“The admission to one’s self that man is God’s own likeness sets man free to master the infinite idea” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health 90:24-25).

To have this power they call faith one must recognize his own godhood and power, which is what the majority of word faith teachers espouse. Like their new thought, Gnostic, metaphysical fathers they say the same things, only in slightly different terms.

Now after hearing from metaphysical teachers we can go to the faith that Creflo Dollar is teaching and see the metaphysical similarities.

Creflo Agrees with the Mind Science position by saying, “Growing into sonship means that you grow in your ability to operate as a “little God” (a replica of the Father) in the earth” (World Changers magazine, p.6, Dec. 2002).

Creflo explains the nature of God in ways that even the Bible does not. “Now, God used faith substance to make everything that He made…in every one of those words they were filled with faith substance, because words are nothing but containers. every time God speaks, He can't help but to speak words that are filled with faith…God's guts are called faith stuff…. Everything in Him is faith.… What's in His heart is faith….if you were to cut God open, you'd see nothing but faith. Every time He opens His mouth now, He automatically fills those words with His faith material. (Changing Your World program, Sept. 20, 1998)

“God’s guts his insides are composed of that material called faith that’s what’s in him so whatever he says is filled with that stuff.” I didn’t know God’s insides are made of faith, did you? I thought the Bible said He is Spirit? I guess one can always learn something new from Creflo’s ministry! Unfortunately what he is saying is not true. If faith is only a force then God is not a Eternal living Spirit that is personal.

Creflo explains “So faith is spiritual force, we know faith is God’s creative power, we know it’s the substance of all the things we hope for and desire.” He is able to say this because it is what you say that matters not just what is written. He is able to say this because he knows no one checks their bible thoroughly to see if this is what faith is. The word “faith” is not a substance as Creflo interprets (though its called a substance in the NKJ). Faith (Gr. Pistis) means persuasion, i.e. credence, moral conviction (of religious truth, or the truthfulness of God), a reliance upon. Substance (Gr. Hupostasis) is a compound of two Greek words hupo and histemi; which means what is placed under (as support), i.e. (figurative) concrete essence, or abstract assurance (object or subject) confidence, substance. “Faith is the substance,” means what is under you (Gr. hupo), what you “stand upon” (Gr. stasis). It is a foundation for something to stand on; our foundation of faith is God and His Word. When we learn and understand the Word of God a foundation is built under us. In salvation faith is trusting in the work Christ did on the cross. This happened nearly two thousand years ago, this is why salvation is by faith today; we cannot see it. Faith is something you are assured of by God’s Word but cannot see.

However, faith involves an assent to what is truth, not what is false. In other words if we believe the Word of God we must make sure we are interpreting it correctly. For example Jesus walked on water but this is not a promise given to all believers that when needed they can walk on water. Nor are we told to use faith to obtain things that are not yet seen or exist.

Here he explains the power of the tongue gives power to God’s word. “Declare what is written, that’s your faith…. You put your faith before your eyes, your faith in your ears, your faith in your mouth you get your faith in your heart, faith will bring the stuff that you’ve been believing for out of your heart and will break through the door of this physical natural world a manifestation of the glory of faith will be there because you acted and believed what was written and not some junk.…So it’s the word of God on the thing that your needing in your life, deposited in your heart by going through your eyes and your ears your mouth, its in your heart then it comes out. That is what faith is and that is what faith will do for you.”

So the word of God becomes like an incantation book that you speak to bring forth from the invisible.

“Whatever God says will come to pass he can’t lie because if God said there’s enough faith to bring what he said to pass if Satan says it there is no faith at all, its a lie, lie, lie, that’s why he needs you to agree with his lie because you got the faith he needs to bring his lie to pass.” The system is set up where he says where God has faith Satan says I’ll create fear. There is of faith Satan says I’ll create the law of fear. He’ll operate by the same basic law, I’ll just invert it…I’ll get the reciprocal of it.” “Fear has become a law just as faith has become a law. You do faith, it will work for you because it is a law.”

If faith is a law and God is made of faith, what does this make God?

Here is the basic flaw and distortion of the faith movement-- not reading through a Scripture and seeking its correct context so they arrive with false meaning. It is in Romans 3:25-28 where this law of faith is mentioned: “whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.”

To change things in your life Creflo teaches, “your tongue is the best tool to use. Make these confessions daily, and watch as your life begins to manifest the things you speak.”

Where does God say to speak to have something come to pass, where does the apostles teach this to the church? Where is this practiced in the New Testament? The primary problem with this is that one cannot find it being taught to the church by the apostles. What God said in the Old Testament was that what he spoke and the prophets or scribes of Israel wrote would come to pass. God does not need to have any faith for it to come to pass because he is in control of the whole universe not just certain parts.

 The Bible teaches to hear the word and obey it, live it out by the power and influence of the Holy Spirit and your life will change. Creflo’s solution is to say the word over and over and it will manifest. As other word faith teachers explain, it’s not what you do as much as what you speak in faith, the power is your mouth. They take Scriptures indiscriminately to provide what is needed as an absolute. So “if you need money use these, if you need health use these.”

“ That's the key. You don't speak your words. You speak words already equipped. You speak God's word out of your mouth. … You take God's word that's filled with faith material, put it in your heart, because it ain't gonna do no good for you to speak God's word intellectually and it hasn't been deposited, you don't have no stuff in your heart. "Out of the abundance of the heart a man speaks." So it's got to be, there's got to be a deposit made before there can be a withdrawal. So the word meditated on squeezes the stuff out of, the faith stuff out of those words that came out of the mouth of God.”

Creflo goes far beyond Scriptures revelation to explain how this faith speaking works. He must, because one can’t find these explanations in the Bible.

Creflo not only can speak to things to create but he teaches that things like trees speak right back at you. “Your mouth is connected to your life. Death and life is in the power of the tongue. You're going to have to start speaking to the spirit of debt. … Jesus spoke to a thing. He spoke to a fig tree. The Bible says, “He answered it and said,” so obviously the fig tree must have been saying something to Him. It had leaves on it, but it didn't have no figs on it. And Jesus showed up hungry and the fig tree said, “I bet you think I've got some figs on me, but I ain't got no figs on me and I know you're hungry because I see you shaking, but I ain't got no figs on me. You still going to be hungry.” Jesus answered it and said, “Well then, no man will eat fruit of thee hereafter.” See, things will talk to you” (Creflo Dollar, Feb. 9, 1999)

My Bible says in response to the tree having no fruit He (Jesus) spoke to it. Because from afar it looked like it had fruit but when he near he found no fruit. He wasn’t carrying on a conversation with something that has no consciousness! This is beyond silly. In the word faith movement people speak to mountains literally, wallets and anything that gets in their way. Is our mouth connected to our abundance in life? What if you can’t speak? Hmm, then I guess you get nothing.

The success stories are numerous, “The shingles fell off my roof one time, I said that ain’t happening no more. Newsman talking about this storm getting ready to come and it was black and nasty outside, the wind was blowing and the tree, I had a tree that needed to be cut. That thing wasn’t going to fall. Not on my stuff. I went outside and said in the name of Jesus, I command this storm to turn and it will not hurt my property. My neighbors out saying “that fools standing on the porch again.” I’m going to tell you what, trees fell but they knew the boundary of my house. Today, you can go in the back and trees fell but they stopped at an inch of my fence. Wouldn’t come across my property” (Our Equality with God Through Righteousness 1/21/2001)

This frame of mind (which he thinks is the mind of Christ) also says “When you pray in tongues, don't only believe that you receive by faith, but go ahead and release your angels and have them to bring to pass what you prayed in the Holy Ghost that you don't even know what you said in your mind” (Sept.16, 1998 Every Word of God has Power pt. 4) So you can order angels around to do what you want without even knowing your saying. This is quite a spiritual fantasy Creflo has dreamed up.

In his ad at the end of one his programs people interviewed say “ The tongue gives me authority to command the forces of heaven” “It gives me the power to bind the forces of hell.”

Notice the “I’s,” It becomes obvious that Creflo along with the other word faith practitioners think they are in control of this world. The implication is that man has rulership over the world by speaking and not God. Amazing that one can think that not only angels are at their beck and call but so are the elements, truly they think they are gods in their heart to be able to do these things. And in case you doubt this is what he means “...I have equality with God, that’s my way of thinking.  Now somebody says, “Well, it's hard to think that way.” Well, keep saying it, “I have equality with God” talk yourself into it!  You've talked yourself into other things!”(Audio clip played on The Bible answer-man, July 10, 2003).

So one has to convince themselves of this, I remember a similar story where a serpent had to convince Eve of the same thing.

Creflo obviously is talking about the force of faith and not biblical faith, which is only directed toward God who will answer according to his own prerogative, in his time. For example if Moses went to the Red Sea before He was walking Israel through the desert would his faith have made it split open? Why not? Because there was a purpose to the miracle and it was God who did it in His timing and way. This is something the faith teachers seem to want to stay in the dark about.

This is clearly a methodology that figures God out. Even though God says in Isa.55:8-9: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.” “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” In the word faith philosophy their thoughts and ways becomes the same as God’s.

Why would people call on the Lord for their deliverance in situation, and instead use their faith to be released. One only needs to read the book of Acts to see Peter did not release himself out of jail neither did Paul.

But according to Creflo it has to be spoken for it to work!

Creflo is actually changing the gospel saying that this is the way to be born again, learn to act in faith? But it’s not Biblical faith but a force. So convince a sinner to have this force and he gets the same results. What a message! Its being born again that changes ones heart. It is for this very reason one can have a statement of faith that is orthodox and then teach otherwise and contradict it.

And what are the do’s that Creflo says not to do? According to the Bible it is repent, believe in the gospel, in Christ. Change is NOT by the law of faith as he presents. Then it becomes our force of faith not Christ that is necessary for the new birth and living a spiritual life. Christ is the Beginning and end of OUR FAITH, not faith itself.

Creflo states: “Were so scared of religion that we have allowed it to rob us of who we really are, once you begin to realize it your GOD’S children and your little gods in this planet, then your not going to put up with death your not going to put up with shortage, your not going to put up with being broke your not going to put up with this ___ mentality your not going to put up with demons and devils your not going to put up with nothing but the good life once you realize who you are as long as you walk around here thinkin’ that your just mere men mere powerless men that have no authority then you’ll be subject to whatever the devil puts in your life, but when you start acting like who you are and the devil shows up in the wilderness experiences of your life then you’ll do just like Jesus GET BEHIND ME SATAN FOR I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD. Halleluyah I have a authority over you glory to God.” (April 17, 2002 Changing your World LeSea Broadcasting)

Satan would be very happy if we repeated the same lie he fed to Eve. But Jesus did not say THIS, he said to worship and serve God only. Creflo seems to think He is God just like Jesus is God and teaches his audience that they too are gods. To say I AM THE LORD YOUR GOD to Satan is blasphemy.

“We like him just a little lower see he was there for us first and he poured us out of himself so were a little lower, a little lower than who? Then el eloheem – the God and creator of all physical things now the implication here is that like the God and creator of all physical things you and I, we can be like el eloheem. What? Yea, create some physical things somebody says hush you mouth! Well come back to Genesis”, and he goes on to make a case by twisting the word beyond recognition (April 16, 2002 Changing your world LeSea Broadcasting).

Creflo explains his godlike powers “I’m a little Jesus and I need to start carrying myself like the most high god, He is the most high God. I’ve been made a little lower than him, I’m a little God on this planet what do you thinks gonna happen when all this is over with, the Fathers gonna take ya and all of those unfinished planets out there hallelujah hallabasha hallabosha, hey since you learned how to operate on the earth, you learned how to talk to fig trees you learn how to mountains you learn how to cast out devils you learn how to heal the sick your learning how to raise the dead Halleluyah. The father is not finished with you yet hallelujah...” What do you thinks gonna happen when God almighty declares I want you to create a universe, I want you to speak to these worlds and like I said light be you say light be, like I say let there be a firmament in the midst of the firmament you do the same thing you are my sons and daughters bless god I share with you my authority I share with you my name, I share with you my spirit I share with you my power, start acting like my children (people cheer) (April 17, 2002 Changing your world LeSea Broadcasting)

“When you realize that you are made in the image of God and step out in your righteousness, you will see the miraculous take place. Because you are a son of God, the same anointing that rests on Jesus abides in you. If Jesus raised the dead, so can you. It's time to become skillful in the proper use of the Father's power and do the works that Jesus did! Raising the Dead…No Problem! (Creflo’sWebsite)

“This confession is a higher way. If you could see those words and where their going to and what they’re doing, if you could actually see it then you believe it but can’t see words because they are spiritual but when, when God released his words look what we got, an entire planet.”

Creflo says not only did God create a planet but “You can create with your words, create healing with your words, create circumstances and situations with your words” If one reads the Bible correctly they will find that it does not say God spoke the planet into being for it was there before the 6 days of creation. There are 10 statements God makes of “let there be” but He does many other things without speaking. He gave man life as He took Eve out of man and made a woman, he didn’t speak her into existence. So this idea that God has to speak everything into existence is just false. He can blink his eye and make something if he wanted to. Gen.1:19 tells us that all the creatures were made from the ground just as man was. There was no speaking for each one.

However Creflo has a different explanation. “God made the physical bodies of the animals out of the ground. But they didn’t live, until Adam called them…. “I’m training a god of the earth. I got to teach him how to do what I do. You going to have authority over these animals. There’s going to be a reason why you have authority over these animals. Because they won’t live until you call em.’ So like I formed a physical body out of the dust of the ground and called you into existence. Now, come on son, let Me show you how to do what I do. Call it. And Adam said Buffalo! A buffalo jumped up….he’s breathing life into that which he has authority over” (Creflo Dollar April 16, 2002 Changing your world LeSea Broadcasting also Our Equality with God Through Righteousness 1/21/2001)

My Bible says in Gen.2:19 God brought the animals to Adam for him to name them as they were alive “And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” Creflo is so far off the chart with being godlike that he Can’t seem to read the Scripture correctly. He is tainted with his word faith teaching. Of course one can see in the video he is under the influence of a spirit giving him new revelation. Adam did not give life to the creatures anymore than he did to Eve. Furthermore Gen.1:24-25 states God said: “Let the earth bring forth the living creatures according to its kind, cattle and creeping thing and the beast of the earth made the beast.” These creatures were alive before Adam was made. Creflo changes the Genesis record to fit into his word faith theology of mans authority over all things attributing life of creatures God himself gave life to. This concept intertwines with everything he does as he explains, “I know how to build buildings now. Because I understand God’s way of doing what he does I don’t need a miracle to build a building I don’t care how much it cost. I don’t care how much it cost. Since that building is up we purchased a mall getting to purchase another one and getting to purchase the whole street cause were gonna own the whole street so we can start telling them what we want to do instead of them telling us what they gonna do.” (‘97) (cheers) He boasts again “I know how God operates and how he does what he does.” Really! One can only wonder whom he referring to with such grandiose boasts such as these.

He explains it like this, “Everything that God has made. He has given man authority over His handiwork. even the moon….”God made another speaking spirit”. The actual meaning there “He made another speaking spirit”

You are an exact duplicate of the image of God and God is a speaking spirit. And He said let us make another speaking spirit. … God took a reflection of Himself and put it in a physical body formed out of the dust and gave him authority of all physical things on the planet.” (Our Equality with God Through Righteousness 1/21/2001)

If we are God or at least Adam and he sinned then God can sin as well.

Creflo’s concept of speaking words that he calls faith seem to make things happen “I know what I'm talking about, I'm qualified to preach what I'm preachin' tonight. I am qualified to say what I'm sayin' tonight. Somebody says how are you qualified? You are sitting in a building. That manifested because of so great faith.” (10/4 /99, Lesea broadcasting). In other words He spoke it. So Creflo got his building not because of God but attributes it to the power of his belief, his words. Mr. Dollar is enamored by his own powerful words of faith, he attributes everything he has by his own hands, or mouth to be more specific.

What does God have to on this? Jer. 9:23-24: “Thus says the LORD: “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches; But let him who glories glory in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For in these I delight,” says the LORD.”

“The lord cautioned me one time when I was talking to someone one time about aids and stuff like that. He said don’t you conceive. (Creflo) what are you talking about. (God) Don’t you ever go around and say your getting old because its not what you do all the time that causes conception its what you do one time that causes conception. It don’t take but one time to get pregnant.” That’s interesting because Creflo and all the rest of the faith teachers tell everyone to repeat it over and over again, keep on believing for it even if its years to get their promise. I guess with his faith speaking he can get things really quickly. Notice that God is telling him that he gets what he wants and he (God) has nothing to do with it.

Considering Creflo believes the Holy Spirit is another function of God how does this square “the Holy Spirit has been anointed to be a helper, helpers do not initiate the action helpers only aide and assist the action. But if you don’t do nothing he can’t do nothing, because there ain’t nothing to help.”