Kids at a school in Guatemala that is partially funded through the water system that was installed by Healing Waters International. Many churches in the past few years have been preaching a "prosperity gospel" that I don't agree with. It is essentially the concept that God desires the material prosperity of those He favors. But to be in God's favor, you must give freely and sacrificially to the church. Essentially, I have seen pastors say this, that if you give $100 dollars to the church today, God will bless you with $1000 in the future, even if that $100 was designated for paying rent, or a heating bill, or for food for your family. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prosperity_gospel
I really take issue with this spin on the gospel. My primary critique is best summarized in this quote: "Any Gospel that cannot be preached in a Third-World country is not the True Gospel of Jesus Christ" -- Dr. David Jeremiah
Today, as I was continuing to read A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson I came across a different "Prosperity Gospel" that is much more in line with my own faith. Peterson writes, "Prosperity has nothing to do with insurance policies or large bank accounts or stockpiles of weapons. The root meaning is leisure - the relaxed stance of one who knows that everything is all right because God is over us, with us and for us in Jesus Christ. It is the security of being at home in a history that has a cross at its center. It is the leisure of the person who knows that every moment of their existence is at the disposal of God, lived under the mercy of God."
That is my prosperity gospel!
1 comment:
I believe I'd have to agree with you completely on the issue of the current trend of christianity. It makes me sick. I've tried committing myself to 4 different churches since I started high school and it all leads to the same thing: the church wants money either from donations or by increasing their attendant numbers in order to get some sort of grant. It makes me sick. It's like everyone has really forgotten what it's all about. Which in itself is sort of a oxymoron, cause I don't think a lot of people know what IT is. I can't say I do, but I know what it's not.
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