Gospel of Wealth
Jan 2nd, 2008 by Nut
When I was in college I kept hearing the story about a guy on a public-access channel that would sit there and talk about God and who knows what else. Then his cell phone would ring and he would pick up, “Hello? Hi, God, yeah it’s me. Yes, I know God, I’ve been trying. Ok people (turning to the viewers), it’s God and he wants you to donate money to the cause.”
Not sure if a 1-800 number popped up or what but he would ask for and (I assume) receive donations from people. Apparently God exists and he has Verizon.
Anyway, I was reminded of that story after reading this article about people basically being told the same thing: if they donate money to this or that ministry, God will return it back to them tenfold. Not spiritually but in actual monetary gains.
The disturbing thing about it is I’ve seen some of these infomercials and the language these people use is a bastardized investment-speak: “God will return your investment tenfold and your principal shall be elevated to the spirit of the divine as you earn interest not only on your money but in your soul.”
Now that’s some real scary stuff because, as the article details, there are real people out there giving money they don’t have to these scammers (and some are well known, very popular preachers), fully expecting some sort of real, tangible return on their money.
They call it “The Gospel of Wealth.”
Money and religion shouldn’t mix. That’s something I discovered in school after we learned about Indulgences in the Middle Ages. What they were was basically a ticket that was purchased in exchange for forgiveness of misdeeds.
This reminds me of the successful book The Secret and how it touts visualization as a powerful tool to achieve your goals and get what you want. Which I agree with, sure. This is nothing new—but the book goes as far as to imply that all you need to acquire things or wealth is visualization. You think it, you get it. If bad things happen to you, it’s because you let them into your mind. Which is ridiculous.
Whatever you want to believe about God and religion is fine by me, go nuts. But once a person’s reality in this world is negatively affected to the extent that they go into debt, can’t pay bills, or can’t feed their kids—someone needs to step in and do something about it.
If you want to ameliorate your financial situation, learn about budgeting and finances and living below your means. Just don’t rely solely on a higher power to actually come down and fix your life, especially not when someone is asking you for money. If you are a believer, try educating yourself first and use prayer as a secondary tool. Otherwise, someone out there will be sure to take advantage of you.
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