It has two main and very different manifestations:
(1) a kind of “New Age” positive thinking religion rooted in the nineteenth-century quasireligious movement called “New Thought,”
(2) a neo-Pentecostal, charismatic religion touted by television evangelists that revels in miracles.
On the surface these two manifestations seem radically different, but below the surface they share much in common. For both, God is a kind of cosmic vending machine who must provide health and wealth to all who have “positive faith” expressed in words of faith—spoken affirmations or declarations that create reality through divine power. Both treat prayer as magic without realizing it. Both deny God’s sovereignty and put God and his power at human disposal. Both elevate health and wealth to the status of ultimate goods. Both claim to be Christian while distorting biblical, historical, classical, orthodox Christianity to the point that it is unrecognizable.
The “New Age” manifestation of this heresy is promoted by various “positive thinking” spiritual gurus influenced by the nineteenth-century movement known as New Thought, which will be described later. It is not Pentecostal or charismatic and often includes belief in reincarnation. Its god is not personal, transcendent, or holy but an impersonal power resident in every-thing. The human mind is able to tap into it through positive thinking and speaking. The neo-Pentecostal manifestation of this heresy is also influenced by nineteenth-century New Thought, but it is blended with twentieth-century Pentecostalism and charismatic spirituality and heavily influenced by the “divine healing” movement of nineteenth and twentieth-century Christian revivalism. It is closer to orthodox Christianity but takes it in a very different direction through its emphasis on God as guarantor of health and wealth.
The “New Age” manifestation of this heresy is promoted by various “positive thinking” spiritual gurus influenced by the nineteenth-century movement known as New Thought, which will be described later. It is not Pentecostal or charismatic and often includes belief in reincarnation. Its god is not personal, transcendent, or holy but an impersonal power resident in every-thing. The human mind is able to tap into it through positive thinking and speaking. The neo-Pentecostal manifestation of this heresy is also influenced by nineteenth-century New Thought, but it is blended with twentieth-century Pentecostalism and charismatic spirituality and heavily influenced by the “divine healing” movement of nineteenth and twentieth-century Christian revivalism. It is closer to orthodox Christianity but takes it in a very different direction through its emphasis on God as guarantor of health and wealth.
- Roger E. Olson, Counterfeit Christianity: The Persistence of Errors in the Church, 2015.
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