Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel

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Guthrie establishes in her introduction that while her views may be evident in some places, her goal is not to argue against certain viewpoints but to present “what is clear and cannot be ignored” (13). Guthrie typically presents her conclusions without showing us the trail of interpretive bread crumbs left behind in the study process, and without presenting alternative interpretations, so readers should keep in mind that well-respected commentators hold alternate interpretations. If you’re looking for a book that pits the varying interpretive approaches of Revelation against one another or analyzes the popular theories about the apocalyptic roles of politicians, pop stars, or even energy drinks, this isn’t it. While some may find this disappointing, what this book has to offer is far greater—real hope as we navigate a fallen world and anticipate Christ’s second coming. On Saturday October 10, 2020, in the Upper Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi, Italy, the Venerable Carlo Acutis was beatified, the second last step before canonization. Days prior to Bl. Carlo’s beatification, I kept seeing news stories of him on my Facebook news feed. I knew a little bit about who Carlo was prior to his beatification, but never bothered to read up much about him.

Second, although its prosperity angle is different, it's not charismatic, and it has no paid parish ministry, as I see it, Mormonism is a part of the prosperity gospel, too, with the same ultimate Second Great Awakening roots as the rest of the movement. Nowhere mentioned.Excellent. Clearly describes the history and make-up of the prosperity gospel. Bowler's care in explaining the difficulty in defining a proponent of the prosperity gospel is a useful category for Christians to have (namely, they rarely take the specific name, there aren't specific denominations, etc; but they are often connected by where they have studied, who the read, and so on). The book of Revelation is daunting and even discouraging for some believers, and we have a tendency to ignore it. Nancy Guthrie has written a wonderfully clear, accessible, and faithful interpretation of the book. The theological vision of the book is captured in her exposition, but the book doesn't stop there. Guthrie explains in a remarkable way how the book of Revelation applies to us today. Laypeople, students, and anyone who wants to understand the book of Revelation will profit from reading and studying this book.” I'd had this book on my wishlist for a while; it seemed like the prosperity gospel was as popular as it was egregiously wrong—and it was increasing in both respects. It seemed so impossible to take it all seriously; I was hoping someone could help me understand its origins and teachings. In some ways, this review hasn’t even touched upon what Dr. Bowler describes as the four themes of the prosperity gospel: faith, wealth, health, and victory. But I have chosen to highlight what stood out most to me, perhaps because it was less familiar until I actually read Blessed.

With a friendly and engaging tone, Blessed takes the fear, intimidation, and confusion away from studying Revelation, providing a solid and accessible resource that individuals and small groups can use to study this important yet often avoided book.And that is what you will find in this volume. A wonderful biography. And a plan with steps to help you grow in your own holiness. Matthew Kelly likes to use the phrase “Become the best version of yourself” because when he challenged people to become ‘saints’ they said they could not do that. But they would work at becoming the best version of themselves. Carlo challenged the people he knew, those early years of online evangelization. And he challenges us today. Further on in that preface it states:

At the end of the book, all I can say is, “Thank you Mgr. Figueiredo. Thank you Carlo. Thank you God.” I completed the book in one sitting and still continue to refer to the book, re-reading parts of it because Carlo makes holiness so “attractive,” not in the earthly sense, but “attractive” because there is something so much more to holiness that worldly things cannot offer. That is, in striving for holiness, we become saints and sainthood is our goal because in sanctity, we encounter God Himself. Understand the Book of Revelation:Helps readers make sense of Revelation’s unique apocalyptic symbolism, visual imagery, and Old Testament allusionsI'm on a quest to understand the roots and logic of the respect/worship/devotion some varieties of Christianity have for capitalism. This is not quite about that, but it's certainly about a related phenomenon. And it helped me understand that I was right to find the shirts and mugs and wooden household decor items that say "Blessed" to give off a whiff of smug self-righteousness. Yes from a young age he has a passion for the tings of God. But it was also something he worked at and strived for. Nancy Guthrie reminds us that Saint John wrote about dragons, eagles, and beasts—not to fuel twenty-first-century speculation about their precise, physical referent, but to motivate the church towards godliness in the midst of a pagan culture. Revelation invites the church to gather around the throne of the holy God, Lamb, and Spirit and worship in every aspect of life. We need more books such as this on the capstone of the Bible’s storyline, and I’m eager to see how God will use this volume for his glory!” I'll start with the (apparent) criticism and end with the praise: Bowler doesn't manage to create much of a narrative. Her chapter titles—Faith, Wealth, Health, and Victory—do develop themes within prosperity teaching, but throughout much of the book, the word "concatenation" kept coming to my mind. I felt like I was being introduced to preacher after preacher, ministry after ministry, with very little coherence to hang all the details on. A beautiful new life of Carlo Acutis the IT enthusiast who died at just 15 years old but lived his life for Christ. The author introduces us to the five simple practices which helped to make Blessed Carlo Acutis the first Millennial Blessed. Richly illustrated with photographs of Blessed Carlo and with a great selection of his sayings this is an ideal introduction to a wonderful life.