The Prosperity Gospel is not something one hears much in the Episcopal Church, although many generations of Episcopalians have probably lived in its wake. . The following are remarks that I wrote that I thought I would share, since Joel Osteen is popular today. ________________________________________________________ I am beginning to feel bad that I often speak ill of Joel Osteen. I am still committed to writing an essay of a scholarly nature on his rhetorical methods, but that is another issue. It is absolutely true today that many people in the US have a very poor self-image. I’m a university professor. I witness it daily. They feel defeated before they even begin; they have embraced such negative images from our culture that they live the existence of defeat. Now I sound like Joel himself, but he is right on that point! Many have written over time about his use of the prosperity gospel—something he has actually denied, but you would have to have assistance to miss that point in every single message I have heard. On this one point he and I do agree: I want to see every person develop a positive image of self-worth simply because they exist. What bothers me are three things: 1. First, when he preaches, he typically uses examples from the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible about almost epic-like events whose situation is not repeatable in modernity. Moses, Joshua, David, and Elijah populate his examples. Each of these has some BIG stories! 2. Second, he places so much emphasis upon the person’s own faith that something will happen; thus, if nothing happens, it was a result of a lack of faith. Side note: I know far too many people who, at the same time they have some kind of faith tradition, also question the very existence of God while being on that path. That would mean, such people would be doomed to failure from the start and could only beat up on themselves for their failures—all of which are very human! 3. Third, the economic twist to his sermons—whether a primary motive or an afterthought—equates money as the ultimate sign of blessing that a person simply needs to reach out and grab. At the same time, religious texts point to the faith of the poor and point out how those of privilege place that as their highest good and to their own folly and destruction. When I was growing up, my mother gave to me many of the ideas I hear from him that she had heard from reading Norman Vincent Peale’s The Power of Positive Thinking and Earl Nightingale, the so-called “Dean of Personal Development.” Those did help me, and I remember them. Personally, Osteen is great for self-help; as a preacher of the Christian religion, he is close to a charlatan. Happy happy, joy joy is good, but there is a wonderful passage in the book of Ecclesiastes: “It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting; for this is the end of everyone, and the living will lay it to heart” (7:2). Perspective does make the difference. Bad stuff happens, and there may be no apparent explanation. That’s the reality!
Posted on: Mon, 17 Nov 2014 01:11:02 +0000
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