Posted on 08/28/2015 7:06:37 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
A little comments food-fight starter for a slow Friday news cycle. Even your friendly neighborhood atheist blogger is surprised by this result: My memory of youthful Christian lessons is rusty but I do vaguely recall something about rich men and heaven and camels and the eye of a needle. Then again, there’s a difference between praying for a Lamborghini and praying for a pay raise to help make ends meet. Wanting more wealth doesn’t necessarily make you greedy.
The question: Why are born-again Christians more likely than those who don’t describe themselves as born again to tie wealth to faith? If anything, you’d think it was the opposite, that the “cafeteria Christians” who aren’t closely studying Jesus’s teachings would somehow convince themselves that money in one’s pocket is a sign of God’s favor.
When you ask if prayer can help make someone wealthier, you see the same sort of split — born-agains divide narrowly, 38/41, but Christians who don’t call themselves born-again lean heavily against the idea, 13/74.
Read YouGov’s write-up of these results and you’d be at a loss to explain why there’s a difference. Peek into the crosstabs, though, and you’ll see an interesting, unremarked-upon demographic split. The results by race on whether prayer can make you wealthier:
Whites overwhelmingly say no, Hispanics also say no although a bit less overwhelmingly, but a plurality of blacks say yes. On the question of whether wealth is a sign of God’s favor, you see less support among all three but a similar trend in terms of who’s more open to the idea:
Thirty-four percent of blacks say definitely or probably versus 24 percent of Hispanics and nine percent of whites. One more interesting result: Here’s what happens when you ask people if they’ve ever watched religious programming.
Whites are basically evenly split, Hispanics are a bit more likely to say they have, but blacks are overwhelmingly likely to say so. YouGov didn’t publish its data on how it determined which people in each group are “born again” but obviously, to some extent, the “born-again” numbers are a function of the numbers among black Christians specifically and, in all likelihood, fans of televangelism more broadly. That’s where you’re most likely to find “prosperity gospel” preachers like Joel Osteen, Creflo Dollar, and T.D. Jakes. (Osteen doesn’t like being described that way, but whatever.) YouGov actually polled people on whether they had a favorable view of Osteen, Dollar and Jakes, among other preachers, and found that they were each much better known to, and better liked by, blacks and (to a lesser extent) Latinos than to whites.
Osteen’s favorability was 22/35 among whites, 39/28 among Hispanics, and 51/18 among blacks. Dollar’s: 3/24 among whites, 8/15 among Hispanics, 28/46 among blacks. Jakes’s: 10/18 among whites, 24/12 among Hispanics, 70/15(!) among blacks. It may be as simple as this: A group that’s historically been impoverished is more likely to be searching for ways to improve its quality of life, and televangelists, very cannily, know how to exploit that desire on a mass scale. Although, if that’s the explanation, you need to explain why the numbers in this poll between people who earn $100,000 or less annually aren’t much different from those who earn more than $100K. In particular, the numbers for Osteen, Dollar, and Jakes are nearly identical in the two groups. This may be a cultural difference more than a simple “people who earn less are more likely to seek riches from God” thing.
Yet there is nothing in the New Testament to support this.
In fact - just the opposite.
Allahpundit is confused.
Wealth is not a result of how much or how little faith one has.
Seek God first and always.
33% describe themselves as Pentecostals, versus 14% of leaders from the Global North. 76% say they have experienced or witnessed a divine healing, and 70% of those from the Global South say they have witnessed the devil or evil spirits being driven out. ^
90% reject the so-called prosperity gospel, the notion that God will grant wealth and good health to those who have enough faith. 52% (75% in the “Global South”) believe drinking alcohol is incompatible with being a good evangelical, 97% likewise reject astrology, 96% reject reincarnation, 95% reject denying Jesus is the only way to salvation, 92% reject yoga. ^
73% of evangelical leaders worldwide affirm that God’s covenant with the Jewish people continues today, and 60% hold mostly favorable views of Jews, though 33% think that Jews are unfriendly toward evangelicals. 48% say the state of Israel is a fulfillment of biblical prophecy about the Second Coming of Jesus, while 42% say it is not, and 49% say they sympathize with both Israel and the Palestinians equally. ^
Because of bad teaching in the church’s and the proliferation of name it and claim it charlatans who are making themselves rich at the expense of gullible and greedy Christians.
Well, one reason is because of the fake "name it and claim it" Pastors, and another reason is the "health and wealth" Pastors.
Charlatans.
My wife and I once visited a church who's name I won't repeat one Sunday about 15 years ago as we were looking for a new church home. The Pastor of that church who's name I will not mention sent one of his minion's out to tell those in attendance that he (the Pastor) was quite tired of flying commercial because he was always recognized by someone on the plane, who then proceeded to ask the Pastor who's name I will not repeat for advice. Seems said Pastor didn't recognize that he was in the mission field while on a commercial flight and that God was sending people to him for help.
Well, wouldn't you know, out comes one of the Pastor's minions to tell the congregation that Pastor who's name I will not mention needed his own personal, privte plane so he could "rest" between speaking engagements that he was flying all over the country for.
Wife and I immediately got up to leave, when a very large 6'6" 300+ pound guard stepped into the aisle and asked if we had a problem.
I said quite loudly "We don't have a problem right now, but if you don't get the hell out of my way we're gonna have a big problem!"
Never went back to that church and frankly, I'm surprised that pastor isn't in jail.
You can be “wealthy” without having two nickles to rub together. Somehow I don’t think thats what they are talking about though.
Personally, I’ve been poor, and well off in a material sense. I prefer the latter, but dont expect it to necessarily last. I’ll say that it definitely gives you more options, but at the same time, has its own pitfalls.
Didn’t work out so well for Jesus or the disciples, did it?
Peter didn't have the money to pay his Temple tax. Jesus told him to go fishing. He caught a fish with a gold coin in it's mouth.
Twice when the disciples had fished all night and caught nothing Jesus told them to cast their nets out again and they drew in boat loads of fish. Literally.
They didn't have enough food to feed the crowd. Jesus blessed what they had and it became enough to feed everyone with a great amount left over. Twice.
Jesus repeatedly taught that if you have any need to pray, He did not add, unless it is about money then don't bother.
On the one hand it is a blessing from God for which we should be thankful and responsible. On the other hand it is not a sign of His favor. There is a difference. God may give much or little. We are to thank Him equally either way.
Seek God First and all these things will be given unto you.
all these things are not exactly quantified ....by the bible.
the blab it an grab it crowd..would of course differ on this point
Tried that at racetrack a few times, doesn’t work.
Not actually. Certainly prayer can boost wealth, for the Lord said "seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:33)
I dare say that if you are a true holy living born again believer and ask God in faith for funds to help others, or for a valid need, and seek to make all things work for the salvation of souls to God's glory, and are a good steward of what God gives, then you will see God "boost wealth" to that end, and which is a sign of His favor.
But that is not what 5 star hotel prosperity teachers are about, unless they are on the receiving end.
Nor is prosperity necessarily a sign of God's favor, yet neither is poverty. But prosperity (even in talent) is usually a curse in effect, in that it usually blinds the person to his dire spiritual need for redemption in Christ.
State ranking according to survey response as to religion being an important part of peoples daily lives. (highest to lowest): * Mississippi: 85% * Alabama: 82% * South Carolina: 80% * Tennessee: 79% * Louisiana: 78% * Arkansas: 78% * Georgia: 76% * North Carolina: 76% * Oklahoma: 75% * Kentucky: 74% * Texas: 74% * West Virginia: 71% * Kansas: 70% * Utah: 69% * Missouri: 68% * Virginia: 68% * South Dakota: 68% * North Dakota: 68% * Indiana: 68% * Nebraska: 67% * New Mexico: 66% * Pennsylvania: 65% * Florida: 65% * Maryland: 65% * Ohio: 65% * Iowa: 64% * Minnesota: 64% * Illinois: 64% * Michigan: 64% * Delaware: 61% * Wisconsin: 61% * District of Columbia: 61% * Idaho: 61% * Arizona: 61% * New Jersey: 60% * Wyoming: 58% * Colorado: 57% * Hawaii: 57% * California: 57% * Montana: 56% * New York: 56% * Connecticut: 55% * Nevada: 54% * Rhode Island: 53% * Oregon: 53% * Washington: 52% * Alaska: 51% * Massachusetts: 48% * Maine: 48% * New Hampshire: 46% * Vermont: 42%. Overall nationwide mean of 65% http://www.gallup.com/poll/114022/State-States-Importance-Religion.aspx
Regionally, the South still qualifies as the most Bible-minded. The top ranking cities are all Southern cities. This includes the media markets for Knoxville, TN (52% of the population are Bible-minded), Shreveport, LA (52%), Chattanooga, TN (52%), Birmingham, AL (50%), and Jackson, MS (50%). Other markets in the top 10 include Springfield, MO (49%), Charlotte, NC (48%), Lynchburg, VA (48%), Huntsville-Decatur, AL (48%), and Charleston, WV (47%). http://cities.barna.org/americas-most-and-least-bible-minded-cities-2/
The least Bible-oriented markets include a mix of regions, but tend to be from the New England area. Easily the lowest Bible-minded scores came from Providence, RI (9%) and Albany, NY (10%). The most Bible-minded markets are five times more likely to have residents who qualify as Bible-minded than is true in these two Northeastern cities. ^
None of the cities in the bottom 10 break 20%, where even one in five people could be considered Bible-minded. The New England area is home to most of the markets in the bottom 10 Bible-minded cities, including Burlington, VT (16%), Portland, ME (16%), Hartford, CT (16%), Boston, MA (16%), Buffalo, NY (18%) and New York, NY (18%).
The remaining markets in the bottom 10 are primarily in the West and include San Francisco, CA (16%), Phoenix, AZ (17%), and Las Vegas, NV (18%). Cedar Rapids, IA (18%) being something of an outlier. ^
The Eastern United States is the only region of the country where Protestants account for less than half (44.1%) of the population. Catholics are the best represented religious tradition in this region; claiming 35.1% of the population. 5.5Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion - American Piety in the 21 Century – September 2006 . Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion - American Piety in the 21 Century – September 2006 . http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/33304.pdf
I may not have money from prayer but I’m much wealthier.
According to the charlatans on TV only blessed people are rich and poor people are not blessed, that’s why their poor. Only blessed people can win the lottery. Creflo Dollar is one televangelist that comes to mind. While Jesus walked and rode a donkey, Creflo needs to fly around in his private jet and he needs money because he is one of God’s bleesed. What is really amazing is that people believe this false preacher.
I wonder what % think voting for Trump will mean their car payments will go away.
Power of Positive Thinking. Trump’s pastor.
Trump says he is Presbyterian.
Lay up your treasure in heaven, not on earth. (don’t remember exact scripture)
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