Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved

In her discussions of the prosperity gospel, Bowler refers to magical thinking as “circular reasoning,” meaning it is an illogical, closed belief system that does not allow what does not adhere to its model. Bowler notes that prosperity gospel adherents lock into a simple, unquestioned syllogism: God wants worshippers to perfect their faith and will grant special favor in return. Bowler refers to this outlook with the simple formulation often used to describe such beliefs: “Name it and claim it” (83). According to this belief system, any achievement or benefit is “evidence” of God’s “favor,” while failure to experience positive outcomes implies a lack of faith, an unwillingness to claim what God wants to provide, or perhaps unconfessed sins.

When Bowler loses strength in her arms, many of the prosperity gospel believers she interacts with attempt to heal her. When she is not healed, these believers judge that she is imperfect in her Christian faith, that she has unconfessed wrongs, or that a demon might attacking her. Ultimately, the weakness turns out to be a congenital problem with her shoulder joints that she overcomes through physical therapy. After The New York Times publishes Bowler’s essay on her illness, she receives similar prosperity comments from the “Solution’s People,” people who chastise her for not accepting the healing God wants to provide.