Have your cake and eat it too

It is unsurprising that the idea of "prosperity gospel" has been fostered in one of the most consumeristic/capitalistic societies and one of the most religious ones - it is syncretism at its best.

The hard question must be asked of Christians claiming to be blessed by God in terms of possessions ... do you have your possessions because of divine intervention or because of the socio-economic system in place in America that enables most middle to upper class people to have a "an abundant life"?

Also interesting is how John 10:10 is automatically interpreted to mean material abundance ... again, unsurprising interpretation in an overly materialistic society - a case of reading the surrounding culture into the text.

Another favourite response of mine is people who tell me that it's good to see how the poor live so we know how blessed we are ... again, the logical conclusion to this statement is that God chooses to bless Western countries with material wealth, but not poor countries (or poor people within Western countries) - this would include keeping in place systems of injustice that help create wealth for the elite (and keep it there). Or perhaps it is us humans who keep these systems in place, keep people in abject poverty, and refuse to distribute the wealth of creation ... as God is grieved all along.

Anyway, a timely (pardon the pun) post Sean ... this is one of the more important clashes within the Church this century - especially with huge growth of prosperity gospel movements in "developing" countries.

Glad to see Rick Warren speak against it. I don't agree with Warren on everything, but I am happy that he has discovered a passion for social justice in the past few years. It's good to have someone of his influence speak against the prosperity gospel.