16 March 2007
Book Review: Becoming a Millionaire God’s Way by C. Thomas Anderson
182 pages, published by FaithWords in 2004, 2006.
I had such high hopes for this book. I had been walking through Barnes and Noble when I spotted it, and decided to give it a try (and by give it a try, I mean: remember title, go home, request from library). I should have known what to expect. With a title like Becoming a Millionaire God’s Way, it’s not like the author is trying to cloud the purpose and intent of the book.
You see, this book is basically a HOWTO manual on the following topics: how to think like a millionaire, how to become motivated and disciplined in your pursuit of wealth, and primers on the first steps to riches. Along the way, we learn a good deal of the theology that the author claims supports this line of thinking. More on that later. For those familiar with the work, its basically an attempt to extend the principles in Rich Dad, Poor Dad (by Robert T. Kiyosaki) and Christianize them. In fact, the forward is actually written by Mr. Kiyosaki.
The Good
Despite the bashing that is to come, there was actually a great deal of content that was truthful and informative. For example, he makes the point that while people often assume that it is the rich that are enslaved to their money… poor people are just as enslaved, often being tied to a job they hate and forced to do as their told, simply for money. Although it doesn’t exactly prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that God wants us to be bajillionaires, it is worth mentioning and considering. Here’s a quote from that section:
We love the nobility of declaring, “I don’t do it for the money.”…The moment our paycheck is short a couple of dollars, however, the superficiality of that kind of thinking comes blatantly to the forefront. We get upset. We complain about the stupidity of the payroll department. We attack our boss. We tell everyone who will listen so that they will know we have been wronged. p. 18, 19
Additionally, he shares the basics of a budget, how compound interest works, the dangers of credit, and several other lessons on managing money. It’s not exactly ground-breaking, it does provide a good primer on the basics of money.
The Bad
While the book did have its high points, Anderson again and again pushes the notion that the church wants everyone to live in poverty, even saying that, “…the church has become so accustomed to thinking poverty is spiritual that it affects everything we do.” (p.35). While I’m sure there are groups that push this belief on their adherents, it is foolishness to try and claim that the church as a whole has tried to force this on its people, especially in modern times. As if this wasn’t baseless enough, he points out the absurdity of this claim only to try and convince the reader that being rich is obviously the only alternative.
Another one of his points that he assumes as fact is that all churches and ministries need large amounts of cash to operate (which is why we need oodles of rich Christians). I’m sure the all the churches in extremely poor regions of the world find this to be a wake-up call.
The Ugly
Throughout the book I held out in hopes that there would be a thorough discussion of greed and giving, given that this was a Christian book about money (I take that back: a financial book with Christianity tacked on). Being that we dwell in the most materially rich nation in the world, it seems that at least applying a chapter to these two crucial topics would be necessary. While Anderson does discuss each of these topics, neither is given more than a cursory paragraph or two. Though I by no means am judging the author’s own heart and motivation with regard to his own money, it nevertheless seems that writing a book about God wanting you to be rich and neglecting to thoroughly discuss giving… is foolishness.
Here is the book’s main discussion of greed:
The desire for things is nothing more than greed. You can have a passion for wealth that is entirely based on greed. The comments in the Bible that sound anti-wealth are all directed at greed.
God wants His people to prosper so they can be generous, not greedy. A passion to gain wealth so that you can give it away is a very godly thing. Your passion should be to leave an inheritance for your children’s children. If your passion is rooted in greed, you need to bring it under control and redirect it. One good way to change it is by giving things away. Generosity will cure you quickly. p. 36, 37 [emphasis added]
There is one additional passage on p. 70, but it adds nothing noteworthy to this passage.
Before I continue… I’d just like to try using some other sins and virtues in this highlighted section to see how they work out, and how close to reality they are:
If your passion is rooted in lust, you need to bring it under control and redirect it. One good way to change it is by not looking at porn or pretty girls. Purity will cure you quickly.
If your passion is rooted in murderous rage, you need to bring it under control and redirect it. One good way to change it is to be a little more cheery. Joy will cure you quickly.
If your passion is rooted in deceitfulness, you need to bring it under control and redirect it. One good way to change it is to tell the truth more often. Honesty will cure you quickly.
I could go on… but you get the point. It’s not that I don’t believe that generosity is one of the keys to becoming freed from greed (woot rhyme!), it’s his flippant discussion of it that riles me up.
I take back what I said about giving only receiving a cursory paragraph or two. There is some other discussion of giving (and none of greed), but it comes up in the most self-centered of ways. Perhaps this is a common belief in the Word of Faith movement, but Anderson again and again notes that tithing is really just a form of insurance for your belongings, a way to ensure that whatever you own God will protect it and whatever you do God will prosper it.. He nearly implies that this should be our main purpose for tithing! Quote:
Our tithe is that which belongs to God in the first place… …When we give, we protect all the rest of our possessions. On the basis of the tithe, God rebukes the enemy for us so that he cannot touch anything that belongs to us (Mal. 3:11). The tithe is an insurance policy. p.21 [emphasis added]
The justification for this? A single passage in Malachi:
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. 11 I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit,” says the LORD Almighty.” Malachi 3: 10, 11
Anderson makes it clear again and again that he believes that tithing will obligate God to protect your stuff and prosper your actions. This makes sense with only the most skewed of thinking, and is especially entertaining given the fact that Anderson mentions this multiple times throughout the book with only the above passage to try and justify it. Here’s a good general rule: Try not to base large parts of your beliefs off of a single Bible verse.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, this book fails in one main way for me, when faced with the following assertion: If your theology doesn’t work in a war-torn, starving nation, then it doesn’t work at all.
I wouldn’t read this book. There are much better books for learning how to manage money, and certainly better books for learning how to gain wealth. There’s just too much foolishness and flat out deception throughout the book to make it worthwhile. And I didn’t even get into the part where Anderson presents his “evidence” that Jesus was a rich man.
5 Comments currently posted.
Casey says:
Eric says:
Heheh… yeah, here’s that quote.
“Maureen and I have done this for years. She might see a dress she loves. We claim that dress. It is hers. We have tithed and sown seed, so God is obligated to prosper whatever we touch. We claim the dress so no one else can buy it. Then we leave. A week later we come back and the dress has been marked down. We thank God for the dress and come back a week after that. It is down alittle more. We keep coming back until its down about 70%. Then we buy that $400 dress for $129.”
britt mooney says:
Good Lord, help us …
I particularly like your benchmark “if your theology doesn’t work in a war-torn, starving nation, then it doesn’t work at all.”
Nice.
peace.
Amanda says:
I am squirming in my seat as I read this! (not to mention yelling out things like “are you freakin kiding me!?” as I got closer to the end). I had actually been thinking about reading this book but now I’m glad you did it for me to save me my time and money. The sad thing is, there is probobly a lot of people who will read it, and buy into the distoration of truth inside it. If there is one thing that pisses me off (excuse my french!) it is people who take the Word of God and twists it to fit a certain idea that would ultimatly benefit our ’selfs’. By no means is God ever “obligated’ to give us the dress we ‘claimed’ if it is not His will. God is not a formula you can apply and always get the ned result to come out the way you want. How do they explain away sickness- disease- and death? I never hear them talk about that. Its always the good that happens. If they included these things into their equation they would quickly see that that formula doesn’t always work. Last time I checked, God was the one in control of the world- not us (and especially not by us simply speaking something so it will come true.) I’d even go so far as to say having a relationship with the Lord means asking Him what He wants (shocker) and not telling Him He’s going to do whatever you say. I know it may sound harsh, but last time I checked God was in charge.
shew…. ok. i think im done. 
CashMoneyJesus » Reviewing books is fun. says:
[…] The Four Spiritual Laws of Prosperity: A Simple Guide to Unlimited Abundance - but hey, the Christians can use the abundance word too. booya. “Gaines, a Unity minister, was once down-at-heel and wondering where the next meal was coming from, but now lives a life of luxury. She claims that to follow her example, readers need only put into practice four simple spiritual laws: tithe ten percent of all they earn or receive; set specific financial and spiritual goals; forgive others and themselves daily; and find and commit to a divine purpose.” huh, kinda reminds me of another book I read. […]
you also didn’t get into the part about “claiming” that dress you like in the store…and then waiting for God to put it on sale…or something like that.