A CRITIQUE OF PROSPERITY GOSPEL

GOOD DAY...AND THANK YOU FOR VISITING MY BLOG...I HAVE NO DOUBT YOU MUST HAVE HEARD SOMETHING ABOUT THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL...IN ITS MANY VARIED FORMS AND EMPHASIS...MAINLY PROMOTED FROM THE WEST, LARGELY FROM U.S. (SEE THE ARTICLE BELOW)...IT PLAYS ON THE VERY HUMAN DESIRE TO BE RICH, TO BE SUCCESSFUL, TO LIVE A LONG LIFE, TO BE RECOGNISED...I NOTICED THAT SCRIPTURAL PASSAGES CITED TO PROMOTE SUCH A VIEW OFTEN COMES FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT...MAKING PARALLELS AND DRAWING ANALOGIES THAT ARE OFTEN RATHER QUESTIONABLE...I HAVE YET TO SEE ONE WHO PROMOTE SUCH A VIEW GIVE SCRIPTURES FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT....PERHAPS IT'S BECAUSE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT THERE ISN'T SUCH A VIEW OF A PROSPERITY GOSPEL...RATHER, ONE SEES A JESUS WHO CONFRONT A RICH YOUNG RULER AND TELLS HIM TO GO AND SELL EVERYTHING AND DISTRIBUTE TO THE POOR....WE SEE A JESUS WHO TEACHES US THAT WE CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY AT THE SAME TIME...WE SEE A JESUS WHO COMMENDED TO HIS DISCIPLES THE POOR WIDOW WHO GAVE ONLY TWO COPPER COINS OUT OF HER POVERTY....RATHER THAN THE RICH WHO GAVE MUCH MORE, HUMANLY SPEAKING...WE SEE A JESUS WHO TELLS US NOT TO LAY UP TREASURES HERE ON EARTH, BUT TO LAY UP TREASURES IN HEAVEN...WE SEE A PAUL WHO INSTRUCT HIS YOUNG TIMOTHY TO COMMAND THOSE WHO ARE RICH IN THIS WORLD, NOT TO BE ARROGANT, NOR TO PUT THEIR FAITH IN WEALTH WHICH IS SO UNCERTAIN, BUT TO DO GOOD, TO BE GENEROUS AND WILLING TO SHARE, TO LAY UP FOR THEMSELVES A FIRM FOUNDATION, TREASURES IN HEAVEN....WE SEES A PAUL WHO SET ASIDE ALL HIS EARTHLY WEALTH AND REPUTATION TO SEEK AFTER A JESUS IN HIS SUFFERINGS....IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, WE SEE JESUS AND MEN OF GOD PROMOTING A GOSPEL THAT DOES NOT SEEM TO SUIT THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL-PREACHERS...WHICH GOSPEL ARE YOU FOLLOWING?? THE APOSTLE PAUL IN GALATIANS WARNED OF A DIFFERENT GOSPEL...AT THAT TIME, IT WAS A GOSPEL OF CIRCUMCISION, ALSO ROOTED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT...AT THIS TIME, WE HAVE THIS GOSPEL OF EARTHLY PROSPERITY....ISSUE IS WHO IS BEING MADE PROSPEROUS IN FOLLOWING SUCH A GOSPEL??....ACCORDING TO THIS ARTICLE BELOW, IT IS THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHERS....NOT THE FOLLOWERS....SO BE CAREFUL WHAT GOSPEL YOU ARE HEARING AND FOLLOWING! OUR CITIZENSHIP IS IN HEAVEN...JESUS DID NOT SO MUCH COME AND DIE SO THAT WE CAN BE PROPERSOUS HERE ON EARTH...THAT IS NOT WHAT THE FATHER GOD HAS SEND HIM TO ACCOMPLISH....JESUS CAME THAT WE MAY HAVE LIFE, ETERNAL LIFE....QUITE A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE FROM THE HERE AND THE NOW....THE GOSPEL THAT JESUS BROUGHT IS FOCUS IN HEAVEN...THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHERS IS FOCUS HERE ON EARTH....IS THERE A DECEPTION HERE TO BE UNCOVERED??...HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED HOW COME SUCH PROSPERITY GOSPEL PREACHERS ONLY SEEM TO BE SEEN IN BIG CITIES OF THE DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING WORLD, AND NOT IN POOR THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES....I THINK JAMES ROBISON HAS A VERY GOOD POINT...READ HIS ARTICLE AND BE EDIFY...
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TV evangelist James Robison has taken to task fellow preachers who promote that he says is an unbalanced prosperity message. The host of the daily broadcast "Life Today" says that such "manipulation" has pushed people into bankruptcy, and encourages a self-centered focus that can "short-circuit a supernatural response from God." Writing in the forthcoming May issue of "Charisma" magazine, Robison says that while he is not accusing anyone of "deliberately misleading or manipulating ... the unhealthy consequences of this type of teaching ... breaks my heart." Although the principle of sowing and reaping is an important aspect of giving, it has been distorted, he says. "One of the huge deceptions in some personal prosperity teaching is the notion that everybody is going to have a big house, big car or big income," he writes. "This concept promotes a 'sameness' mentality, and it is simply not scriptural ... If you're just looking for a return, you're a miner. God wants us to be farmers for kingdom purposes." Robison's warning follows a recent report released in the United Kingdom by the Evangelical Alliance (EA) that says the prosperity message of the Word-faith movement "promotes a lifestyle and ethos, which is fundamentally at odds with the values of the kingdom of God." The "Faith, Health and Prosperity" report from the organization -- representing over a million evangelical and Pentecostal/charismatic believers -- acknowledges that Word-faith has "a deep appreciation for what God has done in Christ:" and "a desire to take the Word of God with the utmost seriousness." But it questions whether prosperity teaching is "not simply a means of excusing the lifestyle and assuaging the consciences of wealthy Christians," and observes that the image of "the prosperous, high-profile charismatic leader ... can easily replace Christ as the object of adulation and imitation." According to "The (London) Times," the EA report was partly born out of concern over the fund-raising activities of Morris Cerullo World Evangelism, which "allegedly linked the level of donors' contributions ... with the extent of God's blessing on the donors' lives." In his article, Robison says that where people put their money reveals a lot about their passion and priorities. "God wants us to put our trust completely in Him," he writes. "Isn't it ironic that the words 'In God We Trust' are printed on the back of our dollar bills? If we don't put our trust in Him, we'll put it in something else -- most likely money." He says that God does not want people to "play the money game." "This is not spiritual bingo or Bible lottery. Giving is the essence of life. If we release that which He has freely given us, He will increase it for His purpose -- not so we can build bigger barns but so we can live life abundantly." Robison warns: "Those who focus on earthly treasures and receiving a blessing may get a lot of stuff, but they will not experience fullness of life. In the end, they will rot in their stuff. The Father wants to bless children who can be trusted to release His resources, which certainly includes money, for kingdom purposes." Robison's article can be read in full in the May issue of "Charisma," out next week.