prosperity gospel is dead?

prosperity gospel is dead?

if you thought that it was dead, it ain't. watch this compilation of videos from the God channel and hear for yourself what these prosperity gospel preachers are saying!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs0OvGKr8cM



thanks to tim bulkeley

Comments

Alex Tang said…
prosperity gospel dead? Far from it as the video and church numbers show. Who does not want the cake and eat it too?

The prosperity gospel is prospering.
Anonymous said…
What? More criminals?
Steven Sim said…
arrrgghhhhhhhhh....

ridikulus
Bob K said…
Lord have mercy.
Simulator said…
I'm wondering if the crucial issue with prosperity gospel is that they actually deny the Cross of Jesus, thus suffering has no place in a prosperity gospel. Furthermore, could it be said that they actually hate Jesus - i.e. they seem to be so focused on heaven-on-earth-now, that they do not have a longing to be with Jesus in the heaven-on-earth-to-come. It just seems so totally me-centred rather than Christ-centred?
theology is not exactly my cup of tea! prosperity gospel, for my two cents worth, is a watered down gospel.

it still claims to be the gospel but ignores certain hard facts e.g. the issue of suffering. it glibs away this difficult issue by maintaining that it must be the lack of faith of the believer that he or she does not prosper or receive material blessings from God or receive divine healing.

i don't think they hate Jesus except that the 'jesus' they believe and understand is subjected to their limits and constraints. likewise, the form of christianity is moulded into its present shape by their particular emphasis or lack of emphasis. and it is true that the whole system of belief is 'me centered' - the unholy Trinity (I, Me, Myself).
Simulator said…
I agree that "they hate Jesus" is a bit too strong, especially if directed towards the average congregation member. What about the leaders who are propagating it? Is it simply a watered-down gospel or in some cases no gospel at all? But I'm aware that there is a whole spectrum of "prosperity gospel".
sp lim said…
'But if even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you let him be accursed. As we have said it before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed'. (Gal 1:8-9). Extremely strong words from Paul don't you think?

Can we apply the same to prosperity gospel? For me, the prosperity gospel is not even a watered down gospel. It's a different gospel from that which was preached by the apostles.

But should we be cursing the teachers of prosperity gospel? Paul may have the apostolic authority to do so but I think instead of running those people down, our pastors should warn their flocks against these kind of teachings. They could have serious pastoral implications.
is prosperity gospel still the gospel? yes and no. it is still the gospel because it still preaches jesus and him crucified. hence, it is not an entirely 'new' or 'different' gospel.

no in the sense that it supresses some of the truth of the gospel while emphasizing others. it emphasizes the blessing part at the expense of the suffering part. while most christians generally emphasize the blessing part (seriously, how many christians emphasize the suffering part in the first place?), prosperity gospel is not entirely wrong (e.g. psalm 1). it is wrong only when proponents claim that is the whole truth.

there is no need to curse these people as they will receive their due reward from God. generally, we are more concerned to warn our flock of their teachings. balance is the ket word. sometimes, God will bless us more and at other times, suffering may be our lot. there is the converse danger that some christians only focus on the suffering part at the expense of the blessing part. we can end up with the idea that riches are bad and evil!!