Poking fun at the Prosperity Gospel
Posted on June 12th, 2008 by catalyst into the Prosperity Doctrine categoryHere's a fun article from a columnist in Michigan, mocking televanglists and their "prosperity gospel".
It's not a gospel you'll find after Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. It isn't tucked in near Revelation. You won't find it anywhere in the Bible. The basic idea is that God will grant financial and spiritual wealth to the faithful. What a deal. Just really, really, really believe and take the rewards to the bank.
After all, doesn't God help those who help themselves? No, wait. That's not in the Bible. Benjamin Franklin said that, and while he accomplished a lot, I don't think Franklin contributed anything to the Scriptures.
So far, the prosperity gospel seems to work well for the televangelists who are cashing in on all the stuff they sell and the Social Security checks little old ladies are donating to their churches. I'm not sure how prosperous the donors are getting.
Good point. You'd think after over 10 years of practicing the prosperity gospel, the members of City Bible church would all be filthy rich and overwhelmingly happy. But uh, you know, I think they're all pretty much living the same lives they were living a decade ago. And there's nothing wrong with that. But if you're not getting rich, then you've just spent the last 10 years of your life, listening to one boring repetitive sermon after another.
I keep remembering what Jesus told that rich guy: "Sell everything you have and give the proceeds to the poor. Then follow me." The rich guy declined.
The prosperity preachers apparently don't include that story in their sermons.
They don't. They also don't include the verse about camels going through needles. But then, the prosperity gospel isn't about the Bible. It's about the pastors preaching it.
Whatev. I really just enjoy the fact that the mainstream media is picking up on the "prosperity doctrine" and pretty much coming to the same conclusion that we all did four years ago. The prosperity doctrine is a sham. And a mockery. It's a smamockery!
RSS feed for posts
June 12th, 2008 at 6:32 am
With much of the Charismatic movement, I am always trying to figure out how to cut the fat and keep the lean. I believe that God wants to financially prosper his people. I believe, in general, that more money can bring more ministry. At the same time, I do not believe that God prospering me financially should have much to do about what kind of car I drive, what neighborhood I live in or what kind of house I have. I also think that more money for ministry does not mean that we need more and more fancy buildings and decorations in the church or exorbitant paychecks for church staff.
I guess I was set straight on what the blessing of God was not pretty quickly. The first church that I was involved in as an adult was not a prosperity church per se, but people were always excited about how God was blessing them. My wife and I realized that God’s blessing kind of became a keeping up with the Joneses kind of thing. We also realized that we weren’t super blessed each month with a $400 car payment and barely enough money to put gas in it.
My pastor growing up said that prosperity is having enough to pay your bills, give to God and have a little bit left over. Using that as a definition, by controlling my spending I can create prosperity. We sold our house to cut down on our expenses. My wife’s car died last month and my mechanic has laughed for 2 years that my car has not died. So, we are not getting rich but I know that God is blessing and prospering us. I have more freedom to give both inside the church and out.
I guess what I am getting at is that the some of the principles of prosperity preaching can make sense if they are not all about materialism and treating giving like an investment vehicle.
June 12th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Fred, why do you believe this? What Biblical backing is there to support this view?
Isn't the grace God has given us enough prosperity? Even if we have nothing else…we have more than enough.
June 12th, 2008 at 8:04 am
In all do respect Fred Flinstone, I think God is glorified when some of His people live “abased” and when some live “abound”, some are “poor” and some are “rich”. I’m not convince that God wants to prosper all his people financially to do more ministry. Sometimes, as the saying goes “Less is More!” I think the greatest witness of all is to not prosper and yet be totally satisfied in God, what a witness! Remember, the majority of Jesus’ disciples were martyred which help move the gospel forward in the culture. There is a lot of holes in the “Prosperity Gospel” and the “Poverty Gospel”, I am not advocating either, but this idea that God can do more if we have more is absurd. The only thing God wants us to have more of is Him. I mean Christianity under China’s Communistic regime and the war torn country of Africa have had considerably less than “prosperous” America and yet they far out pace us in Christian converts, go figure!
June 12th, 2008 at 8:10 am
Jesus and Paul only said we should be satisfied with clothes and food…and not to seek for more. Read 1 Timothy 6
June 12th, 2008 at 10:30 am
My post is pretty basic and does not fully explain where I am coming from. I knew I would probably have to write a few clarifying posts. However, what you can see in my personal story that I found God’s prosperity not in making more money but in downsizing my life. My prosperity is in not only being happy with what I have but actually being happy with less.
Craig used 1 Timothy 6. Here are a few quotes from the passage
“who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”
“People who want to get rich fall into temptation.”
“For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money”
I am not talking about being rich. I am talking about a financial prosperity that works in a grass hut. I am not talking about a search for more cash. The Bible says that God will supply all my need. I don’t need a cell phone. I don’t need cable TV. I don’t need a big house. I need a car but we really don’t NEED 2 cars. If I have something left over at the end, then I can help people who don’t have all that they need.
The people that I work with need stuff. They don’t have all that they need. You know what can help them get what they need (food, clothing, education, housing)? MONEY. Yes, people can come to know Christ without money. At the same time, providing a holistic ministry that addresses people’s needs takes money. The more money we have access to the more opportunity we have to serve people in tangible ways. I am not saying “more money opens up more ministry” is a scriptural truth but a pragmatic one.
I was going to talk about my family and all the other ways I prosper in the first post but suffice it to say I am blessed in many ways. I have found that as I am willing to be content with less my overall blessings have increased.
RP: I will work up some scriptures for you later.
You ask this: “Isn’t the grace God has given us enough prosperity?” I think you set up a bit of a false dichotomy there. Or maybe your are assuming that some things. I am not saying that if your needs aren’t being met then you are not saved or honoring God or that something is missing from your life. I am not saying that God owes us anything. Yet, He still does stuff for us. It is like saying, “You have God’s grace, so who cares about your anger, lust, drug addictions or the like.” In those situations don’t we receive grace through those situations understanding that Christ desires something more? We would not argue that with the weight and sins that beset us, why should we do it with money?
Again, I am not talking about getting rich. I will most likely be unemployed beginning in August. That will have very little affect on the prosperity in my life because I will simply live even more simply. I will eat, be clothed and have enough to be as generous as I can.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Hi Fred,
I know what you are saying. I went to TCC and read prosperity with a purpose, but the problem with the whole idea of making money for ministry is that the ones teaching this are living in multi-million dollar houses and they do play on covetousness to make millions of dollars for themselves (pastors of the city church). They abuse the scriptures to make tons and tons of money off people who want to serve the Lord.
I think what you say is pretty much right on about using less and being a minimalist. You sound very grounded in what you are saying. I can’t remember, do you attend the city church or a similar church?
June 12th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Post-HS, I attended or was on staff at MFI style churches for about 12 years. I was never a member of TCC or BT/CBC. I know a bunch of those guys. Jude F from TCC preached at my ordination service.
I am not currently at an MFI church. To be honest, I could still attend one but would not work for one.
June 12th, 2008 at 3:53 pm
All of the prosperity message is a joke. “Riches are a sign of my faithfulness to God” give me a break! Those Christians that become rich do so because that’s how God chose it to be. But they are no better, wiser, or more faithful then those that God has chosen to be poor. Bottom line is God just wants you to be chosen. Don’t agree? Then how can you explain the massive amounts of blessing and growth happening in places where there is no money and the total destruction and downfull of places where there is?
Would I love to be rich? Hell yeah. Do I think being rich will make me a “better” Christina? Probably not. I’m with Cat though. Glad to see the mainstream media calling these bafoons out to the carpet. I just hope more Christians will wake up and speak out against such a false doctrine that is dividing the American church.
June 12th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
Reformed Pope:
My perspective can primarily be explained through 2 Cor 9:1-14 when the context is taken into account.
Here is another list of scriptures:
Psalm 23
Psalm 37:25
Ps 35:27
Ps 34:10
Ps 112
Most of the proverbs scriptures that personify wisdom make reference to the accumulation of wealth, such as proverbs 8 and 3.
2 Corinthians 9
Philippians 4:19
3 John 1:2
Deut 8:18
Prov 8:18-21
Then one has to ask how much of the info in Deut. 28 applies to today.
This is just a list. It is not a perfect list. A few of them need a bit of explanation but the point is that there are more than 1 or 2 random scriptures that tell us that God wants us to have our needs met. I will refrain from using the word prosper because my definition is different from most prosperity preachers.
June 12th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
An American prosperity related story.
A friend of mine did youth ministry in Nairobi, Kenya. Through a series of events Chris Tucker came to his youth ministry while he was promoting the original “Rush Hour”. One of the Africans asked him to share. He began to put together a quicky 3 point message. The problem is that he really had no points. He came up with two then was stuck when he got to number 3. In the end he came up with “get a job”. The translators were at a loss because there were no jobs for those kids. There weren’t jobs for the adults. My friend said that is was like a comedy movie where the translators said something completely different from what Chris Tucker said.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:06 am
Far be it from me to ignite another flame war of sovereignty vs. free will, but this statement seems a bit ridiculous to me. You seem to be decrying the doctrine of the Prosperity gospel, but you use the same arguments that its proponents are using. Which is it?
People don’t get magically rich or wealthy. There has never been a clearer and pragmatic example of cause and effect than your own wallet. To say that God fated certain people to be wealthy is to discount the fact that they most likely earned their wealth in some fashion. Even if you are born with a head start into a wealthy family, you still have to have the smarts to hang onto it and make it work for you. Most lottery winners fritter away their riches because they don’t know how to handle money. Those that do know how to handle money are the ones that are usually the most wealthy. It has very little to do with God or fate or luck or tithing. Making and keeping money is entirely up to you and to say otherwise is superstition. I’m tired of the Christian voodoo that tries to mystify something that can be explained in two words: hard work. Blaming God or the Devil is irresponsible.
June 13th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Wow dog, you have a lot of agression towards wealth…..did you grow up poor or something?
Think you took what I said a little out of context but that’s cool, I get where your coming from. I belive in hard work as much as the next guy…but God is completely soverign in my book, so if He don’t want me to be rich, guess what? I aint getting rich! Period!
June 13th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Ex Slave, Sorry if it seemed like a personal attack. I realized after how much of a rant that was. I do believe in God’s sovereignty ultimately in the grand scheme of things, but unless God specifically tells me with a thunderous shout from the sky “FICM, YOU SHALL FOREVER BE POOR AND ALL YOUR LABOR SHALL BE IN VAIN” I’m going to assume that he wants me to work hard and use my wealth to take care of my family, my church, and the poor and needy He sends my way. The only time Jesus talked about wealth in the positive sense was in the parable of the “talents”. Jesus used a practical example to show us that God expects us to work hard and multiply what we do have - and I believe that means working hard in every aspect of our lives including finances. To presume that your poor because God wants you to be that way sounds a lot like the man who buried his talent because he was afraid of what to do with it. The bottom line is that I’m just tired of lazy Christians blaming God for their troubles when they need to get off their butts and do something. (This is not to discount those who are truly poor or disadvantaged, like those in developing countries who literally have nothing.)
June 17th, 2008 at 11:12 pm
I couldn’t agree more. And not just Christians but all people. We are the richest country in the world but we are so lazy that very few of us capitalize on th opportunity in our own back yards. If you knew me personally you would quickly learn that I am all about hard work and dedication. I am still in my 20s and have worked my ass of to earn an advanced degree, save up a lot of cash, and set up my future. Anyway, as much as you are tired of lazy Christians, I am tired of prosperity Christians. I wish these people would just admit they hunger and thirst for wealth rather then hide behind the guise of “God is blessing me because I’m so good and faithful.” I could manipulate a lot of people into writing me checks every month too if I really wanted to, I just don’t have the heart to do it. All the best.
June 18th, 2008 at 8:08 pm
The incredible harm done to Saints, who eagerly desiring to serve God, are sucked into this flesh-feeding spiritually empty teaching is pitiable. A young man who works where I do is distraught because of his inability to buy a new home for his family. Instead of counseling him to be greatful for what God has given him, his “Pastor” simply tells him to give more and “say the right words”. Truly sickening. Love you guys and all the Saints.