@snood,
snood wrote:
Okay, fine - you prefer upward mobility. More power to you. But since there is no such thing as "the gospel of prosperity according to Jesus", why mix Christianity with it at all? There is a word for that religion already - its Capitalism. And long may it wave, but it simply ain't what Jesus was getting at.
Hi snood,
I will agree with you that the gospel of prosperity is absurb in a Christian context.
It is equally absurd that poverty has anything to inform us about the religious experience.
Between those two extremes I don't understand what Jesus was"getting at".
I certainly agree with Snood here. Ain't nothing wrong with the doctrine of self-centerdness, avarice and I'm-for-me-firstedness within a certain context. That context, however, is in no sense Christian and any self-described Christian minister who preaches it is, to the extent that he preaches this message, non-Christian. In fact, claiming to be a Christian preacher of the word of God and delivering such a message makes him/her a heretic, a hypocrite and an apostate.
@tycoon,
Even a cursory browsing of Christianity would show that there is a certain encouragement to turn one's heart away from the material and toward the spiritual. Its recommended to seek the "kingdom of God" rather than "the things of this world". I don't think Jesus necessarily is a hater of those with wealth, but I think he doesn't consider material wealth to be a good prime directive for those who want to follow him.
