James Spinti has discovered that the ancient Akkadians had their own version of the ‘prosperity Gospel’! That’s right- there’s nothing new under the sun- not even the nonsense spewed by Paula White, Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, and Oprah Winfrey!
One piece of evidence that a supernatural connection empowering causative speech lies with the speech itself is the attention given to precise performance. Instructions are quite specific: certain oral rites are to be repeated three or seven times and accompanied by particular acts or gestures. As Sørensen argues, this emphasis on precision indicates that at least a degree of supernatural power (or as he puts it, “magical agency”) inheres in the speech itself. The speech is being used as a “sort of material object” required for ritual efficacy, rather than (merely) as communication. Stereotypy and special prosodic features such as alliteration provide further evidence for the use of speech as a tool.—Forestalling Doom page 89
Congratulations, ‘prosperity’ deceivers- you have very ancient roots (even though you wouldn’t know the difference between Akkadian and Sumerian if your life depended on it).
Zwinglius Redivivus 