there have been some initial

successes, but the casualties have also been quite high.

Added to this is the understanding that Christians are Abraham’s spiritual

children and heirs to the blessings of faith. In the view of prosperity preachers, this

Abrahamic covenant is primarily in terms of material entitlements. So the wrong

conception people have about this covenant is that “Since believers are now

Abraham’s spiritual children, they consequently have inherited these financial

blessings of the covenant (Pousson, 1992, p.158). It appears very likely that because

believers’ focus have always been on the material possessions of the Abrahamic

blessing, it has led them to the composition and singing of song such as: ‘Abraham’s

blessings are mine; Abraham’s blessings are mine; I am blessed in the morning; I am

blessed in the evening; Abraham’s blessings are mine’.

Sadly, informed by this incorrect view about the Abrahamic covenant makes

Adeleye (2011) to observe that the passage in question has very little to do with

wealth or material possessions (Gal.3:6-14). The point thus, that may be re-echoed at

this instance is that the covenant which God entered into with Abraham is not only

about money. Truly, material blessing is definitely part of it. But the over emphasis on

the material blessings by prosperity preachers and believers of today as attached to

that passage cast much doubt as to whether the prosperity preachers are not merely

manipulating the people for financial gain. It also makes one to entertain doubt about

the authenticity and genuineness of prosperity gospel nowadays. As clearly seen, the

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prosperity gospel seems to be built upon a faulty understanding of the Abrahamic

covenant and nothing more (Jones, 2010).

Currently, there is probably a widespread erroneous understanding that

“material prosperity flows from the depth and quality of one’s faith in God” (Barron,

2010). So, all that are needed for believers to prosper in this life is to be very faithful,

steady and consistent in their walk with the Lord. Here, the expectation is that the

faithful Christian will always be healthy, materially prosperous and spiritually

effective (Cotterell, 2013). According to Roberts (1985), once this criterion is

fulfilled, believers are to “expect miracles” and to look forward with confidence to the

ways in which God would reward them materially and financially for their trust in his

ability to give them. He reiterates that believers should not settle for mediocre lives;

but instead, they should trust in the Lord’s ability to give them the house that they

desire, the job that they deserve, and children that will make them proud. From all

indications, this kind of mindset suggests sweat-less and cross-less prosperity that

believers will encounter in this life. To constantly reassure oneself of the conviction

about this effortless and sorrow free prosperity, song like the following takes the air

every now and then: ‘Me I no go suffer; I no go beg for bread (2x). God of miracle;

Na my Papa w o o (4x)’.

It is misunderstood that Christian’s physical body is completely immune to

sickness and if however sickness occurs, victims must know that they have the power

simply to curse the affliction into disappearance (Asamoah-Gyadu, 2014). Oyedepo

(2008) confirms this when he said that:

Abundance without health equals lack! ... Every born again child of

God has a covenant of divine health with the father ... There is a place

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where you can stand in God and never get sick again... There is a realm

you get to, where you can no longer be sick or oppressed. It is a realm

where the divine nature on your inside is so stirred up that you become

immune to sickness and disease (p.1)

This citation testifies in agreement with Tilton (1990)’s position that poverty

as well as sickness is a sin. Ojo (2013) similarly observes that among the

Pentecostals’ wrong understanding is that “Christians undergoing suffering or

sickness are out of the will of God. Unbelief and not tapping from the abundance of

God’s resources is a sin” (p.18). Consequent upon this, if a Christian consistently

lacks or is poor or has no material wealth to his benefit, this could be considered an

illness that needs healing (Ojo, 2013). The implication of this kind of thought system

is that every person on earth is supposed to be rich without exception. Worse still, it is

absurd or shameful for Christians to be poor while non-Christians are enjoying the

fullness of wealth or well-being.

On the basis of this, the prosperity preachers considered it expedient that

Christians who have fulfilled their covenant obligations with God but still remain

poor should pray, and even demand from God of everything nameable such as cars,

vans, trucks, even two-seater planes, homes, furniture and large bank accounts

(Pilgrim, 1992). For the prosperity preachers, wealth is a necessary benefit of true

spirituality. But the irony of the whole matter is that after all said and done, if at the

end the Christian still did not prosper but sees his unbelieving friends make it, the

natural tendency is for that Christian to become discouraged and may even backslide

from the faith.

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Equally misconceived, is the presumption that “Those who contribute

generously to the Church or God’s works ultimately receive abundant blessings from

God because the quality of harvest is a function of the quality of seed sowed” (Ojo,

2013). People with this wrong understanding usually go out of their ways sometimes

to borrow money in order to sow qualitative or sacrificial seed or as a student, to sow

his school fees given to such a person by one’s parents in anticipation for greater

harvest of money. The basic assumption of the principle applied here is that God

operates with something like mathematical precision in returning the expected

blessings (Cotterell, 2013). Such a person having calculated the return blessing in

cash in the near future would ordinarily have no reason whatever to be dissuaded from

sowing the seed of faith. On this, Onongha (2011) has this to say:

Several students have “sown” their school fees ignorantly in

expectation of a mighty harvest only to have to drop out from school

for the semester due to their failure to register. This could be seen as a

divine money-doubling scam, which is another reflection of the

magical worldview of the African that believes a right formula will

produce desired results. Unfortunately, the end result of this could

become scepticism and unbelief as the hopes of persons that are raised

finally get dashed. Thus, God is made to appear as a petty deity

obliged to satisfy our every whim and fancy at the presentation of the

right offering (p.107).

There was such a recent case where a law student sow his school fees as seed

of faith in the Christ Embassy Church, Lagos without experiencing the return blessing

which made the student to nearly forfeit his schooling until some of his aunts and

uncles came to his aid and raised back the said school fees (P. Suzan, Personal

communication, October 25, 2014).

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CHAPTER FIVE

RESPONSES TO PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA

5.1 Responses to Prosperity Preaching

Prosperity preaching has become the order of the day. It seems that it is

currently the major preoccupation of the Nigerian Pentecostals. Knowing this, it is

incumbent upon this researcher to make an attempt in establishing noticeable

reactions and responses towards the Nigerian prosperity preaching. There seems to be

a cross current of responses towards the preaching of prosperity in Nigeria. It appears

that there is a widespread acceptance to the preaching of prosperity among the

Nigerian Pentecostals. The few Pentecostal antagonists to prosperity preaching are

preachers from the holiness circles who although preach prosperity but with

reservation and caution in view of their holiness background. Pentecostal churches in

Nigeria preach prosperity. Members of the mainline churches believe that God

prospers his creatures. But the new Pentecostals are known for extreme prosperity

preaching in Nigeria. They are probably over emphasising the “Wealth and health

gospel” (Adeleye, 2011, p.77) or the gospel of success. They preach that financial

prosperity is a sign of God’s favour.

Not only that. There also seems to be an increasing embracement of prosperity

gospel among the mainstream Christian denominations in Nigeria. A glance at some

of the recent happenings and practices in these established churches betray this very

fact. Folarin (2007) explores the fact of the gradual compromises of these churches in

copying and adopting the practices of prosperity preachers into the mainline churches

which this work will soon examine. He maintains that at the moment prosperity

gospel is seriously infiltrating Nigeria and is influencing the messages and practices

of the older denominations in the country.

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However the situation this section tries first to shed some light on the various

responses towards prosperity preaching in Nigeria. It assesses the responses of

women and the youth and how such responses contribute in the flowering and

consolidation of Nigerian prosperity preaching. Equally worth investigating are the

candid response, stance and position of the Nigerian mainline churches on the

preaching of prosperity. To what extent is prosperity gospel criticised by holiness

preachers and the social media in Nigeria?

5.2 Women and Prosperity Preaching

Women in all probability always form significant percentage in any Christian

gathering or Church organization or denomination. They always tend to outnumber

their men counterparts in attending church services or meetings which is likely so

because women seem to be more in population than the men. Also women appear to

be more influenced by televangelists on the subject of prosperity than the men

occasioned by their having more time in watching movies and television programmes.

This is anchored on the fact that women spend most of their time at home attending to

domestic chores which grant them great deal of time to watch the televisions.

Even though, these days, men do seem to have some opportunities of watching

televisions more frequently too in their public offices, they seem not to be easily

carried away like the women because they are less emotional than the women. This

makes it easier for women to probably listen to prosperity messages much more than

the men folks since the media are among the greatest means of peddling prosperity

gospel. Being exposed constantly to prosperity messages give women an edge over

the men in having more faith in prosperity preachers than the men. This, without

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doubt makes women to probably respond more significantly to prosperity preaching

as is observed in Nigeria.

Added to this, women are probably in most ways very active in Christian

activities. By this, they bring their influence to bear on the entirety of the Church life.

Their influence even though seems negligible and unnoticed most of the time, it has

always been so penetrating and enduring. Quietly, women are making waves, steadily

imprinting their indelible foot prints in the sand of time. Through women’s receptivity

of prosperity gospel, they ordinarily seem to occupy the centre stage in the ministries

of prosperity preachers in Nigeria. According to Ralph (2015), “The zeal with which

they [women] undertake projects, their numerical strength and organizational prowess

are unarguably the reason for the continuous existence of these churches” (p.3). Their

active participation and responses are supportive of the successes of the prosperity

churches in Nigeria. Candidly speaking, minus the active involvement of women in

prosperity churches, most of the churches would have wobbled and crumbled.

It may not be an exaggeration therefore to say that women form a significant

proportion of those who pay their tithes in Pentecostal churches. Tithe payment is an

important factor in prosperity preaching in Nigeria. Some of the women probably do

encourage their husbands to also pay their tithes and sow seeds of faith when

challenged by problems. It is likely that women in search of the fruit of the womb out

do and surpass the men in sowing seed of Faith for children since they always appear

to be more desperate for children than the men.

Women equally respond to prosperity gospel by patronizing prosperity

preachers’ products. Made to believe that anointing oil is a means to petitioning to

God, has made many people especially women to resort to buying and applying

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anointing oil to solve their numerous problems such as those of infertility, seeking

love from their husbands, getting life partners, looking for promotion, seeking for

jobs, going for visa interviews among others rather than relying more on prayer and

fasting (Omotoye & Opoola, 2012). The relevance and potency of the anointing oil in

releasing power to tackle problems in the view of Oyedepo (1996) is that anointing oil

is not the symbol of the Holy Spirit but the life of God in a bottle. Oyedepo has since

been criticised by many preachers especially even Pentecostal preachers like Tunde

Bakare for equating the anointing oil to the power of the Holy Spirit (Kuponu, 2007).

Close to this, is the hot chase after stickers which carry the picture of some of

the great prosperity preachers or miracle workers by prosperity and miracle seekers.

The sticker of T. B. Joshua with the inscription “Let Love Leads, 1Cor.13” is a case in

point. Such similar other stickers exist in Nigeria. David Olaniyi Oyedepo of the

Winners Chapel also has such stickers. It is believed that once such type of sticker is

pasted on ones’ cars, gates, doors or business centres, any form of accident or

misfortune is far from there. Being carried away by this impression propels millions

of miracles seekers to buy such stickers for use. Women and the youths are likely the

chief consumers of this. As observed by Omotoye & Opoola (2012) the rate at which

people placed emphasis on the picture of mere men other than that of Jesus is a

concern in Christianity. It is remarked that Jesus alone should be worthy of such focus

instead of putting such confidence in man.

According to Ukah (2012) church owners who preach prosperity have

uncritically embraced market values and models such as the generation and

accumulation of profit made business through the selling of primarily media products.

Ukah holds that apart from large production of devotional materials for sell, there is

also massive production of electronic goods euphemistically called “worship

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materials” which people especially women regularly buy in large quantity. As

observed, holy water, mantle (handkerchief) and many others have also been in high

demand. Temitope Balogun Joshua and David Olaniyi Oyedepo are chief benefactors

and are really making their millions from these. While T.B. Joshua sells small bottle

of holy water, Oyedepo runs water factories which produce the Hebron sachet water.

Report by Olajide and Oni (2012) indicate that the Oyedepo’s Hebron sachet water’s

consumption rate is very high among his church members and even the immediate

Ota community who view the water as “divine”, and thus believe it could help

unburden them of their afflictions. Among the regular consumers of the holy water are

women and the youth who mostly hold preachers of prosperity in high esteem. They

are also the ones managing the water factories.

Handkerchiefs too are usually prayed over by “anointed men of God” in

Nigeria and are sold as mantle to teeming miracle seekers. This practice is premised

on the incident that occurred in Acts 19:11-12 where Handkerchiefs or aprons were

taken away from Paul to heal sick people. Although the Nigerian men do buy these

items too for use but there are more women and the youths that go for such things.

Equally, women are employed in their numbers to run restaurant and other services

for prosperity preachers especially Oyedepo at his two Christian universities namely

Covenant University and Landmark University. The third university of Oyedepo is on

the pipeline and is billed to take off soon at Goshen land, FCT Abuja. Omotoye &

Opoola (2012) and Olajide & Oni (2012) list some of the business ventures and

investments of Oyedepo to include the following: bakery, water bottling, petrol

station, schools, commercial jets, shopping stores, banks including a microfinance

bank, guest houses, printing press, poultry, fishery, crop farming, feed mill,

bookshops, internet cafes, supermarkets and the likes. To promote and maximise his

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gains, Oyedepo is said to have forced almost all his teeming employees to attend his

church where they are encouraged to pay their tithes there (Omotoye & Opoola,

2012).

The influence of women in the prosperity movement is remarkable and is

glaringly felt in the country. Faith Oyedepo, the wife of David Oyedepo has authored

many literatures to guide women in successful marriages. She is helping in the growth

of prosperity churches by influencing women spirituality in the area of harmonious

relationship with their husbands and in sexual matters. Her seminars during Shiloh,

the Winners Chapel’s annual programme usually draw women from all walks of life.

Records show that most of these women are eventually won into the Living Faith

Church as full members following the testimonies of people about God’s visitation in

their lives. Faith Oyedepo also reached and influenced a wider audience through her

regular column in Saturday Tribune on issues relating to stability of marriage.

The Nigerian prosperity gospel has to its credit so many prominent women

prosperity teachers who were either doctored by their husbands or are self-groomed.

Among the ones trained and ordained by their husbands to ensure the continuity of

their ministries and the prosperity gospel is Margaret Benson Idahosa, ordained by

Earl P. Paulk on April 4, 1998 after the demise of her husband on March 12, 1998 to

oversee Church of God Mission INC Worldwide and Nkechi Anayo Iloputaife of the

Victory Christian Church, Lagos among others in Nigeria. Those other women who

were either self-groomed or were groomed in prosperity churches and theological

seminaries and who later founded their own churches are:

i. Helen Ukpabio of Liberty Gospel Church, Calabar

ii. Jane Onaolapo of Abundant Life Gospel Church

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iii. Toyin Kehinde of Agape Generation International Church

iv. Agatha Awolaoni founded Triumphant Ministry

v. Funke Adejumo of Elikima Church Mission

vi. Ruth Essien of Exodus Evangelical Ministries

vii. Ruth Ayolaizi founded International God’s Bosom Church

viii. Joy Grace founded Liberty Gospel Mission

ix. Mary Azuebulem of God’s Testimony Ministry

x. Grace Oby Agorom-Johnson established Logos Aflame Ministries

xi. Lizzy Achor of Gospel Spreaders

xii. Ify Anya of Tower of Grace Bible Church

xiii. Charity Uzondu of God’s Miracle Church

xiv. Victoria Ake of Mt. Blessing Ministries

xv. Esther Ndubisi formed Power of God Church

xvi. Mercy Mark founded Pool of Bethesda Ministry

xvii. Elizabeth Ndukwe of National Church of God Mission

xviii. Mary Panninga of Christian Family Forum Jalingo

xix. Orpha Hassan Datti of Royal Chapel Jalingo

xx. Gift Ifeoma founded Grace of Truth Ministry; just to mention but a few in

Nigeria (Agha, 2013; Omotoye & Opoola, 2012).

Evidences abound that these women prosperity church founders like their men

colleagues are seasoned teachers of prosperity gospel with great clientele. They have

probably wooed and converted many including their husbands and children to their

folds or churches too. Those other women whose husbands are still alive are helping

their husbands in the ministry preparatory to their taking over the ministry in the event

of the passing on to glory of their husbands in the future. Many of these women

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preachers have published prosperity books from where they spread their ideology

thereby exerting a great deal of influence in modern Nigerian society. Prominent

among these books are God’s Prosperity Methods and Divine Compensation:

Regaining Your Lost Years both are authored by Helen Ukpabio. Many of such books

which represent prosperity principles written by women prosperity preachers abound

in Nigeria today.

5.3 The Youth and Prosperity Preaching

The youths are probably the future hope of any organization or faith. The

Nigerian youths appear to represent the strength of prosperity gospel in Nigeria. They

form likely the bulk of the total population of prosperity adherents and are in the

vanguard of prosperity preaching in Nigeria. The power with which the youths seem

to wield within the Pentecostal constituency of Christendom is so strong that it makes

the prosperity gospel to easily percolate and overspread the entire Nigerian nation

unhindered. The youths are indeed a force to be reckoned with as far as prosperity

gospel is concerned in Nigeria.

Studies show that Prosperity churches are on the rise by the day in

contemporary Nigeria. They are proliferating like wild fire in every nook and cranny

of the country. This is owing to the zealous and passionate nature of the youths’

response, involvement and participation in prosperity churches in Nigeria. It is

remarked that the Living Faith Church, the foremost Nigerian prosperity church

which started initially with just a branch in Kaduna city in Northern Nigeria has

mushroomed with branches in Nigeria and beyond. According to Omotoye & Opoola

(2012) “Young graduates who are fluent in English language are employed to serve as

pastors in such churches” (p.6). These scholars reiterate that the theology of

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prosperity has been a sort of hope for the young people who are looking for jobs in

the country. Incidentally, as Abogunrin (2007) asserts “Young graduates of

Universities and Polytechnics who could not find jobs started to float churches”

(p.276).

This observation seems to be right in view of the fact that prosperity churches

in Nigeria are obviously replete with young pastors who are mostly in their thirties

and forties. In the Winners Chapel alone, it is documented that there are well over

2000 youths on the Winners Chapel payroll as pastors and that Oyedepo is said to

have conveniently led the growing list of pastorpreneurs (Olajide & Oni, 2012). By

this, he is being considered to be a Church founder who is exploiting the passion and

emotion that Christianity commands to feather his nest. This indicates that David

Oyedepo is a great employer of labour (Obasanjo, 2009). With such figure from just

one prosperity church, it can be easily discerned that prosperity churches in Nigeria

are really making landmark progress in making disciples and in selling their

prosperity philosophy.

For David Oyedepo and other prosperity preachers in Nigeria, it is easy to

replicate themselves. These are through their weekly Bible studies, Sunday homilies,

camp meetings, short courses from their theological seminaries and universities

among others. Olajide & Oni (2012) capture what constitute the content of the

prosperity churches’ curricula as revealed in Oyedepo’s scheme of thought thus:

Make my people rich. He describes his prosperity-centric teachings as

“covenant software for programming yourself into victories and

triumphs”. With abiding faith in God, there are no limits, he insists, to

how prosperous a man can be. And God’s word, he says, is a

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goldmine. “It is loaded with treasures – treasures for your pleasure,

treasures for your comfort”, he pontificates (p.2).

Since information is powerful and is capable of transforming and changing

people’s behaviours, there is the likelihood that the millions of Nigerians that are

constantly being reached and are being fed by David Oyedepo and his teeming young

graduate pastors almost on a daily basis with prosperity ideologies may easily be

influenced to adopt materialistic lifestyles. Already, reports of journalists in Nigeria

did the round that Nigerian youths have since crossed Nigerian borders in their

numbers as pastors and missionaries into many countries of the world courtesy of

David Oyedepo, Enoch Adejare Adeboye, Chris Oyakhilome, Temitope Balogun

Joshua and a host of others. Even Oyedepo’s biological sons are currently serving as

bishops and are in charge of the Winners Chapel in the United Kingdom and South

Africa.

That David Oyedepo has mentored and reproduced many youths after his

kinds who are in turn reproducing many other prosperity preachers with several

branches of their own churches and Bible Institutes everywhere is further proved by

Balogun (2013) thus:

David Ibiyeomie, Presiding Pastor, Salvation Ministries is a

compassionate minister with strong, anointed shoulders to bear the

responsibility of Shepherding God’s people...A dynamic and

charismatic preacher with a vision directed by God and motivated to

carry on the will of the Heavenly Father to build heavenly-minded

people...He became born again in 1995, and few weeks later enrolled

at the Word of Faith Bible Institute, an arm of Bishop David

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Oyedepo’s Ministries in 1996. There he was greatly influenced by the

Bishop’s impactful teachings of the word, and the vision to establish

and run a church-based ministry became very clear. Steamed in the

divine grace of God, the Salvation Ministries started in April, 1997

with less than 30 worshippers, and since then, Pastor Ibiyeomie,

through an undiluted and insightful teaching of the word of God, has

been training, mentoring, impacting and transforming many men and

women into successful and enterprising individuals both in the secular

and spiritual spheres of life (p.5).

This lengthy assertion discloses how fast prosperity preachers multiply

themselves in Nigeria. Imagine how brief the period was within which Ibiyeomie got

converted, got trained as a pastor in a Bible Institute established by Oyedepo, founded

his own church and Bible Institute and went into mass production of young prosperity

preachers. It is all within just three years. It seems clearer that most of the prosperity

preachers do not wait to be well grounded in the faith and in the word of God before

they began massive production of other prosperity preachers. It is no wonder that their

influence is being felt everywhere in Nigeria today. It is equally shocking to realize

that David Oyedepo alone has successfully discipled millions of young prosperity

preachers through his Bible Institute and Christian Universities in contemporary

Nigeria who are reproducing so many others in the society.

Apart from the influence young pastors are exerting on the masses in the

global world, prosperity churches have also provided the youths from the mainstream

Christian denominations in and outside the country with ample job opportunities as

school teachers, drivers, pilots, bodyguards, sale agents, clerks, messengers, cleaners,

and the like. These teeming employers of prosperity preachers will no doubt have

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their share of direct influence on their families, churches, communities and countries.

They probably and possibly may influence their people’s decisions and lifestyles in

favour of prosperity ideology. As sale agents, the youths hawk stickers, prosperity

books, prayer books, devotionals, pamphlets and the like for the prosperity preachers

thereby filling everywhere with prosperity items.

According to Ukah (2012), Nigerian Pentecostalism is characterised more than

ever before by an increase in religious advertising in the guise of evangelism. Most

Prosperity preachers in Nigeria have devised some means to promote advertising as

evangelism. In most prosperity churches, street preaching is seen as old fashion. The

current trend is mere distribution of hand-bills to people and inviting them to attend

their all night vigils, retreats, miracle services, annual thanksgivings, pastor’s

appreciation services, seed sowing services and many others where people should

bring their problems in order to experience lifting up and breakthroughs is now the

order of the day. This new strategy is simple and is not cumbersome. Anybody can

accept to do that because it does not involve intelligible preaching or ironing out your

point convincingly for people to get convicted. Just invite people for the main actor;

the president and founder of the ministry who has already trained himself to sell his

products after working on people’s psychology.

The main attractions remain: Come and receive the miracles of healings,

financial breakthroughs, getting life partners, overseas visas, new jobs, promotion at

workplaces, achieving academic excellence, winning contracts, regain robust health,

harvest the fruits of the womb, gaining victories at election or court cases, gaining

university admissions and many others. Music and warm fellowship is another strong

pull towards prosperity churches in Nigeria. To his mind, Osborn (1996) in

condemning in strong terms this Pentecostal’s new and cheap technique of

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evangelism says “Jesus never said, “Go ring a Church bell and pray for people to

come in” (p.62). But rather as Osborn elaborates, the early Christians were most

proactive in their method. According to Osborn (1996) the first generation disciples

left their comfort zones and:

Stayed busy witnessing in the markets, on the streets; in houses,

around public wells; talking, reasoning, witnessing, persuading,

preaching, winning souls, compelling people to believe the gospel and

to come into the Kingdom of God. In fact, they reminded everyone so

much of Christ that critics contemptibly nicknamed them CHRIST-i-

ans (p.63).

Since some of the Nigerian youths benefit from this venture by way of earning

their living, they endeared themselves to it. One classical example of this is the Christ

Embassy’s rallies where their founder’s Rhapsody of realities were distributed free of

charge to the masses in different countries of the world as part of efforts to rid the

world of evil and to create a crime free society. This goes a long way to creating

awareness of prosperity churches presence and impact in the world which also makes

more people become knowledgeable of their breakthrough teachings in the world.

Today, many youths who have experienced Pentecostal life during their

college or university days on campus and who in the course of their being there

received prosperity philosophy have since gone back to join their parents and siblings

in the mainstreams denominations and are busy exerting some influences on the

mainstream Christians. Those youths who later went to theological seminaries of their

mainstream churches to be accepted for ordination in accordance with their church’s

policy after perhaps undergoing some short theological courses or fully been trained

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in prosperity churches and seminaries are gradually introducing some prosperity

elements into the mainline churches. Some of these elements are seed sowing,

miracles extravaganza night, anointing for breakthrough service, much emphasis on

tithes and offering with separate exhortation to promote the tithes and offering in their

churches, always raising offering for the pastor outside the normal Sunday church

offering among others. As can be understood, the role the youths are playing in the

quick expansion of prosperity churches goes to suggest that the youth impacts in

Nigeria should not be under estimated at all.

The after-effect of the influence of prosperity preachers on the youths and

women who have been discipled in prosperity churches manifests itself in different

ways. Many women and the youths are now gradually translating the prosperity

messages into practice in contemporary Nigeria. As it happened, what transpired in

Cameroon when prosperity gospel was first introduced with its attendant outcomes on

the people is replicating in Nigeria at the moment. Akoko (2007) documents that the

people:

Emulate what their leaders do in terms of the gospel. For instance, in

dressing, it is commonplace to see the translators, the secretary, lessons

readers, ushers and elders in every assembly gorgeously dressed during

worship service because they know that they have to frequent the stage

and for that reason their ways of dressing should be an example for

other Christians to emulate (p.90).

For the current importance attached to dressing, many Nigerian Pentecostal

women have started operating pedicure and manicure saloon. In prosperity churches,

the way one appears either during any church meetings, in the office, at business

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centres, or during any ceremonies matters a lot. For the Nigerian prosperity believers,

it is through dressing that one proves his worth as a Christian. It is held that people are

being addressed the way one dresses. So the current happenings have affected the

initial Classical Pentecostal’s dressing code. Many Christians now prefer to go

western in their dressing. Some dress in their native wear such as wearing singlet and

tying wrapper. Pastors as well as the laity mostly go on very expensive dresses and

suits to perform a special function during any church programme. Though, the

churches with holiness background still repudiate too expensive ways of dressing as

encouraged by the dressing code of their General Overseer such as E. A. Adeboye of

RCCG and some of his pastors. Adeboye (2011) makes this observation about the

manner of dressing of some of the prosperity churches thus:

In their efforts to grow membership, some churches adopt worldly

strategies such as sending pretty ladies who are semi-naked or clad

with micro minis spaghetti tops, perforated wears e.t.c. to bring them

to Church. Some of them deliberately retain such ladies as ushers so as

to fan the embers of lust in members (Open Heavens Devotional

Manual, Friday, September 2).

In a related development, members of prosperity churches who are mostly

women and people in their prime are beginning to copy their leaders’ manners of

lifestyles. A good number of the Pentecostals are trying to live big like their pastors. It

is a common sight to see the Pentecostals from the prosperity circles cruising about

with expensive cars and wearing expensive dresses. This, they do like their pastor to

demonstrate a sign of God’s blessing upon their lives (Akoko, 2007). The

underprivileged members who perhaps are still trusting God for their own

breakthrough tend to dress neatly always. Some probably collect clothes, shoes and

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other items to pay back to their respective owners instalmentally. This practice is

becoming popular in Nigeria today as traders have formed the habit of peddling their

goods from office to office as well as from house to house and mostly encouraging

people to collect items to settle the bill at the later date when salaries are paid.

Christians’ general orientation and attitude to material success is becoming

more outstanding in Nigeria. In this 21st century, Christians have been exposed to

information that made them to believe that Christians should not remain poor.

According to Onwu (2006) prosperity gospel is “A gospel that arose as a reaction

against poverty while challenging the age-old adage of “as poor as a church-rat”

(p.22). This revelation alone has made almost everyone in prosperity churches to

become busy trying their hands in one venture or the other. If they are not engaged

running around for the pastor and his family, they are putting their hands trying one

petty business or the other. There is now the consciousness that people even

Christians should accumulate wealth here on earth as exemplified in their pastor’s

quest for material acquisition. This appears to have ignited the spirit of competition in

business in Nigeria. There are teenagers, youths and young ladies opening call centres

where they also sell recharge cards and charge handset batteries for money. Some

youths operate barbing saloon, manage cyber cafe, trying their hands in

photographing, hawking cool sachet water at the motor parks as well as along streets

of major towns and cities. Of course, some take to selling of fruits, newspapers, meat,

vegetables, grains, current affairs pamphlets, snacks, cosmetics, jewellery and many

others.

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5.4 Antagonists of Prosperity preaching (Holiness Preachers)

Prosperity preaching is a common phenomenon in contemporary Nigeria. To

the thinking of many Pentecostal preachers, the emergence of prosperity gospel in

Nigeria is timely and is intended to challenge endemic poverty that has been

bedevilling Nigerians. This makes almost all the Pentecostals to swing into the

preaching of prosperity, whether it was with the good intention of bringing its

emancipating and empowering functions to bear on the underprivileged Nigerians

who probably see prosperity preachers as the long awaited messiahs or it was simply

being promoted with the ulterior motive of harvesting gold from parishioners. Amidst

high expectations of Nigerians, this prosperity gospel which was being dreamed to put

smiles on people’s faces by making them rich with abundant material resources has

been under serious attack by holiness preachers internationally.

Prosperity preaching if it is done as captured in the parlance of William

Folorunsho Kumuyi, the General Overseer and Founder of Deeper Life Christian

Ministries, Lagos “without legitimate means to its realization implies aiding and

abating crime” (Obeta 2006, p.252). How is prosperity preaching promoting crime in

the society as Kumuyi claimed above? According to Iheanacho (2009), the sin of

helping God to fast-track a miracle is worse than not making any attempt in the first

instance to getting financial miracle. Iheanacho buttresses the point that it is

commonplace to notice that in the Nigerian prosperity preaching churches, preachers

are in the habits of scheming and defrauding people of their hard earned resources.

This, in the opinion of Iheanacho happens when preachers pretend and give out fake

prophecies of what God is presumed to do for the people in return of their cash

donations and seed sowing in the ministries of those prosperity preachers. Iheanacho

(2009) puts it this way:

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After several prophecies of wealth, ‘breakthrough’, and a continuous

wait for the arrival of the miracle, the expectant may be tempted to

‘fast-track’ the prophecy through foul and dubious human means.

While some people die in pursuit of such delusive utterances, a few get

something out of fraud, and are welcomed by the minister in a well

commended thanksgiving service. All associated to the will of God

(p.110).

It is no wonder that some Pentecostal miracle seekers have been accused and

charged to law courts for stealing money from their workplaces and donated part of it

as seed faith to their churches. The cases of Lawrence Agada who was a cashier with

the Lagos Sheraton Hotel and Towers, accused of stealing and donating to his church

the sum of N40 million and also of Gbenga Dipo Kehinde who was an assistant

manager with the defunct Eko International Bank, equally accused of stealing the sum

of N39 million from his employer out of which he donated N10 million to his church

are cases in point (Omotoye, 2010). Both of them are members of Christ Embassy,

founded by Chris Oyakhilome.

Even though, Kumuyi is a holiness preacher, he too preaches prosperity as do

many of the holiness preachers in Nigeria like E. A. Adeboye of the RCCG as well as

Lazarus Mouka of the Lord Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministries simply called The

Lord’s Chosen among others. Kumuyi preaches prosperity without living life of

flamboyance like his counterpart Adeboye. But as discovered, those of them from the

holiness background seem to preach prosperity with restraint in view of people’s

salvation and the hereafter, and seem not to be minding whether they grow large

followership or not. Their concern seems to have always been to helping people to

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live righteously and holily to be able to make it to Heaven at the end of the day. For

example, Kumuyi is reported to have told his church members something like this: “I

am not interested in a crowd; I am only interested in those who are going to Heaven.

If you are not ready to obey the word of God, please, pack your load and leave Deeper

Life” (Jibril, 2012, P.2). Also, Lazarus Mouka is heard several times in the television

emphasizing one of their slogans which says “Heaven At Last” to his members, being

an encouragement that people should strive to get there. Adeboye in encouraging his

teeming parishioners of their total obedient to the word of God emphasises that those

of them who are not paying their tithes promptly and correctly may eventually miss

heaven at the end of their race because of that. So, it is expected that Christians from

the holiness churches should be more conscious in minding the Kingdom of God and

holy living while here on earth which perhaps should be their top most priority and

not just to carelessly meddle themselves with earthly affairs.

Surprisingly, just like members of the prosperity churches who probably

appear to be worldly, members of the holiness churches who perhaps should be more

heavenly minded and conscious are now beginning to copy somehow the lifestyles of

people from the prosperity churches. For instance, the Deeper Life members as this

work reveals have of recent tended to be occupying themselves with recording of their

General Overseer’s prayers especially, the ones that have something to do with

prosperity and use it as ringing tones. The two most popular of such Kumuyi’s

prayers being used as ringing tones by most of his church members and even outsiders

are as follow:

I am passing that success to you; I am passing that victory to you; as

you stand upon these words, no enemy will stand before you; every

door is opened before you; testimony is already waiting for you,

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because a door is opened before you and nobody will shut that door in

Jesus’ name.

As I succeed you will succeed; as I make progress you will make

progress; everywhere I get to you will go there; and all of us will

celebrate victory on the mountain top in Jesus’ name; tragedy gone;

sorrow gone; weeping gone; mourning gone; success welcome; victory

welcome; happiness welcome; progress welcome; prosperity welcome;

joy welcome; we go to celebrate our success from now till Jesus comes

in Jesus’ name; we thank you Lord because we know you have

answered; in Jesus’ name we pray (Downloaded from S. Adeseye’s

handset, personal communication, November 22, 2014).

As can be deduced, there seems to be a very significant response from

members of the holiness churches globally towards prosperity preaching nowadays.

People no longer seem to be singing an old time religious song like: “What is your

hope in this world? The Kingdom of God is my hope in this world, the Kingdom of

God (Repeatedly)”. Today, the song that takes the air every now and then is: “O o o o

my God is good o (2x). Everything na double double- na double double (3x)”.

Interestingly, ample examples of such prayers of prosperity preachers and prosperity-

based songs abound in Nigeria. Those prayers of E. A. Adeboye and D. O. Oyedepo

among several others are uncritically being downloaded and are being used even by

non-members of those ministries in Nigeria and beyond as ringing tones.

Reflecting on the over emphasis on prosperity by some of the Nigerian

prosperity preachers especially as it is being feared to exert some detrimental effects

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on people’s eternal destinies, Adeboye (2011) warns all the extremists of this gospel

to be more careful and considerate. He puts it in these words:

Are you a prosperity minister? One day you will go [die]. Have you

been fraudulently amassing wealth and using such proceeds to buy cars

or build houses? One day, it’s either you leave the houses or they will

leave you. Let holiness be your main hunger and desire (Open Heavens

Devotional Manual, Saturday, July 9).

The emphasis of Adeboye on holiness is informed by the fact that prosperity

gospel is today perceived to be turning and shifting Christians’ attention gradually

away from their eternal focus making them more worldly and unprepared for the

rapture of the saints.

Although, Mike Okonkwo is himself a Pentecostal prosperity preacher, he

condemns the materialistic attitude of his fellow Pentecostal ministers. It is recorded

that Okonkwo in (Diara, 2011) is said to have warned:

Pentecostal pastors against laying so much emphasis on miracles and

prosperity to the detriment of holiness and salvation. He decried a

situation in which people now see the supposed house of God as places

to come and make wealth. He accused Pentecostal pastors of relegating

the teaching that “the just shall live by faith” to the background in the

quest for prosperity, and called on them to preach the basics of the

Bible to avoid the bane of the churches in America and Europe (p.67).

Diara buttresses that unless pastors and preachers go back to the doctrines of

the Bible and preach salvation and holiness instead of miracles and prosperity, the

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situation of Christianity in Nigeria will further degenerate and the souls of many,

including the so called men of God, are bound to be doomed as judgement will soon

begin from the house of God.

Ayodele Joseph Oritsejafor popularly known as Ayo Oritsejafor oversees

Word of Life Bible Church, Warri and is the current national president of CAN. He

speaks touching on the huge gap that exist between the spirituality and actual faith in

God of the Nigerian prosperity adherents. He sanctions those prosperity preachers

who have suddenly abandoned the preaching of undiluted gospel of salvation and

shifted towards prosperity in pursuit of money (Eyoboka & Erunke, 2014). Though he

himself is a prosperity preacher to a certain degree, Oritsejafor wonders why the love

of money has taken over Christendom. He rebukes those who preach nothing but

prosperity in total neglect of people’s salvation. He stresses that because heaven is

every Christian’s target, it is important that preachers of prosperity emphasize on

salvation, knowing Christ, holy living and going to heaven.

Femi Aribisala is another critic. His worries about prosperity gospel are that

“In the churches, truth has fallen in the pews and falsehood has become the

established doctrine” (Aribisala, 2014, p.1). He singles out Oyedepo’s teaching on

poverty to drive home his point. According to him, David Oyedepo says that poverty

is not of God. That Oyedepo in his teaching insist that a child of God has no business

being poor and declares that there is a proven covenant cure for poverty. Aribisala

wonders if this were to be true and proven, then all the world’s poor would have

become rich Christians by now. For Aribisala, prosperity gospel is a pie in the sky. It

is a fake gospel which is not intended to eradicate poverty but man’s calculation to

bountifully enrich the prosperity preachers who are selling it to gullible prosperity

seekers. According to Aribisala (2014) many now see church-going in economic

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terms deeming it invaluable for making business connections. In the observation of

Aribisala, bankers come to church in search of depositors and traders too come to

church in search of customers. Church has now become places where complimentary

cards are exchange for likely business opportunities. Pastors tend to see church as a

place where they can get rich quick by offering self-propagated keys of financial

prosperity.

Tunde Bakare, pastor of the Latter Rain Assembly equally disdains prosperity

preachers’ unbridled desire for wealth. He branded preachers of prosperity as

‘apostates’. He was said to have regarded them as only interested in the gospel of

wealth. Bakare is reported to have also publicly torn one of Oyedepo’s books because

its contents were said to be in total disagreement with the teachings of Christ (Odunsi,

2014, Olajide & Oni, 2012). Oyedepo in this book informs that the anointing oil is

God’s life in a bottle.

In the observation of Igho (2012) prosperity gospel appears to make the real

gospel fire to be cooling down. He reiterates that while souls of men are becoming

less genuinely saved resulting to increasing worldliness, contemporary preachers

seem only to be preaching and getting proselytes or ‘converts’ that are becoming

twice children of hell than the preachers themselves. This, it is said can occur because

preachers these days centre their message more on material rewards than on spiritual

blessings of the people. As noted, “The nitty-gritty and essentials of the gospel are

held back and hardly visited, and when visited – after a very long silence – rarely

thoroughly, or even mentioned in passing” (Igho, 2012, p.1). Apart from this, today’s

preachers are said to be distorting Scriptures just for the purpose of making

themselves rich with the unrighteous mammon - money.

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The criticism of Mac (2013) is that prosperity gospel is unbiblical. To this

holiness preacher, prosperity gospel is unbiblical because it merely focussed on this

life. Prosperity preachers are observed to focus their teachings always on: How to be

happy, prosperous, experiencing a stress-free life and having a better life now. Mac

(2013) emphasizes that Jesus never preached such heresy because such messages are

contrary to God’s word. She adds that prosperity churches preach a half-hearted warm

and fuzzy ‘gospel’ that ‘tickles people’s ears’ making people feel good about

themselves – temporarily – for this life which is actually a different gospel.

John MacArthur, another holiness preacher, in Mac (2013) in his reference to

2Timothy 6:10 opines that the pursuit of wealth exemplified in prosperity gospel is a

dangerous path for Christians and that it is one which God warns about. MacArthur

identifies prosperity preachers as dangerous false teachers who should be avoided by

Christians at all times. In the prosperity gospel as MacArthur reveals “The believer is

told to use God, whereas the truth of biblical Christianity is just the opposite – God

uses the believer. Word of Faith or prosperity theology sees the Holy Spirit as a power

to be put to use for whatever the believer wills” (Mac, 2013, p.4). This line of

teaching is said to be destructive and which has infiltrated into Christendom by

prosperity preachers causing a lot of havoc to people’s faith. MacArthur rebukes Joel

Osteen and his colleagues for teaching that God cannot work on his own accord until

Christians manipulate or release him to do so at the times of believers’ need when

their faith is exercised at the time they wanted.

Munguti (2014) attacks prosperity gospel on the ground that it is a false

damnation and satanic gospel that is leading millions of ignorant people to hell. He

observes that prosperity gospel is the most preached and taught gospel in many

churches today. To his mind, this gospel of prosperity which is simply a gospel of

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blessings, money, riches, wealth, health and worldly materials and success does not

teach people to seek God and the heavenly Kingdom. This gospel does not teach

holiness, salvation and God’s grace which is God’s riches at Christ expense. He

clarifies that salvation of soul is only by grace through faith not by world prosperity.

As Munguti reiterates worldly riches and wealth sought and taught in prosperity

gospel hinder millions of people from entering the Kingdom of heaven. Prosperity

gospel has the tendency to make people’s heart to be fixed on their treasures that are

on earth rather than focusing on Christ and heaven. Munguti submits that in order to

prosper in this world, one has to fall down, worship and sell one’s soul to Satan. This,

he testifies, many people have probably already ignorantly fallen down and

worshipped Satan in order to have this world’s wealth. It is in this view that, Munguti

over reacted that prosperity gospel is 100% demonic and a part of the great deception.

Munguti upon this conclusion, issues a clarion call to all the prosperity preachers to

repent and re-focus on the Lord Jesus Christ so as to retain their eternal destiny in

heaven. Reflecting on this, it may be right to say that Munguti is being judgmental of

the prosperity gospel. It is not actually true that prosperity gospel is 100% demonic.

There seems to be some good in the prosperity gospel. It appears to have benefited not

a small proportion of the Christians population in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

The fact that part of its principles has elements of deception does not render the whole

phenomenon null and void or of no value. So the positive aspects of prosperity gospel

may be delineated from the negative ones so as not to demonise the entire gospel.

5.5 Mainline Churches Response

Prosperity gospel is said to be transdenominational (Koch, 2009, Ray, 2012).

Being a fairly flexible theology, Koch observes that prosperity gospel is well suited to

be adapted to varying social locations particularly in a society that is radically

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individualistic like the United States. No wonder, it originated from there. This gospel

percolates freely and stealthily sneaks into the mainline churches alongside

Pentecostalism in the 20th century. It appears as if there are multiple gospels of

prosperity manifested in its degree of emphasis any where it finds itself. This gospel

seems to have a similar support anywhere it goes in any country. Guess what the

response to the prosperity gospel was at the time of its upsurge in the mainstream

Christianity. Frankly speaking, there were different definite reactions to prosperity

gospel by mainstream Christians, preachers, and theologians.

At first, there was what looks like a sharp attack on prosperity gospel by

Christian preachers of the mainstream Christian denominations in Nigeria. According

to Folarin (2007), whether it was intentional or unintentional, Christian preachers and

theologians in the mainline churches in Nigeria initially demonised the prosperity

gospel. They vehemently repudiated elements of prosperity gospel into their churches.

It is on record that “members of evangelical churches that visited programs on

prosperity were openly criticised and even expelled” from their churches (Folarin,

2007, p.6). This repulsive attitude of the traditional church leadership forces many

mainstream Christians who were not planning to permanently leave their traditional

churches to go out to the waiting hands of prosperity preachers in Nigeria. The harsh

attitudes of leaders of the various strands of Christianity at least assist in one way or

the other in multiplying adherents of the prosperity gospel. The motivating factor

behind this drift and exodus of mainstream Christians to prosperity churches lies in

their enticing doctrines of financial prosperity.

That apart, it is claimed that prosperity churches seemingly provide solutions

to man’s existential problems of sickness, demon oppression, and poverty which the

mainline churches seem to down play and explain away as either “psychological or

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medically pathological” (Folarin, 2007, p.5). To worsen it, the mainline churches tend

to operate a closed system that had little or no provision for the spiritual and the

miraculous for which the prosperity churches monopolised and claim to have ready

answers to these challenges. Sarles (1986) concurs that the gospel of prosperity

consists of healing from sickness, casting out of demons, and deliverance from

material poverty which probably caps up the theology of the prosperity churches.

Among other reasons, it is unthinkable that these prosperity ideas would naturally

motivate individuals to begin to take actions that would better their lot and increase

their income in this life.

The much drift to prosperity churches causes serious concern to the ranks and

files of mainstream Christianity in Nigeria. As it occurred, some of the mainline

churches suddenly relaxed their rigidity and began to tolerate Pentecostal practices

like sensitizing their members of the benefits attached to their tithing and seed sowing

which is prosperity driven. It is said that at the moment, the attitude of many

mainstream Christian denominations to elements of prosperity gospel is enthusiastic,

even though the term prosperity theology is carefully being avoided by mainstream

preachers and theologians so as not to be accused of what they were initially

repugnant of. For instance, the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC), the Evangelical

Church Winning All formerly the Evangelical Church of West Africa (ECWA), and

the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) among others are said to be incorporating some

Pentecostal elements of healing, deliverance, and prosperity into their liturgy as a

measure to retain their members in their churches (Folarin, 2007). To this

development, Joseph Dauda Mamman, a Catholic priest testified that “When the

Catholic introduced elements of the prosperity gospel into their services, many of the

members that they lost to prosperity gospel ministries returned to the Catholic

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Church” (Folarin, 2007, p.8). Mamman fails to give the statistics of those who return

to the Catholic Church any way.

Although, most mainline churches appear to have adopted the prosperity

gospel on the periphery which to them is a measure taken to prevent defection of

members to prosperity churches, such adoption is only noticed in their homily. It

seems that somehow the adoption of prosperity elements in the mainline churches is

unofficial even though it is mostly the pastors that are charting its course. This is

clearly seen in individual preacher’s comment and position on the subject matter of

prosperity gospel. Deji Ayegboyin, one time president and chief executive of the NBC

bears his minds when he said that prosperity gospel is spurious, unbiblical and is

pastorally damaging and spiritually unhealthy to people in Nigeria and beyond

(Ayegboyin, 2013). He observes that the danger inherent in the prosperity gospel is in

its emphasis that success in life is entirely due to one’s striving or cleverness and that

spiritual welfare can be measured only in terms of material welfare or that wealth is

always a sign of God’s blessing or that poverty or illness or early death, is always a

sign of God’s curse, or human curses. He rejects those elements of prosperity teaching

that are identical to positive confession and other kinds of self-help techniques.

Ayegboyin decries how cheaply many Christians have been duped today by false

expectations inherent in prosperity teaching. It is his sad observation that when such

expectations of Christians are not met, those Christians give up on God or lose their

faith. He wonders why over-emphasis on individual’s wealth and success goes on

unabated without the corresponding emphasis on the need for the accountability of

such prosperity.

As the prosperity gospel gains momentum and popularity within the

mainstream Christianity, some concerned “mainliners” respond more authoritatively

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by authoring books and many articles to counter certain aspects of the fast expanding

teachings. Prominent among these books in Nigeria are Beware: That Prosperity

Message Can Cost You Rapture (Owojaiye, 1989), Prosperity or Materialism

(Owojaiye, n’d’), Godliness for Gain: An Evaluation of the Nigerian Version of the

Prosperity Gospel (Okwori, 1995), Preachers of a Different Gospel (Adeleye, 2011),

The Divine Deceit: Business in Religion (Obiora, 1998) and Biblical Prosperity and

how to Obtain it (Zwinghina, 2014) among several others. Put briefly, Owojaiye

(n’d’) declares that “Many of our prosperity preachers are preaching errors. They are

preaching what the disciples did not preach or teach. They are preaching things

outrightly condemned by our Master the Lord Jesus Christ” (p.3). Owojaiye maintains

that the preoccupation of the early disciples of Jesus is the crucified life and not

money, riches or wealth. He therefore warns preachers of prosperity that they may

eventually miss heaven for indulging in prosperity preaching.

Similarly, Okwori (1995) dismisses prosperity gospel as a false and

materialistic invention of man in which prosperity preachers employ just to enrich

themselves for self satisfaction and self glorification. To Okwori’s mind, prosperity

gospel is unsound and unsafe for Christians’ consumption. Adeleye (2011) sees

prosperity gospel as entirely another gospel different from the original biblical truth

and warns that its exponents desist from peddling it. In his dismay, Obiora (1999)

intimates that “The reality of business in religion has introduced a new gospel into the

original Christianity. This is the gospel of commercialisation. It is the gospel of

prosperity. It is a gospel of fierce competition for survival among the churches”

(p.90). To qualify the practice of prosperity preachers in Nigeria, Obiora also remarks

that those extreme prosperity preachers are nothing other than robbers in the

sanctuary.

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The term robber is probably used here to portray the extent to which some

preachers have commercialised the gospel in their bid to making it materially as men

of God. The over indulgence in prosperity preaching by the Nigerian Pentecostals has

probably attracted many of such negative comments from the evangelical Christians

in Nigeria. This appears to be parts of the evangelicals’ effort to discourage the

prevalence of prosperity gospel at its onset. But as things turn out to be, prosperity

gospel eventually became a snare that ensnares not only the evangelical to preach it

but all the other mainline churches too.

The activities of prosperity preachers in Nigeria are giving some serious

concerns to evangelical Christians. Diara (2011) expresses worries that there is a high

proclivity among these so called men of God to acquire more and more wealth that

the ideals of morals and social justice that constitute the nerve of religiosity have been

variously tagged with commercial values. Money and wealth are seen to have taken

the place of God and heaven. As noted, “Religiosity is widespread; however,

godliness is scarce. People from all walks of life profess faith in God; however, this is

not displayed in everyday life practices” (Para-Mallam, 2014, p.1).

According to Asamoah-Gyadu (2014):

What raises concerns among evangelical Christians in particular is the

emphasis of this gospel on material things as prime indicators of

faithful Christianity. This message, which is now proclaimed in

churches and through media ministries, has attracted concerns because

of its proof-texting hermeneutics – holding a position on issues and

looking for biblical passages to justify it regardless of context – that

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leads to the neglect of fundamental Christian themes such as a sound

theology of the cross (p.1).

This citation points out one of the weaknesses of prosperity gospel which is

materialism. It is implicated that the godlier one is, as a Christian, the more monetary

gain one is going to get (Urban, 2014). Prosperity preachers preach that if one really

have faith in God and is godly, one will be financially prosperous. Urban (2014)

reiterates that:

It is a very common thing within the Church nowadays to hear a

preachers making references to supposed promises in the Bible that

promise believers to have financial and economic prosperity.

Statements like, “God doesn’t want us to live in poverty” and “God

promises to bless you economically if you honor Him” and so on, give

the impression that Christians should believe God for and seek

material, financial, economic prosperity on this earth. Frequently the

impression is given which ultimately makes people think, “God wants

me to have more money”. And so believers start praying and asking

God for more financial prosperity and even begin to seek after

increasing their economic status in this world (p.1).

The questions that bother most evangelical Christians as expressed by Urban

are: Does God really promise to give all Christians financial and economic

prosperity? Does the Lord really want believers not to be satisfied if one is living in

poverty (if that is one’s appointed lot) and to seek after increasing one’s material

substance? Today, there seems to be such a rush by prosperity seeker to be rich and

keep getting rich with earthly things against one’s eternal well being. For Urban,

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where error is calculatedly promoted by false prosperity preachers believers in Christ

should hastily withdraw themselves from them (1Tim.6:5).

John Piper is of Baptist background and a founder and chancellor of

Bethlehem College and Seminary who kicks against prosperity preaching on the

ground that it is deceitful and deadly. He cautions prosperity preachers with these

words “Luring people to Christ to get rich is both deceitful and deadly...It’s deadly

because the desire to be rich plunges “people into ruin and destruction” (Luke 14:33)”

(Piper, 2014, p.1). He therefore sounds the warning to prosperity preachers not to

develop a philosophy of ministry that: (i) makes it harder for people to get to heaven,

(ii) kindles suicidal desires in people, (iii) encourages vulnerability to moth and rust,

(iv) makes hard work a means of amassing wealth, (v) promotes less faith in the

promises of God to be for people what money cannot be, (vi) contributes to their

church members being choked to death, and (vii) takes the seasoning out of the salt

and puts the light under a basket.

In the same token, Grady (2013) criticizes prosperity preaching in view of its

devastating effects on the African people. He observes that prosperity preachers are

taking this money-focused message to a new and even dangerous extreme in Africa.

He identifies five ways in which prosperity gospel is so damaging to Christians in

Africa: (i) it is mixed with occultism, (ii) it fuels greed, (iii) it feeds pride, (iv) it

works against the formation of Christian character and (v) it actually keeps people in

poverty. These points will be incorporated and examined in much detail under the

negative impacts of prosperity gospel in Nigeria.

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Equally, Anthony Okogie, a Catholic bishop was quoted to have chided the

likes of Oyedepo for allegedly placing materialism high above the gospel. His words

sound thus:

You claim to be a pastor looking after souls. I know you cannot look

after the soul without the body, but why would a pastor give 90 percent

of his time to the body and give only 10 percent to the soul. I wonder

what kind of pastors they are? That shows really that they are not

shepherds of the flock. They have been skinning the flock, taking out

of the milk of the flock (Olajide & Oni, 2014, p.9).

Hilary Chukwuka Achunike is another notable Catholic Priest and Church

Historian who did bear his mind too on the issue of prosperity preaching in Nigeria.

Prosperity preaching as done in Nigeria in the opinion of Achunike (2014) is a very

large issue which cannot just be limited to financial prosperity. He acknowledges the

fact that God certainly prospers his people. But it is worrisome to him that prosperity

preachers in Nigeria are over emphasizing it. The implication in the view of Achunike

is that Christians, particularly the Pentecostals are making prosperity an idol. He

expatiates that ‘idol’ is anything fashioned by man and made as a value that displaces

the presence of God. For Achunike (2014) “The God of the market or prosperity only

is not the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (p.18). Hence, he challenges

prosperity preachers that “the notion of making Christianity a mere acolyte in the

prevailing global market culture must be rejected. Prosperity, the way it is preached is

individualistic pure and simple. It does not consider the many or the greater number”

(pp.18-19). Achunike sees prosperity preaching as practised in Nigeria as arrogant in

nature which must be discouraged.

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By the same token, Lawrence Ofili in condemnation of Oyedepo’s insatiable

desire for wealth in trying to launch a new airline project, Dominion Air says that

“Pastor Oyedepo, by his choice of businesses, has severally demonstrated a

disconnect between himself and hundreds of thousands of poor Christians who he

claims to have come to deliver” (Olajide & Oni, 2014, p.9). Ofili queries, how many

of the numerous worshippers of his church are going to fly that Dominion Air? He

criticises the fact that the decision to float an airline is a misplaced priority which is

definitely not for the poor. Ofili had preferred Oyedepo to settle for mechanised

farming to engage the many unemployed young men and women in his church other

than an airline. In spite of this criticism however, Oyedepo’s World Mission Agency,

an arm of the Winners Chapel has always been occupied with provision of welfare,

health, and humanitarian services to the needy in the society. He is also a known

employer of labour with investment in agriculture, oil and education, just to mention

but a few. But generally, it is reasoned that Oyedepo would have sympathetically puts

himself in the shoes of the many poor people in his church that are still battling to

afford three square meals a day than for him to embark on such money guzzling

project of an airline that have no direct bearings on the lives of his congregants.

Conversely, Duty (2014)’s stance on prosperity gospel which seems to

represent the popular opinions of most evangelical Christians is that prosperity

gospellers and adherents needs to be evangelized again otherwise they may not be

able to make it to heaven. According to this view, preachers of prosperity and their

teeming supporters are already most likely doomed for eternal destruction in Hell for

over concentration on worldly pursuit and material acquisition against being

conscious of holy living to meeting the prerequisite for entrance into God’s eternal

home which is heaven. Sharing the real gospel of salvation with people who are

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already soaked with the gospel of health, wealth, and success in the view of Duty is

challenging for two primary reasons.

First, the message of prosperity appeals to the flesh. By this, he meant that:

The prosperity “gospel” capitalizes on natural desires for health and

wealth and promises what our sinful hearts desire. There is no call to

repent of sin; there is no call to deny yourself, pick up your cross, and

follow Jesus; there is no call to die (Mk.10:34-35).

So, those who have been fed with the wrong information about their eternal

destinies needs to be properly informed in order to forsake their erroneous belief in

exchange for belief in messages that will deliver their souls from destruction in Hell.

Secondly, Prosperity preachers and adherents use the words that genuine

preachers of righteousness and holiness use, but with different meaning. This renders

prosperity gospel a counterfeit gospel. For example, the word ‘faith’ is taken by

prosperity adherents to signify a tool adherents use to manipulate God to do

something for them. Faith, to them is simply the currency that is used to get what they

want from God, whereas gospel to prosperity adherents implies ‘good news’ that

“God desires us to be healthy, wealthy, and prosperous” (Duty, 2014, p.2) and not the

good news of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Duty clarifies that one thing about

counterfeit is that they have to look enough like the real thing in order to be

believable. Duty (2014) offers five practical tips for evangelizing prosperity gospel

adherents globally: (i) humbly recognize that apart from the grace of God, genuine

Christians too would believe a false gospel, (ii) affirm what is true in the prosperity

gospel, (iii) confront the lies and flaws of the prosperity gospel, (iv) hold out the hope

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of the biblical gospel, and (v) live a generous life that shows that Christians greatest

joy is found in God, not in the material blessings God gives to his children.

5.6 Social Critic

Prosperity gospel is thriving gloriously in contemporary Nigeria. Olaopa

(2012) remarked that “Benson Idahosa has the reputation of taking the Pentecostal

movement in Nigeria to its highest point while also unknowingly initiating its

negative status as a prosperity train” (p.1). Idahosa remains the source, incubator,

architect and pacesetter of prosperity gospel and all that go with it, positively and

negatively in Nigeria. It needs to be re-echoed that Idahosa, constitutes an interval

between the golden age of the birth of Nigerian Pentecostalism and the emergence

and the preponderance of prosperity gospel in Nigeria. Idahosa’s message of hope for

a better tomorrow is built in his prosperity theology remarkably became the staple

spiritual nourishment of the Nigerian people burdened under the austerity measures of

Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP).

Expectedly, most Nigerians preachers and religious adherents cashed into the

phenomenon of the prosperity preaching with so much gains to show for it. At a point

in time in Nigeria, founding and running churches became the order of the day.

Prosperity preachers appear to strategise on how best to outdo one another in

establishing churches. In trying to compare the rate of proliferation of churches in

Nigeria then, Adeyemo (2011) opines that “In Nigeria where there are more churches

than businesses and industries, certain pastors enjoy expensive lifestyles at the

expense of the poor congregation...A lot of the pastors are out for business” (p.15).

Although, this may be an overstatement by Adeyemo, for it can never be possible that

churches will one day out-number business centres or industries in Nigeria, but it is

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not far from being true that churches have considerably overspread in every corner of

Nigerian urban cities in recent years. According to Ekeke & Mumford (2012) “Today,

the streets of major cities in Nigeria are littered with all kinds of Churches promising

healing, wealth, prosperity and happiness and yet Nigeria and vast majority of its

citizens are among the poorest people in the world” (p.4). Achunike (2004) in his

acknowledgement of this fact remarks that the prevailing situations in Nigeria have

made some Nigerians to compared Pentecostal churches’ proliferation to the many

petrol filling stations that are springing up everywhere in Nigeria. Churches are

indeed in high increase in Nigeria.

Among the reasons for the quick mushrooming of churches in Nigeria is

probably the interest of church founders to dig gold from parishioners, a fact which

this section attempts to uncover by examining some of the social critiques on

prosperity preachers’ quest for founding and running churches as well as their endless

drive to acquire material possessions and assets to the detriment of their teeming poor

congregants. From all indications, prosperity preachers seem to be succeeding in their

appetite to amass wealth in Nigeria where indeed poverty remains pervasive despite

the Nigerian oil riches. There appears to be much wealth accruing to these mega

church operators in Nigeria. News making the round indicates that “At least six

church leaders have private jets, so they have money” (Cocks, 2014, p.50). This is

said in reference to the Nigerian prosperity pastors.

A critical examination of the activities of the Nigerian prosperity ministers

reveals an alarming proportion of assets of some of these pastors which did

authenticate that prosperity preaching really is yielding pastors much dividend. It is

no exaggeration that prosperity gospel is amazingly paying off the Nigerian prosperity

preachers handsomely as is evident in its promoters’ lifestyles and assets. According

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to Ajaero (2007), prosperity preachers have successfully grown large followership

and are steadily building strong financial empire in Nigeria. Most of these prosperity

churches look somewhat like private liability companies with the tendency of

multiplying themselves in Nigerian capital cities. The surging popularity of these

mega churches in Nigeria suggests a correlation between the expansion of churches

and prosperity gospel. For instance, Cocks (2014) reports that the Winners Chapel

alone has 5,000 branches across Nigeria, and 1,000 branches in 63 other countries

across five continents.

In his scrutiny, Akinyele (2009) asserts that “Many of our churches have

evolved into mega-corporations...Churches are now devoted to making money and not

preaching the gospel...It is also criminal to use money of the poor to establish schools

which they cannot afford for their children” (p.25). As deciphered, the mega

churches’ major source of revenue is “tithe”, the 10 percent of laity’s income which

followers are encouraged to contribute to the Church (Cocks, 2014). According to

Olajide & Oni (2012), “From the thousands of congregants comes a rake-in for the

church in millions of naira and hard currencies, in offering, tithes and pledges” (p.4).

Olajide and Oni emphasize that in the Winners Chapel alone, no less than N30 million

is harvested from church members every Sunday as proceed from tithes and offering.

That apart, about N210 million is probably garnered at the Winners Chapel’s Shiloh

week-long special programme usually held every November, a programme designed

for devotees from within and without Nigeria (E. Stephen, Personal communication,

December 6, 2014). It is with this internally generated income that mega churches

tend to expand themselves. But the irony of the matter is that most founders of these

churches end up diverting these peoples’ generated revenue to building their own

personal financial empires and assets.

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As the older pastors gain more grounds in the ministry and consolidate their

wealth and assets, the younger and up-coming pastors modelled and patterned their

ministries and lifestyles after the older ones. The younger pastors seek godfathers

from among the older ministers for the purpose of connecting them to their overseas

colleagues. This is how the younger ministers grow in ministry, wealth and assets too.

It is noticed that Nigerian ministers seem to be overtaking other Nigerians in the

realm of riches and assets (Nwagbara, 2014). Oyedepo has been voted as the world’s

richest pastor recently (Eriye, 2014). But it is thought that David Oyedepo may not

have been richer than Aliko Dangote, Michael Adeniyi Agbolade Adenuga Junior

popularly known as Mike Adenuga and Oba Oteduko for now (Iyaniwura, 2013; Buzz

Nigeria, 2015). It may not be out of place to acknowledge that David Oyedepo’s

wealth and popularity has attracted on him severe attacks and strident condemnation

from critics. This is due to the fact that Oyedepo has always seems to be the foremost

church founder in Nigeria that flaunts a vast business empire that worth billions of

naira and is believed by most people to have no control and end to his acquisition of

material wealth (Olajide & Oni, 2012; Aribisala, 2014; Ekeke, 2012; Ekeke &

Mumford, 2012; Onafuye, 2013). He is also ever expanding his ministry

internationally.

Most Nigerian prosperity preachers are under attack for numerous issues. This

is ranging from opulence lifestyles, palatial mansion, careless dress code and want of

character among others. If truly prosperity gospel is meant to transform people’s life

spiritually and to prepare Christians for Heaven, some of these moral laxity and

abuses would have been curtailed to some degrees considerably. But as observed,

since it is more of this earth, worldliness and carnality seems to have the upper hands.

Founders of ministries who are supposed to be embodiment of godly lives are instead

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being accused of one moral problem or the other. It seems true that prosperity

churches exist in Nigeria as merely business ventures whose targets are not to groom

people for Heaven but simply for earthly satisfaction.

Beginning with Benson Idahosa to the rest of the prosperity preachers in

Nigeria, observers note that their lifestyles are weird (Global News, 2014). It is

observed that Nigerian prosperity preachers rather than preach the word of God, have

perfected ways to milk their hapless followers dry by collecting money from them

through different guises in the name of God. The accusation is that after they have

acquired much money from their unsuspecting members, they go ahead “to sponsor

themselves on expensive and exotic holidays and acquire private jets, wonders-on-

wheels and mansions” (Global News, 2014, p.2).

That apart, observations are commonplace that prosperity preachers register

churches in their names and acquire properties for the Church at the expense of the

congregation in their own names. This is targeted at transferring the named church

from father to their children or wives in case of the demise of the founders.

Ayegboyin (2006) comments that this practice of ownership as a means to ensure the

Church stays within the grasp of the founder’s family is bad. Ayegboyin (2006)

explains that for the pastor to ensure concrete structure on ground, he creates a

permanent leadership fixture in the Church as “the senior pastor serves as the

president and chief executive, and the wife serves as the co-founder, deputy president

and treasurer” (p.78). Without doubt, this setup essentially guarantees that the Church

will remain as a family business.

In order to keep the congregation intact, modern-day pastors modify their

pulpit sermons to suit popular tastes (Didymus, 2011). To substantiate this fact, Ngele

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(2010) asserts that it is no surprise “to see a preacher change his message, even his

topic because the kings, governors or presidents of this world attend fellowship or

church on a particular Sunday or week day” (p.34). This is accompanied by empty

promises of longevity or wealth for members of their churches. According to

Didymus (2011), “The hopes of their followers go beyond mere fulfilment of their

basic needs such as health and long life, but reach out grandiosely to hopes of wealth,

riches and power: new topflight jobs, six-figure incomes, flashy cars” (P.1). Thus,

Nigerian pastors are being criticised for using the Church as a springboard for

amassing wealth for themselves and their families as is commonly observe in Nigeria.

It is perhaps due to this fabulous wealth acquisition of the Nigerian pastors and their

flair for public display that attracted series of criticism from the general public.

Some prosperity preachers in Nigeria have been branded as cruel capitalists

for overcharging school fees in their educational institutions. David Oyedepo for

instance was accused of trying to use his universities to extort money from his

impoverished members who invested their hard-earned resources for the

establishment and development of those universities (Olajide & Oni, 2012). Enoch

Adejare Adeboye’s name is also mentioned for the over-priced private university in

Nigeria (Igwe, 2012). Igwe seems to dismiss the claim that Christian universities in

Nigeria are being built using poor’s man tithes and offering and are priced out of the

reach of these poor masses. In his reasoning, “If truly the tithes and offerings of the

poor in these churches were big enough to build universities, it goes without saying

that the income that produced such tithes and offerings can surely pay the university

school fees” (Igwe, 2012, p.45). Igwe may actually be right in his thinking to some

extent but it should not also be forgotten that prosperity churches are conglomerates

of both the poor and the rich. The poor in those churches may have certainly

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contributed to the establishment of those universities alongside the rich through their

tithes and offering, but cannot just afford the fees charged because they cannot afford

it.

Oyedepo has also been accused of lack of respect for the status of women

(Arbuthunott, 2012). This was said in connection with the slapping of a young lady by

David Oyedepo during one of Winners Chapel’s deliverance services in 2009. Critics

maintain that Oyedepo by that act disregards the dignity of the womenfolk under the

guise of deliverance. When ask why he did that Oyedepo’s reply was “People now

complain on the internet that I slapped a witch. If I see another one, I’ll slap again”

(Olajide & Oni, 2012, p.8). It seems that Oyedepo by that answer shows no regret for

his actions which indicates that it may probably have been Oyedepo’s method of

deliverance for a very long time now. However, that method of deliverance appears

not to be of God. Jesus never slapped anybody in any of his deliverance moments. For

Oyedepo to have slapped a girl in the public and is eager to slap again without qualms

shows how unspiritual he is. What lesson has he taught his numerous protégées from

that incident? Is it for them to use carnal method in solving a spiritual problem? He

would have indeed behaved more maturely as a minister of ministers, with so much

respect from not only his immediate church members, but the generality of his

teeming prosperity adherents.

Another case of assault on human personality was levelled against Oyedepo

when it was alleged that some “Journalists were savagely beaten, their camera seized,

the recording deleted and the camera damaged before it was released” (Onafuye,

2013, p.15). This was an incident that happened on September 8, 2013 when a team of

inspectors were despatched by Ogun State Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning to

carry out their statutory function at the Winners Chapel’s international headquarters,

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Ota. It was alleged that Oyedepo was present and watched the ugly battering of the

journalists as a spectator’s sport. Whatever informs the maltreatment of these

government officials is uncertain, but it likely portrays the fact that battering of the

human person seems to be nothing serious in the sight of Winners Chapel’s members,

which probably is something they copied from their “Oga”, the founder of their

ministry. Who knows whether those church members must have acted on a given

instruction from their “Papa” as he is fondly called by his church members?

Prosperity preachers are said to have arrogated to themselves such powers that

only the divine commands. According to Omotoye (2010), prosperity preachers are

worshipped like gods with bodyguards and are mostly difficult to be seen by ordinary

members of the Church who may not be strong financial members. Most pastors know

who is who in their churches through their financial contributions to the Church. This

is probably why churches nowadays maintain records of tithes and offering for each

member. According to Akinyele (2009) “Some pastors go around with gun-wielding

policemen for the purpose of security” (p.25). The case of the Winners Chapel is a

clear case where members held him in high esteem-the kind reserved for deities

(Olajide & Oni, 2012). As observed, Oyedepo’s cleric’s deistic clout transcends his

Winners Chapel enclave. It is seen that most prosperity preachers wield such

tremendous powers. Some pastors who broke out from Oyedepo’s church questioned

his dictatorial manner of running the Winners Chapel. They equally complained about

poor welfare and remuneration of some of the pastors and staff of the Winners Chapel

who are not in Oyedepo’s good book. But, whether this is true or not, it is a matter of

Winners Chapel’s church administration.

Critics also challenged the prosperity pastors’ moral life and showy and

dazzling personal appearance (Osifo-Whiskey, Edokpayi, Omatseye & Mba, 1987).

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While some prosperity preachers appear to dress so gorgeously at least to exhibit their

very expensive lifestyles and tastes, others dress so casually and very carelessly. This

new dressing codes of the prosperity preachers has perhaps earned them the nick

name funky churches and funky preachers. The whole thing looks as if some

preachers have lost their noble characters. As reiterated by David Ibiyeomie,

presiding pastor of Salvation Ministries, Port Harcourt, “A man that has lost character

has lost all” (Balogun, 2013). For want of discipline, some pastors like Chris Okotie

“has no regret at all about his jerry curls and his young wife’s lip-sticks” (Osifo-

Whiskey et al, 1987, p.14). When rebuked for his kind of shabby show and

appearance, Okotie says “It is not the appearance that matters, but one’s dedication to

God” (Osifo-Whiskey et al, 1987, p.14). Okotie justifies his mode of dressing by

saying that God okays his use of jerry curls as a sign to others that no one needs to be

shabby because he worships God. He considers himself a proof that other people may

not have excuse against accepting and worshipping God.

Close to this, Ayo Oritsejafor’s hair do is very funny and catches attention so

easily. It is said that Oritsejafor’s hair is blown and slightly cascades downwards.

That apart, sometimes Oritsejafor goes traditional in his attires and look somewhat

like a traditional ruler. Idahosa during his life time was accused of not being

pretentious about his opulent and lavish lifestyle. He is observed to have always

showed off his wealth in his attires. He has always been known by his embroidered

lace materials and complements same with expensive gold jewelleries. He wished he

had a jet then. As noted, most of the Nigerian prosperity preachers are being accused

of duping their members terribly through their prosperity emphasis (Akinyele, 2009).

They are said to be boasting each time during their crusades of the suit, shoe and shirt

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they bought at exorbitant prices sometimes as high as N100, 000 each to show how

expensive they are. This is nothing but the flesh in action.

Some prominent Pentecostals’ secret lives are seriously under question. It is

probably with regard to this that both Chris Oyakhilome and Temitope Balogun

Joshua have been disfellowshipped by PFN for suspicious and hidden spiritual powers

and activities (Omotoye, 2010; Ekhator, 2013). People are beginning to imagine the

kind of moral training Chris Oyakhilome is giving to his members giving the fact that

their moral degeneration is said to have manifested in the stealing of money from their

work places and donating part to their Church (Olaosebikan & Ateba, 2009; Global

News, 2014). When approached about the matter when the case became public

knowledge in the court as to whether Oyakhilome will make refund for the amount in

question, Oyakhilome deny it saying that the donation was made to God and not to

him as an individual or to his church as an organization.

T. B. Joshua has been lambasted by many to have questionable character.

Most people are in doubt about his root and sources of his miraculous powers.

Speaking about this, Francis Bola Akin-John says:

T. B. Joshua has so much to prove to be accepted to me and people

who reason as I do. Let him ask himself: How many people has he

discipled in his church? How many people can he confidently say are

born again in his church? What fruit of the Spirit has he seen in his

members? Who is his pastor (s)? What testimonies has he got to give?

What testimony has he on his conversion to Christ? How did he meet

Christ? Who were his contemporaries when he gave his life to Christ?

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What led to his confession of Christ? How did it happen? Where was

he baptised? Who baptised him? (Akinyele, 2009, p.26).

Upon this brainstorming, Femi Aribisala declares that “There is so much witchcraft in

the churches today. It’s not even funny. Pastors are no better than glorified

babalawoos” (Akinyele, 2009, p.25).

There are cases of sexual immorality levelled against prosperity preachers in

Nigeria even though other preachers too equally have their own shares of the

accusations. Some Nigerian ministers have been accused of such infidelity and

unchastity. Some divorced their wives and remarried and go ahead to justify their

actions from the Scriptures. Chris Oyakhilome was on news recently about divorce

saga with his wife Anita. The ugly incident of a Texas-based prosperity teacher that

landed himself in prison for 15 years for sexually assaulting female members of his

Church is a pronounced case in point of the prosperity preachers’ moral decay

(Witmer, 2014). The judge who sat over the case was reported to have said that the

pastor’s fall from grace signifies the apparent danger of abandoning Christian self-

sacrifice for self-gratification. This weakness exhibited by a preacher of that calibre

underscores the fact that “Prosperity gospel’s promises of earthly riches leaves people

vulnerable to succumbing to other sins of the flesh” (Witmer, 2014, p.2).

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CHAPTER SIX

IMPACTS OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA

Christianity is a catalyst of social change in any society of the world. It is a

social institution that is impacting on the Nigerian society and polity spiritually,

morally, socially, culturally, economically, educationally, politically and otherwise.

Christianity exemplified in prosperity preaching which is a socio-religious

phenomenon is effecting some noticeable changes which have become widespread

and worthwhile in modern Nigeria. Reflecting that there are both positive and

negative trends in prosperity preaching and also upon the strength of an African

proverb which says that “A mother does not throw away the dirty water and the baby

inside after the bath” (Para-Mallam, 2014), makes this work to attempt a socio-

religious search and appraisal of these dual developments in prosperity gospel. This

chapter attempts to x-ray and examine some of the observable positive and negative

impacts of prosperity gospel in Nigeria.

6.1 Social Positive Significance of Prosperity Gospel Preaching in Nigeria

Pentecostalism is a social enterprise that is assuming a responsibility of

national transformation in the 21st century through its prosperity preaching in Nigeria.

Prosperity preaching seems to emerge in Nigeria in response to the socio-economic

changes in the society. As a result of the economic downturn in Nigeria in the 1980s,

many urban settlers lost their jobs which invariably affected the status of many men

and women in the society. The situation was aggravated by the insistence of the

International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s policy of SAP which the Nigerian government

adopted and which further affected the earnings and living conditions of Nigerians

(Ojo, 2013). These myriad of adversities compel people to begin to seek for ways out

of their numerous problems. It is said that it was this volatile social, economic and

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political conditions of the 1980s that prompted the Nigerian Pentecostals to rethink,

interpret and give new meanings to many biblical narratives that have direct affinity

with African traditional worldviews on success and materialism (Ojo, 2013). In view

of the prevailing situations, the Pentecostals felt challenged to direct the aspirations of

their society by creating new spiritual space in which they could negotiate their

present predicaments. It was also due to this sensitivity and responsiveness of the

Pentecostals to the deteriorating socio-economic changes that led to the emergence

and consolidation of prosperity gospel in Nigeria. In many ways therefore the

preaching of prosperity within the Nigerian religious space has immense benefits for

Nigerians. This is captured as follows:

6.1.1 Prosperity Preaching as Vehicle for All-round Empowerment

It is natural for any one in an economically depressed nation like Nigeria to

desire a better option out of his predicament. It is asserted that the many years of

Nigerian depressed economy has occasioned many people to seek refuge in religious

groups where they hope for a better alternative (Essien, 2010). Many Nigerians are

seemingly being attracted to prosperity churches because of what they think

Pentecostal churches will offer. Pentecostalism says Olaopa (2012) “Places prosperity

in its spiritual context of peace with God and fulfilment in this world” (p.2). It

promises people the good life both spiritually and physically. Prosperity preaching is

thus seen as a soothing balm and liberator of man’s miseries.

Hence, most of the prosperity preachers in Nigeria attempt to live up to this

expectation through their preachment and involvement in social ministries. In their

message, they make people to acknowledge their impoverished condition and at the

same time draw their attention to the fact that those who are saved by God’s grace and

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walk by faith in God’s promises will triumph over every ugly situation in their lives

(Oyedepo, 2006; Oyedepo, 2007). Believers are thus encouraged to live above

poverty by being positive and hopeful amidst difficulties.

According to Achunike (2007), Pentecostals use the language of

transformation to drive home certain lessons which at the long run make people to be

optimistic about any hopeless challenge in their lives. This language of transformation

is what Uloh (2001) christens the language of faith which has creative power and

ability to create and reproduce things after their kind. For example, the Nigerian

austerity measure of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP) of the 1980s could be

interpreted in the opinion of Kalu (2000) by the Nigerian prosperity preachers to

mean “Supreme Above Problems” (p.108). In the same light, Amaga (1997) perceives

SAP to signify “Supper Abundant Prosperity” (p. viii) which ordinarily connotes that

amidst trying moments or catastrophic events around the world there is assuredly

Supper Abundant Prosperity for God’s children.

In addition, the prosperity preachers in Nigeria ignite hopes in people. They go

further to sustain that hope by continuously emphasizing and reassuring believers of

scriptural position of God’s total package for them (Cho, 1987). The prosperity

promises as dished out to believers in Nigeria is a worthy tool in the hands of the

Nigerian prosperity preachers. Today, at every given opportunity, it is observed that

“Prosperity exponents urge their members to realize who they are in God’s scheme of

affairs” (Achunike, 2007, p.88).

Pentecostals are always being reminded by prosperity preachers that they are

sons, daughters, princes and citizens of the Heavenly kingdoms. They are told to be

heads and not tails who should be riding on horses rather than walking as servants on

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earth (Kalu, 2000). Added to this kind of mindset is the idea of positive thinking

which encourages positive confession to create the envisaged prosperity needed (Mill,

2011). According to Sharpe (2014):

The practice of “positive confession”, the teaching that believers may

claim whatever they desire from God, simply by speaking it in faith.

Thus, Prosperity believers – in this seemingly profane version of the

theology of grace – are encouraged to proclaim out loud, with inner

conviction, what it is they want or are expecting by God’s super-

natural beneficence: “I’ll never be broke another day in my life”; “I am

expecting supernatural increase this week”; or “I am expecting

supernatural debt-cancellation this week” (p.5).

In the opinion of Sharpe, underlying the belief in positive confession is a

particular understanding of the importance of the spoken word (rhema), in contrast to

what is written (logos). This probably makes people to unconsciously envision being

a wealthy person after speaking positively about their situations even if it is not very

palatable. This positive speaking is to be repeated over and over again until its

physical positive manifestation is realized. Some schools of thought think that the

practice of repetition of certain mantra and the consequential claim is unchristian and

has cultic origin (Achunike, 2007; Okwori, 1995; McConnell, 1995).

As can be seen, the Pentecostals in their teachings have tried to displace

peoples’ negative worldview about poverty which to some extent is a good step in the

right direction. Whether the poverty is biting hard on the people or not, the fact that

there is a seeming diversion in the focus of the people from their immediate problem

of lack to being optimistic about life is indeed a worthwhile exercise. The

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Pentecostals have succeeded in using the word of God to expand peoples’ vision of

what God intends for them by creating awareness that Christians are a peculiar people

who should exercise dominion on earth (Onwu, 2006). The acquisition of the right

kind of knowledge is therefore worth its salt as an effective instrument in tackling

embarrassing occurrence in people’s life. By disseminating this line of teaching, the

prosperity preachers in Nigeria are probably doing a great deal of service to the poor

Nigerian masses. This, indeed, has helped to change peoples’ general orientation

about the age-old adage of “As poor as Church rat” (Onwu, 2004, p.259).

The prosperity gospel which promises that God wants his people to be

prosperous came at the nick of time in Nigeria and raises the hopes of the people. For

the Pentecostals, nothing is more paramount than for the individual to be prosperous

and be in superb condition of health. This line of teaching makes much sense in

Africa where wealth is always seen as a means to recognition in the society and the

means towards political power (Ojo, 2013). According to Adewole (2004) “For many

Nigerian Christians, the Gospel makes sense only to the extent that it promises to

deliver them from material and social forces that constitute the untold yet avoidable

hardships of daily survival” (p.52). This gospel of prosperity which probably offers a

supernatural means to material advancement against natural opportunity became the

sure escape route for Nigerians out of their impoverishment (Koch, 2009).

Against the gloomy picture of the Nigerian economy, prosperity gospel offers

the Nigerian masses the promise of quick divine intervention in human affairs. It is

seen as a gospel of breakthrough and liberation from earthly shackles of poverty. No

wonder, a Pentecostal church is named ‘Jehovah Sharp Sharp Church’ (A. Collins,

Personal Communication, January 30, 2015). Osewa (2013) maintains that prosperity

gospel which is sentimental in nature appeals to the audience feelings and emotions.

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According to him, its emphasis on physical, material, financial and marital prosperity

other than convicting the congregation of sin and the need for urgent repentance

draws most people that are otherwise weighed down by diverse problems to endear

themselves to it. Prosperity gospel therefore probably responds significantly to

African people’s social, economic and emotional problems.

6.1.2 Rehabilitation of Social Outcasts and Poverty Alleviation

Poverty still remains a national sickness that must be cured in Nigeria. The

prosperity preachers are probably trying their best to overcome the challenges of

poverty and unemployment in Nigeria. Though, some of them have been accused for

undermining emphasis on holiness and using peoples’ psychology to enrich

themselves by hypnotizing and swindling them of their hard earned resources (Jibril,

2012). This notwithstanding, their actions are likely being justified on the realization

that there are constant efforts being put up by these prosperity preachers in

strategizing and initiating relevant projects geared towards the empowerment of the

masses through different named programmes. These programmes are targeted at

rehabilitating and developing in the poor masses the ability for self sustenance, self

actualization and self advancement.

It is pertinent to note that in Nigeria today, most of the Pentecostal churches

have started Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) with specific and well defined

goals. Ensuring that each member of the NGO is well grounded with spiritual and

financial muscles, prosperity preachers set them on track by channelling the much

needed spiritual and financial resources into such social projects in the wider society.

Socially therefore, it seems that the Pentecostals are being empowered to influence

the larger Nigerian society more relevantly.

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Wale Adefarasin who pastors Guiding Light Assembly Lagos, is said to have

come up with a multi-strategy approaches to alleviating poverty in Nigeria. Founding

his “The Changing Your World Foundation’s Obalende Project”, he has over the

years been improving on the quality of life of the people of Obalende, Lagos.

According to Burgess (2013), this Foundation has renovated a large state-run

secondary school and provided meals each week for 800 children and 70 widows. The

Foundation has equally sunk many boreholes in six streets and is currently providing

health care services every two weeks to the people.

Moreover, the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) being overseen by

Enoch Adejare Adeboye is not left out in the effort. The Church has founded

“Habitation of Hope Foundation” (RCCG, 2014). This Foundation sets out to

evangelise and rehabilitate street children in Lagos. The first point of call is Kuramo

Beach that housed child prostitutes, drug addicts and criminal gangs. As it happened,

the Foundation has gracefully made significant progress in converting many of the

target groups. At the moment, it has opened a residential rehabilitation centre as well

as establishing several branches of the Church, called “Street Parishes” to adequately

take care of the street children (RCCG, 2014).

Again, the “Freedom Foundation” of This Present House Church, Lagos

devotes her resources and efforts towards rehabilitating specifically street girls and

male drug addicts. This endeavour has yielded positive result as most of the former

area boys and prostitutes are now transformed and are serving as committed members

of This Present House Church, Lagos, forming at least 80% of the Church total

population. In a related development, the Synagogue Church Of All Nations

(SCOAN) founded by T.B. Joshua is reported to have shown care to the Nigerian poor

and destitute (Olaosebikan, 2009). This church grants scholarship to the less

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privileged in the society from primary to tertiary level in addition to distributing food

items and other basic commodities to the people (SCOAN, 2013). It is instructive to

note that T. B. Joshua has been disfellowshipped by the Pentecostal Fellowship of

Nigeria (PFN). Available historical record shows that the Living Faith Church has

similarly donated food, clothing and other relief materials to the indigenes of Koma

Hills in Adamawa State, Nigeria as well as the victims of Liberian wars (Olaosebikan,

2009).

The point must be clarified that the decision of the Pentecostals to embark on

social ministries is informed by the fact that Nigeria as it is observed seems to be

witnessing much moral decadence and is gradually becoming more corrupt as a nation

than before. So the Pentecostals’ quest in rehabilitating street children and gangs is for

the best interest of the nation. These voluntary services coming from the Church front

is a demonstration that the Church has come of age in Nigeria and is responsively

shouldering some of the responsibilities she should have handled as a moral builder in

this country. At least, the Pentecostal churches along with the mainline churches are

joining forces with the government to making the Nigerian society a crime-free

society. These efforts will definitely go a long way in reducing social malaises in the

present Nigerian society.

6.1.3 Improvement of Human Capacity for Self-Development

Prosperity preaching somehow ignites a spirituality that motivates individuals

to work harder towards earning more income in the society. This is probably what

Koch (2009) meant when he says that prosperity ideas motivate individuals to take

actions that would increase their income. Hard labour redounds to more productivity

and upward mobility. According to Ojo (2013) prosperity emphasis continues to

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aspire and motivate individuals towards self-discipline, hard work, and self-

improvement, and thereby indirectly foster personal development in contemporary

Nigeria. Ojo expatiates that the doctrinal emphasis inherent in the prosperity gospel is

a significant part of the motivational theology of the Pentecostals that is capable of

developing the human capacity of members to advance a significant social dimension

towards development. He reiterates that:

By helping people to discover their potentials and interests and relating

these to practical issues, the productivity of members has increased,

and has in turn inspired them to higher standard of living, and perhaps

to uphold higher ethical standard amidst a society burdened by

persistent moral failures, Pentecostal spirituality has become a crucial

factor for a new class of Nigerians as they try to define, initiate and

promote development that touches on the personal lives of members

(Ojo, 2013, p.22).

Prosperity preaching can be seen to stir up individuals’ interest for personal

advancement. It influences, re-invigorates and awakens people’s attitudes, values and

skills thereby giving people new orientation and vision that is geared towards positive

changes for progress and self-actualization. This leads to creating new theological and

ideological concepts that forms new religious expressions which may be

developmental based.

6.1.4 Entrepreneurial Development and Employment Opportunities

Prosperity gospel seems to encourage entrepreneurial development in Nigeria.

Entrepreneurial development in the opinion of Hisrich, Peters & Shepherd (2007)

connotes the establishment of business ventures to stimulate the economy by

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increasing the level of business activities. Pentecostalism, over the years seems to

have encouraged business enterprises in Nigeria. It has through the prosperity

preachers propelled individual Christians as well as organizations to establish and run

micro, small and medium size enterprises. By arousing people’s consciousness in

business through prosperity seminars, prosperity preachers in Nigeria have succeeded

in inspiring people to aim higher in their businesses thereby helping in improving

their businesses and standard of living (Phiri & Maxwell, 2007).

According to Bassey et al (2014) personal interest in business usually

supersedes group interest which do always manifests itself in an individual attempting

to pool his resources together resolutely and by controlling same, is driven by that

inner drive or passion to making more personal achievement as a result of that

resolution. It is said that business ventures are organizations, firms or companies

established by an individual or group of people in order to carry out work, which may

be: buying and selling, services or production, to generate profit and satisfy the desire

of the owner(s). Prosperity churches in Nigeria establish and run business ventures

like healthcare institutions, transport services, hospitality ventures, cottage services

among others for the purpose of profit maximization (Bassey et al, 2009). Individual

church members are not left out in this regard. They equally mobilise financial

resources and run large business empires as top management personnel, owners and at

times financiers, that is, share holders (Ukah, 2007). Expectedly, when people are

motivated to engage in profitable business ventures and such businesses become

widespread it will stimulate socio-economic growth and development. As churches

expand alongside business centres in Nigeria, they definitely attract much labour force

to man them. So prosperity gospel creates skills and job opportunities for the Nigerian

teeming population.

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Pentecostals rehabilitation programmes include vocational training in farming,

shoe-making, block-making, tailoring and the acquisition of information technology

and computer skills (Burgess, 2013). This is to enable those who have been

rehabilitated to have something readily at hand to fall back on as alternative means of

earning a living through legitimate trade. Job creation for this group of people is

essential for two reasons. For one, it will assist those youths to channel their energies

appropriately on worthwhile ventures. For another, the jobs will assist them to break

free from immoral, anti-social and criminal behaviours. In this way, the youths would

have been given ample chances to adjust naturally to the new ethics of hard labour

and will become responsible citizens in the society.

At this juncture, it is instructive to note that the provision of skills or jobs

remain the best poverty alleviation scheme any church, society or government will

bequeath its people the world over. This is so because a deficit model of poverty

alleviation where victims are passive recipient of aids cannot empower the poor to

liberate themselves from poverty (Kalu. 2000). Rather, the provision of job training

where people would be able to sustain themselves in an honourable and fulfilling way

should be the first step to be adopted by all that are involved in poverty alleviation

programmes (O’Donovan, 2000).

Interestingly, the poverty alleviation programmes of the Pentecostals are

efforts that will eventually bring about significant social modifications which will

culminate in the landing of every member of the society on the path to greatness. This

is the vision of most of the prosperity preachers in Nigeria. The likes of the Redeemed

Christian Church of God and the Living Faith Church among others have keyed into

this dream and it is yielding positive results tremendously.

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Another way the Pentecostals are alleviating poverty in Nigeria is through

micro finance funding of businesses. The micro finance scheme is necessary to

provide the needed capital to the down trodden of the society to start their own

businesses. When that happens, the Pentecostal NGOs concerned will have to give

guidance counselling to all prospective beneficiaries of loans and continue to keep

watchful eyes over every small and large scale business to blossom for the gradual

repayment of such loans. In this manner, churches would have helped to generate and

develop financial capital for the teeming handicapped people to rise up economically

in Nigeria.

6.1.5 Numerical Explosion of Christian Population

It is observed that prosperity gospel has gained a tremendous following in

Nigeria. According to Okwori (1995), “Prosperity churches pull the greatest crowds

and register the highest congregational attendance in services” (p.41). This means that

prosperity churches are expanding steadily in size and are helping in reducing the

numbers of non church goers in the Nigerian streets. Viewed from every angle, it may

be safer to say that it is probably better to have more church goers who have the

opportunity of listening to Christian prosperity messages preached to them from the

Bible within the four walls of the Christian church than having more people outside of

Christendom who may not have such opportunity at all and are rather being converted

en masse to Islam or African Traditional Religion (ATR). There is no denying the fact

that the emphasis of most prosperity churches is on numerical increase rather than on

spiritual growth which appears to make them measure their success in terms of

quantity rather than on quality. Hence, as they compete among themselves to get more

‘converts’ into their respective folds, they multiply adherents of Christian religion. In

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this way, prosperity churches in Nigeria are said to be making serious contributions to

the Global Church through missions, evangelism and prayer (Para-Mallam, 2014).

6.1.6 Rapid National Development

Prosperity preaching probably propels and speeds up rapid national

development. The preachers of prosperity are ever known for their expansion drive.

They tend to go very far in trying to develop their individual ministries physically.

This quest by prosperity preachers to expand their horizon triggers up other

developmental projects such as road constructions, airports, schools, seminaries,

universities, banks, supermarkets, petrol filling stations, water factories, bookshops,

estates and hotels among others. This leads to improved economy as well as

educational development. These projects put together can cover much land space

which is a way of speeding up the development of the Nigerian nation.

For instance, mega churches in Nigeria like the Winners Chapel, the RCCG

and the Deeper Life among others have very expansive camp grounds. They also do

have impressive and expansive places of worship in major cities in Nigeria. As

speculated, some of the most beautiful buildings in the world are houses of worship

(World Book Encyclopaedia, 1992). So these myriad of worship buildings in Nigeria

have in some ways added beauty to the Nigerian state. The Winners Chapel alone

seems to have created a world of its own with almost everything in place at Ota and

has ordinarily transformed it to a metropolis. Ogun State especially Ota town may not

have probably looked better than what it is now without the presence of the Winners

Chapel and other churches. Nigeria is replete with such different retreat camp grounds

and church buildings which invariably help in doing away with the many satanic

covens and evil forests in Nigeria. The eventual disappearance of such covens and

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forests is an indication that Nigeria is becoming more Christianised and habitable than

in the olden days.

6.1.7 Educational Development and Human Capital Development

The founding of Christian universities by four prominent Nigerian prosperity

preachers such as Benson Andrew Idahosa, Sam Amaga, David Olaniyi Oyedepo and

Enoch Adejare Adeboye along with so many other neo and classical Pentecostal’s

theological colleges and seminaries have enabled the Nigeria’s Christianity to

probably have a landmark achievement in the educational sub sector in Nigeria

(Omotoye, 2010). Currently, four Pentecostal universities are in the pipeline being

proposed by William Folorunso Kumuyi, Francis Wale Oke and Temitope Balogun

Joshua. It is interesting to note that the mainline churches like the Catholic, the

Baptist, the Anglican, the Methodist, the ECWA and the Seventh Day Adventist too

have equally established their own universities in Nigeria (Omotoye, 2006).

In point of facts, these educational institutions are remarkably contributing in

the development of human capital in Nigeria. The provision of more manpower in

Nigeria by Nigerian prosperity preachers is of great benefit to national development.

As part of poverty alleviation strategy, these institutions have trained, graduated and

absorbed many Nigerians already as computer engineers and analyst, cyber cafe

managers and attendants, professional Christian drama artists and newscasters among

several others in Nigeria.

In his observation, Obasanjo (2009), remarks that the multiplier effect of job

creation of the Nigerian Christian universities and schools in Nigeria is worthy of

note. So far, many have been turned out of these schools as graduates as well as being

gainfully employed by these institutions as teaching and non-teaching staff alike,

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which indeed has assisted in reducing the unemployment problem of Nigeria. It is also

informative to note that T. B. Joshua’s Football Academy did train and provide two

players to the Nigerian under 17 World Championship in 2009 (Olaosebikan, 2009).

On the basis of the above therefore, it may not be an over statement to affirm that

through the development of human capital in Nigeria by the prosperity preachers

“Oppressions of poverty and economic disadvantage are being tackled through

employment generation and wealth creation” (Obasanjo, 2009, p.228).

6.1.8 Leadership Development, Good Governance and National

Transformation

Most prosperity preachers see prosperity preaching not only as a weapon for

man’s emancipation but also as a springboard for national development. Being aware

of the responsibility of all in nation building, most prominent prosperity preachers in

Nigeria tend to embark on different efforts to change the society for the better. Apart

from being actively involved in national call for prayer and fasting to create a very

conducive atmosphere for democracy to thrive, some of them are taking practical

steps towards ensuring the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria.

It is on record that some Nigerian Pentecostals have distinguished themselves

in efforts towards national transformation. Victor Anigbogu, a former professor of

Chemistry had established the Institute for National Transformation (INT) aimed at

training leaders of integrity for effective service delivery in the nation. This covers all

areas such as governance, education, religion, sport, business, the media, the

entertainment industry and other social services (Burgess, 2013). Sam Adeyemi who

founded Daystar Christian Centre, Lagos has similar initiative. He organises an

annual Leadership Conference tagged “Excellence in Leadership” specifically for

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raising quality leaders for all sectors of the economy in the country. He has projected

positively into the future of Nigeria in his recent book entitled Nigeria of my Dream

(Adeyemi, 2010). There he sets out a blueprint for national transformation which is a

document that the Nigerian policy-makers and implementers could use to better the

lot of the Nigerian people.

Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos is another classical

example of prosperity preacher that indicates concern over Nigerian socio-political

challenges by staging an open protest to restore peace and order in the country.

Burgess (2013) reports that in 2009, “One of the leading voices calling for the transfer

of power was a Pentecostal pastor, Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly in

Lagos. His Save Nigeria Group (SNG) became the main vehicle for political agitation,

organizing streets protests in Lagos and Abuja which eventually forced the National

Assembly to declared Jonathan the acting President” (p.39).

Close to this, is the active participation of prosperity preachers in contesting for

political office in Nigeria. For instance, in 2003, 2007 and 2011 Christopher

Oghenebrorie Okotie popularly called Chris Okotie contested for the country’s

presidential election. In 2011, Tunde Bakare, became a running mate to Buhari under

the auspices of Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Against the 2015 general

election, Buhari has again picked a Pentecostal pastor and Professor, Yemi Osinbajo

of RCCG as his running mate (Aziken, Umoru & Nwabughiogu, 2014). This time

around, Buhari and his running mate won the election as declared by the Independent

National Electoral Commission (INEC).

In ensuring good governance in modern Nigeria, prosperity churches are in the

constant business of trying to field credible candidates for political office. The reason

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for this is “Discontent over the calibre of existing candidates” (Burgess, 2012, p.6).

According to Alder (2012), the need to initiate the training programme tagged

“Governance 500” where 500 people are raised yearly for various levels of

governance is to have multiple qualified people readily available to steer the

leadership of the country. The visionary leaders of this programme are Leke Alder,

member of Believers Love World (Christ Embassy) and Poju Oyemade, senior pastor

of Covenant Christian Centre in Lagos. This group describes its programme as

training and networking programme for those involved in governance and those who

wish to hold political office or participate in the political process in other capacity

(Alder, 2014).

6.2 Negative Impacts of Prosperity Preaching in Nigeria.

Pentecostalism has probably become a multi-billion naira business seemly

attracting the attention of many financial institutions because of its unparallel income

generating potential. Pentecostal’s ideal and practices in Nigeria are both rewarding

and harmful to Nigerians in many ways. It has probably done so much good as well as

evil to men and women in this part of the globe over the years. According to Cold

(2011):

Pentecostalism with its unapologetic emphasis on the acquisition of

wealth at all costs (as part of a spiritual salvation), the shameful

deception of the materialistic preachers with their openly-displayed

affluence and the seeming indifference of a government that remains

insensitive to the needs and yearning of its people, have all combined

to distort our value systems as a nation. The sad news is that untold

damages may have been caused to our social, religious, economic and

political landscapes (p.1).

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Nowhere in Nigeria can one not have a feel of the negative influences of

prosperity gospel. So to flagrantly ignore the disastrous effects of prosperity gospel in

Nigeria is to thread the path of insensitivity, falsehood and injustice. The Nigerian

nation has witnessed severe setbacks and drawbacks since the inception of this new

gospel. The influx of prosperity preachers in the Nigerian religious constituency has

to a great extent tampered with the serenity which has otherwise characterized the

sound moral atmosphere of Christianity in Nigeria. There is probably a rise in Nigeria

of systematic manipulation, fraud, deception and cheating under the pretext of

prosperity preaching. The attendant negativism of the prosperity gospel in Nigeria is

crystallized and brought to limelight under the following headings:

6.2.1 Prosperity Gospel Promotes Materialism

There is no denying the fact that prosperity gospel is not completely devoid of

aspects which focus on hard work and self-improvement for the individual. But by

and large, it seems that prosperity gospel also promotes materialism rather than the

sort of fruitfulness described in Psalm 1 as the lot of those who walk in the counsel of

the Lord (Asamoah-Gyadu, 2014). According to Ukah (2007), the negative effect of

Pentecostal giving theology is that it promotes a spirit of materialism at the expense of

spiritualism. If that is the case, it then means that money and the accumulation of

wealth will ultimately preoccupies the attention of preachers and money making may

eventually becomes the end rather than the means of preaching the gospel. Umoh

(2013) observes that “Capitalist materialism is fast becoming the new Christian

doctrine and dogma in Nigeria” (p.3). Umoh holds that the spirit of capitalism

sweeping through the whole world is well adopted as an indispensable component of

the Christian religion. As noted, it is fast replacing the modesty, poverty and

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mortification strongly advocated, lived and recommended as ideal to the Christian

way of life by the Church fathers (Umoh, 2013). Commenting on this, Anyacho

(2013) observes that if churches in Nigeria encourage materialism in some ways, it

means that she is directly encouraging any means people are using to make money

irrespective of the danger such means portend for Nigerians. The facts of churches

applauding deadly materialistic tendencies resonate in their allowing the current

prosperity emphasis to dominate their preaching and teachings in Nigeria.

Gone are the days when the early missionaries who introduced Christianity to

Nigeria lived a detached and very moderate way of life. They ordinarily seem to have

toiled selflessly and wore themselves out for their flock without caring for their own

personal material benefits and comfort. But the modern day prosperity preachers seem

to discard the sacredness of their pastoral vocation. Rather than live the simple life as

shepherds of the flock, they trade and commercialize the gospel. The resultant effect

is that they hypnotise the sheep, made the money and go about in luxury cars, fly

expensive private jets and are guarded by well-armed military or police escorts. For

the prosperity preachers, anytime spent not actually making money is time wasted.

In the case of the Nigerian situation, it appears glaring that starting a church

is fast becoming the most lucrative business in Nigeria today. The portent danger it

posits is that the gospel of the Cross seems to have been sacrificed on the altar of

materialism in Nigeria. It seems that in contemporary Nigerian society, material

salvation which is the main content of prosperity gospel focuses solely on the material

well-being of prosperity pastors and believers – all at the expense of the spiritual – the

core expectation of Christians (Umoh, 2013).

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Judging from the fact of moral decay in the contemporary Nigerian Church,

one can quickly be tempted to agree with Agunwanba (2007) that “Materialism has

crept into the Church and is threatening to destroy the fabrics of contentment,

kindness and charity, which were highly cherished and preserved in the first century

Church” (p.37). To what extent then is the devastating effect of this materialism on

the life of Christians today? It is said that “If there is materialism and consumerism in

society, hedonism has an upper hand. Materialism and consumerism erode morals.

People become objects of pleasure” (Mwikamba, 1999, p.102). This perhaps will

make people to begin to revere money as a semi-god. Money seems therefore to

assume the position of God both in people’s lives and in the society. This being so,

some people will now prefer to do everything for money even defying God’s

commandments. They would do anything to gain money and economic power even to

the extent of ruining their relationship with fellow-men and God. This might happen

because experience has always shown that those who have money are most of the

times worshipped by those who do not have it.

Speaking about this, Mwikamba (1999) notes that:

The power of money and wealth controls the lives of many in

society...People forget God, friends and relatives because of money.

Money is everything: without it you are nothing. In this country money

is the thing, even in the churches. This means that in civic and

ecclesiastical institutions, Mammon has accosted many” (pp. 101-102).

This assertion indicates that when money is preferred above anything else, and it is

allowed to have absolute control over people’s feeling, against those of their fellow

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human beings, there is bound to be neglect of other people’s sensitive needs. This

calls for a rethink for those who want to acquire much money at all cost.

According to Zuze (2013), “money is a master” (p.3). Money enslaves its

owners without them knowing. Money has damaging effect in the society. Today,

materialism is so much defiled that people ordinarily perceive the manifestation of

materialism rather than those of the Holy Ghost (Agunwanba, 2007). The question

now arises: What do wealth and money do to people? Mwikamba (1999) provides the

ready answer that economic activity, success, material gains have become an end in

themselves. This enticed people to amass wealth and reputation not for the purposes

of their own happiness or salvation but as an end in itself. It is quite revealing that

people subordinate and exploit others for economic and hedonistic purposes.

It is a saddening experience that today most people flock to churches not

because they are hungering and tasty for spiritual blessings, but for what they feel

God will do for them which may not be very far from material breakthroughs. For

them, such material successes are taken as a proof of divine mandate and a seal of

divine authentication (Umoh, 2013). So from all indications, “Prosperity gospel is

fully and solely this-worldly...It propagates a completely mistaken, eroded,

disoriented, misappropriated and misinterpreted version of Christian belief; and it

does it purposely” (Umoh, 2013, p.7). This recent development in the Nigerian

religious arena negates the very sound moral principles of the Christian religion of

yester years.

6.2.2 Prosperity Gospel Inspires Syncretism

There is the facts that prosperity gospel which is centred mostly on material

breakthroughs, marital bliss and the fruits of the womb, land and family deliverance

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as well as deliverance from curses, healings from physical ailments and other

misfortunes which are an erosion of the real Christian ideals may have made people to

wander away from the truth of the Gospel to play a kind of double loyalty for their

lack of depth of faith in God. The constant overemphasis on what is unauthentic may

naturally make the prosperity gospel appear as if it is authentic. This sometimes may

make people to lose faith for what is real for the unreal and fake. According to Umoh

(2013) “Syncretism is a misappropriation...an adulteration and a dilution of the

dogmas, doctrines, decrees, tenets and the creedal system of a particular religion on

modifying them for one’s personal motives” (p.35). The strong belief of people in

materialism which is being cultivated and nursed by prosperity preachers is earth-

bound which somehow water down Christian faith in the Living God seen to

constitute a sharp departure from biblical teaching.

The bombardment of such teaching in materialistic and earthly salvation

without any firm personal faith in God’s guidance and protection looms large and has

probably led to the flourishing of healing ministries in Nigeria. The plurality of such

prayer houses, healing centres and miracle arenas portrays the fact of God’s nearness

to ameliorating the needs of his people. Prosperity gospel has somehow put God back

at the centre of human experience by positing that God is more than capable of

meeting all the needs of desperate Nigerians. But sadly, the prosperity preachers have

helped a good number of prosperity adherents to patronise wishful thinking rather

than hard work that pays all over the world. Countries like China and Japan become

prosperous out of hard labour and not prosperity preaching.

rather than helping in reducing the number of prosperity adherents from

patronizing herbalists, witch doctors, rain makers and fortune tellers among others,

have instead assisted in pushing people more into diabolism through their superficial,

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shallow and easy going gospel of success that fail to instil in people strong confidence

in God’s absolute salvation and deliverance.

According to Para-Mallam (2014) such a growing appeal and rush occurs

because the Pentecostals seem to take seriously the spiritual world and spiritual

phenomenon which the mainstream Christianity tends to sideline. People whose

salvation only depends on what this life could offer will naturally find it difficult to

stand on their two feet spiritually in times of life’s crises. Such ones easily

compromise their faith in God and could even lapse back to finding an alternative

means of protection or a substitute probably from their traditional religion that they

are sure would protect them from harm. Although, they tend to attend the all-night

vigils, fast and pray at interval, submit themselves for deliverance, but yet their minds

seem not to find rest until additional means of protection is obtained. No wonder,

prosperity preachers have come up with miracle prayer cloths which they anointed

with oil, believe to possess such a power that is capable of performing any miracle

(Bishau, 2013). People are now being deceived to buy, revere and display these

“blessed mantles” slavishly in their offices, shops, cars and homes which is fast taking

over the role of God in mankind all-round protection.

This practice is becoming very common in Nigeria nowadays particularly in

the prosperity churches. In most of these churches, many Nigerians rich and poor, run

after pastors for spiritual cover, protection and fortification from Known and

imaginary enemies (Cold, 2011). This practice which is typical of the Africans past in

the eyes of many is worthwhile in view of the current insecurity challenges of Boko

Haram in the country. Cashing into the strange happenings, the Nigerian prosperity

preachers seems to have successfully modified traditional methods of cushioning and

freeing people from their fears. From all indications, the Africans belief in the

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efficacy of charms and amulets is still very much alive and strong. Most prosperity

preachers in Nigeria have therefore seem to have substituted the traditional sorcerers’

charms, amulets or talismans with the introduction of holy oil and holy water which

Christians patronise heavily at high cost (Bishau, 2013). According to Cold (2011):

This is psychologically attuned with the prevalent cultural belief;

something magical that can work in the supernatural. And since oracles

and divinations have to be substituted, prophecy filled the void

perfectly. Thus, in a way, Africans remain Africans with traditional

belief substituted with pseudo-Christian formulas amply provided by

the mostly educated and suave American-influenced Pentecostal

pastors (p.1)

Over and above, it may probably be rationalised that hidden behind the recent

boom in healing ministry in Nigeria is the quest of healers for wealth and power. This

craving for material rewards through religious means has been described as “religious

materialism” (Umoh, 2013, p.663). In his candid submission, Ekwunife (1995)

declares that it seems that these healing ministries, which are constantly mushrooming

every day in Nigeria and the litany of successes by each charismatic healer and his

clients are ways through which priests projects their image of power. Ekwunife notes

that the healer is the embodiment of power par excellence. In like manners, the

prosperity preachers are being held as possessors of great power whose prayers on

any item can transform it to becoming something very sacred and powerful.

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6.2.3 Prosperity Gospel Leads to Declining Spiritual Commitment and

Character

It is not far from the truth that Christian religious activities of believers today

do not correspond with their spirituality. It appears that the practical spiritual life of

Christians is no longer commensurate with their religiosity and growth. As Para-

Mallam (2014) writes “Religiosity is widespread; however godliness is scare” (p.1).

So many people who profess faith in God do not display it in their everyday life

practices. Prosperity adherents find it difficult to exhibit corresponding moral and

spiritual actions that match their present belief in God. Christians now appear to be

Christians just by their profession but not by their actions. They are probably full of

God’s language or God talks without the necessary sound moral character.

There is now a noticeable shift and disparity between belief in God and the

walk of faith. Integrity seems not to be the currency in most prosperity churches in

Nigeria. How a Christian comports himself in the Church is quite different from his

lifestyle in the public. A Christian can steal from his workplace without prick of

conscience and donate part of it to his church as tithe or seed faith as was evident in

the Christ Embassy Church, Lagos. This issue of moral depravity is not only limited

to church members but probably to the leadership of most prosperity churches too. It

is reported that one self-acclaimed Pentecostal bishop, Sunday William ever

confessed being paid by parents to execute their suspected children witches in Akwa

Ibom State to avert future witch related misfortunes (Umoh, 2013). Umoh also

mentions the case of K. Olugbenga for defrauding his church member of N214, 000

under the pretext that he was praying over the money. The Nigerian national dailies

abound with such incriminating captions on gospel ministers’ unruly behaviours in

Nigeria.

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The declining emphasis of the prosperity gospel on spirituality in favour of

prosperity seems to work against the formation of real Christian character today.

Christian spiritual lives seem to be very spurious. The get-rich-quick syndrome in

prosperity churches does not give the needed space and time for prosperity adherents

to go through the rigorous process of discipleship that requires self-denial and self-

discipline. According to Grady (2013):

The prosperity message...leaves no room for brokenness, suffering,

humility or delay. It offers an illegal shortcut. Prosperity preachers

promise instant results and overnight success; if you don’t get your

breakthrough, it’s because you didn’t give enough money in the

offering (p.2).

From this assertion, it is quite understood that what the prosperity gospel

actually encourage is for people to follow their own individual materialistic lust in

seeking and walking with God rather than following and serving Jesus at all cost no

matter what may be. Prosperity gospel by that emphasis tries to extol that material

benefits for Christians that far exceeds true spirituality as a reward for well-fulfilled

Christian life. It teaches that financial blessing is compulsorily the will of God for all

Christians and also that donations to Christian ministries will always increase one’s

material prosperity.

As is quite illuminating, the spiritual vitality and sensitivity of Christians is

being hampered by their continual yearning for materialism culminating in the ebbing

away of Christians’ moral values. Iheanacho (2009) opines that “Rather than find

solace in the Christian hope of eternal life, signs of total submission for capitalistic

tendencies, especially in insatiable material acquisition, looms large in Nigerian

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churches” (p.2). She reiterates that spiritual growth and moral sanctity towards

eternity is fast giving way to material craving, as the ‘new idea of fulfilment of life

and ultimate reality. Some pastors as it is observed sometimes prefer to refrain from

telling or preaching the truth than losing the financial members of his church.

But the downward trend in the deterioration of moral is not new in human

society nor is it limited to Nigeria alone. It is as old as the Bible itself when the like of

Abel, Balaam, Ananias, Sapphira, Judas Iscariot and Demas among others

backslidded from the faith and traded with their own salvation. Usually in every

epoch in human history, there are always challenges that posed a barrier in the

revitalization of moral behaviours in the society. According to Kitause (2012) “It is a

well-proven fact that the mass media, the internet and mobile phones are currently

influencing our religious and social values adversely” (p.49).

6.2.4 Prosperity Gospel Fuels Greed and Impoverishes People

Prosperity gospel is probably focusing more on getting than giving. By this, it

fuels greed and impoverishes its victims. Para-Mallam (2014) declares that “this

gospel of greed is a disturbing trend with appealing momentum” (p.3). According to

Grady (2013), at its core, prosperity gospel garnishes and supports a selfish and

materialistic faith with a thin Christian veneer. Prosperity preachers continually entice

their members to sow financial seeds to reap bigger and bigger financial rewards.

Para-Mallam (2014) puts it better thus “The more cash you pay, the greater your

chances of seeing a bigger miracle takes place” (p.3). This makes the gospel of

success more attractive, cheaper and stress-free in trying to achieve prosperity. This

negates the virtue of hard work and diligence.

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For prosperity preachers, rigorous labour is not necessary for one to rise up

economically. To climb the ladder of success, all one needs to do is to only donate

money generously to God through their pastors to be able to harvest much more.

Christians are instructed that spirituality is measured by whether they have big

houses, fine cars, fat bank accounts and beautiful or handsome wives and husbands as

well as brilliant children among other things. To convince people of their successes in

ministry, preachers boast about how much they paid for suits, shoes, necklaces, wrist

watches and first-class tickets (Grady; 2013).

These attractions of money, success, power and pleasure which appear to offer

hope pull the greatest crowd to prosperity churches in Nigeria. Umoh (2013) submits

that contrary to the Christian message of Christ-like detachment traditionally

professed by the mainline churches, prosperity gospel proclaims a totally different

vision of Christian engagement which is a purely carnal and materialistic liberation.

The liberation prosperity gospel purports to offer is from poverty, earthly miseries,

sickness, bad business and unsuccessful marriage. By this, prosperity preachers gain

upper hand and fleece their gullible parishioners of their resources.

According to Iheanacho (2009) the freedom of worship guaranteed in the

Nigerian Constitution is turned by prosperity preachers into freedom of exploitation

and fraud. In her observation, it is worrisome that people are fraudulently asked to

sow seeds that never germinate, pay and expect miracles that never arrive, or

surrender the benefits of their labour to the Lord’s vineyard only to be reaped by one

person and his family members. Most times, the faithful are urged to bring a seed

commensurate to the expected harvest. Gbile (2011) warns that this one-sided

direction of cash flow in Christendom which ends up enriching the pastor is very

unfair and it is indeed unchristian.

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As can be discerned, people who rush out to give away their meagre income to

receive a handsome payback harvest of prosperity most times, waited in

disappointment for the arrival of the promised prosperity. Meanwhile, they have

already parted with the little that would have assisted them in solving some of their

besetting financial problems. When socially and religiously analysed, it is

illuminating that when greed is preached from the pulpit, it spreads like a cancer in

God’s house (Grady, 2013). One drawback to this is that the pulpits which are seen as

sacred places intended to be used for the transformation of men’s lives have been

desecrated and have been made to become mere platforms for the worship of success,

which is the new god of this age (Onongha, 2011).

6.2.5 Prosperity Gospel Nurtures Fraud, Rivalry and Competition

Prosperity preaching is about increase, progress, enlargement, advancement

and upliftment in all spheres of life of the individual in the society. It is about

expansion of one’s horizon to showcase one’s achievement in life and ministry. The

aggressive spirit of material acquisition has made church business an open industry

for all comers in Nigeria. According to Iheanacho (2009) the unguarded quest for

material wealth by clerics now attracts ‘money bags’ and criminals into the Christian

fold. As observed, since no formal training and requirements are needed to open a

church, it has drawn every Tom, Dick and Harry into the religious landscape with a

predetermined purpose. These men, it may be presumed have all come with the

mindset to probably grab their own share of the national cake. Money and nothing

else in all probability have enticed a growing number of young people to try out their

hands in church business as an alternative means of making their millions.

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According to Umoh (2013), circumstances have forced many more men and

women to emerge from nowhere and everywhere, most of them theologically

unformed and uninformed for the ministry, taking to preaching claiming liberation for

countless Nigerian multitudes wallowing in purely economic miseries. In the scheme

of thought of Umoh, some of these frustrated elements trailed the religious arena and

turn it into an instrument of self-enrichment, self-aggrandizement and personal

influence. The reason behind this ulterior motive of church founding probably

explains why many churches seem to look somewhat like “private farmlands,

industries, enterprises or property of their founders” (Umoh 2013, p.662). For the

ground of monetary intent and gain which is at the base of church founding, founders

design the best radio or television advertisements to bring public notice of their

presence and influences in the society. Just like any business firm, each church

proprietor tries to outdo the other in order to gain the highest followership. This is

because the more the number, the more the financial proceeds. This situation triggers

up unhealthy rivalries and competitions among gospel ministers in Nigeria.

Another disparaging trend is that it appears as if pastors’ unholy quest for

popularity and wealth has engendered some degrees of worldliness in Christendom.

The resultant effect is that many so called men and women of God are now caught in

the whim of dubious behaviours and fraudulent acts in the society. Apart from cases

of embezzlement and misappropriation of funds by prosperity preachers and some

pastors of other persuasion, cases of sexual harassment and impregnation of female

church members by Pentecostals abound in Nigeria and beyond (Witmer, 2014).

According to Wyler (2014) “Religious-affinity fraud is quite common, but it’s

not discussed inside the church, and that’s one of the problems. No one wants to

admit that it occurs” (p.3). The belief which is strong seems widespread that from a

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religious standpoint, that what happens in the Church should stay in the Church and

people should not go telling anybody. It also appears to be a taboo arresting culprit of

any crime in the Church. The highest thing to be done is to caution the fellow, make

him to confess his fault and discipline or ex-communicate him and leave him with

God, the final judge. This perhaps explains why sometimes atrocities persist in

Christendom.

Although, almost unavoidably the social media from time to time dig into

church matters and criticize it openly. On the premise of this fact it is speculated that

in 2013, ecclesiastical crime manifested in the area of fraud and embezzlement

accounted for $37 billion in losses for churches worldwide (Wyler, 2014, p.3).

Contextually, in Nigeria, there are cases of divorce and remarry by so-called pastors.

Chris Okotie is on record for divorcing his first wife, remarried only to divorce the

second wife recently (Eyoboka, 2012). These are but few of the unpalatable incidents

that erupted in the Nigerian religious firmament. Aribisala (2014) illustrates the ugly

picture of the unholy habits and fraud among the Pentecostals in this manner:

Don’t take too long being a pastor. Within a year or two, promote

yourself to Bishop or Archbishop. Don’t allow anybody to disrespect

you by calling you “Mister”. Tell them: “Call me Reverend”. When

you are introduced, you will be referred to as “Your Grace” (p.3).

Aribisala further intimates that after successfully going through the above

gimmick, the next necessary step for so called Pentecostals is to preach prosperity

messages convincingly and uncompromisingly; assuring all prosperity adherents that

there is going to be a divine transfer of wealth every year from now on. Then, to dig

the gold from the adherents, they are told to give Jesus a wiper. This is how to harvest

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millions of dollars. Of course, after this, the wealth has to be displayed. Aribisala

(2014) again puts it this way:

Show off the money. Don’t buy a Mercedes Benz. Every Tom, Dick

and Harry now drives that. Drive cars that are outrageously expensive

and unusual. Make sure they are bullet-proof; not because anybody

will shoot at you, but because bullet-proof cars are more highly-

regarded. Buy a Ferrari, a Lamborghini or Aston Martin. Let it be in a

flashy colour. Then cruise every now and then in the Lagos jam (p.2).

It is stressed that living above the normal moderate lifestyles has disastrous

effects as Christians. The scenarios indicated above do not depict the true life

expected of children of God. The Gospel of John is said to clarify that the life Jesus

offers Christians is spiritual life so that Christians will have full and enriching

personal relationship with God. By seeking material possessions, Christians are

indirectly telling Jesus that they do not want his offer of spiritual life. Aribisala (2014)

again captures Christians’ distaste of spiritual life in his own words thus:

We want physical and material life. We want the life of eating the best

foods and drinking the best drinks. We want the life of living in the

best houses, driving the best cars, and having the best jobs. We don’t

want the life of carrying our cross and denying our self (p.2).

For the single fact that everybody or ministry wants to appear big, better and

unique, informs of the unceasing rivalries and competitions in Christendom. In recent

times, the tempo of rivalry has been on the increase. Competition is now

commonplace among churches and pastors. As churches multiply and the struggle for

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more members increases, the tide of confusion and secession becomes almost weekly

or monthly occurrences. It is remarked by Iheanacho (2009) that:

The various churches compete for legitimacy, acceptance and spiritual

superiority amongst themselves. Each group claims possession of the

‘real Christian truth’ and bask in the euphoria of denominational

triumphalism. That is, each group hold the unshaken conviction that it

is their church that can lead to salvation. In fact, many of the new

churches express sympathy for non members, hence for them such

people are few steps to damnation, and eternal punishment (p.5).

6.2.6 Prosperity Gospel Keeps People in Poverty

Prosperity gospel is seemly exploitative in nature (Grady, 2013). The

tendencies by prosperity preachers to exploit people make them to probably turn

preaching into a skilful marketing art (Para-Mallam, 2014). The accruing result is

that they have suddenly become stars and celebrities in Nigeria. They tend to work on

people’s psychology in order to defraud them. Ordinarily, nobody wants to be left

behind when something good is promised. Since every human have the propensity to

be associated with what gives an impression of success, people are usually moved to

join the bandwagon of prosperity gospel that is always on the move.

According to Umoh (2013) stringent economic situations have made many

Nigerians irrecoverable victims of prosperity gospel. People appear to blindly

continue to hope against hope, even in their hopelessness. And capitalizing on their

hopelessness and sometimes their ignorance, it is noted that the propagators of this

exploitative gospel continue to milk people dry in their desperateness. The prosperity

preachers, it is observed continue to use persuasive words to keep their victims

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imprisoned in their unrealizable dreams. When people fail to achieve their heart

desires, they probably look gloomy and frustrated. It is observed that it is mostly

church founders and general overseers that have fleets of cars, unquantifiable assets

and extra-ordinary mansions equivalent to royal palaces. So while the teachers of

prosperity keep increasing in their wealth, the lot of the average Nigerians keep

diminishing.

How did this happen? According to Augusto (2013), Christians are bombarded

with a prominent financial principle – sowing and reaping. The people were

frequently told to sow financial seeds to remedy any problem, small or large. Whether

the problem was in finances, relationships or health, the solution appeared to be

sowing a financial seed. This is the most popular approach used by prosperity

churches over the years to raise fund to finance their projects. Whether this method

leads to increment in the income generation of the giver or not seems not to be the

immediate concern of these ministries after they have dug the gold from people. But

any time these ministries ran low of money or when there is a special project at hand,

a well-designed empowerment service will be declared where gullible unsuspecting

miracle seekers are encouraged to sow quality seed tagged: “healing for your seed

money; anointing for your seed money; debt cancellation for your seed money and

prosperity for your seed money. The various appeals may be glamorously packaged

with enticing, and even seducing words” (Augusto 2013, p.3).

This is a kind of deception. Why should people’s miracles and empowerment

plan always be attached to church’s need for money or project? Of all deceptions, it is

noted that the greatest deception has occurred in the area of prosperity. People seem

to be sowing financial seed without really growing financially instead it is those at the

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hem of affairs that smile home every now and then with cash. It may be true that the

enemy has stolen more from God’s people in the area of prosperity than in any other

area. It may also be true that in their greed these false teachers have exploited

Christians without remedy with fantastic stories and prosperity keys they have cook

up by themselves. Hence, God’s people are fleeced beyond measure in the name of

God.

6.2.7 Prosperity Gospel enslaves people

The desires of many to become rich ensnare them. The way prosperity gospel

is preached in Nigeria is indeed captivating but it is also very ensnaring. Prosperity

preachers carefully select their words and preach prosperity powerfully and

persuasively. According to Jesse (2011) prosperity preachers in their messages render

heart-cheering statements such as:

“Somebody’s business shall increase!” “Somebody’s property shall

increase!” “Today heaven is laying a hand on you to do wonders in

your life and family!” “As from today, anywhere you put the sole of

your feet, he will give it to you!” (Para.1).

Not only do preachers say these statements. They equally give the impression that

every prosperity seeker will soon cease to be a local person but international. These

saying come clear in the prayers of Abel Damina thus “I hereby banish everything

local in you – Amen! May God bring out more the international nature in you and

make it shine – Amen! From this night on you are ‘un local’ Amen! You are

international – Amen!” (Umoh, 2009, p.83).

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Being very crafty, they easily convince people with their well doctored

principles of upliftment for the individual. They tend to introduce things which to

their minds would be used by people to be blessed. Their marketing strategies which

are appealing are appallingly designed to sell this gospel of cheap success. They

strategise based on the satisfaction they would bring to their teeming consumers.

Practically, prosperity preachers sometimes are in the habit of employing unscriptural

and even bizarre methods of providing solutions to people’s problems. Because their

chief target is getting money which is being eyed from the people, preachers cash in

on the gullibility of members by introducing symbolism such as oil, mantle, honey,

holy water, salt, sand, palm leaves, grape fruits, sprinkling of blood and other medium

which are evolved currently to build the faith of people unto materialism (Para-

Mallam, 2014; Grady, 2013). Achunike (2009) warns against the use of any of such

bizarre methods of healing stressing that it does no good to mankind.

Really, there seems to be no problem about adopting any miraculous means

that could take care of peoples’ immediate needs of healing, deliverance, misfortune

and financial problems. But it is worrisome that some of the Charismatic healers are

accused of deriving their healing power from the powers of Satan (Omotoye, 2010).

By using unscriptural methods of healing especially as they incorporate emblems to

solving people’s needs who may not be sure of their sources cast doubt as to whether

such processes of healing will not at the end enslave and compound their problems.

These kind of practices scare people and attract comments that prosperity gospel is

mixed with Satanic and cultic practices. To probably stress this point, Grady (2013)

asserts that:

Before Christianity came to Nigeria, people visited witch doctors and

sacrificed goats or cows to get prosperity. They poured libations on the

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ground so the gods would hear their prayers. Today similar practices

continue, only the juju priest has been replaced by a pastor who drives

a Mercedes-Benz. I am aware of a pastor who buried a live animal

under the floor of his church to win God’s favour. Another pastor

asked his congregants to bring bottles of sand to church so he could

anoint them; he then told the people to sprinkle the sand in their houses

to bring blessings. The people who follow these charlatans are

reminded that their promised windfall won’t materialize unless they

give large donations (p.1).

In Nigeria, there have been series of criticisms about the authenticity of some

of the claims of healing miracles performed by Nigerians healers. T. B. Joshua and

Chris Oyakhilome have severally been questioned as a result of this. Most critics hold

that most miracles done by Joshua and Oyakhilome were simulated hence they do not

last long (Akinyele, 2009). The case of Wium Bason, a South African sports star who

was said to have been healed by T. B. Joshua died shortly after then as reported by

Akinyele. Although death remains the inevitable end of every human, one thing that

one is not sure of is the question as to whether the visit of Bason to Joshua for healing

did not fast-track his death as observed by critics.

Prosperity gospel whether directly or indirectly probably enslaves people in

some ways to some extent. This is aptly summarizes by Ekeke (2012) in his very

words:

Prosperity message is destructive and has negative effects. This blind

spirituality is not only destructive, damaging and deceptive but worse

than slavery. It is bondage, abuse, deception, manipulation,

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godlessness and satanic capitalism. Most Nigerian Christians are only

not enslaved spiritually, morally and financially but intellectually as

well. It is economic, moral and intellectual slavery. Millions of

Nigerian Christians are now victims of satanic churches and their false

prophets. The prosperity gospel is also destroying Nigerian society –

family, homes, causing a combination of disappointment, hurts,

discouragement and anger toward God and sometimes causes people to

turn away from God. What we have nowadays is moral bankruptcy,

biblical ignorance, a modern day voodoo and satanic spiritualism. In a

nutshell, what we have today is 419 in the Church. What we have

today is materialistic Christianity and there is enormous danger in it

(p.3).

6.2.8 Prosperity Gospel Feeds Pride

The probable greedy nature of prosperity gospel encourages accumulations of

wealth by an individual. Prosperity gospel says Ekeke (2012) is a satanic scheme

which creates enabling environment where greediness thrives so easily. The greedy

atmosphere in prosperity churches is likely producing “bigheaded opportunists who

need position, applause and plenty of perks to keep them happy” (Grady, 2013, p.2).

Kate Bowler in Wyler (2014) opines that prosperity gospel offers a language of

ambition and economic hunger for those on their way up. In tough times, it tells

people that God is on their side, hence for them there is always a solution to their

problems. As a result of this, the overwhelming sense of one’s wealth and abundance

makes people to feel that they are still in control and that instigates pride in the rich of

this world.

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Again, prosperity theology gives the impression that money and health are

evidence of God’s grace; while lack of them is evidence of the opposite. This

ideology appears to make prosperity preachers tend to dish out promises of making

“their follower millionaires, landlords and landowners” (Kukah cited in Para-Mallam,

2014). It is said that money has sadly become the yardstick for success in the Church.

For this temptation, some Christians are prone to “living in excessive and expensive

luxury beyond what is reasonable according to the average standard of living” (Urban,

2014, p.10). Possessing plenty of money is not the end of the matter. It is not a

problem at all. For money in itself is not sin. Urban reiterates that money was and is

God’s idea. It is God who is said to have created the whole known world and

everything in it and ordained a monetary system to operate on this earth for man’s

benefits. Money is important and very useful to run one’s life, family, government

and the Church.

But sadly, money has suddenly become man’s greatest undoing in the world.

Money is seen to compete for the heart and affection and devotion of man in a way

that no other thing does. Money appears to be a trap waiting to snare the soul of any

man at any moment because it secretly stirs up the spirit of pride in man. Pride begins

in the heart of man. Once the heart is overtaken by pride the soul is automatically

damned for destruction in hell.

Moderate acquisition of wealth and lifestyles remains the panacea against

pride. Entrusting the ownership of one’s possessions to God is another way out of the

temptation to using wealth as if it is solely one’s power and craftiness that fetches an

individual the wealth. That is not all. If only the rich will esteem, cherish and honour

the God who blesses them with wealth above the blessings that God puts in their

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feeble hands, there is no way pride will rear its head and endangers their lives. It is

buttressed that the refusal of one to get rid of luxurious extravagance and abundance

is a proof that Christians have a love for the things of this world.

Being rich is probably good and bad. It is good if well managed and is put

under control so that it does not destroy one’s relationship with God and man.

Christians have been enjoined by the Holy Scriptures never to use wealth as a weapon

for man’s enslavement. Money is bad if it is allowed to ruin one’s good rapport and

relationship with humanity and divinity. It is admonished that those who desire to be

rich in this world should seek true humility which is the realization and appreciation

for the provision of God being manifested in healing, deliverance, financial and

material prosperity among other things that God bestows (Robert, 2008). Life in its

moderate state is a commendable hallmark of Christian virtue.

From the above socio-religious examination of prosperity gospel preaching in

Nigeria, it appears glaring that Pentecostalism has recorded tremendous landmark

achievements within the Nigerian religious landscape. Pentecostalism as a dynamic

and transitional socio-religious phenomenon is seriously challenging established

social, cultural and religious forms of thought and praxis in Nigeria. As a social

institution, Christianity is operating in the larger Nigerian society through

Pentecostalism as its dimension. Prosperity gospel preaching which is a Pentecostal

practice within the religious circles in Nigeria is currently making waves and is

creating indelible imprints in the sand of time which cannot easily be wiped out.

Through its emancipating message of spiritual and physical deliverance from the

shackles of poverty and bodily ailments, Pentecostalism’s monumental success is

being recorded more through its prosperity gospel preaching in Nigeria.

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Prosperity gospel, no doubt, is currently transforming, empowering and

bringing succour and fulfilment to countless Nigerian people. It is as well seemingly

wrecking a great deal of havoc by throwing many peoples’ lives in Nigeria into

disarray due to its overburdened miracle mentality and sweatless prosperity mentality

which is noted to be a common feature of prosperity gospel. As revealed, in spite of

all the seeming benefits of prosperity gospel, it is seen in the above analysis that

prosperity gospel in Nigeria is causing more damages than benefiting the teeming

Christian population in Nigeria.

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CHAPTER SEVEN

DISSECTION OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHING IN NIGERIA

7.1 An Authentic Gospel

Roberts (2011) asserts that authentic gospel is the type of gospel which seeks

to reach the very heart of original Christian teachings vis-a-vis its main emphasis. In

the opinion of Vermes (2005), authentic gospel dwells on messages that try to raise

levels of reasonable doubt by causing people to think more about Jesus and what his

message truly is. It is trying to discover, preach and live out the genuine message of

Jesus. The authentic gospel says Reju (2008), unveils the gospel that Jesus Christ

preached and emphasized. What gospel did Christ preach and what is the central

emphasis of his preaching? This researcher supports the view of the above on

authentic gospel.

From all indications, the Christian gospel since the time of Christ is being

handed down through the instrumentality of preaching and teaching. Preaching has

rightly been described as a public proclamation of the gospel. Teaching is also said to

be an extension of preaching. According to Obasanjo (2009), teaching means to

impart knowledge; to instruct or to explain. Teaching in this understanding

presupposes that the teacher has something to impart. In Christianity, “the subject of

proclamation is Christ who was crucified, died and is risen” (Mbukanma, 2003, p.12).

Mbukanma emphasizes that through Jesus Christ is accomplished for mankind full

and authentic liberation from evil, sin and death. Through Christ, God is said to have

bestowed new life to mankind which is divine and eternal.

According to Monye (2013), preaching is the imparting of the information that

God in and through Jesus’ death has saved mankind. It is an attempt to gather up the

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hearer into a story of God’s love. In preaching, as Monye (2013) puts it, the preacher

must try to create a situation in which the hearer becomes aware of God’s loving

concern for him. This is a kind of concern that invites the hearer’s immediate

response. Preaching aims to win the hearer over to God and attempts to create a

situation in which God is encountered as a response to individual’s deepest needs. The

position of Monye is that preaching is a vehicle of grace. Through preaching the

hearer receives God’s grace as it fascinates the hearer to respond quickly to the

message almost spontaneously bringing about a change in him.

DeMars (2014) declares that “The Gospel is beautiful” (p.3). It is beautiful if it

produces the desired results of emancipating mankind from its hopeless sinful nature.

Preaching remains “God-ordained means of spreading the Gospel” (Gibbs, 2012,

p.91). This gospel is the gospel of the Kingdom which is equally the gospel of men’s

salvation. According to Gibbs, preaching is a witness to the facts of the gospel and

through it the gospel became the means by which faith is awakened in the hearers.

Jesus began his earthly ministry with preaching. Through it, he emphasises to

his hearers of the minimum prerequisite for their accessing eternal life to be part of

God’s eternal Kingdom which is the Kingdom of Heaven. Obasanjo (2009) records

that “Jesus started by telling people how to turn from not being good to being good,

how to turn from worldly to heavenly and eternal, how to turn from self-control to

God centeredness, God-control and God-possessed” (p.149). The most probable thrust

of Jesus’s message is the salvation of mankind. He probably summarizes his God-

given mission in Luke 4:18-19.

What make a message authentic are its points of emphasis as well as its points

of departure. The message that points to Jesus’ emphasis on salvation, righteousness,

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holiness and the hereafter is an authentic gospel. It is said that the gospel which Jesus

Christ Preached while on earth was a gospel of power, efficacy and purpose. It was a

penetrating gospel that consistently revealed the ills of the society in which it was

declared and exposed falsehood for what it was. The word “Gospel” literarily means

“God’s spell” or God’s word. It is also known as “good spell” which is the same thing

as good news. According to Reju (2008), preaching the gospel is often used to include

not only the proclaiming of the good tidings, but also the declaration of all the truths,

precepts and promises of Christianity. Jesus declares that for Christians to activate the

end of time, the gospel of the Kingdom which is an authentic gospel will be preached

in the entire world as a witness to all nations.

By implication, the expression “The word” which is in use in Christendom

today is the authentic word of God being preached as the gospel of the Kingdom. The

word which is the most authoritative and authentic gospel is often used collectively as

eternal truth to express the doctrines of the gospel. In the Scriptures as Reju (2008)

seems to indicate, this gospel is being referred to severally as: “The gospel of the

kingdom” (Matt 4:23), “the gospel of Christ” (Rom 1:16), “the gospel of salvation”

(Eph 1:13), “the glorious gospel” (Eph 1:13), “the everlasting gospel” (Eph 1:13),

“the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:15) and “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20: 24).

The authentic gospel is one gospel. The message and its emphasis is one. It is the

expression of the one truth being expressed in different ways. The authentic gospel is

an expression of the truth. It expresses the genuineness of the truth and has nothing to

do with counterfeit whatsoever.

But disappointingly, the value of the gospel has been cascading into something

else in contemporary Nigeria. As observed, many preachers have now reduced the

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gospel to a means of wealth acquisition. The gospel is probably now being dragged

into unsavoury reputation by preachers of prosperity today. What seems to be original

before is now fast ebbing away, giving in to something else. Instead of conveying the

truth of the authentic gospel, prosperity preachers intentionally try to water down the

word of God for a peanut. Nee (2003) observes that men of old do everything

consciously possible to put real spiritual content into their messages. But soon after

these men passed away, the spiritual control passed away too. Now contemporary

preaching seems to be following its inevitable course towards the world of

materialism and away from God. As truly revealed by Reju (2008):

The falsification, misinterpretation, misapplication, adulteration,

denial, corruption of the Scriptures and its gospel is more pervasive

now than ever. As people preach about ‘another Jesus’, they yield to

the Jesus they preach, receiving a ‘different gospel. This gospel which

they receive, proclaim and even sometimes die for is symbolic of the

life they yearn to live without God (p.12).

This assertion aptly expresses that it is one thing to preach the authentic

gospel, and it is entirely another to preach ‘another gospel’ a gospel different from the

original. For many people, any message short of the cross of Jesus exemplified in the

virgin birth, death and resurrection of Christ is not an authentic gospel. The message

of the cross for many minds is the only pure and unadulterated full gospel that must

be held tenaciously at any cost. The message of the cross hinges unapologetically on

the person of Christ and is always Christ-centred. This kind of message stresses

repentance from sins and repentance towards God. It is geared towards provoking

faith in the hearers of good news for their own spiritual benefit.

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Billy Graham was quoted to have said that “I’m going to preach His birth,

death and resurrection. I’ll preach it until Jesus comes” (Drummond, 2001). Billy

Graham during his earthly ministry was said to have itemised and summarised the

main content of his full and true gospel to include the following five points: (i) the

incarnation, (ii) Christ lived a perfect life, (iii) Christ died on the Cross, (vi) the

resurrection and (v) Jesus is coming again: Kingdom fullness.

It is little wonder that while on earth Jesus preached salvation of souls

uncompromisingly. He preached righteousness and holiness to the core being a sinless

Saviour. As a soul winner, he was highly enthusiastic about evangelism. As an

evangelical, Jesus practically and tirelessly worked round the clock to fulfil his divine

mandate of bringing salvation to the entire human race. He did this energetically with

a consuming passion for souls. This passion for souls became his driving force on

earth. Jesus proved himself a perfect example in soul winning by being actively

involved in evangelistic campaigns every now and then. He ministered to individual

as well as to groups. He went through jungles, streets, homes and market places

touching lives.

As a seasoned itinerant preacher, he disseminated the gospel of the Kingdom

everywhere freely. He ministered to people of diverse needs free of cost. Nobody

needed to sow seed-faith; buy anointing oil, holy water, mantles and pay consultation

fee or sponsor Jesus for special fasting with prayers before they are blessed. Jesus mix

freely with people, socialize himself with them and purposefully lived in favour and

rapport with all regardless of their status, aiming at witnessing and winning them over

to his fold. As he interacted, he equally strategized on how best to catch them.

People‘s fallen state and their need for salvation was a top most priority in his mind

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daily. Jesus at the end of his earthly ministry gave his disciples the Great Commission

of taking the gospel to the uttermost part of the earth.

As it transpired, Jesus paved the way for aggressive evangelism to be imitated

by all his true followers. He ignited the fire of soul winning when he empowered and

commissioned his early disciples shortly after his ascension into Heaven. The visible

evidence of this out pouring of the Holy Spirit was the evangelical push of the early

church. They carry on with the preaching of the authentic gospel of God’s Kingdom.

As seen, Christ’s passion suddenly became their passion. His purpose became their

purpose. And his mission became their mission. Thus, they zealously continued the

work of preaching amidst fierce persecution and prevailed. Osborn (1996) commends

favourably on the unabated, unyielding and undying devotion and commitment with

which Jesus disciples evangelized their world with these words:

They stayed busy witnessing in the markets, on the streets, in houses,

around public wells; talking, reasoning, witnessing, persuading,

preaching, winning souls, compelling people to believe the gospel and

to come into the Kingdom of God. In fact, they reminded everyone so

much of Christ that critics contemptibly nicknamed them CHRIST-i-

ans (p.63).

The aftermath was the mass conversion of sinners that attended their message

along with outstanding miracles that confirms the gospel. In this way, people were

reached and transformed by the power of Christ resurrection. It is probably in close

connection with this that Mcllvaine (2003) shares his forty years of preaching

experience thus:

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More and more have I learned the need that ministers should keep their

teaching close to that one central and living theme, if they would have

it honoured of God as his power unto salvation. And the need also of

constant and jealous watchfulness against the many snares and by-

ways by which we may be led into such departures there from as will

have the effect in part, if not entirely, of unevangelizing our work

(p.2).

So to fully keep abreast of the authentic and full gospel, it is expedient that

preachers of all ages during their theological training ought to acquire among other

education, Kerygmatic education (Obaje, 2004). Obaje expresses that Kerygmatic

education focuses on the word which was in the beginning with God, and was God

and became flesh for the salvation of human kind. The Greek word kerygma from

which the coinage Kerygmatic was derived, in the words of Drummond (2001) “is the

public declaration of the gospel to the non-Christian world with a view to converting

that world” (p.36). Perhaps the best summation of kerygma in the opinion of

Drummond can be found in Peter’s sermon preached on the Day of Pentecost along

with the surrounding events as recorded in Acts 1 and 2. Peter’s sermons are classical

examples of authentic gospel which the Nigerian prosperity preachers ought to

employ in their homilies. For it is remarked that it was by kerygma that it pleased God

to save men (Dodd, 1936 cited in Drummond, 2001).

7.2 A Different Gospel (From Asceticism to Materialism)

There is probably a huge gap between spirituality and actual faith in God as

witnessed in the daily lives of most Christians in Nigeria today. There appears to be a

sudden shift from asceticism to materialism among the Nigerian faithful. It seems that

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the love of money has over taken Christendom, rather than the preaching of undiluted

word of God. It is reported that “Since the death and resurrection of Christ 2000 years

ago, countless doctrines and gospels have emerged, every one of them claiming

superiority” (Reju, 2008). For this reason, it has become increasingly hard for

Christians, especially young believers to distinguish the true gospel of Christ from the

false gospel. Truth is now being manipulated and twisted just to satisfy some egoistic

yearning of false preachers. Apostle Paul speaking about this scenario charges that:

For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not

preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not

received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted – you may

well put up with it! (2Cor 11:4).

This informs that another gospel is likely on the rampage, steadily on course.

Preachers of a different gospel masquerade themselves as angels of light tending to

cover up their adulterated and false theology by claiming to preach the gospel of the

Kingdom. They tend to spread their own crafty gospel under the guise of the real

gospel. No wonders, churches are mutating into social organizations seemingly

providing welfare services without any meaningful spiritual development for

recipients of these services (Reju, 2008).

Curious to ascertain the precursor of this gospel which has become so rampant

in the world today, Armstrong (2009) in his diagnosis of the worsening corruption of

the gospel message detects and reports that “the Church has experienced an alarming

erosion of Biblical knowledge over the past fifty years among professing Christians,

and a fool and his money are soon parted” (p.3). Armstrong observes that many

churches have continued to downplay the importance of a deep and abiding

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knowledge of God’s word, thus becoming satisfied with a superficial understanding of

Scripture in their congregations. This grave ignorance of the Bible to Armstrong’s

mind is now moving beyond the pews into pulpits as pastors themselves are becoming

increasingly unfamiliar with the core doctrines and history of the Christian faith.

What remains of this weakness in Christendom is that prosperity preachers

have monopolised the advantage and are making remarkable in-roads into many

prominent congregations around the world. The sad implication of this is that the

Church has been infected with many viruses which are eating deeper and deeper by

the day into every fabric of the Christian religion. This probably explains why

Christian values and godly ethics are fast crumbling and degenerating almost on a

daily basis across the globe over the years (Achunike & Kitause, 2014). It is remarked

that the Church’s ignorance of the Scripture has done much to prove true that a little

knowledge of anything is dangerous and costly indeed.

Hanegraaf (1993) ponders along this same line when he concurs that the

Church is undergoing a major transformation and that millions of Christians have

embraced another gospel, another Jesus, a gospel of false promises of prosperity,

wealth, healing, signs and wonders. He attributes the major obstacles to the

inadequate formation of today’s preachers for lacking apparently sound biblical

training and theological education which has characterized most Pentecostal

seminaries in Nigeria and other parts of the world.

It is really difficult to explain why America gave birth to prosperity gospel.

One reason as discovered above may be due to the erosion in Biblical knowledge.

Another reasons which Okwori (1995) identified is attributable to the philosophic

influences of the 19th century which eventually led to the three waves of (i)

Pentecostalism, (ii) the faith-prosperity movement and (iii) the signs and wonders

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movement in America during the 20th century. Whatever might have been the cause

for the emergence of prosperity gospel in America, Fee (1979) holds that:

American Christianity is rapidly being infected by an insidious disease,

the so-called “wealth and health” Gospel – although it has very little of

the character of the Gospel in it. In its more brazen forms...it simply

says, “Serve God and get rich”...in its more respectable - but

pernicious – forms it builds fifteen million dollar crystal cathedrals to

the glory of affluent suburban Christianity (p.13).

In his critical analysis of prosperity gospel, McConnell (2007) emphatically

declares that prosperity gospel is nothing other than another gospel preached by false

preachers. He categorizes prosperity gospel into two main types. These are identified

to be egocentric and cosmic teaching on prosperity. The egocentric teaching in the

view of McConnell promises success and prosperity from God to those who give to

the evangelist’s ministry. For him, it is egocentric because it centres on the

personality of the evangelist and the welfare of his ministry. On the other hand, the

cosmic teaching is said to promise success and prosperity from God to those who

know the spiritual laws of the universe that govern financial prosperity. McConnell

maintains that this aspect of teaching is cosmic in view of the fact that it centres on

the universal principles of prosperity that God has set up in the cosmos.

It is probably in recognition of the aforementioned facts that DeMars (2014)

without any mincing of words reports that “America is exporting a false gospel that is

putting people on the A Train to an eternity of suffering” (p.2). As if to support this

speculation, Wax (2012) validates this by saying that “This new gospel is perplexing

– it omits Jesus and neglects the cross. Instead of promising Christ...this new gospel

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claims that God desires and even promises that believers will live a healthy and

financially prosperous life” (p.1). For Wax, prosperity teaching is essentially gospel-

less. Even though, the prosperity gospel is currently having a tremendous appeal and

is ever growing, but it is saddening that the souls of the millions of its adherents are

already at jeopardy. The prosperity gospel seems to be woefully deficient to take

people to Heaven. This is premised on the fact that prosperity gospel preaching

marginalizes the basic components of the authentic gospel.

After a serious heart searching and brainstorming on the authenticity of

prosperity gospel within the religious space, Urban (2014) throws the light and

intimates in his candid conclusion that if the doctrine of financial prosperity cannot be

found in the 2000 years of Christian history, then it must be false. He substantiates

further in his very own words thus:

We also need to recognize that the doctrines of financial prosperity

weren’t believed in or invented or promoted in the Church until the

20th Century. This means that there is nearly 2000 years of Christian

history where this doctrine is completely absent! For almost 2000

years, there were men of God and preachers and teachers in the Church

who wrote extensive commentaries and preached countless thousands

of sermons, yet there is not a single trace of them believing or ever

mentioning such doctrines. They didn’t exist in the Church. And we

can safely say that if a doctrine or practice wasn’t found anywhere in

the Church for 2000 years, then it is some “new thing” and must

therefore be false, because there will be no “new thing” in the Church

since the canon of Scripture is complete and the Book of God is a

sealed book (p.14).

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Today, it is seen that the gospel message which is the good news of the

Kingdom is being perverted. According to Ekeke & Mumford (2012), “What we

have nowadays is another gospel, a false gospel and a religious syncretism...It is

another gospel – another Jesus, in fact, a gospel of Satan and message of hell fire – a

prosperity-tinged Pentecostalism” (p.2). It is stressed that prosperity gospel preaching

does not line up with the tenets of the Holy Scriptures. For Baker (1996), a repentant

prosperity preacher, the gospel teaching that subtly implies and often overtly states

that God wants you to be rich is a false gospel.

Elaborating on this type of gospel, Osewa (2013) affirms that prosperity

preachers major on preaching about healing, prosperity, love, having a positive

mindset, casting out demons, deliverance and so on. That apart, they would tell their

congregations that God loves them no matter what, they would crack jokes and

everyone is made to laugh throughout the entire church service. As observed, they

rarely preach about holiness, God’s impending judgement on sin and indecent

dressing by men and women to the point that some of their men song or choir leaders

have their hair plaited or jerry curled and perform actively in any service. Prosperity

preachers tend to intentionally desist from emphasis on godly and righteous living.

They often defend any of their careless and unchristian unruly behaviour with the

statement that Christianity is in the heart. For most prosperity adherents, it does not

matter the way one dresses or talks. A life of sanctity in readiness for Christ’s second

return seems to be an illusion to them. However, one considers being a Christian,

Christianity cannot just be hidden in the heart only. For it is natural that whatever is

enclosed in the heart of him that truly encountered Jesus Christ as one’s personal Lord

and Saviour will translate in the outside, that is finds expression in the open.

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Added to this is the fact that most of the prosperity preachers are silent about

the issue of fornication, adultery, abortion, divorce, hatred, evil thoughts and deeds,

remarrying, bribery and corruption and other sinful lifestyles of their congregants

especially the financial members of their church. The way some pastors relate with

their female single ladies easily casts doubt as to whether there is actually nothing

lurking between those pastors and their parishioners. It may or may not really be true

that pastor do have some secret love affairs with the female members of their

churches other than their wives. But whatever the case may be, it has been on the

news every now and then that some ministers of the gospel abused their sacred office

in order to gratify their own fleshly desires.

As if to respond to this, Hill (2002) corroborates that “Many churches are full

today because preachers refuse to preach the full Counsel of God. Some boast that

they never preach against sin. It was easy to see why they do not preach against sin”

(P.39). What could have made it easy for preachers not to preach against sin? Hill

provides the answer readily by expressing that one pastor of a 3000 member church

was commended for his ability to build a large church in such a short time only for

him to be exposed on the front page of a newspaper for having love affairs with even

married women of his church for over three years. It is therefore natural that a pastor

who indulges in sin will not have that boldness to preach against the very thing that he

is a victim of.

According to Munguti (2014) “Prosperity gospel is Satanic; from the Satan

Kingdom” (p.4). He maintains that prosperity gospel teaches that God prospers every

person with worldly riches which is a lie. Munguti stresses further that prosperity

gospel does not focus, point, reveal and lead people to Jesus Christ for salvation

which is one of the most cardinal emphasises of the authentic gospel. Prosperity

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gospel narrows down its focus on the hand of God for the now in order to lure more

people to it. People are therefore easily drawn to it so as to harvest the promised

breakthroughs. It is cautioned that anything that does not lead people to Jesus Christ

is not a gospel. On a closer look therefore one discovers that the prosperity preachers

appear to have stripped out the core of God’s ultimate requirement for salvation

which is holiness and putting in place their own imagined theology of success.

On his part, Jones (2014) in the light of Scripture sensitizes that “The

prosperity gospel is fundamentally flawed. At bottom, the prosperity gospel is

actually a false gospel because of its faulty view of the relationship between God and

man (p.4). The prosperity preachers tend to mistaken God to a sort of cosmic

entrepreneur who can be used, by tithing and offering, to attain what really matters to

them: a prosperous life in merely earthly things (Michelen, 2014). Adherents of

prosperity gospel tend therefore to treat God as “a celestial sugar daddy who existed

to make them healthy, wealthy and happy on account of service rendered” (Jones,

2014, p.1). As it is really evident, the real gospel has been substituted for one that

would be most appropriate for this generation: a gospel of wealth, health and

happiness (Nunez, 2014). It appears that the devil is succeeding in deceiving many

people with seeming riches, glory and power in exchange for their precious souls.

And many people are cheaply buying this dangerous gospel that prosperity preachers

are peddling in Nigeria. It may not be exaggeration therefore to remark that prosperity

adherents appear to be sheep without a shepherd.

Prosperity gospel panders to the flesh and material benefits. Its appeal is for

the immediate pleasure and satisfaction. It promises a trouble-free life for believers. It

offers Christians the best life now or never if only they can exercise enough faith in

God for breakthroughs. It caters to the desires of the fallen human heart. Prosperity

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gospel promises much while requiring little. But the true gospel appears to be the

reversal of what prosperity gospel promises. It is a complete opposite of it. The true

gospel sounds it loud and clear that whatever may come a Christian’s way, whether

lack or abundance God is in control. By serving God faithfully and working hard, God

will surely not over look that. He always rewards hard labour with God-given

prosperity.

Prosperity gospel is said to be a counterfeit gospel (Duty, 2014). It is observed

that one thing about counterfeit is that it has to look very much like the real thing in

order to be believable. According to Kennedy (2012) “The prosperity gospel is a

serious distortion of the real gospel but it can be difficult to spot because many

prosperity gospel’s claims and prepositions are subtly couched in biblical language

and supported with biblical texts” (p.1). For instance, faith is often being emphasised

in the prosperity gospel to mean a different thing. Faith, in the parlance of prosperity

adherents is the currency by which one can exercise to get something financially or

materially from God. Faith is for grabbing of material breakthroughs. Also, anytime

anywhere the word gospel is mentioned, prosperity adherents probably understand it

to be the good news that God desires them to be healthy, wealthy and prosperous. In

the authentic gospel, faith means entirely something else. It means a gift God has

given someone to believe that his word is true and that Jesus Christ is his son.

Prosperity theology, says Mohler (2010) is a false gospel because it leads to

deeper poverty. Mohler puts it in another way when he says that prosperity theology

is a perverse distortion of the gospel that transforms the message of Christ into a

message of secular salvation through wealth and prosperity. In prosperity theology,

the gospel is said to have been:

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Re-packaged to suit those who want a faith to satisfy their “felt need”,

the gospel message that “God wants you to be rich”. “Send money as a

step of faith and God will bless you message”. “Give a $1000 pledge

and God will bless you”. “Name it, claim it”. “Give to get rich

message”. “100 fold return-blessing and even 1000 times return” is

another gospel, a different gospel from what Jesus Christ taught

(Ekeke, 2012, p.3).

This quotation simply unearths the probable tricks some prosperity preachers

are using to hypnotise people in Nigeria. According to Ekeke, the tricks of the

proponents of prosperity gospel are working on people because most Christians are

biblically ignorant and gullible. To his mind, Adeleye (2011) cautions that biblical

faith is not gullibility. He expatiates that gullibility is the attitude that “all things are

possible because I believe all things are possible” (p.68). Gullibility makes one wise

in his own eyes while behaving foolishly. Such a one claims all the promises in the

Bible without reasonable concrete back-up actions to actualise those promises. Instead

of such a person to study hard or doing final revision for exams that has been

scheduled to take place the following morning, prefers to spend the whole night in an

all-night prayer for success in the exams.

Gullible faith makes one to think as if positive confession is as good as real.

So blind to his doom, such a one relaxes and busying reciting Scriptural promises

with high expectation for resounding effortless success while others are earnestly

working round the clock for their well deserved success. It is very likely that the ‘god-

want-you-rich-theology’ is a booming business nowadays because the get-rich-quick

syndrome has already eaten deeper into the society and has seemly become an

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established idol in the heart of many Nigerian Christians. This idol of the heart needs

further elaboration.

Adeboye (2015) probably attempts a suitable and comprehensive explanation

to this. He considers idolatry as:

The act of reverencing anything other than the Almighty God. It can

take the form of esteeming your culture, race, idea, achievement, etc

over and above the Almighty and His Word. Idolatry can also be an

insatiable craving for the material things of this world (1 John 2: 15-

17). When you esteem your children, your cars or your educational

qualifications so highly that you make them “no go areas” for the One

who gave them to you in the first place, then you are guilty of idolatry

(Open Heavens Devotion Manual, Saturday, January 24 ).

Idolatry has been the undoing of many people in this world. It was the undoing of

Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon. Putting God first in one’s life, speech or

undertakings will help in preventing one from being victims of the sin of idolatry.

For Adeleye (2011), “the health and wealth gospel is not biblical and must be

shunned as “another gospel” on many grounds” (p.94). This, to him is because its

principle of seed of faith is seen as an investment rather than an act of worship to

God. This view of seed of faith makes people to always give with wrong motive while

expecting greater harvest of financial breakthrough in the future. This also gives the

impression that until one gives to God he cannot on his own bless his own special

people whom Christ died for. It means that man is the initiator in moving the hand of

God who merely responds each time man gives. Man gives because he needs a

physical increase and enlargement which makes man to give sometime under duress

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without any reverence for God as his source of supply. It is with the measure one

gives that God responds to one. Logan (2013) seems to challenge this misconception

when he writes that prosperity gospel is an insipid heresy.

Equally, the prosperity gospel as taught gives undue emphasis to man’s earthly

inheritance and possessions. As implicated, since abundance depends on one’s giving,

man pays more attention to boosting his earthly resources through giving than

working on the spiritual dimension of his life which to man’s thinking is corporeal,

unseen and uncertain. Prosperity gospel seems to contradict Jesus’s warning on the

deceitfulness of riches for its obvious corrupting effects on human destiny. This might

be the reason Mohler (2010) advices that Christians should be far more concerned

about the eternal consequences of prosperity theology – its false promise of salvation

through financial abundance, of health and wealth through the exercise of seed-faith.

Upon reflecting on the final lots of the teeming prosperity adherents, Osewa (2013)

cautions both the proponents and protégée of prosperity gospel with these words:

Think about it and provide reasonable answers to these questions. Will

your financial, material, marital and academic prosperity take you to

Heaven? Will you get to Heaven because you are healed or in the

healing ministry? Can you get to Heaven because you are a positive

thinker? Can you get to Heaven because you are a demon caster? Will

you get to Heaven because you are a deliverance minister? (p.4).

The answer to these questions is a capital no. Heaven is attained by simply serving

God in spirit, truth and in holiness.

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7.3 Omissions of Prosperity Gospel

Prosperity gospel has so many flavours and strands that enable it to fuel and

trigger up feelings, emotions, self worth, wealth and prosperity. Its lack of universal

comprehensive confessional statements gives it leverage to espouse on any area

conceivable by its numerous apostles that will tend to benefit them. It is observed that

exponents of prosperity gospel have always wilfully extracted from the Scriptures

things that will only serve their immediate interests and preconceived notions

(Okwori, 1995). This probably makes it easier and possible for prosperity preachers to

commit several errors of oversight in their interpretation of the Scriptures. So, as they

execute their teaching of prosperity, they either explain away the truth or omit some

vital and salient aspects of the full gospel.

A very important point omitted by prosperity gospelers has to do with the

implications of Christ’s own sufferings and deprivations for the believers. Rather than

stressing on the demands and implications of Jesus’ cross on believers, prosperity

preachers flagrantly ignore the cross and claim that suffering is never God’s will for

believers in Christ (Kennedy, 2012). Instead, they teach that God wants Christians to

be physically healthy, materially wealthy and emotionally happy all the time.

Crosslessness in the observation of Achunike (2007) has become the staple diet of the

prosperity gospellers. Achunike tries to buttress that the cross is an indispensable

factor in the life of Christians. The cross is necessary because Christ has to suffer and

die in order to redeem man. There is therefore no alternative provided anywhere for

this divine necessity.

But as noted, prosperity preachers do not talk about the cross because they

generally believe that Christians should not suffer having been redeemed by Christ.

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Probably forgotten by these purveyors of prosperity gospel is the fact that Jesus

himself suffered and calls his disciples to take up their cross daily, forsake the world

and prepared to suffer as he himself suffered. Suffering in the view of Jesus and the

early apostles remains the means through which God ordain and seems to use to prune

and sanctify his people here on earth (2Cor.1:3-10, 1Pet.4:12). This suffering appears

to be conspicuously absent in the dictionary of the various conveyors of prosperity

gospel. In view of this, Onwu (2006) declares that Pentecostals’ understanding of

prosperity is biblically misleading. Prosperity gospel which down-play the place of

hard work in achieving success is most likely a gospel without the cross since its

exponents and adherents only believe in sweat-less victory and a storm-free life.

Prosperity gospel also tends to omit holiness of life in its emphasis. Although,

in principle the subject of holiness appears to resonate in its theology, but practically

it seems that its application is a mirage. Although, holiness appears to be receiving a

new emphasis in prosperity theology in view of the growing awareness of its

relevance in Christendom, it seems that prosperity adherents tend to fall short of its

actualization and realization. It is probably for the increasing enlightenment on

holiness that informs the emerging title of Pentecostals’ books on holiness such as

Dynamics of Holiness, authored by Oyedepo in 1997. The holiness consciousness

among the Pentecostals too might have been responsible for engendering current

practice of family, land and community’s deliverance as a way of cleansing the sin of

the people to paving way for their prosperity (Nwankpa, 1994; Ozoko, 2009). Before

now as Onwu (2004) observes, most uninformed critics condemned prosperity

preachers out rightly and in ignorance for totally neglecting emphasis on holiness in

their homily. David Oyedepo who has borne the brunt of this attack has argued that

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God’s blessings are anchored in righteous living and it is righteousness that holds the

key to prosperous life (Oyedepo, 1997).

However the true stance of prosperity preachers on holiness, it is remarked

that it is in the holy use of money by these prosperity preachers that justifies their

truly being holy in life. Onwu (2006) maintains that the biblical pattern of the holy

life can never lead people to prioritise acquisition of material possessions and wealth

in preference to their eternal destinies. Speaking further on this, Achunike (2007)

clarifies that it is probably out of sheer misplacement of Pentecostals’ priority on vital

themes like poverty and wealth within the context of the cross that have encouraged

flamboyancy, unhealthy competition, arrogance and greed within the house of God in

Nigeria.

Prosperity gospel misses out another very important point in its emphasis on

positive confession to getting whatever one needs in life. Positive confession is the

teaching that words themselves have creative power (Mac, 2013). The idea is that

confession brings possession. It is positive confession that brings wealth. Confession

is linked to faith because “it is based upon a belief in the unified power of faith and

the tongue” (Towns, 2008, p.1). Words spoken in faith come to pass. Faith in the

opinion of prosperity preachers is a formula by which spiritual laws are manipulated

for positive results. In the parlance of Oyedepo (1985) “Faith becomes a creative

force when it finds expression in words that are spoken” (p.18). This signifies that

reality is created with the words of the mouth meaning that an individual can

determine everything that happens to one. The power that resides in the spoken word

presumably then proceeds from faith. So, to speak the solution to a problem and not

praying the problem or mentioning the problem to God is the best way to overcoming

the problem (Towns, 2008). Requesting God to solve the problem is amounting to

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lack of faith. This is because for the prosperity gospellers, God’s power to heal or to

bless mankind really hangs only on people’s faith (Mac, 2013). But James 4: 13-16

debunks and disqualifies this teaching.

Faith is said to be a force. It is a power force; a conductive force (Copeland,

1974). Faith is a positive energy force that one can use in claiming and receiving what

God wants one to have (Kennedy, 2012). So, through faith-filled confession an

individual can lay claim to all his faith dreams by ordinarily verbalizing into existence

constant superb health, abundant wealth and everlasting happiness which is presumed

to be God’s ultimate desire for all Christians. According to Adeleye (2011) people

abuse what is called faith when they assume that it is a magical force that makes

virtually anything possible by simply believing and speaking. By this, they

erroneously think that those who suffer hardship or inconveniencies lack faith,

meaning that real people of faith have been empowered by God to overcome all

difficulties.

When speaking positively, one is to believe that one has already received what

one is confessing and all those things will automatically surface. Confession can in

the belief of its promoter also be directed by the sheer power of one’s will which is

the power that God himself uses and calls all things in to being in the beginning. The

problem with this teaching is that it overlooks God’s supremacy and freedom to carry

out his own wishes which is a sign of disrespect to God. It is also a grave disservice to

God’s people because it somehow discourages any deliberate future planning and

execution of any meaningful venture by an individual. This line of teaching according

to Richey (2011) takes away God’s sovereignty and portrays God as some sort of

Holy ATM Machine that can be easily manipulated into giving an individual exactly

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what one wants by simply punching in the right numbers. According to Harries

(2000), one of the plainest explanations to this assumption is that prosperity does not

come through careful planning and rationality, but it comes by simply obeying the

laws of positive thinking and confession. The implication is that this mindset focuses

on the wrong things regarding God and a relationship with him. The Bible teaches

that faith is the trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone and it is in God’s

power that mankind can lean on and not depending on the power of one’s faith.

Another forgotten point is the insensitivity of prosperity preachers to place the

God-man relationship appropriately. Prosperity theology stresses that if mankind

serves God faithfully, God will supply them with all their needs in order to live

victoriously and have dominion on earth. Another school of thought maintains that

material success is a justification of one’s relationship with God. Anything short of

this is a pointer to the fact that the Christian in question is not a true child of God or

perhaps is living in wilful sin. This means that the reason mankind should serve or

worship God is for God to supply them with the best of material resources. The

service to God is for Christians to get financial prosperity and physical healing as a

pay-back for rightful living with God. It is not because God is God or that they were

redeemed by the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

The impression is that services to God are for tangible material benefit which

by extension implies that serving God is for mankind’s maximum material advantage.

Serving God guarantees anything one asks for which may be healing, money, job and

the like. This is possible because as taught by prosperity preachers using the name of

Jesus literally and mechanically forces God’s hands to act immediately to prayer

offered to him (Kennedy, 2012). According to Adeleye (2011) the greatest

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misunderstanding about faith is the assumption that God rewards those who diligently

seek him by making life easy for them through extraordinary exploits.

Here too, it appears that prosperity gospel seems not to have allowed God the

liberty to carry out his own wishes on man with regard to what may be the specific lot

of his individual children on earth. As humans, the responsibility on one’s shoulders

is that of loving and serving God unconditionally for being God regardless of what he

can do for people in this life. One question remains: Are all Christians meant to be

financially and materially rich? Accepting the teaching of prosperity preachers

uncritically implies that every believer in every generation is supposed to prosper

financially and materially in this world no matter what one’s background is. The

loophole in this thought system is that it promotes a shallow relationship between God

and man. This indicates that the moment God stops supplying man with material

blessing for any reason, man will likely stop being faithful to God, which at the end

will severely ruin man’s relationship with God.

According to Richey (2011) this way of relating with God does not really

foster a basic trust in God’s unfailing love, care and protection as creator beyond

visible blessings of God. The explanation in the view of Richey (2011) is that “What

if you were not healed, if you did have problems, if you did want for anything?” (P.4).

The point being laboured is this, if at all someone is so unprivileged to access earthly

wealth or health, is it because one did not have enough faith, did not believe in the

right way or have some unresolved sin in one’s life to be blamed for such

predicaments? It is seen that trust in God in its true sense is built and proven through

trial after trial.

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Believer’s walk with God is independent of physical blessings which is today

the parameter used by prosperity preachers to determine one’s testimony and

consistency in service and faithfulness to God. Any spiritual or material blessing of a

Christian by God may probably not always be proportionate to an individual’s

faithfulness to God because God relates and deals with his creatures by virtue of his

mercy and grace. On this, Mohler (2010) has this to say “Missing from the prosperity

gospel is the message of salvation through faith in Christ alone – a salvation that

makes every believer unspeakably wealthy in the grace of Christ but does not promise

earthly riches or unblemished physical health” (p.1).

The measurement of success in terms of quantity rather than quality in

prosperity churches clearly demonstrates that there is a serious misplaced priority

among the prosperity preachers. This omission leads to a growing emphasis on the

numerical strength of ministry other than its spiritual growth. As to be expected,

preachers tend to celebrate numerical increase in terms of church attendance and the

enrolment of membership in their churches. For instance, history has it that “one

congregation in Lagos records a weekly attendance of fifty thousand people. Prayer

meetings attract up to two million attendees” (Para-Mallam, 2014, p.6). Somehow,

when number is preferred or is more in focus than quality, then the tendency is that

churches would tend to compromise on the quality of spiritual growth. This seems to

be the kind of growth some theologians describe as “an inch deep and a mile wide”

(Para-Mallam, 2014, p.6). The side effect of this development is that while there is a

steady explosion in numerical growth, the spiritual dimension of the Church suffers

and keeps dwindling and leaning with its immediate repercussion on moral failure,

faulty theology and financial scandal (Brown, 2011).

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It may probably be another oversight for prosperity preachers to encourage

gullible and unsuspecting congregants to give in order to get. Giving as emphasized

by prosperity preachers is always in monetary terms which is faulty. Giving can be

done in many ways. One can give out love, time, energy, service, life time; give up

one’s certificate, lucrative job, right, comfort and a host of others. Why is Pentecostal

emphasis always on money or material things? Well, this Pentecostals’ posture may

probably be informed by the fact that money has a lot of diversifications. Money

when it is acquired as viewed by the Church could be used to take care of other things

since it is much easier for people to give out money than services. Money, in the view

of the Pentecostals answers all things (Ecc.10:19).

Perceived from another angle, exponents of prosperity would want people to

believe that the whole point of what God is doing in the world today is financial or

material prosperity. It is just all about money, money, money (Brown, 2011). It

appears that prosperity apostles grow richer by the day from this undue emphasis on

money as most of them crow about with many impressive possessions since giving

has always been one-sided. People are made to believe that in giving they will be

reimbursed handsomely to experience abundant material possessions since wealth

defines and reflects Christians’ true spiritual condition (Logan, 2013). It would

equally appear to establish that people’s material wealth is a direct reflection of their

spiritual sensitivity and effectiveness.

As if to reject this deception, Kennedy (2012) retorts that “Prosperity thinking

trades on false hope, luring people toward the mirage of material health and happiness

and obscuring the pathway toward the only One in whom true life and hope is found”

(p.3). To increase in wealth is not only about giving in order to receive bountiful

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harvest of financial miracle. That may be one way of being blessed of course. But it

does not stop there. Giving for the purpose of wealth creation is not enough to bring

one to substantial wealth. Wealth can be created through knowing, obeying and

disciplining oneself to abiding by the law of prosperity (Adelaja, 2009). If the

receiving of financial prosperity and healing depends only on giving, then many

people would have missed their miracle in the Bible including Lazarus that was

brought back to life after four days. The Scriptures seem to clarify that giving is a gift.

It is of itself an outpouring of the love of Christ. The disciples did not give just for the

purpose of getting but they give on the ground that they have already gotten the

greatest treasure of all (2Cor. 8: 1-7). Nobody cajoles, manipulates or hypnotizes

them to give in order to get a 100% return harvest in the future as modern preachers

do in Nigeria.

7.4 The Future of Prosperity Gospel in Nigeria

The global growth rate of Pentecostalism has been very dramatic and

impressive over the years. Pentecostalism is such a dynamic and fluid movement that

it has a wildly diverse assembly (Sinitiere, 2013). Prosperity gospel is a strand of

Pentecostalism right from its source in America. At that beginning, prosperity gospel

was a tiny off-shoot of Pentecostalism which is today everywhere (Ojo, 2013).

Prosperity gospel is a distinctive feature of Pentecostalism in Nigeria. It has become,

as Sinitiere puts it “one of the most popular religious explanations for why good

things happen to good people” (p.1). Since religion generally remains an influential

force, one that impacts virtually everything across the globe, Pentecostalism as its off-

shoot is today impacting on the Nigerian society (Kitause & Achunike, 2013).

The interest generated in prosperity preaching and the attendant growing

influences, popularity and successes of the phenomenon over the years triggers up the

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desires to embark on this humble research by narrowing down the scope to

ascertaining the probable fate of prosperity gospel in Nigeria. The main thrust of this

section therefore is to attempt a projection into the future of Pentecostalism vis-a-vis

prosperity gospel in Nigeria with a view to suggesting what should be the most

appropriate and reasonable course of actions toward the phenomenon in this 21st

century. Perhaps, it is incumbent upon this researcher to clarify that apart from God

who is all-knowing no one knows the future with any degree of absolute certainty. So

this research is only an academic prediction as to what the future holds for prosperity

gospel in Nigeria.

7.4.1 Factors that sustain Prosperity Gospel in Nigeria

It may be easier to know that Pentecostalism is making some head ways in

Nigeria than determining the extent to which it is impacting upon the Nigerian

society. Pentecostalism is probably full of life in Nigeria and is steadily making

advances everywhere including the mainline churches in spite of several attacks on it

from different angles. This work tries to explore some of the strengths of prosperity

gospel which enables it to flower amidst criticisms. It digs out the most likely factors

that tend to sustain prosperity gospel preaching in Nigeria. This is expressed as

follows:

7.4.1.1 Astronomical Expansion of Prosperity Ideology

Pentecostalism exemplified in prosperity preaching is assuming a grand scale

expansion in contemporary Nigeria. For Phiri & Maxwell (2015), “prosperity-tinged

Pentecostalism is growing faster not just more than other strands of Christianity, but

than all religious groups, including Islam” (p.2). This is probably true in view of the

fact that Pentecostal prosperity ideas tend to be percolating faster than any other

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religious tenets and are steadily replacing some traditional religious ideas. According

to Lin (2015):

The spread and prevalence of Prosperity Gospel ideology cannot be

easily dismissed. It is an established global presence shaping cultures

around the world. Given its vast reach and growing following,

Prosperity Gospel must be taken into consideration by anyone who is

seeking to understand and explain global attitudes (p.2).

7.4.1.2 The Overwhelming Popularity of Prosperity Gospel

The prosperity gospel is said to be a popular theology of modern living. It is

noted to be a cluster of four themes “Faith, health, wealth and victory. In its basic

form, faith - a spiritual power released through positive words and belief – can be

measured by wealth and health which allows believers to aspire to total victory on

earth” (Sinitiere, 2013, p.1). As reiterated by Sinitiere, since the late 1980s, there

seems to be an increasing number of people that are turning eagerly toward

therapeutic religion that soothes the soul, and the prosperity gospel has mastered the

tone, vocabulary and approach to do just that.

7.4.1.3 Deeply Entrenched Poverty in Africa

Poverty and deprivation despite its suggested end by Sachs (2005) is on high

increase in Africa and other parts of the world. This researcher thinks that as far as

poverty remains rooted in Africa and the world at large, prosperity gospel is likely not

going to dwindle and lose its flavour because of its appealing ideology to the poor

everywhere in the world. The Africans deplorable state and their likely tendency to

patronise the gospel of success is justified by Phiri & Maxwell (2015) when they

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document that “A religion of hope gleans brightly against the bleak backdrop of

African poverty. Currently, about 315 million sub-Saharan Africans live on less than a

dollar a day” (P.5). This authenticates the high level of poverty in Africa. As

uncovered from Africa poverty Facts, around 20,000 people perish each day due to

extreme poverty and that one in three Africans suffer malnutrition. That is, a total of

852 million people in Africa are chronically or acutely malnourished (The Foundation

for Community Inspiration (TFCI), 2015). Where poverty holds sway, the probability

is high that people tend to quickly adopt the Pentecostal prosperity gospel than

missionary Christianity. As can be deduced, poverty is a contributory factor for the

thriving of prosperity gospel in the world today and this may probably go on unabated

into the foreseeable future. It is probably for the above reason that many Africans

especially Nigerians would want to escape poverty by all means through the

embracement of prosperity gospel. This might also be the reason people from other

parts of the world would also want to be rich too.

7.4.1.4 The Desire and Search to Get Better

The desire of most under privileged people of the world to get over their

predicaments of lack and backwardness ensnare not a small people to think positively

of embracing a gospel that offers them such opportunity. To probably have more of

such opportunities of listening to prosperity messages and to search out for other

alternative means of livelihood, many African rural dwellers are now trooping to

major cities of the world. Although there are other reasons for people’s migration to

urban areas, but they may not all be unconnected and far from the desire to get better

off. Cities, as it is known are where prosperity churches concentrated most. It is said

that as people migrate, some are brushing up against economic opportunity. As

observed by Phiri & Maxwell (2015), “In Nigeria, for instance, only 14.5 percent of

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the population lived in cities in 1960; today, that number has grown to 43 percent.

Correspondingly, financial optimism is on the rise” (p.5). The positive outcome of

this is that Nigerian renewalists now testify that their finances are in excellent or good

shape.

7.4.1.5 Prosperity Promises/Allurement as Bait

It is seen from the above that the Nigerian Pentecostal’s prosperity gospel

provokes concern and hope. It conjures up concern because of what Sinitiere (2013)

describes as a whole host of worries such as “greed, crass fundraising, greasy leaders

and overt religious entrepreneurialism” (p.1). It is a source of hope and comfort

because of what prominent African health-and-wealthers are doing in their attempts to

stem the tide of degradation in the world. Such preachers as Matthew Ashimolowo

and David Olaniyi Oyedepo among others have since tried to offer tremendous

promise to an economically deprived people of the world. Oyedepo for instance has

promised to help the faithful to rise above Nigeria’s malaise. His two universities are

all geared towards graduating “kings and queens” as the succeeding generation of

Christians (Oyedepo, 2006).

Today, many Africans are said to be leaving grass huts and experiencing for

the first time the joys of owning a car, holding a decent job, or enrolling in college

which is an indication that life is beginning to change for the best. Some others are

generating wealth using business skills taught by prosperity preachers. Not a few

Nigerians have equally been inspired by prosperity apostles to aim high, work hard

and avoid vices capable of ruining their future. There is no doubt about the fact that

the standard of living of most Nigerians have greatly improved through their

embracement of prosperity gospel. This seeming benefit enjoyed by prosperity

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believers is probably a catalyst towards the expansion of prosperity gospel in the

world today. It is being projected that prosperity gospel may probably see the light of

the day in the next three decades in Africa and beyond.

7.4.1.6 A Simple-Easy-Going Theology of Sweatless Prosperity

It is revealed based on a study conducted by Pew Research Center in 2006 that

the fastest growing form of Christianity in the world is Prosperity Gospel. This form

of Christianity teaches that God desires every believer who has enough faith to

prosper in every way. As discovered, the percentage of those who were reported to

have believed that “God grants material prosperity to all believers who have enough

faith” are highest in Africa with 96 percent in Nigeria, 83 percent in Kenya, and 80

percent in South Africa (Lin, 2015). Records abound that so many are keying into the

belief system that God can miraculously bring wealth to individuals if they have

enough faith. The findings from a 39-nations survey in 2013 further shows that high

number of Africans believe that brighter days are ahead in spite of their current

challenging situations. This rosy outlook and optimism is not only limited to African

countries alone but frankly speaking those of Africa is the highest. Other continents of

the world are similarly experiencing a boost in the number of prosperity believers.

Worthy of note is the fact that those continents with high percentages of Pentecostals

as observed are expressing more positive hope about their economic fortune and

future and the future of their children than those continents that are mostly dominated

by the mainstream Christians.

7.4.1.7 Evangelistic Campaigns and Churches’ Proliferation as a Factor

According to McCain (1999) Pentecostal churches are experiencing even

greater growth in the 21st century. The Assemblies of God Church and the Deeper

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Life Bible Church in the view of McCain are making serious advances everywhere. In

the last thirty years, these churches have grown so considerably in the global world.

RCCG and the Winners Chapel among several others are equally on the rise too and

have since become mega churches. Based on the projections and plans of some mega

churches to evangelise the world, it is very optimistic that many nominal Christians

will soon turn Pentecostals in the 21st century. This, happening will mean that more

than 70 percent of the global Christian populations may become Pentecostal

prosperity adherents. This percentage is only a projection which is subject to scrutiny

by other scholars. The RCCG and The Deeper Life are good examples of Pentecostal

churches that have taken the lead in this regard and are fast expanding in Nigeria and

beyond.

According to Falaiye (2007), “The Redeemed Christian Church of God has

vouchsafed to plant Churches within five minutes walking distance in every city and

town of developing countries, and within five minutes driving distance in every city

and town of developed countries” (p.38). No wonder, Ojo (2011) reports that RCCG

is the fastest growing church today in terms of church planting. He explains further

that the exponential growth of RCCG is being made possible through the zeal and

commitment of the ranks and files of RCCG in pursuing Enoch Adejare Adeboye’s

vision to proliferate using “Go-a-fishing” and “Christ the Redeemer’s Friend

Universal approches”. Adesanya (2011) remarks that the new innovation of RCCG

does not only make the Church popular but has equally made it the largest and the

fastest growing church in Nigeria as well. Today, record has shown that RCCG has

over 25,411 parishes in more than 220 countries of the world (Oyodele, 2015,

personal communication, February 3). Adeboye anchored his inner drive for

expansion on the facts that the world like a market square is a zone of competition.

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According to Ukah (2003) this sense of competition captures the strategies of

territorial conquest which propel the RCCG to establish parishes everywhere in a bid

to overspread the world. This notion of competition oils the wheel of expansion which

considerably engineered the RCCG into the global realm.

Similarly, the Deeper Life Bible Church founded by William Folorusho

Kumuyi is not left out in her proliferation drive. The Deeper Life has the vision of “A

House Church”. Coining and adopting an acronym “DAWN”, The Deeper Life has

clarified her vision to mean” Disciple A whole Nation” which is geared towards

planting a church in every two to three households (Adeseye, 2015, personal

communication, January 10). At present, the Deeper Life Church is seen to be among

the largest and fastest growing churches in Nigeria (McCain, 1999). Apart from the

fact that Pentecostal churches are proliferating in Nigeria, it is necessary to document

that the number of Charismatics in the mainline churches are equally multiplying too.

Among them are the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, Evangelical

Church Winning All (ECWA) and Christ Apostolic Church among others (Diara,

2003, Ayegboyin & Ishola, 1999).

7.4.1.8 Numerical Growth of the Pentecostals/Charismatics Solidify Prosperity

Gospel

Pentecostalism is really exploding and is remarkably impacting on the mainline

churches the world over. Pentecostal churches are currently experiencing greater

growth with thousands of new churches springing up almost uncontrollably

everywhere in Nigeria (Kitause, 2013). Didymus (2011) affirms that in Nigeria “The

explosion of Christian Churches is evident. Church buildings are always within sight

no matter where one stands in a Nigerian city” (p.1). It may be necessary to point out

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that the expansion of Pentecostal churches around the world means a boost in the

number of the Pentecostals and the Charismatics. An explosion in figure of the

Pentecostals is equally the percolation and cementing of prosperity gospel. As the

Pentecostals stretch across borders, prosperity gospel extends alongside as well.

As testified by Sharpe (2014) “Since the 1980s, the global growth of

Pentecostalism, particularly in the developing nations has been so rapid” (p.1). Critics

described this global phenomenal growth of Pentecostalism variously as a

“restructuring of Christianity”, “the fourth great age of Christian expansion” and a

“reshaping of the religion of the 21st century”, with the emphasis that it represents the

largest shift in the religious marketplace over the last 40 years (Barrett, in Sharpe,

2014). In this growth rate, the Pentecostal and Charismatic Christians have been

known to be very spectacular. History attests that “Whereas in 1970 there were 74

million “Pentecostal/charismatic” Christians globally, by 1997 this figure had reached

nearly 500 million, over quarter of the world’s Christians” (Barrett, in Sharpe, 2014).

Some scholars are still hesitant in accepting this global growth rate for the

Pentecostals and the Charismatics. As of 2006, the Christian database estimated that

Pentecostals constituted 73 percent of all Latin American Protestants from less than

50 percent in 1980. Back here in Nigeria, Pew Research Center (2015) in her 2006

Pentecostal survey reveals that “Renewalists – including Charismatics and

Pentecostals – account for approximately three-in-ten Nigerians. The survey also

finds that roughly six-in-ten Protestants in Nigeria are either Pentecostal or

Charismatic, and three-in-ten Nigerian Catholics surveyed can be classified as

Charismatic” (p.2). Some Nigerian scholars tend not to accept this survey completely.

It is glaring on the basis of this survey that if the current growth rate of

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Pentecostals/Charismatics is maintained this way, there is likely going to be much

more explosion of Pentecostal prosperity disciples in the world.

7.4.1.9 The Nature of Pentecostalism

The very nature of Pentecostalism is another factor why prosperity gospel may

linger longer up to the next century. For one, Africans seem to be naturally wired to

be ecstatic in their celebrations; their exuberance is expressed during their traditional

festivals and ceremonies. The emotional and boisterous nature of Pentecostal worship

presents a temptation and a strong pull toward Pentecostalism. That apart, as McCain

(1999) rightly observes, Pentecostalism has taken a much more literal interpretation of

the teachings of the Bible about demons. This probably informs Pentecostals’

confrontation and casting out of demons around the world. This exorcism is now a

regular part of nearly every Pentecostal church service in Africa and many of the non-

Pentecostal church services as well. McCain (1999) affirms that “In many African

churches today, a service is not complete without a few prophecies, a healing or two,

and a few demons cast out” (p.9).

The nature of Pentecostalism probably favours the proliferation of Pentecostal

churches and its ideology globally. Pentecostalism is noted for its initial interracial

character which challenged racial segregation as well as its historical and theological

convictions in matters of faith. Through their theology and doctrine, the Pentecostals

were able to cope with economic uncertainties, social ostracism and racism which not

only gave them certitude about the reality of the supernatural but also helped to shield

them against the encroachments of modernity (Nnamani, 2007).

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7.4.1.10 Unchanging Global Trends Sustain Prosperity Theology

As observed, the global trends that are shaping the life of Christianity are

unceasing. In her recent report, the World Council of Churches (WCC) (2015)

acknowledges that:

The modern Pentecostal movement, for instance, which is only about

one century old, now accounts for nearly one-quarter of the global

Christian community. Plus, an estimated 19 million Pentecostals are

added each year. The astonishing growth is one of the most dramatic

stories of modern Christianity. In Rio de Janeiro, for instance, 40 new

Pentecostal congregations are started every week (p.2).

Stories of churches like these are multiplied throughout the world. It is

probably difficult to reveal the hard truth that churches around the world that are

growing the fastest, with the most vitality, are not connected to the institutional or

relational fabric of the ecumenical movement (WCC, 2015). Some of these churches

exist unregistered and are speedily growing unnoticed. These are likely to be

Pentecostal churches which are mushrooming everywhere in Nigeria today. Currently,

it is a global experience that some members from the mainline churches defect to the

Pentecostal churches. The reverse is also the case with lesser number of the

Pentecostals defecting to mainline churches. This partly explains the incremental

upsurge of Pentecostal populations. WCC (2015) again throws more light on the

stunning shift in the balance of Christian populations especially between the

Pentecostals and the mainstreams Christians thus:

Whereas a few decades ago 70% of all evangelicals were in the

“North”, primarily in the U.S., today 70% are in the churches of the

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global South. At the beginning of the 20th Century, 81% of Christians

were white. By the century’s end, the number was 45%. 542 million

Pentecostals (more than the total of Christians in all the churches

belonging to the WCC) continue their rapid growth throughout the

world (p.12).

This citation testifies to the fact that the Pentecostals from all indications are

really pulling crowd for reasons which may not be very far from their earnest desire to

achieve economic freedom and upward mobility. Phil and Maxwell (2015) report that

“Last December, the world’s largest Christian gathering - about 3 million people –

assembled at Oyedepo’s pyramid-shaped Winners Chapel on the pristine Canaan

Land estate. Every Sunday, traffic crawls as thousands flock to multiple services”

(p.5). Oyedepo who is the world’s leading prosperity apostle has a 54,000-seat

capacity auditorium, reputed to be the world’s largest Christian Centre of worship.

Oyedepo has been described as a “Larger-than-life figure” always poised like a chief

leading his followers toward better lives (Phil and Maxwell, 2015).

7.4.1.11 Prosperity Gospel as Immunity against Witchcraft and Problems

The Christian world though rejoices over the phenomenal quantitative growth

of the Church in Africa but at the same time laments its immaturity and lack of depth

(Harries, 2000). The Church is probably expanding in quantity without real qualitative

expansion. In times of life crises, most Christians, probably can hardly withstand

strong temptations which is one of the reasons for syncretism in Africa. Without an

iota of doubt, prosperity churches preach salvation through Jesus Christ to millions of

people around the world (Phiri and Maxwell, 2015), who probably repent from their

sins and get born again, but hardly do these churches follow up the converts as

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expected. This makes many Christians to have shallow root in Christ. The after effect

is that Christians remain baby Christians and can hardly exercise personal faith in

God for their everyday protection and guidance from God. So the prosperity gospel

which promises people protection of any kind after their due payment through seed

faith for protection and prosperity remains the last resort for most Christians in the

21st century. The rich and the poor, the educated and uneducated, the young and the

old all need protection. And when any alternative for protection is given, people tend

to rush for it no matter the cost. Africans who believe in magical powers tend to

patronise prosperity gospel for what it offers – immunity to witchcraft and curses as

taught by its many apostles.

This explains another reason in the opinion of the researcher for the

mushrooming of prosperity teachings in Africa. To some extent, it is held that those

who suffer frequent attacks and are prone to problems might have probably

backslidden from the faith or failed to adhere to protection principles of keep fit. In

another dimension, it is believe that a Christian who is a faithful tither and gives

generously is immuned to problems of whatever type. If immunity is guaranteed by

simply paying tithes and being generous to people, then it is worth doing. Here again

lies another explanation for the massive adoption of prosperity gospel by most people.

For, even the single presumption that prosperity gospel has immunity to all worldly

challenges makes its future to be very bright among the down trodden of the world.

7.4.1.12 Prosperity Gospel as Socially Relevant to All Societies of the World

Apart from its financial promises, it is becoming a known facts that prosperity

gospel is not just about money and immunity to witchcraft, curses and other problems.

Although many people are currently uncertain about some of the questionable and

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callous behaviour of prosperity prophets, but as sensed by Sinitiere (2013) “millions

of believers choose this message [prosperity message] every Sunday because it uses a

Christian framework to remind them that God cares about the details of their lives”

(p.3). True to its claims, prosperity gospel seems to be:

Explicitly individualistic and implicitly communal or social adapts

itself to the local indigenous societies of most people and is apparently

growing amidst the poor and the marginalized, providing communal

support in situations of social disintegration, and living as a true

“church of the poor” seeking both spiritual and physical empowerment

to free themselves through God’s power from oppression (Daniels, in

Sinitiere, 2013, p.3).

Pentecostal Prosperity Gospel appears to operate on a strong missional

commitment of embracing a holistic gospel, even though to some certain extents it

falls short of this. But this gospel integrates evangelism among its core value and

engages in social actions that address many societal ills, thus providing relief for

many disadvantaged people in the society. Apart from this, it has explored means and

has equally proved its ability to creatively contextualize the Christian faith in Africa

in many practical ways including tackling issues of poverty, healing and deliverance.

Furthermore, so long as people keep enjoying infrastructural developments and social

services provided by these prosperity teachers which indeed proved to be strong

allurements and ensnarement to people’s strong attachment to the prosperity gospel.

7.5 The Probable End of Prosperity Gospel

In view of the apparent bright future which prosperity gospel tend to have, it is

guesstimated that there will come a time when prosperity seekers will get

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disillusioned with the prosperity principle of sowing and reaping. This writer thinks

that when people keep overstretching their ability to sow seed of faith in prosperity

ministries and churches without any positive outcome, they will eventually get

discouraged at some point. The unrecoverability syndrome in people will eventually

propel them to take decisive actions against prosperity gospel.

This work makes a projection into the likely future for prosperity gospel in

Nigeria. It establishes that the future of prosperity gospel is very bright in spite of the

other side of prosperity gospel which seems disastrous to the Nigerian people. This is

owing to numerous factors which are identified as favourable to the expansion and

consolidation of prosperity gospel in Nigeria and beyond. The findings show that

prosperity gospel will flourish as long as people are challenged continuously with

poverty and backwardness. The fact that prosperity ministers always benefit

maximally from peddling prosperity gospel brightens its chances to blossom

extraordinarily with the potential of outliving even the 21st century.

On the other hand, it is pre-empted that all those prosperity preachers who

only preach to gain financially will at the end of the day outlive their usefulness and

suffer extinction. This researcher thinks that the negativism of prosperity gospel will

become the undoing of the gospel and its numerous apostles. In all probability, God

will eventually discomfit and triumph over all the negative aspects of prosperity

gospel. That is to say that prosperity gospel in its entirety is not bad but what is

needed is a change in the right focus of prosperity message. Preaching prosperity

moderately and correctly reduces its aberration. It is the excesses inherent in the

prosperity gospel that discredits the gospel. God may sooner or later change the focus

of prosperity message to something more positive and rewarding. God may probably

cause a revival within the circles of prosperity gospel that will take care of issues

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related to sweat-less prosperity mentality, financial scandal and the moral failure of

the apostles of prosperity gospel as he did to Jim Baker. It is likely that God will raise

more uncompromising holiness preachers to get involve in preaching true prosperity

as well as evangelizing false prosperity preachers and believers. This will assists

prosperity adherents to finally discover their misapprehension and excesses of the

gospel and start preaching and pursuing prosperity the right way. Expectedly,

prosperity, it is hoped will ultimately be taught in line with God’s righteous principles

for believers’ all-round empowerment.

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CHAPTER EIGHT

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

8.1 Summary of Findings

The results show that:

i. Prosperity gospel which has become an immensely popular theology is

remarkably shaping the global world of Christendom. At the moment, the

prosperity theology is so appealing that it is currently spreading throughout all

Christian denominations in Nigeria today.

ii. Prosperity gospel preaching has challenged endemic poverty in Nigeria through its

emphasis on spiritual and economic empowerment programmes of the prosperity

preachers, engendering remarkable social transformation in the Nigerian society.

This gospel is currently the staple diet of the Pentecostals and its message the

staple spiritual nourishment of the majority of the Nigerian poor masses. The

prosperity gospel shows no signs of abating because it found acceptance in a

wide variety of settings and in all strands of Christianity amidst criticism on a

plethora of fronts. It is revealed that as a proactive economic, social and

religious enterprise, it is bringing succour to millions of Nigerians who have

been agonizing under the gory effects of poverty in Nigeria.

iii. Pentecostals’ undue emphasis on giving as an investment for future prosperity

has negatively impacted on a broad spectrum of the Nigerian Christians and

churches financially, socially and spiritually. The negative contributions of

prosperity gospel are more than the positive impacts due to its wrong interpretation of

Scriptures culminating to misinformation and misapprehension of people about how

God prospers his creatures generally. This accounts probably for the reasons for the

sudden shift in emphasis of people from asceticism to materialism.

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iv. At the moment, there seems to be a paradigm shift in the orientation of people

from hard labour to idleness in view of the Pentecostals’ mentality on cross-

less and sweat-less prosperity and from holiness to worldliness.

v. Prosperity churches, even though proliferate in Nigeria with significant

contributions to national transformation but that notwithstanding, their

negative impacts show itself in financial scandal, moral failure and faulty

theology. As observed, in spite of the increase in Christian terminology that

permeate the conversation of some prosperity believers, genuine spiritual and

intellectual growth and vitality seems to elude some Nigerian Christians.

vi. It is an open secret that of all the teeming crops of Pentecostal prosperity

preachers in Nigeria, none accepts to be addressed as a prosperity preacher;

even David Olaniyi Oyedepo who is currently seen to be spearheading the

prosperity gospel in this 21st century.

vii. Prosperity gospel is salvation and holiness based, but it lacks enough

commitment to establish its teeming believers on firm spiritual foundation of

faith in Christ because of misplaced priority on materialism. As has been

revealed, all the prosperity apostles preach salvation of soul through Jesus

Christ and do lead sinners to repentance toward God as well but do not spend

quality time to carry out an intensive and rigorous discipleship of their young

converts in order for them to be formed, rooted and gain the full knowledge of

God.

viii. Prosperity teachers rather than cementing the faith of prosperity adherents

through their theologizing tend only to orient their converts toward an earthly

bliss of stress-free abundance of material possessions which in their view is

the only authentic signs of true Christian voyage to Heaven. Through this,

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many unsuspecting worshippers in Nigeria have been hypnotized, swindled

and milked of their hard earned resources.

ix. In spite of the ostensible flaws of prosperity gospel, it seems glaring that the

burgeoning prosperity gospel possesses great potentials to likely outlive the

21st century. Although, no one knows the future with any degree of absolute

certainty, it is projected that the final lot of prosperity gospel is an awful doom

and extinction which will be made possible through God’s direct induced

revival in Christendom. It is hoped that the positivism of the gospel will soon

triumph over the negativism of the flourishing prosperity gospel.

8.2 Contribution to Knowledge

The Christian history of any nation deserves special study. Christian history

generally covers a wide range of areas. But the interest generated in prosperity gospel

preaching and the attendant growing influences, popularity and successes of the

phenomenon enticed the researcher to embark on this research. From the research, it

is glaring that:

i. All those who discussed prosperity gospel in Nigeria only based it on financial

prosperity.

ii. It is because of this ignorance that prosperity preachers committed an

oversight and teach that God only prospers those who give to him something

in order for him to multiply it for them.

iii. To this, this work comes up to say no. This study attempts to tell the young

people that hard work pays. God will only prospers those who work hard and

not just by giving to God through the prosperity preachers.

iv. On the whole, this thesis now corrects these erroneous teachings on prosperity.

The researcher clearly wants the prosperity preachers to deemphasize the

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genre of financial prosperity prevalence among prosperity preachers in

Nigeria. Furthermore, the researcher suggests that extreme financial prosperity

preaching practiced in Nigeria is not the ideal. This is because God prospers

his creatures in various ways. For instance, China and Japan are obviously not

Christian countries are prosperous not because of prosperity preaching but by

their dint of hard work.

Apart from the above, this research contributes to knowledge by way of:

i. Clarifying, reconstructing and preserving the knowledge about the eruption and

development of prosperity gospel in Nigeria which is an attempt to contributing

one’s humble quota to the on-going researches on prosperity. This extensive

reconstruction of the history of prosperity gospel preaching which has spanned

for over four decades now makes the work new in Nigeria and is therefore a

unique contribution to the knowledge bank of education.

ii. Educating both the ranks and files of the entire Christian community in Nigeria

by furnishing scholars with a full-orbed history and studies on prosperity gospel

in a single volume for easy usage and reference to promote scholarship in that

order.

iii. Providing a systematic analysis of the contents of prosperity ideology and

practices within the Nigerian religious space thus making this piece of historical

writing a major step forward in the right direction.

iv. Informing that preaching as a dimension of this study is an important spiritual

and intellectual exercise in the Christian world. This work deals specifically

with a core aspect of the Christian faith which is communicating the gospel.

Preaching and teaching are two sides of the same coin with its principal target at

growing, nourishing and building the faith of Christians. Any half-hearted truth

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and misinformation therefore redounds to stunted spiritual, emotional and

intellectual growth of believers. This study, by wading through the ideological

contents of prosperity gospel, discovers that there are some serious defects

inherent in the prosperity gospel.

v. Cautioning the leadership of Christendom on the pending dangers to continue to

tread on that slippery path by its adoption of prosperity gospel. It sounds the

alarm that there is the need to avoid the eminent temptations of going deeper

into heresy through its pursuance of materialism so as to avert great fall away of

Christians from the faith in Nigeria.

vi. Sensitizing the Christian community that prosperity gospel is already

threatening the sound and firm foundations of the Christian faith. It says that if

nothing is done quickly to redirect the current trends of things in the Church,

even those who perhaps are still seen to be holding on to the authentic

unadulterated sound teachings of the word of God may be lured into adopting

this gospel of cheap success and materialism.

vii. Reminding Christians that the love of money or the inordinate craze after

materialism is the root of all evil and that only “Godliness with contentment is a

great gain” (1Tim. 6:10). Contentment is a virtue which religious preaching

produces.

8.3 Recommendations

Prosperity gospel as preached in Nigeria is probably more of “this worldly”.

The focus of this gospel which is principally on the “here-and-now” material needs

above the spiritual is attracting a significant following engendering some noticeable

compromises on the standard of the gospel of Christ leading to worldliness, avarice

and lack of depth in the faith of prosperity gospel stalwarts. It is on this premise and

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those of other weaknesses and strengths of prosperity gospel that the following

recommendations are given:

i. It is high time every serious minded Christian undertook an in-depth study of the

Scriptures in order to be more informed about biblical principles of prosperity so

as to avoid the pitfalls and flaws of the prosperity apostles. Biblical exegesis will

provide a great help on this bases. This will pay off on the entire Christian

community and will safeguard them from being hypnotised.

ii. There is urgent need to sensitize all Christians, organizations and government to

get involved in the fight against poverty and to encourage all and sundries to

imbibe the culture of hard labour for the Christians’ spiritual and economic

empowerment. This will go a long way to reduce the chances of further expansion

of prosperity gospel in Nigeria and beyond.

iii. The proliferation of “man-must-wack” churches which exist only for

the enrichment of church founders without any real moral standard of behaviour

is a bad omen for Nigeria. To properly regulate and checkmate further

mushrooming of churches in Nigeria , the Corporate Affairs Commission has to

work hand in hand with Christian corporate bodies such as Christian Association

of Nigeria and Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria in screening all the upcoming

churches before their due registration and incorporation in Nigeria.

iv. Government at all levels to create more job opportunities in order to

cushion the effects of joblessness and poverty on the citizenry. In this regard, the

government under the leadership of Goodluck Ebele Jonathan is commended for

establishing fourteen federal universities across the nation in 2011, the Subsidy

Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) and You Win

programme (where N10m grant were offered to successful applicants). So many

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Nigerians have benefited in one way or the other from these initiatives. All these

efforts were geared towards reducing Nigerian unemployment problems and to

improve the capital base of the people.

v. Since the Nigerian culture tends to venerate progress, achievements and wealth

which is indirectly promoting prosperity gospel, teachers of prosperity gospel

should be cautioned not to overemphasize prosperity to the detriment of other

themes like holiness and hard labour.

vi. The mainline churches should wake up to the challenge posed by both endemics:

“poverty” and “Pentecostal aberrant prosperity doctrine” by providing sound

theological education that is capable of correcting with meekness and carefulness

the erroneous teachings of the prosperity exponents. This will probably go a long

way in reducing people’s misunderstanding of the Scriptures occasioned by the

misinterpretations of same by prosperity apostles.

vii. The fact that prosperity gospel is ever growing should challenge the mainline

churches on the need to see mission in a new light and make concrete plan to re-

evangelise prosperity believers. The mainline churches should begin with the

Charismatics within their reach and gradually influence them positively through

balance teaching on biblical principles of prosperity and the need to equate

holiness and hard work with genuine prosperity.

viii. The government and the leadership of CAN and PFN should not relent in their

efforts to fight against corruption and barbaric behaviour of any kind in Nigeria

whether in the secular or in the religious arena. This work commends the

government for incarcerating Chukwuemeka Ezeugo popularly known as

Reverend King, a founder of Christian Praying Assembly (CPA) in July 22, 2006

for killing Ann Azuh, a female member of his church over an alleged fornication.

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Having said this, it is needful to add that there is need for sound anti-corruption

policies devoid of rhetorics which must be put in place in Nigeria. The

government should continue to involve the churches in the fight against

corruption as that will quicken the process.

ix. Prosperity churches in their attempts to carry out humanitarian and social services

should orient the people on the need to be established firmly not only

economically but also spiritually for an all-round liberation from bondage. The

researcher thinks that since most of the government’s poverty alleviation

programs merely tend to focus on the deficit model where people seem to remain

passive recipients of aid, churches in their own quota should not ignore poverty-

creating phenomenon that impoverished the people. A deficit model of

understanding and tackling poverty cannot empower the poor to liberate

themselves from poverty. Therefore, the Pentecostals should do more in

rehabilitating social outcasts and the down trodden of the society by giving them

the necessary education and skills that will land them on the path to freedom and

greatness.

x. Holiness preachers should not out rightly condemn prosperity gospel but equally

make bold to educate and correct their fellow Pentecostals for their deep

indulgence in materialism. They should discourage prosperity mega church

founders from worldly competition in terms of assets and large followership

which in themselves are not the best criteria for measuring success in the

ministry.

8.4 Suggestions for Further Study

Most Pentecostal prosperity adherents understand financial and material

prosperity as proofs of genuine spirituality. It appears that material prosperity defines

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the contour of Pentecostals’ religiosity and spirituality in contemporary Nigeria. Since

everything in the world in the perspective of the Nigerian prosperity adherents seem

to be prosperity based, it is expedient that future research is needed on “Prosperity

Gospel and the Christian Faith in Nigeria”. This is to enable the future researcher to

critically examine the implications of materialism on the genuineness of the Christian

faith in Nigeria since money seems to have become an integral feature of

Pentecostals’ spiritual salvation. Minus prosperity or money in one’s walk with God,

what becomes of the believer’s faith in Christ? It seems most probable that prosperity

believers’ eternal salvation is at stake given the crazy nature of materialistic pursuit of

both the Pentecostal leader and the led in Nigeria today. Hence the urgent need to

carefully research into this dimension of Pentecostals’ spirituality in contemporary

Nigeria.

8.5 Conclusion

Pentecostalism is a dynamic and proactive social enterprise which is easily

being infused into every strata of the society. Its prosperity theology is relatively new

on the religious landscape which is swiftly expanding at breath-taking speed. It

appears to be bringing succour to millions of under privileged Nigerians who are

experiencing hardship as a result of a depressed Nigerian economy occasioned by the

mismanagement of the country’s rich natural and human resources. Its worldwide

media presence has enabled its message of hope to be disseminated to people of all

ages, ethnicities, races and religions. For its appeals, prosperity gospel is contagiously

spreading throughout all Christian denominations in the globe especially in Nigeria

today. Prosperity ideology is widely and readily being accepted by all classes of

people for what it claims. To the ordinary people as well as the bourgeois, it promises

284

solutions for the present felt needs like wealth, protection and healing from sicknesses

and the fear of evil spirits and witchcraft.

The Pentecostals idea of healing covers the spiritual and the physical,

deliverance from demonic attack and healing from poverty. It is observed that under

hard economic pressure of capitalism, prosperity gospel seems to offer a pragmatic

gospel that addresses practical needs of the citizenry. This makes millions of people to

endear themselves to prosperity gospel. Pentecostalism as revealed provides spiritual

and physical healing that guarantee material wealth and health as practical benefits to

faithful congregants. By this emphasis, prosperity gospel provides a pragmatic symbol

for Pentecostals to come to terms with changing social and economic values of their

society. Prosperity gospel seems therefore to be unique in its method of offering to its

teeming adherents a sense of belonging and a set of beliefs to pursue temporal and

material rewards uncompromisingly. In the absence of natural means to advancement,

prosperity gospel provides a supernatural means to material advancement. In its

approach, it tends to offer psychic comfort to people of different situations,

backgrounds and experiences, making it grounded and expanding faster than any

religious themes.

In their empowerment principles, the Pentecostals link every set back to a

spiritual cause and set themselves to overcoming it by conducting deliverance for the

individual as well as the entire community for overt prosperity. The Pentecostals

believe in divine intervention in their situations; hence the reason for most of the

prayer conferences/retreats and long period of prayer, fasting and night vigils. This is

practically seen at the beginning of each year particularly, as from January where

almost all the Pentecostal churches embark variously on a 7-day, a 21-day, a 40-day

and a 100-day prayer and fasting. As believed, these programmes target to settle,

285

challenge and uproot any hitch to one’s breakthrough in the months or years

following.

The Nigerian prosperity preachers are seemly having a heyday and are being

praised for their responsive message of liberation and for initiating numerous

programmes that have direct bearing on the lives of the people in Nigeria. But

unfortunately the prosperity gospel has created a very wide gap between the haves

and the have nots especially between prosperity ministers themselves and their

immediate parishioners. This work makes a point that it is high time prosperity

exponents cut down their excesses in extravangancy, luxury and in overemphasizing

the gospel of prosperity for the sake of people’s salvation. It is equally demanding on

the mainline churches to avoid outright condemnation of prosperity gospel and strike

a balance as a correctional measure to Pentecostal’s overemphasis on materialism

through theologizing and teaching. The mainliners should also avoid the temptation of

limiting God’s willingness and ability to bless his children on earth with riches.

Christians should however be reminded that they have not yet made it to heaven so as

not to be overtaken by the pleasures of these earthly mundane things. Considering the

kind of laxity with which prosperity believers think about heaven or the here-after

calls for a total rethink of prosperity gospel. It seems that prosperity adherents think

more about earthly wealth and health than they think about a paradise in Heaven. In

view of this, the work, in recognition of some positivism of prosperity gospel draw its

conclusion that the impacts of prosperity gospel preaching are more damaging than

beneficial in Nigeria.

286

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Appendix

LIST OF INTERVIEWEES

Name Age Address Occupation Place Interviewer Date

H. C. Achunike 60 UNN Priest/Professor Nsukka Kitause, R. H 31/7/14

I. M. Ahmadu 65 UniJos Pastor/Professor Jos ” 1/3/15

D. Ozoko 54 UNN Pastor/Lecturer Nsukka ” 3/7/14

P. Suzan 55 PWA Pastor Enugu ” 25/10/14

E. Stephen 50 S. A. Sec. C/Servant Jalingo ” 6/12/14

A. Omojola 48 Technobat Pastor/Teacher Ibadan ” 3/2/15

S. B. Adeseye 50 State Poly Pastor/Lecturer Lagos ” 10/1/15

I. O. Ukah 53 PCN Archbishop Kaduna ” 12/2/15

F. I. Esthons 52 TSU Priest/Lecturer Jalingo ” 12/10/14

O. O. Anokam 65 AGC Priest/ Lecturer Port Harcourt ” 22/2/15

D. Tukura 51 UniCal Priest Calabar ” 3/6/14

E. Ukaoha 56 WATS Priest/Lecturer Lagos ” 2/3/15

F. Davidson 40 UniBen C/Servant Benin ” 15/2/15

F. I. Kuni 48 RPM Karu Pastor/Civil/S FCT Abuja ” 23/2/15

J. Ahmadu 45 UniBen Lecturer Benin ” 15/3/ 15

S. I. Ukoha 52 DLBC Pastor/ Lecturer Jos ” 4/8/14

E. J. Udo 51 EUPTS Lecturer Itu, A. Ibom ” 12/3/15

R. D. Irany 36 TSU Lecturer Jalingo ” 17/3/15

H. Apollos 48 NPA C/Servant Lagos ” 10/3/15

M. Chukwuelobe 60 SSP Priest/Lecturer Isienu ” 15/9/13

A. S. Ugbe 50 FCE Lecturer Kano ” 29/2/15

H. Wisdom 51 COE Pastor/Lecturer Zing ” 5/5/14

320

S. I. Sherif 53 UMCN Pastor/Lecturer Kofai ” 7/5/14

T. Kanda 54 AGC Priest Magami ” 4/6/14

W. D. Lamu 55 MOE Evangelist/Civil/S Jalingo ” 7/4/15

A. Collins 47 RPM Evangelist Asaba ” 30/1/15

H. Idam 50 ZMO Civil/S Ogoja ” 2/3/15

O. Ogbodim 57 PDP Businessman Calabar ” 5/4/15

B. Ishaku 52 COCIN Priest Lafia ” 18/4/15

P. Anyamagir 45 NKST Priest Vandykya ” 5/4/15