New form of Christianity religion "prosperity gospel" teaches "God is the gateway to wealth."

[kittykitty]

From the bible belt of S. Central PA:

(snip)......"Prosperity teaching provides a sacred sanction for personal greed, obsessive materialism and unchecked narcissism, which is contrary to Biblical teachings. This new form of Christianity religion called "prosperity gospel" teaches that "God is the gateway to wealth."

It reflects a change in teaching from the spirit of giving to one about teaching that poor people can find riches if they believe in God. Prosperity gospel teaching has abandoned social justice for the poor. Being material driven, it provides the excuse for the "me" generation to justify greed.

Churches that spend millions on building projects while joining the Chamber of Commerce remain consistent with prosperity teaching. As churches acquire mortgages, "poor people" become just another program. As some churches build their kingdoms, less time is spent on nurturing and uplifting the poor. The leaders become executives.

Many of these pastors face a mission crisis. They face one of two options: They sell their soul,"......(snip)

http://www.publicopiniononline.com/opinion/ci_5034900

[mark414]

1. i think this is what that joel osteen guy preaches

isn't this related to what is known as dominionism?

[Rosemary2205]

2. This really not "new"

20 years ago there were mainstream southern churches preaching the "name it and claim it" gospel - which is really the exact same thing as the "prosperity gospel", it's just over a 20 year span it's been morphed into an even bigger disgusting giant of scum.

[Jed Dilligan]

3. I think this has been a subtext in many Protestant sects

since the Reformation.

[kineneb]

4. uh, you must'a got the wrong Jesus, guys

don't know where they found this one, but not in the Synoptic Gospels... its right in there about rich people not getting into heaven any more than camels not going through eyes of needles... oh, and that line in the Beatitudes about blessed are the poor- didn't see no "blessed are the rich" anywhere...

the dude was a socialist!

[damntexdem]

5. It ain't new. It's as old as rich Christians.

And even teaching it to the poor isn't new. The only thing that might be new is the number of poor who fall for it.

[eShirl]

6. isn't that how Jim Bakker got in trouble

other than the church secretary that is

[tularetom]

7. Pie in the sky when you die isn't enough anymore?

Now they have to promise instant gratification because the dumshit fundies cannot even grasp the concept of an afterlife.

[irislake]

8. Forgive me for saying this but

the "God wants you to be rich" thing is so danged American. There --- I said it!

[believerinchrist]

16. Amen!

[WinkyDink]

9. Well, clearly this is perverse. Christ's own words---camel/needle; widow/mite;

clothe/naked---belie these sinful (pride, avarice) preachings.

JO will not meet Jesus, but he might meet Mammon.

[Kelly Rupert]

10. Matthew 19:21-24

Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

[Cleita]

11. Yes, I have known those who believe in this "cargo cult"

version of Christianity. Jesus did say in the gospels though that it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven.

[Coyote_Bandit]

12. Popularized by Oral Roberts preacing in a tent in the 40's and 50's

Definitely not new. Here in the armpit of the Bible Belt prosperity has become the measure of spirituality. And there are lots of preachers teaching this cr$p.

Utterly. Disgusting. Revolting. Not. Christian. Not. At. All.

[iverglas]

13. it's really very old

It's Puritan, in fact:
http://depts.clackamas.cc.or.us/banyan/1.1/moss3.htm

In his book, Wayward Puritans, Kai T. Erikson, tells more of what it was like for a Puritan who was uncertain of his or her spiritual status:

Life was a long and often painful search for signs of grace; the seeker had to explore every corner of his own consciousness for signs of conversion, weighing his own thoughts, testing his own moods, probing his every impulse, permitting himself no relief from this self scrutiny for fear that sin would seep into his soul when his guard was down. (51)

In his journal, Massachusetts’s governor, John Winthrop reported how the gnawing uncertainty about one’s salvation could erupt into terrible violence:

A woman of the Boston congregation, having been in much trouble of mind about her spiritual estate, at length grew into utter desperation, and could not endure to hear of any comfort…so as one day she took her little infant and threw it into a well, and then came into the house and said, now she was sure she would be damned, for she had drowned her child… (Erikson 51-52)

... Thus the Puritans made a covenant with God to live according to his will in return for a divine mandate in the New World. ...

... Individual citizens felt a tremendous responsibility for keeping themselves free from sin so that the entire community could be blessed. Illness, disease, crop failure, extreme weather, and Indian attacks were not thought to be the results of bad luck, but rather, the just rewards of sin. Health and prosperity were seen as a clear indication of God’s blessing upon the obedient and righteous. Everything and anything could be seen as a sign or omen.

Because of the fear generated by the belief in predestination, Puritans put a great emphasis on rooting out the sin in their society. They became suspicious not only of their own weaknesses, but also of the weaknesses of their neighbors. ...

It's absolutely ingrained in the USAmerican psyche. It's one of the huge differences between you folks, collectively, and the rest of us out here. Combine it with 18th century liberalism, and you get why we have universal health care and you don't, just f'r instance. Our ancestral Christians saw themselves as their siblings' keepers; yours saw themselves as their judges and jailkeepers. ;)

Wayward Puritans really is a must read. (My copy is from a 1970s sociology of deviance class, but it's in all the libraries.)

[Initech]

14. This gives an entirely new meaning to the phrase "selling your soul"...

:eyes:

[believerinchrist]

15. I hate to tell you this, but the prosperity message is not new.

It was really strong in the late 1970's and even then, it was just a ploy to rake in money for the different ministries. This is one reason I have a hard time with churches and ministries insisting that if a person doesn't give a tithe to their ministry--which is a "good field" (says who?)--then he/she is robbing God. I am thankful that my husband and I did not go very far into this gross misrepresentation of the gospel. There are a few places to give money to Christian or other worthy organizations where the money does go to people who have real needs.

[porphyrian]

17. I thought that was called "Amway." - n/t