Date of Award

7-15-2010

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Teaching & Learning

First Advisor

Elizabeth Harris-Behling

Abstract

This dissertation takes for its topic the prosperity gospel, begun in the mid-nineteenth century and still thriving today. The prosperity ministries that cropped up in Oklahoma and Texas emphasize scriptures such as "ask what you Will and it shall be done" (John 15.7). They teach that if you have faith, whatever you ask of God Will be given to you. This novel explores what happens to a group of young adults in a small-town Arkansas church who follow the evangelist Reverend Elijah P. Dunlap's prosperity teaching. Weekly meetings of the Believers form the structure for the novel. The group's members have asked God for a variety of things: a size-eight body, salvation for a husband, a red Cadillac, a baby, freedom from epilepsy, health for a child, and furniture from Montgomery Wards'. Despite setbacks, they refuse to succumb to what they view as the "devil's tricks." They carry their blind faith to its inevitable end: a child's death; a mental break down; and a revelation on the part of Rosie, the main character, who recognizes that within her family lies all that is most important to her.

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