I recently read Hanna Rosin’s article in The Atlantic titled “Did Christianity Cause the Crash?” Needless to say, it got me thinking. Does the Bible really say that Christians will be blessed financially in this life? As a Christian, I believe that God will provide for my every need, but I’ve never taken that to mean He will provide me with a big house in a nice neighborhood and a fancy car. In contrast, I believe that I won’t experience the fullness of God’s blessing until heaven.
In what has been termed the ‘prosperity gospel,’ many churches across the nation preach that God’s people should expect great financial favor in their time on earth.
The article takes a closer look at Fernando Garay, the pastor of Casa del Padre in Charlottesville, Va., who drives a “dark-blue Mercedes Benz always freshly washed, the hubcaps polished enough to reflect his wingtips,” says Rosin.
Garay’s church is predominantly Latino and is made up of mostly first-generation immigrants. Rosin says that Garay often preaches about money. Rosin quotes Garay saying, “The blessings are looking for you! God will take care of you. God will not let you be without a house!”
The article cites a recent Pew survey, “Seventy-three percent of all religious Latinos in the United States agreed with the statement: ‘God will grant financial success to all believers who have enough faith.'”
What I found most interesting is the link that Rosin makes between churches that preach the ‘prosperity gospel’ and the collapse of the housing market:
“One other thing makes Garay’s church a compelling case study. From 2001 to 2007, while he was building his church, Garay was also a loan officer at two different mortgage companies. He was hired explicitly to reach out to the city’s growing Latino community, and Latinos, as it happened, were disproportionately likely to take out the sort of risky loans that later led to so many foreclosures. To many of his parishioners, Garay was not just a spiritual adviser, but a financial one as well.”
What responsibility do churches have in keeping their members financially satisfied? Have some churches, consciously or not, led their congregants into seeking a lifestyles that their incomes cannot support?
I am interested in what readers have to say about this topic.
Faith in Focus 