It is interesting how the Church has been mostly divided in viewpoints towards money; wealth or prosperity. In the coming weeks, I’ll make an attempt to present a series of entries that aim to put this controversial topic of prosperity in (biblical) perspective. In the meantime, enjoy this article below:
Many Christians see Jesus as the poor, itinerant preacher who had “no place to lay his head.”
But as Christians gather around the globe this year to celebrate the birth of Jesus, another group of Christians are insisting that Jesus’ beginnings weren’t so humble.
They say that Jesus was never poor — and neither should his followers be. Their claim is embedded in the doctrine known as the prosperity gospel, which holds that God rewards the faithful with financial prosperity and spiritual gifts.
The prosperity gospel has attracted plenty of critics. But popular televangelists such as the late Oral Roberts, Kenneth Hagin and, today, Creflo Dollar have built mega-churches and a global audience by equating piety with prosperity.
The prosperity gospel, however, clashes with the traditional depictions of Jesus as poor. That’s because the traditional image of Jesus as destitute is wrong, says the Rev. Tom Brown, senior pastor of the Word of Life Church in El Paso, Texas.
Read the full article here>>>
March 5th, 2010 at 4:15 am
that’s a very interesting article… wat’s ur personal thots on it, bro?
March 5th, 2010 at 10:50 am
I will just share briefly as I intend to present more on this topic in the coming weeks.
But briefly, I don’t accept the prosperity gospel as defined as “being saved and you be rich”. It’s not balanced and not complete.
I believe and subscribe to the gospel of the kingdom- salvation, redemption, restoration, prosperity or abundance etc…
That said, pertaining to whether Jesus was poor or rich? I believe he is not poor.
How I came to this conclusion?
I hope to share more with bible references that suggest reasons why Jesus wasn’t poor.
March 6th, 2010 at 1:09 am
Use common sense that Jesus is very rich because he is the Creator of heaven. >_<
January 5th, 2011 at 1:46 am
Agreed! But let’s also look at the itenaries that Andrew will bring up from a biblical perspective. =)
March 7th, 2010 at 9:41 pm
I listened to Pastor Kong Hee’s sermons “Rich God? Poor God?” and “The 10 Laws of The Harvest” in the this link: http://attributes.com.sg/city-harvest-weekend-services
There are certainly many bible references which indicate that Jesus wasn’t poor.
June 25th, 2010 at 6:40 am
Thank you for highlighting God with prosperity. Well done!
http://lmmiller34.wordpress.com/2010/06/16/god-is-my-source-and-supply/
June 25th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Poverty does not honor God. it means the person is not using the gifts that God gave him. Jesus came to save the sinnes, not the righteous and he taught the poor to share what they could. He said,”Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his rightoeusness and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33.
There are many verses which speak about prosperity in the Bible. One can read them as they do their daily devotions.