The Church of Capitalism: Prosperity Gospels, Billionaire Preachers and a New Path to Heaven
Proverbs 22:2 "The rich and the poor have this in common: The Lord is the maker of them all." You read such a passage and wonder would God really not judge the poor in the same light as the wealthy? If you gave credence to the Joel Osteen inspired "Prosperity Gospel" you'd learn that not being a financial success is more or less a sin. The Prosperity Gospel is defined as: A religious belief among some Protestant Christians that financial blessing and physical well-being are always the will of God. Historian Randall Collins surmised it was the church more than any other agency that put into place the preconditions of Capitalism. In fact, during the Middle Ages the Catholic Church was the main locus of the ascendency of early Capitalism (acton.org). The Prosperity Gospel originated as a subsidiary of Pentecostalism in post-World War II America. Although, it began within local congregations the movement attained a larger following due to the use of telev