By Zack Ball
Thanks to the progressive, isogesis techniques of modern Protestant evangelists, the next generation’s egos have been so inflated with biblical boasts about self-worth that equality and oneness with God have become perceived realizations. Using verses like Genesis 1.27 (made in His image) and John 14.12 (doing greater works than Me), the belief that they possess divine inner-powers that God is simply waiting for them to unleash, becomes justified. Just look at a recent tweet from Steven Furtick from Elevation Church: “Following Jesus doesn’t change you into something else, it reveals who you’ve been all along. What would it be like to see the you that God sees…”
Such perspective nurtures the confidence that true salvation is about finding ultimate personal meaning in this current life. This becomes theologically intertwined with “making a difference in the world” and produces the notion that the right amount of community love, advocacy, and unity will help Jesus’ kingdom break-in to “earth as it is in heaven.”
The concept that we are, somehow, essential arbiters of sovereign plans, about which not even Jesus will elaborate, (Matthew 24.36, Acts 1.7) is not uncommon. Prosperity gospel guru Jesse Duplantis has asserted our role in prompting Jesus’ return: “I honestly believe this&hell ...
