Professor Ben Witherington, renowned Biblical scholar, offers his take on Joel Osteen and the "Prosperity Gospel" here. (HT: Smart Christian ) One or two excerpts:
The problem is several fold, and it involves a fundamental replacement of what the Bible actually has to say about wealth, with what our culture says about wealth and prosperity. And of course when you preach a message that is heard as saying "God wants you rich" or is heard as saying "if you give generously to God (i.e. our ministry) he will repay you many times over"), then of course the implication is that the Gospel message is really all about us, and ways to get God to fulfill not merely our needs and desires but even our conspicuously consumptive dreams. But is God really a nurturer of a vision of life that says its all about me and my material success?
How very different indeed this message is from John Wesley's Famous Sermon "On the Use of Money" in which he stresses that if you make all you can honestly and save all you can, but do not give all you can to relieve poverty, feed the hungry, make well the sick you may be a living person but you are a dead Christian. . .
Witherington has more to say about Wesley's view of wealth, and he follows that up with a study of various Biblical passages. In the midst of all this he writes these challenging sentences:
We need to stop listening to the siren song of our culture about the goodness of personal wealth and material prosperity. We need to advocate a theology of stewardship which puts other people's necessities before our luxuries. We need to simplify our lifestyles and get a clear grasp on God's priorities including God's especial concern for the poor and destitute of the world. We need to realize that what Jesus promised us if we seek the kingdom is not prosperity, but rather 'just enough' to take care of our basic needs. We need to remember that the Lord's prayer teaches us to pray for daily bread, not for resources today that I could not possibly use in 10,000 lifetimes. We need to heed all the warnings about how wealth can destroy the soul of an inherently self centered and acquisitive creature-- namely any human being. We need to renounce the false gospel of wealth and health--- it is a disease of our American culture, it is not a solution or answer to life's problems.
I think Witherington's essay a highly valuable corrective to much current thinking. Unfortunately, though, it fails to wrestle with the practical element of fear (of nursing homes, doctor bills, etc.) which fuels a perceived need to acquire "enough money" -- a certain degree of wealth -- to meet those unforeseen needs. Maybe he would recognize that reality (and responsibility) and at the same time quite properly retain his caution against falling into the American trap of more and more and more. Yesterday, March 29, 2006 the New York Times profiled Joel Osteen. Witherington used that article as background for his piece.