The Prosperity Gospel - Clip from Nathan Clarke on Vimeo.
The video above is a clip from a brief documentary that is to come out shortly. It shows a prosperity gospel preacher in Africa. The prosperity gospel, the unholy spawn of certain covetous American preachers, has spread to the developing world. This really isn't news, but it makes me sad. Poor people's misplaced faith being exploited by greedy liars who promise them health and wealth in exchange for money should raise the ire of all thinking people. In Brazil this evil is institutionalized in such powerful neo-pentecostal denominations as the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG). When I was in Brazil I heard story after story of families ruined financially and marriages destroyed by the UCKG and others.
Before someone points out that the church I attend passes a collection plate, allow me to say that the money taken in is counted, the church informed about how much there is and how it is spent, and no one is currently on the payroll. We take up an offering to pay the legitimate bills of the congregation (electricity, water, etc) and to fund missions and day-to-day ministry. There is honesty and transparency in what we do, in contrast to what we see in prosperity preachers.
