Prosperity Gospel has followers and critics

The arrest of Georgia megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar brought renewed attention to his message of the Prosperity Gospel, controversial to some and faith-fulfilling to its followers.

Dollar, who was arrested last week after allegedly assaulting his teenage daughter, is the founder and pastor of World Changers Church International in suburban Atlanta.

It claims about 30,000 members and has a multimillion-dollar sanctuary that resembles a golden-domed spaceship atop a hill.

Dollar said in a statement he would never harm his children and that the facts in the case would be handled privately.

Prosperity ministers preach that God rewards the faithful with wealth and spiritual gifts. Pastors such as T.D. Jakes, Dollar, and Joel Osteen have become the Prosperity Gospel's most well known preachers, building megachurches and business empires with a message equating piety with prosperity.

While popular in the black church, it is not a solely black phenomenon, as seen in the ministry of Osteen, a best-selling author and megapastor at Lakewood Church in Houston. The church website says it is considered to be the largest church in America, with more than 38,000 attendees.

Continue reading at religion.blogs.cnn.com

« Previous Article

Posting Policy

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse. Read more.

Buck

I'm a little curious , how many of GODS children , both juvaniles and adults could have been fed for what it cost to build and maintain these " megachurches " .
- Larry
  
  Buck. I'm curious…how many people are being fed by the ministries of these 'megachurches'? How many people are being saved? GOD's children are the 'born again' believers. If you're not born again, you're not GOD's child. You're GOD's creation, but your father is the devil. GOD's children shouldn't be asking for handouts. We should be giving to those who are lost and needy. Do you have any idea how much good these many thousands of christians who belong to 'megachurches' are doing? Covetousness is a terrible sin.
- william henry
  
  I'm a little curious, Buck, how much money did you contribute to build and maintain a mega church? How much money do you spend feeding God's chillun. Truthfully, who appointed you as over seer of what goes on in congregations you don't belong to. Jesus, not one single time, scolded someone for believing "too much". He never scolded anyone, not one single time, for how they spent money. Judas did that. He chided Mary after "wasting" a years salary on a specific anointing oil that she poured on Him. Judas criticized, "that money could of been used to feed God's poor hungry children". Jesus replied, "Shut up Judas, you small minded pup, You always have the poor on the tip of your tongue." I paraphrased.
Kalev

The Prosperity Gospel is a false gospel used by wolves to steal from the sheeple. Shame on those preaching that false gospel.
- Jerry
  
  Absolutely! These so-called preachers are doing nothing but destroying people's lives with their watered down version of the Gospel. They do not teach what happens when one disobeys God only that your'e okay, and I'm okay, and God loves you no matter what. That is as long as you give until it hurts. This message may appeal to those that do not understand, but the reality is it causes many to turn away from the faith as is witnessed by the many church closings we see today. What is even more troubling is that many of these people are turning to Islam. This is a disturbing trend for those of us who understand what Islam really is.
  - msjallen
    
    Right,Jerry, when our churches no longer teach the Word of God on a consistent basis but turn to emotionalism and feel good sermons with more music than Bible Doctrine the "sheep" wander around aimlessly falling into everything Satan has prepared for them. We are surrouned by human viewpoint and evil everyday of our lives and only the knowledge and applicaion of God's Word can keep us from surrendering to it.
    Heb 4:12 -For the word of God is alive and powerful sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
  - Larry
    
    Jerry! Do you listen to Creflo Dollar? I do, and he is NOT preaching a watered down version of the Gospel. Far from it! I assume you are a Christian. Please don't tell lies about a Christian brother. God hates a false witness. If you watch Creflo just one week, you'll see that you are wrong, and hopefully repent.
    - Kalev
      
      I HAVE listened to Creflo Dollar and he DOES teach a prosperity gospel that is worse than watered down and one that leads people down the wrong path, the broad path to destruction.
    - bighoss
      
      If you think you are getting the full and true gospel from that snake oil salesman, Creflo Dollar, then you desperately need to do some further study in the Gospel.
Bree

This is so alarmimg and I believe that few ministers can really handle the power that comes with money. It corrupts them and is a snare of the devil. The love of money is the root of all evil, not the love of God. God had many rich men in the Bible that were greatly blessed of him and God is not poor or broke but the Bible says it is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich and riches is not sin. It is the work of the evil one to destroy whatever God does to bless his church and the spirit of antichrist is in the world.
evermyrtle

There are many so-called ministers out there to bring down America as well as there are many who only have the bringing of people to the SAVIOR. HIS WORD says many will be called bur few chosen. I have no idea who are or who are not among these who are robbing America's Christians.I know they are there, but I would never label one as such, unless I had proof. Creflo may be guilty but this may be a ruse to bring trouble to GOD'S people, which is a common thing. He can be innocent and still be found guilty or guilty and found innocent as was John Edwards, just recently. That is a common result to day in our courts, because unscrupulous judges and hand picked jurors .
william henry

Let's see, Creflo Dollar. Arrested for disciplining his 15 year old daughter and not letting her go to a party because she let her grades down. No mention of sexual misconduct with a male or female child or adult. Did not physically harm or steal from another human being, did reportedly (from the 15 year old) choke and slam the daughter down, hmm? For smarting off about a party? Child abusers don't typically start abusing with their 5th and youngest child. The "baby" usually gets their way, hence the phrase "spoiled brat". So I tend to discount the child's account. The police probably decided to err on the side of the child just to cover their rears. But about all the nasty comments about Creflo fleecing the "sheeple" (isn't it a sin to mix human and animal DNA), Creflo and his wife Taffy ceased receiving any salary since 07. Creflo started the church meeting in a school cafeteria on the seriously poor side of town, for real poor. They paid for everything they have built up front, no loans. How many Baptists have borrowed money, started churches, and then closed them while still owing the money. A lot, I know cause I are one. Also, the location of the paid for Dome where the church meets is located in a formerly poor crime riddled area. For several miles before you get there, buildings and businesses are empty and trashy. The closer you get to their church you start seeing restaurants and new businesses and signs of vitality. I found myself amazed at how when the gospel is lived it brings life to all those around. I am sure that Mr. Dollar, his wife, and their congregation have made a lot of mistakes, haven't we all. But for a fact, they have brought countless into the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, they always emphasize Jesus, that He came in the flesh, and that He died for our sins and was resurrected from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of G-d the Father. If you call that "watered down", you got more problems than just disagreeing with Creflo Dollar.
Noreen

AAAAAMEN!
keyboardshark

Creflo Dollar. Preaching a prosperity gospel. Some jokes just write themselves.
bighoss

Dollar and his megachurch/cable televangelist crowd of prosperity Gospel hucksters are an abomination and a stench in the very nostrils of God. It is only because of ignorance, gullibility, and inordinate lust for material blessing that his sheeple followers are loyal to this skunk and continue to underwrite his splendiferous lifestyle. Sending a "seed offering" (Oh, how these devils L-O-OVE that term!) to one of these flim-flam artists will sew no "seed" for one's prosperity; for many it will be part of the paving to their road to financial ruin.

Other egregious practitioners of this scandalous perversion of truth are Kenneth Copeland, Richard Roberts (son of Oral, who invented the "seed faith" blasphemy), Benny Hinn, his very, very close friend Paula White, and possibly the worst of them all, the atrocious Mike Murdoch, who is on TV for hours on end, week after week, shearing the sheep for donations of hundreds and thousands of dollars and making up the most extravagant lies about his own "seed faith" prosperity. And do not forget Robert Tilton, the oily, slimy scumbag from Fort Worth, who has been exposed over and over for the fraud he is, yet keeps finding enough dupes out there in TV Land to support his luxurious lifestyle, and the Crouch family of Trinity Broadcasting Network, with their frequent "Praise-a-thon" fund raising marathons that suck in millions from the naive, gullible, and ignorant folks who actually believe that these deplorable scumbags are Christians!

It all makes on want to just puke!
Mark

The Lord told me there was someone on the 16th hole at the country club in Hawaii that needed to hear about Jesus, so I got into my private jet and obeyed the Lord's call. You see, the Lord wants us to be wealthy and healthy so we can go on those special trips when He calls us! Just kidding, that sounds like something Binny Hinn or Kenneth Copeland would say on one of those Praise a thons they have on TBN.