Not satisfied to accept the secondhand research of anonymous critics, I decided to investigate the matter for myself. This report, first written in December 1995, is the result. In making this information available, my only interest is in letting the truth be known. Given the widespread dissemination of the plagiarism charge, there is no honorable benefit to be gained by avoiding the issue. I wish no harm to Mr. Hanegraaff or anyone else. However, I do believe that Mr. Hanegraaff ought to be held accountable by his pastor, his Board, and his financial supporters. These responsible parties need to decide, based on the evidence, whether Mr. Hanegraaff has indeed committed plagiarism, and if so, what they ought to do about it.

Robert Bowman Jr. critically examines the movement's origins and teachings, distinguishing acceptable Pentecostal practices from distorted offshoots. He insists that the word-faith movement is 'neither soundly orthodox nor thorougly heretical' and encourages charismatic believers to pursue a rich, mature, and biblical sound Pentecostalism.'' Not only does The Word-Faith Controversy  examine the founders and the message of the movement, it goes beyond the health and wealth promise to uncover what have become the most controversial aspects - what the movement's teachings on faith, words, and confession imply about God, Jesus Christ, human beings, and the nature of the Christian faith.