I didn't mean to type another post about religion so soon, but last night, I watched a sermon by Dr Paul Choo about the Prosperity Gospel that has the world by storm, and this is my opinion on the subject.
Oh and, you can check out his video over here.
Now, I've always been a skeptic of religion, not because of the religion itself, but rather the dubious people who come along and preach it. There are instances when the sermon is so bad that I'm like "Stop ruining it, stop ruining it.." Anyhoo, lets get on with it. So in the video, Dr Paul explains what the Prosperity Gospel is about and how easy it is to quote a passage from the Bible out of context to justify anything you're trying to preach. But even way before this, I've always had my doubts about the Prosperity Gospel, or PG for short now, since I'm a lazy motherfucker.
For those of you who're asking, what exactly is PG then? It basically teaches us that God wants us to be abundant, both in health and in wealth, and to not possess either of them is a curse that has to be broken. It's really as easy as believing what the Bible says, and we'll be oh so blessed. Of course this attracts so many people, it's what the world needs today, the two most fundamental and essential things in life, RIGHT?
That's very true, if you're a part of the materialistic society.
Putting my own fuck-the-world beliefs aside, I personally think it's a little weird for God to actually talk about wealth and health in the Bible seeing as how the gist about the Bible was quite the opposite. THEN, there's this one parable about a rich man who asked Jesus about what he needed to do to go to heaven and have eternal life. Jesus then told him to follow the Commandments and to give up all his riches to the poor. The man basically told Jesus that he had done the first requirement, but was unable to do the second as he didn't want to surrender his wealth. Jesus then proceeded to tell his disciples who were standing there, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven." There are actually quite a handful of verses suggesting that Jesus wasn't really a fan of material wealth, as he himself came down as a poor man too. So question - why the hell would Jesus promote material wealth? Moreover, what kind of religion would it be, if it was solely based on the flimsy promises of personal gain?
Although Christianity is all about receiving salvation from God by accepting him into your life, it doesn't mean that he is also there to dispense money and health for your own pleasure. God is not your ATM, stop treating him like one. Then there's also this practice that comes with the GP, that the more you tithe, the more you'll receive. This is also just as weird, and it amazes me how some people seem to have forgotten what tithing means. And no, it's not some investment fund where you deposit your money in it and take it back and more a couple months later. In that case, why call it a church, might as well be just another investment firm.
It's about giving freely to aid the expansion and development of the church. In a certain church though, it has become the 'Help the Sunrise in Hollywood' fund instead. Hope the bold helps you understand what I mean though, if it wasn't already obvious enough.
That said, I think the reason why GP is so popular is because it doesn't preach about dealing with adversaries that come your way. And it works like a charm with society because it has developed this escapist mentality, that "oh if something bad comes my way, it's just a curse that I need to break with some faith in God.", which is bullshit, because adversaries are there so we can learn and upgrade ourselves, and how the fuck do you expect to do that if you sit on your ass all day praying to God and reading the Bible? Sometimes, you need to get out there and do something as well. Christianity isn't some kind of spoon-feeding religion where you just come in and expect God to do every single thing for you, like a babysitter that feeds you, clothes you, wipes your bum for you, blablabla. Did i also mention that God probably doesn't like lazy people either? In a way, GP is preached by lazy pastors who got sick of resistance and wanted an easy way to attract believers.
Even though I'm someone who isn't wholly faithful to my religion and obviously, I have issues with many aspects of it, I still know that there is more to Christianity than just material possessions.
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