An interesting academic study into the theological underpinnings of the prosperity gospel. The author does a wonderful job tracing the history of the movement from its earliest beginnings to the Joel Osteens and other mega churches of today.Highly recommended.

I confess, I felt genuinely sad reading this book. Kate Bowler, professor at Duke Divinity School, outlines the history of this very American religion. Many of the TV preachers (really, motivational speakers) rely on a formula of "right thinking, right speaking, and God has to act and prosper you materially, be it health or wealth." And the system is so air-tight that when you are not experiencing physical healing or prosperity, it's not as if the preachers are preaching something unbiblical. Fa...

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).Bowler's work is a work of sociology/history. She names names, and she explains the basic tenets of the movement. Sh...

After watching the recent documentary American Gospel: Christ Alone, I wanted to deepen my understanding of the prosperity gospel, which if it’s not the quintessential American religion right now, it’s certainly one of a set.Another Goodreads friend’s review has gently criticized Blessed for not having much of a narrative, while also acknowledging that the problem is reflective more of the prosperity gospel movement itself than Dr. Bowler’s presentation. I agree that while reading this book, it’...

You will recognize your thinking in this book, I guarantee it. Bowler does an admirably charitable overview of the so-called prosperity gospel, drawing attention to the ways in which its theology influences and is influenced by broader streams of American thought. If you're looking for a book that will let you sneer at suckers who are dumber than you (jerk), this is not your book. Bowler is amazingly cautious, gracious, kindly to the people she interviews, and eager to put the movement in conver...

Beautiful, funny and affectionate writing—a great example of what a historian can do when targeting a popular audience. I’m still not totally sure about the “so what” and wish there was more discussion about the evidence for this being particularly American. But mostly, I learned a lot about the connections between the self help culture know and so many of the streams of Christianity I’m familiar with.

Bowler gets five stars for personal research, 4.5 for some of her conclusions, and 3.5 for not drawing further conclusions in some areas or asking further questions. And now, with further reading, she gets 2.5 stars, as I've seen on her website, her other book and more, for the degree she believes in at least the healing portion of the prosperity gospel and doesn't disclose that. So, my overall rating, originally four stars, is reduced to three.The biggest best part of the book is her tracing th...

This is a fascinating look at the roots and major influences shaping the so-called prosperity gospel. The best known current practitioners are Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes and Joyce Meyer, and the oversimplified summary is that God wants you to be healthy, wealthy and victorious in this life over every problem and challenge.I approached this book with a strong bias, believing that the central tenets of the prosperity gospel are a perversion of God's message in scripture and Jesus' salvation purpose.

neat info! From the cover I thought it was gonna be more very digestible pop nonfiction-y but it was not, which is a shame bc I think it could have a very fun romp and that was really more what I was in the mood for right then. Why aren’t all books written for me specifically? Thorough though!!

This book takes a great inside look at the history and message of the prosperity gospel, one of the most infamous heresies of modern times. This was originally the author’s doctoral dissertation, and sometimes it can be a bit dry like most academic dissertations can, but it’s at its absolute best when the author relays stories from her actual time hanging with prosperity church members. The story of when she became sick at a Benny Hinn tour group of the Holy Land is enough to make me squeamish.

3.5 stars -- This history of one of the fastest growing examples of American syncretism has become more timely & relevant since its publication. A little dry (and you can definitely tell this started life as a dissertation), but the content here is fascinating and gave me a lot of food for thought as to how/why the leaders of the prosperity gospel have become so influential in the current administration and, by extension, to more mainstream evangelical circles

A fascinating look into the world of the prosperity churches, by a solid young scholar.Okay... I like this book a whole lot. After two readings I find I'm still learning about this facet of the modern church, and I'm so delighted that the author never gets nasty, disrespectful or dismissive. She's done some serious homework, which involved having real conversations with real people. No, she's not in agreement with the movement, yet she doesn't need to slam anyone; she just lets the story do the

Kate Bowler’s Blessed is a historical exposition of what is commonly known today as the Prosperity Gospel. She deftly takes readers through Pentecostal and Evangelical religious history, introducing us to the primary players (from Hagin, Copeland and Roberts to Bakker and Swaggart to Osteen, Jakes and Paula White). One of her primary arguments is that this is a distinctly American movement. While I see her links to individualism and capitalism, her brief mention in the Conclusion of large affili...

Kate Bowler’s dissertation is just that, a dissertation and it reads like one. So no fault there. But the subject matter is depressing to the extreme. I found myself cringing multiple times at this history, I would grow hopeful at the attempts to curtail these Pastors’ most craven practices only to be disappointed anew as these efforts folded, or merely became more clever at reframing what was ultimately going on: the enriching of a Pastor and his family with ostentatious wealth and living at th...

It took me a while to get into it but the last 50ish pages were my favorite. I particularly enjoyed "Triumph and Racism", "Triumph and Women", and "Triumph in Time." Great research and citing throughout.A few of my favorite quotes are: "The prosperity gospel's emphasis on the individual's responsibility for his or her own fate resonated strongly with the American tradition of rugged self-reliance.""Mediocrity acquired the taint of sin, as authors fretted Bout the wastefulness of lives not fully

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.Then the author of this book, Kate Bowler, who is my age, wrote a beautifully profound article on her own terminal cancer in the New York Times, and before I completed the piece I bought her book.I listened to an...

I'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.Points out that the prosperity gospel overlaps with fundamentalism, pentecostalism, evangelicalism, the religious righ...

Okay, that's enough. After listening for about five hours (the full audio book is ten hours long), I'm calling it quits. The author mentions in her beginning "thank yous" that this book began life as a dissertation, and these roots are unfortunately evident. My impression is probably partly due to my unfamiliarity with most of the names of preachers and churches Bowler describes -- I've heard of the famous ones, like Oral Roberts, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, and Joel Osteen, but Bowler doesn't st...

This book was her PhD thesis with slight revisions for a wider audience. Because of that, it is dispassionate writing, focusing on the facts rather than offering her personal take.I found the book helpful in overviewing this terrible movement within Christianity. However, I would only recommend this book for lovers of history (like myself) as it can be a bit dry at times. There is a lot of good helpful research but I just think the people who would enjoy it is limited. There's probably better ti...