Anthropologist Simon Coleman argues that there are "obvious parallels" between Kenyon's teachings and New Thought. Kenyon and later leaders in the prosperity movement have denied that he was influenced by the New Thought movement. His writing influenced leaders of the nascent prosperity movement during the post-war American healing revival. Kenyon later became connected with well-known Pentecostal leaders and wrote about supernatural revelation and positive declarations. In the 1890s, Kenyon attended Emerson College of Oratory where he was exposed to the New Thought movement. Kenyon, a Baptist minister and adherent of the Higher Life movement, is credited with introducing mind-power teachings into early Pentecostalism. By the 20th century, New Thought concepts had saturated American popular culture, being common features of both self-help literature and popular psychology. While initially focused on achieving mental and physical health, New Thought teachers such as Charles Fillmore made material success a major emphasis of the movement. The New Thought movement, which emerged in the 1880s, was responsible for popularizing belief in the power of the mind to achieve prosperity. This gospel of wealth, however, was an expression of Muscular Christianity and understood success to be the result of personal effort rather than divine intervention. This "American gospel" was best exemplified by Andrew Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth and Russell Conwell's famous sermon "Acres of Diamonds", in which Conwell equated poverty with sin and asserted that anyone could become rich through hard work. Interview with Kate Bowler on Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel, March 18, 2014, C-SPANĪccording to historian Kate Bowler, the prosperity gospel was formed from the intersection of three different ideologies: Pentecostalism, New Thought, and "an American gospel of pragmatism, individualism, and upward mobility". History Late 19th and early 20th-century background External video
Prosperity theology views the Bible as a contract between God and humans: if humans have faith in God, he will deliver security and prosperity. The practices of some preachers have attracted scandal and some have been charged with financial fraud. Secular as well as some Christian observers have also criticized prosperity theology as exploitative of the poor. Prosperity theology has been criticized by leaders from various Christian denominations, including within some Pentecostal and charismatic movements, who maintain that it is irresponsible, promotes idolatry, and is contrary to the Bible. Material and especially financial success is seen as a sign of divine favor. Prosperity theology (sometimes referred to as the prosperity gospel, the health and wealth gospel, the gospel of success, or seed faith) is a religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God for them, and that faith, positive speech, and donations to religious causes will increase one's material wealth. Not to be confused with The Gospel of Wealth.