20SP_RE201A-CI-Christianity

Hard prosperity is something that is still seen around the world today and I think it is disgraceful to Christians all over the world. It is terrible to think that people are selling Christianity as something that you can buy yourself into and get good graces with God just by spending money. 

I think the hard prosperity gospel is really depressing and embarassing, but I feel like it hasn't gone away. People worship Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk who are comitting crimes that make Jim Bakker and Jimmy Swaggart look like saints. The secular prosperity gospel is just called the American Dream and has always been popular, but when it was done by the televangelists, they were just too tacky. From this perspective, the hard prosperity gospel was a very natural phenomenon to happen in America.

I understand why people could come to believe part of this. I think people got swept up and lost in this idea. Powerful people abused the "faithful" and with any new technology their are certain dangers as there was with "prank callers". Preachers really put on these television shows for personal gain, and these programs became entertainment and less like religion. 

Hard prosperity in my opinion is scam. People get swept up into the money, greed, and power. This is the first I have heard of this gospel.  

I believe that "hard prosperity" was a scam that tapped into peoples innate desires. We all desire to be wealthy and have nice material things, and people became swept up with the possibility of receiving them through the avenues "hard prosperity" claimed one could. For example, giving money to God, tithing so that God could return the money in an even bigger amount. 

I found televangelism to be a very sneaky and evil way of earning large amounts of money, while some are promising the gates of heaven for money. Yet there are still others who use televangelism for good.

One thing that confused or I found surprising was that all the preachers that were big on televangelism all ratted each other out and told things that didn't need to be told to the public in order for their own gain such as followers and supporters and I believe financial gain. 

I did not fully understand the biblical reasoning behind hard prosperity. I feel like the promise made to Abraham and the idea about poverty being a curse or a punishment has been taken out of context from specific and isolated incidents from the Bible. During the reading, I was thinking about how in the Bible, it says that it is easier for a camel to fit through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God and one time Jesus asked a man to give up all his belongings, leave everything and follow Him. The Bible constantly mentions how people should give to the poor and Jesus was never rich. Most important characters in the Bible were not rich.

These readings and lectures put many thoughts in my mind. I was shocked at how hypocritical those televangelists were. I guess the best christians are those who don't seek the spotlight, but adhere to their beliefs without caring if they are seen or recognized. "Hard prosperity" reminded me of that old notion that one can buy their way into heaven, rather than doing good for it. I don't plan on watching TV to find salvation any time soon.

Reading more in depth about this actually just reinforced my opinion on televangelism and how corrupt it can be. It actually shifted my thinking to be even more criticism and distrust than prior to reading. Nothing good can come from a belief that your finances determines your faith. Also, I am appalled that so many people believed and supported such fraud!

why do they preach that if you aren't wealthy you don't have faith???

I did not realize many tv hosts were using teaching religion on television were able to become corrupt from money and fame. This shifted my thinking of televangelism. 

I believe that the idea of moral righteousness based on someone's financial situation is false. It's shocking that spirituality can be so focused on money and material items.

I thought it was kind of cruel and not really faith based that these people prayed for exact amounts of things they wanted and they got it. I think prayer should be based more on God's terms and not people praying for exactly what they want. You should not have to have wealth to be prosperous. 

One huge question I had during the lecture was, "Do the preachers of the prosperity gospel actually believe it?" It seems like a complete scam, but perhaps I have hindsight bias. Do you think they convinced themselves that they were right? It could be a similar case to the way that people convinced themselves that the enslavement of African Americas was acceptable. Recall the missing link theory that we studied in class.

It sickens me to think that people are told they can't get into heaven or they aren't faithful enough if they are poor.  What kind of message is that?  I don't understand it.  Life circumstances, not faith, leads a person to the life they are living.  It feels fraudulent and I think some preachers used it to gain more tithes from people, claiming it would make them rich if they donated large amounts of money.