Recent letters addressed the notion of redistribution of wealth, and whether it’s mandated by the Bible.
I don’t believe the teachings in the New Testament were intended to apply at a governmental level for two reasons. First, the New Testament was written in the context of the Roman Empire; the Christians in Acts had no political influence and functioned primarily within their own social sphere. Second, I interpret Christ’s coming, along with the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. as a sign from God that his experiment with theocracy was a dismal failure and that he’d given up on the whole idea.
However, there’s a precedent in Old Testament prophetic writing for the notion of God punishing Israel as a nation for the government’s lack of concern for the poor. Whether that applies to Christian nations I couldn’t say.
As Iraq and Colorado liquor law changes show, murder, covetousness and non-observance of the Sabbath are the foundation for America’s 24/7 economy. If Americans ever started obeying the Ten Commandments, our economy would tank. Surely, God understands this.
Wealth and individualism are stumbling blocks for American Christians, as I discovered during my own exposure to the Prosperity Gospel many years ago. My minister would cherry pick Bible verses that suggested God wanted us to be healthy and wealthy. Only as I began reading the Bible on my own, and more inclusively, did I realize the Prosperity Gospel contradicted almost all of Christ’s teachings.
Currently, prosperity teachings are more popular in the African-American Church. In the white church, I think they’ve become mainstream. Though Jesus taught one can’t serve both God and money, a lot of American Christians perceive no conflict between their capitalism and their faith.
From all I can tell, the Prosperity Gospel is a heresy, though it’s never gotten the attention from religious leaders the Gnostic Gospels recently received. I suspect the difference is that, while the Gnostic Gospels have a secular influence in novelist Dan Brown, the Prosperity Gospel was started by Christian leaders like Kenneth Copeland. Unlike European gnosticism, “prosperitism” is distinctly American.
I don’t believe the teachings in the New Testament were intended to apply at a governmental level for two reasons. First, the New Testament was written in the context of the Roman Empire; the Christians in Acts had no political influence and functioned primarily within their own social sphere. Second, I interpret Christ’s coming, along with the destruction of the Temple by the Romans in 70 A.D. as a sign from God that his experiment with theocracy was a dismal failure and that he’d given up on the whole idea.
However, there’s a precedent in Old Testament prophetic writing for the notion of God punishing Israel as a nation for the government’s lack of concern for the poor. Whether that applies to Christian nations I couldn’t say.
As Iraq and Colorado liquor law changes show, murder, covetousness and non-observance of the Sabbath are the foundation for America’s 24/7 economy. If Americans ever started obeying the Ten Commandments, our economy would tank. Surely, God understands this.
Wealth and individualism are stumbling blocks for American Christians, as I discovered during my own exposure to the Prosperity Gospel many years ago. My minister would cherry pick Bible verses that suggested God wanted us to be healthy and wealthy. Only as I began reading the Bible on my own, and more inclusively, did I realize the Prosperity Gospel contradicted almost all of Christ’s teachings.
Currently, prosperity teachings are more popular in the African-American Church. In the white church, I think they’ve become mainstream. Though Jesus taught one can’t serve both God and money, a lot of American Christians perceive no conflict between their capitalism and their faith.
From all I can tell, the Prosperity Gospel is a heresy, though it’s never gotten the attention from religious leaders the Gnostic Gospels recently received. I suspect the difference is that, while the Gnostic Gospels have a secular influence in novelist Dan Brown, the Prosperity Gospel was started by Christian leaders like Kenneth Copeland. Unlike European gnosticism, “prosperitism” is distinctly American.
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