Do you agree with the Gospel of Wealth?

Question

The Gospel of Wealth kind of preaches that we each get exactly what we deserve. The wealthy have been blessed by God and the poor failed to take opportunities unlike the rich. Thus, it is the poor's own fault that they are poor.

Answer 1

Jesus was homeless. Doesn't that blow that wealth theory up right away?

Answer 2

Not completely. The problem is, the Gospel of Wealth assumes that we all want to be rich in the monetary sense, which is clearly not the case. I mean, what about Mother Teresa? Another point I have to make is that sometimes, due to circumstances outside of our control, money runs short.

It's wise to view the Gospel of Wealth in its historical context: a justification for the immense riches accrued by the industrialists in America's Gilded Age. And then, there's the fact that Andrew Carnegie authored the original treatise explaining the Gospel of Wealth.

In response to the above answerers I see here, we would be prudent in noting that the Gospel of Wealth was and is not part of the Bible. The Bible does not change, nor will it (unless someone takes it into their heads to "improve" it. Translators, you are excused)

Answer 3

I have a four-volume set of the Bible in the original languages, no "Gospel of Wealth" there...

I have a copies of the Bible in the KJV, NKJV, NAB, NIV, RSV, NRSV (with Apocrypha & Deuterocanical books), The Jerusalem Bible and a St. Matthew's Bible... no "Gospel of Wealth" in any of those...

I have a copy of the Books of Enoch, Jasher and Jubilles, no "Gospel of Wealth there...

I have a rare copy of "The Lost Books of the Bible" and no, no "Gospel of Wealth" there either.

I have a Doctor of Divinity degree, yet I never read nor heard of a "Gospel (Gud's schpiel or "God's words" in old German) of Wealth".
I do remember reading something, about Jesus saying you cannot worship God and Mammon (Riches, avarice, and worldly gain, personified as a false god in the New Testament) at the same time [Matt. 6:24].

I.T.W.T.A., when you say "kind of preaches" and it's not in the Bible or any other "Holy Writs" (writings), I would have to question the person who is feeding you this propaganda.

Didn't Christ say, in Matthew 19:24 and in Mark 10:25 AND again in Luke 18:25, that "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God"?
I have a hard enough time with threading a needle to sew a button back on, I wouldn't even try a camel...

Answer 4

No, I do not agree with that statement. It does say in the Bible that there will always be poverty and starvation, but much of it will be due to other circumstances, like climate or catastrophic events, such as wars and pestilence. A wealthy man knows best how he or she compiled their wealth. If it is by a measure of immorality or illegal means, they will be judged accordingly. I don't worry about wealth or by what someone else has or doesn't have. I don't believe a poor person wants to be poor. How we measure ourselves in society is how we help the many who are poor, while not condemning the few who are rich.

Answer 5

Our prosperity begins with us obeying Matt 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added to you." We have to get our priorities right with God before God prospers us. When we become a kingdom people all other blessings (including wealth) will come to us. We have to be walking in Christ Jesus because all our blessings are in Christ (Ep 1:3) Many miss out because they do not follow Matt 6:33.

Answer 6

A clear example of how religion evolves, adapting to the human environment in which it finds itself.

It's also yet another example of religion providing believers with an excuse for immoral behavior, one of its primary purposes.

It's the height of irony that Christians say that atheists "deny God so they don't have be held responsible for their actions". Um, folks, that's why people _invent_ gods, not why people acknowledge their nonexistence.