The prosperity gospel maintains the redemption in Jesus is
also redemption from financial poverty. The prosperity gospel says in order to
receive from God; we first have to first give money to the church.
This so-called gospel appeals to the rich because it tells
them they will become richer. It appeals to the poor because it promises them
they will become rich. It appeals to pastors because it has proved to be an
effective way to grease money out of Christians by making them believe if they
give to their churches, God would give them a hundredfold return. Thus, Gloria
Copeland says: “You give $1 for the gospel’s sake and $100 belongs to you. Give
$10 and receive $1,000. Give $1,000 and receive $100,000. Give one house and
receive one hundred houses or one house worth one hundred times as much. Give
one airplane and receive one hundred times the value of the airplane. Give one
car and the return would furnish you a lifetime of cars.”
The prosperity gospel is convenient for justifying the
wealth of pastors who have become rich at the expense of their congregation.
Thus, Marcus Bishop says unapologetically: “Financial prosperity is just as
much a part of the Gospel as anything else… I’m not ashamed of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. I’m not ashamed of prosperity. I’m not ashamed that Jesus bought
and paid for me to be wealthy. Let me just tell you from the heart of God,
preachers are supposed to be rich.”
The prosperity gospel is also lucrative for selling books.
The Christian book market is full of “get-rich-quick tipsters” and
“one-minute-solution merchants.” For example, Joel Osteen’s “Your Best Life
Now” sold millions of copies. It was number one on the New York Times
bestseller list. Osteen tells Christians they can get their best life now; a
far more marketable proposition than one saying: “Take up your cross and follow
Jesus.”
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