The Prosperity Doctrine

In the Dark Ages, the Catholic Church practiced the infamously corrupt abuse of selling indulgences. The ignorant masses who were not permitted to read the Bible thought that the priest class controlled the eternal destiny of common people and also thought that clergy could influence the state of "departed souls." Supposed representatives of Christ would tell the people to give them money in exchange for forgiveness of sins, or in exchange for the advancement of loved ones from "Purgatory" to "Paradise."

You thought the Reformers ended the practice of selling indulgences, didn't you. So did I. Until I read this out of the New York Times: Believers Invest in the Gospel of Getting Rich. (I thought the Copelands and their fellow televangelist travelers were discredited years ago...how are they still around!?)

The Prosperity Gospel is nothing more than a modern form of selling indulgences. The glittering celebrity-televangelists promote a distorted view of God and rake in the donations in the process. Kenneth Copeland tells the poor souls who are seeking truth and aid from church leaders that those who donate to their multi-million dollar "ministry" will get a special magical prayer from Saint Copeland--the Cardinal of Cash, the Pope of Prosperity, the Bishop of Bucks. And these prayers will bring you riches! Because Copeland has special access to the Most High, just as Catholic priests had.

So, the ignorant masses give their money in exchange for prayers. How different is this from the sale of indulgences, really? Where is the gospel in all of this? Where is the calling to deny self, to take up our cross, and to live like Jesus lived? Absent. It has to be absent because the Prosperity Gospel runs contrary to the teachings of Jesus. "Have enough 'faith,' give money to televangelists, and you'll get rich quick"--where is this in the message of Jesus, which calls us to be entirely others-centered?

I won't be the judge of the Copelands' motives or of their hearts. I don't doubt that God has used them for good. God uses all of us despite our errors. But at the same time, where the actions and words of prominent Christians mischaracterize the gospel of Jesus, when it borders on becoming a false gospel, good Christians must expose it for what it is.