The New Gospel of Wealth

Our media center had a bit of a magazine clearance, so I scooped up dozens of copies of Time and The Nation and Scientific American. I've been going through them and finding interesting articles to use with my College Comp II class. Since I'm trying to make it a moodle (on-line) class next semester, I've been bookmarking internet versions of the stories.

But the problem has been that as I'm trying to stockpile stories, I begin reading the damned things and kind of get bogged down in learning (can you believe it? And in school too!).

One issue of Time asked the vital question (and one I've always pondered over since I grew up waiting out the TV evangelists before weekend morning cartoons), is "Does God Want You to be Rich?"

My dad always preached, "It's harder to fit a camel through the eye of a needle than it is for a rich man to get into heaven." So I grew up with a resounding "NO!" to that answer in my mind.

But I'm shocked at how many evangelists twist the word of God to meet their own needs, namely their need for money.

The article focuses on Joel Osteen who preaches positivity and prosperity through God. I have no problem with this. Then again I love to read "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" by Jonathan Edwards with my American Lit classes. Let's just say that Edwards is about as doom and gloom and fire and brimstone as it gets. I have know problem with that either.

I just find all of it interesting. Okay, I admit that I find Osteen's approach to a gospel of wealth a bit hypocritical. But who am I to judge? Right?

Then as I was going through a later issue of Time, I found the "Letters to the editor" page along with the picture of the cover story on God wanting you to be rich.

Knowing how religion tends to make for terrible discussions, I thought it might be interesting to see how the readers reacted.

Sure enough, some were outraged at Time for focusing on Osteen. Sure enough, some good old Old Testament believers out there were adamant that the rich do not get into heaven and that Osteen is a vile sinner.

I thought this response was particularly brilliant ---

"Were Jesus to return today and attempt to throw from their temples the modern Philistines who preach the gospel of wealth, they would most likely accuse him and his disciples of being Middle Eastern, sandal-wearing, gay hippie terrorists out to undermine the American way of life."

I cracked the biggest smile of the day after reading that! And how true.