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Blessed

Blessed

by Kate Bowler

First published 2013 · 345 pages · about 6 hours to read

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About this book

How have millions of American Christians come to measure spiritual progress in terms of their financial status and physical well-being? How has the movement variously called Word of Faith, Health and Wealth, Name It and Claim It, or simply prosperity gospel come to dominate much of our contemporary religious landscape? Kate Bowler's Blessed is the first book to fully explore the origins, unifying themes, and major figures of a burgeoning movement that now claims millions of followers in America. Bowler traces the roots of the prosperity gospel: from the touring mesmerists, metaphysical sages, pentecostal healers, business oracles, and princely prophets of the early 20th century; through mid-century positive thinkers like Norman Vincent Peale and revivalists like Oral Roberts and Kenneth Hagin; to today's hugely successful prosperity preachers. Bowler focuses on such contemporary figures as Creflo Dollar, pastor of Atlanta's 30,000-member World Changers Church International; Joel Osteen, known as "the smiling preacher," with a weekly audience of seven million; T. D. Jakes, named by Time magazine one of America's most influential new religious leaders; Joyce Meyer, evangelist and women's empowerment guru; and many others. At almost any moment, day or night, the American public can tune in to these preachers-on TV, radio, podcasts, and in their megachurches-to hear the message that God desires to bless them with wealth and health.

Will you like it?

Readers interested in American religion, and anyone curious about how money and health became central to a large Christian movement, will find this a clear guide. Its subject is concrete: the preachers, broadcasts and megachurches that shaped the prosperity gospel from the early twentieth century onward.

  • prosperity gospel
  • faith and money
  • divine healing
  • megachurch culture
  • positive thinking

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Quick answers

What age is Blessed for?
Adults.
Is Blessed a standalone?
Yes, it stands on its own.
Does Blessed have violence, sex or strong language?
Nothing a reader needs warning about.

Written with AI from what's known about the book.

Reader's guide

Themesprosperity gospel, faith and money, divine healing, American evangelicalism, megachurch culture, positive thinking, seed faith

prosperity gospel · faith and money · divine healing · American evangelicalism · megachurch culture · positive thinking · seed faith

StyleAcademic history written for a general reader. Bowler combines archival research, sermons and interviews with clear, direct prose and her own occasional first-person presence. The chapters move roughly in chronological order, from the nineteenth century to the present, and the book is a moderate length of about 345 pages.

Academic history written for a general reader. Bowler combines archival research, sermons and interviews with clear, direct prose and her own occasional first-person presence. The chapters move roughly in chronological order, from the nineteenth century to the present, and the book is a moderate length of about 345 pages.

How it was writtenBlessed was published in 2013 and grew out of Bowler's scholarly research on the prosperity gospel. It was among the first book-length histories to cover the movement's origins, figures and themes as a whole.

Blessed was published in 2013 and grew out of Bowler's scholarly research on the prosperity gospel. It was among the first book-length histories to cover the movement's origins, figures and themes as a whole.

How it was receivedCritics and scholars of American religion have generally praised it as a careful and accessible survey of the movement and its roots. It is still read as an introduction to the prosperity gospel, and Bowler later became known to a wider audience through her memoir about her cancer diagnosis, which is a separate book.

Critics and scholars of American religion have generally praised it as a careful and accessible survey of the movement and its roots. It is still read as an introduction to the prosperity gospel, and Bowler later became known to a wider audience through her memoir about her cancer diagnosis, which is a separate book.

Questions to discussHow does Bowler link the prosperity gospel to older traditions of healing and mind-cure, and do you find that connection convincing?

These may talk about the whole book.

  1. How does Bowler link the prosperity gospel to older traditions of healing and mind-cure, and do you find that connection convincing?
  2. What does the movement's emphasis on material success suggest about the anxieties of its followers?
  3. Bowler is a historian rather than a polemicist. Does her approach change how you read the criticisms of these preachers?
  4. How do the mid-century positive-thinking writers prepare the ground for the Word of Faith teaching?
  5. What is the role of giving, or seed faith, in the movement, and how does Bowler describe it?
  6. Why might the prosperity message appeal more to some groups than others, and how does Bowler handle questions of class and race?
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Written with AI from what's known about the book.

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