{"id":82647,"date":"2019-06-13T14:26:10","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T18:26:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=82647"},"modified":"2019-06-13T17:40:22","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T21:40:22","slug":"albert-mohler-would-you-trade-eternal-life-for-a-ferrari-the-false-gospel-of-prosperity-theology","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=82647","title":{"rendered":"(Albert Mohler) Would You Trade Eternal Life For A Ferrari? The False Gospel of Prosperity Theology"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edward Luce, the American Editor for the Financial Times, penned [an] article<\/a> [in the Financial Times in April], which chronicles his visit to Lakewood Church, the most significant temple to the prosperity gospel in America. Luce marshals all his prowess and analytical skill to craft this insightful article\u2014a story that explores the friction between the prosperity gospel of Joel Osteen and the historic, orthodox Christian faith.<\/p>\n

Luce\u2019s report not only details what is present in prosperity theology, but what is absent. He attended a men\u2019s support meeting and wrote, \u201cOptimism, hope, destiny, harvest, bounty\u2014these are Lakewood\u2019s buzzwords. Prosperity too.\u201d Then, he reveals the glaring absence of crucial theological terms: \u201cWords that are rarely heard include guilt, shame, sin, penance and hell. Lakewood is not the kind of church that troubles your conscience.\u201d The supervisor of the men\u2019s support group said to Luce, \u201cIf you want to feel bad, Lakewood is not the place for you. Most people want to leave church feeling better than when they went in.\u201d<\/p>\n

This statement distills the essential message of prosperity theology\u2014a theology not centered on God and his glory, but an anthropocentric psychological message aimed at making individuals merely feel better about themselves.<\/p>\n

Indeed, self-promotion undergirds the success of the prosperity gospel. All meaning and significance in the universe revolves around the self. Thus, meaning and identity have shifted away <\/em>from the self-revealing, self-existing God and towards<\/em> the self-important, self-worshiping individual whom God loves.<\/p>\n

God certainly loves us. Indeed, the Bible says, \u201cFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son.\u201d The prosperity gospel, however, shifts the impetus of that love away from the praise and glory of the Creator<\/em>towards the praise and glory of the creature<\/em>. Luce captures this sentiment in his report, noting that Osteen said, \u201cIf God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. If he had a computer, your face would be the screen saver.\u201d<\/p>\n

Osteen has reversed the entire theological order of biblical Christianity\u2014an order that begins with the supreme priority, glory, and holiness of God.<\/p>\n

Read it all<\/a> (and please note you need an FT subscription to read the Luce article).<\/p>\n

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The suppression of the truth is the working out through human history of the fall and its consequences. It affects all humanity. \u2014Dr. @AlbertMohler<\/a> #refbiblecollege<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/gDgqqAY8r8<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Reformation Bible College (@RefBibleCollege) January 21, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n