Prosperity Gospel Without the Prosperity?

There is an interesting article in by Hanna Rosin this month’s The Atlantic entitled “Did Christianity Cause the Crash?” Rosin makes an interesting connection (although largely anecdotal) between the rise of the so-called “Prosperity Gospel” (or “Health and Wealth Theology” or “Word of Faith Movement”) and the mortgage collapse that led to the present economic crisis. Many of those taught by their church that faithfulness means that God expects them to have the trappings of wealth were over-optimistic in their use of credit. Rosin suggests that many of the sub-prime mortgages responsible for this present financial darkness were directly marketed to Prosperity Gospel church members through their ministers and pulpits. God wants you to have houses, and here is a way to have one now.

Did the Prosperity Gospel really contribute of the bursting of the mortgage bubble? Read the article and tell me what you think. But it does stand to reason that people take greater financial risks if they really believe that faith guarantees that God will bless all their financial endeavors and enlarge all their financial territory (to use Jabezian language). Paul’s words like “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another” (Rom 13:8) and “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (Phil 4:12) are lost pretty quickly if you believe that God wants you to have the biggest house and the best car in the neighborhood because somehow that gives glory to Him. Early disciples like Peter and his partners gave up everything to follow Jesus (Mk 10:28) and died penniless in prison as martyrs. Jesus himself had nothing and warned that those who follow him might not do much better (Matt 8:20). How does that fit into the American Dream?

It will be worse than irony if the world comes to sees the church as leading the cultural charge into financial ruin rather than being a help to the poor who are hurt by it!

Theology from Calvin (and Hobbes)

Years ago, I was driving to a Memorial Day softball tournament at camp. I was all ready for the big day— I had had my lucky glove, my lucky cleats and was wearing my lucky sweats (I had to rely a lot on luck). What I didn’t have was my wallet! It was Memorial Day, and the police were doing random traffic stops and I randomly found one. So there I was, in a long line of traffic inching toward judgment waiting to show the state troopers the driver’s license I didn’t have.

Well, maybe my lucky glove was luckier off the field than it was on the field. There were two troopers doing the traffic stop. And I pulled up, Trooper #1 waved me to go on to Trooper #2, who must have thought Trooper #1 was finished with me, so we waved me on through the stop. Either I was really lucky or God didn't want me to pay a fine... or we have really lousy troopers.

So I was completely guilty, and yet I was treated as if I were completely innocent. Not a bad metaphor for grace, really. Grace is the basic message of the gospel. Over and over, the Bible tells us that God through Christ has saved us by his mercy, “not because of righteous things we had done” (Titus 3:5). We are saved by grace through faith to do good works (Eph 2:8-10). Paul warns us that salvation is “not by works, so that no one can boast.” It is important that we get grace straight, because if we think that we are good enough in ourselves, then we will boast.

But we do boast, don't we? One of the characteristics of many who are saved by grace is that they seem to have a lot of trouble extending that grace to others. I am saved by grace, but your life or theology is such a wreck that even grace can't help you. It is almost as if we want the grace community to consist only of us and those who are like us. I remember an old Calvin and Hobbs cartoon where the two are discussing the nature of the universe

Calvin: "You know what the problem is with the universe?” There’s no toll-free customer hot line for complaints! That’s why things don’t get fixed. If the Universe had any decent management, we’d get a full refund if we weren’t completely satisfied."

Hobbes: "But hey, the universe is free."

Calvin: "They should be a cover charge to keep out all the riffraff."

You see, we don’t want grace to be too free … or else all the riffraff will get in! Church folks can be a pretty judgmental lot (not at Denbigh, of course, but at other places). In fact, church can be a downright dangerous place for those who struggle with sin, with their past, with imperfect theology, with addictions… with life. I remember having a discussion with a brother who had a very, very (very) narrow view of divorce and divorced people. He told me (with steam coming out of his ears), “If we don’t get this right, then the church will end up being full of sinners!” Well, the church has always been full of sinners! And we will never get it right enough to change that.

Think about it... If moral or theological perfection is the church’s cover charge that keeps out all the riffraff, then we ALL will find ourselves on the outside looking in… with all the other riffraff.

I Mean Seriously...

Remind me one more time-- why is it that that so many people today have such a hard taking Christianity seriously?

A Tale Told By an Idiot?

Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

Nothing like a little Shakespeare to brighten up your day, right? Of course, it is a little dangerous to title a blog “a tale told by an idiot.” The idiot, in this case, is not me but Macbeth, who just doesn’t have a very rosy outlook. Life has no meaning, no purpose. It’s all just a bunch of noise until its time to be quiet. Unfortunately, a lot of people seem to live like life is just “a tale told by an idiot…signifying nothing.”

Take Larry Walters as an example. Larry made history in 1982 when he fastened 42 surplus weather balloons to a lawn chair and launched himself skyward. He carried a CB radio and a BB gun to shoot the balloons when it was time to descend. It may be a surprise, but Larry didn’t think this plan through very well. He reached altitudes of 16,000 feet before he started to descend, and was spotted by pilots from both TWA and Delta Airlines. After getting the ride of his life, Larry landed in a residential neighborhood in Long Beach, got tangled in power lines, and caused a power blackout. Unfortunately for Larry, this literally was the ride of his life. Several years later, he decided Macbeth was right, and Larry shot himself to death. He had enough of the thrills and adventure, and there was nothing else except the sound and fury that meant nothing.

Life is supposed to have meaning, right? It is supposed to signify something. Sometimes we live like our purpose is just to get through the day—either trying to hold on while we get all the stuff done that we have to get done or maybe just finding enough stuff to do to fill up the day. Surely there is something more to life than just getting through the day. Carl Jung, the famous psychiatrist, was once asked what was the meaning of life; his answer was, “I don’t know the meaning of life but it looks as if something were meant by it.” Surely there is something more to life than just “a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

For the Christian, there is much more to life than just getting through it. There is purpose and meaning to life because we have been given purpose and meaning by God. Paul wrote--

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. (Romans 8:28-29)

We have been called according to God’s purpose. We were made in his image and are called to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. We are to live in relationship to him and are to live like him. What a high and holy purpose that is—that signifies a lot. May we not get so busy with the details of life today that we forget that we have been given a purpose for today and everyday!

Whose List?

Forbes Magazine releases a list each year of the wealthiest people in the world. They also have another list of the wealthiest celebrities. Well, they released another list last week—the highest earning dead celebrities. Evidently the earning power of some doesn’t end when they die. You’ve probably seen dead stars like John Wayne, Fred Astaire and most recently Chris Farley doing TV commercials through the magic of computer animation. Well, even dead stars don’t work for free, so the Forbes people (who obviously don’t have enough to do) compiled a list of which dead celebrities makes the most.

Surprisingly enough, it wasn’t either Michael Jackson nor Elvis Presley, though they do rank 3rd and 4th on the list. The top dead breadwinner is French fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent who pulled in a cool $350 million. Number 2 on the list is the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein who made $235 million between them. There is even a term that has been coined to describe dead celebrities-- "delebs."

I wonder if Michael Jackson wants to lodge a complaint because obviously Rogers and Hammerstein are two delebs, not one, and are there unfairly listed in the #2 spot. Or is Elvis thinking, “If I would have just gotten my cut from those velvet paintings those guys sell on the side of the road, I could have been #1… thank you, thank you very much.” Do you think J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Schulz, John Lennon, Theodor Geisel, Albert Einstein or Michael Crichton (rounding out the top ten) care very much about this list? Oh, the heirs who have control over their delebs’ estates care very much. Maybe what the delebs might care about is what Ecclesiastes 2:18,19 says—

I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless.

We know the old saying—you can’t take it with you. To paraphrase the old bumper stick popular in the 80’s, “The one who dies with the most toys—is dead.” Once we are dead, nothing of the things that we treat as so important now will matter. Money, possessions, status, intelligence, beauty, athleticism, accomplishments—once you are dead, they don’t matter at all. Part of the meaninglessness with which Ecclesiastes struggles is how the grave makes everything not matter, “The fate of the fool will overtake me also. What then do I gain by being wise?” (Eccl 2:15).

At the heart of the Christian faith is the certainty that some things do survive the grave. There is coming a time when Jesus’ victory over the tomb will become our victory. Those who trust in Him will live forever, and the good deeds we do now are sent ahead of them as an eternal treasure (see 1 Tim 6:17-19). Maybe it would be wise to spend more time on things that last and less time on things you must leave behind?