Posted on 02/26/2015 8:21:21 AM PST by pinochet
Like many Freepers, I was raised in a Christian denomination that did not teach the Prosperity Gospel (PG). In the last few years, I have tried to make sense of the prosperity teachings, and it is possible that I may not fully understand them. But I will explain the PG teachings as best as I am able to understand them.
The Prosperity Gospel teaches that rich people are rich, because they engage in the behavior that God approves of, and this means that rich people are blessed by God. But poor people are poor, because they engage in behavior that God disapproves of, and are therefore punished by God with poverty.
The prosperity Gospel preachers reject the Catholic tradition, where vows of poverty are seen as a measure of strong faith. Therefore, St. Francis of Asisi, whom Catholics consider to be the best Catholic who ever lived, and who gave all his wealth to the poor, is seen as the biggest sucker in human history. Is that assessment of the Prosperity Gospel accurate?
The logical conclusion that one can draw from the Prosperity Gospel is that most rich people are going to heaven, and most poor people are going to hell. The Prosperity Gospel is North America's Capitalist answer to the Latin American Liberation Theology. It is fun to compare and contrast both theological worldviews.
I'll bet it is. Please explain the logic wherein you've equated material blessings with salvation.
The only thing of this world that will determine if you reach Heaven is the decision you make on following Christ, the Word and if you have taken the steps outlined in the Gospels; Hear, Believe, Repent, be Baptized and add to the Church. Your treasures are where your heart is....
I don’t understand it either but none of the TV preachers believe anything they say anyway.
Are those his real teeth?
It really does seem that sloth, indulgences of the flesh, coveting what others have, etc. put one in a mindset that ushers in poverty.
lazy out in school, hangout on the street, rip off your neighbor, toke up, screw the B. and have no greater goal than to repeat it all again tomorrow:
it fits too many of our youths today
I think this parable pretty much says it all:
Luke 16
19 There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen, and fared sumptuously every day:
20 And there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores,
21 And desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table: moreover the dogs came and licked his sores.
22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
Nah - they’re chiclets...
21 “Submit to God and be at peace with him;
in this way prosperity will come to you.
22 Accept instruction from his mouth
and lay up his words in your heart.
23 If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored:
If you remove wickedness far from your tent
24 and assign your nuggets to the dust,
your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines,
25 then the Almighty will be your gold,
the choicest silver for you.
-Eliphaz the Temanite
So God's cool with me banging a bunch of underage prostitutes like Jeffrey Epstein?
The Prosperity Gospel doesn’t necessarily “pivot” on the point of whether some Christian is sinning and doesn’t deserve blessings, while another Christian is not sinning and therefore does deserve it. “THAT” is not the Prosperity Gospel from what I’ve seen and observed.
Mind you, I’m not a proponent of that, but I’ve had enough people tell me and seen and read enough about it, to form an idea of what it is about.
It has more to do with DESERVING IT (i.e., prosperity) because God wants you to have it all. AND the “key” to it is to “NAME IT AND CLAIM IT”.
You’re not getting it, because you’re not acting in your God-given right (to act like God, yourself) and “name it and claim it”. Namely, you don’t “have” because you don’t believe you have the POWER like God does, to simply SPEAK and get your blessing. You have not, because you ask not (you ask not, out of unbelief).
The idea is ... according to these proponents ... is that your “WORDS” are powerful, and you just have to put those words to use and then it becomes “REALITY”. If you BELIEVE IT IS REALITY and you SPEAK IT, then it becomes reality in the same way God created all things in the beginning!
AND, these proponents believe that once you understand this “LAW OF GOD” that you have POWER OVER, then “all things are possible” and there is no end to all the blessings you will receive.
ALONG WITH THAT, comes “seed faith giving”. You give “out of your need” in the beginning, and then you get back THOUSAND-FOLD!
SO ... you put the NAME IT AND CLAIM IT ... with ... SEED FAITH GIVING and you’ve got the “perfect storm” for the “Prosperity Gospel”.
I am reminded of the story of the miser who, on his death bed, told his wife to put all the money he stashed around the house, into his coffin so he could buy his way into heaven.
She promised to do it. She then took all the money, deposited it in the local bank, and at the miser’s funeral, she wrote out a check and buried it with the miser.
“think this parable pretty much says it all”
Actually no, that does not “say it all”.
The thing about the “Prosperity Gospel” is that it concentrates on the “here and now” ... namely how things work out for you IN THIS LIFE and not in the life to come.
So, these are really two different things. You can have those of the Prosperity Gospel belief, who ARE SAVED and will be in Heaven. Their understanding of the Prosperity Gospel will not nullify or cancel their personal salvation in Christ, even if they are all wrong about the Prosperity Gospel.
The “Prosperity Gospel” is not about how to be saved in Christ ... rather ... it’s about how those who ARE SAVED IN CHRIST can have an ABUNDANT LIFE here and now on this earth.
This is one of the most widely misunderstood bible quotes available. When Jesus said this steel sewing needles were millennia in the future. The "eye of the needle" was usually a tight spot in a road approaching a city, where natural rock formations had been improved by men to make a narrow zig-zag approach. This spot was easily defended and easily blocked to deter invading armies.
Camels passed through the eye of the needle every day. It was difficult, and took some careful back and forth movement, but every single camel on every caravan into and out of a city passed through the eye of the needle.
My neighbor is not a TV preacher, and he believes it. Since he’s not a TV preacher, does that mean he’s right? ... :-) ...
From what I’ve seen, the Prosperity Gospel is not linked to Salvation. They understand Salvation from Christ being their Personal Savior is one thing, while the Prosperity Gospel is a completely different thing.
In their mind, some Christians fail to secure the blessings they are entitled to have, here and now, in this life ... because they just don’t understand the “power of the word” (”name it and claim it”) and they don’t understand God’s law of “seed faith giving”.
Again, these are not points for salvation, but for how to secure the blessings you are entitled to in this life, once you ARE A CHRISTIAN.
Point taken....However if one is truly following the Gospel his concentration won’t be on things of this world. The poor (which is a relative term) will always be with his, which is why we as Christians are to look out for the widows and poor. If you are rich in the spirit and have material wealth it only means that you have been blessed with the ability & responsibility to further the Word. It upsets me sometimes when people think of God as just an ATM and as loving caring Father who only wants the best for his children. If you had a child that was very adept at handling money and on who’s talents were more of a strong back variety, to which would you entrust the handling of the finances? We are all created equal in God’s eyes but that does not mean all have the same talents.
The Prosperity Gospel appeals, many times, to the poorest of Christians.
You and me both.
My “Prosperity Gospel”: Love God and Country, honor Duty, work hard and it may pay off for you.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.