2 Comments

  1. Victoria Nimmo Walters
    April 4, 2016 @ 4:46 PM

    So much of the ‘Faith Movement’ seemed to be focused on having faith in our ability to have faith, that I was eventually turned off by it. Our Faith belongs in God and HIS ability to meet whatever needs we face rather than on our ability to believe Him for his provision.

    That may sound like splitting hairs – and I am so very aware of God’s miraculous provision in my life. But I’ve seen so many ‘Word of Faith’ people write off the needs of others because ‘apparently they just don’t have the faith to receive…’ whatever their need may be.

    I think the final straw that broke me completely away from the ‘Faith Movement’ was when a beautiful 24 year old woman in our church died of cancer. Throughout her illness, our Pastor kept riding her to ‘just believe’ ‘have faith for your healing’ and all the other ‘sayings’ that go along with that. He eventually stopped going to visit her and wouldn’t allow his wife to go either because her ‘lack of faith’ was just so discouraging. At her funeral he said that healing was available to her…but she chose death over accepting it.

    I knew her fairly well, and visited her as often as possible. I knew that wasn’t true. She truly desired healing–but chose to continue her treatments until healing was manifested in her body.

    When we base our appreciation for the healing we receive on how strong our faith is, we lose compassion for those who are not receiving theirs by writing them off as faithless. I don’t believe that is a Christ-like attitude…and I do not want it in my life.

    • avincent
      April 4, 2016 @ 11:52 PM

      Those same sorts of experiences are why I have nothing good to say about that time in my church history. My faith is in God and I will accept what HE has for my life.

      My feeling about this doctrinal movement was that they were trying to manipulate God by saying He HAD to do whatever the person said because they believed it wholeheartedly. God is God and I am not, no matter how hard I try to be.

      If someone else out there reading this still ascribes to the “faith movement”, I am not trying to offend you. You are free to believe what you want but for me and my family, that is not how I see God operating.