One of the staples of religious television is the prosperity gospel preacher. He or she may come in different guises, but there are two things, at least, in common with all of them. They all flaunt a conspicuous consumerism - expensive clothes and jewelry drip from them - and they all proclaim that God is just waiting to shower you with the same. From my perspective, they all are just hoping that ypou and I will buy into their message and send them money so that they can continue in the lifestyle to which they have become accustomed.
From a story in the Mobile Press-Register written by Roy Hoffman comes a debunking of such belief. Karen Spears Zacharias has written a book entitled, Will Jesus Buy Me a Double-Wide?
Ms. Zacharias is a woman of "deep faith and strong conviction" according to the article. But, she has little good to say about these purveyors of the "get rich now from God" philosophy. Quoting from the article:
"The folksy Osteen," she writes in her book, "comes across as harmless but the gospel he's selling isn't. The wounded in this world are dying and despairing by the thousands while prosperity preachers are offering up home-brewed remedies of Entitlement theology. These charlatans are selling salve to the sick when salvation is what people really need to fix what's ailing them."
She also takes issue with interpretations of Bruce Wilkinson's monumental bestseller, "The Prayer of Jabez," that prayer being, in part: "Oh, that you would bless me, indeed, and enlarge my territory."
The "increase in territory," Zacharias says, is about the spiritual presence in one's heart, not financial domain.
These preachers tap into the same human need and hope that those who write about the laws of attraction in the universe by which a person can alter reality in order to attain wealth. Instead of praying, these other folks suggest that all one need is the power of positive thinking, which, come to think of it, is like most folks prayers.
I, obviously, disagree with the theological approach of these prosperity peddlers. I would not bother disagreeing with them were it not for the folks who jeopardize their families and themselves by sending them money or by acting on the promises made. There are some who suggest that a portion of the mortagage crisis was created by people acting on the belief that God wanted them to have a bigger house than they could afford. I would wish that these ministers who have made a great living from the contributions of folks who could ill afford to give would give away their fortunes and provide real help to the poor and struggling.
What do you think?
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Prosperity Gospel Debunked
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
3 comments:
Bruce Wilkinson, the author of the book "The Prayer of Jabez," said the same thing Karen Spears Zacharias says. In his book, he never advocated using the Jabez prayer merely for financial blessing or prosperity, always as a way to pray for an increase in opportunties to serve God.
We had a pretty good discussion of this once in book group - enough money is liberating and too much money ( goods, etc) is enslaving. Those who have very little and cannot sustain their lives without a constant focus on money for necessities spend much time thinking about money - but the other end of the spectrum results in a constant focus on getting more and more and more. Would that we all could have just enough so we could focus on other aspects of life.
The Apostle Paul told Titus to ". . .rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith" (1:13). It is needful for the offender as much as it is for sheep. It is the responsibility of us that have the oversight of the flock of God. That is why I wrote a book called, A Shepherd's Trial: Feeding or Fleecing the Flock of God? http://www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/AShepherdsTrial-FeedingOfFleecingTheFlockOfGod.html
Post a Comment