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Having read the article, I easily recognized the speech patterns and phraseology of Multi Level Marketing schemes. They're remarkably useful at motivating people to convert new people, and are used in part by groups like The Landmark Forum, which is (as far as I can tell) an MLM style self-help group. They may well help people, but the sell method used to get converts, er... participants is fairly aggressive.

Have you seen or heard of "The Secret"? This strongly reminds me of that sort of idiocy - that if you wish hard enough, any obstacle can be overcome. "The Secret", if you didn't know about it, is a tremendously successful and slick commercial presentation of the Law of Attraction.

Anybody heard John Piper's sermon against the prosperity gospel? It is simultaneously riveting and deeply disturbing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukcV-xtU3hc

Ramblin Dan

The saddest part about this is that the leaders of these churches believe their message. Since they've experienced earthly success they believe that others can do the same by following their lead. If you don't experience the same kind of success you must be doing something wrong because the preacher knows through his or her own experience that it works.

It's almost like they've bought into the temptations Jesus faced in the desert. But they don't recognize these as temptations because obviously God has blessed them.

Much of this kind of thinking comes from a very shallow theological understanding. Little formal training can unleash a seductive force that means well but is uninformed and damages the very people that are targeted to be helped.

Let's pray for these pastors. May they understand the heart of Jesus. May their hearts be broken by they very thing that breaks Jesus' heart. And for all of us who sit in judgment of these churches may we have compassionate hearts to reach out to our brothers and sisters in Christ.

I don't post much here. I prefer reading your stories anonymously. They never cease to speak to me at least on some level... sometimes it's a simple chuckle elicited during a stressful day... at others your writings reach in and wrap themselves around some visceral part of me and tugs. That said, I post today because it is precisely THIS message and messages similar to it put out by many in Christianity today that has prompted me to deny being a Christian.

It's all a matter of symantics, really. I still consider myself a follower of Jesus of Nazareth. I just don't have much desire, any more, to be thought of as "one of them Christians."

It's sad, really, that of the good things we can export, it's these warped messages that we're exporting to the poor of the world.

Because, every one of these messages of prosperity has an opposite message. "It's your own fault you're poor. If you had deeper faith, you wouldn't BE poor. So you don't deserve our love, our support."

I felt physically sick while reading the article, and the farther I went the worse it got.

“Wherever Winners congregations meet, the leading pastors tend to be Nigerians, all fiercely loyal to Oyedepo.”

There’s part of the problem. As God’s people, just where should our loyalties lie?

“Tell your doctors, ‘I will not come to your clinic again.’ You will not contribute to buy their houses and cars; you will buy your own houses and cars.”

Sure, as long as you buy them for “the prophet” first. (RETCH)

“‘The moment you doubt prophetic utterances, you are damned,’ [Oyedepo] has claimed. ‘When you go against the prophet it is actually God you are rising up against.’”

A classic way of controlling one’s hearers/followers through fear. Cultish. Sickening.

The re-interpretation of the Eucharist by a “Winners” pastor strikes me as nothing less than blasphemy - as does the works righteousness approach of blaming a believer for being poor. (Of course, that’s my Lutheran blood boiling.)

“Whatever the tensions and inconsistencies, these churches are clearly developing a winning formula.”

Pardon my stupidity: A winning formula for what?

Geez. Public, loud denunciation almost seems like too mild a response.

To my fellow blog readers: Please forgive me for sounding so negative and judgmental....God have mercy on all of us.

I was reading something else on a listserve today that reminded me of this. Some people in my denomination were very much equating shrinking numbers with a lack of success. It's very much a part of our culture and therefore the Church. Which saddens me. And now we are exporting it. In the U.S., when you see these huge STADIUMS filled with Christians worshipping, (and dressed to the nines, driving fancy cars, etc.) your first thought might be, Wow, these people really have something. But not necessarily. A wise pastor friend once told me: "Just about anyone can get up a crowd."
And, some of the most faithful people I know (or heard of) have suffered tremendously. I don't welcome suffering for myself OR for others, but I've no doubt it's part of the journey.

Matthew 6:19-21.

The Prosperity Gospel has problems right there.

I noticed in the Christian Century article, not one of the verses cited to back up the philosophy was from any of the actual Gospels, and most were from the Old Testament.

How can you have a "gospel" without any of the Gospels?

Julia

Thanks for putting this article out. It is interesting that I just read an article in First Things by an Anglican Archbishop in Uganda which should give all Christians hope. Right before receiving this month's copy of First Things,I had heard from a college freshman returning from a "missionary" trip to Uganda about their faith in Christ and love for one another. I guess another example of kingdoms in conflict. I never really thought the prosperity gospel would take off in Africa - what are they going to ask for, a new Cadillac? Thanks for your variety of subjects, RLP. I like to think there is just as much holiness in taking out a transmission as discussing theology. Tucker Royall

i don't even know how to start this. if i were to write everything that i feel about it, it would be a very long reply. but i want to keep it short and i will try.

you see, i come from a church in south east asia that has bought into this "health and wealth gospel" (HWG). my church is heavily influenced by the Word of Faith teachings of Kenneth Hagin, Copeland and EW kenyon to name a few. we all know that the WOF teachings are closely intertwined with the HWG. i've been in this church since the day i was born-again (about 9yrs now) and i love my church for many reasons despite feeling uneasy about the WOF-HWG. the main reason i stayed on with my church is because i know they have got one very important foundation right and they do it very well to the extent that i can say it is the single most important thing that has changed my life. i am talking about the grace if god. they teach it in it's pure undiluted form and it has so set me (and so many others) free, to love god and to experience his love. despite all the WOF-HWG sprinkled here and there thoughout the sermons, the main focus is always Jesus and his finished work.

listening to my snr pastor preach every sunday is quite an experience as i often feel a multitude of emotions. there will be things i hear that my spirit confirms with without a doubt and there are things that made me feel uneasy and confused like the WOF-HWG. sometimes i wonder if i'm feeling uneasy bcos i'm limiting god by my own human experience. should i allow human experiences to dictate what god can and cannot do? i also asked myself, what's wrong with preaching encouragement and hope? with all the negetive news in the media, people to need to know there is hope in God. I must admit that many times when i'm feeling like shit and all seem so bleak, these messages of hope brought renewed strength to run this race. i would also add that my pastor's version of the WOF-HWG is not the extreme sort that you read about in this article about the african churches. it has more "balance" and in the end pastor will always point it back to Jesus. so perhaps what we need is biblical hope preached in the right context.

i can go on and on about the personal debate that goes on inside of me each time i hear the WOF-HWG. a lot of times when pastor reasons from the bible regarding this topic, it does seem to make sense, yet it doesn't feel 100% right. i don't know how to describe it. for now, this is how i deal with it - i don't swallow everything that comes out of the pulpit. what my spirit confirms with, i receive, what i feel uneasy with, i KIV and some i spit out. there was a time in my early christian years that i swallowed everything and limited myself to only materials and resorces that confirms with my church's teachings but i began to open-up and read from a variety of thoughts and of course the bible itself and realize that this whole christian thing is more complex than i thought. so now i'm more selective.

ally

Having come from South East Asia myself, I can verify that the health and wealth mindset is taking a very, very, prominent part of many churches and subsequently the organizations they are part of. I'm not sure about the best-known churches in Singapore (where the mindset to obey is much more rigid and enforced), but in Malaysia I'm well aware of the success of certain megachurches who build their own buildings for millions of dollars while their neighbours continue to languish in poverty. I've seen it happen in my former church, where the focus subtly shifted from the quality of the believers to the number of people brought in, and I've seen the number of foreign 'prosperity preachers' brought in steadily increase, instead of having a preacher who has his finger on the pulse of the local culture. It is disgusting.

Hi, I'm Lisa, Aussie Anglican minister and recent-but-frequent lurker on this site.

The first thing that struck me was that this is 'gospel' in a way - not THE Gospel, obviously, but if you're a slum dweller or struggling farmer in Ghana or Nigeria, how can the promise of wealth and prosperity not sound like good news? Of course you're going to believe it, of course you want to tell your friends. You hunger for food and shelter, for the security of money and power, but most of all you hunger for hope.

The authentic gospel of Christ is always a tension between reality and hope. Hope grounded in reality, reality transformed by hope.

It's easy for me to condemn the message of these churches as false hope, false gospel. It's much harder to ask myself - to hear God ask - what I'm doing to offer those hungry people the real thing.

Which makes me feel pretty uncomfortable about sitting here on my sofa in my nice warm lounge room, deciding whether I'll ride my bike or drive my car to church tomorrow, enjoying left-over chocolate fondue, fooling around on the internet and lazily reaping the benefits of a pretty good theological education.

Hmmm, I think sackcloth and ashes are traditional at this point, but perhaps God would prefer me to do something more useful...

Well, when you're not getting much help from anywhere else, I'm sure that this sort of gospel is very attractive. Some sociologists and anthropologists theorize a "culture of poverty" characterized by low personal control over your daily life. I know most about this in terms of Latin America - when your family is constantly at risk from forces beyond your control (guerillas/paras, political instability, inflation, urban migration, the weather, racism, etc.) a message of "you WILL be successful and you CAN be successful because God wants you to!" is very powerful. What bothers me about these type of churches isn't the empowerment message but the fact that the leaders get filthy rich doing it and how they skew the message from social justice for the impoverished to "you too can be filthy rich and ignore the rest of humanity! Join the consumerist culture!"

See also Christianity Today's excellent reporting on this issue -- their July cover story: http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2007/july/12.22.html

Jonathan in South Carolina, here. I too find myself with sick and twisted knot in my stomach after reading the article. It amazes me how badly people can twist and distort such a pure message. And what, exactly, does it do for those of us who profess Christ. It's like a hard punch in the face. Painful and demoralizing.

Recently just finished an amazing book by Jim Henderson and Matt Casper, entitled 'Jim and Casper Go to Church.' Jim is a lifelong Christian and Casper is an Atheist. They visit churches together and you get to listen in on their conversation. It is extremely eye opening to see what type of perception the "Amercianized Gospel" is giving to those who come in contact with its sticky fingers. Check it out if you get the chance.

Just looks like more amoral hucksters to me, no different from the ones who promise to cure cancer with boiled blood and shark cartilage. I see why you frame it as a Christian issue--but as far as I can tell, no Christians are involved.

the political-economic system simply doesn't matter, because a born-again Christian will prosper under any political or economic regime

I was taught that one of the great attractions of monotheism was that god was no longer landlocked. You could take him wherever you went, instead of moving from one god's region to another's. This sounds like pretty much the same sales pitch.

I had the opportunity to travel to The Gambia, West Africa last November where I was able to serve as a pharmacist in a local hospital. While I was there, I attended two different churches: one was a fairly large, Pentecostal influenced church and another a smaller, moderately traditional church. There was stark contrast between the two.
The larger church tended to attract those who held higher positions in government or business. And the message was certainly health, wealth and prosperity. Their church building, in an undetermined state of completion, would be impressive when completed. Especially when compared to local standards.
The smaller church existed in an rented room above a storefront. They, as a community, eagerly welcome our group in, invited us to speak at their Bible study and met with us to share their vision for their country.
In a country which still consists mainly of Muslims, it is difficult to express the truth of the gospel (to Muslims and Christians alike) when the "Christian" label is already so distorted.

I dont understand how one can support health & wealth theology and know anything about Jesus as a historical figure.

Was he not a peasant? Did he not say "The son of man has no where to rest his head (i.e. homeless)? Was not much of his teaching about compassion for the poor?

I dont understand how men like John Hagee and Joel Osteen have such a strong following with such poorly thought out theology.

This is the sort of thing that authentic Christians around the world should publicly and loudly denounce.

I agree with this, and with the bulk of the dismayed comments before mine. But I also have to note that your very choice of wording is part of the problem with trying to "loudly condemn" this movement -- who are we to say that we are "authentic Christians" and that this or that other group is way off base? I mean, I get pretty riled when the Pope claims that distinction for Catholics, and I imagine that some of our third-world brethren would see the trappings of Western hubris in that turn of phrase.

Christianity has survived as long as it has because of the power of witness, of lives lived that speak for themselves. In the long run, those who serve the poor, work for justice, and show that they place things of the spirit above things of the earth will draw the admiration and curiosity of the spiritual seekers, however much the lure of wealth and reassurance may please them in the short term... (or so we trust)

acm

Gordon:

This few lines, towards the end of the article, really struck me. (I've been buried in economics texts for the past year. so bear with me.)

"To be told that you matter, that you belong at the top, that you will have what you desire, must provide incentives in circumstances in which it is all too easy to give up. A sufficient number must succeed for the movement not to be discredited. Whatever the tensions and inconsistencies, these churches are clearly developing a winning formula."

In the US, where we're drowning in prosperity and have no gratitude, this kind of gospel can be poisonou. Is is possible that it may have a few redeeming qualities in other countries?

was reading Acts yesterday and found this from chapter 5 of Acts.

34But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God."

My uncle subscribes to a message similar to this. His life has been pockmarked by pain and trials, some of which I cannot begin to imagine experiencing. He is rediscovering his faith in God, via this sort of "prosperity" message; but the problem I see is that now every injury, every affront to his attempts at goodness seems to him a rebuke from God. I am his 25 year old niece, a very close niece, to be sure, but still much younger and much less experienced. I burn inside to reassure him that trials are gifts, that they are learning experiences at least and true treasures at most. But I know he won't hear me, because, what do I know?

So, what I'm wondering is, does it matter? If, in the end, this "gospel" helps people discover faith, should we bother bickering about the means to a beneficial end?

I think the answer is yes--because setting up unrealistic expectations leads to disappointment. In this case, a dangerous disappointment in God which, without a proper foundation, cannot be weathered by faith. In my experience, bitterness toward God is harder to overcome than a simple lack of exposure to him.

Gah, what do I know? Only that there is something deeply disturbing about all of this "prosperity" crap.

Jesus warned us not to be decieved. in Matthew 24 false christs would come as well as Pauls letters to Thess and others about How God would send strong delusion to silly weak willed people whom want their ears tickled. All the apostles suffered and did not live a rich extravagant life. It is mentally unhealthy and untheological to beleive that we will always get what we want. There is a cup of sufferring and a cross to bear too with the prosperity. Having faith in the death burial and ressurection of Jesus Christ, being forgiven and having your faith mixed with repentance and being filled with the Holy Ghost of Jesus Christ. This is real prosperity. Everything else from Him is icing that must be used to better His kingdom in a sustainable theological process.

Another disturbing 'Gospel' being marketed in Africa is that the end of the world is upon us. Sounds crazy doesn't it but the effect of this is that the new converts take their kids out of education because its a waste of time as the end of the world is imminant. Also the poor stop fighting for justice since Jesus will sort it when he comes. It is causing people to give up and live entirely in the now with no thought for their future because they believe that Jesus is coming in their lifetime. Why waste time planting for next year when there probably won't be a next year?

The peddlars of this Gospel have homes and education and food and pensions, of course, and seem oblivious to the harm they are causing.

Keep shouting Gordon, some of us will shout with you!

ScoG Blog - not signed in.

Take a look at this license plate frame and tell me it doesn't make you crazy. You shoulda seen me in the parking lot I spotted it in. It was everything I could do to not leave a note on the SUV it was attached to:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cate1234/536103670/

-Cate