The Prosperity Gospel

I am listening to Joel Osteen preach as I write this. I don't listen to him every Sunday, but I can guess what the sermon will be. It will be the prosperity gospel. Here it is in a nutshell:

-Put your faith in God, and he will make you prosperous.

-Give money.

-If you are not prosperous, you simply lack faith.

-Give more money.

If you smell a scam in all of this, you would be correct. The prosperity gospel is nothing short of deceiving weak minded and desperate people into giving over the little cash they have. And God does not deliver on his promises. Ever. This is because God does not exist.

My financial advice to people is to cut up their credit cards, spend less, and work more. And invest in low fee funds through Vanguard and TIAA-CREF. But don't give a dime to a church or believe that God is going to rain down blessings. God will let you down.

God has not let down Joel Osteen. The man lives large off duping the idiots in his megachurch. The prosperity gospel is popular preaching because who doesn't want to be rich?

To be fair, not all churches preach this bullshit. Some of Osteen's biggest critics are other preachers. But these churches rarely endeavor to teach their congregants true money management in much the same way that they don't teach their congregants the right way to use a condom or birth control. And they will always take your money. ALWAYS.

The sad but undeniable truth about churches is they sell lies to people in order for charlatans to avoid hard work and giving value for the dollar. This racket goes way back in history. Religious leaders are parasites living off the stupidity of other people. Much of the ancient sacrifices were done to cover the smell of the barbecue the priests had going on out back. Christianity replaced this sacrifice with an appeal for cold hard cash. Theology was shaped by these economic demands. By the time we get to America and the American Dream--presto!--the Prosperity Gospel.

Here's an idea. Why doesn't God pay his own damn bills?

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