Four of Ten Evangelical Preachers Peach the Prosperity Gospel

The "prosperity gospel", a message that God/Jesus will bless you with money if you just sign on, is ridiculed by many in Christianity. Yet, it seems to be growing. Church goers who were polled said that four out of every ten preachers used that message.

A couple of the most famous prosperity gospel preachers are Creflo Dollar and Joel Osteen. Both of them are very wealthy. They use their wealth to make the point that being a Christian can bring you economic benefit.

What can be said about what seems to be a growing attraction to the view that God/Jesus wants you to do well financially? If four out of ten preachers are spreading that message, six out of ten are not. Both groups must have their reasons.

Comments on my blogs have said prosperity is not the true message of the faith. These folks say there is not evidence believing in the tenets of the faith brings one, or are meant to bring one, economic success.

Such critics probably make a valid point. If you took all believers there may well be no statistical advantage to them--depending on how the measuring was done.

But, if you also challenged the rest of Christian beliefs, that Jesus died for sins, that there is a literally a reward called heaven and penalty called hell and God and a Satan you would find no more evidence of these things than that believing makes you rich. So far as I can tell, it's all about which unverified pieces of the faith you want to believe. Believing Jesus will help you get a promotion is no more harmful, or helpful, than believing you will spend eternity in luxury.

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