Does God want us to be wealthy? Many people believe that God offers not only eternal joy in the hereafter but also material blessings in the here and now. Other Christians see this "prosperity theology," as nothing more than vulgar materialism, incompatible with orthodox Christianity. In Righteous Riches, Milmon F.

The author examines the 'Word of Faith' movement, an American non-denominational movement that preaches the so-called 'health & wealth gospel'. In particular the study focuses on the response to the movement from the African American community.

This volume approaches the Word of Faith as a worldview, and analyses the movement through N. T. Wright's model for worldview-analysis in order to provide necessary nuance and complexity to scholarly interpretations of the Word of Faith. The reader receives insights into the movement's narrative, semiotic, practical and propositional dimensions,

Economic Injustice and the Rhetoric of the American Dream explores public conversations about why some Americans are rich and others are poor. That question prompts a politically urgent and intellectually valuable inquiry into the rhetorical resources Americans employ to make sense of their peculiar economic arrangements.

Joseph W. Williams examines the changing healing practices of pentecostals in the United States over the past 100 years, from the early believers to the later generations of pentecostals and their charismatic successors.