What do Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, and Paula White have in common? They all preach an incredibly false gospel. The gospel they preach is commonly known as the prosperity gospel, though it has also been called the health and wealth gospel or the name it and claim it gospel. Essentially, they teach their congregations that if you have enough faith, if you give enough money, you can receive whatever you desire. And they grow rich off of deceiving and lying to the people who trust them.
Maybe you think this description is a little harsh. After all, I don’t know any of these people personally. They seem like nice folks with good hearts who are truly trying to help people. Who am I to judge them? I may not know much about these teachers, but there are many who do and have come to the realization that they do not preach the truth. One of these is Costi Hinn, the nephew of Benny Hinn, and he wrote his book God, Greed, and the Prosperity Gospel to expose the false gospel of prosperity preachers.
Throughout the book, Costi tells his story. He begins the book by describing how the Hinn family began following and teaching the prosperity gospel and what it was like to grow up in the Hinn household. They lived in a 10,000 square foot mansion, owned several expensive vehicles (Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz, etc.), traveled all over the world (London, Paris, Maui, Dubai, Rome), and dressed in designer clothing (Versace, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada).
As he grew older, Costi began realizing that some things they believed didn’t make sense, and he started asking questions. Then, he went to college at Dallas Baptist University. After being influenced by his college professors, baseball coach, girlfriend (who would one day become his wife), and pastor, Costi was transformed by the true gospel. It is now his mission to expose the lies he grew up with and to point people to the truth.
And Costi definitely achieves this mission in this book. In God, Greed, and the Prosperity Gospel, he writes about the origins of the prosperity gospel, how it became so popular, and how its influence reaches all around the globe. He discusses its different “laws” and how it is such a dangerous theology. The prosperity gospel is a false gospel that twists Scripture, insults God, abuses the vulnerable, and is motivated by the love of money (which is the root of all kinds of evil – 1 Timothy 6:10). Costi writes,
“The prosperity gospel turns faith into a works-based system and confuses it by adding burdens that people cannot carry.”[1]
In addition to exposing these lies, Costi also points his readers to biblical truth. He spends time explaining the sovereignty of god and shares what the Bible has to say about health, wealth, and false teachers. He reminds his audience that having wealth is not necessarily a sin. Instead, we must use the wealth that the Lord has given us wisely and in a way that honors God. At the end of his book, Costi includes a chapter that helps believers reach friends or family members that have been deceived by the prosperity gospel in a biblical way.
I really enjoyed reading Costi Hinn’s story and getting an inside view of the lives and teachings of prosperity gospel preachers. This book would be a great introductory read for those who are wanting to learn more about the prosperity gospel and what it teaches. And if you have believed in this gospel or have followed the teachers listed at the beginning of this post, I recommend you read God, Greed, and the Prosperity Gospel as soon as possible.
[1] Costi W. Hinn, God, Greed, and the Prosperity Gospel: How Truth Overwhelms a Life Built on Lies (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2019), 177.
