A few days ago Marc Cortez wrote a post asking people to mention some of the worst events in the history of the church. One comment by Ryan Collins suggested that the prosperity gospel should be added to the list. I tend to agree with him.
Yet I know that there is a catch-22 in doing so. To some extent Christianity has been the common religion of some of the most wealthy and influential people groups for hundreds of years. If you have ever been to Vatican City, or if you have spent time watching TBN, you know that there is plenty of money going in and out of the hands of Christians.
Now much of the prosperity gospel here in the United States feeds on our greed. That being said, I am sure that there are many poor people who watch Creflo Dollar or Benny Hinn thinking that if these people are rich because of God then surely God can do the same for me. As a middle class white male who lives in a nice apartment, drives a nice car, works at a stable job, eats more than I need, and lives an overall comfortable life, what right do I have to tell the poor and the hungry not to listen to the preacher telling them that they too can live good lives?
I do say it in passing. I teach a class at my local church every Sunday and as I work through Scripture I often point out that our hope is in the resurrection life offered by Christ through the Spirit and therefore not in any guarantee of good health, wealth, and the like. Yet sometimes I fear hypocrisy.
Similarly, I hear that this prosperity gospel is being preached in poor areas of Africa and South America. I sense that when many impoverished people remain impoverished there will be some disenchantment with the Christian gospel that may cause people to never listen to another Christian preacher again. In the meantime, it seems a bit odd for me to ramble on and on about how misguided this “gospel” is when I just ate a cookie after a filling lunch, I am drinking coffee, I am wearing clean clothing, and I write this all on a computer while sitting in a building that protects me from the weather. On what grounds should I tell other Christians that God may not want them to have all that I do?
How do you wrestle with this tension? How do we well-off (some wealthy) Christians warn against the dangers of the prosperity gospel when it seems like Christianity has treated us well? Thoughts?
the archives near Emmaus 
This is a great post!
I have something I want to say, but it’s too long and I’m at work…
There’s a huge difference, Brian, in telling people they can have a better life, even wealth if they’d like, and making this a part of the Gospel message.
Is American Capitalism the Gospel? We see evidences of how ugly, selfish and greedy Capitalism can be. Is our prosperity all because of our faith or are there many other, more tangible factors that can be pointed to?
For me, we know that the call to Discipleship, is not a call to the American Dream. So in the same way I believe we need to be careful to wrap our politics and flag around the Cross, we should also be careful not to wrap our payrolls around the cross. Many non-Christians are wealthy. Many non-Christians are poor. Christ is the difference maker no matter our social status, and He’s probably more the reason some of the poorest among us live with more content and happiness than some of the riches among us.
Provocative topic… I’ll muse about this more…
@Kirei: I hope you’ll come on back after work to comment!
@James: I completely agree that (1) a better life is not inherently part of the gospel’s offer and (2) American capitalism is ugly. We see eye-to-eye here. What I am asking if whether or not those of us who are well to-do (and most American Christians are) have the right to denounce a message of prosperity preached to Christians who are needy?
In other words, does it come across as hypocritical for me to tell others that the God we share doesn’t necessarily want for them in this life what they see that I have?
Besides, being really grateful that you teach at our church (!), I am especially pleased that you have begun this discussion with personal evaluation, and kept your considerations of the issue of Christian wealth/wellness, etc, vs. the poor that we preach to, on a personal level. I am weary of group criticism (usually prefaced by statements about “THE Church today…” or, “The Church in the West…” or, The Church in America…”) but rarely of such a degree of courage as to actually name WHICH specific, local church one is criticizing, or WHICH particular pastor one is talking about. But you did that, and I appreciate it, Brian. But then you got right back to yourself.
Group generosity (from a Christian church, say) is very indistinct, nameless, and often ranks slightly higher than government assistance in the minds of its recipients, esp. in our neighborhood downtown. But…generosity, wrapped in real, time-proven friendship, is a powerful weapon against even the most hardened-toward-the-gospel hearts. When I’m not routinely being irresponsibly generous with my poor friends, it’s THEN that I start thinking about my salary compared to theirs, my vacations compared to the one’s they don’t take, my house, car, frequent dining out, etc. So what I’m saying is, the prosperity gospel should be trash-canned, and I want to live and preach with equal vigor my own, personal generosity gospel, and let the big names of the day go their own way, knowing they’ll stand before the One who ended His life homeless! Sorry for preaching, you know I’ve got a couple of weeks off, and need to get it out somehow!
@Ken: I welcome the sermon! As I understand your answer it seems that you are saying (1) we don’t necessarily need to chase prosperity preachers around denouncing them because (2) they will stand before God someday therefore (3) we should focus instead on a positive, “generous” gospel that begins with our actions toward others. Would that be a correct way of framing it?
There are circumstances in which the gospel can bring prosperity, but as a secondary effect. Take the town drunk who comes to faith in Christ and is delivered (whether instantly or through a recovery program like Teen Challenge) from his addiction. Now, instead of his sporadic (because he couldn’t hold a steady job due to being wasted all the time) paycheck going to the bar or liquor store, he can actually use his more-regular paycheck (because he’s now sober and shows up for work every day) to support his wife and kids, who previously suffered the consequences of his former condition. I’ve heard stories of whole villages’ economies turning around because the gospel changed so many lives and the people became productive.
But telling someone money is just going to fall from heaven because they follow Christ is not what the gospel is about.
I’m working on a missions message right now based on the last part Gen 12:3 — “through you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” One of the things I’m wanting to drive home is that God blessed Abraham to establish a people through which the Messiah could come, and likewise God blesses us so that the message of the Messiah can come to others through us, via our lives, prayers, giving, and going.
@Brian R.: I like your approach in that last paragraph. It is similar to what Ken said above. We may have been given what we have been given so that we can be the blessing rather than to us it for our own good.
I admit I struggle to remember this. It is too easy to spend money on self.
And yes, in many ways prosperity is often a secondary result of the gospel because the Spirit brings change to people’s lives.
We warn against the dangers of the so-called prosperity gospel by properly defining prosperity. Prosperity isn’t having more than enough stuff; it’s having more than enough life (John 10:10) and being content with whatever amount of stuff we do have (1 Tim. 6:8; Heb. 13:5). The danger of the prosperity message that you’re talking about is how imbalanced it is; the focus on material things makes folks lose sight that true prosperity is being complete in Christ and that can happen even if you have a whooping cough or $2 in the bank.
@Nick: Very, very true. One of the people in my class has been wrestling with cancer for the second or third time and he has spent much of his life living on the streets. Although he knows in this life he may never enjoy wealth and health he is one of the most excited Christians that I have ever met, often talking about how he feels Christ’s presence every day. This is the ideal.
What is nice about that situation is this confidence starts with him. I merely affirm it. I still wrestle with how to tell others who don’t start with this confidence that they may not ever have the same opportunities as someone like me….or at least that being a Christian doesn’t guarantee it. But the comments here have been very helpful.
@ Yes, Brian! I try to keep my eyes on my own row that I’m assigned to in this Field, so I don’t plow crooked by looking around at the other workers. However, I think the prosperity preachers are really, really goofy, tragically short-sighted, and fast fading. So I guess I do look around a bit… We should denounce such perversions to the gospel, esp. when they serve to shame our poorer brothers and sisters, and esp. from the pulpit, since that’s where much of the poison is dispensed each Sunday concerning this issue. Thanks for making me sound like a clear thinker!
@Ken: I was once told (and I think it was true at that time) that I was not a very original thinker, but that I did have a gift of taking other’s complex thoughts and clarifying them. 🙂
As an extremely rare thing, a poor High Church Anglican, I feel a sadness about the wealthy around me in church… I earn 8 – 10 000 a year my tithe calculation is relatively easy…theirs must be horrible!On a less joking note if we take Luke seriously, then its FAR harder for them…I can JUST barely maybe fit through the eye of a needle if I shed a LOT more ego and worldly stuff…they have to give more by far than I can!
I’ve been investigating the life of a Capuchin Franciscan because I actually want to get my hands dirty helping the poor, the homeless, and the marginalized. That’s not to say that a Capuchin Franciscan life is the only way to do this, but Capuchins are pretty much without anything. Not that such life is the only way, but it seems to me that it takes that tension and make it a non-tension by giving up material things for the sake of the gospel.
Been thinking about this today. Brian, how would you go about developing a theology of money/wealth/possessions, etc. that could be taught to a multi-everything group, in terms that would motivate, and not guilt-trip people, into deeper decisions of generosity? Have you ever thought of developing a curriculum for our group along those lines? (Hint, hint…) Seriously, I think people do want an organized approach to managing their resources–something other than the subtle “Jesus wants you to save your money so you make Him look attractive,” and “You’re a second-class Christian because you have cable TV and own two cars.” I heard Brother Andrew once in a workshop say to a group of pastors, “If you’re preaching something that wouldn’t be appropriate to preach to the prisoners in a concentration camp, stop wasting God’s time in His pulpit.” What would you say to a group of inmates at a bible study about this issue of prosperity and the gospel?
I just now noticed this because I have been celebrating my daughter’s two year birthday today. I will give some thoughts about why I included The Prosperity Gospel on Marc’s blog and also engage the conversation already established on Near Emmaus tomorrow morning.
@Virginia: There is something burdensome about being a wealthy Christian. Jeff Garner was my pastor in San Francisco and he is an adjunct at Western Seminary in San Jose, CA. I remember him telling a story about a class he taught on discipleship where in one session the class, as a whole, harped on about wealthy Christians. Finally one very distraught student spoke up explaining how horrible she was feeling because she is wealthy. It was eye opening to Jeff and his class to realize there are many Christians with money who do seek to do good for the Kingdom with what they have available. It is not always easy and we must be patient with them.
@JohnDave: Voluntary poverty is one way indeed. I do fear that it can serve as an escapism though. Rather than wrestle with the demands on one’s life related to plenty some people opt to give it up. This can be good, but so can sound management of funds for the Kingdom.
@Ken: I have not thought about doing something like this. Partially because I am horrible at managing money and possessions. I tend to overspent or miscalculate. Miranda oversees the money in our household and it is for both of benefit since I am stunted mathematically. That being said, maybe since it is a weakness of mine it can serve as motivation for such a project somewhere down the road.
@Ryan: Congrats on your daughter’s birthday. We’ll look forward to hearing from you tomorrow!
In thinking about how to live as a Christian in regards to our money and resources, I’ve found Richard Foster’s words on simplicity to be very helpful. “Freedom from anxiety (which he suggests is the sign of a proper orientation towards possessions) is characterized by three inner attitudes. If what we have we receive as a gift, and if what we have is to be cared for by God, and if what we have is available to others, then we will possess freedom from anxiety.”
These principles have certainly helped me examine my own life, but they say little about the nitty-gritty details of how we should actually go about spending our money or using our resources. I think it is certainly difficult to be specific in this area without approaching legalism, but necessary at the same time to talk and think about.
@Luke: Simplicity is a good goal with which to begin for the simple sake that I think it frees more finances up with which to use for other things. It is the choice thereafter that is difficult.
Freeing up more finances can certainly be a result of simplicity, but it is hardly the goal. Even living simply, or living very frugally, can be an idol in the same way that money or possessions are. The purpose in my mind is to embrace a lifestyle, especially as a rich person with an automatic disadvantage, that seeks God’s kingdom first, and patiently trusts God for the other things that we need in life. That’s obviously very easy to say as someone who hasn’t experienced true physical need in my day to day life in the way that much of the world has, but no less true.
I totally agree that it is then quite difficult to know what exactly we should do with all that we have.
Okay, I am here. I wished I would have been involved sooner but yesterday was full of fun and surprises. It was my daughter’s 2nd birthday and we also found out that my wife is pregnant yesterday, so we were knocked off our rocker yesterday. I hope I can contribute something original that has not been said already, but I fear I’m going to be echoing some of the same sentiments.
In my opinion, the prosperity gospel is antithetical to the true Gospel message for many reasons. First, the prosperity gospel is wholly centered on the American ideal of obtaining wealth. Like you said Brian, what is an individual without the ability of “striking it rich” in a poor area of Africa to do with the prosperity gospel? What happens when God does not make them wealthy like many purport?
The prosperity gospel also breeds false faith. And this is directly linked my previous point. When a person is not made wealthy, it is either because they (A) did not have enough faith; (B) God is not real because if He was, I would not be suffering. This is almost entirely like the result of “scaring” someone into believing. “You better believe or you’re going to burn forever!” They then believe in Jesus not based on anything but avoiding hell. I think this could be one of the reasons why American Christianity is so much different from International Christianity. In the same manner, here in America (and it is reaching out to other aspects of the world), if a person believes in Jesus, prays for wealth, gives abundantly to the church (Pastor), and has true faith…this person will be wealthy. But nine out of ten times, the only people getting wealthy from this movement is the Pastoral staff. It is a false hope that people are buying into. When their expectations are not met based on what they were taught to believe from a Pastor, they end up abandoning God because this is the “Gospel” message they were given.
What about wealthy Christians? I do not think there is a problem with working hard and being wealthy as a Christian. However, I think there is a problem when it becomes the master of the person’s life. Whenever anything overshadows God, it becomes idolatry. Unfortunately, money is the most accessible and popular idol. I like John Wesley’s example of living. He was a man that lived under a certain amount and made as much as he could so that he could give away the money he did not use with that pre-established set amount.
In this age, money is needed to get things done. This is a given. Even the poorest of the poor for Jesus need some kind of donations to survive. This is just the nature of the world that we live in. In that case, we need Christians with money WANTING to give their money. The greatest example that I personally know is my grandparents. I do not know how they have the money they do, but they are some of the most generous people I know. They made their money, gave it away (and continue to give it away), and know that they have been blessed by God to be a blessing to others (they are paying for my education!). They’ve bought houses for struggling families, paid for orphanages in Africa, support many ministries, etc. There is always a place for wealthy Christians. The problem is when becoming wealthy is the main priority or “buying point” of Christianity. Anything other than Jesus Christ is insignificant and insufficient.
We are not promised wealth when becoming Christians, nor should we expect to become wealthy. This is the problem with the prosperity gospel. Instead of preaching the reality of losing everything we hold dear in life upon believing and following Jesus, they preach that if you believe, give money, and have faith, you will accumulate heaps of material wealth. This is wrong and so contrary to the Gospel. The sad thing is that the people that typically buy into this gospel are the less fortunate economically. It is a gospel that provides the rich to suck the life out of the poor.
The poor widow in Luke gave all she had to live on, but she was content. Jesus did not promise her more wealth upon what she gave. Instead, it was her faith that was made rich in her giving, not her pocket.
Wealth is a good thing, as long as it’s not an ultimate thing, and it’s especially good when it’s invested in a life that is submitted to the mission of God.
As far as how do you tell poorer Christians the Prosperity Gospel is false without feeling hypocritical, I guess I’m having a hard time fully understanding your dilemma. I can see a man with great riches telling another that the gospel doesn’t guarantee them wealth. But nor is that denying them the hope of worldly success and wealth, it’s just clarifying that this is not what the Gospel is.
I find our expectations for wealth are more in line with our worldly American Dream ambitions — which, on the surface is not a bad thing. Have ambition, be successful, work hard, season the culture and be a witness in whatever social status one finds himself mobilizing too. But the tragedy is how frequently our social status/economic status becomes an idol in itself, we use it over others, and we will do whatever it takes to achieve it.
@Brian: What do you mean by escapism? I don’t think I caught your point. I tend to think that voluntary poverty is a gift and not for everyone. I agree with you that sound management of funds for the Kingdom is good and doable, like in the case of John Wesley. On the other hand, there might be some of those who have been turned off to Christianity because of the prosperity gospel that need people who have given all up to become like them in order to become receptive again.
@Ryan: I firmly agree that the prosperity gospel is antithetical to the gospel. I agree that it promises more than God ever does. Yet one part of my question remains (and I like what Ken and Brian R. did): How do we wealthy American Christians address this issue without being hypocritical?
Let me turn the table. Let’s say you are an impoverished man with a large family in Africa. You hear a wealthy Christian from the United States tell you the Christian God blesses people with material goods if they place faith in him. You believe only to have another fairly well off (even we middle class Americans are rich on the global scale) American tell you that there is no guarantee of such blessing. Yet you look at this person who is (1) a Christian and (2) well-off and you begin to wonder on what grounds they seem to say that you cannot have what they have even if you share the same God.
What do we do with this?
@James: See the scenario that I gave Ryan in the last paragraph above. That puts flesh on my question.
@JohnDave: I am saying some people use voluntary poverty wrongly. Rather than facing the challenge of being a Christian responsible with wealth they can act piously by giving it all away when in reality this makes them more like the foolish servant who buried what his master entrusted him.
That being said I am by no means saying that this is always or even often the case. I am saying that for some this may be a misguided solution to the dilemma.
@Brian: That is a tough scenario for me to put myself in. I’m not entirely sure how to go about answering your question. When we discuss wealth and blessing, in America we equate this to money. On the other hand, wealth and blessing in a materialistic view of a poor man in Africa would be clean water for his entire family. There is an economic tension and, consequently, a hint of hypocrisy in discussing this with foreign countries and families who struggle to even get by with a meal once every couple days. This is why I think the prosperity gospel should be up high on the list of shameful events in church history.
In your scenario, if the prosperity gospel never reached the person to begin with, the middle-class man’s message would probably be better received without such feelings of hypocrisy. However, I think this reveals the problem of speaking in terms of material blessing in general. We should, instead of speaking of material blessings that are predominantly made available based on geographical location of the world, speak of the spiritual and eternal blessings that one receives in justification. Why even talk about the material blessings of individuals in relation to the Gospel and salvation? It does not equate.
Your scenario and question is difficult because a sense of hypocrisy only seems natural in such situations. But if we show that our possessions on earth mean absolutely nothing to God and highlight that in God’s eyes we are of equal worth, it erases the need for a discussion regarding material wealth. It may bring up questions about why the man must live poor in Africa while others live in America. Did God favor one over the other? The questions begin to get deeper in the scenario, where money and hypocrisy are just scratching the surface.
@Ryan: The Prosperity Gospel has caused much damage. As you correctly note, it has caused people who would appreciate clean water and a good meal to be confused about the function of their religion. This is likely the fault of us Americans importing our vision of prosperity upon them.
As to your second paragraph, I have some mixed feelings. Yes, I agree, the gospel is about King Jesus’ victory over sin and death, which doesn’t mean sickness, poverty, and so forth in the current age (though it does in the age to come). Yet we must be very cautious that this rhetoric doesn’t result in a shrug of the shoulders where we are satisfied with this being “our” lot and that being “their” lot.
As to your last paragraph, you are correct. There are some theodicy questions involved. Why are North Americans seemingly well off while most Africans are not. There are natural explanations, but why has God allowed it? That would result in a whole new discussion!
@Brian: I wholeheartedly agree with you on the dangers of adopting an our lot/their lot mentality. My main point that I did not clarify very well, if at all, was that material blessings was not entirely what Jesus was concerned with in regards to the “money” passages. He attacked the underlying attitude and idolatry that resulted from the money, specifically the absence of a giving, serving, generous heart that encompassed all of who Jesus was/is.
Quite frankly, it is truly saddening that a discussion such as this takes place. It just shows how far off the ship has sailed from the true Gospel…
@Ryan: True, but we also face a situation that many early Christians did not face. When Jesus meets the rich young ruler he asks him to sell everything. It was too much for him and we may often find ourselves in that scenario. Yet the same Peter who boast that he did sell everything has a home still where his wife and family live, he is able to go back to his old business when he thinks Jesus’ ministry failed, and this leads me to think he had some fall back.
Likewise, we find people like Lydia and others from Caesar’s household who converted, yet they did not seem to be required to relinquish their privilege, as long as they use it for the Kingdom. The women who supported Jesus’ ministry were in the same place. And even James only tells the rich to be thankful for the day when the poor will be where they are now, therefore they must treat the poor well in this life.
So it seems to have always been complex, but in our current situation it is even more so. There is the tension of having more opportunities to do more good than most Christians in history alongside the tension of having so much more than others that we begin to feel guilty. So in that sense I think it is a good conversation to have.
@Brian: I completely agree with you and do believe its a complex issue that needs to be discussed. In my comment, I was referring to the prosperity gospel which I should have clarified. If you cannot tell, I am terrible with clarification when my two year old is bouncing on the couch next to me. Haha!
@Ryan: No worries, I imagine that would be distracting. I completely agree that it is unfortunate that prosperity preaching has forced us to address these issues. On the other hand, great Christian theology often comes in response to heresy!
@Brian: I second that!
@Brian: I agree. The most important indicator that it is a feasible solution for those who undertake it is to see what fruit it bears. My guess is that those who undertake voluntary material poverty for an outward pious show won’t stay in such poverty for long. Those who do it out of love of God and love of neighbor are those who make a difference in their niche of the world.
@JohnDave: True.