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What is the prosperity gospel (word of faith, positive confession)?

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Chuck Smith, Charisma vs. Charismania, chapter 11: The latest wind of pernicious, unscriptural doctrine to blow through the ranks of some charismatics is the “what-you-say-is-what-you-get” teaching, otherwise known as the prosperity doctrine. Among the claims that are commonly made is that God never wills that you should be sick and that all sickness is the result of ignorance or lack of faith. Such teachings sound more like Mary Baker Eddy than the apostle Paul! These people speak much of making positive confessions, and warn against any negative confession. They teach that the spoken word becomes a spirit force for good or evil according to the confession. Thus you are never to confess, “I don’t feel well,” for that is a negative confession and is bound to cause you to feel bad. You are thus encouraged to lie about your true condition or feelings. As you hear this teaching you would swear that the sermons came from Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures rather than the Bible. From Chuck Smith's books, used by permission of The Word For Today.

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CHUCK SMITH, CHARISMA VS. CHARISMANIA, CHAPTER 11 →
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Verified. Every scripture quotation on this page has been checked word-for-word against the King James text. Last reviewed 2026-10-15.

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